After a day of reading Ray Bradbury short stories
Sister Girl and I were talking just now, and I was telling her about this History of the Universe show Mom was watching (I think?), and how some of the people on it were, like, the dumbest people ever. Like, astronomers. Case in point: There was something about a Pegasi galaxy with a gigantamundo planet, bigger than Jupiter, that had a revolution of only four days around its sun. How could it have formed so close? Would not the star have burned off the planetary debris as it tried to form, forcing a much smaller planet to form? Only planets much, much further away from their suns can form so large. How could it have happened?!
"Uh... maybe it formed out there and, like, moved closer?" I said to the TV.
After years of study and astronomical head-scratching, these scientists finally--finally--turned to each other and wondered--no, it couldn't be--but perhaps... somehow... the planet had originally formed further away.
Seriously? Did none of these people sit back and go, "You know, logically, that's the simplest explanation for it. Maybe we should look into that, just see if there happens to be any evidence for it. Can't hurt to try"? I mean, maybe they did, but the show made them look as though no one was smart enough to think of it.
"Lauren, I think you're in the wrong field," said my sister, chuckling. (It's still "Cleo" to y'all.)
"What, I should go into astronomy? I... uh... I don't think that's really going to work. I can't math, for one."
"No, you should go around telling people why they're dumb."
"I think that's called 'a blogger.' "
"Whatever it is, you need to go around telling people why they're dumb, but it has to be a real job--they have to actually listen to you and have consequences and stuff. I'm just saying."
In other news, scrambled eggs for dinner last night laid me out but good, but a six-inch Italian sub and spicy corn chips for lunch today? Totally fine. I guess eggs really are hard to digest.
Oh! Cleoville! Cleoville is having some problems. I need more population so I can get to the point where they'll let me put up a clicky link to improve the environment, but the environment's already getting crapful and I have no way to do anything about it, unlike with the previous two things (transportation and industry), so people are leaving "for some unpolluted clean air." Which means that I can't get enough people to stay to get the population high enough to do anything about the environment. Also? Criminals are blowing up factories (I need more security), which is... kind of awesome, actually. I like to pretend the Joker's behind it all. Again, post your links in the comments and I'll click on them (ah, the joys of tabbed browsing).
L'Affaire Edwards: Cassie Edwards Plagiarism Recap; Romance novelist Edwards' publisher reviewing plagiarism claims; Signet: Cassie Edwards Situation "Deserves Further Review"; Why boycotting isn’t a viable answer to the plagiarism issue; Nora Roberts: 'Seems clear' author plagiarized.
While we're here: Another debacle in which Nora Roberts was totally awesome, or, That Time That Someone Thought Film Clips of the Challenger and Tiannenmen Square, The Latter Set to "Don't Worry, Be Happy," Were Appropriate for a Romance Writing Awards Ceremony.
Edmund Hillary, First on Everest, Dies at 88.
Feds Take On Megan Meier Case, Hope To Charge Evil Mom With Crime.
Madeleine McCann's parents in movie talks.
Presented in a spirit of non-partisan hilarity: Mob Of Paulians Chase Sean Hannity Screaming "Fox News Sucks"; The Republican debates according to a 9-year old. ("Wrinkles is making fun of Bunny Ears again. Wrinkles and Oily fighting about man dates. Oily says man dates are ok sometimes. Wrinkles doesn't like dating men. Fight. Fight.")
US unveils new driver's license rules; 17 states stuck in license showdown.
Another five-year-old on the no-fly list: meet Sam Adams.
"As an anthropologist, sure; as a human, not really."
Unknowing twins marry each other. Oh... oh. Shit.
Boy Scout saves Maldives president from assassination attempt. Best. Merit badge. Ever.
Katrina's victims ask for huge checks. Including "the unlikely sum of $3 quadrillion."
The Little Mermaid On Broadway: It's A Sinker.
Wondermark #370; In which a Bear is Doing Fine; #369; In which Life's Sole Energy-Source is renewed.
SOON.
What Science Should We Punk Next? In which steampunk is declared passé. Well, now I'm just screwed. (Do enough people even know what it is for it to be so-five-minutes-ago?)
Steampunk Justice League Models by Sillof.
John Scalzi explains why Sony's prepaid download card idea is dumbassed. Followup: Sony BMG Picks Up a Clue.
AT&T and Other ISPs May Be Getting Ready to Filter "for copyrighted content at the network level," which "already occurs on sites like YouTube and Microsoft’s Soapbox, and on some university networks." The part that caught my eye: "Internet civil rights organizations oppose network-level filtering, arguing that it amounts to Big Brother monitoring of free speech, and that such filtering could block the use of material that may fall under fair-use legal provisions - uses like parody, which enrich our culture."
It's a Jack-on-Locke Smackdown in 49 Lost Photos; ‘Find 815’ makes ‘Lost’ minutiae fun again.
Weinstein Co. expects to make a deal with striking writers; Warner Bros cuts 1000 jobs; Will Massive Studio Layoffs Begin Next Week?; Strike losses may top $1 billion; Will the Hollywood Strike Kill Comic-Con?; Why is this strike not over?
Hollywood workers take a beating over Golden Globes cancellation; Spielberg's DeMille Award Pushed Back a Year; Golden Globes Press Conference Now Open to All; In Time Of Unrest, Swag Suites Bravely Supporting Stars' Inalienable Right To Receive Free Crap; Revenge of the Nerds: Geeky Writers Ruin Prom Night for the Cool Kids. According to NBC Entertainment Co-Chief Ben Silverman, anyway. By the way: "Having to cancel the Globes -- the highest rated awards show after the Oscars -- cost NBC a pretty penny. E! News reports that NBC paid between five and six million for rights to the show, off which the network makes back $10-15 million in ad revenue."
Oscar planners: The show will go on.
Coens, Anderson Receive DGA Nods; WGA nominates Penn, Cody, Apatow for best screenplay; Free Screenplays to 'No Country', 'Juno', and More.
Johnny Depp was king of multiplex in 2007; Depp, Pirates People's Choice; 'Grey's,' 'Pirates' win People's Choice Awards.
Bale Joining Depp in Michael Mann's Public Enemies. I... wow. Clearly this movie is being made by people who took The Prestige as a personal call to up the twofer ante.
Run for Cover! The Chipettes are Coming! ...The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Check Out This 40 Minute Interview with Tim Burton; Helena Bonham Carter Really Likes Her Personal Space, or, How I Totally Want to Live If I Ever Get Married; a Burton-Depp interview in which Depp reveals his "dream role."
Elijah Wood Wants To Go Back Again To ‘The Hobbit’; from kittenkatt: Visual comparison of shots from old FOTR DVD and new Blu-ray. Oh, dammit.
HD DVD Backers to Switch to Blu-ray Soon?; New Line Joins Blu-ray Camp; The End is Near: Paramount to Join Warners and Switch to Blu-ray Exclusively?; Sore Loser? Bill Gates Declares Downloads Are the Future, Not Hi-Def DVD.
Lots and Lots and Lots of 'Cloverfield'; New Cloverfield Still Images Released; "Monster" Travels Through Time, Rips off Cloverfield Before Opening Day; Tracking The Early 'Cloverfield' Buzz: Giant Fucking Monsters Are Definitely Coming (includes a link to Harry Knowles' rapt review); Cloverfield Roundtable - Misfits of Sci-Fi; J.J. Abrams TED talk: "Mystery in a Box" (video); From the Editor's Desk: Sundance, Cloverfield and Why My Head Should Explode Real Soon.
Keira Knightley and James McAvoy EW cover story scans. (Read it on the EW site here.) A profanity-laced must-read that will have you snickering "...Lady garden! " for the rest of the weekend.
Del Toro Makes Another ‘Potter’ Pitch; Helen McCrory to begin Filming Role as Narcissa Malfoy in "Half-Blood Prince"; Emma Watson Updates About Filming Slughorn's Party Scene in "Half-Blood Prince." Mmm, profiteroles.
Clive Owen on the set of 'The International.' Every time I see this title, for .005 seconds, I read it as The Continental and have an urge to drink cham-pan-yuh.
Movie Pics: 'Step Brothers,' 'The International,' Pineapple Express' and 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.'
More Images of 'Choke' Hit the Net.
New Photos of a Blonde Natalie Portman in 'My Blueberry Nights.'
Even More 'Iron Man' Stills.
Liev Schreiber to Play 'Wolverine' Villain, Source Says.
Deal Moves Conan Forward.
'Terminator' Starts Annoying Viral Marketing.
Kimberly Peirce Looks Towards Space For Arthur C. Clarke’s ‘Childhood.’
Gus Van Sant's 'Paranoid Park' Poster and Trailer.
trailer_spot: How to Lose Friends, Day Zero, It's a Free World, Iron Man, Paranoid Park, Business of Being Born; David Lynch PSA.
Winslet Replaces Kidman in 'The Reader.'
Ryan, Kinnear Cast in Greengrass Thriller.
Paul Dano Talks 'Blood' In-Depth, Answers Key Plot Questions.
Alan Arkin Joins 'Marley and Me.'
Cast Confirmed for Solomon Kane.
Paul Bettany Joins 'The Secret Lives of Bees.'
Salma Hayek to Become a 'Freak.'
A Few More TV Actors Join the 'Stepfather' Remake.
'One Missed Call' Is One of the Worst Movies Ever. Well, duh.
David Tennant's Ophelia-Wannabe Stalker.
Why 007 is the spy who licked me. Sadly, not what it sounds like.
"Uh... maybe it formed out there and, like, moved closer?" I said to the TV.
After years of study and astronomical head-scratching, these scientists finally--finally--turned to each other and wondered--no, it couldn't be--but perhaps... somehow... the planet had originally formed further away.
Seriously? Did none of these people sit back and go, "You know, logically, that's the simplest explanation for it. Maybe we should look into that, just see if there happens to be any evidence for it. Can't hurt to try"? I mean, maybe they did, but the show made them look as though no one was smart enough to think of it.
"Lauren, I think you're in the wrong field," said my sister, chuckling. (It's still "Cleo" to y'all.)
"What, I should go into astronomy? I... uh... I don't think that's really going to work. I can't math, for one."
"No, you should go around telling people why they're dumb."
"I think that's called 'a blogger.' "
"Whatever it is, you need to go around telling people why they're dumb, but it has to be a real job--they have to actually listen to you and have consequences and stuff. I'm just saying."
In other news, scrambled eggs for dinner last night laid me out but good, but a six-inch Italian sub and spicy corn chips for lunch today? Totally fine. I guess eggs really are hard to digest.
Oh! Cleoville! Cleoville is having some problems. I need more population so I can get to the point where they'll let me put up a clicky link to improve the environment, but the environment's already getting crapful and I have no way to do anything about it, unlike with the previous two things (transportation and industry), so people are leaving "for some unpolluted clean air." Which means that I can't get enough people to stay to get the population high enough to do anything about the environment. Also? Criminals are blowing up factories (I need more security), which is... kind of awesome, actually. I like to pretend the Joker's behind it all. Again, post your links in the comments and I'll click on them (ah, the joys of tabbed browsing).
L'Affaire Edwards: Cassie Edwards Plagiarism Recap; Romance novelist Edwards' publisher reviewing plagiarism claims; Signet: Cassie Edwards Situation "Deserves Further Review"; Why boycotting isn’t a viable answer to the plagiarism issue; Nora Roberts: 'Seems clear' author plagiarized.
While we're here: Another debacle in which Nora Roberts was totally awesome, or, That Time That Someone Thought Film Clips of the Challenger and Tiannenmen Square, The Latter Set to "Don't Worry, Be Happy," Were Appropriate for a Romance Writing Awards Ceremony.
Edmund Hillary, First on Everest, Dies at 88.
Feds Take On Megan Meier Case, Hope To Charge Evil Mom With Crime.
Madeleine McCann's parents in movie talks.
Presented in a spirit of non-partisan hilarity: Mob Of Paulians Chase Sean Hannity Screaming "Fox News Sucks"; The Republican debates according to a 9-year old. ("Wrinkles is making fun of Bunny Ears again. Wrinkles and Oily fighting about man dates. Oily says man dates are ok sometimes. Wrinkles doesn't like dating men. Fight. Fight.")
US unveils new driver's license rules; 17 states stuck in license showdown.
Another five-year-old on the no-fly list: meet Sam Adams.
"As an anthropologist, sure; as a human, not really."
Unknowing twins marry each other. Oh... oh. Shit.
Boy Scout saves Maldives president from assassination attempt. Best. Merit badge. Ever.
Katrina's victims ask for huge checks. Including "the unlikely sum of $3 quadrillion."
The Little Mermaid On Broadway: It's A Sinker.
Wondermark #370; In which a Bear is Doing Fine; #369; In which Life's Sole Energy-Source is renewed.
SOON.
What Science Should We Punk Next? In which steampunk is declared passé. Well, now I'm just screwed. (Do enough people even know what it is for it to be so-five-minutes-ago?)
Steampunk Justice League Models by Sillof.
John Scalzi explains why Sony's prepaid download card idea is dumbassed. Followup: Sony BMG Picks Up a Clue.
AT&T and Other ISPs May Be Getting Ready to Filter "for copyrighted content at the network level," which "already occurs on sites like YouTube and Microsoft’s Soapbox, and on some university networks." The part that caught my eye: "Internet civil rights organizations oppose network-level filtering, arguing that it amounts to Big Brother monitoring of free speech, and that such filtering could block the use of material that may fall under fair-use legal provisions - uses like parody, which enrich our culture."
It's a Jack-on-Locke Smackdown in 49 Lost Photos; ‘Find 815’ makes ‘Lost’ minutiae fun again.
Weinstein Co. expects to make a deal with striking writers; Warner Bros cuts 1000 jobs; Will Massive Studio Layoffs Begin Next Week?; Strike losses may top $1 billion; Will the Hollywood Strike Kill Comic-Con?; Why is this strike not over?
Hollywood workers take a beating over Golden Globes cancellation; Spielberg's DeMille Award Pushed Back a Year; Golden Globes Press Conference Now Open to All; In Time Of Unrest, Swag Suites Bravely Supporting Stars' Inalienable Right To Receive Free Crap; Revenge of the Nerds: Geeky Writers Ruin Prom Night for the Cool Kids. According to NBC Entertainment Co-Chief Ben Silverman, anyway. By the way: "Having to cancel the Globes -- the highest rated awards show after the Oscars -- cost NBC a pretty penny. E! News reports that NBC paid between five and six million for rights to the show, off which the network makes back $10-15 million in ad revenue."
Oscar planners: The show will go on.
Coens, Anderson Receive DGA Nods; WGA nominates Penn, Cody, Apatow for best screenplay; Free Screenplays to 'No Country', 'Juno', and More.
Johnny Depp was king of multiplex in 2007; Depp, Pirates People's Choice; 'Grey's,' 'Pirates' win People's Choice Awards.
Bale Joining Depp in Michael Mann's Public Enemies. I... wow. Clearly this movie is being made by people who took The Prestige as a personal call to up the twofer ante.
Run for Cover! The Chipettes are Coming! ...The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Check Out This 40 Minute Interview with Tim Burton; Helena Bonham Carter Really Likes Her Personal Space, or, How I Totally Want to Live If I Ever Get Married; a Burton-Depp interview in which Depp reveals his "dream role."
Elijah Wood Wants To Go Back Again To ‘The Hobbit’; from kittenkatt: Visual comparison of shots from old FOTR DVD and new Blu-ray. Oh, dammit.
HD DVD Backers to Switch to Blu-ray Soon?; New Line Joins Blu-ray Camp; The End is Near: Paramount to Join Warners and Switch to Blu-ray Exclusively?; Sore Loser? Bill Gates Declares Downloads Are the Future, Not Hi-Def DVD.
Lots and Lots and Lots of 'Cloverfield'; New Cloverfield Still Images Released; "Monster" Travels Through Time, Rips off Cloverfield Before Opening Day; Tracking The Early 'Cloverfield' Buzz: Giant Fucking Monsters Are Definitely Coming (includes a link to Harry Knowles' rapt review); Cloverfield Roundtable - Misfits of Sci-Fi; J.J. Abrams TED talk: "Mystery in a Box" (video); From the Editor's Desk: Sundance, Cloverfield and Why My Head Should Explode Real Soon.
Keira Knightley and James McAvoy EW cover story scans. (Read it on the EW site here.) A profanity-laced must-read that will have you snickering "...Lady garden! " for the rest of the weekend.
Del Toro Makes Another ‘Potter’ Pitch; Helen McCrory to begin Filming Role as Narcissa Malfoy in "Half-Blood Prince"; Emma Watson Updates About Filming Slughorn's Party Scene in "Half-Blood Prince." Mmm, profiteroles.
Clive Owen on the set of 'The International.' Every time I see this title, for .005 seconds, I read it as The Continental and have an urge to drink cham-pan-yuh.
Movie Pics: 'Step Brothers,' 'The International,' Pineapple Express' and 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.'
More Images of 'Choke' Hit the Net.
New Photos of a Blonde Natalie Portman in 'My Blueberry Nights.'
Even More 'Iron Man' Stills.
Liev Schreiber to Play 'Wolverine' Villain, Source Says.
Deal Moves Conan Forward.
'Terminator' Starts Annoying Viral Marketing.
Kimberly Peirce Looks Towards Space For Arthur C. Clarke’s ‘Childhood.’
Gus Van Sant's 'Paranoid Park' Poster and Trailer.
trailer_spot: How to Lose Friends, Day Zero, It's a Free World, Iron Man, Paranoid Park, Business of Being Born; David Lynch PSA.
Winslet Replaces Kidman in 'The Reader.'
Ryan, Kinnear Cast in Greengrass Thriller.
Paul Dano Talks 'Blood' In-Depth, Answers Key Plot Questions.
Alan Arkin Joins 'Marley and Me.'
Cast Confirmed for Solomon Kane.
Paul Bettany Joins 'The Secret Lives of Bees.'
Salma Hayek to Become a 'Freak.'
A Few More TV Actors Join the 'Stepfather' Remake.
'One Missed Call' Is One of the Worst Movies Ever. Well, duh.
David Tennant's Ophelia-Wannabe Stalker.
Why 007 is the spy who licked me. Sadly, not what it sounds like.