Cowboys And Aliens (Movie Review)

In a small Arizona cattle town in 1873, an outlaw awakens with no memory of his past and a strange alien device strapped to his wrist. As he struggles to regain his past the town has troubles of its own. The various points of conflict in the ensemble cast would be enough for their own story, but they only make up one half of this flick. When menacing alien forces arrive and begin abducting people, the remnant must overcome their differences to save the ones they love.

So often, genre films forget that characters are the best special effect. But Jon Favreau, who also directed "Iron Man", learned that lesson long ago. The ensemble cast is made up of wonderful actors turning in great performances, resulting in interesting characters and some welcome emotional depth.

Even so, this is a movie about (you guessed it) cowboys and aliens, and it delivers on that promise with gusto. The wild west is dirty and dusty. The sounds of horses, harnesses, gun-belts and leather provide an earthy feel that makes the sci-fi explosions and spaceships all the more wild and unusual. The blend of genres works well because Favreau treats them both seriously. The western aspects are all grit and stubble. And the aliens are slimy and genuinely scary. Despite the title, this movie is anything but a B-movie or spoof.

I would have loved to see just a little more money thrown at this flick to provide some truly unforgettable visuals, and some more creativity in the way it was shot would have taken the quality over the top. But these are such minor complaints about a truly great movie.

There are some interesting spiritual beats in the first third of the film that those sensitive to spiritual themes will pick out easily. The aliens are thought to be biblical demons of some kind and a sympathetic "town preacher" played by Clancy Brown offers up some memorable "spiritual slogans" worth noting.

The first is that "whether you go to heaven or hell isn't God's plan. It's YOUR plan." The second is "you have to earn God's presence, then recognize it and act on it." The third is "God doesn't care about who you were. He cares about who you are." What strikes me about each of these "slogans" is that they can be interpreted in a way that reflects biblical truth, and yet they are so carelessly worded that they could also be interpreted in ways very counter to biblical truth.

The first slogan is true in that is a choice left to us, but false in suggesting that these choices are not still part of God's plan. The second slogan is true in the sense that God will "draw near" to us if we draw near to him(James 4:8) but false in potentially suggesting that the permanent presence of God (through the Holy Spirit) in us is something we must "earn". The third slogan is true in the sense that God puts the sins of those who trust in him behind them(Romans 8:1), but false in suggesting that God doesn't care about our past. If God literally did not care about anyone's past, the sacrifice of Christ would be pointless.

This is a fantastic flick worth almost anyone's attention for the unique blending of two genre's and wonderful characters. It has a few points worth talking about, but that are also easily forgotten after the first third of the movie.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference.

Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 7.0/10


For information about my scoring system, visit spiritblade.net/reviewscores.
Or listen to this review this weekend at spiritblade.net/podcast!

DC Comics At Comic Con!

This weekend I took time out and listened to most of the recordings of the Q&A panels for DC Comics at Comic Con, giving priority to those that dealt with the continuity reboot the company is enacting in September.

I’ve had my share of both reservations and excited hopes for the reboot, and still do. But DC shared some interesting information that corrected misinformation and gave us new things to ponder. Here are the moments that stuck out to me.

COSTUMES

Jim Lee said that many classic superhero costumes call back to the 30's and circus strongmen, a look that readers then would understand and see the logical connection for. DC now wants looks that evolve like Batman’s has over he years, toward more functional and “real-world”. This is the philosophy that motivated all of their biggest costume changes, including the most talked about involving the removal of Superman’s “red underwear”.

BATGIRL

The Batgirl book launching in September features Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, back in the costume and no longer paralyzed. Barbara Gordon was paralyzed by the Joker in the compelling DC classic by Alan Moore, “The Killing Joke”. Putting Barbara back in the costume and removing her paralysis seemed to imply that “The Killing Joke” never happened in the new continuity, which I thought was a real bad move. But DC said clearly that "The Killing Joke" DID happen in the new continuity, and Barbara’s recovery from paralysis will be covered in the story.

I still happen to think that Barbara Gordon has much more to add to the DCU as Oracle, the hi-tech information jockey of the DCU. And I have HUGE issues with her Batgirl costume. Batman is all about being a scary urban legend. A creature of the night. Batgirl’s look, with her bright yellows, ruby red lipstick, flowing red hair flowing out of her cowl, and most of all, the big “fun-loving” grin on her face on the cover, communicates the exact opposite of the character her persona is supposedly taking inspiration from. But Gail Simone is writing this book, and I’ve never read anything of hers that wasn’t fantastic. So hopefully I’ll be hearing enough good buzz about this book to make it worth a try.

CONTINUITY

Despite lowering the age of DC's main characters and making virtually all of them single again, some other major events of the old DCU remain surprisingly intact. Superman was still “killed” by Doomsday. And the events of "Green Lantern: Rebirth" are still in continuity. These announcements were interesting, given that both of these events involve a multitude of other characters and situations that are not part of the new continuity. Hopefully we’ll get some kind of special mini-series that will help us old fans blend the old continuity with the new, because otherwise we’ll be left guessing about the details of these major events.

SUPERMAN

Some of the most controversial changes surround Superman, who has a modified (no underwear) costume and is now confirmed to be single. Grant Morrison(who is introducing the new Superman in the re-launched Action Comics) continued to emphasize that there are specific reasons for Superman's costumes (in Action Comics AND Superman) to look the way they do. I plan to hold them to it!

Morrison hinted that Superman wears the cape because it is the baby blanket he had with him in the rocket from Krypton and it always protected him from damage as a child. He compared it to the blanket “Linus” carries around in the “Peanuts” strips and cartoons. Personally, I think this makes Superman sound insecure and immature, but I’m willing to see how it actually plays out in the comic.

I’m also very interested in the specific reasons for Superman to be wearing a “utility belt” (which takes the place of his red underwear) and a suit with seams that look a little too much like “armor”. The powers of Superman have classically been his own, so to indicate any dependence on gadgets or his costume seems a bad move. But we’ll see. On a bright note, Morrison said he wants Action Comics to feel very different from All-Star Superman. Yay! Maybe this story will be stripped of enough of his “post-modern” sensibilities to actually make sense!

GOLDEN AGE HEROES

One big bummer was the news that Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and all the Golden Age heroes will be “given a rest” for awhile in the new DC. This is a huge shame, because they represent a rich history that makes DC different from every other comic book company. Hopefully they won’t be gone long.

WALLY WEST

In related news, Wally West will be “given a rest” as well. With Barry Allen made younger and single, it didn’t make sense for his nephew Wally (who has always been younger than Barry) to have a wife and kids. Although I loved Wally’s time as The Flash, I thought the family elements they brought into his story were hugely mishandled, so I’m willing to wipe them from the record. And as great as Wally is, I’m content with Barry as long as the stories continue to be strong.

LEGAL BATTLES

One Elephant in the room that I was glad to hear brought up was the legal battles DC is having over the rights to various elements of the Superman mythos. It was rumored that this legal battle was the real reason for the reboot of the DC universe. But DC Editorial stated that all the story points, costume changes and decision to reboot the continuity were devised completely independent of the legal battles over the Superman related properties. This was good news to me, since I think creativity and re-invigoration are better motivations for good stories than legal battles are.

DIVERSITY

On a different note, I found it very interesting how often people were asking about having more gay characters, Latino characters, African American characters, and disabled characters. “Diversity” was an issue that came up roughly every five questions! One fan asked the panel how they could justify saying they are being gender diverse when only 1/4th of the superhero characters are female.

Now, I think diversity in fiction can be great and I also think DC actually leads the charge in this area. But here’s my question. Is it the duty of comic creators to have their line-up of superheroes reflect the various demographics of the US or the world on a one-to-one ratio? Will locking themselves into that kind of agenda result in the best stories that will appeal to the widest variety of readers? I’m an Evangelical Christian. (Evangelical meaning “pertaining to or with emphasis on the Bible or the Gospel” and not politics or whatever other crap comes to mind.) Over 1/4th of the population of the U.S. identifies themselves as Evangelical Christians, but I don’t see a single Evangelical Christian character in comics, and even having one or two pop up in DC wouldn’t come close to 25%. I’m not saying that’s what I want, either. (I doubt anyone at DC could both write awesome stories AND portray an Evangelical Christian positively.) If I feel like entertainment that will portray Christianity positively, I’ll look for material that’s marketed to Christians. I don’t look to comics to validate my sexuality, my ethnicity or my beliefs, and I don’t understand why self-validation in the comics they read seems so important to these readers. The artistic realm is a thin foundation for supporting personal identity. I think those foundations should be built outside the fiction we enjoy and comics should just be about exciting, escapist entertainment.

ComicCon TV Shows

As I checked out some ComiCon coverage this weekend, a few TV shows jumped out at me. Here they are with some quick links you can check out for yourself.



Once Upon A Time
http://abc.go.com/shows/once-upon-a-time

A blend of fantasy and modern storytelling that has potential to be solid, serious fantasy. The only strike against it is that it’s written by the writers of Lost. (Which ABC is promoting like it’s a GOOD thing.) Not a problem, as long as they decided in advance where they’re going this time, or stay away from posing a bunch of unanswered questions.



Person Of Interest
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/person_of_interest/video/

Creepy “Ben” from Lost plays a billionaire stay at home vigilante who uses pseudo-sci-fi tech to track down bad guys. He then sends Jim Caviezel to go get ‘em. A lone tough guy story that Caviezel says takes some pages from “24”. My take? You had me at “vigilante”. Hope it’s good!



Terra Nova
http://www.fox.com/terranova/

According to FOX-
TERRA NOVA follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in doubt, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past.

I was bummed to learn it’s about dinosaurs. But the biggest threat to this show is that it’s sci-fi and showing on the Fox network. That combo= cancelled in three seasons or less.

Captain America (Movie Review)

I can say that, at least in a limited sense, I'm a Captain America fan. I only have a few issues of the comic from the mainstream Marvel Comics universe, but I've bought about everything I can of his appearances in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. His character is Marvel's analog to DC's Superman (or what Superman USED to be like). Honest, morally conservative, brave and self-sacrificing. In a post-modern world of gritty or insecure "heroes", Captain America is one of the few in comics who actually comes across like a hero in every sense of the word and stands as an example we can aspire to be like.

The movie captures all of these elements wonderfully(as the last Superman movie should have), and for that alone stands out as unique and worthy of attention. But it also has most of the other stuff you enjoy seeing superhero movies for.

Steve Rogers is a scrawny young man who wants badly to enlist in the army, but never passes the physical exam. An opportunity presents itself for him to be part of an experimental "super soldier" program, which ultimately heightens every natural capability he has in dramatic ways, enabling him to fight for the good of others. And to do so better than anybody else!

A major theme of the movie is helping the downtrodden and standing up to "bullies". And as the action plays out there are several moments where it is gratifying to see the weak being defended and rescued. These elements, along with the character of Steve Rogers, provide some emotional weight to key moments in the movie.

The performances are great across the board. Chris Evans moved me with his sincere desire to do good, Hugo Weaving was captivating and menacing as The Red Skull, and some great bits from Tommy Lee Jones as a military supervisor were gold nuggets.

The action is great and explosive. The blending of sci-fi technology with World War 2 is a lot of fun and makes for some of the best visuals and action beats in the movie. Unfortunately, I think that the specific abilities granted to Rogers by the super soldier experiment are not very well defined or given focus. His abilities receive almost no more attention than all the other sci-fi elements in the film, which seems to miss the mark somehow in a superhero flick. In the end, although the action and visuals are great, they lack that "wow factor" that makes for a truly unforgettable experience.

As I said before, the themes of defending the defenseless, heroism and self-sacrifice are very present, and executed well enough that they might lead to worthwhile conversation or comments after the movie. Captain America is not someone who is heroic because he feels obligated by his abilities(Spider-man), because he wants to redeem himself and have purpose(Iron Man) or to deal with his insecurity (X-men). He is heroic because in the most pure and selfless way he sees the state of the world and as a result wants to help others and make the wrong things right. An old stereotype during the Golden Age of comics, but a bold, unique and welcome vision in the world of today.

Although the movie didn't quite reach its full potential, it's a great movie in a long line of great Marvel Comics movies, and also offers inspiration that you can carry out of the theater with you. (But don't leave before the end of the credits!)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action.

Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 7.5/10

For information about my scoring system, visit- spiritblade.net/reviewscores

Or listen to this review this weekend at- spiritblade.net/podcast

Prepping For The DC Comics Reboot

Last night I finalized the list of comics I will have pulled for my comic book store box in September. The list is significant because DC Comics is completely rebooting their continuity in September, an idea I have mixed feelings about.

But I'm willing to give it an open-minded try, and these are the comics I'll at least be buying issue number one of and why:

JLA- Written by Geoff Johns. 'nuff said.

Action Comics- Despite being written by Grant Morrison, this issue is being called the foundation of the entire new universe, so I better not miss it.

Superman- Supposed to establish the new status quo for Superman.

Superboy- I'm intrigued by the fresh approach to Superboy's existing story as a clone of Superman. It looks like it might have some things in common with his origin as presented in the "Young Justice" animated series, which I thought was cool.

Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps and Green Lanterns: New Guardians- I'm a GL nerd. And while I'm passing on Red Lanterns until I hear good buzz, these are the titles I HAVE to check out.

Teen Titans- I love team books. And while the magic of Geoff Johns' run has never been recaptured, I'm interested enough in the core characters that I want to see how this version starts.

Savage Hawkman- Geoff Johns demonstrated that this character can be a lot more than just "the guy with wings", though the book was mishandled after he left. I'm hoping Hawkman will be re-invigorated again.

Blue Beetle- I love sci-fi heroes and loved this character's book. He is DC's "Spider-man", only with cooler powers.

Fury Of Firestorm- Love the Firestorm character concept and anything that Gail Simone even HELPS to write, I'm buying. (Except Batgirl. She's on that book, but I hate the Barbara Gordon costume and think Babs has always been much cooler as Oracle. I'll be waiting for good buzz on that one, too.)

Aquaman- This is the DC character I've MOST wanted to get "the Geoff Johns treatment". And though I see no indications that he's using the "god of water" concept that I've always thought Aquaman should have in order to make him useful on land(think "Magneto", but with H2O instead of metal), I've seen him work enough magic with lame characters that I can't wait to see what he does.

Mr. Terrific- Again, I like sci-fi characters. I've also found Terrific's atheist perspective in the DC universe odd and interesting. Love the re-vamp Johns gave him in JSA and I'm hoping this will be another step forward. (Despite the semi-lame looking costume change.)

Flash- I've always been a flash fan, especially since Mark Waid's historic run and the invention of the Speed Force for the mythos. Unless they REALLY screw things up (which has happened before), I'll follow this speedster wherever he runs.

Captain Atom- This version of the character looks like they're taking notes from Dr. Manhattan (originally BASED on Captain Atom by Alan Moore!) and early issues of the 90's Dr. Solar comic. I'm a big fan of uber-powerful characters and stories dealing with the philosophical ramifications of being that powerful.

Stormwatch- I enjoyed the early issues of the Wildstorm version of this book. A harder, darker look at "superheroes". And giving Martian Manhunter a prominent role isn't hurting anything.

Deathstroke- This character was amazing in "Identity Crisis" and I'm hoping that the book will take us on a tour of the DC universe through the eyes of Slade Wilson. Though I have no particular reason to suspect that will be the focus. But I do like villain books, and without "Secret Six" returning, this is one option for me.

Suicide Squad- If I can't have Secret Six written by Gail Simone, I'll certainly give Suicide Squad a try! (Secret Six essentially WAS Suicide Squad anyway, but without the exploding bracelets and suicide missions.)

Doing The "Cable Math"

Although we've toyed with the idea before, my wife and I are considering our options for ditching cable and watching our shows in alternative ways that will save us tons of money.

Currently, getting a basic Netflix and Hulu Plus subscription would cost WAAY less every month than keeping cable. Between those services and the free online options, we'd be doing pretty well except for a few things.

First, even if we get an additional cable to easily run a laptop to our TVs, we'll still lose the ease of using a remote and will have to hook it up anytime we want to watch TV. My 360 might be an option, but its an older model with the risk of heat damage, so I don't want to use it for common TV watching. (Although replacing my 360 every six months would STILL cost less than keeping cable.) So a casual "flip on, surf, slip off" will not be likely.

Second, even with a great connection speed, minor stuttering and buffering is going to be a factor on a semi-regular basis while watching online content.

Third, my wife watches basically two channels: HGTV, whose programming CAN be found online somewhere. And TLC, whose programming is NOWHERE to be found online. Nowhere! Not Hulu, not on the TLC website, not on i-tunes...NOWHERE! Seasons also haven't been released on video for four years, so that's not an option either. So giving up cable, despite the savings, would cost half of what my wife watches TV for.

So we can't quite bring ourselves to do it yet (unless we can get my parents to regularly DVR some shows for us), but I'd imagine it's only a matter of time before we're all singing the death mass for cable TV.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Movie Review)

After eight movies, the Harry Potter epic storyline is finally over. As someone who read and enjoyed the books once when they came out (but isn't a "fan" in particular) I wondered how the last movie in this franchise would wrap things up.

I can definitely say it went out with a bang. Action and effects were numerous and the best I remember in the series. Character mortality rates were higher than ever. (In fact keeping track of deaths almost requires pen and paper!) The stakes were higher than ever and the epic battles do not disappoint.

The supporting adult cast does the heavy lifting and engaged me emotionally in ways this series never has before. Alan Rickman (and Severus Snape's story) is certainly the standout dramatic element and nearly brought me to tears.

The visual design is appropriately dark, sinister and even depressing, while still captivating and fantastical. A far cry from the bright colors of the earlier films in the series. Every character looks ragged and worn.

The music also contributes a lot to the mood, sounding almost like a creepy horror flick at times (though without the cheap "jump scares").

All this work put into mood still only helps to offset, rather than contribute to, the performances of the three heroic leads. It's great that the studio ended up with passable adult actors considering they were cast as kids. But I would still place the calibre of their performances alongside or below most TV guest performers, rather than movie actors or even TV regulars. And whether because of their performances, the script, or both, I didn't find myself the least bit invested in their well-being. A very big problem, given that they are the center of the story.

Speaking of story, this movie, like the last one or two, is unforgiving toward those who do not watch previous movies in the series (or know them very well) right before seeing this one. Few or no reminders are given about who people are, what things are significant and what all the objectives for victory are. Although I've read all the books once and seen all the previous movies, I felt lost in a number of ways. My guess is that this movie (and others in the series) will be more greatly appreciated for its story on home video, rather than in the spaced out theatrical release schedule.

I personally doubt that much worthwhile conversation will come out of seeing this movie. But a few topics that you could squeeze out of it (if you have strong hands) would include: The afterlife, sacrificial love, the death and resurrection of Christ (as subtly modeled in this movie in a way I won't spoil further) and doing right while being villainized by others. Those points are all present, but would have come out much more strongly had the performances been more emotionally engaging.

This flick is a good end to the franchise that would be stronger in the immediate context of the previous films. Although key performances are lacking, supporting actors and good direction make up enough ground to provide an enjoyable experience.

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.

Quality: 8.0/10

Relevance: 5.5/10

For information about my rating system, visit spiritblade.net/reviewscores.

Or to listen to this review, visit spiritblade.net/podcast this weekend!

Colbert Report: Science Is The Only Source Of Truth?

During my lunch break I sometimes watch The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. I liked them both better when they weren't as politically charged (The Daily Show for years and Colbert for just a few weeks). But I tune in these days to keep my hand on the pulse of pop-philosophy, the current trends of which I think both shows represent well.

The Colbert Report in particular seems to enjoy mocking an over simplified version of Christianity or at least Catholicism.

The show I watched yesterday had an interview with a "skeptic" named Michael Shermer.

Here's the video link:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/391554/july-11-2011/michael-shermer

In the interview, he claims that the only way to be sure that what we believe is true is through science. I'd like to give him the chance to correct or clarify his position, because that assumption not only doesn't stand up to logical evaluation, it defeats itself.

In the interview, Colbert responded to Shermer's claim by pointing out that the claim he is making is itself just another belief. (Colbert did this in a comedic sort of way that makes me wonder if he realizes how strong his counter-argument really is when stated more cleanly.)

Let's take the truth claim "Science is the only way by which we can know if something is true or not" and call that "A".

"A" cannot be tested by the scientific method. There is no experiment that could be designed to conclusively prove that "A" is true. It is a philosophical assumption, not a scientific conclusion.


Shermer admitted that science is "just another belief" but claimed the difference is that science has built into it "self-correcting machinery that says if you don't look for evidence to debunk your belief, someone else will".

The problem is that science is not the only system that does this. Science deals specifically with the realm of observable phenomena. But logical deduction also has the same systems in place. We can deduce a lot of things without the aid of the scientific method. So Shermer is limiting his ability to discern truth WAY more than he should, by the sound of it.

Who knows? Maybe when he says "science", he means "critical analysis and logical deduction". I guess I could read his book to find out, but something tells me there are better minds out there writing books from the skeptic/atheist position and that Shermer is not doing them any favors.

Looking For An Author...Again.

Once again it seems I'm looking for that next great fantasy author to capture my imagination.

I read through 2 1/2 books of the Noble Dead series by Barb and J.C. Hendee. It had most of the ingredients I need. Dark, serious tone, regular insight to characters' thoughts and feelings, and some brutal violence to up the stakes.

What it was missing was truly tortured characters. While the expressed inner feelings of characters told me what they were feeling, they didn't seem to be preoccupied with their feelings enough for me to buy that they were as troubled as they claimed now and then. And the issues bothering them never quite seemed to be THAT monumental. Sick as it may sound, I like my characters to be emotionally tortured.

After reading some samples online and making some reservations at the library, these are the next books on my "try out" list.















I'm a sucker for a cool cover, but I also found myself interested in the first chapter, where a young girl is desperate to escape the life of prostitution she has been sold into. Reviews inform me that there's plenty of the usual sword and sorcery goodness to come in the book, but this beginning reminded me in some ways of Brent Weeks' "Night Angel Trilogy" and anything that can do that is worth a further look for me.























This was not the cover that initially got my attention. (The yellow and purple on this one make it look like a romantic fantasy to me.) The prologues (yes, there are two) had a great sense of dark foreboding, although the first chapter made for a bumpy ride as I got a handle on the strange dialects and lingo of this fantasy world. This will be the third time I've read through the first chapter of this book. But this time, I continued to the second and was delighted by a shocking twist and some more dark elements like those in the prologues. I suspect that if I allow myself to be stretched a little, this might be a very rewarding experience.


















Not sure at all what to expect from this one. Two chapters in and no hint at even the existence of magic. If magic is too sparse, it may not hold my interest. The first chapter had some great visceral combat, but if some more emotion isn't injected into future combat it may become repetitive. On the other hand, a disgusting, pathetic and oddly sympathetic character is introduced that I suspect I'll be captivated by. This book may have the most promise of all three.

Hopefully at least ONE of these will be a new author I can sink my teeth into!

Considering Watching X-Files

I'm thinking about starting to watch X-Files. Yeah, I know it ended almost 10 years ago, so I'm a little behind.

I remember when the show first started. I was in 9th grade and still mostly preferred Saturday morning cartoons over prime-time sci-fi, although by that time I was watching Star Trek: The Next Generation faithfully every week, and catching up in syndication on weeknights.

I can't remember exactly why I didn't watch more than a couple episodes of X-Files then. I remember being suitably creeped out, so it must have been fairly good television. Maybe I wasn't much into creepy shows back then. Or maybe, because of Star Trek, I was expecting my sci-fi and fantasy to be less "grounded" and more otherworldly.

For whatever reason, I didn't watch the show. And a few years later when it looked like something I might like, I was so far behind. Having heard about the complex "mythos" of the show, I figured I missed my shot at following the show and really knowing what was going on. (DVD sets of TV shows also weren't around much yet to help me catch up.)

Now years later, I'm starved for good television. AMC's "The Walking Dead" (freakin' AWESOME!!) won't start again till mid fall and will be another very short season. I was unimpressed with the pilot for "Fringe" and so never watched more of that. (I've heard it's really good, but after being burned by sudden "cliffhanger cancellations" of amazing shows like "The Sarah Connor Chronicles", I've resolved to wait for most shows to finish airing completely before investing my time and emotion in them.) I've also been told I should try out "Chuck", which will be starting it's final season this fall. But as is my new custom, I'll still be waiting for that one to completely finish.

I seem to be feeling a hunger for good, dark, sci-fi TV, and the prices for seasons have dropped to less than 10 bucks on amazon, so X-Files seems like a decent bet.

I'm sure the effects will show some age, but it also happens that I didn't discover the Highlander TV show until after it was finished, and I still love watching those DVDs. Even with the synthy 90's music and fashion sensibilities.

Ready For Class 5!

Well, it looks like I survived my white-water rafting experience!

Last weekend I went rafting with my wife on a two-hour trip that took us through class 3 and 4 rapids. Previously we'd been on a 2-4 class trip and my wife wanted to sign us up for a class 5 trip this time. But cautious (aka, cowardly) as I am, I insisted on "baby steps" and we took the 3-4 class trip.

As I might have expected, it was a great time and a fun challenge. When we put our paddles away and walked up from the shore I told my wife that she could go ahead and put a class 5 trip on the books.

I hear the Grand Canyon has some good rapids! And I'm always up for riding a donkey!