Opportunity Knocks. Will Mars answer?

The Opportunity Rover has landed and is sending back pictures. What we see is much different than anything we have seen from the Martian surface before. There are little green men there! OK, not really. But we do see our first bedrock outcropping from Mars. This should offer some insight into what has taken place in the red planets history. The Opportunity doesn't face the airbag problems that Spirit did, so it should get moving a little more quickly.

Speaking of Spirit, JPL thinks that they are on the trail of what caused the failure last week. While it may be a few weeks away, the controllers are confident that they can get Spirit rolling again.

First chance I get, I'm heading to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!

OK, now I know that I will not be trading in my Civic when we get a new car. I'm gonna do this.

link via interact.

Having been some days in preparation, a splendid time is guaranteed for all...

Don't forget to come out to The Camden Coffee Company tonight to catch Starship Stacy and the Vector Kings. We will be performing a set of Beatles music starting at about 7:30 or so. This is an all ages show, and there is no cover, so you have no excuse. Messrs. J. And H. Assure the public their production will be second to none, and of course Henry the Horse dances the waltz!


(FYI we will not be performing Being for the Benefit Mr. Kite!)

You call this cold???

Well, when I woke up this morning it was -11, with a wind chill of -40. A bit on the warm side, but the show must go on. Today marks the start of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, the nation's oldest and coldest winter celebration.

This year I am going to find that damn medallion (every year there is a medallion hidden somewhere in St. Paul, with clues to its location given in the paper over the course of ten days). Of course I say that every year, but my knowledge of St. Paul history and geography is a bit anemic, so by the time I figure out where the medallion is hidden the area is swarming with die-hard hunters, so I just give up.

This year is the first in over a decade that the carnival has featured an Ice Palace. Check out a live look at the palace here.

Congratulations to the soon-to-be-working stiff

Jaquandor (who blogs about Buffalo on that Buffalo Blog of his) has landed a job. Sure, it's just a pit stop on the way to the best sellers lists, but you gotta buy paper and ink to get there. Oh, and food. Yeah, you need to buy food too.

Wait... Worry... Who Cares?

The time is near. According to Lance Henriksen Magic the series Millennium will be released sometime this year on DVD. I am quite excited with this news, as this is one of my favorite television shows of all time. Northern Exposure is also rumored to be out on DVD sometime this year. By the way, my birthday is July 4th.

This is who we are.

Syracuse Lutefisk

Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog, Buffalo Blog.

Explanation here.

Starship Stacy and the Vector Kings

Coming up Friday, January 23, Krista and I will be joining former 44 band-mate Dan Hylton for a set of Beatles covers. Dan will kick things off with a short solo set, then Krista and I will join in. If you know the words, feel free to sing along.

Chewbacca, What a Wookiee!

Wouldn't it be cool if there were truth to this? If it comes to pass, party at my place, and the beer is on me.

Link via A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy.

Lights... Camera... Action!

OK, so there is this list of 100 movies making the rounds in the weblog world. I'm not sure if there is some criteria for the films on the list or not. The only purpose seems to be to highlight the ones you have seen in bold, and figure your percentage. I, in my love of lists, have done so, but I am taking it one step further. I am rating those that I have seen recently enough (or enough times to remember them well enough) on a scale from one to five stars.

1. Godfather, The (1972)
2. Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)****
3. Godfather: Part II, The (1974)
4. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)***
5. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002)****
6. Casablanca (1942)*****
7. Schindler's List (1993)
8. Shichinin no samurai (1954)†
9. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)*****
10. Citizen Kane (1941)
11. Star Wars (1977)*****
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)*****
13. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) *****
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back *****(1980)
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)****
17. Memento (2000)****
18. Usual Suspects, The (1995)
19. Pulp Fiction (1994)*****
20. North by Northwest (1959)
21. Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, Le (2001)*****
22. Psycho (1960)****
23. 12 Angry Men (1957) †
24. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
25. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
26. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
27. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) ****
28. Goodfellas (1990) *****
29. American Beauty (1999)*****
30. Vertigo (1958)
31. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32. Pianist, The (2002)
33. Matrix, The (1999)***
34. Apocalypse Now (1979)*****
35. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
36. Some Like It Hot (1959)
37. Taxi Driver (1976) ****
38. Paths of Glory (1957) †
39. Third Man, The (1949) †
40. C'era una volta il West (1968)
41. Fight Club (1999) ****
42. Boot, Das (1981) †
43. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) (Spirited Away)†
44. Double Indemnity (1944)
45. L.A. Confidential (1997) ****
46. Chinatown (1974)
47. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
48. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
49. Maltese Falcon, The (1941) †
50. M (1931)
51. All About Eve (1950)
52. Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
53. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) *****
54. Se7en (1995) **
55. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
56. Cidade de Deus (2002)
57. Raging Bull (1980) †
58. Wizard of Oz, The (1939) *****
59. Rashemon (1950)
60. Sting, The (1973)
61. American History X (1998)
62. Alien (1979) ****
63. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
64. Leon (The Professional) (1994) †
65. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) *****
66. Vita bella, La (1997) (Life Is Beautiful)
67. Touch of Evil (1958) †
68. Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
69. Wo hu cang long (2000) (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) *****
70. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
71. Great Escape, The (1963) †
72. Clockwork Orange, A (1971) *****
73. Reservoir Dogs (1992) ****
74. Annie Hall (1977)
75. Amadeus (1984) *****
76. Jaws (1975) *****
77. Ran (1985) †
78. On the Waterfront (1954) *****
79. Modern Times (1936)
80. High Noon (1952)
81. Braveheart (1995)
82. Apartment, The (1960)
83. Sixth Sense, The ****(1999)
84. Fargo (1996) *****
85. Aliens (1986) **
86. Shining, The (1980) ****
87. Blade Runner (1982) *****
88. Strangers on a Train (1951)
89. Duck Soup (1933)
90. Metropolis (1927) *****
91. Finding Nemo (2003) †
92. Donnie Darko (2001) †
93. Toy Story 2 (1999)
94. Princess Bride, The (1987) ****
95. General, The (1927)
96. City Lights (1931)
97. Lola rennt (1998) (Run Lola Run) *****
98. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
99. Notorious (1946)
100. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
† Coming soon (or at least somewhere in my vast rental cue) via Netflix, or in the case of Spirited Away, sitting on my DVD palyer waiting to be watched.

I appears that I scored a measly 55%, but that was still good enough to edge out Jaquandor. Looking at the rating that I gave, it may appear that I am rather generous with the stars. This is not at all true. This list is made up of what are widely considered to be great movies. It also may have to do with the fact that I am very discriminating in the movies that I see. Most of the movies I do see end up being three or more stars.

Can't... Resist... Magical... Moving... Pictures...

Could someone show this guy the "power" button on his set?

Mars, Mars, Mars...

As President Bush prepares to announce his new space initiative pointing towards Mars, the Spirit rover could start roving the red planet as soon as today. But the NASA rover is so-far bucking the trend for Mars landings. It is only the fourth successful Mars landing. Why such a low success rate? America's Finest News Source takes a look.

Two words... Instant Karma

Jaquandor beat me to this. If the allegations are true, the behavior of George Harrison's doctor is despicable. The mere fact that the doctor would bring his family to meet Harrison (if it was without Harrison's permission) would seem to me to be a breach of confidentiality. If the doctor did ask, well that is just an utter lack of class. The doctor has now offered to put the guitar up for charity auction. The Harrison family has rejected this offer, and in their position I think I would feel the same way.

Well, I'll be...

It appears that the artist's conception in my previous post IS accurate after all.

I'm not sure why, but it still seems out of whack to my eye. Maybe it is because the representation of our Sun is little more than a point that causes the discordance between what is, and what is perceived. In the original the Sun is 3 pixels across, and in my mock-up (reduced here for space) the massive star is nearly 600 pixels across. All apologies to the artist.

It was THIS BIG

Some interesting star news. But the real reason I am linking this is the "artist's conception." It is noted that the picture is to illustrate the comparative size of this massive star to our own Sun. The massive star is believed to be 150 time more massive than our Sun, and about 200 times the diameter. Just looking at the drawing I would have to say that the artist has greatly exaggerated the size of this star in her "conception." I will look at this closer when I get home from work, and can put the image into Photoshop to determine how close this comparison really is. Stay tuned.

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do

I'm a little late with this, but I've been out of town, so too bad. NASA's mission to Mars has reached a milestone. The rover Spirit has landed safely, is up and running, and ready to get to work. Spirit has already started sending some great images back. Check NASA/JPL for the latest images.

This is only the fourth mission to the Mars surface to make it past Martian defense systems. Europe's Beagle lander appears to be lost (apprehended). NASA hopes to raise the tally to five later this month with Spirit's twin rover Opportunity.

I know you are, but what am I?

This may be of interest to Jaquandor. I know what a fan he is.

Well, it looks like Jaquandor made a trip to Home Depot for some paint and new wall paper. Check out his new look.

Well shit.

We saw Return of the King this weekend with some friends. I loved it. As with most everyone else there are things that I wish had been included, but nothing significant enough to sour the movie for me. Of course if I had my way, there would have been six five-hour movies to tell the tale, but alas that could not happen.

On the positive side, the visuals were outstanding as expected. The battle scenes were wonderful, and the landscapes breathtaking. The actors turned in wonderful performances, particularly Sean Astin. The Oscars are the one remaining major awards presentation in which I have any faith left. If Astin is not at least nominated, all hope is lost. Elijah Wood was also wonderful, and Peter Jackson did an excellent job conveying the burden the Ring was to Frodo.

Of the three movies Return of the King may have presented Jackson with his biggest challenge. Fellowship and The Two Towers had a fair amount of material that could be easily stripped away. ROTK has much less of this type of material. A good case for inclusion can be made for much of the material that Jackson chose not to include, or gloss over, but a good case can be made for the material that was included. So, all in all, I really can't complain. Here are some of the things I do wish had been included.

*The Mouth of Sauron. This is the one item I feel would have added quite a bit of drama and emotion to the movie. The Mouth of Sauron presenting Frodo's armor, and the despair that it brought would have been wonderful. I also think that it could have been done in a way that would have made the audience question the fate of Sam and Frodo (at least for those not familiar with the books).

*Saruman. I expected the scene at Isengard to be abbreviated, but I was hopping for at least some confrontation and the breaking of Saruman's staff.

*More Gimli! I agree with Jaquanor's wish to see more of the dwarf's hand to hand combat prowess.

*The Rangers. I don't think it would have been too much to include the Rangers arriving with Elrond, and follow Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead. This would have added to the uniting of the Men of middle earth.

*One complaint about the visuals. All four of us who saw the movie on Saturday agreed that the scope of Minas Tirith was lost in the attack on the city. The orcs' catapults appeared to decimate (yes, reduce by one-tenth) the city.

*One big MISTAKE come during the crowning of Aragorn. In the shots of the four hobbits, Sam is the tallest. Um, Merry, Pippin? I honestly cannot believe that Peter Jackson missed this one. It would have been fine if no reference had been made to their growth, but to include the Ent Draught in the special edition of TTT, and forget it at the end?

As I said, overall, I loved the movie, and I expect that I will like it even more after seeing it again. I hope that some of the things I mentioned make their way into the special edition DVD.