Grand Opening

Stardate 05-28-2008

Last night was the grand opening of Barnes and Noble here in St. George. I am very proud to say that I was there for this great moment and that I was the first person to go into the Science Fiction/Fantasy section. This truly will be a moment that I can share with my grandkids some day. Here is what I picked up.

The second book in the Song of Fire and Ice Series. The only thing cooler than reading a 1000 page epic fantasy novel is reading a bright purple 1000 page epic fantasy novel.

After listening to Neverwhere, I couldn't resist trying something else out by Neil Gaiman. This book is a blend of Americana, mythology, and fantasy. This book won the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards for best novel.

I'm sure you will all wait in suspense to hear what I think about them.

Lieutenant Dan Runs In the Olympics

Stardate 05-20-2008

A lot of you have heard about the protesters, gathering in droves, writing catchy phrases on their picket signs, and shouting at the top of their lungs at the human rights violations that are going on at the Beijing, China Olympics. I would like to speak about one of these atrocities today. Apparently, a frakking cylon/human hybrid has been cleared to run in the Olympics.

The bionic man in question, South African Oscar Pistorious, and his cybernetic magic legs are once again training for the Olympic qualifiers. Just four days ago, he was unsure if he was going to be able to compete or not. For some time, the Olympic committee had rightly said that he could not compete because the cyborg legs created an unfair advantage. Luckily for Oscar, there must be a fellow cylon skin job on the European Court of Arbitration for Sports, the group that gave him the go ahead. For the last couple of months leading up to the decision, Oscar was busy at work with MIT, running tests (no pun intended) to determine if his robot legs that he wears when he runs gives him a biochemical or a metabolic advantage over regular humans. MIT says that the legs do not give him an unfair advantage. What do a bunch of nerds know about running anyway?

Here is further proof that Oscar is a Cyborg. Check out this YouTube clip. The music that plays during the clip is perfect robot like music.

Please voice your opinion and fears about robots competing against humans.

Iron Man

Stardate 05-08-2008

Mr. Rumble and I went and saw Iron Man last Saturday night and we both really enjoyed it. The evening started off on the right foot when we were able to buy excellent assigned seats for the movie at the Gateway. This meant that we were able to go see a movie on opening weekend and enjoy the comfy feeling of not being rushed or worried about sitting on the front row. We showed up right as the Prince Caspian trailer was ending and went right to our empty seats. Amazing. Mr. Miller, you may hate gay people (Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist), but you sure do know how to run a movie theatre.

Things just got better from there. I was curious to see Downy Jr. as a superhero. I had some mixed feelings about him playing Tony Stark, but soon, all worries were put to rest. I instantly fell in love with the character. Downey does an excellent job. I can't wait to see him in Tropic Thunder this summer.

Mad props to Jon Favreau on his directorial skills. Iron Man was an excellent blend of story telling, special effects, acting, and some really cool shots. I must say that that this is probably the first movie I have ever seen where the special effects looked 100% real. They were amazing.

Another cool thing was that after the credits, there was a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson playing the part of Nick Fury (Mr. Rumble and I didn't see this, but it can now be seen on YouTube). He showed up to tell Tony Stark about The Avengers. The Avengers is an elite team of superheroes fighting for the good of the world. The team is made up mainly by Iron Man, The Hulk, Ant Man, Thor and Captain America. It is rumored that a similar cameo will be made by both Iron Man and Nick Fury in the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie, obviously to build momentum for a future Avengers franchise. Very cool.