Space Shuttle Launch As Seen From the Air

Thanks to Matt!

Legal!

Congratulations to my Aunt, who has been studying very hard and will today take her exam to become a citizen of the United States. She lives on the Swiss/French border and has been going through the immigration process for the past few months.

It's people like her - immigrating legally - following the rules and doing things the way they should be done that make the United States a great place to live. It's also because of people like her and like my dad, who immigrated here legally and became a citizen back in the '70s, that I am utterly opposed to illegal immigrants and to people who break our laws and sneak across our borders "for a better life."

I love this video by Bill Whittle. It pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about the subject.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnTus_i2aZI)

So congrats to Aunt Hala today on taking the next - and possibly hardest - step to becoming a citizen of the greatest nation on the face of the earth: The United States of America.

Of COURSE There's a Monkey

If you're seeing this on Facebook, click on the post title to watch this video.

Best Picture Wrapup

So after watching all the movies up for best picture, my favorites are True Grit, The King's Speech and Inception.

I'd love to see True Grit win, but I doubt it will because it's a remake.

Inception is my second choice just for how entertaining it was. It kept me interested and awake at 2am if that tells you anything. And the effects were amazing.

But I think that The Kings Speech will end up with Best Picture. It's a period piece. It's a feel-good movie and Colin Firth's acting is superb. I'm not sure it was actually the best film I saw last night, but I think it's the favorite, which seems to go a long way.

I guess we'll just have to wait until tonight to see. Or tomorrow morning. I don't think I'll be staying up tonight.

Separation of What?

Remember this the next time someone on the left starts screaming about "Separation of Church and State" or "Favoring one religion over another" or about how "we need to do more" or when they try to remove Jewish or Christian religious symbols from public places because "taxpayers shouldn't be subsidizing religion."

Outrageous. I'm so sick of these blatant double standards.



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iPad 2 Revealed

Amazing. I can't wait to have one.

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Movie Marathon

I'm doing something today that I've never done before - I'm going to a movie marathon. Luckily, it's not the kind where you run 26.2 miles while you watch a movie. It's ten movies - the ten films that are nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards - in 24 hours, and I'm actually really excited about going. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm really curious what it's going to be like.

I'm going with my buddy, Steve, who is a huge movie buff and aspiring screenwriter. He's got it all charted out from what time the movies start and finish to what time the breaks are and how long they are.

The first film that starts off the marathon this morning is Toy Story 3. I'm going to skip that one because I've seen it - literally - 20 times already (I have a 2-year-old). And the movies go throughout the day ad night tonight , winding up with The King' Speech tomorrow morning. I'm not much of a night owl, so I'm curious if I'll fall asleep at 8:30 right in the middle of The Fighter. And I'm kinda bummed that Inception isn't playing until 2am.

My strategy is that I'm going to take a couple of naps through a couple of the films I've already seen - The Social Network and True Grit. The only problem is that I really want to see them again. And I can't find any other films that I'd really want to miss. Most every other year there are some art films or films that are there jut because George Clooney is in them that I wouldn't mind sleeping through. But it turns out that I want to see all the films that are nominated this year. Why couldn't they have put Toy Story 3 at 9:45 tonight instead of Winter's Bone?

Anyway, that's what I've got in store today. Happy Saturday (and part of Sunday)!

Black History Program

Today Kayci gave the welcome remarks at the Krause Elementary Black History program. After a whole month of rehearsing and preparation (she didn't need it- she memorized the speech in less than an hour) she took to the stage and gave her speech perfectly!



She also presented the doll she made of a famous black American for a class project. She chose Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court Justice. And in addition, she and her friend, Jenna, had a special surprise. They had made a doll of Mrs. Dixon, their math and science teacher.

She did a great job, and we're so proud of our Kayci! Here are some photos from the program. You can see the entire Flickr set here.

Next Step- Cyborgs...

From Wired:

For years, the NFL Combine has been vilified as a host for a series of workouts that don’t accurately measure a football player’s impact on the field. Now, one company has potentially changed that with an electronic shirt that tracks everything from heart rate to g force of acceleration.

Damn that's cool.

Huge thanks to Matt for sending this link.

She's In the Band

From Kottke.org:

This is my favorite bit of news today: one of the little girls (the one on the left) on the Siamese Dream album cover is now actually the bass player for the Smashing Pumpkins.

The source for this is Billy Corgan on Twitter:

Just found out the weirdest news: our bass player Nicole (@xocoleyf) just admitted she is one of the girls on the cover of Siamese Dream. She said she didn't want us to know because she thought maybe we wouldn't let her be in the band.

Justice Department is Judge, Jury and Congress Now

From the NY Times:

President Obama, in a major legal policy shift, has directed
the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of
Marriage Act - the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of
same-sex marriages - against lawsuits challenging it as
unconstitutional.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday sent a
letter to Congress to inform them that the Justice Department
will now take the position in court that the Defense of
Marriage Act should be struck down as a violation of gay
couples' rights to equal protection under the law.

"The President and I have concluded that classifications
based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and
that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under
state law" a crucial provision of the Defense of Marriage Act
is unconstitutional, Mr. Holder wrote.

No, sir, you're job is to enforce the laws of our country, not to decide what should and shouldn't be law.

Outrageous.

Making Them Deal With It

From WOAI.com:

This should get their attention.

A measure filed by State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) would allow any law enforcement agency that has custody of an illegal immigrant to take the illegal to 'the office of a U.S. Senator or Representative' and leave them there.

1200 WOAI news reports the measure also allows county sheriff's deputies or city police officers to 'request an agent or employee of the United States Senator or United States Representative to sign a document acknowledging the release or discharge of the illegal immigrant at the senator's or representative's office.

I got a chance to hear about the proposal firsthand a few weeks ago when the Washington County Leadership group that I'm in met with Representative Kolkhorst in Austin. At the time, she said that she was still working on the legislation, but I knew that when she filed it it that I'd be mentioning it here. What I didn't expect was to see it on the Drudge Report.

I love the idea behind it. It's not intended toward our local Congressman, Michael McCaul, who is staunchly anti-illegal immigration. Instead, it's aimed at those Congressmen (and women) from other parts of the state - and I'm looking at you Gene Green and Shelia Jackson Lee- who have their heads in the sand about the drain on resources illegal immigration is.

By requiring illegal aliens to b dropped off at a Representative or Senator's office, it forces them to deal with the issue directly instead of insisting that it's a state issue. In other words, it literally brings the issue home.

Brilliant. Lois Kolkhorst for governor, anyone?

Happy Monday.

If you're seeing this on Facebook, click on the link title to see this video. It's worth it. Trust me.

Gimme Back My iMac, Woodlands Apple Store!!!

I'm not a very big fan of the Apple Store right now. You see, I'm iMacless right now. Last Saturday, I dropped off my iMac at the Apple Store at the Woodlands Mall for them to replace the hard drive, which had developed some problems. Here it is Thursday and my iMac still isn't ready yet. Replacing a hard drive is a 10-minute job. There was a time when they would have done the repair while I waited. So why don't I have my Mac back yet? It's been almost a week, and I've got work to do, for crying out loud! They said they had to wait for the hard drive to come in. I call shenanigans.

But then I ran across this site, which is devoted to horror stories about working for Apple retail. I've worked my share of retail, but now I genuinely feel sorry for the poor Geniuses at the Apple Store.

But I still want my iMac back pronto, Apple. I'm tired of waiting.

The Ice Book

The Ice Book (HD) from Davy and Kristin McGuire on Vimeo.

Absolutely breathtaking.

Huge thanks to Matt for sending me this.

...And Scotty Pippen on Drums.

Old Navy Retires Supermodelquins

From AdAge:

Old Navy's plastic people are going into retirement with the launch of a new campaign, "Old Navy Records: Original hits. Original styles," today. The campaign is slated to run throughout 2011 and will include half a dozen original tracks, as well as a tie-in with mobile app Shazam.

The Supermodelquins, introduced by CP&B two years ago, was a successful campaign that put Old Navy "back on the map," said Ms. Curtis-McIntyre, senior VP-marketing. "It was a big dive back into mass marketing for Old Navy and it did a lot of positive things for us. "

I love it when companies kill campaigns that are clearly popular and are working.

And my son is going to be pissed. I can't tell you how many hours we've spent playing with the mannequins at the front of the store while Mommy shops.

Have You Had Your Zombie Today?

From ThinkGeek:

Zod Kitchens

This by far the funniest video I've seen in a long time.

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What Obama Has Done So Far

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Death to Humans

Every Super Bowl Spot in 2 Minutes

So You're Not Impressed by My iPad, But Wanna See Me Draw?

From Retrevo:

According to the Retrevo Gadgetology study using an iPad is lower on the list of things men and women find attractive than even reading a book.

Wow. That infographic pretty much sums up my entire college dating experience. Chicks just don't dig artists. And apparently, they don't dig geeks, either. Who knew?

Luckily, though, I found a Girl who's soft spot is for both artists AND geeks. I found the red-headed Holy Grail. :)

Ice Forming on My Windshield

I shot this at work on Wednesday while I was waiting for my truck to warm up.

Honest Abe Kickin' the Undead

From /Film:

There's a new film coming out next year (presumably) called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. This is the basic plot:

The film is based on a novel by Seth Grahame-Smith that surmises Lincoln’s mother was killed by vampires and that the eventual 16th President of the United States dedicated his life to destroying blood-suckers with an axe. He continued to do so all the way through his Presidency.

Sign me up.

Incidentally, I think all the recent mash-ups of historical figures as fantasy heroes are kinda cheesy, but in a cool way (Cowboys vs. Aliens, zombie mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops and now Abe Lincoln).

The Robo-Rainbow

robo-rainbow from mudlevel on Vimeo.

This video is amazing.

Thanks again to Matt.

The Dudes & Bros Talking Point System

Dudes-n-Bros Talking Points - watch more funny videos

Thanks to fellow Dude Matt for sending this.

HIgh Speed Spending

From MSNBC:

Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced an ambitious $53 billion U.S. program to build new high-speed rail networks and make existing ones faster over the next six years.

But the plan drew immediate fire from majority Republicans in the House of Representatives, who said building high-speed rail requires private investment rather than a government plan.

They're both wrong. We simply don't need it, at least not right now. There's absolutely no way that cross-country high-speed rail is going to do anything to aid our economy. And that's ignoring the fact that QUIT SPENDING ALL OF OUR DAMN MONEY!!!!

Sorry...

"This is about seizing the future," he said, making the announcement at Philadelphia's busy 30th Street station with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The United States should follow the example of Japan and China and build high-speed rail, Biden said. "If we do not, you tell me how America is going to be able to lead the world in the 21st century," he said.

I'll tell you how, Joe. With a strong, robust economy and good jobs in both the manufacturing and service sectors. High speed rail has NOTHING to do with either of those.

Oh, and how 'bout you make Amtrak turn a profit first, and then start looking for ways to build high speed rails with that money. Okay? Okay.

Sheesh.

Internet Runs Out Of IP Addresses

From Information Week:

The pool of Internet addresses has officially been drained. Four non-profit Internet administrative groups -- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Number Resources Organization (NRO), the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and the Internet Society -- said at a press conference in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday that the supply of IPv4 addresses has been depleted.

The situation however isn't imminently dire: It's not as if companies or individuals who want to launch a Web site will be unable to do so. There are likely to be addresses to be had for months if not years, and the dwindling supply may be extended through network addressing tricks. But the limits of IPv4 are no longer theoretical.

Craaaaaaaaaap. Time to start buying bottled and freeze-dried IP addresses for the coming worldwide shortage...

Superman Classic

Iranium

I just watched this documentary on Iran, and I've got to tell you - it's scary, scary stuff. But I highly recommend it because it sheds light on a lot of things around the world that Iran has its hands in that I think will come to a head sooner rather than later.

Interesting that all this happened because - as we seem to be doing at this very moment in Egypt - the United States dictated who should be leading another country.

A must see.

How to Treat Customers

From Seth Godin:

Here's what most businesses do with their best customers: They take the money.

The biggest fan of that Broadway show, the one who comes a lot and sits up front? She's paying three times what the person just three rows back paid.

That loyal Verizon customer, the one who hasn't traded in his phone and has a contract for six years running? He's generating far more profit than the guy who switches every time a contract expires and a better offer comes along.

Or consider the loyal customer of a local business. The business chooses to offer new customers a coupon for half off—but makes him pay full price...

If you define "best customer" as the customer who pays you the most, then I guess it's not surprising that the reflex instinct is to charge them more. After all, they're happy to pay.

But what if you define "best customer" as the person who brings you new customers through frequent referrals, and who sticks with you through thick and thin? That customer, I think, is worth far more than what she might pay you in any one transaction. In fact, if you think of that customer as your best marketer instead, it might change everything.

Are you listening, AT&T?

Happy Birthday, Gipper

We may never see another president like him, but damn do we sure need someone who will try.

Preaching to the Choir

I was told today following a presentation to the Marketing Reps that I was "preaching to the choir."

That's right. I was preaching to the choir.

But it's the choir's job to go out and sing all about the good news at the top of their voice.

Tired of Kendall Scudder's 'Bull'

I opened up an e-mail from my college newspaper, The Houstonian, this morning and found this headline staring at me: "Tired of Republican 'Bull.'" Interesting, I thought, so I read on. I figured it was going to be someone railing against the Republicans for not keeping campaign promises or for not being Tea Party enough. But what I found was even better. What I found was the most inaccurate, misinformed, misleading, head-in-the-sand piece I've read in a long time. Normally I wouldn't rip too hard into a college student, but since the piece was written by some kid named Kendall Scudder, the president of the Bearkat Democrats (the Democrat student organization at Sam Houston State) I feel like there should be a bit of a higher standard in terms of being informed and for communication of, you know, actual things that are true. Besides, it's been a while since I made a college kid cry using only my words.

So, I'm going to pick this piece of asshattery apart one paragraph at a time. Because I want to, that's why.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired. I'm tired of the spending. I'm tired of big government. I'm tired of the political elitism. I'm tired of the Republicans. (Double take? You heard me right.)

From the very beginning, this guy is begging us not to listen to a damn thing he says. He starts off by using examples of things that he's tired of that leads the reader to think he's writing about Democrats. Why? Because the examples he cites - spending, big government and elitism - are all prime examples of Democrat behavior traits. Oh, but wait. He tries to turn the tables and make us think he's talking instead about Republicans. But by now the damage is already done, foo. We've all now got a negative connotation in our minds about the things that are typically Democrat in nature. To grossly paraphrase a saying I've never actually heard, "you can't unsee the naked hairy fat man eating a burrito in the corner."

A citizen on the sidelines, sitting at home watching and keeping up with the news the best he can between jobs, has talking points and misinformation spewed at him every day from the Republican powers that be. "The Democrats want to spend their way out of our deficit!" he'll hear them say. They'll tell him "the Democrats want to take away [his] individual freedoms." It's almost as if they don't realize that we can see through all of their bull. My momma always told me that whenever I point a finger, there's always three pointing right back at me, and it's no different in this case.

You're momma should've also told you not to lie or you'll get your mouth washed out with soap, boy! This imaginary hypothetical citizen (who's, naturally, working multiple jobs just to make ends meet) obviously lives in the real imaginary world that all imaginary hypothetical strawmen live in, so he already knows that if he owes $5,000 to a credit card company, spending even more on that same credit card (no matter how many points or cashback dollars he gets) isn't going to help him pay off his debts. You probably don't know that yet, Sport, because you haven't had to live out in the real world yet. but believe an old codger like me: once Momma and Daddykins stop paying for your sorry assuming ass to go to college and actually graduate, you'll learn some things about real world personal finances. It's a fact that the Democrats have tried to spend their way out of the recession. It was more than 20 minutes ago (and it didn't involve a Lady GaGa song), so I'll refresh your memory. Back in March of 2009 - right after The Savior took office and right in the middle of when the Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate and could pass damn near anything their little bleeding hearts desired - the figures started coming out on all the spending they were doing. Our very own Texas Senator had this to say:

"Since President Obama took office 56 days ago, Congress has already spent more money than the previous Administration spent on the Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the response to Hurricane Katrina – combined."

That's not spin. That's not posturing, and it's not politics. It's a fact.

As for Democrats not wanting to encroach on our individual freedoms, just show me, please, when they haven't insisted on encroaching on our liberties. Whether it's bans on smoking in public (and private) places or trans fats or removing our freedom of choice about things such as the light bulbs we use or the cars we drive or the insurance we choose or the soft drinks we drink or where we go to get a student loan or even the size toilet we can have, it just never seems to end. Encroachment on personal freedoms is nothing more than removing choice, and time after time, that what Democrats are all about. They want you to do things their way or no way, and they're not above legislating their will into existence, consequences be damned. If their way was really better, people would flock to it naturally. People love things that are easier and better. it's why we drive cars today instead of horses. It's why we live in houses and not in caves. It's why the tape replaced the record and the CD replaced the tape and why downloads are replacing the CD. Having some government agency shove it down our collective throats does not "personal liberty" make.

Texas, a state that has had no statewide elected Democrats for over a decade, is now facing a $27 billion (that's nine zeros) budget shortfall, and there's just no way to spin it; it is because of the irresponsible, liberal spenders: the Republicans.

This Yahoo is the president of the Bearkat Democrats and really thinks that there are absolutely no statewide elected Democrats - for over a decade, no less. Wow. I weep for the future of our nation and for the state of our education system. I also weep for the fact that this ignorant twit can't even be bothered to do a simple Google search (or check the Texas Democrat party website) before publishing and article in the newspaper. It just so happens that I was in Austin last week in both the House and the Senate chambers. You guessed it. Thar be Democrats thar!!!! Ayyyye!!

As for the budget shortfall, I'm not going to try to explain it. But I am going to give you a little extracurricular reading to do (you can read, can't you?) Check out this great piece that explains very well how the Texas budget is set up and why there are shortfalls. I'll give you a hint: it's not because of "liberal spending." Go ahead and read it. I'll wait.

Feel stupid now? You should.

But it wouldn't be the first time we've seen irresponsible, liberal republican spending. The whole nation sat and watched as the national Republicans turned a budget surplus, which was created by President Bill Clinton and other Democrats, into the largest budget deficit in American history. In fact, this country hasn't seen a balanced budget put forth by a Republican president since Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quite to the opposite of the tone we hear in scary Republican commercials, the Democrats have always managed to one up the Republicans in a record of fiscal conservatism, only faltering on that when having to clean up Republican messes.

Oh my... wait. Did my head just explode? Can someone please look and tell me if I'm bleeding from my ears? Did I just read that right? The Democrats are the real fiscal conservatives? Now granted, the Republicans lost their way and began spending like drunk sailors in the early part of last decade. And you know what? They lost the House and the Senate for it. And I'll be the first to say that they needed to go. But if the Democrats were really the tightwad spendthrifts that Captian Bullcrap here wants us to believe, then as soon as the Democrats took control (with super-majorities, no less) of the House and Senate in 2006, then they should have turned around the spending and actually reduced it, right? Wait. So that didn't happen? Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? Why, then, did it seem in 2009 like the Republicans were trying to filibuster a huge pork-laden spending bill. In fact, I remember finding this at the time at Philly.com (the article has since been removed from their servers):

The Democratic-controlled Senate yesterday cleared away a Republican filibuster of a huge end-of-year spending bill that rewards most federal agencies with generous budget boosts.

Nay, sir, the Democrats in Congress and the White House spending like drunken sailor on crystal meth in a New Orleans whorehouse with Charlie Sheen is the very thing that gave birth to the Tea Party movement in the first place. It's the reason that the public almost went medieval on elected Democrats in the summer of 2009 at their Town Hall Meetings, and its the reason why they just got their arses handed to them in the last election. Talk about your short-term revisionist memories. Sheesh...

The Conservative hostility shouldn't just stop at the excessive Republican spending. Every day, Republicans suggest that the size of government shrink in the same breath that they argue for the government to reach into your personal life.

Whether they're snooping in your bedroom, fighting to keep you plugged in at the hospital, tapping your phone, groping you at an airport, or searching your couch cushions for pot, the Republicans try to control everything in your life that they don't agree with.

Oh, geez. First, no one is snooping in anyone's bedroom. Sure, we value human life. Is that so wrong? It's better than the alternative, isn't it, where in some post-apocolyptic wild-west world any nameless bureaucrat a half-a-country away could just look on a computer screen and determine that you've lived long enough and make a phone call to pull the plug on you. Hold on- that's not so far-fetched under Obamacare...

The TSA is under the control of the Obama administration and Janet Napolitano (not Republicans). The President could have reigned in the grope-fest at any time, but didn't. You know that Obama is a Democrat, right? I'm only half-joking here, but I still feel like I have to ask. You really don't seem to know, kid.

Oh, yeah. And pot is still illegal. Some day it might not be. But it is now. So just quit whining about "Republicans" searching for your stash. And besides - the couch cushions, dude? People fart there, you sicko.

I'm just a southern, conservative Democrat trying to get all of my ducks in a row, but it's hard to do that when every day, all I get is mixed messaging from a party that spews one talking point, but does something completely different.

You may be a Democrat, Mr. Scudder, but I assure you that you are no Conservative. You make no sense at all and you're grossly misinformed.

When push comes to shove and it all comes down to the wire, the fact of the matter is that the Republican Party has failed when it comes to balancing a statewide or national budget and they don't give a rip about your individual freedoms.

Two cliches in one sentence, and neither of them appropriate. You may as well have been making "air quotations" as well. When in Rome.

Good luck with your degree, by the way. I have no idea what you're studying, but I trust that it has nothing to do with Political Science, Government, Economics, Journalism or even Google Usage. You may, however, be a prime candidate for a degree in Revisionism, Making Shit Up and Pulling Things Out of Your Ass.

Barack Says 'Jump'

From BarackObama.com:

"Now, it is not the role of any other country to determine Egypt’s leaders. Only the Egyptian people can do that. What is clear -- and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak -- is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now."

So what Obama seems to be saying is that he wants Mubarak to step down immediately.

Let me get this straight, then... if the people of a nation are unhappy with their leadership and become increasingly vocal about their dislike for their leader - to the point of taking to the streets to hold rallies (say, like a Tea Party rally, for instance...), then that means that that leader should step down immediately and make room for a more popular leader immediately, without waiting for the next election?

I accept your resignation, Mr. President, but I hardly think that's what the term "serve at the will of the people" means. It certainly doesn't lead to "elections that are free and fair" and it erodes any semblance of a "government ... grounded in democratic principles." Quite the opposite, sir. You've described a banana republic, Mr. President.

And for someone who says that we shouldn't be determining what Egypt should do, you sure seem to telling Mubarak what he should do quite a bit.

Rolling Dubiousness

I have a question:

How is it that everyone in Texas can all run their air conditioners at the same time (in addition to lights, computers, etc.) all summer long with no problems, but when some of us (remember- about half the state has gas heaters and stoves) try to run our heaters when it gets cold, we have to have rolling blackouts?

It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Storm is Homeless

From AolNews.com:

For every homeless person like Ted Williams, who rises to sudden celebrity, there is a Debbie Clark, who has experienced the heights of fame only to lose everything except her dignity.

From 1991 to 1993, Clark, using the name "Storm," was one of the stars of the hit syndicated series "American Gladiators."

The show ended its run in 1993, and Clark, now 45, doesn't receive royalties from her days as a Gladiator. All she has are photos, friendships, memories and a shattered knee.

"In '91, when we were on tour, I blew my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] out, when we were in Hartford, Connecticut," she told AOL News.

"I went to body slam a contender, and when I had her up in the air, I deflected another contender into my left leg, so it was not only my weight and the velocity of the hit but the contender, and I totally snapped my ACL."

Now, two decades later, Clark is at her lowest ebb, having been homeless for 2 1/2 years in San Diego.

Like many women on the street, her homelessness came out of a desire to escape a bad living situation.

"I came out [to San Diego] from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, due to a domestic violence situation," she said.

Dude musta been one BadMuthaShutYoMouth if he made a habit of beating up freaking Storm. Interesting, though, that she has a degree in Psychology. I wonder what happened.

Detroit in Ruins

I saw this collection of photos linked to about a month ago on Daring Fireball, but ran across it again this week, and the images are simply haunting to me. Two observations:

1. It looks as if many places - the library, the police station, the doctor's office, the church - were just abandoned one day. It's as if people came to work one day and then just didn't come to work the next, as if they didn't know that they would be closing. There was no preparation, no cleaning up, no removing of valuables, just abandonment. Look at all those books still on the shelves. Look at that American flag sitting unsalvaged. Look at the pianos and the important documents. What a waste.

2. I just keep thinking as I look at these: "it used to be someone's job to take care of these places and keep things working and looking nice. How hopeless and wasted those people must feel now."

The Man of Tomorrow

From Deadline.com:

Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures have found their new Man of Steel. Deadline had been hearing for the past weeks that British actor Henry Cavill was the frontrunner for the much coveted Clark Kent/Superman role in this much anticipated reboot.

...

Warner Bros clearly has chosen a more macho leading man for Superman than the previous Brandon Routh or even Christopher Reeve. "He's got an amazing quality. He doesn't look too much like Reeve and Routh but he's big and strong and he has a very modern feel to him," a Warner Bros exec just told us.

No idea who this guy is, but that doesn't matter to me. I'll be going to the theater to see Superman, not some big-name-star playing Superman.

But the most encouraging news from this article was one little word: reboot.

I Love You, Man 1.5

Jason Segel & Paul Rudd Meet Rush from Jason Segel