X-Men III - a worthy follow-up

I've been reading the X-Men franchise of comics since around 1975 and the age of 9, and I have to say the movie adaptations have been solid. I just saw X-Men III: the Last Stand, and I have to say it maintained the high standard of the other two films. I know there's always some changing in the translation to film, but the spirit has been kept intact. The newest film does a great job of keeping things moving and still balancing the characters (there are many, many characters). Nice intro to Beast and Angel. Kitty Pryde got some nice scenes, and it was great to see Colossus a bit more! The steel-skinned strongman has always been my favorite for some reason. I also liked how they brought in Juggernaut; it would have been nice to see him go head-to-head with Colossus. Overall, I think there will be a few more X-Men films! Cool!

Wisdom from Lost

"All we need to survive is one person who truly loves us..." --Penelope to Desmond in the May 24 episode of Lost. Well, damn it, I'm ready and waiting!

On tolerance

It seems that currently one of our biggest problems here in America is that some of those in power seem to think they can force their religious views (i.e. their often dogmatic, religious right-eous views) on the rest of the populace. Let's all take a breather and listen to a few words of wisdom...

"The highest result of education is tolerance." - Helen Keller

"The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority." - Ralph W. Sockman

"Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population." - Albert Einstein

My own dang manifesto...

Came across the Euston Manifesto, an online organization that aims to create "a fresh political alignment" of progressive types. I kinda like what they had to say. I know I endanger myself (said with slight sarcasm, but only slight!) by outing myself as a liberal, but their manifesto holds a lot of things with which I agree...

I'm thinking (probably too much) these days about writing up a list of things that make up the core of my political beliefs...my own personal manifesto or personal platform, of sorts. I'll think on it a little more and probably share it here... Stay tuned; it should be slightly more exciting that watching paint dry...

And the Starlight Mints

Oh, and just in case anyone thought I was slipping, my new favorite song of the moment is "Seventeen Devils" by the Starlight Mints. Cool use of strings and stuff... No banjo, however, which is slightly disappointing. You can hear a sample here. I love the line "...all we ever wanted was the keys to everything..." Also cool, the song is from the CD Drowaton ("not a word" backwards).

Still loving Athlete

Here it is over a year ago that I picked up the then-new CD by Athlete (www.athlete.mu). I'm still listening to the CD on a very regular basis... Rediscovered the song "Half Light".

"Half Light" by Athlete, from the CD Tourist

The sun got stuck, as it's making it's way back down,
We find ourselves, in a familiar part of town

And all that I've seen means nothing to me without you

So when I see you next we'll make the most of it,
Tell the sun to start moving again,
The taste of your kiss I still got on my lips,
And ill take you there with me

My head crashed down, air conditioned myself to sleep,
The great night out, that will continue to the end of the week

And all that I've seen means nothing to me without you

So when I see you next we'll make the most of it,
Tell the sun to start moving again,
The taste of your kiss I still got on my lips,
And ill take you there with me

It's you and me connected to a satellite
It's you and me love through a machine
It's you and me connected to a satellite
It's you and me love through a machine

So when I see you next we'll make the most of it,
Tell the sun to start moving again,
The taste of your kiss I still got on my lips,
And I'll take you there with me

Introducing... Coca-Cola Blak

Ever the purveyor of new, interesting products, I came across something I had never thought to combine--coffee and cola--in the form of Coca-Cola Blak. Coffee. Cola. Not immediately an intuitive hit, but I have to say I kinda like it... Give me another day and a chance to swig a couple more bottles before I make a final decision.