Kottke points out, on the occasion of NASA’s 50th birthday, that it took 11 years to get people on the moon. Eleven years, from scratch. Three years after, they were on Mars. I’m beginning to think we’re getting quite a bit lazier and impatient even than people were 40 years ago (compared to medieval times, that’s a given).
Where to begin with Batman? The franchise has, after all, been going for nigh on 20 years now, and now we come to the 6th installment, The Dark Knight. When you think about it, the number of Hollywood A-Listers who were in Batman and Robin, the entirely forgettable Batman movie of the mid-ninties, it is a bit of a shock that between them they managed to turn out the pile of crap that was. I mean, Clooney, Thurman, Schwarzenegger, Sliverstone, and sure, Macpherson even, and with Bruckheimer directing, you’d really hope you got something more for your money. Between that and Batman Forever (Kilmer, Kidman, Carey and Lee-Jones? No?), you’d have thought Tim Burton’s dark and brooding vision of Gotham was lost entirely in a chase for easy money that big names bring. ...
Maybe I’m just being picky here, but I think someone needs to hand the Catholic church a dictionary for “World Youth Day”, as it is neither “World”, what with only being Catholic and all, nor “Youth”, what with 40-60% of attendees at least over 30, nor a single friggen “Day”. Nor are the attendees allegedly “pilgrims”, given there is no Catholic holy site in Sydney for them to pilgrim-age to, unless the Pope is a walkin’ talkin’ holy site. ...
There’s a way to go yet before computers can replace all humans, and not least of all translators. (hattip: Regan)
Get Smart: Bloody hilarious. Unless you came to see Get Smart the TV show replicated on the big screen, or were expecting something with a bit of substance, you won’t be particularly disappointed. Steve Carrell is no Don Adams, but his straight-man is nigh on perfect, and Anne Hathaway with her gorgeous eyes is … well, a different take on Agent 99, but sexy as hell in any case. Don’t watch any trailers though, as it’ll kill some of the better jokes. ★★★★ ...