District 9 was great

Blomkamp, the director of District 9 references Aliens and Bladerunner as two of his favorite sci-fi movies, and they are mine also. He did a superb job of living up to the high bar set by those films, an amazing feat for any director. Blomkamp created a complete, believable environment populated with realistic characters, this movie does a great job of getting you to question our own sub-conscious “racism” against the unfamiliar.

I don't usually think of Roger Ebert as daft, but in his review, I was surprised that he totally missed the point of the ugliness of the aliens when he says “I’ll be interested to see if general audiences go for these aliens. I said they’re loathsome and disgusting, and I don’t think that’s just me.” Well duh, the movie is working to get the viewer to test empathy boundaries, and you can't do that with freakin Ewoks you knob.

I love sci-fi movies, yet most stink on almost every level. At last, another director, like Cameron, who knows how to tell a great story, keep things realistic, and avoid cliche. Please Blomkamp, make more sci-fi for us, your planet needs you!

On the lawn at Ravinia, Yo Yo Ma lawn screen night

Waiting for Liba to arrive via Metra, enjoying a Heineken...

IE8 breaks Microsoft Update

I've been running IE8 on about 12 different machines, and you want to know the really absurd bug I've found on all those installations? IE8 breaks the Microsoft Update website! Ha, you have to run the site in compatibility mode.

Isn't that sad?

Microsoft Update

Swine flew spending a waste?

"About 11,500 people are killed everyday from AIDS, malaria and TB. Swine flu has taken about 816 lives since April, according to a WHO tally."

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