Michael Crichton Dies

Famed writer, producer, and filmmaker Michael Crichton died Tuesday at the age of 66 due to cancer. If you’re a fan of movies, TV and books, this man has a part in all three.

His books include Airframe, Congo, Jurassic Park, and Amdromeda Strain, Next, Timeline and many more. More then 150 million books are published worldwide and many turned into box office successes, especially the Jurassic Park franchise. His TV work included the creation of "ER" which is going to wrap up its 15th season next year.

"While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us -- and entertained us all while doing so -- his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes," the statement said. "He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget."

Crichton won an Emmy, a Peabody, and a Writer's Guild of America Award for "ER." In 2002, a newly discovered ankylosaur was named for him: Crichtonsaurus bohlini.

A legend of the entertainment industry. His work will be missed.

Welcome to History

It is official.

Barack Obama is the next President of the United States.

My Election 2008 Projection

Using Real Clear Politics interactive map, below is my best guess on how election night will go. My best guess is 278-260 for Obama. That projection is based on history, my pessimistic view of people in general, polling information from 538.com and a whole lot of guess work. By midnight tonight I will know how close or not I am. I am hoping I am completely off the mark and the result is really the 349-189 that 358.com is projecting.

I think the undecided vote will go about 70%-30% in McCain's favor resulting in all toss up states going McCain's way. This includes the usually critical Florida, Ohio and Virginia. On the plus side, Obama has run a campaign that minimizes the importance of the "battleground" states and he will just eek out a win, assuming no voting fraud occurs.

According to Yahoo's Election timeline we could know the results shortly after 7:00pm when polls close in multiple states. If Georgia, Indiana, and Virginia all go solid Obama early, that will indicates a landslide. If they don't or remain too close to call, that will indicate a long night is in store for everyone.

Circuit City, Scientology,. Geek Collections, and Ranking Presidents

Circuit City Closing Stores - The electronic stores announced it is closing 155 stores out of 600. Strangely it seems in many cases they are nearly abandoning entire states making me wonder if this is a repeat of CompUSA's mistakes of cutting off limbs rather then surgical strikes to remove weak stores. While the economy can be blamed for this nail, the coffin has been built by a series of horrible CEO's who where more focused on building useless numbers for bonuses then creating meaningful and long term results for the companies health. I give the company at most another two years before they fail entirely.

How to Buy an HDTV - A link on what to do when buying a new TV in this day and age. It use to be just look for a big size in your price range. Now its size of the room, contrast ratios, plasma vs. LCD, contrast ratios and bunches of other crap that can make a difference on a smart purchase or a mistake. I want a new TV but at this point I am in no hurry.

Scientology Protest Turns Ugly - In usual Scientology practice, they took a protest that few knew about and made it an online sensation that many know about. How stupid can they be? Well how about a video of security guards roughing up to protesters on camera. Yep, they are really that damn dumb. That isn't even the whole detestable story either; click the link for the video and the details.

7 Most Impressive Geek Collections - From Cracked, a run down of both amazing and rather strange collections. An awesome boxed Transformers collection, super soakers, all things Pikachu, dice, video game crap, barbies, and Star Wars.

Ranking of US Presidents - From UK Times, a ranking of all US presidents from best to worst. Top three best: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Worse: James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, and Martin Van Buren. George W. Bush was ranked 6th worse (time and history will probably bump him up a few).

Turnout, Turnout, Turnout

Tomorrow is Election Day. For the first time in four years, the American people once again have a say in what they think on how our representatives are currently running the country and the direction they want it to be in the future. The key though is to show up and vote. Tomorrow is expected to break record numbers along with probably a record number of broken voting machines so lines are to be expected.

As this blog probably has made clear, I want Barack Obama to win this election. My opinion is based on the simple reality that McCain is promising to simple continue Bush's failed policies for four more years. They haven't worked in 8, four more isn't going to change things.

Right now, things are looking good for Obama. He is showing an average lead of 6.8 points in most of the national polls. The thing is he can still lose if people get complacent and just assume the election is done. It isn't. It is far from done. Until every vote is counted and every state makes it official, the election could still go either way.

Turnout. You want things to change, you want something other then Bush polices you have to show up. You have to wait in line and you have to cast your vote. Make your voice heard that corporate first policies of the Republican Party are unacceptable. That means not just voting for Obama but against Republicans running for Congress.

If people turnout, Obama wins. In states that are close, turnout can turn the tide. If people stay at home or work (info on work and voting is here) because of the weather, the lines, just don't feel like it and any other excuse - then McCain wins and you have no one to blame but yourself.

The last two years has been about everything thinking one thing, tomorrow is about taking those thoughts and turning them into action.

Vote tomorrow for Obama, vote for change. Vote against a corrupt establishment that has nearly bankrupted this country and our future.

SNL and Other Political Humor

SNL had a pretty good weekend with their skits. John McCain did a pretty good job sending himself up, Ben Affleck did a vicious Keith Olbermann and even sheltered Elisabeth Hasselbeck got skewered. On top of that, Sarah Palin got pranked by a Canadian radio station and in usual fashion she had no ability to just go with the flow and turn a negative moment into a positive one for herself. It probably explains why her campaign stump speeches are really about why not to vote for Obama and very little to do with why to vote for McCain.

McCain on QVC


The View Parody


Keith Olbermann Parody


Sarah Palin Pranked

The Warcraft Retrospective II

Part two of Gametrailer's The Warcraft Retrospective is now out. The segment covers Warcraft III, its expansions and the Defense of the Ancients fan mods.

Warcraft Retrospective I

From Gametrailers comes the history of the Warcraft franchise from its beginning to the World of Warcraft. Part one of four covers the games origins through to Warcraft II. If your a fan of video games, this series of retrospectives are a must see.

Watchman and Friday the 13 Teasers

Watchman Teaser Trailer II - Another teaser trailer for Watchman that aired with the Spike Awards. It is a mix of new footage and same footage from the first teaser. I have read the graphic novel and if they manage to properly translate the movie and keep its themes intact my hats will be off to them. The trailers continue to count on images to sell the movie rather then story which doesn't bode well. On the bridge side this trailer shows more of the gorgeous Malin Akerman. Embedding has been disabled so just click the link above to see it.

Friday the 13th Teaser Scene - As part of the Spike Awards, a scene from the movie aired. I continue to remain unsold on the "reinvention" of the franchise in part because Jason doesn't look threatening enough and in part because horror movies of late have been a bit dull.

Friday the 13th: Exclusive First Look

Special Comment: What is "Pro-America"?

Keith Olbermann aired another special comment (transcript here), this time directed as VP nominee Sarah Palin. He asks "What is Pro-America?" in light of her suggestion (and other republicans) that essentially anyone that isn't for the Republican Party is by definition against America. That criticism of how it is run and those that run it is un-American. They don't seem to realize that these are the very ideals that America. It is Palin that is un-American to suggest that those that disagree with her don't belong or love their country. Is the Republican Party capable of running and winning without using fear and hate as a cornerstone of their campaign? For them it always comes down to an "us vs. them" argument. It doesn't see so looking at even the last 50 years of history. America and all Americans are better then that. Its too bad they don't see it.

Colin Powell, Palin on SNL, Map of Voting Tech, and Bachman

Colin Powell Endorses Obama - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell officially announced his endorsement of Obama as President. While the pundits spent Sunday and today making noises about it (and republicans condemned it or dismissed it as racial), I can't help but wonder what the big deal is. After the disaster of Iraq, Powell has little credibility and at this late in the game does anyone really believe that the fence sitters where waiting for Powell before making a decision? I don't. I think the result of this is free publicity for Obama and not much else. Little voters are going to be swayed by the endorsement making it valueless beyond bragging rights.

Real Sarah Palin on SNL - Governor Palin showed up on SNL this weekend and the result was a ho-hum effort at best despite the able assistance of Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Mark Walhberg. The cause seems the just lack of humor that was conveyed. The sketches where about making fun of SNL rather then making fun of Sarah Palin and the political process (the usual pastime when politicians show up on SNL). Whether this is because Palin vetoed such an attempt or the writers themselves is unknown. Considering she needed the assist of no less then 7 other players to help in her sketches I am thinking she (or the McCain camp) vetoed most of the ideas leading to the dull result that aired.



Map of Voting Technology - Click the link for a map that breaks down the technology that the various states are using this November to help in the election. In general, the more tech, the easier to hack but the less likely that voter error will occur. The suggestion seems to be a trade off is the result. Personally I am all for the tech as long as paper record is required with every vote that is randomly audited to verify that electronic record matches. All the talk about ACORN, the problem in securing voter integrity isn't making sure that people that don't exist doesn't get on the voter rolls, its making sure that legitimate voters do vote and their vote is counted correctly. A hacked machine can undo thousands of votes and only requires one person. ACORN's efforts would require hundreds if not thousands of people to execute their so-called plan of voter fraud. Which do you think is more likely to occur?

Michelle Bachmann: Liberal = Anti-American - In McCain's quest to paint Obama as terrorist, Bachmann went a bit too far (as if she wasn't already) by claiming that essentially all liberals are anti-American. She went so far as to suggest that her fellow Congressmen should be investigated for being un-American. I am betting she would have loved the McCarthy era. She is up for re-election. Anyone that thinks sharing a contrary viewpoint is un-American shouldn't be holding office.

Minifig Anatomy, Lego Video, TVGuide Sold, and Portable Dreamcast

Anatomy of a Lego Minifig - Interesting diagram that breaks down the internals of a Lego minifig with all that medical jargon and images. Rather creepy but cool too.

Lego Tower Construction Video - Cute video of the 460,000 brig, 96.73 feet tall Lego tower that was built in Vienna with the help of Lego experts and 3000 kids.

TVGuide Sells for a Buck - In a rather strange business development, Macrovision sold the magazine (not the online stuff) to OpenGate Capital for one dollar and then threw in a $9.5 million low interest loan. There has to be more to the deal but I am betting TV Guide staff is very unhappy folks right now.

Handheld Dreamcast - Created by Hailrazer, a working portable Dreamcast. Click the link for info and gallery.

Final Debate Wrap-Up

The final Presidential Debate has ended and all that remains is for people to shut up and put up by voting. The feel of the debate was different. John McCain's goal was less selling why to vote for him and more about saying why not to vote for Barack Obama. For Obama the goal was to sell himself and to deflect McCain's attacks.

The result is on the substance and the issues, Obama was the clear victor of the debate. On creating seeds of doubt, I give the win to McCain. At this point, frankly there is no excuse for someone to be undecided. If someone hasn't made a decision by now, they are either incapable of making a decision or looking for an excuse to commit to a choice they have already made. Usually that excuse doesn't have much to it and often based on something negative which only helps McCain. Time will tell if my thoughts on this bear out. Overall though, the "inexperienced" Obama managed to beat McCain three times out of three.

On a side note, its interesting to hear all the pundits spend the last few weeks make the argument I made way back in January on what the election should and is about - the middle class.

Links
Debate video
Compare Candidates on Issues and Fact Check Debate

CNN Poll - based on 620 debate viewers
Won debate: 58% Obama, 31% McCain
Favorable Opinion: Obama - 63% before, 66% after; McCain - 51% before, 49% after
Handle economy better: 59% Obama, 35% McCain
Better job on taxes: 56% Obama, 41% McCain
Better on health care: 62% Obama, 31% McCain
Better expressed views: 66% Obama, 25% McCain
Stronger leader: 48% Obama, 25% McCain
Time attacking: 7% Obama, 80% McCain
Like typical politican: 35% Obama, 54% McCain

CBS Poll - based on 638 uncommitted voters
Won debate: 53% Obama, 22% McCain, 25% Tie
Trusted on health care: Obama - 61% bfore, 68% after; McCain - 27% before, 30% after
Will raise taxes: 65% Obama, 50% McCain
Share their values: Obama - 54% before, 64% after; McCain - 52% before, 55% after
Trusted in crisis: Obama - 50% before, 63% after; McCain - 78% before, 82% after
Trusted on enonomy: Obama - 54% before, 65% after; McCain - 38% before, 48% after
Understands needs, problems: Obama - 66% before, 76% after; McCain - 36% before, 48% after

Dow Jones, Lego Battleshift, Tilt Shift Videos, and Panetierre PSA

Dow Jones Rebounds a Touch - Monday the stocks rebounded a record 976 points after news that banks around the world, including the US, where going to be partially nationalized in an effort to avoid a depression. One day does not a turnaround make, so the road ahead remains long.

Lego Battleship - Click the link for gallery of the HMS Hood, a Royal Navy battlecruiser built in 1920 made completely out of Legos. It took about 7 months to build and around 100000 bricks.

Tilt-Shift Time-Lapse Videos - Link to several videos that show people at various locations that has a model look to it thanks to use of shift lenses.

Beached from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Howard Out, Cheadle In for Iron Man 2 - The role of Jim Rhodes, War Machine, is being re-cast due to Terrence Howard and Marvel being unable to reach an agreement on money. More then likely Howard asked for a crap ton of money and Marvel said pass. Marvel is new to the movie making business but already they are off to a good start by playing hard ball on issues such as this. While I liked Howard's performance, the simple fact is it was not and would not be critical to any future success of the franchise making him easily replaceable.

Hayden Panetierre PSA - Funny video that has Hayden sarcastically asking for people to vote for John McCain. For some reason I found the way she says "f$@ck" to be the best part of the video, but then I have a bit of a crush.

See more Hayden Panettiere videos at Funny or Die

Special Comment: Control Your Campaign

Another special comment (transcript) from Keith Olbermann, this time directed at John McCain's current campaign against Barack Obama where the goal seems to be to fan the flames of hate rather then discuss the issues. I guess focusing on the economy isn't worth while to McCain when they can play their association game where knowing Ayers means you are a terrorist. Since Keating was a terrorist too, McCain didn't just know a terrorist, he colluded with one to defraud the government and people. McCain's negative campaign is getting problematic and as more reports come in of hate filled shouts of rhetoric, it is also getting dangerous.

PG Porn, Castle Trailer, and Zombie Legos

PG Porn - A hilarious video series via SpikeTV from James Gunn that is a send up of old style porn but without the nudity. It’s had the bad acting, bad storylines, bad sets and bad lighting of the era but with a twist. Its star Nathan Fillion, Michael Rosenbaum, and multiple real porn stars. I guess they plan is a new clip a week but not really sure.

Trailer for Castle - A mid-season replacement staring Nathan Fillion (fan since his Firefly days). The show is about a mystery writer who helps the police solve crimes. Yeah another quirky procedure in the vein of Bones but like that show Nathan has the charisma to make it fun to watch.


Lego Tower World Record - At a height of 96.73 feet (24.485m), the Lego tower built in the Rathaus Platz enters the record books. It was built over four days with 460,000 bricks.

Lego Zombies - Click the link for a gallery for a Legoized depiction of a zombie invasion. Very cool use of the Legos to create a city block devastated by brain eaters and the military.

Voter Fraud, McCain, Stupid and Dow Hit Again

Voter Disenfranchisement Begins - The New York Times is reporting that voter fraud has begun as multiple battleground states currently under the control of republicans has begun its annual attempt to purge mostly poor, blacks, etc (that tend to vote Democrat) from the voter roles. While Republicans pretend the fear is one person voting twice (so an ID is needed), the real problem is behind the scenes bureaucrats summarily removing thousands of registrants for no reason.

Olbermann on McCain Terrorist Ties - Keith continues to use the Republican Transitive Property of Terrorism on McCain where apparently being on boards with someone means you support terrorists. Turns out that McCain has associated with a few terrorists of his own (besides Keating) going by that unreasonable standard.

The Stupid Shall Inherit the Earth - A video that shows a mob mentality that has begun infecting the McCain/Palin supporters. Even worse, most seem utterly incapable of articulating why one candidate is better then the other based on issues and the like. Nope their reasons come down to his name; it’s oh so scary Muslim sounding. I wish I was kidding. How hard is it to say on this that and the other issues, McCain (or Obama) does or does not align better with me. Sadly, it seems fear continues to rule the day for most people.


Dow Takes Another Hit - Well the collapse of trickle down economics continues as investors worldwide continue to show zero faith in the market. For the first time in five years it drops below 8000 points and sadly the bottom probably hasn't been reached.

2nd Presidential Debate Wrap-Up

Well a little late but here it is. My brief wrap up of the debate (video here). Long story short, Obama won it. McCain needed a victory, the bigger the better, but it didn't happen. Obama simply landed more hits to McCain's rather weak "he doesn't understand" attempts. Sadly the debate itself focused only briefly on the economy before shifting focus to foreign policy which essentially resulted in the same answers as the first debate. Brokaw as moderator was a fail as his questions didn't really provide any new insight on why undecided’s should choose one candidate over another.

I think the net result on polling will be a slight bump for Obama but hard to tell if that is because of the debate or because a continuation of his momentum which will probably hit a ceiling soon (only so many undecideds left after all). If your already pro a particular candidate you probably didn't hear anything to make you doubt your choice. I still don't think the election accounts for closet racism which will lead to a much close election then polls currently indicate.

At this point I don't see the third debate accomplishing much of anything. I doubt either candidate will commit major gaffes of any importance (sorry "that one" in context of the guy standing next to him isn't a gaffe) that will alter the campaign. For the undecideds that remain, more then likely they will not make a decisive decision until they walk into booth to vote and then I am betting most will vote along whatever party affiliation they have in the past.

Fact Check debate statements

Polls
CBS - poll of 500 undecided voters
Impact on voter preference: 15% Obama, 14% McCain, 70% uncommitted (basically no change from VP debate, net result a wash)
Trust on Economy: McCain - 41% before, 49% after; Obama - 54% before, 68% after
Understands Needs: McCain - 35% before, 46% after; Obama - 60% before, 80% after
Ready to be President: McCain - 80% before, 84% after; Obama - 42% before, 57% after
Answer questions: 57% yes, 42% no for both candidates
Again a wash. Obama is strong on economy and needs but lack of faith overall in prepared for the job of being President mitigates those gains.

CNN - poll of those that watched the debate
Stronger leader: 54% Obama, 43% McCain
More likeable: 65% Obama, 28% McCain
More intelligent: 57% Obama, 25% McCain
Clearly expressed himself: 60% Obama, 30% McCain
More Negative: 63% McCain, 17% Obama
Answered questions: 50% Obama, 37% McCain
Care more about problems: 50% Obama, 36% McCain
Seemed like "typical politician": McCain by a 16pt margin
Favorable opinion: Obama - before 60%, after 64%; McCain - unchanged

Gas Profits, Obama Gains, McCain's Healthcare Plan and Colbert

Where Gas Money Goes - A nice little diagram that breaks down where all that oil profit and money goes. The picture to the left is tiny and hard to read so instead click here to view the full size one.

Obama Gains in Bush States - In a sign of just how bad things are, even traditionally Republican states are turning on McCain. North Carolina went from easy win to dead heat, he trails in Ohio, New Hampshire and Wisconsin are now Obama leaning and Florida is now a toss up. Overall, current polling puts McCain at a 1:9 shot in winning the election.

McCain's Healthcare Plan Costs - On paper McCain's plan is pretty straight forward. He bribes the average America with $2500 credit (that does straight to your insurance company). In reality it’s more complicated. First off, do your really think if you spend less then five thousand you will get that back? Of course not. Second, he intends to tax the insurance your company currently pays for. So go ahead and add about $10,000 to your adjusted income to get an idea of what kind of increase that will bring come April. Now, pray to your HR reps that they just don't use this as an excuse to cut your insurance entirely. Because if they do (as predicted about 50% of companies will), then suddenly the problem isn't paying taxes on $10,000 or so, its paying for the monthly insurance fees that will double or triple (assuming you don't have a pre-existing condition, otherwise no insurance for you). As the article above reports, there is now a new wrinkle. It turns out to pay for his bribe; McCain is going to cut Medicare and Medicaid by $1.3 trillion. That generally means increasing the age people get into the program (ouch about to retire? Might want to wait), cutting what is covered (ooh heart condition, no go for that surgery), and probably increasing the rules of eligibility (just how handicapped are you really?). While both candidates’ plans need a lot of work, it’s pretty clear that McCain's is a disaster waiting to happen.

Stephen Colbert Talks Colbert and Politics - An interesting summary of one meeting between Stephen Colbert and Ariel Levy where he discusses his show, his character and politics in general. A very good read.

Special Comment: McSmear's Campaign

Keith Olbermann aired another special comment last night, this time focused on the McCain/Palin ticket's choice of renewing its campaign of distraction. Rather then focus on say the economy, McCain and Palin have instead decided to play a bizarre game of connect the dots. The basic argument is Ayers set off bombs that killed no one when Obama was 8. 40+ years later Obama attended a part that Ayers happened to host. So by the Republican Transitive Property of Terrorism, since Ayers is a terrorist, and Obama went to his house, Obama must support terrorism.

Now if we consider the Republican Transitive Property as political law, which McCain and Palin clearly do, then this brings us to Keating. The man caused the last economic fiasco that cost around $500 billion in bailouts. He helped destroy the lives of thousands of families and businesses which sounds like a form of terrorism to me. McCain attempted to block investigations into Keating because of his support of his campaign. So by the above rule, if Keating is a terrorist, McCain attempted to circumvent the law to protect Keating, then McCain must support terrorism.

Palin's turn. Palin credits a clergyman with her ascension to becoming Governor. The clergyman was a witch doctor in Kenya where he cause the death of a woman by claming she was a witch. That sounds like terrorism to me. So terrorist "clergyman" who helped kill a woman. Palin supports this "clergyman". By the Republican Transitive Property, Palin supports terrorism.

So again, by the Republican transitive property, we have two supports of terrorists running for President and one for VP. So the question then becomes which is worse. The "terrorist" that killed no one (Obama) or the one that destroyed unknown number of lies very much like what is happening right now (McCain).

Know I don't think any of the above is true but if McCain wants to play this game of smearing by the transitive property, he really needs to sweep around his own door first. Anyway, the transcript of the comment is here, video below.