Sunny Side

You’ll have to excuse the sparse nature of this entry, as a treat to myself/consolation prize I joined the 21st century and got myself an iPod. After a night of going...*maniacal giggling* a little nutz on the iTunes music store (all those tapes from the 80’s to replace), I’ve spent the last 24 hrs ripping choice pieces from my CD’s to download.

Our Constitution Still Means Something!

Federal Judge Orders End To Wiretap Program

The reaction of the White House is pretty damn telling.

“In the ongoing conflict with al-Qaida and its allies, the president has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American people,” the department said. “The Constitution gives the president the full authority necessary to carry out that solemn duty, and we believe the program is lawful and protects civil liberties.”
White House spokesman Tony Snow said the Bush administration's “Terrorist Surveillance Program” is “firmly grounded in law and regularly reviewed to make sure steps are taken to protect civil liberties.”

In other words:

"The sky is blue."

"No, it’s NOT!"

Of course, with SCOTUS stacked conservatively, it will be very interesting to see if and how they try to wriggle out of ruling the same way. I see Edwards abstaining again.

It’s Been a Gaiman Week

I read Stardust, watched MirrorMask and just read Marvel 1602. Actually these are Gaiman more sensical pieces, if you will, so my mind is not too unhinged.

Stardust was a really cool fairytale. Lovely story and cool characters in an imaginatively constructed world made out of an eclectic collection Europe’s traditional fairy tales creatures and magick. It’s a pretty straightforward story (for him) and an easy enjoyable read. I understand it being made into a movie with Michelle Pfieffer and Claire Danes.

What I like about Gaiman’s main characters is when they have been thrust into a new strange world, they don’t spend undue amounts of time whinging about it. After the initial shock they go with the flow rather well, a big factor in making them very likeable. Both Stardust and MirrorMask had such main characters. MirrorMask was that weird one from the Henson Company you heard about a while back. Well it is weird, but well worth it, think of it as a dark Prince and the Pauper. (As Gaiman said a Sony exec described it upon seeing it for the first time, “it’s like Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast…on acid…for children.”) Being a SciFi person who loved Henson’s “Labyrinth “ and “Dark Crystal”, getting into the movie’s headspace was no trouble, but for other’s the visuals may take some getting used to. However the story, the choices and responsibilities a young girl faces as she is dragged kicking and screaming toward adulthood, is well worth the effort.

Marvel 1602 was a wonderfully refreshing departure for the Marvel Universe, especially since it has become incredibly overburdened with melodramatic complexity. Basically, imagine if Dr. Strange, Nick Fury, Charles Xavier and Co., Daredevil, Dr. Doom and others had not been born in our time but rather at the end of the Renaissance in Europe.

I know, I know how it sounds, but it’s surprisingly good, the story is excellent. Fortunately, I collected both initial runs of Alpha Flight, so I could recognize who “Virginia Dare” was, but her companion…that one went right by me. I felt like such a doof when it was revealed. Be sure to watch for the running Peter Parquer joke and I think I prefer the Matt Murdoch of the late Renaissance to the modern version. “And keep your sticky fingers off Ireland…” James I always struck me as a big wanker.

There been a need for escapism lately…things are getting pretty damn ugly out there (more on that tomorrow), not to mention I paid my tuition, plus almost $700 worth of textbooks. *Ack*

*Sigh*

You know one of the thing I love about the East? You have real clouds here. In Southern California clouds are whispy things that look at you from on high and say mockingly, “Moisture? I know not this “moisture” of which you speak.” Clouds here are full bodied and solid, some of them like mountains you could climb, little countires in and of themselves. The sunsets are amazing. I saw my first Carolina rainbow today.