I wasn't expecting too much from Rambo, but this sucker moves! It's not much more than 80 minutes long, but it's got enough violence and action for two movies. And when I say violence, I mean raw, visceral, terrible, brutal stuff. From what I've read about Burma in the last few years, it's probably not to far off the mark, either.
A lot was said recently about Harrison Ford being too old to play Indiana Jones now. Sylvester Stallone can't be much younger than Ford, yet here he is, playing an action hero who goes through a lot more than Indy ever did, and playing it as convincingly as if he were thirty years younger.
The plot's simple. Missionaries want to go into Burma from Thailand. They ask Rambo to take them. He doesn't want to. He tells them they can't change anything. He relents. They're captured. Mercenaries are hired to get them out. Rambo goes along. Chaos ensues. If this is the kind of thing you like, believe me, you'll like this.
Index Translationum: UNESCO Culture Sector: "The Index Translationum is a list of books translated in the world, i.e. an international bibliography of translations. The Index Translationum was created in 1932 and this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The database contains cumulative bibliographical information on books translated and published in about one hundred of the UNESCO Member States since 1979 and totals more than 1.700,000 entries in all disciplines: literature, social and human sciences, natural and exact sciences, art, history and so forth. It is planned to update the work every four months."
The Top 50 "writers" are right here.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Non-planet' Pluto gets new class: "'Plutoid' is the word of the moment for astronomers.It is the new classification that has been sanctioned for the object that was formerly known as the 'ninth planet'.It is nearly two years since the International Astronomical Union (IAU) stripped Pluto of its former status as a 'proper' planet.Now an IAU committee, meeting in Oslo, has suggested that small, nearly spherical objects orbiting beyond Neptune should carry the 'plutoid' tag."
But Texas places 3 cities in the top 10.Top 10 best places to live in the U.S. - Best places- msnbc.com: "Raleigh, N.C., it seems, is the best place to be in the U.S. right now.It ranks No. 1 in Forbes’ 2008 list and was also top in 2007 -- consistent placement among these lists is truly rare. It ranks No. 2 in Kiplinger’s list this year (“Raleigh is a work in progress, but 2008 should be the turning point,” Kiplinger notes)."
Click here. Always worth a look, even for you tough guys.
If you like OTR, you'll love this site. Lots of programs you can listen to, or, if you're so inclined, download.
Judy and I will be traveling today. We're headed for her hometown of Thornton, Texas, but we'll stop along the way for lunch with some friends in Huntsville. This evening and tomorrow morning we'll be visiting with friends from my high school class at Fort Parker State Park. On Sunday, we'll be driving back here to scenic Alvin. While I might not be doing much e-mailing for the next few days, the blog will be updated with all kinds of wonderful stuff. Trust me.
Thanks to Scott Cupp for the link.Victoria Advocate - Mutant beaver prowls Coleto Creek?: "What has webbed feet like a duck, scales on its tail but is furry and weighs about 80 pounds?Hint: it is North America’s largest rodent that has made its home at the Coleto Creek Reservoir – an American Beaver.While a lot of people haven’t heard of a beaver in Texas, Capt. Bill Guy, 78, of Victoria, swears its a beaver – a fat one at that – that lives on the banks of the reservoir."
Doc Quatermass send this link. If you want to find out what the twists are, you can click it. But don't say you weren't warned.
Thanks to Todd Mason for the tip. If Dial had written nothing more than the Turkey Episode for WKRP, he'd have achieved more than most of us. Jaime Wienman has more here.TrekToday - Bill Dial Passes: "Steve Stoliar, former secretary to Dial, confirmed the death. 'Sorry to say, it's true. Bill Dial died of a heart attack at age sixty-six at his home in South Carolina. [Dial's obituary lists him as being sixty-four.] He'd had some health problems of late, and it finally caught up with him. He was a wonderful man whose influence on my life, personally and professionally, is incalculable. After he moved to Beaufort, we used to email each other whenever a celebrity would pass away, confessing varying degrees of sadness at their passing. Little did I know that Bill would be joining them so soon.'Dial wrote for Star Trek He was a co-writer on Deep Space Nine: The Alternate and he wrote another episode for the series, Tribunal. Dial also penned a Star Trek: Voyager episode, writing the initial teleplay for Eye of the Needle.But Dial is best known for writing the Turkeys Away episode of WKRP in Cincinnati where general manager Arthur Carlson stages a Thanksgiving promotion where twenty live turkeys are dropped from a helicopter over a shopping center to unsuspecting shoppers. The problem is, turkeys can't fly! The episode was rated by TV Guide as the fortieth greatest episode in television history."
Check it out, and don't miss the slideshow.Hat tip to Chris Roberson.
They're here. For more on the posters and such, check out Kevin Burton Smith's The Thrilling Detective Blog.
411mania.com: Movies - [Movies] Get Ready for The Three Musketeers: "Millenium Films, the studio behind the Rambo update and the upcoming Conan and Red Sonya updates, is also now planning a new version of The Three Musketeers.The film will focus on how Athos, Porthos and Aramis first banded together to become the Three Musketeers.'There aren't many branded properties like this out there, and it is a seller's market for the high-profile ones,' said Millenniun's Joe Gatta. 'You can either build one from scratch or find the ones that are available and of interest to audiences, which we did with Conan and Buck Rogers.'"
Another side of Bob Dylan - Features, Art & Architecture - The Independent: "Pied piper, poet and now painter, his artworks are the subject of a much-anticipated exhibition. But are they any good? Michael Glover offers his verdict."
cbs11tv.com - North Texas Man Survives 2-Hour Bee Attack: "GRAHAM (CBS 11 News) ― A North Texas man credits God and a cell phone for helping him survive a two-hour long bee attack. It all happened in Graham, west of Mineral Wells."
Montezuma’s palace unearthed in Mexico - Science- msnbc.com: "MEXICO CITY - Mexican archaeologists say they have unearthed the remains of an Aztec palace once inhabited by the emperor Montezuma in the heart of what is now downtown Mexico City.During a routine renovation project on a Colonial-era building, experts uncovered pieces of a wall as well as a basalt floor believed to have been part of a dark room where Montezuma meditated, archaeology team leader Elsa Hernandez said Monday."
Thanks to Doc Quatermass for the link.iWon News - Ape applicant vies for star on Walk of Fame: "LOS ANGELES (AP) - Three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have gone to the dogs, so why can't Cheeta the chimp get some love? The animal actor, whose credits include the 1967 comedy 'Dr. Doolittle' and the 'Tarzan' movies, is trying for the seventh time to get a sidewalk star and become the first monkey to get the honor. His handlers have launched an online petition to get supporters to urge the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to give him a star in 2009.Each June, the Walk of Fame Committee picks from hundreds of nominations a list of inductees for the next year.Cheeta's 'inclusion on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will not only give recognition to one of the international, animal megastars of all time, but focus attention on his fellow primates in the wilds of Africa who now face extinction,' the petition reads.The petition notes that Cheeta's canine colleagues Lassie, and 1920s stars Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart are immortalized on the boulevard, along with fictional animals Kermit the Frog, Godzilla and Donald Duck."
I wasn't expecting too much from Rambo, but this sucker moves! It's not much more than 80 minutes long, but it's got enough violence and action for two movies. And when I say violence, I mean raw, visceral, terrible, brutal stuff. From what I've read about Burma in the last few years, it's probably not to far off the mark, either.
