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wMonday, May 24, 2004 |
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Four Posts
I. So I tend to watch Dharma & Greg at 11am on Fox. One, 'cause Fox is my only channel. And two, because 11 is when I'm sort of waking up and Judge Judy earlier is just too awful to turn on. Well, at the end of each D&G episode, this page of text flashes onscreen for only a couple of seconds. I've always been curious as to what they say, and I always say to myself I'm going to look them up online eventually. Well today I finally did. Today's episode (today's re-run actually) was:
CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #106
The Buddha taught that the first principle of existence is impermanence.
Absolutely everything in this universe is impermanent.
Impermanence creates uncertainty.
I don't know about you, but I have a very low tolerance for uncertainty.
Uncertainty causes me discomfort.
Discomfort causes me to think stupid things.
Stupid thoughts cause me to take stupid actions.
My stupid actions bring about unfortunate results.
Luckily, the unfortunate results are impermanent.
Is this a great universe or what?
-->read more. or start at the beginning.
i don't know. maybe his constant questioning and incessant rambling reflected a bit of myself in his writing.
II. Andy Kaufman has not returned.
But Snopes sure has gotten fancy.
III. Look, I took a decent picture last weekend, which doesn't happen very often. (i'm the one in the middle, by the way)
IV. THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
The new movie "The Saddest Music in the World" searches for just that.
What is the saddest book you ever read?
Why?
How old were you when you read it?
The best/saddest answer wins a prize packet.
-->email kevin with your answer.
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This is not my question; this is from a weekly newsletter from my ex-coworker Mike's friend Kevin in New York. Mike's such a great guy, and I think he's doing pretty great right now. No surprise then that most of Mike's friends are all great, too. Including me. Ha! Just kidding. Mike used to love seanbaby.com. Looks like it hasn't been updated in awhile. I went to that site today looking for a good picture of Mr. T for my friend Richi, who sent around an email stating that it was Mr. T's birthday last week.
Mr. T ate my balls
This is not Mr. T, but it's the Mr. T Experience. interesting.
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I am cleaning out my hotmail account slowly but surely. I will soon post the most highly recommended science fiction books as recommended by fellow austinites (friends of mine). So, if you wanted to expand your summer reading with some sci-fi classics...look forward to this post. Also, I'm a little disappointed that "I, Robot" is starring none other than the Men In Black hotshot Will Smith. I was hoping that they would make this Asimov classic, well, a little classier. Especially seeing how they tried to get the screenplay approved years ago already, unsuccessfully. Well I guess something has to be said about high-budget hollywood dollars. And that word is dang.
The three laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Harlan Ellison wrote a screenplay for "I, Robot" nearly 20 years ago, but unfortunately, it isn't being used.
"PLEASE NOTE: The upcoming film starring Will Smith is not based on this screenplay, and from what I have read was not even originally based on Asimov's stories. Instead, changes were made to the new script to add the elements of Asimov's Laws of Robotics and acquire rights to use the title."
Translation: Big budget, special-effects film, with no appreciation for the true and original heart of the story. Just shoot 'em up, Will Smith!
:-(
A masterpiece that almost was
"It's all too easy to see why Hollywood passed on producing Ellison's version of the seminal Isaac Asimov stories. The screenplay is challenging, imaginative, sprawling, cynical, heartfelt and, above all, intelligent. There are no heroes running from expanding fireballs, no spaceships shooting laser beams as they go whoosh in deep space. It tells the story of an abrasive, unattractive heroine who changes the world without ever achieving any form of happiness for herself, and it ends with a troubling and perhaps unanswerable question. It's a screenplay designed to expand the mind, that at the time it was written would have strained the technical and budgetary considerations of any studio. Ellison's introduction to the published version establishes also that the people making the decisions at that time weren't capable of understanding it; the even-more-timid movie moguls of today probably wouldn't give it a look. It has to join the piles of great unproduced screenplays that sit on shelves while stuff like Dude, Where's My Car? shows up at the malls."
I, Robot on screen
"Fans are somewhat nervous about this release: from trailers, it is apparent that police will be fighting hordes of rampaging robots, while Asimov's original motivation for writing the stories is because he despised the technophobia and "Frankenstein turns on its masters"-type stories that centered around robots at the time."
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Um, I got a little off track there. Anyway...
If I were to ask a weekly question, would you answer it? And can someone help me figure out how to add that [comments] section...and make it work? I'd be much obliged. I've added links so you can peruse others' private thoughts as well as my own. But kevin's email letter intrigued me, so i re-posted (i hope you don't mind, kevin). And kids, the prize pack is for New York, so don't be greedy. Just do it to write and to delve into your psyche. I wanted to know all the answers that were received. What IS the saddest book you've ever read? I want to know. Please email me your answers, as well. Where were you (your frame of mind) when you read it? I found that different things have me sad at different times throughout my life. When my father first got sick, the movie Magnolia was very difficult to watch. The cancer issue seemed to be in every movie, every TV show, even every commercial. It's all-invasive in our society, sort of like cancer itself.
But actually, the saddest book I think I ever read (well, because I don't read much and I finished this book years ago on a plane - unfortunately, that seems to be the only place I can read, except the international flights had non-stop (BAD) movies that i watched the entire time and never even picked up my book) was Prince of Tides. Okay, now, you may think that it's a crappy story because of the movie, but i've never watched the movie. i have absolutely no desire to see Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte gettin' it on. The book hit more on how crazy the mom was, and the sister, too, she would see dead angels in her apartment. Perhaps just the mere image of a dead angel is terribly sad and haunting in itself. But they never touched on these issues, from what i heard, in the movie. Yeah i don't really read that much, i just grab already-read-books from my sister & mom's houses. hand-me-downs. the story of my life. One i'm currently reading that has so far stricken me as intriguing is Eden Close, also taken from my mom's leftovers. We'll see if I can finish a book this summer, though.
Another one I'm currently reading is local author (moved to New England) Amanda Ward's Sleep Toward Heaven. Way to go, girl! And hey, Big Racket! Amanda's new web site looks great, too! Anyway, Amanda, once I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down. Seriously. I haven't finished yet, but good reading so far! Thanks for writing it, and awaiting your next one. And congratulations! This is the first book i've purchased in years. I highly recommend each of you run right over to BookPeople and pick up a copy!
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This past weekend, I went to San Antonio with my Mom, Sister, Brother-in-Law, and twin 3-year-old nephews. We walked up & down the riverwalk, up & down the riverwalk, spent all day Saturday at SeaWorld, rode a boat up & down the riverwalk, and walked back down the riverwalk. The food was horrible, but the kids were great. I had bought them these a week ago at sanrio in highland mall. The boys had taken their first plane ride from dallas to san antonio this weekend, ridden their first boat. We saw shamu, and dolphins, and sea lions, and roller coasters, and sharks, and jellyfish, and penguins, and an octopus. I don't think I'm necessarily gonna have kids, but being an aunt is kinda cool (especially when they finally warm up to you after a couple of days). I'm gonna go up to Dallas to babysit for two days next week...so wish me luck! And lots of it...
posted by
zenbetty at 12:51 PM
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