Mirror, Darkly

October 7th, 2006General0 comments

The season premiere of Battlestar Galactica: More commentary about Iraq/The War of Terror than I’d expect out of any two hours of science fiction television.

Pinkberry: Surprisingly good, not too sweet, plus you can get yours topped with Fruity Pebbles.

This weekend: It’s clobberin’ time!

Full Disclosure

October 5th, 2006General3 comments

Highly Recommended: The Life of Mammals by David Attenborough

This BBC series originally aired in 2002 but is now available in widescreen on DVD — and that is how it must be viewed. Brilliantly shot and edited, this nature series explores the incredible diversity of mammals on this planet. From mammalian egg layers to primates, watching this series has really opened my eyes. I’m only on the first disc but I’m definitely hooked.

David Attenborough discusses matters with a hedge.
“I’m a knight, you know.” “Reeehhhh *sniff sniff*”

I think that a love for animals is an important trait for a person to have. It represents care for those that are lesser than us and respect for those that are greater.

Although I’ve heard that sociopaths tend to be animal lovers as well — their disdain for people makes them gravitate toward the simpler nature of animals. Hitler loved dogs. In an echo of this, Tony Soprano very specifically loves animals — he kills a man over a horse.

I love animals because they’re charming when they remind me of people, and fascinating when they show their own alien behavior. And also some of them taste good.

The Beardo Family Tree

October 3rd, 2006General3 comments

The Beardo Family Tree (Click to enlarge).

Historically Speaking…

October 1st, 2006General0 comments

I’m a sucker for World War II and Roman history. I can’t get enough of this stuff, having read stacks of books on both subjects. I don’t know why this is. Maybe because these were both epic times of brute force. I like my history manly, like Ernest Hemingway punching out a waiter.

Pirates of the Mediterranean: A pretty interesting NY Times op-ed piece comparing a terrorist event in ancient Rome to our 9/11, and how the Roman senate’s response eventually led to an erosion and the downfall of the Republic. Like the truncation of Ben Franklin’s much longer statement goes, “Those that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither.”

The op-ed piece makes a good point — brilliant men seized upon a moment of fear to enrich themselves and gain total control over the Republic, eventually turning it into an empire. But I’m sure there were many more factors, including the fact that these brilliant men were Pompey Magnus and Julius Caesar.

If you think about it, human beings have only lived under democratic governments for very short periods of time in our history. The Roman Republic went from 510 BC to 27 BC (rise of Augustus Caesar), a scant 480 years. The American and French revolutions were roughly 230 years ago. In extremely simplistic terms, that’s about 710 total years of human life under democratic rule, compared to over 200,000 total years of modern human existence. If put into terms of hours in a day, the total years of democracy are equivalent to the length of a TV commercial break.

Maybe men aren’t meant to live under democracy. Maybe democracy is a fleeting thing, like a strange blue flame on a fire that burns for a moment and flickers out. Maybe the rule of law is much more fragile than we, those who have grown up with it, want to believe.

Next: Pompeii — their Katrina?