Friday, December 28, 2007

Uruguay recognizes gay unions

In a first in Latin America, the tiny country lodged between Brazil and Argentina has passed legislation that will grant homosexual and heterosexual couples living together the same rights of married couples:
Uruguay on Thursday became the first Latin American country to recognize gay civil unions, after President Tabare Vazquez signed a law granting certain legal rights to cohabiting couples of any gender.

The new law guarantees heterosexual or homosexual couples who have lived together continuously for more than five years social benefits enjoyed by married couples such as joint property ownership and hereditary rights.

The text recognizes "two people -- of any sex, identity, orientation or sexual option -- who maintain an emotional relationship sexual in nature, that is exclusive, stable and permanent, without being united in matrimony."
The law takes effect next Monday, January 1st 2008.

Good luck to all you guys and girls down there. Unfortunately, here we're still dealing with the Inquisition.

More on it here.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Christmas 2007

Yesterday was Christmas and the day went very well. The kids were so good in the morning, they waited until 8.30 or so without making a peep, so Ray and I got some rest (I sure needed it, since I've been up every night playing with my new Wii until the wee hours of the morning...). Then, we got them up and they were literally jumping out of their skins to go see if Santa had come to bring them presents. I honestly cannot believe how they can just believe in something like that so wholeheartedly. I frankly don't recall a time when I did believe in Santa, although I'm sure I did when I was a little kid. Anyway, the whole presents-opening operation went well and the kids enjoyed everything we got for them (especially a book called "Walter, the Farting Dog" and the foul-mouthed movie "The Cat in the Hat," since they're in the potty-words stage, thank you Santa for those...). The afternoon proceeded at Ray's parents' house with a second presents-opening session that looked like it would never, ever end. I kept seeing boxes and boxes, no matter how many the kids were opening. Dinner was very good, although at that point, and right after that, I was just about ready for bed, especially since I had to get up and come to work the day after. I didn't get to close my eyes until midnight though, and not because I was playing with the Wii :( Oh well, Christmas comes only once a year I guess ... Now, on to New Year's Eve and a new year that hopefully will be better than this one. I for one am quite eager to put 2007 behind me.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Going and going and going... forever

Voyager 2 just crossed the edges of the Solar System on its way to interstellar space. Its twin ship, Voyager 1, did that a while back:
The Voyager 2 spacecraft has crossed an important space frontier called the termination shock, and in a few years may become the first object made by humans to travel outside the solar system.

NASA's two Voyager spacecraft were launched in 1977 to tour the outer solar system. They are now far beyond the orbits of the outermost planets and heading towards interstellar space.

In 2004, the faster of the two spacecraft, Voyager 1, became the first human-made object to reach a boundary called the termination shock. There, the solar wind – made of charged particles from the Sun – suddenly falters as it feels pressure from gas in the interstellar medium lying outside the solar system.

But scientists missed observing the crucial moment because the sensitive radio dishes on Earth needed to hear the spacecraft's transmissions did not happen to be listening at the time.

That's because the dishes are in high demand for other missions, such as Cassini, and therefore cannot listen to the Voyagers around the clock. The Voyagers cannot store their observations onboard, so they are lost forever if they are not relayed to Earth as they are made.

Now, Voyager 2 has crossed the same boundary, and this time scientists were lucky enough to be listening when it happened.
[...]
Voyager 1 and 2 are now both in a region of slower solar wind lying past the termination shock called the heliosheath. That region ends at the heliopause, which is where the solar wind ends and interstellar space begins.

One or the other of the spacecraft will become the first probe to reach interstellar space after a travel period Stone estimates to be about 7 to 10 years long. It is not clear which spacecraft will be first, even though Voyager 1 is about 20 AU farther from the Sun than its sister spacecraft.

Now, scientists know that the termination shock is 84 AU from the Sun in the direction Voyager 2 has traveled – 10 AU closer than in Voyager 1's direction. This confirms earlier measurements that suggested the solar system's boundaries are squashed in one direction because of the influence of the interstellar magnetic field. Depending on how squashed the heliopause is, Voyager 2 could leave the solar system first.
Fascinating. Too bad scientists missed Voyager 1's passage, but at least they didn't lose Voyager 2's transmission. It's such a pity that all that data got lost forever.

Since he's elected for life...

... I can't wait for this guy to die:
Nuclear arms proliferation, environmental pollution and economic inequality are threats to world peace -- but so are abortion, birth control and same-sex marriage, Pope Benedict XVI said in a statement released by the Vatican Tuesday (Dec. 11).
[...]
Presenting the nuclear family as the "first and indispensable teacher of peace" and the "primary agency of peace," the 15-page document links sexual and medical ethics to international relations.

"Everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of new life ... constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace," Benedict writes.
Just die already.

And it's not like I'm under any illusion that the next one will be any better, but still, I want this one to stop spewing his hate.

Back to Middle Earth

Great news came out yesterday for all the fans of JRR Tolkien's work. From TheOneRing.net:
ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER PETER JACKSON AND NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM TO PRODUCE “THE HOBBIT,” EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPIC

PETER JACKSON AND FRAN WALSH TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE TWO FILMS BASED ON “THE HOBBIT”

Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

The two “Hobbit” films – “The Hobbit” and its sequel – are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of “The Hobbit” release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.
This is absolutely fantastic news. Peter Jackson did a wonderful job when he brought The Lord of the Rings trilogy to life, so it's a virtual guarantee that these two movies will be great as well.

Obviously it's a pity if he won't direct or write the two movies, since he did both previously and with great results, but at least having him involved gives me hope.

I can't wait...

Friday, December 07, 2007

9/11 a CIA/Mossad inside job?

That's the revelation made not by just anybody, but by a very respected and admired former Italian head of state, Francesco Cossiga. It's just too mind boggling not to report it:
Former Italian President and the man who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio Francesco Cossiga has gone public on 9/11, telling Italy's most respected newspaper that the attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad and that this was common knowledge amongst global intelligence agencies.
[...]
"[Bin Laden supposedly confessed] to the Qaeda September [attack] to the two towers in New York [claiming to be] the author of the attack of the 11, while all the [intelligence services] of America and Europe ... now know well that the disastrous attack has been planned and realized from the American CIA and the Mossad with the aid of the Zionist world in order to put under accusation the Arabic Countries and in order to induce the western powers to take part ... in Iraq [and] Afghanistan."

Cossiga first expressed his doubts about 9/11 in 2001, and is quoted in Webster Tarpley's book as stating that "The mastermind of the attack must have been a “sophisticated mind, provided with ample means not only to recruit fanatic kamikazes, but also highly specialized personnel. I add one thing: it could not be accomplished without infiltrations in the radar and flight security personnel.”
If this is true and it is ever proven, I can't even imagine the repercussions.

Here's the link to this article, and this is the link to the original article, in Italian.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

What a difference from Sacha Baron Cohen's Da Ali G, which I thoroughly eviscerated in a previous post for its inanity, stupidity, and uselessness.

Borat is funny and smart and virtually just one of Borat' sketches but longer and with a background story to tie it all together.

Granted, this is no masterpiece either, but it doesn't overreach and accomplishes what it set out to do: be funny, prove how dumb people can be, show how they are easily deceived, and just have a good old time.

The story starts with Borat in his native Kazakhstan showing us his daily life, family, and neighbors just before he flies to the "US of A" on a journalistic assignment.

He's accompanied by his feisty producer and the two end up meeting all sorts of regular people whose customs and beliefs clash with Borat's.

I won't say more because the list of gags is endless and I'd only detract from the experience. Suffice it to say that Mr. Baron Cohen proves once again that he's a brilliant comedic actor, able to disappear into a character in a way that few can emulate.

Borat is a funny and somewhat shocking movie, and it's definitely worth your time.

PS: don't miss the "easter egg" written in the end titles. It's priceless.

Grade: 7.5

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

The Tornado Episode

Last night we watched the latest episode of Desperate Housewives and it was one of the best ever. It was so good and had so many gut wrenching moments that it felt like a season finale episode (and maybe it was done to end it on a high note until the show comes back after the writers' strike in Hollywood is over).

Television can be so entertaining when good actors are given good scripts and the direction is of good quality.

As for what happened, I hope Tom isn't dead because he's adorable and the sexiest of the husbands. Naturally, I also hope Lynette's entire family is safe under the rubble.

Who knows. At the beginning of the episode, the voice-over talks about a husband dying and everyone losing a friend. When Victor was suddenly killed, I figured, that's the husband, but he was far from a friend for the people of Wisteria Lane. Tom, on the other hand, is loved by all.

Could the lost friend be Carlos? He's felled as well, and we don't know how badly. Maybe they're setting up Gabrielle so that she'll have a gloomy period ahead in which Eva Longoria can stretch her dramatic chops for a change of pace.

Funny how Gabrielle suddenly lost $10 million dollars in the wind and then was handed over who knows how many more millions by that very same wind with Victor's death.

Can't wait to see what comes out of the rubble...

Ali G Indahouse

Oh my god what a pathetic excuse for a movie this was.

I watched HBO's "Da Ali G Show" and it was hysterical. Then, last year, Sacha Baron Cohen came out with his Borat movie, and it was a pretty big success, so I figured, before I watch that one, let me check this one out, since it came out first.

Big mistake.

In the HBO show, Da Ali G is a journalist who conducts interviews with all sorts of people -- politicians, Nobel laureates, US Generals, entertainers, teachers, religious fanatics, and more.

The fact that these people actually fell for his gimmick and trickery is both unbelievable and outrageously funny, because he gets them to say things that no other journalist ever could.

It's also a testament to Baron Cohen's enormous comedic talents. He's pitch perfect in any one of the roles on his show, be it Ali G, Borat, or Bruno. He's a modern day Peter Sellers.

In this pile of crap, however, there's no reminder of the qualities that made the Ali G character so memorable, original, and funny.

The plot (a term employed here very loosely...): Ali G lives a delusional, empty, and lazy life, leading his three-people strong posse against a rival bunch of losers from his small English town.

Meanwhile, the Tories' approval rating is in a free fall and the Prime Minister is finally realizing that they'll lose the upcoming elections unless they can somehow fix their old-fashioned, conservative image, appearing hipper and more modern.

The PM's right hand solution is to have Ali G run for the Tory Party in his district, where he wins. What a shocker. Now a Member of Parliament, he proceeds to bring his flavor of foul language, childish jokes, and thorough dumbness to the institution, and obviously everyone falls for it, as if that's all they had been waiting for.

Then he finds out that he's been used all along and he has to find a way to get his white trash girlfriend back, save the PM, save his life, the country, etc...

Bored yet? At this point I have nothing left to add, confident that you can easily figure out the ending.

I'm sure nobody set out to remake "Citizen Kane," but still, they wasted a chance to do something funny and original with an established character and a talented actor.

Let this smelly turd alone and you'll do yourself a favor.

Grade: 2