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A great lecture from Michael Specter about the danger of denying science in the face of overwhelming evidence.  He is especially moving when talking about the plight of Africa.  High-Tech Colonialism isn’t a term I had heard before but our insistence against genetically modified foods and vaccination really is a new form of colonialism.

When you start down the road where belief in magic replaces the evidence of science, you in end up in a place you don’t want to be.

[hattip: BoingBoing]

According to ABC News, Sarap Palin has earned in excess of $12 million since leaving her post as Alaskan Governor just eight months ago.  Good for you, Mrs. Palin.  I would never begrudge anyone their right to provide for their family and themselves in the best way they see fit.

I do have one question, however.  At what point does her regular American schtick become just as transparent to her followers as it does to me?  The average American working 40 years would need to earn an average of $300,000 a year to make $12,000,000 in their lifetime.

Very few people I know make $300,000 a year.  These are people who work hard everyday to support themselves, their families, and their communities for, hopefully, a tenth of $300,000 a year.  They’ve lived their lives the right way–stayed out of trouble, gone to college if they could afford it, given back to their communities.  To me these are the “Real Americans” that Sarah Palin likes to talk about ad nauseum.

I have a deal for you Mr. Zimmerman.  If you can provide scientific evidence that a Judeo-Christian god created the world in 7 days then I will have no problem with a science textbook teaching Creationism.  Until then, those books will continue to call Creationism a myth.  Period.

[hattip: Civil Commotion]

From NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

From NPR.

A judge in Tennessee(my home state) thought it appropriate to arrest a spectator in his courtroom and force the “accused” to submit to a drug test for no other reason than a hunch.  Wow.

While the judge did not get off unpunished, the fact he is still allowed to stand in judgement of others with such disregard or ignorance of the rule of law defies logic.

A judge in Dickson County, Tenn., had officers pull a spectator out of his courtroom “on a hunch,” held him in custody and made him submit to a urinalysis for drugs, the man claims in Federal Court. Benjamin Marchant claims that General Sessions Judge Durwood Moore admitted that he “routinely drug-screens ’spectators’ in his courtroom if he ‘thinks’ they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Moore allegedly called it the “routine policy of the court.”

All The President’s Men is the type of detail oriented and tedious film I enjoy too much.   I love the feeling of being a part of the situation.  I was the third reporter on this story being overloaded with information and details that make sense but do not lead to any rational conclusion.

This film could easily have been further fictionalized to provide more excitement, but in reality, the reliance on the minutia created a higher level of suspense than any higher level of physical danger ever could.  Only a few times do we catch wind of the danger all of the characters are subjected and even then it’s a passing subplot to the importance of “story”.

Sadly, we seldom see films of this vein any longer.  Partially due to our unwillingness to sit through a two-hour movie on process but mostly because Michael Bay would never fit a half naked woman blowing up aliens into the plot successfully.

[note: I am not a movie critic or a writer of any sort.  This entry is only my quick opinion on the movie in question.  Click here to see the entire 100 Films in 2010.]

My first New Year’s resolution is less of a resolution and more of a goal.  I will watch every single member of AFI’s 100 top movies.  Before I even start this task, I can claim credit for 51 films.  Many of the 51 films are my absolute favorite films and films I have watched dozens if not hundreds of times.  I, however, will view these movies again.  Here are the rules I have arbitrarily concocted up for my goal.

1) AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies(10th Anniversary) will be list used.

2) All 100 hundred movies must be watched regardless of previous viewing or difficult acquisition.

3) All effort must be made to watch these movies in order from 100 to 1.

4) Rule 3 can be disregarded if Netflix does not offer the next movie in line on demand.  In these cases, the next available movie offered by Netflix on demand must be watched.  Movies skipped must be added to the top of the snail mail queue.

5) After viewing each movie, I must write at least a 200 word brief on the film.  This should not be construed as a review or a synopsis, but rather my reaction to the film.

6) All 100 films must be finished by December 31, 2010.

Below are the first 10 movies on my journey:

100) Ben-Hur

99) Toy Story

98) Yankee Doodle Dandy

97) Blade Runner

96) Do The Right Thing

95) The Last Picture Show

94) Pulp Fiction

93) The French Connection

92) GoodFellas

91) Sophie’s Choice

As I go through the list, I will keep a ranking of my own based completely and solely on my enjoyment of each individual film.  Think of it as King of the Mountain.  The first movie I watch will, by default, be my favorite movie until another film knocks it off its vaunted pedestal.

Good luck to me.

…until David Tennant’s final episode as the Doctor. To whet your appetite, here is preview for tonight’s episode, “End of Time:Part II”, and a trailer for next season with the new Doctor.

[hattip: BoingBoing]