He Did It His Way

I don’t watch the AFI Life Achievement awards – and I especially wouldn’t watch them for George Lucas – but William Shatner’s tribute is genius!

That’s a Lot of Meat

I know it’s probably been around for a while, but I just saw it a few minutes ago . . .

The Burger King I Am Man spot is genius.

What Melting Pot?

In America, children are being banned from a school bus for speaking English:

Rachel Armstrong sent her kids to pick up the bus as usual Monday, but after the driver let the kids on, he told them he would not pick them up again. He even said he wouldn’t take them home that afternoon . . .

[T]he district points out, that particular bus route serves one of three language academies. The one at Phalen Lake is for Hmong students learning English.

The academies all have separate bus routes to keep its students together.

The district decided to enforce the separate routes beginning Monday, but it did not tell the Armstrong family.

Now, suppose this situation had been reversed and, for example, the Hmong students were banned from an English-speaking bus, or Spanish-speaking students were banned from an English-speaking bus. The ACLU would be all over it in the space of 24 hours.

But beyond the hypocrisy of the situation, since when is it a good idea to prevent children from interacting with those of a different cultural background? This is America, for crying out loud. What gives?

Check Your Almanac

Having (as I do) the biggest crush on John Krasinski, I was delighted to find that he and his fellow cast members are concerned about public service too.

Er, Not *Quite* a Daily Rosary Catholic

I retook the Catholic quiz and scored a 98 . . . which makes me significantly more traditionalist than the last time I took it.

You’d like the church to revive the time-honored devotions, liturgical practices, and strong institutional discipline that prevailed before the Second Vatican Council—and you’re hoping that Pope Benedict XVI will lead the church in exactly that direction. Your favorite hymn is probably a traditional Latin composition such as the “Panis Angelicus,” and your favorite pope is probably a pioneer of the Church’s great liturgical tradition such as Gregory the Great. You loved “The Passion of the Christ.”

I can not pinpoint the reason for the “bump up,” but I suppose it’s due to the fact that I expressed appreciation for Gregorian chant. It makes all the difference.

The Darkwinner Rises Again!

My former teammate and friend Victor auditioned for Grease: You’re the One That I Want with his own rather . . . unique, um, flair.

He sent me an email earlier today:

Yeah, my sister called me earlier this week saying she saw a commercial. One of the commercials has a montage of like 20 people flashing through, and my sister paused her TiVo and flipped through images one at a time, and she found me!

So I’ve got at least .01 msec of my 5 minutes of fame already!

If you missed that .01 msec of fame, you can see his encore presentation at YouTube.

Don’t Cut the Cheese in Britain

The British government has a problem with cheese:

Cheese is to be treated as junk food under new advertising rules for children’s television.

Commercials promoting it will be banned during children’s TV programmes and those with a large proportion of young viewers.

I suppose ’tis the lack of sunlight that causes such madness.

I am Ninja. He is Ninja.

The genius Ask a Ninja shorts have been combined into a DVD.

I have ordered one for myself and one for Andrew Mills, since he is such a rabid fan of the ninja-ness. It’s a surprise for him, so posting it on my blog is the best way to ensure that he will never find out . . .

Of Interest to Genevieve Webster

I am excited about the new Ultra Resolution film restoration.

When watching the DVD re-release of “Gone With the Wind,” . . . in the 1939 film’s opening scene, while [Vivian] Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara rambles on about the tedium of war, the white bodice of her dress now displays precise lace patterns and threads.

Likewise, when Errol Flynn rides horseback into Sherwood Forest in 1938’s “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” the detailed pattern embedded on his and other soldiers’ armor is so vivid that the number of small metal rings can be counted.

These elements have been made clearly visible through a patented technology created by Warner Bros. in collaboration with AOL. The process involves digitally realigning and sharpening the older film negatives of these classic movies shot on Technicolor three-strip film.

So AOL has served a semi-useful purpose, after all. How does one acquire these restored classics?