House of Flying Daggers

So, I just saw House of Flying Daggers, and I have to say that I was underwhelmed.

While I enjoyed Hero, House really showed many flaws, such as the terribly awkward love story and the general lack of martial arts. I won't even mention the terrible ending. However, there were enough interesting parts in the beginning to make the movie passable. All in all, don't waste the $10.

*Sigh*.

Moderate Muslims and ungrateful swine

This article about the Muslim response to U.S. aid is both heartening and infuriating at the same time. The Islamists are nothing but ungrateful swine. They realize that they are nothing more than beggars and are trying to look like tough guys.

It's pathetic.

Bible-thumpers

Jeez. I'm tolerant of religion and all, but this is ridiculous. Intelligent Design is nothing more than a cop out, which assumes that, because we haven't found the ultimate answer, it's ok to just make one up. The one big fudge factor to balance the equation.

Face it, there isn't a controversy about evolution. It's been proven time and time again. It's a sad day for reasonable people everywhere when Intelligent Design to have much credence. I fear for the future of our young.

Powell get is right

Powell made a telling comment about the U.N.'s "all talk, no action"meme.

Stupid quotes

Arthur Chrenkoff has a list of stupid quotes about the tsunami in southeast Asia.

It's sad, really.

Sore losers

I can't believe that even after 2 months, Dems are still behaving like sore losers. Go ahead, Dems. Complain away. Like I've said before, there is nothing that ticks Americans off more than sore losers. What's needed is for the Democrats to shut up and act to fix the voting system, not whine.

Envy and Jealousy

You'd think that in this time of suffering in southeast Asia, that the western world would be coming together to provide humanitarian aid without backbiting and discord. However, with the French, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Greg Djerejian notes what the French paper Le Monde has to say about American assistance in Indonesia.

It's really amazing stuff. Basically, what we have here is America taking the lead (once again) in humanitarian assistance in southeast Asia. We supply by far the most equipment in the area, from hospital ships to helicopters to C-130 transport planes. Here's a brief summary of what's in the area.

Here's what a Dutch diplomat has to say about the situation.

It's clear that the U.S. doesn't just talk, but do, unlike Canada, who's stuck at home because they don't have the transport capacity to send aid until someone else actually takes them there, or the U.N., who sends coordinator after coordinator, but very little in relief.

It's also clear that world resentment comes from jealousy of our world position as the most powerful and most humane country in the world, and envy of our resources and moral character.

Back at it

I've been away for a couple of days, so let's recap.

I wound up travelling down to Brooklyn to hang out with Adam and Erika for New Year's Eve. Their place is pretty damn nice. There's plenty of space and very well laid out and well appointed. I'm envious. The neighborhood is interesting too. It's like Bill Cosby with an edge. The night was pretty low-key with only a couple of guests, but that definitely wasn't a bad thing. In fact, it was pretty fun and relaxed. All-in-all, though, New Year's Eve was disappointing. The coverage was pretty non-existent, and it was hosted by Regis and *shudder* Ashlee Simpson. She acted like a complete pop tart. Ughhh. If the coverage were better, then the night would have been really good. Ah, well.

Sunday, I went to a 30's themed party at Harvard. It was a wonderful time, since my friend Emily was there from Germany. It was great to see her. Afterwards several of us went to dinner. All in all, a great time. It'll be hard getting to work tomorrow.