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Betting On Baltar

If you’re a sci-fi fan then you probably know that this Friday, April 4th, marks the return of Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi Channel. After almost an entire year on hiatus, fans everywhere are finally getting ready to embark on the final season of what some have called the best science fiction show on TV. I’m not sure I would go quite that far, but BSG has been great and has successfully kept me wanting more thanks to the wonderful writing, gritty realism and unique characters that Ron Moore created more than four years ago. About the only downside to BSG starting up again is that the final episode won’t likely air until sometime in 2009. Yep, you heard that right, 2009.

Of course, the main puzzle on every geek’s mind is who will turn out to be the final 12th cylon model. My friend Jen Segrest IM’d me the other night to get my thoughts on the matter, which I was all too happy to volunteer. After about a 20 minute debate on the topic, we decided to make a geeky bet about our predictions. She picked Roslin (and you can make your choice in the online poll I created), but for me, there can only be one choice. Over the last four years I’ve wavered on who was and who wasn’t a Cylon, but one name keeps coming back to me – Gaius Baltar. I know you’re thinking that he’s too obvious a choice to be the 12th Cylon, but deep down it makes perfect sense, and here’s why:

That pesky nuclear explosion – Waaay back at the start of the Galactica mini-series, Gaius Baltar somehow managed to survive an almost ground-zero nuclear blast that not only destroyed his home, but also killed the very first Six. The scene is in the opening credits of every episode and the series has never successfully explained how Gaius managed to come through this devastation with only a single scratch on his forehead.

Religious symbolism – More than any other character, Baltar has wrestled with the existence of “God” in the BSG universe. At times he’s thought he was God’s instrument, at other times he’s abandoned God. Moore and the show’s directors love to depict him in religious poses even going so far as to make his appearance look like that of Jesus himself. It would be fitting if Baltar turned out to be the so-called “god” of the Cylons.

The Razor Prophecy – Consider the words of the First Hybrid from the extended DVD version of Razor: “Soon there will be four glorious new awakenings, struggling with the knowledge of their true selves, the pain of revelation bringing new clarity. And in the midst of confusion they will find that enemies are brought together by an awesome sense of belonging. Enemies now joined as one. The way forward, the once unthinkable, yet inevitable. And the fifth is still is in shadow, drawn toward the light, hungering for redemption, that will only come in the howl of terrible suffering. I can see them all – the seven, now six, self-described machines who believe themselves are of no sin, but in time it is sin that will consume them. They will know enmity, bitterness, the wrenching agony of the one splintering into many. And then they will join the promised land, gathered on the wings of an angel. Not an end, but a beginning.” Hat tip to Brad Templeton for this.

He fills “the big shoes” – Some fans have speculated that the final model will be Dualla or Gaeta, or even Doc Cottle, but none of these characters have what it takes to make the final reveal dramatic enough for Ron Moore. No, the only characters that would fullfill those requirements are Adama, Roslin, Baltar and possibly either Starbuck or Cain.

At this point I don’t see it being Starbuck because we’ve already been there and done that. Moore also loves the Roslin character too much to make her a Cylon, and if Adama was a Cylon, then his children would be too and we’d have more than 12 models. We’re left with either Baltar or Cain. There are aspects to Cain’s character that makes her a good choice, but Baltar, IMHO trumps her dramatically.

You might have seen the infamous “Galactica Last Supper” put out last month. The image supposedly contains visual clues as to who the final Cylon is for those smart enough to decipher it. Entertainment Weekly says they’ve figured out that the final Cylon is the “missing figure” in between Tigh and Lee, and suspiciously Moore agrees with this assessment. The problem is I don’t believe a single word that comes out of Ron Moore’s mouth any more. As I learned with the “Starbuck is dead” meme that Moore spread in interviews and podcasts last year, his word counts for nothing, especially when his job is to keep us all guessing. Therefore I don’t believe EW when they say the final Cylon is not in the picture. They’re acting as a conduit for Ron Moore’s misdirection, pure and simple.

In the world of Battlestar Galactica, drama rules the day. Edwards James Olmos has said that the final season of BSG will be “hard to take”, a thought recently confirmed by Katee Sackoff. Will this lead to unpredictable plot twists and upset fans? Oh yes, and I think that’s what has made BSG such a popular show. You never know where it will take you next. Will Baltar be the final Cylon? My gut says yes, but even if he isn’t, I’m sure we’re all in for one hell of a ride. I just hope I don’t have to wait a year to find out if I’ve won this friendly blogger’s bet.

UPDATE: My friend and fellow blogger Dave Caolo chimes in with his thoughts about the final Cylon model. I won’t spoil it for you, you’ll have to go read it yourself. I love this line from his post: “…models like Number 6, Sharon, Lucy Lawless and the dude from Quantum Leap.” Man, he cracks me up!

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AAPL Gains on 3G Rumors

With reports that iPhones are sold out of all three New York Apple stores, and Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney believing that Apple has placed an order for 10 million 3G iPhones, Apple’s stock price climbed another $3.66 today to $144.64. I’ve been keeping a close eye on AAPL and would love to have purchased some additional shares of the stock after it bottomed out in late February at $119. But given the recent volatility of the stock, I figured I should probably just sit tight.

I personally don’t buy the rumors of new OLED displays, but this could indeed be the time when the 3G version of the iPhone finally takes center stage, right before WWDC and the launch of the iPhone App store. The iPhone is definitely poised to fill the increasing hole left by slowing iPod sales, and so the App store couldn’t be timed better. The more I think about the sheer number of software possibilities for developers in relation to the iPhone, the more my inner Mac boy grins from ear to ear. Neither RIM, nor Windows Mobile or any of the other cell carriers have anything that even approaches the reach of the soon-to-be application store. Apple is about to make installing new software on your cell phone as easy as buying songs on iTunes. If I was a mobile competitor, I’d be pissing my pants and buying AAPL like there was no tomorrow.

Will AAPL return to the $200 a share price it held just a few months ago? Of course. I suspect how long the rebound takes depends on seemingly unrelated factors like the price of oil, the weakness of the dollar and the continuing problems in the housing market. All these things have depressed the stock artificially, which in the end is probably a good thing. It gives average investors a chance to jump in low and enjoy a (hopefully) slow and steady climb back up. Despite the recent plunge in price, I think this is a good time to own stock in Apple Computer. Retail stores are buzzing, thousands of developers are working away on cool new iPhone software and if we know Steve, there are bound to be a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Go AAPL, go!

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Will North Carolina Seal the Deal?

With Barack Obama making several appearances in North Carolina this week, attention is starting to focus on our role in the upcoming Presidential primary. It fills me with joy to know that my blue vote will actually matter on May 6th. With that in mind, here are some numbers released today from Public Policy Polling.

Obama 55
Clinton 34

“After a week in which Barack Obama made several appearances in North Carolina and confronted the controversy with his pastor by making a major speech on race, he has expanded his lead in North Carolina to 21 points.

Obama leads Clinton 55-34 in the state. His gains were particularly strong in the Triangle, the media market where his major speech on the war last week in Fayetteville got the greatest amount of attention.

Obama also pulled within a 47-40 margin of Clinton with white voters after trailing Clinton 56-30 last week, an indication that his speech on race in Philadelphia last week may have earned him some points.”

Way to early to tell one way or another, but it does seem to lead to the conclusion that Obama’s Reverend Wright dip is basically over in NC.

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Greensboro’s Restaurant Graveyard

If there is a truism about living in the Triad, it is this: people here love to eat out. More than any place I’ve lived, the residents of Greensboro enjoy dining out. A lot. Ask anyone who’s tried to get a table here after 6 pm and they’ll most likely tell you they had to wait. As the area’s population has exploded, so has the strain on Greensboro’s dining circuit. Yet despite all this, the place is littered with the corpses of eateries that for one reason or another, couldn’t take the heat. Some of these fine establishments were ahead of their time, others suffered from poor location, but a few died sudden and mysterious deaths. This post is dedicated to these wonderful joints, that for whatever reason, went the way of the dodo. Let us all join hands now and fondly remember:

Simply Italian – Doomed Italian Drive-thru

Simply Italian used to be located at the corner of Hilltop and Highpoint road near Adam’s Farm in Greensboro. It opened right after I moved to the area in 1994 and lasted less than a year, but what a year! The place was built around an old instant photo processing building and as such had no interior or exterior seating. You had to drive or walk up, order and take your food away. Simply Italian served some of the best Italian food I’ve ever eaten and offered huge quantities of classic Italian dishes for just pennies. You could order an entire 12″ lasagna for $7.00 and they’d even throw in garlic bread, utensils and more. The day Simply Italian closed was a sad one for me and my friends. A classic example of pricing yourself right out of business.

Hey Mon – Bermuda Triangle Swallows Caribbean Cafe

Formerly located at 2408 Spring Garden St. in Greensboro, Hey Mon was a jumping little joint that featured wonderful Caribbean flavors including spicy jerked chicken sandwiches, wraps and my all-time favorite – Caribbean cole slaw. When I worked at Image Technology, Hey Mon was one of our absolute favorite places to visit for lunch. The place was always packed and sometimes there was even a line out the door. One day at lunch, our group found the restaurant closed and a sign on the door saying they were moving. We were disappointed that we didn’t get our lunch, but excited that Hey Mon was moving into new, and possibly larger digs. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months and still no Hey Mon. To this day I have no idea what happened to this awesome eatery. It’s almost like it never existed.

Sushi Rock – Seppuku, Sushi Style

This wonderful sushi house used to be located on Battleground Avenue and was known for its reasonable prices and wonderful decor. When my friend Talos first introduced me to Sushi Rock, I knew I had found my new favorite sushi restaurant. It didn’t take long to realize however, that the place was in trouble. Crowds thinned and prices rose slightly and then one day it was just gone. Thankfully there’s no shortage of good sushi restaurants in the Triad. My current favorites are U.S. Sushi at the corner of Eastchester and Wendover in Highpoint and the always yummie Asahi on West Market St.

Pie Works – Death by a Thousand Cuts

I know what you’re thinking. Pie Works isn’t dead, at least not yet. Technically that may be true, but if you’ve lived here as long as I have then you may remember that there used to be many more Pie Works’ than the one (yes, there is only one left) on Lawndale Ave in Greensboro. Pie Works serves up some of the best gourmet pizza this side of New York and yet the franchise is faltering. I used to frequent the small Pie Works that lived down on West Market back in the day, but that location didn’t last long and is now a laundromat. There used to be a Pie Works in Winston Salem as well, but that too is gone. There are now a grand total of 3 Pie Works locations in Louisiana compared to one in North Carolina. Like it or not, I fully expect the Lawndale location to visit that big pizzeria in the sky in not-too-distant future. I think I’ll miss the Rosemary Roast most of all. My stomach is sad.

Bo Hogs – Another Pig Bites the Dust

When Bo Hogs opened a few years back at the corner of West Market St. and Muirs Chapel road, the last thing I thought Greensboro needed was another BBQ place. Marked by good service, a friendly atmosphere and excellent food, Bo Hogs quickly changed my mind and it became my favorite NC barbeque joint. That was their kiss of death. Although they seemed constantly busy, like many other eateries I’ve fallen in love with, one day they just closed. No explanation was given and no forwarding address was left on the door for a new location. I calling the developer to find out what happened, but only got a cryptic “The owner decided to close it down.” in response. Oh the horror! Today, my favorite Triad BBQ places are Prissy Polly’s of Kernersville, Carter Brothers BBQ in High Point and Country BBQ on Wendover Ave. in Greensboro. Pig places may come and go, but there will always be a hush-puppy in my heart for Bo Hogs.

Restaurant Death Watch

Finally, here are a list of places that as of this writing, seem to be alive and kicking, but that I’m keeping a close eye on. My track record indicates that at least one or more of these places may go belly up within the next 3 years for no other reason than I enjoy eating there.

Mykonos Grill

– The best Greek restaurant in Greensboro, hands down. Took up the mantle after Pita Works closed in Quaker Village. Place is always packed to the roof at lunch, which unfortunately means it’s probably doomed.

Leblon

– Brazilian steak house that hosts the Iconfactory’s annual Christmas party, or as we call it, “The Night of Meat“. Awesome food, great service. Seems underpriced for all-you-can-eat top notch cuts of meat. Danger Will Robinson!

Rearn Thai

– Their original location across the street on West Market was small but cozy and inviting. The new all-glass building is no bigger (maybe even smaller), but also cold feeling and loud. I’ve eaten there just once since they moved. This will be the one time when it’s not my fault when they go. Good food but their architect doomed them IMHO.

What about you? Have any favorite restaurants that bought the farm? Feel free to add yours in the comments below. Misery loves company!

George W. Bush’s Blue Thumb

For the last several months there have been warning signs that November is going to be bad for the GOP. Throughout the primary season, Democratic candidates have been enjoying record press coverage, record fundraising and record turnout. Some have put the lack of Republican enthusiasm down to the fact that McCain has just now become the candidate of choice for the party. I don’t buy it.

Politico.com is reporting that John McCain raised a mere $11.7 million dollars in January when he was locked in a race with four other Republicans. But in February after he had been declared the winner, his totals actually decreased to $11 million. In comparison Barack Obama raised $55 million in February, the highest monthly total by any candidate in any contested primary, while Clinton brought in a staggering $35 million. And now there is even more bad news for the GOP.

Confirming fears that Americans are moving away from the policies of the Bush Administration’s pseudo-conservatism, comes new Pew poll results:

“The balance of party identification in the American electorate now favors the Democratic Party by a decidedly larger margin than in either of the two previous presidential election cycles.

In 5,566 interviews with registered voters conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press during the first two months of 2008, 36% identify themselves as Democrats, and just 27% as Republicans.”

But perhaps the most startling information contained in the report are the numbers of independent voters who have swung Democratic. Of the 37% who claim no party identification, a full 15% lean Democratic, 10% lean Republican and 12% do not lean either way. Pew suggests that in 2004 the numbers of independents that leaned one way or the other was about equal.

The Pew report illustrates its findings with several tell-tale graphs. Here we see the percentage of voters from North Carolina that identify themselves with each party. Perhaps not surprisingly, North Carolina’s blue leaning population seems to be dramatically increasing, perhaps due to the large influx of Hispanic and white collar voters that have migrated to the state from outside. Historically, North Carolina has seen fit to elect Democrats on the state and local level but always ends up red in the general election. For the first time in decades, this may be changing.

No matter what happens in North Carolina this November, it does seem increasingly clear that the country is decidedly moving to the left. Like some political Johnny Appleseed, George W. Bush has spent the last eight years unknowingly sewing the seeds of a return to progressiveness. Thanks to the never ending war, a weakening economy, increased government spending & spying, GOP corruption, the rising cost of health care and much more, 2008 could turn out to be a bumper crop for Democrats. If they don’t manage to screw things up first.

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Iraq by the Numbers

This week marks the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It may also mark the 4000th U.S. service person killed in action in that country. As we continue to move towards the 2008 elections, it’s important that we pause and remember Iraq. With all the news being made in the race for the White House, there’s a tendency to turn a blind eye toward that place in the world where so many of our brave men and women are fighting and dying. Lest we forget, here are some facts & figures to reflect on:

Initial cost estimate of Iraq war: $50 billion

Cost of Iraq war to date: $504 billion

U.S cost per month: $12 billion (in 2008)

Estimated final cost: $1-4 trillion

U.S. Fatalities: 3,992

U.S. Casualties: 40,229

Journalists Killed: 306

Contractors Killed: 1,016

Iraqi Fatalities: (89,000 documented / 600K+ est)

Avg Daily attacks on coalition forces: 60 (1.1.08)

Total Iraqi troops trained: 6,000 (as of 5.20.07)

Iraqis Displaced: 2+ million

Bush CNN Approval rating (3.19.03): 71%

Bush CNN Approval rating (3.19.08): 31%

UPDATE: Friend and fellow blogger, Greg Storey says that if Bush was the CEO of a major corporation instead of the President and underestimated the cost of the war to the degree he did, he would have been booted out on his ass long ago. I agree 100%. The only reason why the American people let the war rage on is because there is no draft like there was in Viet Nam. If families were having their kids conscripted for this giant lie of a war, you’d see it end pretty damned quick.

UPDATE II: The grim 4,000 dead milestone was reached on Monday, March 24th when a roadside IED claimed the life of four Marines in Iraq. I cannot stress enough that these 4,000 service men and women did not have to die. This was a war of choice from the start that should never have been fought.

Those 70’s Photos

My mom recently sent me a bunch of photos from our family album taken when I was just a kid. I’ve posted a few of them up on Flickr and will keep adding to the set as I find time to process them. This particular one of me stood out for a bunch of reasons, but mainly I’m drawn to the big pea green chair and matching phone receiver. I remember my parents loved this color when I was a kid and it was all over our house. This could be why I have an aversion to peas today. Also note the big sticker on the phone’s handset. You might remember this from your childhood as well. People used to apply these on their phones so they could quickly reference important numbers like the police, fire department and poison control. Ah, the days before speed dialing and 9-1-1. Gets me all choked up sometimes. Watch for more Maheux family photos soon.

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Design Disconnects

This week I was confronted by no less than two glaring examples of poor or lazy design that I just had to share with you. I think they really illustrate how important our job is as communicators and how easily information can be miss-conveyed when designers don’t do their jobs well.

The first comes in the form of the DVD box art for the Oscar winning film, No Country for Old Men. I rushed out this week to snap up my copy of this fabulous tale starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, only to find a glaring design error. Although not all of us are schooled in design principals like the Gestalt Law of Proximity, we can still determine when things aren’t “quite right”.

Apparently the designer accidently or intentionally miss-matched Tommy Lee Jones’ and Josh Brolin’s portraits with their names. Because it seems to be such an obvious mistake, some might try and argue that it can only be intentional. As I learned from our experience with the official War of the World’s icon set a few years back, movie studios have many rules about who’s name can appear first, second, and so on. Given that, plus the fact that Javier Bardem’s face is associated correctly with his name directly below, why not match Tommy Lee and Josh as well? There’s simply no good reason for it and I’m forced to conclude that the juxtaposition of Jones’ and Brolin’s images are a mistake. Apparently design accidents happen, even on multi-million dollar marketing campaigns.

The second example comes from the world of television, and if I didn’t know better, seems anything but accidental. The season 4 premiere of Bravo’s hit show, Top Chef, featured a typical audience poll via text message. Season 4 features a pair of female chefs that are not only competing against each other, but are also a couple. They’ve been together for 3 years and the question to viewers was “Do Zoi and Jen have an advantage in the show because they’re a couple?”. After several commercial breaks the results were displayed as you see in this screen capture. The graphic was not accompanied by any informational voice over of any kind and so you are left to determine the results in a fleeting glimpse of 10-15 seconds of actual screen time.

At first glance, the majority of viewers seem to think, yes, the couple does have an advantage since that result is circled and highlighted. But upon closer inspection, poll results reveal that a full 78% of viewers in fact think, no, Zoi and Jen do not have an advantage. For some reason, the graphic strangely highlights the minority opinion. Why would Top Chef want to highlight the losing segment? Could we be looking at yet another error (perhaps generated automatically by faulty poll software)? I think it’s far more likely that the show’s producers wanted to drum up controversy by highlighting the most dramatic result, no matter how small. If I was a guy who wore tin-foil hats, I’d say there could be other reasons for what they did, but I’ll just leave that to your imagination instead.

Although these issues don’t amount to the proverbial “hill of beans” in most people’s world, they do illustrate the kinds of problems that designers face all the time. As a wise man once said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Remember that as you use your design powers for good and not evil… like making scores of fans think Tommy Lee Jones is really Josh Brolin.

UPDATE: This week’s cell phone poll on Top Chef correctly highlighted the viewer choice with the most votes. As suspected the example I posted here is an error of some kind.

Fox’s Big Giant Head Goes Buh-bye

Sadly no, not that big giant head. I’m talking about the other one that goes by the name of John Gibson and who used (note the past tense) to host the conservative opinion show The Big Story on Fox News. Seems as though Gibson’s ratings have been in the tank for quite some time and Fox has finally decided to “re-tool” the time slot with America’s Election HQ instead. Just in case you don’t keep up with Fox, Gibson was the ego-centric, factually challenged, racist host who helped spawn the whole “War on Christmas” fantasy that has boosted Bill O’Reilly’s declining ratings these last few years. Here are some of the other winning moments from John Gibson’s all-too-long stint at The Big Story:

Homophobic “jokes” upon the death of actor Heath Ledger

• Slander against Valerie Plame

• His xenophobic “make more white babies” rant

• Racist prognostications of Clevland high school shooters

• Spreading false information about Obama’s dad

My only regret is that Gibson won’t be around for Keith Olberman to put him on his “Worst Person In the World” segment as much anymore. Gibson is now the third big-named conservative commentator to be canned in recent weeks including Tucker Carlson and Melanie Morgan. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the pendulum of public opinion is starting to swing back to the left, after eight dark years of right wing pablum. Who will be the next to get the sack? If I was a betting man I’d say keep a close eye on Laura Ingraham, Neil Cavuto and Chris Matthews, especially the latter. He’s one foot in mouth episode away from early retirement.

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South Georgiabamasippiana

Steven Colbert is in rare form in this hilarious piece from Comedy Central. Steven suggests that in order to combat Clinton winning large states like California and Texas, Barack might want to start lumping his victories into super states like Illikanasasouriebriowa. Try saying that fast five times! I hate to rain on Stephen’s witty parade, but as CNN reports today, Obama actually won Texas last week thanks to his victory in the state’s caucuses. So with Texas, Wyoming and now Mississippi under Obama’s belt, it’s going to be harder and harder for Hillary to keep the truthiness of her “comeback” alive much longer, despite what Stephen would like us all to believe. So much the better.

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Zombies in Plain English

March isn’t what I would typically categorize as “zombie season”, but none-the-less this helpful video from the good folks at Common Craft is just what I’ve been looking for. There’s never a Charlton Heston, Will Smith or Simon Pegg around when you need one so I think it’s best to be prepared. On a related note, be sure to check out the Twitter in Plain English video too. Think of it as a helpful teaching tool for those morlocks who still don’t “get” Twitter.

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AAPL’s SDKmarks

Despite the long-awaited release of the iPhone SDK yesterday Wall Street in their usual “wisdom” decided to punish Apple stock. Despite all the incredible news about iPhone for Enterprise, the immediate availability of the beta, the iFund, and even the game-changing nature of the event itself, AAPL managed to lose $3.41 on the day. Here’s how I think it all went down:

Disclosure: Yes, I own stock in Apple Computer and I’m about to own a whole lot more. Once the reality of the SDK starts to sink into investors, $200 a share is going to look like peanuts.

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Futurama’s Future

Good news everyone! Amazon.com has posted the release date for the second direct to DVD installment of Futurama. The Beast With A Billion Backs will be available starting June 24th and is now available for pre-order. According to Wikipedia, this second of four movies will feature the voices of Brittany Murphy, Dan Castellaneta reprising his role as the Robot Devil, and a personal favorite of mine, Professor Stephen Hawking. I’ve always enjoyed Hawking’s past appearances, especially Anthology of Interest I where he was part of Al Gore’s Vice Presidential Action Rangers.

Another of the Action Rangers, Gary Gygax, the inventor of Dungeons & Dragons, died yesterday and will be missed by geeks and nerds everywhere. It seemed strangely fitting to watch tweet after tweet pay homage to the man who so many young kids admired, even if they didn’t know him by name. It’s not an exaggeration to say that his creation helped shape popular culture including science fiction, video games, television and movies. Although I never played Dungeons & Dragons as a kid, I had a ton of friends who did and loved every minute of their fantasy adventures. His contributions to geekdom and Futurama, will be sorely missed.

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind mild spoilers, you can get a feel for The Beast With A Billion Backs over on YouTube where a rough series of scenes from the film has been posted. It does my heart good to see the likes of Morbo, Zapp Brannigan and Kiff Kroker back in their familiar roles. Although I did enjoy Bender’s Big Score, I think the story suffered a bit with the focus on time travel and the attempt to pick back up on Fry & Leela’s relationship. Beast seems like a good old fashion invasion story, on par with The Why of Fry, and really, how can you go wrong with that? I can’t wait!

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Bourne Redundancy

Spurred on by some recent tweets as well as some surprising Oscar wins for the latest installment, my wife and I decided to come up to speed on the Bourne trilogy with Matt Damon. I borrowed the first two films on DVD from Talos which Mindy and I have spent the last two nights watching. The Bourne Identity was surprisingly good. Lots of twists and turns, smart action sequences and some superior acting from both Damon and Franka Potente (Marie). I wasn’t expecting much and was pleasantly surprised.

The second installment, not so much. The story was almost identical, the characters were two-dimensional and the plot was predictable. So now I’m in a quandary about if we should bother with the third movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. I know it’s supposed to conclude the trilogy, so I expect some lose ends to be wrapped up and everything, but given our luke warm reaction to Supremacy, I’m just not sure it’s worth our time. So my question is, how do you rank these movies? Which one is your favorite and should we bother watching the third one. And remember, NO SPOILERS PLEASE! Thanks all!

UPDATE: Well, we took the plunge and watched part 3 tonight. I have to say I pretty much agree with the commenters here that 3 was better than 2 but not as good as 1. The chase in New York was pretty awesome, and the tying up of loose ends is always good. If there hadn’t been some glaring plot holes (like convenient windows placed suspiciously inside über-secret government brainwashing centers that can be broken simply by jumping through them, or fax machines that can’t be traced or shut down) I think I would have enjoyed it a great deal more. Overall a solid movie and a fun trilogy from start to finish.