If it’s Friday then it must be Bowie!

Oh no, I forgot Friday Bowie!

Friday Bowie

Such great heights…

Does Battlestar Galactica have the worst ending in the history of Science Fiction? This is quite possible though I wouldn’t go that far (though the linked piece makes a pretty awesome case that it is). That is not to say it wasn’t terrible but there had to be worst ending BSG’s – mean all of the Stargate shows had endings right?

As anyone who spoke to me in the hours after the finale can attest, I found the whole thing deeply upsetting.

My biggest problem with the ending is two fold: the whole thing ended up being a theistic claptrap and the whole anti-technology message.

Theism: The idea that entire show was some plan from god is so frustrating because it completely ruins the entire religious conflict of the show. The of the great things about Battlestar was its treatment of religion and religious conflict. It was interesting and different than any TV show I’ve seen before. Religion was a fundamentally human (or Cylon) creation in much of the show (particularly early).  People (and Cylons) – even those on share the same ‘beliefs’ in the abstract – are driven by their faiths in different directions. Again, it was a very compelling and “realistic” treatment of faith.

But all of this is undone by making “god” a concrete entity with its own terribly stupid plan. The multiplicity of faith in the series gone there is only one true god and this prattling head-angels. And you know, I wouldn’t have a huge problem with this if god’s plan even made sense in retrospect – but nope, it doesn’t in the least. Here “god” is a stand-in for everytime Ron Moore and his writers were sitting in the writer’s room drinking a few beers and said to one another “Wouldn’t it be cool if we did this crazy improbable thing?”

Anti-technology: I just can not buy that a space traveling species would be so willing – and so easily – give up their technology to sit around and hang out with cavemen. I mean the whole thing is very sudden, Lee is like “Technology sux” and everyone else is like “Dude, you’re right!” It is so hamfisted that it is clear that Moore is hitting you over the head with the message stick. Moore is saying – to me at least -  that technology is the fundamental cause of everyone’s problems not their own actions. This is just wrong and like making everything “god’s plan” is a cop-out. Human agency – for good and ill – gone here and replaced with a basically good human nature corrupted by technology. If man could only run free we’ll all be ok! *yawn*

Basically, its clear to me that Battlestar and Ron Moore dropped the ball in BSG’s finale. It did a lot of damage to how the show will be remember. Personally, my love for the show has not disappeared but I do think a lot less of the show than I did before season 4.5.

(via)

You’ve had enough of two-hand touch…

Submitted without comment:

The iPhone has applications for almost everything, from helping people to choose the best wine for a meal to locating supermarkets in Holland. Now there is one to help them to stay chaste until marriage.

For just 59p, consumers can download an application that allows them to take a purity pledge and then display a silver ring on their phone to prove their commitment to abstinence.

Its creator, Island Wall Entertainment, claims the product will appeal to the younger generation and those people who have not already committed themselves to a life of abstinence and chastity.

The company’s director, Henry Bennett, said: “We’re not charging for the idea. We’re just covering our costs. It’s all about reaching a new market. If you wanted to buy a purity ring, you could spend as much as £100.”

The application has a pre-recorded pledge for both genders that the user must accept before being able to display their ring on a loop.

Bennett believes the digital purity ring will complement, rather than substitute, existing pledges and purity rings as well, as reach out to new demographic.

…

Asked whether the virtual nature of the ring might lead people to forget their vow of abstinence in the heat of the moment, Bennett replied: “If you’ve taken the pledge, you’re likely to follow it through.”

(via)

Bond, James Bond – The Man with the Golden Gun (and French Midget)

The Man with the Golden Gun

Year: 1979

Bond Actor:  Roger Moore (Age: 47)

Bond Country of Origin: England

Women Slept With: 2

Villain’s Evil Scheme:  To kill JAMES BOND!!!! And some vauge plot to use a revolutionary solar power technology for laser evil

Daddy issues…

Submitted without comment:

Superman may be viewed as cinematic damaged goods these days, but the same can’t be said about his co-creator, Joe Shuster – His mob-funded bondage art past is about to become the subject of a major motion picture.The Gotham Group has picked up the movie rights to Craig Yoe’s wonderful Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, which reveals Shuster’s work on the controversial BDSM underground comic series The Nights of Terror from the 1950s, during a time where he had become estranged from Superman’s publisher DC Comics. The comics – which feature lookalikes of Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor in various scenes of S&M play – were named as an inspiration behind a crime spree of the era that involved murder, torture and humiliation of victims.

Tejas freedom…

Submitted without comment from our friends in Texas:

The Texas Board of Education, which recently approved new science standards that made room for creationist critiques of evolution, is revising the state’s social studies curriculum. In early recommendations from outside experts appointed by the board, a divide has opened over how central religious theology should be to the teaching of history.Three reviewers, appointed by social conservatives, have recommended revamping the K-12 curriculum to emphasize the roles of the Bible, the Christian faith and the civic virtue of religion in the study of American history. Two of them want to remove or de-emphasize references to several historical figures who have become liberal icons, such as César Chávez and Thurgood Marshall.

“We’re in an all-out moral and spiritual civil war for the soul of America, and the record of American history is right at the heart of it,” said Rev. Peter Marshall, a Christian minister and one of the reviewers appointed by the conservative camp.

…

The three reviewers appointed by the moderate and liberal board members are all professors of history or education at Texas universities, including Mr. de la Teja, a former state historian. The reviewers appointed by conservatives include two who run conservative Christian organizations: David Barton, founder of WallBuilders, a group that promotes America’s Christian heritage; and Rev. Marshall, who preaches that Watergate, the Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina were God’s judgments on the nation’s sexual immorality. The third is Daniel Dreisbach, a professor of public affairs at American University.

The conservative reviewers say they believe that children must learn that America’s founding principles are biblical. For instance, they say the separation of powers set forth in the Constitution stems from a scriptural understanding of man’s fall and inherent sinfulness, or “radical depravity,” which means he can be governed only by an intricate system of checks and balances.

The curriculum, they say, should clearly present Christianity as an overall force for good — and a key reason for American exceptionalism, the notion that the country stands above and apart.

“America is a special place and we need to be sure we communicate that to our children,” said Don McLeroy, a leading conservative on the board. “The foundational principles of our country are very biblical…. That needs to come out in the textbooks.”

But the emphasis on Christianity as a driving force is disputed by some historians, who focus on the economic motivation of many colonists and the fractured views of religion among the Founding Fathers. “There appears to me too much politics in some of this,” said Lybeth Hodges, a professor of history at Texas Woman’s University and another of the curriculum reviewers.

The conservative reviewers say they believe that children must learn that America’s founding principles are biblical. For instance, they say the separation of powers set forth in the Constitution stems from a scriptural understanding of man’s fall and inherent sinfulness, or “radical depravity,” which means he can be governed only by an intricate system of checks and balances.

The curriculum, they say, should clearly present Christianity as an overall force for good — and a key reason for American exceptionalism, the notion that the country stands above and apart.

“America is a special place and we need to be sure we communicate that to our children,” said Don McLeroy, a leading conservative on the board. “The foundational principles of our country are very biblical…. That needs to come out in the textbooks.”

But the emphasis on Christianity as a driving force is disputed by some historians, who focus on the economic motivation of many colonists and the fractured views of religion among the Founding Fathers. “There appears to me too much politics in some of this,” said Lybeth Hodges, a professor of history at Texas Woman’s University and another of the curriculum reviewers.

The real tragedy is that your act is just boring and old…

For those of you still reading this blog is been pretty clear that there has been a content draught for the last few months. Yet again – and it was entirely my fault. There are many reasons for this – for example, I did not realize how physically exhausting working  full-time again would be. But these are just exuses. I dropped the ball – yet again.

So, yet again, I’m going to try and pick up the pieces. My goal is to have at least one item up here every weekday – even if it’s just a small submitted without comment or linkblogging piece. The aim is to start small and move on from there.

As always we will see where it goes.

Review: Horehound by The Dead Weather

Jack White must be the musical equivalent of a shark: He must keep swimming or he’ll die. Tuesday will see the release of Horehound by The Dead Weather, his second side-project’s first album, as well as a pair of shows at the 930 club to kick off the band’s first tour. This means that in three years, he’s released three albums with three different bands, toured with all of them, and wrote a (somewhat disappointing) theme song to a (definitely disappointing) Bond movie.

While The Raconteurs sometimes hewed a little too close to sounding like a four-person White Stripes, The Dead Weather will invite no such comparison, mainly because Jack’s role within the band has shifted. He touches on everything in the album — guitar, rhythm, and vocals — but dominates none of them. Alison Mosshart (The Kills) handles the majority of the vocals, alternating fairly seamlessly between a sultry, bluesy moan to a rocker’s wail. The guitar work, mostly from Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age), is almost completely draped in a heavy fuzz, a mixture of “Icky Thump” and “Sick, Sick, Sick.” The two Jacks, White and Lawrence, stay mostly in the rhythm and supporting section, giving a bluesy base for the other two to build on. (I do suspect a few of the solos are White’s doing, however.)

The album is blues-rock played deliberately messily and heavily. As a whole, it’s a lot more interesting than The Raconteurs’ output, though not as memorable or flawless as The White Stripes. If we must compare it to the band members previous work, it’s probably closest to the Kills, so Mosshart might be more of a creative force here than White. That’s not a bad thing at all; the Kills are a great band.

The album is at it’s strongest when it leans hard in either the blues or the hard-rock direction. The album’s best song, the brilliant opener, “60 Feet Tall,” manages to do both. It’s is a slow escalation with spare instrumentation and crooning vocals that leads to a pair of loud and distorted solos. This structure resurfaces in “So Far From Your Weapon,” with slightly diminished returns (still worth listening to). Other stand-out tracks include the heavy, instrumental “3 Birds” and the slow pseudo-surf rock of “Rocking Horse.”

Jack White is normally a master of the pop-hook, but the album’s main attempt at a more accessible track falls mostly flat. Certainly don’t judge the rest of the album by the first not-terribly interesting single, “Hang You Up From the Heavens.” Also try not to be distracted by the fact that the opening seconds are identical to Weezer’s “American Gigolo.” “Treat Me Like Your Mother” is much more likely to be a hit song. It’s more energetic, Mosshart and White both share the vocal spotlight, and it doesn’t sound much like anything either of them have done before, much less like most things on the radio.

As with any supergroup like this, it’s hard to tell how committed the members will be to expanding the project, but I’d be happy to hear another Dead Weather album a few years down the road.