Star Trek opening

Here's the bold, bombastic, title to the new and improved Star Trek movie which gives me little geeky Trek chills:

classic supervision

Scott and I saw these two guys while driving to the hardware store. The guy in the chair was smoking a cigar.

Terminator Salvation: C

Terminator Salvation, originally uploaded by gogomp4picture.

We saw Terminator Salvation on Memorial Day. It wasn't a bad movie, but I'm not quite sure what its point was.

Star Trek: A

Bridge Crew, originally uploaded by Fortyseven.

Scott, Greg, Jay, Grant, and I saw the first Star Trek (IMDB.com) showing on Thursday at 7.

Wow! J. J. Abrams' new take on Star Trek is terrific. The biggest challenge had to have been casting, but they got it right. Chris Pine's Kirk is cocky with a little swagger, but also a little goofy. Zachary Quinto's Spock was just as perfect as Leonard Nimoy's.

McCoy was always my favorite original series character and Karl Urban's portrayal was terrific. Of all the portrayals, Urban's was the closest to nearly mimicking DeForrest Kelley's McCoy, but it still seemed natural and authentic.

Greg mentioned that the movie reminded him of Starship Troopers. I'll reluctantly admit that there are some similarities. Both movies have similar quick pacing and are about young crews leaving boot camp/academy on their first mission. However, Trek is its own movie and style and not quite as cartoonish.

Like any movie, there are some unexplained plot holes. How can two people just happen to separately crash land within walking distance of each other on a planet? Why is the Enterprise the only ship available? Why is everyone on Earth, Vulcan, and other planets completely helpless and Kirk & crew are the only heroes around? But who cares? The movie was fun.

The movie's overall tone and pace has changed the Trek franchise. The movie is so faced paced and flashy that I do want to go see again -- and I haven't wanted to re-watch a movie in years.

Monsters vs Aliens: B

President Hathaway, originally uploaded by wintan29.

I forgot to blog about Monsters vs Aliens which we saw last month. The kid's movie was cute. I really liked Stephen Colbert's "President Hathaway". However, weeks later, I can't say anything else stands out in my mind.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine: C

HQ Wolverine Promo #1, originally uploaded by X-Men Origins : Wolverine.

We saw the first big summer movie, Wolverine, on Saturday. It wasn't a bad movie, but like any prequel, the story felt like it was being steered to complete certain tasks to establish Wolverine. The story ended abrubtly with obvious loose ends for future storylines. Overall, good comic book movie.

Leach Botanical Garden

Wow. Scott and I "discovered" Leach Botanical Garden just off SE 122nd & Foster. It's amazing to still discover new amazing places in the city.

I followed the sound of the frogs to this little pond at the back of the garden. They stopped when I got too close, but they soon started-up again.

Woo-hoo! "Probably Not A Tumor"*

Just got back from the specialist. He took an x-ray and doesn't believe it is a tumor or growth*. He doesn't know what it is, but it may be an infection damaging the nerve that could take months to clear-up.

* (Although he did insert a disclaimer that if it was a growth, the treatment would be the same today as it would be in six months.)

Rick Warren: Reverend, Liar

Rick Warren Then: ". . . Let me say this very clearly. We support Proposition 8. And if you believe what the bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues I come out very clear. . . ."	Rick Warren Now: ". . . During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never -- never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop 8 was going. . . ."

Like megachurch pastor Rick Warren's prior controversies, his latest controversy seems to be about, at best, articulating what he means and, at worst, diliberately lying. However, it seems just like an outright lie though. He seems to want to want to project a modern-sounding, progressive, and inclusive view to the public (via Larry King), while still maintaining the fringe, fundamentalist, and exclusive theology for his conservative Christian supporters (via, apparently, a less public video).

I suspect many conservative Christians struggle just as much as Warren. This is probably an unfair characterization, but I think many conservative Christians truly want to sound progressive, inclusive and friendly toward gays and lesbians, but privately seek the security of their exclusive fundamentalist faith. And conservative Christian churches (especially megachurches) strive to project a slick, glossy and modern image, but at the end of the day their doctrines are still ultimately about archiac theology and damning outsiders to hell. In essence, it seems Warren and others attempt the impossible: inclusive, but exclusive; tolerant, but intolerant; open-minded, but close-minded.

At least with the late Jerry Falwell, there was no confusion about what Falwell's politics and position were.

Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.
- Matthew 5:37 (NAB)

"It could be anything from an infection to a tumor."

Ugh. Not something one wants to hear from their doctor.