In case you were wondering where the quote in the movie came from:

NSFW for sure!

X-3 was totally sweet, btw. Thanks Honzo for the heads up on the 2nd ending.

Simpsons neologism of the day for Friday, May 26, 2006:
Walking Bird

Grandpa Simpson: I just used my washtub that morning to wash my turkey, which in those days was known as a walking bird. We'd always have walking bird on Thanksgiving with all the trimmings: cranberries, injun eyes, yams stuffed with gunpowder. Then we'd all watch football, which in those days was called 'baseball'...

One final thought - Happy M.A., Kristen!

By the way, this year is not without its lame student who shouldn't walk and threatens to sue the university because of something that's his/her own fault!

Well, we're off for the weekend to do some camping with Ric's grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousin's family! We're heading up to Camp Nelson up by the Sequoias, where we will rough it by day and stay in the lodge by night. Haha. I'm looking forward to seeing some giant redwoods. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I missed out while growing up, never having seen Alien or Predator movies. For both series, I've gone in backwards order. With the Aliens, I saw Resurrection first because it was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, then several years later I actually saw the other three movies. And the first time I saw a Predator was in Alien vs. Predator.

So going backwards is a little bit weird, but it's never too late to catch up. I caught this on TV the other day and was thoroughly entertained. I love that there is pretty much zero plot. We meet the characters, dump them in a jungle, and watch them get picked off by a creature they somehow fool themselves into thinking is a man in camouflage for the first hour of the movie. By the end, it's our Governor versus the Predator, and it's a lot of fun. But who cares about ridiculousness? This movie is exactly what we expect this type of movie to be like.

Actually, it was better than I expected. I liked that the nature of the Predator was slowly revealed through the movie. First we see what it can do and what it can see. Then we see the camouflage that makes it practically invisible. Then we see a bit of its body. Then we see the full figure in blips as the camouflage short-circuits. Finally we see the entire body full on, and by the end we see it in all its wonder (or as Schwarzenegger says, "You're one ugly [bleepity-bleep]!")

The best part of the movie is when Arnold is on his own, covered with mud, planning his fight against the creature. I liked how they kind of stripped down and treated each other at the same level. Schwarzenegger has no guns and is screaming his battle cry with a fierceness similar to that we've heard from the Predator. The Predator drops all weapons and armor and fights hand-to-hand with his enemy. It's cool. The only critique I would give on the last fighting scenes is that there was too much Predator-vision going on, when I really wanted to actually see them fight each other.

Anyway. Good stuff, and another one checked off of my "People can't believe I've never seen _______." list.

Manifold: Space (Manifold) by Stephen Baxter

Nice.

Stay for the 2nd ending. You won't be disappointed.