Not a whole lot of news from the past few days...except that I WILL be attending the Smokey Robinson concert this coming Friday at Red Butte Gardens...and I won't be alone. Who will I be going with? Well, you can guess. Here's a big hint. She's the Love of my life thus far (and probably forever). No, not my niece Kairi...but you're close. They hang out a lot. Give up? Oh, you guess it right the first time? Oh okay, yeah, it's my mom. So yeah, I'll be going to see THE Smokey Robinson in concert tomorrow night...with my mom & stepdad. We'll be packing up a picnic blanket & a box of wine or two and get hammered listening to one of the legends of Motown well into his sixties. It'll be like THE Reverend Al Green last September...only Smokier. It's gonna be AWESOME!!! Expect pictures over the weekend.
Also, I'm starting to formulate a plan for a trip to LA in November for a sci-fi convention. "But $teve, you're not a complete nerd! Why would you want to go to a science-fiction convention?" I'm glad you asked...and thanks for not assuming I'm a complete nerd. The truth is...I am a nerd...to a certain extent. This convention is for one of my favorite shows that only lasted a year (thanks to Fox's death timeslot on Friday nights) called "Firefly" perhaps you've heard of it. They made a movie from it too called "Serenity." You've more than likely heard of that. There will also be a convention for something called Star Trek next door to this one (so plenty of people watching). This convention is also being held across the street from where Lilie works...so it's an excuse to go see her...and to go to Cali...and I'm hoping the Wingmans will want to come with me...because all we need is an excuse to go to Cali for a weekend or something. JL Clyde will be going too. So yeah, if anybody else is interested in going, just let me know & we'll help set you up. You can meet half the cast of "Firefly" and I can't wait to ask Morena Baccarin, "Is that a penis in your pants?" (It's a Sunny in Philadelphia joke...and she played that part in the pilot...hilarious, check the special features) Don't worry, I'll wait until I've had my fill of the convention so that when security throws me out, it'll be okay. May also spend a few days in Orange County or San Diego or something too. You've gotta make it worth the drive out there, right? I'll keep ya posted.
Over the past few days, I've been doing a lot of errands and watching a lot of movies. I'll actually start with the one that I watched last night "L.A. Confidential" since it has to do with L.A. For those of you who haven't seen this, please check it out. It's a great cop drama murder mystery type movie with a star studded cast that includes Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, Sir James Cromwell, Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito among others. The story based off the James Ellroy novel and is set in 1950's Hollywood when a string of murders climaxes in the Nite Owl Massacre at a local coffee shop, involving cops, prostitutes that look like movie stars and a lot of unanswered questions. It's followed by a string of corruption, lies, drugs, sex...and even more murder...and the good guys have to come in to clean up the streets...but are they all good guys? How deep does this thing go? Check out the flick to find out. Ladies, did I mention that Russell Crowe is in it? Gentlemen, did I mention that Kim Basinger is in it? Check it out.
The other day, while hanging with my dad, I watched "Strange Days" starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Lewis, Angela Bassett and Tom Sizemore. It's an early nineties flick set in the future (evening of Y2K). Again, in Los Angeles, there's murder, sex, drugs, all the stuff as fifty years earlier in the last flick...but this one has a twist. A former cop (Fiennes) sells these DVD's called SQUIDs that actually beam memories & experiences directly through somebody's brain so that they can have that experience...and of course, it's basically like a high-tech drug and has a whole underground movement. Well, during the last day of the millennium, another conspiracy involving the LAPD, a slain rapper (not 2Pac), call girls, an ex-girlfriend (Lewis), her new drug running beau (James Remar), his private investigator buddy (Sizemore), his limo driving friend (Bassett) and a slough of others come to fruition. Now, I'll admit, this is no LA Confidential. It's...fairly predictable...and the acting isn't incredible or anything...and nothing really new...but still okay. I guess the most interesting thing about the movie is the concept of the DVDs that play in your mind so that you not only see what they see...but feel what they feel in that moment too. We're almost to that point in technology (so the movie's a little 2001 Space Odyssey in that respect) but it's probably only a matter of time before the next evolution of the Blu-Ray or PS5 or whatever comes out to where we can star in our own porno or win an NBA championship or climb Everest or rob a bank or club a baby seal or whatever purely in the confines of our mind. Stay tuned. Oooh, speaking of future technologies that may damn the human race...
Cloning Update - Five clones of a search and rescue dog which helped locate people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks were formally presented to their ancestor's former handler. James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, who choked back tears as he formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German shepherd named Trakr, who died in April. Symington was presented with Trakr's offspring after winning a competition organized by California firm BioArts International -- the "Golden Clone Giveaway" -- to find the world's most "cloneworthy" dog. Symington said he hopes the puppies -- Trustt, Valor, Prodigy, Solace and Déjà Vu -- will go on to follow in Trakr's footsteps. "We're here to celebrate that Trakr's legacy lives on in these five beautiful puppies," he told reporters. "If they have the same attributes Trakr did, then hopefully they'll develop into world class search and rescue dogs." Symington and Trakr arrived at the site of the World Trade Center collapse, commonly referred to as Ground Zero, on September 12, 2001 and were one of the first K9 search and rescue teams on the scene. After working nearly non-stop for 48 hours, Trakr located the last human survivor found in the rubble of the twin towers. "Trakr was an extraordinary search and rescue dog. His work at Ground Zero was the culmination of his career," Symington said. BioArts International, which says it offers the world's first commercial dog cloning service, partnered with South Korea's SooAm Biotech Research Foundation to clone Trakr under the direction of scientist Hwang Woo-Suk. BioArts International chief executive Lou Hawthorne said canine cloning would remain beyond the reach of ordinary pet lovers, with cloned dogs costing an average $144,000 each. Hawthorne defended the right of people to clone their dogs instead of obtaining new pets from rescue shelters. "I think 99 percent of the time people should get their pets from shelters...but can we agree though that one percent of the time if you have a one in a million dog and you have the money to pay for it, you should be able to go to either a breeder or a cloner?" Hawthorne said Trakr had been chosen for cloning because of his heroics on 9/11. "We received many very touching submissions to our contest, describing some truly amazing dogs," he said. "But Trakr's story blew us away." Symington meanwhile said that one member of his new litter -- Trustt -- was an exact replica of Trakr (even with horrible spelling of their name...which must be some sort of acronym). "The physical similarities are uncanny. He's the spitting image of the Trakr that I first met in 1995. He has exactly the same markings, the way he moves, everything. Very alert, very intelligent and intuitive. I respect that cloning's not for everyone...but there are few dogs that are born with extraordinary abilities and Trakr was one of those dogs. I look forward to the day that these puppies can follow in Trakr's footsteps and play an important role in other rescues, like Trakr did." So there you have it, a touching story of man meets dog, dogs saves many, man loses dog to natural causes, other man plays God, God brings back many dogs, man reunited with dogs...and it's been a while since I've read this story...but I think it usually ends in the dogs become self-aware or possessed by the scientific equivalent of Satan or some mutation causing incredible power and/or rage towards humans ending in bloodshed. Or they live happily ever after. Depending on if it's a Disney production or an adaptation of a short story by Philip K. Dick. I hope it's the Disney production...and I love dogs...but not $144,000 worth. I'll share my Love with another mutt for a nominal neutering fee. There's plenty to go around. Sorry Bogi...and X...and Zurich...and Bronto...and Stubby...
Speaking of things rising from the dead, a few nights ago, I also watched a CLASSIC for the first time in probably a decade or so, in the epic four-hour tale of "Ben Hur" starring Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd. Set in the holy land during the time of Jesus (who makes a few important cameos), it's the story of a Jewish prince Judah Ben Hur (Heston) who meets up with his best friend (Boyd) who has returned to the land of Judea after being in Rome for many years. Their reunion is bittersweet to say the least, as his friend is the new muscle of the Roman empire and within a day their relationship goes from best friends reunited...to bitter enemies. Judah & his family are thrown in jail...and what follows is a tale of vengeance, action, traveling all over the world, divine intervention, chariot races, betrayal, Jesus, Rome (which made me want to go for a third time...because that place is AWESOME), love, heartbreak, this movie has everything...and it should being four hours long. Do they even do movies with intermissions and entr'actes anymore? Like Sound of Music & Dr Zhivago? I guess nowadays they just split into the sequels and trilogies like Kill Bill, the Lord of the Rings and the Matrix. It's more profitable that way...but yeah, nowadays attention spans are stretched to the max at two-and-a-half hours...and that's for the most willing of us movie goers. Hmm, maybe I'll have to bring back the Intermission. Then again, if the lights turn back on during the middle of my movie, the floor would be extra sticky...and I might have to give ample warning so that people can put their clothes back on. Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Jesus. He's in this movie (sort of) so yeah, check it out if you haven't already. It's in my Biblical Movie List (silver medal I believe). Gosh, haven't done one of those in a while either. Somebody give me a topic for a movie list. I can't think of one on my own. I think I've done like fifty already.Anyway, I think that'll do it for me for tonight. Hope you all enjoyed my future techno-zombie clone movie reviews & news updates...and basked in my nerdiness over short-lived science-fiction television series.and Motown singers that peaked before my dad knew his time tables...but I like it. I'm going to see one of the few people that I would consider paying money to see perform tomorrow night...and I'm going to spend some time in California hanging with friends and witnessing other nerds that somehow make me feel not so nerdy. It's gonna be awesome. Again, let me know if you're interested...and until then, have a great day everybody!!! I'll just be here...off the record, on the QT, and very...hush hush.
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