It’s pretty hard to imagine the death of any other living celebrity being a bigger news story than Michael Jackson, not only was he known around the world but his popularity transcended generations. I can’t think of another musical artists who had the kind of popularity that he had during my lifetime. Thriller was probably the height of his career, for me Off the Wall is arguably one of the best albums of all time.
His death is a sad end to a unique life but there is a part of me that is definitely glad that the craziness and circus that defined his life for the last 15 years is over. Maybe now we can just remember Michael Jackson for the immense creative force that he was, whatever the opinion about him as a person and the way he lived his life.
How better to remember him, then with these 4 minutes of magnificence!
So, with the new movie coming out this week, I’ve been thinking about the previous 10 movies. I started wondering which were the best and which the worst movies. So, I give you, my Star Trek movie leader board:
1.Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Obvious reasons. This is a great movie, not just a great Star Trek Movie. It holds up very
well.
2.Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country
This might seem like a controversial choice, but I really think this is a good ST movie. It’s the classic murder mystery plot and I lots of great action and suspense, plus Iman smoking a cigar!
3.Star Trek VIII: First Contact
The best of the TNG movies and a good ST action movie. Picard doing his best John McClain impression.
4.Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
This movie is very underrated and in my mind is one of the bigger exceptions to the even numbered good, odd numbered bad argument. Christopher Lloyd as a Klingon and Kirk stealing and the blowing up the Enterprise?! Come on!!
5.Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
I was never really a fan of this movie and always felt like all the hype surrounding it was because it was far more accessible for the non fan (even though there was a ton of back-story from III that you really needed for this movie) but it is shamelessly fun.
6.Star Trek VII: Generations
This was a pretty tame movie, nothing very groundbreaking about it, but it was fun to see TNG take on a movie budget, plus Malcolm McDowell as the villain, but the Kirk/Picard dynamic was always weird and they killed Kirk for god’s sake!!
7.Star Trek IX: Insurrection
This had some good action sequences, but it had a weak story and just didn’t totally work. The whole planet of eternal youth? Not so much..
8.Star Trek I: The Motion Picture
This is not a particularly bad movie, it’s just a particularly boring movie. How many 5 minute beauty shots of the Enterprise do we need? But it had huge scope and was the most expensive movie ever made in ’79… it’s just boring!
9.Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
William Shatner directs and they go to find god at the center of the galaxy. Enough said!
10.Star Trek X: Nemesis
You have to see this movie to understand. It was so hyped and all the reviews referenced Wrath of Khan in the same breath, I think actually they were trying to say this was nothing like it! It has awful pacing and is just one long action sequence intercut with dudes sitting around a conference table discusing the finer points of interstellar diplomacy. Complete with heaving handed messages of tolerance…. DO NOT WANT!!
I’m a dreamer. I’m perhaps my happiest when plotting and immersing myself in the intricate planning of a new excessive purchase, hypothetical lottery win or exotic trip. Recently I’ve found myself hankering over a roadtrip, but one of almost epic proportions.
For years, I’ve wanted to explore the US by road. Having only visited a few major cities across this huge nation, I feel there is so much left to see. I started wondering what a roadtrip around the country to take in the key spots would involve.
First off, I asked myself, where in the US would I want to visit. The places that pop into my head are:
Grand Canyon
Austin, TX
New Orleans, LA
Memphis, TN
Savannah, GA
The South in general
Washington DC
Boston, MA
Phildephia, PA
Chicago, IL
With those spots in mind I set about seeing what a route would look like.
There are definitely areas that this route doesn’t cover, but it would be hard to see everything.
7000 miles is no short trip!! I’d need at least a month and the reality would be a couple of hundred miles a day in the car on average…. by myself. Cost wise, about $500 for gas and several times that for accommodation and food.
Clearly this is no easy task, but it would also be a trip of a lifetime.
Question is, on a trip like this, what should I not miss out on and where should I definitely go?
Last night’s election results are without doubt one of the most important events to occur in my lifetime. It ranks up there with the fall of the Berlin wall, the release of Nelson Mandela and the terrorist attacks of 9/11. But most importantly for me, it was an event that I was part of. It is on days like today that I am so proud of my American citizenship and my ability and right to vote in the Presidential elections. To be able to be part of this historic event is a great personal honor.
The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America is a monumental moment in history for the most obvious of reasons. Despite the progress that has been made in the last 50 years, the election of a black man (or even a man of mixed race as Obama is) to the highest office in the US and possibly the world is still a huge deal. We as a society believe we have come so far, but Racism, prejudice and intolerance are still prevalent. These problems will not be solved in a year, a decade or possibly even a century, but November 4th 2008 will always be remembered as a historic milestone in the fight for real equality.
Although this election was important because of the color of the victors skin, it must also be remember that this election was also fundamentally about change. Change from the 8 years of Republican rule and 8 years of George Bush. I moved to the US in February of 2004, the last year of Bush’s first term. The first US election I voted in was Bush vs. Kerry. I remember the furore to evict Bush. It was also about change, but it wasn’t to be and Kerry was after all a boring and uninspiring candidate. Barack Obama on the other hand fundamentally represents change. He is also the antithesis to George Bush and although many Americans may not agree with every policy of his, they recognize that he in no way going to represent another 4 years of the same policies. This is why he won in states that are fundamentally Republican and voted for Bush in the last two elections. Bush’s presidency is quite likely to go down as one of the worst in US history, but almost certainly the most controversial and unpopular, this country needs a real change and Barack Obama in my mind represents that.
As you can clearly tell by this point, I am fervent supporter of Barack Obama, but I also recognize that he is not the answer to every problem. There are some issues such as the economy, the war in Iraq and the war on terror that cannot be solved by one term of office or for that matter by one president. Although Obama has spoken eloquently about these topics, I think it remains to be seen what he can really do to fix them. To quote him from his victory speech “This victory alone is not the change we seek–it is only the chance for us to make that change”. Obama’s presidency will be a tough one and certainly not perfect as he himself has noted. For me, how you can solve a $10 trillion national debt (some say it is actually closer to $50 trillion) without raising taxes I don’t know. Regardless of these difficult problems that lie ahead however, after 8 years and two general elections that ignored the will of the people, the people spoke and voted for change. It may sound cheesy, but to live in the United States and witness this first hand was to witness not so much a political campaign, but a political movement. Never before have so many people, myself included felt so personally invested in a political candidate or been so jubilant about a election result. I actually work up this morning and had a moment of wondering if it had all been a dream!
It’s been a very long presidential campaign, almost two year, and I think it’s fair to say there is a sense of fatigue in this country. We now have 70 days until president elect Obama is inaugurated and replaces George Bush. But for now, I can truly appreciate the impact of this moment in history and how fortunate I was to be part of it. I may not call myself an American, but yesterday I was one.
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