Somebody Smack The Press: Is there some point at which we can stop calling them Al-Qaida prisoners that are being beheaded, and just admit they're kidnapping victims who are being murdered?

70's Fiction: I'm currently reading Gregory Benford's Timescape, a classic Sci-Fi work written in 1979 and published in 1980. It always shocks me how bleak and hopeless literature was in the late 1970's--how bad things must have seemed then.

By contrast, so much of 80's literature and film was the opposite--it said that there were horrible, nasty, evil things out there, but they were nothing a cocky sneer and an uzi couldn't handle. As for the secrets of the universe, well, they could easily be cracked by any nerdy college kid with a good looking party-boy roommate.

Reality, of course, is somewhere in the middle--times do get hard, but determined and intelligent people can overcome the difficulties. I'm also sure that's what Benford will get around to saying by the time the book is done.

In the meantime, it's interesting watching him make politicians, religious people, rich people, poor people, parents--pretty much everyone except scientists--look inept and incapable of tying their shoes, let alone solving the world's problems without help from scientists.

It's plain why the Sci-Fi community likes the book so much.

What Movies Has the Doc Seen?: The game is, you take the top 100 movies of all time, bold the ones you saw in the theatre, italicize the ones you saw on video or edited for TV (via Freespace).

Yeah, I've seen nearly every one of them.


1. Titanic (1997) $600,779,824 - My advice to moviegoers after seeing it was to go see a regular movie first, then sneak into this one--it would just be getting good!
2. Star Wars (1977) $460,935,665 - Yes, I know I was only two when this came out. Why bold it then? Well, as some of you young whipper-snappers may not remember, before VCRs became domesticated, groups could rent projectors and show movies themselves--I saw this one on the big screen in the church cultural hall around 1981.
3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $434,949,459 Back when the Carousel Mall (Then the Central City Mall) still showed first runs.
4. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $431,065,444 - Better than you thought it was, whoever you are. But don't get me started on it's flaws.
5. Spider-Man (2002) $403,706,375 - Deserves to be the highest grossing comic book movie of all time. Oh, wait! It is!
6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) $377,019,252 - These were all great.
7. Passion of the Christ, The (2004) $370,025,697
8. Jurassic Park (1993) $356,784,000 - Didn't see it opening night--I was working.
9. Shrek 2 (2004) $356,211,000
10. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) $340,478,898
11. Finding Nemo (2003) Great film.
12. Forrest Gump (1994) $329,691,196 - I was in Brazil for this one. My Grandma showed it to me before we went to the Bubba Gump restaurant in Monterey.
13. Lion King, The (1994) $328,423,001 Hamlet Redeux
14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $317,557,891 - When my speech to the women at BYU praising the book and telling them what a hit it would be was vindicated.
15. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) $313,837,577
16. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $310,675,583 - A far cry above the original, this one had a love story as obnoxious as people thought Jar Jar was in the first one.
17. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $309,125,409 - I really did see this one in the theatre. The theatre is now a stereo store on Orange Show road.
18. Independence Day (1996) $306,124,059 - Second movie I saw after getting back from Brazil.
19. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) $305,411,224 - When I read about this, I swore I would never, ever, ever, ever watch it. It sounded ludicrous. Ironically, the movie that sounded the best that year was League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
20. Sixth Sense, The (1999) $293,501,675 - M. Night is the greatest filmmaker of the new millennium.
21. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $290,158,751 - no, the church didn't rent it. I saw the re-release. Yes, that counts. I saw it at Mann's Chinese in Hollywood.
22. Home Alone (1990) $285,761,243
23. Matrix Reloaded, The (2003) $281,492,479
24. Shrek (2001) $267,652,016
25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $261,970,615
26. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) $260,031,035
27. Jaws (1975) $260,000,000
28. Monsters, Inc. (2001) $255,870,172 - We're just preparing for the company musical.
29. Batman (1989) $251,188,924 - Yes, it was opening day. I still have a purple hat just like the Joker's.
30. Men in Black (1997) $250,147,615 - Opening day.
31. Toy Story 2 (1999) $245,823,397 - Funniest. Cartoon. Ever.
32. Bruce Almighty (2003) $242,589,580 - Liked this more than I thought I would.
33. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) $242,374,454
34. Twister (1996) $241,700,000 - First movie I saw after getting back from Brazil. By this point, the Carousel Mall theatre was a dollar theatre.
35. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) $241,437,427
36. Ghostbusters (1984) $238,600,000 - This one rocked. Bill Murray could read the phone book, and I'd be holding my sides laughing.
37. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $234,760,500
38. Cast Away (2000) $233,630,478
39. Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997) $229,074,524 - Opening Night.
40. Signs (2002) $227,965,690 - Better than you thought it was, whoever you are. I see no flaws.
41. Rush Hour 2 (2001) $226,138,454 - Jackie Chan finally makes the list.
42. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) $219,200,000 - Turning off the Dick Van Dyke show is reason enough not to like this movie.
43. Ghost (1990) $217,631,306 - Mike Jittlov, whose movie The Wizard of Speed and Time is where I get my "DocMagik" monniker, did the shadowy demons for this movie.
44. Aladdin (1992) $217,350,219 - Robin William's best. Also, best film featuring a cast member of Full House.
45. Saving Private Ryan (1998) $216,119,491
46. Mission: Impossible II (2000) $215,397,307 - Bring on John Woo.
47. X2 (2003) $214,948,780 - The X-Men get better
48. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) $213,079,163
49. Back to the Future (1985) $210,609,762 - Probably still my favorite movie. This trilogy shaped my teenage years in a lot of ways.
50. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) $205,399,422
51. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) $204,843,350
52. Exorcist, The (1973) $204,565,000
53. Mummy Returns, The (2001) $202,007,640
54. Armageddon (1998) $201,573,391
55. Gone with the Wind (1939) $198,655,278
56. Pearl Harbor (2001) $198,539,855
57. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) $197,171,804 - X marks the spot.
58. Toy Story (1995) $191,800,000 - Fantastic idea, brilliantly executed.
59. Men in Black II (2002) $190,418,803 - I think the trailer for this movie was longer than the movie itself.
60. Gladiator (2000) $187,670,866
61. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) $184,925,485
62. Dances with Wolves (1990) $184,208,848 - I pride myself on having avoided it all this time. For a while, I think this movie was more popular than eating.
63. Batman Forever (1995) $184,031,112 - Hmm... Who would have thought the Riddler and Two Face had the exact same schtick as the Joker?
64. Fugitive, The (1993) $183,875,760 - Still one of the best suspense movies ever.
65. Ocean's Eleven (2001) $183,405,771 - I had no idea this had done this well. It was cute.
66. What Women Want (2000) $182,805,123
67. Perfect Storm, The (2000) $182,618,434 - Pointless. The Cliff's Note version is something like: "Hey, that's a big, deadly storm." "Why yes. Let's go sailing."
68. Liar Liar (1997) $181,395,380
69. Grease (1978) $181,360,000
70. Jurassic Park III (2001) $181,166,115
71. Mission: Impossible (1996) $180,965,237
72. Planet of the Apes (2001) $180,011,740 - I don't know why.
73. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) $179,870,271 - The ugly stepchild of the Indiana Jones world.
74. Pretty Woman (1990) $178,406,268
75. Tootsie (1982) $177,200,000
76. Top Gun (1986) $176,781,728 I didn't see this for about 15 years after it came out, after I came to own the video through marriage.
77. There's Something About Mary (1998) $176,483,808
78. Ice Age (2002) $176,387,405
79. Crocodile Dundee (1986) $174,635,000
80. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) $173,585,516
81. Elf (2003) $173,381,405 - People keep telling me to see it, but I haven't yet.
82. Air Force One (1997) $172,888,056 - Get out of my plane.
83. Rain Man (1988) $172,825,435
84. Apollo 13 (1995) $172,071,312 - First movie I saw after I came back from Brazil. Slept through most of it. I was tired.
85. Matrix, The (1999) $171,383,253
86. Beauty and the Beast (1991) $171,301,428
87. Tarzan (1999) $171,085,177 - Saw this opening weekend, the day I was supposed to get married. My wife had open-heart surgery two days later.
88. Beautiful Mind, A (2001) $170,708,996 - Great film. Loved it.
89. Chicago (2002) $170,684,505
90. Three Men and a Baby (1987) $167,780,960
91. Meet the Parents (2000) $166,225,040
92. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)$165,500,000 - The movie didn't last nearly as long as that obnoxious Brian Adams song.
93. Hannibal (2001) $165,091,464
94. Catch Me If You Can (2002) $164,435,221 - Great movie. I work in check cashing, so for me watching this was sort of like what it must have been like for the President to watch Air Force One.
95. Big Daddy (1999) $163,479,795
96. Sound of Music, The (1965) $163,214,286 - Deserves to still be on this list.
97. Batman Returns (1992) $162,831,698 - Where we all remembered that, oh yeah, Tim Burton really is a weirdo.
98. Bug's Life, A (1998) $162,792,677
99. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) $161,963,000 - Best Harry Potter so far.
100. Waterboy, The (1998) $161,487,252 - This is the right way to use Rob Schneider in a movie. Very, very sparingly.

Never Mind: Actually, I won't be updating this much, if at all any more. Maybe once a week. Maybe. You may want to pull me from your blogrolls if you have any care at all about their quality.

Moore VS. Bradbury: Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. His fiction rings so true to me and his metaphor is so powerful, it sometimes leaves me emotionally drained.

Michael Moore is one of my favorite filmmakers. His films (which also contain a lot of fiction) are very well done, and despite the fact that he and I agree about little, he really does create effective and entertaining polemic.

Now, Bradbury is upset about Moore's having copped his title for his new documentary.

Moore, I'm sure, could care less.

Adware Removal: Lots of people who come to this page find it doing searches for adware removal stuff.

Here's another good one, courtesy of my brother.

I don't think he wrote the program or anything. He just emailed it to me.

On Set With The Guide: No, I don't know who Margrathea is. But I do know Margrathea has seen the set of the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie.

Roger, Roger: Looks like they're getting ready to launch the world's first commercial spacecraft. (Thanks to Becky for the link.)

Watch This Space: For those of you who have been hesitant to check out my blog, on the basis that the updates are so sporadic, I will let you know that it will now be updated daily, usually between 9 and 9:30 pm Pacific time on weekdays, with something.

Most likely Atkins rants.

Getting It Out Of Iraq: The big UN Report everybody's talking about, the one that talks about the missile parts and even entire buildings that were shipped out of Iraq as scrap metal is located here, if you want to read it for yourself.