even more crap from johan

So anassadeina and were thwarted in our attempts to see HHG at the Lake Creek Alamo when the thunderstorms took out their power. But Austin being the small city it is, we were able to book it down to the S. Lamar Alamo in 20 minutes, and still see the movie.

I agree with just about everything said in this review. This is the alst paragraph of the review:

"The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie is an abomination. Whereas the radio show, TV show, books and computer game are all recognisably variations on a theme, this is something new and almost entirely unrelated. It’s not even a good film if viewed as an original work: the characters are unsympathetic, the cast exhibit no chemistry, the direction is pedestrian, the pace plodding, the special effects overpowering (lots and lots of special effects, none of them funny mind you) and above all the script is amazingly, mindbogglingly awful. Oh, and they have taken most of the jokes out."

As the reviewer points out, they really did take most of the jokes out. And in their place, they filled the time with a new substory that i don't believe was ever in any of the radio or print versions.

Horrible, horrible, horrible. One of the wonderful things about the Alamo drafthouse is that if you go to see a movie and it starts to stink, the liberal application of beer can usually make it bearable or even humorous. Van Helsing comes to mind as an example of a successful application of this tactic. I still can't remember how i got home from Van Helsing, but i do know it would have been miserable sober.

So in HHG, when they go off to the Vogon home world to rescue Trillian, i briefly considered ordering a bucket of beer, but quickly realized that if the drafthouse would serve me enough beer to make the movie bearable, i'd be lying on the floor, unconscious.

I admit that when it comes to HHG i'd probably be considered a bit of a purist. I have read and re-read the books many times. There are times i will pick up the book and just read one particular scene. And despite it's seeming basis in silliness, there's a lot of meaning in the story. Take Prak and the story of reason. Or God's last message to the Universe. Or the implication that the Earth is really populated by the least useful members of the Golgafrincham society. Depressing concepts, but strangely comforting because Adams understood the grim nature of world and somehow still made it funny, made it slightly more bearable.

The movie is neither funny nor bearable.

They even managed to screw up Marvin.

END-----

Occasionally i seem to think a bit "outside off the box" and very infrequently, some of these ideas don't seem completely stupid, at least not immediately.
The problem we have is that most of our Federal politicians are corrupt bastards who do a better job of representing corporations than humans. This is the status quo. Ergo, anyone who chooses to pursue Federal elected office is either:
1) Some insane do gooder (1%?)
or
2) Someone wanting power, so they can make themselves and their buddies richer. (99%)

But if we chose the President and every Congressman from a random pool (imagine a lottery, televised like the Lotto) then i think that would reduce #2 a lot. Sure, there's still be some corrupt people, but with term limits, they'd have less time to learn how to hide money and curry political favor.
And despite the fact that some people might not be too slick, i'm betting i'd get a more sympathetic ear from a Texan car mechanic acting as my Senator for 5 years as opposed to Kay Bailey-Hutchinson.
There'd be some details to work out. I imagine something like the national guard, where your employer has to keep your job for you. And there'd be a salary, but nothing insane.
And it'd be voluntary. people could simply refuse the position, with no consequences.
So what are the problems with this?

...both of us were kept in the dark about a potential attack on the White House on Thursday. Of course, i didn't really expect the White House to contact me when they were under attack, given that my only (even vaguely) super power is my capacity to sleep for 12-14 hours at a stretch.
But i do find it interesting that the "Commander in Chief"'s staff deliberately kept the Chief ignorant of Thursday's potential attack. I mean, can you imagine the reasoning?
White House Stapher: "Veep! There's an incoming unauthorized plane that could be a terrorist attack. We're evacuating the White House! Should we alert the President?"
Veep Cheney: "Nah, we don't want to upset his bike ride."
Or...
Veep Cheney: "Nah, better not, it might scare him! Laura had to read him bedtime stories for 2 months after September 11th. And don't even get me started about the mess in his pants! Air Force One reeked for months!"
Or perhaps they're just afraid of what he might do if he knew?
Secret Service: "President Bush, there's an unidentified plane that's strayed into prohibited air space above the District what do we-"
Bush: "Nuke that asshole! Nuke 'em into bronze ages!"
Secret Service: "Do you mean the 'Stone age?'"
Bush: "Hell no, Skippy! I keep telling everyone i gave all that stuff up when Laura threatened to take the girls and leave me!"
Secret Service: 'Roger. No stone age. But are sure you want to detonate a nuclear-"
Bush: "'Nu-CUE-ler!' Say it with me Skippy, 'nu-CUE-ler'..."
Secret Service: "Are you sure you want to use... such a destructive weapon above the U.S. capital?"
Bush: "Hell Yes! They vote 75% Democrat! This is the opportunity of a lifetime!"

I just got back from the vet-surgeon's office. Popo seems to be feeling pretty good, all things considered. She's eaten some food, drank a lot of water, and is lying next to me now, getting lots of scratching. I guess she's happier to be home. I would be, too, compared to the place where they knocked me unconscious, removed bits of me,and kept me in a small kennel. But kitties get opiates now!
Thanks again for the well wishes.