Knoxville made it into a Simpsons episode once, and I just ran across this page about it. I remember watching that episode, made me feel proud to be a Tennessean. 🙂
The backlash over “Million Dollar Baby”
CNN.com – The backlash over “Million Dollar Baby”
Million Dollar Baby is a boxing movie with a twist. Instead of the main character, Maggie, winning it all, she breaks her neck and is paralyzed from the neck down. Check out The Movie Spoiler for the whole plot.
Things don’t go to well for her after that. Maggie has to have her leg amputated due to muscle atrophy and bed sores. She tries to get her trainer, Frankie, to kill her, but he refuses. So she bites her tongue and hopes to bleed to death, but the doctors save her.
Seeing how much she wants to die, Frankie changes his mind and decides to help Maggie. He goes into her room, removes her breathing tube and injects her with adrenaline. She dies instantly. Some people with spinal cord injuries have a problem with this movie. The say that it reinforces the stereotype that paralyzed people can’t have fulfilling lives. And then there is the whole euthanasia issue.
There were times in the hospital after the wreck when I really wanted to die. But I never thought about killing myself. Maybe if I had been as bad off as Maggie I would have, especially if I had been someone whose entire life was about boxing. I also don’t have a problem with euthanasia, but it depends on the circumstances.
I made the decision to remove my dad’s feeding tube and other life support. Later I found his living will and saw that that was what he wanted, but it wasn’t a hard choice. Of course he was brain dead with no chance of recovery. Maggie still could have lived a decent life once she was over the depression, but I understand her chioce.
It will be a hard movie to watch, and I may wait for video, but I want to see Million Dollar Baby.
Darth Tater: The dark side of Mr. Potato Head
CNN.com – Darth Tater: The dark side of Mr. Potato Head
He needs a tater tot so he can say, “Luke, I am your father!”
The Date of Easter
The date of Easter moves from year to year, but Christmas doesn’t. Why is that? Here’s the answer.
DigitalGlobe | QuickBird Images of Tsunami Sites
Jeopardy announces Ultimate Tournament of Champions
Jeopardy announced an Ultimate Tournament of Champions yesterday. Basically it’s a contest to see who can beat Ken Jennings.
Any former winner of the Tournament of Champions, College Championship or Teen Tournament is invited, as well as over 100 undefeated five time champions. It will take 15 weeks to get to the finals, where the 2 finalists will play Ken. The winner will get 2 million dollars.
Finally we have the chance to see how those past champions that could only play 5 times will do against Ken, the 74 time winner.
Jerry Orbach from Law and Order is dead
I was just browsing CNN when I saw Jerry Orbach dead at 69 . I’ve missed his character, Lennie Briscoe on Law and Order and was looking forward to seeing him again in the Law & Order: Trial by Jury spinoff.
Ken Jennings finally loses a Jeopardy match
Ken Jennings’s first appearance on Jeopardy was June 2, 2004. His 75th match aired today and guess what? He lost.
Of course this isn’t exactly breaking news. Word of the loss leaked out in September, when the episode was taped. But the airdate was questionable due to holidays etc. Now we know. I’ve set the Tivo to record it, I want to make sure I have a record of Ken’s loss. 🙂
Sick and bizarre game
From Google News I found this article talking a about a new game JFK Reloaded. The game recreates the events of November 22, 1963 and the player is Lee Harvey Oswald. The goal is to recreate the shots Oswald fired that killed JFK. The closer you get to recreating those shots, the closer you get to the perfect score of 1000.
I downloaded the demo which allows you to watch Kennedy’s motorcade travel through Dealey Plaza in Dallas and past the the sixth-floor window of the Texas Schoolbook Depository. You can aim the gun, but not fire. I’ve got no problem with violent video games, I know they aren’t real. Even when you play games that recreate historical events, there is still a sense of detachment.
But here it’s exactly like you where watching news footage. Not only are you watching, you’re the guy with the gun. These are real people and one of the people that was in that car, Nellie Connally, the wife of Texas Gov. John Connally, is still alive. You can see the faces of these people, you’re aiming to kill. This is too close to reality for me, and the events of November 22, 1963 are a reality that doesn’t need to be recreated in a first person shooter game.
Crusade – The Complete Series
I just found out that Crusade – The Complete Series is coming out on DVD December 7th. Crusade was a spinoff series of Babylon 5. Crusade only lasted 13 episodes before it’s network, TNT, cancelled it. There was one more attempt at a B5 series after this, Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers but it didn’t fare too well.
Crusade is on my Amazon wish list, and it’s only $41.99 (hint, hint)