Heath Ledger - a reality check

Ok, so I'm going to go on a bit of a rant here... brace yourselves.

While I agree that Heath Ledger's sudden death is somewhat tragic (so much promise as an actor, a young father, etc), it's NOT THE END OF THE FREAKIN' WORLD PEOPLE! My god, it was the "Breaking News" banner on MSN on Tuesday... like the President or other world leader had perished. This was an actor. Granted, a talented, young actor, but again, NOT earth-shattering news, except to those close to him. I feel bad for his daughter, who most likely will never remember him, except to see him in films. The real tragedy here is that there are young people dying every day, some even younger than Heath, over in Iraq. Do they get the banner headline on MSN? No. Just a sidebar of "15 American servicemen & women died in Iraq today". It's become "old news". But if you happen to be a viewer of This Week on ABC on Sunday mornings, they give a listing of all the young men & women who gave their lives for their country the previous week. It's sad & depressing... & should be given more attention than an accidental overdose on prescription drugs by a wealthy actor.

Ok, done now.

/end rant

Check out my new widget...

I've added a new widget to one of my favorite shows, Jericho. It's over on the right there. If you haven't watched this show, YOU SHOULD. It's wonderfully written, & it's more than just your typical "end of the world" show. Check out the site, & watch the eps online. The new season (only 7 eps unfortunately) begins Feb. 12th. Check it out!

And I'm Free... Free Fallin'...

There are times lately where I've found myself wandering, both mentally & emotionally, not exactly sure where I'm heading. I'm not sure if this is a continuation of my "funk" from New Year's or what exactly. Maybe it's the weather, I dunno. All I know is I need a break - a place to recharge the batteries, restore the soul.

sigh Perhaps someday, soon.

Parents are weird.

So I'm off on one of my many fun trips to Chez Target yesterday during lunch, & I saw one of the more odd sights I've witnessed in a while. As I'm standing in the line to complete my purchase, I hear a mother cooing "Who's a pretty baby?!? YES YOU ARE! YES YOU ARE!" Now, this in & of itself isn't the weird part (tho it does kinda make my skin crawl when I hear people talk to babies that way). What was weird was that as I turned around, she's got the kid in a car seat in the cart, snapping away with a very nice, very expensive camera. Just right smack in the middle of the aisle in front of the checkout lanes! She had 2 other kids with her too, toddler-aged, & they had these looks like "Jeez, mom, c'mon!" It was funny & sad at the same time.

I swear, breeders are strange creatures...

Wow!

As promised, here's my follow-up on the Pompeii exhibit - WOW! We started off in the Omnitheater, where we saw a film on Greece. That was truly amazing. The view was stunning, especially the segments on Santorini. I REALLY would love to visit there. The only downside was the seats - we got there right as the film was starting, & we were stuck in the front row. That wouldn't have been bad, except for the fact our knees were crammed into the railing! Luckily the film was only an hour so we could get the feeling back in our legs!

Then it was off to the Pompeii exhibit. There were TONS of people there. I heard on the news that night that over 300,000 people visited the exhibit in the 6 months it was in Minneapolis, & that this was only the 4th US city to host the exhibit. They had all kinds of artifacts, from bronze & glass jewelry to copper scales & marble statues. They also had some frescoes that the archaeologists had pieced back together, as they were shattered in the pyroclastic flows from the volcano. The last piece of the exhibit was the most fascinating though - the plaster casts of the victims of Pompeii. When the archaeologists began excavating the city, they would find these mysterious voids. So the lead archaeologist began filling them with plaster & making molds. What he found was that these voids were actually where the bodies had been frozen in the ash. Some of these molds were on display - they had a man who was crouched against a wall, his mouth covered with a cloth. There was a man & woman found together, who they assumed were husband & wife. They even had a pig & a dog, testament that it wasn't just people caught in the disaster. It was very haunting, yet fascinating at the same time.

All in all, it was a very good time at the Science Museum, & I was very glad I got to go!

Yay! I'm off to see Pompeii!

Or, at least the exhibit on Pompeii at the Science Museum of MN. I've been wanting to see this for months, & now I'm going to. There's also an Omnitheater movie on Greece before, which should be great too. I've always been fascinated by Greek mythology. The stories are terrific, & I've even read the Odyssey & the Iliad (the translations of course). (See, I do read something without "heaving bosoms" occasionally). =)

I'll probably do a follow-up post later to tell you how it was. bounce I'm quite excited!

Happy New Year... & stuff

Well, we're a couple days into 2008 now, & hopefully it's off to a good start for all of you. I'm not sure how this year is going to go. I'm kinda... well, a little "blah" about the whole thing. How does that song go? It's just another New Year's Eve, another night like all the rest... Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. I'm not sure how I got to this place, to be honest. Maybe it's the weather, I dunno.

Maybe I can get a do over? No? Oh well.