California Dreamlinering

Celebrating it as usual with a Mystery Science Theater 3000 marathon.

*woof*

Back home after two months in Japan and one in Italy on work. I was able to take in the remainder of the Formula One season in person, including the amazing new track at the Yaz Marina in Abu Dhabi so it wasn't work every day - just most days.

But on the plus side, Top Gear Series 14 starts in a week. And in high-definition, no less!


Now if only we had Abu Dhabi's weather... 

The last episode aired in the UK about five hours ago and I've completed my second viewing. Not their best recent series (better than Series 11, but not as good as Series 12 or 9). They did, however, save their best episode for last. It was brilliant all the way through.

I'm not sure when BBC America will be showing it. They started Series 12 within a handful of weeks it ending in the UK so maybe it will be soon. I just hope BBC America HD is on our lineup by then (even though Top Gear is not filmed in HD, which is a shame, because the cinematography for the Aston Martin V12 Vantage was magnificent).

Until Series 14 starts sometime this Fall / Winter, I leave you with Jeremy Clarkson's Beat Box:

It's now 39°C (102°F) which is the hottest temperature ever recorded in Seattle. And it's still only 2:00PM.

And to think all of last week I was curing the rain and mid-20's in Tokyo.

Fortunately, my condo has central air conditioning so I at least don't need to worry about melting. :)

Last week the Japanese DVD of the latest Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli film: Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ, Gake no Ue no Ponyo) was released and my copy arrived last week.

I admit to the last decade of their work not really resonating with me like the first decade of their work did. Starting with Princess Mononoke, while I admired the films Miyazaki and the Studio (either under his direction or that of others), they were not ones I had a burning desire to go back and see with the exception of Tales of Earthsea (ゲド戦記, Gedo Senki).

But Ponyo... Ponyo is the Miyazaki I remembered and admired. I'll let Wikipedia handle the plot, but I have to say that I was totally enthralled. I showed it to my 30-month old nephew and he never moved an inch the entire 90 minutes. Joe Hisaishi contributed what was probably one of his greatest soundtracks ever which made the film only that much better.

Walt Disney is releasing this movie in theaters in the United States in mid-August and this may be the film that truly breaks out into mainstream American audiences.

The greatest motoring show on global television is just a week away from it's 13th Series:

My latest gift package arrived from Japan and it's the Gurren Lagann Kirameki Yoko Box - Pieces of Sweet Stars DVD. It's a catchy song and the PV that comes with it is pretty amazing:

Not quite as amazing as WALL•E (but then, can that film ever be surpassed?), but still amazing. Drew a tear or two from my eye as well as many smiles and chuckles.

Most recommended, especially in 3D.

Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 in Solar Transit



Image courtesy of NASA/Thierry Legault. See more at http://www.astrophoto.fr/

It's been almost two years since we rolled out the first 787 (ZA001) on July 8, 2007 (7-8-7) and during that time it's been an epic struggle fitting it out and completing all the assembly. She's subsequently been joined by five sisters and now we look to be just weeks away for ZA001 to make her first flight, followed in short order by her sisters.




ZA001 Fresh from a Paint Touch-Up at the end of April.

Woof. Second "round the world" trip of 2009 completed just in time to attend Air France's shin-dig they threw at the Museum of Flight for the delivery of their first 777 Freighter.



(Image Courtesy of moonm's flicker page)
 
 
After F-GUOC took off for Paris, I went and saw Coraline in 3D.



I so enjoyed this movie on every level and it really looked fantastic in 3D.

Most recommended.

From sdskuld  via way of ebony14 :

Grab the book nearest you. Right now. Turn to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post that sentence along with these instructions in your LiveJournal. Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

My book is The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch by Michael Wolff.

"They spend an hour in the Prague airport."

So the second storm hit Saturday night and through yesterday, adding another 20cm or so of snow for about half a meter on the ground, total. And more is expected to land Christmas Eve afternoon, so the family has decided to not meet for Christmas this year due to inability to travel. We'll get together around New Years or so.

So I'm off to Paris to hang out with my friend since it is supposed to be clear this weekend and the weather is clear enough to get out in the morning.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

The skies have finally cleared here, so I just snapped some pics of the setting sun reflecting off the snow.

 It ran about twelve hours late, but the blizzard has hit and hit with a vengeance. Five or six centimeters of snow on the ground in the past few hours with thunder and lightning - "thunder snow" is how the meteorologists are referring to it. I'm reminded of Lewis Black's comments on snow with lightning behind it, so I fired up his latest album in honor. I'd take a picture, but sunrise is still an hour or more away so to quote Officer Barbrady "Nothing to see here!".

The State Patrol are closing the highways to do recovery work, so needless to say no operations at work today, so my holiday vacation starts two days early. *niko niko*

Since Rush and Company say we're living in a socialist country now...

  Barack Obama has just been elected President of the United States. Well done.

When you have thirty minutes to spare, this is a good way to use them up:

YouTube Link Since Embedding Disabled By Request

I am reminded of the old "Pine Salad Productions" spoofs from Baycon's of yore...

 I just finished reading Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency by Barton Gellman. Mr. Gellman won the 2008 Pullitzer Prize for a series on Vice President Cheney's domestic agenda and I expect he will win the 2009 prize for this book.

 

Love the Vice President or loathe him, this book delves deep into the psychology of the man, especially after the events of September 11, 2001. It also corrects a number of preconceptions on why the Vice President acted the way he did and his reasons and motives for doing so.

 

However, even if he didn't do what he did for the reasons the media and critics said, what he did is downright scary. While I was familiar with his version of a "unitary executive branch" that operated outside of the other two branches of government, just how deep that view ran surprised - and scared - me. And that he served a President who both did not care about "the Big Picture" but also found it to be both boring and tedious...

 

Personally, this book should be required reading as a stern warning to future generations...

Greetings from Harry's Quayside Bar 28 in Singapore (hurray for iPhone). The first Singapore Grand Prix - also the first F1 race run under the lights at night - ended a couple hours back with Fernando Alonso taking his first win since last year and his 50th career podium. An amazing circuit and I hope more of the Asian races run at night (Singapore was run at night because it is mid-afternoon Prime Time in Europe). One advantage is we leave the grid around 11 which is perfect club-hopping time.



Also, the finale for Macross Frontier just hit the web. Amazing.