Author Archives: Bob Evans

Happy 4th of July

Today we celebrate an action of congress. Today is the celebration of our declaration of Independence, when the thirteen British colonies on North America announced their divorce from their mother country and proclaimed themselves a new nation.

This nation was not created perfect, it was created under the taint of slavery and without a concept of equality as widely applied as today, but it did proclaim the principles that have set the course for ever increasing freedom and equality for mankind.

I am immensely proud the be an American. I am passionately devoted to equality, and while perfection can never be achieved by mortal man, in my opinion no nation has done more for the betterment of humanity, ethically or materially than the United States of America.

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Do not be alarmed

That sound you hear, like muffed popcorn cooking in the distance, is nothing more than conservative heads bursting as they learn that it was Roberts and not Kennedy that gave the court its 5-4 decision upholding the ACA.

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Sunday Night Movie:Young Frankenstein

Sorry for the post being a tad late, life has been busy, and some of it actually in a good way. (The root canals while required were less fun.)

I have a general rule with both Mel Brooks and Wood Allen movies, the less they appear the funnier the film turns out to be. Young Frankenstein is my favorite of the films directed by Mel Brooks. The majority of the credit I feel would have to go to star and writer Gene Wilder. Continue reading →

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I’m back

It was not my intention to keep away from my blog for almost ten days, but life has been hectic.

The day-job has been very busy, and that is a good thing because it means my job is secure in the troubling economic times.  In the evening I have been working hard on getting through what I suspect will be the hardest part of my book to write, a massive space battle of ninety ships, with characters scattered and a lot invented tactics to try to slip into the exposition. I’ll be very happy to be back among simply character scenes and emotion dangers versus space battles.

On the plus side I have finished the first draft of the space battles and I’m now about 15,000 words into the novel. I’m happy with the progress and I am looking forward to the rest of the book.

 

I’m going to try and be better about my blogging, I have things to say, lots of things to say, but my time seems to slip right on by me.

 

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Food for thought

People wonder why I am skeptical of the GOP on financial issues, well, they should read this article by a former member of the Reagan team, it really lays out in simple terms just how massive of a lie it is that republicans are better with the money than the Democratic party.

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Movie Review: Prometheus

So, 30 years after his last SF film, visionary director Ridley Scott has returned the genre he so deeply marked in the late 70s and early 80s with his films Alien and Blade Runner. The thing about Ridley Scott is he can not tell a terrible script from a wonderful script. If you hand him a wonderful script you are likely to get a piece of cinema that will be breath taking in it style and in it substance. If you hand him a poor script, you are likely to get a watchable but ultimately pointless film such asKingdomOfHeaven, and if you give him a crappy script, you will get junk that looks like gold.

Sadly, Prometheus falls into the final category, a visually stunning, conceptually audacious, but ultimately an epic failure in terms of character, plot, and logic. I saw Prometheus in 2-D, and this is the only time I have regretted skipping the 3-D format. Scott used the frame with all the mastery of a visual master at the top of his form, some scenes I expect would have truly stunned me in 3-D, but they would have not saved this film. Continue with the review knowing that you will be spoiled.

Continue reading →

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Why I can’t be a liberal

 

Often in the posts here on the blog you can see me attacking the G.O.P. and its insane stance on cultural issues and it hypocritical stances on fiscal issues. (If the GOP wins the White House, it is likely to retain the House of Representative and could take the Senate, in such a future plan on deficits in the federal budget as ‘not mattering’ once again.)

Some people interpret my criticisms of the GOP as a indicator that I must be a Liberal, and this is not the case.   Of course many people can only see black and white when it comes to American politics and real Americans are always found solely on their own side. That is not a view I share, reality is full color, not black and white, but here are a few examples of why I cannot be a liberal. Continue reading →

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Movie Review: The Hunger Games

Sunday morning I went to the movies by myself and caught a bargain showing of The Hunger Games. This movie franchise is based upon the best selling series by Suzanne Collins. It is SF, it is aimed at young adults, and it is post-apocalyptic. Proceed only if you are unconcerned by a few spoilers. Continue reading →

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