February, 20, 2004 archives

california state senator william “pete” knight, author of the (passed) state proposition recognizing only marriage between a man and a woman, and whose son got civil unionized in vermont, on gay marriage: This is the biggest public policy issue since slavery, Knight said, his voice rising. I don't believe that the judges or the Legislature ought to be making that decision. It ought to be the people of the country deciding.

the more i think about it, the more astounding it is to me that someone opposed to gay marriage would even invite that comparison.

brian wilson is back in the studio completing smile, the followup to pet sounds that he abandoned when sgt. pepper’s lonely hearts club band was released. it will be out in the fall: can’t wait!

so i finally caught up with another geek classic and read ender’s game by orson scott card for the first time the other day. i think it is easily one of the giants among the geek classics, although some of the language and characterizations haven’t quite stood the test of time.

i can understand how the book appeals to a certain geek aesthetic with regards to a feeling of superiority, i was impressed that the book was relatively nuanced in comparison to most science fiction (and geek lit).

they’re making a movie based on the book and ender’s shadow, one of the sequels. the first draft of the screenplay was written by card, and the second draft is being worked on by the screenwriters of x-men 2. ender ages from six to eleven in ender’s game — i wonder how they plan to pull that off in the movie. (movie news via marginal revolution.)

neighbors of walt disney hall get blinded by the light reflecting off part of the structure because the wrong steel was used. no discussion that at street-level, the residents of those condos face a mostly blank wall. (david sucher commented on related issues, with some pictures, back in october.)