Yesterday I read the following article: Past Debates Show a Confident Palin.  With the opening sentence I realized that someone isn't on the same planet as nearly everyone else I speak with.  The Palin-Biden debate has got to be the most anticipated debate surrounding the presidential election in a couple decades.  Everyone I know is talking about it.  Most people, Palin supporters and detractors both, are saying that Biden is in big trouble and is likely to get totally decimated.  So I couldn't figure out why the author of that article said that tonight's debate is so under anticipated.  I can only guess that it's wishful thinking or a pre-emptive strike.  But, since I'm a conservative I'm rather open minded.  I was willing to acknowledge that the scope of my contacts is somewhat limited.  Maybe I was lucky and only ran into those few people who were interested in the debate.  That was until I read the news today.

What a fun and clever sci-fi story. In some ways this is better characterized as a mystery set in a science fiction universe.  Jablokov creates a believable world set about 400 years in the future.  By then humanity has moved off of the terrestial sphere and now people live on the moon, mars, some asteroids in the belt, and some even spend their entire life aboard large space ships that shuttle between the various bodies in the solar system.

So here's the story.  Years ago Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) broke off a serious relationship.  In the midst of the heartache she bounced around through a couple other guys.  And wouldn't you know it but about nine months later she found herself to be a pround new, and single, mom of a wonderful daughter.  Fast forward and now that daughter is engaged to be married.  Every daughter wants her dad to give her away but Sophie, the daughter, doesn't know who her dad is.  So she invites all three of the candidates to their Greek villa.  

Vin Diesel makes one kind of movie and this is it.  Lots of guns and explosions set in dreary cyber-punk framework (even Fast and Furious felt cyberpunk).  Usually there is a lone guy, Diesel, who is called in to be a reluctant hero.  Babylon AD follows the formula but it is still an entertaining movie.  The plot is a bit weak but I don't think that plot was the main point of this movie.

The Dark Knight is the latest in the new incarnation of the Batman movies (which started with Batman Begins). If you saw any of the trailers for this movie you know that it was pretty dark.  The primary villian in this movie was The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, who was a demented and insane individual who was intent on destroying Batman.  Ledger's portrayal of The Joker was psychotic and intense.  The Joker certainly was an uncomfortable character to be around.   This movie also explored more of Bruce Wayne's phychological state.  The Joker and Batman show two different ways of dealing with similar mental stuggles and issues.

Somehow in all my college education I missed any classes on economics. Feeling like I might be missing some important information I decided to pick up a basic economics book from the library and read through it.  It was my good luck to find this particular book because it provides a broad overview of the entire field of economics but at a level that an ordinary person can understand.  I learned a lot from the book.  There was more than just some facts and statistics.  Instead the author spent a lot of time explaining how to think about economics.

Henry Poole is a troubled man with a troubled past.  A broken and dysfunctional family left him to be an angry, sad, and frustrated man.  Then, when he receives news that he has a fatal illness he decides to check out.  He moves to a small suburban house somewhere in California and has just one request: leave me alone.  Yet that is just what his nosy neighbor will not do.  To make matters worse, a mysterious image of the face of Jesus appears in the poor stucco job on the side of his house.  Thus, the stage is set for a humorous but thought provoking exploration of the role of faith in a man's life.