Signs on Blu-Ray

I’ve got it figured.

I’ve had two separate folks tell me there have been strangers around these parts the last couple nights.

Can’t tell what they look like, ’cause they’re staying the shadows… covert-like.  Nobody’s been hurt, mind you.  And that’s the giveaway.

It’s called probing.  It’s a military procedure.  You send out a reconnaissance group, very small, to check things out.  Not to engage, but to evaluate the situation… evaluate the level of danger.  Make sure things are all clear.

Clear for what?

For the rest of them.

Releases in June, 2008.

First person to buy me this gets a dollar.  Never mind that I don’t have a Blu-ray player.  YET.

Swing away, Merrill.  Merrill, swing away.

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I still think these guys are the funniest people on the internet.

Lunch Meeting from Amir on Vimeo.

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Kind of off-subject, but I thought it was interesting.

A co-worker this morning said to me, “did you feel the earthquake this morning?” and I was surprised because no, I didn’t, but most importantly — earthquakes in Michigan?!

I remember my dad telling me about one when he was younger, apparently it woke him up. I understand they’re dangerous, but, like a tornado, I’d really like to see/experience one in person some day. At least, a minor one. No house collapsing, please.

Totally not a big deal if you’re in California, but… this is Michigan! Anyway, apparently it was felt as far away as Chicago and Atlanta (Jeff and Nina, did you feel anything? I know Jeff is up at 5:30am sometimes, because that guy never sleeps).

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So, I’m walking by the TV yesterday and see a promo for next Thursday’s lineup on ABC.  They’ve got a new Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, and of course, Lost.  I don’t care much about the other shows but of course Lost caught my attention so I watch it.  And for some stupid reason, ABC decided to reveal who the shooters were from the cliffhanger in the last episode.

You know, the ones that had Alex at gunpoint, who had apparently shot and killed Karl and Rousseau (who is NOT dead, I don’t care what anybody says)?

Anyway, it kind of felt like how on Battlestar Galactica, right after the opening credits, they go through about six or seven seconds worth of clips of the show that you’re about to watch… essentially spoiling the whole thing.  I have no idea what genious thinks that’s a good idea, but I’d like to know the reasoning behind it.  It does not built anticipation, it just leaves a sinking feeling in your stomach that you’ve seen something you’d rather see develop in the course of the actual show.

Anyway, here’s the clip, if you want.  Maybe you already knew or it was obvious, but I still think it’s kind of a disappointment.  The reveal comes about :48 seconds in.

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Tom Zarek.  Did not consider him in the previous list, and I think a lot of people don’t, either.  But he fits, in my opinion.  His personality would match the final four more so than anyone on my previous list, and it would actually be a believable reveal.  Ron Moore (the creator) has said that the clues have already been laid out, so if one really wanted to, one could apparently determine the final Cylon based on the information we already have.

If I had the time, I’d totally try, but I’m going with my gut on this one.  My money is on Tom, all the way.

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My good internet buddy Mike had a blog post about a book called Replay, and made it sound interesting enough to the point that I actually added it to my Amazon wish list (of things I probably won’t spend my own money on, but sometimes would if I have some extra cash.) Anyway, one day not too long ago I went to pick up my mail and you can imagine my surprise when I found the book in the mailbox from Amazon, with the return address listing him as the buyer. What a guy, that one!!

The book was put near the top of my “to read” stack, and I was able to get through it last week sometime.

The book is classified as ’sci-fi,’ and the premise is much like Groundhog Day, but instead of a guy reliving one day over and over again, this guy relives portions of his entire life over and over again. That is, he dies at age 40-something only to wake up 20 years in the past, as a college freshman. The catch is, he remembers everything about his life up to the point that he died, so he knows everything that will happen in the next 20 years and can use that knowledge to his advantage.

The book might have seemed like a Groundhog Day rip-off, except Groundhog Day was definately not the first and only story to use that premise. In fact, Replay was published before that movie, so I read keeping in mind that at the time, Replay was a relatively fresh idea.

Anyway, you can imagine the hijinks that ensue. There are no doubt things you’d do differently in your own life if you woke up in your own past. If I woke up as a college freshman, that would mean I’d get to relive the last 7 years of my life, and sure, I’d do things differently. We make the decisions we make based on logic and the level of risk (at least, we should). Well, for at least one decision, you know for sure the level of risk, so you can alter things knowing that.

Of course, knowledge of the future leads the main character to do some other things, as well. Namely, gambling. So in his first “replay” of life he wins big, invests more, and becomes a megamillionaire. He does this in every subsequent replay of his life (and really, why wouldn’t you?)

(Next three paragraphs will spoil if you’d think you’d like to read the book).

All in all, he replays his life about four or five times. There is no explanation about why he got to relive his life, such as a “temporal anomaly” or a broken “causality loop,” but attempts are made. The biggest reveal to me was that there are other replayers, other people he meets that have been replaying their lives, and one of them tells him that it’s “the aliens” who like watching us over and over again so they distort time for certain people. This was a cool thought, and I wouldn’t have been disappointed if it ended up being the truth, but it’s never really confirmed.

The idea of others who replay their lives becomes more interesting when they realize they can meet-up after they die again, and do things over. One of the more powerful lines in the book comes when he and another replayer that he has fallen in love with have a lifetime of falling out, and meet up toward the end of that cycle and say, “Next time will be for us, I promise…” The idea that there is a next time is very attractive and you envy the characters.

The one gripe I have is that not once does he consider he might be in heaven. He immediately is confused by his predicament the first time, and sets to find out what happened, as if it all can be explained scientifically. This might sound depressing, but college was the best time of my life so far, so if I died tomorrow and woke up in my bed my freshman year of college, I might be thinking that there really is a heaven.

I also kind of feel like the character should have grown a lot wiser by the end of the story.  He has replayed his life more than four times, over twenty years each time.  He was 40 when it first started, so that’s 40 years, plus twenty, plus another twenty, plus three more twenties (give or take).  That’s at least 120 years worth of experience.  Think about how wise your grandparents are, just about life-in-general.  But this guy just seemed like he had an average 40 year old intellect all the way through.

The ultimate lesson learned is nothing else but “live one day at a time and cherish all you can when you have the chance,” but it does get your mind going about what you’d do if you were in his situation. It’s a nice fantasy and a good story and time well spent reading it, but I wouldn’t necessarily put it in my Life Changing Books category.

So, Mike, I need to return the favor. If you give me the link of your Amazon wish list, if you have one, I’ll hook you up! Otherwise maybe I can send a blind recommendation next time I read something I think you might enjoy.

Approximate Hours Spent Reading This Book: 6 hours

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