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How <strike>“John Carter”</strike> “A Princess of Mars” should have gone

How “John Carter” “A Princess of Mars” should have gone

| March 11, 2012 | 3 Replies

UPDATE [3/12/12]: They should have let Brad Bird direct instead of Andrew Stanton. Bird did “The Incredibles” (and has since done MI-4); Stanton did “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E”. Which director do you think would have done a better job with a swashbuckling retro-SF story? UPDATE[3/16/12]: I went to see “John Carter” again yesterday, and pretty […]

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“John Carter”: a brief review, with spoilers

“John Carter”: a brief review, with spoilers

| March 10, 2012 | 3 Replies

I first read “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs early in high school, over 40 years ago. I loved the novel and enjoyed the ten (yes, ten) that followed, though none were quite as good or as wildly romantic. So I’ve followed with interest over the past several years the various attempts to […]

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Four Hour Body diet — week 9

Four Hour Body diet — week 9

| March 3, 2012 | Reply

I continue to make progress, even though I didn’t do nearly as much exercising as I should have this week. Still, I’ve lost 20.1 lbs out of my initial goal of 30 lbs, and I still have 7 weeks to go. The steady loss is all the more impressive when you consider that my Cheat […]

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“Act of Valor”: a brief review, w/spoilers

“Act of Valor”: a brief review, w/spoilers

| February 25, 2012 | Reply

[Originally posted over at Ace of Spades] Those who “abjure” violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf. — George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism This film has gotten a fair amount of ‘net publicity — though probably not nearly enough regular marketing — because of its fundamental concept: film a […]

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Four Hour Body diet — week 8

Four Hour Body diet — week 8

| February 25, 2012 | Reply

I am definitely off that plateau, probably thanks in large part to my daily mile-long walks up and down the driveway. At this point, halfway towards my goal date, I’ve lost 18.6 lbs (of my goal total of 30 lbs), including another 2 lbs this past week. I’ll probably add one extra driveway “lap” (= […]

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“The Woman in Black” (1989 vs. 2012): a brief comparative review, with spoilers

“The Woman in Black” (1989 vs. 2012): a brief comparative review, with spoilers

| February 21, 2012 | Reply

My sweet wife and I went to see the new remake of “The Woman in Black”, starring Daniel Radcliffe. We had watched the original (made-for-British-TV) 1989 version when it first came out on video and at least one time since, but it had been many, many years since then. We thought the original was very […]

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Four Hour Body diet — week 7

Four Hour Body diet — week 7

| February 18, 2012 | 1 Reply

  I spent most of the last three weeks bouncing against a weight plateau, with my weight going up and down over a 3- to 4-lb range; checking around on the ‘net indicated that this isn’t unusual. Complicating things was that I spent eight days on the road (with my wife), visiting family in Utah […]

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“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” — a brief review, with spoilers

“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” — a brief review, with spoilers

| February 17, 2012 | Reply

In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I’ve been a Nicolas Cage fan ever since “Raising Arizona”. It doesn’t mean that I like (or have even seen) all the films he’s done, but I do like some of his films (“Next”, “Knowing”) more than the general consensus. On the other hand, his […]

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Four Hour Body diet — week 4

Four Hour Body diet — week 4

| January 28, 2012 | Reply

Saturday (Cheat Day) morning; lost 1.2 lbs since last week, making a total of 15.4 lbs since I started just over four weeks ago. Still very happy with my meals, still eating better (e.g., more green leafies and veggies on a daily basis) than I have in years. And for those intermittent cravings, I still […]

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Four Hour Body diet — week 3

Four Hour Body diet — week 3

| January 21, 2012 | Reply

  Another week, another Cheat Day, a few more pounds gone. I weighed in this morning at 2.2 lbs less than than last week; if I can keep losing 1-2 lbs/week, I will be very happy indeed. I did again gain 4 lbs the morning after Cheat Day last week, which means my weight is […]

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