So I started responding to a post over at Sore Eyes regarding George Clooney as the Last Movie Star and then I realized it would be rude to leave a small essay as a comment, so here goes. Go read that first.

I agree that Mr. Smith has been in some eminently forgettable films. I AM LEGEND and I ROBOT spring to mind. And I think that among his action flicks, ID4 will probably be remembered as fondly as any other Irwin Allen film or perhaps as the 90s version of something like DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. But, in Smith's defense, while he knows that the cash comes from his stint as Action Guy, he does still strive for things like ALI and PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS. He did work for Redford in BAGGER VANCE and although Schepisi might have a warm spot in only my heart for ROXANNE, Smith was in his version of SIX DEGREES.

But Clooney's box office has come from mainly the OCEAN's series (which was driven by star power) and *cough* BATMAN. So yeah, my question would be what kind of deal does Clooney have so that he can be in a string of films that don't have huge box office gains and yet still basically pick and choose whatever he wants. Maybe he makes that much money off of ER reruns? I have no idea. I wanted to say it's because the small films he's in still turn a profit because they *are* small, and maybe that's the case. SOLARIS underperformed given its budget. But SYRIANA almost doubled its production budget in worldwide box office, THREE KINGS made a profit worldwide, PEACEMAKER doubled its budget worldwide, and the rest…well, Box Office Mojo doesn't have budgets listed for them and I'm too lazy to go hunt them up right now. And I'm sure Clooney is who sold the tickets to those.

Clooney does have star power. And I think he's an excellent actor. Even though I'm one of the five people on Earth who didn't enjoy O BROTHER, it's still the film in which (among his that I've seen anyway) he does the most acting and isn't playing his usual Clooney on-screen persona.

I'm not quite sure if I even made a point in here. And I don't feel like formatting this properly. Just had to put this somewhere. And oh, that's what this is for, isn't it?

Direct link for the feedreaders.

Okay, so I've been listening to a bunch of the great old radio shows like Lights Out and Inner Sanctum (Lights Out has one of the best taglines in history: "It…is…later…than…you…think…"). Some of them are cheesy. Some of them aren't even remotely scary. But they're fascinating nonetheless. But having heard quite a few of them, I'm tempted to think that surely some version of this scenario must have figured into one of them…

"Five astronauts…one space station…one gun." Of course, make each astronaut from a different country and then that sounds like one of their heavyhanded message productions that would happen from time to time.

I would love to recreate those same productions with a new cast, but using the same classic foley techniques.

Tor Nørretranders, from the Edge's latest annual question, "What have you changed your mind about? Why?":

98 percent of the atoms in the body are replaced every year. 98 percent! Water molecules stays in your body for two weeks (and for an even shorter time in a hot climate), the atoms in your bones stays there for a few months. Some atoms stay for years. But almost not one single atom stay with you in your body from cradle to grave.

What is constant in you is not material. An average person takes in 1.5 ton of matter every year as food, drinks and oxygen. All this matter has to learn to be you. Every year. New atoms will have to learn to remember your childhood.

These numbers has been known for half a century or more, mostly from studies of radioactive isotopes. Physicist Richard Feynman said in 1955: "Last week's potatoes! They now can remember what was going on in your mind a year ago."

I love this. First of all, it's exactly the sentiment I was trying to get across in my poem, "The Stygian Depths of You and I and All." Secondly, "Last Week's Potatoes" is tremendous name for a band.

I can't stop listening to "Queen B" from Puscifer's V is for Vagina album. I have no idea why. It's just great music to work by, I guess.

This music video is pretty…well, it's what you would expect from Maynard, I think.

Direct link for the feedreaders.

Available from Amazon.

Westboro Baptist Church is going to picket Heath Ledger's funeral.

He's dead, assholes. Why not see to the living, like that guy Jesus would have wanted you to do? Jesus. You might have heard of the guy.

And folks, remember, if you don't believe in their God, he will show his unending love for you by boiling you in hell for all eternity.

I much prefer this.

Just ignore this.