7/30/07

Global Warming Causes More Storms

It has been a matter of scientific dispute for years, but new research from the National Center for Atmospheric Research provides evidence that global warming in the last century has steadily increased the average number of hurricanes and tropical storms. This is important information since Hurricane Katrina in 2004 was blamed in part on global warming. The study concluded that tropical storms have doubled in intensity in the last century. This new study should be studied to understand how the future climate change will cause changes to the world.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aAUXceyBLp5I&refer=europe

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/07/29/tropical.storms.ap/index.html

7/16/07

New "X-Files" Movie On the Way?

    David Duchovny, for several years now, has been promising another X-Files big screen movie. Now it appears closer to reality. Mr. Duchovny is reportedly to review a script next week, and production may start as soon as this fall. Both Duchovny and co-star Gillian Anderson of the long-running hit TV series "The X-Files" have signed on for the new movie. The first "X-Files" movie in 1998 grossed nearly $200 million worldwide. The show, about FBI agents Mulder and Scully solving paranormal cases and chasing conspiracies, remains popular and a sequel has been rumored even since.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19794062/
Comment: I grew up watching this show! During its first few years the show was immensely popular, and the series had focused on horror and monster-of-the-week type cases in addition to the alien conspiracy mythology. As I recall, when the show delved deep into the conspiracy mythology the ratings went downhill, and when David Duchovny left the full-time work on the show after the 7th season, the show really crashed. I stopped watching regularly after the 3rd season. But the new movie sounds good because it seems to be going back to its roots of scary stories.

Update! May 23, 2026:

    The "X-Files" movie sequel did materialize, it was released in the United States of America in the summer of 2008 with the title "The X-Files: I Want to Believe." It was written and directed by the series creator Chris Carter and starred the original leading duo David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Mulder and Scully. There was some level of media interest and hype in the film, However since the original hit TV-show "The X-Files" had already concluded it's 9 season Run in 2002....With ratings and fan interest already having dipped by Season 7....And there had not been a "X-Files" movie since 1998.....As a long-time fan I was even personally skeptical if there was enough narrative content left for a new feature film....Unfortunately, "X-Files: I Want to Believe" was met with mixed reviews and a modest box office gross. There was not that much fan interest especially in contrast to the first film in 1998, which had a blockbuster media release. The "X-Files" sequel earned in 2008 less than half of the first film's box office in 1998, however the sequel film was still modestly profitable. The DVD and Blu-Ray releases were not big sellers either if I remember correctly.  A major new development regarding this film is that in June 2026 a new Director's Cut version from Chris Carter will be released on Streaming online on Disney+....This will be an entirely new version of the film one...a more scary mature Horror element Tone that Chris Carter originally sought to capture, but had to tone down trim down a bit in 2008 to meet studio demands to be commercially viable.  I thought the original film was Good enjoyable and well-made if a bit serious downbeat and underwhelming....I Certainly am interested to see the new version and see for myself if it improves the film.

    So my personal experience with this TV show is now a long one...I was an All-American 1990s kid in Los Angeles in Southern California and this show was an immediate cultural sensation and ratings hit...I remember neighborhood kids recommending me to start watching this show upon it's release in 1993 and I did so....And quickly the TV show would become immensely popular. Even some of my schoolteachers openly expressed their admiration and respect for the quality of the series. This was the era before online Streaming video content took over Home Entertainment in the mid-2000s and 2010s and later....This show would Air on Friday nights and then Sunday nights and it was watched on a set TV schedule. It became quickly a part of pop culture in America in the 1990s.  I remember even my older sister watched the show with me every week for a little bit of a while. "The X-Files" became very popular for a bunch of reasons. The show was fresh new interesting and had genuine moments of horror scares and developed mind-expanding out of the box theories about government conspiracies and the paranormal and extraterrestrials and spiritual religious topics and various mythologies. Another major reason was that the show was so watchable...the leading stars Duchovny and Anderson had chemistry and were very talented and good-looking and the writing music and production was at a high quality level...the stories and human drama scenes were interesting and good and usually very serious and somber....even the humor in the show was usually done in good taste and was actually funny. There had not been a like quite like this before in modern television. Many of the minor characters in the show added depth and interest as well, and were filled with capable actors. As my schooling progressed and I Went on to middle school and high school I certainly watched the show a LOT less and I did not keep up the latest episodes or seasons much at all...I just did not have the time energy to put into keeping up with a serialized show with all my school and extra-curricular responsibilities and I remember this was pretty much the case with all my classmates in middle school and high school...I was still interested and liked the show Though as were many millions of other fans in America and around the world...In 1998 the "X-Files" was at its height of popularity the TV show ratings were high and the feature film release "The X-Files: Fight The Future" was met with a lot of media hype and fan interest and the film was a critical and commercial success....I Remember I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area and I Had Just Turned 14 and I was on summer break before the start of my high school life....I remember that my older sister, who was ahead of me and in the middle of high school, went with her group of high school friends to see the film in the movie theater...That was cool ok with me however I still remember I was feeling a little hurt inside she did not even ask me If I wanted to go along and kind of coldly inconsiderately dismissed me as a person I don't remember her even talking to me  or taking any interest in my reaction to the movie release or asking me about the film at all...This hurt sad feeling was greatly Amplified by the fact that Unfortunately at this Age I was Kind of Submerged in a dark empty cold Hole / Rut / Cocoon as I was not having any of my own Life to take a girlfriend or Good Group of Friends to See the Movie With or Even a Movie Fan Club Something I was living in Village Lakes apartments in Mountain View I was a pretty privileged kid to be Honest with lots of pretty cool stuff (cool PC games, my own desktop PC to browse the internet, cool DVDs, music CDs, books, I wandered around interesting places both in my mind and body LOL!....Yet my life was in a bit of Darkness, Regrettably and Unnecessarily, because I did not yet have a Proper Good Direction Control of my Life with good friends and activities and such....So I did not see the film until it was Released the Next year in May 1999 on DVD I was able to as a somewhat privilege Age 15 Teen Boy to be excited at the Fry's Electronics store in Sunnyvale to see the DVD promotional release and watch it by myself in my Young Teen Bedroom in our family's rental home in Mountain View.  I thought it was a neat film and entertaining and well-made and everything.  I think that it is Obvious for my Age it was not Healthy to be spending too much time alone watching DVDs or playing video games or other solitary hobbies....I don't think it' due to "The X-Files" but Yeah it is pretty disappointing for me and sure Unhealthy underachievement to say Yes! that I had aspirations and ambitions to be "popular" and "successful" and "very good-looking" and "get the girl" and "win the future lottery" as a Very Young high school Teen kid (Actually I had real potential there was something in me that one could see that potentially was very possible to be Actualized in My Life...but by the end of my Senior year of high school I had already performed poorly and been earlier sent to a 2nd high school and I was an even more poor performing socially awkward high school "loser" dork nerd (no real friends, no GF, no extra-curriculars, kind of upset Angry frustrated middle-class Parents who expected Much Much More Achievement Results out of me than whatever I Was able to accomplish in School, and I Was ending up kind of a depressed defeated deflated lazy cough potato)...LOL!....Actually a Shame What a Waste of a Good Teen!  LOL! Tears!   By the end of my Senior year in a 2nd high school I did watch the Series Finale of The X-Files in spring 2002. (I did buy from Amazon.com and take time to rewatch many episodes of Season 1 on DVD at my Age 16 in the year 2000....Surely a reasonable person would ask in hindsight why I didn't use the time energy money even ample Youth I had available to be better channeled into Healthier more Fruitful pursuits In All Areas of my Life like School Health Friends Relationships Work Family Activities Etc....Sure however the situation for me was not as straightforward and simple and Easy as one may Think to just make friends be happy Play Sports and Study and Work Learn and Be Happy I had Superiors above me to contend with and I had to ask permission to do even the smallest basic things I did not yet have much control power over my own in life in the basic areas like Housing Schooling Health Care Future Planning and Transportation Even Etc. Etc. Etc. ....But I watched those DVDs purely as way to offer some comfort me during a time I felt kind of Alone and Weak and Pressured/Stressed and Uninvolved even Left Behind Misunderstood....Perhaps that also was a bit too isolating and unhealthy and I can Grant that I needed to have devoted more time to Healthier more Active areas of Life)    The X-Files Series Finale was moderately hyped in the media....I had an interest due to my childhood sentiments and I watched it on TV...I was living in yet another different home, a larger home, in a different city San Jose....I found the 2-Part series finale  somewhat interesting and good...it kind of meandered a bit and was weird somewhat a bit boring...the Helicopter rocket attack on the Cigarette Smoking Man was well-done cool...it was ok Decent Overall...I guess the main issue was my Life Being Still in a Rut....LOL!!!....As I progressed into Later Adolescence and Early Young Adulthood I did try to catch up or Watch some of the best coolest episodes of The X-Files some of the more entertaining good ones...That was just good pass time and Stress Relief harmless Fun except again for the time that being glued to the Screen watching the DVDs at home on a computer or TV screen took away from possibly better more Fruitful activities. Finally I want to share that I had the privilege to watch "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" as a Youth in a movie theater and I was lucky to enjoy it with some food and beverages...but yeah I can totally Agree watching it Alone was not that Healthy anymore and I can admit I probably was not living the best life I needed to be living I let myself and others down...I had prematurely left a dreamlike student adventure in Hawaii Pacific University for several reasons...like many young adults I Was not finding a certain successful 




7/9/07

Michael Moore Returns, Top General Sizes up Iraq, and New Hope for Fat Buster

Michael Moore dished the cold hard truth to CNN's Wolf Blitzer about the state of media coverage and the distortions surrounding the facts of the new docu-movie "SICKO."
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/07/09/michael-moore-demands-apology-from-wolf-blitzer/

-Gen. Petraeus, the head of US forces in Iraq, has compared the War in Iraq to the long-struggle in Northern Ireland and said the war may be "decades long". This follows a White House push to liken the Iraq War to long-term military affairs. President Bush compared the 50-year military presence after the Korean War to what may happen with the Iraq War. This information comes at the same time that a government report on Iraq progress reveals that none of goals set by the Iran government have been met. Iraq is not making any progress. So the original fear of WMDs and the al-Qaeda/Iran link have been proven to be false. The prospect of bringing democracy and freedom to Iraq is not happening and will happen under current conditions. The belief that "we must fight them there so we don't have to fight them here" is a Orwellian twist of reality. And finally the Bush White House proclamation that the Iraq War is a fight to defend the Iraqi people and give them a chance to build a free society also holds no water. The Iraqi people overwhelmingly support US troop withdrawal, and what is the US military occupation achieving when the Iraqi government is basically not making any impact?
It is my impression that US strategists are in a bind. To pull out of Iraq means to see the US lose control of the Middle East. To stay would witness continued violence and fatalities. Political negotiation would have to involve Iran, and its uranium enrichment program would be a strong card. US policymakers really do not seem to have any good choices. Of course, my solution would be implement a one-year troop withdrawal plan, a comprehensive settlement with Iran regarding Iraq and the Israel/Palestinian conflict, and at the same time invest heavily in renewable energy.

-In a health breakthrough, new serious hope for obesity and overweight people! Georgetown University scientists have identified a natural chemical, Y2P blocker, that melts away fat, at least in mice. Putting in a chemical that promotes the neuropeptide transmitter builds fat.
ABC News Link

7/5/07

  • A negative assessment of the health gap between rich and poor in America: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19570119/
  • Sign of Global Warming? Record heat in Las Vegas and Southern California this week. Firefighters warn about a long and hard fire season as well. There have been serious wildfires in Santa Barbara, Catalina, and Lake Tahoe so far.

7/4/07

This Fourth of July 2007 I would like to reflect on what makes America a great country. In this United States, the greatest strength is the people and the opportunities for a good life. I am not happy with a lot about America, but I do have to point out that there is a lot of creativity and beauty in America. There is no shortage of people in America that are motivated and passionate in their life. The best thing about America is that you will always see people striving to do better.

Yet, I have to point out that I am very unhappy with this "War on Terror" and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City were an awful event and I can't see the justification in acts of violence, yet I am proud to see so many people stand up and speak out against that act of terror and violence. Yet I can't help feel that people should speak out against acts of violence everywhere it occurs. In this campaign to defeat terror, countless innocent civilians have been killed in the Middle East. I feel it makes no sense. This link illustrates the unequal weight some people give to human life.
http://www.prosebeforehos.com/government_employee/06/22/civilian-death-statistics-in-iraq-afghanistan-compared/

The daily reporting of the Iraq War is not truthful. One excellent piece of evidence is the way many military attacks can be assumed to be against "Al-qaida." However, as this link reveals many times the Al-qaida victims are actually innocent civilians.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/06/30/war_reporting/index.html