Another reason to go see 'The Dark Knight'

Naturally, there was been a great deal of hype leading up to the imminent Dark Knight release, with talk of a posthumous Oscar for Ledger's Joker, and the promise of a more intense movie experience than the previous film...but for me there is another equally appealing and compelling need to see this movie; for the trailers that will be affixed to the beginning. In particular, the trailer that will be shown for the new DC Comics movie to be released in March of 2009: 'Watchmen'. For those of you not familiar with the source material, it was written by Alan Moore back in the 80s, and is a graphic novel set in 1985, during an alternate history of the US where we decisively won the Vietnam War and vigilante costumed crimefighters walk the streets of American cities, meting out their own brand of justice. While my brief synopsis sounds like the setup for a generic superhero romp, 'Watchmen' is far removed from such insipid comic trappings. Of all the "superheroes", only one has any quantifiable superhuman powers, and most are washed up or retired as a result of the fictitious Keene Act of 1977, barring any costumed heroes from practicing vigilante justice. Further, the heroes themselves are deeply flawed (for the most part), and certainly do not fit the standard paragon of virtue and truth typically attributed to masked lawmen, and in fact, one of the more important characters is essentially a nihilist. The graphic novel also serves as a compelling study of the paranoia associated with the Cold War (which the US is still engaged in), nuclear conflict, and moreover, the human condition. And honestly, for me to claim I have presented all that one can glean from this story would be foolhardy...this is just a damn good read, period, and a pretty cool mystery, to boot. If you have some time on your hands, I highly recommend picking up a copy (you should be able to acquire one on Amazon for about 12 or 13 bucks). And just keep in mind, the Comedian didn't get the name for his innate ability to crack clever jokes...

Needless to say, I'm fairly excited about this movie. The guy who wrote the screenplay (David Hayter) also penned the first X-men movie, and some might recognize the name in conjuction with the voice of Solid Snake from the immensely popular 'Metal Gear Solid' game series. Zack Snyder (of '300' fame) took the reigns as director of the film, and from reading his commentary, it sounds like they are staying quite true to the source material, which includes a couple of scenes that will be disturbing on-screen, but are absolutely vital to the story.

So, hopefully everyone will head to see the Dark Knight, and just remember, there's a good reason to make it for the trailers for this one...

So I finally broke into the Indian genre of food units for the first time in my life...not too shabby I must say. The place I went to was doing a lunch buffet, so I was able to peruse an assortment of different dishes. The hot pepper chicken I had (sorry, can't recall the exact nomenclature) was actually downright awesome, no churrascuria bacon-wrapped chicken, but not too terribly far off.

Crap, it's been far too long since I posted something up on my blog, so I will rectify that situation now.

Alas, I don't have too much interesting to report, other than that I've been slaving away in a combo platter of the machine shop, and the electron beam microscope lab. It has been raining a good deal here in Ann Arbor; almost feels like I'm back in College Station or something.

I would at this point like to take pause to recognize the passing of the great comedic genius that was George Carlin...and similarly the passing of Reunion Arena.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing everybody back in the Metroplex over the 4th of July holiday, as it will probably be my last few days off for a good long while.

Man, talk about random stream of consciousness musings...that's about all I got these days. Oddly, I am looking forward to the fall, not so much for the class, but because I haven't been so stoked for a Dallas Cowboys football season in a good long while (sorry, had to touch on the sports page). Even though I know I'm setting myself up to be disappointed, I expect nothing less than an NFC championship trip, which in all honesty, is not out of the question. There certainly isn't any team in the NFC that is vastly superior to the Cowboys in any way, and while I'm not going to throw down a guarantee, I suspect they will be one of the front runners for the conference title. I also have full confidence Romo will win a playoff game this year...and I expect him to cut down the interception total from last season (which sort of got lost in the mix of all the TDs he was throwing). I also fully expect to see Adam Jones make it rain during a crucial third down, four receiver set situation, in order to distract the receiver he is playing man-to-man with loads of cash dispersed about the turf.

Separated at birth?

Both want it all...both are incredibly intense at all times...



Anybody with me here?

In case anybody still checks this blog, and was wondering just what in the hell it is I do for a living...well here's a very small taste:



I have a lot of work left in order to perfect my techniques, but the long and short of it is that part of my research is to examine the morphological properties of engine deposits produced in my HCCI engine. This particular picture is actually one of deposits from an older piston running in a GDI (gasoline direct injection) configuration, mostly just to serve as practice. I'm actually more interested in structures on the nanoscale, but it is still somewhat worthwhile for the moment.