Super-superregnum

I want to post this before I forget (and before someone else claims it). I think that we should preemptively add a "top" level to our classification/cladistics/phylogeny. It's tentatively a "super-superregnum" level, which puts lifeforms into entire biologies based on their planets (or other regions) of origin. I think that ours should be called "Terrus" because it sounds like "Terran" but "Terran" is already used descriptively in other ways, and because most of these end in "-us" or "-um".
I also hold that one super-superregnum (such as "Terrus") could in fact cover multiple planet, in cases of panspermia, whereby one planet's (or other region's) biology originates from another's.

What I'm Reading

Life's been pretty weird lately, what with looking for work and trying to find time for everything else and all that. Lately, I've been trying to do a bit of reading, too. Currently, I'm reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (I picked up a big book containing all five novels, but I might save the others for later - see below) and Steampunk, an anthology of steampunk works that I got as a gift back around Xmas.
I've also been gathering a list of things that I ought to read. Over time, I've frequently run across something that I ought to read eventually. However, I have often forgotten these later. My solution is that I now have an ever-growing list of things that I should read (or re-read). In fact, for the hell of it, here's the list so far (the list is in no particular order):

• Watership Down (Richard Adams)


• Fear and Trembling (Soren Kierkegaard)


• On the Genealogy of Morality (Friedrich Nietzsche)


• The Prince (Machiavelli)


• The Difference Engine (William Gibson and Bruce Sterling)


• Prelude to Foundation, Foundation, etc. (Isaac Asimov)


• Starship Troopers (Robert A. Heinlein)


• Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)


• Dune (Frank Herbert)


• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)


• A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)


• Neuromancer (William Gibson)


• The Gods Themselves (Isaac Asimov)


• Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)


• Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)


• The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)


• The Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson)


• The End of Eternity (Isaac Asimov)


• Hyperion (Dan Simmons)

I reiterate that these are in no particular order.
I also recently discovered SFFMedia , where, among other things, they give various mentions of upcoming SF movie adaptations. I was looking at some classic SF and some other good stuff, too, and, well, let's just make another list, this time of upcoming science fiction films of interest (info based on SFFMedia articles - just use Search):

• Dune - A new Dune movie, much closer to the original work, is supposed to come out. As of May 2009, the creators are working on a script and will turn it in soon.


• Neuromancer - As of April 2008, it's got a producer, director, lead actor, and budget, and is slated for 2009. I'm just going to assume that that'll be this holiday season if it's this year at all.


• Hyperion - They're going to turn the first two books in the Hyperion Cantos into one movie, which is apparently too much to cram in. As of February 2009, it has a director and a screenwriter.


• Foundation - The first 3 books are being turned into a movie. As of January 2009, it has a director.

So, those are a few that I looked up the other day. I hope to do a more exhaustive list, based on my full list of things to read (well, just the SF stuff really) later. The reason for making this list now is to get an overall order for the movies. Then, I have to decide whether to read the books before the movies. On the one hand, it's traditionally better to read books before movies, since the movies can act like spoilers for the books. On the other hand, movie adaptations are almost never as good as the originals, so it might be better to watch the movie first, since the book won't disappoint thereafter. I guess that the question is one of ruin versus spoilage. Thoughts?
Also, I'm still taking suggestions for my reading list.

Is Jon Stewart a Modern-Day David Frost?

I'm going to summarize last night's interview of Jim Cramer by Jon Stewart as follows:
Jon Stewart pwned Jim Cramer.
Now, I know that there are limitations to comparing Jon Stewart to David Frost. For starters, Cramer isn't nearly as important as Nixon, and of course, Stewart is a comedian, whereas Frost was a reporter. Actually, even within this fiasco, Cramer isn't as important as Nixon was with his administration, since Cramer isn't in charge of the others.
Now, Stewart didn't sit around interviewing Cramer several hours a day for about a week, but of course, Stewart didn't need to wear Cramer down and get him to say internally inconsistent things within the interview. Of course, he had a modern advantage. It has become easy - and in fact standard - for there to be several clips ready to be played at a moment's notice.
I found it particularly amusing when a clip was rolled where Cramer was explaining how to pull one of those tricks regarding hedge funds. Cramer tried to say that he was trying to out the bad guys and explain how it works. Then, of course, another clip was rolled, showing that Cramer was suggesting this as actual advice. Cramer was caught in a lie in the interview. Even if he didn't lie during the interview, however, it still would have shown him for what he is.

OK, I'm going to post this even though it's not polished yet, just to get it out there. I've got plans today and tomorrow, so I don't know when I'll finish this.
Also, FYI, I wasn't really planning to blog right now, but once I saw that interview, I knew that I just had to say something.

You can see the whole interview uncensored (i.e., unbleeped), at http://www.thedailyshow.com/index.jhtml .

EDIT 2009/Mar/20: OK, I know that I intended to flesh out that post more, but I've been too busy. I'm shooting for early next week. In the meantime, I figured that this is as good of a place as any to write down this quote that I've been meaning to grab for a few weeks now:
"Isn't the Dow Jones Industrial Average just a short-twitch numerical representation of a bunch of guesses about other people's assumptions about the financial well-being of an arbitrarily chosen group of thirty out of tens of thousands of possible companies?" -Jon Stewart

Update: I'm Busy

OK, basically, I'm really busy right now. I'm trying to find a job. If I don't find a real job soon, then I'll have to go get a grunt job somewhere. That, of course, will take up even more time, since I'll still be looking for a real job.
Regarding my play by e-mail RPG, D. hasn't responded to my latest e-mail yet, so that's stuck. I have found a group with which to hang out once per week. Once I squeeze that in, though, there's not much time left for blogging.
Expect real blog posts about subjects that I actually want to discuss to appear after I get a real job.

Posts to Come: All-in-one List as of Xmas 2008

It's harder to track my list of posts to make when they're all spread about, so here's a consolidated list of what I still need to do, as of now:

Posts:
Was Serenity a Nail in Firefly's Coffin?
Things of a Literary Nature: Innate Timeline Branching in Fiction
Crisps, Chips, or Fries?
Centaur or Thri-Kreen?
something about Arkham Horror (mechanics, summer league, etc.)
some kind of game review

Edits:
Add to and update "RPGs for Me to Play".
http://games.yahoo.com/daily-games/sudokudaily for having found sudoku w/ green dots

I also intend to post a section of that story that I'm trying to write. I'm not doing it by chapter at this point. I am still trying to write, but I seem to have trouble getting the words to flow. Here's what else is going on in my life:
Basically, since commencement (Did I mention that I'm graduating? The bureaucracy still needs to do some stuff, but, as far as I know, I've got a diploma coming my way.), I've been taking a break. That won't last long, since I need to find a job.
I also want to get through the Arkham Horror Summer League (new URL: http://new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=6&esem=4 - and you have to log in for the text to turn into links). At this point, I'm doing it by myself, and I'm halfway through. The last scenario got released last week. I hope to get through the last of the scenarios that don't require Curse of the Dark Pharaoh by ... soon. Then, I need to get Curse of the Dark Pharaoh so that I can do the rest. I also got 4 books for Xmas, 3 of which I intend to read when I get the chance (the 4th is for either of two RPG systems that I don't use yet, so that will wait).
Of course, this is all aside from the stuff that I need to do, like looking for a job and working on getting some certifications. And losing weight. And practicing my martial arts. And cleaning my room.
That's all for now.

Merry Xmas

Well, we've survived Robot Santa's attacks yet again, and I came out on top this time. I'm just posting this to say what I got.
I got a WristStrong bracelet and A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All.
I got Spirit of the Century and Don't Rest Your Head, each in both print and PDF form. DRYH also came with a free gift of Reality Storm: When Worlds Collide, which has Silver Age Sentinels stats for a bunch of Champions Universe characters and HERO System stats for a bunch of SAS characters, and complete, official rules for converting between the two. Of course, I don't have either system, so that'll be shelved for a while. I also got some Fudge dice to go with SotC.
I also got Steampunk, an anthology of steampunk stories.
More blog posts are coming soon.

Miscellaneous Updates

Well, life's been pretty hectic this term. I've got finals this week, but after that I should be able to post more.
Quick notes:
-My play-by-e-mail game now has a genre, and will probably get a system soon. Once I'm out of school, I should be able to get a regular schedule, so that I can update regularly.
-I would like to update this blog at least weekly.
-I would like to do that story thing that I was trying to do.
-"War is other people." -me; this results from that war is hell and that hell is other people
-I want to do some stuff on games, including some reviews and some mechanics analyses.
-There should be a site like boardgamegeek for RPGs.
-Reminder to self: There are several posts that I wanted to go back and edit, as mentioned in the posts themselves.
I'll try to post something more complete later on. If I don't do it before Friday, then I probably won't do it on Friday, either. Saturday or Sunday would be the likely times then, assuming that I remember. :P
That's all for now.