Year: 2007

The Name is Pratt. Doug Pratt.

There’s an absolutely fascinating paper (yes, I’m being sarcastic) called “Message Format Standards,” that in 1999 was presented to the Department of Health and Human Services National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. What’s interesting about it is that the paper was written by Doug Pratt, who happens to work at a leading competitor of the company where I’ve worked for 26 years. He’s a systems integration specialist and, well, so am I. Although to be precise about it, Doug specializes in the medical application layer, and I work below that, dealing mostly with LAN/WAN/SAN issues. Still, I think it’s a remarkable coincidence.

Eric’s Anime Pick — Ergo Proxy

Besides giant robot battles, another fave Anime theme is the hot female agent/assassin who begins to suspect she isn’t working for the good guys. (See previous post about Kurau.) Ergo Proxy is another example along these lines. So far we’ve watched it through episode 4. The series has some subtly stylized, if dark and monochromatic, artwork and an attention-holding narrative.

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The theme song played over the closing credits, “Paranoid Android,” is by Radiohead, a band I featured here. The song heard during the opening is by Monral.

The Death of Optimus Prime

First, let me refer you back to Eric’s great review of Transformers: The Movie. Optimus Prime has a touching death scene in the movie. But wait! That’s not how it really happened! This is the truth about how Optimus Prime ceased functioning.
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I have a friend who’s 60+ with an enlarged prostate and an elevated PSA count. Men who are 50 and over should heed the wise words of Optimus Prime!

Colbert’s Love Regrets

Compliments of my FiOS DVR, I’ve spliced together the end of Tuesday night’s Colbert Report with the beginning of Wednesday’s show, so you can see a gag he carries over between them.
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When Movies Were Talkies

I caught most, but not quite all, of The Broadway Melody of 1929 on Turner Classic Movies a while back. This one’s got it all, as the saying goes, including this powerful scene where a love triangle comes apart at the seams. Actress Bessie Love tries to hold herself together, while having a complete breakdown, in a performance worthy of an Oscar. Bessie lost to Mary Pickford. The other woman is 18-year-old Anita Page, born in 1910 and still living.

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Note: Anita Page passed away on Saturday, September 6, 2008.