Looking for the Heinlein Quote of the Month for December, I ran across this great site. Hit refresh to cycle through the 375 quotations assembled there.

I love the Internet.

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Check out this slideshow detailing the numerous violations of the laws of war by the terrorists in Fallujah: (HTML Version) (PowerPoint Version).

(Via Gene Expression).

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Between guest-blogging and Thanksgiving last week, I completely failed to tally the votes from our last poll, update the Gallery, and set a new poll up Thursday. I was getting tired of that time-slot anyway, so we'll start running this little feature every Tuesday, beginning tonight.

This week we have a trio of Vulcan lovelies from the Star Trek universe:

T'Pring, portrayed by Arlene Martel in the original series episode Amok Time.

Lieutenant Saavik, portrayed by a young Kirstie Alley in the best Star Trek movie of all time, The Wrath of Khan.

T'Pol, portrayed by Jolene Blalock in the current series Enterprise.

Results (Posted 7 December 2004):

Posted by: JohnL at 09:03 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 Oh, come on, that one isn't even close. Saavik is the hottest woman in the history of Star Trek; there's just no way to compete. Challenge us next time!

Posted by: Timothy Sandefur at November 30, 2004 10:19 PM (j2BsO)

2 Oh, come on, that one isn't even close. I second that.

Posted by: Bill from INDC at December 01, 2004 07:46 AM (LwLkw)

3 Oh come on! T'Pol! T'Pol I say! That whole "decontamination" scene from a few seasons ago. Whoa! After seeing that I had to take a cold shower and pour myself a drink.

Posted by: The Maximum Leader at December 01, 2004 07:54 AM (jmfvP)

4 Saavik almost didn't make the list, as she is technically only half-Vulcan (her other half is Romulan as anyone who read the novelization of the movie would know). I like the exotic, vaguely Latin look of T'Pring; I would split my votes between her and Saavik. T'Pol, while easy on the eyes in a 7-of-9 way, has to do something about the haircut to beat out the other two. You know, I may as well just go shoot myself...

Posted by: JohnL at December 01, 2004 08:03 AM (YVul2)

5 That whole "decontamination" scene from a few seasons ago. Aw, c'mon. That was cheap exploitation---not like we haven't seen that before, especially from Roddenberry's brain child---and it was more annoying than amorous. At any rate, the vote has to go to Lieutenant Saavik, without question.

Posted by: The Country Pundit at December 01, 2004 03:28 PM (Y6cRj)

6 While I don't mind that actress as Saavik, and not wanting to split the Saavik vote (I claim the first one! ) shouldn't, uh, there be two pictures there? Or should I file that in the same black hole that stands between ST:IV and ST:VI? Lysander

Posted by: Lysander at December 01, 2004 10:23 PM (ht9UE)

7 Lysander, please educate me. Kirstie Alley played Saavik in Treks II and III. The traitorous Vulcan lady in ST VI was supposed to be Saavik, but was changed to Valeris/Kim Cattrall after fan uproar based on leaked scripts. Is there another Saavik/actress I should have included?

Posted by: JohnL at December 01, 2004 10:55 PM (gplif)

8 I'm with the Llama Butchers...write in vote for Valeris! Otherwise Saavik...without a doubt.

Posted by: Kin at December 02, 2004 06:54 AM (MXgCT)

9 Well, there was a second Saavik, hired for Star Trek III due to the fact that Kirstie Alley's agent wanted more money than Shatner, Nimoy, or Kelley were getting. (Or so I heard...) Exit Kirstie, enter Robin Curtis; apparently, she went over like a lead balloon such that Star Trek IV relegated her to a single appearance, and only a sentence or so at that. Piffle to Valeris!

Posted by: The Country Pundit at December 02, 2004 08:29 AM (Y6cRj)

10 Well I'll be doggonned. That'll teach me to go by memory alone. I could have sworn Kirstie was in ST:III (probably because there is a scene in the novelization involving teenage Spock's Pon Farr with Saavik on the Genesis world; funny that my memory interpolates that scene into the movie). IMDB doesn't show Saavik in ST:III at all, and indeed played by Robin Curtis in ST:IV. Thanks for all the feedback!

Posted by: JohnL at December 02, 2004 09:23 AM (YVul2)

11 How could any man confuse Robin Curtis with Kirstie Alley? And being half Romulan only makes her better in bed, I suspect. (God, I'm such a pig.)

Posted by: Timothy Sandefur at December 02, 2004 12:45 PM (7IiMS)

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Today's Drudge Report has a wonderful, wacky variety of news.

First up, Dan Ra^ther talks to ghosts.

Next, life imitates art, or at least a Van Halen song. (I don't remember any of my teachers looking like that!)

Interesting: Pat Sajak speaks truth to Hollywood about the Van Gogh murder.

And finally, it appears that ABC's housewives might pull the network into second place for this "sweeps" period, likely bumping NBC into third.

(I have to share a guilty confession, like J.T. at Wizbang: I enjoy watching that trashy show with the missus). Why? Two good reasons under the fold:
more...

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This week's featured aircraft is the aptly-named Douglas X-3 Stiletto:

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Michele at A Small Victory has posted a review of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.

I posted my take on the book and some thoughts on religion over at Freespace.

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I hope all of you have had a happy, peaceful, and relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday. Last year, I posted a list of things for which I am thankful. I don't think I would change much of anything on it this year.

I have posted George Washington's original Thanksgiving proclamation from October 14, 1789 in the extended entry:
more...

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Via Rand Simberg (who got it from Jay Manifold), an entertaining set of satirical textbook disclaimers parodying the efforts of school boards to undermine evolutionary theory. The first "sticker," in the upper-left-hand corner, is the only real one on the page:

This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.

My favorite parody:

This textbook contains material on gravity. Gravity is a theory, not a fact, regarding a force that cannot be directly seen. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.

(Cross-posted at Freespace).

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Gene Expression, a facinating site covering topics related to human biodiversity and genetics (one of my daily reads), has created a spin-off site covering science fiction. Check it out.

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Robert Heinlein is, obviously, one of the unifying themes of my blog. I first became acquainted with what I would eventually come to understand as "libertarianism" through his juvenile fiction such as Between Planets, Space Cadet, and Tunnel in the Sky. Later works such as Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Friday, and Job: A Comedy of Justice all greatly informed my views on government, religion, and society.

I recently finished reading The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein. Until I ran across a review of a short story from this collection at New Troy a few months ago, I never even knew Heinlein wrote fantasies. But then these really aren't "fantasies" in the traditional elf, swords, and sorcery sense.

I ran across a real gem in this collection, entitled "Magic, Inc." I would love to see this story included in high school government class curricula since it shows the monopolization of a profession (magicians) by a large magic corporation's pushing through legislation to license the professionals. (I won't tell how the story ends).

It's well worth your time just to read the twelve-page sequence covering the protagonists' journey to the capitol to try to kill or water down the enabling legislation that would lead to licensing and professional standards for magicians. Every detail, from the underhanded inclusion of magical regulations in the agenda of the legislature's special session, to the bloviating legislators referring to Mosaic, Roman, and common law, to the defeat snatched from the jaws of victory when the original legislation is passed, unaltered, as a rider to a public works appropriations bill.

Magic, Inc. was originally copyrighted in 1940, but still remains relevant, and, most importantly for any fiction, a good read. Check the whole collection out.

(Cross-posted at Freespace).

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I posted a version of this at Freespace earlier today, but thought it would fit fine here, too.

The House of Representatives' recent passage of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 marks a positive development for the fledgling commercial space tourism industry. Alan Boyle has been following this legislation and has a comprehensive article explaining the pros and cons of the bill.

Despite some shortcomings, the bill provides clearer guidance for the FAA, which has so far been working on an ad hoc basis in licensing experimental spaceships like Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne. In principle, I would prefer no regulation at all. But both the aviation and rocketry industries are already subject to onerous regulatory schemes, which could have been extended to strangle the suborbital tourism business while it is still in the cradle. So this is an improvement on the pre-existing legal framework. I might write up more on this later, but Alan Boyle's article is a good place to start.

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Timothy Sandefur has kindly extended an invitation for me to be his guest-blogger at Freespace this week. I am looking forward to working on a few "think pieces," since the tone of dialogue on his blog is a bit more serious than what I usually offer up here. Who knows, maybe the change of setting will help me elevate the tone of my blog a bit, too.

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Good news from Alan at Strengthen the Good: the organization is now a 503(c) non-profit organization so that donors who go through STG may obtain a tax deduction.

Alan has identified a new cause this time: an English-language library in Slovakia needs some books and has identified a wish list with many worthy titles. You can send books directly to the school identified in Alan's article, or you can send money to STG and they will purchase books for the school. As always, follow the link, read Alan's summary of the cause, and determine whether you can do anything to help.

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This week's cheesecake serving is the Northrop P-61 Black Widow Night Fighter:

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This week's poll takes us back to a velveetalicious Irwin Allen Sci Fi series that premiered the year I was born: The Land of the Giants.

I loved this show as a kid.

The two contenders are Valerie Scott (portrayed by the still-quite-attractive Deanna Lund) and Betty Hamilton (portrayed by Heather Young).

Check out last week's results and the updated entry to the Gallery of the Babes.

Results (Posted 30 November 2004):

SF Babes: The Land of the Giants
	Valerie Scott 31 votes 67%
	Betty Hamilton 15 votes 33%

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My superhero persona seems eerily appropriate:

Via The Llamabutchers (yeah, so what else is new?)

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From the Llama Butchers (who pinched it from Mixolydian Don) a list of the "top" cult films with the ones I've seen in bold, the ones I plan to see for the first time or would see again in italics:

1. This Is Spinal Tap
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Really. I've never seen this. Not sure I will ever see it.
3. Freaks
4. Harold And Maude
5. Pink Flamingos - The. Grossest. Movie. Ever. I was never much of a John Waters fan, but I let a friend talk me into seeing this in college after I had pulled an all-nighter writing a history seminar paper. After being awake for about 40 hours straight and having imbibed about 4 liters of Mountain Dew and a beer, I was in a pretty strange state of mind, but quite well-suited for this film.
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
7. Repo Man
8. Scarface
9. Blade Runner
10. The Shawshank Redemption

(remainder in extended entry)
more...

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A small dose of politics tonight, courtesy of Rand Simberg: an open letter to our friends in Europe. Perhaps a bit triumphalist, but I cannot debate much of its content (though I am uncomfortable with excessive invocations of religion in the public square).

I have to say I best liked the line about sending people to the moon and robots to Mars in our "spare time."

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About 15 years ago, when I was still a music student and not yet a corporate lawyer, I performed a full-faculty recital on the big Piet Visser organ at UT-Austin. The works I performed were Cesar Franck's Piece Heroique, Jean Langlais' Epilogue (Pedal Solo) from Hommage a Frescobaldi, and Dietrich Buxtehude's Praeludium et Fuga in g moll (BuxWV 149).

The Buxtehude piece was my favorite, perhaps because it was the most difficult to learn (and therefore the most rewarding to play). My professor had done a great deal of research on baroque ornamentation and performance practice, and we ended up playing the piece much more highly ornamented and quickly than most mainstream performers.

Although to my eternal regret I have no recordings of my live organ performances in my prime, I did create a contemporaneous "Switched on Buxtehude" version of the piece on my synthesizers which I transferred to mp3 a couple of years ago (to protect against damage or loss to the old audio cassette).

Download my recording here, and please let me know what you think. (The music is public domain, but the performance and recording are mine; please give me performance and arrangement credit if you reproduce it. Thanks!)

P.S. (Here are a couple of decent "traditional" - limited ornamentation - virtual performances using samples from real organs for contrast's sake).

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Last night I beat Halo 2 on the Normal setting, but I won't consider it truly "beaten" until I've completed Heroic and Legendary each in solo mode, a process that took me several months with the first Halo.

Once I've done that, I plan to venture online and try some of the XBox Live matches. One thing I've read that makes me really look forward to playing online is Bungie's matching of players with similar skills, and tracking their experience, so that they move up as they become better players.

My first experiences with online play (with the Halo for PC demo) were less-than-satisfactory due to the mismatch in skills that often left me lying in a pool of blood for the entire game as snot-nosed teenagers typed insults at me on the chat channel.

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