Do you ever run across those books that you really wish you had found when you were starting out in one field or another? For the last several years I’ve been working on a software project that forced me to get down into the nitty gritty of JDBC development and SQL statement execution. And, as I tend to do, I found a resource that I felt adequately described a particular area of technology and stuck with it.

The book that I’ve been using for years now is SQL for Dummies. It has existed beside my work desk and referenced to the point where it’s dog-eared and looking like something one of my dogs dragged in from the back yard. SQL for Dummies taught me the fundamentals of using SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements at a high level, which was enough for me at the time.

Did it teach me everything I needed to know? Not really, but that wasn’t its goal. SQL for Dummies was enough to get me started in the right direction. Other online resources (courtesy of Google) would provide more specific examples of various vendor-specific SQL dialects or more complex statements.

So when I finally started looking at Learning SQL, Second Edition by Alan Beaulieu, I had a foundation in the basics of SQL but had no idea about the background, theory, or the how’s or why’s one method should be used over another. This book starts out with the basics and within the first 50 pages begins to go way past what SQL for Dummies covered.

Beaulieu provides examples that he develops over a period of chapters. Initially he covers the history of databases and the transition from nonrelational data to relational models. The most interesting fact I learned early on in the book was that SQL is not an acronym for “Structured Query Language,” even though many people (including myself before learning that it’s not true) would swear it does. It’s just the name a group at IBM came up with to describe this language over the course of a few iterations - it was first DSL/Alpha, then SQUARE, SEQUEL, and finally SQL.

As we progress through those first couple of chapters, we learn how to create objects in a relational database such as tables, insert data into those objects, and then query the database to get the data back out in a variety of forms. For example, you can in a query reformat the order of columns from a table or sort the data in particular ways.

And then Beaulieu builds on those basic blocks to explain how to use the different clauses of a query, from affecting query results using the “group by” and “order by” clauses to filtering queries down to only the data we want to see using the “where” and “having” clauses. Each section builds on what came before it. But what made this book flow for me was the fact that he gave reasons for why you’d use different parts of SQL syntax. For instance, I’d seen the “distinct” keyword used, but didn’t really understand why. Now I know that the “distinct” keyword filters out any duplicates for the column with which it is used in a query. Very straightforward and easy to understand.

He also talks about how and why to use subqueries, which are queries contained within other queries. I’ve seen many extremely complex queries and always shied away from them because it was simply too much information to comprehend in most cases. But if you look at each subquery as a building block creating a virtual table that is in turn consumed by the query that calls it, it makes a lot more sense.

Beaulieu walks through joins, data, grouping, and so much more in this book. Each chapter and section makes sense on its own, but in the larger context it has managed to fill many of the holes in my understanding of SQL in a straightforward manner.

I would strongly recommend Beaulieu’s Learning SQL, Second Edition for anyone doing database development. I can with certainty say that it takes care of so many of the mysteries of using SQL that it will quickly become indispensible on my own shelf.

–Fitz

p.s. Click below to pick up Learning SQL, Second Edition or SQL for Dummies at Amazon!

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Every now and then we get to witness events in nature on the big screen or television that are just astounding. In 2007, Planet Earth from the BBC and the Discovery Channel came to America, narrated by Sigourney Weaver and showed an amazing array of life on our planet in glorious HD quality. Since then, I think the BBC and other documentary filmmakers have been working hard to top themselves.

Though Nature’s Most Amazing Events is an incredible accomplishment, I don’t think it quite matches up to the splendor or Planet Earth. That said, it includes some unbelievable footage shot of some inhospitable and nearly unreachable places all over the globe over a period of years by extremely dedicated people. However, where Planet Earth had little time to focus on a single area and the stories of individual animals, Nature’s Most Amazing Events uses storytelling to create an emotional bond with the audience.

This 2-DVD set includes all six episodes from the series, and appends a “diary” to the end of each. Each diary tells the stories of the filmmakers as they were trying to get to these places and record the footage used for the episode.

Narrated by David Attenborough, his very correct British accent only made it difficult to understand what he was saying in a few places. Notably, each time he said “school” we heard it as “shoal,” which caused a bit of confusion for myself and my family. But once we figured out he was saying “school,” we understood exactly what it was he’d been saying.

In “The Great Melt,” you learn about the impact of global warming on the Arctic ice and the dangers the increased melting poses for the polar bears. However, beyond the polar bears you begin to see the huge circle of life as melting ice sends fresh water into the sea and creates habitats for an incredible array of fish, birds, seals, whales, and more. We were particularly amazed by the shots of the narwhal migration through the ice. Though I’d seen pictures of these mysterious creatures before, actually seeing them wind their way through the canals and cracks opening in the melting ice was beautiful to behold.

“The Great Migration” and “The Great Flood” told stories of the animals of Africa dealing with hostile and often deadly environmental conditions, yet somehow finding ways to survive in the Serengeti and Bostswana’s Okavango Delta. We were blown away by the transformation of the Okavango from cracked and dried sandy plains to a lush, green field and swamp with bountiful fish, grasses, and wildlife.

But I think our favorites were “The Great Salmon Run” and “The Great Tide”. In “The Great Salmon Run” we follow salmon as they migrated back to the place where they were spawned in British Columbia. Along the way there are natural barriers to overcome as well as hungry predators. In “The Great Tide,” billions of sardines draw thousands of predators to the coasts of South Africa for a feeding frenzy beyond belief.

The photography was top notch for all of the episodes and they really do bring you as close to the action as you could possibly be without actually being there yourself. Definitely an amazing accomplishment by a devoted and talented crew of people all around the world.

Beyond the episodes themselves we were captivated when the “diary” for each episode would appear. These filmmakers are not only consummate professionals as far as camera-work goes, but are all adventurous souls who deserve to have their own stories told. In “The Great Salmon Run,” one cameraman swam with Grizzly Bears who were starving and trying to catch the salmon while he took footage of them doing it. Talk about nerves of steel. And in “The Great Tide” we saw an experienced underwater photographer get his flipper nibbled on by a shark. These people deserve our admiration for their courage and dedication to their craft.

If you are a nature lover or are simply captivated by the beautiful documentaries coming out in high definition these days, Nature’s Most Amazing Events should be on your list of DVDs to pick up. Each story is truly beautiful to behold. I can hardly wait to see what the BBC will do next.

–Fitz

p.s. Be sure to pick up Nature’s Most Amazing Events at Amazon below:

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When I first saw the title and description for Every Picture Tells a Story, where art critic Waldemar Januszczak (The Sunday Times, U.K.) explores the history of eight different paintings from master artists such as Gainsborough, da Vinci, and Monet, I thought I would be taken on an interesting ride into art history. My eldest daughter has become very intrigued by different classical painters and techniques, and I hoped this would be something we could do together to learn about some of these masterpieces.

Though I know Januszczak is brilliant and knows his art, this has to be one of the driest explorations of art on record - at least for the casual art lover. He presents a ton of information about each painting, and does find some quite curious conspiracies and gossip about each of them. But he does it with such dry British wit that I found myself dozing off between segments. This DVD collection is meant for more serious lovers of art history than we currently have at my house.

That said, I have to say I was impressed with the depth each episode goes to for each painting. Not only does the host talk about the style of art itself, but about what was going on during the historical period of the painter, where the work was done, and in some cases what other artists and writers were doing during the period in question. And to spice it up a bit, he also relates some of the gossip surrounding each work.

Each episode is less than 25 minutes and Januszczak does his best to make sure the whole episode isn’t filmed inside a museum with shots of him and the painting. For example, when discussing Thomas Gainsborough’s “Mr and Mrs Andrews,” he filmed segments from the tree which was in the background of the painting. It provided an interesting backdrop to the discussion of what was proper at the time and how the area has changed since the 18th century. And when discussing “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp” he traveled to the Netherlands and explored the locations where people would gather to watch autopsies for fun.

The eight episodes are on 2 DVDs and include discussions of “Mr and Mrs Andrews” (Gainsborough), “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp” (Rembrandt), “The Tempest” (Giorgione), “The Birth of Venus” (Botticelli), “Boy Bitten by a Lizard” (Caravaggio), “Mona Lisa” (Leonardo da Vinci), “Le dejeuner sur l’herbe” (Manet), and “The Arnolfini Marriage” (Jan van Eyck).

In addition to each episode, there is “The Rest of the Story”, which provides additional background on each episode in a Q&A format, as well as a biography for each artist and a booklet. The booklet includes a summary of each episode, with a image of the painting being discussed as well as a set of questions to consider, a list of other works discussed, and a bibliography for further investigation.

Every Picture Tells a Story was not my cup of tea, but I can definitely see its use as an educational aid for high school or college art classes. Januszczak has a firm grasp of the historical significance of each masterpiece and his love for the arts is evident. If you are an art student or teacher, I’d definitely recommend picking it up.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up Every Picture Tells a Story at Amazon below!

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Before I get too distracted by how amazing this album is, I have a confession to make. Though I’ve heard music from the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) over the years on the radio and have seen Dave Matthews himself when he’s acted on shows like House, I’ve never been a huge fan. The music was good, but I heard so much of it on the radio that I never felt compelled to buy an album. That is until now…

Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King served as a reminder that through tragedy comes growth. And with growth you never quite know where it will take you. For DMB, the departure of keyboardist Butch Taylor and the wake of LeRoi Moore’s ATV accident and his death a month later would serve as both a wake-up call and a seemingly cathartic event for many of the songs on the album. Though I too mourned the loss of LeRoi as a young musician whose life was tragically cut short, I can’t help but think that Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King is better for it.

Though DMB has focused on philosophical and social issues in the lyrics of past albums, I found the lyrics of Big Whiskey to be amazingly poetic and deep. “Funny the Way It Is” was the first single off the album and it’s impossible to miss the comparisons between different people in different situations - “A soldier’s last breath / his baby’s being born / funny the way it is / not right or wrong / somebody’s broken heart / becomes your favorite song…” It’s trying to get people to see beyond their lives into the lives of others, and I think that stems from the loss of their friend. I know from past experience that the death of a friend is life altering in ways we sometimes don’t see for years. And in some ways, I’m sure writing and performing these songs helped band members accept the change and move on.

In addition, as a sax player I am all too aware of the difference between an ok, good, and amazing sax player. LeRoi was great on all of the previous DMB albums. And I think that made Jeff Coffin, who stepped in to fill the huge hole LeRoi left behind, bring his A-game to the table. Coffin, of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones fame, also has had one heck of a prestigious career - playing with the Flecktones since 1997, recording several independent albums, and winning a Grammy. So to have someone with his talent step in to help out the DMB on tour and on Big Whiskey is huge.

And then there’s the amazing music all throughout the album. The music just grooves along, sometimes hiding the deeper meaning of the lyrics along the way. I think that’s part of the attraction of this album for me. Each song has multiple layers of meaning. Enjoy it for the music. Enjoy it for the words. And then enjoy it for the thought it provokes along the journey. For me the combination of deep lyrics and amazing music blended to make this one of the most intriguing albums of the year so far.

With songs like “Lying in the Hands of God” telling someone to “Save your sermons for someone that’s afraid to love / if you knew what I feel then you couldn’t be so sure / I’ll be right here lying in the hands of God…” The person’s world is upside down - “Now the floor is the ceiling” - and he wonders about this person, perhaps a priest, lecturing him on how to feel.

And in “Dive In” the opening lines describe something I think we’ve all struggled with at one time or another - “I saw a man on the side of the road / with a sign that read ‘Will work for food’ / I tried to look away ’til the light turned green…” But the song then goes further to show how the man on the side of the road is just a symptom of deeper issues in the world and wondering if things are truly getting better - “Through we would like to believe that we are / we are not in control / though we would love to believe…”

Beyond the social depth of the album, DMB also created songs of hope and love. “Spaceman” is a man describing his love for his girl and the hope he keeps when things get rough - “Probably get it wrong much as I get it right / but I got it right woman / when I caught your eye / what I remember most / about that night is /I love the way you move baby.” This one too goes on to share that no matter what, we have to keep earning a living and we may not always love ourselves, but he won’t stop loving her.

But “Alligator Pie” caught me by surprise. When I first heard it, I couldn’t tell what it was about, but I heard the line “Stella said Daddy when you gonna / put me in a song” and thought of my own children wondering when they might be mentioned in something I write. Then I went back and read the lyrics and the song may actually be about hurricane Katrina and the images of those trapped by the storm in or on their homes. “Sittin’ on a roof eatin’ alligator pie / first day the water rise / second day the sun is high / third day Stella cries / cause night time’s dark as a dead man’s eyes…” Haunting lyrics. And to keep her mind off, Stella wants to know when she’ll be in one of her Daddy’s songs… All along the song is driven by this back-woods banjo-picking and beat that just keeps driving through. Amazing.

If you’re a fan of DMB, you can’t pass up Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. If you’re not a fan, you shouldn’t pass up a chance to take a listen. This is DMB at their best, celebrating the life of their friend and bandmate LeRoi Moore (whose nickname was “GrooGrux”) and so much more. Be sure to find it at your favorite local music store or online.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King at Amazon here!

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When I went to college in the late 1980s, I was introduced to the music Depeche Mode (DM). There was a guy on my dorm floor who listened to DM 24-7 at an earth-shaking volume. I didn’t immediately take to their music. But after a couple of years, Violator was released and somehow the world changed. Violator connected with some dark part of my being I didn’t really know I had up to that point.

Violator was the beginning of my love for DM. Though the media went crazy for “Personal Jesus,” I was drawn to “Enjoy the Silence,” “Policy of Truth,” and “Clean”. From then on, when a new DM album was released, I’d pick it up after a couple of months and digest it…

Songs of Faith and Devotion and Ultra also rang true with me with songs such as “Walking in My Shoes” and “Home”. Exciter didn’t do much for me and I think I purchased one track from Playing the Angel, so my love for new DM music faded a bit early in this decade. However, the recent release of Sounds of the Universe has me flying high again with songs like “In Chains,” “Wrong,” and “Peace.”

Suffice it to say, I’m a DM fan. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the band’s history was nonexistent. I knew they’d been around for a while before Violator, but I knew little beyond that. So Depeche Mode - The Dark Progression was a gift from the heavens.

When I heard about the documentary, I knew I had to watch. And I now understand so much more about the genesis of the group and the ecosystem which spawned such groups as OMD, The Cars, Tears for Fears, and others. Though the band didn’t directly contribute any interviews to this documentary, it included pictures, bits of earlier interviews and footage from concerts back to Music for the Masses when they started their rise to fame and fortune.

What’s interesting about the documentary itself was the interviews with other people from the era that created DM. People like Gary Numan (The Cars), Thomas Dolby, and Andy McCluskey (OMD) who were part of the electronic and New Wave movement of the ’80s and ’90s had many things to say about how fickle American audiences were at the time and how grateful they were to ride on DM’s coattails as they shot to stardom.

The documentary also includes interviews of some of the producers of DM records such as Gareth Jones, Dave Bascombe, Phil Legg, and Steve Lyon. Each saw different phases of DM’s career as they worked on developing an identity and changed over the years.

The interviews, pictures, and footage from DM’s early days on are mixed beautifully to provide a structure and timeline by which you can see and hear the progression from dance music to the socially questioning tracks later in their careers.

From my perspective, it was informative to see DM go from tracks like “Just Can’t Get Enough” to “People are People,” “Strangelove,” “Personal Jesus,” and beyond. What a transformation from those early days with Vince Clarke to Alan Wilder’s keyboard influences and the post-Wilder era. If you listen to the Clarke-era of DM and then listen to Yaz or Erasure, it’s very easy to hear what he contributed to those early days. But once Wilder was on board, I think a bit of the darkness that DM is known for became more prevalent and has continued.

In addition to the main documentary, there is an extra called “Playing for the Masses” that includes some additional bits of the interviews strung together. Thomas Dolby and Andy McCluskey chat about the DM concert at Rose Bowl Stadium for the Music for the Masses tour.

My only complaint with the DVD is that it doesn’t include any new interview material from current band members Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher, or ex-band members Vince Clarke or Alan Wilder. That would have turned this from a good documentary to a great one.

If you don’t know much about DM’s early days, Depeche Mode - The Dark Progression is a wonderful way to get your feet wet and see how DM rose over the last 30 years to become the iconic band they are today. Be sure to check it out when it is released on June 16, 2009!

(For another view of this documentary, be sure to check out Luigi Bastardo’s article here.)

–Fitz

p.s. Click below to pick up the documentary and other Depeche Mode albums at Amazon:

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When the first Transformers movie released in 2007, I was a bit more than a fanboy. Prior to 2008’s Iron Man, it was one of the best summer popcorn action movies I’d seen in forever. And yes, I know there are more than a few people out there who didn’t like the first one. If you’re among them, I wouldn’t plan on seeing the sequel. However, I’m happy to say it’s more of the same!

If you didn’t see the first movie or need a refresher in your Transformers history, it boils down to an intergalactic battle between two groups of giant, transforming robots. The Autobots are the good guys. And the Decepticons are the bad guys. We puny earthlings (in the blow-everything-up universe of Michael Bay’s mind) get caught in the middle. Destruction ensues. Bad guys lose the first round.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen picks up two years after the last movie. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is on his way to start college and endure a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). The military friends Sam & Mikaela made in the first movie have become the leaders of a unit created to find and destroy any remaning Decepticons. Aiding the unit are the Autobots.

We come to find that in recent months, there have been multiple Decepticon battles in various parts of the globe, almost as though they’re searching for something.

That’s the setup. And we end up with some huge battles between the good guys and the bad guys. These battles are bigger and badder than the first movie.

I was quite impressed with the fight choreography this time around. Though the Transformers themselves are fast, furious, and amazingly smooth. I think they must have done some serious motion capture and then had ILM lay the shiny bits on top, similar to what was done for Iron Man. Though I’ve heard complaints about the sheer amount of movement involved (in some of the transformation sequences and battles of the first movies), I found the combat in Revenge of the Fallen to be much more fluid.

[WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD]

What I had some issues with were some of the Transformers in the background and the use of a Terminator-style Transformer in the college scenes. “Alice” (Isabel Lucas) was not only a bit over the top for me, but out of whack with the rest of the Decepticon strategies.

Yes, in the first movie we had a robot transform into a boom box to hide in plain sight as well as many everyday objects and devices transformed by the Cube into maniacal little robots intent on doing some damage. But Alice was a humanoid robot with a fleshy “tongue” at the end of one of her appendages. How did she gain skin and hair?

Beyond that, I thought the human story elements of this movie were actually better than the first one to some extent. The relationship between Mikaela and Sam was more believable, as were the issues Sam’s parents Ron (Kevin Dunn) and Judy (Julie White) had with letting their little boy go away to college. Dunn and White played up the comedic angle while keeping the emotional bond there in plain view.

[END SPOILERS]

Ultimately, I was impressed by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I think Bay and company did a great job coming up with a logical next step and bumping this film to the next level. It’s bigger, faster, and definitely has more exploding stuff than the first one.

Is it Shakespeare? No. Is it better than the first one? No, but I think it’s just as good. My problems were relatively minimal overall and I was never bored during the 150 minute film. That said, it didn’t blow me away like the first one did. Maybe the “new Transformer smell” has worn off a bit and I was just left with a very satisfying summer action blockbuster. If that’s the case, I’d like to have this problem more often!

I give it a solid 3.5 out of 4 stars. It’s fun, action-packed, and has more Transformers than you can shake a stick at. (Not that shaking a stick at a Transformer is a good idea.) If you liked the first one, go see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and check your brain at the door!

I’m VERY curious to see what the “extra scenes” were that are in the IMAX version, but I may have to wait for the extended version on DVD to satisfy that curiosity.

Let me know what YOU thought of the movie… Leave me some comments!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up the FIRST Transformers movie and other goodies at Amazon here:

Why did they ever take Whose Line Is It Anyway? off the air? Even now, years later, this insane group of comedians taping a television show of themselves doing improvisational comedy in front of a live audience is side-splittingly funny at times.

Let’s take a step back though. In 1988, the BBC began a television series of short (< 30 minute) improvisational comedy TV and radio shows. Whose Line Is It anyway? (also known simply as Whose Line?) ran with four performers and a “host”. The host would give the performers different improvisational situations and two, three, or four of the performers would then act them out. After each game, the host would randomly assign points to the performers and a winner would be chosen at the end.

The British version of Whose Line? aired from 1988 to 1998 and then ABC began airing an American version here from 1998 to 2003. Some of the improv games included were “Scenes from a Hat”, “Props”, “Three-Headed Broadway Star,” “Irish Drinking Song,” and others.

Hosted by comedian and television actor Drew Carey, the ABC version held to the same premise as the BBC version. Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie appeared in every season and were accompanied by Wayne Brady, Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, and Chip Esten, among others. Often, guest stars would appear on the show as well, including Robin Williams, Kathy Griffin, and Whoopi Goldberg.

The Best of Whose Line Is It Anyway? includes ten episodes and a one hour special on two discs. Celebrity guests included David Hasslehoff, Florence Henderson, Jerry Springer, Richard Simmons, body-builder Jane Tricker, the Loyola Merrimount cheerleading squad, and others… Though we were hoping for Robin Williams to be in this collection, his episode wasn’t included.

My wife and I watched all ten episodes and laughed until we cried at various points. This collection is uncensored, and though the language is pretty tame, there are some adult situations that never made it past the censors. Some of those bits were amazing, especially the episodes that included Jane Tricker, Florence Henderson, and the cheerleaders. When you put a group of funny guys and gals on a stage and let them run wild, you’re bound to get some things not meant for prime time television. And boy did they end up with some good stuff that never aired!

I really don’t know why the show ended after only five years. The show was extremely funny and typically family-friendly every episode. It was a well-rounded variety show with comedy and music. And the guest stars were typically either very talented comedians in their own rights or very good sports.

In addition to the ten episodes is a one hour special that recaps the highlights of seasons 1 and 2 of the ABC series. Included are bloopers, a few unrated bits, and some of the funniest moments up to that point.

However, any time I’m feeling a bit blue, I can now watch this unrated The Best of Whose Line Is It Anyway? collection and get my giggles. I only hope Drew Carey and the gang enjoyed themselves half as much as we did watching this DVD set!

–Fitz

p.s. Click below to check out The Best of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and other Whose Line? DVDs!

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Somehow, I managed to miss all of the episodes of The Universe when they aired on the History Channel initially. So when I sat down to watch the 12 episodes on The Universe: The Complete Season Three DVD collection, I found my inner “space geek” like I was as a child.

The Universe focuses on the sciences pertaining to our knowledge and understanding of the universe. This includes everything from traveling at light speed to distant galaxies and the potential of a “multiverse” of parallel universes to the possibility of planetary devastation due to an asteroid or comet strike and the many possible shapes and purposes of life on other worlds. Watching with my family, we were glued to the screen for each and every episode, learning from of the greatest minds in the space sciences.

Each episode uses a combination of interviews, narration, and computer imagery and animation to explain a topic, providing an incredible glimpse into the probable and the possible in terms of manned or robotic space exploration, theoretical physics, and the profound beauty, complexity, and simplicity of the stars.

Among the episodes I found the most interesting were “Parallel Universes” and “Alien Faces.”

“Parallel Universes” touches upon the prevailing theories of multiple universes. One theory is that the universe is simply so huge that there must be a duplicate of our own solar system somewhere else, right down to the individuals on planet earth. Another theory is that other universes exist in the same physical location as ours, but in different dimensions. (This was a theory recently explored on the TV series Fringe on FOX this past year.) And then there’s a theory that all of these other universes exist in a “multiverse” of possibilities.

In “Alien Faces” we go on a fictional safari into deep space in the future where we’ve discovered planets capable of sustaining life like we’ve never seen before. From artificial robot-like species to animals and plants adapted to high-gravity or water worlds, artists and scientists created an amazing array of computer animation to show us some imaginative and amazing creatures in these alien habitats. Among our favorites were the insect who started its life in the water, built a cocoon under water and then uses a balloon to rise to the surface and drift to dry land elsewhere.

But not all episodes flowed as well for me from beginning to end.

For example, “Sex in Space” is a sensational headline to get you to watch an episode about reproduction in space and space tourism. The content of the episode for the most part was great, discussing the difficulties that reproductive systems that have developed in an environment with gravity would face entering a microgravity environment. And the discussion of space tourism and a planned space cruise ship was interesting, since it focused on the commercial space race instead of government-sponsored space travel. But couldn’t they have come up with a better title?

Overall, I think The Universe is an amazing series for space junkies like myself. It’s great to once again become swept up in the enthusiasm and optimism of human travel in space and our ever-expanding knowledge of the universe around us. If you’re interested in any of the space sciences, I’d encourage you to pick up The Universe: The Complete Season Three to learn some of the current thinking about space travel and beyond!

–Fitz

p.s. Click on the images below to pick up your own copy of The Universe on DVD at Amazon:

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I’m a big fan of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender series that aired on Nickelodeon for a few years. It had a deep story, great characters, and was both fun and serious depending on the mood of the episode or scene. Well written stories tend to attract my attention, especially in a fantasy vein.

But this is the first teaser I’ve seen from the upcoming 2010 The Last Airbender movie from Shyamalan. And, oddly enough for me, it doesn’t totally stink. It’s a mixed bag, taking a cartoon and turning it live action. This teaser shows just enough to wet the appetite and yet doesn’t completely destroy any hope for the film.

So here it is… What do you think?

–Fitz

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Just got some information about an upcoming vampire movie being released in 2010 by Lionsgate. Not one I was familiar with, but this one stars Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Neill.

The synopsis is:

“Two-time Academy Award nominee® Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton, a researcher in the year 2019, in which an unknown plague has transformed the world’s population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, vampires must capture and farm every remaining human, or find a blood substitute before time runs out. However, a covert group of vampires makes a remarkable discovery, one which has the power to save the human race.”

Beyond that, I know from reading around the web that this movie has been in the works for a few years, but I don’t know any of the reasons for the delays. It has a good cast, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has a great script.

Hard to go wrong with vampires though. Hopefully we’ll hear about it going forward!

–Fitz

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