More New Species Found

Looks like we won't run out of new species to kill off anytime soon. Linked from Drudge, we learn from AP that 20 new ocean species have been found around Indonesia. The researchers cataloged more than 130 species total, which means that fully 15% of their find was a new, undocumented animal.

We need to accelerate our worldwide fishing efforts and increase our ocean pollutants if we are to have any chance of outpacing this outbreak of new life. Stoke the furnaces!

McQ Soundtrack: Intrigue Meets Cheeseball

Elmer Bernstein is one of my favorite movie composers, and is better known for his work with Westerns--especially the music for The Magnificent Seven. And while he has industry awards, he's not half as recognized for his talent as he deserves to be.

With that in mind, I'm listening to the soundtrack to McQ, a cheesy 1970s cop movie starring John Wayne. A true listening pleasure. Combine groovy 70s chase music, some Pink Panther-esque rhumba and a little Star Wars brass, and you've got one heck of a piece.

And I love the movie's tagline:

The cop no one can stop. Even the cops.

And something about that movie still just makes me laugh. It must the idea of John Wayne knocking Borat's lights out. Go John!

Tolkein Returns: The Children of Hurin

Anybody who knows me knows I'm a huge Tolkein fan. I can't admit reading every single work of his, but I've read Lord of the Rings several times, the Hobbit several times, the Silmarillion at least twice, and half a dozen references and essay books about Tolkein and his works.

So I'm especially pleased that there is a new book from the master himself. The Children of Hurin will detail the life and journeys the the principal characters in one chapter of the Silmarillion. The story is especially sad and tragic, but exquisite in its language and intricate plot. This is definitely a book I want in my library.

Comes out in April. Read all about it.

Rush on Mitt

Rush Limbaugh is unequivocally one of the smartest entertainers out there. Regardless of his bombast and puffuppery, his analyses are almost always spot-on, which is why I listen to him on occasion.

So it was a real pleasure to hear his take on the "drive-by-media" hit job on Mitt Romney and his Mormonism (two of my favorite subjects). From the show:

[Mormonism is] considered, by people who don't know about it, to be very, very serious and devout, and it's the devout aspect that just sends the left quivering and shaking. We cannot have somebody who's going to be judgmental, can't have somebody who has absolutes of right and wrong and good or bad. We can't have somebody like that running the country. No, no, no. That's why the left feels like they are imprisoned when such people have positions of power.

Read the entire transcript.

Global Warming? This Takes the Cake

Okay, as far as global warming stories go, they're nearly all completely inane. But none quite so moronic as this one. I found it linked from Drudge:

"Global warming concerns are keeping children awake at night."

That headline alone should be enough to make any sensible thinker vomit a little. The story says that "half of young children are anxious about the effects of global warming, often losing sleep because of their concern, according to a new report today."

What's even stupider? The explanation given by the head of the study:

"While many adults may look the other way, this study should show that global warming is not only hurting the children of the future, it's affecting the welfare of kids now."

Um, do you think it would be affecting them if you weren't RAMMING IT DOWN EVERYONE'S THROATS? I think the problem isn't so much in global warming as it is in the media that forces this junk science into the collective conscience. And the self-serving politicians who use global warming fear-mongering to keep themselves in power.

Excuse me while I clean the bile from my mouth.

Steak for Dinner? Not If You're Truly Concerned About the Planet

Let's escalate the global warming hype, shall we?

The environmentalists aren't satisfied with destroying U.S. manufacturing with overbearing regulation. They've also targeted ranchers and the accompanying feed industry. Says the article:

...livestock are a major emitter of greenhouse gases that cause climate change. And as meat becomes a growing mainstay of human diet around the world, changing what we eat may prove as hard as changing what we drive.

The global warming hype reminds me of the Anna Nicole Smith story. Just when you thought it couldn't get more insane, it does. They won't be satisfied until Earth is the new Venus and everyone is dead of heat stroke.

Mitt Romney's First Campaign TV Spot

About a year before the primaries, and Mitt is already running this in select markets. Go Mitt!