Aliens Among Us

Posted on | January 30, 2012 | 2 Comments

Last Monday, I wrote about my belief in extraterrestrial life, a post which came about in part because my friend Kim recently got me hooked on the “How the Universe Works” series on the Discovery channel. The mini-series originally aired in 2010 and explores some of the mysteries of the universe, such as black holes, supernovas and alien galaxies. Since I’m enjoying it so much, I started thinking about all the other science, science-fiction and alien-related movies, television shows and books I love just as much.

So here is Ordinary Mer’s Official List of Recommended Alien Enterntainment:

• Star Wars – duh.
• E.T. – double duh.
• Star Trek – triple duh. (The original, Voyager, and the movies, if you please. Next Generation if you simply must.)
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – start with Douglas Adams’ sublimely funny book and its sequels. The movie is entertaining as well (mostly because I adore Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell and Zooey Deschanel and because Adams helped write the script before his death), but you should really read the books.
• Dune series by Frank Herbert – again, read the books first, because they are exquisitely detailed (but I would recommend sticking with the first six books, which Herbert actually wrote; ignore anything published under the Dune name after his death). Avoid the 1984 movie with Sting at all costs; the 200 Sci-Fi (or Syfy – whatever) channel miniseries is pretty decent, though.
• Taken – another sci-fi spectacular from the mind of Steven Speilberg, this miniseries takes awhile to get through, but it’s worth it. Starting with World War II and weaving intersecting stories from three different families over the course of the century, Taken is storytelling at its best. (Try Netflix or eBay, as I think the DVD is no longer sold.)
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card – a classic science-fiction novel for the late 20th century, Card makes you believe in the impossible and fall in love with a child-commander who doesn’t realize he’s destroying the enemy he’s been taught to fight.
• Mars Attacks! – the genius of this movie is that it’s so bad, it’s good. How else could you get Tim Burton directing Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker and more in an over-the-top ridiculous story that has Earth losing?
• Battlestar Galactica – first a television series, then a revamped mini-series, then a television series once again. Those Cylons just won’t die, will they? I love this series for its premise that humans were responsible for making their current alien foe, the Cylons. We always seem to shoot ourselves in the foot, don’t we?
• WALL-E – Okay, so it technically doesn’t have aliens, but robots. Still, if we’re going to have our lives taken over by someone or something, why not a neurotic, sentient robot with a fondness for Twinkies and Hello, Dolly!?

What are your favorite alien-related pieces of entertainment?

Random Thoughts, the Twelfth

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 3 Comments

• We are now three weeks into 2012 and, at this time last year, New England had already received dozens of inches of snow and pretty much a blizzard a week. My, how the times have changed. Despite a freak Halloween weekend storm and a few smaller storms last week, Boston is experiencing a shocking dearth of snowbanks. It’s still pretty cold, but we are quite precipitation-less. But I’m not complaining. Oh no! I quite enjoy not having to dig my car out every morning. Of course, now that I’ve just put all of this in writing, I’m going to have to knock on every wood surface I can find, say a few prayers and generally hope with all my heart that I didn’t just jinx myself.
• If you are not watching the second season of Downton Abbey on PBS on Sunday nights, you are seriously missing out. Part period piece, part soap opera, part war drama, part star-crossed romance, this is one of the best Masterpiece originals I’ve seen – and trust me when I say I’ve seen nearly all of them. I suppose that British television series aren’t for everyone, and that World War I period dramas aren’t for everyone either, but I say bollocks to that! Start watching Downton Abbey. You will thank me later. (You’re welcome.)
• I’ve documented my abiding love for awards shows here before, but even I was surprised by how bored I was with this year’s Golden Globes. I wanted to enjoy it more than I did, but the Hollywood magic just wasn’t there. Ricky Gervais should have been funnier (he’s definitely capable of it when the Hollywood Foreign Press isn’t telling him to play nice and cut all the mean jokes), and I couldn’t make myself care about who won in most categories. Still, I loved the Meryl Streep swore on national, live television and I have decided that Steve Levitan, creator and writer of Modern Family is now giving Tina Fey some competition at being the best of giving awards show speeches.
• I feel like I need to temper everything with a caveat these days, but so far, I’m loving my new job. After six months of unemployment, it’s so nice to have other intelligent people to talk to every day and I especially love working in an office with more than one person. I could do without the early wake-up call and the general annoyances that come with taking the T (that’s Boston’s subway to the uninformed among you), but on the whole, I’m quite happy. And the fact that a new job meant having to buy new clothes? Well, that’s just a bonus.
• Of course, with the new job territory comes new temptations. My office is right in downtown Boston and is therefore surrounded by restaurants of all varieties (some fancy sit-downs, some quick sandwich shops) and no less than three different Starbucks on the way from the T to the office. I’d say that 95% of the time, I’m a good girl. I bring my lunch from home and I do my best to avoid whatever goodies have been left by the printer and fax machine (last week, it was Munchkins!). But there’s still that 5% (usually on Fridays, when I figure, it’s the end of the week, so why not) when I just give in. And I’m okay with that.
• I went for my regularly scheduled hair cut and color this past weekend and thank god! I think I’m partly paranoid, given the rapidly approaching date of my 30th birthday, but I swear I’ve noticed more gray hairs than usual. And of course you can’t pluck or cut them or they’ll just grow back even more intently. I’ve been dying my hair for so long that I don’t remember my original color, so it’s not like a few gray hairs are going to stop me, but it’s the principal of the thing. I’m far too young to be worrying about gray hair. Even if I do feel old.
• I have two new blogs I want to point out to you. The first belongs to my friend, who’s currently dealing with unemployment just like I was a month or so ago. He’s a funny guy with really sharp insights about life, work and the stupid people we encounter in both. I have no idea if he’s going to be updating a lot, but it’s worth a look. The second blog is written by my cousin, who is currently in Nairobi, Kenya for a college semester abroad. She’s writing these great detailed posts about her experiences and it’s a fascinating look at modern African life through the eyes of a student. Please show her some Internet love.
• Since the New England Patriots thoroughly trounced and defeated the Denever Broncos a few weeks ago in a playoff game, can we PLEASE stop hearing all this nonsense about Tim Tebow now? I’d like to squash the urge to throw things at people’s heads every time I hear another story about him. I promise – he’s really not that interesting.
• In other football news, I’m a bad New Englander because there was a part of me that really hoped the Patriots would lose their game against the Ravens last weekend so football season would be over. Instead, I now have to pay attention to the Super Bowl. *dramatic sigh* (For the record, the Patriots better not screw up this Super Bowl like they did the last time they faced the Giants in the SB. I want them to win. I just don’t want to have to watch the game too.)

Wordless Wednesday (55)

Posted on | January 25, 2012 | 2 Comments