Author: Richard Nestoff (Page 1 of 146)

Watch Excalibur.

Excalibur: The Movie The West Needs Now

Boorman picked the main plot points of the Arthur myth perfectly. As a result, the film knows exactly what it is: a legend soaked in Christianity, fog, blood, magic, virtue, redemption, and destiny.

I just read a blog post about the Excalibur (1981) movie, and now I want to watch it.  Unfortunately, it’s 9:30 am, and I have to go the gym in an hour, so I won’t.  That happens pretty often when somebody brings up a great movie from back in the day.  There aren’t as many great movies coming out now, and although the guy who wrote about Excalibur doesn’t  mention it, The Odyssey could have been that kind of movie.  It won’t be.

Helen Mirren was a hottie back then.  That was 45 years ago, but she’s still working, so good for her.

Ozempic may be reshaping the brain

WaPo:  Ozempic may be reshaping the brain

Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs were initially understood as a metabolism breakthrough: medicines that act like hormones to control hunger, blood sugar and weight. But as researchers probe deeper into how the drugs work, early evidence suggests that GLP-1s may also be reshaping parts of the brain.

This, along with President Trump’s recent executive order to encourage testing of psychedelic drugs, means many people are going to get their brains re-jiggered.

That’s good, a lot of brains seem to be malfunctioning.  Maybe the brains get fixed or they start malfunctioning in new ways.

“We didn’t expect to see this effect, and we really don’t know what it means,” Shapiro said.

That’s fine.  It’s astounding how much of science is useful, but not fully understood.

Bet The Odyssey loses money.

Christopher Nolan’s new movie, The Odyssey, could have been a billion dollar summer blockbuster, but Nolan decided to go in a different direction. 

Every guy of my generation remembers the 1963 movie, Jason and the Argonauts, and the moment that Talos moved.  Sixty years ago, Ray Harryhausen used stop-motion special effects to bring Greek mythology to life.  Special effects are vastly improved, but Nolan is blowing it with cast and source material. 

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Data centers don’t have to be bad.

NPR:  Data Centers are expensive, unpopular and could be a tipping point in the midterms.

I enjoy NPR because they think it’s plausible that data centers could influence the midterm elections.  Data centers are not a tipping point, but are a big deal that smart people should be thinking about.  So far, it seems like dimwits are just scrambling for cash.  What gets done will effect normal people like us.

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New book on the Lockheed U-2

Five Amazing Facts About the Lockheed U-2

The Lockheed U-2 has been around for decades, but much of the information was classified.  A new book is coming out, and it will probably be interesting.

The amazing fact I learned is that due to the operating altitude, conventional jet fuel boils off.  To research an appropriate fuel, they turned to Jimmy Doolittle, of Doolittle Raid fame, who was then a VP at Shell Oil.

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