Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One | Official
Trailer
Finally, we get an official trailer.
According to the official plot synopsis, Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and
the IMF crew are tasked with “tracking down a terrifying new weapon that
threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands.” Isn’t
that the plot of nearly all of them? Oh, hey. We get Eugene Kittridge
played by Henry Czerny too. Nice call back to the first movie way back
in 1996.
Seriously though, this movie knows what the audience is here for: Tom
Cruise running, Tom Cruise on a motorcycle, Tom Cruise doing yet another
batshit crazy stunt in the name of entertainment.
And everyone loves it.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1 opens in
theaters July 12. The finale (of the franchise? Ethan Hunt’s
story?) Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part II hits
theaters on June 24, 2024.
May 17, 2023
The Importance of Religion in the Lives of Americans is
Shrinking
NPR
reports that in a new study from the Public Religion Research Institute,
the importance of religion in the lives of Americans is on the
decline.
I say, “Good.”
The report, titled “Religion and Congregations in a Time of Social
Upheaval,” surveyed more than 6,600 adults from all 50 states. Despite
the deep political divides in the U.S., the majority of churchgoers —
56% — do not believe their own church is more politically divided than
five years ago.
Deckman says that this could be due to sorting that has already taken
place: People tend to affiliate with congregations that align with their
political beliefs, in part to avoid conflicts they experience in broader
society[…]
Participation in houses of worship continues to decline, according to
the study. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they “seldom” attend
religious services, and 29% of respondents said they “never” attend
religious services. A decade ago, those figures were 22% and 21%,
respectively.
It can’t hit 0% soon enough.
May 16, 2023
Foundation Season 2 Teaser
Foundation Season 2
Teaser Trailer
I was generally pleased with the first season of Foundation.
It helps to lean into the “adaptation” part of the adapted from Isaac
Asimov’s novels. Practically everything was new except for names of
people, planets, and psychohistory. Overall, it worked pretty well.
This should fit in nicely after watching Silo.
May 11, 2023
Dooce, RIP
Sad
news.
“The pioneering mommy blogger Heather Armstrong, who laid bare her
struggles as a mother and her battles with depression and alcoholism on
her site Dooce.com and on social media, has died at 47. Armstrong died
by suicide.”
I did not really read her but knew her story. My heart goes out to
her family and friends feeling her loss right now, but especially her
two children.
UPDATE: Here’s a lovely
tribute.
May 10, 2023
Illinois to Become First State to Ban Book Bans
Book
Riot has the story.
The Illinois
Senate has passed HB 2789, a bill whose terms dictate that state
funding from public or school libraries that remove books from
circulation will be withheld.
As per the bill, the $62 million of funding that goes to the state’s
libraries will only be eligible for said funding if
they “adopt the American
Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights” or “develop
a written statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or other
materials within the library or library system.“
It’s good to live in a Blue State.
May 4, 2023
Mike Shannon, RIP
Simply one of the voices in my head when I think about St. Louis
Cardinals baseball. A sad day.
April 30, 2023
All the Enterprises
John de Lancie, the
incredible actor behind the mischievous character Q in Star
Trek and Picard, offered a wonderful tour inside
the bridge of every USS Enterprise for The
Roddenberry Archive. For this cool video, de Lancie describes the
history and evolution of each ship. He also explains how it was
designed, how it was used on set, for which series it was used, and in
what year.
April 27, 2023
Joe Biden is Running for President
In today’s least surprising news, President Joe Biden “formally
announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters
to give him more time to ‘finish this job’ and extend the run of
America’s oldest president for another four years.” Those four years
would mean Biden would be 86 when he leaves office.
He’s probably too old, but if Trump is the nominee for the
Republicans, I wouldn’t want anyone else to run against him.
April 25, 2023
Harry Belafonte, Singer, Actor, Producer and Activist, Dies
at 96
Mike
Barnes, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, has the story
on the passing of Harry Belefonte.
Harry Belafonte, the actor, producer, singer and activist who made
calypso music a national phenomenon with ‘Day-O’ (The Banana Boat Song)
and used his considerable stardom to draw attention to Martin Luther
King Jr., civil rights issues and injustices around the world, has died.
He was 96.
He made indelible marks on American culture while championing civil
rights.
April 25, 2023
Foo Fighters — Rescued
The Foo Fighters have a new song entitled, “Rescued.”
One of the most important Foo Fighters’ songs in a long time.
Massive. Plus, the announcement of a new album, But Here We
Are.
April 19, 2023