Kannard's Random Thoughts

23 October 2009

The Owls Are Not What They Seem: A Review of The Fourth Kind

I have to admit that I was somewhat taken in by tonight's screening of The Fourth Kind. The film starts out with a very impassioned Milla Jovovich telling that audience that what they are about to see is a dramatization of real events mixed with actual footage. Jovovich tells us that she is portraying psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler of Nome, Alaska during events that took place in first few days of October, 2000. The audience was reminded that in the end, "It's up to you to decide" on the validity what is presented in the movie.

The film presents a picture of a broken woman whose husband Will was murdered a few months previously. As she comes to grips with her husband's death, she continues to see a group of patients that have similar sleep disorders. Around 3:30 AM, each of three different patients remembers seeing a white owl coming into their bedroom and nothing else. Eventually, Dr. Tyler hypnotizes one of the patients and realizes that the group is being abducted by aliens.

Without giving any more of the plot away, let's discuss the film itself. The story that is presented is compelling and cinematically shot quite well. The director uses different story panels on the same screen to intersperse the "actual" footage with the dramatization. The effect could be tiring if your focus was not constantly drawn to the panels with the archived footage. The experience is unnerving at best, thinking that what you are viewing is real...

There comes the rub. A little back checking turns out that either Dr. Abigail Tyler is an internet ghost, or the CIA has erased any electronic records of her. Doing a quick Google search will yield some authentic looking web results for Dr. Tyler listed below:

A Bio for Abigail Tyler from the Medical Journal Archive
A 1997 Article about Abigail's work with sleep disorders
An article about Will Tyler's 2000 suicide

The problem is that when doing a Whois domain name search comes up with all these sites being created after August of this year.

If one does a Google News Search for Dr. Tyler, you get zilch. There are no news sources that would indicate that a Dr. Abigail Tyler existed. The final piece of damning evidence comes from a handout given at the screening. It says that, "In October 2004, filmmaker Olatunde Osunsanmi had wrapped principle photography of his thriller The Cavern and traveled to North Carolina for post-production. While there, a chance dinner conversation sparked an interest that would be the genesis of The Fourth Kind." That's a tad problematic since there is "actual" footage in the film with the real Abigail Tyler and Olatunde Osunsanmi dated 2002.

The film does what it has set out to do, get people talking about it. While I appreciate the P.T. Barnum like chutzpah of the filmmaker and marketing team, go see it for entertainment. If you're looking for evidence of UFOs, listen to Coast to Coast AM.

21 October 2009

Dungeons and Dragons Sodas

The folks from Jones Soda have showed that their true nerd colors in producing a new line of sodas inspired by Dungeons and Dragons. Now when your 14th level Chaotic Good, Dwarf Fighter/Thief/Magic User gets ambushed by a patrol of kobolds; pop a top on a tall boy can of Potion of Healing to replenish those lost Hit Points. The limited edition sodas include: Potion of Healing, Dwarven Draught, Eldrich Blast, Sneak Attack, and Bigby's Crushing Thirst Destroyer. All sodas can be opened by your +2 bottle opener...

It is doubtful that these lads had the protection of these new Jones Sodas before bringing out the D20's.

Funny - Funny Videos

29 December 2008

The Magic of Simple Pleasures

A cardinal rule of my life has been to look to the simple pleasures to create pockets of happiness in a seemingly chaotic world. A cigar, a haircut, a simple adventure on a day off... Things like this can provide me with the stability I need to fend off the general weirdness that encroaches on otherwise normal days. Perhaps these simple pleasures are a talisman that wards off such things.

The universe stops running on greased grooves when the ever pressing weirdness encroaches upon the orbit of simple pleasures. . The blasphemy of a simple pleasure being tainted with the radiation of real world concerns is the backdrop of the events of last night.

One ritual Laura and I have taken up is going to a Mapco and getting a fountain Diet Coke. We have turned the trip to Mapco into a warding talismans with a complex ritual to make the magic stick. Like the alchemists of old, we even have named our hunting grounds for our raw materials. There's the "sketchy Mapco" on Spence and Lebanon Road; "our Mapco" at McGavock and Lebanon; and the "redneck Mapco" in Hermitage. Each fountain and location brings its unique twist on the Diet Coke experience.

Last night, after dropping my son Robert off, we found ourselves by the "sketchy Mapco". After a full day of work my head was not quite clear and I almost forgot the solace of the fountain drink. Nearly missing the turn in, I whipped Jane into the sketchy parking lot. Laura and I dismounted my CR-V with the deft precision of an Air Assault trooper unassing a Blackhawk towards our goal.

Before the clerk knew we were in the store, we had cups in hand siphoning off the life giving liquid from the fountain. The first press of the fountain's button told me that something was different. The flow of soda was not uniform and I had to hold the cup close to the nozzle. Thinking there was some CO² malfunction in the unit, Laura as me greedily "Is it ok?".

Taking a sip I discovered whatever the unique properties the sketchy Mapco's fountain has taken on this evening had delivered the best mix of Diet Coke I had ever tasted. The last time I remember a mix like this was in '91 at a Thorton's in Henderson, Kentucky. I gave my cup to Laura for validation. The only words she could summon up was, "Tasty..", as her eyes rolled slightly back into her head.

The magic of the ritual and the treasure trove was split by the coarse voice of the clerk. "You can't use that. I've broken it down and that will go all over the place."

My cup was full and my shirt was dry. There was no problem here. But the rage of a man denied gave way to pouring my cup out. I would be hanged if I was going to support such poor service. A silent agreement passed between my wife and I. The bewitching liquid was poured down the drain and we slinked out of the store.

Our closest option to satisfy our need for carbonated beverages was the newly refurbished Shell station across the street. Mounting up in Jane we crossed the street. From the parking lot we could see that their fountains didn't have stickers on the individual heads. This was a problem we had run into before when breaking with the Mapco tradition. Like some Old Testament Judge smiting an idolatrous nation, we realized the folly of supporting foreign soda fountains.

By this point we were wondering if we should give up the hunt. We had been stymied at two turns and maybe this was a sign from above that we should pack it in. About that time, another sing passed by us on Lebanon Road. An old, half rusted limo pulling a pop-up camper whizzed past us. Surly this was a sign enough of the apocalypse that we should turn back.

The words "never give up and never surrender" itched in the back of my head. Onward we pressed to "our Mapco". Just past the Briley Parkway overpass, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle set against me. While talking about something that had happened at work that day, a freshly lit cigarette flew from my fingertips. Being the ever agile fellow I am, it had to be some breach in the laws of Physics that caused the malfunction.

Landing in the floor board at my feet, I began to freak out a tad. The duress was not only from the impending combustion of random flammable materials that collect in the floorboard of a car, but the sheer weight of symbolic pressure keeping us from a Diet Coke.

Once again I whipped Jane into the nearest parking lot. Images of WWI pilots burning alive in their cockpits filled my subconscious. The Red Baron did not have his day in the sun with me last night. The burning ember was found and quickly extinguished without the least bit of trouble. The only causality was the debilitating laughter coming from Laura that paralyzed her momentarily.

Forging onward, we arrived at "our Mapco" and got a Diet Coke. No incident, so midgets in clown suits robbing the joint. A simple pour, pay and leave.

What you were thinking there would have been something grand at the end of the road? No, just validation that the talisman of the simple pleasures does work. The trip home was uneventful and the rest of the night was peaceful. So there is some magic in a ritual and the stability only a fountain drink can bring...

13 December 2008

Grail Seekers Hits the Podcast Waves Once Again

Just a gentle reminder that I will be taking the podcast waves tomorrow night on the Errie Radio show at 6:00pm CST. The show deals with all sorts of normal and paranormal topics. I've been slated to talk about the Grail Seekers blog and web site. In my experience with interviews of this type are concerned, one never quite knows where the conversation will lead to.

I've never been on this show, so I'm not quite clear on how their podcasing format works. I'm assuming that you will be able to listen in to the show live. In past shows I've listened into they've had callers, so that would tend to make me think that there is a live feed to the show.

So listen and call in if you can. I'm sure it will be an experience...

26 March 2008

Frank Herbert's Dune is being Adapted for Film, Again

Variety announced last week that Peter Berg will direct Paramount's adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. I hope that third time makes the charm, because the last two tries to bring Dune to the screen fell short of the mark. If Berg follows his predecessors, I don't think he'll be too popular at Dragon Con after the film's release.

The article mentions nothing about anything other than a slap on the back to those who snaked the rights from the Herbert estate. Given how Frank's son Brian has been whoring out the licensing for dime store knockoffs of dad's classic, that couldn't have been too hard. I'm surprised there hasn't been a "How to Cook Sandworms with Muad'Dib" show on Food Network.

There are two other elements of this article that perplex me. The first being that, "The filmmakers consider its theme of finite ecological resources particularly timely." Really... It's too bad the Hollywood Left just got the message about how the Fremen tried to live in harmony with their environment. Yes, that one of Herbert's themes throughout the entire Dune series. Wouldn't it be much more instructive to remind ourselves how the political situation of Dune gives us dire warnings to present day global terrorism and international financial marketing woes? I'm assuming that subtitle distinction was missed on the producer's first read.

Finally the article goes on to say, "Paramount envisions the project as a tentpole film." That makes me wonder who they've got in mind for Jessica and Chani. If we're lucky, Miley Cyrus won't be cast as Alia....

If Berg is planning on deviating from the book's story line; may his film chip and crack in his camera. Long live the fighters!