Guilty pleasure

I'm loving the new (to me, anyway) Flaming Hot Cheetos Puffs. Instead of the original orange, these are bright red to signify the heat. My favorite ingredients: Artificial Color (Red 40 Lake, Yellow 60 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5). Yum! And so good for you.

I'm thankful for ...

Michael Schermer, who wrote recently:

But there are a few myths that have to be debunked. The most common one is that this is all an accident, that evolution is random. It isn’t. Richard Dawkins’s definition of evolution is a useful one, and I have it in the book: random mutations plus nonrandom cumulative selection. It’s that “nonrandom cumulative selection” part — that’s where the action is for evolution. Random mutations are just the jumbling up of genes between sexual gametes. That’s not particularly interesting, that’s just a mechanical process. But the natural selection part occurs with that cumulative selection — that’s where there’s a certain amount of directionality to evolution. If it was random, the creationists are right, we wouldn’t be here. But it’s not random, and no one ever said it was. It’s just one of those urban legends that gets passed along by word of mouth.

Related to that is the myth that we came from monkeys or great apes. We didn’t come from monkeys or great apes. The great apes, monkeys and humans all came from a common ancestor millions of years ago. It’s that “ladder of progress” concept that goes from bacteria at the bottom to us at the top, and it’s completely wrong. It’s so wrong it’s not even wrong. That’s one of the things that [Stephen Jay] Gould devoted his life to explaining. It’s a richly branching bush, not a ladder. I think if we can just get the general public to understand those two things it would reduce the number of questions I get in question-and-answer sessions by half. Pretty much every talk I ever give includes those two questions.

and Richard Dawkins, who wrote recently:
I think people are fed up to the gills with the near universal expectation that religious faith must be respected. Let us, by all means, respect what people say when it is well thought-out and makes sense. Let us not respect it just because it shelters behind a citadel of ‘faith’. Faith is nothing. Faith is empty. Beliefs that are worth respecting are beliefs that are defended with evidence and reason.

and Christopher Hitchens, who wrote recently, on accompanying children trick or treating:
Wearing my SpongeBob suit under some protest, I pace the well-policed streets in company with hordes of essentially bored children. Worse still, this means that tomorrow the stores will switch themes from witchcraft and start playing 'Jingle Bell Rock'. To me, one version of the supernatural is just as null as the other.

Casino Royale

This film contains terrific action scenes, especially the chase at the beginning. The new Bond is very good but the pace of the film drags during the lame, romantic portions. I could have done without the ball-busting scene which found me sweating and squirming a tad. Not a big fan of genital torture, thank you very much. Judi Dench is good in her small role as M.

The Queen

I am skeptical about films that cover recent history but this one was strangely moving. Everyone will rave about Helen Mirren's performance and it is indeed magnificent. At its core this is a movie about death and fate. A nice job of mixing archival and new footage.

Around the World

Hard to believe this song is from 1986. The words are prescient.

Stranger Than Fiction

At times, this film seems gimmicky but its ultimate payoff is genuinely uplifting, even if predictable. (I'm thinking at my age, 46, after zillions of movies, I should drop "predictable" as a film comment since most are.) The main players do a good job: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah and Dustin Hoffman (does he belong in the Academy of the Overrated?). It's always fun to hear "That's Entertainment" by The Jam, too.

Today's daydream (oh to be back on the Cape)

L-O-S-E-R

Good riddance.

Borat

I recently watched Jesus Is Magic again. Borat is similar in that I was alternating between cringing and laughing out loud. I'm not sure I would see Borat a second time but the first time cracked me up. Detailed review here.

Another one bites the...

Mayan Chocolate

This new Haagen-Dazs flavor is delicious.