Project Blue Book

So, I watched the first episode of Project Blue Book on the History Channel, a program that claims to be based on real events in the life of J. Allen Hynek. I'm a moderately big fan of UFO stories and theories and love reading about sightings, so a show about Hynek's decades-long journey from total skeptic to someone who felt there is more to investigate sounded just up my alley.

Well.

I know they have to jazz up the story a bit in order to make it more interesting. But this is so far from reality that you could have put anyone's name on the main character and had just the same story. Attaching Hynek's name was just a way to draw in people who actually have some real interest in actual facts.

It wasn't a horrible show. The acting was fine, there's a great bit of set-up for future run-ins with mysterious entities... but claiming it's based on facts is stretching the truth beyond the point of breaking. I have a lot of interest in the real story, but apparently reality isn't interesting enough for a television show. Instead, this one starts from the premise that UFOs are intelligent alien lifeforms and works from there. In real life, Hynek genuinely thought UFOs were mistakes and misperceptions, and took many years working with first-hand reports before he began to believe there was something beyond our current understanding involved.

There was one very familiar face. General James Harding is played by Neal McDonough (who played Damien Darhk in the CW superhero shows and Wyatt Cain in Tin Man). He feels villainous in this show, as well.

Overall, I think I'll give this one a miss, since I don't need another drama - even one based very very loosely on one of my interests.

Thoughts

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #177: Jor-L, The Monitor, and Dick Tracy's Oscar.

How to stop a cat from getting on the counter.

Celebrity Twitterers.

Aaron Williams talks about PS238, including plotlines for the future.

Getting comics bound, is it worth it?

In Soviet Russia, Lake Contaminates You.

Emoticons from the 1880s.

The British Ministry of Defense is releasing UFO files, and there's some goofy stuff in there.

Forty Four Presidents.

It's no longer funny. It all came true. The Onion is supposed to be satire, not oracle.

Pug Cop.

Morning Links

Emerald City Comicon has a Costume Contest page up now. I love seeing costumes, so I'm really looking forward to it. I need to start putting together my "to be trolled" list now.

This looks amazing. A two volume hardcover Willie and Joe set. Wow.

Can Marvel buy Superman? Jeff Trexler answers the questions that I hadn't even thought of asking about the Siegel Superman settlement.

Shaun Tan and Phil Foglio are Hugo Nominees. And I hope "The Arrival" wins. And Phil as well.

First the bees, now the bats. Again, bats are very important to the environment, as they eat insects which would otherwise overrun us. A lack of bats is bad news.

The tale of the gold kit, or "How to make money off of gold paint".

He was killed in action in Korea... only he wasn't. But the IRS still thinks he might be dead.

Scientists find the bad breath bug.

Scammers are taking advantage of the switch to digital television.

Universal Music thinks they still own promo CDs they sent out unasked for and for free. I suppose by this reasoning, the original publishers own all the review books they've sent me?

The real reason behind Crop Circles and Roswell.

Joe Lieberman owes an apology to Ned Lamont for lying about him during the 2006 campaign. The FBI also owes Lamont an apology for discovering the truth before the election, but NOT telling the public that Lieberman was lying.

The Seattle Times reports on my eighth cousin who grew up in the Seattle area.

Lies I've Told My 3 Year Old Recently. "Books get lonely too."

Friday Linkdump

Wow, I like this idea for overhead lights.

Speaking of overhead lights: more on the Texas UFO.

Heh, no sooner do I post about right of way than Snopes has a bizarre right of way question.

More on the Martian Bigfoot.

This is one case where an LOL really made me laugh out loud. You're doing it wrong.

Why you shouldn't dump seaweed bits down the drain.

A nice little political commentary featuring Aquaman.

Preventing Da Vincis.

Stay on Target, stay on target...

More power to them.

Wednesday Morning Links

My hubby-Eric is a Mac user, while I play with PCs and Ubuntu. I thought he might appreciate a link to the latest Mac news, including the announcement of the MacBook Air, which weighs 3 pounds and fits in a manila envelope.

The new Doctor Who is successful. I like it, but I like Sarah Jane Adventures almost as much. More Sarah Jane!

Best Book Title Ever.

Texans are seeing UFOs. I gotta wonder what they are really seeing, and if we'll ever find out? Says one witness: "everyone is afraid it's the end of times" Heh.

Speaking of end of times, we had a near miss last night. And another one coming soon.

I would love to make these, but they do seem to be a bit much work.

Interesting: The Ernst Bettler Hoax, about an ad designer who ruined a company that worked with the Nazis... only the entire tale is bunk.

Want to be a slush pile editor? Go to Amazon.com Breakthrough and read a few excerpts from unpublished novels and submit your reviews. I do have a friend with an entry, but I'm not sure if I should link to his novel.

Cigarette Pack Books are accused of looking too much like Lucky Strike packs. The publisher responded that "members of the public are unlikely to mistake a Hemingway novel for a packet of cigarettes." Boing Boing has pictures of the books. What do you think?

How to Win a Fist Fight. I recommend people who haven't taken a self-defense course in awhile read this one. The guide is for untrained fighters only.

"Research" paper contest. Get a bogus paper published in the "journal", and win a prize! Your entry to the prize sponsors must include a point-by-point rebuttal.

Smurfs turn 50.

From Wellington Grey: The TSA Guide to Reading Faces for Security Workers. I'm Angry Human.

The science of laughter. I had to link when I read this: "groundbreaking rat-tickling experiments."

Dreamhost really screwed up, but they want to make it right:

If, because of this billing mistake, you somehow incurred some fees from your bank or credit card company, please let us know after tomorrow (today we are just replying to all 10,000+ billing messages with a generic explanation) and we’ll do our best to make it right for you.

Oddly enough, although I use Dreamhost (and generally like them) I didn't get charged at all for any of my services. My hosting doesn't run out until 2009, and I've already set up payment for the domains that expire next month.

Friday Afternoon Linkdump

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #121.

ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!! Abadazad has been canceled AGAIN. And while book three is available, it's not going to be released in the United States! ARRRRGGGGGHHH!!! Via CR.

Colleen tells us how NOT to get a job in comics.

The comics blogosphere has been buzzing about the story of a teacher assigning a lewd comic to a student. The book turned out to be Eightball #22, which is generally not considered lewd. I haven't read it, so I can't weigh in.

Stephen Fry has a blog. His one entry there is very very very long. And it's signed. I'm scared.

Some phone numbers on the national Do Not Call list will expire soon, so make sure your numbers are re-upped at donotcall.gov. You can verify your phone numbers are on the list at the website (mine are good until 2011), or add a phone number to the list. I have gotten VERY few unwanted calls since I put our numbers on the list.

Heavily monitored areas in London are NOT seeing a reduction in crime. Apparently Big Brother is pretty much ineffectual.

A hole in the ocean could be used as a battery.

The definitive truth of what happened in the Betty and Barney Hill Alien Abduction case.

Stephen Colbert on the Simpsons (YouTube).

Animated Savage Chickens.

Was the Peruvian Meteorite actually a missile? Unlikely, but make sure to eliminate all the possibilities.

Hey, "Whatever happened to...?"

Gems from the NYT Archives. Cool!

I sometimes hate Ken Jennings... Hakuna Matata, moonlight sonata, balloona madonna, screaming headache... ah... answers here.

Ah, aluminum is getting more valuable: Metal thieves steal parts of convention centre roof before installation. Can we say, "oops?"

Ah, just in time for Banned Books Week (Sep 29 - Oct 6): The Chocolate War causes an outcry. I admit, I didn't much like that book. But then, most of Cormier's works disturbed me deeply... at least I read them to make sure.

Cory Doctorow on Free Data Sharing and Information Technology.

Thursday Night Links

A Comic Book Story.

The Bad Astronomer is happy to be quoted in a comic book.

Leonard Kirk's Birthday Balls.

"Hi, I'm Marvel!" "And I'm DC!"

Tiki Must Be Stopped.

Art gallery removes Todd "Thief" Goldman's work.

The 20 Most Amazing Coincidences.

Once again, Brown = Terrorist. Paranoia does us no good.

What did they see? Two airplane pilots report a UFO, from two different flights.

Doctor Who: AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!

Quake raises sunken PT boat from WWII.

Bull attacks car in garage. Hey Bully, you wouldn't do that, would you?

Every Generation... how do the events we experience in our youth affect our outlook on life?

How Jack Kirby and Roger Zelazny helped Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis. The hostage crisis is one of my earliest clear memories of world events.

The Douglas Adams Interview. Unpublished since 1979. Includes Doctor Who information. Be sure to read all three parts.

Freeze-framed letter from Leave it to Beaver, back when they probably couldn't imagine freeze-frame technology being available to regular viewers.

FilkerTom directs us to Fundies Say The Darndest Things!

LEGO bricks are good math.

More Secret Numbers.

Dell to pre-install Ubuntu Linux. I've got most of my drive backed up now, and plan on setting up dual boot when I finish. I'm not in a huge rush, but the more I hear about how well Ubuntu works, the more comfortable I feel getting ready to move to it.

Go visit hubby-Eric's blog to learn about the Elements.

Put Yourself on a Cereal Box.

We are Poisoned.

Linkdump

I'm sure you are all getting bored of Aquaman and TiVo... so here's some links.

The Examiner looks at Spider-Man and the recent events of Civil War.

Boing Boing looks at Death Note, which I've been reading from the library.

I should make an Aquaman version of this t-shirt.

The cover to Dorothy #7 has been posted. Go look. Me want.

Aaron Williams talks about the Doctor Who spin-offs. I enjoyed Torchwood, although I wouldn't let kids see it (I'm a prude that way) and I adored Sarah Jane Adventures and can hardly wait to see more. But I understand people who don't like either.

DI covers Galloping Gertie. If you grew up in the Puget Sound area, chances are good that your school district had an old film of the fall of the bridge which got played repeatedly in forward and reverse.

Just what is an oaf, anyway?

UFO over Chicago.

Library locks up when lazy parents send their kids there as free daycare, causing endless disruptions and danger to the staff. Be sure to read the library's statement to understand just how long they've put up with the problem.

Voting Machine Certifier de-certified after they were caught certifying insecure machines.