BEST. PICTURE. EVER.

I would be lying through my virtual teeth if I said I hadn’t watched this a couple of times, already. Because I have. Frankly, with this now floating out there, I’m not entirely sure which one of these I’m more excited about.

(Why yes, I am a sucker for a particular genre of summer blockbuster film, why do you ask?)

(Study guides for SERENITY available here and here. Val may storm in here to claim otherwise, but it’s worth the effort, trust me.)

More bizarro product promotion/”important issue” special issues/public service announcement comics can be found right here.

(Is it sad that I am fairly certain that at some time in my life I have read — or actually owned the books above? The first two I’m sure of, and can actually lay hands on one; FRANCIS… man, I don’t know, but it looks too weirdly familiar…)

Oh, Ohio. You make me so sad sometimes.

In a “Healthiest Cities” ranking of the 50 largest cities by Sperling’s Best Places, Ohio cities were notably absent from the top 10. In fact, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati all made the bottom 10 at numbers 45, 47, and 48, respectively. The study compared data for Physical Activity, Health Status, Nutrition, Lifestyle Pursuits, and Mental Wellness. If you look at the numbers, all three are especially dismal in terms of diet.

Actually, the biggest surprise was that my current hometown, DC, was number 2. Sez local gossip & news blog, DCist, “Of course, the mental wellness gauge may not take into account the 535 members of Congress or homeless Joe that lives in the van down the road, but still, color us surprised. Somehow, despite horrific commutes on the Beltway, the stress levels of D.C’s numerous law offices, and Ben’s Chili Bowl, we’re on the whole very healthy people.” Seconded.

And even more disturbing, Washington scored 100 points (!) on the category of “mental.” I guess that must just be a product of inflated ego.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Corey Greenberg, tech editor for NBC’s “Today” show, appeared last July to praise Apple’s iPod as “a great portable musical player . . . the coolest-looking one” and suggested a compatible device to “share your music with other people.” “This is the way to go,” he declared.

“Let’s cut the Apple commercial here right now, okay?” co-host Matt Lauer interjected.

Lauer was onto something. Greenberg, an NBC contributor, confirmed yesterday that he has received payments from Apple as well as Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Seiko Epson, Creative Technology and Energizer Holdings, charging $15,000 apiece to talk up their products on news shows. The contracts were first disclosed by the Wall Street Journal.

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{sarcastic snark} I never did trust that guy. {/sarcastic snark}

I know, I know, you’re getting sick of it, but I kind of think it’s funny. And sad. Funny sad.

One of the paragraphs in the second column reads thusly:

“NO RESPECT — Though a judge can find protection for obscenity videos, many of them find the Ten Commandments inappropriate for public display. They quote laws of foreign countries — even an unratified UN Treaty, rather than our own Constitution, when it suits their fancy.” (italics mine)

When I were in that there law school, we was learnt that them was called “persuasive authority” that a court is not required to follow but may consider — and was certainly appropriate. But whatever.