Someone took their Xbox and built it into a model of the Millennium Falcon:

And they’re selling it on ebay.co.uk.

Two disturbing stories on education today.

The first, continuing a theme that royally chaps my ass, on how evolution is under assault in the classroom. In this piece, the assault is not from our “Intelligent Design” friends, but from teachers themselves who have been intimidated into not disucssing evolution in the classroom. A disturbing quote:

Dr. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, said she heard “all the time” from teachers who did not teach evolution “because it’s just too much trouble.”

“Or their principals tell them, ‘We just don’t have time to teach everything so let’s leave out the things that will cause us problems,’ ” she said.

The second, and equally anxiety-inducing, deals with how students today view the First Amendment. According to AP’s Ben Feller, students just don’t give our Constitution the same kind of respect it has always inspired:

…when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high school students said it goes “too far” in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.

What?!? What in high heaven are we teaching our students? That we can’t and don’t trust science and research? That the Constitution of the United States and the freedoms it guarantees are bunk? That the government has a right to tell people what to do, say, and think?

I don’t know about you, but I’m frightened. In 30 years, these are the people that will be running the country. And if this country turns out like 1984, I think I might have to relocate to the moon.

Ad agency DDB has created yet another great ad… But since it won’t hit airwaves, you’ll have to go to the budweiser site to see it (if you haven’t already).

It’s the story of what was really behind the “Wardrobe Malfunction” at last year’s Super Bowl.

Har, har.

Found by the boys over at Panel: Spamusement! Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines!

I particularly like “I can propose you the optimum select software,” “You won’t believe what you can get for a buck,” and “An email from God.”

This one’s for Sarah:

Carly Simon | Carly Simon | Carly Simon | Carly Simon!

Baby, you’re the best.

Jeremy points out his list of Annuals, those movies that cry out — nay, demand — a ritualized, repeat viewing at least once a year. And as I pointed out in the comments that I pin a good chunk of the blame for at least some of my particular Annuals on his shoulders, I started to think about what those Annuals might be.

In no particular order:

SNEAKERS

SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER

PRINCE OF DARKNESS

THE THING

EXORCIST III

OVERBOARD

BLAZING SADDLES

THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

SUPERMAN

EL DORADO

THE ABYSS

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

EVENT HORIZON

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT

I’m sure I’ll think of more later, but those are the most obvious ones, the ones that find their way into my DVD player year after year or get TiVoed whenever they’re on the boob tube (excepting only OVERBOARD, which somehow always finds me and sucks me in. That movie is like gum on your shoe: once on, it follows you around and never comes off…) There are certainly others, tied to holidays (such as A CHRISTMAS STORY), but I decided that only the Halloween flicks merited repeat viewings in their own right, so they’re on while others are off. And I almost put A FEW GOOD MEN on there, over THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, but for some reason I gravitate more towards the beta version of THE WEST WING than I do the legal tomfoolery of Smiling Jack Ross…

You?

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Don Cheadle – HOTEL RWANDA
Johnny Depp – FINDING NEVERLAND
Leonardo DiCaprio – THE AVIATOR
Clint Eastwood – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Jamie Foxx – RAY

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Alan Alda – THE AVIATOR
Thomas Haden Church – SIDEWAYS
Jamie Foxx – COLLATERAL
Morgan Freeman – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clive Owen – CLOSER

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Annette Bening – BEING JULIA
Catalina Sandino Moreno – MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Imelda Staunton – VERA DRAKE
Hilary Swank – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Kate Winslet – ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Cate Blanchett – THE AVIATOR
Laura Linney – KINSEY
Virginia Madsen – SIDEWAYS
Sophie Okonedo – HOTEL RWANDA
Natalie Portman – CLOSER

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Richard Linklater et al. – BEFORE SUNSET
David Magee – FINDING NEVERLAND
Paul Haggis – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Jose Rivera – THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor – SIDEWAYS

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

John Logan – THE AVIATOR
Charlie Kaufman – ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Keir Pearson & Terry George – HOTEL RWANDA
Brad Bird – THE INCREDIBLES
Mike Leigh – VERA DRAKE

DIRECTING

Martin Scorcese – THE AVIATOR
Clint Eastwood – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Taylor Hackford – RAY
Alexander Payne – SIDEWAYS
Mike Leigh – VERA DRAKE

BEST PICTURE

THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS

###

Huh. I am so completely out of the loop, I’ve managed to see none of those. Not one. (Amusing to see Jamie Foxx competing in both Actor categories — having won the Globe, is that a good sign for a Best Actor Oscar?) But I guess the short answer is, if I have even one prayer of competing in our little ballot contest this year, it’s time for me to head to the theater…

Complete nominee list here.