In the movie, an alien vessel somehow breaks down and parks over Johannesburg, South Africa. After three months, the humans break into the ship and extract the aliens. Unsure what to do with them, the aliens are confined to an area called District 9 where they are put into shacks and not treated particularly well. Nigerian gang lords begin to start a drug trade in canned cat food and start trying to acquire alien weaponry (which they can’t use). After a period of time, it is decided that District 9 is too close to the city and that all of the aliens are to be evicted and moved to a new compound further from the city. This eviction process is where the problems begin.

The course of action followed in District 9, sadly, is what quite probably would happen if aliens contacted Earth. Human kind has a history of confining undesirables into small, controlled colonies to make society “safer.” This includes the Japanese internment in America during WWII, the prison colony of Australia, and terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. This would especially be true if the contacting aliens looked like those in District 9. Humans have a tendency to be Xenophobic and this feeds into our fears and prejudices.  Earth would probably react differently if the first species to contact us were Vulcans (or some species that closely resembling humans) as in Star Trek: First Contact.

If I were in charge, I am not sure how I would handle the situation. I think I would try to assimilate the aliens in to our society. In the film they made references to trying to get the aliens jobs, but it seemed that it wasn’t going well. In that case, admittedly I don’t know if I have a better answer. If we have learned anything from our history, it is that treating people with respect and care is the best way to engender friendship and peace. Hostility and anger leads to more hostility and anger, very rarely has a group been successfully contained against their will by brute force.

What I really wonder is if the United Nations or someone has a plan in place for when this happens. It seems like the kind of thing that a think tank would be good for planning. I also wonder if what happens in Star Trek: First Contact is what would happen. Not the details of how the aliens come, but more so the whole idea of the Earth coming together in harmony and peace once we realize that we are not alone in the universe. It may be the only thing that saves us as a people and creates a world where money is no longer used and our main goal as humans is just to better ourselves and Captain Picard says so many times.

We finished watching Remember Me the 2010 film starring Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame and Emilie de Ravin from LOST. The movie is substantially a normal romantic comedy focused on the two main characters falling in love and connecting over the prior tragedies in their lives. They begin dating because of a bet that is mean spirited but fall in love and then the whole thing blows up. But then they reconnect and things start to look up. This movie definitely exceeded my expectations and the love story itself would have been enough for me to call this a good movie, but the ending left me a little divided.

At the end of the movie, Pattinson is in his father’s office while the father (who was estranged from his daughter most of the movie) was taking his daughter to school. We find out that this day happens to be September 11th, 2001 and that the father’s office is actually in the World Trade Center. The screen cuts to black and then we see several post attack scenes. I hadn’t really thought about it, but the whole movie was based in 2001. This fact wasn’t thrown in your face, but there were several hints. In one dinner scene there is a Yankees/Mets debate were several 2001 Yankees are named and there is another scene where the characters are watching American Pie 2 (which was released in August 2001) in the theater.

My reaction to this ending was mixed. At first I thought the ending was kind of a neat twist on the incident. However, after that I started to wonder if the movie was just exploiting the events in order to cause a controversy and draw a crowd. This seemed to be the case, because the whole movie had nothing to do with the attacks and then all of sudden it becomes the central point of the plot. After reflecting longer, I came to realize that that is the point of the 9/11 attacks, no one was thinking about terrorism that day, it just showed up and changed everything. The end of the film has the same sense of unexpected and irrevocable change that many of us felt that day. So, all in all, the ending was very poignant. The movie treated the tragedy in a similar was as did Titanic. It took a horrific event that is so overwhelming it is difficult at times to imagine what it was like if you weren’t there and gave it a personal connection and a sense of what it might have been like to be one of the unlucky that was affected directly that day.

The episode features Lt. Commander Data (played by Brent Spiner) who is an android who’s main ambition in life, according to counselor Troi’s psychological profile, is to “be more human and experience as much of that condition’s depths and shadows as his adaptive programming can approximate.” The episode ultimately is about whether or not androids should have the right to choose or if they are property.

The episode opens up with Data learning how to play poker. After studying all of the rules he determines that the game is simple because you would only ever bet if you had a good hand, so the winner should be clear. In the first hand we see that Data has three queens, but Commander Riker has an apparent flush (4 hearts showing with one card flipped over). Riker keeps matching Data’s bets until he folds and Riker wins the hand showing Data that there is more to the game or being human than just knowing the facts.

As the episode unfolds, Data is told that he must undergo an experiment that will require him to be disassembled. He refuses the experiment and when told he has no choice he, attempts to, resigns from Starfleet. He is then told that he cannot resign because he is the property of Starfleet. This is where the crux of the issue comes up. A trial is started by Captain Picard to determine if Data has the right to choose or if he is the property of Starfleet. The trial comes down to Picard (played by Patrick Stewart and we see him give a masterful performance in this episode) asking what the definition of sentience is. The officer who wishes to perform the experiment on Data lists three characteristics of sentience: intelligence, self-awareness, consciousness.

Picard goes on to show that Data is intelligent (clearly he is a huge computer), is self-aware (he indicates that he is knows he is at a trial to determine his rights), and then challenges that there is no test for consciousness.

This whole debate about what it means to be a sentient being really got me thinking about what it means to be “alive.” It seems like a silly argument to make that my computer should have the right to choose whether or not I open it to add a new hard drive, but in the future, if artificial intelligence technology progresses as science fiction would suggest, that line will start to get more fuzzy. Even now, if we use the three prong test of sentience as listed above, some of today’s technology might fit. My BlackBerry is both intelligent and self-aware (in so far as it can tell you where it is and what it is doing.) I would not argue that my BlackBerry is conscious, but I guess that depends on what that means (is Tivo conscious when it predicts programs?).

The path towards machines that can think is a topic that needs to be thought about as technology progresses. In The Matrix movie trilogy some of these same concepts are explored. Specifically in The Animatrix (which is a fantastic set of animated shorts about The Matrix world) we see two robots who are accused of a crime but then not given due process and a fair trial. This disrespect is what angers the robots and ultimately leads to the robots revolting and enslaving all of the humans (which is the whole premise of the movie.)

One my favorite lines from the episode asks about what happens when you go from having one Data in the universe to creating 2,000 of them. Haven’t you then created a new race?  And then, if you call that race property, aren’t you then denying a race their basic rights? (The undertones of slavery are rich throughout the episode highlighted by the appearance of Whoopi Goldberg as the ships bartender.)

The whole episodes raises some serious questions for me about how we should be proceeding with artificial intelligence as we go forward. Just because we can create a smarter computer, should we? And, if we do keep pressing forward, are we prepared to deal with the consequences? In the mid 2000′s several movies (The Matrix, I, Robot, Bicentennial Man) were released that dealt with some of these questions.We need to limit ourselves to stop from creating a new race of beings that become truly conscious. This is difficult to do as processor speed doubles every 18 months and we are constantly pushing the envelope, but at some point we need to start asking if we should be making the next step as opposed to can we. This restraint would be exemplary of the highest level of evolution and may be critical to the survival of mankind.

Day & Night
This short was very clever. I like the background and how it filled the shaped (which was obviously the point.) This was not my favorite of the Pixar shorts (I just watched the short before Up last month with the storks and that was much funnier), but the animation and creativity of this short was stellar. My favorite scene was when the day blob was over the waterfall and he relieved himself. I also enjoyed the Las Vegas at night and during the day scenes.

I thought the end was a little heavy handed and didn’t really have much to with the rest of the short. I didn’t really get a xenophobic feel for the film. It just seemed like the two were competing, not avoiding each other. But I guess the Pixar folks wanted to teach the kids a good lesson and they did that in their normal humorous way.

Movie
The opening train robbery sequence was very cool. I like how they incorporated all of the toys.

A lot of critics said the first 15 minutes dragged and I guess I would agree. After the opening sequence it was just a lot of necessary story setup. I wouldn’t call it bad, but it was not particularly exciting.

I’m a little surprised at this point by Woody’s attitude towards Andy going to college. I would have thought that Woody would have been all for going to a day care to give a lot of kids happiness seeing as how Andy has moved on. I can see him being loyal too, but to call Jesse “selfish” seemed out of character.

The introduction to the day care was fun, seeing all the toys and the massage was a nice touch. Woody with the tea party friends was also fun, “I’m staying in character!”

The day care being taken over by Lotso (You can see the same sort of story as Jesse had in the last film causing his bitterness. I found Lotso’s story more touching and compelling than Jesse’s though I am not sure why) is classic along with the roulette game in the top of the vending machine. Very appropriate, junk food and gambling just seem to go together. And using the demo switch on Buzz Lightyear is genius. (Why all of the Buzz’s in Al’s Toy Barn were so “confused” now makes sense.) Just when you think they’ve used up all of the gags for a character they still think of one more. And, as several reviews have suggested, one the funniest gags in the movie is when Buzz goes into Spanish mode. He starts to tango and woo the ladies as you expect of a sexy Spaniard.

The whole security of the day care center is so elaborate and funny especially with monkey alarm, I’m consistently amazed at how these people think of new toys and how to incorporate them. And the box, being a sand box with “Lincoln Logs,” the Pixar folks really think of everything.

Conclusion

I got wrapped up in this movie, so I stopped posting but this movie has everything you expect from the great Pixar movies we are used to. (Really, have they made a bad one?) The humor is fresh and relevant and the story works on multiple levels. The kids like the toy’s playing and the silly slap stick humor and teens and adults can appreciate the moving on and growing up story line. I would agree with Dan that even the jokes and themes that reused are not reused do to a lack of creativity, but feel more like intentional links than lack of creativity. One complaint I have, and I guess I would have to have the same complaint regarding Stinky Pete, is that Lotso still was bad even after Woody saved him. I was hoping they would have a little lesson about redemption. Of course, then you wouldn’t have the funny “claw” gag from the three aliens, so maybe that was a necessary trade off.

I don’t think I can say enough about the the ending is perfect. I had heard several people say that the ending is perfect, but I wasn’t sure what that was to be even until it happened. The choice to end with Andy showing his love of all of his toys and passing them on to Bonnie was inspired. When he says, “Thanks guys,” wow, great that was great writing. It said a lot without saying too much and teaches us all about how to appreciate the past but move on to the future. When Andy is going through and giving the description of each character it made me want to go find my old toys in mom’s basement and start playing.

I would not say this was the best of the three Toy Story movies because  Toy Story 2 was so good but, overall this may be the best original movie trilogy ever (which means you don’t compare it to Lord of the Rings). The only other original trilogy I can think of that would even compare would be Star Wars. I’m not sure which I would put on top of that list, but they would easily go 1 and 2. All in all, Toy Story has been a great ride. I don’t know if there is any thought of making a fourth, but I hope not. Anything else they do could only bring the series down. Having said that, Pixar has not disappointed so far, so maybe a fourth movie would be in order.

After looking at a few choices I settled on a WiiWare game called Learning with the PooYoos.

Learning with the PooYoos is a game developed in France and available via WiiWare download on the Wii for 500 points ($5.00). The game is designed with two different levels: Little PooYoos (ages 3-4) and Big PooYoos (ages 5-6). Given the age levels, the graphics and catchy theme song are perfect and will capture the young players’ attention. After you pick you level, there are two different games to play. One involves matching the shape of a PooYoo with the shape in a cloud (first picture below) and the second involved popping balloons with the water from the elephant PooYoo’s trunk.

Isaac can not yet handle the shape matching game so I can’t speak as much to that part of the game, but we have played the balloon popping game several times. In the little PooYoo level of this game the player simply shakes the remote and the elephant PooYoo shoots water at balloons until they are all gone. (As shown in the video of Isaac below.) In the Big PooYoo level, the player actually has to point the Wiimote at the screen and aim at the balloons to pop them.

After you pop the balloons the first time, the game has an intermission and asks what shape the balloons were and then goes through a second round of balloon popping followed by a question of what color the balloons were. Then the PooYoos lead you through a nice dance routine. During the dance routine, by pressing different buttons on the Wiimote various effects happen on screen like spot lights, confetti and other fun. After the dance, you take a boat ride where again, pressing buttons on the Wiimote causes different effects on the screen. Isaac especially enjoys pushing the buttons and causing lights and the sun (a fan to him) to go across the screen.

Isaac has not played the big PooYoo level, but he enjoys the little PooYoo level quite a lot. Simply shaking the remote is a nice way for him to learn about the cause and effect relationship of the Wii. As I said, he truly enjoys pushing the buttons on the Wiimote that cause various visual effects to appear on the screen.

My biggest complaint with the game is that the few questions it asks are always the same. At one point the game asks what color the bubbles are or what color an umbrella was but the answer is always the same color. I would like it better if the color would rotate to make Isaac think a little more. There is a version 2 released, but I have not looked at it yet.

Ultimately, this game did exactly what I wanted it to do, especially for only $5.oo. Isaac is able to use the Wiimote and learn how it works. He is learning more about cause and effect relationships and a little about hand-eye coordination. Another learning piece I didn’t think about was that it counts on screen and out load to help re-enforce math skills. I have a feeling I will download the second episode before the end of the summer for Isaac to play. If you have a two – six year old who you want to introduce to the world of Wii, this is the game for you.

The pictures on the right above are of the smaller play structure adjacent to the larger one. The small structure is good for youngsters who have just started moving. If they can crawl or get up stairs, then they can have fun. If nothing else, parents can help the tykes on the small structure and let them go down the slide. Isaac really enjoyed this area when he was 1 because he do almost all of it on his own and it has a steering wheel on it, which he always likes.

Another nice feature of this park is the picnic pavilion. This is located very near the play area so you could have a large outing here and still be close enough to supervise young children. The picture on the left below shows the pavilion, the picture in the middle shows Isaac trying, unsuccessfully to climb up the harder side of the play structure, and the picture on the right is Isaac making his way to the twisty slide.

The park also has swings (I think two baby and two regular) and is adjacent to several soccer fields.

The park is easy to get either by car or by bike. It is located off of Atkinson just south of Washington as shown below. In the third map image below, you can see the large red roof is the pavilion and the two yellow roofs are the two play structure. The paved strip there is a bike path that head off towards the College of Lake County and just past the bike path is Mill Creek.

I like this park. It is a little far for us to go to on a quick trip, but if we have some time this is a nice park because of the wide range of activities and the large field nearby is a good place to run around. (Just watch out for the goose poop.)

The park also includes two real swings and two baby swings along with two bouncy animal things (picture below on the left). The other feature that sets this park apart is that it has a half basketball court (which you can see in the picture on the right below and in the map below). Now, this can be a mixed blessing. One of the times we were there several guys were playing basketball and swearing quite a bit. It wasn’t anymore than you would hear in a YMCA gym pickup game, but I wasn’t a big fan of it with Isaac near by.

One of the things Isaac likes best about this park is that he can smash and bang on the metal parts (either the slide of the tube) to make lots of noise.

While the park is off of RT 120 it is easily accessible via trails. You can either get to it from Lake Street near the post office or you can get there from Alleghany if you go down Hojem and then Quist and them past the apartment building to get to the Grayslake Apartments.

View larger map

One note of caution, since the slides are metallic, they go very fast and the bottom of the slides are a little high and when Isaac is going full speed down these “metal death traps” (j/k) he tends to fall in his butt.

Overall I like this park because it is unique and the play structure is built in a way that it is safe for newly mobile kids and more stable ones. After age 5, I would be cautious in terms of there being enough to keep them occupied. If there were another big structure then Cullen Park could be one for all ages.

You will probably not stumble on to Antler Park unless you are really off the beaten bath. It is in a subdivision off of Rt. 120 or off of Hainesville Road. You can access it from the city bike paths along Washington Road, but there is not good way to get out along Rt. 120 or Hainesville.

So, if you are up for a little bit of a ride and would like a nice simple park, this is a fine place to visit. You can bring your young kids and older toddlers here and both will be amused. I would think much over five and you would want to find a slightly more challenging and exciting park.

The way the film was shot was also very interesting. I did not realize that Holmes was quite the fighter and I enjoyed the fight sequences they setup where they walked you through Holmes’s thought process before the fight takes place. The slow motion choppy animation during the fights was a little weird, but I guess it added to the intensity of the scene. The sound was very nice in the film. There were periods of quiet where they would highlight the noise of one of the objects coming at the screen. This gave a slight impression of 3D that I really liked.

I also liked that the movie was very true to the times without seeming dated. The costumes and scenes in the movie never seemed out of place and for the most part the technology was accurate as well. There was one device that electrocuted people that didn’t seem particularly realistic (even now). The rest of the science seemed pretty solid throughout.

What was really eye opening to me in the this film is how much House and Wilson (from the TV Show House) and Holmes and Watson are alike. I have to assume that the character of Greg House was based on Holmes to some extent. The way that Holmes uses little random clues to make deductions is just the same way the Holmes does. Particularly the scene where Holmes deduces everything about Watson’s fiance from small clues is exactly something House would do (and has done). Also, the way that Holmes keeps sucking Watson back into his life and sabotaging his relationship is akin to House and Wilson.

In all, I liked the movie and it kind of makes me want to go read some of the books. This movie fits in well right now in terms of what is popular on TV. It fits in with all of the CSIs and other crime dramas out there. The introduction of Moriarty clearly sets the ground for a sequel and I look forward to that.

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