We used to do great things…

April 5th, 2005 | Filed under Rant

Ever had one of those Saturday nights in which nothing is happening and all of the sudden urge to run out to Wal-Mart and pick up a DVD you have been waiting to purchase for years? Yeah me too?????

However, last night was one such evening…and Apollo 13 was the lucky winner.

To be frank, this story is Ron Howard’s greatest flick, and one of the greatest representations of the human spirit. Basically it shows how much ass America, and the geniuses at NASA used to kick. The DVD is great only it has a few odd quirks.

Let us get one thing straight, I’m a space junkie. I grew up 3 blocks from the third largest space museum in the country. The Kansas Cosomosphere. Not only is this the premier location for Russian (it has quite a bit of American artifacts as well) space artifacts in the country, but it is also the group of people that recreated every space prop in Apollo 13. Everything from the space suits to the control panels in the spacecrafts. Needless to the say, I have a little bit pride in the fact that in my hometown of Hutchinson, KS there is such a wonderful scientific resource. Check out my photo album for a bunch of cool pics from my last trip to the Cos.

So when I purchased the latest edition of the DVD I was hoping for a bunch of really great extra features dealing with the Cos. There was nothing. Not even a mention on the director commentary by Howard about who created the wonderful props. I understand that most of the behind the scenes stuff was about the human triumph that was Apollo 13, however it would have been nice for the Cos to at least get a mention.

Another weird thing about the DVD is that the second disc contains a transfer of the film in the IMAX 1.66:1 aspect ratio. I understand the joys of viewing films in an IMAX theatre (the cosmosphere has one), but I cannot for the life of me figure out why I would want that transfer of the film to watch on my home theatre set up. Anyone with any ideas as to why, feel free to leave a comment.

Anyway, the DVD was great and managed to regenerate my faith in the human spirit, and the ability for human beings to overcome tremendous odds.

On a less epic note, I finally worked up the courage to download Delicious Monster’s Delicious Library. Needless to say this is a classic example of a “how can I waist more time in front of my computer” app, but I’ll probably end up buying a full copy soon enough. It is just so cool. Check out the link for more info!

On a more somber note…big shout out to Pope John Paul II. While I may not always agree with what the leader of my faith may profess as the truth, the man was a caring and compassionate leader who did more for the Catholic Church than anyone had since Vatican II. There, that was my commentary on religion for the year…I hope you enjoyed it.

Anyway…sorry about the lack of consistent posts. Life just keeps getting in the way.

Until next time…remember those mentioned above who exemplify courage!