Dictum Ridiculum - February 2003

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Dictum Ridiculum: February 2003

Archived rants and raves from the main page of the Colin Campbell Network.

Friday, February 14, 2003
Good News for Valentine’s Day
Well, it’s official: She’s back!
Yes, my all-time favorite romantic-advice-giving super-heroine (admittedly, there is a small pool of such heroes from which to draw) Breakup Girl has returned.

Breakup Girl was one of my favorite websites of the late 90’s (Oh, those heady Internet days back in the 20th century!), offering funny, hip, and healthy advice about all manner of things relationship related. Lynn Harris, the quite hilarious alter-ego of BG, thought a partnership with the (at that time) fledgling Oxygen Network would help BG take over the world. (It didn’t quite work out that way, of course; in fact, BG’s relationship with Oxygen was as tortured as any of the relationships written about on the site, as BG herself explains here.)
And don’t let the name fool you! Breakup Girl is not just about, well, breaking up. Anyone who likes laughing, and likes loving, will love laughing at the new breakupgirl.net. Do yourself a favor and check it out!
Oh, and if you want to buy Lynn and her BG partner Chris’s book, Breakup Girl to the Rescue, buy it through this link. You'll be super glad you did.
Transmitted 11:12 PM PST | Link |

Friday, February 7, 2003
An Urgent Request
I must insist that you stop reading this website immediately, and head over to this poll being taken by Sony Pictures about the future availability of TV shows on DVD. They want to know what shows people want to see on DVD, and if they want complete season releases, or "best of" compilations.
The correct answers for this poll, by the way, are The Tick and NewsRadio (in either order; stupidly, the form will require you to fill out slots 3-5 with shows like Designing Women, Diff'rent Strokes, Barney Miller and Who's The Boss?... yikes! I think the world can live without such a DVDanza...), and "complete seasons."
Just say NO to TV on DVD "Best Of" Compilations!! As a consumer, you should demand complete seasons at a reasonable price! Trust me, Paramount is making a mint on $120 Next Generation season box sets, but I wonder if Fox isn't making more on its $40 Buffy season sets? Aren't people at least three times as likely to buy a $40 DVD set than a $120 set? This is why I think TV on DVD sets should be graded on a "dollars per episode" scale, and I might just add one to the Monkey-Plex soon.
Did I mention that I would really appreciate it if you would vote for The Tick and NewsRadio in that DVD poll? Pretend you're in Chicago: Vote early, vote often.
Transmitted 10:07 AM PST | Link |

Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Humans in Space? Absolutley.
There exist in many magazines and newspapers this week a number of editorials and opinion pieces, all of which echo a similar theme: Because of the Columbia accident, we should abandon, or severely curtail, human spaceflights.
Those editorials are wrong.
But don’t take my word for it. I’ll let one of the Columbia astronauts tell you why her mission was important.
Take a look at this e-mail sent to family and friends from Dr. Laurel Clark on the day before she died. I think it provides an important and sometimes overlooked perspective on why a human presence in space can do so much to help the world.
Dr. Clark writes:
Hello from above our magnificent planet Earth. The perspective is truly awe-inspiring. This is a terrific mission and we are very busy doing science round the clock. Just getting a moment to type e-mail is precious so this will be short, and distributed to many who I know and love.
I have seen some incredible sights: lightning spreading over the Pacific, the Aurora Australis lighting up the entire visible horizon with the cityglow of Australia below, the crescent moon setting over the limb of the Earth, the vast plains of Africa and the dunes on Cape Horn, rivers breaking through tall mountain passes, the scars of humanity, the continuous line of life extending from North America, through Central America and into South America, a crescent moon setting over the limb of our blue planet. Mount Fuji looks life a small bump from up here, but it does stand out as a very distinct landmark.

Magically, the very first day we flew over Lake Michigan and I saw Wind Point (Wisconsin) clearly. Haven't been so lucky since. Every orbit we go over a slightly different part of the Earth. Of course, much of the time I'm working back in Spacehab and don't see any of it. Whenever I do get to look out, it is glorious. Even the stars have a special brightness.
I have seen my 'friend' Orion several times. Taking photos of the earth is a real challenge, but a steep learning curve. I think I have finally gotten some beautiful shots the last 2 days. Keeping my fingers crossed that they're in sharp focus.
My near vision has gotten a little worse up here so you may have seen pics/video of me wearing glasses. I feel blessed to be here representing our country and carrying out the research of scientists around the world. All of the experiments have accomplished most of their goals despite the inevitable hiccups that occur when such a complicated undertaking is undertaken. Some experiments have even done extra science. A few are finished and one is just getting started today.
The food is great and I am feeling very comfortable in this new, totally different environment. It still takes a while to eat as gravity doesn't help pull food down your esophagus. It is also a constant challenge to stay adequately hydrated. Since our body fluids are shifted toward our heads our sense of thirst is almost non-existent.
Thanks to many of you who have supported me and my adventures throughout the years. This was definitely one to beat all. I hope you could feel the positive energy that beamed to the whole planet as we glided over our shared planet.
Love to all,
Laurel
Dr. Clark knew the chance she was taking, as does every astronaut. But she went anyway. That's one of the many things that make astronauts different from you or me. They really want to be there. They believe in what they're doing so much, they are willing to risk their lives doing it. And I have found at least some small consolation in the fact that at least these astronauts did make it to space. For sixteen glorious days, they soared around our planet as you and I can only dream of doing. I hope someday that dream will come true, if not for me, then for others who share Dr. Clark's optimism and enthusiasm for the human race.
I would also direct you to John F. Kennedy’s address at Rice University, where he presented his thoughts on the effort to land a man on the moon, and return him safely. The sentiments expressed by Kennedy are just as relevant today.
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

Transmitted 01:09 AM PST | Link |

This Day In History
Impress your friends with the following fun facts about February 4th!
Today’s birthdays:
Former Vice President Dan Quayle
Shock Rocker Alice Cooper
Actress/Singer Natalie Imbruglia
Boxer Oscar De La Hoya
As the World Turns Actor Trent Dawson
Country Singer Clint Black
TV Writer/Producer Colin Campbell
(What good is having your own website if you can’t give yourself a birthday shout-out? So, dammit, happy birthday to me!)
Transmitted 12:16 AM PST | Link |

Saturday, February 1, 2003
Godspeed, Columbia

HIGH FLIGHT
By John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air ....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Transmitted 03:52 PM PST | Link |

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