Caddickisms

A few things have bubbled to the top lately… here they are:

Personal Finance

Tom’s Inflation Calculator
I was looking for a calculator that would tell me how much my current salary would have been worth in 1990, and this fit the bill perfectly. You can also see whether the relative price of gas (for example) has really gone up in the past 40+ years. The calculations are based on US Dept. of Labor statistics going back to 1914.

Terribly Exciting
This is an excellent article by Ben Stein on “what’s new and hot and exciting (or terrible) in the world of money today.” So far everything I’ve read by Stein has been, at a minimum, well-written, intelligent, and thought-provoking, and this is no exception.

Free Online Tax Preparation and E-Filing From the IRS
Get Rich Slowly reminds us that qualifying individuals can e-file their federal taxes for free.

Sci-Fi

Feedback: A Hero’s Calling
Ever wonder what happened to Feedback, the winner from Who Wants to be a Superhero? I don’t know if this is part of the official follow-up to his victory (doesn’t seem like it is), but it was interesting to see that he hasn’t been forgotten.

Star Trek IX writers give clues
A few minor spoilers, but nothing that you won’t eventually hear in a trailer for this JJ Abrams led project.

Lucas Talks: Star Wars on Television
Finally! Some more info on the new CGI-animated series and some rumblings about the live-action show. The page links to a short audio segment from a longer interview with Lucas.

Kring has fate of Heroes mapped - SPOILER ALERT
I did NOT click through to the spoilers themselves, but here’s a confirmation that Tim Kring, the show’s creator, knows what happens to each of the Heroes, and has the show pretty well mapped out. Here’s the intro quote:

On a panel at the Museum of Television and Radio William S. Paley Festival this weekend, “Heroes” creator Tim Kring told the audience present that he knows the fate of every one of the Heroes and has their destiny for the end of Season One all mapped out.

Although he is putting the finishing touches to the script for the season one finale, Kring stated “I know everyone’s fate.”

Whoops… Battlestar Galactica is on soon… gotta go!

Technorati Tags: Heroes, Tim Kring, Star Wars, Star Trek, movies, sci-fi, personal finance, Ben Stein, inflation calculators, taxes

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Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Christopher Nolan (all of whom worked on Batman Begins) join Hugh Jackman to create one of the best magician movies I’ve ever seen. Actually, this movie crosses a few genres, but I won’t list them because to do so may tip off the secret of the movie. I will say that there is a healthy dose of misdirection, but everything you need to figure it out is there from the outset (or close to it), as it should be with any well written mystery.

I actually suspected at least part of the truth midway through the movie, but wasn’t positive about it until after the secret of the top hat was revealed.

The most confusing part about this movie was the jumping around in timeframes. Much of the movie is told in extended flashbacks from different time periods, and their chronological order is not always evident. Even at the end, I found it difficult to go back and place certain events in their proper sequence. How much time, for example, has passed between the first death in the movie and Bale’s character meeting Sarah?

There is much to think about after the movie is over. Usually in these kinds of movies, you can find a hole in the plot, but I couldn’t come up with one. My wife thought she had one that could have altered the ending, but after talking it through the ending still makes sense.

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m trying hard to keep from loosing any spoilers on you, and it’s a bit difficult to write a review that won’t tip off the astute among you. I may write another, more “spoilerific” post for this one later, but right now I have to go to bed.

The verdict: 4-1/2 stars for The Prestige. Well worth the time and mental effort.

(Oh, and as a side note, I noticed at least 3 actors who had prominent guest roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, plus “Robin Colcord” from Cheers. Just struck me as interesting.)

Technorati Tags: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Christopher Nolan, Batman Begins, Hugh Jackman, Movies, The Prestige, magic, murder, mystery, misdirection

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