Terry Pratchett

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I'm saddened by the news that author Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with an early stage of Alzheimer's disease.  If you've never read his Discworld series, they're quite funny, a very British skewering of modern society set in the typical fantasy setting of wizards and trolls.  He also uses excessive and hilarious footnotes.  Hopefully he'll have time for many more books before his symptoms worsen, as he's obviously still got his sense of humor:

"I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think.

"I know it's a very human thing to say 'Is there anything I can do?' but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry."

If you're looking for a great gift for an avid reader in your family, pick them up a copy of The Color of Magic, the first in the Discworld series.  If you're intimidated by getting into reading a whole series (which isn't necessary in this case, the books are all related, and feature many of the same characters, but it's not a continuous story line, by any means) then read Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.  It's probably my favorite book of the last few years.

King Corn

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I went to a screening of King Corn last night in Waterloo, and it's being shown elsewhere in Iowa in the coming days. Admission was free (popcorn wasn't) and the three guys who made the movie were there for question and answer following the screening. It was an interesting film, about two easterners who move to Greene, Iowa to raise an acre of corn. They then attempt to figure out where their corn is going in the food supply, and try to examine the implications of our massive grain production. I was expecting this to be a more radical movie trying to convince people to give up meat, go Vegan, and only eat organic bean sprouts, but I was happily surprised to be wrong, as it's far more even-handed, and Aaron Woolf made it clear after the showing that they didn't claim to have all the answers, they just wanted to start the discussion.

View the trailer here, and here are upcoming screenings in Iowa:

* Cedar Rapids, Iowa — December 12: CSPS, 7pm

* Eldora, Iowa — December 13: Grand Theater, 7pm

* Cedar Falls, Iowa — December 14: College Square Theater, 7pm

* Clear Lake, Iowa — December 15: The Lake Theater, 4pm

* Fairfield, Iowa — December 16: The Co-Ed Theater, 11 am

GodTube on Mormonism

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While this frankly doesn't strike me as any more implausible than most other major religions, seeing this, um, summary of Mormon doctrine (much of which is out-of-date, I'm sure) is rather hilarious, in a scary Christian propaganda sort of way. I found it via Wonkette, who has some good commentary of her own on the situation:

Perhaps the Mormons were onto something with the long-disavowed polygamy of the 19th Century. Having multiple wives turns out to be good for the environment.