2011 Movie Favorites

This is my first, annual, end-of-the-year, top ten favorite movies of the year list.  To make my list, a movie needed to be a theatrical release (in any year) and viewed by me during the calendar year of 2011.  In that vein, you’ll note my first choice, District 9, was released in 2009.

District 9 is number one.  There’s plenty of action and I like the way the director, Neill Blomkamp, humanizes the aliens and creates a nice interaction between the alien protagonist and the human government agent.

The main concern, for me, in a science fiction story is plausibility.  Blomkamp takes an implausible situation, alien refugees, and makes it believable by providing a realistic scenario in which humans confine the aliens to what becomes a crime ridden refugee camp.  District 9 has all the elements of a good science fiction thriller – high tech machinery, outstanding action sequences and a compelling story.  If you haven’t seen it, rent it.

Two of my selections are not in the science fiction/fantasy genre.  On a Clear Day is an Irish drama about a 50 year-old man who alienates his family, loses his job and decides to swim the English Channel.  Bridesmaids is on the list because it made me laugh and I think Melissa McCarthy is funny; she makes the movie.

A person’s favorites are subjective.  I know what appeals to me may not appeal to you.  This is my list; any thoughts?

Rank	Movie	Release Date
1	District 9	8/14/09
2	Paul	3/18/11
3	On a Clear Day	7/8/05
4	Battle: Los Angeles	3/11/11
5	Bridesmaids	5/13/11
6	Cowboys & Aliens	7/29/11
7	The Green Hornet	1/14/11
8	Super 8	6/10/11
9	The Adjustment Bureau	3/4/11
10	Captain America:  The First Avenger	7/22/11

Japan's Spy Satellite

Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun.  I was on an extended deployment in the summer and early fall of 1981, a bit over seven months.  The squadron I was attached to, VMA 223, was fulfilling our portion of a three-squadron rotation.

We were assigned to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan.  The most lasting memory I have of Iwakuni is the smell of smoldering flesh.  There was a crematorium in the town and on Thursdays they burned the bodies.  That is an odor that will forever be imprinted on my olfactory system.  YUCK!

I was very young and did not understand the opportunity I had to explore a country with such a rich history.  I managed to spend a day in Hiroshima.  I don’t recollect much and I don’t think I took many pictures.  I mostly remember two things:

1.    It was the first time I had seen the brightly colored koi fish.

2.    There was a McDonalds in Hiroshima and this offered a little taste of home.

I did see some of the land though.  We lost an airplane (the pilot ejected safely) and I was one of the many assigned with searching for missing pieces.  Four of us trudged through a rice paddy and then there were three of us.  One of our party had fallen into a hole that had been covered up.  He didn't get hurt but it took us a few minutes to extricate him.

Why do I reminisce about this short tour of duty?  I was thinking about Japan on Monday, December 12, 2011, because the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched a spy satellite.  I didn’t know the Japanese had spy satellites.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; I knew they had this capability since they are partners on the International Space Station.  I just never thought of Japan as having a need for spy satellites.  They started this effort in the late 90s after North Korea fired a missile over Japan.

This isn’t even their first spy satellite; it’s their seventh launch since 2003.  This satellite is radar tipped which, when operational, will allow the Japanese to monitor ground conditions at night or through cloud cover.  The need to monitor their own landmasses became especially crucial following the tsunami and earthquake in March, 2011.

I have a military background and I’ve worked in the aerospace industry for over 25 years, yet I never thought of Japan as requiring spy satellites.  When I ponder those who might be monitoring from above I don’t think of Japan but rather Russia, China and the U.S.  But, I guess I’m going to have to alter my world view and realize that the Big Three don’t have a monopoly on the sky.  Is Big Brother watching?

Kepler-22b, New Earth?

In last week’s blog I expressed the hope we are not alone in the universe and that the Mars’ rover Curiosity will discover evidence of life on the Red Planet.

Is it possible that hope may become reality?  On Monday, December 5^th, NASA announced its Kepler telescope had discovered a planet, Kepler-22b, that may be Earth-like.  The scientists believe Kepler-22b has an average surface temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit which would allow water to exist in liquid form.

But, it will be a long time before the authenticity of the discovery is verified.  Kepler-22b is 600 light years from Earth.  1 light year is roughly 5.88 billion miles so 600 of these is a haul – not something you’d do in a weekend.

Unfortunately, unless Zefram Cochrane is about to test his warp drive enticing the Vulcans to visit this little blue orb, Kepler-22b will remain a mystery for generations.

What do you think?  Is this a new Earth?

Mars Rover - Curiosity

In the middle of a gluttonous weekend, otherwise known as Thanksgiving, 2011, an interesting event occurred.  It was barely a footnote in the evening newscast.  On Saturday, November 26th, NASA launched a car sized, nuclear powered, robotic rover named Curiosity toward Mars.  The trip will take 8 ½ months.

Curiosity’s mission is to take samples and relay its findings to scientists on Earth.  It’s another step in the cycle of determining if Mars has now or ever supported organic life forms.

Getting to Mars will only be half the challenge.  This nearly one ton-behemoth still has the task of settling safely in Gale Crater on Mars’ surface; no easy feat.

A couple years ago, I had the good fortune of visiting a Mars’ mission control center in Denver, where technicians monitor the progress of Mars rovers.  Unfortunately, it was at a time of inactivity.  It was still cool.  The folks working in these control centers adjust their schedules to accommodate a Martian day; somewhere in the neighborhood of 24 ½ Earth hours.

I’m excited about the prospect that there may be life of some type on Mars.  There’s water in the form of ice, at least on the surface.  Some scientists theorize there may even be water in liquid form below the surface.  Where there’s water, there’s always the potential for life.

I hope we are not alone in the universe.  Anyone else feel the same?