Been busy busy lately, and I’ve got to write a paper tonight for my Policy Evaluation grad school class, which means that the best use of my time right now must be to post a post on my blog, right? Well, if you say so and insist . . .

We watched an amazing movie last night: Bug, directed by William Friedkin, of The Exorcist and The French Connection fame. Ashley Judd gives an astounding performance in a truly creepy little flick. I’ve long thought she’s one of the most under-rated actresses of her generation, having been quite impressed when I caught her in Ruby in Paradise some 13 or 14 years ago, before I realized she was kin to the singing Judds. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how much I like hearing actors and actresses with real Southern accents get to use them. Few things make movies or TV shows more unwatchable to me that having to listen to someone badly playing Southern. I can’t even stand to watch the commercials for The Closer, for example, much less the show, since New York native Kyra Sedgwick’s fake Southern drawl borders on the offensive to me, being so cliched and ill wrought. For that they give an Emmy? Count me appalled.

This has been and will be a big week in Space, too, note well, as Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite. Last Thursday, we lofted Dawn towards the asteroid belt, where it will rendezvous with both Ceres and Vesta in a few years. Spectacular exploration opportunities, both of them, as they represent different types of material left over from the birth of the solar system. As we wait for its arrival, rovers continue to roll around on Mars and Cassini-Huygens sends back some of the most spectacular photos I’ve ever seen on almost a weekly basis. It’s a glorious time to be a space nerd, for sure.

I’ve got other stuff to write about, but now guilt tugs at me, and I must away to write my paper. I’m easily distracted, though, so I may be back . . .