Call me a tree-hugging hippy, but this is great news.

  "SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- The number of gray whales born along the Pacific Coast has rebounded from record low levels, suggesting that pregnant females are thriving despite a warming Arctic feeding environment, federal biologists said.The number of calves that passed Point Piedras Blancas near San Luis Obispo jumped from 945 last year to 1,018 calves in 2006, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Fewer than 300 of the 3-month-olds were spotted in 2000 and 2001.  The whales have traditionally migrated to summer feeding grounds in the northern Bering Sea, but have been forced farther north in recent years because warming air and water has reduced the population of its favored prey, the fatty amphipod.In 1999, about 270 whales washed up dead or dying on the Pacific Coast, some severely malnourished, according to NOAA.But the whales appear to have taken advantage of melted polar sea ice, discovering new routes to food and finding enough crustaceans in the mud to nourish pregnant females, scientists said."

How awesome is that!  Good job scientists and whale phermones, or whatever they're doing!

Just reading the news this morning over coffee (as I do), and ran across an article about some very unfortunate mother who left her baby in her car.  It is devastating to read, but it is even more devastating for the family. 

So, this is just a brief reminder for today: the days are hot, and the inside of a car is hotter.  Please don't allow yourself or people around you to become so busy that you forget about this.  The bank will be there tomorrow, the store isn't going to run out of bread in the next 15 minutes, the dishes may not clean themselves but they certainly aren't going anywhere either.  There is more to life than errands and chores...so, take some time out and spend 2 good quality hours with your family today.  No TV, no radio...go for a walk or play with your kids' favorite toy (or video game, if they're old enough, and if that would mean a lot to them).   Sometimes we need to re-prioritize our lives: maybe today's that day.  :) Enjoy!

This is a weird subject for some people, but apparently this guy really took the bull by the horns...so to speak.  It's a small article so I'll just paste the whole thing:

"

Bibles Are Hot Item At Porn Show

LOS ANGELES -- One of the hottest items at the weekend's Erotica pornography show was a Bible with a cover that said "Jesus Loves Porn Stars."The Rev. J.R. Mahon of the Web site www.xxxchurch.com said his anti-porn ministry handed out its entire stock of 3,300 Bibles on the first day of the three-day show.Mahon acknowledges that convention-goers did a double-take when they saw his ministry's booth and Bibles with the unusual covers. He said that gave him a chance to tell people in the porn business that Jesus loves them and offers an escape and a fresh start to those who want out.Mahon says the "Jesus Loves Porn Star" Bibles were printed by NavPress after the American Bible Society decided it couldn't fill the order."

This isn't the first ministry most people would go for, but it is totally awesome that he is making sure absolutely everyone is loved.  A lot of times, Christians are so worried about following protocol that they forget to actually love everyone.  Instead, they want to beat it into people's minds what sinners they are, and that isn't going to help many (maybe a few, but not me).  I've found that by following a few key things Jesus taught, and John the Baptist said, has made all the difference in the world in terms of how much love I offer to people and changing my perspective of who "deserves" it (which is everyone).  Love your neighbor (as you love yourself), love your enemy:   firstly, if you don't love yourself very much, you're not going to love your neighbor very much either.  Depression or other personal issues may get in the way, and the best thing to do is to "take the plank out of your own eye before you worry about the splinter in your brother's."  It just makes sense, and for some of us, we find it very difficult to serve ourselves first because we are shrouded in whatever sins or guilts or shames from our past (or present), and we think if we just ignore that and serve everyone else, it'll all be okay.  But that's really the silly way of going about it, and since God loves *you*, and if you want to be a servant of God it is essential that you love yourself as well.  It's very difficult for some of us; women are very succeptable to this mindset, but it really needs to be addressed, I believe.  Then you must love your enemy.  This means porn stars are just as valuable in God's eyes as us upstanding citizens are.  Hard to swallow?  Well, it's true...not a lot you can do about that.  The third thing I keep in mind is what John the Baptist said to the people after he baptized them and they asked, "Now what?"  He said (in short), "If you have more than you need of something, go give it to someone who needs it.  Go serve God by serving others.  Go love them too." 

There was a guy at the Post Office yesterday with a backpack and a guitar, but I noticed that his guitar had this really nice fuzzy neck-protector, and he looked really well-kept.  I had no idea what to say to him, but I knew someone who might; so I went home and called this person and told him about this guy.  He said, "was he homeless?"  And I thought about it and replied, " Well, he might be homeless but he looks more like a wanderer than anything," and this great guy said, "Well, I'm going to be going that way in a few minutes so I'll drop by and see him.  Wanderers need a home too."  Something like that.  I don't know what happened yet, but who knows. 

So anyway, my whole point is: everyone has their own weird place in the world, wanderers and suburbanites and porn stars alike.  And it does not belittle any of us to give everyone a little love, even ourselves.  So go treat yourself to a latte and buy one for the person behind you  :) 

Some people call it a coincidense, some people call it fate or luck...but I know His sense of humor when He hits me with it.  He did it a few months ago when I thought I was pregnant for a day; I am sure He was saying, "No, no...wait for it...wait for itt.....Okay now!" Oh sure, it's far fetched...but I just have a hunch.  And as a wise man once said: "Zaphod: This is the right one!  I have a hunch!" 

So anyway, Ben was probing my mind last night and I was confessing to how frustrated I am with the world.  All that stuff.  So I wake up this morning with this song in my head:

"Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Wipe of the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face"

Fortunately I don't know any more of the words...but man, that's just messed up (ya, I'm looking at You).  I am going to have sunshiney camp songs going through my head all day.  I just know it.

Some people call it a coincidense, some people call it fate or luck...but I know His sense of humor when He hits me with it.  He did it a few months ago when I thought I was pregnant for a day; I am sure He was saying, "No, no...wait for it...wait for itt.....Okay now!" Oh sure, it's far fetched...but I just have a hunch.  And as a wise man once said: "Zaphod: This is the right one!  I have a hunch!" 

So anyway, Ben was probing my mind last night and I was confessing to how frustrated I am with the world.  All that stuff.  So I wake up this morning with this song in my head:

"Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Wipe of the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face"

Fortunately I don't know any more of the words...but man, that's just messed up (ya, I'm looking at You).  I am going to have sunshiney camp songs going through my head all day.  I just know it.

Some people call it a coincidense, some people call it fate or luck...but I know His sense of humor when He hits me with it.  He did it a few months ago when I thought I was pregnant for a day; I am sure He was saying, "No, no...wait for it...wait for itt.....Okay now!" Oh sure, it's far fetched...but I just have a hunch.  And as a wise man once said: "Zaphod: This is the right one!  I have a hunch!" 

So anyway, Ben was probing my mind last night and I was confessing to how frustrated I am with the world.  All that stuff.  So I wake up this morning with this song in my head:

"Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Wipe of the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face"

Fortunately I don't know any more of the words...but man, that's just messed up (ya, I'm looking at You).  I am going to have sunshiney camp songs going through my head all day.  I just know it.

,lkn

,lkn

I love magicians (or illusionists..whatever their title is).  I just watched this one of Criss Angel...whom I have never heard of before, but I guess he's comparable to David Blaine, who is totally "the man." 

So, you can watch this, but just remember: it's an illusion.  A very gross and disturbing one, but I was laughing my butt off when she was crawling away (hehehe)

http://www.yourdailymedia.com/media/1150107154/Criss_Angel_Rips_Girl_In_Half

Well, here's some depressing news:

"Murders, robberies and aggravated assaults in the United States increased last year, spurring an overall rise in violent crime for the first time since 2001, according to FBI data.

Murders rose 4.8 percent, meaning there were more than 16,900 victims in 2005. That would be the most since 1998 and the largest percentage increase in 15 years.

Murders jumped from 272 to 334 in Houston, a 23 percent spike; from 330 to 377 in Philadelphia, a 14 percent rise; and from 131 to 144 in Las Vegas, a 10 percent increase."

Fantastic stuff.  I know every newspaper loves putting what is happening in Iraq on their front covers, but look at what is happening at home.  No protesters for Americans on every streetcorner.  16,912 murders and 92,837 rapes in America last year.  You figure 365 days a year, that's 46 people every day being murdered, and 254 people getting raped daily (at least, those are the ones being reported).  It is so damned frustrating.  What are you gonna do about it though...

" Criminal justice experts said the statistics reflect the nation's complacency in fighting crime, a product of dramatic declines in the and the abandonment of effective programs that emphasized prevention, putting more police officers on the street and controlling the spread of guns."

This is very true, and I am hesitant to admit that while I'm living in a rather comfortable suburbia, my view of the 2nd Ammendment is along the lines of, "Oh I don't see what's wrong with owning a gun, it's my constitutional right to do so," while in much rougher, urban areas I'm sure mothers of 2 would see a vote for looser holds on guns would be whether her 15 year old angst-laden neighbor has access to 1 gun or 10 semiautomatics.  This is all hyperbolic, of course, but it isn't too far off. 

"Still, Fox said, "We're still far better off than we were during the double-digit crime inflation we saw in the 1970s."  Robberies were up 4.5 percent and aggravated assaults 1.9 percent, according to preliminary data. Alone among violent crime categories, the number of rapes fell 1.9 percent.  Violent crimes peaked at 1.9 million in 1992 and fell steadily through the end of that decade. The number has been relatively stable for the past six years...

Fox cautioned against reading too much into year-to-year changes in individual cities, saying some differences result from random variation and marked swings the previous year. Also, some large statistical increases result from some small numerical changes.

In Hartford, Conn. for example, murders jumped more than 50 percent, from 16 to 25."

It's just so hard to know what to do to save the world sometimes, when you can't even help your fellow man at home.  You can give him bread and coffee, but that doesn't stop a bullet. 

This is the 2006 Art Gallery of Princeton Univ.

"In the spring of 2006 we again asked the Princeton University community to submit images—and, for the first time, videos and sounds—produced in the course of research or incorporating tools and concepts from science. Out of nearly 150 entries from 16 departments, we selected 56 works to appear in the 2006 Art of Science exhibition. The practices of science and art both involve the single-minded pursuit of those moments of discovery when what one perceives suddenly becomes more than the sum of its parts. Each piece in this exhibition is, in its own way, a record of such a moment. They range from the image that validates years of research, to the epiphany of beauty in the trash after a long day at the lab, to a painter's meditation on the meaning of biological life. We thank all those who submitted their work to this year's competition. By sharing their imagination, as well as the fruits of their research, they have reaffirmed the deep links between art and science."

It's just amazing where you can find art.  Here are some beautiful pictures I found:

this is an eggshell

and this is "A laser pulse melted a tiny piece of metal on a silicon chip, resulting in an unexpected shape that looks like a very, very small Easter bonnet. An unintended dust particle serves as a decorative flower on its top. The size of the bonnet in this photo, measured from left to right, is about 45 micrometers, half the diameter of a human hair."

I ran across this image tonight, and it is just so beautiful I had to post it.  I love the deserts.  They contain such a rare, unique beauty you won't find anywhere else.

          Tough subject. Politics aside for a moment, it is really difficult to make heads or tails of scientists on this subject.  Sometimes the end of the world is tomorrow due to Aerosol spray cans, sometimes it's 50 years down the road from car exhaust, sometimes it's 10 years ago due to cutting down the rainforests.  Sometimes it's the end of the world period...sometimes it is simply the natural forces of nature.  It's just so damned difficult to figure out, so Al Gore, inventor of the internet, king of hyperbolization of data and information, made a documentary about Global Warming. 

           I've been reading about it...but honestly, you have to do your own counter-research on this.  You must.  Don't just listen to his film and believe everything he says.  He has already admitted that he stretches the truth (lies) in many places in order for the greater good of mankind.  This is really frustrating, that our politicians are so used to lying for the greater good that they can justify it at the drop of a hat.  What is the point of making a documentary to enlighten the masses if they have to wonder which parts are actually true?  Might as well be funded by Spielburg if you're going that route.

            One review of the documentary was pretty interesting: "He and his friends were in charge for eight years. His charts say global warming got worse in that time. The environment doesn't seem to care whether the president is a Texas oilman or the Man from Hope.  Global warming hasn't noticed that we got the lead out of our gasoline or that Stage One smog days in Los Angeles fell from 121 in 1977 to zero in 2004. All regulations and taxes to date have done nothing. Does this hint that pollution isn't the cause?  Gore claims, with pie-chart-in-the-sky dreaminess, that unspecified measures can reduce emissions to 1970 levels. He assesses the tradeoff between the economy and the environment with the kind of buffoonery you'd expect in a Marxist comic book, displaying a cartoon of a scale with Earth on one side and bars of gold on the other."  

             But even more frustrating is this: "People are skeptical about global warming because it builds up to the same chorus as every other lefty hymn: more taxes, more hypocritical scolding (the film is the brainchild of Larry David's wife, Laurie, part of the community of people who drive a Prius to the private plane) and especially more America-bashing.  Gore says that America, alone, is the problem. Taking us to China, he ignores the filth spewed into the air by its coal-fired cities. He does not meet with bronchitic citizens who wear surgical masks outdoors and pause to hawk up brown gunk every few minutes. Instead, he tells us America is lagging behind. "China," he says, "is on the cutting edge" of environmentalism. Nonsense."  This really is frustrating, because America has been kicking ass these past 30 years, at least, at protecting the environment.  We are light years beyond where China is,  and slapping us on the hand for unspecified and vague reasons is just absurd.  I could hardly take his documentary seriously if he was an aspiring film student; but he almost became our President.  What idiotic stew of politicians do we have to pick from these days?  Where is Lincoln when you need him.

           "Gore is a dangerous evangelist for whom all roads lead to his sole, holy revelation. Remember how his son was injured in a car accident, the story he told at the 1992 convention? He's still telling it, and what was once touching has become exploitative. This time, the accident's meaning is that he wondered whether the Earth would still be there for his son. (Never mind that earlier in the film, he dates his eco-awakening to his Harvard years).  A sister who smoked and died of lung cancer? The lesson is that those who used to deny that smoking caused disease were wrong, so anyone who doubts catastrophic global warming must also be wrong.  Still not convinced that Gore's mind has only one emission? "We have to think differently about war," he says, referring to environmental effects of weapons. "We can't just mindlessly continue the patterns of the past." It's a chilling statement: Even when bombs are flying, Gore promises to measure CO2 first.  The man's shamelessness is astounding when he compares himself to Churchill, but that's not the worst of it. The final shot of Gore shows him bravely silhouetted against the cosmos, a lone figure tenderly surveying the firmament. The job he really wants, no recount can give him."

              Interesting read.  Not the only one I've found, but it's finally a personal viewpoint instead of, "well, he covered this and this and this; and it looks pretty interesting." 

          Tough subject. Politics aside for a moment, it is really difficult to make heads or tails of scientists on this subject.  Sometimes the end of the world is tomorrow due to Aerosol spray cans, sometimes it's 50 years down the road from car exhaust, sometimes it's 10 years ago due to cutting down the rainforests.  Sometimes it's the end of the world period...sometimes it is simply the natural forces of nature.  It's just so damned difficult to figure out, so Al Gore, inventor of the internet, king of hyperbolization of data and information, made a documentary about Global Warming. 

           I've been reading about it...but honestly, you have to do your own counter-research on this.  You must.  Don't just listen to his film and believe everything he says.  He has already admitted that he stretches the truth (lies) in many places in order for the greater good of mankind.  This is really frustrating, that our politicians are so used to lying for the greater good that they can justify it at the drop of a hat.  What is the point of making a documentary to enlighten the masses if they have to wonder which parts are actually true?  Might as well be funded by Spielburg if you're going that route.

            One review of the documentary was pretty interesting: "He and his friends were in charge for eight years. His charts say global warming got worse in that time. The environment doesn't seem to care whether the president is a Texas oilman or the Man from Hope.  Global warming hasn't noticed that we got the lead out of our gasoline or that Stage One smog days in Los Angeles fell from 121 in 1977 to zero in 2004. All regulations and taxes to date have done nothing. Does this hint that pollution isn't the cause?  Gore claims, with pie-chart-in-the-sky dreaminess, that unspecified measures can reduce emissions to 1970 levels. He assesses the tradeoff between the economy and the environment with the kind of buffoonery you'd expect in a Marxist comic book, displaying a cartoon of a scale with Earth on one side and bars of gold on the other."  

             But even more frustrating is this: "People are skeptical about global warming because it builds up to the same chorus as every other lefty hymn: more taxes, more hypocritical scolding (the film is the brainchild of Larry David's wife, Laurie, part of the community of people who drive a Prius to the private plane) and especially more America-bashing.  Gore says that America, alone, is the problem. Taking us to China, he ignores the filth spewed into the air by its coal-fired cities. He does not meet with bronchitic citizens who wear surgical masks outdoors and pause to hawk up brown gunk every few minutes. Instead, he tells us America is lagging behind. "China," he says, "is on the cutting edge" of environmentalism. Nonsense."  This really is frustrating, because America has been kicking ass these past 30 years, at least, at protecting the environment.  We are light years beyond where China is,  and slapping us on the hand for unspecified and vague reasons is just absurd.  I could hardly take his documentary seriously if he was an aspiring film student; but he almost became our President.  What idiotic stew of politicians do we have to pick from these days?  Where is Lincoln when you need him.

           "Gore is a dangerous evangelist for whom all roads lead to his sole, holy revelation. Remember how his son was injured in a car accident, the story he told at the 1992 convention? He's still telling it, and what was once touching has become exploitative. This time, the accident's meaning is that he wondered whether the Earth would still be there for his son. (Never mind that earlier in the film, he dates his eco-awakening to his Harvard years).  A sister who smoked and died of lung cancer? The lesson is that those who used to deny that smoking caused disease were wrong, so anyone who doubts catastrophic global warming must also be wrong.  Still not convinced that Gore's mind has only one emission? "We have to think differently about war," he says, referring to environmental effects of weapons. "We can't just mindlessly continue the patterns of the past." It's a chilling statement: Even when bombs are flying, Gore promises to measure CO2 first.  The man's shamelessness is astounding when he compares himself to Churchill, but that's not the worst of it. The final shot of Gore shows him bravely silhouetted against the cosmos, a lone figure tenderly surveying the firmament. The job he really wants, no recount can give him."

              Interesting read.  Not the only one I've found, but it's finally a personal viewpoint instead of, "well, he covered this and this and this; and it looks pretty interesting." 

          Tough subject. Politics aside for a moment, it is really difficult to make heads or tails of scientists on this subject.  Sometimes the end of the world is tomorrow due to Aerosol spray cans, sometimes it's 50 years down the road from car exhaust, sometimes it's 10 years ago due to cutting down the rainforests.  Sometimes it's the end of the world period...sometimes it is simply the natural forces of nature.  It's just so damned difficult to figure out, so Al Gore, inventor of the internet, king of hyperbolization of data and information, made a documentary about Global Warming. 

           I've been reading about it...but honestly, you have to do your own counter-research on this.  You must.  Don't just listen to his film and believe everything he says.  He has already admitted that he stretches the truth (lies) in many places in order for the greater good of mankind.  This is really frustrating, that our politicians are so used to lying for the greater good that they can justify it at the drop of a hat.  What is the point of making a documentary to enlighten the masses if they have to wonder which parts are actually true?  Might as well be funded by Spielburg if you're going that route.

            One review of the documentary was pretty interesting: "He and his friends were in charge for eight years. His charts say global warming got worse in that time. The environment doesn't seem to care whether the president is a Texas oilman or the Man from Hope.  Global warming hasn't noticed that we got the lead out of our gasoline or that Stage One smog days in Los Angeles fell from 121 in 1977 to zero in 2004. All regulations and taxes to date have done nothing. Does this hint that pollution isn't the cause?  Gore claims, with pie-chart-in-the-sky dreaminess, that unspecified measures can reduce emissions to 1970 levels. He assesses the tradeoff between the economy and the environment with the kind of buffoonery you'd expect in a Marxist comic book, displaying a cartoon of a scale with Earth on one side and bars of gold on the other."  

             But even more frustrating is this: "People are skeptical about global warming because it builds up to the same chorus as every other lefty hymn: more taxes, more hypocritical scolding (the film is the brainchild of Larry David's wife, Laurie, part of the community of people who drive a Prius to the private plane) and especially more America-bashing.  Gore says that America, alone, is the problem. Taking us to China, he ignores the filth spewed into the air by its coal-fired cities. He does not meet with bronchitic citizens who wear surgical masks outdoors and pause to hawk up brown gunk every few minutes. Instead, he tells us America is lagging behind. "China," he says, "is on the cutting edge" of environmentalism. Nonsense."  This really is frustrating, because America has been kicking ass these past 30 years, at least, at protecting the environment.  We are light years beyond where China is,  and slapping us on the hand for unspecified and vague reasons is just absurd.  I could hardly take his documentary seriously if he was an aspiring film student; but he almost became our President.  What idiotic stew of politicians do we have to pick from these days?  Where is Lincoln when you need him.

           "Gore is a dangerous evangelist for whom all roads lead to his sole, holy revelation. Remember how his son was injured in a car accident, the story he told at the 1992 convention? He's still telling it, and what was once touching has become exploitative. This time, the accident's meaning is that he wondered whether the Earth would still be there for his son. (Never mind that earlier in the film, he dates his eco-awakening to his Harvard years).  A sister who smoked and died of lung cancer? The lesson is that those who used to deny that smoking caused disease were wrong, so anyone who doubts catastrophic global warming must also be wrong.  Still not convinced that Gore's mind has only one emission? "We have to think differently about war," he says, referring to environmental effects of weapons. "We can't just mindlessly continue the patterns of the past." It's a chilling statement: Even when bombs are flying, Gore promises to measure CO2 first.  The man's shamelessness is astounding when he compares himself to Churchill, but that's not the worst of it. The final shot of Gore shows him bravely silhouetted against the cosmos, a lone figure tenderly surveying the firmament. The job he really wants, no recount can give him."

              Interesting read.  Not the only one I've found, but it's finally a personal viewpoint instead of, "well, he covered this and this and this; and it looks pretty interesting." 

          Tough subject. Politics aside for a moment, it is really difficult to make heads or tails of scientists on this subject.  Sometimes the end of the world is tomorrow due to Aerosol spray cans, sometimes it's 50 years down the road from car exhaust, sometimes it's 10 years ago due to cutting down the rainforests.  Sometimes it's the end of the world period...sometimes it is simply the natural forces of nature.  It's just so damned difficult to figure out, so Al Gore, inventor of the internet, king of hyperbolization of data and information, made a documentary about Global Warming. 

           I've been reading about it...but honestly, you have to do your own counter-research on this.  You must.  Don't just listen to his film and believe everything he says.  He has already admitted that he stretches the truth (lies) in many places in order for the greater good of mankind.  This is really frustrating, that our politicians are so used to lying for the greater good that they can justify it at the drop of a hat.  What is the point of making a documentary to enlighten the masses if they have to wonder which parts are actually true?  Might as well be funded by Spielburg if you're going that route.

            One review of the documentary was pretty interesting: "He and his friends were in charge for eight years. His charts say global warming got worse in that time. The environment doesn't seem to care whether the president is a Texas oilman or the Man from Hope.  Global warming hasn't noticed that we got the lead out of our gasoline or that Stage One smog days in Los Angeles fell from 121 in 1977 to zero in 2004. All regulations and taxes to date have done nothing. Does this hint that pollution isn't the cause?  Gore claims, with pie-chart-in-the-sky dreaminess, that unspecified measures can reduce emissions to 1970 levels. He assesses the tradeoff between the economy and the environment with the kind of buffoonery you'd expect in a Marxist comic book, displaying a cartoon of a scale with Earth on one side and bars of gold on the other."  

             But even more frustrating is this: "People are skeptical about global warming because it builds up to the same chorus as every other lefty hymn: more taxes, more hypocritical scolding (the film is the brainchild of Larry David's wife, Laurie, part of the community of people who drive a Prius to the private plane) and especially more America-bashing.  Gore says that America, alone, is the problem. Taking us to China, he ignores the filth spewed into the air by its coal-fired cities. He does not meet with bronchitic citizens who wear surgical masks outdoors and pause to hawk up brown gunk every few minutes. Instead, he tells us America is lagging behind. "China," he says, "is on the cutting edge" of environmentalism. Nonsense."  This really is frustrating, because America has been kicking ass these past 30 years, at least, at protecting the environment.  We are light years beyond where China is,  and slapping us on the hand for unspecified and vague reasons is just absurd.  I could hardly take his documentary seriously if he was an aspiring film student; but he almost became our President.  What idiotic stew of politicians do we have to pick from these days?  Where is Lincoln when you need him.

           "Gore is a dangerous evangelist for whom all roads lead to his sole, holy revelation. Remember how his son was injured in a car accident, the story he told at the 1992 convention? He's still telling it, and what was once touching has become exploitative. This time, the accident's meaning is that he wondered whether the Earth would still be there for his son. (Never mind that earlier in the film, he dates his eco-awakening to his Harvard years).  A sister who smoked and died of lung cancer? The lesson is that those who used to deny that smoking caused disease were wrong, so anyone who doubts catastrophic global warming must also be wrong.  Still not convinced that Gore's mind has only one emission? "We have to think differently about war," he says, referring to environmental effects of weapons. "We can't just mindlessly continue the patterns of the past." It's a chilling statement: Even when bombs are flying, Gore promises to measure CO2 first.  The man's shamelessness is astounding when he compares himself to Churchill, but that's not the worst of it. The final shot of Gore shows him bravely silhouetted against the cosmos, a lone figure tenderly surveying the firmament. The job he really wants, no recount can give him."

              Interesting read.  Not the only one I've found, but it's finally a personal viewpoint instead of, "well, he covered this and this and this; and it looks pretty interesting."