what Dave thinks about movies, books and everything
Here’s an update to this list. Winner Runner Ups Year Author Title Author Title 2018 Dayton Ward DISCO: Drastic Measures James Swallow DISCO: Fear Itself 2017 David A. Goodman The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard Christopher L. Bennett TOS: The Face of the Unknown Christopher L. Bennett ENT: Rise of the Federation […]
Star Wars: The Last Jedi was a startlingly divisive movie, even without Russian bots making it more so. This video is a thoughtful exploration of that division — it talks about things like whether a movie can be “objectively” bad, whether common complaints about it could also be lobbied against other movies in the franchise, […]
{4.5/5} “We are captains, and with command comes the implicit truth that we must balance lives against lives, with each order we give… I have done so in the past and I carry the scar that does not heal. I do not need to ask you if you have done the same. I know you […]
In case you know any deniers you’re having trouble convincing, here’s an explanation of global warming from Ethan Siegel on Forbes: The Simplest Explanation Of Global Warming Ever
Here’s an update to this list. 2018 wasn’t quite as amazing a year for movies as 2017 but there were still a bunch of great ones. Year Winner Runner Ups 2018 A Quiet Place Ant-Man and the Wasp Avengers: Infinity War Black Panther Deadpool 2 Incredibles 2 […]
{5/5} “I’ve seen him with his wife. Let me tell you, they’ve got more chemistry than a science fair.” A Simple Favor, released in 2018 Stephanie’s friend Emily is missing. They’ve only been friends for a few weeks — their sons go to school together. They’ve bonded over martinis. At least, Stephanie thinks they have. […]
{5/5} “I don’t know much about science, but I know this: They didn’t land a spaceship on a comet using anecdotal evidence, and they didn’t calibrate the rate of descent using focus groups.” Final Report by Rick Mercer, published in 2018 This is mostly a collection of Rick Mercer’s rants from his TV show, Rick […]
{4.5/5} “Do we presume we have the right — and the wisdom — to intervene in the lives of other beings we may not fully understand? Or do we default to granting them the same primacy over the lives that we insist upon for our own?” Star Trek: Enterprise — Rise of the Federation: Patterns […]
{5/5} “Mayweather… tried to imagine wanting the experience he’d undergone inside the Ware, believing it was necessary and just. Would it really be so wrong for someone to free him from that condition, that conviction, over his protests? Would he be better off staying inside? He couldn’t believe that.” Star Trek: Enterprise — Rise of […]
{4.5/5} “Peace, tolerance, openness to exchange with other species: These ideas create more opportunities, allow individuals more chances to survive and more options to succeed. Therefore, they have an evolutionary advantage over violence, intolerance, oppression — ideas that tend to destroy lives or restrain their opportunities.” Star Trek: Enterprise — Rise of the Federation: Uncertain […]