Squee! Transformers long-form trailer is out!

I just watched the new Transformers movie trailer, and okay, I'm gonna say that based on the new trailer this isn't your childhood Transformers but it's not gonna suck. The premise seems to be that the US finds a disabled Megatron under the ice, and they activate him, bringing down the rain of Decepticons onto the world. There are Autobots here on Earth who know Megatron is here somewhere, but they don't know where, so they represent the opposing force.

I will say this, Starscream totally rocks in this trailer. He is not the incompetent boob of the series. The CG stuff has reached cinematic levels; there's no point in admiring it. Either it works or it doesn't, and it seems to work here.

Unfortunately, it is a Michael Bay film. Some of the stuff does look like retread from Armageddon.

So, opening night, anyone?

Earworm of the morning.

I'm generally opposed to posting lyrics because I don't know that they serve a purpose, but this morning's earworm, completely prompted by nothing I know of (I haven't heard this song in at least a month, maybe longer), needs to get out of my head, so I'm putting it here. ( Behind the cut: Losing it. )

Some mornings are just like that.

So, let me get this straight, Mr. Bush

Obviously, Bush and company do not ever learn their lessons, or believe that they can continue to get away with the most corrupt crap possible while living in a virtual panopticon. The only maddening aspect to this whole thing is that we haven't had a populace willing to do something serious about it, like tell our congresscritters to get off their asses and engage in a little oversight.

Senate Democrats urged President Bush on Thursday to withdraw his nomination of top lobbyist Michael E. Baroody from the National Association of Manufacturers to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission, saying the candidate was unqualified and the appointment posed insurmountable conflicts of interest.

In a letter to President Bush, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida and Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, both Democrats, said Mr. Baroody "cannot escape a serious conflict of interest" because he will receive a $150,000 departing payment from the association.

Mr. Fox, enjoy the henhouse. Here's your appetizer. Good grief, this isn't cronyism, it stinks of outright capital corruption. Isn't it time the whole "high crimes and misdemeanors" thing kicked in already?

---

I've been listening to The Psychedelic Avengers, a group of Internet musicians who put together ad-hoc studio bands to record... something. It's good music that mixes all kinds of styles: rock, house, electronica. The title above is just a fragment: track five is actually entitled In which young space pilot Lex Hunter finds out that a beta booster sound system, two teenage psycho nymphs from Bebulas 5, three orgasmatron pills and zero gravity can make a pretty good party. Now that's a title!