We went to see the movie Get Smart while we were in S. Dakota. It was really entertaining,as good or better than the recent crop of Bond movies. Would you believe as as good as one of my favorites, True Lies?

Steve Carrell is excellent as Maxwell Smart, although he plays him a bit smarter than the original Maxwell Smart, almost too smart to be useful in the field. Anne Hathaway steals almost every scene as Agent 99; her comedic timing is excellent. And Dwayne Johnson is a hilarious, over-the-top super-agent - I confess to a teeny-tiny movie-star crush on him because he’s so Hollywood-perfect.

The writing is snappy and the action scenes move briskly; it’s very true to the timing and comedic feel of the original series. Many of the original gadgets are there, just as dysfunctional as they were in the series - the cone of silence, the shoe phone, the sliding doors, the phone booth. The dialogue is hilarious, very quotable, and I predict people will be tossing lines from this one around for many months to come.

It’s definitely worth the price of the ticket - a great popcorn movie.

Last night we watched, tape-delayed, Discovery Channel’s When We Left The Earth: The NASA Space Missions. My reaction? Amazing!

The show was the first in a series of six, each two hours long. It included a tremendous amount of original footage, as well as interviews with those original astronauts now. This first show very much gave the sense of how incredibly brave and risky these men and these pioneering space missions actually were. I sure wouldn’t have gone up in Gemini III after only two successful Titan rocket launches! I will definitely tape and watch each one.

One thought came to mind while watching this show. These missions and those that came after polarized the nation, igniting a debate about our spending priorities.

There were those that were space-mad, supportive of the space program and dreaming of mankind boldly entering this new era. (I’m preaching to the choir, here!) As a daughter of a scientist/engineer, weaned on Heinlein and Lucas, I’m an early convert to the cause. Not surprisingly, I believe that the space program singlehandledly drove the technological revolution that we now enjoy - from electronics to computers to communication - the notebook computers we carry, the smartphones we use, the satellites that beam our color television to us, the Internet I’m posting on, all courtesy of the space program. I believe in the long view, that we aren’t here simply for the next meal or the next paycheck but for the next millenium and beyond.

Opponents, though, believe that investment would be better spent alleviating our ills here on earth. We have so many desperate problems - famine, poverty and lack of basic medical care in many areas, homelessness, illiteracy, human rights violations, economic development in the third world, even cancer research. Some of these issues are ones where money correctly invested can go a long way toward alleviating human suffering.

I understand the conflict. What will it be? Pour money into the tremendously expensive dream of a few? Or into relieving the suffering of countless multitudes? The fact that the side benefits - all the technological growth, the scientific discoveries, the spread of resources - may trickle down to those third world countries in the long term is cold comfort to those whose children are starving today. I can’t respond to that.

I can say that I think finding real solutions to our problems requires more than just pouring money into temporary fixes because those are bottomless pits. Programs that provide impoverished families with the means to support themselves and, shocking thought, curtail population growth are the ones that really have merit.

On the other hand, I think part of the dream of space is the lure of the new frontier. We hope that we can discover new resources, new technologies, new miracles, that something we find can be the next San Francisco gold strike or Prudhoe Bay oil field. As a species we need hope! The US has slowed down its space program disappointingly in the last 25 years, but still, we continue to look for treasure over the next horizon.

Apparently country-western star Gretchen Wilson has finally completed her GED at 34 years of age.

Wilson has made a name for herself as an up-and-coming country singer/songwriter, winning numerous awards in the last five years - and has a reputation for eschewing the glamor-girl track in favor of a tomboyish, rabble-rousing redneck image. Her most widely known song is “Redneck Woman”:

Well, you might think I’m trashy, a little too hardcore
But in my neck of the woods I’m just the girl next door
I’m a redneck woman
I ain’t no high class broad
I’m just a product of my raising
I say, ‘hey y’all’ and ‘yee-haw’
And I keep my Christmas lights on
On my front porch all year long
And I know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song
So here’s to all my sisters out there keeping it country
Let me get a big ‘hell yeah’ from the redneck girls like me

So, here she is, getting lots of press for her shiny new GED. Perhaps I’m just an elitist snob, but I never considered a high school diploma to be a big achievement, just a milestone on the way for truly preparing myself for life. I’ve also considered a GED to be a less-desirable alternative to actually sticking it out for a diploma. On the other hand, a bachelor’s degree? Worth celebrating. A master’s or PhD? Definitely an achievement - that I haven’t yet earned.

It’s sad that there are still parts of our fairly progressive, well-educated nation where people shrug their shoulders and drop out of school years before finishing. I understand family problems, economic challenges, even academic problems. There are those who struggle with all of those issues and still earn a high school diploma, even go on to college. And there are those who want for very little and still drop out.

Why? Is it a values issue? A character deficiency? A social problem? Are we in America continuing to fail part of the next generation?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing that Wilson earned her GED. And I’m always encouraged by those who earn their success with substance, rather than style - and she seems to belong to that club.

Still and all, I think that the amount of press - carefully worded, non-judgmental press - that she is getting for this relatively minor achievement does our youth a disservice. It trivializes the importance of staying in school, of making a GED a priority, of pursuing the basic educational competency required to function in today’s world.

Send out another press release when she earns a degree, starts a charitable foundation or adopts some worthy cause. I’ll applaud then.

I don’t watch much tv – I much prefer to read or surf online. My three guilty, geeky television pleasures are below – but I have questions about them.

Battlestar Galactica
This show is wonderful – it has it all, sex, violence, politics, religion, morality, technology and hunky men. However, the one burning question I have is… why is Sharon Cylon #8? There are seven known Cylons, plus four incognito, unnumbered Cylons. Why isn’t Sharon #7, and what happened to the Cylon who is supposed to fill that slot?

Lost
This show is also wonderful for most of the same reasons. What it lacks in politics and technology, it makes up for in the supernatural and mystery realm. Can I have a Sawyer for my very own? I would pet him and take care of him and call him George. I would like to know who all the Lost extras are… you only see them in the periphery of the camera, but they always seem happy, well fed, and cleanly dressed. In 105 days, wouldn’t some one of them have done something worthy of camera attention? Broke a leg, gotten a crush on a main cast member, set a tent on fire, discovered a Dharma station? How can they remain set decoration for that long?

Heroes
We just started watching Heroes last year, after Bryan’s SF club colleague Doug raved about it. We really enjoy the twisty plot, the characters, the whole concept of flawed, superpowered humans, and the shifting sands of good and bad. Alpha-hero Peter, who assimilates every power he comes in contact with, has hung around the Haitian, who can cancel all powers in his vicinity as well as induce forgetting. Why don’t Peter’s assumed Haitian powers 1) let him win all fights, and 2) cancel his own powers as well?

What are your favorite geeky television pleasures? (If you watch adult channels, I’d rather not know…) And what pressing plot questions do you have?

Sunday, for Mothers’ Day, we took mom to see Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo. It was an amazing production.

The story is, loosely, that of a clown looking back on his life after he dies. It’s actually very non-linear, with amazing physical feats interwoven with humorous set pieces. I can’t really effectively describe circus acts here – but aerial, tightrope, trampoline and more, this show had it all.

If the show is coming to your area, I highly recommend it.

The kids got me a new 8Gb iPod nano, which has been on my request list for some time, since my music library has hit 5 Gb and kept growing. Ben made me breakfast in bed and Zach went out to dinner with me – it was a good day.

Happy Mothers’ day to all mothers out there!