Peter Pan actually has an origin story—Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. It’s weird and creepy, of course, because Barrie’s imagination was sort of weird and creepy. Peter flies out the window as a baby and then doesn’t return until it’s too late, at which point, it’s lock-out time. He’s a betwixt-and-between—half…

I’ve made it into the first episode of the second season. They’re good, but I find *all* of them depressing—I can only take it in occasional doses. It’s kind of like a modern Twilight Zone, but with only the bleak episodes and none of the funny ones.

Sigh. I grew up wayyy pre-Internet and my school library had this one book about four women—Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Mead and Amelia Earheart. I was addicted to that book—renewed it over and over—just because it was about women who did something else besides worry about getting married and taking…

Well, it would be nice to think that, but the truth is that women have been writing and publishing lots of novels since the Victorian era (around 50 percent) and being woefully underrepresented when it comes to awards and being included in the literary canon (around 10 percent). Joanna Russ wrote a great rant about…

Nausicaa’s fascinating—both the film and the manga. Personally, I’d probably put it a bit above Howl, though Howl has some stunning images—but there’s that whole middle range of Miyazaki movies where personal preference comes into play. They’re not perfect, but all wonderful in their way. They all have layers that…

Miyazaki has said that he thinks he overdid it on the war stuff because he was responding to what was happening in the world at that time. The book is very tight and well-plotted, the film is beautiful and interesting, but not as well-balanced.

Wow, can’t agree. I like Miyazaki’s version, but it’s very much his own tale that veers off from the DWJ book. The book version is quirkier, lighter and much more English. The film is a war movie, the book is more Sophie-centric. Sophie has her own powers and the book is much more focused on Sophie coming into her own.

Not contacts. Bowie has one permanently dilated pupil from a fight when he was young.

Most of them aren’t in deserts. The Central Valley isn’t a desert. The coastal areas aren’t deserts. Basically, wet winters, bone-dry summers—but the bulk of the water is stored up in the Sierras from the snowfall, which then melts and runs off into the Central Valley. The Mojave and most of Nevada, on the other hand,…

Not just the hills, being on the bay side of things also helps. If you’re on the bay side of SF, most of the tsunami’s force gets deflected and ends up not doing much inside the bay itself.

Agreed—the geographic map is kind of intimidating—the London Underground is just so damn big. The older graphic is quicker to take in and focuses on central London, which is where you do all the transferring anyway.

Hold to the right.

Well, depends where you are. Where I live, yes, you could grow enough food. If we’re talking some sort of dystopian event, I’m assuming a drop in population, which I specified “fewer people”. So, zombie apocalypse—fewer people; Massive and wide outbreak of fast-acting disease—fewer people.

But, fact is, humans survive…

Actually, they do get nicer. Fewer people means less competition for resources. Makes more sense to trade than murder. There’s always this notion that we’ll become savages when it all goes to rack and ruin. Thing is, though, *savages* don’t behave that savagely. People will defend themselves, but it’s not that likely…

Does a knife count as technology? I’m taking one with a can opener (so I can get into those cans I’m planning to scavenge) and a magnifying glass (easier way to start a fire than two sticks.) If a knife doesn’t count, add a solar charger—that way I can use the gadgets everyone else has abandoned.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I knew it was a famous design and I liked it as such things go, but wandering around waiting for a flight is pretty much the same deal no matter where you are.

It didn’t feel cavernous—it was one of the cozier terminals—that was one of the problems, it was a little small for modern JFK traffic. I was only in it a couple of times, but I liked it—well, as much as one can like anything at JFK (not a lot, I associate it with too many red-eye flights when I was in college.)

Long lay-overs, overnight delays and early flights—all of which happen a lot at the big international airports. It’s also a good place for meetings if people are coming in from a variety of locations. There’s plenty of business—the big airports always have a cluster of hotels near them. Having one right at the airport…

Uh, the above post is showing with my name, but I didn’t write it—theburners did.

How is showing simple reality—there are poor people in Thailand, disrespectful of the King? More than the reality of this kind of poverty?