Avatar

James Cameron's long awaited film Avatar (trailer here) will finally come to theaters in December. Apparently he had to wait fifteen years for the technology to reach a place where he could use the visual effects he wanted, including a breakthrough 3D experience. The VFX do look amazing, but it appears that Cameron, like many of his contemporaries, has decided to get on a soap box.

The movie looks like an allegorical sermon on the destruction of the environment. Evil military industrial complex seeks to exploit the natural resources of a pristine, unspoiled wilderness and only the noble, peace-loving natives living in harmony with nature stand between them. It's like "Aliens meet Dances with Wolves," or a science fiction version of Pocahontas. Spare me. I don't don't go to the theater to get preached to by a bunch of Hollywood elitists, especially when I've heard it before a million times. But maybe I'm overreacting.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

A shark warning was issued at Cannon Beach Sunday after a partially eaten porpoise was found washed ashore Saturday night and a dorsal fin was sighted. Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon, anglers towed a 12' Great White Shark to the boat ramp that apparently died after getting tangled up in a crab pot off Depoe Bay. Here's the video which includes them pulling a baby porpoise out of the shark's stomach.

Why the sudden presence of Carcharodon Carcharias so near the the shore? Warm water has moved closer to the shore, according to the experts, bringing with it seals and porpoises, which in turn attract the sharks.

Now, I don't go swimming off the Oregon Coast. It's the frigid water that keeps me out, so my lifestyle hasn't been affected. But I wonder how all all those surfers are reacting to this? Or scuba divers? Or fisherman in little 10' foot boats with lawnmower engines on the back?

The folks over at the Discovery channel have tried their darndest to convince us that sharks don't really pose any danger to humans (despite their sensationlist advertising for Shark Week), and that fear of these animals is just paranoia. Maybe.

Care to try your luck?

John Hughes (1950-2009)

Writer/Director John Hughes died Thursday morning of a heart attack while walking in Manhattan. He was 59, far too early for a guy who created so much enjoyment for so many people. For whatever reason, only Hughes was able to capture the plight of the 1980s teenager. One reason I loved his movies was the sympathetic treatment, not only of jocks and princesses, but of nerds like me. Films such as Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club and Weird Science convinced me Hughes knew what it was to be less than cool in high school.

He also made other great coming of age movies that I can still relate to now like She's Having a Baby. It didn't hurt that his movies were also hilarious. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a classic teenage fantasy movie and I laughted pretty much non-stop through Plains, Trains and Automobiles. Strangely, Hughes seemed to disappear suddenly in the early 1990s, writing the occasional script, shunning media and interviews.

Rarely has an artist had his finger on the pulse of a generation. In fact, I cannot think of another like him. His passing brings back the same genuine bittersweet emotions of growing up that his films were famous for. He will be missed.