Vista editions and disaster recovery

There may be too many editions of Vista (as I explained previously).

People have been lampooning Microsoft's number of editions, some more seriously, some less so, but the point is well taken: it is just too confusing.

Given the choice, here's what I recommend: get Vista Business or Vista Ultimate. The Home editions do not include built-in hard disk imaging, which is a great backup mechanism. You should routinely make backups, but imaging is fantastic.

Are you familiar with those "system restore" discs? The ones that you can use to wipe out your computer and make the hard disk like you just took the computer out of the box? That's a disk image.

So, get your computer set up the way you like it (backup and remove your documents), then make a disk image. If you ever have problems, restore the image and then restore you documents. It will probably only take you one hour.

The only edition which does not support Aero and the Flip-3D eye candy is Vista Home Basic. Vista Home Premium addes Aero and Media Center (which you don't need if you Tivo). Vista Business adds imaging but removes Media Center. Vista Ultimate has all of the above, plus BitLocker Drive Encryption (for the enterprise user, or the hyper-paranoid).

If you participated in the PowerTogether promotion, you're getting Vista Business (way cool). That's probably what I would recommend for almost everybody.

Jesus Christ: Superman?

Spoiler Alert: if you intend on seeing "Superman Returns,"
read no further.

So Cathy & I saw "Superman Returns." The movie was 2.5 hours long, yet we did not notice the passing of the time. We really enjoyed it, and I felt like there are numerous Christological references in the movie. Some were subtle, some were apparent, and I am convinced that the writer/producer intended for this effect.

I am sure I am not the first to make these observations, and there may be more, but here's a quick list of things that occurred to me:

• Superman falls into his mother's arms like Michelangelo's Pietà
• Superman has a deceased earthly father
• Superman has a wilderness experience
• Superman was sent as an only son (see below)
• Superman refers to himself as a savior
• Superman is beaten and stabbed in the side
• Superman saves the world and falls with his arms and legs in the shape of a cross
  

Superman the only son: Superman recalls his father saying, "They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. It is for this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you—my only son."

Superman the savior: Superman is flying with Lois over the city, and he asks her, "What do you hear?" Lois replies, "Nothing. It's quiet." Superman says, "I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior. But everyday I hear people crying out for one."

Superman's cross: Superman saves the world and falls with his arms and legs in the shape of a cross as he is falls back to Earth from the exosphere.

A quick Google search turned up this article entitled "The Spiritual Side of Superman Returns." It looks like the impression was quite deliberate. Interesting...

Side note: I prefer DC comics over Marvel. My favorite comic book characters are Spiderman, Batman, and Superman, usually in that order.

Opinion on "The Break Up" Movie

Spoiler Alert: if you intend on seeing "The Break Up," read no further.

We saw "The Break Up" last night.

I hated it. If I want "real life" I'll watch reality television. When I watch a movie about romance, I either want "that's romantic" or "that was nice," not, "well, that sucked."

Just my $0.02

How I Feel About the New Pirates Movie

In case you haven't heard, "Dead Man's Chest" is a two-parter. :-(

Done Reviewing Van Kampen

I finished reviewing "The Rapture Question Answered: Plain and Simple" by Robert Van Kampen. You can read the comments for more details, but here is my take in a nutshell: don't waste your time with this book.

The Da Vinci Code Movie - Big Deal

Yes, I read the book; who hasn't? When I first heard that The Da Vinci Code was "highly controversial" I knew that mean it would contain some kind of factual error regarding Christianity, and that this would be a central point. Still, I figured, "big deal" and ignored it.

Frankly, the written version wasn't all that wonderful, and I doubt it would have sold as many copies if people hadn't made such a fuss about it. Ever heard of the Streisand Effect?

Regarding "What is the big deal, anyway?", the problem isn't The Da Vinci Code but how some people react to lousy history as though their faith depended upon a novel. If you are a Christian and you are reading this, do me a favor (in fact, do Christ a favor): don't get too worked up. Yes, read the book. Yes, make sure you know where it is wrong and know how to answer it. But don't have a cow.

Sure, Dan Brown actually believes what he writes in the book is true, but he does terrible research for his books; Cathy is reading Angels and Demons and Brown has American Indian beliefs all wrong. The sheer amount of bad and confused history in TDVC actually gave me a headache. He gets dates, places, and events mixed up and conflated, and he does bad math on top of that. Is it too much to ask for people to do a little homework? To quote Tom Hank's goofiest line of the movie, "I've got to get to a library -- fast." I only wish Dan Brown had spent more time in one.

In hearing and reading the movie's reviews, it seems that the critics find the movie version a yawner. Even the positive reviews sound weak, and I found one clearly negative review so funny that I couldn't finish reading it out loud to Cathy.

For the record, I'm going to wait for the DVD version. I don't see the point in spending the money to see a movie nobody recommends and the plot of which follows the book religiously (haha). I didn't like the book enough to pay to be bored by it on screen.

"The Rapture Question Answered: Plain and Simple" by Robert Van Kampen

I read a lot of books, almost entirely of the non-fiction, technology, theology or philosophy genre. Currently, I am reading several books on welcoming people to church, but for my leisure reading I am going through "The Rapture Question Answered: Plain and Simple" by Robert Van Kampen.

Based on what little I have read, I think Van Kampen believes in a "Pre-Wrath" rapture. I read The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin J. Rosenthal and I'm not sure I agree with Van Kampen at this point. Nonetheless, I think this read will help me clarify my own position as I just have not taken a stand on eschatology just yet.

As I finish chapters I'll post a comment here to continue my thoughts. This will be an interesting experiment in using my blog for more than static postings.

Narnia Movie - Worth Seeing

So, we just got back home from watching Narnia, or as Lucy said it, "Narn-yah". We got to see it a day early, thanks to Cathy's connections. :-)

The effects were convincing, and not the least bit distracting. The movie had such an easy way of presenting its special effects without calling attention to it, they actually only aided the movie. I laughed, I cried, I cringed, I rejoiced; I really enjoyed myself! It makes me want to read the books all over again.

Lucy Pevensie is probably my favorite character, having appeared multiple times and is the first to rush to Aslan for any and everything. Personally, I identify with Edmund a little better, though my quiz scored me as Peter. Which one are you?

Cathy & I very much enjoyed the movie, and my M.I.L. Rhonda seemed to like it as well. We had the good company of our friends to make the experience that much better.