The Feasibility of a High-Speed Rail Network in the U.S.

James Glabe and Rachel Swaby over at Wired have a pretty solid piece on the future of high-speed rail in the U.S. With the government setting aside $8 billion of recovery funds to be spread over a few rail markets (California, Texas, the Midwest, Florida, and the Northeast), this is a project that could significantly affect commuter air travel in the Northeast, Texas, and California and provide a far more convenient means of transportation for traditionally road-going travelers in the Midwest and Florida. Especially worth considering is the benefit to historically remote towns that will have convenient access to major cities.

For anyone interested in some of the numbers behind all of this (which are still speculative at best), check out Jonathan Rothwell's post on The Avenue at tnr.com.

UPDATE: Bradford Plumer at The New Republic details the White House announcement regarding the distribution of the $8 billion. "Illinois will get $1.1 billion to upgrade tracks so that three of the five trains running between Alton and Dwight can travel at speeds of 110 mph."

If you're going to cover the approximately 200 miles between Alton and Dwight, why not just add on a bit more and go for Chicago and St. Louis? Or perhaps focus on a shorter route that covers Chicago to Madison via Milwaukee (in concert with the $810 million that Wisconsin was given for the Madison/Milwaukee route)?

For those that have made the trip and those seeking to do so...

I highly recommend, for anyone who has traveled to India or is even remotely considering a trip in the future, the Dispatches from India posts on McSweeney's (written by David Orr).

While there are currently only 4, they offer a perspective I've not seen before. It's not that of a local or one desiring to become a local, nor is it the perspective of your run of the mill tourist. Orr seems to be someone genuinely curious about what makes India tick and participating in it rather than just observing from the relative comfort of a swanky hotel room.

The Good, the Bad, and 'Knowing'

2009 surprised me. I was expecting a fairly weak year of movies, especially considering the relative dearth of superhero movies when compared to 2008. After being incredibly pleased with last year's releases, I don't think I lowered my expectations, but I definitely steeled myself for some awful movies. And while those movies most certainly did arrive as planned, overall I think 2009 was a good year to visit a movie house.

Below are you incredibly brief reviews of the films I saw in 2009.

Defiance - Heavier than I thought it was going to be... although I should've guessed since it was about Jews living in the forest to escape persecution. B+

Paul Blart: Mall Cop - Epic fail. F

Inkheart - Rachael dragged me to this. And then it was playing on my flight to LAS F-ING VEGAS. D

Watchmen - Loved the graphic novel (read: "grown-up comic book"). Well-executed. A-

Race to Witch Mountain - Someone at Disney must have some good dirt on the Rock. He's clearly being blackmailed into doing sub-par movies. C-

Knowing - Not really sure what I was expecting... but I can tell you I was NOT expecting lame aliens. F

Adventureland - That Eisenberg kid is good. And the skinny girl from the Twilight movies was decent, too. A

Wolverine - I wanted to like this so much, but it let me down. C-

Star Trek - Exciting, fun, and not at all nerdy. A-

Angels and Demons - I was told it'd be better than DaVinci Code. Liars. D

The Hangover - Loads of fun. Unfortunately, it's also very quotable. A-

Terminator: Salvation - A slightly different side to the Terminator franchise. Sam Worthington was solid. B

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - Okay, not as good as the first one, but still fun. Especially the Einsteins. B

Up - Solid gold. A

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Loud noises, fancy robots, corporate sponsorship, and Megan Fox. D

Public Enemies - Not for everyone, but I loved it. Johnny Depp became Dillinger. A-

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Draco Malfoy was the best part of it. B

GI Joe - Ice floats, you idiots. F

Inglourious Basterds - Without a doubt, best film of the year. Tarantino's best since Pulp Fiction. A

Couples Retreat - Brief flashes of humor surrounded by some serious disappointment. F

Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day - Entertaining, violent, funny, but not nearly as cool as the first. B-

Avatar - Visually stunning, but overambitious. Felt kind of cookie-cutter with some seriously thin dialogue at parts. B-

Sherlock Holmes - An absolute blast. A-

Well, there you have it. Grades are final and no extra credit is accepted.

Get Busy, Studio Execs!

Lately, I've been slightly confused. I keep thinking I should Netflix the film adaptations of books I've read only to discover that Michael Clarke Duncan wasn't actually in Gentlemen of the Road, mostly because that book has never been made into a movie. Disappointment aside, please find below my list of books that should be made into movies.

1) Gentlemen of the Road - Michael Chabon

2) I Am Charlotte Simmons - Tom Wolfe

3) Water Music - T.C. Boyle

4) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

5) A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby

6) The Plot Against America - Philip Roth

7) Anabasis - Xenophon

That's all I've got for now, but I'm curious: What books would you like to see adapted for the big screen?

'Couples Retreat': The Review

Dear Potential Movie-Watcher,

If you're considering watching 'Couples Retreat,' I hope my thoughts on the movie can help you make up your mind.

It was awful to the point of discomfort.

You're welcome,
Ajay

Thoughts on My First Day of Class

1) I feel old.

2) Here's a conversation I never want to hear again:
Girl #1: "Yeah, it was pretty smooth. He's a nice guy."
Girl #2: "Didn't he lick Chex mix off your shoulder that night?"

3) It's pretty ridiculous for a professor to take 30 minutes going over a syllabus that was made available online a week ago.

4) There are a LOT of white people in DeKalb.

5) While NIU does claim to have a bus system, I haven't seen any evidence of it. It's not going to be fun walking across campus in winter.

6) The College of Business might be my favorite building on campus.

7) I'm going to need lots of audiobooks for the commute to and from class.

June 27th-29th in NYC: Key Points

So, on June 27th, Rachael and I took a quick trip to New York City before our glorious week-long vacation in Rhode Island. After landing and getting settled, we decided to grab a bite to eat before meeting up with Aditya.

Our first stop featured some not-so-great pizza from a place that Rachael mistakenly took for a place she really liked. (The place she really liked was about 25 feet further down the street.) Our second slice came from the place 25 feet further down the street and was fantastic.

I guess the point is that if Rachael mentions she knows a good place for something, take a look up and down the street just to be sure she's thinking of the right place.

We finished the evening with sangria at some place in the village and got back to the hotel around 2, knowing we'd need a good night's rest before a) lunch at S'MAC the next day and b) drinks with my cousin Mona the next night.

So, S'MAC is a restaurant in the East Village dedicated solely to macaroni and cheese. Obviously I had to go. Especially after Jaya elected to not take me there last May. It was oppresively hot inside when we got there so we waited outside for Priyanka and looked over the menu.

I can't even remember what Rachael ordered because it paled in comparison to my concoction of cheddar and manchego cheeses with andouille sausage and mushrooms. If it wasn't the best mac n cheese I've ever had, it was close. Sure, it helps that I had been looking forward to it for a couple weeks and that I was quite hungry by the time we got there, but man, that was satisfying.

That evening, we met up with Mona and her roommate at Brother Jimmy's BBQ where Rach and I were exposed to something new: a 2 shot combo of Jameson and pickle juice (in that order).

Normally, I'd be slightly disinclined to such madness. I'm not a big whiskey drinker and I prefer my pickle juice in small quantities on pickles. But Mona ordered them and I didn't really have a choice so whatever. Jameson usually leaves a little burn in the throat and this time was no exception. However, the follow-up shot of pickle juice is a rather refreshing sensation and seems to balance out the Jameson. I'm assuming this combination was created to allow people to drink more Jameson.

Anyway, that night ended with Rach and I not paying for anything, shoving Mona in a cab, and walking to an all-night deli with Aditya and his sister for a mediocre (at best) sandwich.

All in all, a pretty good weekend.

All-time Favorite Characters

A little while ago, Rachael and I were discussing books and such because we're readers, (hopefully) not the pretentious kind though. She mentioned that she doesn't always think of favorite books, but favorite characters and scenes. That led to us tossing out a few names (we even agreed on one!) and got me thinking which characters I like best. I don't have the heart to rank these characters so I'll just rattle them off as they pop into my head.

Rob Fleming - High Fidelity:
Judgmental... neurotic... deluded... we have a lot in common.

Joshua/Jesus/Christ - Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal:
His knack for diving into things head first and ending up with nary a scratch on his head (no pun intended) reminds me of a couple friends.

Ford Prefect - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
I dare you to not like him. He's the laid back, unwittingly cool galaxy-traveler so many of us would like to be.

Major Major Major Major - Catch-22:
Oh, you poor bastard. I can't help but laugh and feel sorry for him at the same time.

The Man - The Road:
His existence in Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic America pretty much defines what it is to be a man/father.

Brutus - Julius Caesar:
Moral ambiguity! His choice to (repeatedly) oppose, appease, and eventually assassinate his friend/father figure for the good of the republic led to the destruction of his character and his death. There are few more tragic figures in history.

Thor - The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul:
Not all that you'd expect of a Norse god. Sure, he's angry at times and powerful but also a bit insecure and socially awkward.

Edmond Dantes - The Count of Monte Cristo:
His obsession with revenge and retribution provide a lesson for everyone.

Frederic Henry - A Farewell to Arms:
Hemingway's ultimate man's man. Nearly unshakable in the face of hardship, but maybe a little emotionally jaded, too.

Charlotte Simmons - I Am Charlotte Simmons:
Volumes could be written on this character and her constant transformation when she goes from a small Appalachian town to a large university.

So yeah, those are my favorites. I feel like there's some way to relate to all of them... except maybe Major Major. Do you, as one of the 3 people who actually read this occasionally, have any you'd like to share?

What Keeps Me Going

So, we're pretty much into the heart of baseball season and when your team is 2 games under .500, it's a little easy to start looking forward to the start of football season. However, there are a few things that can pull serious baseball fans of the mid-season slump (yes, even Nationals fans).

4) Seeing your highly-touted draft pick get called up for the first time:
I find myself in such a situation today. Former Bulldog superstar Gordon Beckham has been called up to the bigs and will be playing this afternoon with the Good Guys. Beckham was drafted 8th overall by the Sox last season and has been tearing it up in Birmingham and just recently in Charlotte. To the untrained eye, this might seem trivial, even mundane, but this provides a chance for every Sox fan to potentially see the start of a brilliant career. It's his first major league game and, fingers crossed, I'll be able to say I watched him wildly succeed our expectations right from the start.

3) The grand slam:
The bases are loaded. Everyone is thinking it, but nobody says it. Chances are the opposing pitcher has already thought about it. Hold your breath until the ball cracks off the bat like a gunshot and scream your lungs out until every last one of those runs crosses the plate. If you're fortunate enough to see one live, thank your lucky stars.

2) The walk-off home run:
You've sat through almost 15 innings of mind-numbingly defensive baseball and you know you're either running on 4 hours of sleep tomorrow or showing up late to work. There are few things more simultaneously exhilarating and relieving than finally exhaling and letting your shoulders drop when that ball drops into the outfield seats. Five minutes ago, you were close to nodding off in your seat, but you'll be damned if you're not checking ESPNews when you get home to see the replays. (Check out this gem from 2008, courtesy of Jim Thome.)

1) The no-hitter:
One of the ultimate achievements for a pitcher, the no-hitter is a combination of groin-grabbing excitement and vomit-inducing anxiety. When a pitcher has a shot at a no-no, you don't talk to him, you don't look at him, and you certainly don't mention the possibility of a no-hitter to anyone, anywhere. Heck, even TV commentators will avoid discussing the possibility until that 27th out has been made. Since 1876, there have only been 257 regulation no-hitters. So, yeah. It's a big deal.

May in Pictures