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.