Serenity: the Firefly Movie

In the fall of 2002, there was a wonderful television show called Firefly. Only 15 episode were made, but each one was a work of art. I watched every episode from the first episode one aired to the last one aired. I bought the DVD set went it went on sale. I've watched each episode repeatedly, and I haven't gotten bored of them yet.

Universal Studios is currently producing a new "episode" (actually it's probably more like three or four episodes). It's called Serenity and it's going to be great! The planned release date is April 22, 2005. Find out more information by becoming a Browncoat.

Update: 11/23/2004

Serenity Delayed Is Not Serenity Denied. The release date for Serenity has been pushed back to September 30, 2005, but I'll still be there. Ostensibly, this will benefit the film since it will have less competition than the crowded late spring and summer calendar.

Let's Kill the Income Tax

What we have now is a mess. And it continues to get worse. Today's income tax system can't be understood without a PhD in accounting.

A flat income tax rate for everyone would be better the current mess, but abolishing the income tax altogether would be better yet.

Anyone who fills out their own tax forms every year (as I do) can tell you that the current system is a lot more complicated than it should be. Page after page of special cases (for special interests) are intended to buy votes, and it only gets worse each year. Every politician running for office wants "fairer taxes", but not everyone wants simpler taxes. Common sense dictates that a tax has to be simple to be fair. If no one can even understand the tax system, no one can determine if it's fair. Thus, the current system is definitely unfair. Let's throw the whole thing out!

I'm not proposing anarchy. The government can still collect taxes: sales taxes. Now, the first criticism is always, "poor people will starve." Well, that's why the smart folks at FairTax recommend a monthly rebate equivalent to the taxes paid on essential goods.

From the FairTax FAQ:

All valid Social Security cardholders who are U.S. residents receive a monthly rebate equivalent to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services, also known as the poverty level expenditures. The rebate is paid in advance, in equal installments each month.

What I think is most appealing about the idea of abolishing the income tax is that successful people won't be punished for earning more money. No one will be bumped into a higher tax bracket because they're working too hard at the office. With a sales tax, you choose how much tax you pay. If you buy more expensive toys (as wealthy people reported do), you pay more in taxes. If America was founded on the principal of freedom for the individual (and that's what makes America strong), then replacing the income tax with a sales tax is clearly the right decision for our nation.

The Mysterious Siberian Explosion of 1908

Did aliens save planet in 1908?
Russians say they have found spaceship debris

Members of a Russian scientific team researching the site of the Tunguska meteorite crash of 1908 say they have found remnants of an extraterrestrial spacecraft, report a variety of Russian news agencies.

The object appeared to be a large metallic block, according to the reports. The researchers chipped off a piece of the object and will now test its composition.

The alien idea sounds like it's from a movie. My theory is that time travel is involved instead. (Anyone read Michael Crichton's Sphere or saw the movie?)

Update: I read another article on this topic today:
Russians add new twist to old UFO myth
Tale of 1908 Tunguska explosion gets even more tangled

It didn’t do the new Russian UFO story’s credibility much good that it first appeared on the pages of the newspaper Pravda on Tuesday. In Soviet days, Pravda was the propaganda arm of the Soviet Communist Party, but under new management, it became a tabloid-style scandal sheet with a special penchant for wild paranormal tales.

I guess enquiring minds want to know. In any case, the newly found debris could have come from 1960's Russian spacecraft:

Sassen was referring to a flight on Dec. 22, 1960, meant to carry two dogs into space. According to “Challenge to Apollo,” NASA’s definitive history of the space race, "the payload landed about 3,500 kilometers downrange from the launch site in one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of Siberia, in the region of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River close to the impact point of the famed Tunguska meteorite."

And although it's long been suggested that the explosion could have been caused by a comet, a meteorite is the more likely culprit.