Looking to the year ahead.

This past Christmas season convinced me that the world is a lot stranger than even I could imagine. And I can dream up some pretty weird stuff! One joke that was circulating the web, for me, summed it all up; short version, a girl runs to her mother saying, "Mommy! Santa called me a 'ho'! Three times!". And so, in countries all over the world, Santa's in stores and shopping malls were ordered to say "Ha!Ha!Ha!" instead of the traditional "Ho!Ho!Ho!". This is appropriate since the entire notion that "Ho!Ho!Ho!" is offensive is a joke. Add to that the fact that people got it into their heads that saying "Merry Christmas" was politicaly incorrect and might be offensive to many people. Instead, "Season's Greetings" became ye ole standard wish. What's next? Will "Happy Birthday" be replaced with "Happy Significant Moment of Life", you know, just so we don't offend older people.

This is all getting very silly. So silly, in fact, that it almost becomes frightening. Who came up with this whole politicaly correct nonsense anyway? Is it all part of the whole "kinder, gentler" way of thinking? Concern about offending others is all well and good. No one should feel left out or picked on. Imagine if this rule had to apply to every single thing we do in a day. Already, many have chosen to car pool to work with a bunch of strangers. Will Mr. Gupta from accounting and Mrs. N'Guyen from secretarial be offended if you got those donuts decorated with Christmas topings? When you see the FedEx guy, will wishing him a Merry Christmas get you in trouble? And what exactly is the office's "Holiday Celebration"? What ever happened to the yearly office Christmas party? And a "no gift" rule in case someone is offended by someone else's generosity? What kind of card do you give to your sanitation engineer? It's enough to drive us all crazy!

At least the upcoming New Year's celebrations will be free of potential offensiveness. Or will it?

In 2007, there have been wars pretty much everywhere in the world, natural disasters like none we've ever seen, and weather like something from a science-fiction movie. Thanks to a scandal-obsessed press, we know more about Paris, Britney, and Nicole than we do about our own families. Canada's own rep was badly tarnished because the RCMP zapped a whole bunch of folk to death with tazzers. I guess they would have gotten less press if they had just shot people. Politicians have shown us that public opinion polls are worthless and, with that, so are our opinions.

What will the next year hold for us? Damned if I know. Like Doctor Who (above) rose tinted glasses will be useless. Like him, I'll be wearing cheesy 3D glasses in the hope that if 2008 is just as ridiculous as last year, I'll at least look just as ridiculous myself. Well, if you can't beat them, join them!

Wishing everyone a New Year filled with Peace, Happiness, Love, Health, and Prosperity. And Hope, too, that we don't make fools of us all.

Cheers!

Star Trek Bloopers - Deep Space 9, Voyager

Since I'm too lazy to create anything of any worth (and I think this blog is in a terminal phase), I declare this to be International Blooper Month! So, in keeping with the goal of educating people about bloopers, here's yet another blooper reel! And when that's done, just click on the "menu" button for even more bloopers!

House Bloopers #1 and #2

"Who Is This Man?"

A friend of mine sent me this link (see below) and I must admit that these photos completely blew me away! Most people know I'm not a very religious kind of guy. I've the Bible a bunch of times but you don't need a degree in Theology to appreciate these images. They impress the eye but, more importantly, they move the soul. I seriously recommend you take a look at this. (Click on the title to view)

Original "Star Trek" Remastered On DVD! Cool!

The CBS corporation wasted no time getting the "Star Trek" franchise up and running right before next year's release of the 11th Trek movie. They took the old, grainy original episodes and applied modern-day technology to clean them up and improve the crappy special effects. They did this to all 72 original episodes. I imagine it took a great deal of time and effort to achieve this. After all, these are The Original shows that got folk hitched in the first place. If they screwed up there would be a virtual revolt of Trekkers. Thankfully, they did a great job. All the Trekkers I spoke to made it sound as if all of this was better than sex. Well, what they think is sex ...

The images above pretty much speak for themselves. I know all the episodes like the back of my hand and when I think of all the FX shots and Enterprise exterior shots they had to fix it just boggles the mind. Entire scenes were entirely re-done. And you don't have to be a Trekkie to see the amazing quality of this work.

What's also amazing is the price. The complete DVD collection of all 72 original episodes retails for - hang on to something folks - $217 US! That's a lot of money even for hardcore Trekkers. The studio might recuperate enough money to pay for remastering but I doubt they'll make any big profits.

Also, they are releasing the double-length episode "Menagerie" (which features the pre-Kirk Captain Pike) in IMAX theatres. That will probably suck in some Trekkie cash.

Finally, the next movie, Star Trek 11 (still no working title) is scheduled to be released around Christmas of 2008. This will be a prequel that focuses on Kirk and Spock while they were at Starfleet Academy. The movie will be directed by J.J. Abrams (Mission Impossible 2) and casting is almost complete; Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Simon Pegg (Sean of the Dead) as Scotty, John Chu as Mr. Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Mr. Chekov, Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Eric Bana (The Hulk) as the bad guy, Nero. So far, no one has been cast for the role of Dr. McCoy. Leonard Nimoy will reprise his role as Spock as a narrator. So far, there's no word on the actual plot. For Paramount, a lot is riding on this film. The franchise fizzled out after the end of Voyager and the so-so movie Nemesis.

It's a sit and wait affair as far as far as the new movie is concern. How well the DVDs do depends on how many fans will pay top dollar for the whole package. Trek has been around for over forty years. I certainly hope that the franchise lives long and prospers.

-LAF

Da Big Secret ...

No. You're not hallucinating. You have seen this image before, lower on this page.

I found the original photo while doing some cleaning up. It's amazing what you can find in your underwear drawer! I found this thing that ... uhhh, never mind. The important thing is I found this pic of Kirstie Ally as Lieutenant Saavik in one of the Star Trek movies (and I think she looks great whatever size she is ... so there!).

The point is that some folk wrote to me saying, "Oh, you worked from a still picture. It must have been much easier". *BUZZ* Wrong! Granted, a picture doesn't jitter or twitch like a model would. However, a still picture makes more details available to the artist's eye and capturing as much of that detail as possible is almost irresistible. Oh, an artist will add an original element or two just for originality. But trying to capture the expression or the overall look is a challenge.

There's no rule written in stone that says that this has to be so. Usually it's just the artist's particular preference. I did the basic sketch - where the eyes, nose, mouth go - within minutes. But to finish the art as you see it took me several days. It can be a blessing but usually it can become a curse. The more detail I put in, the more mistakes I notice. This seems to be some kind of super power or something because no one else seems to notice them. And this applies to Lieutenant Saavik as much as it does to the USS Enterprise. (Speaking of which I'm working on a sketch of the old ship except she's all screwed up, with big chunks missing and plasma spilling ... muahahaha!). By the way, a drawing of a live model is usually full of errors and looks kind of messy. But it also looks very natural.

But I digress.

Let's say I were to do a drawing of Cindy Crawford. I would, naturally, include her famous mole. But I would obsess forever over whether the mole was too big or too small, if it was too dark or too light. Oi! That's why many artists are such tortured souls.

So now you know the "secret" which is really no secret at all, I guess. Finally, I've always said that anyone with at least one eye and one hand can draw. It's just a question of taking the time to get your spirit into it. In the end, it doesn't really matter what it looks like. What's important is that you feel good doing it. Now that's the secret!

Jay Leno: Interviews

Jay Leno ... love him or hate him - don't matter to me. This is a short "best of" his "interviews". I'm using "quotation marks" because the "interviews" are not "real" only cleverly "edited". I hope you "enjoy" these "interviews".

"Cathedral" Returns! (I hope)

I don't know how many folks got to see this the first time around. Then it done got broke. So, because I love this video so much I'll try to make it work again.

Ciao.

Sci-fi Unemployment Agency

What do Robocop, Predator and Alien do when their out of work? Junior's birthday party!

Special Request - A Klingon for Len

Yep. That's a bona-fide Klingon. He's a General or an Admiral or something. I worked on this guy for a long friggin' time. He's still not finished. There ya go Len. It took me a long time but I finally posted it. Enjoy! (FYI Klingons do not come from the planet Klingon. The name of their planet is Q'onos - pronounced "kronos". How's that for Trekkian, Tink?).

I think this one comes from our old pal Filomena (umm ... I don't mean old old)

This is one I've watched lotsa times and it's one of my favorites.

There's more than one way to cool down and keep fresh.

I've had this short video for some time now and it gets me laughing out loud every friggin' time!

A Picture Perfect Postcard from Mars

This incredible image of a sunset on Mars was taken by the rover "Spirit". Because Mars' atmosphere is thinner than ours, the colors are not as rich. Seeing a sunset from another planet more than makes up for that.

The two Mars rovers "Spirit" and its twin "Opportunity" should have stopped working about two years ago according to NASA officials. This incredible turn of events forced programmers to come up with new missions for the rovers. Now NASA can't say for certain how much longer they will last.

The Greensleeves Myth

For hundreds of years people have beleived that "Greensleeves" was, in fact, a love song written by King Henry VIII to his future wife Anne Boleyn. It was converted into the Christmas song we know and love centuries later.

The text of this love song (see below) was long thought to have been the authentic lyrics that Henry VIII wrote to his beloved Anne. However, music historians have pointed out that the style of the poem is not consistent with the style used around Henry's time. For many centuries, prostitutes in Europe were required to wear removeable sleeves of a greenish hue so that they could easily be identified by both clients and authorities. Anne Boleyn, however, was certainly not a prostitute. She was the daughter of a Duke and descended from royal blood. There is also the question of whether or not Henry had met Boleyn when the song was composed.

Recently, Canadian musician Loreena Mckennitt interpreted Henry's version to mixed reaction. Whether the story of the love song is true or not it's interesting to hear how it may have sounded.

Alas, it seems that Henry's romantic side is fading into the mists of legend. One fact that hasn't changed is that Henry VIII separated from most of his many wives by beheading them.
Ah, always the romantic ...

THE GREENSLEEVES

Words by King Henry VIII

Music traditional

Alas my love you do me wrong

To cast me off discourteously;

And I have loved you oh so long

Delighting in your company.

Greensleeves was my delight,

Greensleeves my heart of gold

Greensleeves was my heart of joy

And who but my lady Greensleeves.

I have been ready at your hand

To grant whatever thou would'st crave;

I have waged both life and land

Your love and goodwill for to have.

Greensleeves was my delight,

Greensleeves my heart of gold

Greensleeves was my heart of joy

And who but my lady Greensleeves.

Thy petticoat of sendle white

With gold embroidered gorgeously;

Thy petticoat of silk and white

And these I bought gladly.

Greensleeves was my delight,

Greensleeves my heart of goldGreensleeves was my heart of joy

And who but my lady Greensleeves.

Dedicated to Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of England

(She rejected Henry's attempts to seduce her. This rejection is apparently referred to in the song, when the writer's love "cast me off discourteously." )

It gets lonely at the top ...

Stunning Hubble Images

I know I've been kinda lax with my posts but with the flu, a few software problems, blah - blah - blah ... you know the story. At one point I hadn't touched - or even seen - my computer.

These are two Hubble pictures that I picked up recently. I keep going back because there are so many! (Not to mention the Mars probes, spacecraft Cassini around Saturn - so much astronomy I could go coo-coo!).

At top is a galaxy that has been perturbed by what looks like a violent super-nova.

At bottom is a vast cloud of gas giving birth to many stars.

There will be more of these to come. I promise.

One day I'd like to have an informal vote on which is the best Hubble image.

Won't that be fun?!

Queen Star Finishes PhD Thesis After 30 years

After more than 30 years which he spent as a member of one of the world's most successful bands, Queen guitarist Brian May has finally finished his PhD thesis in astrophysics which he began as a student in the 1970s, the Times reported on Thursday.

May, 59, earned a degree in astrophysics at Imperial College London but after years of studying interplanetary dust, he abandoned work towards his doctorate when Queen took off. His interest in the subject was reignited when he co-authored "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe", which tells the story of the universe from the Big Bang through its subsequent evolution, and was released last year.

"For the last nine months, I've done nothing except slave over my PhD, which is now written up, thank God." May reportedly told students at a ceremony at Exeter University in southwest Britain when he received an honorary doctorate.

"But there are times when you really want to give up. There are times when you go, 'Why on earth did I take this on?'"

May worked on the PhD between 1971 and 1974, and kept all his hand-written notes on the subject through the years, finally discovering them in his loft recently.


"People are aware he is here and there is a feeling it is pretty cool that he has come back to finish his PhD, even if he has not been hugely visible," Abigail Smith, a spokeswoman for Imperial College, was quoted as saying by the Times.

The rocker will receive his PhD next May, assuming his thesis is approved by supervisors.

___________________________________________________________________


I had to do a little digging for this one.

I heard the story on the radio but they gave little information. So, since they call this the Information Highway, I got into the fast lane and tracked down the data.

I was really impressed with Brian May's story. All these years he's been in the limelight some critics even called him a guitar virtuoso. Yet somewhere at the back of his cranium he was still thinking about dust clouds between stars. Then he decided to pick up where he left off, submitted his thesis and will soon get his PhD.

I saw Queen in concert when I was just a youngling. I remember Brian May's guitar solo and he really was a virtuoso. But astrophysics? Talk about divergent frames of mind! I took a few astronomy courses that were tough. I can imagine how hard it was to work for a PhD in astrophysics.

And the dude is 59 years old!

Therein lies the lesson. We are never too old to pursue our dreams. In fact, our years of experience can help us make those dreams a reality. Never give up ...

Dr. Brian May is a fine example for all of us to follow.

Hidden Treasure : Design Toscano

This is one of those sites I stumbled upon by accident. And what a find!

Design Toscano has a wealth of fascinating and unusual items. Usually, I don't endorse, well, anything on my blog. After perusing their site for about one hour, I soon noticed every item was of exceedingly high quality. And the prices are not outrageous considering what's for sale. The "Skull & Cross Notebook" sells for about $12.00 (US). Design Toscano create their own works but also make fantastic replicas. Their sculptors and artists have produced incredible things.

Their catalogue includes items from the Middle Ages, Ancient Egypt, Celtic objects and much more. What I'm showing you here is literally a drop in the bucket compared to their huge online catalogue.

When you've got time take a moment to visit Design Toscano. I guarantee it will be worth your time. http://www.designtoscano.com/

"Mile-Wide UFO" Spotted by British Airline Pilot (22.06.07)

(Photo: Aurigny Airlines captain Ray Bowyer, 50, described what he thought to be a UFO as 'a cigar-shaped brilliant white light', similar to the image supplied by Dennis Plunket of the British Flying Saucer bureau.)


One of the largest UFOs ever seen has been observed by the crew and passengers of an airliner over the Channel Islands.

An official "air-miss" report on the incident several weeks ago appears in Pilot magazine.

Aurigny Airlines captain Ray Bowyer, 50, flying close to Alderney first spotted the object, described as "a cigar-shaped brilliant white light".

As the plane got closer the captain viewed it through binoculars and said: "It was a very sharp, thin yellow object with a green area. It was 2,000ft up and stationary. I thought it was about 10 miles away, although I later realised it was approximately 40 miles from us. At first, I thought it was the size of a [Boeing] 737. But it must have been much bigger because of how far away it was. It could have been as much as a mile wide."

Continuing his approach to Guernsey, Bowyer then spied a "second identical object further to the west".

He said: "It was exactly the same but looked smaller because it was further away. It was closer to Guernsey. I can't explain it. This was clearly visual for about nine minutes. I'm certainly not saying that it was something of another world. All I'm saying is that I have never seen anything like it before in all my years of flying."

The sightings were confirmed by passengers Kate and John Russell. John, 74, said: "I saw an orange light. It was like an elongated oval."

The sightings were also confirmed by an unnamed pilot with the Blue Islands airline.

The Civil Aviation Authority safety notice states that a Tri-Lander aircraft flying close to Alderney spotted the object.

"Certain parts of the report have not been published. I cannot say why," said a senior CAA source.

Earlier this year, however, the MOD declared its intentions to open its UFO files to the public.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last year (2006), Canada ranked third in number of UFOs reported in one year.

A lot of people (skeptics) say that sightings involving pilots are taken more seriously than others.

Well ... duh!

Airline pilots go through a lot of training. They are able to judge distances, estimate direction and speed, and detect unusual conditions in the sky. Also, there is a crew working in the cockpit with the pilot who are also witnesses.

If I had to choose a trained pilot VS Jim-Bob looking through the target scope on his rifle, well ...

Comments anyone?

Large Lake "Vanishes"

(Missing: Large lake in southern Chile)


SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A lake in southern Chile has mysteriously disappeared, prompting speculation the ground has simply opened up and swallowed it whole.


The lake was situated in the Magallanes region in Patagonia and was fed by water, mostly from melting glaciers.

It had a surface area of between 4 and 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer pitches.


"In March we patrolled the area and everything was normal ... we went again in May and to our surprise we found the lake had completely disappeared," said Juan Jose Romero, regional director of Chile's National Forestry Corporation CONAF.

"The only things left were chunks of ice on the dry lake-bed and an enormous fissure," he told Reuters.


CONAF is investigating the disappearance.


One theory is that the area was hit by an earth tremor that opened a crack in the ground which acted like a drain.

Southern Chile has been shaken by thousands of minor earth tremors this year.

___________________________________________________________________


Sometimes, when I feel the motivation, I hop and skip through the Internet, looking for bizzare stories or pictures.

This one really caught my eye. Well, both my eyes, actually.

I understand the scientific explanation but, man, that was a big f***ing lake!!!!

I will continue to search.

Leave a comment or something.

The Universe Explodes With Colour!

Top: The Heart of Orion, shows a mix of dazzling colours. Each colour is the product of a different element being energized by nearby stars.

Bottom: The Antennae Galaxies. There are two galaxies in this image. They are thought to have collided thousands of years ago, consuming each other's mass over time.

(Both images courtesy Hubble Heritage)

Prison Visit May Have "Negative Effects" On Ms. Hilton

Really?

Isn't that the whole point of serving prison term? I know, this is an "old" topic (Ha!), but the very idea of this woman nearly spending her prison term at home wearing an ankle-cuff makes me boil.

First, she was stopped by police for a DUI infraction (Driving Under the Influence). Her license was suspended for 3 years and she was fined appropriately. Then, nearly 2 weeks later, police stopped her again for driving through a red light without her headlights - and a suspended drivers' license.

These are serious charges. The fact that she almost got out of it is a disturbing indication that sometimes the rich and affluent are above the law. If it were you or me the judge wouldn't even waste a thought on how the prison environment would affect us.

Anyhow, I'm sure she'll be pretty happy when she gets out.

I Doodle Everywhere 2, too!

(Click to enlarge)

Back by popular demand ... yeah, sure.

These are all doodles even those that have been coloured. Whether I'm on the phone or watching TV, I use whatever is at hand. Before I got a computer, I did all of my colour work either with inks or pencil crayons.

So, here we have a buncha Batman; an exercise in dynamic proportions (in heels, too); at the top is Canadian actor Christopher Plummer as General Chang from one of the millions of Star Trek movies; some kinda princess wearing some kinda weird helmet; and I took good ole Glyx in a completely different direction impersonating a David Bowie album cover. Here come the lawsuits!

At the bottom are three doodles of my baby, the spaceship I call "Serendipity" (serendip.ity - n. faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident). It's linked to a story I've been working on since the beginning of time. I wanted the ship to have an organic look, almost as if it were alive. I chose the form of a sting ray 'cuz they look cool! And so began the evolution of "Serendipity". You can see the first doodle wasn't very organic at all but it was a beginning. The second was closer to what I had in mind but I still wasn't satisfied. In the last drawing, I had been studying pictures of actual sting rays, so much so that I had sting rays just pouring out my ears! Finally, during a long phone call, it hit me like a ton of fish; design the ship using the exact shape of a sting ray! That's the inspiration part. Between the first doodle and the final designs were dozens of doodles and sketches. That's the perspiration part. (The saying goes, "Art is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration).

To clear up any nasty rumours, let me set the record straight; I have never, ever taken an art course. Whether this is good or bad is hard to say. I learned all I know about art by watching every single thing very closely, and asking real artist all sorts of silly questions. I taught myself to play flute in more or less the same way. I listened to my Jethro Tull vinyls so much that there were more scratches that actual vinyl. I must admit that I did follow one course in drawing nudes. One of the a fore mention artist friends recommended this course because he found my sketches of people were kind of stiff. I never actually enrolled in the course. Instead, I would sneak into class 30 minutes early and got all my stuff set up before the class started. I went through the whole semester without anyone knowing I wasn't supposed to be there - although I think the teacher suspected something. Of course, all my friends were teasing me about drawing actual naked people. In fact, I was so focused on drawing whatever human was in front of me correctly - getting all the lines right, getting the muscles to look like they flowed - that I wasn't really distracted by the nudity.

As I told my friends, the women were just as hairy as the men! Must've been a bunch of Italian models. Ka - ching! I just made a tasteless joke!

I think this may be the last doodle page. It's getting harder to find these things.

Your comments are, of course, much appreciated.

Warning: Keep away from radioactive spiders!

(click on image to enlarge)

I haven't seen the movie yet but I sure hope Spidey doesn't get splattered around too much. That awful looking chap on the bottom is Venom, a new Spiderman suit gone really bad! This is the way I remember him from the comics ... all big and ugly and stuff. The suit is alive and tries to take over Spidey but ends up with a life of its own.

And where's Spider Woman when you need her? Yes, there is a Spider Woman and she's been in the comics for quite some time. Will the big shots at Warner ever include her in a future movie? Probably not. But imagine how M.J. would react if Spidey had a new partner. Just makes sure that there's no alcohol involved. You now how that can make a situation worse.

If you've seen the new movie don't hesitate to leave a comment. Your opinions are sure to be interesting.

I'm okay to drive ...

Note: Never order the seafood platter at a placed called "Hot Dog Steame Le Quebecois".

Just recuperating.

I'll be baaack ...

I Doodle Everywhere!

You could probably find these all over my apartment. Most are crumpled up but a few, like these, somehow survive. They're just doodles, really. Nothing like my "finished" art. I draw them while on the phone, during commercials while watching TV ... just about anywhere and anytime. To capture every idea that went through my head I'd need, like six arms or tentacles or something.

Well, you get the picture ...

Here's something you don't hear every day ...

This piece captures the energy and creativity of the troubadours that travelled all over Europe in the Middle Ages. The troubadours were also the "CNN" of their time; as they went from place to place they brought with them news of towns they had visited.

Startin' To Feel Lonely Here Peoples ...

Happy Banjo - Steve Martin

Steve Martin is an acquired taste. But in this banjo tune everybody smiles!

"Those darned computers! I could just PINCH them!!"

Yes, my computer got screwed up ... again!

That's why I "vanished" again. This is what the boys at the shop found:

- 46 viruses

- 290 spyware

- 43 adware

They used the best software to erradicate them, to no avail. They had to format my hard drive, reinstall Windows and replace the data they backed up. They also installed all of the latest "anti" software.

Ironically, I caught all this bad stuff while downloading an antivirus! The god of computers must be laughing his ass off.

The guys that fixed my beast did a fantastic job. They even managed to save all my downloaded music and all of my work. So I'm sending a shout out to Emmanuel, Hugo, Konstantine, Bohdan and everyone else working at Danta International. The only thing they couldn't fix was my paranoia of going on the Net again.

I'd also like to give a ginormous thanks to Len, Tony B. and Tinkerbell for never giving up and contributing to this Blog every day. Thanks to everyone who sent me b-day greetings even though it was in a chain mail kinda format (except Dominic Granada - "I thought he was dead" - I'm sure!).

The rest of you who contacted me via e-mail, I will be contact you ASAP. I still have to reinstall all of my software - stupid *@%$~>#$.

I'm trying to see this as a new begining. It's actually hard to do. The hole left in my pocket because of this repair is going to slow down my plans to return to school. Anyone still praying please include me in your prayers. That's all I ask.

Meanwhile, let's get blogging!!

Meet Ms. Dewey! (She got attitude!)

A search engine that gets impatient, slings elastics at you and is more than a little funny? Well, that's Microsoft's "Ms. Dewey". This is, supposed to be the wave of the future. While it's a nice idea - mixing entertainment with a search engine - it suffers shortcomings in many areas.

Most important is the search engine. It just doesn't give you a thorough search. Actually, you'd get a better search from an i-pod. A lot of attention is payed to Ms. Dewey herself. Her secret identity has been discovered. She is 25 year old actress Janina Gavankar (if you type her name into the search, Ms. Dewey will tell you all about her and it's all true). She is very entertaining; her facial expressions and body language are the best for a bored virtual person. She turns the pages of a magazine like she's about to rip them out, plays with her Game Boy, and so on.

As I said, she is very entertaining and that might be "Ms. Dewey's" demise. I wonder how many people go to the site just for the entertainment and not for the search engine. I've got to admit I spent nearly a half hour "playing" with her. (She's made up of 600 individual little movies). When it comes to making an actual search, Ms. Dewey is not very interactive. She seems to be just so much eye-candy and not very helpful.

Although she's not all she can be, Microsoft has made a step in the right direction. Hopefully, in the near future, they'll come up with something far more interactive with a more powerful search engine. In the meantime, I'll accept Ms. Dewey as entertainment.

"Ms. Dewey, tell me about S&M ..."