'voyage to mars' (the journal) has dropped down to number three (gasp!) on the Google search. We've been trumped by Amazon.com and a book entitled (you guessed it) "Voyage to Mars: NASA's Search for Life Beyond Earth". Those meddling kids! Our time at the top was brief but illustrious. We shall return.

Was supposed to be elsewhere this long weekend, but events conspired against me. Had plans to drive up to our cabin in the mountains, but it'll have to wait until...well, spring, I guess, seeing as it'll start snowing up there soon, and I'm in no rush to head towards the snow.

Seeing SWAT tonight (or is it "S.W.A.T."?), and that ought to be good. I'm in the mood for some slam-bang, brainless action with big explosions, and that gorgeous bad-boy Colin Farrell is an added bonus. (If I absolutely had to switch sides...)

...aaand I forgot to post this earlier, so here's my two-word review of S.W.A.T.:

Piece. Crap. (And toss in an 'of' in there as well.)

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh, because after a horrendous first half where all the clichés were paraded out like a, uh, a Parade of Clichés (slick European villain - check; protagonist's pretty girlfriend moving out - check; exercise montage set to a soft rock soundtrack - check; lame romantic sub-plot that never goes anywhere - check; inane motivational speeches - check; inappropriate comic relief - check), the second half was a definite improvement, and there were moments - moments - near the end where I was almost entertained.

But, to be honest, it was a piece of crap. Every "plot twist" was so obvious, it's as though the writers were following the 'Plot Twists 'R' Us' roadmap to the letter. The dialogue was horrendous, just awful, written by someone who's obviously never heard real people talking. The plot, when it finally kicked in, well past the halfway point, was wafer thin. And the whole thing was interminable. It just went on and on, and the two hours easily felt like twice that.

Not recommended, then. Not in the slightest.  ¶ 16:04