The Animal Dialogues; Uncommon Encounters in the Wild by Craig Childs

I’ve been reading this book slowly, as if I were on a desert island and it was my last chocolate bar.

In The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild Childs brings a series of essays about meeting animals in their natural setting, without romanticism or condescension, and there’s no anthropomorphizing, either. The animals he discusses are entirely themselves, and they belong to no one. His writing is vivid, clear, and engaging, filled with metaphor that makes the narrative sing. The stories themselves are in each case interesting, and emotionally engaging. The story Dog left me angry with Childs for a few days. The story Raven will challenge every preconception you have about birds, animals in general, and the questionable uniqueness of humans and a sense of the sacred.

Delving into this book is more than just reading, it’s opening your life to the natural world around us, the one we (supposedly) came from in the first place.

Serenity could fly again (maybe)

Nick C in his blog shares information that there’s some buzz among those with the ability to make it happen over potential future for “Firefly.” No, specifically this would not be a full-fledged resurrection of the series, but it could mean a mini-series or a made-for-tv-movie. These options are within the realm of possibility, even given the current commitments of cast members to other projects. If you are a fan of “Firefly,” this is exciting news.

Never watched “Firefly?” Hulu is making the entire run available now.

Terminator:Afterthoughts

The choice by FOX to cancel “Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles” seems prescient in light of the first weekend’s box office for T4. In the US, Terminator:Salvation grossed under $54 million Friday-Sunday, just over $67 million if you include the early Thursday viewings.

This barely covers Warner Bros.’ investment. It also doesn’t include overseas ticket sales, and it’s just one weekend, albeit the first weekend. Numbers from next weekend could show the impact of positive word-of-mouth. Slow out of the gate isn’t great but, as in horse racing, what matters is how you finish.

In comparison, the weekend leader, Night at the Museum:Battle of the Smithsonian, grossed an estimated $70 million. While T4 was on fewer screens, it took in less per venue, not including the Thursday showings. If you include the Thursday revenue, T4 did better per venue, but still was in second place overall.

It’s worth noting that all these numbers are all preliminary. They came from Variety.com. I did a little math on my own.