Set in an alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president, the United States emerged victorious in Vietnam, and “costumed adventurers” are part of the fabric of everyday society, Watchmen examines the lives of several deeply flawed characters who have hung up their Spandex after a federal law banning masked vigilantes forced them to retire. The movie is largely faithful to the comic book, with the exception of a significantly altered ending.

The movie gets a lot of things right. The ambiance of a slightly warped 80s America, Jackie Earle Haley as the sociopath Rorschach, the omnipotent Dr. Manhattan’s skewed sense of time. But some of a acting felt stilted, although that might be a function of the source material. Comic book dialogue can have a certain exaggerated style that can sound a little silly when spoken aloud. And I’m still waiting for the day when we get a comic book movie with a strong female lead, a female lead who can do more than kick a little ass and give one of the male leads a good lay.

A British man has had some semblance of his vision restored after having a bionic eye surgically implanted. He can see the white lines on a road and sort his socks. This particular type of bionic eye only works on people with certain degenerative retinal diseases, but early results are promising.

Once I get my brain implant, I’m going to find other people with implants and bionic parts and we’ll form a team of crime-fighting superheroes. I’ll call myself Gray Matter: mild-mannered bureaucrat by day, masked avenging nerd by night.

It says something about how my musical tastes have shifted over the years when I’m looking forward to the new Royksopp album more than the newly released U2 album. I found U2’s last effort to be underwhelming and the tracks I’ve heard on their latest aren’t doing much for me, either. I want another Zooropa, but I think the band’s more experimental days are long gone.

I am, however, totally down with Royksopp’s brand of airy Scandinavian electronica. The video for their new single “Happy Up Here” contains a clever and charming riff on a certain Eighties pop culture artifact.

And just so you don’t think I’ve always been an insufferable music snob, here’s a little-known fact: I once owned both a Mariah Carey album and a :shudder: Color Me Badd album. Feel free to snicker in the comments section.

You’re probably not in the mood for another wonkish post, but I’m still a little taken aback by the scope and ambition of Obama’s recently proposed budget. It sets forth a genuinely progressive agenda the likes of which we haven’t seen in over three decades. it puts real dollars behind policies that, up until now, have only existed as white papers stuffed away in the file cabinets of think tanks. It’s kind of surreal. We as a citizenry have grown so accustomed to a political culture that reward the perpetuation of the status quo, which makes Obama’s aggressive focus on priorities like health care, education, and energy so bracing. I remember the early days of the Clinton administration, when lots of people were just stoked to have a Democrat back in the White House, but Clinton would never have dared to propose anything so daring as this budget. As George Packer notes, Obama is looking to make history in redefining our priorities.

The knives are already being sharpened in preparation for the fight ahead to enact this budget. The status quo has worked very well for the wealthy and corporations; they aren’t about to meekly accept a future where they pay more taxes and have less influence. Obama seems to recognize that he’s going to need a longer knife than everyone else’s and he’s already talking tough. And after years in the political wilderness, the left has a whole ecosystem of advocacy organizations to do the heavy lifting of mobilizing support for these initiatives.

The Republicans have taught us well.

I’m really liking how the Obama administration is reframing the health care debate as a matter of fiscal necessity. As the budget overview notes, health cares costs will account for 20% of the economy by 2017 if nothing changes. A fifth of all national spending–public and private–will be committed to health care expenses. American businesses will struggle to compete on a global stage as the health care line on their balance sheets ravenously devour that would have otherwise been available for expansion or researching new products. Federal deficits will only get bigger, making future recessions more commonplace and more severe. Health care reform is not just some fuzzy feel-good liberal pet cause. It’s about guaranteeing national security and long-term fiscal discipline.

To put it another way, Obama is using conservative phrasing to talk about a progressive idea. And the Republicans don’t seem to have a clue about how to respond, other than to repeat the same tired campfire stories about big government and socialism.