The Discovery Channel’s action-packed show features science-based adventurers Jamie, Adam, Tory, Kari and Grant as they explosively (sometimes, literally) examine the scientific veracity of a variety of pop culture movie myths and old wives tales. Their weapon of choice in determining the truth is the scientific method (along with a modest budget).  According to executive producer Dan Tapster, in the seven...

No, that’s not the title of the latest Jim Cameron 3-D spectacular.  It’s what happened to me last Thursday while researching a couple of articles on the net. I click on a secondary page and bingo, a screen pops up with a big warning that says, “YOU HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH A VIRUS, BUT… Don’t worry, we’re running a complete scan...

The Hurt Locker opens with a quote that sums up the ideology of its central character. “The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” With few modifications, the quote could easily apply to some Hollywood producers that express a win-at-any-cost attitude. Maybe some politicians, too. If director Kathryn Bigelow’s suberb 2009 film The Hurt Locker wins...

“Don’t be stupid, be a smartie. Come and join the Nazi Party.” – Stormtrooper, The Producers Okay, boys and girls, it’s ethical conundrum time! The New York Times reported (Feb. 5) that the “…copyright on Mein Kampf [Adolph Hitler’s autobiographical, political rant] in the hands of the Bavarian government since the end of the Nazi regime, has long been used to keep his...

“Silence, intense and oppressive, gripped the desolate landscape as two lone figures rode toward the town ahead. “The taller of the two sat astride a magnificent white stallion and although his face was masked, all who had known him knew that he was as legendary for his remarkable sense of justice and fair play as for his skill with six-gun, rope and horse. His faithful Indian friend was his only companion. “A few miles more and...

There’s a scene at the beginning of the Albert Brooks comedy Defending Your Life in which our angst-ridden hero is celebrating his birthday with a brand new BMW. Putting his dream car through its paces with Barbara Streisand blaring over his stereo, he makes a tight turn and all his CD’s slide off the passenger seat.  Leaning over to pick them...

Okay, I’ll confess to a little shameless self-promotion. But before you consider burning me at the alter of Gloria Steinem, let’s take a moment to think about this in the context of ethics. What if… ethics was fun… …where the only difficult decision is a choice between which swimsuit model you want to wrap a towel around, and the only responsibilities you...

Just when I thought I finished covering high school cheating, I received word from former Washington Post columnist, current high school teacher Colman McCarthy about the latest scandal taking place at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland. According to the Post (Feb. 5) disciplinary action will be taken “…against seven students who were allegedly involved in a computer-hacking scheme in which grades were changed,  » Read...

A conversation with a friend led to this question:  is it unethical to be cynical? On the surface it would seem that one can hold most any outlook on life they choose without much disruption to their moral sense.  It’s an outlook, not an action and ethics is about what we do, not how we view life. But let’s take a closer...

Back in the rough and tumble of the old west (courtesy of ‘50s-‘60s television) justice was the theme and Paladin its most ardent champion.  In fact, the name comes from the twelve knightly champions of the medieval king, Charlemagne. Have Gun – Will Travel was the calling card of the man dressed in black, and who was, essentially, a gun for...