Meet Kuro and Shiro, my new Wüsthof knives!

So I decided that German steel is just too good a deal to pass up these days. eBay vendors are hard up these days, especially if they are bucking the fashion trend by selling traditional German steel. I just acquired two ultra-premium grade pieces of cutlery for a fraction of retail price.

I got two members of the Wüsthof Classic Ikon family:

1. The 7 inch Santoku, hollow ground, with Kullens (Black)
2. The 8 inch Chef's Knife, hollow ground with Kullens (Cream)

The interesting thing is that they do not match. The Santoku is black and the Chef's knife is off-white (cream). Why didn't I get a match pair?

1. The deal was far better this way.
2. These were the two auctions for the precise functional items I wanted
3. The two vendors I dealt with were the most honest, preferred and trusted eBay vendors on the board.
4. I have never been a guy interested in fashion design and color coordination.
5. Ebony and ivory work together in perfect harmony, side-by-side on kitchen cutting board, oh Lord...
6. Black and white go together just fine.
7. These are both the same family of Wüsthof blade, right down to the grind and kullens.

So I have decided to name them Kuro and Shiro as an inside joke. What does it mean?

1. Kuro mean black in Japanese. You may have heard of the Kuro TV line from Pioneer.
2. Shiro means white in Japanese.
3. These are German blades
4. Giving a pair of German blades a pair of Japanese names at a time when the Japanese are running the Germans out of the market is ironic.
5. There were a pair of kids name Kuro and Shiro in a famous Japanese Magna called Tekkon Kinkreet. They didn't look like much, but they were a couple of asswhuppers.
6. I guess I could have named them Herr Schwartzman and Herr Weismann. It just doesn't roll off the tongue.
7. I think it's cool.

Kuro and Shiro cost me a total of $160.00, all in. Either one of them would have cost that much individually if I had been stupid enough to purchase at a retail outlet like William Sonoma. This is a virtual buy one and get one free deal.

So why these German blades? Well I'll tell you... lately I have been practicing my classical knife skills. A couple of people, including a Cutco rep in my building, have given me a few tutorials. After an entire head of celery, 2 large onions and some carrots, I got the fundamentals down. Since then, I have been surprised at my rising speed... but it has not been without snags.

Regrettably, my beloved Kyocera's have become a problem. When I wasn't fast, the light-weight of these blades didn't bother me. Now that I know how to cut fast, I need the weight to maximize the speed-impact of the cutting stroke. Mass through distance = power. I need more mass. Wüsthof is nothing if not massive. They are thought to be too massive, even by great lovers of mass.

Moreover, no soon did I boast of the eternal sharpness of my Kyocera's than did my blades begin to show signs of dullness. My big Paella on Sunday contained lean, boneless chicken breast. No biggie right. I was surprised at the difficulty I had using my Kyocera kitchen knife. I switched to the Kyocera Santuko. It wasn't much better. For the hell of it, I reached for the Shun Gokujo, which is still rather new. Those breasts were cut to ribbons shortly after.

Lesson learned: The Gokujo likes lean mean, not panchetta, and my Kyoceras need to return home to Japan for a tune-up. It is going to take some time to get those two blades back from Japan. I need something in the meanwhile to cook with. My Gokujo is not enough. I could use my Kyocera Nakiri, but I think that one should probably travel to Japan for sharpening also.

Enter Kuro and Shiro. I suppose I could have purchased another pair of Kyocera's an an equal or even lesser price. I could have tried another brand of Cubic Zirconia knives like Zayka. However, have decided I want to see how the pros do it. I want to experience what they have always done. Judging from the speed Jamie Oliver shows with Wüsthof, I should be able to move pretty fast with these blades.

There is another reason. Discovering that my Kyoceras are dulling down, and realizing that I must send them away to Japan, has been a sobering and chilling experience. I have also questioned how long the blades have been tapering off before I noted there was a problem? How much extra and unnecessary effort have I expended lately?

Again, Wüsthof has an answer. Just about all Japanese blades are built with the 15 degree angle on the edge. This means few, if any, consumer sharpening solutions will sharpen them. Worse still, my lovely Cubic Zirconia will slice the bevels right off a typical steel sharpener. Tungsten Carbide is not harder than Cubic Zirconia. At that moment there is no consumer sharpening solution for Kyocera blades. Kyocera is developing one, but it is not out on the market yet.

Owning Wüsthof means having full access to a plethora of sharpening solutions out there. Just about all of them work with the 20-22 degree angle blades the Wüsthof produces. There is a benefit to conforming to standards. Owning Wüsthof and a great sharpener means being absolutely certain that your blades are always as sharp as the day you took them out of the box.

The sharpening solutions have been designed with Wüsthof in mind. Wüsthof has been designed with many sharpening solutions in mind. The two have been co-constructed, almost like C# and the CLR. If you are willing to embrace the discipline of a few honing strokes before you cut, you will always be sharp.

After very serious consideration, reading, and video watching, I have decided to go with the Furi TechEdge Pro system. This just happens to be endorsed by Rachel Ray, but this is not why I chose it. I read some fairly substantial and scholarly stuff which more than suggested that this was the top solution for less than a king's random. I'll take it.

There are even some suggestions that this unit should handle my Shun blades as well. We shall see! I look forward to this. This aught to be a good experience!

One word of advice: If you are interested in becoming a foody, and really getting into the amateur leagues, the only two blades you really need are a Santoku and a French Chef's Knife (also called a cook's knife). These are your two most valuable draft picks on the board. Just exactly like a QB and a Left Tackle in the NFL Draft, these are the two most coveted pieces that always come off the board first.

The Santoku is the QB and the Chef's knife is the Left Tackle. The Santoku is now the most valuable and the most flexible blade in the shop. You can do almost everything you need to do with a good Santoku. The Chef's knife takes over in any situation where the Santoku would be overwhelmed, which is not often.

After a lot of consideration, I think I got the best pair on the market.

The about face is radical...?

According to Steve Wyche of the NFL Network, there has been a radical about-face among Ram-fans. He says that prior to the draft the mere mention Sam Bradford drew ire and scorn from Ram-fans. Suh was the desired candidate. As we know, Devaney ignored these folks (like me) and went right ahead with his selection of Sam Bradford. Now, according to Wyche, Bradford is approaching folk-hero status before he has ever played a game.

Fuck... that sure is news to me... and I though I was a connected guy. The mood on Bleecher Report is still guarded and somber. VanRam soft-pedals deeply disturbing news regarding Rodger Saffold, Jason Smith, and Greg Bell. Even our backups like Setterstrom are out for the season right now. My apartment manager, who is a 40 year Ram-fan, looked me dead in the eye and asked "what the fuck are we going to do with a quarterback this year?"

He said that laughing, in a grim, gallows-humor sort of way. That sounds like a bizarre statement to most football fans, unless you understand what's happening with the Rams. If you know what's up, this is actually a funny inside-joke.

He knew that I knew. I knew that he knew. He knew that I knew that he knew. I knew that he knew that I knew. We know each other. We know we know.

I will tell the rest of you non Ram-fans the ancient Chinese secret, which is no secret. I will give you the sacred piece of divine wisdom we are missing. There is an ancient piece of Chinese wisdom which Devaney and the Rams are sorely lacking. It the key to our failure. This bit of wisdom was written down by the ancient philosopher Confucius sometime around 490 BC.

Are you ready for this? A rough translation into English goes like this: You need to put some concrete and steel in your basement before you attempt to build your 2nd floor firmly in mid-air.

The Rams were poorly setup to receive a highly accurate passer like Sam Bradford before the injury bug began to strike down our offensive line (yet again). Only stupid fuck-heads ignore Confucius. You would do well not to, Devaney. Yep, I'm talking to you.

Drafting a QB with basically no line in front of him, a surgically repaired running back, and receivers that can't scare very small baby hamsters is exactly like attempting to build the 2nd floor with no foundation or ground level. Sorry bitches, that's just the way it is.

The last time we won the Super Bowl, which was the first time we won the Super Bowl, the entire teams was ready before we discovered we had a QB. It's funny how we got lucky just when everything else was prepared perfectly for a stroke of luck. Kinda reminds me of the old saying, "the harder I work the luckier I get." Kurt Warner was setup for success. Given those dazzling weapons and a superb OC, it would have been difficult for Kurt not to fall into the pit of success.

I am very sorry to say this, but 10 years later the story is entirely different. We are trying to go in absolute reverse. We are starting with a premium grade QB and we have nothing else. We have a shitty line, shitty receivers, an absolute turd of an offensive coordinator, and a surgically repaired RB. Believe me, my blood runs cold as I say this, but poor Sam is not setup for success as Kurt Warner was. That is an obvious and self-evident statement. No contest must be the plead.

This is my mood. This is the mood of the Ram-fans I know. I know of a few cheerleaders on the Bleecher Report who believe firmly in Devaney's actions and Sam's potential. Even these kiddies don't think Sam is a folk hero yet. They won't predict so much as a break-even record for the Rams in the 2010 season

Once again: This is not Sam's fault. I am not saying that he is to blame for any of this. I am not saying he is a failure already. I am telling you Devaney's rebuilding program is cracked. I am telling you that none of us expect a winning record or anything close to it in 2010. We are expecting hard times ahead. We hope Sam will survive this season uninjured. That is our first and best hope.

Where is the folk hero in that story? Where is the hero worship? Where is the adulation? Where is the adoration? I am sure he is getting some attention, but I think these statements are dramatically overblown. I haven't got the foggiest notion of what Sam Wyche is talking about. He is speaking of some other situation, certainly not the Rams.

There's nothing wrong with the Chargers

"There's nothing wrong with the Chargers", said Jamie Dukes recently. "They lost that playoff game because Nate Kaeding missed a bunch of field goals."

"And Nate Kaeding is an All-Pro kicker, so he's not going to do that again", added Tom Waddle.

Oh Bouy... I don't like slagging Jamie Dukes. He's one of my favorite guys, but when he is off-course, he's really way off.

There are a couple of legendary literary figures that came to mind when I heard these two guys discuss the Chargers.

One is Pollyanna, who likes to play "The Glad Game", a cheery and optimistic game orphans play. It consists of finding something to be happy and grateful for in every situation no matter how bleak.

The other is the great Dr. Pangloss found Voltaire's Candide. Pangloss likes to quote Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." Leibniz said that when he wasn't busy inventing infinitesimal Calculus and binary mathematics (the basis of all computers today). Dr.Pangloss has some rose colored glasses, which means everything's coming up roses. I can hear Ethel Merman belting it out now.

So here is Dr. Pangloss (Jamie Dukes) and Pollyanna (Waddle) tell us that there is nothing wrong with the Chargers.

Now hear this: Fuck that shit! There is plenty wrong. Let us count the ways.

1. Shawne Merriman never really recovered from his knee surgery, and the lack of steroids in his game is really showing. When it comes to steroids you either have it, or you've had it.
2. You have 6 soon-to-be haircut restricted free agents who are going to pissed off and disgruntled with the unhappy contracts they've been forced into.
3. L.T. just got released.
4. Even with Ryan Matthews, a very good prospect, I am not sure that Chargers will have a running game.
5. I am fairly certain that Charger O-Line is not what it used to be. I don't know that they can run-block the way they used to, even if Norv will commit to the running game, which I doubt he will
6. The Chargers just cut their starting Nose Tackle Jaamal Williams. I once believed that they had a replacement. Now I strongly doubt that.
7. They just threw Antonio Cromartie out the door for siring 7 bastard children and other disasters. That would be wonderful, except for the fact that I don't think they have a replacement on hand. No, Nathan Vasher doesn't get it done.
8. And then we still have Norv... Jamie may say that Norv is a great coach, but it is only true at the OC level. This guy has never been a solid head coach.

There's nothing wrong with the Chargers...? There's nothing wrong with the Chargers?!?!? What the fuck do you mean that there is nothing with the Chargers?!?!?!?

Folks, I still have every reason to bet the Chargers will win the AFC West in 2010. The division is otherwise vacant. They will win by default. They will probably scratch together a 10-6 record. They will also be one-and-done, a quick-out, in the playoffs.

Last year, a better Charger team could not overcome an inferior Raven team, and they barely beat the Bengals 27-24. This year an inferior Charger team may be up against a superior Bengal team in the first round. I don't like 'dem odds. If by some miracle they win that game, they should get smacked up like little bitches by the Ravens.

The Chargers will not sniff the Super Bowl in Dallas. They were overdue two years ago. They are not overdue now. The window has now closed.

So what about 3d?

I am a great lover of technology. I am quick to embrace any possible improvement. I am what is commonly known as "an early adopter". The second HDTV seemed even remotely good, I dived into the pool head-first. For the record, this was late 2006 when the XBox360 got it's HD-DVD attachment and the PS3 was about to be released (signifying the arrival of Blu-Ray).

The arrival of true 1080p disks signified to me that this market was about to mature.

So what about 3d? Have I adopted that? Nope. Do I have plans to adopt it soon. Nope. Do I have any plans to adopt it? Not really. Why? Because every demo I have seen, save one, sucks hard. This is not at all unlike the 3d effects we see in the movie theater: They suck hard.

I'm going to be perfectly frank with you good folks: 3d leave me cold. I am not excited. The major reason is that the movie produces don't do anything with the media. An occasional shot which pops out at you is not worth the annoyance of the glasses. Even the most advanced 3d movie ever made, which is Avatar, still made relatively limited use of 3d.

Even when the true 1080p 3d Blu-Rays begin to arrive, which they have not, I still doubt that there is much power in the media itself.

Of course, this does not prevent marketing forces from attempted to persuade you to 'upgrade' to a 3d set. Mark ye well the following example of marking hype:

If you check out an in-store demo, you'll likely be impressed by 3D. We recently spent some quality time with Panasonic's VT25 3D plasma watching Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and it was a blast. After all, 3D adds depth and, when it's done right, can make you feel like you're inside the picture. -PC Magazine

All I can say to that is "bullshit" and "thank you for regurgitating the predigested marking hype from the advertising companies... oh wait! I forgot! PC Magazine is a marking/advertising company." In sooth, they always have been.

The quote above is proceeds from a false premise, uses fallacious logic and reaches and erroneous conclusion. Almost no one has a VT25 HDTV on display, must less equipped with the several-hundred dollars worth of glasses necessary to do 3d. Worst of all, if you have seen it, and I have, there is no there there. There's nothing special going on. The demo left me flat. I didn't want it.

Inevitably, sooner or later, I will want to buy a new HDTV. Moore's law guarantees progress in all of the basic areas of HDTV quality. I will want that increase in core-competency at some point in the future. Upgrade day may not come for two years, but sooner or later, it will come.

No doubt, this will bring 3d along with it. 3d is being rolled into all HDTVs as we speak. This will become a default feature of all HDTVs soon. You won't be able to buy a current model year without it. However, my reason for buying will not be 3d. The shit just doesn't do anything for me.

To you folks in the industry: I have to say that I really believe you are wasting your time with this 3d jazz. It is much more difficult to interpolate a 3d layer from 2d sources than it is to upscale 1080p to the so-called 4K standard. It is much more difficult for the creative film maker to shoot a movie in 3d than it is to shoot the movie in 4K with a simple RedCam.

I believe the difference between 1080p and so-called 4k is far more dramatic, far more stunning and far more desirable than the anything 3d has ever thrown at me. Every photographer and graphic artist will tell you that more pixels are better. Higher resolution is better resolution. Every gamer will tell you a higher res screen is a better screen. Every computer user will tell you that more screen real estate is better.

If I were you, I would toss the 3d thing on the back burner and work hard on the 4K thing. I will upgrade immediately for a reasonably priced 4K screen. 3d holds no interest for me.

German cutlery is on very hard-times right now

When I was kid, expensive, elite kitchen cutlery was a German thing. It was understood by us kids that Moms and Grandmoms would get very jealous when they heard a certain neighbor-lady just got a set of German knives.

German knives were the best. German knives were expensive also. Everybody wanted them. Not everybody could or would afford them. They were kinda like a KitchenAid stand mixer these days. German knives were the "some-day, eventually, maybe soon" thing grandma might buy. We wanted to get grandma a set of these things for Christmas, but damn... they were just so expensive.

Today, I am amazed to see how completely the Japanese have taken over the market. The Germans are way off in the distance. Not since the 49ers blew past the Rams in the NFC West during the 1980s have I seen such a thing. The Rams owned the West for decades. The 49ers seized control in one fell-swoop. Likewise, the Japanese have completely taken control of the cutlery market, setting the Germans in deep second place.

How the hell did they do it? It's a complex picture. It would include all of the following things:

1. A radical new design (from the viewpoint of the West) call the Santoko
2. A radical new design (from the viewpoint of the West) called the Gokujo.
3. The rediscovery of how to make Damascus steel.
4. The use of the 15 degree angle rather than a 22.
5. The use of double-hollow ground blades rather than a single bevel.
6. The use of V10 steel and beyond
7. Some very beautiful design work.
8. Some hellacious demos.

First and foremost, it has to be understood that a thousand years of Japanese technological development in relative isolation brought about some unique fruits. The Gokujo fillet knife and the Santoko chef's knife are completely traditional designs in Japan. We have analogs, but they aren't much like these blades.

Everybody who tries a Santoku is instantly converted. I, personally, have never found a more useful instrument. The only thing it lacks is a sharp point at the end, which would help. Enter the Gokujo. We think of it as fillet knife, but it is a lot more than than. It is the other general purpose blade in a Japanese chef's toolkit. Believe me, they beat the living hell out of a fillet knife.

Using these two blades for the first time, especially if they are from high-end vendors like Shun, blows the mind of the typical middle-american kitchen cook. It has a similar effect of Le Cordon Bleu certified master chefs. It makes you believe the Japanese are a bunch of geniuses.

The Damascus steel is another monster. The real Damascus steel was made by taking wootz steel, with mineral resources flowing from India, and using several pattern welding techniques pioneered by the various Celtic tribes. It made legendary blades that could actually slice through European swords, and pierce shields.

The Japanese don't use wootz steel or pattern welding. They fold two super-thin sheets of steel, one stainless and one high carbon, some 33 times until they form their blank. This is a forging technique, but not from castings. The favorite claim is that V10 steel exceeds anything else known to mankind. There is a group called Masahiro who claims MBS-26 steel is even better.

Whatever the case may, Japanese 'Damascus' steel is absolutely fascinating stuff, and it has totally captured the imagination of the entire world. Japanese Damascus steel now defines the high-end of kitchen cutlery. Everybody wants some. The blades look sensational. To see them is to see artwork. Not just artwork, but highly functional artwork. Even Ginsu is playing this game with devastating effects.

J.A. Henckels sold-out almost completely, gave up on their traditional lines of German cutlery, and got Iron Chef Morimoto to lend some street-cred to their fusion line of Japan-esque knives. You can't exactly call them Japanese. You can call this full-market capitulation.

But what of Wüsthof? For those who don't know, Wüsthof once defined the high-end of the kitchen cutlery market... in the whole world. Nobody but nobody was better. At the risk of quoting Soundgarden, they fell on black days.

Well, they have responded, and they are adapting. Their big move was to get together with Le Cordon Bleu in France and workup an all-new set of highly-refined knives that would be ideal for the European cooking tradition. Evidently, Le Cordon Bleu's staff of culinary professors took this opportunity seriously, and worked very hard with Wüsthof on this project. They came up with a set of knives that now bears the school's name.

Evidentially, these blades are 30% lighter than their other Wüsthof analogs. They are still made out of high carbon steel, not stainless steel, or Damascus. The are still forged from poured blanks. They are now hollow ground rather than beveled on the edge. They now have a synthetic stock material rather than wood. They still have the full-tang. They still have the signature three rivets. They have even embraced a limited use of kullens on a limited basis. The reviews are pretty sweet. Most experts are giving these items an A to A+ grade.

Still, the powerful shift in world-market tastes are hurting Wüsthof. Le Cordon Bleu is arguably the finest product they have ever made, yet they command far fewer dollars than their Japanese competitors do. At this very moment, you can buy a 8-piece set of Wüsthof Le Cordon Bleu knives for just $279 bucks, which I find shocking... shockingly low, in case you were wondering. At the same time a 7 piece set of Miyabi knives will set you back $449.

It is unfortunate that I am having such trouble finding the Le Cordon Bleu 8 inch chef's knife. I would have purchased it already. It looks like the perfect knife. The kullens make it perfect. I like kullens. Kullens do break friction and make for way less 'stickiness'.

I must say, I am sorely tempted to get a set of these Le Cordon Bleu knives. But then again, you know I love ceramic cubic zirconia.

If I were you, and if I were looking for an absolute steal on killer kitchen steel, I would definitely take advantage of the Wüsthof offer. You simply can't do better than this offer at this price.

Sarah Polly for best actress (Oscar and Golden Globe)

I've been thinking about splice on and off all day long. I made an interesting Paella today, and each time I took a break to let it bubble, my thoughts seemed to return to this movie. It's that brilliant.

In particular, the character of Elsa Kast has intrigued me. Women critics and lots of actresses complain relentlessly about the lack of good quality female roles. Women seldom drive the action in movies. They are seldom the central figures outside chick-flicks and romances (which are themselves chick flicks). Numberous attempts to cast women in guy roles have produced stinkers. Witness the horror of Jessica Biel in the A-Team.

Well, here you go. This movie is what you've been waiting around for. Elsa is the character you've been pining away for. Sarah Polley got it done big time.

After 24 hours, I have come to the considered opinion that Splice is entirely driven by the character of Elsa Kast, and the performance of Sarah Polley. It is incredibly subtle how they get that across to you also. It's unstated. You must derive that by considering the way the plot develops.

When the movie begins, we automatically begin with the notion that Adrien Brody's character, Clive, is the key scientist in this operation. We presume that Elsa is Clive's sidekick. Like his brother, Gavin, Elsa is just along for a ride on Clive's wagon. She's there because she is his girlfriend.

That's just not true. Clive is a brilliant scientist, but he is no genius. Frankly, he is too bound by ethics and convention to be a genius. All geniuses are unconventional. Many are quasi-sociopaths. All you have to do is listen to Edward Teller speak during Trinity and Beyond, and you get that impression. Elsa is the genius. Clive and Gavin are riding her coat-tales.

So is Elsa a sociopath? Yep. She is all that and more, but you would never believe that upon first, second or even third meeting with her. She surprises even Clive, who is her mate in this life. This is where we get to the genius of her character design. Elsa's character is a composite of some of the most fascinating knowledge we have compiled in personality research.

What are those tidbits of knowledge?

1. That there is no line between genius and madness. Rather, there is an intimate connection between these two. Just about every genius has been cracked in more than one way.
2. Madness is often genetic. We discover gradually through the course of this movie that Elsa isn't kidding when she says her late mother was crazy. We see subtle facts that clearly point out that Elsa's mother was clinically insane. Unfortunately, we see plenty of little things that indicate Elsa may well have inherited a good chunk of those genes.
3. All geniuses are unconventional... unconventional to the point of being antinomian. Antinomian to the point of being sociopathic.
4. Most intriguingly, Elsa is a great example of the banality of evil. She fearlessly engages in incredibly dangerous things, without worry, without care, without concern for greater world consequences. However, she seems otherwise normal and brilliant. It is far too late in the game we finally come to a full realization that she is really dangerous in a really subtle way.

To make this character real and believable, you need one hell of a performance from a very good actress. Well, they got it, and I think she should be rewarded. I think Sarah Polly should win both Oscar and the Golden Globe awards. If SAG wants to give her the Actor, I am totally down with that.

Spice is hardcore science fiction

I just returned from seeing Splice. This is a serious piece of science fiction. It is not really a horror movie. As such, I need to lead off with my normal prolog about SciFi.

The overwhelming majority of people who have ever passed through this veil of tears have been illiterate and innumerate. They could not read, write or do elementary arithmetic. Without these foundations, there was no way to proceed on to more advanced subjects such as biology, or from there to genetics. They could read work on developmental psychology, or works by Freud. As such most people 'just don't get' true science fiction. They are frequently left out in the cold by it, and they never understand it.

To make matters worse, all kinds of weird shit gets classified as SciFi. If you look at the top 250 SciFi movies of all time, you will see some weird shit on that list. Things like "Back to the Future" and "The Incredibles" would not appear on my roster of SciFi movies. Netflix has Walt Disney's Dragonslayer listed as a SciFi movie. I have no idea why.

To understand Splice, you would need some familiarity with all of the following things:

1. An understanding of basic biology.
2. An understanding of animal life cycles.
3. An understanding that the drive to optimize inclusive fitness is the fundamental force driving all species behavior.
4. It would help if you understood that many coral reef fish change sex during their lives. This is just part of their natural biology.
5. It would help if you understood a little something about DNA, base pairs, and gene splicing.
6. It would help if you knew genetic engineers are currently splicing all manner of DNA together. They boast they can put a fish eye on a wasp if they want too. It's just base pairs man!
7. They are making custom organisms that crank out common drugs such as human insulin, used by just about all diabetics today.
8. It would help if you understand Freud's Oedipus and Electra Complex.

Ergo sum, we know most people can't really track with this bold screen writer. This is why there are some fairly stupid comments posted about this movie over at RottenTomatoes.com. Litterary and movie critics study how to make things rhyme in iambic pentameter. They rarely study science.

Although I am tad uncomfortable saying this, I must say that I think it is the most important piece of science fiction I have seen in a hell of a long time. I knew without question, as I walked out of the theater, that I had just seen a SciFi classic that will be just as watched 20 years from now as it is today. This will be a constant reference point for a lot of future works.

Warner Brothers, Dark Castle and the director Vincenzo Natali must be congratulated for making a masterpiece.

With that said, this movie is pretty... ehm.... hardcore... for the lack of a better term... although it isn't exactly hardcore. This movie boldly goes where angels fear to tread. This is a movie which dares to answer the question: What is worse than Lebron James catching his Mom and Delonte West in flagrante delicto?

It is not gratuitous when it does so. There are serious reasons for every move the screenwriter make. Every crazy twist in this plot is well setup and makes sense in the context. Some very, very smart critters worked on this screenplay.

This is a cautionary tale for scientists, and a bit of a warning for the rest of us, about the dangers of cross-species gene splicing and the creation of new species on the basis of human DNA. I would dare to tell you that this movie is far more prescient, far more plausible, and far more important than much more celebrated literary works, like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.

Fire away if you want, but I say this is a real Frankenstein with serious scientific grit, fully updated for our current age.

I found this movie intensely fascinating. It was horrific on a much more intelligent level than most movies are. It builds suspense and tension very intelligently. It was plenty horrified by the end. This is a brilliant piece of work.

I would like to recommend this movie to everyone, but I know that not everyone can or will understand this movie. I hope some gene splicers will have a look at this film and give it some thought.