Friday, March 02, 2012

Right on, Leonard

Mr. Maltin on why I don't expect to be joining the frenzied throng that I'm sure will be seeing "Dr. Seuss'" The Lorax this weekend.

Have you noticed that (as often as not) when Hollywood moviemakers stray from their source material they insist on putting the author’s name above the title? To me, this only compounds the offense. No author has suffered more at the hands of Hollywood in recent years than Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.

Easy Joke Department 3

Rush Limbaugh: I'll Buy Georgetown Women 'As Much Aspirin To Put Between Their Knees As They Want'


Trust me, Rush. Around you, the women won't need Aspirin to keep their knees closed.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

The things you learn when you're trying to be gracious

Conservative "Journalist" [Andrew] Breitbart Dead at 43


"Journalist" is in quotes in the news item above, I assume, because there wasn't room in the headline for "Right-wing thug, enemy of democracy and lying fink."

Look, I've often liked to point out, in the past decade or so as Breitbart became better known, that I was picking on him before all the cool kids were doing it: In 2004 I wrote this review of his book Hollywood, Interrupted (co-written with Mark Ebner).

Nevertheless, when I logged on just now and saw this news, I was momentarily tempted to do the decent thing. Maybe even to worry "aloud" that Breitbart's apparent recent instability, of which Keith Olbermann among others has made such hay, could have been a repressed cry for help. From a man who, if only unconsciously, somehow knew he was near his death.

That temptation lasted right up until I read the full story to which I've linked at top, which gave me a couple of pieces of information I didn't have. The first is that actor Orson Bean, who wrote the introduction to the Breitbart/Ebner book, was actually Breitbart's father-in-law. A tidbit that appears nowhere in the published volume.

But that's just kind of sleazy; probably not enough to overcome the cultural imperative of "Speak no ill of the dead." However...

After Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts died in 2009, Breitbart tweeted "Rest in Chappaquiddick" and called him "a special pile of human excrement." When critics questioned his tone, he tweeted they "missed my best ones!"


In which case I refuse to feel the slightest bit guilty for blogging thus: Roast in hell, Breitbart. The world is a better place for you having left it.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

I refer you to the precedents...

I cannot say this enough (apparently): There are certain immutable rules of life. One of them is that once something societal reaches the pages of an Archie comic, it can no longer be considered "cutting edge," or in fact, "edgy" at all.

I refer you to the precedents of Betty and Veronica go Goth and Betty Flash Dancing Up A Storm.

Now Archie has not only put a gay character into their comics, they have published an issue in which he marries another fella. This is unquestionable proof positive that gay marriage is not only acceptable in mainstream America, but it's actually a bit passé.

But some folks, I guess, never learn...

Monday, February 27, 2012

Just when you think he can't be a bigger asshole...

...Rush jams a corncob up there and stretches it out:

Limbaugh On Danica Patrick's Statement About Contraceptive Policy: "What Do You Expect From A Woman Driver?"

You know Gov Walker, there's an obvious solution you may be missing...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) today: "Think about the number of kids we could help, think of the number of seniors we could help in our state with $9 million that we didn't have to waste on this -- this frivolous recall election."