Apparently, one unanticipated silver lining of the economic recession is that women are finding it too costly to keep their vaginas looking the way they did when they were 10.
That's right...the bush is back!
Friday, January 23, 2009
I like this article.
Obama vs. the Media, by John McQuaid.
Obama (correctly, I think) sees the press representing two things that are clear obstacles to his ambitious plans: official Washington and a trivia-obsessed media culture.
The cable maw must be fed with transient panics. Feeding frenzies and micro-scandals dominate. They fuel the chat shows, opinion columns and blogs. These faux crises and dramas, which usually pass with little consequence, can knock a presidential agenda off-stride or even destroy it.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
We get it, already!
Although it didn't get great reviews, I was admittedly curious about the barely-released movie Repo! The Genetic Opera, a sci-fi rock musical (!) directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed the first three Saw sequels.
Besides the Saw connection, there was a cast that might almost make it worth seeing by themselves: Anthony Head from Doctor Who and Buffy, Paul "father of Mira" Sorvino, Paris Hilton (!) and Sarah "Phantom" Brightman.
Well, it was released on DVD this week and I've seen it.
In fact, I've seen it three times in two days (what with the commentaries and all). How was it? Let me put it this way: There's a lyric in one of the songs where the heroine, a terminally ill girl played by Alexa Vega tells her over-protective father (Tony Head)
"I'm 17...and it's better than 40."
The Genetic Opera is an interesting failure...and it's better than being a boring success.
As a piece, it's deliberately histrionic, but that's appropriate for an opera, so that's not why it's a failure. There's crude violence throughout, but (although it's not to my taste), that's not why it's a failure either: The story legitimately does have plenty of opportunities for viscera, both emotional and physical.
Some of the music is worthwhile; many of the performers talented.
Head is the greatest thing here as a split personality, part good man trying to raise a daughter on his own...part Sweeny Todd-like "night surgeon".
Buffy fans know that Anthony Stewart Head has a background in show tunes, but Paul Sorvino's trained operatic voice may come as a surprise.
Sorvino plays the owner of "GeneCo," which sells live organs needed for transplant. But if you can't keep up the payments, well, that's where the "Repo" men come in...legal assasins...and yes, Monty Python did do this about 25 years ago.
Alexa Vega is new to me (not having seen the Spy Kids films). She is awkwardly charming here, as one might expect a dying, sheltered 17-year-old to be. If the father-daughter relationship between her and Tony Head doesn't work the whole piece won't work, fortunately, it's one of the parts that works.
Vega's singing voice seems to have been aided by recording studio technology here and there, but that's not a crime (and it's only occasionally obvious).
(Incidentally, Vega herself has a "Saw connection"--her younger sister McKenzie played the part of Cary Elwes' daughter in the first film.)
I said up there that much of this movie was appropriately over-the-top; the problem with Terrance Zdunich's performance is that he isn't over-the-top enough.
His character, the self-descriptive "Graverobber," is meant to be a kind of narrator along the lines of Ché in Evita. But such a role requires a certain amount of star quality that Zdunich, kindly, just ain't got, however, he did co-write the piece.
This brings me to Paris Hilton. If you saw the nominations for the "Razzie" awards, you know that Hilton just got one of her three nominations as "worst supporting actress" for this film.
I never thought I'd be in the position of defending Paris Hilton...but this is not fair; it seems more based on people's negative perception of Hilton herself than on her actual work in the film.
Of that, we'll never know just how much of her performance was "created" in the editing room, but I can say this: She doesn't stink up the joint. Hilton is never going to be in my "holy trinity" of actresses (all together now: Hunter, Winslet, Hathaway), but this movie doesn't ask her to be.
It asks her to play what's essentially a mafia daughter (with Sorvino as the Don) who skips around in lingerie
and is addicted to plastic surgery. Anyone here who doesn't think Paris Hilton could knock that role out in her sleep?
In one sense Sarah Brightman, whose first movie this is, doesn't have to stretch too far either: She plays an opera star. But this is one who was born blind but given eyes by GeneCo.
One or two of the best songs in the picture belong to Brightman. In particular, "Chase The Morning" offers an aching glimpse of what this "sci-fi rock musical" could've been if the whole thing had worked as well.
It's a trio sung by Brightman, Vega, and a hologram-sample of the Vega character's dead mother. (The part of the mother is sung by Nancy Long, who is married to Darren Smith, who co-wrote the piece with Zdunich)
As Hilton's violently insane brother, Bill Moseley doesn't have a great singing voice, but the novelty of seeing Otis P. Chop Top belt out a song counts for a lot.
One of Sorvino's other sons in the film must've been in the minds of the Lionsgate promotions people when they designed the poster for Saw V, as the character wears human faces as masks.
Is it (why it doesn't work) the look of the film, then? Well, no--especially considering its evidently-low budget, visually it's kind of dazzling.
So what's the problem? Well, I'm afraid it's the storytelling. The movie plays as though it had been edited by placing scene numbers on a roulette wheel, spinning it, and whenever the needle stops, that scene goes in.
What we get is multiple entrances for each character, accompanied by animated comic-book sequences giving backstory. These are well-drawn (by Terrance Zdunich, who also co-stars in and co-wrote the piece) but insulting.
It's as if someone somewhere decided the audience for this film was incredibly stupid, and had to be told everything three times. So the comic book tells us something. And the characters themselves tell us something. And the other characters tell us something about the other characters...and it's all the same thing. We get it, already!
It's like a long first act followed by a perfunctory second, with very little character development in-between.
In the commentaries, Bousman mentions that he hopes to be able to do a "director's cut" someday, it would be interesting to see if this improved the "running order"
But is it worth seeing (as-is)? Abso-friggin'-lutely, with one proviso: Did you know what I was talking about when I mentioned Sweeney Todd and Evita? Put more simply, do you love (or even like) musicals? Because if not, it's unlikely this is going to reward your viewing.
But if so...
Besides the Saw connection, there was a cast that might almost make it worth seeing by themselves: Anthony Head from Doctor Who and Buffy, Paul "father of Mira" Sorvino, Paris Hilton (!) and Sarah "Phantom" Brightman.
Well, it was released on DVD this week and I've seen it.
In fact, I've seen it three times in two days (what with the commentaries and all). How was it? Let me put it this way: There's a lyric in one of the songs where the heroine, a terminally ill girl played by Alexa Vega tells her over-protective father (Tony Head)
"I'm 17...and it's better than 40."
The Genetic Opera is an interesting failure...and it's better than being a boring success.
As a piece, it's deliberately histrionic, but that's appropriate for an opera, so that's not why it's a failure. There's crude violence throughout, but (although it's not to my taste), that's not why it's a failure either: The story legitimately does have plenty of opportunities for viscera, both emotional and physical.
Some of the music is worthwhile; many of the performers talented.
Head is the greatest thing here as a split personality, part good man trying to raise a daughter on his own...part Sweeny Todd-like "night surgeon".
Buffy fans know that Anthony Stewart Head has a background in show tunes, but Paul Sorvino's trained operatic voice may come as a surprise.
Sorvino plays the owner of "GeneCo," which sells live organs needed for transplant. But if you can't keep up the payments, well, that's where the "Repo" men come in...legal assasins...and yes, Monty Python did do this about 25 years ago.
Alexa Vega is new to me (not having seen the Spy Kids films). She is awkwardly charming here, as one might expect a dying, sheltered 17-year-old to be. If the father-daughter relationship between her and Tony Head doesn't work the whole piece won't work, fortunately, it's one of the parts that works.
Vega's singing voice seems to have been aided by recording studio technology here and there, but that's not a crime (and it's only occasionally obvious).
(Incidentally, Vega herself has a "Saw connection"--her younger sister McKenzie played the part of Cary Elwes' daughter in the first film.)
I said up there that much of this movie was appropriately over-the-top; the problem with Terrance Zdunich's performance is that he isn't over-the-top enough.
His character, the self-descriptive "Graverobber," is meant to be a kind of narrator along the lines of Ché in Evita. But such a role requires a certain amount of star quality that Zdunich, kindly, just ain't got, however, he did co-write the piece.
This brings me to Paris Hilton. If you saw the nominations for the "Razzie" awards, you know that Hilton just got one of her three nominations as "worst supporting actress" for this film.
I never thought I'd be in the position of defending Paris Hilton...but this is not fair; it seems more based on people's negative perception of Hilton herself than on her actual work in the film.
Of that, we'll never know just how much of her performance was "created" in the editing room, but I can say this: She doesn't stink up the joint. Hilton is never going to be in my "holy trinity" of actresses (all together now: Hunter, Winslet, Hathaway), but this movie doesn't ask her to be.
It asks her to play what's essentially a mafia daughter (with Sorvino as the Don) who skips around in lingerie
and is addicted to plastic surgery. Anyone here who doesn't think Paris Hilton could knock that role out in her sleep?In one sense Sarah Brightman, whose first movie this is, doesn't have to stretch too far either: She plays an opera star. But this is one who was born blind but given eyes by GeneCo.
One or two of the best songs in the picture belong to Brightman. In particular, "Chase The Morning" offers an aching glimpse of what this "sci-fi rock musical" could've been if the whole thing had worked as well.
It's a trio sung by Brightman, Vega, and a hologram-sample of the Vega character's dead mother. (The part of the mother is sung by Nancy Long, who is married to Darren Smith, who co-wrote the piece with Zdunich)
As Hilton's violently insane brother, Bill Moseley doesn't have a great singing voice, but the novelty of seeing Otis P. Chop Top belt out a song counts for a lot.
One of Sorvino's other sons in the film must've been in the minds of the Lionsgate promotions people when they designed the poster for Saw V, as the character wears human faces as masks.Is it (why it doesn't work) the look of the film, then? Well, no--especially considering its evidently-low budget, visually it's kind of dazzling.
So what's the problem? Well, I'm afraid it's the storytelling. The movie plays as though it had been edited by placing scene numbers on a roulette wheel, spinning it, and whenever the needle stops, that scene goes in.
What we get is multiple entrances for each character, accompanied by animated comic-book sequences giving backstory. These are well-drawn (by Terrance Zdunich, who also co-stars in and co-wrote the piece) but insulting.
It's as if someone somewhere decided the audience for this film was incredibly stupid, and had to be told everything three times. So the comic book tells us something. And the characters themselves tell us something. And the other characters tell us something about the other characters...and it's all the same thing. We get it, already!
It's like a long first act followed by a perfunctory second, with very little character development in-between.
In the commentaries, Bousman mentions that he hopes to be able to do a "director's cut" someday, it would be interesting to see if this improved the "running order"
But is it worth seeing (as-is)? Abso-friggin'-lutely, with one proviso: Did you know what I was talking about when I mentioned Sweeney Todd and Evita? Put more simply, do you love (or even like) musicals? Because if not, it's unlikely this is going to reward your viewing.
But if so...
Holy shit.
The State Department appears to be glad to see Mrs. Clinton.
I had (and have) some questions about Hillary at State, but I'm choosing not to be cynical. I'm not saying I have faith...but I choose not to be cyncial.
Good luck, Madame Secretary.
I had (and have) some questions about Hillary at State, but I'm choosing not to be cynical. I'm not saying I have faith...but I choose not to be cyncial.
Good luck, Madame Secretary.
The British are known for their gift for understatement
Hugh Laurie on hearing that House and Cuddy will have sex this season:
"I think it will be a lot of fun,"
Oh. Good. God.
Would be funny, if it wasn't so...ick...
A woman in Albuquerque, N.M., went to a local health clinic to have the long string of her IUD shortened. No big deal -- all it takes is a simple snip. The nurse prodded her with a speculum and then, inexplicably, began pulling on the IUD, causing her sudden, intense pain. Then the nurse said one thing you never want someone to say when they have their hand in your vagina: "Uh-oh!"
Surely, the patient must have been terrified -- but then the nurse offered an explanation: "I accidentally pulled out your IUD. I gently tugged and out it came ... I cut the string than went back and gently pulled and out it came. It must have not been in properly." That might have been somewhat reassuring -- oh well, accidents happen -- only, the nurse continued to explain that "having the IUD come out was a good thing" and then offered, "I personally do not like IUDs. I feel they are a type of abortion. I don't know how you feel about abortion, but I am against them."
Hmm. The nurse continued: "Everyone in the office always laughs and tells me I pull these out on purpose because I am against them, but it's not true, they accidentally come out when I tug." Kidding about removing patients' birth control against their will? Hilarious -- sign me up for a visit to your office! Also: It's happened enough times that you have a reputation for it?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
What do we know of Carlin?
Well, we know some of what was in his FBI file.
But can, and will, be here: SHIT, PISS, FUCK, CUNT, COCKSUCKER, MOTHERFUCKER and TITS.
That was for you, Georgie!
Turns out, as perceptive comedy fans, the FBI is really great at tapping our phones, shutting down people who copy Buffy DVDs (read the warnings, people!) and killing Marilyn Monroe.
Among the 12 pages in a file recently released by Carlin's family are a couple of letters from outraged citizens who complained that the comedian had made fun of the FBI and its director, J. Edgar Hoover, during TV appearances in 1969 and 1970.
There's also a letter from Hoover himself thanking one of Carlin's critics for defending his honor, and an internal FBI memo that quotes the director as asking: "What do we know of Carlin?"
Carlin was arrested following a performance in Milwaukee in 1972 for saying the seven words (none of which can be reprinted here).
But can, and will, be here: SHIT, PISS, FUCK, CUNT, COCKSUCKER, MOTHERFUCKER and TITS.
That was for you, Georgie!
One, dated Feb. 12, 1969, refers to Carlin as an "alleged comedian" after he made fun of the bureau during an appearance on "The Jackie Gleason Show."
"His treatment was in very poor taste and it was obvious that he was using the prestige of the bureau and Mr. Hoover to enhance his performance," the memo says.
Turns out, as perceptive comedy fans, the FBI is really great at tapping our phones, shutting down people who copy Buffy DVDs (read the warnings, people!) and killing Marilyn Monroe.
You know my "actors shouldn't talk" rule?
Case in point:
Dirk Benedict, a star of the old Battlestar Galactica show, on why he doesn't like the new one.
Apparently (I say "Apparently," because I don't watch the new show, but I know it has many fans): It's complex, the characters are interestingly shaded, and the women are more than just decoration.
Seriously. That's his argument for why this is a bad show.
Dirk Benedict, a star of the old Battlestar Galactica show, on why he doesn't like the new one.
Apparently (I say "Apparently," because I don't watch the new show, but I know it has many fans): It's complex, the characters are interestingly shaded, and the women are more than just decoration.
Seriously. That's his argument for why this is a bad show.
Holy crap.
Somehow I missed this. It's "This Land Is Your Land," played by Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen at The Obama Inaugural Celebration Concert. I found it via Mark Evanier, who writes:
And as if that's not cosmic enough, George-bloody-Lucas can be seen at one point singing and bouncing along.
Seeger is 89 years old. He was close to half that age when I saw him at the Santa Monica Civic. This was back when they still had segregated schools in parts of the South. I wonder what his response would have been if someone had said to him then, "You'll live long enough to sing that song on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as America inaugurates a black man as President of the United States."
And as if that's not cosmic enough, George-bloody-Lucas can be seen at one point singing and bouncing along.
PS: I love you
Letters, oh we get letters...
A bravely anonymous reader writes to query a post from yesterday. Specifically the one in which I said I didn't understand why any parent would complain about time being taken out of their children's school day to watch Obama being inaugurated.
They ask:
I reply: I don't know, but I don't think so. Of course, a white man had been inaugurated president like three dozen times before. But like Obama or not, yesterday was an honest-to-god historical first.
It hardly seems surprising to me that teachers would want their students to see it. That was my point. I hope that answer was simple enough for you, and that you found it refreshingly free of smart assery.
He, she or it further goes on to say:
A bravely anonymous reader writes to query a post from yesterday. Specifically the one in which I said I didn't understand why any parent would complain about time being taken out of their children's school day to watch Obama being inaugurated.
They ask:
Well did they do this when G W Bush was inaugurated?
Did they?
Just one question is all I'm askin, I don't want a smart ass remark just a simple yes or no will do.
I reply: I don't know, but I don't think so. Of course, a white man had been inaugurated president like three dozen times before. But like Obama or not, yesterday was an honest-to-god historical first.
It hardly seems surprising to me that teachers would want their students to see it. That was my point. I hope that answer was simple enough for you, and that you found it refreshingly free of smart assery.
He, she or it further goes on to say:
Besides me has anyone ever read your CRAP?
A fair question. Yes. As of this moment, I average about 78 visitors a day who spend an average of two minutes and 15 seconds here. You may well ask: Why? I dunno.
In fact, that reminds me. I'm late for for my semi-annual "tell me who you are" post, which goes a little something like this...
Yo, all you homeboys and girls out there!
I'd just like to know a little bit about who you are and where you came from. Or what you like or not about the blog.
So if you wouldn't mind, tap on the comments line down there to the right and introduce yourself. Tell me anything and everything you want me to know, or you think I might like to know about you.
A few suggested questions to answer follow. Use as many or none of them as you like. BTW, this is strictly for my own curiosity, I'm not conducting a demographic survey or anything.
When and how did you find my blog?
When you're not reading this blog, what are you trying to do with your life?
And how's that going for you?
Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
Children?
Pets?
Do you miss the "female appreciation" posts, or have you just moved over to Dancing Girls?
Do you ever watch the videos I post? What makes you more likely or less likely to watch them, if anything?
Does my claiming to watch the Saw movies in order to psychoanalyze Jigsaw and his victims worry you about me?
Is there too much talk about Anne Hathaway around here? Note: If your answer to this one is yes, the door is over there, Jack.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I don't understand this
At a high school in New Hampshire today, exams were stopped so that students could watch the inauguration. That's not what I don't understand, of course--I'm sure it was only one among many. But reportedly, some parents called to complain.
Politically biased? As some smart guy said the morning after election day:
“I had half a dozen phone calls,” said [Principal Bob] Stevens. “(Parents saying), ‘you shouldn’t be doing this,’ about why we’re paying attention to the inaugural at all. Some took their kids out of school. Their argument was, ‘did you do this when George Bush was president?’”
The parents who complained called it a “politically-biased event,” said Stevens.
Politically biased? As some smart guy said the morning after election day:
This morning is probably the only morning I could say something like this with a straight face, but I feel like this is a time for all Americans to revel.
No matter what your color is, even no matter if you voted for Obama or did not, unless you're a racist bigot, you have to feel good that our country has finally gotten to this point.
This is kinda awesome.
It's people in the Kenyan village where Obama's father was born, singing and dancing their pride.
PS: Sorry about the ads. You should be able to click 'em away.
PS: Sorry about the ads. You should be able to click 'em away.
Could Malia and Sasha possibly be any more adorable?
I like their taste in movies, too: According to MSNBC, while their parents are dancing the night away, the girls and children of staff will be having a party at the White House where they'll watch movies including Bolt.
OK, and High School Musical 3--but, maybe it's good, I dunno.
( All I know about HSM3 is that it beat out a certain horror sequel at the box office...)
Good.
The choreography was smooth and the smiles were gracious, but all the same, George W. Bush's exit from Washington carried a measure of pain.
Poetry and motion (thoughts on the swearing-in ceremony)
1.
On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, I think it was, muttered something about that being "bad form." I like Maddow but I think the crowd needed this chance to tell Bush, as directly as they could, just what they think of his incompetence.
There is nothing bad form about that. If his disgrace had ever been dealt with as it should've been, maybe the rest of us wouldn't have been reduced to boos (and shoes).
2. Ok, the Roberts thing. That was beautiful. As RadicalRuss put it in Pam's House Blend:
3. I liked the poem by Elizabeth Alexander.
I liked it because I thought she chose words that were inevitable yet surprising, which is what poetry (if not all writing) should do.
I also thought that I'd like to see it illustrated as a children's book...
4. The closing prayer was great. Made me smile, and moved me, too.
I'd never seen Dr. Joseph Lowery speak before--the way he looks, and sounds, is just the best!
And as for what he said, well, as some others put it some years ago:
Amen, brother. It was a terrific end to the morning.
5. And now, to play us out, The Neville boys:
-singing and playing a song by a great, gay, American songwriter.
Boos echoed throughout the crowd as President Bush, Vice President Cheney and several GOP congressmen were introduced
On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, I think it was, muttered something about that being "bad form." I like Maddow but I think the crowd needed this chance to tell Bush, as directly as they could, just what they think of his incompetence.
There is nothing bad form about that. If his disgrace had ever been dealt with as it should've been, maybe the rest of us wouldn't have been reduced to boos (and shoes).
2. Ok, the Roberts thing. That was beautiful. As RadicalRuss put it in Pam's House Blend:
So I asked rhetorically, "What could George W. Bush fuck up in the last thirty minutes of his presidency?"
I got the answer in the form of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, installed by George W. Bush (and a feline Senate), fucking up a simple THIRTY FIVE WORD OATH!ROBERTS: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear... that I will execute the office of President to the United States faithfully... and will to the best of my ability... preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
How incredibly appropriate that the final punctuation mark on the Bush Maladministration is his chief arbiter of the Constitution verbally assaulting it, or lacking the intellectual capacity to memorize it.
3. I liked the poem by Elizabeth Alexander.
I liked it because I thought she chose words that were inevitable yet surprising, which is what poetry (if not all writing) should do.
I also thought that I'd like to see it illustrated as a children's book...
4. The closing prayer was great. Made me smile, and moved me, too.
I'd never seen Dr. Joseph Lowery speak before--the way he looks, and sounds, is just the best!
And as for what he said, well, as some others put it some years ago:
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today
Amen, brother. It was a terrific end to the morning.
5. And now, to play us out, The Neville boys:
-singing and playing a song by a great, gay, American songwriter.
invoked & evoke
Some people had a good idea. For those of us who are outraged at the nonsensical choice of conservative evangelical pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at President-Elect Obama's inauguration.
The idea was this. Alternative Invocation: The blogswarm.
It's better when you do it yourself.
So I want to start with this song I love.
As most of my friends know I also love this movie (Godspell), but that's not the only reason I'm including it here.
You see, in this cast we have gay men, who Rick Warren is against. We have women. We may have gay women, too, but I'm only sure about two or three of the men.
But straight or gay, if they're capable of growing a person inside them, Rick Warren believes they should have no right to decide whether or not they want to. And that they should not be allowed to divorce their husbands, even if they are being abused.
One of these men and one of these women is black. I have no doubt Rick Warren would tell me he has nothing against black people and celebrates their civil rights. But I have even less of a doubt that the fire with which he burns is that which burned houses and crosses decades ago.
The fire that makes him tell me a woman is bad if she loves another woman or a man if he loves another man. Or that women must be treated like brood mares and if you have to take the whip to them to keep 'em in the pen, so be it.
I think about that, and I think about how, if I believe in god, it's because of people like these singing songs like this. Some of them gay. Some of them women. Some of them black. And all thanking the same lord.
Now, having invoked a movie of love, I will evoke one of derangement.
Of course, I mean Saw V.
(Now out on DVD, not that any of you are going to rush to pick it up).
I ask myself: If I could choose my judge, would I rather it were a man like Warren, or John "Jigsaw" Kramer?
Warren believes no gay person has a chance at true happiness, that women are somehow unworthy, and that his way is the right way. John Kramer believes everyone deserves a chance; the closest connections he made in life were to women.
Ok, he thought his way was the right way too--but in the end, when he saw the results, he felt remorse.
What I'm saying is Rick Warren is hate in love's clothing. John Kramer is love twisted past sanity. And I'll take wounded love, over hate that lies.
And now I move again, from the arguably sacrilegious, to the wholly holy:
Does that move you? Yes? Good.
Peace, y'all.
The idea was this. Alternative Invocation: The blogswarm.
It's better when you do it yourself.
So I want to start with this song I love.
As most of my friends know I also love this movie (Godspell), but that's not the only reason I'm including it here.
You see, in this cast we have gay men, who Rick Warren is against. We have women. We may have gay women, too, but I'm only sure about two or three of the men.
But straight or gay, if they're capable of growing a person inside them, Rick Warren believes they should have no right to decide whether or not they want to. And that they should not be allowed to divorce their husbands, even if they are being abused.
One of these men and one of these women is black. I have no doubt Rick Warren would tell me he has nothing against black people and celebrates their civil rights. But I have even less of a doubt that the fire with which he burns is that which burned houses and crosses decades ago.
The fire that makes him tell me a woman is bad if she loves another woman or a man if he loves another man. Or that women must be treated like brood mares and if you have to take the whip to them to keep 'em in the pen, so be it.
I think about that, and I think about how, if I believe in god, it's because of people like these singing songs like this. Some of them gay. Some of them women. Some of them black. And all thanking the same lord.
Now, having invoked a movie of love, I will evoke one of derangement.
Of course, I mean Saw V.
(Now out on DVD, not that any of you are going to rush to pick it up).
I ask myself: If I could choose my judge, would I rather it were a man like Warren, or John "Jigsaw" Kramer?
Warren believes no gay person has a chance at true happiness, that women are somehow unworthy, and that his way is the right way. John Kramer believes everyone deserves a chance; the closest connections he made in life were to women.
Ok, he thought his way was the right way too--but in the end, when he saw the results, he felt remorse.
What I'm saying is Rick Warren is hate in love's clothing. John Kramer is love twisted past sanity. And I'll take wounded love, over hate that lies.
And now I move again, from the arguably sacrilegious, to the wholly holy:
Does that move you? Yes? Good.
Peace, y'all.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last speech
I don't know if he rests in peace because I don't know if there is any peace to be found, after we're dead. But if I had any money, I'd be willing to bet quite a lot of it that if there is, this great man has just found a lot more.
we'd better bite down on the tinfoil--even if it's a shocking experience--'cause if we don't in 35 years or so it's all going to happen again
Okay. As you may recall, I am a little, shall we say, despairing of the chances of seeing Bush and Cheney tried for their crimes. I don't suppose it will come as a surprise to most of you that a lot of this is trying to protect myself from disappointment.
It's not that I don't want to see it, it's that I just don't think it's happening. I'd be pleased to be surprised, but I'm not expecting it.
However.
With an alternative viewpoint, here's Greenwald.
It's not that I don't want to see it, it's that I just don't think it's happening. I'd be pleased to be surprised, but I'm not expecting it.
However.
With an alternative viewpoint, here's Greenwald.
Before we say goodbye, one last look at the people who knew him when
You know...as much as I'm enjoying the last act of The Tragedy of George the Bush...I don't really have a lot of admiration for the people who started abusing him only after it became impossible to ignore just how his eight years in office added up.
(Not that some aren't still trying)
It took two wars, 9/11, Katrina, and the worst recession since the 1930s (just to name a few) for some people to realize how bad he was at his job.
A man who would become so hated that someone who throws a shoe at him becomes a hero.
A man who speaks of life with the blood of thousands on his hands; without shame
A man who should have been impeached; now one to whom we can't wait to say goodbye.
The people who impress me are the people who knew what he was early on. And who said so, loudly, when they ran the risk of being run over by the prideisbacktruck (and some of them were).
Think Progress has a list of more than two dozen people who did just that, and their names are worth remembering.
You can add your suggestions in the comments. I agree with the person who said Jessica Lynch should be among them.
(Not that some aren't still trying)
It took two wars, 9/11, Katrina, and the worst recession since the 1930s (just to name a few) for some people to realize how bad he was at his job.
A man who would become so hated that someone who throws a shoe at him becomes a hero.
A man who speaks of life with the blood of thousands on his hands; without shame
A man who should have been impeached; now one to whom we can't wait to say goodbye.
The people who impress me are the people who knew what he was early on. And who said so, loudly, when they ran the risk of being run over by the prideisbacktruck (and some of them were).
Think Progress has a list of more than two dozen people who did just that, and their names are worth remembering.
You can add your suggestions in the comments. I agree with the person who said Jessica Lynch should be among them.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Happy 'Sanctity of Human Life Day!'
Yes, it's a real holiday.
And now, here's Cardinal Carlin to deliver the invocation.
I'd say "may he rest in peace," but what the fuck does he care, he's dead...
And now, here's Cardinal Carlin to deliver the invocation.
I'd say "may he rest in peace," but what the fuck does he care, he's dead...
You. Have. Got to be. Motherfriggin'. Kidding me!
Just when you think the crazy "Christians" can't make themselves look like bigger dicks than they already are, they go and do something like this. Like what? I'm glad you asked.
You see, the Krispy Kreme company is going to be giving away doughnuts on Inauguration Day. They sent out a little press release including this sentence:
It's a publicity stunt, of course, very much along the lines of The American Way; certainly nothing to which any sane American could object. Uh-huh, that's right, you caught it. I said "sane American."
As opposed to an organization called the American Life League. Which sent out their own press release...
Honest to god, I am not making this up. That's their headline.
"Pro-Abortion Doughnuts." They said that. In print.
You feel the grin spreading slowly across your face already, don't you?
Wait, there's more. Their logic (and I use the word loosely):
That only leaves me one thing to say.
You see, the Krispy Kreme company is going to be giving away doughnuts on Inauguration Day. They sent out a little press release including this sentence:
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. is honoring American’s sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day
It's a publicity stunt, of course, very much along the lines of The American Way; certainly nothing to which any sane American could object. Uh-huh, that's right, you caught it. I said "sane American."
As opposed to an organization called the American Life League. Which sent out their own press release...
KRISPY KREME CELEBRATES OBAMA WITH PRO-ABORTION DOUGHNUTS
Honest to god, I am not making this up. That's their headline.
"Pro-Abortion Doughnuts." They said that. In print.
You feel the grin spreading slowly across your face already, don't you?
Wait, there's more. Their logic (and I use the word loosely):
The unfortunate reality of a post Roe v. Wade America is that 'choice' is synonymous with abortion access, and celebration of 'freedom of choice' is a tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand.
That only leaves me one thing to say.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Way to make something totally new into something old again
As you may have heard, Beyonce will be one of those performing at the Inaugural Balls. Reportedly, the song she will be singing for the first dance of the Obamas as President and First Lady will be, "At Last."
Really?
I mean, obviously, nothing against Beyonce (more's the pity). And I'm mindful that the country electing its first black president is the rare, truly historical moment.
I guess it's just that "At Last" is one of those songs which has gone past being a staple into becoming a cliche.
(also see: "I Will Survive.")
And nothing about this Tuesday should be a cliche.
Really?
I mean, obviously, nothing against Beyonce (more's the pity). And I'm mindful that the country electing its first black president is the rare, truly historical moment.
I guess it's just that "At Last" is one of those songs which has gone past being a staple into becoming a cliche.
(also see: "I Will Survive.")
And nothing about this Tuesday should be a cliche.
In Pam's case, shouldn't that be "Two Can Make A Difference?"
Sultry actress Pamela Anderson reveals she is planning to give U.S. president elect Barack Obama a book of essays, titled “One Can Make A Difference.”
(Yeah, I know, it's cheap, whadaya want from me?)
Friday, January 16, 2009
Where were you, When I needed you. Well you could not be found. What can I do. Oh, I believed in you ...
Let's see...I mentioned when I ran the video for "Lucky" that my first rock concert was Greg Kihn, didn't I? I don't know what else I can add except that this is his biggest hit.
Oh, maybe that I think I heard the spoof by "Weird Al" before I heard this original...
And the video is spooky.
Oh, maybe that I think I heard the spoof by "Weird Al" before I heard this original...
And the video is spooky.
You know, I'm really beginning to like this Eric Holder fellow
As you know, Holder is Obama's nominee for Attorney General.
Via Think Progress, check him out replying to Texas republican Sen. John Cornyn's softheaded attempt to justify torture using a hypothetical derived from...well, if you've been reading this blog more than, say "24" hrs...you can probably guess what it's derived from.
Holder doesn't merely smack him down. He can hardly keep himself from laughing in the senator's face. It's pretty cool. Like, whoa--an actual adult in a presidential administration!
And by the way, a word about Cornyn's understanding of civil rights: This is a man who thinks it would be perfectly okay to amend the Constitution to make it illegal for gays to marry. But waterboarding? That's all right.
Via Think Progress, check him out replying to Texas republican Sen. John Cornyn's softheaded attempt to justify torture using a hypothetical derived from...well, if you've been reading this blog more than, say "24" hrs...you can probably guess what it's derived from.
Holder doesn't merely smack him down. He can hardly keep himself from laughing in the senator's face. It's pretty cool. Like, whoa--an actual adult in a presidential administration!
And by the way, a word about Cornyn's understanding of civil rights: This is a man who thinks it would be perfectly okay to amend the Constitution to make it illegal for gays to marry. But waterboarding? That's all right.
Oh. My. God.
Say, you know what would be a really great model for Rick Warren's "christian" operation?
Hitler youth.
Or communists.
You know who says that?
Rick Warren.
I am not kidding. I am not joking. I am not exaggerating. Watch the video clip embedded in the comments of that entry (no, not the Monty Python one). President-Elect Obama: You're giving a dangerous psychotic a world-wide platform.
This is not the way to bring change.
Hitler youth.
Or communists.
You know who says that?
Rick Warren.
I am not kidding. I am not joking. I am not exaggerating. Watch the video clip embedded in the comments of that entry (no, not the Monty Python one). President-Elect Obama: You're giving a dangerous psychotic a world-wide platform.
This is not the way to bring change.
No!
Oh, dear god, this cannot possibly be true. According to The Star, via PopCrunch, Anne Hathaway is considering getting breast implants.
The Star...well, that's a reliable source, right?
I'm sorry--even if there's a way-less-than 50% chance that this is correct, I must say something. Anne: You have the breasts of a goddess. Please don't go changing 'em.
The Star...well, that's a reliable source, right?
I'm sorry--even if there's a way-less-than 50% chance that this is correct, I must say something. Anne: You have the breasts of a goddess. Please don't go changing 'em.
I think it's time to start the countdown
How long before Pamela Anderson starts working at The Bunny Ranch?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Obama supported marriage equality before he was against it
Came across the darnedest thing on Pam's House Blend:
So what do you think? Is he just biding his time, or is he copping out?
1996 documents surface proving Obama publicly supported marriage equality
It's unequivocal support:
[And here Pam's quoting from an article by Tracy Baim][A]s Obama has run for higher office, from senator to president, he has further shaped his views on marriage, and now he does not back same-sex marriage. In a January 2004 interview I conducted with Obama at the Windy City Times' office, Obama clearly stated that lack of support for full marriage equality was a matter of strategy rather than principle, but in even more recent comments, it appears he is backing off even further, saying it is more of a religious issue, and also a "state" issue, so he favors civil unions.
Obama's answer to the 1996 Outlines question was very clear: "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages."
As long as full marriage equality isn't overwhelmingly approved by Americans, when it comes to running for federal office pols -- including Obama -- believe there's more to lose than gain if they take an honest position supporting full equality.
So what do you think? Is he just biding his time, or is he copping out?
A question.
Does anybody else think it's interesting that two men who starred in television series set on islands where, to say the least, unique things happened, died within a day of each other?
I refer of course to Patrick McGoohan and Ricardo Montalban.
I refer of course to Patrick McGoohan and Ricardo Montalban.
Tender, too.
Mike Huckabee says Katie Couric Was "Extraordinarily Gentle" With Sarah Palin.
Tender, too. Their bodies coming suddenly together, a scared little tounge darting out from between--
I'm sorry.
Tender, too. Their bodies coming suddenly together, a scared little tounge darting out from between--
I'm sorry.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
It suddenly seems all too fitting that George Bush was-famously-reading "My Pet Goat" on 9/11
Because it's become apparent that the right wing still believes in fairy tales.
That's right kids, you knew it was coming:
A new season of 24, and the wingers go all soft in the head. Per Media Matters:
That's right kids, you knew it was coming:
A new season of 24, and the wingers go all soft in the head. Per Media Matters:
Fox & Friends hosts Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson, as well as Glenn Beck, cite fictional congressional testimony by 24's "Jack Bauer" in defense of torture
It's irrelevant, guys.
Headline:
I'll believe this is going to happen when the AP stops putting 'abuses' in quotes. As though any but the most foolish don't agree that Bush has abused his power at this point.
Still, you gotta admire the courage of the Democrats, waiting until Bush has exactly seven days left in office to seek such a probe.
No. You don't.
...Charge him, try him, convict him, send him to jail for a decade. Doesn't matter. Doesn't mean one goddamn fuck of a thing. What we needed was for him to be driven from office before he could do more damage.
He wasn't. And he did. Now the Democrats just look like they're picking on the guy who was on his way out anyway. Let the man go, let Karma be his judge, and Get On With It.
Democrats seek criminal probe of Bush 'abuses'
I'll believe this is going to happen when the AP stops putting 'abuses' in quotes. As though any but the most foolish don't agree that Bush has abused his power at this point.
Still, you gotta admire the courage of the Democrats, waiting until Bush has exactly seven days left in office to seek such a probe.
No. You don't.
...Charge him, try him, convict him, send him to jail for a decade. Doesn't matter. Doesn't mean one goddamn fuck of a thing. What we needed was for him to be driven from office before he could do more damage.
He wasn't. And he did. Now the Democrats just look like they're picking on the guy who was on his way out anyway. Let the man go, let Karma be his judge, and Get On With It.
Horror news about a film franchise starting with "S," with a very courteous sicko (he always says "Hello") at the center
But not the one you're thinking of.
There's an outside chance that Scream 4, now in early development, might be worth watching.
Why? Because they've brought back Kevin Williamson.
Oh, and by the way...
Saw V will hit DVD on January 20th.
(You see? You see how I fake you out, and then double back?)
Dear Dick...
Via Think Progress:
Dear Dick...
Do the words "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" mean anything to you?
I thought not.
On Dec. 16, 2005, the New York Times published an article by James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, revealing that President Bush had secretly authorized the NSA to “eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States…without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying.” The blockbuster article, which exposed one of the Bush administration’s biggest secrets, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2006.
Discussing the wiretapping program on Bill Bennett’s radio show today, Vice President Cheney called the program “important,” adding that it “always aggravated” him that the Times was rewarded for its reporting...
Dear Dick...
Do the words "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" mean anything to you?
I thought not.
President Bush is a stupid dirty crooked liar who should've been impeached years ago
Yeah, I know: So what else is new? What's new is...now it's personal.
Now, thanks to the fact that besides all of the above he's also such a bad actor he can't recognize the time to GET THE FUCK OFF THE STAGE...
...I have to wait another week for the return of Bones.
Dirty guy.
Now, thanks to the fact that besides all of the above he's also such a bad actor he can't recognize the time to GET THE FUCK OFF THE STAGE...
...I have to wait another week for the return of Bones.
Dirty guy.
Damn.
You know, for someone who for much of his public life has been an arguably thug-ish, albeit entertaining, activist and troublemaker...sometimes Al Sharpton makes for a good poet.
Via Pam's House Blend:
Via Pam's House Blend:
"...We know you're not preaching the Bible, because if you were preaching the Bible we would have heard from you. We would have heard from you when people were starving in California--when they deregulated the economy and crashed Wall Street you had nothing to say. When [accused Ponzi scammer] Madoff made off with the money, you had nothing to say. When Bush took us to war chasing weapons of mass destruction that weren't there you had nothing to say.
"But all of a sudden, when Proposition 8 came out, you had so much to say..."
"There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people's bedrooms and claim that God sent you. It amazes me when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being [relegated] into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners."
I'd be shocked, but Chloe Sevigny has already swallowed cum on film, so...
Big Love's Chloe Sevigny picked up big bucks to celebrate New Year's Eve, the New York Post reports.
The 34-year-old Kids actress was among the many celebs to host New Year's Eve soirees this year. Chloe held court at the Gansevoort Hotel's celebration in Miami's South Beach.
For this task, Sevigny picked up $50,000.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Hmmm...
Some of us had a small problem with the choice of the bigoted Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at Obama's inauguration. Sometimes offered as counter to that was the fact that the benediction--my favorite kind of ediction--will be delivered by the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery. Lowery is an acclaimed and outspoken civil rights activist who worked with Dr. King.
But two other pastors will be appearing in the inaugural festivities.
Via The Washington Monthly:
Is it just me, or is Obama starting to look like a stronger liberal than we may have feared?
But two other pastors will be appearing in the inaugural festivities.
Via The Washington Monthly:
The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who became the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop in 2003 and last year entered into a civil union with his gay partner, will deliver the invocation for Sunday's kickoff inaugural event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, with President-elect Obama in attendance.President-elect Barack Obama has selected the Rev. Sharon E. Watkins to deliver the sermon at the national prayer service that is held the day after the inauguration.
Ms. Watkins, the first woman ever selected to lead the service, is the president and general minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a small, liberal-leaning Protestant denomination with 3,754 congregations and about 690,000 members in the United States and Canada.
For those unfamiliar with the Disciples of Christ, it's a pretty liberal denomination, closely associated with the United Church of Christ (Obama's denomination), and Watkins' record on hot-button social issues is strong.
Is it just me, or is Obama starting to look like a stronger liberal than we may have feared?
It's called acting.
Interesting article here about how kissing another man is sometimes--more often than it should be--seen as the bravest thing an actor can do.
Excerpts:
Excerpts:
Judging from their interviews over the years, actors who have filmed scenes in which they have pointed a revolver at someone's head and pulled the trigger still think gay kissing is the grossest thing they've ever had to do for a movie.
Women actors who've kissed other women in love scenes, meanwhile, sound like an enlightened other species in interviews about kissing. For them, it's no big whoop. The men, on the other hand, talk as if they've outdone themselves and are now ready to accept their golden statue.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
A word about Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf
...which DVD I borrowed from my nephew's mother yesterday. That word is "sucked."
Ok, a few more. First of all, to call what this movie features "animation." Um, no. Toy Story 2 has animation. The Incredibles has animation. Even Sleeping Beauty has animation, and it's far from my most fave Disney movie.
See, making cartoon drawings move, by itself, isn't animation any more than putting piles of meat on sticks and moving them around--Meat Puppets, to coin a phrase--would be acting. For real animation, you need (not to be too didactic)...soul. And Beowulf doesn't have a drop of it.
The voice performances don't help either then. With the possible exception of Anthony Hopkins, a stooge on the Abbott and Costello radio show could give better performances than these.
So it's not good as animation, then. What about simply as a visual experience? Sometimes--not always, but sometimes, artful visuals make up for a few cracks in the characterization and such (look at Tron or even The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers).
And again...no. Visually, Beowulf is a computer game, and computer games cannot be art. As I'm at least half-convinced James Cameron is going to find out this year, to his frustration.
Ok, a few more. First of all, to call what this movie features "animation." Um, no. Toy Story 2 has animation. The Incredibles has animation. Even Sleeping Beauty has animation, and it's far from my most fave Disney movie.
See, making cartoon drawings move, by itself, isn't animation any more than putting piles of meat on sticks and moving them around--Meat Puppets, to coin a phrase--would be acting. For real animation, you need (not to be too didactic)...soul. And Beowulf doesn't have a drop of it.
The voice performances don't help either then. With the possible exception of Anthony Hopkins, a stooge on the Abbott and Costello radio show could give better performances than these.
So it's not good as animation, then. What about simply as a visual experience? Sometimes--not always, but sometimes, artful visuals make up for a few cracks in the characterization and such (look at Tron or even The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers).
And again...no. Visually, Beowulf is a computer game, and computer games cannot be art. As I'm at least half-convinced James Cameron is going to find out this year, to his frustration.
Holy Frijoles!
That was much easier than I thought it was gonna be (getting the changed layout back, I mean).
Blogger is just made for the electronically inept, like myself.
Blogger is just made for the electronically inept, like myself.
national apathy about scandals?
Mark Evanier linked to Frank Rich's Times Op-Ed column yesterday, saying,
For what it's worth, I don't agree. I think a lot of us care very much about these and all the other misdeeds of the Bush administration; would like to see them investigated and dealt with.
It's just that we're so incredibly freaking overloaded right now. We need jobs. We need health insurance. We need the war to end.
The walls are closing in and most of us just want it to stop. We don't have the strength anymore to get to the people who set the wheels in motion. We did once. Then the '06 Congress did jack-shit, and wondered why their approval rating hovered around Bush's.
It's not that we don't care. It's that we've accepted the bitter, hard reality that nothing is going to be done. And most of us, I think, would rather concentrate on those few things in this life we think that we do have some power over.
Or maybe it's just me.
A lot of us apparently don't care if billions of our tax dollars just wound up in someone's pocket.
For what it's worth, I don't agree. I think a lot of us care very much about these and all the other misdeeds of the Bush administration; would like to see them investigated and dealt with.
It's just that we're so incredibly freaking overloaded right now. We need jobs. We need health insurance. We need the war to end.
The walls are closing in and most of us just want it to stop. We don't have the strength anymore to get to the people who set the wheels in motion. We did once. Then the '06 Congress did jack-shit, and wondered why their approval rating hovered around Bush's.
It's not that we don't care. It's that we've accepted the bitter, hard reality that nothing is going to be done. And most of us, I think, would rather concentrate on those few things in this life we think that we do have some power over.
Or maybe it's just me.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
my 'tronic ineptitude is showing
With any luck, the changed layout will be back sometime in the next 24 hours.
Who do I root for in a case like this: James Bond 007
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen vs. Terminator Salvation.
Ok, maybe, maybe the Transformers--but only because John Connor is Thomas Dekker, dammit.
(and by implication, not Christian Bale).
Ok, maybe, maybe the Transformers--but only because John Connor is Thomas Dekker, dammit.
(and by implication, not Christian Bale).
It's not nice to fool with mother nature
Remember ol' "Heckuva Job" Brownie?
Sure, that's right: He was that way-in-over-his-head guy who was the head of what Bush sniggeringly called his "emergency management" program, when Katrina happened.
As such, he is remembered as one of the symbols of the Bush administration's criminal incompetence alongside such jokers as the vile Don "Fight with the army we have" Rumsfeld.
Been wondering what Brownie's up to these days?
"We never think of the fact that something like this can happen."
Again: Michael D. Brown, former director of FEMA.
"We never think of the fact that something like this can happen."
Nice.
Sure, that's right: He was that way-in-over-his-head guy who was the head of what Bush sniggeringly called his "emergency management" program, when Katrina happened.
As such, he is remembered as one of the symbols of the Bush administration's criminal incompetence alongside such jokers as the vile Don "Fight with the army we have" Rumsfeld.
Been wondering what Brownie's up to these days?
Michael D. Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was among those forced to flee his home by the Olde Stage Road Fire.
"We never think of the fact that something like this can happen," Brown said. "One minute I'm sitting in my office and the next there is a deputy in my driveway telling me I have to leave.
"We never think of the fact that something like this can happen."
Again: Michael D. Brown, former director of FEMA.
"We never think of the fact that something like this can happen."
Nice.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
So you meet this guy...A regular galahad. A real house-trained barbarian! So you drop him, Like a bad habit, anything that comes along, You grab it!
ABC faking to the whimsical "15 Story Halo."
Although it mentions her, there are no pictures of Anne Hathaway in this post
Because I figure if you've been reading any of my blogs for even a day you know what she looks like.
As opposed to Holly Hunter and Kate Winslet, who are practically obscure around here.
Ahem. Now: As much as Saving Grace w/Holly Hunter has become one of my favorite television series, I can't help wishing Hunter had made (another) Oscar-hyped movie last year.
Because if she had, I might have been in for The Best Oscar Night Of My Life with nominations for Holly, Kate, and Anne.
As it is, at this point it'll be more surprising if Annie and Kate aren't nominated than if they are.
But, maybe god will "Grace" me and Holly will be a presenter.
Yes, I hate myself for that play on words too.
As opposed to Holly Hunter and Kate Winslet, who are practically obscure around here.
Ahem. Now: As much as Saving Grace w/Holly Hunter has become one of my favorite television series, I can't help wishing Hunter had made (another) Oscar-hyped movie last year.
Because if she had, I might have been in for The Best Oscar Night Of My Life with nominations for Holly, Kate, and Anne.
As it is, at this point it'll be more surprising if Annie and Kate aren't nominated than if they are.
But, maybe god will "Grace" me and Holly will be a presenter.
Yes, I hate myself for that play on words too.
Almost exactly.
Rep. Bobby Rush, the South Side congressman who has injected racially charged language into the {Burris] appointment, said on MSNBC that the sight of Burris holding a news conference in the rain after being refused admittance to the Senate floor Tuesday was akin to "the dogs being sicced on children in Birmingham, Ala."
You go, girl!
Anne Hathaway was asked how she thought our soon-to-be-President would do. She replied she was sure he would do great things...but only after she mentioned the horrendous Rick "God is hate" Warren mistake.
It's times like this I think I should be building a shrine to her in my basement.
(However, I still deny that rumor completely)
It's times like this I think I should be building a shrine to her in my basement.
(However, I still deny that rumor completely)
I just thought this was kinda cool
It's an illustration (by Rob Kelly) of X-Men, Goldeneye and Nip/Tuck star Famke Janssen that ran with this article. The article is nothing to write home about--I just liked the illustration.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
'He grew bogus; hence Dicky'
(It's an anagram I love, brought to mind by this via Think Progress:)
In December, President-elect Obama asked the White House if he and his family could move into Blair House — the White House’s guest house — a week early, so that his daughters Malia and Sasha could start school. The White House rebuffed them, saying the house was already booked for another guest. A White House source added that “Blair House was appalled” by the request.
After weeks of speculation, the mystery guest that trumps the President-elect and his family has finally been revealed. The White House offered the house to John Howard, the former Prime Minister of Australia who is set to receive a Medal of Freedom. Instead of arranging other accommodations for Howard’s one-night stay, the Bush administration told the Obama family to stay in a hotel for two weeks. (Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, who are also receiving the Medal of Freedom, opted to find other accommodations.)
Last night on MSNBC’s “Countdown,” Bloomberg journalist Margaret Carlson revealed that when the White House turned down Obama’s request in early December, it had not yet even invited Howard to stay at the Blair House:I reported…on December 11 and 12 that there were no foreign dignitaries booked into Blair House during that period of time. … I have the feeling they asked him [Howard] to come and stay so that there might be some plausible reason for not letting the Obamas stay there.
Dear President-Elect Obama
I don't mean to dis Jimmy Carter, he is an honored elder statesman.
But please, don't follow his advice.
I'm just sayin'.
But please, don't follow his advice.
I'm just sayin'.
Alan Moore notwithstanding, maybe this is going to be good
If it ever gets released, that is.
Watchmen Japanese Trailer.
Watchmen Japanese Trailer.
Oh sure, now you have a spine.
Harry Reid says that he isn't going to bend over and take it up the ass screaming "More! More! More! Harder!" for Obama, the way he did for Bush.
I'd say this was cheesy...but I like some things that many consider cheesy
Married...with Children, for instance. Queen's score for the Flash Gordon movie. The Flash Gordon movie itself. The Archie comics of my youth. Saw IV & V. Many great '80s hits (But if you call those cheesy around me, you better be prepared for a fight). The Back to the Future movies.
You get the idea. All (arguably) cheesy to greater and lesser degrees, but I like them all, to greater and lesser degrees. So, faced with the supposed lyrics to a song John Mayer wrote for Jennifer Aniston...
"Cheesy" doesn't quite cut it.
This just stinks.
You get the idea. All (arguably) cheesy to greater and lesser degrees, but I like them all, to greater and lesser degrees. So, faced with the supposed lyrics to a song John Mayer wrote for Jennifer Aniston...
You’ve brought luck to love/ I’ve been hit by a truck in love.”
"Cheesy" doesn't quite cut it.
This just stinks.
Dude.
Ok. We've already established how nerdishly anxious I am to see the upcoming Tron sequel, yes?
Well if you're like me, you might want to read this short talk with co-star Olivia Wilde. Quotes...
Well if you're like me, you might want to read this short talk with co-star Olivia Wilde. Quotes...
Wilde: Jeff Bridges is going to be in this one, too.
And Bruce Boxleitner?
Wilde: And, yes, Bruce Boxleitner. He's so fantastic, Bruce. He's been telling us all about the process of making the first one. And it's just great. Like, they were on an entirely black velvet set, wearing white bodysuits that they weren't allowed to sweat in, even though there was a bank of lights so powerful that they caused a brownout in Burbank. So they weren't allowed to sweat. They're running around in white suits on black velvet with these lights. And they were saying terms that for the time had no meaning for them. They didn't know what a "program" was. Bruce was saying they were ... pulling these things out of, like, sci-fi dictionaries. I mean, they had no idea. And actually, they were saying a lot of the technology now that is going into the new film and going into films of today, to them was like a dream at the time, was sort of complete fantasy while they were making Tron 1.
Will you be shooting against green screens?
Wilde: They're going to build a huge amount of the set. The director, Joe Kosinski, has made some unbelievable commercials. People can check out his Web site. He's just a really talented guy. And he's a really big fan of using as much sets as you can, because he's an architect as well, so he likes to build these worlds. And with something like Tron, I think it helps to create the environment as much as possible without too much green screen so that these characters can exist within this world, ... with the feel ... as real as possible.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Updates
...on a couple of stories I've been following.
And:
Two men and a teenager were charged Tuesday in the alleged gang rape of a lesbian in the San Francisco Bay area.
Humberto Hernandez Salvador, 31, and Josue Gonzalez, 21, were charged with kidnapping, carjacking and gang rape in the attack last month in Richmond.
They face a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty, prosecutors said.
Darrell Hodges, 16, was charged as an adult with similar offenses Monday. A 15-year-old boy whose name has not been released was also arrested last week on suspicion of participating in the attack.
And:
The nation's largest government-run utility ignored two small leaks that could have provided a warning years before a coal ash pond collapsed, flooding a neighborhood with a billion gallons of sludge, a former federal regulator contends.
Three homes were destroyed and 42 parcels of land damaged when one such pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Steam Plant collapsed Dec. 22.
Also on Tuesday, a coalition of environmental groups including the Sierra Club notified TVA it plans to sue the utility on behalf of 40 families, arguing TVA broke federal law by not fully disclosing the extent of spill contamination. A TVA spokesman said the utility would respond in court.
Ok, the Panetta thing
What Art Brodsky said.
Obama comes into office with a clear election mandate, and the last thing he needs is the public view of a bunch of squabbling Democrats (see: Burris, Roland) doing the GOP's work for it.
Once you're born, you're on your own
It seems that the "pro-lifers" are concerned that Barack Obama will not be forwarding their-- entirely humane--agenda.
Two things. First of all, here's 10 minutes of George Carlin (RIP) on the inconsistency of "pro-life."
And second, the GOP thinks--they actually think...they're going to back Obama into a corner by pushing the Terry Schiavo thing again.
Good luck with that.
Do they really not remember what a mess that turned into for them?
Two things. First of all, here's 10 minutes of George Carlin (RIP) on the inconsistency of "pro-life."
And second, the GOP thinks--they actually think...they're going to back Obama into a corner by pushing the Terry Schiavo thing again.
Good luck with that.
Do they really not remember what a mess that turned into for them?
Monday, January 05, 2009
Bill Cunningham is a sore loser
Cunningham, a b-list radio host, said this yesterday:
Found via Media Matters. Where one poster calling themselves "shadow8pro" wrote in a comment:
Suck it up, Bill. Obama won. Stop being such a sourpuss and accept it gracefully.
"poor people were not and are not poor because they lack money. They're poor because they lack values, ethics, and morals."
Found via Media Matters. Where one poster calling themselves "shadow8pro" wrote in a comment:
because obviously Paris Hilton is among the most moral Americans, and say, Mother Theresa (though obviously not an American) is among those lacking morals, values and ethics.
Suck it up, Bill. Obama won. Stop being such a sourpuss and accept it gracefully.
Then Again, Maybe I Won't
Funny--just the other night I was saying to my friend Jennifer on the phone that I thought I was pretty much done with "Scrubs." Over the years it's been very spotty, to me--sometimes I'll catch an episode that I think is really good, sometimes I wonder why anyone ever kept it on the air.
So I wasn't all that hard over its switch to ABC. After reading this Q & A with series creator Bill Lawrence, though, I'm not so sure. I like the way he describes the end of the series.
I may give it one more chance after all.
So I wasn't all that hard over its switch to ABC. After reading this Q & A with series creator Bill Lawrence, though, I'm not so sure. I like the way he describes the end of the series.
Exclusive: 'Scrubs' boss (sorta) spoils series finale!
I may give it one more chance after all.
What could you do with $235 k?
Take a second. Really think about it. Think about the health care visits that could pay for, the education.
Or hell, think about the new car that could buy you, or if you already have a good car, the work you could have done keeping it up. Got it? Fine.
Now think about this.
Via Think Progress:
You know...I was gonna toss this one away with a little "It's too easy...make up your own joke here" thing.
I was thinking, something about Kempthorne having misunderstood the meaning of Secretary of “the Interior,” ha ha, ha ha, ha.
Then I took a second look at the numbers.
$235 k on a bathroom in an office.
Are you kidding me?
Or hell, think about the new car that could buy you, or if you already have a good car, the work you could have done keeping it up. Got it? Fine.
Now think about this.
Via Think Progress:
The Washington Post’s Al Kamen reports today that outgoing Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne recently spent about $235,000 in taxpayer funds to renovate the bathroom in his fifth-floor office. The renovations included “installing a new shower, a refrigerator and a freezer and buying monogrammed towels.” An internal investigation by the department’s inspector general, however, found no wrongdoing on Kempthorne’s part “because the GSA had approved the project“:The General Services Administration approved and partially funded the project, an Interior Department official said. The GSA paid about half the cost to refurbish aging plumbing, which needed to be replaced within four years.
But department officials say much of the money was spent on lavish wood paneling and tile.
You know...I was gonna toss this one away with a little "It's too easy...make up your own joke here" thing.
I was thinking, something about Kempthorne having misunderstood the meaning of Secretary of “the Interior,” ha ha, ha ha, ha.
Then I took a second look at the numbers.
$235 k on a bathroom in an office.
Are you kidding me?
A question.
Am I the only person who wants to see Kate Winslet in a live show version of Grease 2?
Apparently, I am not.
Apparently, I am not.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
This is one of the Looney Tunes that just missed my list of the 10 Greatest
It's so funny that if you don't laugh, it's your failure, not the cartoon's.
GHWB, master of understatement.
Via The Washington Monthly..
Ex-President Bush...remember Nixon's "You won't have Nixon to kick around any more" press conference? That's where your clan should be taking it's lead from right now. Yes of course, Nixon eventually made a comeback--and look how well that worked out for him.
You've done all the damage you can do. Either volunteer to put the whole family into one of those charity booths where people can line up to hit you in the faces with balloons filled with white paint...
Or better still, just go. The fuck. Away.
George H. W. Bush, after conceding that he'd like to see Jeb run for the Senate, added, "I'd like to see him run, I'd like to see him be president someday." After Fox News' Chris Wallace expressed some surprise, the former president added, "I mean, right now it's probably a bad time. We've had enough Bushes in there."
Ex-President Bush...remember Nixon's "You won't have Nixon to kick around any more" press conference? That's where your clan should be taking it's lead from right now. Yes of course, Nixon eventually made a comeback--and look how well that worked out for him.
You've done all the damage you can do. Either volunteer to put the whole family into one of those charity booths where people can line up to hit you in the faces with balloons filled with white paint...
Or better still, just go. The fuck. Away.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
I mean, it's not like I didn't know that Steven Moffat knows what he's doing...
Especially vis-à-vis Doctor Who. He's won Hugo Awards for it and all. Still, I like this quote from Moffat, who's takng over as head writer and executive producer for 2010, about Matt Smith, who'll be playing the part of the 11th Doctor*:
ETA: Here's a "coming out" interview with Smith:
He looks a bit goth, but I can see this working (and of course, the way he is now is not necessarily the way he'll be as the Doctor).
On the other hand, something just sank in as I was watching it. This Doctor actor is younger than me.
I may have to stop watching the series.
*If it were up to me, 10th, as I'd really rather not count McGann...but it's not up to me, and I suppose that's OK.
"The Doctor is a very special part, and it takes a very special actor to play him. You need to be old and young at the same time, a boffin and an action hero, a cheeky schoolboy and the wise old man of the universe. As soon as Matt walked through the door and blew us away with a bold and brand new take on the Time Lord, we knew we had our man. 2010 is a long time away but rest assured the Eleventh Doctor is coming - and the universe has never been so safe."
ETA: Here's a "coming out" interview with Smith:
He looks a bit goth, but I can see this working (and of course, the way he is now is not necessarily the way he'll be as the Doctor).
On the other hand, something just sank in as I was watching it. This Doctor actor is younger than me.
I may have to stop watching the series.
*If it were up to me, 10th, as I'd really rather not count McGann...but it's not up to me, and I suppose that's OK.
Hmm...
We all know I think Summer Glau is as cute as cute can be, but I'm not so sure about this dress. You?
Eyes Wide Shut
Oh, she tells me tears are something to hide
And something to fear
And I try so hard to keep it inside
So no one can hear
(verse from Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry")
Friday, January 02, 2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
It's happened again
One of my reviews being cited as a source for a Wikipedia page, I mean. In this case it's the page on Don Henley's song "The Boys of Summer."
I dunno how much low-class midriff blouses and tacky pumps can do in a case like this, but I wish her the best of luck
Erin Brockovich is coming to Tennessee. Seriously, I hope she can help.
A take-me-to-the-movies meme for the new year
(Sort of as a balanceweight to the Watchmen post)
Real simple. Name six comic book, fantasy or "shocker" movies you're looking forward to (or at least mildly curious about) seeing in 2009, and say why.
Mine are (in no particular order):
Race to Witch Mountain. I think the odds are probably better than even that this movie is going to suck. There's an outside chance that it might not, though, and the original movies were so big when I was a kid, so how could I not be curious?
Wolfman. I have the feeling this may turn out to be a guilty pleasure. I thought director Joe Johnston brought some much-needed young blood to the Jurassic Park franchise with his III.
Coraline. Now this one, I have full-on high hopes for. It's based on a bestselling book by Neil Gaiman (which I haven't read); I saw the trailer for it before seeing Bolt with my nephew, and it looks good.
I'm also glad to see director Henry Selick getting some credit for Nightmare Before Christmas, sometimes called "Tim Burton's" Nightmare Before Christmas, despite Burton's neither writing the screenplay for nor directing it.
Up. One word: Pixar.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I follow the movies, not the books...not purely because the books don't have Emma Watson, but...
And G.I. Joe. Sort of like the Witch Mountain re-launch, wherein I can't help being curious because of how big the originals were in my childhood, in this case it's because I played with the toys.
With "honorable mentions" to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and of course...Saw VI.
I'm tagging Alan Coil to see if he's out there, anyone else who wants to play is welcome.
Real simple. Name six comic book, fantasy or "shocker" movies you're looking forward to (or at least mildly curious about) seeing in 2009, and say why.
Mine are (in no particular order):
Race to Witch Mountain. I think the odds are probably better than even that this movie is going to suck. There's an outside chance that it might not, though, and the original movies were so big when I was a kid, so how could I not be curious?
Wolfman. I have the feeling this may turn out to be a guilty pleasure. I thought director Joe Johnston brought some much-needed young blood to the Jurassic Park franchise with his III.
Coraline. Now this one, I have full-on high hopes for. It's based on a bestselling book by Neil Gaiman (which I haven't read); I saw the trailer for it before seeing Bolt with my nephew, and it looks good.
I'm also glad to see director Henry Selick getting some credit for Nightmare Before Christmas, sometimes called "Tim Burton's" Nightmare Before Christmas, despite Burton's neither writing the screenplay for nor directing it.
Up. One word: Pixar.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I follow the movies, not the books...not purely because the books don't have Emma Watson, but...And G.I. Joe. Sort of like the Witch Mountain re-launch, wherein I can't help being curious because of how big the originals were in my childhood, in this case it's because I played with the toys.
With "honorable mentions" to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and of course...Saw VI.I'm tagging Alan Coil to see if he's out there, anyone else who wants to play is welcome.
One of my favorite mystery writers has died
Donald E. Westlake, a prize-winning author and Oscar-nominated screenwriter, has died in Mexico, apparently of a heart attack, his wife said. He was 75.
Westlake, who won three Edgar awards for his novels and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1991 for the screenplay for "The Grifters," died Wednesday night as he prepared to go to dinner, his wife, Abigail Westlake, told The New York Times.
Westlake was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of American in 1993.
The 1999 Mel Gibson movie "Payback" was based on a Westlake novel, and he wrote the screenplay for the 1987 thriller "The Stepfather." The 1972 Robert Redford action comedy, "The Hot Rock," was based on one of Westlake's series of crime novels featuring one of his most popular characters, the small-time criminal John Dortmunder.
Born July 12, 1833, in New York, Westlake attended several colleges but did not graduate.
Hup! Hup! Heads up!
As you may have heard, the release of the "Watchmen" film, which was planned for March, has been delayed thanks to a lawsuit by Fox about the distribution rights.
There's a possibility--I dunno how good it is, but there's a possibility--it won't be released at all.
Some fans feel, not entirely without reason, that Fox is being rather "dickish" about it. For myself, though...I don't say I wouldn't go to see the film, especially if it gets good reviews (assuming it is ever released).
See, like many of you, I loved the original comic book. But I've always been (extremely) skeptical about filming it. And when I learned of comic book creator (with Dave Gibbons) Alan Moore's dark feelings on the subject...
Well...I'm not exactly displeased by its hitting this stumbling block. More amused. Anything that gets a bunch of comic book/fantasy fans to start acting as their civil rights will be violated if a movie isn't released...now that's funny.
There's a possibility--I dunno how good it is, but there's a possibility--it won't be released at all.
Some fans feel, not entirely without reason, that Fox is being rather "dickish" about it. For myself, though...I don't say I wouldn't go to see the film, especially if it gets good reviews (assuming it is ever released).
See, like many of you, I loved the original comic book. But I've always been (extremely) skeptical about filming it. And when I learned of comic book creator (with Dave Gibbons) Alan Moore's dark feelings on the subject...
Well...I'm not exactly displeased by its hitting this stumbling block. More amused. Anything that gets a bunch of comic book/fantasy fans to start acting as their civil rights will be violated if a movie isn't released...now that's funny.
Read this.
This is lengthy--and in two parts (fair warning) but it's rather wonderful. At Pam's House Blend, a diarist calling themselves "Stuffed Animal" has written an essay taking off from Dr. King's famous Letter From A Birmingham Jail.
They make a point-by-point comparison with the grievances, suffering and oppression of African Americans then, and lesbian, gays and bisexuals now.
Part One
Part Two
They make a point-by-point comparison with the grievances, suffering and oppression of African Americans then, and lesbian, gays and bisexuals now.
Part One
Part Two
I feel like a dumb joke (or two)...join me, won't you?
Ahem. From an Usmagazine.com post on Stars' 2009 New Year's Resolutions...
Lindsay Lohan might be able to help you with that, Eva.
Don't feel you have to do all that, Cameron.
(Read the post and if you think of any other dumb jokes, send 'em in)
EVA LONGORIA PARKER
"To give up meat."
Lindsay Lohan might be able to help you with that, Eva.
CAMERON DIAZ:
"I have always had the same New Year resolutions: to stop smoking, to start wearing a bra and to stop shopping."
Don't feel you have to do all that, Cameron.
(Read the post and if you think of any other dumb jokes, send 'em in)
Jesus Christ.
Well, here's a little bit of good news and bad for the new year.
The good news is, three arrests have been made in the case of the Northern California lesbian who was gang-raped. If this leads to convictions, I hope they're thrown underneath a jail for the next 20-25 years.
The bad news is, two of the arrestees are teenagers, 15 and 16 years old.
15 and 16 years old.
15 and 16 years old.
So young to do something that should be so unthinkable.
The good news is, three arrests have been made in the case of the Northern California lesbian who was gang-raped. If this leads to convictions, I hope they're thrown underneath a jail for the next 20-25 years.
The bad news is, two of the arrestees are teenagers, 15 and 16 years old.
15 and 16 years old.
One man and two teens have been arrested on suspicion of gang-raping a woman last month in the San Francisco Bay area while allegedly taunting her for being a lesbian, police said Thursday as they searched for a fourth suspect.
The 45-minute attack started when one of the men approached the woman in the street, struck her with a blunt object, ordered her to disrobe and sexually assaulted her with the help of the others, according to detectives.
When the group saw another person approaching, they forced the victim back into her car and took her to a burned-out apartment building. She was raped again inside and outside the vehicle and left naked outside the building while the alleged assailants took her wallet and drove off in her car, police said.
15 and 16 years old.
So young to do something that should be so unthinkable.
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