I defy you to find another blog post that mentions all four of these movies

Took the nephew to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid this afternoon (he's a fan of the book series on which it's based). He thought it was (his word) awesome, and I liked it too--likable is a good word for it, and funny.

And BTW, proving that all things come full circle to you-know-what, the actor who played the central character's older brother had a small but key role in...Saw VI.

Also saw a full preview for The Secret of Kells before our movie.
Watch The Secret Of Kells Trailer - Download the FULL Movie in Entertainment View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

After catching a glimpse of it on the Oscars (it was nominated for best animated feature), I had a pretty good idea that I wanted to see it; now, I'm absolutely sure.

It looks beautiful; a kind of animation they just don't do anymore-the kid didn't want to see that one, tho, so I guess I'm on my own. On the other hand, he wants to see How to Train Your Dragon, and I don't really much. I'm snobbish about dragons.

Cast your votes for who and what is the most evil, Round Two

This time my votes went to Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Blackwater and Joe Lieberman.

I know this is an edgy opinion, but...

Longtime readers: Remember about four years ago when a photograph of a woman breastfeeding a baby on the cover of a magazine got people all upset?
(Some were so uncomfortable they actually had to turn the magazine face-down rather than look at that).

Well, it's four years later now, and here we go again: Three out of the four US television networks have refused to allow a maker of tampons to mention the word vagina in an advertising campaign.

Wait, it gets sillier. After the agency was informed of this, they re-shot the ads with--they thought--the less daring "down there." And that was rejected. (What next, the Monty Python term "naughty bits?")

I don't know why vaginas should be so unacceptable. Personally, I've long thought they were a particularly good part of the female body (I mean, apart from the fact that they're all icky and everything).

Yes, I'm willing to go out on a limb to say that.

For that matter, I don't understand why more people don't just have...

Here's another question...

...who do I know in South Orange, New Jersey?

This is both fun and funny...

Think Progress has a little reminder of all the conservative folks who asserted that "Obamacare" was dead. Favorites:

– Fred Barnes, Fox News commentator, January 20: “The health care bill, ObamaCare, is dead

Well, maybe he left himself an out.

... with not the slightest prospect of resurrection.”

Nope.

– Robert A. Levy, chairman of the Cato Institute, January 26: “That’s why Obamacare is dead.”

Anybody remember when the Cato Institute was at least respectable? Yeah, me neither.

– Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Minority Whip [and Britney Spears fan], March 19: “[T]here’s no way they can pass this bill.”

– Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), Minority Leader, March 17: Health care reform will pass “over my dead body.”

I shall await Rep. Boehner's Hari kari ceremony with great interest.

And he's said to be a "media-savvy" Republican.

Well, if that doesn't say it all...

Republican Leader Actually Has to Tell Rank-and-File to “Behave Like Grownups”

This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen

And might I remind you, I lived through the Clinton/Lewinsky affair, John Kerry's run in 2004, and seasons six and seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

But on the level of "What, do you have a brain the size of a pea?"--this one takes the cake.

As you may have seen elsewhere, it is now believed that the Democrats will pass their health care bill.

In order to do so,

President Obama agreed to issue an order reaffirming a ban on using federal funds for abortion in the health care bill.

The thing is, as no one but no one inside the corridors of power have been willing to say...there's nothing in the bill about using federal funds for abortion. Nothing. Nada. Absolutely zip.

In fact, what there is already, is explicit language saying no federal funds shall be used for abortions.

So: In order to make this "victory," President Obama had to play pretend like a child, because poor lil' Bart Stupak stamped his foot and said he wouldn't come play ball unless they played it his way. Even though his way had absolutely nothing to do with the game being played.

(To extend that metaphor, it's like the president--and most of the country--were suited up to play basketball, when Bart Stupak ran onto the floor in a football uniform.

And instead of pointing and laughing, the president said "Ok, let's play basketball by football rules, to keep Stupak from feeling bad about himself.")

Un-be-liva-fucking-ble.

Not a review really quite so much as a warning...

If you ever want to see a group of skilled actors (Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, David Morse, Clea DuVall, Andre Braugher, and Dianne Wiest) working themselves to the bone to try to imbue a wisp of a story with real drama...

Permit me to recommend Passengers.

However, if for some reason you don't ever want to see that, stay away from the film.

Way, way way away.

PS: And the director Rodrigo Garcia wants to be slapped in the head with a board for making a movie in which Anne Hathaway is only pleasant-looking...

According to the Attorney General of Virginia...

You can be gay, just don't, y'know, do anything gay.

(Per Think Progress)

Progressives, on the other hand...

...even when they win, they lose.

Maybe it's time to move to Germany.

The republicans remain parodies of themselves

Here's a story about where the various cable networks rank in the ratings. But that's not really what I want you to pay attention to. I want you to take a minute and skim through some of the comments by republicans waxing witty and hysterical over the idea that Cartoon Network gets better ratings than MSNBC or CNN.

In at least one case, coming off exactly like some sort of Buffy the Vampire Slayer bigbad...

I hope Obama does force his health bill debacle through, so we can see the annihilation of democrats in November. It will be repealed, rest assured. The republicans are already in the planning stages.

You can just hear the evil laugh...

Cast your votes for who and what is the most evil...

For the record, I voted for Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Prop 8, Sarah Palin, Goldman Sachs, Blackwater, Joe Lieberman and Mitch McConnell. You can vote here.

Well this is a new thing...

Finally, a bright side

Ok, so you know I ain't thrilled with the prospect of "Tim Burton's" Alice In Wonderland. So you can imagine how pleased I was to see the world agree with me to the tune of $200 million.

However, I have just learned that the record it broke was The Passion of the Christ's.

Always look on the bright side of life...

Constance McMillen/Bigots? In Mississippi? Update

Constance McMillen was a guest on the Wanda Sykes show tonight.

First, an aside about Sykes: She really needs to get better at reading the cue cards without looking like she's reading the cue cards. I haven't seen readings that stiff since a mid-'80s Bob Hope special or Anthony Michael Hall on Saturday Night Live.

Now, to Ms. McMillen: She said she plans to remain in Mississippi for college, and then move...to Tennessee.

Ever get the feeling you're being tested?

As in many things, the answer was on South Park

First:

Baruch Marzel, on behalf of Israeli Nationalist group Lehava, sent Israeli model Bar Refaeli, and her mother, a letter urging her to ditch her non-Jewish boyfriend, Leonardo DiCaprio.

“It is not by chance that you were born Jewish. Your grandmother and her grandmother did not dream that one of their descendants would one day remove the family’s future generations from the Jewish people. Assimilation has forever been one of the enemies of the Jewish people . . .

Now:

Th' hell?

Just when you thought Glenn Beck couldn't possibly get any freakier...he starts hatin' on Bruce Springsteen.

I'm reminded of something Hawkeye and (I think) BJ said about Frank Burns in an episode of "Mash:” His wheels grind slowly, but exceedingly dumb.

Further on the subject of "not needing an original plot to make a movie..."

Last December, after An Education had made the festival rounds and hit limited theaters, we learned that [director Lone] Scherfig would be directing the romantic comedy One Day, and now ComingSoon discovers that Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are attached to this story,

Well. I know An Education was acclaimed, but it looked hateful to me. However, you know how I feel about Hathaway, and Jim Sturgess was good in Across the Universe--I don't think Taymor used him as well as she might've but he was good.

So let's see what this is about. It's

about Dexter and Emma, who meet for the first time during their graduation in 1988, and proceed to meet one day every year for the next 20 years

Wait a minute...

I call shenanigans. That's Same Time, Next Year.

You go 'head and tell it on the MOUNTAINTOP, brother Ebert!

(From his review of The Yellow Handkerchief, which I already had an idea I wanted to see.)

You don't need an original story for a movie. You need original characters and living dialogue.

No impeachment, no indictments, no public option...

Gosh, I'm glad to be a Democrat.

If I didn't know better, I'd say Democrats were learning their lesson.

But I think we all know that can't be it...

Bigots? In Mississippi?

Ok. Remember when I wrote here last November about the crazy high school principal in Alabama who tried canceling an entire prom rather than let two lesbian students attend together?

It's spreading.

Dateline: Jackson, "We'd Like To Be Known As Even Crazier Than Alabama" Mississippi:

A northern Mississippi school district decided Wednesday not to host a high school prom after a lesbian student demanded she be able to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi had given the district until Wednesday to change that policy and allow 18-year-old Constance McMillen to escort her girlfriend, who is also a student, to the dance on April 2.

Instead, the school board met and issued a statement announcing it wouldn't host the event at Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton, "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."

Oh, I disagree. This is very educational.

The statement didn't mention McMillen or the ACLU.

Of course it didn't mention McMillen. Naming someone makes it that much harder not to treat them as a person.

Finally, notice something about the AP piece:

Anna Watson, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, was looking forward to the prom, especially since the town's only hotspot is the bowling alley, she said.

"I am a little bummed out about it. I guess it's a decision that had to be made. Either way someone was going to get disappointed — either Constance was or we were," Watson said. "I don't agree with homosexuality, but I can't change what another person thinks or does."

Other students are on McMillen's side.

McKenzie Chaney, 16, said she wasn't planning to attend the prom, but "it's kind of ridiculous that they can't let her wear the tuxedo and it all be over with."

The way I read it, both those quotes are on McMillen's side.

Watson said. "I don't agree with homosexuality, but I can't change what another person thinks or does."

Emphasis mine.

she thinks that it makes her feel right...

Dear Dennis Kucinich...

1. You're never going to be president.

2. You should be ashamed of yourself.

I'm so happy...

Prepare yourself for a shock

Sean Hayes, of Will & Grace fame, is gay.

I dunno if it's art, but it's kind of awesome.

Of course, it may also give you nightmares...

Now that's a bitchin' looking dragon

A question...

What fool decided that what the Oscars needed was more congratulatory, fawning bullshit?

Damnit, I miss Larry Gelbart.

That is all.

Once again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's not right

This year's "Razzie" worst in film awards have been announced. I haven't seen most of the winners, like "Transformers" and Sandra Bullock in "All About Steve." But to mark an anniversary of the coveted awards, worsts of the decade were also selected, including:

Paris Hilton was chosen as the decade's worst actress for movies such as "The Hottie and the Nottie" and "Repo: The Genetic Opera."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Hilton was not crap in Repo. Granted that it was a role she could easily knock out of the park, but still.

And BTW, that's "Repo: The Genetic Opera," not, I repeat, not "Repo Men," although that's apparently...quite similar. But I'm sure that's just a coincidence.

Ironically enough, he comes off like Moses on the mountaintop here

BTW, what sparked me to post Carlin this time was the latest attempt by Catholics to assert their right to do whatever they want.

Ahem...Saving Grace goes into its last episodes end of this month.

This is a warning. Longtime readers may remember my periodic mini-rants on Saving Grace, being as it's one of my favorite shows; not least because it stars the best, most luscious, beautiful and thrilling actress in America...



...so the rants will soon be returning.

I always feel a little guilty...

...linking to pap photos that involve children. It's why I rarely do it. But pictures of Jennifer Garner and/or Ben Affleck with their kids make me want to make an exception.



First, because in every such picture that I can remember seeing, the parents seem to be really, actively involved with the kids. You can't say that about all movie star parents, some of whom seem to view their children, from "baby bump" on, as just another way of getting attention from the media.

And second, because the kids are just adorable.

Who could've possibly seen that coming?

The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus on "Tim Burton's" Alice in Wonderland is in...

Sacrifices the book's minimal narrative coherence -- and much of its heart...A film of remarkable visual invention that lacks strong plotting or a sense of wonder.

You don't fucking say.

In other words, a Tim Burton movie.

(Think about that for a second...less narrative coherence than the book...)

(Sorry...I'm just feeling bitter because this movie is going to be huge at the box office, while The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus slipped through the cracks...makes me want to take cyanide.)

Cooooooooooooooooooooooooool

Thank god the Conservatives kept us safe

Per Think Progress:

A new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center has unearthed shocking data about the rise of militias, antigovernment groups, and other right-wing extremist groups. The report, titled “Rage on the Right,” has found that there has been an increase of 244 percent in the number of these extremist groups in 2009.

Early last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned about the rise of “rightwing extremism in the United States,” sparking an uproar among many on the right who derided DHS’s warning as merely “paranoid accusations of liberal bloggers.”

Good cerebral comedy, that's what I like

Mr Frampton, will you take your trousers down?

You know something? John McCain is the best friend President Obama's got

Because, Obama voters (like me) sometimes feel disappointed in him. We wish he'd just Do the Right Thing; do the things he said he would, and basically be the liberal champion that racist conservatives say he is. We worry that he's strangled his administration with "Washington insiders."

However. Most of the time when we feel this way, we can always depend upon John McCain to come along and remind us that while the Obama administration may sometimes be disappointing, a McCain administration would've been catastrophic.

Case in point (per Think Progress):

McCain To Propose Amendment Prohibiting Changes To Medicare Using Reconciliation

But!

Republicans have consistently supported far larger cuts to the Medicare program than what Democrats are currently proposing and are always complaining that the Medicare “entitlement” program will bankrupt the nation.

Larger than usual excerpts, from my man...

E.J. Dionne Jr...

...The proposal helps estates worth more than $7 million in the case of couples. I guess struggling millionaires deserve the same empathy we feel for those without a job.

And notice this: Especially in the Senate, what passes for "bipartisanship" too often involves a Democrat such as Lincoln allying with a Republican on behalf of the wealthiest interests in the country. And we're supposed to cheer this?

Addressing Obama, [Senator] Barrasso suggested that we might be better off if people were insured only for catastrophic care. "Mr. President, when you say [people] with catastrophic plans, they don't go for care until later, I say sometimes the people with catastrophic plans are the people that are [the] best consumers of health care in . . . the way they use their health-care dollars."

"A lot of people" with insurance, he added, "come in and say, 'My knee hurts, maybe I should get an MRI,' they say. And then they say, 'Will my insurance cover it?' That's the first question. And if I say 'yes,' then they say, 'okay, let's do it.' If I say 'no,' then they say, 'Well, what will it . . . cost?' And 'What's it [going to] cost?' ought to be the first question. And that's why sometimes people with . . . catastrophic health plans ask the best questions, shop around, are the best consumers of health care."

Obama played the old TV character Columbo, who thrived on posing seemingly naive questions: "I just am curious. Would you be satisfied if every member of Congress just had catastrophic care? Do you think we'd be better health-care purchasers?"

Barrasso answered in the affirmative, though he didn't propose that senators dump their present coverage. Obama came right back: "Would you feel the same way if you were making $40,000?"

Democrats on the whole believe in using government to correct the inequities and inefficiencies the market creates, while Republicans on the whole think market outcomes are almost always better than anything government can produce.

That's not cheap partisanship. It's a fundamental divide.

Random things

Random things
Originally uploaded by cneisner

Tennessee is trying to draw my fire

Think Progress » Sen. Alexander: Using Reconciliation To Pass Health Care Reform Would ‘End The Senate’

confidence coincidence call it a sin

Just 'cos I like it.

I totally want to see this movie

Question of the Day

Who do I know in Changewater, New Jersey?

Following up on that Men@Work "copied" Down Under story...

They're fighting the ruling. And good on 'em, I say.

Surely you knew this was coming

Have you been watching Rachel Maddow and/or Keith Olbermann recently? If so, you'll know that one thing both of them, but she especially, has been doing lately is calling out Republicans for this hypocrisy:

Claiming to be against the stimulus whilst, and at the same time, practically begging for money from the stimulus.

Now, it might have occurred to you, if you've been paying attention around here, that ever since it became clear how popular this hypocrisy was amongst the GOP...

more than 110 GOP members of Congress who voted against the economic Recovery Act last year, but later touted the funds or asked for more money

...I have been waiting. Waiting for what? For this:

Like His Friends In Congress, GOP House Candidate In Tennessee Also Guilty Of Stimulus Hypocrisy

Like a Swiss watch...

(Per Think Progress)

Final, absolute, clinching proof that they are more than a decade behind the times

GOP Spoofs Health Care Summit With 'Blair Witch' Movie Trailer

So you want to see "I Am the Walrus" covered...

With ukulele, by a little boy.

Well this is your lucky day!

Am I the only person who's starting to think

...that the health care summit will be a lot more enjoyable if there's an open bar?

C'mon, think about it.

This is cookin!

Spiderman - Michael Buble Jazz
Uploaded by magik-man2. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

As most of you know...

1. I love Anne Hathaway.

2. Nevertheless, on account my loathing Tim Burton with the heat of 1,000 suns, I have no intention of seeing her in "his" Alice in Wonderland.

This interview with the traffic-stopper actress and her costar Helena Bonham Carter, however, is instructive on at least a couple of fronts. First, dig the way they both suffer the fool of an interviewer gladly, or at least, with professional smiles (and polite feigned laughter).



And second, the psychological gobbledygook they ascribe to the film makes me, if anything, less likely to see it.

I agree with absolutely everything in this post (updated with addition)

UWA: Mark Evanier liked it too.

It's about Craig Ferguson's show last night (this morning, really).

Facebook are some kind of junkie dealers or sumthin'

This morning, I tried logging in to my Facebook, to get this message:

Account Unavailable: Your account is temporarily unavailable due to site maintenance. It should be available again within a few hours. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I got a similar (but not duplicate) message for a while last night, but that was fixed in, as best I recall, less than an hour. Searching around for info I find that some people have been stuck in this maddening situation for months.

At least I still have my blogs...

ETA: Deleting my entire browsing history and restarting the computer seems to have done the trick.

Jon Stewart last night

This made me laugh harder than I have in years.

Ricky Gervais

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

A Love Bizarre

You know...it's not like, to be honest, I ever thought Jennifer Love Hewitt had much more to offer than the body curvy with the breasts and all. She may be passable as a dramatic actress (please note my use of the word "may"), but she damn sure can't play comedy.

However, I'd be a hypocrite if I said there was necessarily anything really wrong with that. True, I prefer a woman who has a little more talent (your Alyson Hannigans) to those that don't (your Jessica Albas).

But oh, gee, a woman made it in Hollywood more because of her body than her talent. I'll alert the media.

Now, however, she's starting to worry me with her bizarre behavior. This weekend, it seems, was her birthday, and she had what was billed as an "'80s" theme party.

Go ahead, follow that link. She thinks that's '80s?

As usual, I have a slightly different "take."

As you may have heard, a couple of ice dancers in the olympics are being accused of showing disrespect for Aborigines in their routine. I have nothing to say about this issue one way or the other.

However, I would like to point out something I noticed in the picture. Look closely at the man.



I think now we know what Conan O'Brien is doing with his time off...

Appreciation of the '80s

I'd act like this was crazy, but the truth is...

...I've known goth was dead (no play on words intended) since Betty & Veronica went that way.



And now Disney's getting into the goth biz.

Oh What a Circus

A conservative blogger saw 'socialist' books in the White House library. He photographed them, and crowed that he finally had evidence of Michelle Obama's leanings.

You kinda see it coming, don't you?

Turns out, the books have been in the library since Jackie Kennedy put them there. Which means through Nixon, Ford, Reagan and both Bushes.

Lousy commies.

Pride.

As of this morning, this blog is ranked #2 if you do a Google search for "rational substance in relationship."

I can't figure this guy out at all...

You know...there are few things I like in life more than a truly perfect fool.

Let me explain what I mean.

It is not enough, simply to be a gay-hating moron...



...you have to be a gay-hating moron who comes off like some bad SNL character from the past 25 years (in other words, an SNL character from the past 25 years).

You have to say things like (quotes via the War Room at Salon)

Human nature is a rational substance in relationship to the intelligible end of the reproductive act of reproduction.

OK. I'm pretty good with the words things (that example notwithstanding), but I've looked at his sentence forwards, backwards and sideways.

I can't even understand what he's trying to say for more than a third of it. And the part I do understand, he's wrong about:

Human nature is a rational substance...

Really. Humans including Tiger Woods and Lindsay Lohan? Including that sad fuck in Texas who couldn't just kill himself, no, he had to kill someone else along the way and injure a dozen others? Humans like Pamela Anderson and Sarah Palin?

Human nature is rational. Like hell.

(I don't even want to get into "the reproductive act of reproduction.")

And oh yes, there's more. After the GOP crowd, to their credit, start booing him:

"The lesbians at Smith College protest better than you do!"

He says it twice, even though it wasn't funny the first time. But again: I can't even figure out who this is meant to insult!

The said lesbians? But he's comparing them, favorably, to people in his own party.

Is he taking a shot at people booing him? Maybe...but in an really odd, praising-with-faint-damns kind of way.

(BTW, should any lesbians at Smith College happen to stumble across this entry, his turn of phrase was born to be on bumper stickers and T-shirts.)

This is what I mean when I speak of a perfect fool.

ETA: Just noticed that the prick is from my beloved home state of California, too, which is just the cherry on the cake...

Right.

Updating that story about the loon who called for my Senator to be hanged...the woman (!) who said that now says the remark was perfectly okay, because

"Nobody had a rope to hang Patty Murray,"

Oh, well all right then. I mean, I'd like to see Sarah Palin bled to death, so it'd be okay if I called for it a public rally, as long as nobody there has a knife that could do the job. Good to know.

That, BTW, was the woman's second or third attempt to get away from her own words. First

she denied to The Associated Press that she was the speaker, [then] said Thursday night that the rest of the statement was that she wanted to "hang Patty Murray, by vote."

Because that's an ordinary expression, something you hear every day.

Just as a side note: In the comments on that story, there's a fellow who tries to convince either the other readers or himself (I'm not really sure which)

that the majority of these tea party people are independents who are pissed off at both republicans and democrats. These are the SAME people who gave Obama his victory because independents crossed over and voted AGAINST Bushes term.

No, they're not. They just describe themselves that way for a smokescreen.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday also indicates that Tea Party activists would vote overwhelmingly Republican in a two-party race for Congress.

This begs the question: What if it was a three-party race?

The answer is: That would ensure the election of the Democratic candidate. :-)

The Democratic candidate gets 45 percent in both scenarios, but the GOP candidate's share of the vote drops from 47 percent in a two-way contest to just 33 percent with a Tea Party candidate on the ballot.

Okay, you got yer choice here.

You can read about how a pro-lifer equated rape to car theft.

Or you can watch nine minutes of a face on the comedian's Mount Rushmore.



I know which I'd do, but hey, freedom of choice...

Patty Murray is my Senator, damnit.

So I don't like it when a bunch of loons call for her to be hanged. I do, however, like this:

"How many of you have watched the movie Lonesome Dove?," asked an unidentified female speaker from the podium. "What happened to Jake when he ran with the wrong crowd? What happened to Jake when he ran with the wrong crowd. He got hung. And that's what I want to do with Patty Murray."

How many of you are surprised that she didn't know it was a book, too?

Barack Obama is a big scaredy-cat chicken

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs tells TIME that the President would be interested in appearing on "The Daily Show," but not on its Comedy Central counterpart "Colbert Report."

"I think the President would love to," Gibbs said when asked if President Obama would appear on "The Daily Show." "Just maybe not Colbert," he said.

Gibbs explained his reasoning for avoiding Colbert: "I have yet to see a politician best Stephen Colbert in an interview on his show. I mean, he's really, really good."

I can't think of a cute caption for this, just take my word for it and watch

Having openly naked hatred for the state of Tennessee carries with it certain responsibilities

One of these is that when its residents show signs of actually being peaceloving, caring and kind, you must also acknowledge this.

Per Think Progress:

Since the hate crime at Al-Farooq, however, there has been “outpouring of neighborly support” for the mosque, with neighbors helping to clean up the graffiti. “It made me sick to my stomach, because I don’t expect this in Nashville,” said resident John Tighe. At least 150 people — “including spiritual leaders from several faiths” — also went to an open house at the Islamic Center of Nashville on Saturday to learn more about the Islamic faith and pledge “support for local Muslims in the wake of last week’s defacement” of Al-Farooq.

Let it never be said that this blog was unfair.

Recommended reading:

On Rachel Maddow's reportage of "Don't Ask Don't Tell."

Her executive producer, Bill Wolff, says Maddow gets just as exercised about wasteful weapons systems. "I don't think it's personal so much because she is gay and it's an issue of gay rights, but because it's an issue of military efficiency," he says.

If Maddow has an affinity for military issues, it may be because she is the daughter of an Air Force captain. She is writing a book on the military and politics. The key to her approach has not been standing on her soapbox, which would be predictable, but humanizing the issue by featuring men who want to serve their country -- and happen to be gay.

"I prefer having dissenting voices speak to Rachel on an issue," Wolff says. "We have a difficult time sometimes booking folks who don't agree with Rachel."

I'll bet.

Maddow accepts the fact that some critics believe she must be biased on the subject. But she offers a simple response:

"I can't do the show as a non-gay person. I don't have that option."

Arghhh!

Hollywood's latest remake of a film that doesn't need to be remade...

Arthur.

Yes, Arthur. The well-nigh untouchable award-winner from 1981.

And who are they getting to fill the shoes of Dudley Moore in his best role?

Russell Brand.

Russell fucking Brand.

Fuck.

The script of the original shines and sparkles, it's a classic. Based on this early review of the script of the remake...it's just sick.

How you know when you've made a really dumb mistake

Classic mix-up: NBC confuses Terry Fox and Michael J. Fox
By Trey Kerby

Terry Fox is a Canadian legend whose cross-Canada run, the Marathon of Hope, inspired Canadians while raising money for cancer research. Michael J. Fox is a Canadian actor who starred in the legendary "Back to the Future" trilogy and has become an advocate for Parkinson's disease research. They're pretty easy to confuse for each other. Right, NBC?



It's understandable to misspeak the name during a live setting, so we can give Meredith Vieira a pass. But the graphics are a little harder to explain, especially considering the broadcast actually showed Terry Fox before switching to the "Family Ties" star.

I'm guessing NBC would love to take a DeLorean back to last night to get this right. Zing!

You know how I know this was a really dumb mistake? Because, I don't care about, nor do I follow sports. In my own country, let alone the Canadlians. Many if not most of you know that.

But even I know who Terry Fox was.

For those of you playing at home...

Entertainment Weekly's done an article listing 24 romantic comedy cliches.

This is stupid of me, but it actually warms my heart to see that I didn't use any of them while I was writing My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. I may have come close a few times, and there's one near miss, but nah: None of em.

This is creepier than The House of the Devil

And that's pretty darn creepy.

(Blame Viper)

Things that make you realize just how old you are

I don't recognize half the artists--at least--on the "We Are The World" remake. Which (to me) is pretty low in the goosebump factor.



Still, I hope it makes a lot of money.

I think I see just one little flaw in that approach

Looks like President Obama is counting on Americans to act like adults after the health care "summit."

Nascar.
"Reality" shows.
"It's snowing here, so therefore there is no global warming!"
John freaking-Edwards.

Adults.

Yeah, good luck with that, Mr. President.

If it's a holiday, it must be time for Amy

I still don't understand how I ended up on Amy Ephron's "One For The Table" mailing list. But in her Valentine's Day "issue" there's a story about "My Best Date" by a woman named Anna Harari (I think she's a restaurant critic).

It's actually pretty great.

Actually I find it kind of exciting, as words go

Finally, something on which I completely disagree with Rachel Maddow. For the most part, I love her wonderful sanity and the way she slams people who deserve to be slammed.

But tonight, she devoted the first segment of her show to presenting a case, somewhat in fun but with a serious undercurrent: That the reason this country can't get a grip on the changes that need to be made to the filibuster form of obstruction is because the word "filibuster" is

"the most boring word in the English language."

I respectfully disagree. Not about the need to reform the obstruction, I've been convinced that abuses have made that imperative. But about the word. And it's not just because it reminds me of a great West Wing episode, "The Stackhouse Filibuster."

Break down the word: Filibuster.

Filly-Buster.

Filly: A young (under the age of four) female horse.

Informal usage: "A lively, high-spirited girl or young woman."

Buster: "Originally a nickname ...from the word bust."

Secondary: A good name for a pet dog, or a cartoon rabbit, or a 1920s comedian, or a happy nightclub singer, or a comic strip character, or a make of footwear.

These are all things that I like, most most especially the lively; high-spirited young women and the word "bust."

Maybe "filibuster" excites me as a word because it connotates all that.

This is the kind of thing that makes me wish we could return to feeding Christians to the lions

Tennessee Mosque Vandalized After Local TV Station Airs Irresponsible Report On ‘Homegrown Jihad’

That's the way to upset the teabaggers...

Put it in the comics, where you know they'll read it.

Clearly, I'm going to need some popcorn

The White House has just released its letter inviting Congressional leaders to the health care summit on February 25th, sharing some detail about who will attend and how the summit will work.

The session will begin at 10:00 a.m. and be broadcast live in its entirety…

The President will offer opening remarks at the beginning of the meeting, followed by remarks from a Republican leader chosen by the Republican leadership and a Democratic leader chosen by the Democratic leadership. The President will then open and moderate iscussion on four critical topics: insurance reforms, cost containment, expanding coverage, and the impact health reform legislation will have on deficit reduction.

Since this meeting will be most productive if information is widely available before the meeting, we will post online the text of a proposed health insurance reform package. This legislation would put a stop to insurance company abuses, extend coverage to millions of Americans, get control of skyrocketing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reduce the deficit.

It is the President’s hope that the Republican congressional leadership will also put forward their own comprehensive bill to achieve those goals and make it available online as well.

And about the Republicans "It's a trap!" meme...

Well a man can dream, can't he?

I leave it to you to decide just how large...

...a grain of salt you want to take this with, bearing in mind that it comes directly from The Democratic Party...but I think it's worth reading. It's a record of President Obama's accomplishments thus far.

'scuse me...someone needs to say this

Attn, East Coast pundits...

IT'S JUST SNOW, YOU PUSSIES! STOP ACTING LIKE YOU'RE IN KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA!

Thank you.

Blackpool TARDIS

Blackpool TARDIS
Originally uploaded by willhowells

The way the inside is supposed to look, damnit.

He noticed.

Obama ... Charges GOP Wants To Kill All His Initiatives

No, Mr. Knoller, that's what we want.

Obama Says Bipartisanship, But What He Wants Is GOP Surrender
by Mark Knoller

Sometimes I think it would be great to have this Democratic warrior that people like Knoller keep warning us against. Where is that guy?

This isn't me, though, 'cos, see, I never...

...look at astrology sites, so...

And people wonder why I turn to the Saw movies for relaxation and something my brain can enjoy

When this is reality, can you blame me?

Palin Considering 2012 Run, Defends Limbaugh's Use Of 'Retard'

All of a sudden, watching a movie where somebody might have to gouge their own eyes out doesn't seem so crazy, now does it?

Things You Don't Need To Know

From William Knoedelseder's book on stand-up comics:

Alison Arngrim had a secret crush on Jay Leno and thought he had a really cute butt.

Things you don't need to know.

If you're anything like me, you've been wondering about this:

Where can I find video of a young woman rocking a ukulele to "Don't Let's Start" by They Might Be Giants?

Wonder no further.

Jay Leno is the Host of the Tonight Show. Jay Leno Has Always Been The Host of the Tonight Show.

NBC has removed virtually all traces of The Tonight Show w/Conan OBrien from their websites.

Obviously this isn't revisionism on as disturbing a scale as, say, attempts by republicans to act as though George W.'s presidency never existed (though lord knows, I understand the temptation).

But still: Way to stay classy, NBC.

FWIW, I'm on Colin Hay's side in this

A judge has decided that the flute riff in Men At Work's "Down Under" was plagiarised from the old song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree."

Men at Work's Colin Hay has issued an angry statement calling the Down Under plagiarism case "opportunistic greed".

To my mind (and ear), he's right. Musical riffs "quote" others all the time, and usually it's just a way, some wittier than others, to give an attentive listener a little treat. This is not the same thing as plagiarism.

"When I co-wrote Down Under back in 1978, I appropriated nothing from anyone else's song.

"There was no Men At Work, there was no flute, yet the song existed. That's the truth of it, because I was there, Norm Lurie was not, and neither was Justice Jacobson," wrote an emotional Hay.

Okay, this is not so funny anymore

You know how I like to occasionally riff on the odd search terms that lead people to this blog? Taking note of how high it is in the Google ranking and such?

Well, I just learned that we're number five for the search (and I'm going to alter this to discourage further searches, but you'll get the idea):

b0yhunt3r ch1ld v3ry y0ung b0y k1d g@y f0t0

The reason for this is that they're combining material from several of my posts, one about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, one of my "name that horror movie" posts, an entry on Ted Nugent and my review of the premiere of Greek.

Still...delightful, isn't it?

That's a real good way to lose my vote, folks

I've been getting robo-calls lately in which local teachers urge me to support a couple of "levies" coming up in an election here that they say will keep funding for schools. OK, so maybe it will.

But I just heard on my voicemail from yesterday one of those robocalls recorded by a fucking child. I don't care whether I agree with the cause or not, that's exploitation. What's more, it reeks of desperation. To say nothing of manipulation.

This has more twists than...well, a Saw movie.

Okay, follow along with me now.

1. Writer/director James Wan and writer/actor Leigh Whannell create Saw, released in 2004.

2. Saw makes millions of dollars, becomes the most profitable horror franchise of all time.

3. In 2009, the sixth film in the series gets the best reviews since the original.

4. But gets beaten up and has its lunch money stolen by an upstart called Paranormal Activity.

5. Saw VI director Kevin Greutert is hired to direct Paranormal Activity 2.

6. But the distributors and producers of the Saw films activate a clause in his contact, obligating him to direct VII instead.

7. The team that made Paranormal Activity signs a deal "to finance and produce low-budget genre pics."

8. Their first to be written and directed by...Leigh Whannell and James Wan.

Been following the James O’Keefe thing?

If so, I bet I know what you've been saying. I bet you've been saying, if only he were a racist, too...

Well, guess what.

He's a racist, too.

H/T Blue Gal.

PS: You can well imagine my pleasure at learning there is also a connecton to utterly creepy conservative John Derbyshire, with whom you shouldn't trust your pubescent daughter.

Things you should know about the modern GOP

Republican National Committee official says more GOP outreach to women is necessary because “women sometimes need a little more hand-holding.”

Conan O'Brien, the clown with heart

Conan Paying Crew Severance Out Of Pocket: TMZ

...the NBC deal didn't go far enough and now Conan is paying for staff severance out of his own pocket.

TMZ reports that Conan's "Tonight Show" stagehands were not covered in his exit package, so he has promised to pay the nearly 50-person crew "at least six weeks severance out of his own pocket."

The crew union is "very happy" with Conan's handling of the situation, TMZ reports.

Joe Lieberman: Proof positive that all Jews are not funny

From his speech last night at the Alfalfa Club:

As you may recall, I was Al Gore’s running mate in 2000. A lot of pundits said he picked me because I was willing to criticize Bill Clinton.

But by those standards, he should have picked Hillary!

There was some controversy from my Senate Democratic colleagues that at the same time I was running as vice president with Al, I was also running for reelection to the Senate.

When John Edwards heard about it, he said to me, “Isn’t that like two-timing?”

I’m going to reach out to people who disagree with me. The only nomination I know for certain is Keith Olberman, whom I plan to make Secretary of Interior . . . in hopes he’ll get lost in a national park.

On foreign affairs, I understand what Guantanamo has come to mean in world opinion. But we can fix that, without closing Guantanamo.

All we have to do is change its name. How about calling it the Richard B. Cheney Resort and Rehabilitation Spa?

I bet the water sports will be really great.

I could speculate here upon what he thinks "water sports" actually means...but no, can't talk, too busy w/sides splitting...

This has gotta be a metaphor.

For what, I don't know.

Absolute Beginners