The Across The Universe movie is less than the sum of its parts...

...but this is a good one.



(And in case you didn't know, that's Joe Cocker singing most of it)

Eurofag as genre.

Get it? Gay it? Good.

There are certain immutable rules of life. One of them is that once something societal reaches the pages of an Archie comic, it can no longer be considered "cutting edge," or in fact, "edgy" at all.

I refer you to the precedents of Betty and Veronica go Goth or, going back a little further...

Now Archie has put a gay character into their comics. This is unquestionable proof positive that being gay is not only acceptable in mainstream America, but it's actually a bit passé.

Riverdale High School, the stomping grounds of comic books' favorite teen and his friends, is opening its doors to an openly gay student - a first in the 69-year history of the character.

Sigh...in the what-year history of the character?

You keep loading those fish into the barrel while I go get my gun, ok?



"Nothing against her." Yeah, that's one way of putting it.

(Get it? That was a double!)

Because seen through these eyes, We lead a double life. No one will know, So check it out, steppin' out, here I go: Are we, are we ourselves?

It's not uncommon for movies to be promoted with a line like "No one is who you think they are." The twist Dare puts on this is that most of the people in it aren't who they think they are.

I was surprised to read on the Rotten Tomatoes reviews page for Dare that at least a couple of critics took it as a comedy (and that's two of the ones that liked it). I didn't get that. To me, at least, it's a drama, probably even a melodrama.

It seems to have aspirations to be a kind of a psychological (psychosexual) horror story in a teen setting (or The Breakfast Club gone wild).

The story of three high school seniors, who reach out to define, or redefine themselves, on reflection it reminded me of a Mark Evanier line I quote a lot:

"We all do childish and insensitive things when we're 17. There are no exceptions to this rule and if you think you're one, you probably did more than your share."

But, it's a movie that knocks at your mind and never quite gets into your heart; never makes the leap off the screen. So we are just as happy to leave it there.

It is helped immeasurably by a trio of young star actors, two of whom were known to me previously. Emmy Rossum shows that she has it in her to grow beyond eye candy.

Zach Gilford, likewise, shows that he has the equipment for the long haul by rocking a character completely unlike his Friday Night Lights persona.

Ashley Springer completes the leads. New to me (and apparently to the screen), he allows humanity to shoot through what was in danger of being a caricature of the repressed gay.

Ana Gasteyer leads the older supporting players as his mother; there are surprising (in good ways, meaning they show parts of their craft I haven't seen before) cameos by Alan Cumming and Sandra Bernhard.



A young woman named Rooney Mara also bears watching as an up-and-comer. Though her part is hazily written, she succeeds in making us--me, anyway--want to get to know her better, and it isn't only because she's sexy.

Emmy Rossum is sexy, and I wouldn't want to get to know her character in this movie any more than I do at the final blackout, thanks.

This is one of those movies that it's hard to say what makes it only good, not great. As I say, it isn't the acting. And nothing really stands up and yells "BAD" about the script (by David Brind), either.

My best bet is that it's the direction (by Adam Salky), which is notably "stage-y" on a couple of occasions. Not always, however. A lot of this movie is told through looks, and a lot of the time, the director dares to get us right up close.

You know you're a nerd when...

...Rachel Maddow says something sounds "1970s-era; Tron style"--and you immediately think "Tron was early '80s, Rachel!"

I just posted a new Amazon review of a recent book

Molly Ivins, A Rebel Life, by Bill Minutaglio & W. Michael Smith.

Ho-ly mo'fucking shit....

You know how I've blogged before about Scott Baio being a Republican tool whose life of rich reward says all that need ever be said about how an entire generation lost their mind in the '70s?

You might notice that I've never said anything about his wife. This was because I'd only ever seen her on his uncommonly boring "reality" show, where she seemed like a perfectly nice young woman; maybe one who deserved something better than being paired with this asshole.

More fool I. Cupid's arrow really hit right on target with this one. She's if anything, even more offensively idiotic, anti-gay and anti-woman (!) than he is. I quote:

You bunch of FAR LEFT Lesbian s--tasses!!!!!!! No wonder you're all lesbos because what man in his right mind could put up with your c--tness? Scott Baio has more class in his piss than all of you all!!!"

Yes you can, Mr. President. When will you?

So there's an item going around about how President Obama "snapped back" at some hecklers who were protesting his glacier-like pace on repealing "Don't Ask. Don't Tell."

I first saw it last night, but didn't think of this until just now: Does anyone remember Obama ever...I mean, ever, "snapping back" like this at oh, say, anti-gay bigot homophobes?

No. People like that, he invites to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.

You know what I was just thinking of?

All those great top 10 hits we've had from "Kat" McPhee, these past few years.

Not that she isn't a supremely talented artist in her own right.

(Jest a bit of old point-scoring, folks, ignore it and go on about your day.)

'scuse me...someone needs to say this

Attn, pundits who are having difficulties pronouncing the name of the volcano the eruption of which is stranding would-be travelers across Europe.

A modest proposal: Try "Buttafuoco."

Thank you.

Curses!

Never mind.

ETA: Belay that curses and never mind, the Dragon's still on top!

Preach, Brother Roger!

Ebert returns to the argument of whether or not videogames are art.

Does art grow better the more it imitates nature? My notion is that it grows better the more it improves or alters nature through an passage through what we might call the artist's soul, or vision. Countless artists have drawn countless nudes. They are all working from nature. Some of there paintings are masterpieces, most are very bad indeed. How do we tell the difference? We know. It is a matter, yes, of taste.

This is the kind of thing on which intelligent people can disagree. Surely another definition of art is simply whether or not a particular entertainment is meaningful to its audience. Whether or not they recognize their own aesthetic philosophy within the work must also be relevant.

That said, Roger is completely right about this, and those who are reacting against him are completely wrong.

Go, Dragon!

Here's something no box office analyst was predicting headed into the weekend : How to Train Your Dragon 3D was number one at the box office. How the hell did that happen?

Seriously, this almost never happens. Can you name me another movie that opened at number one, dropped down to number three in succeeding weeks, then went back up to number one?

The Dreamworks Animation family film trumped [Kick-Ass] the power of excessive violence and dirty words with theater-goers this weekend, pulling in an impressive $20m haul in its fourth week of release.

I really like this.


Not because I particularly care if Dragon throws Kick-Ass to the curb or not. Kick-Ass has gotten mostly good reviews, but I've heard both bad and good things. I haven't seen it, though, so I have no right to an opinion.

Not because of dragons being my favorite mythological beastie either or because I saw How To Train Your Dragon last week and really enjoyed it.

No, I think I like this because I feel it's more a triumph of simple word-of-mouth than of family film over dirty words. People saw How To Train Your Dragon, thought it was cool and funny (which it is), and told their friends.

More of whom chose to see that than the latest ginned-up "controversial" movie. That's kind of the way it's supposed to work, or at least the way I (and maybe you) often wish that it would work.

Holy crap...

Looks like Big Brother was about 25 years late. A school district used computers loaned to students to watch them, without their knowledge, on webcams and to read private messages they sent to their friends.

I have a feeling I'm going to be talking more about this. Stay tuned.

It is an illusion that women in Hollywood have power

I don't know why this should surprise me...but it does, and saddens me too.

In the "Summer Movie 10" double issue of EW, they talk about Angelina Jolie's upcoming action film, Salt, which was originally written for a man.

But the process was a bit trickier than just changing the hero's name and adding high heels.

"In the original script, there was a huge sequence where Edwin Salt saves his wife, who's in danger," says [director Phillip] Noyce.

"And what we found was when Evelyn Salt saved her husband in the new script, it seemed to castrate his character a little. So we had to change the nature of that relationship."

In the end, Salt's husband, played by German actor August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds) was made tough enough that he didn't need saving, thank you very much.

Because god forbid a woman should ever save a man. Even if that woman is played by an Academy Award winner whose movies gross millions, to say nothing of the fact that she's broadly considered to be in the first rank of sex symbols.

So, proposed: It is an illusion that women in Hollywood have power.

Discuss.

A modest proposal to my friends in the mainstream media...

...would it be possible in the future to limit your coverage of Sarah Palin to just the one sentence, "And somewhere in America, Sarah Palin said something stupid today"?

Thank yew.

Proof yet again that no matter how mainstream it's gotten...

...the internet was made by nerds for nerds.

The "spell your name with Empire Strikes Back stickers" generator.



t/y, Becca

Families.

You know how when a politician's name appears in the press, they'll put a letter next to it so you know what party they're from? In the case of the R's, I'm no longer prepared to accept that this means "Republican."

I've decided to start assuming that "R" stands for "ridiculous." To explain why, let's take a look at some things that good-humored elf Mike Huckabee had to say last week, shall we?

Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher, remains in favor of keeping in place ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ the policy that requires the military to expel openly gay service members. “I wouldn’t support a repeal if I were commander-in-chief,”

Welcome to the 21st century, Huck.

Huckabee went on to draw parallels between homosexuality and other lifestyles that are considered by some to be morally aberrant. “You don’t go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal,” he said of same-sex marriage. “That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want to use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them.”

Yes, all those things are exactly the same.

He also affirmed support for a law in Arkansas that prohibits same-sex couples from becoming adoptive or foster parents. “I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family,” Huckabee said.

Ah yes, the "basic fundamental definitions of family."

You mean these?

Family:

1 : a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : household
2 a : a group of persons of common ancestry : clan b : a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : race

A group of individuals who share ties of blood, marriage, or adoption; a group residing together and consisting of parents, children, and other relatives by blood or marriage; a group of individuals residing together who have consented to an arrangement similar to ties of blood or marriage.

Don't fuck with the fundamentals, fundamentalist.

“And always we should act in the best interest of the children, not in the seeming interest of the adults.”

Yes, let's do act in the best interests of the children. If the entire country were to prohibit same-sex couples from adopting or fostering, it

could displace 9,000 to 14,000 children

Q & A

Two connected stories. One:

What kind of investigation will the Obama administration Department of Labor conduct into the Massey Mine Disaster?

The answer, BTW, is secret ones, to protect the corporate criminals.

And two:

Senate will hold moment of silence for victims of deadly mine explosion

I'm sure the knowledge that Senators are thinking about them will be a great comfort to the families and friends of the victims. That's much better than oh, say, having the investigation out in the open air for everyone to see.

Having run a classic Colbert clip a couple of days ago, here's some equal time for The Daily Show

Samantha Bee MILF

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

Finally, another good movie dragon.

I enjoyed How to Train Your Dragon much more than I thought I would. Maybe not as much as most people (The script was quite predictable in one or two places); definitely not as much as my nephew, but still, I enjoyed it.

(Enjoyed the heck out of it, as a matter of fact.)

The reason why I didn't want to see it was because I didn't like the designs of the dragons as I'd seen them in ads. As you may know (from the name of this blog if from nothing else), dragons have long been my favorite mythological beastie.

As a result, I'm a bit snobbish about their depiction in films. Hundreds have tried but to my mind, maybe a handful has succeeded.


The dragon in Dragonslayer, that's my idea of a great cinema dragon. The movie wasn't so great last time I checked it out, but the dragon is awesome.

Literally. As in, it inspires awe. No one's topped it in live action for nearly 30 years.

Pete's Dragon is even more flawed as a picture, but the dragon is truly magical to the six-year-old boy I was when I saw it.

And from the 1977 TV-movie version of The Hobbit

Smaug. Now there's a dragon for ya.



Falkor in Neverending Story is exceptional; the dragon in Knighty Knight Bugs is great too.

Free Video Hosting

(Do not get me started on Reign of Fire, which was just stupid, or Dragonheart, which was fucked up by its director. And don't mention H.R. Pufnstuf to me or I'll simply have no choice but to bite your head off.)

The How to Train Your Dragon dragons looked to me like they were the "wrong" sizes and/or shapes. Silly me, I should've known: Wait until you get a good, long look at them animated.

A few of them still don't meet my ridiculously high standard, but the "star" dragon takes the movie and all but flies away with it. Watching the early "training" sequences in this movie, I was reminded of The Black Stallion, and if you've seen that movie, you know that's high praise indeed.

Directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders have created a dragon that can stand right alongside all the others in my little "box," and maybe above more than a few.

Andy Dick remains proof that...

...whatever our problems, it could always be worse.

Well, that ought to do it, thanks very much Spec.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) issued a short statement this afternoon urging his colleagues to "put aside partisanship" during the confirmation of Justice Stevens's replacement.

“Justice Stevens has made an historic contribution to the Supreme Court. He will be hard to replace. It is my hope that the Senate will put partisanship aside in the confirmation process," Specter said.

Classic Colbert

The Word - Affirmative Inaction

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

ABC set out to make pop more ridiculous and less pompous without being any less emotionally engaging

How'd they do?

(sorry for any stupid ads you might have to watch)

You know how sometimes you see pictures that by most rights you should love and yet...no?

Apparently, "woman in jeans and T-shirt" = "gay."

I had no idea there were so many lesbians around...

Zoe Saldana wants to make one thing clear: She is not a girlie girl.

So much so, that she's not really surprised when someone thinks she might be gay...

"People have sometimes told my grandmother, 'Your granddaughter has a bit of lesbianism in her,'" Saldana says in the new issue of Siempre Mujer magazine. "It's that my sisters and I spent all our time among men. We were very popular with them. Our way of thinking is very masculine."

The 31-year-old Star Trek and Avatar star also says, despite her fashion-forward glamourista image, that she doesn't actually like getting dolled up. "If you want to punish me, send me to get a manicure or dress me in a skirt or shorts, and I would die," Saldana said. "But if you dress me in jeans and a button-down blouse, I feel very sexy, feminine and powerful."

For those of you that also watch...

...The Daily Show, and who may be wondering...oh yeh, I saw it.

I like this.

(You gotta click to see it full size, don'tcha know)

Thus endeth the lesson for today, ladies & gentlemen

Howard Jones was the best, but he was a weirdo. Or he was a weirdo, but he was the best...22 years ago.

Re: The ignorant doctor mentioned a couple of days ago...

..I was sort of wrong and sort of right: Keith Olbermann didn't make the bad dr one of his "worsts," but he devoted much of a segment to him.

What happened when the trombone player mistimed his acid

Let's get Zenical

From A Buddhist View of Easter

My feeling is that the real “resurrection” of Jesus does not rely on whether he rose from the dead or not. I would think that the real “resurrection” occurs when Christians receive the teachings of Jesus within their hearts and minds. When a Christian really and truly receives the teachings of Jesus in one’s heart and mind, then Jesus truly “comes alive.” From a Buddhist perspective, isn’t that the real meaning of “resurrection?”

In the same manner, for Buddhists, when we receive the Buddha’s teachings in our hearts and minds, then the Buddha comes “alive” for us.

Rev. Marvin Harada

Just because someone is a doctor doesn't mean they can't be ignorant.

Like, for instance, this complete ass of a "doctor" who is turning people away from his practice if they are liberal, progressive, and/or Democrat.

Nice, huh? I didn't know they could do that.

What do you want to bet this guy ends up on Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons" next week?

Not good quality video, but still funny as hell

Mel Brooks on Mad About You.

All the better to creep you with, my dear...

HuffPo has an entry on what they're calling The Creepiest Children's Books Ever.

There are indeed many unfortunate titles there, but they missed two or three.

Almost 20 years ago when I was working in a bookstore, some things came in that I have always remembered for how strange it seemed that they were intended for children.

One was this edition of Little Red Riding Hood:

It ends with a full-page (possibly double-page), full color illustration of Little Red with the Wolf's jaws clamped around her face. Yes, with blood, IIRC.

Then there was a book which was supposed to teach kids about the order and names of our presidents (at that time, through Bush 1), via this poem (scroll down to 35).

Finally, one of the titles they do mention had a sequel with an even more unfortunate title. The follow-up to this book:

Was called--honest to god, I saw it once at the Wilbur Jr High library--Bigger & Better Boners.

Do you hate it when people talk on their mobile phones at the movies?

Then, you probably won't want to see this movie. It actually encourages them to.

One from on The Hill, and one from out West

Fifty-six percent of respondents said thay disapprove of the [Healthcare] bill, while 42% support it. But only 47% say they want to repeal the bill. Exactly half want the bill to remain law. (23% of respondents want to keep the bill in its current form, while 27% want to make changes to "increase the government's involvement in the nation's health care system.")

News in The Hill.

"There should be another box you can check for, 'I have utterly no idea what you're talking about. Please, God, don't ask for my input."

The West Wing, "Guns Not Butter," by Eli Attie & Kevin Falls and Aaron Sorkin

Demi vs. Kim

Who do you root for in a case like this?

Ever wondered what The Beatles' songs were really about?

Gotta love it.

Just 'cos I felt like watching almost 10 minutes of Monty Python...

I was going along fine with this...until...

Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test...

Pure Geek

48 % Nerd, 52% Geek, 43% Dork

For The Record:



A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.


You scored better than half in Geek, earning you the title of: Pure Geek.



It's not that you're a school junkie, like the nerd, and you don't really stand out in a crowd, like the dork, you just have some interests that aren't quite mainstream. Perhaps it's anime,

And here's where I screamed. Anime is evil.

perhaps it's computers, perhaps it's bottlecaps, perhaps it's all of those and more. Your interests take you to events and gatherings that are filled with people you find unusual and beyond-the-pale, but you don't quite consider yourself "of that crowd." Instead, you consider yourself to be fairly normal.



Which, you are.



Congratulations! You're the one on the RIGHT!




THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Darned if this doesn't take me back...

When I was five (I think), I had pretty much everything you see here, except for the extra outfits.

This could be the best idea Tom Cruise ever had

Brad Iron Giant/Ratatouille Bird to direct Mission Impossible 4?

FYI...

...Diary of a Wimpy Kid reviewed by Roger Ebert.

That brings to mind an unfortunate mental image

Found while looking for housing through Craigslist again:

Live in a tree house ...
...
No Plumbing

!

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).