Camera Obscura - Cache;Spying Smiths on TV; Your Inner Sci-Fi Writer

I know the initial description of this movie may turn you off right off the bat. That will be your loss, because the movie is a haunting thriller that rewards with repeat viewings. I understand that some just won't get it or like it at all, but for those who want a movie with something truly extra, stick around. And as always, some movie news and other entertainment details that makes stopping here on Fridays habit-forming. Oh and of course, my deeply personal account of the 41st Super Bowl.

The main focus this week is on the movie "Cache," aka "Hidden". And it is foreign, so that means subtitles and it's set in France, so I'm sure some of you have said Nope to that movie already.

The award-winning 2005 feature deserves placement among some of the best, innovative and mind-bending movies of years past from directors like Hitchcock, Welles or Lynch and especially "Blow Up" by Michelangelo Antonioni. On the surface, this is a mystery movie, a whodunnit, but layer upon layer of mystery is here, all very patiently composed in long takes that command much attention. In other words, if you don't watch carefully, you'll miss much.



Created by Austrian director/writer Michael Haneke, the movie is about your perception and those of the characters too. Haneke's skillful mind-games start with the opening shot - a long static take of a street-view of the family home of Georges and Anne Laurent (Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche). But it isn't really the movie you're watching - you're watching what the Laurents are watching: an anonymously delivered videotape.

Yes, it's the set-up similar to Lynch's "Lost Highway", but it goes in much different directions. The family is under surveillance by someone, for reasons unknown, and the fear and paranoia grows quickly as they also receive anonymous, childish-looking drawings depicting cryptic images of violence. The object of the attention is obviously Georges, and the unknown observer knows many details of his life.

The story is not going to give you simple resolutions to the mysteries here. It's a brilliant work of subtle and powerful emotion, great beauty and some true terror -- if you allow yourself to follow the riddles. And at least one moment that appears from nowhere and truly throws you (and the lead character) for a loop. I'll gladly provide my interpretation of the mystery and the ending if you email me, but I'm not going to say more here! Highly recommended.

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I've written before here about how I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the spy caper "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", and the cult following has lead to another surprise. A new TV series based on the characters from the movie. Already signed into the "Mrs. Smith" role - Jordanna Brewster. Some very good writing and directing will be required to keep this effort out of the garbage bin.

Speaking of changing the female leads, rumors say Katie Holmes is out as Batman's girlfriend in the upcoming sequel and Rachel McAdams is in.

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I happened upon one of those online tests which aims to indentify you in terms of some fictional character or something -- but this was better. It determines which science-fiction writer you are most like. My result unveiled a writer I had never heard of, but now I do, so I'm looking for his books. His works were big influences on Arthur C. Clarke, C.S. Lewis and Stanislaw Lem. Sweet!!

I am: Olaf Stapledon Standing outside the science fiction "field", he wrote fictional explorations of the futures of whole species and galaxies.

Which science fiction writer are you?

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I'm happy to see the 41st Super Bowl back in Miami at Dolphin Stadium. That's where I attended Super Bowl 23 in 1989 as the 49ers under Joe Montana took the win. I loved hearing the entire stadium chanting "Joe! Joe! Joe!" for obvious reasons.

My friends will tell you I never stop mentioning that during Super Bowl discussions. I got to hob-nob with all kinds of celebrities, held a can of beer for Senator Jack Kemp while he had his picture taken with a kid, and nearly knocked Donald Trump on his backside when I ran into him as I was running for a bathroom just before half-time.

That's all I have to say really -- just "Yeah, Super Bowl, been there, done that."

Oh fine, here, go check out the obligatory Super Bowl Blog.

Aqua Teen Ad Terrifies Boston

A life lived in terror? Mission Accomplished!

The wild and reckless overreaction in Boston yesterday to stray advertising signs for a cartoon alien from the show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" was a jaw-dropping sign of incompetence. It was not an insidious act of terrorism - though it shows how easily some can be terrified these days.

Incompetent since no such similar overreaction occurred in any of the other major American cities where the ads have been up for nearly three weeks - New York, L.A., Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Portland, San Francisco.

The hysteria was fueled by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

I read about how highways, and at one point, even the St Charles River, was shut down because responders thought the small LiteBrite and some batteries might be a bomb, and I read about it online at around 2 p.m, after reports of the panic were mentioned on the MetaFilter web site - one of the most visited sites on the internet - by 12:41 p.m.. Other blogs had noted the events too, and already the information that these ads were just that - ads- was widely known and available.

Now move to around 4:15 pm when CNN went to a live press conference out of Boston with the Governor, Mayor Menino, and officials from police, ATF and Homeland Security are not dismissing the incident but stoking the fears.

Just as Mayor Menino's comments were ending - in which he referred to these objects as "bombs' half a dozen times - a reporter could be clearly heard asking the mayor about information that Turner Broadcasting had issued a statement these "devices" were just ads for a cartoon. The mayor shouted the reporter down and said "I'm not finished yet. Just for that your question comes last!!"

So by 4 p.m., the mayor and other officials knew what these "devices" were. But the pressure was on now, since untold amounts of money and vital resources had been wasted, to point the blame at someone outside the group of officials responsible for public safety. The mayor remains in a state of hysteria, telling the press:

"It is outrageous, in a post-9/11 world, that a company would use this type of marketing scheme," Menino said. "I am prepared to take any and all legal action against Turner Broadcasting and its affiliates for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today's incidents."

Two people have been charged with felonies as of this morning, again, wasting efforts rather than allowing for cooler heads to control the situation.

And it appears for some, Post 9-11 Worldview deems anything and everything as a threat of terrorism.

It isn't just the mayor and governor who disconnected from the world on this. It shows how perhaps for all the claims that the internet is an object of surveillance it really isn't.

Within seconds of running an image search on the internet, officials would know this was a cartoon character, that a movie is about to be released for Aqua Teen, that's it's been on television for six years. And I'm supposed to believe no one in the hundreds and hundreds deployed yesterday knew what these "devices" were? None of them have kids? None of them watch TV or movies? No one in Boston's media knew what this was??

Or was it all just a chance to wind people a little tighter?

The Washington Post quotes former public relations consultant, now Homeland Security consultant, W. David Stephenson:

"You just can't trivialize this. It's one of those moments where you just can't figure out what was going on in the brain of the advertising person."

That's one of the silliest things I've heard in an Era of Silly. I wonder, as do most Americans, what the heck an ad person was thinking about some ad campaign at least a dozen times a day. Every nook and cranny imaginable has been free game for advertising for a long, long time. Remember how officials responded in L.A. to newspaper boxes that played the theme from "Mission: Impossible III" recently? A county bomb squad came out and blew them up. One way to write a review I guess.

And what happens when someone calls in and says "My God!! Cows are painting anti-hamburger slogans on billboards!!"

"A talking lizard is selling car insurance!!"

If someone calls into a store and asks "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" is that an act of terrorism?

It is amusing to hear references to Meatwad and Frybox in news reports. And Mooninites. And Iningknot and Err are now potential terrorists. It should be funny, but it isn't. Some in America prefer to live in terror of the unknown and now they have the policies and the agencies to enforce it.

National Gorilla Suit Day!

Each year, we mark this holiday created by writer and artist Don Martin.

I've always wanted to get my full gorilla gear on, get an official photo ID made wearing my furry duds, then go into a bar and order banana daiquiris, proudly presenting my ID to prove I am of legal gorilla drinking age.

Apparently this is a family trait. Last year, my nephew and his friend suited up to go thru a local burger drive-thru. One wore a chicken suit, the other a gorilla outfit. A slight fender bender ocurred as they accidentally struck each other's cars, and they ended up outside a local school's soccer field waving to the arriving crowd while wearing their outfits. That made me one proud uncle.

Don't have a gorilla suit? Go here.

More info here and ....

as Don Martin might say "Mamp! Spwat! Tok!"

Police To Perform Together Again

A recent announcement that the group The Police would be performing together at the upcoming Grammy awards brought up some fine memories. I'm happy to hear they'll perform again.

Their first album attracted my attention and it soon became a hit thanks to the single "Roxanne". But the more I listened, the more I liked the whole album. Mixed in with the pop/punk/reggae style there was something more. I made a lot of people listen to it and made cassette copies for friends. All very legal back then.

I kept telling friends to keep their eyes on this band - they would do great things, I predicted.

Their next two albums also made some hit singles, but you could tell the record company was trying to make them crank out more of the same old-same old product, as evidenced by the repeated goofy album titles - "Reggatta del Blanc" and "Zenyatta Mondatta".

I was afraid the trio had been consumed by marketing madmen.

"Ghost In The Machine," however, brought out more of their unique talents. The styles were more eclectic, though still had it's pop music appeal. The lyrics were political, thoughtful and the album title itself was taken from the essay by Arthur Koestler. The music was as intense as ever, and now the lyrics were matching that strength.

Koestler again provided ideas for their last album, "Synchronicity", as did Carl Jung and writer Paul Bowles. Bowles' novel "The Sheltering Sky" was the inspiration for "Tea In The Sahara," and led me to read the novel. It's a teriffic novel, and I'm grateful the music led to it's discovery. Bowles was a composer as well, making music for stage plays in several collaborations with Tennessee Williams.

Both "Ghost" and "Syhnchronicity" are listed in the top 500 all-time best albums according to Rolling Stone. But for me, "Synchronicity" is on my own short list of best albums.

I got to attend their live show for that album in Knoxville, their last tour together. One of the things I've liked best about the trio - Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland - is that they are just that, a trio. Guitar, bass, drums - some occasional keyboards. A trio has to work very hard, especially in the world of arena rock shows. (Side note: a recent documentary made from footage shot over the life of the band by Stewart, which he directed, "Everyone Stares: The Police The Inside Out", is a fascinating look at how rapidly the band rocketed to worldwide fame.)

It's an amazing thing that happens when the sum is greater than the parts. That's true for them.

The show was loud, energetic, fierce and ranks as one of the best I've ever seen.

There was a moment during the show when I learned something about how their music affected their fans, about how their music could express basic human ideas with complexity and simplicity.

The band performed the song "King of Pain," and the entire audience sang along, word for word. Looking around, each person was singing "I'm the King of Pain." Not Sting or Andy or Stewart, or someone other poor soul. It was all very personal. I am the King of Pain, they all said.

Their influence on music videos through the 1980s was also significant - sometimes simple, sometimes somber and surreal. I always enjoyed "Invisible Sun" from "Ghost In The Machine," shot in Ireland and relating to the endless conflict there. But the song, like many others, evokes vivid thoughts about universal experiences. So here it is. And I am eager to see them perform together again, 30 years after their first album was released.

A Conspiracy of Teenage Girls

Last week in the small town of Dunlap, fear and foolishness set up residence after a high school principal says he found a piece of paper in a trash can, allegedly containing a "hit list" of around 300 names. Six teenage girls, between 14 and 15, have been charged with homicide conspiracy.

Names on the list included Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise and The Energizer Bunny. Also, reports say names of people in the school were in this list, which alarmed the principal when they also discovered a My Space page used by the teens and saw the word "kill" used once. The story has made headlines at CNN, Boing Boing and newspapers nationwide.

The Secret Service has also investigated the situation, according to a report in the San Diego press, with a claim that President Bush's name was involved, though they determined no threat existed.

I do understand that knee-knocking fear has gripped school officials, parents and news organizations since the dreadful events at Columbine H.S. In most every public school now armed officers are on patrol, metal detectors are in place, anti-bully guidelines have been adopted and implemented in many states, t-shirts and other clothing as well as entire host of "offenses" can lead to the invoking of so-called "Zero Tolerance" disciplinary actions by schools. Lockdown reports are as frequent as pep rallies. And some politicians have called for arming teachers with guns -- just in case.

One of the oddities of all these urges to make schools safe (and statistically, public schools are still among the safest places for a juvenile) is the "Zero Tolerance" policy. It most often results in the student being banned from a school, and other public schools won't allow a student to enroll once labeled as a violator of this policy. Halting education and isolating kids who find themselves accused of offenses minor or major is better than sending them to a detention facility, though it seems to me more educational efforts and improved involvement with their peers would be much more effective if the goal is to correct bad behavior.

I often wonder what a student today makes of being under the strictness of a Zero Tolerance policy -- where else do they see such rule enforcement? Actual crimes committed in the private and public sectors typically result in months or years of investigations, talk show appearances, book deals, and often evasion of anything resembling being held accountable. Mandatory sentencing guidelines may approach these issues, though many in the judiciary question the wisdom of such broadly harsh sentences often at odds with the crime committed.

Educational reforms get nifty labels, like No Child Left Behind, which will leave an entire school system left out of funding appropriations -- which leads administrators and teachers under grueling pressure to make sure a high test score is attained, usually at the price of teaching the subjects and lessons most needed. A classroom is not a single homogeneous entity, and requiring them all to achieve a standard established by legislative action, in my opinion, isn't a constructive approach.

Tennessee has recently begun implementing "pilot programs" in a handful of counties to provide "obesity report cards" to parents in conjunction with their grades in studies. Students are rated according to the Body Mass Index (B.M.I.). So add more to the responsibilities of schools and add more money for staff to study BMIs and issues regular reports.

At the federal level, new policies are being promoted for random drug testing to take place, and many schools already conduct such tests among athletes and students who engage in extra-curricular programs. Other trendy new policies arrive daily -- but they always seem to address an issue or hot topic via tests and not by education. And again, more pressure on schools to focus on another test, far outside the needs of a classroom.

Teachers and students must be mind-numbed by all this. A typical school conversation about things that annoy or irritate them (like the Energizer Bunny or Tom Cruise) can lead to criminal charges. One has to wonder what students make of the world and the futures ahead of them - a fearful, dangerous world of gun-toting, overweight, drug-addicted, sex-crazed, easily criminalized adults who demand of children behavior those adults struggle to attain.

A High-Point for Stupid

I hate to just say "that is incredibly stupid" even if it is true. But dang, people, this takes the cake, the plate the cake is on, the table on which the plate sits, the room with the table and the building containing the room.

This particular high-point of stupid is a "speed-dating" event in Manhattan called "Natural Selection" (ooooh, Irony, I get it), where the attendees must only be "rich guys" and "hot girls."

Organizer Jeremy Ableson says:

"The sad thing is not the fact that we would put it together. The sad thing is that people will actually pay for it."

At least he is honest about that -- though he also tells reporters:

"It's like people aren't allowed to say, 'I'm looking for a successful man,'" he said. "And it's taboo to say that men are looking for attractive women."

Reeeeeally? Gosh, nobody ever says or thinks like that!!

A few points I have to make - A woman would have to be a Grade-A idiot to be "hot" and unable to locate a wealthy man to date. And a man earning hundreds of thousands a year, or even millions, unable to locate an attractive date is likewise dumber than a sack of hammers.

This event sounds like the cheese-brained plot of some direct-to-DVD National Lampoon movie. Maybe the true "natural selection" at work here is meant to prevent these people from somehow accidentally reproducing.

Perhaps I should just follow the formula here and offer these chuckleheads something they must pay top dollar for ......

How about: "For only a $15,000 monthly fee, I will share information with you about an amazing secret - a clear, readily available liquid which a person can drink as often as they wish and never gain any unwanted weight!!"

In a culture where people pay to take in the delights of an "oxygen bar", the Natural Selection event will be a hit, I'm sure.

Yeesh. While I'm at it, let me offer you a rather smelly lump of mush, which, if you polish it furiously, will turn to solid gold. Send $500,000 for the info on that one.

(Thanks to Sande for sending me this "news" story. The headache it induced was not her fault.)

Reasons to Boost The Minimum Wage

False arguments with no basis in real events swirl around the federal proposal to increase the minimum wage for the first time in a decade. Guest-blogger at NIT this weekend, Glen Dean offers up this topic today.

Thru state actions already completed or set to be complete later this year, only 19 states will retain the current federal minium standard of $5.15 per hour. Has the economic well-being in these states with higher minimums plunged them all into disaster? Far from it. This part of the debate is often ignored by those who oppose increases in a wage, which at $5.15 an hour, adjusted for inflation, has the buying power of $3.95 an hour.

Studies have shown that in states where the federal minimum was replaced with the state's own higher wage, both job growth and overall business growth is much greater than in states where the federal minimum is the standard. For instance:

-- Employment in small businesses grew more (9.4%) in states with higher minimum wages than federal minimum wage states (6.6%)

More details of note:

-- The number of small businesses across the economy with fewer than 50 employees grew by 5.4% from 1998 to 2003 in the higher minimum wage states, compared to a 4.2% increase for the balance of the states.

-- Retail employment in New York increased faster from 2004 to 2005 than overall
employment, while retail’s growth was slower than total employment growth in
neighboring states and in the U.S. as a whole; and

-- The positive effects of the increased minimum wage on low-wage workers’ income were not negated by reduced hours of work.

This analysis does not prove that increasing the minimum wage will boost employment growth over what it otherwise would have been. But it is clear that the prediction that an increase in the minimum wage will result in adverse employment outcomes has not been validated. In fact, this analysis suggests that small employers may benefit from a higher minimum wage because of positive effects on worker retention and productivity and savings on recruitment and training costs.

As for who earns the minimum, R. Neal notes in the comments on today's NIT post that " 46.7% percent of minimum wage earners are 25 or older" and, citing info from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, adds the following:

" Number of minimum wage workers in...

Management/professional: 72,000
Sales/office: 240,000
Production/transportation: 128,000

Only 8.6% of hourly workers work in food prep/serving.

18.9% of hourly workers are in management/professional jobs, 22.7% work in sales/office.

But you are partially correct in that 60.1% of hourly food prep/serving workers make minimum wage.

The point being that just because you and your friends don't know anybody making minimum wage does not mean there aren't people making minimum wage. And they are not all restaurant workers."

Plainly and clearly, from the models and effects of states which have already increased the minimum rates, Congress needs to catch up to the rest of the nation.

All that said, I've often noted the problem with the minimum is that it federally mandates the lowest wages possible. As the examples of so many other states now shows, a higher beginning rate of pay benefts both the employer and employee and obviously aids economic growth rather than damage it.

Camera Obscura - Futurama's Back; Westerns vs Monsters; FOX's Idiocy

There's some good, nay even great news ahead for today.

First, some trash talk. Someone needs to call the forensics investigators to explain the butchering and mangling and ultimate roadside dumping of the comedy "Idiocracy" which landed with a barely-heard thud on DVD a few weeks back. The comedy by Mike Judge has some pure golden nuggets, no doubt.

Doubtless too is the mangled mess of a movie which producers made - blocking the movie's release for years, they then re-edited the movie, slapped on some narration and told theater owners to only offer limited showings for a week.

Too bad - there is much to laugh at in this sci-fi satire set 500 years hence when the population is dumber than a sack of hammers. Funny remains in tattered remnants in the movie - I liked the State of the Union speech held in the House of Representin', the rote repetition of advertising slogans in place of actual knowledge, and all the performances. Even the DVD is a hacked-to-pieces mess: the only extras are "deleted scenes," usually barely three or four words long, and the DVD Menu page is so awful it's impossible to tell what is actually on the menu.

Guess Fox didn't like the way Judge expertly captured the idiocy of television, and the reality that the Stupid of Tomorrow is actually the Stupid of the Now.

Much better news for fans of comedy and science fiction arrives with the promos announcing the Return of Futurama (hat-tip to Wes for the link to the following promo):



Maybe "Idiocracy" director Mike Judge needs to get all Bender and tell Fox to bite his shiny metal ass. (Fox cancelled "Futurama" too.)

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Much fun has been had here at this Cup of Joe via a contest I noticed at Les Jones' place. It's simple: make up your own three-word movie titles for straight-to-video king Steven Seagal. Some of the ones I've thought of:

"My Three Chins"
"Buffet Under Seige"
"Above The Slaw"

And I loved these from the official entries page: "From Russia With Love Handles" and "The Good, The Bad And The .... Hey, You Gonna Eat That?"

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QUOTE of THE WEEK: From the A.V. Club interview with David Lynch: "Cinema is a medium that can translate ideas. But wood can translate ideas, too. You have wood and then you get a chair. Some ideas are for different things."

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What Frank Zappa used to call "Cheepnis" gets a double-dose of life, or rather, Life after Death, with the airing in the wee hours of this Friday/Saturday on Turner Classic Movies with the broadcast of two awful and hilarious movies. The titles for these masterpieces of schlock say it all: "Billy the Kid versus Dracula" and "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter."

Western cliches, jokes about the Undead, graveyards and guns, and weird fun with electricity and stock footage are wrapped into two of the most nonsensical movies ever made.

More info here.

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Speaking of trying to re-animate the dead, CMT (and their partners at VHI and MTV) are attempting to blend the reality-tv show craze and the dead-as-a-doornail Miss America competition. Yeah, that's gonna fit in great with MTV's usual broadcast fare of shows like "I'm Gonna Convince Your Mom You Should Have Sex With Me On A Bus For A TV Show."

Mister Doctor Smarty Pants

Developing a mathematical theory, with appropriate vectors and an axis and points and inputs and outputs, a psychologist in England determined that Jan. 23 of 2007 was the worst day of the year. AT noted the story and offered a rather fine bit of artwork to attempt to reverse the Day of Universal Suckage. You go, AT.

But I'm always contrary. For instance, how come a psychologist and not a mathematician devised this particular math formulary?

Is there somewhere a very sad math scholar glummed out by the co-opting of his craft by an outsider? WIll said scholar recover?

If anyone is asking (or even if not), I'm marking this whole damn week down as a time of sheer crapola. Oh and I just love the psych's ideas of deflecting the un-awesomeness of the Worst Day of the Year: think of something else, eat breakfast and get showered and dressed. I did eat, then shower and followed by dressing (with clothes, even) and pondered on a wide range of "something elses" and remain confident this week is blowing chunks like a freshman at their first kegger.

Why do I perceive and label this week as bad? Don't ask. Really. I'm supposed to be thinking of something else.

Of course I have a bounty of things to be thankful for. Yep. Could list tons. And I don't need a slide-rule or a statisical analysis to make that list.

And really, if Mister Doctor Smarty Pants in England was actually attempting to do something worthwhile, wouldn't he have provided some information on which day was the Best Day of the Year?

I always liked the sage wisdom on most any topic provided by Walt Kelly and Pogo his friends.

Once, while casually boating with his pal Porky Pine, Pogo asks:

"What day is it right where we is now?"

Porky responds:

"That depends on what month it is."

Georgia Woman Inspires Refugee Soccer Team

A fascinating account of one woman who is battling on behalf of a small kid's soccer team in Clarkston, Georgia was in a recent NY Times story. I read the paper with much skepticism, but this story was impossible to not read.

It tells the story of a small team of kids - all refugees, from countries like Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Burundi, Congo, Gambia, Kosovo, Sudan, Somalia and Liberia - who go by the name of Fugees. What they have endured in the past is beyond horrifying. What the yearn to do as a team and as individuals is nothing short of pure courage and hope, along with a child's earnest desire to play sports and do well:.

Their coach, a woman named Luma Mufleh, is truly inspirational.

Here's a sample from a handout given to her players if they wish to be on the team:

I will have good behavior on and off the field.
I will not smoke.
I will not do drugs.
I will not drink alcohol.
I will not get anyone pregnant.
I will not use bad language.
My hair will be shorter than Coach'’s.
I will be on time.
I will listen to Coach.
I will try hard.
I will ask for help.

Sadly, the town's mayor banned them from playing soccer on a field in a city park.

The town has certainly been staggered and shocked by the arrival of refugees from around the world, part of a federal relocation program. Nearly half of the town's population of 7,400 are refugees, who get 90 days of assistance and then must rely on their own needs for income and housing.

Despite endless obstacles, the coach and the team persist to do their very best on the field and off.

What they have endured, the solid support of a determined Coach Mufleh, and their combined tenacity is a must read. (NYTimes reg. may be required)

In addition, Mufleh also founded a company which employs adult refugees, called Fresh Start. More on the Fugees team is here.

The Battle to Control Oil

With billions due in debt, civil wars waging. the economy sputtering, refugees fleeing from home and from the nation itself, amid even more U.S. forces moving in -- most all hopes pinned on the nation of Iraq gaining stability in all the aforementioned arenas continue to dim and dwindle away to the needs of outside (read non-Iraqi) oil corporations.

I mentioned this policy trend before. And said policy has again gathered powerful strength, as the troubled Iraqi ministers moved on step closer to a new "hydrocarbon law" which grants foreign oil companies "national treatment", meaning "the Iraqi government cannot give preference to Iraqi oil companies (whether public or privately owned) over foreign-owned companies when it chooses contractors. This provision alone will severely cripple the government's ability to ensure that Iraqis gain as much economic benefit as possible from their oil."

The Bush adminstration pushed for this very change, though it benefits outsiders far more than citizens of what Bush has claimed must be the eventual outcome of democracy in Iraq, back at the end of December 2006, just weeks ahead of the announced U.S. military escalations in Baghdad.

History offers much to highlight just what is happening now. Via an report from Barry Lando from Jan. 16, 2006, excerpted from his forthcoming book, "Web of Deceit" :

"... when viewing the historical record of British attempts to rule first Mesopotamia and then Iraq you get the feeling you’re watching an old Hollywood black and white classic that has been reshot for an American audience with digitalized sound, computer animation, and the “United States” substituted for “England. For instance, when British forces marched into Baghdad in 1917 they announced they had come not as “conquerors” but "liberators.”


snip

"Britain’s ruling classes spoke of a divine mandate to bring the obvious benefits of Western rule to peoples steeped in tyranny and darkness. As Arnold Wilson-- a prototype,one could argue, of Paul Bremmer in 2003—who was appointed to oversee Britain’s new holdings in Mesopotamia, declared in 1918. “The average [Iraqi] Arab, as opposed to the handful of amateur politicians of Baghdad, sees the future as one of fair dealing and material and moral progress under the aegis of Britain….The Arabs are content with our occupation.”

The Arabs, it turned out, were not content when they understood that Britain had no intention of liberating the conquered territories. On June 30, 1920, uprisings exploded across the country. The British then had 133,000 troops in the area—roughly the same number as the U.S. had after the invasion of 2003."

Controlling resources remains the at the center of the current and past conflicts.

Blog For Choice Day

This issue is far and away more about choice, individual freedom and personal responsibility than anything else.

So add my voice to millions of others who are Pro-Choice (not Anti-Life) in America.

Yes I know I'm a male (duh) but to deny medical procedures a woman requests based on someone else's beliefs makes no sense. The word and concepts of abortion may be repellent to you. If so, you have the ability through your words and deeds to promote and insure accurate, compassionate education about sexual behavior is available.

This Blog Is Going To Outer Space

As of today, this blog is going intergalactic. Yes, this blog and you and your comments are welcome to travel into space as well.

You'll notice a little badge on the left side of the page for Blog In Space, a project which regularly collects the blog posts of members, bundles them together and transmits them into the vast reaches of the universe, sending them out into the stars and planets.

I am positive aliens will find much to enjoy here, though I am not sure if our primitive operating systems are compatable. But why wait for them to contact us? Along with the gazillion radio and television signals already hurtling through the vast and immeasurable universe, now this blog and those whose comments are herein will now reach beyond this beautiful and fragile globe.

Now, in addition to being world-wide, we have intergalactic distribution. About time, I say.

I don't have the $20 million fee so I can be a Space Tourist. My lifelong hopes of seeing human outposts on the Moon or Mars are still unrealized. So for now this will have to do.

So --

Greetings to the inhabitants of Alpha Centauri, or Omicron Perseid 8, or maybe to the flying gas-bags of HammaGammaJamma 12 and any and all who find this page of words and images. And a fine howdy to you all.

Here is a video to sort of tell you where you can find us. It is narrated by a human named Morgan Freeman who has a nice calm voice and should not scare you. If anything here, today or ever, does scare you, relax. We are all pretty darn harmless, except to ourselves. The video starts with an image of what we call a hula hoop in a place called Venice and goes from there. Oh, and Klaatu barada nikto.



And keep this in mind, advice from the Blog In Space folks, who say: "Bloggers who use this site are urged to keep their blogs devoid of any language, comments or content that might offend, taunt or provoke alien life forms in any way. Let's not start an intergalactic war :)

(And thanks to Ginger, where I discovered this whole Space Blog dealie.)

Camera Obscura - Cyberpunk TV, Weird P.I.s, The Descent

Like most of us, I start the year with great expectations. Hopeful, even. And some years, the results exceed the expectations. Since it's still January, expectations are quite high. So some news today about what's ahead and what's being planned, and my take on one of the best reviewed horror films of 2006.


I was most impressed to read that George Clooney will try and bring the Hugo Award winning novel "The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson to life in a mini-series for the Sci-Fi Channel. And it's because that is one fantastic novel, and Stephenson is writing the script. "The Diamond Age" is one of the best science fiction novels I've ever read - and I mean ever. No matter if the genre isn't something on your regular reading list - this richly detailed look into the future explores very likely expansions of current tech, has elements of a great mystery novel, near-Dickensian characters and social history all in one.

Stephenson has a massive cult following for his earlier work too, "Snowcrash", which has been mulled over as a movie, but again, it's the book itself that provides a detailed and highly entertaining world in which most readers can get easily lost. I've probably read "Snowcrash" half a dozen times and never get bored. It's very funny and satiric in it's approach to a world future. Computer gaming, franchise-businesses as nation-states, and language as code, the book is the origin of much computer and web slang, as well as the longtime online world of the Metaverse.

And yes, I've read all his books - he's one of the best American writers today.

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Speaking of the shows on Sci-Fi, they present a new show based on Jim Butcher's books, called "The Dresden Files." Basically, a master wizard as detective show, it airs on Sunday. I've always liked the supernatural detective/private investigator idea, and this one shows some promise.

In fact, for the last year, I've been reading the very pulp-fiction adventures of one Repairman Jack, hero of ten novels by F. Paul Wilson. Jack is a down-and-dirty outsider, a fixer, who gets drawn into a full blown multi-dimensional power struggle for reality itself. It all tends to start normally, as he P.I.'s his way into seemingly normal crime cases, but with each book, he learns he is part of some nebulous cosmic battle.

Very pulpy style helps this out and yeah, it's a guilty pleasure. But I've read 5 or 6 of the books and can't stop. Jack is too much fun.

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I sat down this week at long last to watch "The Descent", which friends and critics alike all cheered as one of the best horror films of 2006 and of the whole darn '00 decade. I was more than skeptical of such praise.

But it does deliver all the goods and will scare the bejesus out of you, even long before the monsters in the dark appear onscreen.



The set-up: An all-female group of adrenaline junkies/extreme sportsters follow a friend who's organized a cave exploration. She is not a nice person. She takes them into unmapped areas without telling them and of course they get lost. It's a cinematic marvel of near-darkness and claustrophobia which gets the suspense cranked into high gear.

The horror: Lost and scared and bickering, one member of the gang, already in a spiral descent of madness before even going into the cave, starts seeing people in the dark. Scampering, oozing creatures who melt into shadows. And there's not just one - there's a dang colony of these things. Building on the first half-hour's tensions, the movie gets feral for the remainder of the journey and so do the women.

The verdict: It's a first-rate thriller. Writer/Director Neil Marshall of Scotland already had B-movie fame for a movie called "The Dog Soldiers" about a half-assed military squad encountering werewolves, lives up to his early hype and delivers the goods with "The Descent". His frequent collaborator, cinematographer Sam McCurdy, is part of the reason for success here. He gets impossible shots inside that cave's nooks and crannies, and the viewer feels as lost as the gals.

Turn off all the lights, crank up the sound and prepare for nerve-jangling fun.

3 Things to Do Before I Shuffle Off

When Stephen King was asked about the 3 things on his "must-do list" I think he spoke for most of us when he said:

""I'd like to outlast George W. Bush's second term of office."

I ponder that notion daily. I hope it is survived by many and grieve for those who have not and won't make that mark. HIs 3rd wish:

"3. To see "American Idol" canceled."

Also in this Newsweek report (hat-tip to R. Neal at KnoxViews for the story) the former Tennessee senator listed these 3:

"1. Continue yearly trip to African regions without health care to perform needed surgery.
2. Fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and work to provide clean drinking water to poor areas.
3. Treat heart problems in gorillas at D.C.'s National Zoo."

No mention of running for Governor. Maybe it's number 4. I personally fear for those gorillas.

My list of 3 Must Do's?

1. Travel and stay for extended periods in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Egypt, and even more countries around the globe. This plan is all on hold until W. leaves office. The write a book about what I saw and heard.

2. Make the scariest horror movie anyone has ever seen.

3. Employ some of my longtime friends making said movie and sharing huge profits with them all.

What's on your list?

The Surge Effect

What prompted the turnaround in the Bush administration so that say they've decided to follow the law and end warrantless wiretaps?

The question is tackled by Glenn Greenwald, who sums up:

"This is what the Bush administration does and how it always operates. It has not conceded anything and it has certainly not done anything that mitigates its lawbreaking -- its crimes -- over the past five years with regard to eavesdropping without warrants. The president has been committing felonies on purpose and systematically for the past five years because he wants to. The fact that he might have decided he should stop does not excuse his lawbreaking and must not be allowed to shield him or anyone else from accountability."

The new hearings in Congress to provide oversight (their Constitutional responsibility) hasn't altered the thinking of The Decider. I have to think this is yet another delaying tactic by an administration which has ignored laws by the handful.

Call it the Surge Effect. A pretense of change which changes nothing, but further extends a single-minded desire to act with no accountability.

Or call it too little and too late.

Another example -- DOD lawyer Charles Stimson goes on the radio to name a list of legal firms which have been tackling the cases of detainees at Guantanamo, but after he's maligned and threatened them, his bosses refute him and then Stimson himself "re-defines" his statements in a letter to the Washington Post.

But this change of view occurs only after Stimson named these firms and their attorneys as possible collaborators with terrorists.

Lower The Voting Age?

A bill in the state legislature would lower the voting age to 17 if the person were to turn 18 by the date of the general election itself. A report on the bill is here.

I understand the desire to increase voter turnouts. Already we in Tennessee and most other states have extended or early voting to encourage more people to vote. I'm not aware of any studies which show that these increased time-periods to vote have in fact increased turnout. However, I am rather positive it has increased the number of absentee ballots, where most voter fraud actually occurs.

The plain fact is - we are all offered ample opportunities to vote but we are ultimately given the freedom to not participate or vote at all. There's the saying that if you vote, you have a right to complain about outcomes. Nonsense. We have the freedom to not vote and still complain like mad if we wish it.

Is that hypocritical, to not vote but to complain? Perhaps. But the right to complain is just there, and Americans love to complain.

If the wish of the state is to encourage more young people partcipate in elections, why not create the opportunity of school credits if a high-school or college student works in an election office? Too often, election officials stay in their posts for so long it leaves little room for new blood. But a credit and/or mentoring program would surely increase participation best.

Another bill is mentioned in the above article to extend early voting by another week. It seems to me that due to the time involved and long lines of voters due to equipment malfunctions or large turnouts, it would serve the state best if voting days were also a day off from work and school, as with many federal holidays.

Extending voting days also means decreased days of campaigning by candidates.

Why not make the day an official day off?

Would some just take the holiday and not vote? Probably. But most would take advantage of the time off to participate.

Failure, Humiliation Drive "American Idol"

The ever-intrepid Cinemonkey provided the following in yesterday's post about the television show "American Idol", which I want to see ended forever:

"As an inveterate Devil's Advocate, how do you explain AI's popularity (& to this day, to me, AI means "Artificial Intelligence"), &, what "reality shows" do you find entertaining, if any."

Fair question. Here's my response.

The Popularity: I believe it was reporter H.L Mencken who once said "No one ever lost a dollar underestimating the taste of the American public."

The audience at home are told they can participate in the voting process for selecting winners. I don't buy that for a minute. Producers of such show carefully construct who is to win, and while audiences may temper that decision, it is definitely not theirs to make. But the "participation factor" does attract viewers.

I think most viewers tune in to see who loses, not who wins.

That explains why each "season" begins with a wide range of "auditions" and the focus is on the people who fail miserably. And don't kid yourself -- most of those who fail and appear on television have been carefully selected - in fact I am sure they are likely coached or created by the show's producers. The object of these shows is to allow the audience to again feel as if they are participating and because viewers want to see people fail.

More proof of that - while viewers number in the tens of millions, the record sales of "winners" or near-winners, are a few million at best. If audiences tuned in to see winners, those sales numbers would be higher.

In the old-timey days of television, talent shows, like the one from Arthur Godfrey, featured actual performers, singers, songwriters, and musicians who found fame based on their talents - Elvis is one case of success. For a fine representation of just how created and orchestrated game shows are and have always been, check out the fact-based "Quiz Show" movie.

These days, the advertising hook on "reality shows" is to "tune in and see who's eliminated this week!"

As for what if any of such shows I watch -- the only show like this I've ever watched from start to finish was the one on the Sci-Fi channel last year, "Who Wants to be a Superhero". The mighty man of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, was the main reason I watched. It was fun to see him work and the superheroes he provided were most entertaining to me. But it was all very, very carefully crafted and written and had little to do with "reality".

Make no mistake - film and television producers are manufacturers first and last. They make products to sell products. It has always been so. A studio selected a performer, gave them lessons in everything from dance to elocution lessons, created a specific look provided by make-up and other technical effects, created stories to highlight the performer as "heroic" or as an "average person" or as a "villian" or "comedian" or any type needed to create a certain type of performer.

And that brings us to my problem with "American Idol" -- it isn't about excellence. It's about the mediocre attempting to be more than mediocre. It promotes the barely talented into the music world and programmers on radio and television follow the popular trend and feature these mediocre types because they have momentary fame. Actual musicians are sidelined while the flavor of the week is pushed onto audiences as something of value.

I am well aware I am not a typical or average viewer. As a writer, I prefer to see dramas and comedies which are well-written, acted and produced. Television and movies are first and foremost entertainment fantasies -- reality is mimicked not captured whole and intact.

Allow me to share a video with you. It is not manufactured (as far as I can tell, though it is edited from surveillance cameras). We see a would-be thief attempting to rob a liquor store and, yes, he fails and does so in spectacular stupidity. His only success is in getting arrested. It makes me laugh because of his failure.



UPDATE: Not longer after I posted this today, I read Sarcastro's Confession that he tuned into to the "American Idol" against his better judgement and his take underscores what I said -- It's Failure That Drives The Show:

"I want to see abject failure.

I want to see people so self-deluded that they refuse to believe that they can't sing despite all evidence to the contrary. Bring me more people whose friends and family are too spineless to tell them that they have absolutely no talent. Load me up with losers who have placed their entire concept of self-worth on staggeringly unrealistic dreams of stardom."

Dear American Idol -- Please Go Away

An Open Letter .....

Dear American Idol:

Please go away. You are a blight on music itself.

I've endured talk about you for years now, and you are not exciting or entertaining and you wouldn't know what musical talent was if it bit you in the ass. You are an over-glorified night of sing-alongs and it's been a night in hell, enternal and painful.

Three judges whose musical knowledge and experience combined is hardly a footnote in musical history. There's Paula, the dancer who apparently must drink (or drug) herself into near incoherence to participate in the show. There's Simon, whose daddy got him a job at EMI, which he lost, who then founded two recording labels which went bankrupt, then made money recording novelty songs by the Power Rangers and whose only skill is The Obvious Insult. And I have no idea who Randy is.

Those who appear on your show climb up on the talents of others -- songwriters, singers, musicians - who often worked thankless years and in obscurity to develop their talents. Like scavengers, these contestants, enabled by the talentless producers of this show, pick over the achievements of others with greed as the mark of their nature.

You glorify mediocrity as it reaches for the abilities of other far more talented people, with only the aim of theft.

As for the people who actually watch this middle-school popularity contest -- you would be far more rewarded for actually going out in your own communities to see and hear actual musicians, who write their music, play instruments, and perform for the joy of music and the hope of enough money to cover the cost of their efforts. They are in every community and they strive mightily to create something of worth while you endorse and celebrate nothing.

I blame the show and those who faithfully engage in it's dumbed-down exercise in lip-synching for eroding the arts and obscuring the talents of thousands of others. Not only is the world of music maligned and damaged by your efforts, this program has the entertainment value of watching paint dry. (If the paint were stolen from others.)

I urge the world to boycott you.

The Contradictions Of The 'Crack Tax'

It makes no sense. It is not constitutional. Why does it continue? Sadly - the cause may all be about money.

Other states have similar programs, but on Monday, NPR focused their attention on Tennessee's "crack tax":

"For a second consecutive year, Tennessee has collected more than $1.5 million in revenue from its so-called "crack tax." The state has been enforcing a tax on illegal substances that drug dealers can report without fear of prosecution.

But once arrested, dealers must prove they've paid the tax or face fines or property seizure. A local judge has called it unconstitutional but the state is appealing saying it will help deter crime and boost tax coffers.

Complete report here.

Media Reform Conference in Memphis

It may be called "public ariwaves" but the place most likely to be the source of "public views and opinons" is not on radio, television or newspapers -- it's on the internet.

This weekend in Memphis the National Conference on Media Reform is presenting a large amount of information and discussion about all types of media and what the public can do to demand a less corporate hold of "public airwaves". I hear it so often -- the public owns the nation's "airwaves", but do they really?

Newscoma is blogging live from the event with information and lots of pictures, and more info can be found here at Liberadio:

"And what do the American people - who own the public airwaves, by the way - get in return? Too little news, too much baloney passed off as news. Too little quality entertainment, too many people eating bugs on reality TV. Too little local and regional music, too much brain-numbing national play-lists. Too little of America, too much of Wall Street and Madison Avenue. That’s what we get for half a trillion dollars. It’s one hell of a bad bargain, don’t you think?"

Camera Obscura - Bruce Campbell, Horace McCoy, Idiocracy

A Nashville native who went from fighter pilot to famous writer to bum to screenwriter gets introduced to you this week, and also in this whirlwind edition of movie news, the dumped-on and controversial comedy "Idiocracy" arrives on DVD and to start it all off, the legendary chin of actor Bruce Campbell.

Bruce continues his unique exploits in cinema and stardom with the following commercial for Old Spice. Look quick at the beginning and you can see a mighty chainsaw by the fireplace - wherever Bruce goes, Ash is close by. Groovy, baby.



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The comedy/satire "Idiocracy" by filmmaker Mike Judge got shelved for two years by Fox, then they barely released the movie last August, pulled it out of theatres after a week or so, and now they have released it on DVD this week - with no commentaries or extras other than a few deleted scenes. Even the original poster for the movie has already become a collector's item.



Judge has been most patient with Fox's gross mishandling. They chopped the movie up some, added some unneeded narration, but all around the country, the movie is getting the praise it deserves. The story follows Army private Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson) who is placed in an experimental hibernation pod, along with a prostitute (Maya Rudolph) and an accident puts them out in an America 500 years from now - where Stupid is King and Joe stands out as the smartest man in the nation. The Washington Post writes:

"Things go awry, and the two guinea pigs don't wake up for 500 years, by which time the country has become populated by porn-addicted rednecks and Uzi-toting gangstas; the English language has been replaced by a patois of "hillbilly, Valley Girl and inner-city slang." A trashed-out landscape that's part zombie film and part broken-down "Blade Runner," the America of "Idiocracy" has become one vast junk food-entertainment complex, where bread and circuses take the form of super-size burritos and monster truck rallies."

As with his previous film, "Office Space", expect a massive cult following to lift this movie out of obscurity.

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As long as I've been writing about movies, I can always learn something new - even if the movie was one I thought I knew much about.

Such is the case with the brillant drama. "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" Set in a grim and brutal dance marathon in the 1930s, this 1969 movie by Sydney Pollack has always been a favorite of mine. Watching it again the other night on TCM, the movie has lost none of its visceral punches so I thought I should take advantage of this here internets deal and check on the writer - novelist/screenwriter Horace McCoy.

McCoy was born in Pegram, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville and deserves quite a bit of celebration as a writer of distinction. McCoy's novel of the dance marathon of death was based on his own script, but there were no takers. He published it as a novel in 1935 and Charlie Chaplin took the option to film the work - an effort that never saw completion. The book sold poorly in the U.S., but was hailed in Europe as a masterpiece and McCoy was ranked with writers like Hemingway and Faulkner.

McCoy had an amazing life and career. He left home at 16, became a bombardier and when his pilot was killed in mid-flight in 1918 took the controls, shot down an enemy plane and landed safely, despite his own wounds. Flying now as a pilot, he was wounded several more times by the time his military career ended, logging over 400 hours in the air.

Back in the U.S., he started writing for newspapers in Texas, and acting with the Dallas Little Theatre, running in the highest circles of society. He lost his fame and wealth, ending up as a hobo and odd-jobber (which led to his time as a bouncer for dance marathon in California and gave backgorund to his later novel). He was a pulp writer for Black Mask magazine, crafted dozens of action films in Hollywood (incudling some uncredited work on the original "King Kong") and penned the novel "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" which became one of Jimmy Cagney's favorite roles.

There is much more to his life and you can read a fine biography of McCoy here, and his Hollywood career is noted here. I know I'm reading his books as soon as I am able to track down a few copies.

Oil Profits The Reason for New Iraq Strategy?

The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is security, especially in Baghdad." - President Bush, speech on Jan. 10, 2006

More security and more stability in Iraq has been emphasized in recent weeks, though I have noticed a specific reason why that is the goal currently-- a proposal to privatize oil production in Iraq.

In coming days, a proposal will be voted on by the Iraqi Council of Ministers which creates a new "hydrocarbon law" and gives Oil Giants like Shell, BP, and Exxon Mobil a real deal on production-sharing agreements - 75% of profits for an indefinite period of time and then 20% once they have recovered their investment costs. The 20% is more than twice the average of standard PSAs.

Some have been writing on this already and noting this thirst for oil has been a primary concern since before the U.S. military action in Iraq began:

"This law has been in the works since the very beginning of the invasion - indeed, since months before the invasion, when the Bush administration brought in Phillip Carroll, former CEO of both Shell and Fluor, the politically-wired oil servicing firm, to devise "contingency plans" for divvying up Iraq's oil after the attack. Once the deed was done, Carroll was made head of the American "advisory committee" overseeing the oil industry of the conquered land, as Joshua Holland of Alternet.com has chronicled in two remarkable reports on the backroom maneuvering over Iraq's oil: "Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil" and "The US Takeover of Iraqi Oil."

"I see Plans within Plans."

Perhaps the current plan offered by the President on television last night will indeed bring a level of stability to the country of Iraq. And if this oil proposal is approved, then perhaps, in time, the benefits will trickle down to the average Iraqi.

Cynical as it may sound, it truly looks like the battle has been for business first, last and always.

The Comedy Barn Hits YouTube

What happens when a regular old fellow from Memphis travels to Pigeon Forge for some entertainment? He steals the show, that's what. Read on for details

I have done my time working in, as we called it, Prison Forge. We called it that because of the unholy traffic mess each and every traveler must endure. I think it's the key to the growth in Sevier County - road-weary madness prompts many to just pull over and live in the county rather than try and find a way out.

There is nothing like the place. Many an entertainer has tried to produce constant shows for the endless line of tourists, and few have succeeded. One place that has been a staple for years is The Comedy Barn.

I can't say too much to deride the place - I have friends involved. But really, the Barn isn't the home of relentless or savage topical humor or regrettable tirades a la Michael Richards. It is what it is, and it's name is most appropriate.

Thanks to YouTube, one visitor shows you just how easy it is to steal the show there. The person who posted this says, yeah, that is my dad and that is his real laugh. The laugh is far, far better than the comedy routine the host of this bit is trying to present. The host gets points for giving the man a microphone but he should have just let the man and his laugh take the center stage and to heck with what was planned.

On to the video - and a sentence I never thought would appear on this page: Time for a video from The Comedy Barn.

Hannity Hatefest

It looks like Sean Hannity, talking head for Fox News, watched the puppet-populated movie "Team America: World Police" and thought it was a documentary.

Struggling for ratings and for attention, Hannity offered up what could best be called a hysteria-fueled feature on his program-- identifying and labeling people as an "Enemy of the State." Apparently, Hannity is a new "agent of the State". Unlike the humorous segments on Keith Olbermann's show, "Worst Person in the World," Hannity is claiming anyone not a cheerleader for the neo-cons is a criminal. He isn't drinking the kool-aid of lunacy, he's chugging it down like a frat boy at a homecoming party beerfest.

What nefarious person does Hannity pick as his first "enemy"? Why, it's actor Sean Penn. Sean Penn?? Others featured in his li'l hatefest segment (which you can see here) include Barbara Streisand and Alec Baldwin. Like I said, it's as if he watched "Team America: World Police" and thought it was a documentary.

Certainly the nation has enemies - they attacked us on 9-11, Sean. They aren't American entertainers. In fact, Sean affixes this crude label of enemy to Penn because Penn said naughty things about Sean.

Shouldn't his segment be called "Enemy of the Hannity"?

(from "Team America" - click to embiggen)

Didn't We Already Win?

Some views on the eve of the President's planned prime-time special - What's Next In Iraq?

On one hand, the dubious ideas of The Iraq Study Group did actually include meetings with the U.S. military and their take on "surges" or other increases in troops in Iraq. They thought it was a bad idea.

On the other hand, the other front in the ground war - Afghanistan. Military leaders there say taking troops from Afghanistan and placing them in Iraq will bring more trouble to Afghanistan.

On the other, other hand - I tend to agree with R. Neal's take via KnoxViews. Since the administration has already proclaimed "Mission Accomplished" then why not re-assert that claim and go home with victory in hand?

"It looks like "mission accomplished" to me. No Saddam. No WMD. The only terrorists are waging civil war against each other. The only Americans threatened by Iraq are the American soldiers Bush put in harms way by sending them to Iraq."

My nearly-a-Knox-native-brother and I talked about this very thing last fall, prior to Saddam's execution. Since the Bushies have been successful at making the idea of "liberty" mean "national security" then why can't they make "victory" mean whatever they want?

Ramsey New Lt. Governor

For this first time since 1971, the state has a new Lt. Governor. In a deeply contentious vote and a bitter battle for power, Senator Ron Ramsey was voted into that slot today. Kleinheider has been closely following the power struggles at Volunteer Voters.

Wilder's Wiki has already been changed (though the site notes the info available is "unverified").

In a day or so, many will write about the rocky history of Wilder, who has Speaker of the Senate for so long he seemed invincible. But no one is invincible in politics - ever. 36 years is certainly a long time to hold that office, but it is not forever. I certainly welcome the change and the call to remove Wilder has been rather deafening in the last few months.

With Ramsey now in that slot and the GOP in firm control of the Senate, the real question of how Ramsey will lead will take time to be answered. One thing is certan - Wilder was often termed a bi-partisan senator. That is not a word anyone has ever used for Ramsey. Will he lead or just stand in the way of any legislation not created by the GOP?

Happy Elvismas!

Thanks to a timely reminder from one of the Wonder Triplets (that means you, Tits and check out her excellent post here) I still have time to wedge in a wee bit of celebration of The King's birthday.

This is the opening from his 1968 TV special and blends two songs, "Trouble" and "Guitar Man". And of course, it includes the giant multi-story, light-up letters that spell E-L-V-I-S.

Denying the Record on Iraq

Amnesia has struck numerous right-wing pundits and online gurus who used to echo the many and ever-changing talking points about war in Iraq via the White House. The reality of a confused strategy and a growing civil war has prompted them to forget they used to champion the rush into the middle east with U.S. military. The last election cycle in 2006 seems to have magically transformed their opinons.

It's fine to change your mind about the war, given the current state of affairs. Pretending you never supported the war is shameful. Yet, some have been doing just that, as noted by Glenn Greenwald:

"All of these self-proclaimed super-patriots who spent the last three years shrieking that anyone who criticizes the war is a friend of the terrorists are now being forced to admit that the war is unwinnable. But rather than acknowledging their reversal, they seek to erase the public record, both to salvage their reputations and to obscure the intensity of their attacks against those who were right. Such vitriol against critics muted debate in the first place and ensured that we stayed in Iraq, pretending all along that things were going great."

This week the President is supposed to promote a "new approach" in Iraq. Given this administration's track record of stubborn denials of reality and the tendency to stubbornly act as the Lone Ranger, I expect little of use to be offered. While this administration was a cheerleader for the Rapid Response philosophy from the Pentagon, they seem unable to grasp the concepts of "rapid" and "response".

Making Movies for the Faithful

A curious pedigree for the newly released movie "Thr3e", a thriller about serial killers and theology. The movie is the newest production from Fox Faith, a Christian-themed distribution arm of 20th Century Fox. I mean talk about niche marketing. Is there an evangelical audience yearning for movies of murder and mayhem with religious overtones?

The reviews are pretty harsh for this movie. And perhaps it's best to say that given it's title, it's about half as good as the other number-titled serial killer movie with religious overtones - "Seven".

As for Fox Faith - with the tagline "Movies you can believe in" - it seems a really cynical marketing ploy. But so far, returns and promotions of their films are pretty thin. And for studio execs, I have some much needed info for you -- by their very nature, the majority of thrillers and horror tales usually have the structure of a morality play already.

And good luck getting the web site for Fox Faith to load. The fact is, there has been a surge of sorts in what's called "Christian Retailing." The phrase seems oddly contradictory to me.

Some background and details about what's really the focus here -- profits and not prophets:

"The Weinstein Co. recently struck a deal with Impact Productions, a Christian company, to finance, coproduce and distribute its films. FoxFaith, a new division of 20 th Century Fox that caters to the faithbased market, will release at least six religion-themed films this year, said Steve Feldstein, senior vice president of corporate and marketing communications for Fox Home Entertainment.

Good News Holdings, a Christian multimedia company, acquired film rights to Anne Rice’s best-selling novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt for a tentative December release. The company, which plans to make the film on an estimated budget of $40 million, is also developing a series of Christian-themed horror movies, according to its Web site.

"There’s a huge untapped marketplace out there that is interested in films that reflect their values," Feldstein said.

To promote its religious titles, Fox has strung together a network of 90,000 churches, ministries and Christian groups nationwide, Feldstein said.

He added that the company isn’t looking to spread Christian values. Rather, it hopes to gain access to an underserved and lucrative niche market.

According to CBA, an evangelical Christian trade group, the Christian market is a $4.2 billion industry."

Last weekend I happened to see an old 1950s entry called "Red Planet Mars," where it turns out that God is broadcasting messages from Mars to Earth. The very sincere and talky movie also has a subplot involving Communists trying to overwhelm the Mars to Earth Message Pipeline. Strange as it sounds, the movie, I had to admit, was fascinating to watch. And the ending was curiously violent, to say the least. It certainly is a layered story about a search for intelligent signs in the Universe, but I thought you didn't need a high-tech radio set-up to talk to God.


The script here is by legendary horror and fantasy writer John Balderston, who penned both the 1930s era play "Red Planet Mars" and the movie script. Balderston also created the plays/scripts for "Dracula", "Frankenstein," "The Mummy" and more for Universal.

It still ranks as the only Sci-Fi-Communist-Christian movie ever made. But perhaps Fox Faith or some of these other new production companies will correct that. This new crop of movies is not the first time Hollywood has tried this type of filmmaking and marketing. History has shown, that so far, it's an approach that has failed financially.

Perhaps the worldwide religious fervor of the 21st century will be more profitable, but will audiences convert to such marketing ploys?

Camera Obscura - Best Movies of 2006; Who Is Uwe Boll; Movie News

A top movies of 2006 list is as easy to find as a bluegrass musician in Tennessee. As one friend says, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting one.

Last week I offered my picks for the movies I liked the best in 2006, though many were made in previous years, and I tend to see more these days on DVD. So this week, a peek at who will win Oscar nominations, a bona fide list of excellence in horror movies on DVD, and much more juicy and tasty takes on the world 'o movies. Read on!

The nominations from the Producer's Guild point to heavy-duty Oscar contenders - but missing is poor Clint Eastwood. Will the five movies picked by producers be the nominees for Best Picture? I imagine "Babel" will drop off the list, but I think the solid contenders are "The Departed," "The Queen", and "Dreamgirls". Their list is here.

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Once again, I truly like the selections and opinions offered on horror movies via DVDStalk. They note the best horror on DVD releases from 2006, and they make some great selections, many of which I too have mentioned. One I did not mention, since I only saw the DVD was available last week is the deeply underrated "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" from creator/director Tobe Hooper. Aiming for comedy but still keeping the terror at high levels, the movie scores big with Bill Mosley and Dennis Hopper, a kicking soundtrack, and Hooper's goofy nightmare amusement park. And that opening scene will take yer head off!

Their pick for the best horror on DVD of 2006 - "The Descent". On my list to see this week, the movie gets truly high praise from all the fans and critics alike. And I do mean praise:

"I'm telling you - horror freak to horror freak - The Descent is my favorite film of 2006 and easily one of the best horror films of the last ten years. I said it before, and I'll say it again - this is a must see film for any discerning horror fan."

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Two new DVD releases make my mouth water -- both Season One and Two of the David Lynch TV series "Twin Peaks." Loaded with honest-to-pete extras and commentary, this was too long in arriving. Now the bad news -- not all the episodes are here!! For some reason, Warner's will not give the OK to release the 2-hour pilot on DVD. That is just stupid.

Me? I am one of the lucky ones - I have a commercial free copy of the pilot on VHS which ABC sent me in advance to review just before the show hit television and made history. Friends will confirm I eagerly took the tape to many many homes preaching the Gospel of it's Goodness.

The good news about the boxed sets: it arrives with a removable pic of the doomed Laura Palmer and the set is wrapped in plastic, just like Laura. Heh heh.

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"I'm Christian Slater - Paranormal Detective"

That should have been the title of the truly godawful movie "Alone In The Dark" from heinous and infamous director Uwe Boll. I've tried at least 8 times to watch the entire movie and failed each time. Which means it does rank in my book as a movie so bad, it should carry FDA warnings. And yes, I keep saying "that's because I'm Christian Slater - Paranormal Detective" every time Slater speaks.

The movie may be the (so far) masterpiece of awful from Boll -- who is planning a sequel. And people from all walks of life really hate the man. Last summer, he challenged his critics to face him in a boxing ring. The results were surreal. How long will it be before someone makes a movie about Boll, rightly termed the Ed Wood of the 21st Century?

Truth is, I have never been able to watch an entire Boll film. "BloodRayne" (which he has now mapped out as a trilogy) is another choice entry of awful. What is stunning is how the actors involved - Ben Kingsley, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Madsen - NEVER look at the camera, though you know they want to, with a look that says "Help Me!" They exhibit what's known in the biz as "Take the money and walk away ... quickly."

With the $60 million budget (??!!!??) for "Dungeon Siege" (Burt Reynolds?), Boll will surely lay claim to the throne as Worst Director in World History.

Words will never capture the discomfort his movies create in a viewer. Or the boredom. My advice, however, for an excellent time, is to get one or two of his movies, gather your friends, and make up your own running dialog as you watch. That, my friends, is deeply entertaining!

Why Wii Is More Popular Than The PS3

Courtesy of the minds at G4.

Very Unscientific Survey on New Congress

For the first time the U.S. House of Representatives has a woman as Speaker - number two in line of succession to the presidency. She easily has the toughest job in American politics today, though President Bush may be a close second in the tough job category - can he prove his policies and programs have relevance? A question for you, dear readers, follows.

The Democrats elected Pelosi by a slim margin of 29 votes to the leadership position. Democrats are pushing for an ambitious agenda for the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress. Here is a summary of their plans:

* Good Government: Cutting off lobbyist gifts and restoring fairness and transparency in the way laws are passed

* Fiscal Responsibility: Stop recklessly driving up the national debt

* National Security: Implement all of the 9/11 Commission security recommendations

* Fighting Poverty: Increase minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, helping 15 million working families

* Health Research: Increased funding and availability for stem cell research

* Affordable Health Care: Negotiate for lower prices on prescription drugs, passing savings on to seniors

* Education Access: Cut interest on federal student loans in half

* Clean Energy: Cut oil company subsidies and invest in safe alternatives


And you can go here for a more detailed account.

THE QUESTION:

How much - if any - of these legislative plans will be adopted?