Horrorfest Lands In East Tennessee

A weekend of macabre movies arrives this coming weekend - and the shocking truth that the mini-festival of horrors is playing in Morristown is .... did I say shocking? Well, that's me. Shocked and awed. Score two points (or is it eight?) as the After Dark Horrorfest: 8 Films To Die For will be presented at Paradigm Cinemas.

Part of me is convinced not all 8 films will be here, or that the showtimes won't allow me to see all of them, or some bad thing will happen to otherwise shortchange this horror fan. The fest is marketed as a collection of movies too graphic and ghoulish and disturbing for general audiences, but hey, they are being released to theatres and not right to DVD.

The movies are playing all over the state and the nation. For a full list of theatres and movies, you can check out the official website. Apparently no bulk tickets to all the movies are available, you'll have to pay for each one. Suck.

The movies are a broad mix of low budgets and large, some stars are featured, many are newcomers. How broad is the range? Well, there's the new movie from J-Horror icon, Takashi Shimizu, who created the "Grudge" series and a new funny/scary flick called Snoop Dog's Hood of Horror.

You can go to this YouTube link for a page with a preview to each of the movies. Previews are also on the Horrorfest web page

The Paradigm Cinemas website is here, but sorry, no tickets online.

Otherwise, please allow me to say "Woot!!"

Tax Relief for Elderly A Tall Order

Voters across the state said Yes in huge numbers to allowing for a change in the tax laws and provide some limits for senior citizens regarding property taxes. Today's Tennessean editorial on the topic says Nashville should lead the way in this change:

"So it is not surprising that (Mayor Bill) Purcell would react quickly to the opportunity again to support such relief. In his letter to council members last week, Purcell described the effort as a way to help seniors "live out their lives in dignity in the homes where they raised their families and created the neighborhoods that bind our city together."

As lawmakers consider tax relief for seniors, which is highly popular, they must do so with the knowledge that it will mean other sources of revenue will have to bear more of the burden. Few people will argue with property tax relief for the elderly, but the trick will be in finding ways to make up the difference. So the effort must be handled carefully."

The devil is truly in the details for this measure.

The approved amendment states that cities and counties can enact the change, which could easily create mass confusion - what if the state's 95 counties create 95 different changes in the tax structure? And if cities can likewise draft their own laws, how many different tax laws will be created?

The approved amendment states that cities and counties can enact the change, which could easily create mass confusion - what if the state's 95 counties create 95 different changes in the tax structure? And if cities can likewise draft their own laws, how many different tax laws will be created? And as I understand the change, the General Assembly must first decide how much senior citizens can earn to even be eligible for a tax freeze.

The fact is no county or city is obligated to enact any changes. State agencies which advise cities and counties are certain to push for uniform laws, but the state's communities seldom act in agreement on anything.

This was a poorly conceived amendment, requiring zero compliance. The ballots themselves had errors in the wording of the change and "corrections" to the ballot wording were nearly impossible to find on election day - the polling place I went to had voting machines on one side of the room and the corrected wording for the ballot measure were posted on the opposite side of that room. As I understood it, the change in wording was supposed to be posted on the voting machines. That just did not happen at each polling location.

The size of the senior citizen population nationwide is going to grow by huge numbers within the decade and those in charge of drafting future tax rates are keenly aware of the coming changes.

I would expect changes in tax rates will be very very slow to emerge. I'm sure special committees to investigate the issue will be created and their eventual reports will arrive in some distant future. Glaciers will move quicker than any change in the tax laws.

Keep The Watchdog Alive

An excellent example of bipartisan efforts working to the benefit of all taxpayers and to insure that reconstruction programs in Iraq are effective has been provided by Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democrat Senator Russ Feingold.

The lawmakers are intent on keeping alive the special Inspector General's program to track billions of dollars which Republicans in the House tried to kill. It makes no sense, as both senators argued today, to stop such a highly productive and much needed oversight program.

Sen. Collins says:

"We must keep the watchdog on the job," Collins said. "It is inconceivable that we would remove this aggressive oversight while the American taxpayer is still spending billions of dollars on Iraq reconstruction projects.

The SIGR site details how vital their work has been, how much work remains and clearly deserves to be allowed to complete it's task. Only those seeking to defraud taxpayers would want to see this program end.

But You've Been Murdered!!

Not a good day when you're lying handcuffed on the deck of your own home and deputies tell you that you've been murdered.

Yet, that's what happened according to one Cocke County couple, who have filed a $12 million lawsuit against the deputies and the sheriff's department. They also state in their lawsuit that officers provided no warrant either.

The press report also has fascinating details of the suit:

"The Lovells allege in their lawsuit that Cocke County Sheriff's Dep. David Parton, Sgt. Armando Fontes, and Lt. Doug Atkins attempted to use a large landscape timber to break down the door to their residence, located at 180 Solitaire Way, then entered the residence with guns drawn, including an assault rifle. The lawsuit contends that the Lovells were forced to lie on the front deck, while scantily clad, and that Jean Lovell was tackled and handled roughly by Fontes in the process. The Lovells also contend that, when they asked why the action was being taken, Jean Lovell was told that, "You're the one who was supposed to have been murdered ...."
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"Alternatively, if there existed a valid reason to search for a victim and/or a perpetrator, it is shown to the court that the alleged victim and/or perpetrator were not of a size sufficient that they could fit inside a kitchen drawer, or a bathroom drawer, or a drawer in a piece of furniture. "In short, there was no valid reason to rummage through plaintiffs' personal effects," stated the lawsuit."

I suppose saying "I'm not dead!!" just isn't proof.

UPDATE: I mentioned it in the comments section in this post, but here is the link to the LA Times story on Cocke County, which, naturally, local officials did not look kindly on.

PS3 vs Wii vs XBox 360

The real battle for the next few months won't just be a policy debate in Washington, DC.

From coast to coast and around the world, the battle is about to begin for the minds of young and old alike as crazed consumers begin measuring the wins and losses between the three new videogame consoles - PlayStation 3, Wii and XBox 360. Billions of dollars are at stake.

I know in the gaming community I'm about three days older than dirt. I got addicted early in life, using electronic stimulants like those found on a Commodore 64, the Atari system, and to further reveal my age ... pinball machines.

I still use my ever-reliable PS2, and yes, I'm still playing ancient games like HotShots Golf and Star Wars Battlefront. (I once considered including the fact that I completed God of War and Max Payne 1 and 2 on job applications under Accomplishments.) But, I faithfully watch the most important gaming overview show ever period and amen, and that's X-Play with Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. I've suffered hand cramps and even missed work a few times lost in button-mashing madness, powered by Doritos and Mountain Dew. And yet I am fully aware that on the Gamers Scale, I barely rate a 3 out of 10 for hip and ultimate gamer.

With Christmas approaching, the stores will be feverishly attempting to keep these competing consoles stocked. But which to buy??

Engadget has an exhaustive round-up of the pros and cons on each system.

And while I really enjoy PlayStation most, I am fascinated by the Wii - wireless controllers where arm and hand movements control the events in the game -- I say "Woot!!"

Come Take A Nashville Ride

You are invited to come join me as I guest blog at Nashville Is Talking this weekend.

Also, I will once again tomorrow offer up some free tickets to performances at the Comedy Festival being held next week in Las Vegas.

Check into Nashville Is Talking tomorrow morning for all the details and your chance to win.

Also, if you're a regular reader of my movie and entertainment posts on Fridays, you'll have to check out the Nashville blog for all the good stuff and the oddest entertainment news I can find. (Like that'll be tough to provide!!)

UPDATE: What is the connection between the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and the NBC comedy "The Office"? You can find the answers in this post I just added to Nashville Is Talking.

Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld

I'm not sure the charges can stick, but since Donald Rumsfeld has resigned, he also loses immunity protections. However, I can't see the case proceeding very far. Still, a report in Time magazine says a case is moving through the legal system in Germany:

"Just days after his resignation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."

Free Comedy Festival Tickets!

I have some free tickets for you to see performances at the Comedy Festival in Las Vegas for next week. That means several lucky readers will get a chance to see Bob Saget and Jamie Kennedy or Nick Cannon or Maxim's Real Men of Comedy. Truly and no joke.

The Comedy Festival website is here, presented by HBO and AEG Live, and there are tons of great acts ahead. Performers for the event, November 14-18 include Dane Cook, Chris Rock, Bill Maher, Dave Capelle, Damon Wayans, Jimmy Fallon and many many more.

If you want two tickets to Saget and Kennedy or Maxim's event - be one of first two people to respond ASAP in the comments. Include an email address to win!!

These tickets are flying fast! Act immediately to win!! Contest here closes at 5 pm EST.

UPDATE: Well the window of opportunity has closed!! Not takers of the freebies mean some other folks will have a chance at the tickets.

Conservative Comedy

Had to do a double take when Colbert collided with Limbaugh.

At least Colbert honestly creates satire.

Limbaugh creates ... well, ratings and money, yes. But satire appears often by nature of the double-sided blade of "truthiness" he flails around with in his ever-diminishing effort to entertain his true believers.

First, take a look at Limbaugh's attempt to get away from the Republican defeat on Tuesday:

"The way I feel is this: I feel liberated, and I'm going to tell you as plainly as I can why. I no longer am going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried. Now, you might say, "Well, why have you been doing it?" Because the stakes are high! Even though the Republican Party let us down, to me they represent a far better future for my beliefs and therefore the country's than the Democrat [sic] Party does and liberalism."

Now, comedian Stephen Colbert:

"Tomorrow you'’re all going to wake up in a Brave New World, a world where the constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones created in a stem cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags. Where Tax and Spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. Oh, and everybody'’s high!!! Whoo!!! I'’ve had it! You people don'’t deserve a Republican majority. Screw this, I quit!"

(hat tip to Liberadio)

For sheer lunacy, however, nobody can touch the witless drooling of Bill O'Reilly.

If I Can Dream

It's the right time for some Elvis.

Goodbye To All That?

A double smackdown for Vice President Cheney has brought quick changes following the elections - Rumsfeld is out as Secretary of Defense (smack one) and Robert Gates, longtime ally of the first President Bush is in (smack two).

While speaking boldly for Rumsfeld last week, the fact was changes were being prompted by the president and Cheney's views on leadership were being pushed aside by President Bush.

"But sources told NBC News’ military analyst Bill Arkin that prior to the election, Vice President Dick Cheney argued with other politicians over whether Rumsfeld should stay. White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and others said Rumsfeld should be removed, the source said. Both sides agreed the decision would be made after the election, when Bush would make the final call based on how Republicans did.

According to the source, Bush agreed Rumsfeld should be removed after seeing election results favoring Democrats. Cheney then lost another argument, protesting Gates’ nomination as Rumsfeld’s replacement."

I say long overdue.

Next: will John Murtha be the new majority leader in the House?

Republicans Held Accountable

Time for a change. That's what voters across the country said in a majority of ballots. The shrill voices demonizing anyone not a Republican were provided a simple message yesterday - shut up.

It's always astounded me that Right Wing cheerleaders like Coulter and Limbaugh and Vice-President Cheney were never satisfied that Republicans held the majority at the Federal level. Any and all policy failures or personal doubts weren't their fault. It was the Evil Liberal, the Godless Democrat minority, the folk they would have us believe are secretly aiding terrorists.

With a clear voice the majority of Americans called "Bullshit" on all that.

Coulter must be a whirling dervish today to realize the first woman to reach the position of House speaker is not only a Democrat but a Liberal one. The Coulters and Malkins and the tiny echoes of blog-repeaters need to take stock and realize America rejects their whining.

Not only did the Democrats take a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, they did not lose any either. They took a majority of governor's races too, and again, did not lose any. And it appears the Democrats have just enough wins to take the Senate to a more balanced population, and again, lost no seats.

Blaming a non-existent, non-patriotic enemy is a fool's argument. Republicans did not just lose a campaign - they lost the confidence of America to be more ethical or moral, to shrink government intrusion into the private sector, to grow the economy for all citizens, to provide for the national security.

Six years into his presidency, George Bush has finally realized he should take time to meet with those who don't walk in lock-step agreement with him. After all, it was Bush himself who declared he was a Uniter and not a Divider. Time to pony up.

In Tennessee, the election of Bob Corker was no simple task. It was a squeaker of a victory. A few thousand votes could easily have gone the other way. The pressure is on now for him to provide leadership, not to rubber-stamp the party's wishes. Should he begin to drift into following the lobbyists and the party bosses, I'd expect he'll find himself out of office and out of favor with voters quickly.

Nationwide voters told the GOP they have been held accountable and found wanting.

Democrats and democrat leaders need to rise to this moment - correct the course.

Big Political Changes or None?

This year's election will certainly be the most live-blogged and internet active election in the nation's history. And history shows a fascinating look at the projected changes in party control of Congress. Read on for more on that.

For a nationwide review of what's happening at the polls and the outcomes of all elections in the country, a good place to watch will be at CQ Politics --

Many have proclaimed already the House will turn to Democrat leadership, but few foresee changes in the Senate. This state's Senate race may be the deciding election

The CQ writers did have a very interesting historical perspective on their site yesterday:

"Since 1914, there has never been an instance of the House changing hands without the Senate following. Such an event did happen following the 1910 elections, when many senators were still appointed by state legislatures. That year, Democrats gained 58 seats in the House, vaulting them into the majority. Republicans did lose seats in the Senate, but not enough for them to lose the majority in that chamber."

If I encounter anything worth writing about when I vote in an hour or so, I'll add it to the posts today.

The Million Dollar Referendum

Two voters will be one million dollars richer if a referendum passes in Arizona.

Now that's voter incentive!! Much better for the voter than say, the "bag-o-pork-rinds" you get for your vote in Appalachia.

Glenn Reynolds and others say this effort will just bring "stupid people" out to vote. How anyone can tell the difference between a stupid voter or non-stupid is puzzling to me.

While pundits have debated the issue, I would say voters will approve of this measure by a huge margin. Why indeed wait for some elusive outcome in the elections to provide a measurable benefit, when you can take a chance that your choice (no matter what it is) can make you an InstaMillionaire?

And does the "stupid people" reference indicate that some folks consider that some people need a 'stupidity test" in order to have the right to vote?

Then again, is voting so hateful and despised that a million dollar carrot has to be dangled out before you?

Arizona also has a referendum which if passed would require ballots be sent by mail to every eligible voter who could then vote by mail. And still someone in both primary and general elections will get the million clams.

Hmpf! In Tennessee, all we get is a non-binding referendum which allows for government to give property tax breaks to the elderly, with zero promise the government will actually create such a law. Oh and another stupid law (yes, I say there are only stupid acts of legislation, not stupid voters) to ban certain types of marriage even though we already HAVE a law banning certain types of marriage.

Yeesh. At least we could get a beer coupon or something.

UPDATE: The Arizona voters rejected the referendum and said no to a million dollar payoff. Whattaya know??

Send The Rubber-Stampers Home

If you are a voter who can't see the time is here to end the corruption and scandal in Congress, then no word or fact provided on this humble page will change your perspective. That's sad. Because we ignore such failings at the nation's peril.

I remain hopeful this election day will end with a majority of the leftover "Contract With America" Republicans going home again. I said when that idiotic pandering campaign of 1994 started that it was a sham and a shame. It has been both. Congress isn't able of structuring forced amendments to self-correct bad policy and corruption.

Voters do that.

To pretend otherwise is to pretend some party or some majority or some President has a supernatural ability to Always Be Right. And it is to pretend that your role as voter plays no important role. It does. Our country is not served best when voters are uninvolved, spun one way or another to assure party solidarity. Independence made this nation -- it remains as vital today that each of us holds Independence above Party Powers.

I know there are signs the GOP hold on the Congress is weak, and I truly hope the leadership changes. We have not been well represented by laws which insulate corporations from accountability, especially as the GOP leads efforts to privatize more and more government operations -- here's a fact for you: The government has not been "privatizing" it's responsibilities, it has been "corporatizing" them.

Billions in fraud and waste in Iraqi war operations alone have brought much pressure on corporations, thanks to a special committee created, despite much GOP opposition, to oversee the actions of corporate, no-bid contract winners. Sadly, that committee has just been eliminated by the Republican rubber-stampers, told how to act and how to vote by the Bush Administration. Why eliminate this committee? Not because they failed at their job -- but because they were successful.

To call out war profiteering for what it is has been the goal of a documentary film that should make every American furious and urge voters to change the leadership in Washington. Check out the Iraq For Sale Blog here, many clips from the movie are there, as well as the lies and deceits of companies who have been earning billions at the expense of continuing a badly executed military strategy. Robert Greenwald speaks about the "outing" of war profiteers:



To endorse the plan we've had is to endorse a long, drawn out but highly profitable war. Most real patriots simply feel ashamed when they see the facts. To blame a political party for the enemies' successes is to ignore the failures of the polices and strategies forced through a Congress which seldom cared if the ends justified the means. The fact is the "ends" have not materialized. And the "means" are dubious at best, criminal at worst.

Vote.

One Blogger Posts From Life and Death Struggle

However icy or "soggy-bottomed" your heart and soul might be, I dare you to take a few minutes and walk into the world of an East Tennessee blogger who has been posting about something amazing and terrifying - his 29-year-old wife's life and death struggle in the hospital, and his effort to somehow grasp what is happening and what might happen.

The events which have taken place over the course of a few days to blogger Atomic Tumor and his wife, who goes by the name Golden Apple Corp, will dwarf most any problem you have been having. To say it briefly, GAC became ill for some unknown reason and has remained critically ill. She remains so this morning. Many other bloggers in the state have already mentioned this, asking for your best thoughts and prayers and hopes.

I'll happily add my voice to theirs.

Even though AT and GAC and I have never met face to face, we are fine friends - that's what happens when you begin to make daily contact with someone who writes online about themselves and their thoughts. I may only visit online, but I stop there more than once a day, I add my comments, and I discover the world through the eyes of another person.

I know the pain and the worry and the fear devour whole galaxies of thought and emotion for families whose members fill hospitals across the world. These Oak Ridge folks are most fortunate they have many members of family and friends to help them now. But I also know it doesn't seem like Fortune is being their ally at this time.

It takes some kind of unknown ability to do what AT has been doing - not just the minute to minute and hour to hour courage to cope with a critical illness which has ravaged the one he loves - but to write about it so openly, so honestly and with such joy and pain, I know that takes something truly unique.

I've had to deal with it myself recently and here's what I learned: pouring your hurts into an online blog is beyond difficult. To do it at all, much less to do it well, that takes great strength.

You can begin the storyline here - from taking her to the hospital to AT's most recent post. I hope you take the time to read all of the posts of this dire event. That you meet them and their friends at Team AT - Bosphorus, Mrs. Eaves, and many others like me who stop and visit there.

What is being shared is rare and powerful and will take you straight into this struggle. You cannot emerge untouched. You'll meet some amazing people, and adding your hopes can only help.

A few excerpts from a variety of posts:

"She'’s responding again. She hasn'’t opened her eyes, but she squeezed my hand. She raised her eyebrows. She got onto me for self depreciating humor.

I no longer have any doubt that she'’s in there communicating with me. Well, not that I did, based on the last post, but things like this are so hard. I don'’t like not understanding things, and the world that she is in now I don'’t understand.

I hate to leave her. I hate to see her that way. God, I love her."
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"I want to tell you guys stories about her, about GAC, but I can'’t think of any. I want to say something that will touch you, something that will make you think of the person in your life, and how things happen out of nowhere, how tennis turns into praying for your wife'’s heathen soul to be allowed into heaven, because I can'’t bear the idea of being separated from her, and because I was sure that her end was imminent.

Guys, this is hard. I'’m too drained to think of any of these stories, and I really want to. I want to for myself.

And I want to cuddle her. I want to breath in the scent of her hair. I want to kiss the back of her neck, and tickle the tiny hairs back there. I want to rub her feet. I want to hear her voice."
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"At night, if GAC is sick, it gets a little worse. I hear thats normal, to some extent. Maybe the pull of the sun does something to our cells. I was outside earlier, looking at the sky, and the stars, and the significant things, and thinking about the cells in her body. Thinking about the world in her head. A world bigger than the sun, and the stars.

Somebody once told me that Stephen Hawking said that he believed when you die, you become as a god, because the energy that consciousness is turns inward, or something like that. Maybe it was that because of the whole matter/energy thing. I don'’t remember.

How many days can be like today? How many people go through this, silently, in the next car. When the world is normal, and you'’re worried about getting to work on time, or realized you forgot a dental appointment, or just mad at your wife for something stupid that you don'’t remember, how many people around you are feeling this?"

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"At night, when everybody else is asleep, I'’m going to let the gravity of this hit me, and I'’ll write posts like I did. Tonight I want to tell you how we met. I have a lot of stories, and I want to share them, if you'’ll listen. Or if not, don'’t really matter. I like writing.

Ironically, writing is easy. A few weeks ago I was in a bit of a funk, and couldn'’t write much. Now I can'’t stop my fingers."

"Thanks for being there. I can feel you, peering through the 1s and 0s into my grief and my terror.

GAC will read this, right?"

Again, I hope you take some time to read all of his posts and the comments from around the Web.

I hope most of all that GAC gets all her health and strength back soon, that she is in the arms of the man who loves her, surrounded by her children and her family and friends who value her above all the wealth in the world.

UPDATE: The latest post for this Monday morning is here. AT updates often , so please add your hopes and prayers just as often.

Haggard's 'Prick and Anguish'

As I told some friends recently, the only Haggard I have ever liked was named Merle.

So this Ted Haggard - a political evangelical who met with the President on Mondays to make sure the Conservatives had the votes from the megachurch madness crowd - is yet another gay-basher who is apparently gay. Or wrestling with the question of being gay or not, while campaigning the government for ways to stop gays from being married.

Yes, the jokes were all over the Web yesterday and will be for some time. In some of the back and forth laughter at a Fallen Neo-Con Angel, I made the comment that I think many church folk secretly wish for a flawed, hypocritical pastor. It humanizes the pastor and makes the membership rest a little easier with their own Sin.

Just recall the sexcapades of Bakker, Swaggart, etc etc.

And then I was presented this fine excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter:

". . . the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it, indeed, in great part, by his sorrows. His . . . power of experiencing and communicating emotion, were kept in a state of preternatural activity by the prick and anguish of his daily life."

See, even the earliest Americans knew about the dangers of a political "moral majority" (which isn't either one).

Camera Obscura - Simspons Horror; Feast; Slither

Come this way, down thru the lowest section of the basement where the lights sputter and grow dim, the steps leading down turn slightly slimy and slippery, where the hand-rail disappears. It's all old down here and it's all new, too.

Shhhh .... don't be afraid. It is possible for just about anything to survive.

This is one of the oldest parts of the house, and I can often be found here, relaxing and watching movies. See, it's more dry here. There are some very comfortable chairs. What? Oh, no, don't worry about finding your way back. Sit, please, sit down. I have some leftover Halloween candy if you.... no?

We'll find our way back out soon enough.

Now let's see... ah yes, first at little comedy, a little laugh to put you more at ease, yes?

Sunday marks the 17th time that "The Simpsons" provides their annual Halloween "Treehouse of Horror" episode. Of course, due to football and baseball, this Halloween event usually takes place in November. Sort of spooky time-traveling, I suppose. This year offers you a chance to make a Simpsons video clip.

And you can win some prizes too - decide which clips to use, which sound effects and music to add at this site, where you can make your own Treehouse of Horror clip. Try it, you'll find out just how easy it is to make a little horror tale. Kang and Kodos will help you!

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A new movie is on DVD which was actually the third in the "Project Greenlight" series, a lame event meant to give new directors a chance to work their movie magic. Not one of them has done well, and this last one is easily the best of the bunch. It's a plain and simple horror genre movie called "Feast."

It almost plays out like a comedy/video game. The movie starts and you are introduced to the characters when the camera freezes on them, gives you some snarky titles cards with info on who they are and what their chances are of surviving this movie -- most fare quite badly in that category.

They are all in a run-down and seedy bar one night when two people rush inside, freaking out. They speak weird warnings of strange things attacking them. And then the 'things' attack. There are no real reasons offered as to what these things are, why the couple is being chased, what is happening at all -- characters are lined up and taken out in, as I said, a video game-style shootout. The filmmaking is very much on the cheap, so there are lots of Sam Raimi styled shaky camera shots and buckets of gore and blood.

The movie stars Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, Jason Mewes and Krista Allen.

Don't expect much, and you may just enjoy this one.
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Another new one for DVD has arrived as one of the best-reviewed films of the year and yes, of course, it is a grim and grisly gallows-humored entry called "Slither". How do I say this next part? How about this -- this is one of those movies where "people blow up real good."

A meteorite falls to other with a gooey thing inside of it. Director/writer James Gunn, who made the very fine remake of "Dawn of the Dead" has made an explosive (really) salute to B-movies and horror films from several decades. Actor Michael Rooker gets some kind of infected alien dart-dealie in his neck and turns murderous and ... horrifically obese.

Simple-minded folk face off against slugs by the thousands which turn everyone into zombiefied, tentacled and pregnant time-bombs. A little bit of "The Blob" and "Alien" and some of Cronenberg's cult-classic "They Came From Within" and again, buckets of gore and blood are here. Actor Nathan Fillion ("Firefly") takes the lead and has a great time as does the rest of the cast.

"Don't let 'em in yer mouth!!"
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What? You want to leave?

Okay by me. You can find your own way out, can't you? I've got a few more movies to watch here. I hope you don't mind making your own way back.

Here, take this before you leave -- it's a little preview of a movie called "The Invisible." It's by David Goyer ("Blade", "Batman Begins") and the producers of "The Sixth Sense." Just a little ghost story. I do like the main character's name.

You be careful and I'll see you again.

Soon.

UPDATE: Told you I'd be back!

I was just reading a story that Newscoma had on her blog about asshat Bill O'Reilly trying to use the popularity of a horror movie like the "Saw" series to boost his over-inflated ego.

Check out her post here and you can also read the thoughts I had about the story on her comments. I'm not giving the asshat the satisfaction of saying what I think twice. Plus, Newscoma has a great photo from the horror movie "The Head That Would Not Die" which you should see.

Six Words Make Science Fiction Story

Wired magazine puts together an impressive collection of short stories -- very short stories. All six words long. All science fiction. I sent this to some friends via email, but thought, why not share it here too?

Some samples and their authors:

Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
- William Shatner

Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so.
- Joss Whedon

Kirby had never eaten toes before.
- Kevin Smith

Bush told the truth. Hell froze.
- William Gibson

Tick tock tick tock tick tick.
- Neal Stephenson

Read the whole collection here. (And be sure to read the six-word Hemingway story mentioned in the article.)

Nielsens Say GOP Dominates Internet

The ratings company used to gauge television is now examining the internet and their report from yesterday says Republicans dominate the online community - declaring that of all those online, 36.6 percent are Republican, 30.8 percent are Democrats and 17.3 percent Independents.

More on the issue of Nielsen ratings for online users in a moment - first, though, whatever the report may declare I see something much different. Their own numbers show 48.1 percent of those online are not Republicans. And yet add all the politicized numbers of adults online and you get a total of 84.7 percent. That leaves 15.3 percent.

More number fun -- add 15.3 percent to the 48.1 percent not Republican and you have 63.4 percent. So the Nielsen headline is "Republicans Outnumber Democrats Online." True, but non-Republicans outnumber the GOP 63.4 percent to 36.6 percent.

I loved this paragraph in the report:

" Perhaps contrary to assumptions about who's a Democrat and who's a Republican, neither party seemed to favor a particular gender or age group. Among racial groups, African Americans skewed Democratic; with a composition index of 231, they were over twice as likely to be Democratic as the average Web user. Asians were 36 percent more likely than the average Web user to be Democratic, and Hispanics were 28 percent more likely. White people were slightly more likely to be Republican."

If asked, I would respond that I am an Independent - I don't belong to a Party. I do know the Party that has controlled the House and Senate for the last 12 years and all 3 branches of government for the last 6 years have failed at the job of representation. I've not seen the country this forced into divisive camps since about 1968 when American cities were on fire and assassinations were all over the news.

As for politicizing the Internet, I told a friend recently what I enjoyed most on the Web were all the varied political opinions and expressions being presented. For the first time in my lifetime, I can see/read/hear opinion that is not filtered through television or radio programming distortions or newspaper control of information.

And I think that scares the bejesus out of media conglomerates and government. Free expression is a wild and untamed thing, but without it this is not truly a free country. It's a controlled and caged beast looking for ways to run free again.

My friend reminded me of the early days of our nation, when "pamphleteers" shared information about the world and the events around us. Men like Thomas Paine, and yes, there is a website named for him which I often read and urge others to do as well.

And just this week, the Pentagon announced they are working 24-7 to observe and create information for the internet:

"The Pentagon press secretary, Eric Ruff, says part of the new effort will focus on getting the Defense Department'’s viewpoint into new media, such as Internet blogs and podcasts, and also to provide department officials for more radio and television programs. At a briefing, he denied a reporter'’s suggestion that the department is trying to go around reporters for major news organizations who cover the Pentagon on a regular basis."

So there is much emphasis for the Nielsen Media Reasearch Company to corral the World Wild Web -- control is the goal, not observation. Make no mistake, the web is a media that is manipulated -- but almost anyone can do it, you don't have to be a publisher or a broadcaster. You just need a computer and an internet connection and you're off to pretty much define your own worldview.

Tens of thousands of Bloggers are daily and hourly providing information, opinion and debate. I think an America with literate and computer literate writers have already helped improve our country and that should be allowed to flourish and grow and not be subjected to the needs of any one or half-dozen media manipulators.

Having started web surfing in 1992 and working on this wee page for some 15 months, I have barely scratched the surface of all that is possible, seen only an infinitely small portion of the immense world of wired residents. I'm very much a clumsy infant in this world, but for the most part, I still am allowed the freedom to explore as I wish.

Write like ya mean it. It is a rare time and who knows how long it will run free?