I just had to post this. It's perhaps one of the best looks at the reality of FOX News.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
The Dark Knight - See It In Imax
I don't do movie reviews often here, but last night my partner and I wen to see "The Dark Night" in Imax. Quite an experience!
The movie is much darker than any previous Batman film, or for that matter than any other comic book inspired movie and that is OK. The plot has characters that, though they are analogs of the comic, have all the dimension of a good drama. That is rare on the latest crop of comic book movies. Most, like Ironman, have been fun, but would hardly qualify as thought provoking drama.
No so for The Dark Night.
This movie raises some really deep existential questions about what qualifies as good and evil, as well as digging deep into the whole "meaning of life" thing. Heath Leger, as the Joker, is haunting and very disturbing. He is a genuine madman, but with the kind of persona that gets under your skin and makes you want to like him, homicidal maniac and all. That quality is what makes sociopaths so powerful. They can be charming and frightening at the same time. As the Joker tells his, "how my face got this way" story over and over. It actually draws you into to his psyche, until you find it's a different story every time. He actually made me shudder, and having his face so large you could see every scab and scar of his greasepaint covered disfigured face, made it even more creepy.
Portions of the movie were actually shot in the Imax format. those parts really put this movie over the top for me. Though there was a bit of a jum between aspect ratios, it actually worked to focus action on the characters when needed, and give a larger scope to the move when the panoramas of Gotham appeared.
Christian Bale is perhaps the best Batman of them all. He is sophisticated yet deeply tortured as the character should be, and yet he never goes over the top like so many comic book heros.
I suggest seeing this film in Imax, but be prepared to make reservations days in advance, it is sold out much of the time.
The movie is much darker than any previous Batman film, or for that matter than any other comic book inspired movie and that is OK. The plot has characters that, though they are analogs of the comic, have all the dimension of a good drama. That is rare on the latest crop of comic book movies. Most, like Ironman, have been fun, but would hardly qualify as thought provoking drama.
No so for The Dark Night.
This movie raises some really deep existential questions about what qualifies as good and evil, as well as digging deep into the whole "meaning of life" thing. Heath Leger, as the Joker, is haunting and very disturbing. He is a genuine madman, but with the kind of persona that gets under your skin and makes you want to like him, homicidal maniac and all. That quality is what makes sociopaths so powerful. They can be charming and frightening at the same time. As the Joker tells his, "how my face got this way" story over and over. It actually draws you into to his psyche, until you find it's a different story every time. He actually made me shudder, and having his face so large you could see every scab and scar of his greasepaint covered disfigured face, made it even more creepy.
Portions of the movie were actually shot in the Imax format. those parts really put this movie over the top for me. Though there was a bit of a jum between aspect ratios, it actually worked to focus action on the characters when needed, and give a larger scope to the move when the panoramas of Gotham appeared.
Christian Bale is perhaps the best Batman of them all. He is sophisticated yet deeply tortured as the character should be, and yet he never goes over the top like so many comic book heros.
I suggest seeing this film in Imax, but be prepared to make reservations days in advance, it is sold out much of the time.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Gay Porn Star Writing For Right Wing Website!
What FOX is to TV news, World News Daily is to online news. It's a blatantly right-wing publication with little in the way of real news that hasn't been filtered and spun into a neocon confection.
So knowing this, I was surprised when I saw everybody's favorite "gay for pay" porn actor writing a column for WND. First let me say I have no problem with actors in adult films, gay, straight or otherwise. Here is my problem.
Matt Sanchez, the ex-military stud who starred in several gay porn productions and worked as an escort for male clients, writes a bizarre Op-Ed piece against repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell".
It not only seems strange that a gay porn actor should be against the repeal, but that he claims he was embedded with the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I guess his presence didn't cause "unit cohesion" to fail.
What's worse is that his "commentary" is a rambling almost unreadable piece with so many illogical jumps as to make one's head spin. His assumption that the military would have all gay units is ludicrous. More odd is his assumption that openly gay soldiers would "hook up" in the barracks.
NOTE TO MR. SANCHEZ: Matt, darling, that only happens in the movies you make. Sex in the barracks is against military rules gay, straight or otherwise!
For the curious who are not at work, here is Matt in action!
So knowing this, I was surprised when I saw everybody's favorite "gay for pay" porn actor writing a column for WND. First let me say I have no problem with actors in adult films, gay, straight or otherwise. Here is my problem.
Matt Sanchez, the ex-military stud who starred in several gay porn productions and worked as an escort for male clients, writes a bizarre Op-Ed piece against repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell".
It not only seems strange that a gay porn actor should be against the repeal, but that he claims he was embedded with the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I guess his presence didn't cause "unit cohesion" to fail.
What's worse is that his "commentary" is a rambling almost unreadable piece with so many illogical jumps as to make one's head spin. His assumption that the military would have all gay units is ludicrous. More odd is his assumption that openly gay soldiers would "hook up" in the barracks.
NOTE TO MR. SANCHEZ: Matt, darling, that only happens in the movies you make. Sex in the barracks is against military rules gay, straight or otherwise!
For the curious who are not at work, here is Matt in action!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Bush Administration Ordered Forged Letter To Implicate Saddam In 9/11 Attacks
It just gets worse and worse for the Bush folks. Not only did Ron Suskind point the finger at them as the ones who instigated the forged letter that was used by the White House to rally the country to war with Iraq, but now it looks like it was Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans. That puts it directly in the executive branch arena.
Read the story on Think Progress about how Cheney passed this task of forging documents to Feith's office. Then write a letter to Nancy Pelosi and ask her again why impeachment is off the table!
Read the story on Think Progress about how Cheney passed this task of forging documents to Feith's office. Then write a letter to Nancy Pelosi and ask her again why impeachment is off the table!
US Military Using WW2-Style Sweat Boxes For Iraqi Prisoners
Remember the scene in Bridge on the River Kwai where Alec Guiness is confined to a small wooden crate where he almost dies of dehydration? The "sweat box" was one of the cruelest tortures used by the Japanese against military prisoners of war.
Well guess what? Taking a page from the torture manual of the pre-war Japanese Empire, our glorious leaders have started using similar tortures in Iraq. The US military have reinvented the "sweat box" and called them "segregation boxes". These nasty devices are small wooden crates used in Iraq to hold prisoners. Measuring 3 feet square and about 6 feet tall, these crates are disturbingly similar to the ones used in WWII.
The amazing creativity of our government in dregging into the dark ages to reinvent the Inquisition boggles the mind. After so much outrage over Abu Ghraib you would think this kind of crap would stop, but not on Bush's watch. These guys figure if it was good enough for Torquimada it's good enough for us. Now why was impeachment off the table Ms Pelosi?
Well guess what? Taking a page from the torture manual of the pre-war Japanese Empire, our glorious leaders have started using similar tortures in Iraq. The US military have reinvented the "sweat box" and called them "segregation boxes". These nasty devices are small wooden crates used in Iraq to hold prisoners. Measuring 3 feet square and about 6 feet tall, these crates are disturbingly similar to the ones used in WWII.
The amazing creativity of our government in dregging into the dark ages to reinvent the Inquisition boggles the mind. After so much outrage over Abu Ghraib you would think this kind of crap would stop, but not on Bush's watch. These guys figure if it was good enough for Torquimada it's good enough for us. Now why was impeachment off the table Ms Pelosi?
McCain's Offshore Drilling Fiasco
OK McCain, it's time to cut the happy crap about offshore drilling having an immediate effect on the nation's oil supply. I live here in Texas and I know lots of folks in the oil biz. Offshore drilling is not something that happens in a matter of months. It is not something that happens in a year or two. It takes many years for those offshore rigs to produce.
According to one estimate, an offshore oil platform takes from 3 to 5 years just to build the platform. Add to that the time it takes to actually drill down to the oil, after all it's not right below the surface, and you have a lead time of 6 to 10 years for production. At that rate John McCain will be in a retirement home, even if he won (God forbid) the election and got reelected!
So Mr. McCain, when you start lying about how offshore drilling is going to be the solution to our oil problems, take a moment, a deep breath and tell the truth. There is no quick fix to our problems. We have wasted our natural resources by burning the petroleum we had and have made no serious attempt at finding alternative fuels.
I am fully aware that wind power and solar power are not the quick fix either, but renewable energy sources offer a much better long term solution than just sucking more oil from the already declining supply. Renewable energy is available now, and it has much less of a carbon footprint than oil. If we put as much money into it as we do in oil exploration we would already be off our addiction to foreign oil and in a much better position to face the future.
And that nuclear power you are touting? Well nuclear plants take even longer to build than oil platforms and they produce lots of toxic waste that must be dealt with. Unless you want your state to end up with a backyard full of nuclear waste drums, the problems of disposal of the waste is almost insurmountable.
So Mr. McCain, reconsider inflating your tires to full pressure and take measures to conserve energy, because your plan will have no effect in the next four years.
According to one estimate, an offshore oil platform takes from 3 to 5 years just to build the platform. Add to that the time it takes to actually drill down to the oil, after all it's not right below the surface, and you have a lead time of 6 to 10 years for production. At that rate John McCain will be in a retirement home, even if he won (God forbid) the election and got reelected!
So Mr. McCain, when you start lying about how offshore drilling is going to be the solution to our oil problems, take a moment, a deep breath and tell the truth. There is no quick fix to our problems. We have wasted our natural resources by burning the petroleum we had and have made no serious attempt at finding alternative fuels.
I am fully aware that wind power and solar power are not the quick fix either, but renewable energy sources offer a much better long term solution than just sucking more oil from the already declining supply. Renewable energy is available now, and it has much less of a carbon footprint than oil. If we put as much money into it as we do in oil exploration we would already be off our addiction to foreign oil and in a much better position to face the future.
And that nuclear power you are touting? Well nuclear plants take even longer to build than oil platforms and they produce lots of toxic waste that must be dealt with. Unless you want your state to end up with a backyard full of nuclear waste drums, the problems of disposal of the waste is almost insurmountable.
So Mr. McCain, reconsider inflating your tires to full pressure and take measures to conserve energy, because your plan will have no effect in the next four years.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Turkish Bear Killed In Turkish Hate Crime - Gays Not Safe In Turkey
Ahmet Yildiz, a 26 year old physics student represented his country at the International Bear Rendezvous, a gay gathering in San Francisco last year. Ahmet was shot and killed outside a cafe in Istanbul in what his friends believe was Turkey's first gay honor killing.I received word via my friend Kaptainbear, a Frenchman who was a close friend of Ahmet. The news of his death highlights the problems Turkey is having moving into the modern world. Secularists are having a hard time fighting for human rights and because of the strife between Islamic Fundamentalists and the secular government of Turkey, things have gotten tough for the gay community.
Ahmet's death shows just how violent religious fundamentalism can be. If we ever begin to think that our country is so much better, just remember the shooting in Nashville a couple of weeks ago. That hate crime was fueled by religious fundamentalism as well, the only difference was one man read the Koran and the other read the King James Bible.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
McCain's In The Pocket Of Big Oil - New Obama Ad
Here's another Obama ad. This one about McCain's Big Oil contributors. Though I like the message, I would have done it differently, the voice-over announcer sounds exactly like every other political announcer. I would have either used Barack's voice or maybe a woman's voice just to separate it from the clutter.
Economic Stimulus - Apparently Not So Much
Remember those economic stimulus checks? Well, looks like most of them actually ended up in the oil companies pockets due to rising fuel prices. Even at $3.88 gas is about a buck higher than this time last year and according to economists, the surge in fuel and food prices pretty much evaporated any "stimulus" those checks might have created.
According to an AP report, the senior U.S. economist at Global Insight, a private forecasting firm, said the GDP could post back-to-back declines in those two quarters, meeting the traditional definition of a recession.
"The rebates are not translating into anywhere near the spending impulse that Congress and the administration had hoped for," he said. "Under these circumstances, the economy remains in very fragile condition."Wonder what other gimmick the Bush folks will think up before they are driven out of office?
Monday, August 04, 2008
Playgirl Magazine Folds
Just saw a blurb on Huffington Post that the long time "women's magazine" Playgirl has decided to shutter its print edition. It will continue on the web but no more as a print publication.I remember my mom deing so excited when Playgirl first came out. She got herself a subscription and proudly displayed it on the coffee table of our home. I guess all those years of my dad reading the "articles" in Playboy got to her.
For gay men, Playgirl offered mainstream availability of "beefcake" photos. You could always buy a Playgirl and claim it was for your girlfriend. Gurlfriend!
Bush Pressured FBI To Blame Al Qaeda For Anthrax Attacks - Yet Another Impeachable Offense!
OK, so I am back with my original theory about the Anthrax attacks. As I suspected, Bruce Ivins may have very well been the culprit, but the White House pressured the FBI to connect the attacks with Al Qaeda. Meanwhile John McCain was on David Letterman already blaming the Iraqi's. Here is the video from ThinkProgress.org. Remember this and really think hard before you vote for this guy in November.
Additionally, check out this article about how the FBI was coerced to point the finger at Al Qaeda. This is beyond troubling, it's very much criminal. As a further reading I suggest this one by Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com. It's extensivce and well researched, too.
Additionally, check out this article about how the FBI was coerced to point the finger at Al Qaeda. This is beyond troubling, it's very much criminal. As a further reading I suggest this one by Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com. It's extensivce and well researched, too.
McCain Exhibits Disturbing Confusion - Dementia?
This is a troubling video. McCain took a question from an audience member and absolutely could not answer the question. He looked befuddled, perhaps a little daft. This is not the kind of thing you want to see in a presidential candidate.
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