Well, we did it America. One more year of everlasting freedom. I'd like to express my patriotic gratitude to the creators of this great nation:
Dear Founding Fathers,
Hey guys. What's going on? Nothing much here. By the way, we're holding up our part of the deal. You're welcome. When Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum uploaded that virus to the alien mainframe those 10 plus years ago, they were thinking of you. Just like your stance against the evil British empire, you showed those bastards that the Windows Vista that is America defeats all those inferior alien and arab Windows 95s.
Hope you guys are doing well in heaven. See you soon.
Love,
e
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Governor Richardson on Leno last night
Bill Richardson was on Jay Leno last night. He is by far the most qualified of all the democratice candidates in the race up to date; having been a congressman, Ambassador to the UN, Secretary of Energy, and the current Governor of New Mexico. I found most of his appearance on Leno disappointing. He seemed to be there to mention specific things about his biography as opposed to having a genuine interaction with Leno in front of the American people. Big surprise I guess. He took the opportunity to clarify that he had only been scouted and not signed to major league baseball team; an exaggeration he was called out for in his latest campaign for Governor. He told an anecdote about a meeting he had with Saddam Hussein on behalf of President Clinton. It was interesting, but again totally scripted. A disppointing showing up to that point. It was especially disappointing given his reported poor performance in the MSNBC debate.
Right now, I'm tentatively supporting Richardson for president as he's demonstrated competence as a diplomat and governor. His accomplishments in the State (spaceport, railrunner, energy rebate, developing the local film industry) have made me feel that on balance he's a capable leader and someone who can walk and chew gum at the same time (unlike CURRENT GROSSLY INCOMPETENT ADMINISTRATIONS who shall rename nameless). I hate the things Richardon's done with state boards and UNM, but at the same time I wonder if that authoritarian streak is necessary to be an effective president. At the end of his interview with Jay Leno, Jay finally asked him about policy.
I'm pleased to report that Richardson took the opportunity to claim an issue. He said that among other things he'd like to move our oil supply from 65% foreign oil to 10% in the next 10 years. Alright, now we're talking! He mentioned working to actually make use of wind and solar technology (as opposed to lip service), and using more efficient means of transportation. He even mentioned turning the lights off and using less AC at home! Not thrilling, but sensible and something that needed to be said. Above all, he specifically mentioned that he believes that if given some leadership, Americans will actually make some sacrifices and use less. Hallelujia! I've been waiting for a national figure to take that stand for 6 freaking years.
I think if Richardson has the cojones to really make this his issue, he could win. Or perhaps should. To my mind, energy is the most important national issue right now. If he's serious about fixing it, thereby improving national security, cleaning up the environment, creating jobs and a more modern workforce, and stimulating the economy, then he deserves serious consideration. Americans simply want someone who knows what their doing and has a serious vision about change. I commend the governor for being the first in the race to address energy. It definitely saved an otherwise scripted and pointless appearance.
I give it a charitable B-. Let's keep that substance coming.
Right now, I'm tentatively supporting Richardson for president as he's demonstrated competence as a diplomat and governor. His accomplishments in the State (spaceport, railrunner, energy rebate, developing the local film industry) have made me feel that on balance he's a capable leader and someone who can walk and chew gum at the same time (unlike CURRENT GROSSLY INCOMPETENT ADMINISTRATIONS who shall rename nameless). I hate the things Richardon's done with state boards and UNM, but at the same time I wonder if that authoritarian streak is necessary to be an effective president. At the end of his interview with Jay Leno, Jay finally asked him about policy.
I'm pleased to report that Richardson took the opportunity to claim an issue. He said that among other things he'd like to move our oil supply from 65% foreign oil to 10% in the next 10 years. Alright, now we're talking! He mentioned working to actually make use of wind and solar technology (as opposed to lip service), and using more efficient means of transportation. He even mentioned turning the lights off and using less AC at home! Not thrilling, but sensible and something that needed to be said. Above all, he specifically mentioned that he believes that if given some leadership, Americans will actually make some sacrifices and use less. Hallelujia! I've been waiting for a national figure to take that stand for 6 freaking years.
I think if Richardson has the cojones to really make this his issue, he could win. Or perhaps should. To my mind, energy is the most important national issue right now. If he's serious about fixing it, thereby improving national security, cleaning up the environment, creating jobs and a more modern workforce, and stimulating the economy, then he deserves serious consideration. Americans simply want someone who knows what their doing and has a serious vision about change. I commend the governor for being the first in the race to address energy. It definitely saved an otherwise scripted and pointless appearance.
I give it a charitable B-. Let's keep that substance coming.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Spider-Man 3
Ok, to get it right out of the way: Spider-Man 3 kind of rocks and kind of sucks a sack of balls at the same time. Not having read the comics, my main source of Spidey knowledge comes from the old Saturday morning cartoon, so my qualms do not stem from "omg they didn't do that in the comix, fuck sam raimi omg!" Instead, I look at this movie as a film, and as such, it's a fun movie with a whole lot of sloppiness and frayed edges. The main problem I have is that the writing gets cluttered with silly, easy attempts at wide audience laughter and unnecessary not-so-comedic interludes. How many singing and dancing numbers does there have to be, seriously?
Oh, and I'll be giving shit away, so fee free to stop reading any time.
The film has a lot of really good ideas, and given another script rewrite or two, they could have been handled more elegantly and seamlessly into the story. For one, I love the idea of an "evil" Spider-Man. When the symbiote merged to Spidey, all I could think was "Fuck yeah! Now, we're talking!" Ultimately, however, the potential is ruined when Peter Parker just turns emo and is kind of a dick to everyone for about 25 minutes. As he becomes more and more "affected" (yes, only just affected) by the symbiote, Parker unintentionally strikes MJ in a fit emo rage. While this scene could have been a powerful lesson to Peter, it is incredibly dwarfed and its steam is stolen due to a five minute Tobey Maguire fucking dance-a-thon 30 seconds prior. I want a true moral dilemma here, not a pretty boy character strutting through Manhattan winking at all the hot extras they hired. Come on Raimi, show me some regret, show me internal conflict! Sigh.
Anyway, much of the plot (and this is a very plotty film, for how much they try jam pack in there) is devoted to the deterioration of Peter and MJ's relationship due to Spider-Man's increasing ego and unrelenting lack of support. The other two films focused on this relationship a lot too, but it was far more balanced the first two times around. I get it: shit's not working out and all the guy characters are douchebags for more than 3/4 of the movie. Oh and by the way, Kirsten Dunst is fifty pounds and a shaved head short of being a dead ringer for Billy Corgan (can't take credit for that one, but I couldn't resist).
Along with the MJ/PP relationship, a lot of the narrative driving plot points are just ridiculous. Harry getting amnesia for the first half of the movie? Jesus Christ. The worst comes near the end when a very peripheral shell of a character determines the ultimate decision of Harry by explaining his thorough and entirely "medical" knowledge of Green Goblin hovercraft spike wounds. Give me a fucking break.
Visually, the film is great. This CGI-fest trumps the first two outings, as is to be expected, and Venom's scenes are top fucking notch (albeit brief). I didn't even mind Topher Grace. That being said, I enjoyed the side characters more than the actual main players. Jameson added the real comic relief for me, and Bruce Campbell's cameo probably marks the most enjoyable moment in the film for me. With all the whining and crying that goes on, it gets pretty tedious, especially near the end. And it's not a bad end to this trilogy, but compared to the other two (along with all the problems inherent in those movies as well), this one falls short. Enjoyable? Yes. Memorable? Not so much.
7 out of 10
Oh, and I'll be giving shit away, so fee free to stop reading any time.
The film has a lot of really good ideas, and given another script rewrite or two, they could have been handled more elegantly and seamlessly into the story. For one, I love the idea of an "evil" Spider-Man. When the symbiote merged to Spidey, all I could think was "Fuck yeah! Now, we're talking!" Ultimately, however, the potential is ruined when Peter Parker just turns emo and is kind of a dick to everyone for about 25 minutes. As he becomes more and more "affected" (yes, only just affected) by the symbiote, Parker unintentionally strikes MJ in a fit emo rage. While this scene could have been a powerful lesson to Peter, it is incredibly dwarfed and its steam is stolen due to a five minute Tobey Maguire fucking dance-a-thon 30 seconds prior. I want a true moral dilemma here, not a pretty boy character strutting through Manhattan winking at all the hot extras they hired. Come on Raimi, show me some regret, show me internal conflict! Sigh.
Anyway, much of the plot (and this is a very plotty film, for how much they try jam pack in there) is devoted to the deterioration of Peter and MJ's relationship due to Spider-Man's increasing ego and unrelenting lack of support. The other two films focused on this relationship a lot too, but it was far more balanced the first two times around. I get it: shit's not working out and all the guy characters are douchebags for more than 3/4 of the movie. Oh and by the way, Kirsten Dunst is fifty pounds and a shaved head short of being a dead ringer for Billy Corgan (can't take credit for that one, but I couldn't resist).
Along with the MJ/PP relationship, a lot of the narrative driving plot points are just ridiculous. Harry getting amnesia for the first half of the movie? Jesus Christ. The worst comes near the end when a very peripheral shell of a character determines the ultimate decision of Harry by explaining his thorough and entirely "medical" knowledge of Green Goblin hovercraft spike wounds. Give me a fucking break.
Visually, the film is great. This CGI-fest trumps the first two outings, as is to be expected, and Venom's scenes are top fucking notch (albeit brief). I didn't even mind Topher Grace. That being said, I enjoyed the side characters more than the actual main players. Jameson added the real comic relief for me, and Bruce Campbell's cameo probably marks the most enjoyable moment in the film for me. With all the whining and crying that goes on, it gets pretty tedious, especially near the end. And it's not a bad end to this trilogy, but compared to the other two (along with all the problems inherent in those movies as well), this one falls short. Enjoyable? Yes. Memorable? Not so much.
7 out of 10
Friday, May 4, 2007
Stupid Dumb Republican Candidates Endorse Complete Nonsense
Intelligent design.
The word on the street is that 3 of the leading republican candidates rose their hands in opposition to the theory of Evolution through Natural Selection on national television last night. That's 30% of the republican field. Despair America! Apparently it's become acceptable for leading politicians to to take extreme, religiously motivated, poorly considered positions on modern scientific thought. These are the people who will potentially be models for all of our children, and indeed all of our society. Americans should stand up forcefully in opposition to this trend. There is no science a la carte. If you want to see a physician, get an MRI, or seek treatment for a serious illness, then you must accept evolution. Simply put, it's the basis of all progress in biology, and therein the basis of modern medicine. Scientists have no beef with religious practice, but if American children grow up with animosity toward the scientific process it will impede the treatment of millions, not to mention currently unimagined advances. Intelligent design is not a scientific theory, and should not be allowed to undermine the teaching of Biology any longer. Its time to fix the right side of American politics and let scientists do their work.
The word on the street is that 3 of the leading republican candidates rose their hands in opposition to the theory of Evolution through Natural Selection on national television last night. That's 30% of the republican field. Despair America! Apparently it's become acceptable for leading politicians to to take extreme, religiously motivated, poorly considered positions on modern scientific thought. These are the people who will potentially be models for all of our children, and indeed all of our society. Americans should stand up forcefully in opposition to this trend. There is no science a la carte. If you want to see a physician, get an MRI, or seek treatment for a serious illness, then you must accept evolution. Simply put, it's the basis of all progress in biology, and therein the basis of modern medicine. Scientists have no beef with religious practice, but if American children grow up with animosity toward the scientific process it will impede the treatment of millions, not to mention currently unimagined advances. Intelligent design is not a scientific theory, and should not be allowed to undermine the teaching of Biology any longer. Its time to fix the right side of American politics and let scientists do their work.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The Narcissism of Blogging
I found myself sitting here trying to come up with some content for this new blog and was totally stumped. I started writing something about human decency or blah blah blah and it occurred to me that no one would even care. And why should they? I'm not particularly bright or eloquent. Certainly not more bright or eleoquent than many of the people out there already creating content on the internets. Why do I want to share my mediocre thoughts, and why do I think you might agree or be interested?
This free publishing space created by the internets is a really neat thing, and its current use reflects on our culture in an interesting way. It's a cool experiment that everyone who wants one can have a blog. Some really great things might get created by people who wouldn't otherwise have the means. Indeed, you can stop reading this very sentence and click on an icon at the top of the page and begin your own.
Also, what about Myspace? Mespace? We don't even have to create content there. For many of us, its really just a shrine to our preferences and ourselves. I'm not saying its bad, just narcissistic. And here I am contributing to it. Myspace a great way to remind yourself that its about time you sent an e-mail to your friends off somewhere else. Its similar to the internets in general in that it's an effective way to share cool content with people that they'd otherwise miss. At the same time though, isn't it staggering to think about how many users are signed up there and other places creating little personal shrines? Is it tied-in to other ways in which our society is self-indulgent? Here's a related NPR story I heard about a month ago.
This free publishing space created by the internets is a really neat thing, and its current use reflects on our culture in an interesting way. It's a cool experiment that everyone who wants one can have a blog. Some really great things might get created by people who wouldn't otherwise have the means. Indeed, you can stop reading this very sentence and click on an icon at the top of the page and begin your own.
Also, what about Myspace? Mespace? We don't even have to create content there. For many of us, its really just a shrine to our preferences and ourselves. I'm not saying its bad, just narcissistic. And here I am contributing to it. Myspace a great way to remind yourself that its about time you sent an e-mail to your friends off somewhere else. Its similar to the internets in general in that it's an effective way to share cool content with people that they'd otherwise miss. At the same time though, isn't it staggering to think about how many users are signed up there and other places creating little personal shrines? Is it tied-in to other ways in which our society is self-indulgent? Here's a related NPR story I heard about a month ago.
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