...but, hey, who's counting?

Here's Ed from BNL to sing us out...

Labels: Personal, You Tube

Not sure what to think about this ... Sam Raimi has revealed that the villain in 2011's Spider-Man 4 will be a new villain made by combining Venom and Sandman, the bad guys from the last film.

Concept art has been revealed on YouTube:

Labels: Blogs, Movies, You Tube

You know all that neato, gnarly stuff they tell you about physical exercise? How it is good for you completely, mind body and soul? How you're always glad you did it, even if you went into it dreading it? How it gets easier all the time ... how it just becomes more and more fun and more rewarding over time?

All that stuff is true.

Why do I always forget that? I go long periods without exercise and I get fat ... and then I get disgusted and realize I have to change, and I start exercising again and I find myself thinking "Why did I ever quit doing this?"

It's been rainy and crappy here lately, so I've been riding my exercise bike instead of walking outside. And, man, I'm really enjoying it. I look forward to the weather changing so I can get outside and do stuff, too. I put together a new playlist of heavy, positive, catchy metal songs for my MP3 player, and that makes it all even more fun. And I've come to realize that one of my favorite of those songs, Stealing From A Thief by the legendary NY thrasher's Anthrax, has an awesome message:

So I hereby adopt Stealing From A Thief as my new personal theme song.

That's right, it's my personal theme song. Cheesy, yeah ... but I firmly believe that everyone needs their own personal theme song. If you don't have a personal theme song, then I feel sorry for you.

Check out the awesome, positive lyrics to my personal theme song:

Stealing From A Thief ... by Anthrax

Don't want a life like my parents had.
Don't want a life like my rich friends have.
Don't want to live by association.
Don't want to live the great maybe.

I want a life not a name online,
I want to live in real time.
I want a life just so I can be.
I'll never ask what was in it for me.

Stealing from a thief,
My humanity.
I know my name, I know my pain,
I know my frequency.

As a kid I played "make believe."
As a man I played "Make. Believe."
As a kid I'd do anything.
As a man I've done everything.

I live my life centered and humane.
I live my life like a man insane.
I live my life just so I can be.
I'll never ask what was in it for me.

Stealing from a thief,
My humanity.
I know my name, I know my pain,
I know my frequency.

I get up, I get up, I get up and go!
I grab a hold and reach way down
To find something that I really believe.
I don't need to console myself.
If I don't like what I see, f--- it.

I'll never ask what was in it for me.

Labels: Music, Personal, You Tube

I don't really buy any of this. I don't buy into conspiracy theories in general because I tend to believe that people are stupid ... people in large groups are EXTREMELY stupid ... and large groups of stupid people can't manage the kind of secrecy and organized deception that would be necessary to pull off a global conspiracy.

Conspiracy theories are goofy.

Having said that, I get a kick out of the fact that there are conspiracy theorists out there who're already targeting Obama:

HT: Pasadena Closet Conservative.

Labels: News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

(This post is a follow-up to the post here.)

This is the point where the blog turns into a therapeutic (I hope) journal more than a political soapbox and joke forum. At least for a while. Nobody reads this blog but five or six real-life friends and family members and three or four "internet buddies." So it'll be alright.

So much to do, God, this is overwhelming.

So much is going to have to be packed. Joint checking account have to be closed, new ones have to be opened, vehicle ownership has to be transferred ... we even have to get the post office involved. Damn.

Wendy and I've spent the day preparing for her and the kids to move, going to banks, the DMV, etc, etc. Staying motivated is tough, considering that I'm helping to do all of this so that my best friend can move ten hours away. Over the past eight year's she was also my girlfriend and then wife, and that makes it all the tougher. Then throw the kids into the mix and, man. Man, oh man.

But it has to happen. For myriad reasons, none of which I intend to go into here, this really is for the best. This is really what makes sense and I try to focus on that.

Still sucks, though.

People are starting to put two and two together in some instances; really figuring out that this has been planned for some months. People say things like "So THIS is why you did (yadda yadda) in January instead of what I thought you'd do." Yep, that's it. Makes sense now, right?

Being single again will be weird. I haven't lived alone for ... something like fifteen years, I suppose. I tried marriage in my twenties and couldn't pull it off ... then I spent my thirties with Wendy and still couldn't make it work. And Wendy, man ... she's the one. Shes THE ONE. She was my best shot at really getting this right.

Maybe in my late 40's I'll try again. Maybe? For now, though, I really have to focus on turning myself into someone that I like to be around. I have got a lot of work to do. I've gotten so damn fat, man. Soooooo fat. I'm absolutely physically miserable. And that effects my emotions and my state of mind, and it has GOT to change. Period.

My son from my first marriage will be with me a lot this summer, and he's grown so much. He's as tall as I am now, and he's really quite the athlete. He knows I used to really enjoy tennis, he's seen video and pictures of a younger, healthy version of his father on a tennis court, and he's always asked me to teach him how to play. He and I will have a lot of time this summer just to hang out by ourselves, and I really look forward to getting on the tennis court with him, cancer permitting. The kid is inexhaustible; there's no way I can keep up with him. But I'll try.

Writing this made me feel better. And that kinda sucks, because you can expect me to do more of this kinda thing. Less laughter and ranting, more personal journal. Blah. I'm not as good at making my personal stories interesting and fun ... the kinda thing MCF does so well, for instance.

But thanks if you waded through this post. I really appreciate it.

Speaking of MCF, I think I'll sum up and finish this post with a video that he linked to yesterday. Hey, who ever had a better grasp on life than the Muppets?

Labels: Personal, You Tube

Oh, I really think this sketch is funny. Sure it is, it's just soooo funny.

Labels: Humor, You Tube

Job For A Cowboy is an extreme metal band.

Spongebob Squarepants is a yellow invertebrate.

Two great tastes that taste great together:

Labels: Humor, Music, You Tube

This guy is funny. And smart. I might have to put him on my mental "check regularly" list at my YouTube page with Zo and Penn Jillette.

Now, don't worry about that video title. There is no torture or beheading in this clip. Just some observations and good humor.

Apparently Steven Crowder has been around for a while. I'm always the last guy to find out about the cool junk.

This clip is pretty good, too:

I like it when people make fun of PETA because PETA is all, like, retarded and stuff.

OK, so he's not as razor-sharp and he doesn't have the same POW!-factor as Zo ... and he's a little gimmicky for my taste ... but I've watched a few of his videos and enjoyed them more than not.

Labels: Humor, Politics, You Tube

I gotta make this one quick because I took my nighttime pill combo a little bit ago and it's gonna kick in soon, and soon I'll either stop typing or I'll be typing gibberish. I hate, hate, HATE waking up the next day, seeing something I've posted, thinking "WTF is WRONG with ME??" and frantically deleting and/or editing the post.

Anyway, just some recent stuff from the inbox and/or Google Reader...

• At my YouTube account I got a note from a kid named JC Van Luyn, asking me to check out his music and comment on it. I might have been a bit reluctant at first, but the note really charmed me:

  Hope the day/night is finding you well, just to let you know, I apologize in advance if I took your time in some way by you reading this message. Don't hesitate to press the delete button if it does....

  He goes on from there to talk about his music, etc, but ya know what? When's the last time someone solicited you to check out their website and preceded their remarks by saying that, yeah, it's quite possible you actually do have a life and something better to do?
  
  So I checked out his stuff, which consists of some interesting covers and original songs. I found one original that I particularly enjoyed ... but what really won me over was JC's cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya." I'm sure you remember that song, it was a huge hit a few years ago and even though I really liked it, the over exposure eventually ruined the song for me. Well, JC's solo acoustic arrangement brought the track back to life for me and, damn! I'm diggin' this:




• Speaking of YouTube, most of the time when I load that page it's to check for updates from The Mighty Zo, like this one:

  I been saying for months that this guy was going to move on to bigger n' better stuff. Looks like Pajamas Media is the first step.
  
  One day we'll all be saying "Remember back in the day when Zo Rachel was just another guy with a YouTube account??"




• Another semi-daily check for me is the What's New page at Snopes, where you can learn fascinating things, like the latest web scuttlebutt about the history of the French Dip Sandwich.
  
  The French Dip, of course, is a sandwich made of thinly sliced beef, served on a hard French role, and often served au jus. Au jus is a French term that is pronounced Ah JHOOOO and means "sneezed on."
  
  Probably sneezed on by that beret-wearing asshole who resented having to wait your table in the first place, you American capitalist dog vit no ah-prishy-a-SHAUN of cul-CHA vaut zo eveh.
  
  Well, no ... not all Frenchmen behave like characters in Merry Melodies cartoons from the 50's. Some of them are much worse. But, I think my point is, you can get the real scoop on the sandwich at Snopes.



• Instapundit has posted a link to a story about twenty celebs who've aged badly.
  
  I thought the story was a bit hard on some of these folks:
  

  

  
  OK, so Diamond Dave doesn't look like a rock star anymore. He kinda looks more like a shop teacher now. But what's wrong with looking like a shop teacher? What's wrong with being a shop teacher? Someone has to be held accountable when a 14 year old kid bandsaws off two or three of his favorite fingers.
  
  But then I saw this picture and yet another small part of my childhood died inside of me:
  

  

  
  How will we ever convince the younger generation that those two women are the same woman? And that Kathleen Turner used to be one of the hottest actresses in the business?
  
  But then I noticed something:
  

  

  
  They only seem weird when you stick them out there by themselves and compare them to their bygone youth. Youth is bygone for all of us, dammit, and comparing today to '85 is always a bad idea. But if you saw that couple, the two people in the third picture combo right above ... if you saw them pushing a cart together at Wal-Mart, contemplating the best kind of detergent to buy or looking through the bargain DVDs, you wouldn't think anything of it. Nice enough looking older couple, right? Maybe she works at a law-firm and can help Shop Teacher Dave save his job when that damn kid finally gets sloppy with that bandsaw.
  
  So here's to the celebrities that grow old ... if not gracefully than at least naturally. Maybe even fearlessly. Is there any other way to do it? Screw the Botox and plastic surgery. Screw running from aging. Aging beats the alternative, right? Get old and enjoy it. It seems to be working for that nice couple, the Roths; Kathleen and Dave.

Labels: Links, Movies, Music, Politics, You Tube, Zo

I don't write about the really important stuff at this blog. Not in my own words. I rely on rock and roll for the big stuff. I always have.

Waterline by Peter Stuart
of Dog's Eye View

I'm walking with my father's ghost,
And he's talking to me.
He says "I'm sorry."
But it's so hard to be free.

He says "I knew you when you were so young
Now you will never know me...
Except from pictures that you might find from
When you were three or four or five..."

Down at the waterline,
I'm at the waterline tonight.
I'm at the waterline,
At the waterline tonight.

Now I'm talking with my sister
Who says she knows you well.
She says she hears you in her hallway at night,
And sometimes she can smell you.

But not me.
I have to make it up
From the smallest clues I can find.
Me, I have to dig you up
From the corners of my mind.

We're at the waterline,
At the waterline tonight.
We're at the waterline.
We're at the waterline tonight.

Well, I built this boat with you, my friend,
And you're not here to get in.
I'm wondering, should I let it go?
Should I see if I can swim?

I'm standing in this boat I've built,
And the water is at my knees.
I thought that I might find you here,
But it looks like it's just me.

It's just me.

Here at the waterline,
At the waterline tonight.
At the waterline,
The waterline tonight.

I'm walking with my father's ghost.
He's talking to me,
He says "I'm sorry."

"If you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven." - Matt. 6:15

It's a great song. Buy it for a buck at this link.

Labels: Music, You Tube

I finished 11 to 7 yesterday; man, I hate that shift. I live like a zombie when I work graveyard.

Now I'm playing catch-up and I have a ton of things to do today. But first, morning coffee, blogs, etc.

So what's on the pile for today?

• New year, new schedule of surgical processes ... worst of all, the deductible starts all over for the year. I had surgery in January, I'm having another procedure next month, and damn! I'd just finished paying off last year's medical bills!
  
  I think David summed it up up adequately when he said "Is this real life? Why is this happening to me? Is this gonna be for EVER? AAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!"
  
  But enough bitching about my personal junk.

Some of the internet junk from the past days/weeks that I've wanted to link to and/or comment on but just haven't bothered ...

• Good stuff from Scrappleface:
  

  President Barack Obama has reportedly written another private note to his Russian counterpart offering to halt deployment of a defensive nuclear missile shield in Europe, this time in exchange for Russia’s help in dealing with U.S. talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.



• I've written before about how much I dislike Rush Limbaugh, but the way the liberals and RINOs are piling on him is triggering a bit of a personal backlash.
  
  I've been praising Mike Steele for ages, but no politician is perfect and I guess it was inevitable that even he would put his foot in a pile of bullshit.
  
  How, Mike, did it make even a little bit of sense to deign to wade into this anti-Limbaugh flap? And to do so from the leftist point of view? You blew the call on this one, buddy... and you handed the left a great stick to beat you with.


• Zo puts the recent Limbaugh BS in perspective, and does a better job than anyone else. Zo always puts it all in a nutshell better than anyone else, so it's not like it's anything new. I've mentioned that Zo rules, right?

  You know what a truth rush is? It's when you hear the absolute truth spelled out in simple, understandable terms that make you feel excited and energized. Whenever I listen to Zo I always get a truth rush.
  
  Rush WHO? When will Zo get a talk program? I'd listen every damn day.



• Comedian Louis CK tells Conan that today's young people are "the crappiest generation of spoiled idiots.... non-contributing zeroes." And he's right. I hate to generalize ... well, no I don't. I do it all the time. And I really tend to believe that damn near everyone born after 1975 or so is a whining, self-absorbed, unrealistic, childish, spoiled moron. (You know who you are.)
  
  Of course I also tend to believe that the baby-boomer generation is just as bad. So, yeah, basically everyone should always ignore everything I ever say because I'm a bitter, miserable old bastard.
  
  Give this clip a couple of minutes to really get going, it's well worth it and it's funny and dead-on. This had me laughing really, really hard and I'll be looking out for this guy from now on. Check it out:

  HT: BlackFive.



• I haven't mentioned the Octomom here because the story just disgusts me. But it ain't going away and more stuff comes to the surface every day. So here's my one Octomom post, let's get this over with.
  
  What do we know about Octomom so far? Well, in no particular order...
  
  
  • She's a psycho who has children by the litter.
  
  
  • She's obsessed with Angela Jolinie (or whomever) and has had her face carved and injected so she can look like her favorite movie star.
  
  
  • She's trying to sell the videotape of the birth of her litter.
  
  
  • She flips out and calls 911, threatening to kill herself in front of her children.
  
  
  • The cops have repeatedly investigated reports that she neglects her kids.
  
  
  • She says she might do a porn move, "maybe in a year, when the baby-fat goes away."
  
  Now, we all know weirdo moms ... flake-jobs who breast-feed in public (and sometimes until their kids are in middle-school) and have their kids sleep in the same bed with them and give their kids names like Armani and Timberland. But this woman is beyond weirdo mom. This woman is a dangerous nut.
  
  My take on it is that the doctor who performed her artificial fertilization ought to be held accountable for the well-being of those children. He knew that this woman was insane and he enabled her in the worst possible way. A responsible medical professional would be advocating that this woman be forced to have her tubes tied. And that's all I got to say 'bout that.

Labels: Links, Media, Michael Steele, News, Politics, You Tube, Zo

...well, he hates everything but vests.

This goofy little Left 4 Dead dance song gave me a chuckle. Somebody strung together all the clips of Francis talking about the things he hates and compiled this catchy little tribute to the man and his intolerance.

B13 and Scott and other fellow Left 4 Dead players might get a kick out of this, but to everyone else it's just not gonna make any sense.

Labels: Humor, Video Games, You Tube

How many other members of my generation spend the occasional evening sitting at the PC, looking for long forgotten music videos?

Remember the days before MTV ... or at least before MTV was widely available? (Heck, maybe MTV was just our alt-realty version of VNM anyway.)

Remember Friday Night Videos and Night Tracks? Man. Remember when the whole music video concept was novel, exciting and irresistible?

I have been surprised to realize that a great many of the songs and videos I remember so fondly all date back to the same year: 1983.

David Bowie was always hit or miss with me. For every song he released that I loved there would be another I disliked. I remember the first time I saw the video for Bowie's '83 hit called Modern Love and totally flipping out over it. What a great pop song. I couldn't get it out of my head. Of course, a big part of the reason the song was so good was that awesome little guitar hook at the beginning, played by the then unknown Stevie Ray Vaughn.

In 1983 I was convinced that the heaviest song anyone would ever record was Rock Of Ages by Def Leppard. This was before I got "retro" and discovered Black Sabbath. In '83, Def Leppard was like an atom bomb. Even the image of skinny-ass Joe Elliott waving a seven-foot cardboard sword wasn't enough to ruin this video:

'83 also saw the unthinkable happen: Kiss released Lick It Up and did a video with no makeup. That was a real shock. One reason it was shocking was that without their makeup Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley looked like a couple of old farts. And that was twenty-six years ago, dude. Simmons and Stanley were easy to pick out in the Lick It Up clip, and so was drummer Eric Carr. But I remember being confused the first time I saw the video, wondering who the ugly chick in the band was. Turned out that "ugly chick" was Vinnie Vincent, the guitarist who'd replaced Ace Frehley. Vinnie was one of seventy-four or seventy-six guitarists that Kiss went through in the '80's and '90's.

The video had a post-apocalyptic Mad Max kind of vibe and took place in a bleak future where a bomb or something had wiped out everything except hot chicks and elderly rock stars. Here the band parties into the night, unaware that Keith Richards is waiting in the darkness, ready to strike when they least expect it and take away their women and MRE's:

'83 was also a big year for Boy George, and his band Culture Club had a huge hit with Karma Chameleon. Of course, I was a 15 year old boy in '83 and I was into heavy metal and The A Team. Boy George represented everything I was steadfast against. He looked like Brooke Shields on steroids, and his proudly androgynous image was naturally an affront to any teenage boy's self image. We were doing all we could do to follow the natural path, dude, and become MEN. MEN who would some day have a chance at engaging in actual conversations with WOMEN. And maybe we'd have these conversations in a car, cars we would be driving as we were accompanied on actual DATES by a WOMEN. And, if all went well, the end result of the mysterious DATE process was that somehow the MAN was going to manage to touch the BREAST of the WOMAN. The goal was to touch the BREAST in a way that was mutually agreeable to the MAN and the WOMAN ...but any awkward, fumbling contact that involved the hand of the MAN and the BREAST of the WOMAN was technically acceptable. Once that was done, the MAN could make up any fool thing he wanted to say about the rest of the night, nobody was going to believe him anyway. So with this level of planning and this degree of uncertainty already having profound effects on our desperate young lives, the last thing we needed was happy Mr. Androgyny and his little band dancing their way through the havoc of our daily existence:

Honestly, accusing another guy of being a Culture Club fan in '83 was a pretty serious charge. Those Culture Club albums were sold with gay-germs right on the disc itself. If you took it out and played it, you'd have Boy George's very own gay-germs all over you before you got the record on the turntable! By the time side A was finished, you'd not only be a Culture Club fan, you'd also be Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds:

Of course, it's been 26 years and I'm ashamed to say that the 15 year old version of myself would be horrified to see how I now respond when Karma Chameleon comes on the radio. Like every other putz my age, I bop along a bit, sing along with the words I remember, and remark about how cool it is when they play the old songs I remember from my school days. Boy George just doesn't freak me out anymore. I don't even know if he's actually gay or not. I realized that my grasp on "gay culture" was tenuous at best when the gays addopted Tammy Faye Bakker as an icon d'jour.

Then there was Styx and Mr. Roboto, a conceptual piece that didn't make sense on it's own, in the abbreviated four-minute version they showed on TV.

No, the video to Mr. Roboto told only part of the story. But if you bought the album, you'd get to hear the whole story, right?

Well, at least you'd get the lyrics sheet, and you'd get to find out that Denis DeYoung wasn't actually singing "My Heart Is Human / My Blood Is Boiling / My Brain Like A Yam!" ... No, the last part of that famous line was actually "My Brain IBM!, which didn't make much sense either. But if you put the whole story together you'd realize that it involved some shocking, nefarious elements, such as:

• government censorship of our music!


• Rock stars held prisoner of the state!


• A bad guy named Dr. Righteous!


• Japanese Robots that facilitate the escape of our hero, a rockstar named Kilroy!


• No, really, his name was supposed to be Kilroy. Stop laughing.

And a whole bunch of other shit that wasn't enough to make you listen to this whole lame album all the way through more than a time or two.

So like the rest of us you probably recorded the two or three good tracks to a cassette and put Mr. Roboto back under house arrest at the bottom of the LP pile.

Here's a total change of gears; for whatever reason while I was looking for those videos I remembered another song from '93 rather than '83. I always loved Out There by Dinosaur, Jr. What a kick-ass song. It was disappointing to find out that the original music video apparently doesn't reside on YouTube. But I did find a live performance from last summer, and apparently the band can still sounds pretty good. I bet they're worth checking out live. This is really good, sloppy, grungy rock in the Neil Young And Crazy Horse tradition. Turn this one up loud enough to piss off the neighbors:

Labels: Music, You Tube

Here's some more fun inspired by the David After Dentist video that I embeded the other day. This kind of thing usually wears thin for me pretty quickly, but for whatever reason I'm still enjoying the joke in this instance.

Neither of these are as good as the Christian Bale remix, but they still cracked me up.

First up, Chad Vader's trip to the dentist:

Next, a video from Upright Citizen's Brigade:

Labels: Humor, You Tube

I'm an unapologetic Tarantino fan. He makes loud, stupid, bloody cartoons with no redeeming value whatsoever. I dig 'em.

The trailer for his latest, a WWII film called Inglorious Bastards, tells us that "you haven't seen war until you've seen it through the eyes of Quentin Tarantino."

I have two words in response: John Ford.

This looks like a loud, stupid, bloody cartoon ... the kind of film that appeals to our base instincts ... a series of cheap thrills wherein the bloodlust of the audience is placated with mutalated Nazi corpses.

I can't wait.

Labels: Movies, You Tube

I don't know her name and I'm not just posting this because I agree with her. I'm posting it because I'm so impressed with her logic, with her ability to present her argument, and the bulletproof foundation of her position. Her argument isn't based on religion, on emotion, or on any childish resuppositions. This kid rocks.

I don't know many adults who can form an argument this well. I know I can't.

So here's hoping we can find out who she is and nominate her for PotUS in twenty-four years or so.

Labels: Politics, You Tube

The other day I posted the now famous YouTube video of the little boy struggling to get past the laughing gas after a trip to the dentist. David, your fifteen minutes are well-deserved. You're awesome, kid.

Later that day I mentioned the all-important Christian Bale temper tantrum.

I would have never, never, ever guessed that either of those two items could be milked for more laughs. But I guess I hadn't considered a mash-up.

What would have happened if Christian Bale had been David's daddy?

LANGUAGE WARNING!!

This made me laugh until I am now physically miserable:

All things considered, I'm glad little David has the daddy that he actually has.

HT: Ace.

Labels: Humor, Links, You Tube

That's not the question. In fact, that's a dumb question. They say there are no dumb questions, and they're wrong. That question is genuinely dumb.

No, the relative merit of greed isn't the issue. The question is this: is greed real? You bet your ass it is. And you better live in a society that responds to it in a way that allows for the most individual freedom. That is, unless you like $40 per roll toilet paper.

In this classic clip, currently making the rounds in the blogosphere, Milton Friedman breaks it down:

"Yeah, but wouldn't it be better if people would all just..." yadda yadda yadda.

Yeah, and it would all be better still if we each had a pet unicorn that shit gold.

Greed is real. Deal with it.

Labels: News, Politics, You Tube

A well crafted pop song is a simple thing: all it needs is an unforgetable melody and some simple, universal lyrics. Easy, right?

Over the years I've had "flirtations" with other songs, but I always come back to "One" by U2. I think that it is the best pop song of all time.

Now, Bono has his detractors, and I admit the guy can be a real turd when he starts running his mouth. But screw Bono, man. I ain't talking about Bono. I'm talking about the song.

If it was good enough for Johnny Cash, it's good enough for me. And who knew a well-crafted song better than Cash?

Over the years I've been sure, several times, that I knew what this song was about. I've though it was about the last stage of the grieving process. I've thought it was about failed marriage(s). I've thought it was about reaching a fork in the road with an old friend.

And I was right and wrong each time. This is one of those perfect little songs where the lryics are 100% applicable to a number of life's milestones.

Today, I'm certain that the song is about the agonizing loss of religious faith:

"You say
Love is a temple,
Love a higher law,
Love is a temple,
Love the higher law.
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl.
And I can't keep holding on
To what you've got
When all you've got is hurt."

I've been on the other end, I've looked down my nose at people who've stopped going to church. It's a lot easier on that end, let me tell you. I wouldn't wish the loss of religious faith on anyone. It's a lot like cancer, based on my experiences with both.

No idea what the band hoped to communicate with this strange video... the black and white, the drag, etc.

But I know exactly what they wanted to get across with the song. I've known so many times, for so many different reasons, and I have a feeling that there will be more reasons to come.

Yeah, "One" by U2 is the best pop song ever.

Labels: Music, You Tube

Typically when leftist celebs start ranting it just gets on my nerves. But the things that this creepy, plastic, washed-up old rasin had to say are so out there, so weird, that I really enjoyed this clip. Comedy gold!

I don't think that even that demented old whore Barbra Streisand has ever been this funny.

Labels: News, Politics, You Tube

Typically I don't post this kind of stuff, but this is really, really funny and extremely unsafe to play at work. EXTREME language warning. Like five-thousand F-bombs.

First, the setup: You've probably heard by now that Christian Bale apparently had a melt-down on the set of Terminator: Salvaton last summer and ended up cursing and verbally abusing the director of photography.

For that full story, click here. Audio is embedded at that link; if you want you can listen to a recording of Bale's rant. But, again, remember that the language is extreme and isn't safe to play at work ... unless you work in a crack-house or on a tuna boat.

OK, so that's the set-up, here's the inevitable payoff: Somebody chopped up the recording of the rant, added clips of the infamous Barbra Streisand on-stage rant from a year or two ago, and came up with a techno dance song that has me laughing like crazy:

Yeah, it's chidish and vulgar, but so am I. In my defense, what cracks me up is the way the remix really highlights the total absurdity of Bale's rant:

"It's f------ distracting, oooooooh good!
It's f------ distracting, oooooooh good!"

I'll hum that all day.

And for the record, although it might be a stretch, I'll give Bale the benefit of the doubt. This might be the worst he's ever behaved on the set of a film and might not be an indication of what it's like to work with him normally.

Yeah, it's a real stretch, but maybe.

Labels: Humor, Movies, News, You Tube

This little guy has just had some major work done by the dentist and the goofy gas still hasn't worn off yet:

It's surprising, the instincts I've retained from my misspent youth. While watching this I kept having the urge to whisper "Calm down, dude, you're gonna get us busted!"

HT: Geekologie.

Labels: Humor, You Tube

I'm a hardcore Splinter Cell fan, it's the one game franchise I'm totally hooked on. I love the game-play, the story, the characters, everything.

Here's how hooked I am on Splinter Cell: If they ever do make the long-rumored Splinter Cell movie, I'll see it in the theater. I know up front that it's gonna suck, but I'll still see it. Even if Paul W.S. Anderson or Uwe Boll direct it, I'll see it. I'm that hooked.

Like may hardcore Splinter Cell fans, I've started to believe that the next installment of the game series, called Conviction, is never going to actually be released. I've waited and waited and waited, I've been patient and I've been loyal, but almost two years of rescheduling and delaying is a long time, brother.

I've recently heard about Velvet Assassin, and my hopes are high that this game is going to fill the void left by the MIA Sam Fisher:

Trailer:



Gameplay:

So, basically, you're Sam Fisher, except you're a chick. And instead of tracking down terrorists, dictators and hackers you're stalking Nazis.

Cool. I can do that.

Now let's hope that this game actually does get released.

Labels: Video Games, You Tube

I'm generally pro-lesbian. And no, I don't mean in the Penthouse Magazine sense of the word lesbian. That's a whole 'nother, we'll talk about that another time.

What I mean is that the lesbians I've known in real life have, for the most part, been awesome people.

Yeah, I'm generalizing. I realize that. Generalizing is bad, I'm an evil person for doing it, yadda yadda yadda. But it's the truth, and it's basically a positive generalization, if such a thing exists, so I'm sticking to it.

Seriously, though. I've found that lesbians get a lot done in a day. When I worked in radio I worked with a number of lesbians and they were hard-working, industrious people. I remember this one lesbian lady I worked with in the early '90's who was thought of by every person at the radio station as the hardest worker and the most reliable person in the whole damn company. And smart? Forget about it. Her name was Lindsay, and if you had some problem you couldn't solve, just go as Lindsay. If she couldn't solve it she knew who could. I liked her a lot. I had a lot of respect for her, too. She looked just like Donnie Osmond.

And I used to rent an upstairs apartment, and once there were these two large lesbians who lived below me. They both looked like the late Nell Carter, although I don't know if either of them could sing or act. What I do know is that they were the best neighbors I had in all my years of apartment life. They were friendly and quiet, they seemed smart and happy ... I was broken-hearted when they moved out and this dumb ol' redneck gal and her boyfriend moved in. They had a parrot. I know, I heard it constantly.

To my knowledge, I've never once been lied to by a lesbian. I can't say that about any other ethno-gendo-bendo-religipolitinomical groups. So there's that.

And we all know that lesbians are often damn good songwriters and that they usually make up some of the absolute best folk-rock duos out there. For instance, I really love the song The Con by Tegan and Sarah, who're not just lesbians but also identical twins:

And I've been an Indigo Girls fan for years and years. I've seen 'em in concert twice and both times they were tremendous. It's hard for me to pick a favorite Indigo Girls song, but you can't go wrong with Galileo:

Tracy Chapman is a really, really great singer/songwriter, too:

You know, I don't know for sure if she's a lesbian or not. Maybe I shouldn't assume that she is. Nobody's ever told me that Tracy Chapman is a lesbian. But, I mean, nobody's ever told me that she's black, either ... it's just, look at her. Ya know?

I like the first two Melissa Etheridge albums a lot, too, although I catch hell from my headbanger buddies over that. Oh, well. I don't care what they say, those are two darn good albums, especially Brave And Crazy, which features No Souvenirs:

Oh, and Me'Shell NdegéOcello is an absolute monster on the bass and has a seriously smokey, rich, beautiful singing voice:

I've never been able to get into Ani DiFranco, though. Her music just doesn't move me. It's always struck me as a bit precious, a bit "high concept." And more than a bit lame.

While I'm on the subject, I also think that Jodie Foster is an outstanding actress and that Sarah Gilbert is cute as a button. Or, at least, she used to be and maybe isn't anymore, if the picture at her Wikipedia page is reliable.

And I'm guessing that it goes without saying that I think Tammy Bruce is awesome, if only because she defies pigeon holes.

Now, you guys know where I stand on "gay marriage," I'm not gonna pretend that I've softened up on that. It all just comes down to how you define the word marriage, and the definition I accept is a man/woman thing. I know that makes me politically incorrect, intolerant, ignorant, out-of-step, and all those other mean, nasty, horrible things. Sorry, that's just my opinion on the matter. I know that all the super-cool lesbian ladies I've just been praising would all want to pummel me to death with NOW and GLAAD leaflets because of my politics. OK, fine, whatever.

But I still think lesbians rock, and people on both sides of the issue are just gonna have to deal with that.

Labels: Politics, You Tube

OK, times are tough right now. The economy sucks. Everyone is feeling it. Even the labor unions are feeling it; last week the USW had to lay off six congressmen. (Rimshot!)

But the present looks pretty amazing when you go back to the past and look at today as the future.

That might not make sense, but it will. Check out this video of a local newscast clip from San Francisco in 1981.

This harkens back to a time when simply being a "home computer owner" was rare enough to get you identified that way on the local news ... when the only way to get on line was to physically put your rotary phone's handset on top of a modum ... and when a total of eight newspapers were on the internet. Watch the whole thing, it's really pretty funny and gets funnier toward the end:

My favorite quote in the whole thing: "We're not in it to make money."

This video has been posted at a number of blogs, including Hot Air, where I saw it.

Labels: Humor, Media, News, You Tube

On the celebrities who've made "pledges" and libertarianism:

I've mentioned that Zo rules, right?

Labels: You Tube, Zo

I may never get the visual out of my head, no matter how hard I try:

But at least I now know why Michelle always looks so uptight.

Labels: Humor, Obama Watch, You Tube

What else is there to say besides Zo rules? Nothing. I'll leave it at that. Zo rules.

Labels: Politics, You Tube, Zo

I don't often mention "celebrity news" at this blog, I just don't care about celebrity gossip. But I had to mention this Joaquin Phoenix story because ... damn.

Man, he looks rough. He looks like he he's recently been shooting up in a culvert somewhere.

He looks like Zach Galifianakis after a three-night bender.

He looks like Jim Morrison circa 1971, minus the bathtub.

Only a few years ago Phoenix was turning in exemplary work and now he says he's done with acting, he's going to be a rapper, and his rap album is going to be produced by Diddy.

His debut performance at a Las Vegas club ended with him falling off the stage after one song. The shenanigans were taped for inclusion in a documentary ... which makes me wonder if this is some elaborate Borat-style prank. I hope so. I'd hate to think the guy has gone 'round the bend.

Labels: Movies, News, You Tube

James Earl Jones is awesome. It's nice to hear from a celebrity who isn't rolling around in the floor and rubbing himself all over because of Obama's inauguration:

JEJ is positive, he's upbeat, and he's rational. I'm glad there's someone out there who doesn't think we've just put some combination of Jesus Christ, FDR and Kanye West in the White House.

HT: Bob Parks.

Labels: News, Politics, You Tube

I can't think of a better way to mark the inauguration of the Savior Elect, President Tila Tequila, than with one of my favorite songs from Faith No More:

You have a winning way, so keep it,
Your future! Your future! Your future!

You are an angel heading for the land of sunshine!
And fortune is smiling upon you!

Prepare for a series of a comfortable miracles,
From fasting to feasting!
And life to you is a dashing, bold adventure!
So sing, and rejoice! Sing, and rejoice!

Pat yourself on the back and give yourself a handshake,
'Cause everything is not yet lost!

Does life seem worthwhile to you?

HERE'S HOW TO ORDER!

HERE'S HOW TO ORDER!

Labels: Music, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

Classic Carlin, cuts right to the chase.

Language warning, content warning, every other kind of warning you can think of. Not for the easily offended, but it makes me laugh like crazy.

"It's all 50/50 ... so just pick your superstition, sit back, make a wish and enjoy yourself."

Labels: Humor, You Tube

A lot going on this weekend, I won't have time to write anything. So instead, here's a YouTube video that accurately reproduces the tone, style and content of most of my blog posts:

Labels: Humor, You Tube

This is the story of Star Wars, as told by someone who's never seen the movies:

"I'm going over to, like, the Dark Side, or whatever."

"Keep the faith, the force is strong, or whatever."

Obviously she really hasn't seen the movies. Her version of the dialogue is much better than what Lucas actually came up with.

Labels: Humor, Movies, You Tube

On Bill O'Reilly, Obama's tax plan, national defense, the so-called "Freedom Of Choice Act," the selflessness of the American Soldier and liberal hatred. Awesome, as usual:

Labels: You Tube, Zo

I've had a YouTube account for ages. I mostly use it to post short clips of family video and occasional funny montages, etc. I only recently started clicking the "subscribe" button so I'd get updated when some of my favorite "vloggers" post new stuff.

I'm glad I finally did. I enjoy seeing the updates and watching these videos. None of these are anything special visually, these are just monologues from smart guys with interesting ideas. I suppose they could have been written and posted at regular blogs, but hearing and seeing these fellas express themselves makes it all the more personal, immediate and interesting. Here are a few recent examples...

Penn Jillette, as a rule, doesn't do reviews. Here, he breaks that rule to offer his thoughts on The Wrestler, a movie that I loved. You can watch Penn's video without worrying about plot spoilers. If anything, this clip may simply make you want to see the movie more than you already might:

I love the way Penn feels forced to describe what's so wonderful about the movie with such simple terms: "very real," for instance. And I like the way Penn often simply shakes his head, unable to come up with words. The Wrestler is really that kind of movie.

This next one is from my favorite vlogger, Zo Rachel. Here, Zo takes on global warming, Hollywood, and race, as per: politics:

Drinking With Bob is another YouTube vlog I watch from time to time. Bob usually cracks me up with his manic urgency. And I usually agree with his core points. Here, he talks about the Blago scandle:

Labels: Entertainment, Movies, Politics, You Tube, Zo

Synopsis

Randy The Ram is a washed up professional wrestler who's twenty years past his prime. After suffering a major medical setback, Randy is forced to consider his place in the world, the relationships that he's lost along the way, and his possibilities for a future.

Pros:

• Micky Rourke is really outstanding.


• So is Marisa Tomei.

Cons:

• The film is honestly painful to watch.


• A lot of people aren't going to like the ending.

Generally:

At least four on a five scale. A remarkable movie if you can handle all the open wounds, both literal and figurative.

Extended Review:

Writer and director Darren Aronofsky usually makes movies on a huge scale. He's good at it. His 2000 release Requiem for a Dream is surely one of the best films of the past ten years. With his latest movie, The Wrestler, Aronofsky has dialed back the high-concept and flashy visuals and produced a small, quiet character study. As it turns out, he's good at that, too.

Micky Rourke, as Randy "The Ram" Robinson (the wrestler the movie is named for) will probably win all kinds of awards for his work here. He really ought to, anyway. This is the kind of movie that requires it's star to carry a world on his back. Rourke is suburb here. I don't suppose I've ever seen him turn in a performance anywhere near this good before. Randy is a guy suffocating in regret, loneliness and physical pain. It's a credit to Rourke as an actor that his performance never became tedious or overwrought in the movie's 115 minutes.

The Wrestler also features Marisa Tomei as a stripper named Cassidy who infatuates Randy. A number of Tomei's scenes feature the actress nude or nearly nude. Tomei's been doing a lot of nudity in her recent movies, possibly because she's proud that she still has the body of a twenty year old even though she'll turn forty-five at the end of this year. Still, Tomei's physical form (as lovely as it is) isn't the best thing she brings to this movie. Her performance is the equal of Rourke's, and may garner supporting actress awards for her as well. In fact, Tomei is so good here that I'd expect her to win top awards for females in lead roles if she only had more screen time.

The connection between Rourke's wrestler and Tomei's stripper is obvious, but never made overt or acknowledged in any way. Both of them have chosen paths wherein they sell themselves, physically, to paying audiences. One traffics in sex; the other, violence. Both of them need the attention and the money, and neither of them seem to have many other options. But unlike Randy, Tomei's character dreams of another life. She has a family in the form of her son ... unlike Randy, who has driven away his adult daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) with years of negligence and broken promises. To Cassidy, stripping is just a means to an end. To Randy, wrestling is everything. Ultimately, one of them just can't stand to be in the other one's audience.

It's painful to watch the two characters interact as one hopes to begin a new life and the other waits for his life to end. There's a rawness about their scenes together that's really exceptional in it's honesty. It's funny that we live in a world full of "reality TV" that is nothing like reality, and here's a scripted movie featuring an actor and an actress who speak volumes of truth about desperation and sadness.

I can't recommend The Wrestler to every movie fan, but I think you'll enjoy it if you're the kind of viewer who enjoys films like, for instance, No Country For Old Men. The Wrestler is subtle, unconventional, and extremely understated. That's ironic, considering that professional wrestling itself is the bombastic polar opposite of this film. I expect that a large number of wrestling fans will see this movie and leave the theater unhappy.

At times, The Wrestler reminded me of Ray, Raging Bull, Saturday Night Fever, even Citizen Kane in some ways. Those are all fine films about men who are addicted to fame and pain. Men who punish themselves in spite of the glory they seek. Each of those films features remarkable lead performances. Each of them was directed beautifully. If I have a complaint with each of those five films, it's that they are all painfully direct. This is the kind of movie that might force anyone to contemplate whatever is hollow inside of them.

The Wrestler rubs shoulders with greats in terms of it's impact, it's integrity, and the power of it's story. This is one of the finest movies I've seen in the past twelve months.

Trailer for The Wrestler:

Labels: Movie Reviews, Movies, You Tube

I wish I had a giant iPod wheel on my forehead. Or even one I could just carry in a small, round pillbox. Some kind of wheel that I could turn to administer mood-altering chemicals, complete with a little soft rock. You know, both kinds of feel-good hits.

I'd trace my finger around the wheel and find just the right mood or the right thought or just the right tone of ambivalence for any situation. It would be so cool to be able to simply spin the wheel and say the right thing to anyone. Say exactly what they want to hear without having to think about it at all. All through the magic of uppers, downers, and DRM protected digital media.

Let's say some friend hit me out of the blue with some serious grievances about my current feelings on religion. I'd spin the iPod wheel, drop a Benzodiazepine, and play The Doobie Brothers, singing that "Jesus is Just Alright." And we'd all share the groovy experience provided by my personal iPod Thorazine Shuffle and everybody would be brothers and sisters, man, and all would be groovy.

Or someone else could confess some recent betrayal or deceit that I'd suspected all along and I could spin my iWheel and get a Benzodiazepine hit ... then call up Don Henley's "Heart Of The Matter" and pretty soon the shrunken, aging eco-Eagle would be pontificating about forgiveness: "There are people in your life who've come and gone / They let you down, you know they hurt your pride / You better put it all behind you baby; cause' life goes on / If you keep carryin' that anger, it'll eat you up inside, baby..." Yeah, Don, groove on, groove on, baby. The way you bring that soft rock groove makes me think everything is just oooooooohh kaaaaaaaay. And, well, the Benzodiazepine helps.

How awesome would that be. In the meantime, we'll have to settle for the iTop, a new laptop from apple that lets the machine do even more of the thinking:

A step in the right direction, for sure. The iWheel solves all. It knows all, it is all, the iWheel is the avatar of peace. But we're not quite there yet. Gov't Mule has just the prescription:

"Stand by to stand by,
Ain't no need to worry today.
The (iPod) Thorazine Shuffle gonna make everything OK."

Labels: Gov't Mule, Humor, Personal, The Onion, You Tube

It'll either make you grin or get on your nerves. It made me grin:

Labels: Humor, News, Politics, You Tube

I used to write about faith at this blog fairly frequently. I haven't in a long time. A year or so, I suppose.

My religious beliefs have been in flux for a long time. For as long as I can remember, really. I was raised Southern Baptist, and my religious upbringing wasn't a positive experience for me. During my mid 20's I was a militant agnostic: "I don't know and you don't, either." By my early 30's I became nominally pro-religion; I began to think that religion did more good than bad for most people, and although I maintained that it wasn't for me, I generally saw it as a force for good.

Then I got divorced and 9/11 happened and I panicked. For whatever reason I decided that it was important that I nail down exactly where I stood on religion. I started reading the Bible and C.S. Lewis and something clicked. I've gone from content agnostic to enthusiastic Catholic convert in the last few years, and at every stage along the way I've always been very happy to force my beliefs on the people around me.

Never in a positive way, though. My approach, my foundation, has always been "You're wrong! Here's why!"

I think that maybe the only thing I've ever really believed in is the blunt force of my own opinion.

I began to realize over the past year that my religious convictions were a house of cards. 2008 has been an awful year. It began with the culmination of some serious marital problems. Just as it began to look like my marriage might survive, a good friend of mine died out of the blue. Well, what happened was, first my friend's daughter committed suicide, and then about a month later he had a heart attack and died. I was still trying to sort that out when I was diagnosed with cancer in June. I've had three tumor resections since then and I'm going to have another next month.

And, yes, I might be endulging myself with more self-pity than these circumstances really warrant.

The worst of all of this was what happened with my friend. I haven't written about it here for two reasons. One reason is that I didn't want to trivialize the loss of my friend's daughter and his subsequent death by writing about it at a blog that's primarily dedicated to YouTube videos and fart jokes. The main reason that I haven't written about it, though, is that thinking about it hurts so godamn much that I just try to avoid thinking about it at all.

My friend's daughter died and there was absolutely nothing inside of me that enabled me to offer him any comfort. Don't misread what I wrote: I didn't complain that I couldn't comfort him. I was totally incapable of even trying to comfort him. This was a guy I loved and I was totally incapable of making a gesture beyond "I'm sorry for your loss." It ate at me, it kept me up at night, but I only came up empty handed. The truth of the matter was that, deep down, I simply believed that my friend's daughter was gone. Just gone.

And then one morning he was gone, too. And I think the main thing I feel about that is anger.

All of this stuff happened and I realized that there was nothing (absolutely NOTHING) built into the foundation of my faith that prepared me to handle it. I began to think that the reason I'd been drawn to the Catholic Church was really just that I line up very well with the Church's politics. I already believe what the Church teaches with regard to abortion, the death penalty, charity, etc. It was a good match.

But as far as the "spiritual core" of my beliefs, I'm as uncertain and as lost as I've ever been. I do know, though, that I've never had a transcendent experience. Not once. And I don't even want one. I don't want cause to doubt my own sanity any more than I already do. I still have this deep need to figure out where I'm coming from, to figure out what I believe and why, but I just have no idea where to go from here.

Here's the truth of my beliefs. These are the things that I believe deep down, and I don't know how to change them, or if I should change them, or what to do about them. I believe in God. I don't know why he'd feel anything but contempt or maybe pity for humanity, but I do believe in a God of some sort. I believe in altruism and love and kindness, I believe, in fact, that those are the only things that make life worth living. I don't believe in any sort of afterlife. I think that death is the end, that death is final, and that it's always a hair's breath away. I think life is fragile and mostly futile, and that it's still a wonderful, wonderful thing. The most important thing in the entire world to me is my son ... and I believe that all of the immortality that there is going to be for me will be in whatever good I'm able to pass along to him. If I'm able to be a good enough father for him to be able to look back in fifty years and say "I guess the old man wasn't a total shithead," then I think I'll have done well. I'll have been a better father than I ever had, anyway.

Those are the things I believe deep down and I don't know why I believe them, other than those seem like natural conclusions to me. I don't know what to do with those beliefs or how to reconcile them with the Church, with Christianity, with faith or with the world in general. Oh, and get this: I still believe that the Roman Catholic church is the best thing out there. Talk about being conflicted.

I know that one or two of my Christian friends are going to read this and be tempted to send me e-mails to try to reason with me. I appreciate it, but it won't really help. Trust me, I've been trying like hell to reason with myself for the past year.

If you want something poetic or philosophical, this is the best I can offer: I can't explain why or exactly what it is about it, but there's something essential about the things I believe in the lyrics to the Black Crowes song A Thorn In My Pride. That's the best I can offer, and it's typical of me. When in doubt, I come back to rock and roll.

I'm writing all of this because Scott at Spiritual Tramp posted this video that I saw today and it moved me to tears:

Generally, I've come to realize in the past year that the best thing I can do is keep all of this to myself. I made a couple of attempts to discuss these feelings with friends at one point earlier this year and I only managed to offend them. That is the one thing I'm good at. Even when I'm not trying (and I usually am trying), I can offend people like nobody's business. It comes naturally to me, I guess.

But the things Penn Jillette had to say hit me like a wrecking ball. I felt like I had to write something. If you've read this, thank you for indulging me.

Man, I really hope 2009 is a fairly innocuous year.

Labels: Bladder Cancer, Blogs, Faith, Politics, You Tube

As I've written before, I really enjoy bass guitar. Which is why I really enjoy this:

Her name is Tal Wilkenfeld. I think that's a good name to remember.

Labels: Music, You Tube

The guy is just flat-out funny. He's Howard Stern's sideman, but he's way funnier than Stern.

Content advisory, off-color stories, etc.

Here he is with a story about the n-word that literally had me in tears with laughter. Serious, extreme langauge warning here. Every offensive word known to man is contained in this next clip. But the content, philologically, is friggin' genius.

Labels: Humor, You Tube

...to stain how a lot of us think about all of them.

I realize that only maybe 5% of the cops in the world are blowhards and assholes. It just seems to me that, over the course of my life, I've had to deal with 99% of that 5%. What follows is very typical of what I've come to think of as classic cop attitude; the usual cop behavior.

This is video of Baltimore cop Salvatore Rivieri throwing his weight around, freaking out, and generally treating a bunch of kids like they're the mafia:

A message to Salvatore Rivieri: You're an asshole, dude. You're a punk with a chip on his shoulder and you're a disgrace to that badge that you're so proud of. Dude. Dude, dude, dude. Asshole. Dude.

I wonder if he's ever tried this crap with someone his size? It would almost be worth a court appearance to bust this big whining bitch in his big mouth.

And, no, this isn't an isolated incident. This kind of behavior is Sally-Boy's standard operational crap:

Turns out that the 14 year old kid in the first video, Eric Bush, is suing Officer Salvatore "Asshole Dude" Rivieri. Goooooood. I just hope this cop loses his job and has to go to work doing security at Wal-Mart where he belongs: "Hey, you come back here and let me check off your receipt! You better RESPECT this yellow highlighter!"

Hat Tip to Bob Parks, who sees this story quite differently than I do.

Labels: News, You Tube

Let's celebrate the holiday with this video I've just found. This video is clearly the reason the internet was invented in the first place:

Now that we've all finally seen that video we can all log off and resume the lives we left behind in 1994.

Labels: You Tube

Gonna be busy for the next few days. I'll talk to you after Christmas. Meanwhile:

• I will never, ever, ever, ever, EVER blog again after taking prescription drugs that impair my judgment.
  
  I'm not taking anything that I'm not supposed to take ... but some of the drugs I have to take occasionally do make me goofy. Really goofy. They makes me say silly things and laugh at silly things ... and type silly things. And the next morning I look at what I barely remember posting the night before and I spend about ten seconds trying to figure out what I was talking about and then I hit the delete post button as quickly as possible.
  
  Some writers have been lucid, creative and interesting while under the influence of controlled substances. Good for them. Chuck Palahniuk I am not.



• The Weather Channel is biased:

  
  

  I do take issue with the assertion that the Weather Channel uses "smooth jazz" to distract their viewers. I've heard Phish on the Weather Channel and they're a jam band.
  
  But, come to think of it, it did distract me.




• Some people are all to hell about Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. The political gays (homosexual and heterosexual alike) are writhing in conniption fits about it. The moonbats at The Daily Kos (in this instance, the chief moonbat) compare Warren to Fred Phelps and David Duke.
  
  Remember, disagreeing with political gays regarding the definition of "marriage" is the same thing as hate. If you don't see things their way, you are a HATEMONGER!
  
  Look, I'm no Rick Warren fan. I think the guy is a hack and a snake-oil salesman. but compared to some of the "ministers" that Obama has associated with in the past, this guy is a huge step in the right direction. Warren is, at least, capable of a modicum of self-control.
  
  (Sidebar rant begins here)
  
  And before any Warrenites take issue with my assessment of their "purpose driven" clergyman ... yes, I have read Rick Warren. I bought The Purpose Driven Life after a protestant minister told me that I should read it, that it would change my life. He was right, it did change my life. It made me fifteen bucks poorer.
  
  So I'm entitled to my opinion that Rick Warren is a profit driven schmuck who peddles feel-good Wal-Mart "theology" to people who don't really want to think all that hard about religion.
  
  You really want to read about Christianity? Read a Bible. The actual words of Christ are in there. And this Paul guy had some interesting ideas, too. (Heard of Paul? He wrote this letter to some Christians in Rome that's just dynamite stuff; really, really good. He wrote some other stuff, too. He was a big Jesus-booster back in the day. Check the New Testament, I think some of his stuff is in there.)
  
  (And, by the way, you don't have to buy Rick Warren's Purpose Driven New Testament, only $18.95 this week at Target. You can pick up a King James Bible for just a buck at the Dollar Tree, and nearly all* of the whole Bible is actually in there! For a buck! Can you believe it! I know, crazy, right?!)
  
  Other than the Bible, read St. Thomas Aquinas, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton and the indispensable Deitrich Bonhoffer. (Bonhoffer. Wow. Now there is a real purpose driven life. His book The Cost Of Discipleship might not "change your life," but it will humble you.)
  
  But, look, if you just want something with the substance of a Hallmark card, then the Rick Warren / Max Lucado / Five People You Meet In Heaven crap is just fine. Read it. Mist up. Feel good.
  
  (Sidebar rant officially over)



• Bob Parks has a great picture of the ravages of global warming: Snow falling in Las Vegas.



• Speaking of the wackos at the Daily Kos, some of 'em are pleased as punch with the idea of Caroline Kennedy as a Senator. Nothing against the woman, but Caroline Kennedy's primary qualification for political office is that she is currently breathing.
  
  
  Which is not to knock those Kennedys who are no longer breathing ... or any of them who might be fish-breathing at the moment.
  
  Caroline Kennedy is a peachy choice for the US Senate. Right. Barely a month ago these same morons were telling us that Sarah Palin wasn't qualified to be VP.



• Scott liked In Bruges. Good. In Bruges was my pick for the second best film of 2007.



• Roanoke R N'R knows exactly what she doesn't want for Christmas.
  
  Oh, I dunno. I think Christy Lane ROCKS!

  Every single time I hear her singing Shake Me I Rattle I just want to grab her by the shoulders and shake the s**t out of her.
  
  But that's just me.

Labels: Blogs, Links, News, Politics, You Tube

Just some things that caught my eye:

• Smashing Pumpkins don't intend to release another album:

  According to The Pulse of Radio, SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan says the band will not release any more new albums, citing the lack of enthusiasm for their 2007 comeback effort, "Zeitgeist", as one of the reasons.

  Rock fans reacted to the news with shock and horror, exclaiming "Smashing Pumpkins released an album in 2007?! Why??"


• It looks like UAW greed and hubris have killed the auto company bailout for now. Good. Modern labor unions can keep their heads in the sand if they want, but they shouldn't be able to drag the tax payer down with them.
  
  Then again, maybe it's not willful obstinance on the parts of the labor unions. I've spent enough time with union types to tell you that they really might just be that stupid.


• Speaking of the auto bailout, here's an awesome graphic that's making the rounds. I saw it at Fairly Conservative:

  

  
  It's funny because it's true. Throw in the entitlement attitude of the UAW and you've got a pretty strong batch of socialist BS brewing up, there.
  
  I'd really like to see lawmakers come up with the balls to shut this bailout down FOR GOOD. Make the big three file for bankruptcy and force the average UAW lunch-bucket member to wake up and smell the coffee. Maybe they'll ask themselves if big labor has been screwing us all for years now. Maybe? Nah, couldn't be. Those guys are watching out for the little guy, right?
  
  Sure they are, dumbass. Keep paying your monthly dues, no need to use the brain God gave you.



• The Ol' Broad had a fairly cute Obama-inspired reworking of The Twelve Days Of Christmas. You can click here to watch the whole thing, or just watch the truncated video below if you only want to hear the twelfth and final, complete verse:



• I don't agree with Scott at Good News Film Reviews about the movie The Dark Knight. I enjoyed the movie, Scott didn't enjoy the Batman Begins sequel very much at all. And, I have to admit, he makes a really strong case against the film. I'd hate to be the guy who has to go up against Scott in a formal debate.


• Bob Parks has the details on the body of a child found near the home of Casey Anthony. It's unfortunate ... tragic, really ... but if this turns out to be the body of little Caylee Anthony, at least there'll be some closure.
  
  And I'll just say this about that: Casey Anthony appears to be a self-centered, lying, down-right-evil bitch. It looks like her parents have enabled her and coddled her for her entire life. They never made her be accountable for her actions and they never made her stand on her own two feet. Of course, that doesn't always lead to murder, but no good ever comes of it.



• Dennis Miller says that if Obama really claims that he worked his way through the Chicago political machine without ever touching corruption, he's either "oblivious or disingenuous." It's darned hard to argue with that.
  
  It reminds me of my own former Senator, Chuck Robb, who once went to a hotel room with the woman on the Playboy magazine cover to the right. Robb admitted that he got naked in that room with that woman, and that she gave him a massage ... but that nothing else happened.
  
  This was Chuck Robb's way of saying "I believe that everyone within the sound of my voice is a f----ng idiot."
  
  Either that, or he's telling the truth and he's some sort of animate vegetable-alien thing from the planet Lethargis.
  
  And get this: Chuck Robb got re-elected. Which means that I can't say too much about the people who do the voting in Chicago.

Labels: Movies, Music, News, Politics, You Tube

Rosie O'Donnell's variety show was canceled after one episode. I don't know why, though ... based on this clip, I think it must have been a decent show:

And Rosie never looked prettier.

Labels: Humor, You Tube

Planned Parenthood obviously targets unborn babies ... and as I mentioned the other day, they clearly target young pregnant girls, too.

Of course, they've always been a racist organization. Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger, saw the eventual elimination of the black race as one of her goals. She said so, right up front. She called it "The Negro Project."

Did you know that, liberal abortion supporters? Do you care? Or is abortion, regardless of it's reality, simply worth preserving as long as it provides the theoretical option of getting rid of a baby that you've conceived but don't want?

And don't hand me that insulting, stupid shit about abortion being a women's rights issue. The people who throw that nonsense around might as well have forehead tattoos that read "I don't know anything about abortion." The reality of abortion is that both the baby and the mother are victims.

Margaret Sanger's final solution is working. Abortion is killing black people in shockingly disproportionate numbers.

Between killing them in the womb, keeping them dependent on welfare and telling them how to think, the Democratic Party is really a great friend to black Americans, isn't it?

Here's a clip I saw at Black & Right. I'm not a Limbaugh fan, but this clip is short and the information is, I would think, startling to anyone who supports Planned Parenthood but abhors racism:

So, again, abortion supporters ... keep telling yourselves what you need to believe so you can sleep at night.

Labels: News, You Tube

Indispensable, as always:

Labels: Politics, You Tube, Zo

This got my attention:

Link:

Just a few comments:

O'Reilly is a dick. He's always been a dick, he'll always be a dick. The guy is just abrasive and unpleasant and I think he'd be about as much fun to be around as a cranky, senile, infected, knife-welding crackhead.

Megyn Kelly, as usual, is reasonable, well spoken, attractive and right. She really is my favorite talking head. As such, she now deserves her own tag here at SouthCon.

I'm offended by the atheist sign, too. But that's the point. Aren't Christians supposed to be the persecuted ones? Didn't that one guy tell Christians to expect persecution ... even to take comfort in it, for the world will hate you just as it hated him? You know, that one guy, that Jesus fellow. He's still got something to do with Christianity, right? As opposed to O'Reilly? Ya know?

Labels: Megyn Kelly, News, You Tube

If you're traveling in Muncie, Indiana, and a cop pulls you over, and that cop looks a lot like Ponch from CHiPS ... well, that officer just might actually be Ponch:

Former TV cop Erik Estrada has become a real-life officer after a reality TV flop gave him a new career option.

The CHipS star was among the celebrities who took part in short-lived show Armed + Dangerous, where he and LaToya Jackson, among others, trained to become police reserves in Indiana. And the experience fired up Estrada, who is now officially an officer on the Muncie Police Department.

I'm kinda at a loss to say exactly why, but I think that's extremely cool.

I think Angie Dickinson should become a cop, now, too. And that Lee Majors should be horribly mutilated in some sort of test flight gone wrong, and that his mangled limbs should be replaced by high-powered bionic limbs that make a neat "yangYANGyangYANGyang" sound when he uses them.

And I think that Lynda Carter should always dress just like this, and she should never age beyond whatever age she is in this clip:

I'd like all of these things done by the time I wake up in the morning... so, you guys need to get on it right away.

Barring that, I will settle for Erik Estrada being a real cop for now.

Oh, and a sidenote to today's twenty-somethings: My generation's tall, silly, well built brunette was WAY HOTTER than your generation's tall, silly, well built brunette. No contest, man.

Labels: Links, News, You Tube

You have GOT to watch this video ... shot in secret, under cover, at Planned Parenthood in Indiana. The girl seeking an abortion tells the Planned Parenthood employee that she's thirteen and that the baby's father is thirty-one.

The Planned Parenthood employee INSISTS that she doesn't want to know the age of the baby's father so she won't have to notify Child Protective Services.

She even comes up with a lie for the girl about the father being a 14 year old.

Then the Planned Parenthood employee instructs the girl about getting an abortion out of state so her parents won't have to be notified.

Parents need to face the reality of what Planned Parenthood really is: It's simply an abortion provider that preys on young girls for political purposes.

So tell me again, liberals, about how abortion on demand is a "women's rights" issue. Go ahead, try to sell me that line of insulting bullshit again. And tell yourself what you need to believe so you can sleep at night.

Tell yourself what you need to believe about this guy, too:

Babies murdered in the womb, young mothers emotionally scarred for life, and Planned Parenthood is complicit in all of it.

And their biggest supporter takes the Oval Office next month.

So, go ahead, liberals ... tell me again how this is about "freedom of choice."

More here.

Labels: News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

I'm a country boy, I grew up around chickens. I always thought they were stupid animals. Thanks to this video, I now realize that they're not stupid ... they're friggin' aliens, man:

Of course, I never once picked up a chicken to see what kind of neat chicken-head-tricks they could do. If I had only tried that, even once, I'd have been suspicious of chickens all along.

Note to self: Remind kids to never give me a chicken for Father's Day.

Oh, and if you liked that video, two things: One, you're weird, like me. Two, click this for the sequel, a video with 100% more cute baby participation.

Labels: Links, Trivial Matters, You Tube

Most of you won't care about this. I do, though. The original Half Life (one of the most influential FPS games ever) has been rebuilt by some amazing people to run on Half Life 2 (one of my favorite games ever). If you've played either game you'll love this and you'll surely look forward to playing Black Mesa.

Labels: Video Games, You Tube

You had it coming, America:

It's neat to see that this guy has a good sense of humor about himself and the RickRolling phenomenon.

By the way, I have never been RickRolled. Not as of yet, anyway. But Wendy got RickRolled just the other day and I thought it was hilarious.

Labels: Blogs, Humor, Links, Trivial Matters, You Tube

This is Zo's famous video on gay marriage ... the one that YouTube couldn't tollerate:

Find a fault in his logic. Go ahead, I dare you.

And not only is his argument seamless, but he's able to tackle the subject without coming off like a hostile ass ... unlike a certain other blogger I know, who just happens to be me.

Labels: Faith, Politics, You Tube, Zo

Sometimes it's annoying when popular rock and pop songs are used as the soundtrack for a movie. It's often just one more symptom of a movie maker's absolute lack of creativity, originality and focus.

But, sometimes, a pop song is worked into a movie with real creativity and with real dramatic impact. When a pop song is used well in a movie, both the song and the movie benefit from the mix. Sometimes, in fact, a pop song is used so well in a movie that I can't help but associate the song and the movie forever after. It's a tribute to the skills of the director and/or writer when, working completely independent of the song writer, he or she is able to turn a pop song into an important element of a good movie. Put simply, when it's done right, it's awesome.

Some directors are particularly good at pulling it off. Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino come to mind. Other directors try it rarely, but sometimes to great effect.

This is a list of some of my favorite examples of doing it right.

But first, some rules:

• The song must be arguably popular before it's inclusion in the movie. Unknown songs included to quirky effect on movie soundtracks don't count. Sorry, Garden State.



• The song must be the original recording by the artist that made the song popular. Songs re-recorded for a movie aren't up for consideration. So forget about Guns N' Roses and their unfortunate remake of Sympathy for the Devil from Interview With The Vampire.



• The song can't be something written specifically for the movie. It must be something that the director and/or writer included in the film without the direct contribution of the song's writer. Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On will forever be associated with Titanic, but it doesn't count.
  
  
• The song must be a plot element, not not movie background music. In other words, the characters must be aware of the song. Maybe it's playing in the bar or at the house where they are during a given scene. Maybe they're singing along with the song. But it can't simply be part of the soundtrack. As much as I enjoy the music used in Goodfellas, it doesn't count.



• The song can't be a plot element because it's being performed live in the movie. That rules out nearly every musician biopic ever made. For the song to qualify, it has to be played on a radio, a jukebox, or from some other recorded source. It's importance in the scene should seem almost accidental.

And now ... the movies and the music (eleven songs, ten films), in no particular order.

• The Song: American Girl by Tom Petty & The Hearbreakers
  The Movie: The Silence Of The Lambs
  
  Brooke Smith (Grey's Anatomy) is one of the best unsung elements of Jonathan Demme's suspense masterpiece. As Catherine Martin, a prisoner and potential victim of serial killer "Buffalo Bill," Smith manages to convey both extreme vulnerability and surprising resourcefulness. In her first scene in the film, Catherine is driving home, singing along with the radio, utterly unaware of the maniac waiting in the darkness. I can't hear this song without picturing her singing along:





• The Song: You Never Can Tell by Chuck Berry
  The Movie: Pulp Fiction
  
  The unspoken attraction between John Travolta and Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction is what makes the movie's first third work so well. That connection culminates (you might even say it's consummated) when the two characters enter a dance competition at a 50's themed club:




• The Songs: Sister Christian by Night Ranger and Jesse's Girl by Rick Springfield
  The Movie: Boogie Nights
  
  The primary characters in Boogie Nights are caught in a terrible downward spiral. Late in the film, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly and Thomas Jayne attempt to rob Alfred Molina's whacked out, music obsessed drug dealer. Molina blasts Night Ranger and Rick Springfield on his stereo while his "pool boy" walks around letting off fire crackers ... and the tension builds to tremendous heights. The moment when the tape stops and flips to the other side is particularly jarring:




• The Song: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
  The Movie: Wayne's World
  
  It's silly, it's trivial, it's infectious fun:




• The Song: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In) by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
  The Movie: The Big Lebowski
  
  I considered the possibility that this scene violated my "character cognizance" rule, since it's an elaborate dream sequence. But I decided that the scene's inclusion was valid since the Dude is clearly aware of the song. He even choreographs his dream to the music. Besides, it's an intrinsic element of who Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski is. "Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man."




• The Song: Old Time Rock And Roll by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
  The Movie: Risky Business
  
  Enough said:




• The Song: The Logical Song by Supertramp
  The Movie: Magnolia
  
  Frankly, I'm surprised at how much luck I've had finding YouTube clips for the scenes in my list. This is the only one I ran into where my luck ran out completely. No YouTube clip for the scene I'm thinking about apparently exists.
  
  That's unfortunate, because it's a great scene from a wonderful film. And it's a film that uses music inventively and to great effect. Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia utilizes the music in it's soundtrack better than just about any film I can think of. Several of the songs are original compositions by Aimee Mann, written specifically for the film. The scene that revolves around her song Wise Up is particularly well done.
  
  But the scene I'm thinking about involves a horribly sad emotional breakdown by William H. Macy's character. His character is a closeted gay man and former child star with a crush on a bartender at a local bar. As his character confesses his feelings and argues with other bar patrons, Supertramp's Logical Song plays on the jukebox and heightens the drama. I wish I could have found that scene, it's remarkably well constructed.
  
  Lacking that scene, here's a trailer for Anderson's outstanding movie:




• The Song: Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealer's Wheel
  The Movie: Reservoir Dogs
  
  It's a horribly violent, gory scene ... so don't watch this clip without a strong stomach.
  
  It's also one of the most suspenseful, gripping scene's that Quentin Tarantino has ever directed. It might be his finest sequence ever. Like the scene in Boogie Nights with the flipping cassette tape, Tarantino uses the music's absence powerfully. Mr. Blonde begins torturing Marvin the cop, blasting Stealer's Wheel on the radio. Then he walks out to his car to get a can of gasoline, and we follow him, leaving the music behind. When he returns to the warehouse, the very second that I hear the song begin again, my gut clinches up with dread. And that happens every time I see the film. I've probably seen it six or eight times.




• The Song: Tu Es Partout by Edith Piaf
  The Movie: Saving Private Ryan
  
  This song probably isn't something you're going to hear on the radio today, but going by the strictest understanding of my rules, it qualifies.
  
  Shortly before the climactic battle in Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks and Matt Damon pause and listen to Edith Piaf on a record player. Hanks translates the lyrics for Damon, and they talk about their families and the lives they've left behind to go to war. The tension is unspoken, but palpable. Both men know that a battle looms and that they are terribly outgunned, and that neither of them are likely to survive. The song provides both soldiers a moment of respite that's both poignant and profound.
  
  And, of course, there's no YouTube clip for this one, either.
  
  But I did find the song, uploaded to YouTube, by someone else who apparently associates it indelibly with Saving Private Ryan:




• The Song: In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel
  The Movie: Say Anything
  
  It's overt. There's nothing subtle about this scene. You could even call it ham-fisted. But there's no denying that it works exactly like it's supposed to:

This is only a partial list of many good examples of movie scenes that utilize pop music organically and artistically. I'm sure you may have a favorite that I didn't include on the list. I'd love to hear about other scenes I may have forgotten ... or may have never seen!

Labels: Movies, Music, You Tube

No time to blog today, but I'll remind you that the really good stuff is in my Google Reader. You can pick a headline from the blue box to the left or click here for the latest and greatest.

I will post this, though, really quickly. I always think it's a riot when one of the talking heads at Fox puts some leftist moron on blast. Like this, a few days ago, from Shepherd Smith:

Labels: Blogs, Links, Media, News, Politics, You Tube

MCF's latest round of probing, exhaustive inquiries.

1) Is it good or bad when sitcoms feature celebrity guest stars?

I don't like sitcoms. I tend to feel that the writing, acting and directing in sitcoms is generally bad to awful. So when a movie star makes an appearance on a sitcom, my gut reaction is to wonder that he or she apparently needed a paycheck badly. Or maybe that he or she owed someone a favor.

That's different, though, when celebs show up as guest voices on the Simpsons. The Simpsons is the best thing American TV has ever produced, and well worth the time of anyone with actual talent.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion, and I insist that you brush it off and disregard it. I clearly don't know what I'm talking about and should never be taken seriously.

2) What is the most shocking thing you've seen on the internet?

Some of what comes to mind would include the following:

• Most recently, a blogger who shall remain nameless (except to assert that his name is and has always been Michael Wayvid Whorenelli), posted a link to what turned out to be a series of upsetting photographs of dogs who had been mutilated "in the name of science" by insane Europeans.
  
  As a dog-lover, I had a terrible time looking at those pictures and I'm still suppressing the urge to get revenge by gathering up some scientists, chaining them to a tree and forcing them to "do their business" in the yard.
  
  In the future, I'd like to suggest a new web-speak acronym for these kinds of posts. You know the kinds of acronym's I'm talking about. Stuff like NSFW (Not safe for work) or OMG (Oh, my God!) or ZMOG (Zebra meat on grill!) Posts involving links to mutilated dog pictures should include something like
  
  

  
  WBC
  TLYMU
  SPOAAMD
  AMFTUTTE
  TYHTSTROTER
  AITFWYODUYFBA
  WYUSBOTCASIOMWW
  STBKATHHOLFOMBSDPP*.
  
  *TWLEOTFAHAIPFLOT"A"

  
  
  Obviously, that would stand for "Warning, by clicking this link you might unintentionally see pictures of abused and mutilated dogs and might find that unbearable to the extent that you have to spend the rest of the evening rolling around in the floor with your own dogs until you feel better about what you've unwittingly seen because of the crass and shocking indifference of Michael Wayved Whorenelli, soon to be known as the Hugh Heffner or Larry Flint of mutilated-by-scientists dog-pictures pornography.*
  
  *Though with less emphasis on the first amendment. He's apparently involved purely for love of the 'art.'"




• One of the first "dark side of the internet" sites I ever heard about was the infamous Rotten.com. I remember spending half an hour or so looking at that site for the first time. You have to be very careful about what you click there. Maybe you'll see something relatively harmless or silly ... or maybe you'll see something altogether different that will make you want to jump up, run outside and scream for the neighbor to come close your browser window for you so that you'll never risk seeing it again.


• The hanging of Saddam Hussein was a bit of a net sensation. It bothered me and I wrote about it.



• I understand that there is also a video out there called "two girls one cup." I haven't seen it, but I have had the video's action described for me by an enthusiastic young man who seemed to have (barely) more teeth than braincells. About fifteen seconds into his vivid description I had to request that oxygen and an epidural be administered if I were going to have to hear any more. Since nothing of the sort could be provided, I opted to walk away, even though doing so meant going back to the work I was supposed to be doing at the time.

3) Is it possible to have too much free time?

If you've read anything ... ANYTHING ... at this blog, you know that the answer is yes.

4) Inspired by a recent Dwight Shrute monologue, I ask you: what's your perfect crime?

Inspired by Guns N' Roses, I'll answer you thus:

"You wanna f--- with me? Don't f--- with me.
I'm what you'll be, so don't f--- with me."

SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION: What (animated) fictional town offers a whirlwind existence, race cars, lasers, airplanes, mystery-solving, time travel, and more?

Well, it's not fictional, but it is "animated." You've just offered a perfect description of Iron Gate, Virginia.

Labels: Blogs, Humor, Links, Trivial Matters, You Tube

You may have heard it said about someone who has unquestioningly swallowed some line of inexorable, uncompromising propaganda ... that the person in question has "drank the KoolAid."

It's possible that younger bloggers might not know about the origins of that phrase.

This week marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre. In the mid '70's, self-proclaimed messiah, socialist leader and clergyman Jim Jones brought his more than 900 followers, people of mixed ages, races, nationalities and abilities, to his compound in Guyana. Jones followers embraced him as their new Messiah, the one man who could save them from America's wickedness and intolerance. On November 18th, 1978, Jones convinced over 900 of his expatriate followers in Guyana to commit suicide by drinking a flavored drink mix spiked with cyanide.

First the children (over 300 of them) at Jonestown were poisoned, then the adults poisoned themselves. Over 900 people died on that November day because they chose to believe what they'd been told. They saw Jones as "The One," and they were ready to give the whole of their lives to their savior, leader and teacher:

Thankfully, the lessons of Jonestown are seared into our collective memory, to paraphrase John Kerry.

Never again will Americans look for someone to believe in, just to get caught up in the empty glitz of some charismatic new "messiah-figure."

Never again will we fall for the hustle when some flashy young man with a bright smile promises that yes, we can have the happiness we deserve if we just give him the power to create it for us.

If this new "messiah" condescends to us, just as Jim Jones did, by challenging the religious beliefs that we "cling to," we'll recognize him as a charlatan.

And we'll never again accept some self-styled savior's personal new vision of socialism as the secret to happy, productive lives.

Right? Never again, right?

Hello?

Oh, I'm sorry, 52% of America ... I didn't mean to interrupt you while you were enjoying that fruity, mixed beverage. Who mixed that up for you? Your friends over at NBC? How nice of them.

Looks tasty. I bet it goes down smooth.

You'll have to let me know if you notice any aftertaste.

Labels: Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

Remember when society didn't encourage and celebrate people turning themselves into androgynous, discombobulated freaks?

Language warning for this clip. Content warning, too. And I don't even know how else to warn you about the whack-job bizarreness of this clip. It features that senile old turd Larry King interviewing the "pregnant man" and her wife about their "sex life:"

Credit (blame?) to Newsbusters for the video.

The more I actually pay attention to the world around me, the more I agree with one of my favorite bands when they say:

"Some say a comet will fall from the sky
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.
Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this
Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit... "

Labels: Media, Music, News, You Tube

...kicks ass, as always:

A lot of this one is aimed at Zo's fellow black people, so some of it doesn't speak specifically to me.

But most of it is just classic Zo. That same awesome, creative, fresh perspective on common sense that his fans love.

Common sense is pretty rare these days. And when it's presented with the authority, sense of humor and warmth that Zo Rachel musters, common sense can give you a head rush.

By the way, Zo finally has his own domain. One day we'll be able to brag that we discovered this guy when he was just getting started.

Labels: Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube, Zo

Wendy and I are both big fans of Megyn Kelly. I like her because of the way she goes after weasels in interview segments:

The fact that she's clearly conservative (if I read her correctly), smart as a tack and friggin' gorgeous doesn't hurt, either.

Today Drew at Ace Of Spades HQ reported that Maxim had named Megyn the second hottest news anchor on TV. (The first hottest is some lady named Amy who is kinda cute. You'll have to go to Maxim yourself to see the list.)

Wendy and I were talking about that a little bit ago and one of us said "I wonder how old Megyn Kelly is, anyway..."

So we went to Wikipedia and looked it up, and whattayaknow? Today is Megyn Kelly's birthday. She's 38 years old today.

So happy birthday, Megyn Kelly. Keep goin' after the weasels and you'll always have a couple of fans in Virginia.

Labels: Links, Media, Megyn Kelly, Trivial Matters, You Tube

This is from How Obama Got Elected . Com:

Who voted for Barack Obama ... and just how much do those voters really grasp about the issues of the day? John Ziegler spent some time with some of Obama's supporters and got some interesting answers:

They can't tell you who Harry Reid is, they don't know who Barney Frank is ... but they by God know which candidate has a pregnant teenage daughter.

Congratulations, America, you've elected your first Reality TV Show President.

And he won the immunity challenge, so he doesn't have to leave the house for at least four years.

Ziegler has some interesting data from a Zogby Poll to back up his assertions:

512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)

81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)

82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)

88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)

56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet.....

Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes

Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter

And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!

Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.

Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

Emphasis above is mine. Palin gossip is entirely the MSMs.

In the words of Albert Camus, "Stupidity has a knack for getting its way."

Labels: Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

Now that we've handed the reigns over to the Savior-Elect, the world is perfect:

Labels: Humor, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

This looks like American Movie by way of This Is Spinal Tap. And it's a real documentary about a real band. (I vaguely remember Anvil from the '80's.)

I think this has the potential to be very funny and sad at the same time, just like American Movie. I look forward to seeing it. There isn't a proper trailer for the film, apparently, and the clip above is the best clip I could find at YouTube. Click here to see a shorter, better one (although not an embeddable one) at RollingStone.com. There are also several clips at IMDB.

Labels: Humor, Movies, Music, You Tube

Gotta wonder if this guy's license plate number is D-FENS:

Go to Geekologie for additional cell-phone video.

Labels: Blogs, Links, You Tube

My guy, Mike Steele, announces his candidacy for GOP Chair.

Labels: Michael Steele, News, Politics, You Tube

I didn't feel that there was any need for me to watch all three Presidential debates this year. So I only watched the last one ... but I saw all three of them. This video is both funny and frustrating:

One more illustration of some of the reasons that I'm disgusted and disillusioned with American politics.

More so than ever, that is.

HT: Hot Air.

Labels: Humor, Media, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

A thirteen year old girl in England has refused the heart transplant that might save her life. She's been in and out of hospitals since she was tiny and she says she's just had enough:

I can't decide how I feel about this. Different aspects of this girl's case keep popping into my head. I will probably have this story in the back of my mind for days. As a parent, this kind of thing just feels like a kick in the stomach.

A cousin of mine died of brain cancer at the age of 14 about ten years ago. It was absolute hell for the family to get through. Pray for this girl and her family.

HT: Ace.

Labels: News, You Tube

I think we can all probably agree that "android" like robots are evil and they should all be destroyed. Here's one that admits to it's nefarious plans. Lest you forget about Science Officer Ash, take a minute and get to know Jules:

HT: Geekologie.

Note to android creators: Giving these things amazingly life-like features and ranges of expression, and then programming them to talk about the destruction of entire cities ... that's not gonna generate the kind of PR you're looking for.

I'm just sayin'.

Labels: Humor, News, You Tube

Bobby Jindal talks to one of the Obamabots at MSNBC about an upcoming conference of Republican governors. Sarah Palin is going to have a high-profile role in that conference, and the MSNBC ObamaZombie tries as hard as he can to provoke Jindal into giving him an anti-Palin soundbite. Jindal is a pro, he knew how to steer the conversation. He stayed on message and stayed clear, simply praising GOP Conservative Governors (including Palin) as people who get things done.

I really like Jindal, and I can see me backing him in four years. This guy has that all-important ability to relate policy to the people in immediate, meaningful terms. He also has the ability to grab the media by the horns and by-God steer the conversation. Jindal is a real pro. Check him out:

Labels: Bobby Jindal, Media, News, Politics, You Tube

Now that it's too late to make any difference, NBC has decided to do an interview with Sarah Palin in which she's treated with some modicum of respect. When she's given a chance to simply hear questions, think about them and answer them (rather than dodging attacks disguised as questions), Palin handles herself very well:

Again, I'm still not 100% sure I'll support her hypothetical campaign. But damm, I really like her and her husband and their family.

And, again, I'm tagging this with my "YouTube" tag. I'm not going to create a separate tag for every possible source of embedded video.

Labels: Media, News, Politics, You Tube

I was thrilled when MTV2 brought back the Headbanger's Ball, their Saturday Night two-hour block of heavy metal videos.

Wendy was pretty happy about it, too. But, as with all things associated with MTV, our excitement was for naught.

For one thing, MTV2 keeps changing the time and the length of Headbanger's Ball. Sometimes it's still two hours, but often it's just an hour, and sometimes it's an odd 90 minute program.

And they keep pushing the time back further and further. There's just no way to know when or where they'll be playing it. TIVO gets it for us, but we never know when TIVO will be finding it. Lately it's been running in the deepest night when other stations are playing infomercials.

And then, once we get a chunk of Headbanger's Ball metal videos on the TIVO, we end up fast forwarding through damn near all of them because most of them suck.

There is still plenty of good metal out there, old and new ... but MTV2 seems hell-bent on programming bands based, apparently, on record label relationships. So we fast-forward through the whole program, finish it in twenty minutes, and feel disappointed. And we go through this once a week.

Well, to hell with it. Thanks to the beauty of blogs and YouTube, I'll be hosting Headbanger's Ball here at SouthCon whenever I feel like it. And I feel like it now.

Welcome to the first SouthCon edition of the Headbanger's Ball, featuring some of the best heavy metal out there, old and new, but stuff that MTV refuses to play for some damned reason.

We'll start out right with the band that ya always hope to hear when you tune in to Headbanger's Ball... Slayer:

Up next is one of my favorite new bands, unfortunately a band that just broke up this past August after ten years together. Maybe if MTV2 had given them the attention they deserve, they'd still be together. This is HIMSA, the song is Big Timber. MTV2 did play it on Headbanger's Ball a couple of times, but HIMSA could have benefited from exposure at an hour when there are still some people awake.

That last video was a classic from Pantera, Mouth For War, the first track on Vulgar Display Of Power. It's hard to go wrong with Pantera.

This next track doesn't offer much in the way of a visual, it's not a proper video at all. A fan put this together and the only visual image is the cover of the album from which the songs were drawn. The band is Opeth, the album is Watershed, and this is eight minutes or so of outstanding prog metal called The Lotus Eater, my favorite track on the album. Let it play, it's worth it. There's some amazing soloing in there, and the band goes down some surprising alleys musically:

Opeth, followed by Judas Priest, the awesome title track from the 1990 album Painkiller ... lest anyone get the idea that Priest was done after the mid-80's. Not so, my friend.

Up next, a great metal band with an interesting history. Original singer Jesse Leach left Killswitch Engage after their second album, but rather than break up the band recruited singer Howard Jones and continued. Jesse's departure from the band was under the best possible terms, and he even came back to sing harmony vocals on some of the band's first tracks recorded with Howard. For my money, Howard is the better singer ... I think the band traded up. Nonetheless, they did some awesome songs with Jesse, and this video is for one of them. From the album Alive or Just Breathing, here's Killswitch Engage with My Last Serenade:

That was Alice In Chains, their classic Would, from the album Dirt. That track is also on the soundtrack to the film Singles.

Up next, Richmond Virginia's own Lamb of God. This band never fails to bring the heavy in a serious way. For example, the track Now You've Got Something To Die For:

That was the CRIMINALLY underrated band Sevendust, one of two videos for the song Enemy. The other video doesn't have the band in it at all, I like this one better.

And I'll wrap up this ten-video, first addition of the Headbanger's Ball at Southcon with one last vid. I hope you heard something you enjoyed that you're interested in checking out a band or two based on the songs here. This last one is from my favorite lyricist in metal today. Every YouTube copy I saw of the song I really wanted to close with, Disposable Teens, doesn't allow embedding. So I'll go with my second favorite. Here's Marilyn putting our vacuous pop culture on notice, This Is The New Shit:

Labels: Headbanger's Ball, Music, You Tube

Man, what a week, huh? My head is still spinning.

Here are some videos to close out a week's worth of fairly active blogging on my part.

This first video is political AND personal. It's a little long, like six minutes, so I understand if you don't want to watch it. My 9 year old stepson, Liam, really followed the Presidential election this year. He watched and read a lot of news, and he asked me a lot of questions about it. And he and I had a number of conversations about Obama and McCain. So I got out the video camera:

Of course, he's been influenced by my conservative perspective. The day will probably come when he and I don't see eye-to-eye on any number of political issues. But I go out of my way to make it clear to all of our kids that agreeing on everything isn't what's important. What's important is that we keep talking and keep listening to each other, and that we share our opinions with love and with respect. We're a family. That trumps everything else. You can disagree with someone in your family on political matters and still love and respect them.

This next one is the latest from the Mighty Zo Rachel. I've been following his YouTube channel for only a few weeks now and I check it daily to see if he's posted anything new yet. In this video Zo talks about the aftermath of Election 2008 and offers some good advice to his fellow conservatives:

Man, we need to goad Zo into getting into politics. I don't know where the hell the man lives, but he needs to start out running for city council or the school board or whatever. And then work his way up to state office, and then on to Federal office and then the White House around 2020. I'm dead serious, dude. He strikes me as a communicator, a leader, and a man with a clear, conservative vision. That's what we need. Zo Rachel For President.

OK, check this next bit out: Presidential dog Barney is taking some hate for having allegedly bitten a reporter:

It looks to me like Barney might have gotten a little snag on one of this guy's fingers. But that ain't the point. Here's the point:

If you know anything about dogs, you already know what this reporter did wrong. A dog is a living animal. An animal, not a toy, and as an animal it has to be approached in a certain way. That reporter didn't know a damn thing about Barney. All dogs are different, some are jumpy, some are territorial, some are nervous, some are just mean. You have to know what kind of dog you're approaching and you have to approach him properly.

Never just put your open hand on a dog. Don't offer your open hand to a dog, either. He might respond well to that, or he might feel threatened by it. Barney seemed to have felt threatened. And he did what dogs do when they feel threatened.

The reporter is lucky. Had Barney been a moody Mastiff or a St. Bernard, he might have taken the ends of two or three of those fingers.

When you approach a dog you don't know, first of all, ask it's owner or guardian if you can pet the dog. If you're given the go-ahead, the first thing to do is to offer the dog the back of your closed fist for the animal to smell. If he doesn't like what he smells, or just generally doesn't like you, he'll let you know with a growl or a snort, or he'll back off. If he accepts your fist with a tail-wagging and general happiness, that would be the time to go ahead and give him a little scratch.

You don't lay your open hand on a strange dog. You just don't do it. You might get bitten. Let's hope that reporter has learned and will remember one of the basic lessons of human - dog interaction.

OK, let's wrap this up with a little raw Anthrax, "Caught In A Mosh" and "Got The Time", recorded live in Sacramento in '98. This was back when 'Thrax had their best vocalist ever, the mighty John Bush. The technical quality of this clip just ain't all that happenin' ... but the energy is there and I'm sure it was a great show.

Coming Tomorrow ... SouthCon presents me hosting my own made-up version of an episode of MTV's Headbanger's Ball. It oughta be a lot of fun.

Labels: Dogs, Media, News, Personal, Politics, You Tube, Zo

• Apparently the Obama campaign has stiffed some of it's employees in Indianapolis. Stop complaining, Obama campaign workers. All that's happening is they're taking your money and spreading it around elsewhere, right? What's wrong with that?

  
  HT to Bob Parks for the story.
  
  By the way, Fairly Conservative points out that the Obama campaign spent about eleven bucks per vote.




• Rush Limbaugh has bought a new car for one of his listeners to cheer her up after the election.
  
  I know there were times in the past when I wrote at this blog that I think that Limbaugh is an a-hole. Well, I'd like to take this opportunity to assert that I must have misquoted myself. At the very least I took my remarks out of context. What I was trying to say is that Limbaugh is a hero of mine and probably the greatest and most generous radio personality who's ever lived. There's nothing that I'd rather do than listen to the EIB while driving around in my brand new Dodge truck. You know, if I had a new Dodge truck. Which would really cheer me up.



• John McCain showed himself to be graceful in defeat Tuesday night. Not everyone who's worked for him can do the same. Sarah Palin has responded briefly to the McCain campaigners who've been smearing her since the election:

  Look, here's where I stand on Palin. I like her. I am still a little reluctant to call myself a Palin supporter in any political sense, but I agree with her on a great number of things and I really like her.
  
  And as these disgruntled, bitter, failed, anonymous McCain campaign staffers continue to prove the quality of their characters with this sniping, it makes me want to defend Palin. The conservative blog Red State is behind an effort to identify and out these people who're attacking Palin anonymously. I like that. I hope they are able to ID some of these people and I hope that future political campaigns remember what they've done and think twice about hiring them.




• Scott Ott at Scrappleface usually writes hilarious political satire. But he occasionally posts something serious, such as this video about Reagan's response to losing the GOP nomination in '75.

  Dutch would NOT give up and he never lost his focus. Stay hungry, my fellow conservatives.




• A McCain supporter writes to CNN that he or she is gonna do everything he or she can to trip up Obama:
  

  "We have to watch this guy and not give him an inch," one McCain supporter wrote. "The same way he criticized every move of President Bush. We have to make things as difficult for him as he did for Bush."

  
  That's the wrong approach. That's the kind of thing the liberals have done to Dubya for eight years. And I admit that I've not always been above that kind of personal stuff when it comes to politicians. But we're stuck with this guy for four years, so we should probably focus on trying to help the next President do the right things and trying to discourage or prevent him from doing the wrong things. The man himself isn't important. Policy is what matters.
  
  And, no, liberals. Right and wrong are not subjective concepts. We're not going down that relativism road.



• This cartoon from Town Hall hits the nail on the head:

  

  It's really that simple. Look, if you call yourself pro-life and you voted for the most dedicated abortion booster to ever run for President, you are completely full of shit. Period. You can't be both pro-life and an Obama supporter. But then, you already knew that, didn't you?




• Little Green Footballs reports that Seattle radicals are waving the flag this week. I'm not surprised by that.
  
  One way to interpret this is that these radicals are suddenly patriotic because they think they've gotten what they want. My understanding of this issue is a bit more ... well, nuanced.
  
  In his book The Enemy At Home, Dinesh D'Souza argued convincingly that radical leftists really are patriotic, as they understand patriotism. They do love America in their own way.
  
  The thing is, Conservatives love America for what it really is, warts and all. We're honest with ourselves about our country, it's flaws, what's good here, what's great here, and what needs improvement.
  
  Radical leftist Americans love a hypothetical America. They love what this country might be, if only people would do things their way. So when they say that they love America, they aren't telling a lie. They love America by their own understanding of that concept.
  
  The problem with leftists isn't that they're unpatriotic. The problem is that they're irrational, incapable of empathy, and spend most of their time with their heads in the clouds. They don't love the real America, not even the one that elected Barck Obama. They love the hypothetical America that they think Obama is going to create for him. And when he doesn't, they'll be more bitter than ever.



• Here are two articles worth reading:
  
  I've been saying that the GOP needs to return to the policies of Reagan. George Will gets even more old school, asking what would Goldwater do?
  
  And Joan Vennochi ponders closing the door on victimhood.
  
  Vennochi concludes:
  

  With Obama's victory, the torch is passing to a new generation of black leaders. But they still face some of the same old challenges.

  
  
  I'd agree. But I'd assert that many of those "same old challenges" are presented by the lingering, backward-thinking anger of many of the previous generation's "racial leaders."

Labels: Links, Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

• I'm thinking Bobby Jindal in 2012.



• The backlash begins. Apparently Obama's campaign is trying to deal with all the unreasonably high expectations people have for the President Elect.
  
  That's funny. Unreasonable expectations are what got this guy elected. Unreasonable expectations are what he campaigned on! Unreasonable expectations are the foundation of Obamamania. Too late to try to get a handle on that. That ship sailed a long time ago.



• Rhodester pointed out in a recent comment that only a few days ago I said I was going to take a break from blogging. And then I started posting one or more posts a day. Dave is probably right not to take me seriously when I say it's time for a little break. Apparently nothing makes me want to ramble like saying I'm trying to quit.



• Now that the election is over I finally figured out a way to express what it is that bugs me about all this talk of "unity." Seems that's all we've heard about, the need for this country to be united. Well, here's the thing: "Unity" has always struck me as a code-word for "conformity." I cherish my right to disagree, even to disagree with the majority ... maybe even to be the only person I know who holds a particular opinion. I'd rather continue not fitting in, thank you very much, if "unity" means I have to become pro-abortion ... or that I have to believe everything some politician tries to sell me ... or that I have to let anyone else ever do my thinking for me.



• I've been seeing Karl Rove on Fox News regularly lately. He's hardly made any impression on me at all. He seems smart, restrained, thoughtful and really pretty bland. I honestly can't understand why so many people hate Karl Rove. I can understand disagreeing with him, but hating him? What's to hate? The guy is milquetoast.



• The Onion, as usual, is soooo funny and soooo dead-on:

  
  

  Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are
  
  Best quote: "Worst case scenario is that someone with evil intent seizes control of them. They've proven their minds can be taken over by empty rhetoric."




• Tonight I saw a montage of clips from the concession speeches of a number of politicians who've run for President. It's true that nothing tells us more about who a man really is than seeing how he handles failure. My gut reaction was that we've had a string of graceful, thoughtful and likable guys from both parties lose the race for the Presidency in the last several years.



• If what I've been reading is true, there are members of the McCain campaign who blame Sarah Palin for their defeat. I think that's foolish. I can't imagine that there was any really significant number of people who were swayed to vote for Obama because of Sarah Palin, Dennis Hopper not withstanding. I suppose that people who advise politicians for a living have to cast around for someone to blame other than themselves when their campaign tanks. Some of these accusations are ugly and simply impossible to believe. And considering that these things are being said anonymously, there's no reason to take them seriously. Either own up to your claims, make them publicly and attach your name to your statements, or shut the #%@# up, you cowards.
  
  It may be safe to assume that some of these McCain campaigners have already burned bridges with Sarah Palin and they're trying to preemptively taint her prior to 2012.
  
  Of course, if any of these accusations about Palin really are true, she'll probably fade into a footnote without any help from McCain's failed staff.



• I was sorry to hear that Michael Crichton died amid all the election excitement.

Labels: Bobby Jindal, Media, News, Politics, You Tube

• Judging by the venom and spite they continue to throw her way, it looks like some of the leftists are still all to hell about Sarah Palin. Might they be bracing themselves for 2012 already?



• If you were one of those who suffered from the delusion that the "Arab Street" would drool all over itself with affection for the US after the election of Barack Obama, it's time to wake up:
  

  The Saudi daily Al-Watan stated in an editorial: “There is no significant difference between Obama and McCain. They disagree only on the means to achieve America’s chief goal, which is to rule for another hundred years.”

  
  And this is from a fatwa from Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, issued right before the election:
  

  “The Democrats kill you slowly without you noticing it - and therein lies the danger. They are like a snake whose touch is not felt until its poison enters your body.
  
  “Therefore, I hope that McCain comes to power, so that the motivation for jihad remains in our hearts, and so that we do not [begin to] rely on the infidels - [which will cause us] to be struck by the fire [of Hell].”

  
  Hey, it looks like Islamic Extremists hate the Newly Anointed One as much as they ever hated Bush! Gosh, how'd that happen?



• Look, I don't begrudge Obama's supporters their celebrations. God knows the campaign was hard-fought and they deserve to be happy that things went their way. But what in hell were some young Obama supporters doing waving a USSR flag out in front of the White House last night?

  I'd like to be able to attribute this to the fact that most young people are stupid, drunk and confused. But who knows?




• John Kerry has admitted that he'd consider a position in the Obama cabinet.
  
  Some insiders claim that he's practically begging to be Secretary of State.
  
  That's pretty funny. It must be really interesting to see John Kerry from his own perspective. I'd like to buy him for what he's actually worth and sell him for what he thinks he's worth.



• The Sun tabloid in London usually runs a photo of a topless young woman on page three of every issue. Thus the famous Page 3 Girls. This morning, however, they dropped the cheesecake in favor of a photo of Barack Obama.
  
  I think we can all agree that the preemption of boobies is simply taking the media bias too far.

Labels: Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

I didn't see this story from Halloween night until now. A McCain supporter refused to give Halloween candy to kids who wouldn't tell her that they don't support Obama:

A whole slew of little kids who've NEVER been effected by politics before will have this as their first political memory: "The mean old Republican lady wouldn't give me candy on Halloween."

Do all us conservatives a favor, Shirley Nagal: Start supporting Democrats.

Labels: Media, News, Politics, You Tube

The Black Panthers are practicing a little bit of good ol' fashioned voter intimidation in Pennsylvania. On the off chance that someone reading this doesn't know what the Black Panthers are, the explanation is simple: The Black Panthers is a terrorist organization. They're analogous to the KKK or skinhead nazis. Subhuman shit, in other words.

An army vet had this to say about his experience while trying to vote at a Philadelphia polling place:

"As I walked up to the door, the two gentlemen in Black Panther garb, one of them brandishing a night stick, standing immediately in front of the door... As I walked up they closed ranks next to each other. You know, I'm an army veteran. That doesn't scare me. So I walked directly in between them, went inside and found one of the poll watchers. They said they'd been here about an hour. And they told us not to come outside because a black man is going to win this election no matter what."

Watch the Fox News story, complete with the quote above, right here:

Here's some cellphone video another person shot:

My favorite part is when the guy with the camera phone says that brandishing a night stick is intimidating and the moron with the night stick says "Who are you to decide that?"

Apparently you don't have to be all that smart to join the Black Panthers. There's a shock.

From what I've seen, this is a fairly good representation of the mentality that's about to put an unqualified, shady socialist in the White House.

But of course those of us who aren't voting for Obama ... We're the real racists, right?

Labels: Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

Well, we'll see what happens today I guess. Either we'll elect a liberal who's changed his positions with the polls and wants the government to solve everything from home foreclosures to "climate change" ...

OR...

We'll elect someone who's actually far worse than that liberal: His opponent, Senator Barack Obama.

Yeah, McCain is too damn liberal for me. But let's be honest about this new Messiah that so many people seem thrilled about and ready to put in the Oval Office:

• Obama has no leadership experience AT ALL. He's spent his life in the leftist closed circuits of academia and law practice. This is what we're electing? A lawyer and college professor? Have you ever spent much time talking with either a lawyer or a professor? If so, did EITHER of them strike you as people who were in touch with the average American perspective? Obama is both a lawyer AND a college professor. You can't get any more caught up in the dark side than that.


• His record on abortion is the most radical of any Democratic Presidential candidate ever. And, given the opportunity, he'll load the courts with extreme leftists who share his radical perspective.


• The money you work for is yours. No one else's. YOURS. Obama wants to take it from you and spread it around. He's been honest about that. If that doesn't outrage you, you just aren't thinking.


• Obama's ideas are bad. That's why he disavows them and accuses those who call him out on his ideas of "smearing" him. Obama's associates are questionable at best, reprehensible at worst. Obama's experience is negligible. And Obama's colleagues in the Senate, including fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton and others, have made no secret of their doubts about him.
  
  Are we really going to elect our next president based on novelty?

Sadly, I think we are.

Just watch this video, that's all I ask ... and then vote your conscious.

Labels: News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

MCF's latest round of questions:

1) Do you like Halloween? Why or why not?

Yeah, I love it. I just always have. I do enjoy horror movies, ghost stories, etc ... but probably no more than many other people do. So I like Halloween because the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, et al, do all those specials with names like The Fifty Scariest Places In South-West Detroit. I eat that stuff up. That's what Tivo was made for.

2) What is your favorite sound effect?

The Wilhelm Scream is a fun one, if only for trivia purposes. But I have to admit that I'm not that good at spotting it when it comes up in movies.

On a more personal note ... every year, about this time of year, I edit our year's worth of home movies down to one half-hour or so of highlights. Then I put it on DVD with all the amenities: Opening credits, sound effects, background music, etc. We send the finished product out with our Christmas cards.

I've learned from all this editing and producing that you can't go wrong by adding Yakety Sax to the soundtrack of just about anything. Here's a demonstration, a video that prominently features one of our dogs. I uploaded this to YouTube almost two years ago:

Yakety Sax is my go-to music for just about any video footage. If you speed up a bit of video and add that song to the mix, you usually end up with comedy gold.

I thought about this for a while a little earlier, and I asked myself, is there any video footage that isn't improved by adding Yakety Sax to the background? I decided to do a little experiment:

The jury is still out on the results. Nonetheless, for my money, Yakety Sax almost always brings the funny.

3) How do you feel when studios recast roles to different actors in sequels to popular films?

It depends on the reason. If an actor holds out for more money and the studio says "Screw you, pal," I usually side with the studio. No actor is irreplaceable.

Having said that, there are instances where a given studio has gone with a more "bankable" star, and with disastrous results. I'm thinking about the first Batman movie franchise.

And as a Batman fanboy, I'm so happy with Christian Bale in the current films that I'd hate to see him replaced.

But no actor should own any given role purely as a matter of principle.

4) Fire or Ice?

Neither.

SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION: Who is Zsaji?

Uh ... ZsaZsa after a few too many?

Labels: Blogs, Links, Personal, Trivial Matters, You Tube

Hey, look! Somebody took a video camera and went trick or treating at the homes of some of my extended family!

Jack Chick.... (shudder).

Labels: Faith, Humor, Personal, You Tube

I wrote the other day that I wasn't gonna take time to blog for a while. But today I saw that Zo Rachel has a new video posted. And I watched it, and as usual, it's brilliant, insightful and funny. Zo kicks all the ass, man. So I wanted to log on and post it, and here it is:

Zo is hugely quotable: "Obama and the Democrat party are the ones who stand above you holding up the heads of the rich, as you work yourselves into a frenzy, so they can toss it to you. Now, I'm just wondering, how does this make your life better as you destroy the ones who could give you jobs?"

Zo also does a great job in this one of blasting the whole argument about how "Obama is a community organizer, just like Jesus!"

And he talks a little bit here about the attacks he gets for being a black man and a conservative. And his observations are so good and so smart, and he presents them so well, that he left me wanting to pump my fist and yell "Yeah!" ... and I'm not even a black guy.

The point is, Zo is an awesome communicator. Not just a "good speaker," but a communicator. There's a difference. A "good speaker" can talk for a long time and sound really cool, but never really say anything. (As in "Hope, change, hope, change.")

A great communicator can say incredibly important things in very few words ... and say them clearly, directly, concisely and creatively ... and say them in a way you instantly understand and relate to and will remember. (As in "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.")

Obama is a "speaker." Zo is a communicator.

You guys enjoy him on YouTube while he's there, because he's headed for a much bigger future than this.

But, anyway, I got to thinking about the race issue as Zo addressed it. One of the good things about the Obama candidacy is that it's interjected the subject of race into the national conversation ... as it relates to ideology and politics.

It seems to me that number of people who "aren't supposed to be conservative" have been speaking out lately, "outing" themselves as conservatives. A great many people who are minorities and/or women are refusing to pack themselves onto the bus with Obama and Hillary (remember Hillary?), where the Democrats seem to think they belong.

The Democratic party has claimed to hold the monopoly on "diversity" for a long time. But it's always been obvious that Democratic "diversity" is a very stifling kind of "diversity." After all, liberals and Democrats don't believe in ideological diversity. You must agree with them on every topic ... abortion, taxes, the environment, civil rights, the war, etc ... or you're out in the cold.

Meanwhile, among conservatives, there's plenty of room for both ideological AND cultural diversity. Plenty of conservatives disagree on any of the topics listed above, and on other topics. My opposition to the death penalty, for instance, doesn't make me a "fake conservative." And my fellow conservatives never tell me that I don't really understand that issue, or that I'm a "sell-out," or that I'm deluded.

Differ from the Democratic party on any issue and you'll find out quickly how little tolerance they have for ideological diversity:

• Have doubts about the specifics of climate change? Then you're a "global warming denier," kinda like a "holocaust denier."


• Have concerns that abortion on demand might be irresponsible at best, or maybe murder at worst? Then you're some kind of monster who wants to oppress women.


• Oppose the Obama campaign? You RACIST!


• Support the troop surge and the successful result's it's generated? WARMONGER! NEOCON!


• Insist that immigration be a legal process? You're a racist and you're ignorant.

And as Zo has pointed out, if you're a black man and you hold any of these opinions, you can expect to be labeled an "uncle tom," too.

So if you're going to be a liberal Democrat, good luck. You better get a copy of the approved liberal positions and adopt each and every one of them. There's no room for individual thought. Thinking for yourself, after all, is divisive. Shut up. Be happy. Vote Obama.

Meanwhile, the real diversity can be found under the great conservative umbrella. The ideological diversity has always been here. And more and more, the real cultural and constructive diversity is obviously here, too.

Conservatism: It's what America looks like, it's what America thinks like. It's the foundation that keeps America great. Great enough to withstand anything, even the coming four years of Obama socialism.

Here's a snapshot of what Conservatism looks like in America in 2008. Click the pictures below and get to know some of our very best (especially that dude on the bottom, pimpin' out with the fuzzy pink hat.):

Labels: Blogs, Links, Media, News, Politics, You Tube, Zo

I'm fighting another godawful post-surgery infection. I was supposed to start back to work today, but it didn't happen. Passing blood and having spasms, etc. The usual bladder cancer joy ride.

I'm gonna do a little less blogging for a little while. Part of it is that I don't want to blog while I'm sick. That leads to self-pity, etc. No need for that. But I'll be back at some point, as usual. I'm just gonna take a few days off.

Another part is ... well, you know how it is with blogging. It's like a bungee cord. There's a tendency to stretch down deep into it for a while, then pull back.

If I don't talk to you guys again between now and November 4th, PLEASE VOTE! Even if you vote for the wrong guy! ;) And I'll get this out of the way while I'm at it, since I might not be back until after the 4th: Congratulations to President Elect Barack Obama for getting past one of our country's last major hurdles. Of course, I'm talking about him becoming our first openly socialist President. Ha ha.

I'll wrap on the topic of politics with this. Just watch this clip. If this doesn't sum up Obama and the coming four years sufficiently for anyone, then I don't know what it would take:

The one good thing about the next four years (I really believe this) is that it's going to be a grand education for those young people who actually are paying attention. More new conservatives will be born of the Obama administration than any time since the Carter administration.

It'll almost be worth it.

Oh, I do want to mention this friggin' whacko story, before I wrap for a while, though:

Skinheads held over plot to kill Obama

Two white supremacist skinheads were arrested in Tennessee over plans to go on a killing spree and eventually shoot Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, court documents showed on Monday...

The plot did not appear to be very advanced or sophisticated, the court documents showed...

"The individuals began discussing going on a 'killing spree' that included killing 88 people and beheading 14 African Americans," (ATF Agent Brian) Weaks said in the affidavit...

The men planned to wear white tuxedos and top hats during the assassination attempt, which would have involved driving as fast as they could toward Obama and shooting him from the windows of the car.

It sucks that I feel compelled to mention ... to even provide a link proving ... that I've always hated skinhead Nazi dipshits. God KNOWS I don't want Obama to be elected, but I've resigned myself to his Presidency and I'm gonna make the best of it. Still, regardless of my opposition to most of his policies, I really hope it's apparent that I'm not a racist, not a skinhead, not the devil, etc.

And I want to make it clear that I think these two skinheads who've just been arrested for "plotting" to kill Obama and other people are evil and repugnant and etc, etc.

Having said all that, I'll also say this: Their "plan," if you want to call it that, is so pathetic it's laughable. Driving a car as fast as they could and shooting from the windows while wearing white tux's? Who do they think they are, the formal skinhead Starsky and Hutch? I'm wracking my brain trying to think of what moronic movie these dolts were watching when they came up with that idea and I just can't guess. Has anyone ever actually made a movie that stupid? Has Jerry Friggin' Bruckheimer ever even made a movie featuring a scene anywhere near that stupid?

I realize that anyone who makes a threat against a public official has to be arrested, and all of these threats have to be taken seriously. And on general principle my gut reaction to skinhead nazis is that they should simply be taken out behind a barn and put down. But, honestly ... white tuxedos? You just gotta laugh at these idiots.

And I hope it's clear that I'm laughing out of bewilderment, frustration and disgust.

So, anyway, that's enough for now. I'll be back later.

In the meantime, a little bladder cancer music ...

Labels: Bladder Cancer, Obama Watch, Personal, You Tube

Not your father's Democratic Party...

Maybe the problem isn't Obama ... maybe the problem is the modern electorate:

HT: Ol' Broad ... the cartoon is from Chuck Asay.

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Pretty Lady, Fancy Clothes

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid:

The Republican Party has spent $150,000 in upmarket designer stores on dressing Sarah Palin for the part of vice-president...

The party also spent nearly $5,000 on hair and makeup.

It would have been easier, cheaper and quicker to let the Obama campaign make "Out Of Touch" signs for the Palins to wear on their foreheads.

Who authorized this spending and what the hell were they thinking?

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Tightening up?

Polls are all different, and none of them are really a solid indication of exactly what's going to happen ... but the AP reports that Obama and McCain are virtually tied in Virginia ... and everywhere else, too, for that matter.

Your guess is as good as mine.

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Good Ol' Joe (The Plumber)

The new McCain web ad is really a good one:

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Good Ol' Joe (The Senator)

Blogger Jim Treacher has Joe Biden's "clarification" of his remarks about the "international incident" that's sure to follow Obama's first days in office:

"Ya know, I kinda put my foot in my mouth the other day... [chuckle] You folks know how I can get, with the words and the talking and the babbling and the yammering and so forth. But I just wanted to clarify those remarks. I know I speak for Obama when I say that we are ready to lead. Come what may, we are gonna be out there in front. Because I gotta tell ya, when this great man, this fantastic young African-American kid who I'm proud to call my closest friend, when he becomes president, the American people need to know that you are all gonna be grabbin' your ankles every April 15 for the rest of your probably-shortened lives.

Yeah, it's satire. The whole thing is funny. go read it.

Labels: Humor, Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

Update: I'll apparently be blogging a lot today, I keep finding stuff I want to post. So I'll just update this post occasionally rather than throwing together a heap of little posts.

Update 2: Post surgical pain has just kicked in, pretty damn hard, and mostly out of the blue. The pills ain't touching it right now. The only thing that doesn't hurt at the moment is standing, leaning against a wall. So I'm gonna go do that for a while ... I'm done adding to this post.

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Speaking In Tongues

So now we can't say that socialism is socialism without being racist??

The "socialist" label that Sen. John McCain and his GOP presidential running mate Sarah Palin are trying to attach to Sen. Barack Obama actually has long and very ugly historical roots.

J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, used the term liberally to describe African Americans who spent their lives fighting for equality...

McCain and Palin have simply reached back in history to use an old code word for black.

AAAAGGHHH! I'm ready to start pulling my hair out.

Do me a favor, leftists. Shut the f%$# up. For ten minutes, please, if you can't come up with something useful to say, just shut the f$%# up.

(HT: Ace.)

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Mike Steele on Values

Man, I love Mike Steele. This guy ROCKS. Even when I'm good and pissed off about politics, Mike chills me out by putting it all in perspective:

"Become the blueprint for those who are trying to find their way to the American dream."

I'm telling you, this guy is the new Reagan. I just wish he'd get back into politics and leave the cushy job at Fox News behind. We NEED you, Mike!

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The Emperor's New Smears

Batton Lash gets it right:

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Riot!

Paul the Regular Guy contemplates the threat of "urban unrest" if Obama loses the election ... and remembers the horrific violence that we experienced in our inner cities and metro areas following other recent Presidential elections. (Snicker, snicker.) It's good stuff, go read it.

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Joy Behar calls Limbaugh a "terrorist"

If you don't know, Behar is one of the hysterical old biddies who makes up the panel at The View. I don't watch the show (unless clips on The Soup count), but from what I've read, there's one sane woman on the program (the young hot one, Elizabeth Hasselbeck) and three neurotic old hens.

Apparently one of the hens has proclaimed that Rush Limbaugh is a terrorist.

Like Joy Behar, I'm no fan of Rush Limbaugh.

Unlike Behar, I'm not a stark-raving, confused old loon. Calm down, Mrs. Behar. Limbaugh isn't a terrorist. He's just one more blowhard with his own personal soapbox who likes to spew his weirdo opinions all over the place. Like you.

Like me, too.

Labels: Media, Michael Steele, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

... presented, admittedly, from a voter who opposes most of Obama's policies adamantly.

But don't just take my word on these issues. I've rounded up some resources. People who argue for the things I believe with much more clarity, style, good humor and optimism than I'm capable of.

Especially this guy:

Obama: Wrong On Healthcare...

Zo Rachel has a new video up , featuring his usual spot-on analysis (this time he looks at the last PotUS debate.) Zo also presents some ideas about where we are and where we're goin' in terms of ObamaCare. Listen carefully, take notes if you need to. Use your pause button. As usual, Zo seems to have damn near everything down to a science:

A message to the "undecideds" out there, if such things really exist: When in doubt, go Zo.

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Obama: Wrong (And Radical) On Abortion...

Gloria.tv has a great capsulization of of the John McCain and the Barack Obama positions on the abortion issue. This video absolutely sums it up. There's just nothing else to say beyond this:

I know a few people who say that they agree with me that abortion on demand is murder, but are planning to vote for Obama. Well, it's time to put up or shut up. Make your choice: It's either Obama or protection for the unborn. You can't have both.

And when all is said and done and you've voted for Obama, the most radically pro-abortion candidate ever nominated by the Democrats, don't be telling me about how pro-life you are. I'll shut that shit down right quick. If you vote for Obama, you have supported abortion-on-demand. You have used the political power allotted to you, the power of your vote, to advance the cause of those who believe in unrestricted abortion, no questions asked. Period. That's what you've done, that's who you are, and that's all there is to say about it. So don't try to explain your reasoning to me. You don't owe me an explanation. You know when you'll have to account for that act, and to Whom you'll make that accounting.

So pick one. Babies or Barack. If you've got love for one, you've got no love for the other.

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Obama: Wrong On Everything Else...

Some folks at Hot Air have put together a comprehensive argument against Barack Obama. In fact, they're billing it as THE Comprehensive Argument Against Barack Obama, and it's really pretty thorough.

Packed with quotes, news stories, videos and all kinds of valuable information, if you want to know why the Obama presidency is going to be bad for America, go to Hot Air now and read that post. At least you'll have some opportunity to brace yourself for the coming problems by being well informed.

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Meanwhile, the Moonbats at the Daily Kos seem to have surrendered that one last working braincell to the Kool-Ade. They're contemplating the possibility that Obama really is the savior. I kid you not.

I really don't see any way we can stop the Obama Juggernaut at this point. And McCain is too busy playing the nice guy to try. But if we keep trying to get the information out there, I guess there's some hope. Maybe.

Labels: Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube, Zo

Permalink -- Posted by Darrell at 09:32 --  0 Comments -- Links to this post

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This is from the same YouTube user who's video I embedded on Monday:

It's hard to decide what part of that video is my favorite. There are so many classically liberal moments:

• There's the guy who keeps yelling "Joke the Plumber!" at the mention of Joe the Plumber. He seems to be under the impression that Joe himself is the reason for Joe's celebrity. I think most people would agree that Obama's unguarded confession of his socialist world view was the real focus of that incident.


• Then there's the guy who shoves a sign in the questioner's face rather than try to somehow coherently defend the socialized health care he supports.


• Then there's the woman in the red sweatshirt and glasses. The questioner asks her if Obama's health care plan is socialism and she responds "Pretty much. I don't know ... we're done here." And then walks off waving her Obama sign. Classy AND smart.


• Then there's the genius who calls himself a scientist ... and who says that one or even five babies left to die after they've been born is acceptable. Oh, sure, there's a line that shouldn't be crossed somewhere ... he just doesn't know where it is. (Hint: Allowing even one person to die needlessly is not OK, Einstein.)

This is a good cross section of the people who'll be putting Obama in office. Obama's philosophical predecessor, Vladimir Lenin, is said to have called them "useful idiots."

I understand why P.T. Barnum supposedly said that nobody ever went broke by overestimating the stupidity of the public.

Labels: Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

There is a great deal of harsh languaged used in the clips that follow, so be advised.

I saw this clip at YouTube ... it's a "rap freestyle throw down" that ends in an actual fight. The clip is around four and a half minutes long ... no need to watch it all, a minute or so will be plenty.

I did watch it all and I was kinda confused about exactly why the "rap freestyle throw down" had ended in a physical altercation.

Then I found this next video, which translates the "straight gangsta flow" into something not quite so "street." Thanks to this clear and adroit translation, the nature of the conflict became readily apparent.

Well, then.

I understand the nature of this "rap freestyle throw down" much better now. Apparently, both of the gentlemen engaged in this debate felt some measure of genuine personal disregard for their opponent.

Pity, really. I'd think that artists who make it their business to "paint with words" would be concerned with expressing themselves on a higher plane than simple brute force. Perhaps a dance-off would have been in order?

Labels: Humor, You Tube

Just stuff...

• How they do that?
  
  Watch this video, it's just over a minute long:

  How in the world did they do that? It looked totally real. We're really at the point now where even seeing video of an event isn't necessarily proof that it actually happened.




• Failed talk-show host: "Blah, blah, blah."
  
  Chevy Chase is one of the most outspoken liberal has-beens in Hollywood. And he's unhappy that Sarah Palin generated record-breaking ratings for Saturday Night Live this weekend:
  

  “Quite frankly, it’s a big mistake to let her go on,” Chevy told Access Hollywood at the Give Food a Chance benefit in New York. “What was brilliant about [‘SNL’ chief] Lorne [Michaels] was that he had nothing written for Sarah and that apparently she cannot improvise herself out of a paper bag!”

  
  And after all, the most important skill a VP candidate can bring to the White House is a capacity for improvisational comedy.
  
  I'd mock Chase some more ... but he's been over for ages and I just feel sorry for him.



• Left-wing political figure endorses left-wing political figure
  
  Colin Powell has been known as many things over the years: General, National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of State ... and just lately he's been known as an improvisational dancer:

  One thing Powell has never been known as, however, is a conservative.
  
  Powell favors abortion-on-demand, affirmative action and gun control. In 2001, he joined the ACLU in working to block a flag protection amendment. He's served as an advisor for Barack Obama (and he'll continue to do so). Sure, Colin Powell is a Republican, but he's part of the Republican Party's small left wing ... with the likes of Lincoln Chafee and Michael Bloomberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
  
  Yesterday, Powell endorsed Barack Obama. I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone was surprised by this; and I can't figure out why the MSM is trying to sell the notion that this is a big deal.
  
  A leftist endorsed a fellow leftist. And?




• Sony crumbles under Muslim pressure
  
  Little Big Planet is one of the year's most hotly anticipated video games, an exclusive title for the PS3. And the struggling PS3 needs all the positive hype it can get.
  
  But Little Big Planet won't be in the hands of gamers as soon as it was supposed to be ... because some Muslims have balked at the game and Sony is cowering before them:
  

  The "social platforming" game is already gathering rave reviews, but it hasn't proven popular with one Muslim group, which issued a complaint to the game's publisher Sony concerning one background music track. Performed by award-winning Malian musician Toumani Diabate, the song quotes two verses from the Qur'an. Many Muslims consider the mixing of music and scripture to be deeply offensive.
  
  Although the game is already pressed, packaged, and reportedly sitting in the back rooms of many worldwide retailers awaiting its original Oct. 21 debut, gamers eager to get hold of it will have to wait at least another week while the offending content is expunged.

  
  I expected the world to change after 9/11. But one change I didn't expect was for everyone in the world to suddenly start quaking in their boots every time some Muslim got his feelings hurt.

Labels: Media, News, Politics, Video Games, You Tube

Barack Obama told his supporters to "get in their faces." His campaign encourages Obama voters to "be absolutely ruthless."

And the Obamabots are doing what they've been told:

If you can't lie your way into the White House ... if you can't promise your way in and if you can't guilt your way in ... I guess you can always bully your way into the White House.

Stay classy, Democrats.

Labels: News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

I'm recovering from surgery ... again ... and I'm awake in the middle of the night. Again.

I'm not sure if it's the meds keeping me awake or the spasms I'm having in my bladder in spite of the meds. Either way, I can't sleep. And I've found some neat stuff to read and watch:

• An October 17th news story shows that, with the election about two weeks away, the Democratic candidate is ahead by as much as ten points in thirteen key swing states ... and is poised to take the White House.
  
  Oh, wait... that story is from October 17th, 2004. I'd forgotten how it looked like a sure thing that Kerry was going to win. Just like it looks like a sure thing that Obama is gonna win this time. Hmmmmmm....


• Sarah Palin spoke in North Carolina and said that she always enjoyed the chance to speak in the "Pro-America" parts of the country. Joe Biden took offense at that, saying
  

  “It's disappointing, and I hope it's a slip of the tongue and she doesn't mean it, but she said it, it was reported she said that she likes to visit – quote – 'pro American' parts of the country..."

  
  I don't think it was a slip of the tongue. Governor Palin was probably thinking about San Francisco and Portland, for instance, in contrast to the small towns in America.


• Rey has clips of Obama and McCain speaking at a charity dinner. Both of them delivered very funny monologues. Here's a clip of McCain's best stuff:

  Rey has more, lots of laughs, go check it out.
  
  It's fun to watch these two guys share big, belly-bustin' laughs together. And it reminds me how much I used to like Obama before I knew anything about him. I still think he probably will win, even though he's not the guy I'm voting for, so I guess I better find stuff to like about him again. After all, we're probably gonna have to live with him for four years!



• A twelve year old girl wore a pro-Palin shirt to school and was branded a racist by some of her classmates. WTF?


• MCF has made one of my dreams come true: Finally I can fly and shoot lasers out of my butt.


• I have a new hero: The guy who ate the fifteen pound cheeseburger...

  



• The Democratic Party is the party of tolerance. That's why some Obama supporters threaten and beat up McCain supporters. (HT: Ace.)


• Rhodester got a lot of 'splainin' to do. Click right here and he'll explain dogs to you.

Labels: Humor, Media, News, Politics, You Tube

Back to UVA today for more surgery. I hope to be back to my regular life a little sooner than normal this time. We'll see.

My favorite thing about YouTube is that it affords you an opportunity to track down old songs ... usually in the form of old music videos. Songs you haven't heard in ages. This is an old favorite of mine. The "proper" music video is available at YouTube, but whoever (whomever?) uploaded it decided to add the lyrics as subtitles. And he/she got a lot of the lyrics wrong.

I am NOT trying to say anything about anything by posting this song. It's just been in my head lately, it's an old favorite song of mine. But don't take it as some sort of statement on my part. God forbid I offend anybody....

Anyway, I'm just saying I've always liked this song, that's all, and it might bring back some memories for members of my own generation:

Labels: Bladder Cancer, Personal, You Tube

First of all, I'm not a Stern fan.

But this clip from Stern's program, which I found by way of Bob Parks, is REQUIRED LISTENING regarding the 2008 election:

Look, I know a few whites who're gonna vote for Obama simply because "it's time to have a black president."

I guess the black people interviewed in the clip above must feel the same way.

Throw in the "youth vote" (as capsulized yesterday) and we're really getting ready to elect our first pure-celebrity president ... and for all the wrong reasons.

Have you seen Mike Judge's film Idocracy? We're getting ready to elect President Camacho ... except in real life:

And if we're stupid enough to put this guy in the White House, then he's the President we deserve.

Labels: Media, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

You know, I thought I knew how I'd be voting this November ... but when I really listen to the opinions of today's bright young American minds, I have to admit: They make a really good case for Obama.

Labels: Humor, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube

I don't know who Taylor Mali is ... but, like, I totally agree with his, you know, critique of our "aggressively inarticulate" language culture:

By the way, I don't intend to turn this blog into a YouTube depository. I hope.

Labels: Humor, You Tube

Perfect. The only way this video could have been more perfect is if it had ended with the sight of John McCain being forced into a giant wicker statue and set on fire.

We're gonna have four years of this guy, man! FOUR FRIGGIN' YEARS! Once he's elected I expect the entire crew at NBC news to make their own version of the creepy kids video.

Labels: Humor, Media, News, Politics, You Tube

I posted some videos yesterday by Alfonzo Rachel, a fairly new voice in the conservative blog/vlogosphere.

Man, this guys is friggin' awesome. He really is. His arguments are so strong and his perspective is so fresh that I kept hitting the pause button while watching his vids, thinking "I need to be writing this down. I need to remember this. These are SOLID arguments."

I added Zo's YouTube channel and his blog at Bob Parks: Black & Right to my blogroll. This guy's stuff is gonna be a regular check for me.

And I'll probably keep embedding his videos as soon as he turns them out ... because his vids kick all the ass. This one is a little older, and it's pretty long, and it's well worth watching:

Black & White on the Grey Matters 2 (War)

His comments about the whole "no war for oil" moonbattery vis a vis invading Mexico or Canada are just. completely. awesome.

This is Zo's first video:

Black & White On the Grey Matters

Labels: Blogs, Politics, You Tube, Zo

Although, to be honest, he had me at the Pryor shirt:

My new favorite term: "Ballot Cattle."

Check out this absolutely awesome video about abortion, too:

Basically all the same stuff I've been saying about abortion since I started this blog ... except he says it much cooler and funnier. This guy just rules.

I don't agree with every single thing he says (death penalty), but damn if he don't say it really well.

And check out his Obama/A-Team video ... so much good information and so much humor thrown at you so fast that it'll have your head spinning. You'll laugh, you'll cry ... you might even learn something.

Labels: Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube, Zo