tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102199982024-03-23T13:29:22.643-05:00wasp jerkyAnother world is possibleWasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.comBlogger413125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-54906986459765640272008-10-15T10:44:00.002-05:002008-10-15T10:51:51.374-05:00Huh?OK, let me see if I have this straight. Barack Obama, as of today, is <a href="http://www.electoral-vote.com">leading</a> John McCain 357 to 181 electoral votes. Obama is leading in all the states John Kerry won in 2004, plus Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Missouri, West Virginia and North Dakota. So Sarah Palin is spending the day giving speeches in New Hampshire? Seriously? <br /><br />The last eight years aside, this is the sort of stupidity that ought to disqualify one from holding public office.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-32660212966628321142008-03-22T10:13:00.001-05:002008-03-22T10:15:47.714-05:00The Empire Strikes Back<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXmYVRIpu2w&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXmYVRIpu2w&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />Casey Knowles, the little girl from Hillary Clinton's infamous 3 a.m. phone call add, strikes back.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-4898165688076395262008-03-19T20:55:00.002-05:002008-03-19T20:57:51.735-05:00Another One Bites The DustFrom an article in my wife's hometown newspaper:<br /><br /><blockquote>According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, cacti are members of the succulent plant family Cactaceae, which is native to the Americas. Often used as ornamental plants, cacti are accustomed to loving in arid and hot environments. Ferguson said the plant started dying in 2007, but did not grow back like the first time.</blockquote>Sigh. I'm sorry, but Wikipedia is not a source. It just isn't. Journalism in this country is officially dead.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-58379390128332044602008-03-13T19:24:00.005-05:002008-03-13T19:50:28.684-05:00Crystal BallOK, some <em>Lost</em> predictions:<br /><br />1) Michael is the spy on the boat.<br />2) A major character is rumoured to die tonight. My money is on Claire.<br />3) Sun and Jin are the last two Oceanic Sixers. <br />4) Ben was the guy in the coffin last season.<br />5) I've said it before and I'll say it again: the two skeletons from the very beginning of the show? Jack and Kate.<br />6) Sun's dad works for Charles Widmore.<br /><br />What say ye?Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-62118292215152664452008-03-12T21:27:00.002-05:002008-03-12T21:40:50.000-05:00And Now As Promised...<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qXBXD2zizIY&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qXBXD2zizIY&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />Earlier this evening Keith Olbermann delivered a special comment aimed at the Clinton campaign and its lackluster response to the Ferraro debacle. Good for him. Hillary Clinton is lapsing into self-parody more with each passing day. It's also interesting that after eight years of a President who can barely bring himself to apologise for anything, that half of Democrats are backing someone who, well, can barely bring herself to apologise for anything.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-75647535799148179182008-03-05T18:51:00.002-06:002008-03-05T18:58:02.851-06:00Winners Never QuitThough the media has in some respects been avoiding the issue, there's been a bit of talk today about how unlikely it is that Hillary Clinton can win.<br /><br />As <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030403354.html"><em>The Washington Post</em> explains</a>,<br /><br /><blockquote>Clinton wiped away the debate last night with a robust victory in Ohio and a narrow win in Texas. But as she vowed to keep campaigning, the tight vote in Texas signaled she may yet face a tough decision in coming weeks. The slim margin in the Texas popular vote and an additional caucus process in which she trailed made clear that she would not win enough delegates to put a major dent in Sen. Barack Obama's lead. And regardless of the results, she emerged from the crucible of Ohio and Texas with a campaign mired in debt and riven by dissension...<br /><br />[I]t would be enormously difficult for Clinton to overtake Obama in the pledged delegates chosen by voters in primaries and caucuses. By some calculations, Clinton would need to win more than 60 percent of the vote in the dozen contests remaining between now and June 7 to catch Obama in pledged delegates -- a steep challenge given that, so far, she has won that much in only one state, her onetime adopted home of Arkansas. Even in New York, where she is a sitting senator, she won 57 percent of the vote. She won 55 percent in Michigan, where Obama was not even on the ballot.<br /><br />"Her durability is impressive if not astonishing, but she is still looking at some pretty cold, hard numbers in the race," said Jim Jordan, a Democratic strategist who initially ran the 2004 primary campaign of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). "She's running out of time, she's running out of space." He described a Clinton nomination even with wins in Texas and Ohio as "impossible, really."</blockquote>So after eight years of a President who can't string two sentences together, do we really now want one who apparently can't add?Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-38654282880013442452008-02-05T16:56:00.000-06:002008-02-05T17:07:35.847-06:00McCain In The MembraneJames "I beat my dog with a belt" Dobson released a statement today detailing why he cannot in good conscience vote for John McCain for President. Dobson insisted his statement was personal and doesn't reflect the views of his organisation, despite the statement being prominently displayed on the front page of his organisation's web site. <br /><br />So things are getting interesting. Either A LOT of RepubliChristians will be staying home in November, or the Republican Party will finally split. Or white conservative evangelical Christians will learn that they don't have to do whatever Dobson tells them.<br /><br />That said, I still think McCain can take Hillary Clinton in a head to head election. Hopefully the Democratic Party will make the right decision this summer at the convention. But given their fetish for spinelessness and losing presidential elections, I'm not holding my breath. <br /><br />Anyways, the official press release:<br /><br /><blockquote>Dr. James Dobson released a statement to The Laura Ingraham Show today, stating his personal opinions of this critical election.<br /><br />As voters in 24 states head to the polls today to choose a presidential nominee, Dr. James Dobson released a statement to The Laura Ingraham Show today. He stated his personal opinions of this critical election:<br /><br />"I am deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, voted for embryonic stem-cell research to kill nascent human beings, opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, has little regard for freedom of speech, organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters in judicial hearings, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language.<br /> <br />"I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has sounded at times more like a member of the other party. McCain actually considered leaving the GOP caucus in 2001, and approached John Kerry about being Kerry’s running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president. Given these and many other concerns, a spoonful of sugar does NOT make the medicine go down. I cannot, and will not, vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience. <br /> <br />"But what a sad and melancholy decision this is for me and many other conservatives. Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life. These decisions are my personal views and do not represent the organization with which I am affiliated. They do reflect my deeply held convictions about the institution of the family, about moral and spiritual beliefs, and about the welfare of our country."<br /><br />Around noon today, Dr. Dobson talked to national talk-show host Dennis Prager. He made it clear he was not endorsing anyone.<br /><br />"Dr. Dobson's statement speaks for itself," said Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media relations for Focus on the Family Action. "He made it as a private citizen, and it reflects his personal opinion of Sen. McCain's candidacy and record. People can read into it what they like; all I see is his own personal 'straight talk' regarding why he can't vote for one candidate."</blockquote>Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-11903100982659381902008-02-04T17:59:00.001-06:002008-02-04T18:12:51.614-06:00What's Mine Is YoursTwo posts from me in the span of a week. What's the world coming to? <br /><br />I haven't weighed in on politics and/or religion in a while. As I think I mentioned before, I've sort of grown tired of this blogging thing. But tomorrow is Super Tuesday, and today an email arrived from David Rees, creator of the always wonderful <a href="http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html"><em>Get Your War On</em></a>. Pretty telling stuff, and just another reason I consider Hillary Clinton to be Bush/Cheney Lite, and why tomorrow I'll be voting for Barack Obama. <br /><br />On a side note, can someone please explain to me why Senator Clinton's eight years of being First Lady makes her "more experienced" than Obama? Would I be a more efficient psychologist because my wife was one first? <br /><br />At any rate, Rees writes:<br /><br /><blockquote>Cluster bombs and landmines are particularly terrifying weapons that wreak havoc on communities trying to recover from war. They are fatal impediments to reconstruction and rehabilitation of agricultural land; they destroy valuable livestock; they disable otherwise productive members of society; they maim or kill children trying to salvage them for scrap metal. <br /><br />Over 150 nations have signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. It pains me that our great nation has not. But in the autumn of 2006, there was a chance to take a step in the right direction: Senate Amendment No. 4882, an amendment to a Pentagon appropriations bill that would have banned the use of cluster bombs in civilian areas. <br /><br />Senator Obama of Illinois voted IN FAVOR of the ban. <br /><br />Senator Clinton of New York voted AGAINST the ban. <br /><br />Analysts say Clinton did want to risk appearing "soft on terror," as it would have harmed her electibility. <br /><br />I'm not a single-issue voter. But as Obama and Clinton share many policy positions, this vote was revelatory for me. After all, Amendment No. 4882 was an easy one to vote against: Who'd want to risk accusation of "tying the hands of the Pentagon" during a never-ending, global War on Terror? As is so often the case, there was no political cost to doing the wrong thing. And there was no political reward for doing the right thing.<br /><br />But Senator Obama did the right thing. <br /><br />Is Senator Obama perfect? Of course not. Nobody who voted for 2005's wack-ass energy bill is perfect. Nobody who voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act is perfect. <br /><br />But of the two remaining Democratic candidates, one decided her vote on Amendment No. 4882 according to a political calculation. The other used a moral calculation.<br /><br />I'm 35 years old, and over the years, I've had two experiences in the voting booth: I've voted for politicians I really respected, who I knew could never win. And I've voted for politicians I didn't really respect, because I knew they could win.<br /><br />Tomorrow, I'm going to vote for a politician I really respect, who I know can win. <br /><br />(DEEP BREATH)<br /><br />I urge you to vote Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />David Rees</blockquote>I can't argue with that.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-73881335910956171482008-01-31T16:14:00.000-06:002008-01-31T16:24:34.712-06:00Lost And FoundHey look. I'm posting every six weeks now. What fun!<br /><br />Anyways, tonight I kneel before <em>Lost</em>, my sweet sweet master. It's been far too long. I don't care what anyone says. Best. Show. Ever. Anything that draws this much influence from Alan Moore's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen"><em>Watchmen</em></a> can't be less than brilliant. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EEIp0qPBbEI&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EEIp0qPBbEI&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QIuXZ37GQIs&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QIuXZ37GQIs&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-39471119855044808502007-12-09T17:49:00.000-06:002007-12-09T17:59:38.923-06:00Is This Thing On?Haven't been here in a while. It appears that I may be over the blogging thing. Time will tell, I suppose. I haven't missed it at all actually, for whatever it's worth.<br /><br />At any rate, there were a <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071209/ap_on_re_us/church_shootings">couple of shootings in Colorado today</a>, one at a Youth With a Mission center, the second at New Life Church, which is Ted Haggard's former church:<br /><br /><blockquote>A gunman in a black trench coat and a high-powered rifle entered the church's main foyer about 1 p.m. and began shooting, according to the source at the church, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the police department had asked that it release all information.<br /><br />The church's 11 a.m. service had recently ended, and hundreds of people were milling about when the gunman opened fire. Nearby were parents picking up their children from the nursery.<br /><br /><strong>The gunman was killed by a member of the church's armed security staff</strong>, the source said. Four people were shot, and the source did not know whether the shooter was one of the four. A SWAT team was searching the building for an explosive device, but the source could not confirm any details.</blockquote>This sucks for everyone involved. But I'm more than alarmed that New Life Church has gunmen under its employ. What the fuck is wrong with the American Christian church, that it has armed security guards? I don't know who these people think they're following, but it isn't Jesus.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-58362280511732896432007-09-20T15:18:00.000-05:002007-09-20T15:20:30.701-05:00This Is The Way The World Ends<a href="http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809233751/video/4164037/20070920/150/4164037-1000-flash-s.44247659-,4164037-1000-wmv-s.44247604-,4164037-300-wmv-s.44247594-,4164037-300-flash-s.44247613-,4164037-700-flash-s.44247646-,4164037-100-flash-s.44247608-,4164037-700-wmv-s.44247599-,4164037-100-wmv-s.44247575-,4164036-10300-qtv-s.44247706-,4164036-6800-qtv-s.44247686-,4164036-2700-qtv-s.44247679-">These are the sordid tales of how it all came crashing down</a>.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-86113198177390986592007-09-06T18:46:00.000-05:002007-09-06T19:56:36.763-05:00Harmless SparksYah!!! <a href="http://www.davidbazan.com">David Bazan</a> aka Pedro the Lion aka Headphones aka Paperback aka David Bazan's Black Cloud is in town tomorrow night. The Internets are atwitter that he's been playing several new songs at live shows lately, including the not quite finished piece below. Good stuff. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C1HU8BVYJd8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C1HU8BVYJd8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><i>they might have burned <br />but the priests were all taking turns<br />showing nuns what they had discerned <br />about their bodies in the dark<br />they carried on<br />from the evening until the dawn<br />like they should've been all along<br />making harmless sparks<br />instead of breaking little boys' hearts<br /><br />God knows <br />if you notice the millions of small holes<br />and ponder the weight of an apple <br />compared to the trouble we're in<br />then some grown men might<br />be tempted to question their birthright<br />in front of their kids and devout wives<br />causing the doubt to begin <br />to spread like original sin</i>Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-45915943623918913962007-08-27T20:11:00.000-05:002007-08-27T20:27:49.185-05:00These Are Jokes<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-uOKkGP1kW4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-uOKkGP1kW4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />You may know comedian Demetri Martin from his Trendspotting spots on <span style="font-style:italic;">The Daily Show</span>. He also happens to be one of the funniest people alive.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-16969840125406670822007-08-02T10:29:00.000-05:002007-08-02T10:41:20.297-05:00Toy StoryLater this month, my arch-enemy Wal-mart will begin selling what the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6916287.stm">BBC refers to</a> as faith-based toys. These <a href="http://store.messengersoffaith.net/index.html">scripture quoting <strike>action figures</strike> dolls</a> hardly mark the first time Christians have dabbled in the action figure business, but this is the first I’ve been aware of such toys breaking into the mainstream. Or did Mel Gibson put out a line of <em>Passion of the Christ</em> action figures? <br /><br /><blockquote>David Socha, founder of One2believe, the company which makes the dolls, is confident the demand is there for "God-honouring" toys which reflect Christian teachings and morality.<br /><br />"We get a lot of people, even people who are not of faith, don't go to church, saying 'I've got a four and a six-year-old and I don't know what to get them any more'," he said. <br /><br />"If you go in a toy aisle in any major retailer, you will see toys and dolls that promote and glorify evil, destruction, lying, cheating. <br /><br />"In the girls' aisle where the dolls would be, you see dolls that are promoting promiscuity to very young girls. Dolls will have very revealing clothes on, G-string underwear." <br /><br />What his company offers instead is "something faith-based that is not only fun to play with but also is solidifying a person's spiritual wherewithal and their spiritual journey", he said.</blockquote>This is excellent news, of course. Now children corrupted by Spider-man and Bratz will have access to wholesome action figures like Noah (alcoholic), Moses (murderer), Sampson (terrorist and, as <a href="http://slacktivist.typepad.com">Slacktivist</a> recently called him, inventor of the suicide bomb) and David (whose poems about throwing babies against rocks and washing his feet in the blood of slaughtered enemies may make him the world’s first gangster rapper). The action figures are a steal at $19.99 and $24.99, perfect for any Christian family on a budget. For my money, though, the collection seems sadly incomplete without nudist prophet Isaiah. <br /><br />If you’re a girl, you might prefer one of the <a href="http://store.messengersoffaith.net/p31dolls.html">Proverbs 31 dolls</a>. They’re $39.99 and will help “encourage young girls to pursue biblical womanhood.” As an added bonus, one of these Jewish dolls from the Middle East even has brown skin. <br /><br />Sadly, there’s not a tent spike-wielding Yael or a sword-carrying Judith. I’m not sure how girls are going to properly learn biblical womanhood if they can’t dramatize killing men. <br /><br />On another note, if you prefer a different sort of toys altogether (the segue possibilities here are so deliciously wonderful that you should feel free to invent your own), there’s a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/4906170.stm">Christian couple in the UK</a> that has set up their own online sex shoppe. The store, <a href="http://www.whollylove.co.uk">Wholly Love</a>, is designed for married Christian couples who believe that sexy time is a gift from God. This is surely the only place on earth where you can purchase both Philip Yancey’s <em>Disappointed with God</em> and an amertrine glass dildo.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-3074304174786132302007-08-01T19:30:00.000-05:002007-08-01T19:38:18.915-05:00Left BehindI say this from time to time, but every now and again it bears repeating. If you haven't read through <a href="http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/left_behind/index.html">Slacktivist's</a> ongoing literary and theological deconstruction of the <span style="font-style:italic;">Left Behind</span> series, you owe it to yourself to do so. Great stuff. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">One delightfully strange thing about (premillenial dispensationalists) is the way they earnestly insist that all they're doing is providing a straightforward, linear reading of a straightforward, linear account. All the while they insist this they're jumping to and fro -- from Revelation to Daniel, to Thessalonians, back to an (earlier) chapter of Revelation, then to Ezekiel. Even as they tie themselves into knots flipping around, back and forth, to and fro, unable to work their way through John's apocalypse from beginning to end without recursive loops back to earlier chapters, even as they themselves get lost in the convoluted mess of it all and they are forced back to the drawing board to try again to force this narrative into a tidy timeline -- through all of that they seem utterly sincere in insisting that this impossible-to-follow-the-same-way-twice approach is really nothing more than a straightforward, linear and "literal" reading. It would be laughable if it weren't so heartfelt.<br /><br />No, scratch that. It's still laughable.</span><br /><br />----------------------------------<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Left Behind is a fictional world, and as such its creators are free to invent a fictional president, a fictional Manhattan that's 50 miles long and a fictional U.N. with fictional powers. They are even free to invent a fictional Bible full of fictional prophecies. This is exactly what (LaHaye & Jenkins) have done. Their problem -- and it's a big problem -- is that neither they nor most of their millions of devoted readers realize that this is what they have done. They recognize that "Fitz" is a piece of fantasy and imagination, but they think the equally unreal Bible in their story is the same one we have here in reality. They present an inhuman planet inhabited by alien creatures who hardly seem to care that all of their children have vanished and yet they imagine that this imaginary world is a realistic portrayal of realistic people. The main differences between the world of Left Behind and the real world are not the products of the authors' invention, but the products of the authors' mistakes.</span>Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-37959191463931811562007-07-31T14:40:00.001-05:002007-07-31T14:40:39.520-05:00The Devil Is Beating His Wife<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wqb9Og6l8sQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wqb9Og6l8sQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-59237330968564873652007-07-24T17:21:00.000-05:002007-07-24T17:30:35.306-05:00Why Are You Wearing That Stupid Man Suit?Finally, finally, finally, writer/director Richard Kelly's film <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southland_Tales">Southland Tales</a></span> has a release date. This is unbelievably cool. Kelly's <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_darko">Donnie Darko</a></span> is easily one of my favourite films ever, certainly in my top three (alongside <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_%28film%29">Magnolia</a></span> and <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_for_a_dream">Requiem for a Dream</a></span>). <span style="font-style:italic;">Southland Tales</span> looks like it will be just as weird and wonderful as <span style="font-style:italic;">Donnie Darko</span>. The trailer won't be out until mid-August, though, so I've embedded the <span style="font-style:italic;">Donnie Darko</span> trailer below for the time being. Sigh. It's like Christmas morning. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kelly's "Southland Tales" Coming to U.S. Theaters in November</span><br /><br />Samuel Goldwyn Films has announced the U.S. release of Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales." The company is planning a theatrical debut on November 9 in partnership with Destination Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group. The film, which debuted at last year's Cannes Film Festival and has since been completed, stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore, Cheri Oteri, Kevin Smith and Amy Poehler among others, with original music by Moby, a music sequence by Timberlake and a soundtrack that includes The Killers, The Pixies, Muse, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Radiohead, and Jane's Addiction. Set in the near future in Los Angeles, July 2008, the film is described as, "an epic story that takes place over the course of three days, culminating in a massive 4th of July celebration." It features, "Boxer Santaros (The Rock), an action star stricken with amnesia, Krysta Now (Gellar), an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Roland Taverner (Scott), a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy." "The time and additional visual effects that were added have allowed me to achieve my original vision for 'Southland Tales," Kelly said in a statement. "The fans' response has been overwhelming and I anticipate that moviegoers will respond enthusiastically." The filmmaker will be at Comic-Con in San Diego this Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 to sign autographs and greet fans.<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8wqVHjK2bQs"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8wqVHjK2bQs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-47759723205431458302007-07-20T13:26:00.000-05:002007-07-20T13:27:50.542-05:00Snapes On A Plane ReduxSo tonight is the big night. Any last minute predictions? Who lives? Who dies? Who finds redemption? What's so special about Harry's eyes? Is Snape really evil? Can I finish re-reading the last two books by midnight tonight? If not, can I successfully avoid spoilers until I've read <em>Deathly Hallows</em>? Stay tuned.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-54871798794615141082007-07-16T12:09:00.001-05:002007-07-20T13:29:39.482-05:00Dear AbbyDon't get me wrong. I like babies. I like mothers. I like pregnant mothers. I understand that small children can be a handful. I also understand that it can be difficult to find a babysitter. But is there some special circumstance of which I am unaware in which it is acceptable to bring an infant to a movie theatre? <br /><br />It's a well known fact that babies tend to cry on occasion. And though I can understand the insatiable need to see the newest Harry Potter film on opening weekend, for the love of Jesus when your baby starts crying take it outside. <br /><br />That is all.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-78440484513822651202007-07-12T16:43:00.000-05:002007-07-12T17:17:20.683-05:00Assholes For ChristEarlier today three Chistians were thrown out of the Senate chamber for loudly protesting a Hindu cleric who was giving the morning invocation. For loudly protesting the Hindu cleric <i>while</i> he was giving the morning invocation. <br /><br />Notes <a href="http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/jul/12/christian_right_activists_disrupt_hindu_chaplain_in_the_senate">TCMCafe</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>The three protesters, who all belong to the Christian Right anti-abortion group <a href="http://www.operationsaveamerica.org">Operation Save America</a>, and who apparently traveled to Washington all the way from North Carolina, interrupted by loudly asking for God's forgiveness for allowing the false prayer of a Hindu in the Senate chamber.<br /><br />"Lord Jesus, forgive us father for allowing a prayer of the wicked, which is an abomination in your sight," the first protester began.<br /><br />"This is an abomination," he continued. "We shall have no other gods before You."<br /><br />Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), serving as the presiding officer for the morning, immediately ordered them taken away — though they continued to yell at the Hindu cleric as they were headed out the door, shouting out phrases such as, "No Lord but Jesus Christ!" and "There's only one true God!"</blockquote>No doubt these protesters probably think their removal was persecution. Ah, sweet sweet irony. <br /><br />The group released a laughable <a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/575363635.html">press release</a> commenting on the incident:<br /><br /><blockquote><strong>Theology Moved to the Senate and was Arrested<br /><br />Theology has moved from the church house onto the floor of the United States Senate, and has been arrested.</strong><br /><br />Ante Pavkovic, Kathy Pavkovic, and Kristen Sugar were all arrested in the chambers of the United States Senate as that chamber was violated by a false Hindu god. The Senate was opened with a Hindu prayer placing the false god of Hinduism on a level playing field with the One True God, Jesus Christ. This would never have been allowed by our Founding Fathers.<br /><br />"Not one Senator had the backbone to stand as our Founding Fathers stood. They stood on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! There were three in the audience with the courage to stand and proclaim, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' They were immediately removed from the chambers, arrested, and are in jail now. God bless those who stand for Jesus as we know that He stands for them." Rev. Flip Benham, Director, Operation Save America/Operation Rescue</blockquote>It's hard to know how to even comment, since this group seems to be completely illiterate about, well, pretty much everything. Ignorance of Christian theology, constitutional law, Hinduism and American history aside, though, I love how they capitalise founding fathers. It's almost like they consider them gods. And insinuating that the world's third largest religion had raped a branch of American government was sheer tactical brilliance. And that bit about backbone and standing on the gospel of Christ? Nice play on words. Poetry really. <br /><br />Still, this reminds me yet again that Christians in the US aren't concerned so much with loving their neighbour as they are with being right. Which is fine, I suppose. Pride is a fruit of the spirit, after all. Remember kids, nothing converts the heathen quite like three people behaving like complete dicks. <br /><br />I'm also reminded that, short of strapping bombs to themselves, Christian fundamentalists aren't all that different from their Muslim counterparts.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-77213255022907624102007-07-12T12:04:00.000-05:002007-07-12T12:24:49.854-05:00Milestones<em>Second best, oh second best. I can learn to live with this. Plus I really need the rest. After all, what's wrong with second best? What's wrong with second best?</em> -- Pedro the Lion<br /><br />Never let it be said that President Bush isn't good at <em>something</em>. This week President Bush did something many would have thought unthinkable: he tied Richard Nixon's disapproval rating, the second worst ever for a US President. I'm not sure why the liberal media isn't reporting it. They must be busy melting glaciers in the arctic or something, so it appears that global warming is real. <br /><br />If the President can apply himself just a bit, he'll take home the gold. We know he's an underachiever and all, but surely he can make us proud. Just two more measly disapproval points and he'll be the least popular ever. That's our President, we'll say with a look of triumph. We knew he could do it. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2170269/nav/tap3/#SwingandaMiss">Salon</a> has more:<br /><br /><blockquote>Amid our nostalgia for the day in 1974 when (Hank) Aaron hit number 715 to pass Babe Ruth, it's easy to forget another race for the record books that went on that same season. While Aaron was hitting for the fences, Richard Nixon was trying to hit bottom – chasing Harry Truman's single-season record as the most unpopular president in the history of presidential polling.<br /><br />At the time, Truman's record of 67% disapproval – set when Americans were weary of the Korean War and angry over the firing of Douglas MacArthur – had stood untouched for 22 years. Most pollsters assumed that Truman's mark, like Ruth's, could never be broken. Just as the physical wear-and-tear of baseball made 714 homers look insurmountable, the physics of politics seemed to put 67% disapproval out of reach. You could look it up in the Founders' rule book: a two-thirds majority is the threshold for impeachment by the Senate.<br /><br />But Richard Nixon had spent his entire career being underestimated. By Opening Day of the 1974 season – less than two years after one of the greatest electoral landslides in history – Nixon stunned the political world by reaching 65% disapproval. Like Aaron, then at 713, Nixon began the 1974 season just two away from claiming the mark for all time.<br /><br />Aaron's persistence paid off with a swing off Al Downing that launched him past Ruth on April 8, 1974. The same day, White House aides told the New York Times correspondent that far from stepping down, Nixon was abandoning his eighth counterattack (dubbed "Operation Candor") and launching his ninth. With such determination, he must have felt certain the record was within his grasp.<br /><br />Yet when the last Gallup Poll of his presidency came out in August 1974, Nixon would taste the bitterness of defeat once again. His final disapproval rating was 66% -- one shy of Truman's record. By any other standard, Nixon left office the most hated president in American history. But in the record book, he had not even an asterisk to show for it.<br /><br />In a remarkable historical coincidence, those same two records that were under assault in 1974 are on the ropes again in 2007. The sports world is already dreading the day Barry Bonds will pass Aaron. But the political world has scarcely noticed another milestone in the making: With 66% disapproval in this week's Gallup Poll, George W. Bush just tied Richard Nixon as the second-most unpopular president ever.<br /><br />Bush has flirted with immortality before. In May 2006 and again in February 2007, he secured third place with personal bests of 65% disapproval. But each time, some random piece of less horrible news and the statistical vagaries of polling intervened to interrupt Bush's quest for the record.<br /><br />For most of this year, Bush has been mired in the low 60s, unable to sustain any negative momentum. His team tried everything – mounting a hopeless surge in Iraq, botching the immigration bill, standing behind an Attorney General any other administration would have left for dead. But each week, the American people kept handing him the same verdict they gave Richard Nixon – in the words of King Lear, "The worst is not, so long as we can say, 'This is the worst.'"<br /><br />Can Bush reach the goal that eluded Nixon? Or is Truman's record enduring proof that Dick Cheney is wrong: You can offend some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't offend all of the people all of the time.</blockquote>(h/t: <a href="http://streaksblog.blogspot.com">Streak</a>)Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-40864900924784544012007-07-05T17:14:00.001-05:002007-07-05T17:17:29.496-05:00Live From The People's Republic Of Wasp JerkyI've added a new feature to my blog. Over in the right column, below the archives, I've added a streaming mp3 player from <a href="http://www.streampad.com">Streampad</a>. I haven't figured out all the kinks yet, like why a handful of songs that should be there aren't. Still it's pretty cool. Let me know what you think. I'll try to switch out the music periodically.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-7852099171147162932007-07-04T06:32:00.000-05:002007-07-04T06:55:42.107-05:00George W. Bush Will You Please Go NowLast night Keith Olbermann delivered what may be his most passionate special comment yet, asking the President to resign. In a more perfect world, television stations would have interrupted regularly scheduled programming to broadcast this instead. Hell hath no fury like a former <span style="font-style:italic;">SportsCenter</span> anchor scorned.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RFtHSvgXj-c"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RFtHSvgXj-c" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">I accuse you, Mr. Bush, of lying this country into war.<br /><br />I accuse you of fabricating in the minds of your own people, a false implied link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.<br /><br />I accuse you of firing the generals who told you that the plans for Iraq were disastrously insufficient.<br /><br />I accuse you of causing in Iraq the needless deaths of 3,586 of our brothers and sons, and sisters and daughters, and friends and neighbors.<br /><br />I accuse you of subverting the Constitution, not in some misguided but sincerely-motivated struggle to combat terrorists, but instead to stifle dissent.<br /><br />I accuse you of fomenting fear among your own people, of creating the very terror you claim to have fought.<br /><br />I accuse you of exploiting that unreasoning fear, the natural fear of your own people who just want to live their lives in peace, as a political tool to slander your critics and libel your opponents.<br /><br />I accuse you of handing part of this republic over to a Vice President who is without conscience, and letting him run roughshod over it.<br /><br />And I accuse you now, Mr. Bush, of giving, through that Vice President, carte blanche to Mr. Libby, to help defame Ambassador Joseph Wilson by any means necessary, to lie to Grand Juries and Special Counsel and before a court, in order to protect the mechanisms and particulars of that defamation, with your guarantee that Libby would never see prison, and, in so doing, as Ambassador Wilson himself phrased it here last night, of you becoming an accessory to the obstruction of justice.</span></blockquote>Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-74312016301840122182007-06-13T09:52:00.000-05:002008-12-12T00:34:25.972-06:00Escape From Chicagoland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NZsQbjF58xw/RnAFIOKcYzI/AAAAAAAAABc/LzGaYSvPPd0/s1600-h/NafplionViewFromAkronauplia.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NZsQbjF58xw/RnAFIOKcYzI/AAAAAAAAABc/LzGaYSvPPd0/s320/NafplionViewFromAkronauplia.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075562418845541170" /></a>Getting out of <strike>Jesusland</strike> the US for a while. Back in July. Don't let President Bush start another war while I'm gone.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10219998.post-816961313847747922007-05-29T17:40:00.000-05:002007-05-29T18:26:48.988-05:00TV Killed Our Democracy<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NnKcFyYH5OI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NnKcFyYH5OI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><em>We've got to try to realise the effect that television has had on our ability to retain information and to have our attention be held on a particular topic. It's shortened our memories by quite a lot. And the way that we interact with politics has been, really, it's just been demolished completely.</em> -- David Bazan<br /><br />I have a love-hate relationship with television. On the one hand, programming has come a long way, even in my lifetime. A lot of the stuff that's on these days is, really, just brilliant. On the other hand, well, spend two minutes watching one of the 24-hour cable news networks. <br /><br />The above clip from <em>Family Guy</em> is the sharpest critique of what television has done to politics that I've seen in quite a while, perhaps even on par with some stuff Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert have done. The Solomon Grundy joke is a bit flat and out of place, but the rest of this is just top notch. This is what happens when you reduce leadership to soundbites and I'd-have-a-beer-with-himism. Ironic that I saw it on TV. <br /><br />It also makes me wonder if this presidency, which I imagine to be the most PR-focused in history, could even exist without television.Wasp Jerkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15893089391441423862noreply@blogger.com3