There has been so much already said & written about this I almost decided not to bother writing anything. However, I will add my 2 cents to the mix. This award was made null & void in my book back in 1994. Why you ask...well in 1994* one of the most despicable men on the planet at the time was given the award. I am referring to Yassir Arafat. A man whose hands were not only covered in blood for all the innocent Israeli's & Jews he had murdered...but for all of his own people he sent on suicide missions & those that didn't see things his way he had killed. To rub some more salt in the wound he funneled the money that was given to him by Aid Organizations & governments for the Palestinian people into his own Swiss bank accounts! Instead of building schools & hospitals, creating jobs etc...he embezzled the money. As much as I wish the Mosad executed him, I'm shocked that one of his own people didn't. How this monster that inflicted so much pain on so many could be given the award for Peace shows just how screwed up the committee is. The award is meaningless...a sad joke. Furthermore giving it to Jimmy Carter in 2002...a man who was one of...if not Americas worst ever President with the absolute worst foreign policies...who since leaving office travels the world with his anti-American & anti-Semitic rants..gets the award by a bunch of sad weak leftists so they can stick their flaccid finger in Bush's eye...It's easily understood why Obama seemed less then thrilled to win it.
For the record, while I did not vote for Obama or agree with most of his policies I do truly believe this is an award he would have loved to win & would have cherished...if he had won it years from now with a list of accomplishments to show how he earned it. Instead I'm guessing he feels cheated. That instead of earning it for achieving change in the world for the better that he believes in...he gets it for what? Appealing to a bunch of Euro left wingers who have decried America's rise to power after the second World War?!? Maybe olde & wise Europe should remember why we rose & they fell. Maybe we should note it as well before we fall. Let's all hope that during Obama's presidency he earns this award by bringing the change he promised...I don't believe much in hoping for things...so let's count on him living up to his words...I'm rooting for him for the record...
* http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Ratings to Kill For...
Here's another great story that pops up from time to time. William Souza the host of Canal Livre...one of Brazil's most popular TV shows is on the run & MIA in. Why you ask? Well the former Police Officer & current State Assemblyman in Manaus, Brazil was hosting a live action reality show about Criminals whose specialty was homicides. He & his crew were tracking down criminals & uncovering stories before the Police ever got to the murder scenes. Well it turns out that Mr. Souza is being investigated for hiring hitmen to commit the crimes he was solving & uncovering!
And we thought we had problems in our country with our TV hosts having sex with employee's for them to get a(or is that give) head...
So if you're roaming around the rainforests outside Manaus, Brazil & see a guy with a microphone & TV camera...run...unless you want to be on his next hit (no pun intended) show...
And we thought we had problems in our country with our TV hosts having sex with employee's for them to get a(or is that give) head...
So if you're roaming around the rainforests outside Manaus, Brazil & see a guy with a microphone & TV camera...run...unless you want to be on his next hit (no pun intended) show...
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Recession Double Featues 2X Reviews
One of the many, many wonderful things to come out of the greatest Recession of all time is the matinee double-feature...so here are reviews for my 2 latest ...(remember all reviews are SPOILER-FREE!)
The first is the segue DF...Zombieland & Jennifers Body
Zombieland - Hilarious...one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. Yes...there is a bit of gore but it's the best role Woody has had in a while & there is an awesome cameo...plus two of the main protagonists are sisters...& I'm all about girl power.!My only issue...too short, only 80 mins...but then again if you see it as part of a DF...
Jennifers Body...No zombie's but one smoking Megan Fox hot demon & again some gore & some humour ...not as well balanced as Zombieland though...For the record...this is a chick-flick, it was written by the writer of Juno...so lots of BFF, girlie humour...girls being bad...& Megan Fox..regardless of the make-up..looks hot...even when she's done up to look like sickly, weak, & pale...she is still smoking hot. Girls must hate her so... I really feel for her & I'm here to support her...Stop the Jennifer Hate...haters!
Next DF...the non-segue "time-factor DF...Surrogates & 500 Days of Summer
Surrogates - Very good Sci-Fi/Film Noir which is based on the premise that in the not-to-distant future we all use life-like androids to get around & live our lives. We control them remotely while we lie down hooked up in a dentists chair. The benefits...we all look young, beautiful & cannot get hurt. Our physical prowess also amped up a bit. Life is grand until a murder takes place...which is not supposed to be possible. Now while this may sound far-fetched...I think not. We all spend more & more time on-line for both business & pleasure & kids are getting hooked early. Think Wii... Also if you follow tech at all the Japanese in the commercial arena & our Military have been doing quite a bit of work in the field as well. I think I'll stick with the real world for the most part...with the exception of some Call of Duty & Rainbow 6 on occasion...
500 Days of Summer - The story of a relationship from the Guys point of view told in non-sequential order...for the record this is not a love story...no spoiler here...nor is there any great tragedy... Great jobs by both leads...(the guy is sooooo my cousin Scott...plus I doubt he would disagree) I thought it seemed very realistic & not contrived whatsoever...highly recommended...segue in to "this is not a love song...this is not a love song!"
The first is the segue DF...Zombieland & Jennifers Body
Zombieland - Hilarious...one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. Yes...there is a bit of gore but it's the best role Woody has had in a while & there is an awesome cameo...plus two of the main protagonists are sisters...& I'm all about girl power.!My only issue...too short, only 80 mins...but then again if you see it as part of a DF...
Jennifers Body...No zombie's but one smoking Megan Fox hot demon & again some gore & some humour ...not as well balanced as Zombieland though...For the record...this is a chick-flick, it was written by the writer of Juno...so lots of BFF, girlie humour...girls being bad...& Megan Fox..regardless of the make-up..looks hot...even when she's done up to look like sickly, weak, & pale...she is still smoking hot. Girls must hate her so... I really feel for her & I'm here to support her...Stop the Jennifer Hate...haters!
Next DF...the non-segue "time-factor DF...Surrogates & 500 Days of Summer
Surrogates - Very good Sci-Fi/Film Noir which is based on the premise that in the not-to-distant future we all use life-like androids to get around & live our lives. We control them remotely while we lie down hooked up in a dentists chair. The benefits...we all look young, beautiful & cannot get hurt. Our physical prowess also amped up a bit. Life is grand until a murder takes place...which is not supposed to be possible. Now while this may sound far-fetched...I think not. We all spend more & more time on-line for both business & pleasure & kids are getting hooked early. Think Wii... Also if you follow tech at all the Japanese in the commercial arena & our Military have been doing quite a bit of work in the field as well. I think I'll stick with the real world for the most part...with the exception of some Call of Duty & Rainbow 6 on occasion...
500 Days of Summer - The story of a relationship from the Guys point of view told in non-sequential order...for the record this is not a love story...no spoiler here...nor is there any great tragedy... Great jobs by both leads...(the guy is sooooo my cousin Scott...plus I doubt he would disagree) I thought it seemed very realistic & not contrived whatsoever...highly recommended...segue in to "this is not a love song...this is not a love song!"
Monday, October 5, 2009
Comrade...where's my cargo ship?!?
This is my latest favorite story going on...that every now & then pops up from under the radar. The Arctic Sea a Russian owned Finnish operated cargo ship carrying "timber" to Algeria goes missing in August...then pops up weeks later off the Cape Verde Islands (not too close to Algeria...check out map. Of course everyone thought pirates at first...but that's not quite what happened.
- The ship was boarded & then released 3 days after it left Finland...then pops up weeks later off Cape Verde Coast
- The crew never pulls into port after the boarding...even they they were "assaulted"...it goes dark...
- A global alarm never goes up on maritime channels for assistance in finding the ship
- Russia sends battleships to hunt down the missing vessel
- The ship finally turns back up under heavy military guard
- The crew is under gag orders
- Netanyahu (the Prime Minister of Israel) makes an unscheduled trip to Russia the beginning of Sept
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Anakin Skywalker Conundrum...
"Is he a good guy or a bad guy?" My niece & nephew ask this question over & over & over again every time they watch movies & TV shows. They are infatuated over who is good & bad...yet they are only 5 & 3 respectively...so at this age exactly what is their concept of good & bad or better yet Good vs. Evil? At this point in their lives listening to Mommy & Daddy & their teachers I'm guessing must be the definition. A guy hitting a good guy must make him bad in their eyes...yet good guys in fiction & real life frequently fight & hit each other do they not? They seem to draw on what they watch on their plasma TV in the family room these concepts.
Which brings us to the Anakin Skywalker conundrum. I think it's safe to say most of us grew up on an Evil Darth Vader. He was big, dark, sounded scary, & his helmet looked like a Nazi's from WW2. The epitome of human evil on a grand scale (even though Mao & Stalin may just have more kills for the record). He was evil personified. He blew up an entire planet killing Princess Leia's family & people with one shot...& she turned out to be HIS daughter! He almost killed his own son! Yes...in the end it turns out there is still some good & kills his dark lord...but he had decades of innocent blood on his hands. It would be like Goebbels shooting Hitler as the Russians descended on Berlin...would he be any less evil?
Now while we grew up on that Anakin & then as adults 20 some odd years latter see him as a child, then young adult & watch him go bad (serious Mommy issues)...my niece & nephew who have watched all the Star Wars movies a million times each are growing up watching a HERO named Anakin Skywalker on the Clone Wars TV series. He is the greatest Jedi in the universe backed by Clone Soldiers (who become Storm Troopers) defeating evil for the Jedi cause throughout the universe. In their young minds do they realize that the evil Darth Vader is their Clone Wars hero? If not as what age does this become clear? Growing up on him evil to me he's evil...& this is just the story that leads to him going bad...but how do they view their hero...eventually becoming one of the most evil beings in the galaxy? How does it affect their views of right & wrong, good & evil? Our hero's as kids Batman, Tarzan, John Wayne never went bad...the Joker, Goldfinger, Dracula never were good. Most characters we saw go from good to bad or vice versa or back again were as teenagers or older...how many did we grow up on went from such a hero to such evil?
Well there is one... & really think about this one. We all grew up with the Devil as the epitome of evil. He is God & Man's arch-nemesis. The root of all evil. "The Devil made me do it". If you're bad...you will go to Hell with the Devil & be damned for eternity. That's the Devil we all grew up on. But...what if instead we grew on on Lucifer...an Angel. One of God's top Angel's...one of his favorites. What if we grew up on Lucifer doing God's will as children & then later learn the story of his fall or finally put two & two together & realize oh...God's top Angel is the guy who fell to become the Devil. What would our view be of him then? Was the evil always there? Deception has always been one of Evil's greatest weapons. Or is the lesson that any of us...even the best of us can go bad...very bad. So...how exactly does one answer "is he a good guy or bad guy" he's good...for now....?
Which brings us to the Anakin Skywalker conundrum. I think it's safe to say most of us grew up on an Evil Darth Vader. He was big, dark, sounded scary, & his helmet looked like a Nazi's from WW2. The epitome of human evil on a grand scale (even though Mao & Stalin may just have more kills for the record). He was evil personified. He blew up an entire planet killing Princess Leia's family & people with one shot...& she turned out to be HIS daughter! He almost killed his own son! Yes...in the end it turns out there is still some good & kills his dark lord...but he had decades of innocent blood on his hands. It would be like Goebbels shooting Hitler as the Russians descended on Berlin...would he be any less evil?
Now while we grew up on that Anakin & then as adults 20 some odd years latter see him as a child, then young adult & watch him go bad (serious Mommy issues)...my niece & nephew who have watched all the Star Wars movies a million times each are growing up watching a HERO named Anakin Skywalker on the Clone Wars TV series. He is the greatest Jedi in the universe backed by Clone Soldiers (who become Storm Troopers) defeating evil for the Jedi cause throughout the universe. In their young minds do they realize that the evil Darth Vader is their Clone Wars hero? If not as what age does this become clear? Growing up on him evil to me he's evil...& this is just the story that leads to him going bad...but how do they view their hero...eventually becoming one of the most evil beings in the galaxy? How does it affect their views of right & wrong, good & evil? Our hero's as kids Batman, Tarzan, John Wayne never went bad...the Joker, Goldfinger, Dracula never were good. Most characters we saw go from good to bad or vice versa or back again were as teenagers or older...how many did we grow up on went from such a hero to such evil?
Well there is one... & really think about this one. We all grew up with the Devil as the epitome of evil. He is God & Man's arch-nemesis. The root of all evil. "The Devil made me do it". If you're bad...you will go to Hell with the Devil & be damned for eternity. That's the Devil we all grew up on. But...what if instead we grew on on Lucifer...an Angel. One of God's top Angel's...one of his favorites. What if we grew up on Lucifer doing God's will as children & then later learn the story of his fall or finally put two & two together & realize oh...God's top Angel is the guy who fell to become the Devil. What would our view be of him then? Was the evil always there? Deception has always been one of Evil's greatest weapons. Or is the lesson that any of us...even the best of us can go bad...very bad. So...how exactly does one answer "is he a good guy or bad guy" he's good...for now....?
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