What can I say? The man was a total dick. From his comments about tattooing AIDS victims to his puckered up, stick up his bum, FAKE New England accent, the man was a stalwart conservative with all the friendliness and compassion which that connotes. . He was the original talking head, and an ugly one at that. Have fun with the Rev. Jerry.
Some fun William F. Buckley quotes:
“The Beatles are not merely awful. They are so unbelievably horrible, so appallingly unmusical, so dogmatically insensitive to the magic of the art, that they qualify as crowned heads of antimusic.”
“The central question… is whether the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail, politically and culturally, in areas in which it does not predominate numerically? The sobering answer is Yes…."
“ Now listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in you goddamn face and you’ll stay plastered."
Such a charmer.
***UPDATE 3/25 Gore Vidal chimes in more eloquently than i ever could, on his former critic. Check it out GORE VIDAL SPEAKS ILL OF THE DEAD
I recall a few years back when my friend Jimu and I were at Oktoberfest. We had a hell of a time, and with my sparse German I was able to pick up on a few of the songs. Knowing full well that "Rosamunde" is also "Roll out the Barrell" and drinking a hell of a lot of beer, I was asked several times if I was German. To look at me, is to know damn well that the answer is "Not even remotely", though my Grandmother claims certain Austro Hungarian ancestry which has not been verified.
No, I am as Mexican as "Cielito Lindo". Nonetheless the elderly Germans around me decided that i MUST be German, how else would I know the songs?
Well, I make a point of learning THE song of THE country I'll be visiting. "Tulips in Amsterdam" , "Granada", "Kalinka", " La Vie en Rose", "Jambo Bwana", "Tie me Kangaroo Down Sport", "Oh Canada!", "God Save Ireland", and dozens more that I have stashed away in the recesses of my noodle, and most if not all I can sing in their native tongue.
I've found that nothing forms a more solid bond across nations than being able to join in a rowdy drunken song. It immediately changes you from "Foreigner" to "Friend", and the proof is in the pudding. As soon as I sent this to my parents they were not only hilariously thrilled, but they forwarded it to their spanish-speaking friends. Ted Kennedy knows the importance of a good rowdy song when you are trying to be inclusive and in his own silly way, ted Kennedy was as Mexican as "Jalisco no te Rajes".
If you want to try and decipher Senator Kennedy's Spanish you can find the Lyrics to "Jalisco No te Rajes" HERE
Ronald McDonald is a dork. There's no two ways about it, as this street ad from Japan well indicates. No matter how "Dope" Ronald tries to be, he's still the doofy clown that Ray Kroc mistakenly assumed would appeal to children. Bless his yellow-jump-suited soul, no amount of guitar slinging, or even a long sleeved T-shirt version of his smock can hide the inherent dorkiness, and his general lack of appeal to teenage asian girls. So what the hell is wrong with Chuck E.Cheese? For those of us who were fortunate enough to enjoy all incarnations of Chuck E. Cheese and the whole Pizza/Video Games/ Animatronics franchise thingy, We were familiar with Chuck, and a Weird Badger/Bear hybrid named "Billy Bob" who inhabited Showbiz Pizza Franchises only. As a kid, I remember longing for the slick character I knew as Chuck E. Cheese. The Nightmarish Billy-Bob, with his one-tooth and his improvised instruments were only indicative of the podunk nature of my town. Having experienced the glory of Chuck in larger, and obviously more deserving cities, I knew what we were missing.
For those of you who have NO IDEA of what I'm pining for, check this out.
This is the Old-school Chuck E. Cheese logo. Atop the old-timey marquis stands a Bowler Hat donning, red vested rodent named Chuck-E. Cheese. That's right, the Chuck I knew wore a red bowler hat. Not fashionable, by any means, but there you had it. In 198whatever, people didn't run around in red bowlers, wearing vests. In fact, I'm pretty sure bowlers were generally discontinued around the great depression, when most people ate theirs. But, what the hey! I mean if you can pass off vermin and food together, you might as well dress it old-timey so as to take away the whole "Infestation" feel to the place. So if you are a pizza company, and you have the audacity to make this RAT your mascot, you dress it in clothes reminiscent of a time where bubonic plague was not yet eradicated, and people aren't running away in absolute terror, why mess with a winning formula? The answer is simple. You do it, because you are fucking retarded.
The geniuses at The Chuck/Billy-Bob/Show-Biz/Pizza/ Foot-Smell/ HQ, decided that their INSANE Rat-mascot, needed an update. So rather than present the clean cut look of a rat on a bowler a vest and bow tie, they opted for a more "Urban" and "Youthful" look to their Vermin mascot. The result was a nauseating mix of what fifty-year olds thought kids were like in the early nineties, and clothes designed by child-labor in Vietnam. Christ, it gives me the dry heaves just to look at it. So let me get this straight. Yu took a classic character and gave it what? A Skull Cap? What is that? A purple rodent Yarmulke? Oh no! I see! It's a baseball cap! Backwards. A Backwards baseball cap. Right. As worn by who? Old-timey garbage men? Fine. you chose the dipshit headgear, but what the hell? Green? Fuck you! Green AND purple? with Driving gloves? What the hell man? So he's a garbage man, who drives the truck and belongs to team C? Obviously people complained. Which is why the same team of clueless fucktards came up with the brand new look that Chuck sports today! Nice. Again that backwards cap we love so well, though mercifully it isn't a skullcap anymore. Still belonging to to team "C" but now, more aware and with the times, sporting "Fat-Person" Jeans, to blend in with the kids and, some pink sneakers for the gays. Chuck, look at Ronald. Now look at yourself. Ronald is wearing a yellow one-piece, striped socks and kabuki makeup, and he still looks like a badass. His look , iconic. Your look , Midwest casual circa 95'.
As someone who makes his living in the entertainment industry, i have been one of the many hard-working people that were hit by the strike, but were not particularly a writer or a mogul. The majority of us supported the WGA, and the incredible victory of a union over enormous corporate interests in the United States, especially in the current political climate, is not lost on us.
However, there is no way of describing the incredible relief i felt this week when I witnessed a spot of normalcy return to my workday as people go back to work.
This is my humble tribute and expression of joy as I finally rid myself of my hairy defiance.
The Professional Shaving of a 3 month Strike-Beard
Roy Richard Scheider November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008 Chief Brody of the Amity PD and Bob Fosse impersonator extraordianiare, has shuffled off his mortal coils due to a gnarly Staph infection.
I'm going to lay off the politics for a moment, to bring you a little of what's what in the world of entertainment.
Please enjoy this lovely bit from our new intern Kelly. Kelly is 19 and thought this was the funniest shit she's ever seen.
Admittedly, i was skeptical at first, but the thing is pretty damn funny if you give it a moment.
Away from the girlishness, and back to some politickin' (Did you really think I would TOTALLY lay off?)
Jackie and Dunlap are two good ol' boys from Tennesee who have a hilarious show on YOU TUBE called RED STATE UPDATE. Obviously there is a Liberal slant to it, but its done in such an honest and sincere way, that even Republicans like Ol' Fred Thompson, have been known to call in. Dig this classic, right after the New Hampshire Primaries.
How bout some tunes, eh? Serge Gainsbourg is the tail end of my French kick, but dig this groovy Reggae(?) tune.
Finally, something a little more mainstream. You may recognize Yael Naim's music from the new Mac Air commercials, but don't let that turn you off. the Song NEW SOULis wonderful and the video ties it all up.
Tomorrow, I will be heading to THE SHAVE in Beverly Hills, and pending the Vote from the WGA, i will have my strike beard professionally shaven, with my brother there to document the whole ordeal.
Tomorrow is "Super Tuesday", and there's been a lot of screaming and shouting from me as to why you should vote for Senator Obama. I figured I'd chill out today, and let the Senator's own words do the speaking for me (Or singing).
The choice for us all should be clear. It is a choice between the good memories of yesterday, or the limitless possibilities of a better tomorrow.
Shepard Fairey whos "Obey" artwork has become a fixture of dissent in urban areas, has recently come out with a limited edition Obama print. Nifty stuff, huh?
You may not know to look at the suave Hollywood Playa you see now, but in my High School days I was somewhat obsessed with the Star Trek. My girlfriend, in her recent trip to my family home in CO, gasped when in my closet she found a Starfleet Uniform circa season 5 of TNG. Oh friends, its true. To my defense, we always treated the Trek thing as "Nerd Chic", insuring that when my friends and I attended conventions, we did not wear our uniforms, and we treated the other nerds with derision.
So, when I found out that THIS was going down, i gathered up my nerdiest friends and headed down.
The results were, less than exceptional. At nearly $40 a pop and with a working crew of carnies who showed neither knowledge of or enthusiasm for the exhibit, the result was less than less than spectacular.
Admittedly there were cool uniforms:
And Photo Ops ($15):
But truthfully, we were unimpressed.
Maybe it was the super-weak "Simulators" Maybe the bored Carnie- Staff, who kept messing up the $15 photos, or maybe it was the "grand finale" where Will Wheaton leads us through a mind numbing "Adventure" that includes a shaking platform and a starship on strings.
By the time we are dumped out by the "gift shop" where there is nothing worth buying , we were so anti this place that I almost...almost didn't buy the "Bridge Shots" pictured above. Luckily for me they had run out of paper frames, and subsequently had dropped the price from 17 to 15.
In Starfleet, The Prime Directive dictates that there can be no interference with the internal affairs of other civilizations. I think the same needs to apply to Star Trek. Yeah, fun to watch, but don't interact. Its too far gone to be fun anymore.
Why Hill? Why Bill? I thought it was the other guys who played dirty. I thought our party played by the rules. John Kerry said "The high road may not be the easiest road to take, but it is the right one to take."
Some of my earliest and happiest childhood memories were of me and my grandfather going to the movies. Sometimes I'd drag my grandfather to see a movie of my choice, other times he'd find something and take me to it. Most famously i dragged my Grandpa and my Great Grandma, who was 90 at the time, to see THE DARK CRYSTAL. It was the last movie my great grandma ever saw, and I've always felt that was a victory for me.
Regardless my grandpa was a smart enough man to know that some things are timeless. He took me to see Bond Movies, and all sorts of war movies (Is BREAKER MORANT really appropriate for a 6 year old?) . However, the most lasting impressions for me were made by Charlie Chaplin, and Laurel & Hardy movies. To this day, my mother insists i walk like a duck because of my continuous impersonations of Charlie Chaplin. Now, as an adult with his own bowler and cane, and with all the Chaplin DVDs I could get a hold of, I'm happy to say that I've found the full length versions of some of Chaplin's most brilliant films, and some hilarious shorts online.
Explore for yourself if you like, but allow me some recommendations:
THE CURE
Before the famous character of the little tramp ever came to be, Charlie was making audiences roar with his hilarious stage act as a drunk. It was here where he was discovered, and in THE CURE we see precisely why Charlie was, according to Mack Sennet "The funniest stage drunk I'd ever seen"
Part 1
Part 2
The Gold Rush This is the rerelease from 1942 where unfortunately Chaplin's own narration takes away from the original. Even then, it is a brilliant piece to watch. Look for the forks in the potatoes scene, made famous again by Johnnt Depp in BENNY AND JOON
The Kid Beautiful, Hilarious, sentimental, and so very very of its time. It's nearly a textbook for depression era politics and issues.
Tropicana HQ: 5:45 AM People are getting together to canvass neighborhoods, putting flyers on the doors of supporters with their caucus locations and instructions on caucusing.
Super greeter Though my ensemble may look like a horrible faux pas / Obama fetish there is a method behind the madness. I was what was referred to as a "Super Greeter". Evidently in Iowa, people were very excited to see people who were very excited to be supporting Senator Obama. I dunno, it's Iowa. So the campaign had us out of towners dress like Obamaclowns of sorts. We were to pump up the crew while the Local team handled their Caucusees.
My Caucus Team My brother often chides me about the youth of the Obama supporters. Boy, he aint kidding. Because our district was considered small, the young uns from FL, CA, UT and AL were all tossed into our Caucus. The Average age of my team was..19 Aiee!
Fired up! Ready to Go! As our supporters began to show up at the Elementary School, we would sticker them so the Hillary people would KNOW which ones were ours, though admittedly it was easy to tell as people walked in. Obama supporters were a very diverse lot, Hillary's were not. In fact, mostly middle aged mommies and mostly white. I'm not hatin' , its just what I observed. So as our awesomely diverse supporters walked in and sat down in our area, we led them in the Official Obama Cheer. I'll let Senator Obama and Edith explain.
The Caucusing... ...took place in the cafeteria for District 1 and the Library for District 2. Unfortunately the Clinton people had arrived first and got a prime spot, we did however, outdo them in the Decor and Twizzlers for our supporters department. Then, the issues started. The Caucus Chair was short staffed so he picked some Hillary ladies, who put up their signs behind them. I told the Chair, that it made it all look Biased. Our chair, tells em to take it down. People begin showing up, and before we know it, there are not enough ballots. The Chair tells me to go get some downtown. I know, I didn't realize that the Strip wasn't downtown either. I walk into the Cafeteria where they are experiencing the same problem and the Clinton ladies are freaking out. I lie. I tell the Caucus chairs that in Iowa, we used regular pieces of paper with each individual's voter ID sticker on it. They fall for it and the Clinton ladies, the Caucus chairs, and my entire crew now think of me as an old hand at caucusing, and a veteran of the Obama camp. I will not disappoint. At 11:30, they closed the doors. Our instructions said that everyone would be allowed in till 12:00, 4 voters were waiting outside. They were denied entry. All the Obama people called "Shenanigans" and said that people should be allowed in, the Hillary camp to my shagrin shouted us down saying "Let's get this started!" I countered by saying "I thought it was the OTHER party who was opposed to letting people vote". Chuckles from Obama Edwards Kucinich Caucusers, dirty dirty looks from the Clinton PTA. We later filed an official "BS" claim.
Then the counting begins. By show of hands we caucus our supporters. Obama had 35 Clinton 43, Edwards 13, Kucinich had 2, 4 Undecideds. The Chair tallies, and says that for a candidate to be viable, they will need fifteen supporters. The edwards people need 2 to be viable, and the caucus chair gives us 5 minutes to plead our case. Tim and I highlight the differences between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. A Kucinich supporter is not moved. She says "it sounds like they are the same person" . I take the podium, "It is difficult for us who are on different teams, but on the same side, to sound too dramatically different. Basically it comes down to direction. Senator Clinton's campaign would like to remind you of how great things were. We are trying to remind you how great we can still be." The Kucinich lady joined us.
In the end, we got most of the non viables but the Edwards camp, a resolute and over 50 bunch who were old-school union guys were able to keep their single state delegate. We got three delegates, and the Clinton camp got four.
Caucusing is a ridiculously complicated and long way of doling out delegates, but in my experience it is an unparalleled event in civic engagement and a true exercise of democracy in its purest form. It is not often you can plead your candidate's case and have it make an immediate difference. It was nothing short of thrilling.
By the time we returned, the whole thing had already been called for Hillary. Which Sucked. But then I learned that since we won more actual caucuses even though we didn't win the popular vote, we still got 6 Delegates to senator Clinton's 5... huh. So we won, but we lost. Crazy stuff.
Just to leave out on an awesome note, here's some footage of MIchelle Obama at a rally angering and endearing herself to the crowd in a matter of minutes
The DGA is beginning its negotiations with the AMPTP and once more the Internet becomes the sticking point, Steve Jobs announces internet deals with studios, the music industry reject a DRM free iTunes, and seals its doom, Alf has a blog. there's no denying it, the internets has reached Hollywood.
To add to the mayhem,awards season has plunked smack-dab into the middle of a strike-ridden tinsel town, and regardless of whether the shows go on or not, the screeners are out. Every year the studios send out hundreds of screeners to SAG , WGA, AAMPAS, and several other union and academy voting members to insure that the voting members have a chance to view their wares.
Sweeney Todd, No Country for Old men, Thee Will be Blood, Eastern Promises, Juno, and many more have been made available to the Hollywood community on an honor basis, with the tacit understanding that we all make our money this way, so its best not to pirate the screeners. Naturally, people would rather have the immediate personal gratification of a pirated disk than consider the effects on their industry at large. So every year, it is the unspoken reality that everyone plays "Trade the Screeners" with industry peers at all levels. But truly, what ARE the effects of a few dozen pirated screeners running rampant and (Gasp!) on the Internets?
For a few years now, my friends have heard me touting the superiority of the Disney business model over that of most major studios for having long ago included piracy as a component of the what drives the profit margins up or down. On the opposite side we are watching the obliteration of the music industry through their inability to deal with the dissemination of their product by the public. In a world where a kid in Hong Kong can produce a CG Optimus Prime, while the Transformers movie is a year away from beginning production, and DJ Danger Mouse creates a hit by remixing Beatles tracks on the grey album, how is the industry to survive the spread of ideas and intellectual property?
Admittedly, I am biased. I am a leftist and a blogger, with more "Stolen" images on my site than i care to admit to. Even then, i feel very strongly that the entertainment industry should heed the warnings of the music industry, and with as much respect to the late Jack Valenti as possible, adapt their business models to include the inevitable proliferation of material around the world, and to view the use of their material by third parties as a potential source of new materials rather than theft.
Heady stuff, huh?
To better understand the issue, I am posting the following three vids.
The first is a very basic explanation by Matt Mason (The Pirate's Dillema) on how youth culture has basically reinvented capitalism. He opens the doors to an exciting creative world that uses cool judgement to differentiate between "Good" and "Bad" piracy and utilizes the "good" as tracking tools for strong memes or the even more exciting notion of new ideas.
The second two are a history of the dissemination of ideas and how they can be compared to the case of the PIRATE BAY in Sweden, and to a certain extent a warning that there is no way to really prosecute, or stall piracy. Both very informational in regards to the trends which we are facing.
After watching these and pondering the huge implications, as an industry professional ask yourself "Do we fight pirates, or learn from them?" There is only one answer that can secure the future of this industry, and its best to understand it now before it passes you by.
**** I feel strongly enough about this that I would like to encourage my friends in the industry to pass this on. If you make your living off of entertainment and have not seen these movies and are familiarizing yourself with the subject matter, you are doing so at your own risk.
Last night my brother and I were discussing the Republican candidates for the presidency, and were argufying as to which were the most offensive, and which would be the least destructive should they somehow gain a foothold on the white-house, through their hilarious bumbling.
So here it is, a Liberal ranking of the Republican candidates from most offensive to least.
1. Ron Paul ( Grand Dragon Paultard)
Why he's better than Bush: Anti-War, Anti Surveillance, Demands fiscal responsibility
Why he's still Fucked up: Anti Choice, Anti Gay, Pro-Gold Standard, Racist
His lunatic followers may all be ready to guzzle the Kool Aid, but don't let their "Evolution/Revolution" bullshit fool you. This guys has written in racist publications, been endorsed by Neo Nazis, and voted in a backwards manner, that makes even your everyday Jesus Freaks look temperate, and your workaday Republican hypocrisy look tame. His followers are always quick to make excuses for him, when White Supremacists give him their endorsement, or when you look at his anti woman, anti gay voting record. Why make excuses? Why not just not align yourself with Neo Nazis? Sure, every politician has weirdo supporters, but Ron Paul's nut job supporters are a little to Nutty and a little too close for comfort.
Choice Vids:
NAZIS Explaining why they love Ron
Tim Russert Exposing some cute Hypocrisy
2. Rudy Giulianni (9iu11iani)
Why he's better than Bush: Supposedly Gay-Friendly, Supposedly Pro-Choice, Supposedly for Gun Control,
Why he's still fucked up: Supposedly Gay-Friendly, Supposedly Pro-Choice, Supposedly for Gun Control,
9iu11iani's record as generalissimo of NYC speaks for itself. Being able to "clean up" a city while only mildly abusing power and trouncing civil liberties is one thing, but translating that to the national stage is another. Rudy has been proven time and again to be a an egomaniac with despotic tendencies. Couple those tendencies with stomach churning-infidelities, and an ability for pandering that would make Dick Cheney blush, and we have ourselves THE DECIDER2.0. This is the man who spoke at abortion rights rallies in the 90's and then sought Pat Robertson's endorsement. I know, 9/11, 9/11...
Choice Vids:
Crossdressing Prez
What do you plan to do about crime?
3. Mike Huckabee (Teh Huckbeez)
Why he's better than Bush: Isn't too keen on the death penalty, understands the need for social programs, not too keen on Iraq
Why he's still fucked up: Former Baptist Preacher, Anti Choice, Anti Woman, Anti Gay, Anti-Science, Anti AIDS Victims
Teh Huckbeez is a likable man. he lost weight, he plays the guitar, he's got a pleasant drawl, he's appeared on Colbert numerous times. Unfortunately behind the seemingly self-conscious yokel, lies a Born Again who would make you wish he hadn't been in the first place. Along with the common Jesusy notions that women should be subservient to their husbands, and that AIDS patients should be quarantined, Teh Huckbeez also suggested we stop allowing Illegals from Pakistan from flooding our country and taking our jobs, in response to questions about the current crisis in Pakistan. "Aw, shit. All Browns People is bad anyways. Let's bomb Mexistan!" Sorry, but we already had one hillbilly president.
Choice Vids:
National Igloo
Radical Cleric
4. Fred Thompson (Frederick of Hollywood)
Why he's better than Bush: Uhhh...
Why he's still fucked up: Ummm...
Who the hell IS this guy? By all accounts he's a lazy worker, has accomplished nothing politically, and he'll be dead in a year. Are the Repubs so desperate that they are willing to trot out any mediocre actor just for the memory of Reagan? Why not trot out Reagan's corpse? It'll probably have a better work ethic.
Choice Vids:
Nixon on Fred
There's No Business
5. Mitt Romney (Mittens)
Why he's better than Bush: Supposedly Gay-Friendly, Supposedly Pro-Choice, Supposedly for Gun Control, Supposedly Opposed to the War,
Why he's still fucked up: Supposedly Gay-Friendly, Supposedly Pro-Choice, Supposedly for Gun Control, Supposedly Opposed to the War,
I don't think Mittens is a bad man, but he is a simple man who does not seem to think clearly and has obviously sold out many of his views to be elected one way or another. The result is someone who wants to be elected, because he thinks he should. Not because he believes in anything, not because he has good ideas. It Smacks too much of Dubya.
Choice Vids:
Mittens Vs. Teddy
A Wide Stanced Endorsement
6. John McCain (Walnuts!)
Why he's better than Bush: Is he? In the 2000 campaign he ran as the anti-bush and nearly won the Republican nomination. Then, he capitulated. Why? Is the straight talking McCain still in there?
Why he's still fucked up: He's been the mouthpiece for the Bush administration for so long, he may have forgotten his centrist roots.
Walnuts is so sad. Walnuts was a centrist who made sense and appealed to both sides. He talked no nonsense and had an admirable record. Then Walnuts went apeshit. He's been the biggest supporter of the current administration of any of the candidates and he's so old and crazy that he's said things like "Bomb Iran" and "Tar Baby". Fuck almighty! Is Walnuts the Manchurian candidate? Did Karl Rove break him? Too sad, too old, too bad.
Choice Vids:
Straight Talk
Walnuts!
Let's just take a look at the Republican field one more time, folks!
<
My brother often chides me about the youth of the Obama supporters. Boy, he aint kidding. Because our district was considered small, the young uns from FL, CA, UT and AL were all tossed into our Caucus. The Average age of my team was..19 Aiee!
As our supporters began to show up at the Elementary School, we would sticker them so the Hillary people would KNOW which ones were ours, though admittedly it was easy to tell as people walked in. Obama supporters were a very diverse lot, Hillary's were not. In fact, mostly middle aged mommies and mostly white. I'm not hatin' , its just what I observed. So as our awesomely diverse supporters walked in and sat down in our area, we led them in the Official Obama Cheer. I'll let Senator Obama and Edith explain.
