Roger Ebert Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth.

"The fury of the 'Crash'-lash" BY ROGER EBERT.

WORD.

LOS ANGELES -- One of the mysteries of the 2006 Oscar season is the virulence with which lovers of "Brokeback Mountain" savaged "Crash." When the film about racism actually won the Oscar for best picture Sunday, there was no grace in their response. As someone who felt "Brokeback" was a great film but "Crash" a greater one, I would have been pleased if either had won.

...

Yes, and more than one critic described "Crash" as "the worst film of the year," which is as extreme as saying John Kerry was a coward in Vietnam. It means you'll say anything to help your campaign.

What is intriguing about these writers is that they never mention the other three best picture nominees: "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Munich." Their silence on these films reveals their agenda: They wanted "Brokeback Mountain" to win, saw "Crash" as the spoiler, and attacked "Crash." If "Munich" had been the spoiler, they might not have focused on "Crash." When they said those who voted for "Crash" were homophobes who were using a liberal movie to mask their hatred of homosexuals, they might have said the same thing about "Munich."

...

It is not a "safe harbor," but a film that takes the discussion of racism in America in a direction it has not gone before in the movies, directing attention at those who congratulate themselves on not being racist, including liberals and/or minority group members. It is a movie of raw confrontation about the complexity of our motives, about how racism works not only top down but sideways, and how in different situations, we are all capable of behaving shamefully.

"Good Night, and Good Luck," "Capote" and "Munich" were also risky pictures -- none more so, from a personal point of view, than "Munich," which afforded Steven Spielberg the unique experience of being denounced as anti-Semitic. "Good Night, and Good Luck" was surely a "safe harbor" for liberals, with its attack at a safe distance on McCarthyism -- although it carried an inescapable reference to McCarthyism as practiced by the Bush administration, which equates its critics with supporters of terrorism.

...

It is noticeable how many writers on "Hollywood's homophobia" were able to sidestep "Capote," which was a hard subject to miss, being right there on the same list of best picture nominees. Were supporters of "Brokeback" homophobic in championing the cowboys over what Oscarcast host Jon Stewart called the "effete New York intellectual"?

Of course not. "Brokeback Mountain" was simply a better movie than "Capote." And "Crash" was better than "Brokeback Mountain," although they were both among the best films of the year. That is a matter of opinion. But I was not "discomfited" by "Brokeback Mountain." Read my original review. I chose "Crash" as the best film of the year not because it promoted one agenda and not another, but because it was a better film.

The nature of the attacks on "Crash" by the supporters of "Brokeback Mountain" seem to proceed from the other position: "Brokeback" is better not only because of its artistry but because of its subject matter, and those who disagree hate homosexuals. Its supporters could vote for it in good conscience, vote for it and feel they had made a progressive move, vote for it and not feel that there was any stain on their liberal credentials for shunning what "Crash" had to offer.

2006 MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPS!

WHO'S GOING TO MARCH MADNESS, BABY!

OMG. That was close. I think I might cry of happiness.

Kent State 71, Toledo 66.

The last time we went to the Big Dance (and made it to the Elite Eight, at that!), I was a senior in high school. Now I'm a senior in college. I think my graduation time is a good luck charm for the Flashes. Just my opinion. ; )

Oscars.

I'm happy about who won Best Picture. I was a Crash fan long before I was a Brokeback Mountain fan.

But of course we have to have the whiners who are all "Brokeback Mountain only lost because it's a gay romance."

Actually, no, it would have only won because it was a gay romance. If this film was the exact same quality but was about something less "controversial," no one would be throwing a fuss. I'm glad that people didn't vote just to make a statement, for once. I liked the movie, but it wasn't the brilliance that everyone thought it was. It was beautiful visually, but it had some big flaws. Overhyping hurt it, frankly. People expected way more than what they got. But everyone had to come out and say they liked it or else they're "homophobic." Dude, please. I know some gay men and women who hated that movie like whoah. I hate that kind of rampant liberal attitude where just because something is different or progressive we have to cheer it, even if it's not the best quality. Like my Women's Lit professor giving me flack for not kissing Ursula Le Guin's ass for writing about an androgynous society. Sorry, but The Left Hand of Darkness is flawed, and its society ain't so androgynous. She can't handle people disagreeing with her, but another professor is trying to get me to submit the paper to journals and conferences. I'm not sorry I'm not a conservative or liberal sheep, and there are just as many of both. And you can still criticize something and still like it. People don't get that either. I liked the short story, and the movie, but I think both just expected us to buy into this story without giving us any real motivation or reasoning on the part of the characters, we had to accept everything just because it said to, and also I think Ang Lee had an agenda with the movie that perverted the story a bit (not in the sexual sense).

I don't know that Crash was the best movie this year, although I liked it more between the two and it affected me more, but I do know that Brokeback Mountain definitely was not. To name two better ones, The Constant Gardner and Good Night and Good Luck.

Anyway, I dislike it on principle now because most everyone involved in it are sore losers. After Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger didn't win at the Golden Globes, they pouted at the after parties. When Crash won Best Picture, Ang Lee walked away. God. Get over it. Pout in private if you want, but don't be so damn rude and disrespectful. Those aren't the only ones who were sore losers, either. Many people involved (except Linda Cardellini, it seems) went out of their way to complain about Crash winning and cry conspiracy. I can't stand people with that big of an ego and self-importance.

Now everyone who likes Brokeback Mountain comes out and says they hate Crash when, sorry, Crash is a great movie. If it hadn't beat their precious Brokeback Mountain they'd probably be saying it was a great movie. Sour grapes all.

This from Annie Proulx: "And rumour has it that Lions Gate inundated the academy voters with DVD copies of Trash - excuse me - Crash a few weeks before the ballot deadline."

Be ashamed. I've lost respect for anyone associated with that movie.

Also? What a dumb bitch. Movies shouldn't be rewarded just because they're controversial. Awards are given because of quality, not subject matter. Also she completely missed the point of Crash. Yes, there are films on racism. White on black racism. This movie shows how everyone can behave shamefully and in a racist manner, even people who like to go around pretending otherwise (i.e., liberals and minority groups). It's not a safe movie. But again, like all liberals, she sees herself on a higher plane than everyone else.

An "atmosphere of insufferable self-importance" at the Oscars? Funny, I just got the same feeling from her childish letter. Pretentious, pretentious.

Would she be saying the same thing about the Oscars if she had won? Would the Oscars still have an "atmosphere of insufferable self-importance"? Would the Academy still be "conservative heffalump academy voters"? Would Jon Stewart's jokes be "too witty, too quick, too eastern perhaps for the somewhat dim LA crowd"? No. If she doesn't like the Oscars, she shouldn't have shown up. Christ, even Marlon Brando gave his award back as an "eff you" to them. But she wanted that award, though, even if she disdains the institution that gave it to her. She's not "brave" for saying how she's upset Brokeback Mountain didn't win. Why not? Because she doesn't state why Brokeback Mountain should have won. She doesn't talk about its merits as a film. She just tears down everything else. And that's just being a childish, sore loser. And she's not being "honest." Honest to her own principles and opinions would have been to not show up at the Oscars at all if she really thought they were a bunch of idiots. She whored out her principles to win an Oscar, and I don't respect that. She didn't care about what the Academy was like when she thought she was going to win.

THIS IS OUR HOUSE.

MAC CHAMPS, BABY!

KSU 78, OU 58. Booyah. Prepare to have your asses kicked on Saturday, Akron, when we demolish all of your dreams of sharing the title, suckas. Oh, basketball, you are the only source of joy in my life these past two weeks. The world must be ending.

KSU!

Perception (More Olympics).

When the Chinese figure skating pair fall, regroup for a total of four minutes, and then skate an otherwise beautiful performance and wind up getting silver, they are said to be courageous and true Olympians.

When Sasha Cohen falls (admittedly twice, but wasn't that worse for her nerves and self-esteem?), gets right back up, and then skates an otherwise beautiful performance and winds up getting silver, she is said to have "squandered her gold-medal chance."

No one even thought Cohen had a chance at gold until they watched her short program. How can she have squandered her chance when she was the underdog in the first place?

Oh, media, you crazy.

Eff you, Bono.

Oh, vomit.

Bono Among Nobel Peace Prize Nominees

Go drive up concert ticket prices some more, you hack. Some day I will finish my rant post on U2 and Bono, and they will fear my wrath!

I've said all I've ever wanted to say on Bob Geldof and Live 8 here.

Things That Make You Go "Hmmm" (Or: More Olympics).

This article is v. interesting. A compelling argument, but I don't know if it's convinced me. Mostly because when people say "Such-and-such isn't a sport," they don't exactly have his criteria in mind. If his was the definitive definition of "sport," then, yeah, I'd get on board.

Why figure skating is not a sport by Dan Wetzel.

But figure skating is a competition, not a sport, and it has nothing to do with how difficult or entertaining it is. It is simply a matter of how the winner is determined. It is the same for gymnastics, diving, beauty pageants or anything that chooses a champion solely by human judging.

A sport needs to have a quantifiable way to determine a winner and a loser. There can be no debate about the scoring system. A ball must go into a goal or through a hoop; a runner must reach home or finish before the others. The winners run faster, jump higher, score more.

Speaking of the Olympics.

Like most people, sure, I was impressed with the performance of the Chinese figure skating pair during their performance. If you don't remember, Zhang Dan (the woman) fell during a throw and was injured, but eventually the pair finished the routine and won the silver medal.

But not too impressed because, guess what, they fell in the first place. Although, I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh about that, because it was an unprecedented "throw quadruple Salchow." Whatever that is.

So, yes, I admire the athletes for getting back out there and putting on a great performance even though the woman must have been in pain. I think Zhang Dan showed amazing courage and perseverance. They (actually, she is) are what Olympian athletes should be.

I do, however, question whatever rule let them take a little time out before finishing their routine. Lots of skaters (and other athletes) fall during a performance, but never before have I seen someone be allowed to stop their performance, skate around the ice a few times, regroup, and come back and finish the routine. That does not seem right to me. What makes them so special? People get disqualified in speedskating for false starts, no do-overs for them, but figure skaters are allowed time-outs?

So, yes, impressed with the athletes, but not so much the institution. I think some changes in rules need to be made.

Interesting reading: "Jury is out on skating's latest judging system."

Vanity Fair and Sexploitation.

"Johansson, Knightley Bare All for Magazine."

It's not so much the posing-nude-on-magazine-covers that I have a problem with. It's the two-women-posing-nude-with-a-fully-clothed-man that bothers me. That smacks of something, and hello, mindless drone of the patriarchy if you think it doesn't. Vanity Fair turns my stomach. The cover isn't the only instance of this, either. Here's an excerpt from the article: "Another shot depicts a fully clothed George Clooney as a director filming a large cast of women wearing skin-tone underwear." Interesting.

And then, of course, a big deal is made out of Rachel McAdams backing out of the shoot (it should be noted that she didn't know they were going to ask her to pose nude, so it's not like she went back on her word) when this woman should be APPLAUDED for refusing to allow herself to be sexploited. And don't anyone dare call her a "prude," which I know is a word ignorant people like to throw around. She has been topless in a movie before. Not that I agree entirely with that decision (You never see men having to strip down and show any truly intimate parts, so most nudity in films is just more evidence of sexism. Personally, I think people are sexier clothed, anyway. Leave something to the imagination.), but that, at least, had a purpose, unlike the entirely gratuitous nudity on the Vanity Fair cover. "They" say it's "provocative" when it's the same old cover shot that basically shows nothing.

Tom Ford, the fully-clothed man on the cover, had this to say: "I said to them, 'When you're 70 you're gonna look back and say, 'Thank God for this picture - look how amazing I was.'"

Actually, they're going to look back and say, "My God, look at how much I let myself be objectified for the amusement of men."

Also? Sure, they look amazing. If by "amazing" you mean "chalky corpses." How sad to take two usually beautiful women and make them look like lifeless mannequins.

Sport Rivalries.

I love the hijinks of rival fans.

This weekend me, my brother, and some of his classmates went to the Kent State vs. Akron basketball game. Not only is Akron our biggest rival, but before this weekend, we both also happened to be tied for first place. Needless to say, it was a big game. I was worried for a bit, but we won 63-57. Woot. Good effing game. Crowd of 6500+. That's over sell-out.

That Akron. They think they are so clever. A bunch of Akron students (read: 180 of them) tried to pose as KSU students. They all came to the game wearing blue Kent shirts and tried to sit in our student section. The ticket people were wise, though, because they knew that KSU students always wear the gold, not the blue. So they made them change seats.

I, however, had never really been to a game and didn't know this. I saw all of these students in blue shirts cheering Kent, and then after the first time-out, I saw that these students were all cheering for Akron. I was, like, wtf, did I imagine them cheering for Kent earlier? No. During the time-out they had switched their shirts inside out, and they now read things like "Can't Read, Can't Write, Can't Beat Us" etc. (Kent/Can't, right? They didn't invent that.) But we did beat them. So there.

KSU vs. Akron
Originally uploaded by swessell.

Rivalries are fun. When the Akron players' names were read, our band all pretended to read newspapers. It was funny.

As a treat, I will share some more rivalries.

Harvard University Says: "We Suck."--A group of Yale students hijack a Harvard game when they display placards that spell out "WE SUCK" instead of the traditional "GO HARVARD."

"Steelers fans roam free inside Browns territory."--The Browns vs. Pittsburgh rivalry is the stuff of legend. A friend asked me if it were acceptable for a Browns fan to root for the Steelers during the Super Bowl, and I told her ABSOLUTELY NOT. If any Browns fan did, move out of the state. Now. All of these Pittsburgh fans are coming out of the woodwork now that they've "won" the Super Bowl, though. This article talks about Pittsburgh fans hanging out in Cleveland bars.

Here's the most relevant excerpt, that cracks me up (Potopski is a Steelers fan):

Miller, the waitress, came by with a round of drinks for Potopski's table.

"They're from a Browns fan," she said.

"Ah, vodka," said Potopski, raising his glass in a rare display of Browns-Steelers friendship.

He took a sip.

"This isn't vodka, it's water," he said. "Yep, that's a Browns fan for you."

YEAH, PUNK. That is a Browns fan for you. So you were HANDED a Super Bowl win by the OFFICIALS who had Terrible Towels in their pockets instead of yellow flags. Whoopdedoo. Why don't you get the hell out of this state, ya damn traitors?

"Browns fan who ran onto field in jail for Super Bowl"--"The fan who ran onto the field at Cleveland Browns Stadium during a Steelers-Browns game was sentenced Tuesday to spend Super Bowl weekend in jail." He should be glad he didn't have to watch the Steelers be handed a Super Bowl win by the referees.

Steelers vs. Seahawks.

...I haven't been this disappointed by a defeat since that putz Kerry blew the presidential election. I'm not much of a Seahawks fan, but as a Northeast Ohioan, it's my duty to root for anyone but the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can bet everyone I watched the game with was in Browns gear. I find it interesting that every damn call went to the Steelers, even a v. questionable "touchdown" by them in the first half.

I want to work for Budweiser. Their commercials were all ace. Cute or hilarious and positively clever, all of them.

All Super Bowl commercials can be found here. My three favorites, in order:

Budweiser: Clydesdale American Dream

Budweiser: Wave

Budweiser: Secret Fridge

Do you know what needs to stop? Damn washed up, old British "rockers" playing the effing Super Bowl. Last year Paul McCartney and this year the Rolling Stones? No. Just no. Having the Rolling Stones was especially an insult to Detroit, the home of Motown. Mick Jagger needs to just die already. ("He is dead. Don't you know it's just someone pulling the strings?" -- said by a friend of the Brother's). Mick Jagger's "dancing" makes me want to vomit. Get effing Bon Jovi or The Boss to play, man. Get people to perform at the Super Bowl who actually know what the hell football is and who could actually still even hold a damn football.

Hoodrats and Pretentious Posers.

I'm a nice person, really, but sometimes people might not get that from the angry posts on here. Yes, I rant and get angry about things, but it's only because I know how to call people on their bullshit.

I have some bullshit to discuss today.

The other day I was browsing some blogs on the Internet, and one post had a photo of some actor from the Harry Potter movies in hip hop regalia. This boy had on a pimped out collar, lots of jewelry, etc.

A commenter to this picture said: "Hahahaha hoodrat![name]!"

Things like this raise my blood pressure. A person should never bring the slang unless they know how to use it. Especially don't try and use hip hop slang if you're clueless, because it's insulting to the entire culture and obvious that you are a poser.

This person clearly had no understanding of hip hop culture. And how do I know that?

Because "hoodrat" ONLY REFERS TO WOMEN.

A definition of "hoodrat" is "Female, generally sexually promiscuous, and not upwardly mobile."

HOODRAT=PROMISCUOUS WOMAN, NOT LITTLE BOY PLAYING DRESS UP IN HIP HOP CLOTHING.

Little boys playing dress up in hip hop clothing also annoy me. Especially spoiled, rich, little white boys. I have seen other actors from those Harry Potter movies go around thinking they're Eminem (read: Tom Felton, who can't act, by the way), and it's irritating. These boys have no concept of the hip hop culture, and they can like the music, fine, I do, too, but don't try and pretend that you are hip hop or that you have any understanding of where these people come from. You don't. You're just a little poser trying to shake up your pampered little life. These people are from the streets; you're from suburbia, or something like it.

I hate posers in general, though. I hate when people pretend to be something they're not. There's another reason why I shouldn't read blogs unless I'm in the mood to get angry.

I hate, hate, hate when I see people online I know to be American use British spellings (i.e., "colour," "favourite," etc.) Ugh. That is one of my biggest pet peeves ever. They're clearly trying to be "cool" and "hip." They aren't. They're just embarrassing themselves and revealing themselves to be the fake, pretentious posers they are. And then I just laugh hysterically when they try to explain it with something like "Well, I write stories that take place in England, so the spellings have became automatic." I call bullshit. Do you spell words like that at work or school? I DIDN'T THINK SO. So get a life. If I ever become a teacher, it will be my policy that any sort of pretentious shit like that will result in an automatic zero. Booyah.

Speaking of careers, I'd probably fire most of the people I know online if they ever worked for me. Way too many people get on the Internet during business hours and post things like "I should be working..." Whoa. The business minor in me is SHRIEKING at the loss of productivity. You get paid to work, people, not go online and read mediocre porn or play Soduko (although, I encourage you to play it any other time).

I'm out, kids.

Arctic Monkeys = Overrated.

What is the big effing deal with this band Arctic Monkeys? First of all, I hate people declaring crap like "highest-grossing film" or "fastest-selling album" because those figures are bullshit. They (most of them) don't figure in inflation or population numbers or etc. Of course a popular movie today is going to make more money than a popular movie 50 years ago! Idiots. It's called economics.

Anyway. I read that this band's new album "is already called the best British album of all time."

I call bullshit. Even if they are good, that statement is way premature and whoever is saying it must have low standards. The best? Not hardly.

Anyway, I listened to some of their songs and at first I was not that impressed. The lead singer's voice made me want to bash my effing head against the wall so I would pass out and not have to listen anymore. And don't give me some bullshit that I must not like rock or British bands, because I like plenty of both.

However, to my horror, his voice grew on me to the point where I did enjoy some of the songs. I would listen to them again, but only on their myspace account. I wouldn't buy the album.

Nevertheless there's a lot of hype over a band that ain't that great. I wouldn't call their style innovative or ground-breaking. It sounds like good, but recycled, '70's music. In three years, no one will remember who this overrated, fad band is. Their type of music doesn't last. So there.

The 3rd Annual Standing Rock International Short Film and Video Festival.

Last night I was bored and no one was returning my phone calls, so I worked up the nerve to attend The 3rd Annual Standing Rock International Short Film and Video Festival (I'm a bit of a homebody). I'm glad I went because trying new things = good, but I'm not sure that I actually enjoyed the films. I enjoyed the experience of going to a film festival because I always wanted to go to one, but most of the films had me thinking "What the hell is this?" I liked the comedy ones more than the so-called "thought-provoking" ones. Films go by so fast (esp. these, which were short films, one was 30 seconds! Actually, that one made more sense than the longer ones...) that a person can't always think or grasp a "deeper" meaning from them, esp. these films which were mostly collages of images. I think the only person who comes away with any meaning from these films is mostly only the creators themselves, because they are the ones who understand their thought processes. The film festival was full of work from people all over the world, from Kent to Cleveland to Australia to Russia to more.

I liked the films by Darcy Prendergast, an award-winning filmmaker from Australia. He had two in the festival: "Repugnant," a 2 min. film with 2-dimensional animation and "Off the Rails," a 6 min. claymation. These two films really made me laugh because they were so absurd. "Off the Rails" is "about all the crazy people met and observed on public transport," and the spot that had me cracking up most was on Gary the Gravedigger, who talks about how he likes the social part of his work and then walks up to a sobbing man standing over a grave and says "I buried your wife." You can watch "Off the Rails" here.

I also v. much enjoyed "Veruca Meets Bush" by Vince Packard, which is described in the program as a "mediation on childish greed that merges Veruca from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with our Commander and Chief." Veruca Salt, of course, is the child who sings "I want the world / I want the whole world / I want to lock it all up in my pocket." Now imagine a film intermingling that song, Bush's speeches, and Pantera music. Yeah. I'll admit, I liked the concept of this film much more than the execution.

That was my problem with a lot of the films. After reading the program, I looked forward to watching "Soliloquy" by Shannon Moore, which is described as "This awesome 16mm film explores issues of body image and identity with haunting, intimate images. Shannon describes the film as 'An expression of feeling trapped inside an illusion and the desire to escape from hiding behind the false impressions that have provided a sense of security.'" I don't think the film actually expressed that to the audience. To her, yes. Again, short films are such an intimate experience for the creator that I feel it's hard for outsiders to come away with what the creator intended.

Other films made me want to cry in horror. "Blood and Sunflowers" by Christiane Cegavske was esp. creepy. It is described as a "nightmarish stop-action animation piece explores a Freudian world of birds, dolls, and death." You can watch it here. *Shudder.*

Other films had me wondering why people would even consider them good enough to be put in a festival, such as "Movement is Life" by Franklin Miller, which has no point except, I'm sure, to the filmmaker. It's just this statue-like figure walking around and talking nonsense about meeting some guy who says he owes him money. That's all it is.

Robert Banks was the featured artist. He is a celebrated experimental filmmaker from Cleveland, who is prob. best known for his film "X: The Baby Cinema," which chronicles "the commercial appropriation of the image of Malcolm X" by Spike Lee. You can watch some of his other films here.

The Cleveland Indians.

Dear Cleveland Indians,

WHAT THE EFFING EFF IS YOUR PROBLEM?!? This trade is bullshit. BULLSHIT. I HATE YOU, you CHEAP motherfuckers. I don't even call this bullshit a trade. I don't even know who those players you got ARE. I see you got $1 million, though. Yes, that sounds about right. You like to get money but you don't like to SPEND it. You'd rather have money than GOOD PLAYERS and CHAMPIONSHIPS. You do not deserve to win any games. Coco Crisp was an excellent player--and fans loved him! Every time you get good players, YOU TRADE THEM AWAY SO THEY CAN BECOME SUPERSTARS SOMEWHERE ELSE. Manny Ramirez, anyone? YOU SUCK. Why do Cleveland teams suck? The Browns do it, too. They traded four defensive linemen to Denver where they went on to the PLAYOFFS. I think you all get together and think of ways to SCREW THE FANS. You are STUPID and HATEFUL. I'm so DISGUSTED. I hope you miss the playoffs by a GAME again this year, and see if I come to any of your shit ass games.

No love,

S.

Brokeback Mountain Soundtrack and Rufus Wainwright.

I got the soundtrack to Brokeback Mountain. Wee! It's v. good.

Here's the list of songs:

1. "Opening"--Gustavo Santaolalla
2. "He Was a Friend of Mine"--Willie Nelson
3. "Brokeback Mountain 1"--Gustavo Santaolalla
4. "A Love That Will Never Grow Old"--Emmylou Harris
5. "King of the Road"--Rufus Wainwright
6. "Snow"--Gustavo Santaolalla
7. "The Devil's Right Hand"--Steve Earle
8. "No One's Gonna Love You Like Me"--Mary McBride
9. "Brokeback Mountain 2"--Gustavo Santaolalla
10. "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye"--Teddy Thompson
11. "I Will Never Let You Go"--Jackie Greene
12. "Riding Horses"--Gustavo Santaolalla
13. "An Angel Went Up In Flames"--The Gas Band
14. "It's So Easy"--Linda Ronstadt
15. "Brokeback Mountain 3"--Gustavo Santaolalla
16. "The Maker Makes"--Rufus Wainwright
17. "The Wings"--Gustavo Santaolalla

One thing. I hate Rufus Wainwright....Of all of the versions of "King of the Road," why did they have to go with Mr. Mumble-Mumble-Can't-Understand-What-the-Eff-I'm-Saying-Excuse-Me-While-I-Butcher-a-Classic's version? I guess his mumbling = "artsy," though, so to be "hip," you have to like him. Whatever. Give me Willie Nelson and Steve Earle any day.

Quick! Top Five Worst Films Ever!

I'm so bored.

Quick! Top Five Worst Films Ever!

In no order...

The Brothers Grimm
Punch-Drunk Love
The Blair Witch Project
Showgirls
Love Actually (YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT!)

Brokeback Mountain (major spoilers).

If there was one thing that bothered me about Brokeback Mountain, it was that in the short story, the way Jack died is supposed to be ambiguous. Ennis immediately thinks Jack was murdered as his listens to Lureen's explanation because of his own fears and etc., but later he sometimes feels conflicted over which is the "true" version and sometimes he feels he knows what happened. But he can't ever know for sure--because he wasn't with Jack. And each version has it's own unique reasons for being a tragedy.

E. Annie Proulx wanted that ambiguity in her story, so everyone could come away from the story with their own idea about what happened to Jack based on our own experiences *and* for reasons having to do with Ennis, but I'm not writing an essay on the topic so I'm not getting into them. (This post is just an unstructured, rambling rant.)

However, in the movie, Ang Lee (and Anne Hathaway, at that) clearly tried to promote one version over the other. And I don't like that. I don't need someone to interpret the work for me. And I especially don't need someone ruining a crucial part of the story, because I think it's very important that the ending remain ambiguous. I think you can still walk away from the movie thinking it's ambiguous, but it's harder. Especially if you've never read the story.

While watching the movie, some people might not realize that the clip of Jack being murdered is all in Ennis's mind. It's important to know that. But Ang Lee, I feel, in that scene, with how he did the clip and with Hathaway's acting, clearly wanted the audience to feel that Jack was undoubtedly murdered. (And here we have a clear difference of opinion between Lee and Hathaway vs. the screenwriters *and* Proulx.) I hate Lee a little bit for this. I've read that Lee wanted to film it even more heavy-handedly, but, thankfully, he controlled himself.

But the fact that the clip was all in Ennis's mind doesn't mean that Jack wasn't murdered. It just means that Ennis is not psychic and could summon up a vision of how Jack died. So it's not supposed to mean that the accidental death couldn't have happened, either. It just means that the death is supposed to be ambiguous. Ennis will never know and the audience will never know, and we have to walk away with our own interpretation, not the director's. That's the problem with your favorite pieces of literature being turned into movies: you have to see them colored through someone else's eyes.

Do I have a version that I subscribe to more? Yes. Do I know that it's the "true" one? No. You can walk away from the film firmly believing your own interpretation, but you can't tell someone else theirs is wrong.

Actually, I'm not sure I believe one version more than the other. Until lately I did, yes. Someone told me that Proulx said something along the lines of "on his good days, Ennis thinks it's the tire rim. On his bad days, he thinks it's the tire iron." The person didn't supply a link to this interview, so I'm not sure Proulx really said this. But it's what I feel about the story, anyway.

Speaking of which, I'd like some hot and sour soup @ the moment...

There are more U.S. Chinese restaurants than McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King combined.

Hilarious!

Gone with the Wind: Don't Mess with a Good Thing.

...I was looking at the Gone with the Wind's message boards on imdb.com , and there was a post dealing with "If GwtW were remade, who should be in the cast?"

I shouldn't have read it.

I already realized that the people there were mainly morons. They liked to get in "debates" about whether or not Rhett and Scarlett eventually reunite.

There is no debate. Of course they do. If you think otherwise, then you have completely misunderstood the characters and missed the point of the closing lines.

But I did read it. First of all, if there were ever a remake of GwtW...the world must have turned on its head. There is no reason to remake the most perfect film ever.

The story was perfect, the setting was perfect, but most of all, the casting was perfect. No one could ever replace Clark Cable or Vivien Leigh. It's not even worth discussing, because never will you find anyone suitable.

But those crazy kids did discuss it.

And one person seriously suggested the following:

"rhett: orlando bloom
scarlett: mischa barton or anne hathaway
melanie: amanda bynes or anne hathaway"

I want to cry at the hideousness of it.

Se7en, etc.

Interesting. I express my dislike for Gwynnie Paltrow, and the next day, the movie where she gets her head cut off (Se7en) shows on TV. Someone likes me (and agrees with me).

Se7en is a cool movie, but I'm not sure if I can stomach Brad Pitt's "acting" at the moment.

Hate on Gwynnie Paltrow?

ARGH! Save me from listening to Madonna! She and Gwynnie Paltrow can both take their pretentious, fake British accent and go eff themselves. NO ONE IS AMUSED/IMPRESSED. And DON'T get me started on Madonna making a mockery out of Judaism/Kabbalah.

"Celebrities" are so lame.

ETA: I swear to God, if I ever run into Paltrow, I will spit in her frickin face...okay, I wouldn't want to be roughed up by security so I actually wouldn't do it, BUT I WOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER IT.

Pretentious Gwynnie Opens Her Mouth About Politics and Thinks We Care

ETA: That's it.

"I find the English amazing how they got over 7/7. There were no multiple memorials with people sobbing as they would have been in America. There, they are constantly scaring people but at the same time, people think nothing of going to see a therapist." --Gwynnie Paltrow

That's one of the most insensitive things I have ever read in my life. She is just an empty-headed Barbie doll running around playing dress up because HEAVEN FORBID THAT PEOPLE BE ALLOWED TO MOURN. Apparently she is the only one allowed to mourn, though, because we all know she was sobbing all over the place when her father died.

Why are celebrities allowed to talk? They should just act and shut up, because being famous does not somehow make you smarter. If she weren't an actress and were instead an ordinary citizen, no one could give a fuck about what she has to say about anything and no one would take her insane ramblings seriously.

I love how she acts like she has any concept of the world when in reality she's not American or British, she's just a spoiled little rich bitch who has had a pampered life and who has never had to work for ANYTHING in her life and who only got breaks as an actress because of who her parents and "uncle" were. Stop acting like you know anything about anything, Gwynnie, because you live in a dream land.

I never knew I had so much hate for Paltrow. But come on. She is the most superficial of the superficial.

Also, if Gwynnie is so concerned about the environment, WHY DOES SHE DRIVE A BMW SUV? HYPOCRITE.

The Constant Gardner / Ben Stein.

Uh, wow. We watched The Constant Gardner last night. I loved it. It wasn't really what I expected. It's advertised as a suspense-thriller, and while it delivers on that, I think they should just come out and promote the movie for what it really is, and that's a love story. (Okay, I see that the tagline for the movie actually is "Love. At any cost." but not once in any preview commercial did I see any mention of a love story...actually, I don't think the previews really show what the movie is about at all.)

I want the soundtrack to the movie.

---

Ben Stein was on television last night complaining about how hard it is to be a Republican in Hollywood. Yeah, you read that right. Excuse me while I go laugh my ass off.

A white male having a hard time of things? Hahahahahaha. I didn't know Stein was such a comedian. He should try being a black female in Hollywood. Or an old female. Or better yet, a fat female. Then he can come and complain about things being hard, boo hoo.

Stein doesn't have a hard time in Hollywood because he's a Republican. When you audition for a role, no one asks you whether or not you're a Democrat or Republican. He has a hard time because he's the most boring man alive. His stint in Ferris Bueller's Day Off wasn't acting--it was him honestly thinking he had mad teaching skills and that his lecture on supply-side economics was the best thing since "I Have a Dream..."

...Go eff yourself, Ben Stein.

postsecret

This site is v. cool: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/. People anonymously send in postcard confessions. Some are funny, some are clever, but some are a little sad (not to mention disturbing), too. One of the first ones pisses me off a bit, actually. But that's a rant that would serve no good, so moving on!...now that I'm reading more down the page, I'm getting a bit depressed...Maybe I should rethink visiting this page! Other people's secrets are too much of a burden.

Some examples (but you really need the visuals): "I gave up a child for adoption 25 years ago. She found me. I wish to God I had had an aportion instead."; "Sometimes, I sneak pieces of my husband's wardrobe into the charity pile because I don't have the heart to tell him that his taste in clothing sucks."

Two Non-Fiction Books.

I've read two really amazing non-fiction books lately...all right, I haven't finished the second one yet, but I'm almost there. The books are Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner and Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell.

Freakonomics is about...wow, I've suddenly confused myself because they're both v. similar and I'm trying to remember what book was about what. In Freakonomics, the authors show how asking the right questions can unravel mysteries about life and connect things we had no idea could be connected (and that correlation doesn't equal causality, something many people could still stand to learn). Don't worry--you don't have to like or understand economics to enjoy this book (I do, though. Like economics.). This book doesn't feel like it's about economics. It's about life. And who knew economics could solve so many crimes (like finding out which teachers cheat on standardized tests). It certainly draws some controversial conclusions, like attributing the fall of crime rates in the 1990s to legalized abortion and saying that many parenting acts, like reading to your child or playing him Baby Mozart, really don't change the outcome of your child's personality or intellect. But it also presents some compelling arguments and evidence for every controversial claim.

Blink is the one I haven't finished yet, but it's my favorite of the two. It explores intuition and how some people make better snap judgments than others, how we "thin slice" situations. It's really amazing. There's this man who studies conversations between a married couple (the conversation has to be related to their life together, like an argument about their dog) and he can tell within minutes whether they will still be married in 15 years--his success rate is something like 95% percent! There are many other little stories and examples of how our intuition is so powerful. It discusses how what we think we want and like are usually different than what our actions tell--like, what we think we want in a person goes completely out the window once we actually become in contact with people (to demonstrate, the book presents a study on speed dating). It also shows how that once we start to analyze things, our accuracy about things becomes weaker (like, if we don't think about it, we can pick a criminal out of a lineup better than if we went over what the person looked like with the police before we looked at a lineup).

To test your own subconscious about issues like race, age, and sexuality, go to www.implicit.harvard.edu and take a few of their quizzes. You'll probably be surprised by your results.

WTF, penguins. WTF.

Things I learned from March of the Penguins: Penguins will attack a mourning mother penguin if she tries to steal another female's chick, but they choose to stand by idly and do nothing while a teeny, wimpy bird kills a penguin chick right in front of them.

WTF, penguins. WTF.

I am scarred for life.

Book Rec: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A friend from school recommended The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini to me. I read it in one sitting last night. It's 371 pages long and I was up to the wee hours in the morning, but I couldn't put it down because it's the best thing I've read in a long time. I would almost think I'm biased, because I have a preference for novels set in different cultures, but many sources have also named it one of the best books this year.

The story focuses on the friendship of two boys in Afghanistan in the 1970s through today, one a privileged child and the other his servant. It contains all of the great themes of literature and some others to go with them: love, betrayal, guilt, fear, redemption, honor, family and friendship, etc. It's one of the most complete modern novels I've read in a long time--from character studies to plot to understanding of a vastly different country, etc. (If you follow the link above for more info, don't read past Amazon's review or else you'll be completely spoiled).

One caution, though. I wouldn't read this book unless you're okay with feeling like you want to cry every 40 or so pages (or, in my case, actually crying...). The book has more than a few disturbing scenes, and worse than that, more than a few truly devastating scenes. It broke my heart on more than one occasion. But don't worry, although I was truly worried there for a while, the book ends on a...hopeful note.

I hope at least one you decide to read it, because then I'll feel like I've done my job! If you do (or have), let me know what you think!

Yes.

Ohio War Veteran Running for Senate

Yes.

Jungle!Cats.

Jungle!Cats.
Originally uploaded by swessell.

I have new pictures of cats, a pregnant Praying Mantis, and more! Yes, I have no life. ; )

Praying Mantis.

Aaah! It's a monster!

Brokeback Mountain.

Even the trailer for Brokeback Mountain (based on the short story by E. Annie Proulx) has me in tears.

A lot of suffering and heartache could be prevented in this world if people would just let others live and love the way they want.

And no, I'm not, so don't even wonder.

Cleveland Browns.

...and today's game was almost another example of what's it's like to be a Cleveland fan.

We're leading most of the game, but then Cleveland fucks it up in the 4th quarter, like always. They were a field goal away from losing. But today, miraculously!, they manage to bring it back together and actually win! 26-24. Take that, Green Bay. You guys lost to the Browns. That's pretty pathetic, dudes.

Cleveland sports teams are "well known for agonizing collapses." I got so sick of whiny Boston fans last season (even though I wanted them to win because I never want the Yankees to win, the fuckers), when they were in the World Series and we were all supposed to root for them because they had suffered for so long. Wha wha. Boston fans know nothing about sport's heartache compared to us long-suffering Cleveland fans. Which city has gone the longest without a championship? Certainly not Boston. The Patriots had won the Super Bowl in 2001, 2003, and then again last year (after the Red Sox also won the World Series). So Boston can take their "woe is me" act and shove it up their ass, because the last time Cleveland saw a championship was in 1964. We've gone longer than any other city. ESPN, at least, recognizes us as the most tortured sports city. What an honor.

Even the announcers of today's game, with 4 seconds left and Cleveland about to receive, still thought Green Bay could come back and win. That's how sad our teams are.

So the Browns won today and the Indians are currently winning the Wild Card by half a game, but I'm not holding my breath. The Browns won their first game of the season last year and we all thought it'd be a good year, until the second game came around and we realized the torture will never end! So I will not be setting myself up for heartache again, but I'm certainly going to enjoy this win. If the only other team we beat this year is the Steelers (please, God!), I'll consider it a good year.

!

Grizzly Man.

We all must have things that disturb us. Things that, when we read or hear about them, haunt us.

The Grizzly Man haunts me. Ever since I read an article about him, I can't stop thinking about him. I am so...horrified by it all.

Excerpt from his appearance on Letterman:

Treadwell: It's important that every bear knows who I am and that I fit on their hierarchy if I'm to survive.

Letterman: Is it going to happen that one day we're going to read a news article about you being eaten by one of these bears?

Treadwell: Uh, No.

How prophetic, Letterman. How can people not have nightmares about him?

So now I have a sick fascination with his life. I want to see the movie, but then again, I don't know if I could handle it. Watching his life knowing he'll die--knowing how he dies...

You get a good sense about his life, "mission," and death from the reviews at the IMDB link above and the others below. The first two have clips from the movie.

http://www.canmag.com/movies.php?moviekey=grizzlyman (trailor and clips)
http://www.grizzlymanmovie.com
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/grizzlyman/about/about.html
http://www.transluxmovies.com/movie.php?mid=72
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050811/REVIEWS/50726001/1023
http://www.moviecitynews.com/arrays/2005/grizzly_man.html
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/movies/articles/0826grizzlyman0826.html
http://www.ericdsnider.com/view.php?mrkey=2545
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050826/ART09/508260308/-1/LEISURE
http://www.providencephoenix.com/movies/trailers/documents/04964298.asp
http://slate.msn.com/id/2124360/?nav=navoa
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/wittig200508240839.asp
http://www.nola.com/movies/t-p/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1125037638213420.xml

Look for more on your own, if you want.

Yada yada yada.

Listening to George W. Bush's speech = 23 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

"Dirty Bomb 54."

americablog.blogspot.com, my favorite political blog, issued an Action Alert on the Dirty Bomb 54, 54 US Senators who "KILLED legislation establishing an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate what went so horribly wrong with Hurricane Katrina."

I called and e-mailed my senators, DeWine and Voinovich, the shits, last night. I called again this afternoon because I wanted to talk to a real person.

A DeWine staffer sent me to another staffer, the one "who handled that." But that person wasn't in, so I could only leave a message. I said how disappointed I was, how 76% of Americans support it, as well as 64% Republicans, and how the panel the Republicans wanted wasn't bipartisan if Republicans outnumbered Democrats on it.

And then I wished DeWine good luck on finding a new job in November 2006, when we vote him out of office.

I then called Voinovich. The staffer gave me this reason as to why Voinovich voted against it: "it was illegally attached to an appropriations amendment." The staffer called it a "technicality."

I told him I didn't buy that reason. I then asked, if that were the real reason, if V. was going to look into an independent investigation in the future. Staffer said V. hadn't taken a position yet.

I told him about that 76% of Americans supported an independent investigation, including 64% of Republicans.

Staffer: "I'll be sure to pass that information on to him, miss."

I said (sarcastic), "Yeah, I'm sure you will."

He then hung up on me.

FEMA and Etc.

The director of FEMA stepped down. He's one down. We still have a few more to go.

I was thinking about Brown, and I wondered: how does he look at himself in the mirror every day? How can he live with himself, knowing that because of his incompetence people died needlessly? Does he feel remorse? How can we know people's private thoughts? What a thing to have on your conscience. The deaths of thousands. I don't know what I hope for him, that he is feeling guilty about everything or that he doesn't think he did anything wrong. We should hope he feels guilty about everything, but I just can't imagine having to live with that knowledge every day. But that's the kicker, isn't it? He gets to live.

If Bush truly accepted responsibility, he would resign. But his words are merely rhetoric. And, really, all he said was that he accepts responsibility for other people messing up. He didn't admit he did anything wrong. And he never has. He never will. I want to start wearing my "Bush Must Go" button again. It is always appropriate.

---

"When the president talks to God
Does he ever think that maybe he's not?
That that voice is just inside his head
When he kneels next to the presidential bed
Does he ever smell his own bullshit
When the president talks to God?
I doubt it
I doubt it"

--Bright Eyes, "When the President Talks to God"

Laura Bush's Flub. / Al Gore?

Crooks and Liars now has the video of Laura Bush calling the hurricane "Corrina."

Al Gore has done more for the hurricane victims than the man who stole the election from him in 2000. He personally helped airlift 270 victims from New Orleans. And he did it because he's a decent, caring man. He didn't do it for any kind of political gain, because he wouldn't even discuss it in an interview. That man should have been our president.

Revised Letter to the Editor.

Apparently I have to send my letter by mail, so I took the opportunity to revise it some. The new version is below.

---

I have lived in [omitted] County my entire life, but I'm currently at Kent State University completing my senior year of college (woo-hoo!). I don't usually write letters to the editor, but I have some thoughts I need to express.

If I had turned off the volume of my television while watching coverage of the disaster in New Orleans, I would have thought I was watching footage of a crisis in a third world country.

George W. Bush and his administration have allowed a humanitarian crisis to happen in the United States. It was a sad day when I realized my county is rich and powerful enough to make war, but not rich and powerful enough to help its own citizens in a crisis.

There will be people who will blindly defend Bush. They will say "no one can control Mother Nature" or "any administration would have had difficulties dealing with this situation" or etc., etc.

No one can control Mother Nature; that's true. It's also true that the government on all levels have known about the problems in New Orleans for years, even before Bush took office (Bush would like us to believe otherwise, though, blatantly lying that he didn't "think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." Who does he think he's fooling? FEMA told him back in 2001 that New Orleans and its levees were headed for a disaster, and that wasn't the first time the issue came up).

But how can anyone ignore or explain away the fact that Bush did everything in his power to hinder the correction of the levee problems? And after the hurricane struck, Bush once again demonstrated his callous disregard for ordinary, American citizens--especially the poor. He and his administration abandoned those people. New Orleans has many accessible entrances, even after the flooding, but no one rescued the victims or brought them supplies for days. If journalists could enter New Orleans, why couldn't rescuers?

Sadly, most of the damage and loss of lives in New Orleans could have been prevented if not for Bush's actions, a mere portion of which are listed below.

Bush and his administration:
--diverted funds needed for the critical maintenance of the levees to the Iraq war
--sent parts of Louisiana's and Mississippi's National Guard (people needed in the United States in case of a disaster) to the war in Iraq
--diverted funds earmarked for planning a response to a Category Five hurricane hitting New Orleans to the Iraq war
--filled and developed wetlands that could have alleviated the storm surge
--sharply cut disaster mitigation funding at FEMA
--appointed unqualified, incompetent people to head FEMA
--remained on vacation while thousands died (Bush, Cheney, and Rice--who was buying shoes worth thousands of dollars in New York City!)

The Bush administration's delayed response to the disaster in New Orleans was particularly shameful. Wake up, America. Unless you're part of the elite, George W. Bush and his administration don't care about you. Their handling of the situation in New Orleans just proves this fact even more.

Bush and his administration need to be held accountable for their gross mismanagement of the relief efforts in New Orleans. Every citizen should write their representatives and senators, demanding that an independent group--someone who doesn't have a stake in the outcome--investigate why things went so devastatingly wrong, before and after the hurricane, in New Orleans.

On an additional note, I've noticed that the administration's new favorite term is the "blame game." Catchphrases are typical Karl Rovian strategy. The Bush administration never defends its actions; it just goes on the offensive. Bush and his supporters attempt to trivialize their opponents and their concerns so people don't realize that Bush is the one who's actually done something wrong. To distract the public and media, Rove thinks of a catchy term and has every Bush-supporter continuously spout it on television, planting it in every American's mind until they start saying it themselves with no real thought to it's validity. Remember "flip flop"?

"Blame game" even rhymes, so Rove must be particularly proud of himself! But I don't think his strategy is going to work this time. What they fail to understand is that this situation is no game. Americans, don't let them distract us from the real problems anymore.

Americans in the South have died. Americans have suffered and lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods. They don't get a continue. They don't get to hit the reset button.

So, no, I don't blame the Bush administration or FEMA. I accuse them. The rest of America should, too.

Unbelievable.

First of all...is this picture for real? What. is. wrong. with. those. people?

Second, Laura Bush has never disgusted me more. She called the hurricane "Corrina" twice. Really. I'd like to take this moment to say that I never bought into her act; I never liked her. She's one of those women who just follow whatever her husband says...she doesn't have an original thought in her bubbly little head. She was a Democrat before she met Bush, you know.

These people are soul-less.

Nancy Pelosi is one of my new favorite people. She kicks ass.

Excerpt from video at Crooks and Liars (Phillips is a CNN commentator):

Phillips: "Are you changing your mind, at all, about how you feel the Bush administration is handling this crisis up to this very minute?"

Pelosi: "It's not a question of how I feel. It's what I know.... If the FEMA head had reacted appropriately a week ago, there would have been less cost in lives and livelihood and people's homes in the region and a lot less cost in money to the taxpayer.... I call once again on the President to replace the head of FEMA. FEMA was a failure last week. Many, many hardworking FEMA workers were out there in the field. But they didn't get the leadership and the accountability they needed.... As we go forward, we can do better if we have professional, capable leadership in position at FEMA to do the job."

[...]

Phillips: "I think it's unfair that FEMA is singled out. There are so many people responsible for what has happened in the state of Louisiana."

Pelosi: "That is true and I'm sorry you think that it's unfair. But I don't. I think it's unfair to the people who lost their family members, their lives, their livelihood, their homes, their opportunity. And FEMA did a poor job."

Phillips butts in to say: "What about the Army Corps of Engineers with all those warnings --"

They talk over each other, until Pelosi finally says, "Kyra, if you want to make a case for the White House, you should go on their payroll."

And who can forget what Pelosi said earlier in the week?

From Crooks and Liars (see video, too):

"At a news conference, Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush's choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had ''absolutely no credentials.''

She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown...

''He said 'Why would I do that?''' Pelosi said.

'''I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?'''

''Oblivious, in denial, dangerous,'' she added."

I like her more than Hillary.

Will the Real Reporters Please Stand Up?

From The Raw Story:

Vice President Dick Cheney, in Gulfport, Mississippi on a tour of the Katrina hurricane zone, was told to "go fuck yourself" twice on live television, RAW STORY has learned.

During a discussion on hurricane relief efforts, an off camera protester shouts, "Go fuck yourself, Mr. Cheney. Go fuck yourself."

The camera remains on Cheney while we hear scuffling in the background. Cheney continues speaking.

CNN's reporter asks Cheney, "Are you getting a lot of that Mr. Vice President?"

Cheney replies, "First time I've heard it., Must be a friend of John..., er, ah - never mind."

Laughter ensues from the VP and reporters.

Video here

John who? John Kerry? John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt? If those reporters had any kind of moxi, they'd ask Cheney what the hell he's talking about instead of laughing! I think Cheney is in some kind of timewarp, man. This situation has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with John Kerry or any other John.

To be serious, they should have been asking him things like, "So did you enjoy your vacation. Was it worth guaranteeing you a spot in hell, because you know while you were having a good 'ole time, thousands or Americans died? What, really, was so fun that you couldn't come and do your job?"

I criticize these reporters, but I must admit to being impressed with a good portion of the media lately. I've seen a lot of mainstream reporters just ripping into the Bush administration and FEMA. Did you see that press conference with White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan? Snap, man. Snap.

Also, it's the first time he's heard it because it's the first time he's left Bowser's Castle in months.

Ohioans: Buck Up.

Reform Ohio Now: "Corrupt politicians. Lost jobs. Ohio awash in scandal. It's time for a change."

Blue 88: "Ohio’s Network for Democratic Reform."

Grow Ohio: "Grow Ohio from the Ground Up."

C-Span.

I was flipping through channels, and I left it on C-Span. Okay, this is kind of sad. It's live footage of the U.S. House, and it must be some kind of memorial for Chief Justice Rehnquist.

But there are only 3 representatives on the floor (King, Gohmert, and Carter), plus someone who must be monitoring it (another represensentative, I think, but I don't know his name) and a transcriber.

That's shameful. And a bit sad for the people who are there.

ETA: Oh, four people now! A Representative Frank...who is getting on my nerves. He just said that in the years to come we'll see the decisions Rehnquist wrote the dissenting opinion on overturned...

My God, I hope not.

And he just said that we'll see that Rehnquist was ahead of his time! Dude, there is a reason why conservatives are called conservaties and liberals are called progressive. What planet is this guy from?

And they're all so proud that Rehnquist "never recognized the right to privacy." I'm dead serious. That's what they said.

Priorities.

So Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about whether or not he slept with someone, but George W. Bush remains unpunished for being responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans? Or at the very least, unpunished for remaining on vacation while thousands died?

Where are your priorities, representatives and senators?

Go media?

Oooh, snap press corps!

From Editor & Publisher:

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan had not had a full-length press briefing in Washington, D.C. for weeks, and after today, may have wished he had postponed this one. With almost unprecedented vigor, the press corps attacked and probe[ed] the federal response to the hurricane disaster, the president's personal responsibility and failure to fire anyone who failed in his or her mission.

Here is a transcript of the relevant portions.

The European Response.

My thoughts about the European response are best summed up by Ralph Peters in this editorial. Make note that I'm only going on record as agreeing with the portion of the article quoted below.

Relevant excerpt:

As for our "friends" in Europe, they've been gloating over the tragedy that struck our country. If you follow the European media, the self-righteousness is disgraceful — and they're just plain mean.

When the last water recedes, we may find that a few thousand Americans died in a great natural catastrophe. But two years ago, during a heat-wave, 25,000 elderly Europeans died unnecessarily in France, Italy and Germany while their political leaders, medical personnel and even their children went on vacation — and stayed on vacation. Katrina wasn't preventable, but those elderly deaths were.

America has suffered terrible natural disasters. There'll be more in the future, and we need to be better prepared. But Europe's disasters — far worse than any of ours — have been made by human beings.

I'll take America. On our worst day.

W. vs. Clinton.

Speaking of Marie Antoinette, check out Keith Olbermann blasting George W. Bush. It's a blistering commentary, complete with the statement that Bush is a "twenty-first century Marie Antoinette."

The Daily Howler compares Daddy and W. Bush's response to hurricanes with Clinton's. I yearn for Clinton.

Excerpts:

As we reviewed USA Today’s coverage, we began to notice differences with the Katrina experience. In July 1996, Steve Marshall described preparations for Hurricane Bertha:

MARSHALL (7/11/96): A s Hurricane Bertha churned toward the Southeast coast Wednesday, a massive exodus of tourist havens began.

Officials urged at least 1 million people to leave as Bertha took aim with 100-mph winds.

An estimated 500,000 people were ordered to evacuate six north Florida counties. About 50,000 were asked to get off Hatteras and Ocracoke islands on North Carolina's Outer Banks. And officials urged the evacuation of parts of two South Carolina counties with 380,000 residents...

Bertha's immediate effects:

—NASA moved the shuttle Atlantis off its Cape Canaveral launch pad to a hangar.
—Olympic officials in Georgia moved yachts inland.
—Navy officials ordered 54 ships out to sea to avoid being battered against the docks.
—President Clinton canceled appearances set for today in Orlando and Tampa.

Witt was upbeat about his agency's plans for the storm. "Everyoneis ready and on alert," he said. "I think as far as our planning efforts, we're in good shape. We have a lot of resources available.”

Hurricane Bertha was no Katrina. But President Clinton “canceled appearances” as Bertha approached the U.S. mainland, and James Lee Witt boasted of FEMA’s preparation. In the aftermath of 1999's Hurricane Floyd, we noticed a similar theme in Lawrence McQuillan’s reporting:

MCQUILLAN (9/20/99): President Clinton, who has picked up the moniker "comforter in chief," visits North Carolina today to meet with victims of Hurricane Floyd and confer with state and local officials to coordinate federal relief efforts.

Clinton will go to Raleigh and then take a helicopter to Tarboro, where torrential rains created massive flooding. "We are on the threshold of a crisis," Edgecombe County Manager Joe Durham said...

In fact, Clinton was unwilling to be away from Washington when the storm struck the East Coast last week. He called off plans to golf in Hawaii after a five-day trip to New Zealand and returned to the nation's capital.

Aides say Clinton's 12 years as governor of Arkansas made him particularly sensitive to the need for swift federal action to help communities cope with natural disasters, and to the political benefits derived from meeting the needs of victims.

Clinton took the highly unusual step of issuing disaster declarations for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida even before the hurricane's high winds and rains hit the states.

No, Hurricane Floyd was no Katrina. But like Bush 43 in the case of Katrina, Clinton made disaster declarations even before the hurricane hit. And oh yes, he did something else: He cancelled pleasing vacation plans so he could be at his desk when the hurricane hit. Last week, of course, Bush 43 still lounged in Crawford as Katrina bore down on the U.S. coast; on Day 2, he flew off to make a speech in San Diego even after New Orleans’ levees had breached. (The levees gave way on Monday; Bush flew to San Diego on Tuesday.)

Barbara Bush=Marie Antoinette?

From Editor & Publisher:

In a segment at the top of the show on the surge of evacuees to the Texas city, Barbara Bush said: "Almost everyone I’ve talked to wants to move to Houston."

Then she added: "What I’m hearing is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed with the hospitality.

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (she chuckled)--this is working very well for them."

You don't get the full effect unless you listen to it on audio.

W. clearly inherited has crazy-ass shit from her, including that damn smirk.

"Let them eat cake."

Indeed.

Links.

Okay, I was getting some obviously spammy comments, so I had to turn on the "word verification for comments" thing. I apologize if it's annoying.

Like-Minded People

"Dipping His Toe Into Disaster: Slow, awkward and at times tone-deaf, Bush mishandled the storm's first days. Now he has his own recovery problem." By MATTHEW COOPER. Seen in Time Magazine. Teaser: "It isn't easy picking George Bush's worst moment last week. Was it his first go at addressing the crisis Wednesday, when he came across as cool to the point of uncaring? Was it when he said that he didn't "think anybody expected" the New Orleans levees to give way, though that very possibility had been forecast for years?..."

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