Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The State of Medicine Before "ObamaCare" Takes Effect in 2014





The above was posted on Facebook, tonight, by a friend of a member of The Blog's family. The friend that he is talking about is the daughter of The Blog's cousin.

(Second cousin? First cousin once removed? Shit, I don't know. She is family. That's all I really care about!)

Here are the basics...

Kris has been diagnosed with a rare disease called Takayasu Arteritis.

Here is a link to the facts of this disease...

It took 2 years to diagnose and 4 months for the specialist to call her back... only to tell her they don't take her insurance (Ohio's CareSource). Based on her quickly progressing symptoms, she figures she's now well into stage 2. Point blank, this is going to kill her if she doesn't get treatment, which involves heart surgery.

The Blog is sickened by the fact that she is being denied treatment because of her sub-par health insurance.

The Blog has some pretty high level medical people in his circle of friends, more doctors than any normal person should ever have to know. I have reached out to them.  If all goes well, Kris will get the help that she needs.

The Blog asks that you pray for her, if you are so inclined. Or, put out good thoughts, good vibes or whatever.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Prescription Pot

The question of whether pot should be legal is a debate for another time.

The Blog has no skin in that game. He hasn't smoked pot in over three decades. (Except for that one time in Jamaica a decade ago, which only served to remind him why he doesn't smoke pot, anymore.) But, The Blog believes that pot should be legal, controlled and taxed.

The Blog's preferred, mind numbing drug is scotch whiskey.

If you know your American history, then you know how well the prohibition of liquor worked out.

                                                                                        Ask this guy.


But, the subject of medical marijuana is a different issue.

If you have ever known, loved, cared about or cared for a cancer patient, then you have a pretty good idea about how important the medical marijuana issue is. Medical marijuana is legal in 17 states, including The Blog's state of California.

Last week, the Los Angeles city council voted to shut down all of L.A.'s medical pot dispensaries.

The Blog believes that this happened, mostly, because the majority of L.A.'s city council is of "that certain age" that sustained permanent psychological scarring from their 5th grade, health class screenings of "Reefer Madness."

The city council called the ruling a "gentle ban" (a phrase that must have been coined by a pothead) that still allows those who need the plant, for medical reasons, to grow their own. Because, there is nothing more that a chemo patient likes to do than to toil in a garden.

*Brief Digression*

Let's be honest... How many of you quit growing tomatoes in your backyard when grocery stores started carrying organic, heirlooms at reasonable prices?

*End Digression*

But, the L.A. city council has a valid point. The system, as it currently stands, is rife with abuse.

Even though a recent L.A. Times story shows that Southern California (rather surprisingly) is near the bottom of the list of legal medical pot states who are subject to abuse (Denver, Colorado is number one) the fact of the matter is, for good and valid reasons, the whole medical marijuana concept has become a punch line for TV sitcoms and cop shows.

All because the qualification for, and distribution of, medical marijuana is completely disconnected from all other prescription, pharmaceutical practices.

Let's say that I go to my doctor with high blood pressure.

He writes a prescription for Lisinopril and sends it to my pharmacist at CVS.

He fills it. I pay my $5.00 co-pay, and I am on my way.

But, let's say that I am a cancer patient, or I have glaucoma. or, there is nothing wrong with me, but I just want to get high.

I have to visit a doctor who specializes in handing out Medical Marijuana cards. His billboard advertisements are, virtually, indistinguishable from the billboards advertising local strip clubs.

                                                                                              This....

                                                                                                 Or, this.

So you see?

The whole problem here is that medical marijuana is not taken seriously.

A California college that trains medical pot "pharmacists" boasts this "coat of arms."



                                                                                                Really?

It's no wonder that the very serious issue of medical marijuana is taken as a joke,

The answer is to start taking the issue seriously and stop taking it all as a Cheech and Chong sketch!


Instead of pot dispensaries run by Jerry Garcia look-a-likes in tie-died shirts, playing the Grateful Dead on the PA system and sporting Bob Marly posters on their walls, medical pot should be dispensed as all other medications, through legitimate pharmacies.

Problem solved!

 

 




Sunday, July 29, 2012

Memory Loss...

Funny thing about having posted 132 posts to the blog in six months....

Your old uncle PC is starting to forget what he has and hasn't written about.

The Blog has spent much of today composing a rant, in his head, about the problems facing medical marijuana and it's distribution.

Now, The Blog has some very specific opinions on this subject. He has pontificated about it to his friends (the ones who encouraged him to start this blog, to begin with) for years.

But, when I sat down tonight to write about the subject, the little voice in The Blog's head asked, "Have you already done this post?"

And The Blog answered the voice, "Shit! I don't know!"

So, instead of composing a new and amusing rant, The Blog has spent the last half hour or so reviewing everything that he has posted here.

Damn! There is some good stuff here! If you are new to this blog, spend this evening catching up with all of the brilliance you have missed!

Sure, there is some crap here. Some, just lazy and some, just really lazy. But, like an episode of SNL or Monty Python, for every "Killer Bee" sketch or "Crunchy Frog" bit that went nowhere and had no ending, there are, in The Blog's not so humble opinion, a few gems.

As it turns out, The Blog has not shared his view of the problems plaguing "prescription pot." So, tomorrow night, you will be treated to one of The Blog's better bloviations.

Tune in tomorrow!





What's Next For Batman?


The Blog Jr. posted the following question on Facebook...

Anyone else who's seen Dark Knight Rises, anyone got any speculations on what the future may hold/what they would like to see happen?

Here is The Blog's response...

No speculation here. But, here is what I know for sure.

Christopher Nolan has stated that his story had a beginning, middle and end. And Christian Bale has said that he has played Batman for the last time.

This version is over. The next will be a full reboot. And there will be a reboot. Warner Brothers has confirmed that. But, it will be the vision of a different director and team. It will be a hard act to follow, the bar has been set high.

*SPOILER ALERT!!!!*

(I wouldn't mind seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt's "Robin" follow the path to Nightwing. But, Nolan would have to be on board and it doesn't look like that is going to happen. )



*END SPOILER*

When "Batman: Year One" which evolved into "Batman Begins"  was in development, WB was also considering a "Batman Beyond" movie.

I have heard it suggested that they should look to the "Arkham City" video game for inspiration for the next one. Not a bad idea.

This is speculation... but based on what I know, it is a pretty safe bet...

The next time Batman is on a movie screen, it will be in the long planned, but never quite gotten off the ground "Justice League" movie. With the success of "The Avengers" Warner is finally poised to press on with a JL movie.



A friend commented that he thought that "Rises" Selina Kyle was "too nice."

The Blog responded...

Since the late 1980's (in the comic books) Catwoman is more of an anti-hero than a villain. Batman doesn't approve of her methods or flexible ethics, but they are working on the same side. In fact, in a couple of incarnations, The Huntress is the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle.

(I don't know if it is available on YouTube, Hulu or Netflix, but there was a short lived series on The WB network called "Birds of Prey." It took place in the not too distant future of Gotham City. It starred The Huntress, Black Canary and Oracle as the next generation of Gotham defenders. The main villain was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. Batman and The Joker made a few appearances. The Joker was played by the animated series voice of The Joker, Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill.) It seemed like a good idea at the time. I even tried to get hired to work on it! But, it only lasted one season.

The same friend expressed an interest in seeing Jim Carey reprise his role as "The Riddler."

The Blog answered...

As for Jim Carey returning as The Riddler... Wash your keyboard out with soap! The Joel Schumacher movies were... uhm... interesting. And his cast members worked in that context. But, now that Nolan has done the series justice, I would rather not see a return to the campiness of those films.

Whatever happens, we can be sure of one thing... Wherever there is The Batman, there will be The Joker. I don't envy the actor who will have to follow in Ledger's shadow. But someone will.

 And more, to The Blog Jr....

*ANOTHER SPOILER ALTERT!*

You are right, The Joker did not die in "The Dark Knight." Technically or otherwise. This posed a problem for Nolan. Did you notice that all of the villains from the trilogy made appearances in "Rises" but The Joker was not even mentioned? Nolan decided that that was the only way to handle it.

The one thing that I know for sure...

One of the great things about the Batman world is that it is a subject that lends itself well to reinvention. Whatever comes next, it will be worth seeing! 





Thursday, July 26, 2012

Guns Don't Kill People?

Let me be clear about one thing, right up front.

The Blog has a number of friends who are evangelical about the right of gun ownership. Hell! The Blog has at least two friends who own gun shops!

The 2nd Amendment of the of the Constitution of The United States of America guarantees the right to bear arms.

We can quibble over the whole "well regulated militia" thing, but the Supreme Court has made that a moot point. So parsing words and splitting hairs about it is a waste of time and energy.

The 2nd Amendment = Settled Law = Done Deal.

Obama is not coming for your guns and ammo. Neither is the United Nations, Hillary Clinton, James Baker (although, if anyone has good reason to hate guns, it's James Baker) the Democrats, the liberals, Michael Moore, or me.

Even if we wanted to (and some of us do) it just ain't gonna happen. No matter what the daily email blasts from the NRA tell you.

But, while my gun loving friends exercise their 2nd Amendment rights, allow me to exercise my 1st Amendment right to say that I find the whole gun fetish thing unnerving and creepy.

How many more Auroras, Columbines, Virginia Techs and Fort Hoods? How many more Gabby Giffords, or (dare I say it?) Ronald Reagans, before we can have a calm, paranoia free, common sense discussion about making it just a little bit more difficult for goddamned lunatics to arm themselves?

The Blog is an outspoken advocate for the 1st Amendment. The Blog also knows that you do not have the right to yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater, incite riots or paint swastikas on your jewish neighbor's garage.

In The Blogs not so humble opinion, emptying an AR-15 into a crowded theater is actually worse than yelling "FIRE!" No?

Predictably, the bodies in Aurora weren't yet cold when several far right, NRA funded politicians and even more right-wing pundits wasted no time suggesting that, "if only some of the movie goers had been packing, the shooter might have been stopped."

It's the same tired argument that we hear whenever there is a shooting.

"What we needed in this situation is more guns."

Okay, So here is what I want to know about Friday morning's Colorado movie theater massacre.

Colorado is a "concealed carry" state.

So where were those 2nd Amendment cowboys who should have taken out the psycho shooter before he killed 12 innocent people and wounded something in the neighborhood of 70 others?

Where were the John Waynes and Harry Callahans of the state of Colorado who fantasize taking down The Jokers of the world with their mad gun skillz?

Were they hiding under theater seats? Or were they running like the devil out of the theater?

Or, were they maybe... just maybe... hip to the reality that you can't just start firing a gun willy-nilly into a dark, smoke filled, crowded theater?

Today, The Blog heard a post from someone commenting on the "Armchair Vigilante." The Blog has not been able to find the actual post, so he is paraphrasing here...

"He had a semi-automatic AR-15 and full body armor. You have a pistol and a t-shirt from Walmart. He is focused and practiced. You are caught by surprise, in the dark, disoriented by smoke bombs. So, what good are you in this situation?"

Anyone who knows about our fairly recent history remembers the North Hollywood Bank of America robbery that took place on February 28th, 1997. Two bank robbers, armed with semi-automatic weapons and full body armor, held off Los Angeles police first responders for hours. It took the SWAT team and armor piercing ammo supplied by a local gun shop (and one self-inflicted gunshot) to stop these assholes.

Here is the thing...

The 24 year old shooter who legally purchased a semi-automatic weapon and three other guns and 6000 rounds of ammo, (and, on all accounts, bought 15 thousand dollars worth of body armor) and who knows how much bomb making materials,  could not, legally, rent a car.

Speaking of cars...

Automobiles on our freeways are all potential deadly weapons. Half ton, 65 miles per hour killing machines. All "open carry." But, license and insurance is required.

Should we really be okay with concealed carry, like this shit?

"Guns don't kill people?"

No.

Psychos with access to guns and 6000 rounds of ammo kill people.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Some Random Stuff and a Very Short Movie Review



Chick-fil-A v. The Muppets

In the past year or so, I have been pretty vocal, here and on Facebook, about Chick-fil-A's sanctimonious stance on their Biblical positions and, in particular, their support for anti-gay marriage politicians and organizations.

Last week, after Chick-fil-A's CEO, Dan Cathy, publicly doubled down on the company's position on same sex marriage and a general condemnation of what they perceive as the rampant immorality of the American people who flock to their stores to fill their coffers, the Jim Henson Company publicly severed their promotional ties with the chicken sandwich chain, canceling a toy give-away.


                                                  Proving that hand puppets are more evolved than some humans.

Regardless of The Blog's opinion of the junk food chain's religious, political and social positions, The Blog has always given them credit for staying true to their convictions.

It would seem that The Blog has given them too much credit.

Within 24 hours of the Henson announcement, the sign below began showing up at Chic-fil-A counters around the country.





I guess that Chic-fil-A's new corporate policy is to lie to their customers.

Is lying a new "Christian value?"

Speaking of Christian...

Kudos to The Dark Knight, himself, Christian Bale for jumping on a plane from Paris and getting his bat-self to Aurora, Colorado to visit the victims and survivors of the movie theater massacre. Based on the numerous cell phone pics that have surfaced on the internets, Bale brought a lot of smiles to a place that is in desperate need of smiles!

                                                                                          Like this one.

There has been a push on Facebook to get Bale to appear in full Batman costume at the hospitals. A cool idea, but The Blog understands the logistical difficulties that would have been involved.

A tip of the hat to Warner Brother's, as well. The studio has donated a reported $2 million to the survivors and families of those who were murdered. If The Blog knows his Hollywood people as well as he thinks he does, the outreach has only just begun.

The Shortest Movie Review Ever...






The Blog and Mrs. Blog saw "The Dark Knight Rises" today.

A full and proper review would reveal far too many spoilers.

Maybe in a few weeks, when everyone has seen it, your Uncle PC will post a detailed review.

Until then....

Here is The Blog's bottom line review of "The Dark Knight Rises..."

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!!!

That is all for now.











Sunday, July 22, 2012

A Follow up to Last Night's Post

I had not thought of the "color blind" possibility. Very feasible.

Reports today tell us that the shooter is refusing to cooperate with the police. Considering the unusual level of cooperation when he allowed the police to take him into custody without a fight, his refusal to talk now does parallel the behavior of Heath Ledger's Joker. So a Joker fantasy seems to be becoming more plausible.

But, let's not rush to blame the movies.

To quote the classic line from "Scream..."

"Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative."

And, speaking of movie quotes...

I had intended to begin last night's post with a quotation from "The Dark Knight," then forgot to use it. It has rung in my ears since the story first broke. After today's revelations, it seems more appropriate tonight than it would have been last night.

It is from "The Dark Knight."

Bruce Wayne wonders about what motivates The Joker. Alfred tells "Master Bruce" a story and concludes with the following words...

"Some men just want to watch the world burn."


Barring some earth shattering new piece of information that bears discussion, this is the last that I plan to post on the subject.

The only related topic that remains to be discussed is the subject of America's post 9/11 culture of fear and how it connects to our fetishizing of guns, and how our media and politicians exploit that.

Heavy stuff for a blog that considers itself to be, primarily a humor blog.

But, it's stuff that is worth discussing.

Just not tonight. Probably tomorrow or the next night.

That's a promise!

Armchair Psychology

Nearly 48 hours have passed since since the events in Aurora, Colorado began to unfold. And, as promised, The Blog has some questions and theories.

*WARNING!!!*

The Blog is not a psychologist or psychiatrist. Because The Blog has worked in Hollywood for three decades, he has come into firsthand contact with enough narcissists, sociopaths and, even a few psychopaths, that he feels that he knows what he is talking about. But the fact is, everything that you read from here on, The Blog openly admits to pulling out of his ass.

*END WARNING*

One widely reported piece if information that has been reported seems to have come from a single source and picked up and reported as fact by many other outlets. The shooter "painted his hair red" and told police that he was The Joker.

Any comic book nerd worth his action figure collection knows that The Joker's hair is green.

That leads to one of two conclusions.

Either the source of this information is full of bat guano, or the shooter really doesn't know shit about Batman lore.

(As I mentioned last night, I will not contribute to the shooter's infamy by mentioning his name. I am sticking with that and will only call him "the shooter.")

So, whether he sees himself as The Joker or not, one thing seems clear...

At some point, the shooter went from "aspiring scientist" to aspiring super-villain.

We now know that the shooter spent many months planning and ordering ammo, armor and other supplies, many of them delivered by UPS to his university workplace, long before he dropped out of the PhD program.

Based on his apparent planning, the term "premeditated" seems inadequate.

I do not want to glamorize or glorify what this monster... sorry... shooter did.

But, lets get into the mind of evil genius and break the plot down, based on what we know, so far...

1.) Rig apartment with complex incendiary booby traps. Set radio alarm clocks to play loud techno music at a few minutes after midnight to generate noise complaints and draw police to the apartment.

(We now know that the booby traps were so complex that it took nearly 36 hours for the Aurora police bomb squad to figure out how to disarm and dispose of the bombs without destroying the building.)

2.) Park car filled with armor and weapons outside of theater emergency exit.

3.) Buy ticket to midnight screening of movie.

(Something that I have not seen talked about... The people in this theater have been watching the first two Batman movies since 6:00 PM. Thirty minutes into the premier of "The Dark Knight Rises," the audience is already fatigued and will be easily disoriented by sudden chaos.)

4.) Pretend to get a phone call and exit theater through emergency exit, propping the door open.

5.) Armor up and strap on. While, he assumes, police are distracted by an exploding apartment building.

6.) Throw smoke bombs and proceed to shoot the stadium seated audience members like ducks in a shooting gallery.

Bottom line....

This wasn't some idiot with C4 in his shoes, who couldn't operate a Zippo lighter, or a moron with explosives in his underwear. This was, (and I hate to give him this much credit, but) an evil genius who had every little thing planned out.

The obvious question is, "What would make a smart young man do something like this?"

The Media wants to find some correlation to the movies or the 1980s graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns." Those avenues are too much of a stretch. But, Alan Moore's late '80s graphic novel, "The Killing Joke" offers a more likely insight.

In "The Killing Joke" The Joker attempts to convince Jim Gordon that all it takes is "one bad day" to break a person's sanity. Gordon responds by demonstrating that "one bad day" will only break one whose psyche is already pretty fragile.

The real mysteries, as far as The Blog is concerned, are as follows...

How does anyone go that far off the rails without any friends or loved ones noticing that there is trouble brewing? Loner or not, he had friends and family. Did no one see this coming? It seems like, maybe, his mom did know. When informed of the attack, the shooter's mom responded, "Yes, you have the right person."

But, the real mystery is this...

Rampages like this are usually suicide missions. They take as many as they can with them, then either turn their guns on themselves, or wait for "suicide by cop."

This guy was armored from head to toe. After the slaughter, he waited in his car, then allowed the police to take him in without a fight.

He had no intention of dying.

It seems that he intended to live to witness the destruction that he wrought.

That is the most baffling aspect of this story.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Aurora, CO. July 20th, 2012. 12:39 AM






Well...

SHIT!

This is sure as hell not the way I wanted to wrap up a week of Batman themed posts.

Unless you have been in a coma for the last 24 hours or so, you know about the horrific shooting in a Colorado movie theater in the very wee hours of this morning. I'm not going to rehash all of the details here. The truth is, even after a full day, the details are still pretty sketchy. I imagine that much will become clear (or, at least, clearer) over the next few days.

Right now, I am more interested in the various responses to the tragedy.

True to form, "The Media" began it's news reporting day by wetting itself over what could be a Pulitzer and Emmy worthy story. Every news broadcast, every radio talk show devoted every single goddamned minute to the story. By the time we got to the 11 'o Clock AM news, I was wondering how they were going to tie the shooting in with the weather report.

As the day wore on most of the media outlets began flailing around, trying to keep the story going, with no new information to report. This is not a unique situation. It happens whenever there is a story of this magnitude. Watching reporters and anchors go from initial enthusiastic reportage to that "deer in headlights" look as they realize that they have said all there is to be said four hours ago is one part amusing to two parts sad. But, God bless 'em, they do soldier on!

I should give positive recognition to a couple of outlets here in Los Angeles.

CBS affiliates KCBS Channel 2 and KTLA Channel 9 resisted the urge to call the shootings anything like "The Batman Massacre" or "The Dark Knight Rises Movie Shootings." (Unlike CBS and ABC national news who did just that.)

And, to former KNBC anchor and current KTLK radio personality David Cruz, who not only called out the media outlets who did succumb to the temptation, but also used his considerable Colorado connections to investigate far deeper into the story than any of the TV stations did.

But, no praise goes to the usually reliable and venerable Associated Press, who lowered themselves to posting this story, (rife with inaccuracies and wild speculation,) or to CBS' "48 Hours Special Report" and so many newspapers, who picked up the story and ran with it.

No surprise, both sides of the gun debate came out (forgive the idom) "both barrels blazing." The arguments, predictable. The Blog, of course, has his two cents to contribute to that argument. And, if you have been following for a while, you know where I stand on the topic. And, I will talk about it in a day or two. But, tonight is not the time or place for it.

President Obama and candidate Romney both suspended campaigning for the day and used their scheduled campaign stops to express their condolences to the victims and their families. For a few minutes, at least, both candidates were in complete agreement.

Lesser politicians were not so classy. Like this idiot.

Of course, the "social media" has been hopping. Here are a couple of my favorite posts from Facebook and Twitter....

From comedy writer and internet satirist Andy Borowitz...

"Dear Internet People: Maybe choose another day to make pro-gun statements. Sincerely, Good Taste"

From Cass McCune, friend of The Blog's sister and wife of Hollywood special effects legend John Dykstra...

"You never wake up with stories about how someone with a bunch of guns saved lives."

From "Star Trek's" George Takei...





And a really cool idea that is going viral on Facebook...




And finally...

One of the shooting victims was a young woman named Jessica Redfield. Her tragic death at the hands of this lunatic is even more chilling when you read the last post to her blog, dated June 5th, 2012.

The Blog has some questions and some wildly irresponsible speculation about the shooter. (I feel like I don't want to contribute to his infamy by calling him by name. So, I wont.) We will see what new information tomorrow brings. And then I will comment further.

My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the survivors.

That's all for tonight.

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Top Story Tonight...


The media is all atwitter tonight, about the story that comedic actor Fred Willard was caught with his pants down in a Hollywood adult movie theater.


Holy shit! What decade is this?

I mean, really?

We are well into the 21st Century, where you can access any sort of porn you want with a mouse click or two away from this blog.

(Or... well... that is what I have been told, anyway.)

The Blog is stunned to learn that there are still X-rated theaters in Hollywood. Who knew?

Okay, so Fred, who was the subject of a terrific article about his comedic awesomeness  in the Los Angeles Times not a week ago, might have been caught pulling a "Pee Wee Herman" in a  porn theater.

So fucking what?

The dude is nearly 80 years old.

If a porno in a movie theater is what he needs to get a proper hard-on... well... more power to him. At least he isn't diddling children or stalking Lindsey Lohan.

And, what the fuck? PBS has already fired him from his new hosting job, without due process of any kind.

The Blog stands with Fred.

(But, Fred. Between you and me, stay out of theaters. The internet is your high-tech friend.)

Crap! This doesn't fit with my Batman theme week.

So here is this...

Mrs. Blog and I went to the movies this morning. "Ice Age" part 348, or whatever.

An entertaining movie, but really, I think it is time for the "Ice Age" franchise to hang it up.

But, at 9:30 AM, the line for the Batman trilogy was already a half a block long. All midnight shows were sold out.

The Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turran calls "The Dark Knight Rises" "genius " and "Oscar worthy."

The Blog will see it sometime next week, when the crowds have thinned.

A review will come.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Rush Goes Bat Sh*t


In keeping with this week's "Batman" theme... (Yes, it's "Theme Week" at The Blog. It didn't start out that way. But, with three Batman related posts in a row, a theme has become evident. Work with me here.) Let's discuss the "Dark Knight Conspiracy."

Yesterday, the bloated bloviator, Rush Limbaugh floated a conspiracy theory so whacked out, bat shit crazy that it makes pretty much anything that he has ever said before seem reasonable.

Here is the transcript....



"Have you heard this new movie, the Batman movie, what is it, The Dark Knight Lights Up or whatever the name is. That’s right, Dark Knight Rises. Lights Up, same thing. Do you know the name of the villain in this movie? Bane. The villain in The Dark Knight Rises is named Bane, B-a-n-e. What is the name of the venture capital firm that Romney ran and around which there’s now this make-believe controversy? Bain. The movie has been in the works for a long time. The release date’s been known, summer 2012 for a long time. Do you think that it is accidental that the name of the really vicious fire breathing four eyed whatever it is villain in this movie is named Bain?
So, anyway, this evil villain in the new Batman movie is named Bane. And there’s now a discussion out there as to whether or not this is purposeful and whether or not it will influence voters. It’s gonna have a lot of people. This movie, the audience is gonna be huge. A lot of people are gonna see the movie, and it’s a lot of brain-dead people, entertainment, the pop culture crowd, and they’re gonna hear Bane in the movie and they’re gonna associate Bain. The thought is that when they start paying attention to the campaign later in the year, and Obama and the Democrats keep talking about Bain, Romney and Bain, that these people will think back to the Batman movie, “Oh, yeah, I know who that is.” (laughing) There are some people who think it’ll work. Others think you’re really underestimating the American people to think that will work.
The Bane character in this movie was a terrorist. He’s out to destroy Gotham, New York City, which is the case in every Batman movie. But instead of sounding like Romney, he sounds like an Occupy Wall Street guy, in truth. Now, there’s a story in the Washington Times today: “Is Mitt Romney…Batman? — Opponents of Mitt Romney have noticed that the name of Batman’s villain in the upcoming film The Dark Knight Rises is homonymous with the name of an investment firm that Romney founded in 1984. The childish ‘aha’ moment was not unpredictable. Americans have tolerated condescension remarkably well for the past four years, so we can presumably take an insult to our ability to spell — or ability to follow a storyline, for that matter.
But, anyway, I didn’t really know what the point of this story is. They’re trying to point out that in Batman the good guy and the rich guy are one and the same, and that’s Bruce Wayne. And so what this guy is saying here, hey, instead of falling in with the evil guy being Bane, let’s just say Batman is Romney. Batman’s Romney, he’s the evil rich guy, he’s the good rich guy, he’s out to save New York. The rich guy’s the good guy. Of course the evil guy is always rich too in these Batman movies. You may think it’s ridiculous, I’m just telling you this is the kind of stuff the Obama team is lining up. The kind of people who would draw this comparison are the kind of people that they are campaigning to. These are the kind of people that they are attempting to appeal to."

The Blog has edited the transcript for length. But, if you think that any of this is taken out of context, you can listen to the full audio here.

I'll put it bluntly. This theory is nuttier than the Fox "News" theory, a few months ago, that "The Muppets" movie was a liberal attempt at indoctrinating children against the sheer awesomeness of corporate fascism .

Now, if "El Rushbo" had simply suggested that the Christopher Nolan trilogy contains some liberal leaning subtext about terrorism and security in a post 9/11 America, The Blog would be hard pressed to argue the point.

The fact is, Nolan's Batman movies are loaded with commentary about the moral ambiguity that has come with our "war on terror."

Which is no mean feat, considering that much of the source material for "The Dark Knight" trilogy comes from "Batman: Year One" and "The Dark Knight Returns," both written by the uber-macho, self-professed fascist Frank Miller. (See also, "300" and "Sin City.")

In Miller's Batman stories (as in much of his other work) Gotham City's real problem is not the over the top villains the city attracts, but rather, sniveling liberals, spineless intellectuals and politically correct media.

Miller's 1980s contributions to the comic book genre were edgy, brilliant, literate and, unfortunately, right-wing extremist wet dreams.

But, I digress.

The issue is about the villain Bane.

The Bane character was introduced by DC Comics in 1993. After the success of the "death" of Superman in 1992, DC decided that a similar fate was needed to pump up the sale of "Batman" comics. Thus, Bane was born. A hapless victim of a military experiment by a South American, third world regime, Bane was the result of a "super steroid" called "Venom." A bit of fake "science" so lame that it would have been right at home in the Marvel Universe, along side radioactive spiders and overdoses of gamma rays.

 Add a "lucha libre" mask and you have the villain who broke Bruce Wayne's back, making him wheelchair bound for a whole year. Much silliness followed, a pretend, apprentice Batman, and, well, a recovery from spinal paralysis after only a year.

So, wait! What's my point?

Oh yeah. The bottom line is, the idea that DC comics came up with a villain named Bane nearly two decades ago, just in case a Republican presidential candidate in 2012 would have connections to an evil corporation called Bain is about as fucking insane as the notion that someone planted birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers in 1961, to cover the tracks of a 2008 presidential candidate.

But the story gets better!


After getting bitch slapped for his idiotic remarks by the likes of Dr. Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, Rush tried to backpedal.

"Everybody's out there running around saying I got this giant conspiracy theory that the Batman people, the creators, the comic book creators, created this thing to campaign against Romney. I never said that. I didn't say there was a conspiracy. I said the Democrats were going to use it. . . ."

Actually, Limbaugh did say it was a conspiracy.  He did so when he asked the question, "Do you think that is accidental?" about whether it could conceivably be an accident that this new Batman movie has a villain in it with a name that sounds like Mitt Romney's former firm.

The Blog wonders if Rush is back on the "hillbilly heroin." One major side effect of Oxycodone is, after all,  paranoia.

Or is it just that the $40 million a year that he gets from Citadel Broadcasting means that he has to come up with some shit, no matter how crazy and ignorant, to pander to his idiot "Dittohead" audience?

The Blog reports. You decide.

Oh. One more thing.

The right-wing will tell us that it is a low end, cheap shot to portray a candidate as a Batman villain.


                                                                                             Like this.

But, never mind...

                                                                                            ... This.



Wednesday, July 18, 2012

What Went Wrong With the Catwoman Movie?






In last night's post, The Blog blew off the Halle Berry "Catwoman" movie with the phrase, "The less said, the better."

That phrase guaranteed that The Blog would spend today obsessing about the question, "What went wrong?" in the same way that a passing reference to the worst musical ever produced "Grease!" would guarantee that "You're the One That I Want" would be stuck in The Blog's head for the better part of the day.

The Blog claims a unique expertise on the subject. Because The Blog was directly involved in the production of the Pamela Anderson mega-bomb "Barb Wire."




That's right.

Pamela  Anderson, Pamela Anderson's breasts and shit blowing up. Three elements that should have insured a blockbuster.

But, instead, "Barb Wire" became a Hollywood punch-line, along the lines of "Heaven's Gate" and "Howard the Duck."


But "Catwoman" made many of the same mistakes as those films, plus several others.

In the "plus" column...

"Catwoman" starred Halle Berry, one of the most beautiful women on the face of the Earth. Also, a talented actress who, with better material would have owned the character.

But, that's about it for the "plus" column.

The "minus" or "What went wrong?" column....

Ms. Berry's Catwoman was not a reboot of Selina Kyle. She was Patience Phillips. According to the plot, the latest in a long line of Catwomen. Not a resident of Gotham City. Rather a resident of New York, maybe. Or, maybe, Vancouver, Canada. It's not all together clear.

She enjoys the same supernatural elements as Michelle Pfeifer's Catwoman. Egyptian cat goddesshood, indicated by a shot duplicating the "Batman Returns" shot of Michelle/ Halle on the rocks surrounded by cats.

The high camp presence of villainess Sharon Stone as a corrupt cosmetics mogul pushed the movies demographic into the narrow, and not very "comics nerd" realm of women and gays only. The narrow "Death Becomes Her" demo.



Apologies to my female and gay friends, but this is the same move that made Pamela Anderson's "Barb Wire" and  "VIP" popular, not to the intended male audience, but  rather to women and gays. NTTIAWWT!





And then there was the CGI special effects that looked like they were designed on a Nintendo 64.

Here's hoping that the newest incarnation of Catwoman will bring her to a wider audience.

Looking forward to "The Dark Knight Rises."


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Catwoman

Life is full of debates.

"Republicans versus Democrats?"

"God or no God?"

"Star Trek" or "Star Wars," or "Lost In Space?"

"Goofy or Pluto?"

"The Addams Family" or "The Munsters?"

Debate away! Carry on...

Tonight, The Blog puts on his Geek hat, (or, more accurately, Geek T-shirt) and asks the question that transcends religion, politics and ideology.

"Who is the best Catwoman?"

It is a debate that has occurred within the comic nerd community for decades. But, unlike the  "Superman versus Batman" or "Batman versus Wolverine" debates, the Catwoman question has spilled over into non-comic book lovers arguments.

To begin, let's look at the comic book history of Selina Kyle, aka: Catwoman.

In the beginning, she was a full on villain. A "cat burglar" who could strike an Angelina Jolie, leg pose, with ease. She looked good. But all that long slit skirt and cape action must have made "breaking and entering" difficult.


The Catwoman of the 1960s and '70s was informed by the TV series version. The Lycra "cat suit" which TV's first Catwoman, Julie Newmar claims to have invented. (Quite probably true. Ms. Newmar did, indeed, invent "panty hose.") The TV Catwoman, played by Newmar and, later Eartha Kitt had no "real life" alter-ego. But in the 1966 movie Lee Meriwether's Catwoman was also known as "Kitka."

For decades, the "Who's the best" argument revolved around these three actresses.


For the record, the six-year-old Blogling preferred the least exotic of the three, Ms. Meriwether. During a discussion of this topic some years ago, The Blog mentioned this and said that while Julie Newmar was okay, even at the young age of six, Ms. Kitt struck me a bit too old for the purring, sex kitten routine. "It was creepy then," I said, "And the older she gets, the creepier it gets." A very gay friend who was participating in the debate, looked me straight in the eye and, hilariously, replied, "Well. You just don't know what sexy is!"

In fairness to Ms Kitt, while I was searching for images for this post, I stumbled upon this photo of her from the early 1950s. I have to share it!

                                                                        Because... Wow!

In the 1980's, in Frank Miller's "Batman":Year One" Selina Kyle was reinvented as a street hooker who accidentally kills an abusive "john" then goes on to rescue a 14-year-old runaway, Holly, by dispatching their mutual pimp without remorse. Funding her new found mission in life of disposing of Gotham City scumbags by robbing from the well insured rich, Selina becomes the flipside of Bruce Wayne's coin.





Like The Batman, she is driven to clean up Gotham's seedy underbelly, but with a much looser sense of ethics. Theft and murder are do not hinder Catwoman's mission. And while Batman goes after the flamboyant loonies at the top of Gotham's crime world, Catwoman targets the city's lower than low predators. And, Selina's Holly is never groomed to be a Robin-like sidekick. But remains, instead, a daughter figure and Selina's primary motivation for ridding the city of those who would exploit and endanger her. This story line gives this version of Catwoman the most complete and, dare I say it, realistic, backstory of any of Gotham's "Rouge's Gallery" members.

Which brings us to Tim Burton's "Batman Returns" and Michelle Pfeiffer.



Burton gave Ms. Pfeiffer's Catwoman much of the gritty S&M vibe of the "Year One" Selina. But, sadly he saddled her with a supernatural streak and a ridiculously over the top nemesis.

                                                           Two words. Christopher. Walken. Need I say more?

Then, to add insult to injury, Burton teams her up with one of the most ridiculous Batman villans ever.

                                                                                         Danny DeVito

To be clear... Of the four Burton/Schumacher Batman movies, "Batman Returns" is, by far, The Blog's favorite.

Next came Halle Berry. Halle is, IMHO, one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Let's just leave it at that.

                                                                                 The less said, the better.

And finally...

This weekend, the much anticipated third and final installment in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, "The Dark Knight Rises" (the best Batman movie series, no, the best comic book based movie series, ever) opens, and gives us always stunning (pardon me while I try to get the drool under control) Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle.

As with all of Nolan's movies, we don't know much about it and won't until it opens. (Nolan recently asked a reporter at a press junket, "So, what can I not tell you about the new movie?") But, here is what The Blog has surmised.

At no time will Selina Kyle ever be referred to as "Catwoman." Why do I think this? Have you ever noticed that that urban assault vehicle Batman drives is never once called "The Batmobile?" Same reason.

Based on the trailers, Selina comes off as a socialite who is leading the "Occupy Gotham" movement. But, for all her disdain for the billionaire Bruce Wayne, she will join forces with Batman to bring down Bane.


*Digression* Your Uncle PC has always hated the Bane character. In the comic books and in Joel Schumacher's gawdawful "Batman and Robin." I'd rather see another try at The Penguin. But, The Blog has faith that Nolan has reinvented Bane into something really interesting. Because, that's what Nolan does! *End Digression.*

So, while my judgement may be *ahem* premature...

The Blog is betting that Anne Hathaway will be.....

THE. BEST. CATWOMAN. EVER!!!



Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Lobbyist "White Trash" Party... "Y'all Come, Now!"

This is for real.

A Washington lobbying firm dedicated to killing healthcare reform is throwing a "White Trash" fund raising party.

Classy, no?

The invitation's cover is shown, above.

The body of the invitation says,....

"Hey y'all - get gussied up in your Sunday jorts, mullets, and fullets and come on down to the White Trash Reception.

White Trash Reception
July 19, 2012
5:30 - 9:30 pm
[address clipped]

Grab some suds and grub with Strategic Health Care! Please RSVP (rite so vittles pre-pared) to [email clipped].

Peggy Tighe, Beth Swickard, Jason Gromley, and Kyah Flickinger "

Every link that The Blog has found to this asshole-fest has removed the pertinent info about location and contact info.

That's a shame. Because this is a party that desperately needs crashing.

The multi-millionaires that will be at this party have all got "perrty mouths." And they should be bent over and made to "squeal like pigs."

But, sadly, that won't happen.

The party goers will wallow in their disconnect from the middle class majority.

That's fine.

Will next month's party be a black face, nigger, welfare queen party? Or, maybe a serape and sombrero wearing, lazy wetback siesta fiesta?

I don't know. But, this is the stuff that Republicans believe in.

Do you?


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Geeks!

A shout out to my friends who made it to ComicCon!

I wish I could have been there!

Maybe next year.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Science vs. Not Science

Two interesting stories in the news this week that seem to lend themselves to a perfect "double feature."

Not because of their similarities, but because of their positions on opposite ends of the spectrum.

The scientists at Geneva, Switzerland's CERN (Crazy Experimental Researching Nerds) have announced that they have found the evidence to prove the existence of the Higgs boson particle. A.K.A "The God Particle."

Here is the story.

Now this is all way beyond The Blog's understanding, but I gather that  it means that they have found the sub-atomic particle that all other sub-atomic particles are made of.


                                                            "Science works. Whether you believe in it or not."

The Blog watches "The Big Bang Theory" every week and has read "The DaVinci Code" prequel "Angels and Demons" (And, he might add, has seen the movie!)  so he considers himself an expert on the subject of CERN and the Higgs boson. And, The Blog declares this news to be the most amazing scientific discovery since Snooki's ability to procreate.

CERN actually stands for "The European Organization for Nuclear Research" (Yeah, I don't get it either. I guess it gets lost in the translation.)

In a nutshell, CERN is run by the science geek's science geeks. They invented the "World Wide Web." And, they are the home of "The Large Hadron Collider." (Not to be mistaken for the Small Hadron Collider.) The folks at CERN are The Rolling Stones of the science community.

Considering the amazing scientific advancements that have been openly announced by CERN, The Blog wonders about the things that they don't talk about. If anyone is six months away from inventing a "Star Trek" transporter beam or a time travel machine, it's the CERN scientists.

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Sad news from the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.

The museum that tries to put a pseudo-science spin on biblical "Creationism" has run into problems raising the funds to build a neighboring, Noah's "Ark Encounter" theme park.

And that is a real shame! Because, a life size rendering of Noah's Ark, complete with two of every animal (including all the various dinosaurs that the Creation Museum claims shared the Earth with humans 6,000 years ago) has got to be more fun than any old "Wizarding World of Harry Potter!" 

The Blog could take some time to describe the history rewriting awesomeness of the "Creation Museum." But, why not just go and check out their web site for yourself? When it comes to spin, this is better than the Reagan Presidential Library!

The folks behind the Creation Museum are the absolute flip side of the coin that CERN occupies.

While the folks at CERN use scientific principal to discover "The God Particle," the folks at the CM use fake science to rationalize, as fact, stories that even most Christian scholars have called "parables."

Especially the story of Noah's Ark.

In the church that The PC grew up in, we were taught that the story of the ark was so ridiculous that it was, clearly, a case of teaching a lesson via absurdist humor.

I hope that that the Ark Park gets its funding. As long as it isn't from taxpayer's money.

The Blog will be the first in line when they open!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Tonight's Top Story... *UPDATED*

Today, noted rock and roll bad boy Justin Bieber was cited by the California Highway Patrol for driving on the Ventura Freeway in Los Angeles at speeds in excess of 80 mph.

                                                             "That's right! Eat my dust, mother fuckers!"
Here is the story.

Several things about this struck The Blog as interesting.

1.) Bieber claims, by all accounts, truthfully, that he was being chased by paparazzi.

Now, The Blog has been on the chasee end of such chases on several occasions. (No, the paps were not chasing The Blog. But rather, they were chasing The Blog's famous client, who happened to be sharing her vehicle with The Blog.)

The first time it happens, you think, "Holy shit! This is cool!" But, after that first time ends, you start thinking about phrases like "high speed chase" and "Princess Diana." And then, you think about those phrases as part of a single sentence. After that, you react to chases by screaming, "HOLY FUCK! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!"

In other words, being chased by paparazzi is pretty scary.  So, I feel ya, J.B!

But...

b.) The Beebs was driving the car that his manager, Scooter "Scooter" Braun presented to him for his 18th birthday, with the help of Ellen DeGeneres.

Now, Justin, if you want to get from point A to point B in an inconspicuous manner, you could do it better in something other than a $116,000, 2011 Chrome Fisker Karma.

                                                                                          This one.

The Blog has always thought that The Batman should drive a matte black, 1985 Porsche 411. Cool, sporty and fast, with "bat-wing" doors. But, not a car that screams to those it passes, "This is The Batmobile!!!!"

Do you get my point, Justin?

Finally.) J.B. was busted by former motor cop, current Los Angeles city councilman, Dennis Zine. Councilman Zine says that if he was still a cop, he would have arrested Justin for reckless driving.

What's weird about that is that Zine is the author and main proponent of Los Angeles' "Britney's Law," a law that, among other things, holds paparazzi responsible for any possible resulting disaster that such celeb stalking might cause.


                                                                                            This Britney.


                                                                                           Or, this one.


                                                                                      Actually, this one.

The Blog surmises that Councilman Zine just isn't a "Bielieber."

*UPDATE*

One thing has occurred to The Blog.

80+ mph on The Ventura Freeway in the middle of the day? How is that even possible? If you live and drive in L.A., then you know what I'm talking about.



Sunday, July 1, 2012

Random Thoughts

I just pulled a piece of a thorn from one of my "killer palm trees" out of my scalp. I am now bleeding profusely from my head. That will have to stop before I lay my head on a pillow. #baldguysproblems

The "TomKat" marriage is over. If you can't depend on an arranged Scientologist marriage, what can you count on? #sanctityofmarriage and (at the risk of being sued by Tom Cruise,) #beardfail (See: John Travolta)

R.I.P Nora Ephron. A brilliant writer who made chick flick, rom-coms accessible to guys. The queen of "date movies!" (Not to be confused with William Friedkin, director of "The Exorcist." The worst date movie of all time.) My mind is blown to learn that she was 71-years-old! "I'll have what she's having!"  #moviesthatgotguyslaid

Can we stop wringing our hands about "ObamaCare" for a while? Get back to me in 2014 when The Affordable Care Act has been fully implemented. My money says that the majority of Americans will find that it worked out quite well. And, we will all be ready to take it to the next level. i.e. Universal/Single Payer. And, if I am wrong, The Blog will buy all of you a steak dinner at Morton's. (Unless Mrs. Blog's medical bills succeed in bankrupting The Blog household. In which case, you can buy your own damn steak!) #billinventedbyrepublicansespeciallyMittRomney(seeRomneyCareinMass)opposedbecauseobamalikesit