If You See Only One Movie Sequel This Year. . .

Well, chances are it's going to be 'The Dark Knight Rises'.

But if you want to see two movie sequels this year, keep your calender open on 10/12/12 when 'Atlas Shrugged Part II' hits theaters.

Someone Call The Wahbulance!

Because conservatives are taking over Twitter hash tags to make fun of Obama and Gonzalo Cordova isn't going to stand for it.

So instead of pointing out what's funny and what isn't (simple word play, what's funnier?  Fender or bumper?  Normally bumper is funnier but fender is usually better) he just points out a few jokes that fell flat or some that he just did not get.  Which-- as a writer for Comedy Central-- is a bit below his paygrade. 

Countless blogs have already done that for free.  

What a good comedy writer would have done is shown where the funny was and maybe even thrown in a few jokes himself.  After all, even Gonzalo said that:  Everyone in power deserves to be ridiculed.

Unless they are doing their best to carry water for the super cool, hip and sassiest president evah!  Then no ridicule is needed.

Thanks to Beth for the find. 

If You Go See One Movie This Weekend. . .

Chances are it's going to be The Hunger Games or Titanic 3D or The Cabin in the Woods.

But if you can't stand to hear Celine Dion belt out how her heart will go on or think that the teenagers in a remote cabin will wait for the rents and you've seen The Hunger Games, there is an option for you.

Something that still tells a good story and grips you emotionally.  October Baby is the movie for you.
 

Lessons In The Free Market

Snoop Dogg knows his audience.

I'm merely speculating that the release date of the book is April 20th.

"Politics Is Downstream From Culture"

A happy culture warrior passed away way before his time last Thursday.

Andrew Breitbart-- activist, provocateur, citizen journalist, husband and father of four-- is gone. I'm halfway waiting for this to be some sort of Andy Kaufman type prank that James O'Keefe is behind.

But this isn't about how Andrew died. It's about something I've heard him say several times in various speeches. That "Politics is downstream from culture."

That phrase sat in my head for a long time, like a itch on my back that I just couldn't scratch. Until this past Superbowl I saw this commercial that made it sink it:



And at the end of the commercial, there is Flavor Flav sitting in the dudgeon with Elton John. Flavor Flav rose to fame as part of the militant rap group, Public Enemy.



So the guy who helped the group to perform this song:

Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant ---- to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother---- him and John Wayne

Now has had several shows on VH1, MTV and is a current pop culture icon.

The entertainment complex has decided to prop up a washed up, racist, militant extremist from twenty years ago as a mainstream pop culture icon for today.

And people wonder why Republicans have trouble shaking the old white guy image.

Andrew understood that. I finally got that. Republicans need to get this or they'll be swept off to the byways of history.

Is This How The World War II Memorial Should Really Be Treated?

It was a hot day out at the National Mall but that should still be no excuse to dip your toes in the WWII Memorial.

And Now: Cowboy Poetry!

Since Congress passed their stop-gap and things have settled down
I have no idea the Cowboy Poetry Fest will still be around
Here is a sample or three of what one might hear.
Because Cowboy Poetry isn't going anywhere.

The subject of tonight's poems is one Baxter Black.
As you can see, he's quite good. He ain't no hack.
With humor and insight, he speaks his lines.
And with his lexicon dexterity, makes them rhyme.

Enough with the intros and my yabbering.
Let's get to what you came for, Baxter's jabbering.
A real life cowboy poet dealing with a range of issues,
Starting out with when you're on a horse and a lack of tissues.



Another one from Mr. Black, if you want to hear
About his dog. I dare you not to shed a tear.

About his dog. I dare you not to shed a tear.

Lastly, my favorite of his in this celebration,
What he recited at my wife's graduation.
So maybe it's the sentimental value attached to the verse.
How simple it is when mine are so much worse.

People Are Funny Critters

People are funny critters.
There's apple pie bakers,
And crooked book makers,
And blondes and brunetters,
And birthday forgetters,
And chicken fry lovers,
And blue eyed soul brothers,
And drinkers and boozers,
And winners and losers,
And elephant trainers,
And tireless campaigners,
And fixers and menders,
And paper clip benders,
And goers and stayers,
And pinochle players,
And handkerchief users,
And tissue abusers,
And interstate bikers,
And wilderness hikers,
And joggers and addicts,
And handball fanatics,
And kissers and tellers,
And friends of the fellers,
And lovers and fighters,
And finger nail biters,
And mayonnaise dippers,
And miracle whippers,
And newspaper readers,
And drivers and speeders,
And overweight hookers,
And magazine lookers,
And people with answers,
And bottomless dancers,
And quivering flunkers,
And basketball dunkers,
And readers and thinkers,
And double scotch drinkers,
And soda straw manglers,
And bar napkin stranglers,
And teasers and triers,
And high rolling flyers,
And uncles and sisters,
And passive resisters,
And virtuous girlies,
And sillies and squirlies,
And weirdoes and sickies,
And five dollar quickies,
And xylophone pickers,
And popsicle lickers,
And yawners and nappers,
And one handicappers,
And zippy old timers,
And lunatic rhymers.
People are funny critters.

by Baxter Black

This concludes tonight's session of our Cowboy Poetry Slam.
Remember this, should Congress find itself in a budgetary jam.
That private citizens can do just as well organizing this stuff,
Because when the government steps in, we've all have had enough.

So It's Come To This: A Statue Of RoboCop In Detroit

Philidelphia has a statue of Rocky, an inspirational tale about an regular joe getting a chance to box the world champ and a shot at greatness.

Why not a statue of RoboCop for Detroit? A tale of a dytopic future where lawlessness rules the land and in the back pocket of a corrupt government.

Old movies can cast a nostalgic glow on just about any setting – even a struggling Rust Belt city such as Detroit.

That’s what a group of youthful idealists say they are hoping to do with a sculpture of, yes, Robocop – the hero of a 1980’s film of the same name in which a cop dies and is reborn as a cyborg in a dystopian Motor City.

Signs That The Apocalypse Shall Soon Be Here

Lady Gaga is introducing a new perfume.

"Yeah? So? What's so shocking about that?" You might be temped to say.

Wait until you find out what she wants the perfume to smell like.

According to sources in the fragrance industry hired to develop Lady Gaga‘s first fragrance, the pop star has requested that the scent “smell of blood and semen.”

Video: Photoshop In Action

It's still surprising to me how much modern photos are manipulated by Photoshop. Next time you see a girl on a cover of a magazine who looks too good to be true. She is.

Want To Make A Hit Movie? Write In A Lesbian Scene For Natalie Portman.

Although past movies with lesbian scenes have done well, it is no indication of how future movies will perform with audiences.

So I'm only paraphrasing what Natalie Portman said about her new movie.

I guess it's one way to peak the public interests in a movie about ballet. It was either that or have the plot be about a Russian dancer who defected from the USSR to the USE end up in the USSR again. But that's been done.

I'm not trying to single out Black Swan (which I haven't seen and probably won't. Not when I have yet to see Tron: Legacy and The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader yet). But I doubt that guys will fork over the nine bucks to see the movie for that reason alone. Not when they are never more than three clicks away from porn for free on the internet*.

The lesbian scene is a gimmick. It was added to create buzz about the movie. Mainly from when I read anything about it, the girl-girl action is always mentioned. Would the movie be talked about if it wasn't?

Related: It's a tell all book so take it for what it's worth but-- if true-- does confirm much of what people suspect about Hugh Hefner. Thanks to Ace for that last link.

*A statistic I made up on the spot but it sounded good.

Updated:  Linked by The Other McCain. 

Some Programming Notes For The Inner Geek

The BBC is producing Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. To which I say damn. There won't be any way it will air here unless it's on PBS and they only play the crappy shows from the BBC. So I'm out of luck unless it is released as a Region One DVD. Eventually. I wasn't sure from reading the article but I think it's going to be a regular series instead of a TV movie or mini-series.

This has to be the strangest source material for a Disney movie. The King of the Elves by Philip K. Dick. Not too bad. Especially considering some of Dick's other stories.

It should be obvious by now that I'm some sort of nerd.

I took my two daughters to see 'Tangled' tonight. Very good movie. There are a couple of rather intense moments for younger viewers. But if they have seen 'Finding Nemo' or 'Toy Story 3' already, it should be okay.

It does have its share of comic violence. But the character that it happens to, Flynn, lives through it without a scratch. So it isn't any worse than the 'Roadrunner and Coyote' cartoon.

For a decent movie with enough humor on both levels-- getting kids to laugh while throwing adults a bone or two-- give it a try.

Amy Schumer Advertises Herself Out To Be An Easy Date

Thanks to Da Tech Guy by way of the Hot Air quotes for the day.

At about the 3:58 mark, Amy Schumer lets it slip that she's had sex with about a "Baker's two dozen". So about 26 guys for a woman who isn't in her thirties yet.  Out of everything she said, that could have been the worse thing that came out of her mouth.  During that clip, obviously.



What irks me is how she feels it's somehow incumbent upon herself to attack Crowder's position about abstinence. Because she's been around the block more than a few times somehow makes her more wise than Crowder. She assumes that Crowder is the naive virgin with rose colored glasses and it's her duty to remove them.

She couldn't even muster up enough self esteem to give him a pat on the back and say, "Good job. Won't work with me because, you know, I'm kind of a gutter trollop myself but if it works for you. . ."

Note to Amy, being flat on your back doesn't make you world wise. Only world weary.

Anyone else could have traded in their level of fame for some chick who was ready to trot but he hasn't. There's something to be said about the willpower and character of Crowder.