Email notification to Brandon Starr's blog has been shown to reduce bad cholesterol in two-toed sloths, and has been used as an effective exfoliant.
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Sunday, September 26, 2004
Colin Powell: Iraq insurgency is worsening
Powell: Insurgency is worsening (BBC)
Yet he says it's premature to assume elections cannot be held in January.
All righty.
Meanwhile, for U.S. troops, we're up to 1048 dead and 4026 wounded badly enough not to be able to return to duty within 72 hours, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. (this number will be higher if you click after 9/26/04.)
They rigorously follow all casualty information released by the Armed Forces. Presumably, it's accurate. But it's hard to say. If there are black ops in there, they likely aren't included. Any other groups not included? Who knows.
I wonder, regardless of the "official" current count, how many is too many to be dead or maimed due to a "President's" lie?
I have a number in mind...
Saturday, September 25, 2004
I saw "Shaun of the Dead" yesterday.
Very funny. If you missed its coming, it's a British zombie film. Half-comedy, half-horror, it isn't quite a parody of "Night of the Living Dead" and its sequels, yet it owes an extremely large amount to those films.
(VAGUE SPOILERS AHEAD)
The zombies are the classic Romero types: slow, stupid, but relentless, and dangerous in numbers.
The film also explores issues largely left untouched by the Romero films: what do you do if your friend or loved one becomes a zombie? How quickly would you recognize a zombie uprising for what it is? And, especially, how important is it to have access to beer when deciding on your safe house?
The film, while both comedic and horrific throughout, tilts toward comedy at the beginning: Shaun and his cohorts take a long, long time to realize what they're up against, with much comedy resulting. Towards the end, as main characters are threatened and friends and family disappear into the outstretched arms of the zombie horde, horror is the main ingredient. Yet some balance is always maintained.
The British style of humor is there--in reactions, in the language, in the physical humor, and in the use of pacing and cuts. But because it uses parody of American films, it never feels quite British, either. It's an interesting mix.
If you like the Romero films, horror, zombies, or making fun of any of those things, you'll love "Shaun of the Dead."
Friday, September 24, 2004
I saw "American Splendor" the other day on cable for the first time.
It's a good movie. The writer, who knew R. Crumb early on and whose comics were illustrated mostly by Crumb, has the same sort of quiet hopelessness as Crumb himself. It's easy to see why they became friends. If friends is the right word--neither person has the personality for a friendship in the usual meaning of the word. But they had some sort of close relationship, anyway.
If you haven't seen the movie "Crumb," it's even better. It's a true documentary, rather than a biopic. And Crumb's relatives are as far gone or further than Crumb himself. It's a powerful movie, kind of a downer, but extremely interesting.
These two movies would definitely make a great double feature. I'm sure someone will do it if it hasn't been done already.
Anyway, "American Splendor" and "Crumb." If you like documentaries about individuals, comics, the underground art movement, or personality disorders, you'll like these two flicks.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Ivan hitting Gulf Coast--again!...and, Jeanne.... All you need to know about Iyad Allawi
Iyad Allawi, the "leader" of Iraq, spoke out in a speech that I'm not going to quote here. Suffice it to say, only "President" Bush and Dick Cheney have more reasons to put a rosy glow on the horrors of Iraq.
So, what do you need to know about Allawi? Why did the Bush Administration choose him?
Like Bush's dad, Allawi is a CIA guy. (This is just a link to a mild TIME article. You can find out more by Googling "Allawi and CIA.")
Talk about putting the cobra in the cradle.
House Republicans vote to overturn separation of powers Wednesday, September 22, 2004
What most of the MST3k crew...
...is now doing: (Well, a good chunk: Mike "Mike" Nelson, Bill "Observer" Corbett, and Kevin "Tom Servo" Murphy) doing an NPR radio show about movies.
At least, there was a pilot show. I don't know where it's headed. You can hear a clip from the show on the site.
Check it out.
(MST3k is short for "Mystery Science Theater 3000," my all-time favorite TV show, and if you didn't know that, you probably won't be interested in what they're doing now.)
Oil supplies lower than anticipated, sends oil above $48, higher than all-time high reached in August.
Stocks didn't like this at all: the oil news, plus problems at Morgan Stanely and Fannie Mae, caused the market to drop today.
The hurricanes are part of the problem, of course, especially since Ivan hit the oil-rich Gulf Coast. Ongoing concerns in Iraq are another. That, plus other problems as they crop up and the fact that worldwide demand has risen up to meet the current output potential, and oil prices are not going to drop soon.
Disclosure: I have a bullish position in oil producer ExxonMobil.
There are still a lot of folks out there who seem to think "normal" oil prices are in the mid $20s. They also seem to want to blame "fear and uncertainty" as though this is a mere emotional spike in the market that will settle back down any time now. But if you check the recent history, the prices haven't really spiked; they rose gradually but steadily until August, settled back down for a while, and now are on the climb again. It doesn't strike me as the chart you'd see on emotion or speculation. I'll grant that the volume has grown greatly, especially in this second price rise, indicating some speculation; but speculators always move into markets that are on the march. Speculative dollars are never in dull or sideways markets.
Markets don't care about what people think is "normal;" they operate strictly on supply and demand. World demand is up, production capacity is flat; therefore more people are chasing the same amount of oil. Thus, prices will rise until either world demand goes back down (recession, or a forced reduction in demand from high prices) or capacity is increased (a slow process, but it can happen). In the meantime, with demand so close to the limits of supply, every hiccup that comes down the pike--hurricanes, Iraq, Russia's Yukos, Sudanese unrest, Venezuelan political upheaval--causes prices to move even more.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Rodney Dangerfield in coma
Rodney Dangerfield in 2-week coma after heart surgery
Sorry, I can't make a "no respect" joke about this one.
Though he made a lot of bad movies, he was in "Caddyshack" and "Back to School," and that's good enough for me. Plus he was funny on stage, and helped tons of young stand up comics make it.
It doesn't look good, but maybe he'll be pull through. After all, this is a guy who was a total washout until he was about 40 years old and decided to relaunch a failed career in comedy. So you know he's tough.
Here's Rodney's home page.
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