Takedown

Lawrence O'Donnell doesn't rate among my favorite MSNBC personalities - he's kind of sanctimonious and a scold, and doesn't really "fit" super-well with the "Poly-Sci Debate Club Running The Asylum" vibe the network has been building for itself ever since Rachel Maddow replaced Olberman as the star attraction. Not as bad as Sharpton, though. (And now you know what Bob's editing-background-noise is.)

But, credit where it's due, O'Donnell's Thursday night piece-by-piece dismantling of Internet obsession Ron Paul's bogus "libertarian" credentials was delightfully necessary:



Aaaaaaand there's an "American Bob" I no longer need to write. Good show.

Of course, since it's coming from MSNBC - clearly a tool of the Illuminati/Trilateral-Commission/Bilderberg/Bohemian-Grove/Zionist/Reptilian Globalist-Conspiracy if ever there was one! - Paul's followers will merely pack on another layer of foil and disregard it out of hand. Well said, though.

Greenberg

Sacrificial Lamb

I liked how my off-the-cuff comment to this Jeff Wells' thread about a potential Rick Santorum presidential candidacy being a sign that the GOP is essentially conceding the 2012 election to Obama (re: let the "true believer" with no real shot run and lose, regroup for the likely-open spot in 2016, tell the religious-right to please stand-down and zip-it for a change because "their guy" so clearly failed last time) so I'm reposting here. Slow news day:

"The thing is, The GOP isn't REALLY as "split" on this stuff as it sometimes seems. Social-conservatism doesn't fit with The Right's professed ideal of anti-nanny-state "rugged individualism;" but the actual percentage of the "movement" - especially at the power-brokering level - that buys into it is tiny, and most of THEM are younger people and loner types.


By and large, it's a movement chiefly of old white moneyed men (and those whose fortunes are tied in with the same) who prize economic liberty (re: "The Free Market") above all else because it's best for their business interests; and whether or not they "believe" in social-con ideals they SUPPORT them as policy because it's also good for business: enforcing "live clean, marry young, move to burbs, pump out brats" as the ONE "good" standard of living is tailor-made to produce a booming population of prefab consumers; while social-liberalism doesn't, at least not quite as effectively.


It's also the case that even the ones who DO subscribe to some malformed version of Objectivism/Libertarianism only really see it in their own terms: The "Cowboy" ideal - emphasis on BOY: They're all about the INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM!!! of adult white men to drive whatever car they want, build whatever size house they want, shoot whatever animal they want, etc... but that same freedom can't POSSIBLY be extended to, say, WOMEN. Absurd! If women had the same level of Individual Freedom they did, who would stay at home and keep up the house so they'll have TIME to go live the Cowboy Ideal!? If women were as free to not have children as men are, who will pump out the kids needed to replenish my menial-labor staff and consumer base!?"

Had it slipped into my mind at the time, I might've added my own emerging calculation that the entirety of humanity would improve immeasurably if we were all having a lot more sex (or whatever fires your engine, really) but a lot fewer children.

Bile

I didn't like "American Pie" when I was of the exact age it was supposed to be relevent to me - but then, high-school movies aren't actually for High Schoolers but for grade-schoolers who fantasize about being High Schoolers so... whatever. I'm 31, I'm sure there are 20-and-under folks with really fond, life-changing memories of these movies. At least, that's what this "American Reunion" trailer is banking on...

Y'know, my problem with this isn't that the original was only 13 years ago. My problem is that the THIRD movie - which was also about them all being adults wistful about their high-school days - was barely NINE years ago.

Also, I've got to ask... these movies are largely being made by people much older than the characters themselves; but am I the only one who notices how incongruous the whole "mid-30s adulthood grind" thing mus feel compared to what seems to be the REAL situations of the generation that graduated when these kids are supposed to have? I mean, did no one writing this look at the current economy, demographic studies, the THOUSANDS of books written about "Boomerang Kids" etc and pick up that Generation Y is by-and-large NOT at the "world wear rat-race" point that they (the writers/producers) may have been? I mean, Jim is married, has kids and a house of his own in his mid-30s!? Dear lord, what's he got to be weary about - compared to the rest of his generation his fucking SUPERMAN!!!"

Sanctum

LIFE’S LIKE A MOVIE: INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE

ADVANCED WARNING: SKIP READING THIS POST IF YOU DON’T WANT TO LISTEN TO ME INDULGE IN A BUNCH OF NAVEL GAZING. BUT IT DOES HAVE A POINT. I HOPE.

I doubt if too many people reading this blog don’t already know the plot of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. Just in case, though, let’s summarize. The story kicks off after everyone’s favorite adventuring archeologist receives his father’s diary under mysterious circumstances. Following the clues contained in the book, Indiana manages to track down his missing dad and the two are soon involved in a series of adventures which ultimately leads them to the final resting place of the Holy Grail. The action scenes are great as usual and the interplay between the Jones’ is a blast, especially since the elder Jones approves of very little of his son’s actions, especially his choice to use the alias Indiana instead of his given name.

Now I’d love to say this post was about to segue into describing how I was preparing to embark on a series of globetrotting adventures involving ancient religious relics but, alas, that’s not the case. Instead, the only reason this movie came to mind recently was because of one thing…

Yep, the diary Indiana receives that once belonged to his father. Sorry, no Nazis, no zeppelins, no mystical knights still alive since the days of the Crusades. Just the book.

But to explain why I’ve had that on my mind, I’ll have to give you a little boring background on myself. See, I’ve made no big secret that there were times in my past when I wasn’t exactly living the Christian life, but I have managed to spare everyone all the messy details. And I’m not about to get too deep into them now. But I will say that many years ago I was involved in a relationship that I was way too immature to be in, and that it ended badly, especially for the girl. Don’t get me wrong, I was never violent or anything like that (I’d eat a bullet before I hit a woman), but I was a completely self-absorbed teenager oblivious to how my actions harmed others. I don’t want to say too much more, only that for a long time after that relationship was over, the poor girl still pursued me, even after I’d begun dating my future wife. I won’t say she was a stalker, because that’s too harsh and implies danger. Let’s just say she was obsessive, and because of that, I had to keep a low profile for awhile. So as you might imagine, when I started interacting on the Internet, I was very careful about handing out personal details, never stating exactly where I lived and almost always using aliases. It’s a practice I continued even after I thought it unnecessary because, not only did it give my wife peace of mind, but aliases on the Net can take on a life of their own. Take EegahInc for example. More than once I’ve left a comment on someone else’s blog only to get the response, “Hey, it’s the B-Movie Catechism guy!”

So when I was recently approached by a Catholic website that wanted to feature some of my writing, I had to give it a little thought because it would mean using my real name. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. And that was when my mother called and said she was mailing me this…

Back in 1984, a few years after my family had left its decadent days behind it and started going to church, my father was looking for something to carry in his shirt pocket to replace the ever-present pack of cigarettes he was giving up. So for Father’s day, I bought him this. Honestly, I never gave it another thought, but according to my mother, he carried this little book with him every day until he died some 18 years later, often bringing it out to discuss the wondrous things Jesus had done for him whenever the opportunity presented itself. I was never as close to my father as my older brothers were, so the fact that he kept something I gave him on his person at all times is a bit… overwhelming.

But to get to the point, on the night he entered the hospital for the final time, this pocket testament went missing. My mother figures it just got misplaced in the rush to try and save him, and in the days following his death, nobody really gave it any thought. That was ten years ago. A couple of weeks ago, there was a knock on the door at my mother’s house and there stood a man who used to do yard work for my father after he got too ill to do it himself. He explained how he had been having a conversation with a woman when she asked him if he still knew how to find my mother. You see, she had come into possession of something she thought my mother might want and asked him if he would deliver it. And so ten years after it disappeared, this little book of my father’s, dirty and much the worse for wear and having passed through who knows whose hands, had found its way home. And after holding it and crying over it for hours, my mother finally got up and called me, saying she couldn’t explain why, but she knew God wanted me to have it.

I’ve got it next to me right now. It’s just one of those little pocket King James New Testaments with Psalms that you can pick up anywhere. No big deal. But thumbing through it, I can’t help but notice the verses my father had highlighted, most of which I assumed he would use to share the story of his conversion. But then I ran across these from II Timothy 2: “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all [men], apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” I had to think about those verses for a minute, because those aren’t ones you’d read to a non-believer. Those verses are speaking to someone who has already accepted Christ, instructing them to be gentle and respectful with non-believers when we evangelize.

And we are supposed to evangelize, through our words, our deeds, and the way we carry ourselves during our day to day lives. But given the no-longer-hidden war on religion which has begun in earnest, a lot of us are going to have be a little more public with our faith than we have been in the past. Now more than ever, it’s important that the world see our faces. Oh, there’ll be much derision, sure. And probably some outright hatred. But it will all be to the greater glory of God in the end. And that’s why my father highlighted those verses, not for others but for himself, for when he faced times like these when evangelization isn’t all that appreciated. And, just maybe, for me to find all these years later right when I needed to. Thank you, daddy.

And with that, I have only one other thing to say…

Hi, my name is David Ives. I’m a Christian. And God has done great things for me, even though in my days I’ve been mean and selfish and hurt others who in no way deserved it. He brought me out of that. That’s just how much He loves me. And He loves you just the same. I’d be happy to talk to you about it sometime if you want.

My Week with Marilyn

I never met Norma Jeane Mortenson or as the myth says, the one character she became when there was a camera in front of her. I have seen all her movies, including the very last one when I was a kid and was not supposed to be in the theater as movie was for adults only; but I was there. I probably had a crush as I couldn’t understand how in the big screen there was someone so beautiful. Suddenly I stopped watching her movies and she became a souvenir as many I have inside my brain. That’s it until I saw this movie.

I am impressed as saw Marilyn Monroe, not the actress, not Norma Jeane, but a Marilyn that surely is fictitious but so credible, so Marilyn that makes you feel for her and her particular troubles while filming the movie with none other than great Lawrence Olivier as this is also a movie about a movie with a few (nice) distractions about the life of young Colin Clark in his first ever film related job.

After watching The Iron Lady and hating the film I was really concern as this one is also a BBC production that many have spoken not nicely about it. Well, let me say that film is normal, what I can call a regular BBC production BUT film becomes mesmerizing, intriguing, emotional, puzzling because the beyond extraordinary performance by Michelle Williams. Williams is SO good that she has my vote for Oscar as her performance and portrait is by far the best of all nominated actresses. I know Marilyn is a Hollywood icon and the conservative Academy members will not dare to give Williams the Oscar for portraying Marilyn; but she will get it for this role and many more that she will do in the future, I know.

I assure you that if you have no expectations and you know Marilyn from her movies you have to enjoy this simple (not-complex), direct (not-layered), story about a young man that “helped” her to overcome the rejection she felt from Lawrence Olivier, who insisted she acted just like him, while she acted just like her and both had very different styles.

I do recommend the movie but I have seen many BBC productions so I’m very familiar with their particular “seal” or style and this movie doesn’t escape from it, which I believe is not bad (au contraire is good) is just that is not a flashy production even when tells about a very flashy American actress. Have to praise performances by great Judi Dench, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, Toby Jones and most of all Kenneth Branagh that also did a credible (yet surely fictitious) Lawrence Olivier.

Watch movie, don’t skip it, it’s worth watching for the awesome Michelle Williams performance, truly spectacular. Bravo Ms Williams.

Big Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC