Frank Miller is now a washed up talentless hack, but at one time he revitalized Batman with his 1986 classic "The Dark Knight Returns" followed by "Batman:Year One". His directorial debut, an adaptation of Will Eisner's "The Spirit" was D.O.A. at the box office. Recently in his blog he decribed the OWS movement as "nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists." "These clowns can do nothing but harm America." "This is no popular uprising. This is garbage. And goodness knows they’re spewing their garbage – both politically and physically – every which way they can find."
"In the name of decency, go home to your parents, you losers. Go back to your mommas’ basements and play with your Lords Of Warcraft," he continued after identifying organizations such as Al Qaeda as an "enemy of mine" but not of Occupy supporters. "Or better yet, enlist for the real thing. Maybe our military could whip some of you into shape."
What a difference 20 years makes. In "Batman: Year One" he included this scene of a dinner party with the wealthy and corrupt of Gotham City:
The scene and pretty much the entire mini series was recreated verbatim for the recent animated film from Warner Bros.
After Miller's temper tantrum many of the comic book industry's professionals responded, condeming Miller's ingorant words.
When it comes to science fiction Andrew Niccol is more like Ray Bradbury than Ben Bova - he's not interested in the technical aspects but on the people affected by the strange futures that he dreams up. SIMONE, flawed as it was, touched upon how technology distances humanity. GATTACA addressed what it meant to be "perfect," genetically. And IN TIME is very much a film about the idea of class and wealth in today's Great Recession society. It's extremely timely in that regard - Andrew Niccol couldn't have predicted the current unrest specifically, but he saw the writing on the wall when he wrote IN TIME, and the result is a film that feels very much an allegory for modern life today.
IN TIME is full of ideas, and Andrew Niccol explores a world in which the wealthy live forever while the poor run around taking every moment of life they can. The allegory isn't subtle, for certain - we see people borrowing time with interest, and while prices and rates go up, those who can't afford it perish in the streets. Meanwhile the Timekeepers make sure that time stays allotted to the right people, and the lower classes must live out their lives in desperation. IN TIME is rich with ideas, almost too much so, and yet anyone with a liberal bone in their body will practically cheer at the message here, while conservatives will grumble. It's the Occupy Wall Street of science fiction films.
I recommend IN TIME - I enjoyed it quite a bit, but mostly for the social message and the world Niccol builds. It's got pacing problems, some plot holes that are pretty sizable, but it all comes down to the moviegoer and what they are willing to gloss over. I was willing to gloss over quite a bit because of what the film was trying to say, but I still recognized that the problems were there. I may be in the minority on IN TIME - I found it mostly captivating, interesting, and stuffed with ideas, but I could also see how other moviegoers would get frustrated with it. In any case, Niccol has put his hand on the pulse of what's happening in our society right now, and he addresses those issues in a fascinating way. I think IN TIME is worth seeing alone for that.
I was planning on seeing it anyway, but if it makes a conservative sad or angry then I am DEFINITELY there.
‘Rise like Lions after slumber In unvanquishable number, Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you— Ye are many—they are few.’
9-1-1: "Thank you for calling 911 Inc. For English, please press 1. For all other languages, please press purple.
caller presses 1
9-1-1: "If this call is police related, press 1. If this call is utilities related, please press 2. If this call is medical related, please pray to our chosen diety as you are not entitled to health care. If this call is fire related, please press 3."
caller presses 3
9-1-1: "Due to the large volume of calls, all operators are currently assisting others. Your emergency is important to us, so please continue to hold. An operator will be with you shortly."
(While holding, sound bytes from Limbaugh, Palin, Beck et. al plays)
9-1-1: "Due to the large volume of calls, all operators are currently assisting others. Your emergency is important to us, so please continue to hold. An operator will be with you shortly."
(Now a commercial for gold with Glenn Beck plays on a loop)
9-1-1: "Due to the large volume of calls, all- Thank you for holding. This is Steve. How may I help you?"
caller: "My house is on fire! Please, send help! My family is trapped inside!"
9-1-1: "Sure, not a problem. Please note that extraction of people is extra. Normally, it's a flat $1,500 per person, but this month we have a 5 for 5 special. Five or more family members get you a 5% discount. How many in your family?"
caller: "Wife and 2 kids. Hurry!"
9-1-1: "Sorry you won't qualify for our special. Any pets?"
caller: "Two dogs."
9-1-1: "Super. Our rate is $2,000 for pets. How many levels to your house, counting the basement if applicable?"
caller: "Uh, 2?"
9-1-1: "Are you asking me or telling me, sir?"
caller: "Two"
9-1-1: "Great. That will be $17,500 for that. Let's see, with equipment rental fees, pay for 8 firemen, a 2 level house with 2 pets and 4 family members comes to a total of $37,346.78. Note that you will have to negotioate water usage pricing with your local utilities. Will you be putting that on a Visa or Master Card, or will you be paying cash?"
caller: "Never mind. The house just collapsed and killed everyone."
9-1-1: "Bummer. Please hold while I connect you with 9-1-1 Inc.'s Mortuary Services. At the end of the call, please take the short survey to tell them how your experience with 9-1-1 inc. was. One lucky winner will recieve $1,000 off on their next emergency call. Once again, thank you for choosing 9-1-1 Inc. Have a great day."
The events of the past weekend SHOULD have been a "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" kind of moment for the Repblican party. They could have stepped back, taken a good look at themselves and seen the grotesque parodies of human behavior that they have become. Maybe for once felt ashamed. But no. The rank and vile just turn their nasty, deadly rhetoric up to 11. Are they so deranged, so far removed from humanity that they are incapable of realizing that they have made possible the environment that sets unbalanced individuals off on missions of murder? Or do they know and just don't care? What will it take to get through to their cro magnon brains?
Maybe there are some good, decent Republicans left out there. Maybe they are too afraid to speak out against their party, given the visciousness of their fellow Reapublicans. I have some advice for them. Take back your party, before it's too late. Before your party goes the way of the cro magnon man.
To the Palins, Becks, Coulters, O'Riellys and Limbaughs of the GOP I can only ask this
"At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
From ABC's early 80's sketch comedy show "Fridays" comes a classic. Even truer today than it was then. And on a related note, Rocky Horror Picture Show gets a blu-ray release on Tuesday. That's what reminded me of this sketch.
LOCAL BOY WITH CANCER TURNS INTO SUPERHERO FOR A DAY.
Thursday was shaping up to be just another school day for 13-year-old Erik Martin, but then something extraordinary happened: Spider-Man called.
Spider-Man happens to be one of the few people who knows that Erik, too, has a secret identity — he's Electron Boy, a superhero who fights the powers of evil with light.
And Spider-Man needed Erik's help.
Erik, who is living with liver cancer, has always wanted to be a superhero. On Thursday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers in Bellevue and Seattle.
To all the IMMIGRANTS out there, LEGAL and OTHERWISE, it's time you learn to speak the NATIVE LANGUAGE. I'm here to help you with a few key words and phrases to get you started. Ready? Super! HAU=Hello (Lakota), AGI'A=Eat (Cherokee), AHIYA'A=Leave (Cherokee), ISTE CE=Ashamed (Lakota), Emâsêhanee'e=He is crazy. (Cheyenne), Ehavêseva'e=It is bad. (Cheyenne) Soon you'll be speaking like you were here before we were.
Wow, I am really tired of hearing about this whole argument of "Bush did it, no wait, it's Obama's fault, no wait, it was the Dems/Reps..." Everyone wants to play the blame game, but not deal or cope with the actual problems.
To which a friend of his replied:
Politicians aren't like us. We like to diagnose and fix the problem. They would rather throw electrical tape around a cut cable and blame someone who did not agree with them for cutting it in the first place. Just replace the damn cable and be done with it!
To which I replied:
But when the Democrats try to replace the cable, the repugs will cry and stomp their feet and have Fox News tell you why the cable doesn't need to be replaced and it's socialism if you try. Glenn Beck will write on his chalk board and cry and tell you how Hitler "tried to replace the cable and look what happened". Then Saint Sarah will use one of her homespun homilies like "I said thanks, but no thanks to replacing the cable" (even though she DID want to replace the cable years ago). And even though half the population KNOWS the cable should be replaced, they'll act against their best interests because that's what they were told to do and hold armed rallies to fight replacing the cable. But I agree. FUCK bipartisanship and replace the cable anyway.
Dear John, Sometimes, someone who hates you will be more honest with you than a friend. The friend might be afraid of hurting your feelings while I am not. I'll just come out and say it. The next time you go to "Tans R Us" at the strip mall, pick a fucking color that actually occurs in nature. You know, one that looks like the actual result of flesh getting some sunlight. You look like you fell asleep in a vat of Tang. Now, by Tang I don't mean the slang for vagina (god knows you GOPigs are afraid of THAT), I mean the orange flavored drink that astronauts like. You remind me of that episode of "Friends" where Ross was getting a spray tan only to keep getting his front sprayed by accident ("Four twos...you mean I'm an EIGHT?!"). I'd love to smack the arrogant out of you, but I'm afraid my hand would become stained orange.
toodles, Cheap_Trick
p.s. Just a quick reminder to you and the rest of the rank and vile....a BLACK man is your boss. Choke on THAT, losers.
