Remember last summer when Israeli commandos stormed a couple of Turkish ships in international waters and murdered people on them? Or, in other words, what Wikipedia euphemistically calls the Gaza flotilla raid? Of course, as you know, Wikipedia has "a strong liberal bias", according to The Trustworthy Encyclopedia, so that's hardly surprising.
Anyway, I got into a sort of Facebook mini-discussion about the flotilla incident, and I was sent links to some Youtube videos that would explain to me exactly what happened. Those videos were clips from Glenn Beck's show. I'm not going to link to them because they're too asinine to be believed. Instead, while I was listening to music on YouTube, I ran into a video somebody put together of Glenn Beck explaining why the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen are, in fact, communists. In my opinion, the level of insight and presentation here should give everyone a fairly good idea of what Beck's show is like. Remember that this is an edited version; in the actual show, he spends around a third of the entire time staring at his blackboard and repeating what he said before. But anyway, here's Glenn Beck on music.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
New Movies Playing!
The Housemaid
What's It About?
After a housemaid seduced by her rich boss with a pregnant wife, becomes pregnant, the housemaid seeks revenge when she is forced to get an abortion.
Trailer:
PREDICTION:
"It looks wonderful! Delicious and very soap-operish."
***
No Strings Attached
What's It About?
A girl and guy who are best friends, evolve into being "friends with benefits."
Trailer:
PREDICTION:
"It looks uninteresting. The cast looks about right but I really don't want to see Natalie Portman or Ashton Kutcher in a movie about no strings attached sex."
***
E N J O Y
*the*
M O V I E S
*the*
M O V I E S
***
Comics, What Are Those?
Back in September I decided to switch from receiving single issue comics to just getting the trade paperbacks. I did this for a variety of reasons. The main one is that I like storing them in a book case instead of storing them in tons of boxes in a closet. Also, when you only pick up your comics every couple months, it is hard to remember what the hell was happening. When I picked them up on Monday there were still a good bit of single issues left since they finished up the current arc I was reading. Here are my thoughts on some of them.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
Allow me to recap for those of you that did not follow this whole thing. Batman was killed by Darkseid, but it turns out that the body that Superman found was not actually Batman. Instead he was sent back in time with no memory. He bounces through time, leaving clues that he is alive around Wayne Manor. Turns out that Darkseid made Batman into a weapon and when he finally comes back, he will destroy the universe (do not ask, it really makes no sense, ask DCUniverse).
Anyways, everything ends with Bruce back and he wants to take Batman international. Set up some franchises across the world. The only thing I can agree with is the decision to not force Dick out of his role as Batman. I actually loved Dick as Batman. It was nice to see an unsure Batman. I also enjoyed his relationship with Damian as the new Robin. And since everyone now knows that Bruce has been funding Batman for years, I am guessing everyone will just put two and two together that they are one and the same. I guess it is that leap of faith we have to take whenever Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent hang out. A billionaire playboy and a mild-mannered reporter are really good friends, one from Gotham, the other from Metropolis, just like two superheroes?
Daredevil Shadowland
I started out really loving this story. Daredevil takes over the Hand and wants to turn them into something good. He takes over Hell's Kitchen (he uses his assassins to patrol the streets and kick HAMMER's ass when they come to shut him down) and seems to be doing good things. I wanted to see where this was going to go. Unfortunately, they decided to go a different route. Turns out that there is a secret group with the secret group that needs a pure soul to kill someone in order to let the Beast in. The Beast is some kind of evil incarnate and it causes the people of Hell's Kitchen to go crazy.
The heroes connected to DD come out and want to stop him. They find out the only way to stop the Beast is to kill the host. They try to fight him, but he kicks their asses. Matt regains control for a second and decides to take his own life and everything is fine. Then his body disappears and we see that he is alive and well. He decides to leave the city and give up his life as Daredevil. Apparently he cannot forgive himself for what he did. But, it was such a let down. I mean, either he should have killed himself or just write the whole thing off as him being mind-controlled. And now the Black Panther is patrolling the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen. Oh, and why the hell did Wolverine just show up at the end for the last battle? He is rarely a character that pops up in DD (especially over the last few years). In fact, someone even asks why he is there. He does not appear in enough books, they had to just toss him randomly into this story.
Supergod
This is one that would have been great to read as a collected edition (hell I might buy it someday just to reread it in one sitting). Unfortunately, none of the single issues were very standout, yet the idea was very cool. The idea is what if countries had an arms race trying to create a superhuman. The different nations basically create gods and they end up destroying most of the world. Like most Warren Ellis stories, it is definitely out there.
Ultimate Spider-Man
This one actually ended pretty well. The story was that this new Chameleon tries to take J. Jonah Jameson and steal his identity. Peter Parker tries to stop him and the new guy realizes Peter is Spider-Man and decides to take his identity. This guy and his sister have the same shape-changing powers. The story ends with the Human Torch and Iceman rescuing Peter. Unfortunately, the bad guys know their identities. Instead of doing something complex, they just take the two villains to SHIELD where they are locked up. I love that Bendis uses SHIELD to aid Spider-Man. It is kind of like whenever Spidey would be fighting someone in the regular Marvel Universe, you would ask yourself "why don't the Avengers ever just show up and help him out?" I also loved that at the end, JJJ realizes that Parker is Spider-Man. I also like the JJJ thinks of Spider-Man as a hero in this universe (he realizes his during the whole Magneto world ending event, I think it was called Ultimatum or something).
Where Does This Leave Me?
I have a few trades to read, which I might write about next week. I have come to an interesting decision though. I want to get rid of all my single issues. I am going to try to find a way to sell them, I have heard of a few sites where people will buy your entire collection. I realize I will not get anything close to what I paid for them and I am pretty much okay with that. If I cannot find a buyer by next October, I will most likely use them for charity at work. Maybe set up a table and sell single issues for a quarter or five for a dollar. All the money would go to the Children's Hospital. Anything left over, I will just donate to some library or maybe one of those charities for soldiers...
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
Allow me to recap for those of you that did not follow this whole thing. Batman was killed by Darkseid, but it turns out that the body that Superman found was not actually Batman. Instead he was sent back in time with no memory. He bounces through time, leaving clues that he is alive around Wayne Manor. Turns out that Darkseid made Batman into a weapon and when he finally comes back, he will destroy the universe (do not ask, it really makes no sense, ask DCUniverse).
Daredevil Shadowland
I started out really loving this story. Daredevil takes over the Hand and wants to turn them into something good. He takes over Hell's Kitchen (he uses his assassins to patrol the streets and kick HAMMER's ass when they come to shut him down) and seems to be doing good things. I wanted to see where this was going to go. Unfortunately, they decided to go a different route. Turns out that there is a secret group with the secret group that needs a pure soul to kill someone in order to let the Beast in. The Beast is some kind of evil incarnate and it causes the people of Hell's Kitchen to go crazy.
The heroes connected to DD come out and want to stop him. They find out the only way to stop the Beast is to kill the host. They try to fight him, but he kicks their asses. Matt regains control for a second and decides to take his own life and everything is fine. Then his body disappears and we see that he is alive and well. He decides to leave the city and give up his life as Daredevil. Apparently he cannot forgive himself for what he did. But, it was such a let down. I mean, either he should have killed himself or just write the whole thing off as him being mind-controlled. And now the Black Panther is patrolling the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen. Oh, and why the hell did Wolverine just show up at the end for the last battle? He is rarely a character that pops up in DD (especially over the last few years). In fact, someone even asks why he is there. He does not appear in enough books, they had to just toss him randomly into this story.
Supergod
Ultimate Spider-Man
This one actually ended pretty well. The story was that this new Chameleon tries to take J. Jonah Jameson and steal his identity. Peter Parker tries to stop him and the new guy realizes Peter is Spider-Man and decides to take his identity. This guy and his sister have the same shape-changing powers. The story ends with the Human Torch and Iceman rescuing Peter. Unfortunately, the bad guys know their identities. Instead of doing something complex, they just take the two villains to SHIELD where they are locked up. I love that Bendis uses SHIELD to aid Spider-Man. It is kind of like whenever Spidey would be fighting someone in the regular Marvel Universe, you would ask yourself "why don't the Avengers ever just show up and help him out?" I also loved that at the end, JJJ realizes that Parker is Spider-Man. I also like the JJJ thinks of Spider-Man as a hero in this universe (he realizes his during the whole Magneto world ending event, I think it was called Ultimatum or something).
Where Does This Leave Me?
I have a few trades to read, which I might write about next week. I have come to an interesting decision though. I want to get rid of all my single issues. I am going to try to find a way to sell them, I have heard of a few sites where people will buy your entire collection. I realize I will not get anything close to what I paid for them and I am pretty much okay with that. If I cannot find a buyer by next October, I will most likely use them for charity at work. Maybe set up a table and sell single issues for a quarter or five for a dollar. All the money would go to the Children's Hospital. Anything left over, I will just donate to some library or maybe one of those charities for soldiers...
SHRUTI HASSAN
She is daughter of super star Kamal Hassan and Sarika
Debut in bollywood opposite Imran Khan in movie "LUCK"
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Anne the Cat... Catwoman Returns As Hathaway!
(Actress Anne Hathaway, known for her good girl roles, will play the villainous, sexy Catwoman in 2012's upcoming The Dark Knight Rises.)
I'm still in disbelief that Anne Hathaway has won the role of Catwoman in the latest Batman movie set to release in 2012:
(http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/anne-hathaway-latest-don-catwomans-mask/story?id=12725020&page=2)
I'm still upset.
I was rooting on Angelina Jolie, even though she wasn't even an official contender to play the notoriously sexy Catwoman.
Actually I'm still hoping Hathaway's name is a major misprint and Jolie's name will soon be announced soon to play Catwoman!
Vanilla looking Anne Hathaway is one of the last actresses I can imagine as feisty Catwoman. She reeks niceness too much--- something Catwoman lacks a lot of.
Hathaway's film career is built around her playing sunny, funny, klutzy nice girl roles--- starting from her breakout role in 2001 as a princess in The Princess Diaries.
So far, she's only taken on three risky roles--- none which were so believable:
-a promiscuous, swearing, female "wigger" in 2005's Havoc
-an ex-addict in 2008's Rachel Getting Married
-a phone sex operator in 2010's Valentine's Day
I want to say that perhaps Hathaway will shock me and everyone else who thinks she doesn't have the ferociousness and sexiness in her to play Catwoman, and end up being a great Catwoman...
But I just don't see that happening.
I cringe imagining her wearing tight leather or latex and crawling about. The thought seems faux and un-sexy.
Even when Hathaway tries to be sexy, it looks forced:
There are rumors however, that Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Rises will focus on more of her origin:
So Hathaway probably will be donning just a mask, not full Catwoman gear (tight costume and whip)--- which I hope. Hathaway holding a whip just screams awkward!
If the rumor is true, it makes a little more sense why young Hathaway was cast as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman).
Still, no other young, talented, tougher looking actress was available?
I was super excited months ago when I first heard Catwoman may resurface in Nolan's newest Batman film, but knowing Hathaway is playing her doesn't excite me one bit.
I'm just excited to see his take on Selina Kyle's origin (which hopefully will faithfully follow the comic book one of her starting off as a thief as a teenager.)
Hopefully Hathaway can manage to play Catwoman with some justice.
However, I already know there is no way she can out top Michelle Pheiffer's 1992 purrfect portrayal Catwoman, or the three other great Catwomen before her--- Julie Newar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt.
Perhaps she can do better than Halle Berry's 2004 just okay portrayal of the sexy cat.
In the meantime, I'm still hoping Jolie:
will somehow replace Hathaway!
***
Cinemanista's Catwoman Contenders:
The surveillance society takes to the skies
via The Agitator:
USA Today: Police turn to drones for domestic surveillance
USA Today: Police turn to drones for domestic surveillance
Police agencies around the USA soon could have a new tool in their crime-fighting arsenal: unmanned aircraft inspired by the success of such drones on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Local governments have been pressing the Federal Aviation Administration for wider use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs — a demand driven largely by returning veterans who observed the crafts' effectiveness in war, according to experts at New Mexico State University and Auburn University. Police could use the smaller planes to find lost children, hunt illegal marijuana crops and ease traffic jams in evacuations of cities before hurricanes or other natural disasters.
So the police want unmanned aerial vehicles, all the better to monitor you with. The clinching argument comes at the end of the article:
The Miami-Dade Police Department has tested two 18-pound UAVs equipped with a camera for about 18 months, Sgt. Andrew Cohen says. The department has been licensed to operate the craft up to 200 feet in the air, but the drone must remain within 1,000 feet of the operator.
Cohen says the department wants to use the craft to reduce risks to manned aircraft or personnel in circumstances involving a hostage situation or a barricaded suspect. "It's an opportunity to increase safety for the officers," Cohen says.
In police-ese, this is the closing argument for just about anything. Earlier, I wrote about Sheriff Joe's antics in Arizona, including a full-scale SWAT raid on a house to serve a traffic citation. All over the United States, it's become more and more common to serve search or arrest warrants with fully-armed SWAT teams. Why? The safety of the officers. In US prisons, more and more inmates are held in solitary confinement. Why? The safety of the officers. And now here's a proposal to further invade people's privacy and increase the power of government. For the safety of the officers.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Return to Epic Island - in beta
Not a lot to tell this time around; I've just done a lot of hard work. When I first saw Twin Peak, it looked like this:
Shortly before I died, I'd gotten to work on turning Twin Peak into Twin Tower, and it looked like this. The tree on top of it is still there, by the way.
After hours of hard work with pick and shovel, Twin Tower currently looks like this:
The sheer cliff face on the west side was so excellent that I decided to continue it all the way down, to build a proper pier for my boat. Here it is:
As you can see, that picture is an older one. Digging out the west slope was hard enough:
But worth it.
The west slope of Twin Peak, and quite a bit of the north and south faces as well, is now in these chests.
Meanwhile, Minecraft went beta shortly before Yule last year. No really big changes yet; the only major one seems to be that when you cut a tree down, the leaves slowly disappear and drop saplings. In Alpha days, the foliage would stay up even though the tree was gone, so you had to either plant a new tree at the same spot or hack away the foliage to avoid leaving an ugly sort of floating bush hanging around. So that's good!
That's me, by the way, in my iron breastplate and helmet and leather pants and shoes. As you can see, I'm outfitted for digging.
Here's a view of the work on Twin Tower in progress; the south face is pretty much finished, while the north side is still more of a tunnel.
Eventually, Twin Tower will live up to its name; that's the wall I built around the adjoining hilltop. Once I finish digging out the moat around the tower, I'll build a second tower on the land side.
Here's a view of the two towers from the northeast; it should also give some idea of the sheer scope of Epic Island.
To save myself a trip upstairs and to accommodate all the earth and rock I'm digging out, I had to install storage facilities on the bottom floor as well.
An, um, Minecraft dude's work is never done, so without further ado, I'm off to finish my moat. More soon!
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