Beltmann

Has EW ever pretended to be anything other than an echo of popular taste? This list reads exactly as expected.

Apparently some conservatives are offended by the environmental message and also how, at one point, the buffoonish president character says, "Stay the course." Boycotts are being planned. I'm not making this up. The movie is accused of succumbing to Bush Derangement Syndrome. Irony is awesome.

Such either-or divisions always strike me as artificial. If I feel SBS does not represent Wilco at its finest, does that automatically mean that I'm a listener seeking affirmation rather than challenge? I love having my musical perspectives stretched by any artist--especially Tweedy--but there's room for me to still say that I don't respond to SBS as deeply as YHF, isn't there? I don't want every Wilco album to sound like YHF, but I do want to love every one as much as I love YHF.

Vero Possumus!

That's all fair, UW, but at this point isn't it more true of McCain? I can't believe the press hasn't hammered him, just pummeled him, over his endless flip-flopping and gaffes. I'm not convinced that the corporate media wants Obama more than their safe, old pal McCain. In terms of the smear campaign, the phrases "Reverend Wright" and "proud of my country" have been endlessly looped by the mainstream national press. But how many times have you heard the phrases "Keating Five" or "stole drugs from a nonprofit" on the national news?

Obama's so-called "cult of personality" is a right-wing talking point that is intended to serve as a distraction; if Obama can be reduced to a cartoon, and his supporters marginalized as unthinking, then it's easier to dismiss him and avoid having to answer the substance of his campaign. After all, sheep can't be taken seriously, so why bother engaging them in the first place? It's not much different than how the Bush Administration cartoonishly reduced terrorists to "evildoers" intent on attacking freedom itself, as opposed to thinking creatures angered by American imperialism. That way

Perhaps. But we should not overestimate how much the average voter cares about the subject of election financing.

No, UW is just superhuman and therefore immune to Obama's mind tricks, unlike we mere mortals.

La Jetee is one of my all-time favorite movies. Top 20.

The worst that can be said of Obama is that he didn't "aggressively" pursue an agreement, as he suggested he would. Here's an interesting read: Why Obama Is Right To Reject Public Financing

Thanks for the birthday wishes! Spent the day hanging out with the kids, eating donuts, doing yard work, preparing for summer school, and finishing up the silent flick La Roue. That beast was 273 minutes long. 273. And tonight I have a softball game to win. 34. Man, if I'm ever gonna take my shot at the big leagues, I should do it soon.

I have complete Topps sets from 1983 through at least 1991. I was really into collecting baseball cards back in the day... I even loved those sticker books.

Scene for scene, The Happening is easy to watch--but as a whole it's profoundly silly, badly acted, ineptly directed, and devoid of verisimilitude. What a crock. (Still, it's better than Lady in the Water...)

Of all the crackpots currently making movies, Guy Maddin is my favorite, and perhaps the funniest. I can't think of a more comfortable headrest than a corpse buried under the carpet. I also finally got around to seeing Iron Man this afternoon. Great fun.

Speaking of sports movies, I'll add Cinderella Man.

Wow. I liked him a lot, too. I'm stunned.

That one got me, too. My wife lost it during The Pursuit of Happyness. Immediately afterwards we stopped at a store, and many of the other patrons kept glaring at me--I assume because they believed I, rather than the movie, was responsible for my wife's puffy eyes and red face.

I'm a sucker for Field of Dreams.

The Barbarian or O'Brien?

This made me well up.

First thing that came to mind is a bit unconventional: The Inarritu segment from 11'09''01 - September 11. I've seen it at least 15 times, and I am always overwhelmed. EDIT:

J'accuse! / Abel Gance / 1919 Recorded this from TCM a while back, and have finally made time for it. I'm about halfway through. Pretty darn cool.

Buchanan made multiple points, which justifies multiple rebuttals. If such careful reading and response is "typical" and "predictable," then we should all be grateful. Besides, wouldn't it be more constructive to actually respond to the rebuttals rather than avoid them by resorting to vague distractions about liberal panties and their bunches?