Merry Christmas (depending on when (and if) you read this)!
Today the Health Care bill passed the Senate, and the Pope got form tackled. So, Christmas Eve is quite possibly the worst day for American Catholics since Plan B.
Merry Christmas to Everyone!
Avatar is f*cking revolutionary!
This one is out of order, chronologically. But since I assume no one has seen this blog more than once it shouldn’t be a big deal.
I saw Avatar. It was a very entertaining movie to watch. The graphics were great, and the way in which it was filmed was totally “revolutionary.” The main action scene was gripping, and it was the first time in a movie that, like a 3 and a half year old, I yelled. Perhaps it is the fact that I found myself spastically reacting to the action that I have a a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. No, it’s not me, it’s Hollywood.
Here’s what I didn’t like. I didn’t like how blatant the message was. I didn’t like that I didn’t have to pick up on what it was trying to say because it was pretty much spelled out for me. Earth is referred to as “their dying planet,” and is lamented by the wheelchair bound hero due to the fact that it no longer ” has any green.”
Also, I didn’t like that it pulled from just about every movie I have ever seen.
1) Smurfs: Because they’re blue.
2) Matrix: They’re asleep while living a life elsewere.
3) Every single “forbidden” love story.
4) Every single war movie where someone chooses to do what is right as opposed to what is ordered.
I can keep going if you want.
I say see the movie. It’s entertaining and action packed. Do your damndest to ignore the message being forced down your throat.
This bill is Cuckoo
I have yet to write anything concerning the health care bill, and that is mainly because I simply do not know enough about it to write anything intelligent about it. Consequently, most politicians are having a very similar problem.
I think that after this bill passes many reasonable people are going to be left with a feeling very similar to that of buyer’s remorse. Like going into a store and quickly buying an object that resembles something you think you need, and realizing soon after that had you saved the money for another day you could purchase an object that actually meets your needs (I needed a run on sentence for that analogy). The Senate and House have rushed this very important bill through. It’s filled with what Harry Reid (D-NV) has called compromises. These compromises were meant to bring middle of the road democrats on board for a bill that they otherwise would not vote for. This is politics, but in the long run I think the inability to tackle the real issues (like Tort refom and various inefficiencies of medicine) will leave us in the same place years down the road.
Luckily, the politicians of today will be able to call a success today what may very well be a failure tomorrow (not literally, they’ll probably call it a success tomorrow too).
You know what he just did. Right?
I should’ve actually posted this yesterday, but it’s getting close to the Holidays so I’ll post when ever the hell I feel like it.
Yesterday (not actually, read above for explanation) I visited an art museum exhibit showing pictures of JFK and family. The exhibit feature pictures of JFK, Jackie O, and two of their children. I had originally expected the exhibit to show pictures covering the presidency or some other period of the their lives. Instead it covered a number of shoots taken before the inauguration by Richard Avedon for Harper’s Bazaar.
I enjoyed the exhibit , but I must say that I was slightly disappointed by how brief it was. The point of telling this story though is to ask a question. Many of the pictures taken were candid and were not published in the final article. JFK made some pretty funny expressions: he smiled awkwardly, opened his eyes half mass, etc… One of the expressions reminded me of one that I haven’t seen much in photography and that is the face of a man who has just flatulated.
Here is my questions: Does a man like JFK allow himself to “pass gas” openly and freely in front of a lady like Jackie O? If yes, does he do it simply to relieve himself of pressure or for the obvious humor of it?
Too Many Snowmen
Here is a link to an article that prescribes a world wide one child policy to help battle climate change. It’s a pretty controversial idea, and it doesn’t win you much support when you use Chinese social policies to back up your plan.
None will work unless a China one-child policy is imposed. Unfortunately, there are powerful opponents. Leaders of the world’s big fundamentalist religions preach in favor of procreation and fiercely oppose birth control.
The first reason that this would not work is that you are damning the world to widespread “only child syndrome.” This automatically turns it into a zero sum policy. If population growth is slowed, the world will be populated by only children, and only children are the most selfish people in the world. They typically use at least 3x the resources as children with brothers and sisters (this is in no way supported by science, mind you).
The second reason this would not work is that the author provides no argument to explain how this law would be implemented. I suppose that that in itself is not a reason that the policy wouldn’t work, but you usually need a plan to implement world wide policy. I suppose I could be old fashioned in my thinking though. I think we’d have about as much luck dictating weekly beef intake (get it).
This has nothing to do with this post.
I’m beginning to realize that nothing that I write about is something that actually happens in a day, but in the age of 24 hour “news” everything tends to get drawn out for days on end.
To add to that, I think the obsession with the Tiger Woods story is further proof (as if there wasn’t enough already) that 24 hour news services are dumbing us all down (or to put the blame in our hands, societies pettiness and stupidity are dumbing the news down). When I read the news and it says, “TMZ reports that…” my frustration boils over, and I start smashing things with golf clubs. CNN and FOX have become sensational 24 hour gossip telethons. The nation being wrapped up in the “controversy” surrounding balloon boy, and CNN jumping the gun over a Coast Guard exercise and basically labelling it as a terrorist take over are all proof of that. Oh yeah, and CNN went two full weeks with the death of Michael Jackson as breaking news.
That was a rant, and I’m sorry. Anyway, if you consider yourself an intelligent person at all, I beg you to realize that this Tiger Woods story is irrelevant in every way imaginable. He is a golfer. When his life goes South it’s none of our f*cking business, that is unless your own life is so boring that you have to spice yours up with celebrity drama. In that case I apologize, it is your business.
I’m not even posting a picture of anything relevant to this, it’s just a baby in a shopping cart.
Sooner of Later - it's Kyotohagen.
Hey everyone, it’s a Climate Conference! I don’t want to seem pessimistic, but I am not holding my breath for big results from this week’s climate conference in Copenhagen. If you look at this you will quickly see the challenges that are facing this conference.
As with Kyoto, and many other conferences that yield international agreements, it’s extremely difficult to get anyone to commit to (or carry out) the large changes that are needed. I’d like to hide behind idealism that would allow me to believe that political leaders and climate specialists would be able to come together and do what is best for our planet. I will concede that I think it is fantastic that the dialog is as strong as it is, but, as with anything, talking the talk is much easier than walking the walk. So what are my predictions?
I think that developed nations will pledge a good deal of money to go to developing nations, but I worry that much of that money will be poorly and inefficiently distributed. Remembering that the United States never ratified the Kyoto Protocol, I will be extremely surprised if the United States is ultimately capable of fulfilling the expectations it sets (or others at the conference set). Being environmentally conscious is expensive and for that reason a tough political sell.
I hope that I am wrong. I hope that we can all do what is best for the planet, but like I said; I’m not holding my breath.
Okey Dokey. This is one of the few times that I will ever write about sports (I hope) because I really don’t know enough to express my opinion. I’m still a pretty manly guy though, I almost have a six pack.
Anywho, the first thirteen seconds or so of the above video make for some great youtubing. CBS did an incredible job contrasting the sorrow of the crying 7-year old and the two gleeful and “classy” Alabama players Gator chomping. And, I’ll go ahead and let you know now they interview the same sobbing 7-year old at 2:56. I may not be manly enough to explain the intricacies of the game, but I’m not going to cry either when people continue to not read my blog.
Here’s my opinion on football. College football is better than pro, and the SEC is by far the best conference in College Football. Following the transitive property we can easily come to the conclusion that if you are watching SEC football, you are watching the best football. Hell you even get to see a grown man cry.
OMG, polar bears shouldn't be in the desert!
I am pretty sure that the BBC and I agree on more than just the fact that TopGear is rockin’ show. In one of today’s articles on “climategate” they wrote:
E-mails hacked from a climate research institute suggest climate change does not have a human cause, according to Saudi Arabia’s lead climate negotiator.
I hope so very badly that this comment was written with the that charming British irony we’ve all come to love. Because, anytime you are speaking about the climate change argument, I believe it voids the argument completely when you quote the saudis in it. It’s kind of like starting an article with, “Study completed by Philip Morris suggest cigarettes do not cause cancer, according to North Carolina state legislature.”
“Climategate” does not disprove anthropogenic climate change theory. It simply proves what we have hopefully all realized this entire time; it is a highly politicized issue. One that on the surface has the greatest intentions, but below the surface stands to make many people rich while losing tons of money for others. Sure, these scientists were shady, but when you’ve got the petroleum industry on the other side of the argument I’d say they’ve got some moral wiggle room.
Atleast Housewives in D.C are Classy
Not willing to be outdone and left out of the story, the House Homeland Security Committee has called a hearing to investigate the “caper” at the White House State Dinner last week. The Executive branch has shown its constant willingness and ability to be featured in news that can be described as little more than celebrity, so I’m glad to see the Legislative branch wants to try to win our hearts as well. I wonder what the Judicial has planned?
What I’m saying is that I think it’s ridiculous that congress, albeit just a congressional committee, is taking time to investigate this issue distraction. This is the first major lapse that I can recall in the recent past inside of the Secret Service, we should let it and the massive bureaucracy that is the Department of Homeland Security launch its own investigation in to the matter.
Maybe I don’t fully understand the way things work, but I feel like this is a huge waste of time. I really can’t wait to see how big of a deal it is when a fat unpopular girl finds her way into Obama’s daughters’ sleepover.
