Browsing all posts in Reviews.
American Freedom to Fascism Video Online
You can watch this movie online here. What I really am interested in is the idea that the labor tax is not constitutional. Whenever I hear wealthy people whine about capital gains or tax on massive inheritances I think, well, how fair is a labor tax?
Instead of letting the power brokers control the story with provocative terms like “death tax” – take it back and start the campaign in to end the Labor Tax. Why should you be taxed for working when your work builds the wealth of the leisure/investment class?
Where in the Hell Is Matt?
If you haven’t seen this video – check it out. This guy travels all over the world and tapes himself doing a goofy dance in each exotic – or not so exotic – location. It just makes you smile.
The Way of Adventure
Great book for anyone looking for inspiration – written by Jeff Salz , PhD – an anthropologist and adventurer I heard speak at my company’s Fall meetings. The talk was incredible – he has visited the most remote places (even attempting to hike through the southermost parts of Argentina in some pretty brutal terrain. Continue reading →
The Wire and Dexter
I really love these shows- but I feel like I need an annotated version of The Wire sometimes. I suspect I will need to rent the DVD and watch it straight through to really understand all the subtleties of the series.
The Wire captures the chaos of inner city life – the pathos, the desperation, the dog-eat-dog mentality – but also the utter sense that this way of life all makes under the circumstances. These are the most human characters I have ever seen on television.
Dexter is another winner- one of my first scripts was about a serial killer so I’m interested in the genre – but they have really turned it on its head. When I wrote my script, you could do something unique and interesting. Now most serial killer movies are pathetic and predictable cliches.
HBO’s series seem to have an underlying thread that flows through all of them – while the characters’ choices may be utterly corrupt there is a strong sense of human need and longing that makes them understandable and forces us to feel a certain pathos and even compassion for them. Even the most seemingly sociophathic among them seem like someone you “know” – and might even trust. I’m not sure this is intentional – but a reflection on the people who choose the shows. Utter sociopaths are boring. People who defy their sociopathy by being compassionate or caring in some situations (while utterly devoid of conscience in others) are much more interesting.
Sweet! Nissan Coming Out with a Coupe Next Year
I drive an Altima, and I love the car – but I will be very tempted to upgrade to the 2008 Altima coupe coming out in the summer of 2007. Check out the pics – this car is sweet!
Keith Olbermann in Rare Form
If you don’t watch him, start. I loved his editorial this week on the first 8 months of the Bush administration and how they put counterterrorism on the back burner – one of the things that has annoyed me about media coverage has been the UTTER LACK of honest discussion about how this administration completely dropped the ball when they came in office. He pointed out all the inconsistencies, lies, and obfuscations – we didn’t have a strategy to inherit – uh, well what’s this document?
It really was the first time the full case was articulated – and it is hard to counter his argument, unless you pull up the old lies and obfuscations. Those are always available if you are a koolaid drinker.
Recommended Book – 102 Minutes
“102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers” by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn
This moment-by-moment account of 9/11 at the World Trade Center puts you in the buildings as the chaos unfolds, but more importantly, it uses historical record to point out that the fate of those trapped in the buildings was set in motion decades before when special interest groups (real estate and construction) effectively put space (rental income) over the safety of the occupants. It’s a disturbing tale that repeats itself more and more often in America – if a company can squeeze a few more million a year out it, to hell with the impact on ordinary Americans. Continue reading →
Great Take on Michelle Malkin Hypocrisy
Nothing new really on the Radical Right front – it’s okay if we do it, but not if someone else does it, because, well, WE ARE ALWAYS RIGHT.
Basically – terrorists are people WE call terrorists. torture is what WE define as torture. Continue reading →
Pump Gate
This appeals to me mainly because it comes out of Treasure Island, Florida – one of the beach communities maybe 20 minutes from where I grew up.
Sheesh.
http://pump-gate.blogspot.com/
How do they describe the blog? Continue reading →
Barenaked Ladies at Borders – What Fun!
Yesterday my friend Millie and I fought our natural lethargy and trudged over to the Century City mall to Borders where the Barenaked Ladies were going to appear – they were signing their new CD and played some tunes for the crowd. What at treat to see these witty, talented boys play in such an intimate space! Continue reading →