Gives new meaning to "SBD"

One of my observed rules for movie conventions is that if you're watching a period film that takes place in the 19th century and a character noticeably coughs, then that character will die of consumption before the credits roll.

While I was watching Letters from Iwo Jima last weekend, I saw an odd corollary of that which I hope may catch on: If you're watching a war film and a character noticeably passes gas (and the moment is not pressed for a big laugh), then that character will die of dysentery before the credits roll.

There will be pork in the smokestacks come doomsday

In the midst of all the desolation in Children of Men, there was one little detail that made me smile: At one point, Clive Owen's character goes to see his cousin, who is in charge of a new ministry of Art that is located at the old Battersea Power Station.


I mean, really, if you were an artist that was given control of Battersea Power Station, wouldn't you pay homage to Pink Floyd album covers too?

Just say the word, boss!

It may be because I just saw Children of Men (which is incredibly good, but also bleak and brutal as all get out), but when I read this tonight (Via Think Progress) I got my biggest laugh of the week:

"He's tried this two times - it's failed twice," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says of President Bush's escalation plan. "I asked him at the White House, 'Mr. President, why do you think this time it's going to work?' And he said, 'Because I told them it had to.'" Pelosi reportedly then asked, "Why didn’t you tell them that the other two times?"

I'm guessing, Nancy, that you're quickly realizing what kind of an imbecile you'll be working with for the next two years.

The pinnacle of Geek Culture meeting Technology

It was inevitable: A Soundwave MP3 player



(Via Need Coffee)

And, wouldn't you know it, my MP3 player just broke and I'm in the market (as it were) for a new one!

"Don't Mention the War"

When I saw this story, the first thing that entered my head was the post title above, which is a reference to an episode of Fawlty Towers. Wouldn't you know that the post Think Progress links to for this story uses the same title.

I guess it's a little too obvious. Here's the story:

Rich Little won't be mentioning Iraq or ratings when he addresses the White House Correspondents' Dinner April 21.

Little said organizers of the event made it clear they don't want a repeat of last year's controversial appearance by Stephen Colbert, whose searing satire of President Bush and the White House press corps fell flat and apparently touched too many nerves.

"They got a lot of letters," Little said Tuesday. "I won't even mention the word 'Iraq.'"

Little, who hasn't been to the White House since he was a favorite of the Reagan administration, said he'll stick with his usual schtick -- the impersonations of the past six presidents.

"They don't want anyone knocking the president. He's really over the coals right now, and he's worried about his legacy," added Little, a longtime Las Vegas resident.

Dubya's Daddy famously resurrected Harry Truman's old quote of "If you can't stand the heat, then stay out of the kitchen" during his campaign for President. After reading this little item, I'm guessing it's a damn good thing Dubya isn't running again for both ours and his sakes.

C'mon, George! Where's that shit-kickin' good ol' country boy from Texas who'll stare down the terrorists when the wussy Democrats would bow before their feet? Never mind Osama Bin Laden. Bush can't even face Rich Little without having a fainting spell, apparently.

Segways are for preschoolers. Prepare to graduate

From Popular Science to Katsuhiro Ôtomo to a guy named Kerry McLean (via Boing Boing):

All Elizabeth, All the time

Yes, we have more pictures of upcoming releases, but it has nothing to do with pirates this time.

Mrs. Mosley has been on a Queen Elizabeth kick lately, enjoying rebroadcasts of The Virgin Queen on PBS (We have yet to see Helen Mirren's Golden Globe winning take on the Queen in Elizabeth I). When we found out that Cate Blanchett and director Shekhar Kapur were going to continue the story they started in 1998's Elizabeth, we were both very excited.

The new film is titles The Golden Age and is set to be released in October of 2007. Here are a couple of sumptuous preview pics to whet your appetite:

AKA "Mr. Glowpaws" AKA "Stupid" AKA "Blue Cat" AKA "Rock"

Gandalf Grey

May 1998 - January 15, 2007

POTC: More photographic goodness

No, I still don't have anything substantial to post. I may not for awhile. But in the meantime, I have more advanced pictures of the third Pirates of the Carribean movie (via AICN). Enjoy!

Being creative a decade ago ... oops, too late!

Creative juices just haven't been flowing lately, so therefore there's been nothing interesting to post.

However, I did come across this story (via Boing Boing) , and I have to say that I totally came up with this idea way back when I was in college. Now if only I had patented it ...

Skippy of the Day: Dubya ... again (and again and again)

I really don't know whether to laugh or cry on this one (via Yahoo! News):

President Bush said Wednesday he'll submit a proposal to balance the budget in five years and exhorted Congress to "end the dead of night process" of quietly tucking expensive pet projects into spending bills.

Bush must now contend with a Democratic congress in order to succeed in these noble goals of eliminating pork and balancing the budget. Oh, it would be sooo much easier and faster for him to do if both houses of Congress were controlled by his own party for say ... oh, I don't know, six years.

Because, if nothing else, the Bush presidency and the Republican party have become the very epitome of fiscal responsibility.

Can we next see Sanjay Dutt beat the living crap out of Will Ferrell?

I visited the IMDb's Comedy Genre page today and found this top ten list:

That's right, an Indian film that was released four months ago has already surpassed Strangelove and Python for the title of greatest comedy. It just goes to show you: Never underestimate the power of Bollywood!

Delroy Lindo Quote of the Month: January 2007

May I present the Quote-of-the-Month Hall of Fame:

Yaphet Kotto: 2004

Keith David: 2005

Forest Whitaker: 2006

And presenting the next in line for the new year:

Delroy Lindo: 2007

(Of course, the title of the post was a dead giveaway. So much for building up suspense.)

Lindo has been a favorite of mine for quite a while. While I cannot pinpoint the exact moment I noticed the first three subjects of my quote series, I know precisely when I (along with, I'm sure, many other moviegoers) began to take notice of Lindo.

The first portion of Spike Lee's Malcolm X concerns the early life of Malcolm (Denzel Washington) when he still went by the last name Little and was a small-time criminal. When he meets a powerful gangster named West Indian Archie (Delroy Lindo), he gets a job as a numbers runner. Their paths divide after Archie tries to have Malcolm killed from a misundertsanding over a bet, and they only meet again years later when Malcolm has converted to Islam. He finds Archie in a far more desperate situation than when he last saw him: Living a poor existence in a ramshackle apartment and crippled from what appears to be the effects of a stroke.

Malcolm's forgiveness extends even to this man who once held a gun to his back, but this powerful message is surpassed by the performance of Delroy Lindo as Archie, who makes his physical transformation from ultrasmooth criminal into a pitiable shell of his former self. The following is the entire exchange from the movie:

Malcolm: How you doing, Archie?

Archie: My man, Red. Come here, man.

Malcolm: No, don't get up. It's all right.

Archie: Is ... really you, Red?

Malcolm: Yes, It's me. I came to, uh, just to thank you ... thank you for saving my life. When I think back to when we were on the streets of Harlem trying to gun each other down -

Archie: I wasn't going to shoot you, man. It was ... just my rep. You know? All I had was my rep. But now ... you tell me this: You did really have that number?

Malcolm: I don't know, Archie ... I really don't even remember, and it's not even important. The important thing now is to get you back on your feet.

Archie: You know, I have some angles ... ain't been figured yet.

(Archie nearly falls out of his chair, but Malcolm catches him.)

Malcolm: It's all right.

(He straightens him up and slides a stool over to prop up his feet.)

Archie: Help me with my arm. I need to exercise my arm. Yep.

(Malcolm bends Archie's right arm back and forth at the elbow.)

Malcolm: That's better?

Archie: Yep. It feels good.

Malcolm: Good.