“Unfortunately, humanity seems to lack the backbone to demand that the elderly continue to contribute until they terminate. Instead we both indulge their laziness and demean them, locking them away in retirement homes while they slowly rot in a medicated stupor. The thought seems to be, the elderly, like most minority groups, enjoy being grouped together in a designated living area. But what if we stripped them of their pills and deprived them of their Rascal scooters, perhaps the elderly would stand up and face death like a man: head on, in a battle royal. Win or lose, they’d be more alive than they are now, even if the exertion caused them to cease living.”
Category Archives: Film & TV
Deadwood kidney stone scene
Back in 2005 I posted a link to a clip from the HBO series, Deadwood. In this episode Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) is sick as a dog from a kidney stone. So sick he cannot speak. Doc Cochran is about to surgically remove the stone (which could kill Al) but at the last minute, they opt to let Al try to pass the stone, with help from Johnny, Dan and Trixie.
Bonus clip: I’m thinking of putting this on my answering machine (6 seconds)
Excellent interview with David Milch (The New Language of the Old West)
Go-Chip scene from Wild Palms
In the 1993 TV mini-series, Wild Palms, Senator Anton Kreutzer (Robert Loggia) has the Go-Chip implanted and uploads his consciousness to the Net. Immortality! Unfortunately, the IT guys were running Vista on the server. But that’s a damned fine looking smoking jacket.
Things Davezilla learned from movies
Davezilla.com shares "Things I Learned from Movies, Part III." (I missed parts I and II). My favorites from this list of ten:
- The first hot woman to appear onscreen in a spy movies is the double agent.
- Heroes simply bleed less than criminals, who tend to bleed in arterial spray patterns, resembling a Jackson Pollock painting.
- Virginity protects you from serial killers.
Missouri Reality Stars
One of the (perhaps THE) most important elements of a successful blog is focus. The narrower the better, and it really should be something you are passionate about. Missouri Reality Stars is a good example. From the About page:
“So I’ve been paying attention to pop culture for a long long time. I happened to notice that a lot of people on reality TV are from my home state…the Show Me State of Missouri. Apparently it really is. Being from the same state makes me feel like I should root for them, home team spirit ya know. So that’s what this site is about, finding and promoting Missourians who’ve made it on reality TV.”
M.R.S is the love child of co-worker Amy. Droll is the way she roll.
Bob Woodward’s “The War Within”
From Scott Pelley’s 60 Minutes interview with with Bob Woodward about “The War Within,” Woodward’s fourth insider account from the Bush White House:
“This is very sensitive and very top secret, but there are secret operational capabilities that have been developed by the military to locate, target, and kill leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq, insurgent leaders, renegade militia leaders. That is one of the true breakthroughs,” Woodward told Pelley.
“Do you mean to say that this special capability is such an advance in military technique and technology that it reminds you of the advent of the tank and the airplane?” Pelley asked.
“Yeah,” Woodward said. “If you were an al Qaeda leader or part of the insurgency in Iraq, or one of these renegade militias, and you knew about what they were able to do, you’d get your ass outta town.”
WTF. If this were anybody but Bob Woodward, I’d say yeah, right. If I had to guess I’d say it is some kind of quantum mechanical weapon. All you need is a photo of the target and the weapon punches through space/time and … zap! You read it first (unless you’re Bob Woodward)
Wild Palms
“It’s the year 2007 in Los Angeles, Harry Wyckoff (James Belushi) is a patent attorney and family man. His wife Grace (Dana Delany) is a formidable suburban housewife and mom who also owns a chic Melrose Avenue boutique. Grace is the daughter of Tony and youthful Josie Ito (Angie Dickinson), a socialite radiant with charisma (and with an agenda of her own). Harry and Grace have two children: little Deirdre has been a slow developer, yet to speak a word, and elder son Coty (Ben Savage) — a television addict — has just got an acting job on a new sitcom, Church Windows, alongside fabu superstar and fashion icon Tabba Schwartzkopf (Bebe Neuwirth). However, Wyckoff is plagued by strange dreams — of himself being pursued by a rhinoceros, and visions of a strange tattoo of a palm tree.”
I saw this mini-series in 1993 and 2007 seemed a long way off.
Losing is a disease
Losing is a disease… as contagious as polio.
Losing is a disease… as contagious as syphilis.
Losing is a disease… as contagious as bubonic plague…
…attacking one… but infecting all.
But curable.
Now, I want you to imagine… you are on a ship at sea…
Gently rocking.
Gently rocking.
Gently rocking.
–The Natural (YouTube)
Jon Stewart most trusted man in America?
This New York Times story wonders if Jon Stewart is the most trusted man in America?
“When Americans were asked in a 2007 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press to name the journalist they most admired, Mr. Stewart, the fake news anchor, came in at No. 4, tied with the real news anchors Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw of NBC, Dan Rather of CBS and Anderson Cooper of CNN.
Offices for “The Daily Show” occupy a sprawling loftlike space that combines the energy of a newsroom with the laid-back vibe of an Internet start-up: many staff members wear jeans and flip-flops, and two amiable dogs wander the hallways. The day begins with a morning meeting where material harvested from 15 TiVos and even more newspapers, magazines and Web sites is reviewed. That meeting, Mr. Stewart said, “would be very unpleasant for most people to watch: it’s really a gathering of curmudgeons expressing frustration and upset, and the rest of the day is spent trying to mask or repress that through whatever creative devices we can find.”
After reading the full story I took a moment to try to come up with some public figure I trust more… and coud not.