antony flew the coop
Mood:  irritated

• "A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind"
• "British philosopher Antony Flew has been called the world's most influential philosophical atheist"
• "After half a century the leading atheism proponent in the world now concludes that there is/was a God"

thing is:

1. never heard of him
2. don't care if he'll settle for the cop out of a god who created shit but now keeps his hands off
3. don't much care for philosphers in general anyway
4. really don't care for how it took like a dozen or more sites to even find different wording (i was going to quote a whole list of lines about him, but most news sites just used the AP article, pretty much verbatim)

see, this flew guy, who apparently was the god among atheists, to coin a phrase, decided that the intelligent design theory is the way to go after years of demanding that theists find the evidence for god

see, he can't figure out (and can't seem to find a scientist to explain it to him well enough) how the first organisms came into being. me--i think it's fairly simple. all the organisms we've got now are based around dna, which is nothing but chains of proteins which are nothing but strings of amino acids, which, belive it or not, are quite simple molecular constructs. and, it's in their nature to join together, and in the nature of the resulting proteins to also join together, and there you get dna, which is the basic building block of life. and, even if you can't pinpoint the exact moment when such chains started moving and living, does that really mean you jump on the intelligent design bandwagon?

and, if you do jump on that bandwagon, then don't you have to explain how god came to be? if you insist on explanations, then take it all the way, or accept at face value what is obvious and evident, that lifeforms evolve from generation to generation. and, no one can debate that, unless he has a serious mental defect. all you need is a group of more than one person or animals and take a look at the differences between them. if there was no evolution, they would be identical. of course, the devout religious freaks don't get that. they hear the word evolution, get offended that we're calling their parents monkeys and flip a switch in their heads that turn off their ears, not to mention the logical parts of their brains

nah, let's forget all the evidence. let's all bow down to the magic man in the moon (or sun, rather, since even a lot of what makes christ what he is today comes from earlier sun worship) and praise him and may he bless us all, keep us safe from the wars we wage

and, however many people read this flew guy's work, however many people loved it and learned from it, were changed by it, we (atheists, that is) don't have a christ, a pope, even a minister. we don't need spokespeople and teachers (though the latter can be helpful and the former could be useful). we don't need a savior, especially not some guy who got old and settled for the incomplete intelligent design theory

and, on a tangent here, why can't the news people write their own articles rather than regurgitate the AP words? why spread the same bits of information by so many means when we could all just as easily subscribe to the AP wire? how about we get some different points of view in the news (in regards to fallen atheists or the war on terror or that damn tsunami)

what was i talking about?
Mood:  incredulous

tucker carlson is out... for like five minutes. cnn has removed him from crossfire (and might be losing that show along with him) and employment. but, he's already in talks to have a primetime show on msnbc, and i'm sure fox news is lined up right behind them. plus, apparently, he's already got a pbs show

of course, it's not like crossfire or carlson will be replaced by something ultimately constructive. this country is all about argument over debate, yelling over your opposition rather than finding a middle ground or an actual solution

the war in iraq is costing us something like $6 billion a month, supposedly, and there's no real way to win. reportedly, there are more insurgents than us troops now, so unless we openly start killing everyone, this can't end well unless we get out of the way

but, by all means, let's keep fighting people in their own homes, in their mosques, in their streets. let's keep torturing "enemy combatants" and forcing them to make false confessions. let's keep doing all the ruinous shit we're alrady doing

we all love the status quo, right? we're all so comfortable in our own lives that we have time to mourn laci peterson and bobbie jo stinnett and the victims of the tsunami, to worry about terri schiavo. we can worry about which guy the bachelorette picks, about which survivor outlasts, outwits and outplays...

"the world's stable now, people are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. they're well off, they're safe, they're never ill, they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age." - brave new world

except, it isn't the world that's stable. hell, it's not even all of this country. but, as long as we can all sit around, sedated by flouride and television and prescription drugs, pretending that our world is stable, what will we care about the rest of reality, about our neighbors, living with chronic or debilitating diseases, our neighbors living with abuse, our neighbors living on the street, our nieghbors making war with one another... until it makes the news and grabs our attention for a moment, and makes us think... at least until the next reality show is on, and can you believe they'll eat cow testicles for money? and, did you see what richard hatch did to sue hawk? and, hey, did you catch the latest episode of lost? are sayid and shannon going to get together? and, is rose's husband really alive? does that support the notion that all the cast is already dead and this is purgatory or hell or some such thing? and...

what was i talking about?

oh, right. all hail emperor bush. all grieve the tsunami victims. all hate the terrorists

bring on emmanuel goldstein and let's get on with this shit and stop sugarcoating it

what are your intentions?
Mood:  caffeinated
warren ellis posted a quote i liked on the bad signal today:

"We have to change the negative things into positive. In today's Japanese film industry we always say we don't have enough budget, that people don't go to see the films. But we can think of it in a positive way, meaning that if audiences don't go to the cinema we can make any movie we want. After all, no matter what kind of movie you make it's never a hit, so we can make a really bold, daring movie. There are many talented actors and crew, but many Japanese movies aren't interesting. Many films are made with the image of what a Japanese film should be like. Some films venture outside those expectations a little bit, but I feel we should break them." - Takashi Miike

i went on and on a week or two ago about how tv networks should stop all trying to be number one and worry about putting out quality product, and people acted like i was a crazy man (this before they believed me an obnoxious prick in regards to that whole jerry orbach debacle). how dare anyone suggest networks not just do everything for money. how dare anyone suggest that an artistic medium be used for art and not just commercial gain

of course, networks go for tried and true formats, regurgitating the old material or produce reality show after reality show. and, don't get me wrong, some of those "reality" shows can be pretty good, or at least enjoyable if not anything of great quality. but, there's got to be a point where the dollar doesn't rule all, where it's better to put out good shows that get a nice critical (and audience) response but don't necessarily get the ratings

but, there's the rub, right? how does one get a good audience response and not get the ratings?

of course, the thing is, what makes for good ratings anyway? does a show have to be number one to be any good? or does second place still stand for something? out of the hundred or more shows that are strewn about the field of network and basic cable television (not to mention pay tv channels like hbo or showtime), why isn't second place worth something? so, the current advertising system (talking commercial television, of course) makes it so that if the ratings are lower than projected (and, how about we get some more realistic projections) then ad revenue drops and money is often even owed back to the advertisers. but, come on. are we to pretend that low rated shows don't still attract advertisers? are we to pretend that even the worst, least watched show doesn't earn at least enough audience that someone would want to buy ad time? obviously, if the budget for the particular show is not covered by the revenue, a network would be hard pressed to care to keep it in production, but there's got to be some middle ground, a place that embraces even more cult series and gives low rated shows the opportunity to find an audience

my ideal system would treat network and basic cable shows like pay cable shows, namely, give them a complete season to tell a story. if the audience wills it, produce a second season. if there is no audience, let that one season stand alone. maybe, stop trying to create a series that will last many years and instead focus on one year at a time, leaving open the possibility (or not) of further seasons. more short term programming, less long term. get your audience to trust you for your production choices (a la hbo) and stop depending on competing endlessly for number one

the network is in the business of television, sure (like the government is in the business of war). but, the producers and writers and actors (like soldiers) should still be held accountable for what goes on, and arguably should be more interested in the art of the product rather than its commercial value. most shows will not be hits. most films will not be blockbusters. most books will not be bestsellers. so, why not do all you (we) can do to make a good product? see, what are your intentions? are you just in it for the money or would you like to create art? the networks doesn't have any programming without the production cast and crew, so, if the individuals responsible for content put more care into it, the networks won't have a choice but to air what they get

or i'm just a crazed idealist?

begin the year on a destructive note
sure, the tsunami was last week, and last year, but the media gets to start the year talking about the destruction still, about the death and the heroic efforts of the united states to help out... a little

we are in the middle of a war, for christ's sake... or is that a war for christ's sake (sans the comma)? can't anybody remember that, and not get upset when we don't immediately offer more monetary aid than every other nation that is poorer than us? i mean, we've got iraqis to save. there's only so many countries we can help at any one time

now, if the indonesians really want our assistance, they should just convince bush and his cronies that the terrorists (that area is one of those supposed terrorist strongholds, still, isn't it?) are acting up. then, we'll send in a bunch of troops, kill a good chunk of the remaining population and start "rebuilding"

of course, it's nice that we're bothering to at least try to do something positive (and that we raised our initial monetary offer tenfold). it's hard to argue against disaster relief

---

last year ended and some of us are still alive. that's a plus.

bush will be inaugurated (at a cost higher than our initial monetary offer to the tsunami relief, mind you) soon. that's not a plus. iraq will have its election (and, sure it might be "fair" but how fair really? you think the ballots in the more dangerous neighborhoods or the insurgent territories will get some nice security from us (or us backed iraqi) troops?). my birthday's this month, and i still intend to do an all day lord of the rings extended version marathon

i've been writing again (nearly a hundred pages into the rewrite of clubhouse blues and readying in my head for the second gardia novel, lion, horse, tree)

it's the year to be honest and straightforward and to get things done... not that we may ever necessarily know what needs to be done. of course, not knowing has never stopped people in this country before, has it? better to be proactive and wrong than sit back and do nothing...

or, screw both of those options and figure out what needs to be done and do it. if you can, anyway

the season of lists (and dishonesty) part two - movies part four
Mood:  irritated

i wrote an essay a few years back supporting hitler, arguing he was just a politician not a mass murderer. just last week, i wrote a blog entry here calling santa claus a pedophile. and, it takes me posting about jerry orbach on messages boards for people to freak out. well, to be fair, some of my essays shortly after that whole september 11, 2001 situation (particularly my duckspeak patriotism one) got some people angry at me, calling me unamerican, calling for me to be at the center of the next attack. today, the line to dance on my grave has begun. i've been called a prick and an asshole and i'm fairly sure i don't care

i choose not to revere the dead simply because they are dead, because they've left behind family and friends or tv audience members who liked them. even if i am the only exception, the only one who will say something bad when it's "inappropriate" i think i will have to continue to do so for as long as i can. we have enough blatant dishonesty in this country and this world already. we enough people pretending to care for total strangers many miles away (just because they happen to make headlines) yet couldn't care less about their next door neighbors or the local homeless population or kids with diseases or the victims of that damn tsunami who don't happen to have been american or related to americans or who didn't capture dramatic video of the incident. billions of people on the planet and we can't be bothered to care about more than a few at a time. and, to be fair, that would be fine if it didn't mean we could be so uncaring about the rest... of course, this from the guy who suggested we let starving children die for the good of the rest of us. you'd think that would fall into line with the logic of the iraq war or the war on terror... well, you'd think that if you were a simple minded fool, anyway. and, sure, plenty of you are simple minded fools, but i'm fairly sure i'm not talking to you lot. i'm talking to the smarter ones, the ones who are sick of sitting idly by while people get more shallow and more separate and more uncaring, except for those isolated headline incidents, cause as long as they can grieve openly from time to time, they don't have to fucking grieve all the damn time like we depressive atheists who are sick of politicians and sick of wars and sick of the media, regardless of which wing you happen to think controls it

-insert deep breath here-

i am blunt. i am honest. i am sarcastic. i am cynical and pessimistic. i am crude and rude and obnoxious and i don't like most people. i don't like most television, though i absolutely love the medium. i don't like most films, though i absolutely love that medium as well. i don't like politicians and generally think anyone who would bother to run for president is not qualified simply because he's arrogant enough to think he is. that being said, i am arrogant. i do not believe in any god and i am tired of people who do. i don't think that people deserve respect just because they are dead. i don't think that something i could have said two days ago (taking the specific, recent example of jerry orbach again) to little fanfare should suddenly be anathema because he died before i had the chance to say it

but, what the fuck do i know, right? i am nobody, just a lone voice on the liberal side of things who doesn't even like most liberals, just a guy who will, despite that old saying that "if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all" will not only say something that isn't nice but jump at the opportunity to do so. funny thing is, just because i'm still alive, people can tell me to go to hell, call me a prick and an asshole, when what i said to start the whole mess wasn't even that bad: basically, i said that i wouldn't miss lenny briscoe and jerry orbach wasn't that great an actor and had a grating voice.

but, again, i digress. it's what i do

80. rumble fish - i think i liked this hinton novel better than the outsiders and this monochromatic take on it (with flashes of color) makes the characters (and the actors (including mickey rourke before he got weird)) stand out. the staging and the direction pull you in much like hinton's original, relatively simple narrative does. as far as coppola goes, i'd put this film above even the original godfather
81. say anything - gotta love the main character who doesn't want to buy anything, sell anything or process anything for a living, a romantic who knows exactly who he is and what he wants, and is actually able to go after it. a classic teen film that holds up over time much better than almost every other one
82. schindler?s list - sure the subject itself is a powerful one full of images that can haunt you and yank on those cliched heartstrings, but the film itself is a grand example of cinema, the climax of spielberg's otherwise great directing career, with wonderful performances all around but notably liam neeson, ben kingsley and ralph fiennes. one of those films that really sticks with you after it's over
83. se7en - and a completely different kind of film that also sticks with you after it's over. this take a serial killer lets you know from the start that this is not some buddy cop film, not even your run-of-the-mill serial killer film but something far darker and far less benign, a creepy, memorable romp into sin and the darkness of the soul, so to speak
84. shakespeare in love - and then there's lighter fare like this, a brilliant take on shakespeare and writing and star-crossed lovers
85. shawshank redemption, the - a prison-set film about hope and freedom and redemption, based on stephen king's novella and starring the wonderful tim robbins and morgan freeman
86. short cuts - intertwined stories and lives, a large ensemble cast
87. signs - get over that stupid argument that aliens who can't handle water wouldn't come to earth. the film ends with a big shout out to god and spirituality and i still like it. great performances, great direction, and some chilling moments
88. sixth sense, the - and then there's shyamalan's first (as far as fame goes anyway) film. whether you could guess the end or not, whether you've already seen it and know the end and rewatch it or not, the structure holds up, tricking you so easily you don't even notice. osment is great, and collette and willis hold their own pretty damn well. hell, donnie walhberg does with one scene more than some actors can do with whole films
89. spitfire grill, the - it's got some cheesiness, sure, but i think the tragedy of it, the tragic tone of the whole, makes it work. the one fault in this one that bugs me is we don't get enough of the backstory as to "johhny b" even in the end, when a more detailed explanation as to his situation could have been inserted easily. alison elliot is great, as our the supporting cast: burstyn, harden and patton
90. stand by me - stephen king again, the epitome of coming of age films, with a great cast all around (not always the case with such young casts), with comedic beats and sad beats and everything in between
91. star wars a new hope - there's much going on behind the scenes in this one, almost so much that it seems like lucas didn't even understand the politics of it until now, hence the new, shinier episodes
92. star wars return of the jedi - i never had a problem with the ewoks. i'm one of the crazy few who actually appreciated the cute little guys and their part in things (though, for fun, you gotta read about the endor holocaust sometime), and this film made for a great conclusion to the trilogy
93. star wars the empire strikes back - arguably the best of the star wars films, and i'd contend that's because it's the most real in its tone, less a mythic tale than lucas probably even intended and more a serious story involving great characters and fantastic situations
94. sweet hereafter, the - atom egoyan again, though this time adapted from a novel by russell banks. one of those out of order narratives that works because the pieces build together nicely into a whole, rather than the whole thing just seeming like a gimmick (a la later episodes of boomtown)
95. swingers - you may not like the characters but you gotta admit they are well drawn for what they are, and the meandering plot works well
96. taxi driver - decay, both mental and societal, robert de niro in a pivotal moment in his early career. good stuff
97. terms of endearment - and, i'm getting more and more brief with these comments as i near the end, getting a little tired of the list thing actually. this one has a great cast (winger, maclaine, nicholson, daniels) and a great script about a mother and daughter whose lives insist on being connected despite their differences
98. texas chainsaw massacre - raw and scary in ways too many horror films since have tried and failed to be
99. toy story - pixar turns ensemble writing into something fine, putting extra meaning and/or jokes into even the smallest of details
100. toy story 2 - and this sequel actually surpassed the original, the emotional life of the toys being forgotten playing stronger than buzz's realization that he isn't "real" in the first film
101. truman show, the - i still contend this film, without the audience bits and without any foreknowledge of what's going on, would be one of the greatest viewing experiences ever. alas, it comes close, oh so very close, but can't be the best, as it is, cause we don't get to experience the confusion that truman does, but it still works
102. twelve monkeys - a convoluted plot, time travel, some of the best production design in any recent science fiction film and great performances from willis and stowe, not to mention brad pitt's award winning role
103. unbreakable - though the village won't make my list (despite some damn good set up in the early scenes), i go against the usual flow and put this shyamalan film up there with the sixth sense and signs. even the abrupt ending works if you look at the film from the right perspective, say, as the first part of an incomplete story, the first issue of the comic book, the first chapter in a longer story we will never get to and never need to see
104. usual suspects, the - a brilliant screenplay and a great ensemble make for a wonderful film here, something that, like the sixth sense or fight club, plays very differently on second view
105. zero effect - it's this and adaptation. that vie constantly for the title of my favorite film. this one, with all its clever twists and turns, and superb characters... if only the tv series take on this would have had a chance... well, it probably would have been cancelled or watered down, though i'd still love a film sequel cause darryl zero is as brilliant a character as he is a detective

and, that's it. watched garden state last night and while i'm not sure if it's worthy of the list, it was certainly good and a better film, objectively speaking, than a few that did make the list. and, there were other notable absences (the return of the king and clerks (and once i get around to rewatching dogma, it could probably make it) for example)

as for my rank of prick, if you don't like me, you can get in on dancing on my grave once i am gone. if you want in, just go post here

the season of lists (and tsunamis) part two - movies part three
Mood:  caffeinated

yeah, something like 80,00 estimated dead now and we can't even blame terrorists. and, jerry orbach is dead, so let's all mourn the grating lenny briscoe and pretend he's a saint. cause, we all know it's downright evil to speak ill of the dead, don't we?

or maybe we could get ourselves a system more like from orson scott card's speaker for the dead and stop revering folks just because they happened to die finally. let's get an objective third party to speak on each death, to find the truth of people... problem there is, i'm probably the only person who really was never impressed by jerry orbach and never liked detective briscoe (his law & order character). just like a hell of a lot of people who couldn't even make it to reagan's funeral parade last summer wished they could make it, and i didn't care for the whole occasion and was disgusted by the public spectacle. reagan was no great man, orbach was no great actor. and, i really hope that after i die, those that couldn't be bothered to speak honestly about me while i was alive will get the fuck over it and speak the truth

and, if you genuinely will miss lenny briscoe, that's all fine and good too, but you can't expect everyone to feel the same way, and seriously, do we need to forbid negative words about the deceased? should we infringe our own freedom of speech (as opposed to our constitutionally provided freedom of speech) by lying about our feelings? hell, i'll piss a few more peple off right now with this: my first reaction on hearing jerry orbach had died was to be hopeful and glad that maybe that would mean law & order wouldn't be getting another spinoff this year. alas, disappointment came in an article about orbach dying; it said he would appear in the first few episodes of the new show as a secondary character, the implication being the show would go on without him. can't we have some respect for the dead and cancel the show for god's sake, for jerry's sake, for lenny's sake? i mean, can't we just have some respect and not spit on the man's grave by airing this damn show?

but, i digress

54. mad max - i swear i've yet to see an australian film i didn't like (or at least enjoy, as that young einstein film was in no way good, while it was certainly watchable) and this one that helped make mel gibson a star is no different. a near future but not yet the wasteland of the sequels, this film clings desperately (as does the titular character) to the last vestiges of civilization, until the chilling climax, the running down of his wife and son, and that's where the madness comes in, oddly enough so close to the end of the film, it's almost an afterthought to what is satisfying little film
55. mad max beyond thunderdome - though, in many ways, a rehash of the second film in the mad max trilogy (which will be on this list later), there's something so damn watchable and a little intoxicating in the people of bartertown or those creepy plan crash surviving kids (who could have been played so much easier for more cuteness)
56. magnolia - an ensemble cast, a dozen or more characters, their plots twisting into and out of one another's, their lives spinning into an ending that, even on second and third viewing, is still a bit of a shock. i love the sprawling cast and the tangentially related plotlines and this movies does them spectacularly
57. matrix, the - though there are some spectacular visuals in the second and third entries in this trilogy, only the first one makes my list cause it's philosophy and logic is internally consistent and it stands alone as a complete story. my only real complaint about this one is, when trinity first does her slow motion kick thing, why are we at her speed? aren't we still stuck in the "real" world of it, shouldn't we see her moving at high speed and surprising us like she's surprising the cops (a little, like when neo fights the 100 agents in the second film, there's no need for slow motion moments since by then we are at the same speed as both the agents and neo and should be seeing everything in their real time; it's little logic bits in these films that bug me almost as much as the inconsistent philosophy does)?
58. memento - a narrative experiment that works, the scenes in reverse order, the plot building itself backward, a murder mystery and a character study of a guy who barely has the personality he thinks he has
59. monsters, inc. - pixar does it again. a brilliantly realized world with the little details to make it real, a simple plot, and real emotion that is lacking in so many "kids" films
60. moulin rouge! - piecing together a bunch of lyrics from pop songs, mixing in some original lyrics, putting together a story that seems almost entirely composed of surface details and you'd think it wouldn't work (and a lot of you probably think it doesn't) but there's a strange depth to even the most blatantly surface bits, new ways of looking at familiar lyrics and romantic ideas and a tragic love affair on a par with romeo and juliet
61. natural born killers - whether it's because of what oliver stone made of it or tarantino's script, this film turns in a superb exploration into modern american violent culture and those we choose to idolize and demonize at the same time
62. night of the living dead - the simplest and maybe still the best zombie film, not to mention the folks-locked-in-and-ambushed-by-evil subgenre
63. north by northwest - hitchcock at his best, with a good enough plot but really making its impact because of memorable visuals, the cropduster, mount rushmore
64. one flew over the cuckoo?s nest - see it again and again, you still gotta wonder if nicholson's character is crazy or not, if he's nicholson crazy or seriously insane. and, that nurse--she didn't make that top movie villains list a couple years back for nothing. not to mention great supporting turns from brad dourif and danny devito
65. one hour photo - obsession can make for horrible or brilliant subjectmatter. this one makes the latter list, as once again robin williams gives a performance that shows how truly great an actor he is
66. outsiders, the - a straightforward adaptation of the classic hinton novel, made all the more real and resonant in its extra violent climax, not to mention the cast of folks who would become big names after
67. pentagon wars, the - a satire about the bradley fighting vehicle, which began its life as a lightly armored, fast moving troop transport and became one of the most heavily armored tanks our military has ever had, with cary elwes and kelsey grammar squaring off against each other with performances that really have no right to be as funny as they are--though it gets the laughs, mostly the individual scenes are not actually played for laughs, which is, of course, what makes great satire
68. pi - unlike good will hunting, which already made this list, pi actually bothers to be about the math. well, in between being about insanity and being about an obsessive's breakdown, not to mention religion (notably the jewish torah)
69. pink floyd the wall - one of the greats as far as concept albums go, translated to the screen with strong visuals and some evocative animation
70. player, the - a film about film that's actually about film and not only as a metaphor. a wonderful look beneath the surface of hollywood that doesn't sink into self parody and takes itself completely serious even in the brilliantly funny "hollywood ending" bit
71. princess bride, the - oft quoted, and for good reason. the script is brilliant, with nary a false note to be found, a fantastical love story with memorable characters and setpieces abounding
72. pulp fiction - i think i've already mentioned this one in talking about my list, and here it is, a collection of loosely connected short stories, tied together by their "pulpy" themes, and tangentially linked through certain characters, and with brilliant dialogue... and, why isn't clerks on my list? who the hell deleted that one? i should sic jules and vincent on whoever it was, except vincent is dead and jules is probably still walking the earth
73. punch-drunk love - weird colorful divider plates aside, this tale of a seriously fucked up man has got no flaws (contrary to my wife's opinion, as well). adam sandler playing more crazy than ever but also more serious and real than ever, plus emily watson as his love interest and some seriously jarring scenes and tonal changes. this is one of those movies that can fuck with you, but it can also make you appreciate that fucking afterward
74. raiders of the lost ark - the greatest adventure film ever. i dare anyone to find anything wrong with this one
75. rear window - hitchcock talking about film without talking about film, i wrote a paper on this one in college, on the framing of windows and scenes, the various stories in the windows playing like their own, disparate flms, tied together only by proximity and our own voyeurism
76. reservoir dogs - tarantino again, pulling the primary plot out of the aftermath of a heist, skipping over the heist except in some integral flashbacks. the centerpiece here is the relatively quiet aftermath, and tim roth's performance (and his pain) is stunning
77. ring, the - takes the interesting concept of the japanese original and makes it better, cause the american film industry, the horror part of it anyway, is good at nothing if not creepy visuals, and this one needs them and uses them left and right and they don't stop being creepy, don't stop grabbing you and making you want to keep watching. not to mention the whole commentary on our tv obsessed culture
78. road warrior, the - the greatest action film ever. the post apocalyptic wasteland to define the genre to come, and the most spectacular chase/battle scene ever
79. rob roy - not as flashy as braveheart but possibly a greater film, with great performances from neeson and roth and all the supporting actors, a wonderful drama, rich in history and breathtaking visuals (as most any film set in scotland (see highlander or braveheart) tends to be)

and, let's save the last quarter of the list for tomorrow. i've got other writing to do, and probably some other people to piss off, and more dead people to insult

the season of lists part two - movies part two
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: best of kevin & bean on kroq
something like 44,000 dead in asia cause of that tsunami, the war in iraq wages on and after 32 years, dick clark won't be doing his rockin eve this weekend...

the world is falling apart

so, on to my movie list, cause i know what's important:

29. dead poets society - a few simplistic bits, but of course it's about teenagers, so that stuff works. some real talk of creativity and some great acting
30. dead zone, the - as far as stephen king adaptations go, this was a great example, a translation to film without all the details of the original and also without any attempt to turn it into something it isn't (like many a later stephen king adaptation)
31. demon knight, tales from the crypt presents - a straightforward horror film, one of those standoff with evil films that really works. the only real flaw is the framing sequence, but without that, maybe this movie wouldn't exist
32. dogville - a danish film maker taking on american values with a set made of lines drawn on the ground to represent buildings. in no time, the story and the characters draw you past the set piece and the whole thing boils down to a skeletal exploration of modern (american) culture
33. dolores claiborne - one of the better adaptations of stephen king, about an abused wife and mother who's worked harder than she ever should have had to to survive, with wonderful performances from david strathairn, kathy bates and jennifer jason leigh
34. eternal sunshine of the spotless mind - charlie kaufman's most accessible and most convoluted (if it can actually be both at the same time) script, jim carrey and kate winslet in brilliant performances, wonderful direction, powerful visuals and a tragic love story at its core
35. ed wood - you might be sensing certain themes as to what makes my list, and here you'll see that creative spark thing that lies at the heart of chaplin and adaptation. ed wood may have made horrible films but the key is that he absolutely loved making them and johnny depp makes you feel that and be right there with him in enjoying the power of his creation
36. exotica - for plots taken out of order, i'd go with this or 21 grams (which, i just realized, is not on my list) over something like pulp fiction. tarantino's film was short stories tied together. exotica (and 21 grams as well) is a cohesive whole broken into pieces to make the emotional turns in the end that much more powerful. bruce greenwood is great and atom egoyan is a great director/writer plus this film introduced me to mia kirshner
37. fargo - a crime caper film gone completely awry, with great actors (mcdormand, buscemi, macy and stormare) at the core
38. fight club - an exploration into manhood, violence, pop/material culture and revolution, not to mention the big revelation in the end, brad pitt and ed norton at their best
39. fisher king, the - insanity, arthurian legend, comedy and tragedy, robin williams in one of his best performances, jeff bridges great as usual (occurs to me now that arlington road isn't on my list either, while it maybe could be), plus it's got to be the most accessible film from terry gilliam
40. free enterprise - a couple of nerds living the good nerd life, finding love and meeting william shatner. what's gonna be wrong with that?
41. godfather part ii, the - i've got to go with the general consensus here that this sequel, with its two pronged plot, surpasses the original, demonstrating how great al pacino and robert de niro could be
42. godfather, the - of course, the original is still good, a treatise on family and crime
43. good will hunting - though it could've used more exploration into the math, at least it wasn't the superhero codebreaker movie it could have been. the resolution breakdown still plays a little simplistically, but damon's emotionally understated performance up to that point makes it work. stellen skarsgard and robin williams both give strong performances, as does minnie driver
44. groundhog day - as repetitive as this comedy is internally, it holds up quite well on repeat viewing and is good for one scene at a time cable passbys as well
45. halloween - the one that really got the slasher subgenre going, though this one isn't too explicit (in blood or sex). it's john carpenter before he was too self indulgent (see the thing or escape from new york for two more examples of carpenter doing well)
46. heat - pacino and de niro, together again, not to mention the rest of the cast, val kilmer, ashley judd, amy brenneman, etc.). a dark, serious look at a ring of criminals and the police after them, with the deliberate direction of michael mann and the haunting score by elliot goldenthal
47. highlander - a bizarre film for its time, made a star of lambert (though that didn't last) and used sean connery wonderfully, not to mention the magic and the history in the plot
48. in the bedroom - one of those movies the mesmerizes me if i see it on cable late at night, and the confrontation between the son and his girlfriend's ex still disturbs me (for personal reasons, i'll admit). a wonderful exercise in melodrama (the kind of melodrama that gives melodrama a good name, that is)
49. iron giant, the - gotta wonder if the incredibles should have been added to this list, but i haven't added to the list lately. so, this entry from brad bird will have to do, the simple story of a gun that doesn't want to be a gun
50. life as a house - there is something so simple about this film, i'm not even sure why it grabs me so much every time i see a part on cable. it's a story about life and death without any shallow trappings that you might expect, a simple, straightforward story about a man building a house, a home and rebuilding his family before he dies
51. lone star - probably john sayles most accessible film, though it might be a little long and have one or two too many plotlines for most people. but, you gotta love how all the plotlines twist around one another and how the various connections are drawn and discovered along the way, without even an ounce of contrivance
52. lord of the rings the fellowship of the ring - a fantasy epic that has inspired so many since, put to screen in a visually stunning way. great characters, and great use of minor characters along the way, good vs evil and the power of sacrifice
53. lord of the rings the two towers - unlike the plodding book, this film plays quite well, drawing us even more into the world of middle earth and the plight of these characters, with a powerful emotional core

and, we'll end there, with the inexplicable exception of lord of the rings the return of the king. i swear it's got to just be a typo or accidental line deletion, cause it should be on the list

watchlist:

• jeopardy
• rebel billionaire
• house
• amazing race 6 (clip show)
• garden state
• code 46

reading: linked by albert-laszlo barabasi

the season of lists part two - movies part one
Mood:  lazy
this ought to be fun. my official top 105* films in alphabetical order (and the cut down list of 26):

1. adaptation. - charlie kaufman's brilliant screenplay makes this one, a film about writing that's actually about writing (unlike, say, finding forrester, which was as much about writing as good will hunting was about math). of course, the acting, cage in dual roles, cooper, and streep--great stuff
2. airplane - possibly the funniest comedy film ever, and it holds up surprisingly well each time i get to see part or all of it. most comedies get old after a while, even if they do still remain quotable
3. alien - a claustrophobic horror film that i wish i'd seen before i saw the sequel, cause then i wouldn't have to force myself to see how great it is that you cannot tell who will survive to be the hero of the story
4. aliens - changing genres and upping the ante, this militaristic take on what is still in many ways a horror film, works on many levels, with great characters, great direction and and wonderful effects
5. almost famous - to be fair, i'm not sure why this one stands out for me, great writing and a huge watchability score
6. and god spoke? (the making of) - this movie should not be on this list. in some ways, it's as bad as the movie within it, but it is just so funny and watchable, it's got to be here. there are only so many comedies that can stay on the rewatch list
7. as good as it gets - great cast, great comedy, but this one won't make the cut down list, as you'll see
8. batman - dark enough to make the batman concept seem believable but over the top enough to remind us that the whole thing came from a comic book, saw this multiple times in the theater and still enjot it to this day, though, to be fair, batman returns improves on this original in some ways
9. beautiful mind, a - as far as movies about mental illness go, this one ranks at the top of the list for the very reason that it keeps us in the character's head, not even letting us realize what we're seeing is fake until he is forced to realize it.
10. being john malkovich - despite an ending that still bugs me, the setup for this one is a brilliant exercise in the bizarre
11. believer, the - watchable and a little hypnotic, plus ryan gosling is fantastic in the lead
12. big lebowski, the - a comedy that actually seems to get better each time i see it
13. birds, the - hitchcock at his best, though i still wonder why he bothered with some of his still shots posing as slow motion
14. blade runner - the narration version or not, this film defined a look for so many films since and improved on the story on which it's based (while, oddly enough, barely covering the subject matter from the original title)
15. blair witch project, the - some hate it, some love it. i'm one of the latter. if you look too much into it, it's got flaws (like how many camera batteries did they bring along, anyway? and, if they were so obsessive about making films that they would grab them first thing in the morning and film all day, shouldn't some more of that be in the characters (of course, that would require a script, and the unscriptedness was one of the great things about this, so oh well)
16. boogie nights - there are things in this that bug me, like heather graham (who, really was only good once, and that was in swingers), but the familial ties between the pornographers make for a fascinating story
17. bottle rocket - while the later films from the folks involved in this one revel a little much in the quirkiness, this one really makes it all work
18. braveheart - despite a few historical innaccuracies and some post passion of the christ looks back at mel gibsons's christ/torture fetish (south park didn't seem too far off on that count), this movie plays brilliantly and solidly
19. breaking the waves - emily watson is always great, but this is where i first saw her, in this painful-at-times film about love and sex and god and redemption, with a raw look and feel that suck you in
20. bug?s life, a - toy story was good, but this was where pixar really got it together, with great characters and caricatures and wonderfuly twists and turns
21. bulworth - how anyone cannot enjoy this political/social satire (actually, i'm not sure it qualifies for that term, technically) is beyond me. i suppose i can understand not "liking" it, but not enoying it?
22. chaplin - probably the greatest biographic film i've seen, and one of those movies i get stuck on if i see it on cable late at night
23. confessions of a dangerous mind - it's charlie kaufman so it makes the list, but it's also not charlie kaufman so it won't make the short list. an enjoyable film with a great conceit at its center
24. crumb - as far as documentaries go, this one makes my favorite film list because it's so watchable, though not necessarily as good as, say, capturing the friedmans, and robert crumb is a fascinating subject
25. cube - though some of the dialogue is a little simplistic, and the overall metaphor seems way too obvious with each viewing, this one still grabs me and makes me watch if i see it on cable
26. cujo - not as much a downer as the book, but probably about as close as you can get in a relatively mainstream film that doesn't wear its pessimism as a badge of honor a la some 90s films that tried to make the darkness cool (trainspotting for example)
27. dancer in the dark - a seriously dark film with bizarre musical interludes, a musical that refuses to be happy or trite, and bjork is brilliant in it. this one makes the i-can't-turn-it-off-if-it's-on-cable list
28. dawn of the dead - the original, though the remake is fairly good, is the one that makes my list, with the take on consumerism and the zombie masses (the latter covered quite well recently in shaun of the dead)

and that's all for today. no politics, no whining. i've got to work on clubhouse blues. more of the movie list tomorrow

christmas is the season for loving children

yes, it's time to talk of the pagan origins of just about every little piece of the modern christmas, and talk of how many different cultures are represented in having had parts of their old winter festivals stolen and corrupted by the catholics (notably pope julius i, who announced that christ's birthday would be celebrated on december 25 (nevermind that the bible implies he was born in the fall)). yes, it's time to mention that the yule log came from worship of the sun god, that the winter solstice and saturnalia and the kalends of january, the dies natalis invicti solis (the birthday of the unconquered sun) all rolled into what the catholics stole just to make it easier for romans to join up. afterall, it's more palatable to be sucked into a new church if they bring your parties with you

trees were brought inside in winter to remind folks that crops would be growing again come spring. and, it's been said that martin luther first lit his with candles--already, the trees were decorated but not lit--after spotting a star through a tree and thinking it was cool. mistletoe was sacred to pagans, thought to have healing properties and got that whole kissing vibe from fertility rituals (cause you know those romans loved fertility rituals, any excuse to fornicate)

and jolly old saint nick was a real guy in turkey who definitely had a thing for kids (he was catholic, so take that to have a double meaning if you want). of course, he wasn't jolly or wearing red all the time until clement moore wrote what would later be called "twas the night before christmas." of course that also had santa doing a bewitched like nose thing to get his magical trip back up the chimney (unless that was some drug reference, with the snorting and the flying)

so, you've got a bunch of old traditions all rolled together in a neat little commerical package, marketed by everyone like it's nobody's business. it's a national holiday and a religious holiday and a commercial holiday and it's got something for everybody...

which would make it great but for the fact that atheists and people who hate happiness (and i'm both of those, obviously) don't need any of those pagan rituals anymore than we need fucking saint nick, anymore than we need to be forced into debt every winter buying presents for greedy little children convinced by everything they see that they're in for a nice treat under the tree come christmas morning. you'd think, technically speaking, that the greed of wanting all those things for christmas would be enough to toss all those kids onto the "bad" list, no matter how "good" they've been all year, nevermind that all kids are inherently evil but we love em anyway.

clearly, we can assume santa is a pedophile, offering gifts regardless of whether or not a particular kid has actually been good or bad. and, who else would watch kids so much while their awake and asleep but someone either researching child development or a pedophile who, over time has gotten worldwide authorization to visit any kids he wants on christmas eve and give them... "gifts?" he wears bright colors, he keeps animals and strange little people around and he offers gifts while wearing a rather creepy beard. if that doesn't sound bad, i don't know what does. so, let's stop the rituals, the trees, the logs, the carols, the ornaments, all of it, and put a stop to this unattractive man preying on all of our children once and for all

we've got catholic priests for that

i smell a cat-lamp assembly line
so, there's been talk here about that swedish girl making artwork out of dead animals (which she's killed herself). and, a detail in that story that bugged me was that she didn't use any preservative agents, hence the art is actually photographs of the sculptures and not the sculptures and hence she is killing the animals herself to save prep time, rather than have a vet constantly on hand (though, maybe she could find a vet somewhere with dreams of being an artist). but, good news from texas (well, involving texas, anyway): the first cloned-to-order cat has been delivered

owner in texas was so distraught about her cat that died she got together $50,000 and sent it off to sausalito-based genetic savings and clone (cause, apparently, a new cat, presumably to be had for free or for a pocket change from a newspaper ad just wouldn't do to replace poor nicky (the original cat). and, so, cloning ensued and little nicky (the sequel's name) was delivered to owner and happiness resulted. and people say money can't buy you happiness. those people never had cloned cats, obviously

now, i could wonder about when this technology will be applied to humans, dead kids or spouses perhaps, but that might get me whining about that godsend movie (which, i'll admit, i did not see, because it looked like a pathetic piece of crap with stupid ideas at its core--what i want is a good melodrama about dealing with a cloned kid, parents learning not to actually expect the same shit from the kid as from the original, learning to fucking deal with their grief and be faced with it over and over and over again every time they see the new kid, sad, depressing stuff like that, not a demonic angle on silly science fiction schtick that you just know is begging to become a series on the new sci-fi channel, with their new bent on horror and the supernatural... ugh, i didn't want to ramble about godsend) and i don't want that. instead, i've got a marketing idea to piss off a whole lot of folks

and, here it is: we get edenmont (the dead animal artist from sweden), we get this genetic savings and clone (and you know, with that name, they've got the sense of humor for what i've got in mind) and maybe get a taxidermist involved to deal with that preservative angle, and i can be the idea man. so, we get ourselves some marked-for-death pets, we put them out of their misery (aka, their life as pets to stupid humans), we cut off paws and tails and heads and whatever other parts we feel like using (maybe get some fish fins involved), and we make some nice sculptures, maybe a few cat head lamps, some mouse head on angel body bookends. we preserve it all nice like good hunting trophies and then, we get our cloning friends to make us a whole army of identical animals. we might get a godo ethical debate going, what with breeding (does it count as breeding, the cloning process?) new animals just to put them down and cut them up, but we can just bribe the complainants with a nice set of bedside lamps, maybe with heads of clones of their favorite childhood pets. i'm sure that will soften them up plenty

and, once we've made millions off our dead pet lamps and bookends, we start on the humans. i mean, think of it: every redneck bastard in the country could have his own little saddam to kick around when he's feeling insecure about his manhood and the greatness of his homeland. and, we could even market little bushes and rumsfelds for the liberal media to beat on rather than let them get in the way of our imperialism