Is This Blog On? version 2.0

I haven’t seen a single movie nominated. From 2005, the top ten grossing movies were:

Revenge of the Sith
Harry Potter
Chronicles of Narnia
War of the Worlds
King Kong
Wedding Crashers
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Batman Begins
Madagascar
Mr. & Mrs. Smith

I’ve seen just about every one of those movies, so it is not as if I’m totally out of the loop. But, of course, none of those movies have been nominated. The movies that are nominated haven’t even grossed, combined, as much as any of the above listed movies. Of course, it must be noted that many of the movies nominated came out late in the year, and are not out on DVD (which is how I see many flicks.) But, this year the difference is that i have absolutely NO desire to see any of the movies nominated for Best Picture.

Brokeback Mountain – chances are very slim I’ll ever see this movie.

Crash – Maybe, I’d say this one definetely maybe someday might appear on my Netflix list.

Goodnight and Good Luck- no way.

Capote – pretty doubtful. I read his book, In Cold Blood, isn’t that enough?

Munich- there is a slight change I might view it, but only as an action adventure flick, secure in the knowledge that it is only tenuously related to fact.

So my question is- why is the “industry” so interested in making movies no one wants to watch? I understand the the blockbusters are put out by the “Major” players. But, the past year in movies has been the worst in Hollywood’s history. Perhaps we’re just not interested in their morality plays anymore?

Doesn’t today seem to be particularly Monday-ish?. Well, it is at my house.

Quick comments:
I hope the liberals are not too disappointed that the Iraqi Civil Wary doesn’t seem to be in full swing. By friday, the news-talking-heads were already calling it just that. Unfortunately (for them) it doesn’t seem to have taken.

I listened, for just a bit, to Jerry Springer’s radio show. I think my IQ fell 15 points.

Recent movies I’ve seen ;

40 Year old Virgin (unrated version) – filled with really filthy language, but I laughed so hard I think I ripped a few stitches. So, this movie is NOT recommended for anyone recovering from donating a kidney, or other major surgery. Or kids.

I am David; simply beautiful. I had tears in my eyes at the end. Great family movie. Go rent it.

On a completely different subject, this morning child number 4 informed me she needed two boy Barbies. Apparently, her female Barbies dolls are tired of invisible dates. Don’t you guys think that Ken is too “metrosexual?” I asked her if I could get her G.I Joes instead, and she said they’d have to be the same size (as Barbie.)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the United States and Israel on Thursday for the destruction of a Shiite shrine’s golden dome in Iraq, saying it was the work of “defeated Zionists and occupiers.”

Yesterday, Jeff had a long post about the death penalty. His should we/shouldn’t we gets summed up pretty well here :

But for me, the complexities both practical and philosophical of death by lethal injection serve as further evidence that we — the people, the state, the United States — have no business deciding who lives and who dies. Life is a state of grace granted us by our Creator, and depriving someone of that state of grace simply isn’t our job. That decision isn’t ours to make. No matter how justified the punishment might be, no matter how egregious the crime that warranted it.

I can respect his position, and I’m not exactly a “gung-ho” advocate of the death penalty.

But then, this morning, I read this in the morning paper. It’s a local story. Boy meets girl. Boy marries girl. Boy and girl start their family. Then boy and girl get murdered in their home by a “Bonny and Clyde” type couple.

Scott was tied up with duct tape and an extension cord,” Cataldo said of the Feb. 15 slayings.

“Then he was brutally beaten in the hands, face and head with the butt of (an) AK-47 assault rifle.

“They then put a sock in his mouth, covered it with duct tape, then beat him in the face some more,” Cataldo said. “Then they used a hypodermic needle to inject bleach into his veins.”

In a small town, 40 minutes away from Detroit, Patrick Selepak and Samantha Bachynski brutally ended the life of Scott and Melissa Berels. The murder was motivated, they believe, by robbery. Melissa s, who was ten weeks pregnant at the time, was murdered first. Fortunately, she was “only” strangled. Her husband appeared to have arrived home before the murderous pair left the scene, which led to his torture (which lasted several hours) and murder. He was bound and gagged first and left in that condition while Selepak went out to buy beer.

These two animals do not deserve to take another breath. Michigan doesn’t have a death penalty- so I suppose my argument is moot. But, if Michigan did have a death penalty, I would expect 20 years from now we’d be hearing stories about how the two had reformed. The names of the victims would be nothing but distant memories to everyone besides their families. It is with the passing of time, that perspective is lost over the violent, senseless crimes for which people are given the death penalty. For some reason, those long forgotten names don’t even appear to be real anymore. Someone who has been dead 20 years doesn’t even seem real anymore. Did they ever exist outside of the newspaper articles, for while their names received short-lived recognition?

I don’t know how I feel about the death penalty. But I do know that my sympathy lies NOT with who the criminals might become in 20 years. My sympathy lies with the victims. Scott and Melissa Berels, and their unborn child.

From one of our illustrious city council members:

In one extreme instance, Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins’ office received an e-mail with racial slurs from an employee of a Madison Heights mortgage company. In response, Councilwoman JoAnn Watson called for a boycott of the suburbs.

As Spongebob would say, “Good luck with that.” An individual from a suburb used a bad word, and you want to boycott the suburbs. That’s as ignorant as Muslims targeting a whole country (or, should I say, the rest of civilization) for the comments of a few Dutch cartoonists.

And, I call her ignorant, not because she is black, and I am white. But, simply because of what she has said. JoAnn Watson – you should NOT be in a position of power. There are plenty of black people who could run our city. You are just not one of them.

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Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

This is the zoo that has been called “substandard” by some asshat named Jon Etnyre, from Sterling Heights, in today’s Detroit News. I would be interested in knowing when was the last time this asshat visited the zoo? He recommended, in his letter to the editor, that we close it up. I recommend, in my blog, that Etnyre have a big cup of STFU.

In more balance reporting of the Zoo issue, Barbara Rose Collins has upped her racisit rhetoric, saying that my (new) hero L Brooks Patterson suggested that the council members were monkeys to be put in a cage. Correction, Mrs. Collins, I think that it was me who made that suggestion.

Says Brooks;

I can criticize Granholm. I can criticize Ficano, but if you dare say anything about the city of Detroit, it’s racist.”

Amen.

In the most HILARIOUS comment (and one that I suggested yesterday) spokesman Sam Riddle for Monica Conyers (someone please explain to me why they need spokesmen; can someone say “bloated staffs?”) said:

The administration keeps wanting council to vote on something they’ve not had time to review. It disrespects the City Council.

Got that? It disrespects To disrespect, new verb. I would think that a spokesman would speak better, wouldn’t you? Even if it were a “real” verb, who gives a flying yahoo if the city council members are not treated with proper respect (note the usage there Mr. Riddle.) Respect is earned. The Detroit City council has not earned such respect.

Nor will they be given it merely because of the color of their skin. I thought there was something about “content of their character” that was supposed to be ultimately of importance.

And, why the hell is Kwame and his mommy in AFrica anyway? Who is paying for it? Is his entire family with him? The only information I could find was that he was on a “fact finding” mission. What “facts” do we need Kwame to find?

And, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick was in AFrica only a year ago.

Friday Prayer in Tehran:

Jannati said the Western Culture and Civilizations, and particularly the American way of life, are on the verge of serious collapse, and they are moving in that direction rapidly.

Quoting a Qur’anic verse on the destructive conduct of the Jews at the advent of Islam, he said, “Qur’an says that ‘they are destroying their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers.’ And that is really what they are doing today. They are destroying their own houses themselves, and intriguing us to help them in doing so.”

One culturing is murdering people over cartoons, and haven’t “created” anything of value in the last 100 years. Yet “we” are collapsing? Dude … I want what he’s smoking.

I don’t know where Leo has been lately, but last time I mentioned Isamic violence against Christians, he got a bit defensive (after all, Christians and white men surely are the source of all evil, right?) So, now there is this. I say, with no degree of hesitation, that I refuse to accept a religion that responds to offense with murder. In “city speak”, the Islamo-crazies have been “disrespected”, and to them the logical response is to destroy and murder. Those who follow this pattern should be wiped from the earth. They have no place in modern society. They are irrational, stupid, and dangerous to everyone else.