1. Thanks so much to Tom Wigton for the Shamus and The Chosen DVDs. Been looking forward to seeing both. Now if I can only find a copy of The Super Cops…
At any rate, there’s no doubt I’ll get plenty of enjoyment out of an Hasidic Robbie Benson and a young sexy Burt Reynolds. And yes, I hereby give you permission to write your own jokes.
2. Speaking of films, caught the remake of the Bad News Bears the other night. As many of you know, the original Michael Ritchie film ranks in my top 5 films of all time. So a remake struck me as both unnecessary and—frankly—an abomination, an offense against the Lord our God so egregious and profound that words alone could not capture the my depths of my hatred.
Well, the remake (or “remix,” as they called it) wasn’t awful, but the original is superior in every way—from the pacing to the realism (70s cinematography and film stock are magical) to the poignancy of the humor to the depth of the characters. The writers (who also wrote Bad Santa for Billy Bob Thornton, who here takes over the Walter Matthau role of Morris Buttermaker), to their credit, kept most of the story in tact. But it’s a testament to Bill Lancaster’s original script that every change made weakened the new version.
Worth a look, perhaps, but only for the curious.
3. Tom Elia says Democrats like former Senator William Proxmire, who died today, are “literally a dying breed.”
4. Donovan McNabb and the head of the Philadelpia chapter of the NAACP discuss the finer points of identity politics.
Somewhere, Rush Limbaugh smiles (h/t Chris Cotner).
5. Wonkette emails to point me to these posts on the Iraq elections. And to flirt with me.
The little scamp.
6. Stephen Meyer passes along this Opinion Journal piece: “Mightier Than the Pen: Why I gave up journalism to join the Marines”. Which, there’s something you don’t see every day.
7. And finally, this thought: on a day when Iraqis flock to the polls in record numbers, is it not ironic that all I can think about is how sexy Tatum O’Neal was when she was snapping off curveballs at Vic Morrow’s Yankees? Or is that the point of having a free society in the first place?
BECAUSE OF THE DERBYSHIRE!*
Ironic wasn’t the term that came to my mind…
That Ana Marie is quite the panda-loving minx.
Why am I getting a mental picture of a bright red baboon ass sticking up in the air?
tw: their. As in “hey, it’s their buisness”.
LT. POTTINGER,
Semper Fi.
You and your Big Brass Balls.
Sir.
“Odds, Ends” means never having to say “OT”, right? Oh shit, but I said it didn’t I?
Anyway, on a “slow news day” (>>**) for the lefties, MoDo is up to her tricks, playing catch-ball with Newsweek about GW the “Bubble-boy”. She writes about Newsweek writing about some imagery they made up! Next, Time will write about MoDo writing about… whee this is fun!
Two deeply insightful comments here:
1. MoDo needs Kong. In the worst way.
2. MoDo’s bubble is better than GW’s. His is transparent, but hers is silvered – on the inside!
>>** = nudge, nudge, wink, wink
This is a message for PIATOR…
You predicted that Iraq would be an Islamic, Iranian-style theocracy within a year, right? Repressive of women’s rights, anti-American, etc.
Well, since the Islamics are currently the ones with the most power in the interim government, how do you explain that these followers of Iran have allowed ISRAELIS of Iraqi origin to vote in the December 15th elections?
http://iraqivote.blogspot.com/
Scroll down to see the man’s photo.
I guess the new Iraqi theocracy will be like Iran in all ways, except that it’ll let Jews be citizens and vote in its elections.
Uh-huh.
Oh, and here’s another Iraqi Islamofascist, interviewed in Shi’ite Najaf:
http://pajamasmedia.com/site/story/story.2005-12-15.2115225167
Voting is a basic right, not a gift from anyone.
That’s how the Iranian mullahs view voting, right?
Uh-huh.
Please accept my sincerest condolances that your dream for Iraq will never be fulfilled.
Seriously. What is it about that film stock? Why don’t movies look like that anymore?
Seriously, but much simplified: the molecules are bigger. That makes it more sensitive, so less light is needed for a satisfactory image, but both the resolution and the contrast are reduced, and the color saturation is a trifle less.
This is all a response to moviemakers wanting to do away with having to have massive banks of lights even in full sunlight. It’s a pain in the butt, logistically.
Regards,
Ric
Just one question about the Bad News Bears? Did they keep the “This one’s for Allah” fakeout?
My first thought when I saw that title was bless the man, but he might have done more good for the country as a journalist. I mean, we have a lot of good Marines, but…
SeanH, I kept thinking how I’ve changed not only do I find Meyer’s story inspiring, but that I have much more respect for a Marine, any Marine than I have for any journalist. Even my favorite journalists feel a little sordid to me – these days journalists are like politicians. They run in packs, they claim to be saving the world while fighting for their own egos and nothing else. Oh, and except for a few really brilliant ones, almost everything they say is trite, shallow and wrong.
And even the brilliant ones are manipulative, self promoting, spin doctoring, whores – the only difference is that the brilliant journalists are bright and know exactly how sordid they are.
There’s nothing inspiring about even the best journalist…
I was listening to Robert Fisk give a speech tonight. Now I’m sure he thinks he’s a saint, and he has put his life on the line plenty of times, and he’s seen lots of horrible things.
And he’s understood very little.
But he just can’t wait to play Jesus and gift us all with his stupid opinion as if was God’s own commandment to repent.
Robert Fisk? He is a piece of filth, right up there with Ramsey Clark. Fisk supports the most horrid and ghastly tyrants, so long as the tyrant spouts anti-american platitudes He cares not one bit for the people who get ground down by those tyrants.
Filth is actually too good a description for Fisk.
Eeeeeeeuuuuuuuwww! Wonkette cooties! Break out the emergency penicillin!
I would just like to state unequivocally that I bear no relation real or fictional to this character. My real name is Floyd R. Turbo.
As many of you know, the original Michael Ritchie film ranks in my top 5 films of all time.
Better than Xanadu? Really? I’d never go that far.
You wanna see an abomnation?
Check out the Amityville Horror remake.
It’s been remastered in PCvision.