1. Thanks so much to Jeff Paxson for the My Name is Nobody and Midnight Run DVDs. Midnight Run is one of my favorite comedies—and I’m ecstatic to finally have it on Region 1 DVD (I had the British version). And any film with Terrence Hill and Henry Fonda is bound to be superb.
2. The Jewish Israeli Awards, sponsered by The Jerusalem Post and Israellycool.com begin in earnest today (well, yesterday, actually); I’m a finalist in the Best Humor blog category, as well as the Best Overall Mega Blog category—where I will be competing against sites with traffic that routinely reaches 10-15x my own, including the formidable LGF.
And honestly—does anything say “Jew” moreso than a ponytailed ex-Jazz musician who spends his afternoons biking through California like Lance Armstrong on $300-a-bag primo redhaired weed and 1000 iTunes.
Anyway, good thing I’m getting a late start. Because those posers are going to need all the help they can get. You can vote here and here, if you’re interested.
3. Todd Peters points me to this interesting Ledeen interview over at NRO. “The Road to Tehran”
4. Citing this story from Sign on San Diego, John Stephenson of Stop the ACLU asks, “Is The Mexican Military Invading Texas?
Men dressed as Mexican Army soldiers, apparent drug suspects and Texas law enforcement officers faced off on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, an FBI spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Andrea Simmons, an agency spokeswoman in El Paso, told The Associated Press that Texas Department of Public Safety troopers chased three SUVs, believing they were carrying drugs, to the banks of the Rio Grande during Monday’s incident.
Men dressed in Mexican military uniforms or camouflage were on the U.S. side of the border in Texas, she said.
Simmons said the FBI was not involved and referred requests for further details to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin of Ontario, Calif., reported Tuesday that the incident included an armed standoff involving the Mexican military, suspected drug smugglers and nearly 30 U.S. law enforcement officers. It said Mexican military Humvees were towing what appeared to be thousands of pounds of marijuana across the border into the United States.
The incident follows a story in the Bulletin on Jan. 15 that said the Mexican military had crossed into the United States more than 200 times since 1996.
Chief Deputy Mike Doyal of the Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Department told the newspaper that Border Patrol agents called for backup and were joined by Hudspeth County deputies and DPS troopers. Mexican army personnel had several mounted machine guns on the ground more than 200 yards inside the U.S. border, the newspaper said.
Doyal said deputies captured a Cadillac Escalade that had been reported stolen from El Paso, and found 1,477 pounds of marijuana inside. He said Mexican soldiers set fire to one of the Humvees stuck in the river.
The site is near Neely’s Crossing, about 50 miles east of El Paso, it said.
“It’s been so bred into everyone not to start an international incident with Mexico that it’s been going on for years,†Doyal said. “When you’re up against mounted machine guns, what can you do? Who wants to pull the trigger first? Certainly not us.â€Â
My thoughts: the Alamo, much like the Steelers’ Sunday playoff victory over the Broncos, was a fluke.
My money is on Chuck Norris this time around.
5. Terry Hastings points to an interesting article from Callimachus examing the collision of left-wing anti-war talking points and (now) official al Qaeda propaganda.
6. “Hoist the Black Flag” interviews Timothy Haag, the Army reservist who single handedly killed 15-20 terrorists during an ambush in Iraq. You can listen to rebroadcasts of the show here.
Disclaimer: there is nothing funny at all about death, even the death of terrorists. Except for the noise some of them make when they fall backward out of the beds of beat up Toyota pickups and land baskets of figs. Because that’s pretty frickin’ hilarious, I have to admit.
7. And finally, a philsophical question: if a tree falls in the forest (and let’s say for purposes of this hypothetical that by “forest” I mean something like, say, “my awning,” bringing it crashing down on the mail lady while she’s dropping off unsolicited junkmail, breaking her arm, 2 ribs, and lacerating her spleen), does it make a sound—at least, in the sense that I am covered under renter’s insurance—or under government responsibility for having her stuff my box with needless King Sooper’s circulars in the first place?
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UPDATE
8. Incidentally, if any of you have region free-capable DVD players, or live overseas and can play non-Region 1 DVDS (PAL or NTSC)—contact me if you are interested in acquiring a fantastic inventory of new and mostly unopened imported DVDs (British, Italian, Australian, French, Asian, Spanish, Portuguese, German) at the a very very very low price (well below cost). I used to sell these as a sideline business, but I no longer want to deal with customs forms or bubble wrap envelopes, so I have the remainder of my inventory just sitting in my garage collecting dust on the shrinkwrap.
If you are an overseas reader, this could prove particularly profitable to you, as you can probably turn these around and sell or auction them off locally at an enormous profit.
These films are mostly high-brow major releases and well-known cult or art film (a lot of British Film Institute, Tartan, and Artificial Eye discs, for instance) that I used to sell to cinephiles in the US who couldn’t get the titles locally. The majority of these titles aren’t available on Region 1 (US) discs—or at least, they weren‘t when I was selling them. Others are overseas editions of US releases—sometimes with better transfers or special features (such as directory commentary tracks or documentaries) not available on their stateside counterparts.
Drop me an email or leave me a message in the comments. I want to get rid of the whole lot at once, so the offer will be extraordinarily generous, and the shipping accomodations decided upon by the purchaser.
Thanks.
I swear to Buddha, I hope that is really hypothetical—but then again I’m battled scarred and live in California.
“When you’re up against mounted machine guns, what can you do?”
Two words: air power
Or just shoot the guy firing the MG.
Let’s face facts, folks – a match of the Mexican Army vs. the US Army is a freakin’ walk-over for the Yanks. Bet long.
#1.I’ve cast my vote once again for the Protein thespian, despite the unsettling prospect of voting for someone who looks about 14, sports a cowboy hat cum yellowish hippie Ray-Bans and holds a strange devotion to Vladimir Jabotinsky and Ahmad Chalabi!
Truly democracy is tricky
#3.Hmm…Mike Ledeen you say?
The famous Pharisaic philosopher who wrote imperishable intellectuals opus such as “Universal Fascism†(1972) whereby he argued that, after all, comrade Benito Mussolini wasn’t such a bad guy
Ledeen, the visionary strategic thinker who has predicted that US marines would “receive the Arabian red-carpet treatment in Tickrit and Mossul, with sensual belly dancers pouring rosewater in crystal cups just for them†[sic]
Ledeen, the treacherous Trotskyite draft dodger who’s readily eager to “fight for Jerusalem’s liberty†till the last disposable American kid dies in the sands of Arabia or the steppes of central Asia…
The man is sharp, decisive, always to the point, and knows what’s good for his country’s national interest- I mean Israel of course
Faster please!
Did everyone else yawn? aspercreampatriot
Charles won in a landslide last year.
I think you should start cycling if you want to win.
i think bike shorts, umm, really show off guyz, umm, assets.
the above comment is dedicated to Lauren, since she’s not around to make it.
Does one actually drink rosewater?
Jeff,
My pleasure on the DVD’s…appreciate all the work you put into PW. Glad you like Midnight Run as much as I do. I just saw My Name is Nobody on cable not too long ago and it’s good. I like the Trinity movies better but can’t find them with good video yet. The versions available on Amazon apparently have lousy video quality.
Cheers!
Pax
Whats scary about Mexican Army Story is that very near where I like to spend my summer vaction ( Big Bend N.P./Big Bend State Ranch) . One place on the Rio Grand the water is so low you walk across on the rocks without getting your feet wet.
“you walk across on the rocks without getting your feet wet”
Messiah Have Thou Come ??
alex, the servants sprinkle rosewater over the diners’ heads and hands, in my experience.
Moshe Rabbeinu – it ought to be: “Messiah, Hast Thou Come?”
Wow! That was quite a crock you spewed up above, ‘Aspartamepatriot in a time of sugar-coated commies’.
Can you say troll-bait? I knew you could.
jesusmary and joseph!
charles is at 45% and jeff is at 42%, and he hasn’t even put on bike shorts yet–this can’t be happening.
Hmm…
Bizarre attempt to poke fun at Jeff personally (could be intended good-naturedly, could be ineffectually vicious; who can tell?): Check.
Gratuitous use of “Pharisaic”: Check.
Offhanded digs at Chalabi; rant about Ledeen: Check.
Conclusion: Dr Vic’s back!
P.S. to Jeff: Midnight Run is a movie I don’t own, have seen a hundred times, but every time I channel-surf onto it, I’m hooked for the duration.
Ah.
I’m glad–I was stricken with the image of a crowd of ‘Passion of the Christ’ characters drinking perfume out of brandy snifters.
I had interpreted it as clumsy flirting. . .but, indeed–who can tell?
You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found that Charles was not a MotT. OTOH, if you had a credit on School Days, I would tend to respect you a lot more.
Oh no…you are expecting My Name is Nobody to be superb? Don’t get your hopes up. I saw it in the 80’s…height height height of suckitude.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
And once again, the Blogroach scuttles out from under the woodwork. He’s pulling his old trick of pretending to be someone else, so we don’t see the “de la Vega” tagline and mentally tune him out. Victorino: you’re a dunce.
TW: I can’t list the number of ways that de la Vega pisses me off…
So the Mexican Army just might figure out how to get across without drowning.
Well,
Texas and California belonged to Mexico in the first place: I think it’s high time we gave these lands back to their legitimate owners…
Didn’t President Bush say “Mi casa blanca es tu casa blanca�
And after all, even General Sharon chose to give Gaza and Hebron back to the autochthonous Palestinians
Jeff,
If you have “Super Troopers” in Hebrew I’m all over it. I’ll pay any price.
I voted for you, even though I am really not sure how much Jewish humor is actually on this blog. Like I haven’t seen any Priest and Rabbi jokes much at all here, you know?
You guys are joking right? You don’t really think the Mexican army is invading Texas, do you? This is so obviously just a cover for a pot smuggling operation. How hard do you think it is for a rich Mexican to buy some uniforms and a surplus jeep?
The Mexican army doesn’t need to deal drugs. They got plenty of ways to get their payola on their side of the border. Besides, if they were going to deal drugs, they wouldn’t bother with marijuana. Too bulky. Too much work for the return. The money is in meth and they’re the biggest producers right now.
From the article:
mojo’s response:
Two words: air power
Sort of like:
When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support. Rule 36 “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates.
Jeff, I have one them plays-anything-from-anywhere DVD players and I’d be interested hearing more about those DVDs. Are they all in foreign tongues? Strange exotic tongues that form and shape their words in ways that make them exquisitely pleasureable when used…
hang on a second… TW: hour…
Or am I too late?