Eve of Destruction

The Grand Ole Party's going down.

The desperate attacks get muddier...

The McCain camp have begun officially parading the idiot/fraud "Joe the Plumber", who's become a poster-child for the no-information fearmongerers.

It gets worse and worse for the Republicans...


And yet... it's not over till it's over.

Vote. Please vote.

I was pretty demoralized by the 2004 Kerry/Edwards loss. Things are looking good but I'm just hoping this one works out.

Have a safe Halloween, curious lurkers. I'm looking forward to having less political stuff on here and more movie-news content. A change is coming.

Dunce Palin

... Gov. Sarah Palin denounced wasteful expenditure on fruit-fly research, adding for good xenophobic and anti-elitist measure that some of this research took place "in Paris, France" and winding up with a folksy "I kid you not."

It was in 1933 that Thomas Hunt Morgan won a Nobel Prize for showing that genes are passed on by way of chromosomes. The experimental creature that he employed in the making of this great discovery was the Drosophila melanogaster, or fruit fly.

Read about Sarah Palin's War on Science.

Jesus Fucking Christ.

GOP Loony Tunes

In case you missed it, Joe McCain (John's bro) wastes 911 calls on trafic-bitching.

And some commentary on Palin's completely weak SNL appearance:

Hallowe'en Week

It's been a while but it looks like I'll be costuming up for Halloween this year. Attempting to get into the Village Halloween Parade.

Halloween night in the Village is complete and utter madness. The chaos is obscene. I used to live down there and it's easy to get caught in the crowds, even when you're just trying to get out.

And I'm still not entirely sure how my costume's going to work. Semi-elaborate makeup this time. I've never done anything like it before. I may be fairly unrecognizable.

If anyone has a good tip on any cool bars/parties in the Village that we can hit after the parade dies off, drop me a line.

Ron Howard Puts on a Show

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

That's So McCain!

Palin's Epic Fail

Peggy Noonan from the WSJ, 10/18/08:

... we have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office. She is a person of great ambition, but the question remains: What is the purpose of the ambition? She wants to rise, but what for? For seven weeks I've listened to her, trying to understand if she is Bushian or Reaganite—a spender, to speak briefly, whose political decisions seem untethered to a political philosophy, and whose foreign policy is shaped by a certain emotionalism, or a conservative whose principles are rooted in philosophy, and whose foreign policy leans more toward what might be called romantic realism, and that is speak truth, know America, be America, move diplomatically, respect public opinion, and move within an awareness and appreciation of reality.

But it's unclear whether she is Bushian or Reaganite. She doesn't think aloud. She just . . . says things.

Her supporters accuse her critics of snobbery: Maybe she's not a big "egghead" but she has brilliant instincts and inner toughness. But what instincts? "I'm Joe Six-Pack"? She does not speak seriously but attempts to excite sensation—"palling around with terrorists." If the Ayers case is a serious issue, treat it seriously. She is not as thoughtful or persuasive as Joe the Plumber, who in an extended cable interview Thursday made a better case for the Republican ticket than the Republican ticket has made. In the past two weeks she has spent her time throwing out tinny lines to crowds she doesn't, really, understand. This is not a leader, this is a follower, and she follows what she imagines is the base, which is in fact a vast and broken-hearted thing whose pain she cannot, actually, imagine. She could reinspire and reinspirit; she chooses merely to excite. She doesn't seem to understand the implications of her own thoughts.

No news conferences? Interviews now only with friendly journalists? You can't be president or vice president and govern in that style, as a sequestered figure. This has been Mr. Bush's style the past few years, and see where it got us. You must address America in its entirety, not as a sliver or a series of slivers but as a full and whole entity, a great nation trying to hold together. When you don't, when you play only to your little piece, you contribute to its fracturing.

In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism.

Censure Michele Bachmann

Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota set off a firestorm of outrage Friday with comments on MSNBC's Hardball suggesting that Barack Obama and other liberals in Congress are "anti-American." Wittingly or unwittingly, Bachmann assumed the mantle of McCarthyism in her comments to interviewer Chris Matthews, suggesting also that members of Congress ought to be subject to investigation to "find out if they are pro-America or anti-America."

The outrage.



Sign the online petition to censure Michele Bachmann.

Sarah Palin's Hatemongering Minions

Getting ugly, racist and fearful out there.

Is this America?

South Asian International Film Festival

For anyone who's curious, I'm participating in a panel at the South Asian International Film Festival on Sunday:

"The Art of Screenwriting"

Digital filmmaking has made it easier than ever to shoot a film, but the process of writing an entertaining and successful screenplay is still as difficult and critical as ever to the success of a film. Listen in on an in depth discussion of how to create a powerful script and what it takes to turn it into a winning movie.

SUNDAY OCT 26
11:30AM

Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th Street (Corner of 7th Avenue)
New York, NY 10011

Check out the site for more information.

SPLINK!!!

Don't Push the Button!!!

Let's not forget we're in the horror business, sons and daughters.

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner

As Wikipedia learns us, Alfred E. Smith...

... was the first Roman Catholic and Irish-American to run for President as a major party nominee. He lost the election to Herbert Hoover. He then became president of the Empire State, Inc. and was instrumental in getting the Empire State Building built during the Great Depression.

On Thursday night, October 16th, the day after their final debate, Barack Obama and John McCain roasted each other at the 63rd Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

McCain's Speech:

Part 1


Part 2

Obama's Speech:

Part 1


Part 2

I've gotta admit, McCain was surprisingly funny. I honestly don't think I've seen him come across better. He's got that old school Friar's Club Roast thing down. This is the one time that I've thought that McCain won style points over Obama.

There, I said it. Happy?

Not that Obama did bad. He was funny. But McCain's delivery was just more of a fit for this kind of comedy.

Obama's still going to wipe the floor with him. If you assholes remember to go out and vote, at least.

Do Do Do DA Doooo

A friend forwarded this to me...

CLICK AWAY!!!

PRANGSTGRÜP

PRANGSTGRÜP is one of them spontaneous, public improv groups. There's a term for it, I think. Like social theater or something. I could look it up, there's a whole history to it, but ahhh... you get the idea.

Check out the "Lecture Musical" video. It's good, man.

Oh... and that final presidential debate last night...?

So long, McCain.


FiveThirtyEight.com's latest projections give Obama a whopping 95.1% win percentage, taking all scenarios into consideration:

I Like Nic Cage

Church of Palin

This is the first original, on-the-ground video report from inside the church where Gov. Sarah Palin was baptized and spent over two decades as a member, the Wasilla Assembly of God. The video features the only known footage of the man who publicly anointed Palin for higher office, the Kenyan witch hunter Bishop Thomas Muthee, during his return to Wasilla this September.

This is where it started for Sarah Palin.

Downward with the Palin Effect

When Sarah Palin showed up at the Wachovia Center last night to drop the ceremonial first puck at the Philadelphia Flyers home opener against the NY Rangers, she was treated to such a chorus of boos that the PA system had to be turned up full blast.

A big crowd of Hockey fans gave Palin the business.

McCain supporters want more racism.

Of course, there are plenty of McCain-Palin supporters who are vigilant about keeping the campaign dirty and, naturally, racist.

Things are looking up and up for the Dems, but it's a little horrifying to see the darker parts of this country under bright lights.

Hatemonger

Like I was gonna let an entire week go by without some McCain-bashing...

The poll numbers are a downward spiral for the mighty G.O.P. and they are running the filthiest, scummiest campaign imaginable. With that tranny pit-bull mess Palin out front howling the most irresponsible hate anthems she can cook up. (Or that her writers can cook up because she's as dumb as fucking dirt.)

McCain is losing it.

McCain is losing it.

McCain is losing it.

Improvised Explosive Devices are what the desperate McCain-Palin campaign is resigned to in this final stretch.

Good news for the Obama-Biden camp.

Don't buy into the contrarian bullshit being spewed by Drudge Report the right-wing nutter Zogby polls. They're highly suspect. (Though I admit to enjoying some of the more frivolous news stories on DR.)

Keep your eye on FiveThirtyEight.com for the latest projections. I just hope this holds.

Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence

Charles Wentworth, a 17-year-old Rutgers Preparatory senior and member of the affluent Wentworth family, came perilously close to suffering a consequence resulting from his own wrongdoing Saturday...

"Amazingly, Mr. Wentworth did not experience a single repercussion for consuming alcohol under age or operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and is furthermore completely unaware that he did anything wrong," local police chief Marvin Taylor said. "He is a very lucky boy."

"If he had been driving just 5 mph faster, or if his parents hadn't had the influence to keep the matter out of court and the endless financial resources to lease a car of the exact same make and model to prevent him from having to face even the relatively trivial humiliation of being taunted by his peers for driving a slightly less expensive vehicle—my God, who knows what could have happened?" Taylor added. "He could have died or, worse, been held accountable for his actions."

I know it's just an Onion article, but these kids are fucking REAL. Raised with a sense of entitlement, in these padded, sheltered environments. It is sort of revolting.

Ink Monster

As someone who burns through a lot of paper, the whole laser printer toner cartridge racket really grinds my gears...

Because the industry operates on a classic razor-and-blades business model—the printer itself isn't pricy, but ink and toner refills cost an exorbitant amount—printer manufacturers have a huge incentive to get you to replace your cartridges quickly. One way they do so is through technology: Rather than printing ever-fainter pages, many brands of printers—like my Brother—are outfitted with sensors or software that try to predict when they'll run out of ink. Often, though, the printer's guess is off; all over the Web, people report that their printers die before their time.

How your printer tricks you into buying ink and toner when you don't need it.

Don't Vote (if you want to vote for McCain)

Register to vote!

Suicidal Animals

Quercus - Global Warming
Uploaded by mikropikol

It was a cold dark evening, such a long time ago...

George W. Bush: How'd He Do?

Vote for Barack and Your Wildest Dreams Will Come True

EPA Shuts Down Local Ghost-Entrapment Business

Though its incarcerated employees were unavailable for comment, the company released a statement denying any wrongdoing. The statement also repudiated claims that those associated with the spectral-entrapment operation were afraid of any individual ghost, and went on to say that the act of capturing said ghosts simply made them "feel good."

More information at The Onion.