Michael Jackson, poor fucker. Something in the American psyche that loves a particular twist in its Gothic approach to its Christ mythology. Images of Baby Jane's organza bows merge w/a bloated Elivis falling in slow-mo off his golden toilet and the great mind of Howard Hughes fades away as he drinks his own piss in the dark. It's as riveting as gawking at Britney from the window as she shaves her head, cinematic in scope and to be continued at a later date. Right now it's Jacko's turn.


Welcome back to Sunset Boulevard, where Norma Desmond will always live to bury her monkey and plan her big comeback...

But dammit, it's my JOB!
(Shamelessly gakked from flaviarassen

--MAB

RE: California Supremes OK'ing Prop 8

I've always wondered why no one has thought to introduce a bill that says, in effect, "You can stand up in your special building with all the pretty windows making all manner of promises to your invisible sky wizard, but nobody's 'married' unless the STATE says "You're married"" i.e. make ALL marriages "civil unions" and just as much PITA/hassle for the straights. I mean, when you get right down to it, "marriage" is all about property rights, so why not just cut to the chase and call it a contract that you have to lawyer up for like anyone else?

The sky wizard crowd then couldn't complain that performing wedding ceremonies for same sex couples was "against their religion" since the ceremonies themselves would become irrelevant. The equal protection clause of the US Constitution states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
This seems pretty much a no brainer here, but then again, IANAL.

Thoughts?

--MAB

From this morning's Washington Post in an essay on how movie producers tiptoe around the fanbois:




Only the third and most recent trailer seemed in any way deviant, as a voice-over tells the new, hottie Kirk (Chris Pine) that he must fulfill his destiny and follow his father's footsteps, which, as anyone knows, is "Star Wars" talk -- a little like being handed a Communion wafer in a synagogue.


Best. Simile. EVER.

--MAB

The late lamented Gentle Giant from a BBC concert in 1978.

Actor Dom DeLuise Dies at 75

LOS ANGELES -- Actor, comedian and chef Dom DeLuise has died, his son confirms.

DeLuise died in Santa Monica Monday night surrounded by family, according to his son Michael DeLuise.

He passed away peacefully in his sleep around 6:30 p.m. after a long illness, he said.

DeLuise was nominated for a Golden Globe and starred in classics such as "The Cannonball Run" and "Spaceballs."

DeLuise often played comedic roles and appeared on the big screen alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1970s and 1980s.

Reynolds released the following statement Tuesday after learning about DeLuise's death:

"I was thinking the other day about this. As you get older you think about this more and more, I was dreading this moment. Dom always made everyone feel better when he was around. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much. "

DeLuise was perhaps best known as a regular in Mel Brooks' films.

He was an avid chef and wrote several books on cooking.

DeLuise is survived by his wife and three sons.

He was 75.

Story from KTLA

--MAB

Then watch this: 40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes

--MAB

CNN Headline news, in a never ending quest to panic the sheep reports in this story --

Headline: Confirmed flu cases worldwide now number 331.

Hmmmm... lessee now, 331 cases out of a worldwide population of 6.5 billion. Should we panic now?

If Iraqi soldiers do it, it's a "War Crime"
If our CIA/Military does it, it's "Keeping the Homeland Safe"

Am I missing something here?

Perhaps GWB should listen to his last sentence there.
(Maybe THEN the American people can get him and his cronies to start ANOTHER "sentence")

--MAB

Liquid crystals - Display genius no match for petty politics

or How the LCD lost its Daddy

Happy Birthday, IC! George Heilmeier is widely known as the father of the LCD. But he abandoned his liquid crystal baby nearly forty years ago.

In 1964, as a researcher at RCA's corporate lab in Princeton, New Jersey, Heilmeier uncovered the electro-optical properties of molecular and liquid crystals. And four years later, at an RCA press conference in New York City, he showed the world the first crude forerunners of today's ubiquitous liquid crystal displays.

But by 1970, as his liquid crystals languished amidst the petty internal politics at RCA, Heilmeier left his seminal research behind. And if he looks back, it's only because he's encouraged to. Asked if he feels a certain pride when he walks into one of those massive electronics retailers where countless LCD TVs line the walls, he demurs.

"To be honest with you, that's something for my grandchildren to do, Not me."

Story continues

--MAB

According to the BBC

The death of popular actress Bea Arthur, who starred in the US television sitcom The Golden Girls, has been reported in Los Angeles.

Arthur, who played the on-screen daughter to the late Estelle Getty, died at home of cancer at the age of 86, a family spokesman said.

She was also famous for the sitcom Maude, first creating the character in the comedy series All In The Family.

Arthur also won an Tony Award for the musical Mame.

The tall, deep-voiced actress's razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star, the Associated Press news agency notes.

She won Emmy Awards for both The Golden Girls and Maude.

Dan Watt, her personal assistant for six years, announced the death, saying she had died peacefully.

Alan Moore reading Rorschach's journal from Watchmen (the comic)


From listening to this, it becomes obvious that Rorschach was really Moore's voice more than any other character. Jackie Earle Haley did a brilliant job in the movie, but this is the real deal.
Fucking CREEPY!

-MAB

Check out the weirdness that is Kevin Bolk's Art

--MAB

Happy "420" Day.
Never really thought of Stewie as the type to spark up a doobie, but this is pretty funny:
(...and anybody that riffs off of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is OK in my book)



--MAB

Saturday is "Record Store Day"

From USA Today

On Saturday, April 18th, more than 1,000 stores and 600 artists will participate in Record Store Day activities that include in-store signings and performances, and the release of dozens of exclusive musical products.

"It has exploded," says Michael Kurtz of Music Monitor Network, an organizer of the event, which is sponsored by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers. "We touched a nerve. So many people are passionate about record stores. It's like how people feel about wine shops. We had no idea it would be that way, but it is and it's incredible."

---

For the young'uns in the crowd: A "record" is a vinyl disc with grooves in it that, when played on a device called a "turntable" would produce music. (I know... weird, right?) They used to be sold in buildings called "stores". Being an analog technology, they DID take up a lot of room, but their large size allowed for something called "album art". Go ask your grandpa about it {grin}

--MAB

There was a point in the distant past when the Disney animation studio was constantly on the verge of going bankrupt. Therefore it's no surprise when you combine relatively low budgets with the same couple of animators over the decades, you wind up with recycled sequences. It's pretty cool to see them together in this montage.
(Not to mention the Snow White soundtrack.... in French!)

....unless they are really saying that current fiscal policies are formulated by those who write commentary in margins? (Pic gakked from HuffPost)

--MAB