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August 28, 2005
Weekend Edition
A random sampling of other things running through my primate brain this weekend that didn't quite warrant complete posts on their own:
1) The 2005 Video Music Awards. Tonight, live from Miami, it's the VMAs, hosted by MTV. This, my friends, is high irony -- considering that the last time an actual music video ran on MTV might have been 1996. Watched that channel lately? It's RTV (Reality TV) now. How can a network present awards for something it doesn't even air? What's the point? Rather than highlighting achievement in an art form it no longer knows anything about, MTV is simply giving us all a reminder of just how precipitous the fall of the once-colossus really has been.
2)Must-see movie. I'm a sucker for psychological horror movies. Not the stupid teen slasher 'scare-by-gore' crap (Jason Voorhees just makes me laugh)... but give me a movie that scares you by totally messing with your head, and I'm hooked. In that spirit, I have to say that the upcoming movie that looks the most promising to me is The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Oh, I'm sure there will be all sorts of complaints about how it took liberties with the original story and it's not really based on a true story, etc. Fine. I don't care. It's got Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson in it, two actors I really like and respect. It's got one of those demonic storylines that will mess with my head and scare me with the idea that theoretically it possibly could happen, unrealistic as it may be. (Oh what, you purists, like Freddy Krueger could really invade your dreams?)
Check the trailer here.
3) Hurricane Katrina. As of noon Sunday, Katrina has strengthened into a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds of 175 mph. New Orleans, a major city of 485,000, is being totally evacuated. And the fear is that N'awlins -- which sits 8 feet below sea level and relies on levees and pumps to keep from flooding even during good weather -- could receive a direct hit from one of the strongest hurricanes (and its accordingly massive storm surge) ever recorded. I haven't seen Marco Polo on in a few days, but he's Louisiana-based... so Marco, you take care of yourself and please be safe. And that goes for anyone else who happens to drop by from bayou country.
4) "Supporting" the troops? Is this what the far Christian right has in mind when they say they support the troops? A group of extreme evangelicals has started showing up at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, and shouting "God hates you" at the proceedings. Why, may you ask?
The Rev. Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist in Kansas, contends that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays.
So naturally, Phelps and his chruch have started protesting the funerals of our military. According to the AP, The church members carried signs and shouted things such as "God hates fags" and "God hates you."
Members of the church that was burying two Tennessee soldiers and was targeted by the crackpots fought back (to a point, I guess). They chased demonstrators' cars out of town, waving flags and shouting out "God bless America." Okay, they get credit for running these folks off... but what about breaking out the shotguns, a pair of pliers and a blowtorch, and getting medieval on the asses of anyone disrespecting the military enough to shout "God hates you" at a funeral? I mean, had the Cindy Sheehan bus shown up, would they have reacted the same way?
5) Friday night blues. Ever have one of those happy hours that turns unexpectedly into a later evening? Friday after work, a bunch of us (Ethan, George, and my friends Terry and Kelly) went out for happy hour... which turned into dinner... which turned into hanging out at Terra Blues again and catching the Michael Powers show. Good times, good times.
6) Miniskirt madness. A city official in Budapest, Hungary, has proposed allowing mini-skirts to be worn only by women who have "pretty" enough legs to pull it off. Just who gets to decide what's pretty enough and what's not, he apparently doesn't say. Why am I reporting on this story? Well, because I'm a big fan of mini-skirts in general, and I am a shameless hit whore who'd like to get a few more visitors from Hungarians looking for miniskirt ban stories.
