Mission: Impossible
(Paramount, 1996)
This film defied the odds and broke all the rules. They took a campy 1960s TV show; not always a great idea. Then they killed off most of the cast in the opening act. And they made the hero of the TV series the traitorous goat of the movie. Pack these into a vanity exercise for an actor with a tremendous ego, a project getting handed around among several big-name directors like a hot potato, and a budget packed with location shooting and rather expensive and complicated stunt/action extravaganzas, and you have a recipe for a potentially legendary box-office disaster. Forgive me, but rather like a mission:impossible.
Except despite all this, Tom Cruise delivered on every penny of his contract fee and then some, pitched stunts that authorities turned down at first, and got them to say yes with nothing but his charm and some backroom arm-twisting. The B-cast team assembled after the A-cast team was wiped out in a crucial plot point gelled fabulously. The locations, action, and stunts were superb. And despite a convoluted labyrinth of plot twists, both director Brian DePalma and leading man Cruise helped the movie find its way to the M:I mystique, plugging into it completely. They also brought the film in on time, under budget, and quintupled the production budget in box office gross, which never hurts credibility with the studio bankrolling such a project.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
Back To School
As we approach (or in some cases, have recently experienced) the return to school of millions of yutes, I share a response from a recent forum where all of us resident geniuses were solving the problems of the world, in this case education:
That is simply touchy-feely BS.
If there is any shock or disbelief at that assessment, I suggest trying to sell that line of goods to the instructors at a place known to most former attendees as "Boot Camp". Kindly report back to the class on how the attempted sale progresses.
1) Teachers are in charge of imparting knowledge of various subjects. No more, no less.
They have a wide latitude of means and stratagems ethically and legally available to them, but the only thing that matters at the end of the day is results.
Everybody with me so far?
2) Students are responsible for soaking this knowledge up, and then demonstrating mastery of it, on these things we call "tests".
Did I lose anyone?
3) When students fail to demonstrate some adequate level of mastery, teachers are responsible to issue grades which inescapably flunk those students on those subjects, regardless of the hard life little Julio or Cletus or Billy Bob had, the level of grief, distress, wailing, and gnashing of teeth on the part of his enabling DNA donors, their guilted out administrators' hand wringing over this outcome, or any number of rent-seeking sycophants who pander to anyone available on the issue 24/7/365/forever.
If this concept puzzles anyone, attend a league-organized baseball game, and note how infrequently the umpires at home plate and the bases consult either the players, dugouts, press box, or the crowd itself regarding the calls of "balls", "strikes", "safes" and "outs".
Everybody take your time, that was a lot for one point, I know.
4) When the little tykes max out at age 18 and twelve years' dutiful attempts beyond kindergarten by primary and secondary education to impart those lessons, their failings are not the school's problem, they're the problem of Our Heroes, Junior Fuckup, and his prom date BabyMama. With their report cards full of Fail, they can now look forward to a level of poverty unimagined in the wealthiest Third World Shitholes, including custom tennis shoes, air conditioning, big screen cable TV, and electronic gadgetry only dimly imagined even in First World countries as recently as the 1970s, all paid for from taxpayer largess that makes Oprah appear to be a tightwad.
Or, pink underwear, orange jumpsuits, and a lifetime supply of green bologna sandwiches, and non-stop lodging for life if Junior Fu can't master anything as linguistically complicated as "Would you like fries with that?" until either wisdom seeps in seasoned with adversity, or he qualifies for the twin fainting couches of Social Security and Medicare to carry him all the way to the River Styx.
As I've (along with probably 100M others) paid for all that by working virtually non-stop every non-school day since the age of 12, I frankly couldn't give a giant hairy fuck, whether the flying type or entirely non-aerial, about which result is obtained except to note that officialdom not looking at it that way currently squanders billions of $$$ that could have been spent on any number of more useful things than coddling, at this point, at least three generations of Junior Fuckups, BabyMamas, and their prodigious subsidized spawn, to the point that now they approach a permanent majority status in this country, to the detriment of civilization itself.
As the next stop on this particular morality play involves widespread societal bloodletting on a biblical scale, judging only by 6000 years of recorded history (for those decreasingly few capable of reading it in some form of written communication), I urge therefore that any kneejerk parrotage authored by the Professional Rentseeking Sycophantry be kept to bare minimum.
That concludes the lesson. I'm available for any questions...
US school problems are mainly with the parent/teacher/child relationship more than anything. Parents work to undermine any authority teachers may try to have over their children, and then wonder why their little angel is acting up in class.
That is simply touchy-feely BS.
If there is any shock or disbelief at that assessment, I suggest trying to sell that line of goods to the instructors at a place known to most former attendees as "Boot Camp". Kindly report back to the class on how the attempted sale progresses.
1) Teachers are in charge of imparting knowledge of various subjects. No more, no less.
They have a wide latitude of means and stratagems ethically and legally available to them, but the only thing that matters at the end of the day is results.
Everybody with me so far?
2) Students are responsible for soaking this knowledge up, and then demonstrating mastery of it, on these things we call "tests".
Did I lose anyone?
3) When students fail to demonstrate some adequate level of mastery, teachers are responsible to issue grades which inescapably flunk those students on those subjects, regardless of the hard life little Julio or Cletus or Billy Bob had, the level of grief, distress, wailing, and gnashing of teeth on the part of his enabling DNA donors, their guilted out administrators' hand wringing over this outcome, or any number of rent-seeking sycophants who pander to anyone available on the issue 24/7/365/forever.
If this concept puzzles anyone, attend a league-organized baseball game, and note how infrequently the umpires at home plate and the bases consult either the players, dugouts, press box, or the crowd itself regarding the calls of "balls", "strikes", "safes" and "outs".
Everybody take your time, that was a lot for one point, I know.
4) When the little tykes max out at age 18 and twelve years' dutiful attempts beyond kindergarten by primary and secondary education to impart those lessons, their failings are not the school's problem, they're the problem of Our Heroes, Junior Fuckup, and his prom date BabyMama. With their report cards full of Fail, they can now look forward to a level of poverty unimagined in the wealthiest Third World Shitholes, including custom tennis shoes, air conditioning, big screen cable TV, and electronic gadgetry only dimly imagined even in First World countries as recently as the 1970s, all paid for from taxpayer largess that makes Oprah appear to be a tightwad.
Or, pink underwear, orange jumpsuits, and a lifetime supply of green bologna sandwiches, and non-stop lodging for life if Junior Fu can't master anything as linguistically complicated as "Would you like fries with that?" until either wisdom seeps in seasoned with adversity, or he qualifies for the twin fainting couches of Social Security and Medicare to carry him all the way to the River Styx.
As I've (along with probably 100M others) paid for all that by working virtually non-stop every non-school day since the age of 12, I frankly couldn't give a giant hairy fuck, whether the flying type or entirely non-aerial, about which result is obtained except to note that officialdom not looking at it that way currently squanders billions of $$$ that could have been spent on any number of more useful things than coddling, at this point, at least three generations of Junior Fuckups, BabyMamas, and their prodigious subsidized spawn, to the point that now they approach a permanent majority status in this country, to the detriment of civilization itself.
As the next stop on this particular morality play involves widespread societal bloodletting on a biblical scale, judging only by 6000 years of recorded history (for those decreasingly few capable of reading it in some form of written communication), I urge therefore that any kneejerk parrotage authored by the Professional Rentseeking Sycophantry be kept to bare minimum.
That concludes the lesson. I'm available for any questions...
Flick Pick: Animal House
Animal House
(Universal, 1978)
The greatest college movie ever made, featuring the legendary talent of John Belushi, and the most awesome fraternity roster ever assembled in one movie. As millions of smiling faces are seen at school steps nationwide this week (they belong to the parents), this movie was the only possible choice to commemorate the moment, and give Faber College and Delta House their richly deserved moment in the sunshine on this list.
Knowledge is good.
Go Mongols!
(Universal, 1978)
The greatest college movie ever made, featuring the legendary talent of John Belushi, and the most awesome fraternity roster ever assembled in one movie. As millions of smiling faces are seen at school steps nationwide this week (they belong to the parents), this movie was the only possible choice to commemorate the moment, and give Faber College and Delta House their richly deserved moment in the sunshine on this list.
Knowledge is good.
Go Mongols!
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Info Dump: Missing Flick Picks
The missing flick picks below from last week's techno-hiccup. Again, apologies.
Just because I didn't blog about them on the day, don't think for a minute I didn't still pull them off the shelf and watch them again. Like the rest of the list, I think these are all keepers:
August 26
Austin Powers, International Man Of Mystery
(New Line, 1997)
Absolutely superb send-up of nearly every spy movie ever made, with Mike Meyers pulling off the Peter Sellers-esque task of successfully providing both the hero and the villain, and doing it with notable skill, wit, and style, with over-the-top characterizations in both cases that totally work. Like watching a guy juggling flaming chainsaws, it's easy to get so sucked into the spectacle that you overlook how much talent that took to pull off, and the fact that you don't notice it otherwise is testimony to a really rare level of craft.
August 25
The Enforcer
(Warner Bros., 1976)
Just when people figured there was nowhere for Inspector Calahan to go, he came back, and while gently mocking his female partner, ably portrayed by Tyne Daly, probably (and not inadvertently) did more for women's rights with this movie that a year's worth of PBS specials and policy papers could, while delivering Eastwood's trademark Calahan portrayal in the usual taken-from-the-headlines storyline, while handing his co-star the more popular role.
August 24
Magnum Force
(Warner Bros., 1973)
Doubling down on the original movie, this sequel opens on Harry Calahan's monologue about the Smith and Wesson Model 29. Which to date is the second most known and popular weapon in cinematic history, after only the Jedi lightsaber. Mission accomplished. The follow-up to the original not only helped Eastwood cement his legendary status, it pulled three of the four death squad cops into successful careers as well. (Kip Niven(?) being the only one to fall off the face of the earth afterwards.) But the driving force in this movie from beginning to credits, isn't the weapon, it's all Clint, all the time.
August 23
Dirty Harry
(Warner Bros., 1971)
Passed around amongst studios like an orphan in a basket, finally landing at Warner, and after getting turned down by half a dozen much bigger stars, this finally ended up where it was destined to belong.
Before this movie debuted, Clint Eastwood was a moderately successful mainly western star. Afterwards, he was a film icon. And 40 years later, the flick still holds up, and shows you exactly why.
August 22
Where Eagles Dare
(MGM., 1968)
The other Alistair MacLean truly great film, which debuted only two months after Ice Station Zebra, and shares not only the author, but unbelievably good filmmaking from that source. Prime Richard Burton, excellent early Clint Eastwood, and spectacular action, suspense, and cinematography made this flick every bit the equal of the its Cold War older brother, and a perfect reminder that a great story is always the thing that matters.
August 21
Running Scared
(MGM, 1986)
Great dramedy buddy flick, featuring the sadly once-in-a-lifetime pairing of Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines, who are individually good, and simply marvelous opposite each other. In a better world, they would have made five more movies together at least. Any five minutes of this movie should serve to remind people that Billy Crystal has always been better than you remember, and Greg Hines left us far too soon.
Just because I didn't blog about them on the day, don't think for a minute I didn't still pull them off the shelf and watch them again. Like the rest of the list, I think these are all keepers:
August 26
Austin Powers, International Man Of Mystery
(New Line, 1997)
Absolutely superb send-up of nearly every spy movie ever made, with Mike Meyers pulling off the Peter Sellers-esque task of successfully providing both the hero and the villain, and doing it with notable skill, wit, and style, with over-the-top characterizations in both cases that totally work. Like watching a guy juggling flaming chainsaws, it's easy to get so sucked into the spectacle that you overlook how much talent that took to pull off, and the fact that you don't notice it otherwise is testimony to a really rare level of craft.
August 25
The Enforcer
(Warner Bros., 1976)
Just when people figured there was nowhere for Inspector Calahan to go, he came back, and while gently mocking his female partner, ably portrayed by Tyne Daly, probably (and not inadvertently) did more for women's rights with this movie that a year's worth of PBS specials and policy papers could, while delivering Eastwood's trademark Calahan portrayal in the usual taken-from-the-headlines storyline, while handing his co-star the more popular role.
August 24
Magnum Force
(Warner Bros., 1973)
Doubling down on the original movie, this sequel opens on Harry Calahan's monologue about the Smith and Wesson Model 29. Which to date is the second most known and popular weapon in cinematic history, after only the Jedi lightsaber. Mission accomplished. The follow-up to the original not only helped Eastwood cement his legendary status, it pulled three of the four death squad cops into successful careers as well. (Kip Niven(?) being the only one to fall off the face of the earth afterwards.) But the driving force in this movie from beginning to credits, isn't the weapon, it's all Clint, all the time.
August 23
Dirty Harry
(Warner Bros., 1971)
Passed around amongst studios like an orphan in a basket, finally landing at Warner, and after getting turned down by half a dozen much bigger stars, this finally ended up where it was destined to belong.
Before this movie debuted, Clint Eastwood was a moderately successful mainly western star. Afterwards, he was a film icon. And 40 years later, the flick still holds up, and shows you exactly why.
August 22
Where Eagles Dare
(MGM., 1968)
The other Alistair MacLean truly great film, which debuted only two months after Ice Station Zebra, and shares not only the author, but unbelievably good filmmaking from that source. Prime Richard Burton, excellent early Clint Eastwood, and spectacular action, suspense, and cinematography made this flick every bit the equal of the its Cold War older brother, and a perfect reminder that a great story is always the thing that matters.
August 21
Running Scared
(MGM, 1986)
Great dramedy buddy flick, featuring the sadly once-in-a-lifetime pairing of Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines, who are individually good, and simply marvelous opposite each other. In a better world, they would have made five more movies together at least. Any five minutes of this movie should serve to remind people that Billy Crystal has always been better than you remember, and Greg Hines left us far too soon.
Flick Pick: The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers
(Universal, 1978)
Jake and Elwood's mission from God, featuring 200 national guardsmen, 100 Chicago cops, 80 cars, a top 40 soundtrack album, and 17 bona fide musicians, just to raise five grand to pay the tax bill on their orphanage. Wildly late and over-budget from the days when cocaine was a line item on movie budgets, it all comes together remarkably on-screen in this once-in-a-lifetime comedy musical demolition derby.
(Universal, 1978)
Jake and Elwood's mission from God, featuring 200 national guardsmen, 100 Chicago cops, 80 cars, a top 40 soundtrack album, and 17 bona fide musicians, just to raise five grand to pay the tax bill on their orphanage. Wildly late and over-budget from the days when cocaine was a line item on movie budgets, it all comes together remarkably on-screen in this once-in-a-lifetime comedy musical demolition derby.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Flick Pick: Dragnet
Dragnet
(Universal, 1987)
Parody homage to the perennial Jack Webb franchise, executed near-flawlessly by Dan Aykroyd, in probably his personal best post-SNL performance. Also with Tom Hanks in his comedic prime, and the added bonus of Harry Morgan reprising his Frank Gannon role.
(Universal, 1987)
Parody homage to the perennial Jack Webb franchise, executed near-flawlessly by Dan Aykroyd, in probably his personal best post-SNL performance. Also with Tom Hanks in his comedic prime, and the added bonus of Harry Morgan reprising his Frank Gannon role.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Flick Pick: Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles
(Warner Bros., 1974)
The other funny western, the one so edgy then, let alone now, that no studio would dare make it today, and the product of pure comedy genius. Warner did exactly two things right: they greenlighted the film, and they gave Mel Brooks final creative say in what was in or out. Brooks' writing team included Richard Pryor, and the execution of the script was wonderfully accomplished by the dream team of Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, and Harvey Korman. It's a non-stop 95 minute send up of every western movie and cliché accumulated in the prior sixty years of Hollywood filmmaking, throwing in everything but a pie fight and a kitchen sink in pursuit of that objective. In response, it got three Oscar nominations, brought in $119M on a $2.6M budget, and probably contributed more to better race relations in America than any ten years of the civil rights movement.
(Warner Bros., 1974)
The other funny western, the one so edgy then, let alone now, that no studio would dare make it today, and the product of pure comedy genius. Warner did exactly two things right: they greenlighted the film, and they gave Mel Brooks final creative say in what was in or out. Brooks' writing team included Richard Pryor, and the execution of the script was wonderfully accomplished by the dream team of Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, and Harvey Korman. It's a non-stop 95 minute send up of every western movie and cliché accumulated in the prior sixty years of Hollywood filmmaking, throwing in everything but a pie fight and a kitchen sink in pursuit of that objective. In response, it got three Oscar nominations, brought in $119M on a $2.6M budget, and probably contributed more to better race relations in America than any ten years of the civil rights movement.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Flick Pick: Leap Of Faith
Leap Of Faith
(Paramount, 1992)
Funny, lightly sardonic, and yet still touching and respectful look at the fringe elements of American Protestantism, this film features Steve Martin at his sequin-jacketed best, playing the quintessential I'm-In-On-The-Joke revival huckster, Jonas Nightengale, in a performance of razor-sharp clarity. Debra Winger was a wonderful foil, Lukas Haas providing one of the few successful child star transitions to adulthood in movie history, and Liam Neeson, talented though he is, the only screen clinker, awkwardly miscast as a rural plains state sheriff, Irish brogue and all (which is heard so frequently across the Great Plains - not!). The movie rocks, with no small help from a great soundtrack and backup choir, and all the glitz Hollywood can inject into sending up a faith-healing three-ring circus. But the payoff throughout this movie is Martin himself, going from con man to confusion, sarcasm to surprise, and consummate comedian throughout. That he wasn't nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for this performance was a crime against audiences and the acting profession.
(Paramount, 1992)
Funny, lightly sardonic, and yet still touching and respectful look at the fringe elements of American Protestantism, this film features Steve Martin at his sequin-jacketed best, playing the quintessential I'm-In-On-The-Joke revival huckster, Jonas Nightengale, in a performance of razor-sharp clarity. Debra Winger was a wonderful foil, Lukas Haas providing one of the few successful child star transitions to adulthood in movie history, and Liam Neeson, talented though he is, the only screen clinker, awkwardly miscast as a rural plains state sheriff, Irish brogue and all (which is heard so frequently across the Great Plains - not!). The movie rocks, with no small help from a great soundtrack and backup choir, and all the glitz Hollywood can inject into sending up a faith-healing three-ring circus. But the payoff throughout this movie is Martin himself, going from con man to confusion, sarcasm to surprise, and consummate comedian throughout. That he wasn't nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for this performance was a crime against audiences and the acting profession.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Flick Pick: The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three
The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three
(United Artists,1974)
This is the original and genuine article: accept no poor and hopelessly mis-envisioned later substitutes. Walter Matthau made an entire career of playing world-weary deadpan everymen with a hard-edged sense of humor, and he's hitting on all cylinders in this turn. Robert Shaw is meticulous and menacing as an absolutely cold-blooded and ruthless criminal leading a small gang of men to hijack a NY subway train and making the moves to get away with it in this perfectly executed howdunit. The only thing predictable about this movie is that once it unfolds, the audience remains hooked to the final shot.
(United Artists,1974)
This is the original and genuine article: accept no poor and hopelessly mis-envisioned later substitutes. Walter Matthau made an entire career of playing world-weary deadpan everymen with a hard-edged sense of humor, and he's hitting on all cylinders in this turn. Robert Shaw is meticulous and menacing as an absolutely cold-blooded and ruthless criminal leading a small gang of men to hijack a NY subway train and making the moves to get away with it in this perfectly executed howdunit. The only thing predictable about this movie is that once it unfolds, the audience remains hooked to the final shot.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Technical Difficulties
What are the odds of one's laptop AND 4G WiFi brick both crapping out in the same 24 hour period?
Well, about a week ago, 100%, as it turns out.
But no, I didn't manage to get the Powerball numbers to come up at the same time.
Regular posting will resume tomorrow. Sorry for the interruption.
The missing daily Flick Picks for the downtime will be added this weekend.
Well, about a week ago, 100%, as it turns out.
But no, I didn't manage to get the Powerball numbers to come up at the same time.
Regular posting will resume tomorrow. Sorry for the interruption.
The missing daily Flick Picks for the downtime will be added this weekend.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Papieren, bitte.
Facts, as John Adams famously noted, are stubborn things.
Karl Deninger's Market Ticker b-roll backstory seems to underline the zealousness of the 53-member FergusonGestapo PD in how they oversee the peasants down on the plantation of greater Ferguson.
By all means, go read the link, then come back.
Holy Fucking Shit, Batman, it's a monumentally epic crime wave!!!
No one has documented this level of everyday lawlessness in 6.2 square miles since Genghis and Co. dropped in to visit Russia on a road trip from Mongolia.
Even allowing for some help from outside agencies for some fraction of those stats, one wonders how people like Ofr. Wilson found time to accost two mere jaywalkers in the first place, since they have apparently stumbled upon a municipality that runs like Beirut, yet with only 6% of its population.
Beirut Lebanon population: 361,366
Ferguson MO USA population: 21,135
That's more than one arrest warrant per resident, per year!
Either this is the largest organized crime tribe in America encompassing the entire city; or if, as in most communities, fewer than 10% of the city's people are causing more than 95% of the problems, you'd think they'd elect to do something besides citing the same 2,000 people every 5 weeks over and over again, at some point in time.
Right?!?
For comparison, in 928 episodes on TV, over 27 seasons, the TV show COPS would have to document a warrant case more frequently than one-per-minute of its 20,416 total on-air minutes to date just to get to that level of crime and disorder that Ferguson apparently enjoyed in just the last year.
Nota bene that's the arrest and case stats for only the Municipal Court, so it doesn't even approach the number of absolute total traffic tickets, as well as normal misdemeanor and felony arrests processed there or in Superior Court, or whatever Ferguson's version of it is.
It's truly a wonder the members of the Ferguson PD can shoot a gun at all with their hands as crippled up from writer's cramp and repetitive stress syndrome as they must certainly be from this level of lawbreaking.
When, praytell, do they find time to eat a donut??
The Ferguson PD don't need to be suspended: they need to be lined up against a wall and shot.
Why the protesters haven't marched on and burned the police HQ and the courthouse is anybody's guess, but against stats like that, assuming they're accurate, their forbearance is legendary, and makes the signers of the Declaration of Independence sound like a bunch of whining pussy crybabies by comparison over a paltry ha'penny tax per hundredweight on tea.
Ignoring these obvious truths is what happens when you make math optional beyond the 10th grade, and especially at journalism school. One can only wonder how no one in the Fourth Estate - 57 channels and nothing on - never seems to have ever noticed the level of what passes for justice that has been going on in that little burg since time out of mind.
Karl Deninger's Market Ticker b-roll backstory seems to underline the zealousness of the 53-member Ferguson
By all means, go read the link, then come back.
in 2013, the Ferguson Municipal Court issued 24,532 arrest warrants and 12,018 cases, “or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household.”Or put another way, it amounts to 463 warrants per sworn officer and 227 cases per sworn officer, which amounts to every officer coming up with 2 warrants and one case per shift, every day, forever, in a 'burb with a population smaller than an Ohio State U. football home game crowd. And a court that in a nominal 250-day calendar issues 98 arrest warrants every single court day forever, 12 an hour, one every five minutes.
Holy Fucking Shit, Batman, it's a monumentally epic crime wave!!!
No one has documented this level of everyday lawlessness in 6.2 square miles since Genghis and Co. dropped in to visit Russia on a road trip from Mongolia.
Even allowing for some help from outside agencies for some fraction of those stats, one wonders how people like Ofr. Wilson found time to accost two mere jaywalkers in the first place, since they have apparently stumbled upon a municipality that runs like Beirut, yet with only 6% of its population.
Beirut Lebanon population: 361,366
Ferguson MO USA population: 21,135
That's more than one arrest warrant per resident, per year!
Either this is the largest organized crime tribe in America encompassing the entire city; or if, as in most communities, fewer than 10% of the city's people are causing more than 95% of the problems, you'd think they'd elect to do something besides citing the same 2,000 people every 5 weeks over and over again, at some point in time.
Right?!?
For comparison, in 928 episodes on TV, over 27 seasons, the TV show COPS would have to document a warrant case more frequently than one-per-minute of its 20,416 total on-air minutes to date just to get to that level of crime and disorder that Ferguson apparently enjoyed in just the last year.
Nota bene that's the arrest and case stats for only the Municipal Court, so it doesn't even approach the number of absolute total traffic tickets, as well as normal misdemeanor and felony arrests processed there or in Superior Court, or whatever Ferguson's version of it is.
It's truly a wonder the members of the Ferguson PD can shoot a gun at all with their hands as crippled up from writer's cramp and repetitive stress syndrome as they must certainly be from this level of lawbreaking.
When, praytell, do they find time to eat a donut??
The Ferguson PD don't need to be suspended: they need to be lined up against a wall and shot.
Why the protesters haven't marched on and burned the police HQ and the courthouse is anybody's guess, but against stats like that, assuming they're accurate, their forbearance is legendary, and makes the signers of the Declaration of Independence sound like a bunch of whining pussy crybabies by comparison over a paltry ha'penny tax per hundredweight on tea.
Ignoring these obvious truths is what happens when you make math optional beyond the 10th grade, and especially at journalism school. One can only wonder how no one in the Fourth Estate - 57 channels and nothing on - never seems to have ever noticed the level of what passes for justice that has been going on in that little burg since time out of mind.
Flick Pick: The Great Train Robbery
The Great Train Robbery
(United Artists, 1979)
Sparkling period howdunit, written and directed by Michael Crichton from his own novel, and featuring the services of Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, and the captivating Lesley-Anne Down, which just on its face is a talent grand slam of noteworthy proportion. The film included an extended stunt scene atop the eponymous moving train, performed almost solely by Connery himself, at speeds of 50MPH. The entire movie has a deft light-hearted tone, and an excellent Jerry Goldsmith score, and is just the sort of perfect entertainment one goes to the movies to watch.
(United Artists, 1979)
Sparkling period howdunit, written and directed by Michael Crichton from his own novel, and featuring the services of Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, and the captivating Lesley-Anne Down, which just on its face is a talent grand slam of noteworthy proportion. The film included an extended stunt scene atop the eponymous moving train, performed almost solely by Connery himself, at speeds of 50MPH. The entire movie has a deft light-hearted tone, and an excellent Jerry Goldsmith score, and is just the sort of perfect entertainment one goes to the movies to watch.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Throwing The Bullshit Flag
If you Google-search "molotov Ferguson", you can find a plethora of video and written story links to report after report from the lamestream media, and even alternative media sites like Breitbart BigMedia (who ought to know better), who have parroted for days and days the allegation that protesters in Ferguson are hurling Molotov cocktails right and left nightly.
So, for the record, anyone who does that, as a general rule, deserves a marksman's bullet in the head, or arrest on every charge from domestic terrorism to attempted murder that can be sustained by the facts in their case.
But if you look for video of such an event anytime recently, you begin to rapidly feel like Captain Ahab attempting to locate Moby Dick. (I.e. there may be one such actual example, somewhere, but no one has seen it in a very long time.)
But to listen to daily and nightly news reports, and police press releases, you'd think they were coming down like raindrops in a summer shower there. Yet despite hundreds upon hundreds of professional news crews, thousands of amateur videographers with cell phone video, and a legion of news directors who'd play the cut of an actual firebomb conflagration endlessly, like the Rodney King beating video, just for the ratings boost, there are no such shots in existence.
We generally get the same pic of a single man throwing a burning CS grenade back at the police who fired it, rather than one actual clip of a firebomb arcing into the police vicinity - or anywhere else - and exploding.
For the benefit of you younger whippersnappers too young to have experienced the actual 1960's firsthand, for whom this is unfamiliar territory, actual molotovs thrown are not hard to spot in the wild.
Try this example from Ukraine, notably at about the 0:42 mark.
In case you were confused, that is what a glass bottle filled with flammable petroleum products looks like on impact with someone or something you don't like.
So, where's that video from Ferguson??? Ten networks and 4,000,000 YouTube videographers shrug their shoulders, yet the claim is repeated over and over again.
Total number of videos that document this occurrence from Ferguson, in the last week-and-a-half: zero.
Total number of police officers from there with injuries consistent with a firebomb getting lobbed at them: zero.
Total number of police and media reports alleging "Molotov cocktails" being thrown: hundreds, thus far.
Having been observed before now, that phenomenon has a name.
What you can find with virtually no trouble at all, is video after video of the po-po there, whether city, county, or now state, lobbing CS tear gas bombs into non-violent protesters as though they were getting bonus bucks per round expended.
There are certainly some violent screw-ups there, whether we're talking looters, arsonists, and violent instigators.
The textbook way you handle that in civil disturbances is to wade into the crowd with overwhelming force in a extraction team, pluck them out, drag them back to police lines, book them, and max them out with every charge they merit.
(Don't believe me just because I say so; head over to read the Army's FM on Civil Disturbances and look it up for yourself. [.pdf alert.] Section 6-10 is what you're after.)
The textbook way to radicalize and convert a non-violent crowd into a violent mob is by profligate use of force against non-violent protesters as though they were all rabid anarchist bomb throwers.
So, you tell me which scene is being documented every day and night in Ferguson for the last week and a half.
"Molotov cocktails" being thrown?
I'm calling BULLSHIT, with bullshit filling, bullshit frosting, and a piquant drenching of bullshit sauce with shredded bullshit flakes, topped with a dungball of bullshit shaped like a cherry on top.
Enjoy your dessert.
Officer Safety will be your server.
So, for the record, anyone who does that, as a general rule, deserves a marksman's bullet in the head, or arrest on every charge from domestic terrorism to attempted murder that can be sustained by the facts in their case.
But if you look for video of such an event anytime recently, you begin to rapidly feel like Captain Ahab attempting to locate Moby Dick. (I.e. there may be one such actual example, somewhere, but no one has seen it in a very long time.)
But to listen to daily and nightly news reports, and police press releases, you'd think they were coming down like raindrops in a summer shower there. Yet despite hundreds upon hundreds of professional news crews, thousands of amateur videographers with cell phone video, and a legion of news directors who'd play the cut of an actual firebomb conflagration endlessly, like the Rodney King beating video, just for the ratings boost, there are no such shots in existence.
We generally get the same pic of a single man throwing a burning CS grenade back at the police who fired it, rather than one actual clip of a firebomb arcing into the police vicinity - or anywhere else - and exploding.
For the benefit of you younger whippersnappers too young to have experienced the actual 1960's firsthand, for whom this is unfamiliar territory, actual molotovs thrown are not hard to spot in the wild.
Try this example from Ukraine, notably at about the 0:42 mark.
In case you were confused, that is what a glass bottle filled with flammable petroleum products looks like on impact with someone or something you don't like.
So, where's that video from Ferguson??? Ten networks and 4,000,000 YouTube videographers shrug their shoulders, yet the claim is repeated over and over again.
Total number of videos that document this occurrence from Ferguson, in the last week-and-a-half: zero.
Total number of police officers from there with injuries consistent with a firebomb getting lobbed at them: zero.
Total number of police and media reports alleging "Molotov cocktails" being thrown: hundreds, thus far.
Having been observed before now, that phenomenon has a name.
What you can find with virtually no trouble at all, is video after video of the po-po there, whether city, county, or now state, lobbing CS tear gas bombs into non-violent protesters as though they were getting bonus bucks per round expended.
There are certainly some violent screw-ups there, whether we're talking looters, arsonists, and violent instigators.
The textbook way you handle that in civil disturbances is to wade into the crowd with overwhelming force in a extraction team, pluck them out, drag them back to police lines, book them, and max them out with every charge they merit.
(Don't believe me just because I say so; head over to read the Army's FM on Civil Disturbances and look it up for yourself. [.pdf alert.] Section 6-10 is what you're after.)
The textbook way to radicalize and convert a non-violent crowd into a violent mob is by profligate use of force against non-violent protesters as though they were all rabid anarchist bomb throwers.
So, you tell me which scene is being documented every day and night in Ferguson for the last week and a half.
"Molotov cocktails" being thrown?
I'm calling BULLSHIT, with bullshit filling, bullshit frosting, and a piquant drenching of bullshit sauce with shredded bullshit flakes, topped with a dungball of bullshit shaped like a cherry on top.
Enjoy your dessert.
Officer Safety will be your server.
Flick Pick: The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain
(Universal, 1971)
Prescient and brilliant sci fi, from the novel written by a young once-in-a-generation polymath named Michael Crichton, then all of 26 and doing post-graduate studies after Harvard Medical School. Robert Wise' version was notably well-done because the screenplay is for all intents every word of dialogue in the novel to the letter, only a couple of cosmetic character changes, and with precious little screen time wasted on anything superfluous. The effects and visualization of the novel used industry state of the art input, which achieved a film that was not only cutting-edge then, but remains so even now. It was one of the first sci-fi films as such I ever saw, and its appeal hasn't diminished a whit since then.
(Universal, 1971)
Prescient and brilliant sci fi, from the novel written by a young once-in-a-generation polymath named Michael Crichton, then all of 26 and doing post-graduate studies after Harvard Medical School. Robert Wise' version was notably well-done because the screenplay is for all intents every word of dialogue in the novel to the letter, only a couple of cosmetic character changes, and with precious little screen time wasted on anything superfluous. The effects and visualization of the novel used industry state of the art input, which achieved a film that was not only cutting-edge then, but remains so even now. It was one of the first sci-fi films as such I ever saw, and its appeal hasn't diminished a whit since then.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Flick Pick: Ocean's Thirteen
Ocean's Thirteen
(Warner Bros., 2007)
The monster conclusion to the trilogy. Soderbergh and his stars have learned how to have fun making fun of themselves, the return to Vegas pays huge dividends, David Holmes' score is again wonderful, and Matt Damon's nose definitely plays. Al Pacino makes a great villain, the caper spirals up appreciably over the first effort, and it all gets brought home nicely in the finale.
With the subsequent death of Bernie Mac in 2008, and Carl Reiner being, at this time, 92 years young, further sequels are unlikely. Except Hollywood.
(Warner Bros., 2007)
The monster conclusion to the trilogy. Soderbergh and his stars have learned how to have fun making fun of themselves, the return to Vegas pays huge dividends, David Holmes' score is again wonderful, and Matt Damon's nose definitely plays. Al Pacino makes a great villain, the caper spirals up appreciably over the first effort, and it all gets brought home nicely in the finale.
With the subsequent death of Bernie Mac in 2008, and Carl Reiner being, at this time, 92 years young, further sequels are unlikely. Except Hollywood.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Flick Pick: Ocean's Twelve
Ocean's Twelve
(Warner Bros., 2004)
Bigger budget with smaller returns, the only downer on this installment is a slow middle that proves to have been mostly pointless, but otherwise still fun to watch. Because everyone knew Terry Benedict wasn't going away, and as a bonus, it features the film debut of Tess.
(Warner Bros., 2004)
Bigger budget with smaller returns, the only downer on this installment is a slow middle that proves to have been mostly pointless, but otherwise still fun to watch. Because everyone knew Terry Benedict wasn't going away, and as a bonus, it features the film debut of Tess.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Survival - How Not To Do It - UPDATED
Moron Thwarts Darwin
Let's score his efforts:
The 2003 version of The Mountaineers Ten essentials:
1.Navigation (map and compass) -Doofus had a raggedy old topo map, allegedly of the actual area in question, but NO idea how to use it, and no compass
2.Sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen)- Nope
3.Insulation (extra clothing) - Nope
4.Illumination (headlamp/flashlight) - Another fail
5.First-aid supplies - Fail
6.Fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles) - Fail
7.Repair kit and tools (incl. a knife or multitool) - No
8.Nutrition (extra food) - Total fail
9.Hydration (extra water)- Total fail
10.Emergency shelter - Absolute fail
Final score: 5% (I'm being generous) out of 100 -- Too Stupid To Live, Too Lucky To Die.
This is the military equivalent of TARFU.
Seriously, it is a true wilderness genius who can leave a lake, by definition and physical necessity the lowest terrain feature in a place, wander off, and be utterly unable to follow gravity back to it a few hours later, and then lose himself completely wandering around for four additional days.
The fee for rescue in such situations should include 10 days in the public ankle stocks, with a dunce cap, a billboard detailing your exploit, all while local scouts and such are allowed to come by and throw fruit at you and put their chewed gum in your hair.
It's hard to say the planet wouldn't have been better served had this guy ended up as mountain lion scat, but evidently his family still wants him, for reasons passing understanding.
He should also have his driver's license amended to read "not allowed more than 500' from pavement".
UPDATE:
This gets better still, per CBS-13 in Sacramento:
He needs to sue his grammar school for malpractice, and give his 6th grade diploma back. What a total oxygen thief.
Unaccountably, the CHP, using helicopters, and local SAR groups on the ground found him after five days in the NorCal/Tahoe area Mokelumne Wilderness, at the 7800' level in the alpine forests about 25 miles south of Lake Tahoe.
For one California man, what began as a day fishing trip quickly turned into a five-day fight for survival.
Mike Vilhauer, 58, went fishing Aug. 6 at Lower Sunset Lake in Alpine County when he noticed he wasn’t catching any fish. Deciding he needed more bait, Vilhauer, butterfly net in hand, left on what he thought would be a short trip to find some grasshoppers.
“I was just zigzagging up and down the mountain,” Vilhauer told ABC News. “I didn’t see anyone for quite a while.”
After a few hours, Vilhauer said it began to get late, and he decided he should probably head back to the fishing site. “That’s when the fun began,” he said.
Vilhauer began to make his way towards what he thought was the fishing site. But with darkness upon him at about 8 p.m., he decided to make shelter under a pine tree, covering himself with pine needles and willow branches in an attempt to stay warm. Vilhauer attempted to call 911, but a weak signal thwarted his efforts.
Vilhauer continued his search for the help on Thursday. Weak from his lack of food and water, he adapted what he called his “survivor man routine,” drinking water out of puddles, regardless of what else was in the puddle.
Let's score his efforts:
The 2003 version of The Mountaineers Ten essentials:
1.Navigation (map and compass) -Doofus had a raggedy old topo map, allegedly of the actual area in question, but NO idea how to use it, and no compass
2.Sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen)- Nope
3.Insulation (extra clothing) - Nope
4.Illumination (headlamp/flashlight) - Another fail
5.First-aid supplies - Fail
6.Fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles) - Fail
7.Repair kit and tools (incl. a knife or multitool) - No
8.Nutrition (extra food) - Total fail
9.Hydration (extra water)- Total fail
10.Emergency shelter - Absolute fail
Final score: 5% (I'm being generous) out of 100 -- Too Stupid To Live, Too Lucky To Die.
This is the military equivalent of TARFU.
Seriously, it is a true wilderness genius who can leave a lake, by definition and physical necessity the lowest terrain feature in a place, wander off, and be utterly unable to follow gravity back to it a few hours later, and then lose himself completely wandering around for four additional days.
The fee for rescue in such situations should include 10 days in the public ankle stocks, with a dunce cap, a billboard detailing your exploit, all while local scouts and such are allowed to come by and throw fruit at you and put their chewed gum in your hair.
It's hard to say the planet wouldn't have been better served had this guy ended up as mountain lion scat, but evidently his family still wants him, for reasons passing understanding.
He should also have his driver's license amended to read "not allowed more than 500' from pavement".
UPDATE:
This gets better still, per CBS-13 in Sacramento:
He was rescued Sunday afternoon after a helicopter spotted Vilhauer’s ‘Help’ sign. He was uninjured, but exhausted. He said he was only four miles from the lake when he was rescued, but he travelled in circles during his ordeal.
“That’s when they told me, by-the-way, there's no fish in that lake,” said Vilhauer.{emphasis mine. -A.}
He needs to sue his grammar school for malpractice, and give his 6th grade diploma back. What a total oxygen thief.
Flick Pick: Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Eleven
(Warner Bros., 2001)
As George Clooney put it in an interview, a humble little picture with himself, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, and some other fellow struggling actors trying to make a few bucks. A smart, funny, and purely entertaining flick, it was one of the best movies of that or any year, and the ensemble cast, firing on all cylinders, helped Steven Soderbergh deliver the best caper movies of all time, starting with this one. With David Holmes' monster score and Vegas visuals, it was the only sure thing that town has ever seen.
(Warner Bros., 2001)
As George Clooney put it in an interview, a humble little picture with himself, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, and some other fellow struggling actors trying to make a few bucks. A smart, funny, and purely entertaining flick, it was one of the best movies of that or any year, and the ensemble cast, firing on all cylinders, helped Steven Soderbergh deliver the best caper movies of all time, starting with this one. With David Holmes' monster score and Vegas visuals, it was the only sure thing that town has ever seen.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Flick Pick: The Duellists
The Duellists
(Paramount, 1977)
Made on a budget that was essentially credit cards, this is quite possibly one of the most visually beautiful motion pictures ever shot. It was directed by a novice director and well-trained art designer named Ridley Scott, whose use of shadow, light, color, and composition throughout this movie is so vivid and masterful that every frame looks as though it were painted there, or could be. It also features a hauntingly melancholy score, exquisite period detail of the Napoleonic era military customs and costume, and flawless character studies by the two lead actors, a pair of early-career relative novices named Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine. Not to see this movie is to do yourself a notable disservice.
(Paramount, 1977)
Made on a budget that was essentially credit cards, this is quite possibly one of the most visually beautiful motion pictures ever shot. It was directed by a novice director and well-trained art designer named Ridley Scott, whose use of shadow, light, color, and composition throughout this movie is so vivid and masterful that every frame looks as though it were painted there, or could be. It also features a hauntingly melancholy score, exquisite period detail of the Napoleonic era military customs and costume, and flawless character studies by the two lead actors, a pair of early-career relative novices named Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine. Not to see this movie is to do yourself a notable disservice.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Flick Pick: The Wild Geese
The Wild Geese
(Allied Artists, 1978)
Marvelous adventure film from Euan Lloyd by director Andrew McLaglen. Headed by a magnificent all-star cast, populated with fantastic British character actors and a couple of actual former mercenaries, it was well-scripted, reasonably accurate, exciting, and topical. Shot primarily on location in South Africa, where despite the carping of the perpetually offended, it was a hit with both white and black audiences, as it was in the rest of the world. It also took on real issues amidst a good yarn in a fictional place, and is the rare war adventure in an era where small wars were rampant that wasn't a look back to WWII.
(Allied Artists, 1978)
Marvelous adventure film from Euan Lloyd by director Andrew McLaglen. Headed by a magnificent all-star cast, populated with fantastic British character actors and a couple of actual former mercenaries, it was well-scripted, reasonably accurate, exciting, and topical. Shot primarily on location in South Africa, where despite the carping of the perpetually offended, it was a hit with both white and black audiences, as it was in the rest of the world. It also took on real issues amidst a good yarn in a fictional place, and is the rare war adventure in an era where small wars were rampant that wasn't a look back to WWII.
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