BaddaBlog

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Diversity at Reuters: Kowa-Bunglawala Buffalo Bob!

Interesting story... apparently someone at a Reuters office in London is making life difficult for Inayat Bunglawala (possibly, but not necessarily Inayat). There's quite a message-posting-frenzy going on at the online column Inayat wrote.

Anyway, this someone sent a message to Lizardoid Sumpremo Charles of the Little Green Footballs republic... otherwise known as a blog.
I look forward to the day when you pigs get your throats cut....
Gotta love those peace-loving Reuters employees.


Other useful links:

In an additional twist, [Charles] Johnson [of the Little Green Footballs blog] traced the movements of the sender of the threat, and found direct parallels between the internet locations of the sender and Inayat Bunglawala, Media Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain.

Bunglawala, who contirbuted an editorial to the Guardian website, has attracted negative attention in the past after making anti-Semitic outbursts, and has declared that the British media was "Zionist-controlled."

Hey Reuters, hey Inayat... I'm Spartacus!!!
Now go get your shinebox.

Mr. Eastwood's Birthday

Mr. Clint Eastwood


Actor.

Director.

Tough old son-of-a-bitch... uh, better just make that tough American man. (I don't want any trouble.)



  • "Are you gonna pull them pistols or whistle Dixie?"
  • "I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"
  • "Deserve's got nothing to do with it."

Even though he's 76 today, I'd still watch out for Mr. Eastwood. I suspect he could still take care of guys half his age.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Cowardice

Have you ever planned to tell someone off? Someone deserving a little tongue-lashing... you know the kind.

One of my circle of friends goes back several years. It includes more than thirty interconnected people, some of them married couples. One of the guys is, while not without his problems and flaws, a good guy... I'll call him Mr. Rice. He created a company and put in quite a lot of time and effort. He worked with another of the guys... I'll call him Mr. Silver. To make a fairly long story short, Mr. Silver and his wife sold out Mr. Rice. They stabbed him in the back by selling their shares of the company to another guy... shifting control of the company via stocks to another shareholder.

As far as I'm concerned there is no excuse for this... especially when Mr. Silver and his wife put up a considerable amount of pretense that they were friends with Mr. Rice. It makes you question the sincerity of their other relationships.

(One of my friends doesn't seem to hold a grudge against Mr. and Mrs. Silver for this sell-out, but I'm still quite confident in the legitimacy of my own grudge.)

Several times I've said to my friends, those who know Mr. Rice, that if I ever saw Mr. and Mrs. Silver I'd make sure to ask them how Mr. Rice is... and ask how their 30 pieces of silver are holding out.

That was the plan until I realized I'm a gutless coward.

I saw them yesterday. While running errands with Badda-Toddler (who was as good as ever) I saw the pair of them in the store. I had friends coming over and I wanted to finish vacuuming and straightening a few things out before they arrived, so I just took the cart in another direction to get the last of my stuff. Within a few minutes Mr. Silver found me and said 'Hi'.

As far as I know, neither he nor she know that I know... if you know what I mean. However, word gets 'round the circle of friends, so they might expect that others know.

Regardless of what they suspect about me and other people, they approached me. First, Mr. Silver came up to me. I didn't say much, and I certainly didn't ask much. It quickly became clear that he was the radar checking me out to make sure it was safe for Mrs. Silver to join in. She was so surprised to see me... after all she was just thinking about me and the wife last week.

In any case, I didn't do it... or I couldn't for some reason. In fact, I ended up talking and blathering on, possibly out of nervousness or confusion.

I feel like such a coward.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Sending a Message to the Nation

No, no, no!

I heard those words this morning while listening to the news regarding the verdicts in the suit against Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. The ABC News reporter actually said those words.

You do not hand down a sentance to send a message to the nation, to financial big-wigs (I refuse to say financial community), to executives, etc. You hand down a sentance to meet the crime. The enforcement of laws sends a damn message to criminals and potential ne'er do wells.

Were they guilty? If so, then hand them a verdict of guilty with a punishment that meets the crime. Don't hand down a punishment to anyone accused of fraud (or any other crime) in the hopes you can send an effing message.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

I Can Hear the Blazing Saddles Theme Already!

He should be in town in time for my birthday... what a pleasant surprise!

At this moment he's talking to a caller on his show who regrets his upcoming move.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Material Girl My Ass, She's a Whore

The old dog can't be bothered to try new tricks.

This week I heard some radio news stories about Madonna's new tour. As expected, the ever-so-clever news writers waste no time in refering to Madonna as The Material Girl. Is it me, or can we dispense with that old nickname? She's 47. The Brit's call her Madge. She's been riden hard (and often) and put away wet... if you know what I mean. All three of those things run contrary to the nickname Material Girl.

There is nothing girlish about Madonna anymore, in fact there rarely was anything girlish about Madonna even in the early days of her career. She's mostly looked like a whore. She's had some good pop songs, but mostly that's the work of great producers and the music industry marketing extremely well. We've seen a lot of success with that kind of help. (That said, I'm sure a number of her songs will stay popular for quite a few years.)

Not too long ago Madonna did the title song for the 20th Bond movie (which was crap, both the song and the movie... mostly the movie.). Shirley Bassey she ain't. She agreed to record the song if she could be featured in the film. Remember the scene? Flashy sword fight with little purpose, but Madonna shows up in the beginning of the scene... looking like a worn out leather handbag. (I wonder why.)

Sorry, Material Whore... you're simply not relevant anymore. Plus, you look like a cow. The last time you looked even remotely sexy was when you were shot in black and white film. (Of course, you still looked like a whore.)

Mumblers

I hate dealing with mumblers, especially on the phone. It gives the impression you're head's not all in the game or that you're not all that interested in the person you're talking to.

It reminds me of Marlon Brando. Apparently, Frank Sinatra refered to Brando as "Mumbles" at least once. They worked on the MGM film version of Guys and Dolls together... Sinatra as Nathan "Detroit" and Mumbles as "Sky" Masterson. (Enjoyable film, yet it should have starred Dino and Frank... I'm sure Frank would have wanted to be Sky with Dean as Nathan, too.)

According to the Sinatra biography "All or Nothing at All":
...Sinatra couldn't stand Brando's working habits. The method actor had to think about it all day and then do it ten times; Sinatra said to writer-director Joe Mankiewicz, "Don't put me in the game, Coach, until Mumbles is through rehearsing."


I just went through two phone-jockeys to deal with a parking ticket. Neither of them could speak, at least not into a phone. Mumbles Ray sounded put out after I said (for the third time) that I couldn't understand a word he was saying. Gee Ray, I'm sorry for wasting your time... I'm even more sorry for wasting mine. Mumbles Lady was worse... at least due to the fact that she disconnected me after I asked her to transfer me to the auto-payment menu. (She first said I should call back... apparently, transfering a caller is too much work for a slug like Mumbles Lady.)

Maybe I get annoyed by mumblers because I've done some voice work. I've blown a number of vocal lines, but I at least notice it and try to improve.

Of course, there's also the customer service element to their job. However, I've worked in retail and also dealt with folks over the phone for work... a thankless job, but I would be ashamed of myself if I acted or sounded like either of the Mumbles Twins.

Screw you, Hennepin County parking violations phone operators. I hope your asses itch all day.

Nick Coleman the Spaz

Hardly news, but it's often fun to watch a (purportedly) grown man behave like a spoiled child and then stew in his own juices.

Whata smeg head, but he's our smeg head. Damn boomers.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Celebrate the Threatened Urban Forest

Get bent, G. Rolf Svendsen. I'm not going to "celebrate" the "threatened" urban forest. In fact, this year I'm going to have the largest tree in my backyard hacked up and taken away. Damn thing will probably fall on my neighbor's house, or worse yet, my house. I'm going to celebrate less crap in my gutters and fewer signs of bird crap on my car.

We used to have Arbor Day, now we've got Arbor Month and effing Earth effing Day.

Last month I planted a couple hundred trees with the Old Man, my sister, and her boyfriend. We planted them on our Minnesota farm. That's were my sister and I grew up. We didn't spend most of our childhood there, but we've had it since our childhood. She's more into it than I was, but I'm spending more time there since now I'm a father.

We planted the trees for my nephew and the Badda-Toddler. In about 25 or 30 years those boys are going to be able to cut them all down, sell them, and have money to buy a car, pay off college loans, put a down payment on a house, buy an engagement or wedding ring, or to fund a counter-protest to whining Leftists.

In two simple weekends (plus the couple of hundred of trees we planted last year) I've done much more for the environment than your typical grungy, pierced, enviro-whacked, Republican-hating, anti-capitalist dweebs will do in their entire lifetimes.

Now go get your shinebox, Commie.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Brilliant Actor, and Blasphemous

Boy, do I love the performances of Ian McKellen. Obviously, folks will remember him for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films... and rightly so. His involvement in the X-Men films adds quite a lot, especially in his scenes with Patrick Stewart.

I don't remember much of the first film I saw him in... The Keep. I remember I was creeped out when I watched the video as a kid. He's quite good in the 1980s television version of The Scarlet Pimpernell. His performance in Apt Pupil was captivating... and one of the redeeming features of the film. (It wasn't bad, but it was not great.) I've been meaning to see his Macbeth (still sitting on my shelf) with Judi Dench, and of course Gods and Monsters.

Now his interview with Matt Lauer.
Lauer: "There have been calls from some religious groups, they wanted a disclaimer at the beginning of this movie saying it is fiction because one of the themes in the book really knocks Christianity right on its ear, if Christ survived the crucifixion, he did not die for our sins and therefore was not resurrected. What I'm saying is, people wanted this to say 'fiction, fiction, fiction'. How would you all have felt if there was a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie? Would it have been okay with you?"

McKellen: "Well, I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction. I mean, walking on water, it takes an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie. Not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story. And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing after they've seen it."

Thanks, Dame Ian... shut up and act.

All kidding aside, sir, you are a brilliant actor, but you are not doing your film any favors. (Unless you just want to stir the pot, as I expect you do... but that's just a short-term game.)

Look, although I am Catholic, I don't have much of a dog in this fight. First of all, the book and the film clearly have a blasphemous subject matter. To some folks, the very idea is insulting. Some Catholics and Christians are not too bothered... some might even see the film and enjoy the roller coaster ride.

Those who choose not to see the film because of the blasphemous topic probably choose not to see several films based on subject matter. This is not bad. This does not make them pea-brained and closed-minded... it makes them selective. Is a person who refuses to see horror films small-minded for not seeing Halloween or Psycho or Silence of the Lambs? No. Anyone who thinks so might very well be an elitist.

The studio backing the movie and the movie makers themselves were hoping for protests and boycotts. It amounts to a special kind of publicity. The news media can cover it and willingly or unwillingly bolster the profile of the movie.

Some time last week (or the week before), KTLK morning co-host Andrew Colton stated that Tom Hanks pretty much said that religious folks protesting, boycotting, or complaining about the movie should "get a life". Actually, what Tom Hanks said was far less insulting than what the simpering, obnoxious Colton claimed.
The actor told London's Evening Standard newspaper the film was loaded with "hooey" and "nonsense".

"If you are going to take any sort of movie at face value, particularly a huge-budget motion picture like this, you'd be making a very big mistake."

[...]

...Hanks, who plays a Harvard professor in Ron Howard's film, said the film was "a lot of fun", likening it to a "scavenger hunt".

"We always knew there would be a segment of society that would not want this movie to be shown," he said.

But he claimed that it "never hurts" for a film to provoke "dialogue" about religious issues and history.

"Get a life"? Hanks' comments were respectful and kind, Andrew. Pah, Colton's just looking for an audience to annoy so he job lasts longer.

Back to Ian McKellen. His comments are the kind that make some folks reconsider seeing the speaker's films. I won't refuse to see any of his films, and I won't toss out or sell the disks I have with him. I just won't go out of my way to rush out and see X-Men 3... I'll wait until the studio has their share before I throw my money at a matinee showing. I think that's about a month or six weeks, right?

Oh, and I might just point out how much of an ass this brilliant actor is every time his name comes up.

Nice work, McKellen. Another unbelievable performance.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Courage of the French


I am quite pleased to say that what many of us have said of Frenchmen and France in general certainly is not true of all the Gauls.

For them, and other Frenchmen with backbones of steel and balls of brass, I say Viva la France!

It is Frenchmen such as these that were with America during the revolution. It is Frenchmen such as these that resisted the Nazi occupation. It is Frenchmen such as these that hold the future of France and Europe in the palm of their hands.

(Okay, one of them is Danish-American... but I'm hopeful that there are others in France like Erik Svane.)

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Subtle Differences: Women in Politics, Television


Geena Davis.
What a maroon, as Buggs would say.

Here we have yet another issue-oriented actress, one I’m not even willing to say is that good. Geena Davis is an average actress with below average ability in spelling (as evidenced in her first name). However, she apparently sees her duty not to act well but to choose projects based on social need.

Maybe she has a sense of humor… I’m hoping so, considering her comment in the AP story:

“The crime is not that it’s taken so long, but why haven’t we done it yet?”

The writer doesn’t mention audience laughter, but applause. Must not have been a joke… however, the difference is slight. Slight enough to be insignificant.

Another comment in the story:

"Females represent 51 percent of the country and it's absurd that they're not represented in the highest level of power, and not even given that opportunity," ["Commander in Chief" creator Rod] Lurie said.

Here’s a thought, does the mere fact that we in the United States have not yet elected a woman to the presidency mean we do not want one?

We who have women CEOs, governors, mayors, senators, legislators, justices, lawyers, police officers, fire fighters, millionaires and billionaires, secretaries of state, and generals?

I've mentioned this before, either on this blog, at other blogs, or in person with various folks... are women not represented by men? Are white women in New Orleans not represented by Mayor Ray "delicious drink" Nagin? (Probably a bad example.) What about Chinese college students in the city of New York? What about black lesbians in Salt Lake City?

Perhaps we have not voted a woman into the office because of the quality of women folks often see on television.
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
Exhibit D
Exhibit E

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Immigrants Take Day Off: Does Anyone Notice, Care?

Well, the Strib seems to care enough to avoid using the word "illegal" when referencing the problem. Only twice was the word "illegal" even used... once for "illegal immigrants" and once for "illegal immigration". Both in the same 'graph, both five 'graphs in.

This isn't about immigration. The American people are opposed to illegial immigration... and worry about the security implications of open borders.

How tragic, "I couldn't get a burrito at Chipotle." Do you become morbidly depressed on a bad hair day?

No go get your shinebox.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Protest on Monday... Commies and Illegals

May Day.

Didn't the Commies used to parade their military forces about for the benefit of the comrades on May 1st?

Now Commies parade about with paper mache puppets to stick it to The Man and cry about Bushitler... or whatever they call the current administration, Republicans, conservatives, or anyone else to the right of Stalin. (Can't wait to hear what the Commies at Heart of the Beast re-do this year.)

Note to self... buy this shirt.

Today, students take advantage of yet another hip protest. Get to class, slackers. Learn something before you attempt to say something.