Politics, Movies and more!

Or: A random bunch of stuff that I should have posted earlier but didn't

It's been a while since I've published a blog here on account of my being kidnapped and forced to work on a Korean freight ship. But now that I've managed to make Shawshank-esque escape, I'm back to write for you once again. But I probably won't ever smell right again...

Here's a few items.

The Saddest Guy Ever

This could be an exaggeration, but let's look at it this way. Guy kills a couple on their yacht. OK. Now, this guy is a former child star. Ouch. But wait, there's more:

"Deleon, 29, is a former child actor who allegedly boasted that he was a star on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers but apparently had only a small part in one episode."



Wow. This guy sucks so much that he bragged about being on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. To me, this really negates the headline of "Former Child Star found guilty in yacht killings" (Headline on front page of CNN). I mean, this guy was NOT a child star. It's like me saying that I was a movie star for a small part I played in a student film. This guy is as much a child star as Karl Rove is human. I was expecting it to be somebody like one of the Savage brothers ("The Murder Years" or "Boy Meets Homicide" would be likely headlines).

Sarah Palin

I know that everyone has been talking about this woman and all of the strange shit that comes along with her, (The "If Canada and Wisconsin Had a Bastard Child" accent, an obvious lack of knowledge of important policies and documents, questionable firings and attempted book bans to name a few.) but I just want to say a little bit. First off, the VP debate was amazing. I took full advantage of whatever substances I could find before I watched this thing and it was well worth it. I'm fine with having her in the debate. I'm fine with her making brownies. Hell, I'm fine with her being the governor of Alaska. But I am not comfortable with someone like that being VP. We did it with Dan Quayle years ago and we don't need a female version of that. In a statement inspired by one of my favorite musicians, "All the drugs in this world won't save us from her."

Also, check this shit out. Too much fun...

G-Dub in da Whitehouse!

Like a good friend of mine, (who had me as a guest for the VP debate get together) I just saw the new Oliver Stone film W. There isn't a whole lot else to say that isn't covered in his blog, but let me just state that this is a great film that, most likely, is honest about the president. It's really the story of a guy who tries to do right but fucks up all along the way. I'm not saying that defends what he's done as president. But what I am saying is that a film like this can make you look at a guy like Bush and go "Holy shit; now I know how this guy became president." In many ways it's a scary film because it shows how so many terrible things happened. And most of the time they happen because the guy in charge is way too trusting of his advisers (like Dick "Vice" Cheney, played amazingly by Richard Dreyfus) and generally prone to making bad decisions.

It's a great film. Go see it if you haven't already.

I Bit Off a Bit More Than I Could Swallow

Also in movies, I recently saw Choke, the newest film adaptation of a Chuck Palahniuk book. Initially I was a bit skeptical about whether or not this film would be good because of the amount of sex in the book. I mean, the book is about a sex addict that isn't holding anything back. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to find that film was pretty faithful to the book and didn't leave a whole lot out. There were a few parts that were cut for the film version, but the parts that were cut weren't too important to the overall story.

The look of the film, I thought, was a bit too light for a Palahniuk story. I guess I was still thinking more along the lines of a David Fincher sort of dark, dank and saturated sort of look. I guess the clean and bright look of Choke was more appropriate for a comedy.

This is another one to go see. Also, look for Chuck in the film; he makes an appearance. Also, I loved that the film ended with Radiohead's "The Reckoner."

The Nintendo Wii is Way Too Much Fun

I've been playing a lot of Wii lately and I must say that this thing is amazing. It's a dangerously fun system and one that I might have to get my hands on when I have enough money to. This probably won't happen until I can get, I dunno, a job of sorts. But really, I never thought that playing a golf video game would be fun, but the Wii managed to make it so. TWICE! Also, Paper Mario is some trippy shit.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I mentioned this in another blog, but it's worth bring back up because now the new season is on TV. I've only been able to catch a couple of episodes because I don't have cable, but I like what I've seen. Great stuff. And, I mean, I've got to give props to a famous UO alum when I can. Oh, and the third season is on DVD now, so that's also awesome.

Paul Newman

I don't know how this managed not to get mentioned a long time ago, but we lost Paul Newman. This guy wasn't just an awesome actor, but he also gave a shit load of money to charity and made some awesome popcorn (I mention the last part because it relates to the first). I think we should all celebrate the man by watching his films. I'm going to do my part and watch Cool Hand Luke again. Brilliant, man.

Obama, Bitches!

Yeah, we all know that the WDR crew is a bunch of Obama supporters, but now it looks like he'll actually win. By a lot. This makes me very happy. Initially I wasn't too thrilled about Biden for the VP, but he's grown on me a bit. Also, it's not like having Biden for VP was going to change my vote. But I'm happy with the direction things seem to be going.

The Economy

I don't claim to understand how the economy works. I didn't really pay attention in my economics classes. But I do remember my professors talking about how the market was controlled, in part, by methods to limit extreme growth/decline. This was some measure taken after the 1929 crash to ensure that such a thing wouldn't happen again. So, I kind of assumed (foolishly) that the people who keep track of the market were doing the right things. Then one day I find out that my bank was bought up. Then I hear that we're (by that I mean the government that we pay taxes to) setting up a bail-out for the ailing banks. I wish I got billions of dollars when I was out of money. Instead I get a $27 fee for not having enough money. Funny how this shit happens.

Anyway, let's hope that things improve. Like I said earlier, I need to find a job of some sort in the near future.

The End?

It seems we've made it here. I can't believe you've actually read this far. For this you are rewarded.



Enjoy.

A Moving Adventure!

So you find yourself in a new apartment. It is a bit of a strange apartment; there isn't a living room. There's a kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Your bedroom looks like a cave with a small window in it, located at foot level of the rest of the world. The refrigerator door has no bars to keep condiments from falling out every time you open it, so the fridge looks full. A refrigerator full of condiments and no real food.

But wait - you haven't found yourself in this place, I have. What a strange apartment I now live in.

Also, our neighbor puts signs on her door every day telling people not to knock on her door. I don't know what the deal is or why she changes the signs every day. Very strange.

So that's all there really is to it. I live in a really ghetto apartment (by Eugene standards).

Notes On Travel #3: Dispatches From the Road (California Smells Like Dick)

This weekend the WDR crew embarked on one of the standard American rites of passages, the road trip. Our destination? The reunion of Rage Against the Machine in the shithole that is San Bernardino.

We will give a total write-up of the entire concert this week, but we're also going to sprinkle in a few random observations that comes from a life on the road.

1. California believes only midgets need to use urinals I swear to god that the only urinals available in the entire state of California are designed to be used by only Gary Coleman. The apparatus was stationed below my knees, and it made for an awkward process of relieving one's self. I really have no explanation for this.



2. Oakland needs to crack a window The stench emanating from the this otherwise perfectly awesome community nearly killed us as we drove through at 7 in the morning. There's a lot of California that has a foul odor, but Oakland can claim the title of Stink King.

But Oakland is the gift that keeps on giving. A constant running joke was the image of a burnt-out car with "Welcome to Oakland, Motherfuckers!" spray-painted on. This is their ambassador.



"Boom, Bitch."
-- Oakland's official town motto