Is It Me?

Or does SDCC (AKA: San Diego Comic Con Int'l, Nerdprom) seem to have grown way too big for it's britches in the past year or so?

300-1

I’m not Catholic, but the following story (via Andrew Sullivan) should be interesting for both art fans and progressives alike.

Well Done, Morons

“Ryan Reynolds lands lead role in Green Lantern” – according to Superhero Hype (July 11, 2009).

If these are the sorts of creative decisions we can expect from the producers of this film, I see very little to look forward to as Ryan “Deadpool” Reynolds can’t act his way out of a paper bag.

A Very Brief Review: "Bruno"

Although ten minutes of "Bruno" are way, way over the top, I felt the other 73 were pretty hysterical.

Plus, any movie that embarrasses the Phelps Clan is okay with me.

The Lament Of Ted

Alarmist Christian film critic Ted Baehr is someone with whom I go way back, beginning with his criticism of “Saving Private Ryan” as being too violent (as if an authentically-made film about WWII should be a musical comedy).

Over the years, I’ve read many of Ted’s reviews with bemusement, most grousing content he interprets as being hostile to American families (e.g. anything involving gays, or leftist politics). And while I do agree with Ted on a base level that moviegoers must inform themselves on the types of movies that are on the market, moreover I read him to be entertained by his Chicken Little-ish behavior.

Case in point….

Ted’s brave call this week to lobby “local government officials” to stop distribution of Sasha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno” (a mockmentary about a gay Austrian fashion critic) until “officials can look at the movie and determine whether it should be banned because it does not fit the ‘community standards’ in their area, as defined by U.S. Supreme Court rulings on obscenity and pornography.”

Ted then adds: "[‘Bruno’] also contains scenes mocking Jews, African Americans and Christian evangelicals” as if Mel Brooks didn’t also make a very good living doing so. Ted also neglects to note that—like Brooks--Sasha Cohen is a Jew. And as for Cohen poking fun at evangelicals, well, the more, the better I say. Those straight-laced mopes were made for public mockery.

At any rate, Ted’s call for community leaders to stop “Bruno” from (and I quote) “stop molesting children and teens” is pure, reactionary Christian evangelical, over-the-top comedy gold. And of course, Ted’s request to bar "Bruno" will utterly fail, as it is already rated “R” and kids should have no business seeing it anyway. And if they do see it, who is to blame - Hollywood, or their parents for not keeping an eye on their kids' whereabouts?

Shame, Teddy. Shame on you indeed.

PG-13

Suffice to say, Green Lantern #43--the official prologue to Geoff John's "Blackest Night" saga, and a story revealing the origin of the Black Lantern Corps--is among the more grim comics I've ever read.

This said, I liked it.

The Curse of Dubya

I am beginning to grow concerned about the Obama Administration. Namely, in its ability to handle the very large nightmares it inherited from its predecessor, the Iraq/Afghan War and a bad economy which only seems to be worsening. Sure, the circumstances under which Obama is taking over are historically awful. So bad that were John McCain in the White House right now, I can't see our current headaches being much different.

Yet now that Obama (and the rest of us) are suffering under the plague that Bush & Pals helped to create, I wonder how much better the nation will be off in 2012 - a question which may grant Republicans a badly-needed foothold to perhaps retake the White House.

Three big factors are on Obama's side, however:

a) Time. Although the '10 mid-term elections are approaching fast, Obama has three years to right the nation's overall financial ship, and remove the albatross that is GM from its neck. Plus, by most all accounts, the recession has hit bottom which is good news. The only question now is whether it will continue to resemble the letter "L" (flat), or the letter "V" (a sharp drop followed by a steady climb). If the answer is the former, Obama may join Bush The First and Jimmy Carter as a one-term president no matter what he can (or cannot) do to improve the economy first-hand.

b) The Republicans Themselves. With or without Sarah Palin on their ballot, the GOP is a complete disaster. And the party's early slate for '12 shows little promise for salvation (e.g. Huckabee, Romney, Gingrich). Further, the GOP seemingly has no other response to Obama's economic policies other than to attack, and offer few alternatives other than the same, old tired drums they've beaten forever (e.g. tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts).

c) Wild Cards. No one can tell the future between now and November '12. And how Obama approaches these conditions will determine if voters reward him with re-election, or bring in someone new.

But all told, considering the inheritance Obama has taken on from George W. Bush, could it be that Bush will again prevail despite his own stupidity? That is to say, by helping to create the economic storm we are in now, will the cost it takes to right ourselves be paid by Obama himself by having to wrestle the worst of it, and then allow Bush's GOP brethren to take credit for Obama's labor to deny him a second term?

I don't think this scenario is impossible in the slightest.