In a few days, I'll know where I've decided to go for University.
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I saw Bowling for Columbine. Really good movie. Really sad too. Michael Moore is a better director than he is a writer. I've got Stupid White Men and I really dislike some of his articles. I find them sloppy. The movie is really well done, and justifies the sense of humour the blurbs on Stupid White Men credit him with.
The movie however makes me wonder about some of the people (who will remain unnamed) in a CE thread that got throwaway *zotted*. In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore is essentially trying to figure out WHY and then he gives his best guess: The 'Culture of Fear'. Watch it and you'll understand. It makes me think about some of those who posted that said something along the lines of 'bomb them, before they bomb us' and 'I'd trade 10,000 Iraqi lives for one of those lives in the World Trade Center'....it's not patriotic....it's sick. Always it is more death, and more killing and no attempt on their parts to try and explore the circumstances LEADING to WTC.
It sickens me the way that movie 'Pearl Harbor' sickens me. I never watched it feeling that it's forerunner 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' was the far better movie and wouldn't try to pull some slick MTV bullshit over my cynical eyes. 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' was made in 1970 and was the child of cooperation between American and Japanese movie makers. The review of the DVD here is correct, I believe, in saying that it gives a balanced story to both sides in that event. What the fuck was Pearl Harbor? A Ben Afleck vehicle I guess. Since I never seen the movie can anyone tell me if my suspicions that it was disgustingly one-sided in it's narrative are correct? Or did they not manage to tear themselves away from Kate Beckinsale tainting herself with Ben's cooties long enough to give history a cursory glance?
Ah well....history is written by the victors.
What if I told you all that Japan used to be allies with Great Britain and the US, economic and military, before the 1920's? That around the 1920's Britain and the States placed some very unfair tariffs on trade with Japan? Stuff that today would sound very suspiciously similar to the accusations placed upon the G7 nations and the World Bank in how they strangle developing nations and force them into economic arrangements they wouldn't otherwise have agreed to? That in an attempt to be completely independent of their 'Allies' sources of iron and petrol, they turned to their rival and neighbour China and invaded them to take THEIR oil and iron? I'm sure you all know how that led to the Sino-Japanese War and then the Russo-Japanese War, which, when won gave the military command in Japan the popularity and ego boost to go ahead and just annex all of South-East Asia as well. Then...why not Pearl Harbor? Karma? What goes around comes around?
(I'm remembering this from history class over 10 years ago!!! so forgive me if there are discrepanices)
This is what I meant when I said in the aforementiond CE thread that NOTHING happens in a vacuum. Think about that....think about what you HAVEN'T heard in the events leading up to WTC.
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Son of SG CD Swap IV
CD Swap Deadline: July 14th
*******
I'm on this huge comic reading thing.
In anticipation of the Hellboy movie adaptation I've got the first two trade paperbacks, 'The Lost Army' and 'Seed of Destruction'. For those in the 'don't-know' Hellboy is an 'adopted' devil. The opening pages to 'Seed of Destruction' essentially show the basics of his origin, but as to WHY he appeared....
He's huge, he's red, has hooves and a tail. His once proud horns are amputated to stubby round stumps on his broad forehead as a sign of his apostasy. I guess against where he came from, Hell. He even has black, bristly sideburns and a goatee. He packs a gigantic revolver and wears a duster. His adventures and timeline are roughly from pre-WWII Indiana Jones to Modern Day mixed liberally with H.P. Lovecraft and the wildest stories taken out of a book known as 'The Spear of Destiny', a book talking about all the occult voodoo of the Nazi high command. From what I can tell, Hellboy is a Paranormal Investigator who works for the British, for a secret government department ensuring Her Majesty's interests are kept free from interference by Deep Ones, the Undead, Vampires, Werewolves, Cult Magicians and what-have-you. 'The Lost Army' is really a graphic novel that uses real historical fact about a pre-biblical army that went missing on the way to a campaign as a basis for it's storyline. 'Seed of Destruction' is an actual comic and opens up with Hitler having sent three allegedly non-human supernatural commadoes deep into England and the debriefing entry of a skeptical American seargent...
Then it's 4 trade paperbacks of the Cerebus storyline by Dave Sim, 'Melmoth', 'Flight', 'Women' and 'Reads'. This is a REALLY good series.
*******
My contribution to the Which celebrity you are embarased to want thread.
...ok...ok...maybe it doesn't quite count.
*******
I saw Bowling for Columbine. Really good movie. Really sad too. Michael Moore is a better director than he is a writer. I've got Stupid White Men and I really dislike some of his articles. I find them sloppy. The movie is really well done, and justifies the sense of humour the blurbs on Stupid White Men credit him with.
The movie however makes me wonder about some of the people (who will remain unnamed) in a CE thread that got throwaway *zotted*. In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore is essentially trying to figure out WHY and then he gives his best guess: The 'Culture of Fear'. Watch it and you'll understand. It makes me think about some of those who posted that said something along the lines of 'bomb them, before they bomb us' and 'I'd trade 10,000 Iraqi lives for one of those lives in the World Trade Center'....it's not patriotic....it's sick. Always it is more death, and more killing and no attempt on their parts to try and explore the circumstances LEADING to WTC.
It sickens me the way that movie 'Pearl Harbor' sickens me. I never watched it feeling that it's forerunner 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' was the far better movie and wouldn't try to pull some slick MTV bullshit over my cynical eyes. 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' was made in 1970 and was the child of cooperation between American and Japanese movie makers. The review of the DVD here is correct, I believe, in saying that it gives a balanced story to both sides in that event. What the fuck was Pearl Harbor? A Ben Afleck vehicle I guess. Since I never seen the movie can anyone tell me if my suspicions that it was disgustingly one-sided in it's narrative are correct? Or did they not manage to tear themselves away from Kate Beckinsale tainting herself with Ben's cooties long enough to give history a cursory glance?
Ah well....history is written by the victors.
What if I told you all that Japan used to be allies with Great Britain and the US, economic and military, before the 1920's? That around the 1920's Britain and the States placed some very unfair tariffs on trade with Japan? Stuff that today would sound very suspiciously similar to the accusations placed upon the G7 nations and the World Bank in how they strangle developing nations and force them into economic arrangements they wouldn't otherwise have agreed to? That in an attempt to be completely independent of their 'Allies' sources of iron and petrol, they turned to their rival and neighbour China and invaded them to take THEIR oil and iron? I'm sure you all know how that led to the Sino-Japanese War and then the Russo-Japanese War, which, when won gave the military command in Japan the popularity and ego boost to go ahead and just annex all of South-East Asia as well. Then...why not Pearl Harbor? Karma? What goes around comes around?
(I'm remembering this from history class over 10 years ago!!! so forgive me if there are discrepanices)
This is what I meant when I said in the aforementiond CE thread that NOTHING happens in a vacuum. Think about that....think about what you HAVEN'T heard in the events leading up to WTC.
*******
Son of SG CD Swap IV
CD Swap Deadline: July 14th
*******
I'm on this huge comic reading thing.
In anticipation of the Hellboy movie adaptation I've got the first two trade paperbacks, 'The Lost Army' and 'Seed of Destruction'. For those in the 'don't-know' Hellboy is an 'adopted' devil. The opening pages to 'Seed of Destruction' essentially show the basics of his origin, but as to WHY he appeared....
He's huge, he's red, has hooves and a tail. His once proud horns are amputated to stubby round stumps on his broad forehead as a sign of his apostasy. I guess against where he came from, Hell. He even has black, bristly sideburns and a goatee. He packs a gigantic revolver and wears a duster. His adventures and timeline are roughly from pre-WWII Indiana Jones to Modern Day mixed liberally with H.P. Lovecraft and the wildest stories taken out of a book known as 'The Spear of Destiny', a book talking about all the occult voodoo of the Nazi high command. From what I can tell, Hellboy is a Paranormal Investigator who works for the British, for a secret government department ensuring Her Majesty's interests are kept free from interference by Deep Ones, the Undead, Vampires, Werewolves, Cult Magicians and what-have-you. 'The Lost Army' is really a graphic novel that uses real historical fact about a pre-biblical army that went missing on the way to a campaign as a basis for it's storyline. 'Seed of Destruction' is an actual comic and opens up with Hitler having sent three allegedly non-human supernatural commadoes deep into England and the debriefing entry of a skeptical American seargent...
Then it's 4 trade paperbacks of the Cerebus storyline by Dave Sim, 'Melmoth', 'Flight', 'Women' and 'Reads'. This is a REALLY good series.
*******
My contribution to the Which celebrity you are embarased to want thread.
...ok...ok...maybe it doesn't quite count.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
I particularly liked the comparisons with other nations...especially Canada.
A friend of mine sent me the gif in my profile pic...it's only about 46Kb too, which is handy when there are storage restrictions.
and the bike was datatagged with transcievers in frame, fuel tank, underseat and rear tyre. microdotted as well, alarmed and labelled. it does seem like a pro job with a prepared flatbed/van but what pisses me off is that none of my neighbours saw/commented/whatever. natural reaction, tho,is to want to go and kill somebody