I done fucked up in the game now...

Sorry, I forgot to give the address for Bennett's response to his own comments:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200509300008

You can also hear Rush Limbaugh defending his pal...

http://mediamatters.org/items/200509300009

Check it out.

We have a black man in a mercedes driving the speed limit...take him down.

First of all, can somebody tell me what fucking century we are in right now?

And before anybody gets huffy, yes, I'm going to quote this out of context. But you can read the entire transcript and hear the damn thing at www.mediamatters.org, the following was said by Bill Bennett, the former Secretary of Education under Reagan

BENNETT: "Well, I don't think it is either, I don't think it is either, because first of all, there is just too much that you don't know. But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

Apparently somebody called his show claiming that the lost revenue from all the aborted fetuses from the past 30 years would be enough to preserve America's Social Security's solvency. And Bennett went on to make the point that such ridiculous extrapolations like that of aborting every black fetus would lower the crime rate, have the right idea but they are too dangerous, immoral, and wrong by design. I like how he covers himself there at the end, we wouldn't want anybody to get the wrong idea.

Maybe I'm looking into this too much, but this is sounding like some colonial slave talk right here. Wasn't one of the arguments for the slave trade the idea that Africans were incapable of living by themselves because of their savage nature? That they would tear themselves limb from limb if it weren't for their white saviors, what the fuck is going on? People still think like this? Is this guy really saying that the crime problem in this country will dwindle if the African-American new born population is discontinued? How long until somebody suggests this to living breathing human bodies? I don't want to get melodramatic and all doom propheting and there's probably no connection to this kind of thinking from idea to practice, but this is really freaking me out nonetheless. He's not advocating this solution, but his words indicate that the reasoning behind it is not completely artificial. And it's not just that he's a racist, that's not what bothers me about this. Yes, it's reprehensible to say that black people are predisposed to crime and violence, don't get me wrong. But this guy's line of thinking is so violently aggressive and hateful. I just don't understand how anybody could react like this in the year 2005. At the same time, I understand also that this guy (hopefully) speaks for a very limited and powerless minority, but then again he was the Secretary of Education for the united states, he's in charge of the education standards for the children of this country. Again, what the fuck?

If a former or current government official went on CNN and said that the world was flat, wouldn't he be discredited and laughed off to obscurity. Hopefully the same will happen to this guy.

The day after he made the initial comments, like Pat Robertson, he was back to discredit his attackers (as he calls them, why do all these right-wing guys think they're martyrs?) But, as it turns out he defended his comments with more falsehoods. You can read his response here, which never really addresses the true nature of his words, merely the context in which his dumbass presented them. I know what I heard, and believe me, it doesn't bring me any pleasure to write about shit like this, hopefully this guy will wise up. I used to think people still hated each other as much now as they did back then, they just knew how to hide it better. I guess they're not hiding it anymore.

I'll let PVT. Train take you home...
"This great evil--where's it come from? How'd it steal into the world? What seed, what root did it grow from? Who's doing this? Who's killing us, robbing us of life and light, mocking us with the sight of what we mighta known? Does our ruin benefit the earth, does it help the grass to grow and the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you too? Have you passed through this night?"

the wind

Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for awhile

If I leave you it doesn't mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for awhile

When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun
Keep me in your heart for while

There's a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done
Keep me in your heart for while

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for while

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for while

Sometimes when you're doing simple things around the house
Maybe you'll think of me and smile

You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on your blouse
Keep me in your heart for while

Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view
When the winter comes keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you

Engine driver's headed north to Pleasant Stream
Keep me in your heart for while

These wheels keep turning but they're running out of steam
Keep me in your heart for while

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for while

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for while

Keep me in your heart for while

Oh sirrah! A man writing an opera about a woman? How delightfully absurd!

So, at the opera last night...

I don't think anybody expected this blog to begin like that.

Seriously though, I went to an opera last night at Lincoln Center, Falstaff was a name of it and it was operacized version of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor with some King Henry IV thrown in for good measure. And it's the damndest thing, I really liked it. It's not that I expected not to like it, it's just that I didn't know what to expect. The only opera experience I've had prior to this was La Boheme but that was a Baz Lhurman production so that was really like a big elaborate lazer show really. No, that was really good to but you know how he is, everything's gotta be boom boom boom! Getting back to falstaff though, it was a beautifully designed, lavishly decorated, and seriously well sung performance. The ending was something out of a great screwball comedy, come to think of it shakespeare is sort of the grandaddy of all screwball comedies, and somebody should thank for him for that. Opera has always puzzled me in that it's just so hard to put a human face on that singing, it doesn't sound natural. This is not a criticism of any kind, but being the simple minded person that I am, I still marvel over the fact that these are human voices making these sounds. I just can't comprehend how someone finds and develops that gift, it just seems so extraordinary, I guess a lot of singing is like that though. I remember reading somewhere that Rufus Wainwright gets heaps and loads of musical inspiration from Opera, not just in his singing style and musical taste, but in his lyrics as well. So much of what he has seen in opera, he has translated into his words, hopefully someday he can write an opera that will stop all the world. That will show everybody. But yeah I had a fabuloso time last night, and one more thing before I wrap this up, that Lincoln Center has one grand old theatre, to see a full blown opera up on that stage is something I'm really glad I got to see. Plus I was with ravishingly beautiful company so that didn't hurt. There was one little minor fib on my part, apparently and if somebody wants to break this down too me this, now is the time: I chew my gum too loudly. Right after the first scene in the first act, the woman in front of me asked me if I could stop chewing my gum because she could hear it the entire time. I half expected a chorus line of oompa-loompa's to come cartwheeling in singing about the horrors of chewing and chewing all day long. I guess since I don't chew gum as often as I used to I'd forgotten about proper etiquette, so wherever that woman is I apologize. Remember that kids, gum and opera just don't mix, and I can't be taken anywhere.
That unfortunate business aside...
I want to say one more time and I promise and absolutely swear this will be it. Thank you, dev.

"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is...and felt how awful goodness is."

(This quote really has nothing to do with the opera, I just saw it on a website and felt like posting it)
Okay, I'm off...

Take that, Miklos Rozsa!

AFI Recognizes Most Memorable Film Score

The American Film Institute revealed its top 25 Film Scores of the past 100 years on September 23rd at the Hollywood Bowl.

A jury of over 500 film artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians selected John Williams' iconic score from the classic film STAR WARS as the most memorable film score of all time. John Williams is additionally noteworthy as the most represented composer on the list with three scores making the top 25.

1 STAR WARS - John Williams


2 GONE WITH THE WIND - Max Steiner
3 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - Maurice Jarre
4 PSYCHO - Bernard Herrmann
5 THE GODFATHER - Nino Rota
6 JAWS - John Williams
7 LAURA - David Raksin
8 THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN - Elmer Bernstein
9 CHINATOWN - Jerry Goldsmith
10 HIGH NOON - Dimitri Tiomkin
11 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD - Erich Wolfgang Korngold
12 VERTIGO - Bernard Herrmann
13 KING KONG - Max Steiner
14 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL - John Williams
15 OUT OF AFRICA - John Barry
16 SUNSET BLVD. - Franz Waxman
17 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD - Elmer Bernstein
18 PLANET OF THE APES - Jerry Goldsmith
19 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE - Alex North
20 THE PINK PANTHER - Henry Mancini
21 BEN-HUR - Miklos Rozsa
22 ON THE WATERFRONT - Leonard Bernstein
23 THE MISSION - Ennio Morricone
24 ON GOLDEN POND - Dave Grusin
25 HOW THE WEST WAS WON - Alfred Newman

KING KONG AINT GOT SHIT ON ME!!!!

YEAH lord of WAR!!!

As you can tell by the title of this here post, I finally got around to seeing Lord of War. I saw it at the Loews on 34th street right near penn station and I only mention this because tickets were only 9.50, that's a horse of a differnt color. So yeah maybe I should do all my thievin up there from now on. Anyway Lord of War was one of my big ticket (i totally sounded like leonard maltin there, who is by the way the most attractive critic on television) fall movies for the specific reason being that it was written directed by andrew niccol. Writer of the truman show and director of the criminally ignored and underrated gattaca, he has a knack for alternative realities and posing questions about humanities relationship to its paritcular environment. At least that's what the film school side of me says, and on top of that he's a fucking sharp writer and director. Lord of War is definitely his most ambitious and most technically assured film to date, there is a knockout opening sequence tracing the construction and eventual usage of a bullet told from that perspective. People have compared the style of this film to David O's Three Kings, I don't really see that. This looks like an andrew niccol film, he seems to have a thing for sleekness whereas Russell is much grittier and used. Anyway as I was saying this film is in some ways a colosssal leap for him in terms of thematic qualities but otherwise it fits right into his normal milleu of obsessions, except, unfortunately for us, this film takes place in our time and claims to have been based on a true story. Not to divulge too much story and bore you with details, it's basically about the rise of a ukrainian gun runner who keeps everything about his life secret from his model wife while dodging and evading a determined interpol agent, all the while juggling his coke head brother who used to be in business with him. This is where the film failed for me, it feels like Niccol had all these angry and cynical things to say but couldn't find the right device for them story wise. The plot feels too ordinary and Niccol is too smart of a writer to not at least know he was exploiting cliches. Don't get me wrong, this is a strong film Cage is great and there is something very angry about this film that makes you laugh at certain points where you're not really sure whether you are supposed to be laughing. Sure parts of it are over done, like Cage's extended drugged out sequence, but at the same time you admire a film that has an excess of ambition rather than one scared of it. I'm not saying that makes bad movies good, but sometimes if a film tries at all you can see the passion and integrity that went into it and you admire it just a little bit more. So yeah, go see it if you have the chance if only to support andrew niccol's career and grant him the opportunity to make more films.

In conclusion to yesterday's thrilling entry, I missed the floating island again, this time at Carl Shurz. I just didn't have enough time to get up there, stupid lack of public urinals. And when I got there the river was bone dry (with tugboats that is) Its too bad because the more I read about it, the more interesting it sounded. This guy was saying that the whole thing was a tribute to the brain behind central park. And that it is a testament to man made nature the same way that central park was just a dump until somebody decided to simply dump more grass and trees on top of it to make the postcard image we see today. It's just interesting to take a small chunk of that almost and drag it around the island, I dont know maybe i just really like tugboats. Come to think of it I dont think I've ever seen one in person, someday, someday.

Tonight's simpsons had the best O.C. parody ever and one of the best lines about divorce ever. I hope I can remember this

" But Lis, if mom and dad get divorced, you can compensate by marrying a much older man. Meanwhile, I'll be one of those 35 year old guys who hangs out at high school basketball games."

I missed the goddamn tugboats

So I went looking for the floating island exhibit, floating all around the island of manhattan. Apparently this guy thought it would be quite quirking if he installed dirt, grass and trees onto a barge and lugged it up, down, crossways, and sideways in the waters of the east river. The point being I went to see it today at the East River Park, which according to the artists' website is located at the East River and E. Houston Street. Easy enough to find right? Well let's just say if this were an Indiana Jones movie and they cut to one of those shots with a map and a thick black line indicating my journey from point A to point B, it probably would have looked like it was written with a spirograph. I went in the most convoluted, roundabout, exactly the wrong way to go to get there and on top of all that I missed the fucking thing. So I'm going tomorrow to Carl Shurz park where somebody shot a frankly lame boy and girl piece there last year to try this again tomorrow about 11:15 ish I think in the AM, if there are any takers well, it's not exactly mai-thais and yahtzee but LET'S DO IT!!!! But the fact remains that I still know nothing about New York City. I could have walked down to water street from where I ended up and not even noticed it. Quite lame

At least it was a nice day today...

Something that has come to my attention however, I know some people who've lost some people recently. And I thought of this quote as all I could think to add. From an oft quoted band on this blog: Eels, the song P.S. You Rock My World. Which has no relation whatsoever to the award winning short of the same name, I can assure the director was not aware that the Eels' P.S. and his P.S. stood for the same thing. That's all, anyway here's the line for those we have lost.

"...and i was thinking 'bout how everyone is dying and maybe it is time to live."

More quotes part deux...

I'm a fuckin' un-original bastard...

"I was married, I mean I haven't been for five years. My wife died in an accident just south of town. She was picking up my youngest son from baseball practice, on the way home she was at an intersection. And there was this guy he was coming the other way and he was trying to beat a yellow light, but it was raining so he changed his mind and he tried to stop but it was too late. The car went into a skid and he skidded across the intersection and he slammed into my wife's car. She died on the way to the hopsital, and I never got to speak to her again. Yeah, it could have been worse, I mean thank god Pete made it through it. He's okay more or less. You know it's really weird, sometimes when I'm concentrating on something really hard or in the morning, just as I'm waking up, I forget. Just for a second, I forget. You know it's this really strange thing where everything you build your life on, everythink you think you are is just gone. It's just gone."

Where would we be without indie family dramas?

In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you...

They're buildin' the gallows outside my cell.
I got 25 minutes to go.

And in 25 minutes I'll be in Hell.
I got 24 minutes to go.

Well, they give me some beans for my last meal.
23 minutes to go.

And you know... nobody asked me how I feel.
I got 22 minutes to go.

So, I wrote to the Gov'nor... the whole damned bunch.
Ahhh... 21 minutes to go.

And I call up the Mayor, and he's out to lunch.

I got 20 more minutes to go.

Well, the Sheriff says, "Boy, I wanna watch you die".
19 minutes to go.

I spit in his face... and I kicked him in the eye.
I got 18 minutes to go.

Well...I call out to the Warden to hear my plea.
17 minute to go.

He says, "Call me back in a week or three.
You've got 16 minutes to go."

Well, my lawyer says he's sorry he missed my case.
Mmmm....15 minutes to go.

Yeah, well if you're so sorry, come up and take my place.
I got 14 minutes to go.

Well, now here comes the padre to save my soul
With 13 minutes to go.

And he's talkin' about burnin', but I'm so damned cold.
I got 12 more minutes to go.

Now they're testin' the trap. It chills my spine.
I got 11 minutes to go.

'Cuz the goddamned thing it works just fine.
I got 10 more minutes to go.

I'm waitin' for the pardon... gonna set me free
With 9 more minutes to go.

But this ain't the movies, so to hell with me.
I got 8 more minutes to go.

And now I'm climbin up the ladder with a scaffold peg
With 7 more minutes to go.

I've betta' watch my step or else I'll break my leg.
I got 6 more minutes to go.

Yeah... with my feet on the trap and my head in the noose...
5 more minutes to go.

Well, c'mon somethin' and cut me loose.
I got 4 more minutes to go.

I can see the mountains. I see the sky.
3 more minutes to go.

And it's too damned pretty for a man to die.
i got 2 more minutes to go

I can hear the buzzards... hear the crows.
1 more minute to go.

And now I'm swingin' and here I gooooooooo....

Sigur Ros makes the most hopeful, inspiring, jaw-dropping, serene, calming, beautiful, devastating, and flat out rockingest music I've ever heard.

I stole the title of this post from the name of a facebook group, except replace sigur ros with bright eyes, so that's the origin of that.

Anyway, to piggy back off of nate's last post, the new sigur ros album Takk... is one of the most gorgeous pieces of music I've ever heard in a long long time. I know I tend to droll at the bit over a lot of things on this blog (Star Wars, Eels, the gathering darkness) but this album makes me weep. And seeing them at the beacon last monday night was like some kind of miracle, the show was awe inspiring, you hear these sounds on a record and you think to yourself, well yeah it's all machine processed and manipulated. Once you see that it's just these four icelandic dudes rockin out, it makes you feel like all the things Robin Williams tells Matt Damon he's missed on that park bench in Good Will Hunting. First off, singer jónsi birgisson's voice sounds like Thom Yorke's DNA reconstituted into the body of a ghostly angelic Icelandic child. I do now know how he does it, but goddamn, whoever encouraged him as a child into music should have endless amounts of riches and doubloons heaped upon them. The standout tracks are the previously written about Glósóli and Sæglópur, but Mílanó, Andvari, and Hoppípolla are just like as one reviewer put it rather ostentatiously, listenting to god cry tears of gold. That's ridiculous I know but the point remains. Hell the whole album is spectacular, these guys seem to get better and better with every new recorded output, this is their best album yet. Takk indeed.

With all this being said, I should recognize a major failing of mine and apologize to Mark Primeaux. I remember in 11th or 12th grade, I forget which, he came into muz (our lunchtime music listening club) and was really jazzed about this band sigur ros and their album Ágætis Byrjun. Me being the damned fool that I was and still am, looked at the cover with its angel fetus plugged into some kind of electrical device and hearing about how the guitar player uses a violin bow instead of a pick. I brushed them off as weirdos and didn't even give them a chance, laughed them off as a wannabe radiohead.
Ah the foul stench of youth how it corrupted ye... Luckily I am much older and much wiser now, so I know better.
Sorry Mark, you were so fucking right.

"Night falling on the city
Sparkling red and gold
Don’t it just look so pretty
This disappearing world"

P.S. The new david gray album is really good too.

Come on y'all, eat some of this shit!

There's a really interesting article in the new york times this weekend, it's part of the fall movie preview. A.O. Scott wrote about how movies this fall and movies in general are tending towards fantasy, nostalgia, and in some cases a flat out retreat to adolesence. Movies are not really being made about what it's like to live in america and the world right now, and when they are, they're overwrought pieces of self-serious wildly unrealistic trash like crash, hey that rhymes. He closes his article with something I thought I would never hear a film critic say and I dig it...

"Or maybe not. Several recent movies have sparked interesting conversations - about the war in Iraq, the fight against terrorism, the ethics of human cloning. These were the action blockbusters of the past summer: remakes, sequels and franchise pictures like "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," "Batman Begins," "War of the Worlds" and even "The Island." Last fall the movie that galvanized similar reflection was "The Incredibles." Of course, all these movies deal with contemporary reality on the level of allegory, which provides its own form of distance. But it is interesting that the half-encoded topical meanings found in them seem to be part of the intentions of their makers, rather than the projections of critics and other interpreters. It may be that the role of the blockbuster is to engage with matters that more self-consciously serious movies shy away from. I can't wait until next summer."

That being said, I decided to post a list of the ten films (That's a good number for lists like this) that I am excited to see this fall. Luckily, since I am not a film critic I do not look at the list as symoblizing some sort of sociological trend in filmmaking, I just see a bunch of rad-ass movies, I'm going to shell out 10.75 and up for this fall. Then again, I did see A Sound of Thunder, well there's one off the list.

The following is in no particular order

-Elizabethtown
-Jarhead
-The New World
-Lord of War (although that's tricky since it's coming out next week, but Andrew Niccol kicks ass)
-The Corpse Bride (again, next week, I hope all the good shit doesnt't come out right away and then vanish)
-Good Night, and Good Luck
-Capote
-Brokeback Mountain
-All The King's Men
-Syriana

This was actually more difficult than I expected, everything save for the last two films I have seen trailers for so I have some idea what they're going to be like. With King's and Syriana, what I've read and who is involved has got me chompin at the bit. I realized going through the films this fall that there are a few flicks like Stay (written by David Benioff) Prime (Directed by Ben Younger) and the infamous Get rich or Die Tryin (directed by Jim Sheridan). The names I associated with these films are the reason I want to see them, but for one reason or another their perspective trailers just haven't really done it for me. I really want them to be good, meaningful films but I am not completely assured yet. And none of the event movies this fall are doing anything for me, I could, however, use some more films from David Gordon Green, David O. Russell, and Wes Anderson and why not throw in another eerily beautiful minimalistic gus van sant film while your at it. That being said, I'm sure there's stuff I've forgotten about and hopefully there will be constant surprises in the coming months.

Before I go I have to give a big "whaddup" to a film First Run Features is putting out this fall, it's called One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern, it's about the 72 McGovern campaign if you haven't figured that out. And it features interviews with grown up nerds like Gore Vidal, Warren Beatty, and Gloria Steinem. And it's narrated by Amy Goodman, who kicks ass every day on her radio show democracy now. That being said, it looks interesting, I haven't seen it yet but I will, I like movies.

Sorry, one more thing, The Squid and the Whale is coming out this fall, pretty soon I think, it's fantastic, I didn't put it on the list cause I already seen it. That is to say I saw it. You, however should see it.

Thus, I good you bid evening...

"The man-poet who banged Frances - dark lady of philosophy. The parking lot crusader of truth... who turned his back on his other like a cold-blooded gangsta."

Don't mind if I already did...

I fear we have awoken a sleeping giant...

That's right, kounterklockwise is back, comin' out GUNS BLAZING!!!! Head on over to the site and check it out.

www.kounterklockwise.com I still dont know how to put links or any of that other fancy shit. That's as good as I can do. Deal.

On a lighter note, you can also go to http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/ and watch sigur ros's new music video. It will restore your faith in music videos again. Well, probably not but it's absolutely beautiful and the song kicks ass, plus its got weird doll like icelandic kids walking around enjoying each other's company, dancing, holding their evil in check. It's just a great video, I was telling nate that the last time I got the same reaction from one of those things was when I watched the scientist video way back in freshman year. I'm sure there are milliions of other great music videos out there, I just gave up on them a while ago, but this one is a shocker alright.

There's more stuff to report but I'll do that in the coming days with more frequent posts. I just wanted to get you fools to watch that sigur ros video. That is all.

"So? I'm just as important as him.
It's just that, the kind of importance I have ...it doesn't matter if I ... don't do it."

mmmm, that's good satire!

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

In the new thriller "a sound of thunder" edward burns tries to stop time waves that threaten to erase humanity from existence...

Does this movie sound like a shark or what???

Seriously though this weekend is starting to stink out loud. I mean don't get me wrong, Nick Cannon's got a slammin' hot show on MTV, and that song where he thanks his mom for not aborting him during her pregnancy, thus by any logical deduction, of course he should have his own starring vehicle right?!?!. Especially one where he plays a street smart black guy/kid (how old is he?) who teaches a bunch of stiff, preppy, upper-class white students how to properly pronounce the word "booty." Who would have thought nick cannon had the maturity and charisma to develop such an original story outline on his own (he did too, check the story credits). This shit really sticks in my crawl.

I guess this is what I get for seeing Four Brothers.

Underclassmen ain't by itself this weekend either, Transporter 2 which while I badmouth I will probably end up seeing. I mean I saw the first one, and I really have to know what happens otherwise I won't believe in nothing no more. Then there's this sound of thunder a movie which nate has described to me in detail and maybe he can write about it in his blog. It's from the master of action who brought you Timecop, Sudden Death, and all the other piddling crap I wouldn't touch with a ten foot clown pole (even though I saw both of those movies in theatres). The premise is a rip off of that simpsons halloween special where homer goes back in time via his toaster to the land of dinosaurs and fucks up the future by ever so slightly changing the past. I bet this movie doesn't have ben kingsley getting his hand jammed in a toaster. Or does it?

However, if you've read nate's blog recently you are aware that I recently saw the constant gardner which somehow got dumped in the end of august and wilil probably find the same audience the island got, el zilcho. It's a shame too, it really is a fantastic movie, one of the best of this year I feel. It's the guy who directed city of god and the visual style is completely different yet just as compelling, this guy is a master of environments and locations, Africa breathes the same kind of life that the slums of rio de jeniro did in city. And the story unfolds like a really good book, plus the movie cares enough to explore as one character puts it in the film "how africa is constantly fucked over by the west" yet the movie is not a preachy poelmic either. I won't say anymore, check it out and you won't regret it. Well you might I mean I can't predict something like that, I'm not on trial here, leave me alone...

To close I will leave you with roger ebert's thoughts on underclassmen...excuse me underclassman

Did anyone at any time during the talks leading up to this film say, "Gee, guys, doesn't it seem like we've seen this a million times before?" Did anyone think to create an African-American character who was an individual and not a wiseass standup with street smarts? Was there ever an impulse to nudge the movie in the direction of originality and ambition? Or was everybody simply dazed by the fact that they were making a film and were therefore presumably filmmakers?