Or, did the two of them meet up with Sean Hannity to actually plan this facade? Was Glenn Beck informed that this edit was being hatched? ...was he there too?? Were they ALL lying to the American Public? I think it's fair to say that Bachmann's estimate (of the people in attendance) might make her a willing accomplice: "Between 20,000 to 45,000." And if not, She is (surely) mad as hell at Fox for feeding her bogus facts...right?!
Either Fox stuck it to it's own peeps (the Republicans) - GREAT!
...or they all stuck it to the American People - EVEN BETTER!!
SOMEBODY owes Somebody an apology!
Fellow citizens of Iowa and Minnesota, please remember this in 2010...and beyond!
WE ALL KNOW THAT IF JOHN McCAIN HAD BEEN POLITICALLY ACTIVE DURING JOHNSON'S LIFETIME, he would've likely been affiliated with the very people that were against JACK JOHNSON; why would it be any different than now for McCAIN??
John McCain is a spoiled, white-bread Republican that has mostly been in cahoots with other white-bread Republicans for his entire political career. He is a boxing fan and a former boxer (good or bad, I admittedly don't know) who probably saw a Ken Burns documentary and an opportunity to immortally tie himself to black history and a boxing legend in one fell swoop.
Hey John - There are nearly 100 Million Americans that are alive right now that need real help with health care issues. Rather than being worried about being posthumously pardoned, I am sure Johnson would've been much more appreciative of you using your position to help a large portion of the black population that actually currently needs help! Stop trying to cherry pick your acts of charity - not only the past heroes of black history need help!
You won't win many black votes for trying to exploit a deceased black hero's success. Step back and support the current barrier-breaking version of Jack Johnson: OBAMA in 2012.
Oh yeah, and our deepest apologies to Smokin' Joe for the photo above.
The year is 2154, the Trade Federation invades "Naboo"...oops...actually no, it's the U.S. Armed Forces invading "Pandora". Don't worry, your music account at www.Pandora.com is safe...ALTHOUGH, The U.S. Government does now have the ability to get into your account and to possibly delete your play lists thanks to George W. Bush's little Patriot Act. I have probably lost some of you by now, but please, stick with me...
I am writing to discuss James Cameron's latest epic, Avatar. Coming in at approximately 160 mins, Avatar looks to be hugely successful. It's got all of the right ingredients for success: High technology including (yet another) "new" 3D technology (I'll believe it when I see it!); Green/Anti-war message; Big Budget (400 million w/ marketing costs)...and Alien Giants (known as Na'vi) that can do things that we humans can't...unless we inhabit the Avatars that are actually Na'vi clones that we humans developed and can control - sneaky humans!
I looked it up, for the hell of it: "Navi" refers to a (or the) prophet in the Hebrew Bible; similar in meaning to the Arabic word "Nabi" - thank God that Cameron leaned toward the Hebrew version - we are sure that this has NOTHING to with the STRANGLEHOLD that the Arabic community has over Hollywood and the Oscars! Yeah right! Besides, then the (Arabic) Nabi would've sounded more at home at Naboo than Pandora...and the trail of breadcrumbs that link the two worlds would have been (perhaps) too obvious. Didn't George Lucas sort of have a biblical Christ-like vision in mind for Jar Jar Binks as well? Not even the all-mighty Jahweh could help Lucas' Jar Jar at the Oscars!
Moving along...
There are fairly general complaints about Avatar loosely borrowing its plot from Pocahontas - to be fair, many other stories have also borrowed this plot from each other: Dances with Wolves; The Last Samurai; Romeo and Juliet (perhaps the original?); etc. Avatar seems to be a little more cerebral or perhaps far-reaching than these other movies to me?? However, I could very easily be wrong on this point! I will probably be one of the few to actually focus more on questioning the visuals...at least the visuals that I have seen thus far. Speaking of cerebral or "Cerebro", as it were (please humour me), wasn't there a plethora of blue-skinned mutants in the X-men trilogy? I think it's safe to say that if Jar Jar Binks and Msytique had mated, a Na'vi-looking creature might be the result?
...and, come to think of it, didn't the X-men also have a heroic character in a wheelchair?
I just can't help it think that this Avatar character would never have come to the light of day without Jar Jar Binks coming along first. You would think that Cameron might have noticed as much (to some degree or other) and taken note of the hatred that was aimed toward Jar Jar - surely for the goofy voice...but partly for the digital effects that ended up feeling a little empty: Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. If you could ever get Jar Jar mad enough, the Gungan and a Na'vi would probably have a pretty good run-in with one another - they appear to be in the same weight division...(Has Alien vs Predator been done?....Um, yeah.)
Naboo and Pandora share a few similarities too - most strikingly, the digital feel that digital video technology still can't seem to hide. I mean, it's been over ten years since the Menace's release! This apparent (I know...I haven't even seen the bloody movie yet!) minimal degree of progression might have been a bit more forgivable if Avatar was only a few years after?! Apparently, Avatarwas 12 years in the making though...so what do I know?
So yeah, we moved a little further ahead with computers with this release...and I shouldn't complain about it too much, seeing that this is an original idea in a time that loves to take directly from an earlier - and let's face it, more creative - time. It's just too bad that even the "original" ideas are apparently somewhat borrowed these days...whether it's story lines, the characters OR even the technology. My problem with Jar Jar - aside from the obvious sounds and jerky movement - was that the character seemed unnaturally lit. The clips that I have seen from Avatar might be guilty of the same...albeit to a much lesser degree. There may also be simply too much detail and color?!
So far, $400 million buys $232.2 million...in only 5 days. Not too bad at all. I am sure it's gonna be a great popcorn movie; we'll see about the rest. I am also sure that I am not done writing about this topic...all that's left, is to actually buy a ticket.
I can remember seeing this episode as a kid. Devo is great in a way that most other bands haven't been since...which completely validates the shortened name of their band: "Devo" short for de-evolution...as in WE AREN'T EVOLVING and/or GETTING ANY BETTER!
At least when I was in my later days of the end of my innocence, we had bands like Superchunk bringing Devo back into the fold and reminding you about old songs in a COOL way.
This is before covers went on to become a cottage industry for those thousands of Sum41 and Blink-182-like nasal "punk" bands that went on to record thousands of terrible 80's pop songs with a late 90's/early 00's "punk" edge...snore. Speaking of the end of "my" innocence, I believe I just heard a punked-up version of "Boys of Summer" the other day. It's just getting gross - please help us stop this over-indulged trend. The originals are ALWAYS better anyway...so you have to be prepared to accept that Don Henley's solo career is cooler than your little nasal punk band will ever be, to really sell it. That - in itself - should scare some away, no?
Yeah, I actually like that song by Don Henley (Boys of Summer NOT End of the Innocence)...and I am pissed that you guys are even ruining my guilty pleasures now. I mean what next? A punky "Oh Sherry"!!
Steve Perry would be rolling over in his grave. Wait, he's still alive...his voice is dead though, as evidenced by that Filipino fill-in that "Journey" now tours with - a "FIL"-in, if you will!
(C'MON, that is about as racist/nationalistic as we will get here at KW. To set the record straight, we're not racists: we happen to love Filipino BBQ and we fully agree with the fact that Manny Pacquiao is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers of his generation...if he beats Floyd "Money" Mayweather...and as long as you can admit that he did lose BOTHMarquez fights.) Nah, he is one of the best regardless..... 7-division champions don't come along every day.
So yeah, fine: Steve Perry's voice would be rolling over in it's grave...Okay? Anyway, if you want to fight about racism and nationalism, go here: DEBATE - it is a step further and not my intent for this article.
Anyway, please try to stop the nasal punk covers.
KW
PS I am now trying to decide which "Battle Boy" Youtube clip to put up...or if I even still think that it is funny enough to put up...I don't think so, but I loved those Fridays sketches back then...
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