I don't post to LiveJournal much anymore, but this rant is too super-sized and involved for FaceBook.

I'm reading reactions to the new Amazing Spider-Man reboot movie, as well as the absurd hype and breathless anticipation for The Dark Knight Returns, and I keep getting perturbed by the same things:

1) People (especially "internet people") are so ( Read more... )

 Well, I haven't been posting here since I (finally) joined Facebook ( Read more... )

 I have been long talked about the decline in American discussion -
the dunderheaded substitution of emotional kneejerk rhetoric for substantive debate.

There have been 2 recent events, one national - one local, that have brought this to the forefront today.

1) The shootings at the National Holocaust Museum by the white supremacist who's rage and ( Read more... )

One of the many dramas going on in America today has to do with America's desire/unwillingness to face the harsh realities of our participation in torture.
Unfortunately, we as a nation lack the intestinal fortitude to prosecute the crimes that were perpetrated in the name of American safety.

We accepted the bald-faced lies back when Abu Ghraib was ( Read more... )

From MarketWatch.com:
I felt I should post something on my blog to commemorate Bush finally leaving the reins of power, in disgrace.
Too bad it didn't come BEFORE the shredding of the Constitution, the blood of innocents, the collapsing of the American economy, and the bankrupting of future generations, but ....

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The ( Read more... )

The last couple holidays in particular there have been some good deals (at least on boardgames and some other things the family and I like), and this holiday I wanted to catalog some of them for reference.

XBox 360 Pro (Holiday Bundle, 60 GB with Kung-Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones) for $299, with $60 Target gift card (Black Friday)
Guitar Hero ( Read more... )

The more that I hear and learn about what's going on with the economy, the more I get scared to death and just want to put my head in the sand.
I don't know if people should be buying ANYthing, or would be better off investing in fortifications to keep out the hungry hordes from taking away their stuff next year.

The bailout is not "just" $750 ( Read more... )

It's not likely that many Americans even recognize the difference between millions, billions, and trillions - to most people, those are probably all just "real big numbers".

But there IS a difference, and no simple analogy/comparison to grains of sand or stars is going to get America interested in reigning in the kinds of absurd numbers our economy ( Read more... )

The Dark Knight is the most overrated "superhero" film of all time.
I can't believe the incredibly overblown, unjustified hype this film is getting.

I say "superhero" because TDK is quite simply, a super-spy film/crime drama. They basically turned the genre into The Bourne Identity. Lots of people plotting and double-crossing and out-guessing the out ( Read more... )

I don't think I've posted a movie review in a while, and I haven't yet about the rash of summer movies I've been fortunate enough to attend this year, so here's  a collected post about them (reverse chronological order):

Hellboy II -
I went into this one with low expectations, since I just never really got into Hellboy I for some reason. I appreciate ( Read more... )