Gas price rising 3 cents a day

Here in L.A., the average price of gas is rising 3 cents a day.

Best. Episode. Ever

Okay, just finished watching Lost. I think out of the several seasons of the show so far, "The Constant" was the best ever of the entire series. Definitely the heaviest sci-fi elements of any episode, with much more clearly and explicitly happening than I've come to expect, especially after last season where they seemed to be spinning their wheels.

I read an interview with one of the writers on Trekmovie.com and he said that tonight's Lost was an homage to the Star Trek TNG finale "All Good Things." It most certainly was, and a good one.

Where in the world is...

I gotta see this movie.

Talk to your cat about catnip

Disappointed in Hillary Clinton

I write this as someone who will STILL be content to vote for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the general election.

I am VERY disappointed in Hillary Clinton's attacks on Obama the last couple of days. Look, I understand this is politics. You play to win. But now that she has descended to outright personal mockery, I think it's time to acknowledge that she herself knows it's almost over for her.

And earlier there was her anger over the campaign literature. She scolded Obama like a schoolmarm, as if her own campaign literature did not distort Obama's words and positions. Please. Put a sock in it, Hillary.

And then there was the business with the picture.

Enough, Hillary, enough. Crawl away, please. Just crawl away.

Best tapwater... L.A.?

Best tapwater award goes to...

Los Angeles?

Um, not at my house. No, it's not urine or anything like that, but I wouldn't give it high marks. There's a definite taste there that doesn't quite scream "fresh" at you.

Oh, and it took me 45 minutes to get home.

But at least Daniel Day-Lewis and Diablo Cody (she wrote the script for "Juno") won Oscars. (And if you haven't yet seen "There Will Be Blood" and "Juno" yet, what the hell is wrong with you?)

Saturday Night Live with Tina Fey

Yes, I still have a crush on Tina Fey.

Her opening monologue as guest host on the first SNL after the writers strike was probably the funniest bit on the show in a long time (due in no small measure to a cameo by Steve Martin).

Disappointed with Bill Maher

Last night on Real Time with Bill Maher, Rep. Jack Kingtson from Georgia dutifully repeated all the current smears against Barack Obama -- that he hates the flag, refuses to pledge allegiance, refuses to put his hand over his heart, etc... He even drooled out the "You know, his middle name is Hussein" as if that was something sinister.

What was very disappointing was that Maher, and the liberal guest who knows better, did nothing to correct the false smears. Of course, Kingston knows better too. He knows good and well they're not true. But he repeated them anyway.

Kingston is obviously a shameless liar and has no honor whatsoever.

The smears against Michelle Obama were allowed to stand uncontested too. Kingston and fellow conservative guest David Frum referenced her "really proud" comments and then claimed she had yet to "clarify" them, when she had already repeatedly done so the day before.

I've VERY disappointed in Maher. He should know better. He should have been quick to point out that the Barack Obama smears were blatantly false, and for someone who builds his comments on political humor and current events should have been well aware that Michelle Obama was quoted out of context and that she HAD clarified quickly, clearly and repeatedly.

Shame on you, Bill.

At any rate, he's another article on the Obama smear-watch.

What were they thinking?

An hour before the Obama campaign rally, the Secret Service reportedly instructed security details to stop screening people for weapons at the front gate.

Somebody at the Secret Service needs to start explaining immediately, and telling us if this order came from someone higher up.

The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.

Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on.

Several Dallas police officers said it worried them that the arena was packed with people who got in without even a cursory inspection.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because, they said, the order was made by federal officials who were in charge of security at the event.

Good day for the veep

I was worried about Dick Cheney.

Times are hard, everyone I know is struggling. Prices are up, paychecks are down. So I was worried about how Dick was doing in these difficult days.

But then I saw that oil closed above $100 a barrel for the first time today, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Dick's doing okay. In fact, I'm sure he has a big smile on his face now.

I am so relieved.

So when you're paying more at the pump, don't complain. Just be happy that Dick is getting richer.

Getting rid of the wedding ring

No comment.

Smearing Obama

Here's the latest insanely dishonest email being forwarded regarding Barack Obama:

"While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag and slouches."

A new twist on an old distortion. Thorough debunking here and here.

Also see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC9veEouqqQ

Agnostic kitteh

moar funny pictures

Damn anti-gravity cat

There Will Be Blood

FINALLY got around to seeing "There Will Be Blood."

I give it four milkshakes out of five.

There's really only one reason to see this movie. It's not for director Paul Thomas Anderson. He CAN be a great director, and he can also be terrible. "Boogie Nights," for example, was brilliant. "Magnolia" was a piece of crap.

And it's not for the music, even though I'm a huge fan of Jonny Greenwood -- he's from Radiohead, one of the greatest bands in music today. I thought the music was great, inventive and interesting, but I hear from others they found it irritating.

No, the primary reason to see this flick is the jaw-dropping performace of Daniel Day-Lewis. He inhabits this character in an uncanny way. Director Anderson made a wise choice in making sure every scene, even if Day-Lewis's "Daniel Plainview" is not the one speaking or doing the action, was focused on him. With any other actor, this would have gotten boring fast, but with Daniel Day-Lewis, you cannot take your eyes off the screen.

My only complaint is that the film is about a half-hour too long. This would have been a perfect film if trimmed just a bit. But I think this will always be a problem with Paul Thomas Anderson -- it certainly was with his "Magnolia."

But Daniel Day-Lewis's performance alone makes this an absolute classic. Go see it if you haven't already. I drink... your MILKSHAKE! I drink it UP!

Obama is a money machine

Since Super Tuesday, Barack Obama has raised 7.2 million dollars in less than 48 hours. That's after an incredible 32 million raised in January. No wonder Hillary felt she had to donate 5 million of her own money to her campaign to try and keep up.

The Landlord

Okay, you've probably already seen it... This has been out for a few months, and it's already a classic.

Back to the USSR

Back in the old days when the Bad Guys were easier to see -- they were "evil commies" from the USSR -- we heard all the stories about their totalitarian police-state regime, and how political opponents brave enough to speak out -- or even think about speaking out -- were declared "mentally unstable" and packed away to mental hospitals, never to be heard from again.

If they were lucky.

Looks like current Russian leader Vladimir Putin really wants to go back to those bad old days. Roman Nikolaichik, a politician who has been publicly criticizing Putin has run into a bit of trouble: Authorities tried to fabricate murder charges against him. When that didn't work, a psychiatrist was called, declared him "mentally unstable," and packed him off to a mental hospital.

Lucky guy.

What confuses me is that once upon a time, President Bush said he saw into Putin's "soul," and that he was a good man. Bush likes to tell us how much he talks to God, so how could he have been wrong? Doesn't Bush have a hotline to the Almighty? If Bush sees someone's soul and declares it "good," isn't that the same thing as a veritable endorsement by the Most High?

Could God and Bush have been wrong about Pooty-Poot?

Next you'll be telling me that pro wrestling is... Nah, I can't even imagine it!

Yes We Can

Did I just hit that dog?

Saving 4400 with sunflower seeds

"Jericho" fans managed to get the show another season by sending nuts to CBS, a reference to a line in a scene from the show.

"4400" fans are trying to do the same thing with sunflower seeds.
While I enjoyed "4400" when it was on, it seemed the last season they'd begun running out of ideas. When I heard that USA had canceled it, I wasn't sad. If fans save the show, fine, but for myself I don't really see the point. I feel like they've done what they can with the storyline.

DVD sanitizer accused of X-rated behavior

From the Hollywood Reporter:

DVD Sanitizer Accused of X-Rated Behavior

Remember Clean Flix? It's the Utah-based DVD business that was a favorite of conservative politicians and an anathema to the studios because it edited feature films to remove or alter content deemed inappropriate.

Clean Flix founder Daniel Thompson has just been arrested and is accused of having sex with underaged girls. And according to the Salt Lake Tribune, the "booking documents state Thompson told the 14-year-olds that his film sanitizing business was a cover for a pornography studio." Police found a "large quantity" of porno movies inside the business, "along with a keg of beer, painkillers and two cameras hooked up to a television."

UPDATE:

http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/374359.html

-- CleanFlicks today filed a federal lawsuit against Daniel Dean Thompson seeking damages for harming the firm by illegally claiming a business relationship with the firm and infringing its trade name and trademarks

-- Daniel Dean Thompson was NOT a founder of CleanFlicks, LLC or CleanFlicks Media, Inc., nor was he EVER a partner, officer, affiliate, dealer, franchisee, collaborator, consultant or representative of any CleanFlicks entity in any capacity

-- CleanFlicks respectfully asks journalists, bloggers and media outlets to please correct any inaccurate or false information they may have published in the past suggesting a false relationship between CleanFlicks and Daniel Dean Thompson

There was also a scheduled press conference by Clean Flicks.

More money for Big Oil

An addendum to this post from below... Exxon Mobil is now posting ANOTHER year of record profits. Think of that as they keep raising prices at the pump.

In any other reality they would call this profiteering.

Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company — $40.6 billion — on Friday as the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at the end of the year.

Exxon also set a U.S. record for the biggest quarterly profit, posting net income of $11.7 billion for the final three months of 2007, beating its own mark of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The previous record for annual profit was $39.5 billion, which Exxon Mobil had in 2006.