January 2011
21 posts
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Disc New Releases - 2/1/2011
Top of the Pops: Let Me In - You may have forgot there were two remakes this year that were met with jeers when they were announced, then lauded when they were released. Just as Oscar nominee TRUE GRIT is actually based on the original book, and delivered a similar but unique take on the story, Let Me In reinterprets the book from which Swedish horror sensation Let the Right One In was also...
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What I Haven't Seen
I need a place to share my Academy Award nominees to-be-seen so that I can plan movie outings with friends over the next few weeks, and this is as good a place as any. These are the things I want to see before 2/27/2011:
BIUTIFUL - Javier Bardem is nominated for best actor, and the movie is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. This is at the Arbor/Great Hills theater in Austin starting this...
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“Voter ID is one of Gov. Rick Perry’s emergency items, legislation he has...”
– So….national ID for voting was “bad” but this bill is an “emergency”. Texas Republicans are incapable of self-reflection, particularly that idiot Rick Perry.
Read more at Senate passes Voter ID with 19-11 vote | KXAN.com.
p.s. It ends with this:
Democrats suggested...
DVD New Releases - 1/25/2011
Top of the Pops: Red - This is the first of four Fantastic Fest 2010 films being released this week. It’s pure popcorn and a lot of fun, but don’t expect more despite the lengthy cast above the title (including Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman.)
Classic Re-Issue: A Beautiful Mind - It’s a good week for Academy Award winners and...
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“…older people who have cable or DSL service but don’t realize that they...”
– I interviewed at AOL many years ago. Towards the end of the interview I asked if it would be ok if I didn’t use AOL’s product(s). I was met with incredulity. They couldn’t seem to understand why someone who’d been running his own website since ICANN opened up to the public...
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“HealthReform.Gov…SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDITS…NO DISCRIMINATION...”
– The House GOP are morons and it’s contagious. Could Health Care reform fund inoculation against idiocy?
Key Provisions That Take Effect Immediately
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“Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.) requested 41 earmarks worth $65,395,000…he...”
– It should not be surprising that anyone elected to office got there on the back of big money donors who expect to be repaid with taxpayer dollars. The winning Tea Party candidates were bought and sold before even early voting started. If Rep. Alexander keeps his promise to avoid earmarks,...
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“2001 tax cut: Democrats 18%, Republicans 93%
2003 tax cut: D 3%, R 94%...”
– My concern with James Kwak’s piece is that he’s missing the obvious pattern. Democrats and Republicans vote for things when they’re in control, regardless of the expense to taxpayers. The GOP ran up the deficit under Bush, and the Democrats haven’t bothered to stop it. (Where...
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DVD New Releases - 1/18/2011
Top of the Pops: Buried - This is the first of three films released this week that were shown at Fantastic Fest. I have to give credit to director Rodrigo Cortés and star Ryan Reynolds for pulling off the stunt of filming an entire movie in a coffin, and making it believable and watchable. However, other than that I don’t think this is a very good movie.
Classic Re-Issue: Fire on the...
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If Austin housing costs...
…are about $175/sq. ft., then replacing our 15 year old busted water heater with an outside tankless system has about a $794 justification.
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“The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge — at 26.4 miles long — in Shandong...”
– As a Louisiana coon-ass, I’d like to say this is a competition we’re willing to let the Chinese win. The LPC is a marvel — and the view is one of my favorites — but it quickly becomes tedious and is considered a pain-in-the-ass when you have to drive it.
Follow the link for...
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DVD New Releases - 1/11/2011
Top of the Pops: The Social Network - This is an easy pick for best screenplay of 2010, and it’ll make a decent run for best director and cinematography. The depiction of heads-down coding is the most authentic I’ve ever seen depicted on screen.
Classic Re-Issue: Dances with Wolves (20th Anniversary Edition) - I love this heart-warming non-Western from back when Costner was still...
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“top executives of these companies become beholden … to the...”
– Corporate Death Panels — Let’s use the rhetoric the insurance company gave us to call them what they are.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the argument over the size of government and the value of privatization is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter where health coverage comes...
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WatchI’ve been digging The @Kleptones since Yoshimi Battles the Hip-Hop Robots was released. It was an honor to get a chance to make a video for “Paranoid”, one of the singles off last year’s album Uptime/Downtime.
Video of The Kleptones - Can’t Be Paranoid (Video by Johnny Rollerfeet) (by The Videotones)
p.s. Thanks to Brian Behm, Josh Johnson, Christopher Palmer and...