It's (Bible) Thumpin' Time!

Perhaps with the unheralded return to the silver screen of TMNT, it's time to start thumping the ol' Good Book to the kinders... so's that they have some clue of what the hub-bub's all about, bub.

Time Magazine presented its for/against case article (this is independent journalism?) for public schools to provide basic religious literacy to those who ask... not religious instruction, just a frame of reference.

It didn't occur to me automatically that there may be many little Boomer and X-ers spawn who have not clue one on any religious belief, what different religions are about, and why people get all up in each other and like kill one another. Because why?

If a parenting pair have decided not to pursue any religious observation in their family's lives, it may leave a big black hole in the cultural educations of their offspring. There may be a whole generation of know-nothings-not-by-choice. Obviously this becomes fertile ground for America's Christian Imans... Dobson, et al ... to go hog wild trying to control the curriculum for those school systems who experiment with comparative religion electives in secondary schools.

But, there are many comparative religion course programs in colleges and universities, and I think their design could inform the choices of regional and local school committees. Of course, I would just suggest you go hire a Unitarian to do the job. They're famous for this kinda shite.

Here's a cultural example of why this type of curricula might be of use.

I was a big fan of the HBO series "Deadwood", which was known for it's highly creative, obscenity -laced prose. One might ask, was this just artistic liscense on the writers' part? NO! David Milch spoke here at the 'Tute recently, and he made a very interesting point. At that time in American history, most people were literate AND the two books that every little red school house used to teach readin' and writin' were the King James Bible and a Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

So, a majority of people could quote scripture, Iago or Macbeth, and cuss like stevedores. Put that all together and you got the colorful expressions in the wild streets of Deadwood, South Dakota.

Their ability to express infinitely obtuse concepts from these three meager sources proves that knowledge of the Bible does not an uptight Christian make. And, contrary-wise, a knowledge of the Koran does not a mad mullah make.

Perhaps we should all consider the value of knowing whaddafuck other people are ranting about before we cast aspersions on their wobbly bits?

Strongman Politics: Bush Becomes Huey Long

Nicholas Kristof was getting pummeled by various newsgroups for his 'anti-Israel' attitude, coupled with the usual racial rhetoric that entails. As I read through his blog comments on THEIR comments on him, it struck me that supporting Israel now or not, this issue is immaterial to the basic debate on The War on Terrorism (it predates it, for one thing) AND the War Against IRAQ (I mean, of course its against the Iraqis ... they still can't tell us who the bad guys are, so they'll just have to suffer, won't they?)

Let me re-phrase the above. We are in a wrong headed war only because of one characteristic of the Bush W Administration: Political Expediency at ALL COSTS.

Has or has not this been the hallmark of the current gang o' thieves in the Big White House? They corralled us into a war in IRAQ as an extension of the War on Terrorism with outright misdirection, bells, whistles, posters and mirrors. Was it Bush losing control of war and foreign policy to the Neo-Cons? Don't forget that both Wolfe and Rumsey signed that letter to Bill Clinton forming the "New American Century" think tank.

Bill was more amenable to the covert concepts from the Neo's, mostly 'cause he wanted to put a hit on both Qaddafi AND Saddamee. But the same guys talked him out of that because the Jesus Nazi's caught him with his johnson hangin' out.

So with Bush in power, the Neo's move in with him, since they will back his Jesus Nazi act. They're practical. They can wait.

And they start putting all the Intel from NSA, CIA, etc through the feed back loop, so that they can cook up the infomercial at the UN they conned Sect of State Colin Powell into MC-ing. Wow, did they hang him out to dry or what?

THEREFORE (big drum roll, please) is it any surprise that they used the same political expediency philosophy in the dismissals of eight federal prosecutors? And isn't this something like the political style of the potential presidency envisioned by Huey Long?

Bush ain't dumb, he's a demagogue. He doesn't stumble on purpose, he makes sure his agenda is met, and makes it look like the little guy effed up. Hence Scooter Libby's ritual sepuku, and the Attorney General's soon-to-come Roman Senator Bath routine (they often were offered an 'honorable death' by cutting their wrists in a warm bath ... echoed in the movie, The Godfather II).

Thank Gawd Bush can't run again. The closest thing to him on the political horizon would be Mitt Romney, but he ain't got a snowball's chance in hell.

Was Leni the Nazi Angelena?

The NYTIMES Sunday Book Review has a super-sexy
double header review of TWO new bio-books coming out simultaneously on Leni Riefenstahl. It will probably be on the web site on Sunday, but right now you can only get it on the TIMES Select page (la-dee-da me!).

One review is by a German Historian , another by a former US Movie Industry Exec.

"... Dolly back as two new biographies of Leni Riefenstahl appear virtually at once. Jürgen Trimborn’s book, well translated from the German by Edna McCown, has the better pictures. Steven Bach’s book, backed up by his deep personal experience as a high-echelon film executive handling dingbat directors, has the better text. Though neither book is precisely adulatory, put them together and they add up to an awful lot of attention. She might be dead, but she won’t lie down. "

The review also indicates that Leni was a big time star way before she was putting out Hitler's Hits. And she became politically active just as the Nazi's were gaining the Reichstag.

So, was she Der Furher's Angelina Jolie?

She was also wicked into Africa (she had a great book of stills she shot there out in the 1980's). And somehow, everybody still showed her lots of artistic respect DESPITE the fact she promoted the one of the most evil political concepts in human history.

Yeah, fascism sucks ... but what great fashion stylings!

Folks will forgive a great piece of ass anything, won't they?



Well, I'll get on the forgiveness bandwagon early and accept future mia culpas from BrAngelina if the global warming thang ain't for real.



As if.

A Great Voice Is Stilled

My fabu dude, LX (see link), is calling it quits on the old Bloggosphere. The circle of those who I always exchanged posts with is getting smaller and smaller. I tend to write a lot less. I've lost my UK audience (all 6 of them), and I'm sure they think I had something to do with Iraq. I kept telling them, no, that was the OTHER guy named Dick.

I almost quit when my old site went ka-blooey. I thought, "Hey, maybe I should just fake my death or something, and stop writing all this drivel that no one is reading anyway." But my son started up a sight, and I saw others who had encouraged me encouraging him as well. And then I sort of had to think about how much I really wanted to read about der kinder having the wild life at University.

And my reading of sites has slacked quite a bit as well. I find myself reading classics text on the web --- right now working my way through Caesar's Gallic Wars Commentaries, and a little Plutarch on Marc Antony the Fuckest-Uppest --- and waiting in van for my invitation to the US Premiere of Hott Fuzz (Nick, you bitch).

And the last two days I spent screwing around with bad editing software trying to post the poems of somebody else, which I thought might be interesting to my son, so I shared with others. That stuff will have to come down, I expect a publisher trying to sue me any minute.

And yet. And yet. I still can't say I'll quit doing this. I find it cheaper than talk therapy at $75.00 an hour, and much more fun.

So maybe I'll stick with it. Only this time, BACK UP!

Major Jackson Part Une & Deux

All right, since there are only 3 people in the world reading this blog now,
I think it's OK for me to post these links to my youtube stuff, and a recording I
did recently of Major Jackson, a poet from Philly who an Associate Professor of English at University of Vermont and a faculty member of the Bennington Writing Seminars.

It also says on his site that "Currently, he is a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University." He swears to me he isn't just there to chase the betties.

I had to break up the recording into 3 parts to fit into streams on YouTubey, and PLEASE forgive the cheesey images. I'm having a competiton with friends on who can make the shittiest video with Window MoveMaker and still get it function on the web.

I win! The following are just parts one and two. Part three to follow. I put some images up of the book, and he already has his own copy of the recording I burned on site, so I don't think he'd be too pissed. The sound is a little rapsy, mostly because I recorded without filters (duh), so next time I'll do better, and if you don't like it, piss off!


Part I


Part II

Fascisti Films Presents ...

Perhaps Italy feels left out in the cold, what with the success of British, Bollywood, Chinese and even Spanish films starting to do well in world markets and the US... and they have apparently decided that with the beginnings of interest because of the HBO "Rome" series (which 'finales' this weekend), they might stir up the historical pasta pot and come up with some new controversial subjects.

SO where will they mining data? Mussolini's Fascist period, of course!

First story to get the nod according to Variety is the long untold story of Benito's namesake and illegitimate kid ---

"Last week, Marco Bellocchio confirmed he is prepping a feature that will tackle the long-suppressed tale of Mussolini's illegitimate son, also named Benito, who died at age 27 in a mental institution where he had been relegated by fascist militiamen eager to erase proof of his existence. Though known to historians, this is a skeleton that had been buried inside the country's collective closet.

"It's an Italian tragedy; a largely unknown story, which I think will cause lots of discussion," says Bellocchio.

Yawn.

What else ya got?

Meanwhile, Marco Tullio Giordana, best known Stateside for his absorbing 1968-generation epic "Best of Youth" next month will start shooting "Crazy Blood," a biopic about fascist-era thesping couple Osvaldo Valenti and Luisa Ferida, both shot dead in 1945, just as WWII ended, by partisans angered over their fascist connections. Monica Bellucci will play the Mussolini-era diva, star of Alessandro Blasetti's 1940 hit epic "The Iron Crown."

Well, that's a little bit better. Monica B is such a hottie. She could get me excited reading the phone book. The SALT LAKE CITY phonebook.

Oh and this is a BAD picture of Monica. The others were so hot I wouldn't use them.

Boomtown: The New Deadwood

Today I read a review of the latest book by Christopher Buckley, "Boomsday"; which comically details a day in the not-too-distant future when outraged X-ers will wage a PR campaign for the Baby Boomers to commit collective suicide, so that the X-ers won't need to pay for their continued non-productive existence.

This did sound pretty funny to me, until I realized that it will open the floodgates of the cultural zeitgeist, and create and actual movement of the same sort by well-intentioned, idealistic pin heads such as those who organize demonstrations against 'globalization', or who burn down new housing developments because they 'interfere with nature'.

And yes, I AM saying this because I am on the back end of the Boomer Boom, and will probably be one of those guys who still works even though they should retire. Just so as not to be a burden.

But you KNOW this thing is coming, right? And since most blogger folks are not Boomers, I can expect that this will be a rallying cry in the future.

Well, be forewarned. Boomers are notoriously grumpy fuckers. IF you try and take them out, they may take a few of you with them.

I'm just saying.