Quill & Claw/Pen & Paw

I have this best friend, see, and he's a writer to. Damn good one at that. I trust his prose and poetry more than my own. He's got a wry wit and his opinion I trust. A few years ago, we decided to do something stupidly fun. We both wrote down our top ten movies.That's like asking a parent to pick which child should live.We elected to go the other route-picking movies that we personally felt connected to, regardless of the quality. That way, we didn't have the usual textbook answers of Citizen Kane and Streetcar Name Desire ad nauseum. The list became more a inkblot, showing the person who did the viewing.I'm not going to go write that list down right now.For there's been a change.I think I have a new movie to add to my list.Sky Captain is our current decade's Indy movie. But without the purely for profit sequels. This is a what going to the big screen is all about. It is a tale that can only exist on a big screen. I mean, giant robots meancing New York City?...

Oh gee, everyone, look another dead gay man movie. I am beginning to think that the only way gay men die is via violent reaction. Oh wait, this is from the eighties. I suppose that has something to do with it. You would have thought better...I mean, look at the pedigree--Stephen Frears from Dangerous Laisons, Gary Oldman actually being nice and good-looking (I usually recall him from Dracula , back in 92, a personal fave) and our current Spiderman 2 villian, Doctor Octopus himself, Alfred Molina. You would think they could have ended the movie without violence. Still, I had heard about the title from some friends and decided to take a look at it. I have to say, as I watched this movie, even tho the gay guy bites it, I kept thinking--it's not out of spite. It's not because the society at large wants him to die--something modern Hollywood still attests to. In the end of this movie, it's because the act of murder was a natural outpouring of the conflict of the tale....

I have come down on American remakes of overseas titles. They rarely get the images correct, choosing the fast route and quickest money moments to make the picture. Here? I find myself hoping some American takes up a remake for the first time of my life. This is the love story to two men in the military. Plain and simple. They love and no one knows, for it would be frowned upon. But there's the thing. THAT'S IT. I have no idea how they met or how they came together. There was no outward antigay sentiment, so where was the threat of being out? Don't get me wrong, I did like this movie, but my partner hated it, and I could fully see why. There was no build up of their relationship, so when hardship befalls one of them, it's hard to guage the impact. It needed to be explored more in such a short movie. Hence, could someone remake this? Make it a bit fuller? You might have something, then.

I heard about this title at the Oscars and watching a few second snippet there, I was hooked. If a picture is that visually tantalizing, I want to see the rest--besides, it's not everyday that a movie is merely nominated for direction. Something must have happened on that screen. Since coming to Netflix so many months ago, I have been privledged to see movies from around the world. Many good, many bad, but it has opened my eyes to how different filmmakers and cultures view things. It's been fantastic. Here is an example. This movie is South American, Brazilian. The storyline is pure American, in that it is non-linear, like Citizen Kane and Pulp Fiction. It bounces around, through flashbacks and reviews. It tells the tale about a young photographer growing up in a ghetto is Rio-the title's City of God. And through his history we meet various gang lords who rise and fall about as much as a Dallas family gathering. It should be titled "Politics of the Gun," ...

I feel I can't write a review for this movie. I know I've seen it multiple times, and, as the cliche goes, it means something different each time. I feel not unlike a journalist trying to explain colors to a blind person. I have the skills, but not the point of reference. The format of this story has been copied so many times. A young girl (a borderline proto-homo, I noticed this time) lives in the rural south during the depression. Her brother and her are given much of an education by the mere fact of exploration by their single father. They learn about racism and it's horrid impact and about the meaning of caring. As for the movie, well, it is very, very good. What I have noticed when I watch classics like Gone with the Wind , Streetcar Named Desire and the like, is that time flies when you are watching them. Today's movies, made to keep the MTV generation filling their pockets, are edited to different camera angles every three seconds or so. Here, the camera p...

Ahh, to return to the world of vices. You should know by now my love for Asian movies-especially the ones with lots of fighting. Yes, I'm admitting bias. Of course, this vice really only nails me out of money--and even then, if I didn't see it, I wouldn't have a myocardic infarction. Don't you just love that word? In-FARC-tion? It's so,I don't know, given to middle school giggles. I say that, because, well, there were several giggles during this magnum opus, Hero , Jet Li's new flick. I even saw it on it's opening night, which says volumes. If I'm willing to forego my Friday night nap, well, there's something to be had, I tell you. I knew I wanted to see this movie when I read about it two years ago. Yes, Miramax was sitting on this movie for two years. I'm sure they had no idea what to do with it--the audience was proof of that. It was filled with young men, filled with testosterone, from the nearby bases. They had no idea. Not one ...

Feel free to continue to detest Tom Cruise and yet see this movie. Ohmygod! I've admitted to hating one of the biggest stars this meager universe has set eyes on! He is, like TOM CRUISE! He's a marquee name! Yeah, so's the word, 'Exit.' I really did try to like Tom a long time ago. I saw an inkling of his abilities back in Born on the Fourth of the July and again in Magnolia . I even noticed a tad of ability in the over compensated Minority Report. I have to admit he is a good performer. And he has my respect in that department. I don't have to like him because of that. But then reality takes over. Yes, he did follow Born with Days of Thunder (which was actually released prior) and Mission: Impossible . I mean, Mission: Impossible was a freegin ensamble television show, with like, twenty characters. Then Tom moves in as producer. Ooops. Twenty gets reduced down to one. See what I mean? He may play the press like a fiddle, but his ego is rig...

I want to thank Moulin Rouge, the post modern musical from four years ago. Or maybe I should blame it. For without it, wouldn't have seen the recent upsurge of Hollywood musicals. The problem? No one is taking the time to see what happened before--like watching a few New York stagefests to see exactly what a musical is made of. Which brings us to this latest ditty. It was an interesting time to release this picture, amoung the hullaballoo of Spidermen and Aliens vs Predators. I'm thinking that they did it as counterprogramming, figuring not everyone goes to the big budget special effects fests the summer churns out. So in that manner, it was a nice respite from getting my ears blown off from a loud sound system or being treated like an idiot with a plot that a nine-year-old can grasp. De-Lovely is borderline art house in that respect. Now I have two reviews for this movie. Mine and the critical one. For myself, I liked this movie. I knew the words for a majority of the...

What can I say that's new and hasn't already been said about this movie? Not much. What I'm hoping to do is remind people that there are many good movies that are still out there, all one has to do is open their eyes. I rented this title after I heard Marlon Brando died. I figured it was time to visit it again. I was glad I did. My partner and I had a discussion during the movie that defined the concept of classic. As we watched Marlon Brandon, delts flaring on the steps outside of his apartment, screaming, "Stellllaaaa!" we wondered, if there was a remake, who could do it? Now think about this, folks. A Streetcar Named Desire has been remade numerous times. Not on the big screen, but on stage. It was a play and it becomes very apparent. You can look away and the dialogue is so crisp and descriptive, it sounds like a radio show. There was a time when dialogue and acting was all that was needed to propel drama. But I digress from my point. My point is, ev...

Living here in the shadow of the once mighty "Silcon Mountain," it's easy to remember the birth of the techno age. Fourteen year olds purchasing Audis; old people learning a keyboard and a typewriter are the same thing. Clinton was still doing unmentionables in the White House (actually, there are still unmentionables going on, it's just less exotic these days). But as with all things--when we see the good, we have to see the bad. It was only a matter of time before we saw technology as villian. It only made sense as it took such a large role in our daily extravagances. The Terminator had already been born and died in the late 80s, early 90s and besides, he had moved onto the governor's mansion. We saw a rash of really crappy titles hit the market trying to ride the wave. Hackers and the Net come to mind. But then the Matrix took evil technology where we wanted to go. We were hooked. We wanted to know the logical outcome to this success. Robots. The Matr...

It's always the question if art reflects life or if life reflects are. I'm not going to venture a guess, especially these days, where the conservative right loves to point out that all of life's screw up can be found somewhere in the media. I like to think it's more complex then that, that's for sure. Such is the path that leads me to the Bourne Supremacy. With 9/11 hearings completed, we've seen that the screw-ups are really all over the map. But it's not just one screw up, but several working in tandem for a really big f--- up. I couldn't stop noticing the similarities here. Here, we have an experimental spy that screwed up due to a faulty wiring and amensia (the Bourne Identity) and the various government agencies trying to act like it's not their fault. Of course, the theme is carried on, to a grander scale, in this very complete sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. Where again, the government is up to no good and not doing what they are supposed ...

It's hard to review this film, due to the personal nature of it's presentation. I was deeply effected by the events of what happened at Columbine High School so many years ago. The wounds go deep. It almost effects me a bit more then the issues related 9/11 and the current fallout. I say this as a precaution for you the reader--my bias I cannot explain for privacy reasons, but it will most certainly be evident in this review, I'm sure. I saw this movie for a variety of reasons. I like art movies, that much we have established. I like gay and lesbian issues and this had two, a minor plot element and a gay director. And of course, for more personal levels that I choose not to explain. The title is borne of the concept of an elephant being in the room and no one is talking about it. It's EXACTLY how I felt about the Columbine massacre. Acts of violence are sad, wholly evil entities that devour more than they kill, meaning we might see the immediate piles of blood, ...

I have to tell you a wee secret. One of my top ten all time movies is Adventures of Baron Munchausen . It was a stinkie piece of work, but I loved it. It had grandeur and a theme I could relate to. I became a vicious watcher of the director's work, Terry Gilliam (he's the only American involved with the ever quotable Monty Python comedy troupe from Britain), and his brand of imagery. I loved Time Bandits and really thought the 12 Monkeys had one of the key performances of Brad Pitt's career. But each film suffered from a horrible plague if you ever read the trades. Mr. Gilliam tended to excess. My beloved Baron film was 10 million over budget before principal photography had even begun. He was being despised by Hollywood, sadly, because of the business he was running, not by the quality of his work. So when I read the story of Lost in LaMacha , I knew I had to pay it a visit. Call it the summer of documentaries, my friends, because that is what this i...

I have to admit to I rarely go see comedies in the theatre. For me, they are the provence of stage work, where the laughter helps the performance and enhances the interactions. I've noticed over the years that I rarely attend movies that could be defined as 'comedy.' I'll go see if I'm with a group who insists or it's mixed with another genre, like a musical comedy, but rarely upon it's own. Okay, yes, I'll go see Disney cartoons...those could be thought of as comedies, I suppose. So I rent movies, like this one, Stuck on You , by the Farrelly Brothers. I gotta give it to the Farrelly Brothers. They have an amazing ability to protray people with exceptional circumstances in a manner that is humanizing as it is humorous. I mean it. Really. I noticed it here and in There's Something About Mary . People with special needs are shown as they are, warts and all, but are surrounded by an entourage that truly is the scum of the Earth--making them s...

I love watching these art movies this summer! It's just one nice surprise after the next. Damn. I spoke too soon. Then, Chuck and Buck arrived in the queue. I am still wondering why on Earth this movie is made. I kept thinking of that reason for pop art, Andy Warhol, who, in his own way, said that art is pretty much anything. A can of soup. A movie of a person sleeping all night. I could only wish this movie had as much reason for existing. I've not a clue what I watched. I rented it on a recommendation from Entertainment Weekly's reviews. I tended to agree with them. It's good to see I've developed my own mind apart from their critics. There is no amount of acting, writing, directing or spectacle that makes this movie worth watching. It's an interesting premise that might have looked good on paper but the finished product does not do a thing. It's the tale of two childhood friends that briefly reconnect after years of growing apart....

Okay, I give up. I'm moving to Asia, I'm thinking. Combine these last two movies ( Fleeing By Night and this one, Taboo ) and what my research suggests, I can think it might be  a better place for people of my persuasion. This latest movie, Taboo , plays directly into that. It is a gbl film that isn't afraid of itself and doesn't reduce itself by having stereotypes or swishes for a less sophisticated audience. In it, a young, handsome man and excellent swordsman joins a local militia in support of the shogunate. He is incredibly beautiful in comparison to his more hardcore brethren in the army. He begins an affair with another soldier and soon the men begin to argue who shall have a date with him. The jealousy runs unabated and becomes a concern for the commanders. Where the movie works is in that the homosexuality is treated as a part of life. Texts I have read (most notably  Male Colours  by Gary Leupp, Comrade Loves of the Samurai by Ihara Saikaku, a...

I still have problems sleeping. Here I am, enjoying my summer vacation and still, it takes me forever to unwind at night. I'm a night person, I know that. Look at me now. I'm here writing while my beloved is snoozing away. But even after I finish my nightly writing, I still lie there at night and worry.   About work. About what's going to happen with the next elections. What's going on with my friends. Sleep doesn't come quickly.   Even my meditation (not this daily writing, but the actual sitting down and letting go) has been interupted. My mind wanders and cannot focus this summer. Last summer? Not a problem. I sat everyday without incident. This year? Nada.   What am I so worried about? I feel fine, damn good, if you were to ask me. Been exercising everyday and finally doing some creative writing. I have time to cook and clean. Walk the dog. Even lost a few pounds.   I can honestly say I am well.   Then bed time comes. I lie there everynight and st...

I have this good friend, someone I have every trust in the world with--except on one topic. We have wholly different tastes in movies. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. We still go see movies on occasion together.   Besides, when did Siskel and Ebert agree?   But one thing was for sure, when those two agreed, it most have something pretty good, eh? Something worth buying a ticket for.   So when my colleague suggested this Chinese film, I was figuring it wouldn't be something I liked.   It started simply, a tale about an arranged marriage. A young cellist, living in America, comes back to China to meet his fiance. Through the meeting he sees a performance of an outstanding opera singer and becomes smitten. The fiance recognizes thi growing love between the two men and steps back. The actor, however, is in a liason with a wealthy patron. Rumors fly. The young man returns to America broken hearted and alone, but maintains contact with his ...

Ahhhhh, the beauty that is True Crime. Really, the province of yellow rags and celebrity gossip, I have to admit to this guilty pleasure. It all started with the book, The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule. Couldn't put it down. Proof that truth can really be more exciting than fiction.   And I was a fan. I found I really did have an affinity for the serial killer. Not to say I wanted to act out their deeds or promote them to some kind of anti-establishment t-shirt. No, I used them for fuel, really, for my own creative writings. There's nothing like scaring the bejabbers out of yourself with such horrific prose, analyzing  it in your head for a few days and then spitting it back out as a tale.   It was such a path that lead me to the tale of Dahmer. Trust me, it wasn't like I hadn't already heard about the guy. I even had read two books about him. One, the piece by his father was actually very well written.   Dahmer's story is interesting in that he is ...

Wow. What can I say? For once, a queer movie where the gayness was not a detriment, not a foible. No one ends up dead because they are gay. No one is self-loathing because they like men. In fact, one character improves himself by his own acceptance. There are no drag queens or bars or men who swish into very shot. And this was made in 1986? Back when Reagan was doing his best to deny that gay people existed? Impressive. My Beautiful Laundrette is an interesting, rare piece of indie filmmaking. It's the starting point for Stephen Frears, who later create the great Dangerous Laisons and Daniel Day-Lewis prior to his Oscar turn in My Left Foot. As for Day-Lewis, he's reduced to a secondary role, which is interesting. The dude is so intense with his energy, you watch him instead of the leads. You can see the future. And you can see it in every film since. Maybe it's because he's Irish. They aren't exactly known as a subtle people. But the film does lack a...

Sheese. Talk about taking the wind out of your sails. I wanted to write some really scathing stuff here about this movie, but it's kinda hard to write scathing stuff about scathing stuff. This movie is very, very sharp. And I liked it and not because I have issues with our president. I look at it from a movie point of view, this is powerful stuff and fluff. I added the fluff part, because, it seems (according to the Time magazine article I read) some of the information is incorrect. But lets look the great speakers of the world. They aren't truly great on their message alone, but on the presentation of that message. Martin Luther King's importance was carried farther by his sheer force of personality on the pulpit. But then again, so was Hitler's. The message was murder, but the presentation must have been mesmerizing. Michael Moore is no MLK or Hitler. But his message is so different than other filmmakers out there today. I never realized that docs could ...

I saw your eyes light up on that title, didn't you. Mine did too. I mean, please, I used to exercise regularly with a boxing coach--so when I saw this title on a roster in the Advocate magazine, yeah, my eyebrows went up. A boxing and queer title. My prayers had been answered. Now I didn't have to be a closet boxing fan anymore. My mistake. Lock the closet shut. The movie hasn't arrive yet. This movie sucks. I thought the last movie didn't have humor? This, I'm not sure how, has NEGATIVE humor. It's so busy trying to be dramatic, it actually sucks humor from you as you watch it. There is not a single smile, gaffuw or giggle in it's hour and a half. The story is based on a play, and I have to say, you can tell which parts it was based on...it's the only point in the mess that makes sense for a moments. The rest, as the director/writer tries to fill in the backstory, is well, long and boring. Give us some credit! Let us put the pieces...

I'm confused, did I spell that right? That says something about how the movie is infused in my memory, doesn't it? First, a bit of history...I was raised in an ethnic family. We were every bit of Italian, Jewish, Irish and Catholic, and totally New York. We all understood the jokes of Woody Allen; the Nanny was not as offensive to our little collective whole. When My Big Fat Greek Wedding opened to mixed reviews, I gave it moderate interest. Everyone said it played on unfair stereotypes. Then the phone calls started. Everyone would ask ME, explicitly, if I had seen it. Apparently, the movie sounded like what I had described at various water coolers. When my best friend, sans a review, merely stated, "I'm taking you to go see it," three days before my own impending nuptials, I had to figure that there was something going on. I loved it. My partner and I giggled continously at the parallels in my life to the movie's. The mother's hairstyle. ...

What can I say? There's a great scene in Scream 2 where the characters get into a debate over when a sequel is better than it's original and how. I remember it well because my friends and I afterwards had the same conversation. Godfather 2 . Toy Story 2 . Addams Family Values . And now Spiderman 2 . I've always had a problem with comic books being translated into movies. Being a professed comic book lover, I know the backstory of how the character was created. I know that Bruce Wayne's parents died. I know that Peter Parker got his powers from a spider bite. But the poor, unenlightened public is clueless. Heck, they put Bush in office, and he doesn't have any power. So the filmmakers have to weed out the details and there goes the storyline. I have to suffer for everyone else's sake as they learn what I already knew. Is that fair to me? NO! Still, there is hope in the sequel and here it is. THis movie doesn't have to worry about the bac...

We all pretty much know that the Star Wars movies, these past two--are pretty much sucky, don't we? I mean, when did politics enter the storyline? What exactly is the purpose of JarJar outside of another cool toy tie-in? It's because we have to put Lucas' kids through college and Willow flopped at the box office. The only reason I bring it up is because of the star, Hayden Christensen. He is the star and backbone of this movie. Hayden turned a sucky series of films into all the more suckiness. He whined alot. I have it on DVD if you want to see it. He looked good on camera, but I can't remember him doing anything more then whining thoughout the entire Attack of the Clones. He made my head hurt. I rented this movie because I'm a writer. I loved All the President's Men . Julia . The Front Page . His Gal Friday . It's a subgenre, and it's fun to have it at my beck-n-call. So when I read about his title in Time mag, I wanted to pay it a vi...

I already told you that I have a passion for martial arts movies. I've also already taken the time to explain that I have a thing for literature. Now I'll mention that I've already seen this movie. Better. Elsewhere. But that is not to say it's a bad movie, per se. Just that, well, I can't help thinking a person can do better elsewhere. Surely, a parent could enjoy reading the actual Jules Verne novel and then go see it with their kids and then discuss the differences from both, but, well, you know parents these days. At least the ones I work with. That would take, I dunno, energy from whatever else they are doing. You see, a crazy inventor (aren't they all like that?) gets a French assistant played by Jackie Chan. There! Did you see it? You just predicted that there would be kung fu, didn't you? Anywho, they make this wager that they can go around the world in 80 days. Since the setting is the turn of the century and that the technolog...

As I read on Fark.com the other day, Fahrenheit 9/11 was the number one box office draw over the weekend. That says something about the public in two ways. One, that there is something going on about public opinion of documentaries and two- People are really not liking President Bush right now. And those people who saw the movie are probably nailing their right wing buddies right now with what they saw Saturday night. documentaries have really taken a huge leap in the entertainment business these days, I'm thinking as a result of so many reality television programs being so popular. Docs weren't always easy to watch. Long before MTV style editing, the docs were really regulated to National Geo and PBS specials, the stuff you feel asleep watching when you felt you needed something smart to watch. But reality shows, if they have a redeeming quality at all, is that the whole of life has somekind of story. You just need a filmmaker that can some how bring that out. Mr....

If you read my last two reviews, you'll see two important items that I feel I need to remit here. First off, I read some good books in college and whatnot--some that effected the way I percieve art. And two, that a great story stays a great story, you really have to bring something novel to it before I'll notice some intelligence. The reason I bring this up, is because I was forced to read James Joyce's piece-du-resistance, Ulysees. I finally understood the concept of analogy through that work. I also learned that great literature is not always written well, but that's another story. This movie is the tale of Ulysees, complete with Cyclops and Sirens. I also bring this up is that the original tale, the Odyessue is a great story, so it takes something really well worked before I'll take notice. I did take notice, and it wasn't because George Clooney is proving himself to be a very good (looking) actor. I had heard prior to the rental that this was ...

I blame Shakespeare, I really do. I mean, you make a damn good story like Romeo and Juliet , die, wait a few gazillion years and poof...Hollywood beats the living shit out of it. Why couldn't old Will have written stuff that when people copied it, it would still be good. It's because Will wrote some amazing shit and you can't just photocopy a Picasso, right? Case in point, Underworld. I guess it sounded pretty cool, right? Werewolves and Vampires, but two fall in love. So their love is doomed forever, for they are immortal and since they'll friggin live forever, issues will probably never get resolved. Can you see the arguments in the kitchen, "honey, remember last millenium when you had your little Lycanthrope buddies over for the dog show and they got so drunk they pissed on the couch leg?" "Dear, do you have to bring that up again, I mean, shoot, that's like the 5, 488, 237th time you've mentioned it." So it goes. Th...

I have to admit, if hindsight is really 20/20, well, I really did have some good teachers in high school and college. When I go back and realize the stuff they subjected me to, it was, in all actuality--quite good stuff. I mean, I had to read The Catcher in the Rye , and at first, my teenage brain came up with the ever deep response of: "It was weird." Low and behold, I've reread it and there is so much, much more. Same with the other works they had me work through. King Lear . The Thief of Time . Some really good stuff, yo, very respectable. Even the Stepford Wives . Yes, I had to read the book for my gender awareness ( I did get an A, folks, which is kinda ironic. I mean, I'm queer, people would think I would need as much gender awareness as I could get!) class. The book had already been made into a cheesy (by today's standards) television horror flick. But I remembered the book and it's author. I later saw Deathtrap ("my God, Superman's...

I work with kids, and it's amazing how, in the press, all I hear are organizations screaming about violence and sex in the movies. And they're probably right, I agree. But what's truly amazing? How many of the kids I see get to see these kinds of movies with full knowledge of their parents. It's like the time I worked in a flicka and we had the movie Fantasia. Boring stuff, excellent art. Mickey's in it for five minutes too. There have been textbooks written about this movie, I'm sure UCLA offered a course on it as well. And the parents came streaming in to drop off kids at this "Disney" movie. None of them thought it through; nor did they care. The Ring, when it came out, was the topic of my kids I worked with--well under the age of 17. They were scared, it was that good, they told me. And their parents dropped them off, sometimes even buying the tickets. Whatever. The point is, this is NOT a movie for kids. And then next time a k...

I've always loved hating the summer season of movies. Nothing arty at all, mostly sequels. And we all hate sequels, don't we? I mean, everyone talks about, "it's not as good as the first part," or, "did you know Yoda dies?" We detest them. That's why they do so well and Hollywood keeps making them. And so we arrive at Shrek 2 . I wanted to hate it as well, but you know what? It's actually not that bad, kinda like Harry. The storyline has so much you can do with it, and since it's not being produced by Disney, you don't have to be concerned about a specific audience. Really, it's kinda like a kids' movie made for adults. I mean, look at the casting. Jennifer Saunders as the Fairy Godmother. If you don't already know, she's from Ab Fab . When I heard her voice, I half expected her to pull out a smoke and paint stimata on her forehead and palms in lipstick. Alas, this is a kids' movie, so she's oddl...

Ever hear of a guilty pleasure? It's something we patently know is bad for us, yet we indulge for the sheer thrill of it. I mean, hello? Britney Spears? She lipsynchs her concerts people! And yet I know all the words to "Toxic." Or better, COPS on Fox. It's been on for 15 years, I believe. It's basically human scum at it's worst and I still tune in when there's nothing else on. Help. This brings me to my guilty pleasure. I've got several, and I'm sure if you read enough reviews, you'll hit on most of them. But for me? Martial arts movies. Hong Kong triads. Kill Bill. Drunken Master. I can't get enough of them. It's one of the reasons I love Netflix. Their search engine can drag up some of the most out of the way titles from my texts. Yes. I do have texts about martial arts movies. See what I mean? I'm hooked. I bring this up because I stumbled across this title from said search engine and it brought ...

I really liked today's poem from my Tao book, it spoke of one of the few times to rise above the nature of things. The item was with mercy. I agree. For so long I've wanted to crack the living crap out of some people, but still, they live. A sign of a love that goes well beyond me. I say this as I observe Emperor Bush's newest confection. A commercial where he points out that the economy is on the rise and that 4. something jobs are back. Didn't he lose 10 million jobs in the first place? He wanted to improve improvished schools by subjecting them to testing and analysis. But he didn't pay for it. I even saw his robot at the Hall of Presidents mention that we must work "together" for a better nation. And then he alienates gays and lesbians with a consistutional amendment. I suppose the mere fact that I remember these faux pas is because I am unable to be merciful. I'm thinking that needs to change. He can be who he wants to be...