I had heard about this before, but I decided to check it out. Hot 97’s morning show thought it would be funny to parody the Tsunami disaster in a song last week. Yes, that’s ridiculous, but if you really want to hear how ridiculous, check out these lyrics (poorly sung to the tune of “we are the world”):

..All at once you could hear the screaming chinks and no one was safe from the wave.
There were africans drowning, little chinamen swept away.
You could hear god laughing, “swim you bitches swim”

So now you’re screwed, it’s the Tsunami
you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy.
I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head.
and now the children will be sold to child slavery…

You can find an mp3 of it if you really want to. Check out a whole page dedicated to getting these guys off the air:
http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/000759.html

I can’t believe anyone would parody something like this. I think even Howard Stern would find it disgusting. “Chinks”? “Chinamen”? This is incredibly racist, and completely tasteless. The host, “Miss Jones,” defends it by saying that some people use parody to get over tragic events, but I think it’s pretty clear that she was just trying to get publicity, though. If you’re using comedy to get over a tragedy, you would not use racist terms and graphic descriptions of tragic events.

[update]: Hot 97 decided to fire the producer and a sidekick on the show, but merely suspended the hostess and some other employees for 2 weeks. Their salary will be donated to some Tsunami relief foundation along with 1 million dollars. Not bad, but it wasn’t exactly swift justice. Also, I didn’t see any statement from the hostess herself regarding the issue.

I have never read any Charles Dickens, and I think the closest I’d come was seeing Scrooged with Bill Murray (based on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”). I dove into “Great Expectations” with moderate expectations, kind of expecting to be a bit bored, but I am happy to say that I loved it.

This book is extremely eloquently written. I have not read anything so rich since A Picture of Dorian Gray, which had then become my favorite book. Dickens has a certain charm to his writing that is very hard to describe. He is at times sarcastic in subtle ways, and he is always sophistocated and interesting. You must read every word to fully appreciate the writing, and if you skim it, you may very well end up missing out when he makes (often extremely clever) references to earlier details. The cast of characters is very colorful and diverse. I knew when I was almost finished with the book that I would sincerely “miss” them, as it felt like I had gotten to know them fairly well. How many authors can write a book like that?

I think this book should be required reading in high schools, because the theme of “expectations” applies to everyone, and is a valuable one to reflect on. Even if you don’t want to reflect on anything, this is still an excellent read. I am looking forward to my next Dickens book! This is a must-read. 5/5 stars.

I’m really glad I got a chance to see this movie while it was still in theaters, because the director, Wes Anderson, is so careful and meticulous with his visuals that it really pays to see it on the big screen. This movie stars Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, and is supported by Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, and Angelica Huston, Jeff Goldblum, and a cast of others. Bill plays a washed-up undersea documentary filmmaker, and Owen Wilson plays a man who says he thinks he is his son.

I thought that the aquatic theme of the movie was really done fantastically well, and it really tied the movie together. Like all Wes Anderson movies, almost every character has broadcasts their psychological issues out loud, and the dialogue is funny in a very awkward way. This movie leans a bit towards an art film, but it is still very coherent, and for that I love it. There are lots of “decorative” aspects of the film that don’t add to the plot, but they add to the feel of the movie, and that’s where this movie shines. Afterwards, I felt “dazzled” just having taken in so much feeling from the movie. At times, the movie is purposefully shot poorly and all common sense is thrown out the window, but it doesn’t matter because this movie doesn’t take itself seriously!

I want to add that although I normall find Jeff Goldblum repulsive, I loved his character in this movie! Also, Willem Dafoe plays a completely unexpected role, and he is hilarious. I’m having a hard time expressing why I liked this movie, but it was so original and unique and fun… I should probably get it on DVD when it comes out. See this movie! 5/5 starfish!

Have you heard about the group of conservatives who complain to TV and radio stations (and the FCC) to tell them they demand such-and-such show gets taken off the air because it is offensive? The simpsons spoofed it years ago, but the conservative groups are still actively organizing complaints against “offensive” shows instead of just changing the channel. How come democrats never organize like this? I think it’s because democrats know that people can just change the channel and a lot of them actually enjoy the controversial material. In general, I think most democrats don’t care enough to write to anybody about it… they may feel it’s none of their business, or that it’s not their place to say what other people should be able to watch.

On the other hand, when we are voting for president, democrats do show up to vote, but they are still not as effective as the conservatives in terms of voter turnout (from what I’ve been told). Why is this? Are democrats so apathetic? Not at all, but I think the problem is part of the fundamental views of a democrat: most of them don’t feel like it’s their place to coerce other people to agree with them. Regardless, the dems did organize for this last election, but it didn’t exactly work well enough. The other part of the problem may be that democrats have such diverse views compared to conservatives. Conservative morals and politics seems like it’s based on negatives and “do-nots”, rather than individual choices, and the result is a relatively even field of opinions, where most people agree. I also can’t help but point out the conservative tendency to rally around and trust the views of their higher-ups, be they authority figures or God himself, and is anyone really going to disagree with what God tells them to do? Not if they are a faithful believer.

The Democrats will probably always have trouble organizing, so all we dems can hope for is that over time, conservativism fades away in time for the 2008 election! Cross your fingers

I have been attaching my ratings as meta-data to each review (movie and book) I wrote, knowing that some day I would actually harness it and put some graphics on each of those posts. Well, that day has finally come, so you will now see stars next to every review on the site, including old ones! Eventually I will make category images that will give a bit more life/color to the posts as well.

As anyone who reads this blog probably knows, I’m not big on watching romantic comedies/dramas, but I thought this movie looked good from the ad. I have to say I found it thoroughly enjoyable! Johnny Depp plays the creator of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, in a fictional account of how he thought up the story. I think Johnny Depp is a top-notch actor and he played Barrie as extremely likeable and interesting. Kate Winslet stars opposite Depp and does her best at bringing her character to life, even though the role is not terribly interesting. There are four young boys who play the kids of Kate Winslet’s character and they have a fun chemistry with eachother and with Depp. I was pleasantly surprised at how touching some of the moments were, and only on one occasion was it overly sweet, but it didn’t ruin it for me.

Overall, this movie is about finding the kid inside of you, and the power of imagination. I recommend this movie! 4/5 stars.

I don’t know why I didn’t see this movie in the theater, everyone said it was great. I finally saw it on DVD and it was a really interesting movie. I tend to really like movies with an ensemble cast, and this is one of those great ensemble movies. The director, Wes Anderson, is meticulous in the way he sets up every shot; many resemble an Annie Leibovitz portrait. The characters in this movie are mostly a melancholy bunch, but the movie gets you to smile and laugh many times through some clever irony and quirky behaviors. I think I would have enjoyed this movie more had I seen it a second time, because it packs in a lot of detail and I feel like there is more to be seen on repeat viewings.

I have to admit, however, that I didn’t really love the movie. I think it may have suffered from its 110 minute runtime… with such a broad cast, we don’t have time to see the characters experience many things, and the movie wasn’t especially focused. Nonetheless, it’s definitely a movie I would like to see again and I would recommend it. 4/5 stars.

I finished my latest and greatest painting yesterday, and I photographed it today. After about 26 hours of labor, I am happy to say it’s done and I’m extremely happy with it. I actually signed it and called it done a few days ago, but part of the painting just wasn’t looking good enough so yesterday I went back and really polished it off. I will put up the web page with the whole story behind it whenever I get around to it, but here is a very high res image for you to see it in the meantime.

In short, the painting is called “Go Fish.” It’s kind of a tribute to my favorite game (”go”, not “go fish”). The black and white ‘chips’ are go stones, and the fish are Betta Splendens, or Siamese Fighting Fish. The painting is meant to represent a “ko fight” for those familiar with the term.

Ever since I first heard a commercial on the radio (Heineken?) several years ago which asked of a joke “is it ‘funny ha ha’ or ‘funny weird’?” I have thought of humor as being divided into those two categories. I thought this morning that maybe ‘funny weird’ humor might not be funny to those who don’t want to find it funny, because it is “weird” and can therefore be easily brushed aside and disregarded as strange. We all have a fear of the unknown, after all. “Funny Ha Ha” seems like its more accessible to a general audience because it isn’t so hard to laugh at. I’ve always liked “Funny Weird” TV shows like Mr Show, Kids in the Hall, and Strangers with Candy, more than regular “Funny Ha Ha” shows just because they are more unique and creative. That doesn’t mean I’ve never laughed my ass off at Saturday Night Live, though. I just give “Funny Weird” shows more credit because they are really thinking outside the box and daring to be less accessible.

Happy New Year! I have been a real slacker with the blog posts, mostly because I’ve been working like a madman on my painting. I have worked 8 hours on Wednesday, about 7 hours on Thursday, and about 1 hour Friday. I have been snapping pictures every step of the way, so it will all be documented in ridiculous detail once it is done and on the wall. Don’t hold your breath, it will be a while until I get this thing framed!

I was thinking about new year’s resolutions… I don’t really have one this year. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’ve been all about self-improvement over the last couple of years, and I’ve set goals and met them. It doesn’t need to be January 1st for me to make a goal for myself. I’m sure I’ll think of one eventually.