While channel surfing this morning, I stumbled upon the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I couldn’t help but laugh when I thought about how much that movie scared me as a kid.
Now that I’m all grown up (ha!), I’d rather think of this version of the magical factory:
Willy Wonka just kinda freaks me out a bit. 
An essay piece written for the New York Times by John McCain has been rejected by the newspaper. The piece, about his policy on the war in Iraq, was written by Sen. McCain in response to an op-ed piece that the NyTimes published last week by Sen. Barack Obama. Is this media bias (the NY Times is widely known as being a liberal paper) or does McCain just need help with his writing?
From CNN.com:
In an e-mail to the McCain campaign, Opinion Page Editor David Shipley said he could not accept the piece as written, but would be “pleased, though, to look at another draft.”
“Let me suggest an approach,” he wrote Friday. “The Obama piece worked for me because it offered new information (it appeared before his speech); while Senator Obama discussed Senator McCain, he also went into detail about his own plans. It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama’s piece.”
In a statement released Monday, The New York Times said it is “standard procedure on our Op-Ed page, and that of other newspapers, to go back and forth with an author on his or her submission.”
“We look forward to publishing Senator McCain’s views in our paper just as we have in the past. We have published at least seven Op-Ed pieces by Senator McCain since 1996. The New York Times endorsed Senator McCain as the Republican candidate in the presidential primaries. We take his views very seriously,” the statement said.
McCain’s rejected op-ed was a lengthy critique of Obama’s positions on Iraq policy, particularly his view of the surge.
“Senator Obama seems to have learned nothing from recent history,” wrote McCain, criticizing Obama’s call for an early withdrawal timeline. “I find it ironic that he is emulating the worst mistake of the Bush administration by waving the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner prematurely.”
Obama’s July 14 essay had taken shots at McCain for not further encouraging the Iraqi government to take control of the country.
“Instead of seizing the moment and encouraging Iraqis to step up, the Bush administration and Senator McCain are refusing to embrace this transition — despite their previous commitments to respect the will of Iraq’s sovereign government,” Obama wrote in his op-ed.
The article goes on to say that McCain will not change his essay or policy on Iraq to meet the demands of the NY Times. Guess he’ll just have to submit it to Guns And Ammo for now. 
John McCain has a new ad that criticizes Barack Obama for his lack of foreign policy experience and his irregularities when it comes to key issues including the war in Iraq.
Some of the attacks in the ad are: “Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan,” “He hasn’t been to Iraq in years,” and “He voted against funding out troops.”
According to the voice in the ad, those “positions” helped Obama secure the Democratic party’s nomination, but “now Obama is changing to help himself become president.”
Of course the ad concludes by noting that McCain “has always supported our troops” and the surge in Iraq. “McCain: Country first.”
I personally like this ad better:
“A little fight in ya. I like that.” – The Joker to Rachel Dawes
I can gladly say that my sleepiness and stiff neck this am is attributed to the long anticipated The Dark Knight.
As I purchased our tickets early yesterday morning, I was mesmerized to hear the ticket clerk ask me exactly which midnight showing I wanted to see. It appears that the movie theater we were at had the film showing on 7 of its 17 screens. Hearing the clerk rattle off show times such as 12:01, 12:05, 12:10, 12:15, and so on, I couldn’t help but think, “Are you kidding me? Are that many people going to show up at these ungodly hours?” The answer: YES. I overheard a couple of young men next me who wanted to buy tickets for Friday’s ‘official’ premiere, but were turned down by the clerk stating that all shows for Friday had already been sold out.
We arrived to theater about 40 minutes before the film began with our prepurchased tickets in hand, but only to find out that the entire theater had already been seated. We were left to find seats in the third row. There were a few people who were channeling the Joker’s spirit by walking around in face paint along with quite a few who were wearing Batman shirts. One guy, riddled with tattoos, was wearing what looked like a 6 year old’s Batman mask and cape. Good for them. 
It took all I had to throw on sweats and sneakers to make it to the showing that was well past my bedtime.
Now I generally hate going to movies when they premiere because of how packed the house usually is and the immaturity of the audience with their talking, whooping, and personal sound effects (not to mention the constant illumination coming from their cell phones as they’re texting during the movie). This was the first instance EVER where as soon as the first titles came up, in this case the DC Comics logo, the audience went silent. Then when the first scenes of tall buildings in Gotham City appeared, I realized that I could hear my own heart pounding. The audience was so quiet that I swear I could hear the person breathing next to me. Throughout the movie, we seemed to share in laughter, jolts, and gasping all at the same moments. Everyone was truly respectful to one another.
A little over two and half hours later, the film ended in applause and many stood up and gave an extra nod when Heath Ledger’s name came up. Was the film worth all the hype? Did Ledger’s performance truly withstand all the anticipation that has led up to this moment? Does he steal the show? I would say yes to all and even more so than I had imagined. It was a nice change to have more focus on the villains and other characters in the movie other than Batman himself. Don’t get me wrong, I think Christian Bale does an excellent job reprising his role as the Dark Knight; however, the spotlight goes to The Joker and Harvey ‘Two-Face’ Dent.
“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” -Harvey Dent
The Joker’s character is not the same one from the cartoons, the old t.v. series, or Jack Nicholson’s creation. This one is far more sinister and for the most part, shockingly violent. Every time he would hold his knife up to someone’s face or his own, I would quickly put my hand over my mouth and hold my breath. Most frightening, his only motive is to create chaos because he can. He’s not interested in money, fame, or even killing ‘The Batman.’
“Introduce a little anarchy… Upset the established order… Well then everyone loses their minds!” – The Joker
Batman: “Why do you want to kill me?” The Joker: “I don’t want to kill you. What would I do without you?”
How can we like a villain that is so evil? I think the answer needs to be credited to Ledger’s performance. His mannerisms and nonchalant sayings make you squirm and laugh at the same time.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We’re tonight’s entertainment.” – The Joker as he crashes Bruce Wayne’s party for Harvey Dent.
Unlike Batman Begins (during which I managed to fall asleep not once, but twice), The Dark Knight left me on the edge of my seat, hoping that it wouldn’t end. Speaking of the end, much remains open except for the fact that we know that we won’t be seeing Ledger’s Joker again. Do be careful though about taking young children to this one. For a Batman film, The Dark Knight is by far the most violent and scary for those under the age of 8.
Bad guys in clown masks, mob guys, rottweilers, and politicians who are turned into talking, rotting skulls of peeling flesh are just a few of the contemporary changes to this comic book film. Even the Scarecrow makes a brief appearance almost as an ordinary criminal. Gotham City is much brighter (except at the end when ‘the night is darkest just before the dawn’) and resembles present day instead of some ghastly, dark introverted society.
Alongside the main cast, look for some other familiar faces including Anthony Michael Hall as a reporter (yes- Farmer Ted from Sixteen Candles) and Eric Roberts as a slimy but suave mob boss.
So, plan on getting your tickets well ahead of time, arrive at least 45 minutes early, use the restroom facilities, and settle in for 2 hours and 32 minutes of thrilling, sinister, and explosive entertainment.
And by the way, I only have two words for you: Joker and Nurse
The Cast (from IMDB.com):
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Eric Roberts | … | Salvatore Maroni |
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Anthony Michael Hall | … | Mike Engel |
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William Fichtner | … | Bank Manager |
Also check out Manhola Dargis’ exceptional review from the NYTimes.
The Dark Knight mania is all over the Web and not soon to be slowed down. My own blog has been getting close to 2,000 over 3200 6,150 7,600 hits a day for a post I did back in March about the movie. — Not that my biggest post has ANYTHING to do real politics – see where society’s priorities are?
We have all seen what the Joker looks like, but until recently, Two-Face’s image has been under close wraps. Warner Bros. has done their best to keep the grotesque Harvey Dent/Two-Face image out of site.
Far from Tommy Lee Jones’ campy version in 1995’s Batman Forever, Aaron Eckhart’s rendition goes beyond just superficial facial scaring. In May, Eckhart told the Los Angeles Times that his Two-Face should make you “get sick to your stomach…like you would feel if you met someone whose face had pretty much been ripped off or burned off with acid.”
By the way, be sure to check out MTV.com’s ‘Dark Knight’ Dogma: Everything We Need To Know We Can Learn From Batman. Then read their take on Harvey ‘Two-Face’ Dent:
What if Barack Obama were killing off bad guys in his spare time, all in the name of “change we can believe in”? What if we discovered that Mahatma Gandhi had inspired all those movements for civil rights by secretly doing away with those who opposed him? What if a crusading attorney general for a city known as Gotham was exposed as breaking the very laws he claimed to enforce, revealing a dark side that lusted for … $1,000-an-hour call girls?
So is this the real thing? Guess we’ll just have to wait one more day to find out. Midnight showing, here I come
Not that many even know his name, but Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Islands says that he is not interested in becoming Barack Obama’s Vice President.
The AP reports that Reed described the vice presidential spot as a “position which I have no interest in,” adding he has not been asked by Obama’s campaign to provide information that could be used to scrutinize running mates.
“There are people that are spending a lot of time, one, looking for candidates, and … trying to promote themselves as candidates,” Reed said. “And I’m in neither category.”
Reed said he was focused on winning a third term in the Senate and doesn’t take seriously much of the discussion surrounding him as a possible vice presidential candidate.
Some information about his bio:
After graduating from West Point and receiving an active duty commission in the United States Army, Reed attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he received a Masters of Public Policy. Reed, an Army Ranger and a paratrooper, served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an Infantry Platoon Leader, a Company Commander, and a Battalion Staff Officer. He returned to West Point in 1978 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences.
Reed resigned from the Army as a Captain in 1979 and enrolled at Harvard Law School. In 1982, he graduated from Harvard and served a year as an associate with the Washington, DC law firm of Sutherland, Asbill, and Brennan. In 1983, he returned to Rhode Island and joined the Providence law firm of Edwards and Angell.
Reed was elected to the Rhode Island State Senate in 1984 and served for three terms.
Reed is a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and a former Army Ranger. Prior to serving in the Senate, Reed was a three-term Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District.
After reviewing the list of Obama’s possible V.P. choices, I never really considered Reed to be in the top picks. I wonder who will be next to distant themselves from the Obama campaign?
A gadget that Maxwell Smart might use? Too good to be true? Wired.com shows us Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s secret weapon:
From Real-Self-Defense.com:
The Unbreakable Umbrella from Real-Self-Defense.com works just as well as a walking stick or cane but does not make you look funny or feel awkward. Whacks just as strong as a steel pipe but it weighs only 1 lb. and 9 oz. (710 g). And yes, this umbrella resists the wind and will keep you dry in rain just like the best umbrella should. www.UnbreakableUmbrella.com
This ain’t your Mary Poppins’ style of umbrella. I have to get one of these
Dr. Michael DeBakey has been considered by many one of the parents of cardiovascular surgery thanks to his discoveries and inventions in the domain. The famous surgeon died Friday night of natural causes in the hospital where he worked most of his life, the Methodist Hospital in Houston. He was 99.
Watch the video about Dr. DeBakey’s life here from Houston’s ABC Channel 13.
His many innovations (including medical instruments), procedures, and causes made him truly an angel.
Pictured Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez (left) and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty (right).
Last May, I posted on a story about 3 missing U.S. soldiers. At the time, only the body of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. had been found while his 2 commrades remained missing. All 3 had been kidnapped in Iraq.
Now, over a year later, the bodies of Specialist Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. are back on U.S. soil.
From CNN:
The military has not yet issued a public confirmation, but Ramon “Andy” Jimenez said in a broadcast interview that officers visited his Lawrence, Massachusetts, home to tell him the body of his son, Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, was found.
The officers told Ramon “Andy” Jimenez that information from an informant led investigators to the remains of his son and those of Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan, on Wednesday, Jimenez family friend Sandy Almonte said.
The senior Jimenez, a native of the Dominican Republic, said the military told him the soldiers’ remains were identified in the U.S. by their dental records.
The father said his son died for a cause he cared about.
“He decided since he was young to join the Army,” he said. “I’m very proud of my son.”
The military did not give the family any other details, such as where the bodies were found, Almonte said.
Gordon Dibler spoke of waiting for news of his stepson Army Pvt. Fouty after military officials came to his home, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
“Every day that he’s been missing has been a day of `what could have been’ … but after hearing the news … I’m still in shock,” Dibler said.
Major Dan Elliott with the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division confirmed to CNN that human remains were found in the division’s area of operation in Iraq. He said the remains were sent to the United States for positive identification.
The body of a third soldier who was kidnapped in the May 12 ambush — Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, California — was pulled from the Euphrates River in Babil province 11 days after the attack near Mahmoudiya, which is south of Baghdad.
Four American troops and an Iraqi interpreter were killed in the ambush, which happened in a section of Iraq that was known as the Triangle of Death.
Black ribbons of mourning replaced the yellow ribbons around the Jimenez home Thursday afternoon.
A POW/MIA flag that had been hanging from the home for more than a year was also immediately replaced by a U.S. flag.
Wendy Luzon, another Jimenez family friend who was with the father when the military officers read the official notification to the family, said “It brings closure to the whole deal.”
Pictured above is Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr.
This has become an all too sad and familiar scenario for military families around the world.
Be sure to visit the Iraq Page Website which is dedicated to the servicemen and women who have lost their lives during the Iraq War.
Another hilarious parody from the Onion:
After months of tirelessly supporting his wife on the campaign trail, devoted spouse and former president Bill Clinton breathed a resigned sigh Monday and carefully folded the charcoal silk, fitted sheath dress he had hoped to wear as first lady during next January’s inauguration and placed it back in its beautiful box.
The 61-year-old Clinton, who has appeared on the covers of both Time and Newsweek and has recently been lauded for his work as an outspoken advocate for human rights, purchased the Christian Dior gown earlier this year after wife Hillary announced her bid for the presidency. Though he has promised to stand by her until rival Barack Obama is officially named the Democratic nominee in August, Clinton told friends that he “could not bear” to look at the dress any longer.
“A beautiful gown like this shouldn’t be wasted on any but the most special of occasions,” said Clinton, who, before packing the garment away, spent a quiet moment running his fingers over the expert stitching and delicate cascade of ruffles. “No. This dress deserves to be worn by a real first lady.”
After slowly tying the original silk bow around the box and clutching it to his chest for 45 seconds, the former world leader gently placed the dress inside his so-called “first lady hope chest.” Sources close to the Clintons have confirmed that the chest includes items the 42nd president had planned to bring with him to a Hillary-led White House, among them a pair of unworn white satin gloves, some hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments, a pewter locket bearing a portrait of his mother, a pressed daisy, two pearl drop earrings, and a handful of wallpaper and fabric swatches.
“My, my, would you just look at this—all dressed up and no place to go,” said Clinton, removing a ruby brooch from a small box marked “Final Iraq Pullout.” “I suppose the American people want better for their first lady than some pie-eyed boy from Arkansas with a head full of dreams and all the grace of a peeled potato. I only hope Michelle [Obama] or Cindy [Hensley McCain] will have the courage to change those hideous drapes in the Lincoln Bedroom.”
Can you just see him?
It goes on quite a bit more, but worth the laugh. Read the whole “article” here.
With the Beijing Olympics less than a month away, here is an inspiring story about athletes of a different sort and spirit.
From the NYTimes:
The country that has been in three wars in two decades has a remarkably robust and competitive Paralympic team:
Makes the rest of us sit back and realize that far too many times, we do not push ourselves to do the things that we think we are uncapable of doing.
Bloggers beware in Russia: fellow blogger Savva Terentiev has been convicted on charges of “inciting hatred or enmity” and given a one-year suspended jail sentence.
From Reuters:
A Russian man who described local police as “scum” in an Internet posting was given a suspended jail sentence on Monday for extremism, prompting bloggers to warn of a crackdown on free speech online.
Savva Terentiev, a 28-year-old musician from Syktyvkar, 1,515 kilometres (940 miles) north of Moscow, wrote in a blog last year that the police force should be cleaned up by ceremonially burning officers twice a day in a town square.
“This was an absolutely unjustified verdict,” Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the SOVA centre in Moscow, a non-governmental group that monitors extremism, told Reuters. “Savva for sure wrote a rude comment … but this verdict means it will be impossible to make rude comments about anybody.”
The verdict was discussed in Russian blogs on Monday. “I don’t know now if I should be writing here or not,” blogger Likershassi posted on one website.
“The fact that Terentiev got a conditional sentence is unimportant. What’s important is the precedent,” a blogger named Puffinus wrote.
BONFIRE
Contacted by Reuters on Monday, Terentiev confirmed the sentence but said he was unable to make further comment.
The blog entry for which he was prosecuted has been removed from the Internet. Russia’s Kommersant newspaper quoted him as saying in the post: “Those who become cops are scum,” and calling for officers to be put on a bonfire.
After the prosecution was launched, Terentiev wrote an open letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev protesting his innocence.
“It is our duty to take responsibility for words on the Internet but … I did not call for the inflaming of social hatred towards the employees of the police department,” he wrote in the letter, posted at one of his sites, www.zasavva.ru.
Most Russians receive their news and information from television stations and newspapers controlled by the state or by businessmen with links to the Kremlin, with opposition voices confined largely to the Internet, talk radio and low-circulation publications.
Medvedev has said he views freedom of speech and a flourishing civil society as essential and that Russia should use a light touch when policing the Internet.
“Thank God we live in a free society,” Medvedev said last month in an interview with Reuters.
“It’s possible to go on to the Internet and get basically anything you want. In that regard, there are no problems of closed access to information in Russia today, there weren’t any yesterday and there won’t be any tomorrow,” he said.
Just chalk Russia up on the same list as other tyrannical countries who insist on suppressing speech on the Internet.
Dennis Haysbert, the actor that portrayed President David Palmer on Fox’s “24,” says that he would like to believe that he helped paved the way for Barack Obama.
From the AP:
“If anything, my portrayal of David Palmer, I think, may have helped open the eyes of the American people,” said the actor, who has contributed $2,300 to the Illinois Democrat’s presidential campaign.
“And I mean the American people from across the board — from the poorest to the richest, every color and creed, every religious base — to prove the possibility there could be an African-American president, a female president, any type of president that puts the people first,” he said Tuesday.
Haysbert, who now stars on “The Unit” on CBS, made his comments to reporters during a teleconference call promoting the upcoming American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe.
Haysbert, who also played Nelson Mandela in the 2007 film “Goodbye Bafana,” said his role as President Palmer seemed to “confuse people” who would approach him on the street “every day, almost every hour, and ask me to run.”
“I still, even after three seasons into `The Unit’ playing Sgt. Maj. Jonas Blaine, I’m still asked by people on the street to run,” he said.
Haysbert, 54, said he recently stopped for dinner south of Los Angeles with his daughter in Dana Point, Calif., a town he described as “very wealthy, very white and very Republican.”
“I go into this little restaurant with that demographic and a lady comes up to me and says, `You know, I want to vote for you,’” he said. “I don’t know if it is a joke or that people just like to say those things. But to me, for them to say it out loud means they are thinking about it.”
An update about 24:
Fox still plans on airing season 7 in January 2009.
Back in March, Reuters reported that Fox is creating a 24 two-hour TV movie which will be a prequel to the next new season. The story will cover the two years between the end of season six and the beginning of season seven. The actors are being cast now, presumably the essential members of the team who survived the previous 24-hours of a nuclear disaster, terrorism, lies, betrayals, shootings and tragedies.
What is known about the upcoming full season of 24 is that it will introduce the first female President of the United States. Tony-winning actress Cherry Jones will be playing Madame President. This would suggest that President Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside) didn’t survive his injuries from the assassination attempt in season six, although his fate could be a storyline in the prequel TV movie.
Maybe Jones is paving the way for a female president down the line?
For all of you who need a 24 fix, here’s an oldie – the Season 2 promo:
China’s suppression of freedom of speech on the Internet is nothing new. Bloggers took to their computers this past weekend to blog about a riot that broke out in China’s Guizhou province. It didn’t take long for the government to cut them off from the rest of the world, but as sneaky as we bloggers can be, they figured out a way around the Great Firewall of China.
From the Wall Street Journal (subscription required):
Some 30,000 rioters set fire to government buildings over the weekend to protest the way authorities handled the death of a teenager in the province’s Weng’an County. While state-controlled media provided immediate coverage, government censors moved fast to delete online posts providing unofficial accounts and deactivate the accounts of those users.
So bloggers on forums such as Tianya.cn have taken to posting in formats that China’s Internet censors, often employees of commercial Internet service providers, have a hard time automatically detecting. One recent strategy involves online software that flips sentences to read right to left instead of left to right, and vertically instead of horizontally.
China’s sophisticated censorship regime — known as the Great Firewall — can automatically track objectionable phrases. But “the country also has the most experienced and talented group of netizens who always know ways around it,” said an editor at Tianya, owned by Hainan Tianya Online Networking Technology Co., who has been responsible for deleting posts about the riot.
With the Beijing Olympics slightly more than a month away, the Chinese government has shown little patience toward dissent, online or offline. On June 27, authorities in Nanjing imposed a four-year prison sentence on Sun Lin, who had written posts on the overseas dissident Web site Boxun.com, after convicting him of “gathering crowds to cause social unrest” and other offenses. Media-freedom group Reporters Without Borders says that since the beginning of 2008, there have been 24 cases of journalists, cyberdissidents or free-expression activists being arrested or sentenced to jail terms.
Here’s how they did it:
Pretty clever!
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