Dig! This

Wow, I am really slacking off on blogging lately. While I don't have anything in the way of original content today, I have just been made aware of a really cool site called snagfilms which streams full length documentaries and allows you to put them on your blog. So instead of my usual rantings, here's perhaps my favorite music documentary ever. It's called Dig! and it's about the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. Even if you've never heard of these bands before, you should see this film. It has a better story and more interesting characters than any screenwriter could have come up with.

Mongol

Years back there was supposed to be an epic film about Genghis Khan featuring Steven Seagal in the title role (scroll down just a little bit). And while the jury is out on whether it was because it was a ridiculous idea to have a white guy playing a Mongolian warlord or because Steven suddenly thought it would go against his Buddhist beliefs, this film died in a contract violation situation with some mafia guys or something and now Steven is lucky to go straight to video with anything. And it's a good thing this film never got made because now there's a real Genghis Khan film out, the first in an epic trilogy, and they really got it right. Granted, I know absolutely nothing about the real Genghis Khan, but I know about film and Mongol was an amazing film, and there was no bad acting white guy in the lead. The cinematography was incredible and the action was furious. There were times when it dragged a little, but the brutally bloody battles and the aerial shots that looked like they were straight out of a nature documentary made up for it. This film starts with the young Temujin picking his bride from the wrong Mongol clan and starting a chain of events that puts him in a lot of trouble at a young age. There's a huge amount of ass that he needs to kick along the journey from being a kid from the wrong side of the steppes to conqueror of Asia, and without giving anything away, lots of asses are indeed kicked and kicked hard. Throughout the film they mention the rules of Mongols which are a lot like the rules of Fight Club, but the obvious one they left out was that Mongols don't fuck around. I highly recommend this film, just make sure you see it in a comfortable theater and don't be squeamish. I also saw some really good trailers for upcoming films like the new Cohen brothers movie and this one which I can't wait to see...

Remember When Andy Dick was Funny?

What can I say about Andy Dick that hasn't already been said? His trainwreck hasn't been entertaining since the mid 90's and this mugshot just gives me the creeps. How baked do you have to be to look like that while being arrested for groping a minor?

My New Favorite Sport

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not much of a fan of sports. I was never much for playing them as a kid and never really got into watching them either. For me, music was my sports. I knew about bands like the sports guys knew about their teams and played in bands while the other kids were on the school teams. And when I got older, I started following politics as a sport which is far more frustrating since there are real world ramifications depending on who wins and loses. But last night I attended a live sporting event that really got me excited to the point where I even had a favorite player by the end of the first half and I really want to go again. This weekend my inlaws picked up Stella and took her to their house for a week so Anne and I could have some nice grownup time together and get a few things done around the house. And then the other day I heard a mention that there was going to be a roller derby event in San Francisco on Saturday night. We had seen some episodes of Roller Girls when it was on and we liked the way this old carnival sideshow sport was being taken back in a DIY punk rock kind of way. Plus, it's fast and a little bit violent. So we decided to spend our first night of freedom with the Bay Area Derby Girls and it was a blast! It was the Oakland Outlaws vs the San Francisco ShEvil Dead. Since our home team, the Richmond Wrecking Belles, weren't playing, we were rooting for Oakland as the East Bay choice. It was completely sold out and 2 of our friends almost didn't make it in, but luckily they let in a few more people. We were slightly skeptical going into it because this was flat track derby, played on the flat ground rather than the raised and beveled track. And then the first jam seemed very slow and tame and we were thinking that this was some seriously watered down and safe version of roller derby. The thing is, there were announcers, but this was in an old metal Naval building on a pier so anything they said on the speakers was muffled and echoed beyond comprehension. I think that might have been just a demo to show people the rules of the game, because the next jam was the real deal. The deal is that a pack of skaters from each team starts skating around the track, and then a jammer from each team follows them 20 feet behind, catches up with them, tries to get through the pack, and then has to lap them and start making their way through again to score points. And the pack tries to keep them from getting through. The first half ended with San Francisco up a few points, but Oakland dominated the second half. Toward the middle of the first half, one player really stood out from the rest. Oakland's team captain Kitt Turbo was incredible. She would haul ass down the track swinging her arms and cruising fast and then just start whooshing past the pack before they even knew she was there, often leaving a trail of fallen skaters in her wake. One of Oakland's other jammers, Grr Lee Burly, was pretty good too, but as my friend said, Kitt made it look easy and cool. This was so much fun and as much as I really want to go again and again, the reality is that we rarely can splurge for a sitter as it is, so once Stella is back it's probably no more derby for us. But last night, we were derby fans and it was great!

Shocking News about McCain!

Opposition research has just dug up incredibly shocking new information about John McCain. Sure, we know he's a big old right winger masquerading as some kind of maverick. But we didn't know that he's a FRAKKING TOASTER! That's right, we have reason to believe that John McCain is a cylon skin job. Don't believe me? Just look at these two pictures of the 4 skin jobs in the colonial fleet... If McCain's uncanny resemblance to Col. Tigh isn't enough, what about both men's legendary tempers and foul mouths? Both men were POW's. Both military officers. But wait, there's more. Who is this that McCain is all buddied up with? I don't know either, but he sure looks a whole lot like a certain former president of the colonies and known toaster-lover... More resistance operatives have been doing research on this. More info is here. And More. And More. Citizens of the 13th Colony, we cannot afford to elect a toaster president. Vote human. Vote Obama. OK, many of you might have reached the end of this post asking WTF I'm talking about. You people need to run not walk to your local video store, start renting Battlestar Galactica, and forget about this huge spoiler you just read. Seriously, it's one of the best shows on TV right now and you have a few months to get caught up before they start the last 12 episodes.

What's Left to do Now But Crack Jokes?

It looks like things are getting worse in the Middle East. After months and months of US and Israeli saber rattling towards Iran, they just showed their card, a long range missile. The prospect of an all out war in the Middle East has all the apocalypse-crazy fundies making sure their rapture clothes are perfectly pressed and starched for their joyride in Jesus' big UFO to the great big mega-church in the sky. I could go on and on about how this is the ultimate failure in diplomacy or how this may effect the upcoming election, but none of my readers care about that. So instead, I turn to the fact that Iran's general's name is Hossein Salami. Where have they been hiding him? Are we going to have to call Colonel Mustard to cover him? The US is going to eat that guy for lunch! Oh man, the Iranians just gave humorists the biggest gift since President Unpronounceable Guy said that they don't have any gays in Iran. I expect to see the achievements of this general thinly sliced and piled high.

Republican Implosion in 3... 2...

There are few things in the political world I like to see more than republicans fighting amongst themselves. When democrats fight amongst themselves, it's usually either over minor annoyances or petty power grabs within the party. When republicans fight, it's over the issues and it lets Americans see just what a vile bunch many of them really are. Take the upcoming shitstorm over the convention platform for instance... Conservative activists are preparing to do battle with allies of Sen. John McCain in advance of September's Republican National Convention, hoping to prevent his views on global warming, immigration, stem cell research and campaign finance from becoming enshrined in the party's official declaration of principles... A platform fight at the convention could disrupt that carefully choreographed effort by highlighting the stark differences in vision for the party separating McCain from some of the GOP's most dedicated activists. I LOVE this! The people who still support the failed policies of a failed president are desperately clinging to those failed policies at the risk of making their convention an ugly fiasco (that is to say an uglier fiasco than just your run of the mill gathering of a mob of angry old white men) and further sinking the candidacy of their already all but doomed nominee! And all for policies that are bad for America no less. They have a candidate who is still incredibly conservative only not in the usual fucktarded dogmatic way, and the dogmatic fucktards are ready to lose an election (which they're going to lose anyway) over issues of ignorance, racism, anti-science and pro-corruption. Please bring this fight all the way to the convention. The majority of Americans who are not blog reading politics junkies need to see the republicans that those of us who pay attention already know all too well.