Skip to content
thepete.com - » jen thepete.com

TheAdvertising:
:gnisitrevdAehT

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

by jen 3:05 pm 2007-09-11

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Yes, very entertaining. It breaks no new ground, but if you like character-driven action movies, this is a pretty decent one.

Technically any good? Tightly directed throughout, with good action (and a high body count). There was one especially gruesome moment that I thought was a nice touch, although those with delicate stomachs might disagree. Bale and Crowe are both very good, with the latter particularly menacing. Ben Foster, as one of Crowe’s gang, creeped the hell out of me without falling into the excesses you sometimes see in “giggling psychopath”-type roles.

How did it leave me feeling? Satiated! I was in the mood for a Western and I was glad they didn’t screw this one up.

Final Rating? SIYL. Western and action fans will enjoy this one.

by jen 3:05 pm 2007-09-11 Now Playing, PocketReviews.Net | $ |

there’s a World Cup???

by jen 1:34 pm 2006-06-13

Disclaimer: I love soccer.

Just for laffs I went over to National Review Online to see if they had written anything about the World Cup, positive or negative. After struggling with the website navigation (something is up with their Flash-based menus), I checked their blogging free-for-all, The Corner:

Google Cup

Google didn’t honor Memorial Day; today it has a special logo for the World Cup.

Posted at 5:37 AM

Those motherFU– Wait a minute, which is bigger, the world or the United States? Hang on, lemme go check my atlas.

…

I’ll be damned. Did you know that not only is the United States smaller than the world, it’s actually a part of the World? Who knew? But wait, there’s more!

Flying the Flag in Defiance of Oafs

With the World Cup currently going on (bear with me, there’s a point to this), there has been a resurgence in flag flying in England. Not just the Union Jack, but also the much-derided Flag of St. George, the national flag of England. As Andy said recently, there have been attempts to ban this inexplicable display of national pride. Thankfully politicians of most stripes have backed the people. Tony Blair has said he will fly it over 10 Downing Street and Conservative leader David Cameron has attached one to the back of his bicycle. Nevertheless, the high and mighty forces of the left-wing “commentariat” have decided this is simply too vulgar to bear. Stephen Pollard gives them both barrels.
Posted at 9:51 AM

I love that little aside– “(bear with me, there’s a point to this).” HURRRRR SOCCER IS DUMB

Anyway, so in the first example we have a little tantrum over the fact that for one day the US isn’t the biggest cock in the locker room, and in the second some kind of glurge about flag-waving patriotism. Not a peep about the fact that the US have a horse in this race, too.

Unfortunately, as a soccer fan, that’s what I’ve come to expect from this country– not only blind self-absorption when it comes to American sports, but indifference and derision for the most popular sport on the planet. Lest I be accused of being unpatriotic, or some kind of oh-God-I-wish-I-lived-in-Europeland intellectualoid who gets the vapors when someone utters the word “NASCAR,” keep in mind that my strongest footy love is for the USMNT. In fact, I’d go so far as to call myself a true patriot, and accuse soccer-hating pundits of letting their country down. Even if you think it’s the most boring sport in the world (it isn’t– that honor goes to the statisticians’ favorite masturbatory aid, baseball), why not muster a smidgen of national pride over the fact that our home-grown talent is competing with some of the finest athletes on Earth? I dunno, maybe it’s a coping mechanism on their part– if you don’t care, losing doesn’t hurt! Sometimes I wish I didn’t care, particularly in light of yesterday’s bloodbath against the Czech Republic. ;_;

Anyway, in the interest of political evenhandedness, I should mention that the World Cup coverage over at Slate is somehow just as annoying as the NRO’s cold shoulder. If reading the most ignorant American commentators is like having a warm Bud with frat boys who won’t stop using the word “faggot,” browsing the Slate dispatches is like glass after glass of an overrated California pinot noir with a guy who won’t shut up about the latest Philip Roth novel and the death of traditional American masculinity or some shit like that, hell, I don’t know, I tuned him out ten minutes ago and now I’m just nodding and smiling. …Uh, anyway, here’s an example from William Saletan’s analysis of the Serbia/Holland match:

Maybe the match says something about why so many Dutchmen protected people like me when you-know-what roamed the earth. Maybe it says something about why so many Serbs perpetrated their own ethnic cleansing in the war before the war on terror. Or maybe it’s all in my head.

I think I’d go with the latter, dude.

by jen 1:34 pm 2006-06-13 TheDistractainment | $ |

the Big Country and Friends Hour starring members of Big Country

by jen 12:09 pm 2006-03-06

My taste in music has always been at least ten to twenty years out of date. If the band isn’t together any more, I dig them. Better still if they have a hard core of fans who like to spend their time complaining about how mean the rock press establishment has been to their heroes. Armed with my turntable stacked high with Procol Harum LPs, I sit on my veranda swathed in an ugly knitted throw while shaking my cane at pimply-faced skateboarders and complaining that no one remembers the eight-track.

OK, that’s not strictly true. I own an iPod, and yes it’s cram full of Jefferson Airplane and Steely Dan, but there’s also the Decemberists, the Arcade Fire, and Maximo Park. In the spirit of my iPod, today I’m going to split the difference between old and new and pimp a couple of bands that are chock fulla experience and yet still embracing this new-fangled internet thingy.

First, Four Good Men, a group which incorporates members of Simple Minds (Derek Forbes, Mick McNeil) and H2O (Ian Donaldson), plus one Big Country stalwart, Bruce Watson. Now Big Country of course are the most underrated band ever and there’s much more to them than the song “In a Big Country,” and if you don’t believe me you can just go choke on your own earbuds (or you could go marvel at their rich and varied discography over here at allmusic.com). Therefore, I will be keeping an eye on any band that Bruce is a part of, and in fact I’m planning to go see them when they play in Glasgow on April 21st. Keep in mind that I live in Los Angeles, so this is no small thing.

For a little taste of what Four Good Men are currently working on, visit Bruce’s Myspace page– some demos have been uploaded there. Also visit Bruce’s blog and Derek Forbes’ blog for more band news.

Next, Casbah Club: one other Big Country alumnus (drummer Mark Brzezicki), ex-Jam and Stiff Little Fingers bassist Bruce Foxton, and Simon Townshend. Yes, he’s Pete’s baby brother. They just put up a free download of “Any Way She Moves” at their official site, so go grab it soonest. Also visit their Myspace page for more. They’re going to start touring like crazy beginning in April, and will be supporting the Who on their tour of Europe and the States, so you’ll have ample opportunity to catch ‘em live. I’ve seen them before and I can’t recommend them enough.

Also I have to mention the nicest man in rock and possibly the universe, Big Country bassist Tony Butler. You should visit his Myspace page and purchase a copy of his brilliant album “Life Goes On” (currently in heavy rotation on my iPod) from his official site.

*phew* Well, I’m off to weep over the demise of large-format cinema, so ta for now!

by jen 12:09 pm 2006-03-06 TheDistractainment | $ |

Rolling Stone vs. Scientology

by jen 12:04 pm 2006-02-28

No, it’s not Mick Jagger beating up L. Ron Hubbard (although I’d pay money to see that)– it’s an article over at rollingstone.com:

Both of Natalie’s parents are Clear, she says. Her grandmother is what’s called an “Operating Thetan,” or “OT.” So is Tom Cruise, who is near the top of Scientology’s Bridge, at a level known as OT VII. OTs are Scientology’s elite — enlightened beings who are said to have total “control” over themselves and their environment. OTs can allegedly move inanimate objects with their minds, leave their bodies at will and telepathically communicate with, and control the behavior of, both animals and human beings.

So that’s what he did to Katie Holmes!

Anyway, find the rest here.

by jen 12:04 pm 2006-02-28 TheCultureJam | $ |

celibate, vegetarian…terrorist?

by jen 4:21 pm 2006-02-23

So it seems that Morrissey got picked up and questioned by the feds (thanks for the story, contactmusic)!

Singer MORRISSEY was quizzed by the FBI and British intelligence after speaking out against the American and British governments.

…

Morrissey explains, “The FBI and the Special Branch have investigated me and I’ve been interviewed and taped and so forth…”

Mo also revealed a bit of naivete:

“I always assume that so-called authoritarian figures just assume that pop/rock music is slightly insane and an untouchable platform for the working classes to stand up and say something noticeable.”

Well, if it could happen to John Lennon…

by jen 4:21 pm 2006-02-23 In TheNews | $ |

Fox News screencap of the century

by jen 4:09 pm 2006-01-13

Image Hosted by <a href=ImageShack.us“/>

Credit goes to Something Awful forums goon Atomo.

by jen 4:09 pm 2006-01-13 TheDistractainment | $ |

GRIZZLY MAN (2005)

by jen 11:15 pm 2005-10-21

Positive Experience/Entertaining?Definitely. Filmmaker Werner Herzog tells the story of Timothy Treadwell, half nutcase and half “kind warrior,” as Treadwell himself put it. It’s a fascinating tale that lingers on the fine edge of morbidity.

Technically any good?Much of the film consists of Treadwell’s own footage, which he shot in the wilderness of Alaska. Herzog collects some of his most artistic, most eccentric, and most poignant moments, but also doesn’t hesitate to turn the deep flaws of his subject to the light.

How did it leave me feeling?Unsettled– the film returns again and again to the subject of death, and where Treadwell saw benevolence and friendship in his beloved bears, Herzog sees only the indifference and casual cruelty of nature.

Final Rating? GSN

by jen 11:15 pm 2005-10-21 Now Playing, PocketReviews.Net | $ |

your childhood memories Smurfed all to hell

by jen 10:18 am 2005-10-10

Well, you can just rock me to sleep tonight (credit goes to the Ottawa Citizen for the full story; click here to read it):

BRUSSELS - The people of Belgium have been left reeling by a public service commercial featuring the Smurfs, in which the blue-skinned cartoon characters’ village is annihilated by warplanes.

Lest you think this is some kind of sick joke, the ad was approved by the family of the Smurfs’ original creator, Peyo. And you thought the crap Gargamel inflicted on the little blue guys was bad!:

The ad pulls no punches. It opens with the Smurfs dancing, hand-in-hand, around a campfire and singing the Smurf song. Bluebirds flutter past and rabbits gambol around their familiar village of mushroom- shaped houses until, without warning, bombs begin to rain from the sky.

Tiny Smurfs scatter and run in vain from the whistling bombs, before being felled by blast waves and fiery explosions. The final scene shows a scorched and tattered Baby Smurf sobbing inconsolably, surrounded by prone Smurfs.

The final frame bears the message: “Don’t let war affect the lives of children.”

…

The advertising agency behind the campaign, Publicis, decided the best way to convey the impact of war on children was to tap into the earliest, happiest memories of Belgian television viewers. They chose the Smurfs, who first appeared in a Belgian comic in 1958.

Interesting idea. How many of us are desensitized to images of actual bloodshed? I can look at gory pictures from Iraq without flinching (thanks, Internet), but just the description of the spot was enough to make me feel like I’d been punched in the gut. There’s something about the corruption of innocence which goes straight to the center of our limbic system and makes us peculiarly watery-eyed about the suffering of fictional pixie-voiced blue thingamabobs. Whether this will translate to compassion for human beings of all colors remains to be seen.

by jen 10:18 am 2005-10-10 TheHELL? | $ |

“drunken billionaire burns down mansion”

by jen 12:50 pm 2005-10-06

Another piece of Hollywood history goes up in flames (credit USA Today for the story):

A Wednesday night fire gutted a Tudor style mansion that served as the home of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, in the 1960’s Batman television series, said Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the Pasadena Fire Department.

Apparently they also shot scenes for one of my favorite films, Dead Again, at the mansion. Damn this fire season! It hasn’t been a good summer for historical LA sites, what with the slated destruction of the Ambassador Hotel and all…

Edit: HOLY FIRE ENGINES BATMAN, AN UPDATE! Thanks, Reuters!

A Tudor style mansion in Pasadena that was used for a number of movie shoots has been destroyed by fire but the house nearby where the 1960s “Batman” TV series was shot escaped damage, fire officials said on Thursday.

But the 16,000 sq foot (1,500 sq meter) home that caught fire was actually further down the street. Some scenes from “Rocky V” and the Peter Sellers movie “Being There” were reportedly shot there. The owners were not at home when the fire started and the cause is unknown.

Well, now I feel silly for sadly shaking my head and tut-tutting.

by jen 12:50 pm 2005-10-06 TheDistractainment | $ |

giant squid pestered by paparazzi

by jen 12:25 pm 2005-09-29

This is pretty bad-ass. Scientists have managed to snap the very first pictures of a living giant squid in its natural habitat (thanks to National Geographic for the story):

The animal—which measures roughly 25 feet (8 meters) long—was photographed 2,950 feet (900 meters) beneath the North Pacific Ocean. Japanese scientists attracted the squid toward cameras attached to a baited fishing line.

They also, um, broke it:

The scientists say they snapped more than 500 images of the massive cephalopod before it broke free after snagging itself on a hook. They also recovered one of the giant squid’s two longest tentacles, which severed during its struggle.

Go straight to the images here!

by jen 12:25 pm 2005-09-29 TheScience | $ |

McCain jumps on the rickety intelligent design bandwagon

by jen 4:09 pm 2005-08-25

Damn, and I was just saying to my mom the other day that I respected McCain and might even vote for him if given the opportunity (credit goes to the Arizona Daily Star for the story that made me realize I should be paying more attention):

On Tuesday, though, he sided with the president on two issues that have made headlines recently: teaching intelligent design in schools and Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who has come to personify the anti-war movement.

McCain told the Star that, like Bush, he believes “all points of view” should be available to students studying the origins of mankind.

The theory of intelligent design says life is too complex to have developed through evolution, and that a higher power must have had a hand in guiding it.

No, no, no, no, NO. For the love of everything in this “sin-cursed world,” NO.

The danger of this latest outbreak of fuzzy-headed thinking is that, well, it all just sounds so reasonable, doesn’t it? I mean, in these enlightened times of ours, what reactionary meanie would actually stand against our children being taught “all points of view”? Never mind that “intelligent design” is creationism’s reanimated corpse propped up and dressed in a nice new suit.

How the hell do you test a child’s grasp of ID, anyway? “God created the Earth. True/False?”

I implore all readers of this site to check out Talk Origins for more on evolution. It does a fine job explaining all that scary science stuff, as well as making it clear that evolutionary theory is not a Satan-spawned plot implemented by teeth-gnashing atheists.

by jen 4:09 pm 2005-08-25 TheScience | $ |

poor and American? Chavez wants to help!

by jen 12:02 pm 2005-08-24

I predict a swift “Oh no you di’n't” from our administration:

HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, popular with the poor at home, offered on Tuesday to help needy Americans with cheap supplies of gasoline.

“We want to sell gasoline and heating fuel directly to poor communities in the United States,” the populist leader told reporters at the end of a visit to Communist-run Cuba.

Read the rest of the article here at CNN.com. Anyway, I’d love to know how he plans to implement this. Part of me suspects that he’s saying this just to put a thumb in the eye of some J.R. Ewing types. But wait, there’s more!

Chavez, in Cuba to attend the graduation of Cuban-trained doctors from 28 countries, was seen off at the airport by Cuban President Fidel Castro. Washington has accused the two leaders of being a destabilizing influence in South America.

Chavez and Castro offered to give poor Americans free health care and train doctors free of charge.

HELL YEAH! Do we get free t-shirts and a box lunch too?

by jen 12:02 pm 2005-08-24 TheScience | $ |

do you love Star Trek? you just might enjoy touching children inappropriately

by jen 12:23 pm 2005-08-19

Fightin’ words from the Huffington Post (flagged by Slate; over 100 offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Miller was skeptical but the cops basically stood by their story–at the least, a “majority of those arrested show ‘at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest.’” Not just an interest in science fiction generally, mind you. But Star Trek.

From the Slate article:

Ellen Ladowsky, an L.A. therapist, thinks there actually is something inherent in the show itself that makes it “irresistible to perverts.”.

From the HuffPost article:

hen it comes to relationships off the ship, Captain Kirk displays a truly astonishing emotional poverty. He goes from planet to planet, having trysts with an assortment of nubile women, but never forms any real attachments. …There’s a pervasive message that women are toxic. In an episode called Cat’s Paw, there is an evil sorceress who separates the crew from each other and from the starship. The perpetually indignant Dr. McCoy cautions Kirk, “Don’t let her touch your wand Jim, or you’ll lose all your power![”] On the very rare occasions where Kirk seems to find love, his partners quickly die off. After one of his loves has croaked, Kirk admonishes Spock “Love, you’re better off without it.”

To all irritable Trekkies/Trekkers– don’t shoot the messenger, ‘K? I didn’t write it.

by jen 12:23 pm 2005-08-19 TheHELL? | $ |

African wild animals in North America?

by jen 12:05 pm 2005-08-19

“Rewilding” is not, as you may think, a verb for middle-aged men returning to their hedonistic bachelor days; it refers to the reintroduction of wild animal species to a habitat. Slate gives us the lowdown:

…most of the Earth’s remaining large wild animals in Africa and Asia are threatened with extinction in the coming century.

“Rewilding”—bringing elephants, cheetahs, and lions out of captivity to run free in parts of North America—could help save these megafauna from global extinction. More important, it would restore to the continent biological functions lost millenniums ago.

It’s an interesting notion, but then again:

Sure, the costs and risks of bringing back the megafauna are significant—they include angry ranchers, scared passersby, and unanticipated effects on other plants and animals.

unanticipated effects on other plants and animals

Yeah. No doubt “rewilding” proponents have a much better grasp of the fragility of natural ecosystems than the Shakespeare-loving idiot who introduced the starling to North America (f*ck you very much, Mr. Scheiffelin), but…ahhh, what the hell am I worried about? This’ll never happen. Can you imagine the fury of a soccer mom-led neighborhood association that discovers environmental scientists trying to put lions in the local skate park? Yes, I know I’m being flippant, and I realize that any large African mammals would be confined strictly to fenced-off preserves. I just like the image of leopards going through someone’s garbage cans at 2AM.

by jen 12:05 pm 2005-08-19 TheScience | $ |

FANTASTIC FOUR (2005)

by jen 2:55 pm 2005-07-14

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Mildly so. The burning (ha ha, get it?) question for me was, “Will this be better than Roger Corman’s never-released version?” The anwer: sorta.

Technically any good? Well, it obviously cost more than Corman’s… If they had decided to go whole-hog for camp value, the film might have succeeded; instead, most of the “funny” stuff will make you cringe.

The story seems a bit “small”– the heroes spend most of the film dealing with their new powers (in very lame ways) and the climax ends up as more of a personal grudge match then anything else. If you’re expecting Doctor Doom to try to blow up the world or something, you’ll be disappointed.

Essentially this is supposed to be a character-driven story, but the character dynamics aren’t too interesting and the actors don’t have much to work with. However, Chiklis stands out as Ben Grimm/The Thing, even when he’s laden with prosthetics. Ioan Gruffudd is perfectly cast as Reed Richards; despite the fact that he’s so good-looking, I bought him completely as the scientist who doesn’t “get it” a lot of the time. The very pretty Jessica Alba is forced to play “the girl” instead of a real character. Chris Evans is just right as the cocky Johnny Storm, but frankly it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch (huh, should have applied that phrase to Gruffudd, I suppose). He does get to show off a very impressive body, though. Essentially he and Alba are a pair of “his and hers” bimbos.

How did it leave me feeling? I wasn’t expecting anything revelatory, but it still managed to mildly disappoint me, plus I rolled my eyes at the ending-that-isn’t-really-an-ending-but-the-beginning-of-a-franchise.

Final Rating? RTV; amazingly, it’s a story of super-powered beings that isn’t all that interesting on the big screen.

by jen 2:55 pm 2005-07-14 Now Playing, PocketReviews.Net | $ |

Grand Theft Auto: dogs and cats living together, etc.

by jen 3:52 pm 2005-07-09

A while back ThePete posted about some intriguing easter eggs that could be found in the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which could be unlocked by gamers with the help of a downloadable mod called “Hot Coffee”. Hey, straight sex is swell, but this (found at the tail end of an otherwise innocuous sfgate.com article about the GTA naughtiness) sounds like it’s right up my alley:

One of the more curious hidden gems came in a game called SimCopter. A nefarious programmer designed some extra code in the game which allowed a player in-the-know to tap a sequence of buttons to reveal scantily clad men kissing each other.

Oh hell yeah.

Another bit from the article worth pointing out, actually, is the following remark from one David Walsh, founder of a group of professional hand-wringers called the National Institute on the Media and the Family:

Walsh said the “hot coffee” scenes are pornography by anyone’s definition, and called on Rockstar ] to “come clean” on whether they programmed the scenes into the game.

“This is about kids,” Walsh said. “Can you imagine the impact of 13-, 14- and 15-year-old boys literally enacting this scene?”

Yeah, because the thought of having sex with attractive women would never even cross a young man’s mind if he didn’t see it somewhere in THE MEDIA!

by jen 3:52 pm 2005-07-09 TheDistractainment | $ |

the last f***ing word on Terri Schiavo

by jen 4:05 pm 2005-06-15

Ohhhhhhhh snap. The results of Terri Schiavo’s autopsy are in (thanks Reuters):

The results supported clinical findings and the contention of her husband that Schiavo had been in a “persistent vegetative state” since collapsing 15 years earlier from a cardiac arrest that deprived her brain of oxygen, said Dr. Stephen Nelson, a forensic pathologist who assisted in the autopsy.
…
Schiavo’s brain weighed about half of what a healthy human brain would, Thogmartin said. “Her brain was profoundly atrophied … This damage was irreversible.”

The best part, IMO, is this:

The autopsy found no amount of therapy would have helped to regenerate Schiavo’s brain, and determined she was blind, belying videotapes that appeared to show her eyes following objects. The videos were cited by her parents’ supporters as proof she should be kept alive.

Now let me remind you that during the most heated days of the Schiavo flap, no less a personage than Senator Bill Frist claimed that he had reviewed the facts and determined that Schiavo was not in a persistent vegetative state. His evidence? A brief look at her case file and a peek at the EDITED video footage which purportedly showed Terri interacting with her parents. Now keep in mind that Frist holds a degree in medicine, which you’d think would preclude him from making glib and unscientific diagnoses of people he’d never even been in the same room with. Oh, Bill, you scamp. How do you feel about that special session of Congress now, you delightful rascal?

For some recent history on this whole mess, including the disgraceful actions of Frist’s political buddies, check out my earlier posts on Terri Schiavo.

EDIT!: You can find the full text of the autopsy in PDF format here.

by jen 4:05 pm 2005-06-15 TheScience | $ |

Brazil as corny as Kansas in August over ethanol

by jen 2:39 pm 2005-06-15

Since Pete is so keen on alternative fuels, I thought he might like to see this cheerful Los Angeles Times article about Brazil, its favorite clean-burning fuel, and the way it aggressively reduced its dependence on imported petroleum:

Three decades after the first oil shock rocked its economy, Brazil has nearly shaken its dependence on foreign oil. More vulnerable than even the United States when the 1973 Middle East oil embargo sent gas prices soaring, Brazil vowed to kick its import habit. Now the country that once relied on outsiders to supply 80% of its crude is projected to be self-sufficient within a few years.

Brazil is lucky enough to have a hospitable climate and enough land to grow massive amounts of sugar cane, which also fuels the distillery plants that produce the ethanol. The US produces almost as much ethanol as Brazil, but its distilleries are powered by which of the following?:

a) elves
b) fossil fuel
c) NASCAR

If you picked b), give yourself a star!

Just one example of why implementing massive change and reducing our own fossil fuel dependency would be difficult; read the article for more. Even with all the caveats, however, I still found the Brazilian example intriguing. Same goes for this quote from the article:


What most can agree on is that Brazil is an example of what might have been if America had seriously committed itself 30 years ago to renewable energy.

“If we would have spent one-hundredth of the money that we have spent to send tanks around the world to protect our oil supplies … we would already be using cellulosic ethanol,” said Michael Bryan, chief executive of BBI International, a Colorado-based bio-fuels consulting company.

If my national team can’t beat the Brazilians at their own game, so to speak, and snag that elusive World Cup, then maybe we could at least try to top them in the alternative energy field. Hey, why not?

by jen 2:39 pm 2005-06-15 TheScience | $ |

Dutch to send out EU constitution with a “Boom Bang a Bang”?

by jen 10:52 am 2005-05-31

The French have spoken and they don’t want any part of the proposed EU constitution as it stands. The European press are predicting that the Netherlands will say “non” as well, but this (credit Radio Netherlands) is the first I’ve heard that the Dutch will be voting against it in retaliation for their poor showing in a certain yearly European hootenanny:

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest - the 50th - featured songs from 39 countries, including long-time participant the Netherlands. However, the Dutch song failed to win enough votes to go through from the semi-final to the big night on Saturday 21 May. Some Dutch people are citing this as a reason to vote ‘No’ to the EU constitution, for while such things happen in a competition of any kind, they see this particular failure as a sign that Europe is stacked against them and dominated by former communist nations.

Click for the rest of the article, including some scoffing from a Dutch journalist who covered Eurovision this year. “Diggi loo, diggi lee,” and all that.

by jen 10:52 am 2005-05-31 TheHELL? | $ |

Superman is a dick

by jen 9:59 am 2005-05-27

Don’t believe me? Go to superdickery.com for proof!

by jen 9:59 am 2005-05-27 ThePeteStuff | $ |

TheBlurb: "How can one talk about life without saying sometime it's going to end? It makes the value of life all the more precious."
updated on 11/01/08 14:45:18 Change it! Archives