The Nominated

Always best to start out kvetching.

NOTHING FOR SEAN PEAN OR EMILE HIRSCH FOR INTO THE WILD?

This was a movie that I went into thinking “Yeah, sure” but it was brilliant. And Hal Holbrook was good, but we all know he got nominated because at 84 he’s not going to have many more chances.

I’m tellin’ ya — the fix was in.

dee, I like Hal Holbrook. I bought all of his Mark Twain records back in the ’70’s. The movie reviewer on TOTN today agrees with you on “Into the Wild” getting stiffed, except he like the Holbrook character and thought it was fitting that he was nominated.

I found this list of all the movies released in 2007 and found that I had only seen 7 of them, and that includes Blades of Glory and Hot Fuzz. Of those seven, I liked Waitress the best.

Razzie-wise: I think any movie that can spawn the amount of preview parodies that 300 has spawned should get some kind of award. You can go to You Tube and find dozens by searching “300″. My favorites are this You Tube one and this kittie one found by Cute Overload.

FYI: This typos in my last comment were to keep the rat from eating the post. Yeah….that’s the ticket.

piglet, welcome to the club. You really should have said something disparaging and insulting about Fanny’s parentage. Oh well, you’ll have other chances.

On another topic, all this sniping between Hillary, Obama and Bill is just pathetic. IMHO, the former President is acting more like Billy Carter than Bill Clinton. It’s embarrassing and very disappointing to watch this sort of thing going on. Apparently John Edwards is, as he says, representing the adult wing of the Democratic Party. It seems that way to me.

My heart is with Dennis Kucinich, but my vote will go to Edwards. Bill has to get out of Hillary’s space — it’s getting hard to tell who’s clinging to whom. Obama is inspiring and eloquent — something we haven’t had in a long time. But he has some strange ideas about Ronald Reagan and economics that need straightening out.

I work in a library that carries a lot of DVDs, so it’s hard to justify spending the money on first-run films these days. Can’t help with the Razzies, but I thought “No Country For Old Men” was outstanding. (I do get out occasionally.) Can’t yet bring myself to watch “Eastern Promises,” but am told it’s also outstanding.

Adam, FYI, the www.schrodingersball.com has been down for at least a few days.

Sharon, I’m with you on Kucinich and Edwards. The media bosses should have let Dennis into the debates. I guess they didn’t like what he was saying. Or maybe it was his wife’s tongue stud. My daughter’s has one for about 18 months ago and these days I’m just beginning to understand her when she talks.

It’s probably too late for this year’s Razzies, but how about “One Missed Call”?

Glad to see the strike ain’t keeping you down…

Anne, Merriam-Webster has the following definitions for fulsome:

1(b) generous in amount, extent, or spirit
2. aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive (late 17th century)
3. exceeding the bounds of good taste, and
4. excessively complimentary or flattering.

The entry included the appended notation: “unless the context is made very clear, the reader or hearer cannot be sure whether such an expression as “fulsome praise” is meant in sense 1b or in sense 4.” (heee!)

When discussing Reagan and praise in this case, I believe there should be an option 5: “all of the above.”

But that’s just my humble opinion.

I hope Alien vs. Predator: Requiem wins worst sequel. I like the “classy” sequel name. I can just hear the meetings. “Hey, if we just call it Alien vs. Predator 2, we really won’t give the film the gravitas it deserves.”

Okay, here’s a perfect example of why I end up screaming at the radio every time I turn on the news. In announcing that Dennis Kucinich would be dropping out of the race, Maura Liasson on NPR focused on two aspects of Kucinich’s platform. The second was his consistent anti-war stance, although she managed to make his proposed “Department of Peace” sound like something out of Orwell. And the first thing about him that she mentioned? That he was the only candidate to claim to have seen a UFO. Does she know that UFO is an acronym? Does she f’ing know what the U stands for? Does she ever go outside at night and look up at the sky for more than a few seconds? D@mn the MSM! D@mn them all!

In another story, the MSM persists in calling the stimulus package a “rebate” for consumers. It’s not a rebate. You don’t have to return a rebate. It’s an advance on next year’s tax refund–if you get one. The corporations, on the other hand, are getting tax “cuts.” At least they’re honest about that part.

Ann, I doubt that will work, but I dimly recall that back in 2001, when W tried the same trick, some folks tried to refuse to accept the “rebate” in the first place. Don’t know if we ever heard how that worked out for them.

I’ve written to NPR to ask how many objects Maura Liasson can identify in the night sky.

Sharon, Mara Liasson is a talking head and frequent panelist on Fox News on Sunday mornings. I began to doubt her impartiality when she was reporting with unbridled glee on Bill Clinton’s tribulations in the 1990’s.

I think Mara is kept on at NPR as proof that the network doesn’t have a liberal bias. They certainly don’t keep her on because of her keen political punditry.

The one time I remember liking her was on one of the National news shows that featured one day, comic strips and cartoonists, and Bill Griffith of Zippy fame was interviewed, He’d just published a strip featuring Mara, Sylvia P. and someone like Lina W. in a Zippy strip because their names had a great cadence together. The interviewer had all three come on the show, and each felt honored to be in a Zippy cartoon. But that’s about it from me in admiration for Ms.L.

No love — er — hate — whatever for Michael Bay? Transformers was clearly written by pubescent 13 year-olds for other pubescent 13 year-olds. It was cliche after cliche… Terrible!

Does anyone else feel that maybe this whole “Buy Our Way Out of the Recession” gambit is being foisted upon us by our friendly inscrutable Chinese loan sharks? And what is there to buy in America’s stores these days besides crap “Made in China”? Also, where is this money coming from to pay for this $145 billion stimulus package? Oh yeah, China.

I forget, whose economy are we stimulating?

Or, with a working link, this

a) it’s so embarrassing that so many people, like Tammy, think Obama said anything other than “Reagan changed the country” — i wonder how many of them were around in 1980. the world turned upside-down, and it was Reagan’s election. i’m still waiting for someone, anywhere, to show where Obama praised Reagan or the Rs; never happened.

b) i’m thriled that Viggo Mortenson got a nomination. “A History of Violence” was wonderful, and he is tremendous in “Eastern Promises”. he won’t win of course (DDL had that locked before his movie even came out), but it’s great to see someone like Viggo get recognized. should give hope to other actors who struggle for years for a decent role.

c) Brad Bird, a fellow Oregonian (who went to the high school my sons went to, Corvallis), is now offiicially one of America’s best filmmakers. period. 2nd nomination for Best Original Screenplay. both for animated features. and, of course, he won on WWDTM! go Sparts!

Do you guys still hunt, waterfowler? The reason I ask is that I really came to dislike the hunters with dogs because they were sadly mostly a bunch of jerks inclined to argue over whose dogs got up what deer, drink while hunting, and drive 70 down the forest roads chasing their dogs.

And since hunters generally help insure the survival of deer herds, congrats to your son on his first. Father-son hunting by non-jerks (and mother-daughter as well) still makes sense to me because of my positive experiences when I used to hunt. Can’t anymore, except with a camera, but that’s just me.

Which Republican candidate are you thinking is not a wingnut? Huckabee certainly is, Romney is whoever the voter wants him to be, and Giuliani and McCain are about as militarist wingnut on foreign policy as one can get. I mean Giuliani, when he can break away from his mob mindset and taxpayer-subsidized trysts, wants to define the entire planet by 911, and McCain sang “Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” to the tune of “Barbara Ann.” Ron Paul is dead right about Iraq and the Constitution, but his domestic proposals and reactionary social baggage are, well…

Hagel is the only non-wingnut Republican I see, and he’s chosen not to run.

Yes, Zeke, I’ve heard that particularly naughty limerick before. (Hee! Hee!)

waterfowler, Wingnuts? - you want wingnuts? How about Dr. Ron Paul, Huckabee, Rudy the Drag Queen, McCain and Wilbur Mitt Romney? (Snicker!) As for your youngest baggin’ a buck; well, I’ve never hunted and I’ll probably never go hunting, but I have friends who do and I understand what they get out of it (besides the meat and antlers). So a qualified congratulations to the young man and to you. I’m curious - this whole first deer killing thingie, is that like a backwoods Bar Mitzvah?

Before I was arrested for yelling out at naked Svenskas who scaring away polar bears last Saturday, I watches people playing the golf using normal clubs to hit tennis balls on nine hole course out on lake ice. This my first winter in Bemidji, Minnesota USA. It was -2F cold that day. Are all the Amerikanerne this crazy?

I know that pretty words and promises don’t necessarily translate to getting things done.

And I know that there are some policy points from some of the other candidates that I think might be more fully thought-out.

But to me the desperate need to bring the country back together again and to try and stem the decline of us v them (whether it’s rich v poor, U.S vs other countries, Christianity v Islam, Repub v. Democrat, etc.) makes Obama’s words and vision tremendously compelling.

He got slammed by some pretty vicious ads this week saying he was a Reagan supporter when you KNOW that they KNOW that the his quotes never said that, but it made good negative ad copy and he kept it dignified.

These two speech transcripts and Caroline Kennedy’s op-ed do a good job of demonstrating why I think we, as a country NEED Obama to win.

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/01/a_great_speech.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/26/obama.transcript/?iref=hpmostpo p

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?em&ex=1201582 800&en=68dbeb8e37c848ac&ei=5087%0A

Am I just young and naive? maybe, but I don’t want to give up on hope, and to me he is the only candidate on either side that represents that. I just wish I could vote in a primary that mattered…… (Yay Oregon with the freakin’ May primary!)

maybe I’ll do it piecemeal:

I know that pretty words and promises don’t necessarily translate to getting things done.

And I know that there are some policy points from some of the other candidates that I think might be more fully thought-out.

But to me the desperate need to bring the country back together again and to try and stem the decline of us v them (whether it’s rich v poor, U.S vs other countries, Christianity v Islam, Repub v. Democrat, etc.) makes Obama’s words and vision tremendously compelling.

hmmm…it appears to be the second part with the links that’s giving Fanny constipation..

He got slammed by some pretty vicious ads this week saying he was a Reagan supporter when you KNOW that they KNOW that the his quotes never said that, but it made good negative ad copy and he kept it dignified.

These two speech transcripts and Caroline Kennedy’s op-ed do a good job of demonstrating why I think we, as a country NEED Obama to win.

Well, i linked to the transcript of his victory speech last night in SC, to his MLK day speech and to Caroline Kennedy’s oped in the NYT today endorsing him. You can always google those yourself until fanny spits them back out

Caroline Kennedy agrees with you. And rumor has it that tomorrow Obama will get Sen. Kennedy’s endorsement as well.

I will continue to support Edwards until he drops out or until the convention, whichever comes first. I think it’s become crystal clear by now that Billary is unelectable. If she wins the nomination, it’s the Dems once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. In spite of some misgivings, I would be proud to vote for Obama.

Thank you, t. a. barnhart and becca, I was just about to say all that. Obama never said he approved of Reagan or his policies. He said that Reagan was a transformative president who led the country in a new direction, in which it was ready to go. I was there, folks, and that is precisely what happened.

I was appalled by the new direction and horrified by the policies, but I have to admit it was a major transformation and most of the country was behind it. And I’m with you behind Obama all the way, becca, and for all those reasons.

I have heard a couple times here that the “tax-rebates” would need to be paid back but I can’t find anything that supports that. Can someone point me in the right direction? Is there a print out of the language of the proposal?

Did Rambo come on in time for a nod, or will it be in the running next year?

From the NYT: “It is the first time in over 20 years in which the campaign has turned into a possibly lengthy hunt for delegates…”

Waterfowler–maybe you could finally combine your love of the outdoors with your commitment to democracy! Everybody and their brother has a deer on the mantle…

I nominate “The Monolith Monster”. OK it’s from the 50s, I don’t get out much, but it certainly meets the criteria.

You know what I can’t understand is why no one has asked Huckabee if he abolishes the IRS who collects and polices taxes? Also how do you handle the transition between paying income taxes on the money and wealth you have, and then having to pay consumption tax on everything you buy from here on. Talk about a double tax.

Either he is a moron, or a lier who is willing to pander to idiot’s worst wishes.

I don’t necessarily agree, David, that McCain’s Republican machine is the same machine that gave us Bush/Cheney. I don’t think the members of that machine like McCain much at all, because they can’t push him around and he won’t play their games. I don’t like his opinions, especially on social issues; but he’s dead honest and stubborn as a blind mule, and the existing Republican machine wants more, shall we say, malleable front men, or did you wonder why we got Jug-Ears 2 terms ago? This doesn’t necessarily mean that McCain won’t be the Repub candidate.

The really interesting question (see Debra Saunders’ column in today’s San Francisco Chronicle) is whether the Republicans want to win badly enough to compromise their pure conservative principles. The California Repubs clearly don’t; they can’t stand Ahnold, who isn’t as bad a governor as I thought he’d be, because he does actual practical politics and doesn’t hew to the mighty party line. Because I don’t think the pure party line can pull in enough independent and undecided votes to get them over the line, and their devoted base just isn’t big enough to take the election all by itself.

David, responding to this post via your pointer at Hedera’s Corner (and a good thing you put the pointer out because I might not have come back to this thread):

Your points about McCain may be right, I’m not sure: he wouldn’t be the first president to say what was necessary to get elected and then do what he had in mind all along when he got into office. I can think of a recent example…

I think my real point is that I wouldn’t vote for any of the current crop of Repugnicant candidates for second assistant dogcatcher. (Do we call them “animal control officer” these days?) And I’m voting for the Democratic candidate. I hope it’s Barack; but if Hillary takes the nomination, then I’m a Hillary backer all the way.

My sister phoned from Nevada last night. She’d been watching the Democratic candidate debate; and she said she had never expected to see, in her lifetime, a Presidential debate between two candidates, a white woman and a black man. The times, they are a-changin’.

Well, Razzies….

Bratz: The Movie should certainly get some attention. I’m also pretty comfortable putting I Know Who Killed Me on the list. Hard year though. You are right, no Shanghai Surprise-sized misadventure to boggle the mind, unless you want to include the ongoing Iraq war.

Also, isn’t it time for the Razzies to embrace the electronic age? You might not be able to include delights like Leave Brittany Alone because of their amateur status, but certainly Mike Gravel’s zen stare off/rock in the water thingy and the Clinton’s ham-fisted Sopranos homage deserve a little special something, eh?