Calling it, ”death on six legs”, North Korea unveiled their new short-range missile delivery system today. The single un-jailed member of the North Korean ‘free’ press was on hand to take this still image.
In a related statement Kim Jong-Il promised the US they could face an even broader offensive if they were not left alone to pursue the mindless ‘tyranny, oppression and subjegation of our own people’.
OK, I’m a bit of a Hasbro geek. I loved playing with GI JOE and Transformers as a kid. Having all out battles with man versus machine on our rock fireplace or launching them off the trampoline in the backyard was a highlight of growing up. The thing is, there were really only two cool toys for boys back then.
I have four boys now, and besides LEGO, there is no ‘unifying’ toy that everyone at school plays with. There are a thousand versions of lame manga cartoon toys out there: Pokemon, Bakugon, Avatars, etc, etc. NERF still makes dart guns, but other than that it’s sort of like every kid has a new toy you’ve never heard of.
‘Back in the day’, every boy I knew had a Transformer, even if they hadn’t memorized Rodimus Prime’s spiritual journey, kill stats or fighting abilities, they still knew how to transform him, and mash his plastic trailer into Optimus’ metal face.
So imagine how amazing it is to see your favourite toy, life size and kicking butt on the big screen. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is the loudest, best-looking action film I have EVER seen. It is 150 minutes long, and rarely does 5 minutes go by without a metal-crunching, jaw-dropping transformation sequence, epic battle or sweet missile launch. It’s faster, cooler, louder and more violent than part one. Optimus’ original transformation in episode one was my previous nomination for best special effects sequence ever captured on film. It is far surpassed this year by Ironhide’s transformation in the first few minutes – amazing!
It’s certainly not perfect. Don’t say I didn’t warn you:
I don’t know if Micheal Bay is in the army, works for the government or has a best-buddy in the Pentagon, but he seems to have access to every thing he wants. Aircraft carriers, drones, tanks, soldiers, all figure prominently in the film. I don’t know how he gets the shots he does, but they’re pretty amazing. Bay certainly doesn’t seem to be an Obama fan, which is fine by me, it wouldn’t hurt to hear someone in Hollywood criticize him for the first time (even if it is for kicking the Autobots off of Earth)…
I saw the Tomatometer currently has it at a 22% critic rating. If you’re going to this movie hoping for a tight plot, character-driven storylines, or to see if Micheal Bay is trying to make some kind of pre-apocalyptic comment on the relationship of man and machine then you are an idiot. How could you? Shame on you! Go for the action, the explosions, the amazing special-effects or the fact that you think a giant semi-truck could be a hero.
I heard a heart-wrenching plea from Amanda today on CTV news. Her voice is recorded begging for release. She complains of being locked in chains, having no clean water and hardly any food. She begs Canadians (government and citizens) to raise the 1 million dollars necessary to pay her ransom.
Incredibly, her family and friends are not commenting. What they are going through is difficult to imagine. I wonder how many mercenaries a million bucks could hire. There are very few circumstances in which I think mercy no longer applies. Amanda’s captors don’t deserve it.
The Fall, a gorgeously shot, believably acted film explores the power of story. A bedridden stuntman in a 1915 Los Angeles hospital begins an epic story-telling saga with a young Romanian immigrant girl, albeit for his own selfish purposes. The tale grows to include hospital staff, daily real-world events, and an ending that at the insistence of the teller and the listener must be both believable and happy.
The story within a story involves 5 heroes: The Indian, The Black Bandit, Luigi, Otta Benga and Charles Darwin who have all been wronged by Governor Odious, a notorious ruler. Originally stranded on an island, the group seeks to enact their revenge
Tarsem, from television commercial fame funded most of this movie out of pocket, and took 4 years and a whole lot of globe-trotting to get it finished (18 different countries all told).
The result is a no-CG zone masterpiece with visual backdrops almost too incredible to believe. Roger Ebert’s interview with Tarsem explores some of the shots in further detail.
The movie’s inclusion of a young ESL superstar gives it a sense of realism, and the idea that ‘it’s my story too’, gives the viewer reason to pause, think and repent for various ways our own version of history may have overlapped or superceded other’s.
(Andrew, those stories that were once mine but now told by you, and vice versa, they’re OURS)
For the first time since Gallup has been asking the question since 1995, more Americans than not say they are Pro-Life. Reminds me of a great quote, ‘instead of making aboriton illegal, let’s make it unthinkable’.
There are so many decisions that lead up to an unwanted pregnancy and (usually) an unwanted abortion. More education means better informed decisions.
1. Experiment with bacteria, viruses, vaccines and the like. Mix together if possible.
2. Create working vaccine for messed up virus. Use government contacts to purchase mass quantities if possible.
3. ‘Accidentally’ release virus from laboratory. (NOTE: Third-world countries are the best place for this)
4. Help create mass hysteria about virus on the loose. World media must be involved. Enlist help from International governments and NGO’s.
5. Remind desperate public that you do indeed have a cure.
6. Sell, sell, sell.
An incredible ruling has come from Sweden’s health authorities: women cannot be refused abortions up until the 18th week of pregnancy, even if their decision to abort is based on the gender of the baby (I will refuse to use the word foetus here – dehumanizing an unborn infant through scientific jargon does not make it an easier operation).
The ruling was handed down after a mother in Southern Sweden with two girls already, asked to know the gender of her unborn baby. When she requested an abortion after getting the news of yet another girl, doctors asked their health authority to create guidelines for the request and carry-out of abortions. In other words, “should we be aborting babies because they aren’t the parent’s preferred gender?” The health board voted to not allow that to be a barrier.
My favourite comment left after the article was from Maxtel, and read:
Well I guess what the court was saying was that if you’re going to engage in barbarism, you really can’t put limits on it. Go Sweden!
It seems each new day brings new reasons to despair over the state of the world. If abortion wasn’t bad enough, now folks can do it when they don’t quite have their designer family (and let’s face it, I’m totally naive to think this hasn’t been happening for decades already, but sheet, even countries like India have made gender-based abortions illegal).
God help us.
The WHO has come out with the shocking prediction that 2 billion people worldwide will come down with the Swine Flu. (No word on how many of them will die)
So far, they claim ‘over 2000′ people have been infected around the globe.
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 | Troy on The Top Ten Canadian Athletes … |
Sometimes the picture says it all…