All I can say is: What the fuck?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? Jesus there is something seriously wrong with this place and these idiot people.
If I could remember what these beyond stupid people said I would quote them. But the main point from several people interviewed in Wichita was that they think students should be able to carry guns on campus. Their reasoning...get this...is that people would be able to protect themselves against psychos. Apparently someone could have taken out the shooter before he shot so many people.
WHAT IF THE PSYCHO IS THE DUDE WITH THE GUN SITTING NEXT TO YOU IN CLASS?
Is there a high percentage of brain deficiency in Wichita? Actually I can tell you there is just from watching the news.
Now they're talking about the abortion ban on the news. Fan-frickin-tastic. Thank god senior citizen assholes are making decisions for me. I don't think "partial birth abortions" are a good idea, and can be avoided nearly all of the time and that has nothing to do with the ban. The ban is the first step toward banning all abortions and removing rights from women. I can't even describe how baffling it is that humans do not understand equal rights for all people. It's not a difficult concept, Jesus has nothing to do with it, and if you don't agree with someone elses choices then shut the hell up and go make your own choices.
If the future mothers of America don't die in childbirth, not to fear...they can just enroll in college and get shot by someone who doesn't agree with them in art class.

Just my valid and significant opinion.

First of all, I'm sure they did what they thought was right and they couldn't have known what was going to happen. However, I have some thoughts.

My nagging common sense seems to think that when someone kills two people in a dorm an initial action would be to shut down campus. I'll be the first to say that I don't know all or even most of the details of the shooting situation but no additional facts change my opinion in that fact. This is a superb example of humans relying on technology, and this time it resulted in death.

Here's the situation: A couple students get shot. Let's send an email.

You're kidding me right? If there was a killer running amok in the Fort Hays dorms I would not go to class and I would sure as hell not want to rely on an email to give me this kind of information. I want guys and gals in uniforms with flashing lights. I want them at every building telling students to get off campus or to lock themselves up in their dorms.

I know we're all techno-happy as a society but not everyone has email wired into the brain. Professors have the luxury of having an office where they can more easily get email on campus. Students are in class, in the library, walking to and from class. When exactly are they supposed to check for an email titled Re: Shooting? One student was quoted as saying that these campus official whoevers had "blood on their hands". Since I wasn't getting shot at I aviod taking it that far but I agree with him in sentiment. You close campus, period. Don't rely on phone calls and emails, just keep people out of the buildings in the first place. He locked them in before he started shooting. I'm sure he was thankful for the convenience of everyone still being on campus.

I hope that if nothing else universities look over their crisis "plans" and do it with a little bit of common sense. Or here's an idea--ASK THE STUDENTS. I wouldn't be all that surprised if that didn't happen in the planning stage. (Most likely after 9/11.)

Consider you are the person in charge of notifying people of this kind of event and think about this-- if your kid was on campus would you send them a fucking email to warn them that their classmates are being shot? I don't think so.

And just so it's said I would like to point out that the psycho was a senior English major. See what happens when we don't foster creativity? It moves off the page if one is disturbed enough to take it there. He was crazy, but I still think it's an issue.

Soccer Season

Yesterday the boys had their first games of the season. They should have started weeks ago but Mother Nature wasn't feeling like soccer at the time.

Tanner has played for several seasons, and is all over the soccer thing. He's often been one of the best on his team, but he's going to have to work a little harder this time since he's a growth spurt behind a few of his teammates. Playing on a bigger field also makes a little guy kinda tired, even for a Destroyer. (Tanner's team is the Destroyers...naturally.)

This is Jordan's first time playing soccer and his games are much different than Tanner's games. Jordan's games resemble a cartoon more than soccer. Jordan turned 5 in February so most of his teammates are probably around the same age, they are the Flying Frogs. They dance, and spin, and fall, and hop, and run just to run. They huddle together like they are magnetically connected to each other. They move like a school of fish, and kick wildly in any direction. When not doing any of those things, they stand still and stare off into the distance until they are pummeled by the rest of the team that doesn't realize there is a person standing in their way. Many goals are by accident, but they are celebrated all the same.

Excluding the occasional ball-to-the-face everybody seems to have a good time. Jordan likes to run, and even if he never lays a foot on the ball (which is somewhat possible) at least he's enjoying the wind in his hair.

Friday the 13th

You'll notice that I have a picture of Michael here and not Jason. That's simply because MICHAEL COULD KICK JASON'S ASS!!

I just watched Friday the 13th, part 1 and 2, and was nearly bored to tears. That's always unfortunate plus I was terribly disappointed. It's Jason! Isn't he supposed to be scary or something? Blood and death, a scary movie does not make. Nothing happens in the movie. People run and scream at the end but it's supposed to be thrilling to get there. Not LAME.

With all that said, I will still watch #3-10 and most likely Freddy Vs. Jason. The hockey mask comes about in #3 so I have a little more faith in that one. And, surprise, surprise, someone is remaking the original. Supposedly it will come out this year.

Though I haven't seen them all yet, I feel that I can safely say-- I'm sorry Jason but I'll take Michael and his sister over you and your crazy mother any day. I wish you luck with your remake.

Pope says evolution can't be proven - Yahoo! News

What? SCIENCE has unnecessarily narrowed humanity's view of anything??? Says the friggin' POPE?? Wow.
Does he even know what his "job" is?? Maybe he's unsure of what science is.


BERLIN - Benedict XVI, in his first extended reflections on evolution published as pope, says that Darwin's theory cannot be finally proven and that science has unnecessarily narrowed humanity's view of creation.
Pope says evolution can't be proven - Yahoo! News

Movie: GRINDHOUSE + a few others

Grindhouse AKA Planet Terror, and Death Proof. Between the two they have Rose McGowan, Kurt Russel, Bruce Willis and some other cool people and lots of so-so actors.

If you don't know about Grindhouse I'm going to wager you won't want to see it. It's a horror double feature, which was a brilliant idea.

Some of you know I have issues with Quentin Tarantino (being that I don't like his movies) so I thought I would give him another chance. Planet Terror is a Robert Rodriguez film (who I'm not totally in love with either) and Death Proof is Quentin's film.

Rodriguez has totally redeemed himself and I'm sorry I ever doubted him. He is clearly a disturbed and horrible human being and I love him for it. Planet Terror is the funniest, most disgusting movie I have ever seen. I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that was quite so much fun. The guys in the theatre losing their minds made it all the more entetaining. I thought one of them was going to laugh himself into a stroke. I've never seen anything so wrong in my life. It's what I've been waiting for. I've been searching for the perfect horror movie and I might have just found it. Along with Rodriguez, I now fully appreciate the talents of Rose McGowan. She is brilliant. I had no idea. Everything was perfect from beginning to end.

And for Death Proof, the Q man...well I still can't say he's in the clear with me but he has improved his spot on the list for sure. Death Proof is not NEARLY the entertainment powerhouse that Planet Terror is but it has it's good points. There's almost 2 mini-movies in Death Proof. The beginning of #1 is boring, but the conclusion is brilliant. (Which means it was disgusting and horrible.) Then we move on to scenaio #2 and it's boooorrring for quite a while, then it's fun, then the last 2 minutes makes the whole damn thing worth it. The dude mentioned above that I thought was going to injure himself was jumping up and down losing his mind by the end of the movie. I will say for Q, he knows how to end a movie.

Aside from the boring stuff Kurt Russell is hillarious. I didn't know he still had it in him.

The "missing reel" trick is hillarious and well utilized.

Now that I know what comes at the end I would gladly sit through the boring stuff again and again. Honestly if Death Proof was as good as Planet Terror I think theatre dude might have needed oxygen.

So I gave Q another chance and it paid off. He can give his friend Robert a lot of credit for that but I'm glad I did it. As I was walking out of the theatre behind the rowdy boys one of them said, "What did I just see?!?" Q would have been so proud.

Blood Stains, starring no one.

Dumbest movie ever. There is no friggin blood, it's so stupid. I can't believe someone made this piece of crap.

Wishmaster 1 & 2, starring...that dude who plays the Wishmaster.

These were an awful lot of fun. They were better than they look like they would be. They were cheesy and silly, don't get me wrong but there was gore and a monster thing (djinn). The guy is very creepy, and I like him a lot. Not the best but fun for me. I'd watch them again.

Feast, starring Henry Rollins, Balthazar Getty and no one else you'd know by name.

It's bloody, it's gory, it's gross, and wrong, and funny. This was a Project Greenlight film (the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon search for new movie makers) and it shows because there's quite a few original ideas in there. The way they introduce the characters is excellent. It sets up the whole vibe of the movie. It's the people vs monsters story. People in a bar, monsters outside. Monsters want to eat people. It's good fun.

Beyond Re-Animator, starring the guy from the first one.

The guy, West, is now in jail and it makes for a ridiculous setting for more Re-Animator fun. Prison is a really fun place to have undead zombie types running around. Surprisingly good for a sequel. I was expecting the worst, and not the good kind. It's also gross and terrible and disturbing. It is a nice follow-up to the first one. I'm pretty sure there's another one, I guess it comes after this one. The Bride of Re-Animator.

Movie Reviews Gone Wild

The Hitcher starring Sean Bean.

Totally worth seeing for me. Sean is a bad ass and someone gets pulled apart by trucks. Awesome. If you hear that and don't go "COOL!" then I wouldn't recommend it.

The Queen, starring Helen Mirren.

Helen IS the Queen. She won an Oscar for a very good reason. The movie doesn't sound all that great if you don't care much about the Queen, but it's more than that. It really shows that she's a person, and not just a Queen. You'll think of her in a whole different way. And the Queen Mum is pretty funny. If you're at all interested in politics and the nastyness of the public mob then I think you would like it.

Number 23, starring Jim Carrey and that awful blonde woman.

Fun, but completely absurd. I was impressed by Jim the movie just could have been better. I liked the story though. Not bad for a weekend rental or something, but not a must-see.

300, starring Gerard Butler and David Wenham.

Totally f*$&in' awesome. One of the coolest movies I've seen....ever. The CGI is awesome and the dudes run around in their underwear. It is seriously an all around excellent movie. And yes it's kind of bloody, it's about Spartans and war for Pete's sake.

Now for the old ones....

How to Murder Your Wife, starring Jack Lemmon.

Very bizarre, but entertaining. It's pretty unique. Jack Lemmon is fun even though he's an idiot. The whole movie is extremely sexist from both sides but that's kind of the point.

A Bucket of Blood, starring no one anyone would know.

Strange movie. It's a great horror premise it's just in a cheap movie. Decent enough to watch though.

Anchors Aweigh, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.

Excellent fun. Frank is a wee thing and just so cute. It's a classic that one must see at some point to feel complete. They even spoofed it on Family Guy so it must be good.

Some Came Running, starring Frank, Dean Martin, and Shirley Maclaine.

It's pretty depressing but Frank is there, Dean is there and Shirley is adorable. I'd watch it even if it sucked.

On the Town, starring Gene and Frank.

It's Anchors Aweigh the rough draft. Watching Gene do anything is enjoyable.

Phantasm, starring unknown people. (And Angrus Scrimm.)

Not too bad actually.... Really lame horror with really dumb stuff and weird people. But The Tall Man is cool and the people are actually likeable for some reason. It's adaquately scary when watched right before bed. Not at all terrifying, but it's memorable.

Hellraiser, starring Pinhead of course.

Disturbing for all kinds of reasons and I'd totally watch it again. It's so lame that it's almot awesome. The lady in the 80's attire is almost as scary as the guy with no skin.

Notorious, starring Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains and Cary Grant.

Pretty typical spy movie I think. It moves a bit slow but it's another classic. It's worth watching if you care about such things. And it's Ingrid and Carey, that's like Gene and Frank. You just watch it.

Frankenstein, starring Robert De Niro, Helena Bonham Carter, and Kenneth Branaugh.

Oh yeah, and Pinto from Animal House. Because we can definitely take him seriously.

The movie was pretty cool. It's very different from the old one, but it's a nice update. It shows a different, more sophisticated, version of Frankenstein but he's just as sad as Boris was in the original. Kenneth walks around without his shirt on for a while so that's pretty cool.

Ocean's 11, starring Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, and Joey.

Of course I've seen it before but I just watched it again recently.

It's such a brilliant movie. The new guys are alright lads but even they can't compare.

Noises Off, starring John Ritter, Michael Caine, Carol Burnette, Christopher Reeve and several other people.

I've seen this one before too but I just love the movie. It's hillarious and if you think about it it's extremely impressive that they got all those people to do all of that stuff. John Ritter is my favorite character and he doesn't ever say anything of any use. But that's why he's funny. It's like a prolonged Three Stooges skit. It's brilliant.

Mighty Aphrodite, starring Mira Sorvino and Woody Allen.

Much better than I thought it would be. I quite liked it. Both Woody and Mira both somehow seem charming and kind of pitiful. The use of the chorus adds a lot to the movie. Nobody else has ever done anything like that on film before. It's a stage thing. It's worth seeing if you haven't.

When Harry Met Sally, starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal.

Also better than I thought it would be. Lovely, charming little movie. Everyone is young and adorable.

Penny Serenade, starring Cary Grant.

It's construction is ok, but it's terribly depressing.

His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant.

It's supposed to be super funny, it doesn't quite get there though. It's a bit too much crazyness. It's fun but not as good or as funny as it could have been. Wonderful banter, but I need more than that.

Pal Joey, starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak.

Frank and two ladies, what a surprise. The movie is awesome of course, but it's not all that believable. I'd take Kim over Rita any day. I don't see the issue here... Classic Frank though.

2001: A Space Odyssey, starring the talking computer.

I was fully impressed. I was bored at the same time but I couldn't stop watching. I think that if they made it now it wouldn't look any better than the original does. Genius camera work and the computer is pretty cool. The whole thing is just really well done, classis sci-fi. Don't watch if you have vertigo issues. It made me dizzy.

Nanny McPhee, starring Emma Thompson and Coin Firth.

Bad kids learn a lesson, Emma gets pretty, bad kids become good kids. It's pretty entertaining actually. Everyone gets what they deserve in the end. If that's your cup of tea then you can give this a try. The colors in the film are quite effective. I don't know why they did it but it has a very cool look. It's a little Lemony Snicket-ish. Nanny McPhee is like the count's nice sister.

The Book

The Book has been updated.
http://www.geocities.com/kathayj/TheBook.html

Thoughts about writing.

This is a passage from my Texts and Contexts book from Lit. Analysis:

If a writer at The New Yorker can't always tell whether a sentence is right or wrong--if in fact the rules of writing are so complex that not even three people in America "can set down a simple declarative sentence correctly"--then how is a college student to feel? If a grown man and an established writer is weeping onto his desk blotter and considering revising his name, then how can the ordinary student hope to write an error-free paper--especially when the rules seem to apply in one case and not in another, and the rules for determining such exceptions don't seem to exist but are instead invented and applied by those who happen to be in charge? Writing becomes a nightmare.

I couldn't have described my last year of english classes any better.

Controversial columnist draws fire for gay slur - Yahoo! News

Controversial columnist draws fire for gay slur - Yahoo! News

I've said it before and I'll say it again:
I really, really hope someone kills her. The terrorists could take a break with all the kidnapping of innocent people and they can have her. Chop her head off, blow her up, whatever. She's no good to anyone.

Movie Reviews Galore

These are some of the films I've been watching. (I wrote a paper on horror movies, thus the genre overload.) Just thought I'd update you.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). silent German horror classic about a somnambulist. Pretty interesting for a silent film.

Dracula (1931), starring Bela Lugosi. So cool. I'll quote myself from an essay, "Lugosi is so graceful almost to the point of seeming delicate. " Watch it.

Frankenstein (1931), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), starring Boris Karloff. Fantastic. Boris is perfect, he's so good you feel sympathy for the monster.

Freaks (1932). One of a kind classic horror. There has never been another movie like it and there probably never will be. As someone said on the special features, anyone who sees Freaks remembers it forever.

Cat People (1942). It's the cat persons answer to werewolves. It's decent, but not as good as it could have been. The lady is adorable.

House of Usher (1960), based on Poe's story and starring Vincent Price. Vincent + Poe = good standard horror.

Night of the Living Dead (1968). Zombies are wonderful. It's the mother of all future zombie movies.

Rosemary's Baby (1968), starring Mia Farrow. It's not as scary as I thought it would be. Mia is adorable as always. It's a classic, sure, but I don't know if it was worth divorcing Frank over.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977). I assume the new one is better. This is amusing enough to watch but really lame.

Re-Animator (1985). Gross beyond reason. Killer zombie-cat is something worth seeing, though maybe not for the sensitive cat people. And if you don't want to see a detached head attacking a naked woman then this isn't the movie for you. However, if you see the disturbing humor in that, then by all means go rent it. I'd watch it again, but I need my pals with me to make fun of it. It's so wrong.

Willard, starring Crispin Glover. He's kind of becoming one of my heroes. He's so cool. He's can be sweet and adorable and psychotic all at the same time. Very Norman Bates. This movie overflows with rats and it's creepy, but I liked it.

Slither, starring Nathan Fillion. It's brilliant and it's gross. It's not quite up to Shaun of the Dead status, but it's still hillarious. If you like Nathan Fillion, the special features are a must to watch.

That's all for horror.

The Producers (new), starring Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Will Ferrell, and Uma Thurman. I haven't seen the original yet, but this one was pretty funny. You can smell the aura of Mel Brooks on it. Plus there's singing and dancing which is always fun.

Paper Moon (1973), starring Ryan and Tatum O'Neil. This is the big movie here in Hays because it was filmed in this area and you can see our own Main St. in one scene. Tatum is very cute and it has a pretty nice story. It's a whole father/daughter thing that I don't get, but it's cute anyway.

The Philadelphia Story (1940), starring Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Katherine Hepburn. This movie is a classic and it's hillarious. I have decided that Jimmy should always be drunk in movies, especially if Cary Grant is around. One of the funniest scenes I've seen in a long time involves those two.

High Society (1956), starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Grace Kelly. When I got this I had no idea that it was a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story. It's not the same, but it's still great because, hello, Frank and Bing. Louis Armstrong has a fun role too.

On the Town (1949), starring Frank, and Gene Kelly. Obviously anything with those two is worth watching. Frank is all young and adorable and I could watch Gene Kelly do anything all day.

Harvey, starring Jimmy Stewart. I remember watching this when I was little and of course it's cool because there's a giant invisible rabbit. Watching it now is different though. Almost everyone in the movie is a horrible person except for Elwood (Jimmy). The women should all be killed so they stop whailing and being pathetic. But it's still Harvey. It's a classic, you gotta watch it.

1941, "starring" Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Christopher Lee, and a handful of others from the SNL-type posse. Worst should-have-been-funny movie I have ever seen. It's worth watching for one scene...Dan Aykroyd with pantyhose on his head. There's maybe 30 minutes (out of the 2 and a half horrible hours) that's worth watching. I actually fast forwarded through a good bit of the second half because I couldn't take it anymore. Warren Oates, and Robert Stack make it even more tragic because they could have been awesome in a really funny movie but when Airplane, Stripes, and Animal House all get together they come up with a mentally handicapped child.

Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, starring Steve Coogan. There's a bunch of cameos in here of some great people that I know and love and you probably wouldn't recognize. It was an OK movie. It should have been better with all the excellent comics they had but it gets a bit tiresome after a while. Not the worst ever, but quite disappointing.

"Little Britain", (TV). If you don't like BOTH Monty Python AND The Office (UK) then this might be a bit much for you. I think it's brilliant. It's that kind of humor where you beg them to stop because it's painfully irritating. It's very Python, but more updated. Anthony Head is a highlight of the show, no question.

Me, Me, Me

I discovered long ago that students are assholes. Some of you may be special, but not really in a good way. You're going to be really special in 30 years when you have an outline of a cellphone on your over-tanned face. I look forward to that. It's not goals that make students self-centered, it's just that we're so delicate. Oh you can do anything you want Johnny and Sally, just be better than everyone else and we'll still love you. And here's a car, and a cell phone, and why don't we do to the Gap while were out? Make sure you're mean to the kids who are less fortunate than you today! And certainly don't have any opinions of your own, that'll get you thrown in the pit. But find a way to be disrespectful to someone that doesn't deserve to be treated like crap.
(That last one is more for professors than students. Some of them are just as pathetic, usually only the men though.)
Thanks for making the rest of us look like crap you spoiled morons.


Study: College students more narcissistic By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer
Tue Feb 27, 12:32 AM ET

NEW YORK - Today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.

"We need to stop endlessly repeating 'You're special' and having children repeat that back," said the study's lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. "Kids are self-centered enough already."

Twenge and her colleagues, in findings to be presented at a workshop Tuesday in San Diego on the generation gap, examined the responses of 16,475 college students nationwide who completed an evaluation called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory between 1982 and 2006.

The standardized inventory, known as the NPI, asks for responses to such statements as "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," "I think I am a special person" and "I can live my life any way I want to."

The researchers describe their study as the largest ever of its type and say students' NPI scores have risen steadily since the current test was introduced in 1982. By 2006, they said, two-thirds of the students had above-average scores, 30 percent more than in 1982.

Narcissism can have benefits, said study co-author W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia, suggesting it could be useful in meeting new people "or auditioning on 'American Idol.'"

"Unfortunately, narcissism can also have very negative consequences for society, including the breakdown of close relationships with others," he said.

The study asserts that narcissists "are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors."

Twenge, the author of "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before," said narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others.

The researchers traced the phenomenon back to what they called the "self-esteem movement" that emerged in the 1980s, asserting that the effort to build self-confidence had gone too far.

As an example, Twenge cited a song commonly sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques" in preschool: "I am special, I am special. Look at me."

"Current technology fuels the increase in narcissism," Twenge said. "By its very name, MySpace encourages attention-seeking, as does YouTube."

Some analysts have commended today's young people for increased commitment to volunteer work. But Twenge viewed even this phenomenon skeptically, noting that many high schools require community service and many youths feel pressure to list such endeavors on college applications.

Campbell said the narcissism upsurge seemed so pronounced that he was unsure if there were obvious remedies.

"Permissiveness seems to be a component," he said. "A potential antidote would be more authoritative parenting. Less indulgence might be called for."

The new report follows a study released by UCLA last month which found that nearly three-quarters of the freshmen it surveyed thought it was important to be "very well-off financially." That compared with 62.5 percent who said the same in 1980 and 42 percent in 1966.

Yet students, while acknowledging some legitimacy to such findings, don't necessarily accept negative generalizations about their generation.

Hanady Kader, a University of Washington senior, said she worked unpaid last summer helping resettle refugees and considers many of her peers to be civic-minded. But she is dismayed by the competitiveness of some students who seem prematurely focused on career status.

"We're encouraged a lot to be individuals and go out there and do what you want, and nobody should stand in your way," Kader said. "I can see goals and ambitions getting in the way of other things like relationships."

Kari Dalane, a University of Vermont sophomore, says most of her contemporaries are politically active and not overly self-centered.

"People are worried about themselves — but in the sense of where are they're going to find a place in the world," she said. "People want to look their best, have a good time, but it doesn't mean they're not concerned about the rest of the world."

Besides, some of the responses on the narcissism test might not be worrisome, Dalane said. "It would be more depressing if people answered, 'No, I'm not special.'"

Movie Reviews

Little Miss Sunshine
Starring Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, and some kids you don't know.
The movie is a little slow getting started and the people are all completely mental. It develops into a nice line of comedic moments and some serious stuff which they turn into comedy. It's totally worth watching in the end. My specific favourite moment has to do with the car horn...anyone that remembers my blue Honda might know why that is.

Night at the Museum
Starring Ben Stiller, Dick Van Dyke, Robin Williams, Mickey Rooney, Ricky Gervais, and Owen Wilson.
This got harsh reviews from critics and I can only assume it's from their ritual loss of a sense of humor. It's not sophisticated and it's not supposed to be. When you have a movie with teeny tiny cowboys and a t-rex skeleton that plays fetch you should really know what you're getting into. It's a history-comes-to-life-and-goes-completely-insaine sort of story.
I would definitely go see this again, I thought it was great. It's a good silly/family movie. Ben Stiller is an idiot, that's part of the charm. Several of the story lines could have been done away with if necessary but it all works out just fine. If nothing else, stay long enough into the credits to see Dick Van Dyke get down with his bad self. It's as funny as the rest of the movie.

Eragon
Starring Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Robert Carlyle. (There's others but they aren't "stars".)
Oh Eragon, I had such high hopes for you. I hear the movie is insulting if you've read the book, which I haven't. I say it's a very nice outline for a real movie. It jumps from event to event with very little connecting them in between. It's over too quickly with not enough development of any of the characters.
However the dragon is adorable, the boys are adorable, and it's pretty. The big plus for me was Robert Carlyle. He's very cool and could have been cooler...just like everyone else in the movie. It felt like they ran out of time and finished things the night before so they could turn it in on time. I hope they learn their lesson if they are going to continue with these movies.

Movie: Casino Royale

Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, and Eva Green.

001. I've seen it twice and I'll see it again.

002. Daniel Craig is SO Bond it's ridiculous, he was made for this movie. Also, he's hot.

003. Villain with an inhaler? Questionable, and kind of funny, but at least he has a physical deformity to make up for that weird detail. Plus he's also hot in real life, not so much in the movie though.

004. Bond girl--I've seen better.

005. Definitely flawed, and a bit too drawn out at the end but awesome all the same. This was close, but the next one should be Bond at its best.

006. A card game has never been so thrilling.

007. The best moment is the very last shot in the movie, and the torture scene is my favourite torture scene of all time. It's fantastic.

Movie: Happy Feet

Starring the voices of- Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, and Britney Murphy.

Oh-so-cute baby penguins. Dancing and singing penquins at that.
The movie is full of wonderful messages that we must teach with animals since we don't accept humans as they are. Humans, it seems, are not cute enough to provoke an emotional response from other humans. Nor is the planet.

I saw the movie twice and I'd see it again. The kids love it, the sounds of little tapping feet could be heard throughout the theatre during half of the movie.
It gets very sad and dark in the middle--that's where we learn our lesson. Go see the movie and learn about love, friendship, acceptance, and being environmentally friendly.

Penguins sing Queen. If you won't go see it for that, then I don't know what else I could possibly tell you.

I'm not hot, but....hello? Hello? Anyone there?

You mean you can be fat AND happy? Hmm...weird. I just assumed that you should be ashamed of yourself for being unworthy of skinny respect. Well, way to go! You just keep your head up fatty. You're so brave. ("Fat" of course means anyone that looks like they've ever eaten bread. Most people would call it "normal", but that's a bit of a stretch I'm afraid.)

Tonight's episode of Cold Case was about a suave (hot) guy who scams undesirable women. He finds fat women, charms them because they are desperate, and then he steals all their money. Later on he starts marrying them and killing them, he makes more money that way.
This show brought to mind the fact that skinny girls and fat girls are from completely alternate universes. Though us fat girls are superior to skinny girls in several ways, we will always be generally defective. There are fat girls that are just as pretty as skinny girls, but skinny is still skinny; it's what society prefers.
There's this emphasis on "real beauty" and whatnot lately. That's lovely and all but they're just frosting the cake to feed to the over-eaters. It doesn't actually mean anything. It just makes people feel better. It's like when they put minority, handicapped children in catalogs. It looks nice. Have a look around...I don't see any fat, hispanic, wheelchair bound, women on TV. I see girls with shiny hair, flawless skin, and pointy shoes, wearing a size 4. None of my friends look like that.
I suggest a girl who is maybe a giant size 12, with uncooperative hair, tennis shoes, and jeans. What's wrong with normal? There are a few TV females with personality, but they go overboard. If she doesn't look like the pointy-shoed types then she's a nut case. But hey she's quirky!
I will say this--the quirky ones and the pointy-shoes with all their lip gloss tend to be somewhat smart. So, we are women, we are judged on our looks but at least the men and television show writers now achnowledge that we do have brains. Isn't that sweet of them.

Movie: Stranger Than Fiction

Starring- Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Queen Latifah.

Well, it's funny. I saw it last night at 7:05 and I'm still thinking about it. It's not rolling-in-the-isles funny, it's more like huh... funny. All the characters are ACTUAL characters. They are all bizarre people, who live in their own little worlds.
Will Ferrell is not Will Ferrell in this movie if that is of concern to anyone.
While watching this movie I was sort of wondering what the point was but once you get to the end--you smile. I gave it a B+ (Memorable) rating on Yahoo, but I think it could even get an A for sheer creative amusement. I definitely want to see it again--it's one of those that I really feel I need to see again to properly understand.
If you don't want to pay for the theatre, then at least rent it when it comes out. It has a very interesting after-taste.
I almost forgot to mention the fun song at the end of the credits. I believe it's called "Love You", and it's a little bit terrific.

Academic Rant

So here's the thing...all* of my English teachers are so pompous and arrogant it makes me kind of want to kick them.
Do they not realize how utterly ridiculous they sound? Not just English profs of course, I'd say a majority of professors are like this. At least the men are. The women tend to be much better about not sounding like complete fools.
Professor A: If something is not academic then it automatically has less value than something that is academic. If he thinks it's a good idea then it's a good idea. If he thinks it's a bad idea then it's a bad idea. So out of touch with anything non-academic that I think he might actually be crazy.
Professor B: So-called grammatical errors can be "bad form". Grammar is life, it matters so much to the harmony of life. Does he realize how ridiculous this sounds?? Because I do! Decent grammar is nice, but when you think the placement of a comma is of the highest importance then you are an idiot. (I do realize what you do for a living by the way. :) But I'm speaking of the academic side of this crap. Totally overdone.)
One prof likes things one way and another likes them different. These guys cannot actually keep themselves from saying some haughty remark, or huffing in a disapproving way to illustrate that they think that other prof is silly.
Question: Who the fuck cares?
The whole point of any of this is to be able to successfully communicate something (thought, idea, whatever) to someone else and have them understand. I am perfectly capable of doing that without all my commas accounted for.
I can articulte and explain a good many things to more people than many of my "lettered" professors. You may know big words, and you may know when to use who and whom but no one wants to listen to someone who thinks they are smarter than everyone else.

(* By all, I mean most.)

Update: The Book

The Book is updated. Lots of new and exciting stuff!
Check it out.

http://www.geocities.com/kathayj/TheBook.html

Happy Guy Fawkes Day! Give a penny for the Guy.

"The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain."
~V~

Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot.

I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

And the rest of the poem:
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,'Twas his intent.

To blow up the King and the Parliament.

Three score barrels of powder below.

Poor old England to overthrow.

By God's providence he was catch'd,

With a dark lantern and burning match
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, let the bells ring

Holloa boys, Holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip Hoorah !Hip hip Hoorah !

A penny loaf to feed ol'Pope,

A farthing cheese to choke him.

A pint of beer to rinse it down,

A faggot of sticks to burn him.

Burn him in a tub of tar,

'Burn him like a blazing star.

Burn his body from his head,

Then we'll say: ol'Pope is dead.

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Goverments should be afraid of their people."
~V~