Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Jimmy Swaggart on David Letterman?
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Politics of Superheroes
With the recent worldwide release of the new Christopher Nolan film "Batman: The Dark Knight" during an election year perhaps it was inevitable that people would start to make something political out of a superhero movie.
According to Screengrab ( a movie blog edited by friends of mine), right-wing thriller writer Andrew Klaver publicly compared the Batmeister to our 'budala' (that's the Turkish word for idiot) president George W. Bush because Batman went all out to fight the Joker (whom Klaver compared to Osama), the ACLU be damned. But, as Scott Von Doviak of Screengrab pointed out, Batman did not quit pursuing Heath Ledger a few minutes into the film!
Nevertheless, this gives me a chance to purely speculate on the politics of not only Batman but other superheroes (oh, forgot to mention that Democratic Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont has a cameo in the new Batman, hmmmm....").
'Course, we will only speculate on American comic book heroes. Since both Lucky Luke (pictured) and Asterix are French, we will assume they are both socialists. (But, wait a minute, Lucky Luke is a cowboy........?).Bloggers Will Forbis (swingmachine) and Pab Sungenis (democraticunderground) have made these assumptions before, but of course, my guesses are as good as their's. Right?
Libertarians:
Howard the Duck
Conan the Barbarian
Independent:
Batman (has all the traits of a Republican according to Sungenis, but there is his questionable relationship with Robin)
Vampirella (the closest thing to a comic book porn queen!)
Democrats:
Spiderman
Wolverine
The Punisher
Wonder Woman
The Black Panther
Blade
Daredevil
Deadpool
Hellboy
Superboy (like me, he probably rebels from his conservative dad)
Batgirl
Green Arrow
Plastic Man
Too Much Coffee Man (created by my Facebook friend Shannon Wheeler)
Republican:
Hulk
Captain America
Superman
G.I. Joe
Iron Man
Richie Rich
And, lastly, gay Republican:
The Mighty Thor
(I noticed the image of Thor doesn't appear on theblog.......ay karamba!)
Useful Links:
http://www.swingmachine.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com
http://www.nerve.com/cs/blogs/screengrab/default.aspx
http://www.tmcm.com
Olympics Gymnastics Montage
Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be here in a matter of days, I thought I would add some Youtube videos of past and present Olympic gymnasts.
I start with some scenes of the highly controversial 1936 Berlin Olympics in which gymnastics was performed outdoors. These Olympics are currently the subject of a very moving exhibit that I saw at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, back in late May. The exhibit is still up, and is running until Aug. 24.
The second video is from my all-time favorite gymnast Svetlana Boginskaya, aka The Belarusian Swan. She was competing here for the USSR at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. She would also compete in 1992 and 1996. Boginskaya was still performing gymnastics at age 25 in 1998. At last report, I heard she was living in Houston with her family.
The third video is from Yvonne Tousek. She is competing herefor Canada at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She would later compete for UCLA. I had the chance to meet her during an NCAA regional meet in Raleigh. Tousek now performs with Cirque du Soleil.
And, lastly, I posted a video from current U.S. Olympian Alicia Sacramone, who was up until recently competing for Brown University. Sacramone has been a competitive international gymnast for quite some time.
The Beijing Olympics, which might be the most political games since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, should be quite interesting.
Former Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek has asked Olympic athletes to help China recognize that it must stop supporting economic ties with the Sudanese government which is responsible for the genocide in Darfur.
There is also the ugly matter of Tibet, and China's own highly controversial human rights record, which at one point included executing individuals for political disobedience.
And, a recent article in "The New Yorker" stated that the outside pressures on China to conform to western standards (as well as the protests in Europe over Tibet) has lead to a nationalist movement there, particularly among young people.
I sympathize with the Chinese people as I realize they do not want to arbitrarily feel excluded from the rest of the world. But, at the same time, there are legitimate reasons why outside pressure must be placed on the country, including China's problems with pollution and child labor laws.
But, Chinese young people are opening up to western rock artists, including The Rolling Stones, Linkin Park and The Yea Yea Yeas.
One can certainly say it is a complicated issue, as China is fast becoming the world's main global economic power.
The games get underway on Aug. 8
Useful Links:
http://ushmm.org (Holocaust Museum site)
http://www.intlgymnast.com
http://www.collegegymfans.com
http://www.newyorker.com
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Poll- Which Would You Prefer for Breakfast?
I must profess now that I am back in Bushland, I have come to miss Turkish tea a lot!
While I was in the Republic of Erdogan* (Turkey), I had come to miss Life cereal. I believe I shocked my friend Tom Angleberger who may have asked me what I missed most about America while I was overseas (I have been very sleepy for the last few days, so my apologies to Tom if he actually asked me something else!).....when I said Life cereal and my cat Gizmo (the cat who is pictured here is not Gizmo....as a concerned parent, I must protect his privacy and tell him to quit eating wild rabbits.)
So, I am thus asking all five people who read this blog if they would prefer to have Life cereal or the usual Turkish breakfast which usually consist of black olives and feta cheese.
I hope one can answer this question without concern for what one might think of their patriotism. I imagine some Turkish people would prefer cereal....they sell Corn Flakes over....and some Americans, especially those wanting to lose weight, might prefer black olives and feta cheese............
........Well, it's not like I'm asking you to tell me if you're voting for McCain or Obama!
*- Someone I met in Bursa called Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Bush!
Useful Links:
http://riddleberger.wordpress.com/
(Tom's kid lit blog)
http://www.istanbulsweethome.com
Seeing Hancock in English (this time).....
Three weeks ago, I went to the Cinema Azerbaijan in Baku. I couldn't decide between "Hancock" and "Wanted," but the start time for the Will Smith action movie was sooner.
I did not realize that "Hancock" which had a Russian poster (just like the one pictured here) would also be dubbed in Russian!
In Turkey, the films are usually in English with Turkish subtitles though there are some exceptions for children's films, like "Nim's Island."
In Azerbaijan, there are also ushers to show you to your seats and I ended up sitting next to a hot blonde girl in her twenties who (of course!) had an effin boyfriend.
Well, this afternoon, here in Roanoke, I decided to see what "Hancock" was like en Anglais.
Amazingly enough, it is a much funnier, entertaining film when it is in Russian!
Even though I was a bit lost, there was nothing more hysterical than seeing CNN's Nancy Grace (the live-action version of McGruff the Crime Dog), who appears in "Hancock," speak in Russian!
The bad guy who threatens to blow up a bank is also made much more menacing when he sounds like Boris Badinov than he does in the English version.
And, lastly, one is completely unaware of the banal subplots which are happening in the screenplay when it is dubbed in a foreign language. I had no idea that there was 'a history' between Will Smith and Charlize Theron (if you saw the film, you'll know what I mean), and perhaps it would've been just as well if I hadn't known that.
When I saw the film in Baku, it was a full house. The film had just opened simultaneously around the world that week.
Today in Roanoke, I was among three people in attendance for the afternoon matinee. And, a mother and her ten-year-old boy left during the scene where Hancock tosses a beached whale, which was about a half-hour into the movie. So, there I was alone!
I guess the lesson I learned from all this.....if I didn't know it already...it is that the most mundane thing in your native land can be quite intriguing in a foreign country.
A few days later, I had a haircut in Baku. I think I inadvertently told the barber to cut off my head. (I speak Turkish which is quite similar to Azerbaijani, but....).
I'm glad he didn't feel the need to comply.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Bonus Image: The Ferris Wheel of Baku
One of the most fun things I did while I was in Azerbaijan was ride a ferris wheel located within the luna park adjacent to the Caspian Sea in the capital of Baku.
As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I rode the ferris wheel three times.
I even caught a glimpse of two people (a man and his wife, perhaps....) caught 'in the moment.'
I imagine that I would not have witnessed such a thing at the Salem Fair back home in Virginia, but then again maybe I would have..........
Friday, August 1, 2008
Image #10- Beyoglu (Istanbul)
I wrap this "Images of the Trip" series with an enlarged photo of Beyoglu, the artsiest section of Istanbul, known for its street cars and eccentric shops.
I was surprised to come back from the photography shop and realize that I somehow did not take any pictures of Istanbul. Perhaps, it is because it is all too familiar to me. But, if there is an image of the city that always stays with me it is from Beyoglu.
Most folks may prefer a view with the Bosphorous shore, but to me, there is nothing more pleasing to the eye than a snapshot of Beyoglu.
The night I was in Beyoglu (this past Saturday night), many folks were in for the Metallica concert on Sunday. Though the show was overshadowed by a bomb blast in another section of the city, "The Turkish Daily News" reported that the concert brought in over $8 million worth or revenue to Istanbul thanks to additional tourists from Romania, Bulgaria and Greece who came in for the concert.
There are some other images I've found on the net which relate to my trip to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
I will post them when I find the appropriate space for them.
Useful Links:
http://istanbulsweethome.com
http://www.maviboncuk.blogspot.com
http://www.turkishdailynews.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
