And When Did You Last Sing the Songs of Satan?

Filed under:Heh,Religion — posted by Anwyn on January 29, 2009 @ 8:38 am

Rules for Methodist hymnody.

IV. Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.

Ever wondered about the difference between Methodists and Wesleyans, given that both follow the teachings of John “Songs of Satan” Wesley? So have I. Apparently the Wesleyans broke from the Methodists over slavery.

Dick Van Dyke Yarns About Mary Poppins, and Oh Yeah–

Filed under:Good Grief,Movies — posted by Anwyn on January 28, 2009 @ 4:23 pm

…Barack and Michelle are “the black Rob and Laura.”

Groan.

House Republicans Grow a Few Pair

Filed under:Politics — posted by Anwyn @ 4:07 pm

They all vote no on the $800-some-billion leftist slush fund.

Let’s see a repeat performance, Senators.

Sorry, But…

Filed under:Ew,Not Food — posted by Anwyn on January 27, 2009 @ 3:14 pm

“…this is what you get, when you meeessss with uuuuuuusss…”

–Illegal Blowfish Testicles. Can I get a Barry ruling on that?

Via Dude.

Obama Spending Your Money on Global Abortions

Filed under:Abortion,Church of Liberalism,Politics,Priorities,Sad — posted by Anwyn on January 26, 2009 @ 8:23 am

Killing our own babies isn’t enough. We have to make sure that everybody else in the world has access to dead babies as well. Because that’s what it’s about: global fairness and domestic unity. I certainly feel less divided now, don’t you?

I guess now that he’s got the president’s salary and perks, this issue isn’t above his pay grade any more. Whew. Somebody tell Scarecrow the real way to get a brain.

Hey, how about less net spending, Mr. President? Maybe we could stop funding domestic abortions at a slightly higher than 1:1 ratio.

Sour Grapes for Disney?

Filed under:Movies — posted by Anwyn @ 7:38 am

According to Patrick Goldstein at the L.A. Times, the reason Disney pulled out of the making of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was bad blood between them and Phil Anschutz of Walden Media:

According to multiple sources, the once-close relationship between Disney and Walden began to unravel when, after the first “Narnia” film cleaned up at the box office, Anschutz essentially put a gun to Disney’s head and demanded that the studio renegotiate its deal with Walden. Anschutz insisted that Disney either gave back a sizable chunk of the studio’s lucrative distribution fee or Anschutz would distribute the “Narnia” series on his own.

This is the part where I get Blogger’s Swelled Head and assume I could do a better job than this if I could get a call through to any of these people. Did Disney and Walden have a contract? If so, how could Anschutz unilaterally decide to “distribute [Narnia] on his own” without getting sued? And if not, how could it have taken “a gun to Disney’s head” to get them to negotiate non-contracted terms for the next film? “Oh, the film did well–what do you mean you want more favorable terms next time?” Does it sound like somebody at Disney needs to grow up?

Regardless, I hope if Walden’s at fault they’ve learned their lesson for making nice with the next prospective buyers. Because Voyage of the Dawn Treader will, as the Times’s Mary McNamara points out, make a good movie right out of the box, although Goldstein’s numbers worry me a bit–if Caspian cost $225M and Dawn Treader is just as rife with special-effects moments (Eustace and the dragon, the Monopods, the three sleepers, the sea serpent, Aslan’s Country), it’s difficult for this filmmaking ignoramus to see how feasible it is to bring the new one in at $140M. There will also be a new director (Michael Apted), and no screenwriters are attached per IMDb. I hope they keep the overall look, but the script would benefit from some punch. Edmund, in particular, could do with some lines after his morose turn in Caspian.

One Reporter Knows Job; One Cameraman Just Knows Mr. President When He Sees Him

Filed under:Good Grief,Politics — posted by Anwyn on January 23, 2009 @ 7:41 am

Obama expects to “visit” press without taking questions; apparently all oblige him except one.

Asked how he could reconcile a strict ban on lobbyists in his administration with a Deputy Defense Secretary nominee who lobbied for Raytheon, Obama interrupted with a knowing smile on his face.

“Ahh, see,” he said, “I came down here to visit. See this is what happens. I can’t end up visiting with you guys and shaking hands if I’m going to get grilled every time I come down here.”

I wanna be your friend, but if you insist on doing your job attacking me, I can’t be your friend any more.

Obama did reveal a juicy tidbit, however: Incoming press secretary Robert Gibbs “got a fist bump from me” because Obama was just so gosh-darn proud that he survived his first press briefing. Aaaww. See, press? If you be good boys and girls, someday, you might get a fist bump too!

I may hurl. Video at Hot Air.

The Prince Caspian I Never Knew I Always Wanted

Filed under:Movies,Reviews — posted by Anwyn on January 22, 2009 @ 7:14 pm

I saw Prince Caspian last week. For those of you who know me from ye Olde Skool, hold your breath: This purist liked the very altered movie. A lot.

**SPOILERS** for Prince Caspian below. (Oh and by the way, I came across Lost spoilers in the public news-feed area of Facebook today–i.e. somebody in my friends list just plastered spoilers in her status, and when I complained, said that she considered anything fair game after the time of the episode airing. WTF? Unless you have some special powers or access, you can’t possibly possess any spoilers BEFORE it airs, so your breathtaking courtesy in witholding what you don’t have is, shall we say, a little lost. And you really should catch up to the era of TiVo and realize that not even TV Guide puts spoilers into headlines any more, for those of us with a schedule that doesn’t care to adhere to the network’s air time. Thus endeth passive-aggressive rant.)

(more…)

Oh, Puh-Leeze

Filed under:Uncategorized — posted by Anwyn on January 20, 2009 @ 11:52 am

What year is this?

Benediction at Obama ‘s inauguration, Rev. Joseph Lowery

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day

Black will not be asked to get in back;

When Brown can stick around;

When Yellow will be mellow;

When the Red Man can get ahead, man;

And when White will embrace what is right.

That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. Say Amen …

You know, my kid’s sick, we’re just sitting around in our PJs, he’s watching pretty much whatever he wants on TV, which is decidedly not history-making political events. I felt a little bit like a slacker mom for not sitting with him and showing him the peaceful transition of power, the solemn ceremony that makes my eyes fill, the joy and pride I and others have in our nation.

Honestly, I’m really glad I skipped it. “Mommy, what’s a Red Man?”

As Ace says, I’m so glad we’ve moved past race in America. Old black men get a pass because they’re either angry or just old–after all, they lived through it. Well, stuff it. Give them a pass if you want, but not a national stage. Oh, wait, it’s not just old black men–it’s young black women making more money than I ever will, too. Not getting a pass? Black men who want to encourage black men and women to take a stand–it’s the wrong stand, you see.

Congratulations, Mr. President

Filed under:History,Politics — posted by Anwyn @ 11:03 am

I am proud to be an American today, yesterday, last week, four years ago, seven years and four months ago, tomorrow, and forever.

Drama

Filed under:It's My Life,Television — posted by Anwyn on January 19, 2009 @ 11:43 am

I have a sick child and plenty of other family/friend life issues occurring, so blogging is at a low. But I do want to know one thing, spoiler-free, please: With approximately five characters I care about still left identified “human” or at least non-Cylon (Adama, Starbuck, Apollo, Gaeta, and Roslin), why in the world should I bother watching last season and this current, final season of Battlestar Galactica? Come on, my TV peeps, help me out. I suspect disappointment is in my future and would rather not court it by watching.

Whaddaya Say, Joss Fans, Are We “Special?”

Filed under:Not Cool,Television — posted by Anwyn on January 12, 2009 @ 6:41 pm

From interview with Peter Liguori, entertainment chair at Fox:

Is Dollhouse as bad as we are hearing?

Joss Whedon has an unbelievably loyal fan base, and he really knows how to write to that fan base. I expect that they’re going to be there. They’re going to enjoy his show. One of the things about airing on Friday night, a show is not expected to have those boffo ratings.

So you’re not burying him in the Friday graveyard?

No, I’m not burying him in the Friday graveyard. I’m giving him a little bit of a reprieve by being on Friday.

Whew. Nothing like praising a show with faint damns, as Dorothy Sayers would say (yes, it’s Sayers Week here at Chez Anwyn). I’m giving him a little reprieve, to see if there’s any snowball’s chance in hell he can draw in anybody who’s not already in love with either Captain Mal or Eliza Dushku. And if not, then we’ll dump it.

Are people who like Buffy and Firefly completely unreliable indicators of a large enough demographic to keep a show alive? Given the fifth-network treatment of Buffy and Angel and the quick death of Firefly, I’d have to say it seems so. The question would seem to be why? Joss’s shows are about people with somewhat fantastic powers or circumstances (but ultimately still about the human interest), but so are Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. Is the lesson that if it can’t be marketed to children, as well, then the adults of our stripe aren’t enough? Where does that leave Star Wars? I was three when A New Hope came to theaters–I wasn’t buying a ticket.

The only shows I can think of with a Joss vibe lately are Veronica Mars and Chuck. Veronica survived three years in the fifth-network dimension and suffered from a lack of a coherent vision from her creator. Chuck, however, has spent a season and a half on Monday nights, and while not exactly “boffo,” got itself bought for a full-season renewal this year. It’s holding its own. Despite Liguori’s positive spin about the base and Friday night not holding much expectation, let’s not forget what happened to vampire tale Moonlight on Friday nights. No matter what he says, Friday night is a graveyard for ordinary viewers (i.e. anybody not already frantically devoted to a show plus people who don’t like The Ghost Whisperer). It takes a lot of doing and some blind luck to get a show that does well on Fridays. The question is, what will Fox settle for with Dollhouse? Are they okay with it if it comes in a perennial second behind Ghost Whisperer? And if not, look out for the half-season cancellation, Joss fans.

The folks at Whedonesque, of course, have much, much more to say.

“Telling One’s Dreams Is the Last Word in Egotism”

Filed under:It's My Life,Politics — posted by Anwyn on January 11, 2009 @ 4:19 pm

But this one might have some … resonance.

I dreamed that Obama had been elected merely president of my undergraduate university rather than president of the United States. As an “inaugural” stunt, he was behind a counter dealing with a line of students who needed to make financial arrangements for room and board. There were two options: Pay your room and board bills as they became due, or take a “mortgage” on your dorm room–i.e. you could pay after graduation in installments, but with a large interest payment tacked on. My sensible parents, with me in line, told me not to mortgage for the higher interest but said we’d manage to make the payments at their due date.

I also dreamed that when in the room itself, a voice kept telling me to shut the blinds or somebody would shoot me through the open windows, but that every time I turned around, whichever blind I had just shut was open again.

Wonder what that means?


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image: detail of installation by Bronwyn Lace