Republican translation techniques & Congressman Todd Akin

If you're REALLY freaked out about Congressman Akin's idiotic comments about 'legitimate rape' and how women somehow naturally can prevent pregnancy, have you been paying attention to the positions of the Tea Party or the modern Republican Party?

Were you paying attention to when the President of the USA was a freakin' idiot of global embarassment (aka Bush Jr)?  Did you think there was only ONE idiot?  (Or two if you remember Dan Quayle, a former colossally idiotic VP?)

Heard what the Republicans are saying NOW?  I will attempt to translate the Republicans philosophy:
  1. MINE!!
  2. Poor? Sick? You can die.
  3. Gay? Non-Christian? Non-white? Female? You're not equal.
  4. Guns are good, and the USA military should never stop being deployed.
  5. Rich people (and property) should be protected *ALWAYS*.

While this covers most of the Republican talking points, they use spin on a few other topics which may require un-spinning:
  • Trickle Down = the rich get the money, while the rest of us work for the rich.
  • Right to Life = disempower women from control of their bodies, subjugating them to the will of men.
  • Capital Punishment = kill more poor people!
  • Taxes = Stealing MINE! & giving MINE! back without the control of the rich.
  • Charity = the rich giving however much $ they want to whatever projects they choose.
  • Capitalism = a society which safeguards property rights & individual profits.
  • Socialism = sharing for everyone (bad!).  If only rich white folks benefit, it's not socialism.
  • Communism = no private property & shared profits, ie a GODLESS & EVIL society.
  • Free Market = the rich are free to do as they please, and the poor are free to beg "please".
  • Regulation = the rich don't get to do as they please, while the non-rich mess up the 'magical system'.
  • Privatization = all projects in society must extract profits upwards to the rich.
  • Private Property = MINE!  Not yours!  I will decide what to do with MINE!

Dark Knight & A Dark Night

The Dark Knight Rises opening night was marred by a (likely insane) killer shooting an assault weapon in a Colorado movie theater at the audience.

So I have a whole story about my Batman opening night experience -- but gratefully it's nothing that big.
I also have a whole bunch of movie critiques.  Equally 'not that big'.

I don't want some idiot with an assault rifle to hijack my need to comment and critique.  So I'll go ahead anyway, but in the end I'll return to a brief talk about him.

I had a late dinner @ 10pm or so, and as I was driving home around 11pm, I saw the opening.  I thought, 'let me check it out'.  Tons of people were wearing costumes: some Batman inspired, some not, many just funny & weird.  It was excting.  And then I discovered it was completely sold out.  I was about to leave, but a guy walks up and says, "Hey, you want my ticket?  I can't see the show -- I've got a final to study for."  I said sure, the guy ran into the theater, and then minutes later gave me his black wristband.  I walked in showing the wristband, and I was in.

Yep, I got in for free on opening night ~ 5 min's before the first showing.  SO that was *cool*.

Now to the movie.  *SPOILER ALERT* don't read more if you haven't seen & don't want to know yet.

Here we go:

"The autopilot doesn't work" x4
"Only a little kid climbed the wall" and your spine is broken -- oops, you're ok.
"the bomb will go off" ... in 8 months (!!!) - but luckily, with 10 seconds to spare, Batman saves the day.
I'm Batman, I can kick the crap out of hundreds of thugs -- except a girl with a knife...?

I'm Batman -- I can kick the crap out of hundreds of thugs... But a girl with a knife? Ow! I'm stabbed!
I'm Batman -- my spine is busted, would you mind hanging me from a rope & giving me a spinal karate chop? Haya!! Fixed. Thanks.
I'm Batman -- I've got no cartilage, badly healed bones, scar tissue, etc etc. But if I put this leg brace on, I'm fine...!
I'm Batman -- I'll go scare the crap out of baddies -- just let me put this black eye makeup on...
Catwoman -- can beat up tons of guys, but needs Batman b/c ... I didn't really understand what implied motivation was there at all.  And why does he like her?  Isn't she a thief, etc?  That was a bit confusing...
Alfred the Butler -- "I've served you your whole life as Bruce and as Batman, but today I'm quitting because ..." no real reason except to have a fun twist at the end.  Yawn.
The persistent annoying cop -- "My name is blah blah blah", at end a lady asks "why don't you go by your real name?"  B/c it's stupid and I would've gotten teased -- Oh how I'd have loved to have heard that response!  Or at least let him be NightWing & skip ... yech.
Bain -- let's put heavy effects on his voice, then hide his mouth.  Gee, no one can understand his endless pontification?  Is this good b/c the writing is bad?
Bain -- I'm going to leave you here (where, exactly?  Somewhere in a hole), Batman, with a flat-screen and cable TV so you can watch me smash your city, and oops -- there's a convenient healer to take care of your broken spine.  HA HA HA (evil laugh)
Bain -- I'm a big guy, but b/c my master was your master, Batman, I can fight as well as you.  Better even.  Guess you should've used a gun?
Catwoman -- no one can find anything on her, except Batman who can get her info in ~ 5 minutes?
Didn't Bruce Wayne go broke in this film also?  How exactly did that happen again?
And what was with building a nuclear reactor under their reservoir?  Are other companies doing this?!??!

I could say more, b/c I felt that this movie sucked WORSE than the other 2, but that's pretty much enough.

Now to the killer -- there is simply no excuse for opening fire on a room full of theater goers.  Even if the movie has characters who do the exact same thing.  I truly believe that sane folks should not have a problem differentiating films from reality -- but insane paranoid schizophrenics might have a harder time.  Which says to me that so-called "PG" movies with death counts of >100 people may not be good for unbalanced people.
I was saddened and angry that a killer took this stuff seriously -- but I am not running around saying "he is bad" or "he is evil" or anything.  It seems that unstable people who watch violent films might feel like they're getting a message which is encouraging them to do stuff like what's in the movies.  Heck, we already now have real-life 'caped crusaders' running around various cities!!

Re: mars 'Curiosity' -- is nuclear powered?!?

When the media mentioned, in passing only, that the Curiosity will have a nuclear powerplant, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps we have already found life on Mars -- and wish to end it so we can colonize...?

How great!!!  Nukes in space!

And stranger still for a so-called Democracy, we don't vote on this?!?

I also recall the danger of the vehicle crashing on arrival -- how would a crash of a nuclear powered vehicle have affected the Mars environment?


Much love,
- Ari

2012 Stuff - New 'Cassette'

A new compilation of songs, 2012 Stuff! (click link for a 'pop out' player)
Deceptively titled, it's actually a bunch of some of my songs from the last 1-2 years.
Song list:
My Name is REkzkaRZ
Money Stuff
The Night Ari
Attempted Myooseek
Random Song
Two Speeding Tickets
We Make Our World
Who Are They
Meta Metal Strings
Dilemma of the Unanswerable
Joys of Addiction
Push Bump
Instrumental Mental Wage Slaves
Ethereal Tone Swing
Addict Magic
Pure Filtration
Ancient Source

Your feedback is appreciated
You may also notice the same widget is embedded on the right of this blog with some other tapes.  If you click the linked 'title', it should 'pop out' a window which is a player & can run in the background of your other browser pages.  Cool, right?   :)
(The tape cassette widget is from & it's an opensource 'flash widget'.)