Harold and Kumar kick ass

I ended up watching Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay last night, thinking this film would be like many of the other stupid spoof movies i.e. Scary Movie. It wasn't. Harold and Kumar presented themselves as a hybrid of geeks and Beavis and Butthead. I loved how the film played on stereotypes and here are two brief examples, so I don't ruin it.

On their journey, they met Neil Patrick Harris, the actor who played the squeaky, geeky prodigy, Doogie Howser M.D. They're relieved to see him, knowing he will drive them to where they need to go. However, Neil began taking copius amounts of shrooms and began hallucinating through the drive. Although they were shocked by Neil's drug use, their conversations with him on relationships taps into their commonalities. A few great lines Neil uses: "I'm ready to get my fuck on." "I'm ready to rock out with my cock out."

The second meeting is with our former Prez., W. He takes them inside his recreation room where there are cutouts from magazines of naked women hanging on the wall. There's a joint Kumar sees in an ashtray. He asks him why he's hypocritical for smoking it while making it illegal for everyone else. He proceeds to ask Kumar the following: "Let me ask you something Kumar. Do you like giving hand jobs?" "No." "Do you like getting hand jobs?" "Yeah," Kumar responds with a wide-eyed grin. "O.k. Well, that makes you a hypocriticizer." Great Bushism and his grammatically incorrect use of the English language is timeless.

This was one of the best comedic films I've seen in awhile. I highly recommend it.

Liz' 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy

Many people I've been around are easily offended by the smallest of things. Basically, they're just miserable people. Whenever they've tried to lower me to their level, I'm quick to lower them down another notch with sarcasm. This is what you can expect when watching Keith Olbermann's Countdown and how he exposes nutcases every night. Last night, his producers did a reenactment of a woman who let's just say appeared to internally combust at any moment. This is too good for even the most talented comedians to script. Hilarious.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#31435502

Great editorial by Bill Maher slamming Pres. Obama's weakness to appease all

Don't you just love the nonsensical rants Republicans have made recently on health care reform? Here's one I love: We don't want a government bureaucrat getting in the way of a patient and his doctor. Personally, you can fill the room with bureaucrats and while we're at it, you can even have them watch if my doctor uses a surgical instrument to go up my anus. All I care about is that bill I pay at the cashier counter.

You know, I talked with an elderly friend of mine yesterday. He's a self-described Truman Democrat who told me about his recent visit to his doctor. The doctor was incensed that a little money might be taken out of his pocket if this country adopts a government public option plan. This doctor earns about $6 million a year and complained about how much he had to pay for his facility. Tough shit. In many industrialized countries, it's illegal to practice medicine for profit. So, do you want your care provided by someone who is in the profession for the paycheck or someone who truly loves the practice of healing the sick?

This is another unavoidable truth Obama should address and those doctors in the AMA union, think and act just like my elderly friend's doctor. Currently, we're not seeing that aggressive push a majority of Americans are desperately seeking. The longer this push stalls, the more unlikely this will pass Congress.

The banks are another huge problem. I'd love to see the tax money I've paid along with all of you going into real change: firing every son-of-a-bitch in upper management who screwed all of us and their employees. Take Merrill Lynch as an example. They worked the shit out of their employees -- extremely long hours, minimal pay, and gave them a pink slip with minimum compensation. In the meantime, these top execs. walked away with millions before selling off to Bank of America.

Here's Bill Maher's New Rules segment from last Friday's show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVl_oix5MTQ

Climate Change -- More than just rhetoric
"How a nation treats its animals is how a nation deserves to be treated," Gandhi

Some time ago, I was riding in the car with my dad. I looked out the passenger side window and noticed a heavily wooded area had been cleared for development. Another franchised retail outfit was set to be built. This was the last thing this area needed.

"Oh, great. Let's clear more trees for another business we don't need."

"Trees don't grow jobs," he sarcastically replied.

Point well taken. However, there's a flipside to that coin. I'm encouraged when businesses make conscientious efforts to plant trees around its structures. This has a great impact on reducing energy costs. There's another broader issue to this though and it has to do with dominionism. Since the majority of our country still identifies themselves as Christians, I feel dominionism has been perverted over the years.

A parent sends his or her child to school. How do you think this parent wants the child returned? Obviously, you want the child to be returned in the same condition or better than before. This same concept should be applied to nature. What we take away from nature should be returned and restored in as good or better shape than before. This is where the majority of Evangelicals and right-wing chatter boxes love to blame a boogeyman like Al Gore.

I remember being subjected to the numb and dumb talking heads like Neal Boortz and Rush Limbaugh at a few different workplaces. Environmentalism drives them nuts. Take the Alaskan National Wildlife Arctic Refuge (ANWAR) and drilling oil there as an example. They cherry pick this area and say things like, "The environmental wackos are wanting to stop our oil shortages by protecting a bunch of caribou." First and foremost, this argument is literally meaningless. There's much more diverse wildlife there than caribou. Second, studies have shown it would take 50 years in this area to provide us with what we receive on average in one year. Finally, oil drilling is a public health hazard to all wildlife, including us.

I forgive these narrow-minded views to just tear everything down for our own petty interests. Once again, this all stems back to the Reagan era when the Religious Right became empowered and have completely decimated the Separation of Church and State that Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and Roger Williams warned us about; you know, the Founding Fathers. We are and always have been meant to be a secular nation.

The process for Evangelicals who do believe in environmentalism and influencing their fellow believers is a slow, gradual one. It's encouraging to see more and more turn from mocking climate change as a hoax to a crisis needed to be taken seriously. Here's an alarming article by CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/10/climate.change.refugees/index.html

Michael Moore continues to stay ahead of the curve and adding a great video from a recently discovered brilliant director

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore stepped up to the podium to receive his Oscar for Best Documentary, Bowling for Columbine. Instead of the typical speech you hear delivered praising all those surrounding him, he attacked President Bush over our invasion of Iraq. The so-called Hollywood liberals were offended and responded with a chorus of boos. Where was he wrong?

I've enjoyed his documentaries and his most recent one, Sicko, received high praise. There were some broad generalizations made I knew weren't accurate. For example, he walked into a hospital in England where there wasn't a cashier asking for money like our country. He was elated. Their system isn't perfect either and here's why.

There's an ongoing debate in the United Kingdom over prescription drug costs. People who are milking the system and needlessly receiving the drugs are driving costs up for the lower and middle class. They practice that evil SOCIALIZED MEDICINE (translation: the government provides all the plans and options for the people and there isn't a single private company involved). This was really the only qualm I had with the film. Otherwise, he delivered another powerful punch, having those affected by greedy insurers tell their heartbreaking stories.

Moore's latest documentary will expose how our wealthiest top 1 percent literally stole from the rest of us. Some I've spoke to on here are under the impression I'm a hypocrite and yes, I changed my opinion over the first TARP phase for bailing out the banks. Why? Naturally, I didn't read the entire bill. What I did learn from multiple sources was a band aid treatment to the problem. There was still no oversight involved or strings attached to hold these greedy, incompetent buffoons accountable. Here's an article from USA Today on Moore's latest project:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-06-10-michael-moore-inside_N.htm

Check your area for VNV Nation shows at vnvnation.com and what this video says about nature, humanity, and our continuing relationship throughout history with technology for better or worse

There are few bands I've heard who strike the right chords through their music and lyrics that nurture my soul. VNV Nation is one of those special bands. One friend is more open-minded to their sound, while everyone else says, "I'm not into techno." Personally, I really can't pinpoint a genre they represent, and everything I've heard presents different soundscapes.

This particular video was posted with clips from an innovative film director, Ron Fricke. I highly doubt I can check these films out at my local video store or On Demand. Reading up on Fricke, he was praised by one genius director, Francis Ford Coppola, and contributed to one of the Star Wars prequels with legendary director and visionary, George Lucas. I like Fricke's concept to integrate multiple themes in his works, greatness and destructiveness of humanity, and our continued relationship with technology.

VNV Nation will be playing at The Masquerade in Atlanta on July 23. It's in an unsavory part of the city with crack dealers nearby (based on my last experience nearly a decade ago coming from The Afghan Whigs' concert) but uniquely structured in its interior. From the outside, it appears to be an old, rickety three-story building. It was formally used as a firehouse. Once inside, certain rooms still have long, thick wooden beams at ceiling level. The bars have a postmodern appearance with long, glossy countertops and neon lit shelves containing multiple bottles of liquor and mixers. I was impressed and would love to sit down, have a Guiness or two, with these guys. There seems to be common approaches we take on humanity. Trivia question: This female pop artist earns more than any other musician. What video of hers is influenced by Fricke's work? Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUJ6UMhMguY

Change Won't Happen, Unless...

I want world peace. This is the pat statement you typically hear at beauty pageants with no cerebral, analytical details on how to achieve it. Yes, it's been awhile since my last post, and after countless hours spent reflecting and reviewing how to change my life for the better, I still want to refer you to my last post.

You had avant-garde filmmaker David Lynch quote Maharshi by saying forget about watering the leaves, it's the root that needs to be treated. After my nine day stay with family in Nebraska, our dysfunctionality never ceases. One cousin is in the process of losing his wife and four children. Simply, the root is a lack of communication to perfect he and his wife's long-term relationship. There was some crazy drama involved I don't want to delve into.

Here is a list of what I feel needs to be changed:

1.) We need to have a very limited military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. I oppose both of these occupations, because we have approximately 250,000 contractors in these two theaters. Like our country, the predominantly rural areas don't want change. They don't ask for much, receive very little, and are content with their lives. When you intervene with outsourcing to contractors, bombing campaigns where inevitably civilians are severely injured or killed, and expect a steadfast transition to a governing system mirroring ours, we're continuing to spread a wildfire for extremism. We have our own problems with extremism in this country. As my father continues to say, "the data will lead the way." A year or two ago, the Rand Corporation conducted a poll and revealed only seven percent of the time is terrorism defeated through military action. These two endless quagmires have to stop.

2.) True health care reform isn't cowering to the private health insurance companies' recent concessions. I was extremely fortunate to have an outstanding medical and dental plan with my most recent employer. Even if a single payer option was available, I would've continued to pay into my employer's plan. We have 16 states who basically hold a monopoly on what consumers can choose. Approximately one in three individuals covered by health insurance are covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield. This isn't competition, it's an oligopoly structure. We have approximately 20,000 people in this country who die each year, resulting from no insurance or a provider denying a claim.

Republicans say everyone will opt for a government run health care system. With the recent concessions, they contend Americans will have a choice through the for-profit insurance companies. Four decades have proven if these guys have their way, we will gradually return to where we're at now. I'm confident single payer will be an option. We have too many small businesses who are unable to afford health care for their employees. If single payer is so bad, why are other countries who offer public and private insurance have a significantly higher rate of covered individuals than we do without their citizens having to file for bankruptcy or losing their lives at our country's rate?

3.) I will continue advocating for implementing humanistic philosophy in our public schools. We have to overcome our superficiality and condescending views of those who are less fortunate. Here is a link that thwarts the powerful Religious Right's attempts to revise what our Constitution explicitly states on the Separation of Church and State. Once again, we need a once-a-week type The Breakfast Club model where each student has to write a few pages on what he or she learned from the peer. This is where controversial topics viewed by the Puritan Peddlers and corporate-owned mainstream media won't be perceived to be imposed on the students by the State. They will introduce their feelings on why they might be gay, bisexual, suffering from depression, etc. This is the root and when they enter the workforce, we won't have these silly shenanigans where factions are formed simply based on similarities. http://www.religioustolerance.org/humanism2.htm

4.) Finally, I need to change. My self-discovery is realizing I always have this incessant need to provide constructive advice to others. Initially, I thought about hiding away at a university by obtaining a Master's or Juris Doctorate degree. That would all be for naught. My realistic objective is getting my foot in the door, preferably in civil service or government. The benefits are excellent, and it's common practice employees are awarded through bonuses and vacation through simple hard work. This is a better risk, since this area and others around the country seem beholden to reward others who are family, friends, or those who think and act like the company's upper management.