and THIS is why I don't like people

Have we all heard about THIS by now?

So, apparently Obion County, Tennessee, doesn't have it's own fire department. About 20 years ago, in lieu of getting one they made a deal with neighboring South Fulton to help them out... on a subscription basis: $75 annually gets you on a "list" of homes the South Fulton Fire Department is compelled to save. An "insurance premium" for a civil service, basically. Why not just pay into South Fulton's fund via a tax and make sure ALL of Obion County's homes were covered? Well, we're talking about the Heartland of America, remember, so you've probably answered your own question: A TAX!? What are you, a SOCIALIST!!?? ;)

So a week ago, a couple of houses in Obion County caught fire. The firefighters came out and promptly hosed-down the home that had "paid up." The one next door, where the fire had originated, was not paid up... and not only did they just let it burn - they didn't rescue the cat and three dogs who were trapped inside and burned to death.

Now... setting aside the fact that this kind of bullshit is EXACTLY why I gave up calling myself a "Libertarian" - I mean holy hell, people, I think even Galt's Gulch probably eventually got a fucking fire truck... though, for my "Conservative" readers, here's YOUR GUY defending the policy while his sidekick makes fun of the victim. Really. For fuck's sake... even the most rigidly anti-social-spending people will usually make the obvious exception for police and firefighting.

But setting aside all that, even IF you can "get behind" this whole a'la carte civil service thing... HOW exactly can anyone from the fire department upwards justify letting the animals die along with the house? Alright, he didn't pay to protect the HOUSE so they "had to" let that burn, okay, maybe... but the pets didn't have any "say" in whether or not the check got mailed!

What kind of human being is either staffing or running this fire department that doesn't help them anyway when the tools to do so are literally right at their disposal? Would they have also done nothing were the homeowner himself trapped inside? I almost don't want to know...

So the next time my tongue slips about vast stretches of "humanity" being basically worthless? THIS KIND OF CRAP is probably what I'm talking about.

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You will believe a man can fly... and then slow waaaay down when everything looks its coolest... and then fly again!

Zack Snyder, late of "300," "Watchmen" and the upcoming "Sucker Punch," is the director of  "Superman: The Man of Steel" for Warner Bros. and producer Christopher Nolan. So says The Hollywood Reporter, who also mentions rumors of a certain returning bad guy.

Call me... "cautiously psyched."

It's en-vogue to knock Snyder right now - "300" has been swallowed-up - with some justification - in the broader geek-community rejection of Frank Miller and "Watchmen" remains divisive. For what it's worth, I remain of the opinion that it's the third best Superhero movie ever made after "Dark Knight" and "Spider-Man 2" ("Iron Man" and Donner's "Superman" being 4 and 5) and I'll maintain that while it's not as "solid" as TDK it's the braver, bolder, more intellectual and more challenging of the two by far. Also, his first non-adaptation effort, "Sucker Punch," has yet to be seen.

Obviously, it would've been more "interesting" had the job gone to also-rumored Darren Aronofsky, but I can't find anything to be upset about. The web will be full of tedious jokes about "speed-ramping" (like, err... the one in the title of this article, for example...) but I like the sound of it. Snyder can direct actors, "gets" the genre, handles big-scale action like a seasoned master and is thus far distinguished in comic-adaptations by his fidelity to the material - I'd LOVE to know what his "favorite" Superman era or story-arc is, if he has one, because then you'd probably know what the movie was going to look like.

In any case, this will be the first time a Superman movie has been made by a filmmaker more known as a visual-stylist, which should actually be pretty refreshing at this point. Imagine a "Superman" movie that looked as close to any given Superman comic as Dr. Manhattan's origin looked/felt like it's source material? Yeah, I'll file this one under "optimism," for now.

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Emma Stone is (probably) Mary-Jane

According to Deadline, Emma Stone (re: "that hot chick from 'Easy A'") is about to win the dubious honor of being Sony Picture's pick to be the new Mary-Jane Watson in the "Spider-Man" reboot - also known as "Spider-Man Begin-Again" or "Spiderlight" elsewhere on the web.

This is too bad on multiple levels - most-notably because this means the damn thing is still happening, but because Stone is a genuine talent, a real rising star who deserves a major role like this AND she's a dead-ringer for the character, much moreso than Kirsten Dunst ever was; in a different scenario this would be really good news. Sadly, here on Earth-1, the headline is basically "Promising Starlet to Damage Career With Appearance in Innevitable Trainwreck."

"Spider-Man: We Needed to Hold Onto The Rights" is still looking for other cast members, most-notably another actress for Gwen Stacy. Directed by Marc Webb, the film is set to be released in 2012, will be shot in 3D, and suck.

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Rick Sanchez fired after anti-semitic rant against The Daily Show

...and since his show airs on CNN, this is probably the first time most people are hearing the name Rick Sanchez. MSNBC viewers, imagine a passive-aggressive, even-more-uncharismatic Ed Schultz.



Initially, Sanchez - in an interview with the Sirius Radio show "Standup! With Pete Dominick" - was evidently upset about the mockery his hyperbolic on-air "persona" frequently came in for on "The Daily Show." His explanation? Jon Stewart is "bigoted," presumably against Latinos and minorities in general...



And then it got better: Finding Sanchez unable to cite evidence of bigotry on Stewart's behalf, Dominick - whom you can just hear panting in excitement realizing how much attention his show is about to get for capturing a semi-noteworthy figure melting down live - opted to point out that Jon Stewart is, in fact, a minority himself. Sanchez response? To laugh heartily at the very idea of Jews as an oppressed minority... because, apparently, they "control the media." And CNN.

The only video I could find with that specific part on it was itself being hosted on an anti-Jewish YouTube channel, so I'm not linking to it. Instead, here's the Young Turks on the whole situation:

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Sufferin' Sappho...

Yet another entry for the "Warner Bros. Has No F*cking Idea What To Do With Any DC Character Who Isn't Batman" file: They've handed "Wonder Woman" over to David E. Kelley for new TV show. Because the best possible thing you can do when you own full rights to three out of the four most-bankable franchises in the most moneymaking genre in present-day Hollywood is clearly to dillute their brand-worth with expensive, rapidly-canceled TV genre programming.

Kelley, incidentally, is best known for writing and producing TV series that are incredibly popular while they air but that EVERYONE stops caring about IMMEDIATELY after they end (Ally McBeal, Pickett Fences, L.A. Law, The Practice, Boston Legal, Chicago Hope, etc.) Seriously, be honest: Until you just now read that list, you completely forgot at least half of those shows existed.

Y'know, I'm not gonna say "called it!" since I don't recall ever blogging this and I know I wouldn't have been the only one to say it anyway, but remember earlier this year when DC pulled this decades change-her-outfit-so-people-will-pay-attention-for-a-few-issues bit? (If you haven't seen it or didn't care at the time, she wears pants and what looks like a denim jacket over the one-piece now; so now instead of looking like the world's most ostentatiously-patriotic domme she looks like a recent-divorcee borrowing her daughter's clothes.) Well, I distinctly recall my first reaction being on the lines of "Ah, this means they're about to announce a movie or TV show, since that's exactly what you'd do to the costume to woo 'theres-no-way-in-hell-I'm-showing-that-much-leg-and-cleavage-the-whole-damn-time' actresses to the part."

Why can't I ever be right about stuff I'd LIKE to happen? Watch, I'll try: "The Spider-Man reboot will be scrapped in favor of a team-up movie with Iceman and Firestar!" Now just watch: That's totally not going to happen ;)

Ah, well... you know the drill, people: Start compiling lists of C-list brunette TV actresses who'd be "perfect" or would "at least get me to watch" etc, etc, etc. Oooh! I know, make a game out of it this time - every list can have Morena Baccarin OR Summer Glau... but not both!

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Wuxia Swordsman and Cowboys versus Ninjas? SOLD.

Awww, I wuv you TOO, Relativity Media, Rouge Pictures and Barrie Osborne. BIG HUGS! ;)



Director is a first-timer named Sngmoo Lee, a teacher from the New York Film School working from a script he sold to Osborne (LOTR) under the title "Laundry Warrior." Evidently, they'll be saving money by using up all the FUN that "Ninja Assassin" forgot to bring to work with it ;)

I dunno what I like more, "Ninjas... DAMN." or Danny Huston as what appears to Cowboy Ninja Doctor Doom. If there was a Dinosaur somewhere in there, it'd be the trailer for the Best Thing Ever.

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Escape to the Movies: "The Social Network"

Yes, it's that good. No, it's not "the Facebook movie." No, "it's got Facebook in it" is not a good enough reason to skip it ;)


http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/2095-The-Social-Network

"Intermission" features some more details on the film and quotes from the writer and stars.

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