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| Fahrenheit 9/11 |
| 06.29.04 (11:11 pm) [edit] |
So I went to see the new Michael Moore film, Fahrenheit 9/11.
Personally, I could not stand to watch his first film, Roger and Me. It made no logical sense to me. Unions priced themselves out of work in his home town and the people in Flint feel entitled to work. ??? Eh? What if GM and other auto manufacturing plants never decided to opne shop there in the first place? Ugh. A frustrating film. Moore was on my hit-list as diametrically opposed voice for a philosophy that ruins free enterprise. And I kept him in my memory.
Along came Bowling for Columbine. OK, so Moore gets my attention...but he pulls a rediculous stunt at the end of the film with the Charlton Heston interview. Moore never informs his audience that Heston is suffering from a disease. He simply embarrasses the NRA advocate in front of a unsuspecting audience in order to play Heston the fool.... unbeknownst to Moore, the trick backfires as his soap box crumbles before him. Later we learn that several of the films 'facts' are indeed false. Why believe him?
So here comes Fahrenheit 9/11. What guts. Going after a sitting president. GM is one thing, the NRA another. But Bush? Actually, both father and son! I enter the theater with my right eye looking to my left, fully prepared for more Moore propaganda. But this time Moore lays down fact after fact after fact. His past method of manipulation appears to be eraticated, instead leaving a lot of information for the audience to assimilate. But some facts are now being questioned. The sound bites add to the drama, slightly altering the documentary from reality to fiction. Is a documentary no longer a documentary when the sound is edited and voice-overs added? Who knows. But for now, know this: from someone who has only voted for 1 democrat since being old enough to vote (Tom Bradley for Governer in 1982), I hope everyone who plans on casting a vote sees this film.
For me, this film makes me ponder what kind of political mess we have gotten ourselves into. Where is the solution to this back-watching favor-minded bipartisan trap we all have to try to squirm away from? And why are the masses not concerned? What bothers me more than the disturbing connections presented in this film is that a majority of the people in this country simply do not care. Disgusting.
Other notes. I thought it was excellent how Moore started the film by showing the Bush cronies 'prepping' for the show thay have been putting on for the blind sheep across the land. He did this by showing disconcerning faces of people once thought to be after the interest and safety of the average Americans BEFORE they were to go 'live' in front of cameras to tell us their 'lines'. And after the film's main ideas are behind us, we see them 'dress down' and pull away from the cameras and microphones...as they move away and slither back to the dark rooms of manipulation and harvesting of fear into the innocent hearts across this once great country.
Moore lost me, though, when he went back to Flint and got on his 'my poor town' soap box. Hey Michael, if you are reading this....we DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU. Simple as that. You made this film personal, and I find it difficult and disturbing to praise the work you did in this film. The job situation in Flint is not the issue nor is it in any way related to the real problem in this country: the facade of an enemy built up by puppetmasters with vested interests. You should have stuck to the main idea that Bush had the plan of the Iraq invasion long before 9/11, and that Bush and his cronies were steadfast in their aim at invading and occupying Iraq.
Moore's film makes you think. You may think his leftist agenda is way off base, or you may think that the new Dictator in the middle east replacing Sadaam Hussain is George W. Bush the armadillo expert. But the bottom line is this: Fahrenheit 9/11 will make you think. You will find yourself talking about it with democrats and republicans (which I am a part of neither) alike. And in these interparty minglings we may all find some common ground for all of us to find relief in: we care about the international ramifications of the actions by our leaders....leaders we are responsible for electing.
Now let's take this election seriously and start talking.
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| impressions of the new baseball stadium in San Diego |
| 06.18.04 (11:14 pm) [edit] |
I saw history tonight: the Padres played the Blue Jays for the first time ever, and David Wells faced the team that he broke into the majors with. Interleague is more than interesting. I love it....and it was nice to see a fresh team come visit our city.
Petco Park is brand new this year for us Padre Fans. I really don't like the name of the stadium...but I can live with it. A few things really stood out....
1) Downtown location! Very nice. No boonies like the old Qualcom stadium where they used to play. The view of the city behind the ooutfield was spectacular.
2) Cold! Very cold at the game. I used the free beach towel I received for a blanket to keep me warm. I have a feeling that runs will go down for games played here. I wonder what August will be like.
3) No foul outs! Damn that foul ball area is small. Quite the contrast the the Oakland A's of the 80's when batters were robbed when their foul balls would be caught for outs behind the chasm layed out behind home plate. At this new park, Petco Park, what used to be foul ball outs in Qualcom are now going to give the batters another shot at a hit. Hope this makes up for the low run production that the cold weather should cause.
4) Easy in, Easy out. Parking was a breaze, and getting out of there was a snap. Nothing like Qualcom or Dodger Stadium where you would have to wait and wait for the cars in front of you to exit the parking lots.
5) Kid friendly. Little baseball diamonds behind the Home Run fence. And a grassy hill that you can sit on and watch the game from the outfield on blankets for $5 an entrance fee. I plan on returning for a picnic in the sun one day.
Overall....this is a very nice park, all seats point to home plate, and the fact that I could order a Rubio's Fish Taco and a Tecate makes it all the better! "A+"
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| I need a break! |
| 06.17.04 (3:02 pm) [edit] |
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Almost there... Ever since last September I have been going full steam: Teaching 3 high school classes (2 different AP classes - Physics, Calculus), teaching at Cal State San Marcos last Fall and currently this summer session (Astronomy), and taking graduate classes at San Diego State (Astronomy). Add that to planning a wedding & buying a second condo... and teaching myself C. Ugh. I am on my last lap...2 weeks from today I give my CSUSM Astronomy final and then it is off to Belize to get married! 2 more weeks....can anyone send me some motivational words to get me through these last few days....
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| NBA question |
| 06.16.04 (9:27 am) [edit] |
Is this the first time an NBA team won a championship series 5 games to 0? Seriously, the game that the Lakers 'won' happened to be in the hands of the Pistions. They foul Shaq in the lane with 5 seconds left and Kobe never sees the chance to hit the game tying 3-pointer at the buzzer...no overtime. That game was in Detroit's bag. The Pistions won all 5 games, but just happened to come out with more points in 4 of the games.
I'm quite pleased that the Lakers did not win the title. Just goes to show it is not about individuals. Not about Shaq or the non-man Kobe. Karl finally got what was coming to him: years of causing other players injuries got the attention of the Karma Police as he was clearly ineffective in the finals. And Payton....what a joke. Trying to hitch a ride with the Lakers and get a title for free without playing as well as Fisher the entire year. Poor Fisher. Vindication will come his way. Break up the Lakers. Kobe will be in prison and Shaq a free agent after 1 more year in purple and gold. NBA needs this team to dismantle, for parity breeds interest in the NBA by the masses, not just a few spoiled cities.
*****
here is a comment I sent to another tblog member when they claimed that Karls injury was an excuse for losing:
Just like the radio stations out here, it sounds like you are not giving credit to the better team. Detroit won 5 games to 0, and was outscored in 4. I personally have a history of rooting for the West. Could not do it this year. Enjoy the fact that the Lakers made the finals. It was a tough run (Rockets matched up well against them), but also, remember that the first of the 3 Laker titles was won when Duncan was hurt and could not defend his title. If you still want to bring up injuries, then I could use the same thing saying Dirk went down vs. Spurs last year in West finals and Mavs should have won. Injuries are not excuses. Good teams are deep and have backup players who fill in. Good luck in '05
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| summer in Belize |
| 06.11.04 (5:13 pm) [edit] |
summer is here and I have sent another group of seniors off into the world. beside the 5-week Astronomy class I am teaching at Cal State San Marcos, I am practically free to start really diving into my business plan. But more importantly is THE upcomming wedding in Belize!
After 3 years Kristy and I are finally off to DO IT! Get married in Belize and spend 3 weeks there. Then get back in August, where we will have our reception, and she starts law school while I continue developing the ideas.
I'll also try to post more often.
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