i wanted Serena to win, but it was still cool to watch Maria Sharapova win the Wimbledon Championship this morning. She seems like a nice girl.

Posted by: annika at 10:56 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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. . . The fight scene in Rocky II is perhaps the greatest fight scene in the history of movies - but only if you accept the dubious possibility that two professional heavyweights would, or could, go 15 rounds without ever once protecting themselves, and that any referee would ever allow such a thing. . . .

. . . There's a really good reason why Ralph Macchio's career never caught fire after doing the Karate Kid movies: he is without a doubt the most annoying actor in the history of film. . . .

. . . What is it with you guys and The Blues Brothers movie? It must be some defect in the y chromosome that makes you love it so much because - face it - that movie really sucks. . . .

. . . Amityville II, The Possession shares a distinct honor with Superman III in my book. They are both completely and utterly unwatchable. . . .

Have a great Fourth of July weekend everybody! i'm outta here.

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1 My cousin went on a date with Ralph Macchio, and she thought he was annoying in real life. The Blues Brothers is kind of like a dog that is so lovable and so ugly that it's beautiful. It's lovable if you worship Belushi and dig the music- and I do. I love the scene in the sewer when he begs for his life, plants a wet one on Carrie Fischer, then drops her in the muck and says "Let's go." I love the performance scenes in the cowboy bar. Some of my earliest TV memories are of the TV show "Rawhide." It may be a generational thing. I was born in 1960.

Posted by: gcotharn in Texas at July 02, 2004 12:30 PM (AaBEz)

2 The Blues Brothers is just one of those things, like Better Off Dead or the American Pie movies, that captures the humor of a very specific group of people at a very specific point in time. So the people who have an association with it will always love it and nobody else will ever understand why. It was filmed in my home town, so I have a thing for it. Rocky II? You think? That second fight scene in Rocky III is pretty bad-ass.

Posted by: Joshua at July 02, 2004 12:36 PM (vNkaO)

3 I've played in bars with chicken wire around the stage. I've played in bars where the bar tab exceeded what the pay was. I've played in bars where a non-country band had to pull country tunes out of their ass in order to satisfy a potentially unruly crowd. I've talked people into doing gigs with me whil e they were working a service industry job. I haven't had a cute brunette shoot at me with an M16 because she felt spurned. Then again I generally avoid women who like poodle shooters to begin with. However according to my g/f I'm working on knocking that off my list of "things in my life that parellel the Blues Borthers". So for me the film is funny because while some of the antics seem absurd they're believable if you travel in the right (or worng) circles. Course if I ever walk into a greasy spoon & 'Retha is singing I won't say I'll be upset. It's kinda like Spinal Tap - the more you know about the music biz the funnier it is. I can see how someone would think either is a bit boring, but I can also see how ome people would think Python;s :The Holy Grail" isn't funny even though I still find parts of it hysterical. Oh, I'm just wondering about something you said in relation to Rocky II...I thought it was illegal in California to even say "15 rounds" or "protecting yourself" let alone using both in the same sentence? (yes, bad gun puns are not beneath me)

Posted by: Publicola at July 02, 2004 04:24 PM (Aao25)

4 rocky theme music is what will always live on in my mind about the movies.

Posted by: Dave at July 02, 2004 11:40 PM (CmObr)

5 Raging Bull... Happy 4th everyone.

Posted by: Col Steve at July 03, 2004 10:19 AM (g0QcF)

6 It's not a y-chromosome defect, it's a feature. This also applies for the movie Animal House, which all real men love too. And the Three Stooges.

Posted by: Jim at July 03, 2004 12:00 PM (n6xJH)

7 "It must be some defect in the y chromosome that makes you love it so much because - face it - that movie really sucks. . . ." Blasphemer!

Posted by: Matt at July 04, 2004 11:28 PM (cmv3U)

8 It must be some defect in the y chromosome that makes you love it so much... Actually, I think that it is a genetic short circuit caused by having two X chromosomes that causes women to not love The Blues Brothers. It, quite simply, is one of the funniest movies ever filmed. Period.

Posted by: Jerry at July 06, 2004 09:30 AM (C34kV)

9 annika, you are, as usual, absolutely correct. The Blues Brothers sucks donkey dick.

Posted by: Victor at July 06, 2004 09:48 AM (L3qPK)

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Here's a scary item, found via Blackfive:

Terrorists in the Abu Musab Zarqawi network in Iraq are specifically trying to kidnap an American female service member to further horrify the U.S. public.

. . .

'We have heard through intelligence channels that several extremist organizations are attempting to capture coalition servicemen and women,' said a senior military officer in Iraq. 'We have instituted additional force protection methods to thwart these attempts.'

Another defense source said there is an 'edict, either on paper or as an order,' within terrorist networks to capture an American female service member.

Of the 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, about 11,000 are women. They perform a variety of jobs, serving as drivers, medics, aviators, police and clerks. By law, they are banned from land combat, but they can still come into close contact with the enemy.

. . .

The defense source said Zarqawi's network apparently wants to further shock the Western world by kidnapping servicewomen and displaying them on videotape. Part of the terrorists' strategy is to cause so much bloodshed that President Bush loses public support for the war and is forced politically to bring the troops home.

The source also said that the terrorists might be planning 'payback' for a U.S. female soldier seen taking part in the abuse of Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

i do think we need to resist the temptation to blame Pvt. England for this new tactic, though. i'm not saying her actions weren't blameworthy - she and her friends certainly made our job more difficult. But remember, every single woman who has been captured in Iraq by the enemy to my knowledge has either been raped or killed. That's in both Gulf wars. So the enemy's desire to film it and show their depravity to the world should not surprise anyone.

Posted by: annika at 10:26 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Let's stop feeling sorry for MKO.

Can somebody make all celebrities just go away. Please?

Link thanks to Glenn.

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It doesn't seem to be widely reported yet, but Drudge links to a story that Marlon Brando has died.

Calling him the greatest actor of all time is a bit of a stretch. Still, Brando did some good work in his day. My favorites are On the Waterfront, Streetcar Named Desire of course, and the Godfather. His part in Apocalypse Now, although brief, was memorable. On the other side of the ledger, i thought he was horribly mis-cast in that musical Guys and Dolls.

And what was up with that strange Oscar non-acceptance episode?

To sum up my opinion: weird guy, decent actor.

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Here's a great idea for getting rich. Actually, it's not a new idea. It's really a very old idea. It used to be called whoring. Now, you just add blogging, politics, and a ghost writer, then wait a year or so for the big cash advance.

In May 26-year-old Jessica Cutler was fired by Senator Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican, from her $25,000-a-year job sorting mail in his office after she was discovered using the Senate computer to write a blog that supposedly chronicled her sexual exploits with six unidentified Washington men, including one she described as a prominent appointee of the Bush administration. Now Ms. Cutler has taken what, for generations of young women who have become involved with the powerful, has been the next logical step. She has become a writer. Yesterday she sold a novel based on her exploits to HyperionDisney (Walt). Her agent, Michael Carlisle of Carlisle & Company, said the price was "a substantial six figures," and Hyperion would not be more specific. Not only did he sell her novel, he said, but she will also pose nude for the November issue of Playboy. Ms. Cutler's novel will be called "The Washingtonienne," after the name of her blog. Mr. Carlisle said that Ms. Cutler would not speak to the press until the book was published, perhaps a year from now.

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My new sarcastic slogan, which i intend to use while mocking ignorant lefties, is the following:

The war won't be a success until Iraq has a SPACE PROGRAM!

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Lazy schlub that i am, i forgot to do a Poetry Wednesday post. When i realized this too late, i toyed with the idea of just letting it go and hoping my two or three readers didn't notice.

Then this morning, surfing, i came across a lovely poem from 1911 that i just had to share with y'all. So here it is. The poet is Constantine P. Cavafy, an Egyptian born poet who wrote in Greek.

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

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