Summary: The Israelites are slaves in Egypt. Moses is born and, spurred on by God, confronts the king of Egypt and demand their release. After being denied many times, they go. The Israelites make their way to Mount Sinai where Moses receives the Ten Commandments, along with other commands from God.

I have to wonder what I would think if I came into this without knowing anything about the Bible. I mean, this was also an issue in Genesis (and I wrote about it a lot there), which was filled with iconic characters like Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah, and Abraham & Isaac. But it feels like it was more of a problem this time because I badly wanted all of Exodus to be The Ten Commandments movie. Except I've never seen that movie, so I wanted Exodus to be the hacky Hollywood movie I've always imagined The Ten Commandments to be, which goes a little like this:

MOSES is a slave in EGYPT. He goes to PHARAOH to try to get free.

MOSES
Pharaoh, let my people go!

PHARAOH
(twirling his moustache)
Never!

MOSES
Oh Pharaoh, you heathen fool! God will surely rain plagues down upon you if you do not do as he wishes,

PHARAOH
Ha ha! Your silly religion is no match for the unstoppable power of Egypt!

Moses goes away and asks GOD to help. God sends some frogs or something and Moses and his people escape in the ensuing confusion. Pharaoh and his soldiers follow them to the Red Sea.

MOSES
Suck it, Pharaoh!

Suddenly, the Red Sea PARTS and Moses leads his people through it. When Pharaoh's soldiers try to follow, God makes the water crash down on them and they all die. Moses and his people go to MOUNT SINAI. Moses climbs it and comes down with two tablets that have the TEN COMMANDMENTS written on them.

MOSES
These are the rules by which we all must live!

MOSES' PEOPLE
Yay Moses!

Fin.

And that's pretty much what happens in the book (maybe slightly differently). And...it's okay.

It's not bad. It's not some horrible piece of shit that makes me want to give up on this whole reading-the-Bible thing (I'm looking at you, Leviticus). But all the Charlton Heston puffed up chest theatrics that I expected from Moses' meetings with the pharaoh weren't there. It was either:

Moses: "Let my people go or bad things will happen."

Pharaoh: "No."

or

Moses: "Let my people go or bad things will happen."

Pharaoh: "Okay."

(After a short delay)

Pharaoh: "Wait, never mind."

And there are ten disasters (Blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of the animals, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborns) that strike Egypt, so these exchanges happen ten times. Not only do they get old pretty fast, but they're pointless. The book says multiple times that the king is about to let Moses and his people go, but the LORD makes the king stubborn and he does not let them go.

What. The. Fuck?

The only explanation given for this is that God needs to demonstrate his power so that "the Egyptians will then know that I am the LORD, when I raise my hand against them and bring the Israelites out of their country." (Ex. 7:5) Seriously? There's no conceivable way to demonstrate your power that doesn't involve the murder of the firstborn son of every Egyptian family? Not to be an overdramatic PTA mother about this, but this is literally God killing innocent children to prove how Godly he is. How about a giant sign in the sky saying "I am the LORD" or just a snap of the fingers and suddenly everyone knows who their creator and lord is?

But there is one thing in this book that qualifies as a massive letdown, and it's probably the fault of my translation (I hate you, Good News Bible). Honestly, Raiders of the Lost Ark had me all excited to see the first appearance of the Ark of the Covenant, and in my translation it's called the Covenant Box. The Covenant Box! This is a disappointment of a different kind than the whole Moses story, and I imagine I won't be this disappointed by a passage in the Bible until Ezekiel 25:17 (Spoiler alert: Pulp Fiction is a dirty liar).

But the whole book is full of letdowns. First off, and I know this is an extremely petty complaint (If you don't like petty complaints, skip this paragraph) (Seriously) (I'm nice in the next one, so you have that to look forward to), but God's name is I AM (except in Hebrew it sounds like Yahweh or Jehovah). After a lot of research and elaborate scientific testing, I have determined that to be a pretty stupid name. There's the constant repetition of how God will drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as if Moses didn't understand it the first time he said he'd drive them out. There's the boring songs and Moses just repeating whatever God says, like I didn't just read it. There's the part of the book, which comprises chapters 25 through 30 and 36 through 39, which is all just instructions about how to make stuff. Couldn't God have told whoever wrote this down to not be a shitty writer? Is that really so much to ask of a divine being who is trying to get people to believe in him?

But it's not all letdowns. You want to see God acting Godly? Hit up chapter 23. That's where God lays down the law, tells his obedient followers what do do and how to do it, and promises to drive out their enemies. And then he gives a reason that he hasn't driven them out already (if he did then the animals would all run free and there'd be too many for the Israelites to control), which admittedly you would think God and all his Godly power would be able to solve. But still, it's a reason, and that's a good thing and I don't want to have too many problems with it.

So, in the good column: no moral lessons (other than "Don't disobey God"), nothing that science tells us definitely didn't happen. But it's all a little empty. And I don't really blame the book for that - this is the single most iconic story in the Old Testament, which carries some weight in my mind, and I already knew pretty much everything that would happen, which means that nothing in the story would be remotely unfamiliar or surprising. So it's hard for me to bitch about the book (or find something better to talk about, honestly) when I came into it knowing every single beat.

Trust me, I too hope this will be the last thing I write about expectations.

Today, more details about the discovery of the "Bigfoot" creature will be revealed at a press conference in Palo Alto, California. A picture of the dead Bigfoot -- which looks like a cross between a man and an ape -- has been circulating on the Internet. In the picture, the animal has been stuffed into a freezer and its entrails appear to be extruding from its body, indicating it may have been shot.

Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, the president outlined proposals to protect the new human-like animal from being harmed by man. Bush recommended swift government action to preserve the creatures he refers to as "the last of the Native American peoples."

"For several hundred years now, the white man has done great harm to the indigenerous peoples of North America," Bush noted. "We must not repeat again those same mistakes a second time. These latest Native American peoples have not come into confliction with white men because they operate primatally at night, while we operate openly more or less in the light of day. These new Indians still live in the woods, whereas we don't because of pathogenetics like Lyme disease. Now it appears that one of us white Caucasian men has shot and killed to death a cretin the civilized Indians call 'Socksquash.' In order to ensure that this does not happen again, I propose the creation of Native American ape reservations, where our fellow savage creatures may roam freely within safely-contained areas and enjoy America like the rest of us do."

But the president said that merely secluding the Bigfoot creatures onto reservations would not be acceptable in today's modern age.

"We must not repeat the mistakes of the past in this new future," Bush warned. "Slaughtering indigenerous peoples and leaving them without any livelihoods is morally repugnacious. We owe them more than that and we will pay. We will not stop continuing until they are capable of supporting themselves without our help or assistance. Then they, too, can feel the pride of living in a country full of freedom and opportunistic behavior -- once they are trained in how to do so, that is."

Bush declined to comment further, citing national security concerns, but said that he was waiting to hear more details from the Bigfoot press conference before deciding what Congress will do next.

(George W. Bush photo courtesy Eric Draper/White House. Bastardization of George W. Bush photo courtesy Sir Satire. Bastardization of English language courtesy George W. Bush)

2008 is becoming a year in which we must replace the irreplaceable.  The recent death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn is a reminder of how much we have lost and how hard it will be to find truly great men again.  When Ronald Reagan died four years ago, huge crowds of Americans waited for hours to pay their last respects to the greatest American president of the last 150 years.  When Pope John Paul II died one year later, the whole universe of decent souls understood the loss we all suffered.  This year, the mortality of moral greatness was not proven with brief rainstorms but by a constant deluge.  Read more here.

True Lies is available at Amazon for $12.99. To Order click here
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Other Products of Interest

• Eraser
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• Kindergarten Cop

"It shall be known that in 2008, the world shall be blessed," the narrator intones. "They will call him: The One", he adds.

As Moses parts the seas by declaring, "Behold His mighty hand," the Obama for President seal comes forth.

"Barack Obama may be The One, But is he ready to lead?" concludes the narrator of the minute-long video.

This latest advert follows the end of a controversial week where Obama was ridiculed as merely a "celebrity" to that of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears who did not have what it takes to lead as the next president of the United States.

In a very unproductive and tedious campaign blighted by issues of race, the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the appointment of a vice president must be the top priorities.

Just shut your mouths and get on with the job.

The gorillas want to annex the Forbidden Zone for more agriculture, and to liquidate more humans. This is going to tred on the toes of an odd sect who are protecting the area with telepathic special effects and who worship a nuclear missile in St Patrick’s Cathedral. (I must come back here when I’ve read Riddley Walker.) The sect with their masks doesn’t make sense, and their pacifism only allows them to force their enemies to kill each other (so that’s okay then) but if necessary they will use the missile. Taylor, noted hater of human and, more recently, apekind and no fan of the nuclear apocalypse, decides that he will set it off – although preumably Heston’s wish to kill the franchise is the real logic at work here.

Sequels are just retreads of the original with a bigger budget (although actually I believe this one was smaller. More apes, more humans, more apocalyptic special effects – but equally more confusion. Obviously we get the segregation of apes and treatment on humans as being a commentary on race and racism, but 1970 is surely a little late to credit someone as “Negro” in the cast.

The other point that stood out is when Zira is hiding Brent and Nova, blood is noticed on her face. Zira explains that Cornelius had struck her. This is accepted as fair enough. But then women here are simply to serve men and reproduce.

Das Schöne an der Sympathie ist übrigens, dass sie, anders als die Liebe, die ja leicht in eine psychotische One-man-show abdriftet, absolut instinktsicher immer richtig liegt. Man kann sich in seinen Vorlieben einfach nicht vertun. Man kann sich höchstens in sich selbst irren.

Zur Sache, Schatz. Den Film „Der dritte Mann“, jetzt erst empfohlen von Deutschlands wohl meistunterschätztem Blogger, liebe ich auch über alle Maßen, wie Urmel, wie Dr. Monnier-Beach (keine Ahnung, wie dieser Typ wirklich heißt, der sagenumwobene Vorsitzende der Reul Society). Und auch ich finde, dass Orson Welles, das Genie, leichter zu ertragen ist in seiner massenmedial maßgeblichen Massivität, wenn er die Dinge so hintuscht, mit leichter Hand, im Vorbeigehen, vielleicht insgeheim schon mit seinem nächsten Shakespeare-Projekt beschäftigt. Ein anderes gutes Beispiel für diese Vorrangigkeit des Leichthändigen ist der Film „Touch Of Evil“, in dem Welles sich dann allerdings auch wieder die Regie zurückerobert hat von Carol Reed. Und an seiner Seite sehen wir hier Charlton Heston, verkleidet als mexikanischer Drogenfahnder.

Tatsächlich sind die Führungsspieler im „Dritten Mann“ dieselben wie in „Citizen Kane“, über welchen Film ich schon einmal gestolpert bin, nicht ohne mir, nach meiner schönen Gewohnheit, eine Zehe zu verstauchen. Orson Welles teilt sich nämlich die Rampe mit Joseph Cotton, der vom Typ her ideal zu ihm passt, da er handwerkliche Solidität und eine gewisse mimische Philistrosität sehr effektiv dem sprühenden overacting des Mr. Welles entgegen hält.

Noch ein Übrigens muss hier eingeschoben werden: Orson Welles hat nie ein Hehl daraus gemacht, dass sein Auftritt als Scheusal Harry Lime darum so glänzend ausfällt, weil seit einer Stunde in dem Film von nichts anderem gesprochen wird als von ihm. Er stellt das im Gespräch mit Peter Bogdanovich (das Buch „Hier spricht Orson Welles“ können Sie hier bestellen) sehr lebhaft und witzig dar. Das ist so wie bei Barack Obama, der an der Friedenssäule in Berlin sicherlich ebenfalls nichts sagen wird, das seine Ghostwriter ihm nicht auch in seine Manuskripte geschrieben hätten. Trotzdem werden die Berliner den Atem anhalten, im leichten Nieselregen, im spröden Sonnenschein. Und dann nach Hause gehen mit einem Gefühl, das ihnen vorenthalten worden wäre, hätten sie den US-Präsidentschaftskandidaten im Lidl um die Ecke beim Flaschenpfandautomaten getroffen.

Was der weitgehend anonyme Lobredner im Monnier-Beach-Blog allerdings entweder nicht weiß oder für sich behält, ist, dass auch der große österreichische Dichter h. c. artmann in diesem Arthouse-Meisterwerk in Schwarzweiß einen Auftritt hat. Er ist der Dritte Mann neben Welles und Cotton. Und zwar erhebt er sich während eines Publikumsgesprächs mit dem Autor von „Die Todesreiter von Santa Fé“ (Sie müssen sich wirklich diesen Film anschauen!) und fragt: „Was halten Sie vom ULYSSES?“ Ich glaube, das sind die Worte. h. c. artmann sieht in diesem Augenblick allerdings aus wie Heimito von Doderer, und es ist ja nicht ausgeschlossen, dass da eine Verwechslung vorliegt – weniger von Seiten der Fachleute denn von Seiten der beiden Autoren. („Sag mal, war das ich, h. c.? Ich dachte, du hättest das damals gespielt?“)

Wenn Sie es genauer oder sogar ganz genau wissen wollen, dann besorgen Sie sich am besten den vorzüglichen h. c. artmann-Reader des Suhrkamp Verlags und schlagen Sie es nach im biographischen Appendix.

"Thou Shalt Not Lie."

Before the official revelation of the fake Coptics, Brooklyn Museum was billed as housing the second largest collection of Coptic Art in North America (immediately after New York's Metropolitan Museum).  With 30 Coptic sculptures, the vast majority of which acquired in the years between 1960 and 1970 from Switzerland and New York, who acquired the sculptures directly from Egypt, the Brooklyn Museum's collection of Coptics was nothing to sneeze at.

Coptic Sculpture refers to Christian sculpture created in Egypt between the 4th Century Anno Domini and the year of the Arab Invasion, 641 AD.  Carved from limestone, coptic sculpture has served as the artistic bridge uniting the artisan styles of Pagan and Christian cultures.  It is also credited with existing as historical evidence of the continuity of the large-scale sculpture form made standard during the Classical period.

For scholars like Coptic art specialist Thelma Thomas, a professor at New York University, Coptic art represents something besides continuity and cultural conduits--Coptic art has practically become synonymous with "fake," as more and more supposedly authentic Coptic sculptures, upon closer inspection, prove to be false.

10 of Brooklyn Museum's collection of 30 sculptures have been officially declared false.  An additional ten have been determined to have been recarved and repainted in the modern era.  The remaining 10 may well be authentic--but the damage has clearly been done.

What is Brooklyn Museum doing in response to the recent official denouncement (rumblings have been heard in the past, but no voice from the mountain had come down quite yet) of the authenticity of their collection?

Why having an exhibition, of course!

On February 13, 2009, the Brooklyn Museum will unveil an exhibition detailing the voyage of the forgeries.  The false sculptures have gleaned their own history from the fraud, and have become valuable in their own right (though clearly  not so much as the 1,000 original, authentic Coptic sculptures which supposedly still exist).

Never underestimate a national art gallery's ability to spin fraud into profit.

By Pressmin Spurious
Intergalactic Times staff reporter

The global warming t-shirted, patchouli smelling, hemp jewelery wearing cult that refers to itself as "Netroots Nation" has had their little annual drunken sex orgy in President George W. Bush's home state of Texas. I have to wonder where all the drug sniffing dogs in Texas were during this event. It's clear to this reporter that "netroots" is a code word for the heathen devil weed marijuana! I have little doubt that everyone who attended this event is on the pot!

I'm sure the people of the great state of Texas are happy to hear the clip clop sound of Birkenstock sandals that accompanies the exit of those commies out of their state! That clip clop sound has a real harmony with the flip flop sound made by the "netroots" endorsed vote spoiler Obama.

There was one high point at that event. Honorary Republican Nancy Pelosi stopped by to bless the masses. Some radical group called code pinko tried to shout down the stalwart defender of the greatest president this country has ever had, George W. Bush. "No Impeachment Naners" then went and ruined the moment by dragging Al Gore onto the stage.

My dear readers may remember Al Gore as the 2000 Democrat candidate that tried to vote spoil the greatest president this country has ever had, George W. Bush! Gore's amateurish campaign failed to garner enough votes to cause Gore to carry his home state! Thank heavens for that. If Gore had won, this country would have lost the brilliant eight years of leadership we have received from the greatest president this country has ever had, George W. Bush!

And we'll have fun, fun, fun till Gore takes the Hummer away!

This foreign made hybrid automobile driving Gore person has made a bundle lately selling books and producing flag burning, Dixie Chicks concerts that claim to be fixing the mythical "problem" called global warming. It is clear to me that Gore & Company may in future have the unmitigated gall to try to take my Hummer away! I warn you Gore, I am a lifetime member of the NRA! Don't come knocking at the door of my Suburban McMansion! Saint Charlton Heston and Smith and Wesson defend my home! I hold the holy relic of Soylent green made from Saint Heston's body in one hand, and a large clip, fully automatic in the other! Don't come around here Gore!

YOU WILL TAKE MY HUMMER AWAY WHEN YOU PRY MY COLD DEAD FINGERS FROM THE STEERING WHEEL!

That goes double for this rag tag group of petition wielding "road trippers" who have inexplicably managed to get Ralph Nader on the ballots of FIFTEEN STATES SO FAR! I have to hand it to them. They are facing HUGE obstacles put in place by the two real parties, and yet still have met with a remarkable level of success. I must tip my press passed Fedora at these people. If this keeps up, Nader will be on 45 state ballots come the November election.

I realize that the Republicans are in full crisis mode due to the "timetable" flip flops of Nūrī Kāmil al-Mālikī. However I must ask chairman Boehner of the House Unrepublican Activities Committee to convene a special session in regards to all this OTHER unrepublican activity! If something isn’t done soon, THIS COULD BE THE YEAR THAT A CANDIDATE FROM OUTSIDE THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM GETS ELECTED PRESIDENT!

Of course most of us know the answer to the question that forms the centre of this sci-fi classic but what I discovered on re-watching this film a couple of nights back was a multitude of ideas and images that I had not remembered from the last viewing (almost a decade ago).

The first surprise is the opening credits which consist of a montage of photos tracking the expansion of population and industry.  Moving from pioneer times right up to the modern era (early 70's) the sequence perfectly captures the virus like sprawl of the modern world over the Earth.

Just as impressive is the world in which the story takes place.  From the cramped derelicts and junkyards inhabited by the uneducated and impoverished masses to the spacious apartments of the corporate elite (complete with female 'furniture' and arcade machines) Soylent Green presents a picture of a wholly unequal and dieing world.

Beyond the settings the film is full of memorable scenes and ideas.  The explained murder of Simonson (Joseph Cotten), the industrial crowd control methods and the murder attempt during the food riots, Detective Thorn's (Charlton Heston) routine and officially condoned looting of crime scenes are just a few of the situations that fill out the morals and codes of this world.  Then there are the scenes at the 'Exchange' between the elderly police researchers who seem to be the only people intent on preserving knowledge (a slightly less severe version of Fahrenheit 451's 'living books') and the touching departure of Thorn's own researcher Sol (Edward G. Robinson in his final performance).

With all this richness it is a joy to see that the best scenes in the film are the intimate moments during which Thorn and Sol enjoy the items acquired during the central investigation.  The smell of scented soap is a luxury and the taste of meat provokes joy and regret as the younger man experiences it for the first time and his older companion looks back to a time when it wasn't an impossible rarity.  When you think of Heston it's usually the squared jawed prophet coming down the mountain with the Tablets or the booming cynical laugh of The Omega Man and The Planet Of The Apes but for it's the understated bliss on show here that marks him out as one of the greats.

Add to this colour blind casting, that chilling revelation and a theme that gets more prescient as time goes by and you have not only a cinema classic but a sci-fi masterpiece.

ACTOR DOMIZIANO ARCANGELI TO RECEIVE GOLDEN HALO AWARD FOR

ACTING ACHIEVEMENT AT THE 72^nd ANNUAL

SOUTHERN CA MOTION PICTURES COUNCIL AWARDS DINNER

AUGUST 4, 2008 FROM 7PM – 10PM AT SPORTSMAN LODGE IN STUDIO CITY

Los Angeles, CA Italian Actor Domiziano Arcangeli (Do-meet-zee-ahno Ark-an-jelly) to be honored with a Golden Halo Award for Acting Achievement during the 72^nd Annual Southern California Motion Pictures Council’s Awards Dinner held Monday, August 4, 2008 at the Sportsman Lodge in Studio City, CA from 7:00pm – 10:00pm. Academy-Award Winning Actress and Hollywood Icon, Margaret O’Brien, will present Arcangeli with his award. Past acting honorees include such notables as Actors Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, and Robert Mitchum.

The Evening in Paris themed event includes a silent auction, gourmet dinner, and Philanthropy Award honorees in addition to honoring Actor Domiziano Arcangeli. Actor Randal Malone, current president and chairman of the board of the Southern California Motion Picture Council, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Confirmed celebrities attending include: Actress Rose Marie, Actor Jerry Maren, Actress Jayne Meadows, among others.

Domiziano Arcangeli is being honored for his acting work in Italy and the United States in more than sixty films, ten television series and numerous theatrical productions, nationally and internationally.

Arcangeli has performed in over seven productions this year alone. This past spring, Arcangeli starred in the big budget Martial Arts action thriller, SAMURAI AVENGER: THE BLIND WOLF, which was shot in Tokyo, Japan and Los Angeles, CA. Arcangeli is currently producing and starring in his own feature film, THE HOUSE OF FLESH MANNEQUINS, an art house thriller shot in Rome, Italy and Los Angeles, CA.

Additional film appearances include a cameo in the Lion’s Gate comedy STILL WAITING, and a co-starring role in the horror film, FRANKENSTEIN RISING, to name a few. Domi’s recent television appearances include a lead role in the HBO comedy IS NUDITY REQUIRED? and roles in KCAL9 Biblical television series, IT IS WRITTEN.

Arcangeli began his acting career at the age of thirteen in Italy performing in The Good Soldier for Academy Award winning director Franco Brusati, which led to work with such ‘Masters of European Cinema’…Federico Fellini (Intervista), and Liliana Cavani (Francesco). He has also worked with other celebrated Italian directors which include Tinto Brass (Paprika), Umberto Lenzi (Black Demons), Lucio Fulci and Bruno Mattei (Venetian Caprice).

Some of Arcangeli’s better known U.S. television credits include Showtime’s SIN’S KITCHEN and the Zalman King's series, CHROMIUM BLUE. He has also co-starred alongside Dennis Hopper in DEVIL’S HIGHWAY, and in Spanish cult director Jesus Franco’s film FLORES DE PERVERSION. Theatre credits include a world tour of Lev Dodin’s THE VISIONARY.

In 2007, Arcangeli launched a fan Web site, www.domizianoarcangeli.com, with his film credits, bio, headshots, demo reel, and additional publicity pictures and links for his fans. His professional credits can be seen here on IMDB.

The Southern California Motion Pictures Council Awards Ceremony honoring Actor Domiziano Arcangeli with a Golden Halo Award for Acting Achievement takes place Monday, August 4, 2008 from 7:00pm – 10:00pm at the Sportsman Lodge located at 12833 Ventura Blvd. Studio City, CA 91604 818-755-5000. Dinner reservations are $25 per person and can be made via phone: 626 794-1968.

-END-

Apparently, studies by Federal scientists found virtually no difference between cloned foods when compared to food from conventional livestock. In a recent CNN.com article, “FDA: Cloned Livestock Is Safe To Eat,” Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, stated “Meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat as the food we eat every day.”

Do you remember back to September 2000, when Kraft Foods voluntarily recalled Taco Bell brand taco shells because they were believed to contain a protein from an insect-resistant corn called Starlink, approved for animal feed, but not for human consumption? If Starlink livestock feed isn’t safe for human consumption via the meat we eat, doesn’t it seem hundreds of steps backward to consider cloned meat and dairy to be safe? Nothing further was ever reported about the taco shell incident, but the fact is when cows eat the controlled corn, the chemical properties of food the animal eats, feeds the muscle that we consume as meat or dairy.

Consider some little known information about cloned meat and the practice of cloning:
There are many different types of cloning and the basic technology for cloning can be used for purposes other than creating a genetic twin. For instance, therapeutic cloning, or embryo cloning, is used to harvest stem cells for medical research. With all the stem cell controversy today, it should position therapeutic cloning as an acceptable alternative for creating replacement cells to treat Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, and other life-altering diseases.

Reproductive cloning is the process used to create the food our government is about to introduce into the general food supply, unlabeled. As you may know, reproductive cloning creates an animal, such as Dolly the sheep, with the same nuclear DNA as another existing animal. Dolly was originally created so that cloned organs could be transplanted into humans. She was born on July 5, 1996 and unveiled in 1997 after 277 failed attempts by Ian Wilmut, an embryologist at the Roslyn Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, the team leader on the project. [caption id="attachment_13" align="alignright" width="128" caption="Dolly the Sheep"][/caption]

Cloned animals come about through a process called “somatic cell nuclear transfer” (SCNT) where the genetic material from the nucleus of an adult donor cell is transferred to an egg whose genetic material has been removed. This newly reconstructed egg is then treated with chemicals or electric current in order to stimulate cell division. Once the cloned embryo reaches a safe stage, it is transferred to the uterus of a female host where it continues to develop until birth.

Unfortunately, if the reprogramming process goes awry then deformity, disability, and death occur. And cows frequently spontaneously abort, or worse, end up with 30-40 pounds of fluid in their bellies due to the abnormally large size of the fetus, which causes great distress to the mother. Other irregularities are premature death at many different stages of life, respiratory failure, absence of an immune response, and inadequate kidney function occur, but these defects do not become apparent until long after birth.

And therein opens another can of what, cloned worms? Ask yourself…just how safe is the food we are eating today? And, exactly what are we eating now?

There certainly are controversies. Let us remember that testing hasn’t been conducted long enough to record the health risks, and most of the tests are being done by the companies doing the cloning. Without even considering the moral implications of cloning, putting cloned meat and milk into our general food supply is experimenting with the public welfare, and most definitely, we are not guinea pigs.

Consider Charlton Heston’s 1973 movie, Soylent Green which takes place in 2020-- a mere 12 years away--when fruit, vegetables, and meat were extinct. To feed 40 million starving people, a new green food from the Soylent Company appears on the market. As the tale unfolds, the viewer finds that the secret ingredient in this food tab is – well, um, dead humans. And that’s definitely the ICK heard round the world!

Just be safe and don’t mess with Mother Nature!

1. Both can seriously rock the Roman toga look?
2. They each have been known to say a prayer every now and then?
3. That silver hair gives them a regal appeal with the ladies?
4. High Google searches?

Sorry, all those are incorrect. Think Bible, as in those nice Christmas box sets you buy folk that need a lil' more of Jesus during the holidays? Charlton Heston lent his raspy, beloved pipes to a famed narration of the Bible in the late 90s. Now, we can add the thick, convoluted accent of Joseph Ratzinger to the mix, as he wil be next to read the Bible.

And it's a first from the Vatican, Jesus fans, according to this story from Canada's Globe and Mail.

Evidently, with the pomp and circumstance associated with the Pope - leader of a religious movement and all - you would think someone in that Holy See would have read the Bible on TV. Alas, voice over talent was never a sought after need on a papal resume.

But hey, Mazel Tov, Papa. Maybe this post will help create a buzz for more downloads of iTunes? Good on ya', B16.

Talk Is Cheap

What does one have to do to rake in such riches? Develop a cure for breast cancer? Convince Hezbollah and the Israeli Knesset to co-sponsor Woodstock III? Invent an automobile engine that runs on AAA batteries?

Apparently all one has to do is sit before a radio microphone and demonstrate to the nation what an asshole sounds like. Yup. Rush Hudson Limbaugh III has just signed a new eight year contract with Clear Channel Communications that will pay him a total of $400 million. The deal includes a $100 million up-front signing bonus. All this for a man who once referred to 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton as the White House dog.

I can be a mean prick too! Where are my millions?

Clear Channel probably made the deal figuring that Barack Obama will be elected president this fall. Can you imagine the orgy of bitterness, canard, prevarication, not-so-subtly coded racism, and hysteria his show will become? Oh, that's right - it is already! Right now, Limbaugh attracts some 20 million listeners a week to his daily syndicated three-hour show. I feel confident in guessing there are many more than 20 million lunkheads in this great nation whose penises will shrink upon realization that Obama has become their leader.

Remember when conservatives put this bumper sticker on their cars?

That was when Bill Clinton occupied the White House. You know, Bill Clinton, the centrist, the most moderate of the eight or so aspirants for the 1992 Democratic nomination for president. After his victory that year, the Limbaugh-led right branded him a dirty rotten liberal and helped transform the word into a pejorative.

What will Limbaugh gang say and do if Obama, who, while not exactly Che Guevara but at least more lefty than Bill, becomes the Commander in Chief? I'll bet the 20 million who listen to Rush every week now will grow to 30 or 40 million! What agit-prop will they display? This?

[audio http://www.archive.org/download/chuckonrush/chuckonrush.mp3]

You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There’s been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. Bacteria first; later the first multicellular life, then the first complex creatures in the sea, on the land. Then finally the great sweeping ages of animals, the amphibians, the dinosaurs, at last the mammals, each one enduring millions on millions of years, great dynasties of creatures rising, flourishing, dying away — all this against a background of continuous and violent upheaval. Mountain ranges thrust up, eroded away, cometary impacts, volcano eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving, an endless, constant, violent change, colliding, buckling to make mountains over millions of years.

Earth has survived everything in its time. It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in Arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. If the ozone layer gets thinner, ultraviolet radiation sears the earth, so what? Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It’s powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change.

Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation. Many others will die out. Do you think this is the first time that’s happened? Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive glass, like fluorine. When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life.

Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago we didn’t have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can’t imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven’t got the humility to try. We’ve been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we’re gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.

The Omega Man:  The Charlton Heston version of the Richard Matheson book "I am Legend."  Supposedly, Heston read the book on a flight, and thought it would make a great movie, not knowing that Vincent Price had alrady done a version (The Last Man on Earth).  The script diverges from the book (Plague victims vs vampires), but captures much of the essence, perhaps better than the book itself.  It is terribly dated in a lot fo respects (especially technology), but I still find it the best of the three versions.  This movie was standard Saturday afternoon fare in TV when I was growing up, I think I saw it at least three times on local TV.  So I'm a bit sentimental about this one.

The Blu-Ray version is incredible for a movie from 1971.  There are no errors or damage to be seen in the print, the picture is clear and crisp, and the sound is theater quality.  The downside is that film errors (cars driving in the background, a man crossing a street in a supposedly deserted city), become even more obvious, and more easilly seen, especially on a large screen TV.  But a lot of details, which got washed out on previous versions, such as cobwebs, are amazingly clear and add a wealth of depth to the settings.

The Terminator:  As I said in a previous entry, some movies don't benefit from being transferred to Blu-Ray.  The Terminator may be one of them.  I'm kind of torn on this one.  One the one hand, the print of this 80's SciFi classic is superb.  A clean transfer was obviously made, from a high quality original print.  The sound is better than I remember from the theater (age may be playing a role here), and the picture is shap and clear, better than the DVD release. 

That said, some of the special effects do look a bit dated, and obvious. The scene with the animatronic Terminator head at the sink looks obviously to be a mechanical construct.  The scenes with the Terminator skeleton also look more like a Harryhausen stop motion set than a cutting edge effect.  Even so, the "flashback" scenes really shine through IMO.  The robotic death machines of the future look amazing, as details really come out.  The scene with the tank rolling over the skulls is amazing, and shows what details the model makers were able to get onto such small skulls.

I don't know what extras were on the previous DVD releases, but the Blu-Ray edition has a few worth watching.  The extended/cut scenes have a good one of an extended arc with Paul Winfield and Lance Henrikson.  The behind the scenes stuff is also interesting, with stuff from Ah-nold, and James Cameron.

Men in Black:  This Wil Smith and Tommy Lee Jones vehicle is a fun ride, in any format.  This movie is new enough, and has enough CGI to really benefit from a transfer to Blu-Ray.  The effects, notably the aliens, really benefit from the higher definition format.  As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details, and the details really are noticable on this one.

Every alien is sharp, and look great on a big screen.  Sound is solid, and on a surround sound gets to shine through.  Much like the 5th Element, MiB on blu-ray may be better than it was in the theaters.

The Supreme Court voted 5-4 today against the DC Gun Ban.  Story here.

Somewhere in heaven today, Charlton Heston is celebrating:

Analysis summary of the ruling at Michelle Malkin.

One of the best lines of the day from John McCain:

Unlike Senator Obama, who refused to join me in signing a bipartisan amicus brief, I was pleased to express my support and call for the ruling issued today.........Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today’s ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right — sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly.

Reactions from those who are for freedom:

"This is a great moment in American history. It vindicates individual Americans all over this country who have always known that this is their freedom worth protecting." — Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association.

Today's ruling is a major victory for the rights of all Americans to protect themselves and their families. The Supreme Court sent a clear message to local, state, and federal governments that this individual right cannot be unreasonably infringed." — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

"In the most significant victory for the Second Amendment in recent memory, the Supreme Court today reaffirmed our citizens' constitutional right to keep and bear arms. ... This decision should send a clear message to opponents of the Second Amendment. The Constitution plainly guarantees the solemn right to keep and bear arms, and the whims of politically correct bureaucrats cannot take it away." — House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"While this is a clear victory for those who live in Washington, D.C., it's my hope what was decided here today projects a powerful new precedent for judges to follow across the country." — Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

"As someone who works in Washington during the week, I'm relieved that I can now defend myself in my own apartment without fearing a knock on the door from the local police," --Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga

And now, reaction from those who oppose freedom and will say anything to keep their power

"More handguns in the District of Columbia will only lead to more handgun violence." — Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty.

"While it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. Today's ruling ... will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country." — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"We're shown time and time again how many children have been killed in their homes by guns. ... The only thing it's gonna do is increase your taxes. More police. More hospitalization. More victims of violence." — Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

"I am profoundly disappointed in Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, both of whom assured us of their respect for precedent. With this decision, 70 years of precedent has gone out the window. And I believe the people of this great country will be less safe because of it." — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

"This decision's going to say to these guys that it's OK to have guns — that's the message the street gets from this ... If you take this ruling the wrong way, everybody and their mother's going to go out and get a gun." — Tio Hardiman, of the Chicago violence prevention group Cease Fire.

You can bet the libs (including Obama) will look for every loophole to regulate and keep guns out of the hands of citizens, but I think they will have an awfully hard time doing so now. 

 Also, you see the normal inconsistent thought about how guns in the hands of law-abiding individuals will somehow make them less safe and increase crime.....typical liberal rationalizing.

I'm a bitter, clingin', 2nd Amendment Vindicated Individual gun owner and PROUD OF IT!

Será possível que A marca da maldade (Touch of evil) já tenha feito meio século de existência? Sim, faz, neste ano em curso, cinqüenta anos, pois realizado em 1958. Trata-se de obra imprescindível para quem quiser compreender e entender o cinema contemporâneo (e há cópias em DVD nas melhores locadoras).

Orson Welles (numa interpretação inexcedível, obeso, desfigurado, para dar a impressão da configuração da maldade) é Hank Quinlan, policial de uma cidade da fronteira entre o México e os Estados Unidos, que tem o costume de fabricar as provas com as quais acusa os supostos culpados perseguidos. Um colega mexicano, Vargas (Charlton Heston, que mostra não ser apenas ator de épicos hollywoodianos, mas um ator de amplos recursos), que acaba de se casar com uma jovem americana, Suzie (Janet Leigh), vem a descobrir os arranjos de Quinlan e ameaça desmascará-lo. Com a ajuda de Grandi (Akim Tamiroff), um traficante local que serve à polícia com informações, Quinlan faz seqüestrar e drogar Suzie, matando logo em seguida seu cúmplice no quarto do hotel onde ela se encontra trancafiada. Uma sucessão de acontecimentos proporciona a um fiel subordinado de Quinlan, Menzies (Joseph Callea) a constatação de seu caráter e acaba ajudando Vargas no total desmascaramento de Quinlan.

Leia a matéria completa no site do Terra Magazine, clicando aqui.

There are distant voices calling me,

there is a heart I yearn to have

beating in unison with my own...

up close, in sync... beautiful harmony.

So I will travel to the Great White North...

we will wine and dine 

cram as much living as we can

into the next few days.

There are always the archives...

even I check them out once in a while

just to see where I was

and if I still am.

You'll be fine... trust me.

peace.

Toda vez que leio qualquer coisa sobre o Orson Welles, sempre Cidadão Kane é lembrado. Pra mim, este A marca da maldade é bem mais surpreendente. Enquanto o Cidadão Kane inspirou o gênero noir, este filme aqui é noir por si mesmo. O filme é escuro e bastante sujo pra ser considerado tão tão queridinho como Cidadão Kane. Além de ser bem ousado pra época para o que viria a ser chamado de pós-colonialismo, pois trata-se de uma trama de teoria de conspirações envolvendo polícia, política e tráfico de drogas na fronteira dos EUA e México. Charlton Heston está irreconhecível e charmoso como o jornalista chicano, o próprio Welles está desprezível(no bom sentido) como o policial corrupto e ainda conta com pontinha da super Marlene Dietrich toda morenona. Destaque principalmente ao início, às cenas no hotel e ao desfecho.