wednes | The best mob movie of all time: Shark Tale!

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The best mob movie of all time: Shark Tale!

But seriously folks, tonights big season premeire extravaganza was well worth waiting for. And in fact, I didn't have to wait very long because I had no idea that the new Simpsons season was going to be starting 2 months earlier than usual. So I had a few people over, and a good time was had by some. ;-]

The Simpsons featured Michael Imperioli and Joe Pantoliano as...well, mob guys out to get Fat Tony. It was delightful and funny and spoofed both Sopranos and Godfather. So you know, Squeeeee! People sometimes talk nonsense about The Simpsons not being funny or not being as funny as it used to be. Those people should probably add a sense of humor to their Amazon wish list. The holiday season is fast approaching.

American Dad was also serving up the parody love with a hilarious send-up of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe featuring Roger and Francine as the fake-baby-making-up couple. And that's only the secondary plot! Good stuff.
Family Guy was awesome as always, and still more parody ensued. This time, Peter accuses his doc of a The Accused style assault when in fact, he was giving him a prostate exam. Again, hilarious. Come to think of it though, I don't recall seeing Chris or Meg in the whole episode. I'm hoping this season will uncover the mystery of what ever became of Cleaveland Jr. Did he go the way of "Chuck" on Happy Days (or Donna's little sister on That 70's Show--for you youngsters)?
Who knows? Not me.

And Venture Bros was pretty funny too. No surprises there.

I posted a new short story over at

wednes_writes which is much closer to the horror stuff I love so well. I kept telling myself to take a break from horror, but it's not really working out. Mostly it's giving me nightmares and putting me off my game.
In that vein, I'm hoping that by Monday I'll be able to turn on Animal Planet without feeling so goddamn sad. Steve Irwin's funeral was Saturday. His family turned down the offer of a State funeral, saying that he would have hated all that fuss. He is to be interred at Australia Zoo. Now I hope I can just watch my animal shows again without sad "commemorative" spots 4-6 times an hour.

Just to get it out of the way, I'll say a little something about the 5 year anniversary of 9/11:
I'll say that even though we've been supposedly beating the terrorists (whatever the hell THAT means) since this thing happened (and of course there are still scads and oodles of questions about how it happened and why that aren't being asked, let alone answered) confidence in our government has gotten steadily worse. Rights have been curtailed and citizens villianized unlike anything we've seen in this country since McCarthyism was rampant. People hate the US like never before, election results are being faked, and domestic issues are being badly bungled again and again and again. Gas prices are ridiculous, minumum wage is laughable, jobs are nowhere to be found, and more than half of our citizens can't even afford to see a doctor let alone pay for medication. Comedians are addressing government issues better and more honestly than journalists, and no one is doing anything to stop our own government from bold-face lying to us. Every effort is being made to legislate Christian morals and curtail rights of many minorities. And I still don't have a damn job.
And you know what? None of that is the fault of terrorists.

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Amen to your anniversary comment. ::sigh::

Now off to read your new short story ...

On your anniversary remarks: word.

Sad but true...

I have two things to say.

1) Gas prices are ridiculous, but probably not in the way you think.

2) You'd prbably have an easier time finding a job if you would try loving America instead of hating. We are way too busy trying to make life safe for Iraqis, we'll get to our domestic concerns when the world is safe for democracy.

#1 Well, I don't think they're drawing funny faces on the pumps--although that would be quite ridiculous.

#2 Okay, well I'll just refuse to pay taxes or student loans until it is. Wait a minute...I was already doing that.

What I mean is that gas prices in the US are ridiculously low. We use our political power to artificially depress the cost of fuel. We have the lowest gas prices outside of any major oil producing country.

Our gas prices are roughly twice what they should be. Oil companies make a larger profit every year, that is what I object to. And other non-oil countries don't have throes of people dying for gas like we do...that should probably lower our fuel bill a bit.

Besides, other countries have things like trains, jobs, and you can ride a bike or motorcycle safely...unlike here.

Where do we have throes of people dying for gas?

Other countries recognise the shortsightedness of a petroleum based energy source...unlike here.

Maybe you heard, there's a war going on in some oil countries and American soldiers are dying there.

Some Americans are dying. Throes of Arabs are dying. Maybe you've heard the Iraqi death toll is over 10 times the US losses. Hell, the Iraqi civilian death toll is higher than the US military.

So...are you saying we're not sacrificing enough people to get affordable oil?

Compared to other western countries we have pretty much the cheapest gas in the world. We have affordable oil. The demand for oil goes up every year, the amount of oil on the planet goes down every year.

You're right. Bush and his peeps are doing a great job and there's no artificial or crippling increase in gas prices. And yeah, what's a few thousand american dead so long as more brown people are dying? How silly of me.

First, don't pull that shit with me. I know what you're doing.
Second, gas prices are not crippling.
Third, conquering Iraq does not entitle us to cheap gas.

Please try and keep this in perspective and on topic.

All I said was that gas prices are ridiculous. You've been arguing that I'm wrong about that for two fucking days. It's getting old.

I don't disagree with you. Gas prices are ridiculous. Ridiculously low compared to other similar markets.

So, are you saying that because gas prices are higher in places where people don't rely on cars, that Americans should be glad to pay $3 a gallon?

What "similar market" do you refer to?

Highways, public transportation, lifestyles, all these things make a profound difference in how oil is used and managed. In many cities, you don't have the option to take busses or trains to go back and forth to work--you need to drive. In many countries, it is not expected that everyone will own a car, but here you are profoundly less marketable without one. For most people here, cars are a neccesity and not a luxury--that is not true in much of the world. So even if gas is $7 a gallon, you don't need to go through 2 tankfulls a week just to get to work.

And how do you expect to develop such an environment here? I know one way to prevent it. Keep oil prices relatively low for as long as possible to prevent the public feeling the need for alternate fuels or transportation. As long as we keep prices low, the ignorant public will think it's OK to just burn oil unrestricted. And in 50-100-150 years, whenever it happens, there won't be any more oil. It is my humble opinion that the sooner we make the transition from a fossil fuel based energy economy the better. But it won't happen until people are made uncomfortable. That's how we grow, we are made uncomfortable, so we change to adapt. We can't move forward technologically if we rely on a fuel source that we KNOW will run out sooner rather than later.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we should just continue on as usual and wait until the last possible moment to solve the problem. That's been working pretty well for us hasn't it?

And how do you expect to develop such an environment here?

I don't. Nor did I ever suggest that we could, or should.

So...you're saying the oil companies are screwing us for our own good, because some people were foolish enough to beleive the president when he said "don't worry, there's plenty of oil"?? Because yesterday you were saying we should be grateful because we have low gas prices comparatively.

People have been saying that we need to move away from reliance on oil for over 30 years. There were awesome electric cars availible for awhile, and the government recalled them and locked them away so they couldn't be sold or used. That is not the fault of the consumer. Nor is the impraticality of the Segue, or the enormous startup costs associated with solar power, or the fact that a hybrid car is out of financial reach of most americans. The US government (except Carter and Clinton) has thwarted these advancements since the 70's, and the public at large pays the price. Are you really blaming customer service workers, janitors or office workers for not inventing new technologies to free us from oil dependence?

And again, I'm baffled as to how you came at this diatribe on technology and petroleum when all I said was "gas prices are ridiculous."

I'll ask you, as a guy who drives back and forth to work everyday, and then hours out of town a couple times a month--what should the average person be doing to solve this problem (while also being grateful for gas that costs roughly $3 a gallon)?

And you didn't answer my question about "similar markets." Which markets are these?

I don't. Nor did I ever suggest that we could, or should.
I'll remember you wrote this the next time you complain about a bus line being cut.

Do me a favor and when you want to know what I'm saying. Read what I type, and listen to what I say.

Didn't you say this was getting old?

I'm not going to comment beyond this...

There are no new technologies required to free us from oil dependence. In Brazil cars run on alcohol, and have for decades. We currently have a product called E85, which is 85% ethanol. Any diesel vehicle can run on bio-diesel. Do you know what bio-diesel is? It's vegetable oil. Hybrid vehicles get 20-50% greater fuel economy and a comparable non-hybrid vehicle. And every time you see a new SUV, most of them cost about the same or more than a Prius. The consumer will, when sufficiently motivated, switch to these products.

Lower fuel prices won't help ease any suffering. It will just encourage the purchasing of more SUVs. There is a direct relationship of fuel economy to fuel cost. Cost goes up, and economy goes up.

If you're confused as to how we got here, then read the thread. But if you remember my original comment was simply to state that they are ridiculous, just not in the way you think. And somehow you seriously believe that you hold no responsibility for this discussion.

The average person should, if they are concerned about fuel costs, purchase the most efficient vehicle in their budget that suits their needs. I know very few people who do this. But I know a lot of people who complain about the cost of gas.

You know, I can't beleive how often I forget that it's impossible to have a rational discussion with you. Your pathological need to be right about everything gets really sad after a very short time.

What I have said, several times is that the US government goes way out of it's way to stop alternative fuel sources (see: who killed the electric car) while screwing it's citizens with a fat-cat artiicial raising of gas prices knowing damn well that people depend on gas because suburban and urban people need it for their everyday lives. If you think they're doing it to help us, teach us a lesson, or bring about alternate fuel choices, you're kidding yourself.

PS The world isn't exactly like they say on NPR anymore than it's like they say on FOX.

You know, I can't beleive how often I forget that it's impossible to have a rational discussion with you. Your pathological need to be right about everything gets really sad after a very short time.
It's shocking how you can accuse me of being off topic, and write this attacking dribble. I think that by now you would be better than to resort to inflammatory statements. And it's just amazing that you can accuse me of having a pathological need to be right about everything. Can you even say that with a straight face?

Yes, I know that the government goes out of its way to stop alternate fuel sources. Otherwise we would have started making the transition to ethanol like Brazil did 30 years ago. High efficiency vehicles have existed for decades. If the public really wanted them, they would demand them through their power as the consumer.

"If you think they're doing it to help us, teach us a lesson, or bring about alternate fuel choices, you're kidding yourself."
I never said this. I don't know why you think that I did. I did say that the result of higher fuel costs would result in a faster switch to more fuel-efficient technology. And that constantly telling people prices will get better after we blah blah blah only serves to keep people buying SUVs. Which is true.

Once again, if you please read what I actually wrote instead of attributing statements to me then you would see that I am being rational and consistent.

I'm not commenting again until you cease with the personal attacks and mischaracterizing of my statements.

By the way, I'll be in Ypsi at around 4pm today. Did you want to come out? Give me a call.

I'm not commenting again...

You already said that. Apparently you lied.

You're sure those 'christian morals' guys aren't terrorists?

Hell no, I'm not. I've also been calling them fascists.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The best mob movie of all time: Shark Tale!

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Wow, you are remarkably off the point.

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