Friday, January 25, 2008
More on Jonah
And his sad, sad "book."
About Jonah's sources.
And remember, if you are criticizing and ridiculing a conservative's sincere effort at scholarship, and calling him out on his lies, then it is the same as censorship and you are a Nazi.
(And it's bad to call people Nazis. Except when you say it about people that conservatives don't like. Like when Rush calls feminists "feminazis." (Oh, I forgot, when a conservative does it, he (or she) is just joking.) And above all, don't forget, honored conservative brethren, always carry your double standard with you.)
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About Jonah's sources.
And remember, if you are criticizing and ridiculing a conservative's sincere effort at scholarship, and calling him out on his lies, then it is the same as censorship and you are a Nazi.
(And it's bad to call people Nazis. Except when you say it about people that conservatives don't like. Like when Rush calls feminists "feminazis." (Oh, I forgot, when a conservative does it, he (or she) is just joking.) And above all, don't forget, honored conservative brethren, always carry your double standard with you.)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Pay no attention
This post is here just so I can find it easier in the future.
It is David Neiwart's latest takedown of Jonah Goldberg.
You can read it if you want. Leave a comment about how disgusting it is that conservatives aren't denouncing Jonah Goldberg for his ignorance and his dishonesty. His book is an insult to everyone who died under or fought against real fascism.
If I was a conservative, I would be very upset about Jonah's book because it makes conservatives look stupid, opportunistic and dishonest. (But if you're smart enough to figure that out, you're too smart to be conservative.)
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It is David Neiwart's latest takedown of Jonah Goldberg.
You can read it if you want. Leave a comment about how disgusting it is that conservatives aren't denouncing Jonah Goldberg for his ignorance and his dishonesty. His book is an insult to everyone who died under or fought against real fascism.
If I was a conservative, I would be very upset about Jonah's book because it makes conservatives look stupid, opportunistic and dishonest. (But if you're smart enough to figure that out, you're too smart to be conservative.)
Monday, January 21, 2008
I, THE AUDIENCE: Around the World
I work late, until around midnight, or a little later, and then I ride my bicycle about eight miles to get home. I ride along a bike path that's beside a desert highway, and, sometimes, to relieve the boredom, I come up with topics for thought to give me something to do for an hour while I ride home, in the middle of the night, beside my moonshadow, beneath the big desert sky.
The last few nights, I have been considering cinema, and foreign films. I pick a country and then I try to think of my favorite movies from that nation and try to pick my very favorite movie from that country.
FRANCE - This took most of the hour. I have made fun of French movies a lot because, when you get stuck in a bad French movie, you are doomed! Well, I feel that way. A really good French movie is another thing entirely. I like old French movies, like "Zero de Conduite," "L'Atlante," "Blood of a Poet," "Testament of Orpheus," "Grand Illusion" and "Rules of the Game." I was also thinking of "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" and "Playtime." (I love "Playtime"! I almost stopped when I thought of "Playtime." What could beat that? What a great movie. But I kept going.)
There's more recent films like "Queen Margot," "A Very long Engagement" (another film that almost got the nod) and "Amelie." Great films.
Then I thought of "8 femmes" and I had my winner. It's also known as "8 Women" and I don't feel like telling you what it's about. The director has been called the French Almodovar. I rented a couple of years ago and watched it every day for a week. I never do that with French films. I seldom do that with any film.
Favorite French film: "8 femmes" ("8 Women")
ITALY - I thought about this on two consecutive nights. I have seen too many Italian films and I really love dumb Italian movies. So I had all these crazy Italian movies running through my head, like "Danger: Diabolik" and "Rome - Armed to the Teeth" and "Modesty Blaise" and I was trying to figure out if "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is an Italian film, and I was trying to remember the names of some of the many Italian movies I've seen that had all kinds of goofy crap in them.
I really have seen too many Italian movies.
I narrowed it down to Fellini. I love Fellini, and I thought if I could pick my favorite Fellini movie, then I could just compare any movie I came up with to Fellini and maybe that would me choose. So I was considering "La Strada," "Nights of Cabiria," "La Dolce Vita," "8 1/2" and "Amarcord," and I just could not decide.
Tonight, I had a breakthrough! "Fellini Satyricon"! I don't why I didn't think of it last night. It has been a long time since I last saw it, but I used to go watch it at the New Beverly Theater, the Los Angeles revivial house that is one of the many things I miss about Los Angeles. They used to show it twice a year. I don't know how many times I saw it. I'm sure I've seen five or six times. At least.
My favorite Italian move. No contest.
Favorite Italian film: "Fellini Satyricon"
GERMANY - As soon as I thought to myself, "Now to consider German film," I thought of "Pandora's Box," the silent film, directed by the amazing G.W. Pabst, about the adventures of a doomed girl whose beauty leads everyone in her web into an inescapable vortex of lust, foolishness, greed and tragedy. I have never shaken my Louise Brooks obsession, but I have also never tried. And I never will.
This movie kicks ass.
Favorite German film: "Die Buchse der Pandora" ("Pandora's Box")
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The last few nights, I have been considering cinema, and foreign films. I pick a country and then I try to think of my favorite movies from that nation and try to pick my very favorite movie from that country.
FRANCE - This took most of the hour. I have made fun of French movies a lot because, when you get stuck in a bad French movie, you are doomed! Well, I feel that way. A really good French movie is another thing entirely. I like old French movies, like "Zero de Conduite," "L'Atlante," "Blood of a Poet," "Testament of Orpheus," "Grand Illusion" and "Rules of the Game." I was also thinking of "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" and "Playtime." (I love "Playtime"! I almost stopped when I thought of "Playtime." What could beat that? What a great movie. But I kept going.)
There's more recent films like "Queen Margot," "A Very long Engagement" (another film that almost got the nod) and "Amelie." Great films.
Then I thought of "8 femmes" and I had my winner. It's also known as "8 Women" and I don't feel like telling you what it's about. The director has been called the French Almodovar. I rented a couple of years ago and watched it every day for a week. I never do that with French films. I seldom do that with any film.
Favorite French film: "8 femmes" ("8 Women")
ITALY - I thought about this on two consecutive nights. I have seen too many Italian films and I really love dumb Italian movies. So I had all these crazy Italian movies running through my head, like "Danger: Diabolik" and "Rome - Armed to the Teeth" and "Modesty Blaise" and I was trying to figure out if "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is an Italian film, and I was trying to remember the names of some of the many Italian movies I've seen that had all kinds of goofy crap in them.
I really have seen too many Italian movies.
I narrowed it down to Fellini. I love Fellini, and I thought if I could pick my favorite Fellini movie, then I could just compare any movie I came up with to Fellini and maybe that would me choose. So I was considering "La Strada," "Nights of Cabiria," "La Dolce Vita," "8 1/2" and "Amarcord," and I just could not decide.
Tonight, I had a breakthrough! "Fellini Satyricon"! I don't why I didn't think of it last night. It has been a long time since I last saw it, but I used to go watch it at the New Beverly Theater, the Los Angeles revivial house that is one of the many things I miss about Los Angeles. They used to show it twice a year. I don't know how many times I saw it. I'm sure I've seen five or six times. At least.
My favorite Italian move. No contest.
Favorite Italian film: "Fellini Satyricon"
GERMANY - As soon as I thought to myself, "Now to consider German film," I thought of "Pandora's Box," the silent film, directed by the amazing G.W. Pabst, about the adventures of a doomed girl whose beauty leads everyone in her web into an inescapable vortex of lust, foolishness, greed and tragedy. I have never shaken my Louise Brooks obsession, but I have also never tried. And I never will.
This movie kicks ass.
Favorite German film: "Die Buchse der Pandora" ("Pandora's Box")
