Klaatu Barada Nikto

First came An Inconvenient Truth, then came Wall-E, next comes Klaatu. Slowly, the ought decade of cinema is becoming more and more ecocentric and ecofriendly. And, I can only hope that the remake of the wonderful 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a continuation in this positive trend. Because I can see no other forgivable reason for creating such a remake as the two films, as of yet to me, do not look very much alike.

Some movies should never be remade- like To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) or in another way the original Star Wars (1977), to do so would degrade this countries cultural history. As the Library of Congress says with the United States National Film Registry some films are preserved because they are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Some things just shouldn't be fumbled with. And, even though there is a vast number of people who will never take the time or have the pleasure of viewing 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still that does not mean that anyone should go along and deliver a fresh new copy of it to the uninterested and unselfeducated masses.

Some things you just don't mess with. Now, I'll argue back and forth that John Carpenter's The Thing may in fact be superior to its 1951 original The Thing from Another World, and I'll hold out on the latter if only because of its classic suspense and how dated it may appear by today's standards. But, no matter how dated The Day the Earth Stood Still may be I still can't see much excuse for making a classic like it anew. ... Though, if anyone were to ever play Klaatu again I think Keanu Reeves is as alien enough as a human being can be and still be able to do it well.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951):


The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008):


I'll see this movie. And I'll even hope it's good, but I'll never consider it to be The Day the Earth Stood Still, of fully forgive its producers (no matter how good it is) for deciding to make it, even when I'm buying the Gort toy which I'm sure they'll make (and sure I'll buy) though I really wish they won't.

Maybe someday I'll review the original in the sappy as hell sentimental way we here seem to like to do.

CML

Religion? Pfft

The following was written by the good friend of the blog Eli, and thanks to my laziness and forgetfulness it's been languishing in some god forsaken folder on my computer. So here it is, in all it's glory. Thanks, Eli... I'm sorry this took so long.

'There is a resolution in the House of Representatives currently that attempting to create an "American Religious History Week.” Specifically, the aim is to affirm "...the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history and expressing support for designation of the first week in May as 'American Religious History Week' for the appreciation of and education on America's history of religious faith." In this resolution is a list of ties between church (specifically the Christian church) and state over the history of this country and the forming thereof. This list seems to be provided as evidence that since in the past there have been ties between the Christian faith and government that this trend should continue.

Three Points of Idiocy in this Resolution:

1) The first amendment CLEARLY states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." This resolution clearly respects the establishment of Christianity... simple as that.

2) Not only does it respect the establishment of a religion, it respects the establishment of ONE religion. Besides being in violation of the first amendment, it also discriminates against everyone of a minority religion, or those without religion.

3) The resolution also states that Thomas Jefferson "urged local governments to make land available specifically for Christian purposes, provided Federal funding for missionary work among Indian tribes, and declared that religious schools would receive the patronage of the government," this coming from the man that was a firm believer in separation of church and state. Therefore, either this statement is false, or Jefferson was a huge hypocrite. Either way, this does not change the first amendment.

The same is done throughout the entire document. There is a list of violations of the first amendment or presidents and other major figures speaking of the good religion has done. Instead of providing a list of evidence for the creation of an "American Religious History Week," this creates a list of the many violations of the first amendment. It is as though the authors of this resolution mean to say, "Well, there's a history of violating the first amendment, so it must be OK to continue this trend." To this, I say: Well, there is a significant history of gun violence in this country, so it must be OK to continue this trend... someone get me an Uzi.

We must first realize that even if the statements made are true, this does not make them OK. Just because TJ supposedly said that Christian schools would receive the support of the US government does not justify the continuation of this behavior in any way, because last time I checked, the first amendment is still in the constitution.

We must also remember that separation of church and state is a part of the US constitution for a very good reason. If we have all forgotten our US history, many of the early settlers in the US fled their country because of religious persecution. Before that, many people were tortured and died because of differing religious views in medieval periods. Separation of church and state prevents the kind of control that the church wreaked on Europe for centuries. The writings of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau were at least in some part inspired by the oppression of a political church they witnessed in their lifetime. This liberal revolution is the basis for our current government. The liberalness I speak of is of course the protection or individual rights and self-preservation, not a present day Democratic Party sort of liberal (just in case there is any confusion). It is a simple conclusion then that to believe in this country’s constitution and the principles that are behind it is to believe that the state should in no way endorse or respect the institution of religion, as a whole or an individual institution.

I realize there is a strong argument that the US is basically a Christian nation already because of the overwhelming percentage of Christians that make up this country. I agree that a large portion of our culture in the US has been shaped by the Christian religion. There is still a big difference between what has been ingrained socially through time, and what is supported by the government through laws/acts/bills. Just because the majority of the nation is Christian does not make it OK to pass bills respecting the establishment of Christianity. The same goes for the passing of bills that would support any other religion.

I want to make clear that I do no suggest this bill would have devastating effects, especially relative to past religious debacles. Actually, the bill most likely will not even make it to the floor of the House. I would also like to clear up the fact that while my personal views differ from that of the Christian religion, and for that matter any religion, I find nothing wrong with religious views and believe everyone is entitled to their own views. My point in writing this is that I seriously question the quality both of the electorate, and the people they are electing. Anyone with half a brain that read the first amendment could figure out that this bill is disgustingly unconstitutional. I believe the people writing this bill know that (at least I hope), and they are shamelessly attempting to push their beliefs onto everyone else.

This brings me to my next point that the religious right cannot be allowed to translate their beliefs into legislation. There are many religious beliefs that coincide with reason, and are laws because of reason, not religion. Other issues, such as gay marriage, are argued on a purely religious level, and homosexuals are denied basic rights because of an unconfirmed belief. On a separate note, I believe it is in the Christian religion to love they neighbor and the golden rule, to do unto others as you would have done unto you… or something along those lines. It seems as though a golden rule would trump any other quotation pulled from the bible that it would come into conflict with. I seriously suggest the religious right consider this closely they next time they think about the way they treat others, because no logical person would have themselves discriminated against. The conclusion I come to here is that everyone in the religious right is either illogical, an enormous hypocrite, or they are simply using the Christian doctrine and bending it to suit their personal vendettas.

I know this was a somewhat scattered and vague train of thought, but thank you to those who read the entire thing.

P.S. This is the link to the House Resolution:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:1:./temp/~c110oHeu9f::'

Cats and Dogs

I'm not really sure how to say this. It's hard to even think about, to tell you all the truth, but I suppose it is my duty to my readers to come clean on all manner of distasteful things. So... here it is: Caleb is now a Spartan. He will be attending Michigan State University this fall. Why? I have no idea. Having an enemy in my midsts is not comforting, but as the old axiom goes, keep your friends close, but... But he's a Spartan and I'm just going to have to live with sharing this blog with one of their kind, I suppose. I don't like it, but accommodations must be made and I will soldier on. Besides, he's already showing his Spartan work-ethic by never posting. You'd think that they would have taken there name from something lazier than a Spartan... made they should be The Michigan State Bureaucrats or something...

Anyhow, I'm honestly happy for Caleb. I just hope he enjoys his time there, and besides, now I get to be nastier to MSU once football season starts.

In other news, I will be on vacation for a week and as such the blog will be on hiatus (unless Caleb graces us with his presence) until I get back since there will be no electricity. So I'll leave you with this... in the immortal words of John Foggerty...

Long as I remember, the rain been comin down. Clouds of mys'try pourin' confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages, tryin' to find the sun; And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain.

Lions

I’m not quite sure what the point of this article is, because every football fan already knows what I am about to say, and no one else cares, and its not even football season, but here it goes anyhow…

I’m beyond hurt, I’m beyond caring… I’m just sick to my stomach. The Detroit Lions were never great, but when I was a kid they had greatness. There was Barry Sanders to watch, the greatest running back ever to play the game. Watching him run was like watching a gazelle evading a cheetah, it was pure motion, pure elation. He was a little blue streak doing things that were not humanly possible. It was simple greatness. The Lions might not have won any games that actually mattered, they might have disappointed, but at least they won. At least they had players who you felt cared, who you knew were good and at least you figured that the people in charge knew what the hell they were doing.

Not anymore. I’m not even going to name names. It’s just gone all downhill from there. Our GM is a complete moron, our owner is senile, our coach has no experience. How can you give a guy a contract extension when everyone on the face of the planet can see that he deserves to be fired? I’d rather have Black Manta running the team than the idiot who is now. And, the saddest thing is, I don’t even fucking care anymore. I’m so numb to it all. Why should I give a fuck when they don’t?

I guess I’m still a Lions fan, but I don’t care anymore. I feel like I’m in an abusive relationship and I can’t get out. I’ve finally just accepted my fate. Maybe I’ll still wear my Lions jersey, and maybe I’ll watch a few quarters of the game if it’s on and I have nothing else to do… but I won’t care anymore. Their perpetual loosing will no longer affect me. I just expect it now. The losing wouldn’t be so bad if I just felt they cared. But, whatever, I give up.

Speechless

George W. Bush is the Matt Millen of Presidents...

I have nothing else to say.