A conservative in hollywood...

Explains why President Bush is like Batman in the WSJ. Klavan succinctly articulates a large theme of The Dark Knight, and like Orwell, he understands that " We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. "

More about Klavan and conservatives in hollywood here.

Breaking news:

"As soon as this sad situation will be solved we’ll be ready for a great and mighty come back. A new album, a real masterpiece of Speed/Epic Metal, is already composed and ready to be recorded and after its release an immense worldwide tour will finally follow for yours and our extreme satisfaction."

So spake Luca Turilli, Italian guitar maestro and epic speed metal Jesus.

Slaps you have to be a Dodgers fan now

cuz the Tribe traded Casey Blake to the Dodgers for two minor league prospects. I refuse to buy another ticket until they fire Wedge as my form of protesting the Blake trade (and yes I know he's not GM and doesn't make trade deals, but he sucks as a manager. So if you trade Blake you must fire Wedge. There's alot of Rod math there that doesn't seem to make sense, but trust me, it's proven. Q.E.D.).

I agree Dark Knight was pretty fantastic (is Harvey Dent dead?). Heath Ledger turned out to be a fantastic Joker. Also, we got the watchmen preview. It's a homoerotic movie right? Cuz it looked like a homoerotic movie based on the preview. Is it really homoerotic?

Batman in Terminator

You all probably knew this before me, but Christian Bale is playing John Connor in Terminator Salvation.

The first chance you get

go and see The Dark Knight. It was effing awesome. There is a car chase scene that destroys the one in the second matrix movie. Heath Ledger is scary as shit. Batman beats the shit out of everything (thugs, cops, animals...). The only thing that really disappointed me was the lack of previews (wtf IMAX?). I really wanted to see the new Watchmen preview on the big screen.

Oh yeah, and Anthony Michael Hall is in the movie. You might remember him from such classics as Weird Science and Sweet 16.

Anyway, go see it. You won't be disappointed.

Also, I'm really glad that both Bert and John picked the Dunecat. LOLcat humor is lost on Taiwanese people so far.

While we're at it

Turns out Roger Clemens' dealer (the one he sued for defamation when he said Clemens used steroids and HGH) found some packing slips from sending such things to the Clemens household. Not that it comes as much of a shock that Clemens was on the juice and lied about it. I just don't understand why beneath the television wasn't the first place he looked.

Steroids

In my mind, the olympics (and anyone who actually watches them) lost the right to complain about doping when they allowed professional athletes to compete. If it were still a competition of amateur athletes, the use of steroids and whatnot would be more significant. And while I don't have an inherent repulsion to the use of performance enhancing drugs by professional athletes (score more TDs and hit more HRs - makes things more fun to watch imo), the small interest I did have in the olympics, which was based on the fact that it was illegal for professionals to compete, is completely gone now. That being said, I'll take Jordan and Bird over any of the ragamuffins hopped up on strength juice today. And maybe Wilt Chamberlain. You know, to keep me pure and protect my virtue.

For the record

I sent you the dunecat on facebook last week, Slaps.

I saw the Dara Torres thing on Slate today. For me, the drug issue makes sports less interesting or entertaining. Marion Jones would probably not do it if she had it to do again. Didn't work out so well for her, but only because she got prosecuted. I don't remember what for, but probably lying to the government, so maybe she would do it again and just not do that part. Drugs have really hurt cycling from what I've gathered. So whether you care about steroids or not or even if you think they're ok (John), I think they have been damaging to some sports (if not all of them). Fans will be less in awe of athletic achievements and hence athletes. (perhaps this is not a bad result given our low culture). Is it better to think of them as monstrous freaks or exceptionally accomplished people? That seems to be the trade-off.

This goes with the preceding post...

... to get your attention.


more cat pictures

Red Queen Theory, Olympic Doping Style

So the 41-year-old swimmer Dara Torres is breaking records she couldn't touch in her 20s. Alright. She submits herself to extra testing, and has never failed a drug exam.

But neither did Marion Jones. So let's say, hypothetically, that the technology for testing new methods of doping will always necessarily lag behind the current methods athletes are using which allow them to pass current tests. Which means we can catch the dopers, eventually, but only after the technology catches up to what they were doing.

She can win fleeting glory, set records, and making lots of money off endorsements in the span of time before she could be caught, the records erased, and the endorsements removed. Is it worth it? If that's the calculation, I suppose, maybe, it is. We could ask Marion Jones or Floyd Landis how it worked out for them.

Of course, there may also be a fair amount of hubris involved. Torres may legitimately believe she is doing nothing wrong, or that she will never be caught.

But my question for the scientists is, with the financial incentive so amazingly high for top-tier athletic performance (even in the very short term), will there ever be a time when testing can adequately rule out performance enhancing drugs, or will it always lag behind?

How'd you miss these?

Because you guys have been lazy:

Beer

There's a flavor ranking below Miller? Yuck.

Re: Bert's award

All the more reason to drink Coors! Delicious, magical Banquet Beer is the only thing I miss over here. Seriously, 90% of ALL BEER over here is "Taiwan Beer" which ranks a little below Miller in taste, which isn't bad. But dark beer is near impossible to find.

On a side note here's a funny/sad/infuriating story about the TSA's utter crappiness. And they're going to start doing similar things on Amtrak trains I hear.

Making the All-Star fiasco more exciting

I personally think home run derby is the best part of baseball. I also enjoy drinking. So I'm pleased to present this drinking game for home run derby. Slaps, since you're in the future, don't ruin it and tell us who wins.

Bert's award

...is that Anheuser-Busch is no longer an American owned company.

Radiohead

I say yes. I'm a fan of OK Computer, I used to have The Bends but I seem to have misplaced it. I haven't heard their other albums.

And that is Busch beer, my friend. Do I win anything?

Radiohead?

Is that really a serious question? That's like asking if you should read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at least once in your lifetime.

(Answer: Yes, you should, but after its over you may wonder what the hell everyone thought was so great about it. Dirty hippies.)

Question

Radiohead: yea or nay? Seriously, are they worth even checking out? Or will I bored like I was when I tried Coldplay?

Also, a treat: What beer is this? John, you can't guess. I'm sure you already know. Hint: it was on sale at 7-11 .

Minor league baseball is better than MLB

I give you three pieces of evidence - a crazy ninja foul ball girl and 2 manager explosions. I rest my case.