Trust No One

Suspension of haebeas corpus is super sketchy:

The Bush Administration at work, ladies and gentlemen.

Night cap post

I have early work tomorrow, but I figured I could post some more So You Think You Can Dance? love. I picked a fantasy team:


Katee seems normal and is just delightful to watch. Will is just great and rather attractive. Mark is quirky and wonderful. He's been in my very favorite dances of this season so far. All of them have been really good so far. Will needs a new partner to really shine so we'll just have to wait for things to shake up. I love this show.

Politically relevant movies you should watch:

1. In the Name of the Father (1993) tells the story of the wrongfully accused Guildford Four--four innocent Irishmen and women convicted for IRA bombings in England. In a move that feels similar to post-9/11 US terrorist investigations, Britain passed laws in the 1970s to detain terrorists for a week without any formal charges. In the film we see how harsh interrogations lead to desperate accusations and false admission of guilt. Based on real events, it's chilling to see how a desperate government would quickly accuse and punish innocent people because of popular pressure. Cutting down rights doesn't necessarily bring safety, as proved by this case.
Cinematic side note: The script allows Daniel Day-Lewis to make this a great coming-of-age story as well as political drama as we see his character grow up in prison with his father as a cell mate. Great acting all around.


2. Wag the Dog (1997) is a political comedy that's funny because it's true. A small group invents a war between the United States and Albania to distract from a presidential sex scandal close to reelection. Everything from war footage, inspirational songs, and an improvised war hero help to create the perfect fake war. While this was eerily predictive of the 1998 Clinton sex scandal, the paranoia still exists that people only know what the media tells them and that the media can be manipulated. Considering the proliferation of media in the last decade, I can only imagine how much more a situation like this would consume America before anyone caught on. Who could tell if it hasn't happened already.
Cinematic side note: Everyone ever is in this movie. Robert DeNiro is surprisingly subtle and funny, and Dustin Hoffman gives one of his first performances as the go-to crazy guy. Anne Heche is relatable and fun as she is forced to go along with every scheme to protect the President's image.

Remember that one time...

While watching the NBA finals this week, I tried to explain to a roommate the greatest thing the Portland Trail Blazers were ever involved in. Now I can just show her:



That's been stuck in my head since 1992. Thanks Dan Reed, U-Krew, and Z-100!

You should probably know about this:

A blog dedicated to making fun of "Pictures of other people's parties from Flickr." Sorry I Missed Your Party is way more amusing than it should be, but I like laughing at dumb pictures on facebook, so this is really the next step: letting someone else make a picture funnier.

WARNING*: the first photo on there right now is of a guy hurling into a bedpan while tipped over on a bike.

*Or AWESOME ALERT?

Medley of the Day: Saxophone Edition

I take back any prejudice I've ever had against the saxophone. Somewhere along the line I started to hate the sound of the sax because it sounds so dated; it somehow manages to either sound cheesy or sleazy--which is true to an extent. But recently I discovered I really do love this sultry woodwind.

One of the reasons is because of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon which features the saxophone extensively and tastefully. Here's "Us and Them", complete with creepy visuals from 2001: Space Odyssey:



Another reason is the discovery of Supertramp. My friend Michael queued me into this ubiquitous band and I find them everywhere! "It's Raining Again" features some sweet sax solos mixed with pop perfection:



And what really sparked this medley is "New York State of Mind" by Billy Joel, which came on shuffle while I was cleaning a bathroom. I realized I really dug the sweet mixture of piano and sax. I found this bad quality video of the song that I'm only using because of the saxophone player's outfit: let's just say denim vest*.




*See the Festivus episode of Seinfeld.