Blast from the Past Love is in the Air!

Valentine's Day is coming, so Blast from the Past needed to have a love theme. But what kind of love theme? I mean, music is just too broad. Do you know how many songs have the word "love" in them? It's crazy. I wanted something a little more unique. So, how about this? TV theme songs to shows with the word "love!" I don't even know how many there are, so as I find them I'll post them. Let's see how many I can gather.

1. Get Christie Love! (1974)
2. I Love Lucy (1953)



3. Joanie Loves Chachi (1982)
4. Love, American Style (1969)



5. Everybody Loves Raymond (1996)
6. Bridget Loves Bernie (1970)



7. The Love Boat (1977)
8. Big Love (2006)



What do you know, I got a full post out of it! There are others, like Love Connection (with the odious Chuck Woolery) and some reality shows. But I think this gets most of the big ones. Until Valentine's Day, have a great week!

Right Wing World: Outrage Over Obama's Down Time

People are always trying to say that "both sides do it" whenever there is an argument with a political divide. Of course, there is often also false equivalence, where the preponderance of wrongdoing is on one side or the other. But there is one place where we have some similarity, and one of those would be: presidential vacations. At least for this and the previous president, opponents have bitched about how much downtime they take, what else might be going on, what else they should be doing, and how much it all costs.

Let 'em eat cake!

Did I complain about Dubya's vacationing, and traipsing around? Sure. I really, really, really disliked George W. Bush, and a high percentage of his administration (though I saved my hatin' for Dick Cheney). I don't even like seeing video of Bush, or hearing his or Darth's voice. Ugh. But I'm pretty sure it was fairly low on my list of grievances at the time. The only one that really stands out is the time Dubya was having cake with John McCain, and learning how to play the guitar with country singer Mark Wills, while Hurricane Katrina was bearing down.

So, yeah, I complained. But as far as I know, I didn't make shit up about it. I didn't exaggerate to a ridiculous degree, and then start to believe my own exaggerations. I thought Bush was a dolt, I thought little positive or negative of Laura, but I don't think my rancor--public or private--came anywhere near where the right goes on President Obama. The thinly veiled or openly naked racism, laced with pure hatred is really quite stunning. So, there is an area where "both sides do it," but one side does it much, much worse. Bush Derangement Syndrome may have been over-the-top, but Obama Derangement Syndrome is oh-so-very-low.

It ought to be pointed out that a) all presidents and their family get perks like travel, lodging, fine food, and other niceties; b) Obama's vacation and leisure time is not out of scale (and is actually less) than his immediate predecessor and most other presidents; and c) Michelle Obama has been trashed by the right--for no real (non-racist) reason--far more than any other first lady ever has.

Image from Wonkette

Here's an article from Wonkette, because a story this rancid can only be tolerated with a heaping helping of humor. This is proven often by The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and on a good day, Saturday Night Live. The article focuses on right-wing world's insane reaction to the Obamas' Valentine's Day, and is a prime example of the kind of thing I'm talking about.

[Excerpt]

Americans Very Angry King Barack And Ugly Wife Did Not Have Mac And Cheese With Cut-Up Hot Dogs For Valentine’s Dinner

. . .Yes, Barack Obama flew home from Atlanta in time for his dinner date with the beautiful First Lady, and Yahoo News commenters went full Victoria Jackson. (Because Barack Obama was not supposed to fly home from Atlanta, we guess, but should have either taken a Greyhound bus or stayed in Atlanta forever.) There are your usual comments about monkeys and heaping platters of baby back ribs and buckets of KFC, but those are to be expected, because “postracial. . .”

Read more at: Wonkette

Happy Valentine's Day from Greenlee Gazette!

If you can't get the awkward slideshow to launch, here's a link to their main site: Awkward Family Photos.

DVD Review: Valentine's Day and Shortbus

There's a strange thing that happens when I watch two movies on the same day, maybe it happens to you too. No matter how different the two films, in genre or in tone, there is almost always some common element between them.  Now, I couldn't have picked two movies with seemingly less in common.  Shortbus is an independent "art" film, with the most explicit sex scenes I've ever seen outside of porn.  Which is not to say that I uh. . .watch porn. Ahem.  And Valentine's Day is a romantic comedy from Garry Marshall.  Shortbus features a largely unknown cast, and Valentine's Day is chock full of major A-list stars.

But both films feature sprawling casts with seemingly no connecting link, until somehow, all of the storylines overlap.  Both have most of the storylines that are mostly tied up at the end, with some ending happily, some sad, and others left up in the air, or answered in a surprising way.  And both feature a character who likes to take Polaroid snapshots of other characters in the film.  That's quite a bit in common, and it has to be the tenth time something like that has happened without planning it.  But aside from those similarities, the movies are vastly different experiences.

Images from Wikipedia

Shortbus is not for everybody, and if you're one of those it isn't for, you'll know it within the first couple of minutes. The opening scene is an inter-woven montage of most of the major characters having full-on, down and dirty sex. Not "Hollywood" sex, but actual sex of the non-simulated kind. There are things going on there, of both the heterosexual and the homosexual variety that I can nearly guarantee you've never seen in a "mainstream" film before.  Oddly enough, the scene is there to introduce you to the characters, and sets the film in motion.  The cast of unknowns is surprisingly good, and attractive in an unconventional, non-Hollywood way.  The film was written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, the guy behind Hedwig and the Angry Inch, so it would be fair to think that it was a gay film, but it isn't exclusively that.  But if you have a problem with "the gay" you're going to hate this movie.  Me? I was pleasantly surprised. I was engaged until the end, and impressed too.  The extra element of sex was interestingly handled, and strangely enough, not always sexy. 

I've seen a lot of artsy-fartsy films, and as many leave me cold as impress me. This one? I liked it. So if you're looking for a "different" film, you're open minded (or you are tired of only the ladies being buck naked in the movies), take it for a spin. Just make sure there are no kids, prudes or squeamish people in the room with you.

Valentine's Day isn't my usual kind of flick either, landing squarely in the "chick flick" category. The Other Half eats that stuff up, and he caught it while it ran in theaters, and had great things to say about it.  Immediately after, the negative reviews started rolling in. Its Rotten Tomatoes ranking is 18% fresh (that ain't good). So when we popped in the Blu-ray this afternoon, I wasn't expecting much.

But you know what? It ain't bad. Not even half-bad. It basically works like a Love Boat episode on land, with several love stories being told at once, intercut with each other. Like Love Boat, the storylines are mildly amusing, a little cheesy, a bit predictible, and maybe told a little too quickly (the story spans one day, February 14) to be realistic. Unlike Love Boat, there are many more stories, and we're not talking D-list Hollywood has beens. We're talking Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Kathy Bates, Queen Latifah, Anne Hathaway, Eric Dane, Jamie Foxx, and that is just for starters.  The movie is longish, but fairly breezy. The stories are light, but just engaging enough to keep your interest til the end. And if you've avoided spoilers, there are a couple of storylines that resolve in unexpected ways.  My verdict?  Harmless fun, go in with low expectations, and you'll like it just fine.

And by the way, Shortbus' Rotten Tomatoes ranking? 65% fresh (that's pretty damned good for a film like this).

Valentine Video: Till The End by Tim Goss

This is a nice, pleasent, all-inclusive Valentine-ready video, which I found at Joe.My.God. It's sweet, and it's nice, and I don't care if it bothers people who can't see that. Enjoy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ah yes, Valentine's Day. It's that one day of the year when you're practically guaranteed to get lucky--if you're in a relationship. If you're not, Valentine's Day is either a non-event, or it's a day to drown your sorrows in a pint--oh who am I kidding--half gallon of ice cream.

I spent most of my first 31 years single, and I honestly didn't give much thought to Valentine's Day. And curiously, after 10 years with The Other Half, I still don't. I'm not one for the mushy stuff, and he's not one to plan ahead, so it sort of works out. We usually exchange cards, occasionally a sweet treat or two, maybe a gift (though that has been rare). But I honestly don't think we've ever gone out to dinner for it or done anything extravagant.

Even so, I'd like to take this opportunity, on what amounts to the nine-year anniversery of cohabitation to give a shout-out to my Valentine. I loves ya, honey, and I can't imagine life without you. I hope to share many more special days with you, and ordinary ones too. Big, wet smoochies. Oh, and you just might get lucky too. . .

Conservative Humor: GOP Valentine Cards

As long as the GOP keeps me on their mailing list, I'll always have a few things to post about here on the blog. The most recent mailing highlights something I've touched on in the past, but can always use a little attention.

The topic is, why is "conservative humor" such an oxymoron? FOX "News" attempted a Daily Show ripoff called The 1/2-Hour News Hour, a horrifically unfunny show that was mercifully put to sleep in short order. After Dennis Miller shifted right, he also got a gig on FOX, adding commentary to various programs, and utterly cancelled out the rest of his career. Soooo not funny. Outside of those two attempts at conservative humor, I have real trouble even coming up with examples. Unintentional conservative humor abounds (just check out Hannity & Colmes), but the on purpose stuff is elusive.

That's because political humor is a tricky thing. You have to start with the funny, not with the partisanship. Conservative humor usually comes off forced, and is often mean-spirited, misogynistic, racist, homophobic, or a combination of those things. You might laugh a little, but you'll feel guilty for it.

Ah, but you want proof. OK, here is the GOP's current attempt at humor, a collection of Valentine's Day cards from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.




Hilarious, right? I'll spare you the rest, but if you feel so moved, check it out here.