America through 10 movies

A cool meme I will try my hand at...

"The challenge is to explain America to someone from somewhere else by giving them 10 movies to watch. The idea is not to give them a history lesson, so you don't have to start with The New World and end with Jarhead. What you're trying to do is give them a sense of who we are -- your take on our dreams, our attitudes, our idioms, what we think we are, what we are afraid we are, what we really might be."

Please note, I've tried to keep it to recent movies (no more than 20 years old) because I think the way we see ourselves is very temporal... So, here are my choices:

Garden State (2004) - it starts out a bit dark, but ends on an optimistic note - we all want that happy ending - its quirky characters ring true to the weird individuality that is America.
Rushmore (1999) - yes, we are all sort of enthralled by popular culture, and yes, Bill Murray's character is great at showing that capitalism can leave us unhappy.
American Beauty (1999) - the contemporary American family is far from perfect - an interesting analysis of individuality as opposed to true familiality.
Pleasantville (1998) - a great, lighthearted commentary not only on America waking up from the 1950s but also on personal discovery.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - more quirky families learning to accept each other, but done through wonderful storytelling.
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - even though it's set n the early 1900s, it speaks volumes about friendship and loyalty.
Big Fish (2004) - are all Americans tall tale tellers? Are all families in America dysfunctional? Do all stories end happily? Yes, Yes, Yes/No. Discuss...
Far from Heaven (2002) - more self-discovery, this time mainly for a 1950s woman who learns how to be independent after her husband admits he's gay - there's also some hopeful interracial interaction.
Dances with Wolves (1990) - a western epic that explores a more realistic representation of Native Americans - also a great commentary on appreciating differences.
Ferris Beuller's Day Off (1986) - were all kids in 1980s America this precocious and/or neurotic? Also, is this what the American eduction system is like? Moreso that not, I'm afraid.

Most of these films are filled with flawed, quirky characters who, more often than not, learn how to accept and love each other. I guess that's what I've always believed America was about. Too bad the Republicans and Democrats can't learn that lesson...

Lies, lies, lies, yeah!

During a recent press conference where questions arose about whether George W. Bush, or as I like to call him, 'king W., had ever associated with "allegedly" corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said, “The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him.”

Well, that apparently, is a LIE. According to reporter Kim Eisler of The Washingtonian:

"The Washingtonian has seen five photos of the President with Abramoff or his family. One photo shows the President and Abramoff shaking hands at a meeting in the Old Executive Office Building, where a bearded-Abramoff introduced Bush to several of the lobbyist’s native-American clients."

Read the whole report here.

There have been so many statements of questionable truth from 'king W. and his entire administration on any number of things from 9/11 to torture of prisoners to WMD's in Iraq to basically anything the man says... In my mind, all of those hinge on whether or not we ever see those photos or hear from Abramoff directly that Bush knows him. If we find that confirmed, then I say IMPEACH BUSH for lying to the Ameican people. Because if he's lying aobut this particular instance, what's to say he hasn't been lying all along? Isn't "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness" one of the big ones, 'king W.?

By the way, former President Bill Clinton was brought to censure for lying about getting a blow job from Monica Lewinski. If that was the result from a years' long investigation and congressional censure all because of a lie about sex, shouldn't there be some major investigations going on right now about this lying about the really important stuff? Maybe not, especially if there is what seems to be a culture of corruption that pervades the Republican party in Washington D.C. You've got to keep your party's corruption covered up, especially when your party includes the president and the majority party... Wake up America!

Empirical evidence

Currently, I am a very big fan of empirical (relying on or derived from observation or experiment or verifiable or provable by means of observation or experiment) evidence--empirical evidence about anything: evolution, global warming, WMD, nature vs. nurture, genetics vs. choice, a Higher Power, quantifiable public opion, projections based on past data averages, etc. Our fearless leader 'king W. does not appear to care or seem to need to care about empirical evidence. Most of our religious leaders are ignoring empirical evidence. My faith that the Higher Power actually cares or can do anything about our individual situations is at an all time low--currently I have no empirical evidence to support that assertion. Sorry, but that's how I feel right now. I hope I am proven wrong, but until then...gimme empirical evidence or get outta my face.

Pensive? Introspective? Me?!?

Came across this text on the web somewhere and it resonated somehow. I must be in one of my pensive, introspective moods. Or maybe it's just the January blahs... In any case, I kind of like what it says. I couldn't find an author, so I'll attribute it to anonymous (he or she's writte a lot of profound stuff over the years...).

It's been said that people come into our lives for a reason--bringing something we must learn. We are led to those who help us grow if we let them, and we help them in return. Well I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today because I met you. Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you I have been changed. It may well be that we never meet again in this lifetime, so let me say before we part, so much of me is made of what I learned from you. You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart, and now, whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend.

Four things...

A recent circulating meme that seems appropriate for the new year...

Four jobs you’ve had in your life: Director of Marketing, Director of Communications, Webmaster, College Admissions Counselor

Four movies you could watch over and over: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back, Gladiator, Dodgeball

Four places you’ve lived: Sioux Falls, SD; Crookston, MN; Morris, MN; Lowry, MN

Four TV shows you love to watch: South Park, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, the Daily Show

Four places you’ve been on vacation: Alaska; Minnesota’s North Shore; Austin, TX; Cedar Rapids, IA

Four websites you visit daily: patriotboy.blogspot.com ; www.washingtonpavilion.org ; www.truthout.org ; uncannyxmen.net

Four of your favorite foods: Pizza, Chocolate, Lasagna, Chicken

Four places you’d rather be: in bed, at the beach, listening to CDs at home, hanging out with friends