MovieBob

I'll grant that you are more well-traveled than I, but that said I think you're misunderstanding me.

I'm not disputing that there are plenty of wide open spaces. I love those places, as a matter of fact. But there are less and less of them every year. "Urban Sprawl" is REAL. Think of every nice, open, non-crammed place you know. NOW think of it paved-over into a cul-de-sac , a planned community, a housing project, whatever lodging for the ever-expanding blob of humanity you wish – cause if we keep going at this pace, that's what it's gonna be sooner or later.

McElhinney "loves" Alaska – I can see why, it's gorgeous. But the irony is, if we were to follow her prescriptions for managing resources – i.e. DON'T manage them at all, there's no such thing as too many people, etc – it won't be gorgeous anymore… it'll be DETROIT.

Also: I don't know that humans are the bane of the planet, and frankly I don't care: It's enough that they're the bane of ME ... See all content Hide content

2 weeks, 3 days ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

In what universe was "The Wrestler" A.) political and B.) bad?

2 weeks, 3 days ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

"Conservatives" will not have a worthy influence over the popular culture of the 21st Century until they accept that certain vestigial organs of their movement are keeping them shackled to the past otherwise.

You can debate all you want whether America's inexorable march toward joining the rest of the West in post-Christian/post-traditionalism era is a net good or net bad, but it's the way things are going. You want to influence the culture, first step is getting within the same EPOCH as the culture. Cut "social conservativism" free to go off and fade away on it's own, focus on the individualism angle, and maybe you've got a shot. ... See all content Hide content

3 weeks, 4 days ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

Artists and poets tends to skew "left," soldiers and athletes tend to skew "right." (Businesspeople don't skew at all, until they see where the money is.) Trying to work around that is fighting centuries of cultural evolution.

"Conservatives" – and I'm speaking strictly of POLITICAL conservatives – tend to be goal-driven: I do X, I'm going to get Y. They primarily value absolutes, in the form of external tangible validation: I win, I lose, I succeed, I fail. How you "feel" about it doesn't matter, motive doesn't matter, context doesn't matter. This outlook can produce a lot of good things… good art generally isn't one of them.

"Liberals" – see above – tend to be journey-driven: winner, loser, those are just "concepts." The primary thing of value in this outlook is INternal, INtangible validation: I'm happy with it, I'm happy with me, I've got a "good FEELING" about this, etc. This outlook can, at times, produce some insufferable people and well-meaning boondoggles, but it ALSO produces some damn fascinating art. ... See all content Hide content

3 weeks, 3 days ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

" THAT is why people call her self-made, and that is why McCain chose her"

By all accounts, McCain's PEOPLE chose her because McCain was not being allowed to make the choices he actually wanted. There were even other female candidates ahead of her who got passed-over because they were pro-choice (including Carly Fiorina, no?) which tells one everything one needs to know about how intellectually worthless the modern conservative movement is, at this point. ... See all content Hide content

1 month ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

On the point of Obama: You'll note that my reference, in addition to being both oblique and more of a reference to the mindset of McCain's handlers to begin with, was NOT a comparative-justification (i.e. "oh yeah, well how good is _____ at it!?") In fact, one could easily read it as refering to Palin, Obama and Hillary together as "novelty" candidates.

As to the strategic value of Vice Presidents, we can agree that the status quo is lame. But I'd easily rank Palin well below even Quayle or Edwards. Doesn't mean I dislike her personally (I get the feeling I wouldn't, but I've never met her) but based on everything I know I'd rather not have her close to high office. Hell, there are people I LIKE I don't want in high office, it's kind of an important job… ... See all content Hide content

1 month ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

The "Tea Party" is a complete sham – the same tired, arcane, belief-driven, ignorance-fed, pandering "values" pablum that's infected and degraded American conservativism for decades dressed up to look like a "libertarian" groundswell. Look no further than the THREE (so far) TP-connected guys trying to take down Ron Paul for proof of this.

From where I survey, if the only choice is still between a "liberal" elite and a "conservative" lowest-common-denominator (also known as "the people")… between intellect and ignorance, between reason and "values"… then a thinking man no longer really HAS a choice.

And for this, I am sad. ... See all content Hide content

1 month, 1 week ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

I'm not especially fond of either film, though "Precious" would have the edge since it has at least three out-of-nowhere spectacular performances from the cast. Fundamentally, they're both primarily audience-reassurance fantasies aimed at (respectively) liberal do-gooders and conservative christians using the broadly-simplified stereotype of a poor black person incapable of self-help as a plot device.

"Blind Side" is essentially designed to reassure white christian conservatives that their goodness and charity is the ONLY thing that can rescue a Michael Oehr from the abyss. "Precious" is pulling the same thing for liberals: According to the film, Precious never even THINKS to stand up to her mother until (in order) a lesbian-archangel straight out of Alice Walker ("My favorite color is purple"? C'MON!!) health-food slinging male nurse and an omniracial hard-case social worker give her the strength. In neither case is the subject actually capable of rescuing themselves until Magical White People or Magical Government come along. ... See all content Hide content

1 month, 3 weeks ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

This would've been a wholly appropriate argument to make many centuries ago when the concept of state-sponsored non-religious marriage was being created – and I'd probably have been on your side, even.

However, that's not the way it shook out and generally laws must be made within what is as opposed to what maybe should've been. As it stands now, under U.S. law the State CAN declare a couple legally married, and as the State no longer makes a legal distinction between straight and gay couples, from where I sit there is no logical reason outside of 'that's how it's always been" for the STATE (not churches, I stress) not to issue marriage licenseses to gay couples. ... See all content Hide content

1 month, 3 weeks ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com

Wow, you're right. The general back-and-forth of public political activism is EXACTLY the same as mob-enforced rape. How'd I miss it all this time?

All kidding aside, I do love the moment – in all such discussions – when the fate of Soddom and Gomorrah comes up. I love it because it's HONEST, stripped of all the namby-pamby veneers of civility and nicety, exposing the "traditional marriage" movement for what it really is: The projection of arcane superstition, and the defense of meaningless tradition and the price of individual freedom.

Show me a people governed by "morality" and I will show you a people living in secret misery. ... See all content Hide content

1 month, 3 weeks ago onWordpress in bighollywood.breitbart.com