Year: 2006

So what did you think?

A friend at Magnolia Pictures, the distributor of a new film, “The World’s Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins, invited Kathleen and I to the premiere screening. Hopkins, along with director Roger Donaldson, were both in attendance.

WFI is based on the true story of Burt Munro, an aged cycle jockey from New Zealand who wound up setting new land speed records at the Salt Flats in Utah back in the 1960s. Hopkins, deftly managing an extremely tricky accent, is the glue that holds together the episodic tale (also written by Donaldson) as Munro essays his monumental journey from down under to the States, encountering an assortment of colorful characters along the way and handling everyone and everything with deft charm and good humor. And the high speed sequences, when he finally proves to the doubting racers just what he and his 1920 Indian cycle are capable of, are exhilerating.

We attended the reception afterward, where I had the chance to speak briefly with Donaldson and ask him about the filming techniques involved in the high speed sequences–in which they actually got their cycle up to 150 miles per hour. And we also talked to Hopkins, who graciously signed a WFI postcard to Ariel (she stayed home and babysat Caroline, but was jealous when she found out that we were going to a party with Don Diego Vega from “The Mask of Zorro.” So I’m figuring the autograph evens things.) He and Kathleen actually worked on the same film some years back: “Freejack.” I’ll leave you to read Kath’s blog as she describes her chat with him about a movie in which said they were “partners in pain.”

If “World’s Fastest Indian” speeds your way, be sure to see it.

PAD

Google is endeavoring to fight a government subpoena of its records. They are to be commended for their determination to resist yet more government fishing expeditions into the private lives of American citizens.

Nowadays whenever the government strives to intrude into everyday life, two reasons are cited: It’s to fight terrorists, or it’s to protect the children. In this instance, it’s the latter, as the government is endeavoring to crack down on child pørņ. As always happens in these cases, if one defends a privacy right or a right of free expression, those in opposition try to paint you as immoral: “Don’t you care about keeping America safe?” “Don’t you care about protecting innocent children?” The answer of course is, Sure I do. I just don’t believe that the government should be able to do any dámņëd thing it wants in that pursuit, especially when it sets precedents for being more trampling on rights of the individual.

You know what’s interesting? This administration automatically believes that desiring a right to privacy is tantamount to masking wrong-doing (“If you’re having conversations with Al Quaeda, we want to know about it,” said Bush in his loopy disconnected way of justifying his impeachable action of illegal wiretaps). This is also one of the most secretive administrations around. Do they assume wrong-doing on the parts of others who want their privacy…because they themselves are up to no good, and thus assume that anyone who wants to maintain their privacy likewise is?

In any event, kudos to google for taking a stand. Google has done nothing illegal. If one is throwing about subpoenas, one should at least have SOME shred of proof that the person being subpoenaed deserves it.

PAD

Yes, the book that even we at Marvel have started calling “F’n Spider-Man” has its fourth issue–and second one by me–out this week.

Whad’ja think?

PAD

If Hillary Clinton’s goal was to get some ink in saying that the Senate was like a plantation, then it was a really smart thing to say. If, on the other hand, she was trying to draw a remotely accurate metaphor, I don’t think that was the way to go.

Her representatives have tried to justify it by saying that the Senate is being run by the Bossman and opposing views are stifled. Yeah, okay, but that also describes any number of corporations. No one is in the Congress or Senate against their will, no one is being beaten, and no one is being hunted down if they leave. There’s just way too much baggage attached to the concept of plantations to try and pare it down to, “Our attempts to present our views are being stifled.” I mean, she could just as easily address the UJA and say the Senate is like a concentration camp, and it would be just as questionable.

If she’d wanted to be clever, she could have said, “I’m not saying the Senate is like, say, a plantation. Not at all. I mean, yes, Democrats are being given no more respect by Republicans than the Bossman gave his workers, and we have about as much input into the way things are being done. And it can be certainly stated that the Senate is giving little to no attention to the needs of its black constituents. But it’s definitely NOT like a plantation…yet.” That makes it slightly harded for critics to come back and say, “So you’re saying the Senate is like a plantation?!” to which she replies, “Uh, no, I said it isn’t like one. Are you reading impaired?”

Now the Mayor of New Orleans, on the other hand…what the hëll is up with THAT guy? I mean, geez, if the mayor of a mostly white city that had been wiped out by a tornado said it was punishment from God because they’d let blacks in, and this was a message that it should be exclusively a white city, the guy would be hung out to dry. So what’s this “New Orleans needs to be chocolate again.” Okay, yeah, he’s been under some stress, but holy crap. I have to think there’s plenty of black constituents who have–if nothing else–made plenty of money off white tourists who are saying, “Shut the hëll up!”

PAD

I thought you guys might be interested in checking out the cover art for my book on writing comics at Amazon.

Whattaya think? Think my name’s big enough?

PAD