DVD Review: BUCKY LARSON: BORN TO BE A STAR

Adam Sandler's Happy Madison film production company must have made BUCKY LARSON so that JACK AND JILL would look like CITIZEN KANE by comparison. BUCKY LARSON is so bad that even the most open of minds would be hard pressed to find one single redeeming feature for this simply awful movie which actually received a 0% critical approval over at ROTTEN TOMATOES. That's really bad.

Comic actor Nick Swardson is simply horrible here, playing the most annoying and stupid character in the recorded history of cinema. With a Dutch boy wig and obviously phony buck teeth, Bucky Larson is a simply an awful character. Swardson has been far better in any other film that he's been in than this film. He's the wrong actor in the wrong film here.

About the only single redeeming feature for BUCKY LARSON is his naive, but sincere friendship, with a waitress well played by Christina Ricci. Ricci actually looks cute and seems very nice here, giving this film at least one performance that seems acceptable. But, the other actors including Swardson, and most certainly, Don Johnson are just horrible here. Visiting a dentist for a root canal is probable a more enjoyable experience than attempting to sit through this awful film.

Bucky Larson is a naive and mentally slow man who finds out that his parents were once porn stars, who now believes that he is destined to be a star since he is the offspring of two "movie stars". A video that gets posted Online with Bucky with a small penis climaxing almost immediately becomes a big joke phenomenon, helping to propel him into a unique career in adult films, where other men with a small penis look like John Holmes or Ron Jeremy compared to Bucky's porn acting. But, this one joke pony sure isn't interesting or funny enough to carry along an entire feature length movie by any means. The entire premise of this movie is so terrible, and would probably have been better if the show was a little more sexy than it turned out as. Like A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY, another bad sex comedy film, BUCKY LARSON falls miles below the expectations, and really fails to deliver.

My best advice is to make far better use of about 97 minutes of your life than watching this dreck. BUCKY LARSON is bad. Real bad!!!

At least former MAXIM model and actress.Meredith Giangrande has real nice boobs during one sexy instant. But, that's hardly enough to save this film.

The Bottom Line: This movie is a strong contender for the very worst movie ever made. Amazing that someone as talented as Adam Sandler wants this crap to be associated with his name. JACK & JILL sure looks like a masterpiece compared to this film. 1/2(One half of a star, or worse than poor. Hard to believe than perfectly good film was wasted making this film, when many poor filmmakers are going to bed unable to produce their own films because they can't afford film. But, those who produced this film were harshly punished for their efforts. It cost $10 million to produce, but only brought back just $2.5 million. I know that's a tough punishment. But, it fits the crime here).

Unbelievable! Honda Chooses Matthew Broderick Who Caused Fatal Automobile Accident To Promote Their Cars!

File this under simply unbelievable, but those geniuses over at Honda have decided to cast actor Matthew Broderick in a FERRIS BUELLER reboot Super Bowl ad to promote their cars! This is simply unbelievable because Broderick was found guilty in an Irish courtroom of causing a fatal accident which killed a mother and a daughter while vacating over in Ireland back in 1987. Broderick spent four weeks in a hospital over in Belfast recovering from his serious injuries which included broken ribs and a collapsed lung as well as head injuries. Actress Jennifer Grey was also badly injured, leaving her with lifetime chronic pain from her back injuries.

But, it was the lives of two Irish women that were the most impacted when Matthew Broderick's rented BMW 316 veered into the wrong lane on an Irish country road, killing Anna Gallagher 30, and her mother Margaret Doherty,63. Earlier, an off duty policeman had chided Broderick, telling him that his route was "just plain stupid" on the Irish roads, and offered to escort him to a more proper path. But, Broderick refused to accept this policeman's help. Later, Broderick might have got confused which side of the road to drive on and drove head on into the two women, killing both, and seriously injuring Jennifer Grey and himself.

Broderick's lawyer claimed that the actor had no recollection of events as part of his defense, in an attempt to avoid more serious charges which could have put him in prison for 5 years. Broderick finally was able to plead to a lesser vehicular offense and pay a fine, avoiding the possible prison sentence for dangerous driving. Broderick has since attempted to reach out to the family of those he killed, however many in this Irish town felt that the verdict was a total miscarriage if justice, only proving how a walthy celebrity can avoid justice by hiring good lawyers.

I suppose O.J. Simpson wasn't available, so Honda went with a second bad choice to promote their cars. But, not too many products would want to associated with some celebrity who killed someone. Apparently, Honda just doesn't care.

CD Review: The Doors L.A. WOMAN 40

The Doors finally released their long awaited L.A. WOMAN 40 two cd set, this past week which included nine previously unreleased tracks including seven L.A. WOMAN outtake versions of songs including "The Changeling", "Love Her Madly", "Rider On The Storm" and more. One completely unknown song, "She Smells So Nice" is a rough piece, but nonetheless a rare gem for collectors, as well is the rough version of "Rock Me". These two rarities were discovered while searching through the master tapes.

Normally, The Doors have been able to get some release out by November just in time for the Christmas season, however their L.A. Woman 40 has been one of their longest delayed projects in memory. But, for Christmas The Doors did manage to get a four 7inch vinyl single special edition set out, largely because guitarist Robbie Krieger is a big fan of the sound of vinyl. But, at nearly $50 a pop, only collectors are likely to shell out this sort of money for four 45rpm records. 45's aren't always known for having the best sound quality, so hopefully these singles are of good quality But, on March 2, a two disc vinyl album, L.A. WOMAN: THE WORKSHOP SESSIONS, made from high quality 180gram vinyl, will be released to satisfy those vinyl connoisseurs out there. That's probably one of the better vinyl releases in late memory.

The Doors also have a new DVD and BluRay release of MR. MOJO RISIN': THE STORY OF L.A. WOMAN which is a pretty fair documentary of the band. There's plenty of great historic Doors footage, along with many recent band interviews.

L.A. WOMAN worked so well as an album for many reasons, although the recording sessions were very troubled. Jim Morrison felt done with The Doors, and was ready to move on. His drinking was so bad that he was difficult to deal with. Yet, his cigarette and alcohol ravished voice had a well worn blues quality that made L.A. WOMAN such a gem. L.A. WOMAN was much more of a blues album than other Doors album. Elvis Presley's bass guitar musician, Larry Scheff, provided the album an additional guitar. The album had something of a Chicago blues band quality to it. But, the three musicians from The Doors, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore were also beginning to look ahead to a future without Jim Morrison, and son began work on jazz influenced OTHER VOICES album. "Down On The Farm", which was written by by Robbie Krieger supposedly existed during the L.A. WOMAN sessions, however there is a rumor that Jim Morrison didn't want to include it on the L.A. WOMAN album. It is not known whether any outtake of Morrison doing the vocals for this song exist or not. But, L.A. WOMAN was Jim Morrison's swan-song album. He seemed tired and burnt-out, and was ready to move on from The Doors. He died shortly after moving to Paris, however he did record a few rarities over there in Paris, where his voice sounded fresh again, just like the old days of The Doors. The break seemed like it was doing him good. But, then there was that shocking news of his sudden death which forever silenced his unique voice and poetry.

The Doors were the first recording act to have eight certified platinum albums in a row, as well as having a star on Hollywood's famous Walk Of Fame. Several years ago, rapper Jay Z even decide to sample, "Five To One" for his song "Takeover". The Doors will continue to be a great influence on American culture for many more generations. The dark poetry of Jim Morrison continues to impress generations and never seems to grow outdated.

DVD Review: SINNERS AND SAINTS

SINNERS AND SAINTS is a rather generic, but very gritty police thriller set in New Orleans, where two homicide detectives investigate a series of very horrific murders. Apparently, the film went quickly to DVD and BluRay after it was bypassed by too many theaters, although the film has gotten some reasonably strong audience critical approval. Some critics such as Harry Knowles from AIN'T IT COOL NEWS gave this film good reviews. Director William Kaufman did help to co-write a reasonably good crime tale here.

The film does also manage to use some actors like Johnny Strong from BLACK HAWK DOWN, very effectively;y here. Tom Berenger is also in the cast, along with Jolene Blalock from STAR TREK ENTERPRISE.

And I suppose that since some TV crime shows have stepped up their gritty content material so much over the last few years, most notably LAW & ORDER:SVU and CRIMINAL MINDS, there is a market for movies such as SINNERS AND SAINTS to push the grit envelope even further. But, even in those terms it seemed especially violent for the crime victims to be set repeatedly on fire, then extinguisher over and over until they died in this movie. Beyond mere murder, this was nothing short of horrific torture. Where do producers think of such horrifying violence as this? But, if you have a strong stomach for violence, this isn't too bad of a crime thriller here.

The Bottom Line: A tough as nails gritty crime story with horrific violence that will likely haunt sensitive persons for days, but fine for those who love strong police stories. *** (Three Stars Good, a better than fair, although somewhat formula police/crime thriller. The film did get a four star review from at least one critic).

AMERICAN IDOL In Close Ratings Race With BIG BANG THEORY and ROB

CBS scored a technical win over AMERICAN IDOL this last Thursday among that coveted 18-49 age demographic. However, AMERICAN IDOL did manage to capture an overall estimated 16.99 viewers compared to THE BIG BANG THEORY which drew an estimated 15,.96 million viewers. ROB was the third strongest show on Thursday with an estimated 11.58 million viewers, or nearly four times as many viewers as PARKS & RECREATION on NBC.

Rob Schneider has to be pretty pleased that he finally has a hit comedy associated with him. Usually, the word "hit", and Rob Schneider usually never appear in the same sentence. Part of the appeal of the show is the funny relationship he has with the Mexican family of his Mexican wife, giving the show some appeal among the growing segment of Latin viewers. The show is becoming far more evenly written after after a jerky pilot episode that was critically panned. CBS is already proclaiming the show to be a "hit" in advertising. Another good sign is that the show's ratings have stabilized at the 11.5 million mark. proving that the show has found an audience. Signs look good at this point for CBS to possibly renew the show beyond the probable 8 episodes they bought.

Thurday was very good for both CBS and FOX, but terriblle news for NBC. ABC's reruns of WIPEOUT, GREY'S ANATOMY and PRIVATE PRACTICE also fared very poorly as well. ABC pretty conceded last thursday to the big CBS and FOX.

Outrageous McDonald's Business Trademark Ripoffs

Around the world some countries seem to take American trademark and copyrights far less seriously than here. That has only helped to spur more than a few really funny ripoffs of the famous McDonald's trademark yellow arches and other trademarks of the company. The Website, DAMN COOL PICTURES, posted these funny photos. Check out their great Website for many more laughable McDonald's ripoff photos and other great funny stuff.

KILLER KARAOKE Seriously Injures Contestant

Things sure went wrong on the set of a new upcoming singing competition game, KILLER KARAOKE, when a female contestant fell off the stage and broke many bones in her lower back after she was sprayed with water. The new singing competition show, which bis likely to air on TruTV in early 2012, involves contestants attempting to perform songs while there are attempts by the show to disrupt their singing. The object of the game is for a contestant to be able to perform despite water or other disruptions to their performance. It is based off a popular British TV show, SING IF YOU CAN.

JACKASS star Steve-O is the host of the new show, which already has it's first lawsuit because of the serious injuries to the female contestant.

That's one heck of a start to a show. You haven't even aired one, and you're already being sued.

Is This A Joke?

A priest, a rabbi and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Is this a joke?". ----That's it, that's all she wrote. I heard this one this week. I suppose there just might be barely enough here to meet the legal definition of a joke according the international office of weights and measurements. And I think it was Justice Potter Stewart who once famously said, "I know a joke when I see it". Yet, somehow it seems like there should be more.

I also wonder about a quick little one like, "I once lived in a town so small, the post office had a screen door". Is that legally a joke or not?

I can't help but look to other more developed examples such as: A mother and her young toddler son were down at the beach, when suddenly a huge ocean wave sweeps the poor child out to sea. The mother pleads with Heaven, "Lord, Lord. Please bring my son back. I'll never ask for anything ever again". God must have been moved by the mother's anguished cries to Heaven, so suddenly a second wave from the ocean sweeps the little boy back safely the to shore. The mom looks at the boy, and then looks back up to Heaven and says, "Yeah, but he had a hat!". To me, that's a joke. More development.

So the question remains, is the opening example a joke?

The Demi Moore Crisis

After her marriage to Ashton Kutcher broke down, the life of Demi Moore has gone down a real spiral. It all seemed to reach a real head with her hospitalization this week, which has only fueled more rumored stories about anorexia, possible drug or alcohol abuse, or some serious health problems. But, many reports now claim that she was having some sort of epileptic seizure. However, she hasn't been publicly been known to have such a condition, so expect far more speculation about her condition to continue until she comes clean.

PEOPLE MAGAZINE now claims in a new story that Demi Moore will only be forced to be public about the true nature of all her problems. Now, that her serious problems have become such big news. Soon , the true nature of all of her demons will be an open book.

Joe Paterno Dead At 85

Penn State's legendary coach, Joe Paterno has died as a result of his aggressive fast spreading lung cancer. It's a very sad end to this legendary figure who to leave his post at Penn State earlier in 2011 after a major sex scandal rocked the school's football program. Paterno was the school's head coach for 46 years, and a well loved figure. When he was forced into retirement by the assistant coach sex scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, students held protests on the campus.

There were stories that Paterno had consulted a lawyer because he might be possibly charged for not reporting knowledge of the sex scandal involving Sandusky, which seemed like terrible news. But, then more news came when it was disclosed that Paterno was suffering from aggressive and fast growing lung cancer. But, much of the public dismissed this news as a probable attempt to use a health issue to delay any investigation into Paterno's role in allowing the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal to continue.

Regardless of the serious scandal at the school, the death of Joe Paterno is deeply sad. And no doubt his sadness about the events played at least some role in his sad death. He was a great college sports legend, and should really be remembered for what he did for the game and his school.

Strong Faith In God Aids The Recovery Of Lauren Scruggs

The strong faith in God of the family of Lauren Scruggs seems to be playing a critical role in her recovery efforts. The fashion blogger and GOSSIP GIRL wardrobe intern was critically injured in a aircraft ground accident last month when she accidentally walked into the plane's propeller. She apparently couldn't hear the pilot's warning over the engine noise. And some aviation sources questioned why the pilot allowed passengers to exit the plane while the engine was still running. The terrible accident resulted in the loss of the fashion blogger's left hand, left eye and horrific head and brain injuries. It is remarkable to see her fast recovery from such a terrible life threatening accident.

But, with the support of her loving family, Lauren Scruggs has survived this accident and even took to blogging her many fans and supporters this past week, thanking them for their support.

The fashion blogger no doubt had many prayers from her many fans as well. And faith will no doubt play a critical role in the difficult adjustment to her new life. We certainly wish her the very best.

Former President George H. W. Bush And Actor Terrence Howard Share Special Screening Of RED TAILS

George Lucus had to finance the $100 million dollar RED TAILS war film about the highly decorated Tuskegee Airmen all by himself after big money in Hollywood doubted a film with an all-Black lead cast would make enough money. Lucas felt that this great story needed to be told. And strong box office numbers on Friday, where the film grossed $6 million dollars seem to be confirming that George Lucus did the right thing by producing this film which is becoming highly acclaimed and earning strong critical approval. The film is so good that the White House set up a special screening of the film, and former President George H. W. Bush attended a special screening with lead actor Terrence Howard as well. Howard said that the former president just loved the film. At just age 18, Bush became the youngest Navy pilot and was shot down by the Japanese. Bush's wife actually cried during the screening, because she was so touched.

With so many big box office failures this past Summer, including COWBOYS & ALIENS and the new version of CONAN, the purse strings that finance the films in Hollywood have grown more tight. Certainly, it made some producers in Hollywood look very bad when they refused to fund such a significant story with an all-Black lead cast, but the economy is having a huge impact on Hollywood. More and more, the movies that are being made are on a smaller budget because it just seems to make more economic sense right now. Huge budget films are a big risk right now as movie goers don't always want to spend a lot on every film right now.

As the real Tuskegee Airmen diminish in number from old age, George Lucas didn't want to wait any longer to retell their inspiring story of this elite group of pilots, who had to combat not only the Axis, but racism in the military as well. Many of these former airmen went on to become doctors, lawyers, educators or top professionals. They were truly an elite force of very intelligent men who risked their lives, where not one single bomber was lost while under their escort. It was an amazing record of success considering the amount of danger involved.

Certainly, George Lucus is going to look closely at the box office numbers from this weekend on Sunday evening and hope that it made financial sense to make this great movie. That's one heck of a standard, but the new economics of Hollywood will probably make big production, but significant, films like RED TAILS more of a rarity for the near future. Right now it just makes more economic sense to produce a cheap comedy, and score an acceptable enough box office weekend. But, such a standard will hardly produce many movie classics.

A Con Man For Congress?

Congress is drawing legendary bad approval numbers from a weary public, and a special election in Oregon isn't making voters much better about the dismal state of Congress. Congressman David Wu had to resign his office in disgrace after months of very weird personal conduct including some serious allegations of improper sexual conduct after he was accused of making unwanted sexual advances on the teenage daughter of an important campaign donor. That's one heck of a way to repay a favor, huh? Wu had previously been accused of a sexual assault on a former girlfriend while he attended Stanford, but survived politically when this old story resurfaced in 2004 three weeks before the election. Voters had hoped the problems with Wu were in the past. Apparently they certainly weren't.

In the last election Wu defeated Tualatin businessman Rob Cornilles by a handy margin. This year, Cornilles hopes to take Wu's old seat by selling himself as a successful businessman who has supposedly created 500 jobs according to his campaign claims. In his campaign ads, Cornilles is photographed in large warehouse with busy activity. It's all set to make the false impression that this big and busy company somehow is the big 500 employee company that Cornilles is bragging about in his campaign ads. To hear Cornilles describe himself, you'd expect him to be the next Bill Gates. Unfortunately all of this appears to be a complete myth. Cornilles is hardly the success that he claims to be.

It appears according to state tax records that Cornilles has just 6 employees for his Game Face, a sports ticket telemarketing business. And Cornilles no longer even even has this business registered with the state of Oregon either. Voters are probably scratching their heads how some telemarketing business that lists just 6 employees is somehow represented as a 500 employee company in Cornilles ads. Even worse, it appears that Game Face no longer even has a business office, and the six employees of Game Face largely work from their homes as telemarketers. The big company featured in the ads that Cornilles runs apparently isn't Game Face, but some other business. Nothing is as Cornilles claims.

Even worse for Cornilles is that he run some sort of telemarketing training school course for a while charging persons around $1400 to be able to take telemarketing jobs. That telemarketing training school course is now closed down. But, some former employees of Cornilles filed labor complaints claiming that they weren't paid any wages for 11 weeks working for him as a telemarketer, and further had to pay about $1400 for his telemarketing training course.

Cornilles also has had some back tax problems as well, owing the IRS around $83,000 in unpaid taxes. He claims that this was the result of some problems with a past bookkeeper, yet all of these problems only seem to point to someone nearly as questionable as David Wu, who he hopes to replace.

Cornilles talks a good game. But, the reality is that he constructs some mythical world for his Game Face business. He claims to be some huge job creator, yet former "employees" file complaints with the state for unpaid work as telemarketer of all things. And Cornilles is hardly any self made man, as much of his claimed wealth is actually all money that belongs to his wife. He's a former small time actor, who know how to sell himself. But, it appears that nothing is what it seems with him.

Meanwhile , who wants to pay $1400 to learn to be a telemarketer? Who wants to buy some ocean front property in Arizona?

Disgraced Glam Rocker Gary Glitter May Be Attempting A Comeback

During the 1970's Gary Glitter was once a hot item among the glam and glitter rock scene over in the UK, competing with T.Rex, Slade, The Sweet. Mud, Alvin Stardust, David Bowie and other acts to top the British charts. Gary Glitter always seemed like one part Elvis, one part nightclub performer, with primal sounding electric raw edged hits like "Rock And Roll(Parts One And Two)", "I Didn't Know I Loved You To I Saw You Rock And Roll", "Do You Wanna Touch Me(Oh Yeah)" and many more singles that hit either #1 or at least the top ten on the UK charts. Gary Glitter seemed to have it made as really major UK recording act. But, in his later years following the end of the glam and glitter rock craze in the UK, Gary Glitter's life began to fall apart. Not only did he develop some heart problems, but twice he served time in prison for sexual offenses involving children. He last imprisonment was over in Vietnam, where he was convicted of sex crimes involving two children, one of which was a young girl just 11 years of age. It was a disgraceful end to a career of a once huge UK recording act.

Gary Glitter could have received the death penalty of a firing squad if he had been convicted of rape of a child over in Vietnam, however he was convicted of lesser sex crimes, where he served a little more than two years in prison before being deported from the country and banned from entry into many more countries as a registered sex offender. It was a far cry from a top British performer who even toured with The Who performing concert shows.

Now, it appears that this disgraced convicted criminal may be attempting a comeback of all things. There is an outrage that he has apparently opened up a new Twitter account as a first step toward a possible comeback , creating a backlash now known as "Get Glitter Off Twitter" among some outraged persons in the public. There's a lot of people who just want Gary Glitter to go away.

But, all of this creates an interesting dilemma. Gary Glitter was a top entertainer and a major name in British rock for many years, and a top competitor to the other big name acts such as Marc Bolan's T.Rex or David Bowie. He was a great performer who sold a lot of records. But in his alter ego, as the real life Paul Francis Gadd, he is a very sick man who has committed some terrible crimes. He is stuck in that strange position like someone like a Roman Polanski, who is respected for his works, but hated for his sordid personal life.

Maybe, Paul Francis Gadd is hoping for some redemption by attempting a comeback. He was indeed a great entertainer as Gary Glitter. His "Rock And Roll(Part Two)" is often included in many NBA games, where this primal sounding and chest thumping anthem seems like a perfect rush of testosterone. But, also perhaps, Gadd just doesn't have a clue how bad his crimes were were. Perhaps there are some things so bad, that a comeback and redemption with the public is just not possible. At 67, Gadd should probably have the common sense to realize that the train left the station many years ago, and just be satisfied that he created much better music than he did a personal life.

Wikipedia Goes Black In 24 Hour Protest Against Internet Censorship Legislation

Wikipedia is making a powerful statement against two controversial proposed pieces of legislation in Congress, SOPA and PIPA, which are aimed are combating Online piracy by blacking out their website today. The White House opposes the legislation which is apparently being advanced by a small number of powerful entertainment interests to stem foreign websites such as the Swedish based PIRATE BAY website. However, many Internet freedom interests argue that both SOPA and PIPA are like using a sledgehammer to stop Internet piracy, which is better combated by more careful monitoring efforts by Websites to respect the copyright interests of others.

Further complicating the whole Internet piracy issues are many video posting Websites such as YouTube, which allow both individuals as well as companies to post materials on that site. For example, it is a known fact that the producers of SNL sometimes post deleted segments on YouTube that didn't fit into the 90 minute time schedule of the program on YouTube as a service to fans. This is material that the producers of SNL wanted to share with the public. Other times, either NBC or the producers of SNL have demanded that YouTube remove some videos that public viewers of YouTube have posted on their own. This leads to a complicated mix of authorized and unauthorized videos on many Websites such as YouTube and other sites where both businesses and viewers both post materials.

Some foreign Websites and those dealing in adult content make the problem of Internet piracy or the occasional posting of highly controversial content even more complicated. Some Websites have registered domain servers in places such as the Bahamas or the Czech Republic, where both businesses and individuals both post materials on the sites, where copyright violations or some extremely offensive material may exist on the sites for some time before both the material or the link are removed. It appears that much of the motivation of Congress to combat Online piracy appears at shutting down American access to copyright violating websites overseas where lax rules or business procedures allow films, music or software to be too freely exchanged on pirate websites. However, sites like YouTube and others have proven that using a careful scalpel to remove some content that violates someone's copyright can be removed carefully by request, Every website worldwide just needs to have a clear link where these issues can be addressed to the site, and the staff needs to have some oversight over the website as well.

Some Internet file sharing or video posting sites do a very fine job keeping both copyright violating materials or highly offensive materials off their sites. YouTube has policies that remove highly offensive materials. Further, one adult video file site with a server in Greece publishes a list of sources that no one is allowed to post materials from. Some of these sources are banned because that material is either too highly controversial or offensive, while other sources are interested in keeping their copyrighted material off the site. This careful self-policing of the site seems to work as a good role model where this site appears to be one of the most responsible among the numerous sites on the Internet where video files can be posted by both business as well as users.

Another complication is that some material falls into the public domain after a number of years, so some posting of some entire movies that were once considered copyrighted is now permitted with these films. However, it appears that this public domain consideration doesn't seem to work with some materials such as music, where it appears that a copyright still is valid. So for example, the catalog of The Beatles doesn't become a public domain after a number of years unlike some grade B horror film.

Copyright law is complicated, where there exists American law and foreign laws as well as international copyright agreements. But, the solution of Congress in SOPA or PIPA are just too heavy handed of solutions. But, it should be agreed that any website that allows video or file sharing needs to more carefully monitor their sites to make easy access by a copyright holder to request the immediate removal of some copyright violating materials..

The solution by some in Congress to force the blackout of some sites because some possible copyright violations may exist is simply too strong of tool to protect some copyright holders. More careful steps to protect copyright holders work far better, and protect the free flow of information on the Internet.

Betty White Is 90 Today

Comic actress Betty White hits the big 9-0 today, making her one of the oldest actors still active. She is also the last surviving member of the very popular sitcom, THE GOLDEN GIRLS as well. White still manages to make plenty of guest appearances and acting gigs despite her advanced age, joining Ernest Borgnine, 94, in that small elite group of active actors over the age of 90. Betty White is also a successful author as well, having written a total of six books that have all done very well. In 2010, she was also named Entertainer Of The Year by the respected press organization, The Associated Press.

Betty White is also the producer of OFF THEIR ROCKERS, a new NBC reality based comedy show, making her one of the oldest active producers as well.

We at Wizbang Pop join together with everyone wishing Betty White a very happy 9-0. Here's to the many years of laughter that you provided us, and to many more years of laughs. You're a true treasure, Betty. We can't thank you enough for all that you've given us.

Goodbye Twinkies?: Hostess Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Could those famous Twinkies snacks disappear forever? Well, it seems that the parent company that makes these favorite snacks for the last 87 years is in deep financial trouble. The Texas based Interstate Brands Corporation has perhaps close to $1 billion in debts, with only as little as $500 million in assets. The Irving, Texas based company is battling several vexing demons right now. A health conscious public is bucking traditional snacks like Twinkies, Ho Hos, Donettes and cup cakes, and turning to yogurt and fruits and vegetables and turning against these traditional snacks that used to be a part of many packed lunches for generations.

Old labor agreements are haunting the company as well. The companies biggest cost liability appears to be an old labor agreement with the Teamsters Union to pay into a retirement fund for the company's retired drivers. The Teamsters Union wants Hostess to survive, and is attempting to find ways to work with the union in a common effort to save jobs.

Hostess is also a smaller player in the snack industry compared to bigger companies such as Sara Lee and Kraft. These larger companies are better able to adapt to new market changes by acquiring other companies or by developing new product lines unlike Hostess which chooses to market their same old traditional line of products year after year.

Hostess also is the maker of Wonder Bread, another troubled product line. White bread sales continue to tumble as wheat and whole grain breads gain in popularity, making Wonder only another troubled brand name for the company. With so many product lines shrinking in sales, you only have to wonder why the company doesn't develop some new products that have a growth pattern instead of trying to battle to be the last man out with a line of products that lose more and more sales each year.

Hostess might have to take a clue from how some other companies became defunct. During the 1950's, the merger of Nash and Hudson automobiles became the world's largest corporate merger when they formed American Motors Corporation, snubbing Studebaker and Packard, who also wanted to join as well. For many years the company ran successfully under the leadership of George Romney and others. But, but by 1970, a new car, the Hornet, was to become the basis for most of the companies cars until the end of the company in 1987, when Chrysler bought out the assets of the finally troubled company in order to acquire the Jeep line of vehicles. Many years before 1987, AMC really needed some new car models, but really lacked the money to develop a new small car line that heavily borrowed from both the Ramblers of the 1960's as well as a 1967 Cavalier show car the company developed. AMC attempted to do face-lifts on the old Hornet line of cars year after year, as sales slowly ebbed downward because enough wise buyers realized that a 1987 car was still just a face-lifted variation of the 1970 and early cars. If Hostess can't develop new products to keep up with current market demands for more healthy snacks, then the company is probably not going to stay around much longer.

Hostess claims that they have secured $75 million in financing to continue to operate for now. But, unless the company develops some new products to go with their traditional line of products, the company's future remains very bleak. Someone must really like Twinkies an awful lot to make a loan to a company with these sort of financial problems.

David Letterman Getting Ready To Sign New Contract

David Letterman is getting ready for a milestone. He's getting ready to sign a new two-year deal with CBS that will put him past Johnny Carson in the number of shows he's done. Johnny Carson was David Letterman's mentor, and Carson certainly wanted Letterman to take over the TONIGHT SHOW helm, but some heads at NBC wanted Jay Leno instead. This led to some bad blood over at NBC where Letterman eventually sought employment elsewhere after Jay Leno was chosen over him. Letterman later signed a terrific deal with CBS for a show at 11;30. However, at times it seems like David Letterman might have been ready to retire. A few years back, he faced some serious heart problems. But, a scad of friends filled in for him as he recovered from bypass surgery. Some times Letterman just seems like he's bored, like some guy just looking at his watch wondering when he can leave. But, in the end, Letterman is planning on at least two more years at CBS. He might just want to beat Carson's record, then call it a day.

Apparently, Craig Ferguson's contract is also up for renewal as well. He's a surprising good host of his late night talk show which is filmed on a shoestring budget, but carried solely on the back of his own strengths as a comic. No doubt, Craig Ferguson will also sign up again as well. If Letterman should decide to move on after next two years, Craig Ferguson might just have that huge opportunity offered to him. Likewise, Jimmy Fallon is in the same good position over at NBC. If Leno decides to move on, you know that NBC will certainly ask Jimmy Fallon to move up. He's done a masterful job with Conan O'Brien's old show, while Conan's show over at TBS is still suffering from softening ratings.

Heather Locklear Still In The Hospital Following Emergency

After reportedly mixing alcohol and some prescription drugs according to some national newswire reports, actress Heather Locklear was rushed to the hospital. Today, she remains in the ICU under watch, although all news sources claim that she isn't in any danger. Likely the emergency was just an accident and not some part of a failed suicide. TMZ claims that her family wants to get her into rehab because of prescription drug abuse issues.

But, the important news is that the beautiful 50 year old actress should be just fine. She is best known for her roles in TV's MELROSE PLACE and the comedy, SPIN CITY, where she co-starred with actor Charlie Sheen.

Beyonce's Hospital Security Controversy

The birth of Beyonce's baby was a huge event at the Lennox Hill Hospital, however several patients weren't happy about all the extra security at the hospital, and filed some complaints with New York state health officials claiming that the extra security made visiting their new babies difficult to impossible. But, since the infamous kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, many celebrities have since taken extra precautions to protect their new babies and small children from possible kidnappers. Beyonce is a major celebrity, and the birth of her new baby could have only invited a possible ransom incident if tight security measures weren't taken.

Beyonce and Jay Z had a brand new room that they could stay in at the Lennox Hill Hospital that was set up similar to a luxury hotel suite. This not only afforded them tight security, but additional comfort as well. Some reports claim that the couple paid $1.3 million to rent an entire hospital wing to provide them good security. However, that report has been disputed. It appears the new luxury rooms for VIP patients provide plenty of good security features for celebrity patients, insuring them a safe stay at the hospital keeping away both crazed fans as well as possible crime. The couple did pay a 10 man security team to protect both the mother and baby during the stay at the hospital, but New York state health officials didn't find that this was a bad thing. If anything, it only made the hospital stay for all of the patients in the maternity ward much safer it seems.

One contractor made a formal complaint to state health authorities claiming that access to his young twins was greatly limited by the enhanced security measures for Beyonce and her new baby, but the state investigation didn't find any merit to this complaint.

TMZ, which allows us use of their resources for our news-service, provided this photo of the luxury hospital room that Beyonce used. It was charged at the standard rates, where allegations of the couple renting an entire wing or ward of the hospital are unfounded.

Whatever Happened To Mark Linn-Baker From PERFECT STRANGERS

Before there was Steve Urkel, there was Cousin Larry(Mark Linn-Baker) and Balki(Bronson Pinchot). The popular comedy from Miller-Boyett Productions became the anchor block for many years of family comedies on ABC when it was moved into the coveted 8pm Friday time slot. In later years, FAMILY MATTERS was to replace PERFECT STRANGERS. But, PERFECT STRANGERS got a long eight year run on ABC in various time slots on the network eventually becoming the beginning of a new Friday TGIF block of programming at ABC.

Never high art, but PERFECT STRANGERS managed to set up one funny episode afeter another each week, where Larry Appleton became the butt of absurd problems caused by his distant cousin from a small unknown Greek-like Island, Balki who moves in with him. But, t was enough of a premise to hang some jokes on. PERFECT STRANGERS was indeed a funny show, and a very nice family comedy for the kids. And the later inclusion of actresses Melanie Wilson and Rebecca Arthur provided a few sexy moments to entertain dad too.

The awesome comic talents of Bronson Pinchot were obvious. He was the real star here, with his talent for absurd ethnic characters such as Balki. But, Mark Linn-Baker was a pretty fair comic straight man as well here. His long-suffering at the hands of Balki provided great comic conflict for the show. Mark Linn-Baker is now 57. He's tried his hand at many projects since PERFECT STRANGERS, but none has matched the success of this show. It was his high water mark of success.

As an young actor, Mark Linn-Baker's first big break was supposed to be Woody Allen's MANHATTAN in 1979, however most of his scenes were later cut from the final film while it edited. This was an unfortunate blow to the young actor, but nonetheless, Baker got a second big opportunity playing the straight man to Peter O'Toole's eccentric character in MY FAVORITE YEAR in 1982. This role probably served to sell the actor as a perfect role for the long suffering straight man to play opposite the outrageous character provided by Bronson Pinchot in PERFECT STRANGERS.

Since the end of the eight year run of PERFECT STRANGERS, Mark Linn-Baker has gone back to his stage actor roots, and has been cast in his sixth Broadway production in his career. In 2011 he was cast in Woody Allen's, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, completing a full circle of work for Allen during his career.

But, I'm personally waiting for the day when they make a WWII movie in which a heinous German officer threatens a prisoner with the lines, "Do you like Mark Linn-Baker? Do you like him very much? Who played cousin Larry on that show with Balki, PERFECT STRANGERS. Then you will sign the papers". Woody Allen take note. You don't have to thank me.

Workers At Chinese XBox Factory Threaten Mass Suicide

You think your job is bad? Workers at a FoxConn factory in China are so unhappy about their pay and other conditions at a factory that builds the XBox for export to the U.S. and other world destinations, that the workers are threatening mass suicide unless pay and other worker conditions improve. For it's part, Microsoft claims they are "investigating " the worker demands.

The Foxconn plant also builds products for export for Apple and for Sony as well as other companies.

The same plant has had past problems with worker suicides before. New workers are required to sign a pledge not to kill themselves by the employer. In 2010, 14 workers took their lives due to poor pay and poor working conditions at the FoxConn plant. Workers generally are paid around $146 dollars a month to work long hours with hazardous chemicals and other poor worker conditions. Most XBox bundles range between $300-$400 in price at discounters in the U.S. Most of the workers who have killed themselves range from 17 to 23 years of age.

Well gee, all of this sure makes playing with THE SIMS seem like a little bit of a bummer!

DVD Review: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Last time for the fun of it, we deliberately reviewed a very bad film. But, not this time. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is not only the best film that we've reviewed so far this year, but probably for all of 2011 as well. What a fantastic way to breathe new life into this series.

During scientific research to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, animal research accidentally improves the intelligence of some apes creating one super-ape who eventually leads other apes to rebellion and freedom. While the new virus injections only help apes to become more intelligent, but later the same virus appears fatal to humans setting up a premise for future episodes of this new reboot of the PLANET OF THE APES series. The last few moments of this film remind you of the devastation of a nuclear war, as a pattern map shows this new virus sweeping throughout the world, dramatically reducing the human population.

THE PLANET OF THE APES is a very durable series, first popular in that late 60's and into the 70's. Then there was the new remake with Marc Wahlberg a few years ago which was a very good film. Now comes this new episode in what will become a new reboot of the series for the future. And what an excellent start this is.

British character actor Andy Serkus has been nominated for numerous supporting actor awards for his excellent role acting as Caesar, here, which was digitally created using performance capture technology from Wetra Digital, which has developed some new exterior shoot technology making this film possible. Previously, this technology has been confined to a sound stage. The effects are awesome. And Andy Serkus provides just the right actor to pull off a convincing Caesar. Critics such as Roger Ebert really liked this film as well.

What a great science fiction film RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is. This is a very good movie.

The Bottom Line: An excellent new reboot to the PLANET OF THE APES series. Very good acting and awesome digital technology both. I hated to see this film end. I can't wait for the second chapter after viewing this fine film. *** 1/2 stars(Three And A Half Stars, or better than good. Nearly a Four Star film. Certainly buy or rent this one!).

Troubled Actress Kristy McNichol Comes Out As Gay

During the 1980's, Kristy McNichol was a popular actress on two TV shows, FAMILY and then late,r EMPTY NEST. But, then it was revealed that serious issues with bipolar disorder forced her to give up acting by the 1990's. She was also devastated by the loss of a close female friend to cancer. And, in 1992, McNichol had a near fatal scuba diving accident. Now McNichol is back in the news as coming out that she's gay.

McNichol's life has been through so many stages. It seems like yet another tragic story of a troubled child actor, who had to answer allegations of drug problems in addition to questions about her mental illness to the media before.

But, most TV viewers will forever remember her as that cute little intelligent girl from the small screen.

North Korea Claims Kim Jong Un Mastered Automobiles At Age 3

In an absurd effort to make the new leader of North Korea into a god-like entity, the state is beginning a wave of absurdist propaganda to brainwash the population from cradle to grave about the great powers of their new leader. A new claim is that Kim Jong Un was able to master driving a car by the age of 3, and was able to speed along with rally type driving skills by the age of just 8! Whew, that's quite an accomplishment! Who knew that a three year old could see over a windshield, let alone feet reach the pedals at that tender toddler age.

Kim Jong Un just celebrated his birthday Sunday, and a new propaganda film was shown on state TV featuring him driving a tank and being praised as "a genius among geniuses". He was also elevated to a four star general by the military, although he personally has highly questionable military experience. The state also claimed that Kim Jong Un wrote his first thesis on military strategy when he was just 16, taking little time to eat or sleep, probably to make him appear somewhat like a figure like Moses. North Korea has the fourth largest military in the world.

In the future, Kim Jong Un's birthday will no doubt be elevated into a national holiday as the strict Stalinist Communist regime seeks to consolidate the hearts and minds of the population to overlook starvation and poverty and to believe in the all-powerful state and leader.

Mariska Hargitay Will Continue Her Det. Benson Role On SVU

Mariska Hargitay was widely expected to be leaving LAW & ORDER:SVU at the end of this season by many TV observers. But, she pulled off a big surprise of sorts. She announced that she'll not only complete season 13, but be back for season 14 as well. She claims that she's just having too much "fun" to quit now. Fans of the show have to be breathing a huge collective sigh of relief right about now. Her TV character, Det. Olivia Benson, is one of the best acted characters on the small screen. Mariska Hargitay has also grown immensely as an actress since her days playing a small role on ER, and other small roles. In ER, her minor role was as a staffer love interest of one of the lead doctors. It wasn't too much of a role at all. But, Det. Olivia Benson has allowed Haritay to prove that she's one of TV's finest actresses, bar none.

When her longtime SVU co-star, Christopher Meloni suddenly announced his intent to leave after season 12 wrapped up, speculation began that Hargitay was also preparing to exit. She only fueled that speculation with statements such as she wanted to keep her future acting "options open". But, in the end, Hargitay looks ready to stay at SVU for the future.

SVU also gets some new star power this January when singer Harry Connick Jr. also joins the cast for some episodes as the new love interest of Det. Olivia Benson. Connick has not only proven himself in the world of music, but his stints at acting have always been well received by audiences as well. He seems equally at home playing roles in period piece dramas such as MEMPHIS BELLE, his first acting role in 1990, as well as in modern roles in INDEPENDENCE DAY and other top box office films. He should be a fine fit in SVU, giving the show additional star power.

It's so good to see that SVU still has plenty of life in the series. It remains as one of TV's best police dramas ever, with gritty story lines, fine writing and acting. One real gem of a drama show that NBC still has left.

Elvis Would Have Been 77. His Legacy Lives On

Elvis, The King Of Rock 'N Roll, would have turned 77 on Sunday. Back in 1977, after a series of declining health issues, he collapsed in his bathroom of his Graceland mansion at the age of 42, and died. Some reports claim that his young daughter, Lisa Marie, was the first to find her father collapsed and alerted the other family members and staff.

First signed to Sun Records in 1953, record producer Sam Phillips claims that he never for one minute regretted selling the contract of Elvis to RCA Records because it gave him a cash windfall that allowed him to produce many other acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, that he made a lot of money on. But, RCA sure made a huge windfall off of Elvis who had far more hit singles than The Beatles by far. Elvis was a huge success on early TV such as THE MILTON BERLE SHOW and ED SULLIVAN as well, where censors only would film him from the waist up because they thought that his dancing was far too sexually suggestive. But, nonetheless, Elvis quickly became a huge sensation.

His good looks and ability to act, quickly loaned himself to a number of films as well TV specials, including his great special from Hawaii and his 1968 comeback special when he appeared in black leather, singing many of his old hard rock hits. In 1972, his single "Burning Love" was also a return to his hard rock days, and was a #2 hit on the charts. One of his last bigger hits from 1976, "Way Down," hearkened back to his old pioneeering 50's hard rock sound as well. Elvis was both a master of the ballad as well as the old 50's version of hard rock. He was also one of the most soulful white singers of all time. At times, songs like "In The Ghetto" were able to a hit on the Soul, Pop and Country music charts all at the same time, an unprecedented achievement for any white performer. Elvis was that special.

Elvis had a total of 102 singles, 30 EPs and 70 albums on the RCA label alone along with a few more singles on Sun and several albums on the economy label Pickwick during his lifetime, as well as many more releases of additional material after his death.

What made Elvis such a musical revolution was how he would change music forever. Bill Haley was generally considered to be the first rock music act, however Elvis invented a new style that borrowed heavily from both his Southern background, combining country music with black R&B sounds. It created a new hard driving sound that many others such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard soon adopted as a style as well. For all intents and purposes, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard all helped to found the new hard rock sound and laid down the foundation blocks of the new sound basis for newer generations of future hard rockers. The British blues rock group, Ten Years After, took their name from Elvis, meaning ten years after Elvis. Elvis made it cool for the new white rockers to use a heavy black R&B influenced sound in their music. While The Beatles did a little Chuck Berry in the early days, as did many other early British rockers, The Rolling Stones were always much more of a R&B influenced sound act. And some early acts such as The Animals had a very soulful sound thanks to the excellent talents of Eric Burden on vocals. Dusty Springfield was often called a white soul singer because of her style. One early song by Steppenwolf, "Sookie, Sookie" was played on some black radio stations for a few days until the programmers realized that this white blues influenced hard rock act was't black after all. Some white acts sounded just that soulful, mainly because of the influence of Elvis.

Elvis probably also greatly helped to advance the civil rights movement as well. He helped to break down the walls between white and black music. And he helped to make it cool to play black acts on stations that formerly played only white music. He broke down race barriers, along with musical ones. He might have had a lot of problems with declining health and heavy use of prescription drugs in his final years, but he was a religious and decent man much of his life. He even took time away from his career in music to serve in the military as well when Uncle Sam called. He was a true Southern gentleman much of his life. But sadly, both Elvis and Michael Jackson's health declines and ultimate deaths were similar in many ways. Both had doctors who heavily prescribed drugs. It was once said that Elvis needed drugs to get to bed, and to get out of bed. It was so tragic.

Elvis does leave us with his this great musical legacy. A true gift.

1001 Ways To Get Fired: Giving Out Racist Sales Receipts To Customers

You have to really hand it to guys who constantly find some new creative ways to lose their jobs, but an employee of an uptown New York City, Papa John's pizza restaurant, decided to give an Asian woman by the name of Minhee Cho a racist receipt with the name "Lady Chinky Eyes" written on the receipt. As expected she complained to the parent company which was certainly very angry at both the location manager and employee both. The employee was certainly fired.

Papa John's certainly doesn't condone outrageous behavior like this. This is the work of one lone idiot employee, who strangely must have evolved from burning crosses to burning pizzas instead.

Charles Addams Turns 100

The creative genius behind THE ADDAMS FAMILY, Charles Addams turns 100 today. He might have actually died in 1988 at the age of 76 from a sudden heart while parking his car, but his legacy of his bizarre characters seems to live on generations and seems timeless. He was a distant relative of two American presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, although it's not really known where the second "d" in his name spelling comes from.

He was both artistically inclined and a little troubled as an youth, where the mansion that inspired THE ADDAMS FAMILY's own mansion was taken from a memory that he had of a burglary of a large and strange old home that he was arrested by police at. He seemed to always have some interest in crime, and by 1933 earned himself a job at TRUE DETECTIVE Magazine where his job was to artistically retouch murder victim's photos to remove gruesome wounds or blood for censorship reasons.

He also served stints as an animated filmmaker for military cartoons during WWII, but it was his long running series of ADDAMS FAMILY cartoons in THE NEW YORK TIMES that gave him a cult appeal among fans. By the 1960's he was approached by television producer David Levy for an idea for a weekly series based on the ADDAMS FAMILY characters. ABC added the series to their schedule in 1964, but the series only lasted for just two seasons. Incidentally, CBS TV's answer to THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS lasted, just two years as well. Neither show was a hit, but both shows developed a cult following during many years of syndication. THE ADDAMS FAMILY also inspired two really great feature length film as well, but the death of actor Raul Julia who played Gomez in the movies seemed to end hopes of a third film. But, in the television series, John Astin may have been the greatest incarnation of Gomez Addams ever. John Astin was great in this role.

Wherever you are Charles Addams, we love you. You brought us great characters and humor and made our lives wonderful with your dark and macabre sense of humor. You constructed a wild and wacky world of strangeness.

Exorcism & Washington Revolving Door Politics: Rick Santorum's Wacky 15 Minutes Of Fame

Some stories cross the lines of celebrity, business, scandal and politics. And since his spectacular rise in Iowa, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum has earned new media attention. However, after his 2006 landslide loss by more than 700,000 votes for re-election failed in his native Pennsylvania, Santorum took on a job paying $400,000 helping to consult and manage a major HMO, Universal Health Services,where he did very little constructive to stop serious financial fraud, rape, patient neglect, suicide or even murder at this HMO under his watch according to the long list of problems at this employer that government regulators noted. Santorum worked there between 1997 and 2011 . There was even one outrageous incident where some hospital staffers performed an unwanted exorcism on a severely autistic boy, attempting to explain his problems on demon possession of all things. The problems were so bad at Universal that government regulators even banned children from the HMO for their own safety. Yet Santorum would have you believe that he's somehow a common sense competent manager, rather than just some incompetent religious screwball nut.

Using his pull as a former senator who knew how to milk the system, Universal Health Care hired Santorum who helped to pull in millions of dollars in federal grants and money for the troubled hospital giant. During the early months of his presidential campaign, his former employer, Universal, also became his second largest campaign contributor as well. All of this only illustrates the cesspool of revolving door politics that exist in Washington. Santorum was voted out of office once by voters, disgusted with him. Now he thinks he should return as president.

Rather than being a breath of fresh air, Rick Santorum's politics is just more of the same old rotten Washington revolving door stuff. A disgraced senator who was voted out of office by a landslide because he couldn't even keep his own job, let alone jobs in his home state of Pennsylvania, where steel mills and manufacturing closed down in droves, now claims to be the new economic Messiah that America needs. Not hardly.

The reality is that all he did since leaving office was to shovel millions of tax dollars to his HMO employer because he knows how to milk the system for all it's worth. And now that employer would like to put him in the White House because there are so many more millions of tax dollars he could yet shovel to them as president. All of this outrageous Washington revolving door politics he poorly conceals with a paper thin-veneer of Holy Joe religion to boot.

The only positive thing in all of this is that Rick Santorum is never, ever, ever, going to win the Republican nomination or even for that matter be elected president. When you're the worst like Rick Santorum the only direction is straight down. He had his 15 minutes of fame last week in Iowa. Why he surged there, when far better and more serious candidates didn't do better could probably best be blamed on Iowa's strong core of social conservative voters who are willing to support even the worst possible candidates only if they are opposed to gay marriage or abortion. Screw the other issues such as basic ethics or integrity. But, now it's time to move on to more serious candidates in other states where many voters take voting far more seriously than the type of jerks who would vote for someone like a Santorum..

Santorum is spelled much like Sanatorium for good reason.

DVD Review: COWBOYS & ALIENS

COWBOYS & ALIENS only finally recently made back it's huge $163 million in production costs after quickly becoming a Summer box office flop due to some lukewarm critical reviews. But, I can tell you this, this Steven Spielberg, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard production is much better than some critics have claimed. On one hand, you'd expect a little bit better from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Brian Glazer and Ron Howard. This film doesn't belong on the same shelf with excellent films like SCHINDLER'S LIST,SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, COCOON or APOLLO 13 by any means, but compared to most other films by other filmmakers, this is a very good movie.

Opening with a great theme song that strongly reminds you of a generic version of THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY, I was very excited. A great Western theme has me hooked every time. And tough guy actor Daniel Craig quickly picks up the ball as a typical Western tough guy who stole an alien weapon and becomes mankind's best shot at fighting off the alien invasion during the 1800's Western days.

Harrison Ford's role may be a little bit smaller here than expected here. He's far from INDIANA JONES here, but still this aging actor is a reasonable presence here. Harrison Ford plays a bad guy type here, but seems to gradually redeem himself. At one point he manages to create an alliance with a tribe of Indians to wage war on their common enemy, the aliens. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, they often say.

If I have any complaint, it's that the alien spaceships appear to vary in size, sometimes looking like small drones not even big enough for a pilot, let alone abducting humans, other times the alien space craft appear much larger. There appears to be a little continuity issues here. But, if you can overlook this flaw, and not laugh too hard, there is still more than enough of good story here to carry this odd mix of an alien-Western to enjoyable levels.

COWBOYS & ALIENS does combine some of the best of a good Western shtick, such as a great theme song, a mysterious stranger, a bad guy rancher type and other common elements along with the alien invasion theme. True, it creates an odd mix. Yet, the end result is good enough film that's more entertaining than some critics would have you believe.

The Bottom Line: Perhaps far away from the very best film ever to masthead the names of greats like Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard or Brian Grazer. Yet, these guys sure know how to spend enough money to make some good movies. ***(Three Stars, Good. But, just barely. But, good enough to be good entertainment. Buy it or rent it. You can't really go wrong with anything with Steven Spielberg's name written on it).

Holy Christ! Casey Anthony's New Look .....And She Adopts!

Now that we've filled you with horror, let's tell you that this isn't as bad as it sounds. It seems that Casey Anthony has adopted a pet dog. Well, as long as you feed it, love, and it doesn't end up in a trunk of your car, things should be fine, Casey. We can only hope.

But, a jury should convict whoever did this terrible makeover on this acquitted accused child killer. Gez, this is a bad look compared to before. If witness protection mandated a look like this, then you'd have no choice. But, why for the love of everything holy voluntarily go for this look....yuuuck!

Will Kodak File Chapter 11 Papers?

Rumors of a possible filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers by the once proud photography brand, Eastman Kodak, sent the company's stock plunging on Wall Street today. Investors dumped the stock like a hot potato when the rumors of serious money problems leaked as news. At one time, Kodak was the undisputed largest brand of film sold, but photography has dramatically changed in this modern video age.

The photography industry has also faced serious environmental rules disputes as well. Chief Justice John Roberts started his legal career as an attorney for industrial polluters such as Kodak, who often would use public rivers to dump their industrial waste products. Kodak has since developed a partnership with another company to reprocess their industrial waste into new chemicals such as polymers.

But, it seems like the advent of digital technology has signaled the end of some older products like Kodak when they weren't viewed by the public as keeping up with the times. It's probably more a false public perception than anything, because Kodak has worked on a wealth of new products over the years. But, some public perceptions are hard to break.

Kodak is rumored to be working on a type of debtor-in-possession financing worth $1 billion that will allow the company to stay open for business as it reorganizes, and hopefully stays around for the future.

Beautiful Jessi Combs Back With 1001 CAR THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE Video Series

Beautiful car enthusiast girl, Jessi Combs, is back with a new series. This time an automotive video series on the Web comprised of 1001 CAR THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE. The new series appears to be something of a new genre, a brand new TV show that's brought directly to the Internet rather than to cable TV. AUTOBLOG is running the new video series on their website.

Jessi Combs was the popular co-host on EXTREME 4X4, until she required some back surgery and was forced to get some rest. But, she has since returned to TV on the popular show MYTHBUSTERS. She's a true expert on automobiles, and holds a college degree on custom automobile fabrication.

Jessi Combs has to be just about the most perfect girl. She's beautiful, with cute good looks and plenty feminine, yet she's as good of a mechanic as any of the boys. How perfect is that?

One Suspect Arrested In Hollywood Arson Spree, But A TMZ Producer Identifies A Second Person

A probable German national, Harry Burkhart, who kept on shouting, "I hate America", was arrested as a prime suspect for the Hollywood arson spree where 53 properties and automobiles were set on fire. The 24 year old had been described as a radical leftist by some news sources, while others claim that he was upset that his mother is involved in facing deportation from an immigration fight. But, police haven't yet released a motive by Burkhart, who was initially arrested because he resembled a person of interest in a surveillance video. Police later searched his minivan which was registered with a Canadian license plate, finding probable arson equipment which was seized as evidence. Burkhart's mother claims her son is mentally ill.

If Burkhart is convicted of the arson spree, which totals around $3 million in damage, then he could could face close to life in prison because the potential for loss of life was so high due to his serious actions. At least one fireman was injured from a fall

But, one producer for TMZ is somewhat disputing some key facts here. He claims that he personally witnessed a possible accomplice or another person other than Burkhart who actually tampered with a car that later exploded in flames. Numerous police and detectives contacted the TMZ producer, who again noted that the man who was arrested by police is not the same man he saw tampering with the car before it burst into flames. This information could lead to an arrest of more persons, or even clear Burkhart as the wrong key suspect in this arson spree, although since the arrest of Burkhart, no new arsons have been reported.

Scott Elliot Of ELECTION PROJECTION 2012 Predicts The Election Outcomes

Scott Elliot has an uncanny ability to to analyze statistics and polling data, and for the past several years has been earning high praise as having one of the most accurate election polling data analysis sites. His ELECTION PROJECTION 2012 website has to be one of the best election sites to follow this year along with REAL CLEAR POLITICS. Although Scott's own politics lean toward the conservative side, he's able to clearly analyze data in a subjective manner without the bias that plagues some polling organizations. And since Scott relies on his special mathematical and statistics analysis formulas, and does not conduct polling of his own, he is able to come up with a unique statistics analysis website.

Using his own unique statistics analysis methods, Scott is predicting that Rick Santorum edges out a win in today's Iowa caucuses with 24% of the vote. Mitt Romney follows at 23%. Ron Paul will have about 22% according to Scott's methodology. Scott views the momentum that Santorum has built in recent days as a further proof that Santorum will win.

Scott may be exactly right here. Compared to the more moderate Republican voters in New Hampshire, Iowa Republicans seem to have a much higher percentage of Christian conservative and social conservative voters, where past social conservative candidates like Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan have historically done very well in Iowa, but have done far less well in New Hampshire, and ultimately failed to be nominated. Scott also seems to have a hunch that Mitt Romney still might be the unstoppable nominee, especially if he scores well in Iowa and New Hampshire, and deals a quick knockout blow to the other candidates.

While there is great excitement about today's first election event of 2012, Scott does manage to temper that excitement with his ongoing electoral college analysis for 2012, where predicts that President Obama wins re-election in 2012, but by a smaller margin of victory than 2008. And he only loses two states that he won in 2008, Indiana and North Carolina, otherwise the 2012 election outcome is the same as 2008. For all of the money spent on elections this year, we might still end up with the same outcome that we already have. In Iowa, for example, it has been said that about $200 per caucus voter has been spent by the campaigns and PACs.

Scott comes from an interesting background. His parents were two of the first group of Christian missionaries in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was overthrown in the war. But, both were tragically killed in one of the first attacks of sectarian violence by a roadside bomb. Their deaths were one of the first of the wave of violence that made the country very unsafe for foreign workers in that nation until security measures were greatly improved.

Scott has also earned himself the nickname, "The Blogging Caesar", which seems pretty accurate for someone so accurate in their analysis of politics. PBS, CNN and many other news sources have praised Scott's work before. He remains possibly the greatest armchair political pundit of them all. And you have to really admire Scott's website. It's one of the best analysis sites of them all. You should check it out, or better yet make him a Paypal donation to keep up the good work. I was a paid subscriber to his paid site before in previous years because I'm a fan of his interesting work with statistics. And good work deserves a reward.

Producer Claims FOX Canceled SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Results Show

The executive producer of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, Nigel Lithgoe, claims that FOX canceled the big results show, which has been heavily padded up with little real substantial content. But, that means the show will remain TV with another season despite slipping ratings. The results will be incorporated in the last episode of the show at the end somehow rather than become another big one or two hour event stand alone event. Naturally fans of the show are upset at FOX. However, look for SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE to appear again for the Summer season right after May.