Check out the first names in this obituary: Florize! Luannie! RaChel! Arnola! And her husband, Fay! http://tinyurl.com/lpbmk6

Hey, bemember when I was on the /Filmcast the other night? Well, you can listen to it here: http://tinyurl.com/kjrets

Every time I accidentally agree with Jeffrey Wells I think: Does that mean I’m a douchebag, too?

Title of “Teen Witch” in Germany: “Hokuspokus an der Highschool.” It sounds much better that way. http://www.imdb.de/title/tt0098453/

Glenn Beck literally SCREAMS at caller about healthcare. The man is insane. http://tinyurl.com/na9rfl (Best parts at 1:30, 2:40, and 3:18)

Here’s me taking Alexander Marlow to task for his illogical, partisan-blinded review of “The Hurt Locker.” http://tinyurl.com/lmuarr

Big Hollywood is a fairly new entertainment blog whose stated purpose is to offer a right-wing perspective on what is generally considered a liberal industry. I hadn’t paid any attention to it until recently, when I stumbled across Alexander Marlow’s review of “The Hurt Locker” and was gobsmacked — not because it’s negative, but because it’s negative for illogical reasons.

After explaining what an epigraph is so he can use the word “epigraph” without confusing anyone, Marlow writes this:

If you are to the right of Bill Clinton, all you need to know about “The Hurt Locker” is its epigraph: “War is a drug.”

Incredibly, the mainstream media is trying to position “The Hurt Locker” as politically neutral. The mainstream media are dense. “War is a drug.” Drugs are bad. Thus, war is bad. This is a left-wing film. End of story. Witness the first five seconds of the movie and read the epigraph; if you still have the audacity to trumpet its neutrality, you should be committed to an insane asylum or the newsroom at MSNBC.

Do you see the logical flaw there? The complete quote that serves as the film’s epigraph is this: “The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” The point is that war, like drugs, can be addictive. The quote does NOT say that drugs are bad, nor has the film at this point said that war is bad. That’s all Marlow. Most people would agree with him about drugs, sure — but it’s not what the epigraph says. By his own reasoning, Marlow could just as easily have written:

“War is a drug.” Drugs are illegal. Thus, war is illegal.

Or:

“War is a drug.” Drugs are expensive. Thus, war is expensive.

Both of which are also true, at least in some cases, and both of which ALSO aren’t what the author of the quote was talking about.

It may seem like I’m splitting hairs, but Marlow is the one who stakes his whole case on this. After all, the film starting with the statement “war is a drug” is “all you need to know” about it. So we should probably interpret the statement “war is a drug” accurately, shouldn’t we?

Continue reading…

Harry Potter nerds mad that the movie didn’t just prop the book open and film the pages. http://twitpic.com/af3sr (via @alwayswatching )