Sunday, July 31, 2011

YourMorals.Org

Morality Quiz/Test your Morals, Values & Ethics - Your Morals.Org

What's a cdogzilla? What's he like relative to other 'zillas? The results of the questionnaires on the site linked above purport to help answer those questions in at least one germane way. Some background on why I'm taking these quizzes in this video:



My moral 'foundations' 
Here I was, as predicted based my judgement that same-sex marriage is not immoral,
of the belief that it would be beneficial at a low cost to society
Here I seem to be a bit of an outlier, valuing Ingroup loyalty much more than  expected for either liberals or conservatives. I think the reason I scored so high here is I answered all questions that involved lying or 'only' hurting someone's feelings strictly for my own gain as things I would not do for any amount of money.


Let me know if you take and post any of your results. I'm most curious about where you may differ the most with others who self-identify with the same political sentiments, whether liberal or conservative.

NC man charged in fender bender turned death-defying ride

Driver charged in Aberdeen wreck turned death-defying ride :: WRAL.com:


Michael Dowdle, shit-for-brains hit-and-run driver.


A Southern Pines man was recovering from a strained back Saturday after a fender bender led to a wild ride through Moore County on the hood of a suspected hit-and-run driver's car.
Judging from the picture in the article, Mr. Dowdle's attempt to resist arrest was ... ill-advised.

Wright Bros. recreators killed in their replica of the 1910 model

Replica of Wright brothers 1910 plane crashes in Ohio, killing 2 - CNN.com:


Image via CNN


A replica of a 1910 aircraft built by flight pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright crashed Saturday in a field near Springfield, Ohio, killing the two men aboard, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported.
Imagining an alternate history where the Wright Bros. were killed attempting to test the original ... 

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Whale meat is murder?

In the company of whales - Environment - Macleans.ca:


Morrissey via Toronto Sun


The Dominica Sperm Whale Project aims to get to know these whales “personally,” Gero says, and study them as individuals. Like Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey did in their groundbreaking research on primates, Gero has followed families of sperm whales from birth to maturity, learning about their daily lives in a way that’s never before been done with large whales that live in the open sea.
Moz has been roundly denounced, not without justification, for his insensitive comments about the massacre in Norway relative to what McDonald's and KFC do day in and day out. But would we be so quick to call him an ass if whales and chimps were slaughtered with the same regularity as cows and chickens?

I don't know. 



Thursday, July 28, 2011

Fill the shirt, my brother. Fill it.

toomanytribbles: the federation will not be televised:




"What do you think, is this XL going to shrink in the dryer or should I get the XXL to be safe?" -- Guy who bought the XL.

Spock Is Not Impressed

Spock Is Not Impressed

NYRB review of Friday Night Lights

Very Deep in America by Lorrie Moore | The New York Review of Books:


Kyle Chandler (via)



Kyle Chandler, script in hand, is said to have once phoned the director to insist, “I don’t need to make this speech. I can do it with a look.”

Religious nutter gets Slaughterhouse-Five banned at his local public school.

Kurt Vonnegut gets the boot in a Missouri school - CSMonitor.com:




A high school in Republic, Mo. bans two books, including Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse Five,' after a parent complains about material incompatible with the Bible.
Other books that are incompatible with the Bible include but are not limited to: the Bible itself, On the Origin of Species, and  ... look ... we could do this all day because any book that makes sense is incompatible with the Bible and the Bible, as I've already mentioned, isn't even compatible with itself. You just have to laugh.

Except, these religious twats can't accept the fact that many of us don't give shit about their stupid fucking Bible and don't care what's compatible with it or not because we send our kids to school to learn, not to be brainwashed by morons.


New England adopters saving southern dogs.

Southern dogs: changing adoption, changing laws | The Town Times:


Image via South Overton Farm


Adopting dogs from the South began in earnest about a decade ago. Before that, New England had too many dogs and too few homes and local, overcrowded animal shelters euthanized a large percentage of their dogs. Cultural and legal changes have alleviated the dog population problem in this part of the country.

According to the Dakin Animal Shelter in Massachusetts, “Twenty years ago, nearly 6,000 puppies flooded the five MSPCA animal shelters throughout the state of Massachusetts. In 2004, only 400 puppies came in to those same shelters. Clearly, New Englanders have received the all-important message about not allowing their companion dogs to roam or breed.”

Rescue organizations cite a lack of emphasis on spaying and neutering in the southern states as a factor creating a much worse dog overpopulation problem there.

Abortion restrictions become NC law

Abortion restrictions become NC law after override :: WRAL.com:




The Republican-led Legislature completed its veto override when the Senate voted 29-19 to approve the bill requiring women to receive counseling and wait 24 hours before an abortion. The House agreed to the override earlier this week.
The state of NC has decided women are submorons without the ability to make decisions about their own reproductive health without government interference. 

We don't need, but seem to like anyways, some stinkin' (MLB.com) badges.

My Badges | MLB.com: Community


Predicting I will get 2 of these today: Beckett and Ellsbury. Paps won't pitch because there won't be a save situation.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Tip from the cdogzilla Style Guide for twitter users with regard to names and titles of pols and the 140 character limit


Pence says he's still undecided on Boehner. Wants BBA, would support one w/out supermajority requirement for tax hikes.Wed Jul 27 23:07:56 via Twitter for BlackBerry®


There was room in the above tweet to include the descriptor "C Street twat" when talking about Mike Pence. Careless oversight on @philipaklein's part.

If I were a developer, I'd make a 'bot that MTed every tweet by or about @RepMikePence to include the phrase "C Street twat Mike Pence".

Image via Bayou Perspective


See also: Mike Pence, C Street twat, blowing hard on the dog whistle today.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Cheerwine.com offers delivery

Home page - Cheerwine.com



Hey, that's handy.

Via Jason H. on g+

That's how it was with STATIS PRO BASEBALL

Michael Weinreb on STATIS PRO BASEBALL - Grantland:




To play a complete 162-game slate, to replicate the entire 1983 baseball season, to keep meticulous track of statistics and box scores, to quantify everything on yellow legal pads that my father brought home from the university at which he worked. There was nothing sentimental about it. This was the first job I ever had, to serve as manager and commissioner of an alternate universe, laboring each day to fulfill a quota that existed only in my own head.
I bet if you played, you remember the Ruppert Jones card.

And after Statis Pro, it was Strat-O-Matic. 

Monday, July 25, 2011

DoD panel calls for radical retirement overhaul

DoD panel calls for radical retirement overhaul - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times:


Image via Outside the Beltway


In a massive change that could affect today’s troops, the plan calls for a corporate-style benefits program that would contribute money to troops’ retirement savings account rather than the promise of a future monthly pension, according to a new proposal from an influential Pentagon advisory board.

All troops would receive the yearly retirement contributions, regardless of whether they stay for 20 years. Those contributions might amount to about 16.5 percent of a member’s annual pay and would be deposited into a mandatory version of the Thrift Savings Plan, the military’s existing 401(k)-style account that now does not include government matching contributions.
If we're going to tolerate scumbag politicians sending troops overseas on false pretenses to fight bullshit wars, can we at least not threaten to gut the pensions of the men and women sent into harm's way to fight those wars? 

ATHEIST/FSM dog tags

Justin Griffith's Atheist / Flying Spaghetti Monster dog tags | Rock Beyond Belief


Image via Rock Beyond Belief


There are strict rules about what non-military texts you can posses during boot camp. They only allow one book, and it must be a holy book from your religion. As you’d expect from this rule, there were a few Bibles, a Koran, and even a Book of Mormon in various wall-lockers in my company. Most people just didn’t have a book at all. 
I, however, brought my copy of The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. 
My book was incredibly popular, and people kept talking about it during the few short breaks you get during the typical boot camp day.

The description he provides of explaining the book to his Drill Sergeant is hilarious. Includes the line: "Drill Sergeant: “Are you fucking with me? Are you fucking with me at 0600, Private Griffith? Before I even get some goddamned breakfast?”"

The oldest example of North American art?

Amateur Fossil Hunter Makes Mammoth Find In Florida : NPR:

Image via NPR.org

It's one of the most significant pieces of prehistoric art ever found in North America — a carving of a mammoth or mastodon on a piece of fossilized bone dating back to the Ice Age. An amateur fossil hunter found it several years ago in Vero Beach, Florida. Now, after three years of study, a team of researchers say they believe it's authentic.

I don't know what conclusions we can draw except that Breivik's motivations might only be comprehensible to the likes of a Glenn Beck

The Blog : Christian Terrorism and Islamophobia : Sam Harris:

Image via SamHarris.org

Is Breivik mentally ill? Judging from his behavior, it is difficult to imagine a definition of “sanity” that could contain him.

It has been widely reported that Breivik is a “Christian fundamentalist.” Having read parts of his 1500-page manifesto (2083: A European Declaration of Independence), I must say that I have my doubts. These do not appear to be the ruminations of an especially committed Christian ...

... As I have only read parts of this document, I cannot say whether signs of a deeper religious motive appear elsewhere in it ... What cannot be doubted, however, is that Breivik’s explicit goal was to punish European liberals for their timidity in the face of Islam.
I agree that it doesn't appear Breivick was religious extremist, more of a right wing xenophobe. Harris goes on to characterize Islam as "the most retrograde and and ill-behaved religion on earth," a claim I'm not sure I'd want to dispute except to point out that, without trying too hard, you could make a case for any one of the others. It's religious fundamentalism that worries me, regardless of the religion, and whether Breivik was that particular sort of nutter or not, I don't see the value in singling out Islamic fundamentalists over any other kind. Let's not call Breivik a Christian extremist if he wasn't, let's not call the kids that were slaughtered 'Hitler Youth,' since they weren't, Glenn Beck.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

So that leaves Kramer for g+?


Twitter is Jerry. Tumblr is Elaine. Facebook is George. Myspace is your friend who keeps walking in asking which episode this is.Mon Jul 25 02:06:53 via Tweetbot for iPhone

Arguments against anonymity. (See also: babies and bathwater.)

Online commenting: the age of rage | Technology | The Observer


Troll, well ... Orc ... close enough. 


Arthur Schoepenhauer wrote well on the subject 160 years ago: 'Anonymity is the refuge for all literary and journalistic rascality,' he suggested. 'It is a practice which must be completely stopped. Every article, even in a newspaper, should be accompanied by the name of its author; and the editor should be made strictly responsible for the accuracy of the signature. The freedom of the press should be thus far restricted; so that when a man publicly proclaims through the far-sounding trumpet of the newspaper, he should be answerable for it, at any rate with his honour, if he has any; and if he has none, let his name neutralise the effect of his words. And since even the most insignificant person is known in his own circle, the result of such a measure would be to put an end to two-thirds of the newspaper lies, and to restrain the audacity of many a poisonous tongue.' 
The internet amplifies Schopenhauer's trumpet many times over. Though there are repressive regimes when anonymity is a prerequisite of freedom, and occasions in democracies when anonymity must be preserved, it is clear when those reservations might apply. Generally, though, who should be afraid to stand up and put their name to their words? And why should anyone listen if they don't?
The pull above is the end of a longer article, but I think if we can talk about the points made here, we'll pretty much cover my responses to the arguments against the use pseudonyms.

With regard to newspapers and reporting I feel pretty strongly that what bloggers, tweeters, g+ers, ffers, etc. do is not journalism. It looks like journalism at times. It may even masquerade a journalism. At times it can even be as informative as journalism, but it is not the Fourth Estate. I don't think we even need to address Schopenauer's argument about requiring the true authorship of reporting in the discussion about blogging, forums, social media, and commenting because we're not comparing apples to apples. He may have been right; however, I don't think we need to think to hard to imagine a case where revealing authorship could endanger the life or freedom of a reporter and imagine a scenario where perhaps on the only editor should be known, in effect vouching for the reporter, while allowing the reporter to remain anonymous to provide for her safety and continued reporting. People demanding the same accountability of social media users and commenters (!) are really applying the wrong standards.

Who should be afraid to put their names by their words outside of authoritarian regimes? I assume he means besides battered women? And confidential informants? And whistleblowers? How about less dramatic examples like those on the receiving end of racism? Should a black man relating his experience of accidentally walking into a Klan bar (yes, they still exist) while travelling be expected to attach his real name (address, phone number?) to the a blogpost describing the experience? Isn't it valuable still for those stories to be told, so people are aware how dangerous it still is to be black in the American south without the guy telling that story having to worry about a burning cross showing up on his lawn?

Why should anyone listen to the story told by an anonymous individual? Uh, is anyone forcing them to?  Last I checked my stats, I hadn't marshaled an army of enslaved readers. Don't want to read what I have to say? Skip it. It's really not hard.  Offended by trolls? Yeah, me too. You know what though? You don't have the right to live unoffended.  Sorry to be the one to break it to you.  Disgusted by what your fellow humans say under the cloak of anonymity? Yep, me too. (I'm also disgusted by what Ann Coulter says every time she opens her mouth and we know here name.) Still, would we know how deep and extensive the problem of moral retardation and ignorance is in this country if the commenters on hate sites like Fox Nation were afraid to speak their minds because they'd have to put their names to their homophobic, Christian extremist, and racists screeds?

Does the sheer volume of trolls and spammers ruin much of the internet?  Yes, I think I'd agree they do. It's a human (and 'bot) cesspool out there. Do I really need to pay for that though? Do you need to know my name and address to have a discussion with me about politics, philosophy, religion, or chat about what we're reading and listening to?  If so, why? Really, why? I've been here (well, at triptychcryptic.com before there was a here, but blogging, as 'cdog/cdogzilla') for a long, long time. I'll answer your questions, I'm willing to stand corrected when it's warranted. If you make a convincing argument and change my mind -- it can be done -- I'll acknowledge that.  I'll give credit where it's due when it happens. What else do you want from me?

I'm not going anywhere. Unless I'm censored, in which case you can just carry on without me and I'll go back to my reading.

[ Last update: pseuds are a hot topic and I'm not going to even try to link all the articles and posts, so here's one just one more by Scicurious.]


"Diligent search and inquiry ..."

A Brevard woman disappeared, but never left home - St. Petersburg Times:


Image via TampaBay.com


The bank foreclosed. People hired by the bank went inside and took pictures of her stuff. They took pictures of her car. That happened twice. 'Diligent search and inquiry,' they wrote. 'Confirmed residence is unoccupied.'

The A.V. Club looks back at "Doctor Who: The Television Movie"

"Doctor Who: The Television Movie" | Doctor Who (Classic) | TV Club | TV | The A.V. Club:


The console. (Via the Onion)


Thankfully, there is an oasis of calm in the middle of all this, in the performance of Paul McGann as the new Doctor. True, he starts with some egregious overacting demanded by the post-regeneration sequence, in which he can't simply see his new face in a mirror with momentary shock and dismay, as other Doctors have done—no, he's got to wander into a wing of the hospital that has apparently been abandoned for years, see himself in the shards of a dozen broken mirrors, and shout 'WHO?! AM?! I?!' amid thunder and lighting before dropping to his knees in a Christ-crucified pose. But once he's allowed to take things down a notch, McGann acquits himself well, and creates his character's most compelling moments during the quietest scenes. He's charming, a little scatterbrained, has an unaffected, graceful courtesy and moments of great enthusiasm and whimsy, like his unexpected glee at discovering that his new shoes fit after all. But it's really just a taste; there really isn't quite enough here to judge the Eighth Doctor, especially considering how Roberts' hamming it up as the Master overshadows the last third of the story.
This review pretty much gets it right. I didn't hate this as much after seeing again last year as I did back when I first watched it, but it was deeply flawed (no chance of  launching a successful relaunch back then, though the idea of a BBC and American network co-production still appeals to me) and extremely problematic in terms of continuity.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

My seemingly inevitable conflict with google looms ...


Google's policy is that + users need to use their legal name. I'm on + with my pseudonym, the pseudonym I've used for years as a blogger, friendfeeder, twitterer, etc. It's my online identity. I have my reasons for writing under a pen name. I'll go into those in a bit, but I'm not going to follow google's rules to use their service, so it's likely my google + account will get banned. I hope it's just my google + ... my gmail, this blogger account, my youtube account, and picasa are tied together and I'd hate to lose access to all of them.  So, if my g+ gets banned, I'll take the link over in the sidebar down and just walk away from it. At least, cdogzilla will. In the meantime, I'll take regular backups of my blog in case I fall out with, or am pushed out so thoroughly by, google that I leave blogger as well so I can recreate it on another service (Wordpress? I'll cross that bridge when and if I come to it.) or just have it as a keepsake, and not got through the trouble of starting over.

So why the pseudonym? Well, I like my privacy, for one thing. I'm not particularly concerned about stalkers, lunatics, and trolls, but someone close to me is, and I respect her concern. I'm not an abused woman or in Witness Protection with a pressing need for privacy, but on principle I feel that in the Marketplace of Ideas the ideas should be judged by their content, not by what anyone feels about the person expressing them. I do believe in accountability and in standing behind what you say. Like I said, I've used the same identity online for years, over a decade, and I stand ready to explain, defend, argue, and be argued with about anything I've said. I've said some dumb and/or inflammatory things in my time, and I've been right and I've been wrong on any number of matters of fact. Where I've been wrong, I am willing to stand corrected and take my lumps with the same identity, the same reputation, with which I made my claims. Call me cdog or call me Chris (my 'real' first name, by the way, short for Christopher) it's still me, and whichever name you call me, I answer to.

As an atheist and a progressive, I'm also keenly aware that I am a widely and virulently (in fringe cases) despised minority. (Now, I'm also a straight, anglo, able-bodied, male, so I'm not facing the same struggles or discrimination as an African-American lesbian might.) I work for a living. Me and my family rely on my income to eat, have shelter, and for the clothes our backs. I'd like to think I could go look for a new job some day if I wanted or needed to without having to worry that I would be discriminated against without my knowledge (and that's key) by potential future employers using the broadly accepted and nearly universal practice of scanning google, facebook, twitter, etc. for background on potential new hires.  

If I were asked on a job application or in an interview about my irreligious views or my politics, I would want to understand before answering why I was being asked those questions and how the answers would impact my consideration; however, I would ultimately answer them honestly. So why don't I put my full legal name on all my posts about politics and atheism?  Because I can't afford to risk being weeded out of a pool applicants by a bigot, a risk I consider high, without the opportunity to be considered on skills and accomplishments and to speak for my beliefs and character directly. (Update 7/24/11: A little tangential, but here's a recent example that highlights one subtle way being "out" as an atheist can draw unwanted attention in the workplace.)

While having no delusions of influence or importance, I have a voice and, in this blog as well as on g+, ff, and twitter, a soapbox to stand on. I like that. I like the discussions and even the conflicts to which expressing my opinions sometimes lead. I'd like think there's something democratic and valuable about that whole arrangement, something that's bigger than me and about free expression. But if google shuts me out of g+, then I'll say "screw'em" and just leave my (boring, safe, minimally engaged) real name account out there so I don't look like a total hermit but I will not share anything except entirely non-controversial opinions. I might remark on books, if I undertake reading Proust in the original French, I'll share my findings on comparing translations, or I might revisit some papers I wrote as a student and update them as essays, heck, I might even find a better niche doing that... I can imagine some reading this might rather I did that then get worked up over Republican mendacity and religious bigotry. But it would be much more limited, safe, and self-serving content that I'd expose publicly.

Heck, I've barely even gotten going on g+, but I like the service and I can see it supplanting my use of twitter in time. I like a handful of tweeters, but am not crazy about the service. I like Friendfeed more, but it doesn't look like it's got much of a future, sadly, despite being superior to g+ in terms of features and community. That community has, as far as I can tell, almost no exclusive users though, and as more and more ffers chase the power users to g+ and find it an acceptable, if mildly inferior product, the fact that it's growing and has a future will almost certainly result in Friendfeed dying off.  My larger concern is about google's ownership of blogger and any conflict over my online identity spilling over to here. 

The world at large, and google itself, won't miss me on g+ if I'm banned. But wouldn't it be nice if Tom Tomorrow could have an account? Megan, a victim already, has more along this line of thought.

Porcupine Freedom Festival: The Libertarian Burning Man/Bonnaroo

Porcupine Freedom Festival

Young, virile Libertarians gathering to eat uninspected bacon paid for with precious metal.
I'm a little behind the times here, this happened back at the end of June up in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire. NPR had a largely sympathetic podcast about it.

Kingsley Amis practiced the best kind of literary experimentation.

In short stories, Kingsley Amis reigns supreme | The Australian:


Kingsley Amis via The Australian


There are beautiful genre efforts, including a whole Sherlock Holmes story. There are stories in genres that Amis never properly attempted on a larger scale: one series, beginning with The 2003 Claret, is a brilliantly amusing mash-up of oenophile fantasy, time-travelling science-fiction and raw farce. (Amis never lost interest in what happens to genre when one or more of the characters is almost permanently drunk.)
I'm always intrigued by the tension (and occasional overlap) between genre and literary writers, and the results when genre writers go for mainstream cred by writing straight fiction (or are accorded literary merit while staying with the genre (Lem, Delaney, Ballard, or Atwood, for example).  Likewise, I'm curious about the results when acknowledged literary talents like Amis, Theroux (O-Zone), and McCarthy (The Road) dip their toes in the genre pool. 

Friday, July 22, 2011

♥ The Mekons

A Q&A With Jon Langford Of The Mekons | The Awl:


Jon Langford via The Awl


It’s likely that you either love the Mekons, or you haven’t heard of them at all. Formed as a punk band in Leeds in 1977, the sprawling lineup has remained more or less the same since the mid-'80s. Their sound spans multiple genres, among them American rock and roll and roots music. (They are, in fact, credited with producing the first alt-country album.) If you go to a Mekons show, expect to see some incredibly ardent fans, every music critic in town, and an energetic performance from all on stage.

O Wisconsin, so much to answer for ...

Nine Wisconsinites Who Are Screwing Up America | The Awl:


Whoa, that image is doing an optical illusion expansion thing on my eyes.


Wisconsin. You've heard of it. Maybe it was a fat joke. More likely it was a cheese joke. A drunk joke? Even more likely it was about drunk fat people eating cheese. Yes, Wisconsin Dells. You've certainly flown over it.

Laugh all you want, Wisconsinites are now a leading force in right wing politics and, maybe more so than any other state's residents, are responsible for our messed-up national state of affairs. Here are nine Cheeseheads who are working hard at this very moment to mess up your life.
Fighting Bob La Follette's zombified corpse must be clawing its way out of the ground even now ...

#FF @clarkekant (On your knees, prey.)

Via NOGMC



If you're willing to donate money, the church would be happy to prey on, I mean, pray for you.Fri Jul 22 01:03:49 via Tweetbot for iPhone

#FF @CindyScroggins (Following in the scientific tradition of Dr. Duncan MacDougall)

This one made me snort.


Weighed myself pre-poop and post-poop. Heavier post-poop. Something to do with my soul, you think?Mon Jul 11 13:25:54 via web


See also: Snopes on the attempt to weigh the soul.

Image via Wikipedia

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Ricky Gervais Planning New Sitcom: 'Afterlife'

Ricky Gervais Planning New Sitcom: 'Afterlife' - The Hollywood Reporter:


Gervais, the atheist who would play God. Image via Rolling Stone.


The web was atwitter with reports that Ricky Gervais is planning a new sitcom called Afterlife, about an atheist who dies and goes to heaven.
Is atwitter what I am? No, not exactly. But I am intrigued. 

The Douchiest Colleges in America: 2011 Edition

The Douchiest Colleges in America: 2011 Edition: Humor: GQ



Any book that purports to rank the douchiest colleges in America which doesn't include Duke in those rankings can't be trusted. The authors clearly don't know the definition of one or more of the words in the title of their book.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

100 Things I Love About My Favorite Movies (Part 1)

As seen at 100 Things I Love About My Favorite Movies, I'm going to rattle off, in no particular order, things I love about some of my favorite movies. This isn't a list of best movies, or greatest accomplishments (though I'd argue a few of them are), they're just things that I love, even if they're flawed in some way or other. Please note, this will probably be loaded with spoilers of all kinds. Proceed at your own risk.

The rules are:
Rather than posting your 100 favorite films (which has been done and overdone), you simply post your favorite things about movies. I dig the concept, because instead of obsessing over whether the films you put on a list are “objectively good enough” to put on said list, you simply jot down 100 moments/lines/visuals that have made a lasting impression on you or sneak their way into running gags between you and your friends.



The crowded stateroom scene from A Night at the Opera



Nitti: "I said, 'Your friend died screaming like a stuck Irish pig.' Now you think about that when I beat the rap." Because what happens next is Ness decides to handle Nitti the Chicago Way.




Indy emerges atop the sub to that swelling John Williams theme and cheers ...



... I saw this with my aunt at a cinema pub in 1981. I'd never experienced a theater full of people cheering together spontaneously in the middle of a movie before. (It probably helped that the beer was flowing. Ten years old at the time, I just cheered because it was fun.)

The fights in Fist of Legend

I would include them all but this is already going to be the biggest post ever on this site.



The mall fight in Police Story

Staying with the martial arts theme. I could do 100 Things I Love About Police Story.



Lawnmower in Dead Alive


No embed on this one. Chase the link at your peril.
Funniest/goriest movie ever?

Music and finale of The Third Man



Another great movie I could've done dozens of moments, even the opening credits.

She just walks by, leaving him standing there like a sap. So he lights a smoke. I love it.

Marlowe tells O'Shaugnessy he hopes they don't hang her by her sweet neck.

I can't find the scene on youtube, so here's a capture of O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) realizing her fate is sealed.



Gittes, tells guy his wife crossed her legs a little too quick ...



Charles Grodin in Midnight Run



Grodin steals this movie. He's brilliant. Watched again recently, it held up really well.

The Irene Adler moment in Zero Effect

When we find out who the blackmailer is we realize that, whatever the name of the character Kim Dickens played was, it was really "Irene Adler." Drastically under-rated movie.


Chow Yun-Fat as Li Mu Bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon



Chow Yun-Fat could be in this list for a number roles, but I think CT, HD is his finest movie. One of my all-time favorites.

Chasing or being chased? Memento



The Dude



Mark Knopfler's music for Local Hero



Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction



Bruce Willis as John McLane in Die Hard




One of the best times I ever had at the movies.

The drink/love scene in Out of Sight



----------------------------------------------------

I counted 18 there. Not exactly a round number to stop at, but it's late. Two or three more posts will finish this up.

Great white shark jumps from sea (as opposed to ... what? a hot air balloon?) into research boat

Great white shark jumps from sea into research boat | World news | The Guardian

Terrifying leaping shark image via The Guardian

Marine researchers in South Africa had a narrow escape after a three-metre-long great white shark breached the surface of the sea and leapt into their boat, becoming trapped on deck for more than an hour.
Sorry, no hitchhikers.

Rupert Murdoch attacked (with a pie) at Parliament, appears unharmed (by the pie)

Rupert Murdoch attacked at Parliament, appears unharmed - latimes.com

Image via LA Times

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch endured not only verbal blows but also an attempted physical attack Tuesday during his historic appearance before a committee of the British Parliament to account for the alleged illegal activities of reporters at his newspapers accused of hacking people's cellphones.

The hearing was interrupted when it appeared that someone tried to strike Murdoch, perhaps with shaving cream.
Uh, seriously?  First, that's not going to accomplish much except make people sympathetic towards an entirely unsympathetic twat.

And, headline writers, before we call this an "attack," please tell me you also write about how baseball players getting interviewed post-game are "attacked" by teammates with what are (perhaps) shaving cream pies.  It's a pie in the face, which is far less humiliation and anguish than he deserves, not an assault.

Thome's titanic homer impresses teammate.

They still got it: Thome & Giambi launch titanic Sunday homers - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports:

Delmon Young is appropriately awed by Thome's blast.

Thome's sixth inning three-run homer off Felipe Paulino(notes) traveled an estimated 490 feet, stunning fans seated above the right-center field scoreboard, and surpassing Thome's flagpole home run last September by 10 feet to become the longest in Target Field's short history. All you have to do is look at Delmon Young's(notes) face to know that we're not talking about your run-of-the-mill shot here.

Cadborosaurus?

Loch Ness Monster-Like Animal Filmed in Alaska : Discovery News:


via Discovery


A video from 2009 shows something mysterious moving across the surface of the sea that resembles an Alaskan version of the Loch Ness monster.

Some are claiming that the animal is a 'Cadborosaurus,' a type of reptile or lizard that got its name from Cadboro Bay, in British Columbia. They say that what's in the video is a sea serpent that dwells in the North Pacific and possibly other regions.
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