Daily Show

There was a really cool line from the interview with Bill Cramer of Mad Money. Jon said "Now we're both sell snake oil, but we sell ours as snake oil while you market it as some medicinal tonic."

Or something like that.

But the idea that a show can honestly say its dishonest while still critiquing others for non-transparently being dishonest is pretty positive. It also shows the new direction of the Show. No longer is it Jon's job to be the man who pokes fun at the administration, because the American people like the new administration, particularly Jon's demographic of young liberals. So the new job is defending the little guy, an odd stance for a pundit who labeled himself an outside observe who puts everything at arms length.

There was this other good point about how the demographic has changed, that the new face of crime is well dressed white people who stole millions of dollars from the american public. It then put up a picture of President Obama and Berny Madoff, asking which one of these do you expect to be president and which one do you suppose would have money problems?

I like new direction, but I kind of miss the Skippy McDumbutt and Vader power hour, the world seemed less precarious then.

Lie To Me and Adspace

Lie to Me is House without the medical gobidly gook.

Dr Lightman is this shows Dr. House, but without fake American accent and cane. Same amount of showboating and productive jackassiness. Theirs the not very funny pretty guy, who this time is braining rather then Australian, the perky burnette now blond is replaced by a latino women so they able to skip the black guy character all together. Theirs the curly haired professional like women, who replaces Cutty, but works for this House so the dinamic is slightly diffrent.
But the plot line is pretty similar; oh, we have a puzzle we need to solve in 40 mintues, with our speicalized skill set! Oh, theres a twist, OH GOD ANOTHER TWIST, oh wait, it was this simple thing all along!!

Its really not a bad show, but the idea of it is for cast to be able to read facial experssion and deduct to solve the projects they've been hired to conuslt on. Which means actors have to act as real as possible, which most times fall's short, since their suppost to be acting one way to lie, then have microexpressions that tell Dr Lightman and the audiance the truth.

Also why is it that Hulu keeps advertising 1. Charities it supports, 2. Cars, and 3. Various Vertiaties of Vodka. I think it subliminal messaging for our minds to create aweful stories where a van full of nuns off to help orphans get drunk and go to Vegas instead.

Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock's mental thriller takes winding paths though San Fransisco, when both characters wander, lost in their own heads rather then the city. This leads to beautiful pans and views from the hood of the car, where the city if forced to blur by in the backround. This story contiunues with the Hitchcock style of the leading man to forceable overcome his tragic flaw, this time a fear of heights, a extreme case of Vertigo, which wouldn't be a problem in anywhere besides a city, where sky scrapers stretch high.

There is betrayal, or rather a double crossing reviled. Love turning to the point of Obsession, "evil twins" this plot line had all the markings of a bad soap opera, but the beautiful camera work made it a classic rather than trashy. Large shots of rooftops like at the missionary south from the city, where the ground seems so far away, gives more believability to the watcher, that the fear of hights is justified. The ghastly green light that pours threw the window of the hotel the betrayer lives gives more to the feelings of complete ominousness.

Vertigo also has the special effects of a bad Sci-fi movie, the ominous unearthly tones, the rotating eye intro, the pulling away of the stairs that started special effects. While this movie is now a classic, it must have raised some eyebrows back when it was first out.

I Love You Man

I saw an advanced screening of I Love You, Man with my awesome boyfriend. I really was looking forward to it because I saw the original red band trailer and the intro song was from one of my favorite bands Vampire Weekend. But the red band trailer gave far too much away, the movie losing its ability to tell the story because it was already completely shared with the trailer. Then I checked OkGo's website, and they wrote a cute intro about how "I love you, man" is what Tim always tells Damien before entering a car or plane, you know, just incase. But that they also had a cameo as the wedding band at the reception. Apparently most of that hit the edit room floor since they only appeared behind Jason Segal and Paul Rudd during the credits.

They solded their best scene in the trailer, where Jason meets Paul at his open house. The stage is set of a beautiful girl and an average looking guy, where Jason points out to Paul that "That guy really needs to fart" then the long explanation and BFF forever.

It was a good introduction into the new are of Bromances, and quite funny, I just need to remember like with Slumdog Millionaire, don't watch movies with preconditions, because they can't always live up to it, unlike chocolate cake.

Wii (Fit) Rocks

I totally love my birthday gift of the Wii system!! The ability to play 5 sports from the comfort of your living room adds a lot of fun to the otherwise boring 'visiting' with my grandfather. Also it adds to the idea that everyone sucks at most games, such as when I played baseball, Seth was declared a mercy winner in the first inning. Now thats embarrassing, although I did win in WiiFit Hula Hooping because not only did I beat Seth's score but I did it without looking like monkey dancing for a nickel.

The Wii was designed to bring people together, which it does, by making us all suck equally at the majority of their games!!

Thank You For Smoking

Jason Reitman works well with his actors, several from Thank You for Smoking doing his next project of Juno. Jason Reitman's father directed Ghost Busters.

Jason Reitman adapted and directed this brilliant introspect into the composite character of the face of big tobacco. The tagline: American is living in spin" the sultan of spin is Nick Naylor, who tirelessly fights for conglomerations. Aaron Eckard does an amazing job bringing Nick to life. The story is designed to humanize a devil who defends a cooperation that kills two jumbo jets full of people a day. The film is funny and amazing

This film was shot with beautiful transitions, a beautiful one where a time laps sunsets on the Washington monument, establishing movement of time and change in location. Also when Nick confronts the last Marbalo man, the entire lighting set in the yellow of old time westerns that started the ad campain.

Rear Window

Solving a murder across the courtyard never looked so sexy.

Actually I have no idea about that, but I do know the feet of trying to capture an entire movie in a single apartment is quite impressive. This limits the director to broad shots of the courtyard or voyeuristic view of the surrounding apartments. This also forces the action of the story into the apartment.

This unique camerawork is possible due to the storyline, by forcing the main character to remain in one place, due to his tragic flaw of being wheelchair bound. This adds to the drama because it immobilizes the hero, leaving him unable to defend himself of the people he loves.

Alfred Hitchcock is amazing when it comes to moving the story though unique shots.

Visions of Light

A documentary on the history of cinematography and the lighting necessary to capture performances and moods.

The human eye is much more evolved then any camera, because our pupils can dilate enough to see in most every light, even the most advanced camera of today can't do that. Cameras need certain light to correctly capture, and its a cinematographers job to correctly light a scene along with making each shot move the story and capture a feeling.

In the beginning of motion pictures, capturing sound didn't exist. This gave true carte blanche to directors to capture the motion. These early films gave true freedom in there placement which allowed more documentary like shots.

The arrival of talkies locked up the camera, putting it on massive dollies and soundproof boxes. This hauled the progression of photography's by the immobilization if the camera, although this time of sets allowed for more controlled lighting. At this time the studio system was in full swing, and each had its own unique look, the gloss of Paramount, the sharp edges of Warner Brothers and the glamor of MGM. Actresses on screen performances were heightened by lighting, changing the shape of the faces and making their pale skin pop.

The first color process was two, then three, then the spectrum. This allowed films like Meet Me In Saint Luise and The Wizard Of Oz possible. By now the camera was once again free to move about.

Jaws at the end of the 60s was shot with handy cams, hand held at water level to truly frighten the audience. It and Indiana Jones also changed the rules of censorship, creating the new PG13 for blood and guts!

Several viable clues lent to thinking about what the director of photography was trying to convey. Yellow, first used in the Godfather signifies memories, heavy shadows, used more at the end of the 1960s used to distort feeling and created true chiaroscuro of the characters' hearts.

Texture

Texture!!!!

Milk

OMG!! Milk was freaken awesome!

As always, Gus Van Sants kept us at an emotional distance, making it harder to connect to the majority of his characters, except the one that gives the audience access to the entire story. Back in Elephant, the first film I saw of his, Alex is our emotional access point, the person who the audience can really connect to. This puts more pressure on the lead, to act thought the fourth wall, so Sean Penn really had to work for it, and he did, and it showed in the film and the recognition he received. Also, Sean Penn smiled, a lot, truly emulating the late Harvey Milk, with gestures and crooked smiles and general beings.

I missed the first five mintues (Caroline ran late), so I don't know if they said in the begining that Dan White killed him, which might have made the film slightly less potent than just knowing that Milk would die, then the little shock if you didn't previously google before walking into their theater. Whats funny is in Middle School I wiki'ed Dan White in connection with the Twinkie Defense that got him off for the assassination of two government officials, I just didn't remember that it was Harvey Milk.

The death scene was beautifully shot, where Milk is in his office, Dan walks in, makes him go to his knees, and you see Dan standing behind him, gun drawn, then the shot and blood stain Milk, the camera panning as he falls forward, then out the window to the opera house, a poster of a large women sobbing in the way everyone must have felt like doing after news reached.

The use of news real in combination with film worked very well in this film, Anita the Hun Briant shown in brilliant Technicolor as the beautiful devil she is. The whole idea of protecting the children, shown for the idiocy it truly was. This also tied to the idea that in California, now, if your gay you can't adopt children already here, but if your heterosexual, unemployed and living with your parents and on well-fare, you can have a whole litter.

The Speeches given at the Oscars were brilliant. Dustin Lance Black quote was brilliant
"I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by their government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, God, for giving us Harvey Milk."

I loved Sean Penn's speech, why "“you commie, homo-loving sons of guns.” ask, because quite simply it kicked but!

"For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, and, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone. And there are these last two things. I’m very, very proud to live in a country that’s willing to elect an elegant man President."

Coraline

Neil Gaiman is one very creepy and brilliantly talented man. He originally wrote Coraline in 2002, it won numerous awards. Not only was Coraline beautifully captured, a truly amazing stop-motion animation, but it also hits home in the crafting community.

The first scene, gorgeous close ups, the process of sewing the Coraline doll, beautifully archaic tools known to most crafters, construct a Coraline replica. In order to generate more buzz for the film, they actually sent out boxes to 50 blogs including some of the set of the movie!!

Coraline was a creepily beautiful story, captured magnificently, kind of like a preserved swallow-tail butterfly.

Why Foodgawker Looks So Good

They actually critique the photos. If they don't like them, it gets rejected.
The two photos I submitted were sent back with words like 'Blur' and 'Harsh Light'. Also they will publish photos that link to blogs that don't include the recipe!!!!

Wow, the mystery of the magical photographs is uncovered!!!!

Paths of Glory

The saying goes that 10,000 men lost is a statistic while a single death is a tragedy. So in Paths of Glory, a single failed mission, where many died due to enemy and friendly fire, the tragedy is the three executions following. Three men were scarified to the ambition the greed and the pride of their superiors. While the soldiers went that it wasn't death that was to be feared, but the pain of dying, the agony of the slow wound rather then the quick death of gunfire. Ironic, considering the execution by firing squad, a quicker death, a preferred . The irony of the firing squad continues with the idea none of the firing squad got far enough to shoot at the German troops, but they could fire at their own 'solider brothers'!

Irony is a continuing theme, with the dignitary ball held before the executions, where all have a grand time before and during the death of the three men. The press putting on the pressure that the three men needed to die, the idea that the masses truly control the world, that public opinion is what drives the leaders. The flow of blame down the chain of command, where each General's choice was filtered down into the massive casualties on the failed Ant Hill Mission.

But why did the mission fail? In the beginning, Kirk Douglas' character stated he and his troops couldn't take 'The Ant Hill', that it was as impossible as would be found out. Then his commander bribes him with the promotion if they can take "the Hill". Then the statistics are laid out so callously, ironically, because it was stated that 1/3 of the men would be lost due to French friendly fire (ironic because of the number 3 and the death by firing squad). Then the General wanted artillery to fire at their own location, to scare his troops out of the trenches, which would later come back to bite him.

The irony is in the caricatures of intimacy, the brotherly bonds that supposedly are born due to the military, but so easily broken to even the slightest betrayal. The Sargent delivering his solider to the firing squad, the betrayals for power and survival. The impossible choice of the group leaders in the sacrifice of their single solider, each leader picking their sacrifice for unpure reasons.

The tight shots show the claustrophobias of war, the intimacy and betrayal echoed in the shots.

At the end of the film, it is shown the commander will be tried in a similar trial for his ordering of attack on his own men. The singing German women at the end echoing this idea, that all the solider are as far away from home as she is.

Black Bean Burgers

The government of Germany (this is Germany, people, where there is over 100 types of sausage) has asked its citizens to reserve the eating of meat to only on special occasions, due to the fact that 15% of their air pollution is because of agriculture. In Germany!!!!!

So I started new vegetarian recipes.


Black Bean Burgers

2 14 ounce cans of black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. Pulse 1 can beans in food processor with mayo, bread crumbs, cumin, oregano and cayenne until a coarse puree forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro and remaining can bean. Form mixture into 4 patties.

2. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Cook burgers until outside are crisp and lightly brown, about 5 minutes total.