Johnny Depp News

I follow a few movie sites and I'm also a Johnny Depp fan, mainly because of his excellent performances as Sweeney Todd, Jack Sparrow, Gilbert Grape, Ichabod Crane, and Willy Wonka.  I came upon the following news at Slashfilm.

Johnny Depp has been cast in the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer produced adaptation of the classic old-time radio and early television show The Lone Ranger created by George W. Trendle. The series followed a masked Texas Ranger in the Old West who rights injustices with the aid of his native American assistant, Tonto. He gallops along on his white horse Silver. The character’s signature quote is “Hi-yo, Silver, away!” Depp will play Tonto. Pirates of the Caribbean writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have been writing the script. No start or release dates have been announced.
Depp must have signed a multi-picture deal with the studio, because it was also announced that the actor would play The Madd Hatter in Tim Burton’s 3D part live-action, part computer animated adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Principal photography is set to begin in November, with a March 5th 2010 release date previously announced. Concept art from the film was shown, showing the classic Alice in Wonderland scenes done in Tim Burton style, complete with curved and slanted corners. Everything is really stylized. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb have huge heads, and are shaped like upward missiles. None of the characters look like a dramatic departure from the traditional designs.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Richard W. “Dick” Cook announced “How about another pirates movie!?” signaling that Depp was now signed for Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

Now, I can see him as the Mad Hatter, no problem. It's another Tim Burton collaboration and I trust that Tim Burton will do quite well with Johnny as the Mad Hatter.
As for Pirates 4? I think that they closed off the third film nicely and I don't see why they would need a 4th Pirates film, unless they were doing a spin-off dealing mainly with Jack Sparrow, not with Will and Elizabeth.
And The Lone Ranger? Is now the right time to bring back classic radio dramas as films? And as Tonto? I don't really know about that. Tonto was portrayed as an American Indian. I guess that Depp could do the role justice, seeing as he was one of three actors who took over for Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and that he can do pretty darn good accents (Sparrow, Todd, Crane). We'll just have to wait and see.

2 Impression Videos (from movies)

The Joker:

Daniel Plainview:

Good News!

I tried out for the Dickinson Community Players play last week.  They're doing an adaptation of Clue.  I got an e-mail a little while ago ... and I made callbacks!!!!!  I'm one of four guys who made callbacks.  There were about eight girls who also made callbacks.  My guess is that all the guys who got called back are staying and four of the girls will be cut.  Let's look at it logically.  In the movie, there were 9 roles: Mr. Boddy, the butler, the maid, Ms. White, Ms. Scarlet, Ms. Peacock, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, and Mr. Green.  Oh, drat!  How're they going to cast all 5 male roles with only 4 males on the callbacks list?  Hmm ... well, I'll let you know how things go.  It's going to be a long day tomorrow.  Class from 9:40 to 10:40 and 1:10 to 3:20, then callbacks at 7.  I don't think I'll have that much work to do, but I could probably go over my Calc stuff when I'm not needed at callbacks, just to be safe and productive.

Later!  :)

Something I Got in my E-mail from my Great-Uncle

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight . . .

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'different.'

If you grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, you are a quintessential American.

If your name is Barack, you're a radical and unpatriotic.

If you name your kids Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig, you're a maverick.

If you graduate from Harvard law School, you are unstable.

If you attended 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a 'real' Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a good Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system, while your unwed teenage daughter gets pregnant, you're a responsible parent.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's values.

If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

Remember Those Fake Scam E-mails? Well, Look What I Found

This is from Wil Wheaton's blog:

REQUEST FOR URGENT CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
This was forwarded to me by a friend. It's important to laugh, when the only other option is to cry.

From: Minister of the Treasury Paulson

Subject: REQUEST FOR URGENT CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship
with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country
has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of
800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it
would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my
replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you
may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation
movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need
the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these
funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly
under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for
a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the
funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund
account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to
wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission
for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will
respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used
to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully
Minister of Treasury Paulson

Watching the Emmys

I tuned in roughly an hour in.

Some great moments:
1) Colbert comparing Bush and McCain to prunes.
2) Paul Giamatti winning Best Actor in a Drama Miniseries.
3) Paul Giamatti stating that ANYONE can play the President.
4) Barry Sonnenfeld winning for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy for the Pushing Daisies pilot "Pie-lette".
5) The "In Memorium" video segment. I can't believe we've lost all those creative minds: George Carlin, Bernie Mac, Issac Hayes, Stan Winston, Sydney Pollack.
6) Jimmy Kimmel presenting the award for Outstanding Host for a Reality Show like he was hosting a reality show.

What I'm a little ticked about:
1) Michael Emerson didn't win for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama. Ben is a phenomenally ambivalent character.
2) Hugh Laurie didn't win Outstanding Actor in a Drama. House is wicked cool.
3) Lee Pace didn't win Outstanding Actor in a Comedy. Ned is such a fun, quirky, humorous character.

Prickly City on Sarah Palin

Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday


Saturday

Sarapalin2008? Who the ...?

Let me give it to you straight, folks. When I got back from my afternoon classes today, I found 11 video comments and one channel comment from a "Sarapalin2008". All of these comments were negative and contained language that would burn out one's eyeballs, much like Castiel's real form in the season premiere of Supernatural.


Below is a screencap of her Youtube channel.



What follows are quotes of what this user posted on 11 videos and my channel.

On History: Barack Obama's Nomination:

obama is a stupid n*****.

One bad day for history....but he is not going to win so thats as close to the Presidency he will ever get.....Jason even you have a better chance...

On Woman in a Man's Closet:

f*** you jason s****...you weird mother f*****.

On Babies on eBay:

you are a f***ed up bitch.

On A Dark Knight Discussion:

you are such a f***ing freak!!!

On Get Smart Review:

Die bitch!!

On Burn After Reading review:

is this the vagina monologues??...you are a talking vagina

Jack S****......F*** You!!

On 9/11, The Presidential Campaigns and Binghamton News:

Jason S****....you are virtually incomprehensible!! Why???? You evil little f***!! Why wont you die!!! You are a disgusting c***!!!

On Comments on McCain News Stories and other things:

Hello "Jason the dumb-ass c***". The SEC chairman is appointed by the President and serves at the President's discretion. In all practical respects if any President asked a chair of a department to "resign" he/she would. Why are you so f***ing stupid? John McCain has more knowledge about the economy (and the accountability needed to build a strong economy) in his left testicle than you will ever have during your worldly existence.

On Odd Jobs:

your voice and uglyness makes me want to hurt small children.

On Who Are You, Sarah Palin?:

Who Are you?? Who?? Who?? Who are you?? The Next VP!! The Next VP!!

Jason S**** is a C***! C***! C***!

On Day 1 at WHRW: Empty Pages and Pump It Up:

Evil Troll!!! Why do you think people want to watch this SHIT??? You are a f***ing moron!! F*** off!

On McCain's POW Excuse:

He is a POW!! You have no f***ing idea what that means!! The only reason you have the right to spew the shit that comes out of your mouth is because of heroes like John McCain. You should thank him. Show some respect!

On Most Embarrassing School Moment:

Jason this shows how stupid you actually are!!! You really need to f*** off. I HATE YOU!!!
~Sarah~

On Searching for Spotted Dick:

Wow you are so gay! Good thing! In the POW camp we don't have spotted dick but we have a good substitute which I believe you will find to your fancy....big dick.

You will never get spotted dick, big dick, small dick, red dick, green dick, definitely not no dick....just your dick
~Sarah~

On We're Still Alive:

You are a stupid ass! Unfortunately are still here....f***!

On Football and Schoolteacher Polls and Sarapalin2008:

Jason you sound stupider with the fake ass accent then you normally do....nice
~Sarah~

and you look like a terrorist Muslim!!! F***!! You are no American citizen......your a f***ing ape/man/woman... AHHHHHH!!!!

On my channel:

Jason S**** is clearly a malfunctioning failure...... he is clueless to the FACT that people do not want to fall victim to his truly retarded videos! What a royal f***ing waste of time! Spend the time you devote to this pure shit and get an education.....then plastic surgery.....but most importantly an education.....well actually plastic surgery is greatly needed.....well do both!! F***!! When I become VP I am going to put you in a f***ing POW prison camp so society does not have to suffer through your F***ING VIDEOS!
With Love, Sarah

A little too nasty, if you ask me, for a "VP candidate". Should I report this user? I think so.

McCain-Palin has Lost and They Don't Realize It ... It Must Be Mental!

Recently, John McCain and Sarah Palin have made comments and have provided such news that people who can think logically would think that their campaign would be over, but it's not.

Part I: The Economy
- McCain has continually said that the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Then, the economy plummeted, no thanks to the major drop of the Dow and the financial bankruptcies. He's still saying that the fundamentals are strong. Then he clarified his statement by saying that he meant that the fundamentals were the workers. Do you mean the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas? He's also said previously that he doesn't know much about the economy. No duh! He said he'll fire the SEC Commissioner if elected. Hey there, Johnny! You can't fire the SEC Commissioner. Presidents can only appoint them! And Phil Gramm, one of his campaign staff members said "America is a nation of whiners." Damn elitist!

Part II: Foreign Policy
- Apparently, McCain's foreign policy is being a POW for 5 and a half years. Uh-huh. So, if I was a POW for 5 and a half years, I'd have great foreign policy experience? And what about Sarah Palin's "foreign policy experience"? So what if she can see Russia from her house? Actually, Russia can't be seen from her house. It can be seen from an island off the western coast of Alaska. And how many times has she been outside of the US? Once, apparently. Last year, which was when she applied for and got her passport. Living across the strait from Russia isn't exactly foreign policy experience and neither is being a POW.

Part III: Who's Running for President?
- As recently as today, Palin has stated things about the "Palin-McCain administration". Hi there, Sarah. Need a reminder? You're the VP for the Republican Party. YOU'RE NOT THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE YOUNGER AND CHARISMATIC, BUT LET'S FACE IT, GOVERNOR, YOU'RE NO BARACK OBAMA!

Part IV: McCain's Mind and Health
- We know that McCain was a POW for 5 and a half years and we know that he was broken and beaten and signed confessions. We have videos from former POWs from Vietnam who say that their lifespan has decreased and they've had health and mental problems. McCain has had cancer at least twice. And he only released his medical records for a brief, and I mean brief, period of time, a few hours, in fact, to a handful of medical professionals, I think. They weren't allowed access to technology. The records were well over 1000 pages. You do the math.

Part V: Palin's Controversies and Policies, etc.
- There are many things about Sarah Palin that give me the shudders. Her 17 year old daughter is pregnant out of wedlock. Palin is anti-abortion. She's a member of the NRA. She hunts moose from airplanes. I don't know how many women that she will pull to McCain with policies and ideas like that. She had a tanning bed installed in the governor's house in Alaska. She fired the Public Service Commissioner in Alaska for reasons still unknown, but many people believe it was because he didn't fire a trooper who happened to be her ex-brother-in-law. She isn't cooperating with the investigation, despite the fact that she said she would fully cooperate. Her husband, Todd Palin was issued a subpoena for the Troopergate investigation, but he's ignoring it, for lack of a better word. He also works for BP.

Part VI: McCain v. The Government
- McCain has said that Washington is broken and he can fix it. Yet, he's been in the Senate for 26 years. How could he not fix it in those 26 years? He's also said that he's against lobbyists. Yet, his campaign is run by, in part, 159 or so lobbyists. He's said that he'll fight corruption. How can we believe that?

Okay, folks. How many more reasons do you need to vote for Barack Obama?

Rove and Hannity on Palin's Hacked E-mail

You believe in privacy, yet an administration you helped spies on Americans daily. That doesn't disturb you, Mr. Rove?

So anyway, Palin's official government e-mail account (on Yahoo, no less) was hacked just the other day. The McCain campaign responded by stating:

"This is a shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them,"

What about the government's invasion of our privacy with the damned Patriot Act. Who ever said that it was patriotic to spy on the citizens of our country? What would the Founding Fathers think? What would Joe McCarthy think? Well, the Founding Fathers would be ready to kill someone and McCarthy would probably wine and dine the current heads of the country.
Also, the Secret Service contacted the Associated Press on Wednesday for copies of the e-mails, but the AP didn't comply. Hooray for prior restraint!

A Pie Chart from Mycrocosm

Hamlet's Facebook

This picture is just great, especially for anyone who's read Hamlet.

You'll Be Missed, Rick Wright

I was quite saddened when I learned that Richard Wright had passed away.  I wasn't hoping for a Pink Floyd reunion tour, but now, all hopes of seeing Floyd live in concert have disappated.  It's sad to see such a visionary pass away at what seems like such a young age, in these times.

WTF, McCain and O'Reilly?

First Blackout of the Semester

Earlier this evening, for about a half hour to an hour, there was a campus-wide blackout. I didn't end up going outside during the blackout, though. I had some work to finish up. Outside, I heard a large amount of rowdy people running around. I heard that there were streakers.

I didn't look to verify that.

I also learned that there was a large group of zombies walking around.

Apparently, the cops tried to break up the zombie mob, but one of the zombies shouted "You can't harm us! We're already dead!". I never knew that zombies could be so articulate. I thought that they were either 1) silent, 2) only speaking in grunts, 3) limited to a few words, like "BRAINS!".
"Well then," said the cops, "we guess that it would be okay to taser you since you can't be harmed." Then, the zombies vanished in a puff of smoke.
I just love articulate zombies, don't you?
Anyway, the power's back and I need some sleep. Have a nice Monday and a nice week. Hope nobody gets a bad case of the Mondays.

My Saturday the 13th

First off, let me say that this was a long day. I started off by having brunch around 11. I did some homework until about 3:30, when I grabbed a bit to eat, then headed over to the radio station for my first apprenticing lesson/radio slot.  The time passed quickly and was quite enjoyable.


The map of listeners worldwide.


At the guest mic.

And I have a rocking show!

Afterwards, I headed back to the dorm, did a little more work, and grabbed dinner. Then I headed back to the dorm, split up and posted the videos you see above, and headed out around 9:30 for Pirates vs. Ninjas Capture the Flag.  It was fun.  It was exhausting.  It was tiring.  It was wet.  It was rainy.  Now, I'm back here, in the dorm.  God, do I need sleep!

McCain, Palin, Lipstick and a Pig

Lipstick on a pig changes nothing. It's still a ridiculous looking pig.

Sarah Palin, Wolves, and Alaska

Burn After Reading review

Once again, the Coen Brothers are out with a dark comedy, after their impressive work on No Country for Old Men.  It's set up like a typical Coen Brothers film, but with a few more plot points.

John Malkovich is a CIA analyst who quits his job after being demoted.

His wife, played by Tilda Swinton, is a pediatrician and is having an affair with George Clooney's character, a married womanizer and a retired federal marshal who works for the Treasury Department.

Francis McDormand and Brad Pitt play two dim-witted gym employees who find a disc with Malkovich's memoirs and Malkovich's financial files, which his wife copied, in preparation to divorce her.  McDormand wants liposuction and various other surgeries.  They attempt to blackmail Malkovich for money, particularly enough to start the operations, and hilarity and death ensue.

The plot is coherent and followable.  The movie does have holes here and there, but they are holes that the audience can fill in, provided that they can comprehend what's going on.  The movie is realistic because of the plot holes and not quite resolved "Happily Ever After" ending.  It highlights the absurdity of spy conflicts quite well.  Two of the funniest moments of the film: Pitt getting punched and Clooney's "workout" machine.

4 stars out of 5.

Craig Ferguson's Monologue: 9/10/08

He has an excellent point.

Palin Watch

I found this on The Jed Report website. They have a load of great videos on Youtube.

Restarting the Blog

Hey there, folks,

If you've been following this blog, you've probably realized that I haven't taken a proactive approach when it comes to operating this blog. My last post, before the Dharma one, was in March. Since I'm up at college and I have a Youtube account, I think I'll use this blog to post my videos, along with videos that I find interesting, along with news stories, cartoons, comics, and movie reviews. I might post some opinion pieces every so often.

Have a nice day.