Tookie is gonna be a cookie…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to halt the scheduled execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang founder who became an anti-gang activist while in prison and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a last-ditch legal move, defense attorneys petitioned the high court earlier this month, alleging shoddy forensic testing and other errors may have wrongly sent Williams to San Quentin State Prison, where he is scheduled die by injection Dec. 13.

The defense derided as “junk science” ballistics evidence showing that a shotgun registered to Williams was used to kill three people during a 1979 motel robbery. The attorneys asked the court to allow re-examination of the evidence.

Prosecutors argued there was no good reason to reopen Williams’ case. Allegations about the shotgun evidence were based not on fact but on “innuendo, supposition and the patent bias of his purported expert,” prosecutors said.

This is good news, and for more reasons than just that it pisses off liberals.
It isn’t just the few murders he’s been convicted of. As the founder of a huge gang such as the Crips, how many other violent crimes were commited that otherwise wouldn’t have been?
By the way, anyone anywhere can be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thats almost like saying he was a “Potential Powerball Winner.”

Walmart announced that they will soon be offering customers a new discount item: Walmart’s own brand of wine. The world’s largest retail chain is teaming up with E&J Gallo Winery of California, to produce the spirits at an affordable price, in the $2-5 range.

Wine connoisseurs may not be inclined to throw a bottle of Wal-Mart brand in their shopping carts, but “there is a market for cheap wine”, said Kathryn Micken, professor of marketing. She said: “But the right name is important.”

Customer surveys were conducted to determine the most attractive name for the Walmart brand. The top surveyed names in order of popularity are:

10. Chateau Traileur Parc

9. White Trashfindel

8. Big Red Gulp

7. World Championship Riesling

6. NASCARbernet

5. Chef Boyardeaux

4. Peanut Noir

3. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Vinegar!

2. Grape Expectations

And the number 1 name for Wal-Mart Wine:

Nasti Spumante

The beauty of Wal-Mart wine is that it can be served with either white meat (Possum) or red meat (Squirrel).

I had a slow blowout yesterday. Luckily I was driving through the gate at my employers very large and huge campus when it occurred. I was able to jack it up and get the donut on after my shift and wait at NTB for 2 hours while a line of scheduled oil changers paraded before me.

This got me thinking about last year, when northbound on I-95 I suffered a high speed blowout after running over…get this…someone else’s old donut spare, lying in the middle lane.

KA-CHUNK!

After getting over to the shoulder as quickly and safely as I could, then laughing for few long seconds, I got out and perused my situation. I hear another, more distant ‘ka-chunk’ and then hear someone beeping. Here comes that donut spare that I ran over, rolling up the shoulder…at a pretty good clip…at me.

Closer…closer…closer…slower…slower..slower.

The damned thing stopped rolling a foot away from me and plopped down at my feet.

I looked at it…it stared blankly back, as if to say “I’m baaaa-ack.”

Anyway, thought it was pretty funny I blew a tire running over a spare, so I thought I’d share….

Well… Chad has requested an addition to Ghost of a Flea’s "Cult Films You Should Have Seen" lists (part 1 & part 2).
Well… I am always ready to pitch in when it comes to educating the masses on the film industry… so here we go
Ghost of a Flea… this one’s for you… (and I hope you don’t think I’m stepping on your toes.)

Also, before I go on I want to state that I won’t even mention The Rocky Horror Picture Show… because it’s too obvious a choice.  Plus… I have honestly lost the ability to watch the film without drinking adult alcoholic beverages.

Presenting (in no particular order) :

Another 20 Cult Films you should have seen…

1.  Shock Treatment… (HA HA!  The sequel to the Rocky Horror Picture Show!)… for the kitchen appliances song.
2.  Six-String Samurai… for the Red Elvises (kick-ass rock-and-roll from Siberia).
3.  Tampopo… for the raw egg.
4.  Logan’s Run… for the facial.
5.  Wasabi… for the shopping.
6.  Returner… for the Transformer aliens.
7.  Near Dark… for the exsanguinations.
8.  Soylent Green… for the last 2 minutes.
9.  The Unnamable… for the sexy hooves.
10.  Dark Star… for the beach ball alien.
11.  Lola Rennt… for the screaming.
12.  Megaforce… for the flying motorcycle.
13.  True Romance… for Elvis.
14.  Krull… for the boomerang throwing stars.
15.  Death Race 2000… because senior citizens are worth 100 points each.
16.  Fast Times at Ridgemont High… for Mr. Hand.
17.  Slap Shot… for the Hanson brothers.
18.  Clerks… for Silent Bob’s words of wisdom.
19.  Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn… because there’s someone in the fruit cellar.
20.  A Boy and his Dog… for the final meal.
 

Ghost of a flea presents 20 cult films you should have seen.
So to our resident movie critic Anarchy, what can you add to the list?

Besides Rocky Horror Picture Show, which both Anarchy (Brad) and I (The Criminologist) played in of course…

Attractive Virtual Professors Draw Student Attention:

There’s a simple reason why computers have not taken over teachers’ jobs: They’re boring, unpersuasive, unattractive and soulless.

That may soon change if Amy Baylor can perfect the virtual professors she’s working on.

“Up until now, the personal computer’s potential to be a valuable teaching and learning tool has been stymied by its ’soulless’ nature,” says Baylor, a professor of instructional systems at Florida State University’s Research of Innovative Technologies for Learning (RITL). “We’re using computers to simulate human beings in a controlled manner so we can investigate how they affect and persuade people.”

Baylor is focusing on friendly facial expressions, soothing hand gestures, and a “coolly intelligent voice” to create characters that are ” both disarmingly lifelike and surprisingly persuasive.”

Early tests show Baylor might be on to something.

Do me a favor and check out the images of the “virtual professors”. While at least they don’t claim to be American Indian and call for death to US troops, they are very… creepy looking. And I don’t mean creepy in a “too close to human” sense either.

Thanks to Reuters…

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Prostitutes as old as 70 continue to work in rural Australia, pushed out of the cities due to strong competition from younger and more attractive sex workers, the author of a study said on Tuesday.

Don’t they have sheep in Australia?
Although, this does explain a bit about those really weird Aussie movies from the 80’s…

Previously, I put a my grey matter to work to decipher what Haley Starshine was saying in OotS #247 and OotS #248.  Well, now I’m sure you’re asking… what about 249 and 250?  Well… Haley doesn’t say much in those strips… and I’m not that cool that I can decrypt single words with nothing else to go on.  However, I checked around and there do seem to be some consensus on what she is saying.

And here it is… and as before remember that in the following, I have listed what Haley said in the strip… immediately followed by the translation.

Strip #249… a difficult, but not impossible decrypt.

Rthfq pid’cq ckmaz…
Maybe you’re right…

Strip #250… clearly, this one’s anyone’s guess.  However, the general agreement seems to be…

Xdfw.
Slut.

You’ve heard about the many MILITARY RULES of conduct;

Now we have some EASY TO FOLLOW CIVILIAN RULES as well:

Military Rules for Non-Military Personnel

We know that the current state of affairs in our great Nation have many civilians up in arms politically and rightfully concerned about our troops. For those of you who can’t join the military at this time, you can still lend a hand here at home. The following are a few of the areas where your assistance would be appreciated:

(1) The next time you see an adult talking, (or wearing a hat), during the playing of the National Anthem - - - kick their arse.

(2) When you witness, firsthand, someone burning the American Flag in protest - - - kick their arse.

(3) Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise, quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very freedom they bask in every day. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a disabled veteran kicks their arse.

(…continued…)

Now, before you get your arse kicked, head over here for the rest…

You scored as Serenity (from Firefly). You like to live your own way and do not enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you that you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.  Coming on December 1, 2005: Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? The Sequel

Serenity (from Firefly)… 81%
SG-1 (from Stargate)… 69%
Nebuchadnezzar (from The Matrix)… 56%
Moya (from Farscape)… 44%
Millennium Falcon (from Star Wars)… 44%
Bebop (from Cowboy Bebop)… 38%
Enterprise D (from Star Trek)… 31%
Galactica (from Battlestar: Galactica)… 31%

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

As everyone probably knows, I’m a bit opinionated about what’s hot and what’s not in the film industry. I make judgment calls on films (before actually seeing them) which are based on premise, cast, director, writer, etc.  Well… I’m not always right… but that’s why I call these opinions. If I razzed a film that I later discover to be worth the effort, I’ll print a retraction. Plus… if you don’t want to listen to me, then go drop your $8 per movie at your own risk and you can be the judge.

Anyway… so far today I’ve had 4 different people come up to me and ask… "What should I go to see in December?"  Hating to repeat myself, I decided this was worthy of a post.

OK… here are my thoughts.

The Producers — Release Date: Dec 16th (limited) – You know… no matter how many times I hear the song "Springtime for Hitler", it never fails to make me giggle… it’s probably a throwback from years of watching Hogan’s Heroes.  This big screen production of the Broadway smash is definitely a must see in my book.  I resolve to see every Mel Brooks film at least once… and this one has promise.  Now… you can NOT do "The Producers" without Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.  However, I’m not sure if I agree with the casting of Uma Thurman… but only a viewing will tell.

Memoirs of a Geisha — Release Date: Dec 9th (limited), Dec 23rd (wide) — I’m betting that this film will have the same end result both "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Sleepy Hollow" did on me.  I will most likely find it to be a "very pretty" film… but lacking in content.  Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh may be the names that most people recognize… but I’m betting the real babe is going to be Li Gong (pic).

Fun with Dick and Jane — Release Date: Dec 21st — I usually don’t go in for Jim Carrey films… or for Remakes. Of which this is both… however, I’m willing to give it a chance, but I’m only going to recommend Netflixing it. I can’t see it being worth the price of admission… but the original film was entertaining… so I’ll give it a single watch.

King Kong — Release Date: Dec 14th — Yet another remake… but one I hope has promise.  Peter Jackson earned a bit of my respect with the Rings trilogy (not alot, but enough) to make me sit up and take notice when he puts his name against a product.  I’m hoping his desire to "stay true to the original text" has bled over onto this film.  It’s got my approval… plus… I’ll go see just about anything that stars Jack Black.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 — Release Date: Dec 21st — OK… the first film was in NO WAY true to the original film (and in my opinion if you are going to remake a film, then you should be true to the original… if you’re not, then don’t use the same title… call it something else.)  Now… a sequel.  Unless you’re a hard core Steve Martin / Hilary Duff / Tom Welling fan… then go waste your money on something else.  If you have nothing else to do with it… then send it to me so I can buy a new computer.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — Release Date: Dec 9th — As a child, I remember reading the C.S. Lewis series… well… some of it anyway.  This book was a thin read that left alot to the imagination… so there’s really no way it can fit into everyone’s vision of what it’s supposed to look like.  So… the choice is yours.  From the previews, I can see that it’s visually appealing… but it’s full of newcomers.  A tough call.  From it’s PG rating (which is probably just for the battle sequences)… I’d say this film is probably worth seeing if you’ve got kids with you.

You scored as Galactica (from Battlestar: Galactica). You are leery of your surroundings, and with good reason. Anyone could be a cylon. But you have close friends and you know they would never hurt you. Now if only the damn XO would stop drinking. Coming on December 1, 2005: Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? The Sequel Serenity (from Firefly) 88% Galactica (from Battlestar: Galactica) 88% Millennium Falcon (from Star Wars) 81% Bebop (from Cowboy Bebop) 75% Moya (from Farscape) 75% Nebuchadnezzar (from The Matrix) 69% SG-1 (from Stargate) 63% Enterprise D (from Star Trek) 56%

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com
Thx to Anarchangel…

hah hah hah … uhh.. hah hah.. Wizbang graces us with this picture…

 

Oh man, that’s good stuff.
This is what happens when the media is generating news instead of reporting the news.
Headline after headline is screaming about how she’s back and all rot.  When obviously no one really cares except the news media themselves!

Our winner for this Monday… From the Letters to the Editor!!!

General Motors workers are being betrayed

What are we doing by closing the General Motors plants, laying off employees and telling us to pay for our health care. We already have money coming out for our health care. The GM employees and their grandfathers worked for what we got, and the “Rick Wagoners” are just taking it all away. We don’t want free trade either until someone gets our priorities straight. Then we can have free trade. The American people don’t want that. If they want to buy foreign cars, then let them go to Japan and China to buy them. We worked hard for what we have.

Valerie L. Plows, Newark

And Valerie L. Plows wins our crackpipe award. Yeah!
Hi Valerie. This is why GM is laying off people.
They build bad cars. Whoever it is that you are so worried about losing their job, well, they (as a collective whole) built bad cars.
I used to party a lot with the GM employees at the plant near your house. Sure, they were great to get hammered with, but there is no way in hell I’d trust them to build my car.
People buy foreign cars because they are BETTER. If you would like to buy a domestic car, go for it. I’ve owned many myself.
But here’s the thing. This is a free country. Which means we are free to completely ignore your stupid little rant about making everyone buy GM.
As it is, chaos is good for the economy. I think one of the big 3 domestic makers needs to go under. We’ve survived other automaker shutdowns, such as AMC. Which I’ve also owned a car from.
Maybe that will give everyone in the auto industry a collective smack to the head, make them wake up, and start building quality.

It’s open trackback day… So work on your masterpiece of blogdom, and then link and trackback to this page.
While it may not help your TTLB score, I’ll generally hit all the sites, and permanently link in the blogroll if you have good stuff.
That is all…

Popular AMV site AnimeMusicVideos.org has been served with a cease & desist order by an unnamed record label in regards to AMVs using music from Evanescence, Creed, and Seether. According to AnimeMusicVideos.org admin “Phade” the copyright holders for those three bands do not want the bands music distributed on the website. Their legal representation stated that it would be acceptable if AnimeMusicVideo.org removed their links to all the AMV featuring those bands. In total close to 2,000 AMVs have been removed from the website. According to Phade, the lawyer representing the record label/copyright holders stated that the AMVs and the website came to the copyright holders attention when a fan contacted them and asked if the AMVs hosted on AnimeMusicVideos.org were created by the band.

Oh man, this does suck. I knew it was probably going to come to an end, but still…
I have a large collection of AMVs, mostly because some of them are really quality works. Some both suck and blow, of course, but all in all I keep most of the ones that I download.

I even *gasp* admit to sharing them on p2p networks. You know what the end result was? I’ve been introduced to new animes and bought DVDs from seeing the videos.

Of course, generally music sucks pretty hard since around 1990, so I haven’t bought any music, but still…

See more…

Linked to: OTA Weekend

You know its Thanksgiving when the SciFi channel is showing Army of Darkness.

In about 10 minutes, I’ll be taking the bird outta the brine, washing it off, and then trying to figure out where the hell the roasting pan is after our move. I do hope its in that little used cabinet above the refridgerator.

This will be the first Thanksgiving me and my wife have spent alone. And the first in about 15 years that I haven’t spent it with my family. But hey, thats what webcams and msn messenger video chat is for…

So be careful when towing your car. (movie, safe for work though)

Probing Question: Why are babies cute?

“We are inherently attracted to a specific set of characteristics, including large, symmetrical heads, large eyes, small mouths and small noses,” according to Jeffrey Kurland, associate professor of biological anthropology and human development.

Well, this certainly also explains women in anime shows…

All about Chuck Norris…

Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn’t stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.

Damn, that stuff’s funny.

Thanks to Llamas of course!