Today's fractal "cookie" is Blaster because that's what I'll be doing in today's post. Now--on with the rant!
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I've come to expect a certain amount of "Silly Season" stuff during campaigns: sometimes I think it's funny but other times it just gets so out there that any half-way sane person literally has to wake up and go--say WHAT??? You think to yourself--did I REALLY just hear that??? So, being the half-way sane person you are you go CHECK and find that, yes indeed, you really DID hear that. Then you just scratch your head and wonder...
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My latest "say WHAT???" moment came courtesy of my "favorite" conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh. You problem wouldn't believe me if I told you so use the link that follows to hear it for yourself. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFA-e0R6l_s ) All I could think when I heard this was "really Rush--really??? You're kidding right? Please tell me you're kidding..." It is so completely silly that I found myself wondering if the dude is really that stupid or if he thinks his listeners are. (My money is on Option Two.)
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So, for all you Conspiracy Theorists out there--here's the real story: Bane first appeared in the Batman comics in January 1993. The rough draft for The Dark Knight Rises was done in 2008 and the approximate release-date for the movie was determined shortly thereafter. Back then NOBODY was worried about whether Mitt Romney would be running for President in 2012 or that his former company Bane Capital would become an issue (or non-issue depending on which side of the political spectrum you come down on). NOW--follow this carefully kiddies--either the "Evil Geniuses" of the Liberal Media either have the gift of precognition or this is just one of those weird coincidences. (Box Office receipes for movies like John Carter and Cowboys and Aliens indicate otherwise though.)
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Clearly, Limbaugh doesn't respect his listeners. If he did he'd confine himself to REAL issues. This is a tempest in a teapot that distracts from the real issues--and there are plenty of those that merit discussion. Why not talk about those?
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'nuff said.
I read a story in today's paper about a sad situation (that happens way too many times around here to make me comfortable). That story speaks to something broken in today's world. Thus I chose Fracture as today's fractal (mainly because it seemed like the best choice.) Now, on with the commentary.
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I live next door to "Horsetown USA" (aka Norco CA.--it says so on their web site) so there are obviously a lot of horses and horse stories here. It also means, thanks to the local economic downturn that there are a lot of horse problems. Most of them don't make a ripple in the press but one story hit today's Press Enterprise and it nearly broke my heart Thanks to a generous family the story has a happy ending but it may well break your heart when you hear it.
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A friend told Beatriz Andert of Perris CA about a horse that was trapped in a pen on a foreclosed property. She and her father took the poor creature some water and hay then went on to see what else they could do. In the end they were able to contact a bank officer (who knew the horse was on the property) that allowed them to take the horse. Sadie (the horse) was blind (not sure if that was a result of the neglect--the article wasn't clear), nearly crippled and literally starving to death. Kudos and a heartfelt "thank you" to the Andert family for taking the horse in and nursing her back to health.
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Now the parts I can't figure out who is the most wrong and who is the most to blame. Some of the blame has to fall on the family who had the horse: true, they were having hard times (and I do feel for them) but they chose to take on a living being. That means they had certain obligations to the critter. A lot more blame could be heaped on the bank people who KNEW an abandoned horse was on the property yet chose to do nothing. That's just sick--but, then again, I suppose they can hide behind the fact that there are laws in place to "protect" the property (i.e. you can be prosecuted--at least here in California--for removing animals from property belonging to someone else) but there is still something horribly wrong with an individual who would knowingly leave an animal to STARVE. Add to it the fact that it costs hundreds of dollars to euthanize and dispose of a horse body (and when you are financially strapped that's a lot of cash). Last, but certainly not least, the last three horse slaughterhouses in the United States were closed in 2007 so that took away the last easy way to get rid of an unwanted or sick equine. (Mind you, I'm not in favor of slaughtering animals but when it comes down to abandoning a horse to starve slowly or a quick death I think the choice is obvious.)
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Yes, there are horse rescue operations out there but they are few and far between. Rescuing dogs and cats are hard enough (believe me I know) but keeping horses is MUCH more expensive and requires a lot more space. This means that when times get hard there isn't a safety net for cash-strapped horse owners and guess who ends up suffering? Guess this means a would-be horse owner has to think long and hard before buying an animal. What else can be done? Honestly I don't know: I'm just glad there are people like the Anderts family with both the space and heart to take care of animals in need.
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'nuff said.
I chose Arab Diamond 79 as today's fractal "cookie" for a couple of reasons: first, I like the series (it's one of my absolute faves) and second it was about as close as I could come to the colors of the Spiderman costume using fractal designs I have on file. Also, I've used the two Weird Web images way to many times so I had to go for something a little less obvious. So now you know--on with the review!
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So after three, or is it four?, Spiderman films the franchise gets a reboot. (I guess they couldn't come to an agreement with former star Toby Mcguire--who was growing a bit long-in-the-tooth anyway.) Rather just re-cast the star they chose to jettison the heavy-laden old continuity and start with a retro-reboot. As you can tell by the title I was less than overwhelmed. Yes, there are a few good things (like the fact that they try to get a bit closer to the comic book origin and that they chose a costumes that looks close to what you'd see in the older comics) but they've turned Spidey into a sulky, self-involved proto-Goth played by a none-to-good looking Andrew Garfield). (Yes, that's in line with the comic book but I didn't love it.)
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Aunt May (played by Sally Field--late of Brothers and Sisters) gets much younger and hipper but poor old Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) is the same old poop he ever was. Former love-interest Mary Jane Watson has been replaced by bright and brainy Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) and her dad Police Captain George Stacey (Dennis Leary--playing his usual self--but he does have one really good scene at the end of the movie.) Rhys Iffans gets to chew the scenery playing Dr. Curt Connors who transforms into the villainous Lizard with mixed results.
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I was pleased to see that for once a recent movie was shot without he aid of blue or yellow filters but the FX weren't anything I hadn't seen before. The same could be said for the plot: I've seen it before--and it was done way better in the original series. Maybe this movie came too closely on the heels of the original series but I didn't see anything new here. One week after the debut I didn't hear a lot of buzz and I didn't hear a lot of positive commentary coming out of the theater so I guess I wasn't alone. (This weekend it was beaten out of the Number One spot by the latest Ice Age vehicle.)
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Frankly, I had a lot of hope for The Amazing Spiderman--but it never quite lived up to the hype. The movie isn't really--bad--but it doesn't cover any new ground. There's no reason to go see this unless you want to get out of the heat for a few hours.
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FINAL GRADE: B-
