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Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
russl, if the pilgrims had landed in California, it's more likely they would have been Indians. From India, that is.— July 19, 2008 7:29 a.m.
100 Best Movie Villians
Josh, I've missed opportunities to see recent Herzog works such as "Grizzly Man". I've always been a fan of his work. "Aguirre, Wrath of God" and "Fitzcarraldo", both older films, have always been among my favorite films ever. I may have to break down and watch his more recent works on DVD. Except for the Ken, it's difficult to find a house screening Herzog's films if you don't catch them when they first come out. fifibutton, I agree that King Kong was not meant to be a villain. He was more like a tragic hero, a victim of modern man's greed for fame and money. His was also a cautionary tale about disturbing the natural order of things -- such as taking the prime primate out of his habitat to display him in the concrete jungle. What you mention about vampires is exactly the aspect that Herzog and Kinski exploit in their portrayal of Nosferatu. The man was undoubtedly creepy and evil, but he was also a slave to his need for blood. In that respect, he was as weak as the rats he lorded over.— July 19, 2008 5:44 a.m.
100 Best Movie Villians
fifibutton raises an interesting point. Most if not all of the villains on the list are fictitious characters. There have been many excellent film biographies documenting the atrocities committed by real-life villains such as Rasputin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Charles Manson, among too many others to list. Perhaps the folks that published the list Josh quoted in his post limited themselves to works of fiction, or perhaps they just wanted to avoid getting political. The sad thing to consider is that real people are often just as heinous and villainous as fictitious characters, if not more so.— July 18, 2008 4:32 p.m.
I Was Speeding, But...
Josh, did you say you were driving a PORSCHE? Don't get me wrong -- I don't mean anything negative by that. When I was in my 20's, I owned a 1971 Datsun 240Z. In one year I received citations for speeding 3 separate times, as well as one citation for reckless driving. The fourth time I showed up in court I got one of the judges that had tried one of the earlier cases. When he said "YOU AGAIN?" I just knew it wasn't going to be a good day at the opera. Then, after having that 240Z stolen, I bought a second one. After getting it restored so it was all nice and cherry, that one was stolen too. So I just gave up on the trick rides. Then I got a 1990 grey Dodge Grand Caravan. I drove EXACTLY the same way I drove the 240Z's. I NEVER got a moving violation citation on the Grand Caravan. Cops probably figured the driver was a stressed-out soccer mom on the way to school, or something like that. The Porsche probably did not help your case that much.— July 18, 2008 4:14 p.m.
100 Best Movie Villians
I liked Andy Robinson, who played "Scorpio" in the 1971 Don Siegel film "Dirty Harry". He was an insane blend of homicidal coward and sadomasochist. I would say he deserves honorable mention in this list. Also, Klaus Kinski was a very creepy Nosferatu in the 1979 Werner Herzog remake. He interpreted the character in very complex way, as both a weak victim of his circumstances and a vicious, homicidal ghoul. In my college years I attended a double screening that featured the both the 1922 silent original and the Herzog remake. It made for a very interesting comparison in style, approach and use of the technology available to the producers at their respective times.— July 18, 2008 10:28 a.m.
Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
Nice work reorienting the conversation to our local leaders using VG lingo, Mr. Williams and Mr. JustWondering. I'd like to apply some other Frank Zappa lyrics to our municipal mechanisms. In particular, some lyrics from the song "Flakes": Flakes! flakes! Flakes! flakes! They don't do no good They never be workin' When they oughta should They waste your time They're wastin' mine California's got the most of them Boy, they got a host of them Swear t'god they got the most At every business on the coast Swear t'god they got the most At every business on the coast They got the flakes... We are millions 'n' millions, We're coming to get you We're protected by unions So don't let it upset you Can't escape the conclusion It's probably god's will That civilization Will grind to a standstill And we are the people Who will make it all happen While yer children is sleepin', Yer puppy is crappin' You might call us flakes Or something else you might coin us But we know you're so greedy That you'll probably join us We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you...— July 18, 2008 9:59 a.m.
Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
You can read the sum total of the actual lyrics right here: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+zappa/valley+g… Enjoy the memories -- "it's like tubular, y'know."— July 18, 2008 6:23 a.m.
SDGE Should Push Rooftop Solar Program, Says City Attorney, Noting Utility's Lagging Response to State Clean Energy Mandates
Mr. Bauder, you're absolutely right about the bird caveat of wind generators. Earlier technologies made it obvious that this was a problem that needed to be addressed. More recent technology uses 3-blade propellers that are much larger and spin much more slowly than earlier designs, which help mitigate this problem. Another consideration is the placement of the turbines. California's coastal strip is a very busy bird migration corridor. Obviously, this is not a good place for this kind of operation. The inland deserts provide a much better location in that respect, and more consistent and powerful winds to boot. However, placing these operations in the desert areas would require a PowerLink-style line to deliver the energy to the high-demand urban and suburban areas of the county. There are several groups that oppose the PowerLink concept because of environmental concerns. I would think that if there is a guarantee that at least 80% of the energy delivered is from renewable sources, they may be much more amenable to the idea. Furthermore, the program could be designed to REPLACE nonrenewable energy sources rather than to facilitate galloping, unmanaged and unplanned urban/suburban sprawl in the eastern parts of the county. Any shift we make in the energy industry needs to be backed by an honest cost-benefit analysis. By honest I mean including the costs to the environment and biodiversity of the region. Ignoring these costs is perfectly foolhardy -- we will all have to pay for the consequences eventually. On a recent puddle-jump flight from Tucson to San Diego, I was pleased to see several large-turbine projects along the way. Perhaps there is a silver lining to the five-dollar-plus gallon of gasoline. We have to look beyond the growing pains to see the real value of this momentous change. I strongly believe we have the wherewithal to accomplish this massive industrial shift. What remains to be seen is whether we have the cultural and political will.— July 17, 2008 2:38 p.m.
Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
Those are good picks from Mr. Zappa's discography, Mr. Williams. I liked the vast majority of his work, but was always more interested in his instrumentals, such as the early classics "King Kong" and "Idiot Bastard Son", as well as his epic guitar solos such as "Black Napkins". Mr. Zappa appeared to understand that some of his fans felt this way when he titled one of his albums "Shut up and play your guitar". He also received a Grammy for his album "Jazz from Hell" and produced several albums with full orchestras, including the L.A. Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra. Zappa's symphonic works may be a good place for Mr. Bauder to start if he's more prone to listen to classical composition; then he could work his way up from there. Getting back to the original topic about the political circus in San Diego, I find myself reminded of many of Mr. Zappa's titles whenever I read about some of our local politicos and their little dog-and-pony shows -- or poodle-and-donkey shows, to use Mr. Zappa's mythology. "How would you like to have a head like that" and "Don't you ever wash that thing?" come to mind all too often.— July 16, 2008 9:55 a.m.
Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
That's so low, Mr. Bauder. Really!— July 16, 2008 7:10 a.m.