(Photo courtesy of AP/Yahoo!)


(Photo courtesy of AP/Yahoo!)

In addition to the above photos, Yahoo! News also has a great slideshow of "Saddam Icons Toppled". Be sure to check it out.

Liberation Day

Baghdad has fallen. The war is not yet over, of course. There may be some nasty things in store for us (and the Iraqis) yet. But it seems like the end is very close.

There's a long road ahead to rebuild Iraq, and more enemies to fight I am sure (North Korea, Syria, Iran - I'm looking in your direction), but that does not mean we shouldn't pause and watch with happiness as (yet again) people celebrate newly-found freedom from tyranny. And pause and reflect that that freedom was won (yet again) by the blood of American - and British - soldiers.

As millions of Iraqis are saying today: God Bless America.

posted by Michael 4:52:53 PM

. . .

Escape to New York

In case anyone is looking for a break from war coverage on their television, tonight at 10 p.m. NYPD Blue returns on ABC. (You can read an interesting article about Blue in today's L.A. Times.) I still love the show, although I have to admit that 24 (at 9 p.m.) is becoming a tough act to follow.

By the way, it seems that Dennis Franz is as clear-thinking as the character that he plays. A Vietnam veteran, Franz's take on the war in Iraq: "We're doing the right thing."

posted by Michael 5:16:22 PM

. . .

We may know by Tuesday (i.e. today).

posted by Michael 11:49:57 AM

. . .

(Photo courtesy of AP/Yahoo!)

'STRONG CHANCE' SADDAM IS DEAD --Foxnews.com, April 8, 2003


My thoughts:

You are a vicious bastard, Retali. I'm glad you're dead.
The Joker (Jack Nicholson) laughs at his own joke as he tightens Retali's tie.
'I'm glad you're dead!'
--Batman, 1989

Henry Hill is being interrogated by "Arresting Narc" (Richard 'Bo' Dietl) in an FBI office. Another agent brings in pots and pans covered with what is obviously cocaine...
What, were you guys grocery shopping? Are we going to make a cake? You going to make a fucking cake? You got anything good in there? ls it good?
Bye-bye, dickhead.
--GoodFellas, 1990

posted by Michael 11:16:20 AM

. . .

(Photo improvement courtesy of David J. K.)

Pictured above: A kitchen worker hits a "certified SARS-free" water rat on the head to stun it before it is killed for a meal in a restaurant in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Special thanks to David J. K. for the idea and flawless execution on this! (The original AP photo, Yahoo!'s most e-mailed today, can be seen here.)

posted by Michael 5:32:09 PM

. . .

The Hunted

Michael (4:39:27 PM): bastard
Michael (4:39:37 PM): I want my $10 and 90 minutes back
Dave (4:39:42 PM): Hunt me down and get it yourself
Dave (4:39:46 PM): I have my soft shoes
Dave (4:39:49 PM): I will be hard to catch
Michael (4:39:56 PM): did you intentionally mislead me?
Dave (4:40:00 PM): yes
Michael (4:40:03 PM): swine moviegoer
Dave (4:40:07 PM): just kidding
Dave (4:40:08 PM): I liked it
Michael (4:40:10 PM): no way... you're not that clever
Dave (4:40:20 PM): I basically agree with Ebert's review
Michael (4:40:23 PM): oy vey
Michael (4:40:29 PM): I basically agree wih Roeper's
Michael (4:40:43 PM): and the other 70% who thought it was Crapola
Dave (4:40:44 PM): When Roeper wins the pullitzer, let me know
Michael (4:41:04 PM): Here's what I liked:
Michael (4:41:10 PM): 1) Tommy Lee Jones
Dave (4:41:10 PM): I may be an outlier on this, I admit
Michael (4:41:17 PM): 2) the final fight
Dave (4:41:30 PM): oh, so you liked the movie then
Dave (4:41:37 PM): because the final fight is about 30 minutes
Michael (4:41:40 PM): 3) the flashback to training was one of the most unsettling/riveting minute or two I've seen in awhile
Dave (4:41:47 PM): and T.L. Jones is on screen virtually the whole movie
Michael (4:41:51 PM): Here's what I didn't like:
Michael (4:41:56 PM): the other 85 minutes
Michael (4:42:09 PM): I liked Connie Nielsen and Leslie Stefanson
Michael (4:42:24 PM): would it have been too much to ask to have them hook up with each other?
Michael (4:42:34 PM): Del Toro was abyssmal
Dave (4:42:35 PM): L. Stef. is B. D. Toro's girflriend?
Michael (4:42:38 PM): y
Dave (4:42:46 PM): Del Toro's role was underdeveloped
Michael (4:42:48 PM): and she was apparently at barnard when we were at CU
Michael (4:42:51 PM): I don't believe it
Dave (4:43:17 PM): I thought he did his best to infuse it with more than it had
Michael (4:43:40 PM): the role of the trolley was more developed than Del Toro
Dave (4:43:48 PM): lol
Michael (4:43:57 PM): the scene with the little girl was one of the worst acted scenes in recent memory
Michael (4:44:02 PM): (by him, not the girl)
Michael (4:44:05 PM): he was painful
Dave (4:44:15 PM): I didn't think so at all
Michael (4:44:15 PM): their first fight was ridiculous
Dave (4:44:23 PM): how so?
Michael (4:44:30 PM): the stuff with the wolf at the beginning was ridiculous
Dave (4:44:37 PM): how so?
Michael (4:44:47 PM): I can belive Christopher Reeve can fly, but I cannot believe that you can approach and work on a wounded wolf
Michael (4:44:54 PM): unless maybe you're Croc Dundee
Dave (4:45:03 PM): no, he was at one with his spirit
Michael (4:45:07 PM): The fight between them at the beginning was slow and clumsy
Dave (4:45:08 PM): lol
Michael (4:45:22 PM): the fight at the end was reminiscent of From Russia With Love
Dave (4:45:31 PM): sounds like [two of our friends]....slow/clumsy
Michael (4:45:40 PM): intense, heated, believable
Michael (4:45:57 PM): too bad it wasn't characters fighting instead of actors
Dave (4:46:03 PM): ouch
Michael (4:46:08 PM): ** out of ****
Michael (4:46:37 PM): the director needs to go watch movies like "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist" to learn how to direct a thriller
Dave (4:46:44 PM): lol
Michael (4:47:04 PM): and then go watch "Rules of Engagement" to learn how combat can be directed well and characters can be strong even in a pulpy, not-great movie
Dave (4:47:36 PM): I liked the idea of having a trainer of how to dissect a human into sections who actually never had killed someone
Michael (4:48:02 PM): and then push "Play" on a DVD player, for a $3 rental of First Blood instead of saying "Action" on a film shoot for $90 million
Dave (4:48:23 PM): angry. angry young reviewer
Michael (4:49:00 PM): Del Toro was better in "Licence to Kill"
Michael (4:49:16 PM): Friedkin was better directing his dog to poop outside
Michael (4:50:01 PM): not so young: I'm 90 minutes older than I was when I went into the theatre
Dave (4:50:43 PM): but not wiser
Dave (4:51:11 PM): perhaps you, too, are a murderer of innocent spirits, like those deer that were slaughterered at the hand of the White Man
Michael (4:51:34 PM): Sure I am. I am now seasoned with the knowledge that "The Hunted" is a bad movie. I didn't have that piece of enlightenment before.
Dave (4:52:08 PM): the more we know, the less we truly understand about life around and within us and those around us
Michael (4:52:09 PM): Congratulations, you just made more sense than the script.

posted by Michael 5:11:43 PM

. . .