Awesome Bollywood Video of the Week

This was a feature that I started back in June but I forgot to continue. I thought it was interesting enough to continue, so let's hope I can remember every Monday from now on.

This is a song-and-dance sequence from a movie called "Dostana", where two straight Indian men in Miami pretend to be gay in order to live in a swank apartment. Things get complicated, of course, when they fall in love with their female roommate. This also stars my favorite Bollywood actor, Abhishek Bachchan, who's the bearded chap in the video.

The song is called "Desi Girl", where 'Desi' means 'Indian'. I'll spare you the word-for-word meaning of the lyrics, but the chorus is worth noting:

"Dekh lakh lakh pardesi girls" - I've seen thousands of foreign girls
"Aint nobody like my desi girl" - That's in English.

Translation - Indian woman are whiz-bang

Enjoy.

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(500) Days of Summer Interview

This is the write-up of an interview I conducted via web cam with the stars of (500) Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick) and Zooey Deschanel (Yes Man).


One of the smash hits of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, “(500) Days of Summer,” has finally made its long-awaited release into cinemas nationwide. The film follows greeting-card company employee Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “Brick”) and his relationship with the girl of his dreams, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel, “Yes Man”), to understand why it failed. As a decidedly unconventional romantic comedy, it may seem unusual for the film to be released among the season’s typical popcorn movies. But in an interview with The Daily, the stars of the film affirmed that this was the perfect time to release the film.

“This is at heart a very entertaining film … if you’re looking for something a little bit more lighthearted,” Deschanel said.

Gordon-Levitt added, “It’s a really good summer movie … a few less timpani drums and blood, and more Joy Division and kissing. What summer blockbuster has Joy Division and kissing?”

Here's the link to the full interview.

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Some of the Best Reporting I've Ever Seen

Enjoy.

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Edward M. Kennedy 1932-2009

It is rare to find a politician who cares so much for the people. After being diagnosed with brain cancer last year, he knew his days were numbered, but he didn't go out without a fight. Well, the fight isn't over yet. His great cause was health care reform. As his family, friends, constituents, and country mourns his passing, let us try to imitate and continue his devotion to the people, by the people, for the people. The Senate has lost its lion.


Here Ted is pictured with brothers John and Robert.

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Inglourious Basterds Review

In the near two decades we’ve had Quentin Tarantino as a director, he has become one of the few modern filmmakers with a distinct technique that is carried from film to film, regardless of star-power, budget, or genre. With “Inglourious Basterds” Tarantino brings his approach to the tired, lifeless genre of the World War II epic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, “Basterds,” is a dark, violent saga that’s every bit coarse and distasteful as its incorrectly spelled title.


In trademark Tarantino style, “Basterds” is divided into multiple, eventually converging narratives featuring a bounty of vivid characters. The more-publicized story follows Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and his crew of scrappy Jewish-American soldiers known as the ‘Basterds’ as they scalp and bludgeon Nazis behind enemy lines. Yet, their tale is paralleled by a story of comparable importance, featuring a French woman named Shosanna (French actress Melanie Laurent) who has a burning desire to take revenge against the Nazis. Coincidentally, Shoshana and the Basterds each devise plans to wipe out the German high command at a movie premiere, which ends with bad Italian accents, explosives galore and a hailstorm of bullets.

Brad Pitt’s presence will certainly help to fill the seats, but the real star of the film is Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who plays Colonel Hans Landa, the milk-chugging, strudel-munching “Jew Hunter.” Unlike the near-caricature of Amon Goeth in “Schindler’s List,” where the Nazi officer was portrayed as a pure psychopath, Landa is a metaphysical polyglot who is paradoxically both barbaric and sagacious. Expect awards-season hardware for Waltz, who coolly alternates between heartless killer and affable Nazi officer.

Alongside the superb characterization of Landa, Tarantino fortunately evolves “Basterds” beyond the copious, clunky World War II action clones. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to call this an action movie at all. The violence, save for the climactic scene, is dispersed in short, brutal bursts throughout the film. In “Basterds,” the customary, elaborate combat set pieces are replaced by slick conversations at dining tables and rollicking, drunken card games in Parisian basements.


Unfortunately, Tarantino doesn’t know when to end these dialogues, which continue endlessly and bring the pace to a dead halt by the middle third of the film. There ‘s a reasonable limit to the amount of discussion about German cinema under the Third Reich one can sit through and this movie undeniably reaches it.

“Basterds” is also hampered by a few questionable casting decisions. There’s the irritating portrayal of Adolf Hitler as a frothing lunatic that would fit better in a Tex Avery cartoon. Most notably, the inclusion of Mike Myers (“Austin Powers”) as a British officer is befuddling. Myers only appears in a short scene, plastered with hideous makeup, but his presence is so jarring that all of his dialogue is drowned out by your mind wondering, “Why the hell is Mike Myers in this role?” Although Hitler and Myers have brief parts, their collective buffoonery is agitating enough to leave long-lasting negative impression.

Quentin Tarantino has yet to make a below-average film, and his record remains intact with “Inglourious Basterds.” Even with his annoying Tennessee accent, Brad Pitt and the rest of the ensemble provide enough laughs and thrills to make this a very memorable movie. In classic Tarantino fashion, expect to be simultaneously laughing and squirming by the shockingly over-the-top bloodshed. Just try to stay awake for the rest of the movie.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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Funny Winston Churchill Quotes

Here are some decently funny Winston Churchill quotes for a little light reading. I promise I will write a huge post on health care, however.

When I am abroad I always make it a rule never to criticise or attack the Government of my country. I make up for lost time when I am at home.

"A sheep in sheep's clothing"
On Clement Attlee

A modest man, who has much to be modest about
On Clement Attlee

"An empty taxi arrived at 10 Downing Street, and when the door was opened, Atlee got out"
On Clement Attlee

"I wish Stanley Baldwin no ill, but it would have been much better if he had never lived"
On Stanley Baldwin

"He occasionally stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened"
On Stanley Baldwin

"He looked at foreign affairs through the wrong end of a municipal drainpipe"
On Neville Chamberlain

Lady Astor to Churchill: "Winston, if you were my husband I would flavour your coffee with poison"
Churchill: "Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it"

Bessie Braddock to Churchill: "Winston, your drunk!"
Churchill: "Bessie, you're ugly, and tomorrow morning I shall be sober"

"What could you hope to achieve except to be sunk in a bigger and more expensive ship this time"
On Admiral Mountbatten

Have a splendid day!

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Mexico Decriminalizes Small-Scale Drug Possession and So Should We

Very interesting.

Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday — a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers.

Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from shaking down casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check.

"This is not legalization, this is regulating the issue and giving citizens greater legal certainty," said Bernardo Espino del Castillo of the attorney general's office.

I think this is smart for a number of reasons. First of all, the amount you are allowed to have is quite small.

The maximum amount of marijuana for "personal use" under the new law is 5 grams — the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about 4 "lines." For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.

Anyone caught with drug amounts under the new personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory.

It seems counterintuitive at first that to help fix a drug problem one should decriminalize the drugs, but decriminalizing lets it be regulated and controlled. If government-approved drug distributors are established, the drugs can be monitored for safety. Also, as this bill does, you can set a limit for how much drugs one is allowed to possess at one time. In addition, better drug treatment programs can be established based off the revenue from placing a "sin tax" on the drugs.

The best reason, however, is that it separates the casual users from the distributors and violent traffickers.

Mexico has emphasized the need to differentiate drug addicts and casual users from the violent traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006.

Mexico is in the midst of a (relatively futile) war on drugs. This bill separates the real bad guys from the casual users/addicts. Also, it should take business away from the drug traffickers.


I think the real value of this bill is what we Americans can possibly learn from its results. I think passing a similar bill in the U.S. makes sense. Drug use will happen whether it is decriminalized or not, so it makes sense to decriminalize drugs in small amounts and regulate it.

Probably the biggest reason to enact it here, however, is that our prisons are currently full of people charged with drug offenses. Many of these are for minor offenses.

According to the American Corrections Association, the average daily cost per state prison inmate per day in the US is $67.55. State prisons held 253,300 inmates for drug offenses in 2005. That means states spent approximately $17,110,415 per day to imprison drug offenders, or $6,245,301,475 per year.

We waste so much money holding people in jail for drug offenses. A lot of people are casual users who represent a valuable part of society and the labor/consumer force. We have prisons packed nationwide and an ailing economy. Maybe this should be part of the stimulus package?

Don't expect this to be enacted in the U.S. anytime soon, however. While the percentage of people supportive of decriminalizing marijuana is on the rise, it is still too controversial of an issue. However, it will come one day, and when it does, look forward to posters like this one:

Have a nice day!

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A Haiku for Mark Halperin

Sometimes it appears
Only you can present news
This ridiculous.


That snapshot was taken moments ago by myself straight from Mark Halperin's website. There is an actual story behind it, but you would never know from the way he presents it. He also never seems to make any noteworthy critical analysis, yet I still go to his site as soon as I wake up. The reason being I can get the news without any spin. While he occasionally puts spin on things, I never listen to what he has to say. I really just look at the headlines. I recommend it as a way to quickly figure out what has happened during the day politically, but don't expect groundbreaking commentary.

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Crash for Clunkers

Many of you have probably heard of Cash for Clunkers, the federal program where the government will give you a $4500 rebate towards a new fuel efficient vehicle when you get rid of your clunker. The program has been a wild success and has been a valuable part of the stimulus package. However, have you heard of Crash for Clunkers?



Pretty freaking sweet.

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