Category Archives: Audio

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Man Ass or Simulated Sex…You Make the Call

“Just don’t forget our deal, Lois. I sit through this and later tonight I get anal. You hear me? No matter how neat I want the house you have to clean it.” – Peter Griffin on the Family Guy

I joined Netflix this week and, low-and-behold, my first three movies came in the mail. For me, this is a godsend. Since the birth of my little boy Alexander, Xander for short (unless your Mark then you call him A-Ren), going to the movies is no longer an option. At least now I can see films without having to take a 2 mile drive to Blockbuster with a cellphone to discuss with my wife which movie we want. I digress.

So in the mail I got Once Upon a Time in Mexico, The Whole Ten Yards, and The Cooler. I wrote before that I kind of enjoyed Once upon a Time, but only as a stand alone movie. I feel that it really moved away from El Mariachi and Desperado not only in the writing, but in the acting as well. If anyone here has watched all three, as I have, would you drop a comment. Something really just feels wrong with it and I cannot wrap my brain around it. The Whole Ten Yards was ok. Those that saw the first movie, and you had to have seen The Whole Nine Yards to understand most of the movie, you will probably shrug your shoulders and figure it was wasn’t too bad. Sort of a “blah” feeling going on. The Cooler was the best of the three. William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, and Maria Bello were amazing in their portrayals. I don’t even want to tell you too much about the movie. The premise is that Macy is a “cooler” in Las Vegas. His luck is so rotten that he is hired to play at tables where people are winning by the casino director, played by Baldwin, to stop their winning streaks. Bello plays a casino waitress that falls in love with Macy. The movie ends weird, but the performances more than make up for it. Great little rental folks.

You may be wondering what any of this was to do with my post title. Here it comes…

I sat down to watch The Cooler with my wife and mother-in-law. A few minutes in we’ve got a cursing tirade that would make a cab driver blush (only if he spoke English). Twenty minutes in we’ve got a very explicit sex scene between Bello and Macy (man ass, sim-sex, hands holding genitalia, watch it you’ll understand) and it wasn’t the last one mind you. I am squirming. So here comes my question. What needs to be in a film or TV show to make you uncomfortable around your parents, your in-laws, other family members, etc.? I can deal with cursing, but the second Macy is being mounted by Bello I’m shifting in my seat. I was amazed we made it through the whole movie. Am I just being weird? Bah….







Today’s Music: Tanya Donelly – Whiskey, Tango, Ghosts (I’ve got a thing for rock chicks)

Air Might Be Conditioned

Dripping… dripping sweat.. what a brilliant idea to make Lisbon bus-stops out of 100% clear glass. You’re waiting for the bus because it provides cooler scenery than the metro, and just via the act of waiting, you sweat profusely. Its hot.. dam hot… Africa hot.. “Tarzan couldn’t take this heat.” Several buses pull up at once, unfortunately most are the 1970 MAN model and rattle and cough as they wait for people to hop on. Like a gift from the heavens, one of the more modern Mercedes manufactured buses pulls up with the beautiful “Ar Condicionado” sign in the window. Get on that bus and the jokes on you.. in this case.. me. Sweating even more than before and forced to inhale the stink of my fellow passengers and the hot air pumping through the alleged air conditioning system. This is when Lisbon is just plain funny. Though at the moment, I had trouble laughing.

Relying mainly on British and French international TV news, I’ve been studying the situation in Darfur, Sudan carefully. Even careful study doesn’t make it any easier to understand. I keep asking myself how I want it handled, nevermind what the international community wants.

Basically I am in favor of intervention by a UN peace keeping force, led by the African Union. If this is not possible, I would accept it being led by France, since they are already present next door, in Chad. This force would act as a shield… an armed human shield with a mandate to do what is necessary to stop mass murder and genocide by either rebels or government forces. By force, I mean actual troops, and not the bombing or cruise missiling of Khartoum, which I would label the “Iraq method.”

Now the trouble with this case, is that both the Sudanese government and people seem dangerously opposed to any outsiders intervening, especially what they call the “west” . It seems possible that they would declare an all out war on any UN force that went in there… which would be terrible for both sides. And so I’m left asking myself once again, how would I handle this situation better? One thing for sure, something must be well thought out and done.

Obviously I’m ready to stop this vacation mode and get back to worrying about the world and Amsterdam life.

Today’s Music: Nina Simone – The Best of (found it in the apartment)