Jerry’s Blog–Because Wit Happens

How many of you have ever moved to a new town to “better your life”?

Just wondering.

(If it was illegal to move to “the next town over” from where you are right now–but only wink-wink-nudge-nudge illegal–and members of your family were starving or in dire need of medicine, would you be comfortable technically breaking that law to work in the next town over?  Just wondering.)

Sorry for waterboarding this dead horse yet again, but I still get nostalgic for those days when President Reagan and I took so much pride in the fact that our country followed the Geneva Convention and would never, never, ever torture people like those savages in the Third World. From SALON:

Self-proclaimed waterboarding fan Dick Cheney called it a no-brainer in a 2006 radio interview: Terror suspects should get a “a dunk in the water.” But recently released internal documents reveal the controversial “enhanced interrogation” practice was far more brutal on detainees than Cheney’s description sounds, and was administered with meticulous cruelty.

Interrogators pumped detainees full of so much water that the CIA turned to a special saline solution to minimize the risk of death, the documents show. The agency used a gurney “specially designed” to tilt backwards at a perfect angle to maximize the water entering the prisoner’s nose and mouth, intensifying the sense of choking – and to be lifted upright quickly in the event that a prisoner stopped breathing.

The documents also lay out, in chilling detail, exactly what should occur in each two-hour waterboarding “session.” Interrogators were instructed to start pouring water right after a detainee exhaled, to ensure he inhaled water, not air, in his next breath. They could use their hands to “dam the runoff” and prevent water from spilling out of a detainee’s mouth. They were allowed six separate 40-second “applications” of liquid in each two-hour session – and could dump water over a detainee’s nose and mouth for a total of 12 minutes a day. Finally, to keep detainees alive even if they inhaled their own vomit during a session – a not-uncommon side effect of waterboarding – the prisoners were kept on a liquid diet. The agency recommended Ensure Plus….[Rest of article]

The speaker is Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

I could have wept watching the pre-Oscar red carpet stuff last night.

This girl used to be “It”. GOOGLE her. Every man’s dream.

But last night she was a creepy, no-closeups-please, my-God-what’s-in-her-belly Stepford interviewer. What happened to her?

Ah, I think I see…:

LONDON (AFP) – Scouting founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell was invited to meet Adolf Hitler after friendly talks with the Hitler Youth about forming closer ties, secret British files released Monday showed.

Britain’s Baden-Powell, who started the Scouts in 1907, held talks with German ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hitler Youth chief of staff Hartmann Lauterbacher on November 19, 1937.

Lauterbacher, then 28, was in Britain to foster closer relations with the Boy Scout movement and Ribbentrop invited Baden-Powell to tea with the Hitler Youth leader, newly declassified MI5 Security Service files revealed…[Rest of article]

The one and only Donna Summer, Queen of Disco, but what’s cool about this is that this is one of the first “synthesizer”-oriented songs–and the music was done by one Giorgio Moroder, who also did one of my (at the time) favorite soundtracks: The one for “MIDNIGHT EXPRESS”. (If you haven’t seen that old movie, you should!) Anyway, here’s Ms. Summer:

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And here’s a little minidocumentary on Mr. Moroder showing how old the technology is:

I hate it that they went to 10 movies nominated for Best Picture. Going to 7 might have not been so ridiculous, but 10?!

Best Picture: All the buzz is about AVATAR vs HURT LOCKER (their respective directors having once been married). I’m going to go a little out on a limb and say that HURT LOCKER will win. First of all, it was a great movie, but I think there will be some anti-Cameron (cuz he and Spielberg are just too darned good) sympathy voting going on. On the other hand, with so many in the running and AVATAR and HURT LOCKER so heavily favored, something like INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS could sneak in–but I don’t think so.

Best Director: Kathry Bigelow–ex-husband Cameron has even said she deserves it.

Best Actor: No brainer. Jeff Bridges. The Dude abides…

Best Actress: Streep or Bullock…? Streep or Bullock…? Okay, Bullock. (I’m gonna bet that Streep will have another chance or two on down the road).

Best Supporting Actor and Actress: Walz (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) and Mo’Nique (PRECIOUS–which I haven’t seen yet, but comes out on Tuesday and is #1 in my Netflix queue).

Animated Feature: UP. (CORALINE was cool, though).

Feature Documentary: Everyone should see FOOD, INC. That’s my pick. THE COVE may sneak in there–I haven’t seen it yet, but want to.

Foreign Language Film: Haven’t seen any of them, although I generally do eventually when they’re out on DVD.

Art Direction, Cinematography, Special Effects-y kinds of things: AVATAR is going to be all over these categories.

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AMERICAN IDOL 2010 (Season 9)–Current Las Vegas Odds For The Final 16