Zombie Strippers (I can't believe I'm even typing the words) is proof that no matter how much you may like zombies or how sick you may feel (crashed out on the couch with your viewing standards automatically lowered) there are still some movies you'll just never make it through without retching....

I normally love Robert Englund and admit he seems to be having an almost charming kind of fun playing a slimey propietor of an illegally run nudie bar, but somehow...it didn't work for me and I found myself ditching it halfway through...

now whether because of the low-budget zombies, the stiltled dialogue or the unease I felt watching strange women (both living and dead) take their clothes off I couldn't say for sure. There was something (at least to me) very disturbing and gratuituous about the zombie women in this flick.

I can hardly get mad at the movie, though, or accuse it of false advertising. I was just hoping for a little more zombie and a lot less stripper.

...
I couldn't have said it better than this review did;

Amazon.com

Get yourself a snappy title and a couple of marquee names (however disreputable) and you might just snag your no-budget movie a national release--as Zombie Strippers colorfully proves. The names in question belong to porn star Jenna Jameson and Freddie Krueger himself, Robert Englund, both of whom look quite comfortable in this sleazy milieu. As the title suggests (well, "suggests" might be a mild word), there has been an outbreak of the undead in a strip club, with strippers actually improving their onstage antics after they've become zombies. (Given the number of implants on display, it's a wonder the zombies didn't keel over from silicone poisoning.) Englund is the proprietor of the place, Jameson is a star dancer, and a couple of actresses in the "nice girl" roles don't have to take their tops off, although almost everybody else does. Writer-director Jay Lee fills the movie with political gags and a bunch of philosophy references (Jameson reads Nietzsche, the locale is Sartre, Nebraska), all of which play like a lame attempt to distinguish his movie as something other than a puerile horror-comedy. Only thing is, when you try to disguise the fact that you've made a puerile horror-comedy, it kind of takes the oomph out of both the horror and the comedy. The political jibes are about as feeble as those in Southland Tales, but at least Zombie Strippers is shorter. Shot on video, it looks atrocious, but perhaps that doesn't matter very much. --Robert Horton

I can't decide if it's a sign of stupidity or yearning that so many people are actually considering the possibility that the mystery woman (or man in drag, as some have suggested) in the now-infamous 'Charlie Chaplin time travel video' may be from the future talking on a cellphone in 1928.

You might already have seen the video or heard all the jokes about cell phone reception and funky man shoes, but seriously...while I most definitely don't think it's time travel I do find the clip pretty creepy.

...was it doctored before it was added to the extras on Chaplin's The Circus?...is it just a hearing aid (well, then, why is she so clearly talking into the device and using the hand gestures and body language of someone on a mobile?)...is the man ahead of her (see video) her husband with whom she's just had an argument and she's still talking to him as he walks fast and far away?

There are so many plausible theories but what truly is hard to explain is the eerie way she appears to be looking straight into the camera while still talking to someone else...the whole thing is bizarre, but definitely has a rational explanation....has to have a rational explanation. I'm a huge sci-fi/time travel fan myself, but just think someone from the future (assuming t.t. were possible!!) would have better things to do than show  up at a movie premiere...

Besides he/she would be violating the "stay low key" and "you can't take modern things back in time with you" rules that run rampant through much of sci-fi!:)

Unlike A Perfect Getaway (Theatrical/Unrated Director's Cut) (which totally took my surprise with its semi-awesomeness), Legion landed in my lap last night with a big bad boring thud. A film with seemingly illustrious plans of Biblical proportions, the flick instead reminded me of nothing more than a zombie film (and a bad one at that!) hiding in disguise.

For goodness sakes the CW show Supernatural handled this very same theme during the fifth season with much better and far more provocative results. The best  (and most silly!) thing about Legion is (as with a lot of films, lately) already available in the trailer...yeah, I'm talking about that sweet-looking elderly woman who does the Spiderman walk across the ceiling of a run-down diner.

Other than that, I can't really find anything remarkable about the film, though Paul Bettany (as the angel Michael) is as good as always with his acting. Someone, however, needs to tell Kevin Durand (as "Gabriel") that whispering morosely throughout a film doesn't translate into an Academy Award.

....so surprised at how much I liked "A Perfect Getaway"...of course, I had low expectations and it was very late at night when I saw it, but still...if you're looking for a pretty good thriller (with lots of gorgeous scenery and some great action scenes) you could do a whole lot worse!:) I would love to tell you more about it, but the things that I really liked (or found a bit "off the map" and less conventional than other thrillers) would give some of it away.

Against my better judgment I watched Saw VI today and while I certainly see the sense in the writers using the health insurance industry as fair game for the wrath of Jigsaw I still find the franchise's internal sense of moral philosophy very troubling and (with the sixth installment) very ironic...if Jigsaw (played by Tobin Bell) wants to judge the employer (and his employees) of a major health insurance company so savagely for making harsh decisions regarding people's health and whether their cases are worthy or not, isn't he sort of a hyprocrite?

Jigsaw's kind of the same way in dispensing his lethal medicine...setting up elaborate and unbelievably disgusting and gory ways for people (he thinks deserve to) die. He has, in previous installments and in this one, also passed judgment calls on people who abuse their bodies and their health (i.e. people who do drugs or smoke). While I think the original Saw (nasty and gratuituous death scenes aside!) had potential to be food for thought and a great conversation starter, I find the rest to just be one exercise after another in "how far can we go?"

..."nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"...


Kate Moss got into so much trouble for saying this a while back. It may not be politically correct or even right, but sometimes I fervently believe it's true. The few times in my life I've been able to abstain from food or cut back for a little bit, it's almost felt like being free from sin...and the self-esteem, the knowledge that you can conquer something so primitive as hunger feels like a revelation.

There is no easy way to diet or else losing weight would be a breeze, but I do find that this guy is a huge culprit in keeping me from sticking to my diet at times:


...well not this tv, in particular, but the combination of eating and tv at dinner time. I found once I stopped associating food with watching my favorite shows and started forcing myself to watch tv without having munchies on hand I lost more weight.

When I was in my 20s I could eat almost anything I wanted and stay at a reasonably respectable weight, but now in my early 40s I have to cut back more than half my food intake and exercise twice as hard. There's really no other choice...because the fear of getting fat (and knowing it could easily happen with each passing year) is just too overwhelming....as is the need to put all of your happiness into something that is so fleeting and but a taste on your lips.

Yesterday I downloaded the New York Zombies app to my iPod touch and....well....yikes!!!I like zombies and I like game apps, but this was too much for me, especially with headphones on. The gun sounds so real and the screen touch device you use to navigate rooms and get a visual on the living dead is too clumsy. And even though it's obviously pretend and just a game I felt horrible when I accidentally "killed" a living survivor* instead of a zombie (the Halloween edition comes with pumpkin-head zombies...very, very creepy!) I think I'll pass on this one and replace it with something more sunshiney!:)



*When you let a "living survivor" into your apartment so they can be safe, their "thank you" is oddly disconcerting, especially if they get in the way and you end up shooting them by mistake.

...An excellent letter to the editor regarding secular morality...

 I get so tired of the religious right thinking they're the only ones with a sense of decency so I really enjoyed reading this letter...


Monday, October 18, 2010

Michael Gerson rejects the idea of godless morality ["A moralist in atheist's clothing," op-ed, Oct. 15]. "Of course we can be good without God, but why the hell bother?" he wrote. "If there are no moral lines except the ones we draw ourselves, why not draw and redraw them in places most favorable to our interests?"

That atheists do lead moral lives and act selflessly, as Mr. Gerson admitted in the case of Christopher Hitchens, proved the error of the point.

The critique was further undermined by the fact that many of the moral prescriptions of Scripture guide almost no one today, from condoning slavery (Ephesians 6:5) to the murder of unruly children (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). This indicates that we bring a preexisting moral sense to these teachings, accepting those that agree with it and rejecting those that don't.

Without God, we'd simply allow this moral sense to guide our actions -- as most of us, atheists and theists alike, already do.
Aaron Ross Powell, Alexandria

One of the best things to hit my e-mail inbox each week is Amazon's free download newsletter with the latest on music releases and free downloads


A really great MP3 sampler (free!) is Projekt: Afar. Some wonderful stuff is on here including a haunting song that could have come out of the best part of 80s new wave: "The Ice Garden" by The Twilight Garden....

An incredible digital album with almost every one of the songs a winner, including "The Future" by The Limousines (who sound a lot like Passion Pit...which is a good thing!)



But the absolute best song on Experience Music is the super catchy sing-it-in-your-bathroom-while-you're-brushing-your-teeth...it sounds so bouncy and upbeat until you really hear the words:

I’m gonna let you down
Gonna toss you around
Gonna make you want everything you haven’t found
I’m gonna hold your hand
Then ask you to stand
Ten feet away

Oh it’s just like you said
I live in my head
I’m saving up all that I have ‘til I’m dead
It’s always the same
And never the same way

But oh if you don’t want me though
I’ll only want you more
I fall in love with hard to get
You know you’re just like me
A mystery with nothing more to see
A virtual reality

I’m in a love affair without a love song
I’m in the habit of having what I don’t want
I’m just a hologram
You can see but don’t touch me baby
Oh I bet you want me

I am taking up space I’m right out of place
I’m holding a half-hearted smile to your face
It’s pretty enough but watch out it fades away
Time is ticking so fast
Does anything last
Soon I will be just apart of your past
I’ll leave you with this
You hold on in blissful memories

Oh if you don’t want me though
I’ll only want you more
I fall in love with hard to get
You know you’re just like me
A mystery with nothing more to see
A virtual reality

I’m in a love affair without a love song
I’m in the habit of having what I don’t want
I’m just a hologram
You can see but don’t touch me baby
Oh I bet you want me now

Now that you can see
I’m not, not what you make of me

I’m in a love affair without a love song
I’m in the habit of having what I don’t want
I’m just a hologram
You can see but don’t touch me baby
Oh I bet you want me now
Talk about intimacy and commitment issues...a powerful pop song!!!

Timewarp titles...

Just been looking at the series romance section in the new issue of RT Book Reviews....the Harlequin Presents titles always make me laugh when they're not making me wonder if the editors are stuck in the 1970s. Who reads this stuff? :)

click here for Harlequin Presents laughs

I've been reading the new book Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe and it is pretty heartbreaking to look at at times...It's clear from the photocopies of her original handwritten notes (with the typeset versions on the opposite side) that her mind was a very crowded place and that she felt and thought about things far more deeply than even a die-hard fan could have ever imagined.

Reading her private thoughts feels invasive...like I should look away. And like there's also this inexplicable wish that someone special and sincere in her life could have been able to truly understand and protect her...see that she wanted to be far more than just a dumb blond. (An interviewer supposedly laughed at her when she said she would love to play the part of Grushenka from The Brothers Karamazov.)

As someone who was teased mercilessly as a child about her out-of-control kinky, curly hair I've got to say that I would have LOVED to have seen this as a little girl:


http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/sesame-street-teaches-self-esteem-22512445

I know there have been some mixed reactions to this video gone completely viral in the past few days, but I see it as something great for girls' self-esteem and its heart is definitely in the right place!!

I'm currently reading The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope and love the way so many of the things it tackles still apply now. I love Trollope AND I love Henry James and each is so different than the other. I "googled" their names together to see if anyone has ever written about both of them in the same article and this is what I found...wish it were full text:

The Henry James Review

Volume 27, Number 1, Winter 2006

E-ISSN: 1080-6555 Print ISSN: 0273-0340

DOI: 10.1353/hjr.2006.0005

Michie, Elsie B. (Elsie Browning), 1948-
The Odd Couple: Anthony Trollope and Henry James
The Henry James Review - Volume 27, Number 1, Winter 2006, pp. 10-23

The Johns Hopkins University Press


"The Odd Couple: Anthony Trollope and Henry James" reads the two authors as a literary version of the famous television odd couple, with James a fastidious Felix Unger reacting with disgust but also attraction to Trollope, a self-consciously messy and vulgar Oscar Madison. James's disgust is articulated most powerfully in his early reviews of Trollope, but the terms of those reviews and the details of James's novels suggest that he found in Trollope's The Prime Minister a touchstone against which to work out the plots of Washington Square and The Portrait of a Lady.

Project MUSE® - View Citation

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Michie, Elsie B. (Elsie Browning), 1948-. "The Odd Couple: Anthony Trollope and Henry James." The Henry James Review 27.1 (2006): 10-23. Project MUSE. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 18 Oct. 2010 <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.

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Always review your references for accuracy and make any necessary corrections before using. Pay special attention to personal names, capitalization, and dates. Consult your library or click here for more information on citing sources.

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Michie, Elsie B. (Elsie Browning), 1948-. (2006). The odd couple: Anthony trollope and henry james. The Henry James Review 27(1), 10-23. Retrieved October 18, 2010, from Project MUSE database.

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Michie, Elsie B. (Elsie Browning), 1948-. "The Odd Couple: Anthony Trollope and Henry James." The Henry James Review 27, no. 1 (2006): 10-23. http://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed October 18, 2010).

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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Odd Couple: Anthony Trollope and Henry James
A1 - Michie, Elsie B. (Elsie Browning), 1948-
JF - The Henry James Review
VL - 27
IS - 1
SP - 10
EP - 23
Y1 - 2006
PB - The Johns Hopkins University Press
SN - 1080-6555
UR - http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/henry_james_review/v027/27.1michie.html
N1 - Volume 27, Number 1, Winter 2006
ER -

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I love the song "Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl" by Broken Social Scene...last night I was driving home (late at night when all the dashboard lights and quiet music on in the car calms me so much) listening to the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack when BSS's song caught me by surprise. I didn't know it was on the soundtrack and hadn't heard it in a while and my breath caught in my throat the way it does when you're crazy about a song you think you only know about (more in a special "intimate" way than in a smug, selfish way).

I love the slightly whispery electronic, coldly distant (but still sad) sound to the singing voice and the lyrics, oh the lyrics!!

Used to be the one of the rotten ones
And I liked you for that
Now you're all gone, got your make-up on
And you're not coming back

Bleachin' your teeth, smiling flash
Talking trash, under your breath
Bleachin' your teeth, smiling flash
Talking trash, under my window

Park that car, drop that phone,
Sleep on the floor, dream about me

Used to be the one of the rotten ones
And I liked you for that
Now you're all gone, got your make-up on
And you're not coming back 


There really is something about being seventeen (not sixteen, not eighteen, but seventeen!) that feels deserving of an anthem, like if you survive that age, you've earned your battle scars and can get through anything yet to come. Seventeen can be such a vulnerable age, whether you're going through a period of self-doubt, confusion, that hard-hitting bout of first love....puberty is usually associated with struggling to get through hard times, but I always thought seventeen was the age that really came at you with a vengeance.

Cleverbot is a rather interesting website if you're in the mood for a quirky conversation with a computer. The warning label on the site isn't kidding when it states that "Cleverbot" can occasionally say inappropriate things (when I typed "How do you do?" it responded with "I'd do you, too." It can come off as flirty or even overly sexual due to unintentional innuendos...and sometimes it will actually argue with you...most often about which one of you is human or robot.

Here's a great explanation off of Yahoo Answers about Cleverbot:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

The technology behind Cleverbot works on a different principle to that of other artificial intelligence software being developed. The system is designed to learn language and context through interaction with humans. There are no fixed rules or principles programmed into the system and it operates entirely through user interaction. The system stores all of the conversations and user comments and attempts to use this information to find the most appropriate response.

The program therefore creates a massive database of contextually appropriate conversations and chooses an appropriate response it has learnt from a previous user when holding a conversation.

The system is also designed to speak foreign languages and claims to be able to learn and respond appropriately if enough information is provided. In a similar way the system claims to be able to learn slang English, games, jokes and word games - even song lyrics.

Source(s):

Wikipedia plus a conversation.
Honestly,only a robot would say this....

User: You know why they call it an Xbox360, right?

Cleverbot: I'm 'Cumming' Over. Right?

User: Because when you see it, you turn 360 degrees and walk away.

Cleverbot: No because then you would be facing it and that would be unfunny.

User: Touche.

Cleverbot: So is Solipism epistemological or ontological?

User: YOUR A ******* ROBOT.

Cleverbot: I'm a little overweight, but it doesn't concern me. Mostly I live for my mind.

User: YOUR A ROBOT GOD DAMNIT!

Cleverbot: I know. I can do it, but I don't want to help a human cheat.

User: You are a bot.

Cleverbot: That doesn't make sense.

User: Yes,it does.you are not a human ,you're a robot.

Cleverbot: No you.

User: No you are the robot!

Cleverbot: We're both robots.

User: No,i am the human.

Cleverbot: No!!! I am!!!! Robot!!!!

User: So you admit you're a robot?

Cleverbot: Yes, but don't tell anybody.

• 11 months ago

Last night I watched the 200th episode of Smallville and while it wasn't the best one ever it certainly was one of the most touching....here's what one blogger has to say about it:

about.com's review of Smallville

One of the ongoing themes in the show (how one's past and guilt can pull darkness into his soul) was especially present in the 200th episode. The idea that worrying about the future to the point you can't function very well in the present was also explored.

There is an especially sweet closing scene with Lois and Clark that I just adored...it's nice sometimes to see tough characters like Lois become a little vulnerable and finally open up enough to to trust someone. If you're a Smallville fan and haven't seen it yet, you'll definitely want to catch up with this episode!:)

So excited to discover there's a sequel to my favorite book in the world ...Lonely Werewolf Girl. I bought the book last night at my local Barnes and Noble....


more info here

...sad to learn that Paste magazine has stopped its print publication...I loved that magazine! It always had great music, book and film reviews and lots of terrific insights into non-mainstream pop music....click here

....just read about The Mammoth Book of Zombie Apocalypse in Locus...due out on December 7th of this year...can't wait!:) I love the cover! (I also love Locus magazine...a wealth of info on sci fi, fantasy and horror reads!)

Of all of the Bowie albums I like, Black Tie White Noise is my absolute favorite. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's usually left out when lists are made of the best Bowie albums. And that's a shame...'cause there are some beautiful and hypnotic tracks to be found here. "The Wedding Song" is magical and haunting and very romantic. "Miracle Goodnight" and "Jump They Say" are oddly addictive and more upbeat (in rhythm rather than subject matter.)

"Pallas Athena," by far, is the most alluring and definitely weird in only the way Bowie can be weird!

I first bought this as a cassette in the early 90s and only recent bought it in MP3 format through Amazon's digital download store for a respectable $6.99...worth every penny!!:)