Obama caught looking
PRESIDENT BUSTED SNEAKING PEAK AT WOMAN IN PINK DRESS
While attending the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy this week, President Barack Obama apparently found a different kind of “stimulus package” — only this one had nothing to do with the economy.
As French President Nicolas Sarkozy looked on with a smirk, a Reuters photographersnapped a shot of Obama checking out the hindquarters of a rather attractive, blonde, junior G8 delegate in a pink dress.
Sarkozy, for his part, appeared to be enjoying the “scenery” as well.
I’m sure Obama was only glancing for a second, but that’s all it takes to snap a photo that lasts a lifetime.
I don’t fault him, though, because every guy does this. It’s just a fact of life — like how television shows on the CW channel will always be terrible or how people with tattoos of random Asian characters that they can’t read will always be lame.
But when he’s in the national spotlight every minute of every day, Obama should probably be a little more careful.
Just ask FOX News Channel host Dave Briggs. He’s in the spotlight for about 30 minutes a week and he still got caught checking out South Carolina native Ainsley Earhardt.
And to think he copped it from uber-prude Mike's America (no link, go find the zany Reaganite necrophiliac yourself).
So much for McLovin's abandoned tag line about "transforming SC politics."
Julia Stiles
Just because.
Just because.
Holly Madison
Just because.
I absolutely despise this episode. It never decided what it wanted to be about, nor did it deal with the interesting moral question of whether the Federation should be helping an arranged marriage when one party is resisting the nuptials.First, about the schizo nature of the episode. Is it about human trafficking? No, there is no moral dilemma addressed. Is itPygmalion? Kirk’s attempt to teach Elaan courtesy is all too brief and it winds up with the two obviously sleeping together, so I do not think you can say that, either. Is it a submarine battle with the Klingons? Yes, and that is the closest thing to a saving grace the episode has. Yet it still feels awkwardly thrown in just so the story would have something exciting to add.
Second, the morality of an arranged marriage. I can appreciate the allusion to Helen of Troy., Trek has made many efforts to be as literary as possible. But in the enlightened future of the Federation, you would think there would be some quandary about assisting in an unwilling arranged marriage. You can claim Kirk and company are just being forced to respect a different cultural belief, but I have doubts it would do so if, say elaa were to be a ritual sacrifice instead. There is a difference between marriage and adeat sentence (or so I am told. Skepticism abounds.) but the principle is the same. They are participating in an action that should be against their moral code.
It certainly is not like Kirk has not altered entire civilizations which did not suit his moral standards. Of course, he also slept with an engaged woman here before tossing her to a life as an unwilling bride, so at least there is consistency in lack of standards.
The “Elann of Toyius” plot is recycled must more intelligently in TNG’s ‘The Perfect mate,” which I have to wonder is a way of making up for the flaws of its predecessor. Regardless, “The Perfect Mate” gives me more to work with, so any further discussion about the issue will be better served then, since they are actually addressedthen.
Rating: * (out of 5).
Just because.
I am going to give “Wink of an Eye” an “A” for effort. The story features one of the most intelligent examples of pure science fiction in TOS. It is also well written and exciting, even spooky in some elements. All of that makes for an enjoyable episode. But there are some flaws in the science which bug the pedant in me. I will discuss those in a moment.The idea of accelerated humans is not new in science fiction. It dates back at least to H. G. Wells’ short story “The New Accelerator.” One assumes TOS producer Gene L. Coon was a fan of Wells. Not only did he come up with the story idea for “Wink of an Eye,” but was also the producer for The Wild Wild West, the high concept Age if Innovation western I mentioned last night as an old favorite. Three years previous to ’Wink of an Eye,’ the show featured an episode entitled “Night of the Burning Diamond” in which a scientist accelerated himself in order to steal valuable jewels without getting caught.
It has been years since I have seen that episode, but as I recall, the jewel thief was eventually done in by the friction of his accelerated movements. It is an issue that is not addressed in “Wink of an Eye,’ though it should have been. I would also postulate the high pitched whine of the accelerated voices would have been impossible to hear by humans operating on normal time. Kirk and Spock spent an undisclosed, but relatively small amount of time accelerated. They should have aged as much as decades when they returned to normal speed. If a more scientific mind than mine cares to offer up a rebuttal, please do so. Until then, Until then, I would say James West has James Kirrk beat in the science department, at least in this case.
If you can overlook the science, the rest of the episode is quite good. The people of scallos have a real problem. Their water has become irradiated. Drinking it has caused the acceleration and sterilization. They lure starships in and kidnap the men, accelerating them for breeding. They take a red shirt named Compton and kirk while plotting to turn the Enterprise into a refrigeration unit.
Compton likes the idea of serving as a sex slave even though his body will burn out under the strain of accelerated living. I guess that explains why there are still black widow spiders in the world. Kirk refuses to be a breeder, although he does sleep with Deela in the most overt evidence of sex in TOS. It never becomes a cautionary tale about radiation or a commie plot to steal our precious bodily fluids only apparent during the physical act of love. I would call that a good thing. The story remained a small story of Kirk outwitting his captors in order to save his ship.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
“Plato’s Stepchildren” is known almost solely for featuring the alleged first interracial kiss. I think that means most people have mercifully blocked out the rest of the episode from their collective conscious. I certainly wish I could. But there are two major issues to address regarding the episode.I have to start with the kiss. In recent years, it has been said by both William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols the kiss never really happened. The camera changed angles after the scene shown above, so we never saw lips locked. Now, I only have one peeper left and it has seen (no pun intended) its better days, but Shatner’s and Nichols’ lips are touching in the barest of ways in that photo, so I say the kiss happened.
But I am skeptical the kiss can be called the first interracial kiss on television. It is more likely the first kiss between a fictional white man and a white woman. Sammy Davis, Jr. and Nancy Sinatra greeted one another on a live show a year previous. Lucille Ball and Cuban Desi Arnez, owners of Desilu, the production studio for TOS’ first two seasons, had been smooching on television since the early ’50’s. I do not want to detract from the kiss’ due importance, but I am interested in its accurate labeling.
Now that is out of the way, my second point is how absolutely gruesome “Plato’s Stepchildren’ is to watch. I could flip a coin between it and “The Empath” as the most unpleasant viewing in TOS for the same reason. I am going to save most of my comments on pointless torture for my review of “The Empath” while talking about the more apt aspects of torture here. Suffice to say--and I will note it when the time comes--what I say about “The Empath” applies here, too.
I have had the unfortunate distinction of viewing parts of Salo, an Italian film which is still banned in most of the civilized world at one time or another. Australia still bans its sale. You can find a DVD of it from seedier internet dealers, but I urge you not to look. Your life will be much brighter without it. The story is about a group of young men and women being held captive in Nazi occupied Northern Italy in 1944. They are subjected to all manner of brutal, humiliating torture for which they hold up strongly against their tormentors. It is only towards the end when they are forced to sing “Happy Birthday” to their head tormentor that they emotionally break down. After all the physical pain they have suffered, it is this simple act that hurts the most.
It is grossly disturbing. It has stuck with me for nearly ten years now and it has ruined “Plato’s Stepchildren” which I did not particularly care for to begin with. While our heroes are subjected to physical pain here--Kirk forced to slap himself, for instance--it is the humiliating acts that get me. The dances, limericks, Kirk used as Alexander’s horse-all that reminds me too much of Salo. It bothers me more than seeing physical pain inflicting by pointless torture even though that is unpleasant enough to avoid like the plague even in a fictional show or movie.
The powers that be tried to water down the appeal to the baser sexual emotions, but it is there. The forced kisses are not any different than forced sex. They are still violations of Uhura and Chapel’s person. Honestly, Chapel probably even more so considering her crush on Spock. When the bullwhip and the hot poker came out, the scene lost all pretense of hiding sexual aggression. All right, maybe it is my Christian prudishness boiling to the surface. This did pass muster in prime time network television, albeit at 10 PM on Friday night but I am not eager to see it.
As for the episode itself, it is another instance in which Earth aspects are present in deep space, although there is a decent explanation here, even if the aliens say they espouse Plato’s teachings when they really do not. The whole plot of our heroes being held captive for the amusement of super powered beings has been done before. So has them being judged worthy because Kirk spared some’s life. To my knowledge, no one has ever addressed the plot hole that anyone can have the telekinetic powers as well since they are artificial. Perhaps everyone at Trek central is pretending this story never happened.
As harsh as I have been, there is one bright spot. I enjoyed Michael Dunn as Alexander. He is one of the rare TOS guest stars who gets to play a major role in an episode. He was a great actor who overcame his disabilities and poor general health to carve out a career for himself while avoiding the typecasting you would expect a dwarf to be forced into. I remember him best as Dr. Miguelito Loveless, the archenemy of James West and Artemus Gordon on another favorite,The Wild Wild West. But Dunn was also a Tony Award winning sage actor. Very impressive.Rating: * (out of 5)
Jessica Simpson & John Wayne on America
They make a heck of a combination, but what is the Fourth of July weekend without an all American girl in a patriotic bikini and the the lump in the throat poem "America: Why I Love Her" read by America's greatest movie hero?
No where near complete, I say.
They make a heck of a combination, but what is the Fourth of July weekend without an all American girl in a patriotic bikini and the the lump in the throat poem "America: Why I Love Her" read by America's greatest movie hero?No where near complete, I say.
Britney Spears to Star in a Holocaust Romance?
Thereare so many things wrong with the above sentence, i am not certain where to begin. I hope this is not true, but it seems likely:Is American mega pop star Britney Spears set to return to the big screen, seven years after starring in the box office flop Crossroads? According to reports, Spears has been offered a part in the upcoming Holocaust film The Yellow Star of Sophia and Eton, which integrates time travel, concentration camps and a love story. If she accepts the role, Spears will be taking on the title role of Sophia LaMont, a woman who invents a time machine and succeeds in traveling to the time of the Second World War. According to the script, LaMont ends up at a concentration camp and falls in love with a Jewish prisoner named Eton. However, the budding love story is cut short when both are killed by the Nazis.The reaction has been proper:
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, has said she is horrified..."In films that deal with the Holocaust, the script should be carefully chosen and the cast picked with care," Knobloch told the German tabloid Bild. "It is reprehensible to combine the issue of the Holocaust with Britney Spears in an attempt to secure financing for the film 'The Yellow Star of Sophia and Eton.' Ethical considerations should have priority."I concur. but the son of would be Adolf Hitler assassin Klaus Von Stauffenberg was angry his father would be played by Tom Cruise and that did not stop the casting.
ABOUT ME
- JAMIE JEFFORDS
- SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES
- I am a conservative Christian science fiction fan trying to live down earning a law degree. Serious health problems have helped considerably in that regard. I write a lot about politics, law, science fiction, Christian apologetics, and the general downfall of Western Civilization.
Gross (and sad) on both counts.
ReplyDelete