OK--Let's Meet Up In Front Of The 10 Plagues Fun House

There was a curious article in today's TIMES about plans for a Noah's Ark theme park in rural Kentucky.  The state has embraced a local developer's idea to build a theme park which would create a living Old Testament where you walk up a real tower of Babel, see Moses part the Red Sea in 3-D and even experience the 10 plagues!  Seriously.  This sounds like a joke but they are not kidding around.

It reminds me of the days of Jim & Tammy and their Heritage USA, the first religious theme park.  Well, we all know how that turned out.  The park went belly up when the it's tax-exempt status was revoked. And there is a similar controversy brewing over this project, as people debate whether it is constitutional for a Christian theme park to get massive tax breaks from the state.

What's more disturbing though, is that this is new park is being put together by the folks behind another Kentucky tourist attraction, The Creation Museum.  This "museum"  depicts the hardcore Christian Creationist view of the world...you know, how dinosaurs and man lived together peacefully and that the earth is only about 6,000 years old.  With weird science like that, it definitely seems to be crossing the church/state line as the Kentucky state government bends over backwards provide public incentives to build this sort of religious propaganda.  People can believe what they want to believe, for sure, but the taxpayers shouldn't pay for it.

Kitten-Dudes Play A Game Of Patty Cake

OK--I know.....another kitten video.  The scourge of the YouTubes.  But seriously, this one is hilarious because of the added narration of a couple comedy dudes.  It's the perfect silliness for a Friday.  Enjoy!

Union Square Lets Its Freak Flag Fly

Though there has been plenty of change in New York over the last two decades, with the city a lot cleaner and friendlier than it used to be, one thing that hasn't changed and will likely never change is that there are still lots of very odd people here.  The center of the weird universe used to be Times Square but now that that's all filled with Euro tourists and Middle Americans, the freaks of NYC have migrated south to Union Square park.

There's a guy in called Normal Bob who documents all the strange happenings in the park on his website normalbobsmith.com.  Recently he put together a bittersweet video of all that he has observed recently with his camera, set to the tune of LCD Soundsystem's "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down".  It's a touching and somewhat shocking ode to the other side of the city that doesn't get as much attention these days.  But it's also somewhat reassuring to see that you can't take the freaks out of the city, no matter how much you clean it up.

Smithsonian Caves To Right-Wing Art Critics

In a shocking move that is more reminiscent of 1990 then 2010, the Smithsonian Institution today removed a piece of work by renowed East Village artist David Wojnarowicz because of criticism from not-so-renowned art critics Catholic League President William Donahue and Rep. John Boehner.  The video, which depicts Christ on the cross crawling with ants as an AIDS analogy, is part of an remarkable new exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery about gender identity and gay sexuality, the first such show that the Smithsonian has even mounted.

But now the gay-haters have latched onto this groundbreaking exhibit as a case of taxpayer waste, which is absurd when the amount of federal money spent on the show pales in comparison to the earmarks and general pork barreling that goes on up on Capitol Hill everyday. Regardless, the new Speaker of The House felt that American taxpayer money shouldn't be used for the exhibit and that "it's symbolic of the arrogance Washington routinely applies to thousands of spending decisions involving Americans' hard-earned money." 


Of coure, the real arrogance here is Boner's assumption that he, as a elected official, should be the judge and jury of what is and isn't art.  Perhaps Boner should focus on slightly more important matters of governance, like, you know, maybe reducing the federal deficit before we bankrupt the country?  Or how about repealing "Dont'Ask, Don't Tell" now that the US military's report says they are fine with it?  I don't think it's a coincidence that the day after that report came out, this is what Mr. Boner is focused on.  In a nutshell, he should stick to his job and leave the art to the artists. 

Military Report Says "Little Risk" In Having Gays In Military

The long-awaited report from the US military about whether they can handle the idea of gays serving openly in the armed forces is being released this afternoon.  After months of surveys and analysis, it comes to the shocking conclusion that repealing the 17-year old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy would cause little risk to the military's ability to carry out it's mission.

The report comes out, as it were, officially this afternoon but the Washington Post is reporting it's findings that gays in the military are not an issue with roughly 94% of those surveyed. Hopefully, this internal study will put an end to all the excuses that have drawn out the repeal of this unfortunate policy since President Obama stated his intent to end it more than a year ago.  It's now up to Congress to vote on it quickly before the end of the current session and the end of their democratic majority.

I've always found this whole debate over the issue incredibly frustrating since gays and lesbians have been an integral part of the US military for decades.  Their role in WWII is especially well-documented in the remarkable non-fiction book "Coming Out Under Fire" by Allan Berube. So it's about time they are allowed to serve openly and honestly in the noblest of missions; defending our freedoms.  

Nostalgia Rides The Rails For Christmas

The MTA is running some vintage trains for the holidays on special excursions.  Unlike previous rides where the special trains ran once for a extra fare of $20, this year you can ride one of the old R1/9 cars for the price of a regular fare swipe.

The trains will be running on the 6th Avenue line on Sundays from 10AM-4PM.   Also the MTA is even putting some vintage buses into service as well.  You can catch one on 34th Street in Manhatan and other lines throughout the city.  For details on these trips to the past, you can check the MTA website for lines and depature times.

It's Oscar Season....Brace Yourself

Oscar season is ramping up in the next few weeks as studios big awards campaigns go into full swing.  The major contenders right now seem to be "The Kings Speech", "The Kids Are Alright" and "Toy Story 3", if Disney gets its way.  Anyway, this video is a great spoof of all Oscar-aspiring movies and their oh-so-familiar trailers.  Check it out...

NetPix: Bored To Death, Season 1

I haven't had a good NetPix in a while as I haven't really seen any good movies on DVD.  I've been mainly watching a lot of TV in my queue.  But a newish show that I recently saw was last year's freshman season of "Bored To Death".  This HBO series starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifanakis and Ted Danson, is one of the funniest shows I've seen in quite a while.  It's unique brand humor treads that fine line between the sublime and ridiculous, like the original "Seinfeld" did though in a much more subdued manner.

The series is centered around a Brooklyn writer named "Jonathan Ames" (who also happens to be the real-life scribe behind the show) who becomes an amateur detective after placing an ad on Craigslist.  It's a simple setup for some complicated story lines which often lead to hilarious shenanigans.  My favorite episode was one in which Jonathan attempts to retrieve a married man's sex tape and enlists his friends for a long, loopy night of adventure in New Jersey. Ted Danson, playing a magazine editor who is a bit of a senior stoner, is fantastic as he yearns for adventure after tiring of his wealthy, A-list, Manhattanite existence.  It seems that he, more than Jonathan, is the one who is bored to death.

Another charm of the series is its mixture of real-life and fiction, especially when it comes to the Ames character.  Jonathan is very much a TV doppelganger for the author's publicly stated interests and obsessions, such as boxing, Brooklyn and beer (or wine or vodka).  There is even an interesting collaboration with Zach's character, who is a graphic artist, which mirrors Ames' work with Dean Haspiel on their incredible graphic novel "The Alcoholic".  The show's focus on Brooklyn is unique as well, with a number of famous (Brighton Beach) and not so famous (Prisoner's Monument) local spots showing up and looking gorgeous.  The show is a true love letter to the BK and all it's quirky charms.

Season 2 just finished its first run on HBO recently.  It almost makes me want to get cable so I can watch it on-demand.  Almost.  I am dying (ha) to see what happens to this happy gang in the next go-round.

We Interrupt This Program...

It was 47 years ago today that a live broadcast of the soap opera "As The World Turns" on CBS was interrupted at 1:40pm.  What followed was the first audio report out of Dallas, Texas about an assassination attempt on President Kennedy.  It is riveting stuff and truly, as they say, the first draft of history.

The announcer is not Walter Cronkite and his voice is uncertain.... he even stumbles a couple times as he clearly reads copy that he just ripped off the wire.  The soap was interrupted twice more during it's half-hour broadcast as more details came in, like the number of shots, the fact that the Texas governor was wounded, and a report of assassins on the infamous grassy knoll.  What is most striking about these early reports is how clear it is that the president's wounds are grave. There is even the inclusion in the third bulletin of a Secret Service agent reportedly saying, "he's dead."

While we're all familiar with Uncle Walter's official video pronunciation of Kennedy's death roughly an hour later, I had never seen/heard these live bulletins before. A friend posted them on FB and they are worth watching today as, once again, we remember a president who was shot down in his prime.

A Blast From The Future--New Video By Massive Attack

In stark contrast to yesterday's blast from the video past, today I have this new clip for a song by Massive Attack.  This is one of the coolest CGI-style music video's I've seen in a while.  Truly stunning visuals.  Watch and be amazed...


Massive Attack-Splitting the Atom-directed by Edouard Salier from edouard salier on Vimeo.