Movie Review

SALT

Salt is a movie, allegedly. It should be an acronym for Sucks A Lot, Truly

This is a movie about a cougar who is involved with the CIA, the ex Soviet Union, a spider man, and she runs around beating and being beaten for over an hour, and the movie has neither middle nor ending. It is no more plausible in plot than casting Angelina as a 25 year old is credible.
Maybe she is allowed to be 30 in this. No, I think you are supposed to think she's twenty something. Her husband is a twenty something, I think. The guy who played Wally on the Beaver was probably older than this guy when he was still playing a high school kid.

If you like theater of the absurd, this is for you. It almost could have been good, but to do that, everything would have had to have been done differently.
Rename it Revenge of the Cougar, and make other changes from there.

It's like watching the middle twenty minutes of a thirty minute temper tantrum. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie.
You'd expect better from the big names.
Yea, I buy it when Angelina drops thirty feet onto a semi traveling 70 mph and when she hangs on to the side of another truck by her finger tips. I wouldn't have bought these stunts even when she was the age she is playing here. They are just over the top stupid stunts. And I'm one who can suspend skepticism easy to buy any story. I do it in my own life all the time.

Really really bad for the money they put into it.

Perhaps It Takes One To Know One

I've noticed in the last few years the increasingly common use of the word idiot in matters of politics and philosophy. Frankly, I do not consider most of my philosophical opposites to be anything akin to idiots. Most are possessed of good minds and, often, even good hearts.

The rift between our views generally stems from differing basic premises. That is generally in the realm of how we view authority, and the individual.

I remember during the last election getting update emails from candidate Lutz campaign people in which they called the opponent an idiot, among other things. This took the place of expanding upon why his views, or statement in question, demonstrated reason that he shouldn't be elected, and why I should vote for the grandstander, Lutz. His first name eludes me at the moment.

I do not consider Lutz an idiot at all. I do not agree with his policies or view of government function.

I've seen the same trend in all sorts of discourse on the internet, and even heard it when out and about and someone makes a comment regarding people with whom they disagree. In some cases there may be nothng else to say, but, in most cases, there is real room for discussion. Why is a person's view wrong?

Often, I hear people claim that the tea party people are idiots. Why is this so? And are all of them the same? I've heard well spoken people claim that this movement only includes a push for limited government, cutting spending, and not raising taxes to reduce the deficit and debt. Allegedly, according to those people, they support reducing the power and size of government.
Now, many of the tea people may espouse other causes, but if the actual tea party line is as stated above, I do not find that idiotic. Or even distasteful.

Maybe it is when people dress in garb from the 1770's and such at rallies, the message is lost in the peculiarity of the messenger. I suppose it is like those who think God and Jesus spoke in old English, so when they get involved in matters holy, they might begin a statement with "And so the Lord sayeth unto them...", as if it is holier to use archaic language which wasn't even the tongue of the times in question.

Then again, maybe the dress up bit is a sort of tribute to admired people of the past. I'm not big on Halloween, so masquerade opportunities are rarely seized by me.

Whatever the case, someone can dress up like a she-wolf in a tutu, and if he espouses a view that governmental power ought to be limited to bare essentials and individual rights be as broad as civilly possible, then I have to agree. He's not pushing his sense of fashion on me so what do I care. It is the substance of the argument and belief system that is in question, and I might agree with it.

There are those who feel it is government's job to ensure the benevolence of all of us by deciding who should get what help and how income ought to be spent and distributed. I personally think all the middle men that entails causes as many or more problems than it solves, and I see it as a form of theft. However, I don't think those of that mind are idiots. They just think that people, left to their own devices, would leave their less fortunate countrymen bleeding by the side of the road. And they assume that the citizenry wouldn't fight when they should, so they manage ways to get them to fight wars which they otherwise might not. There is a high degree of deception involved, and the larger the body of authority, and broader its scope, the more prevalent the false information and pretense.

As far as people bleeding in the ditch, my view is that they are most likely in that condition due to the abuses of powers that be. Probably got beat up by El Cajon Highway patrol for having a Southern accent.

It could be I find that trend unpleasant because I, myself, am more idiotic than I would like, and fear the times when anyone might notice. On the other hand, it may be that it is a defense mechanism; if you can't articulate your position, or why the other person's position is no good, and you feel the need to please a certain social group, then just calling the assumed enemy idiots may be your only out. It leaves you appearing to view yourself as superior, and with any luck, others will buy it.


There are many people in high places who aren't all that smart. But they aren't idiots. Just people of barely average brain power, and fluid values, who are good at whoring.

It does amuse me a bit that people actually started throwing around talk of IQ, in recent political battles, without having a clue what someone's actual numbers were. And in some cases tossing out challenges like, "I'll put my IQ up against his any day". That sure proves a lot.

High IQ neither ensures your goodness nor your ability to deal with civilization. If I'm not mistaken, Ted Bundy, and probably many other psychos, had a high IQ.

Anyway, labeling people "idiots" doesn't serve to convince me they are wrong, stupid, or anything else, without a little more evidence. Even idiots can sometimes be right, and even geniuses can be wrong and evil. Come to think of it, if a very rich idiot offered me a high paying job doing next to nothing, I'd be his or her biggest fan.

Most of the problems come down to two basic views: 1.live and let live, 2.I live as I like and you must live as I like

Thought of a New Word, or so

There are some areas of the country--certainly some communities in CA--which have rules (or groups pushing for them) regulating when and if one can use his/her/its fireplace.

I was thinking a good word for a fireplace activist would be PYRANT

Maybe the current trend toward taking literally what your intellectual adversaries mean figuratively, and using it against them in public and political discourse, would be called LINGUISTICUFFS
---and I suppose a person who engaged in such activity would be a LINGUGILIST(from pugilist, etc)

I have no idea why I thought of those things.

Now I'm wondering if the Fred Phelps crew could most politely be called FAGNOSTICS. Polite is not easy to muster when dealing people who pretend to speak for God so they can cause misery and difficulty for others. It is a radical case of people who place themselves in the judgement seat, unasked and uninvited, so they can avoid ever having to engage in any serious introspection. Sick pups. Basically aberrant humans. If only they'd go on a kool aid binge... (can I say that? or will this land me in hot water?)
Guess we'll stick to "useful imbeciles". How so many people can be nuts at once and in the same family could most likely be due to inbreeding, and cross breeding of the inbred.
Big question is: Who funds them? I'd bet it is someone who wants to silence legitimate dissent. They'll keep pushing with their atrocious abuse of free speech until measures are taken. And those things rarely stay confined to the context of the original target.
If there are enough like-minded people around to bankroll that outfit, Yikes!

I mean, if I was into racial strife and wanted to fire up people to feel threatened enough to run toward kkk and the like, I'd do all I could to promote the New Black Panthers, especially ones like the guy who hates every iota of a cracker. And vice versa.

The westmoron group is planning to hit the area to protest a high school play in Coronado. WTF?
The Navy SEALS train in the area. Old Fred and his daughter/wife/cousin/sister and the rest of the family tree best be careful.
And they wonder how anything like the Spanish Inquisition ever gained momentum---people like that are out there, and even get shown on TV.

Digging Alpine

It must work along the lines of the old adage that possession is nine tenths of the law. Even though the SDGE issue is still in the courts they are proceeding as if it is all settled. This s regarding the powerlink project which involves a gerrymandered path through east Sand Diego county to link Mexican power to California.

It's painted with the sacred word, "green", because they claimed that it would link a solar project and wind energy from the desert. The solar thing is dead; the company went belly up, and their design and concept was seriously flawed from the start. In this case the logical use of solar would be at the point of usage--on buildings and houses, not a hundred miles away transported through wires on towers. The wind is not very effective since it only works for a narrow band of wind conditions. Besides, they are in the courts because the Indian tribes are not pleased with proposed construction through burial grounds.

The Mexican connection is well documented--not propaganda put out by the disgruntled. The company that owns SDGE also has holdings down there in the form of power plant projects on the border. Got to be a better way, but rather than seriously think about it people assume that government and sanctioned monopoly, using eminent domain, is the only choice.

Anyway, they are already digging up Alpine Blvd., causing traffic delays and impeding access to businesses. It is a sad sight, but these things happen when people are fed misinformation and don't know what hit them until it is too late. I consider it another of Arnold's legacies to California. He turned out to be a wannabe despot, who appears to think benevolent dictatorship is a desirable thing. Listening to him it became clear that he has no more concept of what a constitutional republic designed to protect individual freedom means than do the ladies on the View.

I'm glad I do not have a shop or small business anchored in Alpine or any number of areas out here. Next thing will be when they start construction on Ballistic mountain. Goodbye cell signal, such as it is. And pity the homeowners. I do not think it will help property values; even SDGE admits they do not know the consequence to the water supply, and claim the fire hazard is "unmitigable".

So, here we go. I guess I have to realize I can't live in this spot forever. For one thing I only rent. For another The construction is not likely to be without consequence, noise-wise, and concerning traffic up and down the hill.

Maybe the court proceedings will not take forever and it will be stopped before too late. Chances look slim, considering that they are already tearing up roads and annexing private property. All for the greater good, allegedly.

Oh well. What can you do? These things make it tough to come in from the fringe when your starting point is like mine. Vagabond for life, I guess.

But I still have today with no need to pack up, so I'll just work to change what needs it in my own life. That covers a lot. And it is not at all easy. If I do not change a number of things, the consequences could be grave. A normal person would find the things I need to do a piece of cake. For that reason I often regret being not so normal.

The most bizarre fact of all is that they have never actually established a need for this, considering there is actually a surplus of electricity is this area and demand is not growing.

Care should be taken before supporting the tyranny that shrouds itself in a green cloak, or pretends to be a savior of the earth itself. Behind the claims there is often no substance supporting the facade, and a lot of people get hurt.

Imagining Jury Duty; California style

I'm looking forward to this excursion into the world of jurisprudence (or imprudence)

It's fairly certain it will be just like the picture above.
The eye patch is so I can get better parking and everyone will think I'm a badass.

***[no, I do not really use or possess any medical weed. Not ruling it out though]

The Demonization of Metaphor and Figure of Speech: dumb em down

***[or: fun with italics]****

In predictable authoritarian, and self proclaimed victim form, there are people in actual positions of power who now want to curb speech in order to make everyone safe. The truth is, they want to curb everyone's speech who doesn't fall in step with their designs.

If it gets to the point that you cannot speak of targeted, putting something in the cross-hairs, and can't use the word eliminate, defeat, squash, or who knows what, it is going to be tough to say anything. It gets to the point where use of the language becomes damned near impossible. Using allegory, illustration, all that kind of thing, is a way of expressing a thought in more robust form.

It is part of the dumbing down process. If someone says, "Hey that is one killer guitar player!!", do you think it will induce the deranged to commit murder?

There's one guy who wants it to be illegal to say or print anything that could be taken as violent symbols against public officials. If that is not pure elitism at its finest... It is kind of funny when these scum ask for special treatment. Elite paranoia, we call that in the trade.

Enough of that, I have my own scattered life to contend with. On the edge, ready to lock and load-or hoping to- to tackle and vanquish the demons that hold me in a grip of exhaustion, and inaction. OK. Does that sentence tend to make you want to go buy weapons and discharge them irresponsibly?

She was like a deer caught in the headlights---oops, don't do this at home--do not run over people.

Sadly, despite my sorry life and problems I ought to be attacking, the spirit and point of free speech is very much threatened. It is being eroded in increments--for our own good. But people like it that way. The charm of going along with things is that you can pretend to be intelligent and stable, even though deep down you know you are rather dimwitted.

**** all of the above italicized words and phrases should not be viewed by children or those who may be influenced to do odd things. All those words and phrases are possible candidates for future consideration as hate speech or incitement not to go along and support you local sheriff, overlord, lawmaker, politician, cop, or other tax paid twit who knows what's best for you, and is dead set on enforcing such things whether you ike it or not****

++++as a friend of the court, I must say all the above was purely hypothetical and in no way indicates how I feel. I would never use the word "killer" in the same phrase as "guitar player". And have no idea what cross-hairs are. I think it is some kind of hair dresser slang.
So, if any of this may fall in forbidden speech territory, now or in the future, I am just letting people know what not to say, think, or draw.

Friend of the Court

May it please the court, I have jury duty.

Maybe I'll be picked for a case involving El Cajon Highway patrol who have done some mischief and abuse upon innocent citizens. Of course, being fair minded and impartial, I would put aside my personal feelings and go strictly by law, being sure to acquit on a technicality even though they are guiltier than charged.

The big drawback is that they don't let you address the court yourself.

It would be interesting if I got picked at all, and then if it involved a case concerning some law I don't even think should be on the books. That's when all the wise slogans come in to play--"It's the law!" "No one is above the law" etc.

Chances are, if they get to the point of interviewing me at all, they will quickly send me home.
"So, Mr Ballistic, would you put aside your own feelings and common sense and convict even if the law is stupid, and an ass?"
"No."
"Go home you rebel!"

The courthouse I go to is in El Cajon. Nothing to do about that. I guess it is easier than going all the way to the coast, although I'd almost rather go there.

You can go in up to two weeks prior to the actual day listed on the summons. I think I will go early and get it over with. The biggest drawback is that I can't stand the vibe and atmosphere of anything having to do with the crime and punishment system. It seems so arbitrary and unyielding, and capricious. I have almost no faith in the system at this point. The concept and how it is supposed to work, I understand, but it hasn't worked that way for a very long time. Riffraff slides by while people who mind their own business and don't work for government are at greatest risk of harassment. Or so it seems.

People on their own turf, in a building they can lock down, who carry guns and disarm you at the door, are hard for me to trust. I suppose I am inordinately predisposed to some sort of phobia toward the type of authority you find in the garden variety courthouse. I'll need to be sure not to answer questions in a way that puts me on Homeland security's list of people who don't go along. Distrust and dislike of government are considered signs of mental illness, or they are trying to establish that view. Now, whether the distrust and paranoia are well founded is irrelevant. You do what you are told and you better like it, young man. And I don't mean perhaps.

So, I will try to behave. They may actually have accidentally rounded up some real criminals by mistake.

The BIG PRETENSE Continues some more

The complete break from reality I am hearing as a response to the killings in Tucson is as frightening as the fact that there are complete lunatics running loose. It may be uncool to disagree when Palin or Tea Party people are up for scorn and ridicule, but I tend to think the truth is less uncool.

Sarah Palin is not the culprit here. The insane talk I've heard re talk radio and anything not left wing is so far out of the park that those people would never convince me of anything. Did they ever listen to Air America? There was serious hate expressed over the air, and many suggestions of ways to kill Bush, Cheney, and others. Also many odd sexual references which would have presumably not been fun for the victim. I do not think they were actually inciting assassination, but it was far closer than any of the talk radio being blamed for this murder spree.

The absurd thing is that the guy has not been shown to be a talk radio listener, Sarah Palin fan, or a tea party person. He has been shown to apparently read the Communist Manifesto, Hitler's Mein Kampf, the New Republic magazine.

I find it odd that when a guy, convincingly in league with the islamic jihadists movement, slaughters people on a military base, the same people who spouted their theories about the Tcson guy--painting him to be thick with their political enemies---still have yet to call the islamic lunatic what he is. There was all the caution not to rush to any conclusions, and on and on. Really, it is nuts.

The judge who was assassinated was a relatively conservative judge. A Bush appointee, I believe (which in no way guarantees not being as crazy as one appointed by Obama, or Stalin, himself.), however it does take wind out of sails of those who are painting this thing as a vast right wing conspiracy.

But, divisiveness works. If you ain't one of us, you're one of THEM! And people buy it. I'm not one of either. I'm much closer to those people on the Homeland security list who distrust government, despise an all encompassing authority, and who think if you have to have a government it ought to be held to strict boundaries--which is why they have a constitution--than I am to those who have been pontificating about causes for this murder and suggesting dumbass rules to further their names and power.

People like that obnoxious Joy Behar--really, women like that are such a turn off--think it is a joke and somehow stupid to complain if the ruling authority violates its boundaries. That is now the chic thing to say--oh what's with this constitution loving going on?
Idiots. No point explaining it. (There are people who use the word, but they don't read it or understand it either. And I think it gives government too much power--but nothing close to the power it has taken anyway)

So, we'll do like they did when other figures were shot and blame everything and everyone except the shooter. They've gone from "we all bear the blame. Ours is a sick society", to "It's because we got fried in the last election. It is the ugly talk of the election that did this. And talk radio". Gimme a friggin break.

I listen to both sides of the spectrum and catch radio frequently. There are things I think are off or incorrect, but I never have heard any of the usual suspects even begin to promote violence, or even intimidation by shouting and all that. I can't say the same for the Al Franken crowd. I had a hell of a time listening when he was on with, I can't think of that guy's name--they had a guy that was so angry and full of hate he couldn't issue a simple declarative statement of fact and back it up. It was sad. Really, that guy makes Hannity seem not at all annoying. And I find Hannity a bit annoying. I find all talk show people annoying who butt in when a caller is trying to say something. Half the time they jump to conclusions and don't get what is being said.

Even so, that won't spark the unstable to kill judges and democrats. It is more likely to spark people of that sort to assault the radio hosts.

OK. I spent too long. The problem is, that due to the Big Pretense, they are implying that speech and who can use it, and how, should be more closely monitored--controlled. And of course the complete morons of the world assume that making more gun laws will change everything.

All the while we still ignore the fact that everyone knows exactly which neighborhoods they can enter if they want to get shot, raped, tortured, beat, and/or robbed. And we'll pretend it is not a racial matter. Whatever the reasons for it, obviously it has been handled in some way that made it worse. Probably because people pretended right was wrong and up was down.

You cannot fix anything by pretending something other than the problem is the problem. Academia types have become addicted to the big pretense. I heard some twits on NPR talking in that reasoned affected academic tone about the ins and outs of all the causes of the Tuscon event. Like they have a clue.

I have a clue. The biggest problem which underlies everything is the goddam Big PRETENSE.

Break on Through to the Other Side

It felt like fourth and ten, and I had to go for it. Do or die.

That sounds very lame, dramatic, and a little cliche. Sorry. I'm a fan of going for it on fourth down. I like it when that happens. This is why I don't gamble in the context of betting or in casinos. I tend to jump without a parachute, so to speak. From high places.

This all has little to do with the barrier I'm talking about, even if it was beginning to seem like it. My barrier was that I was stuck on page 99 of my story, and I was thinking it sucks and that it was going to end up boring, slow, and ill conceived. Truthfully, I was thinking that is what you would think, and what anyone who has seen most of what I have up until now thinks.

Then I decided I get nowhere when I concern myself with what you think. No offense. It is just that I know myself well enough to know I care about what you think of any creative endeavor of mine, and it can make or break me if I am not real careful. Past experience tells me to just follow my instincts, and not let it bother me until the project is done. And even then to trust my own judgement.

There have been plenty of examples of this syndrome in my life, and almost without fail, if I yielded to doubts of friends or imagined negative response, it turned out I was wrong to give up on whatever it was. Imagining the rejection and disapproval before a thing is done, excluding the opportunity to fail fair and square, is stupid. OK, call me stupid.

A commitment to finish this thing was made early on. I'm not good at commitment or resolution. I have a friend back in NC who is solid like that. When JT resolves to do something, it is done. Doesn't matter how much hardship is involved. Matters out of his control may baffle him, but if he said he'd move the Empire state building to LA, brick by brick, by hand, using only a hammer, a trowel, and a wheelbarrow, he'd do it or die in the process. I hope he'll never see the need to do that.

Anyway, I was stuck at page 99. Finally I started making notes on a notepad trying to resolve a situation in the story. I forgot all about what anyone else may think. It has been a long time since I've written much with pen and paper, in my own script.

It still has to be typed now, and added to the ever growing file, and some things expanded from outline form, but I am way past page 100, and it feels like it is gaining some momentum. Blind faith. That's the foundation. I plow on because I have faith it will work out. Maybe not exactly how I think it will, but close enough, and possibly better. Possibly worse. The big deal here is to finish what I started.

The 100 page mark is a big deal. In my mind it is the crucial barrier to break. After that you're riding with the wind. Once it is finished, then I will edit the entire thing. And then I'll see what others have to say. Maybe during the editing process I'll allow limited, selective input--which I'll probably fight, ignore, and eventually heed. Then, we'll see.

The real story is baking in the back of my mind and I want to write it when this one is done. It's likely to have a lot more violence in it, but not because the topic is violent.

In short, the 100 page barrier has been shattered.

Those Without a Clue Find Blind Faith Useful

It helps to have a few obligations here and there in the realm of work and else--bills excluded. I do not find the same usefulness in obligations of that nature that some do. That's because I live with my head in the clouds, or so I was told once or twice. No argument.

That brings me to a pressing question: What the heck is synthetic oil made of if it isn't oil? I got a good deal so I put it in the car this time. Still determined to do the oil changes myself. After much worry and anxiety, I did the plugs last oil change. They aren't super easy to get to and I was worried about opening a can of worms, especially after reading some forum posts regarding changing plugs in a car like mine. Just like most math teachers, they made it seem more complicated than it is.

Finally, I decided I was being a wimp and underselling myself to think that I couldn't find a way to install plugs, not lose the socket down the deep abyss, and not cross thread the things even though they are 20 feet down in a hole. It was not much more trouble than changing oil.

See, that was an example of blind faith. I knew no one who had done it on this type car, and had no step by step guide. Experience and logic told me which wires went to the spark plugs, so, as is so often the case, I just followed the electricity. In hindsight I should have done it while the engine was running, then sued because no clearly legible placards in my language of choice were posted telling me not to change spark plugs while the engine is running. Where's John Edwards when you need him? Oh, I guess his late wife wondered the same thing.

Gives NC a bad name. Too bad. Tar Heels are the salt of the earth. Really.

In my defense, I will say I had to remove a thing or two; some of the stuff they have on late model cars whose purpose is either well disguised, unknown, or non existent. I love these new plugs whose electrodes don't look like the old type, and which don't require gapping. Made of plutonium or uranium or something. DO NOT EAT.

Once again, blind faith. How could I be sure these funny looking things would work at all? Ponder that while you eat my dust. A bit of Subris there. If you missed it, that's the condition of subaru smugness. Actually, I don't fit the Subaru mold any more than I fit the vegetarian stereotype. For that I am grateful, I think.

Stuck at page 100. Need to work out a few things and remove from mind any considerations of what anyone else will think, then I will plow on and finish this thing. Then I can write the other things that have come to mind. I better make notes about them before I forget. Or fall into another cycle of the blues. Yoyo man. That is what I tauntingly call myself these days. Then I resent myself for that and plot ways to beat myself up if I say it again.