Did The Enterprise Even Have Closets?

(from advocate.com)

Actor George Takei, best known as Mr. Sulu on the classic TV series Star Trek , comes out of the closet in the new issue of Frontiers . Or rather, as he tells editor Alexander Cho, "It's not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It's more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen." In the interview, the 68-year-old actor also discusses his childhood in a Japanese-American internment camp, his 18-year relationship, his siblings' inability to accept his homosexuality, and the upcoming Los Angeles production of Equus in which he stars.

Take A Hint

Bill Maher made the following closing remarks on his most recent show on HBO:

"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend--you used up all of that. You can't start another war because you used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people. Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards maxed out. No one's speaking to you. Mission accomplished.

"Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man? Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't. I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela. Eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.

"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire city to rising water and snakes.

"On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, four airliners, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the City of New Orleans. Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.

"So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.'"

10 Reasons Gay Marriage Is Wrong

10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

7. Gay parents who DO raise children obviously will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed [or any of Rush Limbaugh's four marriages that ended in divorce].

4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

Are We Being Served?

This is especially poetic as the death toll for US troops in Iraq reaches 2,000. The following is a list of the service records of political figures from both the republican and democratic parties:

Democrats:
Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam. Paraplegic from war injuries. Served in Congress.
Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars, and Soldier's Medal.
Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
Chuck Robb: Vietnam
Howell Heflin: Silver Star
George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and AirMedal with 18 Clusters.
Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

Republicans -- and these are the guys sending people to war:
Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
Tom Delay: did not serve.
Roy Blunt: did not serve.
Bill Frist: did not serve.
Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
Rick Santorum: did not serve.
Trent Lott: did not serve.
John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
Jeb Bush: did not serve.
Karl Rove: did not serve.
Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.
Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
Vin Weber: did not serve.
Richard Perle: did not serve.
Douglas Feith: did not serve.
Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
Richard Shelby: did not serve.
Jon Kyl: did not serve.
Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
Christopher Cox: did not serve.
Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; got assigned to Alabama so he could campaign for family friend running for U.S. Senate; failed to show up for required medical exam, disappeared from duty.
Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat role making movies.
B-1 Bob Dornan: Consciously enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
Phil Gramm: did not serve.
John McCain: Vietnam POW, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
John M. McHugh: did not serve.
JC Watts: did not serve.
Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem," although continued in NFL for 8 years as quarterback.
Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
George Pataki: did not serve.
Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
John Engler: did not serve.
Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

Pundits & Preachers:
Sean Hannity: did not serve.
Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')
Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
Michael Savage: did not serve.
George Will: did not serve.
Chris Matthews: did not serve.
Paul Gigot: did not serve.
Bill Bennett: did not serve.
Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
John Wayne: did not serve.
Bill Kristol: did not serve.
Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
Ralph Reed: did not serve.
Michael Medved: did not serve.
Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
Ted Nugent: did not serve. (He only shoots at things that don't shoot back.)

(thanks to Cookie for the info)

More Smoke And Mirrors

(from ABC News)

It was billed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but the questions President Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday's vote on a new Iraqi constitution.

"This is an important time," Allison Barber, deputy assistant defense secretary, said, coaching the soldiers before Bush arrived. "The president is looking forward to having just a conversation with you." Barber said the president was interested in 3 topics:

-Overall security in Iraq
-Security preparations for the weekend vote
-Efforts to train Iraqi troops

As she spoke in Washington, a live shot of 10 soldiers from the Army's 42nd Infantry Division and one Iraqi soldier was beamed into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building from Tikrit the birthplace of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"I'm going to ask somebody to grab those two water bottles against the wall and move them out of the camera shot for me," Barber said. A rehearsal ensued.

Each soldier was individually directed to take the microphone upon specific questions being asked.

Before he took questions, Bush thanked the soldiers for serving and reassured them that the U.S. would not pull out of Iraq until the mission was complete. "So long as I'm the president, we're never going to back down, we're never going to give in, we'll never accept anything less than total victory," Bush said. The president told them twice that the American people were behind them. "You've got tremendous support here at home," Bush said.

Less than 40% in an AP-Ipsos poll taken in October said they approved of the way Bush was handling Iraq.Just over half of the public now say the Iraq war was a mistake.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday's event was coordinated with the Defense Department but that the troops were expressing their own thoughts. With satellite feeds, coordination often is needed to overcome technological challenges, such as delays, he said. "I think all they were doing was talking to the troops and letting them know what to expect," he said, adding that the president wanted to talk with troops on the ground who have firsthand knowledge about the situation.

The soldiers all gave Bush an upbeat view of the situation. The president also got praise from the Iraqi soldier who was part of the chat. "Thank you very much for everything," he gushed. "I like you." Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo told the president that she was in New York City on Nov. 11, 2001, when Bush attended an event recognizing soldiers for their recovery and rescue efforts at Ground Zero. She said the troops began the fight against terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and were proud to continue it in Iraq.

"I thought you looked familiar," Bush said, and then joked: "I probably look familiar to you, too."

Paul Rieckhoff, director of the New York-based Operation Truth, an advocacy group for U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, denounced the event as a "carefully scripted publicity stunt." Five of the 10 U.S. troops involved were officers, he said. "If he wants the real opinions of the troops, he can't do it in a nationally televised teleconference," Rieckhoff said. "He needs to be talking to the boots on the ground and that's not a bunch of captains."

A Friday Night Ponder

Isn't this an oxymoron or something?

So He Won't Be Using His Wand?

(from ananova.com)

David Copperfield says he plans to impregnate a girl on stage - without even touching her.

Speaking to German magazine Galore, the illusionist rejected the theory that there were only seven different kinds of magic tricks.

He said: "Bull s**t! There is a great deal of new territory to conquer. In my next show I'm going to make a girl pregnant on stage."

He added: "Naturally it will be without sex. Everyone will be happy about it, but I'm not telling you any more."

The magician is currently on tour in Germany with his show, An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion.

Blogger's Note: What can I say about this? Clearly the man has lost his mind. And honestly, what guy on the planet wants to have a kid without at least getting sex out of it first?

Carry On, Carry On

Here's something quite entertaining for my fellow Lost enthusiasts:

Lost Rhapsody

Torrey's Advice For Savvy Consumers

Take it from someone who works at an electronics store and has seen the returns come in; the ipod Nano is a piece of garbage. Don't fall victim to those cutesy commercials, although it is good to see Thing from The Addams Family is still finding work. Seriously though, I've seen more durability from uncooked pasta. Do not waste your money on this thing. And if you've already got one, chances are your screen looks like sandpaper has been taken to it, but beyond that, hopefully you're still within your 30-day return.

What More Can These People Get Away With?

Here's an editorial I came across earlier today that got my blood to boil:

Outrage Of The Week

We Aren't Asking For Much Here

Here's an article worth reading for my fellow Mainers:

The Connolly question

The Harsh Reality Of It All

(from CNN.com)

The big chill that blew through reality TV this summer is starting to look like a deep freeze.

Nearly every returning entry in the once white-hot genre is either flat or down among the broadcasters in primetime. Even unscripted's most reliable war horse CBS' Survivor, is flagging, down 19 percent in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic in the first three weeks of the year versus either the same period last year or the entire run.

Waka Waka

Not a lot of people know this, but Jim Henson created the term "Muppet" simply by combining the words marionette and puppet.

Flightplan Review

Highs

• As thrillers go, the plot that unfolds is relatively airtight- thanks to a sharp script by Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray.
• Flightplan could have easily fallen apart in the hands of a lesser director. But Robert Schwentke, a filmmaker who hails from Germany, manages to skillfully keep things tense and intriguing throughout a film that takes place almost entirely on-board an airplane.
• Major kudos to the script for having characters who ask the questions they should be asking. There were several instances during the movie that I thought to myself, "Hey what about...." and within moments that very question was answered. For the unique circumstances that unfold, great care was taken in making things seem plausible.
• From ambient sounds to comments made by passengers, the film does a great job of accurately portraying what an actual flight is like.
• Like you would expect, Jodie Foster plays her part like a pro. And Peter Sarsgaard continues to prove my hypothesis that any film is made better by his involvement.

Lows

• Some people have said that the ending of the film ventured a bit too far into Steven Seagal territory. While I can see what they are basing this on, I felt like for the most part a great deal of restraint was used in the final scene. It's a very thin line that has to be walked in ending a thriller. On the one hand you don't want people to throw up there hands in a collective, "Oh c'mon!" And on the other you don't want people leaving the theatre let down by the ending. Personally, I was fine with how things turned out.
• A person could also question how much ruckus someone would be allowed to cause on a plane these days without being restrained to a seat for the remainder of the flight. I feel like for the most part Jodie Foster played her part perfectly; out of pure fear for her child's safety she pushes as hard as she can but also shows a great deal of constraint at times knowing what the consequences of her actions might be. Hey, maybe in the real world she would have been handcuffed to her seat a half hour into the film but I'm not interested in watching a movie about Jodie Foster boarding a plane.

Torrey's Opinion:
5- Strongly Recommended
4- Recommended
3- A Mixed Bag
2- Sub-par
1- Don't Bother

Random related fact: In reality, both Sean Bean and Peter Sarsgaard are terrified of flying.

I Prefer Bruce

A text I got on my cell this morning from Cookie:

"What?! Nicholas Cage names new son Kal-El. Yep... Kal-El Cage. Child will inevitably kneel before Zod."

Make A Note Of It

I try to throw an educational post in here every so often- keep that brain matter churning and whatnot. Below are the 18 latest additions to the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:

• amuse-bouche (noun) 1984 : a small complimentary appetizer offered at some restaurants
• battle dress uniform (noun) 1982 : a military uniform for field service
• bikini wax (noun) 1985 : a procedure for removing pubic hair from the skin near the edge of the bottom half of a bikini by applying hot wax, covering the wax with a cloth to which the wax and hair adhere, and then peeling it off quickly
• brain freeze (noun) 1991 : a sudden shooting pain in the head caused by ingesting very cold food (as ice cream) or drink
• chick flick (noun) 1988 : a motion picture intended to appeal esp. to women
• civil union (noun) 1992 : the legal status that ensures to same-sex couples specified rights and responsibilities of married couples
• cybrarian (noun) 1992 : a person whose job is to find, collect, and manage information that is available on the World Wide Web
• DHS (abbreviation) : Department of Homeland Security
• hazmat (noun) 1980 : a material (as flammable or poisonous material) that would be a danger to life or to the environment if released without precautions
• hospitalist (noun) 1996 : a physician who specializes in treating hospitalized patients of other physicians in order to minimize the number of hospital visits by other physicians
• metadata (noun) 1983 : data that provides information about other data
• otology (noun) 1842 : a science that deals with the ear and its diseases
• retronym (noun) 1980 : a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun ["film camera" is a ~]
• SARS (noun) [severe acute respiratory syndrome] 2003 : a severe respiratory illness that is caused by a coronavirus (genus Coronavirus), is transmitted esp. by contact with infectious material (as respiratory droplets), and is marked by fever, headache, body aches, a dry cough, hypoxia, and usu. pneumonia
• steganography (noun) 1985 1 archaic : cryptography 2 : the art or practice of concealing a message, image, or file within another message, image, or file
• tide pool (noun) 1853 : a pool of salt water left (as in a rock basin) by an ebbing tide—called also tidal pool
• Wi-Fi (certification mark) —used to certify the interoperability of wireless computer networking devices
• zaibatsu (noun) 1947 : a powerful financial and industrial conglomerate of Japan

Blogger's note: Okay how cool is it that they included "brain freeze?" And another thumbs up for the addition of "civil unions." Our government may not recognize them, but gosh darn it, the dictionary does. I call that progress.

Torrey's Irrefutable Truths For The Week Of 10/02

Eugene Levy Will Sign-On To Any Project
Seriously, no matter how awful the script is he'll do it. I don't think the guy has any standards. He's even less prudent than Sam Jackson and that's no easy feat. I read the other day that Levy is the only former American Pie star to sign up for the direct-to-DVD sequel that's in the works.

Pixar Is The King Of Computer Animated Films
I watched Robots the other night and while the film was pretty good, it just didn't live up to the standards Pixar has set. Visually, Robots was fantastic but they just didn't have the story and dialogue to match. The writing was decent, but not great. I think there are two reasons that Pixar's features stand head and shoulders above the rest. Number One, they don't dumb down their product for the sake of kids. They write the stuff that they find entertaining and just make sure it's suitable for a general audience. And Number Two, Pixar doesn't rely on big names to sell their films. Take a look at movies like Robots and Shark Tale. You won't find a movie poster without the names De Niro, Berry, Brooks, Smith, Williams, McGregor and Jolie plastered across them. But then you have The Incredibles where the main character is voiced by the guy from Coach! But that didn't matter because Pixar chose character over star power and found the person they felt best fit the role. Pixar knows what's up.

Everyone Should Visit Las Vegas At Least Once
I can't imagine someone not having a good time in Sin City. Even if you don't like to gamble, there's plenty of other stuff to do. Great shows, pretty lights, delicious eats and elvis impersonators. I guarantee everyone in the world enjoys at least one of those four things. You can't really understand how unique Vegas is until you experience it for yourself. It's like you're in a bubble where the outside world is irrelevant and your only mission is to have a ridiculous time. It's kinda like someone put a giant Chucky Cheese for adults in the middle of the Nevada desert.

Never Get In Lois Lane's Way
So I inadvertently backed into Margo Kidder at the Boston Comic Con over the weekend. She came up behind me, no doubt on her way to break a story or something, and I didn't know she was there. It was really crowded where I was standing... I think I may have stepped on her foot as well; I'm not sure. My friend Cookie said she seemed pissed at me. Whatever, I'm just glad she didn't go all psycho like in that Family Guy episode. If you ever read this, Margo, it's polite to say excuse me.