Bother. Every college football game save three that I cared about today went in the wrong direction. At least Penn State won, and at least South Carolina's loss was to Florida, and hooray for Auburn. They have to win it all in order for me to enjoy the holiday bowl season.

In other news, I am glad that V.P. R.B. Cheney is apparently O.K. after being checked into a Washington-area hospital for apparent chest pains.

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Ugh. It's 0249 and I'm still hanging in there hoping for the best on the thing. I want e*trade to go out of business and the SEC to ruin their executives with long prison terms. Why? Because they're playing that cursed Jefferson Airplane song in their ads. I don't need to hear Paul Kantner or Marty Balin whining about "Got a revolution? Got to revolution!"

I may die and be component molecules in my casket before the 1960s and their worthless progeny are finished with this country. Bah! I'd much rather hear from Karen Carpenter and Carly Simon, if we are to hear ancient radio types doing ads.

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Land of Hope and Glory time, people! Because God's in His Heaven and all's right with the world, Erin Gray's Colonel Wilma Deering has triumphed in the TexasBestGrok weekly poll.

The final results are posted at the link above; 75 voters chose Colonel Deering for 53%, while 67 voters and 47% chose Princess Ardala. You latter folk line up over here; the NKVD assassins will be by later to deal with you.

The new poll is dealing with the women of Space: 1999. I've seen some of this series, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of people haven't. If you feel like voting, however, I'm recommending the gal who I think hung out with that ersatz Alphan porn star-wannabe, Paul Morrow: Tanya Alexandria. She's in second, as of this writing.

UPDATE: The Space: 1999 poll is closed, and Tanya Alexandria remained in second, finishing behind some nominally Asian gal. Tanya was able to edge out the second-season addition, Catherine Schell's Maya, while also leaving Barbara Bain's Dr. Helena Russell, M.D., in the dust. Hooray.

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P.J. O'Rourke has some remarks on things that Bush should say/have said in the debate of last night. Much thanks to The Weekly Standard for running a piece by P.J.

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Friends and neighbors, there comes a time when a man has to take a stand for something, a cause for which all must be sacrificed and nothing short of absolute victory accepted. I'm not talking about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which is understood to mean the private ownership of property, but the victory of Erin Gray's Colonel Wilma Deering over Pamela Hensley's Princess Ardala.

These two actresses, and their characters, hailed from the late 1970s/early 1980s NBC camp sci-fi program, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Both had the regrettable duty of playing love interests to the dimwitted Gil Gerard, who hammed his way through the title role. I'd post pictures, but something's afuzz with my FTP access, and I can't do that right now.

Anyways. Wilma's a babe in Lycra, and she's one leg of the Holy Trinity of 1970ish Sci-Fi Television. Just punch that name into Google, and see what you get. She's far better looking than the evil Princess Ardala, and could use your support. Head on over to TexasBestGrok, and look on the left, where you can cast a vote, once per day, for this beautiful gal. See here for the post on the poll. Yours truly has already signalled his support for Wilma.

Enthusiastic waving of the Wisconsin hat to The Llama Butchers, where a campaign for Wilma's victory began and continues. To steal from a bumper sticker I see regularly, vote "W" in '04, whether it be W. the President or Wilma the Colonel.

A prior positive reference to Colonel Deering appeared here.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 11:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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...to loathe Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

It's been a while back, but apparently the driver of the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo said, "Hey, it'll be a good bonding experience no matter what your political belief. It's a good thing as an American to go [Fahrenheit 9/11]." This information comes from a blogger's re-posting of a letter from the disingenuous filmmaker himself, so I doubt it's admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence, but hey, nobody said due process applies in giving the shiv to DEI's star driver.

Irate tip of the Wisconsin hat to Moolies.

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On the way to church this morning, I had the radio on and was listening to whatever stations the thing would pick up. It's a loaner, and I hadn't gotten my standard stations programmed into the pre-sets at that point; moreover, the reception on it's a bit dodgy at times.

So with that in mind, I hear the lyrics to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", one of the bigger hits from the soundtrack to Top Gun. I spent my youth in the 1980s, so I naturally saw Top Gun probably a dozen times or more. Yep, I'm in love with the F-14 Tomcat. Wanted to be a naval aviator until I realized that they didn't take people who wore glasses to be fighter pilots. Sob, eh. (Small wonder that I gravitated towards Max Sterling in later years, no?)

But, as I listened, I realized, "That's not Berlin! My God, what is this?" It was done in that now popular overly emotive torturous (to the ears, anyways) supposedly soulful whining so typical of Christina Aguilera et al. Luckily, the road I was on is both straight and broad, or else I might've been in danger of a wreck. The song is that bad.

Anyways, a bit of surfing taught me that it was Jessica Simpson who did the cover. Harrumph! Lights are dim and the building's been bulldozed-dumb Jessica Simpson (who coincidentally looks a lot like Nicole Brown Simpson for some reason) has soiled one of the better songs to escape movie soundtracks of the 1980s.

As I once read in Peanuts, "You can't go home again." Even if I wasn't looking for the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, a classic song of youth has been spoiled by a dim-bulb blonde of marginal talent. Gah.

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So I watched the new NASCAR reality program, and here's my initial responses:

1. Kevin Harvick is a weenie. Son, you're not worthy to drive a car with 'GOODWRENCH' on the side. (Actually, if you want to succeed Earnhardt, nobody is. --Ed.)

2. Wow, Rusty Wallace is rich. It must be nice to have a house in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees as far as the eye can see. Ditto having helicopters to pick you up and a Learjet 31A to tool around in while hunting sponsors.

3. I've never had anything against Kenny Wallace, and although I've got absolutely no use for Stacker2's YJ Stinger product line, I'm going to find a way to throw some support towards one of the lesser Wallaces. That guy's a hard-workin' man who could use some fans. Good luck and God bless, eh.

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Whoops, I almost forgot:

In commemoration of the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo, I grabbed an album and played a song. It wasn't exactly a mariachi favorite, though. To wit, the song I chose was none other than:

"Cinco de Mayo", from whip-smart by Liz Phair.

I don't recommend her albums to a family audience, but I sure like 'em, and she would feature heavily on the college soundtrack. Check out the lyrics to her "CdM": more...

Posted by: Country Pundit at 11:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Grab a trashcan or an emesis basin, 'cause you're gonna need it shortly: 'Matrix' co-creator ready to be whole new woman, says the Chicago Sun-Times.

It's a good thing I'm too full of pizza to puke, 'cause otherwise I'd probably be doing more than saying "Ewww....dissssssssssssgusting!"

Real men don't let their brothers grow up to be women. Of course, if I'd turned in that stinker known as The Matrix: Revolutions, I'd probably want to make a substantial change in my life, too. Admittedly, if I were in Larry's shoes, I think I'd start with ditching the dominatrix. On the other hand, this article does explain where they got all the gear for the stand-off with the Merovingian in his club.

At least we'll always have Andy, but I'm curious as to how they'd be billed in any future cinematic endeavours. "The Wachowski Twins", perhaps?

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to INDC Journal.

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It's an article of faith that the best way to prevent yourself from being robbed is to make yourself a difficult target, yes? Likewise, the nation of riflemen must be armed and then nobody will mess with you, correct? Of course.

But then, someone goes and comes up with a better way to prevent being robbed. This just in, from Gaza:

Rather than give up his explosives, the [suicide] bomber detonated them, killing himself and the two robbers near the border fence between Gaza and Israel. Palestinian security officials said the gunmen were criminals who were involved in a car theft ring that brought stolen vehicles from Israel to Gaza.

The robbers were immediately denounced as "agents of Israel" by a Hamas official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Ostensibly, he's hoping to avoid the Hellfire how-do-you-do from a hovering Apache. The source also pointed out that, "Anyone who tries to stop a fighter from doing his work is a collaborator." On the other hand, Palestinian security forces declared the robbers to be ordinary thieves.

The full story is available from Ireland On-Line.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to Interested-Participant

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This is the first time I've ever actually seen the whole thing. Frankly, I'm glad my college years weren't like that. Better to er, not have something to explain, you know. In the words of a former President, "In order to preserve future political viability..."

Anyways, while watching the uber-polished and super-slick face of Omega House president Greg Marmalard, it struck me that I'd seen his face somewhere before. I thought about it throughout the movie, and then I realized it: He looks like Jennifer Garner. Wowsers.

Has anyone ever seen these two together at the same time? Could be...

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A half-century ago, it was common to fund war debt by the Government's hideously everpresent campaign to "BUY WAR BONDS NOW OR ELSE OUR BOYS DIE HORRIBLY". We seem to have gotten past that---maybe the bond market isn't quite what it used to be---but the President at one point encouraged people to go spend money.

Since then, war and its impact on the civilian populace have changed. Instead of lining up for ration cards that cover sugar, gasoline, and other things, we're sitting around complaining because gas is increasing in price or grousing because the stock market's not back to 12,000 as it was during the years of Hope and Glory.¹

Anyways. Since the economy's supposedly a defining factor of our progress in the war against Islamist terror---like USA, Inc. is going to be taken over by al-Qaeda, LLC in a tender offer---the President has indeed urged us to go out and spend money. By the way, that helps his re-election effort too.²

Since I'm going to be a spectator to the war effort---if it's ever necessary for me to be on the field of battle, then manpower's the least of our worries---I've often wondered just what the heck I'm supposed to do. Well, mindful of the President's advice, I went out in recent periods and loaded up on DVDs:

The Final Countdown
Kill Bill, Volume 1
The Matrix: Revolutions (Yeah, I've got the other two; might as well...)
National Lampoon's Animal House
K-19
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Go figure. I've done my part, yet again, for the war economy and for the re-election of President George W. Bush. I expect my post in the Department of Defense or Department of Transportation to be passed out immediately. Paging Donald Rumsfeld and/or Norman Mineta... more...

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According to the little day-by-day calender in my carrel, today is the birthday for Mr. George Takei.

George Takei, when not appearing as a South Vietnamese officer or North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho (nearly 30 years apart), also had a role in Star Trek, as Hikaru Sulu. Mr. Sulu started as a science type in his earliest appearances and then moved to Enterprise's helm for the next twenty years. Sulu finished his broadcast & motion picture run as commander of NCC 2000, USS Excelsior in 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Takei also took a dip into politics, with an unsuccessful run for Los Angeles City Council in 1973. For more on this guy, who's been working hard since 1956, see his official biography.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 07:34 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I've met him a couple times, and heard him sing "Waltzing Matilda". He's a nice guy

Posted by: Ith at April 20, 2004 07:48 PM (Q8zt1)

2 Heh! I'm glad to hear he's a nice guy. I'd be amused at hearing an American of Japanese extraction sing the national anthem (de facto if not de jure) of Australia. Talk about your culture clash! I'd hoped (vaguely; never got involved with anything) that he'd get to anchor the next Star Trek series before "Enterprise" was announced, as captain of Excelsior. Alas, no such luck.

Posted by: The Country Pundit at April 20, 2004 07:59 PM (QUo4+)

3 I'd hoped the same thing.

Posted by: Ith at April 20, 2004 09:00 PM (Q8zt1)

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One of the more interesting things to do during the period of open hostilities with the Baathist regimes was to watch TV news for updates. Me, I found Fox News useful for one thing alone, namely Jennifer Eccleston.

Sure enough, I'd use Fox's Web-based correspondent archive to catch up on what the gal entitled "Miss Shock and Awe" or "The Desert Fox" (with apologies to Rommel) had to say. Silly? Probably. Amusing? You betcha. A solid use of bandwidth that otherwise would have been taken by undergrads downloading MP3s from a then-functional peer-to-peer network.

Anyways. With the fall of the Saddam Hussein statue, I once again ignored television news and gradually forgot about the gal I once referred to as "Jenny Ec". An off-hand search through Google today led me back to the largest Eccleston fansite that I know of, jennifer-eccleston.com.

There, it's revealed that Eccleston is now working for the NBC News group, and she's still overseas. I don't know when she left FNC, but she's been with NBC News since some time in late March, it would appear. If NBC's websites weren't tied up in the horrific mess that constitutes msn.com, I'd go around and dig up the official page, if any, for her. The last known report filed by my favorite foreign correspondent was on 11 April 2004 from the Vatican, in the nine o'clock hour on NBC's Today program.

Hooray for her employment.

Today's blogging has been weak due to the fact that I've been tied up with academic responsibilities, which even I can't get around to shirking. In related news, I'm slipping back in the Ecosystem rankings. Bother!

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Does anyone know anything good about the 1996 Julia Roberts vehicle Mary Reilly? It got recommended to me by Amazon the other night, and I'm debating as to whether I ought to go and look for the thing.

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Everyone's heard of a movie where improbable events take place aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier, right? It stars the Grumman F-14A Tomcat, has a romantic side-plot for the women to pay attention to, a lead who later becomes a player on an NBC television drama, and gorgeous aviation footage.

Top Gun, right? Wrong.

I'm talking, of course, about The Final Countdown, a 1980 motion picture starring Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Katharine Ross, Charles Durning, and Ron O'Neal, with a score by John Scott. more...

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Today, the first of April, is Grace Lee Whitney's birthday. The world knows her for playing Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand, first as a yeoman aboard NCC-1701 U.S.S. Enterprise on TV and then as Communications/Operations Officer aboard NCC-2000 U.S.S. Excelsior.

Happy birthday, Ms. Whitney.

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It appears that, according to the Internet Movie Database, Mel Gibson isn't finished mining the Middle East for religiously-themed movies:

[Gibson] wants to make a movie about the origins of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Gibson - who was criticized by some quarters of the Jewish church, who accused his epic The Passion Of The Christ of blaming Jews for Jesus Christ's death - has hinted he may make a filmed account of the Revolt Of The Maccabees, the story behind Hanukkah.

The 46-year-old says, "The story that's always fired my imagination is the Book of Maccabees. "The Maccabees family stood up, and they made war. They stuck by their guns and they came out winning. It's like a western." The Maccabees led a three year war, 200 years before the birth of Jesus, against Antiochus, a king who forced the Jews to worship false gods. The war led to the liberation of Jerusalem.

Gibson's interest in Jewish history concerns the Jewish Anti-defamation League. National director Abe Foxman says, "My answer would be, 'Thanks but no thanks.' The last thing we need in Jewish history is to convert our history into a western."

--

Well, if Mel makes it, I'll watch it. I'm not Jewish (y'think?) and so I'd probably miss out on the culture-specific tidbits, but it couldn't be all bad. As for the odious Abe Foxman, I would suggest that the last thing Jewish history needs is someone like him trying to control it.

A good swords 'n sandals epic about a revolution against an oddball king which leads to victory (in the short term) and the establishment of Hannukah would probably be interesting. We know that Gibson would be faithful to whatever source material his research people could turn up. Phooey on you, Foxman.

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Long-time readers know that I was really fond of Cate Blanchett's turn as Galadriel in The Fellowship of the Ring. This stands in stark contrast to Joseph Pearce, who prattled something about Galadriel-as-Mary, mother of Jesus and how Blanchett was "disturbed and disturbing". Right. It's my understanding that Mary's turn in history was as mother to Jesus, not as some ageless and immortal insurrectionist sorceress, which is what I understand Galadriel was up to before we got around to the Age of Men. At any rate, Blanchett's Galadriel was a babe, and although I didn't think much of the green scene, I didn't let it detract from my overall enjoyment of the performance.

Anyways, I was browsing the blogroll and found something from Mr Free Market:

Petite Kylie Minogue missed out on a part in Lord of the Rings - because she is too small.Director Peter Jackson reckoned the pop star did not measure up.She wanted to play the part of elf queen Galadriel.But she lost out to fellow Aussie Cate Blanchett, who at 5' 9" is nine inches taller.

I'm not sure what I would have thought of this. Miss Minogue, although a good looker in her own right and everything, probably couldn't carry the "Immortal Ice Queen of Lorien" vibe like Cate Blanchett did. Plus, I haven't the foggiest as to how well Minogue can act. Sure she can prance about on stage, reinvent her career on several occasions, and be featured in the Sydney Olympics (!) but that doesn't automatically translate into qualifications for Galadriel. On the other hand, Cate Blanchett's breakthrough role was playing a woman who got hailed as an icon of an era, and I would think that such experience would mean more.

Nevertheless, Mr Free Market is true to his British roots and includes a wee little JPEG that makes reading his original entry all worthwhile.

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