“BITE MY SHINY PLASTIC ASS!”

Futurama Season IV came out on DVD a week ago Tuesday. I, of course, being the DVD-addict that I am, bought it. Breezed through all of the episodes in record time. And I am so incredible pissed that FOX cancelled the series. Sure, it’s a cartoon. And sure it’s a cartoon set in the future. But my GOODNESS! The social insight!

Take the episode “A Taste of Freedom.” Dr. Zoidberg has the whole planet hunting for his head when he eats the Earthican flag. The whole episode is about censorship, freedom, and marshmellows. And big crabs, too.

Watching it, I recalled a scene from “The American President”, when Andrew Shepard challenges his opponent, “You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can’t
just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.” Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.”

Amen!

I really think it is wrong what the members - women! - of Axis of Eve are doing to attract male attention to their cause. Oh. Wait. No I don’t.

… maybe I’m just excited about finally having this blog, but my gosh! I really do need to cut my fingers off, don’t I?

Many many years ago, when I was in high school, I worked at a Blockbuster Video in Columbia, Md. While there, a movie came out called “Lone Star.” It had (barely) a shelf on the new release wall, but an article in Newsweek had drawn my interest to it, and instead of waiting the 30-days before I could get it for free, I shelled out my hard earned money and rented it. It was a great movie! A little bit western, a little bit mystery, incredibly wonderful dialogue, and so many diverse plots running through the movie.

I recently became aware of a new movie by Lone Star’s director, John Sayles. Many of Lone Star’s cast - Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson - are returning for the film, a political thriller about a candidate running for governor (clearly modeled on a certain POTUS) whose campaign somehow becomes linked to a corpse in a lake.

Once I figure out how to put links in here … (help me, Tim!) Well, I’ll do it better. For now, just see below.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/newmarket/silver_city.html

I have a nice arrangement worked out where it comes to renting movies. I bring in hot wings three or four nights a week to the night manager at Blockbuster, Derick, and I get three or four movies a week to watch. This is a sort of an “over the counter” arrangement. He always eats the wings, I always watch the movies. Recently, I’ve rented Kill Bill vol. 1, Taking Lives (Angelina Jolie nude scene!!!!), Open Range, Good-Bye Lenin, Underworld, and The Gathering Storm.

Derick likes the wings I make, although he always comments, “You call THESE hot?” So far, I haven’t followed through on my threat to get some hot sauce from Andy Nelson’s BBQ.

(Funny story - about two weeks ago, I came into the shop where I work, and Neal said “Hey, try this BBQ sauce I got.” So I took a fry, dipped it into the sauce, and ate it. Ooops. Big mistake. The sauce wasn’t BBQ - it was a supremely hot sauce, and I had to down about four bottles of water before my throat felt normal again. The moral of this side story is that Andy Nelson’s sauce is heee-aaaahhhh-hot.)

The best way to make wings - and to make them hot - is thusly. First, run ‘em through the oven twice. While they’re cooking, mix up some hot sauce and crushed red peppers in a container. When the wings are cooked, saturate them in the sauce. Voila! Hot wings! Derick seems to like them, although I’m determined to get them hot enough that he’ll stop taunting me with, “You call these HOT?” I don’t quite know how I’ll get him, but I think some crushed jalapeano, some cajyan (did I spell that correct?) seasoning, and some of that Andy Nelson’s sauce (no, I’m not a paid promoter) will put Derick in his place.

Sixty-five years ago, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany invaded Poland and triggered the Second World War.

And so here I am, the first entry on my new blog, www.malnurturedsnay.net. My philosophy on this blog is “me” commenting on, oh, name it - politics, social commentary, books, movies, whatever.

It’s 10:30 or so, Wednesday night. I’m listening to Ron & Fez on Baltimore’s new talk station. Personally, I prefer the afternoon show, Out To Lunch.

I’m spending the night organizing some of my Lego collection - yes, yes, I was quite influenced by that infamous commercial to remain a “Toy’s R Us” kid. I’m also going to watch “Fog of War”, a documentary by Errol Morris about former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

I hope you tune back in in the future.