Get Paid To Watch A Movie

Desperate? They're paying schools to make kids watch the latest Creationism movie: The Expelled Challenge.

Welcome to the Expelled Challenge web site where we can help Christian schools raise up to $10,000 while educating their students, parents, and staff of the controversy that is surrounding the Intelligent Design and evolution debate. This is an extremely important project for those of us who believe our world was designed by a creator and not an act of random chance.

What is the reward? Generous donations can be awarded to schools according to the number of movie ticket stubs they turn in. By accepting this challenge, your school could be awarded a donation up to $10,000, just for bringing your kids to see this film!

The End Of Hollywood?

Uh oh... Myers fears Hollywood's end is near.

Longtime Hollywood publicist Julian Myers will turn 90 soon. And he worries the end may be near ... for Hollywood.

Myers frets that the WGA stalemate -- with all of its acrimony, vitriol and job losses -- is a harbinger of ill things for the industry.

"The strike impasse is speeding the end of Hollywood filmmaking and television production," says Myers, who has been working in the biz since 1939 and is still an IATSE member. "There are more union contracts coming up for renewal, and already unionists are crossing union lines. IATSE is urging its members to go right on through. Insults are being exchanged, faces will be bashed and fatalities are a possibility."

So what would happen if Hollywood entertainment really "died?" Independent filmmakers would flourish, TV viewership would decline, and big-name celebrities would have to think about how to make their money last.

Here's the official Web site of Julian Myers PR. It looks like his business is already dead.

Little Queen

This video clip is from a reality TV show, so it's probably fake. At least I hope it's fake: Spoiled beauty queen.

Origins Of TiVo

Most people don't realize that TiVo was first conceived in 1948: Movies of Television Show Provide Permanent Record.

With a 1200-foot magazine that permits continuous recording of a half-hour program, a specially designed movie camera photographs television programs directly from the monitor tube at the broadcasting station. The double-chamber magazine holds both unexposed and exposed film and can be removed in a lighted room. The camera will be used by stations to provide a permanent record of their programs.

And now, of course, this device can be found in most living rooms.

Catch Me If You Can

I'm about five years behind in my movie watching, so I just watched this one last night: Catch Me If You Can. It's based on a true story about the world's greatest imposter. Oddly, I hadn't heard of the guy -- who is Frank Abagnale Jr.

I really enjoyed it, so check it out if you haven't seen it.

Here's a clip from when Abagnale was on To Tell The Truth, and here's Abagnale's Web site.

Holiday Season Classic

Last night we watched "It's A Wonderful Life." Here's an alternate version: It's a Blunderful Life.

Christmas Party

A holiday classic: The Honeymooners Christmas Party.

Here's Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4.

Early Education

Do you think this is true? Suicide bombers on Iran kids' TV.

Iranian state television has broadcast a cartoon that glorifies suicide bombings against Israelis, depicting a young boy blowing himself up after being told: "Go and show the Zionists how brave and heroic are the children of Palestine."

The cartoon, one of a series shown by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting on "Jerusalem Day" nine days ago, presents the actions of a boy who kills himself to strike back against Israelis as a noble example for children to follow.

More professionally produced and graphic than previous Iranian propaganda aimed at children, the cartoon appears to be part of a campaign led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to elevate the issue of the destruction of Israel. The day before the cartoon was shown, he declared at a World Without Zionism conference: "This stain of disgrace [Israel] will be wiped off the face of the world - and this is attainable."

Must See Miracle TV

In Wisconsin: Virgin Mary Sightings on Greenville Family's TV.

They're amazing pictures from Greenville, where dozens of residents of a mobile home park are convinced they witnessed a miracle late Monday night.

Right now there is no explanation, but Victor Timayo says images of the Virgin Mary started showing up on his television screen around 9:30 P.M. "We was watching the program and just the TV froze, and it started appearing some images there, the Virgin Mary and another Virgin of Guadalupe and others," Timayo said.

It happened while the Timayos were watching the talk show Cristina on Univision, a Spanish- language network. The woman on the show had cancer and was being interviewed when the television image froze on her close-up.

Then the unexplained images began appearing in the corners and lower middle parts of the television picture.

Judge Judy Isn’t Real!

It could be from The Onion, but it's actually from The Consumerist: Judge Judy's TV Court Isn't Real.

We were operating under the misunderstanding that Judge Judy was a broadcast of an actual small claims court somewhere, but then our legal beagle intern Alex informed us that it's really just arbitration dressed up to look like small claims court.

The power the judge has over the parties is granted by the contract of adhesion they sign to appear. If the defendant loses, the tv product team pays the plaintiff the judgment fee. If the judge finds for the defendant, both parties receive an appearance fee. The judges are not bound by real rules of procedure, evidence, or even behavior. Since it's a contract of adhesion, a decision can only really be successfully appealed if the decision falls outside the scope of what's in the contract.

Well, duh!

Look, The Movie

This film might be interesting: Look.

The Post 9/11 world has forever changed the notion of privacy. There are now approximately 30 million surveillance cameras in the United States generating more than 4 billion hours of footage every week. And the numbers are growing. The average American is now captured over 200 times a day, in department stores, gas stations, changing rooms, even public bathrooms. No one is spared from the relentless, unblinking eye of the cameras that are hidden in every nook and cranny of day-to-day life.

Shot entirely from the point of view of the security cameras. Adam Rifkin's LOOK follows several interweaving, storylines over the course of a random week in a random city. LOOK is a film about the things that people do when they don't know they're being watched.

Movie Countdown

Clips from 100 movies, each representing one number.

A list of the 100 movies is here.

Wordplay, The Movie

There was a time in my life when I did (or attempted) the New York Times crossword puzzle every single day. I haven't done a puzzle in a long time, but I really enjoyed watching the movie Wordplay.

The linguistic ballet of the crossword puzzle and the obsessive minds that wrestle with them are a source of delight in the charming documentary Wordplay. Though there's no story, the movie has a definite hero: Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, universally acknowledged as the pinnacle of crosswords. Shortz comes across as clever but modest; though he's at the top of his particular world, he retains a bemused perspective on that world's limitations.

Though speckled with celebrities from former President Bill Clinton to the Indigo Girls, the most engaging interviews are with puzzle creator Merl Reagle (who gives a fascinating on-screen demonstration of how he starts making a puzzle) and the witty and garrulous commentary by the former public editor for the Times, Daniel Okrent.

I was on the edge of my seat during the final 3-person competition on the big board. But watching the guy describe what goes on when he creates a puzzle was the best part. Highly recommended -- even if you're not a puzzle freak.

Nothing Predates Christians

I've got to start watching more daytime TV.

That's Sherri Shepherd. If you recall, she's the one who's not sure that the world is flat.

(via Cynical-C Blog)

Not Fair, Not Balanced

Apparently, FOX news refused to run this ad:

In this ad Danny Glover says, "The Bush administration is destroying the Constitution" by the use of renditions, torture, and other tactics. An email from Fox News offered this as the reason for Fox's decision not to run the ad:

"We cannot approve the spot with it being Danny Glover's opinion that the Bush Administration is destroying the Constitution. If you have documentation that it is indeed being destroyed, we can look at that. Sorry about that,"