Rated R

Today's blog will be about the ridiculousness that is the movie rating system. (G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17). My first question is should the libertarian in me ponders whether we should even have a system. Obviously to have a successfull libertarian society would require strong parental units and accountability from the community. Since we live in America, I will erase that question and then question who the morons are that actually rate the movies. Why are movies like Knocked Up and Hostel II not rated NC-17? Knocked Up shows birthing scenes with the head actually crowning from the mother. It showed non-stop marijuana usage, lots of swearing, a dozen or more nude scenes, et cetera. Should we have a right to see this movie? Of course, assuming we are all adults. If it is just Rated-R, then pretty much everyone can watch it. I saw in the row next to me a Dad with his two sons (the oldest being ten) at Knocked Up. Now onto Hostel II. How on earth is this movie not rated NC-17? To give you an idea of what happens in this movie. In one scene a man's genitalia is sawed off and then fed to a dog. In another scene a woman is hacked up and her blood drips down to a waiting woman in a bath below. Once the blood starts pouring on her she starts to have an orgasm. How on earth is this shit only rated R and not NC-17? If we are going to have a rating system, fine, but then let's actually have some standards. Now, if American adults enjoy this type of filth, fine, but let's have it be rated NC-17.

The worst of the phobias

I think of all the phobias, the worst to have would be homophobic. If I were to walk down Manhatten and tell a friend I was homophobic, my friend would say, "You are so narrowminded; you need to hang out with more gay people." I don't think that is true for all phobias. What if I were claustraphobic? Do you think that same friend would call me narrowminded and that I need to crawl into more small, dark spaces? What if when I was a kid, an enormous gay man fell on me and hence the homophobia... Oh well, fortunately I am not homophobic.

Summer of 2003

I don't know why but on my lunch break today I was walking around and thinking about the summer in between high school and college and for someone reason one song kept popping in my head. After watching this I remember why I loved that summer so much:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3I_S8lYoys

Gay bomb

This is just too funny. I can't believe this is true. According to foxnews.com:

WASHINGTON — The Air Force on Tuesday confirmed a report that in 1994 a military researcher requested $7.5 million to develop a non-lethal "love bomb" that would chemically alter the state of mind of enemy troops and make them want to have sex with each other rather than fight.Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Cathy Reardon said the idea was proposed by an Air Force researcher at a lab at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas, but it was rejected by the Defense Department. Officials noted that the Air Force constantly is considering funding proposals.No money was spent, Reardon said, and no such weapons are being considered. The goal was to create a non-lethal weapon to be used against enemy troops.First reported by KPIX-TV in San Francisco, the discovery of the "gay bomb" proposal came from a Freedom of Information Act request made by Edward Hammond of Berkeley's Sunshine Project, a watchdog group that tracks military spending.As part of the military's goal of developing non-lethal weapons, the proposal suggested, "One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior."The proposal also offered other ideas, such as a "sex attractant" chemical that would make "annoying and injurious creatures" like stinging bugs more aggressive and draw them to the enemy's position. Another chemical would leave such a strong stench, the enemy would be detectable for weeks.A portion of the proposal notes that some of the chemicals could be used on both enemy personnel and civilians and would require decontamination countermeasures to nullify the effects.A Defense Department spokesman told FOX News that he was not aware of any "love bomb" proposal but called the idea one of the most ridiculous things he'd heard.

Viva Cuba??

I was watching CNN last night and there was this short report on Fidel Castro's health. It appears that he is improving. With Castro in his eighties and with an at best, another ten years of life left, I have spent some time today wondering what will happen to our neighors in the southeast. Cuba is after all, a half hour plane ride from Miami. I also found some interesting facts about Cuba form the United Nations Development Program.

Infant Mortality Rate per 1K children: America (7), Cuba (7)
Under 5 mortality rate per 1k children: America (8), Cuba (8)
Life expectancy at birth in years: America (77), Cuba (76)
Adults living w/Hiv/Aids: America (0.6%), Cuba (0.03%)
Physicians (per 1k persons): America (2.6), Cuba (5.18)

I could go on but my point is that Cuba really is doing a lot better then America in several categories. The fact that 97% of Cuban adults are literate shatters the United States. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying communism is a sane form of government. I guess I would cite Sir Winston Churchill when he said, "Democray is a terrible form of government but it is the best we have." If Castro were to pass away suddenly, I am very curious as to what will happen. I think either two things will happen.

1, there will a major battle between current political leaders and we will go more into a repressive regime then we could imagine.

2, I think most likely that the new Cuban leader will at least negotiate trade with America. If the new leader has one capitalist bone in his body it would make sense to trade with America. Back in the thirties, forties, and fifties, Cuba is where all of America's wealthy vacationed. With its beautiful beaches, and relatively cheap entertainment, it made sense. Plus it was a heck of a lot closer then Hawaii. Yes Cuba does have a moderate tourism area with visitors from South America but it could expand and really help its people but also maintain its nationalism. Cuba is such a beautiful, wonderful place. I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Don't Hassel the Hoff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgX-hiQdfFw

There are no words to comprehend this level of awesomeness. I was having a bad day and this cheered me up.

A night in Paris

I did not think it was possible. I did not think it was at all possible that I could lose any more respect for Paris Hilton... but I have. After breaking probation by getting under DUI, Paris Hilton was sentenced to 30 days in jail and would get out after 23 days with good behavior. Well she is done with prison after two and a half days! Apparently her psychiatrist said that she was not eating or sleeping and having a nervous breakdown while in prison and mysteriously the jail had no problem releasing her, the judge, and the prosecutor. Clearly the Hilton family bribed a lot of people. Her new sentence will be she will be under house arrest for the remainder of her sentence. Keep in mind, her "crib" has a personal chef, personal massage therapist, giant fitness room, pool, multiple big screen televisions, et cetera. That is not a punishment. Most people would call that a reward at a 5 star hotel. What a complete joke! Again, didn't think it was possible; I have lost what little respect I had for Paris Hilton. I actually thought the news was going to give me a little piece and quiet from those bimbos for a month. Lindsay Lohan is in rehab, Britney is at rock bottom and is not in the public, and Paris is supposed to be in jail. Now my month is gone and there is more Paris Hilton talk then ever before. AAGHH!!