Open Thread Sunday

Is it just me or is there a total dearth of any good dvd's coming out. My tendency is to think this is somewhat a conscious decision on the part of the industry designed to boost disappointing sales of blu-ray disc players. I resist blu-ray since it was developed by Sony

So according to the story linked on the BH marquee, the "C" word is now permissible to use in public.

Just in time….as Sarah Palin is in the public eye.

Coincidence?

Yesterdays TV::

LYIN' Senator Ted Kennedy"s funeral:
No one came and they waited for a crowd til it got too dark! How poetic.

Did you note the bloated gang of staffers we pay for? This is our tax dollars at work, folks.

I think there are a few factors at work here, including the not-so-great sales of catalog titles (the ones not starring John Wayne or Audrey Hepburn anyway), the economy, the costs involved in restoring old films, etc.

I would like to refer you to this thread on the Home Theater Forum. There is a link to an interview with WB's top home video guru (but keep in mind it's just one man's opinion).

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/2913...

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES-
BIG FIRES BURNING IN THE LOCAL FOOTHILLS

"I Witness News"
by L.B. "Oscar" Mayer

They're calling it the "Station" fire and is burning for the last few days up in La Canada. The smell of the smoke is pervasive everywhere and the air quality is terrible. Even with all the windows closed, I can smell it strongly inside my apartment.

The smoke and even the flames can be seen from down here b/c the elevation climbs as you head toward the fire area.

Along Linda Vista Drive as it approaches JPL, people are parking to view the spectacle. Some of the cars are barely pulled off the road and it would be a problem if that section of the road was heavily traveled.

From Linda Vista and from the street that is above the Rose Bowl and golf course, you can also see the smoke, planes and flames.

Along Foothill Blvd which is the main local concourse that connects Pasadena, La Canada, La Crescenta, Sunland and Tujunga, the flames and mostly the smoke are plainly visible. It is the streets in the residences north of Foothill Blvd where the potential for death and danger are most likely. These streets climb and climb and then dead end right at the foothills where the fires are burning.

The fires are burning north by northwest along the ridges and the gap that leads up to Acton which is on the Sierra Highway next to I-14. They expect the fire to be there by tomorrow.

Many of the canyon and foothill roads are closed and more will be closing.

I almost went up to Acton today not knowing that the fire was almost there. My guess is that they may close both the Sierra Highway and parts of I-14 tonight or tomorrow.

I was up in Santa Clarita on the Ridge Route as far north as the Templin Highway and the smoke was very visible from there. One huge mushroom cloud of smoke dark and dirty at the bottom and middle, then angel white at the top. That's maybe 40 miles away.

I'm on a hilltop, so I am getting the tainted air quite heavily. If I drive down to the lower part of town, the air is much cleaner. Too bad for me.

20K acres have burned just in this one "Station" fire alone. Mixed reports are coming in saying that much of the fuel is brush 20 – 30 feet high which has not burned in 40 – 60 years! Trees and now structures are burning as well.

We were lucky until just 3 or so days ago and then it all began to go up.

The three other locals fires are coming under control, but this very local fire is now the big one.

The heat has been brutal 99 – 104 today where I was. My car temp said 93 while it was still parked from overnight in the carport area.

The humidity is single digit. The only thing not occurring is wind. The fire chief said he had never seen a fire this big spread so fast without the 'help' of wind.

The local mountains and towns are just shrouded in smoke and the big mushroom cloud just sits there because of the lack of wind.

Raging ridges of flames can be seen climbing one big hillside alone. Planes fly above it scouting the area.

It's hard to fault the people parked in their cars at a good distance for watching the sensation. You don't see this all the time, so close, so vivid. It's a show for certain, but a show which everyone will be happy to see conclude without any more injury and destruction.

Good luck out there! Bad enough you live in CA period, now you got fires to deal with.

BTW, I get notified that my comments are too long if they're a quarter of the length of your main report! What's up with that?!?

Just more to love Jed, just more to love Awoooooooooooo!

I'm thinking California…
Pelosi as you note, look at some of the others from the representing California, Boxer and Feinstein, Stark, Watson, Waters, Waxman

Oh my gosh, everyone – Jaimie Lee Curtis urged everyone to support healthcare reform. She's a celebrity isn't she? Doesn't that mean she knows more than we do? Gosh, how could we have been so wrong. Come on BH readers let's all go down to the townhall meetings and beat up some seniors, what do you say?

Man put back your Lawrence Welk Avatar dude …that was the $hit!

That settles it for me, Jed!

Yes, California you are in our hearts and prayers! I saw Drudge's photo of that horse…looks like he has been through some rough times already? That looks like a 3 or 4 on the Henicki scale, I hope he's found and fed soon!
We own horses and that picture is heart breaking.

Jamie Lee Curtis is only good at flapping her breasts/not her mouth!

Seven days ago I was standing a hundred yards from the little girl swept into the angry Maine coast surf! Gee isn't there any good news? Seven dead in GA.? Eleven y/o found after eighteen year ordeal.

http://www.studentabc.rutgers.edu/fees/campus_fee...

See the last sentence of the part that says:

NJPIRG

The New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest organization founded in 1972. NJPIRG has a professional staff of researchers, scientists and attorneys who work with volunteers in the areas of environmental preservation, consumer protection and open government. NJPIRG campus chapters are funded by a voluntary fee, adopted by student referendum. For additional information regarding NJPIRG, visit their website at http://www.njpirg.org. If you do not wish to pay this fee, you may deduct the NJPIRG amount from your balance due.

Yes, that's right. Students pay the fee by default and have to subtract it from the bill the University sends out if they don't want to pay it.

See also this:

http://www.thefire.org/public/pdfs/student-fees-2...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_6_...

And this from UMass:

http://www.umass.edu/bursar/fee_explanation.htm

Waiving Optional Fees

If you prefer not to contribute to the following causes, these fees can be waived online. Log on to SPIRE. On your Student Center, click the Mass Pirg/Child Care Waiver under the Finances heading.

MassPIRG

Provides funds for the campus chapter of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group on environmental/consumer/government issues.

Child Care Tuition Assistance Program

Provides funds for campus childcare.

Want to cut off the PIRG's funding? Get conservative parents to ask for this money back when they pay tuition for their children when they go to college this fall. If they've already paid, ask for a refund.

Me too — the inconsistent limits (on length of posting allowed) is baffling.
Perhaps someone employed at this site would care to comment here and enlighten us?

That area along the stretch of Foothill Blvd once it gets past all the highly developed towns as you approach Hansen Dam recreational area is very much 'horse country' with small ranches and stables and folks who simply own a few horses. This is the Little Tujunga area and is laso in the area where the bridge in CHINATOWN is located in the scene with the small boy on the burro that Jack Nicholson speaks to about the water run-off at night.

I usually take that stretch of road because it is fairly peaceful and bucolic vs the I-5 which it paralles. There's always folks riding horses along the road and roads just north of Foothill Blvd are sometimes unpaved – just dirt roads. The area above and beyond that is deeply brushy, wooded with the Little Tujunga Canyon roaf going thru it. That;s the route I will be using today – Foothill Blvd from Pasadena to as far as I can take it. It was closed yesterday immediately beyond the freeway on ramp to the I-5. They were using Hansen Dam as a staging area, so Foothill was closed there and you needed to turn back or get on the freeway north for an exit or two and then Foothill resumes in a very ugly and strip mall style area.

We'll see what happens. Maybe I will take my camera with me.

The big Hollywood buzz is the New York Times piece today ("Christopher Marlowe Stages a Comeback") where we learn that Johnny Depp might play Christopher Marlowe in a Marlowe-as-Shakespeare movie. The movie and the press that it will generate will send shockwaves through the Shakespeare world. Finally, Marlowe getting the attention he deserves! http://www.marlowe-shakespeare.blogspot.com

I keep getting Tierney confused with that other actress. They look like sisters. But I agree, she is good.

Don't know how old you are my friend, but trust me, at a certain age one's metabolism truly slows, and it's suddenly extremely difficult to keep at your youthful size/weight. It's not hard to see why many people put on some pounds as they age, and that's assuming there's no personal drama going on to add stress. Remember, too, that a lot of performers essentially starved themselves to stay slim in their youth–how some look now is probably closer to their natural build/weight.

I think there are a few factors at work here, including the not-so-great sales of pre-1970s/80s catalog titles (the ones not starring John Wayne or Audrey Hepburn anyway), the economy, the costs involved in restoring old films, etc.

I would like to refer you to this thread on the Home Theater Forum. There is a link to an interview with WB's top home video guru (but keep in mind it's just one man's opinion).

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/2913...

Also:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/2906...
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/2916...

Beatles – Revolution. (Part 2)

Let’s look at California. There is quite enough rich people there that support all of the programs, but when it comes to higher taxes to pay for them then they are not so for them after all. I would love free health care, but not willing to stand in the lines like when there is a free movie showing. Also eventually when the economy takes a down turn the free movies stop because they have to tighten their belts to stay afloat. Will the people making above 250K be willing to pay for my free ride in a down economy? Are the going to sell one of their houses and change their standard of living to help me out? What if their bank accounts are depleted to the point that they no longer make above 250K are they now standing in line next to me getting my free health care or will they have a special pass.

Oh Well, Have a nice Sunday

Wes – I think so in this case (coincidence, that is.) It was the stupidest b.s. article I have ever read. Actually two things offended me and I'm unsure which one was worse. First, the author of the article referring to Newsweek as a family publication and second, the fact that BH would give Newsweek the publicity of linking to one of it's stories.

I don't know unclebuck, they vote Democratic half of the time, Oly was a sponsor on the bill that would allow Obama to have emergency control of the internet. With the appointment of all his czars that answer to no one, that is one dangerous bill. Rather than saving billions of dollars of pork, unnecessary, wasteful and abusive spending from the stimulus, I'd rather that free market take the course and there would have been no stimulus. Rather than expanding government the way both Collins and Snowe have done with their moderate stands, I would rather see them actually take a firm stand on an issue than always think they have to play nice with everyone.

A thought struck me while I was in the shower….

Is there a connection between the outrage over the Octomom and the outrage over nationalized healthcare?

I'm all the way down by the La Brea Tar Pits, and the smell of smoke is very strong today, and the sun is getting that freaky apocalyptic glow. I thought the heat was going to break today, but it looks like not enough. A few prayers for the firemen, please. L.B., I sort of do fault lookie-loo's–they can potentially get in the way of people who need to get there, or impede those who need to leave. Last year I was across the street from a small shop that suddenly went up in flames. In less than a minute the place was completely engulfed. As if I needed a graphic example, fire is insanely dangerous and fast moving. If you have no business near it, stay as far away as possible!

Luciano Pavarotti got a funeral mass in a cathedral, too, and he was divorced as well, I believe. It's amazing how flexible the church can be when people of prominence die. I have good friend who hasn't been to church since they said she couldn't get married outside.

I don't know… I think the connection is stronger than you think.

Octomom is a symbol of irresponsibility that society will have to pick up the tab for. Universal Healthcare is a more mundane expression of that.

Remember–in the low, unemployed times, there's no studio to pay for that trainer or dietician. True about perception of food–a universal difficulty. I remember when I could polish off two stacks of pancakes for brunch, and follow it up with a giant bowl of pasta for dinner…those days are long gone! It really is about the portion control, cutting out the snacks, and getting off yer arse, even if it's just a few brisk laps around the block.

I don;t know. Maybe when they get something good, thery like to keep it?

I went by Alta Canyada today on Foothill Blvd. No action whatsiever.

I do love Dick Cheney. He seems to be the only one willing to put the country before politics or individual interests. I admire the his unapologetic, non politically correct analysis of US politics and world affairs. He was right about Iran. We will pay dearly for not dealing with them in the Iranian 'pre-warhead' era (God I hope not, but history usually tells another sadder story – naive peace loving leaders not understanding the real threat of megalomanical murderous dictatorial regimes). I used to think that Cheney and John Bolton were the only American patriots in Washington who really know what made / makes this country great (as opposed to utopia, where effort is cool at zero and everything should be free and equal).

you might have hd me if you said he watched "The X Files"

If I remember correctly, RFK Jr. almost got an annulment after 22 years of marriage and 3 or 4 kids.

The Boston Archdiocese is one place that will never see my ass.

You can thank Ralph Nader for that one. It's the same in NY, and I suspect the rest of the nation too.

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