The issues weren’t white and black Arguing over billions of jack The fans gave them a life raft Then we still get the shaft But F it -- at least football is back
Obama tried to make the issue plainer After more lies from weepy Boehner The debt has no easy cure But all that I know for sure Is we need a government that’s saner
She was quite a talent, they say But couldn’t keep her demons at bay Amy Winehouse has passed Outpouring of emotion came fast She could have turned it a different way
76 lives was the final toll Many more was a madman’s goal Norway was the massacre site Home to tears, confusion and fright At the hands of one with no conscience or soul So this is the Carolina Way? Pay Butch 3 mil to just go away Had a cash-laden recruiting pitch But he was O’Brien’s bitch Guess lying and cheating pays all day
After weeks of debate about debt ceilings and last night's address by President Obama and the confusing rebuttal by John Boehner (thankfully, it featured no weeping), perhaps some cold, hard, succinct facts about the economy are in order.
Darren Clarke inspired McDowell and Rory Who added to Northern Ireland glory But his turn to raise the Claret Jug And from a Guinness, he took a slug From tragedy to the top, what an amazing story
Team USA played with skill and guile But the mistakes, they started to pile An epic stage for a national choke But Japan’s heart was no joke A nation so broken but now can smile
UNC just keeps on cheating And Marvin Austin keeps on Tweeting Butch still around is absurd But that sound you just heard Is thousands of rams bitching and bleating
From Steve Williams, Tigger did split Did it on his site, another classy hit One douche shit-canned another But all the whining, oh brother You’re both just piles of shit Just get it done, NFL I mean, seriously, what the hell? A battle of millionaries Against the billionaires Yet it’s the fans who buy what you sell
“Life is basically a rusty hubcap lying in the ditch at the side of the road, and life goes on … This is as good as it gets. Her ship will not come in. There are no boats for nobody, and no camera is filming her life. This is reality, not a reality show.”
It would be difficult to top the dark feel of Stephen King’s most recent novel, “Full Dark, No Stars.” Yet he attempted to do so with his (very) short story that recently appeared in The Atlantic, titled “Herman Wouk is Still Alive.”
In this brief piece, King examines sad, despairing existences through the veil of white trash. He touches on the current state of the economy, the brutalities of aging, class divides and the war, in the context and from the perspective of two trailer brides who have no business parenting.
“Every time you see bright stuff, somebody turns on the rain machine. The bright stuff is never colorfast.”
Juxtaposed with the perspective of two successful, elderly poets (yet even these two are not entirely what they seem) trying to rekindle old passions, the end result is essentially “Thelma & Louise” gone way, way wrong. There is beauty in the writing, but it’s over so quickly you almost don’t know how to react or respond—which only speaks to the magic that King is still so ever-capable of.
Filed under “Things Could Be Worse,” this video depicts what lengths a heroic kindergarten teacher will go to to distract her students from the “narco gun massacre” taking place just outside the class. As one commenter pointed out, this just further reinforces how dramatically underpaid teachers truly are.
Description of debt talks? Just a lot of bitching and squawks Rich partisans argue over words A bunch of hypocritical turds Guess bullshit talks and accountability walks
Players take an All-Star pass Would rather fish for bass Would rather work on tans Than an opportunity to win back fans National pasttime, my ass
James Harrison’s full of vinegar and piss Cheater and douchebag also on his resume list He’ll be on a police blotter ‘Cuz he’s nothing but a cheap shotter He’s part of the NFL I don’t miss
The fraud they called “The Rocket” Kept plenty of ‘roids in his pocket Lied to one and all But skated on a mistrial call Cheating Auburn and the Patsies say, “Don’t knock it”! Losing faith in a world out of reach Worried about lessons I can teach Violence spun out of control Politics stuck in a black hole I just want to live at the beach
When I was looking for something to watch the other day via free on-demand, I stumbled across “Stone,” which I’d never heard of. It caught my eye because of the acting combination of Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton, two tremendous character actors. While DeNiro has damaged his career by making some mind-numbing choices in recent years and Norton tends to just disappear for years at a time, I was intrigued enough to roll the dice on “Stone.”
DeNiro is aging quickly, making his role as world-weary, nearing-retirement parole officer Jack Mabry a good fit for him. Norton is striking as a corn-rowed-out convict (Gerald “Stone” Creeson”) up for parole eight years after playing a part in murdering his grandparents and then burning down their house. Norton reprises elements of his roles from both “Primal Fear” and “American History X,” two amazing films that demonstrated his depth of talent and ability to evoke intimidation that belies his appearance.
The cast is rounded out by the always-underrated Frances Conroy (most notable for her turn in “Six Feet Under”) and the still-striking Milla Jovovich, who is still most recognized for her omnipresence in the “Resident Evil” franchise—however, the peanut gallery pointed out that she should be most noteworthy due to the fact that parts of her anatomy could be used to tune in far-flung radio stations in Tokyo. Both Conroy and Jovovich played damaged and hard-to-judge wives, of Mabry and Creeson, respectively.
I’m not familiar with director John Curran’s other work, which includes “The Painted Veil” and “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” but the cinematography (primarily shot in Michigan) was well-done in “Stone.” The plot hinged largely on transgressions only hinted at, especially on the part of DeNiro, though we know his character is hugely flawed based on a very powerful opening scene. As the movie progress, Curran turns his piece on the question of who, really, is more evil or immoral—Mabry or Creeson? Both are wary of the process and seek to use it to their advantage where they can.
The most difficult aspect of the flick to reconcile is whether Creeson has truly found a religion that is changing him, that is helping him to get in harmony and “hear” more clearly. Mabry, obviously, is skeptical, though both men are changing in opposite ways as the film progresses. By the end of the movie, Curran asks us to determine whether we should feel sorry for Mabry, flipping the roles of these two men who appear to be headed in opposite directions. And while Mabry’s wife Madylyn and Creeson’s wife Lucetta are left to deal with their own shocking actions, the movie closes with questions about who is now “hearing” on the right path.
“Stone” forces us to consider heavy issues involving religion, guilt, fate (most notably, Mabry would not have ever had to deal with Creeson if he would have agreed to give up his current case files in anticipation of his retirement), atonement, sin, hypocrisy, and the idea of whether people ever truly change. These enormous queries weigh down the movie with a darkness and pessimism that can be difficult to bear, but I still found this film to be thought-provoking (the symbolism of the fly is truly mesmerizing) and much different than what I anticipated.
I read that the movie wasn’t reviewed well and positively bombed at the box office, if those things matter in the stature of a flick anymore. Norton still has a magic about him in roles such as the one offered him in this one, and his performance is enough to merit consideration to watch—and consider—the enigmatic, difficult-to-categorize “Stone.”
When Lo Charles’ grave got dug Pack heart strings got a tug A lost link to a championship past But at least, now at long last, V’s got somebody to hug
A child abandoned and lost For others, paid the ultimate cost Who will speak for little Caylee As her mother dances on daily? With the trash, justice has been tossed
More trouble brewing in Chapel Hill Of cheating, haven’t had their fill Every day Bitch has the top job Integrity takes a hit at UNC-Snob But they really don’t get it … still
Blood taken once more than thrice Veins are paying the price For health, it’s a small fee Ready to feel again like me But what it is? Still no dice Not to be an “Office” hater But really -- fucking James Spader?! That’s a death knell you just heard Because this direction’s absurd Michael Scott, can you come back later?
