But I am more than a little dubious about this low budget, indie produced, "super hero" flick with the working title "The_D_Rules Is Awesome!" This is the only concept art I've seen and it disturbs me deeply.
So Nina and I were out and about on Saturday and on a whim, I took her to see Charlie Parker's grave. She'd never been and every Kansas Citian should make the pilgramage at least once.
We were surprised to see a very fresh grave without a tombstone next to his.
His mother is buried just to his right.
Who is in the grave to his left? Does anyone know?
A few weeks ago my daughter, young Galadriel Tanqueray Onassis, wanted me to take her to see "Get Him To The Greek" so of course I did.
Yeah, yeah I know. It's a totally inappropriate father/daughter "quality time" movie. Yes, there were some awkward moments. But after taking her to see "Watchmen" with its multiple Dr. Manhattans, this was like a Doris Day and Rock Hudson movie.
It was a very funny movie, but it reminded me an awful lot of another movie.
In "Get Him To The Greek", Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) is an ambitious young guy trying to make his name in the music industry. Aldous Snow (Russell Brand)is a once great rock idol who is now a washed up, drugged-out, womanizing, has-been who is now TERRIFIED at the prospect of performing in public after a disastrous last album.
Aaron's task is to go fetch Aldous, escort him back to New York for a comeback concert and make sure he gets to the theater (The Greek) on time, sober, and ready to perform.
Chaos and hilarity ensue. Aaron manages to get Aldous to the Greek, and along the way, they both learn important lessons about life, love and humanity.
In 1950's New York, in the age of live television, the nebish Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) is an ambitious young writer for King Kaiser (think Sid Caesar), the star of a major weekly comedy-variety show.
Next weeks guest star is Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), a once great, swash-buckling movie idol (think Errol Flynn) who is now a washed up, alcoholic, womanizing has been who is absolutely TERRIFIED at the prospect of appearing on live television.
As Alan says, "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!"
Benjy's task is to go fetch Alan, escort him back to New York for the live TV show and make sure he gets to the studio on time, sober, and ready to perform.
Chaos and hilarity ensue. Benjy manages to get Alan to the studio, and along the way, they both learn important lessons about life, love and humanity.
This is my favorite clip from the movie:
I highly recommend both movies.
[BTW. "Peter O'Toole" is the greatest porn star name EVER! He missed his calling.]
I'll cut through the medical mumbo jumbo and give you the Cliff Notes bottomline. Dick Cheney is now a battery powered cyborg who no longer has a pulse because his heart no longer beats! The LVAD is an impeller pump that keeps his blood circulating in a constant flow. A cable (USB?) runs from the LVAD attached to his heart, through an incision in his stomach to an external controller worn like a belly pack, connected to a shoulder holster battery. He will need to carry extra batteries because they are only good for a few hours.
I wonder if the LVAD comes with a car charger? He spends a lot of time travelling between speaking engagements. Maybe he could plug into the cigarette lighter for a charge on the go.
But the creepiest, Vaderist little detail is that at night, Dick Cheney actually needs to be plugged in to a wall socket to stay alive! He might want to invest in a UPS and some diesel generators. Otherwise, he's just a thunderstorm or ice storm away from sudden death! Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Actually, I don't know why they don't just cut to the chase. Power the LVAD with a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator RTG like NASA uses on it's deep space probes. They could mount it in a large, external, carapace-like breastplate with lots of flashing LEDs and toggle switches and shit.
Seriously. Never has this much technology been used to keep this much evil alive. This fucker will fester like a pus filled boil on the ass of humanity forever, thanks to modern science.
I'd become Amish in a futile, symbolic protest to this abomination but internet porn is the life blood that sustains me and makes life worth living. It is, My Precious.
20 B. FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY 21 OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS 22 STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS 23 UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, 24 WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE 25 PERSON'S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 26 PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c).
So, only if an officer saw a vehicle with, say, a tail light out could they pull them over. Because that would constitute "lawful contact".
And then, and ONLY then, if they had "reasonable suspicion...that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States..." could they make inquiries about their citizenship paperwork.
OK.
So you're an Arizona cop. There are 2 vehicles in front of you. They both have a burned out tail light.
One is a hunter green 2010 Volvo being drive by an elderly white woman with a "Svenska Flicka" bumper sticker.
The other vehicle is a rusted out 1976 Ford Econoline van packed to capacity with men who appear to be Hispanic surrounded by roofing materials or lawn care equipment.
Which vehicle, with identical violations, will the officer pull over and question?
If he pulls over the Volvo with the Swedish bumper sticker, will he feel compelled to ask the elderly, white driver for her Swedish passport, green card or visa?
Suppose the driver with the broken tail light is any other white person. Would the police officer ask if they are here illegally from France, England, Canada, Italy, Russia, Poland, Germany, Greece or Spain?
What, exactly, constitutes "reasonable suspicion...that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States..."?
This law is CLEARLY aimed it Hispanic and Latino immigrants and is therefore discriminatory, biased and unconstitutional.
The States don't have the authority or the legal standing to establish their own immigration policy or take it upon themselves to arbitrarily enforce federal laws according to their own interpretation.
This whole "illegal immigration" issue is a pathetic attempt to pander to the lowest common denominator of Right Wing paranoia in a vain attempt to halt the philosophical diaspora that is fragmenting their fundamental conservative core and sending their intellectually feeble drones scurrying for a rallying point.
They lack knowledge of, or deny the role of, the impact of immigrants (documented or undocumented) on our economy.
The Right Wing is confused, panicked, scared and looking for an easy enemy.
So Nina (the best and last great love of my life) and I had big plans today to kick off the holiday.
First up was a little live music with Mama Ray's Open Blues Jam at BB's Lawnside BBQ. Or, as my BFF likes to call it "old people fun".
Next was attending Vince and Linda's wedding in Excelsior Springs followed by some clubbing in KC.
The first part went very well! She had never been before and enjoyed it very much. We listened to a couple of sets, had some beer battered shrimp and a couple of drinks.
Then we headed back to my place to freshen up and get ready for the wedding.
We were south bound on Troost in her PT Cruiser at about 93rd St. when the wing just behind the passenger side rear window EXPLODED showering the interior of the car with shards of glass.
It took us both a second to fathom what had happened but it seemed pretty clear to both of us that we had been shot at.
Nina was screaming for me to pull over, but I kept driving until we were clear of the kill zone. Then we pulled over and called 911.
The KCPD arrived and a discussion ensued as to the cause of the incident. The po po favored the random kicked up road debris theory whereas we were quite adamant that a person or persons unknown fucking shot at us.
Cop: "Why do you think someone would be shooting at you?"
Me: "Umm, because we're at 93rd and Troost, it's the 4th of July weekend and people with guns like to get liquored up and do stupid shit?"
Cop: "Are you 100% certain it was a gunshot and couldn't have been anything else?"
Me: "I'm 100% certain that in 54 years I've never had an automobile window spontaneously EXPLODE showering the inside with glass shards. I'm pretty fucking sure about THAT!"
They finally gave us the police report she'll need for her insurance claim and we were done.
But she was too shook up over the incident to continue with our plans, so we just came back home to decompress.
