The Karate Kid 2010

We all know the story of The Karate Kid, and this remake of the 80's classic has been hyped, seemingly, to no end.
Seemingly, I say, because the hype ends here.
As in...Right Here.
Hype on.
Hype off.
Look my blog! Always look my blog!

This time, the kid's mom follows a job from Detroit to Beijing. Yeah, China.
The rest of the original story line is followed pretty tightly: Kid sees Girl. Tougher kid sees Kid seeing Girl. Kids gets whipped. Kid gets whipped again...
Then along comes the mysterious Asian guy to mentor him and turn him into a karate champion...

La la la la.....


Issues:
• The title clearly states "Karate Kid", right? Then why is it all about Kung Fu?

• The Kid is supposed to be in middle school, around 12yrs old or something like that. All the rest of the kids look to be the appropriate age for the story line. Except for our hero, who looks to be 9yrs old. Maybe 10. But I'm not giving it anymore than that.

• Contrast that to The Girl. She looks like an early high schooler. Maybe 14, on the lower end? Seeing this Girl romantically attracted to this Kid is kinda creepy if you ask me.

• Gratuitous Great Walling. Why? The Great Wall has nothing to do with the story line. Repeat: nothing. They couldn't even bother to write it in, but they easily could have with a little creativity. Instead, they didn't bother. I guess the producers just thought, "Hey, it's China. Let's show the Kid doing karate kung fu on the Great Wall."

• Jackie Chan is no Miyagi. Although, to his credit, it's a different kind of role than he's used to. Miyagi had a joy about him; an inner peace. Chan's Mr. Han is rather worn and depressed; and less 'quippy'.
Kudos to Chan. Razzberries to the director.

This movie got tired quick and I couldn't wait for it to end. If you got kids, though, they will love it. I went at a time when the audience was filled with youngerlings, and they were having a good time of it.

Blogger new template designs look interesting, and refreshing.
I got one in mind.

What say you?
Keep this, or try another?

Don't Bring A Rock To A Gunfight

Mexico has slammed the U.S. for its 'disproportionate use of force' after a boy of 14 was shot dead by an American Border Patrol officer.

I don't know where to go with this one. It's a tragic story, to be sure. But the fault here lies not fully with the Border Agent who probably feels like shit at this moment, because I doubt he was on Mexican soil.
And getting rocks thrown at you is not a safe state to be in.

Sure, you can talk about excessive force if you want, but in the dark who knows who's throwing what, and, as a nation, we must demand that our Agents not be required to accept the kind of disrespect that comes as a matter of course. They are, after all, United States Border Agents, sworn to protect our border from trespass... and armed accordingly... and are not pinatas for Mexican amusement.
I'm not giving them a free fire zone. Some common sense needs to come into play (I'm not implying it didn't here. We don't have all the facts yet.)
This don't look good, but let's see how it plays out.

The situation at the border has been way out of hand for a very long time. I place the blame for this boy's death not on our border agents, but further up the chain of command.

I blame Mexico for allowing and encouraging it's people to disrespect United States sovereignty and it's agents.
I blame the Mexican people for carrying on in this manner.
And I blame the United States Government for allowing it to continue.

Congratulations to Rush Limbaugh on his fourth consecutive traditional marriage.
You, Sir, are an inspiration.

I'm Not Saying What He Did Was Right...

But I understand...

TEMECULA, Calif. -- An angry father is accused of using a stun gun on a 23 year old man who sent his 17 year old daughter an explicit cell phone picture.

William Atwood Sr., 45, was charged Wednesday with multiple felonies in connection with the case.

Authorities say Atwood lured Justin Moore to his home, ordered him to strip down to his boxer shorts, and tied him up and tased him with a stun gun before turning him over to a sheriff's deputy.

Moore told authorities he sent a photo of his genitals to several friends, including Atwood's daughter, as a joke.

Atwood apparently didn't think the joke was funny when his daughter told him about the picture in January.

LINK for the rest of the story.

Enough

I've been doing this blog thing for a while now. Before that, it was message boards and similar communities.

Along the way, I've encountered many interesting folks, and consider it a flattery that some still visit after all these years... despite that on many occasions my musings and opinions may be pig-headed, ignorant, stubborn, misinformed, undereducated and/or just plain retarded.

The door is left open for a reason because for me, besides entertainment, I do what I do for the community of it.
Without you all, blogging would suck.
And is why I'm extremely tolerant of individuals. Nobody is perfect, nor totally flawed.
It is for this reason that everybody, even a moronic pus-for-brains drooler, is welcomed to add to the chatter.

But if you're coming here just to be a dick, I would appreciate it if you'd find another venue where you can wag your little winky around and others might think you're cute and bestow the kind of affirmation you crave.
It's past old.
Now, do us all a favor and stay the fuck away.

Politics

Blaming President Obama for the oil spill makes about as much sense as blaming George Bush for Hurricane Katrina, but it's likely to get interesting as Gov Jindhal squares off against the Federal Government over relief efforts.

Jindhal, you've probably heard, has long been touted as a potential Presidential candidate. Possibly, even against Obama in 2012.

My personal observation: There is more at stake in this for the President than I think he is aware of.