Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Their freedom requires your slavery.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

You are here: Home / Politics / Glibertarianism / Ok, I just Watched That Stupid Damned Trailer

Reader Interactions

149Comments

  8. 8.

    MobiusKlein

    You know what? Right below the post was an ad for Justin Beiber, and I clicked it by mistake. Couldn’t be any worse than being Galt-rolled.

  9. 9.

    JPL

    John, If you really want to expand your knowledge, listen to Beck connect the dots tonight. It’s the google..that’s all I’m going to write.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Hope you mean drops in the eye and nothing that’s going to remind us of Michael Jackson and hotel balconies.

  14. 14.

    The Dangerman

    The reason … right-wingers all hate any high-speed rail proposals from Obama…

    I don’t know about Libertarians, but right wingers hate any and every proposal from Obama. Fuck, the Right is losing their shit over Egypt, even though this type of event is exactly what Dubya proposed in one of his SOTU’s (just saw it on The Last Word).

  15. 15.

    lamh34

    @MobiusKlein:

    Okay, I’m glad I’m not the first to notice, but has Justin Bieber become the primary stockholder in BJ Inc…? My God, the only place where i’ve seen more Bieber movie adverts is on Nickelodeon (yes, I’m a 34 y.o. single childless adult, and I love Spongebob Squarepants, so I watch Nickelodeon).

    It’s down right distracting.

    Please someone save me from the Bieber adverts.

  16. 16.

    dmsilev

    No, it’s simpler than that. You write

    The reason the glibertarians and right-wingers all hate any high-speed rail proposals from Obama and Democrats

    which is simply a special case of the more general law:

    The glibertarians and right-wingers all hate any proposals from Obama and Democrats

    dms

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    @lamh32:

    yes, I’m a 34 y.o. single childless adult, and I love Spongebob Squarepants, so I watch Nickelodeon

    Ummm…whut?

  21. 21.

    lamh32

    @Corner Stone:

    What??? I watch Nickelodeon for the Spongebob Squarepants tv show.

    Spongebob is way more subversive than people think. So yes, I watch Spongebob.

    And since I’m being so honest, I watch ICarly too. Sue me.

    maybe I need an intervention…lol

  24. 24.

    max

    because Dagny Taggart is supposed to be making our new rail.

    Um. I didn’t see any high-speed rail in that trailer. (At least the part I watched.) Looked like old fashioned slow-speed rail going 60-70 miles an hour to me.

    If it ain’t then clearly they’ve gone and repealed aerodynamics.

    max
    [‘Which, in Galtworld, makes sense!’]

  26. 26.

    beltane

    You’re putting way too much thought into this. Right-wingers simply hate anything Obama and liberals profess to care about while glibertarians are desperate to find ways to glorify their own profound mediocrity. I’ve said it before but Ayn Rand is nothing more than a grim, joyless, bourgeois version of the Marquis de Sade. A hero who only cares about making money is about as compelling as a rat who only cares about eating. Bor-ing.

  27. 27.

    jl

    @John Cole:

    “Rosie is fine. Just needs some drops is all.”

    What kind of John Cole pet story is that? No crises, no disasters, no angst, no stepping barefoot in dog poo in the middle of the night, no assassination attempts against the poor ever suffering owner. No apocalypse.

    Some one is spoofing Cole, I guess.

    But, I am glad it turned out to be a minor problem.

  28. 28.

    kdaug

    @lamh34:

    yes, I’m a 34 y.o. single childless adult, and I love Spongebob Squarepants

    I know correlation isn’t causation, but do you think there could be a connection?

  29. 29.

    Comrade Luke

    Thanks for the update, John.

    I feel so stupid for repeatedly coming to a site run by people I don’t know to check on the health of a dog I’ll never meet.

  30. 30.

    lamh32

    @MikeJ:

    If by seddie you mean “Freddie” and “Sam” then I’m def a seddie…lol?

    If ur talking ’bout some kinky shit, then, I’ll go with “creddie” since it’s almost like the word credit, which I wish I had more of…lol.

    Carly doesn’t deserve Freddie. Freddie needs someone like Sam to shake up his “goodie too shoes” attitude. Plus it’d scare the heck out of his mom.

    Maybe I do need an intervention.

  31. 31.

    Joshua Norton

    Actually they’re all very much in favor of “pulling a train”. They’re just broken hearted when they find out it refers to high speed rail.

  33. 33.

    MikeJ

    @lamh32: Isn’t creddie and seddie what the factions called themselves in “iStart a Fan War”?

    Did you know that the Seattle Art Museum has a robot made out of green soda bottles? The plaque does not credit the artist as Spencer Shay though.

  34. 34.

    lamh32

    @kdaug:

    Haha.

    Seriously though, I have an 11 y.o. nephew, and a upteen younger cousins who are under the age of 12. They love nickelodeon. I spend as much time with all my fam as I can, so I tend to spend alot of time with them too, and Nickelodeon is on a running loop at the homes of the family when the young kids.

    That’s it. No causation, no correlation.

  35. 35.

    Corner Stone

    @lamh32: There is absolutely no “maybe” involved here.

    I actually knew the seddie creddie question but I have a 6 yr old.

    Aruthor forever!

  37. 37.

    WyldPirate

    @MobiusKlein:

    You know what? Right below the post was an ad for Justin Beiber, and I clicked it by mistake. Couldn’t be any worse than being Galt-rolled.

    Haha. I was just thinking of what the ad server would do if someone had Justin Beiber in their handle or signed their posts–or repeated his name multiple times per posts.

    We would probably be subjected with pics of Beiber wearing fugly spring “fashion” for boys in short order.

  38. 38.

    lamh32

    @MikeJ:

    Oooh, I missed iStart a Fan War. Was that the one with Jack Black?

    (told ya’ll I may need an intervention…lol!)

  40. 40.

    Corner Stone

    @MikeJ: You jest but let me tell you something. Sam will try her shit on one too many times and end up in the basement wondering how Gibby got to her.

  41. 41.

    Corner Stone

    Honestly, I’ve kinda fallen in love with Disney’s Phineas and Ferb.
    I will watch ANYTHING that is not Max & Ruby or Rugrats.
    And I do mean ANYTHING.

  42. 42.

    demkat620

    My JRT had an ear infection once. Dear god you would have thought I was trying to kill the little fucker with the ear drops.

    Eye drops? Good luck with that.

  44. 44.

    lamh32

    @Corner Stone:

    Speaking of Sam, how old is that kid? I know from the show they play high schoolers right (10 or 11 grade)? But I think that the young lady who plays Sam seems older than 16?

  45. 45.

    Corner Stone

    @lamh32: I’m sorry, I don’t actually stalk the actresses that play characters in my son’s favorite Nickelodeon programmes.
    And that is something I am absolutely going to stick to.

  46. 46.

    Dexwood

    Make sure Rosie gets a treat after the eye drops. Make her feel special for getting them. Basic training, make her cooperative. In my experience, it helps to have another dog around, fake administer drops to Lily if jealously will motivate Rosie. Make it desirable for Rosie.

  48. 48.

    Shithead #3 - formerly Gen Stuck

    Dear Mr. Cole

    There will be no need from this shithead to create pre emptive outrage concerning posts with you know who, linked or referenced. I do promise not to be a shithead, or whatever, and will not be commenting on such threads by you or others, unless it directly attacks Obama unfairly. I don’t want to be the cause of something that dumb again.

    Besides, it won’t be Egypt, but i got my laptop and will only be freeloading on wifi hotspots out and about here pretty soon. So you all will be reasonably stuck free fairly soon, but I will be commenting on posts by my unconditional blog friend for life, Kay.

    Pre celebrate, if you need to.

    sincerely

    Shithead #3

    PS – for those that may jone’s for some Obama worship, i will be posting on my blog more often, drop by if you like.

  52. 52.

    Another Commenter at Balloon Juice (fka Bella Q)

    What did your vet think of Prozac for Rosie? I’m glad her eye is okay, of course.

  53. 53.

    Nicole

    I said it on the last thread; I’m saying it here. Opening night. I’m going. Cannot WAIT for the dramatic moment when Dagny trades her diamond bracelet for Lillian Reardon’s Reardon Metal bracelet. Or when Hank Reardon gives Dagny a fur coat, which got, like, half a chapter of description.

    Popcorn, Twizzlers, and nachos with the orange semi- liquid topping. My digestive system can just go Galt that night.

  54. 54.

    beltane

    @Loneoak: No one but diehard Rand cultists are going to sit through that movie, not even for Part I. Yeah, Fox might get the teabaggers to the theater but most of them will either fall asleep or walk out within the first 15 minutes. Too much talk, not enough guns, not enough stuff blowing up. It’s like a Merchant-Ivory production for wingnuts; they will hate it.

  56. 56.

    Southern Beale

    Via Wikiepdia:

    After filming was completed it was revealed that the release date would be April 15, 2011, what was assumed would be Tax Day in the United States, though in reality Tax Day in 2011 falls three days later, on the 18th.[15]

    Whoopsies

  57. 57.

    lamh32

    @Corner Stone:

    Wow, I don’t know if you took my question the wrong way, but I guess you are.

    I am NOT stalking the actresses that play characters in your son’s favorite Nickelodeon show.

    I may be reading you wrong (which is fairly easy reading a statement as opposed to hearing it said) but you seem to have taken my question in some sort of warped way. It was just a question, nothing sinister about it.

    If I read ya wrong, I apologize. If I didn’t and you meant ur statement to sound as pissy as it did, then so whatever.

  59. 59.

    Corner Stone

    @Kristine: Just let go. P&F are a revelation. Phineas knows no macho, or ego, or “ME!”.
    He’s a truly benign character who only wants to enhance those around him, support them and let them know how special they are.
    Ferb is the rock that can’t be broken. A maestro at any number of skill sets, his quiet confidence lends itself to a kind of serenity.
    Together, I understand they are what the original Tao of The Matrix hypothesized. A kind of giving of oneself to others.
    They treat the interested beauty and the local bully the same, as individuals who are special and can contribute their own unique understanding of the world around them.
    Their possibly unbelievable exploits exist in a kind of time outside of time, a place where parents (or authority enforced externally) have no real power and are always a step too slow. Indeed, the only episode where their “mother” actually busts them leads to future chaos.
    In short, they are the platonic ideal of youth. Trusting, giving, wide eyed to possibilities.

  62. 62.

    Corner Stone

    @lamh32: We’re a couple 30-somethings talking about iCarly on a Friday night.
    Let’s just have a little fun with each other, or else I’m gonna need a bottle of vodka bigger than 1.75 liters.

  69. 69.

    Corner Stone

    By the way, for those of you with a Spec’s nearby. You absolutely must try the Camarena tequila.
    Damn it is good. A little spicy, a hint of chocolate (I think). I suggest a couple ounces over ice and then a splash of coke or sprite in a highball glass.
    It is super good for the low price point.

  70. 70.

    Martin

    @Corner Stone: My daughter watches iCarly. I’ve seen damn near all of them, but I’m secretly a bigger fan of Victorious. I don’t dare reveal that to her.

  71. 71.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Dexwood:

    This. When I have to give Cueball the flea drops on his butt I first give them to Judy, at which point Cueball thinks she is getting something he isn’t and literally shoves her out of the way to get HIS flea drops. (Despite the fact that shortly thereafter he is running around the house trying to escape from his own butt).

  72. 72.

    lamh32

    Alright, back to the subject at hand…that DAMN Bieber video…

    I guess this would be considered “clever marketing”, but this kinda weirds me out…

    ‘Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’: Will Paramount’s Christian outreach program get young men to see it?

    Justin Bieber: Never Say Never hits theaters this weekend, and, God willing, could be the topic of many conversations come Sunday — at least that’s what Paramount, the studio behind the 3-D documentary’s release, is hoping. Paramount has held 20 screenings in 20 markets at the end of January for Christian leaders, some of whom then offered written endorsements, arranged group ticket sales for their fellowship, or requested a copy of the study guide produced for the movie titled “Never Say Never: For Nothing Is Impossible With God.”

    Execs recognized that the film’s message of hope and Bieber’s strong Christian beliefs, about which both he and his mother Pattie Mallette have spoken extensively, were an opportunity to reach out to the faith community. The study guide is a collaboration between Bieber’s mother and Allied Faith & Family, an arm of Allied Integrated Marketing…

  73. 73.

    PurpleGirl

    I watched the trailer. I’ve never read the book; well, a page or two and found it boring and awful.

    Anyway, I was thinking about it and it hit me as very anachronistic in its portrayal of the industrial empire. (The book was published in 1957.) It has a family owning a large company empire. Even in the late 1950s, corporations were giving way to other ownership models. And trains were not the force that they once were. It was just a little later than when the book was published that various train companies sought to shed passenger service to concentrate on freight service. The movie I’d most compare the view of corporate industrial ownership to is Sabrina. In the earlier version (with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart) and set in the late 1940s/early 1950s, the family ownership is somewhat believable. In the remake, it was completely opposite to me — they didn’t really place the movie time-wise and the family ownership didn’t work for me. That’s what Atlas Shrugged trailer looked like to me. I couldn’t suspend my reality meters. It feels wrong.

    ETA: I expect Randian true believes will lap it up. It’s their fantasy world.

  74. 74.

    lamh32

    @Boudica:

    That dude who plays Spencer is 34! Wow same age as me. Maybe it’s just the character, but he seems younger.

    BTW, most “young” men I know ain’t gonna see no Justin Bieber movie, God or no God. (This is in response to my earlier comment: @lamh32)

  77. 77.

    JGabriel

    Christ, I go away for a couple hours and miss the Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 trailer? So many good targets to snark, and I’m fucking late to the party.

    Damn it.

    .

  78. 78.

    JGabriel

    @PurpleGirl:

    I expect Randian true believes will lap it up. It’s their fantasy world.

    Yeah, it’s like Lord of the Rings from the Orcs point of view, and Sauron wins. With rapes.

    .

  79. 79.

    Brian S (formerly Incertus)

    @PurpleGirl: I expect Randian true believes will lap it up. It’s their fantasy world.

    Yup. Only question is whether or not there are enough Randian true believers to make it a financial success the way the fundies made The Jesus Chainsaw Massacre one for Mel Gibson.

  82. 82.

    jl

    The Atlas Shrugged (Part I!) trailer was good for some giggles.

    I hope the movie is a smash hit. Will get people interested in big trains that go really fast, which maybe will be considered cool. Don’t look like there is anything else that people will remember after it’s over.

    Edit: except stylent late 40ish decor, which would be nice to have some more of too. If the movie does those two things, then it will be worth it. And if big fast trains get some popular support from the movie (with big gummint money) maybe the director will realize his mistake and cancel part II(!).

  83. 83.

    Karen in GA

    @beltane:

    A hero who only cares about making money is about as compelling as a rat who only cares about eating. Bor-ing.

    I haven’t seen, nor will I see, “Atlas Shrugs.” But there’s no way I can let you mention it in the same breath as “Ratatouille.” Pistols at dawn, sir/madam.

    (Unless you weren’t thinking of the Pixar film, in which case, never mind.)

  84. 84.

    scottinnj

    I don’t know the exact source of this following quote but I think it is one of the best descriptions of Atlas Shrugged:

    There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

  85. 85.

    suzanne

    @Corner Stone:

    Honestly, I’ve kinda fallen in love with Disney’s Phineas and Ferb.

    Oh, my God, it’s so good. I’m 31 and watching kids cartoons. God, i am lame.

  86. 86.

    beltane

    @Brian S (formerly Incertus): None of the rank-and-file wingnuts I know would be able to sit through the trailer much less the whole film. These people like blood and action and special effects. A low-budget adaptation of a very boring, very wordy novel is not going to cut it with them.

    Mel Gibson might be a fascist douchebag but he is a talented fascist douchebag.

  87. 87.

    KG

    Clippers and Cavs, tied at 108 with just under a minute to go… Cavs staring history in the face, having lost 26 straight.

    ETA: 20 seconds to go, Clips just hit two free throws to take the lead.

    ETAx2: 6 seconds and Mo Williams hit a pretty jumper to tie.

  88. 88.

    Jennyjinx

    @jeffreyw,

    We in Ohio like to call those cardinals. That is NOT a robin— a bird which brings me great joy when I see it in the winter because it’s way better than the groundhog to tell me when spring is imminent. You can always tell by the comb. And, no, it doesn’t really matter except cardinals don’t bring spring and robins do. :)

  92. 92.

    Another Commenter at Balloon Juice (fka Bella Q)

    @jeffreyw: I didn’t find it too oblique, but the lady cardinal who is cold will likely confuse many who thought you called her a robin, based on the title. I found it a clever take on the topic, but I’ve a soft spot for the cardinal girls, and harbingers of spring though they may be, I don’t much fancy robins. And of course it’s a lovely photo.

  100. 100.

    KG

    @freelancer: I know, but the Cavs have lost 26 in a row, they are set to break the Bucs all time, all sport record for most consecutive losses. Otherwise, I don’t really care, besides, the Lakers are blowing out the Knicks in New York, so I need to find something to keep me entertained before I do something stupid.

  101. 101.

    Corner Stone

    @suzanne: This past summer I took my son to the Hill Country Hyatt Resort outside San Antonio, TX.
    They didn’t have Nick but they did have Disney.
    And honestly, it was the only thing keeping me from putting him in the car and going back home, on a couple different times.
    It’s hard to explain but Suite Life on Deck, P&F and the SharkBoy and LavaGirl movie saved that vacation for us.
    So yeah, you’re lame. God, 31? Really?

  102. 102.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @b-psycho:

    You know you keep saying that, but you fail to consider the big picture, how many people will be able to get to work cheaply without having to own a car? There are millions of people in this country right now who cannot work because they do not have a car, shit they can’t even buy groceries unless they have a large cab fee. Getting from point A to point B should not mean that you have to have a spare $3K lying around to buy a car. This country is so screwed up sometimes.

  104. 104.

    Karen in GA

    @MikeJ: Of course he cooked, but it was because he loved good food. Ultimately, it was all about the eating.

    Okay, maybe I had to make a little bit of a stretch in responding to Beltane. But I’m sticking to it. Go with me on this, if only out of pity. (I used to go out and actually do stuff on Friday nights. No, really.)

  105. 105.

    Cat Lady

    @beltane:

    Mel Gibson might be a fascist douchebag but he is a talented fascist douchebag.

    Apocalypto kind of freaked me out about how good it was in general, and then n particular considering the source. It’s very anti-Catholic too, weirdly. That cat’s got some strange juju.

  106. 106.

    KG

    @Litlebritdifrnt: but is high speed rail the answer? I would think that more local, light rail (with more stops) would be useful for that. I always saw high speed rail (with fewer stops) as being used to get from, say LA to SF or Vegas or SD, Houston to Dallas, Orlando to Miami.

  107. 107.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Jennyjinx:

    Our entire County has been invaded by Robins recently, they are on every median here, picking at the grass and the crepe myrtle seeds. It appears that there are millions of them.

  108. 108.

    suzanne

    @Corner Stone:

    So yeah, you’re lame. God, 31? Really?

    Yep. All year.
    I got into P&F with my boyfriend (now husband) and some of our friends. A roomful of adults, kids playing outside, sitting around watching cartoons. Yeah, we’re awesome.

  110. 110.

    Calouste

    @PurpleGirl:

    The book (never read it, so going from the themes and Rand’s bio) doesn’t really play in 1950’s America does it? It plays in 1917 Russia in a 1950’s America setting.

  111. 111.

    Martin

    @Corner Stone: You’ve got to admit, Reason would have been all over this shit:

    Ferb is the rock that can’t be broken. A maestro at any number of skill sets, his quiet confidence lends itself to a kind of serenity.
    …
    Their possibly unbelievable exploits exist in a kind of time outside of time, a place where parents (or authority enforced externally) have no real power and are always a step too slow.

    They’re making a trilogy about these characters, right?

  113. 113.

    Corner Stone

    @Martin: I don’t actually read Reason, but from what little I’ve gleaned here – there are no leather jackets involved in my synopsis. And I’m pretty sure no hippies got poked in the eye with a sharp stick, nor any corporations were fellated.
    And man, I could totally go on about the relationship between Doofenshmirtz and Agent P.
    Not to mention the “oblivious” reaction by Phineas.

  114. 114.

    aliasofwestgate

    @suzanne:

    I’m 33 and i’m still watching Power Rangers. I was watching the 2008 show, Power Rangers RPM. PR meets MadMax. I was vastly amused, and they had a slew of injokes. (Granted, i’m also a fan of the japanese original shows, who have fans of ALL ages because that thing’s been airing for 35 years straight now.)

    So yes. i may need an intervention, but i’m far too busy having gigglefits in the corner about the unabashed silly of two guys in rubber suits bashing each other with plastic weapons and stunt actors posing in spandex. :D It’s a good way to relax, but then i’m a rabid anime fan, so i sorta stumbled into tokusatsu. Kamen Rider is also my other big thing. Look it up, it’s pretty cool.

  115. 115.

    b-psycho

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I completely agree with you. I’m not just saying that, I actually do. But if the car culture is a product of subsidized sprawl & the hollowing out of actual cities in favor of cookie cutter “bedroom communities”, isn’t sticking rail on top of that just a greener form of subsidizing the same commutes?

  118. 118.

    gnomedad

    @scottinnj:

    There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

    John Rogers

    ETA
    @gwangung:
    You win.

  119. 119.

    cthulhu

    It’s interesting that it has a budget of $15M and no indication that Part 2 is in pre-production. So, if it bombs, and if Parts 2 and 3 do get made, they will be with declining straight-to-video budgets. That could make for further laughs.

  121. 121.

    Jebediah

    @lamh32:
    You don’t need an intervention. I am 45 and I dig Phineas and Ferb, for which I too will not apologize. I also like the Spongebob, but I haven’t been watching it lately.

  122. 122.

    Jebediah

    @Dexwood:
    Second the treats after meds thing. I always display the treat before administering the medicine (or toothbrushing or whatever) so they have an incentive to cooperate.
    Or, alternatively, I will volunteer to administer Rosie’s eyedrops so she will not bear any grudge against her daddy.
    How far is Chez Cole from SoCal?

  127. 127.

    Anne Laurie

    @Brian S (formerly Incertus):

    Makes me a little glad that I’m moving out of this state, much as I love it, this summer for the decidedly less temperate climes of Des Moines.

    Yeah, but you’re moving to Iowa just in time for the 2012 primaries… we’re near enough to the New Hampshire border to get entirely too many campaign ads every other year, but you’ll have to put up with those plus the actual candidates in the near-human flesh…

  131. 131.

    Jeff Fecke

    Ordinarily I’d complain that the thread had gotten derailed what with the Phineas and Ferb talk, but quite frankly, P&F have far less cartoonish characters and far more realistic plot than anything Ayn Rand dreamed of in her withered, government-supported heart. We’re all better off discussing them. Hey, this weekend’s the musical episode!

    (Seriously, how can you not love a show that has an evil scientist singning, “Cause everyone else is a proletariat/And baby, I’m the bourgeoisie!”)

  133. 133.

    trollhattan

    I can get behind the Spongebob, as they throw enough bones, er, boneless snacks our way. The Crusty Crab Corporate Training Video is a must for anybody who’s worked for The Man. Office Space writ tiny.

    icarly drives me bonkers, but that’s because having a now 9YO grrl means it’s on, damnit, spaghetti tacos and all. And let me warn you parents about the much worse Wizards of Waverly Place, next in the endless Disney progression of hell.

    Anyway, I see icarly herself is all over the damn place. For example, see the far left of this frame.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5267470020/in/photostream/

    Miranda, she everywhere!

  135. 135.

    Jebediah

    @Jeff Fecke:

    “Seriously, how can you not love a show that has an evil scientist singing, “Cause everyone else is a proletariat/And baby, I’m the bourgeoisie!”

    True, although I think my favorite songs are (don’t know if they have actual titles) “Nemesis” and “Atlantis.”

  137. 137.

    Wile E. Quixote

    Jesus, railroads. Of course the wingnuts and randroids will completely ignore the fact that every single high-speed rail system in the world benefits from massive government subsidies, just as they ignore other contradictions in her writing and philosophy.

  139. 139.

    Jebediah

    Ooh, ooh, ooh – maybe now is the time to mention that apparently I live near a Randian God!!!
    There is a car that parks near my section of Galt’s Gulch that has a license plate frame that poses the eternal dogfart question: “Who Is John Galt?”
    I have been tempted to prepare a series of answers on index cards and slip one a day under a windshield wiper.

  142. 142.

    HeartlandLiberal

    Actually, the Reich-Wing opposes high speed rail because it is a clear indicator of socialism.

    Just think about it. The cult of the personal car and the growth of our highway system, the death of inner cities and the spread to the suburbs after the implementation of the freeway system in the 1950’s, all grew out of the auto industry’s purchase of Congress in the 20’s and 30’s, which led directly to the beginning of the death of the passenger train industry in America.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_streetcar_scandal

    Our society for the past 70 plus years has been predicated on the primacy of the individual and their automobile and personal transportation. We root this faith in the belief it represents FREEDOM, a magic word. Mass transportation has barely survived only in the major population centers on the NE coast, Chicago, and to some degree in cities in California.

    But any effort to expand mass transport, whether for the daily commute, or for long distance travel, is fiercely resisted, because it is a repudiation of the American belief in the individual auto. It is an emphasis on shared and communal solutions to transportation problems. You know. Socialism.

    It is really sad, and has come at great cost to our nation and society on so many fronts.

    I lived in Germany for a year many years ago, and we traveled by train almost every where, in comfort and convenience. I still remember the ad campaigns for the inter-city express trains, going anywhere in “zwei Stunden Takt”, a reminder you could on average be from any single major German city to the next nearest in just a short two hour tempo.

    I still fondly remember how we did even our weekend and holiday outings by train. We could hop a local train in the village where we lived, and 30 minutes later hop off at the station south of us at the base of the hill on top of which perched the famous Hohenzollern castle of the southern branch of the family.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenzollern_Castle

    We would then walk (yes. walk. on our feet, in our walking shoes) for about 20 minutes up the drive to the top of the isolated sugar loaf hill the mountain sat atop. And, we walked back down when we were through with the tour.

    Now look around you at an American population that is hitting a 50% of the population obesity rate. I don’t suppose we could get some statistically significant correlations going with the topic under discussion here, could we?

    Try to imagine your average American mind set accepting that they could not drive their car from home to the parking lot and would have to walk more than a couple hundred yards to their final destination. And if they did have to walk that far, they would expect some sort of shuttle to get them from the car to the door of the castle.

    (I often contemplate carrying a nail in my pocket to key the side of the luxury cars parked in the fire lanes at the supermarket just because their owners are too good to walk 40 feet from the nearest parking space. I admit freely to this recurring fantasy.)

  143. 143.

    Ron

    @Corner Stone: How can you not like Phineas and Ferb. Our 4-year old loves it, but it’s just entertaining. (I love the end of the opening. “Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!”)

  144. 144.

    Corner Stone

    @Yutsano: “In the city of loooove!”

    Personally, I think that song more aptly describes the female variety of our species. She wants something that just isn’t there, and yet blames him for it.
    Phineas rightly understands that to give her what she wants will damage her, and ultimately retard her self growth.

  145. 145.

    Corner Stone

    @Jeff Fecke: There can be no derailing of a thread about a trailer about the worst novel ever written.
    It is by definition an “Open Thread”.

  146. 146.

    PurpleGirl

    @Calouste: Good point. And being about Russia, of course a high speed train is needed to make the cross country trip, even some sort-of-local trips.

  147. 147.

    Fax Paladin

    But are there enough Phineas & Ferb fans on this thread to TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA?

    (Don’t watch because I have no cable. I get plenty of secondhand P&F from friends, though.)

  149. 149.

    droog

    I don’t like to needlessly make fun of the careers of others. But for a film about the success and excellence of selfish individuals that front line up lacks luster. Ironic that the people investing money in this film don’t seem to have a whole lot of it. The supporting cast looks better, but those salaries would always be within reach of an micro-Galtian producer.

Comments are closed.