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You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Birdly Beauty Break (Open Thread)

Birdly Beauty Break (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  April 7, 20176:56 pm| 218 Comments

This post is in: Birdwatching, Election 2016, Open Threads, Bitter Despair is the New Black, General Stupidity

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This hasn’t been a good week for many reasons. I think for some of us, the consequences of the election are sinking in anew, what with the elevation of Injustice Gorsuch and the inexcusable media fellating of Trump for scattering bombs ineffectively on a Syrian runway, possible harbingers of worse to come.

My liberal-but-doesn’t-follow-politics hubby was aghast at the Senatortoise from Kentucky’s boast on NPR about his successful theft of a SCOTUS seat. We can only hope these cumulative outrages wake people the fuck up.

Meanwhile, there’s still beauty in the world. Faithful reader “cope” provides evidence of it in this gorgeous photo of an osprey and prey:

It wasn’t a beautiful moment for the fish, but circle of life ‘n shit. Open thread!

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Previous Post: « Courtesy Bombing Coverage Will Stoke Trump’s Underlying Pathologies
Next Post: Open Thread: Mitch McConnell, Partnering with Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III »

Reader Interactions

218Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    April 7, 2017 at 6:58 pm

    Bird ain’t walking on the dunes.

  2. 2.

    zhena gogolia

    April 7, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    Double whammy of bombs and Gorsuch (make it triple if you count the MSM reaction, which I only know about from you guys) has me real, real down today. Господи, спаси нашу бедную родину. Останови этого мерзавца.

  3. 3.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    April 7, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    In lighter news: One of the first LEAVE BILLO ALONE!!!!11!1!11!! pieces to come down the pike (Wednesday night), courtesy of The Worst Human Being on Formerly The Worst Political Magazine In The World. Just in case anyone was in the mood for a weenie roast.

  4. 4.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    My moron boss today brought this Syrian bombing up. I told him the attack was wasteful and accomplished little because Russia was warned and in turn warned Assad. He then made the point that Trump was only bombing to see if Russia was helping Syria. Apparently they’re not supposed to be. I told him of course Russia was helping Assad, Syria is their client state, who doesn’t know that. Still thought what Trump did was good.

    I wished I would have remembered to ask him if that were the case, then why wasn’t our allies, the State Department, or Congress notified?

    I mean don’t get me wrong, as much as I hate Russia at this point I wouldn’t want to see dead Russians in Syria from American Tomahawks. Still, we could have at least chosen targets that would effectively screw over Assad without killing Russians I’m sure

  5. 5.

    donnah

    April 7, 2017 at 7:07 pm

    Thanks for your ongoing birdwatching pics. They are uplifting, no pun intended.

    I feel like this rollercoaster from Hell will never pull into the station to let us off. Trump is rewarded for his terrible decisions and celebrated for ineptitude. He is normalizing absurdity and dismantling govenrment on every level. He takes a criticism from a respected Civil Rights leader and somehow turns it into a compliment.

    Up is down, down is up and everyone seems fine with it. And I feel sick of actually rooting for him to fail because that’s wrong. But I do want him to fail. I want him and the Republicans to blow themselves to bits. We can clean up the mess. We always do.

  6. 6.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    Libertarians are idiots. I know, I know. Today’s evidence, from a Facebook acquaintance, commenting on my post about how Trump didn’t pursue the legal course of action with his bombings:

    So, you mean that he forgot to fill out the same paperwork that Obama filled out when he bombed Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen… wait is this list sounding familiar?

    I think it’s cute that Putin is complaining about this strike. If anything, it puts Assad more in Putin’s pocket (crazily enough, that’s a good thing). It’s not as though we struck Hmeimim. We struck Shayrat, the air base of Syrian air forces that launched a chemical attack.

    59 cruise missiles should keep it out of commission for a while. So, less chemical attacks or, at least, a decreased ability to launch them. Good thing, no?

    It’s almost as if it were masterminded by a famous Marine named James Mattis. I’m just surprised that Trump had the good sense to appoint / listen to him.

    Also, I’m going on vacation for two weeks to Thailand and Vietnam tonight, forgot to mention.

  7. 7.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    @donnah:

    And I feel sick of actually rooting for him to fail because that’s wrong. But I do want him to fail. I want him and the Republicans to blow themselves to bits. We can clean up the mess. We always do.

    It’s ok to want him to fail, because his goals are dangerous and disgusting

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 7, 2017 at 7:12 pm

    Don’t know why she popped into my head just now, but has anyone heard of or from commenter Little Brit Diffrent recently? At one point I think she was talking about returning to the U.K., but never saw a followup. And she hasn’t posted to her blog since May 2015. Anybody know? And Britty, if you’re out there and just (understandably) lurking, please delurk long enough to wave.

  9. 9.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 7, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    Went to see the big-screen showing of North by Northwest on Wednesday, and have been doing a lot of reading since then about the “Mt. Rushmore” house where the penultimate scene takes place. Said house never existed, in fact. Between that scene and the actual Mt. Rushmore finale, it is amazing how much they did on sound stages back in that era. Even the scene where Eve shoots Roger in the cafeteria – the set designers visited the cafeteria, ate there, and photographed it, then built a complete (or complete-enough) mockup back at MGM.

  10. 10.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 7, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Also, I’m going on vacation for two weeks to Thailand and Vietnam tonight, forgot to mention.

    Have a wonderful time, and send pictures to “On the Road” for our daily delectation.

  11. 11.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    I discovered yesterday that the documentation for one of our cameras is, shall we say, lacking, which meant that I wasted a whole day thinking I was taking photos because the guy who wrote the documentation left a step out. All of the people who use the equipment every day know about the step, but I’m not fucking psychic, so DOCUMENT THAT MOTHERFUCKING STEP!! and don’t assume that everyone remembers every detail of their training from 6 months ago.

  12. 12.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    “59 cruise missiles should keep it out of commission for a while. So, less chemical attacks or, at least, a decreased ability to launch them. Good thing, no?”

    Except that most of those missiles hit jack shit, the Syrians had time to evacuate personnel and equipment, and the runway wasn’t hit. So, tell me: how was this a win idiot libertarian?

  13. 13.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    April 7, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    Whoa… talk about self-serving fantasy narratives…

    4 pm afternoon news (Fox)…

    The runway is totally disabled!

    This is a warning to other potential US adversaries, like China!

    NOW they’re getting around to admitting the Russians were warned ahead of time… and a prof of San Jose is saying, ‘Much ado about nothing’…

    ‘Airplanes now carrying out more strikes…’

    Ooops…

  14. 14.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 7, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Ooh, I envy you. Vietnam is wonderful.

  15. 15.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 7:15 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Does the moron know that the Russians are already repairing the base and that we agreed to leave the runways untouched?

  16. 16.

    Phylllis

    April 7, 2017 at 7:15 pm

    @Mnemosyne: As I tell people all the time, please provide instructions that begin “first, take out a piece of paper”. I will not be offended.

  17. 17.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 7, 2017 at 7:15 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Glibertarians say they’re against foreign intervention and call for an “american first” strategy. Unless it involves killing brown people, then their reptilian, reactionary, racist neurons fire.

  18. 18.

    zhena gogolia

    April 7, 2017 at 7:17 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Yes, it’s amazing. Hitchcock is my favorite director.

  19. 19.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    @Goku: @Mnemosyne: Why would I reply to that? I’d rather just leave his idiocy to rot in the sun untouched.

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    April 7, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I hear wonderful things about both places from my globetrotting sister. Have fun, and be safe!

  21. 21.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 7, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I also saw it on Wednesday. Have, of course, seen it many times on TV/VHS/DVD, but this was quite probably the first time on the big screen since it was released in 1959 (I was a junior or senior in high school).

    As often as I’ve watched it, I found it incredibly scary in parts, especially the drunk-driving scene. And once again, I am stunned at the genius of Bernard Herrmann. Truly, one of the best film composers in movie history. Maybe the best, and there are a lot of good ones out there.

    Bless TCM and Fathom for partnering on these monthly big-screen classics. I try not to miss a one of them.

  22. 22.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    @Phylllis:

    There’s an instruction sheet attached to the equipment. Said instruction sheet leaves off the most important instruction that insures that you actually succeed in capturing a photo.

    But everyone who uses the equipment every day knows about that step because they use the equipment every day and don’t have to think about the steps anymore, so why bother to document it for the people who don’t use it every day, amirite?

    I’m hoping I can get over being pissed off about this over the weekend, because I still have to finish the project.

  23. 23.

    Baud

    April 7, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Have fun!

  24. 24.

    trollhattan

    April 7, 2017 at 7:21 pm

    @Mnemosyne:
    From this bit of footage it looks like maybe they filmed a few “Road Warrior” sequences there. Some broke stuff, some blackened concrete, but basically bupkis. They could have flung a few GBUs at the runway to shut things down for awhile, but I want moar for my hundred mil.

  25. 25.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 7, 2017 at 7:23 pm

     

  26. 26.

    japa21

    April 7, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    The egrets, blue herons and cormorants have returned to the NW suburbs of Chicago. Haven’t found out where the herons roost yet, but the cormorants and egrets share an large tree on an island. You drive by and see a tree that is all black towards the top and all white towards the bottom. Yes, there are obvious comments to be said about that.

  27. 27.

    debbie

    April 7, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Have a great time and enjoy the warm!

  28. 28.

    John Revolta

    April 7, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: You could point out to your acquaintance the the airbase is already back in operation. 90 million bucks doesn’t go as far as it used to apparently.

  29. 29.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thailand and Vietnam? He’s clearly a sex tourist, so pictures might not be appropriate. Or they might be de rigeur. Judgment call.

  30. 30.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 7, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: at the time microphones weren’t very good at screening out ambient noise so anything shot outside had to be redubbed. Plus shooting on location raised production costs .

  31. 31.

    Josie

    April 7, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    Thanks to cope and Betty Cracker for the lovely photos. I hope you keep them coming. We need everything beautiful we can find.

  32. 32.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 7, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    One of my favorite photos of Hanoi. Behold the infrastructure.

  33. 33.

    Mike J

    April 7, 2017 at 7:28 pm

    There’s an osprey nest at the local NOAA station, right next door to where I take my sailing instructor class next week. Have to keep an eye for them.

  34. 34.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 7:28 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I guess you’ll just have to find out.

  35. 35.

    Mary G

    April 7, 2017 at 7:28 pm

    Remember when Fridays were a slow news day and people released bad ideas in the afternoon when no one was paying attention? I didn’t know how valuable that was. I have been feeling dread all day because tomorrow is Shabbat and Jared won’t be around to keep the short-fingered vulgarian away from the football. Bannon is the type of guy who blows things up on his way out the door.

    ETA: Sorry, forgot to thank cope and BC for the awesome osprey photo. I appreciate everything that has been in On the Road posts, too, even though I read them when they’re dead and don’t comment.

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    @Mary G:

    Bannon is the type of guy who blows things up on his way out the door.

    And on his way in, and then he eats the door and shits all over where the door used to be.

  37. 37.

    bemused

    April 7, 2017 at 7:32 pm

    Recently I saw a bit of McConnell answering reporter’s questions re: SC confirmation and he couldn’t stop smiling and giggling. He always give me the creeps, evil bastard.

  38. 38.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 7, 2017 at 7:33 pm

    Video shows attack was ineffective to airfield. (photo)

  39. 39.

    frosty

    April 7, 2017 at 7:34 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Vacation? Don’t forget Road Trip posts (and pix if you can). I love the pix of places people have been but there’s been a dearth of people currently out on the road lately.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 7, 2017 at 7:34 pm

    Fresh water delivery boat, Ha Long Bay. Yes, the boat is made of concrete.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    April 7, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    @Josie:

    We need everything beautiful we can find.

    Here I am!

  42. 42.

    gene108

    April 7, 2017 at 7:36 pm

    If Democrats get control of government in 2020, I hope they increase the number of Representatives in the House. 435 House members was passed after the census of 1910.

    We have a lot more people in the country now, who are not getting representation.

  43. 43.

    Baud

    April 7, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    @gene108: Agree.

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    I tried to pay a little attention to pop culture to avoid popping a blood vessel over Trump’s stupidities. But no good. I’m outraged over the stupidity over the supposed “whitewashing” of the character in “Ghost in the Shell.” Mainly because the current generation of film critics are so stupid and so unaware of film history.

    There should be more Asian actors in movies. Period. No freaking issue. But I listened to a discussion with three critics only one of whom had seen the 1995 original anime and none of whom knew a damn thing about manga, and none of whom were Japanese or Japanese American. But they still felt qualified to talk about cultural appropriation. Another critic, Hoai-Tran Bui, wrote that “classic” Asian films should never be remade by Westerners. This critic also wrote that the only successful adaptation of an original Asian property was Scorsese’s “The Departed.”

    Uh, “Magnificent Freaking Seven.”

    There is an issue here, but none of these idiot critics got close to it. Meanwhile, I was charmed by hearing a Pacific Island parent walking with a friend and their children after they saw “Beauty and the Beast.” I overheard the mother talking about growing up with the real stories that inspired “Moana” and being able to talk about the new stories and the originals with her children. She enjoyed being able to expand her daughter’s love of beloved tales, and didn’t feel that her culture had been stolen or made lesser. Different strokes for different folks.

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Went to see the big-screen showing of North by Northwest on Wednesday, and have been doing a lot of reading since then about the “Mt. Rushmore” house where the penultimate scene takes place. Said house never existed, in fact. Between that scene and the actual Mt. Rushmore finale, it is amazing how much they did on sound stages back in that era.

    Some of the action is obviously done on a set, but it does not detract at all from the drama. I love Hitchcock, and this is one of my favorite films.

  45. 45.

    Josie

    April 7, 2017 at 7:38 pm

    Speaking of beautiful:
    Some time ago I posted this picture of my grand daughter and her guard pug.
    She has, of course, matured, and they are now in a partnership of sorts.

  46. 46.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    April 7, 2017 at 7:39 pm

    There’s still beauty in the world, Mr. Frodo….

    Sometimes we need reminding.

  47. 47.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 7:40 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    It’s almost as if it were masterminded by a famous Marine named James Mattis. I’m just surprised that Trump had the good sense to appoint / listen to him.

    What have we heard from Mattis. Oh, not a fucking thing!
    Maybe he’s in the secret bunker under the Pentagon, hiding from his alleged boss.
    Not that I’d blame him.

  48. 48.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    @Goku:

    It’s ok to want him to fail, because his goals are dangerous and disgusting

    And he doesn’t even know what they are.

  49. 49.

    Frankensteinbeck

    April 7, 2017 at 7:43 pm

    The media are fickle. I am hoping, as it comes out that the air strike did jack doodly squat, the news people will spend the weekend discussing that. Trump is REALLY good at shooting himself in the foot that way.

  50. 50.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    @Brachiator: I do think there are legitimate concerns about casting ScarJo in the GITS remake, actually. I don’t think there was a problem with, say, Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange. In my white man’s opinion. But keep in mind a lot of this furor is brought to you by the same Twitter-fueled leftish-ism that brought you the Oberlin sushi crisis.

  51. 51.

    jharp

    April 7, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    Did anyone know that a whole lot of bald eagles make a good portion of their living stealing fish from ospreys?

  52. 52.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Does the moron know that….

    If he knew, he wouldn’t be a moron.

  53. 53.

    Josie

    April 7, 2017 at 7:45 pm

    @Josie: Okay I messed up trying to post pictures. I will try again.
    Old picture of my grand daughter and guard pug.

    New picture of more mature partnership

  54. 54.

    Roger Moore

    April 7, 2017 at 7:46 pm

    It wasn’t a beautiful moment for the fish, but circle of life ‘n shit.

    The early worm gets the bird.

  55. 55.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 7:46 pm

    I identify very strongly with this onion article: Man Who Skipped Airport’s Moving Walkway Immediately Realizes What An Arrogant Fool He’s Been

  56. 56.

    Baud

    April 7, 2017 at 7:47 pm

    @Josie: Pug is like, how’d you get so big!

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 7:47 pm

    @Goku:

    My moron boss today brought this Syrian bombing up. I told him the attack was wasteful and accomplished little because Russia was warned and in turn warned Assad. He then made the point that Trump was only bombing to see if Russia was helping Syria. Apparently they’re not supposed to be. I told him of course Russia was helping Assad, Syria is their client state, who doesn’t know that. Still thought what Trump did was good.

    This is about where one would really want to try to slap some sense into the boss and yell, “Snap out of it!”

    I have this image of my head now of Putin, Trump and Assad as the Three Stooges. Putin is Moe, Assad Larry, and Trump Curley, but with the Orange Whatever on his head. What a bunch of dopes.

  58. 58.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 7:48 pm

    @jharp:

    Did anyone know that a whole lot of bald eagles make a good portion of their living stealing fish from ospreys?

    Yes, which is one of the reasons Ben Franklin wanted our symbol to be the turkey rather than the bald eagle.

    Seattle Seahawks have a similar problem.

  59. 59.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 7:48 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Judgment call.

    Shouldn’t you be sleeping by now?

  60. 60.

    BlueDWarrior

    April 7, 2017 at 7:51 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: i don’t think the turnaround will be that fast; I’ll give it until Assad cluster-bombs snorer city we can very clear footage of.

  61. 61.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 7:52 pm

    @efgoldman: yes! am trying to crash by 9 pm. may need to crack another bottle of wine. or read a few more “why hillary is the real problem” posts.

  62. 62.

    JPL

    April 7, 2017 at 7:53 pm

    @jharp: They don’t shy away from baby osprey either.

  63. 63.

    Baud

    April 7, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    @jharp: What part of “circle of life ‘n shit” was confusing?

  64. 64.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 7, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: EEEEEMMMMMAAAAAIIIILLLLZ!!

  65. 65.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    April 7, 2017 at 7:55 pm

    @Josie:

    Oh, she reminds me of my daughter at that age (your girl, not the pug ;-)

    That is such a fun age.

  66. 66.

    gene108

    April 7, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    @Josie:

    Adorable

  67. 67.

    Mike J

    April 7, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Satellite footage (that doesn’t come from Russia) shows 44 targets destroyed. Or did this morning when I linked to it. Now I get a 403 for the whole site.
    http://www.imagesatintl.com/us-strike-syria/

  68. 68.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    April 7, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    True, but they fare better than falcons against patriots….

  69. 69.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 7:59 pm

    @West of the Rockies (been a while): too soon!

  70. 70.

    jharp

    April 7, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    So how much of the $90 million in tomahawk missiles we blew through last night did our great deal maker get our allies to pay for?

    Someone needs to ask.

  71. 71.

    Mike J

    April 7, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Uh, “Magnificent Freaking Seven.”

    How about Star Wars?

    Half of Kurasawa’s work has been remade into at least decent movies, even if they weren’t as good as the original. And hell, Kurosawa appropriated Macbeth and Hamlet and King Lear. And he didn’t even attempt to cast Scots or Danes.

  72. 72.

    Ruviana

    April 7, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    @jharp: Lol, perfect metaphor for the U.S.

  73. 73.

    BlueDWarrior

    April 7, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    @BlueDWarrior: ok was trying to write “Until Assad cluster bombs another city and we get footage of it. “

  74. 74.

    jharp

    April 7, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    @JPL:

    They are nasty birds. Bald eagles that is.

    They are doing quite well in greater Indianapolis. I see them in the suburbs.

  75. 75.

    Roger Moore

    April 7, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:
    There’s a whole profession of set builders, dressers, and props people who know how to knock out sets like that on a tight schedule and budget. That kind of specialist work, and the fact that it’s still heavily unionized, provides middle-class livelihoods to a lot of blue collar workers here in LA. Of course those sets don’t hold up under really close scrutiny, which is why today’s big budget, high production value blockbusters tend to do a lot more location shooting.

  76. 76.

    Groucho48

    April 7, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):

    For decades, the right and libertarians have told us they weren’t against civil rights, they just thought the government shouldn’t be involved, that the free market could handle it. Then, the free market, here and there, actually started handling it and, all of a sudden, the free market shouldn’t be judgmental.

    Proof number 458 that they really are bigots.

  77. 77.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 8:06 pm

    @Mike J: I was watching Elementary last night and my husband walked by and said “I still can’t believe they womanwashed doctor Watson!”

  78. 78.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 8:06 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I do think there are legitimate concerns about casting ScarJo in the GITS remake, actually.

    I posted a review here, and noted that the filmmakers stepped into their own mess by some of their own additions to the story. But the original creators of GITS had no problem with the casting. And since the character is literally a shell, a vessel, in both the source material and the movie, the idea of racializing the shell is a non-issue.

    Again, the real world problem of casting real human beings and excluding Asians is a problem. But the casting in this film was not as egregious as other films. It’s funny. The Tom Cruise movie “Edge of Tomorrow” is based on a novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka with Japanese characters, but nobody gives a shit. Similarly, nerds loved “Pacific Rim” because it lovingly reflects graphic novels and animation that nerds love, and again, the diversity of the cast is not an issue. But special furor is brought to bear on “Ghost in the Shell.” Seems kinda unfair, and maybe sexist to some degree.

    I don’t think there was a problem with, say, Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange.

    Lots of people had problems with Tilda Swinton, and I understand some of the criticism. But again lots of people, including critics ignored the real world problem of changing some of the locales from Tibet to Nepal because in the real world no one wanted to offend Chinese film censors.

    And again, the real world problem of too few Asian and Asian American actors is real and should be dealt with. But damn, too much of the recent writing on this issue is stupid and uninformed.

    My other, more fun gripe, is all the relatively young people who loved the film “Logan” but who NEVER saw the movie “Shane” and don’t know how it relates to the Wolverine movie.

  79. 79.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    April 7, 2017 at 8:06 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Sorry, Steve… hey, you could be a Rams fan like me. Sad.

  80. 80.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 7, 2017 at 8:06 pm

    @Baud: I don’t trust circles.

  81. 81.

    Spanky

    April 7, 2017 at 8:09 pm

    @Baud:

    Here I am!

    You post any more nude pics of yourself and we’re taking your camera away and banning you. And you don’t want to find out what “Banning” means in this day and age.

  82. 82.

    Origuy

    April 7, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    This article just popped up in Facebook: Bald Eagles Make Big Comeback in San Francisco Bay Area

    Nineteen nests have been tallied in eight Bay Area counties, including at Stanford University, a mall and a water park, the Mercury News in San Jose reported this week.

  83. 83.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    @Brachiator: I don’t know that there was a ‘right’ thing to do in doctor strange. You can’t make the ancient one a dragon lady, or mister miyagi, or a white person, or make it in Tibet, or make it in Nepal, without stepping on somebody somewhere.

  84. 84.

    Baud

    April 7, 2017 at 8:13 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: There’s no point to them.

  85. 85.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 8:14 pm

    @Mike J:

    Half of Kurasawa’s work has been remade into at least decent movies, even if they weren’t as good as the original. And hell, Kurosawa appropriated Macbeth and Hamlet and King Lear. And he didn’t even attempt to cast Scots or Danes.

    Kurosawa was blasted by some Japanese critics for adapting Western works. The wonderful movie, “The Bad Sleep Well” is a loose adaptation of “Hamlet.”

    And from the Wiki:

    Kurosawa mentioned in several interviews that his script was inspired by Jules Dassin’s The Naked City and the works of Georges Simenon. Kurosawa wrote the script with Ryūzō Kikushima, a writer who had never written a script before.

    And the magnificent “Ran” does not simply adapt Lear, it finds a way to weave in Japanese history of the Shogun era but also breathe new life into Shakespeare’s themes.

    Yeah, I probably love Kurosawa as much as I love Hitchcock. Kurosawa’s first color film, “Dodes’ka-den” about a Japanese shanty town, still moves me to tears. And I enjoy the lessons in compassion in “Red Beard.”

    But, oh yeah, no Kurosawa, no Sergio Leone westerns.

  86. 86.

    geg6

    April 7, 2017 at 8:14 pm

    Had a huge fight with my staff assistant today. She keeps trying to tell me how to do my job and change how I do things to suit her. I had to walk out on her before I lost it. I don’t have the power to fire her (she’s shared with my boss) or I would. I’ve been doing this for 19 years at this particular institution. She’s been given some duties in my area for a little over a year. She has no clue what my whole job entails but she keeps telling me I’m doing it all wrong and I need to do things the way she sees as best.

    I’ve got a bottle of wine and I’m going to try to simmer down with it. It’s hours after that little scene she started and I’m still pissed.

  87. 87.

    Mike J

    April 7, 2017 at 8:19 pm

    @Brachiator: The entire concept of appropriation seems to fly in the face of mashup culture. I’m old enough to remember when some of “those people” took a song by Roy Orbison and it was the worstest thing ever. Or just something for the olds to get over, depending on which side you were on.

  88. 88.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):

    hey, you could be a Rams fan like me. Sad.

    Do you guys still have John Cappelletti? He was good.

  89. 89.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    April 7, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    @Groucho48: When exactly did Shafer jump the shark? I’m aware he’s always been a bit of a douche (and that his stewardship of Slate was a legitimate war crime), but I do recall him being at least worthy of respectful consideration – and his Reuters work, at least, was consistently not bad. Did the move to Politico bleed every ounce of not-dogshit-creature out of him?

  90. 90.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 8:25 pm

    @Groucho48:

    For decades, the right and libertarians have told us they weren’t against civil rights, they just thought the government shouldn’t be involved, that the free market could handle it.

    There has always been a strain of racism in libertarian thinking here. Some libertarians had a love thing for Australia in the early 60s when that nation had laws that made it difficult or impossible for people of color to move to that country.

    And with respect to American civil rights, libertarians would say that the government shouldn’t be involved, but magically had not problem with the segregation laws on the books. But some of them would claim that there was some mystical “natural law” that made the various races want to stay away from each other.

  91. 91.

    Greenergood

    April 7, 2017 at 8:25 pm

    Very glad to see that the osprey obeyed the beach signs and did not walk on the dunes!! NPR journalist tonight reported the unusual situation where the ‘summit’ meeting between *President Trump and Xin had no closing comments or presser, and very little coverage during their ‘historic’ meeting – thank heavens for distracting, ineffective bombing runs in Syria! So Syria distracts from China, Gorsuch, Russia, Bannon supposed dismissal – what’s not to like for a trumped-up, fake-news ‘president’?

  92. 92.

    Roger Moore

    April 7, 2017 at 8:27 pm

    @Mike J:

    How about Star Wars?

    Got some vague inspiration from Hidden Fortress but was in no way a remake. Nobody who watched both movies would think one was a remake of the other.

  93. 93.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 8:28 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Do you guys still have John Cappelletti?

    I heard Roman Gabriel was going to come back, because even now he’s better than any QB on the roster.

  94. 94.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    April 7, 2017 at 8:30 pm

    @Brachiator: Reason magazine also ran approving coverage of apartheid South Africa, in addition to running a (pro-)Holocaust denial issue in the ’70s.

    Also: That piece I linked to above was approvingly cited by Breitbart.

  95. 95.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    @Mike J:

    The entire concept of appropriation seems to fly in the face of mashup culture.

    It also ignores how some Japanese love to appropriate Western culture, for example, subcultures that dress up, play country western or country swing music.

  96. 96.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Nobody who watched both movies would think one was a remake of the other.

    Yabutt, Lucas never used real aliens!

  97. 97.

    hueyplong

    April 7, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    @efgoldman: Dieter Brock.

  98. 98.

    max

    April 7, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    It wasn’t a beautiful moment for the fish, but circle of life ‘n shit.

    The President orders a bombing, the cruisers launch the missiles, the missiles hit the target, the pundits drool and write a bunch of shit, the shit gets dumped in the water (because no one believes it), the water carries the shit down steam to the ocean, where it poisons the fish, which causes a ruckus when all the floating fish bodies are discovered, so the Presidents orders the dead fish torpedoed, which blows up the fish, which makes the pundits drool….

    max
    [‘And so on, ad infinitum.’]

  99. 99.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Got some vague inspiration from Hidden Fortress but was in no way a remake. Nobody who watched both movies would think one was a remake of the other.

    Vague inspiration. HF focuses on two peasants (unheard of in that genre). Lucas specifically noted how the two robots were analogs for the peasants. A feisty princess. A rogue hero. There are scenes from the film that are directly reworked in the first two Star Wars movie. Vague inspiration? Hell, no.

  100. 100.

    MazeDancer

    April 7, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    Meanwhile, there’s still beauty in the world.

    Sometimes, the best reminder of why to not give up hope. Color, light, tree branches, birds, words, kitties, art, music, theatre. Beauty is a reason to get up in the morning and get through every day. Sometimes, beauty is all there is. Or at least the only thing that brings comfort, will not desert us, or makes any kind of sense.

  101. 101.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    @Brachiator: Begum Jaan is shaping up to be quite a movie. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sonu Nigam, kill it in Azaadiyaan (Freedoms)

    Sample verse:
    Your lines are like daggers across the land, just tell me where my home is
    A sigh here, a sigh there, praise freedom!

    Some background from Wikipedia:
    The partition displaced between 10 and 12 million people along religious lines, creating overwhelming refugee crises in the newly constituted dominions; there was large-scale violence, with estimates of loss of life accompanying or preceding the partition disputed and varying between several hundred thousand and two million. The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship to the present.
    Thanks for nothing, Brits.

  102. 102.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 7, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    @efgoldman: I went to Jr. High with 2 of his kids.

    ETA: One was named Ram.

  103. 103.

    debbie

    April 7, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Have you made it home yet?

  104. 104.

    Mike J

    April 7, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    @Brachiator:

    It also ignores how some Japanese love to appropriate Western culture, for example, subcultures that dress up, play country western or country swing music.

    I spent a fun evening drinking with a cowpunk band in Berlin once.

  105. 105.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    @Greenergood:
    I thought it was interesting after all the hoop-la about the meeting being at Mar-a-Lago, the Chinese delegation, Xin and all didn’t even stay there. They stayed at a nearby hotel. Xin doesn’t play golf. It’s frowned on in China. Obviously, the meeting was there for Trump’s comfort. Can you imagine any other president being ALLOWED to conduct America’s “business” in what is essentially his private home? It’s a disgrace. I alternate between perpetual anger, rage and depression, despair.

  106. 106.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 7, 2017 at 8:44 pm

    @Quinerly: Can you imagine any other president being ALLOWED to conduct America’s “business” in what is essentially his private home?

    If only. A profit making (AFAWK) business for which he just doubled the membership fee.

  107. 107.

    Another Scott

    April 7, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    @Mike J: YNetNews has a couple of the before-and-after images.

    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4946714,00.html

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  108. 108.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 8:46 pm

    @Quinerly: Talk about an own goal. Electing a washed up TV showman as the President, what could go wrong?

  109. 109.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 7, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Could be worse, there’s Baud.

  110. 110.

    lamh36

    April 7, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    Got my bedroom and dining room furniture in today!

    this may be the nicest table I’ve ever owned! I almost don’t want to eat on it!!! Ima just buy some darn tv trays!!!

    Dining Room Table & Chairs

    Here’s a picture of my bedroom set! I splurged on a mattress. Tonight will be my first night in it! We’ll see if my sleep is restful.

    When I bought the set, I told the guy I didn’t want a high mattress. This one is actually the shortest they had. And dang, I almost had to leap into my bed…LOL. Seriously though, if there are one too many late night incidents from late night trips to the bathroom I may need a stepping stool…if I was as short as the rest of my family I”d have to run and leap! Tthis is me sitting on the edge of the bed ??.

    #MattressToDamnHigh

    It wasn’t bad getting off the mattress after this picture, so I think I’ll be ok without a stepping stool for now…

  111. 111.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: We are Baud people.

  112. 112.

    debbie

    April 7, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    @Brachiator:

    And the magnificent “Ran” does not simply adapt Lear, it finds a way to weave in Japanese history of the Shogun era but also breathe new life into Shakespeare’s themes.

    I think this is true of most adaptations, but some people seem to want something totally new every time. I think they confuse adaptations with remakes (which are totally unoriginal).

  113. 113.

    Alain the site fixer

    April 7, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: you best send lots of pics for the on the road feature, and have a wonderful time.

  114. 114.

    JPL

    April 7, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    @lamh36: It’s beautiful!

  115. 115.

    lamh36

    April 7, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    In my living room, I was thinking 2 accent chairs and a sofa. I love me some blue, but had trouble finding a nice sofa reasonably priced along with 2 reasonably priced accent chairs. Who knew accent chairs were so DAMN expensive!

    While I was looking for some better priced chairs, I came across these chairs at Ashley Home Furnishing, very reasonably priced for 2 all I had to do was assemble them on my own.. I ordered them on Wednesday, and damned if I didn’t get them today!!! That was so fast.

    So… BAM!!! Chairs assembled by me!!!

    The chairs are bigger than i thought and the color is a darker blue due to my apt lighting! Now i need a sofa and a table set! Took me only about 2hrs to assemble both chairs!!!

    So I’m partial to blue, and I like dark cherry wood. I’m inclined to get a chocolate brown chair with blue & chocolate accent pillows? Or maybe a dark leather sofa?

    Anyone got any good ideas…thanks.

    ETA: Forgot the link to pics of my bedroom furniture: https://twitter.com/psddluva4evah/status/850433040924979201

  116. 116.

    germy

    April 7, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) agrees with President Donald Trump that the use of chemical weapons on his own country are horrific. However, he took it a step further in a series of tweets on Friday, saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad committed war crimes.

    Sanders wants to see the United States bring the international community together to bring about peace and stability.

    “I’m deeply concerned the strike in Syria could lead the U.S. back into the quagmire of long-term military engagement in the Middle East,” Sanders said.

  117. 117.

    lamh36

    April 7, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    @lamh36: Forgot the link to pics of my bedroom furniture: https://twitter.com/psddluva4evah/status/850433040924979201

  118. 118.

    debbie

    April 7, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    @lamh36:

    They sell half boxsprings. Can you ask them to swap out what you have?

  119. 119.

    mai naem mobile

    April 7, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    @Quinerly: I think it’s disgusting. We are the fucking United States of America. Jeezus fucking christ, he has the WH,Blair House, Camp David and dozens of beautifull imposing buildings and this fuck face chooses his shitty 70s-80s Liberace meets Miami Vice styled private club. Seriously,WTmotherfuckingFuck, all so he can make a few more pennies in top of what’s he’s already ripped this country off of. And he’s ugly on top of everything else and his wife is going to look like Joan Rivers soon with her slanted eyes from excessive plastic surgery. Also too, do Ivankolita and Melanoma know how to dress appropriately? Your tank top style strap coming off your shoulder is not appropriate at a formal event.

  120. 120.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    @debbie: got home just before sunrise this morning! And apparently there are a lot of folks still stuck.

  121. 121.

    Greenergood

    April 7, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    @Quinerly: Wow! And no media source has picked up on this? Trump in Mar-a-Lago Dacha, Xin in Best Western next door, with coffeemaker and extra towels? This is diplomacy on a demented level. Trump’s grifting is out of control

  122. 122.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    I’m on overload. Keep thinking the outrage of the day will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back….that even the Repugs (that’s what my dad called them starting with Nixon and he was born in 1922…short for “Repugnants”)will wake up. Feel like all the built in safeguards of our system are failing us. What is going to happen to us?

  123. 123.

    Roger Moore

    April 7, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    @Brachiator:
    My point is that the plots are radically different. It’s not at all like Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven or Yojimbo/A Fist Full of Dollars, where not just some major characters and plot points were copied, but where the same plot in considerable detail was rewritten into a different setting. That may have been what Lucas originally had in mind, but it’s not the way the story ended up. As fairly obvious examples, The Hidden Fortress lacks characters who are the equivalents of Luke and Han or a plot equivalent to rescuing Leia from the Death Star. It’s hard to call something a remake when it adds major characters and rewrites the plot.

  124. 124.

    mai naem mobile

    April 7, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    @germy: Bernie Sanders can go fuck himself. Thanks for Justice Gosucks asshole.

  125. 125.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    @germy:

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) agrees with President Donald Trump that the use of chemical weapons on his own country are horrific. However, he took it a step further in a series of tweets on Friday, saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad committed war crimes.

    Sanders wants to see the United States bring the international community together to bring about peace and stability.

    “I’m deeply concerned the strike in Syria could lead the U.S. back into the quagmire of long-term military engagement in the Middle East,” Sanders said.

    Good fucking god.

  126. 126.

    lamh36

    April 7, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    @debbie: well, the boxspring isn’t that high. The issue is that the bed is a storage bed, so the mattress beams are high up enough to allow for the storage drawers on the side of the bed.

    It’s not really that bad, but def not as low as I figured it be. Besides, I’m the only getting in and out of it (singleton that I am) so as long as I can get in and out I’m good

  127. 127.

    mai naem mobile

    April 7, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    @Greenergood: Hey,I would bet $5 that the Best Western has a better breakfast than Malo–Lago

  128. 128.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 9:01 pm

    @Greenergood:
    CNBC had a piece (in March) about Xin not staying there. Trump made a big deal about personally footing the bill for the Japanese PM’s stay.

  129. 129.

    debbie

    April 7, 2017 at 9:01 pm

    @lamh36:

    Got it. I’ve stayed with friends with beds so high, I needed a running start to get in it.

  130. 130.

    Josie

    April 7, 2017 at 9:03 pm

    @mai naem mobile: Don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel. ; )

  131. 131.

    debbie

    April 7, 2017 at 9:03 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Hallelujah!

  132. 132.

    germy

    April 7, 2017 at 9:04 pm

    There’s a guy on Shark Tank right now with wine for cats. Pino Meow. He says he made over $90,000 in three months.

    No alcohol in the cat wine, of course. Catnip.

    So far, no takers.

    EDIT: Wait! Two offers are on the table.

  133. 133.

    Iowa Old Lady

    April 7, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    We finally trapped a raccoon last night. The exterminator took it away but said we may not be done yet. We’ll see.

  134. 134.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    @mai naem mobile:
    Your righteous rant made me smile. First smile since Tuesday. Thanks. I truly mean it.

  135. 135.

    divF

    April 7, 2017 at 9:07 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Make them Norwegians. Nobody (or everybody) gets offended.

    Are you taking the Anthony Bourdain Stuff Yourself Senseless tour ?

  136. 136.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 7, 2017 at 9:07 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Oh, come on. He is *concerned*. What more do you expect?

  137. 137.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 9:10 pm

    @Roger Moore: I didn’t call Star Wars a remake. Ran is not a remake of Lear. Inspiration is more than rearranging plot elements.

  138. 138.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 7, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Trump made a big deal about personally footing the bill for the Japanese PM’s stay.

    I wanna see some receipts, oh and tax returns. I’ll just sit over here and wait…

  139. 139.

    JPL

    April 7, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    MSM might be touting Trump’s toughness but Luckovich isn’t.
    https://cmgajcluckovich.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/lk040917_color.jpg

  140. 140.

    germy

    April 7, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    @Brachiator: Have you heard the 1940s movie music the Star Wars theme was inspired by?

  141. 141.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 9:13 pm

    Rachel is quite good tonight. Wilbur Ross is a very confused man.

  142. 142.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 7, 2017 at 9:13 pm

    zounds!

    Ruben Gallego‏ @ RubenGallego 5m5 minutes ago
    Ruben Gallego Retweeted The Hill
    My god. Just go away.

    The HillVerified account @ thehill
    Former Secretary of State Kerry “absolutely supportive” of Trump’s Syria strike: report

    I’m a John Kerry fan– I think he’s very very very wrong here, and reacting emotionally, but Gallego is a Dem MoC. I get email from him on an almost daily basis, sometimes seems like more than daily

  143. 143.

    BlueDWarrior

    April 7, 2017 at 9:14 pm

    @Quinerly: You have a significant proportion of the electorate who wants to induce a failure state in the government. They feel screwed, often for spurious at best reasons, and want to grind everything to a halt.

    When you have that many users that want to actively break a system, the system can’t internally guard against it.

    Our job is to make them stop, or increase our number until they drop back to an insignificant figure. Both really…

  144. 144.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 9:14 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: That’ll be the day.

  145. 145.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I don’t see how that last sentence works with the rest of it. He wants the whole world bogged down in a quagmire instead?

  146. 146.

    jacy

    April 7, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    @Origuy:

    When I lived in Woodland Park, CO, I saw a golden eagle swoop up the neighbor’s cat. It was quite distressing. They are freaking huge.

  147. 147.

    germy

    April 7, 2017 at 9:18 pm

    Cartoonist Bors thinks all the russian stuff is silly.
    http://www.gocomics.com/matt-bors/2017/04/04

  148. 148.

    eclare

    April 7, 2017 at 9:18 pm

    @Josie: How cute! BFF’s…

  149. 149.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 9:22 pm

    @BlueDWarrior:I guess I truly didn’t realize how many people want to break the system…including the likes of McConnell and Ryan…and I was a political science major, with a minor in philosophy who worked briefly on the Hill before going to law school in 1982. Don’t get me wrong, I knew it was bad, I’m not naive and I grew up around party politics but it’s still surreal to me. Still can’t mentally process how we got to this dark place. Like I said earlier, perhaps I’m on overload.

  150. 150.

    Steeplejack

    April 7, 2017 at 9:22 pm

    @Brachiator:

    This critic also wrote that the only successful adaptation of an original Asian property was Scorsese’s The Departed.

    Another example: A Fistful of Dollars is a (close) remake of Kurosawa’s Yojimbo.

    By coincidence, this afternoon I rewatched Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001). I am not Asian-American, and I certainly feel that there should be a lot more of them—and people of all colors—in movies, but I haven’t followed the current controversy very well. So I’ll be happy to read more informed commentary. But when I heard about the controversy over the casting of Ghost in the Shell I was a little surprised. A fair amount of Japanese anime, especially fantasy and science fiction, is already deracialized, to an extent. Not whitewashed, exactly, but sort of “universalized.” Not a lot of blonds, okay, but many of the characters don’t look explicitly “Japanese” or Asian. And often the mise-en-scène is a post-modern urban mash-up with markers from everywhere. In Cowboy Bebop there are right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive cars at different times and a mixture of Roman and (presumably kanji) signage—all on a future version of Mars.

    Many of Hayao Miyazaki’s early films seem to inhabit an imaginary mid-century Mitteleuropa. Here’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (which I heartily recommend). See also Howl’s Moving Castle or Castle in the Sky. (I will note that some of Miyazaki’s films are more explicitly “Japanese,” e.g., Spirited Away.)

    Okay, end of story. I don’t really know where I wanted to end up with this, except to say that I was a little surprised that the controversy exploded around a fantasy film with an android heroine. Where exactly is the “cultural appropriation”? Maybe the controversy arose because it’s a high-profile, big-budget Hollywood production? Even as a white person, I often feel like Hollywood is bulldozing my cultural heritage.

    In conclusion, I will say that I went back and looked at the trailers for the original anime Ghost in the Shell, and it does look more “Japanese” than I remembered—mostly the cityscapes and the background characters. But sort of in the way that Blade Runner often feels vaguely “Asian.” Go figure.

    Apologies in advance for my whitey cluelessness.

  151. 151.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 9:22 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: The official trailer has had more than 20 million hits. The photography is very impressive. I need to learn more about the filmmakers.

    Obliquely related, Timothy Piggot Smith, so dastardly in The Jewel in the Crown, has recently died.

  152. 152.

    lurker dean

    April 7, 2017 at 9:24 pm

    @lamh36: nice, like those chairs! wow on that bed being the lowest, i’d need to get used to one that height. and my portly unathletic cats, not sure they would make it, they’d need a step, lol. enjoy all the new furniture!

  153. 153.

    JPL

    April 7, 2017 at 9:24 pm

    @Josie: My fifth grade neighbor loves pugs, and for his birthday bought him a board game pugnopoly from Amazon.
    The picture is adorable .

  154. 154.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 9:25 pm

    So, for the past few years I’ve been thinking about trying my hand at writing short stories. I have a couple basic, broadstroke, plotlines in my head. I always run into plot holes tho, when I’m thinking them thru. Another issue I have is deciding whether a scenario in a story is plausible to the readers; writing about real places is also problematic. I also want to avoid writing a Mary sue type character. I always choose high concept ideas that are probably too challenging for a beginner.

    For example, I really want to write a dystopian piece taking place in the US sometime in the future. Probably 40 or 50 years. The US is a totalitarian, white nationalist police state that is only democratic nominally and it, along with other major world powers fight for the remaining natural resources around the globe. Nonwhites are once again 2nd class citizens; no egalitarian veneer any longer. Its a RWNJ utopia.

    Main character is your typical clueless privledged white guy who stumbles upon cops who dragged a nonwhite prostitute off the street and plan to take her. He accidentally creates a distraction and the woman gets away. Cops aren’t happy and attempt to kill him. He gets away, but they discover who he is as it turns out.

    Various appliances and pubic systems are hooked up to the internet in the future and thus hackable. Various “accidents” start befalling him a la “Final Destination”. He eventually meets up with the resistance.

    About as far as I’ve gotten with it. Not sure if it should be a comedy or totally serious. Tell me if I have something. Was partially inspired by Dead Kennedys’ “Police Truck”

  155. 155.

    Groucho48

    April 7, 2017 at 9:27 pm

    @Brachiator:

    It’s amazing the contortions people go through just to be able to justify bigotry. Including the main distortion–that they aren’t bigots, anyway.

  156. 156.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 9:27 pm

    @Quinerly: Rich People’s Party wants tax cuts for the 1% and everything else is fair game, including dismantling everything. Its the Vulture Capitalist mentality applied to government.

  157. 157.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 9:30 pm

    @Brachiator: Its a Bengali film maker, Srijit Mukherjee.

    Piggot Smith was awesome in the JITC.

  158. 158.

    Steeplejack

    April 7, 2017 at 9:30 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I like the story right below that: “Trump Confident U.S. Military Strike on Syria Wiped Out Russian Scandal.”

  159. 159.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    He wants the whole world bogged down in a quagmire instead?

    Wilmer doesn’t know what HE wants any more than Citron Shitweasel knows what HE wants.

  160. 160.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 9:32 pm

    @Goku: you should just write it! Sucking at something is the first step to being pretty good at something, after all.

  161. 161.

    Ruviana

    April 7, 2017 at 9:32 pm

    @Goku: You really need to develop the part about the pubic system!

  162. 162.

    satby

    April 7, 2017 at 9:33 pm

    @Josie: adorable Josie!

  163. 163.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 9:33 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:
    Yes, I know. Like I said…guess I wasn’t as jaded as I thought I was. Still trying to process that 90% plus are willing to put party over country. Reality has hit me in the last 90 days. And, yes, I’m rambling.

  164. 164.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    @Steeplejack: Kiki is a great example. The source novel is based on a fictional country in Northern Europe, but the novel and movie certainly “feel” Japanese in many ways.

    Another favorite film. My niece was not impressed. On the other hand, my sister and brother loved the Japanese import cartoons Simba the White Lion and of course Speed Racer. My son grooved on Robotech, and I found some of the toy spaceships for him at a little shop in Little Tokyo.

  165. 165.

    MomSense

    April 7, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    @lamh36:

    Have you ever checked out houzz.com for ideas? I’d probably go with a more neutral sofa color and maybe a large leather ottoman instead of a coffee table.

    Well done on the chairs!

  166. 166.

    divF

    April 7, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    Current headline on sfgate.com

    Dismembered body in San Bruno home prompts arrest.

    I should think so…

  167. 167.

    mainmata

    April 7, 2017 at 9:36 pm

    I love Betty Cracker. You and Anne Laurie (though entirely different personalities) invest so much personality in this site. As I work full time I only can weigh in occasionally but love this place.

  168. 168.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 9:37 pm

    @lamh36: I like the chairs. Are they comfortable? Where did you buy them from?

  169. 169.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 9:37 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I know. I always let myself get bogged down in the details tho. That’s always been a big problem of mine and then I get discouraged. Plus there’s always research that has to be done for a story to be good. I admit I’m lazy ;)

  170. 170.

    Felonius Monk

    April 7, 2017 at 9:37 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Seattle Seahawks have a similar problem.

    Seahawks “stole” Eddie Lacey from the Green Bay Ospreys Packers. Omnes has a sad.

  171. 171.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    @Goku: Who are the world powers in your black and white dystopia?

  172. 172.

    Steeplejack

    April 7, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Leave Joan alone! That’s practically the only network series I still watch religiously. (Bull has turned out to be surprisingly good, and I thought the premise for that was crap when I first heard it.)

  173. 173.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    @Goku: Start writing. Then you get to see it. See what you’ve got. And maybe the story really starts to emerge from the re-writing. Good luck.

  174. 174.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 9:41 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I don’t see how that last sentence works with the rest of it. He wants the whole world bogged down in a quagmire instead?

    Are you suggesting that Wilmer doesn’t have a well thought out plan?!

  175. 175.

    Taylor

    April 7, 2017 at 9:41 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Went to see the big-screen showing of North by Northwest on Wednesday, and have been doing a lot of reading since then about the “Mt. Rushmore” house where the penultimate scene takes place. Said house never existed, in fact. Between that scene and the actual Mt. Rushmore finale, it is amazing how much they did on sound stages back in that era.

    The story I heard was that Hitch hated location shooting, he wanted to be able to go the studio cafeteria for lunch.

    The Searchers is one of my favorite films….except for the nighttime scene by the camp fire, which was very obviously a sound stage.

  176. 176.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 9:41 pm

    @Ruviana: Everything it seems is online these days. COPS from Watch Dogs seems like a good place to start for it.

  177. 177.

    Brachiator

    April 7, 2017 at 9:43 pm

    @germy:

    .. Have you heard the 1940s movie music the Star Wars theme was inspired by?

    Ya know, I have not. Too overwhelmed by the John Wiiiams score. I need to correct this oversight.

  178. 178.

    Steeplejack

    April 7, 2017 at 9:44 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Just today I ordered a 9" stuffed Totoro for my nephew’s first birthday. Looking forward to sharing all of Miyazaki’s movies with him and his older sister as they get a little older.

    Actually, I feel that if everybody was forced to watch My Neighbor Totoro about once a year the world would be a much better place.

  179. 179.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 9:46 pm

    @lamh36:

    You and I have very similar taste in furniture, though G will not allow me to get a storage bed. One of the downsides of marriage. ?

  180. 180.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 9:46 pm

    @Steeplejack: I think Japan kinda does that. Decent country.

  181. 181.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 9:48 pm

    @Goku:

    I always run into plot holes tho

    deus ex machina solves all problems

  182. 182.

    Another Scott

    April 7, 2017 at 9:48 pm

    @Goku: If you think you want to write, then you need to write.
    Write it down. It’s not going to get out of your head and become something real unless you write it down. Don’t think that you can’t get started until you have it all worked out from the beginning. Maybe J.K.R. can write that way, but most people can’t.

    I vaguely recall stories of songwriters who carry around a slip of paper with a great line on it for months or years until they figure out the rest of the song. Carrying a notebook and keeping one by your bed might make sense, too, to make sure you don’t lose a spark when one comes to you.

    Tolstoy rewrote War and Peace something like 6 times before he was done with it…

    Write it down. And come back to it and rewrite, edit, etc.

    It sounds like an interesting plot line, but see where the characters take you. :-)

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  183. 183.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 9:49 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I am with G. Unless you are in a dorm room or an apartment in NYC its not worth it. Too darn uncomfortable.

  184. 184.

    germy

    April 7, 2017 at 9:49 pm

    @Brachiator:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tysCiL1-24w
    Music from the 1940s film “Kings Row”

  185. 185.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 9:51 pm

    @Goku:

    It could work. How much Vonnegut have you read? It sounds like something that could show up as a short story in “Welcome to the Monkey House.”

  186. 186.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 7, 2017 at 9:51 pm

    Ashley Parker‏Verified account @ AshleyRParker 26m26 minutes ago
    Fun deets in this Syria tic-toc lede: Trump asked for his daily briefings to include less words, more pictures.

  187. 187.

    Mike J

    April 7, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    @Goku: Go ahead and write even if you have plot holes. Either you’ll work it out or you’ll have a couple of hundred pages of practice. And maybe have a better idea going into the next one.

    Have you read The Peripheral yet?

  188. 188.

    Gravenstone

    April 7, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    @Felonius Monk: I doubt anyone haz a sad that Lacey left GB.

  189. 189.

    Steeplejack

    April 7, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Agreed. The connection has always struck me as tenuous at best.

  190. 190.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 9:53 pm

    @MomSense:

    I have a green couch and a red armchair, so I disagree. ?

    One of these days I’m going to get a rug to tie the room together.

  191. 191.

    Gravenstone

    April 7, 2017 at 9:54 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: He doesn’t even have a badly thought out outline.

  192. 192.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 9:54 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I thought you might like Vishal Bharadwaj’s ode to film-making in Julia
    Kangana Ranaut, is Miss Julia (a polar opposite of the character she played in Queen)

  193. 193.

    Peale

    April 7, 2017 at 9:57 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: good. I’m a bit jealous although I’ll be in Thailand in December. One of my little thrills over the past three years has been watching Thai TV, especially all the same sex love stories that have been broadcast. Three years ago you could watch the entire history of gay characters from mainstream Thai TV and movies in a long weekend. There were a grand total of two lakhorn and three movies from the 00s. Then in 2013, they exploded everywhere, and based on the pipeline, it looks like the trend will run at least through 2018.

    The big new star, though, is a signing Durian that won a reality signing show last week. If you come across a singing Durian, snap a photo with it. Your Thai friends will be jealous.

  194. 194.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 9:57 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I was just thinking today about doing a movie post about Moonlight, but I want to contemplate it a bit more over the weekend.

    I’m also getting ready to create an author blog for my pen name — I’ll send you some deets once I make up my mind.

  195. 195.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 9:57 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Ashley Parker‏Verified account @ AshleyRParker 26m26 minutes ago
    Fun deets in this Syria tic-toc lede: Trump asked for his daily briefings to include less words, more pictures.

    That dumbass–it’s fewer words, not less.

  196. 196.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 9:59 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Monolingual and still not good at the sole language he knows. Sad.

  197. 197.

    Steeplejack

    April 7, 2017 at 9:59 pm

    @lamh36:

    Dining set looks good!

  198. 198.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 10:02 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Good ideas, both!

  199. 199.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    @Mike J: Never read it but loomed it up on Wiki. Sounds interesting. I’ll have to pick it up one of these days. Maybe I’ll think about including cybernetics in the story as well

  200. 200.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 7, 2017 at 10:09 pm

    @Gravenstone: I liked him and was in favor of giving him a one year incentive laden deal. It’s Lacy, btw.

  201. 201.

    lamh36

    April 7, 2017 at 10:09 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: I sat in them only briefly. I doubt I even sit on them as much as I will the sofa I buy.

    They were pretty comfortable. I bought them based on good ratings online, and cause they were more reasonably priced than others I’d seen.

    Even if I never sit in them, they are just the right size and comfortable enough for visitor seating!

    ETA: Here’s a link to the chair from Ashley: https://www.ashleyfurniturehomestore.com/p/clarinda-accent-chair/3623260

  202. 202.

    ArchTeryx

    April 7, 2017 at 10:15 pm

    Love these bird breaks, considering what a birdbrain I am myself.

  203. 203.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 7, 2017 at 10:17 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    I have a green couch and a red armchair, so I disagree. ?

    One of these days I’m going to get a rug to tie the room together.

    Or a Christmas tree

  204. 204.

    max

    April 7, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Another example: A Fistful of Dollars is a (close) remake of Kurosawa’s Yojimbo.

    By coincidence, this afternoon I rewatched Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001). I am not Asian-American, and I certainly feel that there should be a lot more of them—and people of all colors—in movies, but I haven’t followed the current controversy very well. So I’ll be happy to read more informed commentary. But when I heard about the controversy over the casting of Ghost in the Shell I was a little surprised. A fair amount of Japanese anime, especially fantasy and science fiction, is already deracialized, to an extent. Not whitewashed, exactly, but sort of “universalized.” Not a lot of blonds, okay, but many of the characters don’t look explicitly “Japanese” or Asian. And often the mise-en-scène is a post-modern urban mash-up with markers from everywhere. In Cowboy Bebop there are right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive cars at different times and a mixture of Roman and (presumably kanji) signage—all on a future version of Mars.

    Sure. Cowboy Bebop is explicitly deracialized. There’s an anime about growing rice in Kansas (don’t ask) where there are white people and it looks like white people. and the effect of anime style drawing is to somewhat asianize these white people.

    But I saw Ghost in the Shell in the original run (meh), and the central character is very obviously Japanese woman, and the trailer for the live-action version appears to be set in Japan (ish), and has a bunch of Asians, except now the central character is a…natural blonde white girl. There is no story reason for it to be a white girl, and they didn’t place the story in obviously New York or London analog, so it’s about impossible to conclude that changed the race of the central character for any other reason than to whiten her up. That is the changed it for the same reason that SF novels that have black protagonists wind up with white characters on the cover. (Imagine if they had taken Ghost in the Shell and cast it all Asian, except the central character was black. That sounds fine, except that (putting aside the racist tendencies in Japanese culture) Hollywood would never ever do that. They barely manage black women as central characters now, they’re certainly not going to make a black women the central character in a quasi-Japanese remake.

    But they sure will cast a white woman.

    Likewise, when Yojimbo (which I am going to see in the theater next week – it’s at the Alamo in Winchester, dude) was remade, the setting was changed to the American West and cast with white actors. They didn’t cast a bunch of Asians and one white dude and send them to rescue a Japanese farming village in medieval Japan.

    When Kurosawa snagged Shakespeare’s plot, he didn’t set it Scotland, fill it up with Scottish looking people in kilts and make the central family Japanese. That just sounds stupid saying it. (And on and on and on – why the fuck is Matt Damon in a movie about the Great Wall filled with Chinese actors? Because D’OH, that’s why!)

    And then there’s Doctor Strange, but Doctor Strange starts out as a comic book about a white who goes to Tibet to study with an Asian dude (because no Asians were available to fill the role? There was a shortage of Tibetans?) and has a rival in another white guy, which is fraught with enough stereotypes to strangle an octopus, and then they turn it into a movie in which a white guys goes to Asia to study with another white person. (Why go to Asia at all?) If they’d cast an Asian actress as the Ancient One, then you have something. Casting Tilda Swinton is saying ‘I need this movie to appeal to white people’. (The counter-argument is that the original story is so fraught with gross stereotypes that using Swinton smudged out the kinda racist tendencies of the comic books of the 1960’s. Cute idea, doesn’t fly.)

    It really is like the only Asian actors we’re allowed to have be heroes consist of a couple of martial arts types and Sulu. Which is kind of artistically impoverished. (And no, the existence of the evil white guy stereotype in movie from Asia does not excuse the mess.)

    max
    [‘If they made a movie about Emperor Hirohito and cast a white guy it would make about as much sense.’]

  205. 205.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 7, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    @lamh36: I found a great chair at a thrift store, but the darned thing didn’t fit in my Prius.
    I need to buy a truck.

  206. 206.

    JPL

    April 7, 2017 at 10:21 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: It’s past you bedtime. You must be running on empty at this point.

  207. 207.

    lamh36

    April 7, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: @schrodingers_cat: these chairs were delivered via UPS. I saved money by having it shipped ground tranportation and doing assembly myself. And the assembly really was simple. I’m sure it may have taken a shorter time if it was 2 instead of 1, but it was still very simple and easy for one to assemble

  208. 208.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    @Taylor:

    The Searchers is one of my favorite films….except for the nighttime scene by the camp fire, which was very obviously a sound stage.

    A zillion years ago, I went to see Orson Welles’ version of Macbeth. Unintentional laugh when someone was supposedly marching to somewhere else, and their shadows marched across the obvious rear scrim with them.

  209. 209.

    Mike in DC

    April 7, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    @max:

    To be fair, Matt Damon was cast in a movie produced,,directed by and starring Chinese nationals, in order for a Chinese made movie to have a market appeal in the US. Sort of “reverse whitewashing”. Ish.

  210. 210.

    efgoldman

    April 7, 2017 at 10:26 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    G will not allow me to get a storage bed. One of the downsides of marriage.

    He’s probably afraid you’ll dump him into the drawer and lock it shut.

  211. 211.

    Goku

    April 7, 2017 at 10:27 pm

    @Mnemosyne: As it happens, I actually own that! I had to read it two years ago for a writing class in college. Had to read to Harrison Bergeron and loved it. Wrote my paper about the different interpretations of the story. My favorite was that it was basically an Ayn Rand parody: a comically warped view of what socialism is. Interestingly, Bergeron, the hero of the story, was pretty authoritarian:

    “I am the Emperor!” cried Harrison. “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody
    must do what I say at once!” He stamped his foot and the studio shook.
    “Even as I stand here” he bellowed, “crippled, hobbled, sickened – I am a
    greater ruler than any man who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can
    become!”

    Bergeron represented a return, not to meritocratic capitalism, but to monarchy and feudalism

  212. 212.

    Redshift

    April 7, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Rachel is quite good tonight. Wilbur Ross is a very confused man.

    He previously ran the Bank of Cyprus, a major money laundering huh. I imagine not understanding things and not remembering things were useful job skills there.

  213. 213.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 7, 2017 at 10:34 pm

    @max:

    And then there’s Doctor Strange, but Doctor Strange starts out as a comic book about a white who goes to Tibet to study with an Asian dude (because no Asians were available to fill the role? There was a shortage of Tibetans?) and has a rival in another white guy, which is fraught with enough stereotypes to strangle an octopus, and then they turn it into a movie in which a white guys goes to Asia to study with another white person. (Why go to Asia at all?) If they’d cast an Asian actress as the Ancient One, then you have something. Casting Tilda Swinton is saying ‘I need this movie to appeal to white people’. (The counter-argument is that the original story is so fraught with gross stereotypes that using Swinton smudged out the kinda racist tendencies of the comic books of the 1960’s. Cute idea, doesn’t fly.)

    I have in fact read an interview with the director where he talks about all of this. I found it not at all hard to believe that they settled on the last part, and for the stated reasons, too.

  214. 214.

    MomSense

    April 7, 2017 at 10:35 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    My stepmom has a red couch and a green chair. She has a really colorful Persian rug in that room though so the whole thing just blends in.

  215. 215.

    Mnemosyne

    April 7, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    @max:

    why the fuck is Matt Damon in a movie about the Great Wall filled with Chinese actors?

    Because the movie is aimed at Asian markets, not American ones. I bet if you went to Box Office Mojo, you would see that the movie tanked in the US but did very well in Asia.

  216. 216.

    Fair Economist

    April 7, 2017 at 11:15 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Because [The Great Wall] is aimed at Asian markets, not American ones. I bet if you went to Box Office Mojo, you would see that the movie tanked in the US but did very well in Asia.

    US: $45,157,105
    China: $170,962,106

    Yep, just that.

    Agreed Damon was picked to get that $45 million in the US for what’s a Chinese movie, so more tokenism than whitewash. The way that they wrote him in isn’t totally nuts as there were Caucasians rather far east in Asia two thousand years ago (the Tocharians).

  217. 217.

    Quinerly

    April 7, 2017 at 11:47 pm

    @Redshift:
    He somehow thought Trump’s orders had taken out 20% of Syria’s air force. He was in the “Sit” Room sitting next to Trump at Mar a Lago. We are in crazy territory.

  218. 218.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 8, 2017 at 12:13 am

    @Quinerly:

    We are in crazy territory.

    No shit.

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