Americans Should Be Proud Today!

Americans! You Should Be Proud Today!

You Helped Make 700 New Millionaires in America!

You Helped 700 Americans Reach The American Dream!

And Here's How:

You handed the bankrupt CITIGROUP $50 BILLION Dollars, so they wouldn't be bankrupt anymore.

And what did they do with some of that money?

According to our own government's report released yesterday, they gave 700 employees
$1 million or more each as a BONUS!

And they all certainly deserved a BONUS! They dragged their company into poverty and deserved a groovy financial reward for their incompetence!

CITIGROUP claims that without the BONUSES, these employees would have left them and it would have been difficult to find any other such talented individuals.

Why don't you follow that example and go to your boss tomorrow and tell him that either you get a $1 million BONUS immediately or you quit! Tell him it's okay, he can get a free handout from the U.S. Government to cover it.

You Won't Complain About Your Taxes Going to War...

You won't protest the $300 MILLION SPENT DAILY IN IRAQ...or the $50 MILLION SPENT DAILY IN AFGHANISTAN--which you pay for...

but if you have to spend a dollar on somebody else's healthcare...that makes you go INSANE!

After all...if they have no job or a job that offers no health benefits--that's their own damn fault!

Why should you have to contribute to their personal well being?

Americans--your selfishness and lack of compassion is growing greater every day.

You're tired of handing free billions to banks, insurance companies, automobile companies and seeing nothing in return--so you've decided that Health Care is just as bad.

Maybe you need to stop listening to the scare tactics being orchestrated by pharmaceutical companies and other members of the medical establishment--and start listening to the pleas of Americans who are begging for some kind of medical care.

500 Days of Summer ***SPOILER***

500 Days of Summer ***SPOILER***DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE MOVIE ALREADY

The other night I attended a private screening of this film that many people are talking about--with the writer present to discuss it and answer questions.

If you like quirky relationship films like "Juno," you will enjoy this film.

After viewing the movie, the writer spoke about how it evolved and techniques used in its pacing, storytelling and other aspects of the film.

The audience had already taken in the entire story and a question was asked about the next to the last scene when the couple have their final meeting in the park.

***SPOILER***DO NOT READ FURTHER UNTIL AFTER YOU SEE THE MOVIE
The question which highly scrutinized this next to the last scene, because the sentiment of many people was that it should have ended there--and not gone on to one more scene--was answered in this way by the writer:
"How do you know that he didn't just imagine that whole scene? "

There was an "oooooooh" and "awwwww" throughout the audience because the writer's response creates a whole different perspective on the film's resolution of the two main characters--which had been assumed to be something else.

Now that you have hopefully already seen the film and have this additional piece of information--doesn't it make it so much sadder?

You May Wonder Why I Am Writing About "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

In 1969, I was 16. All I cared about then was my girlfriend, music, civil rights and seeing the war stop in Vietnam. I went with a bunch of friends to see "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." All the new films were playing at the nearby naval base for $.25 and the children of naval personnel could bring friends. All we heard was that it was a "Mary Poppins" clone, so it couldn't be that bad. We left disappointed calling it "Shitty Shitty Bang Bang." With the war going on, it seemed out of touch and out of place. A sweet little musical needed an edge like "Hair." I never saw it again until tonight.

I didn't realize then that it was based on a book by a man named Ian Fleming, who had become fanous for a series of secret agent books that had turned into a worldwide hit film franchise called "James Bond-007." I didn't know that the screenplay was by some man named Roald Dahl who would soon also become known worldwide for movies based on his books like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I didn't realize that Gert Frobe, who played "Goldfinger," was one of the main actors, playing a completely different character, so well, that it showed the artistry of the performer.

I did know that it starred Dick Van Dyke, who starred in "Mary Poppins" and the musical score was by Richard and Robert Sherman who also brought that musical to life.

The film starts out as an exact clone of "Mary Poppins" and other than some elaborately staged musical numbers, a haunting song called "Hushabye Mountain" and a decision to have Dick Van Dyke be the only one without an English accent (although he is the father of two very British children), it still seems very lacking.

But then it changes direction. A brilliant and comical political satire unfolds for the remainder of the film. While children on their level are just seeing silliness, clowning around and absurd antics--adults are seeing a comical commentary on totalitarianism, fascism and suffering.

16 year olds in 1969 grew up on Disney, Bozo and in an idealistic world. There would be no way they would recognize the underlying theme from Fleming, a man who worked in British Naval Intelligence during the war and was surrounded by the destruction of Nazis.

I think many baby boomers missed this one and should really give it a second chance--even if it is 40 years later.

AN APPEAL TO THE CIA

DEAR CIA...
In your 60-year existence, you have toppled governments, removed and propped-up various leaders of tinhorn dictatorships, illegally spied on American citizens, and have worked hand-in-hand with dangerous U.S. Presidents such as Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. There has never been a time when you have received the unanimous support of the American people--until now.

Do the world a favor and take down this dangerous maniac Kim Jung Il and his family.

Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Socialists, Communists, Neo-Nazis, The Young, The Old, Gangs, The Mafia, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hare Krishnas and even Michael Jackson if he was still alive have a UNANIMOUS VOICE on this--we'd all like you to do away with this maniacal misanthrope. He is a clear danger to every human being, animal and insect on this planet.

Who knows. Maybe you already have done something. Maybe you have poisoned the expensive caviar he has flown in from Moscow every day while his slave population starves.

Just a note that we're all behind you this time around.

YOU CAN ALL TAKE A SIGH OF RELIEF NOW

The hundreds of reports that have estimated that Michael Jackson was $400 million in debt and have implied that his poor children will be penniless have not taken two very important factors into consideration.

1. The King of Pop used to spend $50,000. per day. Now that he is no longer spending $50,000. a day, the debt amount is not going to get larger and will eventually be paid off.
2. Jacko has an endless stream of income coming in even after his death. This includes millions of dollars annually from the Lennon-McCartney songs he owns the publishing rights to with Sony, his own record sales worldwide, the royalties and fees from his own publishing, the rights to license his image for everything from perfume to clothing, and every conceivable tie-in to the name and image of Michael Jackson. The kids will be all right.

I'd Like to Share My Visit To NYC and DC With You

http://www.vimeo.com/5501775
Some Things to look for:
Abraham Lincoln's Hat
Kermit The Frog
Archie Bunker's Chair
Restored 1959 Chicago "El" Train
JFK's Grave / RFK's Grave
Dorothy's Shoes
Tomb of the Unknown Troll Doll

America Needs A Dress Code

These days, Americans think they should be dressed for the beach at all times, no matter what the event or occasion. There was a time in Times Square when men and women would be fashionably dressed as a matter of dignity and pride. I knew those times would be gone in NYC but I was convinced that the tradition of dressing up for a Broadway play was still in existence. WRONG. An evening performance of "West Side Story" confirmed that. Hundreds of people dressed as if they were going to the beach filled the audience of the much-loved musical. I counted two men in sportcoats besides myself and a handful of dresses. I really think wearing shorts, t-shirts and other beach attire to what once stood for the height of art and culture in America--A Broadway Play--is tacky.