Thursday, January 17, 2008

Around the World Wide Web 48

1. It was 10 years ago this month that the Lewinsky scandal broke. WTF Blog has a post of where some of the people involved are today. Paula Jones is complaining because she can't make any money off the scandal by selling her book to the liberal publishers.

2. David Frum writes about Hugo's great novel, Notre Dame de Paris -- and about Disney's cartoon of the novel, which sounds typically vapid.

The Disney Hunchback seeks as all modern Disney cartoons do to teach improving lessons about diversity and tolerance. The corporate thought process must have gone something like this:

"Well we have done our bit to create positive images of native Americans with Pocahontas, of East Asians with Mulan, and we are developing, developing, developing (but never quite completing) a movie featuring an African-American girl. Is there anything we could do to create a positive image of disability?"

To which somebody with a hazy memory of college French literature - or old 1930s movies - responded: "Hey, how about a cuddly animated hunchback?"

3. John Gibson shows how Keith Olbermann can get away with racist jokes because he is a leftist.

4. Would you shake hands with a Jew? Just a little reminder of how our friends the Saudis think.

5. Some of the documents from Hillary Clinton's task force to enslave -- excuse me, to "revamp" -- health care are interesting. They discuss smearing opponents to Clinton's plans. Then there is this:

Senator Rockefeller also suggested news organizations “are anxious and willing to receive guidance [from the Clinton Administration] on how to time and shape their [news] coverage.”

6. 248 MPH? In that car you could drive from LA to Las Vegas in little over an hour. If there was no other traffic and if you survived.

8 comments:

Mike said...

The Disney HOND is most interesting not for what it is, but for what it should have been. The entire film is gashed with the decisions and artifacts of the committee-focusgroup-advertising clique. If one strips away the stupid gargoyles entirely, removes the modern "edge" to Quasimodo's delivery, and re-voices Esmeralda, the remaining movie would be among Disney's finest -- but it wouldn't sell enough stuffed animals, no doubt. The score to HOND, in and of itself, is perhaps the best Disney score since Fantasia -- and that score, well, wasn't exactly their own work. :)

Jennifer Snow said...

It's a bit interesting to contemplate a future where there are special roads built to accommodate cars that can go that fast. However, I remember watching a video about (I think) that car, and at top speed the fuel only lasts 12 minutes. Probably better just to fly.

madmax said...

I just wanted to draw your attention to this:

http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/009595.html

You could demolish that in a second if you wanted to.

madmax said...

I'd like to add that I didn't like the fact that he included your real name. What purpose did that serve? I think it was Auster just being a jerk.

Oh, I recently checked the back posts and to answer your question, I am John Kim. Madmax is my cat. I am not able to sign on to Google on my work computer.

Myrhaf said...

Thanks for answering my question, Madmax. I was wondering!

As for Auster's post, evil and hatred are his words, not mine. To point out that someone is a mystic is not to condemn him as evil. And I think it's obvious from the tone of my post that I feel no hatred for Auster. The important question is: is it true that Auster is a mystic?

He defends himself by noting that most people throughout history have believed in God. (Indeed, I have read that 94% of Americans today believe in God.) Just because a belief is old and held by many does not make it true.

Anonymous said...

As to the car, it is just an imitation of the superior Bugatti Veyron, which was there first. The Veyron gets up to 251 miles per hour.

"At top speed the tires only last fifteen minutes. But that's okay, because the fuel runs out in twelve minutes." At more normal speeds, you get better mileage.

Anonymous said...

Correction: 253 miles per hour. Oops... sorry...

Myrhaf said...

253 MPH instead of 251 MPH? Well, that makes all the difference! ;)