Actress Susan Sarandon, who called the Pope a 'Nazi' over the weekend.
Follow this link:
Susan Sarandon Calls the Pope a ‘Nazi’
This is over in Santa Monica. At LAT, ” Eco-friendly festival can’t sustain itself .” It was the first New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology and quite possibly the last. The event near the beach in Santa Monica, which had been scheduled to run through Sunday, was shut down abruptly Saturday afternoon. Its website had promised robots, a petting zoo, six stages of live music and more than 150 exhibits. But the gathering on Saturday looked more like a medium-sized, eco-friendly farmers market. Howard Mauskopf, the festival’s organizer, said he needed to shut down because so few people had shown up. “We’re in a position where we don’t have the financial ability to continue,” he said, adding that he would have needed eight to 10 times the crowd that was present to make ends meet. He said he is going to try to reimburse food vendors next week. “I don’t know why people didn’t come,” he said. Well, here’s a clue: Even in far left-wing Santa Monica folks care more about finding a damned job than a bunch of bullshit eco-friendly enviro-crap.
The rest is here:
New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology Shuts Down After Lackluster Attendance
British authorities said Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging was killed Saturday when his Red Arrow jet crashed during a stunt show. (The Daily Mail)
Continued here:
Pilot Killed in British Red Arrow Stunt Team Crash
As we first reported on Thursday night, tragedy has struck in Hasselt, Belgium. Following a fierce thunderstorm that destroyed tents, scaffolding and infrastructure and uprooted trees, the death toll at Pukkelpop, an annual open-air music festival, has risen to five. Billboard has more : On Thursday (August 18) at approximately 6:30 p.m., the festival and campground in Kiewit, Belgium, near the town of Hasselt roughly 50 miles east of Brussels, was hit with a massive rain and hailstorm that damaged three stages (The Chateau Tent, Boiler Room and Wablieft Tent)… Russia Today has video of the incident: The Associated Press has raw video of the aftermath of the accident: According to Hasselt Mayor Hilde Claes, the violent storm left about 140 people injured, 10 of them seriously. Buses and trains were pressed into service to transfer the 60,000 festival goers home. Thousands of mud-splattered young people, many of them shoeless, trekked down the avenue leading from the festival venue to train and bus stations in Hasselt. Many had stayed on in the camping ground in the vain hope that the performances would continue on Friday. Chokri Mahassine, the organizer of the annual festival that was first held in 1985, said he had never seen anything like it. ”I have seen many tropical storms, but this was unprecedented,” he told journalists. Following the stage collapses and subsequent deaths, he said he canceled the event “out of respect for the victims, their relatives and friends we felt that the concert could not continue.” The three-day festival’s lineup featured internationally known acts, including Foo Fighters, Eminem and The Offspring. On Friday morning, the organizers of the festival issued a statement, reading : Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathise with the families and friends of the victims. Words are not enough. We have struggled with the decision to continue the festival. Therefore we have decided to cancel Pukkelpop 2011. What has happened is very exceptional and could not have been predicted. We are deeply moved by all the spontaneous support the festival goers and the organisation have received. “This is the blackest day that any Belgian festival has experienced,” Mahassine said. “I would not wish this on anybody.” At a joint news conference Friday, Hasselt officials and festival organizers described weather conditions at the event’s opening day as exceptional. They said weather forecasters in the area had not predicted a storm of that intensity. The Belgian weather service did not provide the speed of the wind, saying only that the storm was “violent.” See more of the footage, here: Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme offered condolences to the families of the victims and said authorities would continue to provide assistance in caring for the injured. This was the second deadly incident at an outdoor festival in a week. On Saturday, parts of a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, killing five people and injuring dozens, when winds of up to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) to 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers per hour) hit the site. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Excerpt from:
See Chilling Video of the Deadly Belgium Concert Stage Collapse
Ready for atheistic proselytization? It may be coming to a theater near you. “The Ledge,” a new, independently-produced thriller is set to open today in New York and Los Angeles. The film, written and directed by Matthew Chapman, an atheist who hopes to inspire non-believing audiences, will feature what CNN calls an “openly atheist hero.” Watch the trailer, below: According to Chapman, this is the first time Hollywood has offered audiences a non-believing protagonist. The filmmaker, on a stated mission to re-brand atheism, hopes that the movie will help clear up common misconceptions about people who choose not to embrace a higher power. CNN has more : It’s a story of religion, love and revenge that pits a conservative Christian husband against an atheist who has seduced the religious man’s Christian wife. Chapman, the great-great grandson of the famed Charles Darwin, says that he hopes it’s a “Brokeback Mountain” moment for people who do not believe in a higher power . When it comes to public relations, he believes atheists should take a page from the gay and lesbian handbook. He says : “The gay movement has a body of work appealing to the emotions of the body it addresses. Atheists fail at this.” The film is receiving mixed reviews. It was nominated for best drama at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and its high-powered Hollywood stars may help attract an audience — among them: Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler, Charlie Hunnam and Patrick Wilson. The New York Post, however, wasn’t too keen on the film: A hotel manager climbs up onto “The Ledge” atop a high building, but unlike its talky hero, the credibility of this preposterous drama immediately plunges into the abyss. The manager (an irritating Charlie Hunnam, chewing over his American accent as though he has a mouthful of taffy) has been told to stay on the ledge for a couple of hours — long enough to tell his story to a friendly cop (Terrence Howard) who sticks his head through a nearby window. At high noon, the manager must jump off, but he seems awfully chipper about his situation as he chats about how — cue movie-length flashback — he seduced a cleaning lady (Liv Tyler) married to one of those off-the-rack movie villains: a fundamentalist Christian weenie (Patrick Wilson) who turns out not to be thrilled that his wife is cheating. The Los Angeles Times shares a negative view of the film: Despite a capable cast and attractive Baton Rouge , La., locales photographed by Bobby Bukowski, “The Ledge” suffers from a seriously flawed script that’s just too implausible to be taken seriously. Below, watch a clip in which two of the main characters battle over God, Heaven and salvation: Here’s the real question: Will America — a pre-dominantly faith-filled nation — turn out to see (let alone rent) a movie like this? After all, the director’s main goal is to further embed atheism into society. The vast majority of Americans believe in God, but the atheist minority — while small — has been experiencing a bit of a growth spurt. The next few weeks should be interesting as ticket sales will begin to paint a picture of rousing success — or failure.
See the original post:
Atheist Filmmaker Hopes New Hollywood Movie Will Inspire Non-Believers
You should know ahead of time that the ad you’re about to see won an award. That might seem all well and good, until you see it, and then read that it’s being charged with promoting pedophilia. The ad, for car company Kia, recently took away a silver award at the Cannes Lions Festival, a gathering of creative, artsy media types. On one side of the ad, it depicts a male teacher and young, female student having an innocent conversation about staying after class and the student offering the teacher an apple. But on the other side of the ad, the teacher and student are pictured having a graphic, sexually-tinged flirt session complete with plenty of innuendo. See for yourself (click on the image to enlarge): The ad is supposed to promote Kia’s dual climate control. But as some have noted, that seems to be an afterthought , while others have asked if the ad is really promoting pedophilia and statutory rape. Readers over at the Huffington Post are currently taking a poll . As of this publication, 65 percent think it’s “disgusting.” Take our poll and tell us what you think. What do you think of the new ad? customer surveys
Read the original post:
Is This Award-Winning Kia Ad Promoting Pedophilia?
Barry Snyder is known in the art world as ‘Stickerman,’ to me he is a genius and an example of the American spirit. He has created something beautiful out of almost nothing, finding a way to feed his body and his artistic spirit at the same time. For years I loathed the tiny stickers found on virtually every piece of produce sold in this country. These nasty and sneaky labels frequently found their way into my mouth and I would end up spitting out half of a sicker and renewing my one-man campaign to have them forever banned. However, public support never gelled and I abandoned the fight, but not before discovering Stickerman and the beautiful side of produce stickers. Barry ‘Stickerman’ Snyder viewed those little stickers as the paint he would use to create beautiful works of art. The Colorado native has been creating sticker mosiacs for years, using nothing more than the produce stickers. Barry’s website describes this beauty as ’1958 Hedsel’; 1958 Hedsel Very Cubistic “house” in background. “The Edsel look is here to stay!”, shouted the advertising in 1958. A favorite with kids. Hedsel comes from the Edsel full of heads. The car comes full of cartoon characters with Sponge Bob behind the wheel. Children live to see how many characters they can recognize. Fun for all ages! Stickerman spends months working on some of his creations, some are originals and others may be an homage to great works by famous artists, like this obvious tribute to Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic.’ Barry explains; Mom & Pop Culture Love the house siding and shingles. Love the pendant. Really love her apron. Like his shades and like faded parts of his overalls. Also proud of the effects of the directional flowing of the Del Monte stickers in his coat. Print of this were on display for the American Gothic Festival in Cedar Rapids Iowa at the Chamber of Commerce building. I love Iowa. Stickerman’s work is available for sale via his website . He offers originals and prints.
See the rest here:
Produce stickers as art? Yes! Check out Stickerman’s art.
Thomas Jefferson once warned : “A government big enough to supply you with everything you need is a government big enough to take away everything that you have….” If possible, I think most people today would prefer to avoid a government shutdown. But the looming threat of gridlock presents us with a unique opportunity to examine the role of government today and its far-reaching influence over peoples’ everyday lives. Simply put, Americans are far too dependent on government. Perhaps no one has so eloquently demonstrated this fact as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. In making his case for avoiding a shutdown, Reid gave a brief rundown of just a few potential impacts of closing down the federal government: “What if a family has worked and worked in this fragile economy and they are finally able to qualify for a home loan. Eighty percent of them, of course, are government-supported loans. They would stop; they wouldn’t be able to get one. And it’s not only that person wanting to buy a home. How about that person that’s (sic) been trying to sell a home? Small businesses won’t be able to get the loans that they need…” America has invested so many of its basic economic functions in government that without government, the economy can’t function. Why do 80 percent of American home loans come from the government? Where’s the private sector? The fact of the matter is that the government has forced private banks from the marketplace and it’s nearly impossible to get a private home loan these days. Additionally, new regulations on private loans prevent private banks from being able to provide capital to small businesses. In turn, determined businesses are forced to depend on the government. “It’s not only federal employees. Almost 1 million federal employees are on pins and needles right now…” The fact that more citizens work for the government than in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined should rattle Americans to the core. We are quickly becoming a nation of takers, not makers — and this spells economic disaster for the future of America. “…[B]ecause [federal government workers] — just like everybody in America — have trouble making all their payments in a given month. They have waited a few months to buy a new car. They have been planning for a long time to take a vacation. As Mark Warner pointed out to us today, this shutdown would have a tremendous impact on the state of Virginia. This is Virginia’s big weekend. It’s the Cherry Blossom Festival. People plan to come here all year, and one of the things they want to do when they come here is take a walk down the Mall, go to the National Art Gallery, go to one of the great Smithsonian Museums. Won’t do that; they’ll close at 12:00 tonight.” I find this argument completely bogus. The Cherry Blossom Festival does bring many visitors to the DC capital region every year, but it’s not like a government shutdown means the cherry trees will die. It doesn’t mean the National Mall will be closed to the public. Sure some of the Smithsonian Museums may be closed, but it’s not like DC doesn’t have plenty of private venues for tourists to enjoy. I think it’s irresponsible to hinge budget negotiations on what local attractions a couple hundred thousand tourists may or may not visit this weekend. The bottom line is that the threat of a government shutdown should force Americans to reexamine what impact the government has in their daily lives that they otherwise might overlook and remember Jefferson’s warning. Are we relying too much on government to function?
Follow this link:
Threat of Shutdown Shows America‘s Growing Dependence on Big Gov’t
Kevin Smith is an irreverent filmmaker whose first film, “Clerks,” became a cult classic. Now he’s just making a film about a “cult,” and he’s drawn the ire of the Westboro Baptist Church. He doesn’t care. And when they protested the film at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, he mockingly protested them back. Take that. Westboro probably has some cause to be upset. It’s obvious to everyone who’s seen only a trailer for Smith’s new movie “Red State” that the film’s “cult” is modeled after the Westboro church and their extreme religious views. Take a look: For the most part, critics say the film will offend everyone. How can it not when Entertainment Weekly calls it a “bizzaro horror thriller … about a gay-hating minister (Michael Parks) who goes on a blood-drenched rampage against an equally murderous squad of federal agents, with some sex-crazed teens stuck in the middle.” “Clearly driven by outrage over the anti-gay fulminations of some American Christian pastors, Kevin Smith’s aggressively profane script works startling twists on scare film conventions while also taking the U.S. government to task for its simplistic use of terrorist threats as an excuse to do anything it wants,” a Reuters film review says . It’s a horror film with sexual content that centers around religious extremists, which leads Reuters to conclude it’s “cleverly contrarian enough to get a rise out of almost any audience.” Roger Friedman at ShowBiz411.com reviews it this way : “Red State”–made quickly this past fall–may be Smith’s best work. It looks terrific, has a talented cast including Melissa Leo and John Goodman, and moves very efficiently It’s violent, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. It is surely an indictment of the “red states”–although the red is also about blood. This is a horror film, after all, albeit one with a definite goal and point of view. In case it’s unclear, everyone will be offended. But only one audience segment (so far) showed up to protest. That segment was the Westboro members, who brought their infamous signs to the Sundance Film Festival Sunday to protest the movie’s release. Ever the “antagonist,” Smith met them with his own signs. In response to “God Hates Fags,” for example, Smith held up a sign saying “God Hates Fat.” Clever. There was more, as Chris Barrett of Showbiz411.com shows: [WARNING: Contains some foul language] Besides upsetting Westboro protesters at the film festival, Smith also angered some distributors by the way he released the film. Smith had indicated he would auction off distribution rights to “Red State” after its Sundance premiere Sunday night, and he brought up the movie’s producer, Jonathan Gordon, to handle the sale. Gordon told the audience the bidding was open, Smith offered $20, and his producer proclaimed the film sold. The auction was a stunt to emphasize Smith’s real plans — to release “Red State” himself, without the tens of millions of dollars in marketing money that Hollywood pours into its releases. Instead, Smith says he will take “Red State” out city to city beginning in March. That means one thing for sure: many more run ins with the Westboro Baptist Church. And if the movie does nothing but aggravate that church, many will hail it as a success. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Continue reading here:
‘God Hates Fat’: ‘Red State’ Movie Director Has Nutty Sundance Showdown With Westboro Baptist Protesters
