Mrs Whiggins

The website, Theocracy Watch, is no longer updated (I think the last time was over a decade ago) but over the last several years I have found it useful to read some of the essays on that site. It was *founded by Joan Boaker, now 78, as part of Cornell's Center for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy (CRESP). Cornell renamed it several years back as the Center for Transformative Action and with that shifted their focus. Franklin T. Lambert was another academic who wrote quite a bit about the founding of America and religion but I get the feeling that we are seeing less and less of the scholars who speak of history as it truly was (w/o cherry picking) and more of the pushing of the agenda to return to scholars who wrote (and will write) of history from the perspective of the ruling class; which in America is male and white and Christian i.e. a true patriot. The idea that godless communist 'secular humanist' academics were and are ruining America is not a new thought, but the way in which the rise of the evangelical right and the corporate oligarchs have dovetailed in the political and academic arenas is not a surprise. It's been pointed out on this forum many times how many corporations were saying one thing (we support DEI and other causes!) while their donation and lobbying histories suggest otherwise. In the long term authoritarianism, theocracy, and other similarly minded types of rule are bad news, even for those who believe they will be in a protected class. But that is where we're headed pell-mell. *Boaker did not found CRESP--to clarify--that was founded by John Lee Smith, (1928-2010) and perhaps with his passing, one of the reasons for the shift towards an alternative approach for the Center. He graduated from UT-Austin, summa cum laude and then went on to Yale where he received a Bachelor of Divinity. Hook 'em.

From the article:

If you go back in time to those posts prior to RvW even hitting the docket, those topics were under discussion on Surly because of the pace at which Trump was appointing judges. The judge shopping that they've been doing with abortion access since RvW was overturned is likely to be followed with subsequent challenges with each of those laws that they wish changed. Anyone who thinks Clarence Thomas will have some sort of epiphany due to his own marriage is delusional. Greg Abbott's epiphany was to change the laws so that no one benefits in the same way he did. The laws apply to 'other' not to the ruling class.

When J.M. Barrie developed his novel, Peter Pan, into the play the part was played by a woman even then. A later play, The Boy David, was written to be played by a female as well. I do consider it interesting when folks get upset about new productions changing elements. If Americans (in particular) were more aware of theater productions or arts and humanities in general, they would know this is not uncommon. I understand being sentimental about specific works, but unless there is some sort of legal issue/copyright/what have you, it is the changing nature of things over time. Fairy tales change, people take works and create new elements and stories and the world keeps on turning. Heck, how many different versions of the Bible are there? If each Bible is the word of God, then how is it the words and meanings have changed over time?

Oh, that is some sad news.

Would not be surprised to see the ruling today. The judge announced on Wednesday per the article in this tweet that he would rule as soon as possible but I suspect releasing it on St. Patrick's Day would not surprise me at all at all.

AFAIK, the original accusations levied against Sodom/Gomorrah (in ancient Jewish texts) were that those of adultery, pridefulness, and uncharitableness and has its roots in the citizenry sticking to a harsh letter of the law approach as opposed to the idea of homosexuality (which was developed later). Yet another example of folks who manufacture their own belief system and expect everyone else to accept that wholecloth as verifiable and true.

Yes, I agree. We'll give it a shot anyway. We enjoyed The Gentlemen.

From the comments for the win:

Anyone else noticed that alongside the male attorney, Erik Baptist, for the plaintiffs in the Mifepristone abortion pill case is one Erin Morrow Hawley, wife of Josh Hawley? Yep. That judge is putting them in the red zone and they've one inch to go before they do the TD dance. Disgusted.

They co-opted the phrase and turned it into a pejorative without ever knowing its long history. Because of course they did.

He has a style, but whatever it is, it works for me--Moonrise Kingdom etc some of my favorite movies.

William K. Hale, FIL of DiCaprio's character, Ernest Burkhart Been awhile, that is uncle/nephew. I can't recall the exact relationship.

Did you happen to watch that? Not a trailer for Asteroid City my friend.

Well, you're not wrong, but with the screenplay based on the Grann book, there is so much to get right. When my parents were alive, they subscribed to both The Tulsa World and The Tulsa Tribune (until combined and there is an interesting story behind those two papers) and were always forwarding articles of books by local authors or regional interest. I read The Deaths of Sybil Bolton by Dennis McAuliffe, Jr. when it came out in 1994 and while it was more of a *personal account (Sybil Bolton was his grandmother) than the latter book upon which the movie is based, thanks to McAuliffe's work and my parents, I was already anticipating the David Grann account, which did not disappoint either. For those who are not aware of McAuliffe, here is a blurb about him by David Grann, author of KOTFM. The attention Grann's book received helped to reissue the McAuliffe work. https://lithub.com/the-writer-who-uncovered-crimes-against-his-native-ancestors/ Article: *he spends a fair amount of time wrestling with his own personal demons and that may not be for everybody.

Did not see a thread for this summer movie, so thought I'd put it out there. Our family enjoy his movies quite a bit. I haven't heard anything beyond a rumored appeal, but I saw that the initial rating was 'R' and that Anderson was to appeal that designation. (brief nudity or some such was the mention). This is the first of two upcoming Anderson movies. The second, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, has no official release date as of yet but is supposed to also debut this year. Asteroid City has a very large ensemble cast and many of the usual talented stars that feature in Anderson directed films. It is another film that is rumored to be a Cannes selection. (I mentioned that Killers of the Flower Moon is under consideration in that thread). I have no trailer at this time and there have only been one or two movie stills, but I listed the cast below. The info about the plot is scarce and consists of: The movie is apparently set circa 1950s and is a romance. Cast: Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Rupert Friend, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston[, Hope Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Tony Revolori, Matt Dillon, Sophia Lillis, Steve Park, Maya Hawke, Fisher Stevens, Jake Ryan, Ethan Josh Lee, Edward Norton, Steve Carell, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Rita Wilson, and Jarvis Cocker. Here's Maya Hawke on set. Can't wait!

Apparently the head of the Cannes Film Festival has been in Los Angeles recently and the discussion around KOTFM being at Cannes later this year may be true. It was mentioned in summer of '22 that this was a potential selection but that the run time of the movie was causing hesitation. If I recall reading, the movie will be over 3 hours (200 minutes I think?). Cannes wanted him to trim it. *I hope Scorcese said no; it's his piece not theirs. Cannes is in May, so maybe a general release in fall? Also, with Brendan Fraser's Academy Award win, I believe the movie will have 3 winners in the cast (De Niro, Dicaprio, Fraser). Jesse Plemons is a nominee, but lost to Troy Kotsur of CODA--it was an amazing year of BSAs.) *I have no issue with a long ass movie if the movie is executed for the run time in order to present a fully developed and realized story. I also don't mind the old fashioned intermission.

The governor should not use the word 'what' when referring to Mr. Milroe. Isn't the correct usage: I have seen who or whom?

I have no problem with EEAAO being the Best Picture award winner. It is voting by Academy members, not general cinema-goers, and they have their own personal choices and favorites. Of the ones I viewed, The Banshees of Inisherin was my favorite because of the themes it explored and it had some got damn funny lines. That being said, EEAAO also had themes worth discussion and that both of these movies were original screenplays was something of which I was delighted. Spoilering the remaining commentary for brevity etc:

When it seems as if every third big budget movie features a comic book hero come to life along with subsequent spin-offs, a movie featuring a mother, estranged from her husband, estranged from her daughter and who discovers her own superpowers within as she fights for her family seems like a pretty marvelous win to me.

The James Joyce runningwordstogetherwithouttakingabreathoxygendeprivedbrainthoughts speeches contain some real gems when I can stop and realize what the winner actually said.

I agree that Women Talking had flaws and whether it is ironic or not, I also picked the male 'buddy' movie, The Banshees of Inisherin, for my favorite of the nominees I've seen thus far. Especially since Kerry Condon's character ends up leaving due to the futility of it all. Sometimes you just want to throw your hands up and just take a hike. It does seem that it has grown harder and harder to move projects from idea to fruition in the industry. I had hopes that perhaps the various streaming services would aid in that, and perhaps they do. There are a lot of things competing for our attention these days, though, so it could be a matter of being able to sift and winnow to find the wheat among the chaff.

I know. I wondered if the multiple times that the violations were ignored finally broke him or something. That discharge along with Elontown could perhaps be an expensive problem. Not like Elon will stick around to clean up any enviromess, even if anything happened. But low-reg, no reg is why he set up shop here.

I expect there will be some viewers missing due to that. I am waiting to binge watch since we can get the whole season free. House of the Dragon was one of the few we watched every week; normally we only do that for PBS shows (the All Creature Great and Small reboot was enjoyable.)

Oscars this Sunday evening at 7pm CT. I don't usually set aside time for award shows, but I am actually paying more attention this year because I really really want to see the third installment in an Amelia Dimoldenberg v Andrew Garfield red carpet interview. Just adorable in a British awkward flirty way. She grooves with this niche and is good at it and he plays along so well. So much better than the pre-prepped bland pablum. @Bama Chick--do you watch her at all? I've heard that Harry fans want her to have a Chicken Shop Date with him, but no word on if he's interested. She just released one with Shania Twain for Intl Women's Day this week.