Just saw the film and I agree with much of what burnt_orange_zombie said earlier: Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" is fun and outrageously over-the-top, while Tarantino's "Death Proof" is a disappointment. Tarantino has had some snappy dialogue in his films, particularly "Pulp Fiction," but there are so many incredibly talky scenes in "Death Proof" where the dialogue is repetitive and isn't very interesting that should have at least been pared down a little. This is, after all, "Death Proof" not "Coffee Chat." I wouldn't mind some added depth to the Z-movie characters if the dialogue actually added depth, but instead of Tarantino's cool whimsy (like the "watch" speech in "Pulp Fiction"), it often felt like actors just doing bad improv trying to stretch the movie into an hour-and-a-half. Tarantino hits some good action scenes toward the end that are kind of worth the wait, though. But to use a couple of inexcusably bad puns to sum up the double feature: Tarantino often feels like he's on cruise control with his car chase show, while Rodriguez really sinks his teeth into his zombie flick.

Let's stop letting MSNBC off the hook about all of this. They put Michael Savage on the air a few years ago, when he already had a reputation for saying some of the most sleazy and hateful things about gays, and then MSNBC acted all shocked when Savage used his MSNBC time to tell a caller he hoped he'd get AIDS. MSNBC pretended to be all "oh, no, I can't believe he said that" and fired Savage. Even cats and dogs with brain damage could have predicted EXACTLY the kind of things Savage would end up saying, but MSNBC pretended to be all innocent and surprised about it. It was bull then, and it's bull now with Imus.

MSNBC is well aware of what these guys like Savage and Imus do and say, and they continually promote it. The offenders don't have to go too far, they have to go WAY too far before MSNBC even addresses it. MSNBC is the bigot network. That Imus makes racist remarks and remarks against gays, women, and other minorities (or, more often, has one of the other guys in his studio make them and then give an insincere "no" or something after letting them go on and on about it) has been common with the guy for years.

So now MSNBC is acting all innocent and surprised again, and saying they only "simulcast" Imus' show. Well, newsflash, MSNBC, most networks broadcast material produced elsewhere, but they still have to take responsibility for broadcasting it. And here's another newsflash, MSNBC-- you just got through with another apology about Imus-- this time in relation to antigay remarks he'd made in relation to "Brokeback Mountain" last year. At the time, Imus was trading antigay jokes with another of your stars, Chris Matthews. Here's what MSNBC said then:

""Imus" is produced by WFAN radio and is simulcast by MSNBC. The views expressed on the program are not those of MSNBC. Having said that, it was unfortunate that these remarks were telecast on MSNBC. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by these remarks."

So how many apologies is MSNBC going to pretend to make before they actually take any responsibility for what they're broadcasting? MSNBC can no longer pretend that they're not knowingly promoting this stuff.

MSNBC is now, officially, the bigot network.

Here's something kind of funny:

Paglia says "However, when I tried to watch Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" on cable TV recently, I wasn't able to get past the first 10 minutes. I was snorting with disgust at its manipulations and distortions and laughing at Gore's lugubrious sentimentality, which was painfully revelatory of his indecisive, self-thwarting character."

Here's a game you can play at home. With a few slight substitutions, you can turn Paglia's quote into the perfect summary of her own recent work. Like this:

When I tried to read Camille Paglia's latest column on Salon recently, I wasn't able to get past the first 10 sentences. I was snorting with disgust at its manipulations and distortions and laughing at Paglia's lugubrious self-aggrandizement, which was painfully revelatory of her repetitive, self-obsessed character.

Try your own variations!

(I would have suggested a drinking game where whenever Paglia says something ridiculously nutty and pompous, like “I have been contemplating the principle of climate change since I was a child,” you have to take a drink. Or maybe a game where you have to take a drink every time Paglia simply rephrases something she’s recently heard on right-wing talk radio in a more “oooo, aren’t I the intellectual” fashion. Either way, though, I thought we’d all end up dangerously drunk to the point of severe alcohol poisoning. Better to stick with the “Mad Libs” style Paglia game mentioned above).

How about Seuss' "Yertle the Turtle" set to the tune of Dylan's "Masters of War"? Think about it:

And Yer-tle the Tur-tle, the king of the trees,

The king of the aiiiiiiiiiir and the birds and the bees,

The king of a hoooooooouse and a cow and a mule...

Well, that was the end of the Turtle King's rule

etc.

The whole book works.

Dear God in Heaven, now that it's in my head, I can't make it stop!