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My first reaction on hearing that Obama was releasing the long-form version of his birth certificate was that Trump needs to be careful he doesn't pull something, patting himself on the back like that. This was quickly followed by wondering what he and the tea-baggers are going to foam at the mouth about now. I shouldn't have worried. Donald's now off on a rant about Obama's school records (I guess Magna Cum Laude at Harvard Law's not good enough for The Donald). And the birthers have simply shifted from "where's the birth certificate" to "nice forgery, dude". (There's at least one jackhole that's convinced Obama's hidden hints as to his 'real' birthplace in this "excellent forgery".) Which only leaves me with this observation: "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."    --   Henry Mencken

Nearly three months since my last movies post? I must be slipping. I'm sure I've seen more movies than this. But then, not all of them have been memorable, have they? Rango My first real favorite for 2011. I'm a sucker for Looney Tunes cartoons, and there was a DEFINITE Looney Tunes vibe here. (The golf scene had me in tears, for instance.) And then there were the movie references. I'm pretty certain there was a nod to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas very early on. And Ned Beatty did a wonderfully creepy homage to John Huston from Chinatown (without, of course, any disturbing incest sub-text). [ Just an aside here, but I wonder… does knowing Polanski's history make Chinatown any MORE creepy? Or is that just my mind going off on weird tangents? ]. And then there's Timothy Olyphant's "Spirit of the West" moment… just brilliant. Johnny Depp, of course, disappears into the lead character's voice, while somehow Bill Nighy is immediately identifi

They've been playing the first single from this album on KROQ for the past week or so, and all I have to say is "YES, I must have it." I'll be hitting iTunes soon, but for those with a CD fetish, here's the Amazon link. Enjoy!