foolwriter's Comments (63)

“This is why they need to pay such large bonuses... the help the best and brightest would-be child molesters pay their legal bills?”

“I don't think this is about news vs. comedy as much as it is about transparency in media agendas. As the news has ratcheted up its "entertainment value," we're left with the sneaking suspicion that they're trying to sell us something rather than inform us of anything. And every time the MSM does a softball interview of a political figure so as not to threaten their "access," every time they report on what "some are saying" without any factual basis or named sources, every time they bring us hysterical coverage of a non-event (celebrity death squad action news!), they remind us that their professed objective (to be informative) does not match their acted objective (to bring in ratings). In that sense, The Daily Show comes across as more honest because their professed objective (to be entertaining) matches their acted objective (to be entertaining). In fact, a great deal of their humor and the reason they've become so trusted revolves in their sharply and wittily pointing out the (often poorly hid) agendas in the mainstream media.”

“As the great Sir Wolfit (allegedly) said on his deathbed, "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." Maybe we need more clowns in the senate and fewer failed life-insurance salesmen..­.”

“Seconded.”

“When I rewatch the first one ('cause, yes, I am that big a dork), I find myself skipping a lot of the parts that don't have the robots in them. Yes, she's attractive and all, but there's really no shortage of attractive women in the media. Place me squarely in the "I want to see 40-ft tall robots kicking ass with swords and cannons" camp.”

“Indeed, nothing says intelligence, dedication and strong moral fiber like participating in a beauty pageant...”

“Yeah, I seem to remember some prominent Republican entertainer ripping pretty harshly on a 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton... whatever happened to that guy? He apologized, right?”

“Why does she care what Letterman says? He's not a "real American" anyway, right?”

“Apparently it's used in a number of basic training cadences to denote the guy that moves in on a soldier's girl while he's away. Here's one from the L.A. Times:

"Jody's got your telephone.
Ain't no use in goin' home,
Jody's got your girl and gone.
Sound off! (One, two.)
Sound off! (Three, four.)"”

“Just because something's funny doesn't mean it's not true. The court jester has always had more freedom to speak truth to power than anyone else.”

“Let the people speak freely.”

“Much love for championing maligned sequels in the "Star Wars" and "Matrix" franchises, although I couldn't disagree more about "Batman Returns" (good god, but I hated the rocket-launching penguins, remote-control batarang and Christopher Walken's hair). I though "Saw II" was utterly worthless until I saw "Saw III" (another interesting article would be whether subsequent films in a series can actually raise the value of their precedents).

But I think you've overlooked one of the greatest second acts in cinematic history, the sheer brilliance that is "Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn." Where "The Evil Dead" was a terrible-y­et-somehow­-great low-budget horror exercise by a bunch of school buddies, the second one fused slapstick, gore and nifty camera tricks into something much greater than the sum of its parts. It established Ashley J. Williams as THE comedic-ho­rror-badas­s action hero (with a chainsaw! for a hand!) and has informed everything Sam Raimi or Bruce Campbell have done since.

Hey, this film critic game is fun...”

“You should've seen what I did to Bill Murray, funny man.”

“Man, don't be purposely dense. He wasn't stating that all white men are or have been racists, he was stating that the institutionalized racism that existed in this country for decades is simply not equivalent to the statement made by Judge Sotomayor. But, hey, don't let logic stand in the way of your righteous indignation now... you know how us white guys just love a good bit o' righteous whining.”

“I'm a little disappointed that you neglected to note the fairly significant discrepancy between "evangelical protestants" and "mainline protestant­s." I come from a religious home, but it was definitely one that fell into the latter category. While I had my own reasons for leaving the church, I still know and enjoy contact with many, many good people in it. It bothers me and them to no end that they are so often lumped in with the reactionary forms of Christianity that seem to dominate evangelical discourse. Just as we struggle to remind people that not all Muslims are radical jihadists, I would like to see us as a country better acknowledge that not all Christians are evangelical crusaders. If anything, that study helped toward explaining the gap between the Christians I know personally and those I see on the news.”

“Uh, thanks for proving her point? God forbid anybody speak ill of the great Saint Ronald of Reagan, eh?”

“Pot meets kettle for the win!”

“When someone is lured to their death, it's hatred, not a hoax.
When someone is tortured, it's hatred, not a hoax.
When someone is crucified to a fence and left to die, it's hatred, not a hoax.

When someone tries to rewrite history to support their cause and vilify their opponents, THAT IS A HOAX.”

“Oh, man, do I want to see this guy go mano-y-mano with Joe the FauxPlumbe­r...”

“Thanks, Steve. The next time a guy on the street asks me for spare change or someone down the road from me loses their home to foreclosure, I'll be sure to tell them "hey, it's okay, capitalism will provide, so don't you worry."

Capitalism unfettered is piracy. Socialism unfettered is tyranny. I've never heard of any "ism" that works in a pure and true sense.

An entrepreneur is like a soldier. The job is important, true, but how you do the job can make you a hero or a monster, and I've known more than a couple monstrous entrepreneurs.”

“Now, now, she's not wrong. If a democrat disagrees with you, they will absolutely point their finger at you. When a republican disagrees with you, they'll break your finger.”

“and do you plan to repeat that biting bon mot at your next country club brunch with Rush?”

“Conservatism is like sweater vests... you either grow out of it or you become a tool.”

“More evolved, my furry ass!”

“Hey, don't forget M.C. Rove...”