politics – The Wayward Cynic

Election '08 Recap

You all know what happened Tuesday night: change is finally here. GREAT to see the high turnout numbers, a sign that we had two worthy candidates for a change. Anyway, you can read exhaustive recaps and editorials from writers far more intelligent and skillful than I, so I’m gonna focus on what I seem to do best: berate the major network coverage of the festivities with my trademark sarcastic wit! Let the hilarity begin!

NBC
NBC’s graphics department must’ve just had a sizable bump in their operating budget, as they seemed determined to induce as many seizures as possible with visual aids, constantly shifting graphs and an entire green screen studio depicting a Roman senate chamber of some sort that looks like it might’ve been created by a couple of stoned out college students.

MY EYEEEEEESSSSS!!!

Continue reading “Election '08 Recap”

Vote

It’s been a rough eight years for this country and the choice American citizens make today will have consequences for years to come, likely well after the administration of whoever wins is over. At least, let’s hope it does, because I’m not sure we can afford another status quo administration–Democrat or Republican–in the long term.

Never have I felt so empowered being able to vote in an election; this is the first time I’ve felt like there’s something truly at stake here. The past several races have featured candidates I found a difficult time tolerating, let alone embracing as a symbol of that ever-elusive “change” we’re all seemingly looking for. Both candidates in 2008 are using that buzzword again, but I feel like they both mean it this time. We get to decide who’ll have the chance to deliver it. Democracy has never felt more tangible to me. I think that’s a sentiment shared by a lot of my generation–a generation that’s nearing the time where we’ll make our mark and be able to influence the direction this country goes in. (And yes, this means kids will take over the country and put all adults in internment camps. 24/7 partytime!)

So please, get out and vote on Tuesday. Be a maverick and put that bag of Cheetos down, get off the couch and get to your local polling place. If you’ve got time to read a barely above-average blog (aw yeh), you have time to go vote. Don’t worry, I’ll have all manner of chimp video and alcohol-fueled ranting here waiting when you get back.

W. | B

director: Oliver Stone
starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss, James Cromwell, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Ellen Burstyn, Scott Glenn

No matter your opinion of our current president, it’s clear George W. Bush has been one of the most polarizing figures of the last fifty years and will be talked about in the history books decades from now for the impact he’s had on the United States and the world during his presidency. Whether that turns out to be positive or negative remains to be seen, despite how strongly you may feel one way or the other. Thus, it doesn’t seem too outlandish for a biopic on the man while he’s still President and still very much in his prime years. He’s a fascinating figure that bears analysis, and who better (or worse) to do that than Oliver Stone?

I’ve always found Stone’s films to be compelling, even if they’re a mess (Any Given Sunday is a good example). More often than not, though, he covers topics important in a societal sense, from the horrors of war in Platoon to the amoral exploitations of the media in Natural Born Killers. In any case, there’s an inherent bias in his point-of-view, as I’m sure we all have, but he typically avoids subtlety in making sure the audience knows what his views are on a given subject, whether that there was a government conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy (JFK), or that the majority of pro athletes are hopelessly egotistical drug addicts (Any Given Sunday). The point is, don’t expect to get a completely objective film on a given subject from Oliver Stone.

Continue reading “W. | B”