Pumpkin Seeds: Nouns I Don’t Get Edition

1. Gwyneth Paltrow. Dime a dozen white girl with zero personality and limited acting ability. 2. Neil Gaiman. Just another imaginative writer lacking in fundamental skills. Much ado about nothing. 3. Beyoncé. Destiny's Child had one good song - Independent Women - before she went solo, and her own album is a testament to the power of good production over talent. Did Jay-Z threaten everyone in the media? 4. Jay Leno. He's as hit or miss as the wannabes on Last Comic Standing and yet dominates late night. 5. Men. Specifically the ones who believe whistling/catcalling/leering at a woman from…

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The Forgotten is nothing like The Sixth Sense and to suggest otherwise is reductionism at it's worst. If anything, the most appropriate [reductionist] synopysis, and quite possibly the studio pitch, would be to say that it's like Ransom crossed with the X-Files, with a strong female lead. Of course, that probably wouldn't sell very many tickets as an ad campaign! Unlike the Sixth Sense, though, the ill-conceived trailers for The Forgotten, while incredibly effective as attention-getters, leave very little room for any mystery regarding what's actually going on. You know pretty quickly that there can only be one explanation, but…

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Maureen O’Keefe Aptowicz: Mother

Some of the best political commentary online, from an admitted conservative no less, is coming from one Maureen O'Keefe Aptowicz's zeitgeist column at aptowicz.com. Funny, honest and intelligent, she skewers Kerry with the best of them but generally offers equal-time in her critiques, able to admit that her guy isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the house. Anyway, while I don't think Bush won over any of the 'undecideds' (who are these dolts? Should they even be allowed to vote?), he didn't screw up royally and cost himself support. I suspect Kerry will pick up 3% in the polls, since…

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Bush vs. Kerry: 45 minutes into the debate...Bush is winning. Kerry's trying to appeal to logic while Bush is focused on emotion. If this were boxing, Kerry is the technically-proficient pugilist with a steady jab, who writes essays on the sweet science for the New Yorker. Bush is the street brawler who can barely spell his name but packs a powerful right hook and is always on the Sportscenter highlights. Kerry is the dancer, jabbing and dodging, waiting for the optimal moment; Bush is the bruiser, pounding away at the body. ...and now it's done and my opinion is unchanged.…

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Pumpkin Seeds: End of the World Edition

1. What the hell is going on? Multiple hurricanes and random tornadoes, an earthquake in California and now the threat of Mt. St. Helens erupting again? Plus, there's the whole mega-tidal wave in the works, just waiting for another volcano to go off in Africa! If I were a Republican, the obvious explanation would be that God doesn't want John Kerry to be President. 2. To be honest, I think it would be kind of cool to see this election overshadowed by massive global disasters. The God of the Bible certainly has that kind of sense of humor. 3. I'm…

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Democratic Scare Tactics

I'm always discouraged to see friends suckered into things because of their good intentions so when one of them forwarded me the latest email "virus" going around, I was both annoyed and disappointed. The email in question is from Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. in the form of their latest plea for money: "To keep the Democratic Party's essential October activities on track, we have to raise $2 million in less than 36 hours." Post-9/11, most non-profits saw their donations drop dramatically as people redirected their philanthropy towards the Red Cross and other relief organizations. That was understandable. Today, the same thing…

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