so i’ve been obssessing about comic books a lot lately, what with all the actual watchable comic book movies that have come out recently. it reminds me of a time when i was younger and spent a lot of time reading them…back before i learned that getting laid was a much better way to spend my time than reading the X-men…regardless after watching the Dark Knight the other night and then rereading Frank Miller’s famous the Dark Knight Returns i started to think about what an insane rightwing lunatic Batman was (especially Frank Miller’s vision of him). and then it made me think about the political affiliations of all my other favorite super heroes. and so here’s what i’ve come up with.

BATMAN

vital stats: parents were killed by a mugger. is obssessed with fighting crime. has some facist leanings (thanks to Frank Miller), a bit unhinged. has a strange relationship with a young boy. is a billionare. is apparently set to take on Al-Qaeda next….yeah seriously…fucking Frank Miller. what an idiot.

verdict- republican

SUPERMAN

vital stats- an illegal alien, has a day job as a reporter. never kills anyone. a man of the people. a bit smug. thinks he knows what’s best for everyone.

verdict- democrat

THE X-MEN

vital stats- outsiders, want us all to just get along, big on diversity, obviously would be supportive of affirmative action, big on dreams, harbor illegal aliens, outlaws. are hounded by the government as a threat.

verdict- democrats

THE PUNISHER

vital stats- ex military, pro gun, supports and inforces the death penalty, a bit of a nutjob, tough on crime

verdict- ultra right wing republican

IRON MAN

vital stats- supported the super hero registration act during Marvel’s Civil War. ex military, billionare, made weapons for the army, fights terrorists.

verdict: republican

CAPTAIN AMERICA

vital stats: fought the Nazi’s in WWII, was leader of The Avengers, the symbol of American Patriotism and Freedom, doesn’t use a gun, took steroids, Captain America opposes mandatory federal registration of all super-powered beings, which he sees as an erosion of civil liberties for the superhero community, and leads the Anti-Registration faction and resistance movement. got assassinated.

verdict: liberitarian

this is seriously the dorkiest thing i’ve ever blogged about.

Posted by justin on 24 Jul 2008 at 08:26 am

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For at least the last decade, bee populations have disappeared from some regions.

Suck but still hopeful.
It seems researchers at the University of Toronto have identified a potential cause of Colony Collapse Disorder.

Abstract of the abstract:
Commercially-raised bees escape their greenhouses via the ventilation system (they musta learntit from the TV) and go on to contaminate wild hives in the vicinity with a parasite common to commercial bees but rare in wild bees.
These dudes modeled and mapped such a scenario.

Woot!
This seems a promising lead in identifying the causes of CCD and reversing the disappearance of bees.

Why should you care?

All yr veggies happen cuz honey bees make plant sex better than pretty much any other critter around. No bees, no food.

More enemies of bees.

Posted by bob on 23 Jul 2008 at 09:26 pm

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Craig found this and passed it on to me…

Get it from GAMMA-GO!

Posted by ryan on 23 Jul 2008 at 02:15 pm

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Ruby Isle will soon be hitting the road for the first leg of their tour to support their debut album Night Shot.

8/14- Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA

More dates are coming for late fall. Hope to see you there!!!

Posted by dan on 23 Jul 2008 at 10:23 am

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rap music pretty much started when i was born, so saying the best rappers of the last 30 years is pretty redundant. oh yeah, Biggie is overrated so fuck him. he ain’t on my list.

anyways, my top 30 Rappers/Rap Groups 1978-2008

1. N.W.A.
2. Eric B. & Rakim
3. Wu Tang Clan
4. Public Enemy
5. Run DMC
6. A Tribe Called Quest
7. KRS One/ Boogie Down Productions
8. Outkast
9. Snoop & Dre (together so powerful, apart so very flawed)
10. Jay Z
11. The Beastie Boys
12. Ice Cube
13. LL Cool J
14 Tupac
15. Eazy E
16. Kool Keith/Dr. Octagon
17. Mobb Deep
18. Geto Boys
19. Missy Elliott & Timbaland
20. 2 Live Crew
21. Big Daddy Kane
22. Too Short
23. Ghostface Killah
24. Eminem
25. Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five
26. Gang Starr
27. Slick Rick
28. Mos Def/Black Star
29. Ol’ Dirty Bastard
30. Goodie Mobb

Posted by justin on 14 Jul 2008 at 05:05 pm

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the top 30 worst pieces of shit that i paid money for 1978-2008

(note: how many of these are comic book movies…it should also be noted that i’ve done my best to avoid obviously bad comic book movies the last decade or so and never saw either of the Fantastic Four movies or Daredevil or Ghost Rider…but i’m sure if i had then they’d be on this list)

1. Batman and Robin (Bat Nipples)
2. Napoleon Dynamite (beyond dumb, boring, and overrated)
3. Superman IV: Quest For Peace (quest to ruin a franchise)
4. Godzilla (the lame big budget one)
5. Vanilla Sky (pretentious piece of shit)
6. Gladiator (the worst Oscar winning movie of all time)
7. Spawn (worst comic book adaptation ever)
8. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (way to kill my childhood)
9. Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (no Burt Reynolds = No Fucking Reason to see)
10. Ace Ventura 2 (about the point i got sick of Jim Carrey)
11. Spiderman 3 (worst sequel ever)
12. The Devil’s Advocate (Al Pacino at his worst)
13. Judge Dredd (much like all 90s Stalone movies, big dumb and pointless)
14. Last Action Hero (Arnold’s worst)
15. Dogma (Kevin Smith has a lot to say about religion and i could care less)
16. Anaconda (even J.Lo’s ass can’t save this)
17. The Punisher (both of them)
18. X Men 3 (i have wished death on Brett Ratner for this abortion of a film)
19. Escape from L.A. (one of the worst sequels to an awesome cult classic ever)
20. The Crow- The City Of Angels
21. Rocky 5
22. The Ninth Gate
23. Waterworld/The Postman (essentially the exact same movie with equal suck)
24. The Phantom
25. Gremlins 2
26. Hook
27. Pay It Forward
28. Psycho (the pointless shot for shot remake)
29. Lost In Space
30. Eyes Wide Shut (pretentious crap)

Posted by justin on 14 Jul 2008 at 02:41 pm

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my personal favorite moments from movies 1978-2008

1. Princes Leia tells Han Solo she loves him. he responds with, “I Know” and then gets frozen in carbonite. this probably explains a lot about me and my interactions with women. (The Empire Strikes Back)

2. The trailer fight (Raising Arizona)

3. Storming the beaches at Normandy (Saving Private Ryan)

4. Darth Vader throws the Emperor to his death and saves Luke. (Return of the Jedi)

5. Indiana Jones pulls out his gun and blows away the bad guy with the big ass sword. (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

6. William Munny kills Little Bill and a whole bunch of other dudes. (Unforgiven)

7. pretty much every second that Matthew McConaughey is on the screen (Dazed and Confused)

8. Alec Baldwin’s speech (Glenngary Glenn Ross)

9. even though it’s played out, the “These go to 11″ scene in Spinal Tap. which slightly edges out the dancing dwarf and tiny Stone Henge scene. (This Is Spinal Tap)

10. while Vincent and Jules are having a conversation, Vincent accidentally blows off the head of their backseat passenger. so shocking and hilarious. (Pulp Fiction)

11. Ripley vs. the Alien…in her undies, no less and blasts the fucker out into space (Alien)

12. Jason Vorhees punches a guys head off (Friday the 13th Whatever: Jason Takes Manhattan)

13. the helicopter raid (Apocalypse Now)

14. the wearhouse shootout (Hard Boiled)

15. The opening sequence and credits (Dawn of the Dead remake)

16. Theo’s march through a war zone while trying to find the baby without ever picking up a gun. powerful shit. (Children of Men)

17. the Nihilists throw a ferret (or marmet) into the tub with the Dude (The Big Lebowski)

18. we see what Roller Girl has to offer (Boogie Nights)

19. my favorite scene changes everytime i watch this but right now i go with: Richie’s Tennis Meltdown getting the slight edge over Wildcat (The Royal Tenenbaums)

20. Donald Sutherland finally stands up for his son vs. his wife played by Mary Tyler Moore. totally makes me cry like a little girl. (Ordinary People)

21. Copper and Todd vs the big fucking bear (The Fox and The Hound)

22. the opening scene where Drew Berrymore gets offed (Scream)

23. Phoebe Cates emerges from the pool. we all become men. (Fast Times at Ridgemont High)

24. Edward Norton is Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

25. Optimus Prime vs. Megatron in their final battle (Transformers the Movie: the original one from the 80s)

26. what’s in the box? (Se7en)

27. the moment Jack’s wife sees what he has been writing and realizes he’s gone totally insane. (The Shining)

28. the state championship game (Friday Night Lights)

29. Josh Hartnett walks down the hallway as all the girls swoon, set to the song “Magic Man” by Heart. fucking classic. (The Virgin Suicides)

30. that scene where Matthew McConaughey jumps off a building or whatever the hell he was on and into the air with an ax to fight the Dragon and gets killed. seriously McConaughey is out of his mind in this entire film and it’s just capped off by this amazing/ridiculous scene. (Reign of Fire)

Posted by justin on 11 Jul 2008 at 03:22 pm

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the movies that haven’t always gotten the praise and awards they deserved. the forgotten classics and unheralded comedies that if any of them are on tv i’m sure as hell gonna watch.

Top 30 Underrated Movies 1978-2008
1. Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
2. Miller’s Crossing
3. U Turn
4. Big Trouble In Little China
5. Zodiac
6. Election
7. The Virgin Suicides
8. You Can Count On Me
9. Bottle Rocket
10. Before Sunrise
11. Beautiful Girls
12. Dead Man
13. Shallow Grave
14. Starship Troopers
15. Boiler Room
16. Munich
17. Brick
18. A Simple Plan
19. Ghost Dog
20. High Fidelity
21. Bound
22. Mars Attacks!
23. Army Of Darkness
24. Sexy Beast
25. Lone Star
26. Syriana
27. Grindhouse
28. Jarhead
29. Zoolander
30. The Proposition

Posted by justin on 10 Jul 2008 at 09:52 pm

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it should be noted that i like some of these movies, hell i own some of them, but they all get blown up and given a little bit more importance than they really deserve…especially all the lousy Oscar winners on this list. seriously Chicago and Crash won fucking Oscars?!?! how? and don’t even get me started on Gladiator. easily one of the ten dumbest movies of all time.

Top 30 Most Overrated Movies 1978-2008
1. Titanic
2. sex, lies, and videotape
3. The Shawshank Redemption
4. Gladiator
5. The Breakfast Club
6. Good Will Hunting
7. Chicago
8. Napoleon Dynamite
9. American Beauty
10. Sideways
11. The Sixth Sense
12. A Beautiful Mind
13. Crash
14. Jerry Maguire
15. Forest Gump
16. Pan’s Labyrinth
17. Dead Poets Society
18. Juno
19. Braveheart
20. Field Of Dreams
21. Little Miss Sunshine
22. Million Dollar Baby
23. Shakespeare In Love
24. As Good As It Gets
25. Almost Famous
26. There’s Something About Mary
27. The Untouchables
28. Rain Man
29. Magnolia
30. The Blair Witch Project

Posted by justin on 10 Jul 2008 at 07:55 pm

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the only rule was that you had to have put out your first record after 1978. so The Clash is out of the running or else they’d be number 1.

Top 30 Bands from 1978-2008

1. Nirvana
2. Radiohead
3. Sonic Youth
4. R.E.M.
5. The Smiths
6. Metallica
7. Joy Division
8. Black Flag
9. Fugazi
10. The Beastie Boys
11. Pixies
12. The Replacements
13. Guns N’ Roses
14. U2
15. The Cure
16. My Bloody Valentine
17. Gang of Four
18. Slayer
19. Pavement
20. Nick Cave and The Badseeds
21. The White Stripes
22. Husker Du
23. Greenday
24. Dinosaur Jr.
25. Mudhoney
26. Wilco
27. The Stone Roses
28. The Flaming Lips
29. Belle & Sebastian
30. The Jesus and Mary Chain

Posted by justin on 10 Jul 2008 at 10:45 am

7 Comments »