Monday, November 25, 2002

I'm Tony Kornhater.   Today the President signed into law the Homeland Security bill, creating the new Department of Homeland Security out of 22 former agencies, and creating up to 1700 jobs for people that know something about this, like Sparxxx.   Attached to that bill was a rider that shielded some drug manufacturers (primarily Eli Lilly) from some large pending legislation over side effects from vaccines, specifically alleged links to causing autism in children.   Wilbon, is this a case of the White House giving back the quid pro quo for the over $60 billion in campaign donations (mostly to the Republican party) they gave this year?  Is it a pre-emptive reach around for the screwing the Republican-controlled Congress is about to give pharma companies when they have to choke down a prescription drug benefit bill later in the year?  Or is it a case of the GOP giving a big "fuck you" to trial lawyers - specifically those involved in class-action suits - saying, "you might as well not even bother, because big time tort reform is on the way"?   I'd like to hear some hating, now, please.   -- Sparxxx 3:35:54 PM    comment []

First off, no...white people DON'T have any swing in them. They're the reason that early rock morphed into heavy metal and the blues morphed into "my dog died, my wife left...let's get drunk" country. As for breaking new ground...I don't see too many people calling out Torre, and most people right now would disagree on the others (okay, maybe not Tyson)...what I'm saying is all of these had inflated legends in their primes...none were EVER as good as they're portrayed. By calling someone a fraud, I give myself an automatic argumentative out?  No. I've said what I said and I'll stand on it. Compared to what he's called, "the best in the game," Kobe is NOT good. He's one of the top 25 players in the league, but nowhere near the top 10...and people call him #1? That's fraudulent. Marilyn Monroe wasn't attractive...not to the extent that she's portrayed. She has "hottest chick ever" status, but she couldn't crack my all-time top 250. I'll stand on that, too. I won't say that I didn't mean what I said...I simply provided the basis for a discussion...and I put my basic thoughts out there. I'll argue against legend status for EVERYONE I mentioned. I can always make a good point by saying Tyson was never a great boxer. He was a bully who got exposed big-time once his aura wore off. And Manson DIDN'T kill anyone. Shit, I could go out and make people kill. Mind-fucking isn't that hard. My entire blog commands the question 'fraud at what?' Here's the answer...the people listed are considered by some to be the best at what they did -- in most cases, the best ever. My contention is that with all of these people, hype has overshadowed reality and greatness that was never really there is imagined. MJ wasn't even the best player in the league for half the time he was in it...but he's the best ever? No. Kobe the best now? Not even the best on his team. Marilyn hottest chick ever? I can name 100 off the top of my head who bury her. That's what I'm saying...these folks have been elevated for no real reason.   As for Dean, I may have exaggerated a little bit for effect, but my point remains the same. How does someone become a legend after three movies? I KNOW he died young, and that's my point. Can you imagine what we'd say about Corey Haim if he died at 17? Macaulay Culkin after "Home Alone?" Derek Jeter after 2000? Early death makes people inflate your real accomplishments. The truth is, Biggie was ONE OF the best rappers in the game when he died, making two very good albums but no classics. Pac, same thing, but twice as many LPs. Are they ther best ever? No. But they died young, so they're the two biggest icons we have, even though they really weren't the two best ever. Up there, yes. AT the top? No. You're right -- I haven't seen Dean on celluloid. But even if he was as striking as you say, it's not fair to someone with a much better body of work to deify a guy who, for all we know, could have turned into Elizabeth Berkley. Dean may NOT have a blemish (except for his driving record). But everyone else I mentioned DOES...and these blemishes are all overlooked. Maybe it's unfair to call Dean the fraud...the public made him the icon. But that's the case with all of these people. Perhaps it's more fair to say this: People can't keep shit in perspective to save their life. It's a soundbite society, and flashes of brilliance outweigh a consistently great body of work. It's the SportsCenter mentality America has. That's why Jason Williams is more loved than Andre Miller. It's why people think MJ was better than Bird. It's why James Dean gets more love than Spacey or Harrison Ford. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but that's a fucked up way to look at things. -- O 3:34:47 PM    comment []

MJ, Torre, Kobe, Shrub and Tyson. Jeez, O. You're really going breaking new ground here. And the few new ones you tried out are wrong, wrong, wrong. And since DDDM wasted his own time on the other side of the planet, I'll jump in on this. For a minute. Firstly, your strategem is obvious. By calling someone a fraud, you give yourself an automatic argumentative out. "I never said Kobe wasn't a good player, I just called him a 'fraud.'" "I never said Marilyn Monroe wasn't attractive, I just called her a 'fraud.'" So whatever issues a hater takes with your wide-ranging and mostly hollow critiques, you can avoid by saying 'that's not what I meant.' By grouping apples and oranges together and saying they're all 'frauds,' you can always avoid a good point by saying 'what i *meant* was that Tyson was not the best heavyweight ever' or 'what I *meant* was that Manson didn't kill me or anyone I knew.' So your entire blog commands the question 'fraud at what?' Being a success or being The Best Ever? Being talented or being hands-down the hottest woman actress ever? Step one of arguing is making an argument. Which you didn't even do. Now the Dean riff, despite the fact you didn't define your terms ("oh, right...side SHOW bob....): - James Dean? Fraud. Name TWO movies. I dare you. He's the poor man's Luke Perry, except back then, they didn't know that yet. The current inhabitants of earth have no excuse not to know better. Name two? Aside from 'Rebel without a Cause', 'Giant' and 'East of Eden,' I can't. Know why? He didn't have any. He died before he could make a fourth. I'm betting you didn't see any of them. (Here is where I sidestep my rant on you portraying an ignorant gut feeling as an informed opinion) All three were amazing performances. Playing Jett Rink in 'Giant' was the best part of the whole movie--a guy who gets shitted on all through his life, strikes oil and then spends the rest of his life trying to get back at the people who dumped all over him. Given that he was 22/23 when he made it, it's amazing that he plays Jett as a young guy and an old bitter drunk with such range. There's nothing I can say about 'Rebel' that hasn't already been said. But there was something about Dean that captured the attention of everyone: he was a rebel loner for the ladies, he was a misunderstood, well-intentioned guy for the fellas. He would fight at the drop of a dime if he felt threatened or mocked. He would stare off into space and appear to be seriously pondering things, instead of a 'Jeff Spicoli' type of brain damage. Poor man's Luke Perry. Jesus, go buy a clue. Luke Perry's entire acting ouevre was one long protracted James Dean impersonation. Down to the shrug and the running his hand through his hair. The fact that a watered-down JD hack became a pop culture phenomenon should give you some idea of the sensation created by an authentic and talented James Dean. He was three-for-three in film performances. If you want to draw a modern-day comparison, I would posit Johnny Depp. Yeah, yeah, laugh at Mr. Jumpstreet, but he's got serious acting game. He is vulnerable enough to not intrigue women; he's manly enough to be a guy that other guys appreciate. And he can act superbly. If Depp did 'Blow,' 'Donnie Brasco' and 'Dead Man' for his first three movies and then fell off a cliff, we'd consider them equals. But Dean was a better actor and died damn young. The guy was a man's man lived hard. He dated supermodels and drove sportscars 50 miles/hour too fast. That's how he went out--on pacific highway going over a hundred and couldn't stop in time to avoid a turning car (that's the theory...maybe he just lost control. not hard to do at 115 m/hr). America loves their legends. They especially love those whose careers are stopped short. JFK, Hendrix, Cobain, Brandon Lee, Lon Chaney Sr (some more than others, natch). We see MJ miss dunks now. We see Heston as mentally-diseased gun-loving mental midget. Humans love heroes and they adore being able to avoid the "yeah, but..." factor. Yeah, but Eminem's fourth album was wretched. Yeah, but MJ couldn't even get the Wizards to the playoffs. Yeah, but the Baha Men never made another song (aside from "Marge Let Her Jugs Out" on the Simpsons last night) James Dean was the coolest character in American cinema history who never fell off, simply because he didn't get the chance. You will argue that he would've made an 'Ishtar' or a 'Best Defense' eventually, but his legend is intact because his career was without a blemish. -- Rizz 3:10:04 PM    comment []

You think Elvis was only about copying black music?   * EVERY form of modern American music can be traced at its roots to SOME form of black music. Country, bluegrass, swing, whatever...they ALL evolved from early blues and jazz music. I won't say they aren't legit...but they are, at their roots, black.   You're not standing on very solid ground here.  (First of all, to call Appalachian bluegrass a predominately black musical form is a bit strange.)  But mostly because the next obvious question is, where did blues and jazz come from?  One of the biggest sources is gospel and church music.  This was very much a COMBINATION of white and black influences -- African rhythms and patterns plus European instruments and lyrics.  And it has always been this way.  Do we go back further?  Do we talk about European troubadours (sp?) singing the first love songs?    Let go of your white guilt, man -- we do have some swing in us...   -- DDDM 3:06:32 PM    comment []

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