It's A Bird... It's A Plane... It's ARUNE!

On Monday, I'll be heading to Australia courtesy of Warner Bros, who are taking me (along with other, real journalists) to the set of SUPERMAN RETURNS the new film starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey and the guy who played Kumar in "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle." I'll also stay longer in order to learn a bit more about Syndney- where the it's all being filmed- and to see what kind of trouble I can attract.

Though the full report will be on CBR, I will post notes up here and use a bit more, uh, "diverse" vernacular. Thanks to Jonah Weiland & Rob Worley for making this once in a lifetime trip possible. For those who have noticed a lack of the "Why We Fight" articles, I've been too busy to put up anything but a half-assed article and while they probably read like teenage angsty rants, I don't want them to sound worse than they already do.

RESCUE ME: One Of The Best Shows on TV

This article is a great recap of FX's Rescue Me television series and provides compelling reasons to watch the show. Denis Leary stars as firefighter Tommy Gavin, haunted by 9/11 (in a way that actually respects the tragedy and opts not to exploit it) and the way he's destroying his life. We also meet a diverse group of characters and the show isn't afraid to explore themes from homosexuality to male rape to penis size all in the first few episodes. There's a serious study of who Gavin is and what makes him tick, showing his responsibility for his life being in the crapper and why he's become this way. The rest of the cast shines too and features one of the most well rounded sets of characters on television. None of the main players- or even supporting characters- is ever treated in way that makes them a boring stereotype or waste of space. From Tommy's ex wife to the Chief's sick wife, all the characters play pivotal roles and most importantly, act like real people. Decisions are made that are always natural for the characters and people fight- and love- for reasons that anyone can relate to. We may not always like seeing these revered firemen as fallible members of society who sometimes make mistakes and sometimes act like selfish pricks.

The last two weeks- as we're half way through season two- have focused on sensitivity training for the crew, as their female member accused them of being sexist and the show has shown how far the pendulum has swung in society now that we're aware of the various "isms." The sensitivity video is hilarious not only in presentation but in how it mimics REAL training videos. For example, in one scene, a white man walks up to a black man...

White man: You watch the game last night?
Black man: No... [stands up] but you assumed I did because I'm African American!
Narrator: We must always use caution in dealing with people of diverse backgrounds.

It's hilarious. Then Tommy points out that everyone but white people have four racist slurs available to describe them, but White people are shorted in the department of slurs and in Denis Leary fashion, lets out EVERY offensive racist name you can imagine. The show isn't revelling in shocking viewers; instead, Rescue Me devalues these words by showing their infantile nature and how they can be used in comraderie. After the video, the instructor asks what Tommy has learned and he replies, "That only white people can be racist." It's a perfect examination of reverse-racism in society and greatly illustrates peoples' over sensitivity in today's climate.

The sex on the show is rough and at times too explicit, but this is a smart, honest show about being a good person and the complications that make heroes only human. This series never takes the easy way out and burns with a real intensity missing in today's fiction, in any medium. Pick up season one on DVD from AMAZON.COM today.

A Good Laugh At Movies

Thanks to Augie for this link to "40 Things That Only Happen in Movies":

http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/features/20moviethings.htm

Flashback to June 24th, 2005- The Home Of Napoleon Dynamite

This has taken time to post due to one of my USB ports giving me trouble and the other being used for Internet access, so I apologize if this seems dated.

On June 24th, 2005, my friend Nate Smith and I ventured to Preston, Idaho for the Napoleon Dynamite festival. Now I hated Napoleon Dynamite and though parts of it were funny, I wasn't big on the flick- but Nate loved the film and I figured it might be fun to see the town. There were scheduled tater tot contests, chances to meet some of the supporting cast, dances, etc, but I think we went on the bad day. The next da, Saturday, was apparently packed with people but honestly, I think the culprit is all poor planning.



The town was littered with signs and banners, but there was nothing really special going on- no one seemed to show up for the bowling match, the memorabillia was the kind of stuff you find at Hot Topic stores and considering this is the home of the film, it was disappointing.



Nate and I- driving in his Scion shortbus- found Napoleon Dynamite Ave and we did consider removing the sign. Now I know that isn't the most ethical or responsible thing... but that sign is the kind of thing they should have sold.





Nate decided to hang off the sign and it should be noted that the entire area smelt like manure. It's a farming town and so that's to be expected, but it really smelt bad. It was funny to see the folks react to Nate & I blasting rap music out of his car and driving down the street. It was all country all day over there and the only other people we saw playing hip hop were sun burned 15 year old boys who went to meet their girlfriends behind the bleachers. Seriously. I think that once everyone turns 18, they leave the town because it is SO small. It consists of a few streets, no real restaurants or entertainment areas and there's no room for growth. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in such a small town. You have to drive for an hr to find the nearest real movie theater. Same time to find a real restaurant- the town had a Burger Kind, Taco Maker, a few gas stations and an Artic Circle, where bugs were crawling over the register.





The people were nice and helped direct us to Napoleon's house, as seen in the film, though the guy at the gas station gave us the worst directions possible- which he admitted to. He said he'd charge us for better directions and I don't think he was joking. His co-worker kept staring at me- I think was one of the only minorities that she's ever seen in her life.





Above are Napoleon's house and the mountains over which Uncle Rico said he could throw a football. Good times. Below is Rico's pervert truck.



We ended the trip by FINALLY finding the Rex Kwon-Do studio and this represented another missed opportunity. Mock classes and demonstrations would have been great for the tourists. It would have really added to the atmosphere. I don't know what the evening dance was like, as Nate intended to get with a farm girl in her barn, but considering we only saw females under 15 or over 40, I don't think NateDawg missed too much.



Overall, great trip because I got to do it with a good friend and the ride allowed for a lot of talk time. It also made me appreciate my own life more, after seeing how people have to live in smaller town and the finite options available to them in every facet of their life.