WE MUST END THIS NOW!
Like the rest of the civilized world, I was appalled at the murder of four Americans in Iraq this week. To see the burnt bodies violated in such a way caused such a rise of anger that I was beside myself. When in the HELL are we, as a nation, going to get the BALLS to do something! People laughed when film maker Erol Morris alluded to the Iraq situation as another Vietnam. I didn't. When I was in the service, many of my superiors had served during the Vietnam war. Many of them were of the same opinion: they weren't allowed to win. How many more American boys and girls have to die before President Bush puts his foot down? The morning of the attacks I got an email from a friend of mine whose son (as well as her daughter and another son) used to work for me. Her email noted that her boy was in the same town where the attrocities took place, but thankfully was far away from the situation. To see the obvious glee and hatred on the faces of those that helped hang the bodies made me crazy! My advice: pull all of our troops as far back as possible then bomb those bastards to hell. Let's see their faces when their mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers are nothing more then charred memories. This country needs to show the world that we are not going to sit back any longer and let anyone with a grudge take it out on our soldiers! While the powers in this country fight and bicker over who told what to who regarding 9/11, our troops and citizens are being murdered. And if I was President Bush, and I didn't have anything to hide, I'd make sure my advisers told EVERYTHING they know about what happened. And under oath, so that our country can judge for itself the type of leadership we have and want. Anything less is unacceptable!
GOING APE
Jack Black has signed on to play promoter Carl Denham in the Peter Jackson remake of "King Kong." Black joins Naomi Watts in Jackson's verison of the classic ape meets girl story. Oscar winner Adrien Brody is in talks to join the cast as Watt's love interest and Kongs' rival.
PASSING ON
Jan Berry, half of the popular "surf music" duo Jan and Dean, died at age 62 from complications brought on by brain damaged suffered in a car accident in 1966. Along with partner Dean Torrence, Berry helped usher in the era of surf music made popular by the Beach Boys. With such hits as "Surf City," "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" and the prophetic "Dead Man's Curve," the group topped the charts in the early 60's. Jan and Dean hit the scene along with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. The groups were so friendly that on occasion they would appear on each other's albums, which made their producers upset as they recorded for different labels. In 1966, Berry suffered serious brain damage when he drove his Corvette into a parked car. After years of therapy, he was able to write and perform again. His last concert with Torrence was earlier this past month.
Peter Ustinov, Oscar-winning actor and well known writer and director, passed away in England from heart failure. He was 82. Winner of three Emmy awards and one grammy, Ustinov was twice named Best Supporting actor for his work in "Spartacus" and "Topkapi." He was also comfortable behind the camera, having written and directed the film, "Billy Budd." Though born in London, Ustinov always claimed his heritage as Swiss, Ethiopian, Italian, French and Greek...........never English!
MEET THE BEATLES - PART 11
April 1, 1970 - With only Ringo participating in the session, producer Phil Spector works his wall of sound, lavish orchestral and choral tracks, onto "Across The Universe," "The Long and Winding Road" and "I Me Mine," for inclusion on the "Let It Be" album. During the session, Spector manages to piss off everyone, from the technical engineers to the 50 musicians he hired. The "wall of sound" included 18 violins, four violas, four cellos, a harp, three trumpets, three trombones, one set of drums (Ringo) two guitarists and 14 singers. The bill to EMI? A little less then 1200 British pounds.
Well, that's all for now. Have a great week. See ya!
"Mike's Rant" is ©2004 by Michael A. Smith. Webpage design and all graphics herein are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2004 by Nolan B. Canova.
