It's Leap Year

Okay, there's an extra day this year in February due to leap year. Check out this classic third season Frasier episode called "Look Before You Leap."

Why gas prices are high

If you listen to the Republican presidential candidates, you would think that high gas prices are President Obama's fault. Their reasoning? The old supply and demand argument. We don't drill enough. Wrong. On The ED Show, Senator Bernie Sanders (I) tells you that demand has gone down and there is good supply. So what is causing this? You guessed it. It's the speculators of Wall Street manipulating the prices. And check out Stephen Colbert have some fun with the rising gas prices.

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Light beam erupts from Mayan pyramid

Yahoo ran this story about a guy who photographed a light beam erupting from a Mayan pyramid. The pyramid is El Castillo, a sacred temple to the Mayan god Kukulkan. Hey, could the Mayans be right? Is the end of the world coming in 2012? Nah, says a scientist. It's just a defect with the IPhone. Anyway, cool video of the picture below.

Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog at the Golden Collar Awards

There's an acting award show for dogs? Yeah, it's called the Golden Collar Awards. What a great idea for Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog to report on. Here's his report on this year's show.

The Best and Worst of the 84th Academy Awards

The 84th Academy Awards show is over. Time for the Basement Blog's awards for the night.

1. The Up Yours Young People Demographic Award. Remember last year's hosting disaster with James Franco and Anne Hathaway? That was clearly designed to lure young people. This year, the show went classic and brought back Billy Crystal for a ninth time to host. Crystal who can joke, sing and dance was again wonderful. The opening film was a hoot and he did a funny song. Welcome back Billy.

2. Strangest show decision. A lot of times the Academy Awards show starts out with an acting award like "Best supporting actor" to keep the TV audience's interest. This year they started out with Cinematography which went to Hugo.

3. Dumbest Move of the Night. Having Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow present the Best Documentary feature award in a smarmy, unfunny skit with a cameraman filming Downey like a documentary and Downey making unfunny jokes. Huh? This is usually the most serious of the categories with the films often depicting real life tragedy or calling the world for a need for change.

4. Dumbest Music Choice. What was up with the new age jam bands during the commercials? How about using the time to play movie music?

5. Best Music Decision. While there were only two best song nominations, old shows had performances of all the songs. This usually kills the show by stopping any momentum. This year no songs were performed.

6. The "It" Girl Award. Emma Stone. During a presentation for Special Effects, Emma Stone stole the moment from fellow presenter Ben Stiller with some funny banter. She lit up the stage with her charm and it came across to the audience on television.

7. Strange Vain Moment. During a presentation for Best Adapted Screenplay, Angelina Jolie stuck out her bare leg in a dress that had a slit to show it. It was a pose that was great for the modeling runway but for presenting an Oscar? This leads us to...

8. Best Legs. Angelina Jolie.

9. "Too much of this" award, One too many segments of stars telling us why they love the movies.

10. Funniest bit. It's the smallest one. It's where Billy Crystal has the camera do close ups of the stars and he makes jokes about what they're thinking. Making Billy Crystal absolutely brilliant.

11. Best Move of the Night. Having one star talk about the best acting performances rather than one star per nominee. The old way was a time eater and killed the momentum.

12. The Up Yours Grammy Awards show.Jazz musician Esperanza Spalding who won the Grammy for Best New Artist last year and started a firestorm for beating out Justin Bieber sang "What a Wonderful World" to video of Academy members who died this year. It was a lovely perfomance.

13. The Martin Scorsese Award for Getting Hosed. This award is named after Scorsese when two of his great movies did not get Best Picture considering they deserved it. See Raging Bull. (1980) See Goodfellas. (1990) This year the nominee that got hosed was Scorsese's own Hugo. It got beat out by The Artist. Look, I like The Artist but it was too conventional. Hugo was a 3D masterpiece about the magic of movies.

14. Best Oscar for a guy you never heard of, but should. Douglas Trumbull received an Honorary Oscar for Special Effects. In case you don't know, Trumbull has a lifetime career of doing special effects. They range from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) to The Tree of Life. (2011)

New trailer for Mass Effect 3

Here's Bioware's new trailer for Mass Effect 3. It's a CGI ad and probably not gameplay video. But it kicks ass.

Colbert interviews Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Stephen Colbert interviews House Democratic Leader and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi wants legislation to overturn the Citizens United. Of course, she finds an ally in Colbert. Stephen Colbert almost comes out of character. It's a good interview if you want to know why the Citizens United case is problematic.

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Pina 3D Review

Pina is director-writer Wim Wender's documentary about the late German choreographer Pina Bausch. The documentary films many of Bausch's dance pieces and interspersed in the movie are reflections from dancers about Baush. With the exception of Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", the music is all tonal making the dance routines accessible.

But what makes Pina different is that Wenders films the movie in 3-D. (3D) Modern dance lends itself well to 3D cinema with its use of space. It is also clear that Wenders maximized the 3D medium. He gives shots depth with the way he positions the camera to capture a row of dancers. Props, and objects are placed in the foreground. Backgrounds are not just pictures but add to the depth. Moving cars, rolling hills, train tracks and cliffs all make the 3D pop. Wenders also moves the camera slowly around dancers to maximize the 3D medium. There are times Wenders use of 3D gives the film a surreal quality as one feels the dancers are in another dimension separate from the stage.

The dancers and Baush's routines are magnificent. Yes, much of it is avant-garde. But there's raw emotion and whimsy too. None of it is boring.

Wim Wenders has created a 3D masterpiece. There were times that I thought characters in the movie were in the theater with me. Other times I felt I was in an abstract painting. Wenders use of 3D is greater than James Cameron's use of it in Avatar. (2009) Wenders told NPR he would never film in 2D again. With his mastery of the medium, I can see why. The grade for Pina is A +.

ESPN's racist headline

Okay, I'll admit that I'm a Chinese American. I don't get offended at every perceived racial taunt. I did not get upset with Michigan Republican senatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra's TV ad which depicts a Chinese girl with broken English saying she's glad that Senator Debbie Stebenow is in favor of government spending. Look, a girl in China who's just learned English is going to have an accent. And I agree that the ad is stupid. I'm more offended that Hoekstra uses the juvenile nickname for Stebenow called, "Spend-it-now."

If you follow sports, New York Knicks sensational guard Jeremy Lin who's a Chinese American has been getting a lot of headlines. Some are neutral puns on his name like "Linsanity." Others are racially tinged but harmless like the fan with a sign of Lin's face on a fortune cookie, with the caption "The Knick's Good Fortune."

But amazingly the most racist and offensive racial epithet came from one of the biggest sports networks. ESPN on its mobile website ran the headline "Chink in the Armor." The headline was in reference to Lin making nine turnovers against the New Orleans Hornets. Just in case, you're not up on racial slurs, "chink" is the derogatory term for Chinese people. ESPN fired the writer who made the headline and suspended an anchor for using the term for thirty days.

Here's why I find the term "chink" so offensive. It is a term invented to put down Chinese people. It's designed to make them look inferior. "Chink" is the same thing as "n" word is to African Americans. It's the one word that used in front of this Chinese American that gets me upset.

At least Saturday Night Live had some fun with it. They also made a satirical point. It seems racial comments against Asians are okay but not against African Americans. Check out SNL's open.

Stephen Colbert takes on conservative protests over Obama's contraception mandate

Stephen Colbert, a Catholic, uses his brilliant sarcasm to make fun of the Catholic church and conservatives who are overeacting about President Obama's mandate for Catholic institutions to cover contraceptives. In the funny video below, Colbert literally demonstrates Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum's comparison to the contraceptive mandate to the French Revolution's use of the guilliotine. No he doesn't use person's head but a banana covered with a condom.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Hey, it's Valentine's Day. Here's Tony Bennett singing "It Had To Be You." Happy Valentine's Day Blue Eyes.

Stephen Colbert shows how ridiculous the anti-regulation crowd is.

Stephen Colbert through satire shows how ridculous the anti-regulation crowd is. It's funny stuff about a useful product that prevents people from cutting off their fingers while using a table saw. Check out his hilarious piece from the Colbert Report.

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Jon Stewart takes on conservative criticism of Obama's contraceptive policy

The conservatives have gotten themselves worked into a lather over President Obama's requirement for religious health care plans to provide for contraceptives. Here's Jon Stewart of the Daily Show and his funny take on their overeaction. Check out the second video where right-winger Sean Hannity has a jury of mostly white and all male religious leaders. Yeah, Hannity that's fair and balanced. No women. Ha.

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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island IMAX 3D Review

In my effort to review Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in 3D, I ran into the failings of projection technology. The first theater I went to see this movie was not running it in 3D. Got my money back. Then I went to another theater that night and as I was watching it for about one hour, the right side of the screen had a distortion. Left and got my money back. I finally gave up on regular 3D and went to see it at an IMAX theater.

The Mysterious Island is a sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth. (2008) Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) is now a rambunctious teenager living in Dayton, Ohio with his mother and stepfather, Hank. (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) Sean and Hank decipher a radio message from a Vernian, a person who believes the novels of Jules Verne are fact. Sean believes the message is from his grandfather, Alexander (Michael Caine) and thinks that he is on the island in Jules Verne's novel, The Mysterious Island.

Sean and Hank travel to Palau. There they hire helicopter pilot Gabato (Luis Guzman) and his daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) to fly them to the Island. As they approach the Island, they discover it's surrounded by waterspouts. The helicopter hits one and crashes on the Island. They discover it is indeed, the Mysterious Island.

Journey to the Center of the Earth was a pioneer film in 3D cinema. It featured live action actors filmed with 3D cameras. The result was one entertaining movie. The Mysterious Island 3D action exceeds its predecessor. Director Brad Peyton is no 3D snob and thankfully he shot the movie in 3D. Things are hurled at you. There's slow motion shots to emphasize the 3D effects. More importantly, he sets up shots to maximize the 3D medium. What you have are 3D shots of small things like flying glass, berries bouncing off Hank's chest, to giant birds ready to kill our heroes and one giant bad ass electric eel. The eel will literally have you ducking in your seat.

It's not all just eye candy. There are fine performances. Dwayne Johnson has come a long way from professional wrestler to actor. He gives a warm and funny performance. Josh Hutecherson again delivers a realistic performance as a teenager just like he did in The Kids Are All Right. (2010) Luis Guzman has the part of a buffoon but he really conveys the fun he has in the part. Michael Caine is just wonderful as the eccentric grandfather.

IMAX vs. 3D. Getting to view a large portion of this movie in 3D and watching the whole thing in IMAX 3D allows me to make a preliminary judgment on which is better. First, let me say the beauty of this movie is that it was shot in 3D. The effects pop and there's depth in both versions. But IMAX due to its large screen and greater resolution has the crisper picture. The 3D effects are enhanced. Like Avatar (2009) , and Tron: Legacy (2010), IMAX is the best way to view The Mysterious Island in 3D.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is not the deepest movie. But it makes for a fun family night out. I strongly recommend you see it in 3D. The grade is B.

Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace 3D Review

When it was announced that the Star Wars movies would be converted and released in 3-D (3D), it was hoped that technology would turn 2D film icons into 3D icons. The first movie of the saga to be converted would be Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace. And in April, James Cameron will bring out his 1997 blockbuster Titanic in 3D. The hype is led by Star Wars creator George Lucas, who notes all the artists needed to bring The Phantom Menace to the screen in 3D. (Digital Spy video.)

While The Phantom Menace gets a 3D paint job, what isn't new is the story. It's still the tale of the Trade Federation tying to force the Quenn Amidala (Natalie Portman) of Planet Naboo to surrender her planet to them. Trying to help her are two Jedi knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Ewan McGregor) Meanwhile the planet is under attack by a full droid army. They decide to flee to get help from the Galactic Senate. Along the way they meet Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), aka Darth Vader, as a young boy and comic relief in a Gungan named Jar Jar Binks. (Ahmed Best) Ugh. Binks speaks with an annoying high pitched, bad English accent.

Also not new is George Lucas wildly inconsistent writing and directing. His screenplay refuses to explain what the Trade Federation is, leaving the audience trying to figure out the politics of the sides. He then makes the mistake of trying to explain a spiritual idea, "The Force" by giving it a physical presence called "midi-chlorians" when there was no need to. Lucas also fails to see problems with the acting. Yes, Jake Lloyd was a little boy but wow, there are moments were he's not acting at all. And of course, there's Jar Jar Binks who's such a dumb character that you want reach out and choke him.

The art direction is also still bad. While Naboo represents a nineteenth century European city, there's nothing futuristic or alien about it. Fighter ships look like tear drops. Costumes look like they're from the sixteenth century. And don't get me started on the leather fighter pilot helmets. World War I? Not all is bad. The special effects are still astounding.

But the big question is should you spend the extra bucks to see The Phantom Menace in 3d? The answer is no. Everything wrong with 3D conversions are in The Phantom Menace. A little girl behind me said, "I can't see with these glasses on." That's right. One problem with 3D movies especially conversions are that they're too dark. The Phantom Menace is too dark. I have this movie on video and it's much darker in the 3D version. Of course, that's a symptom of filming in 2D and not adjusting the lighting for 3D.

There is very little depth perception. Look, there is only so much artists and computers can do with a 2D movie. They can't fill in missing information like light and shadow. A good 3D movie will have effects will pop. That can mean you have things thrown at you but it can mean objects push out of the screen. None of that exists in The Phantom Menace. Part of the lack of pop is with the conversion process as stated above. But the bigger issue is that George Lucas directed this movie without thinking about setting up shots for 3D. I mean I don't remember hearing George Lucas ever saying I directed particular shots with the idea that in 2012 he was going to release the movie in 3D.

The best way to demonstrate why The Phantom Menace fails as good 3D cinema is to compare it to a film shot in 3D. Take Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) and The Phantom Menace's sea monsters. The Phantom Menace's sea monsters don't pop, i.e. they don't push out of the screen nor do they have any depth. Mysterious Island's electric eel makes you want to duck in your seats as it swims by. Now before you say, I shouldn't compare conversions to native 3D, I say why not? If they're going to hype up the converted 3D movie, it had better be at least close to native 3D. Otherwise the moviegoer is wasting his money.

I can't say this is a blatant cash grab since Lucas has passion for the project. But to say this conversion is somewhat better than The Last Airbender (2010) is not a compliment. Save your money. If you like this movie, go out and get the 2D Blu-Ray version. The grade for the conversion, Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace 3D is C Minus.

Why Conservatives are hypocrites.

I've always suspected conservatives of being hateful. And it finally came out tonight. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Cal Thomas, an avowed evangelical Christian said that Rachel Maddow "is the best argument in favor of her parents using contraception....I would be all for that and all the rest of the crowd at MSNBC too for that matter." Just remember that Thomas was vice president for the Moral Majority (1980-1985) a fundamentalist Christian political organization.

Hey Cal, this is why I'm not a Republican anymore. I'm a Christian. I know about John 3:16. You fundamentalist Christians are anti-abortion and you make a comment against liberals that they should have never been born. That is hypoctical. You sir are a hypocrite, or should I say hypocritical Pharisee. Jesus loves conservatives. He loves moderates. And yes he loves liberals. I'm guessing that many at CPAC never watched Rachel Maddow on a regular basis. Because if they did, they realize she uses facts to support her arguments.

It's time for Christians to rise up against the fundamentalists. Jesus believed in truth. But more importantly he beleived in love. It is not love when you wish a human to have never been born. It is nothing but hatred. Today's conservatives do not stand for love. They stand for anger. They stand for hate.

Update: Cal Thomas personally apologized to Rachel Maddow. She considers the matter over.

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Sean Hannity only cares about one part of America

Truth is pretty important to Americans. I mean one of the reasons we have the First Amendment protections of speech is so that truth may come from the many voices. So Fox News Sean Hannity may claim he cares about America but that is only half true. You see American is composed of many voices of different races, sexes and political view points. If you're a liberal or moderate, Hannity doesn't care about you. His constituency is the angry white male conservative. Truth is relative to their viewpoint.

Where's my proof, you say? On Hannity's February 7, 2012 show, he claims that President Barack Obama would not have had America's greatest enemy killed if Obama had his way. Here's the quote.

"HANNITY: I know the president will say, 'Well, we got bin Laden.' Putting that aside...
LUNTZ: And the public gives him credit for that.
HANNITY: They do. The public does give him credit for that. But it wouldn't have happened if he had his way, and I think that can be proved as well on tape."


Mr. Hannity, have you no shame? There is absolutely no truth to your statement. Why? Because if you watch the news back in 2008, Obama told the American people that he would get Bin Laden. Politico story. Of course, this doesn't fit your right-wing narrative. You can't give credit to Obama because he's a liberal. Mr. Hannity, that is un-American. At the end of the day, whether we are conservative, moderate or liberal; we are Americans. We believe in the search of truth. And the truth Mr. Hannity is that President Obama made his goal to get Bin Laden and he did. Period. Mr. Hannity, you don't care about the truth. And you don't care about most of America.

Ed Schultz went after Hannity last night with this piece.

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Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog at the American Idol auditions in Hawaii

Here's a comedy gem when Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog went to Hawaii to tease contestants for American Idol. He got kicked out and later did the weather for a local news station. Hilarious. Check out the video.


Triumph at "American Idol" Part 1 by matzevolt


Triumph at "American Idol" Part 2 by matzevolt

Sarah Palin thinks voting for Newt Gingrich annoys liberals

My muse, former Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, is urging people to vote for Newt Gingrich for the Republican presidential nominee. One of the things she said to Fox News was " Vote for Newt, annoy a liberal."

Well, Sarah, I hate to say this but if the Republicans nominate Newt Gingrich, it wouldn't annoy this liberal. I would be happy. Why? Gingrich is mean and angry. He's a a delusional narcissist. Women hate him. As a result he won't get women's votes. Of course, he won't get liberal votes. He won't get moderate votes. He won't get the Reagan Democrats with his views on child labor. And he won't get the extremely important, independent voters. Who's going to vote for Newt? Angry conservative white guys. And that means one thing. President Barack Obama gets re-elected. That's a good thing.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the Hollywood Squares

Time for another Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog video. Here are highlights where Triumph was on the Hollywood Squares with Al Roker and Kathie Lee Gifford. Enjoy.

Triumph-Hollywood Squares - For more funny movies, click here

Mass Effect 3 gets rid of the mining

Remember how the mining in Mass Effect 2 stunk? You turned a planet with your joystick and shot probes for minerals in what seemed like an eternity. It was so mind numbing dull that if you suffered from insomnia, it was a cure. Well PS3gens.com and XBOX World (March 2012; pg. 60) are reporting that there will be no mining in Mass Effect 3 and that has been replaced by a search and rescue system. What you do is go to conflict areas and rescue survivors. Good. That sounds like more fun than mining planets.

Chevrolet's apocalyptic Super Bowl ad

I thought this Chevrolet Super Bowl ad about their truck surviving the end of the world was funny. First, it's got a science fiction thing happening with the destroyed alien ships. Second, I like the way the actor who delivers the punch line which you know is coming, kind of winks at the camera. He thinks it's ridiculous and you can tell.

Conservatives take on Clint Eastwood

Wow. Conservatives are upset over an ad from Chrysler aired during the Super Bowl about the difficult times that the American auto industry has had. The ad which is narrated by director-actor Clint Eastwood has images of everyday Americans. Eastwood talks about the tough times and reminds the audience that figurative first half is over, i.e. tough times are done, and the second half is coming. He talks about the will of the American people to be resillient. It's optimistic with literal images of the road ahead.

But conservatives see the ad as one supporting the auto industry bailouts. Karl Rove says he was offended by the ad. What the f... ? It's an optimistic message about resolve of the American people. Heck, you could use the ad for the Republican presidential nominee. Yeah, I know it sounds like it's a pro-Obama ad because it suggests the bailouts saved the American auto industry. Hey, wait a minute. They did. But conservatives forget, Clint Eastwood is a Republican. Here's my suggestion, you Republicans. Quit hoping for downturn in the economy and look forward to the second half.

The "controversial" ad


Ed Schultz on the ad

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Red Tails Review

It's proper that Red Tails came out in late January, right in time for National African American History Month or Black History Month. (February) Red Tails is the story of the 332nd Fighter Group during World War II. What made this group of fighter pilots different? They were all African American. In film, this material was previously covered in the HBO movie, The Tuskegee Airmen. (1995) In fact, Cuba Gooding Jr. was in the previous production and is in this new dramatization of the 332nd aka The Tuskegee Airmen. George Lucas produced this film and claimed that he had trouble with funding because of its all black cast. It is the first original film production of Lucasfilm other than Star Wars or Indiana Jones since 1994.

The film starts out during the last years of World War II, American bomber groups were losing a large number of planes due to misguided fighter tactics. Specifically, American pilots would leave their bomber escorts to chase German fighters who were diversions and leave the bombers to fend for themselves against main force of German fighter planes.

Meanwhile, the 332nd is in Italy doing very little. In Washington, Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) is fighting to have the group get into the fight with racist officers of the Army Air Force who believe that African Americans are inferior. We meet some of the pilots. They are hard drinking Captain Martin "Easy" Julian (Nate Parker); rebellious and maverick Joe "Lightning" Little (David Oyelowo) and young Ray "Ray Gun" "Junior" Gannon. (Tristan Wilds) Eventually Bullar is able to get the 332nd into battle and eventually escort duty accompanying bombers into Germany.

If the description of the pilots sounds familiar, that's because it is. John Ridley
and Aaron McGruder have written a screenplay with a number of old war movie cliches. There's even a ripoff of The Great Escape. (1963) Lucas can complain about trouble getting Red Tails made, but any Hollywood producer would comment about how banal the script is. I mean during the whole movie, there's a German pilot known as "Pretty Boy" ( Lars van Riesen) who serves as the villain. He's so one dimensional, he virtually sneers at the camera. Terrance Howard as Bullard is way over-the-top. He overacts. While a lot of this is the fault of the writers, you can't dismiss director Anthony Hemingway's role in the performances. It's not all that bad, the dialogue between "Easy" and "Lighting" is worth listening to.

That leaves the dogfighting sequences. And they are exciting. Modern CGI technology has created large improvements over the 1995 HBO movie. It's these sequences that keep the movie in the air.

Red Tails is earnest. It's hard to dislike. But it's an old fashioned, cliched movie. The Tuskegee Airmen was a better movie. The grade for Red Tails is B Minus.

Is Hollywood out of ideas?

When you look at the top grossing films of 2011, you find one thing. Most of them are from movie franchises. Thirteen of the top twenty grossing movies are sequels or prequels. (Box Office MoJo 2011 Domestic Grosses)

Who's to blame for the lack of originality at the top? Is Hollywood out of ideas? Look, when it comes to who Hollywood can count on to go to the movies, they know it's one demographic. Teenagers. (NPR story on who goes to movies.) That's why you have the top eight films out of the top ten to be science fiction-fantasy genre. But is it bad? Not if you like science fiction or fantasy. The bad part is that more original science fiction should be made. Of course, there is always a concern that Hollywood will skip producing movies like "The King's Speech." (2010) Let's hope that doesn't happen. Last thing I would like to see is a Twilight movie nominated for Best Picture.

One last note on my favorite franchise, Star Trek. I know that Simon Pegg who plays Scotty in the new Star Trek reboot, got in a wee bit of trouble when he labeled Star Trek as a result of "execs favoring familiarity." Of course Star Trek does have brand name recognition. But that doesn't mean you can't have quality with a franchise. Star Trek is intelligent science fiction. It's creator Gene Roddenberry's vision. His vision was to make a series that was an entertainment and smart. It was to be serious with big ideas.

THE TOP TEN GROSSING FILMS FOR 2011 Figures rounded.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 381.0 million.

2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon. 352.4 million.

3. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 279.8 million

4. The Hangover Part II 254.5 Million

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. 241.1 million.

6. Fast Five. 209.8 Million.

7. Cars 2. 191.5 Million

8. Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol. 189.5.

9. Thor. 181 Million.

10. Rise of the Planet of Apes. 176.8 Million.

Bill Maher unbaptizes Mitt Romney's father-in-law

I like Bill Maher but I disagree with his views on religion. You see I'm a Christian but still I can laugh at Bill Maher's jokes about religion. Yesterday on Real Time with Bill Maher, he unbaptized Mitt Romney's father-in-law who was a critic of religion. You see the Mormons believe they can baptize the dead. So Maher decided to unbaptize him.

Republicans have new words for the poor

Thursday night, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show did a segment with John Hodgman. The segment features video of Gov. Mitch Daniels (Indiana) using the term "haves and soon to haves." Then there's Republican wet dream Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) who says that poor people drive by rich houses and say to themselves, "Congratulations... guees what we will be joining you soon." Yeah, Sen. Rubio, I'm sure poor people say that to themselves all the time. This is similar to the Republicans calling rich people "job creators." Anyway, here's the humorous piece.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Colbert injects Trekkers and Khan into his Gingrich piece

Stephen Colbert likes to inject Star Trek into many of his comedy pieces. Yesterday when discussing Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, he injected Star Trek by morphing the Newster into a Vulcan saluting Trekker and included a clip from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Check it out.

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Mitt Romney is out of touch

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made the comment to CNN that "I'm not concerned about the very poor." Soledad O'Brien asked Romney about the perception that he doesn't understand average Americans. Here's Romney's full quote.

"This is a time people are worried. They're frightened. They want someone who they have confidence in. And I believe I will be able to instill that confidence in the American people. And, by the way, I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it."

Huh? He goes from reassuring to taking a potshot at poor people. But think about the other things he's said. Tried to bet former candidate Rick Perry, ten thousand dollars. Almost all Americans don't have that kind of money. Described concerns about the gap between wealthy and the middle income people as politics of "envy" to his "I like to fire people" even though he was referring to health insurance companies. These comments indicate he doesn't understand working people. MSNBC article.

Here's Ed Schultz's report.

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Jon Stewart on Mitt Romney's company, Bain Capital

Wondered what Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's former company Bain Capital did? Here's Jon Stewart of the Daily Show's humorous take. Oh, just in case you want to know, he uses the term leveraged buyout. (LBO) Here's the wikipedia article for LBOs.

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The Politicians Pander

You know it's an election year when you see the politicians pander. From Newt Gignrich's attempt to speak Spanish to Mitt Romney's saccharin, stiff version of America to President Obama promising a woman that he would look at her husband's resume, it's ass kissing time. Jon Stewart of the Daily Show has a funny take.

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