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Review: Corked
Thursday, June 25, 2009

I had the pleasure of seeing an independent film named ?SCorked,? a movie that satirizes the pomposity and smugness of the culture of Sonoma Wine Country.

As somebody who does not drink alcohol, does not go to independent films, and does not drive my car outside?the West side of Los Angeles (it?"s an old car), I forayed into Downtown LA to watch a ?Smockumentary?S?where adult beverages were served.

I will spare you the elitist, flowery rhetoric about how it pops out of the bottle with energy and flows smoothly until the viewing palate is pleased. I remember seeing a commercial where wine tasters exclaimed, ?SSplendid clarity. Excellent Nose.? I wanted to smack these people, and also wanted to know if Hollywood celebrities could have a form of rhinoplasty that would enhance their wine drinking sensation.

In pure, non-aristocratic terms, this movie is funny. It is very funny. Try to picture Eugene Levy in ?SBest in Show? mating with Jane Wyman in ?SFalcon Crest.? (Please think of this in a G-rated manner. Ms. Wyman was Mrs. Ronald Reagan for heaven?"s sake.)

This movie skewers the arrogance behind wine tasting. While it is not overtly political, it absolutely lacerates wine snobs, with politically incorrect humor that would please anybody with a pulse, much less a palate.

Virtually none of the characters have redeeming qualities. One wine honcho wears a tuxedo to the vineyards, while failing to understand why the Mexican workers dislike him. Another wine owner runs a one-man operation, falling asleep on the job from exhaustion. Another wine top dog is the son of a Texas billionaire who just wants his son to stay out of trouble. The marketing team are condescending racists trying to market wine to minorities.

Everybody in wine country wants to please Mr. Parsons, a tuxedo-sporting wine aficionado and critic that makes the late Mr. Blackwell (Hollywood?"s worst dressed list) seem warm and fuzzy. Mr. Parsons decides who gets to win the ?SGolden Harvest Award.? The Golden Harvest Awards are very similar to the Oscars, in that virtually nobody outside the industry cares, but the narcissistic participants think that the fate of the free world hangs on their every move.

The brilliance behind Corked is producer Brian A. Hoffman. (Full disclosure: I know him. If I would have hated the movie I would have just kept my mouth shut.) The movie took him over three years to make, but on a shoe-string budget he has really hit one out of the ballpark. The characters are well fleshed out, and the dialogue is clever.

The movie should be watched twice, once just for laughs, and a second time for political junkies. At no time does a single political issue or politician get mentioned, but those who believe in political correctness get to have their beliefs stomped on like the sour grapes they spew. (For those who care about the rights of innocent fruits and vegetables, no actual grapes were harmed in the making of this movie.)

For those of you in Los Angeles, head down to the Downtown Independent Theater on 251 S. Main Street. The show is running there through June 11th. For everyone else, the Website spills all. To those who are too elitist to traipse into neighborhoods where commoners exist to watch lesser known actors, the solution is simple. Drop the pretenses, lighten up, have a drink, and go get Corked. You?"ll be glad you did.

eric aka the Tygrrrr Express

posted by tgazw @ 6:18 PM, ,

Security stepped up at abortion clinics in US after killing of Dr George Tiller

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Controversy sharpens as man arrested in connection with shooting revealed to have links to rightwing militias

The US ordered increased security for abortion doctors and clinics todayas details emerged of close links between the man held for the murder of one of the country's most prominent abortion ?doctors and rightwing militias with strong anti-government views.

The killing of Dr George Tiller at his ?Kansas church on Sunday, and the arrest of 51 year-old Scott Roeder as he fled the scene, has added fresh impetus to the abortion debate shortly before congressional hearings begin for Sonia Sotomayor, Barack Obama's nominee to the supreme court, at which she is certain to be pressed for her views on the issue.

In Washington the attorney general, Eric Holder, ordered the US marshals service to step up protection of abortion doctors and their clinics, many of which have routine protection after years of being ?targeted by extremists and mainstream anti-abortion groups. Nine abortion ?doctors, clinic workers and others have been murdered in recent years. Tiller was wearing a bulletproof jacket when he was shot in the head, and frequently travelled with bodyguards after he was wounded in an earlier assassination attempt.

Obama denounced the killing. ?"However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence," he said.

But some prominent anti-abortion activists came close to justifying it. ?Randall Terry, founder of the largest anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue, issued a statement that fell short of condemning the murder and tried to shift attention to the political fight by warning that Obama would now use it to pressure organisations which describe themselves as "pro-life".

"George Tiller was a mass murderer.We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God," he said."I am more concerned that the Obama administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name: murder."

Dave Leach, editor of an anti-abortion newsletter, Prayer and Action News, to which Roeder occasionally contributed told the New York Times he had once met the alleged killer. "To call this a crime is too simplistic," Leach said. "There is Christian scripture that would support this."

Roeder's family said in a statement they were "shocked, horrified and filled with sadness at the death of Dr Tiller". "We know Scott as a kind and loving son, brother and father who suffered from mental illness at various times in his life," the family said. "However, none of us ever saw Scott as a person capable of or willing to take another person's life."

Others painted a picture of a more extreme man. Roeder has been identified as the likely poster of questions about Tiller on Operation Rescue's website. Among other things, a man with his name suggested going to Tiller's church to confront him and other members of the congregation over his work.

"Blaess (sic) everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp," he wrote. "Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there?"

In 1996, Roeder was convicted over the discovery of explosives and bomb-making equipment, along with a military rifle, gas mask and ammunition, in his car and sentenced to two years in prison. But his conviction was overturned on appeal on the grounds that the police had illegally searched his car.

The FBI identified Roeder as a member of the anti-government Freemen group, which described itself as made up of Christian patriots, whose leaders were sentenced to prison terms after a three month armed stand-off with law enforcement forces in Montana 13 years ago.

The Kansas City Star newspaper quoted a man identified as commander of the Kansas Unorganized Citizens Militia in the mid-1990s, Morris Wilson, as saying he knew Roeder at the time. "I'd say he's a good ol' boy, except he was just so fanatic about abortion," Wilson said. "He was always talking about how awful abortion was." Operation Rescue denounced the killing as "vigilantism" and cowardly.

It said it instead wanted to see Tiller "brought to justice" for what it regards as the murder of the unborn.

• United States


• Abortion

guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

posted by tgazw @ 5:37 PM, ,

Cato Scholar Comments on 20th Anniversary of Tianamen

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James A. Dorn, vice president for academic affairs:

After 20 years China has made substantial economic progress, but the ghosts of Tiananmen are restless and will continue to be so until the Goddess of Liberty is restored.

The Chinese Communist Party's "Human Rights Action Plan" (2009-10) addresses several human rights abuses, but it fails to establish a well-defined boundary between the individual and the state that protects rights to life, liberty, and property. Until China limits the power of the CCP and allows people to exercise their natural rights, there will be corruption, and the goal of "social harmony" will be elusive. The lesson of Tiananmen is that the principle of nonintervention (wu wei) is superior to the heavy hand of the state as a way to bring about true harmony.

posted by tgazw @ 5:22 PM, ,

Obama's m&m's: West Wing snackfood

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posted by tgazw @ 4:35 PM, ,

60 Turned Away Because Of HIV

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posted by tgazw @ 4:07 PM, ,

Turnout is Key Factor in New Jersey GOP Primary

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posted by tgazw @ 2:14 PM, ,

Watch Live Webcast of President Obama?"s Speech in Cairo

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On June 4, President Obama will deliver a speech at 1:10 in the afternoon in Cairo, 6:10 in the morning in Washington, D.C. No matter where you are, watch it live on WhiteHouse.gov/live.



The White House Blog previews President Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo:



The history of the relationship between America and the Muslim World is deeper and more complex than the common perception might suggest. Thomas Jefferson taught himself Arabic using his own Quran kept in his personal library, and had the first known presidential Iftaar by breaking fast with the Tunisian Ambassador at sunset. President Dwight Eisenhower attended the dedication ceremony of the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. on June 28, 1957. President Bill Clinton issued the first presidential greeting for Ramadan, appointed the first Muslim American ambassador, M. Osman Siddique, to Fiji, and sent the first presidential Eid al-Adha greeting to Muslims. And one year after President George W. Bush placed the Holy Quran in the White House library in 2005, Representative Keith Ellison was took the oath of office on the same Quran owned by Thomas Jefferson two hundred years before.



With his speech in Cairo, the President will lay another marker, addressing America’s relationship with the Muslim World in the heart of the Middle East. Whereas the past years and decades have deepened the rift in that relationship, the President will seek a new start by opening up a serious, honest dialogue to find areas of common interest where we agree, and new ways of communication where we do not. By continuing unprecedented outreach to the Muslim World, the President is strengthening national security and opening up new opprtunities to address some of the problems that have seemed so intractable over recent years.



The speech will be given at 1:10 in the afternoon in Cairo, 6:10 in the morning here in Washington, D.C. No matter where you are, watch it live on WhiteHouse.gov/live.

posted by tgazw @ 1:48 PM, ,

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