Toho is making their final Godzilla flick as we speak, and they're pulling out all the stops.

All I can do is point at this picture and scream "LOOK!" (while I'm drooling)

The movie premieres in Tokyo in December; I'm sure it'll be at the art houses here by this time next year.

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Watcher of Weasels has published it's weekly nominations, and despite my "link whorage" from earlier in the week, I got nominated outright.

This week's nomination is for my post from yesterday about the Missouri Democrats and their race-baiting billboard.

The Watcher's Council weekly awards will be released by Friday.

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BellSouth finally fixed my e-mail last night -- no one has a clue as to what happened, although after my call to the President of Customer Operations' office probably had a lot to do with it getting handled quickly.

I'm sure more than a few hands got slapped and nasty e-mails got sent around.

And I'm sure Clark Howard would be proud of how well I handled those knuckleheads.

In any event, with my old e-mal address mhking -AT- bellsouth -DOT-COM restored, I'm back in business, and not bouncing e-mails all over God's green earth.

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Actor Richard Biggs, known to science fiction audiences for his role as Dr. Stephen Franklin in Babylon 5, passed away suddenly over the weekend.

B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski broke the news to fans on the moderated B5 Usenet Group.

"I was awakened today with several phone calls from cast members and Doug [Netter] to pass along the terrible news that this morning, Richard Biggs passed away.

"We're still gathering information, so take none of this as firm word, but what seems to have happened, happened quickly. He woke up, got up out of bed...and went down. The paramedics who showed up suggested it was either an aneurysm or a massive stroke.

Biggs was 43.

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Democrats in Missouri actually have the gall to insist that a new campaign billboard is not "race baiting."

The billboard, pictured here, has a black man's face dourfully looking out next to the words "Missouri Republicans have a plan. You are not a part of it." -- all of this is splashed across an American Flag graphic.

Now I've been called naive, I've been called gullible, and I've been called a lot of other things that I won't print nor say in mixed company in my years. But I'm not so dim as to believe that this is not meant to be racially driven.

Yet, Missouri Democrats insist that this is not the case.

“We stand very much with what's behind the billboard,” said the Democratic Party's executive director, Jim Kottmeyer. “It has nothing to do with race.”

The same message, he said, applies to other groups, such as young people and seniors. “They do have a plan,” he said of Missouri Republicans. “Average Missourians are not part of it.”

A different billboard company, Waitt, placed the billboard near 14th Street and Troost Avenue in Kansas City. Presently, it is the only one in the state of Missouri.

“Even after they were rejected by one of the state's largest advertisers, Democrats continued to press forward with a campaign that targets African-Americans in a hateful and vile manner,” said Ann Wagner, chairwoman of the Missouri Republican Party.

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Microsoft Press' UK site has been hacked by a group calling themselves the "OutLaw Group".

The front page of the site has the messages "Owned OutLaw Group by Pharoeste e Wolfblack" and "Owned by OutLaw Group" repeated several times on the page.

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Officials in France are now saying that fresh cracking sounds are coming from the same terminal building that partially collapsed at Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport yesterday, killing four people. The new noises have prompted a complete evacuation of the new Air France terminall at CDG, where a 98-foot section collapsed at about 7 yesterday morning.

Air France officials are saying that they are considering scrapping the entire building. Terminal 2E was opened amid much fanfare 11 months ago. The construction project cost an estimated $890 million, and was touted as a showcase of design and architecture.

According to French network LCI, the opening of 2E had been originally delayed due to safety issues.

(There's no truth to the rumor that French officials were afraid of Paul Prudhomme's arrival on the heels of Michael Moore's departure...[g])

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As much as everyone hates the Bowl Championship Series (myself included), it is a financial bonanza for the metropolitan areas that host the collegeate football championship. So there is no surprise that there is much jockeying for position among the cities who are vying for the possible fifth game to join the championship rotation (after the Rose, Sugar, Orange & Fiesta Bowls) in January 2006.

SBC COTTON BOWL

Location: Dallas

Upside: Traditional New Year's Day Bowl in a major market....Geographically centered, and as the Big 12's anchor bowl, would be shorter trip than the Fiesta for most. ... A new stadium is coming, probably in Fair Park.

Downside: Unpredictable weather has kept Cotton out of the BCS.... Current stadium is past its time, and the new all-weather stadium won't be built for years. ... Big 12 may not want to relinquish its top-paying bowl to the BCS.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL

Location: Orlando Fla.

Upside: The top-paying non-BCS bowl. ... Disney/ABC connections. ... Great tourism area and accessible to ACC, Big East and SEC fans.

Downside: SEC and Big Ten won't want to give up a $5 million bowl. ... Stadium is below average for a BCS bowl. ... Would be a second BCS bowl in Florida.

TOYOTA GATOR BOWL

Location: Jacksonville, Fla.

Upside: Could serve as the Big East's anchor bowl. ...Good stadium.

Downside: Although it's in Florida, weather is a concern. ... Not the tourist destination Orlando is.

HOUSTON BOWL

Location: Houston

Upside: Great stadium. ... New owners have the resources to make this a much bigger bowl. ... Successfully hosted the last Super Bowl.

Downside: Not much bowl tradition.

CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL

Location: Atlanta

Upside: Domed, Super Bowl-worthy stadium. ... Lots of college football interest in an SEC-ACC market.

Downside: Already hosts the SEC title game. ... Like the Capitol One and Gator bowls, would give the South a third BCS bowl.

ALAMO BOWL

Location: San Antonio

Upside: Great tourism town with momentum from the Final Four. ... More centrally located than other BCS bowls. ... Relatively new, domed stadium.

Downside: Stadium is undersized for a BCS bowl.

INSIGHT BOWL

Location: Phoenix

Upside: Run by the Fiesta Bowl, so the organization is already in place. ... A shorter trip for fans of at-large teams from the Pac-10, Mountain West and WAC.

Downside: Would mean two BCS bowls in the same metro area (Fiesta Bowl is in Tempe). ... Played in a baseball stadium.

HOLIDAY BOWL

Location: San Diego

Upside: Great tourism city. ... Like the Insight Bowl, would be an easier trip for western teams.

Downside: Fans of western teams aren't known for traveling, anyway.

BRAND-NEW BOWL

Location: Most likely St. Louis

Upside: The BCS could opt to create a new bowl in a market that doesn't currently have a bowl. ... New domed stadium that will host 2005 Final Four. ... Central location with good access for the Big 12 and Big Ten.

Downside: Start-up costs and lack of an existing organization. ... St. Louis is a baseball town with little college football tradition. ... Not much to do there in the winter.

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Someone in their infinte wisdom lobbed me a note on a message board over the weekend, insisting that there was no such thing as "liberal media," pointing at Rush, Boortz, Hannity, Savage and Medved on the radio, and screeching about Fox News Channel on television.

After I finished laughing, I pointedly asked them about Katie Couric, Peter Jennings, Wolf Blitzer and Dan Rather. And let's not forget the admission in ABC News' daily political analysis column, The Note a couple of months ago, where the writers unabashedly admitted to a liberal bias in their reporting, as if they had an obligation to be liberal and to attack the Bush Administration.

A new Pew Research study has found that liberals outnumber conservatives in America's newsrooms by a wide margin.

At national organizations (which includes print, TV and radio), the numbers break down like this: 34% liberal, 7% conservative. At local outlets: 23% liberal, 12% conservative. At Web sites: 27% call themselves liberals, 13% conservatives.

This contrasts with the self-assessment of the general public: 20% liberal, 33% conservative.

And we are the ones that get beat up all the time? Just damn, indeed!

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A relatively new terminal building walkway -- it opened less than a year or so ago -- collapsed this morning at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, killing at least five people.

Full Of Crap had the best description, by far, of the carnage

Neither terrorism nor filmmaker Michael Moore being a gigantic fat fuck were suspected as causes. Mr. Moore will actually be traveling back to New York via FedEx Freight reinforced cargo container later this evening.

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As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher's Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around... per the Watcher's instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

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The Commissar has had his loyal mapmakers busy lately -- the newly commissioned map of Kablogh, the Holy City of Blogistan has been released.

Would you believe that I've got a whole palace to myself!? Mind you, he linked it to the OLD site, but what the hey? I rate being right in the middle of things this time!

A salute to the Commissar is due, indeed!

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1 Congrats, Michael! I saw that link on Walloworld, and thought "cool!" ... I read... like... 3 of these guys.

Posted by: songstress7 at May 23, 2004 02:11 PM (95fiz)

2 URL corrected

Posted by: The Commissar at May 23, 2004 04:34 PM (k+ZOU)

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The hearse that carried the body of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. after his death is up for auction on eBay.

The car, a 1966 Cadillac Fleetwood, still runs, and is being sold by a St. Louis lawyer for his client, a car dealer.

Presently, there are no museums who have expressed an interest in acquiring the vehicle, and the current bid this afternoon, with under 10 hours remaining, is over $54,000.

My big question is how long it'll take for Coretta Scott "professional black widow" King to demand that she and her family receive proceeds from the sale of the hearse. After all, they seem to feel that the only people who can profit in any way, shape or form from anything even remotely related to Dr. King is them.

Remember, this is the same family that demanded that proceeds from fundraisers tied to a King Memorial in Washington, DC go into their coffers. I'd put nothing above them in this respect.

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Continuity is a foreign word to Star Trek: Enterprise show runners Rick Berman & Brannon Braga.

They've tossed out many parts of the show's established history to come up with shady storylines, although much of the Xindi storyline established for Season 3 has been pretty well plotted (even thouh such a massive terrorist incident as portrayed as having happened to Earth would most probably at least have been mentioned over the remainder of Trek lore's backstories, you would think).

With the Season Finale of Enterprise's Xindi mission coming up this week, word is starting to leak out about a possible major guest star for next season: William Shatner.

Berman confirmed that he had indeed been in talks with TREK star William Shatner about a guest starring role in Enterprise, and is hoping to fit a William Shatner Guest appearance into Enterprise's 4th season.

"Bill is busy doing 'The Practice' right now, and he's going to be doing the spin - off next season." Berman said. "We have had discussions in the last week, when we were talking with the studio about areas and directions we would like to go in next season, and there were two different ideas that we think could be developed into a good vehicle for Bill. And hopefully we're going to pursue one of them for next season."

No word on whether Shatner would play (as some have suggested) Jim Kirk's grandfather, or perhaps maybe playing good ol' Captain Kirk himself.

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Noted entertainment rep firm The Brokaw Company, representing Bill Cosby among other folks, released a statement this weekend further clarifying Cosby's position on the continuing fallout on Cosby's speech last week in Washington.

Cosby's attack on those in the black community who de-emphasize education as a means of creating advancement in black America was met with mixed reaction from many quarters. As a result, Cosby reiterated and expanded on his position.

"I think that it is time for concerned African Americans to march, galvanize and raise the awareness about this epidemic to transform our helplessness, frustration and righteous indignation into a sense of shared responsibility and action."

"I travel the country and see these patterns in every community-stories of 12 year old children killed in the cross fire between knuckleheads selling drugs, the 14 year olds with a sealed envelop as their first step into the criminal justice system, the young males who become fathers and not held responsible, the young women having children and moving back in with their mothers and grandmothers, and the young people who choose not to learn standard English."

"My question: Is Bill Cosby hoping that the drop out rate will reach 70% soon and teenage single parenthood will grow to 80% in the lower economic neighborhoods? Or is he clanging a bell and warning that this is an epidemic that has to be stopped? Are we so worried about what others think about us that we are unwilling to address this disease that is inflecting our people more and more every day?"

There are some who feel that Cosby's statements are an affront; the statements certainly fly in the face of some who insist that "ebonics" and other separatist educational philosophies should be the norm for black students today.

Cosby points out that media critics such as Christopher Farley at Time Magazine are flawed in their argument that African American literary greats such as Langston Hughes and Zora Hurston honored the dialects that Mr. Cosby criticized as a lack of language proficiency that further denies opportunity to inner city blacks. "Clearly, Mr. Farley did not speak in dialect on 'Good Morning America' nor would he probably have been hired by Time if he spoke that way. Secondly, someone should question Mr. Farley whether Mr. Hughes or Ms. Hurston knew standard English and chose to write in dialect."

"I feel that I can no longer remain silent. If I have to make a choice between keeping quiet so that conservative media does not speak negatively or ringing the bell to galvanize those who want change in the lower economic community, then I choose to be a bell ringer."

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I'm rapidly losing my patience with BellSouth.

I've had my e-mail address, mhking@bellsouth.net for seven years. I've corresponded with literally thousands of people from that address; I've gone through a lot with it.

First of this past week, in their infinite wisdom, some rocket scientist at BellSouth decided to yank the address without saying anything.

Seems that when I got my DSL put in, the tech was not on straight with me regarding my old address; I asked if I could retain the old address. They said yes.

Mind you, this was a year ago.

So this week, a year to the week, mind you, someone, cleaning up house, figured out that this old address was hanging out there. So they yanked it. (or so it seems from what I've been able to piece together)

They claim that it'll be back up and running later today, though I'm still skeptical.

Anyhow, in the meantime, if you want to get to me, use my Google-Mail account at mhking@gmail.com.

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In an interview yesterday, Bill Cosby stood behind his harsh words from earlier in the week. In a speech at an NAACP event this past Monday in Washington, Cosby criticized black Americans who were more willing to spend $500 on gym shoes as opposed to spending the same kind of money on educational items that can help their children.

Cosby said he was chagrined that conservative radio talk shows seized on his comments and recirculated them. Yet he said he was more concerned about protecting children in unsafe neighborhoods.

"If I weigh a loudmouthed conservative racist announcer's thoughts and opinions against a 12-year-old child being shot," concern for the child wins, he said.

"I didn't want to throw cold water on the celebrating," said Cosby, but he stressed that many African-American neighborhoods were in crisis. "We've got to help these people," he said. "We've got to get the neighborhood back."

Cosby blamed lack of education on many ills that he sees in black communities.

"We should look and see how many males are incarcerated and look and see how many of them are illiterate," he said.

Of course, when I say the same thing, I'm branded a sellout; when someone white says the same thing, they're branded a racist.

Go figure...

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So I was mistaken in my take on Taco Bell's contest and the language they used to describe the desired entries.

Even I pull my tin foil on tight once in awhile.

I'm just as human as the next guy.

To Taco Bell, I'm sorry.

To you folk visiting from DU to bitch/gloat, I'm human, and I don't walk on water. I even make mistakes once in awhile.

I'm man enough to admit it, and own up to 'em.

Life goes on.

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From Eugene, OR (those crazy left coasters): 19 year-old Angela Morris gets into an argument with her boyfriend over a verse in the Bible.

She gets up to go make herself some french fries.

Hapless boyfriend follows, still yammering away.

While she's cooking, he grabs her from behind, pissing her off even more.

Then he goes to sleep (idiot!).

Still pissed, she goes to the room where he's sleeping and pours the boiling oil over him!

Morris is in jail on $250,000 bail for domestic violence assault. The boyfriend is in hospital with severe burns on his neck, face & chest.

Where's Al Green when you need him?

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Taco Bell has just openly declared war on conservatives.

They've got a new contest (don't they always?); this one is for contest entrants to put their "sauce wisdom" -- quick little sayings & witicisms -- on their sauce packets.

Sounds good, right? But get this.

From May 19 to June 18, customers can enter the national contest by registering their “sauce wisdoms” at www.tacobell.com. Taco Bell defines a sauce wisdom as a humorous look at reality through the eyes of the Taco Bell brand. The message should be simple, left of center and provide insight on the little things in life – anything from going on a date to eating a meal -- and it should not exceed 70 characters. All sauce wisdoms will be judged according to humor, originality, length and suitability of use.

They are going to have to come up with an awful lot before I and a lot of other conservatives darken their doors again...

UPDATE (3:45P): Amy Ridenour at The National Center for Public Policy Research (parent organization of Project 21) dropped a note in the talkback; keep in mind that Taco Bell's parent company is also the parent of KFC, Long John Silvers, A&W and Pizza Hut. (damn! I just had some fish from Long John's first of the week; and I was about to order pizza tonight!)

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1 I only ate at Taco Bell once, in Fresno CA in the late 1970s (showing my age here), from which I got such violent food poisoning I thought I was going to "buy the farm". Ever since, no quiero Taco Bell!

Posted by: Fausta at May 21, 2004 07:54 AM (WhoVr)

2 Whoa. That's ... something. Well, I used to enjoy a cheap taco now and then, they've just cured me though. My arteries thank them.

Posted by: Deb at May 21, 2004 08:55 AM (f6cjG)

3 Amazing. I've just picked up the story on my own blog (credited you for the pointer, of course) and I telephoned Taco Bell for their side of the story. They said they'd call me back.

Posted by: Amy Ridenour at May 21, 2004 10:39 AM (JJhRX)

4 Obviously they meant it as 'out in left field' or 'offbeat' and chose their words poorly. The requirements if you try to submit one specifically prohibit ideological advocacy: === • SUITABILITY FOR USE: The Wisdom may not be used as a marketing tool to promote non-Taco Bell products or services, or any individuals. The Wisdom may not be gender biased, have any religious or sexual overtones, ***support or endorse a position, or be offensive in any manner.*** === So don't boycott Yum! Brands because they want leftist propaganda on their sauce packets. Boycott them because they don't let delivery drivers pack heat.

Posted by: Sloth at May 21, 2004 11:03 AM (V3f49)

5 Actually, I refuse to have a pizza delivered from Pizza The Hutt simply 'cause they have screwed the order up the past three times I've tried. I'll stick with Dominos and Papa John's. (If only Uno's were around here! No one in Atlanta -- not even Fellini's -- knows how to make GOOD pizza!)

Posted by: mhking at May 21, 2004 11:10 AM (bJyKS)

6 "left of center" means off-kilter or quirky. Are you a super paranoid conservative or do you just have no concept of English colloquialisms?

Posted by: Harvey at May 21, 2004 11:14 AM (BHNvD)

7 I'm sorry, but did you stop to ask them what they meant? If that is actually what they meant, I'll apologize. Happily. Wonderfully. But 'tis better to be wary, than to have this bite me in the ass.

Posted by: mhking at May 21, 2004 11:50 AM (bJyKS)

8 "left of center" = quirky? Guess I need one of those newfangled slang dictionaries. I vote for hanging due to extraneous verbosity anyway. )

Posted by: Deb at May 21, 2004 11:53 AM (f6cjG)

9 Thanks for the tip. I never eat at Taco Bell so I can't boycott them, but my husband likes KFC. We'll boycott them until I hear that they only use the right side of the chicken.

Posted by: erp at May 21, 2004 12:43 PM (A9yNh)

10 Taco Bell called me back. They mean "quirky," not left-wing in the political sense. Amazingly, they've been using the term for three years without anyone thinking they meant it politically. I must have been in Washington DC too long, because I didn't even realize before today that the term could mean "quirky." Live and learn. The lady who called me back friom the Taco Bell press office was very nice and forthcoming about the whole thing. So, tacos for everyone! Or gorditas. Whatever.

Posted by: Amy Ridenour at May 21, 2004 01:28 PM (JJhRX)

11 Does seem like they mean something else by "left of center"; the examples shown certainly did not indicate any political leanings at all.

Posted by: Brainster at May 21, 2004 01:30 PM (PJWdB)

12 I guess I'm bizarre or something. I didn't take it that way. [shrug] OK. I guess I can go to Long John Silver's or Taco Bell for lunch again...[g]

Posted by: mhking at May 21, 2004 02:03 PM (/m7km)

13 hehe *sends hubby out for Taco Bell sauce* Michael, I'm getting messages bounced to me that I think are supposed to be going to your email? Are you getting notifications of messages?

Posted by: Deb at May 21, 2004 03:38 PM (f6cjG)

14 I'm not getting any mail right now -- Bellsouth hosed my e-mail account first of the week; I'm sure I've got stuff bouncing over half the planet. I've got a temporary account set up at mhking@gmail.com -- things shouldn't bounce for the time-being (while I'm in the process of going off on Bellsouth)...

Posted by: mhking at May 21, 2004 04:06 PM (/m7km)

15 The word "Left" is also frequently used in a derogatory sense i.e. a left-handed compliment ("My, that dress helps you look thin...")

Posted by: Tuning Spork at May 21, 2004 06:57 PM (YNIZ7)

16 Your email is really messed up. I keep getting emails telling me that mhking is refusing my emails. I haven't sent you an email, so I naturally put you on the Block Message list as a kook. I've been using Bellsouth for years and now have a DSL line with them. Best service we've ever had. I hope your problems are geographical. We're in Florida.

Posted by: erp at May 22, 2004 03:26 AM (p9Or0)

17 I haven't eaten at Taco Bell in years. Anything that uniformly entered and exited my digestive system at the speed of sound can't be good for you.

Posted by: Juliette at May 22, 2004 09:40 PM (aJw7h)

18 I'm sorry I brought you into this world.

Posted by: Your Mom at May 11, 2005 07:27 AM (g2bpN)

19 everything's a 'war' with you conservatives. and you wonder why 'neocon' is synonymous with 'paranoid'.

Posted by: troll at May 11, 2005 07:58 AM (Kp3JP)

20 I've seen it all now. You can't even use the word "left" anymore without getting a conservatives panties in a knot. You guys are STU-PID. Signed, the pinko bastard from Canada

Posted by: Chris Sherwin at July 13, 2005 05:31 PM (EOMUY)

21 Isn't this a Baha Blast??? = 0

Posted by: are you gonna eat that at July 24, 2005 07:34 PM (RJwNb)

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