Bad news, kids: "Babylon Fields" has been canceled before it even got off the ground.
For those of you with social lives and non-imaginary friends, "Babylon Fields" was sitcom\dramedy picked up by CBS back in January and originally slated to debut this fall. Set in the suburbs, nearly every character on the show was a zombie, returning from the dead to assume their pre-apocalypse lives with some of their still-living family members. It was also a bit of a procedural crime drama, with "undead crimefighting" thrown in for fun. Seriously.
I, for one, was ready and waiting with my remote control in hand. I mean, "Tell Me You Love Me" + "ZSI?" C'mon, people! This is magic!
Alas, Popwatch is now reporting that CBS has opted to can "Babylon Fields", but not before TV Week leaked a few precious scenes.
Got a minute? Check them out:
1) An impeccably dressed zombie returns home to greet his wife, who is simultaneously grateful for his return and slightly appalled that her prayers were answered literally.
2) Two male zombies discuss the sexual benefits of rigor mortis, prompting the question of whether it's necrophilia if both partners are dead. Need I mention that this is not safe for work?
3) A zombie reports his own murder to the police, in typical procedural cop-show fashion. This clip is made better if you're a true TV nerd and recognize the zombie as Jamey Sheridan, who played Captain James Deakins on "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" for five years.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Why CBS? Why? So We Could Watch More "Everybody Loves Raymond" or "CSI: Skokie?"
Is that Dick Obama or Barack Cheney? Cheney-Obama? Obama-Cheney?
Do you see any family resemblance?
According to Lynne Cheney, the VP's #1 stone cold fox, Barack Obama and Dick Cheney have have a common ancestor, a French immigrant named Mareen Duvall. While the CNN article mentions that "first Richard Cheney's" granddaughter married Mareen Duvall's son, Sam Duvall, eight generations ago, it fails to mention how Obama is related to Duvall and thereby Cheney.
Apparently, miscegenation is as unmentionable in contemporary media as it was in the eighteenth century.
This news comes a month after the discovery that Obama is President Bush's 11th cousin, and that Bush and Cheney are also related by another branch, independent of the Obama connection.
In addition to making Nicholas Kristof's May 2007 editorial stating that Obama should win because if Clinton won, the same two immediate families would control the White House for seven consecutive terms incredibly ironic, the new developments about Obama and Cheney's lineage has prompted new conspiracy theories. Is Lynne Cheney spreading gossip about Obama's link to the Republicans to prompt voters to suspect that "it's only a matter of time before the Vader rears his ugly personality within Obama's heart?" Or is it actually a ploy to keep Cheney from running for office because he's a Republican related to a black man? Get your daily paranoia--or is it?--from Quizlaw.
Your Ass May Be As Bad As Rising Temperatures
According to Alan Johnson, UK Health Secretary, obesity is a "potential crisis on the scale of climate change."
We Got News
- Bush's approval ratings have hit a new low - 24 percent (Huffington Post)
- Former pariah states, Libya and Vietnam, elected to UN Security Council (NY Times)
- Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur (Wired)
- Hartley out as Thrashers head coach (Fox Sports)
- Russian President Putin is in Tehran today, talks center on conflict with the West (Christian Science Monitor)
Wednesday Afternoon Slosh Report
Kai, a lychee-flavored Vietnamese vodka, is a huge hit in Hawaii, getting rave reviews in Honolulu's "Midweek" Magazine's 'In Good Spirits' Column.
While I'm not sold on the idea of lychee-flavored vodka, despite the security of knowing that buying Kai supports the entire village in which it was originally crafted, I have decided that I want to work for a Hawaiian magazine, reviewing booze.
What Juvenile Law?
December '06: UN considers adopting a resolution abolishing the punishment of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole for kids and teens, regardless of the crime committed.
VOTE: 185-1
Guess who cast that one vote?
At present, 73 Americans are serving life terms for crimes they committed under the age of 15.
Bonus points if you can guess the states in which have the largest numbers of these special prisoners and their respective ethnicities.
Read more after the jump.
More Cardinals, But Not the Kind from Missouri
Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of 23 new cardinals** today, 2 of which are American. The appointment of a cardinal from Galveston, TX prompted speculation that the Pope is trying to reach out to the Latino Catholic community, aka the most substantial portion of the global Catholic community.
Perhaps the more interesting part of this development is that only 18 of the 23 new cardinals are under the age of 80, the second threshold requirement for being able to vote for a new Pope. (A cardinal must be under 80 on the day of the new election.)
Allegedly reaching out to Latinos? Appointing 18 non-octagenarian cardinals? Looks like the Vatican is trying to keep up with its people and maybe even stepping into the 19th century. What next? Tolerating European Jews?
** FYI: Cardinals aren't that different from regular clergymen, but are individually appointed as cardinals by the Pope. As members of the College of Cardinals, they advise the Pope when called to do so and get to vote to elect a new pope when the old pope has passed on.
For all our pyromaniac friends
According to this YouTube video, water will burn if batteries are soaked in it for 30 to 40 minutes.
Resulting from what I perceive to be a lack of instructional videos on The Pasty Quail, I present to you the following tutorial. . .
Gotta love the background music, too. Only adds to the experience.
So Long Cynthia!
Cynthia McKinney, the seemingly bat-shit crazy former Congresswoman from Dekalb County, has officially moved to California. The AJC has an article explaining that McKinney has registered to vote in California, where she is seeking a doctoral degree from Cal-Berkley.
The article also mentions that McKinney is listed as a candidate for president for the Green Party, and I heartily endorse her attempt. Cynthia has been the source of some of the more amusing incidents in recent politics. Remember when she beat up the police officer on Capital Hill? How about the time that she incited so much hatred in Atlanta-area Republicans that many changed their voting registrations to Democrat and voted for her opponent, Denise Maggette, in the 2002 primary? Ah, good times.
Brick-and-Mortar Video Stores Going the Way of the Record Store...
...into bankruptcy. Cnet.com is reporting that Movie Gallery filed on Tuesday; the chain also operates under the names Hollywood Video and Game Crazy.
The stores have been beaten to a pulp by online/mail order dvd services such as Netflix, as well as widely available on demand video choices from cable companies; in just 2 years, Movie Gallery's stock price has fallen from $33 to 22 cents. How long can it possibly be before the dvd itself is unseated?
Gore Says He Has 'No Plans' To Run For President
Al Gore says that he has no plans to run for president following his Nobel Peace Prize win last week. Yahoo! News is reporting that Gore has stated that the award will not change his status in the race. From the article:
"I don't have plans to be a candidate again so I don't really see it in that context at all," Gore said when asked in an interview with Norway's NRK public television aired on Wednesday about how the award would affect his political future."
Notice that he says that he doesn't plan to run; this certainly leaves the possibility that he will reconsider at any time over the next 2 months. Honestly, I won't be convinced that he isn't running until November of next year.
Birth control distributed to middle schoolers. . .
. . . without parental consent. Though the kids have consent to seek healthcare in the school clinic, they wouldn't have to have it to get a prescription.
I think the story speaks for itself pretty well, so I'll go ahead and ask the question. It makes sense that they would want to do this alongside giving condoms out as health promotion, but I think giving sexual autonomy to 11- to 13-year-olds is a slippery slope. I am all for teaching them about safe sex and supporting it; I think this a no-brainer. But at 12-ish years old, should the parents not have some knowledge that their son or daughter is planning to have sex? Maybe it'd be good for them to open up a dialogue and teach their own children about this?
At the same time, people may try to argue the other side, that these kids have the right to confidentiality. But how much should they really have while they are under their parents' roof? When a parent is legally and financially (not to mention emotionally) responsible for another life, they are the ones with a right to know everything about it.
But that's not the point. I think the issue here is that kids should be able to talk about these things with their parents. Sure, many parents don't want their kids having sex at age 12, and I think that's fair. But at the same time, the kids shouldn't be afraid to be sexually responsible, which is the school's side of things — also an appropriate angle. It's a tough situation all the way around.
Real Estate on the downward spiral in So. Cal./Poor News Reporting
I've got a dual head-scratcher for you:
First, apparently the housing market in LA — and especially its surrounding suburbs — is pretty seriously on the decline. Working for a commercial real estate publication for the past 3 years, I've come to find interest in these kinds of business trends, and I thought that a massive decline in residential real estate in one of the most expensive markets in the U.S. might be an interesting scoop.
But, I must disclose, this is not the real story here. I’ve been using Drudge Report for the past couple days or so, and overall, I’ve been mighty satisfied with the breadth of information he disseminates. However, last night I found this link, which ostensibly covers the LA housing decline. I was interested in the headline, but there was shit for information in this Reuters story (and in the Yahoo! News story that mimicked said “report”). Does this count as reporting news?
I understand that Reuters and Yahoo! have a lot on their plates, but you must hear about it from somewhere. There are no supporting statistics to contextualize the headline in either blurb, and in fact, it turns out (as I had suspected) that the information given is misleading when compared to the LA Times report (which I spent time digging around to find). I can’t necessarily trust everything that says either, but I’d imagine that it might have a better beat on the local market than an international news conglomerate.
I'm not huffy because I had to do some extra work; in fact, I feel a little bit accomplished. I'm not irritated at Reuters or Yahoo! either, though it does confuse me how they come to publish a story with such a dearth of information. Why put it up at all? And finally, while I'm not upset with Drudge, I'm a bit wary of his decision to post an article with such an obvious lack of substance.
MORE religion and the election
With the 2008 Election just over 12 months away, the issues are heating up. Though people seem to be saying that religion is not a huge deal for the upcoming circus that is the presidential race, I can't seem to go a day without seeing at least one thing about it. That's probably an effect of where I go to get my news, but at least I can pass this important knowledge on to you, the reader.
In that mode, Bob Jones III, chancellor of the Greenville, South Carolina, Christian-affiliated Bob Jones University, has officially leveled his endorsement for president.
His statements to open the column sum up everything that is a bit skewed with the American voter: "This is all about beating Hillary," and "What is the alternative, Hillary’s lack of religion or [Mormon candidate Mitt Romney's] erroneous religion?" I find it strange that he would endorse either, to be honest. I really am not sure why an erroneous religion would be better than a lack of it.
Jones continues, "As a Christian I am completely opposed to the doctrines of Mormonism," he said. "But I’m not voting for a preacher. I’m voting for a president. It boils down to who can best represent conservative American beliefs, not religious beliefs."
Surely this clarifies his position on Romney, but if this is the case, then why is it "all about beating Hillary?"
The polarizing rhetoric of partisan politics continues to confuse me.
Prophet predicts University of Kentucky basketball success
Really, I just liked the title of this Deadspin post on the subject, as I'm always a sucker for a Back to the Future II reference.
Underneath that exterior of hilarity, here's the real, in-depth story on the mother of a UK recruit that is a real, live prophet for the Lord. There's not much to be said that hasn't been in these two links, and really, I think a Michigan woman speaking through God regarding colege basketball results is a story that tells itself.
I bet Tubby Smith is PISSED. Where was God all those years he was starting his crappy son instead of NBA-level talent, and where was God when he was botching recruiting for one of the best and most well-known programs in the nation?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Dutch Ban Magic Mushrooms
The Dutch government is eschewing its liberal drug policy and banning the sale of psychedelic mushrooms in the country. The decision was made following a series of incidents involving tourists who took the drug. From the BBC:
"[A] 17-year-old French girl jumped from a building after eating magic mushrooms during a school trip to Amsterdam in March. Other incidents involving the drug have included an Icelandic tourist jumping from a balcony and breaking both legs and a Danish tourist driving his car wildly through a camping ground, narrowly missing sleeping campers."
It seems to me that these sorts incidents would be a good reason to keep mushrooms regulated and out of the black market. I suppose the Dutch government is not as pragmatic as I had hoped.
Turkey Close to Invading Northern Iraq
The Turkish military is close to sending troops into Northern Iraq to flush out Kurdish rebels who have established bases there. There has already been some fighting along the border, and the Turkish government has signaled that it will seek parliamentary approval for wider action in the area.
Broad Turkish action in Northern Iraq would open a new front in an already unimaginably complicated Middle Eastern war, and would expand on a long standing fight between the military and the PKK, a group of Kurdish rebels. The PKK (Kurdish Worker's Party) has been fighting since 1978 for an independent Kurdish state comprising south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Iraq, north-eastern Syria and north-western Iran.
Prior to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Kurds in Iraq were brutally oppressed by the Ba'ath regime; the people there were even the victims of a grisly chemical weapons experiment in the 1980s. Since the invasion, the Kurd-controlled portion of Northern Iraq has been pointed to as an unparalleled success for the US military. The region is relatively free of violence and the economy is strong. Unfortunately, much of the wealth that is being generated there is being funneled towards the PKK and the establishment of a Kurdish state.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government has been allowing the US to use Turkish airspace to fly troops, equipment, and supplies into the area. Turkish action in the area will likely threaten the security of these supply routes.
Ok, let me recap this for you: the US military manages to carve out one peaceful portion of an otherwise hellishly chaotic region, that peaceful area then creates a haven for a terrorist organization bent on destroying a traditional ally, traditional ally threatens military action against terrorist organization, threatened military action would jeopardize the US mission that created peaceful portion of an otherwise hellishly chaotic region in the first place.
God Damn it! Even when we get something right, we get it wrong.
Update: On top of everything, the brain-trust over in the US Congress is planning on passing a resolution that recognizes that the Ottoman Turks (the theocratic predecessors to the modern secular Turkish government) committed a genocide against the people of Armenia 90 years ago. The current Turkish government is not happy about this, and has threatened repercussions if the resolution passes.
Don't get me wrong, genocide is a horrible thing, but why do we need this resolution now? The people that committed the atrocity are long dead, the government that ordered it is no longer in power, and our relations with Turkey are as tense as they have been since the fall of the Soviet Union.
I really want to break out my tin foil hat and start screaming about a Pelosi-created conspiracy to get us out of Iraq by systematically pissing off all of our allies in the region, but I really don't think Congress is competent enough to pull something like that off.
What Would Dwight Do?
In West Scranton, Pennsylvania, near the home of our dear friends on NBC's "The Office," a woman may face jail time for swearing inside her house.
So the story goes, there was an overflowing toilet in her house, and she was using profanity in this obviously panicked moment, while her next door neighbor, an off-duty (!) police officer, called her in. Apparently swearing is a criminal offense in Pennsylvania. Oh, the humanity.
Election news extravaganza
Yesterday, I posted a story on the insane amounts of money being spent on television advertising for the 2008 elections. Today, I found the numbers for money spent just in the 3rd quarter by several presidential candidates.
I know I sound like ESPN, talking much more about the facts and figures of what people are making and spending than discussing actual issues occurring in the event — in this case the presidential race — but I find it really interesting to conceptualize how much money a candidate actually spends on getting his or her face out there. The up-front costs are pretty insane.
That segues nicely into my second story that deals with political advertising, in which Barack Obama is selling to the religious contingency. I like Obama: he's from Chicago and he seems the closest thing to a decent human being I've seen in politics in this lifetime. Though the article's coverage of this particular event is a little arbitrary, seeing as Obama wasn't there himself, the rest of it paints an intriguing picture of the man as a candidate that is not selling out to a particular religion, but someone that understands its importance to people.
While he's still playing the game, I'm starting to realize (based on the financial numbers quoted above) that all the candidates have to pander to as many people as possible. This might seem like it shouldn't be a new revelation, but I don't think so many people realize this. A lot of voters truly believe that politicians are speaking directly to them as opposed to making blanket statements aimed (ideally) at offending as few people as possible.
