The Big Picture fields an amazing collection of photos from the 2010 Winter Paralympics.

Prepare to be inspired.

 R.I.P. Alex Chilton. Video below the fold.

Despite my deep and abiding love for the cinema, I am not a fan of the modern horror movie. I've seen The Shining, Misery, Carrie, Psycho and Aliens and that's about it (and even some of those tread the line between horror and thrillers). No Nightmare on Elm Street, no Friday the 13th Part π , no Mikey Myers Goes To Daycare, no nuthin'. They hold no interest for me whatsoever. 

Why? Because the plot of the modern horror film revolves helpless, ineffective victims who are brutalized by an unstoppable, sadistic force of nature. Survival is the best outcome for our heroes, and the idea that their foe is something that can be defeated and conquered and overcome is usually shown to be folly as their tormentor easily overpowers their futile attempts at resistance. 

To quote the world's second-greatest Canadian, "I don't believe in the no-win scenario", and that's why I don't watch modern horror movies. (Also, did you ever notice you don't see CCW holders in horror movies? "Aaaaahhhh! He's going to kill us!" / "Blamblam...blam!!!" / "Ok, nevermind."). I don't believe in being a victim, I don't believe mere survival is the optimal outcome and it worries me that we have a generation of kids who've watched these movies who now think that Freddy/Jason/Whoever is the real hero of the movie and their friends who are watching it with them are nothing but lambs to the slaughter. 

So it doesn't surprise me that as part of their promotion for a reboot of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Warner Brothers is letting us harshly interrogate torture an innocent women.

After all, why should Jason have all the fun? 

Obama chose a high school in McCain's home state to flack for the porkulus project, and now McCain and Palin are gonna make him pay for that decision. Expect them to pound Obama's disastrous economic policies left, right and center throughout the day.

Mesa's Dobson High School will host Sen. John McCain and his former running mate Sarah Palin for a campaign event March 27.

Principal Matt Gehrman said Monday evening that officials from the Arizona Republican's re-election campaign visited the campus late last week and confirmed the plan. McCain’s Web site reports the event will be held 9 a.m., with doors opening at 7:30 a.m. 

I'm guessing his reception will be slightly more welcoming than Obama's was. 

But only slightly.

Via Smallest Minority

J.D. Hayworth: The GOP's answer to Joe Biden?  

Yes, there is a slippery slope here, but no, that's not to the way to make your point. This isn't Hayworth's first ride on the gaffe train this campaign, and it probably won't be his last. The rhetoric that works on drive time radio just doesn't work on the campaign trail. Hayworth needs to learn that lesson, and fast. 

Thomas P.M. Barnett has yet another thought-provoking article up on World Politics Review: 

Collectively, the planet is plunging headlong into a deeply religious century, in large part because globalization is rapidly changing people's economic and social circumstances. When that happens, individuals naturally grasp for sources of stability in their lives, whether it be a more conservative political regime or a seemingly unshakable religious faith. It's simply a question of seeking balance in tumultuous times.

As a result, religious faith will only become eminently more prominent in world affairs in coming decades, as global economic conditions improve more dramatically than at any other time in human history. Yes, many experts forecast an inevitable clash of civilizations. But stated more prosaically, this global spiritual awakening will reflect the efforts of religious groups to adapt to an era of widespread abundance as a worldwide middle class emerges. At a time when so much tradition is being obliterated, individuals want, more than ever, to retain familiar codes of behavior to help them navigate all this disorienting freedom. Simply put, they are seeking guidelines for a life well led. 

Or, to put it another way, where there is no vision, the people perish. Amazing how we have to keep re-learning the same lessons over and over again. 

The band that answers the question, "What if Jefferson Airplane and Sonic Youth met up at an English art school?" 

One of the few movies that we ExLeaguers all agree on. Powerful, moving, emotional, brilliant; any words you chose will fail to adequately describe just how good this movie is.  

Robert DeNiro, Jeremy Irons, Aidan Quinn, Liam Neeson, directed by Robert Joffé, backed up by an Ennio Morricone soundtrack and Chris Menges' gorgeous visuals. Go out and get it on DVD: You won't regret it. 

LWA

Lutherans With Attitude 

Courtesy of American Digest