kimmy

I don't have a Dalhousie student handbook nearby, but I can guaran-damn-tee that it contains a code of student conduct that forbids creating a hostile or threatening environment for fellow students. And the Alberta College of Dentists says this: “As outlined by the Health Professions Act, all applicants for registration in Alberta must supply evidence of having good character and reputation by submitting any requested materials.” -k

I'm skeptical. I don't think the problem is that they don't *understand* satire. Just that they don't *like* it. (To be honest I'm not sure that a cartoon of Mohammed being sodomized by a pig is either "ironic" or "satirical" in any case. I have a highly developed wit, and yet the "satire" of this eludes me. Truthfully, it seems more like blasphemy for the sake of blasphemy, which I am completely ok with, but trying to class it up by calling it "satire" seems like putting lipstick on .. uh, a pig.) -k

That's a bullshit response, and you know it. I'm not talking about criminal reprisals, I'm talking about people responding in completely legal ways to speech they disagree with. "I'm not going to vote for that politician." "That guy is no longer going to represent our political party in this riding." "I'm firing that guy as my product spokesman." "I'm not doing business with that company anymore." I think you knew exactly what I meant and bringing martyred cartoonists into this is a real punk-ass move, IMO. LOL, and WTF is "institutional lynching"? -k

People have the right to free speech, but they don't have the right to be students at a school of dentistry, or to be licensed by provincial dentistry boards (just to pick two examples.) You have the right to call somebody a fat-ass, but if you work at my McKimmy's restaurant and you're calling my customers fat-asses, you're going to be out of a job real quick. If you work at CBC and you creating an environment where your female co-workers are terrified of you, you'll probably get fired (unless you're Jian Ghomeshi, in which case people will cover for you.) If you go to work or school and create a hostile environment for someone, you might not work or study there for long, freedom of speech or not. -k

People have the right to free speech, but they're not immune from the consequences of things they say. What's wrong with putting a name to the guy who talked about chloroforming and raping his classmate? Why not make that information available and let people decide for themselves whether they want that guy administering drugs to them. Personally, I wouldn't want to go under anesthesia with Dr Bill Cosby DDS, but other people might not see a problem. Why not let people have the information and decide for themselves? -k

I think there's two different points to make in regard to Overthere's comments regarding "vanity movies". First, the part where Overthere declares Under The Skin to be a "vanity movie" by meeting his criteria, but then rationalizes other movies that meet the same criteria as being "just the way it's written" or "Redford has nothing to prove". It gives the impression that there's something in your definition of a vanity movie that you've failed to articulate, or that there's some amount of personal bias involved in the decision. Second, there's the part where Overthere's definition of a vanity movie is different from everybody else's. Here's a big list of vanity movies: http://fadeinonline.com/the-30-worst-vanity-projects-of-all-time.html These movies have a number of common characteristics: -people used their industry clout to get projects made that probably shouldn't have gotten made (nobody aside from Will Smith thought that moviegoers wanted to see Jaden Smith as an action hero, for example. Nobody aside from John Travolta thought that the world needed to see L. Ron Hubbard's crazy-man writings turned into a movie.) -peoples' vanity (hence the name...) led them to overestimate their abilities (singers thinking they can act, actors thinking they can direct, directors thinking they can write, etc...) -they were commercial and artistic failures ...hard to see how either of the films in question-- Lucy, and Under the Skin-- have anything in common with any of these movies. Lucy was a big commercial success, far exceeding box office expectations. Under The Skin was a small-budget art-house limited release. Both received mixed but generally positive reviews. Neither project has Johansson in any capacity other than acting. Luc Besson apparently contacted Scarlett personally about starring in Lucy. The film could have been made with any number of other actresses, but probably wouldn't have grossed $450 million with anybody else. If there's an element of vanity, this might be it: there aren't a lot of movies headlined by women, and she got a chance to prove that she could put butts in seats as a headliner. She succeeded beyond all expectations. (I suspect it's her ongoing role as The Black Widow in the Marvel blockbusters that have led to this, rather than participating in Woody Allen stuff, btw.) As for Under the Skin, lots of actors with less stature than Johansson put their time into smaller, less-commercial productions. It's not the sort of thing reserved for big name actors; usually it's rather the opposite, it's a rarity when bigger names participate in this sort of venture. Anthony Hopkins was in Kim County recently filming one such film; everybody who encountered him was delighted with him and the rest of the cast. -k

Meanwhile, "the Catholic League" has published an editorial called "Muslims Are Right To Be Angry". http://www.catholicleague.org/muslims-right-angry/ "The Catholic League" is actually just a big fat bitch named Bill Donahue who writes angry editorials from his basement every time he perceives some sleight against the Catholic Church. "The Catholic League" isn't officially affiliated with the Catholic Church in any way. Despite that, Bill seems to have some amount of name recognition and is often invited to guest on radio shows (like Fox Radio, where today he called the cartoonists "brats" and said: http://www.Newsmax.com/Headline/Bill-Donohue-Paris-liberty-provoke/2015/01/07/id/617129/#ixzz3OD7p8qVX Bill should hope people don't stop, because he'd be out of a job if people stopped producing satire for him to cry about. His message is "I don't hate freedom, I just hate it when people use their freedom in ways I don't like." To Bill "Catholic League" Donahue, I say "up yours, asshole." Religion, like politicians and peace officers and any other supposedly revered institution, must never be exempt from commentary, criticism, or satire. Regardless how crybabies like Bill Donahue or Suq Madiq feel about it. -k

When I learned that French director Luc Besson had made a remake of "I Love Lucy" I was intrigued. I was curious to see how Besson would bring the essential human comedy and drama, which is love, into this age of CGI-obsessed troglodytes. After viewing this wretched piece of trash, I believe the future of cinema is doomed. Everything that was great in I Love Lucy has been cut away in an effort to appease the sensibilities of the modern film goer. To appeal to modern ideas of political correctness, Lucy is no longer a daft housewife. Instead, she has been transformed into an action hero. Rather than prat-falls, she performs martial arts. Rather than a ditz, the 2014 Lucy is a college student who evolves into a genius. This occurs in an inane sub-plot involving an experimental narcotic that Lucy is accidentally dosed with, which through some completely unrealistic means, somehow accelerates her brain and unlocks hidden potential in her mind. Lucille Ball needed no such gimmicks to win the hearts of viewers. In an effort to appeal to 14 year olds in Asia, the movie is set in Taipei and filled with nonsensical CGI, particularly in the later stages when Lucy becomes almost a parody of The Matrix, another film that equates drugs with attaining a higher state. As with Neo and the Red Pill, so with Lucy and the experimental crystal methamphetamine. Clearly a nod to the currently trendy notion of legalizating drugs. The message is obvious: do drugs to achieve enlightenment. In my view, audiences will not be fooled. This movie is a complete disaster that bears no resemblance at all to the I Love Lucy that we remember. There are few laughs here. Indeed it is some sort of absurdist action adventure. Such is the state of today's cinema that even the quintessential American love story can't be told without being completely rewritten to appeal to drug-using 14 year olds in Hong Kong. There is no romantic chemistry between Johansson and Freeman. Indeed, they are not even on screen together until the final minutes of the film. Scarlett Johansson is no Lucille Ball. Morgan Freeman is no Desi Arnaz. And Luc Besson is no Frenchman. -k

I am so glad the Festive Music season is over. I like the classic Christmas carols. And I even like some of the modern Christmas songs. But a lot of the newer Christmas music is total dog crap. Rock radio sucks during the Christmas season. Those comedy Christmas tracks, like "I am Santa Claus", to the tune of Iron Man by Black Sabbath... it's hilarious, for about 30 seconds, but it gets old really quick. A punk version of Jingle Bells. More rock song parodies. The punk song about beating and robbing Santa Claus... yes, I get that the song is intended to criticize Christmas extravagance in a time when many people can't even afford food, but it's not exactly cheery. Then you go shopping and you really get slammed with crappy music. Paul McCartney's Christmas song. Two different versions of "Last Christmas I gave you my heart". Pop-music lightweights doing their versions of Blue Christmas and Jingle Bell Rock. The original version of Jingle Bell Rock, which is even worse. That annoying kid who wants his front teeth, and listening him try to "with you a merry Crithmath". Other annoying kids singing about mommy kissing Santa Claus. Kids singing is usually annoying. But the worst, the absolute worst, is some diva version of "Do You Hear What I Hear" that I keep hearing. I don't know who she is, but it's awful. It's horrible. Somewhere along the line some people started thinking that singing the wrong notes really loudly is an amazing demonstration of vocal talent, and unfortunately the idea seems to have caught on. It's awful. I would rather listen to screaming toddlers than to diva music. I like Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters at Christmas. There have also been some very nice more recent Christmas songs. But I hope that Idina Menzel and her friends would just stop. Please stop. Please think of the children. -k

Still exponentially better than miso soup. -k

It's time for me to drop my basic cable package and sign up for Netflix. Unlimited access to reruns didn't sound that exciting, but the original content they're now producing keeps earning high marks from almost everybody. I think I can still catch CBC and Global on antenna-style TV. I'll miss live sports on TSN, but that's about it. -k

Don't forget the tax benefits of becoming a church. Perhaps you can get your man-cave a tax exemption as a religious place of worship! =k

People aren't refusing to get vaccinations because they heard the effectiveness has dropped. They're refusing because quacks have told them it'll make their kids autistic. -k

Then explain why the outbreak is at schools with these lowest vaccination rates. Explain why we keep seeing outbreaks of measles at churches where they think prayer will protect them from disease. The new vaccine might not be as good as the old one but it is a hell of a lot more effective than miso soup. You seem strangely unable to grasp this concept. -k

A career opponent of police transparency, and an editorial from the National Review. Yeah, that's probably a balanced view of the situation. I do find it interesting how conservative sources like the National Review and Fox News and yourself are so unfailingly pro-police when it comes to things like stop-and-frisk and asset forfeiture and police brutality. Nothing says "I support freedom and individual liberty!" like supporting increased use of force and random search and seizure of assets by agents of the state. -k

Yes, I saw that earlier. And as I pointed out then, you clearly don't get the whole idea of herd immunity. Herd immunity doesn't require that every member of the herd be immune, it only requires that a sufficiently large proportion of the herd be immune for the infection to find insufficient vulnerable members to achieve the traction to become established. Isolated cases can still occur, but vulnerable individuals are too rare for it to turn into an outbreak. In other words, an outbreak is unlikely in a population where everybody is immunized, even if the vaccine is only 87% effective. However, in a population where 60% of people are using a vaccine that's 87% effective, and 40% of people are using miso soup and yoga to ward off infection, an outbreak is far more likely. -k

Overall arrests are down by 66%, but arrests for minor offenses are down by 94% and tickets are down by 94%. They are trying to punish the mayor by hitting the city in the wallet, because the city relies on tickets and fines as a major source of revenue. Which primarily serves to illustrate the absurdity of using the police as roving tax-collectors in the first place. Critics of the police have also pointed out that since minorities are disproportionately targets of arrests for minor offenses, the police might actually be easing the tensions they've created with "stop and frisk" and the "broken windows" policy. Like I said before, people are probably wondering "what's the downside?" Except for the folks at the city budget department, of course. -k

Yeah, better trades like trading David Perron for a 4th liner and a draft pick they'll waste on some useless slob. That'll turn the tide! And we picked up some deadbeats on waivers last week. Woo! I watched the game and was completely blown away by Big Buff! I honestly had no idea he could play such a complete game. The Jets look pretty good this year! -k

Well thanks for at least moving past the "blood on his hands" stuff and pointing out that the NYPD's grudge against de Blasio goes back a lot farther than the Eric Garner incident. "he did not have the police's back" is a strange way of saying he campaigned against stop-and-frisk and in favor of improving relations between the police and minorities. "he did not have the police's back" sounds like the New York equivalent of "he does not Support The Troops." He did not respect The Thin Blue Line. He did not Honor The Heroes In Blue. bla de bla de blee de bla. -k

With the price of oil crashing, there will be less disposable income floating around in Edmonton and people will be more careful how they spend their entertainment dollars. And with the Can-US exchange rate plunging, Katz is going to feel it, because the team's biggest expense-- player salaries-- gets paid in US dollars. The Oilers' cost of doing business has jumped by almost 20% in the past year. And he'd be a real idiot to assume that the fans' goodwill and patience is inexhaustible. I can't believe that Daryl Katz became a billionaire by being an idiot. I just can't. Lowe and MacTavish are a pair of delusional morons. Check out this video clip from the press conference where they announced MacTavish as the new GM. Watch the Exalted One flip his shit when a reporter questions his track record: "I know a thing or two about winning, if that's ever a concern." What a complete ass. What a freaking clown. -k

That's something I have found interesting of late, is how many of these radical Muslims we are seeing in western countries are converts-- regular western people who have for some reason or another have joined Islam as adults and become way more fanatical about it that most of their co-religionists. The guy who attacked Parliament, the guy who ran over the soldiers, the German guy who made headlines for starting the "Shariah Patrol", as well as numerous Canadians who've been found fighting in Muslim militias in Asia and Africa. Western raised non-Muslims who looked at radical Islam and violent jihad and said "that's for me! I want to get in on that!" What's up with that? -k

Oh. Well then I guess she must be smart then. -k

Ok, you two guys clearly don't understand how herd immunity works. Would you like some help with it, or is this just going to turn into another Pliny vs Magnets type situation? -k

Some of them are pretty bad at it. -k

That's all nonsense. -k