"The DRUDGE REPORT has obtained an exclusive copy of a "scary" campaign advertisement created by Hollywood producer and director David Zucker that was intended to be used by GOP organizations in the closing weeks of the 2006 campaign.
"However, the advertisement was deemed "too hot" by GOP strategists all across Washington, DC who have refused to use it!"
"In the ad, Zucker, producer of SCARY MOVIE 4, recreates former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's 2000 visit to North Korea. During the visit, Secretary Albright presented North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il with a basketball autographed by former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.
"An actress playing Secretary Albright is shown presenting Kim Jong Il with the Michael Jordan basketball, painting the walls of Osama bin Laden's Afghanistan cave and turning a blind eye to suicide bombers. In one scene her skirt rips as she changes the tire of a Middle Eastern dictator's limousine.
"One GOP strategist said "jaws dropped" when the ad was first viewed. "Nobody could believe Zucker thought any political organization could use this ad. It makes a point, but it's way over the top."
"Zucker is the producer and director of comedies such as "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun." In 2004, Zucker, a longtime Democrat, embraced the Republican Party based on concerns he had about national security issues and voted for President George W. Bush."
Saw Flyboys tonight. I highly recommend it, though hopeless romantics won't find it too enjoyable. The movie, for the most part was made by aerobatic enthusiasts who hold the original fighter squandrons in high regard. The movie was independently funded because most of the stunts (excluding highly dangerous ones) were filmed, not CG, and the major studios didn't want to risk it.
The last major WW1 aviation film was made by Howard Hughes at a cost of nearly $4 million in the 30s! 4 of his stunt pilots died attempting maneuvers for the film, and Hughes himself was seriously injured. The "flyboys" as they are called were test pilots for brand new technology. The dogfights they participated in would probably make our best modern pilots think twice.
An interesting part of the film is the idea of a gentlemen's war. One of the reasons WW1 is perhaps the most horrific war in human history is in part because they were using Civil War-era fighting tactics with modern war machinery. Airplanes were an extension of that. Young men, gentlemen, volunteered to fly, hoping to catch the thrill of soaring through the sky. Their enemies didn't share their worldview or their gentlemen-ness.
I find that particularly interesting because we now are facing a similar quandary with radical islam. The US has had war declared on it by islam, but they don't respect the "gentlemen's" way to fight, so-to-speak. Just an interesting thought.
I had the weirdest open this morning. Andy and I got started early (fortunately) at 4:55am. I went to get the espresso machines going and find the milk steaming wands hadn't been cleaned, though someone had thought to soak them overnight. Then after putting the pastry case together, Andy and I together realize that 4 whole batches of pastries had expired last night. Some of them were kind of important too, like coffeecake!
So, while we're dealing with that, Andy also discovers that the Frappuccino creme base had also expired last night, meaning he had to quickly make a new batch. So, we get going and open the doors. Then, a customer drops his Venti coffee on the register desk and managed to break one of the receipt printers, meaning we could only use one register.
A fun morning it was indeed. I'm really excited because I've gotten better at remembering customer names and drinks.
I found out today, that effective next month I get a 13.4% pay raise, plus my bi-annual performance review comes up in January, along with (hopefully) another pay increase. Also my vacation time accrual rate will double in January as well. So, everything is shaping up for a really good 2007 (Wow, are we there already?).
MLB postseason is coming soon, so I'd thought I'd put out my predictions:
AL East (New York Yankees - no surprise!) AL Central (Minnesota Twins - upset over the falling Tigers) AL West (Oakland A's) AL Wild Card (Detroit Tigers)
NL East (New York Mets) NL Central (St. Louis Cardinals) NL West (Los Angeles Dodgers) NL Wild Card (Philadelphia Phillies)
AL Division (Yankees over Tigers/Twins over A's) NL Division (Mets over Phillies/Cardinals over Dodgers)
AL Championship (Twins over Yankees) NL Championship (Mets over Cardinals)
World Series (Mets over Twins)
The biggest questions are the NL West and NL Wild Card. The AL is pretty well set. My picks are partially based on momentum. The Twins have one of the best records since June, and the Mets have had a commanding lead all season.
