Nothing too interesting in the NYT today, but elsewhere there was a troubling breach of civil liberties in the fight against terror. Glenn Greenwald is on the case; I provide additional commentary.
Snakes on a Plane, like Slither, sounded like a fun movie ... and both were. SOAP (as it is sometimes known) had great word of mouth online, including in the blogosphere. Apparently, it was even edited with this in mind, including to add some spice (including a pretty sexy sex scene and a tell tale line, plus perhaps some added violence ... some of it rather cruel, perhaps a bit too much) to increase things to a 'R' rating. The movie arguably took a bit too long to get going and the last scene was a bit dumb, but the core was exactly what the title suggests. The dynamics of horror flicks, especially who dies, also is generally followed ... with a couple small exceptions.
Good cast. Samuel L. Jackson, of course, but also Julianna Margulies (of ER fame ... she has had various good character roles), Rachel Blanchard (Cher of Clueless, doing a sort of Legally Blonde turn, at least dogwise), and various less well known names ... though a few faces look sorta familiar, another regular feature of enjoyable genre films. Character actors make movies. BTW, the witness that puts things into action is bland. There was also a red herring, so to speak, on the plane as well. Finally, again, some explicit tidbits. The snakes are pretty wicked looking too. The film is downright creepy at times, which also is a plus for this sort of thing.
Anyway, talking about that sex scene -- someone I know talked about how someone else decided to get a HPV vaccine for her teenage daughter. The vaccine was somewhat controversial because conservatives thought (where have we heard this before?) that it would promote sex. As we know, teenagers have the good judgment that if they are not vaccinated to prevent a chance of getting cervical cancer, they will shall we say stop at third or something. Just to toss in something that underlines that these discussions aren't just theoretical or something. Also, come to think of it, there was a somewhat interesting book review today. Related subject.
Finally, I see in today's NYT, there is a heartening story that California, including via a law on Gov. Arnold's (up for election ... you know the normal way ... year) desk, is getting into the fight against the DEA's stupid asinine targeting of industrial hemp. A Ninth Circuit ruling has struck down attempts to ban the importation of hemp products, such as those used to make hemp flavored frozen waffles and the like. The substance has many uses.
And, simply is not dangerous at all ... the trace amounts of THC that might pop in notwithstanding. This suggests why it was used, including by presidents, for centuries. You know "hemp" as in "rope" or Hempstead, Long Island. Sheesh.