As always, there are critics to anything President Obama does, but I think a key element is underappreciated in examining his speech to the NAACP. There is a monumental difference in a Black President making these remarks. A BLACK PRESIDENT... The simple act of his ascension to this office sweeps away generations of cobwebs around the tired bromides of "being all you can be" and "working hard can take you wherever you desire!" Sure there was some boilerplate tough love pulpit talk, but only THIS President could deliver it and speak it to power. He was raised by a single mother (and her parents)... how many of our children can resonate with that? He came from modest surroundings...check. Experimented with drugs/petty crime as an escape... check. Stumbled through his early college years... check. Attended an Ivy league school where he got his act together... wait a minute! You mean after being abandoned by your father, struggling to make ends meet, trying weed...

Obama Bows on Settling Detainees Different Gitmo issues are being conflated by the mainstream media/blogosphere here (WashPo's inartfully worded headline didn't help). That article almost exclusively deals with the couple dozen Uighurs (who were exonerated early on and treated much better than the vast majority of long term detainees). Certain high-profile figures (like Boumedienne) DON'T WANT to settle here. They want to go back home. The "issue" that Obama is "caving" on is allowing detainees that BushCo tortured and illegally held but now is RELEASING to settle in the US. The issue that was consuming most of the oxygen in this debate concerned the people WHO WERE NOT BEING RELEASED and still awaited incarceration or trial. I have NO PROBLEM with transferring the actual bad guys to our Supermax facilities (Montana has a brand new EMPTY prison and could take a bunch of them). However, I think the wrongly imprisoned need to go back to their home ...

This is not a movie review per se. Rather it is an analysis of the key differences between the comic and film with commentary on the positives and negatives of the transition. In the immediate aftermath, I was mostly pleased. Upon reflection, the inevitable issues arise. First the good... Haley as Rorschach... Amazing. Crudup as Manhattan... Outstanding (the facial animation was MUCH better than anticipated). Morgan as Comedian... inspired (though his age make-up became distracting on the big screen). Wilson as Nite Owl... strong, though still a bit too fit to capture Dreiberg's middle aged "waist" land. Gugino was fine in her small role and Ackerman was frankly better than I expected. Matthew Goode still stands out as a grossly miscast, but on balance the lead performances were quite good. I was also impressed with how the story flow "felt" like the comic book. The note perfect passages were the Comedian's funeral (where the characters reflect on the...

I'm less enthused by the early release of a "Tales of the Black Freighter" disc mere weeks after the movie's launch. "Freighter" as a stand alone doesn't work for me (anymore than any cheesy pirate story would work for me as a separate story). However, the story has a number of specific SPOILERY tasks in the Watchmen storyline. The protagonist's POV monologue ratchets the tension in the story. The growing dread mirrors the advancing Soviet conflict that accelerates after Doc's departure. The comic underpins the relationship between the newspaper stand owner and the young, Black reader (for a dramatic Issue 12 payoff). It introduces the reader to the writing style of the author that Veidt used to program the mental squid bomb images. Freighter's twist amplifies the tough choice that Rorschach, Dreiberg, Doc and Veidt face in Issue 12. And the protagonist's increasingly twisted, albeit internally "justified" actions mirror Veidt...

Earning my geek chic bonafides here with a few Watchmen comments. If you know nothing and want to enjoy the movie completely "fresh," stop reading... First, I have been stoking the fires of the forthcoming movie release with the Warner "motion comics," currently available on iTunes and coming soon as a stand alone disc. The most compelling aspect of the motion comics is that Gibbons' artwork is used. The frontpiece and endpiece quotes are also included (which will likely not survive the movie adaptation). Another excellent choice is the inclusion of the speech bubbles. Moore's text has delightful little nuances that can only be appreciated in the READING of the text. For the most part, the voice over exactly matches, but there are some VERY minor exclusions that must have been trimmed for timing. There simply is no other way to experience the visual "harmonies" employed in the comic book in a live action movie. Zach Snyder is passionate, but he...

I don't know how they do things up in Alaska, but when your future (still waiting for a wedding date) in-law and mother of your high school drop-out, jobless, "shooting sh#t", grandbabyddady has been arrested on charges of Oxycontin trafficking, you don't get to cry foul that Caroline Kennedy is catching a break because of CLASS WARFARE. You caught hell because you were a ridiculously unqualified, cravenly calculated, Hail Mary pass serial liar who was aiming to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency of a 70+-year old cancer survivor. Kennedy is looking to fill out the term of a Senator. No equivalency AT ALL. UPDATE! Please enjoy this video . She's certifiable. Wait for 6:20 for a surprise insight into Palin as an OBAMA running mate.