Life's a Bitch...

Lots to talk about tonight (I'm off to D.C. - holla, Sean! - on a business trip tomorrow morning, so I won't get a chance to post again until late Saturday), so let's get right to it, shall we?

I am saddened, but not shocked at the death of Farrah Fawcett, who bravely documented her struggle with cancer, hopefully inspiring others to fight even harder. The footage of her last visit with son Redmond is just heart-breaking. But her pain and suffering have ended. My heart goes out to Ryan, Redmond and her entire family.

Farrah was many things to many people (surprisingly, I did NOT own the iconic poster pictured here - my walls were covered with movie posters, show posters and monster posters in the '70's) but she will always be one of Charlie's Angels to me. However, I fear she will be to MJ what Groucho is to Elvis.

On the other hand, I am shocked, but not saddened by the death of Michael Jackson. An exceptional talent, but an exceptionally disturbed man. MJ was my contemporary. Only a few years older than me, but a superstar before puberty. While some reports portray Papa Joe Jackson as abusive and manipulative, at least he was able to tell his young prodigy "no." Once Michael went out on his own, and had no one to tell him "no," he went a little... okay, a lot... crazy. I, for one, have no trouble believing the charges brought against him in both 1993 and 2003. I hope his troubled soul is finally at peace.

Funny how the picture I have posted of MJ features zombies, doncha think? And speaking of zombies, can you believe Liz Taylor out-lived him? Yikes!

Here's the thing: We live in a bizarre Cult of Celebrity these days. Entertainment News is now Headline News. Granted, 3 famous people have died recently. But why should that overshadow the thousands dying every day because of war, disease, famine and genocide? Why are these three people more important than the the countless killed by acts of violence committed by their fellow men, often in the name of "God?" Yes, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson will all be missed. But so will thousands of soldiers killed in Iraq since that pointless war started. So will thousands of children slaughtered in the jungles of Africa. So will thousands upon thousands who will die of AIDS; cancer; heart disease; plane crashes; train crashes; bombings; car crashes; bus crashes; earthquakes, tsunamis; fires; floods; lightning strikes and any number of freak accidents and acts of stupidity. Sometimes, it's a good idea to step back and gain a little perspective, you know?

Now how's this for a segue?

More on Zombies in a sec...

Next, I want to talk about the most outrageous LGBT story of the day. I saw this mentioned on my local news tonight and laughed myself silly at the idiocy of everyone involved. But then I thought about how awful it must be for the young man that he resorted to this. And how even worse it was for the adults to go along with it. This is plain and simple abuse, both physical and mental. I hope these people all go to jail for what they've done to this young man (via):

There's a special place in hell for these kinds of "Christians."

Okay, time to lighten the mood, just a bit. Via Towleroad, comes this amazing clip of the always fabulous Grace Jones (one of the few women I would actually consider having sex with), performing "Slave to Love" (actually appropriate to my mood, of late) as part of her recent come-back tour:

I can't even hoola-hoop for 5 seconds, let alone an entire song!

Finally, here are some links to three rather amazing trailers for upcoming film releases (via):

First up, Richard (Donnie Darko) Kelly's latest thriller The Box. starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella and based on Richard Matheson's short story "Button, Button." Watch it here. Kelly may well have made a come back after his last film, Southland Tales, was both a critical and financial flop.

Next, this juicy trailer for Zombieland (See? I told ya!), the newest Zom-Com starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Esinberg, Abigail Breslin and Bill Murray as a character listed on IMDb as "Zombie."

Finally, I have to admit a deep, dark secret... Shhhh... Don't tell anyone, but I am not always a Scorcese fan. I don't usually like movies about the violence real people commit against one another. Mob movies; 'gangsta' movies; war movies, boxing movies... There's something different between being killed by one's mortal enemy and being killed by a mythological being or an imaginary movie-maniac. For me, Scorcese's most effective films are about truly disturbed individuals: Taxi Driver; Cape Fear. And I have never been a Leonardo DiCaprio fan. I have no idea what all those girls saw each one of the 500 times they went to see Titanic. But I have admit that he's finally growing into his looks. Though I must admit that I find the trailer for Shutter Island absolutely terrifying. Watch it here.

I'm off to our nation's capitol for a Law School Forum in the morning. I've been to plenty, all over the country, but not to D.C. before. I imagine it will be a little more... intense than most. I'll let you know.

More, anon.

Prospero