When we went to see Igor yesterday we also saw some trailers for upcoming movies. They look pretty good and we look forward to seeing them.

First up, next month, is City of Ember, with Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, Saoirse Ronan, and Mackenzie Crook. The City of Ember has been been underground for 200 years and the clock running the generators that provide light is running down. In order to survive, the denizens have to find a way out.

In December there’s Delgo and one we didn’t see a trailer for, but there’s a poster up at the theater, The Tale of Despereaux. Both are animated.

Delgo is the name of the protagonist in that movie. IMDb says: Delgo, an adventurous but naive teenager, must rally his group of friends to protect their world from conflict between the Lockni and Nohrin people. Delgo took six years to complete and stars Anne Bancroft (her final film), Val Kilmer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Chris Kattan, Kelly Ripa, Eric Idle, Michael Clarke Duncan, Louis Gosset, Jr., Malcolm McDowell, and Burt Reynolds.

Despereaux stars Emma Watson, Matthew Broderick, Sigourney Weaver, Dustin Hoffman, Christopher Lloyd, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Robbie Coltrane, Ciaran Hinds, Tracey Ullman and more. It’s the tale of a mouse, a rat, and serving girl whose fates are all tied up with the fate of the Princess.

January brings us back to live action again with Inkheart and Hotel for Dogs.

Inkheart is based on the book by Cornelia Funke, the story of a man (Brendan Fraser) who when he reads a book aloud, it starts coming to life and ends up bringing him, his daughter and her aunt into the story. They must, with the help of a storybook hero, thwart the will of a villain to destroy them all. Along with Brendan Fraser the movie stars Paul Bettany, Eliza Bennett, Andy Sirkis, Sienna Guillory, Jim Broadbent, and Helen Mirren.

Hotel for Dogs stars Emma Roberts (Eric’s daughter, Julia’s niece), Kevin Dillon, Don Cheadle, Lisa Kudrow, Kyla Pratt, Jake Austin, Troy Gentile and some cute dogs including an adorable little Boston Terrier. Some kids take in stray dogs in an empty house and devise clever ways to take care of them without anyone finding out. They come up with a Rube Goldberg machine to feed and clean up after the dogs when the children can’t be there. Based on the novel by Lois Duncan

We went and saw Igor this afternoon and it was so much fun.

In a world named Malaria where it storms every day, the only thing to do is to be an evil scientist. Or an evil scientist’s Igor.

Except one Igor (John Cusack) who wants to be an evil scientist too.

Igor has a couple of sidekicks/friends/inventions named Scamper (Steve Buscemi) and Brain (Sean Hayes). His scientist boss is Dr. Glickenstien (John Cleese) and their nemesis is Dr. Schadenfreude – yep, Schadenfreude – (Eddie Izzard).

Shades of Young Frankenstein were seen when the Monster goes to the orphanage for blind children and then is captivated by paper flowers.

One of the best lines: “I’ll be an environmentalist, but I’ll fly private when necessary.”

Click to go to Malaria.com to donate for mosquito nets

It be International Talk Like A Pirate Day me mateys!

Dontch ye be fertgetting it now.

Caroline Baum of Bloomberg News said teats (that’s the proper spelling of the word that’s properly pronounced “tits” – and Caroline pronounced it correctly) in relation to Sarah Palin’s breasts on Fox and Friends this morning.

Brian got embarrassed and walked off the set just prior to the end of the interview…

Brian: Seems like history but it is history whether they win or not.

Gretchen: She’s a governor that came from out of nowhere to help Republicans in November, but Democrats seem to be leveling their harshest attacks at Governor Sarah Palin rather than on McCain. Do they hate her? Or do they fear her? What is it Brian?

Brian: I’m going to ask Caroline Baum that if you don’t mind waiting here. She’s a columnist with Bloomberg News and has done an extensive study on this. What does your gut tell you Caroline? And where’s the hatred come from?

Caroline: The hatred comes from the fact that Sarah Palin for the first time has made the Democrats’ road to the White House less inevitable. You know, there was an entitlement, inevitable, this inevitability. “This is our moment. This is our time.” Obama has said. And all of a sudden, it went from the convention to the crowds at campaign rallies. And the Democrats are saying, “who is she to upset our apple cart?”

Gretchen: Because, by all accounts, the Democrats should win this election if you look at what’s been going on. You take the pulse of the American public if we’re talking about the war, now you’re talking about the economy. But the fact that that might not happen, what does that create for the future of the Democratic Party?

Caroline: It means they have to look into the mirror and perhaps accept that they are bankrupt in terms of appealing to the population in terms of ideas. I mean it has never been so good for a party out of power as you said. Unpopular president, an unpopular war, lousy economy, housing in the tank, stock market now falling off a cliff, and 80% of the public saying that the economy is on the wrong track. If they can’t win now, when can they win?

Brian: What I don’t understand is, if you’re a Democrat, are you a Democrat first or, for example, a woman first? That sees a breakthrough. I mean there’s no, there’s a huge breakthrough here that regardless of your party.

Caroline: If you’re asking me I think the idea that she would appeal to Hillary voters, you know, the pro-choice versus not seems to be a much bigger issue than, you know, she has teats, versus she, you know, she has another body part, that, you know, men have.

Gretchen: Did you just say that?

Caroline: Am I allowed to say that on air?

Gretchen: Brian has to leave on that comment. But I got the point Caroline. I definitely got the point. Alright. Well thank you so much. You are a columnist with Bloomberg News and it’s a fascinating article.

Hillary Clinton was set to headline at a rally opposite the UN by several Israeli groups to protest Iran’s President Ahmadinejad’s annual visit to the UN.

When she found out that Sarah Palin was also scheduled to speak, she canceled.

Kate brings us the AP story “Clinton blindsided by scheduled event with Palin”:

“Her attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event,” said Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines. “Sen. Clinton will therefore not be attending.”

How on earth can an event that features the top Democrat woman and the top Republican woman be remotely considered partisan?

Looking at the headline of the story and the first graf:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by inviting Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, aides to the senator said Tuesday.

you can see what the real story is…
Hillary Clinton wasn’t consulted about inviting Sarah Palin to speak at the event. She’s miffed at that.

Update: See Fausta’s great little piece on Sarah Palin at LadyBlog.

Back when Fannie and Freddie were being taken over by the government, someone on the local CBS radio affiliate said something like:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exist so that investors’ risks are mitigated.

Or

Fannie and Freddie are there as insurance for investors.

or maybe it was a little simpler:

Fannie and Freddie are there so investors won’t lose money if loans are defaulted on.

Investment carries risk. The person on the radio seemed to think that Fannie and Freddie were there to guarantee to investors that there would be no risk. Just reward.

In Chicago, an alderman wanted to outlaw walking and texting because people were walking into buildings or other people or out into the street.

That reminded me of the “Blackberry Helmet” video

A little prescient don’t you think?

We all want to be safe. But do we really need to have the government mandate it?

Does that even work?

Look, you can tell someone that the stove is hot until you’re blue in the face, but they won’t hear you until after they’ve burned their hands.

Yesterday, as in the post below, Shep was talking to Mary Ann Marsh and she said (paraphrased because I hadn’t set the TiVo and I was listening to the show on my phone on my walk to pick up the Little Guy at school)

For 20 of the last 26 years Republicans were in charge of the whole thing.

She said this in relation to John McCain having been in the senate and doing nothing to regulate banks, etc, so as to keep them from going belly up…

I made myself a note to check that claim out.

The last 26 years would seem to be starting with the 98th Congress (1983-1985; 1982 elections)

** In the 107th Congress, the Senate majority passed from party to party so that each party held the majority twice during that Congress.

As you can see from the chart above, Mary Ann Marsh’s statement doesn’t work in any way.

The House was held by the Democrats 14 of the last 26 years.

The Senate was held by the Republicans 14 of the last 26 years.

The White House was held by the Republicans 18 of the last 26 years.

Republicans held both the White House and both houses of Congress for two congresses (and part of one), the Democrats for one congress in the past 26 years. But if you go back a little further, Jimmy Carter’s Administration was completely Democrat. Both houses and the White House were in Democrat hands.

And that’s around the time Joe Biden started out in the Senate…

Barack Obama again today talked about John McCain and old boys’ networks and “he’s been in Washington for 26 years”, yada, yada, yada.

Joe Biden’s been in for 36 years.

Isn’t 36 years 10 years more than 26?

On with Shep Smith this afternoon, Mary Ann Marsh said (paraphrased):

Barack Obama is taking private donations from people. John McCain is using taxpayer dollars.

So…

because Obama’s taking “private donations” some as small as $100 from real people

Obama = Good.

and because McCain is taking the public financing that every presidential candidate in the past except for Obama has taken

McCain = Bad

Obama is the first presidential candidate to decline public financing.

His fundraising isn’t working as well as predicted.

I think he’ll be the last presidential candidate to decline public financing.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

And since it’s on a Friday this year, make it a Talk Like A Pirate Weekend!

That’s the number bandied about by the Obama camp and surrogates trying to say that McCain’s been in Washington that long so he doesn’t represent a change.

Joe Biden’s been in the senate for 36 years.

Isn’t 36 longer than 30?