The Joker

The Joker was such a great character in this movie. His mysterious beginnings, his motives, and the acting. I tried to not be influenced by the rave reviews of Heath Ledger's performance, but there were definitely spot on. I actually saw part of "Ten Things I Hate About You" and won't believe its the same actor. Again, I do give away parts of the plot so you have been warned.

Anyway, the Joker is not after money, as the mob is, but seems to be out to prove a point. He seeks to create chaos, but show that everyone has a price, everyone can be bought. He shows this over and over, whether it be money or to protect loved ones. When Batman and Lt. Gordon are talking near the end, they say the he sought to prove that the best of us (Harvey Dent) was corruptible. I saw on TV they said that the Joker seeks to prove that law and the rule of law is a joke, because everyone has a price and the rules and laws of society can be broken for a price, so the laws that make everyone feel safe are a joke. I don't know if I believe that or not, but its an interesting take on the Joker. But that's the intriguing about the Joker.

Another interesting thing about the Joker is the situations he puts people in. The choice between faced by the two boats, the choice between Dent or Rachael that Batman has to make, the choice of killing Coleman Reis or destroying a hospital, or anyone of the policemen who are asked to betray Dent and Rachel in order to protect their family.

He also remains a step ahead of the police, the mob, and Batman as he intentionally gets arrested, supplants the mob, and has free reign over the city (he makes everyone panic and try to leave). In fact, the Joker destroys the mob as much as Batman does. Throughout the movie, you constantly wondering how he stays one step ahead of the game, even though as he claims to Dent/TwoFace that he doesn't have a master plan and that everyone else has plans and intentions.

The other interesting aspect about the Joker, but more about the movie is the aspect of terrorism. As the Joker says, think what I did with a couple barrels of oil, a few guns, and some knifes. What he did was push Gotham to the brink. As his escalation of terror picks up, he causes panic across the city and that is what terrorism is about, using terror and fear as weapons. Killing a few people, militarily is not going to bring down a large city, but inject those murders with a public displays and random killings and you have terrorism. In this respect, I feel the movie moves beyond the comic genre and makes political commentary about today's world. His acts are intentionally fuel the flames of fear.

As the movie climaxes the Joker gets to each of the three heroic characters. Harvey Dent obviously cracks and turns into Two-Face. Lt. Gordon's familiy is in danger. He, of course, antagonizes Batman the entire movie. The question becomes how far is Batman willing to go to rid himself of the Joker, who is threatening the city and Batman's very being. Will Bruce Wayne reveal himself? Will Batman kill the Joker? Is he willing to invade everyone's privacy to do it (another political statement)? How will Alfred's and Lucius's advice be taken?

The question is who will be around for the next movie, if there is a next movie. Both lead villians from this movie seem not to be able to return. There is still the Scarecrow, but that seems like a road we've been down before. Some have speculated it could be the Riddler (Coleman Reis or Mr. Reis although I don't know the comic stories) or Catwoman, with the mention of cats and body armor. Also, how will that movie compare with this one. After the success of this movie, the next one would have astronomical expectations.

News Bits

Employing microbes as sources of sustainable biofuels

Thus, their ability to capture sunlight energy and make biomass is at least 100-fold greater than can be achieved by plants. Also, they do not need to grow in arable soil and compete with food supply.

Nutrionist who helped create Cap'n Crunch dies

Robert O. Nesheim, a nutritionist for Quaker Oats who helped develop popular breakfast cereals like Cap'n Crunch and Life, has died at age 86.








Definitely a different era. I'll try to write something up on the Joker tomorrow

Dark Knight

So I've resisted writing a review until I saw it a second time or until other people have seen it. I generally don't like to read reviews until after I see the movie (which kind of defeats the purpose of a review), because I want to see it for what its worth and then hear what others have to say. So I wouldn't read the rest of this if you plan on seeing Dark Knight in the near future, but if you do don't read past the next two paragraphs.



That being said my reaction was pretty much wow. I don't remember walking away from a movie quite like that one. It's a dense movie with rich characters and story lines. I could probably go on and on about different aspects of the movie. I still am trying to remember everything that happened (which why I wanted to wait, but oh well).



In this movie, a sequel to Batman Begins (2005) the Joker emerges to be Batman and Gotham's main antagonist. The mob, reeling from losses from Batman and an a energized police force, turns to the Joker to eliminate the problem. The Joker, then starts a campaign of terror aimed at terrorizing Gotham and calling out Batman. The Joker sets out to destroy Gotham much the way the "League of Shadows" does in "Begins", except he prays on people's fears through terror acts rather than a neural toxin. The Joker continually antagonizes Batman and Gotham to test their limits and rules they play by. Meanwhile, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the new DA, acts as the "White Knight" to Batman's "Dark Knight". He is a hero who doesn't need the mask. He also is involved with Rachel Dawes (this time played by Maggie Gyllenhaal), who was Bruce Wayne's love interest in "Begins", and is caught between the two. Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) also has a beefed up role as always one step ahead of the mob, but two behind the Joker. Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) also reprise their roles as advisors to Bruce as he struggles with the problems he has created by becoming Batman.

The first thing you notice about this movie and "Begins" is the realism aspect. Although clearly, you must step outside of reality the movie tries to portray a modern American metropolis. Gotham is no longer a fantastic-looking city, but a modern city (Chicago). This is also shown in the characters as well. All of the characters with the exception of the Joker are people, who are fallible. They have their own positive and negative aspects. The movie does a great deal to make Batman's equipment and actions plausible. It all together makes the movie stand on its own as a movie and not typecast into a superhero movie.

The movie benefits from the first, because it doesn't take the time to build up the characters you already know about. The Joker definitely drives the movie, he is the cause of all the action. You could even argue that without the Joker, there is no Batman. Batman in this movie almost takes a backseat to the development of these new characters at times. He is the one reacting to the Joker's moves. He is the one proping up Lt. Gordon and Harvey Dent. There characters are further developed while Bruce Wayne is a known quantity. In that respect, (and I know this is an odd comparison) Batman almost plays Seinfeld opposite the Joker's (Kramer) antics and Lt. Gordon and Harvey Dent's (Contanza) struggles to keep up with the situation. But as in Seinfeld, Bruce Wayne has his own struggles while being the constant through which all the other actors play off of. He wonders what he should do with the Batman symbol, should he give it up for Rachel, give it up to save people, or how far Batman can go to save Gotham.

Anyways this is getting kinda long so I'll continue later

Local H

So the new album has been out for over two months now. It's a concept album about a breakup going through each month. As I said a while ago I saw them at the Metro and heard a lot of the new album. I think it compares very well with what they have done in the past. Here are a few links to reviews online:



http://www.jimdero.com/News2008/LocalH.htm

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/50790-12-angry-months

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/60238/local-h-12-angry-months/

http://www.lostatsea.net/review.phtml?id=1635907512482834927c579

http://wm10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kxfpxzrjldje~T1



They talk a lot about the content of the songs, which I normally don't follow that closely. If you listen to the lyrics they are a bit they are angry, but that's how its supposed to be. On a side note, after the concert one of my friends who had never seen them before asked why everyone there seemed so angry with the jumping, pushing, and crowd surfing. I had to explain that its just a high energy show and everyone isn't angry, but its just a release. As soon as someone falls everyone is always there to pick them up that's the great thing about the shows, you recognize a lot of faces and everyone picks each other up. Anyway, Local H is always a better live band than a CD, but this album more than others had more layers of sounds than I remember on other albums.

The One with "Kid"
Great opening song. Good intro before it gets down to business.

Michelle (again)
Another great song that fits right into their style. I feel like this could be single as well.

BMW Man
Didn't really like this song at first but it is growing on me.

White Belt Boys
An intense song obviously angry, "I hope you live a lonely life." Once again, this is a song I really didn't like, but is growing on me.

The Summer of Boats
This is definitely a departure from what you would normally expect from them. There's none of Brian's dominating drums coordinated with Scott's guitar. It's a song you'll probably never hear live, but I like it and its one of my favorites.

Taxi-Cabs
This is a song I instantly liked, but has faded on me. Now it feels droning and tired.

24-Hour Break-Up Session
This is the first single, which also features a cover of Wolf Like Me from TV on the Radio.

Jesus Christ! Did You See the Size of That Sperm Whale
Another classic H song with the line, "You're not a junkie, just a groupie, but only a groupie would ever want to love me". Very classic H.

Simple Pleas
Another one of my favorites, that I was suprised they played at the Metro. Lighter and maybe too melodic.

Machine Shed Wrestling
A song that has a nice, tight guitar sound with Brian's drums rumbling in the background.

Blur
A shorter song, which is still growing on me although I'll probably need to hear it more.

Hand to Mouth
A highly instrumental song, that is also among my favorites. A nearly 9 min song which shows how well they can put a song together.

Overall, this album was not as heavy as others with songs like Summer of Boats, Simple Pleas, and Hand to Mouth, but it still packs a punch with other songs. I find myself liking the lighter songs, but every once in a while you still want to hear Fritz's Corner or High Fivin' .

Vid of the Day

I saw this last night and I won't give anything away right now, but you should go see it. Chicago is very visible in the film

News Bits

Logo Development costs U of I $383,000 to $816,000 annually

Couldn't believe this when I read it I mean $383,000 for logos? But someone pointed out that letterheads, signs, and other symbols have to be changed.

Taz evolving in front of our eyes

"Since 1996, a kind of infectious cancer that causes facial tumors has been killing them off. It’s spread by biting, something devils do for social interaction, especially when mating.The tumors grow so large and fast that infected animals no longer can eat, so they starve to death. In some places, devil populations have fallen by as much as 90 percent."

Before the cancer appeared, virtually all female devils reached sexual maturity at age two and produced several litters of young by five or six. Very few female devils were capable of breeding at age one.These days, very few Tasmanian devils reach prime reproductive age; most die at two or three years. But the number capable of breeding at the age of one — what scientists call “precocious breeding” — has jumped 16-fold

Jim Edmonds marries

James Patrick Edmonds and Allison Jayne Raski, both of Creve Coeur, were couple No. 11 of the 25 who got married Wednesday at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton.Edmonds, now a Chicago Cub, was better known to Cardinals fans for whom he patrolled center field at Busch Stadium for eight years as Jim Edmonds or "Jimmy Ballgame.''

Biking and Doughnuts

I've heard about this event before http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/donuts_16095___article.html/tour_cyclists.html

I think it would be cool either to see or compete. The race takes place in Stauton and the surrounding area and is 32 miles and 5 minutes is taken off for each doughnut eaten. Stauton is between Springfield and St. Louis From the video they look like Mel-O-Creams, brand I hadn't heard about until coming to Springfield.

Dee finds a place in the NBA

Dee Brown signed with the Wizards to be their third point guard. He had been playing in Turkey.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/illinois/cs-080710-dee-brown-washington-wizards,1,3786228.story

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/10/AR2008071002564.html

It should be interesting to see when the Wizards come to town. Dee is still very popular in Chicago. In fact, the original Bull, Jerry Sloan, (He was the Bulls first draft pick) was booed last year when the didn't put Dee in the game despite the fact that the Jazz had sealed the game.

Crazies of the Day

Recent Letters to the Editor. The first two are halfway down on the same page

blacks have no loyalty to their country
Opposed to Obama
I see that Colin Powell is going to support Barack Obama for president. I am shocked. There's gambling going on in Rick's cafe.
Colin Powell was secretary of state under George W. Bush, the first black man to hold that post. Powell's decision just reinforces my contention that blacks have no loyalty to their country, party of ideals. They are blacks first and foremost. Just ask the Clintons.
Letter writer Pauline McCottrell says that Obama is for all people, not just blacks. Oh really? Why then did he attend a black liberation church for 20 years where racism and anti-Americanism are preached on a regular basis? If he didn't believe in their philosophies, why did he stay there? Last year he contributed $26,000 to this church.
McCottrell also tells us not to play "the race card." Well, she's a day late and an Obama short. Blacks have already played the race card, as more than 90 percent of them voted for Obama in the primaries. Obama says he is going to change America. Sure he is, just look at his great record. He reformed his hometown of Chicago and transformed Illinois so that it is an example for the rest of the country. Yeah, right.
Perhaps Chicago and Illinois are a little too tough for Obama, maybe he should start somewhere easier like East St. Louis.
Leon Anderson
Collinsville

Gays taking over McDonalds
Not on the menu
Did you know that the McDonald's Corp. USA has added the gay agenda to its menu?
Richard Ellis, vice president of communications for the company, joined the board of directors for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. This was confirmed by a senior member (director) of media relations for McDonald's who said, "McDonald's is indeed a corporate partner and organizational ally of NGLCC."
Do you care? Call 1-800-244-6227 or e-mail them at mcdonaldscorporation@mcd.co. And by the way, I see in the paper that "gay pride" has come to Belleville. Big Mac, anyone?
Barbara Bertschinger
Belleville


WallE too violent

"Just another desensitizing movie brought to you by Pixar (Disney) hoping to cash in on the fears of children. Frankly, I’m through with any and all Disney / Pixar movies. Within the first fifteen minutes of this “should be” PG rated movie"

Read through all the comments too and you'll find this gem.

"You probably let your daughter watch crap like “Dora the Explorer” - which is a propaganda cartoon brainwashing our children into believing that illegal immigration is good, and that we should all speak Spanish. Or, Teletubbies - the “mushroom/LSD” inspired show about 4 beings who can’t speak a word of english and are obsessed with “tubby toast”."


I think Bambis Mom is correct on this one and has a good name.

"Puh-leaze…if everything has to be som homogenized that every kid has to react the same exact way to every movie that is geared toward the, you’d be watching the same movie all the time."

Vid of the Day

And then test your skills http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/worldmap/worldmap.html

Song of the Day

Counting Crows- Another Horsedreamer's Blues

Invisibility Cloak Possible

Suntimes and News-Gazette have a story about two U of I professors who created a proof to build a invisibility cloak

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1030085,CST-NWS-invis29.article

Harley Johnson, an associate professor of mechanical science and engineering, and research associate Dong Xiao offered mathematical proof that coating a container with multiple concentric rings -- made of silicon and separated by air -- could, in fact, cloak an object from human sight.

The U. of I. scientists' simulation demonstrated that those wavelengths can be bent around a container coated with the rings so you wouldn't notice the container or its contents. Another layer of rings blocks the light from penetrating the container, further cloaking it from view.

The next step in the cloaking research is to re-create the experiment in a lab -- which Johnson says he hopes will be done within the next several months with the help of colleague John Rogers, another professor on the Urbana-Champaign campus.

"It wouldn't be hard to scale up to some extent,'' Johnson says.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/u_of_i/2008/07/06/science_fiction_might_soon_evolve_into

Bondi Beach

I went in the morning so thats why no one is there. It is a perfect crescent moon shaped beach and one of Sydney's most famous