Jingus

Personally, I think there's two different yet not completely exclusive reasons: 1. Writing for a comic is like writing for a soap opera or a wrestling show: really fucking hard, because you never get to take a break and must constantly deal with deadlines for producing new product. Writers lose sleep, get burned out, and generally are too stressed to put out the best quality writing. Plus, some of these comics have been around so long that it's almost impossible to make a new story; shit, how hard must it be to come up with a Batman story that hasn't already been done at some point in his 70 year history? So the writers compromise, copy earlier storylines, bring favorite characters back from the dead instead of creating new ones, fuck with the continuity (maybe without ever meaning to or realizing that they're doing so), and generally making a mess of things simply because of the demands and limitations of the medium. Or, 2. Comic book writers today tend to be lazy, overpriced babies who have no respect for the history or tradition of their artform. They wasted their youth reading X-Men instead of Watchmen and prefer to cruise thru their work rewriting their favorite old storylines instead of working up real skullsweat to create new ones. The editors at DC and Marvel could give a shit less, since they're controlled by the same money-hungry suits that dominate all big business. And with everyone from Kevin Smith to Scott Levy writing comics these days, it seems like paying your dues are no longer that important. It could be either one, or a mix of both.

I personally can't stand Green Day, absolutely loathe their sound and their lyrics, but Matt's right, they're far from corporate mouthpieces. I still can't believe they got away with saying some of the stuff they did in American Idiot on the radio.

The Vanishing is a lot like The Usual Suspects or any M. Night Shyamalan movie: the main reason to see it is the plot & the ending. If you already know what's going to happen (or have seen the remake), I wouldn't go out of your way to see it. It's a good movie, but not THAT damn good. I did like the portrayal of the killer, tho, it's very different from any other villain I've seen.

My mom is a teacher, so I've grown up in & around the NEA my whole life. My general impression is that they get a bad rap, but especially over the "power" they supposedly hold. My mother has a master's degree from Vanderbilt's Peabody school of education (one of the best in the world), is a 30-year veteran of special ed teaching, has various special certificates & qualifications, and teaches at a fairly exclusive private school... yet she still makes only about $30,000 per year. If the teachers' unions had any real power, surely they'd be able to raise their own members' salaries. I mean, in what other career in America can you have extensive postsecondary training in your field of specialization and be damn good at what you do, yet still make so little?

Aw come on Mike, there's no left-wing conspiracy to keep conservatives out of college positions. One of the most blatantly Republican teachers I've ever had was an English professor. I'd just say it's less likely because liberals tend to be more concerned with enlightening the youth of today about Pressing Social Issues and conservatives would rather not worry and make money in a real job.

Except that Amy Lee is an incredibly talented classically trained singer, and Ashlee Simpson probably couldn't get out a verse of Row Row Row Your Boat without losing her pitch. They "just happened" to play her lip sync track that she used instead of actually singing, you mean. Yeah, they do. Her dad is her agent and the driving force behind her career. And nobody held a gun to her head and forced her to become a singer.

Better than telling people that the 9/11 victims deserved it.

Ah, so you've never seen THE HORROR that was Halloween Havoc 98? I don't know if it would've been a better match per se. Hogan has a long history of being able to put on miracles in a big-match environment, but when it comes to the rematches they're never nearly as good as the first one. Plus, I don't think there was really anything wrong with the Hogan/Slaughter match, for what it was. Huh? He was a curtain-jerking jobber in the WWE. I know what you're thinking: Summerslam '93. However, I don't know if they should've put the belt on him. Luger has been a pretty consistent anti-draw throughout his career, and I think fans would've seen thru all the Lex Express bullshit eventually and realized that he was nothing more than a Hogan wannabe in that role.

Johnny-5 is alive!

Sicilians could pass for Arabs. Didya ever see True Romance? Dennis Hopper's suicidal monologue...

You mean the one from Halloween Havoc '98? Or Summerslam '94?

Aw, this started as such a nice little calm thread, pleez don't drag it down to the usual level of CE flamebait.

Don't bother arguing with that adam bomb guy, he apparently thinks it's too hot in this kitchen and hasn't posted in a week.

Poor David Young. On the one hand, I'm glad he's drawing a paycheck, but on the other, well, just look at them match results.

Once again: why the fuck are all those people suspended from wrestling in that state? I didn't know you could really do that, I thought it was just ECW's old gimmick for Sabu.

Tell us something we don't know. 7.5 inches, actually. (The wrestling comments are to make up for the fact that I'm overweight and balding.)

Why is Harry Smith off the show?

Yeah, but there's not a scriptwriter alive who's talented enough to write all Don Vito's incomprehensible lines. He's the reason the show succeeded.

I'd join the Red Cross instead, they have more funding and a better range of vaccinations for all the diseases you can pick up in the crappy little countries they send their workers to.

Uh... what's the controversy here? Translation: expect me in Playboy within a year.

Time to send in Team America.

Hell, how did ANYONE make a "banned from pro wrestling" list in this day & age?

No, but close... that's all I'm sayin'. You'd be surprised how many wrestlers toke the reefer.

Any major city in the US has various small enclaves of standard immigrants: Mexicans, Chinese, Middle Easterners, whatever. (Well, those Mexican groups ain't always that small.)

How about a "watch these kids' dreams get destroyed by that goddamned Sundae Slide" music video from DoubleDare?