Category Archives: Kultcha

We're fans of Sarah McLachlan's music in this household, so it's a pleasure to report that her new video, World On Fire, is something beautiful and special. (Spotted via David Weinberger's contribution to the new Personal Democracy Forum).

Godzilla meets Pikachu. Or even Godzilla meets Pokemon. Inspired by Pokemon and by Bambi Meets Godzilla.

Parents of younger children will understand.

If you happen to be in New York city this Tuesday, you are invited to Cinewomen presention of a “mini-retrospective” of short films by my friend Eva Saks at the Pioneer Theater as part of a program called “LIFE: WILD, WOOLY & WONDERFUL.” Eva turned her back on a likely career as an academic to become an entertainment lawyer, and then turned her back on that to go to NYU film school.

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CNN reports that, “A church's plan for an old-fashioned book-burning” ran into an unexpected snag: the fire code.

Preachers and congregations throughout American history have built bonfires and tossed in books and other materials they believed offended God.

…just good ol' fashioned, traditional book-burning, who could object?

The Rev. Scott Breedlove, pastor of The Jesus Church, wanted to rekindle that tradition in a July 28 ceremony where books, CDs, videos and clothing would have been thrown into the flames.

…rekindle the tradition, geddit?

Not so fast, city officials said.

“We don't want a situation where people are burning rubbish as a recreational fire,” said Brad Brenneman, the fire department's district chief.

So it’s a rule of general application, not one aimed at political speech, and thus very likely consistent with the First Amendment.

I don’t know whether to be appalled at the idea of modern book-burning, amused at the effectiveness of this pettifogging regulatory obstacle, cheered by the thought of book-burners who can be stopped by an anti-pollution ordinance, or fearful of how this is going to be spun as a symbol of the evils of the modern regulatory state…

The Cosmic Iguana reports FAHRENHEIT 9-11 GIVEN “R” RATING. The MPAA stated that the rating is for the film's “violent and disturbing images and for language”.

I haven't seen the film so I can't say I know this is wrong, but given the violence that gets allowed into PG-13 films — I won't take my kids to them (yet) — and the fact that the film is about what it claims are real rather than fictional events, I am suspicious. (On the other hand, Passion of the Christ got an “R” rating, and many people consider it to be all about Truth…)

Then again, if the film has, say, images of torture, do we want (older) kids to see it? Half of me says no, half of me says we should encourage them to see it.