Friday - May 12, 2006

Barking Moonbat Of The Week

This is the first time we have given this award out for a movie (although we were extremely tempted with “Fahrenheit 911"). Rarely do we come across a motion picture like the one below that is so outrageous that it borders on the sublimely ridiculous (not to mention blasphemous to the tenth degree). Fatwah, anyone?

I have no idea where Hollyweird comes up with these “gems” but I believe it has a lot to do with certain mind-altering substances. Regardless, this movie takes the prize this week. At least ... it holds first honors until the release of “Tag-Team Smackdown: Mohammed/Allah vs. Alien/Predator” - which I’ve heard will be “an operatic deathmatch with soundtrack by Snoop Dogg, starring George Clooney as Allah”. I can hardly wait.

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)

Director: Lee Demarbre

Winner: Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Film - Santa Cruz Film Festival (2002)

Publicity: The first testament says “an eye for an eye.” The second testament says “love thy neighbour.” The third testament KICKS ASS!

The filmmaking team that brought you Harry Knuckles and won the “Spirit of Slamdance” prize with Harry Knuckles and the Treasure of the Aztec Mummy ups the ante with this tale of the ultimate action hero: Jesus Christ.

The second coming is upon us, and Jesus has returned to earth. But before he can get down to the serious business of judging the living and the dead, he has to contend with an army of vampires that can walk in the daylight.

Combining kung-fu action with biblical prophecy and a liberal dose of humour, the film teams the Savior with Mexican wrestling hero El Santos against mythological horrors and science gone mad, and also manages to address contemporary sexual politics. And did we mention that it’s a musical? This sure ain’t Sunday School.

   Monday - May 08, 2006

Jack Bauer Update

You know, if I had my druthers and could get one of you to send me a picture of a television star getting drunk in public and jumping out of their clothes, I’d prefer it be Geena Davis of “Commander In Chief”. But NO! This is what I get ....

_{(-- thanks to Monty B. for ruining my image of Jack Bauer)}

   Sunday - May 07, 2006

Religious Kerfuffle

Disclaimer: I have not seen the movie yet but I plan to when it debuts in a couple of weeks. I have however, read the book, which is a highly entertaining work of fiction. The story revolves around a fictional plot by the Catholic church to supress a fictional history of Jesus. Did I mention that the book and the movie are works of fiction? It seems that several groups have somehow missed that point.

I don’t mean to offend anyone but how is getting upset over a book or movie that revolves around a fictional history of Jesus and has no basis in fact supposed to be different from Muslims getting upset over Mohammed cartoons? Will the Christians storm the movie theatres and set fire to the popcorn machines? Will Dan Brown, Ron Howard and Tom Hanks have to go into hiding after a Christian “fatwah” is issued against them? I doubt it. Christians usually have better sense than that, with the exception of Pat Robertson.

I didn’t get around to reading the book until just recently when it came out in paperback (yeah, I’m cheap about some things). I had read all the negative reviews from churches but finally decided to see what the kerfuffle was all about. Now I’m not a Bible-thumping religious fanatic by any means but I am a Christian (Baptist) and I do believe in Jesus and the salvation he promised. Oddly enough, after reading the book I found that my convictions had not changed one iota. I did however, have a rip-snorting good time with a fun story.

To me the book was nothing more than an elaborate game of “Clue” with step after step of cryptic hints leading two people toward an unknown destination while the bad guys were on their tail the whole time. The only fault I had with the story is that Brown’s clues were kinda lame. I was usually about two pages ahead of the heros in the book and found myself snickering at their failure to see the obvious at almost every turn. Then again, my background is in mathematics and computers and I’ve always had an interest in cryptography. In addtion, the Fibonacci sequence, the Masons and the Knights Templar are really old set pieces in almost any conspiracy story. It’s time to get a new set of evil conspiracy characters. Those groups are worn out and have been since “The Maltese Falcon” started it all.

Bottom line: when the movie opens, I’ll be there with my jumbo popcorn and coke ($15 - which is the only outrageous thing about this), watching the plot unfold and silently screaming at Tom Hanks and the screen, “NO! You jerk! Rearrange the numbers! It’s the Fibonacci sequence!” And at the end of the movie, Jesus will still be the Son of God. Amen.

Churches Prepare To Rebut ‘DaVinci’
_{May 7, 2006}

Area churches are preparing to counter unorthodox claims about Jesus Christ in the movie “The Da Vinci Code,” which opens in theaters later this month. “‘The Da Vinci Code’ kind of gave a focus that there’s a lot [of misinformation] about Jesus Christ and Christianity out there, and perhaps it’s time to rebut it,” said Monsignor Francis J. Maniscalco, a spokesman for the District-based U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “If people see [the movie], they should go prepared.”

Dan Brown wrote the best-selling novel, “The Da Vinci Code,” published in 2003. Its film adaptation, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, will premiere in theaters May 19. The fast-paced, fictional novel reads like a giant Christian conspiracy theory, with a plot built on claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, that they had a daughter named Sarah and that their bloodline still exists.

The book also states early Christians never claimed Christ was divine and that the Catholic Church has covered up such information. Though the book is a work of fiction, those statements and Mr. Brown’s claim in the prologue that certain details in the book are authentic have alarmed area clergy.

“It poses certain questions to Orthodox Christian believers that the church needs to address,” said John Yates, rector of Falls Church Episcopal, where sermons on “The Da Vinci Code” will be featured May 21 and 28. “My hope would be that it would cause people to want to go back to the New Testament and read about Jesus more carefully than they ever have before.”

- More on this story at the Washington Times ...

   Monday - May 01, 2006

Catfish News Report

As any of you who own an aquarium know, the best way to keep your little pond clean is to throw a catfish in the mix. Catfish are known as “bottom-feeders”, that is they eat the s**t that falls to the bottom of the aquarium. Nobody knows what happens to their s**t. We probably don’t need to know either. Regardless, this is a new feature here at BMEWS called “The Catfish News Report” where we bring you news that fell to the bottom of the tank - usually with good reason.

For our first bottom-feeder report we pick up the tragic tale of Anna Nicole Smith and “Marshall’s Millions”. In our last episode, dear little Anna was crying and begging the justices of SCOTUS to give her “Marshall’s Millions” while that dastardly villain, Marshall’s son, tried to deprive her of her just rewards for having provided nearly a year of “nursing services” to the elder Marshall before he died (reportedly with a huge smile on his face and stretch marks on his lips). We now pick up our story as dear sweet little Anna leaves the SCOTUS building ....

Justices Side With Anna Nicole Smith
Former Playmate can pursue share of late husband’s millions
_{Monday, May 1, 2006 - 11:00 a.m. EDT (15:00 GMT)}

WASHINGTON (AP)—The Supreme Court ruled Monday that one-time stripper and Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith could pursue part of her late husband’s oil fortune.

Justices gave new legal life to Smith’s bid to collect millions of dollars from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II. Her late husband’s estate has been estimated at as much as $1.6 billion.

Smith has been embroiled in a long running cross-country court fight with Marshall’s youngest son, E. Pierce Marshall. The court’s decision, which was unanimous, means that it will not end anytime soon.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the court, said Smith should have a fresh chance to pursue claims in federal court.

Smith’s case had brought unusual drama to the normally sedate high court.

Dressed in all black, she wept in the courtroom in late February as justices discussed Marshall and whether he had intended to provide for his young wife in death. When Smith arrived at the court, several photographers were knocked to the ground in a scuffle to photograph her.

- Believe it or not, there is even more of this shit Catfish food at CNN ...

   Wednesday - April 19, 2006

The Far Side

Lionel Richie? In Libya? Giving a concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s smackdown of Khadaffi? Cue up Rod Serling and the “Twilight Zone” music. I can’t figure this one out at all ....

Koncert For Khadaffi

U.S. singer Lionel Richie sings in front of the ruined home of Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi in Tripoli, Libya April 14, 2006. With Muammar Gaddafi’s home as a backdrop, U.S. singer Lionel Richie jived and rocked for an adoring Libyan audience on Saturday in a concert to mark the 20th anniversary of a U.S. raid on the North African country.

“Libya I love you, I’ll be back,” the Oscar and Grammy award-winning singer songwriter said to roars of approval from more than 1,000 senior Libyan officials and diplomats gathered in front of the shell-cratered building. He was followed by Spanish opera stars Jose Carreras and Ofelia Sala who belted through a selection of classic favorites backed by 60-piece orchestra under a cloudless night sky.

Organizers said the music provided a deliberately upbeat commemoration of the 1986 raid, an event that marked one of the lowest points in the decades Libya spent being seen as an outlaw state that supported terrorism. U.S. forces bombed Tripoli and Benghazi in the early hours of April 15, 1986. Then President Ronald Reagan said it was in retaliation for what he called Libyan complicity in the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin a month earlier in which three people, including a U.S. serviceman, were killed.

   Monday - April 17, 2006

Jane’s Baggage?

Hanoi Jane has decided to throw in the towel and turn over her duties to the next generation (Cindy Sheehan). Stay tuned. Any day now we’re likely to see a picture of Sheehan in Iran proudly examining a stockpile of nuclear bombs. After all, being a propaganda tool by having one’s picture taken while sitting in one of the enemy’s anti-aircraft batteries is so ... “yesterday”. Memo to Jane: pack it in, honey - this next generation is even farther out in left field than you ever dreamed of ....

Jane Fonda Declines War Protests
_{April 17, 2006 11:15AM EDT}

ATLANTA (AP) - Jane Fonda says she would like to tour the country and speak out against U.S. involvement in Iraq, but her controversial history of Vietnam War protests leaves her with “too much baggage.”

“I wanted to do a tour like I did during the Vietnam War, a tour of the country,” the Oscar-winning actress said Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “But then Cindy Sheehan filled in the gap, and she is better at this than I am. I carry too much baggage.”

Sheehan, whose soldier son, Casey, died in Iraq in 2004, has become a leading anti-war figure. Fonda said that during a recent national book tour, war opponents — including some Vietnam veterans — asked her to speak out.

Last month, the Georgia Senate overwhelmingly rejected a resolution honoring Fonda, an Atlanta resident, for her work preventing teen pregnancy, donations to universities and charities, and role as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.

Her political activities protesting the Vietnam War, including a trip to North Vietnam in 1972, have long made her a target of veterans. Fonda, who won Oscars for 1971’s “Klute” and 1978’s “Coming Home,” was interviewed shortly after returning from a vacation trip to Argentina with ex-husband Ted Turner. Fonda said she and Turner remain close. “He’s my favorite ex-husband,” the 68-year-old actress said. “We get along great. I love to fish, and he has some beautiful property down there.”

   Tuesday - April 11, 2006

24

What would Jack Bauer do? Easy. He’d take the $40 million dollars for three seasons and go save the world again ... and again ... again. Saving the world is getting to be an expensive proposition these days. Then again, nobody does it like Jack ....

Saving The World Pays Well For ‘24’ Star
Sutherland signs three year deal
_{Monday, April 10, 2006 4:43 p.m. EDT (20:43 GMT)}

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter)—“24” star Kiefer Sutherland has inked a multifaceted deal with 20th Century Fox Television.

The rich pact, which is set to begin in June, calls for the actor to continue on the hit Fox drama for three more years and includes a two-year development deal for Sutherland’s soon-to-be-launched production banner.

Details on the deal were sketchy, but sources pegged the acting portion alone at more than $40 million for the three seasons, which could make Sutherland the highest-paid actor in a drama series.

While the deal with Sutherland locks him in for three additional years beyond the current fifth season of “24,” the 20th TV/Imagine TV-produced show so far has been picked up for one additional season.

Under the pact, Sutherland also will be elevated from a co-executive producer to executive producer on “24” next season alongside Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon and Evan Katz.

- More on the story at CNN ...

   Thursday - March 09, 2006

Quote Of The Day

“I have to say it is a little shocking to see all these big names here, these huge stars. The Oscars is really, I guess, the one night of the year where you can see all your favorite stars without having to donate any money to the Democratic Party.”

-- Jon Stewart, at Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony

In case you missed the Oscars last Sunday night, here are the highlights:

• Best song went to a musical tribute to the overseers of human sex slaves, an occupation known as “pimping”;


• best picture went to a movie about racism in Los Angeles;


• best supporting actor went to the movie about how oil companies murder people; and


• best supporting actress went to the movie about how pharmaceutical companies murder people.

Curiously missing from Oscar night’s festivities was any reference, even in passing, to the 150,000 brave Americans currently risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On behalf of red state America, let me be the first to say: “Screw you, Hollywood.”

- Anns’s just getting warmed up, there’s plenty more at WND ...

   Tuesday - March 07, 2006

Tuned Out

It looks like the Academy Awards show was a monstrous flop. What is hilarious to me is that all kinds of finger-pointing has already started among the Hollywood crowd. Not surprisingly, Jon Stewart is the current scapegoat. Do you think if they actually made movies we want to see and acted like grownups when off-camera that we might pay attention? Zzzzzzzzz ....

Oscars TV Viewing Figures Crash
(BBC)

The US television audience for the 78th Academy Awards was down by eight per cent compared with last year. The ceremony, which saw Crash shock the favourite Brokeback Mountain by taking best film, was watched by 38.8m people, the third lowest audience in 20 years.

The three-and-a-half hour ceremony from Los Angeles was hosted by Jon Stewart, presenter of the satirical Daily Show. According to the Nielsen ratings, the 2003 show got the lowest audience, with 33m tuning in.

Chicago was the big winner in 2003, grabbing six Oscars including best film. Last year’s ceremony, which saw boxing drama Million Dollar Baby take best film, drew 42.1m viewers.

Pundits had predicted that interest could fall this year due to the highbrow nature of the five movies nominated for best film - Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Munich and Good Night, and Good Luck. Unofficial estimates put the UK audience for Sky Movies 1’s live broadcast at 51,000 during the first two hours of its coverage.

- Read the rest here ...

Cintra Wilson, of website Salon, wrote: “How did Jon Stewart suck so hard? These Oscars were so hideously uptight, they got pulled down a worm-hole and travelled light-years, on and on, forever, until they finally ended up in the darkest, airless regions of some fat, ultra-conservative’s welded-on undershorts.”

   Monday - March 06, 2006

And The Winner Is ….

“Paradise Lost” by Cox & Forkum

As usual, Cox & Forkum hits the target with this drawing that is not funny. It is too close to the truth as evidenced by this quote from an article in the Washington Post by Charles Krauthammer entitled “Oscars For Osama”.

Nothing tells you more about Hollywood than what it chooses to honor. Nominated for best foreign-language film is “Paradise Now,” a sympathetic portrayal of two suicide bombers. Nominated for best picture is “Munich,” a sympathetic portrayal of yesterday’s fashion in barbarism: homicide terrorism.

But until you see “Syriana,” nominated for best screenplay (and George Clooney, for best supporting actor) you have no idea how self-flagellation and self-loathing pass for complexity and moral seriousness in Hollywood.

I never can figure out how the Hollywood “elite” can sleep at night without getting stinking drunk or popping pills or snorting coke to dull the pain from their conscience .... Never mind, I forgot that’s exactly what a large number of them actually do to get some sleep. The really bad part is that Clooney actually won the Oscar for best supporting actor last night. His “peers” (the other actors) thought he did a bang-up job. Literally.

I saw both “Syriana” and “Munich” recently and I was disgusted by “Syriana” and highly disappointed in “Munich”. Clooney seems to be on a one-man jihad to glorify everything evil in the world. Spielberg just dropped the ball. “Syriana” was trash but “Munich” was just a poorly made film, in my opinion. I got the feeling that Clooney hates everything in Western civilization while Spielberg just couldn’t get his heart into making a movie that equates Palestinian terrorists to Jewish reprisals.

The only good thing to come out of the awards show last night (which I didn’t watch due to a previously scheduled engagement with ”Postwar: A History Of Europe Since 1945” by Tony Judt - excellent read, I highly recommend it) was the award for Best Picture which went to “Crash”. I had a feeling it would win and predicted so in an earlier post here.

My reasons for thinking it would win are twofold: (1) the entire Academy votes on Best Picture whereas only actors vote for Best Actor, etc. - this means that all the cinematographers, grips, writers, sound people, etc., who have much better sense than the actors they support, get an equal vote - in much larger numbers than their Liberal overlords; and (2) “Crash” is an excellent movie. Admittedly, it is not in the same league as “Lawrence Of Arabia” or “Doctor Zhivago” but it has an excellent story and a simple message: what goes around, comes around. The movie is a portrayal of racial prejudice that teaches us that the evil we do comes back at us eventually and so does the good. The person you hurt today could be the person who saves your life tomorrow. You never know. It’s a lesson the Hollywood glitterati should take to heart.

Mr. Clooney, the hired help you used to make your stupid picture are trying to tell you something. Maybe you need to slow down and listen to the “little people” for a change, eh?

P.S. In the category of The People’s Vote For Best Picture (boxoffice sales), ”March Of The Penguins”, which won the award for Best Documentary outgrossed all five of the nominees for Best Picture. Imagine that ....

   Sunday - March 05, 2006

Official Oscar Discussion Thread

Oscars: Who Cares?

I have to admit I lost interest in the Academy Awards several decades ago. This year is no exception. It may even be even less of an inducement this year than most. All the glittering gowns and fancy cars as the glitterati arrive and strut before the cameras is almost embaressing to watch. I know it’s their night and I wish all of them the best. May the best man or woman win.

I guess that last is the main reason I don’t watch anymore. I just don’t feel that the best person or film will win. I know. You’re going to say, “Skipper, you’re not an actor or member of the Academy so who are you to judge?” To that I would answer that you’re right, I can’t judge the subtle nuances of emoting or the daring new camera angles or blah-blah-blah. What I do know is what my gut tells me. And my gut is calling for Alka-Seltzer this year.

Of the five films nominated for Best Picture, I have watched four of them. I’m sorry but I just can’t drum up enough interest or curiosity to go plunk down $10 to see a movie about two homosexual sheep herders. I’ll catch the DVD in a few years to see what all the fuss was about. I figure it’ll be selling for $4 in Wal-Mart’s discount DVD pile. Of the other four, none of them really strike me as belonging in the same class with “Gone With The Wind” or “Ben-Hur” or “Patton”. Let’s face it, Hollywood dumped a lot of crap on us last year.

If you really need an Oscar fix, click on the poster at right and visit the official site. In the meantime, here are the Oscar nominations for the major awards and my picks (my picks are underlined). Almost all of which will be wrong but then again ... who cares? Go to the forums and vote in our poll as to your plans for Sunday night - if you plan to watch or not. It’s your turn to cast your vote ....

Best Picture Nominees: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich

Best Actor Nominees: Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote, Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow, Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain, Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line, David Strathairn - Good Night and Good Luck.

Best Actress Nominees: Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents, Felicity Hufman - Transamerica, Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice, Charlize Theron - North County, Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor Nominees: George Clooney - Syriana, Matt Dillon - Crash, Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man, Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain, William Hurt - A History of Violence

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: Amy Adams - Junebug, Catherine Keener - Capote, Frances McDormand - North Country, Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener, Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

More On This Topic In Our Forums

   Sunday - February 19, 2006

Prances With Wolves

The Weekly Standard, 02/13/2006, Volume 011, Issue 21

   Friday - February 17, 2006

The Wisdom Of Actors

I don’t accuse Dreyfuss of treason. I don’t even accuse him of being part of a Leftist conspiracy. I do however, accuse him of being a colossal jerk with an oversized ego and an undersized sense of propriety. What does a call for impeachment gain any of us? It just adds to the constant noise and negativity coming from the Democrats, the media and Hollywood, i.e., those who think Bill Clinton should have been proclaimed Emperor for life.

Dreyfuss has contributed nothing to the exercise of free speech in this country with this diatribe. The man is a loon, much like a few others of his social circle in Hollywood. If these people weren’t overpaid, over-exposed prima-donnas, no one would pay any attention to them. I think Dreyfuss has done some great acting in his career. He has also had severe problems with alcohol and cocaine addiction at times in his life. He seems to me to be a talented but very troubled man. It’s too bad we can’t impeach actors ....

Impeaching Bush Is ‘Cause Worth Fighting for,’ Actor Says
February 17, 2006
(CNSNews.com)

Richard Dreyfuss, the actor who starred in movies ranging from “Jaws” to “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” told an audience in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that “there are causes worth fighting for,” and one of those is the impeachment of President George W. Bush.

“There are causes worth fighting for even if you know that you will lose,” Dreyfuss said during a speech at the National Press Club. “Unless you are willing to accept torture as part of a normal American political lexicon, unless you are willing to accept that leaving the Geneva Convention is fine and dandy, if you accept the expansion of wiretapping as business as usual, the only way to express this now is to embrace the difficult and perhaps embarrassing process of impeachment.”

Noting that the process was established by the country’s “founders, who we revere to check executive abuse with congressional balance,” Dreyfuss stated that impeachment “is a statement that we refuse to endorse bad behavior.” “If we refuse to debate the appropriateness of the process of impeachment, we endorse that behavior, and we approve the enlargement of executive power,” regardless of whoever may occupy the White House in the future, he said.

“And don’t kid yourselves: No one ever gives up power, ever,” Dreyfuss added. “Now, it is not your job as the press to impeach George Bush,” the actor stated. However, people in the media should “maintain the integrity of that debate” by not dismissing the topic out of hand as partisan or unpatriotic.
During his address on the subject of Hollywood’s view of contemporary news media, Dreyfuss said he is not a cynic or a liberal, but is instead a ‘libo-conservo-middle-of-the-roado,’ and I have been for many years.”

“Watch me lose my sense of humor if people accuse me of treason,” Dreyfuss said before mocking two of the Fox News Channel’s most popular hosts. “‘That’s not very O’Reilly of you, Mister Smarty-Pants,’ or ‘What would Sean Hannity have to say about that, Mister Too-Complex-for-Your-Own-Good?’”

- More mental mumblings from Dreyfuss here ...

   Thursday - February 16, 2006

Suicide Is Painless

Another American icon disappears ... into the hands of people who hate us. I wonder if “Hot Lips” Hollihan was part of the deal? Frank Burns should feel right at home with the Islamowhackos, so all things being equal, it should pan out OK if they can make Hawkeye stop making martinis in the back-tent still. Klinger, however ... is another matter entirely ...

U.S. Army Gives Away Last M*A*S*H
February 16, 2006, 9:17 AM EST
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP)

The U.S. Army said goodbye to its last MASH on Thursday, handing over the green tents, emergency room and surgical tables to Pakistani doctors and nurses who had never seen the hit TV show that made the field hospital a household name in America. For the past four months, the 212th MASH—or Mobile Army Surgical Hospital—has been stationed in a mountain valley in northern Pakistan treating survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people.

The military decided to donate the MASH—worth $4.6 million—to Pakistan because the Army is switching to a new approach, called “combat support hospital.” The new system is more flexible, with surgical squads that can go out into the field instead of waiting for patients to be flown in. Surrounded by snow-covered peaks, the Army said farewell to the MASH in a brief, simple ceremony with a Pakistani army band in maroon jackets and gold-trimmed hats playing marching tunes—not “Suicide is Painless,” the TV show’s theme song.

“We are very proud of the MASH’s service to the people of Pakistan and extremely happy the MASH will be continuing its mission in capable hands,” said Army Col. Angel Lugo, MASH force commander. Pakistan army surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Syed Afzal Ahmad, said that the local staff have been working closely with the Americans during the quake mission and were ready to take over the MASH unit, which first saw action in St. Mihiel, France, during World War I.

“We are very thankful to the U.S. government and will remain thankful forever,” he said. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the MASH and other quake aid “caused tens of thousands of Pakistanis up in this area to change their view of America.” Still, “Death to the U.S.” was one of the most popular chants the past week at protests across Pakistan against cartoons in the Western media lampooning the Prophet Muhammad. Crocker blamed the slogans on a “few agitators” and said it didn’t reflect wide opinion.

The MASH looked much different than the ramshackle, sprawling one on the TV show. The real camp included five long, neat tents that connected with covered walkways, creating a medical maze. The camp’s perimeter had medical trailers for surgery and sterilization that looked like green shipping containers. The TV series “MASH” ran from 1972-83, tackling the delicate task of trying to make viewers laugh while showing the horrors of the Korean War. The half-hour show juggled the funny and the serious by being a “dramady” with multiple plot lines—some serious, others comic.

- More on this story here ...

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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