Savage Popcorn

See you in 2006. But until then, here’s a short film found on Twitch.

It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy.

- US District Judge John Jones in his ruling that the Dover school board in Pennsylvania had been wrong to insist that a statement about Intelligent Design be read to pupils during biology lessons.

Mark Kermode on Andy Serkis’s performance in the title role of King Kong

Back in the Thirties, Frankenstein’s monster became an icon of sympathy and horror thanks to the combination of Boris Karloff’s acting and Jack Pierce’s iconic make-up. In the Eighties, John Hurt was Oscar-nominated for The Elephant Man in which his humanity shone through the prosthetic lump which all but obscured his head. Now, in the 21st century, Serkis has continued this fine tradition by imbuing Peter Jackson’s digital dreams and nightmares with his unique spirit.

Read the whole thing, as they say.

Dean Godson on the recent report of the Home Office task force, Preventing Extremism Together, which was assembled after the July bombings in London.

The effect of all of this will be to create a parallel society. The natural tendency of most minority groups is to assimilate into the majority culture after several generations. The recommendations in this report would arrest that evolution by pumping taxpayers’ money into a British Leyland-style rescue package, circa 1975, for reactionary Islamist institutions. Thus, one of the key proposals that the Government views favourably is the idea of “co-locating” community centres in mosques — thus forcing secular Britons of Muslim origin into the hands of the clerics if they are to obtain civic amenities.

All this is pretty tough on those non-fundamentalist Muslims who will be left behind in these Islamised cantons. The post-modern British State is so lacking in self-confidence and knowledge that it feels that it cannot manage things except by proxy through these new Islamist chieftains. As such, the most self-consciously trendy of governments is prepared to pursue a traditional communalist policy redolent of the colonies.

Read the whole thing, as they say.

It’s interesting, sometimes, to compare the way that media in different countries report the same event.

Take today’s EU budget deal, for eample. According to the BBC, EU leaders hail new budget deal, and it reports that French, Swedish and Polish leaders praised UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for reaching a compromise. One person who isn’t quoted anywhere is Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt who - according to VRT - described the deal as Not perfect, not pretty.

Church group launches nude calendar

A German church group has caused controversy by releasing a calendar using nude models to portray bible scenes.

The calendar, on sale for £8 in the Katzwanger church in Nuremburg, contains photos such as a naked Eve holding an apple between her breasts for Adam.

Another month shows a topless Delilah cutting the hair of a sleeping Sampson.

Other pictures portray the baptism of Jesus, Lot’s daughters, the dance of Salome and the sacrifice of Isaac - many involving nudity.

According to a spokesman for the group, the intention is “to bring old religious paintings to today’s people by translating them in a contemporary context,” and they’ve recieved many more positive responses than negative.

Of course, there have been criticisms - mainly from the US, unsurprisingly enough. But there is also a spokesman for the region’s Catholic archdiocese, according to whom:

The right way to approach the Holy Scriptures is not by pulling your pants down.

Well, that’s debateable.

(via The Misty Media Sex Blog)

Quotes from the The American Taliban

Spike Jonze’s commercial for Gap is also a homage to George Romero’s anti-consumerist Dawn of the Dead, and well worth a look if only for the in-store carnage.

Download it here.

(via Twitch)

According to The Independent, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has written to David Cameron to warn him of the political isolation he’s facing if he presses ahead with his plan to lead People’s Front of Judea out of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP-ED).

But isolationism and ineffectiveness seems to be Cameron’s mission in life:

Yesterday, Mr Cameron kept his distance from centre-right leaders by staying away from their traditional meeting before the summit of EU countries in Brussels.

With the Conservative party looking increasingly Pythonesque, maybe they should consider closing their party conferences with a rousing rendition of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.