THE ATTAGAG (pronounced AT-A-GAG) once a radio show about pop culture, is now a blog about pop culture from the perspective of a guy who spends way too much time thinking about pop culture. So much that he mentioned 'pop culture' three times. Oh wait, now four.
Think I saw @nathanrabin on my way out@ work on his laptop. If that was u, just wanted to say thanks. @ebertchicago is why I love @theavclub
— Eddie Sayago (@EddieSayago) April 12, 2013
I was going to just not acknowledge that a decade has passed since the Iraq War began, but this I came across a tweet from Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"10 yrs ago began the long and difficult work of liberating 25 mil Iraqis. All who played a role in history deserve our respect and appreciation."
First of all, I don't remember the people of Iraq begging anybody, let alone the US, to liberate them. They are dozens of countries who are under oppressive dictatorships, and the US did not have plans to liberate them.
Second, I don't get angry often. Upset, yes. But this prick made me very angry. Having the absolute gall to give himself a pat on the back. For destroying a country that had nothing to done with 9/11. For bankrupting the most powerful nation in the world into oblivion, not to mention damaging our reputation at home and overseas. For changing the lives of our troops and their families and hometowns, both deceased and survivors and veterans.
This tweet just sounds like he's congratulating himself. On a job well done. And by well done I mean completely fucked up, causing damage to all in his way.
10 years ago the US military invaded and struck Iraq, based on false information and bloated egos of leaders who were suppose to know right from wrong, but did not.
Not only did they lie to the American public, they lied to the entire world, going as far as having Colin Powell go to the UN and telling them that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. (Which was not true at all.)
People still cry for the heads of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove et. al. but even if justice were to be served (and that will never happen unfortunately), that still won't bring back the 5,000 plus dead American troops and the countless thousands of Iraqis killed in their own homes and those defending them.
That still won't undo the struggles that hundreds of thousands of troops who have returned (many from multiple tours) must deal with every single day, from PTSD, missing limbs, and other psychological, physical, and mental issues, not to mention unemployment, depression, and being kept apart from their homes and loved ones for long periods of time.
All the war propaganda, all the screaming and the lies and the hatred, comes from people who are not fighting, wrote George Orwell. Donald Rumsfeld and co. did not have to fight this disgusting and shameful war. He had other men; the sons, husbands, brothers, boyfriends, domestic partners, co-workers, friends, classmates, and neighbors of ours fight for him. These so-called leaders do not have to pay the impossibly large amount of money that they spent carelessly on bombs, fighter jets, drones, and other war toys, all with money and loans that could have gone to millions of other useful things, like education, health-care, repairing roads and bridges, or giving out grants to scientists to cure cancer and AIDS or to prospective students to attend university so they could contribute something to America. The war was sponsored by our tax dollars and from money that was cut from various programs.
The funny thing about history is that someone out there will always remember what really happened, even if the whole story is never printed into the history books. And with all the information in the world available to us with just a few clicks, we can all know what really happened. There is no longer just the official story.
So to Donald Rumsfeld: Fuck you. If hell does exist, may you burn there for all of eternity.
Apparently there is a belief held by some people that rock 'n' roll icon David Bowie and screen icon Tilda Swinton are the same person. At least this tumblr believes so. This thought never entered my head before today, but now that I think about, this belief is not that ridiculous.
On Sunday, the ever-growing awards season will finally come to a close. After months of endless (and often unwarranted and unasked) opinions from everyone on the Internet, the media, and the various artistic communities, everyone will finally shut up about who should win the coveted golden god statuette--and instead focus on the various fashion flubs and who should have won the Oscar.
I enjoy awards shows, mostly for the entertainment and the anything-could-happen vibe at live awards.
Like this. (The funniest moment from ANY awards show.)
I am currently on a cultural bender. For the past couple of weeks, I have been watching a lot of French-language films in various genres, from comedies, dramas, award-winners, and documentaries. So it makes sense for this 5x5 list to focus on French films, all featuring love as a prominent theme (though not all of these are considered romance, genre-wise). All of them are available on DVD.
Anne Hathaway is certain to win an Oscar for what is essentially the scene where she sings "I Dream a Dream" in one continuous take. But someone decided to create this "For This Consideration" spoof. Which is very amazing.
This is without a doubt the funniest video you will see today. And that includes Zach Galifianakis's Two Ferns Oscar special, which premiered Part 2 today.
In short: A teacher (who is not in the school district that the high school in question is located) decided that she would spew hate the second a camera appeared in front of her. Many have already called for her termination, which makes sense, since she is in a position where children's well-being are under her umbrella. Unfortunately, we cannot fire every single person who says something that I don't agree with (something about free speech, even though that really doesn't exist, if you have seen the number of people being fired over the years over this). But it is nice that someone decided to make her look more like the close-minded idiot and bigot she is.
