Avatar’s Jake Skully is a man who goes native in a big way: Is he the latest in a long line of Western cultural imperialists? Among the tremendous number of international press reactions to James Cameron’s Avatar, this one stands out for two reasons: First, it was written by the publisher of Germany’s prestigious Die Zeit newspaper. And second, because it goes against the huge majority of views...

Just in case you get overheated in SOTU debates, a little beauty

Is the bar about to be lowered again on what is acceptable research, journalism and opinion-based film? The news that a famous anti-ACORN conservative activist popular with Fox News and conservative websites was arrested while allegedly trying to bug Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office takes these issues to a higher — or lower — level. It’ll be interested to see how this one plays...

Is (fill in the missing word…) (But such is how some people can make big bucks in 21st century America..)

America, or the entire cinematic world, celebrates next month the centenary of Hollywood’s first movie. The filming in February 1910 of D. W. Griffith’s “In Old California” was considered a cultural landmark. Equally fascinating are the details about the development of Hollywood (situated just 11 kms from Los Angeles) coinciding with the birth of the first movie. Director D.W. Griffith...

Since I know something about ventriloquism and am perpetually studying comedy of all eras, people often ask me: so who is YOUR favorite ventriloquist? I tell them he is not one of the “classic” ones the bulk of people immediately name but he is a classic ventriloquist of the same era and stature. He is not one of the younger ones you see on TV, cruise ships, comedy clubs, Vegas or on the school circuit....

by Walter Brasch Air America, the liberal radio network, went down in flames, Jan. 21, when it filed for bankruptcy. It wasn’t because of air-to-air combat with conservative talk shows and bloggers. It wasn’t because of the Recession, although reduced advertising revenue, a reality of all media, also affected Air America. It wasn’t even demographics, even though older, marginalized conservatives...

Every time I meet libertarians, they seem hellbent on making themselves look like horrible human beings. Not for their pro-limited government views, which seem refreshing in a time when The Government Is Taking Over Everything and still retaining the Bush administration’s national-security rationales (best of both worlds!).

Here’s Conan O’Brien’s final monologue as he leaves the NBC building with a $45 million settlement that includes a provision that forces him to shut up for 8 months about his now former bosses and now former network:

Would you believe it if someone told you that there is a cinnamin flavored tea that has the full body of a caffeinated tea or cup of coffee if its brewed long enough and also is sweet enough so that it tastes as if it is sweetened — yet it is caffeine and sugar and artificial sweetener free? It does exist: Good Earth Caffeine Free Original. I’m a huge tea lover. It really started when I visited India...

Environmentalists who devote their time in a self-less manner towards making this earth more sustainable, have been in spotlight for quite a while now. This reflects their genuine concern, and also consideration for the coming generations. As Mahatma Gandhi put it succinctly: “There is enough for everyone’s need; but not enough for everyone’s greed.” However, there are also people who...

David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Much has been written in the past few days, both electronically and with ink, about the horror and the tears that is Haiti now. But Haiti has known horror and tears and tragedy for much too long. That horror and those tears have been amply recorded for at least the past 50 years “in a remarkably vivid and sophisticated Haitian literature [that] has been flowing out of Creole, an ever-evolving language as fecund...

The Guardian reports that cruise ships are still docking at private beaches some 60 miles from Haiti’s devastated earthquake zone, where “passengers enjoy jetski rides, parasailing and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks.” Apparently Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines struggled over “a difficult decision over whether to dock as per itinerary at Labadee Beach, Haiti after last week’s tragic...

How can you oppose lending $50 to a Third World entrepreneur to get a small business off the ground? Well, let me tell you how. Microenterprise is one of the more serious subjects given shallow treatment on my new site, Cultural Imperialist, co-written with Los Angeles screenwriter Jeremiah Lewis. It’s our guide to intelligent discourse on the can-miss topics of the day, like libertarians’ all-consuming...

Saturday Night Live (alive and quite clearly kicking) parodied the late night mess faced — and created — by NBC in which Jay Leno will go back to his old job and his Tonight Show replacement Conan O’Brien will reportedly take an expensive hike:

‘I KNOW, DARK COLORS MAKE ME LOOK THINNER!’ The apparent attempted attack on Delta/Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day is not an occurrence that easily lends itself to humor. Nevertheless, this tongue-in-cheek article by Jassim al-Mutair of Iraq’s Sotal Iraq newspaper takes the opportunity to make fun of, from his point of view, excessive Muslim sensitivity over new U.S. security...

I just hadda. Everyone deserves to reverse engines for a bit. Laughter is blessing. ONE MINUTE SATIRE: DATELINE: TODAY A teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator. At a morning press conference, the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious...

Military Times has posted a list of the 16 best military books of the decade. Regrettably, I can only say that I’ve read two-and-a-half of them. The first is The Unforgiving Minute, by my classmate and friend Craig Mullaney, which made the NYT bestseller list. Since I have a small cameo in the book, I must agree that it’s a superb work in all regards. The half book I read is One Bullet Away, by...

The controversy surrounding the movie Avatar has taken on a bit of a Cold War tinge, only this time, Russian Communists and American right-wingers have joined forces against common enemies: James Cameron and the Obama White House! With Republican pundits and blogs attacking Cameron for appearing to criticize the American military, Russian communists are calling for an international arrest warrant against the...

There is no question too easy for Sarah Palin to have no answer. And who would have thought it’d be Glenn Beck calling male cow excrement on her? Via Eric Kleefeld at TPMLivewire, with a hat tip to David Kurtz at TPM Editors Blog.

The global commentary about the movie Avatar keeps on coming – and one might say, getting stranger. Along with reports that Russian communists want to have James Cameron arrested for pilfering the work of Russian science fiction writers, this article from Bolivia likens the film’s main character to Jesus Christ. For the BolPress of Bolivia, columnist Huascar Vega Ledo writes in part: The word “avatar”...

RJ Matson, The New York Observer This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

For me, “late-night” television means The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, sports, the Food Network, reruns of my favourite shows (Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Family Guy), movies, and pretty much anything else that isn’t on U.S. network TV. Which is to say, no Letterman (or rarely), no Conan, no Fallon, no Ferguson, and, when he was hosting The Tonight Show, absolutely no Leno, whom I consider to...

Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.