Monthly Archives: June 2003

Passion Fruit

Passion Fruit

Let me get this straight
A group of Catholic and Jewish leaders
Get their hands on a stolen copy
Of an advance script to a movie
That is still in production
And start spreading lashon hara
(Also known as malicious gossip)
About the actor/director
And his father.

Then the actor/director
Starts defending himself
Against the accusations
With the classic line
About some of his best friends.

Of course the conspiracy theorists
Would tell ya itís the vast
Majority of his friends.

And while he doesnít appear
To be actively defending his father
The religious leaders ought to know
We donít visit the sins on the children.

(WellÖin some casesÖ
Like in the case
Upon which the movie
Is based
Some might disagree.

Which is kinda what
The religious leaders
Are worried about.
That the movie will continue
To spread the blame.
But in implicating the son
With his fatherís beliefs
Theyíre being hypocritical.

Not to mention the theft
And the malicious gossip
Breaks a few pesky commandments
In the process.)

Furthermore
Since the movie
Will only contain dialogue
Spoken in Latin and Aramaic
With no subtitles

There was a good chance
The only way
It would ever get seen
Is if somehow
A controversy arose about the film.

Making one wonder
If by some perverted chance
The script was leaked to these leaders
By the actor/director himself.
Continue reading

Golden Snitch Snagged; Snitch Sues Snagger

Golden Snitch Snagged; Snitch Sues Snagger

The NY Daily News
Snagged the Snitch
at a health food store
of all places.

Harry Potter has lost his mind.
Is this a reference to a plot point
revealed by the newspaper?
Or is this a metaphor
for JK Rowling’s publishers
who have now sued
for copyright infringement
when all the newspaper did
was publish a book review?
Both!

Many book reviews
appear before the book.
Some publishers like that.
It helps to sell the book.
Of course, JK Rowling needs no such help.
And wealthier than Queen Elizabeth (true!),
she no longer needs any money either.

Harry is locked in battle
With Lord Voldemort
for his own consciousness.
Harry may become an agent of evil!

JK Rowling has said
she’d do anything to prevent
Harry from turning up
in a McDonald’s happy meal.
But either her publishers
or Warner Brothers
aren’t listening
as he is now on Coca Cola cans,
and the increasing commercialism and hype
are turn offs to kids
and adults alike.

Ron becomes Prefect.
Harry saves Dudley from dementors
by using magic. Risking expulsion.
Cho Chang tells Harry, “I really like you”.
Somebody does die,
but its not Harry, Ron or Hermione.

My personal guess
since JK Rowling has said
the death was very hard to write,
and it was someone close to Harry,
that it’s either Cho Chang or Hagrid.
We’ll all find out soon.

Note to JK Rowling:
Sue me too, please!
I need the 15 minutes of fame.

Supreme Court laughs at 20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox allowed the copyright on some old documentary footage to expire. Another company took the footage, deleted an hour, added 30 minutes, and sold it as their own…with no attribution.

This is perfectly legal under copyright law. If the copyright has expired, anyone can use the material, and they do not have to even attribute it to the author. It’s nice to do so. But legally, it’s not required.

So 20th Century Fox decided to sue under trademark law. The Supreme Court has laughed at them. (OK, they ruled 8-0 against them. Same thing.)

Prayer at Public Meetings

Conservative press is complaining that the Supreme Court has declared it is legit for California to ban prayer at meetings. “Even non-denominational prayer.”

Which of course, isn’t true. The Supreme Court has said no such thing. The prayer that started the whole case did not invoke “God” as many news reports are claiming. It invoked “Jesus Christ”. I’m sorry, but that is not non-denominational, unless you limit the denominations to Christianity.

The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on a ban of “Sectarian Prayer”. Which means the ban remains. But the ban is on Sectarian prayer, not non-denominational, non-sectarian prayer. God can still be invoked, as long as he/she is unnamed.

But I think I agree with this individual that perhaps watering down prayers in order for them to be acceptable for all isn’t the best idea. Perhaps those of us who wish to pray, should pray, in Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, etc….where we can say exactly what we feel without worrying we will offend anyone.

What good does a prayer do opening a public meeting where there are people of varying faiths and creeds?

Yoko, the Isleys, and today’s music

Haven’t posted a poem here for awhile…I wrote this a couple weeks ago, so the events referred to in the first stanza are no longer accurate (hopefully!) The Yoko Ono song was a remix, so people may discount it. But the Isley’s have actually released a new album apparently.

There must be something wrong.
Very wrong.
In the same week
The Isley Brothers
And Yoko Ono
Are number one on the charts.
Number one.

I’m suffering
Flashbacks
To My pez popping,
Bubble-gum cigarette chewing,
helium-balloon
and magic-marker high childhood.

I was only six
The last time
The Isleys had a number one.
Gerald Ford was President.
He too was appointed,
not elected.

I was twelve when
the Bitch who Broke up the Beatles
first Walked on Thin Ice.
Twenty two years later,
The ice is breaking.

We’re drowning
in the swamp
that is today’s music.

Everyone knows
Britney and Justin
suck rodent-cock.
(It was in the tabloids)1

So weíre forced to buy the music
of seventy year old has-beens.

Footnotes:
1) No, actually, it wasn’t….not literally. It’s sort of a reference to their early singing careers under the employ of Walt and Company.

Yoko, the Isleys, and today’s music

Haven’t posted a poem here for awhile…I wrote this a couple weeks ago, so the events referred to in the first stanza are no longer accurate (hopefully!) The Yoko Ono song was a remix, so people may discount it. But the Isley’s have actually released a new album apparently.

There must be something wrong.
Very wrong.
In the same week
The Isley Brothers
And Yoko Ono
Are number one on the charts.
Number one.

I’m suffering
Flashbacks
To My pez popping,
Bubble-gum cigarette chewing,
helium-balloon
and magic-marker high childhood.

I was only six
The last time
The Isleys had a number one.
Gerald Ford was President.
He too was appointed,
not elected.

I was twelve when
the Bitch who Broke up the Beatles
first Walked on Thin Ice.
Twenty two years later,
The ice is breaking.

We’re drowning
in the swamp
that is today’s music.

Everyone knows
Britney and Justin
suck rodent-cock.
(It was in the tabloids)1

So weíre forced to buy the music
of seventy year old has-beens.

Footnotes:
1) No, actually, it wasn’t….not literally. It’s sort of a reference to their early singing careers under the employ of Walt and Company.