Lagniappe Mobile Blog

My list of great Halloween movies is informed by the fact that I am a scaredy-cat. Most of my choices aren’t even rated R. Horror film enthusiasts will be outraged. Nevertheless, when I get in the mood for Halloween movies, and I do celebrate all holidays primarily through the sentimental act of film viewing, these are what I pop in. 

“Twin Peaks”- both the series and the film “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.” The feature film is actually too scary for me, but the series, especially the first season, focuses more on creepiness than horror, which is pretty much all I can handle. I think a Twin Peaks party would be fun for Halloween because there are so many characters you can dress as, and there are so many occasions for character costumes and theme tie-ins. You can han d out logs as party favors, and serve pie and coffee. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this probably isn’t the party for you, but Netflix the series and catch up. Most of David Lynch’s films are pretty scary, but they tend to be or at least to seem so long, I wouldn’t recommend planning a party around them. I cannot imagine what one would serve at an “Eraserhead” party….. 

Tim Burton- Almost all of his films are whimsically scary, except for “Planet of the Apes,” “Big Fish,” and “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.” Well, that last one does have that scary Large Marge scene. “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” is a masterpiece. The fantastic, hilarious “Ed Wood” is a good choice as well. Not scary, but a movie about a guy making scary movies. 

 “An American Werewolf in London”- This c ampy, tongue in cheek John Landis film might be my favorite Halloween-appropriate movie, but I have an odd fondness for Griffin Dunne. This has a great soundtrack and some retro- 80’s style nudity and makeup special effects, which for you youngsters is what they put on people before they had CGI.  

Hammer Films- Beginning in the 1930’s, this company has churned out campy and classic horror films. I own one from the 1970’s called “Captain Kronos- Vampire Hunter,” which is chock full of sexual innuendo and stock characters. The titular character was portrayed by some guy who didn’t even speak English, and the dubbing adds a special layer of detached weirdness to the experience. This is by no means their best or most famous feature. Their website www.hammerfilms.com is comprehensive and searchable, and a great place to start a worthy obsession for those who like to, as the kids say, kick it old school.  

“Donnie Darko”- This one is creepy, cool and has climactic scene at a Halloween party. Awesome 80’s soundtrack, and Jake Gyllenhaal factor.     

The use of wind power is one of the answers in the mix for energy independence. Lulu’s in Gulf Shores has invested in an experiment and all they got locally was whining from the electric cooperative with editorial support from the local mullet wrapper. Hopefully the day will come when wind turbines look as common as satellite dishes on the corner of people’s houses! Go Lulu!

People in other parts of the world are feeling the pinch of our headlong rush to provide ethanol-infused gasoline as a step toward renewable energy. The problem is not the ethanol but where it’s coming from - corn, a global food staple. So we have a partially renewable fuel but less food. A local gas station is featuring not only ethanol containing gas but also an environmentally friendly car wash. This could be the more important offering for the time being - until we find non-food sources of the ethanol.

Which I recently did here from the back of a bike, I also bang my head to metal music . . can you believe it? Well, more like started a social network called MetalMusic.com, where I’ve recently posted about world hunger and the insanity and Satanism of metal music . . it’s a young network but already members from all over so if you are into the genre stop by - of course it’s free and you can even play voyeur but it’s more fun to join . . .

Don’t ask about my bloggin site - and hey, for the few of you who followed a recent flame-posting war between Jeff Poor myself - we finally met at the Lagniappe Nappie Awards last week. I spotted him walking along Dauphin Street, cell phone in hand, as it was dark, no one around it occurred to me I could knock him over the head and no one would know . . .but I chickened out and we actually got along pretty well for enemies . . (Hey Jeff, was that really Tom Brady at your table, I mean I didn’t know, I barely know what a football is . . ) And the after-party at Joe Cain’s was super but one problem with after-parties of course, is the day after . . Rob appeared on stage at Joe Cain’s strumming guitar and singing quite well, and Ashley was so nined-up she appeared as a Russian Czarina to me in her black chiffon dress, or maybe that was one to many Stella Artois in my hands . . . I hung with best local artist of the year Devlin Wilson, who it turns out I’ve known for many years, met when he painted only doors and walls . . well, enough for now, stop by my mental - I mean metal site, check out the group on solving world hunger, maybe you have one of the keys to solving it . . . P.S. Stevie Cen -, nice seeing you at the party, remember to send a few local metal bands to the site . . . I’m looking into a webcast event for early next year . . .

After receiving numerous phone calls and emails from Ann Coulter, begging me to open my own left-wing blog site to “counter-Coulter” hers, I’ve obliged her. Even in her most venomous moments Ann still has a certain charm, a twinkle that I find both stimulating and evocative.

Dry those eyes, I’ll still be here, it’s just my left-wing musings need not just local but a world-wide audience. My web site is Bloggin.org. Do stop by after your visits here. I’ve already made two posts. Cheers- Preston

The Japanese have gone and done it again - invented something timely and remarkably unbelievable yet true: a car that runs on water.

It will take any kind of water: salt water, fresh water, well water, rain water, bottled water - even tea - as long as you have a liter of water in the tank it’s good to go at speeds up to 80 kilometers.

The Genepax web site is in Japanese, of course and so if yours is rusty use Google to translate for you, but really - what needs translating? Look at the photos, dream - hope - it makes over to the States soon.

It could cause another big debate in the American Congress though, drilling for more water.

Or, the price of water could suddenly skyrocket on a Wall St. bull market betting on water commodities.

“There’s water in them there hills” could become the new frontier cry.

Look for a new consumer tax on water.

There’ll be plenty of water in Alaska when the snow melts so save those plastic bottles! Sign up for your water-guzzler soon.

The House today passed a bill paving the way for a new national railway system operated by Amtrak  -the vote was 311-104 -  meaning over a hundred Republicans also voted for the bill, but President George Walker Bush has threatened a veto because the bill doesn’t “hold Amtrak accountable for it’s spending.”

Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?

If you’ve been to Europe you know you can hop on a train and travel all over the continent. But it took a major gas price crisis to force the issue here. Sure, oil companies and their contractors certainly aren’t interested in Americans tapping into an interstate mass transit system.

They like us just the way we are: one person per car, driving in a gas thirsty behemoth confronting plenty of  red lights and congested traffic. The sweet smell of money.

What I want to know is how does a president veto a bill that can’t be vetoed?  Is this another  Bush geography  question gaff? . . .

How many times a day does George Walker Bush have to gather the media and announce, “A strike on Iran is not being ruled out?”

It seems like 50 times a day, but actually he’s only making  the “non-threats” about once a week.

Is the president trying to send Americans a secret message?

Well if he is we got it and it’s pretty funny.

We all know America couldn’t launch an attack on Iran. Yet the president must feel some sense of power in saying it, as he did once again today in Germany on his last whirlwind trip to Europe before he wraps things up and exits Penn Ave.

The president tempers his bold statement with offers of diplomatic solutions, knowing deep in his Crawford heart there will be, during his tenure, no diplomatic solution to Iran’s intent to complete their nuclear power plant.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill blues and reds duke it out over gas prices, lamenting the demise of our own nuclear power plants, all because the best minds in the world couldn’t figure out what to do with the nuclear waste.

But Republicans have found the solution to all of our economy problems: go raid a wildlife refuge. If let loose on over a million acres in Alaska they’ll find gushers and every American will pay a quarter a gallon for gas. Dust off  the Hummers and SUV’s. My new bumper sticker will read: “Gas Hogs Welcome Here!”

Fortunately American automakers aren’t listening to Capitol Hill or the President. They’re playing catch-up on creating more cars that are allergic to gas.

Oil it seems has a very limited future, so therein this nasty gas thing, a silver lining.

A Republican majority House of Representatives  today voted against unemployment extension benefits to American workers.

George W. Bush had said he would veto the bill if it made it to his desk because the employment rate is not high enough yet to merit an extension.

Over 8 million Americans are reported unemployed, not counting untold millions who have not bothered to register with state unemployment offices, or gave up finding work. About 1 million workers are estimated to be in a stage of requiring extension benefits at this time.

Mr. Bush points to low unemployment rates in Wyoming and South Dakota, states with very low populations and therefore very low unemployment rates of 2.6% as a major reason for not extending benefits to the entire country.

All other states are at 3% or above. 19 states have an unemployment rate of 5% or above.

The president said national unemployment needs to reach at least 7% before providing extensions to unemployed Americans.

The national unemployment is estimated to be at 5.5% and grew in a one month period ( May ) from 5% to 5.5% -  the greatest one month rise in 22 years.

In Michigan the unemployment rate is 6.9%. California reports a rate of  6.2% and other states such as  Alaska and Rhode Island are 6.7% and 6.1%.

The District of Columbia, home of the president has an unemployment rate of 6%.

Under his rule the unemployed in DC must rise one more percent before he will allow the other 6% to get 13 more weeks of benefits. The majority of Republicans in the House and Senate supported him.

The House approved a bill last month that was attached to a war funding bill, but the White House balked at the attachment. Senate Democrats promise to reintroduce the legislation and also attach it to war funding. Republicans vow to filibuster, which in effect kills the bill.

Unemployment insurance is a program that collects state and federal taxes from employers, so no money comes from the general population taxpayer funds. Most states  handle the funds received from employers.

The states of Alaska, Pennsylvania and New Jersey collect unemployment tax directly from worker’s paychecks.

The legislation would have extended unemployment benefits by 13 weeks after workers have exhausted their 26 weeks benefits. Workers from states that collect unemployment taxes directly from them, or have high unemployment rates could have had an additional 13 weeks if required.

Republicans fought hard against the benefits while many Americans complain that almost 50 billion dollars have been given to Iraq for rebuilding that war-torn country amid questions as to why the money is not being spent on numerous projects there.

Last month an American soldier taking a shower in Iraq was electrocuted to death because the bath facility had not been grounded.  The Iraq parliament indicated this week Americans will have no major role in a future, rebuilt Iraq. Bush wants to install numerous permanent U.S. military stations in a future Iraq, to protect American and Israeli interests in the region. The Iraq Parliament has said that would not likely be allowed, or the number of bases would be greatly lower than Bush is requesting.
It’s Iraq’s way of saying thank you for everything.

American unemployment benefits on the average are about $300.00 a week for an unemployed worker, at a poverty rate level.

Senate Republicans today - along with a handful of Democrats - refused to pass a bill that would have taxed excess profits of oil companies. The oil companies could have avoided the tax by investing the extra money they made in alternative energy projects, building new or expanding current refineries. The tax would not have been on all profits, only excess profits. Republicans also said no to extending tax breaks to developers of alternative energy such as solar and wind. So, in one breath Republicans are against taxes and for taxes, choosing whom to tax - alternative energy, and not tax - big oil. I think that sheds light on 4 dollar gas. At this rate we may not have to have an election in November - by August millions of Americans may physically install Barack Obama in office . . .