http://www.robbernard.com/ Blogging Daytonnati, the nation, and the world. en-us robert@robbernard.com 2010-03-04T17:00:24-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002075.html And now that I have 2009 out of the way I can finally get around to my best and worst of the decade list... The Best of the '00s: 1. Amelie 2. Once 3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 4. Vanilla Sky 5. Mulholland Drive 6. Brother, Where Art Thou 7. Spirited Away 8. The Departed 9. WALL-E 10. The Dark Knight 11. Moulin Rouge 12. Love Actually 13. Garden State 14. Up in the Air 15. Lost in Translation 16. Thank You For Smoking 17. In America 18. Spider-Man 2 19. V for Vendetta 20. Punch-Drunk Love 21. Juno 22. Artificial Intelligence: AI 23. Memento 24. There Will Be Blood 25. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 26. Saved! 27. The Incredibles 28. 300 29. Across the Universe 30. Watchmen 31. Super Troopers 32. Keeping the Faith 33. (500) Days of Summer 34. American Pie 2 35. Minority Report 36. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 37. Brothers 38. Up 39. Ratatouille 40. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 41. Meet the Robinsons 42. The Dreamers 43. Donnie Darko 44. The Mummy Returns 45. Children of Men 46. Hot Fuzz 47. Stranger Than Fiction 48. The Whole Nine Yards 49. The Boondock Saints The Worst of the '00s: 1. Envy 2. Little Nicky 3. Bedazzled 4. Shallow Hal 5. The Happening 6. 28 Weeks Later 7. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra 8. The Final Destination 9. Million Dollar Baby 10. John Q 11. Pulse 12. Little Black Book 13. Southland Tales 14. Smiley Face 15. The Ex 16. Bewitched 17. Nacho Libre 18. Date Movie 19. The Fast and the Furious 20. Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny 21. Grandma's Boy 22. Harold & Kumar, Escape from Guantanamo Bay 23. The Phantom of the Opera 24. Scotland, PA 25. Hot Rod 2075@http://www.robbernard.com/ Movies 2010-03-04T17:00:24-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002074.html It's Oscar time once again, so that means it's time for my yearly best and worst of list for the previous year. The Best of 2009: 1. Up in the Air 2. Brothers 3. Watchmen 4. Crazy Heart 5. The Young Victoria 6. A Single Man 7. Moon 8. The Hurt Locker 9. A Serious Man 10. Up 11. An Education 12. The White Ribbon 13. Paranormal Activity 14. (500) Days of Summer 15. Precious (Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire) 16. Inglourious Basterds 17. The Hangover 18. Paris 36 19. Sherlock Holmes 20. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus The Worst of 2009: 1. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra 2. The Final Destination 3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 4. Drag Me To Hell 5. Fanboys 6. Race to Witch Mountain 7. Coraline 8. Bride Wars 9. 9 10. X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2074@http://www.robbernard.com/ Movies 2010-03-04T16:53:00-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002073.html Once again it's time for the annual list of movies from the previous year which I've seen, timed with the Oscars to give me a chance to see the films that take some time to make their way to Ohio. January, 9 Bride Wars January, 16 Paul Blart: Mall Cop January, 23 Inkheart January, 30 Taken February, 6 He's Just Not That Into You February, 6 Fanboys February, 6 Coraline February, 13 The International March, 6 Watchmen March, 13 Sunshine Cleaning March, 13 Race to Witch Mountain March, 20 Duplicity March, 20 Knowing March, 20 I Love You, Man April, 3 Paris 36 April, 3 Adventureland April, 10 Observe and Report April, 17 State of Play May, 1 X-Men Origins: Wolverine May, 8 Star Trek May, 15 Angels & Demons May, 21 Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins May, 29 Up May, 29 Drag Me To Hell June, 5 The Hangover June, 5 Away We Go June, 12 The Taking of Pelham 123 June, 12 Food, Inc. June, 12 Moon June, 19 The Proposal June, 24 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen June, 26 The Hurt Locker July, 1 Public Enemies July, 15 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince July, 17 (500) Days of Summer July, 24 In the Loop July, 31 Funny People July, 31 The Cove August, 7 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra August, 7 Julie & Julia August, 14 District 9 August, 21 Inglourious Basterds August, 28 The Final Destination September, 9 9 September, 18 The Informant September, 18 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs September, 22 Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf or Death September, 25 Paranormal Activity September, 25 Surrogates September, 25 Coco Before Chanel October, 2 A Serious Man October, 2 The Invention of Lying October, 9 Couples Retreat October, 9 An Education October, 16 Where the Wild Things Are November, 6 The Men Who Stare at Goats November, 6 Precious (Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire) November, 13 The Fantastic Mr. Fox November, 13 The Messenger November, 20 The Blind Side November, 25 Me and Orson Welles November, 25 The Princess and the Frog December, 4 Up in the Air December, 4 Brothers December, 11 Invictus December, 11 The Lovely Bones December, 11 A Single Man December, 16 Crazy Heart December, 18 Nine December, 18 The Young Victoria December, 18 Avatar December, 25 It's Complicated December, 25 Sherlock Holmes December, 25 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus December, 30The White Ribbon That's 75, the most since I've started keeping track. 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2073@http://www.robbernard.com/ Movies 2010-03-01T16:42:07-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002072.html 2072@http://www.robbernard.com/ Movies 2010-02-02T09:18:31-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002071.html Yes, the weather was miserable yesterday, and yes, having the home opener a week later might lessen the chances of that kind of weather, but that totally misses the point of Opening Day. Opening Day just wouldn't be the same after a week of games. What's great about Opening Day is the sense of newness and optimism. Every team is 0-0 and there's still that chance for the Reds to go 162-0. If they started on the road then all that is ruined. When the team comes back 4-3, 3-4, or 0-7 then why even bother? Then reality has set in. Opening Day isn't about reality. It's about hope and rebirth and the belief that this year anything is possible. 2071@http://www.robbernard.com/ Baseball 2009-04-07T09:46:22-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002070.html Limited of course to the movies I've seen. The Best of 2008: 1. WALL-E 2. Synecdoche, New York 3. Slumdog Millionaire 4. The Wrestler 5. The Dark Knight 6. Frost/Nixon 7. Gran Torino 8. Revolutionary Road 9. Milk 10. Iron Man 11. Vicky Cristina Barcelona 12. Rachel Getting Married 13. The Reader 14. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 15. Doubt 16. In Bruges The Worst of 2008: 1. The Happening 2. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay 3. Run, Fat Boy, Run 4. Yes Man 5. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People 6. The X-Files: I Want to Believe 7. Be Kind Rewind 8. Eagle Eye 9. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 2070@http://www.robbernard.com/ Movies 2009-02-20T13:46:12-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002069.html Once again it's time for the annual list of movies from the previous year which I've seen, timed with the Oscars to give me a chance to see the films that take some time to make their way to Ohio. January, 18Cloverfield January, 18Cassandra's Dream January, 25Rambo February, 8In Bruges February, 14Definitely, Maybe February, 14Jumper February, 22Be Kind Rewind February, 22Vantage Point February, 29The Other Boleyn Girl March, 7Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day March, 7The Bank Job March, 14Horton Hears a Who March, 21The Hammer March, 2821 March, 28Run, Fat Boy, Run April, 4Leatherheads April, 11The Visitor April, 18Forgetting Sarah Marshall April, 25Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay May, 2Iron Man May, 9Speed Racer May, 16The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian May, 22Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull June, 6Kung Fu Panda June, 13The Incredible Hulk June, 13The Happening June, 20Get Smart June, 27Wanted June, 27WALL-E July, 2Hancock July, 11Hellboy 2: The Golden Army July, 11Journey to the Center of the Earth July, 18The Dark Knight July, 25The X-Files: I Want to Believe July, 25Man on Wire August, 1Frozen River August, 6The Pineapple Express August, 13Tropic Thunder August, 15Vicky Cristina Barcelona August, 22Hamlet 2 September, 12Burn After Reading September, 19The Duchess September, 26Eagle Eye October, 3Rachel Getting Married October, 3Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist October, 3How to Lose Friends & Alienate People October, 10City of Ember October, 10Happy-Go-Lucky October, 24Synecdoche, New York October, 24The Changeling October, 31Zack and Miri Make a Porno November, 7Role Models November, 12Slumdog Millionaire November, 14Quantum of Solace November, 21Bolt November, 26Milk November, 26Australia December, 5Frost/Nixon December, 10The Reader December, 12The Day the Earth Stood Still December, 12Gran Torino December, 12Doubt December, 17The Wrestler December, 19Yes Man December, 25The Curious Case of Benjamin Button December, 25Valkyrie December, 26Revolutionary Road That's 67, the most since I've started keeping track. 2007 2006 2005 2004 2069@http://www.robbernard.com/ Movies 2009-02-20T11:07:28-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002068.html 2068@http://www.robbernard.com/ Movies 2009-01-22T09:07:48-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002067.html BS "Cheer Cincinnati, Cincy will win. Fight to the finish, never give in. You do your best boys, we'll do the rest boys. Onward to victory!" 2067@http://www.robbernard.com/ Cincinnati 2008-11-29T20:45:46-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002066.html A week and a half ago 300,000 people were without power here. Traffic lights weren't working for days. Today the power goes out again in large parts of Kettering, Centerville, and Beavercreek and people STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN A TRAFFIC LIGHT ISN'T WORKING?!?! Seriously?! A week and a half ago NO traffic lights were working. How have people not figured it out yet?! 2066@http://www.robbernard.com/ Dayton 2008-09-26T10:20:55-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002065.html Former Democratic Congressional candidate and wunderkind Paul Hackett on Daily Kos: Both elements of strategy, an offensive and defensive plan appear to be absent in Southern Ohio. The solution rests with local surrogates on the ground spreading the attack face to face coupled with an air campaign via radio and TV. The message is simple and the professionals can refine it but essentially it should contain these elements: "Sarah Palin? Can't keep her solemn oath of devotion to her husband and had sex with his employee. Sarah Palin? Accidentally got pregnant at age 43 and the tax payers of Alaska have to pay for the care of her disabled child. Sarah Palin? Unable to teach her 16 year old daughter right from wrong and now another teenager is pregnant. Sarah Palin? Can you trust Sarah Palin and her values with America's future? John McCain? Divorced from his first wife one month and marries a billionaire influence peddler and convicted felon. John McCain, a record of rash and impulsive decisions. That's not change that's more of the same." --Daily Kos: Obama is losing Ohio Stay classy Paul Hackett. 2065@http://www.robbernard.com/ Politics/Government 2008-09-12T17:35:09-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002064.html My admittedly biased take... It wasn't the most soaring of rhetoric, and with McCain it was never going to be. But to a certain extent I think I fell in love with the idea of John McCain somewhere between the beginning of the introductory video and the end of the speech. The idea of a man who has truly given his life to his country and a man who has put his country first. Senator McCain may have fallen in love with his country while in another person's country, but I think I fell in love with John McCain when I fully realized the love he had for his country. There's a real power to his character and a real contrast with Senator Obama. You can really see that contrast just in their bio videos. Obama's was a video about... Obama. About his search for himself. John McCain's was a litany of the ways in which he has devoted himself to his country. What he has done for his country. I went in to the speech with a McCain pin alongside a McCain button on my shirt, but I don't think I truly appreciated John McCain's story. Some are going to say he doesn't stand a chance, but they've been saying something similar for 8 years straight. There is a path to victory for John McCain here if they play their cards right and for the past month they've shown that they can in fact play their cards right. It's on. 2064@http://www.robbernard.com/ Politics/Government 2008-09-05T01:40:56-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002063.html She's certainly a fighter. She's authentic, she's serious, she's gotten results in the past, she gives a darn good speech, she won't be backing down to Joe Biden, and she won't be backing down to Barack Obama. 2063@http://www.robbernard.com/ Politics/Government 2008-09-04T01:09:19-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002062.html The constant attacks on Gov Palin have been staggering (and probably entirely predictable). In the past we've been able to diagnose this as "Bush Derangement Syndrome", but I have a feeling we've moved into a new era here and are in need of new terminology. As such I would like to humbly offer this: Palinoia: The belief that the subject's lack of knowledge about another person is evidence of that other person's lack of knowledge. 2062@http://www.robbernard.com/ Politics/Government 2008-09-03T09:57:09-05:00 http://www.robbernard.com/archives/002061.html Barack Obama being interviewed by Anderson Cooper earlier: COOPER: And, Senator Obama, my final question -- your -- some of your Republican critics have said you don't have the experience to handle a situation like this. They in fact have said that Governor Palin has more executive experience, as mayor of a small town and as governor of a big state of Alaska. What's your response? OBAMA: Well, you know, my understanding is, is that Governor Palin's town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We have got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So, I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute, I think, has been made clear... Is that really the game he wants to play? 2,500 employees and a budget of about $36 million a month? Perhaps someone should inform him that the state of Alaska (of which Gov Palin is the Chief Executive) has approximately 15,000 employees and a monthly total budget in excess of $1.14 billion. Using your campaign as executive experience is pretty weak to begin with, but doubly so when you don't realize your "less experienced" opponent is running an operation with 6 times the people and 34 times the budget. 2061@http://www.robbernard.com/ Politics/Government 2008-09-02T00:16:41-05:00