Morning Rant



Here comes the moral relativism. Personally - I'm skeptical that the above is actually Saddam Hussein in his undies but I'm sure someone will complain about how horrible it is for this "man" to be degraded in such a way. Never mind that this "man" murdered and tortured hundreds of thousands of people. You can almost bet the house that some moonbats will be outraged.

If the picture is of Hussein - I wouldn't doubt it if the pictures came from his defense team. They probably are hoping for some outrage. They would like to make Hussein into a sympathetic figure. "First they murdered his sons and now they are photographing this old grandfather in his undies! Have they no shame?" Lawyers! Start joke... yada yada... punchline - shoot the lawyer twice.

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The new Star Wars movie is out and I'm in no hurry to see it.

I never caught the original at the theaters and I'm thankful Star Wars mania passed over me. When I was in sixth grade a friend of mine was caught up in Star Wars big time. He saw the movie 11 times. Later in high school the same kid became a burnout. We went to different high schools and I couldn't believe the change in him. He never even bothered seeing The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi.

Part of me thinks George Lucas may be a bit of a fraud. I mean he took the Joseph Campbell concept of a hero's journey and combined it with blatant elements from Frank Herbert's Dune and bingo! Instant Star Wars.

Joseph Campbell used to spend time at Lucas' ranch and I get the feeling that Lucas used to pick Campbell's brain for plot and mystical subtext. Do you think it is too much of a coincidence that Campbell died in 1987 and that all the movies since then have had a completely different feel to them in terms of character dynamics and their roles in the mythology of Star Wars?

Look at Lucas' career. You have a hot start with American Graffiti (which was probably a bit autobiographical) and then you have the franchises of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Lucas admits the Campbell influence on Star Wars and you don't have to be a genius to see the link with Indiana Jones. A professor who knows ancient artifacts and legends engages in quests for holy relics? That's Lucas fantasizing about Campbell. Campbell was an expert on the Holy Grail. Still don't believe in coincidences?

Campbell was a very interesting man. He hung with John Steinbeck in the 30's and Lucas in the 70's and members of the Greatful Dead performed at his funeral. Very interesting man. Very interesting life.

Compared to Campbell - Lucas is definitely a fraud.

I probably will end up seeing the new Star Wars movie but it will probably be in bits and pieces and it will probably be on TNT.