Left Behind
A couple of weeks ago I saw a report on 60 Minutes (I think) on the best-selling book series Left Behind and what the people that believe it think. In a nutshell, the believers will be whisked away to heaven while the non-believers will stay here on earth and suffer and all that bad stuff. What intrigued me about the report was that President Bush believes in this stuff. They have bible quotes and all sorts of "proofs", and the funniest part was the argument about whether or not pace-makers and artificial valves and such would stay behind when the person disappears (the clothing, it is widely agreed, will remain). Now, I love to read, but I wasn't going to waste my time with these books, so I rented the movie. Two things struck me about it: First, there is a scene in which airplanes are moving in to attack Jerusalem. One of the scenes has them flying in from Iraq. I don't think they ever say where the planes were actually coming from (all directions), but I found it interesting that Iraq and fighter planes and the beginning of the apocalypse are kind of jumbled together. I'm pretty sure Bush hasn't read these books, so maybe he saw the movie too. Anyway, it wouldn't matter at all to me, but if the most powerful person in the world believes it, then it kind of changes things.

And second, the United Nations is the bad guy in this movie. Not just the bad guy, but the bad guy: the Antichrist. This movie is about four years old and I saw myself looking back at the way Bush dealt with the UN over going into Iraq. He didn't, he just brushed them off and basically said "we don't need you." And I asked myself again, did he see this movie too? How literally does he take all of it? Who knows, but it was all very scary to me.

Besides that, the movie is pretty bad overall. Kirk Cameron is the "big star", but he isn't very good. Cheesy lines of dialogue abound throughout, and the acting is sub-par. I wouldn't recommend the movie, it's a B movie, but just to get a little bit of a picture of what kind of stuff the leader of the "free world" believes in makes it worth it. At least it provided me with a good laugh, both at the movie and at Bush.

The Passion of the Christ
So much hoopla surrounding this movie that I decided long before it came to Guatemala that I would go watch it, so I did. My overall impression: very well done Mr. Gibson. It is both a powerful movie as well as beautifully filmed. The music and the slow motion all comes together to jab you right in the pit of your stomach, which is why so many people have come out crying and/or died. Yes, it seems a couple of people suffered heart attacks while watching. But the main accusation of the movie is that it will propagate anti-Semitism, and to that I say: so? If the movie makes it look like the Jews killed Jesus, well then we better go back and make an "amendment" to the Bible while we're at it. As Bill Hicks said a long time ago, "it was a long time ago, get over it." I also had to go pee during the last hour, really bad, which sucked because I didn't want to miss any of it. When it finally ended, I ran out to the bathroom. Speaking of the end - ahh don't worry I won't ruin it for you. You would think people would finally find their manners for a movie as `important' as this and actually shut off their cellphones and not yap the whole time, but no, the woman next to me not only received a few calls (and talked) but actually made some as well. That's some sad shit.

They started selling the movie on the streets of Guatemala about a week or so before it actually got to theaters, and apparently a lot of people have bought it. I had the discussion with my gullible father about it and told him it would be a waste to not see this particular movie on the big screen, at the movies. So the next day he went out and bought the counterfeit version, much to my chagrin. But it turned out for the better because my friend Neto always claimed that these pirated movies weren't even in DVD format, and he was right. Turns out they are Video CDs, hence the reason for the two DVDs in the case. My dad bought it for 15 quetzales, which is around 2 dollars, which is really quite unbelievable even for a movie that was stolen by some dude with a camcorder in the theater. Not only does that bring the quality down, but the Video CD aspect sucks ass. I wouldn't watch the Paris Hilton tapes like this (yeah I would). But I guess someone is making money off it, otherwise they wouldn't be selling it, and you can bet it isn't the poor people (who are vulnerable to being caught) but someone up higher with all the equipment and such. But $2? It has a case, and the paper inside with Jesus being crucified and all that. Plus it's 2 DVDs, how can they be making anything off this? Who knows.

Baseball
So this pitcher for the Astros, Jeriome Robertson, is asking to be traded (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2476557 scroll down) to another team after the `Stros sent him down to AAA. Why does this bother me? Because this is his second year in the big leagues and his numbers last year sucked. He sucked. The thing that got him recognition and he seems to have believed its importance is the fact that he won 15 games. Is that good? Yes, that's great. But his ERA was 5.10, which is awful. They hit .287 off him and he allowed 23 homeruns and 180 hits in 160 IP. So now a 22-year-old guy who luckily won 15 games is demanding to be traded so he can start in the big leagues? Who is going to want you with that attitude? Maybe the Yankees will bite.

NOTE: Lo and behold, a few hours after I posted this, Robertson was traded to the Indians for two minor leaguers. The bastard got his wish after all.

Sticking with Houston, what's the big deal with their rotation getting Pettite and Clemens? Is Clemens a surefire hall of famer? Yes. How good has he been over his career? Great. But he is old and last year wasn't all flowers for him. It was good, but not great. Same with Pettite. Sure, Pettite got all his recognition with the Yankees after winning so many games and being clutch in the playoffs. But winning games is a lot easier when you have a powerhouse offensive team (see Jeriome Robertson), which is the very definition of the Yankees. Are the Astros certain to make it to the playoffs? No, so what's all the hoopla for a pitcher who is OK during the season and great during the playoffs? I just don't get it.

Pettite's ERA last year was 4.02, his control has always been excellent, and yet over the course of his career he's only had one year when he allows less hits than innings pitched. One. Last year they hit .272 off him. Strictly statistically speaking, he isn't all that to get hyped up about, it's no surprise that Roy Oswalt is starting on opening day.
If anything I'd be more psyched about getting Clemens than Pettite, at least his numbers were better.

Politics
It's sad how there is a direct correlation between money spent and the recent change in the polls between Kerry and Bush. Bush spends over 70 million dollars on negative advertising and boom - he gains some points. Doesn't this worry anyone? I've never followed a political campaign as close as I have this one, has it always been this way? Isn't it sad that Americans let themselves get bought this way? If I were Kerry (or any politician, really, see my presidential speech) I would stop the vicious cycle and just say "OK, I'm going to be real for a second, I won't just attack, here are the real issues." He could defend himself from the Bush attacks ("he is a flip flopper") by making sense of it all. Don't you want a leader who can say "this was good then, and is no longer, things change"? I sure do. I think everyone should read the Suskind book that tells the story from Paul O'Neil's point of view. It didn't cause as much fanfare as the recent Richard Clark book has (coming soon to this website), but it states the same thing: that Bush was focused on Iraq from the time he entered the White House, and not on Al-Qaeda. The White House seems to have swept him under the rug, but Clark is proving to be more difficult.

If I was running, I would tell the American people this: "Forget about what I stand for, look at what Bush has done so far. He lied to you about Iraq, he is lying now about saying Al-Qaeda was his priority, he decimated the surplus and has the economy in shambles, and he has changed the environmental laws to help his buddies make more money. Never mind the tax cuts that only helped out the rich." It sounds like an easy victory, vote for anyone but that guy. Of course, the American people would never go for it, unfortunately. Maybe because it's a little too honest for what they're used to.