<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/24341808?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/24341808">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user7203262">Gerald Mcklintoq</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
We hope you Enjoy it,
Sincerely,
Epictetus and Banquo
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Should marijuana use be legalized in the United States?
Answer this question and other topical political questions with this poll.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Oil: Our Nations Tainted Blood
Every day the United States consumes 19.6 million barrels of oil 60% of which is from foreign countries torn by war and poverty. This precious resource of oil, along with coal and natural gas accounts for 85% of the U.S. total energy. Can our nation maintain our energy policy the way things are going? Importing millions of barrels of oil from tyrants in the middle east and having the prices increased on American citizens as a result of all the conflicts that go on there, is no way for a nation to sustain itself.
The Middle Eastern region has been plunged into even greater war and chaos since the rise of the Egyptian people against their ,one time leader Hosni Mubbarack. Since then riots and revolutions have broken out in Bahrain, Libya, Syria, Algeria, Iraq and other countries in the region resulting in the skyrocketing of oil prices to well over $100 per barrel. Bahrain especially should be considered by the United States as a high value conflict because it is right on the border of the largest oil exporter in the world ,Saudi Arabia, who has sent ground troops to stop the rebellion against ruling family of Bahrain. Because of the great U.S. dependency on foreign oil especially from Saudi Arabia the U.S. can do nothing to help the people of Bahrain stand up against the Saudi and their own government Saudi Arabia is swamped in a vast multitude of human rights violations and uses the Mahabith , the Saudi Arabia secret police, to enforce sharia law and execute anyone who might be a threat to the state. In essence the U.S. is completely tied to the whims of the oil exporting countries in the Middle East and is forced to work with them in spite of the fact that they are vehemently against the values of human freedom that America is supposed to stand for.
The American dependency on foreign oil is not only compromising our values on international policy and subjecting the American people to higher oil prices but is economically damaging areas of the United States that could easily make money off of oil drilling in their region. Currently a moratorium is on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico where massive oil reserves are being kept just off the coast of the United States. This moratorium was put back in place after being repealed for only a few months as a result of the BP oil spill and the economic and environmental catastrophe that it caused.
The BP oil spill could have been prevented very easily were there just a bit more oversight on the oil company's safety procedures and far less inefficiency and bureaucracy in government procedures to clean up the spill in its early stages. The problem is not off shore drilling itself but how it is handled. If the U.S. government paid greater attention to the issues with offshore drilling as opposed to simply trying to dispose of it all together, many rural and poor areas of the United States could bring in considerable revenue and become economically stable and U.S. energy needs would be completely met.
This blog post may be a very shallow scratch on the surface of American Energy issues but it serves as an introduction to it and an expression of my opinion of how we could improve the state of our union.
Why not bend over a little more Obama. America should not be bowing to the monarch of a state that has a human rights record written in the blood of women whose ankles were showing in public.
The Middle Eastern region has been plunged into even greater war and chaos since the rise of the Egyptian people against their ,one time leader Hosni Mubbarack. Since then riots and revolutions have broken out in Bahrain, Libya, Syria, Algeria, Iraq and other countries in the region resulting in the skyrocketing of oil prices to well over $100 per barrel. Bahrain especially should be considered by the United States as a high value conflict because it is right on the border of the largest oil exporter in the world ,Saudi Arabia, who has sent ground troops to stop the rebellion against ruling family of Bahrain. Because of the great U.S. dependency on foreign oil especially from Saudi Arabia the U.S. can do nothing to help the people of Bahrain stand up against the Saudi and their own government Saudi Arabia is swamped in a vast multitude of human rights violations and uses the Mahabith , the Saudi Arabia secret police, to enforce sharia law and execute anyone who might be a threat to the state. In essence the U.S. is completely tied to the whims of the oil exporting countries in the Middle East and is forced to work with them in spite of the fact that they are vehemently against the values of human freedom that America is supposed to stand for.
The American dependency on foreign oil is not only compromising our values on international policy and subjecting the American people to higher oil prices but is economically damaging areas of the United States that could easily make money off of oil drilling in their region. Currently a moratorium is on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico where massive oil reserves are being kept just off the coast of the United States. This moratorium was put back in place after being repealed for only a few months as a result of the BP oil spill and the economic and environmental catastrophe that it caused.
The BP oil spill could have been prevented very easily were there just a bit more oversight on the oil company's safety procedures and far less inefficiency and bureaucracy in government procedures to clean up the spill in its early stages. The problem is not off shore drilling itself but how it is handled. If the U.S. government paid greater attention to the issues with offshore drilling as opposed to simply trying to dispose of it all together, many rural and poor areas of the United States could bring in considerable revenue and become economically stable and U.S. energy needs would be completely met.
This blog post may be a very shallow scratch on the surface of American Energy issues but it serves as an introduction to it and an expression of my opinion of how we could improve the state of our union.
Why not bend over a little more Obama. America should not be bowing to the monarch of a state that has a human rights record written in the blood of women whose ankles were showing in public.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Banquo Sells Out: Some Good Movies You Maybe Have Already Seen, But If Not, You Should Go See Them Right Now
This week, I thought I'd abandon my usual political musings in favor of something a little more, well, accessible. I will be listing a few fantastic movies (in no particular order) that you may have opinions about that are contrary to mine. If you disagree with anything I say, please post a response. I'm a very reasonable person.
Fantastic Movie #1: The Searchers
The Searchers is, beyond a doubt, the greatest western movie of all time. John Wayne delivers an astounding performance as Ethan, a civil war veteran obsessed with the task of finding his niece, Debbie, who has been kidnapped by Comanche Indians. Part of what makes this movie so great is its backdrop: director John Ford wisely to shoot this movie, set on the plains of North Texas, in Utah's beautiful Monument Valley. As a lover of westerns and a fan of John Wayne, I would recommend this movie to anyone with similar inclinations.
Fantastic Movie #2: The Departed
"I'm tired from f*****g your wife." says Lieutanant Dingam, played by the unflinchingly vicious Mark Wahlberg. A character played by Alec Baldwin is not amused. "How's your mother?" he retorts.
"Good." Dingam says. "She's tired from f*****g my father."
Need I say more?
I might as well. The Departed is a Scorcese-directed remake of the Asian classic Internal Affairs. Leo DiCaprio plays a detective planted in side a mob led by Frank Costello, who is portrayed chillingly by Jack Nicholson. Meanwhile, Costello's agent Collin Sulivan (Matt Damon) serves as his mole in the Massachusets State Police. Both men discover the existence of one another, and set off after each other with deadly results. Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen have fantastic minor roles, but Mark Wahlberg (in a Oscar-nominated role) really steals the show as Dingam, the foul-mouthed detective.
To sum it up: it's a f*****g good movie.
Fantastic Movie #3: Saving Private Ryan
Who here likes watching violent movies? Movies with blood, gore, human innards: the works. Meanwhile, who enjoys movies with a sensitive message? A message of peace, love: the usual crap. Believe it or not, Saving Private Ryan, the WWII Spielberg directed film whose portrayal of Omaha Beach is perhaps the bloodiest 10 minutes in movie history, contains more sensitivity than three romantic comedies piled up on each other.
The movie begins with Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad of rangers (including Ed Burns, Tom Sizemore, and Vin Diesel) arriving under great duress at Omaha Beach. Almost immediatly after the beach is secured, the squad is ordered to march behind enemy lines to kidnap Private Ryan (Matt Damon), a 101st Airbone serviceman whose three brothers have just died. The squads emotional journey includes sniper fire, Germans hiding in a bunker, and a whole lot of death. I won't spoil the ending, but you should probably keep a box of tissues in arms reach, just in case.
A disclaimer: I am not a film snob, nor do I pretend to be one. If you disagree with my movie choices and have something to say about it, then fine. Please post a comment. Additionally, if you think I've overlooked any movies, please list some of your own below.
-Banquo
Fantastic Movie #1: The Searchers
The Searchers is, beyond a doubt, the greatest western movie of all time. John Wayne delivers an astounding performance as Ethan, a civil war veteran obsessed with the task of finding his niece, Debbie, who has been kidnapped by Comanche Indians. Part of what makes this movie so great is its backdrop: director John Ford wisely to shoot this movie, set on the plains of North Texas, in Utah's beautiful Monument Valley. As a lover of westerns and a fan of John Wayne, I would recommend this movie to anyone with similar inclinations.
 |
| The movie's poster |
"I'm tired from f*****g your wife." says Lieutanant Dingam, played by the unflinchingly vicious Mark Wahlberg. A character played by Alec Baldwin is not amused. "How's your mother?" he retorts.
"Good." Dingam says. "She's tired from f*****g my father."
Need I say more?
I might as well. The Departed is a Scorcese-directed remake of the Asian classic Internal Affairs. Leo DiCaprio plays a detective planted in side a mob led by Frank Costello, who is portrayed chillingly by Jack Nicholson. Meanwhile, Costello's agent Collin Sulivan (Matt Damon) serves as his mole in the Massachusets State Police. Both men discover the existence of one another, and set off after each other with deadly results. Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen have fantastic minor roles, but Mark Wahlberg (in a Oscar-nominated role) really steals the show as Dingam, the foul-mouthed detective.
To sum it up: it's a f*****g good movie.
 |
| Mark "f*****g" Wahlberg |
Who here likes watching violent movies? Movies with blood, gore, human innards: the works. Meanwhile, who enjoys movies with a sensitive message? A message of peace, love: the usual crap. Believe it or not, Saving Private Ryan, the WWII Spielberg directed film whose portrayal of Omaha Beach is perhaps the bloodiest 10 minutes in movie history, contains more sensitivity than three romantic comedies piled up on each other.
The movie begins with Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad of rangers (including Ed Burns, Tom Sizemore, and Vin Diesel) arriving under great duress at Omaha Beach. Almost immediatly after the beach is secured, the squad is ordered to march behind enemy lines to kidnap Private Ryan (Matt Damon), a 101st Airbone serviceman whose three brothers have just died. The squads emotional journey includes sniper fire, Germans hiding in a bunker, and a whole lot of death. I won't spoil the ending, but you should probably keep a box of tissues in arms reach, just in case.
A disclaimer: I am not a film snob, nor do I pretend to be one. If you disagree with my movie choices and have something to say about it, then fine. Please post a comment. Additionally, if you think I've overlooked any movies, please list some of your own below.
 |
| Be warned, Nazis: Tom Hanks is coming to kill you. |
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