"The Golden Compass" - Satan's fodder or studio PR bonanza or boondoggle

Talk about flashback to Jesus Christ Superstar and 1973.

COVER THY CHILDREN'S EARS

Over three decades ago I remember sitting in church as the pastor warned us, “Jesus is not a hippie!” and “no matter how catchy the music sounds…” we were to ignore this film as if the devil himself would be there selling popcorn and milk duds,"...or we were surely headed straight for the burning coals of Hell!"

So I get this email the other day from some “in-laws” warning me about a movie entitled, “The Golden Compass”



The email forewarned that I needed to immediately spread the word near, far and away, that the film is pure evil on a pogostick [My in-law happens to lean in what I’d consider a, "Christian fundamentalist" direction (this the same bunch that have been sending me unsolicited emails for the last several years informing me what a saint/hero George Bush is/was (they stopped sending that trite crap a few months ago - imo proof btw there is a God) so of course with all this hub bub I am now 100% compelled to delve deeper into this innocent looking film.

Ok… so I’d already seen the trailer for Compass and thought it looked… eh… kinda… sorta… interesting and Nicole is always hot, but I hadn’t yet been apprised of the potential religo-politik conflict that lay ahead until I looked in my email inbox. ('Proof of life' that smiling PR guru’s pray for daily that such millions in free press would be unwittingly spread from the likes of gullible religious zealots/in-laws that never learned how to use Bcc.)

In October 2007, the Catholic League called for a boycott of the film. Perhaps someone should tip off the Pope how Hollywood actually works.)

From Wikipedia: Several key themes of the novels, the rejection of organized religion and the abuse of power in a fictionalized Catholic Church, are to be diluted in the adaptation. Director Weitz said “in the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots” but that the organization portrayed in his film would not directly match that of Pullman’s books. In an attempt to avoid a religious backlash, the Magisterium will instead be a critique of all dogmatic organizations. Weitz said that New Line Cinema had feared the story’s perceived anti-religious themes would make the film financially unviable in the US, and so religion and God will not be referenced directly. Attempting to reassure fans of the novels, Weitz said that religion would instead appear in euphemistic terms, yet the decision has been attacked by some fans, anti-censorship groups, and the National Secular Society (of which Pullman is an honorary associate), which said ” they are taking the heart out of it, losing the point of it, castrating it”, “this is part of a long-term problem over freedom of speech.” The changes from the novel have been present since Tom Stoppard’s rejected version of the script, and Pullman himself believes the film will be “faithful”.

As part of a two-month protest campaign, the Catholic League has called for a boycott of the film. They believe that while the religious elements of the film will be “watered down” from the source novels, it will still encourage children to read the series, which League president William A. Donohue says “denigrates Christianity” and promotes “atheism for kids”, citing author Pullman as saying that he is “trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.” It is the League’s hope that “the film [will fail] to meet box office expectations and that [Pullman’s] books attract few buyers.”

Director Weitz says that he believes His Dark Materials is “not an atheistic work, but a highly spiritual and reverent piece of writing” and Nicole Kidman, a Catholic, has defended her decision to star in the film, saying that “the Catholic Church is part of my essence. I wouldn’t be able to do this film if I thought it were at all anti-Catholic.”

The Golden Compass is a forthcoming fantasy film based upon Northern Lights (titled The Golden Compass in the US), the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials, slated for release on December 7, 2007 by New Line Cinema. The story tells of Lyra’s adventure to the far north in search of her friend. The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of other recent adaptations of fantasy epics, and at $205 million is expected to be New Line’s biggest budget project ever after a series of box office disappointments in the past year.

So is the film going to be bad for kids?

Is the devil gunna be our new best friend?

Oh wait… if there’s no God… then there’s no devil!

Will Nicole Kidman also be responsible for all the uncontrollable erections she causes by being so hot?

Are we going to stop believing in God or is God gunna stop believing in us?

Or wait just a freaking second… … dare I venture... is this just another movie!

Some commentators have indicated they believe both sides’ criticism will prove ultimately “impotent” and that the negative publicity will prove a boon for the film’s box office, while other evangelical groups, such as The Christian Film and Television Commission, are adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to the film before deciding upon any action.

Blame the Bush era... blame the ill-informed public... blame the fluoridation of the water!

But whatever you do please just f*cking decide for yourself.

Snopes

The Golden Compass Website

Trailer

Vision for a Free Hospital: Gesundheit Institute

There would be no charge for the care.

Future Gesundheit Hospital



"...Barter was also not an option. In fact, we wanted to eliminate the idea of debt in the medical interaction as a way to begin recreating human community (pdf). We didn't want people to think they owed something; we wanted them to think they belonged to something..."

Patch Adams

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'Marijuana is not a drug, it's a leaf,' says Schwarzenegger

When George Butler's critically acclaimed 1977 documentary Pumping Iron was re-released in 2002, before Mr Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California, he was unconcerned by the scene showing him smoking marijuana...




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hey you? You can't have any more friends at digg :(

I can't have any more friends :(

"They" told me so

Apparently one thousand and one friends is one too many..? but... but... my Grand-mama always said to me, "Jimmy? Jimmy my boy... you can never have enough friends..." Of course my name isn't Jimmy but that's not the point... I'm kinda glad now she's in heaven with her poodles and the angels and not here to see this... this... ugly friend-digg-gulag -- even the Google ads seemingly taunt me:


"Gifts for friends" indeed

oh sure... happy birthday Judy9000 -- btw I have to dump you as a friend

Hey great article about "blow up dolls that cheat on you", skipperdoodle76 -- oh btw our friendship is now TERMINATED


So now I have the ugly task of removing some friends :(

That's not gunna be easy... obviously some feelings are going to be hurt :(

Being forced to choose... it's... it's... heart wrenching... like if two of my digg friends were hanging over a cliff which one would I save..? only now it's more like a thousand.

Oh for the love of all that is diggholy whyyyyyyyyyyy? WHY DIGG WHY!!!!!!!

Iraqi blood is ‘on your hands,’ anti-war protester tells Condi

Condoleezza Rice appeared agitated but generally unfazed when an anti-war protester waved blood-red hands in her face, accusing the secretary of state of being a “war criminal.”Blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands,” the protester told Rice, who was President Bush’s national security adviser when he decided to invade Iraq.

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Valerie Plame Wilson: How My CIA Skills Come in Handy on My Book Tour

1. I write in my book about my paramilitary training at the Farm which included jumping out airplanes, firing a variety of automatic weapons, learning how to run or avoid road blocks, undergoing harsh interrogation sessions, and practicing escape and evasion techniques from an ostensibly hostile force in the woods for days at a time.

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Bush wars to cost 40 times higher than original estimates: $8K per person

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will end up costing $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years, according to a new CBO estimate. That's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in the US, and it's 40 times more than Bush told us the war would cost. Interest alone on the war's costs will run about $705 billion because we're fighting with borrowed money.

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The assertion that US troop deaths have fallen is extremely misleading

In fact, It is only late October and already more US troops were killed in Iraq in 2007 than in all of 2006. Indeed, 2007 will almost certainly hold the record for the year of the most US military deaths since the war began.

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General: Bush ordered Guantanamo 'torture' tactics himself

More than 100,000 pages of newly released government documents to demonstrate how US military interrogators "abused, tortured or killed" scores of prisoners rounded up since Sept. 11, 2001.

President Bush gave "marching orders" to Gen. Michael Dunlavey, who asked the Pentagon to approve harsher interrogation methods at Guantanamo, the book says.

read more

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White House newbie staffer insider training bush guide

Click pic for larger image

Trademark GOP Public Restroom Shoe Tap

Screws not included

PR MINDER - Royal Censor for Star, King or Queen

What are PR Minders? Where do they come from? I pondered these questions as I began my quest to discover and understand the nature of people that would willingly protect the private parts and or dalliances of King, CEO, Politician and Celebrity.

Although far more sophisticated today; I assumed PR Minders were nothing new (to my surprise at the time of this writing I could not find a substantial straightforward def. from wikipedia or any of my other regular sources for "PR Minder")

IMO they probably trend back to ancient times when the Rich, Royal or Rasputin types or whoever just needed to get the f*ck out of Dodge -- so they'd stuff their dim witted servant or trained phony counterpart into a horse drawn carriage, locomotive or automobile and let them draw the fire and get the poison in the ear visa vis the conspiratorial plotter type bad guys.

My first Google search of PR Minders led me here:

http://danwarne.com/telstras-pr-minder-lays-into-me/

disturbingly next we jump back in time to:

Media: I was Jacko's PR minder

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010313/ai_n14366113

oh here's a scary one in the category from the Union of Concerned Scientists worthy of an Orwellian golden cluster f*ck award

telling trends

http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference//minders.html

ohh ohh Mr. Peabody's Way Back Guts of a New Machine 2003 to New York Times Archive - Steve Jobs and the magical ipod revolution

Gosh the deeper you dig 'PR Minder' morphs into 'PR fixer' - Baby steps closer to the truth?

Uh oh --- Cherie Blair's PR Minder has to step in and cut an interview short - a telling example of the PR Minders duty

"According to one witness of the interview, Mrs Blair mentioned her children as part of an answer to a question about how she would be judged in the future.

Taking that as a cue, presenter Hannah Stewart-Jones mentioned 18-year-old Nicky and his university education.

At that point, Mrs Blair's PR minder immediately stepped in to stop the interview, explaining that such a line of questioning would have put the Blair's' son at risk.

The observer said Mrs Blair was apparently happy to answer other questions but her PR officer was adamant the conversation must end there."

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1323281,00.html

Ohhhhhh Martha Stewart - Just the mention of her name makes me wanna hop in the car and head to nearest K mart to buy curtains and bath towels

What a great example of a 'hands full' PR Minder situ

Martha Inc.: The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

But still... even after all this titillating research I have yet to find the definitive answer to my questions?

What are PR Minders? Where do they come from?

Perhaps I should just try the yellow pages?

Nothing. Hmmm... egad dare I try yahoo search?

ahhhh the search term "hire pr minder" got me here to this guy that looks like my old High School Vice Principal:

http://prstudies.typepad.com/weblog/media_relations/index.html

Screw it! I give up

I don't think PR Minders exist at all

1. Because I can't find a definitive answer to what they're really about and how they achieve the title

and

2. Because we're not supposed to know they exist anyway... right?

Cuz without them all of our favorite people in the world wouldn't look perfect... we can't have that.

The Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act - sponsored by Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich

"Same team": Both Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich have their unpopular views, but when it comes down to righting the wrongs of the Bush administration, they would do what's right.

The bill was sponsored by Representatives Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ron Paul (R-Texas), with 27 co-sponsors, all Democrats (except Ron Paul, who has strong Libertarian leanings and frequently votes independently from most other Neo-Conservative Republicans). The intent was to review the USA PATRIOT Act to make sure it does not "inappropriately undermine civil liberties." Its name, as described in Sec. 2, No. 1, refers to Benjamin Franklin's famous quote, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

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Romney On Bombing Iran: Duhhrrrr I'd Have To Ask My Lawyers

"You sit down with your attorneys," said Romney, explaining his decision-making process in a time of potential crisis...



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Appears as though White House Ruins Intel Link to Al-Qaeda's Secrets for Political Purposes

The founder of the company, the SITE Intelligence Group, says this premature disclosure by a White House source tipped al-Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a years-long surveillance operation that the company has used to intercept and pass along secret messages, videos and advance warnings of suicide bombings from the terrorist group's communications network.

From Washington Post:

A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama Bin Laden video (pdf) ahead of its official release last month, and around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, it notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release.




Within 20 minutes, a range of intelligence agencies had begun downloading it from the company's Web site. By midafternoon that day, the video and a transcript of its audio track had been leaked from within the Bush administration to cable television news and broadcast worldwide.

"Techniques that took years to develop are now ineffective and worthless," said Rita Katz, the firm's 44-year-old founder

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Republican Senators Knew About Larry Craig's Antics

via Political Capital on Bloomberg TV



Novak: "I have talked to several of my sources in the Senate, and this came as a huge surprise to me…They knew about it. They knew that he had this problem, and it was in the closet. And it was not just a homosexual relationship. It was this weird conduct. They didn’t do anything about it."

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A Prayer for Archimedes

For seventy years, a prayer book moldered in the closet of a family in France, passed down from one generation to the next. Its mildewed parchment pages were stiff and contorted, tarnished by burn marks and waxy smudges. Behind the text of the prayers, faint Greek letters marched in lines up the page, with an occasional diagram disappearing into the spine.


The top layer of writing in this 700-year-old book describes Christian prayers. But underneath, almost obliterated, are the only surviving copies of many of the works of the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes.
The owner of the Archimedes Palimpsest

An intensive research effort over the last nine years has led to the decoding of much of the almost-obliterated Greek text. The results were more revolutionary than anyone had expected. The researchers have discovered that Archimedes was working out principles that, centuries later, would form the heart of calculus and that he had a more sophisticated understanding of the concept of infinity than anyone had realized...

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