The dictionary definition of the word has yet to catch up. When nigger dusted off its -er and became the new-and-improved nigga, the meaning of the word was no longer black and white. Now some blacks have spun the slur into a borderline compliment, a change so drastic that it would parallel faggot becoming friend, honky becoming homeboy or spick becoming pal. Forty years after the Civil Rights Movement, the most incendiary slur in American history is now interchangeable with guy, buddy or even brother.
Generation "X" is so three consoles ago. Now, a new generation has found its ecstasy in more than its X-button; these gamers are trading zzz's for the Z-button, finding a sense of direction in the D-Pad and pressing Y as a "why not" to the sexy pleasures of virtual vice. We press the game's buttons; it presses ours.
Everybody loves pinball. It's a simple game, and unashamedly so. All there is to it is a that constant tap-touch on the sides of the machine, always, always, always, even if the ball isn't anywhere near those flicky things. Tap first, ask questions later, and you're pretty much guaranteed a good time. The same deal goes for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the newest addition to the classic Nintendo franchise.
On any given night, there are 2,000 homeless people in Montgomery County. One hundred and fifty of them are standing outside a Silver Spring soup kitchen on Nov. 23, waiting for staff to open the doors. A little boy in a coat and winter hat stands with an upraised palm, wondering if there will be rain. A middle-aged man sits huddled on the sidewalk, staring at nothing. A sleek Toyota Matrix arrives with volunteers; they are nodded towards a different door. Just a few more minutes now. It's almost six o'clock.
Just after 9/11, America was saturated with sentiment. The sheer volume of prayers and donations was a testament to the sincerity of the American people. For a while, the media joined in on the act, honoring the sacrifices made and reminding us of the victims' families. We mourned with our newspapers, our televisions, our President. But in the three-year wake of 9/11, the media has begun to manipulate that mindset into a well-oiled machine for producing Nielsen ratings, poll points and box-office bucks. Sept. 11 should still be a sensitive subject, but that sensitivity has been compromised to suit the needs of an impatient entertainment industry.
The Forgotten
It's that time again: Another movie about an inevitable future in which millions die as a result of our own stupidity. Minus the bloodthirsty robots, but still hinged on the danger of technology: Cars. Factories. Light bulbs. All greedily burning up the fossil fuels that make our lives easier, and our environment more dangerous--thanks to the good ole greenhouse effect. Captain Planet didn't warn you about global warming? No worries: The Day After Tomorrow's here to act as your personal Planeteer-on-crack.
On opening night at the Majestic, business starts to trickle in; moviegoers tilt their heads up to gape at the grandeur of the place, temporarily taken aback by reverence usually reserved for cathedrals. There's no denying the new Majestic theater is gorgeous; and due to its luster, polish and large-scale appeal, it has the most powerful presence on Fenton and Ellsworth, bringing a new meaning to the phrase "summer blockbuster.”
John 19:6-7As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted "Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
Who woulda thunk that MTV's greatest punk could pull off a Poe version of Back to the Future? The movie's not without its flaws, but The Butterfly Effect's Ashton Kutcher does alright as a time-traveling hero trying to set the past straight. The best part? He never asks where his car is.
Torque: the moment of a force; the measure of a force's tendency to produce torsion and rotation about an axis, equal to the vector product of the radius vector from the axis of rotation to the point of application of the force and the force vector.
The Matrix Revolutions is fittingly described as a complex equation. It has its negatives, its positives and its undefined variables. And the ending is like a non-repeating decimal, trailing off into infinity so that you never exactly get it. Thankfully, Revolutions is of greater value than the The Matrix Reloaded, which just didn't add up. Mathematically put, The Matrix Reloaded < The Matrix Revolutions < The Matrix.
Pretend that you haven't seen The Matrix, forget you've ever heard of Romeo and Juliet, erase whatever knowledge you have of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, shut out any images you remember from all Arnold Schwarzeneggar movies, and disregard the fact that Blade was ever made, and you may just think that Underworld is an original feature film.