Movie Clips: Rounders (1998) KGB, I Stick it in You!

Source:Movie Clips- KGB, played by John Malkovich.

Source:The Daily Press

“After losing a heads-up game of poker, Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) tries to goad Mike (Matt Damon) into playing a re-match.” 

From Movie Clips

One of the best scenes from Rounders, with Mike McDermott (played by Matt Damon) just beating his long time nemesis KGB. (Played by John Malkovich) And KGB obviously not feeling satisfied by that and trying to goad Mike into playing another around to get that money back. With Mike having two options: walk away and leave up from where he started and able to pay back his debts. Or get all of his money back and risk losing even more. Safe play obviously is to walk way, but like Mike said you can’t win what you don’t put in.

I’m not an expert on poker and gambling in general, but it obviously is gambling. And yes there’s skill involved and you need good skills at it to be successful and perhaps a little luck involved as well. But there’s gambling and there’s gambling and there are risks in doing anything really, especially professionally. And the good gamblers make calculated and educated risks. They just don’t walk away with money, leave owing money, because they had all the good hands at the game, or most of them. Or had almost none of the good hands.

Successful gamblers play their good hands and leave their bad ones without giving their opponents much if any idea when they have good hands and when they’re short. Which I think is the point that the Mike McDermott character played by Matt Damon was making, that gambling is not pure luck or about pure luck. But that you need good skills in it in order to be successful at it.

Accidentally In Love: 'Marilyn Monroe- Amazing'

Source:Accidentally In Love- The Amazing Hollywood Babydoll Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)

Source:The Daily Press

“Just a quick vid i shot together . Enjoy 🙂 ……. feel free too comment” 

From Accidentally In Love 

Amazing can really sum up the short life of Marilyn Monroe. You can really do it in one word, it’s just that you have to apply it to so many aspects about her. Because there was nothing average about Marilyn in the thirty-six years that she lived from her very humble childhood.

Marilyn from being discovered in her early twenties, to her becoming the star that she became and how she presented herself throughout her career and as the star that she became.

Died fifty-one years ago and is still missed today and had she matured and learned to take care of herself, she could very well still be alive today and perhaps still out in public as a goddess in her late eighties. If anyone could do that, it would’ve been Marilyn Monroe. The woman of so many talents physical and professional, but lacked the maturity to see them through.

New America Foundation: Peter Beinart- 'On The Rise of The New Left'

Source:New America Foundation- political commentator Peter Beinart about about the New-Left in America, the Millennial version.

Source:FRS FreeState 

"In a recent piece for The Daily Beast, New America Senior Fellow Peter Beinart wrote that the Democratic Party is making its next left turn—and driving away from the center." 

From the New America Foundation

The New-Left came alive in the late 1960s as part of the Baby Boom Generation to oppose the Vietnam War and who weren’t fans of capitalism and perhaps private enterprise all together. And wanted to see the rich be forced to give up a lot of their money to take care of the poor. As well as the environmental movement and what is called the gay rights movement. 

What happened to the Boomer version of the New-Left, they essentially formed what we know as the Green Party today: a left-wing, social democratic party, that is anti-war if not anti-military all together, want tough laws when it comes to protecting the environment.Greens, are anti-American capitalism and would like to see a new American economic system that is based around a welfare state. 

The Green Socialists (as I call them) also represents part of the Far-Left in the Democratic Party, who are only Democrats in a lot of cases so they can be part of a major political party, that at least shares their values and in some cases their ideas as well, who do not want to go the third-party route. 

My point being that this movement on the Left that the Democratic Leadership needs to listen to a certain extent, that they are not big enough or posses the resources to seriously cause a revolution in the Democratic Party and force them to change. They are only big enough to cost Democrats elections when they do not show up and vote.

The Republican Party has their fringe, obviously that gets talked a lot on this blog. But the Democratic Party has there’s that looks and is outside of the American mainstream on a lot of issues as well. Not saying they’re bad people, but most Americans like the American military and support our veterans and soldiers and everything else. 

The New-Left (on the other hand) sees our military as part of the problem when it comes to world peace and even as the bad guys. 

The New-Left in America is made up for three relevant political factions: 

Closeted Socialists in and outside of the Democrat Party, who are Liberals, Progressives, and Democrats (in name only) 

As well as self-described Socialists or Democratic Socialists, people like Senator Bernie Sanders (the only self-described Socialist in Congress, but not the only one) 

People who I at least would call Neo-Communists, people who aren't self-described as Communists and perhaps aren't looking to completely overthrow our democratic form of government, but want a real political revolution in America. 

And thanks to the American economy not being as strong as dominant as it was 15 years ago, radical movements like this can emerge, because you have a lot of people who are looking for real changes to our system.

Ragma Loka: Killing John F. Kennedy (2013) Starring Rob Lowe

Source:Ragma Loka- Rob Lowe as President John F. Kennedy, during his last days alive.

Source:The Daily Press

“Recounting the chaotic events that occurred in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, PARKLAND weaves together the perspectives of a handful of ordinary individuals suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances: the young doctors and nurses at Parkland Hospital, Dallas’ chief of the Secret Service, an unwitting cameraman who captured what became the most watched and examined film in history.” 

From Ragma Loka

I saw bits and pieces of this movie and I didn’t think it was very good. Which is probably why I only saw bits and pieces of it. I’ve caught a little more of it when it has come back on with its repeats. The movie about Kennedy from Reelz in 2011, I thought was much better and perhaps that is why they covered the entire Kennedy presidency, at least his years as President. And I thought Greg Kinnear did a much better job playing Jack Kennedy than Rob Lowe.

In late 2013, the last few months there were several movies about JFK because of the fiftieth anniversary of the JFK assassination. Including a film from PBS about the life of JFK, which was the best of what I saw. But Killing Kennedy is fairly interesting, but it really just about the last year or so JFK, including the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1962 and the Cuban missile crisis. And this movie doesn’t go into great detail about John F. Kennedy as President.

What you see in this movie, is the stuff that is better suited for tabloid news and tabloid news fans. The women of JFK including his wife Jackie and of course all the affairs that President Kennedy had, including in the White House and including with women with dangerous organized connections. Including Judy Exner and Lee Oswald’s last year or so leading up to him assassinating President Kennedy. This movie I would give a 7.5 or 8, but it’s not a great movie.

New America Foundation: Daniel Deudney- Liberal Democracy vs. Autocracy

Source:New America Foundation- hosting a discussion about liberal democracy.

Source:FRS FreeState

"G. John Ikenberry and Daniel Deudney discusses their article, "The Myth of the Autocratic Revival: Why Liberal Democracy Will Prevail". Dimitri Simes concludes the discussion." 

From the New America Foundation

I love the word liberalization as a Liberal, because it means opening things up and freeing people to live their lives. Which is what happened to Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 90s, as well as some of the former Slavic Russian republics that were part of the Soviet Union of Russia. And to the Southeastern Slavic states in the Balkans as well in the 1990s. And that is exactly what liberalism is.

Liberalization, freeing people up and allowing them to live in freedom, which seriously goes against the liberal stereotypes that liberalism is about big government and not: 

"the state that the state knows best and that freedom is essentially dangerous because it just gives people freedom to make mistakes. So you need a superstate to take care of people and limit freedom to only things that do not harm society.”

Lamar Matic: NBA 1986- Eastern Conference 1st Round Game 1- Washington Wizards @ Philadelphia 76ers: 4th Quarter

Source:Lamar Matic- the Wizards and 76ers from 1986.

Source:The Daily Press   

“One of the greatest NBA comebacks ever. The Washington Bullets are down by 17 with 4 minutes left and seems like have lost the first playoffs game of 1986. However, veteran Dan Roundfield scoring on one end and Charles Barkley with Julius Erving choking on the other lets the Bullets get back in the game and win it with an impossible game winning three by Dudley Bradley. 1986 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs Round 1 Game 1.” 

From Lamar Matic 

Definitely one of the most surprising comeback victories of all-time and perhaps the best comeback in Bullets playoff history.

You come back from eighteen points with four minutes left in the game especially in a playoff game, you are getting a lot of breaks with the team with the lead falling asleep and thinking they’ve already won the game. Which is what the 76ers did, as well as the Bullets never giving up and coming up with a lot of great plays. Especially on defense, but scoring every time they had the ball.

When you have a big lead like this, all you really have to do is work the clock, don’t turn the ball over and hit your foul shots. You do all of those things and even if the other team scores every time they have the ball, they won’t have enough time to come all the way back. The 76ers failed to even do these basic fundamental things late in this game.

The Onion: Anthony Weiner: ‘Announces Bid For Whatever’s Left’

Source:The Onion- unemployed New York City politician Anthony Weiner, desperate for work at taxpayers expense.

Source:The Daily Press

“Apple unveils a panicked man with no ideas, Bashar Al-Assad tries a tiny bit of sarin gas on himself to see what it’s like, and a billboard alerts commuters to the existence of a situational comedy starring stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld. It’s the week of September 13, 2013. For more breaking news:The Onion." 

From The Onion

Too bad for Anthony Weiner, or can we call him Tony now: I mean seriously, why is The Weiner the only man in America that can’t go by a nickname? Does his sexting scandal really make his so much more special than anyone else?

Too bad his first name isn’t Richard and he’s not short, because Little Dick would’ve been the perfect nickname for him. I hear there are real job openings for real jobs out there in New York City and perhaps Tony should apply for one of them. Unless the job requires him to keep his pants on the whole time he is working. Perhaps Tony should look for a real job and get out of politics.

Apparently Tony Weiner is the only career politician/workaholic who can’t find a job. So that would be something that would make him special. If you saw The Onion report about the guy with the 42,000 jobs back in 2012, maybe that is why Tony can’t find one, because that workaholic has every job that was still available in New York City.

Being a workaholic without a job must be tough. That would be like a fish with no water and trying to learn how to swim. Or being an institutionalized prison inmate who has spent most of your life in prison and learning that every prison and jail in America is about to be closed. And you’ll be released on the outside as a result.

With Tony Weiner’s professional background and that the fact that he’s a Weiner, he shouldn’t have any real trouble finding work in New York City. Wait, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg closed down most of the strip clubs in New York. So maybe Tony will support the nanny state less now since it is now costing him work that he’s qualified for. But he’s a former U.S. Representative and sexter, so he would be perfect in Washington, if he wants to come back. And he could get himself involved in sexy scandals there, without worrying about it costing him his job.