Wednesday Mind Hump: Movies

Rfduck announced this week's WMH in this fashion:

"Greetings! Here we are again, mind humping. Once again, I have no good theme, so we'll talk about movies."

1. What is the last movie you watched?
I watched The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising with some of the grandkids just the other night.
2. Give us a brief review and tell us how you liked it.
An American-made movie set in England and shot in Romainia, TS:TDIR is a formulaic kids film pitting good vs. evil, light vs. dark with the forces of good and light triumphing in the end. While it is eminently watchable, it is neither enlightening nor very entertaining. The writing is hackneyed and several of the performances are stilted. I'd give it a pass unless you are into things of this nature.
3. Which of the movie's actors or actresses do you like best?
Easiest on the eyes is Amelia Warner playing Maggie Barnes. Not many lines, but cute.
4. Tell us the name of a movie that you haven't seen, but really should.
I really should rent the 2006 drama thriller The Departed with Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio.

"The Seeker" trailer on YouTube

Cohen, More Cohen & Hmmmm...

Rfduck greeted the new day thusly, "Hello everyone! I don't like today's theme, so we'll do Friday's. Friday was Vitamin C day."

1. What is your favorite band or artist whose name starts with the letter C?
Leonard Cohen
2. What is your favorite song that starts with the letter C?
Closing Time by the aforementioned L.C. as seen on Youtube
3. What is your favorite album that starts with the letter C?
My, my, this one is tough. Conservatively, I have near to a thousand albums in my collection, most on vinyl. Nope, while many have accused me of being an asshole, few (except my wife) would ever accuse me of being anal. So no, the albums are neither cataloged nor indexed and they aren't arranged alphabetically, either. Hence the dilemma - I am hard-pressed at the moment, to name even one album beginning with the letter "c".

Hmmmm...

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Cohen Live
Live album by Leonard Cohen
Released	1994
Recorded	1988, 1993
Genre	Folk-rock
Length	71:50
Label	Sony
Leonard Cohen chronology
The Future (1992) Cohen Live (1994) More Best of Leonard Cohen (1997)

Cohen Live is a live album by Leonard Cohen released in 1994.

The songs were recorded live in 1988 and 1993.

Track listing

1. "Dance Me to the End of Love" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
2. "Bird on the Wire" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
3. "Everybody Knows" (Vancouver, June 29, 1993)
4. "Joan of Arc" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
5. "There Is a War" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
6. "Sisters of Mercy" (Toronto, June 18, 1993)
7. "Hallelujah" (Austin, October 31, 1988)
8. "I'm Your Man" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
9. "Who by Fire?" (Austin, October 31, 1988)
10. "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" (San Sebastian, May 20, 1988)
11. "If It Be Your Will" (Austin, October 31, 1988)
12. "Heart With No Companion" (Amsterdam, April 19, 1988)
13. "Suzanne" (Vancouver, June 29, 1993)

All of the info above from the Wikipedia entry on the album Cohen Live.

Is that a Strat in your pants or...?

Police look for man who hid Fender Stratocaster in his pants

I've heard of getting close to your axe, but that's ridiculous.

Wal-Mart, Go Subrogate!

Subrogation: What It Is and How It Works

From CNN:

Brain-damaged woman at center of Wal-Mart suit - Mar 25, 2008
By Randi Kaye JACKSON, Missouri (CNN) -- Debbie Shank breaks down in tears every time she's told that her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq. ...

I got this in email from a very vocal opponent of the incursion of Wal-Mart into Canada so I was a wee bit skeptical. Here's what he sent me:

Hey,

I wanted to tell you about this story. I just wrote a note to the Shank family and to Wal-Mart -- please take a minute to do the same.

Debbie Shank used to stock shelves at night for Wal-Mart. Now she owes Wal-Mart almost $500,000.

The 52 year-old Missouri Wal-Mart employee was left “brain damaged, disabled and penniless” from a car accident seven years ago. But when the Shank family received a settlement from the driver at fault, Wal-Mart demanded reimbursement for every cent they had paid for Deborah’s medical bills – plus interest and legal fees.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Debbie Shank’s case, leaving her family no choice but to pay Wal-Mart $470,000. Now her family doesn’t know how they’re going to be able to afford Debbie’s nursing home bills.

Wal-Mart’s lawyers may be following the law, but they certainly aren’t following their hearts. Tell Wal-Mart to make the moral choice and help Debbie Shank:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/DebbieShank

A few months ago, Wal-Mart Watch took up a collection fund to help the Shank family. But now that Wal-Mart is stripping Debbie Shank of her settlement, any funds we raise could end up in Wal-Mart’s hands.

The best way we can help Debbie Shank now is to make sure as many people as possible hear her story. For a company that relies on an image of happy employees, this is just the sort of story Wal-Mart wants to disappear.

As we’ve said before, the Shanks aren’t gold-diggers. They’re a family living most people’s worst nightmare – and Wal-Mart is only making it worse.

Debbie’s husband, Jim, told reporters:

"She's 52 and she's going to live a life in a nursing home. I just got a call today from the head nurse, and (Debbie) hasn't eaten in a couple days and she's talking about wanting to die," Shank said. "It makes the visits hard."

… "Be a human being; don't be a corporation," Shank said, "for the sake of one lady who is going to be miserable for the rest of her life. Take your victory. Let us pay some bills and get some quality of life."

Tell Wal-Mart that the Shank family has paid enough. Sign our petition – and forward it to your loved ones:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/DebbieShank

Thank you for helping Debbie Shank.

So, I went hunting for some background information and found this Wall Street Journal story from November, 2007 http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119551952474798582.html

Now, I am confused. On the one hand, I empathize with Mrs. Skank and her family. On the other, I understand far better what the issues were for Wal-Mart and why they felt they had to pursue subrogation. So I guess we're left with little choice but to smear a corporate giant through blog articles like this one.

UPDATE: Wal-Mart has decided that Mrs. Shank is a public relations nightmare; reverses their previous demands for repayment under the subrogation clause...