Scorsese on Sesame Street

Since I'm in a YouTube mood tonight, I had to share one more with you. This one is a parody of a collection of movies by Martin Luciano Scorsese, the man who I feel is the greatest living American director, and certainly one of the best of all time.

Warning: This parody is, shall I say, colorful and explicit, so be careful if you are listening at work. Like most of Scorsese's films, this video clip takes liberties with the English language.

I know, I'm temporarily breaking my vow of cutting down on the profanity on the blog with this post, but hey, it's Scorsese's movies we're talking about here. Mob movies. Murder. Mayhem. No mobster ever said, "Oh sugar! Would you knock that stuff off!"

If you've seen the classic Scorsese films Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino, you will have a true appreciation for this. (Especially if you like all of these movies, as I so.) I will go to my grave believing that Goodfellas is the best mob movie ever made; the Academy robbed Scorsese of Best Picture for his masterpiece, awarding it to Kevin Costner for Dances With Wolves instead. That's not a typo, but it should be. The Godfather I & II are both tied for a very close second on my mob scale, and Scorsese's epic movie about the mob in Las Vegas, Casino, is very underrated and also one of my favorite movies ever.

Anyway, watch this, laugh, repeat.

Now go home and get your fuckin' shine box, Oscar!

What a week for Al Gore

Al Gore had quite a week.

First, the former Vice President presented Charles, the Prince of Wales (above, left), with the Environmental Citizen Award at the Harvard Club in Central New York, last Sunday.

Charles, the future King of England, along with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have all done a whole lot more to combat global warming than our president has. I'm hopeful that will change, but Bush is running out of time if he hopes to accomplish something during his presidency.

Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, were very well received here in the states. At right, the royals visited the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. I thought the photo mildly ironic, so I thought I'd share it here. It's not really related to this post, but I like it. I wish I could have had a chance to meet them, but duty called. Work, work, work!

Also last week, Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Documentary and Best Original Song.

While Gore wasn't directly nominated, it's not a stretch at all to say that the film is his baby, and any recognition the film receives is a direct reflection on him.

There's more -- Gore received the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Excellence in Nature Film Making Award, along with Truth's Director Davis Guggenheim (above, right).

And finally, Gore was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his hard work in raising awareness about global warming. Gore's already accomplished a great deal with is tireless efforts, but if he wins the Nobel and his film cops an Oscar (or two), it will merely be icing on the cake.

However, Gore's smart enough to realize that his work on global warming is a journey, not a destination, and he has a whole lot more work to do.

I'd like to see him accomplish that work as president.

We're waiting, Al.

Will Gore's "Truth" get an Oscar Nod? Will Dubya give Al props?

Academy Award nominees are announced this Tuesday, and I've heard and read rumors that An Inconvenient Truth might be up for an award(s). I sure hope so.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, what are you waiting for? The polar ice caps to melt? Get going and see it - I can just about guarantee that you will be a changed person after watching it.

It would be quite cool if Al Gore (above, presenting his global warming slide show in Japan) walked away with an Oscar. I hope he does. He deserves it for his dedication and perseverance in warding off critics, many of whom know about .10% as much as he does about the drastic changes that are happening all over the planet.

I'm still holding out hope that Gore enters the '08 race, but I also wonder if he could best serve our country by not running for president. Or, if a Democrat wins, maybe Director of the EPA? THAT would be incredible.

Al Gore deserves all the credit he's receiving for this important film. Whether you agree with the film or not (and I most definitely do), Gore has provided the US and the world with a pretty handsome benefit, and that's a greater amount of discourse on global warming.

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In other news, I heard on Chris Matthews on Sunday morning that President Bush is prepared to make some major announcements about energy dependence during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I'll believe those when I hear them.

But, what really caught my ear was Matthews' assertion that Bush might acknowledge Gore's important work on global warming (but I'm sure the president, in the off chance that he would address it, would refer to it as climate change). Matthews didn't sound like he was kidding, but there's no way Bush would give Gore any praise.

Is there?

If Bush does have kind words for Gore and indicates any change on his administration's position on global warming, I will be one of the first bloggers to praise him on the Internet.

That's a guarantee.