We're having a small private screening tomorrow of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

It's going to be a bit on the early side--3:00 p.m. We had several cancellations, so any bloggers or other New Media types who want to get onto the guest list should let me know immediately.

Thanks.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Supposedly Viriginia Woolf's Orlando was "the longest and most charming love letter in history" (according to Nigel Nicholson, son of the woman who served as a model for the book's protagonist, Vita Sackville-West). It's still the longest, but I'm no longer sure it's the most charming, now that the Sarah Silverman/Jimmy Kimmel videos exist.

Sarah started out strong:

But I have to give this one to Jimmy:

And Ben himself deserves special mention; he must have balls of steel. Wow.

Via Ace, who watches TV so I don't have to.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 11:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"Mature? I'm not mature! I'm derelict!"

Yeah; I've been listening to some of the tracks from Psychoderelict. Love that album.

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So, several of us went to a screening of the "Director's Cut" of Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed last night, which takes on the scientific establishment regarding the way any discussion of "intelligent design" (evolution that is guided—and was potentially initially ignited—by some Creator) is being systematically excised from academic debate.

The movie isn't about what a great theory Intelligent Design is, or whether it's simply Creationism in hipper clothing, sporting a nose ring and a leather jacket. The movie is about freedom of speech within Academia, and how important it is to put ideas on the table, and debate their merits, rather than oversimplifying them and then dismissing them out of hand.

It's difficult to predict how good the final product will be: damned good, I suspect. But at present the film is way too long, and some of the historical parallels and cultural allusions are certain to be lost in a way that will drastically re-shape the movie before it is released. This is an excellent work, but the incomplete editing made some parts a bit draggy. I know that problem will be fixed; I'm simply not certain how it will be done, or what various judgement calls will be made.

I have a deal with Concerned Women for America's J. Matt Barber to write a full essay regarding the arguments Stein makes in the film, in exchange for getting his SoCon, Christian-right reading of my favorite book by my favorite athiest, a bitchin' defense of free speech by Jonathan Rauch (Kindly Inquisitors, in case I haven't pimped it lately).

But Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is compelling because it (1) strikes a blow against intellectual totalitarianism, and (2) features the droll, egghead teddy bear Stein running around in a suit, tie, and tennis shoes, talking to people about academic freedom, the connection between Darwinism in its purest form and (a) eugenics, (b) National Socialism, and (c) the unsavory side of the [essential for women's rights, as I see it] birth-control movement.

Please keep in mind that when the movie is released, opening weekend will make it or break it, so clear your calendar once the date has been set (sometime this spring) and make it important.

Also, Ben Stein—like his "cousin" Mark Steyn—is a total stud/god, and a true renaissance man. I also consider him, because of his column "Ben Stein's Diary" in The American Spectator, to be the first true blogger—a New Media pioneer.

I have his autograph, by the way. He was taping an episode of some show my husband was producing, and I begged the spouse to grab an autograph from him. Stein was prepared to be a good sport about this, but when he discovered that I wanted his autograph because of his writing for TAS rather than his work on Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Wonder Years, he was visibly thrilled. The autograph, written on the first page of a script for an animated show, says "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" over his signature. It's actually one of my most prized possessions.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:26 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I said, "no, no, no."

Yet, here I am, courtesy of my loyal—and generous—readers.

Apologies, natch, to Amy Winehouse. (Warning: the music starts on her [linked] homepage without being asked to; let the web surfer beware!)

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