Anyone know what monster this is supposed to be?

A 13-year-old girl cannot consent to having sex with a 44-year-old man. In fact, a 13-year-old girl is not old enough to consent to having sex with a 30-year-old, a 20-year-old, a 14-year-old, or even another 13-year-old. It doesn’t matter that Polanski plied the girl with alcohol and drugs. It doesn’t matter that he claims he didn’t know how old she was.

It’s the fact that a 13-year-old child cannot consent to having sex, for the obvious reason that the child is thirteen years old.

It’s reprehensible that Whoopi Goldberg said “not necessarily” to the question “Would I want my 14-year-old daughter having sex with somebody?” The answer should be a plain, simple: No. Absolutely not.

When Anne Applebaum says that the child asked permission to be photographed in the jacuzzi, she implies that that was asking permission for whatever happened next. What happened next was rape. It frankly wouldn’t matter if the child’s mother had been right there and given explicit permission for Polanski to have sex with her daughter—the fact that the child cannot consent still applies.

There is no defense of this case whatsoever. There is no, “Yes, he did a bad thing, BUT” leading into a long-winded treatise on how the poor man has suffered all these years by not being able to come back to America, and is forced to live a life of luxury in Europe.

My heart bleeds.

It’s the consent. A thirteen-year-old child cannot consent to sex. Period.

SciFi SyFy had it on last weekend. I put it on the DVR, and Sarah and the kids came over today to watch it. Some notable lines:

“Don’t love the sea too much. It won’t love you back.”
“Most animals fled in fear from the Ice Age.”

Really. That last one. I stopped the movie, said, “Wait a minute! Did she just say that the dinosaurs ran away from the Ice Age? As in, “Ohmigod, it’s SNOW!!!”?

Sarah suggested that perhaps the writers of the movie had used the animated film Ice Age for research, because all the animals there were fleeing the cold.

How bad was it? When even a seven-year-old says, “Those are really bad effects,” it’s bad. Of course it was stupid. It was supposed to be stupid. Why did the shark jump up and bite the Golden Gate Bridge? Because someone thought it would look cool. How did the giant octopus manage to knock down a jet? Well, it’s a dumb movie, that’s how. The science was awful, as always. The shark was able to swim at a speed of 500 knots. Keep in mind that it was bigger than the biggest whales, and a humpback can swim at the breathtaking speed of about 16 mph when it’s in a hurry, and everyone knows that the bigger something is, the faster it is, right? And of course, none of our missiles or weapons so much as dent the creatures’ skin.

But it was fun. It’s a movie that you want to watch with a group of friends, and if you’re in college, I suggest figuring out a drinking game for it. Take two shots every time someone says “The target was destroyed.”

It was about as bad as we thought it was, and I’m quite happy I decided to wait for it to come on TV rather than buy the direct-to-video flick. However—there may be a sequel.

Pass.

Chavez cause-and-effect: Gee, let’s think. A nation’s president blames Jews and demonizes Israel on a constant basis. He pals around with Hezbullah, which is now said to be setting up camp there. His countrymen then perform more acts of anti-Semitism (including government-sponsored raids on Jewish centers). Somehow, I can’t figure out why that’s happening. How about you?

Oh, look: More Arab civilian deaths ignored by the world. Yemen is bombing marketplaces, but HRW isn’t getting its panties in a bunch over it. Why? Say it with me, folks: Because it isn’t Israel.

The AP notices that townhall protesters are average citizens: Oh, they push the “organized opposition” line in the first few paragraphs, but overall, they’re starting to notice that the anger is real, and that Americans don’t want socialized medicine. The media narrative is being broken. Except, of course, by the denizens of the New York Times op-ed page. This is a great thing. That healthcare bill is dead in the water.

Palate cleanser: Molly Ringwald’s tribute to John Hughes. It will make you go, “Awwwww.”

Fatah blames Israel for Arafat’s AIDS: Not really. Fatah refuses to even consider the idea that their dead (and unmourned) leader did not die because of Israeli death rays, or Mossad poisons. Because it makes them far more popular to be able to blame Israel. And oh, hey—this kind of puts the lie to the people who insist that Fatah is moderating, doesn’t it?

Doggone it! My dad was not a dog! The Arabs have yet another grievance against America: A movie that insults Anwar Sadat by naming a dog after him. I swear, you simply couldn’t make this stuff up without having bullshit called on you. Don’t these people have anything else to do but get outraged over stupid things? I guess not, considering Egypt is a nation that lacks freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and a freely elected government. And then, you get a breath of fresh air when you least expect it:

Meanwhile, Sadat’s nephew Talaat Sadat reacted differently to the movie, and told Egyptian newspaper al-Shuruq: “It’s just a commercial film that is not worthy of a response.”

Stop doing the right things, Bibi! Israel’s prime minister visited the Tel Aviv club that was the scene of a horrible attack that murdered two young gay Israelis and listened to representatives of the Israeli gay community. That’s funny. I thought he was one of those religious zealots in the Likud that think gays are an abomination. What? People are spreading lies about him? No! You can’t mean it! Just because he’s acting like a good leader today doesn’t mean that tomorrow he’s going to come out and suggest gays should be stoned. (By the way, they’ll find the bastard who did this. This is the nation that tracks down terrorists years after their attacks. Give them time. They’ll get him.)

Because the world simply doesn’t have enough online games: Champions is joining the online gaming community. I absolutely refuse to say why I know what Champions is. I will only admit that Call of Cthulhu was an awesome game if run by a great gamemaster and peopled by decent players. Not that I know anything about it. Really. I don’t. (Detectives are so cool, don’t you think?)

A native of Lansing, Mich., who moved to suburban Chicago and set much of his work there, Hughes rose from comedy writer to ad writer to silver screen champ with his affectionate and idealized portraits of teens, whether the romantic and sexual insecurity of “Sixteen Candles,” or the J.D. Salinger-esque rebellion against conformity in “The Breakfast Club.”

Hughes’ ensemble comedies helped make stars out of Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and many other young performers. He also scripted the phenomenally popular “Home Alone,” which made little-known Macaulay Culkin a sensation as the 8-year-old accidentally abandoned by his vacationing family, and wrote or directed such hits as “National Lampoon’s Vacation,”"Pretty in Pink,”"Planes, Trains & Automobiles” and “Uncle Buck.”

[...] Other actors who got early breaks from Hughes included John Cusack (”Sixteen Candles”), Judd Nelson (”The Breakfast Club”), Steve Carell (”Curly Sue”) and Lili Taylor (”She’s Having a Baby”).

[...] Actor and director Bill Paxton credited Hughes for launching his career by casting him as bullying older brother Chet in the 1985 film “Weird Science.”

I’ve seen more of his films than I realized. And it’s interesting to note that some of his best work was based on real life.

Hughes films, especially “Home Alone,” were among the most popular of their time and the director was openly involved in marketing them. But, with his ever-handy “idea books,” Hughes worked as much from personal life as from commercial instinct. His “National Lampoon” scripts were inspired by his own family’s vacations. “Sixteen Candles,” in which Ringwald plays a teen whose 16th birthday is forgotten, was based on a similar event in a friend’s life.

I think my favorites are Ferris Bueller and Sixteen Candles. I didn’t even realize Weird Science was his, but it makes sense—it’s totally in the same genre, and uses some of the same actors. The house used as Cameron’s house used in the movie was recently sold for over $2 million. And the realtor, of course, used the movie in the ad.

Hughes was only 59.

Ahmadinejad vs. Khameini? I don’t know what to make of this, but man, I hope it means the rifts in Iran are deeper than we thought. Mad Mahmoud is refusing to fire his buddy, as demanded by The Supreme Leader. Get out some popcorn, boys and girls, because if this plays out badly, it’s going to be great for Israel and America.

Probably not what you think when you think “Men of Israel”: Hm. Gay pr0n starring gorgeous Israeli men. Well, it’s one way to make people think better of Israelis. (Ladies, the picture in the article is totally worth clicking through.)

What’s in a gnome? Apparently, garden gnomes raising their arms in a Nazi salute are not illegal in Germany. Good to know, just in case we ever utterly lose our mind and our taste and want to move to Germany, buy a house, and put a Nazi gnome in the front yard. (By the way, the picture in the first link makes you think the gnome is just waving nicely. Click here to see the Nazi salute.)

Barry Rubin cut the bullshit: He did, really. (It’s okay, Barry, I put it back for you.) Seriously, click the link and read his latest essay. It’s one of his best ever.

UNIFIL watched as Lebanese invaded Israel: Okay, they weren’t terrorists—but isn’t it UNIFIL’s job to keep the two sides apart? What’s that you say? On days that end with a “y” it’s Israeli Double Standard Time? Yeah, I knew that.

Oh, please—Hezbollah “sympathizers”? The mainstream media is truly as stupid as you think they are.

A crowd in southern Lebanon threw rocks at U.N. peacekeepers over the weekend, wounding 14 of them in an effort to prevent the investigation of an explosion in the area, the United Nations said.

How many of this “crowd” you figure were Hezbollah soldiers? I’m guessing nearly all of them. Why? Read Michael Totten’s account of what happened when Christopher Hitchens ran afoul of Hezbollah thugs. That’s why.

Pop quiz! Who said this:

“One of the things that I know the blogs are best at is debunking myths that can slip through a lot of the traditional media outlets and a lot of the conventional wisdom,” he said, according to audio of the call posted on Web sites. “And that is why you are going to play such an important role in our success in the weeks to come.”

Your choice: A) Barack Obama. B) John McCain. C) Karl Rove. D) Joe the Plumber.

The answer: Barack Obama, on a call to liberal bloggers. He’s right, but about the wrong side. And while you’re posting against ObamaCare, don’t forget to call and write your Congresspeople.

I know you’re going to be shocked to hear this: NYDN found Harry Potter fans who weren’t happy with the movie. Please. Try to be strong and understanding—really. Not everyone liked the film. Wow, now that’s news!

Max apparently likes to repeat the lines that make him laugh. I can put up with his behavior for another year or so, but after that, he gets the “Max, Aunt Meryl likes quiet when she watches a movie” talk. Even for the silly ones like this one, I prefer to watch movies without chatting. When I used to go to the movies with a group of friends, I’d always make sure I didn’t sit next to the one who could never shut up during a movie. (It was for his own personal safety. I’d have killed him, eventually.) But we were in a theater with parents and small children, so indulgences were made.

If you’re looking for sheer mindless fun, this is the movie for you. Hank Azaria is utterly hilarious, and so are the cast of figures from the Smithsonian that come to life.

Yeah, it’s a slow weekend for me. Feel free to read the news yourselves.

It was very good, especially if you don’t care about all the messing about with the origin story—and, well, I don’t.

But besides the fact that it’s a pretty amazing comic book movie, I realized that men and women are going to be watching this film in very different ways.

There was a scene where Wolverine did some amazing action sequences, slicing here, dicing there, defeating the bad guys, and then paused, posing, on the top of something or other.

“Wow,” I said.

“Yeah,” Sarah responded, “he’s buff.”

And yeah, that’s pretty much exactly what I was looking at, and thinking. Action, shmaction. Hugh Jackman is hot.