Pun Salad

I tend to put movies in my Blockbuster queue when I see a recommendation from someone else on the Web; unfortunately, the elapsed time from queue entry to actually watching the movie can be months. So I don't remember why I rented this movie. Somebody said it was good.

No matter. It's OK, a monochrome Western with psychological-thriller undertones. The underrated Glenn Ford is the voluble but dangerous bad guy; he gives an understated and subtle performance that really makes the movie work. Van Heflin is the borderline-failure rancher who gets roped into delivering him to a Yuma-bound train while Ford's gang circles menacingly. It builds to a tense, if slightly incredible, climax, as Van Heflin smuggles a bomb onto a plane piloted by Dean Martin… woops, wrong movie. Frankie Laine does the theme song, so you can hear what Mel Brooks parodied in Blazing Saddles.

The IMDB says they're remaking this with Walk the Line director James Mangold. Cool.

Still alive, Glenn Ford will be 90 on May 1.

• A wonderful article at the Weekly Standard by Matt Labash reports on Logan Darrow Clements' effort to get the great town of Weare, New Hampshire to condemn Supreme Court Justice David Souter's property, in order to build the "Lost Liberty Hotel". This is an effort (you may have heard) to protest Souter's vote with the majority in the widely-despised Kelo eminent domain decision last summer.

  Although Labash says that Clements has "a whiff of the born-loser libertarian about him," it was hard not to read the article and not like and admire Clements for his stubborn, but good-humored, pursuit. (And I'm a born-loser libertarian myself, although not quite so much of an Objectivist as is Clements.) Sample:

  An unapologetic capitalist in proud Randian fashion, Clements started selling "Lost Liberty" items on his website, everything from throw pillows to camisoles. He was flooded with suggestions for names of dishes that he could serve in the hotel's Just Deserts Café. A typical meal might start with the Chicken Seizure Salad and Revenge Soup (served cold). For an entrée, there'd be the Bader-Ginz Burger with Half-Baked Potato or the Eminent Lo Mein. Dessert might include Rocky Road to Serfdom Ice Cream, or perhaps a nice plate of Petit Forfeitures. Even without all the annoying puns, one could easily conclude it was some kind of joke, though Clements's press release warns, "This is not a prank."

  Annoying puns? No such thing here at Pun Salad, Matt. We are amused by every last one, even the ones we don't quite understand.

  Clements' website is here, where you can buy stuff if you're so inclined, and read the latest news about the effort. (Lately, it's been bad; WaPo story here.)

• The Fallacy of Asymmetric Idealization: easy to commit, but once you know what it is, it's also easy to detect. Will Wilkinson explains it all for you.

• GeekPress has been reading the "Things I Learn From My Patients" thread at a discussion site for student doctors, and picks some of the best. My favorite:

  Never leave your last refill of Percocet in plain sight after your doc's office closes if one of these 3 friends is coming over for dinner:

  1. some dude
  2. my friend
  3. that bitch

  Also, I must remember: never clean the bathtub naked while the cats are around; it's dangerous! Hm, come to think of it, the cats are always around; best to just leave the bathtub-cleaning to others.