Pack of pit bulls mauls seniors in Modesto home - SFGate

"An elderly man and woman were mauled and left in critical condition by a pack of pit bulls Tuesday evening in Modesto, officials said. Around 4:45 p.m. numerous 911 calls came into the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office reporting an elderly man was being mauled by four dogs in a yard on the 800 block of Glenn Avenue within blocks of elementary and middle schools."

I can see the comments now about how the dogs had bad owners or were mistreated, etc. But you know you never see a headline that says "Pack of Golden Retrievers mauls seniors" or "2 year old killed by family Dachsund". Other dog breeds are owned by bad owners and mistreated and they just don't behave like "mistreated" pit bulls. There are intrinsic differences between dog breeds. Pit bulls need to go.

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) **

Long, meandering ghost story wastes Virginia Madsen and a stunning Amanda Crew. Some effective creeps, but you can see them coming.

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) **

Much like his most recent picture this is a light, beautifully filmed bedroom farce with a number of good one liners. Not top tier Woody, but enjoyable.

Inside Scoop SF: Thomas Keller and Jacques Pepin on their Bouchon dinners, classics and generational bridges

"The idea was born during Bouchon’s quarterly brainstorming meeting, where Thomas Keller meets with the Bouchon chefs to discuss special dinners and the like. Doing a menu centered around the legendary chef was a natural fit, says Keller, and it worked out especially well because Pepin is currently in the Bay Area shooting a new television show."

Yes!

The Boxtrolls (2014) ***

Spectacular stop-motion animation plus some stellar voice work. The finale drags a bit and becomes too obvious, but some very inventive scenes and many "how'd-they-do-that" moments. Never quite reaches the essential level but comes close.

It Is News That the AIG Bailout Was a Way to Give Money to Goldman Sachs | Beat the Press

"Finally, Sorkin again makes the annoying assertion on the AIG bailout that, 'we got our money back — with more than $22 billion in profit.'

"This one deserves derision. Access to liquidity back in 2008-2009 carried an enormous premium. We gave $192 billion to AIG at a time when other companies were dying for cash. We would have made an enormous profit if we had invested government cash almost anywhere. For example, if we lent $192 billion to Dean Baker's Excellent Hedge Fund, which used it to invest in the S&P 500 and then split the gains with the government, the country would have pocketed over $100 billion from the deal. So would Dean Baker's Excellent Hedge Fund.

"Saying that the government made a profit on the bailout deals is irrelevant in any meaningful sense. The people who make this assertion are either showing their ignorance or being dishonest."

My Darling Clementine (1946) ***

Prototypical Western showcases many iconic shots that would become the template for years to come. Stylized, romantic fantasy of "The West" skirts self awareness in some scenes. Henry Fonda is quite good.

How A 1977 Box-Office Bomb Became A Cult Classic 35 Years Later - Yahoo Finance

"Friedkin was certainly ambitious in how he shot the film. The most famous scene takes place on a rickety rope bridge as the trucks attempt to traverse it. In his memoir, the director explains that the entire sequence took over three months to shoot and construction of the bridge cost $1 million.

"When the original river meant for the scene went dry, the crew was forced to tear down and rebuild the bridge elsewhere at the cost of another million dollars. When the second river proved just as difficult, Friedkin and the crew were forced to add an artificial current and rainstorm. He says that it was the single most difficult sequence he ever filmed in his career."

The Quiet Ones (2014) *

Predictable "thriller" with nothing special to recommend it.

The Secret Goldman Sachs Tapes - Bloomberg View

"It's an extraordinary document. There is not space here to do it justice, but the gist is this: The Fed failed to regulate the banks because it did not encourage its employees to ask questions, to speak their minds or to point out problems.

"Just the opposite: The Fed encourages its employees to keep their heads down, to obey their managers and to appease the banks. That is, bank regulators failed to do their jobs properly not because they lacked the tools but because they were discouraged from using them."

via @bnroj

Colin Kaepernick of San Francisco 49ers reiterates that he didn't use N-word - ESPN

"Initially, Kaepernick said he did not say anything to Houston, though he was flagged for 'inappropriate language' and fined $11,025. Then, after Sunday's loss at the Arizona Cardinals, Kaepernick said he does talk on the football field when he was asked about Houston changing his story but that he did not say anything 'racially derogatory' toward Houston.

"Is that his final word on the matter, that he said nothing of a racial matter that night?

"'Yes,' Kaepernick said. 'I've said that multiple times.'

"Coach Jim Harbaugh, meanwhile, continued to back his quarterback. 'I have never heard Colin use that word,' Harbaugh said. 'And I've never heard him lie.' Then does Harbaugh think the reports are inaccurate? 'I think what I think,' he said. 'I'm very attuned to hearing that word, and I've never heard him use it.'"

What idiots. Both Kaepernick and Harbaugh. Why can't they just tell the truth in plain English? Rarely is a player fined for inappropriate language on a football field so it IS a legitimate news item. And we are told, the only reason a player would be fined in that manner is for use of the now infamous "n" word. So why lie about it? Heat of the moment, anger in battle, entirely forgivable, but now after such horribly stupid equivocation NOT forgivable. And Harbaugh! Too much these guys.

Billionaire must let public access Martins Beach, judge rules - SFGate

"The beach battle has focused national attention on California laws that are supposed to guarantee public access to coastal areas. The 1972 California Coastal Zone Conservation Initiative, which created the 12-member California Coastal Commission, and the California Coastal Act, passed in 1976, prohibit homes or developments from blocking access to beaches. They essentially make the entire coast, including all beach property below the mean high tide line, public property."

One of the great things about the greatest state.

Sinister (2012) *

Too long and you never really care about the main character since he is such a smug obnoxious prick (spot on casting by the way). You can see the scares coming from a mile away thanks to the noisy soundtrack and the completely unrealistic and cliched lighting.

Yes, it's official, men are from Mars and women from Venus, and here's the science to prove it - Telegraph

"The first big surprise happens before birth. All men in the world today are essentially biologically modified women, because we all start our embryonic lives as females (that is why, for example, men still have breasts, even though they serve no function). The biological differences that can be found between the bodies and brains of males and females are largely due to the way these embryos develop in the womb."

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) ****

Gorgeous cinematography, compelling subject, sharp direction add up to a wonderfully multi-layered film. Be warned: you'll never be satisfied with your local sushi place again.

The Long, Hot Summer (1958) **

An over the top, Hollywood cartoon version of Southerners, is entertaining nevertheless thanks to a fine cast trying hard to keep some sense of reality in the proceedings.

Terry Gilliam on His Epic New Dystopian Film The Zero Theorem | WIRED

"There's probably $500,000 of savings in there in improved technologies—for example, Christoph and Melanie Thierry recorded some new lines on their iPhones while he was in Berlin and she was in France, emailed them back to me, and they're in the film. We couldn't have done that a few years ago."

The Myth That Sold the Wall Street Bailouts

"The second Great Depression mythologizers — including Geithner, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman and the editorial board of The Washington Post — assume they can say whatever they want and that people will accept it because they are important people whose conventional wisdom is rarely, if ever, challenged. They even managed to retain their authority after failing to see the economic threat posed by the housing bubble. The bottom line is that for these people, the goal was saving Wall Street — full stop. Whether the rest of the country suffered was beside the point."

Drag Me to Hell (2009) **

So-so "horror" flick which may have been ripped off from an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, nevertheless provides a nice showcase for Alison Lohman who is in nearly every scene.

A Most Wanted Man (2014) ***

A terrific final performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman and a great eye for visuals by director Anton Corbijn elevate this necessarily talky "spy v. spy" film to something memorable.