Trump versus your feelings.

Let's be honest. Social issues aren't going to radically change under either candidate. So what are the issues that need to be addressed? The budget deficit, fiscal policy, out of control spending, jobs, the economy, terrorism, policy in the Middle East etc. How is Trump's "sexist" and "racist" attitude going ruin things for the country (but more importantly, what's it mean to YOU)?
On the foreign policy front: If you think that Obama and Clinton (as Secretary of State) have done an awesome job in that department then you need mental help. The Middle East is as bad or worse. Now, in addition to Iraq and Afghanistan, we have Syria and Libya and Iran issues. Obama's administration was supposed to end the wars; they've actually expanded the conflict. Clinton was a large part of that administration. And let's not forget the tragedy in Benghazi. And instead of antagonizing Russia why aren't we recognizing their position in the global community and forming bonds of peace and mutual interest? Saying that Russia is the DNC hacker, and associating Trump with that, is outright libel! The current administration doesn't care that they're pissing off the second largest nuclear power in the world and they think that Trump is the one who's mouth is going to screw this country?
What exactly is it about Trump that is going to torpedo this nation? Because right now I'm not seeing anything other than people being offended by who he is and who he isn't to them specifically. That's his biggest downfall. He's blunt, honest about his feelings, he's unafraid to say what's on his mind. Is that worse than Hillary's series of lies and deceit so long and encompassing that it's akin to Bill Cosby's accuser levels of overwhelming circumstantial evidence? And the only thing they want to talk about is someone's tax returns...what do they think that's going to tell them? Secret dirt? That's not how taxes work...plus Trump won't have to disclose anything that isn't gaining him money so tax returns are not a metric for determining wealth or anything else other than a snapshot of his personal taxes. Hillary's emails on the other hand...we have already learned a lot, and with 33,000 still  missing, I'm sure we'd learn a lot more. And instead of decrying the "Russian hackers" how about we decry what they uncovered. Corruption in the DNC!
Trump's personal successes outweigh his failures, he's a successful business man, a successful (if controversial) brand, he's a television personality. What exactly has Hillary Clinton done in her time in public office? If Trump used a million dollar loan to get started, what is the value of using a husband who was governor and then president as a stepping stone to her own political aspirations? Trump may have declared bankruptcy in a few of his businesses but Hillary Clinton is morally bankrupt. What I haven't seen from her is anything that indicates she is a good leader...nothing, no policy, no political decisions, not one piece of legislation, nothing.
National issues don't include whether or not someone is polite. National issues mean things that affect us all. At home that means the bloated budget, creating jobs, immigration and terrorism. Some of Trump's ideas may seem outlandish (the wall), but he's not wrong about companies taking their business elsewhere. Hillary supported NAFTA and the Trans Pacific Partnership and the former has been one of the single worst things to happen to the nation from an industry standpoint. Trump, conversely, has been steadfast for nearly 30 years about what he thinks about the American economy, look up his interviews on Youtube from the 80's and 90's. Hillary has flip flopped dozens of times on any given issue, you can look those up too. Consistency of view means Trump's been thinking about these issues for years. People see Trump as this divisive figure, or a joke, or think of him as the "You're Fired" Guy. But the truth is the Donald Trump loves this nation, and he has used the laws of this nation to become a very successful man. He's not a criminal, he's never been censured, or convicted of anything, Hillary cannot say the same. He's been sued, but name me a billionaire or corporation that hasn't. Failed corporations? Bankruptcy isn't a crime it's a tool to restructure debt. The US Government has an overwhelming amount of debt and there are states close to default at this very moment. Our national credit rating was downgraded because of our failure to pay our interest rates on our national debt. This is not because Trump didn't pay his "fair share". It's because we've let the same people who got us into these messes continue to give us bad governance and blame the rich for it.
If you don't like the guy, that's fine. If you'd like vote 3rd party, fine. But if you think he's worse than someone who's already had opportunities to make policy changes, who's already made things worse, who's gotten people killed, who's been irresponsible with classified government documents, who's got a history of highly questionable associations, decisions and scandals...then you're part of the problem.

So, it has come to this.

It's been a while...and nothing has changed. I'd love to imagine a universe where people actually used the brains they were given to better understand the world around themselves. Alas, it is not to be. We see the world gradually sliding further and further towards the inevitable. And in the words of REM, "I feel fine".
No, I'm not angry, I'm not upset, or saddened. This is how things go.
Right now the United States is on the edge of it's inevitable collapse. The powers that be have sapped this once great nation of all value and are preparing for the fall. "How can this be?!?!" You cry, "This is AMERICA!"
Oh you poor, poor, delusional soul. Did you imagine that things could be this way forever? Every empire has its beginning and its end. The United States is no different. We will give way to the next great empire, slowly declining and changing, like a star collapsing in on itself. And just as a star releases destruction before it stabilizes once again, so too, the United States will not go quietly. Already we can see the first signs of unrest bubbling to the surface and manifesting in our cities and across our nation. People crowd the streets screaming for justice, equality, vengeance, or just screaming in hatred.
The Media and Government would have you believe that this is because of any number of reasons: police brutality, guns, banks, the environment, terror, security, left, right...
It's not.
This is the Invisible Stick. A slave that does not understand who their captors are still know that they are not free. This unrest is the cracks appearing in the facade that once was the "flag waving", "USA chanting" American way of life that we grew up with. We are beginning to see the ugliness.
Sadly the picture is either still too obscured or it is beyond comprehension because the unrest in the nation is flowing in hundreds of different directions and at hundreds of different targets. There is no unity to the question of "What is wrong with this nation?". There are many theories...
The real problem isn't that hard to understand. It's so simple that most people won't even believe it. It's something we see everyday, can't live without and are effectively slaves to. It has no value in and of itself, yet it is hoarded and collected and highly sought after.
Paper currency.
Paper currency to the majority of people on the planet is one of the most highly coveted and desired things a person can possess. And yet it is merely paper with ink on it. Paper currency is the lifeblood of civilization and economics. And it's completely worthless without our putting value upon it. We cannot function within society without it.
But everyone needs money right? Well firstly, it's not money, money has unwavering value. Currency is a fluctuating thing. The government actually shreds currency when it is retired or damaged, something that had "value" suddenly has no more value than any other paper garbage. That is not money, and ultimately it is worthless. Rich people understand this. They do not invest in currency, they use it to buy land and mining rights and gold and silver and art and jewels and real estate holdings, and intangible value such as media or government influence...currency's value goes down yearly. The dollar of 2015 has the buying power of a 1915 nickle. That's right, your dollar is worth 5 cents. Would you rather have an ounce of gold or it's cash equivalent?  What if I gave you that gold twenty years ago or the cash equivalent? In April of 1995 gold was worth about $391.00/ounce. I could give you that or it's currency value in cash...if you held that currency until today you'd still have $391. If I gave you an ounce of gold though...it's currency value would have changed dramatically. Today as I write this gold is worth $1,189.00/ounce.
You might say: "Well the price of gold went up! It's value changed!" Well let's use another example. The average price of a car in 1995 was $12,800.00. Today, this very day, USA Today (no pun) released an article http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/05/04/new-car-transaction-price-3-kbb-kelley-blue-book/26690191/ stating that the average car price is now $33,360.00. It's still a car, sure it might have a few new components but does it have $20,000 more than a 1995 car?
The point is that technically the value of gold doesn't change, the buying power of currency changes. It's gone down. What you could buy in 1995 (an ounce of gold) for about $400.00 will cost you almost $1200.00 today.
I didn't start this as an economics lesson, I started this to point out that the problem is people thinking that paper and things of little real value are important when they are not. That iPhone 6 isn't worth $600 dollars or more...and it certainly won't be worth that in 3 years. What you think of as valuable is just something headed to the recycling plant in 5 years...
The real value of this world is already bought and paid for. We're just fighting over the leftover scraps and false promises. The media is controlled by people of real wealth. It tells us what to buy and lust after...and it's all a lie.
I recommend the following video which will explain the foundations of the lie.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFDe5kUUyT0 It will show you why the collapse in imminent.

The Loss of Guidance

In looking back over my Invisible Stick Theory post I realized that I had written about only a small part of the overall influences that have brought mankind to its current state. I feel compelled to talk a little about another aspect of the invisible stick that I didn't touch upon. I call it "The Loss of Guidance".

What is "The Loss of Guidance"? Simply put it is the abandoning or removal of traditional influences and subsequent replacement with tenants of the invisible stick. Over the last 100 years the world has changed in a great many ways. Most would say that humanity has made positive strides towards the future with the introduction of technologies that we now use on a daily basis. To certain extent this isn't an incorrect judgement, it's true that I enjoy cars, airplanes, television, telephones, the internet, etc. but I temper my love for these things with the knowledge that they can no more make me a better person than a rock or a stick can. So I am not here to discuss the ramifications of a world with TV or how the Internet is killing true knowledge and wisdom, rather I have decided to discuss what we lose as humans due to the technological society that we live in today.

Firstly though a note: I would like to point out that I feel that much of the problems of society today can be boiled down to the interference of government in personal affairs, and as such in a world without interference we might not suffer from quite the same effects as we do from technology.

The Loss of Guidance is the loss of all those things that turned fairly-good children into good adults. Would a Spartan father have told his son to Google sword fighting? Would Plato and Aristotle have told their students to get a kindle app for their iPhone in order to read the latest theories on life? Would a monk have typed out the bible in Arial Font and made 200 copies on the printer at FedEx Kinkos? Would a dairy farmer in the Midwest tell his wife to get in the minivan and go get a gallon of milk?

Technology is a double-edged sword, on the one hand man finds himself tied to the convinience of having everything at arms length, but the humanity of...well...humanity is lost by not knowing about the world around us in a more personal way.

Examples:
I can tell you how many people died in a suspected terrorist attack, but I can't tell who my next door neighbor is. I know when my favorite sitcom is coming on but I need facebook to remind me when my friend's birthdays are. Instead of talking to someone face-to-face I prefer to text them. When I need help with an assignment in school I wikipedia the subject instead of asking my dad, or going to the library. When I come home from work I sit and watch a landscaping show instead of going out and planting my own garden. Instead of knowing where my food comes from I trust that the government will keep me healthy, and so on and so on.

As a species we are losing our historical identities in favor of a more global view. If Queen Victoria did something in England over 100 years ago, a man in Arizona may not hear about it for months, if ever. If the Queen of England is grabbed inappropriately by a celebrity today I can read about it 10 minutes after it happened online. What were once just stories about the world of men have in fact now become ongoing concerns for us on a daily basis. Why should I care about what's going on in the Middle East? Why should Angelina Jolie's life be a subject of discussion between myself and others? Why does it matter what the President's been doing while on vacation in Hawaii? And why do I care about the idiotic redneck who tried to jump a house in a snow mobile? The truth is, I shouldn't care at all, I will most likely never meet these people or deal with them on a one-on-one basis. They shouldn't preoccupy my thinking nor should they be of concern to me in my daily life. I can't afford to take on the extra burden of the global issues that I most likely will not change and which ultimately never affect JUST me. I should focus closer to home and realize where my focus should be. But mankind chooses to fail more often then we choose to succeed.

So what then is lost because of technology and the world around us today?

Families are decimated because of the world today. 50-60% of all couples get divorced. Children cannot be taught in schools because they respect nothing, they are killing each other and themselves because no one told them that it was wrong, or even that they were loved. Parents have consciously and unconsciously given over their parental responsibilities to schools, television, popular culture, and the internet. I again reiterate that I am not against these technologies, however I feel that many people think they come to represent the replacement of familial obligations. Indeed it is hard for parents to even be an influence to their children. With work obligations these days both parents may be working, kids get shuffled into day care...then later left to their own devices until the parents come home too exhausted to cook dinner and too beat down by their job to want to answer their children's cries for help. Child counselors, psychologists, and medications have replaced parental love and guidance. But sadly this is not the only reason we're messed up as a species.

The family's destruction is a small part of the much larger community decimation agenda. Not too far back if a neighbor saw a child doing something wrong they'd go out on their front porch and say something. Now-a-days, the neighbor says nothing to the child for fear of retaliation from the child or the parent, fear of retaliation from the state (Child Abuse etc.)or they simply decide to call the police and turn something simple into something very dangerous and potentially life-threatening.

The loss of family and community also affects development at school. Teachers now fear student reprisals, outbursts and even violence. Metal detectors and police create a small prison system where children must go to learn. Gone are the days when kids came and went from classes in a happy atmosphere, where walking home from school wasn't a struggle against bullies and violence and where disputes were settled with words and sometimes fists, but never with the intent to kill or seriously injure another. Romance wasn't about who could get pregnant first, and children dressed their age.

We did this to ourselves, we allowed it to happen. Try as you might to argue for the current system, either as a necessity or inevitability, the fact remains that we as a species are not in a good place, and I feel that this is due in large part to the destruction of those positive influences that have shaped mankind since it first took steps in the deserts of Africa. Our first teachers were our families, then our community, and then our educators. Our teachers were never our technology, our government, or the corporations. These institutions work in concert to remove all of our free will and separate us from the true influences, because they want to be the only thing we listen to. If we listened to our parents then Eminem wouldn't sell 10 million records, and if we'd listened to our neighbors we wouldn't be in juvenile detention for vandalism, breaking and entering, or assault. If we listened to real educators we wouldn't be struggling as a nation to compete in the world economy. If we stopped listening to our governments we'd realize that raising a child is like breaking a stallion, not coddling a kitten with an ego. If we stopped listening to our televisions we'd know that our world doesn't need to be this way if we decide to change who we are, rather than what car we drive.

The Loss of Guidance is a key component to the success of The Invisible Stick.

Rise of the Invisible Stick Theory

I was wondering this past week how it is that humanity has gotten to where we are today and the "evolution" of mankind as a social species. Homo Sapiens Sapiens appeared in Africa about 200,000+ years ago. To put that in perspective that's 100 times longer than we are away from the birth of Christ. We were a hunter/gatherer species that slowly spread its way across the world. "Out of Africa" humanity made its way across Asia, Australia and later into Europe and then the Americas. The majority of our species' history is scientifically speculative and certainly there is little specific information regarding man in the times prior to about 3700BC or 5700BP (Before Present). Recorded human history is about 2% of our entire species existence. For the lion share of the time prior to recorded history mankind was little more than small nomadic groups that followed the food supply.

So what's my point? For all of recorded human history, and presumably much further back mankind has struggled against nature; and yet we remain irrevocably the flesh animals of our earliest evolution. The struggle for survival pitted man not only against nature but inevitably against each other. Not merely survival of the fittest, mankind used his blossoming intellect to not only dominate his surroundings but ultimately to dominate others of his own kind. All things being equal between men the need for a tactical advantage arose...who knows when, but given our present trend of violence towards each other I imagine that conflict amongst ourselves was an early adopted trait. I surmise that the first way to dominate others was in fact by the use of tools, or simply, the man with the biggest stick gets to be the leader. But it's more than that, because men don't just go and get a stick and suddenly they're in charge. There's more to it than that. Men rule over other men not only because they can physically dominate them, but because they can also mentally dominate them. The fear of perceived strength is what I call "The Invisible Stick". This invisible stick is how man maintains his dominance over others. Once conquered, mankind does not need to be physically dominated in order to stay in line. They merely need to "believe" that they are dominated and their own insecurities and fears will keep them more or less in line. The invisible stick however is a delicate balance between force and benevolence. A man will only take oppression so long before he needs to free himself from tyranny. Our instinct to be free is strong and therefore rule through force and intimidation can only go on so long before the oppressed rise up to throw off their oppressors. Thus the evolution of both the "physical stick" and the "invisible stick" had to happen. Mankind used tools to both improve their lives and also to protect themselves from others. The stick evolved: Clubs, Spears, Swords, Bows, Guns, Bombs, etc. are all merely man's way of creating a better stick. To imagine that the invisible stick did not evolve also is foolish at best. I postulate that the invisible stick's evolution was much more subtle and devious.

Power. That's what man wants. Even more than survival man strives to dominate everything around himself. Once mankind dominated nature through agriculture they turned towards dominating others. Thus the rise of society. And how can a small group dominate those around them? Laws. The greatest breakthrough in invisible stick dominance came with the introduction of Law. Once again though, how does that work? Just because one person says something it does not necessarily mean that others will accept what they're told. The earliest invisible stick still needed a physical stick to maintain order. But what if the invisible stick could be backed up by another invisible stick? The invisible stick got a big boost from those who used deities as a way to create law. The "gods" who makes the sun rise and the rains fall must indeed have a very large stick because they can use their powers to control the entire earth. Link the two invisible sticks together and you get fear of a greater power. All manner of religions use fear in order to dominate. The perceived penalties for disobeying god/gods must be much worse than getting beaten with a stick. Physical abuse pales in comparison to the eternal torture associated with the afterlife for those who step out of line. This particular aspect of the invisible stick has lasted our entire recorded history and still exists today. It's a major part of the human experience...but it is not the furthest evolution of the invisible stick. Indeed the use of God as a way to keep man in line lost a lot of power in the last 400 years. During the dark ages and middle ages religions used the fear of God as a way to impose law onto the masses. Kings ruled because they were "divinely" appointed to be the rulers. It was a way for the church and secular leaders to maintian control. No man has ever been divinely appointed to RULE anyone. Those who subscribe to the Judeo-Christian traditions know that Jesus never ascribed to rule by force or even rule by divine appointment. The greatest commandments are these, Love God above all things and love your neighbor as yourself. God to man, that's the connection, it isn't God to government to man, although all governments would have us believe that they are above us.

The truth is this: The "invisible stick" only has power when we believe it has power...when we GIVE it power. The invisible stick is not wielded by the oppressor, it is wielded by the oppressed. We fear the consequences of our own capitulation to a system that is only in place because we allow it to be. Governments then use the "physical stick" as a way to insure that the invisible stick cannot be broken. That's what police/soldiers are for. To "Protect and Serve" has given way to "Enforce and Intimidate". And notice that the physical aspect of the stick is only used as a last resort. The threat of the use of the physical stick is what keeps most of us in line.

The best implementation of the "Invisible Stick" is one that does not require that we recognize it. If the invisible stick remains invisible man cannot react to it. If we don't know that we're being controlled and merely accept our circumstances as the De Facto way of life then we can't even recognize that there is a stick at all. I postulate that even those who actually wade through this theory will have a hard time accepting the truth; which is another evolution of the invisible stick. If one does not recognize that they're being controlled then one cannot throw off the oppressors because one does not recognize the oppression. We as humans have lulled ourselves into believing that fundamentally there is nothing wrong with one person or a group of people benefiting from the control of others. Here in the United States we all like to say that "All men are created equal", yet no one says that "All men remain equal".

We must not only see that we are being controlled but we must also KNOW that a system is merely a system because we accept it. Once we KNOW that we are free, nothing but the physical stick can hurt us. I could be shot and killed, but inside my head I was still as free as any person. Even locked away in a dungeon, my mind is still as free as those outside. The invisible stick cannot control a free mind.

No man can serve two masters...

Hi, I'm Lars Tennyson, that's all. Any other terms used to describe me by others in order to fit me into some category or class are important only to those people using them and are not important to me. I recognize only One Authority above myself, and it isn't a government, group or person. Anything that inserts itself between me and the Creator is a false authority deriving its power from the ignorant and the blind. I will not be lead by the blind nor by the ignorant. Will you?

“Hey Eckhart! Think about the future!”

Technology is moving fast, and I was thinking about how soon we'll be so inundated by technology that we will start forgetting that we actually started out as a hunter/gatherer species. This summer I spent a lot of time helping my brother to tend his garden and take care of his pigs/chickens/turkeys and it got me thinking about the dichotomy of an agrarian life versus one of technology. As the country slowly sinks deeper into this recession coming closer and closer to imminent disaster and collapse it brought me to an interesting idea. Since technology is dependent on infrastructure to maintain it, if that infrastructure was suddenly to collapse what would I do? I think many Americans would suddenly find their lives in complete ruins. In fact I believe that future technologies may actually hurt humanity's chances at survival. In addition, the fact is that technology is starting to become TOO invasive; cameras everywhere; too much information about us online; the rise of "security" for protection, etc. I read recently about a city in Mexico that was installing "Iris" eye scanning tech everywhere to reduce crime...the spokesman for the company said that he believed that this would be universal in 10-15 years. I don't know about you people but this idea scares the shit out of me. SO, my idea is simple, I am starting a Neo-Quaker movement, that refuses to accept new technology past 2010 without first bringing it before a committee and discussing its value to mankind. If it is deemed to be more harmful than good we will refuse to use it on the grounds that our bodies are the shell of our souls and we wish that nothing shall come between us and God. I am currently in the planning stages of this and look forward to getting more people on board. I am tired of trading my freedoms for more security, and I'm tired of technology making us forget thousands of years of man's development. I want to get back to nature in a positive way, allowing me to both live as man has always lived, while still being able to appreciate aspects of our technological advancement. More outdoors, more gardening, more living off the land while reducing my need to pick vegetables at the grocery store, or buy food laden down with harmful chemicals. Progress has its place, and it shouldn't be at the cost of my humanity.

Its time Mr. Smith...

I have finally begun to take photos of my LEGO Collection/creations...I am upgrading my camera/lighting to attain the best resolution possible...More bulletins as events warrant...Stay tuned, or check face book, for now...

I did know something you didn't, but just not that...

I got nothing, which in Zen terms is the point...I have been lazy, and preoccupied, and as a result my posts to this nonexistent BLOG have disappeared. The truth hurts, but also heals. A decent contradiction if you think about it. Regardless, there is much to say, even more to do, and an infinite amount of things to contemplate. That was always the point. It took pure unadulterated evil to remind me of what I was doing here and why. Weird...Nevertheless, if I can stumble across a blond girl masturbating at 90 M.P.H. whilst driving down the Interstate, then like Kevin Garnett, Anything is Possible...So what does this mean? I have had a very bizarre and somehow interesting life to this point, and it should be written down for others to laugh at, be disgusted by, cry for, vomit because of, or generally be entertained by ONE of 6.6 billion people on this rock floating around the giant nuclear furnace in the sky, more commonly known as the Sun. It would be selfish and borderline evil of me, if I were to hoard my own tomfoolery to myself. A vast majority of my life experiences don't happen to "normal" people, and by normal I mean everyone on the planet but me [Ha Ha]. In all seriousness, with as many times as I have told the tales of my spirit journey through life, the reaction is pretty much the same: "That doesn't happen to anyone else." or "How do you get into these situations?" and my personal favorite, "Only you, Mr. Smith, only you..." Therefore, I will begin to document, loosely, the random events that spice up my existence, plague me like a swarm of hostile locusts, and all points in between. I have known some great storytellers in my day, but no one could make up the the menagerie of of events that have made up my life to this point. So in the light of entertainment, education, and prevention, the coffee table book will be coming to a bookstore near you very soon...I dare you to make less sense.
"Fat girls need love to, just not from us..." - Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots

Where have I been?

Good question...The beauty of our system of "justice" threw me in jail for 30 days because of a computer operating system switch over...never mind that I had done nothing wrong, and followed virtually every rule imposed upon me by the Dept. of Child Enforcement, even though no one can tell me where my daughter is, why I can't see her, or where the money I been paying all along for child support is going. I did not find this out until 10 hours from being released. Awesome.

Anywho, I owe much to a few people for helping me through aforementioned crisis, and will be posting more tomfoolery soon in their honor. Until then...

"Captain's log, Stardate 28JAN10, thank the sweet Lord above, that stardate 09 is over..."

Retro Comedy Review

Sitting around on a Saturday night can get a guy thinking. I was watching an old comedy on the computer and reminiscing about the good old days when it occurred to me to do some movie reviews for the blog. I decided to take a different slant though and review some of the classic "under-the-radar" comedies by some of Hollywood's most respected comedians. As follows is a list of movies that I highly recommend watching for the first time or dusting off and checking out again. These aren't the movies that got these guys noticed, but on Betamax these were comedic gold.

1. Armed and Dangerous (John Candy): Better known for films like Uncle Buck and The Great Outdoors, Armed and Dangerous is actually my favorite film starring John Candy. Teamed up with Eugene Levy, and co-starring a young and cute Meg Ryan, the story follows an ex-cop and a disgraced lawyer who get involved with a security company to make ends meet. Watching Candy and Levy together is a riot, they really act well against each other. Their hijinks lead them to uncover some crazy plot and they're forced to figure it out or die trying.

Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 87%

2. Running Scared (Billy Crystal): At the height of the "buddy cop" phenomenon of the 1980s Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines team up for an action comedy that few could imagine when thinking about these two. You've got a midget Jew and a tap dancing black guy who both manage to pull off convincing Chicago cops with style and humor. While Crystal's career moved on to movies like When Harry Met Sally and his unforgettable cameo as Miracle Max in The Princess Bride, I will always look fondly on his portrayal of the plucky smart mouthed Danny Costanzo in Running Scared and dream silently about the sequel that should've been but never was.

Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 92%

3. Club Paradise (Robin Williams, et al.) An ensemble cast make this rarely remembered gem worth watching. Robin Williams stars as retired fireman Jack Moniker, who makes his way to the islands for the easy life only to fall head over heels into all kinds of mayhem and hilarity. Compared to his subsequent work this movie almost makes Williams look like a normal human being and not a coked out schizophrenic character of himself. Great reggae music, costarring an actually funny Peter O'Tool, a young Rick Moranis, and Eugene Levy, it's a movie I can actually watch over and over and not get tired of.

Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 90%


4. Bowfinger (Steve Martin): I know this movie isn't that old but I really think it doesn't get enough credit. Starring Martin and Eddie Murphy, this movie is really a good contemporary film by two actors who by all other accounts forgot how to be funny after 1991. In 1999 this movie was so unexpectedly good that most people just didn't even see it...after all, Murphy had just done the UN-funny Dr. Doolittle and Holy Man, while Martin had done the equally retch inducing Father of the Bride II and Sgt. Bilko. Bowfinger was a fresh cool comedy about a nearly-over-the-hill director who wants to make his masterpiece before his Hollywood time runs out. Yes, it's easy to say that Eddie Murphy steals the show, however I really enjoyed Steve Martin's performance as Bobby Bowfinger...his easy comedic style was a welcome departure from his more over-the-top performances (see The Pink Panther etc.)

Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 95%

5. The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew (Rick Moranis/Dave Thomas): Before there were the movies Half Baked, Beer Fest and the host of other movie-to-get-wasted-by there was Strange Brew. This is a movie about two loser brothers who couldn't find their way out of a wet paper sack, do nothing but drink beer and eat donuts, and yet somehow manage to make us all laugh and enjoy a rather bland looking movie (supposed to be Canadian so I guess BLAND is the way to go). Just a lot of fun watching Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas act like sloshed idiots...this movie made the word "Hoser" popular...if you don't know what a hoser is it means most likely you are one.

Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 88%

OK...go to Netflix and order these movies.

Other notable, not-so-famous comedies to check out include:
Fletch Lives (Chevy Chase) I thought this was a good sequel, but apparently I'm in the minority
PCU (Jeremy Piven) Great 90s college movie, pre-American Pie and Van Wilder bullcrap.
Airheads (Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler)...dumb funny, but worth watching.
Trading Places (Akroyd and Murphy) just in case you forgot about this one. A Classic!
Pure Luck (Martin Short and Danny Glover) shut up I liked it!

Lars T.

Life doesn't make any sense, and we all pretend it does. Comedy's job is to point out that it doesn't make sense, and that it doesn't make much difference anyway. -Eric Idle