Darth Vader has a mental disorder

The Sith Lord would find their lack of faith in his belief in the Force disturbing.

A letter to the editor in the journal Psychiatry Research explores just what is wrong with Vader. French researchers posit that Vader exhibits six out of the nine criteria for borderline personality disorder. Unstable moods, interpersonal relationships, and behaviors are all characteristics of this condition, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. It affects 2 percent of adults, mostly young women.

The young Anakin Skywalker was separated from his mother at an early age, and his father was absent, factors that could have contributed to borderline personality disorder. His "infantile illusions of omnipotence" and "dysfunctional experiences of self and others" are also indicative of this condition from an early age.

Now psychiatrists are diagnosing famous movie characters? At least it explains why Anakin was such a whiny punk in the prequel trilogy.

Dumb and Dumber: America's Idiots

Made this earlier tonight. I have a new Adobe photoshop, so I decided to have a little fun, at the expense of Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman.

An Interview with yours truly, Pt. 3

So what's it like to write for Banned and Dangerous?
I love it! The Count and RalphyFan have been so encouraging to me as a contributor to the site. I love the feedback I get whenever I write something about current events, media, or sports, or whatever comes to mind that day. The best part is probably the fact that what we do isn't always centered about politics, because if it was, we'd burn ourselves out from all the bullshit that goes on constantly.

The Count loves to write about his Nebraska Cornhuskers. Why don't you ever write about your San Diego State Aztecs?
I'm not much of an NCAA fan. I guess I could write about the men's basketball team, but I don't watch that much college basketball.

But not about Aztecs football.
God no. It's not as fun to write about a team that's consistently bad every season.

So that's where writing and reviewing movies comes in.
I've never looked at it that way, but now, i'm going to have to! Laughs. Movies have always been a passion for me, going back to when I was four or five when mom took me to see The Flintstones. It's been a love affair ever since.

What would you say is your favorite movie?
Oh geeez, this is hard. There are so many that I love and stay with me to this day, but I would say its between Pulp Fiction and The Godfather Part II. Pulp Fiction because Quentin Tarantino accomplished what Martin Scorsese did with Mean Streets and Taxi Driver decades ago: he took the crime thriller scenario and turned the genre on its head. The whole movie is out of order, and yet, there's terrific pacing and flow within Tarantino's lurid tales of hitmem, washed-up prizefighters, redemption, and a mysterious suitcase that glows. The Godfather Part II is, frankly, the best sequel ever made. Its a scary portrait of Michael Corleone's rise as the new Don, but his rapid decent into moral bankruptcy, and how his predecessor, Don Vito, his father, rose to power and how radically different the two men are.

An Interview with yours truly, Pt. 2

You've mentioned on the Forums and on here of your love for English alternative bands Radiohead and Coldplay.
Coldplay, I fell in love with I picked up X&Y in 2006. It's strange that I became a fan, but thought no.3 was their weakest effort. Radiohead came one year later, thanks to Keg from the O/T Forums. Seriously, both bands are just amazing. Chris Martin and Thom Yorke are like my yin and yang.

Your yin and yang?
Laughs. It's strange, I know, but they are. Thom is my more pessimistic side: he's the person who understands what it's like to have no connection with the stuff society markets to my generation; the person who feels as if i'm alone in this world. Chris is the eternal optimist: he's been there and come out the other side better than when he entered; the person who's constantly telling me to never yield to total despair.

So they're a reflection of the two sides of yourself.
Exactly. Radiohead's music is moody and constantly reflects on the sorry state of the world. Coldplay does that, but for the most part, prefer to see the glass half-full, and focus on the good that comes out of every situation, no matter how bleak. And that's me in a nutshell. Plus, they're two of the best bands in the world currently.

Let's apply the two sides to the Obama presidency. What would both have to say?
Well, "Thom" would sum up his presidency so far, by borrowing a line from Pete Townshend: "meet the new boss, same as the old boss." We're still in Iraq and escalating in Afghanistan, the health care system is still being run by greedy, blood-sucking insurance companies, and the same people who helped create the financial disaster head up the President's economic team. We might have changed leaders, but their policies still remain: help big business while the middle and working class continues to suffer.

I'm guessing "Chris" would have a different take.
Actually, he would agree with some of the points "Thom" brought up. He would also remind "Thom" of one of the things then-candidate Obama said: that there would be mistakes and false starts, and that change would not come easy. He would also point out that under the Obama Administration, that there has been significant change: The mere fact that he actually thinks things through, as opposed to making rash decisions and bragging about using his gut, like his predecessor did, is a revelation in of itself. We didn't get the public option plan we would want, but we did give 32 million people a chance to purchase health insurance and it eliminates pre-existing conditions, among other things; it develops a structure that will be improved upon in the near future. Just this week, Obama's brought together 49 nations and got them to agree to eradicate nuclear material in four years. None of this would have happened under a McCain/Palin administration.

And who would you side with?
With Chirs. The symbol for the Democratic Party is a donkey, and it suits our personality well: we're stubborn when we don't get everything we want in a single shot, and we lose sight of the bigger picture. Over at the Huffington Post, I keep hearing from other memebers on how Obama's sold out, and how it's time to abandon ship and vote for Ralph Nader. I want to scream out, "Are you serious?! Amp down the drama and get yourselves together!" Obama is not Jesus. He's not nearly every role Clint Eastwood has played as the Avenging Angel. Yes, he's sympathetic to our casue and yes, he is a liberal, but he's also not an idiot. He's beginning to realize that for all of his talks about being a post-partisan president, that it's probably not going to happen as long as the Republicans continue to pander to the crazy base that can't stand the fact that a white man is no longer in power.

Part three of our interview with Jonathan tomorrow.

An Interview with yours truly, Pt. 1

ET and Count have interviewed themselves, so why not I?

How long have you been blogging and how did you get started?
I have been blogging about politics, media, and things happening in my life for over three years now. I have a site called Jonathan's Corner, which I write whenever I can. I am also a contributor to Banned and Dangerous and I (occasionally) write for Newshounds, when i'm not busy with college life, that is. As to how I got started, I was a junior in high school when began to blog. I was on the school newspaper, and both my theapist and newspaper teacher told me I had a pallet for writing, so I should blog about what I hear on the news and what's happening in my general life. Probably some of the best advice i've gotten.

Why Banned And Dangerous?
On the Newshounds Off-Topic Forum, I had this obsession with a paticular conservative blog called Blogs For Bush.com that was run by Mark Noonan and Matt Margolis, and so I, more ofter than not, took their posts about how the former president was doing such a great job running the country, and how liberals are unpatriotic idiots who are emboldening our enemies, and I posted them on the Forums. One of the guys who is on the Forum, Count Istvan, had a blog dedicaed to all the crazy rambelings of some troll (blogger who comes around to any site and starts bagging on others for fun or out of boredom) named Ranger Bob and I asked him over an email if I could join him. The rest, as they say, is history...

Did the people on the Forums get tired of you talking about what Mark Noonan said today?
I think they did. One thing i've learned is that when you constantly bitch and gripe about something or someone, eventually people just become sick and tired about what you have to hear them say about so-and-so. I mean, we get it: he's a rabidly partisan Bush/Republican loyalist. What's new about that? Its the main reason why I don't do as may posts on Mark Noonan anymore.

You're a very astute obeservor of current affairs. Where did that come from?
That comes from my dad. When I was young, he and I used to watch CNN's The Capitol Gang with Pat Buchannan and Margaret Carlson and two others that I can't remember the names of who were on the show. Mostly I watched because of the verbal jabs they would take at one another; I thought it was as exciting aas watching WWF every Saturday! I usually asked questions about what they were talking about,and dad would always give me the play-by-play. I really got into politics during the leadup to the War in Iraq. I was really mad then becasue it seemed that our leaders were this close to starting another war, this time, for reasons that didn't make sense to begin with, and the country was still in shock after 9/11 to give a damn about what we were about to do. It was as if everyone around me went mad.

So you were prety mad going into high school, I take it?
(Laughs) I was confused and pissed off! For those four years (from 2004-2008), I was mad that I didn't fit into any of the cliques that dominated my high school. One girl who I thought liked me, basically played me into talking her to the movies during my freshman year, and I was devistated. I was afraid to get hurt like that again, so I just stayed away, but that's another story altogether. I couldn't understand how young people like me were so into American Idol and Laguna Beach and what fucked-up shenanagans Brittney [Spears] and Paris [Hilton] were getting into now, rather than how the most powerful country in the world was being led by an incompetent son of priveldge, and that the people he surrounded himself were either shady, back-door dealing thugs doing the will of the defense contractors and Corporate America, or were just merely bobble-headed yes-men who would be guarenteed to never say, "Mr. President, I don't think this plan of action is in the best interests of the country. I think we need to re-think our objective." Its as if the vast majority of the people were plugged into the Matrix, into the dream world where everything's fine and guys like Morpheus and Trinity are a threat to our security just becasue Agents say they are.

Part two of our interview with Jonathan later on.

An Interview With The Count ( Hey If Ralph Can Do One)

Why Banned And Dangerous?

The original name for the Blog was Ranger Bob And Friends and it's purpose was to catalog the idiotic things conservatives and Fox news fans were saying on a anti-Fox news blog called Newshounds. It was named after a conservative troll who went by Ranger Bob and many other monikers who made up stories about his life. He has claimed his Dad was the doctor for the Yankees, He went to Cornell, Cal and UCLA and he once had sex back stage with Linda Ronstadt...

Anyway I had a falling out with the folks and Newshounds (which I am glad to say is patched up) and changed the name to Banned And Dangerous.

Is This Your First blog?

Not exactly. I had a live journal which I had originally established as a place for personal opinions and a shrine to all of my personal likes. Today I mostly post on Banned And Dangerous though I still occasionally post on "The Castle" Usually pictures of a celebrity crush or 2 and a little football.

Why Count Istvan?

My Name is Istvan though I haven't ever gone by it. Of course there was an actual Count Istvan but I took the name from an Episode of the Andy Griffith show. When Barney believes wishes are being granted from a long dead Count named Istvan Telecky.

How Would You Describe Your Blog Style?

Originally I used a super amped up version of myself to post in a comedic style. Lots of F words and c**k s***ers and words like that. This was of course in the height of the biggest assault on our personal freedoms ever committed from our federal government all passed under the guise of keeping us safe. So I would sign off And George if your reading this go fuck yourself or an invite to "suck my left nut" Which I stole from Jim Anchower at the Onion. Lately there is no question I have softened the manner in which I post. Which I think is also true of myself on a personal level.

Are There Differences Between "Count Istvan" And Stephen?

Count Istvan was originally, not only on my blogs but on other blogs as well, Stephen but Stephen turned up a 1000 degrees. I do know many conservatives and I don't tell them to go F*** themselves. I am capable of the crude and lude comment that part of The Count is very much me. I will be watching a sporting event and comment that an announcer would be much easier to understand if he took an athletes C**k out his mouth that's me. But unlike The Count I am not a big fan of conflict. In fact if I have an issue that needs solved like If I feel I am getting taken advantage of from somebody I have found I get better results if I call in the guns and have them resolve the issue and that would be my wife. I am just not the guy to say anything if I get short changed 50 cents or my meal stinks at a restaurant. I think The Count might say Hey you f**ked me out of 50 cents or hey this f**king food is terrible asshole! I wouldn't. My wife would though if not quite in those words.

Similarities?

Yes for sure Like I said the crass comments that's me. Also the temper that I have unfortunately displayed on occasion is me. I have tried both as the Count and as myself to work on that. And it's not as if I am mad all the time or even for long periods of time but I don't let things build up and simmer. I throw a good old fashion 5th grader temper-tantrum and then I am over it. You rarely see me mad for longer than 30 minutes and it's usually more like 10.

Where did "The Name The View From My Ass" Come From?

I use to be a fan of the wwf/e and still will watch a few minutes on occasion though I haven't been close to a faithful viewer in years and probably won't be one again since the person I used to watch for the most keeps getting pregnant, anyway One of the announcers and suits in the company named Jim Ross wrote an article on the WWF/E website called Under The Big Black Hat. So when I was thinking of a name to name my little editorials that I wanted to convey their true value (none) other than they were what I thought I turned to that for inspiration. I also liked the fact I could use a donkey as kind of a joke.

I close with KTF which means Keep The Faith. I began closing my emails with that when talking to people who were going through some tough personal times and I liked it so I kept it.

Any Advice For Other Bloggers?

Don't take advice from me about blogging because I pretty much suck at it and never claimed otherwise. Banned And Dangerous is actually greatly improved by other bloggers who are so much better and smarter than I am. The thing that makes it all work is we are all so different. Want an effective blog? Get a group of people working to get to one destination but all of whom take a different path to get there. That's why I have such a laugh when some douchebag like Hannity, O'Reilly or Limbaugh ETC talks about Liberals as if we are all of one mind. Nothing could be further from the truth.

My other advice would be be yourself. I think I became a much happier person when I quit caring about not caring. I am never going to be "cool" even if somehow some way I was cool. That's just not me.

What Issues Do You Disagree With Other Progressives on?

First of all I hate the term progressives. I watch The Andy Griffith Show and listen to Sinatra what am I progressing to 1966? Besides the term came about because people of limited intelligence made us ashamed to say we were Liberals. There are few people less personally progressive than I am. If you saw me out smoking a cigar or saw my IPOD immediately you would say conservative and you would be wrong.

Which brings be to something I don't like that I often see from Liberals. They put political meanings on things that have none. Do Conservatives often do the same thing? Yes! But by our very definition we of all people should not. No Music in and of itself is a "conservative" music. Where is the Conservative message in Your Cheatin' Heart?

I always laugh when I hear a Liberal cry about commercialism or ownership society or whatever they call it. Especially when they are typing on a computer they own because they bought it at the store. Sometimes I read this and just think get real.

I get frustrated with other Liberals because they often have short attention spans and don't often fight the best battles. As I have said Liberals will often start on one crusade and then half way through some cow will get tipped over and they are off on another. Often our inability to stick to the task at hand means we seldom win a battle and when we do the battle is so insignificant that we often lose the war.

Finally it saddens me how much Liberals are behind the nanny state. I hear supposed Liberals talk about not eating meat or putting calorie counts on menu's or wanting to take away a persons right to smoke even in their own home and I feel like the animals on Animal Farm. When I hear this I can't tell the difference between the nanny left and the religious right. The Pigs are morphing into the humans. Look at the list of people on Brent Bozo III Parent Television Council. You know the people who think they know better than us what we should watch? Look how many of those people aren't Conservatives. It's really sad.

Thank You For Your Time

Thank you!

RALPH on the Record!

Well, it's official - Blog Interviewer has published Ralph's submitted interview, caps-lock and all.

Thought I'd throw it up here so we can stop by their site and give Ralph some commentary.

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Pullin' a Palin

Found this on Urban Dictionary.

1. Quitting when the going gets tough; abandoning the responsibility entrusted to you by your neighbors for book advances and to make money on the lecture circuit.

2. Bizarre move that will damn ambitions for higher office.
I bet when people saw Jade they were convinced that David Caruso was pullin' a Palin.

Here's another definition.

To admit that you are quitting your job because your employers would be better off without you.

This is my favorite one.

Responding to direct questions with a barrage of pithy cliches and folksy colloquialisms to avoid admitting that you don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about.

So have at it: What's your definition for "Pullin' a Palin?"

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Found this at an ignorant fuck for ignorant fucks website. Really I am at a loss for what to say.

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Political Oscars

Hat tip to Arianan Huffington. Here are some of the winners she selected:

Sex Scene:
Best: Kate Winslet and David Kross in The Reader
Worst: Eliot Spitzer and Ashley Dupré in Client #9

Rip Off:
Best: the compromising photo stolen in The Bank Job
Worst: the $50 billion Bernie Madoff stole from his hapless clients

Return on Investment:
Best: Slumdog Millionaire, which cost $15 million to make and has grossed over $130 million worldwide.
Worst: the $350 billion we gave to Wall Street banks -- with nothing to show for it.

Sequel:
Best: The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's brooding follow up to Batman Begins
Worst: TARP II, Tim Geithner's vague follow up to Hank Paulson's Bailout Begins

Here are my winners:

Actor in a Supporting Role
Best: Heath Ledger
Worst: Joe the Plumber

Achievement in Visual Effects
Best: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Worst: John McCain's promise to run a respectful campaign

Breakthrough Performance by an Actor or Actress
Best: Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Worst: Sarah Palin, The Maverick and the MILF

Song
Best: "O...Saya", A.R. Rahman and M.I.A.
Worst: "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran", John McCain

Choerography
Best: Bollywood musical number at the end of Slumdog Millionaire
Worst: Barack Obama showing off his dance moves, Crapdance

Actress in a Leading Role
Best: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Worst: Hillary Clinton, A Very Long Engagement

On-Screen Duo
Best: Seth Rogen & James Franco, Pineapple Express
Worst: Fmr. Gov. Rod Blagojevich & Sen. Roland Burris, Dumb & Dumber

Romantic Leading Man
Best: Hugh Jackman, Australia
Worst: John Edwards, The Heartbreak Kid

Have at it!

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Yeah I got this from Newshounds :)

OK Jonathan Create A Caption.

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You Have Just Been Elected President

Using Only The Newshounds Family...put your cabinet together.

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