11. Doubt — It looks stagey, probably because it was a stage play. But it's got a killer cast. So why do I keep thinking this is going to be goofy?

12. The Reader — An adaptation of the best-selling novel, this new film from Stephen Daldry (The Hours) looks to be quite a stirrer. A killer cast (Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz) doesn't hurt, either. I'm assuming what appears to be the significant presence of sexuality will trim down the proper audience.

13. 7 Pounds — I confess, this looks incredibly hokey to me. I know it re-teams Will Smith and his Pursuit of Happyness directo (Gabriele Muccino). But I almost laughed the first time I saw this trailer. It looks like a droolingly clumsy version of If I Had a Million (which itself was a really good film).  Hope I'm wrong.

14. Angels & Demons — They're back for more. Ron Howard, Tom Hanks & novelist Dan Brown. However, I doubt people are going to be mesmerized by the cultishness this time. Just a guess.

15. Che (The Argentine + Guerrilla) — Steven Soderbergh's two-part epic continues the story of Che Guevera that began with The Motorcycle Diaries. Lead actor Benicio del Toro already won Best Actor at Cannes for his portrayal of el Che. Unfortunately, the only trailer I could find was this poorly assembled, dimly-lit version with no subtitles. Lo siento.

16. Miracle at St Anna — Spike Lee's newest is, well, nothing like a Spike Lee movie. It follows a group of African-American soldiers who become trapped in a Tuscan village during World War II. Looks interesting, to say the least.

I know I left out Yes Man and Bedtime Stories. Sorry. So, what are you looking forward to?

I like the word pundit itself because it contains the word pun. Again I appeal to dictionary.com… Pun: 1. the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words. 2. the word or phrase used in this way.

As much as I like puns, though, I don’t always like what pundits say. They can draw some of the wildest conclusions from a set of facts or events, suggesting a different meaning, much like a punster does, only it doesn’t always bring laughter. Their conclusions sometimes leave me scratching my head or talking back to the radio or TV. (Just ask my wife….)

Here in the upstate of South Carolina we’ve broken some records this week for cold temperatures and are experiencing a bit of “Indian Winter” - a term I use based on the term “Indian Summer” to describe having a bit of winter in the middle of the fall, rather than a bit of summer in the middle of the fall. This has to drive the global warming crowd as crazy as having to postpone a global warming conference because of snow this past spring - read the story here.

I ran across a map recently from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a federal agency. It shows temperature trends from January through October of this year in the continental USA. Below is that map:

As I looked at it, I thought of the map I’d seen of the county by county election results in the 2008 presidential election. Below is that map:

Would I be going out on a limb as an amateur pundit to say that it appears that Obama voters may be causing global warming? I appeal to the collective wisdom of my readers to make their own comments about either or both of the maps. What conclusions do some of you pundits draw from what you see? Feel free to be as whacked out as professional pundits would be. Have you heard some punditry lately that you think is whacked out?

quotation…

“Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:22

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

OK, who put a “stop payment” on my reality check?

Comments

• November 20, 2008, Anita writes: Pretty obvious from the weather map that allll the hot air is in DC area!! Have a blessed Thanksgiving, even if it's only Rock Cornish.

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