Joseph,

The Buccaneer, either version, is about The Battle of New Orleans in thw War of 1812.

I know that Memorial Day is for all of our troops, but ever since visiting Arlington I've taken to focusing on the Civil War Memorial aspects.  So this weekend will include viewings of Gettysburg , Glory, and Ride With the Devil.  I'll also probably play a couple of games of Battle Cry! with some friends on Sunday.

On June 6th, I'll be watching The Longest Day and playing Memoir '44.  

I watch Patton and Saints and Soldiers in December and think of the horrors of the Battle of the Bulge.  I am also a fan of Joyeux Noel.

As for generic favorite war films?  I watched Gallipoli with my grandfather...a man who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam...and a man I miss dearly.  His all time favorite film wasBeau Geste and it has become a favorite of mine as well.

Oh...

And the Coolidge quote that Peter so heartily recommends above?  6.9

Troy...

You'll be happy to know that your post was written at a 13.2 grade level (6.7).  You'll be happy that is if your intention is that only those with a college level education or higher would be able to easily and readily understand your article (15.2). 

One wonders whether having representatives who score highly on the Flesch–Kincaid readability test, much like Professors using the obfuscating language of critical studies and the Frankfurt school utilize, would be in the best interests of preserving our democratic republic, or whether we would be better served by having elected officials who speak plainly without pedantry or a need of hermeneutic analysis to decipher meaning (31.5).

Before I let Rob's link to a comic book controversy goad me on...

I did post a list that contained what I think are very central writings for conservative thought here http://ricochet.com/member-feed/A-Political-Ideology-Reading-List

Now...as for the guess regarding Alan Scott...I wonder what his daughter Jade and his son Obsidian think about the possibility.

"These fans already feel shafted by the France family for taking races from the SE and sending them to NV, CA, IL.  Just another nail."

And...here I was under the impression that NASCAR had been racing in California since 1951.  It's a shame that my Grandma D gave me those race flags when I was a kid growing up in Nevada, sharing her love for an exciting sport, as that was some kind of betrayal to a possession of the South Eastern United States.  

While I don't find the sport as exciting as F1 -- for some of the reasons you mention -- all motor sport suffers from the "those that can afford R&D do better" syndrome.  But drivers do matter, and in NASCAR -- unlike F1 -- they have longer careers.

If only NASCAR would ban drivers from driving in both the Sprint cup and the Nationwide series on the same weekends.  

"Will they watch a cheap streamed version of this awful mindlessly indulgent perversion?"

So...you've seen the entire film James?  Remarkable.  Please tell me how awful and mindlessly indulgent this film is...

Especially considering that Gatsby is about mindlessly indulgent people living in a mindlessly indulgent age.  Pray tell me how Gatsby got his wealth.  Pray tell me of how dull Art Deco and Art Nouveau are  from an aesthetic perspective.

Baz Luhrmann's imagery in this trailer is breathtaking.  The fact that the TRAILER fails to capture what you view as the essence of Gatsby says nothing of the actual film.

I will say that from the design of the credits to the representations of the Roaring Twenties, this film visually captures everything I could hope for.

This looks magnificent!  To see Gatsby with the rough edged gangster lurking there somewhere, instead of the gauze filtered octogenarian film that featured Redford, is a joy.

The trailer captures the Gilded Age.  I cannot wait for the film.  It's not about Gatsby standing on the pier, it's about Gatsby having a library full of books he's never read -- except one.  He had cut the pages of the Autobiography of Ben Franklin. 

A Gatsby that doesn't acknowledge his gangster past isn't a representation of the novel, it's a representation of a bad 11th grade teacher presenting the novel.  Who cares what color the light is?  I care how Gatsby represents and depicts the American Dream.

"Southern Pessimist: Another point. NASCAR tracks only turn in one direction.... left"

As you can see by looking here NASCAR drivers have road courses too.  It's hard to win at Montreal, Infineon, or Watkins Glen just turning left.  It's even more difficult at Road America.

The House Appropriations Committee recently voted to remove $80 million in sports funding that largely went to NASCAR.  The Weekly Standard recently featured a report discussing how the sport as a whole is going through a tremendous rough patch during this recession.

NASCAR is an advertising vehicle.  It's like Facebook but louder and more fun.  It needs advertising revenue wherever it can get it.  It also wants to appeal to more fans.  If it can rent seek while increasing awareness in California -- which believe it or not is NASCAR country as much as Talladega which I say knowing that my aunt in Alpine will send me angry stares from the Cotton State -- and get money for encouraging the kinds of behavior Tea Party protesters already practice I'm okay with that.

Did you notice how many times Booker used the word "Forward" in this video?  

It's like one of those Soviet Confession videos.

More vain than Beau Brummell? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beau_Brummell

More vain than Percy Blakeney (fictional)?    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Pimpernel

More vain than King Charles? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England

Puhleeze!

The purpose of a Major League Baseball team is to make a profit by providing fans with an exciting and memorable experience.   Sometimes this requires the winning of World Series titles, as nothing breeds fandom like success.  Other times, it merely requires talented players in an ideal venue.

Having viewed a game at Wrigley, as well as a number of other baseball stadiums, I can say that watching a game at Wrigley is an experience itself.  It fulfills the purpose of MLB.  It provided an exciting and memorable experience.

The fact that the Wall Street Journal -- of all places -- has commentary stating that a team should sacrifice profitability for "success" seems laughable on the face.

Renovate the player amenities?  Sure, by all means.  Give the players an experience as rewarding as that of the fans.

Fifteen or Fight!  Fifteen or Fight! -- from the film Wild in the Streets

A lot of great ones have already been mentioned...but...

"Ride the High Country" and "Sergeant Rutledge" are very good.

"The Jack Bull" is a great modern Western that has a very good Natural Rights focus and is based on a story by von Kleist called Michael Kohlhaas.

"The Long Riders" is enjoyable, as is "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

The pedant in me wants to point out that Yojimbo is based on the classic Dashiell Hammett story Red Harvest.  It is a great movie, but so is almost every movie that is based on that story.

It has been mentioned before, but it is must seeing, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"

I've always liked "Pale Rider" as an adaptation of "Shane"

While not strictly a Western taking place during the Boer War, "Breaker Morant" parallels "Sergeant Rutledge" nicely. 

Let's see...proponents of "A" Labor Theory of Value...Adam Smith, John Locke, the Founding Fathers.Where the Labor Theory of value fails is when all Labor is valued equally based on time of labor and not results/quality being a part of the equation. Hence price is a good additional corrective. Marxist Labor Theory of value requires "From each his ability, to each his need." Maximum performance for minimum payment. That flies in the face of Classical Labor Theory -- which includes a Price component. The athletes aren't merely the "Labor," they are also the product being consumed. The Universities, and the NCAA, aren't venture capitalists taking huge risks. They aren't content creators. They aren't even managers of skill -- though the coaches are and are rightly compensated. The Universities are non-profit entities, like the NCAA, who have been granted a government monopoly.The only market considerations that players have are to go to a school with a higher chance of NFL drafting. This doesn't always line up with academic benefits available due to programatic focus on success. Professionalize college football. Pay them a salary and allow them to negotiate NFL contracts while playing.