Really good video about Ralph Nader. He was thrust into national prominence after GM tried to smear his character through "dirty tricks" - which all came out in congressional hearings. Nader assumed the mantel of "white knight" and became very powerful.

No product can be made completely safe - but the cars built before 1965 paid little attention to passenger safety. Is there a point at which we can say that government is overstepping it's role and actually causing more harm than good in the regulation of an industry? I've long held a suspicion that the wide deployment of airbags has been a net harm to the American consumer rather than a needed safety feature (air bags largely are there to protect people who DON'T use safety belts).

The "kids" in the 7-up series are 4 years older than me. I think this is one of the most interesting movie series about modern life. Starting with 7 year-olds, and following them each 7 years thereafter we see the hopes and dreams of the young, and then the reality of how their lives actually turn out. This is the 7th movie in the series (7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49).

This is available to watch streaming as well as DVD delivery.

The next Ken Burns documentary - The War - starts on Sunday.

Length: 15 hours (7 episodes)
Cost: $13 million
Production: 7 years
Interviews: 40

The film features raw combat footage, and interviews with ordinary people (not generals and politicians).

Looks interesting - missed it, though.

For the Bible Tells Me So
USA, 2007, 100 Minute Running Time
Genres: Documentary, Gay/Lesbian

For centuries, the Bible has been used to sanction discrimination, repression, and injustice. This provocative film explores the way religious conservatives have systematically misled the public in regards to biblical references of homosexuality and how this campaign continues to stigmatize the gay community and threaten America's diminishing separation of church and state

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Hilarious teaser for tonight's movie at SIFF.

Quoted: Trailer for the motion picture "The Life of Reilly", starring "Match Game" fixture Charles Nelson Reilly. From www.charlesnelsonreilly.com

Seeing this tonight.

The Life of Reilly
USA, 2006, 89 Minute Running Time
Genres: Comedy, Drama

Television icon Charles Nelson Reilly performs his one-man show, "Save It For the Stage." Over the unexpectedly riveting course of recounting his life, from the darkly tragic to the triumphantly comic, he reveals new depths into his craft, life and the time a pelican landed at Burt Reynolds’ beach house.

Director Barry Poltermann is scheduled to attend the June 4 screening.

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Explore what film editors can do for a movie. BBC documentary about the craft of film editing, with interviews from (should be famous) film editors, and directors like Spielberg, Lucas, and Scorcese.

Quoted: The is a documentary about the unappreciated art of film editing. It shows how film editing came about, and explains all the groundbreaking .... Feb 21, 2007.

Another great Frontline episode - this one about the OJ Simpson trial. The line that sticks with me was repeated in two places in this episode - one from a white law student and another from a black barber in LA - "the LA police framed a guilty man".

Whites and blacks were respectively upset and gleeful about the same thing - that a black man was able to use his money, to buy a competent defense ... and it exposed and defeated the racism and corruption of the LA police department.

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Amazing video of a Delta 2 rocket (carrying a $45M GPS satellite) exploding shortly after lift-off. Flaming debris rained down on the cape - it's quite terrifying.