Sputter...

Senator Harry Reid, in a Tweet which illustrates perfectly the inconsequentiality of Twitter and of himself, asked why Republicans are obstructing the budget passed by the Senate he is from time to time unjustifiably accused of leading. It has been 86 days since the Senate passed a budget, Senator Reid says. "Why are Republicans standing in the way?"

This is, of course, the same Senator Reid at whose direction the Senate did not pass a budget for more than four years, despite it being their legal responsibility to do so.

I begin to see the appeal of being a low-information voter. I would probably be able to save a lot of money on blood-pressure medicine.

Signing...Bonus!

Many high schools stage a little ceremony when top athletes sign to play their sport at a college. It's an achievement for the student and worthy of recognition -- for some, a recognition on their part that they will be able to receive a college eduction perhaps otherwise unavailable. And for others, a recognition that their talents and abilities have carried them one step higher than they have been, and they are among those who might still dream of higher places to come.

HOPE Christian Schools in Milwaukee also has a "Senior Signing Day," but it's a day when the graduating seniors of the private school in some of Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods are signed by colleges they'll be attending, not because of their athletic ability but because of the academic achievement scholarships they've earned. Scroll down the page to see a video of the assembly the school stages.

At a big high school, a dozen or maybe two dozen athletes will go to play their sport at a collegiate level. HOPE sends every one of its 30-40 seniors to higher education. Signing day is an important thing, but it's nice to see a school that recognizes getting into college by virtue of your brain is worthy of mention as well.

Man of Steel

Superman's had an up-and-down movie history. In 1978, the Salkind brothers, Christopher Reeve, Richard Donner and John Williams teamed up to convince us that "a man could fly" with Superman. By Superman II, Donner was gone but the others presented us with the more action-oriented half of a great pair of superhero movies that were also great movies. Then came the third and fourth installments of that series, about which no more need be said.

In 2006, Bryan Singer directed a semi-reboot called Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh as Krypton's last son. It had a number of issues and didn't re-start the franchise. So when Zack Snyder took the reins for Warner Bros. latest attempt, he shucked the whole set of continuity attached to previous films and started fresh, giving us this weekend's release of Man of Steel.

For the most part, Snyder's choice was the right one. One of the problems Singer had was trying to stay within the Salkind-Reeves continuity, even though he ditched the idea that movies three and four ever existed. But the first two movies were a product of their era -- the contrast between the hopelessly square Clark Kent/Superman and the hip, swingin' 70s helped define the character. When Reeve has to do a double-take at one of 1978's pay-phone alcoves -- which offers nothing like the privacy of a phone booth to make his change and handle a job for Superman -- we instantly get that in a lot of important ways, Superman is a product of a different worldview, not only a different world. Singer's choice to continue that storyline -- even though the 1970s have been over for a loooong time -- drains his version of much of its context and color. The sketchy plot and grimly bland performance from Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane didn't help him, either.

Snyder chooses to re-start Superman's story, beginning with his escape from Krypton as baby Kal-El, fired off in a rocket to Earth by his parents (Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer) just before his home world explodes. We switch from there to an adult Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), wandering around the northern Pacific in different laborer jobs, here and there using his great strength to save people before disappearing into anonymity. Flashbacks to his life as a boy in smalltown Kansas illustrate how he got where he is, as he learns a little of his history and is guided by his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane). Snyder's flashback sequences succeed in doing what 10 seasons of the TV show Smallville never could: Show us how Clark Kent becomes Superman by showing how a boy's father and mother teach him to become a man.

Snyder understands, as did Donner, Reeve and the Salkinds, that the key to connecting with Superman is not Superman, but Clark Kent. None of us (I imagine), have to figure out how to conceal super-strength, X-ray vision and the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but all of us have to try to figure out our place in the world and how to handle what life brings us. The first two-thirds of Snyder's story hang on that idea, and that makes the movie work.

An encounter with an ancient Kryptonian scout ship shows Clark his origins, but before he can do much more than enjoy his newfound power of flight (Cavill's grin here is one of the highlight grace notes of the movie), an alien ship enters Earth orbit. Aboard, the Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) issues a demand that Earth produce the Kryptonian living among them or face severe consequences. Now Kal-El will need to thread the needle between Zod's ambitions and the suspicions and fear of his adoptive world in order to thwart the former and save the latter.

Snyder mostly succeeds -- all of his leads perform well, including Amy Adams as Lois Lane. The story gives her a more important role than just being dropped from a great height in order to be saved by Superman. Cavill communicates the loneliness of an alien who can be in but not of the world around him, and Shannon is a Zod who is all the more dangerous because he's as much driven by his own need to fufill his duty as by world-dominating desires. The CGI punch-fest that finishes the movie could probably have been trimmed by a third and thus improved, but it offers a realistic glimpse of what this kind of force expended in a major city might affect.

Some of his scenes recall other, more recent slam-bang spectacle movies. Superman battling armored villains and destroying much of a small town echoes Thor's battle with the Destroyer in 2011's Thor, Zod's endgame machinery resembles Nero's space drill in 2009's Star Trek, and so on. But there's only so many ways you can do those sorts of things. Snyder's full-tilt depictions of the literally awesome strength of his title character don't bode well for a Justice League movie -- anything big enough for Superman to need help against it is probably a threat so cosmic audiences won't be able to connect with the story.

The only real issue I can take with Snyder's complete blank-slate approach is his choice to eschew John Williams' iconic "Superman March" in his soundtrack. Hans Zimmer's score is indistinguishable from most every other heroic-spectacle style movie released these days, relying on same same kind of rapid-fire staccato strings that back up the Avengers and Iron Man in their respective outings. Williams' song probably trails only the cape and the big red "S" as icons of the World's Greatest Superhero, and the decision to head another direction is a misstep.

Snyder and company are already on board for a sequel, and screenwriter David Goyer is also signed for the planned Justice League movie. The irony here is that Man of Steel will get the followup Superman Returns didn't, even though the latter got a better critical reception. Based on the character's movie history, we can hope for a great sequel. But if someone suggests, say,  Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle as a computer genius for a third film? Run, Zack. Run like the wind.

Definition of a Showman...

...Is when you can get the entire stadium singing along with one of your songs.

Twenty-two years after you died.

I've Got No Idea What You're Doing, Right or Wrong, and Neither Do You

Senator Barbara Boxer thinks Congress should act. She's very serious, and she introduced a bill that would prevent representatives and senators from being paid unless they do.

What crisis does the country face so great that she would be willing to forgo her pay in order to see it resolved? What action is it she believes she and her colleagues should take?

Raising the debt ceiling.

Yes, you read that correctly. Until Congress borrows more money they don't have, Senator Boxer says they shouldn't get paid. And while I typed that, my keyboard audibly said, "The hell?"

Word is that Senator Boxer's next legislative goal is passing a law saying that you can indeed divide by zero.

(H/T Joel Engel)

And I Think You're Doing it Wrong, Too...

I'm pretty disgusted with Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Lousiana. In debate about immigration reform legislation, she suggested that Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona would know more about what the best ideas for border security are than would Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota.

Sen. McCain knows more about immigration problems, Sen. Landrieu suggested, because his state borders Mexico and Sen. Thune's state of South Dakota only borders Canada. Yes, I'm disgusted because, just like a politician, Sen. Landrieu covers for her colleague Sen. Thune by giving him credit for experience and knowledge he doesn't actually possess!.

Really, Sen. Landrieu? Did you think we wouldn't notice your sly attempt to insinuate that Sen. Thune had some knowledge of border issues with your claim his state borders another country? Did you think we wouldn't check that out ourselves? Did you think we wouldn't notice that directly north of South Dakota is not Canada, but an entire state, known to its inhabitants as North Dakota? I am so tired of these cheap political tricks by these hacks who are just trying to cover for each other every second of the day!

Come on, Sen. Landrieu! You knew that Sen. Thune actually had no experience dealing with any border issues directly (except Iowans; we all know how they are), but you tried anyway to convince us that he did, just so no one watching would think that he was somehow unqualified for his position in the United States Senate. Oh sure, I know some people will call you out on your prejudice for presuming that the only real problem with borders is with those people south of us. And I know some people will really enjoy how you claimed South Dakota bordered Canada while you were making your case for a "smart" fence -- and fence or not, I think we can tell one person who'd be behind it in the class rankings.

But I, Sen. Landrieu, remain unswayed by these petty sideline concerns. The only thing that matters to me is your unacceptable attempt to cover up one of your fellow senator's inadequacies, and I assure you that because of it, I will never vote for you again. That, and, of course, the fact that I don't live in Lousiana. Which does not, if you're curious, border any other countries either. Or even the state where I live.

I Think You're Doing It Wrong...

Problem: Electronic gambling revenues will not be enough for the state of Minnesota to finance a new stadium for the Vikings.

Now, when you or I find out we don't have enough money to buy something we had planned to buy -- perhaps we budgeted wrong, or we had an unexpected expense, or an anticipated bonus didn't arrive -- we have many options. We might save longer to make up the shortfall. We might set our sights a little lower and buy something similar but less expensive (This, for example, is why I drive a 1996 Tacoma instead of a 2013 Aventador J). We might see if lay-away or financing is available. But that is because we are not a govermental entity.

The state of Minnesota didn't do any of those things, or even take the eminently sensible step of telling the Vikings that if they wanted a new stadium in which to operate their portion of the nationwide monopoly cartel of the National Football League, they could stop drafting and signing so many players who do more for area bail bondsmen than stadium peanut vendors and maybe divert some of the resulting savings into building their own dadgum place to play.

No, the state of Minnesota sent its state officials and interested private parties on a tour of the state -- which wasn't, you know, free -- to promote the gambling.

On the upside, medical scientists now have confirmation that the human brain can indeed suffer damage from frostbite.