Burning out on the tail end of a long weekend, it's News Watch. Every other week, as you may know by now, we dip into the news cycle and give it the special treatment as only we can.

This week, Hot 5 from the Debris Field brings us the Mayor who wants to cut thumbs off, space folks trying to get money, a mainstream article on conspiracy theory, China shuts down a C2C guest's operation, and a profile on SETI's Jill Tartar. Future News Now looks at how the government thinks terror attacks would be a good thing ... for them. Khyron's That's Entertainment takes us to see one of Fall's big films, Doom. In lieu of My Fandom this week, we instead take some time to honor fallen pro. wrestling hero Eddie Guerrero with In Memoriam. Noory Story Showdown scores and an editorial on the French riots.

You know you want to keep going. No one's looking so go ahead and read on ...

Future News Now

GOP memo touts new terror attack as way to reverse party's decline(infowars.com via capitolhillblue.com)

What kind of sick bastards could see the silver lining in a terror attack ? Ah, only those in power, of course. What a world. And, of course, our infowarrior friends are on the front lines keeping us informed of their sinister plots. In truth, this is probably more conditioning to get people ready for the next big crisis, whatever it may be.

A confidential memo circulating among senior Republican leaders suggests that a new attack by terrorists on U.S. soil could reverse the sagging fortunes of President George W. Bush as well as the GOP and "restore his image as a leader of the American people."

The closely-guarded memo lays out a list of scenarios to bring the Republican party back from the political brink, including a devastating attack by terrorists that could “validate” the President’s war on terror and allow Bush to “unite the country” in a “time of national shock and sorrow.”

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Posted @ Khyron.net, 10.24.5

Few failures in cinema can compare to video game adaptations. From the abysmal Mortal Kombat Annihilation to the more recent Paul WS Anderson films Resident Evil and Alien vs. Predator, the jump to cinema almost guarantees outrage from the games original fan base. Now Doom, one of the older and most recognizable games out there, gets its chance at the silver screen.

In Doom, Marine sergeant 'Sarge' (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) leads a diverse group of special forces operatives to Mars. Something has gone terribly wrong at the Union Aerospace Corporation's research base. Before long, the marines find themselves fighting for their lives against a group of unknown creatures. Meanwhile, 'Reaper' (Karl Urban) battles his personal daemons.

Having never been pleased with a video game adaptation, I went into Doom with very low expectations. This being said, Doom rocked...hard. Full of one-liners, catch phrases, and trash talk, this movie is so undeniably fun and lighthearted that I couldn't help laugh throughout. This was a welcome change from other game-to-movie's overly serious tone. Doom knows what it is, and doesn't try to be anything more.

But this lightheartedness doesn't mean tame, by any means. A 'hard R,' I was a bit surprised at the amount of blood and gore. Again, another welcome change from the Pg-13 mediocrity of the before mentioned Alien vs. Predator.

There are actors in this movie; they recite lines and build a story. That's about all I'll say about that, as Doom doesn't put much importance on the acting aspect. The leading duo of The Rock and Karl Urban (Lord of the Rings) fit their parts and get no complaints from me. There are some pretty tacky lines (especially from The Rock), but they were such a throwback to 80's action cinema that I couldn't help but grin.

Speaking of tacky, there's one scene in Doom I was very much dreading. A nod to the games roots, a sequence near the end is shot through the first-person perspective of one of the marines. Seeing only the tip of his firearm, the camera weaves through corridors and around corners--all the while, monsters jump out to attack. Surprisingly, as dumb as this may sound, it was actually pretty funny. Short enough to avoid getting old, it really helped to set the stage for the climax.

Essentially, Doom is a liberal retelling of Aliens (1986). But who cares? Aliens is the de facto standard for horror/action. Most other films in the genre have copied it in one way or another, but Doom is the first to really get most of it right. Hardcore fans will probably be turned off by the lack of an overt Hell, but there was plenty of foreshadowing for the eventual (hopefully) sequel. I give Doom 4 entertaining pentagrams out of 5.

Rating: 4/5

Contact Khyron here : mjbrun@gmail.com

We take a step away from Red Sox baseball this week to honor one of my favorite wrestling performers Eddie Guerrero, who passed away yesterday. The nature of his surprising death and his prominence in today's business has made his passing a major news story throughout the world. I'm sure many non-wrestling fans would recognize Eddie Guerrero were they to see him as he was one of WWE's biggest stars and a fairly big crossover star into the mainstream.

Anyway, I'm stunned and saddened. That's the best way to put it. In recent years, some have been enlightened to what is wrestling's dirty little secret : the laundry list of performers who died young in the last 10 years or so. It's a veritable who's who of professional wrestling. In recent years, it has gotten to the point that the hardcore fans are jaded to the deaths, bemoaning the sad trend, swapping memories and stories, and moving on to mourn another passed performer.

However this particular death has hit the community perhaps the hardest since the tragedy that was Owen Hart's fateful fall in Kansas City one sad night 6 years ago. Many are comparing their feelings to the feelings after that night. Guerrero was not just super popular amongst mainstream wrestling fans, he was beloved by the "insider" wrestling fans as well. For these staunch fans, few live up to their lofty expectations, but Guerrero did and he did it in spades.

Worth mentioning to those unawares is that Guerrero was one of the last in a small handful of wrestlers schooled and successful in three different forms of professional wrestling; American, Mexican, and Japanese. Present wrestling economics just don't allow for a journeyman artist to really learn the different styles and expect to reach the heights Guerrero did. To the people who care about how a match looks, he was one of the very best.

And to those folks who care about the character driven part of wrestling, Guerrero had them covered as well. He was an awesome entertainer, a great actor in a field where acting skills are subpar at best, and simply a master of his craft in the ring. He knew the subtle details that separate the good from the great and he used them with the skill of an artisan. And he had a natural charisma that could not be denied.

I've been watching professional wrestling for over 15 years and been a serious student of the genre for almost 10. Eddie Guerrero was amongst the very few I'd seen who was the true total package. And now he is gone. I'd like to think things would change for the better, but they rarely do in the rasslin' business. Tis a strange and twisted as any form of esoterica I've known.

Thanks for the memories, Eddie. You will be missed.