It’s been a long time since Al Pacino has impressed as an actor, seemingly content to take on generic roles that don’t stretch his muscles. Fortunately, Mr. Pacino seems to be in fine form once again as he assumes the role of Dr. Kevorkian, also known as Dr. Death, who was a media sensation in the mid-90s for his “suicide machine”. The issue of assisted suicide hasn’t dimmed since Dr. Kevorkian’s imprisonment in 1998 and some countries have even legalized physician-assisted suicide since Kervorkian brought the topic to the forefront of the American consciousness.

I’ll step into the argument with the following observation: I find it the height of irony and hypocrisy that people have no problem with the Death Penalty and lethal injections for psycho killers, but if you’re suffering from a punishing disease that will remove you from this planet in a vile and torturous way, well, sorry. Suffer. You should have murdered people, then you are entitled to an easy, painless death.  If someone can defend the above logic, I’m all ears.

HBO is offering two trailers, neither of which can be embedded because that would make life easy.

Trailer I

Trailer II

In an amazing display of honor and integrity possibly extinct amongst American businesses, Toyota Motor Corp. CEO and President Akio Toyoda declined to accept an award from the Japanese Government for the Prius model’s energy efficiency. The Prius was one of 3 products selected this year to receive the Grand Prize for Energy Efficiency and Ecological Quality from Japan’s Trade Minister.

Referring to the recent voluntary recall of 437,000 Prius for possible brake problems, Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said, “We declined to accept the award because we thought it was not appropriate.” Toyota made the decision to recall the Prius amongst the recent recall of a total of 8.5 million other Toyota autos after receiving only 200 complaints total in both the U.S. and Japan of the hybrid experiencing a braking delay in very specific cold weather conditions over very bumpy roads.

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Now that Avatar has shattered every record in the book and has become a global phenomena, the time has come for research and studies! Why is it people are feeling depressed and/or suicidal when leaving the theater? Actually, according to research about “Awe”, a movie like Avatar should find the majority of viewers feeling creatively juiced, socially connected and perhaps even a little spiritual.

Elicitors of awe include mountain ranges, cathedrals, powerful leaders, music, scientific theories, encounters with God, natural disasters, and James Cameron films. For me, Avatar induced awe in response to both the exhilarating fictional world but also the artistic and technical achievements I knew were required to create that world.

In a 2007 paper, Michelle Shiota, along with Keltner and Amanda Mossman, reported experimental findings on the effects of awe. In one study, people described recent experiences of either awe or happiness. Reliving an awe-inspiring event was more likely to make people to go outside for a hike after the experiment, or to do something creative like play an instrument or write. Further, subjects instructed to recall a recent encounter with beauty in nature said they felt the presence of something greater than themselves and felt connected with the world around them. Another group of subjects, after staring at a 25-foot Tyrannosaurus skeleton for one minute were more likely than people who stared at an empty hallway to use universal terms such as “a person” or “an inhabitant of the Earth” to describe themselves; they saw themselves as members of a larger group.

In regards to the sadness subjects reported in that study, the authors write, “It is not impossible that the discovery of the limits of the self during a self-transcendent emotional experience may produce some negative emotions.” Hence post-Avatar suicide-watch? If watching acrobatic cat people uplink their ponytails and fight giant exoskeletons in 3-D for two and a half hours doesn’t make you want to run outside and play or at least write some erotic Na’vi fan fic, I think you have bigger problems back here on Earth than just not having a tree house and a hot blue girlfriend.

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It came to light earlier this week that Artie Lange of the Howard Stern Show was rushed to the hospital for undisclosed reasons. Howard Stern refused to comment on what happened as the family of Artie Lange wanted privacy and official statements to come from them. Since then, there has been much speculation as to what happened to Artie. Likely outcomes were a heart-attack or drug-overdose. Now, the New York Post is reporting that Artie had attempted suicide in a very gruesome way by stabbing himself 9 times.

Troubled comic Artie Lange landed in the hospital after stabbing himself nine times in an apparent suicide attempt, sources told The Post. Lange’s frantic mom called 911 Saturday morning after she entered his Hoboken apartment and found the bloodied funnyman, a law-enforcement source said. Lange sustained six “hesitation wounds” and three deep plunges. A source close to Lange’s management team confirmed that the Howard Stern sidekick stabbed himself, adding that his mother had come to visit him that day to drop off food. Surgeons managed to save Lange despite heavy bleeding. “We all have our demons,” Stern said on-air this week, referring to Lange’s past battles with addiction. “Artie has given this show tremendous moments of great comedy. He’s a tremendous contributor. He is a good man. Don’t forget how great he is.”

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