Anyone who’s a fan of movies (and especially those of us who are amazed at some of the trash that actually gets made) will get a kick out of Query Letters. This blog is written by a Hollywood insider who receives actual query letters, or pitches for movies. Some highlights:

• A treasure hunter (Matt) joins a gay deprogramming camp (on land that once belonged to his family). While searching for the treasure, he must contend with other students, one of whom is an undercover reporter. When the reporter turns up dead, Matt becomes the chief suspect.
• Dream recording software opens the unconscious mind to exploration in this thriller about a genius who outsmarts himself while trying to solve the mystery of his wife’s murder.
• 1968. Vietnam. Navy SEAL Gabriel Hemloche leads his team deep into enemy territory. Gabriel and his unit are torn apart….by vampires. Bitten, Gabriel starts to change.

You get the idea. For more, be sure to see Query Letters, and be (slightly) thankful that at least some of these ideas are actually turned down.

Turns out that doctors in Vienna have confirmed that Yushchenko was poisoned. They found “high concentrations of dioxon — most likely orally administered.” His facial disfigurement is likely permanent, but he’s still alive.

Incumbent: 0

Yushchenko: 1

Apparently, this hasn’t been the only attempt to kill the upstart challenger. The night before the election, police found a car parked outside his headquarters loaded with two kilograms of special plastic explosives, along with a remote-control detonator. Two Russians were later arrested.

Incumbent: 0

Yushchenko: 2

Now we’ll just have to wait and see what the results of the new election will be. It’s scheduled for a “do-over” on December 26.

Have you seen the pictures of Viktor Yushchenko? He’s the opposition candidate running (again) for election in Ukraine. If you haven’t been paying much attention, the recent election in Ukraine was riddled with fraud and abuse. It appears that the incumbent rigged the system to retain power, after which the parliament immediately held a “no confidence” vote. They have since decided to hold the election again. But I digress…

In these photos, you can see a breathtaking alteration in the appearance of Yushchenko from July until recently. He fell ill in September and there is some speculation that he was poisoned. I don’t know what the truth is here, but something is definitely fishy.

[See the photos]

[Read the related story]

Find a veteran and hug them. And say, “Thank you.”

But before you go, take a few minutes to read this first-hand account of an amazing Christmas story, where an enemy in wartime spared the lives of an entire ship full of men… simply because it was Christmas eve.

[Ed. Note: Thanks to Josh Ferguson for first pointing out this story.]

According to a new survey of 2,000 UK moviegoers, that’s the second-cheesiest movie line of all time. The complete list:

1. “Titanic”: Leonardo DiCaprio’s “I’m the king of the world!”
   

2. “Dirty Dancing”: Patrick Swayze’s “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
   

3. “Four Weddings And A Funeral”: Andie McDowell’s “Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed.”
   

4. “Ghost”: Demi Moore’s “Ditto.” to Patrick Swayze’s “I love you.”
   

5. “Top Gun”: Val Kilmer to Tom Cruise (news): “You can be my wingman anytime”
   

6. “Notting Hill”: Julia Roberts’ “I’m just a girl… standing in front of a boy… asking him to love her.”
   

7. “Independence Day”: Bill Pullman’s “Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”
   

8. “Braveheart”: Mel Gibson (news)’s “They may take our lives, but they will not take our freedom!”
   

9. “Jerry Maguire”: Renee Zellweger to Tom Cruise: “You had me at hello.”
   

10. “The Postman”: A blind woman says to Kevin Costner (news): “You’re a godsend, a savior.” He replies: “No, I’m a postman.”
    

“Nobody puts Baby in the corner.” Geesh, that’s awful.

Ok, time for a minor confession: I don’t think the line from Notting Hill should be on the list. Go ahead and throw tomatoes if you must.