esrosedotblog

GAZING

This has been a pretty good week for 'the gays'. After those eleven states declared us and all other civil union folks unfit for special marital consideration it was sort of a downer. But if you look at those states, not many would choose to move there anyway and those who are there can move out. Still, a downer though.

Now comes the US Appeals Court to say that if the ROTC promotes discrimination (don't ask, don't tell) then colleges and universities can limit or even ban their existence on campus. Not a big deal, but symbolic.

And the Supremes, did not take up the challenge to Massachusetts marriages. Some view this as a matter of the briefs filed against it which were pretty hard to support; nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction.

On the other hand, it stokes the adoption of more state amendments and more demagoguery about it at the 'highest levels' of our government.

This is all so lame that it hardly bears discussion. But, the emotions run strong and the homophobia lies deep. We live in interesting times, indeed.

DAY AT A TIME

Did I say I was done with christmas? I mistyped. There is one more thing to be done.

We have 'always' had an advent calendar. It is a wood and cardboard box, hung on the wall, with little doors. Behind the little doors are compartments that hold little ornaments.

Each day, from the 1st of December until the 25th we open one of the little doors, remove a little ornament and place it on the little tree at the top of the set of doors. We take turns. One gets the odd days and the other gets the evens. Boundaries are maintained; "my day, my door".

I know. It is so—well—'cute'. But we have been doing this for many years. The calendar shows a lot of wear. Nevertheless, we bring it out each year and repeat the trimming ritual a day at a time.

A tradition.

There.

We have one.

Cards and an advent calendar.

That is it though. No more sentimental claptrap over this made up holiday.

OVER

I am done with christmas. The cards are addressed, signed, sealed and stamped. Done. Finished. Period.

It wasn't too bad. We have fought out almost all the 'duds' that used to lurk in the list. I did manage to get the born-again cousin off; the one who sends churchy rants based on the fire and brimstone jesus. I suspect a bit of mojo is in there to cure our homo-ness. There are usually sparkles on the cards; a little anti fairy dust?

There used to be people that we met at various resorts; people that he would want to send cards to no matter what. Well, I suppose there was a chance that some of them would return at the same time next year and, if they did, you would want to be at least in good standing. Or better, it would be a one-up to send a card if they did not.

We went to St. Croix for many years; same time, same place, a lot of the same people. Surprisingly, ten years down the road we still exchange cards with one person who we met there. Oddly, he was the least likely of the bunch. One cannot predict.

We have another couple we met here when we would come for vacation. One of them had a lot of ooomph for John or at least he remembers him that way. I try to get them off the list each year and I was really getting some traction when, goddam, if they didn't come out here again and called to have dinner. We went. The oooomph was gone, but it is still impossible to get their names off the list.

The attachment to sending and getting the cards is really strong. It is easy for me to say that I am the one who wants to cut the list but I have to admit that if John disappeared I would probably keep sending to the same list. I would at least have to tell them that he had disappeared. Then I would probably get all sentimental like and keep sending them. I would cut those oomph guys off the list though. Summarily.

COLD

I know that this seems really wimpy; but, it is very cold here. There has been a jet stream trend that keeps on coming and brings Alaskan air into Southern California.

Last weekend we had the lowest snowfall that anyone here remembers. By that, I mean that the snow on the mountains got down as low as 1500 feet in spots. We, of course, had rain. But there were two feet of snow on top the highest mountain here and inches on hiking trails that we would usually use.

Then, there is the gym. Did I tell you about the gym? They keep their air conditioning on all year. It is not intentional. The management has changed hands so often that they have lost living memory about managing the building. There is heat. I have felt it. But it takes a major initiative to get it on. Brrrrrrrr. Cold.

I suppose that I have to fess up and mention that the actual temperatures we are having may not mean much on a Northeastern or Canadian scale. The days are in the mid sixties and the nights are in the low forties. And, I have to admit that if you stand in the sun it can actually get hot.

But, I plead my case on the basis of physiology. There is a thermostat in the body and it resets itself to the norms the body experiences. We are coming off norms of temps over 100 and for a month, maybe, the nineties. This sudden plunge of 30-40 degrees is a body-shocker.

Still not convincing? Well you will have to take my word. It is fucking cold this week with no signs of relief and if it doesn't improve soon, I will have to be wearing long pants to the gym and maybe even outside during the day. That would really be crushing as I am a year 'round shorts wearer and I am not sure that my legs can stand the pressure of a cloth covering. Whine.

RECOVERY

I am slowly dragging myself out from under the depression and general funk that I have been in since the election. I am sitting up and taking some nourishment and am able, some days, to take some pleasure from seeing them stick their foot in it on a regular basis.

I have purposely stayed away from comment in the blog. I don't really have any positions. One thing I know, is that the Demos better get a new leader and one who has some balls. There are some good guys on the list. It will be a while until we see who moves out. I like Dean; but I can see how the plotting is working against him.

I am going to make an effort to form some opinions. Perhaps that will get me up and out of the blues room and into the real world again.

ALIENATED

Sometimes the conjunctions of Netflix are really weird. The films come more or less at random in alphabetical order and based on availabilty. So yesterday we had the half good Close Encounters with mostly nasty people being taken up by nice aliens for a contribution to the galaxy and today we had the same, only better.

Ron Howard's Cocoon (1985) is enjoyable from beginning to end and is built on a dramatic structure that works at all levels. It is required that the cast be in ensémble mode and they do a great job. Brimley is great. Cronin and Tandy are already a team. Gwen Verdon is an underrated gem. And, Don Ameche, who is the consummate actor deservedly won a Best Supporting Oscar for his work here.

The space ship is even better than the Spielberg singing ship.

A side comment: I have seen most of these people work on the stage. I saw Cronin and Tandy in several plays, The Gin Game was most outstanding. Gwen Verdon was in Damn Yankees. I saw Ameche play a romantic lead in Cole Porter's Silk Stockings and he has a voice and presence that still has zing in my memory. This is pre-electronic musical theater, incidentally. And while I have never seen Brimley in the flesh, it is always a treat to see him work. He is an original. Blah blah.

Steve Gutenberg is in this as well. He was a hunk then. It was supposed to be his break out picture but it wasn't. Too bad. He sure looked great. He has a little too much of the geek in him to be a leading man even though he has the physical equipment.

Why am I going on about the actors? Because it is an actors' picture. There aren't many made in Hollywood anymore. I have almost given up on it. Why else would I be looking at 1176 Best Films rather than going to the cinemaplex?

This was one of the NYTimes Best, incidentally. I am giving it a 4 out of Netflix 5.

Note:I have written about Don Ameche before. He was an incredible performer who had a long career in radio, film, stage and television. This site is a wonderful tribute to him. We last saw him as an older man in the Mamet film Things Change (1988) in which he plays a shoeshine man who gets paid to stand in for a gangster who is to be assassinated. Great movie.

HOLIDAZE

I don't have much today. The only thing on my mind for the last two days is avoiding the holiday crowds. It is just amazing that people get into this madness.

I find it a little gruesome but we all have to get our kicks from wherever we can. For some, waiting all night for a free snow-ball and a cheap DVD deal might just pass for nirvana.

Then, today, we got our first holiday card! I suddenly realized that ours need to be sent! I had this frisson pass through my body.

Actually, it is not too bad. We have whittled it down to about 56 cards. It is fun to buy the cards we send. Actually, John buys them and I applaud. That is the fun part. And, if I am lucky, it is the only xmas thing that I will have to do. There is usually a little ducking around the invites, but I have gotten pretty good at it.

We don't exchange gifts. Everyone around here gets what they want when they want it. We will do a stocking for Franklin. We did it last year and it was a blast. We wrapped each item. He actually opened them all one at a time and hung with them for awhile, then moved to another one. He has a lot more restraint than those frantic shoppers I saw bursting through the Wal-Mart doors; elbowing each other on the way to the trough. Happy holidays.

HALF ASSED

Today's movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) is really two movies. The first one is a situation comedy with no redeeming qualities. Richard Dreyfuss, who gets implanted or something by the aliens, has a family which anyone would be happy to abandon. Wife Terry Garr is the bitch from hell and the kids are awful. It is just fucking annoying to have to watch.

It is hard to get a spiritual uplift from his cosmic mission when you know that this guy created a family of monsters. And even if he is implanted, his behavior sucks. He is not a good model of homo sapiens to take out for study. Well. Actually, he is a pretty good sample. The film does take place in Indiana. Maybe it is not so far fetched after all.

That having been said, and moving on; the the second film is about space aliens of great kindness and beauty. Sometimes they are a little heavy handed in their contacts with earth but they mean well. I liked the spacey parts of it a lot. But it is still hard to sit through Dreyfuss' elevation to space cadet. Why? Because he is gawking at the thing like some hayseed?

I do not know why Spielberg has been allowed to get away with this kind of half-dreck work. I don't like it very much. I got to the point I will not go see one of his ego trips again. He is way too full of himself and there are far too many people willing to tell the emperor that his clothes look just great.

The film also has Truffaut in a role which mercifully does not require him to act much. This kind of ass-kissing also annoys me. Who is Spielberg to do a living homage to a great director. It pisses me off.

Yeah it is a New York Times 1176Best Film and I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5 but only grudgingly; just for the pretty lights and effects. And the song the goddam thing plays is way boring too. Maybe I should give it a 2. I am getting madder by the minute.

I read that 'Steven' went back and redid this film for DVD. He shows the inside of the spaceship and some other folderol. He must have known in his heart that he had gotten over with it the first time and tried to fix it. He has to have his eye on the history books. Which will find him wanting, I am positive.

NO MAIL

I am not much for Thanksgiving or any of the holidays for that matter. I don't want to be critical of those who take them seriously even if being serious means gorging yourself and running to the cinemaplex and all. Maybe I have aged out on all the fun.

I like a routine and holidays break it up. Maybe that is it. I went to the gym this morning and we will have dinner (for four) at about the usual time and we will do the dog walks and all that. The biggest thing for me about holidays is that there is no mail and they don't pick up the garbage.

John says to take it easy. For people who work, it is time-off; a chance to do whatever they want in the day time. That is good enough for me. I like people to be happy. Have a great time off.

RANT

Try this one for a start:

Screw You America: Sometime the fish in the barrell deserve to die.

Clif Garboden is senior managing editor of The Boston Phoenix and president of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.

I wish I had written this but getting you to it is next best.

Jim asked me if the sudden appearance in the news of the 'death triangle' in Iraq was the same as the Sunni Triangle. Had the Sunni somehow gotten deadly enough to give it a new name? I sorta kinda knew the answer but wasn't all that sure. And, because I am ready to one-up on knowledge anytime I can make a splash, I looked it up. Here is the dish for all who wondered the same thing.

No. The Sunni or Golden Triangle is a political/religous subdivision. I got this out of some encyclopedia and lost the source so I can't cite the rest of it.

For many years Iraq was ruled by-and-large by Arab Sunnis who tended to come from a restricted area around Baghdad, Mosul, and Ar Rutbah--the socalled Golden Triangle. In the 1980s, not only was President Saddam Husayn a Sunni, but he was the vice chairman of the ruling Baath Party (Arab Socialist Resurrection). One of the two deputy prime ministers and the defense minister were also Sunnis. In addition, the top posts in the security services have usually been held by Sunnis, and most of the army's corps commanders have been Sunnis. It is also true that the most depressed region of the country is the south, where the bulk of the Shias reside.

It is dangerous and out of control. It has Fallujah and other cities that slip in and out of chaos. Very dangerous.

The "death triangle" is new. It too is very dangerous (there are actually relatively safe places in Iraq); It is the area outside and to the south of Baghdad where they still have no basic control. British troops are tasked with taming it.

There is a highway--called the highway of death, natch-- on which you do not travel without two vehicles--no other cars are allowed to get in between--and you never stop.

Sort of like the old SE Expressway in Boston only a different set of reasons. Well, not that different, actually.

GENIE-US

Today's movie was ALADDIN (1992); the Disney version. It was pretty good. Robin Williams gets just enough over the top before they reign him in and Aladdin is an undeniable hunk.

We saw it the first time and it did not droop on a second viewing. Laughter at the right places, tears, a little bit of scary stuff. How do they do that? It is an involuntary act of letting go all the thoughts and being taken in entirely. The mind does not even get to say that 'this is formula' or to notice that it is drawings!

It is all nice and it got to be one of the NewYorkTimes 1176 Best Films. I am going to give it a 4 out of Netflix5 just so the 'recommendation' paradigm doesn't overwhelm me with Disneyana.

I have not always been fond of Disney output. As a mere child, my mother took me to the big screen original Snow White and I spent some considerable time behind the seat in front of me. I freaked at the witch on the mountain thing.

My mother was always taking me to movies I should not have been seeing. When you look around in an R rated movie and see little kids, and go tsk tsk, just remember that was me. I think I was excused from Dumbo and the fire scene and all and..........keerist! I can't even think of it NOW!. Bambi is a wet hankie film.

When my own kids got old enough to go to them I was ambiguous about it all. I don't remember what I did. But the films always made me uncomfortable.

Somewhere along the way, they changed the formula of tragedy overcome. I don't know where the turning point was. Maybe when they realized that they could entertain the parents at the same time as the kids.

I don't know if there are any other Disneys coming in the queue for Best Films. But I do not dread it as I would have in the past.

MOCK DOC

Here come the paratroopers into Algiers to fuck things up irretrievably. Just the usual. The paratroops fucked up the situation covered in Bloody Sunday the film that we watched the other day. And I am sure that they are fucking up a situation somewhere in the world today. The drop in boys have their function but messing with the indigenous population is not it. They are hard hard hard and over-the-top is normal.

In this case, it is decided that the FLN's back can only be broken by killing the head of the organization. Since the org is a triad design, this is pretty tough. (each person recruits two people so s/he only knows the recruiter and the two recruits. The paratroopers come in to carry out the mission. The strategy is to grab people off the streets and question them to fill in the organization chart. Of course, it is understood that they will not talk so you stimulate their cooperation. You have to torture one hell of a lot of people. But, the troopers can do the job. And they do.

The Battle of Algiers (1965) is shot on the streets of Algiers with a cast of thousands. It is extraordinarily real and I am still skeptical of the claim that no news clips are used. Yet, there it is. The film uses the device of following some people into the FLN and covers a year of their activities. It is no secret that they lost the battle but won the war.

Some of the torture stuff is Grand Guignol level blood and guts so you might need a few eye averts. The bombings are so realistic; people are seen having buildings fall on them. So it is a tough watch. But somehow the thrust is maintained and it does not wallow in any of this.

This film is a re-release. It had fallen into obscurity until Rialto Pictures obtained rights and refurbished it. The DVD is just released and is digitally mastered by the superb Criterion people.

It is one of the NYTimes Best 1176Films and I am going to give it a Netflix 5 out of 5.

OK. It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway. This film depicts events in 1957. Almost fifty years later, we are doing the same thing, or worse, that the French did. It is stunning to discover how little nation's and their leaders learn and how irretrievably, stubbornly, stupid the military mind can become.

DECAF

I have been a little under the weather with an intestinal thing One suggestion was that I cut out caffeine; it is an irritator. OK. I can do that.

Wow. I knew that the withdrawal packed a punch with headaches and the like. When the java leaves, the body becomes oversensitive to adenosine. In response to this oversensitivity, blood pressure drops dramatically, causing an excess of blood in the head (though not necessarily on the brain), leading to a headache. There are a lot of other physical symptoms but all of those come under the heading of 'possible'; meaning not everyone will get them.

I am mostly sleepy a lot. I feel sort of listless and definitely think that a cup of coffee would help. This is the habit part. The learned response. I let the thought pass without acting on it. I got really good with this when I let go of tobacco. Cravings are cravings are temporary.

I fall asleep when I am meditating and it does not help to keep my eyes open; they droop. This is quite unusual. I mostly have overactive brain that gets to run down while I sit. Could this braining be caffeine induced?

There is not a lot else involved. I am going to the gym and doing stuff. I am motivated. When I get on a task, the adrenaline seems to compensate for the relaxed loss of rigor. Maybe this is the way it is supposed to be. It seems to be how Franklin works. He sleeps between chores and, when he is stimulated, he is up full-bark or at least full groan-whine. I think I will stay off the caffeine. A day at a time of course.

SOUL FOOD

You will want to read this LA Times essay: The Sepulveda Man.

It is one of those 'truth is stranger than fiction' stories that burns the eyes with its truth.

You will have to register and you want to move quickly. After a week it costs to get an archive item.

STONER

This site BILLY HARVEY MUSIC is sublime.

Here are some tips to max your enjoyment:

PROPHECY

This from one of my favorite seers and prognosticators:

As Democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

ONE

It has been one year since the institution of gay marriage in Massachusetts. 3000 same-gender couples have gotten married. The sky has not fallen. As far as we know, there has been no reduction of het-marriages. The sad part is that in 11 states a lot of straight people lost the right to civil union and don't even know it yet.

STRAIGHT TALK

I found some of the transcript for Clinton's interview with Peter Jennings the other night. The best part to me (in this AP report) is that Bill draws the line right there in the sand about how the media played with the Starr leaks and worked it for ratings while world events went begging for air time. Tabloid journalism. Death by a thousand leaks.

Clinton blasted Starr and spoke disdainfully of a national media that he suggested was complicit in a scheme to ruin his presidency.

"No other president ever had to endure someone like Ken Starr," Clinton said. "No one ever had to try to save people from ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, and people in Haiti from a military dictator that was murdering them, and all the other problems I dealt with, while every day an entire apparatus was devoted to destroying him."

The former president said he would go to his grave at peace that, while he had personal failings, he never lied to the American people about his job as president.

Clinton added that he doesn't care about what his detractors think about him. Jennings then said it seemed to him that Clinton did care.

The former president responded, "You don't want to go here, Peter. You don't want to go here. Not after what you people did and the way you, your network, what you did with Kenneth Starr. The way your people repeated every, little sleazy thing he leaked. No one has any idea what that's like."

"You never had to live in a time when people you knew and cared about were being indicted, carted off to jail, bankrupted, ruined, because they were Democrats and because they would not lie," he said. "So, I think we showed a lot of moral fiber to stand up to that. To stand up to these constant investigations, to this constant bodyguard of lies, this avalanche that was thrown at all of us. And, yes, I failed once. And I sure paid for it. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the American people. And I'm sorry for the embarrassment they performed."

And in another place he mentions the times that events such as his standing O at the UN went entirely unreported. And this is what is so sad about what has become of our political life in this country.

Politics have always been rough. There is no doubt. But at no time in our history has more depended on accurate and balanced coverage by the media. Infotainment. Tabloid journalism. The decimation of honorable and professional news organizations at the networks.

I am proud of Bill Clinton to stand up and fight back; to tell these smarmy ratings hounds what they did to the country as well as to his administration. They set a new low in integrity and, indeed, in their patriotic duty.

There is a lot of talk about politics in the broadcast media; the liberal or conservative bias. I am sure that there is ground for discussion and worry about this. But what really worries me is lazy teevee, superficial radio, echo-chamber reporting that takes talking points and reprints them. The rise of the blogs is a direct result of the absolute lameness of what is out there. And so on.

The point of this is that Clinton was sticking it to them and good for him.

CHILD

So, Kerry is getting back into the swing. Letters went today to all his supporters (me) announcing a health care initiative for all children: Protect Every Child.

This is not a bad place for him to start. It frames the basic questions of priorities and forces answers.

I would like him to fill the leadership vacuum on the left and center. He is less progressive than I would want him to be but he is a Senator. You can only ask so much.

This is a good thing.

He wants regular people to co-sponsor this bill. You can sign up. He has more plans for direct action against the bushies. Look at the video.

BLOODY SUNDAY

The action is all in pieces; here, there, everywhere at once. The crowds are incredible. There are panoramic shots of the march that show what looks like the whole of Derry! There are some continuing characters to pin it all down. The shots are filled to the brim with people in background; all at full tilt. So realistic! I also had the advantage of subtitles. I have a lot of trouble with the accents.

This was the turning point, for the modern, moderate, ‘civil rights’ movement in Northern Island. British troops were mobilized to control the ‘peaceful’ event. The troops presence inflamed the few young Irish radicals who started to stone them. An elite paratroop group held in reserve was put into play to take on the stone throwers. All control was lost and at the end of the day 13 unarmed civilians were killed.

It was the end of the moderates’ influence and led to the signup of thousands of young Irish men to the militant IRA.

It is odd that in two days, there will be two recreations such as this. The Battle of Algiers is in line. I would bet that somewhere, someone, said ‘let’s make a film in the style of ‘Algiers’ around Bloody Sunday.

This is a New York Times 1176 Best Film and I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5.

EATING UP

I can't believe that K-Mart bought Sears!

K-Mart was Kresge's Five and Ten. Sears was the behemoth with the catalog and the dependable appliances and the world beater of retail.

Kresge's sales are smaller by half but they have a profit; nearly 8 times Sears in the last nine months. They made moves that Sears could not; closing stores, ruthless redesign of the market they served. All that.

Poignant that this is the time of year we would get the Sears Christmas Wish Book. I would peruse it cover to cover and make my choices clear to all who would listen. Reach could equal grasp.

I knew Sebastian Kresge when I was a kid. He had a summer place near where we lived. He went to our church. He was a nice guy. He strongly influenced modern philanthropy. He invited the challenge grant. Match his money and it was yours.

He had a very pretty younger wife. They said that they swam nude in his pool on the estate. Shocking. She was like a porcelain doll and very smiling and unassuming.

It is all kind of hard to process. I am sure it can all be explained. This is part of a huge shakeup in retailing. I think it starts with Wal-Mart kicking everyone's ass. Unamerican as it is.

Boy I wish I had one of those Christmas catalogs to look at again.

So just when I think we just had a christer-coup, this from the Pentagon: Pentagon Distances Itself From Boy Scouts.

It is because of the god thing not the gay thing; but what the hell. I had forgotten that as a cubbie I had to say something about god. I was too busy checking out my cub-brothers to notice.

I was not in it for long. Knots eluded me. Premeditated fun threw me off balance. The projects allowed little opportunity for my creativity and besides I wasn't all that into building bird houses.

My mother was a den mother. She couldn't hack it either. They all got on her nerves. I actually never even got a uniform. Now that would have been a reason to hang in.

MOVIE MADNESS

Documentary about an obsessed and unskilled movie maker who specializes in horror films and recruits all his friends to support his 'habit'. It is one of those docs that makes me want to turn away and I cannot; a slow motion train wreck.

The makers of American Movie (1999) manage, somehow, to tread the narrow line between ridicule and plain story telling. In one way, the key players are pathetic losers. In another, they are doing the thing that you can only do in America (at least for now); chase a dream against all odds.

A lot of the early efforts of the film-maker are shown. They are all horror flicks; even when he was 12. There is one scene in a very early Super8 that shows a kid 'exploding'. My take is that if this guy did not make these movies, he would explode. All the violence and wildness in them would happen for real.

The interesting thing is that the film that he makes has sold some tapes, and there is an album! I figure he has made his nut. He is on his way to the next film.

Like I said, I couldn't turn away. It is worth a spin on the DVD if you are looking for the underbelly of auteur cinema. I am not sure how it made it on to the list of the NYTimes 1176 Best Films which is the way that I got to it; but there it is. I would guess because it is a film about film from a certain perspective; an antidote to mental illness, perhaps.

I will give it a 3 on the Netflix5 scale.

CURE FOR THE BLUES

Secession and state rights all the rage now: If At First You Don't Secede in Salon.

I had thought of this. We live in one of the states that regularly sets higher standards than the Feds and works programs without Fed assist. We are going it alone on stem cell research. Of course, we are in bad shape financially; but all it will take is an economic uptick to fix that.

This puts us in one of those cycles that has the opposite effect of tradition. It was state rights that got the goops all the demo defectors. The right wing has always been for state's rights. They are working it on gay marriage and have tried to work it on the abortion line. Tables turn.

MMMMM'GOOD

Today, the ultimate feel good movie; a NYTimes Best1176 Film: Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain / Amélie (2001).

It is one of those films that is worth looking at every three or four years. There is so much in it that you cannot get it all in one sitting.

An easy 5 out of Netflix5.

The fantasy boyfriend on the left is a real dish; Mathieu Kassovitz. And he has a great website. It will speak English to you if you ask.

RED IN THE FACE

This has been going the rounds.

If you have not seen it before, it will help you through the anger phase of your grieving process.

IT'S STILL BILL

This is another thing to admire about BIll Clinton. His new Library is an unprecedented asset to his 'home' town of Little Rock. He obviously planned it that way. Clinton has always been a master of working the deal that will work for everyone; him included, of course.

This LA Times article tells the story: Boom Echoes Off The Clinton Library.

I also like the little piece about Heifer International. I first heard about this in 1960 when it was a small outfit that, basically, provided Heifers to undeveloped communities all over the world. The idea is that you could build an economy around a small producing cow herd. It worked. They are huge now.

The Library dedication will be this week. It will be a major coup for the Clintons to take some more press away from the cult for, obviously, good purposes. Although he will get attacked for something. We know.

It is a testament to Clinton's abiding power that not one, but two prez-bush's will be there. You cannot believe that they would choose to be, but politics and the balance of the power both Clintons wield demands it. And what is more, Clinton will welcome them and be gracious and generous; the truly American way.

More and more, Clinton is becoming the elder statesman that many of us saw in his young presidency. He will be a towering figure in the difficult days ahead. I love Bill Clinton. Well, you knew that. But this is just one more reason.

OHHHHH CANADA

We are heavily into the anger phase of grieving; post election death, and all. Talk turns to leaving the fucking country. There are rumors of havens in third world countries. They say Americans can live like kings in Panama City. This has always been the lure of the third world escape. Give up your values and live off the backs of the peasants. God knows, there is enough of that here in Southern California. But there it is full time.

Of course, a lot of ex-pats living in Mexico had their land suddenly redacted by the government. It was nice while it lasted. Banana republics are not the most stable places. Venezuela used to be a paradise for NA exiles. No more.

Everyone's default escape hatch is Canada. But, jesus it is so cold. We would die. We can't even make it to Santa Monica without a coat. Nevertheless, there is an illusion of blue perfection in the upper half and it all seems very appealing.

Reality bites today in Salon. It seems that, as I knew, American bodies are welcome in the Commonwealth but American attitudes are not. Me, I bristle with American arrogance. It is what I think made us strong. It is just that the goopers are pissing it away! I can swagger with the best of them. Gotta give that up if I am going to be oot and aboot in Can-a-da.

The article also dispels the notion that somehow Canada is asshole free. There are as many greedy capitalists, crooked politicians, right wing haters, religious nuts and tin hats on the ground as we have here. We just don't get the news about this over the border. They got a great PR machine.

Read it yourself: Welcome to Canada.

Here is what I reccomend. Stay where you are. Make this land whole again. We need you. Me, I am staying put. It is mine. They will have to pry this country off my cold, dying ass. I can't do anything else. I am an American!

SAM

What a wonderful surprise. Just two days after I wrote about him (again), Sam Fuller appears as a sort of criminal godfather in this Wim Wenders NYTimes Best1176 Picture:

Amerikanische Freund, Der / The American Friend (1977)

It is not a big part but he is obviously relishing the attention. I enjoyed his appearance immensely. A lot of young directors brought him on their sets to strut their Fuller-influenced stuff. He often stayed to put in a cameo.

Oh! What about the film? It stars Bruno Ganz and is really quite good. German New Wave is not always very accessible but this one is. There are many unanswered questions, they ultimately do not matter.

Roger Ebert writes cogently on the film and the Wave. I did not find as many chunks missing as Ebert, actually.

Dennis Hopper is in this too. Ebert says he seems to be recovering from the motorcycle crash in Easy Rider. True.

When it comes right down to it, Hopper has always been a one-note actor. He is in a lot of art film and was able to parley his Easy Rider thing into a career of sorts. He is seldom a welcome part of a picture for me. In this one he is somewhat sedated; so his craziness is reigned in.

Fair warning though; if you like DH, go for it. If you do not, you may have a few gritty-teeth moments. He hones his psycopathic chops and, in the process, chews a bit of scenery.

Now, here is something else! The film is an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith Tom Ripley novel; Ripley's Game! This is Hopper. He is a fake art dealer and general all around con-man. I think that the Highsmith sensibility is in the film. I didn't get it until the ending credits! Even though Hopper's character is Tom Ripley. Jeez. This thing is filled with surprises.

There is another wonderful surprise toward the middle of this mostly serious picture. There is a sequence in a moving train involving garroting, shooting, throwing of bodies out the door and so on. It is almost farcical with the opening doors, closing doors, people coming down the corridor, the need to produce tickets at an inappropriate moment and many more tiny tricks. It owes a lot to the Three Stooges or Mac Sennet somehow.

Another oddity here is that there are three languages spoken in the film. It is subtitled for English so little is missed. They obviously are working around Hopper's monolinguality. He is the only one who is American. Well, he is the friend!

I enjoyed this film very much and will give it a 4 out of Netflix 5.

THUMBS DOWN

The Peterson trial is over, for now. They found him guilty. Oddly, they had to get rid of three jurors to do it. I see a long appeal process.

There is no surprise here in my town. The guys in the gym had him pegged as guilty way before he was arrested with all the cash in his car and this 'disguise'. They also had the goods on OJ. If Kobe had stood trial, they had his case settled too. You got it, guilty.

For some reason, the straight guys whose knuckles drag a little close to the ground always figure that the guy did it. Phil Spector? Yup. Guilty. Robert Blake? Way way guilty.

I sometimes wonder at the inner anger. Are they projecting just a bit too much?

You gotta admit that we are doing more than our share out here to keep the tabloid press and cable teevee supplied with juicy material. We are a blue state and more than happy to flout and parade our sinfulness to the America that thrills at the downfall of the godless in gomorra. I bet Scott voted for Kerry. He was not a felon, yet.

James Walcott has it down pretty good.

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over (Until the Next One)

Posted by James Wolcott

The Scott Peterson verdict is to be announced momentarily, a momentous event that has preempted everything else on cable news over the last few hours and will consume the rest of the evening. I hope the reporters and "legal experts" on camera are wearing adult diapers, because they look as if they're peeing themselves with excitement.

Meanwhile, researchers at CNN, MSNBC, and Fox are scouring data bases to find the next murder case involving a husband allegedly murdering his pregnant wife.

Certain restrictions apply.

The couple must be white, reasonably affluent, and reasonably attractive, preferably with a girlfriend on-the-side for the husband. The gf must speak with a mall-rat accent and come across persuasively as a trusting idiot.

There must also be poignantly mundane home videos of the victim playing with children, walking on the beach, etc, reminding viewers of a happier time in her life, before she met her cruel destiny.

All future commentary and reckless speculation on pregnant-wife-murder cases and trials will make generous use of "Desperate Housewives" references and parallels.

Ah, I see a verdict has been reached.

Scott Peterson: guilty of 1st and 2nd degree murder. Well, there goes his shot at hosting the next season of The Bachelor.

FIVE

Pedro Almodóvar's TODO SOBRE MI MADRE/ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (1999): today's movie; a NYTimes 1176 Best Film.

This is a great piece of work. Almodóvar paints with a vivid palette and creative hand; meticulous.

His actors totally inhabit their parts; all originals. It is just so fine.

A 5 out of Netflix5. He also won an Oscar for it; Best Foreign Film.

ONE AGAIN

Dear and constant readers will remember that I am a great fan of the work of Samuel Fuller, a mostly B-level, noir focused, director of film.

Fuller, who started writing commercially for the pulp press at 16, went to WWII and the experience of it stayed with him through his life and informed his work.

The greatest part of it was the unprecedented fact that he stayed together with the same platoon and squad throughout the entire war. The friendships he made and the experiences he had were, to his author-mind, a rich source for all his works. Themes of loyalty, honor, and the bond of comrades inform all of his work.

He put it all together in a big war film named for his division, the First; the shoulder patch is just the red number one. He made a four hour cut.

They didn't buy it. He thought he could get them to print two movies out of it. No dice.

He had to cut it to less than two hours for the B-houses and drive-ins. We have seen the result which is good enough in its truncated self but now they have recut it into a much longer cohesive version. See the Salon revue: THE BIG RED ONE.

It is a great short course on Fuller.

And then, go to see the picture, if you can. Maybe they will replace the present DVD with the new print. You will like it even if you do not like war pictures. The film is way low on war and very high on relationships. It is the ultimate 'buddy' movie. There are about seven buddies. And the interplay is just great.

The only sad thing about the whole enterprise is that Fuller is not around to see this rehabilited tribute to his friends.

OVERFLIGHT

A WWII propeller version of the Blue Angels went over this afternoon for the Veteran's Day Parade.

I suddenly realized why there is no mail out there! It is a holiday.

How soon we forget.

How prozaic. WWI. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th year of the last Century. When I was in elementary school, we would all be silent at that time every year.

Then, some old fart would make blowhard speeches at us about patriotism and sacrifice. Ours, not his. We were the up and coming red-meat.

Now, it doesn't mean a lot, that First Big One.

I honor veterans of all wars. I am almost one (not enough time) and live with one. I was the son of a wounded veteran.

But, somehow I don't get the celebration of it all. The parades. More about old people sending young people to make the same sacrifice over the same issues. And now we are making new veterans every minute, over 'there'.

But, let's hear it for the flyboys.

They did stop me long enough to think about it all.

My Veteran's Day minute.

ALL WET

We are back in the spa business. The new concrete cap and the red tile are all ready to get wet.

Frank came today and put in the salt so we can be at the right salinity (chlorine system) and if all goes well, we will be all wet and hot just before bedtime.

We are a ways off from the big pool being ready. Gotta do some tile on steps, then plaster and finish the piping and, of course, fill it.

Franklin still patrols daily to see whether the water is back yet. Soon, Franklin, soon.

DO YOUR OWN THING

Today's movie was ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (1955).

Yeh, I know, with a title like that it has to be pretty cheesy, huh? And get a load of this! It stars Jane Wyman, a recent widow in a suburban town, who falls for Rock Hudson, the guy who does her gardening. And what is more, he falls in love with her and takes the lead!

Eeeewww! Right? Wrong. This wonderful film about conforming to social values, or rather, not conforming; fighting to follow your own heart, is a fresh breeze through the Hollywood formula pictures of the period; all 'I Like Ike' values. It is a melodrama so you might want to get out your hankies. The tearful parts are as much happy as sad. It is full of manipulative elements to crank you around emotionally; but I do not think you will be able to escape. Enjoy! Sniff, sniff.

It is very engaging and convincing and I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5. It is also a NYTimes 1176 Best Film, and a good thing too, as I would never have rented it otherwise.

Another aspect of this film's quality, is the production itself. It is restored Technicolor and the lighting and general cinematography is stunning; albeit T-color artificial. In service of this look, the film is entirely shot on a set. Control. I had forgotten how utterly gorgeous these films were.

Douglas Sirk directed and the efficiency of the work is amazing. He was on a roll at this time and had directed some other romantic melodramas like MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW, and WRITTEN ON THE WIND. These films were a genré unto themselves and HEAVEN fits right in. Anyone my age will remember them all, for sure. And the producer of all these, as well as many other Hudson films (the Doris Day vehicles), was Ross Hunter a prolific producer with a unique ability to put together high quality crowd pleasers. Today, he is generally mocked, because the material is dated. On the other hand, at the time, his material was always considered new and bright and, at times, even thought provoking; just as this film is.

PIGGING OUT

Ward, New Zealand. Pig carrying contest. The pig is on top.

DUKIN' DUDES

I love this ad in Craigs list today.

Straight male seeks Bush supporter for fair, physical fight - m4m

Reply to: anon-47785163@craigslist.org
Date: Wed Nov 03 19:11:50 2004

I would like to fight a Bush supporter to vent my anger. If you are one, have a fiery streek, please contact me so we can meet and physically fight. I would like to beat the shit out of you.

it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Copyright © 2004 craigslist

STILL ALIVE SORTA

I told you this would happen: Cleric Rushes to See Arafat; Burial Plans Proceed.

He is still dying or dead but not really because some parts of his body still are working and besides, all the lieutenants and hangers on have not figured out how to do without him yet and..................Just like Franco. See below; Friday November 5th.

The Russians and a lot of the roman church have this thing down. They keep the bodies around just in case. Lenin stayed visible in Red Square for decades. They kept fluffing him up. "Hi, I am Lenin's fluffer".

The catholics keep pieces of various saints and key figures around here and there to ward of evil or something. Maybe to legitimize their claim as the one and only true religion. And if that is not enough, every once in a while, someone sees Mary coming back in the form of a rain cloud or something.

Death is like that. We just don't want to see it happen.

As far as the 'fat is concerned, they are working on the tomb. It is funny. They are going to get the Israelis to support the location of Arafat's tomb and it will be right under their noses on the site they have been slowly bombing out of existence.

It looks like they got the inconvenient wife off the stage. She was making sure he stayed alive long enough for her to press her claims to the estate; figured to be on the order of 300,000,000 dollars. How is it that these martyrs get so rich? The ultimate scam.

This kind of thing gives us an older guy, like me, some perspective. I remember when Yasser was young and kinda sexy. He had this whole rebel thing going really well. Here he has his hat and his scary thug smile. The image is perfect and very effective. He has held power for a very long time.

In spite of all the years of friction and hatred, I still really don't understand the whole situation. I am not sure that the Jews or Palestinians do. It is easier to kill each other and act sub-animal than to figure it out. War is the ultimate distraction.

Just look around. Distracted?

AND ANOTHER THING

While I am weighing in on the campaign that the Demos ran, I suppose that I should also cop to a few other unstated (to date) reactions. I do not know how important either of these was to the final vote, but I bet that, at the margin, they might have been deal breakers for a lot of people who were balanced in the middle. And even if not, it still bothers me.

I think that there is no doubt that dark dick cheney held the base for his team. His monotonous sonority predicting gloom and doom were the Dems elected almost scared me. He is, indeed, a dark eminence. The scowl, the wording, the cadence. He could hire out for voice over. And, like it or not, he has gravitas, experience. He could easily step into the job. Fuck, a lot of people think he has been doing it all along anyway. A mere step to the left. Oops. Right.

On the other hand, Edwards was and is a lightweight with, as far as I can tell, no political future whatsoever. He is the only candidate, in the primary, that I did not take seriously. He has no story. I would cringe when I considered his prospects as President in case the awful happened and he had to step in. Many have. And not all were very well prepared, and indeed, lightweights. Consider Gerald Ford.

One of the worst moments in the debates, for me, was when that awful Gwen Iffel asked him to talk without mentioning Kerry's name. It was a stupid question, yet revealing. He could not do it! Bad.

OK. Now on more dangerous ground. I am going to piss a lot of people off on this one. I think that Teresa Heinz Kerry was an awful liability in the campaign.

WAIT! Don't run off! You are right. She is a new woman. She is great. She is one of the best successful-woman examples that I know of. She has a great story. I admire her spirit and no-nonsense put it out on the table and to hell with it if they can't handle it approach.

But, it is lousy politics and even worse diplomatically (a big part of the job). Like it or not, the whole presidential thing is political and diplomatic. Period.

It is self indulgent to act otherwise. Entitlement is not very far away from the independence. People do not like it. Me either. I liked her very much and I did not much like her behavior some of the time. I did not believe, for a minute, that the slam on laura for not working was accidental.

I do not think that it is a good thing to wander off message. Her man did it often enough to drive us nuts. She has no self discipline about her public personna. She is like an Italian starlet who gets things just a bit off alignment; an earth mother. A rich one; but an earth mother nonetheless.

And then there is the money. I know I know. But, it is not really hers. She gets the negative without the positive. And she would not step aside from the Trusts and Foundations if she was first lady. I do not think that she should. On the other hand, it is not the traditional approach and, while not mentioned much, I think it became the elephant under the carpet.

This is the same thing as Ms. Dean not being a first lady and staying with her medical practice. Admirable. Great. Twenty-first Century behavior. A role model. But not a first lady qualification.

These women would be over achievers in the job. Shit, they could probably handle the job better than the husband. Now. I am not talking about having to be a Laura Bush, all big eyed and dewy and obviously a bit moist over her husbands manliness and all.

This is right out of central casting but Nancy originated the part. Hell, Jackie did it. Big adoring eyes and a heart of steel. It has been done.

The ones who did not play this role out ended up morose alkies or a little crazy; Mamie, Betty, Pat. All Repubs incidentally. It is no-win. And Teresa is all-win and would not put up with it and we would have had four years of distractions in the press.

There is a middle ground of course. Rosalynne Carter found it. So did Lady Bird Johnson. And then, there is Hillary Clinton. But, Hill is political. She was a little too much but in the right direction. So much so that she may get to be the President and Bill will be the first............what? First Gentleman. Now that is something I would like to see.

LIFE OF THE PARTY

I am reading all this stuff about what the Democrats ought to do next. I mention below that they must reorganize and then build the base. 56 million people. Organize. Down to the street level. We used to be past masters of that.

A lot depends on the stewards of Party power. Will they let this happen or will the donkey's tail get all twisted toward the ideas of the elite who make money out of being Demo-professionals.

Did you see where the campaign money went? A lotta insiders got rich out of this and we got george bush. Gotta roll them heads.

And now, we come to the problem of John Kerry. Not his problem, but my problem.

Here he stands with over 56 million votes and 48 percent of the population wanting him to be President and he is not. What should he do?

I sympathize. I imagine, and hear that, he will return to the Senate where he will be a respected member. He will not be minority leader. That is already parceled out. He met with a group of Senators the other day so I assume that they are all ironing out the awkward bits.

Now, I realize that what I think about Kerry is pretty much beside the point. I did my job. I ranted and cajoled some people and then I went in and hit the touch-pad. No one has asked me to do more or less.

But, somehow, I feel that I must have a position. My legs are still running although I am standing still. This causes a bit of stress I can tell you.

One way to handle it is to slow my legs down; then quit moving them at all. Just stand still. Another is to think about what I hope Kerry will do.

Here is my bit. I hope he will get in the Senate and use his capital the same way that bush has said that he will use his. 56 million is a lot of votes whether it made you the winner or not. But, he has to stay in play and stay hot to do it. Every day that goes by, he is getting cooler.

I hope he forgets the run-in-2008 thing. Did you know that only Adlai Stevenson was the nominee twice in a row and that was with a real convention. Nixon is the only President who ran unsuccessfully and made it. He did it on his second try; with a space in between.

Another reason that I hope he doesn't make another try is that I think he will not do a lot better. He has this aura around him.

Now, I am going to fess up. You know he was not my man. You probably know that when he was my Senator I didn't think he was very good either and I would have voted for someone else in a heartbeat. Indeed, I may have. I think that I voted for Weld. I don't remember. Really. No snickers please.

I guess it is a simple, selfish emotion. I do not want to have to run my motor up to the RPM that I did this time for him. I got over my problems with him and then found many of them staring me in the face as he campaigned.

Don't get me wrong. I still think that he would have been way better and more effective than bush will be. Hands down. And at heart, that was it. Anyone but bush and Kerry was anyone. My affection for him was situational and comparative. Let's get some new leadership all around and work the base.

I am far far far more interested in the direction of the Party just now than any possible candidates in 2008. In fact the who of 2008 is an impediment in the thinking. Work that 56 million! Work it.

It is time for the donkey to kick some serious butt. And please, this time, get rough. We are soooooo nice.

MUD

Yesterday was the day of the concrete pour. We got the new cap on the new pool.

The prep is incredibly detailed. First, the forms; which are custom built from styrofoam elements. These are wired to the interior deck every foot to hold the weight of the mass.

The tile which has been installed is covered with a stick-on shield. We have curves which are a challenge. There are slot drains all around, so the drainage for that needs to be put in place.

The concrete gets ordered the morning of. Out here, there is a cement shortage (China); so, it is not always a sure thing. The folks out through the pass had a rainy day, so the demand was low; colored concrete due at 2PM.

Well, it showed up at three. And, here is the part I was not ready for. Once it is poured (through a hose, the mixer radio controlled, operator fills forms) the guys had to level, then trowel, then shape and brush as the concrete hardened. It took them until 10PM. They do this all the time. We do not. They have floods of course. They do not do it in the dark or rely on our patio lights.

Today, it looks great. We are a little touch and go with the color; it is still wet and dark. The desired dark tan is already showing here and there on the drier parts. It will be OK.

Very messy process; as organized and careful the guys were. At 8AM this morning they were back to clean up and they have done a great job. The back yard is cleaner than it has been since this project started! A real treat.

Franklin is in heaven. He has been housebound during the pouring. No puppy prints allowed. Cabin fever is over. He has been out running around in the yard all afternoon. And, he is still waiting for the water to return. We assure him that day is coming sooner now, rather than later.

CHAIRS!

Even if we are going to get more of the same for four more years, it will, at least, not necessarily be from the same people. Today we lost Preacher Ashcroft from Justice. Don Evans, a dubya best-friend-hack will quit his Commerce job; greasing the skids for the biz lobbies.

The thing about these changes is that we do not know if the new will be better or worse than the old. With Ashcroft, it would be hard to find worse; but I am sure that junior is up to it.

On the Demo side, there is the problem with the DNC head; anyone but Terry McAuliffe. I would like an audible head roll when he gets it. Dean or Ickes would be good; both have been mentioned. Problem is that Dean is probably too hot for the moderates. Ickes is a great talent but is very close to the Clintons. Nothing wrong with that except others might get itchy over bias toward Clinton2008

And so on. It is useful to watch the process. A nice way to detox from the election binge.

The most frought empty chairs are still filled. The Supremes. Aaaargh.

CELL BLOCK

It is time to report on the first week of going cellular, mobile, or is it wireless? No. Wireless is sort of your computer without a wire or something.

We both went to Verizon because they have the best reception all over the valley. This was confirmed for us by Mark, the tile guy, who I realized was making and taking cell calls while he was working in our pool. Our neighborhood and house have been notorious no-signal zones for a long time. This was a revelation. Mark said he was never in trouble for a signal. So we took his word. Of course, Michelle at Verizon said the same thing, but she has a slight commissionary bias.

Well, Mark and Michelle were right. We get a big fat signal here at the house and so we have emailed all the friends, put the landline number on a fast record basis ("we are going mobile, leave a message and we will call you with our new number"). We have cancelled our 800 number because if the family is on Verizon it doesn't cost anything to talk to them. Well, this is not true, really.

As I pointed out to my son Dave, the cell people have a prepaid call system which is a great economic model for them. They get all their money up front; no pesky cash float over monthly bills. What is more, they can and do charge exorbitantly for going over the pre-purchased calls. Best deal is that most of the people over buy the units and don't use them. Wow. Buy Verizon stock! The trouble is that it is a big company and it has a lot of loser divisions like the land lines which we are dumping.

What about the phone? We both got the LGX4500--a beefy middle of the road option. The others in the range seemed so light. They work great and once you get started the learning curve is pretty steep. The algorithms are different than we had with Nokia but it doesn't matter.

No camera, no teevee, and no frills although if we don't mind thumb fractures we can do email I think. Why would anyone want to do that? Isn't email email? The other thing is that the phone would upload to the computer or something but the service doesn't include it. No prob-a-lem. I will not be paying to download my bells either. I have a nice little jazzy riff.

What else? We are both into it. I was not sure that John would be. It is always 'the other one' that won't be into it, isn't it? J even survived a lemon first phone which he had to return. No questions asked.

Did I say that the Verizon store was incredibly service oriented? Michelle. I was told not to buy on-line as the Verizon reps are masterful system hackers who can get you what you need without any 'stuff'. We saw some examples as we waited for our sale to be consummated. And we think that, somehow, John got a whole new phone when that may not have been the policy. In any case, it happened like lightning.

And helpful! There was a guy waiting on an old lady who could not put directory numbers into her phone. In my judgement, she should not be allowed to have a phone; in the same way some people should not be allowed to drive a car. Totally dysfunctional at the electronic level.

The Verizon guy got her through it. About mid-point, his hands were shaking; it was soooo tense. Here was this big hulking latin dude with several piercings and a heavy haircut working with the little sweetsie-vague grandma. They made it work by hanging in with each other. She said she would buy him a drink. He said Starbucks Iced Tea and laughed. She was back with it in five minutes. Now where do you see this kind of shit happening today?