Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
THE MIDDLE CIRCLE OF HELL
So the ice maker was acting up again—frozen line—and we had the guy come out (a new one) and he gave a bogus diagnosis as the line froze up again 24 hours after he was here.
I told him that the first guy had said it was possibly the water valve but that he would try his fix and see what happened.
Well, what happened, happened after the warranty period for the first job.
I suppose this is hard to follow. I am having trouble with it myself.
The second guy came back again, 6 days later, and pulled the refrigerator out and freaked at the plastic line that was running to the existing valve. This would not do.
He played the 'doesn't meet code' card.
I am getting tired of this guy.
He wants a new 'proper' mesh line and he can't do it; he is not a plumber.
Neither am I.
So I called our new plumber, Roto Rooter, who comes in and hour which they did.
The plumber said that the line going to the valve was fine. Not a problem with code and the plastic lasts forever.
Battle of the fixit men.
Anyway, we had the mesh line put in (using a piece of the old plastic line) and we will have the new fresh connection ready when the service guy returns tomorrow to install the new ice maker water valve.
My tendency is to argue these points. That would have us stuck.
This is why rehab projects take so long. One thing depends on the other and one repairman's view differs from the other and they never, ever, talk to each other.
We had this big time when the air conditioning guys messed with the roof surface while the roofing guys were installing our new roof.
They were up there almost grappling with one another until I negotiated.
I think that my chain is getting pulled by the appliance service guy and I don't like his arbitrary style.
We will get the job done and then when and if I have to call them again, I will ask that I not get this particular guy.
Unless he is the only one available.
Then I will grin and bear it.
Labels: appliances, repairs
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
GENII
I have wondered about the people who work at the Apple Store Genius Bar.
Here's the story.
A Day in the Life of an Apple Genius
I love Apple.
Labels: macintosh
LEFT AND RIGHT
I really like Dr. Ron Paul
Here he is doing a bi-pol-er interview with Jerome Armstrong and David All.
He has clarity.
I may not like some of this other positions but on Iraq and a few others I am 100%.
If I were a Republican, I would support him.
I always seem to gravitate to these plainspoken guys (who can't win).
Richardson against Paul.
Let's have a real election.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
DANCE DANCE DANCE
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was
Reputed to be the best dance film ever made, it tells the story of Hans Christian Anderson's story at two levels.
A dance company decides to produce the story as ballet and the story of making that ballet parallels the fable.
It is a beautifully produced story of back-stage life and, to that extent, is fascinating and enjoyable.
The color is luscious; Technicolor in the original three-strip process which connoisseurs agree is superior to the technically improved two-strip (1954 is the date of change). It is like the argument about LPs versus CDs but in this case the quality is obvious. I think because of the stagy nature of the scenes.
There is a 20 minute ballet.
It is pretty good.
I am glad that I saw it. Damning with faint praise I suppose.
I am probably not as interested in classical ballet as the modern and, to that extent, I didn't get deeply involved with the dancing work itself.
The casting is very good. I liked everyone.
Moira Shearer is the star.
The famed Massine is the dance master. He appears as a partner in all the ballet sequences.
This film has a high IMDb rating. I wish that I liked it more.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: best films
WAR HERO
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was John Huston's
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
with the WWII hero Audie Murphy.
This was a troubled film (read the link) and it weighs in at only 65 minutes.
There are some incredible battle shots.
The cinematography is superb.
Murphy and all his platoon members are great. Many were stock characters in many films; Royal Dano, Andy Devine, Arthur Hunnicut, to name a few.
What I liked most about Murphy's portrayal is that he does not have an instant awakening. It is a slow process.
And even when he becomes a hero, he cannot fully admit his former weakness. Substituting bravado for candor he hedges his 'story' in his confession to his best friend.
This felt more true to me than a clean and glorious epiphany would.
I think this may account for the trouble that the film had when it was initially run.
The film is also hard to deal with because it places emphasis on military bravery as the avenue through which the hero achieves adulthood. This is not a popular theme these days and yet, it is a fact, young men are experiencing these same issues as I type.
Some, who do not experience war directly, go through other trials to achieve adulthood. Trials by fire of one kind or another; it is the same thing.
I did not have war. I am fortunate enough to have skated through one of the most peaceful periods of the last century. I faced the challenges of having a large family, working my way up and out in my jobs, starting a business, coming out.
We all have our red badges. Or don't.
It is particularly male, I think.
Murphy had an interesting life. Humble beginnings and great accomplishments.
He was the most decorated WWII veteran. His autobiography was a best seller.
He struggled to become an actor and eventually (with mixed feelings) starred in the film version of his own book.
It was incredibly popular.
His appearance in this film is surprisingly good. He has an intensity that cannot be 'acted'.
Murphy's buddy in the film is played by another icon of WWII, Bill Mauldin.
Mauldin created a cartoon version of the War that became an alternative chronicle of what it was like for the common soldier. He was only in his early 20's. He makes a pretty good actor in this film.
The key to both these guy's success in this film is their innate humility.
I will give this a 4 out of Netflix5. Maybe a 5. It sure got me thinking about rites of passage. Mine and others.
A long blog usually means a good movie experience.
Labels: best films, coming of age
TO THE CORE
I am an Apple man, through and through.
I love articles like this.
Apple’s Lesson for Sony’s Stores: Just Connect
Labels: macintosh
GEEZERED
I don't think a lot about my 'later years'.
If I do, I think about maintaining my independence right to the end.
This article set me back a little.
Our Mom's died in nursing home rooms or the equivalent.
This ain't my idea of where I want to end up.
We have done a few things to head it off.
We both have long term care policies that would emphasize home care over some phony 'home'.
I would be determined to stay with my people and my stuff.
Of course, in life, we do not always have as many choices as we think we should have.
But I am sure going to do my best to avoid the kind of sad ending that is described in this article.
My fears are somewhat limited. A room mate that I never knew in my life could be a hell that would surpass all hells. I can't much stand to be with people my own age now.
Routines are OK but someone else's routine is another thing.
Bingo? Television?
Sorry.
Show me the plastic bag I can put over my head.
Labels: coming of age, geriatrics
Saturday, May 26, 2007
COWS
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Movie was Howard Hawk's
with John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, John Ireland and Joanne Dru.
It is a classic. I saw it when it came out (I was 11) and a couple times since.
The Oedipal story wraps around some of the most astounding cattle drive photography I have ever seen.
I don't mean that the cows are better than the people but nothing was spared in making this as realistic as possible.
The herd is huge. There is nothing make believe about it. The handling of it in almost all the scenes include a stampede and heading the drive into the small town of Abilene. Just amazing.
That said, the guys aren't bad either.
In real life, Clift, the Actor's Studio guy, takes on Wayne, the classical self made 'personality' actor.
As in the film, it is a draw and fascinating to watch.
I remember seeing Clift for the first time. It is hard to understate the impact that he had in this debut.
In one scene, his character is a boy. In the next, ten years later, he is a man. Boom.
Clift had a tragically self destructive life and burned out early. In his first films, he ignites the screen.
We all loved John Wayne. He found his metier early and stuck with it. He was not always the hero. In this one he is half an asshole.
You have to hand it to him. He varied the show to fit his persona and made great choices in the films he was in.
We will see him soon in The Quiet Man. One of those Netflix queuing coincidences.
I liked the film a lot. I remembered the general sense of it but had forgotten that it never falters. It is one thing after another.
The only slow spots are the scenes with Dru who is unconvincingly cast as the woman who brings the men back together.
They don't last long though. I can see a studio chief telling Hawks that he had to have a love interest.
I will give this one a 5 out of Netflix5.
Labels: best films
LIFE IN THE DESERT
The influx of full time residents is undeniable. It has been going on slowly over the last five years.
Now, the news has made the New York Times.
The audio is awful but the slides are pretty good.
Labels: neighborhood
Friday, May 25, 2007
LIKE I TOLD YOU
White House Is Said to Debate ’08 Cut in Iraq Troops by 50%
It is the first indication that growing political pressure is forcing the White House to turn its attention to what happens after the current troop increase runs its course.
Which it will. If not September, January.
The Iraqi's are getting closer to telling us to get out.
Sadr was back yesterday pressing the point.
Shiite Cleric Ends Absence From Iraq With Fiery Speech
The pressure to get out is coming from both sides.
A sandwich.
PROTEIN ADDED
I am not ashamed to say that I had a long laugh at this.
Slap On Wrist For High School Jerk
Love the headline too.
It is funny.
What is funniest is the worry that anyone ingesting the addition would be sickened.
I don't mean psychologically. I mean physically.
Anything in there would be knocked out by the vinegar.
I would bet that at least half of the kids who had the mayo were not 'bodily fluid' virgins.
This kid is smart. You can see that he is also a smart ass. He has enough credits to get to college.
A lot of spare time.
I also like the kid's comfort with his own sexuality although it clearly made a lot of other people uncomfortable.
I used to work in a kitchen. These people don't know the half of pranks that have been perped on them.
They do not know 'sickening' until they assay the full range of adulterations that are made each day in the food of 'difficult' customers.
I have made this item 'coming of age' in the tabs.
Labels: coming of age
ELMORE
I have finished the latest Elmore Leonard novel.
Up in Honey's Room takes place during WWII. It features Carl Webster who we met in The Hot Kid.
It is not as good as many other Leonards. Still excellent.
He has chosen to write what I consider a memoir of life in Detroit when he was a young adult.
Nostalgia.
Tons of detail.
Sometimes you can just hear the encyclopedia coming out of a character's mouth.
He also has to rehash Carl Webster's history which we already read but some readers have not.
This is always awkward where the same characters are used book to book.
This talkiness and descriptive stuff goes on for the first half of the book and it is a little annoying. Mostly as it is so transparent.
On the other hand, it is interesting because I was growing up at the same time. 12 years younger.
Midway through the book, things open up.
We get a good solid run for the money. All the usual Leonard fun.
I guess I can forgive him the nostalgia. He is 82 and this is his fortieth something book.
I met him once at a book signing.
I had him sign the page in his current book where I was reading at the moment. We also discussed our mutual interests in sobriety; a bit of personal history that he has not kept secret.
It was a very nice moment. In Chicago.
I was training and I timed the lunch so I could go see him.
Labels: books, nostalgia, reading
FUNERARY II
So I went to the Forest Lawn Mortuary yesterday and asked to update our arrangements (no embalming, cardboard coffin, cremation and a cardboard box for the 'cremains').
You may remember (see Funerary I below) that I suspected chicanery.
Not to worry.
The place is really nice. So were the people.
They brought out the files and we went over them.
We pre-paid 1200 dollars apiece. The same thing now costs 2200!
Buy now and save!
Everything was in order.
I had to fill out a lot of new forms because the new ownership is actually more meticulous about how to handle the thing.
Details. Jewelry on or off the corpse?
Stuff like that.
Why would I burn my rings that I paid so much for?
It turns out that as domestic partners the whole thing is a lot easier. No extra papers.
The ashes will be put in a plastic urn. No more cardboard box.
It is smaller. They pulverize all the bones now.
Good.
I scattered a friend once in the Charles River; surreptitiously. Supposedly.
The bone fragments made that hard. Splashes. Visibility. And we were doing it in the dark.
I got a tour of the samples for caskets, urns, and all.
The world has sure changed.
It was a well lit display room. No mood music. Pretty sharp.
The guy was good. We came out to each other early on. That helps. The gay irony gene is never too far from the surface.
He was respectful of the business at the same time as he was considerate of my general disdain for the gear they use for the funeral rites.
You can buy necklaces with little lockets that hold some of your loved one's ashes.
Not too far over the top, huh?
That is it.
End of report.
I am ready to kick now. I have a good sense that I will be well handled.
Same if I am the second to go. I know it will be an easy process to work with these people.
I am glad that I did it.
Labels: consumerism, death
WAR OF ATTRITION
I mean the one between the Congress and the prez.
Many lefties view the Congress' vote for the Iraq blood money, without limits, as a capitulation.
I tend not to see it this way.
I rather believe that the efforts being made to push bush back are winning.
Not in a win/lose way, but in the way that will work with his reality which is that he must see the political liabilities of his position and begin to move toward withdrawal.
Of course, in the meantime, people are dying for his lost cause but there you are.
Or there he is.
Why am I kinda sorta optimistic? You can see him changing before our eyes. Reluctantly, but changing.
Bush opens the door to a troop withdrawal:
He says the Iraq Study Group's plan, once scorned, appeals to him. But securing Baghdad must come first.
Of course, he is a world class liar and obfuscater.
Maybe this is just eyewash.
But I think not.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
OBAMMED
Andrew Sullivan, of all people, goes gaga over Obama.
He is certainly persuasive.
I don't buy it but I also know electability when I see it.
Maybe my refined progressive tastes are too much for a winning choice.
I will stay with Richardson for now but I could get down with Barack. Is that how you spell it?
Sullivan asks at the end, "Who can stop him"?.
Indeed.
TWISTED
I mostly watch DVDs.
But we still have a lot of VHS tapes that we bring out occasionally.
Family stuff, pornography. Diversified interests.
Last night I was doing some research on the golden age of porn (I was home alone) and the tape jammed in the machine.
I tried to remove the cassette but it jammed more tightly.
A helping hand with the screwdriver finally released the broken tape but the player's works had been irretrievably jammed.
I tested this a bit with an untwisted tape and held on tightly while I tried to get the machine to get a grip.
It did not.
Weird buzzes.
Perhaps I should have been more gentle with the extraction. I suppose the adrenaline was high given the nature of my predicament.
"Local man jams player while watching X-rated videos".
Whatever.
I went to the Amazon site and typed in VCR.
Guess what?
There aren't a lot of choices.
There are no just-a-VCR's any more.
They are all dual players with DVD.
The good news is that you can have both for less than a hundred bucks.
The low cost of generic, already obsolete technology is unbelievable.
I ordered one. The Sony SLV-D380P DVD/VCR Tunerless Progressive Scan DVD/VHS. Just like the picture only black.
Our old player—the one that won't take a simple screwdriver to its drive—is about 15 years old; a Sony. I don't remember the cost but I bet 500.00.
It was back when you wanted four heads and the only way to get them was to get all the bells and whistles for the recording of teevee shows.
That obsolete.
Anyway, I placed the order for a Sony dual player and now we will have 2 DVD players and one VHS-VCR player.
I hope it comes soon.
I am anxious to get back to watching some family fare; the grandkids, some shots of Cape Cod. Like that.
I haven't even told you about the tape that got fucked up.
It was pretty boring. I was rewinding it when the mishap occurred.
One problem. It was not one of mine.
It was John's.
We have learned that every family member should have his (or her) own fantasy life and so we have separate porn libraries.
Obviously, sometimes, someone, slips across the border.
Lookin' at the high life on the other side.
It was OK.
Turns out that he didn't like this tape much either.
No harm done.
Except to the VCR player. But it was fifteen. A ripe old age.
Labels: culture, technology
POGUE-OH!
I like David Pogue a lot.
He has a weekly newsletter which covers so many areas.
The new camera I bought is his recommendation.
He was right on about it.
Today, he has a discouraging discovery. The spoils system in the electronic age.
He has found a new web site that tracks the connection between campaign donations and voting record for politicians all over.
It aspires to be a state by state record but so far only California is completely set up.
And boy is that discouraging.
Party means nothing.
They are all on the tit.
Following the Money Trail Online
I tried it out and it is even more discouraging than Pogue lets on.
You may want to wait a couple of days.
Like a lot of these things, the site has apparently gone viral and is overloaded.
All it takes is one article by a Pogue and you get all your servers blown.
Labels: corruption, politics
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
SLOW MOTION WIN
We had another hearing today about the monstrosity proposed across from our pool area. Two floors. See right down into our pool.
The guy submitted the same plans he had before after a lengthy instruction by two town committees to make some changes.
A 'fuck you' if ever I saw one.
So the Planning Commission is just about to deny his permit entirely.
We made our presentations anyway.
They have to be tired of seeing us but the point has definitely been made.
So, right in the middle, here comes the developer saying that he really has new plans and could he have a continuance so that he can make another proposal and not have to start at zero.
He said that after my speech.
I think he would have said it anyway but I like to think I scared him off.
We had 14 people there today, seven households.
John just called.
The Commission voted to deny the application. No continuance. Unanimous.
Hurrah!
But that is not the end of it.
He can and will certainly apply to City Council for an over-ride. All conventional wisdom says that will fail but we are not going to back off.
So it is probably one more trip to City Hall and at least another speech.
Labels: macmansion
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
HALF RATIONS
When I hurt my leg in the bike/ice accident, I was off for 10 weeks.
No bike. No exercise.
Not even walking the dog a lot of the time.
So I gained some weight. 8-10 pounds depending on what I blamed it on.
I have a tendency to put on weight anyway with the diet that I have devised; maybe a pound every two months.
So I feel fat.
I am not at the dread 170 where people of my height are considered 'overweight' but I am close enough to be alarmed.
My body fat has also creeped up to the average 17-18%. I am not average. As a rule, I stay at the 13% area.
So it is time to tuck into my halfway measures diet.
I have a great eating plan. It is diverse and covers all the basics. It would be wrong to eliminate stuff from it.
So I just cut it in half.
One egg and half a bread this morning along with half the apple sauce and half the wheat chex. Some peanuts. Half.
That is breakfast.
Half a sandwich and half the fruit for lunch.
One pretzel in the afternoon.
Half the dinner except for the protein.
Tomorrow morning, half the yogurt, half the fruit, half the cereal and so on.
The weight will plummet and except for a bit of hunger there will be no consequences. I do not feel deprived because I get all the same foods that I like and are good for me.
A good deal.
In about 6 weeks I will have lost ten pounds.
Then, I will bottom out. The 'starvation' factor will hit my body and I will have to decide whether to be radical or just let the bottom be.
Radical would be to cut out the peanuts and the frozen yogurt entirely.
Hard psychologically but not really.
I cannot abide being 'hefty'. Man boobs are not my thing. Love handles are not OK.
So here I go.
Labels: health
BUSH FINALLY GORED
I guess Al has decided that it is OK to speak from the heart.
If he had been as candid in his candidacy he might be president now.
Al Gore Speaks of a Nation in Danger
A review of his new book.
Monday, May 21, 2007
FUNERARY
We prebought our minimal funeral a few years ago.
The company we signed up with has been acquired by Forest Lawn, cemetery to the stars.
I have gotten a bit edgy about whether our contracts got poured over to the new organization, so I called today to check it out.
I realize that I have gotten used to 'perkiness' when I call on company business.
Forest Lawn is anything but perky.
Not somber or morose but serious and deep.
When they put you on hold there is a sort of celestial music going through the wires. Not harps. More like an electronic zither.
I told them that I wanted to 'update' our prepurchase or whatever she called it.
I found out that, first, we must authorize the transfer of the records from the old outfit to Forest Lawn.
Good thing that I checked. Hard to do if you are the deceased and want to get a ride on the old contract.
So, I have an appointment to go in to sign and see about all this.
I am fully prepared to find out that the kind old man who sold us these things was a scam artist and the whole thing is a fraud.
We will then immediately sign up for a new program with another organization.
Or something.
I don't want you to get the idea that this is anything fancy. Not a lot can go wrong.
Immediate cremation in a cardboard box with the 'cremains' packed in another low cost container.
I have a life rule about never buying anything from a salesperson who comes to the house.
I have violated that rule three times.
Once, to my sorrow, for a long term care insurance policy which we got out of by using the 'lemon clause'; state law. No money had changed hands.
That company has since been vilified for fraud by the press and is under federal indictment. Conseco.
Our solar panel pool heater is an at home sale that turned out well. The salesman botched the measurements because he didn't want to go up on the roof but we ended up only paying a couple hundred dollars more than quoted. Not perfect but OK. The system has proved quite successful and the company came to fix small leaks and all for almost three years!
The third at home buy was the cremation package. He was such a nice old man.
I will know soon if I got conned or not.
Teetering on the edge of a 2/3 majority for at-home buying. Success or failure?
We shall see.
Labels: consumerism, death
Sunday, May 20, 2007
HE DECLARES
Bill Richardson has formally declared to be a candidate for President.
Richardson Presidential Campaign
Take a look at the video.
I have money riding on this candidate. Join up.
Labels: Richardson
RESISTANCE
I have waited over a year to see Jean-Pierre Melville's
L' Armée des ombres / Army of Shadows (1969).
The life story of this film is interesting enough. Read it at the link.
It is an episodic memoir of the French Resistance; a small group of freedom fighters who maintained significant ant-nazi activities during WWII.
I have read a lot of other accounts mostly in Alan Furst's novels of that time and place.
There is no 'story' as such.
A lot of the episodes that we see focus on the waiting, the suspense, the bureaucracy of evil. Searches, identity papers, code, hideouts, networks. Sacrifice, loneliness, betrayal, failure against overwhelming odds.
One gets that the victories of this group of people are intensely personal.
Less so dramatic, explosive, exciting.
Quiet desperation. Small gains. Overwhelming loss.
The filming is bleak. Blue.
There is attention to loyalty and friendship. Conflict of loyalties; the cause versus the people.
It is hard to watch. There is no catharsis.
We do not see the Allies taking Paris. We do not see any anyone winning anything.
We do see the life and that is what Melville knew about first hand as a veteran of the resistance.
It was worth the wait to see this film.
An important sidelight. Simone Signoret appears as a major player in the network.
Any film with Signoret is worth my time.
I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Saturday, May 19, 2007
JAMES DEAN
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was
I assume that everyone in the world has seen this.
How can we detach from the real life aspect of this movie?
My whole adult life experience is a context for appreciating it.
For example, we know that this was Dean's last film.
Very few people saw it before he was killed in an auto accident.
This makes the car race sequence all the more scary.
We know that later, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood died in similarly violent circumstances. Whew.
In this, Sal gets shot instead of knifed but there is knife play in the film.
In a different dimension, we know that just ten years later, the culture erupted with rebellion, this time with a cause. A lot of them!
Ebert says that the film is subtly subversive but I think that it was not subtle at all.
The role of parents, gender identity (Plato has a picture of Alan Ladd in his locker), the failure of the system; all that was under examination here.
The gang is not your typical street gang. It is like a negative greek chorus. The car race is not a typical drag race. It has a cataclysmic drop at its end.
Dean could not have known that this would be his last film but his performance (quirky or not) is for the ages.
And, of course, he is a stud.
What else?
Dennis Hopper is one of the thugs. Nick Adams too.
I had thought that I would be immune to another viewing.
Wrong.
It still holds on tight even when I see through the phony stuff. Even when I insert the history.
I had even decided I would give it a 3 out of Netfl5 ahead of time.
No way.
It is still a fiver.
Friday, May 18, 2007
MERCE
Merce Cunningham's playful experiments
I remember going to see the Cunningham dancers in Boston.
They never told you what you were going to see.
They had a good show. It was always challenging to stay with the action. You had to concentrate.
Then, the last dance.
The stage empty except for Cunningham himself. Red tights, white top. Totally still.
Then slight movement.
Finally an incredible slow motion dance with legs in the air for very long moments.
Riveting.
I cannot describe the surge of energy that came over me.
At this time he was probably in his late 70s. He is now 88.
The concert described here took place in three locations in the same theater complex and included the audience. Each person brought his or her iPod and set it on shuffle.
The dancers danced to the music.
Only Merce.
I will never forget that moment when he appeared on stage in Boston.
RATINGS
Someone has pointed out something that I already know but didn't think that any one else would notice.
I give out a lot of 5's in the Netflix rating system. Probably less 3's than 4's.
A 1 or a 2 is a condemnation.
I do not mark 'on the curve'.
I think that part of the skew is that I am watching 'best films' for the most part.
But I rate the ones off the list pretty much the same way.
I do think about the algorithm at Netflix and want to influence it.
This is a bit stupid, as I rarely look at my 'recommendations'.
I have about 300 films in my queue after all. I don't really need any more 'new ideas'.
Maybe I am just a black and white kind of guy.
Anyway, I am just acknowledging the obvious.
Maybe I will start to be more various; restrict myself to the 2,3,4 range unless there is a real stinker or, at the other end, a once in a lifetime experience.
Labels: films
RELATIONSHIP
"Sorrow is joy grown old".
That line tells the story of today's film
Two friends reunite and try to find their past connection.
Both are lefties; one has the NPR/Volvo thing down, the other still searches for 'answers'.
The film is beautiful to watch.
The sounds are also very important. The sounds of silence.
Unusual for a contemporary film.
I have lived out this stretch between two men who have lost their way from each other.
It is painful to watch the tension as, at the same time, we learn how this is a normal process of life.
Coming and going.
There are a lot of nice underlying themes here. There is some homoerotic tension; the straight man's bugaboo.
There is the Freudian split; id and superego.
There is nature versus 'civilization'.
It is all done effortlessly and quietly in only 75 minutes or so.
I love short long films.
It is a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: coming of age, culture, films
DOWNED
This morning, a raven was walking around the local streets.
They usually fly. This one could hop but not too high.
Later, he took up residence on our water fountain.
I got closer than I ever have. They are beautiful animals.
I 'talked' to it in raven talk. Awwwk, awwwwk. Quietly.
We was clearly in distress. I think my cawing called him down.
Let's say that it did.
He would let me go up close but not too close. Then he would try to get away in a corner.
Not good.
His/her mate was calling from a tree.
I went inside and called animal control.
They were more than happy to help.
By the time they were due he had moved from our yard and up the hill. I called and gave them a new location.
The friend was still calling.
I hope that they got to it.
I did not ask what they would actually do.
I prefer to think that s/he is in a bird sanctuary right now being fixed up. The friend or mate waits outside patiently to take the sick one back home for recuperation.
HUH?
I don't normally react to comments on the blog but this one had me scratching my head.
A poser.
It is in response to my focus on Giuliani's blanket endorsement of torture ('whatever it takes') the other night in the context of his more liberal positions on domestic social issues.
America is still the last best hope for the rest of the world as the globe recedes into socialism and/or islamic fascism. Foreign aid and humanitarian aid from the US to the third world exceeds the aid provided by the next 40 countries COMBINED! Through the State Department, USAID, and the Peace Corps the US government sponsors literacy programs, health and immunization programs, famine relief, etc. etc. across the globe.We are a great and moral nation (as a whole) and as such we DON'T condone torture or regularly practice it! We're better than that! This isn't China or Cuba after all!
Why do people from the rest of the world still want to come and live here?
Who do you personally know that's been tortured? Your neighbor? Your local barber? The little old lady next door?
Yeah.....I didn't think so......
A little over the top dude.
I was just talking about the 9-11 man who apparently DOES "condone torture" and would be ready to "regularly be ready to practice it".
I think America is all that too.
That is exactly the reason that I don't think we should be zapping people's balls to mak'em talk.
Or waterboarding.
Or, well, whatever they actually are, I am convinced, doing.
Evidently ANONYMOUS doesn't think that they are doing this or if they are it is OK.
The other part of this is the whole 'criticize one part of our country and you condemn it all' argument.
This is the mindset of the Love It or Leave It bumper stickers back when we were doing 'Nam.
Do I know anyone who has been tortured?
Shit, no.
And I don't want to.
But if we make it part and parcel of our military approach, I will start knowing that the neighbor's son, the barber's daughter and the little old ladies' grandkids have been tortured.
And so on.
You can see. It did get under my skin and they say to let your blog's comments go.
And I will.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
911
My wireless wouldn't work. I fired the backup laptop to get software updates and it failed. No signal.
I tried the browser. Nada.
I tried the mail. Empty.
I tried all the tricks (except one).
So I called John our MacMedic.
He is a self taught Mac consultant who can do it all. He can even field strip the machines and reassemble blindfolded.
The immediate problem was simple. I needed to turn off all the machines on the router.
Then turn the router off and let it rest.
John is big on letting the computer or other device cool out. Rethink. Reset itself.
We sit and talk.
Five minutes.
Then back to the router. Boot it up. Turn on the computers. Voila!
Shit. I could have done that.
But I didn't.
The problem is/was actually deeper.
The laptop needed a thorough going over with a disc cleaner.
I have had it for 6? years. More.
And I have never, ever cleaned up the 'permissions' or anything.
John ran it through the laundry and got it all clean again.
It is like going to the dentist every so often. You just gotta have your computer cleaned up every year or two.
After it was all over, I did install Macaroni which is an automatic cleaner that does a pretty good job.
I have it on the big Macs. I just never bothered with my backup.
Now, I ask you. If you have a flat, what is the most important tire on the car?
The spare. right?
Same with the backup computer.
Gotta have air, clean air, in it.
Labels: computer
CUBAN CONNECTIONS
I just finished
It is pretty good.
It sits at the nexus of the changeover from gang-ridden Batista to revolutionary Castro Cuba.
The hero starts with great 'star reporter' zeal to uncover the gangland doings and is enmeshed in real life situations that are beyond his power to cope or understand.
Evil. Its nature.
This makes a great crime-read and a great history-read on top of a totally satisfying 'artistic' novel. I guess this is what they mean by literary fiction.
I am prompted to read some other books by the author Mayra Montero.
Oh. Interesting. Montero is a young woman and the hero of this novel is a young man. In the book, a young woman adopts the style of a man.
Interesting.
Labels: books
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
GIULILOONY
I may have given the wrong impression.
When I praised Rudy for going against the flow on social issues I was not endorsing him or even making him a good person for the Prez-job.
I was just reflecting on the fact that there are some Republicans (upper case) who are humanitarians.
Of course, Rudy undoes all this by being for torture as he avowed last night.
He would be willing to do "Whatever it takes".
'Nuff said.
Labels: Rudy
WINNING IS EVERYTHING
I am still watching some films that I missed when they came around.
Today was
with Billy Bob Thornton. Gotta love Billy Bob. He runs from hot to cold here and all you have to do is watch the face to get the whole deal. He is so good.
He is not the typical film coach. He has doubts. He is playing a role. It is a job. He believes that winning is the same as losing.
This is about high school football and you do not have to know anything about the game or even like it.
God knows, I do not have a clue.
But I sure liked this film.
Part of the point is the pressure of winning. Another is just the playing and the team and all.
It is a football film with many different spins.
The whole thing is shot handheld as far as I could see. Everything.
This brings a raw immediacy to every scene.
It is edited to the ass. Tension.
There are no wasted minutes.
I remember realizing that we were at the big game and the film had a half hour left to play. I groaned inwardly.
And then was shocked when that half hour was over.
This is a solid 4 out of Netflix5.
FATWELL
More from Jerry. Just so you don't get all maudlin about his 'passing'.
Stay with it. Even you will find something that shocks you in its audacious ignorance.
Jerry Fartwell.
Labels: christist watch
FALL WELL
My Dad used to refer to 'most' preachers as 'mealy mouthed bastards' who would smile at you at the same time they were taking your money and feeding you a line.
And he went to church!
The king of the mealy mouth bastards died yesterday; Jerry Falwell.
Here is an appreciation of the man. Actually he wasn't much of a man. A demagogue of the worst kind; a holy roller on a hate mission. An American jihadist.
When I was a kid the type of preacher that my Dad referred to was relatively harmless. He usually only conned a few church ladies and didn't harm the community much.
This Falwell pretty much invented the hate message as an added spin on his money making machine. Televangelists like Oral Roberts and Jimmy Haggard never used that approach. They were straight on born-again con men.
Falwell pretty much invented the slide of religion into politics. He took the old Father Coughlin radio hate model and folded it into the teevee driven faith fest.
Pat Robertson was not too far behind.
Now we are up to our asses in 'religious' bigotry.
A viral explosion of god-pilots bent on telling people how to live their lives, how to vote, and who to hate.
The only thing I could think of saying to Jerry's fat-assed soul is "good riddance" and "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out".
Labels: christist watch
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
RUFUS
Rufus Wainright's new album is out.
This is the first cut featured as a single.
Some perspective. He moved to Germany to be with a boyfriend. Two years now.
Labels: rufus
GETTING CIRIUS
It is time for our annual night blooming cirius cactus to do its thing.
Here is our biggest one. There are five or six of them around the house.
This one yields as many as 450 blossoms in one month.
The bees go crazy over these flowers.
I get a little buzzed as well.
The sweet aroma is quite strong.
It is very exciting to walk out there with hundreds of bees doing their thing.
Labels: nature
Monday, May 14, 2007
GEORGE
George Carlin is 70 today.
He is my age.
Here he is talking about god.
I took my kids to see Carlin as soon as they were old enough to go.
By that, I mean that they were old enough to think critically.
Nothing to do with the 'bad words'.
In fact, I think that he was doing the '7 words you can't say on television'
He is still at it.
NO KIDDING
Today I watched the docu-bio-pic
The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
The life of Robert Evans.
Or his version of it.
The graphics are great. Old pictures come alive. And there are miles of footage from his career.
It is a sad tale of success and disaster and a lot is left out. His 7 marriages, for example.
We only see the one with Ali McGraw who ran off with Steve McQueen.
I would.
I liked it. I didn't necessarily believe it.
It is an interesting life no matter who lived it.
A 3 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
LIFT OUR STEIN ON HIGH
I consider myself economically naive and uninformed.
I took two terms of Economics in college and sort of 'got it'.
But I am unprepared for the economic paradoxes (paradi?) that abound today.
Apparently, I am not alone.
Assorted Mysteries of Economic Life--Ben Stein
I really like Ben Stein.
I do not always agree with him but I always enjoy reading or listening to him.
Improbably (for an economist) he is an actor too. Ferris Buhler's teacher.
And he is a neighbor! Down the road; Rancho Mirage.
He lists various conundrums that, in my view, make it impossible for a guy like me to suss the economy or to 'play' the markets.
I pay an annual flat fee for others to be as mystified as I am, yet make a commitment and be a bit more wary of the various ball spins.
It is a managed account. They do pretty well. Better than most mutual funds.
I am ahead of the market most of the time and when I am not I get a surge in after the fact to make it up.
But, all these imponderables.
It gives me a headache.
Labels: economy
TRENDSETTER
Less Risk Seen in Purchasing Clothes Online
I have been buying my clothes on-line for years.
All of them.
Oh, I might buy a baseball cap (which I rarely wear) in a store or gift shop.
But, when it comes to the shirts, pants, shorts, shoes, socks of it all, I am 100% on-line.
I was a Gap guy for many years until they started chintzing on the merchandise (smaller sizes and thinner fabric) and making their on-line operation almost impossible to traverse if you didn't have MS browsing.
Stupid.
So, now it is mostly Lands End where I have even bought good trousers; hemmed, cuffed and ready to go.
And the quality is excellent. Generous.
It is a no brainer really.
I have never sent anything back.
I have disposed of a few of the thin gap shirts but that was after maybe a year of wear.
I get shoes from NB and Nike and Road Runner Sports.
Fact is that I buy almost everything on-line.
It fits my agoraphobic tendencies and is very easy to do.
Labels: culture
Sunday, May 13, 2007
TO HELL AND BACK
I watched one quarter of
I watched any of it so I could see Shia LaBouef.
I wanted to view all the movies he has made, you see.
This one is a graphic novel (comic book) adaptation (Hellblazer) and has so many effects you can't hear the dialog. Echoes, whooshes, impending doom sounds.
Keanu Reeves is Constantine and that is good.
LaBouef is Keanu's sidekick with a wannabe fascination for his hero.
We also have Pruitt Taylor Vince and Tilda Swinton.
I really like watching all these folks but they cannot save this picture which is a compendium of horror effects and bad demons trying to cross over from hell or someplace.
It is all a bummer.
Constantine is dying from high speed lung cancer. He is a lifetime chain smoker.
Rachel Weisz is in it too but I couldn't figure how she got there or what she was doing. She gave me a headache.
Some of the setups are pretty good. The opening is riveting.
But then there is an exorcist kind of segment; been there done that.
It is all segments.
The director is fresh from a music video career.
There is no music.
And so on.
This is a rare 1 out of Netflix5.
I did get the irony of Shia LaBoeuf coming up and Keanu coming down. My interest in the former waning and the latter growing.
LaBoeuf is not a Keanu. If anything he is an anti-Keanu.
LaBeouf is more John Cusack.
Anyway, I can scratch this one off the list of unseen LaBouef films.
I didn't see it all but I saw him. That was enough.
BILL ≠ HILL
So far, the magic doesn't rub off for me.
But you can't help admiring him/them for trying.
In a New Role, Senator Clinton’s Strategist in Chief
Although, come to think of it, I might vote for her to get him.
But I don't think it would be the same.
She is just not on my page right now.
I have a new Bill.
Labels: Bill Clinton, politics, Richardson
Saturday, May 12, 2007
DREAM WORLD
I am fascinated with Parkour; the art of street acrobatics.
It is surely dramatic and, when done well, fascinating to watch.
It also helps to have a good film/tape editor.
I think that my special interest derives from dreams I have had all my life of doing this very thing; flying, bouncing, leaping.
Are these people living out their dreams?
Here is an especially good tape of a series of parkour maneuvers.
They should be good. It is David Bell who invented the art.
They don't like to call it a sport.
David Bell - Urban Ninja - Funny bloopers are a click away
Labels: sports
DANCING RUDY
OK.
Maybe Rudy Giuliani really is a shameless flip-flopper.
Is The GOP Ready For a Freethinker?
He may be dancing around the line he has drawn but he has drawn it.
Pleasing no one.
On the other hand you have Romney and McCain who have denied their entire political careers just to get a little wing-nut hand holding.
Huge FLIPS.
So, maybe it is down to Ron Paul.
Labels: politics, Ron Paul, Rudy
RUDY GETS IT
I really like this:
Giuliani Takes On G.O.P. Orthodoxy on Social Issues
It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to do this kind of thing; and in the belly of the beast.
On the other hand it is realistic.
His record is clear. He supports a more liberal or libertarian party.
They would cut him to pieces on the flip flop thing.
His forthrightness and candor can only be good for the country.
We need a two party system where there is a fair exchange of views on both sides.
There is no doubt that he will be sticking it to them.
Friday, May 11, 2007
RON PAUL
A breath of fresh air blew through the recent GOoPer debate.
I mean
Here is an Andrew Sullivan bit on the guy.
I would say that he is a Libertarian.
Which, some days, I almost am.
I have to say that I like the guy. He is a bit eccentric but that is how I like 'em.
Watch this tape. You might wince a bit, as I did, but I like this guy. I like his candor and many of his positions.
FREARS FINALE
Closing the Frears Fest is his lastest
with Helen Mirren and there is Sylvia Syms over Helen's left shoulder as the Queen Mother.
Martin Sheen is Tony Blair and James Cromwell as Phillip.
This is docu-drama. Another genré cracked by Frears.
I mentioned the interweaving of real news footage in the Henderson film yesterday.
Here, the use of videos and newscasts of the Diana period is masterly. It is hard, at times, to know when Frears has made his own newsreel and when it is the actual footage.
Mirren is great. So is Sheen.
It is a pretty good film. A certain 5.
It is so close to the time that all this happened that it is a bit like eavesdropping which, of course, makes it even more delicious. And a bit embarrassing.
A superb finalé to the Frears Fest.
Now, back to some other films; not the NYTimes yet. More that I wanted to see (Shia again) and then I will return to the Best.
UPLOAD
I agonized about the complexity of uploading photos from my new Canon to my Mac.
I think that I got done in by the CD that was sent along and the dire warnings about hooking up before the software was loaded.
But then I found an extra handout amidst the flurry of paper that comes with the camera; bigger than the camera, actually.
It said that MaciPhoto would do the job. Well, there are a few exceptions but I would not be in those areas.
Even then, I worried.
I put it aside overnight.
I even dreamt about it.
Then this morning, I took the plunge.
I put the UBS into the computer.
Then, I put the connection at the other end of the cable in the indicated port in the camera.
I turned on iPhoto.
I turned the Canon to the play >.
I turned the Canon on.
Bingo!
Up on the screen is the upload page.
Hit the button.
There are my pictures.
One of my feet. Another of the painting at the end of the kitchen. Overflashed. Another of the painting without the flash.
Then I trashed all the pictures.
I am ready for the real thing.
Labels: camera
NO SHAME
I don't know why I thought otherwise.
I guess that I am from a different time and set of values.
If you are disgraced and found wanting in public office, the traditional thing to do has always been to resign.
No longer.
Gonzales went up to the hill and, regaining his smirk, brazened it out and refused to be contrite or to tow the line that had been set down by our reps.
The prez sez he did a great job.
Well, of course. He took the bullet for the White House and he is not going to be asked to take his wounded body off stage.
Payback for loyalty.
We will see what develops.
Then there is Wolfowitz.
Spare me.
I just can't describe the surprise I felt when I saw the bush come out and support this semi-thug.
But, there I go again.
I forget that these people have no shame or remorse. It is their standard way of doing business.
I am reminded of the picture of Yalie george holding some guy's head and punching him in the eye on the soccer field.
I am so fucking naive.
Labels: bush, bush. bushies, criminal morons, gonzales, gonzo
HOPPER
Check out this slide show of the Edward Hopper retrospective at Boston's MFA.
Better yet, if you are in Boston, go to the show!
I have seen some of the paintings in the show.
Hopper has always managed to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.
He is awesome.
The commentary here is a bit tedious but quite informative, nonetheless.
I thought I knew a lot about Hopper but a lot of this was new.
I love the self portrait that kicks the slide show off.
He painted masterpieces until he was in his 80's.
How about that?
Labels: art
NO FLIP NO FLOP
Giuliani has an uphill battle with all those rabid fundamentalists (whose power in the GOP is waning) but no issue is so blatant as his previous pro-choice positions.
Now, I read that he is going to quit trying to nuance his way out of his history and his beliefs.
He will run as a pro-choice republican.
Good for him.
I admire his honesty.
Watch the Romnut run around his own record and see pandering at the max.
If I was voting in the repub primary I would go for His Honor the Mayor before any of the rest of them.
Labels: politics
PHOTO FINISH
Excuse me if the blogging takes back seat for awhile.
My new camera arrived yesterday.
The Canon PowerShot SD800IS Digital ELPH
Doesn't anything have a simple name anymore?
My first camera was an unnamed box top premium. The second was the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye.
I am doing pretty well with the learning curve. I think that I am more than halfway up.
I didn't try to take any serious pictures.
I have a few of my feet (intentional), John and Franklin.
All are erased.
I learned the value of the big chip I bought to replace the one that came with the camera. 9 minutes versus 9 seconds of video (which I probably will not use) and something like 350 high quality pictures.
The chip fit.
I put on the hanging strap (over the head) and began to look at the software which I do not think I will need because I have Mac Iphoto.
I dreamed about it.
Soon, I will be taking a real picture.
It is a really clean machine. The functions are intuitively obvious.
I think that I am going to like this.
What the hell does ELPH mean?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
LINK
I forgot to give you the link to the Richardson for President homepage.
They had so many viewings of the new commercials that the site collapsed for an hour or more.
They raised a lot of money too.
I gave them some more.
Labels: election, politics, Richardson
NEW ADS
Add 'risk taker' to the job description.
Bill Richardson takes a chance with new test ads to let people know who he is and what he has done.
Pretty good resumé.
A lot of people like the ads.
I am one of them.
Labels: politics, Richardson
POT HEAD
I know that this article is true.
A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks
When I first started out cooking I got all my stuff from a restaurant supply place behind City Hall in Boston.
I still have the heavy steel clad aluminum cookware from that time and use it every day.
There are a couple knives, a collander, strainer, some other stuff that are original.
Then, I got affluent and went for the frills.
Our house on Warren Avenue had two ovens (one convection) and a barbecue grill with volcano stone.
What I loved most is that all the shelves were wide open. No doors.
And I got all the stuff; the blenders, the knives and implements.
I had some restraint because I knew it was, like the pocket hankie, mostly for show and not for blow.
When we moved here, I left a lot back east.
I am back to basics again.
What I kept are the things I bought at the restaurant supply place.
Full circle.
The stove is a Magic Chef; the same brand my mom had. All gas.
It is a comfort. I never lack for the right tools. There is nothing in the mix that goes unused.
Well, maybe that little hand dicer I bought on a whim a few years ago.
Oh. The food is simpler too.
I don't cook as much as I prepare the meals now.
So much in the stores are pre-processed and portion controlled for two that it is dumb not to take advantage.
Simple.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS DEREK?
I had looked forward to reading this New Yorker piece
The Conciliator
Where is Barack Obama coming from?
I tried and tried to divine the answer to the title question and ended up rather confused.
Is he coming from being religious? Multi-racial? Lawyerly? An adult child of alcoholism?
Many presidents come from these and other places. Well, all except the multi-racial as far as we know.
The writer comes up with the idea of Obama as a conciliator.
Certainly some kind of religious bent would lead to that.
Working both sides of a racial divide would do it too.
Lawyers conciliate (sometimes).
And conciliation is one of the primary chores of a child in an alcoholic home.
But do we need a POTUS who is a conciliator? Who has no experience managing anything?
I have never thought that being a Senator prepares anyone for anything but being a Senator.
Now that is a role that could use some conciliation.
He is a slippery cuss.
One of the problems is that we do not have any history on him.
Two biographical books is not a history. It is auto-bio-history.
There is no real legislative record. No administrative experience that we can look at. Indeed very little political track record.
And the position does call for a skilled politician.
All in all, he remains a puzzle.
And not a puzzle with many pieces.
The ambition shines through. So does the rhetorical ability.
I always get a little itchy when candidates bring out the icons like Lincoln.
He surely hopes to be percieved as Lincolesque.
I percieve him as a bit phony. I don't like the open shirt collar thing. A lot of them are doing it now. He has it down pat. It just doesn't ring true.
I am nitpicking.
I don't know. He is ahead in the polls, goddammit. And we don't know who he is.
We are as bad off as the GOoPers.
FLUTIE RULES
I have never been a football fan but it was hard to live in Boston in the 80's and not be fascinated with the little guy who could pass a football, Doug Flutie.
Maybe it was his name. A funny one. Memorable.
Perhaps it was the improbability of a normal (not little) guy making a football career. He was my size.
Today he got to be in the College Football Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility.
Hail, Flutie! QB enters college hall
Everyone was excited by Flutie.
I remember one night at the gay bar Buddies when someone said that Doug Flutie had come in.
I can't say that it was him. It looked like it might be.
I am sure that he was/is not gay. But a lot of gay bars let the hets in; especially jock-hets.
What I remember is the energy level in the bar rising to the max.
The place almost rose off the ground! And the bar was in a basement.
Doug Flutie.
The way the profile at the link reads, he had a great career and is a good guy.
FREARS MUSICAL
Today we watched Stephen Frears'
Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
with Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins.
I am no fan of Dame Judi, god knows, but I have to say that Frears has fit his film to her best side. Hoskins amazes with a non-cockney accent.
The film is wonderful to its core and Frears' skill at pulling the levers is apparent as he moves through the story of Mrs. Henderson's theater and the relationship that she has with her producer.
The songs are great and the glimpses of the music hall performances were just enough to make me want to have been there.
Newsreel footage is used for some WWII sequences. They give a chilling sting of reality to the proceedings.
This is very hard to do; grainy, dark and out of synch. He cuts them in and selects with perfect timing and dramatic effect.
I saw some of these in US movie theaters when I was a kid. Perhaps that adds to the sting.
I am nearly at the end of the FrearsFest.
It is rather clear to me that Frears has chosen to do one of everything in his career and a few original things as well.
I have seen the costume drama, the mystery, the thriller, the con artist game, the ethnic comedy and so on.
Very good stuff.
Now, I am ready to see his latest release—a biopic—The Queen. This is what started me on this Fest business in the first place.
BAGGY
We have returned to reusable bags for grocery shopping.
It is trendy now you know.
Totes goods, saves the planet, costs a bunch
When we were in Boston, I had cloth bags and used them for all the shopping.
When we moved here, somehow, that faded and we joined the rest of the gang using paper and plastic.
But John got on me the other day and I remembered seeing a new display at our Stater Brothers store where I do all the shopping.
I figured it was easier to do it than to argue about it. Besides, there is not much of an argument in favor of paper and plastic. They suck on all levels.
The reusables are cheap—99 cents—so I bought 8 of them.
And only needed 4. They are pretty roomy even if they look small.
So, an additional advantage, fewer bags to carry.
Another thing I noticed is that the bagger is a lot more careful with the reusables. You can see what is going in the bag and there is something about the spirit of it that promotes some care.
Then, there was the unexpected stability of the bags in the Jeep.
They are square and support each other. They have a nice high friction surface that keeps them from sliding.
All around, it was a great decision.
I hope that I just remember to take them with me when I go to the market.
Labels: environment, shopping
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
BY KIDS FOR KIDS
I was a long time GAP customer before it all went to hell.
Now, they have a whole new approach to marketing. This is one of their new avenues.
Gap Unveils New 'For Kids By Kids' Clothing Line
Labels: kidtime
Monday, May 07, 2007
DOWN THE TOILET
Some days my head just explodes from the shear embarrassment of having a government like this.
White House: World Bank can be effective with Wolfowitz
The hackery is global.
I read this morning that 'Europe' is about to seize the traditional role of WB Prexy appointment from the US.
Keerist.
I also got an email (sympathetic) from an expat friend citing the grievous errors of diplomacy and procedures with the royal visit.
How many more days? 622. 19 hours and........still counting.
Labels: bush, criminal morons
FREARS COSTUME
Today's Frears pic was the wig-fest
with Glenn Close and John Malkovich; Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves and Mildred Natwick (an old favorite from early tv).
It is all about the idle class playing nasty social games with each other.
Fun, until the stakes get too high.
It is mostly manners and asides and all. Quite unlike other Frears' fare.
On the other hand it has human fallibility front and center and some great dramatic acting particularly from Ms. Close. There is also a great fencing scene between Malkovich and Reeves. Quite unlike the pristine cut and lunge affairs we have seen elsewhere.
It is a 5 out of Netflix5 but perhaps not my favorite Frears.
That is OK. It was great fun to watch again. It was a NYTimes Best Film seen last year.
Labels: best films, films, Frears
NOSTALGIA UPDATE
I knew this James Ottaway when I was a kid.
Ottoways Deplore Bid By Murdoch
He went to the 'other' summer camp club thing; the rich one.
We used to play softball against them and then go swimming together. We had to have buddies from the other side.
He was mine.
Then we got to be friends sort of on the side.
He taught me how to sneak into the movies.
We tried smoking without much success.
I am glad to see that he has grown up to be a man of principle.
I like his indignant and strident tone.
Good for you Jimmy!
Labels: nostalgia
GEEZING
I don't much worry about aging.
I figure that it will continue to happen to me just as it has for seventy years.
There isn't a lot that I have to do about it.
On the other hand, I sometimes want a better look into the future. How geezered will I get? What cards do I have in my deck and how should I play them?
This article was a little unsettling and then it got reassuring.
It is pretty interesting if you can get through the cataclysms of the first paragraphs.
I didn't much like the idea that my arteries would crunch.
I think that I know what to do and who to go to when things begin to fall apart.
I do wonder what would happen if the mind went before the body.
But then I wouldn't know it was happening would I?
I liked the image at the end about the old guy (17 years older than me) driving his car and getting through his life pretty well.
Practice makes perfect.
The way to keep living well is to keep living well.
The main thing, I think, is to keep a light touch about it all and take it as it comes.
It is nice to know all this technical shit but the fact remains. I can only do the obvious next thing like ride the bike today and get involved with some of the people around me.
All the rest will come about in due course.
I was just pushing around to hear if there is any 'crunching' sound in there.
None that I can hear.
So far, so good.
Labels: coming of age
Sunday, May 06, 2007
HIGH FREARS
One of my top five movies of all time is today's FrearsFest pick
John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, Joan Cusack, and the wonderful Todd Louiso.
To say nothing of Tim Robbins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and the City of Chicago.
Frears' great adaptation of the Nick Hornsby book is flawless as far as I am concerned.
Cusack would be on my all-time-five-greatest actors.
I guess that would put Stephen Frears on my all-time greatest list of directors.
I don't believe that there is any other director who has made so many films that I want to see over and over.
A Netflix5 out of 5. More if I could give it.
This is also a NYTimes Best Film as are several others that we have seen so far or will see; My Beautiful Launderette, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Grifters.
I neglected to mention this before.
Here is an early scene from the movie with Cusack, Louiso, and Black.
Labels: best films, Frears
VACATING
This is the week that most/many of the snowbirds fly back to their northern homes.
When the temps get to 90 in the desert, they flock to cooler climes. Never mind that this is the best time of the year here. Dry heat, you know.
This year, we have actually been having a spring. Not hot yet.
But many or most have to leave anyway.
If they are Canadian, they must be at home 6 months to qualify for government medical care.
If they are US people, they have to be out of state to avoid the 'onerous' California income tax.
So off they go.
This leaves us with more parking spaces, less lines in stores, easier times crossing the street and so on.
When we take our dog walks through the condo-towns nearby there will be silence and an occasional tumbleweed.
So nice.
Goodbye birds.
Come back in November! And don't forget to bring your long green with you.
OPEN GATES
I have been wondering about this:
On Iraq, Gates may not be following Bush's playbook
I have sensed a certain independence from Gates from the get-go.
He is nobody's fool. He has a reputation to keep. He was the principal author of the Iraq Study Group report.
This says that he keeps a well-thumbed copy on his desk.
You never know. It would not be the first time that a cabinet man or woman has undermined a president.
One can only hope.
OSCAR NIGHT
I am not a fight fan although I do like to watch it; particularly the no-rules kind.
There is a small atavistic part of my brain that likes to see two gladiators pummel each other.
Come on. Admit it. You have that place too.
But, I would not go out of my way to see a fight or even follow it on the radio. Yes. That is how I remember 'fights'. We listened to them.
That said, I have to be in mourning this morning over Oscar De La Hoya's loss last night.
Mayweather Wins Decision Over De La Hoya
It is the end of an era.
Oscar; always the golden boy, even when he was behaving badly. I have followed his career since he began winning championships.
That he was a looker sure didn't hurt my interest.
He is/was a gentleman. A guy who seemed to have a life beyond boxing. He even recorded some songs.
I don't feel bad for him losing.
Like all of us, he is aging and cannot hold onto the career forever.
He has had a good run and he made a lot of money last night.
He should retire near the top and let it go.
He won't have a singing career but he could do worse than investing the money and doing some good works.
Living the quiet life.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
FREARSERIES
Continuing the Stephen Frears Film Festival with
This is Frears' third film and the second in the Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle.
This is a simple story with lots of family/neighborhood humor.
It helps to have the English subtitles on.
It is not as frought as other Frears films but it engenders the same deep emotional responses.
With the close-in shots and the cramped quarters of the scenes and sets we become part of the family.
I would give this one a 4 out of a Frears5; a very subjective reaction.
I just didn't enjoy it as much as the other films we are seeing in the Fest.
I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5 as it compares to other films by and with other people.
REINVENTING THE WHEEL
This just in. Interval training is good.
A Healthy Mix of Rest and Motion
Jeez. I have known that from the beginning. Didn't everyone else?
That is why I like biking.
It does not go in the neat little pattern shown in this article. More random.
But the peaks and valleys are there and, I believe, because they are relatively unexpected by the body, they are even more effective for burn, cardio effect, and all the rest.
I don't have a lab. Just me. I can tell.
Anyway, every once in awhile, out on the forefront of science, they reinvent the bike wheel.
Labels: bicycle
Friday, May 04, 2007
FREARS BIOPIC
On with the Stephen Frears FilmFest.
Today we saw
This is the story of playwright Joe Orton and his partner Kenneth Halliwell.
It is grueling.
The film explores various levels of their relationship but none so deeply as the dilemma of a marriage where one succeeds, with the help of the other, and the other recedes.
Frears again shows people very much on the outside even when they are inside.
Gary Oldman who has Alec Guinness' ability to inhabit a role so completely is attractive, funny and often cruel as Orton.
Alfred Molina has actually the most difficult part, I think, as the partner Halliwell who is a misfit at many levels and whose only success is the vicarously experienced professional success of Orton.
None of this covers the experience of watching this film. It took me awhile to get up at the end.
You know what is going to happen but that has no bearing on the impact of the unfolding tragedy.
I will give this a 5 out of Netflix5.
Am I going to dislike any of the Frears films that we see?
Highly unlikely.
I have seen many of them before (not this one) and know that I am in the hands of a master crafter.
Incidentally, Orton's plays continue to be performed.
I saw LOOT in London in one of its later productions.
This last season, The Roundabout Theater in New York City revived Entertaining Mr. Sloane with Alex Baldwin.
It got very good reviews.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
PHOTO OPP
I have been in deep photo-depression.
My digital, maybe ten years old now, is clunky and backward and getting dim and fuzzy and doesn't have its screen on all the time.
Consequently, I do not take pictures.
Not good.
I realized that we were in Long Beach for a fortieth birthday party and have no photos to show for it.
I don't have any recent Franklin pictures.
No 'us' photos either. Not recording our aging process and I so want to!
And so on.
So today, David Pogue did an email about products he would reccomend to people who ask if he had the time to answer them.
There it was.
Best Small Camera: Canon SD800IS. The IS stands for "image stabilizer," which makes an absolutely enormous difference. It saves about 90 percent of the low-light photos that would otherwise have been ruined by blur.I trust David Pogue.To make matters even better, this camera ($305) offers a 3.8X zoom - better than the 3X on most pocket cams. It also offers face recognition software that properly exposes and focuses on people in your scene. Although no pocket cam eliminates shutter lag altogether, this camera comes very close. And 7.1 megapixels is exactly enough.
This is just what I have been wanting.
I have a serious case of ignorance about buying electronics and I want expertise.
This is the reason I have taken no action on my photo-depression.
So I have ordered it.
Soon, the photos.
What do you do with an antiquated digital camera?
Labels: camera, gear, technology
THIRD REICH
I always liked Robert Reich.
In his first career, he was a great writer and commentator and then Clinton made him Secretary of Labor where he launched a short and unhappy career as a politician. He rankled a lot of politicos with his humor and penchant for talking off message.
Now he is out here at Berkeley probably more at home than in any former career.
He still writes good stuff. Here he reflects on his past:
"One of the first pieces of advice I got when I took over the Department of Labor was to remember that, in Washington, a ‘friend’ is someone who stabs you in the front.”- Robert Reich, in the American Prospect
Reich is also a little guy. I always like the little ones.
CARWASH
When I was first living in PS, I loved going to the carwash.
I took the Jeep (my vehicle) almost weekly.
I even bought the discount coupon/gift certificates during the holidays to 'save money'.
Hard to figure how washing the car so often would save money even at a discount.
Perhaps I was fulfilling some illusion about SoCal living.
Well, it is true that people love their cars here and wash them frequently. I have seen far more clean vehicles enter the washing tunnel than just mine.
Maybe I had a compulsion like the people who have to wash their hands three times.
Maybe an 'out damn spot' sort of deal; guilt about having three cars?
In any case, I am over it.
I have not taken the Jeep for a cleanup for months. I still have the gift coupons from the purchase I made two seasons ago.
But, today, I went and did the deed.
I am surprised that they did not charge me extra for all the dog snot on the windows.
Ohhhhhhh!
That's it!
We got a dog!
The satisfaction of a good wash is undone in minutes when you have an Airedale nosing and tonguing the glass.
Of course, I cannot blame Franklin for the outside's dirt. But it is the glass that we see most of all.
It was fun to go and see the old gang. They are still there.
I put it in the lineup, went to the back waiting area (they fixed the water fountain while I was gone), and watched the 'boys' do the final wipe and cleaning of the windows.
No one said anything about the dog snot.
I did add a bit to the normal tip.
On the way home I had that SoCal glow on.
Franklin will not take a ride until tomorrow morning.
The bump will last 24 hours.
Then we will go back into the 'dirty car' mode for as long as I can stand it.
Labels: culture, Franklin, SoCal
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
FREARSUSPENSE
Today's Stephen Frears' film was
Frears is an expert at the underclasses.
Here, a group of illegal immigrants in London get involved in a illegal organ donor racket—kidneys.
But that is hardly the story.
What is mostly at stake here is keeping the very thin ground all these people walk on from breaking and letting them drop into the abyss of deportation.
All of them have 'legal' jobs in service; cleaning rooms, valeting cars, gypsy cabbing and whoring.
No one questions this 'service' as no one legal wants the work. Well I suppose there are legal whores. But not the kind who would rather be doing something else.
The plot here is as tight as a drum and it keeps beating. It is not easy to see a way out of the dilemmas presented. Very tense.
And, ultimately, very satisfying.
I may be wrong but I think that Frears never denies you a clever and quite happy ending.
You just won't see it coming.
Again, a mostly unknown cast except for Audrey Tatou who we have seen in mosty French cinema. All expert performances.
This is another 5 out of Netflix5.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
FOURTH ANNIVERSARY
It is not only May Day
(singing L'Internationale here in PS, of course)
And not only the day for marches about immigration.
Come on, you already know this.
It is the fourth anniversary of the famous deck-top declaration of "Mission Accomplished".
Also the day that the Senate 'made' george veto support for the troops.
No date. No budget.
He has 86'd it.
The first veto other than for stem cell research. Another veto for death.
Here is the Senate Democrats report on the cost of the Iraq war for each state.
It even shocked me and I am way down there on the negatives.
My own state's stats are:
CALIFORNIANumber of Active Duty Service-Members in Iraq: 16,220
Number of Reserve Forces in Iraq: 3,435
Number of Service-Members Killed in Iraq: 352
Number of Service-Members Wounded in Iraq: 2,632
Cost of War to the People of California: $47.9 billion
(Source: CTS Deployment File, 1/31/07; Department of Defense Personnel Statistics; nationalpriorities.org)
Labels: bush, criminal morons, Iraq
FREARS FEST TWO
Every film director has to have his/her hand at film noir and today we saw Frears'
This almost perfect story by Jim Thompson was adapted by Donald Westlake and set in the 'noirest' place of all—LA, CA.
The almost perfect cast includes John Cusack, his moll mom Anjelica Huston and his date, Annette Bening.
The film is like clockwork and has some delightful side paths with great character actors to take us down the paths.
We have seen it several times now and somehow the film still manages to trick the mind into believing another end will happen. Actually, one is disabled from remembering the end.
It is all a great con job and will get the usual 5 out of Netflix5.
MADAME SPEAKER
I don't much like 'outing' people for obvious reasons. I have a few exceptions; mostlyl people who are values hypocrites or are actually wallowing in the acts they are condemning.
The guy who resigned the other day is a good example.
He is the one who fucked up the AIDS aid by requiring abstinence training and banning condoms.
He has been quoted that he was just getting massages and it wasn't any different than ordering up a pizza.
Now, an asshole like that ought to be caught in the headlights.
Abstinence Bushie Busted! Randall Tobias, hypocrite
This woman has them all by the short ones. I really admire her (and her lawyers) for a strategy of fighting fire with fire: "Nail me—nail you".
Labels: criminal morons, sex workers
BUSHRAELIS
It looks like Israel has the same problem we do.
Israeli leader resists calls to resign
They did what we did. They elected or allowed a leader who is criminally inept—a warmonger.
I wrote about the attack on Lebanon when it happened and agonized about the Israeli crime in attacking the struggling democracy. They made no attempt to negotiate the return of some rogue troops that were captured on Lebanese territory.
Our government did nothing to stop it or to push Israel to moderate their response.
I also decried our complicity in supplying arms and probably a lot more.
The [our] un-exploded cluster bombs and radioactive artillery shards will plague the country for years.
This will continue the war on civilians which were targeted during the active war proceedings.
The Jews are as bad as the rest of them but at least they still have a sufficient allowance for public opinion to have some sway.
Like bush, Olmert refuses to take responsibility for failure or to step down.
Labels: criminal morons, Israel
