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MELODRAMA

Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was

Huozhe / To Live (2008)

This is a Chinese film covering one family's experiences from the 40s when Mao starts to take over the country until the late 60s when the cultural revolution is in full swing.

It is one damn thing after another.

But a great movie. Things move along. The view of life is extraordinary. I assume that it is true to the real thing.

It is gorgeous. Brilliant photography. Some epic scenes but not enough to lose the family focus.

I liked it a lot. Many times I thought I would have to bail out because one tragedy or another struck the small family but I stayed with it and found that, like life, if you stick to it and keep on going, it gets you somewhere very rewarding.

This film proves again that I am almost totally ignorant about life in other parts of the world. I have stereotypical impressions, from print media, for the most part. A film like this opens up panoramas that I had not imagined. How could I?

I think that this ignorance, almost willful, is particularly deep around Asia and China in particular.

I have seen a lot of Japanese films and have been there for awhile. China is by no means the same. Surprise! Hello!

Another thing is that we see the Communist takeover and its evolution into a crazed cult. This is somewhat familiar to me historically but the evidence here, although hedged a bit at times, is confirming. It is a Chinese picture after all and had to pass censorship. It is amazing to see how much comes through. Maybe they are not as shut down as I think. Maybe.

I would give this a 5 but that would obligate me to see it again so I will not go there. I will give it a 4 and plan to see it if the opportunity arises again.

Labels: best films

MODERATION

A friend who reads the blog says that I have become more moderate since the election.

Perhaps. In my writing.

I suppose that the invective level in the blog was pretty high there for quite a long time.

Well, it does say "rants and ruminations" up there on the title left side. Honesty in advertising.

I think that one of the changes in my temperament since the election is that I am finally satisfied and feel redemption for my long held view that the country was in the hands of, well, never mind.

They are out. We are in. We have their problems to work on.

To quote my CIC, "we won".

And that is plenty to get moderate about.

Surely, there are some things that happen day to day that completely piss me off. The Republicans in the House lock step into the past is one of them. Hooverism.

But it is not worth frothing about.

It is really their problem. The lock step is going to hurt them a whole lot more than they will hurt me.

So, I am trying to get back to life. My life.

There is still some nice afterglow. I read the White House website. I check out the videos of the day with Obama doing the stuff. I eat it up.

I am beginning to consider which of the lefty blogs I might drop for the duration. I could cut out a few of them. Two?

Conclusion?

Happy men don't rant. As much.

I guess that is the thought of the day.

Labels: Administration Obama, blog

GARAGE SALE

Yesterday our friend and current fix-it man, Larry, came to fix the sliding doors in the garage closet.

I am still not quite sure what the issue was. This kind of thing is John's department. Runners for the doors, warps, I don't know. They wouldn't slide open or closed.

These are huge shelves, floor to ceiling, a couple of feet deep.

You would be amazed at how much shit you can store in a space like that. It has been 11 years.

I did get involved in the removal of stuff from the shelves and its disposition.

A lot of memories here. A playpen. A booster seat. Some kid games. All to the resale store.

My ten years of paper for the tax audit we haven't had yet were still there in their plastic store bags. John went and got file boxes for them so they are still there but in cardboard. Waiting. It is OK with me if I never use them.

The bags were all disorganized. I just put them in the boxes the same way. I figure I will sort to order if necessary. In the meantime there are better things to do.

There is some weirdness in an activity like this. "Why did we save this"?

Silence.

Some of that stuff went to the used stuff store (a drawer from the kitchen renovation with its hardware--can they use that? Dunno. We dropped it off anyway. Now it's their problem). Some of it went back into the closet.

Very little went to trash. Interesting.

This kind of cleanout is good for us. We get to see a little history and we get to clear it away.

I suppose someday there will be more little kids but that would be great-grand kids and they can bring their own booster seats.

Labels: kidtime, life

LIFEWORKS

Today's movie was Woody Allen's

Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)

Great movie. Classic Allen.

Way back in time. Allen's films would arrive in Boston on an annual basis. They would play at the Paris Cinema on Boylston Street. A huge old fashioned movie theater.

The lines for all shows would go out the lobby and around the corner.

Sitting in the audience you were with kindred souls. All sopping up the latest Allen product. It was a group thing as well as a very satisfying individual adventure.

Allen's films mattered because they were smart. You had to think.

The dialogue was realistic. Not movie talk pap but the way people, of the type of folks who were in the film, talked. Most of us sitting in the Paris either were or would be like those people. Many times we were laughing or crying about ourselves.

Allen's work went through periods which his fans debated at length. He seemed above all that and just kept making movies. And more movies.

I have seen all of his films. I have not enjoyed all of them as much as I would have liked. But I have always, always found myself in the company of a compatriot. We have lived or observed the same country.

For a while Allen's films have not been up to the par we have set for him but they have always been above the par for films in general.

The last several films made outside New York have been on the up trend.

This one is near or above the lifetime Allen average.

Penelope Cruz is wonderful and so is everyone else.

And I mean everyone. Even the smallest parts get the full Allen attention.

I will give this a 4 out of Netflix5 because it will be in the long, long Allen film fest.

Labels: film, films, Woody

TRIPPIN'

Labels: photography

72

Yesterday was my 72d birthday.

I went to my Meeting and word had already reached the group. Lots of hugs and best wishes and the inevitable question, "How old"?

I love saying "72". I love it so much that I have been saying it for about 6 months.

I won't start saying "73" until about June.

I love being old. Does that make sense to anyone else? It even seems a bit weird to me but that is how I feel.

I revel in my age.

That might have something to do with the fact that I am way healthy. No pills to speak of and no "conditions" to worry about.

I keep a low profile on the celebration. I asked for "nothing" so John made an empty box out of a nice set of cards.

I did ask for the coconut cake (boiled icing) from Billy Reed's (local restaurant of long standing) for dessert. We never have dessert.

John got these candles to put on top. Nice. Mine were black and white.

I bought a barbecue chicken for dinner just so I wouldn't have to cook and also because I love it but wouldn't normally buy it. Too fat. Dark meat.

But I tempered that with a salad.

I had a lot of phone calls and emails during the day. Nice.

And then it was over.

Did I tell you? I am 73!

Labels: aging, birthdays, life

PERSONAL STYLE

I just love the backstage stuff. Here is the latest compendium.

White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code

Labels: Administration Obama

AUTHORITY INSTEAD OF POWER

Very nice piece by Andrew Sullivan.

The Presider

Labels: Administration Obama

PREDICTING THE FUTURE IS A HAZARDOUS BUSINESS

A nice remember when from 1981. The future of e-news:

Labels: internet

THE LEAVINGS

Kevin Drum has a map showing how few states are now solidly Republican.

CHART OF THE DAY

It is interesting that the hard core is bunched up in the middle of the western states. Almost like circled wagons.

Then, of course, there is Alaska.

Labels: Republicans

FARCE

Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was Ernst Lubitch's

To Be Or Not To Be (1944)

The unlikely premise of this comedy is that a small Polish repertory company can get involved in the occupation of Poland and somehow confound the Nazis and do it with a lot of laughs.

It succeeds!

I have seen this before and it bore re-viewing.

Stars are Jack Benny (as a Shakespearean actor) and Carol Lombard as his wife. Benny cools off but does not omit his comic personna. One is not affected by this. He keeps it in bounds so that it works.

There is a wonderful cast including the lifetime comic german Sig Ruman.

Farce is very hard to carry off. And to carry it off around something as serious as the occupation of Poland, which had only happened three years before, is even more astounding. The Second World War was in progress.

But, I remember, as a kid that there was a lot of Hitler/Nazi humor. Jokes, songs, all that.

That said, the film stands on its own as a perfectly paced piece with great ensemble acting. You wouldn't have to know any of the history to enjoy this.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5 because I have seen it before and would be happy to see it again. Even sometime soon.

Labels: best films

THE BIG MAN IS COMING

An Unusual Appearance at the Big Clock

Changes of substance and style.

“Stand by,” Ray LaHood, a longtime Republican congressman from Illinois who is the new transportation secretary, told reporters as they waited. “The big man is coming.”

WOLFGANG IS 253

One day before me. Well, except for the 181 years.

Labels: heroes, music

SURFIN'

Today's movie was the surfing documentary

Bustin' Down the Door (2008)

The story arc is how surfing, one of the most un-pro sports, was professionalized.

This involves some pretty amazing surf footage and the story of three or four guys who grew up with the sport and were instrumental in making it a career and a profession.

There are enough serious emotions and enough real danger (not all hard waves) in this story to make it compelling and interesting. The sight of surfer dudes duding it up are pretty thin otherwise.

The thing about surfing as well as some other sports is that you can see that it is difficult but you can't see how it is done.

This film assumes a certain level of fan-i-ness which makes it hard to see what is going on that is all that new or difficult. It is obviously all dangerous when we are at the north shore of Oahu and the waves are 30+ feet high.

But this was not a primer film and I am not the real target audience. I assume that most people will know the kinks and alleys of this sport and what the real deal is.

Nevertheless, as a completely naive viewer, I still enjoyed it.

Edward Norton is the narrator and has an amazingly thin and undistinguished voice. Hardly noticeable in the music of real-life surf talkers.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

I LOVE ALL THE BIDENS

Dr. Biden Returns to Teaching

Labels: Joe Biden

CFL-OOEY

We have not converted to CFL bulbs.

Here is one of the reasons.

The Future of CFLs

They are expensive and have a bad reputation.

They do not fit many "standard" situations.

We bought two new extension lights to read by (old eyes) and they came equipped with them. They are OK so far. No flickering or anything.

The problem is that we have a lot of floodlight fixtures. The inset kind. No reflector. No CFL. At least not that I want to look at up in there.

And that is the trouble. If there is a visible bulb, they look like shit.

This house is filled with special bulbs. I can count 5 kinds from the ones that line the bathroom mirrors right on to the special Sylvania spotlights in the living and dining room.

And we have dimmers all over. CFLs don't dim. Where is the saving in that?

The other thing is the usual flourescent disposal problem. They have mercury in them so you have to go to the place where they take special dumps. We have a whole GI can full of that kind of stuff and we have still not taken it in to the ABOP place.

You have to limit the dump to 50 pounds and also have to sign something. How hard can they make this stuff?

Back to the lights, I have suddenly been having trouble finding the floods though. Is this some kind of sign for the future?

Two just burned out and I had to buy 60 watt replacements because the 100W wasn't available.

I am not going to be able to do some of this good citizen shit. The green footprint thing. Or is it the carbon footprint. Living green. Have a small carbon footprint. Even that is hard to remember.

I don't have any conclusion. Talk is cheap, I say. Try looking at these ugly fuckers that cost 10-12 bucks each and be happy about having a smaller carbon footprint at the same time.

It ain't easy.

Labels: environment

BUDDIES

Today's movie was

Apaloosa (2008)

This is a great movie.

Just when you think that they have used up all the possibilities for a western, something like this comes along.

Directed by and starring Ed Harris along with Viggo Mortensen, the story ambles along punctuated with good exciting and novel twists.

Renée Zellweger plays the unconventional lady of the triangle. Surprises here.

Jeremy Irons is the villain with not too much over the top villainy. I almost, but not quite, felt sorry for him.

The visuals here are splendid. Lighting, costumes, sets. All show a different and more realistic western town. Very nice. Sometimes awesome.

The back story here is about the changing west. Modernization. Politics encroach. The old ways die out.

I would like to see this again to hear the sardonic and loving talk between these two hired guns. What I got the first time was pleasure enough. More would be a bonus.

That makes it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

MASSAGING THE DATA

While we are talking data-holism and the fix for it, it is useful to go to Nate Silver today. He is our king.

Here is his take on Obama's Inaugural week.

Obama: More Political Capital Than Reagan?

Labels: Administration Obama

PROMISES, PROMISES

If you are a data-holic like me, you will love this:

The Obameter

This site is keeping track of about 500 promises that Obama made during the campaign.

So far, he has delivered on five, compromised on one and stalled on one.

Not too shabby for a short work week.

At this rate, he will have delivered on all of them in 100 days.

I doubt the GOoPers will allow him to hit that pace.

I quibble with the compromise item but I will let it up to you to decide.

Click on any of the categories for details.

Very nice graphic.

Labels: Administration Obama, politics, polls

IT TAKES A THIEF

Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was Alfred Hitchcock's

To Catch a Thief (1955)

with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

He used each of them three times and, while this is a pretty good movie, the burnout is appearing in both stars. It is their first time together. I think.

This was also Kelly's last film before she ran off to be a princess.

Am I avoiding talking about the film?

Yeh. I guess.

It is workmanlike, I was attentive. I only looked at my watch once. It is sumptuous to look at, the French Riviera. And the "who did it" part, while not a big surprise, is carried off nicely.

But not one of the best ones by the master.

It is also of another time and place. 50 years is a long time for costumes and plot.

It is also in Vista Vision, a big screen concept of the time, so there is an inordinate amount of footage devoted to speeding cars along hairpin curves. It would also have involved the early use of stereophonic sound, so the cars go from right to left and left to right a lot.

I will pretend that I am a sophomore in college again and give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: best films

RAHM

I like this guy a lot and this is a great piece on how he is doing.

Partisan, Playful and Profane, Obama Aide Tries to Hold It In

Labels: Administration Obama

LOYAL TO THE CORE

I have wondered for a long time about what that 19-22% of bush loyalists look and sound like.

Now, I have my answer.

The first guy represents Lake Havasu. If you have ever been there you will probably not be surprised that they elected a first class dork to be their Representative.

This is the place that transported London Bridge all the way over to be set up stone by stone as a tourist curiosity. That it is.

Only not as curious as their Rep.

This half-wit is interspersed throughout the tape and ends in a grand fusillade of prime grade horseshit.

January 22? Abe Lincoln?

Labels: republican whack jobs

THE VERY INNER CITY

Today's movie is the small scale

Chop Shop (2007)

a "show don't tell" film about two kids, brother and sister, who make a living in the "iron triangle" of New York City. This is an area of concentrated body shops. Only in New York, where entire neighborhoods are devoted to one specialty.

Here, in addition to the cars, is the specialty of living on life's edge.

This film is beautifully done and is very accessible without a lot of drama. You can get the "message" without even trying for it.

These charming kids are making a life. Oddly, or not, there is a lot of joy in this movie.

I liked it a lot and will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

DREAMWORLD

I often have dreams of something like this. Full screen view recommended.

It looks fake sometimes. Maybe it is. They don't show anyone landing.

Thanks to Todd for this one.

Labels: dreams, life, nature, sports

SUFFERING

I seem to be afflicted with bloggers' block.

Part of it is the Inauguration. I am besotted with images from the days of celebration. I seem to be focused on every press conference and meeting. Every utterance of the new President.

But today, he and I get a day off. A break is a good idea for both of us.

The other blocker is that I have not had a wealth of material to work with. No one wants to hear about pedestrian days of repetitive events. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I have been going to my Meetings, meeting with friends, doing my chores. Monitoring the flow of water into the septic system and observing that everything seems to be under control for now. I put in new bugs and they seem to be working but how would I know if they were or not? I wasn't closely monitoring before.

My "cold" has finally dissipated. It took more than a week. A little over seven days. I still have a bit of crap in the back of my throat when I get up and I am still flushing the sini but I am not coughing and am not having that sinus pain which is like an ice cream ache over half the front of my face.

The sinus stuff got over the day after I decided I might have to call Doctor Jim and have it checked out. I never made the call but the intention got my body going to reject the bug.

Anything but going to the Doc.

The Sebring needed two new tires. 35,000 miles. Just about on time.

What other minutiae?

That is about it I think.

I will henceforth try to be more attentive to the bloggage. Promise.

Labels: blog, life

FRESH AIR

From Talking Points Memo:

Another federal employee checks in from the trenches:

I work at the Department of Education headquarters in DC. Today completed our 2-day introduction to Arne Duncan [new Secretary of Education]. Yesterday he had lunch in our cafeteria (Edibles, ha ha), with his wife and children. His wife wore jeans and a sweater and Arne looked like an average joe in khaki dress pants, white shirt and tie. They stood in all of the lines and talked to anyone who approached them. They probably stayed 90 minutes. It was definitely the highest cafeteria attendance ever.

Yesterday afternoon he visited every floor of our building and introduced himself to everyone. We all came out into the hall and he shook everyone's hand with a "Hi, I'm Arne."

By the end of the day yesterday, everyone was aglow, since this was already more attention than we'd received from Spellings or Paige. Today, however, was the all-staff meeting, and I can say that the morale in the building increased ten-fold by the end of it.

Our auditorium was beyond packed, with people standing in the aisles. I myself snagged a seat on the floor next to the stage kindergarten-style. Arne stood in front of a blue screen that read "Call me Arne!" in bright yellow letters. He insisted that we call him Arne, rather than Mr. Secretary or anything like that, saying his name was Arne before he got this job and it would be 8 years from now.

I know this isn't anything earthshattering, but the change in the atmosphere at the Department over the last week has been really astounding. In the past, we all knew that the Secretary had an agenda that she was going to follow, and that we were only there to affirm that her way was best. We really feel that Arne wants to know the truth, whether it fits with his agenda or not.

Labels: Administration Obama

SHARP ELBOWS

Good. From Political Animal Steve Benen:

President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning -- but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.

In context, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) told the president that the Democratic plan to give a tax credit to those who don't pay income taxes isn't a tax cut, but rather, a check. Obama responded that this was a common point of debate during the presidential campaign -- McCain/Palin called Obama's plan "welfare" -- and voters were not swayed by Republican arguments. "I won," Obama told lawmakers.

Negotiation does not involve giving in and compromising around your hard positions. And, apparently, he knows that very well.

Applause.

And some people thought he would be wishy washy.

Not that he didn't forewarn them. This is from an early interview.

Labels: Administration Obama

ON THE EDGE

Today's movie was the documentary (Oscar nominated)

Man on Wire (2008)

This is a bit double barreled as it is about Phillipe Petit, the man who did a tight wire walk between the Twin Towers.

It was hard not to have feelings about the loss of the Towers as I watched the agonizing planning and execution of a walk between them.

It is one of those stories, told by the people who helped Petit do the job, that has an air of unbelievability about it even as you know the happy ending.

Actually, it is not really a happy ending. I will leave that for you to find for yourself.

I remember when this happened but I don't think I was too awed by it all. In 1974 I was starting my own business and in the process of coming out as a gay man. There was enough drama in my own life, I guess. I didn't need to include any other external tight wire acts. All too self absorbed.

This film gave me a retake. An opportunity to see something that I missed on the first bounce, so to speak.

Extraordinary event. Pretty good film.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

PHOTO OP

This is a wonderful collection of Inaugural photos from around the world.

Some of these really hit hard. In a good way.

Some, not seen before, of the Bushes in the helicopter.

Not to be missed.

Labels: Administration Obama

AFTERGLOW

It has taken awhile to grasp. Maybe I am not really grasped yet.

I tried to get hold of the reality yesterday by watching him do his talk to the staff. The most transparent administration ever. The toughest rules on pre and post administration employment. Nice. Tough. Loose.

This dunk into reality along with the photos of his coming into the Oval Office and the other postings gave proof that the long awaited moment had arrived. There he is. Along with Reggie Love!

There is no end to the process of course. Some of the GOoPers are still fighting the campaign. Specter's Judiciary posse is holding on to Holder just to make a point. The Finance guys are raking Geithner over the coals with his tax errors. The usual grandstanding.

Obama remains cool.

But that isn't it.

I think that the main driver of my post partum depression/glow/hangover/joy is that the impossible has been realized and we are in a period of transition from the theoretical to the real.

I know there will be setbacks. I know that he will make mistakes. I know that there will be more embarrassments.

I am also tired. I don't think that I realize the tension of the last two years. It was only partially relieved by the election. The big thing was to see him get to be President Barack Hussein Obama.

Now there is a big exhale. A relief.

If I am tired, think how he feels. I hope that they are going to try out Camp David sometime soon. I will need the break.

Labels: Administration Obama

ABE! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY SO OUT LOUD

On the pending appointment of George Mitchell as the Middle East Special Envoy:

“Sen. Mitchell is fair. He’s been meticulously even-handed,” said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “But the fact is, American policy in the Middle East hasn’t been ‘even handed’ — it has been supportive of Israel when it felt Israel needed critical U.S. support.”

“So I’m concerned,” Foxman continued. “I’m not sure the situation requires that kind of approach in the Middle East.”

This would be funny if it wasn't so tragically true.

Just like I have been saying.

The US policy in the Middle East has been anything but even-handed.

We are supporting the genocidal policies of the Israeli government.

Too strong a word? What would you call the continued ravaging of the Palestinian population?

Labels: Israel

SPACE SHIPS

We had never seen lenticular clouds before we moved to the desert.

You need mountains as well as a drying air mass.

They are here quite often and have a remarkably alien look to them.

This APOD shows a giant lenticular.

This is bigger than any I have seen alhough we can get some real "mother ship" masses here.

Labels: APOD

Labels: Administration Obama

UP IN THE AIR

I love this drawbridge.

We used to go to Stuart Florida every April and stayed at the Indian River Plantation. You had to cross the Inland Waterway to get there and the Waterway has, well, traffic!

So we put in a lot of drawbridge waiting time.

It was a pretty place and not a long wait but this would have really eased the pain. Just watching it work.

I bet it is fast.

It is a take on an old design that uses counterweights and hydraulics. Low power use.

It is rather elegant don't you think?

More pictures and a writeup here. It isn't in New York. That is a mistranslation.

Labels: mechanics

AGENDA

And while you are looking at the new web site, take a look at the agenda!

Here is Civil Rights.

We get a special section down in the bottom half.

Try the other items in the agenda. Full plate and transparent.

Did we ever know the other guys' agenda?

Labels: Administration Obama

BRAND NEW WHITE HOUSE

Look at this.

It changed at noon today.

What a hit!

It has brought the Obamagraphics over.

Labels: Administration Obama

THERE HE GOES

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Talk about your teary moments.

Labels: bush. bushies

DONE AND STARTING

Well. It went by very fast.

I am missing george's helicopter ride but that is OK.

We watched on CNN.com which, for the most part, was very good. Free of commentary.

There were some "who is that" moments but I got by fine without all the talk.

He did a great job. I loved the closeups. I feel like I was there.

The speech is still sinking in. Simple words.

The whole thing was very well done. I even liked the poem although John Williams' setting for the quartet was anything but simple.

The fringes are almost always underwhelming.

It is one big emotional hit. It has been so long.

Now we get to see some action.

Labels: Administration Obama

LIVE HERE

UPDATE: I just found out that hulu is going to show FOX. So fuck it.

You can watch FAUX if you want but not here.

It was a good timer though.

CNN is highly recommended. Don't watch the talky internet facebook version though.

Labels: Administration Obama

WAITING FOR BARACK

Labels: Administration Obama

SUNK

Today and yesterday's NYTimes 1176 Best Film was James Cameron's

Titanic (1997)

This is a fully successful movie-movie.

It is very satisfying from a technical and artistic viewpoint. I quit watching for what imagery was and was not faked. It is just flawless in this respect.

The story is almost but not quite over the top melodrama. A perfect mix of villainy and near sainthood.

I mentioned DiCaprio's perfect casting. Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart as Rose are a perfect match. All the others including Billy Zane and Bill Paxton do a great job supporting the main story.

I think it is very difficult to make a film about such a well known story but Cameron pulls it off. Some of the scenes are breathtaking. Even the frozen floating dead after the wreck.

If you believe in the infallibility of science and rational problem solving you should take a good cold dunk in the waters of this film. Any fantasies about the integrity of capitalism would also be dashed.

I wouldn't mind seeing it again. It had been ten years and so I forgot a bit of it. It was fresh again. Maybe 2018!

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: best films

TRADEMARK OBAMA

Obama Reaches Out for McCain’s Counsel

Well, I am all for it.

I wouldn't want McCain as my President but I am quite happy to have him as my President's adviser and friend.

This is Obama's style. And so not bush. The times of division are over.

Of course, that is all up to "them". There are surely going to be a few diehards. So, let 'em. "Die hard".

Labels: Administration Obama

THE CONCERT

I think you can still see it if you go here

It will take just a short time to load.

And when you play it through, it will stay on your machine and you can replay it whenever you wish.

Anyway, I could.

I saw Pete Seeger!

Labels: Administration Obama, heroes

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

At today's concert:

Springsteen and American folk music icon Pete Seeger closed the show with Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," the president-to-be sang along.

Pete Seeger.

He lived long enough.

89. God bless him.

He has seen it all.

This is a special moment.

He is the past coming to the present.

A renewal.

Labels: Administration Obama

OBAMA'S PEOPLE

The NYTimes asked the Obama staff for stark on white background pictures but to bring one thing that expressed themselves.

They are fascinating here.

It is fascinating to watch the faces and bodies go by.

I am a Reggie Love fan and it is great to see the budget guy, Peter Orszag, in full geek array. Pocket protecter and all.

Some of them look stiff. Think about it. Come in, look at the birdy and there you are. The New York Times.

Hard to be cool. But many of them are.

I love the telephone guy, Kung, too. All book. So totally Chinese American. In a good way. He is the guy who came to all my training programs and asked totally new questions.

Labels: Administration Obama

HALF A BOAT

I watched the first half of Titanic this afternoon.

I can't take three hours. No film is worth that long a sit. Not even a NYTimes Best 1176 Film which this is.

It snuck into the queue while I was ordering mostly recent non- best films to catch up on my viewing.

I saw the big boat when it was launched the first time.

The second time through I was looking for all the "how they did it" parts. Not too big a deterrent to enjoying the film, which I did.

It has the young, pristine Leonardo DiCaprio who is charming but cannot act. He is himself and the film is perfect for who he is.

I hear that he may be acting in his new film Revolutionary Road. But that is about a tired near middle aged guy and that is my impression of DiCaprio just now. So he is still playing himself.

He is, like good number of young men and women today, a star for all the wrong reasons and will not be able to sustain a career of respectable films.

You heard it here first. Well, a lot of others say this too.

I figured I would just put that observation here as I wouldn't want to fuck up what is likely to be a favorable revue of the film with a digression on the life and times of a cardboard cutout star.

Labels: film, films

PRELIMINARIES

I watched the train ride yesterday on and off. I was kinda underwhelmed.

I love the idea of it but it is probably the kind of thing you have to be there for. It doesn't come across that clearly on the tube. Especially if watched on one's computer.

It was designed, I think, as more of a way for thousands of people to see him or be near him as he approaches the big day.

Very nice.

Today he and the family went to church. That ought to stop all the carping about it. He doesn't have to do that to satisfy me. I think he ought to be out in the sun taking a day off. A round of golf or maybe a spin on the shabby outdoor court they have at the White House. He and Joe Biden could play "horse". No. That will be Wednesday.

But I hear he is bringing all his military guys together first thing in the morning.

Labels: Administration Obama

SEVEN DAYS

I have lived for a long time with the understanding that a cold lasts seven days. Period. You can take medications and the cold will last a week.

The medications only relieve the symptoms.

So I am a bit overtime on my back of the throat cold which has actually gone in the alloted time, almost exactly, but has transformed into a bout of sinusitis which is mostly annoying.

I have had the sinus thing off and on for a couple of months. It comes and goes.

But this cold brought it back again.

I suppose, as a last resort, I might have to go see Doctor Jim about it. He will look it over and tell me that if it is a viral thing an antibiotic won't help. Perhaps prednizone.

He may also tell me that it is more probably an allergy. I am convinced of the inefficacy of any cure for allergies. Some doctors are making fortunes, as I type, on allergies.

The allergy cures are like the "self help" shelf in the bookstore. Always full to overflowing with the current cure for world weariness and always selling to the same audience.

No real cure in store. At least not in a book and not in most allergy treatments.

Actually, I think he will give me an alternative to my Claritin which will dry the stuff out long enough for my body to take over.

It is a holiday tomorrow. Then there is the Inauguration. I can't hope to have time to see him for a week to say nothing of his schedule.

We do have a pretty good walk in emergency treatment place where I can go anytime. But I need to give Franklin his walk and right now there are no real symptoms at the moment.

Maybe I should just go to the self help shelf in the Amazon.

Maybe I should just go spray in some saline and take some Ibuprofen when the symptoms recur.

Labels: health

POST PETTY

I have been reflecting on the Bogdanovich film all afternoon.

I even found a better review than the one I used for the items below.

Here is what I have been pondering.

Petty and the Heartbreakers have a compelling story that is as American as you can get.

There are good times and some bad times but, most of the times, are rocking good fun with each other and their troupe.

Petty does not dwell on the past or, particularly, focus on the bad stuff. When shit happens he takes responsibility and talks about what he learned and how it shaped him.

These guys lead a very hard life. I am famiiar with the gang around Darryl Hall (and Oates) who have been together for decades. This kind of durablity of relationship is a great source of strengh and the foundation of their success.

Petty's music is all happy music. Rocking out. Even the sad teen angst songs that are a specialty aren't down for long. And you can't really sit still while they are playing them.

Labels: film, films, music

PETTY TWO

PETTINESS

I finsished watching Peter Bogdanovich's documentary:

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)

I really didn't want it to end.

The amazing thing about this guy and his band is the endless creation. And they seem to understand this. They don't mess with it.

The second half has some hard parts. Drugs come in here and there and then leave but not without their casualties. There are breakups. Reunions.

And around this, Bogdanavich weaves the music footage, never trying to link the lives and times and the music but they are inevitably connected.

Petty is a hard ass. Uncompromising. Especially with the "business" guys.

It is fun to watch him be honest and tough.

This film totally justifies my buying the headphones. I could never get the quality of experience with the sound in the room approach. At least not with my equipment.

This is a 5 out of Netflix5. For sure

Labels: film, films

THANKS AND GOODBYE

Labels: bush. bushies, criminal morons, republican whack jobs

PETTINESS

I am in the middle of watching Peter Bogdanovich's documentary:

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)

It is quite good.

There is a huge pile of tape and film on Petty who somehow manages to record his life and work from the time he is a teenager. It is "all" here.

I really like Tom Petty a lot. I like him so much and am so used to him in my life that I forget he is still actively writing and working. Creating. He is still with the same guys who formed the second Heartbreakers.

Thirty years. Same guys. No "memory" tours. All new.

And a surprisingly candid, nice guy.

This is a four hour documentary. It stands up. You know my 90 minute rule. Anything longer than that better earn it.

So far, so good.

Labels: film, films

OFFICIAL PORTRAIT

It is the first digital official Presidential photo and it is not photoshopped. They say.

Labels: Administration Obama

MOVING DAY

I like all the background pieces on how it works.

West Wing Ghost Town

I figured that it had started all ready.

A bit teary. And not because of who is leaving.

Labels: Administration Obama

UNOATHED MUSCLE

And he isn't even POTUS yet

Obama gets first major win with TARP

This will change, of course, but it is an auspicious beginning. And he hasn't even said the oath yet.

Labels: Administration Obama

ISRAELIS MARCHING ON

Bastards

I used to support Israel. Back in the old days when they were new and trying hard.

Perhaps I was naive about the situation. Now, it seems obvious that herding the Palestinians into Gaza was wrong and bound to cause trouble. to say nothing of its illegal and inhumane thrust.

The over reach of Israel's recent response to Hamas rockets' breaking the truce is totally beyond the limits of decency.

This is the new Israeli doctrine. 20 eyes for an eye. A thousand teeth for a tooth.

Labels: Israel

THE LONG GOODBYE

It seems as if the bushie has been saying goodbye longer than he has been in office.

Well, weeks.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

Here is Gail Collins with a great recap of this image polishing business we have had to witness.

He's Leaving. Really.

Read it. At least you will get a few laughs out of his sad spectacle.

I also realize in writing this that I will be retiring some "labels". Never to be used again. I hope.

See below.

Labels: bush. bushies, criminal morons, republican whack jobs

GETTING LOADED

This is a curated selection of "loading" animations.

Don't know what I mean?

You will get it as soon as you look at this.

You will get a new sequence of "loadings" every time you go to the site. It does not play the same thing over and over again.

They say that these are disappearing because loading is so fast now. You will always have this exhibit.

Museums on the internet.

Labels: internet

CROW WAS SERVED

PEOTUS dined with 7 or 8 conservative columnists last night at George Will's house.

Another slick move.

I am sure he was gracious and listened to them and even responded with a good dialogue.

He loves this stuff. Eats it up.

These guys are the ones who wrote against him for two years or more.

If not crow, then a few hats must have been served.

All in good DC fun.

Nice.

Face Time with Obama

Labels: Administration Obama

GOGGLY

I haven't had a new pair of glasses in four years.

There were mild changes to my prescription but nothing enough to go out and spend 400 bucks and more.

But the old glasses were beginning to lose their coating. Peeling off. They were getting annoyingly hazy.

So, I bit the bullet, got my prescription from the Doc (you can only fill a prescription that is two years old or less--guess who backed that law), and went to the optician at Palm Springs Mall.

Now, 460 bucks later, I have my new lenses. Previous frame. Titanium. Lasts forever. The last titanium frame will go on standby and be the next frame.

I forgot the the prescription would be a little different.

And, these are progressive lenses so I have to relearn my "spots".

Progressive lenses require head adjustments to get the right part of the lens on the right part of the scene you are beholding.

So. Change. Adaptation. I am doing fine although it feels as though I might be waving my head around a bit it is really micro-waving.

The key is to keep doing it and, before I know it, there will be automatic matching. Experience tells me so.

Labels: eye, health

DENIAL

Today's movie was the documentary

The Order of Myths (2008)

This is a visit to the doc maker's past. Mobile, Alabama. The annual Mardi Gras celebration. Segregated. Always was and still is except for a smidgeon.

This is a visit to another world. A world that was but still is.

Everyone plays along. Some think it is OK. Everyone wants it that way. Some aren't too sure.

The viewer can draw his or her own conclusions. There is obviously a slant to the film. But it isn't too heavy handed.

This culture is alien to me also because it is southern. It looks so strange. But they all seem to having a good time.

Most of them.

It was pretty good. The Mardi Gras scenes are fun. A lot of "behind the scenes" stuff. Mobile's celebration is older than New Orleans. Lots of "tradition" to hide behind if there is a moral point to be made.

For those who like irony live and on the hoof there is plenty of fuel in this film.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. I had a good time watching but I wouldn't want to have to watch those yahoos again.

Labels: film, films

STOMACH CHURNING

So this is a big break:

At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard

I can remember the physics lectures in 26-100 as stomach churning events calculated to ruin my day.

The first one I attended left me behind in about ten minutes. He talked about vector analysis.

Now it seems simple but I was so freaked by the atmosphere (you could smell the flop sweat) and the fast talk (a Swede, good looking, lectured in near English) I decided I was no good at it and it took a whole year to get my mojo back. With a little help from my friends.

Most of that stress test shit is over at the Institute now.

As I look at my new students or applicants who are going into the tank, I realize that things will be quite different for them.

There is so much support for kids now. A good thing.

They now retain about 90 % after the first time. When I went it was 50%. My class started with 950 kids and ended with about 400 something.

Those were the good old days.

Labels: MIT

TRAINING FILM

Most kids today escape the "training films" that I had as a steady diet when I was in high school.

Mr. Seems was the guidance counselor, spanish teacher and audio visual guy.

He showed us this kind of film every week in our "career guidance" class. Each year his class had a different title but it was always this kind of movie. One yeaer it was Civics. Citizenship.

I later found out, incidentally, that Mr. Seems and his wife belonged to a "swingers" group although I don't think they called them that back then.

So he was actually more enlightened than I thought.

He gave my Dad some old films he didn't need any more and they included a few soft core films. One was a nudist tennis match. Bouncing tits. Another was a contortionist. Not very sexy. Some takeouts from porn films. I remember "The Man Who Came Around", a universal fantasy of the door to door salesman who bangs all the suburban wifes or, later, urban husbands. "The gays" were attracted to the same theme.

Here is an example of the kind of film we used to see in Mr. Seems' class.

Labels: gay marriage, gay politics

CHENEY ON THE WAY OUT

This bulletin just in. It happened as Cheney was doing one more gloss on the torture policy and seething over the rumor that Obama would close Guantanamo.

Labels: criminal morons, republican whack jobs

EMOTIONAL CAVITY

Today's movie was

Ghost Town (2008)

with Greg Kennear, Rickie Gervais and Tia Leoni as the love interest.

It is a rather well done "ghost story". We have seen the conventions over and over but the packaging here is new and the emotional strings are pulled quite effectively between comedy and tragedy. Well, not tragedy. Sadness. Mourning.

The mourning part of this is very good and actually highlights the light comedy.

I like Kennear a lot. Don't see enough of him but I don't think he rates a film fest of his own. Maybe!

Gervais is new to me. I know he has been on teevee but we are not so I have missed him. I have seen him in standup. Funny for a Brit.

Here he is very good. Not going for the boffos at all but playing it quite seriously and it is funny to watch. It is called acting. Not mugging.

I don't know how well this went over at the theaters. Probably not big. Too bad.

I enjoyed it very much and will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

HACKER

I started with a tickle in my throat a few days ago and now it has bloomed into a mild throat cold.

Now it is mostly some coughing here and there.

I use a Robitussin type private label concoction—an expectorant (makes you cough) and cough suppressant (stops the cough).

A weird combination but it works.

Expectorant encourages productive coughs that by loosening mucus in the respiratory tract.

So far so good.

I am lucky. A lot of people are laid low by flu and colds and this throat thing only a lot worse.

I had my flu shot.

It will be like all the colds. Seven days long with the medicine. It would take a week to get over if I didn't take anything.

Labels: health

SKY PILOTS

Obama's choice for most cabinet and White House positions have attracted less comment than his choice for ministers to invoke and outvoke and sermonize at the minimal religious nods of the Inauguration.

The thing that amazes me is that much of the storm has been from people who, like me, wouldn't darken the door of a church at any time.

For those not following this tempest in a teapot take a look at this.

More Progressive Pastors

Now, although I wouldn't darken the door of a church, I have no problem with any of these people. A pastor is a pastor. One's theology may be more or less repugnant to one side or another but they are still in the same game and that game is religion.

It is an industry. It is a voting bloc. It is to be separated from matters of state except for a little bit.

True enough that "In God We Trust" is on the money. An odd conjunction but there it is. We have prayers every day in Congress.

Look, at least 50% of our citizens have a prayer life. If you count the ones who, like me, have a prayer life without religion, I bet it is a lot higher.

There are a lot of non-religious who have a higher power in their lives as well. My hand is up!

There is no better argument against the real mixing of church and state than this flap over preachers.

Think about it. Collectively these guys and gals will do about 8 minutes of invoking and benedicting. At the prayer service the day after, I read that the lady will give a 20 minute sermon.

Forget the person of Rick Warren. He is a symbol. It is a bringing into the tent. He may be a jerk but he isn't a grave and mortal danger to the foundations of our country.

And what happened to the idea of religious freedom. Now we are to censor the pulpit pounders?

I am a lot more impressed that Gene Robinson, the gay Episcopal Bishop will be the first invoker to appear in the weekend.

Imagine! The core of the controversy between gays and the collective religious people in this controversy. The uber-symbol.

Now this is revolutionary and no Rick Warren or other right wing figure can outbalance this finesse.

The Obamas are shrewd bastards. This is a stroke of liturgical and political genius.

Labels: Administration Obama, gay politics, gay rights, religion

LOSERS WIN

Today's movie was

Hamlet 2 (2008)

This Steve Coogan comedy is one of those 50/50 things. Half of it is very good and half is so-so.

It is a comedy about how the bottom half of the High School barrel in Tucson (a low barrel to begin with) manage to make a musical version of a sequel to Hamlet.

There is a lot of funny stuff in this and compared to the High School Musical franchise, a lot more honest about life on the outside lane in any hierarchy.

The musical itself is a lot better too. The performers are normal kids and not the professional clonish kids in the HSMs.

Coogan is often over the edge and then pulls back just short of too much.

I liked it about 50/50 too. That makes it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

SPY STORY

Today's movie was the Coen Brothers'

Burn After Reading (2008)

with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins and J.K. Simmons

I list them all because the acting in this complicated dark comedy is so good. All of them. I bet they had a lot of fun working in this.

I have read many summaries of this film and not one made me want to see it or, now that I have seen it, is able to summarize the plot. I will not try.

Suffice to say that it is, in addition to being a very good story in the Coen mold. A reflection on our national paranoia about secrecy, rights and oversight.

Not to seem to somber about it.

I enjoyed it and will see it again in the Coen film fest whenever it is held in the future.

That makes it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

BEAUTIFUL MESS

Today's film was

Boarding Gate (2007)

I queued this because I had read a spectrum of reviews. It generated a lot of interest. But most of the interest was of the "watch a train wreck" kind. I have a thing for losers.

Anyway, this train wreck has lots of sex and drugs but not much rock and roll.

I skipped through it.

Great pans, wonderful shots, excellent 'real life' sets. No life to it. Unless you enjoy heterosexual kink with a bit of verbal abuse as foreplay and strangulation simulation to get things going.

The skipping makes it a 1 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

GLOW

I know that I am indulging in a lot of hero worship here over Barack Hussein Obama's impending inauguration.

Look. I had to sit still for eight years while those shits ransacked my country and practically sealed us off from the rest of the world.

Words cannot express the pain of the bush years in this house. They are almost gone.

But it is not just that. I would not have had the same feel if Kerry had won the last time.

This guy is already way different and even a little bit of Barack is such a sea change over all the rest of them. Carter, Clinton, and, of course, the fucking bushes.

Obama has the stuff. He will make mistakes. He probably already has. But he will be open about them and work to fix the damage.

He is smart. He is canny. He is human.

So I am beyond joy at his arrival as Commander in Chief. And I will indulge myself. So if you don't like it, tune out.

Labels: Barack Obama

MOM

Marian Robinson.

I'm glad she is going along. Read this. It is a very nice profile. It will make you feel good.

Family Mainstay to Move In to White House

Look at the photo in the article. I remember this. It is election night and she is holding his hand. And not for herself!

Every adult needs their Mom as long as they can have one and if they can't have their own Mom, their spouse' Mom can be the next best thing.

Clearly, that is the situation with Barack Obama and Marian Robinson.

Labels: Administration Obama, Barack Obama

SUPERHERO

Labels: Barack Obama

OBAMA NEGOTIATES

Nate Silver, in his usual intelligent manner, speculates (quite accurately I will bet) that Obama is doing some very canny negotiating with the Congress over this stimulus package.

Obama's Price is Right Negotiating Strategy?

Silver argues that Obama is playing the PIR game correctly by starting low.

Now, he can let the Congress do his heavy lifting for him—the elder statesmen, the GOoPers, the Blue Dog Democrats.

I like the idea here.

Another development that didn't create a lot of headlines but which I think is pretty neat. He made a deal with Bush that Bush will veto any attempt to block the availability of the second half of TARP.

This way, Bush does the lifting and Obama doesn't use any of his political capital.

I think that this is vintage Obama and also that he has some really smart negotiation veterans around him.

And don't forget, he comes right out of the Senate himself. None of this pushing and pulling can be lost on him.

I think thought before Silver's analysis that he was playing them and now I think so even more.

And don't forget our CIC is a poker player. With other Senators!

Labels: Administration Obama

END TIMES

Today's movie was Werner Herzog's documentary

Encounters at the End of the World (2007)_

We have spent a lot of time at "end of the world" places and have been fascinated by the people who are attracted to those places. Their eccentric focus.

Antartica is the ultimate end of the world.

This wonderful film celebrates the people who are there just to be at the end of the world. Linguists driving trucks.

We also visit the scientists working there and the abundant life that exists in this extreme place.

I see everything that Herzog makes. I have from his beginning when only the most isolated art houses would show his work.

Here he is totally present. Another outlander finding a "home" so to speak.

Herzog set out not to make another penguin movie so even when the penguins show up it is in a strange end of world way.

We go under water. We go to the edge of an active volcanoe. But always, the focus is on the people and the strangeness of our attraction to this place.

Yes. Everyone in this film agrees that humans are heading towards extinction. Somehow when it is said in this context it is not a bad thing.

It just is.

I also was fascinated by the stuff on neutrinos. You will like this if you like science and weirdness.

I will be seeing it again in my Herzog film fest to be held later.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: film, films

THE GOVERNING BEGINS

I notice that I am getting pissed off whenever someone disagrees with Obama.

I better get my head together. It is just the beginning.

Governing is a messy business and there is a lot of shit slung in the process.

It is also complex and it is very hard for a citizen to discern what the real story is under the press' story as well as under the story that the politicians including POTUS want to get out.

This economic stimulus is a good example. The part about the taxes is giving Democrats the bends. They are criticizing it.

Some see that it is bending to the GOP and that, in their traditional way, the GOoPs will fuck the Dems over.

Others see Obama head faking.

And so on.

I don't have time for it.

I think that I will select some few issues and think about them and otherwise grab my popcorn and watch the show.

I will cheer for my side and expect there to be some losses.

So far, I think he is doing great. It is my opinion that today's speech put the brakes on what would have been a bad day in the markets. I have become a half astute observer of the ebb and flow of the Dow from early AM futures to the days performance along with the overseas markets. I would never put money on any of my thoughts but it is interesting.

So I have some insights. But they are dim ones. I am not there. And as I said, the process is messy and a lot of shit gets thrown around in the process.

It is a durable institution though, government. Ours. I have faith in it and, above all, I believe in this man.

I love this picture. Lazier days.

Labels: Administration Obama, politics

TO A TEE

We have our warm weather back. I suppose that is the end of winter.

It is t-shirt weather. 70s. And seems determined to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

This is when we used to come out here to get out of the snowy weather. In those days, this place seemed hot in January. Now, not so much. Our thermostats have slipped.

We went to St. Croix for many years, then skipped a few, then went back. Their weather is a lot more consistent season to season. Unvaried 80 degree water and sunny days with occasional rain showers. A storm or two every couple of months.

Then there were the hurricanes. Infrequent but devastating.

And the crime. All the houses were built as jails. Secure rooms within the houses. Very close to what is done in Johannesburg, South Africa.

No thanks on either threat. It was OK for a couple of weeks in a resort (armed guards) but nothing permanent.

We always went to Florida in April. January and February are iffy. We had one of the worst vacations ever in Key West in February.

We finally settled on Stuart. We could live there, even in iffy weather. Friends stay near where we would have lived. They are happy.

But they have had three hurricanes right over their house.

When we began to think of full time living, it was either Florida or Palm Springs.

We opted for Palm Springs.

No humidity. No mosquitoes and lots of gay people. That beats Florida out totally.

Florida was a good place to be gay in, maybe, Orlando or Lauderdale. But there was always some cracker waiting around the corner to give you the diss or worse.

Here, the entire economy rests on us. That makes for a lot of pleasant dealings day to day. To say nothing of the t-shirts in January.

It was a good decision. Eleven years and I wouldn't unwind any of it.

Labels: desert, weather

SIX FACTS

What You Don't Know About Gaza

Here is how long this shit has been going on.

I was 11 when the Israeli Army forced Arabs living in other areas into this densely populated Gaza Strip area. Basically a concentration camp.

"Do unto others what was done unto you", I guess.

I remember this time vividly because the propaganda was fierce. News everywhere. Highly slanted. Think American Indians and the forced migrations to reservations. We are still working that out.

Labels: Israel

JONES

Obama Digs In for His BlackBerry

I don't have a Blackberry and I can see how this would drive him crazy.

The prospect of being off line is a tough one even when the device is not portable.

I do it once a year when I go to San Diego for three days and three nights. It is easy because I have experience with it. When I come back I am through the email in half an hour. And it is only three days.

Four years? Eight years?

By that time there won't be any Blackberries.

But he signed up for it.

I like it. I like the spirit behind it.

He is probably the first President to use email so consistently and, certainly, the Blackberry.

I guess georgie dabbled with the email but not with the thing on his hip.

I am sure they will take it away from him.

I can see it now. The S-men have PEBO pinned to the ground while Michelle and Rahm grab the device out of his hands.

Labels: Administration Obama, Barack Obama

THE MERRY PRANKSTER

I am an old Larry Flynt fan.

Here he is up to some of his old tricks. Mocking the bailout craze.

Porn industry seeks federal bailout

Of course, no one knows whether to take him seriously or not.

Flynt treads the narrow line between outrageous assertion and political satire. The best satire is based as much as possible on reality.

His most effective pieces of work have all the elements of "straight" behavior but then bend radically somewhere in the middle leaving us to fend for ourselves in the dissonance he creates.

This is a good example.

I believe that Larry Flynt has done more for personal freedom in this country than most politicians who always seem to sell out at some point.

Maybe there is a place in the Obama Administration for Larry. Minister of Political Fun.

Labels: Administration Obama, fun

PETTY TO THE END

I thought so.

White House Asked Howard To Stay In Blair House To Give ‘Some Plausible Reason’ For Refusing Obama»

Labels: Administration Obama, bush. bushies

SKATEBOARD

Today's film was Gus Van Sant's

Paranoid Park (2007)

This is an experimental film with one essential difference.

Van Sant's expert hand inverts the normal process wherein the viewer is challenged to ascertain the film makers intent. Here, Van Sant's intent buoys up the experimental technique so that we are never far from the path that he wants to take us on.

In fact, at the beginning we follow a young skateboarder down a long path to a beach where he starts to write a journal. It is a long walk. I got the point. He works the journal throughout. He is writing his own story. We eventually find out why.

The skateboarding here is phenomenal to watch.

The skateboarding is a metaphor but also integral to the story. And so on.

The music is quite good. It might be worthwhile to see it again and look over the music credits to see the connections. A couple of references to Fellini remind me that the use of amateur actors and real background people, some grotesques, are right from the maestro's playbook.

I don't want to get all heavy about this. The film exists in its own space and is actually lightly drawn. Gentle. Sometimes violent but not mean.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5 as I will be seeing it again when I do a Gus Van Sant Film Fest. Some day.

Labels: film, films

DRAINING

As I type, the pool is being drained.

Every three years.

It takes about 12 hours.

You need a permit!

Why?

So that when people complain about flooding, the cops will know it is temporary and paid for and will tell them to stuff it.

You can only do it at night although Frank set the pump up earlier today and tested it. He started a siphon so it began draining immediately. He came to turn the pump on and thought I had turned it on. No. I had to explain siphoning to the pool man.

It will cost about 50 dollars for the new water. In summer it would cost over 100. We have sliding scale transpiration pricing. Desert.

Why do we have to pump it every three years? It gets so hard from constant levelling to cover evap that the soup gets thicker and thicker with minerals. The water is so hard we would bounce off it if we were salt ions. And that is what we use to keep the saline system of chlorination working.

None of us have bounced off the hard water. It is only the ions.

The water is going down the outer drive to the corner where that house sits right on top the flood plain. The water will pool there to about 4-5 inches before it runs out to the main street and down more hill to the bottom. The pool of water at the corner will seep down to the water table. We are giving back!

Well, it wasn't intentional but so what? Don't we get green stamps anyway?

You do not want to empty the pool after a heavy rain especially in clay soil. The pool will rise out of the ground.

It hasn't rained here that much in a long time and clay doesn't really exist here. Not in my neighborhood anyway.

End of story.

Labels: pool