esrosedotblog

TEA TIME

I just found out that a friend of mine has joined the Tea Party movement. A local chapter. Not around here.

He wouldn't be the first person I know who is over there on the conservative side.

I have no beef with it.

I had a business partner who was politically reversed from me most of the time. He still is.

It didn't hurt our friendship. Or our work. We saw the world in stereo.

I really do not have any trouble with the activities of the Tea Party people. I don't agree with them but that is what makes a ball game.

I don't mind the demonstrations either. It is the American Way. I have spent enough time in marches and the like to know that it is very good for all of us. People getting pro-active. Taking responsibility.

I only have trouble with the ignorant, the totally insane angries and the ones who are out to create a world that will not allow such demonstrations or disagreement. The fringe. I don't have a lot of patience with the haters and the liars.

Actually, it is a comfort to know that among the vast anonymous "them", there is someone I know who is not nuts, who has a clear point of view, who believes in positive not negative influence and who is a genuine good guy all the way through.

That gives me a lot of hope.

I am going to start a new label. A refinement. Something more positive then "whack jobs" as I have labeled in the past. See below.

Tea anyone?

Labels: politics, republican whack jobs, tea party

DEBASHING

I like this a lot.

A Contrarian Defense of the 111th Congress

I will go along with that.

With all the arguments about the stimulus bill, the enormous thing about it is that it amounts to one of the most progressive acts of legislation in our time in one bill.

Of course, the teabaggers will go nuts about this but this is why the Democrats were elected. The righties will have to convince the people, other than themselves, that this was not a good thing. Unlikely.

It will just take a time for the benefits to sink in.

You know, people need to take a deep breath here. Look at the tax relief. Are they even listening?

Labels: Administration Obama

PUNCHLINE

Today's film was the documentary

The Aristocrats (2005)

An agent walks into a producer's office. He says "I've got the greatest act you ever saw". The producer wants to know what the act does. The agent tells him. The producer asks the name of the act. The agent says "The Aristocrats".

It is the middle of the joke that counts. the act commits the most obscene routine you can imagine. Each comedian improvises his or her own disgusting spectacle. Talk about yourtransgressive humor.

The joke is said to have originated in vaudeville. By now it has crossed so many borders of good taste and acceptability that it is only told, for the most part, by one comedian to another.

You would think that in this day and age there are no more boundaries to cross. Well, this film breaks several. At least. It depends on you.

I was afraid of watching it for a long while. It's funny. I think that I have a high tolerance for vulgarity but I was apprehensive that this one would prove me wrong. Five years is a long time to avoid someting..

Only recently, I read about it again and decided to give it a whirl.

I am still here to talk about it.

The documentary cleverly distances itself from the bluntness of the material by showing us 100 different ways of telling the joke. Many comedians. Writers. People in the business.

In many ways the film riffs on the bare bones of the joke and shows us how something that is not funny can be hilarious.

Some people reverse the spin. Tell it backwards. One guy includes it in a magic act. Card tricks. Very nice. There is even a talking dummy. Ventriloquism still works. By putting the obscene in the dummy's mouth we don't even notice anyone's lips let alone whether they move or not.

It was great to see a few old favorites. George Carlin. Larry Storch.

I enjoyed this film much more than I expected. A few times the routines went beyond my taste barriers. But not so much. I can be shocked. Or tsk tsk at something. But, in the main, I am OK getting down there and wallowing just like the rest of them.

I will give this a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

CORRUPTION

Yesterday, in the middle of a blog post, the Blogger site gave me an error message.

I tried the blog itself. Same thing.

I looked at other Blogspot blogs and they also had problems. Well, not all. Some were free and clear.

I assumed, wrongly, that it was Blogger. Not me.

But this morning I got a little suspicious when it was still giving me the error sign.

So I went to John's machine and tried to connect and goddam it worked fine so it is/was my machine.

I googled and found that it was a standard error. A corruption on my computer. Well, its software.

Here is what it said: "HTTP Error 400 Bad request" Explained.

So I restarted the computer. Voila! No problem.

Why don't I think of these things first?

Labels: blogging, computer

DOG YEARS

Odd, this comes at a time when I have been missing our Franklin who died nine months ago.

Dogs’ Life (and Death) Is a Poignant Tale

Franklin had the same debonair outlook as these dogs. He had more friends than the two of us combined.

There are still people who don't know our names but remember Franklin.

I ran into a former neighbor yesterday who had not heard about Franklin's death.

I thought that I had done all of these stories. Eulogies really.

The guy was struck silent. He mourned with me as I told the headline version.

Of course the good news on the other side of this is Booker who came into our lives not a month after Franklin died.

A miracle. That month seems the longest time. Dogless.

Airedale less.

And Booker has more than met any expectations that I could have for him. He is a wonderful friend and a very special being. He is a gift of the gods. He came to the rescue people two days before we lost Franklin.

Coincidence? Sure. If you want.

But he does not fill in for Franklin. He stands next to him. Sometimes we think that Franklin whispers to him about us.

We know in our hearts that Franklin is irreplaceable as he should be. So much love cannot disappear.

Labels: Booker, Franklin

TIMESLESS

We took the plunge yesterday.

I canceled the LA Times. The dead tree, home delivered version.

We have been getting it since we came out here.

It was a wonderful paper.

Now, not so much.

They began to slim it down a couple of years ago. Maybe longer.

First the great magazine went to monthly then disappeared entirely.

The sections got remixed so that real estate all but disappeared in business.

The California coverage, which actually increased for the better, was crunched into the main section right after the first and second pages.

Then national coverage shrank to nil. I hardly read it.

The Sunday paper was/is a joke. I read less than the daily. Filled with stuff about fashion and "image" and even the business section is a pr hash printed earlier in the week.

The Entertainment section is not. Film reviews, unaccountably, have been relegated to mostly inside the section and have been cut in half. Most of it is profile stuff, puffery. Hackdom.

Over recent months the paper has drifted towards a kind of snarky nastiness in its headlines. Rarely reflecting the real story. In addition, outright opinion masking as journalism has been appearing more regularly from Washington. Some of this against the Obama Administration but more often towards the kind of nasty cynicism about all of DC that you can find on any left or right wing blog.

So enough is enough.

They want to know the reason you are discontinuing when you do it.

I tried.

I could hear her typing. From her comments it was not unusual.

I hear that if you are cutting it for budgetary reasons they will cut the price for you. Sleazy.

Anyway it is gone.

I am behind on my reading of the New Yorker. I guess I will catch up now. Also the New York Times Book Review which we get in hard copy.

The NYT has actually begun special sections for the west coast. LA area. So I get that on line. Localized.

They are going to kick the LAT ass.

So, some sad withdrawal today.

Labels: nostalgia

FINALE

I finished watching

La meglio gioventù / The Best of Youth (2003) today.

The final third.

It has a truly magical conclusion. Very nice.

This has been a wonderful experience in viewing.

I will give this a 5 out of Netflix5.

Highly recommended.

I will see it again.

Labels: films

MORE WAKE

This op-ed in the NYT yesterday says more about the Salinger situation.

The Pre-Post Modernist

We unpacked Salinger when I went to college. My profs were into exactly what this guy talks about.

Before, I mentioned that reading him was like being drunk. Drunk on words and descriptions.

For Catcher:

The narrative is in a style the Russians call skaz, a nice word with echoes of jazz and scat in it, which uses the repetitions and redundancies of ordinary speech to produce an effect of sincerity and authenticity — and humor: “The thing is, most of the time when you’re coming pretty close to doing it with a girl ... she keeps telling you to stop. The trouble with me is, I stop. Most guys don’t. I can’t help it. You never know whether they really want you to stop, or whether they’re just scared as hell, or whether they’re just telling you to stop so that if you do go through with it, the blame’ll be on you, not them. Anyway, I keep stopping. The trouble is, I get to feeling sorry for them. I mean most girls are so dumb and all. After you neck them for a while you can really watch them losing their brains. You take a girl when she really gets passionate, she just hasn’t any brains. I don’t know. They tell me to stop, so I stop.”

It looks easy, but it isn’t.

More about the Glass family writing.

It can be hard going but there is a bond that is created the reader in an entirely different way than Catcher.

The nearest equivalent to this saga in earlier literature is perhaps the 18th-century antinovel “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman,” by Laurence Sterne. There is the same minutely close observation of the social dynamics of family life, the same apparent disregard for conventional narrative structure, the same teasing hints that the fictional narrator is a persona for the real author, the same delicate balance of sentiment and irony, and the same humorous running commentary on the activities of writing and reading.

And so, on and on.

The writer makes the point that Salinger got up the noses of critics and so they tend to dismiss the work. But for such a small corpus, its impact on modern literature is astounding.

OK. One more thing and then I am done.

The NYT also wrote a small editorial about Salinger's choice to withdraw from the world.

LIsten.

Oh! That is another point. With Salinger you listen to the words that you read.

Now. Listen.

Appreciations

There was a purity in Mr. Salinger’s separation from the world, whatever its motives, whatever his character. His half-century of solitude and silence was a creative act in itself, requiring extraordinary force of will.

This is the core truth that readers — and writers, too — often struggle with. Beneath the riches of the creative life, and hidden well away from the claims we place upon the writers we care for, there is still the one life, the ordinary life, to be lived. Mr. Salinger chose to live his in a way that only he and his immediate family could observe. It is as telling a silence as the blank spaces between his sentences.

He is Buddy who went off into the woods and wrote about his family and then stopped because enough had been said.

And that goes for us. Enough has been said.

Labels: books, heroes

THE WAKE CONTINUES

From The Onion:

CORNISH, NH—In this big dramatic production that didn't do anyone any good (and was pretty embarrassing, really, if you think about it), thousands upon thousands of phonies across the country mourned the death of author J.D. Salinger, who was 91 years old for crying out loud. "He had a real impact on the literary world and on millions of readers," said hot-shot English professor David Clarke, who is just like the rest of them, and even works at one of those crumby schools that rich people send their kids to so they don't have to look at them for four years. "There will never be another voice like his." Which is exactly the lousy kind of goddamn thing that people say, because really it could mean lots of things, or nothing at all even, and it's just a perfect example of why you should never tell anybody anything

We all get our turns to pay respects to a master.

Labels: books

ANALYSIS

Kevin Drum's take on why the open to teevee caucus may never happen again.

It is this kind of pessimism from pundits that defuse any progress.

But he is probably right.

Luke Russert tweets:

GOP aides telling me it was a mistake to allow cameras into Obama's QA with GOP members. Allowed BO to refute GOP for 1.5 hours on TV

Probably so. Which is why it's unlikely to happen again. It didn't just put Obama on an equal footing with Republican attacks; in fact, the format forced Republicans to tone down their attacks and then gave Obama an inherent advantage in responding since he was guy at the mike. The guy at the mike always has the advantage.

This gets back to what I was saying earlier about the Drudge/Fox/Rush noise machine. Right now Republicans have a built-in advantage when it comes to attack politics and they'd be fools to give it up. A format like this, which puts the president front and center, allows him to directly call out distortions and lies, and rewards conversation rather than machine-gun style talking points, is something Republicans should justifiably be very afraid of. Unless they're suicidal — or somehow figure out a way to take better advantage of the format — they'll never allow this to happen again. Without the noise machine, they're lost.

Labels: Administration Obama, Republicans

PART TWO

Today, I continued to watch the long Italian film The Best of Youth.

We are over the nice early parts introducing the story and now are in the hard parts. Life bites.

It is very engaging.

There is a lot of sentiment to it. I don't know how they do that. Good writing. Excellent acting. Things happen. I care.

I will be finished tomorrow. There are a lot of issues hanging out there.

Labels: films

SMALL STEPS

This is a good thing.

Obama, House Republicans Debate Their Divisions

He called their bluff and asked to have the entire meeting open to television.

It worked out pretty well.

I like it.

He has the guts to walk into the lion's den.

This disarms the armchair critics. Nothing like this has been done before. Obama excels at this kind of thing because he is genuine. He is clear, armed with the facts and relishes the back and forth. He is a lawyer.

I like some of the GOP willingness to talk openly and face to face. So much of this backbiting shit is useless. At least have the guts to be open.

Even if he only gets a few to think. Even if he only gets some willingness to tone it down. Even if they can actually see some benefit to working with him, there has been progress.

I like it.

Labels: Administration Obama

OUTED

There is no overestimating the power of the documentary Word Is Out (1977).

It gave voice to gays and lesbians and showed who these strange people were. They were just like you and, especially, me.

Newly out, there was a huge relief behind my seeing this film. I probably saw it three or four times.

It is now being released in a restored edition with followup interviews.

Gay Identity Refracted in Multiple Voices

I remember the second time I saw it with an audience of all gay men and women and there was a discussion after the film. Questions for the few participants who were there and the director.

It was as powerful as the film itself to sit in a room with hundreds of other gay people and hear their reactions.

Up to this time, my exposure to the gay community had been quite closeted and clandestine.

They even turned up all the lights for the discussion! No dim bars. No covert behavior.

In all honesty, I had already had very positive experiences in joining with various gay rights groups. But this film opened it all up. When you are working on a march or a health agency for gay people you don't talk a lot about your own experience and relax behind your identity as a gay person. I was working on projects. There were goals.

Watching and discussing this film was a totally other experience.

We used to do a lot of this kind of thing at that time.

A book would come out and the authors would speak. There were events in gay bookstores, a thing that probably no longer exists at any significant level.

It was a great time and a difficult time.

This film opened a lot of minds and a lot of doors in the community and outside.

I will see it again. It isn't available on Netflix yet but I bet it will be.

Labels: gay history, gay life, gay rights

SOTU TOO

Here is Steve Benen's take on the State of the Union address.

Why it Worked

Benen isn't some random idealogue. Washington Monthly is a widely read blog and magazine.

Additional info is that quick polls after the speech show highly favorable responses. One as high as 83 plus to 17 minus.

Good.

Labels: Administration Obama

BELATED

I missed Mozart's birthday.

It was yesterday.

Sorry.

Mozart is everywhere. Look around. Well, listen.

Look at that face. Blacken out the hair and you have someone who could easily slip on a guitar and do some riffs that would amaze.

Or perhaps he could be at the keyboard of a swing band.

He might be working next to John Adams at the LA Symphony. The co-composer in residence.

People knew he was onto something when he was alive but he lived for so short a time. Then he was forgotten.

Now, he is the default classical composer. No one touches him.

And so on.

We don't have to carry on about him. Just celebrate the man and the vision and the wonderful sounds.

Mozart. The Dude.

Labels: music

IN THE RYE

We finally lost J.D. Salinger today. I say "finally" because we lost him as an interacting friend and neighbor in the literary world over 50 years ago.

He did his work and he was done and then he didn't want to talk about it.

Some think that there are piles of unfinished works lying all about his Cornish, NH home. I would be surprised but it would be fun if there are.

He was 91. This makes him a hero to me. He would be anyway but the over 90 thing does it.

Some people wonder what all the fuss is about. They don't get it.

Yep.

His influence is so far reaching beyond the works themselves. I thought as I wrote a few of these lines that they are informed by Salinger.

Figure it out.

What is true is that much of what we think of as modern literature is affected by his stuff.

But for me, personally, I remember reading the stories with a kind of giddy pleasure. A feeling of being drunk.

I desperately wanted to belong to the Glass family.

I still do. I think that I am Buddy.

I just read them all again over the last year. Same feeling.

Salinger was not interested in people's analysis of his work. He didn't want to delve into his personal history and all that.

Here. Try this.

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

He won't. Well, maybe in those hundreds of manuscripts his son will release next week.

J. D. Salinger, Literary Recluse, Dies at 91

Labels: books, heroes

LOSS

I completed the first two weeks of my "half-way measures" diet on Monday and today I recorded the first ten pounds loss.

I know a lot of this is water. But still.

I am also plateauing. The body's reaction to "starvation". Lowered metabolism.

I am not hungry a lot of the time. When I am, it passes.

I think that I can see the loss. It is probably my imagination. But so what? If it feels like less it feels like less fat.

The picture here is of five pounds of fat. Probably the actual fat loss I have experienced. It lacks a way to see the real size of it. Maybe a penny in the corner or something. Until then, this will have to suffice.

Labels: health

SLAM DUNK updated for Neilsons

Of course not everyone sees it that way.

The State of the Union message, of course.

I liked that he called "them" out. I liked the repeal of DADT.

I liked his joking with the GOP side on taxes. I liked the long list of initiatives.

I liked that he is steadfast.

He knows that they are going to keep kicking his ass but he is willing to stay in the fight.

I have faith in him and his administration.

Today, we signed up for a sustaining contribution to the campaign fund.

I will be ready to volunteer again this fall.

I have had enough of this shit. A lot of us have stood back this year while he has had to fight it out. This isn't OK with me any more.

I didn't really think that we would see change in this election cycle. Just a beginning.

I am with him for the whole deal.

So, if it was his intention to reenergize his base, it worked with me.

From Political Animal: "48 million Americans tuned in to watch President Obama's State of the Union address. That's the most-watched SOTU since 2003, and it's good news for the White House".

Labels: Administration Obama

SEVENTY THREE

Today. My birthday. 73. Write it out: Seventy Three.

OK. That's enough.

Have a good day.

I like people to recognize my birthday, cards and calls and such. But I draw the line at festivities and large scale operations. Gifts are out too.

This is not because I am unhappy that I am older. Shit. I am older. If I am going to be unhappy about it then I am resisting nature. Never a good policy.

On the other hand, it is, really, another day. I am special all the days that go by. Or not. The date I came into this universe is not such a big deal.

I think it makes other people happy to wish someone "happy birthday" or to send a card or throw a party.

I certainly take time to know all the birthday dates of my friends and enjoy sending them a card. I take particular care in picking out the card of the year.

Yes. I send everyone the same card. Why not?

If it is a good one and people don't start calling each other to discuss their cards, I see no harm in it.

It is a conservative gesture.

So, I see how it is fun to wish someone a happy day. I will indulge you in the same way others indulge me when I send them a card.

Let's see. Do I have any more thoughts about birthdays. Or my birthday?

No.

That is enough.

Thanks for your cards, calls and good wishes.

Labels: birthdays

SOTU

I am ready to see the State of the Union address at 5 PM our time.

I am sick of reading all the "what he should say", "what he is going to say", "what is wrong with what we think he is going to say" pieces in the blogs and in the news.

Can't we just wait to see the real thing?

The meme is that he is in trouble. I liked this writeup this morning in Kevin Drum

That Was Then.

Seemingly overnight the media has changed the narrative. Here is the takeout.

Yesterday: calm and cool. Today: flat and remote, doesn't show enough passion.

Yesterday: smart. Today: too cerebral for heartland.

Yesterday: analytical and lawyerly. Today: not connecting with voter anger.

Yesterday: needs to move quickly to take advantage of honeymoon. Today: tried to do too much.

Yesterday: plays the long game. Today: needs to pivot fast or lose his presidency.

Yesterday: policy driven. Today: too detached.

Yesterday: pragmatic. Today: not taking charge of process.

Yesterday: inspirational speaker. Today: uses teleprompter1 too much.

Yesterday: postpartisan. Today: has been crushed by partisanship.

Makes your head spin doesn't it?

If not explode.

Let's get on with the show. Another day. Another SOTU.

Give 'em hell Obama!

Labels: Administration Obama

WORTH EVERY MINUTE

Today's movie was the first third of

La Meglio Gioventù / The Best of Youth (2003)

It is a six hour saga of two Italian brothers over a period of 30 years. It works its plot against Italian history over that time. The history does not intrude in the story but supports it, sometimes vividly. A flood in Florence is particularly dramatic. Realistic. Student riots.

The brothers are great. To look at and to identify with. The formula is familiar. One is arty and leftish and the other is a military guy with a short fuse. They love one another. Their stories are told in parallel and then they occasionally meet to talk it all over.

I am watching this in two hour segments. I just cannot do six hours all at once--an intermission in the middle.

Or at least I think I can't.

Ebert says he didn't notice but I was ready to take a break. Enough happens in the first third to amuse and move and engage.

Very good.

What I like about these endeavors is that it gives everyone working in the film a time to breathe and explore. This was actually a miniseries at the start but has been presented as a feature film in many theaters with a good deal of success.

I will wait to rate it when it is done.

Labels: films

STAY THE COURSE

Tony Kushner has some wise words for the LGBT community and the left.

This is a rational state of mind that I am not hearing often enough from gay leaders.

He points out that going it slow on DADT is important because he cannot trust the politicians and military who say they support repeal but will not be there at the critical time. I have always believed this. Clinton's mistake almost entirely.

I also spent another day disgusted at the whining and bedwetting of the blogoleft.

I dropped one site and am poised to drop another one or two if it keeps on going on. I can read the New York Times and make up my own mind.

I have not always liked Tony Kushner very much but his elder statesmen demeanor is desperately needed at this time of frothing mouths.

Labels: Administration Obama, gay politics, politics

INCREDIBALL! UNBELIEVABALL!

We were coming back from our walk today and there, on the main drag, in front of a motel, next to the big motel sign, nowhere even remotely (?) close to a tennis court was new green tennis ball just waiting for Mr. Booker to come along.

He snagged it immediately and brought it home.

Another trophy.

I have lost count of the tennis balls he has found on walks. Or that have found him. 15? Easy. And in 8 months.

How many tennis balls have you found in the last year? Two years? Ever?

There is no precedent for it.

I can only think of one that was near a tennis court.

Two more, well maybe three, admittedly at the gate of the dog, Jasper, who we do not like and does not like us and deserves to have his balls abducted. !?

We have lost a few. There have been one or two dropped from the Jeep window. Some other lucky dog can benefit. Spread the wealth.

Booker seems to consider this all his right and as normal a part of life as any other event. "Oh. There is a ball. It is mine. I will take it home."

We operate on the "finders keepers" rule but more often than not we don't know who the loser is.

You don't want a ball just left to lie on the road.

This is a thing that we never encountered with Franklin. Sure. There were a few balls found here and there in 6 years. There was exultation. Fun.

Here it is simply duty and obligation to add to the hoard.

When he gets the balls home they take highest priority.

He will carry them around and play with them. Any other ball that he has been using goes to second rank. Then third and so on.

I think I have mentioned that Booker is a tennis ball adept. He can dribble the ball by mouth, catching it on each bounce or guiding with his mouth. Bank it off a wall and catch it. And, he can take a toss from a Dad and snag the ball on first try.

He rarely misses and, if he does, he can almost always recover it while in flight. The ball, not him. Well, both.

The old balls lie in state or readiness in the toy basket. We are not sure what might become of them but we take one or more out of the basket at our peril.

He is right there to collect it and to take it back where it belongs.

Hot stuff, this Airedale.

Labels: Booker

MONEY

I stand alone among the "progressives" on the Supreme Court decision regarding corporate contributions.

I hate these laws.

I do not even think that they serve in a partisan way.

Time has proven that one party benefits as much as the other from this union and corporate money.

I think that this is one more example of how two people, McCain and Feingold, managed to throttle the electoral process with regulation that basically makes no sense at all.

Both guys are "aginners". They like to throw their weight around. And they did.

What a mess.

I am with this guy.

Stampede Toward Democracy

And yes. Obama is wrong and just posturing. That is how it is. Gotta say it.

Labels: Administration Obama, election

DOINEL DONE

Today was the final film in the Antoine Doinel series by Francois Truffaut

L'amour en fuite / Love on the Run (1979)

This one is for those who have seen the prior films. Otherwise, the film makes no sense. It uses the device of flashbacks (black and white and color) as characters reminisce about their prior lives in the first four films.

That does not mean there is no fifth film. There is life in Antoine yet.

We see an attempt to analyze his problem with settling down. We get to think more about his particular problem with women. In this film and the last, the women tell him at least three times.

Jean-Pierre Léaud has incredible stamina to have maintained this personna this long through 20 years of his life. One cannot help but conclude that this is him. He is Antoine and Truffaut has lost his identification with the character.

Since as new wave flims, all of these are so improvised, this is probably inevitable and there is nothing wrong about that.

Truffaut's letting go is, in fact, probably part of the intention here. The character is freed to be himself and go on with his life. Making it up as he goes along.

The result in this film is particularly touching. The final frames are of the 14 year old Antoine/Jean-Pierre on the centrifugal carnival ride. He sticks to the sides and finds ways to crawl and wiggle into different positions nonetheless. His face is pure joy in the struggle. What a great piece of work these five films are.

All, a 5 out of Netflix5!

Labels: best films, films

THE OTHER EARL

Earl Wild, Pianist, Dies at 94

And he was out as a gay man all his career and he lived in Palm Springs and he lived to be 94.

He was great fun to hear on a talk/play format. Witty and engaging.

He and his partner have 38 years together.

Wild played over a wide range of popular and classical work.

He was 30 years older than me so he has been around all of my life and in my musical experience.

I love to see the photos from when they were just coming into their own.

Labels: heroes, music, obituary

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Today's movie was the fourth Antoine Doinel film by Truffaut.

Domicile conjugal / Bed and Board (1970)

Now, Doniel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) has married his Christine and they have a baby.

A lot of critical attention is on the relationship between husband and wife but I see the community around them.

This is the most pleasing of the five films. We see neighbors who care for one another and for the young couple.

Antoine's work is still eccentric and somewhat misdirected as is his emotional life but he is, nevertheless, charming and intelligent. Resourceful and interested in other people. A giver not a taker.

The film is loaded with other characters.

Very nice.

A 5 out of Netflix5 as it fits into the series and a 3 or 4 if it were to stand alone.

Labels: films

ORGANIZING

I knew that Plouffe would be back on the scene. Not a moment too soon.

Obama Moves to Centralize Control Over Party Strategy

You know that the Republicans cannot do something like this. Michael Steele? Please.

Plouffe and Axelrod were the brain trust for the 2008 win. I am reading Plouffe's book.

There is the expertise at campaign craft but more than that the thing about Plouffe is his style of management.

It is classic with respect to building and executing strategy and new world with respect to team work, use of electronic media, community organizing and so on.

The thing that was missing from the Massachusetts debacle.

He is not a wonder man. But he can get a team together and motivated.

I am very impressed, also, with his humility. The book is not an ego trip. It is a careful account of what happened including the mistakes along the way.

I am at the point now where McCain wants to suspend the campaigns and go to DC to "fix" the crash of the economy. Remember that? The Obamas decline. And they go to DC for the great meeting with W. McCain. I know the delicious outcome.

Obama will force his hand and McCain will blow it.

The debate will go on as scheduled and McCain will get his butt kicked in it.

The beginning of the end.

All these people who say that Obama plays softball need to remember the campaign. Now he will have Plouffe to help get the game going.

I hope that he is able to get the widely spread Demos to play.

Labels: Administration Obama, Democrats

YOUTH PANIC

Today's film was Francois Truffaut's

Baisers volés / Stolen Kisses (1968)

Antoine Doinel is less than honorably discharged from the army, still a misfit and rebel.

He returns to the life and "girlfriend" he left as well as a series of jobs he sort of falls into. How do you say hapless in French? Malchanceux. Unlucky person. Not quite but close.

Still, he is funny, smart and resourceful and great to watch as he pursues his "life's love" whilst dallying on the side.

The theme here is of young impetuous love but also how we can let impulses control our lives to the extent that our destiny is formed.

Doinel's patterns started in his youth of the 400 Blows.

This is a sharp knowing comedy with a great punch line. An undercurrent of sadness for what we see as a life pattern.

Great cinematography and direction. It is said that much of the dialogue is improvised. Hard to tell. The subtitles seemed pretty straightforward and the actors seem to know exactly what they are doing at all times. I tend not to believe this kind of story. The plot is quite tightly controlled to make the payoff payoff.

Needless to say but I will mention that Antoine Doinel is played by Jean-Pierre Leaüd as in all this Doinel series of five films.

This is a 5 out of Netflix5 by definition. I have seen the film several times and probably will again.

This is more because it is part of this series than the film itself which could stand alone as a solid 3 if you knew nothing about the context.

Labels: films

WETTER

More rain today but it is over tonight, they say.

Booker and I are about to go for another wet walk.

We are getting used to it.

Labels: Booker, weather

UNWINDING

Today's stocks continued the fall this week.

I have read that this is quite common after a long runup after a recession or still in it.

The market is the first institution to recover but runs into fear and doubt along the way and gets to be very volatile.

This is the worst week in five months. They say. I have not fact checked. I will take their word for it.

The given reason is that Obama has signaled strong regulation of banks but that is not enough to push the entire market down. People are spooked.

In fact, Obama's proposals would strengthen the system and aid consumers including those of us who hold pretty big swaths of blue chip stocks.

What is more, I have to remember that this is just paper money. I do not plan to cash in so the numbers are irrelevant to me today. I may never cash in. Until I cash in, of course. Then it is someone elses problem.

Labels: Administration Obama, market

FIRST LOVE

Today's film was the second in the Antoine Doinel series by Truffaut

Antoine et Colette / Antoine and Colette (1962)

It is a short in an anthology of shorts called Love at Twenty. 30 minutes.

A lot gets packed into this time.

We learn Antoine's fate since he ran away from the reform camp in the first film. We see him, actually, four years later at work and in unrequited love.

We also learn a lot about Antoine's personality. Tightly wound, intense, driven to success and, somewhat clueless on the implementation of his plans.

Jean-Pierre Léaud continues in the role of Antoine and his enormous charisma carries the film which, at the surface level, is inconsequential. But as in 400 Blows, we end wanting to know, "what next?". The impact of the film, its composition and story line have a lot to do with this. It is very cinematic.

It is hard to know if Truffaut planned it this way. He made this film for fans who wanted to know what happened after Blows. Now we know. And want to know more.

Which we will do tomorrow with the third film.

It is impossible to separate these films from the whole which is more than the sum of its parts. So a 5 out of Netflix5 is required. If we saw it standing alone it might not be so highly rated. We hardly know this young man yet.

Labels: films

THIS IS GOOD NEWS

Geithner, Summers Eclipsed As White House Changes Posture

In the micro-world of the Obamas, I am more a fan of Paul Volcker and Austan Goolsbee then the other guys.

Goolsbee is the front man, understudy in this two man tag team. Volcker is a great mind and 82 years old. Venerable. He is very powerful back stage with the Congress and other movers and shakers. A former head of the Fed with a good record.

Goolsbee, on the other hand, is a bit mouthy and quite sure of himself (an MIT man through and through) and makes for a very interesting television interview.

He was brought along to the Gibbs press briefing today. He did not disappoint.

There is nothing personal in all of this. The ebb and flow of economic advisors is an old story. The great thing is that Obama found ways to bring the spectrum of thought into the Administration. He does not have to go outside. Hire. Fire.

He just turns his head.

Geithner is under fire for steps taken in his Fed job. He is probably OK and I think he is a good guy but he can't front for the stern position Obama wants to be taking now.

So we are going to get more Austan. Who, incidentally, is quite a good stand up comic. For real. This makes his interviews particularly juicy. Look, this is economics. A snorer. We need Austan to goose it some.

Labels: Administration Obama

THIS IS WHAT I WORRY ABOUT

Will the Base Abandon Hope?

The blacks and the young people did not show up in MA.

Many of the bloggers that I read are all into the angst of the moment.

People I know are taking a break from politics.

Well, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

This kind of thing drives me nuts.

I am engaged and motivated. I didn't like some of the stuff that has happened in the last quarter but I am not giving up.

I see the glass half full. Look how much has been done already.

And I don't even have to go to the "in spite of" qualification (the economy, the earthquake, the GOP assholes). He and they are doing pretty well.

The blogocracy and other armchair critics notwithstanding.

So, to Nate Silver, I have answered in the comments a hearty "HELL NO!". Or is it "hardy"? Either or both.

Labels: Administration Obama, Democrats

WATER DOG

One of the things that rain brings is the need to "shove" the water from a low spot in our back patio into the pool. It is a big patio and a lot of water.

Booker loves this activity. I get the big brush and Booker dives into the pushed water with mouth and front feet. He gets a lot of water up his nose, sprays a lot around that should go into the pool and generally makes a fine fool of himself.

If I am in a good mood (most of the time) it is a lot of fun to watch the frolic.

If I am in a bad mood or in a hurry it is a pain in the ass. One of those fine lines in life.

Today, the water play went to an entirely new level.

The rain abated enough in the afternoon that John and Booker went for their walk. I had pulled morning duty in the heavier weather. After they were gone for awhile, John called to come to the other side of "the trail" and see what Booker was doing.

"The trail" is a piece of hiking path that goes between one street and another back towards the mountain. You step into it, down an arroyo, and the civilized world disappears. It is actually the trailhead of a climb that goes to the middle of the South Lykken Trail, one of the more popular hiking sites in Palm Springs.

So, I took the Jeep and met them on the other side where, after four days of heavy rain, there was a huge stream coming down across the trail from up above. They couldn't get across to my side but they could fool around in the water on their's.

We have noticed this waterway before, a dry creek bed. Booker has been fascinated with it and always wants to go down among the rocks.

Now it was a alive with torrents of water cascading down and there, in the middle of a waterfall, stood Booker. Triumphant! In his element. Well a new one for us.

He was remarkably nimble going up and down the rocks. In a calmer spot he dug underwater to loosen or move rocks. Several times he brought stones to John, retrieving.

He was ecstatic. Excited. On.

I am sure this is a genetic call to arms. The Airedale was bred in the Airedale Valley and trained to hunt for otters and river rats.

There he was, doing god's work.

And totally into himself and the moment. A beautiful thing to watch.

He is a beautiful animal and has so many interesting sides to him. We are enthralled by his enthusiasms.

At the same time, he is the most serene dog I have ever seen. Patient. Kind to others. Really.

A friend was here the other day and had some tears going. Hard times. Booker sat near. She patted his head. He came and put his head on her knee. The gentle giant.

Today, he was the water dog. Wading, soaked. Full of energy and excitement. What a range.

He didn't really want to come home. "Dogging it" as we say, all the way back.

But we dried him off, gave him two "natural" marrow dog biscuits and he is now napping. Dreaming of water.

Labels: Booker

HIATUS

For those who have sequestered themselves from the news after the awful mauling or inconsequential blip on the curve in Massachusetts (choose your poison here), I have a recommendation.

Today is not the day to return to your reading or hearing news.

There is more foolishness per tree in our LATimes than you could shake an axe at.

The New York Times is, as often the case, thinking too much.

Fortunately the rain had knocked CNN off the gym teevee this morning and I didn't see it.

CNBC which is sort of conservative, actually mixed, mocked the whole thing and pointed to Obama's new plans for the banks. Easy to take. Forward looking. Straight news with some wisecracks.

I can take that.

It is the dead earnestness of the media, left, right and center, that I can't abide. Start with that ponderous asshole Ed Henry on CNN.

Labels: media, politics

WELL WE KNEW IT ALL THE TIME BUT IT IS NICE TO SEE HOW THEY TRIED TO KEEP A LID ON IT

PROP 8 TRIAL TODAY CALLED 'EXPLOSIVE'

Mormons.

Labels: religion

MOTIVATION

Not to beat a dead horse. But here are some thoughts from Steve Benen about how to win an election.

Lessons Learned

Here they are to save you time.

1. Successful candidates hit the campaign trail.

2. Voters like likeable candidates.

3. Saying dumb things will undermine public support.

4. Learn something about your opponent.

5. Enthusiasm matters.

Labels: election, politics

TWISTED

It is funny. The liberal blogosphere is full of recriminations and accusations focused on other people's recriminations and accusations and the usual angst about the Democratic Party.

I hate this shit. The deal is over. Learn and move on. Which is what Obama seems to be doing.

In the meantime look at this Republican pollster's conclusions.

Mass Results Not A Referendum On Obama’s Overall Agenda

He found that it was all about health care (and Coakely's dismal defense of it—"the proposal has problems with it but we should pass it anyway") to say nothing about the desultory campaign.

And I think that the health care reform situation is the cause of a lot of real unhappiness.

First of all, there is no proposal on the table. There are three. The House, the Senate and now the version the committee of leaders is trying to cobble together.

So what is the proposal? I don't know.

As to the specifics, I can find something I do not like at all in each of the three.

It is a cluster fuck.

Maybe it is time to tear it down and start over.

Labels: Administration Obama, Democrats

PERSPECTIVE

If you feel weighed down by current events or whatever is fucking with your head, this film might help you get a grip.

Labels: astronomy, spiritual life

WET

We are anticipating our third of four rain storms to arrive here this afternoon. The heaviest storm, they predict.

It is raining very hard on the other side and just now beginning to drizzle on our side of the mountain.

The storms have more than enough force, lift and moisture to break through our rain shadow.

Booker and I have taken our walks early each day. A good decision. The first day we only half made it at the regular time.

One interesting thing about this series of fronts is that they follow roughly the same time frame. They get here about 4 pm and are over before we go to bed.

But today may be different. Longer. Wetter.

One more tomorrow and then some after showers for Friday. Then we are to be done with it for now.

Our pool is rather full. I may have to set up a siphon with a hose to carry it out.

I think that my neighbor may be doing that with his already.

It isn't hard to do. I put the hose over the inlet with the pump on and it just forces the water into the hose. Then gravity takes over.

The pool is above the grade of the drive just outside the wall.

There is flooding in the city. We have no real drainage. We use the streets to channel the water into the "washes" and then out to a long fan of such dry channels until it goes into the ground.

They system is built for a hundred year storm and more but it still takes awhile for the water to get off the streets and into the channels.

We have nothing like the problems on the other side where there are mudslides. We have nothing but bedrock on the mountains.

In the flat, we can have an onrush of water that will overturn cars if there is a cloudburst in the desert but right now it is mostly going where it supposed to go. Eventually. All the flooding is around those channels.

Labels: weather

RAISING HELL

Today's film was Francois Truffaut's first film ever

Les quatre cents coups / The 400 Blows

This is also the first of 5 films involving the same character (and actor) Antoine Doniel. In this film he is 14. And incorrigible. The victim of a dysfunctional family who lives on the edge of poverty.

But the story is not a downer. It is a celebration of Antoine's spirit which, as we will see in subsequent films, overcomes adversities at the same time it may also create the same adversities. A paradox. But there is always fun as well as trouble.

This is the third or fourth time I have seen this film. It still astonishes and I cannot really tell you why.

The boy, played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, is charming and original in every respect. In one way he has the world on his shoulders. His face reads this. In another there is a twinkle in his eye and a devil on his shoulder.

The other kids are great too, the classroom sequences priceless. Authoritarian teachers brought to heel by powerless adolescents.

The film is in black and white which helps reduce the charms of Paris in the gritty environment that Antoine lives. The photography capitalizes on the bleakness of the landscape.

This film is seen as the beginning of the "new wave", the break between classical and modern film making. There are other films that make the same claim but this one, particularly, veers away from many traditional approaches. There is no studio shot. Much of it happens in the street with real people around. There is no traditional "act" structure. No real ending. We end the film with a still shot of Antoine at the beach. Caught between his past and his future.

We do not know what happens next.

It seems reasonable to believe that Truffaut did not plan to make a series of films or, perhaps, that he did. The fact is that we would predict a sequel if we saw this film today.

"Les quatre cents coups" or "400 blows" is an idiom for raising hell.

The next film in the series is on this same disc. A short. Thirty minutes. Up next.

This is a NYTimes 1176 Best film and already a 5 out of Netflix5. I will see it again for sure.

Labels: best films, films

NO SURPRISES

Well, she lost, as predicted. And the pundits are punditing which is annoying.

Nevertheless, despite the headline, there is good news for Obama as he heads into the rough spots.

Obama's First Year a Mixed Verdict

Well, yeah.

Actually he did better than even I thought he would.

I don't always believe in polls but I read them and particularly look at the breakdowns.

As an ardent supporter, I am disappointed but not dismayed.

Imagine. We could have a 74 year old man and a bubble head running the country right now.

Labels: Administration Obama

COAKLEY COOKED?

If so, she did it herself.

Like I said earlier.

The polls are closed and we are waiting results. Here is a rundown of how Martha pretty much blew it.

All Politics is Local

It doesn't hurt that the writer agrees with my position only she has research to show that we were both right.

I don't think that there is any national story here either but the media will sure as shit stir one up.

Labels: Democrats

COVERUP AND BURY

Today's NYTimes Best 1176 film, finally available on disc, is Costa-Gavras'

Z (1969).

This is an exposé of the Greek junta as it arose in the wake of the assassination of an opposition leader in 1963.

The forces at work here are the usual. A sick blend of fascism and christianity working to establish a party-less state which would conform to their interpretation of moral law. Actually they are motivated by power hunger abetted by a group of bureaucrats who do not want to rock the boat.

The first part of the film is about the day leading up to the assassination in which all the events are laid out. The second half is about the investigation of the assassination by a prosecutor with a conscience.

It is a very good film. A very upsetting film. Well known. I have seen it, maybe two times. I would see it again.

These forces are never totally quiet. Some recent events have reawakened the fascist core that resides in this country. I do not mean the right wing idealogues here. They are part of the two sided democratic process. I am talking about the more deeply hidden gangs who want no parties and no sides. Just absolute power. Who are always ready to do what they can to worm their way into the process. Who use party and the system to hide their motives.

Just listen to that combination of hate-god-country. And you have it.

I might see this again someday.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.

A note: There are still many NYTimes Best Films out there which have not yet been committed to disc. There are, for example, two new Hitchcock films which are listed just released. I will be feeding them in as I go my own way seeing mostly art house films and retrospective work of directors I have liked. Or stars. Upcoming is the entire Antoine Doinel series by Truffaut. Starts this week. Then later I will be seeing most of Jeff Bridges films. Like that.

Labels: best films

THUMPING CYCLE

OK. we are in a period of discontent. A cycle of dumping on Obama.

It pisses me off.

I don't mean the Republicans.

I mean the Democrats and the liberals and the progressives and the other lefties who had a hard on for complete change in less than a year and didn't get it.

Babies.

Kevin Drum agrees.

Obama's Discontents

The whole "glass half empty" crowd of lefty bloggers is very upsetting.

But that is the way of those who don't do but have no constraint in complaining about the do-ers.

Blah blah. You get my point. Democrats are so self destructive.

Look at the party unity of the GOP. Iron discipline.

I suppose it will all work out.

I have an abiding faith that Obama can make real progress because he already has.

There will be more.

But it will never be enough for these assholes.

This is a drawing of Kurt Vonnegut's asshole. He would put in books that he signed. I had one, I think for Breakfast of Champions, the book with an asshole signature. It was left over from a signing.

I sold it.

He finally made limited edition prints.

Good old Kurt. He would have some appropriate graveyard humor for these jerks.

Labels: Democrats

DESERT SPICE

It is no secret that four storms will be slamming into California this week and most will get over the mountains and into the desert.

Right now, it is coming down in buckets.

Booker and I walked earlier to avoid the rain. I thought it was a good idea.

Well, it turned out to be half good. The rains came when we were about half way through. But we did OK. Towels still work well. The house is warm.

The best half, the first half was very pleasant because there had been some showers this morning. Enough to create the great blend of sage and creosote that marks our particular area. It is heaven. Exotic and rich. And, since it doesn't rain much, rare.

How nice to have it along for our walk.

Labels: desert, seasons, weather

BOULEVARD STORIES

Today's film was

Fauteuils d'orchestre / Avenue Montaigne (2007)

This is an anthology film. A central theme with four or five stories hooked to it. Well, come to think of it, seven. No. Ten!

There is nothing wrong with that. It is one of the 13 plots that describe virtually all movies.

In this case, the sum is greater than the parts. I really liked the whole thing. It is a charming take on life in the lively arts with some surprises along the way.

It does not require much thinking. But there will be feeling whether you want there to be or not.

All the stories have an ending. No funny stuff with stopping before we know what happens.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. A very happy way to spend a very rainy afternoon.

Labels: films

TOO CLOSE TO CALL

We are all tenterhooks about Coakley and the MA Senate race.

Why?

I think something very fundamental and it is not the tea party nuts or the opponent's extra money he got from "outsiders".

This is one of Tip Oneill's favorite stories.

Before the vote he was surprised when longtime neighbor Mrs. O'Brien said: Tom (he was called Tom at home), I will vote for you, even though you did not ask for my support.

Stunned, O'Neill said, "Mrs. O'Brien, I have lived across the street from you for 18 years, have cut your grass summers and shoveled snow from your walks winters. I didn't think I needed to ask for your vote. Mrs. O'Brien said, "Let me tell you something, Tom--people like to be asked."

From what I can see Coakley assumed she had the edge and didn't "ask for the vote". She didn't even debate. People hate that kind of attitude.

I don't like it either.

What is the feminine form of the word "hubris"?

Labels: Democrats

ORDER OF THE BALD EAGLE

I had my first crew cut when I was in 7th grade.

The older guys were doing it and I wanted in.

My mother was not very supportive but, I realized, she would not be there for the cutting and so I just went ahead and told Edgar the barber to do it.

Edgar was a Belgian immigrant. He had a photo of King Leopold over the tools and balms. He had just made it out of during the First War. He was very cautious. Conservative.

He was also a drunk. Each haircut, he would have to take a walk back into the house to take a short break. A snort.

He did not want to cut my hair that way. He wanted to call my mother to see if it was OK. He would not take my word.

As I recall, he did call and she said yes. I have had my problems with my Mom but, in this case, she came through.

Edgar still hated the idea. He grumbled. He trimmed. He went for a break. Two snorts.

It wasn't short enough I told him. More. He did it. Wow.

I should say that a crew cut, then, was not severe. It would be 1949-50 here. The beginning of the craze. All boys would soon have one. Or maybe we were the last. We were in the boonies.

I have had a lot of haircuts in my life but that one was the very best. I sailed out of the barber shop.

First day at school I had gym and our class crossed with the upper classmen, maybe the juniors.

My cut was noticed. Don Dougherty, the coolest of cool guys on whom I had a sizable crush, brushed my hair and made a point of making some positive comments about it. Showing the other guys. They said I was a member of the bald eagle clan.

If you are a gay boy just hitting puberty and you are scared shit of any contact with straight boys particularly the handsome ones you cannot imagine the feelings this set off.

I have had a short cut most of my life except during my hippy period and a couple of pony tail trials as I was getting a bit old for it.

Now, I do it my self. Number Two plastic.

It takes about 20 minutes. It is not easy. My hair swirls around the crown. But I get the job done pretty well.

Because I hang out with gay men, someone, always, always, always, mentions my haircut. I swoon a bit inside. Don Dougherty comes back for a few seconds to visit me.

Labels: gay life, nostalgia

DANCE OF LIFE

Today's film was

Rashevski's Tango (2003)

I am not sure where I found out about this film. Maybe it was just released here.

It is quite wonderful.

Three generations resolve identity and how to live with it. The subject is Judaism but it could be any issue that touches and integrates with the self. Or not.

Sometimes we resist our identity or the one that we have chosen.

But, not too serious here. It is also a great story about some really good people or people trying to be good.

A family whose matriarch has just died. She invented the family tradition of dancing the tango when you are unhappy. Or happy. Or have the time. At crucial points, everyone in this film tangoes.

The elder uncle is the star. Natan Cogan. A great iconic older man.

I enjoyed it very much. There is one of everything here spanning from the orthodox of pre-WWII family to present day connections with the Arab world. You learn the family history through the eyes of the younger members who have not been told the whole thing. Or, perhaps, were even lied to. White lies.

I enjoyed it very much. Laughs. Tears. What else could one ask for?

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

WEDGIES

I love wedge issues especially when they are the right thing to do and the Democrats are using them.

This is the first thing I thought of when I heard Obama talk about "our money" last week.

A Populist Wedge?

A wedge issue blocks the other side, paints them into a corner. They can't say yes or no without losing.

This one is a specific, the bankers and a generic, the populist position so recently "stolen" by the right right wingers.

Labels: Administration Obama, Democrats, republican whack jobs, Republicans

THE DUDE

Today's movie was the Coen brothers'

The Big Lebowski (1998)

The review at the link is funny. It is from the film's debut.

This is also a NYTimes Best 1176 film.

Enough said. words fail.

This is still a great movie and I will see it again.

It had and still has a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: best films, films

SHAKING

We had an earthquake, a 4+, this morning at 4:03.

Not much when you consider other more serious quakes in recent days.

It is about average for us. They call it light, which is about right.

It was a trembling type. A light shake then longer cycles and increasing then dying down.

Not a "slip shock" which just cracks. Bang!

Booker and I were up so he came running. Not too alarmed. He just wanted to be with me. Which is where I wanted him.

One side of the fork goes down the other side of the San Jacinto mountains, while the other, ours, comes down the Coachella Valley side.

It is good to have the release. There are many more small quakes on the other side. Not so many here. We want the fault to release its tensions frequently and mildly. No big one.

This one got John up. Usually we don't feel them when we are in bed.

We have gotten rather used to occasional tremors. I wouldn't even be writing this if we hadn't had one earlier in the week in the same spot.

And, of course, our minds are focused on earthquakes anyway.

Labels: earthquake

SLOW MOTION

Today's film was Fernando Eimbcke's

Lake Tahoe (2008)

This is the second film by this director. I saw and deeply enjoyed the first one, Duck Season the other day.

This one is quite different but in a familiar style if you see the first first. They are not in any way related although they both star the same young man Diego Cataño.

This is a shaggy dog story, almost literally. Actually several shaggy dog stories in one.

We do not know what is up really until the story unfolds in a series of short scenes similar to blackout sketches. But not with the big laugh ending. More of a "hmmm, that's interesting" ending. Although some of it is pretty funny. Also sad.

Eimbcke's thing is long delicious shots of a scene with a slow moving action in front of it. I do not think that there is one pan or zoom and yet every setup is very interesting. By watching so closely we are participating.

The colors are gorgeous. Just look at this one shot. The location was a small Mexican town. Very rich.

This is a wonderful film. Like the first, I would be happy to see it again so I have put them down for a year from now. His next film, Revolución is due the end of this year. Maybe all three in one showing. An Eimbcke fest. That is him in the inset.

I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5. It is that good. So was the first one.

Labels: films

UNCALLOW

I rue the day that I wrote here, back in 2008, that Obama was too callow to be an effective president.

I soon changed my tune when I saw how he dealt with the decidedly un-callow Hillary Clinton.

Thereafter, of course, the uncallow, even mean spirited ("get off my lawn"), John McCain.

He dispatched both, not easily but rather cleanly.

I am reading David Plouffe's The Audacity to Win and even given some slack for paying deference to the CIC, it is clear that the skillful candidate in charge made tough decisions and then followed with diligent follow up. He did not let the political pros manipulate him.

So far we have seen that continued toughness on display.

Today and yesterday are good examples. He heard about Haiti at 6pm and had a task force out and going by 10pm including a naval force on the way.

He hammered the congressional Democrats and held them hostage 8 hours without cell phones in the White House until they came up with a pretty good agreement on the health reform bill.

And today he is giving the banks a spanking.

His management skills are on full display. His wisdom and character are in force.

He has also shown considerable skill in getting his way with the Pentagon and Congress on budget issues ever since he landed in office.

Read more:

Labels: Administration Obama

EARLY BLOOMER

Our orchid tree is beginning its first of two "seasons" this week. Nothing says Palm Springs like this wonderful tree. At least to us.

Our neighborhood is full of them. One guy has six lined up along the street.

They truly look like orchids, three to four inches wingspan.

And the aroma is glorious.

Labels: desert, garden, horticulture