Tuesday, August 31, 2010
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME
When I get one of those charity mailers or email, I like to look up how they are doing with respect to administrative cost and other factors.
has been an invaluable aid.
I like the ten lists. It is charity porn. Who is and is not making it.
They have almost everyone. And I don't mean the big ones. I have found local charities on the site. For example, a local museum is a disaster so we do not do more than pay for minimum family memberships which are the equivalent of two movie tickets. Well, maybe three.
Not that we give a lot. Most of our giving would go directly to the Obama organization, not the DNC. Not a charity. Not deductible. Then there are the occasional gay initiatives, not on the site. Political.
It boils down, for us, to the humane organizations. We don't give to anyone else.
For that, it has been and still is, PetSmart Charities. Four stars (the highest rating) and a really, really low administrative cost. We give donations for friends as gifts.
You would be amazed that, when it comes to animals, there are a lot of scams and inefficiencies. Some of the biggest organizations are like that.
Well, it is not amazing. Animals are exploited, period. Why not in the charities?
Labels: charity
TIME FLU
We got our flu shots today.
We went to our local pharmacy. There are plenty of shots this year.
They are combo shots with the standard flu and the H1N1 combined.
And they were "free". Medicare B.
When you get older there are come compensations. Actually a lot. This is just one.
We have been using the shots for many years and have not had the flu. Once. So, I don't know that it prevents getting it but the dots do connect.
Labels: health
THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR
Today's film was Andrew Bujalski's
Even the title lays it on lightly.
This film is about aspiration and love or, more precisely, "like" in the age region of the early twenties.
It explores a few weeks in the life of three young people who might be and could become a love triangle but right now are settling for friendship.
There is a lot of talking and a great deal of it is done lying down. The thing is that there is no sex. There may be a lot of thinking about it but it is not really even discussed or brought up except in the most indirect way.
I got this film because I am interested in this film maker.
He has made three films and I am seeing all of them. I started with the most recent Beeswax, the other day.
Tomorrow is Funny Ha ha.
The thing that is attractive of these small films is that the style is quite unique. Today's film was in black and white, handheld. It was in the old square format.
It was like watching a silent film or a film from the forties without any other reference points than the music (one of three is an aspiring and potentially successful musician). In fact, given the phones and stuff, the clothes these kids wear, we could easily be in the 80s. It is sort of timeless.
I just like that Bujalski is on the cusp of something. He is involved in a number of other similar indie projects.
I would just like to say that "I was there, when....".
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Monday, August 30, 2010
CYCLING IN
Hurricane names are pre-arranged and cycled in.
Every six years, we get to Hurricane Earl.
It is roaring in, going from a 2 this morning to a 4 this afternoon and kicking the shit out of the Caribbean.
Headed for the US.
No one has said anything to me about it yet.
Good.
I don't have any ready lines or anything.
If the names were chosen for comic effect I would take offense but they are chosen, rather, innocently I think. Some names on this list are pretty familiar names. A few friends and even a child or two are on it.
They recycle every six years but will retire the name if it is "influential".
I think this means that it kills a lot of people or destroys a lot of property. There will be no "Katrina" again.
I am sort of hoping that Earl will be "infuential" this time but I would rather not have anyone killed. Come to think of it, I wouldn't want a lot of property damage.
Maybe there is a way to be "influential" without serious damage.
Perhaps Hurricane Earl could do a reversal, run against all the rules, be a leader of other hurricanes and influence them to quiet down. A landmark hurricane.
But, probably not.
He will be back in six years. What's a few days of lying low. Or, if necessary, enduring someone making some fucking lame joke about the name.
DUO
Today's movie was the concert documentary
The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights
I saw this because I don't know much about the White Stripes and also because it got a high rating from reviewers in Movie Review Intellignence
Actually, not a lot of people reviewed it.
I accomplished the first objective. Now I know what the White Stripes, a brother and sister rock act, do. But I don't know much about who they are or what they are up to besides playing mostly covers of classic rock and blues songs. Quiet and loud.
It is interesting to watch the sibling dynamics. Frankly, they don't seem too healthy. I am not sure what to make of it.
Sis is very quiet. Almost pathologically quiet yet plays the drums.
Bro is the guitarist and singer most of the time, Sis doesn't really carry a tune that well. Bro talks, Sis is quiet. Such a low affect that they have to give her subtitles. Fascinating.
They both have bad hair. Hers is obviously parted to have half of it in her face half the time. His? Well, it isn't about the hair it is about the music but they are rather bizarre in the looks department so it is not unfair to talk about it. There are clearly decisions that have been made here.
The tour that is filmed is a Canadian big and small venue tour with stops at small clubs and setups in every town they visit.
The film is in black and white and red. The Stripe's colors.
I don't know.
I liked some of it and found a lot of it boring and a bit trite. If there is a lot of electricity, the film makers didn't capture it.
On re-reading, I realize that most of the reviews were from rock not movie critics. I will be careful in future.
I skipped the last number.
That makes it a 2 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Sunday, August 29, 2010
TEARDOWNS?
The market for architectural "gems" is down.
We just sold a conventional home for about as much as some of these are going in LA. Well, one that is mentioned.
Architectural Gems Languish in California Home Market
I have either walked or been dragged through a lot of this kind of place.
They are great to look at and have a lot of caché as stars in the design firmament but when you look closely at them it is very clear that they are a bastard to keep up.
A lot of them are aging now. And not all of them well.
A number weren't all that snug against the drafts and water in the first place.
I like the pictures though.
We have a lot of these classic mid-century homes in Palm Springs. I don't know how they are doing.
We live in a condo designed by a local, well appreciated and known, architect built in the 80s. It is holding up well but the HOA is engaged in constant maintenance.
Of course, no one is going to tear any of these houses down. Some of them are designated.
The trouble with designation is that the ones who designate aren't the ones to pay for the maintenance.
After two months, I can tell you that we are breathing a lot easier at having a 50 year old house out of the way and in someone else's hands. He will take care of it.
It has been a bit of a burden. If it had also been a landmark house, we would have been even more engaged in upkeep.
It is our time to relax. I wish the owners of these beauties well.
Labels: condo, culture, history, home
DIVA DOES IT AGAIN
Today's film was
my favorite movie of all time. I look at it every year but, this time, it has been two years.
It affects me deeply every time.
Ebert has a good essay on the film at the link.
What I like is that all the people in it are totally committed. They are there.
The story is complex enough to be interesting and for the constant viewer to forget a few things each time only to be rewarded with a new insight.
Neither of the "stars" ever appeared in more than a few other films. Interesting.
The director only made two others and sort of slumped.
There is a main character who is not the main character. The story is from a series of stories about a guy, Gorodish, who steps in and helps people out of scrapes sort of anonymously.
He is treated the same way in this film. He comes in at the middle and tip toes out at the end.
A sort of zen superman with extreme humility.
I really like that the director Jean-Jacques Beineix has kept Gorodish in the margins.
There is some great music in this film and some really beautiful singing.
Jazz. Opera. Space music.
There are cinematic jokes. There is a skirt that is blown up in tribute to Marilyn. The villain, who listens to his iPod (or the 80s equivalent) the entire time is, at the end, found to be listening to the worst kind of cliché French street music, accordions and all.
I love this movie.
I have already awarded it a 5 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Saturday, August 28, 2010
AUTUMN
Just like that.
It happens every year.
One day and there is a precipitous drop in the night temperature, the air gets breezier and we enter one of the best times of the year in the desert.
Last night we were at 78F. It felt like the 50s this morning. I had to look to make sure that it was just 78 but it is the feel that counts.
Dry, cool air coming down off the mountains.
And, all day, just wonderful.
I went to the pool for my daily sun and dip and I only dipped twice. Not three times.
And get this.
WE ATE OUTSIDE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR NEW HOME!
Out on the back patio.
You can see the mountains. They are a bit misty with shafts of light.
Gorgeous.
It is 95 but, in the shade, it is very comfortable.
It will be like this until November and the mystery is that all the snowbirds will wait until November to come back here.
Of course, some of this is because of administrative things.
Canadians have to be in Canada 6 months or lose their medical benefits.
US citizens of other states stay out of California for over 6 months to avoid paying the income tax.
But whatever the reason, they are missing the best weather.
YOU WON'T WANT TO LOOK AT SOME OF THIS BUT YOU WILL WANT TO SEE IT ANYWAY
Today's movie was George Palfi's
Hungarian surrealism about human appetites and obsessions. Sex, gluttony and our internal organs. Yes. Internal organs. Like our heart or lungs. You know you do it.
Magical realism. Stupendous composition and photography. Riveting action (what will happen next?).
It is a glorious bath of color and clever effects to say nothing of surprises and a lot of laughs.
I only had to look away twice.
It is not cruel. There is an animal who is butchered but we have seen that before. Even in a famous home movie that my father made. And this brings up our aversion to watching that which we are deeply involved in. Slaughter of animals. It is not inhumane. Just graphic. I am sure that I minded it more than the pig, actually.
But that is not the point.
This is an experimental film that pushes boundaries of film making and film watching. Some of it is a gross out. But it is so comic that, in reality, I only wanted to be grossed out more than I actually was.
I couldn't stop watching it.
There is probably something about Hungary and its history in this. There are three periods. The First World War, the Communist occupation and a kind of post modern kitsch period. People in funny white outfits and a doctor on the traditional dictator's balcony.
I liked this so much that I will order Palfi's first film Hukkle which is silent. And involves a murder mystery without actually telling you that is what is going on. Well, there is no sound.
I love this kind of movie. I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5 because I predict a Palfi film fest sometime in the future and also because it prompted me to see another work of his.
Friday, August 27, 2010
RATING SYSTEM
I have rated films based on my feedback to the Netflix system.
Five means that I will definitely see this film again.
Four means that I wouldn't mind seeing it again if it came along.
Three means it is a good average film. I enjoyed it.
Two means that I didn't really like it but I watched it to the end.
One means that I used the FF or stopped it cold.
I am thinking that with some films, I would not really want to see them again but I would like to see the director's other work. That means that, in a sense, I am seeing a film again. Sort of. It speaks well of the film I saw first.
So, as in today's film, I will give that "starter" film a higher rating. Today's for Beeswax is a four for just that reason. I don't want to see it again particularly but it is good enough for me to rent the guy's other works.
Labels: films
YA' KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
Today's film by was Andrew Bujalski's
BEESWAX (2009)This is a little gem of a film. It seems, at first, as an inconsequential slice of life focusing on the Y generation. Or maybe it is Z.
Things just sort of happen.
And then, we begin to decipher what is going on. What is meant by "I don't know" or "Well........" or "Just cliff me".
We begin to see how the sisters are opposite numbers. How their friends intercede in their personal lives. How people really do not "mind their own beeswax".
Of course, twins do have boundary problems but then no one in this film has any grasp of the term.
This is one of those things that are like dot paintings. Up close they don't mean a lot but seen in mass or from a distance. patterns form and there is a delicate precision to the insights to be gained.
The analogy of the beehive holds for the way all these people operate together. They talk about one another behind their backs. They intercede without being asked to.
The actors in this film are all amateurs. They lack the gloss to keep us out of their psyches. They are being these people. The whole film is very unslick.
The men are also quite homely. No one is good looking except the twins and I am sure that this is intentional. I will think about why.
The ending is precipitous. Don't look for resolution. And that is the point here. There will be none.
I enjoyed this film a good deal. I was outside it for awhile then it grabbed me. Somewhere when I realized that one of the characters was definitely minding his own beeswax and I was the only person who saw it. I wanted to shout at him and them.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
I will want to see Mr. Bujalski's other two films.
See the next note about ratings.
Labels: films
WHAT BAILOUT?
As we enter the period of high mendacity, it is good to see that the ranting and grunting from the other side is, once again, devoid of any fact base.
A Big Surprise: Troubled Assets Garner Rewards
Like the other "bailout" programs, this one is also going to pay the government back in "profit". The money will go back into Uncle Sam's hat, not just pour out.
The "aginners" are constantly cut off at the pass by the facts and the real life outcomes.
When the Boner gets up and spews his ill conceived "opposition", don't expect any acknowledgment of this or any other of the many successes the Obamas have launched.
Did you know that the Affordable Health Care plan is already beginning to reduce the deficit while supplying more access to the health care system.
If not you won't hear it from the GOoPers or their mouthpieces.
Labels: Administration Obama
Thursday, August 26, 2010
STIMULATED
There is a lot of bitching about the stimulus package, one way or another.
Even I said at the gym this morning that the stimulus was not big enough.
Well, maybe. But they have still not spent all the money. Some of it is in a long rollout.
This is also a kind of minor league bitch because, in fact, the stimulus package, ARRA, is far more stimulating than just pouring money into the economy.
It is a calculated effort to change the economy's structure and to put innovative systems in place. A new paradigm.
As to bringing us out of the recession this will be slow but it will be steady and it will have a very high quality result.
Yes. Roads are getting built. Teachers are getting some more opportunities to go back to work. There are immediate effects.
But there will also be the 21st Century equivalent of the Hoover Dam. The Interstate Highway System. Other past stimulus packages that have had an incredible impact long term on the vitality of the economy.
Labels: Administration Obama
TOOTHSOME
I went to the dentist today for my four or five month checkup.
There was yet another dental technician. She was pretty good but the turnover bothers me.
There was also the Thursday sub for Dr. Bruno.
I got my next appointment so that he will be there.
The sub had too much hair gel and a cursory, to say nothing of curt, attitude.
But, good news here, there is no change in my tooth situation and I had all new x-rays.
This is a first.
I like the real dentist. I like the office. I do get the feeling, at times, that they are upselling me a little.
Today the tech showed me a new non-brush brush. Electric. It rubs into the space between the teeth.
I told her I used Stimudent.
I am up for some serious crown work to "save" the top teeth which, when I first went to him, we were going to just let go and get a plate.
Then he had this proposal to save them.
I am dragging my feet. Perhaps having the big guy the next time I visit will yield a decision on this topic.
The sub is/was clueless. Hair gel clouds the mind.
Labels: dentist
WAR FANTASY
Today's film wasSerge Bozon's
This beautiful story of war and those that are lost is a dream or fantasy. A piece of theater of the absurd.
It reminded me of the work of Jean Anouilh.
A young woman sets out to find her husband who has gone to war and has told her she will hear no more from him.
She disguises herself as a boy. On the way she finds a band of soldiers who reluctantly let her join them as they wander through the French countryside. Gorgeous.
Things happen.
There is singing and the playing of instruments. Dramatic events. A journey.
A dream?
At the end we see the tragic absurdity of war which we know already but, in this film, is presented in a kind of upside down way.
You have to see it to get it.
I enjoyed it very much and would be happy to see it again.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
LOST CITIES
I have been in every one of these cities and I could have told you they were lost over a decade ago.
Ten Local American Economies That Have Changed Forever
Many of them are lost because they lost their one central industry like steel (Allentown, PA) or cars (Flint MI).
Others were lost before they were lost. Atlantic City died with the end of that kind of resort business. Planes, cars, other more interesting places became available to visit.
It is sad but inevitable. The unforeseen circumstance of civic pride in one thing. One industry.
Then there is New Orleans LA which was lost before it was started. Lost through nature and the unwillingness of man to see that there are some places you just should not build a city.
Some of these cities didn't take care of themselves. Cleveland OH had its great Great Lake catch on fire.
I could smell defeat in every one of these.
How come a visitor could see it and they could not? Or, perhaps they did and couldn't find anything to do about it.
I have a sense that my own city, Palm Springs, is dying in this way.
It has sold out to the developers and now has instant slums on its outskirts.
The only thing that will save it is the inhospitable climate which will keep the slums from breeding more homeless people than there are already. Squatters.
We have had one industry. Tourism. And one goal, real estate development. Both suffering.
And yet, saddled with entitlement costs, we struggle along doing the same thing and expecting different results.
I do not suffer from this but, in the future, it is hard to see much changing for the better.
Golf courses will not do it.
A little bit of pessimism in the mix today.
Labels: America
ONE CLOSET AT A TIME
It is hardly news to those with good gaydar but someone got honest with themselves and the public today.
Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Comes Out: I'm Gay
I am putting this up partly because I "told you so" but more that Mehlman has a story that is much like many other closeted gay men.
The longer you stay in the harder it is to get out and have your life.
This is good for everyone. Mehlman, the Republicans, gay people who are out, gay people who are in and it is even good for the bigots to see that someone they probably supported was alright then and alright now and what the hell, let it go.
Mehlman isn't wasting any time. He is chairing a fundraiser for fighting Prop 8. Good for him. Nothing like service to make your own outing count.
Labels: gay liberation, gay life, Republicans
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS
We are having the first significant monsoonal flow into the Valley this summer.
Amazing. Usually, it comes in early July and returns every so often to remind us that we could be in Florida and to be grateful that the normal low humidity heat is a gift.
So today and tomorrow are Florida.
I headed to the pool and came right back as it was very humid, I wouldn't need to get wet, and there wasn't a lot of sun as many clouds were coming in from the west.
We liken this kind of weather to a blizzard back east. You come into the house, shut the place up and hunker down in the AC until it is over.
The photo is of Beacon Hill during the blizzard of 78. We were there. And then left just in the nick of time for Fort Lauderdale. Florida is OK in the winter.
When will our mini-monsiin be over?
That would be Friday. Drop to 100 and 72 night then into the 90s. Autumn weather. And dry.
Good.
SO SUE ME
Kevin Drum writes today about the litigious culture in the USA and finds that it ain't the culture.
It is imbedded in our culture. And laws.
I am litigation averse. When I would get called up for jury duty I would always find a way out of sitting on a civil suit. Medical damages, the payment of insurance by which company and so on.
Not only are these cases boring to the nth degree but they also represent a value conflict for me.
I figure that I am responsible for myself and that I take risks or not based on my ability to choose, learn, study, decide. In other words, if I sign up to be fucked over, then I deserve to get fucked over.
Now, this brave disposition may be based more on the fact that I have never had anything happen to me than that I know what I am talking about.
But I don't think so.
I think nothing has ever happened because I took responsibility.
The one time I sued someone it was a counter suit. They sued us first. And it was us. Not me.
It went to a jury. What a horror show that was.
We lost.
But I accepted that because when you take up the sword in business or elsewhere, you take the risk of dying by the sword.
We refused to renew someone's contract and he sued us. He had a better lawyer than we did.
But listen to this.
After we lost the suit, his lawyer billed him for a million dollars and he didn't pay the lawyer.
The lawyer sued for the money.
And won.
It went on and on.
The lawyer, as it happened, did time during all this for some shit he pulled with his exwife.
Most of these people live in court. Live on the legal edge. Sue each other and get sued. Lose their life to being bored to tears sitting in a courtroom. And, if I may so blunt, don't give me any of that about a "jury of my peers". There ain't any such thing. The jury selection process almost makes that impossible.
What else do I have to bitch about today as far as the legal system goes? Not much.
We just sold a house. I hope that we disclosed everything and that the guy isn't litigious. You takes your money and takes your risks.
Labels: culture
GROWING UP
Today's film was
This is coming of age as a girl in the 70's. In England.
It is also the charming tale of a seduction by a 35 year old man of a 16 year old girl.
Charming? Well, yes. But not the seduction part. Charming is about the girl and how it all comes about that the same person that gets taken in by a cad is also the girl who can turn it around and make it work for her in her life.
There are a lot of good people in this film written by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity) based on the memoir of Lynn Barber
I knew when I saw it that it was a "real" story. You can't help wondering how the woman turned out. Very interesting as it happened.
I think that the success of the film is in its simplicity. No heavy shadows hover over it. There is a lot of funny stuff and then, close to the end, tears. It is not a comedy. It is a drama. A love story. A romance.
Carey Mulligann is who makes the charm and the cad is Peter Sarsgaard. The always welcome Alfred Molina plays the comic and tender ranting father.
Everyone liked this. I liked it too. I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
YOU MAKE MY HEART SING
Today's movie was Spike Jonze' take on Maurice Sendak's
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Jonze wrote the script with Dave Eggers.
This is not animation or pixar, it is puppetry. Body suits. They say there is some CGI on the faces. I don't know. I thought it was people in there.
The audio is the thing here. A surprise. The actor voices are stupendous and go with the puppets facial expressions. The sound is quite intimate. Deep. Something unusual. They are in the microphone.
This is not to say that the production is not first rate in every way. It is. But I think that the sound and the voice acting of the wild things make it.
This is contrary to my belief, often expressed here, that it is a waste of money to have "star" voices. Here, they are stars, but are not presented that way. You do not think of who is speaking. It is the character. Period. They could be anonymous. And should be.
Jonze has done well with this.
And the kid. Max Records. What a name!
I did not expect to like this. I do not think that I "let" our kids read the book(s). I thought it too scary or weird.
I may be wrong on this and stand to be corrected from the kids themselves.
I am still glad that I didn't have them then. They and the film are for adults. Yes?
In any case these characters are filled to the brim with existential dread. They have fear, doubt and insecurity up to the brim.
There are "types" in a way but not stereotypes.
There is violence. Mindless and random.
The whole thing nicely sums up a nightmare version of a very real world with all these things.
Of course, the whole thing is a boy's dream.
I liked it even if it seemed kinda long at times. I looked at the clock on the DVD player three times.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
Labels: film
IN AND OUT IN THE ATOMIC AGE
A friend who is moving gave us a Sharp Atomic Clock.
It is just in time for the heat wave.
Not only does it radio in the time (it is correct as I checked it against my Mac) but it also measures indoor and outdoor temperatures.
Outdoors gets a remote unit that has considerable range.
Right now, it is saying that we have inside 79 and outside 105 on the back patio.
The airport, just up the street a mile, reports 115.
We are in the shade.
I will have to keep an eye on this.
We are supposed to get a shot of cooler air at the weekend. A significant step down. The kind of step that takes us into the waning summer days.
Labels: weather
SUN TIME
Speaking of downtime, I am reverting to an old practice that I began when we moved here to Palm Springs 13 years ago.
This latest move has gotten going back to first principles. Well some of them.
I am spending 20 minutes in the sun at the pool every day.
Ten minutes a side for the sun and a backstroke swim up and down the pool before, during and after the 20.
I am getting my tan back and my natural Vitamin D but, more importantly, I am getting down time. Quiet.
No one is at the pool or if there is/are, they are as quiet as I am. There can be some social time if necessary but that is not the point.
Sun. Quiet. Light exercise.
There is something about being "near" the sun, too. Engulfed by its light and heat. Universal. Like I could hold it or, perhaps, that it is holding me.
We are in a heat wave for three days. Emergency warnings. 115 degrees.
I still go out.
It is all relative. The only danger is the hot metal on the lounges.
Today I discovered that if I lie down closer to the bushes, I get a spray of water from the sprinkler for a few minutes. Nice.
Labels: meditation, pool, quiet
DEPARTMENT OF I TOLD YOU SO
Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime
Duh!
But it is hard to convince people that this is so.
You only have to look at the benefits of meditation. Even a little. The results of down time, contemplation, letting go, idling, are well known.
Of course all my data is personal. When I am heavily into the blog, doing financial work, answering email, watching movies and the like, I begin to feel "behind". As though I am losing something.
I start to make mistakes.
If there is too much of it, my sleep gets disrupted.
And I don't even text or try to keep up with the Jones's on Facebook. I definitely do not Twitter.
I don't wear an iPod and I don't run the radio all day. We tried this when we moved in. Classical music. It lasted a week. And then we craved silence.
Of course I am an older guy now. I can hear the arguments. A feeb. Too old to take it.
Yes.
And from this perspective, I am aware that enough is enough and no more. There have to be naps and quiet and down time. Reading maybe. Or nothing. Meditation.
To be plugged in all the time. Whew. I couldn't do it.
Labels: computer, internet, life, media
MARY AT THE EDGE
For as long as we remember, the Bonos have had a lock on the local Congressional seat.
First Sonny, who reigned until he did a face plant into a tree while skiing, then his trophy wife Mary took over. A former aerobics trainer, she was notably unqualified for the job but, for many years, the GOoPers had a lock on the district. The old and rich and nutty.
Then came "the gays" and other notable liberals. For several elections, we had people run who had the stuff but neither the money or the presence to topple Mary from her perch.
Meantime, Mary went from being a puppet of the right wing House to, actually, being a creditable rep of her District. She brought home federal money, her most important job, and she voted contrary to the republican line when it came to gay issues and some other liberal causes.
I have called her office many times and was treated with respect and attention even when they and I knew that I was just blowing in the wind.
This time, she has a formidable challenger with some real political ability and clout.
Bono has been declared by her Party as an endangered seat.
Funny. They call these people "Patriots" to designate their potential as losers.
This LATimes article nicely sizes the situation up.
California's few congressional battlegrounds heating up
She has even had demonstrators at her office and they are not the tea bags. These are the "liberal elite". That means working class Democrats.
We like her opposition. Steve Pougnet. He is a good guy. Bland. A former Mayor. That is how Sonny started.
He is also gay, married and has two kids. That puts a different spin on the ball.
He does seem closer to the goal than any other candidate we have seen before.
Good luck.
He is the one on our right.
Monday, August 23, 2010
THE GRAND TOUR
When we sold the house, I offered to walk through it with the new owner and show him "the ropes".
The hidden switches, the inside dope on the plants and trees, the neighbors, the vendors that serve the property.
So today, he called and I answered. I went over and did the grand tour with him.
He is the same age as we are. He had a bigger home. Three times as big. In Florida.
So he knows about heat.
He has two dogs.
His furniture had not yet arrived and the house was a bit of a mess. I overlooked that.
There had already been some damage from his not being around for a month. The fountain was not working but that is because he had pulled the plug. I think that he may be taking it out. Goodbye birds. My lime tree in back was dried out as was the new hibiscus we put in the front not three months ago. Lack of extra watering I think.
He has uncoiled all the hoses and let them lie out of their tight coils in their pottery hose containers. He has a box of dog food out there for the dogs to eat continuously.
OK. I am a hard case. I got the fountain running whether he wanted it to run or not. I fussed with the lime tree sprinkler. I did not put the hoses back the way that they are "supposed to go".
I realized that I was freaking out about something that wasn't mine any more and stopped.
I started the tour.
It went well. I told him about stuff I had thought of. He had some questions.
It took an hour.
He is the kind of guy who sort of knows the answers so I didn't have to explain much. I mean this in mostly a good way.
The stuff that I felt sensitive about he took without any adverse comment. The bad drain in the back yard, the spa controls.
He told me some of the things that he planned to do. I told him to quit telling me.
He has already bought a new stove. Black. Good. He is going to paint the kitchen cupboards red.
I told him that was enough. I didn't want to hear a lot of his plans. He understood.
At the end, I kind of liked him. I gave him my card. He said that he would ask us back when he was done with his painting and shit.
A good ending which none of us really meant. No calls, no visits. Good luck.
I am moderately pleased or as pleased as I could be with him as the owner of our old home. Now I am done with it.
I had a bit of a lump in my throat as I said goodbye. I knew that this was goodbye.
OIL AND VINEGAR
Today's movie was
Scroll down the page to read the review.
This is an obscure little film which shows a young Iranian film maker tracking down and interviewing the former or present Queen of Persia (Iran).
The younger woman was a communist rebel who had to leave the country when the Islamists took over. Just like the Queen. They have a point in common.
The interesting thing about the film is that it evolves from a kind of adversary situation to a bonding between the two women that we see occurring as we go along. While most of what we see is from the doc perspective, it is pretty clear what the Queen has to think about it as well.
In many ways this is an extraordinary film. One, the historical perspective is unique. Actually two perspectives. I, personally, lived through all the times shown, the demise of the Shah and forward. A lot was brought back and resituated in my mind.
Two, the relationship that blooms between these two women and the willingness of the documentarian to show it happening and to level with us as she goes along.
I am glad that I saw it before it sunk without a trace. It was hardly reviewed.
I am not even sure of where I heard of it.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
I really like documentaries more than I ever thought that I did.
Labels: films
Sunday, August 22, 2010
MASS MAYHEM
Today's movie was John Yoo's
Red Cliff (2008)—Theatrical Version
This is a wonderful film. Amazing. Cast of thousands. Immense vistas. Glorious battles. Engaging characters. A buddy movie. An exploratory of moral issues. An incredible display of martial arts and the cinematography surrounding them.
This lasts 2 and a half hours and that is half the length of the actual film, shown internationally.
I loved it.
I want more.
One of the heroes, Takeshi Kaneshiro, looks like Justin Timberlake.
.Made in China, it seems to spare no expense in showing the clash of great powers.
There is some neat "magic" which, at the time seem to be miraculous, but we can see it as just good science, weather forecasting.
I liked this so much that I have ordered up the five hour version in my queue. It is at the end of the present line up of 136 films, live. There are 243 in the "not issued as yet" queue.
This means that I will come to the big version in 25-30 weeks. Just long enough to be caught up again fresh. "They" say that the long version is much more elaborate and rich with character and plot turns.
Yet, there are no holes in the shortened film.
This is my second 5 out of Netflix5 this year.
Wow.
This is the "turtle" defense for when you are vastly outnumbered which, for these good guys, is almost all the time. There are many other tricks as well. All great to watch.
Labels: films
Saturday, August 21, 2010
THE LANGUAGE CONSPIRACY
Now this is something the culture warriors should take a serious look at.
Forget the fucking mosques.
Do I have to keep telling you to look at this shit on the full screen? Well, do it.
And earphones would be great too.
Labels: culture, fun, republican whack jobs, war and peace
DRIVE BY
Booker has missed out on some Volvo time this week what with me being away and complications that kept him from the grocery store run yesterday.
So, I took him for a ride this afternoon.
This is not unprecedented. We have "always" taken our dogs for rides when we lived at the other place and had the Jeep.
Mostly Saturday and Sunday afternoons when there wasn't a lot cooking.
It was fun and they could get their snoots out the window and watch the scenery as well as smell it.
But moving and all, we have sort of dropped that.
Today, we got back on the road.
He brought one of his new tennis balls.
Did I mention that, in our new location, we are across the street from a tennis club? Well, the walks are a revelation. We go over that way and walk around and, behold, there are new tennis balls to be found.
He will not proceed with the walk. We must go home and put the ball in the living room where he caches everything.
So, we have plenty of balls and he took one on the ride today.
The Volvo is not as tennis ball friendly as the Jeep. There are some ball size spaces in the front of the back, just behind the front seats. Got that?
So, we don't want to take too many balls out in the car because they will fall down below, he will bark to get them back, I will have to stop the car and get it and, you get the picture.
But he took one today and, miraculously, it did not fall into the hole. Perhaps he has figured this out.
We took the old route out Bogert to the top of a very, very high hill that overlooks south Palm Springs and the mountains. Gorgeous.
We stop and watch. And smell. And take our time to enjoy the prospect.
After this we went back to the old neighborhood. I had the idea that I would run up each of the five streets off Mesa. But I only made two.
I couldn't do it. The place is history.
Our policy has always been not to go back at least not in the first year or so. That was easy when we came out here. We didn't go back east for 18 months.
Before that, I didn't go back to the old Beacon Hill neighborhood from the South End for maybe two or three years.
Our old apartment was across the street from that condo so we were in the old neighborhood. There was no going back. We were almost there. But we never went back into the old apartment building or walked through the grounds.
So, this time, it is almost nearby but not enough to go back there much. I think that I did the last run thru today.
We came back home and found our new home ready to welcome us and that is enough.
You can't go home again.
We left the tennis ball in the car for next time.
Labels: Booker, condo, gay life
GIRDING FOR BATTLE
Interesting take on the culture wars. A new battlefield. Or fields.
The Culture War is Dead, Long Live the Culture War
To the extent that this new culture war resembles the old one, it is in the reversal of roles -- it is the right that is now largely defined by an identity politics which perceives persecution, and possible extinction, for a culturally constructed usually white, conservative, "real American." This isn't just about Obama or his agenda, which borrows heavily from earlier conservative ideas, it's also a response to anxiety over economic insecurity and fear of ideological annihilation through demographic change. Hence the burgeoning Islamophobia and calls to repeal birthright citizenship. [...]Same warriors, different kind of war. The paranoia is constant and the fears. The same whack jobs.[I]f Obama's election was a referendum on what it means to be an American, then the right's response can be seen as a large scale attempt to challenge the legitimacy of the results.... Sadly, Obama didn't end the culture war, his election just ushered in a new one. To the right, Obama's election wasn't a call for truce, it was a deliberate escalation.
I hate to pull my beard and say this but it has always been like this in my lifetime.
John Birchers and La Rouchers all tapped the same vein. Nativism.
Then there are the megaphone guys. The churches, Fox News, the wing nut blogs. Taking it to a higher pitch. And earning bucks along the way.
Labels: culture, republican whack jobs
OPPORTUNITY LOSS
Today's film was
This documentary is riveting.
The main guy is Fidelis Cloer who sells armored vehicles.
He has to go where there is war and trouble.
The first "half" of the film is devoted to Iraq and the footage is fascinating in a scary way.
Cloer arrives in the early days when security is not an issue. And then it is.
This is all shot from his car, as he is stopped, as he begins to see how to contact customers.
I have never seen such extended "peaceful" Iraq scenes.
Then they show how it goes to hell.
Interspersed over the 7-8 years the doc makers followed Cloer, we see the research on building better vehicles and how it is done. Cloer's product is top of the line.
There is a lot of attention devoted to the security issue per se. How people fuck up despite the quality of their protection.
The doc people stay out of the way. Cloer tells his own story. There are no moral issues. He is a profiteer and gladly so but he is also in a competitive business and it is one of those things that someone has to do so it might as well be him. And he is devoted to the quality of what he does.
I loved the use of "flags" as in the image above to make points and tell us where we are. Not conventional. Very nicely done.
A fascinating guy.
Also, if you like big bangs, like most boys, there are plenty in this film.
I liked this a lot and would gladly see it again. It is only 70 minutes long. Easy. Enjoyable.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
I FEEL BETTER ALREADY
I love Joe Biden.
Give 'em hell Joe.
The "Republican Tea Party" indeed. Tie the bag to their tail.
Biden Urges D.N.C. to Reject Grim Election Forecast
He roars like a lion.
The facts are that fundraising is doing very well compared to the GOoPers. There is beginning to be some energy.
Joe has the fire.
They are sending Bill Clinton out as well.
Plouffe is quietly coordinating the congressional campaign. There are good hands on board.
Glass half full.
Labels: Administration Obama
ANOTHER GOAL MET
The Obamas meet another goal.This week the United States officially ended its combat mission in Iraq, leaving 50,000 troops — down from 140,000 a year before — to train and support Iraqi security forces.
I felt as though Iraq would never be over. Now we wait for Afghanistan.
This is real, on the ground evidence, that the war commitment is easing.
After Iraq, Troops Fill Base Towns--A Sea of Green
You can just tick off the goals that have been met in spite of the inherited economy and the other unforeseen events since Obama has been in office.
Now we see the wind down and, I feel confident, we will see the Afghanistans do the same.
With all the bitching and the lowering polls, it is doubtless that events like this, on the ground, will revive the national malaise and half empty thinking.
But you never know. People are pretty fucking stupid when it comes to reacting to the facts instead of the feelings.
What goes down must go up.
You know, I watch the teevee at the gym in the morning.
Well, I watch the "hearing impaired" script go by.
There is none of this news there. CNN has features on the near tabloid problems that have always been with us (drugs, teens, oldsters) and Fox lies.
Where do people get news these days?
They are not all tuned to NPR.
I guess the networks do OK and there is the internet.
But news on the net is similar. AP is OK if a bit slanted. The blogs are partisan. Both sides.
I think the problem is that a lot of people aren't paying but scant attention to any of it.
Those are my morning thoughts on the state of the nation.
Friday, August 20, 2010
A GOOD COMING HOME MOVE
Friday is a big housework day. It is a food shopping day for one thing. I had Tuesday's list as well as today's and I had to go to the bakery to get bread. I go there more often now because I don't have as much freezer capacity.
Friday is also my day to do "the wets". That is, the sinks, the toilets and the floors. Bath and kitchen.
We are not mopping all the tile in the new home. In the old place everything got mopped every week and all our furniture is water damaged on the base.
I could have taken a pass since I wasn't here and it would only be "half as dirty" but I did not. I did the work and got a feeling of satisfaction that I was home and I was into being here.
Then, I took a nap, had lunch, watched the movie and went to the pool for 20 minutes. Ten minutes a side. Just like a chicken barbecue. Only I don't baste. No chemicals. Just the natural sun and mother nature to make my Vitamin D.
Labels: condo, health, home, housekeeping, life
GETTING YOUR GOAT
Today's film was
with Jeff Bridges, George Clooney and Ewan McGregor. The usually execrable Kevin Spacey is in it too but, as a villain, he is not only bearable but welcome as a punching bag.
The title of this movie is awful. I have no alternative but it would certainly explain why this funny and sincere film didn't get much of a reception.
Look. It is not about goats. It is about the military's psy-ops cuddle with the forces of the human potential movement.
All the reality and clichés of the 70s are there. I was there too. It is credible. it is funny. Psy Ops is one thing but moving to mind reading and bodily displacement is quite another.
When the stiff backed generals come up against the gurus, Bridges perfectly cast and Clooney carving a new persona for himself, there is a huge mind fuck and we get to see its origin as well as its death throes in the second and biggest Iraq war.
As a film about Iraq, it is quite something. A different take. The great skill of the writers and director is to take the clichés of the war and turn them into a soup of crazy possibility.
I enjoyed the movie a great deal and, as a Bridges fan, was philosophical about his limited use. Any more and he would have stolen the film into another dimension. As it is, we get to see a serious film about the military and the war put in terms that are amusing and enjoyable. The medicine goes down a bit more smoothly.
I wouldn't mind seeing this again and Bridge's performance (which is not a repetition of "the dude" despite what Ebert says) would prompt its inclusion in a future Bridges fest which is almost a sure thing in a year or so.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Thursday, August 19, 2010
PROTEST CAN BE FUNNY
You gotta admit. "The gays" have a great sense of humor.
One of the reasons I got into gay politics was the laughter.
You see none of this at a tea party or a fag-bash.
Labels: fun, gay liberation, gay marriage, gay rights
VACATION
I am back from my holiday and I had a very good time. I am not saying "great" or "fabulous" because it was uniquely just right and part of a flow of experience for me that has been coming on for quite awhile. Feeling good about life, me, my place in the world.
That includes all the changes we have been through as well as the beautiful permanent things that I have. Like this place I go to every year.
At first, for business. Training trainers. A great place for that.
Recent years, just me, no work, just sitting.
It is just a small hotel. Extremely well run. Caring. Exact to a point where I have not been anywhere that is so attentive. And the food, in a modest, small, uncrowded restaurant is superb.
The clients seem to be as balanced, healthy and satisfied with themselves as I and the hotel are. Gracious. There is no noise. No disruption.
And the setting is just beautful.
On one side there is a marina and the other the wide bay with the city on the other side. In the foreground a boat ramp which is a beehive. Actually a seal hive and a pelican haunt to say nothing of the fisherman who, spilling the guts of their catch and all, keep the seals and the pelicans on site. Sadly things were a little low key at the ramp this year. The economy I suppose. Not quite as many boats or human and wild lives to look at but somehow this made it more interesting as I zeroed in and saw some neat stuff.
On either side of the hotel there is a long quiet avenue of other hotels to the right and a yachting complex to the left. Shops, sail stores, yacht dealers, small business dealing in the niches of sailing. A different world for me to peek into.
Some surprises. The first night I went out to gaze at the marina and out in the not to distant distance was fireworks. Quite spectacular too. As you may remember I missed out on Independence Day fireworks as I was huddled in the back bath with the Airedale who would have liked to go into the next condo if possible. So I feel redeemed.
Another thing. There is a concert venue next door. If you leave the sliders open you hear it all. If you close the sliders, pull the drapes and turn the AC to low you do not hear a thing. But on a good night you want to hear it. This year I had Rodrigo y Gabriela who are a guitar duo. M and F. Maybe a couple but in show business you don't know. Their warmup act was ludicrous so, as I came back from dinner, I was about to pull the curtain and then they came on. I don't much like Flamenco but it was actually very good for half an hour. Well, flamenco based rock.
The second night, Meat Loaf. I shut the curtain the whole time. It is a funky seaside kind of venue and a lot of boats come to listen for free. They have no drapes and AC so, if they don't like the show, they can paddle away.
This morning when I got into the Volvo at 345AM, I was ready to come home.
The car/station wagon had its first long and varied ride going and coming on this trip.
I went up the mountain and down the other side to the freeway into San Diego. The V loved the switchbacks. It was great on the freeway and very comfortable.
It has features we are still finding. Like easter eggs. The rear red lights go on when you open the back hatch in the dark. The better for people to see you and to be warned. Only at night. I was surprised!
Great.
It is good to be home. I am almost back onto the routine.
I found this video.
THE SOURCE
Today's film was the original version of
I watched this as an exercise, mostly, to see the differences between the original and the Jim Sheridan version that I saw the other day.
The films are almost identical scene by scene in the sense of what is happening and what is said.
The difference is that the Danish original is shot in the "dogma" or "dogme" tradition. Actually a new tradition, but still.
There are a set of rules.
Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.Pretty stringent huh?The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed, i.e., diegetic.
The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.
The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable (if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
Optical work and filters are forbidden.
The film must not contain superficial action (murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
Genre movies are not acceptable.
The final picture must be transferred to the Academy 35mm film, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, that is, not widescreen. (Originally, the requirement was that the film had to be filmed on Academy 35mm film, but the rule was relaxed to allow low-budget productions.)
The director must not be credited.
Yet effective.
There is music in this film. There is recognition of the director. A few other things are passed over. But the spirit remains. Mostly, it is not Hollywood slick.
Is it better than the other version I saw?
Not more or less. It is different but the same.
It was a satisfying experience to see it and to see various decisions the two directors made but, then, I got swept up in the story again and my detachment fell apart. I was in the film.
I would give this one a 4 out of Netflix5 because I did not like the kid actors so much and the father was too big a prick to believe. This is part of the actors improvising more than usual I think but still.
Labels: films
Sunday, August 15, 2010
HEALING
Today's movie was Jim Sheridan's
with Toby Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman with Sam Shepard.
This was made almost scene by scene from a Danish dogma film of the same name. I will watch this when I get back from San Diego.
Two brothers, one good one bad, or so it seems. Then one goes to Afghanistan as the other gets out of jail.
The plot seems trite when I say it out but, like all good films, it becomes alive and original when it is played out with great actors and a fine director. One of the little girls is pivotal. I wonder how they can get this kind of stuff from a kid.
Tobey Maguire has come a long way from his Spidey days.
What happens "over there" comes back with the good brother and that is not good.
This is not an antiwar movie. It is just a story that shows what happens to one family. And that is plenty.
I really loved this film and would gladly see it again.
I think that I will have a Jim Sheridan film fest soon.
That makes it a 5 out of Netflix5.
I think that would be the first time I gave a 5 this year.
Labels: films
LEADING IN GOOD WILL
Frank Rich details how the gay rights movement has often brought out the best in people. Much to its benefit.
Labels: gay history, gay liberation, gay marriage, gay rights
OUT OF TOUCH
Tomorrow, I will be going for my annual trip to Shelter Island, San Diego at the Bay Club and Marina for three nights.
Alone.
No computers or other connections. Well, I will have my cell phone.
And three or four books.
The purpose is to see some salt water, be cool all day, watch some seals and pelicans, sit in front of the boat ramp across from my motel and watch the slow action, walk in the mornings the length of the island, do no cooking or other household stuff, get some meditation time in and, well, have a vacation.
I have been doing this so long that I know pretty much where everything is and how to get along.
The only doubt is whether I will get a room on the bay side looking at the Navy base and city across the way or on the marina side watching the hundreds of boats moored there.
Shelter Island is a yachting center and so the walks along it are punctuated by sights and sounds of boating. Sail shops, boatyards, gear emporiums. And lots of sailing type people walking around. There are a line of hotels but they are rather invisible.
It is heavenly. And quite the opposite environment of my desert life.
I will not be roughing it as you can see if you went to the Bay Club link. But it is not too plush either. Medium quality.
I will get to drive the Volvo up Highway 74, the fast serpentine up to Idyllwild then over through the Anza Boriega Desert and down to Temecula where I will grab onto the 15 and ride it down to my destination. The first highway driving for me and car since we have owned it. We need to get some high speed driving in to clean out the windpipe.
Labels: life
THE SUNDAY WALK
We have been taking a longer than usual dog walk every Sunday for many years. The three of us. Normally, during the week, it is an AM and a PM with one dad alternating. A twosome.
The new home has presented a challenge in finding as good and as scenic a route as we had before.
We are beginning to hone in on it.
We go out of the complex, turn east and head for the City park area which includes the Girl and Boy's Club, the City Library, the Palm Springs Power baseball stadium, the City pool and pavilion and then the High School grounds.
Around the corner and heading south to the walkways through the Mesquite Country Club, where I used to bike, then a sharp turn at the holy roller church to go back north and finally west to our home.
There are a lot of bushes, grass and sniff spot for the dog. Plenty of down valley views for the dads. Murray Peak, South Ridge, the mountains beyond and the foothills before.
Lot of other people. Joggers on the school track and football field. And so on.
Very nice. There are still a few twists and turns to explore but we are getting the hang of it.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
GLASS HALF EMPTY
"Democrats don't know how to celebrate" says Christopher Dodd, retiring Senator from Connecticut.
No Reveling for Democrats, Despite Achievements
After one of the most prolific sessions in American history, Democrats, well some of them, are still glum about what did not get achieved.
It makes me want to puke.
On the other hand, I will stand by for the results to pour in if not in November than in the General.
The "No" party will find their bucket empty.
But that is not the point. It is not a political issue.
It is a social accomplishment.
It is a point of frustration to Democrats that much of the public seems unimpressed by the litany of legislation signed into law in the first two years of President Obama’s term: the $787 billion stimulus package, an anti-age-discrimination law, long-sought tobacco regulation, expanded community service, credit card consumer protection, the landmark health care law, Pentagon contracting changes, Wall Street regulation, tax cuts, credits and more.Even some leading Republicans find the first two Obama years amazing in their productivity.Except for a climate change bill, the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats have followed through on the agenda laid out at the beginning of the 111th Congress in January 2009 despite concerted Republican opposition. The victories were wrenching, partisan and procedurally ugly, but they were victories.
But people are tired of their fight. They need a vacation.
But there is more work to be done.
No rest for the weary.
WHAT?
Today's movie was
with Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella.
It had three phases. First, nice moral dilemma to decide.
Second, lurch into cosmic and baffling possibilities as to what is going on when the "bad" decision is made.
Finally, the conclusion which leaves us entirely at sea and totally waiting for a positive resolution which never comes.
Now, that would turn me off right away from seeing a movie but I had heard that this was worth the trip. The destination, not so much.
The acting is great. These people, all of them, are totally into this. I wonder if they figured out what was going on. If not, they got over it. They are down with it.
The basic idea is from the experiment where people are told that if they push a button someone will feel electric current. If they hold the button down, the shock will be prolonged or increased. The longer they hold the button down, the more money they will get as a result for a favorite charity. Or something. Most people pushed the button and held it down.
In this movie, the ante is raised. Someone will die that you don't know and you will get a million dollars.
I had feelings in this film from beginning to end. I mean capital F feelings. Dread. Suspense,
I could not distance. I usually try to protect myself in these things but I let go this time. They convinced me to.
Somehow, when the worst happened it was OK with me. After being not OK.
I don't want to spoil it too much. I don't think that I could anyway.
There are some very fine second tier actors in this as well. The editing is sharp and clear. Surprising. The settings are spooky and mysterious even though the whole thing transpires around NASA and what seem to be real NASA facilities.
Jesus. It was just a ride from beginning to end.
The only thing that didn't happen was no one came through our walls here and took us away.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. I am sweaty palmed writing this.
James Marsden is a dish.
Labels: films
Friday, August 13, 2010
OUTFOXED
Today's movie was Wes Anderson's underappreciated
I think perhaps because of its subversive message. Mr. Fox gets foxed. Or boxed into his upwardly mobility.
I think this is dissonant with the first part but maybe not. Fox is in conflict between his natural instincts and civilization. Being part of it.
That is the heavy part.
I liked the animation. It is stop action with "real" puppets. Very smooth. Also the voices and the jokes. George Clooney and Meryl Streep. Bill Murray.
I have never much seen how "stars" help this but maybe it makes it more dramatic. Gives life. I don't really pay attention. It could be any actor as far as I am concerned.
There is some clever stuff. It is extremely well done. The scenic side is very very good.
Look. This is animation. I am not sure that it bears a social message and I am not really sure that Roald Dahl who wrote the kids book had all this weight in it. Maybe he did. If I had read the book I wouldn't have watched the movie.
I am glad that I saw it. There were a number of LOLs. That's good.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. Before the "message" part I would have given it a 4 but I don't have the stomach for all that sociological stuff another time.
Labels: films
Thursday, August 12, 2010
IN HOT WATER
We tried the spa across the street last night. Well, not a street. A hundred yards, next to the pool. It is ours. Our 1/146th of it. Actually there are two pools and three spas so more like 1/73d of the pool and 1/49th of the spa.
The water is pretty hot. I am sure it is over the legal 102. Ours was 104, the max you could get out of a new pool heater. The safety regulated kind. So it is as hot as we are used to, almost.
It was nice.
We are used to doing it naked though. And that makes a difference. John is going to find some bikinis for us to minimize the cotton drag of it.
We seem not to mind the pool too much. The suit part. But the spa is a bit of a drag.
One of the neighbors calls it the "therapy pool". He was coming back from a session the other morning. I don't think we will go that way with it. A spa is a spa and will always be a spa.
The bubbles don't amount to much but ours was custom made and had double pumping on the nozzles. The entry stream is steamin' though.
All in all worth going back for. I predict a return to the nightly hot water. Therapy or not.
Labels: home
LUCID
This is a much clearer analysis of Judge Walker's refusal to keep the stay for gay marriage in California.
An Analysis of Judge Walker's Ruling
Most interesting is the part about "standing". The proponents of 8 may have none to appeal.
The people who do have standing, mainly the State, have refused even to act for a stay.
Again, Walker has worded his opinion cogently and in manner which boxes the appeal in tightly.
And so on.
It is probably to early to buy the confetti and rice although a lot of gay couples are doing just that. But still, it is encouraging. See ya' on the 18th.
Labels: gay liberation, gay marriage, gay rights
