esrosedotblog

TROUBLE

My new iMac has had a burp.

I put it to sleep and it won't wake up.

I have talked through it with my consultant, run the possibilities on line and now will take it back to the store tonight.

You have to get an appointment. Mine is for 515.

I am not too happy about this but, at the same time, know that I am the one in a hundred who hits this kind of thing and so we will work through it.

In the meantime I can use Johns new machine and, so far, there isn't anything that I have thought of that I can't get out except my calendar but maybe people will call me when and if I do not show up.

Labels: computer, macintosh

MOSTLY DONE

We got the new iMacs up and running today.

The helper was very good.

It is pretty clear that we would not have been able to do this by ourselves.

He was a real pro, Mac Authorized and very well organized. A nice guy too.

There were a number of issues, none un resolved except for our new email address in i-Cloud. It is all ready to go. It just doesn't want to drop down.

We are all set on the old earthlink.net on the new machines so there is non problem.

Our guy is working through this.

We got a new Time Capsule which is a combination two channel router and a backup for the Time Machine. It is very fast. He tested our internet and we did very well on speeds.

We have both used our new machines and there is a learning curve but most of it has been worked through even before he left.

It is a very very big screen to navigate. It will be great for movies. I even tested that part.

A long day.

I had a new program guy to work with this morning and that had some startup anxiety but went very well.

I will sleep well tonight.

Labels: computer, macintosh

HOWEVER IT GOES WE WON'T HAVE MITT TO KICK AROUND ANYMORE

Labels: Romney

BOTH

This blog has long been devoted to the INTROVERT and understanding him or her in a social milieu.

The main literature that is always referred to is the article by Caring For Your Introvert by Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic.

Its most popular reprint of all time. Well, at The Atlantic.

Now comes INTROVERSION THE MOVIE!!

Not really. Did you notice how extroverted I have been about printing INTROVERT? See this.

Labels: Introvert

I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!

Experience tells me that some guy, next week, will tell me how he saw the election results coming all along.

This, when I know from direct experience that he did not.

I might even be that guy.

He Won The Election? I Knew It All Along!

This would be "hindsight bias". The ability to force fit facts as they occur to prior assumptions and beliefs. It happens all the time.

I just had the feeling there would be a big hurricane this year. Ya' know? I heard about this a week or two ago and figured there would be something happen. And so on.

I knew that sooner or later we would buy new computers for ourselves and by jesus it happened the other day.

No. That is something else.

But you get the idea.

Just watch. Next week someone will say that they knew Obama had it all along and you can say that you knew someone would say just that!

Labels: elections, psychology

BIG BANDS AND BE BOP

Today's movie was the Oscar nominee animated film feature from Spain

Chico and Rita (2010)

This is not your kids' cartoon. A biopic designed for adults, it is sexy and great to listen to.

For those of us who have a bit more years on us, like the titled couple, the return of this great music is a real treat.

And the story line with the wonderful drawings of Havana, New York City and Las Vegas as it was in this time are an antidote to feeling as though those times are gone. They live in this film. And one of the points in the story is that comebacks are possible at any age as younger people grab hold of the good old stuff and remake it in a new image.

The colors are vibrant and the characters convincing. The voices are true. It is great stuff.

I would not mind seeing it again so that makes it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, jazz, music

MACCED UP

We have been thinking about updating our computers (and the wireless system) for quite a while now.

Not only new but an upgrade to the 27 inch, humongous screen.

Rumors of a new iMac abounded but nothing showed. We had a plan to do the replacement in October while our family-techs were here but the new iMac wasn't ready and neither were we.

Then, suddenly, they announce the new iMac will be out mid November. Good! It will not have a DVD player. Not good.

We have a big investment in DVDs which, I know, will soon enough become anachronistic but, unlike Apple, I am not ready to throw in with the on line viewing just yet.

Netflix library for streaming is thin at best and certainly does not include the likes of the films I like to see.

So. Dilemma.

We decided to get the 2011 model before it becomes unavailable.

They had already taken down the 2011 iMacs in the on-line store.

Today, we went to Palm Desert to get our new machines from the Mac Store. They were already taking the inventory down. No sales per se, but we did save a little money. We got an upgraded 4 gig machine to 8 gig.

We will pick them up tomorrow.

On Tuesday a Mac authorized service guy will come to do the installation. I am past it. Or it is past me. John has the iPhone and it needs to be integrated into the system and I have no idea how to do that.

The guy sounds very good. Will help us change the wireless from an old Airport to a new Time Capsule, a combination backup disc and wi fi creator.

He is coming on Tuesday and we will get the data transferred and the new machines all up and running in a few hours.

I am awaiting results, but I cannot tell you how happy I am to have a service person who cares and regards me as a client already.

We have not had that although maybe we could have. There are probably a lot of things we should have but do not. Change out of Earthlink which is an old creaky IP and so on. We shall see.

My family consultant who has been great will be relieved to know that we have made a move in the professional direction although I suppose I will continue to check shit out with him if I feel skeptical or uncertain.

Thanks Dave.

MIT GANGMAN STYLE (MIT 강남스타일)

Wonderful long video as the latest craze hits the Alma Mater.

There is a lot in here. Wait for some professorial surprises. My boss Stu Schmill, Director of Admissions shows up later on.

This is full of the MIT spirit.

It sure did me good. Class of '13.

Labels: dancing, fun, MIT, music

LOVE

Today's movie was Sarah Polley's

Take This Waltz (2011)

with Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby and Seth Rogen.

A NYTimes Critics' Pick.

I want to line up all the Michelle Williams films and see them in sequence. A project.

Luke Kirby is the very sexy neighbor that she falls in love or lust with. Hard to tell. Seth Rogen is her husband in a role that is quite not the standard Rogen. He is a very very good actor and handles himself in the difficulties that will ensue with grace and dignity.

This film is shot in Toronto and that city is also a star. The neighborhoods, the bistros, the people. Canada is very different in a very good way and it supports what goes on here beautifully.

That means that the photography, the editing, the choice of scenes and locations is done with great skill.

What a wonderful movie.

I will rate this a 5 out of Netflix5 and will see this again for sure.

Labels: films

RUINING SHOTS

I love Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

Here he is at the last debate spin room. There is a lot of good stuff in here. Hang in. He manages to get McCain to give his best "get off my lawn" take. And the jokes are great.

It is fun to watch some people go with it and others who can't handle it or don't get it.

Labels: debate, election, general election 2012

DAY

No movie today.

House cleaning!

Grocery shopping!

Interview with an MIT applicant!

And that does it for me.

I am exhausted from poll sniffing.

The kid asked me what I thought about the election. I, of course, have no opinion in cases like this but I did tell him that I had about enough. Also about my obsession with polls. Today I found three more that I didn't know about!

Did you know that Google has a poll? I can't find it.

Busy day. I am going to take a break.

NAKED

The guys came today to prune our palo verde tree. It is in the courtyard, therefore "ours" and not the condo association. They also trimmed out the California oleander which has gotten very leggy.

Now we have sunlight.

We have a view!

This works perfectly for the seasons. Hot in summer, the palo verde grows abundantly. Thin leaves but so many there is a kind of translucent shade. Then in winter we get the full south sun which, of course, warms us directly. This being the desert.

I use the crew from the association after hours. Which is a little off the rules as they use the truck to take our branches away.

I await some kind of letter or objection. But no one has said anything for two years.

Doesn't that put us in some kind of precedent furrow?

All our plants are drought resistant now. The oleander is in a sort of built pot and, for a lot of the summer, I actually forgot to water it. Not a problem. It still produced. Of course it has deep roots. It has been here for decades.

I have a cactus garden which takes a little water once a week. Succulents which in the winter are the same once a week. Summer twice.

In the back we have some stuff the guys before us put in and they take some water but the lantana does not.

I have to admit the hibiscus all along the front need to be watered. But I am careful. There is always something out of line with the PC gospel. Those are it.

Labels: desert, horticulture

WHY?

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama

THOUGHTFUL

I don't read articles like this about the cold fish Romney.

Obama Goes To Krispy Kreme

I love the photos and the part about the fireman shooting hoops.

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama

WRITER'S BLOCK

Today's film was the old favorite by Curtis Hanson

Wonder Boys (2000)

based on Michael Chabon's novel with Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey Jr. and Frances McDormand.

I have seen this more than a few times and always have the same feeling half way in. I want to be able to watch and, at the same time, start it over again so I can enjoy the part I have already seen at the same time. I hate to lose it as it spools away.

Douglas is a career writing prof with writer's block. Something to do with too much smoking dope. Downey is his agent. Maguire is his prize student. McDormand is his lover.

This is only about one weekend. Douglas' wife left him this morning and there is a writer's weekend at the college and all hell is about to break out.

There are some people who just don't get this film. The NYTimes review calls it a dud. Anything but.

The plot is fast and furious and there are a ton of jokes. Very funny. The performances first rate.

It is a 5 and will always be a 5 out of Netflix5 wherever movies are shown.

Labels: films

THE MAYBE BUMP

Kos thinks that there is already the makings of a third debate bump which, actually, started with the second bump. A two and three bump.

Hints of a Post Third Debate Obama Bump

It is fun to read if, like me, you are what Sam Wang calls "a poll sniffer".

Incidentally, Sam Wang at Princeton, who writes beautifully about the polls, still has Obama at 292 electoral votes and Sam Wang was the only prognosticator that had the 2008 results exactly. Not to dis Nate Silver at the NYT who still shows similar Obama results. I am getting Nate's new book.

I read all the polls every day, often twice a day. The outlier Gallup which has had Romney up as high as 7 points has begun to swing toward Obama and their job approval rating has gone to the highest 53% in a long time.

Of course, if this is true and it seems to be, then there is little time for this bump to subside, if it would, before the vote. Right now, people are voting.

Labels: polls, Re-election of Barack Obama

MAGIC PICTURES

Today's film was Martin Scorcese's

Hugo (2011)

Yes. I am just catching up with last year's films.

This one is an homage to the startup of the moving light image. Movie pioneers. Some nice original footage. Although it doesn't seem that way at first.

In fact, it is a bit difficult to see how we got there from what seemed to be a movie about a boy who lives in the clockworks of a train station.

Roundabout.

But charming. The film is driven by whimsey. Relentlessly. Is this really the same guy who stuffed bodies into car trunks and had a taxi driver who was a social menace. Yes.

I have enjoyed Scorcese's music films, documentaries, very much. Not so much the killer films.

This is a third category. Rich with images and cross references, it seems to be a living cartoon film with many well known actors showing up for cameos. Johnny Depp shows up in a jazz quartet playing the guitar and never speaks a line. He is also a producer.

I liked it. It got to me. I didn't want it to but it did. I am not big on whimsey. But there it is. It worked. The director's skill.

Ben Kingsley is gruff then turns to sweet too quickly. Jude Law makes a nice dad. The kid is cute. His girlfriend more of pain in the ass, actually. Emily Mortimer, Sasha Baron Cohen (playing it straight for once) and others flesh it all out.

I was disappointed to find that the automaton never actually gets to draw a picture. A letdown.

Once was enough for me though. A 3 out of Netflix5.

THE UNDECIDEDS

“To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.”

........David Sedaris in 2008 on “undecided” voters.

Labels: elections

AL FOR ELIZABETH

Funny!

TIME WARP

In the debate someone said something about going back to the 80's.

Labels: republican whack jobs, Romney

FOREIGN INTRIGUE

I liked the debate last night. The third and last.

I also didn't like it. I get very tense before the thing starts.

Obama pretty much wiped the floor with Mitt who sweat a lot and stammered out his stump speeches. Also agreed mostly with Obama.

The new middle Mitt.

The stump speech is about the economy. Five lies in a paragraph. Obama took him apart.

More flop sweat.

That means that a lot of it was old stuff but the kind of old stuff that is not about foreign affairs.

This is way too close for me.

I tell John that it is my last election but if I do the 90 thing then I will see at least three more. Maybe four.

In any case, once it was started I began to enjoy it as Obama dismembered Mitt.

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama

GOT THE TIME?

Today's film was Andrew Niccol's

In Time (2011)

a very good Justin Timberlake vehicle. Also other young stars to be as in this story everyone gets to be age 25 and then a clock starts in day glo, green, on their arms and they are living literally on borrowed time.

You gotta see it to get it.

Suspension of disbelief sets in very early. Clever these movie guys. But we are distracted as Justin is half naked early on and we don't worry much about plot relevance.

Just put it this way. I believed it. Timberlake is turning into a half decent actor and carries the film quite adeptly with the help of Cillian Murphy, another favorite of mine, as not so much a villain as a dupe of the system.

Alex Pettyfer shows up and Matt Bomer is in early on as a guy with a century on his arm who wants to just die and get it over with.

The cars in this film are from all eras as is the architecture which is quite rich and beautiful even when it is lavishly overdone casino style.

What is great about this is that it makes you think a bit about what is going on. They help but not too much.

Funny, since everyone lives to be 25 and then their looks stay that way, the film is populated by good looking 25 year olds. Or younger.

I liked it. Not enough to want to see it again as I think it would be spoiled and Justin's chest only goes so far as a draw. They could show his ass. But no.

A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

BAD TEETH DAY

Well, the teeth were OK but not the experience.

I really love my dentist and put up with his technicians. There is a history.

But Kathy who has been there awhile is my gal and when I went there today "she" was 15 minutes late and it turned out that it was not her on my appointment. It was a guy who I have long avoided who was 15 minutes late.

It unraveled from there. He said I needed x-rays, the annual, and I just had them. He couldn't find the records to prove it one way or another. Then something else and then another thing and I suggested I might come back another day but he had his tool there and so I stayed.

I have no doubt that he did a good job on my teeth. Machine and pick. Then he wanted to take photos of every tooth. Never has this happened. It did not happen today. I called a halt.

Then I walked. I had my annual interview with the actual dentist in June so I had enough.

Made him put "Kathy only" on my record and confirmed my next visit is indeed with her.

He is as unhappy with me as I am with him I am sure. At one point he said that I wouldn't agree with anything he said. True.

I haven't been that steamed in quite awhile.

It caught me unawares.

Not again.

I am back there in February with my regular technician (they are not hygienists anymore, apparently)

Labels: dentist

SIBLING RIVALRY

Today's film was the Duplass Brother's indie comedy

The Do Deca Pentathlon (2012)

As kids, the brothers design the ultimate competition. A series of contests that test the others' strength or agility or courage. There are races, ping pong. The traditional stuff. But also laser tag in an entertainment complex.

The point here is that they are now adults and the contest is unfinished. Their late Dad aborted the first competition by fishing one of them out of the pool in the "hold your breath underwater" competition.

One, now a professional gambler, and the other a consultant "in the pet food industry" meet for the first time at their Mom's house on one of their birthdays. A showdown ensues.

It takes longer to explain than any one scene in the fast paced farce. Normally, I would run for the exits at the word "farce". But in this one, a NYTimes Critics' Pick, the action is fast and furious and funny. And there is a lot at stake beneath the surface. Intensity. Maturity.

The acting here is first rate. The Duplass' bros, at times, undermine this with a bit of too close, too zoomy photography with the handheld but what they lose in jumpiness they gain in real faces in the grip of action with one another.

I am not sure of the process. HD digital? But then there was a new color credit given at the end.

I liked it a lot. I laughed a lot. There is no bad language. It is shit and piss joke free. There is no sex. There is a great kid in it. At first I thought he was a girl. Looooong hair.

He is funny too.

It is short. An hour and 16 minutes. Very efficient.

I would not mid seeing this again sometime. A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

HEROES

I name as a hero, anyone I admire who makes it to 90 years.

I started this some time ago when I decided that I was going to make the runup to 90 and I needed some role models.

Since that time, there have been about a dozen who have made it.

You can't just be a 90 year old. You have to be someone who I also admire.

There are some real assholes who have made it that far. They are not in the category for me. Maybe someone else.

Today's hero is George McGovern. See his post below.

Labels: heroes

HERO

George McGovern is Dead: A Liberal Stalwart and Democratic Presidential Nominee

McGovern is a hero because he made it to 90, just barely, and because he was a power of example in his life for people like me.

For those of us who sniff around the margins of liberalism, the progressive ideal, and then retreat to some level of accommodation with the other side, people like George McGovern are essential. I am a progressive with an instinct for pragmatism which means that I would never become an idealist.

McGovern had no such limitation on his dreams and beliefs. He was a stalwart champion of the downtrodden and disadvantaged. He was suspicious of all forms of big business. Of war machines. Of forces that pushed people down.

He was a champion of the working class and all racial minorities.

As far as I know, he led a blameless life. He was incorruptible.

He was a populist on the other extreme side from someone like Sara Palin and the Tea people. He was a man of the people who believed in freedom for all in actual dollars and cents terms. His was not a spiteful and nasty form of race baiting and divisive rhetoric.

McGovern was a peacemaker. He did not believe that was, particularly the Viet Nam War would solve anything and, what is more, would make "things" worse.

He seemed fearless to me. He was outspoken and let the chips fall where they may.

Did I like him? Not very much. I get annoyed with people like him. But I needed him to be there for me.

George McGovern made it to ninety and had a pretty good ride after his prime. I don't think he went simple. He still spoke out.

Today he would be jeered from the stands by the yahoos and rubes who sit there. Talk about being a socialist! My God. They would have McGovern hung in effigy for his beliefs.

But he was our leader who took the Democratic Party to the left when it needed to be there. His legacy is still there today.

Labels: heroes

ILLEGAL

Today's movie was Chris Weitz'

A Better Life (2011)

A Mexican illegal, a gardener, living in LA with his 14 year old son has been successful at staying in the US and getting a regular job.

Now, with the son caught between the straight life and a gang life, the gardener takes a chance and buys the truck of his boss.

Trouble ensues and his life unravels in a way that threatens both his chances of staying here and the relationship he has with his son.

This is a carefully wrought drama that is probably being played out around me here on a regular basis. In this city.

The stakes are as high as they can be.

Weitz has managed not only to tell the story of this small family but, at the same time, show how their lives lie just around the corner and just over there from our more comfortable circumstances. We see this from scene to scene. It is not hammered in. But it is hard not to notice that the problems of the gardener's kind clients are not anything like his.

The son is rebellious and resentful for a father who is not there for him because he is working. The father does not understand his son's interest in other things than school.

They are walking a tightrope.

Will they get across?

Much of this film is painful to watch but it is also full of love and caring, thoughtful acts which make a kind of redemption for the pain.

The immigration system is shown in all its inflexibility and arbitrary action but we are led to realize that this is necessary as well. A sickness that all of us share. There are small acts of kindness, nevertheless, that makes the difference.

I liked this film very much even though, at times, it was wrenching to watch. Weitz can be trusted to treat us with small acts of kindness as well and to see the story through to a satisfying ending. Maybe not the ending we wanted but a resolution of a kind.

I would be willing to see this again because I know how it turns out and wouldn't be holding the edge of my seat.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

GENIUS

Props to whoever in the Obama campaign, including Obama, who thought this up.

"If you come down with a case of 'Romnesia' and you can't seem to remember the policies that are still on your website, or the promises that you've made over the six years you've been running for president, here's the good news: Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions."

Great. I I love it. It has hit many of the MSM sites.

"And if you think you have Romnesia then you should remember that Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions!"

What a barn burner this is. There are ten YouTube videos of this speech.

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney

BIZZY

No movie today and not a lot of other laid back things either.

It is the day to do housecleaning. And I had an interview with an MIT kid that went very well. An hour and a half for the interview, another hour to write it up. He was worth it. Another kid that makes it worthwhile to do this thing.

We are in the "early action" period. Deadline November 1st. They are lined up.

The main crowd will wake up to the fact of their interviews in November and then look for a slot.

It was a good day with good stuff that happened in it.

I didn't retire to sit around on my ass.

Labels: life

LOST GENERATION

Today's film was Alan Rudolph's

The Moderns (1988)

Rudolph is the guy who made one of my favorites Choose Me.

This one is quite different although it does star Keith Carradine and Genevieve Bujold.

It is a wandering tour of Twenties ex-pat Paris including Hemingway as a sort of Greek Chorus. Other notable names as well. A bit like Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris without the time machine.

Outsider artist Carradine rubs elbows with some serious people and gets into a spot of trouble with fake paintings. Also finds and loses and finds his ex who has hooked up with a rich gangster type.

The main thing here is atmosphere. Underlined. Full of it. Art and music. It has great incidental music and an in plot musician to play the tunes. It is all here. Everything you have read about. Very nicely done.

There is also some magical realism which plays out in some nice scenes in a cab where the passing view is modern art pieces.

In ways, it is, itself, a masterpiece that has somehow been messed with. Not executed as well as it deserves.

But it deserves watching particularly Carradine in soap suds. Very good.

I enjoyed it and would actually not mind seeing it again.

That would make it a 4 out of Netflix5.

This is a short film that Mickey Rourke did using scenes from the main film. Hard to figure why he did this but it shows neat scenes and the music. The trailer is "lost".

Labels: films

WONDERFUL

Friends of ours saw this.

There is a sad part of course. They cut down hundreds? of trees for this to happen. Old growth trees. Some planted by families still in residence along the route. The bitter with the better? Maybe. Doubt it.

Labels: space

TOURING USA AGAIN

Labels: fun, music

HE IS BACK

The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) has his take on the debate with all the unprintable and hard ass discussion that he is infamous for.

There is not a lot that I could quote him on here as even I have some standards of "cleanliness" in the blog. After all, adults read this.

So, the Rude Pundit

Random Observations on Last Night's Second Presidential Debate:

Here is the thing. He doesn't have an archive access so you will have to look for his 101712 post. OK?

WE DON'T KNOW

Labels: republican whack jobs, Romney

GOOD REPUBLICANS

When I talk about good Republicans I usually reach into the past to name what are no longer household names.

I forget Bloomberg who is the new/old Republican and now, ready to take a new step into the national arena.

Bloomberg Forming Super Pac to Influence 2012 Races

which would be legalizing same-sex marriage, enacting tougher gun laws and overhauling schools.

Admittedly this is a bit more new new Republican than most other Republicans are ready for but he is the wave of the future.

Mike Bloomberg.

Labels: Bloomberg, Republicans

AND STILL COUNTING

Today is my thirty third anniversary of being clean and sober.

In one way there is not a lot to it. It is 33 years of staying away from a drink or drug a day at a time. That way that we have of breaking the thing down into managable bits.

At first, the idea of going without a drink for the rest of one's life is too daunting for many an alcoholic. Let's just take today. If you want to drink, wait until tomorrow.

I won't bore with the long story, actually mercifully short time, of my wild sled ride down the hill of daily drinking. Suffice to say that I was bad enough to want out of it badly enough and was willing to go to any length to have that happen.

Willingness to go any length is pretty much a requirement of any success in putting it down.

I went to a detox hospital which was medically based. Not all of them are. I mean medical from the tips of its toes to the top of its sober little head.

Nurses took me in, nurses gave me the shots of the cocktails that would put me out for 24 hours. Nurses woke me up and took care of me. A doctor oversaw the processes of early physical recovery.

For the rest, they had Alcoholics Anonymous, the book, to read and Meetings at night brought in by volunteer groups from the outside.

Today, detox and recovery facilities can tend to the psychological or the instrument of some pet theory about addiction. Not so where I went.

I was covered by insurance for 28 days and that is how long I stayed. By the time I got out I was in pretty good physical shape and a terrible mess mentally.

I couldn't read. I was disoriented. I was missing a main ingredient of stability in my life.

I went to an AA Meeting.

There I found out all I have ever needed to know about staying sober. I had faith that the people I met knew how to do it and then so could I.

Simple faith and a willingness to take suggestions.

There is a book, the book. There are various types of Meetings. There are the famous Steps. There are many, many recovering drunks from all sides of life whose own sobriety depends on giving their Program away to new comers.

This is based on the simple story of BIll Wilson, a stockbroker, who found that the only way he could keep sober was to find another drunk to work with. He found Dr. Bob Smith. Together they found a third guy and then the groups began to form. About 75 years ago.

Nothing too mysterious.

There is no organization as such running AA groups. There is an organization necessary to print literature and to help pass the message. That is about it.

Very simple.

I am active "member" still today. You are a member if you say so.

I sponsor people who, like me, want to stay sober. We work the Steps in our daily life.

There is no secret handshake or dues to be paid.

I won't say much more about it.

We are everywhere if someone needs us. In my Valley alone there are 300 groups, more or less, who meet each week.

Look in your phone book.

See? The whole purpose of writing this down is to pass enough on to others that it does me some good on this day.

Labels: alcohol, recovery

A BREAK FROM POLITICS--SORT OF

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

THE EXPLAINER--ARITHMETIC OVER ILLUSION

The NYTimes had an editorial this morning. It said that Romney needs a "working calculator".

Bill Clinton expands on the point in this new two minute ad.

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney

ROMNEY'S TAX PLAN

You will like to see this. The details, at last!

ROMNEYTAXPLAN.COM

And while we are at it, we all believe Romney is a serial liar. This short video will lay it all out.

Good pre-debate watching.

Labels: Romney

BLEAK

Today's film was Ken Loach's

Sweet Sixteen (2003)

with Martin Compston in his first role. Picked off the street.

The title is ironic. A fifteen year old boy/man, Lliam, is caught in a web of petty crime and hopes to get out of it when his mum gets out of prison for possession.

Recruited by the Mum's boyfriend to take some stash to her inside to sell, Lliam escalates his interest in dealing as a way to find a new home for he and his Mum and sister. He does pretty well and then it comes down crashing.

A social realism piece with great acting by a gang of near amateurs, Loach shows the seamy side of the life in Glasgow and, by the time he is 16, the very day, the pattern that Lliam has fallen into naively, then not, which bars any return or particularly the new home he yearns for.

What is good in this are the relationships. Lliam's buddies and his sister and sort of girl friend. The mother is beautifully portrayed by a woman who is a social worker and comes across this life from the other side every day.

The film is lively and exciting. New areas are uncovered. A boy yearning for his mother. Happiness. And yet falling behind every step of the way.

Compston shows his chops in this role which has lead to a string of parts in more than a few films so far. Three on the way.

The two friends, notably William Ruane, were seen in the tri-film Tickets as well. Ruane also in The Wind That Shakes the Barley which is one of my fivers.

This was one of my fan-boy films. Good to see. Glad to have it done. Once was enough pain for me this week. A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

EL MITTO

Rosie Perez explains.

Labels: Romney

WATCH WHAT IS GOING ON

Today's film was Andrea Arnold's

Red Road (2006)

I had seen this before and gave it a 5. I saw it again today because it has Martin Compston, a young Scottish actor, in it and I like to watch him. He was most recently seen in Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. I will watch him again tomorrow in his first film.

This movie is about surveillance. Our heroine runs cameras in the central control room of the highly sophisticated and scary UK teevee watch system. Cameras everywhere.

And she has a grudge. Which she may not be aware of having until she sees the image of the man who has killed her husband and daughter in a freak auto accident. He had been in prison and is now out on early release.

As our watcher takes her watch outside the control room, she plots a revenge to get him back into prison.

A lot of points are made about watching but not didactically. We see rather than listen to a story about the ominous machines involved.

All the performances here are first rate. Compston is the buddy of the guy just out of the can. Vivid. Tough.

I liked it all over again.

It has a lot of story to tell and does it very well. There is more than a little dread in the runup to the ending and then a great clearing of the air in the finale. You will have a tough time getting there.

I believe that there is real heterosexual sex that happens in this film. Not simulated. All the parts visibly exposed and used to good or bad purpose depending on your perspective. It is a bit unsettling but that may tell more about me than about the film itself.

Great photography and, yes, you will need subtitles. It is filmed in Glasgow and has a strong Scottish flavor.

I will continue it as a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

WHY DO PEOPLE HATE YOU?

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama

RUDE TRUTH

I haven't called upon the rude one for awhile. I mean the "Rude Pundit" whose language and attitude sends a lot of people over the side.

Delightful.

Here he dissects the Veep debate and dissects Ryan while praising Biden.

Joe Biden Throws Paul Ryan Off His Lawn

A tidbit.

Mostly, though, think of the debate this way: In 2008, Joe Biden, who smiled at Sarah Palin the way one does at a particularly precocious toddler, had to hold his fire for fear of seeming sexist or bullying to the then-governor. He got to unload on Ryan. And all those years in the Senate, all those years confronting presidents, all of it came to bear last night as he beat down Ryan viciously and mercilessly. Ryan is the perfect product of Republican America, someone who grew up in the Reagan era in a protected bubble, who learned at the knee of conservatives and worked for people like Sam Brownback, a man whose philosophy is a synthesis of cruel social conservatism and bastardized Ayn Rand. In other words, he is everything Joe Biden has fought against. Of course Biden was gonna cut off this puffed up punk at the knees. That Ryan asshole brought up a fatal car crash in front of the guy who lost his wife and daughter in one. Shit, when it was done, you half-expected the Vice President to brush his shoulder.

It is probably Biden's last time on the big stage. Give the bright-toothed guy his victory lap.

Labels: Joe Biden, republican whack jobs

ROCK HARD

Today's movie was the documentary take down

Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1993)

You shouldn't kick a guy when he is down but when he is dead it is OK.

This carefully curated set of outtakes from Rock Hudson movies assays the "clues" to his homo-hood and beyond.

A pseudo narration by Rock himself provides the smirk.

I know. Movie stars should be out. Should they be outed? In Rock's case it never happened until he became so obviously sick that the dread AIDS words were used but not even until his death. Is this reprehensible? I don't know.

I went into the closet when I graduated from college and didn't come out for a long time after. Fifteen years, sort of?

Rock was a major screen star and not the only gay one. By far. But he gets singled out for being particularly annoying to some gay people because he played so macho so much of the time. And so on. Does that mean that Paul Lynde was any better?

And so on.

The film is amusing. There were a lot of clues which the makers suggest were intentional but really. Have you heard anyone's conversation and parsed it for possible innuendo?

I have to admit the three movies with Tony Randall are a bit over the top and Doris Day's virginity in all their films is now more clearly understood. There was one film where he actually played near gay as a second character.

I feel a little soiled actually. But not enough to maintain a straight face. Get it? An innuendo!

It was good and it was short at one hour and it is over.

It barely makes it a 3 out of the Netflix5.

Another thought. It is like those cat videos or other pets on YouTube. They are barely based on tormenting the animal and I don't like it. Somewhere, Rock's feelings may be hurt. Or, just maybe, he doesn't give a shit. He had a good time and his job was not to be a crusader. Evidently not as he was not one at all.

This is not from the film. It is funnier actually. So someone else sees the same thing. Well, we aren't blind. I like the broken "canes". Dr. Freud?

Labels: closet, films

MY PART

Obama Ahead of Romney Among Early Voters

That would be me. I put my ballot in the mail this morning.

I also voted for Feinstein although I am not personally fond of her. She has gone very establishment. Straight. Also Paul Ruiz who is running against our half a Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack. I say half because Bono is married to Connie Mack the Floridian who is running for the Senate (and not doing so well).

I voted for a couple of school board members and two members of the Medical Board. One of the guys I know pretty well.

I voted for the Governors tax proposal, for the end of the death penalty and for the softening of the "three strikes" law so that the third crime has to be a bad one for it to go into effect.

I feel good. Unburdened.

Obama is still holding Ohio in the polls. Five percent. They are not going to give the details of their tax plan until they are elected. Bad move. A quiet but interesting day.

OL' ARLEN

Passing note of Arlen Specter's death. He was a Senator and politician so long that I remember him from being elected in Philadelphia for District Attorney.

I called him 'Ol Arlen, as many did. I don't know why. I think it was because he was so oily.

His heart was in the right place but he could be a real bastard.

I loved to hear him talk almost as much as he did. A great gravelly voice with an accent that made him sound like a western actor. A drawl. An affectation that became permanent.

He was 82. Hard to say he was a hero to me at all but a character in the background of my life or lives as I lived from place to place and time to time.

So long Ol' Arlen.

In this tape he says that Romney changes position more than a porn star (4:48) and wonders which Mitt Romney will show up for the general election. Prophetic. He wrote a book that said the Tea Party was eating its own. Cannibals.

They ate him up. He was an old style Republican moderate.

Listen to him. A last hurrah.

Labels: Republicans, Romney

POSTS AND NON POSTS

There was no movie yesterday as I had another MIT interview.

It pretty much eats up the early afternoon. Longer time than a movie actually.

An hour interview and an hour or more to write it up.

Some people may wonder what I do when I interview a kid.

This guy is pretty good in describing what it looks like from his side. He is right on the button. I am not looking for the normal thing. I want the extra thing. The talk is all good but the interview suggestion starts at 4:30.

I have not posted about the cool/cold weather we have suddenly been having.

I have been "severely" cold several times this week.

Temps down into the 60s (F) and a couple mornings, the Volvo has reported 58 or 59 degrees outside the car bubble.

This is more precipitous than usual.

A faster slide down the scale.

We got a ten degree drop a few weeks ago and another ten degree drop this week.

Days are still in the 90s but the heat doesn't hold partly because the day is shorter and the ground doesn't get to convert so much energy from UV to IR.

My blogging momentum was offset by the days we had family visiting. I need to ramp up.

PAUL RYAN IS EDDY HASKELL

He works so hard to be nice. A kiss ass. And a liar. Serially.

Labels: republican whack jobs

MIT INTERVIEWS

It is that season again.

It started late this year.

In other years I would have already talked to 7 or 8 kids. I remember interviews in the heat.

Not today. It was nice but not hot.

Outside at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. No purchases necessary. So far at least.

I had one of the nicest interviews. The kind that makes me want to continue being an MIT Educational Counsellor.

Great guy. I would like to be his friend. We went over. I didn't know that we had done an hour.

I hope he makes it.

But there is not any room for anything else today. I will not see a movie. Probably not comment on the great job Joe Biden did last night.

I have a Joe Biden cup. "Cup of Joe". He is a long time favorite. Just not when he was running for President.

I am so happy for him.

And, as someone pointed out today, he did not use the word "literally" one time. A miracle. Although it doesn't bother me at all. It is a quaint tic which I have come to love.

Labels: Joe Biden, Re-election of Barack Obama

GOOD NEWS FOR TED HATERS

Of which I am one. A TED hater. I cannot stand the smug sonofabitches.

Count me in.

Labels: fun

FIRED UP AND READY TO GO

People don't like it if you call a politician a liar. So we have to find euphemisms which I have seen Obama doing over the last several days. Here, he is at his toughest. Watch the call and response buildup and the climb to the holy mountain at the end!

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama

DEBATE PREP

This is for Joe Biden as he takes the stage.

In case you wonder, how could you wonder? This is Franklin Delano Roosevelt giving it to the same shit heads that are running the GOP today. Masters of deception.

And if that isn't enough, try this one. FDR again.

Labels: Republicans

YES!!!

Without meaning to, John and I were married on National Coming Out Day.

How about that?

Labels: coming out, gay history, gay marriage

NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY

I have been "out" so long that this day passes without thinking too much about it.

There is a belief that one is never fully "out" as a gay person and, for me. that is undoubtedly true.

When I came out in 1976, I moved to Boston, went to the bars, joined gay organizations and marched in the streets in the days when that counted for something.

But I was not completely out, out.

For many years I was out in most of my life but not much in my professional life. There are excuses for this but still I was in there.

When John and I got together 37 years ago we were out as a couple. One could hardly not be. Two of us after all. And John was more militant in that respect than I, taking any opportunity to throw it in the face of anyone who didn't want to see or hear the obvious.

There are, or were, times when I would pass for straight. Rarely though did I ever pretend to ogle the ladies. I didn't lie about my partner. That would dishonor him.

Eventually I lost some accounts because of it. Hello, General Foods Human Resources Department!

And, more importantly, some clients didn't care whether I was gay or not and friendships were formed over it. That is you, P&G. Thanks.One way that I avoided out-edness was not to mix much with straight people. Either socially or with people in my work groups. So an indirect closetedness.

Now, after years of retirement, living in the gayest of cities, I have an occasional challenge in this area. People who assume I am straight. Who never consider that I am gay.

A couple of weeks ago, two guys at the gym who are relatively new, observed how lucky I was to have a couple of nubile young women come sit on bikes right near me. I needed to tell them that while the young ladies were attractive they were not attractive in "that way" with me as I play for the other team.

They were dumbfounded.

We used to have to deal with the bigoted and now it is time to deal with the oblivious.

In the gym I hang briefly with the gayest of men. We touch. We talk "that way". I even kiss a few. I got a hug and a kiss from a guy this morning.

Not that we are being obvious or anything of course.

Straight guys hardly get it about women. When it comes to men they are so clueless it is pathetic.

These guys were nice about it, then a bit distant as they processed the information.

The other morning I walked in on one of the spraying his hair in the locker room with great abandon!

I haven't see hair spray in years. And there it was. I took it in and laughed to myself. Men will be men after all. Gay or straight or, as most men are, in between.

Labels: coming out

ROACH MOTEL

Today's movie was Frank Zappa's

200 Motels (1971)

Virtually unwatchable. The transfer is so bad. The images are watery. The sound is obscured by a small 60 cycle hum which cuts out a lot of what is going on.

I watched enough to know that even crystal clear and with perfect sound it might still be unwatchable.

Low on the music and high on stoner high jinx it is obviously something thrown together as an amusement for the band and its most zealous fans.

I liked Zappa's music a lot and, probably, truth be told, I liked the idea of Zappa's work more than the work itself.

That is why I rented the movie. To see finally what I had only heard about. And as Zappa comes into rock history before MTV and all, there is scant video record.

I thought the film would be a combo remember when and a bit more. It turns out to be a lot less.

An early exit earns the DVD a 1 out of Netflix5.

This is a good video of one of his "greatest hits". No preview of 200 motels.

And if you want to see the trailer for the film, here it is.

Labels: films, fun, music

FOUR MORE YEARS

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary.

Nevermind that we have been together 37 years. 33 of them without benefit of clergy.

Matter of fact it is still without benefit of clergy. More the support of the state.

There are benefits. Since California is a community property state we can even file our IRS forms jointly. And there are more benefits within California.

But most of all it is the signifier that gay people do have the same rights as others. That we are not hidden. For the state, it means that all of its people count and have full citizenship.

But the real payoff is emotional.

We had a hundred friends in our back yard. All our kids came to see.

We were married by a member of the City Council who had been a friend.

Our kids led us to the front of the congregation and our dog Franklin followed us just as though it had been rehearsed. Try rehearsing anything with an Airedale.

When the moment came, the declaration that we were man and husband, everyone applauded. And Franklin barked loud and clear. We hadn't rehearsed that either.

A thrill. A realization that the bond we set years ago was not only recognized and validated but that we had, after a long hard struggle, arrived in our proper place in society.

Pretty important stuff.

Labels: gay wedding, life

VIRTUAL REALITY

Labels: internet

FINDING THE TRUTH

Try googling "completely wrong".

Funny, no?

Not funny. This man is running for office, a big one, in our Republic.

I know.

It is another fucking left wing conspiracy. Those bastards.

Labels: Romney

BILL ON A ROLL

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT

Today was a double header.

First, my annual checkup which happens twice a year actually. Only in October there is the EKG and maybe a few other things that I am not aware of.

It all went well. I have lost almost 20 pounds and he is happy about that although somewhat quiet with his praise. It is for me after all, not him.

Hence the blood pressure is well within range of acceptable but too early to decide to reduce the medication.

No other items were found.

We laughed a lot. Dr. Jim is a great guy. I hope we can hold on to him forever. If not, I can move on but I don't want to.

Everyone is getting old. Not a complaint. Just being realistic.

The second excursion was to the barber where we, for the first time, cut the long long hair I have been growing. Combed back sometimes by hand, no part.

I as astonished at the amount of hair he took out of it to shape things up. Last time he did nothing.

But it looks like nothing has been done. Well, almost nothing.

I don't much like going to the hair guy or the doctor but I have the best I can get. The barber is an award winner, the best of PS in some magazine. And he is fun to be with too.

If they can't be fun, I don't want any part of it. Unless I have to. Get a load of the accent on this doctor!

Labels: hair, health, medicine

HAPPY BO RTHDAY

Bo Obama is four today. Here is a portfolio of pictures in celebration.

Labels: Barack Obama, dogs

CHOPPY

No denying this is a rough time for the Obama campaign.

Most Presidents do poorly on their first debate. Too used to being respected. Romney respects no one.

I think they have the range now.

In the meantime, there are bad and upsetting polls.

The undecideds.

We did a post about them below. Blow with the fucking wind.

And then there are the uncommitted liberals who drop out and become nay sayers at the first blow.

The biggest cowards and accusers are the tough guys. Andrew Sullivan. That blond guy on MSNBC. Glass jaws.

Grow some you bastards.

No one said this would be easy. The Republicans lie like shit. Bad. Full time. Get used to it.

We are not good at this kind of hand to hand combat. We offer the other guy a hand to get up when he gets knocked down. The collateral damage of caring about people.

So, for now, the polls are driving the narrative.

Look. I know he was off form. Like Kevin Drum I figured Romney for a B and Obama for a B-.

I still do.

It was never going to be a cake walk.

Now we know that.

Send some money.

I am hoping that Joe Biden gives that smarmy little bastard Ryan a good workover. Another serial liar.

Joe is among the rougher ones in our group. A populist. Never worries about hurt feelings. Good for him.

I am bothered. Sure, I am.

But so far I am not as bothered as I was when Gore ran. And I am not under the illusion as the Romneys are that the debates are determinate. Our man Kerry won the debates hands down. They even had George W. figured for being wired. Remember the stuff under his jacket?

So here we go. The final days.

Labels: re-

THE BIG C

Today's film was

50/50 (2011)

with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen.

As sober about cancer as the deadly disease it is, this film carries a nice and often hilarious story line about best friends in a storm and also has a dash of romance.

Leavitt is a heavy weight who can do many things and this shows his chops for light comedy with a heavy load underneath it all.

Angelica Huston in some nice moments as his Mom and Philip Baker Hall as a fellow chemo patient is great.

Rogen comes in a lower gear here which is welcome. He is the very best friend, since childhood, and provides the real base of understanding love and compassion.

I liked it very much. There are faults. Some jokes fall flat but there are no shit and piss jokes. Plenty of balls and asshole jokes. Some straight sex but not at all objectionable since it was consensual and quick as well as not very good sex. Like most straight encounters I suspect.

The bond between Le

Also, one of the ugliest dogs I have seen in a film meant as a helpful companion for the patient from an insensitive friend. I know about this kind of thing. People who give rescue dogs to other people with no warning. But this turns out well. Or as well as can be expected.

I would not mind seeing it again. A 4 out of Netflix5. Well, maybe a high 3. I am not sure that it would be as emotional the second time. No surprises and the film is full of them.

Labels: films

PRO AND CON

Snoop Lion's analysis of the election. I got this from David Frum. Frum says it is unlikely to move swing voters. I say that we don't know but in the meantime it is hilarious to think about.

Find out more about Snoop Lion here.

Basically it is Snoop Dogg in a new wrapper. He says "reincarnated".

I have always been in his court. I remember the web machine that took everything you wrote and put it in Snoopese.

Only the Snoop would remind us that we really should not have a President whose name is "Mitt".

Labels: democratic whack jobs, Re-election of Barack Obama

FOR THE BIRD

Labels: fun, general election 2012

FOUR IN ONE

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney

ONE YEAR LATER

Apple's one year memorial tape.

Labels: macintosh

VISITORS

Company is coming. The house is all clean. Even the sliders have been washed.

They will be here until early Tuesday morning.

A change of our routine.

Probably slim blogging.

Enjoy the weekend and here is esrose.blog traditional Dali painting of Columbus.

UNDECIDED

Timothy Egan nails the undecided voter.

Idiots' Delight

I have never understood this. How can you be undecided?

Where have you been?

Where are you going?

I go to an eclectic gym and I know all the people I know have made a choice. Some even for the other side.

But undecided? How can that be?

I don't know an undecided voter.

I am an optimist. I believe in people. But I don't believe that a person can dither so or is it just indifference?

Timothy Egan calls you out.

Take a stand for god's sake!

Labels: Idiots

SMALL BOUNCE FOR ONE OF THEM

Romney gains after debate ... with Republicans (Obama with independents)

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney

WATERGATE REVISED

Today's movie was

Dick (1999)

in which the very young Kerstin Dunst and Michelle Williams are found to be the true Deep Throat and the supplier of many breakthroughs in the Watergate scandals.

Largely cast with SNL people this is a seriously funny film as opposed to silly, superficial or scatological. Amazing. The only "dirty" word joke is a running one based on the name in the title.

Dan Hedaya plays Nixon in a wonderful combination of close resemblance and nutty off centeredness.

I saw this when it came out and the current election stuff reminded me of it somehow.

It is really great now to see that both "girls" have grown up and become stars in their own right.

There is nothing heavy here. Worth a series of laughs and a bit of a time capsule.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

GET RID OF THE BIRD

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama, republican whack jobs

THE FIRST AD

Maybe Obama was just letting Romney hang himself. Over and over.

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama

COMEBACK KID

One would almost think Obama let Romney rant on just to let him put out all the lies.

Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama

MORE

These are my sentiments exactly.

Stolen outright from Steve Benen at the Maddow Blog and sundry others. Grand theft--blogging.

This is admittedly only a sampling, but this piece from New York's Jon Chait caught my eye: Romney won the debate in no small part because he adopted a policy of simply lying about his policies. Probably the best way to understand Obama's listless performance is that he was prepared to debate the claims Romney has been making for the entire campaign, and Romney switched up and started making different and utterly bogus ones. As did this one from Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson: Mitt Romney turned in a polished performance in last night's presidential debate – and revealed himself to be an accomplished and unapologetic liar. In an evening where he sought to slice and dice the president with statistics, Romney baldly misrepresented his own policy prescriptions, made up numbers to fit his attacks and buried clear contrasts with the president. CNN's David Gergen, hardly a liberal, was thinking along the same lines as Chait, saying last night he thinks Obama was surprised that Romney was "flat out lying" during the debate. Plenty of others were thinking along the same lines. Romney's critics should probably keep expectations low, but if this line of criticism starts to catch on, it could, in theory, step on the Republican's post-debate glow. In fact, the tactics that led to the win could even backfire, doing more harm than good.

Labels: election, Re-election of Barack Obama

DEEP IN THE RESULTS

Did you know that you can win a debate and still be viewed as a sleezy con artist?

Did you know that many of the negatives for Obama in overnight polls were from progressives who want him, again, to be a prick and attack all the time?

I felt better today after reading this mix of details. You know, there is the surface picture and then the deeper.

Why I'm Not Worried

It gave me a calmer stomach.

Labels: election, Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney

WHAT A MESS

I thought the "debate" was terrible.

Not for the reasons some people did.

I wish Obama had been a bit less presidential and kicked Mitt's ass but this format makes it very hard for the incumbent.

Romney could spout all sorts of stuff in many directions. Obama's impulse is to organize the data. It didn't really work.

The format and the rules got changed this year to allow more of what happened. Unbridled violation of the "rules" and a total lack of clarity from either participant.

I blame Lehrer but he is 82 and the dean of teevee newsmen. His way too general questions left too big a field for any understanding of what the principal's differences were. His efforts to organize and direct were futile.

And my man Obama was off his game.

He got some good points across. Not enough. And not fast enough.

Mitt took the initiative early and held it.

What about Mitt? Go to the "fact check" people. He was, as he often is, a serial liar. He did not spell out any specifics. He was on the attack and the President has a record and he does not.

Romney went to the middle. He suddenly had a different plan than he has had on the campaign trail. You can't be prepared for that. Well, I suppose you can and next time there will be a more wary and, I suspect, much more on the offense player for Mittens to deal with.

The reporting of these things just sucks. The NYTimes is the most comprehensive and reliable, even unto its criticism of Obama.

Axelrod says that Romney may get a small bump in the polls for his performance. There is some room for that to happen but I would rather that it not.

This is Obama all over. The criticism from the left is very high, hence the win/lose stats from CBS and CNN. He got booed by the lefties as much as the right.

On the other hand he maintained his favorability and Romney didn't gain much. He wasn't very likable after all. A scold and a ranter.

The next debates are a better format I think. Particularly the questions from the audience one.

In the meantime, I had some trouble getting to sleep. A usually untroubled mind was disturbed by the shenanigans.

Labels: elections, Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney

YES THIS TIME

My policy on initiatives is to vote "NO" because I oppose the initiative process. But this year I am probably going to vote yes a few times. Here are what will be on the ballot.

Voter Guide 2012

I will vote for the new tax, I will vote for limited union and corporate donations to campaigns, ditto, I am for ending the death penalty.

All others including the human trafficking and some misguided legislating by ballot items get NO even though I might be kinda sorta for them. Wrong place for them. Need hearings and a legislative process.

Labels: general election 2012

NO MOVIE TODAY

Meetings instead. Phone calls. Stuff like that.

And I am working ahead of myself so I can see the first debate.

I am very excited and have no expectations.

Part of me expects that Obama will wipe the floor with him, another is that something will fuck up the lead Obama has, another is that it will make no difference much whatever.

Do you know how many people will NOT see the debates tonight? Or even hear much about the media spins? I don't. I bet it is a high number.

Labels: films, Re-election of Barack Obama

I WAS WAITING FOR THIS

It has irked me that some pollsters and analysts have been using the term "statistical tie" for this election. When, in fact, Obama is ahead 3% or even more.

I suspect that it comes out of an ignorance of statistics or, more likely, a desire to inject more drama in the situation. Which, I think, is plenty dramatic enough.

Kevin Drum has seen this too and calls it out.

One Last Encore for the Great "Statistical Tie" Fallacy

It turns out when polls are aggregated or even when they are not, the idea that the margin of error negates the result is bogus. And Drum explains why. A little wonkily but then it is a wonk's question of a media hype.

I took statistics and remember it as a time of great travail. It is not a simple science and, at many times, is an art.

When put in the hands of people who want to sell papers or attract eyeballs, it is a neat tool to obfuscate and in this case show that Obama's lead which is real is somehow an illusion.

It is not an illusion. He is ahead.

Just ask the Romneys.

Try this:

For the record, as of today Pollster has Obama ahead by 4.3%; RCP has Obama ahead by 4.0%; Sam Wang's meta-margin has Obama ahead by 5.06%; and Nate Silver has Obama ahead by 3.9%. I think it's pretty safe to say that, at this moment in time, Obama is comfortably ahead.

Labels: elections, general election 2012, Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney

CULTURE CLASH IN A TIGHT SPACE

Today's film was the three in one

Tickets (2005).

Three directors, working in a tight space on a train, cover small moments magnified by the intimacy and highly public environment. A paradox.

An aging man daydreams about his life, an entitled lady makes life difficult for her aid and everyone around her and three boisterous scots on their way to a football match encounter and immigrant family on the cusp of a new life.

I liked the last one because it has a lot of tension and life to it. A great release of happy energy after some tense moments "getting to know" each other.

It says that the theme is Europe and immigration. It is certainly about different cultures in collision. Young old, master servant, soccer lads and what might be thought of as wops.

Alls well that ends well. There is kindness and generosity.

The train cars are filled. There is an air stoppage. The people in the cars are the same from director to director. A neat premise very well implemented.

I liked it and would be happy to see it again. A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

DAYLIGHT

John says that the reason we don't see light at night is that it is all infra-red.

That is what the little film vignette says.

I didn't get it. Or, I think that it is extraordinarily mundane. If that is possible. Extraordinary/mundane.

A more pertinent question is "how come there is daylight?". Or more precisely,"how come there is a lit sky?"

Answer: sunlight scattered through air particles. Sun is gone at night so is skylight.

There is a lot to how questions are posed. You can make something very mundane, extraordinary.

If you don't know what I am talking about see below for Sunday Sept 30.

Labels: astronomy, science

GOING BACKWARD

Today's movie would have been in the "gay film fest" had it come out in time.

August (2012)

A newish couple are getting settled when an ex of one comes back to LA from his five years away in Spain.

The reunion is a little complicated. The two exes fool around. The new partner holds his own. The end.

It is a situational character study. Not a sitcom. A sitcter.

The production it lavish and rich. Since this was made from a short film, there is a lot to fill in and this is done through many lingering shots of small, atmospheric items. Cups, planes in the sky, off center shots. Bodies. This is LA so no one is out of shape. Not even the obligatory heteros. Funny that in gay films there is the straight buddy or, in this case, brother.

Luscious color.

The soundscape is as rich. Radio. The traffic. Ambient sound.

The sex scenes are just about right. Not too explicit yet hot enough to hold the attention.

I liked it a lot. I enjoyed all three men and the other attached characters. There are no big messages here. No drama. None at all really. A little if you are rooting for one side or the other. But there are no sides, it turns out.

The ex is a rolling stone and is not going to gather much moss. This is foreshadowed early on.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5. I wouldn't mind seeing it again. It is an eye feast.

Labels: films, gay films