Solipsistic

Sopranos

2007-06-12T12:52:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'm too forgiving. Maybe I forgive The Sopranos too much because of it's sterling quality for so many seasons. That being said, I thought the finale was very good. Not knock your socks off incredible, but a satisfying and fitting conclusion.

Tony still has mother issues. He has not grown. He is a sociopath to the finish. Will he be killed? Sent to prison? Who knows, but the show ended on a subtly tragic note. Tony will grow old and die as Junior. He will always live in fear of death, prison, and he will never arrive. He will always have to jockey for position with the next Phil. Tony is in a hell of his own making. Stasis.

Would the series have been better with Tony holding a bullet-ridden Meadow/Carmella/AJ in his arms bemoaning his life of crime and where it got him? No. It certainly wouldn't have been The Sopranos. Tony will continue to lose those lieutenants, live to fight for survival another day, and someday fade as Junior has.

David Chase was clearly screwing with fans in the final moments. Preparing us for eminent tragedy. Setting us up for the ironic montage of death and loss while Steve Perry wailed hopefully in the background. And that didn't happen.

Chase avoided the obvious and chose stasis. For those who tuned into The Sopranos for the whackings this episode was surely anger inducing. I found it nearly pitch-perfect, although maybe the ending was a bit too meta, too aware of its own finale-ness.

Still, loved the episode for its quiet moments and extra helpings of the fantastic Tony Sirico. A satisfying ending to one of the two best series in television history. The other being The Wire, course.

On Chesil Beach

2007-06-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

It's 1962 and two young lovers enter their honeymoon suite, one eager and the other dreadfully anxious. The two are sexually inexperienced and come from a culture in which sexual function and dysfunction are only understood through practice. This first encounter and its aftermath are the subject of Ian McEwan's new novel On Chesil Beach which should quickly move to the top of your summer reading list.

As the two lovers prepare to consummate their marriage, the narrator takes us on a journey through the characters' pasts, from their childhood to courtship. It's a fascinating journey, finely drawn and intimate in more than just its romantic detail. Though the book does contain some frank descriptions of sex, these moments are more straighforward--and at times hilarious--than erotic.

Surprisingly, in this morally laissez-faire age, the book is very much a moral tale about the fragility of love. McEwan asks us to be aware of the small moments and to take care of those to whom we entrust our bodies, secrets, and hopes. Physical intimacy can strongly bind two individuals, but also tears down their defenses and leaves them vulnerable to one another. McEwan understands this and crafts a story about the importance of caring for those with whom we share intimacy.

A great short novel that stuck with me long after I finished it.

A Death in the Family

2007-06-07T11:58:00.001-05:00

My Accord has been running a little sluggishly lately. Now I know why.

Perving it up on your DS

2007-06-07T10:52:00.000-05:00

The biggest thing to hit the Nintendo DS in Japan is...well...pretty damn horrible.

Maybe it's a giant sting operation and they're going to arrest anyone who purchases this game. This story would certainly be great fodder for Dateline or Oprah.

The post Memorial Day malaise

2007-06-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

The news cycle really slows down in the summer.

Faux News

2007-06-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

As most of you have probably heard, Fox News--while covering the indictment of William Jefferson (D-LA)--mislabeled African-American Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) as Jefferson.

Because to Fox News, all Democrats look the same.

The Higher Power of Lucky

2007-06-05T10:27:00.000-05:00

Prepping for a children's library position, I have been reading some picture books and novels for children. This year's Newberry winner The Higher Power of Lucky has garnered some controversy for the use of the word "scrotum." (This word appears on the first page and this location more easily leads to snap judgments of the work.) Some libraries have banned the book and many parents have asked that the book be banned in their school and local libraries because of the word.

My judgment? Well, I found the use of the word to be frank and appropriate, but you might decide this is not something you want your child reading. The main character Lucky frequently eavesdrops on twelve step meetings and overhears one man's story of his bottoming out, his lowest moment. In this story, the man's dog is bitten by a rattlesnake in the scrotum and he is too drunk to help the dog. Lucky becomes fascinated by the word, but the book is not about scrotums. I find the controversy to be a little ridiculous, especially after reading this excellent book.

The book's title refers to the 12-step goal of finding your "higher power." Lucky doesn't quite understand the 12-steppers and their terms, but she is seeking answers to larger questions and latches onto their verbiage and oragnizing principles. She spends the book trying to decode them and make them her own. She desires to make a moral inventory and find a higher power. This quest takes place during a traumatic period in her life. She has lost her mother and is living with a guardian who may or may not be temporary.

The book is surprisingly poignant and works on two levels. Children will be sucked in by the adventure of the book--Lucky lives in the California desert and has to contend with its sometimes dangerous conditions--while parents will immediately understand that the book is about Lucky's attempts to come to terms with grief and an uncertain future. Given the few moments of frank language--Lucky also encounters the word "sperm"--and complicated themes, parents will want to read this book along with their children. Both parent and child, however, will be rewarded by this rich, humorous, and touching story.

MPAA

2007-06-04T11:13:00.000-05:00

The MPAA just sunk further into irrelevance by ruling that in the near future any movie that features cigarette smoking--the legal kind--will be given an R-rating. This is so incredibly ludicrous and is, given the power that ratings really can have over a film's success, censorship. Want to have a PG-13 action film to open over the 4th of July, better not feature your hero or villain smokoing.

Ludicrous and insulting.

UPDATE: The MPAA is not irrelevant as I first said. In fact, they are very relevant and can help doom a movie with an R or NC-17 rating. I just found their ruling to be a little clueless and needlessly reactionary. The whole idea of a punitive ratings system is ridiculous. Parents should be reading reviews and checking the websites that list possible offending elements in a film. Parents who are worried about a particular film's content should watch it themselves first.

Smoking makes good short hand for showing that a character is dangerous, impulsive, unhinged, anxious, or very relaxed. It can be a great and humorous shortcut for showing that two characters have just had sex. Smoke curling out of a cigarette--correctly lit--can make wonderful images. It would still be ridiculous, but telling parents that a movie features smoking would be a less punitive and more useful warning.

And what are we worried about here? Children being encouraged to smoke. Is this more dangerous than showing a character picking up a handgun, knife, or sword? But then all action movies be rated R and this would wreck the summer movie season.

The Prez

2007-05-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

Via Atrios:

We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government. This is a sovereign nation. Twelve million people went to the polls to approve a constitution. It's their government's choice. If they were to say, leave, we would leave.

Atrios reminds us that, of course, Iraq was also a soveriegn nation prior to our invasion.

Bush's speech to Coast Guard Academy

2007-05-24T16:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in a commencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy, the President revealed that bin Laden--whose capture the White House hasn't exactly made a priority--spoke with al Qaeda bigwig Zarqawi about using Iraq as a training ground for further attacks against the United States.

And...?

If this intended to a be a justification for the war, it's a bit of the old bait and switch and proves the anti-war talking point that invading Iraq would make it a more fertile ground for terrorist activity.

Lost

2007-05-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

Pretty great finale. Who knew that Lost was going to have a similar ending to Return to Gillgan's Island?

SPOILERS AHEAD

Likely explanation of conclusion is that future Jack made a deal to get off the island and come back for the other castaways, but upon return home cannot find his way back and this crushes him.

Feel free to use comment section to discuss and trade Lost theories.

I was toying around with the idea that the island is like the infamous Stanford prison experiment. Thoughts?

Year of the Dog

2007-05-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

Some spoilers ahead.

More than a few critics have blamed the new Mike White film about a pet owner who loses her way with pulling its punches. But how refreshing to have a comedy that's about love, care, and a search for meaning that doesn't reach the sad, cynical conclusion that it's all BS to begin with. Sometimes a bracing satire where everything falls apart and a character's life spirals into total destruction can be invigorating, but at this point it's de rigeur for indie films. How much more subversive it is to make a film where happy endings are possible and love is not a pipe dream.

All this to say, I enjoyed Year of the Dog. It's great to see Molly Shannon (SNL most notably as schoolgirl superstar Mary Catherine Gallagher) again and her performance is extraordinary. It's a difficult role that asks us to be at times sympathetic toward and simultaneously horrified with her character. She refuses to turn her animal loving heroine into a caricature. The film also features a great supporting cast including John C. Reilly, Regina King, Peter Saarsgard, and Laura Dern.

A very solid film worth checking out.

New Fall shows

2007-05-21T09:10:00.000-05:00

The networks unveiled their Fall schedules last week and TV Week posted the clips of the new shows. Be sure to watch Cavemen. Looks really bad.

Where I've been

2007-05-21T08:38:00.000-05:00

Having just finished school, I've been on vacation and looking for work. So I haven't been on the internet much. Stay tuned for updates.

28 Weeks Later

2007-05-11T19:13:00.000-05:00

A tight, thrilling, horrifying scare machine. I haven't been this scared in a theater since The Exorcist.

Not for the faint of heart or gore-averse.

For everyone else, go see it now.

Once

2007-05-10T10:26:00.000-05:00

Once, the Audience Award Winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is a gem of a movie. I had the pleasure of seeing the film last night at the Tivoli Theater with the film's leads and director in attendance. Hoping for great word of mouth, they are touring around the country with their film answering audience questions and performing songs from the film.

Once is a musical but not as you might expect. There are no scenes of passerbys bursting into song and dance as the leads fall in love or swelling string sections as the lovers embrace. Rather, director John Carney fashioned a stripped down, more "realistic" musical where the songs emerge from the leads as they perform on street corners, for friends, and in recording studios. Carney informed the audience that the film was made in only seventeen days and for only $150,000. The leads are professional musicians, but have never acted before. No one will mistake this for a big budget feature, but in the rawness of its presentation and performances the film gains extraordinary power.

Carney's film--which he also wrote--is a love story about waiting and deferring gratification. It's about the struggle of making ethical decisions when caught up in the fever of new love. Musicals are frequently larger than life odes to seizing the day and falling in rapturous love, so much so that you can't help burst into song. Carney subverts our expectations of the musical and presents a film about quiet, reserved lovers-to-be who struggle with the consequences of what a rapturous affair would mean to those they love.

But don't think the movie is a bore. Rather, it is a spellbinding and fantastic romantic film. Glen Hansard, lead singer of The Frames, stars alongside Czech singer and Dublin resident Marketa Irglova. Their musical performances are raw and powerful. Their harmonies are otherworldly and fantastic. The music is reminiscent of Damien Rice. Hearing them perform live after the film, I realized how little the recordings we hear in the film have been altered. Fans of Rice and singer/songwriter performers will enjoy this film.

After the multiplexes have beaten you in to a pulp striving to entertain you this summer, you would do well to seek out the quiet, haunting Once. It sticks with you and has you humming on your way out of the lobby. It'll certainly make a bracing tonic to the sure-to-be-overstuffed Hairsprapy.

Dick Morris

2007-05-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

Baffling:

I think that withdrawal from Iraq — it obviously gives al Qaeda a huge victory. Huge victory. On the other hand, if we stay in Iraq, it gives them the opportunity to kill more Americans, which they really like.

One of the things, though, that I think the antiwar crowd has not considered is that, if we’re putting the Americans right within their arms’ reach, they don’t have to come to Wall Street to kill Americans. They don’t have to knock down the trade center. They can do it around the corner, and convenience is a big factor when you’re a terrorist.

So our soldiers are bait?

Spiderman 3

2007-05-08T11:53:00.000-05:00

It was inevitable that Spiderman 3 would disappoint given the near perfection of the second installment in the franchise. What viewers will be surprised by, however, is the weirdness of the third feature. Dance numbers exist alongside extended comic riffs which exist alongside weepy soliloquies. At times it feels like Spiderman as envisioned by Baz Luhrmann. When the movie works, its kind of a rush to see director Sam Raimi swinging for the fences. I'm often a fan of the overstuffed and bizarre particularly in the loud, bludgeoning sameness of the summer movie season.

But much of the movie doesn't work. The dramatic scenes are just too long and neither the comic book characterizations--necessarily, I know--or goofy dialogue justify the extended close-ups and tearful monologues. Tobey Maguire is a master of understatement and reserve. Watching him--particularly in this film--you finally realize how easily he could play the quiet sociopath next door. His Parker always seems on the verge of a total pshychological break. This is oddly invigorating, but also gives him zero credibility during his scenes of tearful fighting with Mary Jane. We just don't believe this loopy Parker as a passionate romantic figure. He's too screwed up.

Also, the film's climactic battle feels the most cartoony of any moment in the series so far. One of the villains is so outrageous and so clearly a CGI creation as to become non-threatening. The film is, in fact, overstuffed with villains. Sandman, evil Spiderman, Venom, and the Green Goblin all vie for screentime. Venom is scary and effective in his short screen time. The Sandman has some great moments--particularly his birth and early fight with Spiderman--but the film's attempts to invest the character with pathos fall flat. Evil Spiderman/Peter Parker is often a hoot, particularly in an extended dance number. Some viewers will find these moments tonally inappropriate, but I thought they gave the film's sagging midsection much needed energy.

But I would recommend this movie and actually enjoyed it. It's got enough of the good stuff: a few great fight scenes, some scary villainy, and a go-for-broke spirit. The film gets enough right to keep fans of the previous two entries entertained. If Raimi had shaved off fifteen to twenty minutes, the movie may have been a smashing success.

Considering the dreck that we often get in the summer, Spiderman 3 is worth seeing.

Pirates of the Caribbean 3

2007-05-03T11:20:00.000-05:00

Is nearly three hours long.

That's likely three hours of loud, boring incomprehensibility. The second was an abomination and given the speed with which the third is being released expect more of the same. You're going to be bombarded with Fun until you're beaten into submission.

Your news IQ

2007-05-03T11:06:00.000-05:00

The Pew Research Foundation recently conducted a survey on Americans' knowledge of current events. Answer nine questions to find out how you stack up compared to the rest of the country.

I got seven right which put me in the 77th percentile. Those who got their news primarily from Fox scored in the 50th percentile.

How do you stack up?

Bush backtracks

2007-05-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

On the wiretapping "concessions."

Spider Man 3

2007-05-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

Word is to set your expectations a little lower. This one doesn't sound like its going to top its predecessor.

Hubris

2007-05-02T11:37:00.001-05:00

And lies.

A very sad bit of theater.

Past Pulitzer winners

2007-05-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading the 2006 winner March--see below--and thought it was only good. I found it hard to believe it was the among the year's best. (Yes, awards are always highly subjective, but it seems inevitable that the panelists read several better novels in the judging process.) This year's winner The Road was certainly deserving and was a surprising Oprah's Book Club pick. (How will book clubbers repsond to the books overwhelming bleakness and brutality? I'm not questioning the intelligence of Oprah readers, merely the possibility of the book's limited appeal due to its tone and subject matter.)

I seek out Pulitzer winners because it seems a good way--"of making many books there is no end" (Ecclesiastes 12:12)--to separate the wheat from the chaff. This has led me to amazing books like Gilead, The Known World, Empire Falls, and Beloved. Occasionally, I run across one that elicits a shrug like Independence Day by Richard Ford. I listened to this one on tape and the narrator was very annoying so maybe that contributed to my frustration with the book's interminable navel-gazing. (Was the narrative more ironic than I realized, or was it as tiredly self-indulgent as it seemed? Maybe when I near a mid-life crisis, I'll appreciate it more.)

The Pulitzer has also been awarded to three of my favorite books of all time: Lonseome Dove, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the greatest novel ever written All the King's Men. So I'll continue to use it as a guide. It's just puzzling when a book like March gets to stand alongside Robert Penn Warren, Cormac McCarthy, and Toni Morrison.

To my readers, have any past Pulitzer or other award winners left you cold? I know that although I found A Confederacy of Dunces inspired, it also seemed slight in comparison to other Pulitzer honorees. (I'm sorry that the dream team of director David Gordon Green, Will Ferell and Robert Duvall never materialized for the filmed adaptation. That had the potential to be an amazing film.)

March

2007-05-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

Last year's Pulitzer winner for fiction comes up short in comparison to its brethren. Author Geraldine Brooks tells the story of Mr. March, patriarch of the famous March family of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Women follows the March family through a eventful year as their father goes off to the Civil War to minister to the troops, but tells little of the father's story. Brooks in March imagines what that year was like for the father including harrowing scenes of war violence and of his dangerous attempt to aid in the administration of a Southern cotton plantation manned by newly freed slaves.

Brooks sets her story in the early days of the Civil War when the North was experiencing brutal losses at the hands of Confederate troops. Northern victory looked unlikely and the President's ability to lead was in doubt. To this reader, setting the story in this time of of our country's uncertainty was novel. Many civil war stories seem to be set in a world in which the collapse of the Confederacy seems inevitable.

March's time on the plantation makes for exciting reading. March's education of the newly freed slaves and his efforts to awaken the plantation's callow boss to the humanity of his employees makes for riveting reading. The plantation is located on Confederate land recently claimed, but poorly defended, by Northern forces making the threat of Confederate attack on the plantation a constant worry. This is the book's strongest section and make it worth the read.

But the book also contains some regrettable staples of melodrama: a dangerous affair and the threat of discovery. The resolution of this story makes up the book's climax and, while unexpected in its execution, feels very tired. We've seen much of this before. The narrative is also a very straightforward first person narrative where the storytellers leave little to the reader's imagination. They do more telling than showing. Their motivations are rarely in doubt.

An interesting history lesson that lacks the impact and subtletly of past Pulitzer winners. Fans of Little Women should be aware of the book's brutal war scenes that would seem out of place in Alcott's mostly gentle world.

New favorite artist and group

2007-04-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley. Check out "Rabbit Fur Coat" and the several Rilo Kiley albums. I'm a little late to the party on Rilo Kiley, but I've been to their songs in heavy rotation lately and wanted to give them an endorsement.

This is great

2007-04-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

But maybe a little too "inside baseball." Those who keep up with the talking heads will get a kick out of it.

We'll see

2007-04-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

Former CIA analyst drops this bombshell on Tucker Carlson's show.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Men of honor don't do this, George

2007-04-27T15:16:00.000-05:00

George Tenet, former CIA director, has his big 60 Minutes interview on Sunday and his book will be released on Monday. In the book, he says Cheney was eager to get us into war with Iraq and didn't properly consider the impacts of such an action and the alternatives to war. (This is not news.)

Tenet also states that his comment about war evidence being "a slam dunk" referred to the President's ability to make the case for war given the evidence. He was not stating that the evidence itself was a "slam dunk," or definitive and irrefutable, as the White House has characterized. This is a key revelation because the White House has always stated that the bad intelligence was the CIA's fault. The White House was duped into the war.

No one really believed this but the very gullible and those who still believe in Bush because he says he prays everyday. But Tenet seems to believe this vindicates him. But if he was stating that the ability of the White House to sell the war based on the evidence was a "slam dunk." How is this any better? Tenet still remains culpable. Forget questions of legitimacy of the evidence. We can sell this, Mr. President.

That's inexcusable. Tenet has stated in regards to the White House's mischaracterization that "men of honor don't do this."

Men of honor don't dupe the American people and try and sell us a false bill of goods.

Lucky You

2007-04-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

Curtis Hanson's (L.A. Confidential) has been in the can for two years and regular moviegoers have been seeing ads for it for over a year. The release date continues to be pushed back. Initially it was advertised as a moody movie about a gambler's troubled relationship with his father and girlfriend. It looked as if the movie was more of a "guy" film with a heavy emphasis on Texas Hold 'Em.

Over a year later, it has been hauled out again and is now being advertised as a somewhat upbeat film that is a love story about a gambler. The Texas Hold 'Em almost seems incidental to the plot. Its opening date? My 4th. The same day is the behemoth Spiderman 3. This is classic counterprogramming. It explains the new emphasis on romance and the switch to a more upbeat trailer. (Don't be fooled. This one looks to be a bit of a downer.) Warner Brothers, the studio releasing Lucky You, hopes to snag those wives and girlfriends who don't want to see one of the biggest action movies of all time.

But doesn't everyone want to see Spiderman 3 on opening day? Expect a quick death for Lucky You.

Exactly

2007-04-27T14:57:00.000-05:00

Josh Marshall articulates what I have been thinking in regards to the war.

Some Republicans have been saying that the Iraq spending bill in its current condition is a de facto order to surrender. But to whom? Isn't the war over? Aren't we now an occupying force? Wouldn't leaving be ending the occupation--not surrendering--since the war is already over?

CNN tries to out-Fox their competitor

2007-04-25T19:00:00.000-05:00

Here.

Seriously?

2007-04-25T18:51:00.000-05:00

From AmericaBlog:

Laura Bush wants you to know the President is suffering over Iraq. Laura [Bush] told Anne Curry on the Today Show, that the American people need to know that "no one suffers more than their President and I do."

No one?

Faux News

2007-04-25T18:39:00.000-05:00

Hates Iraqis.

A giant mess

2007-04-24T16:16:00.000-05:00

Senator Waxman's hearings on the Army's falsifying of multiple stories is astounding. This testimony from Pat Tillman's brother Kevin is worth watching.

What happened here?

Radio Shack is still going strong

2007-04-23T21:39:00.000-05:00

To the amazement of company CEO:

Despite having been on the job for nine months, RadioShack CEO Julian Day said Monday that he still has "no idea" how the home electronics store manages to stay open.

"There must be some sort of business model that enables this company to make money, but I'll be damned if I know what it is," Day said. "You wouldn't think that people still buy enough strobe lights and extension cords to support an entire nationwide chain, but I guess they must, or I wouldn't have this desk to sit behind all day."

The retail outlet boasts more than 6,000 locations in the United States, and is known best for its wall-sized displays of obscure-looking analog electronics components and its notoriously desperate, high-pressure sales staff. Nevertheless, it ranks as a Fortune 500 company, with gross revenues of over $4.5 billion and fiscal quarter earnings averaging tens of millions of dollars.

"Have you even been inside of a RadioShack recently?" Day asked. "Just walking into the place makes you feel vaguely depressed and alienated. Maybe our customers are at the mall anyway and don't feel like driving to Best Buy? I suppose that's possible, but still, it's just...weird."

..."I'd like to capitalize on the store's strong points, but I honestly don't know what they are," Day said. "Every location is full of bizarre adapters, random chargers, and old boom boxes, and some sales guy is constantly hovering over you. It's like walking into your grandpa's basement. You always expect to see something cool, but it never delivers."

Added Day: "I may never know the answer. No matter how many times I punch the sales figures into this crappy Tandy desk calculator, it just doesn't add up."

Faux News

2007-04-23T21:25:00.000-05:00

Behold.

Satire?

2007-04-23T13:21:00.000-05:00

Maybe, but given the desire to find/create torture loopholes, one suspects that DOD R and D may be hard at work on a device such as this.

Best not to view at work.

Believe it or not

2007-04-23T13:02:00.000-05:00

Boggles the mind.

NBC's new business model...

2007-04-23T12:52:00.000-05:00

...is in full effect. Less scripted programming, more reality shows. Monday night has been the platform to display the new budget cutting shows which have included the inert Thank God You're Here--improv is only hindered by costumes and sets--and tonight's The Real Wedding Crashers.

Critical reaction to the show here.

Sounds painfully bad and it's an hour long. Same as Thank God. Didn't someone of note say something about brevity and wit.

NBC is beginning to look like FOX in the mid and late nineties. Very desperate.

Mutiny

2007-04-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

World Bank in turmoil.

Saddam had a secret stockpile of WMDs

2007-04-21T20:19:00.000-05:00

But the Illuminati disappeared 'em.

"What? That's illegal again?"

2007-04-21T20:13:00.000-05:00

Under the last six years of GOP control of Washington, one gets the impression that exposing cronyism of their own wasn't a high priority. (It's fair to say that a long period of a heavy Democrat majority would likely yield the same situation.)

Now No Child Left Behind is under investigation for cronyism.

Needed correction

2007-04-20T20:55:00.000-05:00

John Podhoretz of National Review reprimands fellow writer John Derbyshire concerning his horrible post of a few days ago.

Very good to see. Kudos to John Podhoretz.

Derbyshire lamely defends his statements here. I do not agree with the author's characterization of Derbyshire as a coward, but he certainly does sound very foolish.

More wacko commentary

2007-04-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

The shooting at Virginia Tech inspired all manner of obtuse commentary. Here's another one that insists liberals made him do it.

Liberal bias in Newsweek?

2007-04-19T23:12:00.000-05:00

While reading this week's Newsweek story about Imus, I noticed a little sidebar within the story entitled "Leaders of the 'Shock Jock' Pack." The column had a listing of the # of outrageous statements made by talk radio hosts and then ranked them according to this number. Rush being on top, followed by Hannity, etc. Except the list was compiled by Media Matters for America which is decidedly left leaning. I read them regularly, but they are definitely a media watchdog group with a progressive agenda. The magazine would have committed a similar no-no if they made a list based on the findings of Brent Bozell's decidedly conservative Media Research Center. Sure, the source was cited, but how many of you had even heard of Media Matters and knew of their political leanings?

Thought I'd practice some Equal Time for a change.

Woes and bright spots for the city of St. Louis

2007-04-19T14:15:00.000-05:00

Good, fair article in the New York Times about the woes and problems in the Gateway to the West. Pretty accurate picture for those who want to know more about the city.

Virginia shooter influenced by Oldboy?

2007-04-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

This image of Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui quickly led to, likely the very correct, notion that he was imitating a scene from the film Oldboy. In the movie, a man seeking vengeance for being held in captivity for ten years(?) by an unidentified party goes after a host of badguys with just a claw hammer.

Before a furor gets started about the movie--and whether the scenes of violence it depicts are "acceptable"--I'll just throw out that I think this line of argument is a dead end. Violent movies and video games don't make people go on violent rampages. I think they may fan the flames of a damaged psyche, but recovering alcoholics shouldn't have the occasional cocktail either. Cho also said the following, according to a Bloomberg news service article:

I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and defenseless people," Cho Seung Hui, 23, said during a rambling video message that he mailed to NBC News after killing his first two victims.

Look any more at the manifesto and you'll see a hodgepodge of references so pinning blame on any one outside source is not a useful exercise. (I'd argue the mass activity of non-experts, semi-experts trying to diagnose his pathology on cable news networks--who need to create twenty four hours of unique content--is a bad idea. At the very least its a gigantic waste of time.)

The movies didn't make him do it.

National Review continues to disrespect the dead

2007-04-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

Wow. This from Mark Steyn on the infantilzation of young men and women:

On Monday night, Geraldo was all over Fox News saying we have to accept that, in this horrible world we live in, our “children” need to be “protected"...They’re not “children.” The students at Virginia Tech were grown women and — if you’ll forgive the expression — men.

Another gem from the folks at National Review

2007-04-17T14:11:00.000-05:00

They sure are having a field day with the tragedy at Virginia Tech. And as someone who went the liberal arts route--specifically English--the following statement particularly rankled:

And, sorry again, but thoughts also arise on the killer's being an English major and on the spiritual emptiness of much education nowadays.

I guess being a moron doesn't disqualify you from writing for The Corner.

National Review: First Blood, Part 2

2007-04-17T13:59:00.000-05:00

This is so horrid.

Maybe the people didn't react the way super Derbyshire would have because those not conditioned to warfare and seeing friends being shot down around them freak out and go into shock. Seriously. What an ass.

More WH emails gone

2007-04-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

And these relating to relations between the White House and convicted lobbyist Abramoff. Who the president never recalled meeting.

Litany of lies

2007-04-13T18:43:00.000-05:00

Adventures in deception.

The fall of Imus

2007-04-13T11:34:00.000-05:00

It's hardly a new or novel insight, but the swiftness with which Imus was dispatched is largely due to the twenty four hour news cycle. Cable news and the internets need a steady stream of captivating stories. We know if it bleeds, it leads. But racist remarks made by public figures are a close second. And the ghoulish cowboy hatted Imus speaking like a good old boy captured the public's imagination. I think much of the country had little to no awareness of Imus. But among politicos and punditry, he was highly influential and his company was sought after. His show had a clubhouse mentality. The guys at the country club speaking with the doors closed. And with a poorly chosen target, he flung open the doors and exposed his club for all the world to see. Given close and intense scrutiny, there was no way his anachronistic club could survive.

The Imus story proved to be a rich vein, the ghoulish Imus a suitable villain, and the news cycle needed to be filled. (If we had discovered in the last week that Anna Nicole Smith was actually a transsexual, Imus may have been saved.) I watched highlights of the The Daily Show of Imus speaking to Sharpton, and Imus used both the phrases "you people" and he referred to aggressive criticism by Sharpton as "jive." He was clearly an anachronism, a hold over from another generation. The world has zero tolerance for racist remarks uttered by the privileged and Imus seemed bizarrely unaware.

Then there was the target of his criticism. He and his crew called the basketball team--and here's a word that white men should rarely if ever speak--"jigaboos" and "hos." Why? Had he said this about some of the contestants on the trash fest Flavor of Love he would have gotten away with it. But these were college students on an overacheiving basketball team. They were heroic, admirable. Imus did not know them. He nothing of them. But he did know they were black. And this seems to be the only discernible reason for him using the terms. And that is racism. And that can get you fired.

If I use the "n" word in an office, I would be fired. My free speech has not been impinged. Speech has consequences. The government should stay out of policing "hate speech," but you have to be willing to face the music when your words offend others. Speak carefully. If a rap artist calls someone a "ho"--and let's clarify that no rapper ever labeled overacheving college students "hos"--it's up to you to decide how you want to respond. Don't buy the music. Write a letter to your newspaper's editor. Boycott. Contact Al Sharpton. The public responded to CBS and NBC by stating that Imus's words and sentiments were intolerable on a national broadcast.

Speak freely, but be ready to face the consequences when your words wound. Imus needed to go, but the swiftness of his firing was extraordinary. The whole thing clearly overwhelmed him.

Faux News

2007-04-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

Another highlight.

Film pitch

2007-04-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Given the stunning success of Grindhouse, I have some ideas from similar projects:

How about a film project called Art House featuring James Ivory's The Drawing Room and Almodovar's Mujeres Locos with fake trailers directed by Errol Morris, David Gordon Green, and Eric Rohmer?

Or Multiplex featuring The Dominion directed by Michael Bay and Friend of the Family by Brett "the Rat" Ratner with fake trailers by Nancy Meyers and Gary Marshall.

More emails get "disappeared"

2007-04-12T21:52:00.000-05:00

Here and here.

And an "aha" moment that reveals why this story won't be going away anytime soon.

Illuminati? Who needs 'em

2007-04-12T12:11:00.000-05:00

I had a long discussion recently with a friend of mine who genuinely believes in the existence of the Illuminati, an all powerful group of world leaders that schemes and conspires behind closed doors. He ran through a litany of recent corruption and malfeasance using this as evidence of, if not the Illuminati, some international conspiracy.

But there's no need to construct a powerful group of white males operating behind closed doors to explain corruption and duplicity on a grand scale. Simply, corporations, individuals, and governing bodies will act illegaly and/or immorally to the degree they believe they can get away with often in an effort to consolidate or grab more power.

This is what we do. And its the reality of this that should chill you to the bone when you look at the failure of Congress and, to a lesser extent, the press to provide adequate oversight of the White House. Aggressive oversight is necessary to correct the tendency to corruption no matter the political stripe of our leaders.

Losing emails

2007-04-12T12:04:00.000-05:00

And why it's very big deal. From Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post:

Until 2004, all e-mail on RNC accounts was routinely deleted after 30 days. Since 2004, White House staffers using those accounts have been able to save their e-mail indefinitely -- but have also been able to delete whatever they felt like deleting. By comparison, the White House e-mail system preserves absolutely everything forever, in accordance with the Presidential Records Act.

The White House yesterday said it has no idea how many e-mails have been lost.

In an afternoon conference call with reporters, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel spread the blame all around. "White House policy did not give clear enough guidance," he said. "The oversight of that wasn't aggressive enough." And individual White House staffers "did not do a good enough job of following existing preservation policy -- or seeking guidance."

Said Stanzel: "I guess the bottom line is that our policy at the White House was not clear enough for employees."

But when I asked Stanzel to read out loud the White House e-mail policy, it seemed clear enough to me: "Federal law requires the preservation of electronic communications sent or received by White House staff," says the handbook that all staffers are given and expected to read and comply with.

"As a result, personnel working on behalf of the EOP [Executive Office of the President] are expected to only use government-provided e-mail services for all official communication."

The handbook further explains: "The official EOP e-mail system is designed to automatically comply with records management requirements."

And if that wasn't clear enough, the handbook notes -- as was the case in the Clinton administration -- that "commercial or free e-mail sites and chat rooms are blocked from the EOP network to help staff members ensure compliance and to prevent the circumvention of the records management requirements."

Stanzel refused to publicly release the relevant portions of the White House staff manual and denied my request to make public the transcript of the call, which lasted more than an hour but which -- due to Stanzel's refusal or inability to provide straight answers on many issues -- raised more questions than it answered.

Stanzel said that "some people" may have used their non-government accounts for official business due to "an abundance of caution" in order to avoid violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits the use of government e-mail for overtly political purposes, such as fundraising -- and due to "logistical convenience."

The oversight wasn't aggressive enough? That pretty much sums up the kid gloves treatment given to the White House the previous six years.

My dog ate it

2007-04-11T22:17:00.000-05:00

The White House conveniently loses evidence. They've sure got some brass ones.

Compromise?

2007-04-10T13:44:00.000-05:00

AP:

President Bush on Tuesday invited Democrats to discuss their standoff over a war-spending bill, but he made clear he would not change his position opposing troop withdrawals. The White House bluntly said the meeting would not be a negotiation.

"It's time for them to get the job done, so I'm inviting congressional leaders from both parties — both political parties — to meet with me at the White House next week," Bush said in a speech to an American Legion audience in Fairfax, Va.

"At this meeting, the leaders in Congress can report on progress on getting an emergency spending bill to my desk," Bush said. "We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill, a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal and without handcuffing our generals on the ground. I'm hopeful we'll see some results soon from the Congress."

Bush is inviting Congress to the White House so he can lecture them. A truly arrogant gesture.

Slow blogging

2007-04-10T13:43:00.000-05:00

In the midst of finals for the rest of the week--I don't have to write a thesis for my program, but I do have to write several essays--so expect slow blogging.

The Sopranos 4/9

2007-04-09T10:40:00.000-05:00

For long time fans, last night's episode was incredible. For years, we have been watching gentle Bobby, wandering what the heck he was doing in the violent world of the mob. He just seems too nice. Last night the dam broke, Bobby took out years of pent up agression and it was incredible. (How much of that fight was about Uncle Junior, too?) We knew that Monopoly, drinking, and Janice were a deadly combo and the use of "Take Five"'s unresolved theme to build tension was fantastic. The best use of that Brubeck piece I've ever heard.

Last season's finale, with the happy family gathered together, was a tease, a ruse. These people can't live happily together. They're too violent, too screwed up. They'll destroy themselves and each other. Their attempts at domestic normalcy--family game night--are impossible and fascinating. Last night was the beginning of the end. Tony didn't whack Bobby, but his revenge was cruel. We also saw the RICO case tightening, Bobby's impending doom--he left far too much evidence--and possibly the beginning of the end for Christofuh. Truly a fantastic hour of television.

They're never letting me out of here

2007-04-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

In the lead up to the war in Iraq, I participated in a few anti-war demonstrations and, very foolishly, I signed several petitions at these protests. This may well lead to me never getting to leave the country again, or at least some harrassment upon trying to do so.

See here.

Welcome to life in Bush's America.

Tacky and tasteless

2007-04-06T16:42:00.000-05:00

The release of the hyper-violent Grindhouse and its subsequent success is going to lead to much editorializing on violence in the media and cinematic sins.

In order for some perspective, though I want to remind readers of one of the most egregious, tasteless film scenes of all time.

This is family friendly and work appropriate, but nonetheless tasteless.

Anyone remember this movie?

In case you haven't seen it

2007-04-06T16:18:00.001-05:00

How dare the GOP conspire with terrorists?

2007-04-05T13:54:00.000-05:00

See here.

Overheard on Fox Movie Channel

2007-04-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

This weekend sees the release of the new family film Firehouse Dog from 20th Century Fox which means 24/7 promotion on the Fox Movie Channel. Last night, I got a chance to catch an overly serious promotional documentary about the film. In it, the film's producer shares that he knew director Todd Holland was looking to make a "dog movie." But the director had a specific vision for his "dog movie." The director, to maintain his artistic integrity, wanted to make a movie about the things "dogs actually do."

Apparently the things dogs actually do includes playing Playstation, sliding down a poll, and cleaning a kids room.

You've got to be kidding me?

2007-04-05T13:10:00.001-05:00

CNN's trying to out-Fox the competition.

Loaded language

2007-04-05T12:52:00.000-05:00

According to this reasoning, people of color have "dirty skin"?

Who's creating the impasse?

2007-04-05T12:41:00.000-05:00

In a message to troops at Fort Irwin, California, Bush said the following:

President George W. Bush told troops at Fort Irwin, California, that the Democratic-led Congress must send him war-funding legislation without ``artificial'' timetables for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

``The clock is ticking for our military,'' Bush told a throng of soldiers after lunch at the base. He said House- and Senate-passed measures that include timetables for pulling out U.S. forces are ``unacceptable'' and the impasse threatens to delay funds needed to train soldiers.

Some pertinent questions to keep in mind when looking at the spin concerning war funding:

How are the deadlines artificial?

The word "artificial" implies a falsehood or a reproduction. But the deadlines, if the current Congressional version of the bill was passed, would be very real and tangible. So the use of the word "artificial" doesn't really make sense.

Who created the impasse?

The White House would have you believe that Congress is not funding the troops and in doing so has created an impasse. But Congress is on the verge of passing an emergency supplemental bill which would indeed fund the troops. Vetoing the bill--an action Bush is threatening--would delay funding of the troops. The president would be most directly responsible for delaying funding.

I'm not saying the President must accept the current bill--of course, I think we shouldn't have ever gone to Iraq in the first place--but an impasse would be the president's reaction to Congress. Bush would be a prominent player in the impasse. He would be equally culpable.

Chidlhood trauma

2007-04-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

I recently read the Sesame Street retrospective Unpaved and was glad to hear that other children used to freak out when the very angry muppet Don Music came on screen. I went berzerk with fear when he showed up. Crying, wailing. I think my mom got a kick out of it.

Here's the bi-polar Don Music:

Fascinating op-ed

2007-04-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Concerning the record industry sowing the seeds of its own destruction.

A Hatch(et) job

2007-04-05T10:57:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has listened to Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in his House Judiciary Committee hearings knows that he is White House water carrier uber supreme. When a Bush nominee comes before him, he'll ask questions like "Do you realize how great a candidate you are?" (A hyperbolic example, but not far from the truth.)

In defense of the White House over the US attorney controversey, Hatch offered up this doozy of a lie. Its an audacious string of falsehoods.

Anyone remember this half hour PSA?

2007-04-04T15:23:00.000-05:00

Highlights below:

Full version here.

Thanks for turning Bugs Bunny into a didactic bore.

So I guess 30% of Americans support the clap?

2007-04-04T14:55:00.000-05:00

You heard it here first.

Speaking of music videos

2007-04-04T14:41:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I thought a greater song would never be written than this gem.

This is a song about not selling out and "corporation games," but it's being performed by Starship AKA Jefferson Starship AKA Jefferson Airplane.

And the first music video I ever saw. I remember watching this at my grandmother's--the first person I knew who had MTV--and being transfixed and very scared. Now it comes off as pretty silly, but as a kid who rarely listened to rock--considered it kind of dangerous--and had never seen MTV, this thing was mindblowing.

Watching it again, I can't help but think the Wachowski's were heavily influenced by this when making The Matrix.

Perfectly odd

2007-04-04T14:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday brought news of a Goonies musical, see below, which reminded of the very odd music video for the film's catchy Cyndi Lauper theme song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough." (This video's a little long.) It features The Bangles as pirates, Steven Spielberg, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, and Martha Plimpton.

What's with Captain Lou's rubberband?

Meet the Robinsons

2007-04-04T12:56:00.000-05:00

Though Meet the Robinsons doesn't offer fantastic storytelling--it feels like an original feature from the Cartoon Network--it is a technical and design marvel. The storytelling is just good enough to keep all ages entertained, but the character design is quite good and the 3D presentation is a wonder to behold. The film is preceded by a classic Disney cartoon that, while in 3D, looks very flat. The characters look like paper cutouts which actually diminishes enjoyment of the cartoon. The 3D flattens the onscreen characters and makes them look more artificial.

But when Robinsons starts, you immediately note the contrast between classic 3D and the new Disney technique. The film opens with a gee whizzy rainstorm that's very effective. Rain falls in the foreground, while in the background a mother places her child on the steps of an orphanage. Though the scene is a dramatic staple, the effective 3D technique breaths new life into this cliched scene.

What follows is pretty standard animated fare about time travel, following your dreams, finding a place in the world, etc. The film borrows pretty liberally--pays homage(?)--to many other films including a climactic chase with moments ripped directly from Return of the Jedi and The Matrix.

But the character design is fantastic, filling the movie with interesting caricatures that are practically Dickensian in their lovely grotesqueness. Two favorites include the lanky arch villain and the hyper-jock gym coach. These characters are comic inspirations brought to life by the 3D effect. Robinsons takes the gimmick of 3D and uses it to elevate a so-so film to a perfectly enjoyable one.

The Fortress of Solitude

2007-04-03T12:31:00.001-05:00

Just finished this Jonathan Lethem novel about race, gentrification, superheroes, and Brooklyn, and I loved it. It's a dense novel thats playful with its language so it doesn't make for a quick read. For those willing to sink into the book--you're going to need to set aside some time for the novel--you'll be richly rewarded. It's frequently earnest leading you to believe that the book is at times a very thinly veiled autobiography.

I started reading this book at least two times before I finally was able to successfully tackle it over my recent vacation. Fans of Powers and Delillo will want to check this out. If you enjoyed Kavalier and Clay, this might also be a good choice as it offers a similarly lyrical take on superheroes.

News of the weird

2007-04-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

It's good enough for me/
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

The Lookout

2007-04-02T12:47:00.000-05:00

Go see it. A very good good crime film with a fantastic performance from Joseph Gordon Levitt (Brick, Third Rock from the Sun). He plays a young man frustrated and hampered by his inabilities due to a traumatic injury from his past.

A unique crime story with broad appeal and great performances.

Poor taste much?

2007-04-02T10:15:00.001-05:00

Whoa.

You and what army

2007-04-02T10:05:00.000-05:00

McCain safely strolls the serene streets of Baghdad.

More here.

Supporting the troops

2007-04-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Gary Trudeau offers a nice rejoinder to those who claim Democrats aren't supporting the troops with the latest Iraq spending bill.

Goofy and incompetent

2007-03-30T22:15:00.000-05:00

See here.

Voter fraud

2007-03-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

One of the many changing reasons offered by the White House for the firing of the eight attorneys is that they failed to properly pursue cases of voter fraud.

Here's the skinny on voter fraud claims and how they are used to disenfranchise the elderly and minorities.

US Attorney's scandal is also about...

2007-03-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

...curtailing suffrage.

A dangerous game has been played by the DOJ and its one that seeks to undermine our fundamental right to select our leaders.

Former Justice Department lawyer tells all in the Los Angeles Times:

I spent more than 35 years in the department enforcing federal civil rights laws — particularly voting rights. Before leaving in 2005, I worked for attorneys general with dramatically different political philosophies — from John Mitchell to Ed Meese to Janet Reno. Regardless of the administration, the political appointees had respect for the experience and judgment of longtime civil servants.

Under the Bush administration, however, all that changed. Over the last six years, this Justice Department has ignored the advice of its staff and skewed aspects of law enforcement in ways that clearly were intended to influence the outcome of elections.

It has notably shirked its legal responsibility to protect voting rights. From 2001 to 2006, no voting discrimination cases were brought on behalf of African American or Native American voters. U.S. attorneys were told instead to give priority to voter fraud cases, which, when coupled with the strong support for voter ID laws, indicated an intent to depress voter turnout in minority and poor communities.

Via TPM.

Computer problems

2007-03-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

My wireless connectivity was acting really goofy for about the last twenty-four hours and it was beyond my ability to fix it.

Or so I thought.

Turns out I needed to have TCP/IP filtering enabled. Who knew?

I only discovered it after a few hours of troubleshooting. Very frustrating.

White House hiding communication

2007-03-29T09:28:00.000-05:00

Under the Presidential Records Act (PRA), the White House has to keep its communications on record in order to be reviewed at a later date by others. Its part of the whole accountability thing the White House seems determined to bypass.

Here's how they're trying to bypass the PRA.

Gonzales lies

2007-03-29T01:03:00.000-05:00

Here it is in black and white.

National Review calls for Gonzalez to resign

2007-03-29T00:46:00.000-05:00

His time's running out.

The pulp closet

2007-03-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

Unintentional hilarity from vintage comics.

Via the AV Club.

Iran weapons briefing offered exaggerated claims

2007-03-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

But we already knew this was true.

Another piece of the puzzle

2007-03-27T01:26:00.000-05:00

And further evidence as to why the US Attorney purge is a big deal.

Fox News

2007-03-27T01:18:00.000-05:00

Emblematic.

Primer on US Attorney story

2007-03-26T08:54:00.000-05:00

Don't think the case is a big deal? Here's a helpful rundown of why this situation merits further investigation and why sworn testimony from key players is a necessity.

Horrifying

2007-03-25T22:34:00.000-05:00

You simply won't believe this.

Yep

2007-03-25T22:27:00.000-05:00

AG AG is doing what he's told. Lying to the American people via Congress is a means to an end and not a big deal if you're serving the unitary executive.

About sums it up

2007-03-25T12:02:00.000-05:00

Bill Maher. (Some strong language so don't watch it at work.)