Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Trials of Tom
So I went to do my taxes last weekend because I'm craving some kind of cash cushion. Unfortunately for me, the IRS isn't even reviewing returns that claim Mortgage Interest and Education deductions until February 11. Bummer.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Heath is History
I first experienced Heath Ledger in "10 Things I Hate About You." He had a gravelly voice that made me think he was smoking in Kindergarten. He wasn't hard on the eyes either.
I liked him in Brokeback Mountain, but it irritated me that people always think it's courageous to play gay. But beyond my control, he became a gay icon, someone around whom the gay community could rally.
Now he's dead. It's sad. But it begs the question: are we too obsessed with Celebrity in this country? We need to care about something other than so-called famous people.
We're hurting the world because we are paying attention to the lives of celebrities, which in the grand scheme of things, don't really matter. If we were more focused on the war, poverty, global warming, maybe Heath wouldn't have overdosed.
I hope that Heath's death will serve as a wakeup call for celebrophiles. Let's get back to business.
I liked him in Brokeback Mountain, but it irritated me that people always think it's courageous to play gay. But beyond my control, he became a gay icon, someone around whom the gay community could rally.
Now he's dead. It's sad. But it begs the question: are we too obsessed with Celebrity in this country? We need to care about something other than so-called famous people.
We're hurting the world because we are paying attention to the lives of celebrities, which in the grand scheme of things, don't really matter. If we were more focused on the war, poverty, global warming, maybe Heath wouldn't have overdosed.
I hope that Heath's death will serve as a wakeup call for celebrophiles. Let's get back to business.
It's easy to take a stand when you're not running for anything
Al Gore shares his thoughts on Gay rights.
As much as it pains me to admit it, I agree with Gore on this. It's a shame he didn't actually say anything like this when he was in a position of real power. I may have voted for him in 2000 then. Oh well, cest la vie.
As much as it pains me to admit it, I agree with Gore on this. It's a shame he didn't actually say anything like this when he was in a position of real power. I may have voted for him in 2000 then. Oh well, cest la vie.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Counter to the Counterculture
I was desperate for movies to add to my netflix queue, so I somehow cross-referenced myself into "Hair."
This is most definitely the worst musical ever. The movie is also poorly made, with the schizophrenic Milos Forman directing. Normally I love strange directors, but as I have matured in my film studies, I can see the VanSants and Formans and the Weirs for what they are: moderately talented.
I used to love the ideas of the counterculture, but the songs were almost all bad. The only good ones were "Aquarius," "Let the Sun Shine In," and "Good Morning Starshine." The rest of the songs that carried the dramatic exposition were all very backward, and utterly ridiculous. The choreography was so bad I actually said "frakkin Twyla Tharp!" I have to confess that I had to watch most of the songs on fast forward because I didn't even want to waste my time.
The ending was so contrived and abrupt that it was very jarring. In one frame they're all happy and frolicking, then the next they're in a graveyard. Whatever.
So I absolutely hated this movie. Do not go to see it, don't rent it ever.
This is most definitely the worst musical ever. The movie is also poorly made, with the schizophrenic Milos Forman directing. Normally I love strange directors, but as I have matured in my film studies, I can see the VanSants and Formans and the Weirs for what they are: moderately talented.
I used to love the ideas of the counterculture, but the songs were almost all bad. The only good ones were "Aquarius," "Let the Sun Shine In," and "Good Morning Starshine." The rest of the songs that carried the dramatic exposition were all very backward, and utterly ridiculous. The choreography was so bad I actually said "frakkin Twyla Tharp!" I have to confess that I had to watch most of the songs on fast forward because I didn't even want to waste my time.
The ending was so contrived and abrupt that it was very jarring. In one frame they're all happy and frolicking, then the next they're in a graveyard. Whatever.
So I absolutely hated this movie. Do not go to see it, don't rent it ever.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Pols and Polls
The debate-poll-primary model for US politics is severely broken.
I'm sick to death of polls. A Daily Show had Zogby on tonight and he basically had no excuse for why his polls were wrong going into the NH primary.
John Stewart's question, "Do polls influence the election?" was completely valid, and Zogby laughed it off.
To me, the answer is YES. Polls do influence the way people vote. Anything that is covered in the media is going to affect the way people think when they enter the voting booth. If Sen. Obama's supporters saw in a poll he had an 11-13% lead over Sen. Clinton, they probably decided to skip the primary.
The problem, like former President Bill Clinton said, is that the 24 hour news networks are constantly trying to beat each other with the newest information and they chase after the superficial crap no one cares about.
Don't talk to me about what dress Sen. Clinton is wearing. Don't talk about how articulate Sen. Obama is. Where do they stand on important issues? Don't just give me sound bites and attack ads.
The latest debate model of debate, debate, debate is the most contrived, nonsensical scheme of the media.
The general public is content to let Anderson, Blitzer, Hannity, et cetera tell them what they want to hear. These are the same dumbasses who covered Paris Hilton's release from jail, after all, and now we're letting them tell us how we should vote based on biased polls, farcical debates, and partisan rhetoric that they are all using to generate more ratings revenue?
The real problem is that people just aren't reading. There's no real journalism going on in the election. The media is just interviewing journalists from other outlets and calling them experts. It's sickening.
Of course, what everything boils down to is that it takes a lot of time and careful thought to pick a candidate. You have to research someone if you really want to make an informed decision.
My father said that Sen. Obama scares him. My dad is 69 years old and an avid fan of Faux News, the ones who accuse Obama of being everything from a liberal Christian, to a Musilim to a terrorist. I think my dad could like Obama if he didn't listen to the crap put out by the 24 hour media.
I urge everyone to perform their civic duties and carefully research and think about a candidate. Turn the television off and read through each candidate's web sites. Read the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, or something. Don't pick someone because of how they are portrayed on TV.
I'm sick to death of polls. A Daily Show had Zogby on tonight and he basically had no excuse for why his polls were wrong going into the NH primary.
John Stewart's question, "Do polls influence the election?" was completely valid, and Zogby laughed it off.
To me, the answer is YES. Polls do influence the way people vote. Anything that is covered in the media is going to affect the way people think when they enter the voting booth. If Sen. Obama's supporters saw in a poll he had an 11-13% lead over Sen. Clinton, they probably decided to skip the primary.
The problem, like former President Bill Clinton said, is that the 24 hour news networks are constantly trying to beat each other with the newest information and they chase after the superficial crap no one cares about.
Don't talk to me about what dress Sen. Clinton is wearing. Don't talk about how articulate Sen. Obama is. Where do they stand on important issues? Don't just give me sound bites and attack ads.
The latest debate model of debate, debate, debate is the most contrived, nonsensical scheme of the media.
The general public is content to let Anderson, Blitzer, Hannity, et cetera tell them what they want to hear. These are the same dumbasses who covered Paris Hilton's release from jail, after all, and now we're letting them tell us how we should vote based on biased polls, farcical debates, and partisan rhetoric that they are all using to generate more ratings revenue?
The real problem is that people just aren't reading. There's no real journalism going on in the election. The media is just interviewing journalists from other outlets and calling them experts. It's sickening.
Of course, what everything boils down to is that it takes a lot of time and careful thought to pick a candidate. You have to research someone if you really want to make an informed decision.
My father said that Sen. Obama scares him. My dad is 69 years old and an avid fan of Faux News, the ones who accuse Obama of being everything from a liberal Christian, to a Musilim to a terrorist. I think my dad could like Obama if he didn't listen to the crap put out by the 24 hour media.
I urge everyone to perform their civic duties and carefully research and think about a candidate. Turn the television off and read through each candidate's web sites. Read the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, or something. Don't pick someone because of how they are portrayed on TV.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
I'm allergic to Cashmere
Poor Lucy Liu. Cashmere Mafia had all the makings of a great series. But there's a reason it was held for mid-season.
The show was flatter than a pancake. The predictable plots were all very dreary and dull.
There were also scenes that had me leaping out of my chair to howl at the screen. First, the Caitlin character has had several failed relationships with men and she magically meets a woman who captivates her. I kid you not, the two women make eye contact and the soundtrack plays chimes. It was the cheesiest, most blatant pandering I've seen on a TV show in at least a couple of years.
That's when I said I was going to bed. I set the TiVo to catch the rest for me and I made time to finish it tonight.
The second howl-worthy moment came when the Juliet character learns that her friends saw her husband snogging another acquaintance. She launches into the speech of how she knew he cheated when he was out of town, but it was worse because it's someone they know. Then she justified herself for staying with him because the men who marry women like them give up the chance to have the ideal wife. To paraphrase, she said that because she makes more money and is more successful, her husband should be allowed to have an affair.
WAKE THE FRAK UP! What century was this woman from? First of all, if the man marries you, he should be faithful. That's kind of in the vows. Second, if he's cheating and you don't do anything about it, you are demeaning yourself by not doing something about it. Then later, instead of leaving him, she promises to him that she will 'take a lover' from their pool of friends to get even. If this is the way marriages operate in real life, something's definitely wrong.
The third character Zoë, is a hard-working mother of two with a working husband. She's at a crisis because she's in between nannies and barely has enough time for her kids. Bless her for trying to do it all, but the show made it look as though children were actually this woman's punishment for being successful.
The one redeeming quality the show had is that Mia, Liu's character, gets promoted to publisher over her fiancée and he breaks off the relationship because he secretly wanted Mia to be a stay-at-home wife. At least someone did something right. He was less than progressive for feeling that she should be for all intents and purposes barefoot and pregnant, but at least he didn't marry Mia under false pretenses.
At the end of the credits there was a shot of the familiar Darren Starr productions logo. He was behind Sex In the City, 90210, and Melrose Place. For me, the plots and characters were all just rehashed and mishmashed from those old shows. "Cashmere Mafia" is really nothing new.
Even though I consider myself amiable and open-minded toward entertainment, this is one show I really don't care for.
The show was flatter than a pancake. The predictable plots were all very dreary and dull.
There were also scenes that had me leaping out of my chair to howl at the screen. First, the Caitlin character has had several failed relationships with men and she magically meets a woman who captivates her. I kid you not, the two women make eye contact and the soundtrack plays chimes. It was the cheesiest, most blatant pandering I've seen on a TV show in at least a couple of years.
That's when I said I was going to bed. I set the TiVo to catch the rest for me and I made time to finish it tonight.
The second howl-worthy moment came when the Juliet character learns that her friends saw her husband snogging another acquaintance. She launches into the speech of how she knew he cheated when he was out of town, but it was worse because it's someone they know. Then she justified herself for staying with him because the men who marry women like them give up the chance to have the ideal wife. To paraphrase, she said that because she makes more money and is more successful, her husband should be allowed to have an affair.
WAKE THE FRAK UP! What century was this woman from? First of all, if the man marries you, he should be faithful. That's kind of in the vows. Second, if he's cheating and you don't do anything about it, you are demeaning yourself by not doing something about it. Then later, instead of leaving him, she promises to him that she will 'take a lover' from their pool of friends to get even. If this is the way marriages operate in real life, something's definitely wrong.
The third character Zoë, is a hard-working mother of two with a working husband. She's at a crisis because she's in between nannies and barely has enough time for her kids. Bless her for trying to do it all, but the show made it look as though children were actually this woman's punishment for being successful.
The one redeeming quality the show had is that Mia, Liu's character, gets promoted to publisher over her fiancée and he breaks off the relationship because he secretly wanted Mia to be a stay-at-home wife. At least someone did something right. He was less than progressive for feeling that she should be for all intents and purposes barefoot and pregnant, but at least he didn't marry Mia under false pretenses.
At the end of the credits there was a shot of the familiar Darren Starr productions logo. He was behind Sex In the City, 90210, and Melrose Place. For me, the plots and characters were all just rehashed and mishmashed from those old shows. "Cashmere Mafia" is really nothing new.
Even though I consider myself amiable and open-minded toward entertainment, this is one show I really don't care for.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Personal Review: I'm Not There
If there's one good thing to say about this movie, it would be that it has an unbelievable soundtrack. The most pleasant thing for me is to hear new interpretations of Bob Dylan's music and to find that they are all very fresh, breathing new life into songs that otherwise get lost in the vast catalogs of the recording industry jungle.
The songs are all very good, and I would highly recommend that anyone with any level of appreciation for Bob Dylan to purchase the soundtrack.
As a movie, it just didn't work. The non-Aristotalian dramatic structure and pseudonym characters was confusing, especially for someone like me who has a casual appreciation for Dylan.
I think the audience for this movie is the very narrow population of Bob Dylan scholars who actually know which character persona represents which phase of Bob Dylan's life and career. My justification is that I've seen "Don't Look Back" by DA Pennebaker, so the character that resonated the most with me was Jude, portrayed by Cate Blanchett. I adored her in this role. She was simply so engrossing that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
The friend I saw it with admitted later that he was lost. I recommended the Dylan documentary to him. This sort of schizophrenic biopic just didn't do Bob Dylan the justice he richly deserves.
The songs are all very good, and I would highly recommend that anyone with any level of appreciation for Bob Dylan to purchase the soundtrack.
As a movie, it just didn't work. The non-Aristotalian dramatic structure and pseudonym characters was confusing, especially for someone like me who has a casual appreciation for Dylan.
I think the audience for this movie is the very narrow population of Bob Dylan scholars who actually know which character persona represents which phase of Bob Dylan's life and career. My justification is that I've seen "Don't Look Back" by DA Pennebaker, so the character that resonated the most with me was Jude, portrayed by Cate Blanchett. I adored her in this role. She was simply so engrossing that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
The friend I saw it with admitted later that he was lost. I recommended the Dylan documentary to him. This sort of schizophrenic biopic just didn't do Bob Dylan the justice he richly deserves.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
99 Problems
Chad and I went to Spyro's today for a New Year's Brunch.
The food was exceptional as always, but the atmosphere was somewhat less than ideal.
At a booth diagonal from us, probably ten feet away, a woman sat having a meal with her mother. She seemed to be recounting all of her entire life's journey, beginning with the fact that she wanted her mother to "downsize" and move out of the house and into an apartment or senior living community.
She also thanked her mother for helping her during her own financial crisis. She was a 62 year old divorcée who apparently lost her job and was living in her mother's spare room. Her mother seemed extremely devoted to her, to the point of absurdity.
The daughter carried on and on about how she doesn't like egg whites and how her mother was so good to eat the white and save the yolk for her, so on and so forth.
Then she kept talking about her problems with money and how she would have been okay had she only been allowed to "touch" her ex-husband's retirement fund. Apparently the evil ex-husband specifically forbade her from getting one red cent in the divorce decree. I had to admire the man's foresight.
Chad and I did our best to keep to ourselves as the lady went on and on for the entire 40 minutes we were there. Finally, we both finished eating and I begged Chad to go in my exasperated, "are you about ready" tone.
In the car on the way home, we both promised each other we'd never let the other end up like that woman.
The food was exceptional as always, but the atmosphere was somewhat less than ideal.
At a booth diagonal from us, probably ten feet away, a woman sat having a meal with her mother. She seemed to be recounting all of her entire life's journey, beginning with the fact that she wanted her mother to "downsize" and move out of the house and into an apartment or senior living community.
She also thanked her mother for helping her during her own financial crisis. She was a 62 year old divorcée who apparently lost her job and was living in her mother's spare room. Her mother seemed extremely devoted to her, to the point of absurdity.
The daughter carried on and on about how she doesn't like egg whites and how her mother was so good to eat the white and save the yolk for her, so on and so forth.
Then she kept talking about her problems with money and how she would have been okay had she only been allowed to "touch" her ex-husband's retirement fund. Apparently the evil ex-husband specifically forbade her from getting one red cent in the divorce decree. I had to admire the man's foresight.
Chad and I did our best to keep to ourselves as the lady went on and on for the entire 40 minutes we were there. Finally, we both finished eating and I begged Chad to go in my exasperated, "are you about ready" tone.
In the car on the way home, we both promised each other we'd never let the other end up like that woman.
Happy 2008
Happy New Year to all.
Last night we celebrated with friends in the 04 ZIP code. It was really a great night, in spite of the sleet and wind. The only drop of booze I had was some lovely overpriced champagne (pardon the redundancy) at the stroke of midnight.
It was a lovely evening, capped with a late night screening of Sordid Lives, one of the funniest movies about a funeral ever made.
On the downside, I did not sleep well. I had forgotten to turn off the alarms and everything kept going off when I was trying to get some rest. If you call me and I'm grumpy, just know I'm not hungover, I'm just super tired.
Last night we celebrated with friends in the 04 ZIP code. It was really a great night, in spite of the sleet and wind. The only drop of booze I had was some lovely overpriced champagne (pardon the redundancy) at the stroke of midnight.
It was a lovely evening, capped with a late night screening of Sordid Lives, one of the funniest movies about a funeral ever made.
On the downside, I did not sleep well. I had forgotten to turn off the alarms and everything kept going off when I was trying to get some rest. If you call me and I'm grumpy, just know I'm not hungover, I'm just super tired.
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