I remember a feeling coming over me
the soldier turned, then looked away
I remember hating you for loving me
riding on the Metro
-The Metro, Berlin
Friday, June 30, 2006
Words and image
One of the things we like here in Dictionopolis...
...is cartoons. Therefore, one of the blogs to which we most often link is the boys over at Cartoon Brew. They found a couple of cool things today that I felt like sharing; both are animator's websites, one from today, one from the "Golden Age."
The first is a website by a woman called Cynthia Petrovic, whose name is new to me, but her designs are cute (in a good way) and the animated intro to the site is, as CB's Jerry Beck says, nifty. Go here and give it a few seconds to download; I don't think you'll be sorry.
The second is a site devoted to the work of Warner Bros. animator Ken Harris, whose name is well known to me and other fans of said Golden Age. He worked under the director Chuck Jones for almost 30 years, all the way through How The Grinch Stole Christmas, on films including
Much Ado About Nuttin (character model sheet seen above). This is the one to which the makers of Ice Age were either paying homage or completely ripping off (depending on how generous you want to be) when they created Scrat.
The first is a website by a woman called Cynthia Petrovic, whose name is new to me, but her designs are cute (in a good way) and the animated intro to the site is, as CB's Jerry Beck says, nifty. Go here and give it a few seconds to download; I don't think you'll be sorry.
The second is a site devoted to the work of Warner Bros. animator Ken Harris, whose name is well known to me and other fans of said Golden Age. He worked under the director Chuck Jones for almost 30 years, all the way through How The Grinch Stole Christmas, on films including
Much Ado About Nuttin (character model sheet seen above). This is the one to which the makers of Ice Age were either paying homage or completely ripping off (depending on how generous you want to be) when they created Scrat.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
I'm screwed.
"One Odd Goose" attended a Writers Conference in Philadelphia earlier this month. Amongst the things she learned from an agent there,
I'm screwed.
One interesting tidbit she passed on is that she reads writer's blogs to see if they are crazy.
I'm screwed.
I hanker for a hunka cheese
A man named Lennie Weinrib, who was the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf (also the main writer of the series)and Scrappy Doo among others, and appeared on-camera as Magic Mongo, died yesterday.
Mark Evanier takes note of his passing, and provides links to video clips that most people who watched '70s Saturday morning TV will remember, here and here.
Mark Evanier takes note of his passing, and provides links to video clips that most people who watched '70s Saturday morning TV will remember, here and here.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
I know it's hideous but I...I can't look away!
Sharon Stone at the Dalai Lama benefit on June 9, 2006.
Photo via Ohnotheydidn't.
Monday, June 26, 2006
It's too easy.
Your attention please. In the next day or so, you can expect to see lots of jokes in the other Democrat-leaning blogs about the recent confirmation that Rush Limbaugh can't get it up. I would just like to state, here and now and for the record, that such jokes are cheap, and we here at Dictionopolis in Digitopolis are better than that.
No, you won't see us reveling in the revelation that Rush Limbaugh couldn't get hard with Lindsay Lohan riding him. Not for us the speculation that even a coked-out Ginger Lynn paying special oral attention to his whithered, pinky-sized member wouldn't inspire even a semi.
It would be callous of us to postulate that the once-in-a-blue-moon times Rush actually does get hard, it's when he's using torture pictures from Iraq as a stroke book.
Or that his lifelike inflatable doll of Mary Matalin has several suspicious and sad indentations in the bum-area. Or that he and Michael Medved had an encounter they still don't talk about at a glory hole.
Such talk would be pandering, and we will not stand for it here at Dictionopolis In Digitopolis.
We will, however, register again our distaste with Mary Lynn Rajskub for allowing his lips to come into contact with her cheek.
Now, onward with clean hands and composure.
No, you won't see us reveling in the revelation that Rush Limbaugh couldn't get hard with Lindsay Lohan riding him. Not for us the speculation that even a coked-out Ginger Lynn paying special oral attention to his whithered, pinky-sized member wouldn't inspire even a semi.
It would be callous of us to postulate that the once-in-a-blue-moon times Rush actually does get hard, it's when he's using torture pictures from Iraq as a stroke book.
Or that his lifelike inflatable doll of Mary Matalin has several suspicious and sad indentations in the bum-area. Or that he and Michael Medved had an encounter they still don't talk about at a glory hole.
Such talk would be pandering, and we will not stand for it here at Dictionopolis In Digitopolis.
We will, however, register again our distaste with Mary Lynn Rajskub for allowing his lips to come into contact with her cheek.
Now, onward with clean hands and composure.
Oh, man-Arif Mardin is dead.
From the Billboard obit:
Arif Mardin, the legendary producer/arranger whose career spanned landmark recordings from Aretha Franklin to the Bee Gees to Norah Jones, died yesterday (June 25) in New York.
Born in 1932 into a prominent family in Istanbul, Mardin attended the London School of Economics, but it was a lucky meeting in 1956 in Turkey with Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones that lead to his decision to attend the Berklee School of Music in Boston. He graduated from Berklee in 1961 and Nesuhi Ertegun, a fellow Turk whom he met at the Newport Jazz Festival, brought him to Atlantic Records two years later.
At Atlantic, Mardin took his lessons about engineering and producing from a team of in-house giants that included Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. Mardin originally wanted to be a big-band arranger, but he caught the pop bug in 1965, while co-producing the Rascals with Dowd. In the coming decades, he produced hits for a remarkable array of Atlantic artists, including Franklin, Average White Band, Phil Collins, Hall & Oates, Roberta Flack, Brook Benton and Dusty Springfield.
In the mid-'70s, Mardin helped the Bee Gees redefine their sound and revive their career with the album "Main Course," which included the No. 1 hit "Jive Talkin'."
Mardin showed great diversity, with successes ranging from Bette Midler's sweeping ballads "From a Distance" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" to Chaka Khan's funky "I Feel For You." He also produced memorable folk albums for John Prine, jazz albums for Eddie Harris, Herbie Mann and Charles Lloyd and country sets for Willie Nelson.
According to his official biography, Mardin collected close to 60 gold or platinum albums and won 12 Grammy Awards. In 1990, he was inducted into the Recording Academy's Hall of Fame.
Here's five of my favorites of his record productions that probably won't be mentioned in most of the obits.
Cupid & Psyche 85, Scritti Politti (album). Did Green Gartside ever write better songs than "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" and "Absolute," and did anyone ever cut him better tracks?
Move Away, Culture Club (single). Culture Club's last great...well, good song (they never had any great ones). It comes from their first attempt at a comeback. There's still no masking that the bubble had burst, but Mardin did give one of Boy George's better lyrics a most sympathetic treatment.
One To One, Howard Jones (album) You know, I hadn't thought of this before but it suddenly occurs to me that in 1986 Mardin was the go-to guy for early-'80s hitmakers who'd stopped making hits. Like Culture Club, Jones had pretty much shot his wad as a songwriter on his first two albums (especially Human's Lib), but Mardin's production helped give him his last hit.
You Win Again, Bee Gees (single). The obit mentions that he produced a number one hit for the Brothers Gibb when they really needed one. What it doesn't say is that he did it twice, after they'd spent several years wandering in the desert both times. This is an encredibly likable, easygoing record.
Labyrinth, various artists (album). Mardin co-produced the David Bowie songs on this soundtrack, including the thematic "Underground" and fun "Magic Dance."
Well, that about wraps it up for this lifetime
You know, I've spent some time-maybe not a huge percentage but some-arguing that the politics of the fans of a particular entertainment, or of its creators, should not be an issue in whether or not you enjoy it. The creators of "The West Wing," for example, liked to cite that they had heard from Republicans who disliked the politics of the fictional Barlet administration, yet enjoyed the series. Simply because it was so well-made.
This always seemed a perfectly servicable argument to me. If you enjoy a show, you enjoy a show, and it should make no difference or not whether you like the politics of its fans or creators. Well god, with his/her/or its ironic sense of humor, seems to want to test that little theory of mine.
Well, $&#&.
"24" has been embraced by the evil, clownish boors that make up the modern Republican party. Which would be bad enough, even savoring the irony they don't see that Logan was at least as Bushesque as "Nixonish."
But the show is embracing them right back. They've turned Tony and Chloe into whorish flacks for them. Sorry, Mr. Bernard and Ms. Rajskub, but you didn't have to show up. Mr. Sutherland didn't.
And they're lending creedence to the idea that a TV show explains and excuses torture.
Via ABC News:
Which means Abu Ghraib prison and the detention center at Guantanamo Bay are a-okay, right? 'Cause they're just a bunch of Tonys and Chloes, doing The Nation's Business The Only Way It Can Get Done.
And George W. Bush, why, he's just like Jack Bauer!
Jack Bauer's strategy is always proven in the end to be, if not 100% correct, then certainly the only thing he could have done with the information he had at the time. He never offloads responsibility onto others, he always knows exactly what he's doing, he asks for-and inspires-great sacrifice, shuns self-glorification and has no use for politics.
Yeah, for George W. Bush, that must be like looking in a mirror.
Yes, it's been quite a season. "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her creative partner leave the show, but not before turning Lorelei hateful. The writing on "Veronica Mars" goes stupid. "Huff" goes from good to bad so fast I view it as a mercy killing when Showtime decides to take it off the air.
Now I just thank god that Sorkin and Schlamme have a new show coming on next season. Otherwise I'm just seeing a lot of "Boston Legal" and "Bones" in my future come fall.
This always seemed a perfectly servicable argument to me. If you enjoy a show, you enjoy a show, and it should make no difference or not whether you like the politics of its fans or creators. Well god, with his/her/or its ironic sense of humor, seems to want to test that little theory of mine.
Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security...was the featured speaker at a morning forum sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, a think tank that normally sticks to real, if less sexy, topics such as tax policy and entitlement programs. Heritage's Phillip Truluck conceded in introductory remarks that the event at the Ronald Reagan Building was "very unusual" for the conservative organization.
He was probably right, considering that the panel discussion after Chertoff's remarks included two national security scholars, "24" co-creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, and the actors who play the show's Nixonish president (Gregory Itzin) and CTU agents Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) and Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub).
The discussion was hosted by Rush Limbaugh, who breached the art-vs.-life divide early by planting a big kiss on the woman he introduced to a knowing audience simply as "Chloe."
All this, plus special guest Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who sat in the front row of the packed amphitheater.
Then Bernard and Rajskub bid a hasty farewell. The whole group of counterterrorism experts, actual and synthetic, was headed to the White House for lunch. For real.
Well, $&#&.
"24" has been embraced by the evil, clownish boors that make up the modern Republican party. Which would be bad enough, even savoring the irony they don't see that Logan was at least as Bushesque as "Nixonish."
But the show is embracing them right back. They've turned Tony and Chloe into whorish flacks for them. Sorry, Mr. Bernard and Ms. Rajskub, but you didn't have to show up. Mr. Sutherland didn't.
And they're lending creedence to the idea that a TV show explains and excuses torture.
Via ABC News:
Show co-creator Joel Surnow told the Times that "If there's a bomb about to hit a major U.S. city and you have a person with information … if you don't torture that person, that would be one of the most immoral acts you could imagine."
Which means Abu Ghraib prison and the detention center at Guantanamo Bay are a-okay, right? 'Cause they're just a bunch of Tonys and Chloes, doing The Nation's Business The Only Way It Can Get Done.
And George W. Bush, why, he's just like Jack Bauer!
Jack Bauer's strategy is always proven in the end to be, if not 100% correct, then certainly the only thing he could have done with the information he had at the time. He never offloads responsibility onto others, he always knows exactly what he's doing, he asks for-and inspires-great sacrifice, shuns self-glorification and has no use for politics.
Yeah, for George W. Bush, that must be like looking in a mirror.
Yes, it's been quite a season. "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her creative partner leave the show, but not before turning Lorelei hateful. The writing on "Veronica Mars" goes stupid. "Huff" goes from good to bad so fast I view it as a mercy killing when Showtime decides to take it off the air.
Now I just thank god that Sorkin and Schlamme have a new show coming on next season. Otherwise I'm just seeing a lot of "Boston Legal" and "Bones" in my future come fall.
The last "Huff" post
So it all comes to an end and what are we left with? Well, last night sitting through "Huff"'s season and now series finale, I kept thinking about the characters and plotlines they raised and then forgot about.
This is not unheard of in television, but usually it's explainable (if not excusable) for a number of reasons not really availble to "Huff". Bad audience reaction, an actor's sudden unavailibility, the writers just deciding to go a different way after the show had begun airing.
But the second season of "Huff was written, shot, and completed before it even began airing. You would think that would mean it should be virtually watertight, with very few loose ends or logic holes.
So, to name but one example, what happened to the Sharon Stone character? I didn't like her much but they made a big to-do about introducing her and it looked like she was going to be one of Russell's big plot-lines and then, whoops!
In retrospect, the casting of Stone as a guest star that they hoped would jack up the ratings was a clue to the bad sign under which this season was born. If memory serves, it premiered the same weekend as "Basic Instinct 2," which as we know failed miserably.
Which meant "Huff" had as their biggest guest star of the season the woman about whom a whole nation had just said, as one, "Eh! We've seen it!"
The least I can say is this. The return of series creator Robert Lowry to the writer's chair did at least make this finale a little easier to sit through than the last couple episodes. And he did at least suggest a reason for Byrd's seemingly unmotivated character change. Although he also offered a new seemingly unmotivated character change, from Beth's mother, and moved Angelica Huston's character from empathy to apparent clairvoiance.
But even he couldn't save his series from all the wrong turns it's made this year, and two of the biggest plot "twists" last night were so predictable that I calmly voiced them before they happened ("And she goes into labor." "And he's going to kill her.").
I continue to be impressed with Hank Azaria as a dramatic actor and hope he'll find such a role that can sustain him (or vice-versa) for more than a season.
But, finally, the last image of the show was one of the most offensive I have ever seen. A pull-back from a clueless and adrift Craig on a rooftop, to the glittering lights of Los Angeles at night, while Tony Bennett's "The Good Life" (oh, the irony!) begins to play.
So the final message of "Huff" becomes: Feel sorry for the children of privilige, for they indeed do have it just as bad as you. Right. Of course, the really ironic thing is that at the end of the first season you did kind of feel sorry for them.
In retrospect, perhaps mostly because they hadn't begged you so much to.
This is not unheard of in television, but usually it's explainable (if not excusable) for a number of reasons not really availble to "Huff". Bad audience reaction, an actor's sudden unavailibility, the writers just deciding to go a different way after the show had begun airing.
But the second season of "Huff was written, shot, and completed before it even began airing. You would think that would mean it should be virtually watertight, with very few loose ends or logic holes.
So, to name but one example, what happened to the Sharon Stone character? I didn't like her much but they made a big to-do about introducing her and it looked like she was going to be one of Russell's big plot-lines and then, whoops!
In retrospect, the casting of Stone as a guest star that they hoped would jack up the ratings was a clue to the bad sign under which this season was born. If memory serves, it premiered the same weekend as "Basic Instinct 2," which as we know failed miserably.
Which meant "Huff" had as their biggest guest star of the season the woman about whom a whole nation had just said, as one, "Eh! We've seen it!"
The least I can say is this. The return of series creator Robert Lowry to the writer's chair did at least make this finale a little easier to sit through than the last couple episodes. And he did at least suggest a reason for Byrd's seemingly unmotivated character change. Although he also offered a new seemingly unmotivated character change, from Beth's mother, and moved Angelica Huston's character from empathy to apparent clairvoiance.
But even he couldn't save his series from all the wrong turns it's made this year, and two of the biggest plot "twists" last night were so predictable that I calmly voiced them before they happened ("And she goes into labor." "And he's going to kill her.").
I continue to be impressed with Hank Azaria as a dramatic actor and hope he'll find such a role that can sustain him (or vice-versa) for more than a season.
But, finally, the last image of the show was one of the most offensive I have ever seen. A pull-back from a clueless and adrift Craig on a rooftop, to the glittering lights of Los Angeles at night, while Tony Bennett's "The Good Life" (oh, the irony!) begins to play.
So the final message of "Huff" becomes: Feel sorry for the children of privilige, for they indeed do have it just as bad as you. Right. Of course, the really ironic thing is that at the end of the first season you did kind of feel sorry for them.
In retrospect, perhaps mostly because they hadn't begged you so much to.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
This is enough to make me rethink my previously hardline pro-sex, anti-Christian stance
Some 50,000 people are expected to celebrate the pleasures of the flesh in Los Angeles this weekend as the worldwide capital of pornography holds its 10th-annual "Erotica LA" convention.
Hosted by porn star Jenna Jameson and rock guitarist Dave Navarro, the three-day event will feature over 300 exhibitors unveiling the latest in sex toys, paraphernalia and publications.
Vivid Entertainment, one of the world's largest pornographic film production companies, will hold auditions for its upcoming movie "Debbie Does Dallas ... Again" and will film the proceedings for an upcoming reality television show.
A series of sex seminars will cover a range of topics, from oral sex techniques to a discussion of the aphrodisiacal properties of chocolate.
And one female attendee will win a free breast implant surgery from a company dedicated to "boosting the self-esteem of women of all legal ages." (Oh brother!)
Christian groups are expected to picket the convention, with one group planning to distribute several thousand "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" Bibles.
Random Flickr-Blogging: IMG_4580
Words and image.
-Photo credit: Morleyroarly
-Photo credit: Morleyroarly
Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
-Roads Go Ever On, JRR Tolkien
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Memories for a Spelling
Wow...Aaron Spelling died. Somehow, I never really thought he would. He's been such a part of TV, from Charlie's Angels to Beverly Hills 90210, that I guess I just came to think of him as someone whose name would always be there.
Did you know that from 1960 to 1989 not a year went by he didn't have at least one series on the air?
Did you know that (among other movies) he produced the very funny satire Soapdish?
Did you know he has a connection to one of my least-favorite writers? He produced a movie that Ilene Chaiken (of The L Word) acted as associate producer on, the notoriously bad Satisfaction.
...and to one of my most-favorite. He gave an early break in television to Harlan Ellison (of The Twilight Zone, many great stories and essays and hell, if you don't know who he is, read this). In his collection of film reviews Ellison tells a great story about winning a bet from Spelling.
I was a little too young to appreciate Charlie's Angels in its first run
. I'll admit to developing a certain...fondness for Cheryl Ladd in one or two of the re-runs, for some reason, but that's neither here (sadly) nor there.
BTW, no offense to the dead intended, but choosing between running a photo of him or of her...well, you understand.
And I was a little too old for 90210. My "favorite" Spelling production memories would probably be...
The Rookies, reruns of which I briefly got hooked on when I was around 13.
Hart To Hart. Admit it. Even now, you can hear Max's gravelly voice over the opening credits. "This is my boss, Jonathan Hart, a self-made millionaire. This is Mrs. H. She's quite a lady..."
I remember my mom always liked Family.
A TV-movie spoof of then current television detectives called Murder Can Hurt You.
Fantasy Island! I was seven. Mr. Roarke was god.
And yeah, The Love Boat. I watched it. You watched it. Just think of all those hours we're never going to get back.
Used to have lots of fun playing T.J. Hooker with an ex-roommate of mine. This basically involved me barking "T.J.! Stop that car!" at odd intervals and he would have to immidiately throw himself across the hood of the nearest vehicle. Maybe you had to be there.
And believe it or not, I never felt able to jump on the Tori-bashing wagon as hard as some people. I mean maybe I'm wrong, but in interviews I've read and such, she comes off as separating herself from the Paris Hiltons of the world by being one of those who gets what the joke about her is. I give her credit for spoofing herself in Scream 2, and she didn't completely stink up the joint in House Of Yes or Scary Movie 2. They're not great movies, but that's another matter. I'm not saying I'd let her near any of my characters...
Anyway, Spelling: Even when I wasn't watching his shows (which was most of the time)...he was just always there, you know?Caption This Photo
Pepe hadn't moved since he discovered that from this height, he could see right into the girls cabin.
Add your own in the comments.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Mercy killing
Per Variety.com, Showtime has cancelled "Huff." Thank god. For any actors, producers, directors or (perhaps especially) writers who may be looking in, the second year of this drama should be an object lesson.
In how to take a fine hour into the toliet after setting a very high standard in the first season.
In how to take a fine hour into the toliet after setting a very high standard in the first season.
Which one of these clowns is not like the other?
Premiere Magazine has published a photo feature spotlighting 11 men and women they feel are "Masters of Comedy." Let's take a look at this list and see where we feel they may have gone wrong...
Robin Williams. Well, sure-even though we all know he needs a better shit detector when it comes to picking scripts. And I say that as someone who can find a good word to say about Club Paradise.
Diane Keaton. Can't say as she's ever made me laugh, but then...(see Woody Allen)
Bill Murray. Now we're talking. The funniest man in America, 1979-1994.
Woody Allen. As I've said many times before, though I shy away from any bold proclamations like "Woody Allen isn't funny," because so many people seem to think that he is so very funny...I've just never been an admirer of his. And his thing about casting younger and younger women as his love interests just creeps me out. Although oddly, I tend to appreciate his films much better when he isn't actually in them.
Come to think of it, why isn't Mel Brooks on this list?
Will Ferrell. Again-not for me, but if you kids like that sort of thing, you enjoy it...
It's possible I may never forgive Ferrell for starring in a movie called The Suburbans, in which joining A Flock of Seagulls is seen as a happy ending. That's the sort of thing I can't possibly support. Also, doesn't it seem just a tad early to be putting him in such august company?
Steve Martin. No worries.
Here's where it gets weird, though: Cameron Diaz. Um...even granting her movies like My Best Friend's Wedding or Charlie's Angels...I don't think so. No, what this smacks of is them suddenly realizing they only had one woman on the list so far. Imagine what they would have done if they'd realized there were no black people. I can't think of any great black comedians, can you?
Kevin Kline. Back on solid ground here. Although, you'd think that if both he and Steve Martin are such masters of comedy, the Pink Panther remake might have been better received.
Jack Black. See Will Ferrell.
John Cleese. Well, obviously.
And...Leslie Nielsen. Um, Premiere? 1980 called. It wants its Master of Comedy back.
Robin Williams. Well, sure-even though we all know he needs a better shit detector when it comes to picking scripts. And I say that as someone who can find a good word to say about Club Paradise.
Diane Keaton. Can't say as she's ever made me laugh, but then...(see Woody Allen)
Bill Murray. Now we're talking. The funniest man in America, 1979-1994.
Woody Allen. As I've said many times before, though I shy away from any bold proclamations like "Woody Allen isn't funny," because so many people seem to think that he is so very funny...I've just never been an admirer of his. And his thing about casting younger and younger women as his love interests just creeps me out. Although oddly, I tend to appreciate his films much better when he isn't actually in them.
Come to think of it, why isn't Mel Brooks on this list?
Will Ferrell. Again-not for me, but if you kids like that sort of thing, you enjoy it...
It's possible I may never forgive Ferrell for starring in a movie called The Suburbans, in which joining A Flock of Seagulls is seen as a happy ending. That's the sort of thing I can't possibly support. Also, doesn't it seem just a tad early to be putting him in such august company?
Steve Martin. No worries.
Here's where it gets weird, though: Cameron Diaz. Um...even granting her movies like My Best Friend's Wedding or Charlie's Angels...I don't think so. No, what this smacks of is them suddenly realizing they only had one woman on the list so far. Imagine what they would have done if they'd realized there were no black people. I can't think of any great black comedians, can you?
Kevin Kline. Back on solid ground here. Although, you'd think that if both he and Steve Martin are such masters of comedy, the Pink Panther remake might have been better received.
Jack Black. See Will Ferrell.
John Cleese. Well, obviously.
And...Leslie Nielsen. Um, Premiere? 1980 called. It wants its Master of Comedy back.
Trender Bender
You know the trend of taking the catalog of an oldies act (The Four Seasons, Abba) and building a musical around it? It's now officially gone too far:
As once and future Ink 19 editor Ian Koss points out, given the average length of the Ramones' songs, this looks to be a pretty short musical. And I can't help imagining this whispered conversation taking place in the audience...
"Is this a reprise?"
"No, all their songs just sound alike."
Gabba Gabby Hey!-- the Ramones musical...makes its UK debut on July 31
As once and future Ink 19 editor Ian Koss points out, given the average length of the Ramones' songs, this looks to be a pretty short musical. And I can't help imagining this whispered conversation taking place in the audience...
"Is this a reprise?"
"No, all their songs just sound alike."
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Voices Carry
My next-door neighbor and his girlfriend have been having screaming fights for weeks if not months now. It's been pretty bad, and I've been trying to figure out what the right thing to do was.
Because, I don't want to be one of those people who "doesn't want to get involved," but at the same time I want to grant people their privacy. And as long as it sounded as though only emotional violence was going on...
Still, it's been troubling me enough that I mentioned it to my therapist a week or so back. She suggested that sometimes just reminding people there are witnesses around can help to shock them out of their behavior.
About an hour ago this afternoon it moved from pretty bad to really bad. I heard lots of screaming, crying...and thuds. I opened my office window, I think in retrospect partly to remind them that there was someone here.
And heard the girl saying something I couldn't quite make out about how he had broken her...(garbled). So I called 911 once, and then a second time when I was absolutely sure she was saying he had hurt her.
I just finished giving a statement to the officer who picked up the call. He tells me she's backing up her boyfriend's statement that she (wait for it) "just fell and hit her head on a table." I overheard him telling the cop that, though he admitted there was an argument and "wrestling" going on.
That is not what the hysterical woman I could hear from my office, which adjoins the bathroom of his apartment, was saying. She was quite clearly blaming him for something that had happened to her face (how can I go to work like this?), telling him she wanted to go to the hospital, telling him she wanted to have him arrested, that she hated him and didn't trust him.
This was all over the course of several extremely highly emotionally-pitched exchanges, need I add, and not nearly so coherent. I'm just trying to get down everything I remember right now.
She also kept saying "Don't you fucking touch me!" And "Get away from me!" And he kept saying he was sorry and..."Shhhh!"
The officer informed me that she is going to have to go to the hospital.
But as I said, she apparently refuses to file charges. The cop used the term "battered woman syndrome." I don't understand the psychology of women who put up with it, I really don't.
The officer took my statement and phone number and said the man would still probably be charged regardless. The prosecutor may be contacting me for a further statement and maybe even a court appearance.
I hope that even if this doesn't lead to a successful prosecution it at least gets these two away from each other.
I just wish...I'd called sooner.
Because, I don't want to be one of those people who "doesn't want to get involved," but at the same time I want to grant people their privacy. And as long as it sounded as though only emotional violence was going on...
Still, it's been troubling me enough that I mentioned it to my therapist a week or so back. She suggested that sometimes just reminding people there are witnesses around can help to shock them out of their behavior.
About an hour ago this afternoon it moved from pretty bad to really bad. I heard lots of screaming, crying...and thuds. I opened my office window, I think in retrospect partly to remind them that there was someone here.
And heard the girl saying something I couldn't quite make out about how he had broken her...(garbled). So I called 911 once, and then a second time when I was absolutely sure she was saying he had hurt her.
I just finished giving a statement to the officer who picked up the call. He tells me she's backing up her boyfriend's statement that she (wait for it) "just fell and hit her head on a table." I overheard him telling the cop that, though he admitted there was an argument and "wrestling" going on.
That is not what the hysterical woman I could hear from my office, which adjoins the bathroom of his apartment, was saying. She was quite clearly blaming him for something that had happened to her face (how can I go to work like this?), telling him she wanted to go to the hospital, telling him she wanted to have him arrested, that she hated him and didn't trust him.
This was all over the course of several extremely highly emotionally-pitched exchanges, need I add, and not nearly so coherent. I'm just trying to get down everything I remember right now.
She also kept saying "Don't you fucking touch me!" And "Get away from me!" And he kept saying he was sorry and..."Shhhh!"
The officer informed me that she is going to have to go to the hospital.
But as I said, she apparently refuses to file charges. The cop used the term "battered woman syndrome." I don't understand the psychology of women who put up with it, I really don't.
The officer took my statement and phone number and said the man would still probably be charged regardless. The prosecutor may be contacting me for a further statement and maybe even a court appearance.
I hope that even if this doesn't lead to a successful prosecution it at least gets these two away from each other.
I just wish...I'd called sooner.
Now I don't know what the fuck to do
The Stranger, which is a Seattle free weekly newspaper, has an article on queer movies and why, in the writer's (Annie Wagner) view, most of 'em kinda suck.
Excerpts:
Actually, I like Better Than Chocolate, except for a couple of things, but I'm only a member of the "gay-adjacent" community. And I think her larger point may be well-taken.
I'd say if anyone wants to read a witty (if I do say so myself) script for a human comedy with a wonderful lesbian couple in, they could contact me. But then I'd still have the problem that I don't want to give up control of my characters.
So as I say, I don't know what to do.
Excerpts:
there's an abundance of great gay literature, and great gay visual art, and great gay theater—so what accounts for the fact that, given a random gay romantic comedy and its random straight equivalent, the gay movie will inevitably be lazier, duller, and generally more excruciating than its straight counterpart?
The answer is that gays, long starved for protagonists created in their own image, have unquestioningly gobbled up every last gay-themed movie. As Will of Will & Grace chirpily put it, "Let me tell you a little secret that we try to keep within the community: Gay movies suck. But until the laws change, we're still obligated to go see 'em." (Will has a lot of nerve to talk about sucky gay anything.) Whether it's about prissy preteens or wasting AIDS patients, wise old queens or shrill fag hags, obnoxious circuit boys or attractive trannies (or all possible combinations of the above, stuffed into one toneless cacophony), a gay movie will move tickets at the art-house box office. Not because it's good, but because it's good for "the community." And while gay-themed films have not sold tickets at a clip that would satisfy big studios—except for Brokeback Mountain—sales have been robust enough to maintain a entire pack of specialty distributors trafficking in hairless male chests (and, to a lesser extent, nuzzling pink-hawked girls).
And when queer filmmakers take on a tried-and-true formula, like Todd Stephen's Another Gay Movie, a twist on the virginity-shedding graduation summer of Porky's or American Pie, things go horribly wrong. Like hamster wrong. The words "butt cherry" and "man-snatch" wrong.
Lesbian movies, meanwhile, are susceptible to grave sins of their own. Coming-of-age movies like the catastrophically stupid Better Than Chocolate manage to hit every cliché in the (Rita Mae Brown) book—hidden vibrators, body-paint art, rainbow-festooned bookstores—while careening unevenly between featherweight comedy and dire melodrama.
Actually, I like Better Than Chocolate, except for a couple of things, but I'm only a member of the "gay-adjacent" community. And I think her larger point may be well-taken.
I'd say if anyone wants to read a witty (if I do say so myself) script for a human comedy with a wonderful lesbian couple in, they could contact me. But then I'd still have the problem that I don't want to give up control of my characters.
So as I say, I don't know what to do.
Strut, pout, put it out
Back in 2000, I reviewed Nelly Furtado's debut record, Whoa, Nelly! for PopMatters. It didn't deserve a lot of love, in my view, and I didn't give it much. Of course, I was immidiately proven right when she had a couple of hits that went to the top of the charts.
Over the years there have been sections of a handful of Furtado fan sites dedicated to hating me for the review, but at the moment I think the only one still up is this, where someone who is known as I Am writes:
I suppose that should sting, but I actually get kind of a kick out of it. I've been flamed before, but never bilingually (to the best of my knowledge). Actually, what hurt more is when another fan once pointed out a stupid error of fact I'd made in the review. I confused Jo Callis of the Human League with his onetime bandmate, Joanne Catherall. Inexcusable from the '80s man.
But anyway...so. We meet again, my old nemesis. Ms. Furtado has a new album out, an attempt at a comeback after her sophomore effort was less than successful. And what is the reason, she feels, it was less than successful?
Because she covered up her stomach and started giving off a hippy chick, feminist I-hate-men vibe. Seriously. These are quotes from her Blender interview, via The Bosh:
If Furtado's new album brings her career back to life while Pink's album with "Stupid Girls" on it "appears to be close to dying"...I'm quitting show business.
Over the years there have been sections of a handful of Furtado fan sites dedicated to hating me for the review, but at the moment I think the only one still up is this, where someone who is known as I Am writes:
His name is : Ben Varkentine . " varken " is the word for " pig " in the Netherlands !
I suppose that should sting, but I actually get kind of a kick out of it. I've been flamed before, but never bilingually (to the best of my knowledge). Actually, what hurt more is when another fan once pointed out a stupid error of fact I'd made in the review. I confused Jo Callis of the Human League with his onetime bandmate, Joanne Catherall. Inexcusable from the '80s man.
But anyway...so. We meet again, my old nemesis. Ms. Furtado has a new album out, an attempt at a comeback after her sophomore effort was less than successful. And what is the reason, she feels, it was less than successful?
Because she covered up her stomach and started giving off a hippy chick, feminist I-hate-men vibe. Seriously. These are quotes from her Blender interview, via The Bosh:
On her midriff-baring, sex bomb transformation: “I’m just now catching up, accepting my job more [emphasis mine-BV]. My video choreographer taught me how to move in all these different ways. I’m more at ease with my body than I’ve ever been."
On toning down her hippie vibe: “I went through a feminist phase and read a lot of philosophical stuff. Some of the male bashing brainwashed me for a bit so I stopped. I love men!”
If Furtado's new album brings her career back to life while Pink's album with "Stupid Girls" on it "appears to be close to dying"...I'm quitting show business.
Hell hath no fury
Fans of Barbara Streisand are threatening to sue her for fraud. Angry fans paid a small fortune for tickets to her last concert which was billed as her "last ever" performances. This was back in 1999 when Babs said this was her final farewell.
Well, her second "final farewell concert" will kick off this October.
[Via Dlisted]
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Just when you thought Culture Club couldn't do anything dumber than "The War Song"
...but at least that had a certain guilty-pleasure catchiness about it. This, on the other hand...
Good, now they can be judged on their music.
Culture Club reforming without Boy George
Good, now they can be judged on their music.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Would anyone like to guess in what state this sign was found?
Via Best Week Ever:
ETA: And in other news from Tenn, the state is preparing to go for the silver medal in executions, scheduling five to take place in one day. The gold is held by Virginia, where eight men were once excuted in a day.
Keep the line moving:
John Lennon: "Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
ETA: And in other news from Tenn, the state is preparing to go for the silver medal in executions, scheduling five to take place in one day. The gold is held by Virginia, where eight men were once excuted in a day.
Keep the line moving:
Prison officials say they just need two to three hours between them so they can get the families of one inmate out and the next one in.
So you want to see Hermione Granger "all dolled-up like a street-walker circa 1985"
We here at Dictionopolis In Digitopolis have anticipated your every need.
The quote is from Pink Is The New Blog, the photo is from ohnotheydidn't!
The quote is from Pink Is The New Blog, the photo is from ohnotheydidn't!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Jezebel! Harlot! Begone!
From Anne Hathaway's "I'd kill to work with" list in the June 23 Entertainment Weekly:
I call the so-called artist an overrated, talentless hack who makes terrible, bloated movies.
I'm right.
Tim Burton.
Hathaway calls the director a "visual artist and genius storyteller, adding that she has to do a movie with him "before I die."
I call the so-called artist an overrated, talentless hack who makes terrible, bloated movies.
I'm right.
Next, Cartman makes her eat her parents
Poor Bush daughter. She likes Radiohead enough to come to their show, and they think she's dumb.
PS: In case you're not hip to the reference in the headline, dig.
PS: In case you're not hip to the reference in the headline, dig.
Oh, happy day!
The teriffic animated adaptation of Jules Feiffer's Munro, about a four-year-old boy who is accidentally drafted into the army, has been posted at YouTube.
And I figured out how to post embedded video clips on this blog, though at the moment it seems to involve changing more HTML code than I should probably be entrusted with. There must be an easier way, but you know the old saying, there's the right way, the army way, and my way...
And I figured out how to post embedded video clips on this blog, though at the moment it seems to involve changing more HTML code than I should probably be entrusted with. There must be an easier way, but you know the old saying, there's the right way, the army way, and my way...
Oh look, a Democrat. Who knew?
Yesterday morning, Jack Murtha had a few things to say about Karl Rove's recent "stay the course" speech.
Via Democrats.com.
"He's in New Hampshire. He's making a political speech. He's sitting in his air-conditioned office on his big, fat backside saying stay the course. That's not a plan!
"We got to change direction, that’s what we have to do. You can’t, you can’t sit there in the air conditioned office and tell these troops they’re carrying 70 pounds on their back inside these armored vessels and hit with IEDs every day, seeing their friends blown up, their buddies blown up, and he says 'stay the course.' Yeah, it’s easy to say that from Washington, D.C."
Via Democrats.com.
Random Flickr-Blogging: IMG_0382
Garret would soon realize he had molested the wrong young lady as she turned to him, her eyes maddened, yet blood-red with lust, and tore his throat out with her teeth.
Like all women, he thought grimly to himself as he sank to his knees. Dying, he savored the comfort that at least there was an ending to it, a stopping place for a life that had seemed all too full of pain.
Suddenly he found himself on his feet again, not quite knowing how he had gotten there, his throat intact. Again his hands were rising to a too-friendly embrace of the woman he'd met just hours before, and again she rounded on him in savage attack.
This happened again and again and he remembered every time until finally, at last he was able to speak a few short, shocked words before she crushed his throat.
"Just want to go home...how...let me die!"
Her face lit up larger than the Circus Circus sign.
"We told you," she hissed, and he saw that her tongue was long, forked and dark red, not pink and soft as he'd hoped when he'd met her over drinks and lied about being a brain surgeon. "We told you," and here she began to cackle, softly at first but spiraling upwards...
"We told you...what happens in Vegas...stays in Vegas!"
Then he felt her teeth sink in and the warm spurt of his own blood flowing down his neck. It was not the first time...and would not be the last.
Original credit.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Shameless
A few years after the performer/writer/genius Peter Cook (Bedazzled, Beyond The Fringe) died, his widow Lin edited a celebrity-studded collection of reminiscences about him. It's a terrifically entertaining book, marred only by the fact that, as Cook's biographer the late Harry Thompson later wrote, "As editor, Lin was proud rather than embarassed to include unstinting praise of herself."
Amongst the things I've always admired about Garry Trudeau is his tendency to include the brickbats as well as bouquets on the jacket of Doonesbury books.
Mark Evanier has written a few times about the way he cringes at memorial services when people get up and talk, not about the deceased, but about themselves.
Which brings me to Memories Of John Lennon, a book edited by Yoko Ono.
This has been a review.
*If you want to see what I have to say at more length, that link is to the Amazon page for the book. I'm somewhere in there. But the above is all you really need to know.
Amongst the things I've always admired about Garry Trudeau is his tendency to include the brickbats as well as bouquets on the jacket of Doonesbury books.
Mark Evanier has written a few times about the way he cringes at memorial services when people get up and talk, not about the deceased, but about themselves.
Which brings me to Memories Of John Lennon, a book edited by Yoko Ono.
This has been a review.
*If you want to see what I have to say at more length, that link is to the Amazon page for the book. I'm somewhere in there. But the above is all you really need to know.
And you can dance...For inspiration...Come on...I'm waiting
This week the AFI (American Film Institute) announced their selections for movies they believe most inspire us. Roger Ebert has the list. Looking at it, I find that only two or three would I say really inspired me personally-there are others that I liked, but not that I would say really inspired me.
One I don't get why it's considered inspirational.
The few that did are "Star Wars," "The Black Stallion" and "Fiddler On The Roof". The one I don't quite understand why it should be inspiring is "Thelma & Louise." I still don't get that. But anyway, it got me thinking, what does inspire me?
It's nothing very shocking if you know me (and probably not even if you've just been reading my blogs for any length of time). Let's define the term, inspire:
To fill with enlivening or exalting emotion
To stimulate to action; motivate
To stimulate energies, ideals, or reverence
What does that for me? Beautiful women, of course, represented here by Rebecca DeMornay. I've tried before, and I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying again and again, to get down what really happens inside a man when he sees a woman he thinks is beautiful. It is so much more than just the desire for seduction.
Then there's the best writers, like oh, say, Aaron Sorkin, who as chance would have it, had something to say about the above subject.
Jeremy: (voice over) One last thing: Dan finally got over his writer's block. He met Stacy Kerr at The Smoking Dog. Stacy plays on the women's professional beach volleyball tour. Turns out Stacy's a big fan of Dan's and was particularly taken by his writing....And in that moment, Dan was reminded once again why he wanted to write in the first place....It's for the same reason anybody does anything: to impress women.
-Sports Night, "Dear Louise," written by David Walpert and Aaron Sorkin
And then there is divine music. It is the gods among us, whether it's Kirsty MacColl or Cole Porter.
That's all, really. Not much, is it? Just all there is. Beautiful women, the best writing, divine music.
That's not so much to ask, now is it?
Saturday, June 17, 2006
MirrorMask
I think I understand why this film was not generally well-received by the critics, it probably helps to have come in predisposed to the collaborations of Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman, as I was. If you are so predisposed, one look at the trailer (which you can and should watch here) made you realize: This is a movie that looks just like a piece of Dave McKean artwork...
which of course it is. That's the kind of spiral logic this film inspires.
Now I regret having waited for home video, I wish I'd seen it on a big screen. More, I wish virtual reality had actually worked out; if ever there was a movie that makes you wish you could strap on your goggles and step inside it, this is the one.
I believe it was also underrated by critics because at first viewing-I intend watching it again-the climax does not quite come off. And that sends critics home to their keyboards (trust me, I know) with a feeling that all the spokes of the wheel do not quite reach from the rim to the hub.
Yet as I think about it (or perhaps I mean reflect upon it given the title), I think that perhaps the seeds of the ending were planted earlier in the film and there is a logic to it, but dream logic. Which is all we should expect from Gaiman. I am being, of course, deliberately vague for your experience of this film should be your own.
I want to say: This is an amazing thing; something...
PS: As for the DVD, the "making of" documentary is worth it for the brief scene of Gaiman playfully bitching at his longtime collaborator alone.
"You were the one who had to have monkeybirds...mice on roller skates, I said, they'll be a lot smaller...but no..."
which of course it is. That's the kind of spiral logic this film inspires.Now I regret having waited for home video, I wish I'd seen it on a big screen. More, I wish virtual reality had actually worked out; if ever there was a movie that makes you wish you could strap on your goggles and step inside it, this is the one.
I believe it was also underrated by critics because at first viewing-I intend watching it again-the climax does not quite come off. And that sends critics home to their keyboards (trust me, I know) with a feeling that all the spokes of the wheel do not quite reach from the rim to the hub.
Yet as I think about it (or perhaps I mean reflect upon it given the title), I think that perhaps the seeds of the ending were planted earlier in the film and there is a logic to it, but dream logic. Which is all we should expect from Gaiman. I am being, of course, deliberately vague for your experience of this film should be your own.
I want to say: This is an amazing thing; something...
PS: As for the DVD, the "making of" documentary is worth it for the brief scene of Gaiman playfully bitching at his longtime collaborator alone.
I've been reading a few books about Van Gogh recently
...though certainly nothing like enough to call myself any kind of an expert.
But I think this is my favorite of his portraits that I've seen. It's called Adeline Ravoux (for that is she) and it was painted 116 years ago this month.
You can find out a little bit more about the subject by following the link in her name.
Some of you might think these are gratuitious pictures of Anne Hathaway
Those of you who are foolish enough to believe there can ever really be such a thing, that is.
Sigh...
Whimper...
I actually think this is kind of funny
A local news team in Indiana has put together a little comedy commercial taking shots at Jon Stewart and The Daily Show. The sense I get is that it's of the "it's all good fun" variety. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, and I can't imagine Stewart sweating over it .
Some of the folk at Best Week Ever, where you can watch it, seem to think their hero has seriously been dissed. Some of the folk at Best Week Ever spend too much time thinking about the cast of Full House, Lindsay Lohan's pussy, and what goes into and out of Paris Hilton's mouth.
Some of the folk at Best Week Ever, where you can watch it, seem to think their hero has seriously been dissed. Some of the folk at Best Week Ever spend too much time thinking about the cast of Full House, Lindsay Lohan's pussy, and what goes into and out of Paris Hilton's mouth.
Friday, June 16, 2006
words and image
-Photo credit: Vincent.
Rain rain
Go away
I can't stand this
One more day
I'll close my eyes
I'll shut my brain
I can't stand this
Fucking rain
- Crush, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Lord, I wish I were a drinking man
The Beatles "All You Need Is Love."
Yes, "All You Need Is Love" is all those things and even more.
And now it's the soundtrack to a commercial for credit cards.
The dream is over, yesterday.
- Almost as naive as your average Howard Jones lyric? You betcha.
- But a genuine celebration, an artifact? Absolutely. If anyone cares I think Barry Miles' Paul McCartney-Many Years From Now is the best book ever written on the songwriter, at least in his Beatle years. Miles writes of this song:
It was the philosophy of Sgt. Pepper and the era reduced to five words.
- It's the site of one of the great self-quotes in pop music history, when Lennon starts singing "She Loves You" at the end.
- And of course, influencewise, it's all over Tears For Fears' "Sowing The Seeds Of Love," something they never hid-they used to follow performing that song in concert by covering the Beatle tune.
Yes, "All You Need Is Love" is all those things and even more.
And now it's the soundtrack to a commercial for credit cards.
The dream is over, yesterday.
Someone finally suggests a use for the Bush twins
Rep. Walter Jones, the North Carolina Republican who invented the phrase "freedom fries," invited me into his Capitol Hill office Thursday morning, a cluttered space festooned from floor to ceiling with military memorabilia, Pentagon plaques and photographs of soldiers. Then he pulled out an e-mail he had recently received from an Army captain who served in Iraq.
The e-mail quoted another American soldier serving in Iraq, a voice that Jones wanted people to hear. "Tell all those assholes in D.C. to get us the f--- out of here. This is bullshit," Jones said, reading from the e-mail, but choosing not to pronounce the f-word in full. "Either that or tell them to tell Bush to send over the twins. They can bunk with me. That would be useful."
From Salon.
This is the kind of thing that makes one proud to be an American
A couple of girls drive to DC for the Pride parade. While there, they are propositioned by a fellow who gives them his business card and eventually offers "to pay for our room and give us a thousand dollars if two of us would fuck him."
Charming, no? Being in town for the Pride parade, they respectfully decline.
Fellow turns out to be prominent RNC spokesman, defender of Ann Coulter's assult on 9/11 widows, and one who compared Patrick Fitzgerald to Joe McCarthy, Jack Burkman.
One of the girls has a MySpace account. Wonkette has the beginnings of this sorry tale. BTW, let the clicker beware: If you follow the link on that page to the DC Pride Event pictures, be advised that there's a hell of a lot of them and they may take some time to load.
But you might want to anyway, one or two of them are quite adorable.
PS-Girl adds:
PPS: Girl is from Tennessee, and I just don't know what to think about that.
Charming, no? Being in town for the Pride parade, they respectfully decline.
Fellow turns out to be prominent RNC spokesman, defender of Ann Coulter's assult on 9/11 widows, and one who compared Patrick Fitzgerald to Joe McCarthy, Jack Burkman.
One of the girls has a MySpace account. Wonkette has the beginnings of this sorry tale. BTW, let the clicker beware: If you follow the link on that page to the DC Pride Event pictures, be advised that there's a hell of a lot of them and they may take some time to load.
But you might want to anyway, one or two of them are quite adorable.
PS-Girl adds:
he asked if i made exceptions for men at all, and i was like, "not for republicans."
PPS: Girl is from Tennessee, and I just don't know what to think about that.
That's a bad idea.
Okay...Logo, the (nominally) gay and lesbian network that wouldn't run an ad by the UCC promoting their message of acceptance has announced their plans for new original programming.
These include
That's a bad idea. That's a really, really bad idea. It's also, unfortunately, so typical of reality and talk shows which however much they may spew about building bridges, are about creating confrontation and never mind the consequences.
Even allowing that I haven't seen this reality show, I can't imagine how it's going to be about anything other than making a bad situation worse and exploiting the pain of others in hopes of good ratings.
Does anyone remember the Jenny Jones "gay crush" killing?
Also in their programming:
Wait a minute...that's Topper!
Source: ohnotheydidn't
These include
a reality show that gives lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) participants an opportunity to confront friends and loved ones who have disowned them because of their sexuality.
That's a bad idea. That's a really, really bad idea. It's also, unfortunately, so typical of reality and talk shows which however much they may spew about building bridges, are about creating confrontation and never mind the consequences.
Even allowing that I haven't seen this reality show, I can't imagine how it's going to be about anything other than making a bad situation worse and exploiting the pain of others in hopes of good ratings.
Does anyone remember the Jenny Jones "gay crush" killing?
Also in their programming:
-- "That Gay Ghost," a half-hour sitcom pilot that centers on the members of a conservative family whose lives are changed when they discover that a gay ghost named Cosmo is living in the closet of their new home.
Wait a minute...that's Topper!
Source: ohnotheydidn't
Is it wrong that I don't even know who Dan Brown is?
According to Raving Road Warrior Queen magazine...I'm sorry, Forbes magazine (via Bricks and Stones),
Now-leaving out what I may personally think of any of these celebrities-at least, I know who nine of them are.
The top ten most influential celebrities are as follows:
1. TOM CRUISE
2. THE ROLLING STONES
3. OPRAH WINFREY
4. U2
5. TIGER WOODS
6. STEVE SPIELBERG
7. HOWARD STERN
8. 50 CENT
9. CAST OF THE SOPRANOS
10. DAN BROWN
Now-leaving out what I may personally think of any of these celebrities-at least, I know who nine of them are.
Oh dear.
You know, you try not to stereotype conservatives. Sometimes you fail to resist, but you try not to.
My quoting and agreeing with Mark's post about Ann Coulter attracted a comment by a fella who blogs under the name of (allow for fanfare)...Texas Truth. TT cordially invited me to visit his blog and read what he has to say, so I did.
Molly Ivins once wrote, of Rush Limbaugh fans or "dittoheads,"
When I read conservative blogs, I tend to jump on spelling errors, especially if there are more than might generously be explained as typos. My default joke is usually something about "the right's trademark original relationship with literacy."
Well, here's where a joke becomes sad. TT's blog has a number of such errors, including one he makes twice even though he's quoting an article in which the word is spelled correctly.
TT's occupation, as listed in his Blogger profile?
My quoting and agreeing with Mark's post about Ann Coulter attracted a comment by a fella who blogs under the name of (allow for fanfare)...Texas Truth. TT cordially invited me to visit his blog and read what he has to say, so I did.
Molly Ivins once wrote, of Rush Limbaugh fans or "dittoheads,"
I wouldn't say that dittoheads as a group lack the ability to reason. It's just that whenever I run across them they seem to be at a low ebb in reasoning skills.
When I read conservative blogs, I tend to jump on spelling errors, especially if there are more than might generously be explained as typos. My default joke is usually something about "the right's trademark original relationship with literacy."
Well, here's where a joke becomes sad. TT's blog has a number of such errors, including one he makes twice even though he's quoting an article in which the word is spelled correctly.
TT's occupation, as listed in his Blogger profile?
I am a public high school educator in my early 50s, who has been teaching for 28 years.
I've really got to stop watching television after 11 o'clock at night
The commercial kind, anyway. So I'm watching Moonraker on AMC and coming over all nostalgic-it was my very first Bond film. Then they cut to a commercial. It was for some erectile disfunction aid or other.
In the ad, a middle-aged-to-elderly couple are about to go upstairs, meaningful looks in their eyes. Just then, a knock comes at the door. Oh no! It's the kids and grandkids, making an unscheduled visit.
A voiceover informs us that if, just when you think the "right time" has arrived, you're interupted by such flotsam and jetsam, don't sweat it. Because this little pill is good for up to several hours. Thus gratified, they welcome the kids in to play.
So you're telling me...this guy is going to spend a few hours...playing with children...with some huge fucking boner on.
All right...
In the ad, a middle-aged-to-elderly couple are about to go upstairs, meaningful looks in their eyes. Just then, a knock comes at the door. Oh no! It's the kids and grandkids, making an unscheduled visit.
A voiceover informs us that if, just when you think the "right time" has arrived, you're interupted by such flotsam and jetsam, don't sweat it. Because this little pill is good for up to several hours. Thus gratified, they welcome the kids in to play.
So you're telling me...this guy is going to spend a few hours...playing with children...with some huge fucking boner on.
All right...
Thursday, June 15, 2006
You know, normally my default response to news of a bookburning...
...is a Paula Poundstone quote: Did we learn nothing from Footloose? But for some reason, this worries me a little more.
Pam in da House:
Pam has several examples of the activists delightful tantrums at the link above. She concludes,
Or maybe I'm just bummed this happened before Bob's book could be part of it, let alone mine.
Pam in da House:
Someone set fire to the gay and lesbian book section of the John Merlo Library in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, and there's speculation that this was a hate crime.
Blender Greg G. initially emailed me about this story; he called the library and was told by a staffer they think it was definitely arson and one target was the LGBT collection.
WMAQ Chicago has additional information on the arson.Chicago police said they were calling Tuesday's incident arson, but representatives of the gay community said on Wednesday that the timing with the upcoming Gay Pride Parade and proposed laws dealing with gay marriage in the works, the incident is too coincidental.
..."Lakeview and the city of Chicago represents some of the most accepting, tolerant communities in the United States," said Art Johnston, a board member of Equality Illinois. "The fact that this could happen in a library, of all places, is scary for all of us. In my experience, an attack on any of the communities is an attack on all of us."
[A local "pro-family" (right wing) activist is] angry at Mayor Daley because the mayor welcomed the 2006 Gay Games -- and declined to bid for the next Republican National Convention...Then he was mad at Kraft and Walgreens, two sponsors of the Gay Games (Walgreens is providing HIV/AIDS awareness education as well) that refused to back out when he started throwing a tantrum.
Pam has several examples of the activists delightful tantrums at the link above. She concludes,
So, it's not as if there hasn't been a sufficient amount of wingnut activity around that would make it possible for some fool in Chicago to think burning gay books is A-OK with the moralists.
Or maybe I'm just bummed this happened before Bob's book could be part of it, let alone mine.
The last Ann Coulter post you'll see here for a while
It strikes me that all her invective and "controversial remarks" have but one purpose: The financial enrichment of Ann Coulter.
The section of Coulter's new book that's making headlines and getting her on highly-rated TV shows is her attack on a small group of 9/11 widows whose main sin seems to be that they made commercials for John Kerry. (Has anyone asked her if she'd object to 9/11 widows making commercials for Bush-Cheney?)
If memory serves, at least one 9/11 widow did just that.
Last night, Jay Leno had Coulter on, paired with George Carlin for what NBC press releases promised would be mano a mano combat. But that was a false promise because Carlin, even if he thinks Coulter is utterly wrongheaded, is not about to fault someone too much for saying things that some find offensive. He kind of makes his living doing that, after all. Leno offered a feeble challenge to her views but since she's good at this kind of thing and since her supporters packed The Tonight Show audience to cheer her, she came off as a superstar, at least to the kind of viewer likely to ever buy her book. I suppose Jay and his producers thought it was worth it because of the ratings they'd get with the great Carlin-Coulter Slap-Off...but they didn't even get that. The numbers for last night were about average for a Wednesday, maybe even a few tenths of a point off. I'd like to think it's because America, like me, is already bored with this bogus controversy.
Mark's right.
I kinda like this. I don't know why.
Click to enlarge. It's from a webcomic called Sinfest (You can look at other strips here) that's new to me but which seems very well drawn and pretty funny. Here's a little information about the cartoonist.
Seven movies that apparently more of you need to see
...because none of you got them in my little movie-quote quiz last week.
...was from Love! Valour! Compassion! I put these three films together because they're all about gay men. Two of them are also based on plays, the third, It's My Party, might easily be seen as a play since it's mostly on one set and takes place over the space of two days.
I've often joked with my friends that my personality, certainly my musical taste, would make so much more sense if I were gay. If I could just get over this darned "attracted to women" thing. In LVC we meet (among others) a character who I believe is very much the kind of gay man I would be if I was: The loving, apparently happy-go-lucky Buzz, played by Jason Alexander.
Except for Alexander, all the cast are veterans of the stage version. He was cast presumably to capitalize on his fame but it's a touching performance that I personally prefer to the overrated Seinfeld.
Also featured in another strong ensemble is Stephen Spinella, who turned up this season on 24 as the treacherous, ambitious Miles. The quote in question, though, comes from John Glover, who plays twins in the movie, reprising a role for which he won the Tony onstage. It's a performance of stunning brilliance and grace, aided immeasurably by the superb script.
This film stands for me as one of the best uses of a movie star (as opposed to an actor) in recent cinema history. Cast with someone who doesn't have the audience dazzled as much as Julia Roberts, the protaganist of this movie could come off as downright psychopathic.
But with her and a sturdy screenplay, it's as sweet a confection as a good wedding cake. Great soundtrack, too.
Oh, and there's another gay man in it. Means nothing.
...is from Godspell, one of my all-time favorite movie musicals. I love it, so sue me.
Now this one, I'm kind of disappointed that none of you got. Even if you hadn't seen it or just didn't remember that particular dialogue, from the context, it would seem to be a romantic comedy, wouldn't it? A romantic comedy about The American President.
Which was only written by Aaron Sorkin, who if you don't know I think is one of the strongest writers of film and television we have today, you haven't been paying attention.
Sherman came closest to getting this one, remembering it was from a James Bond movie but not which one. It's The Living Daylights, still one of my favorite Bond films. It always makes me a little sad that Timothy Dalton didn't get to play the part more than one other time, in the much-less successful Licence To Kill. He deserved better than to only do twice as many as George Lazenby.
It's also got John Barry contributing his last musical score to the series; it's one of his most exciting. And this is fucking self indulgent, but what the hell it's my blog: At the quiz in My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, this is the movie which end-credits song they're trying to remember, and there's an in-joke reason, beyond just that I like it.
Mother? I love art....was from It's My Party. One of the things I like most about this movie is the way it uses its large ensemble cast. The story's about a gathering of friends around one person; but there isn't time to map out every detail of all their relationships to him. So you just get enough.
"...who's Ann Miller?"...was from Jeffrey. I adore this film for its performances, especially Steven Weber as the title character, Patrick Stewart getting to show more warmth and humanity than he ever did as Picard and Nathan Lane in a memorable cameo. And because the jokes are very, very funny.
"Leave this house."
I resent you. I resent everything about you. You had Mom and Dad's unconditional love, now you have the world's. How could I not envy that? I wish I could say it was because you're so much better looking than me. No, the real pain is that it's something so much harder to bear. You got the good soul; I got the bad one. Think about leaving me yours...
...was from Love! Valour! Compassion! I put these three films together because they're all about gay men. Two of them are also based on plays, the third, It's My Party, might easily be seen as a play since it's mostly on one set and takes place over the space of two days.
I've often joked with my friends that my personality, certainly my musical taste, would make so much more sense if I were gay. If I could just get over this darned "attracted to women" thing. In LVC we meet (among others) a character who I believe is very much the kind of gay man I would be if I was: The loving, apparently happy-go-lucky Buzz, played by Jason Alexander.
Except for Alexander, all the cast are veterans of the stage version. He was cast presumably to capitalize on his fame but it's a touching performance that I personally prefer to the overrated Seinfeld.
Also featured in another strong ensemble is Stephen Spinella, who turned up this season on 24 as the treacherous, ambitious Miles. The quote in question, though, comes from John Glover, who plays twins in the movie, reprising a role for which he won the Tony onstage. It's a performance of stunning brilliance and grace, aided immeasurably by the superb script.
"He just came in for few hours to uh, to uh, fuck me."...was from My Best Friend's Wedding. Amee, this is the movie that you and I watched over here once when we weren't paying attention to other things.
"It takes a few hours."
This film stands for me as one of the best uses of a movie star (as opposed to an actor) in recent cinema history. Cast with someone who doesn't have the audience dazzled as much as Julia Roberts, the protaganist of this movie could come off as downright psychopathic.
But with her and a sturdy screenplay, it's as sweet a confection as a good wedding cake. Great soundtrack, too.
Oh, and there's another gay man in it. Means nothing.
"Now what the Good Master is telling us all right now is that up in Heaven, there are about a hundred million little tiny angels about 'yea' by 'yea', and they all take shorthand. And every time you do something silly, they write it down..."
"No, no."
"That's not what the Good Master is telling us."
...is from Godspell, one of my all-time favorite movie musicals. I love it, so sue me.
"Are you nervous?"
"No."
"Good. My nervousness exists on several levels; number one, and this is in no particular order, I haven't done this in a pretty long time. Number two, uh, any expectations that you might have, given the fact that I'm... you know..."
"The most powerful man in the world?"
"Exactly, thank you. I think it's important you remember that's a political distinction, it comes with the office."
Now this one, I'm kind of disappointed that none of you got. Even if you hadn't seen it or just didn't remember that particular dialogue, from the context, it would seem to be a romantic comedy, wouldn't it? A romantic comedy about The American President.
Which was only written by Aaron Sorkin, who if you don't know I think is one of the strongest writers of film and television we have today, you haven't been paying attention.
"You were wonderful! We're free!"
"Kara, we're inside a Russian airbase in the middle of Afghanistan!"
Sherman came closest to getting this one, remembering it was from a James Bond movie but not which one. It's The Living Daylights, still one of my favorite Bond films. It always makes me a little sad that Timothy Dalton didn't get to play the part more than one other time, in the much-less successful Licence To Kill. He deserved better than to only do twice as many as George Lazenby.
It's also got John Barry contributing his last musical score to the series; it's one of his most exciting. And this is fucking self indulgent, but what the hell it's my blog: At the quiz in My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, this is the movie which end-credits song they're trying to remember, and there's an in-joke reason, beyond just that I like it.
That's the darndest callback I've ever seen
So I'm watching George Carlin on the Leno show, and they show a clip from Cars, in which he plays a VW van with the character of a hippy. In the clip, he's staring at a traffic light like a Pink Floyd fan at a black light poster.
And one of the other cars says to him, "The '60s weren't good to you, were they?"
Now-what you gotta understand about me is that I'm a George Carlin fan from way back, and I have a freakishly good memory. So the first thing I think of is a joke from Outrageous Fortune, a 1987 movie in which Carlin took a small part.
In that film, he played a cowboy/hippy type who, when Shelley Long and Bette Midler describe the convoluted plot so far to him near the end of the movie, replies, "The '60s were good to you, weren't they?"
Whoa...
And one of the other cars says to him, "The '60s weren't good to you, were they?"
Now-what you gotta understand about me is that I'm a George Carlin fan from way back, and I have a freakishly good memory. So the first thing I think of is a joke from Outrageous Fortune, a 1987 movie in which Carlin took a small part.
In that film, he played a cowboy/hippy type who, when Shelley Long and Bette Midler describe the convoluted plot so far to him near the end of the movie, replies, "The '60s were good to you, weren't they?"
Whoa...
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Ford every stream, and so on
| You Should Spend Your Summer in the Mountains |
 You're quiet, introspective, and a great thinker. You need a summer vacation that gets you away from the crowds and the heat. So retreat to the mountains, where you can clear your head. |
See, what I love about Anne Hathaway...let me rephrase that...
...amongst the things that I love about Anne Hathaway, is that even though she already has my love, she keeps on trying to earn it:
Sigh...
(quote via ohnotheydidn't)
"I was raised Catholic. When I was 11, I felt like I got a calling from God to be a nun. But when I was about 15, I realized my older brother was gay, and I couldn't support a religion that didn't support my brother."
-Anne Hathaway
Sigh...
(quote via ohnotheydidn't)
Anyone else ever get the feeling that Bush couldn't outsmart the Trix rabbit?
Ok. You should all know how I feel and what I think about President Bush by now. And if by some chance you're new, scroll down two or three posts and you should pick it up in a hurry.
But, I know what you're saying.
You're saying, if only there was footage of him making an ass out of himself by making fun of a blind man.
Well, guess what.
There is such footage.
But, I know what you're saying.
You're saying, if only there was footage of him making an ass out of himself by making fun of a blind man.
Well, guess what.
There is such footage.
Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on
So there's this fella named Bob Corker, Republican of...you know it's coming...Tennessee. He's either a cynical opportunist or a homophobe (if you support a Constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, there just ain't a third choice).
The girl on the left is his daughter.
Thank you, Wonkette.
La la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la...
The girl on the left is his daughter.
Thank you, Wonkette.
La la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la...
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
There's a sun shining in the sky, but that's not the reason why I'm feeling warm inside
A commenter who wished to remain anonymous (but who almost certainly hails from Bolingbrook, Illinois-home of the second IKEA outlet in the state!) went looking for messages of support for Ann Coulter.
Unfortunately for them, since Ms. Coulter's most recent remarks are indefensible even by her low standards, what they mainly found were postings like mine of earlier today. Postings from Democratic bloggers suggesting that what Ann had said was, like what she usually says, stupid, false and silly.
This confused and infuriated them, and he/she/it wrote me with a list of questions. I'm here to please (and don't you ever forget that, ladies), so let's take a look at those questions and see if we can't help make things clearer for our new friend.
Who writes:
Next question?
Please don't hesitate to write again if you have any further questions.
Unfortunately for them, since Ms. Coulter's most recent remarks are indefensible even by her low standards, what they mainly found were postings like mine of earlier today. Postings from Democratic bloggers suggesting that what Ann had said was, like what she usually says, stupid, false and silly.
This confused and infuriated them, and he/she/it wrote me with a list of questions. I'm here to please (and don't you ever forget that, ladies), so let's take a look at those questions and see if we can't help make things clearer for our new friend.
Who writes:
What do you know about conservatives?I know that Dick Cheney is willing to cynically exploit people just like his daughter for votes. I know that he and Bush are incompetents who have run this country much the same way the Skipper and Gilligan ran the Minnow. I know that conservatives love to pat themselves on the back even (if not especially) when they don't deserve it. I know they're armchair warriors who love to talk a good game about supporting a war but get kinda queasy when you suggest they join up and fight in it. I don't know, but I suspect they like Larry the Cable Guy.
Next question?
Why don't you talk from your malcontent liberal heart!Um...I thought I was. BTW, Malcontent: "One who rebels against the established system." With Bush's approval rating having hit 29%, there sure are a lot of us, aren't there?
Why don't you say what you mean - something like - "I wish conservatives were turning against Ann Coulter because she scares me.Again, possibly because that's not what I mean. I mean that there's something really wrong with Ann Coulter.
[or]If all conservatives start talking like her, it looks like I'm in for the fight I've looking for."Putting aside the right's trademark original relationship with literacy...if all conservatives start talking like her, we'll get a Democrat elected President in 2008 by a landslide.
Please don't hesitate to write again if you have any further questions.
There are some things to which only John Lydon songs seem to be an appropriate response
Things like this. Via Firedoglake:
Mr. Lydon?
Anything else you'd like to say, Mr. Lydon?
Well, that about sums it up.
The prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case on Monday advised Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, that he would not be charged with any wrongdoing, effectively ending the nearly three-year criminal investigation that had at times focused intensely on Mr. Rove.
The decision by the prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, announced in a letter to Mr. Rove’s lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, lifted a pall that had hung over Mr. Rove who testified on five occasions to a federal grand jury about his involvement in the disclosure of an intelligence officer’s identity.
In a statement, Mr. Luskin said, "On June 12, 2006, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald formally advised us that he does not anticipate seeking charges against Karl Rove."
Mr. Lydon?
This is a world destruction
Your life ain't nothing
The human race is becoming a disgrace
The rich get richer
The poor are getting poorer
Fascist, chauvinistic government fools
- Time Zone, World Destruction
Vocals: John Lydon and Afrika Bambaataa
(by Bambaataa / Laswell)
Anything else you'd like to say, Mr. Lydon?
What's it all about
They scream and then they shout
Don't ask me
Cause I don't know
What's it all about
They scream and then they shout
Don't blame me
I told you so
-DON’T ASK ME
(Public Image Ltd)
(by Dias/ Lydon/ McGeoch)
Well, that about sums it up.
Whoever's booking The Tonight Show these days has a delightful sense of humor
It was only last week I was marveling at the cross-booking of the Blue Collar Comedy fellas with Tim Russert and David Lee Roth. Tomorrow, Ann Coulter...and George Carlin. This should be at the very least, an interesting interview or two.
"For the record, both Cruise and Travolta have said repeatedly they are not gay."
If Tom Cruise's recent public displays weren't evidence enough, Scientologists Jenna and Bodhi Elfman prove that they, too, are willing to go to great lengths to defend their religion.
Indie film director John Roecker tells TMZ he was walking to his car with a female friend in LA's trendy Los Feliz neighborhood last Sunday when he was approached by a shirtless man and a tall blonde. "Hey, man, you're making fun of my religion," said the stranger angrily.
Roecker quickly recognized the couple as actor Bodhi Elfman and his wife, 'Dharma and Greg' star Jenna Elfman. Mr. Elfman's ire was apparently drawn by Roecker's self-made t-shirt, which had a picture of Tom Cruise on the front under the caption "Scientology is Gay!" and a 'Stayin'-Alive'-era John Travolta on the back with the words "Very Gay!" For the record, both Cruise and Travolta have said repeatedly they are not gay.
Roecker says Jenna repeatedly said "What crimes have you committed?" and began screaming at Roecker, "Have you raped a baby?" as motorists on Los Feliz Boulevard drove by in snarled traffic.
There's more if you can take it.
Okay, the bloggers in Vegas thing
As you may have seen elsewhere, this past weekend there was a convention of lefty bloggers in Las Vegas, complete with high-profile political guests like Wesley Clark & Nancy Pelosi and a certain amount of attention from the traditional media.
Those who were there have been blogging it. Hoo boy, have they ever been blogging it, in a disturbingly snake-chasing-its-own-tail manner.
Tom puts his finger neatly on the problem when he says:
I happen to think it deserved such a place. I also happened to notice that the crews only ever stopped to talk to the loons in Superman costumes.
Those who were there have been blogging it. Hoo boy, have they ever been blogging it, in a disturbingly snake-chasing-its-own-tail manner.
Tom puts his finger neatly on the problem when he says:
The problem is that people seem to be taking themselves rather too seriously.Yes, precisely that. And moreso-there is a palpable eagerness to be "legitimized". I recognize it from my days as a comic book and/or science fiction and fantasy fan. There were always people who were only too willing to talk to any local camera crew, in hopes of helping fantastic literature gain its proper place in the American Pantheon.
I happen to think it deserved such a place. I also happened to notice that the crews only ever stopped to talk to the loons in Superman costumes.
The conservative blogs are turning against Ann Coulter
As we haven't played in a while, I thought about doing this as a nice, rousing game of...Who Said It?
This time, though, I'm just gonna tell you who said it. Because this time, it's not just who said it, it's who they said it about and what it is they said.
Via Hullabaloo, someone at Daily Kos has come up with a sampling of prominent con-bloggers calling out Ann Coulter for her attack on the 9/11 widows. See, they want us to believe they find things like that just as morally repugnant as we do.
Almost as though they had a moral compass. Right.
In my favorite, Ace Of Spades sez:
Now--put aside for the moment that AoS's argument is basically, "dude, I know it's true that the 9/11 widows are whores but you shouldn't say it."
As Digby points out, this sudden awareness that Ann Coulter is so utterly wrongheaded I doubt the happiest feminist would deny she needs a slap across the face is somewhat new to the right-wing community.
To refresh our memory, Dig's put together his own selection of quotes that these self-same Republican bloggers were only too glad to support, if only by their conspicuous silence, when they were in high cotton.
These were my favorites:
Digby concludes:
You can say this for the Republicans. They have the courage of their convictions.
And Huff this season has been just as smartly written as the first.
This time, though, I'm just gonna tell you who said it. Because this time, it's not just who said it, it's who they said it about and what it is they said.
Via Hullabaloo, someone at Daily Kos has come up with a sampling of prominent con-bloggers calling out Ann Coulter for her attack on the 9/11 widows. See, they want us to believe they find things like that just as morally repugnant as we do.
Almost as though they had a moral compass. Right.
In my favorite, Ace Of Spades sez:
this nastiness is uncalled for. Even if something is actually felt deep inside -- even if you're filled with toxic hatred for very annoying, very presumptuous, very left-leaning women with an overweening sense of entitlement -- most people would find less abrasive ways to express such an emotion. Does that mean that Ann is just more honest than us "nancy boys"? Not really. A lot of the time the excuse of "I was just being honest" is just a code for "I'm basically an inconsiderate [butthead] who cannot be bothered to modify my behavior in even the slightest fashion in order to observe basic conventions of social decency."
Now--put aside for the moment that AoS's argument is basically, "dude, I know it's true that the 9/11 widows are whores but you shouldn't say it."
As Digby points out, this sudden awareness that Ann Coulter is so utterly wrongheaded I doubt the happiest feminist would deny she needs a slap across the face is somewhat new to the right-wing community.
To refresh our memory, Dig's put together his own selection of quotes that these self-same Republican bloggers were only too glad to support, if only by their conspicuous silence, when they were in high cotton.
These were my favorites:
"When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty. We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out to be outright traitors."
"it's far preferable to fight [terrorists] in the streets of Baghdad than in the streets of New York where the residents would immediately surrender."
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."
"Liberals can't just come out and say they want to take our money, kill babies and discriminate on the basis of race."
Digby concludes:
So what has precipitated this new wingnut sensitivity? Republican popularity, that's what. That's when the movement starts casting its dead weight overboard.
You can say this for the Republicans. They have the courage of their convictions.
And Huff this season has been just as smartly written as the first.
Okay...I know this isn't exactly a new question
...but could someone please tell me what L.A. does to some women? Let me explain what I'm talking about.
Once or twice around here and in my old blog, I've expressed my horror at redheaded actress Laura Prepon going blonde. My tongue is somewhat in my cheek when I say these things but not entirely. I considered the way her red hair set off her carnal, sensual face to be one of the most strikingly attractive things about her.
Now, as a blonde, her face just kind of disappears into the woodwork.
Jennifer Grey is another, and probably the most extreme, version of what I'm talking about. As most people probably know by now, she had a nose job that rendered her unrecognizable. And completely destroyed what was most distinctive-and I'd always thought kinda sexy-about her face.
So here's what brought this on. Early this morning, I'm watching the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Sara Rue, star of the sitcom Less Than Perfect is to be a guest. I've never actually seen an episode of Less Than Perfect, but I'd caught glimpses of Rue here and there. From what I saw on Celebrity Poker Showdown and the like, she seemed to have a decent sense of humor about herself, always attractive in a woman. And she was a big-sized girl, but damn if it didn't look great on her.
Once or twice around here and in my old blog, I've expressed my horror at redheaded actress Laura Prepon going blonde. My tongue is somewhat in my cheek when I say these things but not entirely. I considered the way her red hair set off her carnal, sensual face to be one of the most strikingly attractive things about her.
Now, as a blonde, her face just kind of disappears into the woodwork.
Jennifer Grey is another, and probably the most extreme, version of what I'm talking about. As most people probably know by now, she had a nose job that rendered her unrecognizable. And completely destroyed what was most distinctive-and I'd always thought kinda sexy-about her face.
So here's what brought this on. Early this morning, I'm watching the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Sara Rue, star of the sitcom Less Than Perfect is to be a guest. I've never actually seen an episode of Less Than Perfect, but I'd caught glimpses of Rue here and there. From what I saw on Celebrity Poker Showdown and the like, she seemed to have a decent sense of humor about herself, always attractive in a woman. And she was a big-sized girl, but damn if it didn't look great on her.
So-as if you're not already ahead of me-Ferguson introduces her and this walks out:
As I say, I know this isn't exactly a new question. But could someone tell me what L.A. does to some women that makes them want to remove what's most striking, attractive, distinctive, sexy and great-looking about themselves?
In favor of looking like everybody else?
Monday, June 12, 2006
And the human condition goes on and goes on and goes on
Good afternoon. Back in November, I mused, "Sometimes I wonder at what point Madonna was replaced by a robot." This was, obviously, before I'd declared the cease-fire that is still in effect.
Now then:
Sometimes I wonder at what point Denise Richards was replaced by a robot...
...no, no I don't. Actually, I'd always kinda figured she was...
Pic via Best Week Ever.
Now then:
Sometimes I wonder at what point Denise Richards was replaced by a robot...
...no, no I don't. Actually, I'd always kinda figured she was...
Pic via Best Week Ever.
The Real Larry the Cable Guy
This is the kind of information that should be shared with as many people as possible, so I encourage you to pass it along to your friends. It's a clip of Larry, A.K.A. Dan Whitney, as he was in the '80s.
For those of you who didn't know that "LtCG" is a character designed to appeal to stupid people and sexists played by a cynical opportunist, prepare yourselves for a shock. Those of you who always kinda suspected that, prepare yourself to meet the conniving hack behind the sleeveless shirt.
For those of you who didn't know that "LtCG" is a character designed to appeal to stupid people and sexists played by a cynical opportunist, prepare yourselves for a shock. Those of you who always kinda suspected that, prepare yourself to meet the conniving hack behind the sleeveless shirt.
Colbert is going to be all over this story
Via Hullabaloo:
Be sure to click on the link above for the photos.
WEST MILFORD, N.J. - A black bear picked the wrong New Jersey yard for a jaunt earlier this week, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.
Jack, a 15-pound orange-and-white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, chasing small animals when he can, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising.
"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," cat owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's newspapers.
Be sure to click on the link above for the photos.
Random Flickr-Blogging: IMG_9369
(If you don't know what RFB is, go here)
Three songs and a book:
Original source.
Three songs and a book:
Take me out tonight
Take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
And in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
But then a strange fear gripped me
And I just couldn't ask
-There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, The Smiths (song)
There's a club, if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go, and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home
And you cry
And you want to die
-How Soon Is Now? The Smiths (song)
'You aren't meant to be alone. None of us are. Now come on back inside, where there are people, where it's warm.'-Happy Endings, Paul Cornell (book)
When the dance floor clears, I walk home alone with their voices still in my ears. The ghosts of dead teenagers sing to me while I am dancing. They're sad and young, and they'll be sad and young forever.
Homeless Club Kids, My Favorite (song)
Original source.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
A "Huff" revelation
Each week during the hour of torture that used to be my new favorite TV show, "Huff," I find myself devoting at least part of my brainpan to trying to figure out how a series that I liked so much went so bad.
One of the more schizophrenic things about this season for me has been that I've noticed a lot more women's names in the producing, writing and directing credits. I admit I haven't made a direct comparison, but it seems like a lot more than in the first season.
As I think most of you know, I'm a man who likes writing women characters. And I think, he said modestly, the consensus among both women and men who've read my work is that I do it well. I would never suggest that women couldn't produce or write a show where the protaganist is a man.
A theme this season has been men trying, in their variously fucked up ways, to get things right and getting no sympathy from the women in their lives, who are never called on their own bullshit.
The last thing I want to sound like is a "men's rights" advocate here but it's getting ridiculous. Not least because it's completely out of key with the writing last season, which was supposed to have ended a couple of weeks (at best) before this one started.
Yes, characters evolve, people change. But in two fucking weeks of character time, I'm supposed to accept this new Beth, Izzy (and Bird) as though they were the same people?
What I couldn't figure out-and I've been asking myself for the past two weeks or so--is why, if more women are writing them, the women characters this season have turned almost uniformly nasty and unpleasant.
In tonight's episode, the answer flashed before my eyes like a searchlight. I think it was during the scene when they decided to turn Huff's son Bird into a violent criminal.
It's not that this season of "Huff" was written by women. It's that this season of "Huff" was written by women who, clearly, hate men. They are like the cliche of the man-hating, "feminist" (in the most wearisome sense of the term) lesbians.
I didn't think such women really existed. Yet once I imagined the characters and writing this season being shaped through such a perspective, it all made frightening amounts of sense.
That's why Huff is taking all the punishment for his marriage falling apart and Beth's holding dinner parties. Beth cannot share the responsibility, she can only be the victim. That's why Bird has suffered arguably the most wrenching character change-he's a boy, and boys are icky.
That's why the only exception to the above-stated theme of men who are fucked-up but trying getting no sympathy from the women in their lives is Teddy-because Teddy is completely dependent and childlike.
That's why Beth gets to have her hot tongue-kissing action with a girlfriend, but then is freed from the responsibility of dealing with that further. By a frickin' woman priest, no less, who dismisses it as "multi-tasking." How modern.
That's why the girlfriend is then exposed as a "drunken train wreck" about whom Beth says "her problems aren't my problems." Suuuuure they're not, Bethy. That's why Beth gets the thrill of being offered a night of string-free sex with a British stud but turns him down, because all of a sudden she's got morals and strength of character.
And that's why, meanwhile, Huff is betraying his wedding vows with an Asian hooker. In the kind of place where men lie in tubs while women pee on them (as they're all-too-happy to show us in a quick, explicit, "It's Showtime!" flash).
Men can be degraded, but women must be allowed to keep their dignity. They can flirt with being immoral, because that's dirty and sexy and fun, but only men, those callow beasts, can actually cross the line.
Because man is irredeemable unless, like Teddy, he is completely dependent on women.
"Huff" has been written this season by women who clearly hate men.
And I don't think I should suffer to endure it any longer.
One of the more schizophrenic things about this season for me has been that I've noticed a lot more women's names in the producing, writing and directing credits. I admit I haven't made a direct comparison, but it seems like a lot more than in the first season.
As I think most of you know, I'm a man who likes writing women characters. And I think, he said modestly, the consensus among both women and men who've read my work is that I do it well. I would never suggest that women couldn't produce or write a show where the protaganist is a man.
A theme this season has been men trying, in their variously fucked up ways, to get things right and getting no sympathy from the women in their lives, who are never called on their own bullshit.
The last thing I want to sound like is a "men's rights" advocate here but it's getting ridiculous. Not least because it's completely out of key with the writing last season, which was supposed to have ended a couple of weeks (at best) before this one started.
Yes, characters evolve, people change. But in two fucking weeks of character time, I'm supposed to accept this new Beth, Izzy (and Bird) as though they were the same people?
What I couldn't figure out-and I've been asking myself for the past two weeks or so--is why, if more women are writing them, the women characters this season have turned almost uniformly nasty and unpleasant.
In tonight's episode, the answer flashed before my eyes like a searchlight. I think it was during the scene when they decided to turn Huff's son Bird into a violent criminal.
It's not that this season of "Huff" was written by women. It's that this season of "Huff" was written by women who, clearly, hate men. They are like the cliche of the man-hating, "feminist" (in the most wearisome sense of the term) lesbians.
I didn't think such women really existed. Yet once I imagined the characters and writing this season being shaped through such a perspective, it all made frightening amounts of sense.
That's why Huff is taking all the punishment for his marriage falling apart and Beth's holding dinner parties. Beth cannot share the responsibility, she can only be the victim. That's why Bird has suffered arguably the most wrenching character change-he's a boy, and boys are icky.
That's why the only exception to the above-stated theme of men who are fucked-up but trying getting no sympathy from the women in their lives is Teddy-because Teddy is completely dependent and childlike.
That's why Beth gets to have her hot tongue-kissing action with a girlfriend, but then is freed from the responsibility of dealing with that further. By a frickin' woman priest, no less, who dismisses it as "multi-tasking." How modern.
That's why the girlfriend is then exposed as a "drunken train wreck" about whom Beth says "her problems aren't my problems." Suuuuure they're not, Bethy. That's why Beth gets the thrill of being offered a night of string-free sex with a British stud but turns him down, because all of a sudden she's got morals and strength of character.
And that's why, meanwhile, Huff is betraying his wedding vows with an Asian hooker. In the kind of place where men lie in tubs while women pee on them (as they're all-too-happy to show us in a quick, explicit, "It's Showtime!" flash).
Men can be degraded, but women must be allowed to keep their dignity. They can flirt with being immoral, because that's dirty and sexy and fun, but only men, those callow beasts, can actually cross the line.
Because man is irredeemable unless, like Teddy, he is completely dependent on women.
"Huff" has been written this season by women who clearly hate men.
And I don't think I should suffer to endure it any longer.
Ok, "Cars" has been out for two-three days now...
...it's time to start looking forward to the new Pixar movie, out next summer. It's called Ratatouille, bringing to mind one of my favorite Fawlty Towers jokes.
It's co-directed by Brad Bird, who made The Incredibles and (much closer to my heart) The Iron Giant, plus that "Family Dog" episode of Amazing Stories.
You can check out the trailer here. Click on "trailers" on the left side of the screen.
Patton Oswalt is Ratatouille and reportedly, Bird himself is the French waiter (he was also Edna in The Incredibles) you see in the preview.
Liz Hurley has a fair amount of cleavage
And apparently, French Elle felt it was important that we know that.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Okay, the al-Zarqawi's death thing
At Unclaimed Territory, guest-blogger Hume's Ghost does a fine job articulating my feelings on the matter.
Hume says it a lot better.
- Is it a good thing? Sure looks that way.
- Will it lead to a more peaceful, stable Iraq? Well...that's considerably less certain but I think it's fair to say anyone with the least scrap of human decency hopes it will.
- Does it, in one shot, rationalize everything and everything the United States did in the lead-up to the war and has done in the war itself? Absolutely not.
Hume says it a lot better.
What we talk about when we talk about blogs
A site called Blogometer did an interesting poll; they asked the most popular bloggers to name their favorite blogs. Results are here. There's some good stuff, especially in the top 15.
It's a hap-hap-happy day
Just gotten in trade at used book store:
Total cost in trade: $5.00
- Hot Seat, Theater Criticism for the New York Times, 1980-1993, Frank Rich
- Dazzler: The Life And Times Of Moss Hart, Stephen Bach
- Rewrites, A Memoir, Neil Simon
Total cost in trade: $5.00
A History of Violence
Saw this film last night. It's very well made and well-acted (Viggo Mortensen is especially good), but I did not find it the revelation that many critics seem to have. Scanning the quotes in the Rotten Tomatoes balance of reviews, I found myself concluding that a lot of reviewers saw things in it that simply weren't there.
But, a well-made, well-acted thriller is never a waste of time, and I'm going to listen to Cronenberg's commentary before I return the DVD to see if he can convince me there is more there than meets the eye.
Another thing I did like is that when the violence comes in this film, as you know it's going to given the title, it is in no way fetishised (if that's a word). As opposed to the way it might be in a X-Men or Mission Impossible movie (and I liked the first two X-Men films, haven't seen the third).
The violence in this picture is quick, it's messy. And without lingering on it, Cronenberg makes sure we see the actual results of such violence.
But, a well-made, well-acted thriller is never a waste of time, and I'm going to listen to Cronenberg's commentary before I return the DVD to see if he can convince me there is more there than meets the eye.
Another thing I did like is that when the violence comes in this film, as you know it's going to given the title, it is in no way fetishised (if that's a word). As opposed to the way it might be in a X-Men or Mission Impossible movie (and I liked the first two X-Men films, haven't seen the third).
The violence in this picture is quick, it's messy. And without lingering on it, Cronenberg makes sure we see the actual results of such violence.
Ann Coulter is making me rethink my previously hardline stance against hitting women
She's comparing herself to Mark Twain and [H.L.] Mencken.
ETA this illustrative cartoon-and I'm pleased to see that my Alien=republican prediction is being bourne out in the mass media.
ETA this illustrative cartoon-and I'm pleased to see that my Alien=republican prediction is being bourne out in the mass media.
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