I was a big fan of Cupid, the show starring Jeremy Piven that Rob Thomas created in 1998. You fans of Thomas's later creation Veronica Mars who want to condemn the CW to hell for stopping the series, hey, at least it got three seasons. Cupid didn't even get 13 episodes on the air.
But, oh, how I loved it, and it is hands down the series that I would most like to see on DVD. Part of me had hoped that with Piven winning awards, and Thomas the creator of a cult success, whoever owns the rights might see that there's some easy profit to be had.
So far, nada. However, I learned today, quite by accident, that someone started posting the episodes to YouTube. You can find them by searching for "cupid tv show." To give you a little taste, here's the last 10 minutes (more or less) of what may be my favorite episode, "Pick-Up Schticks."
I say "may be" because Cupid is one of those series, for me, where immidiately I think of a favorite episode I think of another. But I think this would have to at least be in my top 3.
By the way I'm assuming that you, like most of the world, missed the series, so you should probably read a couple of things first. Don't worry, they're short. There's a good summary of the premise at the imdb page. And here's a synopsis of the plot of this particular episode from Wikipedia.
Okay, here's the clip. Afterwards I'll be back to say a little something about why I think this is my favorite episode, but please watch the clip first if you're gonna.
By design, Thomas and his collaborators answered the question of whether or not their hero was really Cupid, as he believed, by a series of "maybe not...but maybe" sequences. But as I remember it, for the first handful of episodes they were really playing up the witty, intelligent and romantic aspects of the series and Trevor Hale.
And it was wonderful. But in this episode it becomes clear that if he is not Cupid...then he's really, really disturbed. And I don't mean that in a cheap, "You'd have to be disturbed to turn down a chance to have sex with Sherilyn Fenn" way.
IMO, you can count on the fingers of one hand the series that have encompassed poetry, wit and romance. While at the same time not being afraid to be unamusing sometimes, and not being dainty in the construction of the characters but giving them texture and quality.
And you'd probably have more than a few fingers left over after you'd named Cupid.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Holy crap
This is turning out to be a good couple of days for discovering heretofore unknown things via movies and television.
Along with Science of Sleep, I rented a Fractured Fairy Tales Best Of DVD yesterday.
God bless my video store and their "Wednesday two for ones." So I'm watching their version of "Rumpelstiltskin," and we get to the part where the young queen starts trying to guess the name of the little man.
She tries dozens of names---"Alfred? Barnaby? Clyde? Zeke?"--- And smack dab in the middle there:
"Lowry? Sam?"
Now, as any film or especially Terry Gilliam fan worth the name knows, the hero of his film Brazil is named...Sam Lowry. And here are those names put together some 25 years before that film was released.
Coincidence? Yeah, probably. At least, I've seen or read everything on Gilliam that I can and I don't remember ever seeing that the name was meant as a nod.
Nevertheless...holy crap.
Along with Science of Sleep, I rented a Fractured Fairy Tales Best Of DVD yesterday.
God bless my video store and their "Wednesday two for ones." So I'm watching their version of "Rumpelstiltskin," and we get to the part where the young queen starts trying to guess the name of the little man.
She tries dozens of names---"Alfred? Barnaby? Clyde? Zeke?"--- And smack dab in the middle there:
"Lowry? Sam?"
Now, as any film or especially Terry Gilliam fan worth the name knows, the hero of his film Brazil is named...Sam Lowry. And here are those names put together some 25 years before that film was released.
Coincidence? Yeah, probably. At least, I've seen or read everything on Gilliam that I can and I don't remember ever seeing that the name was meant as a nod.
Nevertheless...holy crap.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I've always kind of idly wondered about the name of Bad Hat Harry Productions, the company started by director/producer Bryan Singer that produces House on TV as well as his movies including The Usual Suspects and first two X-Men films.
But I was just idly interested, never enough to actually look it up on Yahoo! or somethin'.
So I'm watching Jaws on TV just now. It's one of my favorite films, a reminder that top box office doesn't always mean unwatchable for anyone with a critical mind. But I had completely forgotten the scene from which Singer's company takes its name.
It's true, you really do learn something new every day. Now that I know of course, I can see that the title card for the company is a tip of the (bad) hat to the scene in question.
Okay, so sometimes I'm slow.
But I was just idly interested, never enough to actually look it up on Yahoo! or somethin'.
So I'm watching Jaws on TV just now. It's one of my favorite films, a reminder that top box office doesn't always mean unwatchable for anyone with a critical mind. But I had completely forgotten the scene from which Singer's company takes its name.
It's true, you really do learn something new every day. Now that I know of course, I can see that the title card for the company is a tip of the (bad) hat to the scene in question.
Okay, so sometimes I'm slow.
So you want to see Kristen Bell wearing a bikini
We of Dictionopolis in Digitopolis are not here to judge.
beauty sleep
I think I'm glad I'm not in film school right now because I dread the thought of how many pretentious, boring student films Science of Sleep must have inspired. Which not to say that it is pretentious or boring, quite the contrary. It is pretentious and captivating.
It's just that it's got to be the most "indy" (in a good way) film I've ever seen, and that can be as bad as good in the effect that it has.
The movie, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from the same director, could be, maybe should be, confusing. But Michel Gondry is the kind of director who gives "visionary" a good name.
He can give us scrumptious images that are hard to resist. Here. Assuming you haven't seen the film, watch the trailer. It probably speaks for the charm of this movie better than most of my words ever could. And you won't hear me admit that often.
But Gondry can also (wait for it) tell a story. Based on this and ...Spotless they're not "normal" stories, but stories nevertheless. The subject here is dreams, and this movie envisions them more accurately than any film I can remember.
Most tv & movie dream sequences, frankly, are less about that and more about giving writers a chance to play "what if" while holding a get out of jail free card. But the dreams in ...Sleep are actually dreams the way I, at least, experience them. Sometimes.
PS: I also suspect I should be thanking this film,
for "introducing" me to the French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg...
It's just that it's got to be the most "indy" (in a good way) film I've ever seen, and that can be as bad as good in the effect that it has.
The movie, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from the same director, could be, maybe should be, confusing. But Michel Gondry is the kind of director who gives "visionary" a good name.
He can give us scrumptious images that are hard to resist. Here. Assuming you haven't seen the film, watch the trailer. It probably speaks for the charm of this movie better than most of my words ever could. And you won't hear me admit that often.
But Gondry can also (wait for it) tell a story. Based on this and ...Spotless they're not "normal" stories, but stories nevertheless. The subject here is dreams, and this movie envisions them more accurately than any film I can remember.
Most tv & movie dream sequences, frankly, are less about that and more about giving writers a chance to play "what if" while holding a get out of jail free card. But the dreams in ...Sleep are actually dreams the way I, at least, experience them. Sometimes.
PS: I also suspect I should be thanking this film,
for "introducing" me to the French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg...
Just another of my book reviews
This one of the obvious High School Movie in training, I Love You, Beth Cooper.
I always suspected as much, frankly.
A veteran producer for NBC's Dateline has claimed that she was fired by the network after complaining to top NBC News execs that the "To Catch a Predator" series violated not only the news division's ethical principles but standards of responsible journalism in general. Marsha Bartel, who said in a $1-million lawsuit against the network that she had worked for NBC News for 21 years, claimed that after she was appointed as producer of the highly rated series on Internet predators, she quickly realized that she would have little supervision over the operations of the group Perverted Justice, which the show's executives had hired to lure adults to a house, fitted out with hidden TV cameras. The marks, who expected to meet teenagers for sex, instead found themselves confronted by Dateline reporter Chris Hansen, followed by a squad of police officers. Bartel said she complained to her superiors that Perverted Justice refused to provide complete transcripts of the conversations between their teenage-posing decoys and the targets but later learned that they "sometimes beg individuals to come to the sting locations even after the targets of the sting initially decide not to come."
There's more if you can take it. Now as one or two of you know, I'm pretty zero-tolerance when it comes to perverted adults who have sex with children. I guess most people are pretty low-tolerance about that.
But, there's always been something that's bothered me about the "perverts on the internet" scare that we've had over the past few years in general, and this Dateline show in specific. I admit I don't have chapter and verse on this.
But some combination of common sense and gut feeling has always made me think it doesn't happen as much as some seem to want us to believe. And when it does happen more often than not it's entrapment, as it seems to be in this case, if the producer is correct.
But the idea that at most if not all of the networks, "ethical principles [and] standards of responsible journalism" come second to entertainment value is hardly telling most of us anything.
Quite frankly, that's why most of us read the internet and/or watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Without condescension
...is how I tried to write my latest Amazon.com review, of A Model Summer, the debut novel by actress/model Paulina Porizkova. It's too easy for casual readers and professional critics alike to fall into the trap of saying things like..."And she can write, too," but, she can.
For what it's worth, even when she was at the height of her fame in the late '80s/early '90s,
Porizkova was never the girl I most wanted to get close to, so don't think this is me speaking up for some dreamgirl past. If it was by Penelope Ann Miller or even Madonna, both of whom made much deeper impressions on my heart back in the day, maybe.
But I don't know if Miller could write a book this good, and I'm sure Madonna couldn't.
Looks-wise, I actually think Porizkova is one of those lucky women who proves the truth of something Ellen Barkin is quoted as saying in the new EW:
I'm going to be a gentleman and not give her exact age, but Porizkova is in that range. This is her a few years ago:
She looks much better to me there than she did in the above picture. But again-none of that has much to do with how I enjoyed the book or not.
For what it's worth, even when she was at the height of her fame in the late '80s/early '90s,
Porizkova was never the girl I most wanted to get close to, so don't think this is me speaking up for some dreamgirl past. If it was by Penelope Ann Miller or even Madonna, both of whom made much deeper impressions on my heart back in the day, maybe.
But I don't know if Miller could write a book this good, and I'm sure Madonna couldn't.
Looks-wise, I actually think Porizkova is one of those lucky women who proves the truth of something Ellen Barkin is quoted as saying in the new EW:
"I always thought women peaked between 36 and 43. Something happens to your face and everything just settles in."
I'm going to be a gentleman and not give her exact age, but Porizkova is in that range. This is her a few years ago:
She looks much better to me there than she did in the above picture. But again-none of that has much to do with how I enjoyed the book or not.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Daydream In Blue
Daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.
Daydream,
I dream of you amid the flowers,
for a couple of hours,
such a beautiful day.
Daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.
Daydream, I dream of you amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, such a beautiful day.
I daydream
I daydream
I daydream
Words by The Wallace Collection, as sampled by I Monster. Images of Ms. Jovovich.
Daydream,
I dream of you amid the flowers,
for a couple of hours,
such a beautiful day.Daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.
Daydream, I dream of you amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, such a beautiful day.
I daydream
I daydream
I daydream
Words by The Wallace Collection, as sampled by I Monster. Images of Ms. Jovovich.
Well, isn't that spiffy
Wash. - Vandals burned dozens of small American flags that decorated veterans' graves for Memorial Day and replaced many of them with hand-drawn swastikas, authorities said Monday.
Forty-six flag standards were found empty and another 33 flags were in charred tatters Sunday in the cemetery, authorities said. Swastikas drawn on paper appeared where 14 of the flags had been.
Members of the American Legion on this island off Washington's northwest coast replaced the burned flags with new ones Sunday afternoon.
"This is not an act of free speech. This is a crime," Sheriff Bill Cumming said in a statement released Monday afternoon.
What's odd to me is that anybody felt the need to make that statement. As though any reasonable person was ever going to argue that the descecration of soldiers' graves were an act of free speech.
But then, you know how we Commies can get.
Looking through the Rear Window at you, or, As comes as no surprise to anybody, I'm happier about my score as a dame than as a leading man
Or, Just call me The African Queen.
Or, On the whole, I'd rather be in The Philadelphia Story.
Or, On the whole, I'd rather be in The Philadelphia Story.
Your Score: Jimmy Stewart
You scored 9% Tough, 19% Roguish, 42% Friendly, and 28% Charming!
You are the fun and friendly boy next door, the classic nice guy who still manages to get the girl most of the time. You're every nice girl's dreamboat, open and kind, nutty and charming, even a little mischievous at times, but always a real stand up guy. You're dependable and forthright, and women are drawn to your reliability, even as they're dazzled by your sense of adventure and fun. You try to be tough when you need to be, and will gladly stand up for any damsel in distress, but you'd rather catch a girl with a little bit of flair. Your leading ladies include Jean Arthur and Donna Reed, those sweet girl-next-door types.
Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the Classic Dames Test.
| Link: The Classic Leading Man Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test |
Your Score: Katharine Hepburn
You scored 26% grit, 33% wit, 42% flair, and 9% class!
You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.
Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
Photos as implication of hypocrisy
American actress Sarah Jessica Parker
has hit out at young stars who behave 'poorly' to get undue attention.
The former 'Sex And The City' actress revealed that she becomes very 'distressed' when she sees the sensationalism created by the conduct of the young generation of actors.
"I am very distressed by the sensationalism of everything... People are getting attention
for doing nothing, for behaving poorly, for abusing themselves in public and being abused, exploiting themselves," Contactmusic quoted Parker, as saying.
The 42-year-old revealed that she finds this mannerism very 'vulgar'.
"I find it vulgar and I find it awful," she said.
What can I say about Charles Nelson Reilly...
...that this doesn't say for me?
I used to think he was funny on those old Match Game reruns. But I later learned that the actor, who has died at 76, really had quite a noteworthy career quite apart from that. He was in the original Broadway productions of a couple of classic musicals, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and "Hello Dolly," winning a Tony for the latter.
The above-linked story covers his most known work, but I wanted to mention a couple of things that aren't as well known. Reilly gave a wonderful performance as the voice of Mr. Toad in an lighthearted animated TV movie of The Wind in the Willows, made by Rankin and Bass in the 1980s. That version has always seemed underrated to me.
I also remember his appearance a few years ago on an episode of Dinner For Five with (now here's an evening) Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds and Charles Durning. One thing he talked about is how modern TV and movie stars don't have as many impressions done of them as did icons from previous eras.
He put this down to their lack of distinctive mannerisms, which in turn he blamed on their lack of stage training. I don't know if he was 100% right, but I don't think he was 100% wrong.
I used to think he was funny on those old Match Game reruns. But I later learned that the actor, who has died at 76, really had quite a noteworthy career quite apart from that. He was in the original Broadway productions of a couple of classic musicals, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and "Hello Dolly," winning a Tony for the latter.
The above-linked story covers his most known work, but I wanted to mention a couple of things that aren't as well known. Reilly gave a wonderful performance as the voice of Mr. Toad in an lighthearted animated TV movie of The Wind in the Willows, made by Rankin and Bass in the 1980s. That version has always seemed underrated to me.
I also remember his appearance a few years ago on an episode of Dinner For Five with (now here's an evening) Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds and Charles Durning. One thing he talked about is how modern TV and movie stars don't have as many impressions done of them as did icons from previous eras.
He put this down to their lack of distinctive mannerisms, which in turn he blamed on their lack of stage training. I don't know if he was 100% right, but I don't think he was 100% wrong.
Everybody! Come on, sing! With your mind!
This is an animated short set to the song "I Wanna Be Famous" by singer/songwriter/comedian Jessica Delfino. I found it under featured videos at youtube. She seems to have some reservations about its appearance there, judging from her own blog, but that's where I found it and I like it.
Certainly more than her magical vagina song, playable at the blog, which is a funny idea but a crap song. I love vaginas too much to find this one that boring. Execution counts, people. I can't stress that enough.
(I know a lot of comedians, to say nothing of the success of Seinfeld, make it seem like it doesn't, but it does.)
Random Flickr-blogging 2506: Way, way inside joke edition
Having found this picture, Ben had planned to do some self-indulgent, throwaway riff about how it could almost be a scene from his play, The Girl in the Boat.
Then he was utterly gobsmacked to realize, out of the corner of his eye, that the credited owner of the photo in question is called...Bobby. The name of one of his characters.
Cue Twilight Zone music.
Then he was utterly gobsmacked to realize, out of the corner of his eye, that the credited owner of the photo in question is called...Bobby. The name of one of his characters.
Cue Twilight Zone music.
You jackass
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tom Wayne has amassed thousands of books in a warehouse during the 10 years he has run his used book store, Prospero's Books.
His collection ranges from best sellers, such as Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October" and Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities," to obscure titles, like a bound report from the Fourth Pan-American Conference held in Buenos Aires in 1910. But when he wanted to thin out the collection, he found he couldn't even give away books to libraries or thrift shops; they said they were full.
So on Sunday, Wayne began burning his books in protest of what he sees as society's diminishing support for the printed word.
I'm sorry, I refuse to believe he couldn't have found anything else to do with his books. To rephrase something Dickens once wrote for a different purpose, are there no poorhouses, etc?
Sunday, May 27, 2007
If there's one thing I can't abide, it's a drama queen.
| You Are the Ace of Clubs |
 You go at everything in your life full force. You are a natural gambler. Your life definitely has some extreme highs and lows, but you know how to ride out the low times. A total adventure seeker, you are never satisfied by what's normal or ordinary. You like to push limits and shock people. You're dramatic, but a drama queen. Your life has been a wild ride so far. You have stories that people can barely believe. And you're probably still young... with a lot of wild rides in front of you. A gamble you should take: High stakes roulette Your friends would describe you as: Crazy Your enemies would describe you as: Demented If you lived in Vegas, you would be: A high roller |
All right!
| What famous lesbian do you most closely resemble? Your Result: Katherine Moennig You're dark, brooding and strangely attractive. You make gay girls and straight girls swoon over you. You are like the coolest person I know, wanna be friends? | |
| Portia Di Rossi | |
| K D Lang | |
| Tammy Lynn Michaels | |
| Jackie Warner | |
| Melissa Ethridge | |
| Ellen Degeneres | |
| Rosie O'Donnell | |
| What famous lesbian do you most closely resemble? Make a Quiz | |
I am so gonna get some. Okay, you have to overlook the irony that Moennig is known for her role on the ever-exploitative L Word, but in this context, I'll take it, you know?
No complaints about the rest of the top three, either. Portia De Rossi is v. hot and kd lang has a wonderful voice. Still, I might have expected Ellen DeGeneres to be a little bit higher. But if Mrs. O'Donnell had been any higher than the bottom of the results there'd have been trouble.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
For those of you who've wondered...
...the sexy guy now pictured to the right and above my location is, in fact, me. Yes girls, he is single...
Friday, May 25, 2007
It really is a small world, isn't it?
You know how it is. You've just watched an episode of the wonderful Doctor Who, and you noticed that the actress playing a starship captain looked very familiar to you.
This being the Internet age, you repair to your computer and look her up. The actress, named Michelle Collins, while evidently rather well-known in Britain, doesn't seem to have done any other film or TV work that you've seen.
But it turns out she either performed in the videos for, sang backup on, or both, two songs by Squeeze, one of your favorite bands. Including this one, from 1979:
How beautiful is that? I figure she has to be around 16 years old here (I'm assuming she's the one with "SQU" written on the back of her jacket).
This being the Internet age, you repair to your computer and look her up. The actress, named Michelle Collins, while evidently rather well-known in Britain, doesn't seem to have done any other film or TV work that you've seen.
But it turns out she either performed in the videos for, sang backup on, or both, two songs by Squeeze, one of your favorite bands. Including this one, from 1979:
How beautiful is that? I figure she has to be around 16 years old here (I'm assuming she's the one with "SQU" written on the back of her jacket).
Is it just me, or does this seem to anyone else...
...like an episode of "Monk?"
Bobblehead-doll package mistaken for bomb; state building evacuated
The tables turned on a television commentator who skewers bungling public figures by sending them bobblehead dolls after a package was mistaken this morning for a bomb and forced the evacuation of a state building.
Homina. Homina nomina homina.
Okay. I know this is a terrible cliche. I'm not proud of it. I know I'm just being shallow. But...
Beyonce...Bikini! Beyonce...Bikini!
If I told you I tried to fight the temptation I'd be lying.
Beyonce...Bikini! Beyonce...Bikini!
If I told you I tried to fight the temptation I'd be lying.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Watching the lame duck fly
I thoroughly enjoyed tonight's "Studio 60," returning to NBC's schedule to air its last episodes. Undoubtedly it helps that, since it couldn't matter less how many people watch it any more, I was free to watch the show feeling like it was just me and the rest of the cult.
Something the show played up to, however inadvertently. There's some black humor to be found in the title of the episode alone. This first episode to air after a long hiatus, during which the long ratings-challenged series was officially cancelled, was entitled "The Disaster Show."
And the episode itself was the kind of thing some of us were wishing they'd done more of all along with the "live comedy show" idea: What happens when the prop department-including the cue card holders-go on strike 10 minutes before a broadcast?
They kept the pace snappy (I'm sorry to feel that I have to add "for once"), remembering to bring the funny and leave behind most of the things that were weighing the show down. What things?
His character and Janney's C.J. Cregg were the Tracy-Hepburn of that show, and watching them work together is nothing but sheer pleasure.
For those eight or nine of you who were also following the series, in case you didn't know, it's back. Catch it while you can.
Something the show played up to, however inadvertently. There's some black humor to be found in the title of the episode alone. This first episode to air after a long hiatus, during which the long ratings-challenged series was officially cancelled, was entitled "The Disaster Show."
And the episode itself was the kind of thing some of us were wishing they'd done more of all along with the "live comedy show" idea: What happens when the prop department-including the cue card holders-go on strike 10 minutes before a broadcast?
They kept the pace snappy (I'm sorry to feel that I have to add "for once"), remembering to bring the funny and leave behind most of the things that were weighing the show down. What things?
Well, I'm really sorry to feel that I have to add this, but Danny, Jordan and Matt didn't even appear. And the show was better than it had been for the last several episodes I remember.
There might have been a lesson in that.
Plus for us serious "West Wing" fans, there was the added value of that series' star Allison Janney, playing herself as the host of the beleaguered show. The script reunited her with "Studio 60" cast member Timothy Busfield, who was Danny on "West Wing."His character and Janney's C.J. Cregg were the Tracy-Hepburn of that show, and watching them work together is nothing but sheer pleasure.
For those eight or nine of you who were also following the series, in case you didn't know, it's back. Catch it while you can.
It's been some time since I've commented on the fact that Marilyn Manson is not a man
So let's post another announcement. This is the woman that he couldn't keep pleased.
(Or, talk about your Venus, for Goddesses' sake...)
Men are from Earth. Women are from...
About Venus, first things first: Peter O'Toole says "cunt" better than any man alive. The jokey thing to say next here would be that the movie is worth seeing for that alone, but it would be worth it even if not for that.
It's the kind of small film I like a lot, one where how it is played, written and directed matters. As opposed to your big movies where heart, charm and wit are basically irrelevant; some have them some don't, but they're going to succeed anyway.
The story is about a man near death and his relationship with a woman in almost precisely the opposite position. Played or told wrong it could give audiences a sinking feeling, but it's a sweet and fragile film with a vision of maturity that I can only hope to.
There may have been actors who could have played this role as well as O'Toole, but I'm not sure I can think of any, and it's impossible to think of anyone better. It required a genuine character in his 70s; a man that you would believe not all that long ago was a master of women.
(Inasmuch as any man is ever a master of women, which is kind of what the film's about. I should explain: I'm using "master" in the sense of being skilled and learned about, not in control of.)
Do any names come to your mind besides Peter O'Toole? He floats buoyantly throughout, treating his friends, and his life, with a kind of loving disrespect. The woman he attempts to master here is played by a relative newcomer-then again, compared to O'Toole, who isn't?-named Jodie Whittaker.
In some ways it's the harder role, because I'll tell you a secret: I think this film is full of symbolism. This is just what I saw, because I stopped the "making of" doc a few seconds in when I realized I didn't really want to know what the filmmakers thought.
The direction, by the way, is by Roger Michell. It doesn't surprise me to see that one of his other movies was Notting Hill, also notable for its warmth and human interaction. The writer is Hanif Kureishi, whose other films I don't know, but think perhaps I should. This is the kind of movie I'd like to write.
Getting back to the symbolism, I think what's being examined here is not just a bittersweet, winter-spring quasi-romance, I think it's the beauty in all women that all men, at least all men worth aspiring to be, worship.
That's right, I think Ms. Whittaker was playing Everywoman, and having to do it opposite Peter O'Toole. So no pressure there, right? Fortunately, Ms. Whittaker is simply perfect.
It's not a showy performance at all, but a perceptive and candid one. And everything her character does-both her tenderness and her lack of concern-is consistent with the wounds women have inflicted, and the healing they have administered.
It's the kind of small film I like a lot, one where how it is played, written and directed matters. As opposed to your big movies where heart, charm and wit are basically irrelevant; some have them some don't, but they're going to succeed anyway.
The story is about a man near death and his relationship with a woman in almost precisely the opposite position. Played or told wrong it could give audiences a sinking feeling, but it's a sweet and fragile film with a vision of maturity that I can only hope to.
There may have been actors who could have played this role as well as O'Toole, but I'm not sure I can think of any, and it's impossible to think of anyone better. It required a genuine character in his 70s; a man that you would believe not all that long ago was a master of women.
(Inasmuch as any man is ever a master of women, which is kind of what the film's about. I should explain: I'm using "master" in the sense of being skilled and learned about, not in control of.)
Do any names come to your mind besides Peter O'Toole? He floats buoyantly throughout, treating his friends, and his life, with a kind of loving disrespect. The woman he attempts to master here is played by a relative newcomer-then again, compared to O'Toole, who isn't?-named Jodie Whittaker.
In some ways it's the harder role, because I'll tell you a secret: I think this film is full of symbolism. This is just what I saw, because I stopped the "making of" doc a few seconds in when I realized I didn't really want to know what the filmmakers thought.
The direction, by the way, is by Roger Michell. It doesn't surprise me to see that one of his other movies was Notting Hill, also notable for its warmth and human interaction. The writer is Hanif Kureishi, whose other films I don't know, but think perhaps I should. This is the kind of movie I'd like to write.
Getting back to the symbolism, I think what's being examined here is not just a bittersweet, winter-spring quasi-romance, I think it's the beauty in all women that all men, at least all men worth aspiring to be, worship.
That's right, I think Ms. Whittaker was playing Everywoman, and having to do it opposite Peter O'Toole. So no pressure there, right? Fortunately, Ms. Whittaker is simply perfect.
It's not a showy performance at all, but a perceptive and candid one. And everything her character does-both her tenderness and her lack of concern-is consistent with the wounds women have inflicted, and the healing they have administered.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Thank you, Kurt
There is this: Attempted seductions are so cheap for would-be-ink-stained Don Juans or Cleopatras!They don't have to get a bankable actor or actress to commit to the project, and then a bankable director, and so on, and then raise millions of buckareenies from manic-depressive experts on what most people want.
Still and all, why bother? Here's my answer: Many people still need desperately to receive this message: "I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people don't care about them. You are not alone"
Kurt Vonnegut, from Timequake, as quoted in Like Shaking Hands With God by Vonnegut and Stringer.
Okay, boys and girls, see if you agree with me on this:
Here's a local story from here in Washington State:
This year's "Women of UW" calendar has been pulled from the shelves of the University Bookstore, apparently because of a protest by some students.
Here's what I think: Nobody, ever, in the history of mankind has ever honestly thought, said or written anything like that. That's not how somebody really feels, that's how somebody thinks they should feel.
That's somebody-or more likely, a committee of somebodies-who's read a few "women's" web sites and now thinks they're "empowered" and antisexist. So they're therefore deciding that only they can perceive sexism while their fellow women who posed aren't smart enough.
As Heinlein said, "A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain."
BTW, I've never bought a "Women of..." calendar and probably never will, so it's not about that.
This year's "Women of UW" calendar has been pulled from the shelves of the University Bookstore, apparently because of a protest by some students.
[Cover girl Jeatt] Walker, 20, said she had no doubts about signing up.
"It was classy enough that I was not embarrassed to show it to my family. It was the first big thing I've been in."
She said the calendar "displayed a really good fact that women can be smart and beautiful. The UW is full of really powerful women."
But other students weren't so taken.
"As I flipped through its pages, I became increasingly upset at its blatant objectification of UW students," some wrote in an open letter to UW President Mark Emmert.
"More importantly, I was horrified at the prominent display of the University of Washington's name and trademark logos spread across the pages of the calendar, providing the background for female students posing in provocative outfits against campus settings."
Here's what I think: Nobody, ever, in the history of mankind has ever honestly thought, said or written anything like that. That's not how somebody really feels, that's how somebody thinks they should feel.
That's somebody-or more likely, a committee of somebodies-who's read a few "women's" web sites and now thinks they're "empowered" and antisexist. So they're therefore deciding that only they can perceive sexism while their fellow women who posed aren't smart enough.
As Heinlein said, "A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain."
BTW, I've never bought a "Women of..." calendar and probably never will, so it's not about that.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Some might infer something about the fans from this.
Not me, of course. According to the Summer Music Preview issue of EW, after Kelly Clarkson's
...and this is Mama Cass on the cover of a Mamas and the Papas album.
performance on the Idol Gives Back charity show last month, one message boarder dubbed her "Mama Cass."
Apparently they thought she was a bit hippy.
This is Kelly Clarkson backstage during that show...
...and this is Mama Cass on the cover of a Mamas and the Papas album.
You know, watching "That '70s Show" doesn't really get me nostaligic for the '70s
It does make me nostalgic for when cute Laura Prepon was a redhead as god intended.
Classic Of Western Literature or Tales Too Tickleish To Tell?
Whatever else it was, Bloom County was one of my favorite syndicated comic-strips.
Here's an interview with writer and artist Berke Breathed.
Here's an interview with writer and artist Berke Breathed.
Like Candy Spelling, Joss Whedon gets his ideas from me.
Whedon, the "genius"(?) behind Buffy, comments on that same "Captivity" movie I wrote about earlier this month. I would have liked his article a lot more if he hadn't decided to glorify and reward a violent and vicious would-be rapist punk in his own "feminst" series.
And if he'd ever been able to write out a strong woman character without killing them.
In fact, I would like all of Whedon's work a lot more (and I do like it) if that were true.
But that's me.
And if he'd ever been able to write out a strong woman character without killing them.
In fact, I would like all of Whedon's work a lot more (and I do like it) if that were true.
But that's me.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Y'know...as it happens, it hasn't been my day, my week...(UPDATED)
Thanks to my Mann James, who sent me...my man James. That is, my guitar-loving sometime colleague James Mann-who makes me look like a Bush-loving warmonger-sent me James Brown's 20 All-Time Greatest Hits! from my Amazon list.
He doesn't say why; it's not my birthday for another three months and change (September First, for those of you who want to do your shopping now). If I had to bet I'd say it was because he somehow sensed that I only had a couple of JB tracks in my collection on soundtracks and compilations. And judged me a failure because of it. Quite right, too.
Baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby baby...
(UPDATE: James wrote, in his blog, the strongest post I've seen on the news we had earlier this week that sex-phobic babbling idiot Jerry Falwell is dead. I hadn't posted about that here because I really had little else to say, apart from his being a sex-phobic babbling idiot.
James has more.)
He doesn't say why; it's not my birthday for another three months and change (September First, for those of you who want to do your shopping now). If I had to bet I'd say it was because he somehow sensed that I only had a couple of JB tracks in my collection on soundtracks and compilations. And judged me a failure because of it. Quite right, too.
Baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby baby...
(UPDATE: James wrote, in his blog, the strongest post I've seen on the news we had earlier this week that sex-phobic babbling idiot Jerry Falwell is dead. I hadn't posted about that here because I really had little else to say, apart from his being a sex-phobic babbling idiot.
James has more.)
We try.
A comment on my Amazon.com Customer review of the book Memories Of John Lennon quotes my statement
And writes...
"Never trust anyone who says their favorite John Lennon song is 'Imagine.' They're drippy people."
And writes...
Wow. That's about the most pompous, asinine statement I've ever heard.
I wish you had, Amy
Amy Sherman-Palladino Q & A about the finale of Gilmore Girls and the beginnings of her new show, The Return of Jezebel James. She ends by saying,
And my first response was: Yeah! Just another one of the many reasons why I have a crush on Amy Sherman-Palladino. But then I thought again. Isn't letting Gilmore Girls go and letting other people fuck it up exactly what she did?
It's just problematic to have to add this codicil to her statement:
Unless you can't come to terms with the network. If so, then walk away only after having painted your characters into piss-poor positions. So that even if the new showrunner had been a more distinct writer, he still wouldn't have been able to save the ship.
My admiration for her sharp writing remains undiminished, and I'm looking forward to the new series. But...
I don't believe that bull----, ''If you love it, let it go.'' If you love it, stay there and make sure no one else f---s it up.
And my first response was: Yeah! Just another one of the many reasons why I have a crush on Amy Sherman-Palladino. But then I thought again. Isn't letting Gilmore Girls go and letting other people fuck it up exactly what she did?
It's just problematic to have to add this codicil to her statement:
Unless you can't come to terms with the network. If so, then walk away only after having painted your characters into piss-poor positions. So that even if the new showrunner had been a more distinct writer, he still wouldn't have been able to save the ship.
My admiration for her sharp writing remains undiminished, and I'm looking forward to the new series. But...
It's as if someone wanted to create a person just for me
Sandra Lou. She's sexy. She's adorable. Actually she looks a little like Christa Miller. She sings daft electronic/techno-pop, with an emphasis on the "pop." In French.
The first verse of her song in English translates as:
Which is just genius.
She wears mini-skirts, hot-pink and fluorescent yellow.
Best of all, she looks like she's having fun, and dammit there's life in her eyes. She even got through an entire video for a sugary pop song about a banana without once resorting to that shot.
She shakes her hair.
I think I'm in love.
What a great video this would be for a Monday morning, if only I could tell one day from another.
With much love to the Zaius Nation for showing me her beauty.
The first verse of her song in English translates as:
That would not displease to me that you embrace me
NA NA NA
But is necessary to seize your chance before it passes
NA NA NA
If you seek a trick to break the ice
BANANA BANANA BANANA
Which is just genius.
She wears mini-skirts, hot-pink and fluorescent yellow.
Best of all, she looks like she's having fun, and dammit there's life in her eyes. She even got through an entire video for a sugary pop song about a banana without once resorting to that shot.
She shakes her hair.
I think I'm in love.
What a great video this would be for a Monday morning, if only I could tell one day from another.
With much love to the Zaius Nation for showing me her beauty.
Happy birthday, Jane Wiedlin!
Okay, so it was yesterday, but some things should be noted and celebrated, and the birth of one of the primary composers from the Go-Go's is one of them. She is-brace yourself, TTEC-49. 
That first picture, BTW, comes from Ms. Wiedlin's own journal, so it's not like I'm presenting her in a way other than which she would wish to be represented.
The second picture is my favorite of her solo albums (actually, the only one I own).
Personally, I wish she wouldn't go and do things like The Surreal Life which make it harder to defend her from accusations of being a has-been.
But I choose to believe her and the other Go-Go's accomplishments will outlast that.
That first picture, BTW, comes from Ms. Wiedlin's own journal, so it's not like I'm presenting her in a way other than which she would wish to be represented.
The second picture is my favorite of her solo albums (actually, the only one I own).
Personally, I wish she wouldn't go and do things like The Surreal Life which make it harder to defend her from accusations of being a has-been.
But I choose to believe her and the other Go-Go's accomplishments will outlast that.
This is always good news, no matter where it comes from.
The Toronto Star is carrying a story from the Wall Street Journal about how reportedly, Japanese women's breasts are getting bigger and they are in general become curvier. This is always good news, and I mean that for both men and women.
Curvier=healthier, as far as I'm concerned. The fact that it also=sexier
to my gaze is just a delightful bonus.
The story carries the perhaps-inevitable headline of
It also contains the four sexiest paragraphs ever to appear, certainly in the Wall Street Journal, but probably in the Toronto Star as well.
My stars! (fans face) It's getting hot in here...
Curvier=healthier, as far as I'm concerned. The fact that it also=sexier
to my gaze is just a delightful bonus.The story carries the perhaps-inevitable headline of
Japanese women bust out
It also contains the four sexiest paragraphs ever to appear, certainly in the Wall Street Journal, but probably in the Toronto Star as well.
Nami Sakamoto, an advertising-agency employee, embodies the new look. The 26-year-old is tall – by Japanese standards – at 5 feet 5 inches. She's also voluptuous, with a 35-inch bust and 35-inch hips.
"I had a hard time finding button-down shirts that would close," says Sakamoto, especially when she was in high school and there were fewer foreign retailers in Japan that actually sold bigger sizes.
"Sometimes the buttons would burst off." Now she buys clothes at Western retailers that carry larger sizes.
Other young women are buying special items to flaunt their new physique. "It's just more fun to show some skin," says Ayami Arii, a 19-year-old vocational school student, who recently sported a tiny denim mini skirt and an iridescent push-up bra that peeks out from below her low-cut blouse. Her bra, a big seller at boutiques in Tokyo's Shibuya 109 department store, is called a "Showy Bra." Similar to a string bikini top, the $60 bras, made to be peeking out of a low-cut blouse, started appearing last year and come in a variety of colours, from red patent leather to leopard print and orange sequins.
My stars! (fans face) It's getting hot in here...
Sunday, May 20, 2007
And...Random Flickr-blogging 5183
"Say Mabel."
"What is it, Gertrude?"
"You see where Alberto Gonzales, Bush and his cabinet are going mad?"
"I saw, I saw. You reckon they'll ever be above 50% again in their lives?"
"Not hardly. That'll teach 'em to stop the ballot count and just install a President in the name of the party for which I've worked all of my adult life."
"You're bitter, Mabel."
Photo credit
Random Flickr-blogging 5183
Some weeks, you get lucky. Today I found over half a dozen pictures that all seemed to remind me of a song one or two of you may also know, one way or another. So here's the lyric. I've put the video at the end, too, for those of you who don't know it.
When the leaves
Turn from green to brown
And autumn shades
Come tumbling down
To leave a carpet on the ground
Where we have laid
When winter leaves her branches
bare
And icy breezes chill the air
The freezing snow lies everywhere
My darling
Will we still be there?
When spring rejoices
Down the lane
And everything is new again
Will everything be
Just the same
Will we be there?
Julia, Eurythmics. One of their best, most beautiful songs.
Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8
When the leaves
Turn from green to brown
And autumn shades
Come tumbling down
To leave a carpet on the ground
Where we have laid
When winter leaves her branches
bare
And icy breezes chill the air
The freezing snow lies everywhere
My darling
Will we still be there?
When spring rejoices
Down the lane
And everything is new again
Will everything be
Just the same
Will we be there?
Julia, Eurythmics. One of their best, most beautiful songs.
Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8
On the other hand, maybe I don't miss the '80s as much as I thought.
Calvin Harris, a Scottish producer and singer, hit number 10 on the UK charts with this record. He is now reportedly writing for Kylie Minogue, and supported Groove Armada among others on tour.
Harris is only partly responsible for this version of the video-the sections where you see him lipsynching come from the original. The rest were put together, in the main, by a YouTuber called LoveSoldier106.
I should probably be required to watch this video every time I go on one of my "totally tubular '80s child" rants. Because it's an affectionate, loving tribute to just what was considered..."Acceptable in the 80's..."
Harris is only partly responsible for this version of the video-the sections where you see him lipsynching come from the original. The rest were put together, in the main, by a YouTuber called LoveSoldier106.
I should probably be required to watch this video every time I go on one of my "totally tubular '80s child" rants. Because it's an affectionate, loving tribute to just what was considered..."Acceptable in the 80's..."
Simon LeBon thinks he's Mick Jagger
...in this clip of Duran Duran performing "Notorious" live. This song originally came out a few years before I started liking Duran, but in retrospect I like it a lot, even though (as with most of their records) I have no idea what the words are supposed to mean.
I only know what they mean to me, and to me, the best words, the reasons why this dance song takes me to a pretty dark place, have always been
I don't really trust anyone outside my own head. I mean I know why; I was betrayed at a very early age by someone who everything, inside and out, tells you you are supposed to trust above all others.
And the pattern of my life, at least as it seems to me, is people speaking pretty words to me and then fucking me over and going away.
So I hear your promise.
But I don't believe it.
I only know what they mean to me, and to me, the best words, the reasons why this dance song takes me to a pretty dark place, have always been
I heard your promise
But I don't believe it
I don't really trust anyone outside my own head. I mean I know why; I was betrayed at a very early age by someone who everything, inside and out, tells you you are supposed to trust above all others.
And the pattern of my life, at least as it seems to me, is people speaking pretty words to me and then fucking me over and going away.
So I hear your promise.
But I don't believe it.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Who do I root for in a case like this: Motel 6
The widow Spelling v. Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis
Actually I suppose I'll root for Mrs. Spelling on account of I once had a little completely-wrong crush on her daughter. And I really don't like Joe Francis, who's managed to take something that should be all about appreciation-girl watching-and turned it into something that from where I sit is almost as humiliating for the "boys" as it is for the "girls."
He's been the worst thing for women's breasts since Demi Moore.
Actually I suppose I'll root for Mrs. Spelling on account of I once had a little completely-wrong crush on her daughter. And I really don't like Joe Francis, who's managed to take something that should be all about appreciation-girl watching-and turned it into something that from where I sit is almost as humiliating for the "boys" as it is for the "girls."
He's been the worst thing for women's breasts since Demi Moore.
Friday, May 18, 2007
I thought so.
(Quizilla being Quizilla, you may need to highlight the text under the picture to read details. BTW, Quizilla is the worst.)
Which Scrubs Character Are You?
You're Doctor Cox!
Sarcastic and cynical, but deep down we know you care.
Sometimes it's ok to let that show.
Take this quiz!
Quizilla
Join
Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code
Which Scrubs Character Are You?
Sarcastic and cynical, but deep down we know you care.
Sometimes it's ok to let that show.
Take this quiz!
Quizilla
Join
Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code
And hey, this means I get to be married to the most beautiful woman on television (1995-2005), Christa Miller.
Please forgive me in advance for this joke
When his girlfriend asked Marvin why he was always hanging out at the golf course, he said, "Oh, y'know...the view...the excercise...the silent contemplation...the view..."
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