Col. Jessep Goes A-Hunting
Eugene Robinson concludes his column about Dick Cheney with this Valentine's Day poem, from him to all of us:
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Say something I don't like, And I'll shoot you, too.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Impartial Judge
F-U-R-I-O-U-S over spelling bee ruling
This story really resonates with me. Like the girl in the article, I was screwed out of a spelling bee in my youth. Prior to the grand screwing, which took place in fifth grade, I LOVED spelling bees. When I was eight, I ended up on the front page of the Daily Herald's Neighbor section because I beat all but two adults in an all-ages bee. I still remember the word I lost on: Distribution. And I still remember why: I was overconfident because my dad was a "Distribution Manager" at the time. I left out the first "t" as I raced through the word.
But in fifth grade, I had my ten-year-old heart broken by an assistant principal who I've never been able to forgive. I don't remember the word in question, but I remember this: He asked me to spell the plural form of a word, I did, and then he said, no, I asked you to spell the singular form of the word.
At that point there were two other people in the room, because we had reached the last two people in the contest. The other two people were the kid who won as a result of my "mistake"--and went on to win at the district level, too, I think--and that kid's mom. You can imagine which version of the word they said I had been asked to spell.
I've probably never been more outraged by an injustice in all my life. I was ten--I should have been cowed into agreement, or at least silence, by either the authority figure in the room or the fact that I was outnumbered. But I didn't give in. (If we had the argument today, I still wouldn't--I know I'm right about this.) I marched back to my fifth-grade class, told my teacher what had transpired--and turned back around to visit the principal. I waited in one of the visitor chairs, as if I were a parent waiting to meet with the principal about my child, and I told the principal what had happened and how upset I was.
Nothing came of any of this. There was no re-do. The "winner" was gracious enough, for a ten-year-old; he later told me I would have won at the district level if I had gone. But I never did well in a spelling bee again. I can remember, in fact, how little I cared the next year when the bee came around again. It was silly, really; I had come pretty close to winning the district as a third-grader, and there was no reason to believe I couldn't do it as a sixth-grader. But I had a mental block about spelling bees after that.
In the long run, that's not the worst of it. I also learned some lessons that maybe weren't so good that day, at least for a ten-year-old: Have your people in the room. (Those who went to college with me will recall an instance where this lesson came in handy.) Authority figures will screw you over. No one cares about justice. Being the best isn't enough--you've got to have someone there to defend you from those who would cheat to beat you.
So, to the girl in the article and her family, I say, sue the bastards. It may seem like an overreaction, but I know that this will stick in your craw for the rest of your life. Demand satisfaction.
This story really resonates with me. Like the girl in the article, I was screwed out of a spelling bee in my youth. Prior to the grand screwing, which took place in fifth grade, I LOVED spelling bees. When I was eight, I ended up on the front page of the Daily Herald's Neighbor section because I beat all but two adults in an all-ages bee. I still remember the word I lost on: Distribution. And I still remember why: I was overconfident because my dad was a "Distribution Manager" at the time. I left out the first "t" as I raced through the word.
But in fifth grade, I had my ten-year-old heart broken by an assistant principal who I've never been able to forgive. I don't remember the word in question, but I remember this: He asked me to spell the plural form of a word, I did, and then he said, no, I asked you to spell the singular form of the word.
At that point there were two other people in the room, because we had reached the last two people in the contest. The other two people were the kid who won as a result of my "mistake"--and went on to win at the district level, too, I think--and that kid's mom. You can imagine which version of the word they said I had been asked to spell.
I've probably never been more outraged by an injustice in all my life. I was ten--I should have been cowed into agreement, or at least silence, by either the authority figure in the room or the fact that I was outnumbered. But I didn't give in. (If we had the argument today, I still wouldn't--I know I'm right about this.) I marched back to my fifth-grade class, told my teacher what had transpired--and turned back around to visit the principal. I waited in one of the visitor chairs, as if I were a parent waiting to meet with the principal about my child, and I told the principal what had happened and how upset I was.
Nothing came of any of this. There was no re-do. The "winner" was gracious enough, for a ten-year-old; he later told me I would have won at the district level if I had gone. But I never did well in a spelling bee again. I can remember, in fact, how little I cared the next year when the bee came around again. It was silly, really; I had come pretty close to winning the district as a third-grader, and there was no reason to believe I couldn't do it as a sixth-grader. But I had a mental block about spelling bees after that.
In the long run, that's not the worst of it. I also learned some lessons that maybe weren't so good that day, at least for a ten-year-old: Have your people in the room. (Those who went to college with me will recall an instance where this lesson came in handy.) Authority figures will screw you over. No one cares about justice. Being the best isn't enough--you've got to have someone there to defend you from those who would cheat to beat you.
So, to the girl in the article and her family, I say, sue the bastards. It may seem like an overreaction, but I know that this will stick in your craw for the rest of your life. Demand satisfaction.
Life Saver
Nurturing a community in the online world
Gay men and women embrace Internet as an equalizer and a bridge
I've talked before about how shows like Queer as Folk helped me get my footing as I came to grips with being gay. But if any one factor deserves the greatest credit for making that process possible, the Internet is surely it.
Before I had ever been online (in other words, before late 1996), the idea that I might be gay had occurred to plenty of people: kids in gym class, kids in gym class, and still more kids in gym class. And yes, I suppose it had occurred to me, too, but never for long; I assumed that everyone thought the best part of gym was changing before and after. Aren't the things we can make ourselves believe fun?
But the Internet quickly set me straight, so to speak. Confronted with a ready source for answers to questions I could never actually ask of another person, it became apparent rather rapidly that most freshman boys weren't having the same thoughts about their roommates that I was.
And yet I persisted for two more years, traumatizing at least three young women, including one, the last girl I ever kissed, who was definitely perplexed by the fact that I sat on her bed, in her empty dorm room in an empty dorm, and looked at her pictures of a recent trip out of the country with rapt attention. As she edged closer and closer to me, I never made a move.
How hard I tried to deny this aspect of myself! How long I toiled at an impossible task! What's horrifying is the realization that without the Internet, I might be toiling still. I might never have seen a porn video and noticed how undeniably my eye drifted toward the male in the encounter. I might never have read the stories of other people with similar experiences. I might never have understood that being gay didn't have to mean giving up everything I wanted for my future.
People talk about how kids growing up today come out sooner and have less fear about the process. They often attribute it to changes in society that have made it easier to come out and people who are more accepting. And that's certainly part of the story. But I think the Internet, so often derided for enabling teens to sneak into online worlds their parents cannot monitor or even understand, has enabled more gay teens to ponder the feelings they have in a private and honest way that simply wasn't widely available even ten years ago. And that can only be a good thing.
Gay men and women embrace Internet as an equalizer and a bridge
I've talked before about how shows like Queer as Folk helped me get my footing as I came to grips with being gay. But if any one factor deserves the greatest credit for making that process possible, the Internet is surely it.
Before I had ever been online (in other words, before late 1996), the idea that I might be gay had occurred to plenty of people: kids in gym class, kids in gym class, and still more kids in gym class. And yes, I suppose it had occurred to me, too, but never for long; I assumed that everyone thought the best part of gym was changing before and after. Aren't the things we can make ourselves believe fun?
But the Internet quickly set me straight, so to speak. Confronted with a ready source for answers to questions I could never actually ask of another person, it became apparent rather rapidly that most freshman boys weren't having the same thoughts about their roommates that I was.
And yet I persisted for two more years, traumatizing at least three young women, including one, the last girl I ever kissed, who was definitely perplexed by the fact that I sat on her bed, in her empty dorm room in an empty dorm, and looked at her pictures of a recent trip out of the country with rapt attention. As she edged closer and closer to me, I never made a move.
How hard I tried to deny this aspect of myself! How long I toiled at an impossible task! What's horrifying is the realization that without the Internet, I might be toiling still. I might never have seen a porn video and noticed how undeniably my eye drifted toward the male in the encounter. I might never have read the stories of other people with similar experiences. I might never have understood that being gay didn't have to mean giving up everything I wanted for my future.
People talk about how kids growing up today come out sooner and have less fear about the process. They often attribute it to changes in society that have made it easier to come out and people who are more accepting. And that's certainly part of the story. But I think the Internet, so often derided for enabling teens to sneak into online worlds their parents cannot monitor or even understand, has enabled more gay teens to ponder the feelings they have in a private and honest way that simply wasn't widely available even ten years ago. And that can only be a good thing.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Echoes of Wellstone
King eulogists jab Bush at funeral
Funeral for a leading activist on the left generates attacks on the politics of leaders on the right--where have I seen this before? Why do I sense that the article linked above will lead to a backlash by nightfall?
Funeral for a leading activist on the left generates attacks on the politics of leaders on the right--where have I seen this before? Why do I sense that the article linked above will lead to a backlash by nightfall?
Friday, February 03, 2006
Great Minds
Unknown to Hit
I knew it!
The article above is an interview with Benjamin McKenzie, who in addition to starring in The O.C. made a movie, Junebug, that I plan to watch over the weekend. At the end of the interview, he's asked...well, here, see for yourself:
I knew it!
The article above is an interview with Benjamin McKenzie, who in addition to starring in The O.C. made a movie, Junebug, that I plan to watch over the weekend. At the end of the interview, he's asked...well, here, see for yourself:
Did you ever watch the episode where Zack and Kelly got married?That, my friends, is exactly how this show should end.
I never saw that one. Did you think we'll end in a marriage, is that what you're getting at?Yeah. Will Ryan pop the question to Marissa?
I've always pushed for the big marriage that the whole entire audience has always seen coming. Ryan and Seth walk down the aisle hand in hand.
Happy Ending
rod 2.0:beta: Gay Taye
If you saw Crumbs last night, you'll know that the title of today's post is a play on something William Devane said--but didn't do. It was a gay old sitcom night, with the still-closeted Mitch (Fred Savage) trying--and failing--to be honest with his family on Crumbs, three of the Four Kings suspecting one of their roommates to be gay (he turned out to be something far worse: a Republican), and a moment on Will & Grace that fans of the show have hoped would come for eight years.
That's right: It looks like Will has finally found someone, and that someone (James, played by Taye Diggs) seems to feel the same way about him. Next week's big wedding episode, which they've been trumpeting for a month without saying who would wed, will likely feature Grace marrying James so he can stay in the country (he's Canadian).
And if that weren't enough good news, Johnny finally died on The O.C. Many a cheer went up throughout the land as he dropped off a rock ledge, grasping a nearly-empty bottle of tequila and seething with anger that Marissa had chosen Ryan over him. Maybe now the show can get back on track...
If you saw Crumbs last night, you'll know that the title of today's post is a play on something William Devane said--but didn't do. It was a gay old sitcom night, with the still-closeted Mitch (Fred Savage) trying--and failing--to be honest with his family on Crumbs, three of the Four Kings suspecting one of their roommates to be gay (he turned out to be something far worse: a Republican), and a moment on Will & Grace that fans of the show have hoped would come for eight years.
That's right: It looks like Will has finally found someone, and that someone (James, played by Taye Diggs) seems to feel the same way about him. Next week's big wedding episode, which they've been trumpeting for a month without saying who would wed, will likely feature Grace marrying James so he can stay in the country (he's Canadian).
And if that weren't enough good news, Johnny finally died on The O.C. Many a cheer went up throughout the land as he dropped off a rock ledge, grasping a nearly-empty bottle of tequila and seething with anger that Marissa had chosen Ryan over him. Maybe now the show can get back on track...
Thursday, February 02, 2006
On and On
YouTube - Brokeback to the Future
There appears to be no limit to the innovative spirit that Brokeback Mountain can inspire. The video linked above is hilarious. And it will make you see the Back to the Future trilogy in a whole new way.
There appears to be no limit to the innovative spirit that Brokeback Mountain can inspire. The video linked above is hilarious. And it will make you see the Back to the Future trilogy in a whole new way.
Good News, Bad News
Filming to start on fifth Harry Potter saga
This thrills me, of course: I love the Harry Potter movies and every new one is an event. But one of the casting choices makes me sad. Imelda Staunton, previously the abortionist heroine of Vera Drake, will play Dolores Umbridge, who, while not the most evil creation of J.K. Rowling, is perhaps the most realistic of Harry's tormentors. I think everyone who has read Order of the Phoenix imagines Dolores as an amalgam of all the worst traits of all of their least favorite teachers. I don't want to impute those negative thoughts onto Imelda!
I shouldn't be so fearful; it's the first movie that I see starring someone that establishes them in my mind forever. For example, I have an irrational hatred of Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it's not because he keeps beating Heath Ledger out for best actor awards this year (though that isn't helping matters). The hatred stems, instead, from his role in The Talented Mr. Ripley, wherein he plays a swaggering rich American living in Italy and carousing with Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), tormenting poor Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) until Tom finally kills him by bludgeoning him with a marble statue. Every time I see Hoffman, I imagine him playing the piano in Tom's apartment, repeatedly hitting a very high note with his pinky finger. This makes it very hard for me to like him in other movies, though I've done my best to enjoy his roles in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Almost Famous. (And yes, I know he made Boogie Nights before Ripley, but I saw Ripley first.)
Are there any actors for whom you carry an unreasoned, but powerful nonetheless, disdain?
This thrills me, of course: I love the Harry Potter movies and every new one is an event. But one of the casting choices makes me sad. Imelda Staunton, previously the abortionist heroine of Vera Drake, will play Dolores Umbridge, who, while not the most evil creation of J.K. Rowling, is perhaps the most realistic of Harry's tormentors. I think everyone who has read Order of the Phoenix imagines Dolores as an amalgam of all the worst traits of all of their least favorite teachers. I don't want to impute those negative thoughts onto Imelda!
I shouldn't be so fearful; it's the first movie that I see starring someone that establishes them in my mind forever. For example, I have an irrational hatred of Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it's not because he keeps beating Heath Ledger out for best actor awards this year (though that isn't helping matters). The hatred stems, instead, from his role in The Talented Mr. Ripley, wherein he plays a swaggering rich American living in Italy and carousing with Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), tormenting poor Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) until Tom finally kills him by bludgeoning him with a marble statue. Every time I see Hoffman, I imagine him playing the piano in Tom's apartment, repeatedly hitting a very high note with his pinky finger. This makes it very hard for me to like him in other movies, though I've done my best to enjoy his roles in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Almost Famous. (And yes, I know he made Boogie Nights before Ripley, but I saw Ripley first.)
Are there any actors for whom you carry an unreasoned, but powerful nonetheless, disdain?
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Father and Son
'We Strive to Be a Compassionate, Decent, Hopeful Society'
Now that he's got the whole one-termer bugbear off his back, Bush the son seems to be looking to Bush the father for ideas. Just before he made his joke last night about how he and Bill Clinton--two of his father's favorite people, he said--were both turning 60 this year, W called for Congress to give him the line-item veto.
I thought that sounded familiar. There's a reason: his daddy wanted the same thing all the way back in his State of the Union in 1992. "Give me the same thing 43 Governors have, the line-item veto, and let me help you control spending," Bush the elder said back then. Clinton eventually got to use the thing, at which point the courts stepped in and pointed out that such a power violates the Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against it, and since then one person on each side has departed, leaving things at 5-2 against with two unknowns. Even if we assume that Bush's real deal-breaker in looking for nominees was their fealty to the notion of unlimited presidential power, that still leaves us at 5-4 against, and I'm betting Breyer would find a reason to change his mind if necessary (he voted for the line-item veto, along with Scalia and O'Connor, in 1998) now that it would give Bush even more power than he's already grasping. Unless Stevens dies or retires, the line-item veto is a pipe dream.
Which leaves me wondering--why the hell did Bush bring it up? But I know, now: It's the same reason he just had to toss in a throwaway line about judges changing the definition of marriage (which he did less than sixty seconds after I noted that he hadn't brought it up yet this year). The line-item veto plea lets him pretend to be a fiscal conservative even as he approves bigger budgets and bigger deficits, essentially saying to one part of his coalition, "I am with you. It's this Congress that's out of control." Meanwhile, he tells another part of his coalition, "I am with you. We will stop those damned gays."
These two parts of his coalition probably didn't even notice the parts of the speech that weren't aiming right at their hearts. Ask a Wall Street Republican who watched the speech if Bush talked about gay marriage last night and he'd probably say no; it would have slipped right past him. But I bet he noticed the call for the line-item veto! And if you ask a Bible-Belter about gay marriage? Hoo-boy--he heard it, alright. That Bush, he just gets our issues! And did he notice the bit about the line-item veto? What's a line-item veto?
Now that he's got the whole one-termer bugbear off his back, Bush the son seems to be looking to Bush the father for ideas. Just before he made his joke last night about how he and Bill Clinton--two of his father's favorite people, he said--were both turning 60 this year, W called for Congress to give him the line-item veto.
I thought that sounded familiar. There's a reason: his daddy wanted the same thing all the way back in his State of the Union in 1992. "Give me the same thing 43 Governors have, the line-item veto, and let me help you control spending," Bush the elder said back then. Clinton eventually got to use the thing, at which point the courts stepped in and pointed out that such a power violates the Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against it, and since then one person on each side has departed, leaving things at 5-2 against with two unknowns. Even if we assume that Bush's real deal-breaker in looking for nominees was their fealty to the notion of unlimited presidential power, that still leaves us at 5-4 against, and I'm betting Breyer would find a reason to change his mind if necessary (he voted for the line-item veto, along with Scalia and O'Connor, in 1998) now that it would give Bush even more power than he's already grasping. Unless Stevens dies or retires, the line-item veto is a pipe dream.
Which leaves me wondering--why the hell did Bush bring it up? But I know, now: It's the same reason he just had to toss in a throwaway line about judges changing the definition of marriage (which he did less than sixty seconds after I noted that he hadn't brought it up yet this year). The line-item veto plea lets him pretend to be a fiscal conservative even as he approves bigger budgets and bigger deficits, essentially saying to one part of his coalition, "I am with you. It's this Congress that's out of control." Meanwhile, he tells another part of his coalition, "I am with you. We will stop those damned gays."
These two parts of his coalition probably didn't even notice the parts of the speech that weren't aiming right at their hearts. Ask a Wall Street Republican who watched the speech if Bush talked about gay marriage last night and he'd probably say no; it would have slipped right past him. But I bet he noticed the call for the line-item veto! And if you ask a Bible-Belter about gay marriage? Hoo-boy--he heard it, alright. That Bush, he just gets our issues! And did he notice the bit about the line-item veto? What's a line-item veto?
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Spoilers
Senate confirms Alito for Supreme Court
Considering that this was supposed to be a day of triumph, it's not going well. Yes, Brokeback met with its expected success. But the death of Coretta Scott King, whose courageous work after her husband's death helped to ensure that his message of justice extended beyond race to sexual orientation, put a somber tone on the morning, and the confirmation of Justice Alito makes matters worse. Today feels oddly like the high-water mark, as if the tide is now going to turn against equality.
At least Democrats were mostly united in their opposition to Alito, with 40 of them voting no (joined by Vermont independent Jim Jeffords and Lincoln Chafee, the lone Republican to vote no). When Alito starts saying that the Constitution gives Bush the right to join random Americans for dinner and prosecute them for the quality of their mashed potatoes, as well as read the back of the recipe card to check for signs of cooperation with terrorists, Democrats will be able to point to the fact that they strongly opposed him.
Yeah, that's not really enough comfort for me, either. But it's all we've got this morning.
Considering that this was supposed to be a day of triumph, it's not going well. Yes, Brokeback met with its expected success. But the death of Coretta Scott King, whose courageous work after her husband's death helped to ensure that his message of justice extended beyond race to sexual orientation, put a somber tone on the morning, and the confirmation of Justice Alito makes matters worse. Today feels oddly like the high-water mark, as if the tide is now going to turn against equality.
At least Democrats were mostly united in their opposition to Alito, with 40 of them voting no (joined by Vermont independent Jim Jeffords and Lincoln Chafee, the lone Republican to vote no). When Alito starts saying that the Constitution gives Bush the right to join random Americans for dinner and prosecute them for the quality of their mashed potatoes, as well as read the back of the recipe card to check for signs of cooperation with terrorists, Democrats will be able to point to the fact that they strongly opposed him.
Yeah, that's not really enough comfort for me, either. But it's all we've got this morning.
No Alarms, No Surprises
2006 Academy Award Nominations
The big headline on all the major news sites this morning, besides the sad passing of Coretta Scott King, is that Brokeback Mountain scored a leading eight nominations for the Oscars. Nothing shocking there; it got pretty much what I expected it to get, though I had hoped one of the original songs from the soundtrack would be nominated. I predict it will walk away with four awards, winning picture, director, adapted screenplay, and either cinematography or original score. Anything more would signal a landslide.
The announcement this morning did deliver one surprise of particular note for this site: Munich took the fifth Best Picture slot. This would appear to make premature my declaration of victory last week. I still think Brokeback will outgross Munich--it currently has an $11 million lead--but you never know what a Best Picture nomination will do for a Steven Spielberg movie.
What did you think of this morning's nominations?
The big headline on all the major news sites this morning, besides the sad passing of Coretta Scott King, is that Brokeback Mountain scored a leading eight nominations for the Oscars. Nothing shocking there; it got pretty much what I expected it to get, though I had hoped one of the original songs from the soundtrack would be nominated. I predict it will walk away with four awards, winning picture, director, adapted screenplay, and either cinematography or original score. Anything more would signal a landslide.
The announcement this morning did deliver one surprise of particular note for this site: Munich took the fifth Best Picture slot. This would appear to make premature my declaration of victory last week. I still think Brokeback will outgross Munich--it currently has an $11 million lead--but you never know what a Best Picture nomination will do for a Steven Spielberg movie.
What did you think of this morning's nominations?
Friday, January 27, 2006
Brazen
Poison Justice Stevens, Coulter jokes
Apparently Ann Coulter got the memo from Alberto:
Apparently Ann Coulter got the memo from Alberto:
"We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media."Joke or not, is there any question why we with scruples think Ann Coulter is a filthy bitch?
Very Very Kerry
Alito filibuster? ‘Not likely,’ Democrat says
How very typical of John Kerry! I was shocked, at first, when I saw the big red bar on CNN.com yesterday announcing that he would attempt to mount a filibuster against Sam Alito. Of course, this is what the Democrats should be doing if they really believe he's unfit for the Court--which his positions on issues of executive power alone should make him--but to call for the filibuster now is silly. Oh, and how typical: Kerry did so from Switzerland, where he was at Davos, a conference of the rich.
None of this is to be taken seriously, mind you: He knows he doesn't have the votes, and Democrats secretly know that the best thing that can happen to them between now and 2008 is a radical decision or two by the Supreme Court after Alito gets on without their votes. How else can they prove to the public that it's better to have Democrats making these kinds of decisions?
What this is really about, of course, is that Kerry can't give up on the notion that he should run for president again. The media has been running around with the "Hillary can't win" meme for a few weeks now, and he sees it as an opportunity to remind people that he's still ready to report for duty--and still has an e-mail list of millions to get his campaign going.
But the fact that folks are souring on Hillary doesn't mean they'll turn to Kerry. They share the same downsides--wishy-washy positions, long Senate records, and awkward public personas--but in each case Kerry's are worse. Plus, the public got to know Kerry, and it said no. Even though folks have since seen how bad Bush has been, they'd probably still pick him again if Kerry were the alternative.
So do yourself and the party a favor, John: Promise your e-mail list to whomever wins the nomination, and kindly bow out of the race for '08. You can even give a speech at the convention in prime time, OK? Please?
How very typical of John Kerry! I was shocked, at first, when I saw the big red bar on CNN.com yesterday announcing that he would attempt to mount a filibuster against Sam Alito. Of course, this is what the Democrats should be doing if they really believe he's unfit for the Court--which his positions on issues of executive power alone should make him--but to call for the filibuster now is silly. Oh, and how typical: Kerry did so from Switzerland, where he was at Davos, a conference of the rich.
None of this is to be taken seriously, mind you: He knows he doesn't have the votes, and Democrats secretly know that the best thing that can happen to them between now and 2008 is a radical decision or two by the Supreme Court after Alito gets on without their votes. How else can they prove to the public that it's better to have Democrats making these kinds of decisions?
What this is really about, of course, is that Kerry can't give up on the notion that he should run for president again. The media has been running around with the "Hillary can't win" meme for a few weeks now, and he sees it as an opportunity to remind people that he's still ready to report for duty--and still has an e-mail list of millions to get his campaign going.
But the fact that folks are souring on Hillary doesn't mean they'll turn to Kerry. They share the same downsides--wishy-washy positions, long Senate records, and awkward public personas--but in each case Kerry's are worse. Plus, the public got to know Kerry, and it said no. Even though folks have since seen how bad Bush has been, they'd probably still pick him again if Kerry were the alternative.
So do yourself and the party a favor, John: Promise your e-mail list to whomever wins the nomination, and kindly bow out of the race for '08. You can even give a speech at the convention in prime time, OK? Please?
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Cultural Touchstone
Film Spurs Culture of Gay Cowboy Jokes
In the continuing effort to talk about Brokeback Mountain constantly, it's time to start talking about its cultural impact. You can see a lot of it in the article linked above, which includes movie posters based on the now-familiar pair of cowboys against a Wyoming landscape that feature Bert and Ernie and the characters from Masters of the Universe.
Another, more risque chronicle, found here, includes other parodies, among them one for Kickback Mountain featuring Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, and the tagline "Greed is a Force of Habit," and another, Dumbfuck Mountain, that switches out Jack and Ennis for Bush and Cheney. (Cheney's the bottom, in case you were wondering.) And, of course, there's Pokeback Mountain, featuring Gumby and Pokey and the tagline "Love is a Force of Pudding."
As the article points out, all of this is a sign that Brokeback has entered the culture and has a great chance of Oscar success: "Beyond the box-office boost, such attention also bodes well for Brokeback's Oscar chances in a year where heavy issue-centric contenders reign. Heard any good Munich jokes lately? Didn't think so."
Hopefully folks who are actually seeing the movie are remembering its impact more than all of these parodies do, though. It would be a shame if a movie that quietly makes plain the obstacles that face gays and lesbians were out-shouted by those who see it as just another way to make fun of Bush and Cheney.
In the continuing effort to talk about Brokeback Mountain constantly, it's time to start talking about its cultural impact. You can see a lot of it in the article linked above, which includes movie posters based on the now-familiar pair of cowboys against a Wyoming landscape that feature Bert and Ernie and the characters from Masters of the Universe.
Another, more risque chronicle, found here, includes other parodies, among them one for Kickback Mountain featuring Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, and the tagline "Greed is a Force of Habit," and another, Dumbfuck Mountain, that switches out Jack and Ennis for Bush and Cheney. (Cheney's the bottom, in case you were wondering.) And, of course, there's Pokeback Mountain, featuring Gumby and Pokey and the tagline "Love is a Force of Pudding."
As the article points out, all of this is a sign that Brokeback has entered the culture and has a great chance of Oscar success: "Beyond the box-office boost, such attention also bodes well for Brokeback's Oscar chances in a year where heavy issue-centric contenders reign. Heard any good Munich jokes lately? Didn't think so."
Hopefully folks who are actually seeing the movie are remembering its impact more than all of these parodies do, though. It would be a shame if a movie that quietly makes plain the obstacles that face gays and lesbians were out-shouted by those who see it as just another way to make fun of Bush and Cheney.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Power Play
The Power-Madness of King George - Is Bush turning America into an elective dictatorship? By Jacob Weisberg
I'm not saying that Jacob Weisberg is overreacting to the recent document from Alberto Gonzales and the Department of Justice that asserts that the present and never-ending war on terror "'places the president at the zenith of his powers,' giving him 'all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate.'" Far from it; Weisberg is right to assert that the wiretapping and the torture and the permanent detention without a warrant or a hearing or a stated reason constitute activity that is downright un-American.
But he misses the larger, and ultimately American, human interest story here: Alberto Gonzales isn't merely the handmaiden of a power-mad president obsessed with wiping out a bully who once sucker-punched him. He's that handmaiden on a quest for a promotion, and there's nothing more American than being willing to do and say anything to get a better job, right? This whole Constitutionally-challenged document can be seen as Gonzales' bet that John Paul Stevens just can't cling to the armrests of his chair at the Supreme Court for another three years, and will either die or retire before Bush leaves office, opening up a seat for Gonzales to warm for a few decades.
Maybe he's been tapping the phones at the Supreme Court?
I'm not saying that Jacob Weisberg is overreacting to the recent document from Alberto Gonzales and the Department of Justice that asserts that the present and never-ending war on terror "'places the president at the zenith of his powers,' giving him 'all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate.'" Far from it; Weisberg is right to assert that the wiretapping and the torture and the permanent detention without a warrant or a hearing or a stated reason constitute activity that is downright un-American.
But he misses the larger, and ultimately American, human interest story here: Alberto Gonzales isn't merely the handmaiden of a power-mad president obsessed with wiping out a bully who once sucker-punched him. He's that handmaiden on a quest for a promotion, and there's nothing more American than being willing to do and say anything to get a better job, right? This whole Constitutionally-challenged document can be seen as Gonzales' bet that John Paul Stevens just can't cling to the armrests of his chair at the Supreme Court for another three years, and will either die or retire before Bush leaves office, opening up a seat for Gonzales to warm for a few decades.
Maybe he's been tapping the phones at the Supreme Court?
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Programming Notes
UPN, WB to Shut Down; New Network Formed
In my house, this has nothing but upside for shows that used to be on UPN; because it's not on Comcast's high-definition package, we don't watch anything on WPWR (Chicago's UPN affiliate), but we will watch shows and sporting events on WGN, which will be Chicago's CW affiliate. Not that I've been dying to watch Veronica Mars, but now I might at least give it a shot. Especially if it's on right after Everwood...
In other news, it's been a while since I marked an Amazon.com milestone, but I think this one is suitably odd: Today, I received my 666th helpful vote. See for yourself here, and feel free to liberate me from my fire and brimstone prison.
The devil's vote was for a review I wrote regarding one of two books I've finished recently, Dog Days. It wasn't as bad as some reviewers claim, but it wasn't the world's best book, either. Still, I had to give Wonkette a chance, right? Read my review for more thoughts.
The other book was Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, which though written in 1984 offers a stark assessment of how TV changes the way we think that remains relevant today. It's too bad Postman died in 2003, as a follow-up regarding how the Internet will change and is already changing public discourse would be useful and interesting. The basic argument he makes is that the way TV works as a medium has utterly changed what we consider important, how we think about history and the present, and how we expect to be provided with information. "Entertain me!" we cry, because that's what TV has taught us to expect, Postman argues--and as a result we are (unknowingly and unconcernedly) forfeiting all the things about being a print culture that made us strong thinkers and problem-solvers. It's a fascinating and well-written tome, quite short, and you can pick it up cheap. You won't regret it. (I, however, note with regret the irony that I had to promise that a book would be entertaining, rather than informative, in my attempt to convince others to read it; it's an irony you'll better appreciate after you read the book!)
In my house, this has nothing but upside for shows that used to be on UPN; because it's not on Comcast's high-definition package, we don't watch anything on WPWR (Chicago's UPN affiliate), but we will watch shows and sporting events on WGN, which will be Chicago's CW affiliate. Not that I've been dying to watch Veronica Mars, but now I might at least give it a shot. Especially if it's on right after Everwood...
In other news, it's been a while since I marked an Amazon.com milestone, but I think this one is suitably odd: Today, I received my 666th helpful vote. See for yourself here, and feel free to liberate me from my fire and brimstone prison.
The devil's vote was for a review I wrote regarding one of two books I've finished recently, Dog Days. It wasn't as bad as some reviewers claim, but it wasn't the world's best book, either. Still, I had to give Wonkette a chance, right? Read my review for more thoughts.
The other book was Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, which though written in 1984 offers a stark assessment of how TV changes the way we think that remains relevant today. It's too bad Postman died in 2003, as a follow-up regarding how the Internet will change and is already changing public discourse would be useful and interesting. The basic argument he makes is that the way TV works as a medium has utterly changed what we consider important, how we think about history and the present, and how we expect to be provided with information. "Entertain me!" we cry, because that's what TV has taught us to expect, Postman argues--and as a result we are (unknowingly and unconcernedly) forfeiting all the things about being a print culture that made us strong thinkers and problem-solvers. It's a fascinating and well-written tome, quite short, and you can pick it up cheap. You won't regret it. (I, however, note with regret the irony that I had to promise that a book would be entertaining, rather than informative, in my attempt to convince others to read it; it's an irony you'll better appreciate after you read the book!)
Palpable Discomfort
Andrew Sullivan | The Daily Dish: Bush on "Brokeback"
Andrew Sullivan (in his new space at Time) links to video of Bush being asked, yesterday, whether he's seen Brokeback Mountain. This is not a man comfortable talking about gay men. Why the public thought it was worse that Kerry considered it no big deal to talk about a lesbian is still beyond me.
Andrew Sullivan (in his new space at Time) links to video of Bush being asked, yesterday, whether he's seen Brokeback Mountain. This is not a man comfortable talking about gay men. Why the public thought it was worse that Kerry considered it no big deal to talk about a lesbian is still beyond me.
There Goes the Continent
Canada's Conservative Party wins election
At least they didn't get a mandate. That's the only good thing I can say about this result, which signals that our enlightened neighbor to the north is starting to dance to the inharmonious tune we've been playing the last few years.
At least they didn't get a mandate. That's the only good thing I can say about this result, which signals that our enlightened neighbor to the north is starting to dance to the inharmonious tune we've been playing the last few years.
The Conservative victory ended more than a decade of Liberal Party rule and shifted the traditionally liberal country to the right on socio-economic issues such as health care, taxation, abortion and gay marriage. Some Canadians have expressed reservations about Harper’s views opposing abortion and gay marriage.I suppose it's good that they "expressed reservations," but they're still going to let Harper run the country, no? This will be a big test: Once gay marriage is "done," can it be undone? Or will the populace resist?
Monday, January 23, 2006
We Have a Winner
Highway 290 Revisited: Recant
Ten days after my "bold" prediction that Brokeback Mountain would outgross Munich, I'm declaring victory. As of Sunday, Brokeback had raked in $42 million, while Munich was slowing down at $38 million. Barring a shutout for the former and a very unexpected sweep for the latter in next week's Oscar nominations, it appears clear that the cowboys will ride well beyond the $50 million mark, perhaps threatening the triple digit threshold, while Spielberg's Israeli avengers could stall out as millions of Americans wait for the DVD.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not gloating that Spielberg failed. I want to see Munich. But it's sweet to see Brokeback do so well. With its win this weekend at the Producer's Guild of America awards, it looks even more like the movie to beat.
Did anyone see it over the weekend? (Jon, I'm looking in your direction.) What did you think?
Ten days after my "bold" prediction that Brokeback Mountain would outgross Munich, I'm declaring victory. As of Sunday, Brokeback had raked in $42 million, while Munich was slowing down at $38 million. Barring a shutout for the former and a very unexpected sweep for the latter in next week's Oscar nominations, it appears clear that the cowboys will ride well beyond the $50 million mark, perhaps threatening the triple digit threshold, while Spielberg's Israeli avengers could stall out as millions of Americans wait for the DVD.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not gloating that Spielberg failed. I want to see Munich. But it's sweet to see Brokeback do so well. With its win this weekend at the Producer's Guild of America awards, it looks even more like the movie to beat.
Did anyone see it over the weekend? (Jon, I'm looking in your direction.) What did you think?
Pathetic
Bush to Take Unscripted Audience Questions
What does it say about the terrible road we've traveled these last five years that this is considered news?
What does it say about the terrible road we've traveled these last five years that this is considered news?
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Obvious
NBC Cancels 'West Wing' After 7 Seasons
Well, it's official. In less than four months, The West Wing will be no more.
Requests for the remainder of the series:
Well, it's official. In less than four months, The West Wing will be no more.
The decision to cancel it was made before actor John Spencer, who played former presidential chief of staff Leo McGarry, died of a heart attack Dec. 16, said Kevin Reilly, NBC entertainment president.Too bad about that last bit; I had hoped for at least one more episode that included Sorkin's wit and style of dialogue.
"There's a point when you look at the ratings and say, it feels like it's time," Reilly said.
The series finale will be May 14, preceded by a one-hour retrospective. The campaign to replace the fictional Josiah Bartlet as president will be settled, NBC said.
Producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, who created the show and guided it through its early years, will not be involved in the finale, Reilly said.
Requests for the remainder of the series:
- Give Josh and Donna's nine-year-long saga some kind of closure.
- Let us find out what happens to Charlie and Zoe. Were they even at the big White House wedding?
- Give us at least one more C.J.-Danny scene--last week's scenes were splendid!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Changing Minds
Chick-Flick Cowboys
This article from Newsweek is very meta about keeping the Brokeback media frenzy going, duly noting (almost as an excuse for itself) that while it may seem like people have been talking about the movie forever, it's only today that it will move into somewhat wide release, hitting nearly 1,200 screens and a number of new suburban markets. (A glance at the ad in this morning's Chicago Tribune confirms this: the movie is playing in just about every multiplex now.)
The article also notes that the strategy of focusing on women as the main audience for the film is working, with the film's ascent to the top of the box office this week mentioned. All of this is fine and dandy. Here's what I don't get: After noting that women are still having trouble getting men to see the movie, and that even such liberals as Larry David have expressed reservations, the article pulls out this show-stopper: "If those in the so-called cultural elite (like David) have trouble seeing a gay love story, does the film have any hope of changing nationwide attitudes on gay relationships?" While it offers the standard mainstream media "on the one hand, on the other hand" conclusion, the argument against change is the one you walk away from the article believing.
I don't buy it. I think many of the women who are seeing this movie have always been somewhat tolerant of gays and lesbians, but never terribly concerned about their plight. Brokeback should open up their hearts and minds to stories they would never have heard before, of couples who suffer because they can't marry, of survivors who are forced to sell the house because a bigoted cousin challenges the will leaving everything to a same-sex partner and wins. It should cause them to think a little differently about politicians who oppose protections for same-sex couples. And aren't women more than half of all voters?
I know this is just a movie, not a social movement. But honestly, how could anyone who cries over the pain Ennis feels at the end of the film not want to help others like him avoid a similar fate? How can they not be changed?
This article from Newsweek is very meta about keeping the Brokeback media frenzy going, duly noting (almost as an excuse for itself) that while it may seem like people have been talking about the movie forever, it's only today that it will move into somewhat wide release, hitting nearly 1,200 screens and a number of new suburban markets. (A glance at the ad in this morning's Chicago Tribune confirms this: the movie is playing in just about every multiplex now.)
The article also notes that the strategy of focusing on women as the main audience for the film is working, with the film's ascent to the top of the box office this week mentioned. All of this is fine and dandy. Here's what I don't get: After noting that women are still having trouble getting men to see the movie, and that even such liberals as Larry David have expressed reservations, the article pulls out this show-stopper: "If those in the so-called cultural elite (like David) have trouble seeing a gay love story, does the film have any hope of changing nationwide attitudes on gay relationships?" While it offers the standard mainstream media "on the one hand, on the other hand" conclusion, the argument against change is the one you walk away from the article believing.
I don't buy it. I think many of the women who are seeing this movie have always been somewhat tolerant of gays and lesbians, but never terribly concerned about their plight. Brokeback should open up their hearts and minds to stories they would never have heard before, of couples who suffer because they can't marry, of survivors who are forced to sell the house because a bigoted cousin challenges the will leaving everything to a same-sex partner and wins. It should cause them to think a little differently about politicians who oppose protections for same-sex couples. And aren't women more than half of all voters?
I know this is just a movie, not a social movement. But honestly, how could anyone who cries over the pain Ennis feels at the end of the film not want to help others like him avoid a similar fate? How can they not be changed?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Ascent Complete
Daily Box Office - Tuesday, January 17, 2006
It hasn't passed Munich yet, though with only $1.7 million to go and Oscar glory yet to come, I believe, as I predicted on Friday, that it's inevitable that it will. But Tuesday, Brokeback Mountain did something more remarkable: It won the day. That's right--no movie made more money at the box office Tuesday than Brokeback Mountain.
This just might have something to do with its sweep of four big awards at the Golden Globes Monday night. Still, to finish first for the day while playing in only 683 theatres, compared with 2,222 for weekend champ Glory Road, bodes well for my favorite cause of the season.
Have you seen Brokeback yet?
It hasn't passed Munich yet, though with only $1.7 million to go and Oscar glory yet to come, I believe, as I predicted on Friday, that it's inevitable that it will. But Tuesday, Brokeback Mountain did something more remarkable: It won the day. That's right--no movie made more money at the box office Tuesday than Brokeback Mountain.
This just might have something to do with its sweep of four big awards at the Golden Globes Monday night. Still, to finish first for the day while playing in only 683 theatres, compared with 2,222 for weekend champ Glory Road, bodes well for my favorite cause of the season.
Have you seen Brokeback yet?
Closure
Breaking TV News: THE KILLER ON FOX'S REUNION REVEALED!
OK, not really. But at least we get some idea of who the writers thought the killer would turn out to be: Samantha and Will's daughter, whose conception is part of the plot of the very first episode, the finding of whom occupied the second, and the caretaking and eventual kidnapping of whom occupied several more. It makes sense that this girl would bear a grudge against her mother, who gave her up for adoption, then tried to find her, then sent her friend to babysit for her so she could see her, then helped kidnap her away from her adopted father after he and the babysitter had a falling out.
I still have many questions about the show: Did Samantha ever actually tell Will (or Craig) the truth? What happened to Detective Marjorino? The last scene ever shown had him being hit by a car--who was driving?
But we'll never know; even the four episodes that were already filmed don't appear likely to see the light of day. Fox claims it plans to continue to try shows that are ambitious in their serialized storytelling, as Reunion was. I, for one, don't plan to give the network another chance to pull the plug on me.
OK, not really. But at least we get some idea of who the writers thought the killer would turn out to be: Samantha and Will's daughter, whose conception is part of the plot of the very first episode, the finding of whom occupied the second, and the caretaking and eventual kidnapping of whom occupied several more. It makes sense that this girl would bear a grudge against her mother, who gave her up for adoption, then tried to find her, then sent her friend to babysit for her so she could see her, then helped kidnap her away from her adopted father after he and the babysitter had a falling out.
I still have many questions about the show: Did Samantha ever actually tell Will (or Craig) the truth? What happened to Detective Marjorino? The last scene ever shown had him being hit by a car--who was driving?
But we'll never know; even the four episodes that were already filmed don't appear likely to see the light of day. Fox claims it plans to continue to try shows that are ambitious in their serialized storytelling, as Reunion was. I, for one, don't plan to give the network another chance to pull the plug on me.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Same Old Song
‘Idol’ returns as winter comfort viewing - American Idol
Can it really be? It seems like we just finished with a season of American Idol, and yet it's back again starting tonight.
This season is supposed to be snarkier than seasons past, with promises that we'll see the aftermath of the judges' fights with one another and that the contestants won't be so insanely nice all the time. Besides Scott Savol, when can you remember one contestant trashing another? Supposedly that will happen this season.
But the bigger changes for my viewing of the show are personal. Tonight, for instance, I won't be plopped in front of the TV at 7:00, and I won't be checking to make sure a VCR is recording it. Our DVR knows what to do, and it's been ready and waiting for Idol for two weeks now. A two-hour premiere episode will be watched in about 75 minutes starting around 9, thanks to the miracle of zooming through the commercials. We may even have time to watch Boston Legal before I go to bed.
Truly, these are splendid times.
Can it really be? It seems like we just finished with a season of American Idol, and yet it's back again starting tonight.
This season is supposed to be snarkier than seasons past, with promises that we'll see the aftermath of the judges' fights with one another and that the contestants won't be so insanely nice all the time. Besides Scott Savol, when can you remember one contestant trashing another? Supposedly that will happen this season.
But the bigger changes for my viewing of the show are personal. Tonight, for instance, I won't be plopped in front of the TV at 7:00, and I won't be checking to make sure a VCR is recording it. Our DVR knows what to do, and it's been ready and waiting for Idol for two weeks now. A two-hour premiere episode will be watched in about 75 minutes starting around 9, thanks to the miracle of zooming through the commercials. We may even have time to watch Boston Legal before I go to bed.
Truly, these are splendid times.
Runaway Gay Train
'Brokeback Mountain' Wins 4 Golden Globes
If last night was a preview of the Oscars, it's going to be the gayest night that already-quite-gay event has ever seen.
Other than the triumph of Johnny Cash, gay was the story of the night. Beyond the four awards for Brokeback Mountain, including the three that point the way to Oscar glory--best drama, best director, and best screenplay--Felicity Huffman in Transamerica and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote established themselves as the acting frontrunners for playing a transexual and a gay man.
And don't forget about Marc Cherry, whose series, Desperate Housewives, took home the TV comedy trophy.
It was a funny night, with highlights including Hugh Laurie's picking names out of his pocket to thank, Steve Carrell reading a speech he claimed his wife had written that thanked her more often than it thanked other people, and Geena Davis making up a story about a little girl who was inspired by her role as the first female president. The worst moment of the night? While many of the intro segments for the film clips were terrible--and I don't understand why they show trailers for the films rather than actual snippets from them--Dennis Quaid's apparent ad-lib, "rhymes with chick flick," in regard to Brokeback was the most bizarre thing said from the stage. I've been trying to figure out what he meant--is this a simple case of saying something "rhymes with" when you mean that's what it is, or was he pondering a more tasteless phrase? Dick pic? Stick lick? Hick trick?
Whatever he meant, last night's ceremony was a watershed moment for gays being depicted on screen. One request: When you win again, Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Lee, follow Ms. Huffman's lead, and note the challenges faced by the people whose existences you brought to life on film. All funny and silly stuff aside, hers was the classiest speech of the night, and one winners at the Oscars would do well to imitate.
If last night was a preview of the Oscars, it's going to be the gayest night that already-quite-gay event has ever seen.
Other than the triumph of Johnny Cash, gay was the story of the night. Beyond the four awards for Brokeback Mountain, including the three that point the way to Oscar glory--best drama, best director, and best screenplay--Felicity Huffman in Transamerica and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote established themselves as the acting frontrunners for playing a transexual and a gay man.
And don't forget about Marc Cherry, whose series, Desperate Housewives, took home the TV comedy trophy.
It was a funny night, with highlights including Hugh Laurie's picking names out of his pocket to thank, Steve Carrell reading a speech he claimed his wife had written that thanked her more often than it thanked other people, and Geena Davis making up a story about a little girl who was inspired by her role as the first female president. The worst moment of the night? While many of the intro segments for the film clips were terrible--and I don't understand why they show trailers for the films rather than actual snippets from them--Dennis Quaid's apparent ad-lib, "rhymes with chick flick," in regard to Brokeback was the most bizarre thing said from the stage. I've been trying to figure out what he meant--is this a simple case of saying something "rhymes with" when you mean that's what it is, or was he pondering a more tasteless phrase? Dick pic? Stick lick? Hick trick?
Whatever he meant, last night's ceremony was a watershed moment for gays being depicted on screen. One request: When you win again, Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Lee, follow Ms. Huffman's lead, and note the challenges faced by the people whose existences you brought to life on film. All funny and silly stuff aside, hers was the classiest speech of the night, and one winners at the Oscars would do well to imitate.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Recant
Tomorrow's Anti-CW Today! - Plus--kf blurbs Brokeback. By Mickey Kaus
Mickey Kaus, whose prediction that Brokeback Mountain would flop at the box office provoked a storm of blog discussion last month, has started the process of walking back his comment and lowering expectations that his predictions (BM flops in the heartland and makes less than $50 million) will actually come true. With the film moving up to the fifth position in the weekday box office this week--despite being in fewer than 500 theatres--even Kaus can see the writing on the wall. And so, in a discussion you can only discover by watching a video on bloggingheads.tv, Kaus talks about all the mitigating factors that might cause the movie to do better than he expected. It's already made nearly $25 million in limited release, he notes, before the anticipated success it will see at the Golden Globes on Monday, the multiple Oscar nominations it will log on January 31, and the possible victories it will see come March 5. $50 million is beginning to look like a very achieveable bar for the movie.
So I'm going to go out on a limb and predict this, instead: When all is said and done, Brokeback Mountain, a small movie about two cowboys in love, will outgross Munich, which was supposed to be this year's stealth Oscar contender and has both gravity of subject and Steven Spielberg to propel it at the box office. You can keep track of Brokeback here, and Munich here. You'll note that Munich, despite being released a few weeks later, has a $3 million lead right now. That's what makes this prediction a bold one. And it's what will make being right even sweeter!
Mickey Kaus, whose prediction that Brokeback Mountain would flop at the box office provoked a storm of blog discussion last month, has started the process of walking back his comment and lowering expectations that his predictions (BM flops in the heartland and makes less than $50 million) will actually come true. With the film moving up to the fifth position in the weekday box office this week--despite being in fewer than 500 theatres--even Kaus can see the writing on the wall. And so, in a discussion you can only discover by watching a video on bloggingheads.tv, Kaus talks about all the mitigating factors that might cause the movie to do better than he expected. It's already made nearly $25 million in limited release, he notes, before the anticipated success it will see at the Golden Globes on Monday, the multiple Oscar nominations it will log on January 31, and the possible victories it will see come March 5. $50 million is beginning to look like a very achieveable bar for the movie.
So I'm going to go out on a limb and predict this, instead: When all is said and done, Brokeback Mountain, a small movie about two cowboys in love, will outgross Munich, which was supposed to be this year's stealth Oscar contender and has both gravity of subject and Steven Spielberg to propel it at the box office. You can keep track of Brokeback here, and Munich here. You'll note that Munich, despite being released a few weeks later, has a $3 million lead right now. That's what makes this prediction a bold one. And it's what will make being right even sweeter!
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Reflected Glory
Diem certainly living a dream
It isn't often I get to link to an article about someone who was my junior high history partner and ended up marrying my childhood neighbor. Perhaps this will explain to anyone questioning it why, unless they play the Bears in the Super Bowl, I'll be cheering for the Colts this postseason.
It isn't often I get to link to an article about someone who was my junior high history partner and ended up marrying my childhood neighbor. Perhaps this will explain to anyone questioning it why, unless they play the Bears in the Super Bowl, I'll be cheering for the Colts this postseason.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Next Step
New Jersey lawmakers pass two gay rights bills
This needs to happen in Illinois.
Last year the state passed a non-discrimination law, which took effect last week, making it a crime to discriminate against gays and lesbians in employment, housing, and other areas. That's great--but it's not enough.
New Jersey's two new laws, assuming Governor Codey signs them, will bring the inheritance rights of New Jersey's same-sex couples in line with those of married couples and ensure that, if they work for any level of government, they will have the opportunity to share health insurance with their partners.
The first change is of vital importance. Nothing is more tragic than losing the one person in your life with whom you share a home and an existence. To compound that loss by making the inheritance process difficult and expensive is cruel. Yet when one half of a gay couple dies, the other half can expect to have his or her claim to their home challenged, and if the claim is upheld, to pay inheritance taxes on property that the couple shared.
I don't expect Illinois to recognize civil unions or same-sex marriages in the next ten years. But reform like this? I think we can, and should, manage to win these basic protections.
This needs to happen in Illinois.
Last year the state passed a non-discrimination law, which took effect last week, making it a crime to discriminate against gays and lesbians in employment, housing, and other areas. That's great--but it's not enough.
New Jersey's two new laws, assuming Governor Codey signs them, will bring the inheritance rights of New Jersey's same-sex couples in line with those of married couples and ensure that, if they work for any level of government, they will have the opportunity to share health insurance with their partners.
The first change is of vital importance. Nothing is more tragic than losing the one person in your life with whom you share a home and an existence. To compound that loss by making the inheritance process difficult and expensive is cruel. Yet when one half of a gay couple dies, the other half can expect to have his or her claim to their home challenged, and if the claim is upheld, to pay inheritance taxes on property that the couple shared.
I don't expect Illinois to recognize civil unions or same-sex marriages in the next ten years. But reform like this? I think we can, and should, manage to win these basic protections.
Growing Momentum
'Brokeback' Wins 3 Critics' Choice Awards
About halfway through these awards last night (yes, I watched, and yes, Dennis Miller was not the right choice as host) I was convinced that Crash was headed for a sweep of all of the major awards, setting it up as the best contender to knock off my anointed favorite for the Best Picture Oscar that is the ultimate goal of this whole awards-show process. Brokeback had only managed a tie for the supporting actress award, and Michelle Williams's absence made that win seem invisible as co-winner Amy Adams of Junebug prattled on like a schoolgirl. Jake Gyllenhaal had been passed over in favor of Paul Giamatti, and the applause in the room at seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote during a clip of Capote made it clear that he would block Heath Ledger from being recognized.
And then, in the final five minutes of the telecast, everything shifted. Ang Lee took Best Director, and refused to yield the stage so the Best Picture award could be presented, starting out by talking about what a good year it was for movies (and calling Philip Seymour Hoffman simply "Seymour") and continuing to thank just about everyone who had anything to do with the production of Brokeback except, I think, Annie Proulx, who wrote the original short story. When Lee finally left the stage, Joel Siegel came out and gave Brokeback the big award, and Lee allowed Diana Ossana, one of the movie's screenwriters, to fumble for words as she thanked everyone who has seen the movie.
You're welcome, Diana.
And to both Diana and Ang Lee: Please, don't forget to thank Annie Proulx for creating this story when you reprise these wins at the Golden Globes, the Director's Guild Awards, and the Oscars, OK?
About halfway through these awards last night (yes, I watched, and yes, Dennis Miller was not the right choice as host) I was convinced that Crash was headed for a sweep of all of the major awards, setting it up as the best contender to knock off my anointed favorite for the Best Picture Oscar that is the ultimate goal of this whole awards-show process. Brokeback had only managed a tie for the supporting actress award, and Michelle Williams's absence made that win seem invisible as co-winner Amy Adams of Junebug prattled on like a schoolgirl. Jake Gyllenhaal had been passed over in favor of Paul Giamatti, and the applause in the room at seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote during a clip of Capote made it clear that he would block Heath Ledger from being recognized.
And then, in the final five minutes of the telecast, everything shifted. Ang Lee took Best Director, and refused to yield the stage so the Best Picture award could be presented, starting out by talking about what a good year it was for movies (and calling Philip Seymour Hoffman simply "Seymour") and continuing to thank just about everyone who had anything to do with the production of Brokeback except, I think, Annie Proulx, who wrote the original short story. When Lee finally left the stage, Joel Siegel came out and gave Brokeback the big award, and Lee allowed Diana Ossana, one of the movie's screenwriters, to fumble for words as she thanked everyone who has seen the movie.
You're welcome, Diana.
And to both Diana and Ang Lee: Please, don't forget to thank Annie Proulx for creating this story when you reprise these wins at the Golden Globes, the Director's Guild Awards, and the Oscars, OK?
Monday, January 09, 2006
Misdirected Attention
www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish
Andrew Sullivan confirms my instinct that even as the media write about whether a gay cowboy movie can find mainstream acceptance (and, considering that the film is playing well in Lubbock, Texas, Sullivan argues that it can), all kinds of boundaries are being crossed on network television. Notes Sullivan, "As for the mainstream, on Desperate Housewives last night, there were three separate graphic scenes of two late-teenage boys french-kissing, waking up naked in the same bed together, and mauling each other's necks. Brokeback is tame in comparison."
Exactly! Housewives showed more skin, gave a more direct shot of the make-out session, and treated the in-bed scene more nonchalantly than Brokeback ever did; the only thing it left to the imagination that the movie made clear was what the two lovers did with one another. But given the state of undress of Andrew and Justin on DH (which was as complete as network TV will ever allow for an underaged male couple), I think we can safely assume that making out and neck-mauling is not the sexual limit of this duo.
So make hay, pundits, with Brokeback, which elevates gay love to the sort of high art only the most educated folks in the country will see. Meanwhile, 25 milion people watched two young men engage in all manner of "sexual deviancy" last night and, when questioned about it, one of the two young men expressed sarcastic relief that his mother hadn't turned into a pillar of salt after witnessing a man-on-man kiss. Come on, religious right! Marc Cherry is practically calling you out! Boycott ABC over this and help DH pass CSI as the number one show in America!
Andrew Sullivan confirms my instinct that even as the media write about whether a gay cowboy movie can find mainstream acceptance (and, considering that the film is playing well in Lubbock, Texas, Sullivan argues that it can), all kinds of boundaries are being crossed on network television. Notes Sullivan, "As for the mainstream, on Desperate Housewives last night, there were three separate graphic scenes of two late-teenage boys french-kissing, waking up naked in the same bed together, and mauling each other's necks. Brokeback is tame in comparison."
Exactly! Housewives showed more skin, gave a more direct shot of the make-out session, and treated the in-bed scene more nonchalantly than Brokeback ever did; the only thing it left to the imagination that the movie made clear was what the two lovers did with one another. But given the state of undress of Andrew and Justin on DH (which was as complete as network TV will ever allow for an underaged male couple), I think we can safely assume that making out and neck-mauling is not the sexual limit of this duo.
So make hay, pundits, with Brokeback, which elevates gay love to the sort of high art only the most educated folks in the country will see. Meanwhile, 25 milion people watched two young men engage in all manner of "sexual deviancy" last night and, when questioned about it, one of the two young men expressed sarcastic relief that his mother hadn't turned into a pillar of salt after witnessing a man-on-man kiss. Come on, religious right! Marc Cherry is practically calling you out! Boycott ABC over this and help DH pass CSI as the number one show in America!
Low Sales Resistance
USATODAY.com - It's a date: 'Brokeback' romance draws couples
Hey, straight guys: Have you see Brokeback Mountain yet? According to USA Today, you should:
Larry David suggested last week in the New York Times that he wouldn't see Brokeback because "I'm a very susceptible person, easily influenced, a natural-born follower with no sales-resistance." (He made use of this joke on Seinfeld, you may recall.) But I still think this is a bogus excuse (and I'm guessing Larry does, too):
Hey, straight guys: Have you see Brokeback Mountain yet? According to USA Today, you should:
The movie has emerged as a test of hipness for straight men, says Andrea Miller, founder of relationship magazine Tango: "The coffee dates after this movie surely are filled with intense conversations that get into areas of vulnerability, and women love that in a man."While one Utah theatre refused to play the movie this weekend, it was that theatre's loss: The film continues to have the highest per-theatre average gross a month after being released, even as it opens in more and more places where audiences "shouldn't" exist for it.
Larry David suggested last week in the New York Times that he wouldn't see Brokeback because "I'm a very susceptible person, easily influenced, a natural-born follower with no sales-resistance." (He made use of this joke on Seinfeld, you may recall.) But I still think this is a bogus excuse (and I'm guessing Larry does, too):
So who's to say I won't become enamored with the whole gay business? Let's face it, there is some appeal there. I know I've always gotten along great with men. I never once paced in my room rehearsing what to say before asking a guy if he wanted to go to the movies. And I generally don't pay for men, which of course is their most appealing attribute.And gay guys always seem like they're having a great time. At the Christmas party I went to, they were the only ones who sang. Boy that looked like fun. I would love to sing, but this weighty, self-conscious heterosexuality I'm saddled with won't permit it.
I just know if I saw that movie, the voice inside my head that delights in torturing me would have a field day. ''You like those cowboys, don't you? They're kind of cute. Go ahead, admit it, they're cute. You can't fool me, gay man. Go ahead, stop fighting it. You're gay! You're gay!''
Not that there's anything wrong with it.
Unless you really believe that watching boys kiss might turn you gay (in which case last night's Desperate Housewives has surely already done the trick), it's time to saddle up and see Brokeback. You'll be surprised how much you enjoy it--and how much it affects you:
During filming of the cowboys' final meeting, there was evidence the story would appeal to a broad audience. "Ang suddenly noticed everyone was crying," [distribution chief James] Shamus says. "This was the crew, folks who are just there to do a day's work. Right then, we thought, 'We have something here.' "If you're a straight guy who's already seen the movie and didn't turn gay, feel free to tell us about it in the comments.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Never Heard of Him
Bound and Gaggled: Misty Memories of Past Priorities - Wonkette
From today's press briefing, via Wonkette:
This actually reminds me of a joke that I will one day play on someone. After being approached on the street one day by two young men on a mission (of the Mormon kind, I think) and being asked, "Have you heard the good news about Jesus?" we realized that the perfect response--guaranteed to cause a combined gasp of horror and twinkle in the eye as they think, for a split second, they've found fresh meat--is simply this: "Who?"
From today's press briefing, via Wonkette:
Q: Second question: The President's speech today at the Pentagon as far as terrorism and fighting terrorism is concerned, do you think that Osama bin Laden is still in -- is running the al Qaeda business?I hope he was joking.
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, who?
This actually reminds me of a joke that I will one day play on someone. After being approached on the street one day by two young men on a mission (of the Mormon kind, I think) and being asked, "Have you heard the good news about Jesus?" we realized that the perfect response--guaranteed to cause a combined gasp of horror and twinkle in the eye as they think, for a split second, they've found fresh meat--is simply this: "Who?"
Roping 'Em In
CNN.com - 'Brokeback' leads SAG Award nominations
At this point, it looks a lot like Jon Stewart will be discussing Brokeback Mountain quite a bit when he hosts the Oscars in early March. Nods this morning for Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams, along with a best ensemble nomination, made the film the leading contender at yet another awards show.
Which makes my own revelation this morning all the more frightening: I'll be out of town on business on Oscar night! Worse yet, it's likely the night of a dinner I can't miss, meaning I won't even be able to camp out in my hotel room to watch.
I haven't missed the Oscars since I started watching them the year Driving Miss Daisy won. I watched the night Silence of the Lambs swept all the big awards, and the night Titanic made its undeserved haul, and the night Shakespeare in Love shocked the world and triumphed over Saving Private Ryan. (I actually shouted with glee at that one.) Nothing has messed with my Oscar-watching.
But this will. Thank goodness for the DVR.
At this point, it looks a lot like Jon Stewart will be discussing Brokeback Mountain quite a bit when he hosts the Oscars in early March. Nods this morning for Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams, along with a best ensemble nomination, made the film the leading contender at yet another awards show.
Which makes my own revelation this morning all the more frightening: I'll be out of town on business on Oscar night! Worse yet, it's likely the night of a dinner I can't miss, meaning I won't even be able to camp out in my hotel room to watch.
I haven't missed the Oscars since I started watching them the year Driving Miss Daisy won. I watched the night Silence of the Lambs swept all the big awards, and the night Titanic made its undeserved haul, and the night Shakespeare in Love shocked the world and triumphed over Saving Private Ryan. (I actually shouted with glee at that one.) Nothing has messed with my Oscar-watching.
But this will. Thank goodness for the DVR.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
New Jobs
Wonkette's Sex Change
Just because I have a new job doesn't mean everyone should! The news that Ana Marie Cox is giving up her job blogging for Wonkette to write a second book is devastating to me. Who will obsess over baby pandas, bring levity to every Washington scandal, and find a way to work anal sex into nearly every post?
On the other hand, if someone gave me a six-figure book deal, I suppose I'd give up blogging, too.
Just because I have a new job doesn't mean everyone should! The news that Ana Marie Cox is giving up her job blogging for Wonkette to write a second book is devastating to me. Who will obsess over baby pandas, bring levity to every Washington scandal, and find a way to work anal sex into nearly every post?
On the other hand, if someone gave me a six-figure book deal, I suppose I'd give up blogging, too.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Predictable
THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST
I've been out of the blogging mood lately, so here's something to tide you over. Feel free to take the test yourself and report your results! Here are mine:
For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.
The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.
Congratulations!
I've been out of the blogging mood lately, so here's something to tide you over. Feel free to take the test yourself and report your results! Here are mine:
Pure Nerd
95 % Nerd, 26% Geek, 34% Dork
For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.
The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.
Congratulations!
My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
Monday, January 02, 2006
Rotten
HBO Schedule: ALEXANDER
Thinking of taking advantage of one of HBO's numerous showings of Alexander? Take it from me: Don't do it! I just wasted the last three hours of my glorious break from work on it.
The only comfort is asking whether, when you make a movie this bad, you know it's a disaster while making it, or find out when you see it. What do you think?
Thinking of taking advantage of one of HBO's numerous showings of Alexander? Take it from me: Don't do it! I just wasted the last three hours of my glorious break from work on it.
The only comfort is asking whether, when you make a movie this bad, you know it's a disaster while making it, or find out when you see it. What do you think?
Thursday, December 22, 2005
On a Break
The next few days will bring houseguests, a holiday concert at Orchestra Hall, two days of family celebrations, and preparations for still more guests. As I'll be too busy to write it, and you'll be too busy to read it, there won't be any new content here during the coming week. So enjoy the picture above, from my favorite scene in Brokeback Mountain, and go see the movie!
Have a happy holiday!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Rapid Expansion
Brokeback Mountain @ MovieTickets.com
Operation Wide Release appears to be in full swing. If you want to see Brokeback Mountain over the holiday weekend, there are going to be plenty of places to see it. In Chicagoland alone, the movie looks to be expanding from 4 theatres in the entire area, including 3 in the city, to at least 6 in the suburbs alone, including Yorktown, Northbrook, Cantera, South Barrington, Lincolnshire, and Woodfield.
What better way to celebrate a holiday about procreation without sex than by watching a movie about sex without procreation?
Operation Wide Release appears to be in full swing. If you want to see Brokeback Mountain over the holiday weekend, there are going to be plenty of places to see it. In Chicagoland alone, the movie looks to be expanding from 4 theatres in the entire area, including 3 in the city, to at least 6 in the suburbs alone, including Yorktown, Northbrook, Cantera, South Barrington, Lincolnshire, and Woodfield.
What better way to celebrate a holiday about procreation without sex than by watching a movie about sex without procreation?
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Test Case
Box Office Mojo > News > 'Brokeback' Wrangles Strong Numbers in Expansion
Turns out I helped Focus Features decide to roll out Brokeback Mountain faster than planned:
Turns out I helped Focus Features decide to roll out Brokeback Mountain faster than planned:
Foley said that the expansion will be more aggressive than previously planned, with around 275 theaters set for Jan. 6 and about 400 for Jan. 13. The original intent was to be in 300 venues by the end of January.Feel free to thank me when you see the movie at a theatre closer to your home!
Among Brokeback Mountain's encouraging numbers, Foley noted two theaters in conservative markets that Focus used as an experiment for the picture's crossover appeal: the AMC Yorktown 18 near Chicago and the Cinemark Legacy 24 in Plano, Texas—"one of the biggest grossing theaters in the nation for The Passion of the Christ," explained Foley. Brokeback Mountain ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the complexes, respectively. "[The movie] is playing to the smart set as well as the boomer set, the senior set and the gay community," Foley said.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Masterpiece
Brokeback Mountain (2005): Reviews
After all the anticipation of these last few months, it would have been easy for Brokeback Mountain to fall short of my heightened expectations. And while I was slightly disappointed at how tame the love scenes between Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal turned out to be, that is all the more reason why this movie deserves a wider audience than any mere "gay cowboy movie" could expect.
It seems likely to get it: The suburban Chicagoland theatre where we saw the film had its small share of obviously gay and lesbian patrons, but the overwhelming majority of our companions were straight couples of all ages, skewing toward the older range. (We saw the movie at 5:20--the last matinee time--which may account for the early-bird-special appearance of the crowd.)
And without exception, the audience seemed to react appropriately to the material. That is, there were no gasps of shock when, 25 minutes into the film, Gyllenhaal and Ledger roughly dove at one another, clearly conflicted, and Ledger rolled Gyllenhaal onto his stomach to enter him. A few (off-screen) thrusts later, the most sexual scene in the movie was over.
That paragraph, by the way, was more graphic than the film. In case you were wary.
The rest of the film played out perfectly, with the music underscoring the majesty of the mountain surroundings that provide many of the scenes between the two lead actors with additional drama. And I know I was not the only person in the theatre reduced to tears by the end, watching Ledger deal with his regrets.
The final scene between the two actors--which you won't realize is just that at the time---adds an emotional heft to their entire relationship, showing both how connected they have been and how their internal conflicts about their relationship--particularly Ledger's--have denied them the only chance at happiness that life will ever present to either of them.
Heath Ledger's performance is a small miracle. While Gyllenhaal is more than competent, it is Ledger who is called on to convey the difficulty of being two people at once, and it is his character, against the odds, whose life shows more scars as a result of their separation. His sorrow--and, for a few moments with Gyllenhaal's character, his joy--is worn on his face, in his body, and behind his eyes, and Ledger manages to capture all of it. When he finally acknowledges these feelings to himself in the film's closing moments, using, appropriately, only three words, the pain is palpable.
It would be unfair not to mention the acting of Michelle Williams, who plays Ledger's anguished wife, or Anne Hathaway, whose Texas princess character brings a lift to the movie and Gyllenhaal's character that, of course, cannot last. Hathaway's facial expressions during a minor family dinner scene and during the all-important phone call near the film's conclusion contain oceans of information about her relationship with Gyllenhaal, and the final confrontation Williams has with Ledger demonstrates quite clearly the pain his frustrated life inflicts on those around him.
To say that this is the best movie I've seen in 2005 is probably unfair for two reasons. First, I haven't seen enough of the critically-hailed films of the year to know whether this is really the best. And second, I haven't seen a movie this good in a good many years, perhaps since American Beauty. It's that good. Go see it.
After all the anticipation of these last few months, it would have been easy for Brokeback Mountain to fall short of my heightened expectations. And while I was slightly disappointed at how tame the love scenes between Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal turned out to be, that is all the more reason why this movie deserves a wider audience than any mere "gay cowboy movie" could expect.
It seems likely to get it: The suburban Chicagoland theatre where we saw the film had its small share of obviously gay and lesbian patrons, but the overwhelming majority of our companions were straight couples of all ages, skewing toward the older range. (We saw the movie at 5:20--the last matinee time--which may account for the early-bird-special appearance of the crowd.)
And without exception, the audience seemed to react appropriately to the material. That is, there were no gasps of shock when, 25 minutes into the film, Gyllenhaal and Ledger roughly dove at one another, clearly conflicted, and Ledger rolled Gyllenhaal onto his stomach to enter him. A few (off-screen) thrusts later, the most sexual scene in the movie was over.
That paragraph, by the way, was more graphic than the film. In case you were wary.
The rest of the film played out perfectly, with the music underscoring the majesty of the mountain surroundings that provide many of the scenes between the two lead actors with additional drama. And I know I was not the only person in the theatre reduced to tears by the end, watching Ledger deal with his regrets.
The final scene between the two actors--which you won't realize is just that at the time---adds an emotional heft to their entire relationship, showing both how connected they have been and how their internal conflicts about their relationship--particularly Ledger's--have denied them the only chance at happiness that life will ever present to either of them.
Heath Ledger's performance is a small miracle. While Gyllenhaal is more than competent, it is Ledger who is called on to convey the difficulty of being two people at once, and it is his character, against the odds, whose life shows more scars as a result of their separation. His sorrow--and, for a few moments with Gyllenhaal's character, his joy--is worn on his face, in his body, and behind his eyes, and Ledger manages to capture all of it. When he finally acknowledges these feelings to himself in the film's closing moments, using, appropriately, only three words, the pain is palpable.
It would be unfair not to mention the acting of Michelle Williams, who plays Ledger's anguished wife, or Anne Hathaway, whose Texas princess character brings a lift to the movie and Gyllenhaal's character that, of course, cannot last. Hathaway's facial expressions during a minor family dinner scene and during the all-important phone call near the film's conclusion contain oceans of information about her relationship with Gyllenhaal, and the final confrontation Williams has with Ledger demonstrates quite clearly the pain his frustrated life inflicts on those around him.
To say that this is the best movie I've seen in 2005 is probably unfair for two reasons. First, I haven't seen enough of the critically-hailed films of the year to know whether this is really the best. And second, I haven't seen a movie this good in a good many years, perhaps since American Beauty. It's that good. Go see it.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Losing a Lion
'West Wing' Actor John Spencer Dies at 58
This is terribly sad news. I may have hated his character, Leo, at times, but I've always enjoyed the way John Spencer played the role. His Emmy acceptance speech in 2002 is, for me, one of the signature moments in the history of that award.
This does raise a question, though: What will The West Wing do about this? I suppose Leo could have another heart attack--in a way, that would be fitting, as that's how Spencer died--but his role had just gotten a lot juicier, as he was not only running for vice president but being asked to take the reins of the campaign from Josh. Maybe this sad event will inspire John Wells to call Aaron Sorkin for help in solving this problem, and Rob Lowe will be asked to return to run for VP as Sam Seaborn?
Then again, maybe not. Whatever happens, this much is certain: John Spencer will be missed.
This is terribly sad news. I may have hated his character, Leo, at times, but I've always enjoyed the way John Spencer played the role. His Emmy acceptance speech in 2002 is, for me, one of the signature moments in the history of that award.
This does raise a question, though: What will The West Wing do about this? I suppose Leo could have another heart attack--in a way, that would be fitting, as that's how Spencer died--but his role had just gotten a lot juicier, as he was not only running for vice president but being asked to take the reins of the campaign from Josh. Maybe this sad event will inspire John Wells to call Aaron Sorkin for help in solving this problem, and Rob Lowe will be asked to return to run for VP as Sam Seaborn?
Then again, maybe not. Whatever happens, this much is certain: John Spencer will be missed.
Shocking
Robert Novak Leaving CNN for Fox News
Suddenly all seems right with the world. And very right-wing at Fox News.
Suddenly all seems right with the world. And very right-wing at Fox News.
Major Defeat
Senate rejects reauthorization of Patriot Act
Well, this is quite a kick in Bush's craw.
As he would say, Let Freedom Reign!
Well, this is quite a kick in Bush's craw.
As he would say, Let Freedom Reign!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
One More Good Thing
Corrections
Forgot to mention this, but it's one more good thing that happened in the last week. Click on the link above and read the first correction. You may ask yourself, "Who would submit such a correction to Slate?" Wonder no longer: That was me. I've got an e-mail from Emily Bazelon to prove it, too!
Forgot to mention this, but it's one more good thing that happened in the last week. Click on the link above and read the first correction. You may ask yourself, "Who would submit such a correction to Slate?" Wonder no longer: That was me. I've got an e-mail from Emily Bazelon to prove it, too!
Good Week
Brokeback Mountain @ MovieTickets.com
It's been a very good week for me. I'm a good student--I got an A in another grad class, meaning my B-free streak is approaching a decade. I'm apparently a good employee--the normal raise announcement this week turned into a promotion. And now I know I'm a good gay man, too, because I have two tickets to a Saturday afternoon showing of Brokeback Mountain. I suppose I could have been a better gay man and flown to New York or San Francisco last weekend to see the movie, but I think helping the gross as the picture goes into slightly wider release qualifies, don't you?
We now return to your regularly-scheduled, slightly-less-boastful blogging.
It's been a very good week for me. I'm a good student--I got an A in another grad class, meaning my B-free streak is approaching a decade. I'm apparently a good employee--the normal raise announcement this week turned into a promotion. And now I know I'm a good gay man, too, because I have two tickets to a Saturday afternoon showing of Brokeback Mountain. I suppose I could have been a better gay man and flown to New York or San Francisco last weekend to see the movie, but I think helping the gross as the picture goes into slightly wider release qualifies, don't you?
We now return to your regularly-scheduled, slightly-less-boastful blogging.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Growing Buzz
'Weeds' scores second season on Showtime
Well, some networks know how to treat a good show, even if it has a small following: give it another shot. Showtime, rumored today to be looking into saving Arrested Development, has also picked up a second season of Weeds, meaning that the small but dedicated band of followers of the show will get to find out how the main character deals with the fact that her new beau is a DEA agent.
Won't you join us? It's not out on DVD yet, but I'm betting Showtime will release season one before the second season airs this summer. Don't you have five hours for a good show?
Well, some networks know how to treat a good show, even if it has a small following: give it another shot. Showtime, rumored today to be looking into saving Arrested Development, has also picked up a second season of Weeds, meaning that the small but dedicated band of followers of the show will get to find out how the main character deals with the fact that her new beau is a DEA agent.
Won't you join us? It's not out on DVD yet, but I'm betting Showtime will release season one before the second season airs this summer. Don't you have five hours for a good show?
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Shining Stars
Golden Globe Nominations
Ah, sweet Golden Globes. You toast the best movies AND television shows, and your tastes and mine frequently collide.
Look, for example, at the best comedic TV actress category! All four housewives and Mary-Louise Parker from Weeds were nominated. That's a clean sweep for shows I like. (Weeds also grabbed a nod for Elizabeth Perkins for her supporting role as a bitchy suburban mom whose perspective is changed when she finds out she has cancer, as well as a nomination for best comedy series.)
Or consider that in the best TV drama category, Rome got a nod that no one probably expected--and that Polly Walker got a nomination for playing Atia!
Of course, the big news this morning is that Brokeback Mountain is the early Best Picture favorite after nailing down 7 nominations, including best drama, best director, best actor, best supporting actress, best screenplay, best score, and best song. The overall Globe list seems a bit off, though, and I expect we'll see a few bigger movies (in terms of budget and Hollywood backing) pick up steam ahead of Oscar time. Still, leading the pack here bodes well for the gay cowboy movie...which opens Friday in Chicagoland.
I think the big surprise of the day, by the way, is how little attention Munich got. Steven Spielberg grabbed a best director nomination, but the movie itself got only one other nod, for best screenplay.
The season is upon us!
Ah, sweet Golden Globes. You toast the best movies AND television shows, and your tastes and mine frequently collide.
Look, for example, at the best comedic TV actress category! All four housewives and Mary-Louise Parker from Weeds were nominated. That's a clean sweep for shows I like. (Weeds also grabbed a nod for Elizabeth Perkins for her supporting role as a bitchy suburban mom whose perspective is changed when she finds out she has cancer, as well as a nomination for best comedy series.)
Or consider that in the best TV drama category, Rome got a nod that no one probably expected--and that Polly Walker got a nomination for playing Atia!
Of course, the big news this morning is that Brokeback Mountain is the early Best Picture favorite after nailing down 7 nominations, including best drama, best director, best actor, best supporting actress, best screenplay, best score, and best song. The overall Globe list seems a bit off, though, and I expect we'll see a few bigger movies (in terms of budget and Hollywood backing) pick up steam ahead of Oscar time. Still, leading the pack here bodes well for the gay cowboy movie...which opens Friday in Chicagoland.
I think the big surprise of the day, by the way, is how little attention Munich got. Steven Spielberg grabbed a best director nomination, but the movie itself got only one other nod, for best screenplay.
The season is upon us!
Friday, December 09, 2005
Top Ten Albums of 2005
Here they are: My choices for the ten best albums of 2005. Don't forget to check out Paul Allen's list at PopLife, and remember, there's always a chance I'll make a few revisions before making the list final early in 2006.
1. Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine
From the first spin of the Jon Brion version, there was little question in my mind that this record would make the top ten, but it has more than earned the top spot. Weeks have gone by when I've had a hard time listening to anything else. I know all the words (pity the poor person who rides in my car when this is playing). Apple has done something remarkable here, stripping down her sound and her previously inflated language and arriving at something that still communicates all the emotion she needs to convey. Catchy couplets, great beats--this record has it all. Which is why Fiona is the first artist to capture the crown for two different years of my top ten list.
2. Antony and the Johnsons: I am a Bird Now
The first song on this album will give you chills. Antony's story of gender confusion (in Britain, the statement "I am a bird" can be taken to mean both the creature that flies and a woman) is dramatic and bold, and he has the voice to match, a trembling instrument that unites the record amid multiple guests, including Boy George and Rufus Wainwright. Not everyone will enjoy this--"Fistful of Love" is probably the most accessible song and even it might throw people for a loop--but those who enjoy it will adore it.
3. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
In breadth and depth, this record outshines everything else on this list, and it's tough not to give Sufjan the top spot based on effort alone--so many lyrics that so specifically evoke something about Illinois, so many instruments both written into the music and then played by one person. The research for this album, which is the second of a proposed 50 (one for every state), was clearly voluminous. And the music itself is sheer beauty, so much of it that it can sometimes be hard to listen to the whole album in one sitting. But it all flows, and it pretty much all works, too. When you see this somewhere on every critic's list in the country (it's already number one on the Amazon.com editors' list), don't say I didn't warn you.
4. Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Conor Oberst had the audacity to release two new albums not in one year, but on one day this January. Digital Ash in a Digital Urn was good but uneven, but this album is flat-out great. He's found a folksy style that works with his odd voice, and even the partly stuttered storytelling he uses to open the album works better here than it did on Lifted. The final song, "Road to Joy," aping Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, is one of the year's true delights.
5. Martha Wainwright: Martha Wainwright
Apparently the Wainwright family is determined to dominate my CD shelves and my top ten lists for years to come. While the stunner on this album is the shocking and beautiful "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole," I think of it not in terms of songs but as a whole experience: haunting and lyrical and aflame with passion.
6. Garbage: Bleed Like Me
OK, this pick has none of the artsy cred of my first five, but it's still something special: a good, solid rock record that gets into your head and jangles around for months. I knew I loved this album when I was on a flight from D.C. to Chicago, equipped with my discman (I know, how retro of me) and several CDs, and I chose to plug my headphones into the armrest instead because United was featuring this album and I hadn't packed it.
7. Iron and Wine: Woman King EP AND Iron and Wine/Calexico: In the Reins
Releasing a six-song EP and a seven-song mini-album is about the same as releasing a full album, right? Mr. Consistency Sam Beam has made three solid records in the last two years, and as a result he finds himself at number seven on this list for the second year running. The EP is probably the better of the two, but in combination, these thirteen songs make a statement: Iron and Wine has the potential to be on this list for years to come.
8. Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better
An album that at first doesn't seem like an album at all, because every song could be on the radio. This is weird because it doesn't "build" to anything--it just keeps going strong for 13 songs. Folks who talk of a sophomore slump haven't actually listened to this record more than once or twice; it digs in and takes hold in a way their debut, for all its shiny songs and perfect beats, never did.
9. Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm
This wasn't supposed to be on this list. But as I listened to it again to pick a song for my possibly-to-be-produced compilation of the year, I found myself crying during the song "I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas" and I knew I couldn't ignore that. This album tells the story of a relationship between a boxer, John, and his lover, Caroline. Like the last Aimee Mann record, Lost in Space, it dwells on addiction issues and the difficulty any two passionate people have in making it work with one another. And while some of the songs sound wispy at first, in the end the power of the album, when given a chance, is undeniable. For a lyrics person like myself, I guess there's no way to leave this album out of the top ten.
10. Sigur Ros: Takk
And yet, I can pick this album, sung in Norwegian, to follow Aimee Mann. I don't know what Jon Thor Birgisson is singing about, but I know that he sings with emotion and power. Those qualities come through in any language.
1. Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine
From the first spin of the Jon Brion version, there was little question in my mind that this record would make the top ten, but it has more than earned the top spot. Weeks have gone by when I've had a hard time listening to anything else. I know all the words (pity the poor person who rides in my car when this is playing). Apple has done something remarkable here, stripping down her sound and her previously inflated language and arriving at something that still communicates all the emotion she needs to convey. Catchy couplets, great beats--this record has it all. Which is why Fiona is the first artist to capture the crown for two different years of my top ten list.
2. Antony and the Johnsons: I am a Bird Now
The first song on this album will give you chills. Antony's story of gender confusion (in Britain, the statement "I am a bird" can be taken to mean both the creature that flies and a woman) is dramatic and bold, and he has the voice to match, a trembling instrument that unites the record amid multiple guests, including Boy George and Rufus Wainwright. Not everyone will enjoy this--"Fistful of Love" is probably the most accessible song and even it might throw people for a loop--but those who enjoy it will adore it.
3. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
In breadth and depth, this record outshines everything else on this list, and it's tough not to give Sufjan the top spot based on effort alone--so many lyrics that so specifically evoke something about Illinois, so many instruments both written into the music and then played by one person. The research for this album, which is the second of a proposed 50 (one for every state), was clearly voluminous. And the music itself is sheer beauty, so much of it that it can sometimes be hard to listen to the whole album in one sitting. But it all flows, and it pretty much all works, too. When you see this somewhere on every critic's list in the country (it's already number one on the Amazon.com editors' list), don't say I didn't warn you.
4. Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Conor Oberst had the audacity to release two new albums not in one year, but on one day this January. Digital Ash in a Digital Urn was good but uneven, but this album is flat-out great. He's found a folksy style that works with his odd voice, and even the partly stuttered storytelling he uses to open the album works better here than it did on Lifted. The final song, "Road to Joy," aping Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, is one of the year's true delights.
5. Martha Wainwright: Martha Wainwright
Apparently the Wainwright family is determined to dominate my CD shelves and my top ten lists for years to come. While the stunner on this album is the shocking and beautiful "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole," I think of it not in terms of songs but as a whole experience: haunting and lyrical and aflame with passion.
6. Garbage: Bleed Like Me
OK, this pick has none of the artsy cred of my first five, but it's still something special: a good, solid rock record that gets into your head and jangles around for months. I knew I loved this album when I was on a flight from D.C. to Chicago, equipped with my discman (I know, how retro of me) and several CDs, and I chose to plug my headphones into the armrest instead because United was featuring this album and I hadn't packed it.
7. Iron and Wine: Woman King EP AND Iron and Wine/Calexico: In the Reins
Releasing a six-song EP and a seven-song mini-album is about the same as releasing a full album, right? Mr. Consistency Sam Beam has made three solid records in the last two years, and as a result he finds himself at number seven on this list for the second year running. The EP is probably the better of the two, but in combination, these thirteen songs make a statement: Iron and Wine has the potential to be on this list for years to come.
8. Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better
An album that at first doesn't seem like an album at all, because every song could be on the radio. This is weird because it doesn't "build" to anything--it just keeps going strong for 13 songs. Folks who talk of a sophomore slump haven't actually listened to this record more than once or twice; it digs in and takes hold in a way their debut, for all its shiny songs and perfect beats, never did.
9. Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm
This wasn't supposed to be on this list. But as I listened to it again to pick a song for my possibly-to-be-produced compilation of the year, I found myself crying during the song "I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas" and I knew I couldn't ignore that. This album tells the story of a relationship between a boxer, John, and his lover, Caroline. Like the last Aimee Mann record, Lost in Space, it dwells on addiction issues and the difficulty any two passionate people have in making it work with one another. And while some of the songs sound wispy at first, in the end the power of the album, when given a chance, is undeniable. For a lyrics person like myself, I guess there's no way to leave this album out of the top ten.
10. Sigur Ros: Takk
And yet, I can pick this album, sung in Norwegian, to follow Aimee Mann. I don't know what Jon Thor Birgisson is singing about, but I know that he sings with emotion and power. Those qualities come through in any language.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Snubbed
GRAMMY.com
Every year I hope to see something I really like threaten to dominate the Grammys, and almost every year I'm disappointed. Yes, I own the Gwen Stefani and U2 albums that came out late last year, but I never listen to them anymore, mostly because they're just not that great. Yet there they are, holding down 40 percent of the album of the year slate, up against Kanye West, Mariah Carey, and Paul McCartney.
Poor Fiona Apple got a single nomination (for best pop vocal album, where she's up against McCartney, Stefani, Sheryl Crow, and Kelly Clarkson), and while there are several categories where I own all the nominated songs or albums, only the best alternative album category could be called exciting for me, with Arcade Fire, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, and the White Stripes duking it out. (Even there I have qualms--they couldn't find a better fifth album than the mediocre offering from DCFC? I can think of several off the top of my head: Bloc Party, Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons, Bright Eyes, Martha Wainwright, Sigur Ros...)
I suppose I should accept that my tastes and those of both the public and the Recording Academy don't dovetail. Let this serve as fair warning that the list I post tomorrow will bear little relation to the one the Grammys have posted this morning.
Every year I hope to see something I really like threaten to dominate the Grammys, and almost every year I'm disappointed. Yes, I own the Gwen Stefani and U2 albums that came out late last year, but I never listen to them anymore, mostly because they're just not that great. Yet there they are, holding down 40 percent of the album of the year slate, up against Kanye West, Mariah Carey, and Paul McCartney.
Poor Fiona Apple got a single nomination (for best pop vocal album, where she's up against McCartney, Stefani, Sheryl Crow, and Kelly Clarkson), and while there are several categories where I own all the nominated songs or albums, only the best alternative album category could be called exciting for me, with Arcade Fire, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, and the White Stripes duking it out. (Even there I have qualms--they couldn't find a better fifth album than the mediocre offering from DCFC? I can think of several off the top of my head: Bloc Party, Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons, Bright Eyes, Martha Wainwright, Sigur Ros...)
I suppose I should accept that my tastes and those of both the public and the Recording Academy don't dovetail. Let this serve as fair warning that the list I post tomorrow will bear little relation to the one the Grammys have posted this morning.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
2005's Best of the Rest
It's that time of year again--time to unveil my choices for the best music of the year. The top ten albums list will appear on Friday; today I'll note my choices in some special categories. A similar list appears on Paul Allen's music blog, PopLife.
Best Soundtrack:
TV Series: Six Feet Under, Volume 2: Everything Ends
TV Movie: Bob Dylan, No Direction Home
Motion Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Six Feet Under, Volume 2: Everything Ends: An excellent collection of songs from the last three seasons of a great show. If you’ve seen the final season, you’ll want to own this just for the recording of Sia’s “Breathe Me,” though songs from Radiohead and Arcade Fire that closed pivotal episodes in the show are also included, as are the songs used in the show’s stylish pre-season promos.
Best Soundtrack:
TV Series: Six Feet Under, Volume 2: Everything Ends
TV Movie: Bob Dylan, No Direction Home
Motion Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Six Feet Under, Volume 2: Everything Ends: An excellent collection of songs from the last three seasons of a great show. If you’ve seen the final season, you’ll want to own this just for the recording of Sia’s “Breathe Me,” though songs from Radiohead and Arcade Fire that closed pivotal episodes in the show are also included, as are the songs used in the show’s stylish pre-season promos.
Bob Dylan, No Direction Home: A great portrayal of Dylan’s growth during the most “important” part of his career. The most accessible of the seven volumes of the Bootleg Series, though volume 4 is also indispensable.
Brokeback Mountain: A very recent album, and haunting to hear even without seeing the movie that it accompanies. The tender “I Don’t Want to Say Goodbye,” sung by Teddy Thompson, will put tears in your eyes. Original songs written by Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin, including that one, add to the experience of an album that conveys a remarkable amount of emotion. Gustavo Santaolalla’s acoustic contributions are also excellent, as is Rufus Wainwright’s “The Maker Makes.”
Best Greatest Hits:
Melissa Etheridge: Greatest Hits--The Road Less Traveled
A strong retrospective of Melissa’s career that focuses most of its attention on her early work, much to its benefit. A few too many brand-new songs mean a few too few old ones, including none from the underrated Skin, but if you were to have only one CD from her in your collection, this would definitely be the one to get.
Best Reissue:
Belle & Sebastian: Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
I’ve taken quite a liking to B&S recently, and this neat double album gave me a cheap and easy way to get seven of the band’s EPs for less than $15. Not quite If You’re Feeling Sinister, but still well worth having!
Best Live Album:
Morrissey: Live at Earls Court
I feel bad for the new Bob Dylan bootleg recording, Live at the Gaslight 1962, and for the new Wilco live album that is still growing on me, but this Morrissey album is incredible and would probaly win this category no matter what the competition. It gives new life to a bevy of songs from his most recent album and revives several old Smiths songs as well. Indeed, while I’d usually push a studio album over a live one any day, this might be the best way to really get into Morrissey. It’s done the trick for me!
Biggest Disappointment:
Weezer: Make Believe AND Dave Matthews Band: Stand Up
When I saw these two albums scheduled for release on the same day this spring, I thought, “Wow! It’s a late-‘90s revival!” Turns out it was a chance for two artists who did great work and attracted great followings in the ‘90s to put out some less-than-stellar stuff that almost immediately found itself sitting on the shelf.
Best Cover Art:
Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm
This isn’t cover art—it’s a book! Complete with painted illustrations of the story told by this concept album, this is the most attractive CD package of the year. And the music isn’t half-bad, either.
Best Album Title:
Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better
Considering that the band initially planned to call this Franz Ferdinand, just like their last album, this certainly wins the award for most-improved!
Best Surprise:
Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
The surprise isn’t that it’s good, it’s that it exists at all. After all the record company drama surrounding this album, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that it would finally see the light of day a few months ago. How pleasant a surprise? Find out Friday!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Red-Blooded Males
The straight dude’s guide to ‘Brokeback’
Dave White offers some good advice for all my hetero friends who will be dragged--or will drag themselves--to see Brokeback Mountain when it finally expands beyond its annoyingly limited release this weekend. It's pretty funny, but to it I will add this: If you've ever watched Six Feet Under, you've probably already seen more than this film will throw at you. And if you've caught an episode of Queer as Folk? It will be years before they find a way to get that much man-on-man action on the big screen.
Dave White offers some good advice for all my hetero friends who will be dragged--or will drag themselves--to see Brokeback Mountain when it finally expands beyond its annoyingly limited release this weekend. It's pretty funny, but to it I will add this: If you've ever watched Six Feet Under, you've probably already seen more than this film will throw at you. And if you've caught an episode of Queer as Folk? It will be years before they find a way to get that much man-on-man action on the big screen.
To Volvo or Not to Volvo
Animal Therapy: The Good and the Ugly
Earlier today I commented on Jon's blog that I was "willing to give Ford the benefit of the doubt and believe that this is just bad timing of an announcement they would have made no matter what." But I now have reason, based on this from Marty Kaplan at The Huffington Post, to believe that Ford, in announcing that it would dramatically reduce its advertising in gay publications, really did sell the gay community out to protect itself from an American Family Association boycott.
It's depressing to think that a company that has been honored for its commitment to gay rights would backslide like this in order to pander to the far right, but that's apparently what we've come to in America. Just this morning Andrew Sullivan remarked ruefully that when he left Britain 21 years ago for the United States, "there was no question that America led the way in equal rights for gays." Today gays in Britain are registering to enter into civil partnerships that both the law and the populace treat as equal to the marriages that they are in everything but their legal name. And in America, automakers are afraid to advertise to the gay community for fear of reprisals from a vocal and backward-thinking minority of people who believe in fairy tales.
Canada, England, South Africa, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandanavia: every day the list of places to which I'd willingly move if not for family and friends I prefer not to leave behind grows longer. Because if the AFA can do this with Ford, it can do it with plenty of other companies, too. There are plenty more religious-righters than there are gay folk. Who will stand with us?
Earlier today I commented on Jon's blog that I was "willing to give Ford the benefit of the doubt and believe that this is just bad timing of an announcement they would have made no matter what." But I now have reason, based on this from Marty Kaplan at The Huffington Post, to believe that Ford, in announcing that it would dramatically reduce its advertising in gay publications, really did sell the gay community out to protect itself from an American Family Association boycott.
It's depressing to think that a company that has been honored for its commitment to gay rights would backslide like this in order to pander to the far right, but that's apparently what we've come to in America. Just this morning Andrew Sullivan remarked ruefully that when he left Britain 21 years ago for the United States, "there was no question that America led the way in equal rights for gays." Today gays in Britain are registering to enter into civil partnerships that both the law and the populace treat as equal to the marriages that they are in everything but their legal name. And in America, automakers are afraid to advertise to the gay community for fear of reprisals from a vocal and backward-thinking minority of people who believe in fairy tales.
Canada, England, South Africa, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandanavia: every day the list of places to which I'd willingly move if not for family and friends I prefer not to leave behind grows longer. Because if the AFA can do this with Ford, it can do it with plenty of other companies, too. There are plenty more religious-righters than there are gay folk. Who will stand with us?
'Tis the Season
All Recipes | Cookie | Big Soft Ginger Cookies
I bake many things, but only two typically inspire recipe requests. As I'm taking my chocolate chip butterscotch cookie recipe to the grave, I'll offer a link to this one, which I got from my best friend, the internet.
I should note that the dough for these cookies is just about the stickiest substance imagineable--good luck actually getting the cookies onto the baking sheet. Forget about the old two-spoons method; you'll be using your hands. Fortunately, the dough tastes great licked straight from your fingers--just be sure to wash your hands before you keep working.
Also, where the recipe calls for two tablespoons of white sugar (for rolling the dough in prior to baking), I substitute, oh, a healthy third of a cup split evenly between red and green sugar sprinkles and white sugar. This makes the cookies more festive for the holidays and a little bit sweeter, and they still stay incredibly soft for days and days.
Don't be surprised if you end up doubling the recipe the second time you make these--they're that good!
I bake many things, but only two typically inspire recipe requests. As I'm taking my chocolate chip butterscotch cookie recipe to the grave, I'll offer a link to this one, which I got from my best friend, the internet.
I should note that the dough for these cookies is just about the stickiest substance imagineable--good luck actually getting the cookies onto the baking sheet. Forget about the old two-spoons method; you'll be using your hands. Fortunately, the dough tastes great licked straight from your fingers--just be sure to wash your hands before you keep working.
Also, where the recipe calls for two tablespoons of white sugar (for rolling the dough in prior to baking), I substitute, oh, a healthy third of a cup split evenly between red and green sugar sprinkles and white sugar. This makes the cookies more festive for the holidays and a little bit sweeter, and they still stay incredibly soft for days and days.
Don't be surprised if you end up doubling the recipe the second time you make these--they're that good!
Curing What Ails You
Seniors Seeking Medicare Info Get Sex Line
The headline pretty much sums up what the Medicare drug plan has been since the day Congress passed it by one vote: one big clusterfuck. Will fiascos like this prompt any changes, though?
Probably not in the program. But very likely in the makeup of Congress next term...
The headline pretty much sums up what the Medicare drug plan has been since the day Congress passed it by one vote: one big clusterfuck. Will fiascos like this prompt any changes, though?
Probably not in the program. But very likely in the makeup of Congress next term...
Monday, December 05, 2005
Anticipation
If you're like me, waiting on pins and needles to finally be able to see Brokeback Mountain, then this may help you to deal with the long days ahead, waiting for the limited release schedule to open wide enough to reach, in my case, Chicago and its suburbs. If you enter this URL--http://g.msn.com/0NL33964/7772--into the "Open URL" window on Windows Media Player, you can listen to the entire soundtrack--free. The tracklist is available here if you want to know what you're hearing.
Force of Nature
Animal Therapy: Best Friends
Jon's post--and specifically the picture of his (male) dog humping another (male) dog--reminded me of last night's Desperate Housewives and some questions it raised. Andrew, Bree's son, finally returns after being sent back to camp near the start of the season. And with blame for his mother for his father's death in his arsenal, he has no trouble deciding that he's above Bree's authority--so much so that he has Justin, his sometime paramour from last season, come over to spend the night.
Here's where the questions come in. Andrew explains his hatred toward his mother by saying that when his mom told him he would go to hell if he didn't change after he told her he " liked guys," he realized she would one day stop loving him and he decided to stop loving her first. This is an interesting mental process, certainly, but I doubt it's one with which many gay men relate. And yet it's happening on a show created and controlled by Marc Cherry, who has made no secret of his homosexuality or his strong relationship with his mother, who he credits with giving him the idea for the show.
This revelation is preceded by Andrew's attempt to kiss Justin, which Justin rebuffs for fear that Bree will walk in. He promises to make waiting until Bree is asleep worth Andrew's while--and then this concept is dropped. I know this is a very prurient question, but what happens between these two?
The question is important not only because I wanted to see two men making out on network TV, but because of the way Andrew constructs his talk about his sexuality. He doesn't say he told his mom he's gay--he says he told her he "likes guys." This is not the same thing. I've said before that I think bisexuality is often just a stop on the train to gay, but in this case it's important to know whether Cherry is espousing the same view. Andrew told the priest last year that he's not gay--he's just not going to stop fooling around with guys when the mood strikes him. But Justin appears to have real feelings, and not just carnal desires, for Andrew--feelings he expressed to Gabrielle last season. Is Andrew manipulating Justin? Will he go so far as to seek Justin's help as he tries to send his mother for a fall?
This, finally, is important because while there has been a flowering of gay characters on television in the last decade, the bloom is currently very much off the rose. A show with 27 million weekly viewers that features a gay or sort-of-gay character is one of TV's few windows onto gayness for most of America (by which I em>mean the "most of America" that doesn't subscribe to HBO or Showtime, didn't watch or Queer as Folk, and probably won't buy a ticket to see Brokeback Mountain, either). And so it matters quite a bit how that show's "gay character" is portrayed. Right now, the only main character who dabbles in the love that dare not speak its name is also up to some rather unspeakable deeds, including attempting to destroy his own mother and quite possibly manipulating an innocent person into having sex that is based not on love (as the innocent seems to believe) but on simple, base desire. Lest we forget, Andrew also hit Mrs. Solis while driving home last season, and showed no remorse afterward.
I'm concerned, then, that Cherry is taking his grand opportunity to offer some sort of positive portrayal of homosexuality and not merely squandering it but turning it on its head to show same-sex attraction as part of a pathological personality. I realize that Cherry's mission is to make good TV, not to subtly change the hearts and minds of viewers. I realize that DH probably isn't on the must-DVR list of many folks who harbor great hostility against gays, as their churches have already warned them of its sinful nature. And I realize that the show has featured a great many screwed-up characters, only one of whom has shown interest in making it with a member of the same gender. But there's a difference between portraying Andrew as a gay guy who lies about his sexuality sometimes, hates his mom, and feels no remorse about killing an old woman with his car, and portraying him as a sorta-bi guy who pretends to be gay to get a little no-strings attached action from a guy who clearly wants more while engaging in the aforementioned other negative behavior. For the sake of tried-and-true gays everywhere, I hope Andrew is bi and playing on Justin's hopes. Making that cruelty another aspect of his pathology, rather than simply making him both the bad guy and the gay guy on the show, would enhance both the show's portrayal of gays (by playing up Justin's innocence at the hands of a lying manipulator) and the show's storyline. That's a win-win Cherry should grab with both hands.
If he does it after a scene where Andrew and Justin make out on camera, well, so much the better!
Jon's post--and specifically the picture of his (male) dog humping another (male) dog--reminded me of last night's Desperate Housewives and some questions it raised. Andrew, Bree's son, finally returns after being sent back to camp near the start of the season. And with blame for his mother for his father's death in his arsenal, he has no trouble deciding that he's above Bree's authority--so much so that he has Justin, his sometime paramour from last season, come over to spend the night.
Here's where the questions come in. Andrew explains his hatred toward his mother by saying that when his mom told him he would go to hell if he didn't change after he told her he " liked guys," he realized she would one day stop loving him and he decided to stop loving her first. This is an interesting mental process, certainly, but I doubt it's one with which many gay men relate. And yet it's happening on a show created and controlled by Marc Cherry, who has made no secret of his homosexuality or his strong relationship with his mother, who he credits with giving him the idea for the show.
This revelation is preceded by Andrew's attempt to kiss Justin, which Justin rebuffs for fear that Bree will walk in. He promises to make waiting until Bree is asleep worth Andrew's while--and then this concept is dropped. I know this is a very prurient question, but what happens between these two?
The question is important not only because I wanted to see two men making out on network TV, but because of the way Andrew constructs his talk about his sexuality. He doesn't say he told his mom he's gay--he says he told her he "likes guys." This is not the same thing. I've said before that I think bisexuality is often just a stop on the train to gay, but in this case it's important to know whether Cherry is espousing the same view. Andrew told the priest last year that he's not gay--he's just not going to stop fooling around with guys when the mood strikes him. But Justin appears to have real feelings, and not just carnal desires, for Andrew--feelings he expressed to Gabrielle last season. Is Andrew manipulating Justin? Will he go so far as to seek Justin's help as he tries to send his mother for a fall?
This, finally, is important because while there has been a flowering of gay characters on television in the last decade, the bloom is currently very much off the rose. A show with 27 million weekly viewers that features a gay or sort-of-gay character is one of TV's few windows onto gayness for most of America (by which I em>mean the "most of America" that doesn't subscribe to HBO or Showtime, didn't watch
I'm concerned, then, that Cherry is taking his grand opportunity to offer some sort of positive portrayal of homosexuality and not merely squandering it but turning it on its head to show same-sex attraction as part of a pathological personality. I realize that Cherry's mission is to make good TV, not to subtly change the hearts and minds of viewers. I realize that DH probably isn't on the must-DVR list of many folks who harbor great hostility against gays, as their churches have already warned them of its sinful nature. And I realize that the show has featured a great many screwed-up characters, only one of whom has shown interest in making it with a member of the same gender. But there's a difference between portraying Andrew as a gay guy who lies about his sexuality sometimes, hates his mom, and feels no remorse about killing an old woman with his car, and portraying him as a sorta-bi guy who pretends to be gay to get a little no-strings attached action from a guy who clearly wants more while engaging in the aforementioned other negative behavior. For the sake of tried-and-true gays everywhere, I hope Andrew is bi and playing on Justin's hopes. Making that cruelty another aspect of his pathology, rather than simply making him both the bad guy and the gay guy on the show, would enhance both the show's portrayal of gays (by playing up Justin's innocence at the hands of a lying manipulator) and the show's storyline. That's a win-win Cherry should grab with both hands.
If he does it after a scene where Andrew and Justin make out on camera, well, so much the better!
Bought and Paid For
Corrupt Intentions - What Cunningham's misdeeds illustrate about conservative Washington. By Michael Kinsley
You've got to love Michael Kinsley. He takes a depressing subject (Congressional corruption) and makes it funny without losing the point.
Kinsley notes what I've often thought when I hear about the paltry amounts for which our representatives seem willing to sell out their principles:
I think it's a cultural phenomenon. Members of Congress are people, too. They circulate in crowds with money, often more money than they themselves possess. As wealthier folks leave the private sector loaded with cash to "represent" their fellow citizens (often by reducing the taxes of their corporate pals), those in Congress who don't come from such backgrounds are forced to scramble to keep up or look like paupers on the House and Senate floor. "Why should I have so little while they have so much?" these members of Congress must wonder. They calculate all the long hours spent traveling, reading arane language, being pilloried by the opposition, and wonder why their salaries aren't higher.
And then they realize it--they have access to the biggest pool of money in the country, the federal budget! Who could resist? It's so big no one can read it all, so loaded with additions from colleagues that no one will notice one more. And it's the one thing they can sell without giving up their gig in Congress and the feeling of "giving back" that comes with it. (The only faster way to make a buck is to get a book deal, but unless you've got name recognition like Obama or Clinton, that's hardly a viable route, plus you face all manner of pesky questions of influence--just ask Newt Gingrich.)
I'm not pardoning what Duke Cunningham and others--on both sides of the aisle--have done. (I leave that to President Bush, whose last weeks in office will no doubt be very busy ones.) I'm just asking, should we really be surprised?
You've got to love Michael Kinsley. He takes a depressing subject (Congressional corruption) and makes it funny without losing the point.
Kinsley notes what I've often thought when I hear about the paltry amounts for which our representatives seem willing to sell out their principles:
Members of Congress are among the world's greatest bargains: What are a couple of commodes compared with $163 million of Pentagon contracts?What indeed? Why do people making the maximum contribution of $2,000 to a campaign buy influence worth so many times that amount? Why will members of Congress sell out their nation so cheaply?
I think it's a cultural phenomenon. Members of Congress are people, too. They circulate in crowds with money, often more money than they themselves possess. As wealthier folks leave the private sector loaded with cash to "represent" their fellow citizens (often by reducing the taxes of their corporate pals), those in Congress who don't come from such backgrounds are forced to scramble to keep up or look like paupers on the House and Senate floor. "Why should I have so little while they have so much?" these members of Congress must wonder. They calculate all the long hours spent traveling, reading arane language, being pilloried by the opposition, and wonder why their salaries aren't higher.
And then they realize it--they have access to the biggest pool of money in the country, the federal budget! Who could resist? It's so big no one can read it all, so loaded with additions from colleagues that no one will notice one more. And it's the one thing they can sell without giving up their gig in Congress and the feeling of "giving back" that comes with it. (The only faster way to make a buck is to get a book deal, but unless you've got name recognition like Obama or Clinton, that's hardly a viable route, plus you face all manner of pesky questions of influence--just ask Newt Gingrich.)
I'm not pardoning what Duke Cunningham and others--on both sides of the aisle--have done. (I leave that to President Bush, whose last weeks in office will no doubt be very busy ones.) I'm just asking, should we really be surprised?
Friday, December 02, 2005
5 Weird Habits
Animal Therapy: 5 Weird Habits
Jon has forced me to discuss five of my strange habits. Don't be surprised if you see some relationship between mine and his.
1) I hate to go into any restaurant on my lunch hour to pick up food that I'm not going to eat at that restaurant. I will eat food I'm not really excited about rather than get out of my car, especially in the winter. Corner Bakery, Chipotle, Subway, Quizno's, Jimmy John's, and Panera would get a LOT more of my business if they had a drive-thru window. Indeed, I might never go to a McDonald's or Wendy's again.
2) Related to item 1, I will do anything to complete as many possible errands while getting out of the car as few times as possible. This could mean walking across a very long parking lot to get from one store to another if they're located somewhat close to one another. It could mean altering where I buy certain items. But I hate to drive around aimlessly, or feel like I've spent 30 minutes in the car to accomplish only one thing. This is why my plans for a shopping trip often sound as if I'm headed off to war. In both this and in item 1, you see my desire to start my car as few times as possible; I think someone told me when I was learning to drive that starting a car wastes more gas than letting it run for a little while, and that stuck with me in some deep part of my brain.
2.5) While driving I also seek to avoid left turns, particularly unprotected ones but also ones that involve a restrictive turn arrow, at all costs. I hate trying to figure out if I have enough space before the next oncoming car to turn left AND trying to figure out if there's room for me on the other side of the road at the same time. And I hate knowing that there's enough room for me to turn and being forced to listen to an arbitrary red arrow rather than my own eyes.
3) In direct contrast to Jon, I am e-mail obsessive. If you write to me, chances are you will get a reply, often so fast you'll wonder if I was just sitting and waiting for your e-mail, possibly with a reply half-written. I wasn't, but I have my e-mail set up to tell me when I receive a new one, and when I do I will drop whatever I am doing to read it. Then I'll realize what I want to say in reply, so I'll just write back immediately. If I don't, though, you will never get a reply. I will put a star next to your message, or flag it for reply, but though I will see it ten more times I will never answer. So if you've been waiting more than two days for a reply, you should probably send your message again.
4) I panic when I am without water, even when I'm not thirsty. There must be water at my desk (at work and at home), water on the coffee table, and water in my car at all times. The only exception is when I eat breakfast; after orange juice and tea, a glass of water might seem a bit obsessive and also rather redundant.
5) I eat dessert for breakfast. A lot. If I make a pie or cake or cookies for a special occasion and there are leftovers, I will eat the leftovers every day for breakfast until they're gone. Many a post-birthday week has seen me eating chocolate cake, complete with vanilla ice cream, day after day at 6:30 in the morning. What's worse--I feel no remorse while doing this and often question why others don't do the same.
I'm not going to "tag" anyone else to do this, but feel free to list your own weird habits in the comments below--or comment on mine.
Jon has forced me to discuss five of my strange habits. Don't be surprised if you see some relationship between mine and his.
1) I hate to go into any restaurant on my lunch hour to pick up food that I'm not going to eat at that restaurant. I will eat food I'm not really excited about rather than get out of my car, especially in the winter. Corner Bakery, Chipotle, Subway, Quizno's, Jimmy John's, and Panera would get a LOT more of my business if they had a drive-thru window. Indeed, I might never go to a McDonald's or Wendy's again.
2) Related to item 1, I will do anything to complete as many possible errands while getting out of the car as few times as possible. This could mean walking across a very long parking lot to get from one store to another if they're located somewhat close to one another. It could mean altering where I buy certain items. But I hate to drive around aimlessly, or feel like I've spent 30 minutes in the car to accomplish only one thing. This is why my plans for a shopping trip often sound as if I'm headed off to war. In both this and in item 1, you see my desire to start my car as few times as possible; I think someone told me when I was learning to drive that starting a car wastes more gas than letting it run for a little while, and that stuck with me in some deep part of my brain.
2.5) While driving I also seek to avoid left turns, particularly unprotected ones but also ones that involve a restrictive turn arrow, at all costs. I hate trying to figure out if I have enough space before the next oncoming car to turn left AND trying to figure out if there's room for me on the other side of the road at the same time. And I hate knowing that there's enough room for me to turn and being forced to listen to an arbitrary red arrow rather than my own eyes.
3) In direct contrast to Jon, I am e-mail obsessive. If you write to me, chances are you will get a reply, often so fast you'll wonder if I was just sitting and waiting for your e-mail, possibly with a reply half-written. I wasn't, but I have my e-mail set up to tell me when I receive a new one, and when I do I will drop whatever I am doing to read it. Then I'll realize what I want to say in reply, so I'll just write back immediately. If I don't, though, you will never get a reply. I will put a star next to your message, or flag it for reply, but though I will see it ten more times I will never answer. So if you've been waiting more than two days for a reply, you should probably send your message again.
4) I panic when I am without water, even when I'm not thirsty. There must be water at my desk (at work and at home), water on the coffee table, and water in my car at all times. The only exception is when I eat breakfast; after orange juice and tea, a glass of water might seem a bit obsessive and also rather redundant.
5) I eat dessert for breakfast. A lot. If I make a pie or cake or cookies for a special occasion and there are leftovers, I will eat the leftovers every day for breakfast until they're gone. Many a post-birthday week has seen me eating chocolate cake, complete with vanilla ice cream, day after day at 6:30 in the morning. What's worse--I feel no remorse while doing this and often question why others don't do the same.
I'm not going to "tag" anyone else to do this, but feel free to list your own weird habits in the comments below--or comment on mine.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Abandon All Hope
Fox guestimates
My notion that Fox's standing pat with Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday could somehow save Reunion is now defunct, based on this new information: That '70s Show and Stacked will air in the post-O.C. timeslot on Thursday nights. Which makes sense until you remember that '70s stopped being good a long time ago and Stacked has no appeal to the audience of The O.C. (or anyone with half a brain). Couldn't Fox have made a deal with the producers: We'll keep your show on the air all season if you share the DVD profits with us? Looks like it's too late now.
My notion that Fox's standing pat with Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday could somehow save Reunion is now defunct, based on this new information: That '70s Show and Stacked will air in the post-O.C. timeslot on Thursday nights. Which makes sense until you remember that '70s stopped being good a long time ago and Stacked has no appeal to the audience of The O.C. (or anyone with half a brain). Couldn't Fox have made a deal with the producers: We'll keep your show on the air all season if you share the DVD profits with us? Looks like it's too late now.
Shameful
South Africa's high court approves gay marriage
There's no shame in being behind Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands on the social curve; they're enlightened countries and one expects them to lead the way in social progress. But South Africa? This is a country that had apartheid what, 11 years ago?
Spain has gay marriage. Some form of recognition of same sex unions exists throughout Scandanavia, and much of Europe, including Britain, France, and Germany. And yet here in the United States, a piddling four states offer anything with any teeth in it (marriage [without the federal benefits] in Massachusetts, civil union or domestic partnership in Vermont, Connecticut, and California). This is a shameful state of affairs. Perhaps seeing people they've actually heard of (Elton John, George Michael) getting hitched in Britain will make a difference in America? I'm not getting my hopes up.
There's no shame in being behind Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands on the social curve; they're enlightened countries and one expects them to lead the way in social progress. But South Africa? This is a country that had apartheid what, 11 years ago?
Spain has gay marriage. Some form of recognition of same sex unions exists throughout Scandanavia, and much of Europe, including Britain, France, and Germany. And yet here in the United States, a piddling four states offer anything with any teeth in it (marriage [without the federal benefits] in Massachusetts, civil union or domestic partnership in Vermont, Connecticut, and California). This is a shameful state of affairs. Perhaps seeing people they've actually heard of (Elton John, George Michael) getting hitched in Britain will make a difference in America? I'm not getting my hopes up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)