Saturday, July 31, 2004
Thursday, July 29, 2004
WHERE DO YOU WATCH THE CONVENTION?
Markos over at Daily Kos is pretty upset today at the constant chatter of the talking heads at the networks during the speeches. I agree that it's rude and distracting for these people to constantly interject their voices over the important voice. There will be plenty of time to analyze when the Black Eyed Peas are onstage. This isn't football. People ar cheering, yes, so I understand the confusion for some of these folk. They'd all like to be John Madden. Could you imagine Madden calling a convention speech?
HANK WILLIAMS JR: ARE YOU READY? LET'S GET READY! Are you ready for some speeches? It's a political party. We've got John and John and they're ready to get started. The delegates are here and the crowd is psyched. All my rowdy friends are here on Thursday night!
AL: It's a beautiful day here at the Democratic Convention in Boston. A sell-out crowd is here to witness John Kerry's acceptance speech. It looks like he's about to start-
MADDEN: No coin flip, Al?
AL: No, John.
MADDEN: That doesn't seem quite fair to the other team.
AL: Only one team playing tonight. The Democrats. And their quarterback, John Kerry-
MADDEN: My name's John, too-
AL: -has just taken the field. The crowd is going wild.
MADDEN: They really love this guy. And who wouldn't? His wife owns ketchup. I love ketchup on just about anything.
AL: The crowd hushes as the candidate begins.
MADDEN: He sure is thanking a lot of people. I like a grateful guy. I hear this guy's pretty tough, too. I like a guy who can take a few hits and keep going. He's a candidate for my All Madden Team for sure.
AL: He's talking about health care-
MADDEN: Boy, is he! BAM! What a line! If you look here on the instant reply, he really nails home a point. Watch the telestrator and you can see his arm swing down when he says something.
AL: He's scoring points about the war.
MADDEN: WHAM! BAM! SMACK! Holy cow, what a speech. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a speech-
AL: What about Edwards speech yesterday?
MADDEN: You're right, Al. That was a great speech, too. Boy, I love these speeches. It's like the time I was coaching the Raiders in the Superbowl and I had to make a speech...
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Personally, I like to watch the speeches on CSPAN where there are no commentators. How about you?
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Markos over at Daily Kos is pretty upset today at the constant chatter of the talking heads at the networks during the speeches. I agree that it's rude and distracting for these people to constantly interject their voices over the important voice. There will be plenty of time to analyze when the Black Eyed Peas are onstage. This isn't football. People ar cheering, yes, so I understand the confusion for some of these folk. They'd all like to be John Madden. Could you imagine Madden calling a convention speech?
HANK WILLIAMS JR: ARE YOU READY? LET'S GET READY! Are you ready for some speeches? It's a political party. We've got John and John and they're ready to get started. The delegates are here and the crowd is psyched. All my rowdy friends are here on Thursday night!
AL: It's a beautiful day here at the Democratic Convention in Boston. A sell-out crowd is here to witness John Kerry's acceptance speech. It looks like he's about to start-
MADDEN: No coin flip, Al?
AL: No, John.
MADDEN: That doesn't seem quite fair to the other team.
AL: Only one team playing tonight. The Democrats. And their quarterback, John Kerry-
MADDEN: My name's John, too-
AL: -has just taken the field. The crowd is going wild.
MADDEN: They really love this guy. And who wouldn't? His wife owns ketchup. I love ketchup on just about anything.
AL: The crowd hushes as the candidate begins.
MADDEN: He sure is thanking a lot of people. I like a grateful guy. I hear this guy's pretty tough, too. I like a guy who can take a few hits and keep going. He's a candidate for my All Madden Team for sure.
AL: He's talking about health care-
MADDEN: Boy, is he! BAM! What a line! If you look here on the instant reply, he really nails home a point. Watch the telestrator and you can see his arm swing down when he says something.
AL: He's scoring points about the war.
MADDEN: WHAM! BAM! SMACK! Holy cow, what a speech. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a speech-
AL: What about Edwards speech yesterday?
MADDEN: You're right, Al. That was a great speech, too. Boy, I love these speeches. It's like the time I was coaching the Raiders in the Superbowl and I had to make a speech...
++++
Personally, I like to watch the speeches on CSPAN where there are no commentators. How about you?
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Monday, July 26, 2004
AND THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN IS...
According to Gadflyer, Atrios has been officially outed at the convention. It was bound to happen to Duncan Black. When you are blogger royalty, it is hard to remain anonymous, especially if you choose to become a public person. So who is Duncan Black? Well, he's Atrios. Beyond that, it doesn't really matter. I hope nothing bad happens to the man as he runs a great site. But at least the cat is out of the bag. As if anyone really really cared (but I blog about it because I don't want to talk about the fact that I still hate the way Jimmy Carter says nuclear...he drops the "l"...it made me crazy when I was 6 and it makes me crazy now that a nuclear sub captain cannot pronounce the word properly).
UPDATE! Tom at Corrente has done some detective work and maybe just maybe figured out who the real Duncan Black may be.
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According to Gadflyer, Atrios has been officially outed at the convention. It was bound to happen to Duncan Black. When you are blogger royalty, it is hard to remain anonymous, especially if you choose to become a public person. So who is Duncan Black? Well, he's Atrios. Beyond that, it doesn't really matter. I hope nothing bad happens to the man as he runs a great site. But at least the cat is out of the bag. As if anyone really really cared (but I blog about it because I don't want to talk about the fact that I still hate the way Jimmy Carter says nuclear...he drops the "l"...it made me crazy when I was 6 and it makes me crazy now that a nuclear sub captain cannot pronounce the word properly).
UPDATE! Tom at Corrente has done some detective work and maybe just maybe figured out who the real Duncan Black may be.
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HOUSE REDUX
So, as is the way of things, after losing our bid on the first house we wanted, a mere two days later, we found a much better house for less money, put an offer in and had it accepted within 10 hours. Needless to say, we are ecstatic. We are moving to an area of L.A. called Tujunga, which is nestled in the NE San Fernando Valley. It is a very quiet little community, the air is cleaner and cooler and both my wife and I noted that there is something vaguely Vermont-like about our little nook of the world (even thought our house is a Spanish style bungalow). Assuming our loans clear, escrow should close with a month and then, aside from some minor remodeling (floors, paint, A/C and a fence for Moose, we shall be living in our very own home.
Strange, I thought it would be a relief having our offer accepted, but there is so much to do and so many little things for the wife and I to disagree about. So while I am thrilled, I have little time to breathe easy. Lots of work to do! (and I still have my treatment to finish!)
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So, as is the way of things, after losing our bid on the first house we wanted, a mere two days later, we found a much better house for less money, put an offer in and had it accepted within 10 hours. Needless to say, we are ecstatic. We are moving to an area of L.A. called Tujunga, which is nestled in the NE San Fernando Valley. It is a very quiet little community, the air is cleaner and cooler and both my wife and I noted that there is something vaguely Vermont-like about our little nook of the world (even thought our house is a Spanish style bungalow). Assuming our loans clear, escrow should close with a month and then, aside from some minor remodeling (floors, paint, A/C and a fence for Moose, we shall be living in our very own home.
Strange, I thought it would be a relief having our offer accepted, but there is so much to do and so many little things for the wife and I to disagree about. So while I am thrilled, I have little time to breathe easy. Lots of work to do! (and I still have my treatment to finish!)
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Saturday, July 24, 2004
THE BOURNE HEADACHE
Having seen the original film where Matt Damon gets all tough and kicks ass all over France, the wife and I decided to join our friends and see a late showing last night of the sequel, wherein Damon continues his kicking of asses in Italy, Germany and Russia. Now on a plot level, the film breaks down into a series of car chases, Damon running about and near misses, with the occasional bit of Damon being really angry. But this is to be expected (and hopefully enjoyed in this kind of film).
What makes this film difficult to watch is the director's insistance on the use of handheld in every shot. The camera is always shaking and the edits are superquick, always leaving the viewer feeling a bit queasy and disoriented. I often found myself staring at the ceiling of the theater and listening rather than watching to let the headache subside a bit. It was like playing a video game with the "motion without motion" effect...like being seasick without a boat. Think "The Bourne Witch Project" and you might have some idea.
All I can say is that if you see the film, take a dramamine first.
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Having seen the original film where Matt Damon gets all tough and kicks ass all over France, the wife and I decided to join our friends and see a late showing last night of the sequel, wherein Damon continues his kicking of asses in Italy, Germany and Russia. Now on a plot level, the film breaks down into a series of car chases, Damon running about and near misses, with the occasional bit of Damon being really angry. But this is to be expected (and hopefully enjoyed in this kind of film).
What makes this film difficult to watch is the director's insistance on the use of handheld in every shot. The camera is always shaking and the edits are superquick, always leaving the viewer feeling a bit queasy and disoriented. I often found myself staring at the ceiling of the theater and listening rather than watching to let the headache subside a bit. It was like playing a video game with the "motion without motion" effect...like being seasick without a boat. Think "The Bourne Witch Project" and you might have some idea.
All I can say is that if you see the film, take a dramamine first.
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Thursday, July 22, 2004
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
HOUSE
So my wife and I made our first ever offer on a house today. It is a decidedly big event for us and, deflects some of my anxiety about all of the other very important events in my life. My agent/broker (who is also my brother) says we have a decent shot at it, but we may not have an answer until next Tuesday. So my wife and I do all of the normal things like planning every aspect of the new house and all the things we'll buy for the new house and you know, we will surely not be too disappointed should we not get the new house (RIGHT!). At least we'll pretend. But keep your positive thoughts flowing our way this week and I'll keep you posted.
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So my wife and I made our first ever offer on a house today. It is a decidedly big event for us and, deflects some of my anxiety about all of the other very important events in my life. My agent/broker (who is also my brother) says we have a decent shot at it, but we may not have an answer until next Tuesday. So my wife and I do all of the normal things like planning every aspect of the new house and all the things we'll buy for the new house and you know, we will surely not be too disappointed should we not get the new house (RIGHT!). At least we'll pretend. But keep your positive thoughts flowing our way this week and I'll keep you posted.
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Monday, July 19, 2004
LIBERAL SENSE OF HUMOR
So the Governator has called upon his legions of fans in Caulifloweria to vote the "girlie-men"
in Sacramento out of office. He is of course referring to the liberal leaning majority in our state congress who, up until now, have bought into the cult of personality. Former Gropenator rival, Sen. Tom McClintock says that liberals don't have a sense of humor because they find the now flabby former action star's comments to be less than amusing.
Well, Tom, it's not that liberals don't have a sense of humor. After all, we laughed aplenty at remarks made by Whoopi Goldberg...you know, the ones your bretheren found so repulsive that they got her canned from her position selling diet shakes. We like to laugh a lot. When the shit is funny, though. Playing out the same old stale one liners from decades old films and, even worse, overplayed SNL sketches that, of all things, mocked Arnie is less a cause for anger than it is for simple disgust at the cliche banality that Schwartzy displays in lieu of wit. But, heck, we still need to give the big dumb jock a free pass, right, Tom?
If we don't laugh along with the big dumb jock when he snaps his towel at little Jimmy in the locker room, heck, we might get our ass reddened too. That is the message of the Republican Party. But, then again, they've always been merciless towards the weak. You want the government to help people and provide decent educations for all? Shut up, Girlie-Man! And the Charles Atlas finds the skinny kid he used to train and kicks sand in his face until he chokes on it and dies... The Big Dumb Jock won the school popularity contest disguised as an election and he really thinks his campaign promise of "No Homework" is a great idea. Books are for girlie-men, right, Tom?
Yeah, we're laughing alright. It's terrifically funny. Hysterical. Cue the laugh track. We're laughing because clowns are funny. Especially the ones who don't know they're clowns. But we also know when to stop laughing. Cue quiet hush. Stupid jokes and insults may make the kiddies laugh in Study Hall, but sooner or later, someone has to be serious about making sure the state has a future...someone has to be serious when confronted with the short-sighted fuck-the-kids philosophy that the Republicans in California wholeheartedly endorse.
So, no, Tom. We're not laughing when good state money is spent on a Cigar-Smoking Tent. We're not laughing at the increases in state university fees. We're not laughing at anything that your sorry excuse for a Governor does to deflect attention from his destructive policies. Because it just aint funny. (anyone with a good sense of humor would know that, Tom)
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So the Governator has called upon his legions of fans in Caulifloweria to vote the "girlie-men"
in Sacramento out of office. He is of course referring to the liberal leaning majority in our state congress who, up until now, have bought into the cult of personality. Former Gropenator rival, Sen. Tom McClintock says that liberals don't have a sense of humor because they find the now flabby former action star's comments to be less than amusing.
Well, Tom, it's not that liberals don't have a sense of humor. After all, we laughed aplenty at remarks made by Whoopi Goldberg...you know, the ones your bretheren found so repulsive that they got her canned from her position selling diet shakes. We like to laugh a lot. When the shit is funny, though. Playing out the same old stale one liners from decades old films and, even worse, overplayed SNL sketches that, of all things, mocked Arnie is less a cause for anger than it is for simple disgust at the cliche banality that Schwartzy displays in lieu of wit. But, heck, we still need to give the big dumb jock a free pass, right, Tom?
If we don't laugh along with the big dumb jock when he snaps his towel at little Jimmy in the locker room, heck, we might get our ass reddened too. That is the message of the Republican Party. But, then again, they've always been merciless towards the weak. You want the government to help people and provide decent educations for all? Shut up, Girlie-Man! And the Charles Atlas finds the skinny kid he used to train and kicks sand in his face until he chokes on it and dies... The Big Dumb Jock won the school popularity contest disguised as an election and he really thinks his campaign promise of "No Homework" is a great idea. Books are for girlie-men, right, Tom?
Yeah, we're laughing alright. It's terrifically funny. Hysterical. Cue the laugh track. We're laughing because clowns are funny. Especially the ones who don't know they're clowns. But we also know when to stop laughing. Cue quiet hush. Stupid jokes and insults may make the kiddies laugh in Study Hall, but sooner or later, someone has to be serious about making sure the state has a future...someone has to be serious when confronted with the short-sighted fuck-the-kids philosophy that the Republicans in California wholeheartedly endorse.
So, no, Tom. We're not laughing when good state money is spent on a Cigar-Smoking Tent. We're not laughing at the increases in state university fees. We're not laughing at anything that your sorry excuse for a Governor does to deflect attention from his destructive policies. Because it just aint funny. (anyone with a good sense of humor would know that, Tom)
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Wednesday, July 14, 2004
STILL ALIVE
Hey everyone!
I know I've been lax in my blogging as of late, but this summer I have alternated in between being massively lazy and somewhat productive. I finally signed my contracts with Lions Gate Films to write a screenplay and have been trying to work the kinks out of my story. I always feel guilty writing anything that is not my project, but I do need to occasionally stop and do this a little bit too. Now that I have my new 12" PowerBook G4 (about a hundred pounds less than my old PC laptop) I can blog in style (because Apples are definitely more stylish than PCs).
Also, I promise some Moose pics very soon. The puppy is now over 40 pounds and doesn't know that there's any difference between a 40 pound Moose and a 20 pound Moose.
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Hey everyone!
I know I've been lax in my blogging as of late, but this summer I have alternated in between being massively lazy and somewhat productive. I finally signed my contracts with Lions Gate Films to write a screenplay and have been trying to work the kinks out of my story. I always feel guilty writing anything that is not my project, but I do need to occasionally stop and do this a little bit too. Now that I have my new 12" PowerBook G4 (about a hundred pounds less than my old PC laptop) I can blog in style (because Apples are definitely more stylish than PCs).
Also, I promise some Moose pics very soon. The puppy is now over 40 pounds and doesn't know that there's any difference between a 40 pound Moose and a 20 pound Moose.
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