Last week Kevin Spacey appeared one night as an unannounced guest on David Letterman. I like Spacey but I was not aware of how strong his impressions were. Twice he appeared on stage and did his best Johnny Carson.
Spacey has the voice, did the golf club swing and then we heard Paul and the band go into The Tonight Show theme.
It was very enjoyable. Moments like this make me aware of as much as I love Letterman we all miss Johnny. He was the absolute best. Watching a documentary on Bill Clinton last week we saw a clip of Clinton appearing on Carson after his diasterous 1988 convention speech. Clinton saved his career that night. Carson just did what he always did. He was the perfect host.
Kevin Spacey reminded me of how much we miss Johnny Carson.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller
Having read some earlier books by Timothy Keller I was interested to read his next book. In this book Tim Keller writes about marriage and it's relationship to the love between Jesus and us. That is eternal, forgiving love.
Keller touches many points in this book but what he talks about consistently is that the love and passion felt at the beginning of a marriage, at the beginning of a relationship is not sustainable. We all know that. Most of us do not like it. Keller advises us that often in a marriage you wake up and say who is this person I am with. What has happened? They have gotten older. They have developed new interests. They have gained weight, gotten sick, changed careers or changed priorities. Keller tells us that for those of us who state we are bored with our spouses and want somebody new all we need to do is hold and in wait. People change, our spouses change.
Keller tells us that we need to act in a loving way. Even when we do not feel love. This is the hard part.
This is a good book. Several phrases and sections were strongly redeemable to most marriages. I found myself offering quotes to my wife. We have a strong marriage and I told her that we should feel good in that much of what I read in this book should make us feel good and positive about our marriage.
Well worth reading.
Keller touches many points in this book but what he talks about consistently is that the love and passion felt at the beginning of a marriage, at the beginning of a relationship is not sustainable. We all know that. Most of us do not like it. Keller advises us that often in a marriage you wake up and say who is this person I am with. What has happened? They have gotten older. They have developed new interests. They have gained weight, gotten sick, changed careers or changed priorities. Keller tells us that for those of us who state we are bored with our spouses and want somebody new all we need to do is hold and in wait. People change, our spouses change.
Keller tells us that we need to act in a loving way. Even when we do not feel love. This is the hard part.
This is a good book. Several phrases and sections were strongly redeemable to most marriages. I found myself offering quotes to my wife. We have a strong marriage and I told her that we should feel good in that much of what I read in this book should make us feel good and positive about our marriage.
Well worth reading.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Big Love Finale
About a year after the rest of the country but my wife and I finished Season 5 of Big Love this weekend. Interestingly, as much as I think I keep up on things, I had not heard about how the show ended. I was glad I did not know.
My wife said this show always made her tense and her blood pressure go up. Indeed it did seem over the last couple of seasons that the show was almost farcical. No family, even one with three wives, could have had as much going on as these people did.
Still the cast was strong. Gennifer Goodwin as Margene was consistently strong and Chloe Sevigny played a role that was never easy, varying between manipulative and sympathetic at the turn of the head.
The ending shocked me. The suspense over the last few episodes was strong. As we have spoken over the last few days my wife and I have agreed the ending was a good one. It fit the show.
This was a well done show, we will miss it.
My wife said this show always made her tense and her blood pressure go up. Indeed it did seem over the last couple of seasons that the show was almost farcical. No family, even one with three wives, could have had as much going on as these people did.
Still the cast was strong. Gennifer Goodwin as Margene was consistently strong and Chloe Sevigny played a role that was never easy, varying between manipulative and sympathetic at the turn of the head.
The ending shocked me. The suspense over the last few episodes was strong. As we have spoken over the last few days my wife and I have agreed the ending was a good one. It fit the show.
This was a well done show, we will miss it.
Peter Frampton on CBS Sunday Morning
Frampton Comes Alive was one of the biggest albums of all time. Prior to it's release Frampton was just a former member of the British Rock Band Humble Pie. Almost overnight with the release of this live album Frampton was the biggest thing in the world.
Posters, World Tours, Rolling Stone, and the ill fated Seargent Pepper movie followed. His next album featured the single I'm In You which was also a huge hit. Soon after the end came however. It is hard to be that big without falling almost as fast as you appeared.
On CBS Sunday Morning Frampton now with thinning hair and a still strong love of guitars described the trip through the star chamber and how he came out on the other side. Frampton is happy, he always wanted to be a guitar player and now he is. He won a Grammy in 2006 for best instrumental. He now tours successfully playing small audiences who are both grateful for what he was and thankful for what he still is.
Frampton when showing the interviewr some of his awards and accolades including the case which holds his 18 platinum albums for Comes Alive is asked how he remembers that time. His answer is telling. He states that "it feels like that was another person," that yes he remembers that guy but it does not feel like him.
People change and our circumstances often do. Success often ebbs and flows. Peter Frampton came out on the other side, he is happy, he is content and CBS Sunday Morning provided a deft glimpse to show us how he did it.
Posters, World Tours, Rolling Stone, and the ill fated Seargent Pepper movie followed. His next album featured the single I'm In You which was also a huge hit. Soon after the end came however. It is hard to be that big without falling almost as fast as you appeared.
On CBS Sunday Morning Frampton now with thinning hair and a still strong love of guitars described the trip through the star chamber and how he came out on the other side. Frampton is happy, he always wanted to be a guitar player and now he is. He won a Grammy in 2006 for best instrumental. He now tours successfully playing small audiences who are both grateful for what he was and thankful for what he still is.
Frampton when showing the interviewr some of his awards and accolades including the case which holds his 18 platinum albums for Comes Alive is asked how he remembers that time. His answer is telling. He states that "it feels like that was another person," that yes he remembers that guy but it does not feel like him.
People change and our circumstances often do. Success often ebbs and flows. Peter Frampton came out on the other side, he is happy, he is content and CBS Sunday Morning provided a deft glimpse to show us how he did it.
Harold and Kumar go to White Castle
I have seen bits of this movie several times. My oldest son and I watched it beginning to end recently. Harold Lee and Kumar Patel played by John Cho and Kal Penn are intellectual stoners. Both gifted acamedically, an investment banker and a medical student, they are attempting to break out of their stereotypes.
The movie is silly. The movie also started the beginning of the return of Doogie Howser as Neil Patrick Harris had a role in the movie as himself.
A couple of the sequences made me laugh out loud. The stoner sequences, the dreams of marrying a bag of marijuana while silly were very funny.
You will not get smarter. You will lose brain cells at a rate that is most likely higher than if you actually were smoking dope. But, in the right mood, with the right touch of silliness this movie will make you laugh.
The movie is silly. The movie also started the beginning of the return of Doogie Howser as Neil Patrick Harris had a role in the movie as himself.
A couple of the sequences made me laugh out loud. The stoner sequences, the dreams of marrying a bag of marijuana while silly were very funny.
You will not get smarter. You will lose brain cells at a rate that is most likely higher than if you actually were smoking dope. But, in the right mood, with the right touch of silliness this movie will make you laugh.
American Experience: Clinton
Last week the PBS American Experience show featured a two part biography of Bill Clinton. The show was well done and while much and most of what we saw was familiar one must realize that we have a complete generation for whom the Clinton presidency is ancient history.
Clinton's intellect and abilities as a natural politician are highlighted. Unfortunately his considerable personal foibles are also. The feeling of a new beginning and the excitement felt by many of us when Clinton was elected were soon mired down in an adminstration that was not prepared for Washington and certainly not prepared for the anger and ire of the Republican party that considered him a usurper to the throne.
Clinton was an incredibly gifted politician who did not do as much as he could have , or should have. After winning reelection easily in 1996 Clinton again failed his mandate as he got caught up in the Lewinsky scandal that led to his impeachment hearings. Clinton recovered well but in the end his Presidency was potential wasted. His election also was the beginning of the problems we face in Washington. The hatred laid on him by the right was then replicated by the left on Bush and that now our current President faces.
For me personally Bill Clinton is the best example of why the term limits for President do not work. Is there anyone, on the right or left, who does not acknowledge that Clinton would be a more effective President now. What does it say about ourselves that we do not trust ourselves to let Democracy work as it should.
The pictures of Clinton and Gore, young and thin. The pictures of Hillary, with her hair style of the week. It all was very interesting. A very well done documentary.
Clinton's intellect and abilities as a natural politician are highlighted. Unfortunately his considerable personal foibles are also. The feeling of a new beginning and the excitement felt by many of us when Clinton was elected were soon mired down in an adminstration that was not prepared for Washington and certainly not prepared for the anger and ire of the Republican party that considered him a usurper to the throne.
Clinton was an incredibly gifted politician who did not do as much as he could have , or should have. After winning reelection easily in 1996 Clinton again failed his mandate as he got caught up in the Lewinsky scandal that led to his impeachment hearings. Clinton recovered well but in the end his Presidency was potential wasted. His election also was the beginning of the problems we face in Washington. The hatred laid on him by the right was then replicated by the left on Bush and that now our current President faces.
For me personally Bill Clinton is the best example of why the term limits for President do not work. Is there anyone, on the right or left, who does not acknowledge that Clinton would be a more effective President now. What does it say about ourselves that we do not trust ourselves to let Democracy work as it should.
The pictures of Clinton and Gore, young and thin. The pictures of Hillary, with her hair style of the week. It all was very interesting. A very well done documentary.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Jack Hanna on David Letterman
At my house we watch Dave most of the time. Must see viewing time however is when Jack Hanna is on. Back to the days of Carson the late night hosts have had animal experts on and these segments always prove popular.
Jack Hanna is an interesting individual. My wife in watching it with me, she is usually in bed so was not familiar with the segment, and asked if Hanna was intelligent. He, by my token, is intelligent but the interplay with him and Dave is quite funny as Hanna surely gets flustered.
Dave is very adept at the comedy that comes from the unpredictability of animal segments. This past Monday Hanna got bit which does not sound funny but was. These segments are funny, I find them as most enjoyable, can't miss television.
Jack Hanna is an interesting individual. My wife in watching it with me, she is usually in bed so was not familiar with the segment, and asked if Hanna was intelligent. He, by my token, is intelligent but the interplay with him and Dave is quite funny as Hanna surely gets flustered.
Dave is very adept at the comedy that comes from the unpredictability of animal segments. This past Monday Hanna got bit which does not sound funny but was. These segments are funny, I find them as most enjoyable, can't miss television.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Life's Too Short
This new observational comedy appeared on HBO last evening. My opinion of it after one episode is guarded. I am usually not one who enjoys anything I consider exploitative and certainly one could consider a show about a dwarf as that. Still the idea came for the show came from it's star Warwick Davis who is himself a little person.
The shows creators are Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant so it's credentials and prospects are strong. The show is a bit of a twisted take on the life of Warwick Davis who stars as himself.
Davis talks to the camera often and his observations are rye and quite funny. In the first episode we see Davis interact with his wife, from whom he is separated.
We learn about his work with George Lucas, playing an Ewok and later appearing in the movie Willow. Warwick himself runs a movie staffing agency for little people. Davis stops by to see Gervais and Merchant to ask about potential work. They mock him and try to get rid of him.
In the first scene there is some gold however. Warwick goes to see his accountant who hilariously tries to tell him he should just pay his back taxes, taxes due to the accountant's mistake. Best of all, on another visit to Gervais and Merchant Warwick witnesses Liam Neeson ( in what will be one of many stars making cameo appearances ) trying to get Gervais to find a role for him. Neeson runs through an idea about a green grocer and then a green grocer with aids and it is make you squirm funny.
The show has promise. Not sure it is a must see and certainly its audience will be limited to a certain kind of humor fan. Still one suspects that each episode will have a scene you will talk about the next day.
The shows creators are Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant so it's credentials and prospects are strong. The show is a bit of a twisted take on the life of Warwick Davis who stars as himself.
Davis talks to the camera often and his observations are rye and quite funny. In the first episode we see Davis interact with his wife, from whom he is separated.
We learn about his work with George Lucas, playing an Ewok and later appearing in the movie Willow. Warwick himself runs a movie staffing agency for little people. Davis stops by to see Gervais and Merchant to ask about potential work. They mock him and try to get rid of him.
In the first scene there is some gold however. Warwick goes to see his accountant who hilariously tries to tell him he should just pay his back taxes, taxes due to the accountant's mistake. Best of all, on another visit to Gervais and Merchant Warwick witnesses Liam Neeson ( in what will be one of many stars making cameo appearances ) trying to get Gervais to find a role for him. Neeson runs through an idea about a green grocer and then a green grocer with aids and it is make you squirm funny.
The show has promise. Not sure it is a must see and certainly its audience will be limited to a certain kind of humor fan. Still one suspects that each episode will have a scene you will talk about the next day.
Three Days of the Condor
I saw the listing for this movie on TCM awhile ago and with the combination of Robert Redford and direction by Sydney Pollack I decided it would be worth a viewing. This movie surprised me.
Most of the old movies that I watch are movies I have known about and heard references to often, this one, was different. I cannot recall any references to it. Still the movie was very good. Strong and certainly one I would reccomend.
Redford plays Joe Turner a CIA research anyalyst working out of a clandestine New York office. No cloak and dagger spy, Turner reads books. All kinds of books with the purpose of perhaps recognizing plots and ideas that could be coded messages or perhaps be later modified to real CIA plans.
All is well at Joe's office. He receives a communication advising that Joe's report from the night before on a specific book is considered not something to pursue. Not shaken by this Joe goes to get lunch for the office staff. Upon his return he finds that all of his fellow employees have been murdered.
Fleeing the scene and sensing the danger Joe calls into the CIA and an arrangment is made for them to bring him in and assumingly protect him. At the meeting he is fired on and realizes that there is a plot inside the CIA.
How he finds out what is beyond the plan and how he deals with it is a strong story. The geo-political events of the mid seventies play a huge part in the why of the plot and with Watergate fresh in the minds of citizens at that time a movie about the failures and unjust actions of the CIA was well placed.
The acting is first rate. Redford shines, Max Von Sydow as paid assassin Joubert is stellar, while Faye Dunnaway shows why she was considered an intelligent man's sex symbol in the seventies and Cliff Robertson playing Agent Higgins is compelling as the man in between all the sides .
A strong, clearly underrated movie.
Most of the old movies that I watch are movies I have known about and heard references to often, this one, was different. I cannot recall any references to it. Still the movie was very good. Strong and certainly one I would reccomend.
Redford plays Joe Turner a CIA research anyalyst working out of a clandestine New York office. No cloak and dagger spy, Turner reads books. All kinds of books with the purpose of perhaps recognizing plots and ideas that could be coded messages or perhaps be later modified to real CIA plans.
All is well at Joe's office. He receives a communication advising that Joe's report from the night before on a specific book is considered not something to pursue. Not shaken by this Joe goes to get lunch for the office staff. Upon his return he finds that all of his fellow employees have been murdered.
Fleeing the scene and sensing the danger Joe calls into the CIA and an arrangment is made for them to bring him in and assumingly protect him. At the meeting he is fired on and realizes that there is a plot inside the CIA.
How he finds out what is beyond the plan and how he deals with it is a strong story. The geo-political events of the mid seventies play a huge part in the why of the plot and with Watergate fresh in the minds of citizens at that time a movie about the failures and unjust actions of the CIA was well placed.
The acting is first rate. Redford shines, Max Von Sydow as paid assassin Joubert is stellar, while Faye Dunnaway shows why she was considered an intelligent man's sex symbol in the seventies and Cliff Robertson playing Agent Higgins is compelling as the man in between all the sides .
A strong, clearly underrated movie.
Night of the Living Dead ( 1968 )
This classic horror movie is considered one of the best and certainly one of the ground breakers of this genre. Set in a small town, filmed in black and white, and brought to you by the soon to be much more famous George Romero the movie set some precedents and broke some rules.
The fact that the movie starred a young black man in a movie otherwise inhabited by white people and that he interacted and became the leader of the group was in 1968 beyond the norm. As I watched the movie I thought the storyline was campy if anything. Reading reviews of the movie from 1968 it was thought to be obscene and beyond redemption. Of course at the time before MPAA ratings this movie was shown in the typical Saturday afternoon slot, a time when the theatre was filled by kids. So one can understand the impression the movie made.
The story is pretty simple. Young girl and her brother drive to father's grave in a small Pennsylvania town. Clearly they are not that broken up as the boy starts to tease the sister who is creeped out by lingering in a graveyard. She runs from him and runs into a tall man who she notices is strange and walks in a strange way, he grabs at her and her brother has to rescue her. The brother after a struggle is thrown, hits his head on a gravestome and dies.
She runs but somehow struggles to outrun this man who is after all walking slowly like a zombie. Eventually she comes to a farmhouse, at the same time a young black man appears. This man jumps into a truck, they take refuge in the house.
What comes to pass is that all over the country, perhaps world, undead are capturing, killing, and according to some reports eating people.
The movie goes on from there. Some dialogue that is almost too funny, a young pretty blonde girl portraying shock in a way that there is not an Oscar statuette small enough to recognize correctly and some other folks.
The ending is strong, much too ironic for the normal audience of the genre however. The movie is interesting. Worth watching. Just do not expect too much.
The fact that the movie starred a young black man in a movie otherwise inhabited by white people and that he interacted and became the leader of the group was in 1968 beyond the norm. As I watched the movie I thought the storyline was campy if anything. Reading reviews of the movie from 1968 it was thought to be obscene and beyond redemption. Of course at the time before MPAA ratings this movie was shown in the typical Saturday afternoon slot, a time when the theatre was filled by kids. So one can understand the impression the movie made.
The story is pretty simple. Young girl and her brother drive to father's grave in a small Pennsylvania town. Clearly they are not that broken up as the boy starts to tease the sister who is creeped out by lingering in a graveyard. She runs from him and runs into a tall man who she notices is strange and walks in a strange way, he grabs at her and her brother has to rescue her. The brother after a struggle is thrown, hits his head on a gravestome and dies.
She runs but somehow struggles to outrun this man who is after all walking slowly like a zombie. Eventually she comes to a farmhouse, at the same time a young black man appears. This man jumps into a truck, they take refuge in the house.
What comes to pass is that all over the country, perhaps world, undead are capturing, killing, and according to some reports eating people.
The movie goes on from there. Some dialogue that is almost too funny, a young pretty blonde girl portraying shock in a way that there is not an Oscar statuette small enough to recognize correctly and some other folks.
The ending is strong, much too ironic for the normal audience of the genre however. The movie is interesting. Worth watching. Just do not expect too much.
50/50
"If you were a slot machine you would have the greatest odds in the world" says Kyle to his best friend Adam Lerner. Unfortunately this is in response to the news that in looking up his cancer diagnosis on the Internet Adam has learned that his chances are, as the movie's title says, 50/50.
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam and Seth Rogan as Kyle this movie garnered significant praise when released in 2011. Watching the movie last night I see why, the movie is a winner.
Rogan is himself, does he really do anything but play himself. The fact that the movie is loosely based on the experiences of Rogan's friend and the sreenwriter Will Reiser makes Rogan familiar with the story for sure.
Lerner is blindsided with the news, first delivered to his doctor's taping unit, before the doctor looks up and realizes that the phrase malignant tumor has caught Adam's attention. Can you imagine getting your diagnosis this way?
Adam's girlfriend is supportive. Played by Bryce Dallas Howard she is a picture of conflict. In her twenties herself, in a relationship that was surely not a definite she is trying to do what people in the movies do. Still she is conflicted. Even when Adam gives her an out, admitting she did not buy in for this, she stays. Soon however it becomes too much and when Kyle, who does not like her in the first place catches her cheating he is much too happy to tell Adam.
With the removal of that not as despicable character as the movie makes her out to be Adam goes out girl hunting with Kyle. As Kyle soon learns Adam is good bait. Adam is not so sure.
Adam's mother wants to take care of him and he resists. His Dad has Alzheimers and her presence is not always relaxing. Angelica Huston is strong as Adam's mom.
Adam has a therapist that helps him with his feelings about his diagnosis and subsequent treatment. New at her job herself Katherine, played by Anna Kendrick, and he develop a friendship that might be moving into an area not considered proper between doctor and patient.
The relationship Adam develops in his daily chemo treatments with a couple of older gentleman is very moving. When soon after visiting and smoking medicinal marijuana at the home of one of these gentleman he learns that he has died the end result of the disease comes crashing home.
Finally he is told that the tumor in his spine is not responding to treatment and s dangerous surgery is needed. The surgery if not successful will be the last course of action. As the surgery approaches Adam's composure fades. Locking Kyle out of the car he screams and as he tells Kathy when he calls her " might have broken his larynx." he scares Kyle. Later that night with Kyle drunk he deposits him on his couch. Using the bathroom he sees a book that Kyle has in his house about Getting Thru Cancer Together. Picking it up he sees the pages thumbed, Kyle has read the whole book. He realizes that while Kyle did want to use his sickness to get girls, he genuinely cared about him in his stoner way. It is a moving scene.
On the day of his surgery he hugs his Mom and cries, tells his Dad he may have trouble following along but he wants him to know he loves him. His Dad's response of Ok is sweet and a great understatement of the ravages of that disease.
As we all wait for the results of the surgery the doctor appears. He states all the problems and complications that have happened, and THEN states he will be ok. Kyle reminds the doctor they should start out with that part. A good point.
This is a good movie. Tugs at the heartstrings while being realistic and not maudlin. Well done.
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam and Seth Rogan as Kyle this movie garnered significant praise when released in 2011. Watching the movie last night I see why, the movie is a winner.
Rogan is himself, does he really do anything but play himself. The fact that the movie is loosely based on the experiences of Rogan's friend and the sreenwriter Will Reiser makes Rogan familiar with the story for sure.
Lerner is blindsided with the news, first delivered to his doctor's taping unit, before the doctor looks up and realizes that the phrase malignant tumor has caught Adam's attention. Can you imagine getting your diagnosis this way?
Adam's girlfriend is supportive. Played by Bryce Dallas Howard she is a picture of conflict. In her twenties herself, in a relationship that was surely not a definite she is trying to do what people in the movies do. Still she is conflicted. Even when Adam gives her an out, admitting she did not buy in for this, she stays. Soon however it becomes too much and when Kyle, who does not like her in the first place catches her cheating he is much too happy to tell Adam.
With the removal of that not as despicable character as the movie makes her out to be Adam goes out girl hunting with Kyle. As Kyle soon learns Adam is good bait. Adam is not so sure.
Adam's mother wants to take care of him and he resists. His Dad has Alzheimers and her presence is not always relaxing. Angelica Huston is strong as Adam's mom.
Adam has a therapist that helps him with his feelings about his diagnosis and subsequent treatment. New at her job herself Katherine, played by Anna Kendrick, and he develop a friendship that might be moving into an area not considered proper between doctor and patient.
The relationship Adam develops in his daily chemo treatments with a couple of older gentleman is very moving. When soon after visiting and smoking medicinal marijuana at the home of one of these gentleman he learns that he has died the end result of the disease comes crashing home.
Finally he is told that the tumor in his spine is not responding to treatment and s dangerous surgery is needed. The surgery if not successful will be the last course of action. As the surgery approaches Adam's composure fades. Locking Kyle out of the car he screams and as he tells Kathy when he calls her " might have broken his larynx." he scares Kyle. Later that night with Kyle drunk he deposits him on his couch. Using the bathroom he sees a book that Kyle has in his house about Getting Thru Cancer Together. Picking it up he sees the pages thumbed, Kyle has read the whole book. He realizes that while Kyle did want to use his sickness to get girls, he genuinely cared about him in his stoner way. It is a moving scene.
On the day of his surgery he hugs his Mom and cries, tells his Dad he may have trouble following along but he wants him to know he loves him. His Dad's response of Ok is sweet and a great understatement of the ravages of that disease.
As we all wait for the results of the surgery the doctor appears. He states all the problems and complications that have happened, and THEN states he will be ok. Kyle reminds the doctor they should start out with that part. A good point.
This is a good movie. Tugs at the heartstrings while being realistic and not maudlin. Well done.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Darkness on the Edge of Town by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen is traditionally my favorite recording artist. His songs are authentic and never lose significance.
When faced with the question of what my favorite Springsteen album is the answer is much dependent on the day of the week. Born to Run is strong, The River is deep, Nebraska is majestic, but Darkness is, by my odds, the strongest of the lot.
Darkness was the album recorded after Born to Run, Springsteen had fought with his record company and had waited longer than he wanted to get back in the studio. The album is anthemic and slightly dark.
A Springsteen show often becomes a singalong. These songs often make up a big part of his concerts.
The album starts with BADLANDS. This song is one of the big ones at any concert Springsteen delivers. My children from a very young age have known about the chorus and sing alongs, and fast knew the phrase " Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king". One of Springsteens all time favorites.
Adam Raised a Cain is a strong semi scream anthem that is my least favorite songs on the album but still stronger than most.
Something in the Night is the first of the the songs that became lighter in the sky songs.
Candy's Room is underrated. A great rocker, with a great intro. Years ago when seeing Bruce at The Fleet Center he opened the show with this song. A great sing along song. Great in concert, a fist thumper and a fast talking singalong.
Another of the all time Springsteen epics Racing in the Street is one of those that we all know. An extended song telling the tale of those who come home from work and wash up and go Racing in the Street. An epic song. An enormous moment in concert.
Just writing about this album reinforces my opinion about how great a collection this is. Prove It All Night and Promised Land are again two of the most popular concert songs. These songs cannot be turned down when found on the radio.
The Factory is one of the smallest songs on the album but it's concise message of honor of the working man predicated much of Springsteen's later joining and support of the working movement.
Streets of Fire is similar to Adam Raised a Cain as Springsteen howls and screams his way and shows us the way.
The last song on the album might be, and on somedays surely is, my favorite Bruce song, is Darkness on the Edge of Town. The title cut is simply a perfect song. Springsteen snarls, he moans and as we sing along with him we feel what he feels and see what he sees.
This is the best Springsteen album. That makes it one of the greatest albums of the rock era.
When faced with the question of what my favorite Springsteen album is the answer is much dependent on the day of the week. Born to Run is strong, The River is deep, Nebraska is majestic, but Darkness is, by my odds, the strongest of the lot.
Darkness was the album recorded after Born to Run, Springsteen had fought with his record company and had waited longer than he wanted to get back in the studio. The album is anthemic and slightly dark.
A Springsteen show often becomes a singalong. These songs often make up a big part of his concerts.
The album starts with BADLANDS. This song is one of the big ones at any concert Springsteen delivers. My children from a very young age have known about the chorus and sing alongs, and fast knew the phrase " Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king". One of Springsteens all time favorites.
Adam Raised a Cain is a strong semi scream anthem that is my least favorite songs on the album but still stronger than most.
Something in the Night is the first of the the songs that became lighter in the sky songs.
Candy's Room is underrated. A great rocker, with a great intro. Years ago when seeing Bruce at The Fleet Center he opened the show with this song. A great sing along song. Great in concert, a fist thumper and a fast talking singalong.
Another of the all time Springsteen epics Racing in the Street is one of those that we all know. An extended song telling the tale of those who come home from work and wash up and go Racing in the Street. An epic song. An enormous moment in concert.
Just writing about this album reinforces my opinion about how great a collection this is. Prove It All Night and Promised Land are again two of the most popular concert songs. These songs cannot be turned down when found on the radio.
The Factory is one of the smallest songs on the album but it's concise message of honor of the working man predicated much of Springsteen's later joining and support of the working movement.
Streets of Fire is similar to Adam Raised a Cain as Springsteen howls and screams his way and shows us the way.
The last song on the album might be, and on somedays surely is, my favorite Bruce song, is Darkness on the Edge of Town. The title cut is simply a perfect song. Springsteen snarls, he moans and as we sing along with him we feel what he feels and see what he sees.
This is the best Springsteen album. That makes it one of the greatest albums of the rock era.
American Rust by Philipp Meyer
I was guided to this book by the search engine of Amazon and it was a good choice. The reviews I have read state that the book has a Steinbeck like quality. High praise indeed. After having read the book I will say that it is very good. At times when reading it it was surely a page turner.
The book centers around the town of Buell, Pennsylvania, a town devastated by the downfall of the American steel industry. Our main characters are Isaac and Poe. Isaac a young man whose father lost his steel mill job and then becomes crippled when he is injured working in a non union plant. His mother has committed suicide by drowning, with then pounds of rocks in her pockets to make sure she is successful. Isaac is a genius, 1560 on his SAT's but he has now two years out of high school not made it out of town. His older sister did, she went to Yale, and has now married into New England society. Isaac feeling he is boxed in, taking care of his father, steals four thousand dollars from his fathers desk and prepares to leave.
Poe is a former high school football player who did not accept a scholarship to Colgate. He has lost every job he has gotten, has a penchant for getting into fights and is going nowhere. Unlikely friends Poe tells Isaac he will not leave town for him but agrees to escort him out of town. On that way out of town seeking shelter out of the rain they run into some homeless men. What happens changes everything.
From there the repurcussions of that incident revertabrate out to the local Sherriff Harris, Poe's Mom Grace , and Isaac's older sister Lee. This book tells about family, expectations. dreams we have and dreams we give up.
This is a very good book. I would have called it a great book but for the ending. I do not mind ambivalent endings, I love short stories, this I believe wants us to understand the ending but in doing so makes it too ambivalent for clarity. Still a good book and it is a surprise I have not heard much of this author before or after.
The book centers around the town of Buell, Pennsylvania, a town devastated by the downfall of the American steel industry. Our main characters are Isaac and Poe. Isaac a young man whose father lost his steel mill job and then becomes crippled when he is injured working in a non union plant. His mother has committed suicide by drowning, with then pounds of rocks in her pockets to make sure she is successful. Isaac is a genius, 1560 on his SAT's but he has now two years out of high school not made it out of town. His older sister did, she went to Yale, and has now married into New England society. Isaac feeling he is boxed in, taking care of his father, steals four thousand dollars from his fathers desk and prepares to leave.
Poe is a former high school football player who did not accept a scholarship to Colgate. He has lost every job he has gotten, has a penchant for getting into fights and is going nowhere. Unlikely friends Poe tells Isaac he will not leave town for him but agrees to escort him out of town. On that way out of town seeking shelter out of the rain they run into some homeless men. What happens changes everything.
From there the repurcussions of that incident revertabrate out to the local Sherriff Harris, Poe's Mom Grace , and Isaac's older sister Lee. This book tells about family, expectations. dreams we have and dreams we give up.
This is a very good book. I would have called it a great book but for the ending. I do not mind ambivalent endings, I love short stories, this I believe wants us to understand the ending but in doing so makes it too ambivalent for clarity. Still a good book and it is a surprise I have not heard much of this author before or after.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Saturday Night Live
After watching this weeks Saturday Night Live just a couple of hours ago one instantly thinks of an important question. Why is Saturday Night Live so awful a majority of the time and occassionally, such as tonight, so outstanding.
This weeks episode had Maya Rudolph has the host. Rudolph, a SNL veteran, is funny but she is not the funniest host they have had even in the last month. I think much of the time when the shows are not funny the issue is the writing. The question is how can it be funny some weeks and not others.
Weekend Update is dependably funny but their show is inconsistent at best. This weeks show did have an advantage. Unannounced guest stars such as Justin Timberlake, and Amy Poehler certinly helped this week. Bill O' Reilly certainly was a surprise guest on the Whats Up With That skit and played it well. The skit featuring Barack Obama and family at home replaying Cosby show scenes was top of the line funny.
Still we all watch the show, each week, we might Tivo through some if it, we might shut it off after Weekend Update but we still watch. On rarer than they should be nights like tonight there is a payoff that is worth the loyalty.
This weeks episode had Maya Rudolph has the host. Rudolph, a SNL veteran, is funny but she is not the funniest host they have had even in the last month. I think much of the time when the shows are not funny the issue is the writing. The question is how can it be funny some weeks and not others.
Weekend Update is dependably funny but their show is inconsistent at best. This weeks show did have an advantage. Unannounced guest stars such as Justin Timberlake, and Amy Poehler certinly helped this week. Bill O' Reilly certainly was a surprise guest on the Whats Up With That skit and played it well. The skit featuring Barack Obama and family at home replaying Cosby show scenes was top of the line funny.
Still we all watch the show, each week, we might Tivo through some if it, we might shut it off after Weekend Update but we still watch. On rarer than they should be nights like tonight there is a payoff that is worth the loyalty.
Dr Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
This short novella written by the author of Treasure Island is an excellent story. My oldest son is currently reading this in his junior English Monsters class.
The story is actually fantastic. I am actually surprised that this book has not been made into a big budget movie. The story is pretty simple, told by a London Lawyer named Utterson we learn about the strange behavior of a Dr Hyde. Hyde has been acting strangely and moreso we learn that he has been keeping company with a strange man named Hyde. Hyde is mysterious and when one approaches him they feel a sense of violence and revulsion.
Soon Hyde becomes wanted as he has assaulted and killed an elderly member of the British Parliment. We learn the truth of the strange relationship between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. There are no surprises in the story, we all know the basic tenets. Still when one raeds the story they can easily see the depth of Stevenson's feelings on the subject of the divided nature of man. What he is trying to say is that we are all beasts and we all endeavor daily to control our dark sides.
A neat little story, one you can take for the depth and think about it's meaning or just an interesting story that tells like the Looney Tunes version of the story about a man who drinks a magic potion and becomes transfigured into his basest self. Either way you win.
The story is actually fantastic. I am actually surprised that this book has not been made into a big budget movie. The story is pretty simple, told by a London Lawyer named Utterson we learn about the strange behavior of a Dr Hyde. Hyde has been acting strangely and moreso we learn that he has been keeping company with a strange man named Hyde. Hyde is mysterious and when one approaches him they feel a sense of violence and revulsion.
Soon Hyde becomes wanted as he has assaulted and killed an elderly member of the British Parliment. We learn the truth of the strange relationship between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. There are no surprises in the story, we all know the basic tenets. Still when one raeds the story they can easily see the depth of Stevenson's feelings on the subject of the divided nature of man. What he is trying to say is that we are all beasts and we all endeavor daily to control our dark sides.
A neat little story, one you can take for the depth and think about it's meaning or just an interesting story that tells like the Looney Tunes version of the story about a man who drinks a magic potion and becomes transfigured into his basest self. Either way you win.
Lillyhammer
When word broke that Netflix was going to start airing original programming one wondered what they had in mind. The first show I had heard about was the pending Kevin Spacey drama House of Cards.
That is something to look forward to as Spacey rarely swings and misses, but first out of the box is the show Lillyhammer starring Steven Van Zandt, otherwise known as Little Steven in his day job as Bruce Springsteen's guitar player.
Van Zandt who of course earlier played Silvio in The Sopranos does not have to go too far out of his range for this series. Playing former gangster Frank " The Fixer" Tagliano who has turned state's evidence and enters witness protection. The strange thing however is that he chooses to be placed in Lillyhammer, as in Norway. When asked why he admits he loved the Olympics.
With all eight episodes instantly available for streaming it will not take long to watch them and as people become more and more used to watching shows when they, not network programmers, choose it becomes even more clear where the future of programming is.
Frank is given a new name, Giovanni Henrickson, and a backstory claiming his father had been Norweigan. He quickly becomes busy. In the first two episodes he: meets an attractive woman on a train, teaches a rowdy youth how to be respectful to his elders on the same, goes to his new home and is surprised at how poorly set up he is, meets his neighbor who happens to be the Sheriff ( a woman in a Fargo imitation), finds a lost sheep as he is out driving his electric car, returns the sheep to it's home which happens to be the home of the woman he met on the train who, yes , happens to be single, enters into an immigration program, crosses swords with the agent in charge of his case, goes out hunting ( illegally ) for a wolf that had killed the sheep that he had earlier saved thus making son of new woman friend sad, killed wolf and spent the night in his new companions friends camp. While at camp he uncovers incriminating pictures of the agent in charge of his case and when presented to him the agent asks if this is blackmail. Johnny's answer is " Definetly. This does not even cover half of what happens in the first two episodes.
This is a great show. Is Van Zandt a great actor. No. However he suits this role, it is comfortable on him and the writing is sharp. With subtitles for the Norweigan you cannot multitask and so become more immersed in the show.
We look forward to the next six episodes and will I am sure be sad to see them end.
That is something to look forward to as Spacey rarely swings and misses, but first out of the box is the show Lillyhammer starring Steven Van Zandt, otherwise known as Little Steven in his day job as Bruce Springsteen's guitar player.
Van Zandt who of course earlier played Silvio in The Sopranos does not have to go too far out of his range for this series. Playing former gangster Frank " The Fixer" Tagliano who has turned state's evidence and enters witness protection. The strange thing however is that he chooses to be placed in Lillyhammer, as in Norway. When asked why he admits he loved the Olympics.
With all eight episodes instantly available for streaming it will not take long to watch them and as people become more and more used to watching shows when they, not network programmers, choose it becomes even more clear where the future of programming is.
Frank is given a new name, Giovanni Henrickson, and a backstory claiming his father had been Norweigan. He quickly becomes busy. In the first two episodes he: meets an attractive woman on a train, teaches a rowdy youth how to be respectful to his elders on the same, goes to his new home and is surprised at how poorly set up he is, meets his neighbor who happens to be the Sheriff ( a woman in a Fargo imitation), finds a lost sheep as he is out driving his electric car, returns the sheep to it's home which happens to be the home of the woman he met on the train who, yes , happens to be single, enters into an immigration program, crosses swords with the agent in charge of his case, goes out hunting ( illegally ) for a wolf that had killed the sheep that he had earlier saved thus making son of new woman friend sad, killed wolf and spent the night in his new companions friends camp. While at camp he uncovers incriminating pictures of the agent in charge of his case and when presented to him the agent asks if this is blackmail. Johnny's answer is " Definetly. This does not even cover half of what happens in the first two episodes.
This is a great show. Is Van Zandt a great actor. No. However he suits this role, it is comfortable on him and the writing is sharp. With subtitles for the Norweigan you cannot multitask and so become more immersed in the show.
We look forward to the next six episodes and will I am sure be sad to see them end.
Romeo & Juliet by Willam Shakespeare
In my continuing effort to read Shakespeare I chose Romeo and Juliet this time as my son is reading it for his freshman English class.
This is a great story. It is accessible and while the writing is still a little thick I found it easy to follow. As with all of the Shakespeare I have read I find that the key is not to stress over each and every word as if you struggle through you will with the context understand the meaning. I usually with the context can get the full meaning of the phrase.
We all have seen many references to Romeo and Juliet in the culture but I must admit that I did not know the whole story.
It is a tale of love between two whose families are in conflict. The Montagues and Capulets are not friends. Interestingly we do not find out the source of this conflict. It appears the parents do not carry the weight of it, indeed when Romeo shows up at a party the Capulet father is not that upset. Little does he know of the trouble this will sow as Romeo meets his daughter Juliet.
Some phrases we all know..." wherefore art thou Romeo" " a rose by any other name" but the most bueatiful is when Romeo first appears at Juliet's window and we hear his soloiliqy including the comment about " when she dies they shall cut her up and make her stars in the sky, and be so bueatiful that the world will fall in love with night and forget the garish sun."
We might remember Robert Kennedy using this phrase to speak of his fallen brother at the 1964 Democratic Convention.
How many of us will have our work be held to such high esteem 500 years later. Shakespeare's work is timeless. It deserves to be.
This is a great story. It is accessible and while the writing is still a little thick I found it easy to follow. As with all of the Shakespeare I have read I find that the key is not to stress over each and every word as if you struggle through you will with the context understand the meaning. I usually with the context can get the full meaning of the phrase.
We all have seen many references to Romeo and Juliet in the culture but I must admit that I did not know the whole story.
It is a tale of love between two whose families are in conflict. The Montagues and Capulets are not friends. Interestingly we do not find out the source of this conflict. It appears the parents do not carry the weight of it, indeed when Romeo shows up at a party the Capulet father is not that upset. Little does he know of the trouble this will sow as Romeo meets his daughter Juliet.
Some phrases we all know..." wherefore art thou Romeo" " a rose by any other name" but the most bueatiful is when Romeo first appears at Juliet's window and we hear his soloiliqy including the comment about " when she dies they shall cut her up and make her stars in the sky, and be so bueatiful that the world will fall in love with night and forget the garish sun."
We might remember Robert Kennedy using this phrase to speak of his fallen brother at the 1964 Democratic Convention.
How many of us will have our work be held to such high esteem 500 years later. Shakespeare's work is timeless. It deserves to be.
Pat Buchanan out at MSNBC
Pat Buchanan has been fired from MSNBC. I am a Democrat a moderate but still firmly a Democrat. I think this firing is a poor choice.
One of the things that separated MSNBC from Fox news was their willingness to have strong viewpoints from the other side. Does that mean that it is not a left leaning network, of course not, but the fact that articulate right leaning individuals were on their network made them look stronger not weaker.
I do not agree with much of what Pat Buchanan says. I very much enjoyed hearing him say it. Phil Griffin the head of MSNBC said statements and opinions in the commentators most recent book were not worthy of discussion and expression. Really? Is that where we are in this country?
There is no question Buchanan was persecuted and fired because of his opinions. There is also no doubt that in the wake of his firing many from the left have protested his firing as short sighted and discriminatory.
Andrew Sullivan the openly gay conservative commentator has said that while not agreeing with much of what Pat said that he felt daylight was the best disinfectant to wrong opinion. He also shared a story about Buchanan's personal kindness to him when Sullivan announced his being positive for HIV.
What were Buchanan's crimes. He was polarizing and often stated opinions that were anti gay rights and made minorities feel uncomfortable. Still anyone who saw his 1992 Republican National Convention speech should have known this. MSNBC has had him on the payroll for ten years and now they are uncomfortable?
In his most recent book, Suicide of a Superpower Pat had chapters called The End of Christian America and The End of White America. These chapters are inflammatory. They are meant to be
Buchanan decried the end of both. As he says " he is a white christian why should he not. " In today's world however, to do so, is to be wrong. I am not sure why? African Americans voted for the President in large numbers, some due to his race. Are they racist.
Look if everyone is going to celebrate the coming minority majority culture of America why is it wrong to state that you do not agree. Buchanan was not speaking anything many do not feel and a legitimate debate over the feelings and fear many Middle class White Americans feel about their future is not a bad thing.
Griffin is spineless. Had Fox News ejected a liberal commentator under the same circumstances they would have been crucified and rightly so. To say that after Buchanan wrote that book that he had no place on the network is false, if that was so he would have been fired upon publication. Instead as the witch hunt grew over the last few months from extreme left wing groups Griffin finally capitulated.
The Network can have on who they want. They have however taken one further step to making themselves the left wing mirror of Fox News. Perhaps Buchanan was only a token, such as Alan Colmes on Fox, but it did not feel that way to me. It felt like was respected if not agreed with.
Certainly the admirable dissenting opinion in regards to his release issued by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski leads one to believe so.
Instead now Pat will ienvitably find himself on a right wing channel preaching to the faithful. What a loss of credible, articulate and differing opinions. In his book Buchanan writes about his fears of a Balkanization of America, with a country with limited shared experience and no viewpoint being accepted by any group except that which they agree with. Unfortunately he was more correct than he knew.
Pat Buchanan was called Uncle Pat by his cohorts on MSNBC. He was articulate and respectful all the time, wrong most of the time and generous to those who disagreed with him constantly. He will be missed.
One of the things that separated MSNBC from Fox news was their willingness to have strong viewpoints from the other side. Does that mean that it is not a left leaning network, of course not, but the fact that articulate right leaning individuals were on their network made them look stronger not weaker.
I do not agree with much of what Pat Buchanan says. I very much enjoyed hearing him say it. Phil Griffin the head of MSNBC said statements and opinions in the commentators most recent book were not worthy of discussion and expression. Really? Is that where we are in this country?
There is no question Buchanan was persecuted and fired because of his opinions. There is also no doubt that in the wake of his firing many from the left have protested his firing as short sighted and discriminatory.
Andrew Sullivan the openly gay conservative commentator has said that while not agreeing with much of what Pat said that he felt daylight was the best disinfectant to wrong opinion. He also shared a story about Buchanan's personal kindness to him when Sullivan announced his being positive for HIV.
What were Buchanan's crimes. He was polarizing and often stated opinions that were anti gay rights and made minorities feel uncomfortable. Still anyone who saw his 1992 Republican National Convention speech should have known this. MSNBC has had him on the payroll for ten years and now they are uncomfortable?
In his most recent book, Suicide of a Superpower Pat had chapters called The End of Christian America and The End of White America. These chapters are inflammatory. They are meant to be
Buchanan decried the end of both. As he says " he is a white christian why should he not. " In today's world however, to do so, is to be wrong. I am not sure why? African Americans voted for the President in large numbers, some due to his race. Are they racist.
Look if everyone is going to celebrate the coming minority majority culture of America why is it wrong to state that you do not agree. Buchanan was not speaking anything many do not feel and a legitimate debate over the feelings and fear many Middle class White Americans feel about their future is not a bad thing.
Griffin is spineless. Had Fox News ejected a liberal commentator under the same circumstances they would have been crucified and rightly so. To say that after Buchanan wrote that book that he had no place on the network is false, if that was so he would have been fired upon publication. Instead as the witch hunt grew over the last few months from extreme left wing groups Griffin finally capitulated.
The Network can have on who they want. They have however taken one further step to making themselves the left wing mirror of Fox News. Perhaps Buchanan was only a token, such as Alan Colmes on Fox, but it did not feel that way to me. It felt like was respected if not agreed with.
Certainly the admirable dissenting opinion in regards to his release issued by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski leads one to believe so.
Instead now Pat will ienvitably find himself on a right wing channel preaching to the faithful. What a loss of credible, articulate and differing opinions. In his book Buchanan writes about his fears of a Balkanization of America, with a country with limited shared experience and no viewpoint being accepted by any group except that which they agree with. Unfortunately he was more correct than he knew.
Pat Buchanan was called Uncle Pat by his cohorts on MSNBC. He was articulate and respectful all the time, wrong most of the time and generous to those who disagreed with him constantly. He will be missed.
What It Means To Be a Democrat by George McGovern
George McGovern is the poster child for landslide elections. On the wrong side that is. George McGovern lost the 1972 election in a landslide to Richard Nixon. The Nixon machine painted McGovern with the three A's slogan of Amnesty, Abortion and Acid.
McGovern set the predicate for later candidates like Kerry who were certified military heroes being portrayed in National elections as being soft on and not supportive of the military. McGovern the same man who flew 35 bombing runs in WWII while most of those Republicans criticizing him had a much more limited and certainly less dangerous role than he did in the war.
In his most recent book McGovern sets a course for the Democratic party. It is not a course that is likely to be followed as Democrats do not have the stomach for their parties history.
Told in simple language this is a tome that is easily read. I read this last night over a couple of hours and honestly felt like this is a book that I wanted my son to read. A book that perhaps all young Democrats volunteering for their candidates and party should be given to read. This is a book that should make one proud to feel a part of the party of FDR, Truman, Wilson and Clinton.
McGovern in his chapter on Compassion calls the difference between the right and left on this issue as action versus words speaking about Bush the younger speaking of comapssionate Conservatism while cutting health and education programs.
On the Chapter on Defense Spending he correctly points out that it was Republican Dwight Eisnehowser who presciently predicted a military industrial complex that would be hard to seperate from the power brokers in Congress. He points out that our military is bigger than the rest of the worlds combined. He points out that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq of the first decade of the twenty first century are responsible for 6 trillion or half of the national debt. He also makes the point that our Homeland Security apparatus that has built up in the wake of 9/11 is a boondoggle that has become a sacred cow of earmarks and unneccesary expenditures. He is correct.
McGovern also addresses chapters on Immigration, Education, Employment, and the Environment.
A pet issue of McGovern's has been Food and Hunger and he decries that in America we have people who go to bed hungry. A special curse to him is America's issues with alcohol and drug abuse. McGovern states that America's prison population has quadrupled in the last thirty years, many as a result of drug offenses.
McGovern talks about the lunacy of being the only country in the Western World without single payer, Medicare for all, insurance.
He also brings some reality to the settlement of the Middle East issues by stating, truthfully, that no answer will come until a two state solution is realized. As I have read before continued lack of progress in this will eventually lead to Israel negotiating from a position of weakness, as demographically it will not be long before the Jewish people are a minority in their own state. The truth is that leaders on both sides of this issue, Palestine and Israel use this issue to improve their political position. They are in effect holding the issue hostage while a large proportion of their people would grasp at a two state solution.
I love George McGovern. He is a man of principles and a man of honor. This is an enlightened book.
McGovern set the predicate for later candidates like Kerry who were certified military heroes being portrayed in National elections as being soft on and not supportive of the military. McGovern the same man who flew 35 bombing runs in WWII while most of those Republicans criticizing him had a much more limited and certainly less dangerous role than he did in the war.
In his most recent book McGovern sets a course for the Democratic party. It is not a course that is likely to be followed as Democrats do not have the stomach for their parties history.
Told in simple language this is a tome that is easily read. I read this last night over a couple of hours and honestly felt like this is a book that I wanted my son to read. A book that perhaps all young Democrats volunteering for their candidates and party should be given to read. This is a book that should make one proud to feel a part of the party of FDR, Truman, Wilson and Clinton.
McGovern in his chapter on Compassion calls the difference between the right and left on this issue as action versus words speaking about Bush the younger speaking of comapssionate Conservatism while cutting health and education programs.
On the Chapter on Defense Spending he correctly points out that it was Republican Dwight Eisnehowser who presciently predicted a military industrial complex that would be hard to seperate from the power brokers in Congress. He points out that our military is bigger than the rest of the worlds combined. He points out that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq of the first decade of the twenty first century are responsible for 6 trillion or half of the national debt. He also makes the point that our Homeland Security apparatus that has built up in the wake of 9/11 is a boondoggle that has become a sacred cow of earmarks and unneccesary expenditures. He is correct.
McGovern also addresses chapters on Immigration, Education, Employment, and the Environment.
A pet issue of McGovern's has been Food and Hunger and he decries that in America we have people who go to bed hungry. A special curse to him is America's issues with alcohol and drug abuse. McGovern states that America's prison population has quadrupled in the last thirty years, many as a result of drug offenses.
McGovern talks about the lunacy of being the only country in the Western World without single payer, Medicare for all, insurance.
He also brings some reality to the settlement of the Middle East issues by stating, truthfully, that no answer will come until a two state solution is realized. As I have read before continued lack of progress in this will eventually lead to Israel negotiating from a position of weakness, as demographically it will not be long before the Jewish people are a minority in their own state. The truth is that leaders on both sides of this issue, Palestine and Israel use this issue to improve their political position. They are in effect holding the issue hostage while a large proportion of their people would grasp at a two state solution.
I love George McGovern. He is a man of principles and a man of honor. This is an enlightened book.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Usual Suspects
This 1995 movie was made for just 6 million. Even in 1995 that was not much for a movie. This movie was quite complex, a bit confusing, and wonderful.
The story is told mostly in flashback by Roger " Verbal" Kint. Roger is a small time criminal who has been one of only two survivors of a shoot out and boat burning in Los Angles Harbor.
This is complex. As Roger is interrogated by U S Customs Agent Dave Kujan played wonderfully by Chazz Palminteri we learn more about how this boat was caused to be blown up. The story goes back to several different crimes. The twists and turns are so complex and everchanging ( as Roger's story changes under questioning ) that one has to watch the movie and watch it with great attention to detail.
Still even doing that in the end you are left wondering if what you think you saw and deduced is correct. With the story changing and the ending coming with a twist even now after watching it some questions are unanswered. This movie assumes we are smart enough to follow along and mature enough to accept that in life sometimes the only thing you do know is that you do not know.
Spacey who won Best Supporting Actor is brilliant in his role and the rest of the cast beyond Palminteri is strong as well. Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollack, Stephen Baldwin and Benecio Del Toro stand out as the other " suspects" in Roger's group.
Do not try to read, text, or have conversations with this movie. Be prepared to pay attention. You will not be disapointed. Great movie.
The story is told mostly in flashback by Roger " Verbal" Kint. Roger is a small time criminal who has been one of only two survivors of a shoot out and boat burning in Los Angles Harbor.
This is complex. As Roger is interrogated by U S Customs Agent Dave Kujan played wonderfully by Chazz Palminteri we learn more about how this boat was caused to be blown up. The story goes back to several different crimes. The twists and turns are so complex and everchanging ( as Roger's story changes under questioning ) that one has to watch the movie and watch it with great attention to detail.
Still even doing that in the end you are left wondering if what you think you saw and deduced is correct. With the story changing and the ending coming with a twist even now after watching it some questions are unanswered. This movie assumes we are smart enough to follow along and mature enough to accept that in life sometimes the only thing you do know is that you do not know.
Spacey who won Best Supporting Actor is brilliant in his role and the rest of the cast beyond Palminteri is strong as well. Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollack, Stephen Baldwin and Benecio Del Toro stand out as the other " suspects" in Roger's group.
Do not try to read, text, or have conversations with this movie. Be prepared to pay attention. You will not be disapointed. Great movie.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Once Upon a Car by Bill Vlasic
I do not read many business books. Biographies, current events and strong fiction are my preferences. Still the American Car companies and the story of their fall and recent resurrection is one that should interest anyone.
CBS Sunday Morning had a piece on this book and an interview with the author. I found this book at our local library and have been very pleased with the book.
The issue of free trade and moreover the battle between non union and union is explored. The fact that all across the South Honda, Nissan and Toyota have placed factories, non union factories, to make their cars on American soil and succeeded proves a few things. One that Americans can produce the same quality cars as foreign workers. Secondly autoworkers making 35 dollars an hour will soon become a thing of the past.
The unions got too greedy. The car companies gave them too much. Everyone was awash in money so everybody was happy. Then the Japanese and Germans started selling cars in America. GM and Ford were cocky, they did not see the ground shifting.
This book takes us from 2005 through the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler and their rebirth.
We meet Ron Gettlefinger the head of the UAW, a fighter for his workers, even as he sees his union shrinking by huge percentages each year. Rick Waggoner, the embattled head of GM, who epitomizes General Motor's in his desire to do right by the investors but his inability to move quickly and think outside of the box.
Kirk Kervorkian, who at various times in the last twenty years has attempted takovers or influence on all three of the American Big Three and his henchman Jerry York makes runs on influencing both GM and Ford in the period of this book.
This books takes you inside the negotiations to save these companies.
The most enlightening part of the book however is not on the failure and rebirth of GM and Chrysler but on the tumbling but rebirth, without government help, of the Ford Motor Company. Bill Ford the chairman and CEO who recruited Alan Mulhally from Boeing is clearly different than are the other figures from the other companies. Having your name on the country might indeed make a difference. Ford in an attempt to strangle the union over health care costs gives up on a collusion plan with Chrysler and General Motors. He just cannot bring himself to do that to his people.
Mulhaly proves to be the star of the book. His leadership skills are incredible. When he first joined Ford he noted all of the Jaguars and Land Rovers. He strove to stop that. The chapters on his leadership are truly enlightening. I have seen him on The David Letterman show and it is clear he is truly excited to go to work each day. This is a man that could be a difference maker for American industry in general.
CBS Sunday Morning had a piece on this book and an interview with the author. I found this book at our local library and have been very pleased with the book.
The issue of free trade and moreover the battle between non union and union is explored. The fact that all across the South Honda, Nissan and Toyota have placed factories, non union factories, to make their cars on American soil and succeeded proves a few things. One that Americans can produce the same quality cars as foreign workers. Secondly autoworkers making 35 dollars an hour will soon become a thing of the past.
The unions got too greedy. The car companies gave them too much. Everyone was awash in money so everybody was happy. Then the Japanese and Germans started selling cars in America. GM and Ford were cocky, they did not see the ground shifting.
This book takes us from 2005 through the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler and their rebirth.
We meet Ron Gettlefinger the head of the UAW, a fighter for his workers, even as he sees his union shrinking by huge percentages each year. Rick Waggoner, the embattled head of GM, who epitomizes General Motor's in his desire to do right by the investors but his inability to move quickly and think outside of the box.
Kirk Kervorkian, who at various times in the last twenty years has attempted takovers or influence on all three of the American Big Three and his henchman Jerry York makes runs on influencing both GM and Ford in the period of this book.
This books takes you inside the negotiations to save these companies.
The most enlightening part of the book however is not on the failure and rebirth of GM and Chrysler but on the tumbling but rebirth, without government help, of the Ford Motor Company. Bill Ford the chairman and CEO who recruited Alan Mulhally from Boeing is clearly different than are the other figures from the other companies. Having your name on the country might indeed make a difference. Ford in an attempt to strangle the union over health care costs gives up on a collusion plan with Chrysler and General Motors. He just cannot bring himself to do that to his people.
Mulhaly proves to be the star of the book. His leadership skills are incredible. When he first joined Ford he noted all of the Jaguars and Land Rovers. He strove to stop that. The chapters on his leadership are truly enlightening. I have seen him on The David Letterman show and it is clear he is truly excited to go to work each day. This is a man that could be a difference maker for American industry in general.
The Death of Whitney Houston
With the tragic news of the death of Whitney Houston we are faced again with the too early loss of an amazingly talented individual. The sad story is made even sadder that while it is always a shock when someone like this dies prematurely in many cases, and this is one of them, we cannot say we are truly shocked. When Stevie Ray Vaughn or members of Lynyrd Skynyrd died in a plane crash that is a surprise and shocking. The amount of famous entertainers that have died in plane crashes seems exponentially large, they do travel more than us, often on small planes, often on schedules that do not allow for weather delays.
Still a loss like Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain and of course the legendary trio of Morrison, Hendrix and Joplin can never truly to those who know them be a surprise. Sadly we wonder why these incredible performers, with all of this incredible talent fall into this drugs and alcohol whirlwind. What is it about success that makes one need to retreat into a chemical shell.
Of course they are not alone. The amount of alcohol consumed in America is an amount that is insane. When I was in college we would drink every weekend, no one ever stopped to wonder why. The fact is like most things in this country that are bad for us but are quasi supported by the government alcohol is a hugely profitable business.
I am not in favor of banning it. I am in fact in support of legalization of marijuana. I do think however that we as a culture support alcohol and glamorize it. I am not an expert but of course having ex athlete endorse a product, having ads showing groups of friends celebrating Super Bowl events....this all leads to a logical conclusion that alcohol is part of any celebration. I am not against alcohol, I am against our hypocritical arguments against drinking and our cultural endorsement of it. Alcohol advertisements should be treated just like cigarettes. This is only sensible.
Inevitably it will come out that Houston died of some sort of drug issue. Artistic people burn brighter and faster and often burn out earlier. Demons drive people to great things but often drive them over a cliff. We have all heard the quite about people living lives of quiet desperation. Often those in the public eye are living lives of very public desperation.
Life is hard no matter who you are. We all need help and we all need friends. What we must wonder is sometimes the more famous we get do we lose touch with people who will tell us what we need to hear, not what we want.
Still a loss like Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain and of course the legendary trio of Morrison, Hendrix and Joplin can never truly to those who know them be a surprise. Sadly we wonder why these incredible performers, with all of this incredible talent fall into this drugs and alcohol whirlwind. What is it about success that makes one need to retreat into a chemical shell.
Of course they are not alone. The amount of alcohol consumed in America is an amount that is insane. When I was in college we would drink every weekend, no one ever stopped to wonder why. The fact is like most things in this country that are bad for us but are quasi supported by the government alcohol is a hugely profitable business.
I am not in favor of banning it. I am in fact in support of legalization of marijuana. I do think however that we as a culture support alcohol and glamorize it. I am not an expert but of course having ex athlete endorse a product, having ads showing groups of friends celebrating Super Bowl events....this all leads to a logical conclusion that alcohol is part of any celebration. I am not against alcohol, I am against our hypocritical arguments against drinking and our cultural endorsement of it. Alcohol advertisements should be treated just like cigarettes. This is only sensible.
Inevitably it will come out that Houston died of some sort of drug issue. Artistic people burn brighter and faster and often burn out earlier. Demons drive people to great things but often drive them over a cliff. We have all heard the quite about people living lives of quiet desperation. Often those in the public eye are living lives of very public desperation.
Life is hard no matter who you are. We all need help and we all need friends. What we must wonder is sometimes the more famous we get do we lose touch with people who will tell us what we need to hear, not what we want.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A Different Kind of Truth by Van Halen
Van Halen is one of those landmark bands. Divided into the David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar era's. With a bit of a soap opera slant over the last twenty years with Eddie's divorce, Eddie losing his teeth, Eddie's alcoholism, the infamous Gary Cherrone period, the Sammy fueds, firing Micheal Anthony to place Wolfgang in the band, Van Halen has been known for about anything but music.
While it is true that the six albums Van Halen released through 1984 did not have a great deal of range it is also true that these albums had some fantastic songs, even if they all could have appeared on one longplay album and saved us all much time.
Still when reviewung my high school years the songs of Van Halen are front and center. Deservedly so.
The release of A Diffent Kind of Truth was a bit of a surprise. Rumors have been the diet of the Van Halen crowd for years so when this album appeared just a month after the announcemtn of it we all felt a bit surprised.
After listening to the album however we have a differnt feeling. It is not deja vu. It is boredom. Now I think a fair question to ask is does the music miss the mark by that much or do I. I am not a teenager anymore. A 45 year old man cannot review music in the same way as a teenager can. I find the same thing with new Jayhawks, and new Bruce that I do with new Van Halen. Music cannot have the same impact when your 45 as does music that you have heard for the last thirty years and has become part of your DNA.
This album is just not that good. I wish it was. What I do not know is could anything grab me like Van Halen I and II. The first single Tattoo is solid. When we are told it contains remenants of riffs from the seventies we are not surprised. On the song Big River I hear some shredding from Eddie that certainly sounds familiar. Maybe it is hearing David Lee make references to Facebook, it just does not click. All I know is if I never hear this album or any songs on it again in my life I will not care. I will however be listening to And The Cradle Will Rock when I am sixty however.
While it is true that the six albums Van Halen released through 1984 did not have a great deal of range it is also true that these albums had some fantastic songs, even if they all could have appeared on one longplay album and saved us all much time.
Still when reviewung my high school years the songs of Van Halen are front and center. Deservedly so.
The release of A Diffent Kind of Truth was a bit of a surprise. Rumors have been the diet of the Van Halen crowd for years so when this album appeared just a month after the announcemtn of it we all felt a bit surprised.
After listening to the album however we have a differnt feeling. It is not deja vu. It is boredom. Now I think a fair question to ask is does the music miss the mark by that much or do I. I am not a teenager anymore. A 45 year old man cannot review music in the same way as a teenager can. I find the same thing with new Jayhawks, and new Bruce that I do with new Van Halen. Music cannot have the same impact when your 45 as does music that you have heard for the last thirty years and has become part of your DNA.
This album is just not that good. I wish it was. What I do not know is could anything grab me like Van Halen I and II. The first single Tattoo is solid. When we are told it contains remenants of riffs from the seventies we are not surprised. On the song Big River I hear some shredding from Eddie that certainly sounds familiar. Maybe it is hearing David Lee make references to Facebook, it just does not click. All I know is if I never hear this album or any songs on it again in my life I will not care. I will however be listening to And The Cradle Will Rock when I am sixty however.
The Adjustment Bureau
This 2011 movie starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt was wonderful. The movie got decent reviews but was certainly not a blockbuster in theatrical release. Still for me it was a great concept, filmed well, with likable actors and some very neat ideas.
Matt Damon, my wife said how could you watch a movie starring Matt Damon without me, plays David Norris. David has just lost his run for the New York Senate and is about to give his concession speech when he has a chance meeting with Elise Sellas a pretty ballerina. They share an instant chemistry. Three months later we see Harry Richardson a man dressed in suit, tie and fedora get an assignment to make sure " he spills coffee on his shirt." Harry waits and then falls asleep and wakes up realizing he has failed. We soon find out he was David Harris and with Richardson falling asleep David gets on a bus that also has on it Elise. They were not supposed to meet again.
This brings David into contact again with Richardson, played by Mad Men's John Slattery who is none to happy with this mistake by Harry. David has to be set straight, they take the phone number from him and advise him not tell anyone. David takes the same bus for three years hoping to run into Elise again, and when he does the adventure really begins.
Outside of the story the movie has some really neat features. The Adjustment Bureau agents go through any door and end up in a different location. When asked by Harris why the adjustment bureau controls people's path the he is told by one of the head agents that when people have been given free reign that bad things have happened. He goes onto explain that the Adjustment Bureau guided folks up to the Roman Empire and then decided to let humans rule themselves without the plan. The result was The Dark Ages. The Bureau takes over and we have the Renaissance and The Industrial Revolution. In 1910 again are humans are allowed total freedom and as he states within 50 years we have had two World Wars and The Cuban Missile Crisis almost destroyed the planet.
It is an interesting take on the whole God knows everything that is going to happen before it even does.
This movie was much better than I expected it to be. It was very good. This movie gets a very high rating from me.
Matt Damon, my wife said how could you watch a movie starring Matt Damon without me, plays David Norris. David has just lost his run for the New York Senate and is about to give his concession speech when he has a chance meeting with Elise Sellas a pretty ballerina. They share an instant chemistry. Three months later we see Harry Richardson a man dressed in suit, tie and fedora get an assignment to make sure " he spills coffee on his shirt." Harry waits and then falls asleep and wakes up realizing he has failed. We soon find out he was David Harris and with Richardson falling asleep David gets on a bus that also has on it Elise. They were not supposed to meet again.
This brings David into contact again with Richardson, played by Mad Men's John Slattery who is none to happy with this mistake by Harry. David has to be set straight, they take the phone number from him and advise him not tell anyone. David takes the same bus for three years hoping to run into Elise again, and when he does the adventure really begins.
Outside of the story the movie has some really neat features. The Adjustment Bureau agents go through any door and end up in a different location. When asked by Harris why the adjustment bureau controls people's path the he is told by one of the head agents that when people have been given free reign that bad things have happened. He goes onto explain that the Adjustment Bureau guided folks up to the Roman Empire and then decided to let humans rule themselves without the plan. The result was The Dark Ages. The Bureau takes over and we have the Renaissance and The Industrial Revolution. In 1910 again are humans are allowed total freedom and as he states within 50 years we have had two World Wars and The Cuban Missile Crisis almost destroyed the planet.
It is an interesting take on the whole God knows everything that is going to happen before it even does.
This movie was much better than I expected it to be. It was very good. This movie gets a very high rating from me.
December, 1941 by Craig Shirley
This recently released book was one that I was looking forward to reading. The book promised to go into detail of the 31 days of December, 1941 telling us not only the political but also how the Pearl Harbor attack and subsequent war footing affected each and every American and their daily lives.
For me hearing how individuals reacted, what they bought, read and felt is like a vision into the lives of my parents. My parents had been married two years when World War II broke out, my Dad was declared 4f due to his flat feet but worked at BIW during the war in shipbuilding. Any looking glass into their lives at a time of their lives I never witnessed or heard much about is very interesting to me.
Shirley's book does a good job. We see how blackouts took hold, how newspapers were instantly censored. We see about the pending changes to American industry. Rubber was needed, so new new tires. New Cars were verboten as businesses from auto makers to vaccum makers were repurposed for military production.
Politics is a big part. We see much of Roosevelt and his cabinet. We see how Hawaii is devastated. This is a very useful book though Shirley's writing is not very captivating..or at least as captivating as I felt it could have been with this subject matter.
This book has a significant fault however. For whatever reason Shirley, in a book that purports to tell how all Americans came together and worked toward a common goal, a time when division was next to non existent, chooses at times to let his personal politics have a sharply divisive tone. It does not permeate the whole book so thankfully there is much good in this book. Out of the blue however will be mean spirited comments and asides all directed toward those of the Democratic persuasion. Shirley, which I would have known had I checked his previous writings , is a clear Conservative.
His pithy comments on Gloria Vanderbilt seem small and slightly obsessive as is his negativity to Fiorello Laguardia who in this time period was head of Roosevelt's office OCD office. Perhaps ten or twelve times in the book I came across an unusually harsh or opiniated paragraph. Inserted almost alien like into an otherwise interesting book. Still with this many references of the sort it is clear it is a path chosen.
Strange, disheartening and ultimately causing this book to be much less than it would be otherwise.
Shirley is off my list of authors to read or trust.
For me hearing how individuals reacted, what they bought, read and felt is like a vision into the lives of my parents. My parents had been married two years when World War II broke out, my Dad was declared 4f due to his flat feet but worked at BIW during the war in shipbuilding. Any looking glass into their lives at a time of their lives I never witnessed or heard much about is very interesting to me.
Shirley's book does a good job. We see how blackouts took hold, how newspapers were instantly censored. We see about the pending changes to American industry. Rubber was needed, so new new tires. New Cars were verboten as businesses from auto makers to vaccum makers were repurposed for military production.
Politics is a big part. We see much of Roosevelt and his cabinet. We see how Hawaii is devastated. This is a very useful book though Shirley's writing is not very captivating..or at least as captivating as I felt it could have been with this subject matter.
This book has a significant fault however. For whatever reason Shirley, in a book that purports to tell how all Americans came together and worked toward a common goal, a time when division was next to non existent, chooses at times to let his personal politics have a sharply divisive tone. It does not permeate the whole book so thankfully there is much good in this book. Out of the blue however will be mean spirited comments and asides all directed toward those of the Democratic persuasion. Shirley, which I would have known had I checked his previous writings , is a clear Conservative.
His pithy comments on Gloria Vanderbilt seem small and slightly obsessive as is his negativity to Fiorello Laguardia who in this time period was head of Roosevelt's office OCD office. Perhaps ten or twelve times in the book I came across an unusually harsh or opiniated paragraph. Inserted almost alien like into an otherwise interesting book. Still with this many references of the sort it is clear it is a path chosen.
Strange, disheartening and ultimately causing this book to be much less than it would be otherwise.
Shirley is off my list of authors to read or trust.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Cyrus
This was a movie that got quite a bit of attention back in 2010 from the critics. It did not get much love from the audiences however. Still it would seem that a movie like this is not made with the expecttion to be a blockbuster but a niche film. With that purpose it does succeed.
John C Reilly who has more expression is his face that most any group of actors plays John a lonely divorced man. When his ex wife Jamie played by Catherine Keener tells him that after seven years of divorce she is going to remarry John is devastated. Jamie invites him to a party and he agrees to come. After having little success in meeting new people he retires to the bushes to pee and bumps into Molly (Marissa Tomei.) An awkward way to meet but they chat and talk, hit it off and she goes home with him.
The next might they visit again and for the second time Molly leaves and does not spend the night. John curious follows her home and eventually in snooping around her house comes face to face with her twenty one year old son named Cyrus.
It soon becomes apparent that Cyrus is a bit strange. He and his Mom are exceptionally close, in a way that is a bit awkward to John. Still he and Molly both feel strongly for each other and their relationship blossoms.
Cryus is not happy and begins to manipulate his Mom to try to pull her away from Cyrus. Eventually he moves out, wanting to be begged to stay. His Mom does not and John moves in. One night they come home and begin to be romantic and then realize that Cyrus is sitting alone in the dark. Cyrus wants to move home and he soon starts to be a burden on the relationship.
Eventually John lets him know that he knows what game Cyrus is up to. They go to John's ex's wedding, as they are still good friends, and Cyrus has too much to drink. He confront John and attacks him. As John defneds himself they tumble too the ground and with her mothering nature activated Molly defends Cyrus.
From there Molly must decide what has been going on with Cyrus and how to move forward. Cyrus is played by Jonah Hill in a very strong performance.
John C Reilly who has more expression is his face that most any group of actors plays John a lonely divorced man. When his ex wife Jamie played by Catherine Keener tells him that after seven years of divorce she is going to remarry John is devastated. Jamie invites him to a party and he agrees to come. After having little success in meeting new people he retires to the bushes to pee and bumps into Molly (Marissa Tomei.) An awkward way to meet but they chat and talk, hit it off and she goes home with him.
The next might they visit again and for the second time Molly leaves and does not spend the night. John curious follows her home and eventually in snooping around her house comes face to face with her twenty one year old son named Cyrus.
It soon becomes apparent that Cyrus is a bit strange. He and his Mom are exceptionally close, in a way that is a bit awkward to John. Still he and Molly both feel strongly for each other and their relationship blossoms.
Cryus is not happy and begins to manipulate his Mom to try to pull her away from Cyrus. Eventually he moves out, wanting to be begged to stay. His Mom does not and John moves in. One night they come home and begin to be romantic and then realize that Cyrus is sitting alone in the dark. Cyrus wants to move home and he soon starts to be a burden on the relationship.
Eventually John lets him know that he knows what game Cyrus is up to. They go to John's ex's wedding, as they are still good friends, and Cyrus has too much to drink. He confront John and attacks him. As John defneds himself they tumble too the ground and with her mothering nature activated Molly defends Cyrus.
From there Molly must decide what has been going on with Cyrus and how to move forward. Cyrus is played by Jonah Hill in a very strong performance.
Too Big to Fail
Based on the book of the same name written by Andrew Ross Sorkin this HBO movie earned 11 Emmy nominations. HBO might be making the best television today, they however might also be making the best movies and documentaries. This movie would be an example of it.
The movie dramatizes the events in the fall of 2008 that saw the fall of Lehman brothers, the merging of Bear Stearns, and the controversial bailout of AIG. With a top notch cast, an amazing cast actually featuring William Hurt as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen, Paul Giamatti as Ben Bernakke, Ed Asner as Warren Buffet and James Woods as AIG CEO Fuld. The rest of the large cast is very impressive.
The story is riveting and the movie is actually educational. At one time when explaining to a press secretary how to explain how AUG got too big and then failed we as viewers have an explanation that actually is the best I have seen to explain the collapse.
When you see a show with acting as strong as this you see how mediocre much of television is. This was a great movie.
The movie dramatizes the events in the fall of 2008 that saw the fall of Lehman brothers, the merging of Bear Stearns, and the controversial bailout of AIG. With a top notch cast, an amazing cast actually featuring William Hurt as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen, Paul Giamatti as Ben Bernakke, Ed Asner as Warren Buffet and James Woods as AIG CEO Fuld. The rest of the large cast is very impressive.
The story is riveting and the movie is actually educational. At one time when explaining to a press secretary how to explain how AUG got too big and then failed we as viewers have an explanation that actually is the best I have seen to explain the collapse.
When you see a show with acting as strong as this you see how mediocre much of television is. This was a great movie.
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Ellen Degeneres Show
Over the last few years occasionally I have seen clips of this show, highlights if you will, but never seen that many episodes. My wife's Mother loves the show and tapes it. Often she will save a clip for us to see. The little girls singing the Nicki Minaj song have been big clip hits over the last few months.
Since replacing Oprah in the late afternoon time slot in our market we have seen more of the show here and there. I have to say this, there has never been a time that I looked up and watched a segment or a few minutes alone that I have not gained something from it, if only a smile.
Ellen might be the single most likable person in Entertainment. She is kind, funny and generous. It does not appear to be anything less than genuine. I always got in trouble with the women in my life when I criticized Oprah. I was never an Oprah fan, I did not get the same vibe from her.
To me Oprah was doing good things so that she would help others yes but I felt that it was more about look at me what I am doing. With Ellen I get the sense that her efforts are more about the people she helps than what she gets out of providing the help.
I could be wrong. It is easy for a person to look good giving away things to people. Ellen's interviews and sense of fun are strong as well. Today, for example, I watched her interview Jim Parsons and then do what could be called a fun activity.
She is just fun and genuine. I will be the first to admit it I love Ellen. I think she is great.
Since replacing Oprah in the late afternoon time slot in our market we have seen more of the show here and there. I have to say this, there has never been a time that I looked up and watched a segment or a few minutes alone that I have not gained something from it, if only a smile.
Ellen might be the single most likable person in Entertainment. She is kind, funny and generous. It does not appear to be anything less than genuine. I always got in trouble with the women in my life when I criticized Oprah. I was never an Oprah fan, I did not get the same vibe from her.
To me Oprah was doing good things so that she would help others yes but I felt that it was more about look at me what I am doing. With Ellen I get the sense that her efforts are more about the people she helps than what she gets out of providing the help.
I could be wrong. It is easy for a person to look good giving away things to people. Ellen's interviews and sense of fun are strong as well. Today, for example, I watched her interview Jim Parsons and then do what could be called a fun activity.
She is just fun and genuine. I will be the first to admit it I love Ellen. I think she is great.
Downton Abbey Season II
We have taped the first five episodes of Downtun Abbey and will continue to do so. This weekend my wife and I started watching. We loved season 1.
This is one of those shows that I just love. It is well acted, it is grown up, it is extremely well acted and just a look at the exterior shots of the castle make me wonder what I would do with all that room. We live in a small house you see.
Everyone who knows me knows that I was born about a century too late and this show and my affection for it is a case in point. My favorite character, and there are many, is the Head Butler Carson. He is stodgy, proper and importantly loyal character. We have only got ourselves about ninety minutes into the second season but I do not think that we will see a better line than Carson when told to go easier, that with a war on they cannot do the same as before, Carson's response is that " by not reducing our standards we shall show those Germans they will not succeed." I may not have the quote exactly right but Carson being so dutiful in keeping the house ship shape, to not letting things slip as being part of the war effort makes me love the character.
This is a great show. Still. Perhaps the best thing on television.
This is one of those shows that I just love. It is well acted, it is grown up, it is extremely well acted and just a look at the exterior shots of the castle make me wonder what I would do with all that room. We live in a small house you see.
Everyone who knows me knows that I was born about a century too late and this show and my affection for it is a case in point. My favorite character, and there are many, is the Head Butler Carson. He is stodgy, proper and importantly loyal character. We have only got ourselves about ninety minutes into the second season but I do not think that we will see a better line than Carson when told to go easier, that with a war on they cannot do the same as before, Carson's response is that " by not reducing our standards we shall show those Germans they will not succeed." I may not have the quote exactly right but Carson being so dutiful in keeping the house ship shape, to not letting things slip as being part of the war effort makes me love the character.
This is a great show. Still. Perhaps the best thing on television.
Super Bowl
The yearly event of the Super Bowl occured yesterday. It has become such a cultural touchstone that when writing about it one must talk about not only the game but all that surrounds it.
Here are some of my thoughts on the game and the event in itself.
The pregame is too long. I watched none of it. I just think its silly to spend a whole afternoon watching pregame.
I saw Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert perform America the Beautiful. They are a cute couple. Good singers. I think she is better than he. Kelly Clarkson soon followed with The National Anthem. Not an easy song to sing and she did well. She is a cute girl, not model like and thus to me seems like she might be a real person. I will never know. Good voice though.
The first half of the game was strange. The Giants had chances to score more points than they did. They dominated the first quarter. Tom Brady got an intentional grounding call and gave the Giants a safety to start the game. Strange beginning. Still Brady got his groove on and at the end of the first half after a late touchdown by the Pats they were up 10 to 9. The Giants had to be feeling like they had let it slip away.
The commercials were good this year. Many of them were better than I had seen in the last few years.
The winning commercials for me this year were first and foremost the Chevy Silverado Apocalypse Ad. This won on all levels. Ford's complaints about the dependability claims made in the ad are silly. The ad was one of the best I have ever seen.
For me in my lust for the new Camaro the add with the man thinking his parents had bought him a Camaro and not a mini fridge for Graduation was strong as well.
Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad was strong for me. It felt authentic although I have heard some complaints about it just being a redo of last years effort.
I also thought the Toyota reinvent ad was cute. I would like some of those new inventions.
The Coke Polar Bear ads were cute and the Seinfeld Acura ad with Jay Leno playing the villian was well thought out.
Each year it must be hard to put together a halftime show that meets all the requirements. Madonna was not on my list of people who should get the slot but in fairness to her she did a very good job.
The production was over the top which is to be expected. She sang well though I do wonder how much were backing tracks and how much she was actually singing. She made a little slip in step, she is in her fifties after all. She had good guests including C Lo Green who was very strong. I guess some singer put up her middle finger but I did not notice it. Why they would do that is beyond me. Inevitably there are some teenagers who now think she is cool.
The second half of the game was strong. The Pats came out and scored on the first drive and led by 8. It seemed like perhaps with Brady hot they would put it away. This is not what happened. The Giants methodically scored two field goals to bring them within two. In the interim the Pats could not move the ball.
Perhaps the most noticable part of the game is how fast the game went. Lots of completed passes, not many deep routes, frequent running plays and few penalties and the game flew.
The Giants drove at the end of the game and faced with the Giants scoring and leaving them very little time the Pats let them score. They did have a legitmate chance to drive. With Tom Brady anything is possible but it just was not to be . The Giants were my pick to win however I expected it to be higher scoring.
I thought the Pats defense would be the reason they lost but that was not the case. They only gave up 21 points. Simply put Brady and company did not score enough points. It is true that Rob Gronkowski might, if healthy, made a difference, but late in the season most all teams have someone missing.
The postgame was strong and for me a revalation came when I realized that Eli Manning now has two Super Bowl victories while his much heralded older brother Peyton has just one. Eli is Elite, of that there is no doubt anymore.
Here are some of my thoughts on the game and the event in itself.
The pregame is too long. I watched none of it. I just think its silly to spend a whole afternoon watching pregame.
I saw Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert perform America the Beautiful. They are a cute couple. Good singers. I think she is better than he. Kelly Clarkson soon followed with The National Anthem. Not an easy song to sing and she did well. She is a cute girl, not model like and thus to me seems like she might be a real person. I will never know. Good voice though.
The first half of the game was strange. The Giants had chances to score more points than they did. They dominated the first quarter. Tom Brady got an intentional grounding call and gave the Giants a safety to start the game. Strange beginning. Still Brady got his groove on and at the end of the first half after a late touchdown by the Pats they were up 10 to 9. The Giants had to be feeling like they had let it slip away.
The commercials were good this year. Many of them were better than I had seen in the last few years.
The winning commercials for me this year were first and foremost the Chevy Silverado Apocalypse Ad. This won on all levels. Ford's complaints about the dependability claims made in the ad are silly. The ad was one of the best I have ever seen.
For me in my lust for the new Camaro the add with the man thinking his parents had bought him a Camaro and not a mini fridge for Graduation was strong as well.
Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad was strong for me. It felt authentic although I have heard some complaints about it just being a redo of last years effort.
I also thought the Toyota reinvent ad was cute. I would like some of those new inventions.
The Coke Polar Bear ads were cute and the Seinfeld Acura ad with Jay Leno playing the villian was well thought out.
Each year it must be hard to put together a halftime show that meets all the requirements. Madonna was not on my list of people who should get the slot but in fairness to her she did a very good job.
The production was over the top which is to be expected. She sang well though I do wonder how much were backing tracks and how much she was actually singing. She made a little slip in step, she is in her fifties after all. She had good guests including C Lo Green who was very strong. I guess some singer put up her middle finger but I did not notice it. Why they would do that is beyond me. Inevitably there are some teenagers who now think she is cool.
The second half of the game was strong. The Pats came out and scored on the first drive and led by 8. It seemed like perhaps with Brady hot they would put it away. This is not what happened. The Giants methodically scored two field goals to bring them within two. In the interim the Pats could not move the ball.
Perhaps the most noticable part of the game is how fast the game went. Lots of completed passes, not many deep routes, frequent running plays and few penalties and the game flew.
The Giants drove at the end of the game and faced with the Giants scoring and leaving them very little time the Pats let them score. They did have a legitmate chance to drive. With Tom Brady anything is possible but it just was not to be . The Giants were my pick to win however I expected it to be higher scoring.
I thought the Pats defense would be the reason they lost but that was not the case. They only gave up 21 points. Simply put Brady and company did not score enough points. It is true that Rob Gronkowski might, if healthy, made a difference, but late in the season most all teams have someone missing.
The postgame was strong and for me a revalation came when I realized that Eli Manning now has two Super Bowl victories while his much heralded older brother Peyton has just one. Eli is Elite, of that there is no doubt anymore.
1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory by Davd Pietrusza
I have long considered Harry Truman as one of, if not my favorite, President. This book which centers on the famed election of 1948 is very interesting. For me though I learned some things, saw Harry Truman from a different point of view.
Each author has his own viewpoint, his own set of glasses he sees his subject through. For me it becomes apparent that Pietrusza is not fan of Harry Truman. It would seem that he feels Truman lowbrow in his tastes and in over his head in talent. More importantly however, he makes a case that backs his opinion abut more forcefully than I have seen in the past.
I believe Truman was a very good President. Certainly my knowledge of the fact that unlike today's politicians he made decisions based on a perception of what is right versus what was politically expedient helps ones opinion of him.
Still he was politically expedient in some cases. His decisions on Civil Rights were part of a political calculation, still his opinions on race did change as a result of the treatment of blacks in returning from the war. Even then his opinions on Jews and Negores were never completely modernized. The difference is that although not totally comfortable and with some backwards opinions he was the President that integreated the armed services and that overrode his Secretary of State George Marshall to recognize Israel.
Truman was a product of the Pendergast machine, some never forgave him for that. Perhaps worse than that he was not FDR, the man he followed. Truman did resort to demagogary in his 1948 campaign. It was a hard campaign.
The author shows us not just Truman however but Henry Wallace the former Vice President, manipulated into running and used by the Communists, Strom Thurmond whose Dixecrats rebelling against Civil Rights hoped to throw the election into the House, and of course Tom Dewey who just thought if he hibernated for six months he would wake up and be President.
An interesting book but one in which it from my viewpoint the author's prejuidices are clear. That is ok, just different. Dewey was a strong candidate, he just did not run a good campaign. What that says about our political system one can wonder about.
Each author has his own viewpoint, his own set of glasses he sees his subject through. For me it becomes apparent that Pietrusza is not fan of Harry Truman. It would seem that he feels Truman lowbrow in his tastes and in over his head in talent. More importantly however, he makes a case that backs his opinion abut more forcefully than I have seen in the past.
I believe Truman was a very good President. Certainly my knowledge of the fact that unlike today's politicians he made decisions based on a perception of what is right versus what was politically expedient helps ones opinion of him.
Still he was politically expedient in some cases. His decisions on Civil Rights were part of a political calculation, still his opinions on race did change as a result of the treatment of blacks in returning from the war. Even then his opinions on Jews and Negores were never completely modernized. The difference is that although not totally comfortable and with some backwards opinions he was the President that integreated the armed services and that overrode his Secretary of State George Marshall to recognize Israel.
Truman was a product of the Pendergast machine, some never forgave him for that. Perhaps worse than that he was not FDR, the man he followed. Truman did resort to demagogary in his 1948 campaign. It was a hard campaign.
The author shows us not just Truman however but Henry Wallace the former Vice President, manipulated into running and used by the Communists, Strom Thurmond whose Dixecrats rebelling against Civil Rights hoped to throw the election into the House, and of course Tom Dewey who just thought if he hibernated for six months he would wake up and be President.
An interesting book but one in which it from my viewpoint the author's prejuidices are clear. That is ok, just different. Dewey was a strong candidate, he just did not run a good campaign. What that says about our political system one can wonder about.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
2001 : A Space Odyssey
This Stanley Kubrick movie written in tandem with Arthur C Clarke was a cultural milestone. The highest grossing movie of 1968 the movie was a huge success and continues to be considered as one of the most momentous films ever released.
For me, it was a miss. Maybe I am not deep enough, maybe not knowing what to expect and getting less than anticpated, whatever it was it just was weird.
Kubrick tried to accomplish much without dialogue. The first scene entitled The Dawn of Man had no dialogue as it centered on apes. The last scene as well featured no dialogue as well.
The central question of the movie are the monoliths. They appear in pretime, our found on the moon, in space outside Jupiter and then at the end of our astronaut's bed. They are not explained.
Nothing is explained. Hal was interesting. The computer that has gone crazy and the references to Hal are all through are cultural. Clearly the movie has been cultarlly relevant.
However for me it was a serious disappointment. I just did not get it.
For me, it was a miss. Maybe I am not deep enough, maybe not knowing what to expect and getting less than anticpated, whatever it was it just was weird.
Kubrick tried to accomplish much without dialogue. The first scene entitled The Dawn of Man had no dialogue as it centered on apes. The last scene as well featured no dialogue as well.
The central question of the movie are the monoliths. They appear in pretime, our found on the moon, in space outside Jupiter and then at the end of our astronaut's bed. They are not explained.
Nothing is explained. Hal was interesting. The computer that has gone crazy and the references to Hal are all through are cultural. Clearly the movie has been cultarlly relevant.
However for me it was a serious disappointment. I just did not get it.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Luck
Hbo's new series debuted last weekend. To gain interest they also have made the second episode available right away on demand.
After watching the first two episodes one thing I know is that horse racing is much more complicated than I knew.
With two episodes in the books we do not know much about the show. We do know that the show has an incredibly strong cast and a story that is not going to be easy to follow.
I plan to watch this series but hope that I can figure out some of the relationships. Each of the characters have a back story which we are learning slowly. In some cases we do not know yet.
The acting in this show is first rate. The cast is as strong as you will find. Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Jason Gedrick and Richard Kind are very strong. Farina and Kind especially so. The heart of the show however is Dustin Hoffman as Ace Bernstein and Nick Nolte as Walter Smith. Nolte has become a fixture of jokes on the late night shows but make no mistake...Nolte can act and this part looks like it fits him like a second skin.
This with patience should prove to be an excellent show.
After watching the first two episodes one thing I know is that horse racing is much more complicated than I knew.
With two episodes in the books we do not know much about the show. We do know that the show has an incredibly strong cast and a story that is not going to be easy to follow.
I plan to watch this series but hope that I can figure out some of the relationships. Each of the characters have a back story which we are learning slowly. In some cases we do not know yet.
The acting in this show is first rate. The cast is as strong as you will find. Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Jason Gedrick and Richard Kind are very strong. Farina and Kind especially so. The heart of the show however is Dustin Hoffman as Ace Bernstein and Nick Nolte as Walter Smith. Nolte has become a fixture of jokes on the late night shows but make no mistake...Nolte can act and this part looks like it fits him like a second skin.
This with patience should prove to be an excellent show.
Hall Pass
I watched this movie recently. I remember when the movie was in the theaters the adds were very prevalent. The movie at the box office would have to be called a disapointment.
As a movie on HBO however the movie works. It had some quite funny moments. In the story Rick ( played by the always likable Owen Wilson ) and Fred ( Jason Sudeikis ) play best friends who are married and like most men very admiring of women. Their wives played by Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer, tired of them always looking at other women give them a Hall Pass to spend a week as if they are not married.
What seems like a great idea to the men teaches them quite rapidly that their memories of being single are idealized and that they are not ready to be single. A crude piece of humor occurs when the boys are playing golf and later when Fred does pick up a woman and brings her home and she has a bathroom incident.
The story was a bit sad to me when while the boys were learning that they did not want to cheat the women were flirting and in the case of Freds wife having an affair. Still the Hall Pass worked for both groups.
The movie had its moments of funny. Owen Wilson is always likable and his walking away from the coffee shop girl he had been lusting over when presented with an opportunity was nice. His dedication expressed to his wife was sweet.
Jason Sudeikis is funny and Christina Applegate is very pretty. A very attractive women, the idea a husband would want to cheat is silly. Still we all know someone who is such a hound they always cheat. i have a friend like that.
An ok movie with a few funny parts. Not a strong reccomendation.
As a movie on HBO however the movie works. It had some quite funny moments. In the story Rick ( played by the always likable Owen Wilson ) and Fred ( Jason Sudeikis ) play best friends who are married and like most men very admiring of women. Their wives played by Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer, tired of them always looking at other women give them a Hall Pass to spend a week as if they are not married.
What seems like a great idea to the men teaches them quite rapidly that their memories of being single are idealized and that they are not ready to be single. A crude piece of humor occurs when the boys are playing golf and later when Fred does pick up a woman and brings her home and she has a bathroom incident.
The story was a bit sad to me when while the boys were learning that they did not want to cheat the women were flirting and in the case of Freds wife having an affair. Still the Hall Pass worked for both groups.
The movie had its moments of funny. Owen Wilson is always likable and his walking away from the coffee shop girl he had been lusting over when presented with an opportunity was nice. His dedication expressed to his wife was sweet.
Jason Sudeikis is funny and Christina Applegate is very pretty. A very attractive women, the idea a husband would want to cheat is silly. Still we all know someone who is such a hound they always cheat. i have a friend like that.
An ok movie with a few funny parts. Not a strong reccomendation.
Cinema Verite
Cinema Verite was an HBO dramatization of the making of the groundbreaking PBS documentary An American Family. Called the first reality show the series starred the Loud Family. Pat Loud is the main character. She and her husband have five children the oldest of which is Lance. As the series progressed the couple moved toward a divorce as Pat grew frustrated with her husbands being away on business and the evidence that he was not behaving when he was away.
In the HBO dramatization the cast is stellar. Pat and Tim Loud are played by Diane Lane and Tim Robbins. Diane Lane continues to show what a great actress she is. James Gandolfini plays Craig Gilbert the director and producer, the man whose idea the series was. It was interesting to see him sell the idea to Pat Loud, advising her that documentaries had been done on apes in the wild and he felt that a true documentary on the life of an American family was due.
Did Craig Gilbert and Pat Loud have an affair. An assumption could be made, the HBO version leaves one wondering but does show them going up to Craig's hotel room. in the series the couple's obviously gay son is shown as he is. He does not attempt to hide it and neither do the cameras. In the early 1970's this was a big risk.
As the movie ends we learn that Lance, who clearly had a strained relationship with his father, as a dieing wish in 2001 wished his parents to get back together. We are told at the end of the movie that they are still living together to this day.
A good movie. Great acting but the story was told in what I would call a quiet way. Still worth watching.
In the HBO dramatization the cast is stellar. Pat and Tim Loud are played by Diane Lane and Tim Robbins. Diane Lane continues to show what a great actress she is. James Gandolfini plays Craig Gilbert the director and producer, the man whose idea the series was. It was interesting to see him sell the idea to Pat Loud, advising her that documentaries had been done on apes in the wild and he felt that a true documentary on the life of an American family was due.
Did Craig Gilbert and Pat Loud have an affair. An assumption could be made, the HBO version leaves one wondering but does show them going up to Craig's hotel room. in the series the couple's obviously gay son is shown as he is. He does not attempt to hide it and neither do the cameras. In the early 1970's this was a big risk.
As the movie ends we learn that Lance, who clearly had a strained relationship with his father, as a dieing wish in 2001 wished his parents to get back together. We are told at the end of the movie that they are still living together to this day.
A good movie. Great acting but the story was told in what I would call a quiet way. Still worth watching.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
Zane Grey, Louis Lamour these re two of the most proflific and well known authors of the Western. I have read some Westerns such as Lonesome Dove and more recently Cormac McCarthy and foind them to be excellent books.
So I downloaded a Zane Grey book free and have made an attempt. I kept telling myself I liked it, the story made up for the clunky writing. Tonight about one third of the way through I had to make the decision if finding out what happens to Vetters and Lassiter in their battle to help Jane keep her property and not be forced to marry Tull the Mormom leader was more important than the time I was spending reading this book.
Tonight after plowing through about five pages describing the mountains and the sage I decided that it just was not worth it.
I am sure many people like these books. For me they just do not offer much.
Poor. Very poor.
So I downloaded a Zane Grey book free and have made an attempt. I kept telling myself I liked it, the story made up for the clunky writing. Tonight about one third of the way through I had to make the decision if finding out what happens to Vetters and Lassiter in their battle to help Jane keep her property and not be forced to marry Tull the Mormom leader was more important than the time I was spending reading this book.
Tonight after plowing through about five pages describing the mountains and the sage I decided that it just was not worth it.
I am sure many people like these books. For me they just do not offer much.
Poor. Very poor.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
