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.
Monday, February 6, 2012
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.
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