October 27, 2004

• WEDNESDAY MOVIE(S)

  Coming of Age

  As a film addict who uses this media as an escape from the mundane crap of daily life, I’d rather (as my sidebar says) watch an intriguing serial killer movie any day than foreign films, especially about adolescence. But some weeks there’s nothing else left on the shelves and for that fortunate reason I discovered 3 films that overcame my resistance and gave me their gift. They are:
  I’m Not Scared (Italian)
  Young boy in peasant family stumbles upon Really Big Scary Family Secret and has to make a courageous choice.
  Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring (Korean)
  Young boy grows up like Grasshopper in isolation with wise old monk, is drawn away by the voodoo call of the World, returns finally to become the monk’s replacement after learning more than he ever wanted to know.
  The Return (Russian)
  Two young boys are reunited with the father who deserted them years earlier and go on a mysterious journey during which they learn the hard way how to survive pretty much anywhere.
  Take a chance, try any one of these and you’ll find out why foreign films almost always get better ratings than American films. The photography is always top notch, the scripts are excellent, and the acting is big league. And let me know if you’ve heard of any good new serial killer films.
  

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  Deep Thought: “We’re all afraid of something. Take my little nephew, for instance. He’s afraid of skeletons. He thinks they live in closets and under beds, and at night they come out to get you when you’re asleep. And what am I afraid of? Now, I’m afraid of skeletons. “
  Today I am grateful for: Novocaine
  Guess the Movie: “Look, you don’t know me from Adam. But I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man. Know what I mean?” Answer: Tootsie, 1982.Winner: thenarrator.
  Polls Today: Kerry 257/Bush 274. EVP: “The Los Angeles Times has a story today that explains why this election is so much more emotionally charged than previous ones. It is not about economics, but part of a cultural war. A new LA Times poll shows Bush doing well among lower and middle income whites, whereas Kerry leads among whites earning more than $100,000 a year despite his promise to roll back the Bush tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 a year. As president, Bush has enacted big tax cuts for the rich but the rich are voting for Kerry. What’s up here? The same poll shows that 2/3 of the people who attend a house of worship at least once a week are voting for Bush, whereas 60% of those who attend religious services less than once a week are voting for Kerry, in part because these voters recoil at Bush’s constant use of religious imagery. Lower income whites like Bush’s proposal to ban gay marriage but only a quarter believe his policies have been good for the economy. In contrast, affluent whites who have benefitted the most from the Bush tax cuts believe Bush’s policies have hurt the economy. In short, far more than in previous years, economic policy is taking a back seat to cultural issues. The real divide seems to be between deeply religious lower income, lower education, voters living in small towns and rural areas who have conservative values on abortion and gay marriage versus higher income, higher education, secular, urban voters who have progressive views on cultural issues. Maybe James Carville was wrong: It’s NOT the economy, stupid. With this background and the fact that eight of the nine Supreme Court justices are past the traditional retirement age of 65 and four of them have been treated for cancer, it is likely that the choice of who the next president will nominate to the Court will weigh increasingly heavily on the minds of many voters as we approach election day.”
  End of Day: 9:37 pm
  + = 39 years ago today my daughter Jane was born in San Francisco and it was a good day.
  - = Hard time in the dentist’s chair this morning getting my gums cut up but spent the rest of the day resting up and really no discomfort once the novocaine wore off thank god.

  • 9:21 am
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