Month: September 2005

  • WEDNESDAY MOVIE(S)

    It’s been two weeks since I posted anything on movies and I’m glad to report I have several to hubbub about. I’ll start with the two I’ve actually watched all the way through already. Fever Pitch is the only mainstream Hollywood film in this group, and if you want a sweet, charming, upbeat sports romance enjoyable by all the family, this is it. Personally, I’ve always liked Jiimmy Fallon on SNL and it’s nifty to see him get some film roles he can bring his particular brand of comedy to. Drew Barrymore has been in the film-charm business since kindergarten and is a comfy fit to this story too. With the backdrop of baseball obsession, it’s really a story about compromise – what are two people willing to give up to be together, OR how can they do it all. Find out. Winter Solstice stars the veteran character actor, Anthony LaPaglia, who is also coming into his own as a romantic lead. This film is quiet, sad, happy, and it just grows on you the way sunlight moves across your yard. People act like they do in real life, endings become beginnings, relationships morph into something else than they were last year. And the main thing I can say is that when it ended I was disappointed. I wanted it to go on and on. The basic dynamic is a father and two grown sons who have lost their wife/mother to an accident some years before. All are still grieving in their own ways, and all find their own solutions. Allison Janney plays the new woman in the father’s life. And now for the two I haven’t finished yet. Guerilla: the taking of Patty Hearst is a brand-new documentary on this fascinating subject with wonderful archival footage of the mid-70’s when Vietnam and the civil rights movement provided a backdrop to the formation of the Symbionese Liberation Front, a tiny terrorist group that completely flummoxed Hearst’s wealthy family, the FBI, the police, the journalists, and everybody who tried to figure them out for a time. Hearst herself was a classic example of the Stockholm syndrome – kidnap victims beginning to identify with their captors more each day they are allowed to live. We all know the outcome, but for me it’s especially fascinating to watch, having lived in the Bay Area at the exact time it was happening. And finally, I’d been hearing about Martin Scorsese’s 4-hour documentary on Bob Dylan, No Direction Home for awhile now without quite noting when it was out and in what form. Well, as of 9/20 it was out on DVD and as of Monday it’s being shown on PBS which is where I found it when I had one of those really early morning wake up and worry episodes today. There just couldn’t have been any better medicine. You know, I grew up with this guy. I was just hitting vagabond stride in my own life when his first record came out, and talk about a long and large career. I mean, how many levels has he gone to, this genius of our generation. How much did we get from him in our daily lives over the years – reinforcement to protest injustice and war and all those wrong things, music to make love to, music to laugh and cry to, and all from this little wisp with a mouth harp and a guitar and hair that still won’t stay combed thank god. I got to see about 30 minutes of the early years with lots of wonderful clips of other musicians from that time and comments from The Bob himself speaking today. Oh jeez, I can’t wait to watch it all. So it was a good couple of weeks on the home screen. Roger over and out.

    Deep Thought: “One bad thing about Lassie, she was always warning you about something. Let me be surprised for a change.”
    Today I am grateful for: Zoom lenses
    Guess the Movie: “ It’s very hard to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And no matter where you run into it, prejudice obscures the truth. Well, I don’t think any real damage has been done here. Because I don’t really know what the truth is. No one ever will, I suppose. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we’re just gambling on probabilities. We may be wrong. We may be trying to return a guilty man to the community. No one can really know. But we have a reasonable doubt, and this is a safeguard which has enormous value to our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it’s SURE. We nine can’t understand how you three are still so sure. Maybe you can tell us.” Answer: 12 Angry Men, 1957. Winner: soobee72.
    DeLay Indicted on Conspiracy Charges
    House majority leader’s position in jeopardy
    by Laylan Copelin
    A Travis County grand jury today indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on one count of criminal conspiracy, jeopardizing the Sugar Land Republican’s leadership role as the second most powerful Texan in Washington, D.C. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 9:07 pm
    + = Did some good Recovery service work today.
    - = Rain starting up, probably the turning point into the dark season for good.

  • MONDAY READING

    A Cat Haiku (found here)

    In deep sleep hear sound.

    Cat vomit hairball somewhere.

    Will find in morning.

    Deep Thought: “The first time I ever tried to milk a cow at Grandpa’s farm, I didn’t even know which end of the cow to milk! Then I guess I got even dumber, because the next time I couldn’t even find the barn. Then the last time, I just went out in the woods and lived, with no clothes.”
    Today I am grateful for: Words
    Guess the Movie: “Well, I mean that for nearly three thousand years man has been searching for the lost ark. It’s not something to be taken lightly. No one knows its secrets. It’s like nothing you’ve ever gone after before.” Answer: Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981. Winner: Eliminate_the_Impossible.
    Anti-War Mother Cindy Sheehan Arrested Outside White House
    by Deborah Zabarenko
    WASHINGTON — U.S. military mother Cindy Sheehan, whose vigil outside President George W. Bush’s Texas ranch drew attention to the anti-war movement, was arrested on Monday at a White House sit-in after she refused to obey police orders to leave. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:31 pm
    + = No big crisis today.
    - = Lower back deteriorating.

  • SUNDAY GOOD NEWS

    The coverage of the largest protest of the war in Iraq so far yesterday in Washington, DC was of course marginalized by the Bush-owned media to about .0001% of newstime. It was pretty much wall-to-wall hurricane repeat information all day long as the crowd swelled to an estimated 300,000 in our nation’s capital (in spite of an east coast Amtrak power failure keeping hundreds more from arriving), as well as thousands in San Francisco, London, LA and various other cities. (For a list of Iraq war protests since pre-war click here.) I saw a bit of it on an obscure cable channel, a few minutes of Jessica Lange and a few minutes of someone including I think it was the Philippines in the global voice against American imperialism. By Saturday afternoon only two arrests had been made in Washington, so thankfully the protest remained peaceful. There will be a peace fair all day today with trainings for Monday’s non-violent civil disobedience outside the White House and a big grassroots lobbying push on Capitol Hill on Monday, with 700+ activists signed up to pay visits to their House and Senate reps. So while I was so not surprised to see the lack of coverage of this important event, thanks to the internet I knew it was happening and am deeply grateful for every single person who showed up. I don’t trust the polls I hear about Bush losing support. I fully believe that if he ran again today for President he would win again because he owns the machine and the machine tells us all what to think. And the majority of us listen. I wonder what it will take for the minority of us who cantankerously listen to different drummers to become the majority. Marches like yesterday’s can’t hurt.

    Deep Thought: “Deep Thought: To my way of thinking, there’s nothing that can’t be cured by a big ol’ pot o beans. Except maybe bean fever.”
    Today I am grateful for: Cordless phones
    Guess the Movie: “He lets the last Hungarian go. He waits until his wife and kids are in the ground and then he goes after the rest of the mob. He kills their kids, he kills their wives, he kills their parents and their parents’ friends. He burns down the houses they live in and the stores they work in, he kills people that owe them money. And like that he was gone. Underground. Nobody has ever seen him since. He becomes a myth, a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night.” Answer: The Usual Suspects, 1995. Winner: Eliminate_the_Impossible.
    Thousands March Through London in Iraq War Protest
    LONDON – Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday demanding that Prime Minister Tony Blair withdraw British troops from Iraq. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:34 pm
    + = Marvelous marvelous fall we’re having here in Portland.
    - = Rude neighbors.

  • TUESDAY POLITICS

    Well, the ayes/eyes have it. Stare deeply into these eyes, because we’re going to be seeing them represent the Wisest Guy on the Wisest Court in the Land for a Long Time. There’s no doubt of the outcome, but it’s been quite informative watching the process of confirmation, which I guess you have to have cable to do. What I saw just from a sizing-up-someone’s-personality-by-how-they-talk-and-act perspective is a very smooth customer, obviously super bright and able to rattle off legal explanations and opinions like nobody’s business. In fact, I learned a new legal term – stare decisis – from the hearings. It means respecting long-term supreme court decisions (like Roe vs. Wade) and came up a lot because the congressmen and senators have been trying to pin this guy down to his druthers in that emotional matter. He wasn’t going for it. He managed to take the confirmation process’s version of the 5th amendment every time he was asked how he would vote on a certain subject. And I could actually see the sense of that, as suspicious as I am of a conservative. You wouldn’t want a judge to be saying he’d vote a certain way (or not) just to get the position. It’s going to be fascinating. Can you impeach a Supreme Court Justice, I wonder, if he does get Way Too Weird? I’ve never heard of it happening. And I guess if we can’t seem to impeach Bush (and how much weirder can HE get), then we can’t impeach anybody any more. Is it going to take another sexy White House intern to stop this madness? Well, back to staring deeply into those eyes – I think I’m getting hypnotized………..

    Deep Thought: “The big, huge meteor headed toward the Earth. Could nothing stop it? Maybe Bob could. He was suddenly on top of the meteor-through some kind of space warp or something. “Go, Bob, go!” yelled one of the generals. “Give me that!” said the big-guy general as he took the microphone away. “Listen, Bob,” he said. “You’ve got to steer that meteor away from Earth.” “Yes, but how?” thought Bob. Then he got an idea. Right next to him there was a steering wheel sticking out of the meteor.”
    Today I am grateful for: Questions and answers
    Guess the Movie: “Listen man, I smoke, I snort… I’ve been begging on the street since I was just a baby. I’ve cleaned windshields at stop lights. I’ve polished shoes, I’ve robbed, I’ve killed… I ain’t no kid, no way. I’m a real man.” Answer: City of God, 2002.
    9/18-9/20: Cindy Sheehan in NYC (updated schedule) for Build Up to Sept. 24 Anti-War March in DC
    (Rest of article here).

  • FRIDAY FIVE

    Candles on this day of prayer and remembrance for those who died in Hurricane Katrina.

    Appetizer – Do your closer friends tend to be male or female? Why do you think that is?
    Mostly female, I guess. It sure has changed over the years. It seems harder now to make close friends than it was when I was off beaten tracks more in my life. I sometimes long for the kind of friend I could make then – the kind you call or talk to often and spill all the beans. The kind you can call in the middle of the night if you’re sick. The kind that like to have adventures. Now I’d just like the kind I could sit on my back porch with and kvech or not even talk – just watch the birds and the squirrels. I guess I’ve come to enjoy solitude a lot more than I did then too. The world is such a loud, mindshattering place these days, it’s all I can do to scurry home and regroup. By the way, I always did think it was fraught with embellishments to try to be friends with the opposite sex. But it gets easier with the years.
    Soup – If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would it be?
    Oh god, if I could just play bass guitar. If I could know how it feels to make all those cool moves on stage with the big boys (and girls). If I could feel that music romp right through me and into the crowd and back again.
    Salad – Name a household cleaning item that you would recommend to others.
    Lately I’ve discovered OxiMagic (Clorox) multi-purpose stain remover. I’m a hopeless Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar eater and constantly drop little bits of the outer layer on my clothes where it melts before I notice. OxiMagic rocks.
    Main Course – What do you strive for in life?
    Peace of mind. I’d go on and on about this, but then it wouldn’t be peace of mind.
    Dessert – On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how funny do you consider yourself?
    I didn’t get the funny gene, dammit. I’m as serious as a tree. You could put me on Conan O’Brien and have those fake lips move on my face and tell jokes and no one would laugh. It’s a 10 on the sad scale.
    Deep Thought:”If you’re a circus clown, and you have a dog that you use in your act, I don’t think it’s a good idea to also dress the dog up like a clown, because people see that and they think, “Forgive me, but that’s just too much.”
    Today I am grateful for: Potatos
    Guess the Movie: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.” Answer: Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964. Winner: Eliminate_the_Impossible.
    U.S. Observes Day of Prayer for Victims
    Friday September 16, 2005
    By RACHEL ZOLL
    AP Religion Writer
    In cathedrals and state Capitols, mosques and synagogues, Americans joined Friday in a national day of prayer for the communities and lives lost to Hurricane Katrina.
    However, many houses of worship did not participate or drew few people, partly reflecting disillusionment with how the federal government responded to the disaster. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:40 pm
    + = Beautiful restoration-to-sanity day.
    - = Oregon coast overdue for tsunami.

  • WEDNESDAY MOVIE

    The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

    Sure I remember the name. Zihuatanejo. A name like that is just too pretty to forget.

    I find I am excited, so excited I can hardly hold the pencil in my trembling hand. I think it is the excitement that only a free man can feel, a free man starting a long journey whose conclusion in uncertain.

    I hope Andy is down there.

    I hope I can make it across the border.

    I hope to see my friend and shake his hand.

    I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.

    I hope.

    With no knock-me-out films to report on this week, I was thinking back to earlier times and what I find remarkable when I visit cinemaland. For one thing, it’s a good story, and who would have figured Stephen King for quite this kind of tale – no scary clowns, no magical powers, no rabid dogs. Just two men from different sides of the tracks finding a meeting of minds in, of all places, prison. So a good character study too is what I hope to get. And solid acting – what a combo, Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. And behind it all, the wonderful voice of Freeman narrating throughout, as smooth as sliding down a firehouse pole. Redemption is icing on the cake, in this case double thick. A great film doesn’t have to end so lyrically, but it sure doesn’t hurt. Life can turn out to be perfect in the end and good men (and women) can find their rewards no matter how grim the path to get there. I hope.

    Deep Thought: “Whenever someone asks me to define love, I usually think for a minute, then I spin around and pin the guy’s arm behind his back. Now who’s asking the questions?”
    Today I am grateful for: Vowels
    Guess the Movie: “A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn’t think he’d remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn’t see me at all, but I’ll bet a month hasn’t gone by since that I haven’t thought of that girl.” Answer: Citizen Kane, 1941. Winner: tikhead.
    End the War on Iraq!
    September 24-26 · Washington, DC     More info here.)

  • TUESDAY POLITICS

    Who was that masked man? Flying right ahead of and under the radar of the L.A. power out yesterday was an Al-Qaeda tape released on 9/11 saying: “Yesterday, London and Madrid. Tomorrow, Los Angeles and Melbourne, Allah willing. And this time, don’t count on us demonstrating restraint or compassion.” Don’t think that didn’t make folks nervous when maintenance workers inadvertently cut a power line and the outage rolled through major parts of the big city for two hours starting at 1 pm. Police went on full tactical alert and traffic jammed, while the worst that happened was probably the elevator claustrophobia of people stuck in high rises. So who was the guy who made the threats and why Australia too? The masked man apparently was former California goat-farmer-turned-Al-Qaeda-terrorist Adam Gadahn, who hasn’t been seen in this country since 1998. It’s not the first tape he’s put out. There was apparently one last November when he threatened to make the streets of America “run red with blood.” Click here for the fascinating story of who he is. Australia because of, best guess, their close alliance with the U.S. presence in Iraq. Long story short, both were short blips on the news radar – we’ll hope.  (Oh, and Osama Who?)


    Deep Thought: “If you lose your job, your marriage and your mind all in one week, try to lose your mind first, because then the other stuff won’t matter that much.”
    Today I am grateful for: Vocabulary
    Guess the Movie: “Because everything this fellow’s done has been suspicious: trips at night in the rain, knifes, saws, trunks with rope, and now this wife that isn’t there anymore.” Answer: Rear Window, 1954. Winner: twoberry.
    Jagger Blasts Blair Over Iraq
    MADRID – Rolling Stones superstar Mick Jagger said he was “shocked” by British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s attitude toward Iraq and doubts whether the legendary rock and roll band will one day perform in Baghdad, the magazine El Pais Semanal reported on Sunday. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:46 pm
    + = John Roberts seems like a nice smart guy.
    - = But he has twilight zone eyes.

  • MONDAY READING

    Recently, I’ve been hearing those terms “global warming” and “greenhouse effect” every other day or so and since I’m clueless about what they mean Really, I thought I would educate myself by visiting the nearest children’s site on the subject, where I found this:

    Earth has warmed by about 1ºF over the past 100 years. But why? And how? Well, scientists are not exactly sure. The Earth could be getting warmer on its own, but many of the world’s leading climate scientists think that things people do are helping to make the Earth warmer.

    Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change,
    and Global Warming

    The Greenhouse Effect: Scientists are sure about the greenhouse effect. They know that greenhouse gases make the Earth warmer by trapping energy in the atmosphere.

    Climate Change: Climate is the long-term average of a region’s weather events lumped together. For example, it’s possible that a winter day in Buffalo, New York, could be sunny and mild, but the average weather – the climate – tells us that Buffalo’s winters will mainly be cold and include snow and rain. Climate change represents a change in these long-term weather patterns. They can become warmer or colder. Annual amounts of rainfall or snowfall can increase or decrease.

    Global Warming: Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth’s temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists talk about the issue of climate change, their concern is about global warming caused by human activities.

    You can visit the whole site here. It’s created by the EPA, which as we know is a conservative government agency, so it must be the Truth. Hmmm, to this grown-up, it sounds like humans have some kind of responsibility for this global warming trend. Now what could that be? What could be causing those greenhouse gases? Could it be:oil and gas companies, for example? In 1997, 38 industrialized countries vowed to cut their greenhouse gas emission and the Kyoto Protocol was signed by 180 countries. Oh, but not the U.S. Could there possibly a connection between oil and gas companies and the current administration’s power elite? Hmmmm……. Of course, no reason to worry, global warming only causes tidy little weather events that cost billions of dollars, but our economy is in great shape. We’re so far in the black we can afford it, can’t we? Dumb grown-up scratching head…..
    (List of global warming books).

    Deep Thought: “Kids don’t need expensive new toys to have fun. A lot of times we would have just as much fun getting in my dad’s car and letting off the emergency brake and just seeing where the car would go before it stopped.”
    Today I am grateful for: Vision of various kinds
    Guess the Movie: “Cold be heart and hand and bone. Cold be travelers far from home.” Answer: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 2002. Winner: LovesTo.
    Bush’s Roberts-for-Chief Ploy: A Black Day for America
    by Doug Ireland
    George Bush’s announcement this morning that John Roberts is his nominee to replace Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is a clever move. The Senate Democrats have already thrown in the towel on confirming Roberts as an associate justice — there have been a few grumblings, but the Democratic leadership (and its troops) have their eye on the off-term legislative elections next year, Roberts is polling extraordinarily well (the carefully constructed photo ops of the attractive Roberts and his family in the days following his first nomination played well in the country, which judges on image more than record) and the Democrats saw no political points to be made, when the country goes to the polls next year, in opposing Roberts for associate justice. There is not a single Democratic Senator who has as yet announced opposition to Roberts for that post — let alone the dozens that would be needed for a filibuster. So much for principle. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 9:15 pm
    + = L.A. – just a blink of a power out.
    - = Very unpleasant blink for those trapped in high rise elevators.

  • SATURDAY PHOTO

    As the flood waters recede in the south (see photo), FEMA would like you to know that there are WAY less dead bodies than we ever need to worry about and therefore the news media is not allowed to come aboard on retrieval missions thank you very much. Well, that’s not going to fly folks. CNN, for one, is suing. See article. Doesn’t it kind of remind you of the no body bag pictures from the various wars we seem to keep starting? Personally, I totally see that folks might not want to see their dead relatives’ bodies on TV. I don’t think this is about that. The photographers can photograph in a way that doesn’t reveal specific identities. But, come on, how tasteful is death by drowning and isn’t this really about covering up the whole disaster the administration has compounded? So anyway, I’ve noticed a major sanitizing of Katrina going on in the media this week – stories about pets reunited with their owners and “happy endings of all kinds. FEMA director Brown got axed and is clearly taking all the heat that should be going to his superiors who hired him in the first place. Some evacuees are about to arrive in my own city and already I hear murmurs about “safety issues” for both them and us. It’s trickling down -stay tuned.

    Deep Thought: “Instead of half-mast, maybe you could fly a flag at three-quarter-mast for a guy who’s in a coma. Then, if he gets worse, the flag gets lower, or if he gets better, it starts to move up, so you can just look at the flag and see how he’s doing.”
    Today I am grateful for: Valves
    Guess the Movie: “ Which one of you nuts has got any guts?” Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975. Winner: tearsign.
    Katrina Fuels Global Warming Storm
    by Alister Doyle
    OSLO – Hurricane Katrina has spurred debate about global warming worldwide with some environmentalists sniping at President George W. Bush for pulling out of the main U.N. plan for braking climate change. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:58 pm
    + = Everything is actually all fine.
    - = Burying head in sand.

  • WEDNESDAY MOVIE(S)

    And now for a refreshing change of pace, three wonderful films about mental illness. After this past week or so of watching madness hit the Gulf Coast, I think we can all relate. Off the Map (2005) is a coming of age story, a love story, and a story of remission from despair. It stars the fabulous Joan Allen looking her physical best, a not-seen-enough Sam Elliott getting a great part for once, and a newcomer in the narrator’s role, Valentina d’Angelis. This little family unit has created a self-sustaining existence in the New Mexico desert and all would be Totally Neat if it weren’t that one of them is clinically depressed, one of them is more patient than Joab, and one of them is ready to bust out. When a stranger stumbles into their triangle, it’s like he’s the moving piece in a mobile that includes them, forcing them all to change. A marvelous story that the whole family can enjoy. (PG-13). Tarnation (2004), at the other end of the spectrum, is a documentary created and filmed by its protagonist, self-taught filmmaker, Jonathan Caouette. This young man is an absolute banshee with the camera, capturing his childhood through young adulthood with an at least borderline psychotic mother and grandparents. Her personality shattered by repeated shock treatments authorized by her parents, Jonathan’s mother nevertheless defines him and it is clear he loves her deeply. It’s a story of her deterioration and his climb out of the pit. You need to have strong nerves to watch this, but you’ll never see a better scrapbook of a family from hell and the artist who can put it on film. (No MPAA rating) Walk on Water (2004) is an Israeli film that qualifies for the mental illness category by being about the angst of a young German guilt-ridden by World War II and the angst of a young Jew guilt-ridden by the suicide of his wife. When Eyal, a highly trained Mossad assassin sets out to kill a former Nazi war criminal, he meets his victim’s adult grandchildren, Axel and Pia, who are both estranged from their parents and the grandfather who has been in hiding all their lives. Together they find a solution that works for them all. (R) You can find all three of these movies on the shelves at your local video store.


    Deep Thought: “Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.”
    Today I am grateful for: Unconventional solutions
    Guess the Movie: “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” Answer: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001. Winner: CanadianNational.
    Firing Michael Brown Is Not Enough. How About Bush and Cheney?
    by Norman Solomon
    Calls for firing Michael Brown are understandable. Aptly described as “the blithering idiot in charge of FEMA” by columnist Maureen Dowd a few days ago, he’s an easy and appropriate target.
    President Bush met with Brown last Friday and publicly told him: “You’re doing a heck of a job.” (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:50 pm
    + = Last super summer day for awhile, I guess.
    - = It’s bodies and lost pets time in New Orleans now.