i m N s h o

I've commented on the "it's not MY fault" nature of the Bush Presidency, but this one takes it. Last week, David Kay, Bush's top weapons inspector in Iraq, resigned. On Sunday, Kay issued a statement blaming US Intelligence Agencies, stating that it was their consensus on the threat posed by Iraq that led Bush to conclude that an invasion was justified. Then, in a spectacular example of toadying to the President's "don't blame me" policy, went on to say "I actually think the intelligence community owes the president rather than the president owing the American people." Now, let's ignore for the moment the rampant speculation that's been circulating that Bush & Company knew full well that such weapons were a long shot and that they were simply looking for justification for actions they wanted to take (allegations most recently made in Ron Suskind's The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Ed...

Read this and think again: Democracy at Risk an opinion piece by Paul Krugman of the New York Times. I've seen lots of stuff about these machines and their unreliability and general lack of security, but this is the first I've seen in the "mainstream" press. Let's hope the bill he talks about gets passed before these damn things strip us of any semblance of a popular vote. (Yeah, I'm doing the hyperbole thing again. It's part of my charm, I'm sure.)

But it just may be " The end of the world as we know it ." (And no, this time I’m NOT talking about the latest news from Washington.) But how else can I explain the fact that I'm either actually looking forward to these movies (or at the very least, not dreading being dragged to them)? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind . Come on—it's Jim Carrey, how the hell can I be looking forward to this one!?! My problem with Carrey is that his ego tends to get in the way of his acting. (My favorite Jim Carrey moment was in Batman Forever when he says "was that over the top? I never can tell." That IS quintessential Carrey.) He's actually not a bad actor, but he's reluctant to let the audience forget that it's him acting up there. This might not be a big deal in his big, broad comedies (though I find it annoying) but in movies like the Truman Show , it's the kiss of death and, quite frankly, the main reason why he didn't get the Academy Award n...

Not that I regret anything I said, but damn, how about that soapbox , huh? Oh well, for a more balanced take on the whole Pickering thing than you might have gotten from the PFAW site, here's the NY Times article about the nomination: Bush Seats Judge, Bypassing Senate Democrats What gets me about this whole thing is the unmitigated arrogance of the appointment. It's one of the biggest problems with this administration—their arrogance… their conviction that they can do anything they damn well please and the people will follow. The unfortunate thing is that, for the most part, they've been right. Ok, I'm done with the soapbox now.

I’ve come to the realization that I’ve been too easy on the President. Now, anyone that’s ready any of this blog or had a discussion with me about dear George W. is shaking their heads right now, wondering what the hell I’m talking about. Let me elaborate… I’ve already said that I have no respect for the man and I’ve mocked him for his obvious lack of a functional education (I’m sorry, graduating from Yale with a “C” average is neither an accomplishment nor proof that you’ve actually received an education). I’ve dismissed him as not qualified for the job and as a figurehead and puppet for Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and the rest of the neo-con faction of the Republican Party. I’ve even engaged in the childish practice of referring to him by his nickname to show how little I respect him (and rationalized using it since he’s embraced the nickname.) And it’s occurred to me that this lets the man off too easily, because it absolves him of any real responsibility for his actions as Pres...

(in case you're looking for parts 1 & 2: Movies 2003, pt. 1 Movies 2003, pt. 2 ) And now, the rest of the mess Ok, so I started this as a “worst of” list, but then I got distracted. See, 2003 was really the year of the sequel, and for a while there it seemed like there wasn't a single original film all summer. Coincidentally, many of my least favorite memories of the year just happened to be sequels, so I I'll start off with a list of the sequels and where they ended up in my personal movie awards. (A brief aside here. Don't look for Return of the King here. I've already talked about it and frankly, I'm not looking at it as a sequel, so it's excused from having to sit in the same company as some of these other films.) So, without further ado, The Sequels of 2003… The Best Sequel of 2003 X2 (aka X-Men 2: X-Men United). This is kind of a left-handed compliment, since there were so many bad sequels that being the best hardly seems li...

quiet party n. A party in which talking and other loud noises are prohibited, and where guests communicate using handwritten notes. Example Citation: …Participants pay a minimal fee to enter, then receive envelopes, paper and pencils and are allowed only to "whisper" in areas designated for low-volume conversations. After a few minutes of booze, whispers and giggles, the bits of paper start flying. "Once people start drinking," says Rebhan, "everything goes crazy." —Magin McKenna, "Writing love notes helps fan the flames of modern romance," The Sunday Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), December 28, 2003 Really, do I need to say anything else?

I got out of my truck last night and glanced across the street, only to see that one of our neighbors not only still has their Christmas tree up, but they've still got it lit! I'm impressed.

Bush unveils vision for moon and beyond I mean, on the one hand, it's George Dubya, a man for whom I have NO respect, a President whose administration I hold in contempt—it's hard to get excited about anything coming out of this guy's mouth. Then again, it IS a plan for a space program that actually goes out into space and attempts big projects, so I've got to like that! Guess I'll opt for cautious optimism, but with Dubya's record of proposing big ideas and then "neglecting" to actually fund them, I won't be surprised if nothing actually comes of it. It's too bad, really. It's a grand concept.

The best movies I haven’t seen yet… Ok, I know, how can they be the best if I haven’t seen them yet? But these are the ones that are getting all the buzz, and yet I haven’t managed to get to them. As is usually the case, a mad burst of movies happens right around the holidays and, between actually doing the holiday thing (with relatives, friends, etc.) and surviving the holiday thing (colds, flu, shopping and TRYING to relax) somehow I never have enough time to get to most of these. Add in the good ones that are still lingering around from the Fall, when Dani either had no interest in going to the movies (a seasonal burn-out sort of thing for her) or no interest in seeing particular movies, and there are simply a bunch of movies that I just haven’t had time to get to. So, in no particular order, here goes… Mystic River . I swear I don’t remember the glowing reviews this movie’s getting when it first came out. Maybe selective memory on my part. Maybe the perfor...

I see that today's banners are for DVDs and eBay instead of the RNC and other such things. So no more references to Dubya or the Alzheimer Kid (at least, not by name) anymore. (Finding ways to talk about the things that bug me without actually mentioning any "keyword" type names is going to be fun. Maybe I'll just call him "Ronnie" if I ever have to write about our "beloved" former prez again.)

I usually have no patience for these types of lawsuits, but this time, I might have to sympathize… Suit du Jour" "Laila Sultan, 48,and three friends sued a Los Angeles McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant after she gagged on a condom that was in her bowl of clam chowder. Initially, she thought she'd bitten into a particularly tough clam, but soon discovered it was an unwrapped, rolled-up condom. She subsequently vomited repeatedly and has seen a psychiatrist and taken medication for depression and anxiety."

In the spirit of end-of-the-year wrap-up/best of lists… my favorites, disappointments and the sheer disasters for this year. I’ll start with the best and work my way downhill from there… Faves Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . All grousing from critics, friends and general nuisances aside, hands down my pick for Best Picture of the year. Not simply because it’s a great film which, despite all the nitpicking, I think it is. But because it’s a great epic. The three films together ARE the Lord of the Rings and this film, bringing the trilogy to a close in grand fashion, deserves the award if for no other reason than because of this accomplishment. No one expected these books to ever be realized on film as well as they were here (Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings anyone?). So it’s my Best Picture pick. Performance-wise, Ian McKellen stole the movie for me every time he spoke. He brings all the power and dread of Gandalf onto the screen. And Pippin’s song as Fa...

So it's not enough that the grocery clerks have been on strike since October but, BECAUSE they've been on strike since October, they haven't worked enough hours to qualify for their medical benefits and are now ineligible for said benefits this quarter. They're being offered a one time option to purchase family coverage through March for $365. I'm sure that, being on strike and out of work, they'll be able to readily afford that expense. The fact that they've been on strike this long and NO ONE'S NEGOTIATING simply disgusts me.

So the reviews are in and the ranting, both online and off is in full swing. Tolkien purists bitching about the things left out/glossed over/(gasp!) changed… those that just don’t get it wondering what all the fuss is all about (“it’s got elves and magic in it, right? Can’t be any good then!”)… and the cinephiles analyzing every moment and pointing out where it comes up short. I don’t think I’m going to go there yet. We saw the movie last week and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. The epic’s done, finished up in fine fashion. Peter Jackson and his team did a fabulous job of realizing onscreen the characters, places and events of Middle Earth and I applaud the lot of them for it. Are there flaws? Sure, there must be. But there was nothing in that 3½ hours that was so glaring as to pull me out of the movie and frankly, that’s good enough for me right now. Maybe when I go back and see it a 2nd or 3rd time I’ll find those flaws and think of ways I’d rather have seen t...

Still advertising the RNC and stuff. Guess the Lord of the Rings people don't feel quite the need to flood banner space as the RNC. Oh well.

…and watch what happens! I go on vacation and don't post for a few days (okay, maybe a week or more!) and today I got an email from a friend, telling me that they're advertising Bush '04 junk and the Republican National Committee on my blog site! Normally, I don't even pay attention to banner ads, so, I check it out and, sure enough, as I hit refresh, up come the RNC ads, Bush in '04 ads, Ashcroft vs. Greenpeace ads… and, underneath the ads is a line for related searches and "ads powered by Google". So what I assume is happening is Google (which now owns Blogger) does a keyword search on the contents of the blogs it's hosting. Then it displays ads based on these keywords. So, every time I mouth off about Dubya, the current administration, the political right and other such things that annoy my liberal heart (I tried real hard there not to include any obvious keywords for Google to work off of!) I could end up promoting the very thing I'm ran...

Anyone else ever notice that Dubya's drawling mispronunciation of the word "terror" sounds a lot like the Latin word for earth, "terra"? A lot of SF authors use the word Terra for Earth in their stories… presumably to either impart some "classicism" to our home planet's name, or simply because they can then refer to denizens of our world as "terran" instead of "earthling"… arguably, a more euphonious name. So Bush's War on Terror becomes "War on Terra". Or simply "War on Earth"… a sadly fitting name for the multi-generational conflict he's envisioned for us all. I love word games.

Bush Overruled on 'Dirty Bomb' Suspect First off, let me just say that I don't give a damn about Mr. Padilla and that, if he did do (or was planning) what the government says he was, then as far as I'm concerned he can rot in jail. Having said that, it is gratifying to see that the Court's not buying the argument that you can negate a citizen's rights (to a fair and speedy trial, to confront your accuser, to representation by an attorney, etc.) by simply declaring him an "enemy combatant". (Don't let the name change fool you… that's basically the same as labeling him an enemy of the state—that old stand-by of totalitarian regimes everywhere. ) Because if they can get away with it for this clown, they can do it to anyone. That, folks, is a police state. You're not doing anything to "make the world safe for democracy" by turning us into one.

So last week I heard that, in reaction to CBS's failed Reagan "biopic", Republican congressmen decided to draft a bill to replace FDR on the dime with Reagan's face. Now, aside from the fact that it would mean an entire denomination that I would have to refuse to use… come on! A Reagan dime? Please. (A little commentary on the Reagan dime, just for fun.) And then, in today's news I hear that Republican Rep. Doug Ose from California (I'd be ashamed that he's from California, but he's a Republican, so I can just reject him entirely) is upset because Bono got away with saying "Fuck" on an award show recently. So he's introducing a bill with a list of 8 words (sorry George !) that, free speech be damned!, you CANNOT use on the air. The article in today's LA Times doesn't list the eight words, but then they couldn't, could they? Apparently there's nothing of any real importance going on in Washington these days.