Thu Feb 15, 2007 (Politics) Comments

[Youngest sister vents]

Subject: Let the Countdown Begin...

"President" Bush is talking right now at a Presidential News Conference, and he is such an ass. His constant creepy chuckles, scoffing at the reporters' questions, and all-around stupidity, have prompted me to calculate how many days we have left with his sorry ass. I totaled up 706 days, but I guess I was counting today as a whole day as I looked online for confirmation. I came across this: http://www.backwardsbush.com

[Younger sister's comments]

Hi J,

I feel your pain. I just watched excerpts of his press conference today on the News Hour. Argh! In response to a three-pronged question, Bush failed to address any points directly. To another question, he said, "I strongly disagree with his assessment." Period. No elaboration. After a one-sentence answer, he's searching for something to say. What's most scary, he doesn't seem to have anything else to say. My god!

706 days? Maybe you should work on a little arts and crafts project. Create a construction paper chain 706 loops long. Each morning you can cut another loop! Hooray!

Barack,
A

[My comments]

I saw some of that press conference on Keith Olbermann's show. He played a painful clip of Bush trying to be funny, teasing reporters. Banter. "Not banter." It was so hard to watch the reporters' reaction. They couldn't laugh at his stupidity. Nor could they play along lest it influence them to ask softball questions.

The thing about this newfound concern about Iraq's neighbors meddling in Iraq is why is it newfound? Bush kept saying he's trying to protect the troops from weapons shipped in across the border. Did he really think that Iraq neighbors would think highly of our intentions in Iraq and sit by idly? The U.S. and Iraqi forces will close the borders to Iran and Syria. That's the genius plan. Well it's a little late for that, don't you think? Where was this plan three years ago?

I can't stand it when the man keeps insisting- in terse phrases- that he, unlike mere mortals, knows what's right and is leading the team in that direction. It's so absurd because it was the right strategy three years ago and he's only discovered it now. And is lecturing us on its importance. To cap it off, when a reporter asked him whether the debate over the war here affects troop morale in the field, President Bush answered the question by saying he couldn't personally know the answer from the comforts of the White House. Holy shit is this man dumb! Way to inspire confidence. Trot out a stale plan that puts added burden on the troops and then defend it by saying I don't understand what's going on over there.

Start the countdown for Christ's sake.

-Erik

Thu Feb 08, 2007 Comments

[Youngest sister]

Sure you can borrow Arrested Development. You just have to promise to be nice to it!!

So you finished SATC season 4...what do you think? Any surprises for you?

Oh, and remind me to return your Seinfeld and Curb DVDs...

[Me]

Great. I'll pick it up tomorrow.

It's back on track after those two episodes I had trouble with. I really like the writing behind the characters. I think it illustrates female archetypes very well. At least I get that impression from a man's perspective.

Samantha is the best. Carrie is very likable with all her neurosis. Kind of a female, Gentile Woody Allen character. Miranda I respect and can identify with- uncompromising and proud to a fault. Charlotte I can't stand- though I accept her archetype as representative of a female strain. I find all her princess daydreaming very trying on men's patience. And I realize men have an equivalent, harmful archetype, but I still dislike her intensely. In the last episode I watched she claimed that "everyone has two great loves in their life." She was ridiculed, thank goodness. "Where did you read that? Convenient Theories For You Monthly?!" Later in the episode she removes the name of her husband from her Park Avenue apartment- funded by his wealth- and replaces it with her name. Gah! Where is her self respect? Earlier in the season she offered to sell her wedding ring to help Carrie buy her apartment to avoid the disgrace of being evicted by her ex-boyfriend. Now is it mean of me to characterize Charlotte's behavior as gold-digging disguised as empathy? Is that a mean characterization?

[Youngest sister]

There's no denying that you have a ridiculously good ability to pinpoint people, real or fiction. And I do agree with you for the most part. I love how comfortable Samantha is in her own skin, and in every aspect of her life for that matter. I love how Carrie can be very complex, sometimes I don't know how she'll react to things that come up, but I'm always curious to watch it unfold for her. I love love love that Miranda is very often the voice of reason, and is never scared to call someone/society out on their bullshit. And Charlotte, to me, is the woman that I never have been and never want to be. I don't hate her, but I know why she's part of the show. There's a ton of women out there that are just like her, though I would be curious to know how many women would freely admit it. Or even better, if the women who totally act and think like her, even recognize those qualities in themselves--kinda similar to my comparison to politicians thinking they're Jack Bauer when really they're Tom Lennox (that snake in the White House on the show). Does that make sense? I would argue that she's the kind of woman who can hold us back as a sex. She loves tradition and she loves playing the "female role" to a T. But I don't hate her, she mostly just makes me laugh and shake my head in disbelief. But she's also a hopeless romantic, which I think can be a very redeeming quality, because she is a very sweet and kind friend.

As far as the money goes, yeah, it's pretty gross about the whole apartment thing, and the loan to Carrie. I didn't have as violent of a reaction, but I definitely see what you mean now. Not very attractive.

So those are some of my thoughts.

-J

Thu Jan 25, 2007 (Office / Extras / R. Gervais) Comments

After Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant hit it big with The Office, they decided to do an occassional radio show. Their producer, Karl Pilkington, loved to tell stories about monkeys. His predilection to grant monkeys sentient thought caused many a funny moment. This is one of the funniest. And some of the best radio I've ever heard. It's absurd. If you don't laugh at this you most certainly were born without a sense of humor.

Karl: If you give something a treat you can teach it how to do it. It's just like a dog, isn't it.

Ricky: It's called Pavlovian conditioning. However, that was to see if it would salivate or go over to a particular corner. Not if it could control a spacecraft.

Karl: The monkey's not sat there going "Oh, I'm a bit under pressure. It's a rocket." All that's knowing is, "I'm getting a banana if I hit that button." That's all the monkey's thinking about.

Ricky: They wouldn't put millions of space dollars...

Stephen: But how can they be sure that it's gonna press the button at the right moment?

Karl: Because it's got headphones on.

Ricky: Ha ha ha!

Karl: There telling it.

Ricky: Like you have now.

Karl: It's not like willy nilly. It's not just like pop it in there...

Stephen: But what's to stop it from just hitting it any old time 'cause it's a monkey and it's not a human?

Karl: 'Cause it's trained now.

Ricky: Oh it's trained. It's fully trained. Go on. Oh, this is absolute rubbish.

Karl: So what happened is, anyway, they popped the monkey in there. It's got its headphones on. There going, "Right. Hit the green one." And I think there's something there, a little banana comes out to keep...

Ricky: No, you're making this up.

Karl: I'm not. It's the same...

Ricky: There is no way that they made a spacecraft that had a banana dispenser. There's no way in this world that they made a spacecraft that could go into outer space, right? Manned by a monkey with a banana dispenser.

Karl: So you're saying that it's easy to send someone up to space but you don't believe there's a little banana machine?

Ricky: Ha ha ha!

...

Karl: So it comes to launch day. Monkey's satting there. Everyone's ready. Bananas are stocked up and all the rest of it. They go, "Right. Hit the green button." Right? And the rocket goes off and what have you.

Ricky: No! They would not make the monkey launch the rocket. Carl, you are living in a cartoon world.

Karl: So the rocket goes off, alright?

Ricky: This is absolute bollocks! You are... I don't know where you get it. There's no way a monkey launched a rocket! There is no way a monkey launched a rocket you idiot!

Karl: So, it's all going on. There going, "Hit the left button." Then it goes left.

Ricky: The left button! Well known spacecraft command. "This is Houston. Hit the left button." Oh, brilliant! This is what happened in Apollo 13. "Hit the left button." Oh you are...

Stephen: So it goes left.

Karl: Yeah, it goes left. So it's going well.

Ricky: Left! It goes left! "No, the moon! You're going right!"

Karl: It goes for the moon. Everything's going well. They get up there. It does whatever it does. They hit reverse. It comes back.

Ricky: You are, honestly... You are braindead. You are one of the most stupid people. I would rather have the monkey drive me home than you.

Karl: So the thing is. It lands back. It does a good job and everything. It gets out.

Stephen: It's sick of bananas.

Karl: This is where it turns a bit South. Because after it done that mission, alright? Because it happened and it was all safe and everything, the next one would have been to send man.

Ricky: Right.

Karl: So, the monkey enjoyed it and he was like "Well, I want to do it again." Alright? But they were like...

Ricky: Sorry, how did they know that? How did they know he wanted to do it?

Karl: Just the way it looked and what have you.

Ricky: Ha ha ha! Fuck off! Just the way it looked! You are a maniac.

Thu Jan 25, 2007 (Office / Extras / R. Gervais, Religion) Comments

Ricky Gervais' character, Andy Millman, reminds the religious where the burden of proof lies.

Maggie: Do you know what worries me?

Andy: Don't know. Where do baby ants go to school? Go on.

Maggie: No. All these people going about pretending to be nuns.

Andy: What do you mean?

Maggie: Do you think that's right?

Andy: It's a film.

Maggie: I know. But they're all wandering around as holy ladies. Wouldn't that offend God or someone?

Andy: Offend God or someone?

Maggie: Does it not worry you a bit?

Andy: No. What, offending God? I'm an athiest.

Maggie: What one's that? Is that the one where you haven't decided what you want to... ?

Andy: No, that's agnostic. No, I'm an athiest. I firmly believe there is no God.

Maggie: Why?

Andy: What do you mean why? The burden of proof is not on me. The burden of proof is on the people who say there is a God. I don't believe in God. I believe in science.

Tue Jan 23, 2007 (Music) Comments

A few months ago I heard about the Canon in D YouTube phenomenon. I watched the video and thought, "I'm not interested in this." I left a brief comment, agreeing with another critic who said "But technical skill isn't the point of music, is it?"

Felt like a real killjoy. Then a few days ago I stumbled across some wonderful footage that illustrates so vividly why I love music- my taste in music and not the pop phenom that is Canon in D. The point is not to defend my argument by unfairly comparing the YouTube guitarist with a legend. The point is to appreciate the artistry of Jimi Hendrix.

Dick Cavett: Do you think music has a meaning?

Jimi Hendrix: Oh yeah, definitely. It's getting to be more spiritual, so, than anything. Pretty soon, I believe, that we're going to have to rely on music to, uh like, get some kind of peace of mind or satisfaction... direction actually. More so than politics. Because politics is really an ego scene. That's the way I look at it anyway. It's all a big fat ego scene, for instance.

Dick Cavett: Ego scene?

Jimi Hendrix: Well yeah. It's the art of words, which means nothing. So therefore you have to rely on a more of a earthier substance like music or the arts, theater, acting, painting, whatever.

Jimi then performs Hear My Train A Comin'. This footage is from his appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1969.

Mon Jan 22, 2007 (Film) Comments

I watched a very interesting documentary recently. It was about Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian ethnographer who proposed that South Americans may have populated the Polynesian Islands rather than Asian mainlanders as is more commonly thought. What is most extraordinary about this man is that he set out to prove his theory- at least the feasibility of it- by sailing 4,300 miles across the Pacific Ocean on a primitive raft. Kon-Tiki is the story of Thor Heyerdahl's adventure in 1947. Think for a moment of the bravery of this man. Intellectual curiosity propels him to wonder whether it's possible. In order to satisfy this curiosity he puts his life- and the lives of his crew- at risk to attempt to sail across the ocean on a small balsa raft with no engine, no GPS navigation, no accompanying vessels, no modern equipment save a small HAM radio. Amazing, isn't it?

I have Scandinavian blood, so this man and his story is of keen interest to me. I rented the Academy Award winning documentary he made of his journey, released in 1951. I highly recommend it. You can learn a lot in one hour.