November 2004

I love how overpaid, pampered “athletes” act when things don’t go their way. Great example.

My big question about this though is, where the hell was security? This thing lasted several minutes with nary a security guard, cop or usher in sight. What’s going on with that?

Have a nice weekend everyone.

No, I’m not dead. Or, for that matter, sick. Or, anything else really. Just sorta out of it. I have been busy working and writing and slaving for the man. Really, since I own my own business, I guess I’m the man. Hey, my boss is a real asshole making me work so much.

I think the reason I work so hard is that I live in Los Angeles. It’s very expensive to live here. Housing is expensive. Gas is expensive. Food is expensive. It’s all very expensive. Please, those of you who live in Manhattan or San Francisco, don’t write to me and tell me that your city is more expensive and how could I say LA is expensive and blah, blah, blah.

I will go on the record right now and say that New York is a very expensive place to live and so is San Francisco. If I lived in one of those cities, I’m sure I would be working very hard as well. However, I live in LA so I will focus on that. Ok?

Today in LA it’s Saturday morning and the sun its out. I haven’t ventured outside yet but I looked out the window. Looks like a nice day. We have several things planned for today (I think). I do know that our cleaning people are coming today to do what they do best (besides move things around and not put them back where they go). Also, I’m sure we will get some lunch and then perhaps go for coffee later.

I do need to meet up with my friends Courtney and Tony to discuss Tony’s movie that he plans to shoot in December. I haven’t been keeping close tabs on it so I don’t know exactly how its going. I want to try to help so I will give them the benefit of whatever expertise I may have.

You know, I’m starting to feel like this post is not going so well. I shouldn’t write with a hangover. We went to Birds and some other bar last night for my friend J. Rod’s birthday. We had a few beers and such so that pretty much makes my brain no worky so well in the morning.

I’ll try to wake up and shake out the cobwebs and get back to you.

I’m really trying not to write about politics or the war or the election or anything that has the potential to get me down. All of these things require a great deal of thought and many times hours of research in order for me to come up with something even remotely interesting to say. Combine that with the fact that most of it is pretty depressing and you can see why I have been trying to avoid it.

Unfortunately, things have a way of changing my mind. I really want to talk about an incident that happened recently in Fallujah. Some of you may have heard that a U.S. Marine shot and killed what appeared to be an unarmed and defenseless civilian who was hiding in a Mosque. This incident would be tragic enough in itself. But to makes things far worse, we have video.

The video is not fun to watch and and if the Marine in question is found guilty of violating the rules of engagement, he should be punished. And I’m sure he will. I may not necessarily agree with his actions, but I can understand them. Our troops are thousands of miles away doing a job that no Congressmen or Senator would let their son do. It is a brutal and often terrifying conflict that must, at times, be what many imagine hell to be like.

This incident, I feel, is just one of those things that happens during war. You might not be able to defend the Marine’s actions on a moral basis, but you have to understand them on a Psychological one. Do I condone cold-blooded murder? Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t think that’s what this was.

Try fighting house to house where at any second someone could pop out and kill you or the next car you stop could explode in your face. Try doing this for months and months longer than anyone predicted with no end in sight. Then, try to understand that most of these soldiers are just kids who have never been in combat before against an enemy like this. Then, try to judge them. You can’t. We can’t.

Compare his actions with the things done at Abu Ghraib and you can see the difference. One is a judgment made under the extremist of circumstances, under the most horrific of conditions with only a fraction of a second to decide and the other is premeditated abuse and murder of prisoners who our soldiers were supposed to be protecting and caring for. I hope you will be able to see the difference.

And finally, as if the hypocrisy couldn’t get any bigger, the reporter who first blogged the story and who shot the video, Kevin Sites, is now getting death threats and verbal abuse. Come on people, he is just reporting what he saw and that’s all. It’s the people at Al Jazerra or the other networks that spin the story for their own uses that should be condemned.

Well, I tried to be upbeat but it just didn’t work. At least I learned how to spell Fallujah.

The MPAA has finally started suing “alleged” movie pirates. Good for them. Those damn college kids swapping Divix files of “XXX” or “The Whole Ten Yards” are really gonna hurt the movie business and must be stopped at all costs. Shouldn’t the MPAA spend a little less time worrying about file swapping and a little more time trying to improve the quality of films that mainstream Hollywood produces? Hell yes, brother.

I know, sometimes a great movie manages to come out of Hollywood but usually, not so much. For every “The Incredibles” or “Spider Man 2” we are subject to an “Alexander” or “Van Helsing”. Sure, some people probably like those movies but many more don’t. Yes, they open to big numbers (sometimes) but then they fall off and drop dead after the first week as soon as people start to talk about how bad they are. It’s called word of mouth. Can’t fake it. Although, the studios have tried that in the past too.

In other news, NASA’s X43A research aircraft made its third and final flight today, firing its scramjet engine at Mach 10 (7,000 MPH) or close to it, setting a new record. Good for NASA. They can always use good news.

And, it looks like Disney is going to go ahead with another sequel to “Toy Story” even without the participation of Pixar. Pixar and Disney have split and Pixar has balked at the idea of another film. But, Disney owns the rights to the franchise (as they do to most of the world). So, this would make it even harder for Disney and Pixar to patch things up. Can they work without each other? Or, will we be stuck with movies like “Shark Tale” from now on? Dreamworks, what are you thinking?

I’m not afraid to say that I love Paul Giamatti. Of course, I also love Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh and Thomas Haden Church. Why do I love these people? I love them because they are all in my new favorite movie of the year, “Sideways.” I know, the year is almost over and to declare a new favorite at this point is a little silly but still, here I am.

“Sideways” tells the story of wine-lover, High-School English teacher and failed writer Miles (played perfectly by the gifted Giamatti) who takes his buddy, former hot tv actor Jack (the never-better Haden Church) up to wine country for Jack’s last weekend of freedom before he gets married.

There they explore the nature of their failures and question their relationships. Jack has an affair and wonders whether he should call it off. Miles, recently divorced, questions whether or not he made the right choice in getting a divorce, being a writer and just about everything else in his life.

Put these actors and this simple yet touching story together with inspired direction by Alexander Payne (of “Election” and “About Schmidt”) who gets everything right and snappy, poignant writing by Payne and Jim Taylor and you have a mix as good as the best wine you have ever tasted.

I can’t lavish enough praise on this film. It was truly one of the most inspiring times I have had at the movies in some time. The cast is flawless and reaches new heights of nuance and feeling that most actors would kill for. One scene in particular makes the movie for me. Miles explains his love of Pinot Noir and has passion and feeling reveals that he’s not really talking about Pinot Noir, he’s talking about himself.

Virgina Madsen’s work in this scene is also fantastic and shows a range that she has not displayed before. This is a dream cast who make the most of their breakout roles. How many other adjectives can I use to describe the film? Many more. The best thing to do, though, is to go out and see the film and enjoy its many pleasures for yourself.

I don’t know if its too early to call it a “classic”. I hesitate to use that word. If it isn’t one now, it comes as close as you can get. In a few years, after it has aged a bit, who knows? I, for one, can’t wait to open that bottle.

Not that I think Colin Powell is a rat. I don’t. I think he is a very smart man who knows when its time to leave. He, at least, has an exit strategy. What Am I talking about? Colin is resigning. Along with three other senior Bush cabinet members.

I realize that turnover is part of any second term but does this seem like a lot? I wonder if more will come?

It’s only Monday.

Sony introduced this camera. HiDef DV for the prosumer. Nice.

Security guru, Bruce Schneier, talks about the problems with electronic voting. It’s a little technical but very well done. So, check it out.

Security guru, Bruce Schneier, talks about the problems with electronic voting. It’s a little technical but very well done. So, check it out.