Month: January 2004

Dean, Lobotomized

I saw snipits of that interview. Shocked to see Dr. Steinberg (aka the Mrs. Dean). Diane Sawyer made the same point I did and I think it’s totally appropriate:

“Dr. Judith Steinberg, M.D., explained that she stays at home because she has her own private practice and my patients are my patients and they really depend on me and I really love it. It’s not something I can say, “Oh, you can take over for a month.” It just doesn’t work like that.”

Sorry, doc, but it does work like that. Your hubby is interviewing for the biggest job in the country, arguably the whole world, President of the United States of America. Guess what your job is? Not Doctor, it’s First Lady.

I think Dean is sunk. He hasn’t recovered from losing Iowa. Now he could pull second in Hampshire which would float him for a while but I think Edwards and Clark are going to be the voter’s favored choice over Dean. Not sure whether Kerry is going to end up being the winner at the end of the race. I don’t think he can beat Bush. I’m pulling for Clark now but the numbers don’t look good for him. Dean will end up being like what Senator McCain was in 2000. Everything but the winner of his party’s nominee for President.

=YC

The Anti-Diva (New York Times Magazine)

Deep into the end of the article, the writer mentions that Nora Jones is the out-of-wedlock daughter of Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar. Who knew? Other fan websites actually say that Jones and Shankar have a good relationship, but they prefer to keep it private. I think that it is a good thing that she doesn’t make a big deal about that connection. I agree with her that it doesn’t matter about one’s family background or connections, but that one’s work has to stand on its own.

“Star Trek: Enterprise” – last week, I noted that I’m still looking for more from the series. This week’s episode, “Proving Ground,” seemed just a bit closer to the “more” – although, I’m still not sure how to articulate what this “more” is. Commander Shran of the blue Andorian aliens arrives to help Captain Archer and the Enterprise crew in getting info on the Xindi weapon. Shran, played by actor Jeffrey Combs, was quite good; he’s conflicted by his genuine interest in helping and respecting the humans and yet is obligated toward the Andorians’ own interest to get the weapon for themselves.

Combs is a recurring Star Trek actor, most well-known as the villainous and slimy Weyoun of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” He’s so convincing as Shran, someone you’d like to trust but know that you can’t. I got into it by yelling at the tv, “Archer, don’t listen to him; he’s Weyoun in a prior life and he hasn’t exactly been that trustworthy with you in the past two seasons anyway!” Archer, played by Scott Bakula, still needs work – I may never know if it’s because of the line reading or the script writing (without stronger writing, even Bakula, who has been a better actor in the past, can’t milk all that much). More Shran/Combs please!

Captain Kangeroo, aka Bob Keeshan (who I most remember as the host of the CBS Saturday morning Storytime show), has passed away. Yahoo.com – why are they posting a picture of Keeshan and Howard Dean? (besides the fact that Keeshan’s home was in Vermont; there were probably other heartwarming pictures of Keeshan to show). Anyway, the point is, Keeshan is a sad loss, much like with the passing of Fred Rogers. What are kids watching these days without such figures? They are missed.