Triscribe

Author: ssw15

  • Happy “Lost” Day!

    As Time’s James Poniewozik notes: Happy “Lost” Day! It’s the return of “Lost.”  I’m confused as ever, with tons of questions, as usual.  ‘Nuff said.

    Apologies to Conan O’Brien: I’m still cynical.  Why should it be any surprise that Vanity Fair’s cover on “New Hollywood” – to cover the rise of new actresses – lacks diversity, i.e., we’ve got a cover of white women.  Nothing against white women, but what about other actresses of other backgrounds?  Is this what we get when The Powers That Be of Hollywood are not of diverse backgrounds?  I liked that the article references to Gabourey Sidibe from “Precious”; Zoe Saladana for “Avatar” and “Star Trek”; and even Freida Pinto from “Slumdog Millionare.”

    Angry Asian Man also links to that foregoing article about the lack of diversity of that Vanity Fair cover, and adds that there’s still not much in the way of Asian/APA representation at the Oscars, beyond – say – Russell from “Up.”

    So, as exciting as it is that the Oscars have improved on the diversity of nominated directors and there’s improvement about the nominations of African-American actors (Sidibe, Mo’Nique, and Morgan Freeman) – it is a little disappointing about the lack of Asian/APA’s, after the excitement of last year’s “Slumdog Millionaire.”  Progress takes time, I guess.

  • February 2010!

    I can’t believe it’s really February already.

    I’m becoming addicted to the chips from Food Should Taste Good (interesting review of the chips).

    Hat tip from Angry Asian Man: a cool profile on Grant Imahara from “Mythbusters” on Discovery Channel.

    Another hat tip from Angry Asian Man (and here too): Yet another one of those “What is it with Congress?”  – when the ABA unanimously approved a nominee for federal district court, and the judiciary committee approved, apparently the Senate Republicans opposed U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Chen’s nomination for an Article III Federal District Court judgeship for Northern District of California, only to get his name back for renomination. Can they please get this done already?

    Is this some kind of joke? Dante’s Inferno – as an EA video game? (nope, it’s for real).  Dante, the knight, who returns from the Crusades to find that Lucifer killed the beloved Beatrice and then goes on a rampage of vengeance? I’ve read “Inferno” three times and wouldn’t have expected Dante to be an action hero in this way; talk about dr…amatic license. Plus, what’s Virgil’s role? Is he the video game’s Gandalf or something? They’re even comparing it to “Dungeons and Dragons.” What?!

    Very cool stuff: a NY Times article on the capabilities of learning languages on-line, including how BBC’s website offers a way to learn foreign languages online for free.  I don’t see them offering Cantonese Chinese, but the French section seems pretty nifty and maybe I’ll try it to learn Spanish in a very rough way.

    Check out the NPR coverage on this great stuff from Baroness P.D. James – I doubt that I can write like her or comment on crime and justice, etc., with grim characters, but I really want to read her new book about the subject of detective fiction.  Sounds so good.

    Slate’s Daniel Gross with an interesting article about how the investment banks ought to make a choice; don’t go crying about how the gov’t’s so mean to you, when they’re bailing you out; and if you don’t want their help, then go bail yourself out.  He concludes:

    The public—as aggrieved owners, taxpayers, and savers—has every right to question the banks’ methods and practices. If they don’t want us poking around their businesses, they can shrink their balance sheets, replace government-subsidized debt with market-rate debt, stop relying on the Federal Reserve for funding, and get out of our index funds. As film mogul Samuel Goldwyn once said: “Include me out!”

    Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick with a solid point, as she compares the experiences of US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, in his Citizen United dissent, and Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa’s Constitutional Court, in his memoirs: “Side by side, Sachs and Stevens reveal that this is an odd constitutional moment indeed in America, in which corporations are treated like living persons by judges who aspire to be machines.”

    The video of President Obama’s taking on the Republican representatives’ questions (which I accessed via the Time blog “Swampland”) was an hour of listening/watching; probably worth it, just to see the President in a roomful of Republican congressmen. I read somewhere that a commentator compared this to marital counseling; perhaps forcing the Dems and Republicans into a room to actually talk to each other and answer each other’s questions in …a civil manner might help (granted, this isn’t a Parliamentary system, but it can’t hurt).  Can we get things going to do stuff, as noted above about the judgeship confirmation?

  • Midweek of the Last Week of January 2010

    But there was no mistaking [Justice John Paul Stevens’] basic message.  “The rule announced today — that Congress must treat corporations exactly like human speakers in the political realm — represents a radical change in the law,” he said from the bench.  “The court’s decision is at war with the views of generations of… Americans.” – Adam Liptak.

    Fascinating article by Liptak (link above) about J. Stevens, in light of the recent Citizens Union case (I’m not necessarily going to read the 100+ pps. decision anytime soon, but the CLE that I attended at the New York State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting covered it in a pretty serious way – the impact of the decision will have on campaign financing reform remains to be seen).  (plus, this year, the Annual Meeting is at the Hilton, not the Marriot Marquis; less Times Square, more Avenue of the Americas).

    Fascinatingly cool item: Slate Poetry Editor/former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky with a poem by Michelangelo about how hard it was to paint the Sistine Chapel.

    Is it Friday yet?  Seriously, this week is already feeling too long.

  • See you later, Conan O’Brien, wherever you are.

    “All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical.  I hate cynicism.  For the record, it’s my least favorite quality.  It doesn’t lead anywhere.  Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get.  But if you work really hard and you’re kind, I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.”

    – Conan O’Brien

    I really enjoyed watching the graceful farewell by Conan O’Brien, for his last show last Friday.  Not a Will Ferrell fan, but I thought Conan joining Ferrell, Ben Harper, Beck (!), and others in a final jam session was his way of saying “see you around.”  That he gave his thanks to NBC for his career (despite the bitterness of the situation) was touching, as was his thanks to the fans.  Guests Steve Carrell and Tom Hanks were also cool.

    Check out the highlights by Alan Sepinwall of the Star-Ledger; James Poniewozik in his Time Magazine blog “Tuned In”; Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune; and (but not least) Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly.  Tucker also noted (which I had seen and thought was sweet) on Jimmy Fallon’s tribute to Conan from Conan’s old Late Late night studio at 30 Rockefeller.

    Part of me feels like NBC did what any corporation does these days – look out for the bottom line and not necessarily care about long-term or big picture ideas or human feelings.  Conan’s not perfect, but he at least made me think that NBC was trying to build for a future.  Not to say that Jay was great or bad or whatnot, but making the drastic decisions NBC made in ditching prime-time for him and then daring to bring him back to late night, in the middle of trying to keep Conan but ultimately losing him anyway (as Poniewozik noted, NBC pretty much spent millions of dollars and 17 years of training someone else’s future late night host) – it’s kind of schizophrenic to me.

    Honestly, I don’t understand corporations.  And, thanks to the US Supreme Court, there’s an argument to be made that they’re almost like people now – just as nasty and insane (versus the argument to remind us that corporations should not be seen as the equivalent of people).

    But, then what can we (as a culture, as corporate entities, as anything) do, when the latest generation doesn’t watch tv the way the previous ones do?  Conan’s long term prospects were not clear when the young weren’t watching him at the time slot that he thought was important to obtain.

    Some great inside stuff by NY Times’ Bill Carter: on Conan’s last night and the settlement deal (which appears to prohibit him from talking or being a star on a show until September).

    TV critic/commentator David Bianculli proposes that David Letterman invite Conan as a guest on the night Leno returns to the Tonight Show; maybe even as a silent guest or speaking via MadLibs (to comply with the settlement deal).   Possible comedy gold mine.  Or a very dramatic one.

    Would Conan come back to NY, or continue trying to seek his fortune in California?

    Not sure if I can agree with Conan’s statement about cynicism.  I’ve been wondering about the difference between cynicism, realism, pragmatism, and pessimism, and how things optimistic are kind of hard to find.  But, maybe if Conan says that amazing things can still happen, maybe there is a light out in the darkness after all.

    Or maybe I’m just reading too much into things.  Oh well.

  • Stuff to notice in January 2010

    Well, yes, there is that whole Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien-NBC thing, which is slowly winding down even if negotiations are still on-going (NBC could have foreseen this mess; Jay Leno, while not necessarily the Bad Guy, only wanted to keep his job, whatever that job might be – but really not helping resolve the situation; and Conan – well, so he didn’t get the Big Ratings – they didn’t have to dump blame on him and he’s been funny since he decided he’s got nothing to lose – and I’m still pretty impressed by his terrifically done statement; and Corporate Cogs at NBC are what they are – cogs).

    I guess one can’t feel too sorry for anyone – NBC is going to pay for its foolishness (dumping 10pm-11pm time slot on one man?  huh?); Jay gets The Tonight Show back (although not sure if he gets goodwill?); and Conan gets lots of money (but loses a career goal in losing The Tonight Show – so that’s too bad).  But, it has been strangely entertaining.

    There are more important things in the world: ex., the situation in Haiti with the earthquake puts things in proper perspective.  I encourage donations; personally, I’ve been impressed with Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), but many others have been trying their best to help.

    TV in January: “Life Unexpected” – saw the first episode; ah, such nice reminders of the old WB legacy.  I think I’ll watch another episode or two to see if there’s a better feel for the show.

    “Deep End” is one of those legal shows that make me wonder – are you going to help or hurt the legal profession?  Plus, associates these days do not have it great – presuming that they are facing salary cuts and no guarantees for partnership (more than ever) – is this new series going to be more the over-the-top end of things or aim for accuracy?  The cast is attractive – so maybe I’ll be tacky and watch it anyway.

    Last but not least: Harold Koh’s great speech on “Why Diversity Matters to Me” got posted on Angry Asian Man blog.  When things are sucking in the world right now, this was a ray of hope, as Koh says:

    Many of our core constitutional protections for foreign nationals resulted from civil rights struggles that arose out of discrimination against Asians in America: a struggle like that experienced by so many other groups, which reminds us — as Dr. King said — that though we may have come in different boats, we’re all in the same boat now. [….]

    Fittingly, it was Jackie Robinson who put it best, when he said, “Baseball became a much, much better game, when everyone could play.”

    Let me close with this story. A few years ago, my mother met a man named Don James. After talking, they realized that they had both graduated from Boston University in 1955. When they looked together at their yearbook, they realized that the man who had marched between them at graduation — between James and Koh — was none other than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we celebrate today.

    Picture that day more than fifty years ago, a Korean immigrant woman, an African-American man, and a Scandinavian man, all marching onto an American stage to get their degrees. Dr. King and my mom were both 26. Thirteen years later, he was dead. But in between, he had changed the world. But my mom lived on.

    Then flash forward to today. Consider that the son of that woman, an Asian-American lawyer, is now Legal Adviser to a woman Secretary of State who serves in the cabinet of a president who is the first African-American since Dr. King to win the Nobel Prize. And all three of these people hold their jobs in a country where not so long ago, none of them would have had the right to vote.

    So progress may not come quickly, but as Dr. King said, “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome some day. But for that to happen, we must believe — we must insist — that diversity matters. And we cannot rest until the dream of diversity, and the aspirations of so many who fought for it, have been fully realized.

  • The First Month of 2010

    Been terribly behind on everything lately, possibly due to continuing shock that it’s freaking 2010.

    The following was a commercial about the year 2000; just replace it with the year 2010, and you’ll get what I’m feeling: It’s Freaking 2010?!…  We’re in the future… but where are the flying cars?   As Avery Brooks (Sisko of “Star Trek: DS9”) says: “Flying cars; I was promised flying cars!” (minus the lines about IBM; but emphasis on Brooks’ amazing voice). (I previously embedded this here).

  • Some Lists for 2009?

    Okay, so I gave in – I wrote up my own list of 2009 tv, more as a follow up to last year’s list. This list has also been posted in the comments section of David Bianculli’s “Tv Worth Watching” site. Do check out his best and not-so-best lists; I completely agree with his selected not-so-best (bottom) items: “I’m a Celebrity; Get Me Out of Here” and anything relating to Octomom were probably the bottom of the barrel of 2009 in tv (and, I swear, one should not be considered a “celebrity” if one did nothing worthy – i.e., help society or arts or whatnot – to be a celebrity).

    As noted, I haven’t been up on tv stuff. My personal 2009 list is more like someone else’s Honorable Mentions type list, since I’ve been terribly remiss on key 2009 things (Mad Men and Battlestar Galactica), and I’ve become an unapologetic PBS snob who keeps hoping for better from the original broadcast networks for some reason (nostalgia, maybe). But, this is what I’ve basically enjoyed and really thought highly in 2009 (in no particular order):

    1. Fringe (FOX) – it ended the 2008-2009 season strong and there were some good moments so far in 2009-2010. I haven’t taken it off my list at all.

    2. Community (NBC) – it has some heart and a lot of humor; I really had a huge kick out of the Christmas episode (sorry, I mean, it was not really Christmas, it was a non-denominational Dec. 10 episode – a funny thing in the context of the episode).

    3. Modern Family (ABC) – another show of heart and humor.

    4. Better off Ted (ABC) – if you think your workplace is a depressing source of dark humor, try Ted’s workplace…

    5. Lost (ABC) – what a season earlier this year! I’m getting very excited for its return in 2010.

    6. The Sing Off (NBC) – I’ve been entertained by “Glee” (FOX), but felt it was inconsistent (the fake pregnancy plot was a big turnoff for me); but I really enjoyed the great a capella in “The Sing Off” and Ben Folds as a judge who gave good constructive feedback.

    7. Nova Science Now (PBS) – Neil deGrasse Tyson makes science accessible.

    8. Ken Burns’ “National Parks” documentary (PBS)

    9. Masterpiece Mystery! (PBS) – I appreciated it for bringing Kenneth Branagh as Detective Wallendar to the small screen and the return of Inspector Lewis.

    10. Last but not least: Craig Ferguson. I really got into watching him this year, and got to love the puppets!

    Not-so-good trends of 2009:

    1. What I consider to be a decline of “Heroes” (NBC)(it stopped being on my list of things to watch, because I lost patience with the writing and what was done to the characters I had liked).

    2. Jay Leno at NBC’s 10pm – he’s trying his best, but I miss seeing dramas at 10pm on NBC.

    3. the continued trend of poor quality reality shows (regardless of network, broadcast or cable).

    I’m not prepared to do a best/worst of the decade list (I’m in denial that the aughts are really over), but I liked James Poniewozik’s decade lists (posted via his Robo-James, since he’s on vacation):

    Brilliant-But-Cancelled Shows of the 00’s.

    Poniewozik included “Wonderland” – the short-lived series about Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric ward – well-acted, yes, but Michelle Forbes as the pregnant psychiatrist stabbed by a mental patient with a hypodermic needle was quite a powerful scene – too powerful and thus left “Wonderland” with a short shelf life. But, it was part of ABC’s attempts to get out of the ratings basement with daring shows (take note, NBC), and was a series where actor Ted Levine played one of the psychiatrists in the middle of a child custody battle – back in his pre-“Monk” days… (that I remember this is a little scary and geeky) but the series was memorable and you can probably imagine how shocked I was that Monk’s Capt. Stottlemeyer was the same actor on “Wonderland” (such a strong cast of actors).

    Poniewozik also included “Karen Sisco” (where Carla Gugino did a pretty nifty job, and yes, another show where ABC took a chance to get it out of the ratings basement), and “Wonderfalls” (which was a weird show, by Brian Fuller, before “Pushing Daisies” (and probably a similar whimsical tone – although, I never did get to watch “Pushing Daisies”).

    Speaking of Carla Gugino, I did feel sorry that her other 00 series – “Threshold” – wasn’t given more of a chance with CBS (I mean, what a cast – in addition to Gugino, it had Brent Spiner (ex-Data of Star Trek: The Next Generation), Peter Dinklage, and Charles Dutton! Plus, an X-Files-like alien invasion thing and decent writing and creepy atmospherics).

    “Arrested Development” would have been another one of those Brilliant But Cancelled 00 shows in my mind – gone too soon. I’m not so sure about “Veronica Mars” – yeah, sad that it got cancelled, but it sort of had a good run (I’d define Brilliant But Cancelled as a show that went too soon without a shot and a full completion) – UPN took it as long as it did – and then again, UPN was also gone from the earth too, so oh well.

    Oh, and “Boomtown” – definitely sad that it was pulled; it removed Neal McDonough and multi-perspective storytelling from the small screen – so unfair (NBC during a cruel moment, as far as I’m concerned; no wonder it became the network that gave us a crappy revival of “Knight Rider,” and “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here”).

    Oh, and, from WB, “Jack and Bobby” and “Everwood” (which, granted, had four seasons, so that’s pretty decent compared to, say, one season of “Jack and Bobby” and the season and less-than-half of “Boomtown”) — but then even WB is gone from this earth so… okay, maybe I like a lot of Brilliant But Cancelled shows.

    Poniewozik also has a list of “What Changed TV in the 00’s” (DVR, cable, reality tv, HDTV, and that thing called the Internet, among other items sure made tv in the 00’s real amazing and horrid at the same time).

    Wonder how tv will be redefined in the 2010’s. If the quality can be better, maybe change isn’t so bad. But, then again, I’m wary of change…

  • Don’t Go Just Yet, 2009!

    On Christmas Day, siblings and I watched “Invictus” at Bay Ridge’s Alpine theater. Movie was good stuff. Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela – one who is human yet trying to do better (for his people – his immediate family, whom he became estranged, and his nation, which is struggling to overcome hatred and a poor economy); Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, who is more than just a rugby player in becoming inspired by Mandela.

    Both Time’s Richard Corliss and Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman make the film’s parallels to President Obama (he wins an historic election; can he lead?), but I pretty much agree with A.O. Scott’s review in the NY Times – yeah, it’s a sports movie, but there’s politics, human weakness, and growth in change (it did lag a bit at some points, but I think that’s more of a choice on the part of director Clint Eastwood to build the story).

    I thought the supporting cast of “Invictus” was also pretty solid, in making one feel like this might have been what it was like in the early and mid 1990’s of South Africa, a nation in a difficult transition (racially, culturally, economically, etc.). Adjoa Andoh as Brenda Mazibuko was a good watch as Mandela’s skeptical chief of staff – and I kept wondering where had I seen her before. PBS stuff, in all likelihood, where the British imports are… and then IMDB completely established for me where I had seen her: she was in the 10th Doctor Who series, as the mother of Martha Jones, the 10th Doctor’s post-Rose companion. God, I am a geek-wanna-be.

    I had read this awhile back, and provide for reading pleasure: Henry “Fonzie” Winkler as Captain Hook in the British holiday tradition of the pantomime – what a thought!

    Hat tip to Angry Asian Man: Prof. Frank Wu of Howard Law School has been named new dean of UC Hastings Law; I wonder if this makes him the only Asian American law school dean (since Harold Koh left Yale Law to join the Obama administration); plus I recommend Wu’s book “Yellow” – great writer.

    Granted, I may never have Harvard Men’s basketball in my March Madness brackets (seriously, no, but who knows by next March? I root for Alma Mater, but it’s not like Alma Mater or the rest of the Ivy League has really gone far in the NCAA tournament) – but, what a great story about an Asian American kid at Harvard who just wants to play ball (hat tip from Angry Asian Man).

    I have to agree with this Slate article by Christopher Beam – I think it’d have to be awhile yet before we can truly define the 00 decade (have we really defined the 1990’s, come to think of it?).

    Last but not least: Pandas!

  • More December: A Cat and Lawyers

    Odd photo in the Metropolitan Diary segment of the NY Times: man with a large cat on his head, while walking in lower Manhattan (I think it’s lower Manhattan; I recognize the background to be near B’way and Fulton). Cute kitty.

    Various federal judges, as members of the Baker Street Irregulars, are quoted as having enjoyed the new Sherlock Holmes movie (as in, it’s not that bad) (hat tip to link from Sarah Weinman’s Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind).

    Anthony Romero, Executive Director of ACLU, is apparently another lawyer who spends his weekends at the Hamptons; otherwise, an interesting profile on what he does on his Sundays (reading the NY Times, for instance).

    On the eve of his new term, NY Times profiles Manhattan DA-elect Cyrus Vance, Jr. , through the perspective of his relationship with his father, Cyrus Vance, Sr.

    On the eve of his last term, a look at Manhattan DA Robert Morganthau.

    The passing of Percy Sutton.

  • Observations

    In the NY Times: New York City of the past and how it celebrated New Year’s, with a ball.

    I’ve been fascinated of late how NYC’s Dutch past has been explored: the NY Times’ Danny Hakim profiles historian Charles Gehring, who has been working on translating old New Amsterdam records.

    The passing of Lawrence Krebs, Nobel Prize winner, a scientist who helped improve our understanding of cellular biology and muscle movement. I remembered studying the Krebs process when I was in high school and taking AP Biology.

    The passing of Alaina Reed, who played Olivia on “Sesame Street.”

    The passing of George Michael, sportscaster of the “The George Michael Sports Machine” show, syndicated on local NBC for many years.

    The passing of Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney’s nephew and a man with his own impact on the entertainment industry.

    Otherwise, NY Times Magazine is covering the other observations of those who passed in 2009.