Blog

It’s nice and snowy. Makes you want to stay inside…

It’s not a secret or anything and not like I want to be egotistical about it, but if anyone was wondering, it is my birthday today. Yahoo.com had a nice birthday Thought For Today on my yahoo account – “Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.” — Attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).

Little trivia that I already knew: I share a birthday with U.S. President Martin van Buren (of NYS, to boot) and Walt Disney (the founder of the corporation that currently in turmoil).

Trivia that I didn’t know: turned out that in 1791, Mozart died on this date. Bummer. No wonder Yahoo had the Mozart quote attribution.

Now, that I’ve done this birthday observation, I can return to being in denial about getting older. So, let’s press on.

Notable book that I’ve just finished: “A Fearsome Doubt,” by Charles Todd. (Published by Bantam, paperback, 2002). Historical mystery: Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard, is a World War I veteran; it’s 1919, a year after armistice and Rutledge is still in recovery from his pychological wounds. In fact, in his mind, his constant companion is Hamish MacLeod, the Scottish corporal who was sadly executed by senior officer Rutledge for refusing to obey orders; Hamish the ghost/conscience is the representation of Rutledge’s perpetual guilt and his Watson; and, no, to even be more blunt, Hamish isn’t a real ghost. In “A Fearsome Doubt,” Rutledge is assigned to find out who’s been murdering veterans in the countryside. As a mystery, I found the solution a tad odd and incomplete, but strangely satisfying; then again, the Rutledge series generally ends with sort-of cliffhangers that leave me wanting more. As a novel of psychological and emotional exploration, it’s spectacular. Rutledge is so guilt-ridden, wavering, but still determined. Really good subway reading.

Enjoy the snow…

New York Times’ Quotation of the Day, for 12/2/03:

“You can be a social conservative in the U.S. without being a wacko. Not in Canada.”
– Chris Ragan, McGill University economist.

(in the article on the increasing political differences between the United States and its neighbor in the north; fascinating article; which leads me to wonder – aren’t there wackos in Canada? Aren’t we all wackos in the end???).

Oh, and check out what’s new on CNN, where there’s Anderson Cooper’s laugh-out loud funny commentary on the recent news of Roy Disney’s resignation from the board of Disney (which included a demand that CEO Michael Eisner resign). (although, you’ll have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the transcript to get the interesting lines…) . My access to cable is limited, so I didn’t actually watch Cooper make the remarks, but the textual “look” of the commentary just made me gasp with giggles. Among other things, Cooper said, regarding Roy Disney’s complaint that Eisner micromanages the corporation: “So what exactly is micro-management at Disney? Well, CNN has learned that, in the past, Disney management has used small people, some of whom are seen here in this video, not only to work as miners but also to sing and dance, a clear OSHA violation.” Hehehe. Give the man a hand; not only was he an interesting host for “The Mole,” but he’s an anchorman with a little bite.

Yesterday’s episode of “Alias” was quite good. Some gore, the usual amounts of violence, bizarre dream sequences, plot twistiness to jumble the brain (“uh, ok, so Secret Agent Sydney and Crew have to create a cover story to fool the Feds, and then do this, but then the Feds are on to them, and so Sydney et al. have to do what? And, Sloane has to kill Sydney, but guess who’s alive after all…??!!!”). Plus some really eccentric guest characters (were the writers taking some narcotics? Considering that one flakey character who likes hugs and making untimely remarks, hmm.).

Actually, come to think of it, the bizarreness reminded me of the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episodes (the one with Data and his dreams and all the crazy ones about the holodeck; but Star Trek never had the levels of gore and violence “Alias” has). It’s all about kooky fun, wrapped in a nice sci-fi/dramatic setting.

Ah, and will there be a revelation, as Sydney opens the door in her mind, to finally (!) resolve the half-season’s worth of questions? Am I glad next week is a new episode; the suspense will get to me…

True Value commercial – wherein Santa, the elf, Frosty, and some girl who looks like she’s the Tooth Fairy, are all on a road trip in an SUV. True Value says buy stuff from us. The elf says, “Read the map, Santa.” They see some plastic Santa up ahead and the real Santa says, “Am I that fat?” Uh… (funny commercial; but still wouldn’t know what True Value wants from me).

Target’s post-Thanksgiving weekend sale commercial – great. Bespectacled man plays a rockin’ drum beat; a young woman next to him plays along with her identical drum set. They look like they’re having loads of fun and yell, “Let’s go!” and played even more. Yeah, Target’s trying to get some energy into you to go out there and shop.

Not bad; right on message. Extra credit to Target.

Thanksgiving on tv involves: parade and football. I seemed to have been watching an excess of food shows (Jacques Pepin on PBS a lot this week), not to mention the Kennedy documentaries. The National Dog Show, on right now, after the parade on NBC – it’s a beauty contest without the swimsuit and question segments. Cute dogs.

Have a happy Thanksgiving. Try not to overeat, but live well.

Yes, Thanksgiving is coming. Check out the article on slate.com where they sample the turkeys and determine what’s the best. Look’s like Butterball beats the organic turkeys. Oh, well, big corporations have to be good at something, right?

If turkey is not your thing, consider an evaluation on Slate of “healthy” fast food (the new McDonald’s salad; the Burger King chicken baguette sandwich; and Taco Bell’s al fresco/salsa menu). I had liked the NY Times’ article about the subject, so I thought this complete contrast was a nice perspective. Personally, I’d go with Wendy’s, but I guess it’s not for everyone.

If you like more serious reading than what I’ve referred above, consider reading John Dean’s fascinating articles (Part 1 and Part 2 ) on Findlaw.com, where he’s analyzing the book, The George W. Bush Presidency: An Early Assessment, a collection of essays on the current administration. Yes, it’s that John Dean, the one of the Nixon/Watergate fame, who has been a contributor on Findlaw.com’s legal commentaries. Usually he’s extremely critical about the current administration, but he seemed very open to what sounded like a relatively balanced anthology. Even though the current administration can be very polarizing, it doesn’t hurt to consider something… less polarizing.

“Star Trek Enterprise” is on at 7pm tonight on Channel 9 (NYC Metro area); so feel free to catch it for the re-broadcast of this week’s episode of Trip the Clone. Nicely acted, like I said, even if not a perfect episode.

“Little Women,” starring Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon, is also on tonight. It’s a movie that has its moments; I’m hoping to see the whole thing for once!

Another sidenote – I saw “Love Actually” yesterday. A nice fluffy movie about love being all around us, starring all the favorite British actors. Hugh Grant did a nice job as a bachelor Tony Blair-ish prime minister who stands up to Billy Bob Thornton’s George W. Bush-esque American president (partly in reaction to the Billy Bob character’s leering the prime minister’s pretty, female assistant and then partly because the prime minister’s cabinet was not eager to cave into American demands – aww.) Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman were good and demonstrated a range of emotions. Colin Firth – ah, dear Colin was also quite good too! Liam Neeson did a nice role as the befuddled stepfather of a young boy in love. If you like fluffy, romance movies and don’t look for too much complexity, I’d recommend this movie.

I will have to post again later; I do have things to say about this week’s episode of “Star Trek Enterprise” but didn’t want to spoil it for those who do watch “Enterprise” but haven’t watched the episode yet (yes, I think it’ll be on again on Channel 9 in NYC area on Sunday at 9pm, if you want to catch it; then again, I’ll be trying to catch ABC’s “Alias,” which has to wrap up this mad crazy storyline before Secret Agent Sydney gets the lobotomy!). But, I can say that I thought this week’s “Enterprise” was very nice. A B+ for effort and points off for some quibbling that didn’t necessarily hurt the episode’s goodness, so to speak.

Nice Saturday today; go outside and enjoy it, is my other-than-television recommendation.

Oh, and a happy belated birthday to FC!!!

My driver’s license is up today, on my thirty-third birthday. It sort of feels like Logan’s Run, where at thirty-three, you were in line to being incinerated. Or on a brighter note, Jesus was rapping up things and preparing to be resurrected.

The day after I got back from Hawaii, I realized that I had procrastinated long enough and I had to get my license renewed pronto. Eight years ago when I last renewed my license, the DMV was in some brick building. Now it’s on the second floor of a shopping mall. The other major improvement is that lines have been minimized: there are two short intake lines that make sure that you have the right forms and take your photo if necessary. Then you’re given a computer-generated number where you wait your turn on benches until the computer generated woman announces that it is your turn. It’s a lot more humane than the old system. One and 1/2 hours and $45 later I was out with my new temporary license in hand. I visited the Pathmark that I didn’t know was there (in walking distance — ah, another 24 hour choice over Key Food) and a Storage USA (I need a safety valve to get rid of the excess junk out of my apartment.)

I’m sitting here writing, my forearms tingling and inflamed from delayed-reaction sunburn. I’m convinced that my body is designed for sub-tropical weather — there, my skin is smooth, clear and supple, here in the frigid want-to-be-like-London weather my skin is dry, itchy, and feels so tight I want to shed it. An ignoble way to begin a thirty-third year, but so many other things are going right. A Wong Tai Sin soothsayer, after feeling bumps and looking at moles, peged my expiration date to be around 2043, so what is a thirty-something to do? I remember my childhood filled with itching: itching is your body’s way of reminding you that you are alive and have to do something.

My Hawaii pics are still uploading (600+) and I have a few vignettes from the trip that I will post as they are completed. Just excuse the time warp.

Wonder why/how Britney Spears got herself a star on the walk of fame in Hollywood? Check out slate.com, the on-line magazine, for the answer. The “Explainer” explains it…

The newspapers reporting the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s inauguration – Maria Shriver with the 192-year old Kennedy family Bible; the Hollywood stars (Jamie Lee Curtis, aka Schwarzenegger’s “True Lies” wife; Rob Lowe (who I thought was a Democrat, in real life and on “West Wing”; etc.). It looks like an alternate universe, only it’s not. Meanwhile, it’s the week of the 40th anniversary JFK assaination and television networks (PBS being no exception) are showing Kennedy things. It’s the same stories about Jack, Jackie, Bobby, Teddy, etc. And, now, it’s Schwarzenegger – he is placed into context, in a way.

Of course, then there’s the picture of Andrew Cuomo in today’s NY Daily News; let’s not forget that he was a Kennedy-in-law who couldn’t be governor. Was that coincidental that his picture gets in, on the same day as the pictures for the inauguration of a victorious Kennedy-in-law was also published?