Monday, April 21, 2003

We spent the weekend going to multiple easter egg hunts for Mercedes, and watching The Godfather, Parts One, Two, and Three.  My parents gave me the 5 disc DVD Collection for my birthday. I'd seen the first one maybe 7 or 8 times, this was my second run through of Part II, and I had never actually seen all of Three, incredibly.  I don't feel that any argument can really be made that it's not the best set of films ever made; the weakest of the trilogy, the final installment, is still a powerful and affecting film, though it doesn't carry the gripping plot of the first two. I also must say that Al Pacino's performance in the original is the greatest acting performance that I've seen.  But Brando won Best Actor for it--and you can't argue that he didn't deserve it!  You know it's an incredible film when Duvall and James Caan are mindblowingly great and they aren't even close to Pacino and Brando.  And Fredo is the perfect tragic character throughout.  Michael's transition from good guy to bad guy is so perfect, so chilling, so gradual--it's just unreal.  I wouldn't argue that the original is the most important film ever made--it's obviously less influential than Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Birth of a Nation, and I Spit On Your Grave.  But it's the greatest film ever made.  And Part II is in the top ten.  Unbelievable. 1:43:11 PM    Let's hear it. []

Tunisian clothes sightings today: I went to the gym this morning and there was a guy there on the stairmaster wearing those plastic "jelly shoes" that little girls wear between ages 4 and 8.  He was about 50, I'd say. I also saw a guy walking around wearing a big black leather jacket that said "The School Of Hard Knocks".  Chance that the guy had even the first clue what his jacket said?  Zero.  1:35:53 PM    Let's hear it. []

Kansas hired former Tulsa/Illinois coach Bob Self to be the new head basketball coach.  This is good; he has a great track record, he was the first choice of the university and the players, and he has KU experience in the 80s under Larry Brown.  I'm pretty happy about it, though I was also holding out a little hope for Mark Few.  But Self should be there for a long, long time.  I'm also happy they did it so quickly, because it increases the likelihood that players and new recruits will settle in with the new guy. 1:35:34 PM    Let's hear it. []