Thursday, May 01, 2003

My son reminded me of the words of Ben Affleck's character Holden in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: "This is a site full of militant movie buffs: sad bastards who live in their parents' basements, downloading scripts and trading what they believe to be inside info about movies and actors they despise yet can't stop discussing. This is where you go if you wanna hear frustrated would-be filmmakers mouth off with their two-bit, arm-chair- director's opinions on how they all could've made a better Episode One." "Secondly, there's not much you can do about stopping this bile. The Internet's given everyone in America a voice, and everyone in American has chosen to use that voice to bitch about movies. As long as there's a Bluntman and Chronic movie, the Net-nerds are gonna have something negative to say about it." Thanks, Jesse Laura   6:06:17 PM    comment [] The Biases are Loaded By Amy Sullivan Web Exclusive: 4.28.03 Everyone knows that conservatives win when they play hardball. But they also win at softball. Among congressional staff in Washington, the hallowed summer tradition of softball games on the National Mall is, in many ways, a microcosm of the larger political struggle between liberals and conservatives. Liberals let everyone play, even if it means benching their home-run hitters while the guy who whiffs every pitch gets a turn. Conservatives pick their nine strongest players and send everyone else out to buy beer. Liberals often have four or five women on the field. Conservatives play only the required three and sometimes even insist that different rules apply to women. Liberals have such fierce team names as Jeffords' Vermont Saps or the Daschle Prairie Dogs. Conservative teams are more likely to follow the lead of the Helms Hitmen. Thanks to Calpundit You know I've been batting around (snort) a similar analogy, but this one seems to be the more articulate version.  In which case, I'm torn, because I'm all for giving everyone a chance to play, but if it's the bottom of the ninth, and we need a run, I'm gonna put the best hitter at the plate.  I'm not stupid, you know. This piece is actually a review of Eric Alterman's book What Liberal Media?  It's an interesting read, I learned some things, but I've read a lot of the stuff in the early chapters on the net.  I hadn't looked closely at the 2000 election, though, that was when Bobbi died, so I didn't have much focus for a while.  I still don't.  My version (in trying to explain to my son, Jesse) of the differences between Democrats and Republicans is they're like a married couple.  Republicans are the man of the house who wheels and deals all day to bring home the bacon, and collects the necessary tools to protect his family.   He feels that because he is the strong one with the money, he gets to say what goes in his home, and is the benevolently paternal guardian of the family's moral character.  The Democrats are the wife, who must maintain that home, keep the kids fed and clothed with the money the man provides.  Sometimes, when she sees a neighbor kid whose parents can't afford to feed him, or he's being neglected, she'll let him sit at her table.  She has to constantly nag to get money for daycare, and soccer, and piano lessons.  She's concerned whether the food she buys for the family is safe, and the environment is not toxic.  She's worried that the kids will have adequate health care, in case they're injured by a malfunctioning airbag.  And with all that, she still worries about the neighbor kid, whom she suspects is being abused or neglected.  Now, because the man has to maintain his aura of moral superiority, he has to relent (to a point) to the wife's nagging, he must look as if he wants to help the neighbor kid.  But he's only going to give the bare minimum, while bolstering his public face with his generosity.  Meanwhile, the wife will go around and ask the community to help out, because she knows that if the kid isn't helped now, he'll most likely end up a criminal or on drugs.  You get the picture.  I like the baseball theme, really.  Amy doesn't say it, but the exclusionary team doesn't always win.  The inclusives do win some of the time, and a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise get the chance will have played a part.  Laura   5:38:12 PM    comment [] Good Morning Ah... the smell of melons and sweat in the city.  Thanks for jogging the memory, I'd almost forgotten. Did I opine about Elizabeth Smart?  I'm not sure that's the correct word for it.  But you're quite right.  I did say the poor girl was the only one who really benefitted from this disasterous turn of events.  The war shunted her story right off the front pages just when it did seem the jackals really were going to turn on her.  Here the poor kid gets kidnapped and god knows what-all done to her, and presumably intelligent, compassionate people are starting to second guess her behavior!  I truly was appalled.  And this on top of making her play the harp her first night home!  I do hope the family gets some counseling, but I don't know what the Mormon stance is on the issue. And of course our leaders have been lying their faces off this whole time, as are the Iraquis, the French, and every other politician -- centuries of lies and skullduggery.  It's exhausting, really.  The Bush admin really seems to be going over the top, though.  It's gone beyonds shades of Orwell to downright Orwellian.  I don't know why there's not more outrage.  What really baffles me is that I think people aren't outraged because they don't know what's going on, then when I try to explain it, they know and just don't care.  Exactly like the article you linked.  It's stunning. I'm tired now, Tammy 6:32:15 AM    comment [] Damn Iraq I watched my taped version of Buffy last night, I'd missed a couple episodes due to internet immersion in the war, and I was lost.  I can't believe it.  I've been watching since it started and (despite the year of very dull and boring Riley) I've found it to be one of the most well-written and funny shows on TV.  It was like the Gilmore Girls with monsters.  I feel so out of it.  Who's Caleb?  (besides being one of the Joeys on One Life to Live and the captain in the failed Whedon sci-fi adventure Firefly) Why was Buffy kicked out of her own house?  What is the purpose of Xander losing an eye?  When did Faith get good again?  How annoying!  And we're heading into the final Big Bad Series Finale!  As for May sweeps, what's to sweep?  Does this mean we'll have even more eps of American Idol (who cares???)  I like that they're playing 2 eps of Criminal Intent on Sundays, but that cuts into my taping of Six Feet Under.  (we'll discuss that one soon)  I'm not usually into Law & Order, but Vincent D'anofrio is fantastic.  He was at once funny and scary in The Salton Sea (though no one saw it but me).  He was the only good part of The Cell, which was ruined by J. Lo's big butt (mouth, I mean).  He plays psycho like nobody's biz, you expect him to flip out any moment on CI, his character is strung so tight.  I love the tension. Anyhow, Tammy, I have to set up an email box to do remote posting, so we'll have to wait for the weekend so I'll have time to relearn HTML and scripting.... Laura 6:15:33 AM    comment []

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