Catching up with Oscar

How I spent my weekend -- Pictures courtesy of Ghoulardi Films and Fox Searchlight

by blogSpotter
This was a low-key Memorial Day weekend; Dallas had cloudy, humid weather and I came down with a cold. I managed to catch a couple of good movies on Apple TV during my convalescence. Apple is now offering newer movie releases in iTunes, so I’m only a little behind Blockbuster or Best Buy.

There Will Be Blood
This movie is based on a novel, Oil, by Upton Sinclair. The movie is an allegorical depiction of a greedy, rather despicable oil man who uses up all the people around him and eventually consumes himself in alcoholism and self-loathing. The movie is darkly poetic with its violin music and its somber blue, black and brown hues. It places us at the turn of the last century and also imparts the sad, lonely circumstances of its characters. Blood reminded me quite a bit of Christmas Carol with Daniel in the role of Scrooge. But Scrooge finds redemption in his tale – Blood has a shocking conclusion that is anything but redeeming.

Juno
Someone described this movie inaccurately as a “chick flick”. It’s really not about marriage or romance – it’s a cogent, well scripted social “dramedy” centering on a 16 year old, self-effacing tom boy named Juno who gets pregnant. Her boyfriend is also 16 – a high school track star who, like Juno, is immature and nowhere near parental readiness. Juno is helped by her father and step-mom in finding a “perfect” 30-something yuppie couple to adopt the infant when it’s born. The movie has one interesting twist at the end, but the main thing to glean here is the nuanced acting and believable, appealing characters. There aren’t really heroes or villains – just flawed humans searching for happiness or equilibrium however it may be found.

Both of these movies received Oscars and its easy to see why. Movie-making is so much more than story or dialog. It’s music, light, mood, cadence and many other things. You know when it’s done right and both of these movies are exemplary.

My other guilty pleasure this weekend was Indiana Jones and the Crystral Skull. For a pure adrenaline rush in an Amazon jungle, this movie surely delivers. At 65, Harrison Ford still has an athletic build and does his own stunts. The AMC audience had many older people in it, probably also in awe that Harrison can still pull it off. I’d like to say that I accomplished much more than watching movies this 3-day weekend, but nay. Given the state of my health and the weather, I’d say I chose some very good cinema to keep me entertained.

© 2008 blogSpotter

OPEC Sends Its Love

Is the well running dry? -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I'm looking at the sky high oil prices of 2008. The public is justifiably angry and there are accusations flying in all directions. Liberals point to the Iraq War and conservatives point to untapped Alaskan reserves. Right or wrong, the tendency is for voters to blame the Presidential and Congressional incumbents. In today's setting, it's much more of an indictment against Republicans than it is against Democrats. Democrats have had only a thin majority since 2006 and Bush is able to veto any of their measures. The Iraq war, the deficit and crippled economy are the legacies of Bush appointees, Bush policies and Republican carelessness thru the last two presidential terms.

What if someone saw the voter's reaction to the oil market, and decided to take advantage of it? If OPEC were to artificially run up the price of oil in an election year, could it be deliberately damaging to Bush and his cronies? If you look at the 13 members of OPEC, several would be considered outright "evil-doers" by the Bush administration: Iran, Libya and Venezuela, among others. There is no love lost between these nations and the United States. They don't like us on a good day, much less when Bush has put one of them on his "axis of evil". The Arab member nations have never been cool with us landing on their soil to do anything -- even something as noble as democratizing Iraq. They can say they've throttled oil production to lessen green house gases when just maybe, they throttled it to gig the status quo in the United States. Furthermore they're not necessarily spiting their faces by alienating a customer -- they have plenty of new oil demand coming from China and India. There is both humor and irony in the fact that the Saudi Royals gave Bush a bicycle on his recent visit to their land. One might ask if there's a not so hidden message about being less dependent on their oil output.

What if you had a President who fiddled while all the oil burned? What if you had a President who developed testy, strained relations with the very people we might need to make nice with? "What if" is no longer such a big speculation -- welcome to 2008. As I've pointed out in previous blogs, there are no less than 75 credible solutions for reducing oil dependency. Now with the fate of our consumerism and industrialism in the clutches of "evil doers" maybe we should look into some of those credible solutions. With Obama and/or Hillary in the White House, maybe we can try something like open dialog. It doesn't mean you love the other party, but it does mean that you intend to keep the oil flowing while working on alternative technologies.

© 2008 blogSpotter

The Iron Man Cometh

The Iron Man shines a light ... -- Picture courtesy of Marvel Studios

by blogSpotter
This weekend, I had the occasion to see Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. Iron Man tells the story of Tony Stark, a multimillionaire playboy who heads up a high tech weapons company, Stark Industries. I won’t go into the whole synopsis, but suffice it to say that Stark gets caught up in fighting Middle East terrorists as well as corporate intrigue at home. He sustains a serious injury in one foray, with shrapnel to his heart; he’s also taken captive by the Afghan terrorists. The terrorists provide Stark a high tech lab in hopes of getting his Jericho missile secrets. A fellow captive named Yinsen is a medical and technical genius who fashions a super battery-powered magnet that holds Stark’s heart together. Together they also figure out how to hook the heart to a metal suit that gives Stark his Iron Man super powers. I won’t rehash the rest, Iron Man enthusiasts probably know what all to expect. I do have some observations about the genre which I find amusing.

The AMC Theater was filled to capacity for an 8PM showing; a greater percentage of the audience was male. In fact, this movie is the ultimate guy movie and seems to garner more interest than Spiderman, Batman and the Incredible Hulk combined. Where women fantasize about becoming princesses (Pretty Woman, My Fair Lady), men seem to fantasize about transforming into super tough fighting machines. I think what gives Tony Stark extra appeal is that he’s presented as an ordinary man. His powers could be exhibited by anyone who dons his rocket powered gold-titanium suit. (“Hey dude, it could really happen!”). Stark is loosely based on Howard Hughes, the legendary “Spruce Goose” millionaire. Stark is also shown as all too human in his suitless state – a womanizing alcoholic. He does have a faithful, leggy assistant named Pepper, played to perfection by Gwyneth Paltrow. They have a sexual tension all throughout, which finally is somewhat acknowledged.

TEETERING HIGH HEELS

Iron Man plays by the action movie rules, and admirably so. In a couple of scenes, Pepper is in a frantic hurry. In one scene, she’s running from the demonic Obadiah (played by Jeff Bridges). In another scene she’s rushing about the lab hoping to forestall a disaster. In all scenes, she is wearing six inch high heels that would almost be challenging for lesser girls to wear for a casual stroll. She’s a faithful blonde Girl Friday who stands by her genius man but doesn’t try to fathom his deep ideas.

DELL versus APPLE

Apparently Satan uses a Dell. In a couple of scenes, it’s made apparent that Stark uses Apple iMacs for his genius work. When Pepper sneaks into Obadiah’s office to investigate something, it’s made apparent that Obadiah, the evil villain uses a late model Dell with a Dell brand flat screen. All of this confirms what I already suspected from the Apple commercials – that the cool and the virtuous use Apple hardware. I do think it’s funny that in so many movies and TV shows, Apple computers are prominently displayed. Not complaining mind you – I the virtuous blog author am typing this on an iMac Mini.

CONCLUSION

This movie was thoroughly enjoyable, although with more of a wink and a smile from my particular perspective. I don’t see the Iron Man suit being perfected by military intelligence any time soon, and I don’t have any fantasies about increasing my powers with rocket legs and bazooka arms. If you had that suit available right now, I would not put it on – on my first test flight I’d probably smack into a wall at 400 mph. But for guys who like the aforementioned movie ingredients, Iron Man is a must see. There might even be some girls that come along for the ride, if only to get footwear ideas from Pepper, the sexy assistant.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Can the Voter Get his Groove Back?

Nobody should surrender this right ... -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I checked the latest polls on realclearpolitics.com, and saw something a bit unusual. In hypothetical match-ups, Obama beats McCain by 3.8 points and Clinton beats McCain by 3.4 points. This is early in the campaign and the Democrats haven't even selected a final nominee. Both Obama and Clinton have distinct negatives (the baggage of Jeremiah Wright & Bill Clinton respectively). And yet both of them have a decent edge over McCain, who presumably has enjoyed the past three months as the sole GOP nominee.

Not unrelated to this polling trend is the tremendous increase of black Americans' participation in the 2008 election. It's almost as if in previous elections, they didn't feel they had a "dog in the fight". Blacks were putatively Democrats in 2000 / 2004, but their presence was tiny in comparison to the 2008 election. White evangelicals on the other hand were much attuned in the last two elections. They very likely sealed the deal for Bush. In this year's election, they're disappointed with McCain and have been much less vocal. They even seem to have rejected Mike Huckabee, a fellow evangelical but one with a non-Republican populist streak. What you have in all 3 elections (2000, 2004 and 2008) is electoral abdication by one of two major groups:

1. African Americans or
2. White evangelicals

Each group represents a significant percent of the voting populace. I'm not in either group myself, but must admonish that they do have a dog in the fight. By all appearances, Republicans are so deflated by the performance of "W" they've very nearly thrown in the towel. As Peggy Noonan pointed out in a recent Op-Ed, Republicans don't know how to distance themselves from the incumbent without seeming disloyal or in some way inappropriately liberal. But if they say and do nothing, they stand accused of offering a 3rd Bush term. It's a rock and a hard place if ever there were one. If African Americans had come forth in 2000 or 2004 as they have in 2008, would we be looking at 4,077 U.S. Iraq fatalities? Would we be looking at one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression? Now addressing evangelicals ... are you ready to sit on your hands showing contempt for McCain, knowing that Obama might select the next Supreme Court judges? What we have when whole groups abdicate is an extreme anomaly -- an elected president who steers way too far right or left and is unrepresentative of the nation at large. I think Bush has been somewhat a disaster and can't help thinking Obama, with his inexperience and his Chicago Southside cronies, would be a recipe for another disaster.

Interesting side note -- the California Supreme court just overturned a ruling against gay marriage yesterday. Pundits are saying it's unlikely to get overturned again by any constitutional amendment. A similar controversy erupted during the 2004 election, the striking down of the Texas Sodomy law. In 2004, that was impetus enough for evangelicals to come running out of the woodwork to save "traditional marriage". Karl Rove used it to great advantage for Team Bush. The Right is preoccupied this year and staring down problems much more worrisome than the "horrors" of gay marriage -- foreclosed housing, sky high gas prices and Middle East turmoil. In recent polls, significantly fewer people even identify themselves as Republican. There is much work needed for the GOP to get its groove back. Do I want snarky, anti-Gay evangelicals running the show? No I do not. Do I think we get freaking weird results when whole parts of the electorate sit out an election? Yes I do. I think 2008 will be to politics what El Nino was to weather patterns. When disaffected groups can "man up" and have dialogs with others, we may finally get representative government.

Maybe I'm wrong. Louis Farrakhan, leader of Nation of Islam, believes that whites and blacks are intrinsically unable to get along. He believes they should have separate leaders, separate governance. I hope for the sake of our diverse and dynamic "Great Melting Pot" that he's wrong. Everybody out there – please vote like it matters, because it does.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Our Fair Lady

Memoirs of Eliza -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I'm listening to Julie Andrews' autobiography "Home". She's had a remarkable adult life as an Oscar-winning screen actress and singer. She's played a gamut of roles from Eliza Doolittle to Mary Poppins to Queen Clarisse in the Princess Bride movies. At 73, she is now the Grande Dame of Anglo-American Theater (and was in fact named a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999).

Her childhood was dysfunctional to say the least. Her parents divorced when she was about 7; she spent most of her remaining childhood travelling with her vaudevillian parents. Her Mother Barbara was a pianist and the step-dad sang. Both were alcoholics in need of the program. Julie was fortunate to have a close-by Aunt Joan, and a highly devoted noncustodial father who would step in to care for her when the Mother and step-dad "flaked out" as they frequently did. Julie's Mother dropped a bombshell on her in her early teens -- telling her that her "real" father was in fact a one-night-stand she'd met at a party. Julie continued to embrace and strongly admire Ted Wells, her "societal" father as her real dad.

Her Mother and step-dad sobered up enough to notice her incredible singing range when she was about 9, and sent her to voice coaches and trainers. By age 14, Julie was supporting the family with singing engagements and appearing in small English productions including pantomime shows. Her audiences included the Royal Family by this point, although the good reviews didn't necessarily translate into money. The Andrews struggled to pay bills, and Julie was very oddly parent to her own parents -- ironing shirts, scrambling eggs and sorting out disputes between family members.

When she was pegged for The Boyfriend on Broadway, the naive 18 year old Julie was unaware of how special that was. When Lerner and Loewe interviewed her for My Fair Lady, she had no idea how legendary they were. She almost took a much smaller role in another production until the casting director of that production heard the news. He magnanimously said, "Play Eliza for God's sake! It's the role of a lifetime!" And indeed it was. My Fair Lady brought together some of the finest entertainment talents, anywhere, ever, in one place: Moss Hart, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway and many others. A shy 20-year-old Miss Andrews had to deal with the towering egos of those around her. Rex Harrison thought she was way too young. Cecil Beaton, the costume designer, thought she was too unphotogenic and unsophisticated (and would tell her snipily, to her face). Even Moss Hart would dress her down fiercely if she flubbed any lines. Nevertheless, she persevered and got to be friends with Harrison and Hart.

Julie says that she felt at times like Eliza Doolittle -- a country girl undergoing a major metamorphosis into a Bavarian princess. Listening to the book, I realize that she was very much Eliza. She had a suit-up, show-up survivor mentality that is incredible and rare. In taking care of her two younger brothers and reprimanding her lushy parents, she was very much in the role of Mary Poppins. On top of all that, she is and was extremely knowledgeable about opera, singing and music in general. She can give a history of any song -- who sang it, how it was played and in what setting. Dame Andrews remains grounded, kind and approachable where such stellar success would go to anyone else's head. I still have a few chapters remaining in her book but much is already obvious. Julie Andrews is a Dame and a gem -- a rare find in any lifetime.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Camelot II?

A couple from Hollywood casting -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
Barack and Michelle Obama are the new "it" couple. They're attractive and they've been likened to John and Jackie Kennedy in their "Camelot" phase. We are tantalized by the possibility of this handsome couple hosting state dinners and greeting dignitaries. The packaging couldn't be smoother if it came from Madison Avenue. They have the looks and style of Denzel Washington and Halle Barry. They have catchy new age slogans about "change" and "unity".

If the Obamas were served to us as first couple, would we still be as love-struck? What kind of presidency would it be? Some of this allure smacks of a high school popularity contest where voters take their cues from things that are way more superficial than substantive. For high school student council, not much more is at stake than new band uniforms or ecology day to pick up trash. For the Presidency of the United States, I myself have a strong preference for gravitas over glamour.

The past serves as a predictor for the future. Obama has possibly the most liberal voting record in the Senate. He has past associations with some sketchy people -- a Weatherman radical, a "liberation" minister and a crooked housing contractor. Who would Obama select for his cabinet, for Secretaries of Treasury and State? Who would be his Supreme Court nominees? The court is aging and he may get to pick two or three. Both Obama and his wife have said things that smack of victimhood and impotent passivity -- "At last I'm glad to be an American.... the rules keep getting changed on us ...” In general, people are certainly entitled to their points of view. But for President wouldn't you prefer someone with more positivity? What policy implications are there for that frame of mind?

I can't help but think we'd have ourselves a passel of problems. George W. Bush created a huge mess, and we need a serious, centered and knowledgeable person to pick up all the pieces. We don't need a new incarnation of Bush to create newer messes. There is the possibility that another inexperienced boob (and Bush is certainly one example) could actually compound and confound what's already wrong. In closing I can only say, "Be careful what you ask for". You might be getting it this November.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Death Ride of Bonnie and Clyde

Texas folk heroes -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter

You've read the story of Jesse James--
Of how he lived and died;
If you're still in need
Of something to read
Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde

from "The Story of Bonnie and Clyde" by Bonnie Parker, 1934

I watched the 1967 movie, Bonnie and Clyde last night on Apple TV. I hadn't seen the movie in its entirety since the 1970's -- had forgotten many elements. The movie was controversial at the time it was released; reviewers felt that it glorified violence and celebrated the criminals. It was linked to the mood-shifting, anti-authoritarian style of French new wave films in the late sixties. It was also part of its own "American" new wave, featuring more nudity and graphic violence than previously seen in movies. Also new were the actors; no less than four actors in the movie were relative new-comers whose careers were made by Bonnie and Clyde: Estelle Parsons, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder and Faye Dunaway. (Beatty and Pollard were already established names).

The criminal couple portrayed, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, hailed from West Dallas. In fact, much of the movie was filmed in places like Red Oak, South Lake, Midlothian and Denton. Dallas has been known as "the city that shot John Kennedy" since 1963 -- I guess our link to history-making violence is preordained. Our only other association in the public's mind is the TV show Dallas which does little to dispel a trigger happy image.

When they met, Barrow was a 23 year old ex-convict whose prior crimes were relatively petty (car theft, stealing turkeys). Bonnie was a 21 year old cafe waitress. Over their two year reign of Texas terror (1932-1934) they killed approximately 9 law officers. Insiders have said that Bonnie never actually fired a gun, but that she helped with logistics and getaways. The movie melded some of the characters together (into C.J. Moss) and simplified much of the goings-on -- pretty much a necessity for a 2 hour movie.

They were ambushed in Louisiana and controversy surrounds that also. The duo was never given an opportunity to surrender or "come out with your hands up". Also, Bonnie Parker was never even served any kind of warrant. Parker's family would not let her be buried "side by side" with Clyde as the more recent ballad would imply. The couple actually became folk heroes to Depression-era poor people and it's estimated that 20,000 people attended Bonnie's funeral (actually preventing the immediate family from access). It's not just the 60's film producers that saw a legendary saga in the yards of yellow police tape and chalk outlines.

The Bonnie and Clyde "death car" has been a favorite of county fairs throughout the South since 1934; funny that there are several such cars in different year models and colors. The fact that this handsome couple forsook all safety and future well-being for a shoot-em-up thrill ride still intrigues people today. If you get a chance, pick up a copy of the 1967 movie. If you happen upon the "real, genuine death car" at a county fair, take that with a grain of salt. If you are a citizen of Dallas or a nearby area, ponder why the city is so indelibly associated with so much violence and brutality.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Pretty Savvy in Pink

Hill meets another Bill -- Picture courtesy of Fox

by blogSpotter
I actually watched Bill O'Reilly's No-Spin Zone last night. For the first time, it wasn't because my treadmill at 24 Hour Fitness was positioned under a TV airing the show. No, I actually watched it at home. Now Mr. O'Reilly has been cited by others as one of the vocal minority who gives conservatives a bad name (eg, Anne Coulter and Rush Limbaugh). For whatever reason, I've never been entranced by him in any way. His main distinguishing trait is that he's a little bit "scrappier" with some of his liberal guests than other hosts might be. He's otherwise known for a sexual harassment suit of a few years back.

My reason for watching was, of course, to see m'lady Hillary as the guest. It's probably no coincidence that she decided to come on No-Spin Zone just as Obama's campaign is getting torpedo strikes from Obama's ex-pastor Jeremiah Wright. According to some insiders, Wright was hurt when Obama removed him from the 2007 campaign announcement ceremony. Insult was added to injury when Obama disavowed some of Wright's words and politely distanced himself back in March. It was only a matter of time until Wright could no longer bear these wrongs and let the world know that Obama was only speaking "as a politician". Truer words were never said.

O'Reilly immediately asked Hillary about the Wright controversy, and she used it as an ample opportunity to express her disapproval of Wright's ideas, as well as to express relief for Obama that he finally resolved that issue. This interview was part 1 of 4, and fairly short. Other topics discussed were the Bush tax cuts and fuel prices. They basically "agreed to disagree" on about every topic without any trace of vitriol or raised voices. Overall, the interview was very civil -- even at some points convivial. O'Reilly and Clinton are close in age and have both been cultural lightening rods. It almost looked like a very odd form of friendship or connection at work. Imagine a conservative liking a liberal or vice versa! Of course, there is lefty policy wonk James Carville married to right-wing wonkette Mary Matalin. And actually -- quite a few other examples besides that. Not to imply that this is a budding romance or anything... people can just be friends! :-)

Hillary wore a bright pink ensemble which varies somewhat from her usual navy pinstripes and gray tweeds. This may have been to boost her image with the FOX News audience. It looked pretty good and maybe she should also run it by the folks at CNN and MSNBC. Following the interview were FOX talking heads (Dennis Miller, Dick Morris) giving their spins on the spin. Miller thought O'Reilly was too nice, that he used kid gloves. Morris cynically suggested that Hillary knows she's lost -- she's just beating up on Obama so she can run again in 2012. BS to both. O'Reilly respectfully disagreed with Hillary on just about everything. And Hillary wouldn't waste that much time, energy and money on someone else's demise.

So, let's tune in for the follow-up interviews. Will the gloves come off? Will Hill become friends with a new Bill? We'll have to see on Fox News.

© 2008 blogSpotter