Awesome Advice

If you spend your life trying to control other people's perceptions of you, you will not only not succeed, but you will go crazy in the attempt. Better to do what you've determined is right, and let people think what they will anyway.

I read this bit of advice deep down a conversation thread over on Blog Critics (a great site devoted to many of the same subjects covered here) .

I find it to be a profound and potentially life-altering statement.

Block Buster v. Netflix: No Contest

I've blathered on before about how much I love Netflix. I probably average three rentals a week (if not more) which equals out to 12 rentals a month without leaving my house once @ about $20/month = good deal for me and mine. It also allows me to indulge in my love of watching marathon television box sets (if that's the right term). No way I'd rent six discs of 24 or Sex and the City from Blockbuster, but on Netflix it's a beautiful thing.

I have to add in my own Block Buster tale:

My wife was sick and we were in between Netflix shipments, so I agreed to go down to the local Block Buster for the first time in about three years.

1) I was appalled that several selections that I was interested in, including Garden State, were not available. I had made the trip to the store, I had money in my pocket... and they're out of stock. In 2004, that business model makes no sense for an educated consumer.

2) I get to the checkout, and for some wiseass reason I query the checkout girl about the "no late fees, ever" policy. I assumed that as a low-on-totem-pole employee she would immediately agree with me when I mentioned that "it's not really a no late fee policy because your credit card will be charged after a period time."

Little did I know that I was in for a five minute dissertation on how I'm "really saving money" with this policy.

How I'm really saving money is by paying for bare bones cable television and utilizing Netflix as much as possible.

Keeping It Real Politik: 2008 Magical Presidential Futures Market I

They come from the right:

One early version of the 2008 Republican roster includes Sens. Bill Frist of Tennessee, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, John McCain of Arizona and George Allen of Virginia. The list also could include Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado and Gov. George Pataki of New York. Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani also has hinted at his presidential ambitions.

And the left:

Even if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York decides to run, there is no consensus whether she would win the nomination. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who lost to Bush, is building an organization if he runs again and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who was Kerry's running mate, is remaining active in politics.

Well, maybe not so much, but it makes for some fun hot-stove talk as the 2004 inauguration kicks off and as those ’08 Iowa caucuses are but a mere 36 months away or so (but who’s counting?).

There are even more names to play about with, now that it’s going to be, as the Beastie Boys sample, “that kind of party”: Mitch McConnell, Dennis Hastert, Newt Gingrich, Howard Dean, Mark Warner, John Kerrey, Barack Obama and about 50 others hoping that they can wheel and deal themselves into the pole position over the next two years.

In the near-term, the race for the next Democratic Chairman could ease one prominent name (Dean’s) off the future’s market. Howard Dean is continuing to pick up support for this influential position though, importantly, a victory would likely prevent his running for the presidency in 2008. No wonder then that John Kerry is at this very moment trying to make nice-nice with his former rival.

Dumpster Bust Magical Presidential Futures Market: January 2005 Edition

Let’s have some fun now and look at some early odds. As always, this is meant to open up some discussion and feedback, so feel free to fire away.

Presidential Horserace
Top Five Republicans – % Shot at Nomination – 2008 Prediction

John McCain (33%)
Will be very hard to defeat

Rudolph Giuliani (25%)
Strong rival to McCain early, fades early

Mitch McConnell (25%)
Bush’s chosen heir; hangs in late as GOP Southern, base fave vs. McCain

George Pataki (5%)
Early media scrutiny never generates buzz

Bill Owens (3%)
Bid doesn’t really go anywhere

Top Five Democrats – % Shot at Nomination – 2008 Prediction

John Kerry (30%)
A real wild-card at this point

John Edwards (25%)
He needs to find a new role and soon

Hillary Rodham Clinton (20%)
Lots of upside, lots of downside (like her husband)

Mark Warner (12%)
Fresh-faced Southern Gov. is a Dem remedy for ills

Barack Obama (7%)
Freshman Senator has the potential to be a Major Player… in 2012

Notes from the Perimeter: Vampirism & Sun Spots

I’m not ordinarily in such moods, but events conspired today as all kinds of oddities descended as though from the Heavens, spinning my orbit if ever so slightly and sending my mind Reeling as if going spool spool spool would set things straight.

It began walking the dog, she of Stout Heart and Feeble Self-Control, near the Southern Fortress, congratulating myself for living in such a place of balmy sunshine and the occasional mudslide and earth rupture. I listened intently to a biography of Jim Morrison on audio book, hearing of Venice Beach lore and the combining of artistic fortunes and future synergistic Glories. Looking to my left I witnessed several people running toward me on the other side of the road. On a narrow sidewalk a dog (of unknown Stoutness and Self-Control) raced, pulling a young man with flowing blonde locks as though on land-based water skis. He was seated on some kind of office chair, whooping and screaming, throwing his arm in a big lasso maneuver as though a Rodeo King of the Old West.

I kept on, minding my own business as best as possible, though I knew strange things were afoot. Upon my return home, I settled in for a brief respite and lunch in front of my treasured DVD player. To my surprise, it was broken: Check Disc Error. Error indeed.

I entered my office, content to throw on my iPod, Genius invention and savior during many recent slides into boredom and torment. It too was broken.

Sun spots. It must be sun spots. Or misfortune entire.

But that’s not all, is it? Vampires seem to be roaming the streets now, perhaps in reaction to Joss Whedon’s rude yet recent yanking off the national airwaves.

"All I've heard is that there's a fellow who is going round attacking people like a dog and biting them," said Josephine McNally, who works at the Old Barley Mow pub in Ward End. "It does put the wind up you."

Wind, indeed.

Then the spate of the bizarre broke to the good, the winds changing as it were, as I heard from three potential employers that would, in theory, pull me away from my novel (waiting and begging to be finished) and allow me to pay off important and possibly vital debts, both of the Soul and the Material.

DB Reviews Voodoo Glow Skulls Latest... See Below for "Details"

DB Reviews: Voodoo Glow Skulls - Addiccion, Tradicion, Revolucion

There are a number of different ways to describe Voodoo Glow Skulls’ unique sound. I’ve heard it described as hardcore, ska-punk, and barrio ska-core. The Skulls themselves call it California street music, a “high octane mix of rock, punk, ska, and hardcore.” At its best, there’s a sublime chaos, a controlled anarchy to Voodoo Glow Skulls fueled by the brothers Casillas (Frank the really tall, really bald front man, Eddie on lead guitar, Jorge on bass) and one of the best horn sections in the business (Brodie Johnson and Gabriel Dunn on trumpet, James Hernandez on sax). For fans of aggressive, high-tempo music, there’s a breathless energy to the sound that makes you want to get off your ass and skank, which basically means to dance as quickly and awkwardly as possible, throwing arms and elbows at ridiculous angles. But fun, and great exercise.

There’s been a remarkable consistency to the Skulls’ first six albums. Unfortunately, Addiccion, Tradicion, Revolucion is the first (small) drop-off in Voodoo Glow Skulls’ outstanding catalog. There’s nothing ostensibly glaring about their latest effort, but the letdown comes from a lack of the catchy grooves and hooks that usually allow the potent ska, punk, and hard core cocktail to soar. Without these ingredients, the result is a monotonous hardcore rant that is grating rather than ebullient.

There are some nice touches, however. The album kicks off with a sample from the film A Clockwork Orange. We’re treated to the charming, vicious Alex announcing joyfully, “Come with Uncle and hear all proper. Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are invited!” It’s a great opening and puts a smile on my face every time I hear it.

“DD Don’t Like Ska” is the one standout song on the album. Frank Casillas affects a doo-wop/Ramones vibe which works extremely well with the high-pitched ska verse—slow-down bang-out choruses. The sparse production and style of this song sound like it could have been one of the better songs off The Band Geek Mafia.” Cochino and Enter the Dragon are songs that sound like standard Voodoo Glow Skulls fare: good, but not great.

In a few places, the Skulls experiment with more traditional ska sounds to modestly successful results. “Smile Now, Pay Later” has a light, whimsical feel to it, a breezy number that feels (and sounds) effortless. This experiment continues with even greater effect on a cover of Guns N’ Roses’ “Used to Love Her,” which finally sees the Skulls letting their hair down and having some fun (there’s even a playful solo that sounds mysteriously like the opening riff of “Sweet Child O’ Mine”). A few more albums under their belt and the Skulls will be ready to put out an exceptional album of ska-punk covers with the likes of “Feliz Navidad,” “Little Red Ridin’ Hood,” and “Here Comes the Sun” already in their canon.

It would have been nice if the Skulls allowed this sense of fun to invade other parts of the album as tracks like “Ghettoblaster,” “Mayhem and Murder,” and “We Represent” kind of blend together in a hook-less, groove-less hardcore maelstrom.

In a way, Addiccion, Tradicion, Revolucion proves what a great and unique band Voodoo Glow Skulls is by highlighting the high-quality of the first six albums. Everyone’s allowed a let down once in a while, I suppose. After all, even God, so goes the story, took the seventh day off.

DB Reviews: I Am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe is well-regarded as the author of books that wonderfully represent particular eras. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a journalist’s report from the front lines of hippiedom and came to help define the 60s in all of its experimentation, counter-cultural angst, and excess. The Bonfire of the Vanities is an exquisitely sharp portrayal of capitalism and racial relations in 1980s New York.

Now, Wolfe, at the ripe age of 73, takes on the social patchwork of collegiate life in I Am Charlotte Simmons. So, the Big Picture question is: has Mr. Wolfe done it again in penning a tome that will help to define and symbolize our current age? The short answer is, sadly, no. However, Wolfe retains the ability to tell a powerful, rich, and involving story.

I Am Charlotte Simmons actually centers around four characters: Hoyt Thorpe, a preppy, elitist, coke-snorting frat boy; Jojo Johanssen, a white member of a mostly black big-money basketball program; Adam Gellin, a dorky, virginal intellect and member of a club called The Millennial Mutants; and the super-naive, super-smart (and super-virginal) Miss Simmons herself.

All are students at the fictional Dupont University, an elite Northeastern school with the sports program to match. Charlotte, who grew up in tiny, rural Sparta, North Carolina, is awed and frightened by the crass and vulgar world of modern collegiate life, and we view much of the doings and activities of the modern undergraduate (co-ed dorms, getting drunk, puking, hooking up, getting kicked out of bed so roommate can hook up, cutting class, fitting in, and so on) through her astonished eyes. The four main character’s lives eventually intermingle, but it is Charlotte who we are most concerned with: can she maintain her sense of self in this crazed and status-obsessed world? Or will she abandon her cherished “life of the mind” to become one with the sex-starved, beer-starved, and nihilism-starved in order to be liked, fit in, and perhaps even loved?

As pure fictional story, I Am Charlotte Simmons is an engaging read. Wolfe has a wonderful way with words and phrasing and rhythm – rhythm! – that will certainly keep most readers turning the pages. But as a reflection of reality, the novel has many short-comings.

Mr. Wolfe, also well known for the lengthy research he pours into each work, said recently during an interview that because of the age gap between himself and today’s college student, he wished to come across as a reporting scientist from outer space. While at times this approach works, it falls flat just as often. Certain words and phrases (“jacked,” or having lots of muscles from lifting weights, and “you’re money, baby” from Swingers) come across as overused and slightly-off terminology picked up from interviewing youngsters. The interactions of characters also ring a little false from time-to-time, such as when Charlotte’s ultra-rural parents meet Beverly Amory (the freshman roommate) and her ultra-rich parents. The Amorys act like they’ve entered a toxic dump when convinced to eat at a Denny’s-like eatery that will jibe with the Simmons’ modest budget. Charlotte herself is a little hard to believe at times: in an age of television and media outlets galore, she’s literally clueless about modernity, pop culture, dating rites, etc.

Dupont University also feels a bit off as well: how many Ivy League schools send their basketball squad to the Final Four year-after-year? The result of these contradictions is that you get the feeling that Wolfe is trying to push too much into one story: sex, drugs, sports, date rape, social alienation, alcoholism, and on and on, into one teeming tome. Pressing, as the sports world would term it.

All of that being said, Wolfe still has the ability to do what all good writers do: he makes you want to find out what happens next. Charlotte’s journey from country girl valedictorian to seasoned collegiate vet is bumpy, problematic, but ultimately worthwhile.

For more on I Am Charlotte Simmons, check out my "exclusive interview" with Tom Wolfe.

DB Note: This was an especially interesting read as I am currently in the finishing stages of a collegiate-focused novel of my own. New (and hopefully final) title: Ball Out.

Dropping Science: ET (Cell) Phone Home?

Almost everyone I know has at least one UFO story in their repertoire. Either they’ve seen something, someone they know has seen or experienced something, or both. Inevitably, a high percentage of these stories can be put down to superstition, wild imagination, or sinister ulterior motive.

That leads to the question: even if 99.99% of UFO sightings, extraterrestrial (ET) experiences, and all other miscellaneous manner of weird shit are false, what about the other .01%?

Senior Space Writer for Space.com Leonard David notes that some scientists are beginning to look at the possibility of non-Earth based intelligent life from the perspective of modern science and advanced physics:

Now a team of American scientists note that recent astrophysical discoveries suggest that we should find ourselves in the midst of one or more extraterrestrial civilizations. Moreover, they argue it is a mistake to reject all UFO reports since some evidence for the theoretically-predicted extraterrestrial visitors might just be found there.

The researchers make their proposal in the January/February 2005 issue of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS).

So we’re not talking about Crackpot Village here. Some real scientists are at least taking the possibility of extraterrestrial phenomena and UFOs with a degree of seriousness. I think this measure should be applauded: wouldn’t it be foolish not to look at every possibility of intelligent life in the universe from a rational and scientific perspective?

Pick up any good science magazine and you’re sure to see the latest in head-scratching ideas about superstring theory, wormholes, or the stretching of spacetime itself. Meanwhile, extrasolar planetary detection is on the verge of becoming mundane.

"We are in the curious situation today that our best modern physics and astrophysics theories predict that we should be experiencing extraterrestrial visitation, yet any possible evidence of such lurking in the UFO phenomenon is scoffed at within our scientific community," contends astrophysicist Bernard Haisch.

Haisch along with physicists James Deardorff, Bruce Maccabee and Harold Puthoff make their case in the JBIS article: "Inflation-Theory Implications for Extraterrestrial Visitation.”
The scientists point to two key discoveries made by Australian astronomers and reported last year that there is a "galactic habitable zone" in our Milky Way Galaxy. And more importantly that Earth’s own star, the Sun, is relatively young in comparison to the average star in this zone -- by as much as a billion years.

Therefore, the researchers explain in their JBIS article that an average alien civilization would be far more advanced and have long since discovered Earth. Additionally, other research work on the supposition underlying the Big Bang -- known as the theory of inflation -- shores up the prospect, they advise, that our world is immersed in a much larger extraterrestrial civilization.

Freaky shit? Sure. But exciting, too. Is it possible it’s all a load of horseshit served up by the tractor-load? Yep.

But shouldn’t we explore every possibility first?

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m going to start getting my All Visitors Welcome door sign ready.

Keeping It Real Politik: Dean’s in the DNC Race

Howard Dean has officially entered the race to become the next Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Here are a few excerpts from his announcement:

We need a party focused on more than the next election. We need to build an infrastructure now that will remain in place not only in 2008, but in 2005, 2006, 2007 and beyond. There is only one way to do this: together, we must build from the ground up.

The states are a central piece of that strategy. The Democratic Party needs a vibrant, forward-thinking, long-term presence in every single state. We must give our state parties the tools and resources they need in order to be successful. We must be willing to contest every race at every level. We can only win when we show up.

Another integral part of our strategy must be cultivating the party's grassroots. Our success depends on all of us taking an active role in our party and in the political process, by encouraging small donations, by taking the Democratic message into every community, and by organizing at the local level. After all, new ideas and new leaders don't come from consultants; they come from communities.

As important as organization is, alone it cannot win us elections. Offering a new choice means making Democrats the party of reform -- reforming America's financial situation, reforming our electoral process, reforming health care, reforming education and putting morality back in our foreign policy. The Democratic Party will not win elections or build a lasting majority solely by changing its rhetoric, nor will we win by adopting the other side's positions. We must say what we mean -- and mean real change when we say it.

That word – 'values' – has lately become a codeword for appeasement of the right-wing fringe. But when political calculations make us soften our opposition to bigotry, or sign on to policies that add to the burden of ordinary Americans, we have abandoned our true values.

There are many – including centrist Democrats and gleeful conservatives – who think Dean will only put the Democratic Party in a deeper hole than it’s already in. Other candidates, such as former Texas Rep. Martin Frost (a victim of Texas redistricting) and Democratic activist Simon Rosenberg, will present a more moderate face for the future, Dean critics say. Some are even lobbying to keep in place the current Chair, Terry McAuliffe, whose term is set to expire.

The reality is that many of the reasons for not wanting Dean are embedded in a defeatist mindset of Play It Safe and Do No Harm. The reality is that these strategies have resulted in three straight election losses and a current minority status for the Democrats across the branches of government.

The truth is that change and new leadership are needed because the Democrats can’t do much worse. That’s not to take anything away from John Kerry, who ran a flawed but decent campaign and came up short. Howard Dean will bring excitement and an articulate vision for a party without direction. He will use his considerable energy to bring about a party that stands for reform, which is the right direction to head in. He will take back the word “values” for all Americans and he will pave the way for election successes in 2006 and beyond.

Dean as DNC will also preclude his running for President again in 2008. This is good news for Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, and the many others who will likely look at an ’08 run. In fact, even John Kerry has been getting friendlier with Dean as he eyes a possible second run at the presidency.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is vetting the leading candidates to be the next Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman, and asking them to remain neutral in the presidential selection process in 2008. It is the latest indication that Kerry is putting down markers to run again for the party’s presidential nomination in 2008.

Media Shakedown: Wonkette = Good Stuff

I’ve been keeping an eye on Wonkette of late and have been enjoying the view. Here are a few descriptions, as posted on the site:

"Swims in the libidinal current of American politics." – The Village Voice

"Gossipy, raunchy, potty-mouthed." – The New York Times

"Profanity-laced and sex-obsessed...[a] vain, young, trash-mouthed skank." – Michelle Malkin

For those of you are not familiar with Ms. Malkin, suffice it to say that she is in League with Ann Coulter, which equates to being in cahoots with a Dark Power that Shall Not Be Named.

So sounds pretty good so far, right?

Here’s a fun snippet from yesterday, in which Wonkette sizes up various appliances and machines and such that would be an equal match in a battle of the wits with White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan:

Wonkette occasionally answers questions. Send yours to: questions@wonkette.com . A reader asks: "Do you think that engaging Scott McClellan a battle of wits could be considered 'asymmetrical warfare?'"

The reader poses an interesting question. (That's what they told us to say at CSPAN even when the lady called to blame us for her missing toaster pastry.) It's hard to judge symmetry without knowing who is on the other side of the air hockey table from the precarious Mr. McClellan. If you are a lobster, certainly a battle of wits would be scored in your overwhelming advantage. An automatic coin sorter, probably. (Those things are so neat!) Folger's tin of millet? No... Well, if it's really finely ground millet, maybe on domestic policy issues you could best him.

We kid because we love. We were reminded why we like Scott again today when we learned that Ari Fleischer's book on his years behind the lectern is showing up in bookstores in March. The release seems to be very closely guarded. Only Lying Liar and Ha! Ha! Watch Me Lie! magazines have been granted access to the galleys. Everyone else in the media is being left in the cold until the actual publication date, much like they were routinely left holding the warm bag of poop during Ari's tenure. At the White House this was considered a wonderful thing by Mr. Fleischer's former employer. In the media world though, it reminds us that they didn't let reviewers see Gigli or Ishtar until they were in theaters, either.

The Left is in dire need of brash, intelligent, and most importantly, fun voices. Let’s cheer Wonkette on… because if you’re a Democrat these days, there’s not much else to do (sniff). And even if you're not a Dem... well, we can all use a laugh or three nowadays.

DB Film Squad: The Outlook on 2005

Harry over at the always enjoyable Ain’t It Cool News wrote up a fairly extensive rundown of the Top 20 films to be on the lookout for in ’05. Here a quick paraphrasing of his list, along with a few notes and comments on my own.

20 – In the Realms of the Unreal: The Mystery of Henry Danger
“A documentary about the life of an unknown man. But one that created an entire universe in his home... Enchanted lands and fictional worlds...”

Hmm… this better not make me cry… I mean have really bad allergies, like I did recently while watching Finding Neverland.

19 – The Island
Great writers (two from the Alias writing staff) and incredible cast (Ewan MacGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan and Djimon Hounsou) so you can easily overlook Michael “Pearl Harbor” Bay as director and go see it.

18 – Paris, Je T’aime
Some kind of experimental mishmash of styles, directors, and actors. It’s got Steve Buscemi, but… this won’t be on my Gotta See list.

17 – Oliver Twist
After the triumph of The Piano, Roman Polanski is back for the retelling of this classic Dickens tale, featuring Ben Kingsley as Fagin. Now we’re talking Gotta See.

Please sir, can I have some more?

16 – Every Word Is True?
A movie about Truman Capote writing In Cold Blood? I’m a sucker for a story about writers, but I don’t know about this one. Fairly excellent cast, though, which might make me check it out: Toby Jones (as Mr. Capote), Anjelica Huston, Sigourney Weaver, Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Sandra Bullock and Alan Cumming.

15 – Jarhead
Sam Mendes takes on the Gulf War I memoir by Bill Broyles, Jr. Another pretty great cast, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Sam Rockwell, Peter Sarsgaard, and Chris Cooper (who’s always interesting, even in bad movies, isn’t he)?

Does anyone else out there think that Three Kings (an action/comedy/thriller that takes place in Iraq around the time Bush I pulled the plug on helping the anti-Saddam resistance) was one of the best movies of the last 10 years?

14 – Zathura
I don’t know much about this movie, but it’s directed by Jon Favreau, who is proving a fairly good director (Made, Elf… which I’m very so-so on compared to most). This is an animated flick (at least in part), and the one still I saw was pretty amazing looking.

13 – Kung Fu Hustle
I’m not really a kung fu guy, but this looks to be a good one.

12 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The sci-fi classic finally makes it to the big screen. Everyone is expecting this film to be strange and funny and wonderful, and I hope no one’s let down.

11 – Ong Bak
More martial arts, this time from Thailand.

10 – Sin City
A Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino/Frank Miller joint saturated with gratuitous sex and violence. Sounds pretty good, right?

9 – Elizabethtown
The latest from Cameron Crowe. He’s getting to the point with me where I don’t have to know anything about the movie: I just go and see it. This one features Orlando Bloom in his first romantic comedy lead. That, and Kirsten Dunst, should bring many bottoms to movie theater seats.

8 – War of the Worlds
The Big Remake by Steven Spielberg. I think this has the potential to be good… or really not. I must admit I’m wary after snoozing through the visually stunning/otherwise boring Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

7 – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
I’ve been off the Burton Bandwagon for about 14 years or so now. This is another animated one, and despite some good voice talent (Johnny “I Am in Every Movie Now” Depp, Helena Bonham Carter) I think I can safely skip this one.

6 – A Scanner Darkly
Cool title, adaptation of the very cool Philip K. Dick. The last big film brought to life from his work, Minority Report, turned out to be an interesting and fun ride, so I’m looking forward to this one. Strange/good cast makes it even more intriguing: Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey Jr, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane

5 – The Wallace & Gromit Movie
Uh… no.

4 – Land of the Dead
More zombies from George Romero.
Is it just me or are there way too many thrillers and stupid looking horror flicks out right now?

3 – The New World
A story of John Smith, Pocahantas, the British, and the Native Americans of the 17th Century New World. I haven’t seen a good flick of this variety since Daniel Day Lewis intoned I will find you! in The Last of the Mohicans.

2 – Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
I honestly can’t say much about this one, except that it’s by Chan-Wook Park, it completes a Revenge Trilogy, and no one seems to know a lot about it.

1 – King Kong
Peter Jackson, Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis (Gollum’s back, baby!) , WETA, and a big-ass ape tearing junk apart. This is probably the one absolute must-see of the year. A home run here will make Jackson A List among A List directors.
Somewhat inexplicably, several promising films were left off the above list. Therefore, as a Bonus Feature…

Dumpster Bust Top 3 Films to Look Out for in ‘05

3 – Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
For millions worldwide, this is the end of the journey (or is it?). The second trilogy may pale in comparison to the first (and it really does), but the final descent of Anakin Skywalker into darkness and the set-up for Luke, Han, Chewie and Co. just can’t be missed.

2 – Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
(Yet) another Tim Burton/Johnny Depp hook-up, this time a remake of the classic children’s creepy/funny film featuring perhaps the best performance of Gene Wilder’s career. The trailer for the new one is really bedazzling and fun/strange, but I’m not quite as sold on this one as some others (see my thoughts on Burton above).

1 – Serenity
Forget everything else: this is the one that I’m scratching and biting and itching to see. The tragically canceled by bastard television execs (Fox… yuck) and little seen Firefly is back for big screen action. The enormously talented Joss Whedon is getting his shot at the big time here, and I know he won’t let his legions down.

Set 500 years in the future among vagabonds and misfits and rustler-western colonists of outer space, Serenity picks up with the adventures of Captain Mal Reynolds and his band of Browncoat outcasts. Great cast, great writing, great concept, great genre-blend of humor, suspence, and action that you always get with Whedon.

Just great. Go see it, and have a fun year at the movies!

DB Up in Your Ear: The Top 10 Songs of All Time

In an exercise in self-torture, I decided to come up with a Top 10 list of my favorite songs of all time. It was much tougher than I thought it was going to be, but it seemed like an appropriate activity during about the 10th rainy day in a row, so self-torturing away I went. I'll try and give some annotations to these down the road, but for now, I humbly present:

1 - Fall on Me – REM
2 - Peace Frog – The Doors
3 - I Just Want to Celebrate – Rare Earth
4 - Good Times Bad Times – Led Zeppelin
5 - Things Have Changed – Bob Dylan
6 - Heroin is So Passe – The Dandy Warhols
7 - Devil’s Night Out – The Mighty Mighty Boss Tones
8 - Know Your Enemy – Rage Against the Machine
9 - Broken Face – Pixies
10 - Tight – Murphy’s Law

Honorable Mention:

Baby’s in Black – Beatles
Things We Said Today – Beatles
South Central Rain – REM
House – Brother Meat
Sick of It All – The Distillers
Unhappy Girl – The Doors
Wishful Sinful – The Doors
Say Anything – Bouncing Souls
About a Girl – Nirvana
The Golden Road – The Grateful Dead
Pay No Mind (Snoozer) – Beck
Salvation – Rancid

Agree? Disagree? What are yours?

Keeping It Real Politik: You Can’t Be Serious!

I wanted to do a fun post heading into the rainiest SoCal weekend in the History of Time. I really did. But I can’t. Not when I see something like this floating out there:

Education Dept. paid commentator to promote law

Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.

The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams "to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts," and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004.

Williams said Thursday he understands that critics could find the arrangement unethical, but "I wanted to do it because it's something I believe in."

The top Democrat on the House Education Committee, Rep. George Miller of California, called the contract "a very questionable use of taxpayers' money" that is "probably illegal." He said he will ask his Republican counterpart to join him in requesting an investigation.

Probably? If it’s not, it Probably should be.

DB Prediction: This will slide, just like everything else slides for this Teflon Prez of ours, from Abu Gharib to WMD in Iraq to Iraq- Al Qaeda ties and on and on.

The contract may be illegal "because Congress has prohibited propaganda," or any sort of lobbying for programs funded by the government, said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "And it's propaganda." […]

[PR Firm] Ketchum referred questions to the Education Department, whose spokesman, John Gibbons, said the contract followed standard government procedures. He said there are no plans to continue with "similar outreach."

Have a nice weekend, everybody!

Media Shakedown: There go the good-old days…

There have been rumblings about it for years, but it looks like a major source of free quality news, The New York Times online edition, may be switched to a subscription-based model:

N.Y. Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. was quoted in the article as saying: "It gets to the issue of how comfortable are we training a generation of readers to get quality information for free. That is troubling."

I’m not so troubled by that. I’m troubled about losing the ability to fix my news jones in a blitz of free online scanning-and-clicking on the Internet. But I understand if a publication’s gotta make a buck, even the Gray Lady.

Upsetting though.

We may look back on the good old days of wide-open and free communication on the Internet. Or could a development such as this accelerate the Age of the Blogger?

Media Shakedown: Does Anyone Watch Late-Night Talk Shows?

Slate is running a fun week-long feature: Dana Stevens is watching the The Late Late Show and new host Craig Ferguson (the annoying Scottish boss on The Drew Carey Show, and apparently a well-renowned actor-director-something-or-other in Scotland) for one full week and blogging about her reaction each subsequent day.

This bit about Wednesday’s show:

According to experts at the College of Comedy Knowledge, Fergie's opening utterances are, indeed, jokes: "a device for expressing humor that employs a setup which contains a target assumption to misdirect the audience […] and a punch which contains a reinterpretation […] that shatters the target assumption." They have not yet achieved the added value of being funny.

Okay, so not so far so good. To be fair, she does point out that Conan O’Brien was widely panned after his debut over ten years ago, but is now riding high after the recent announcement that he’ll take over Jay Leno’s Tonight Show slot in five years and the airing of his 2,000th show on NBC.

Pretty interesting stuff, I guess. But then I started thinking: do I really care? Does anyone really care? Does anyone really watch late-night talk shows anymore. I mean, sure, I’ll flip on Conan during a bad bout of insomnia, but are there people out there who think: okay, Jude Law’s on The Tonight Show, so that’s a must-see, then later I’ll flip over to Ferguson to see how that’s going, then during commercial I’ll skip over to Kimmel, just out of pity really, and then…

To be fair, I find the entire talk show format contrived to the point of maddening. For many years now, the only part of any late night talk show I can stomach is the several minutes between opening monologue and first guest, when there’s a half-way decent shot that an avant-garde comedy writer manages to lobby some kind of interesting bit or sketch onto the air. Opening monologues are snoozers, even if told by Chris Rock or Dave Attell, and I can’t remember the last time I was interested in hearing Charlize Theron tell a funny dog story or Jason Alexander give a sardonic grin when asked for the hundred-thousandth time about the Seinfeld days. Give me Inside the Actor’s Studio or Howard Stern, an interviewer with actual balls and gumption. But not this… anything but late-night snooze-format.

Of a mediocre lot working in a dead format, Conan is the cream of the crop. His strange mannerisms and goofy asides are amusing, and he has a comedian’s sensibility for wanting to keep the audience at home interested. Leno, a very good and bright stand-up comedian, became Mr. Milquetoast after he succeeded Johnny Carson. Letterman stopped being funny right around 1992 (every time I see the high-budget computer graphics that prelude bits like the Top 10 List I’m haunted by memories of the first Wayne’s World film… did anyone watch that and learn?), and the new crop of Kimmel, Ferguson, and the recently departed Craig Kilborn (who was quite good as the original Daily Show host) are uninspiring at best.

It’s amazing that someone like Jon Stewart, who was brilliant even back in his low budget WWOR and MTV days, wasn’t given a shot at a late-night show. And now it seems that Norm Macdonald, a finalist for The Late Late Show gig, will be developing a sketch comedy show modeled after the loony and edgy Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central. Given the recent results, that’s a good thing, I guess.

So I ask again: does anyone really watch late night talk shows these days?

Media Shakedown: Al Gore Goes INd

Richard Leiby’s “Reliable Source” column in The Washington Post has the latest and greatest(?) on Al Gore’s maneuvering, with a little help from 70 million friends, to get INdTV (pronounced Indie TV), a youth-oriented news and culture television channel, on the air.

Here’s a sneak-peak at some of the proposed programming:

•That's F*&#ed Up: Is there something unfathomable going on around the corner or down the street? Some state of affairs that just doesn't make sense? You can rant all you want -- it just better be good TV."

• "INdTV Paparazzi: Get someone famous to opine on something substantive. ('Hey Paris -- what did you think of Rumsfeld's quote on the armored Humvee shortage in Iraq?') Or, ask a serious figure about something not-so-substantive. Note: Don't be a stalker."

• "Citizen Reporter: Pick a news story and tell it the way it should be told. No teleprompter, no static stand-ups, no local-news hair. Honesty and humor will go a long way. This is our chance to unwind the spin."

• "All-Nighter: What goes on in your town between 2 and 5 a.m.? We're looking for truly unique stuff, anywhere from the local late-night diner to the woods down by the creek."

• "State of the Union: Give us your wisest, most irreverent State of the Union address. We're talking improvised podium, pomp, politics, personality and, of course, most importantly: sound bites."

• "Addicted: What's your addiction? Food? A fetish? A relationship? Do you lead a double life? This is first-person: time to confess."

It’s nice that Mr. Gore is trying to open up a new avenue for young people to voice their opinions and become interested in public policy and cultural issues, but… I don’t get it. The Democrats desperately need to build a think tank/media outlet/political personality fortress to combat what I like to call the Conservative Media Machine. Mr. Gore’s efforts in the broadcasting realm were thought to be to try to bring a liberal alternative to Fox News to the air, thus making a major effort at counter-balancing the right on cable news (all shouts and cries about the Liberal Elite Media aside).

This doesn’t seem to be that, though, does it?

Keeping It Real Politik: Where We Headed?

The post-election hangover is over… for the media at least. Earnest and keen analysis of where we’re at in the US of A has been pouring in over the last few weeks, with observers and pundits trying to get a sense of what happened in 2004, and where the political signposts may be pointing toward the murky future.

Here’s a rundown of some of the best purely political analysis that I’ve seen of late.

Not surprisingly, the great Howard Fineman of Newsweek and MSNBC kicks things off with “Eyes on a New Prize”:

The Democrats are leaderless and reeling, seemingly bereft of inspiring ideas. They face a president who is the first since 1936 to win re-election while boosting his party's majorities in the Congress. The "mainstream" media, historically sympathetic to Democrats, are on the defensive, financially and journalistically; the GOP is even taking over the K Street lobbies, an Alamo of unrepentant Democrats.

The question now is whether the GOP can—or even wants to—try to govern from the middle… Rove and Bush have prospered by forcing voters to choose between sharply different visions, and there is no reason to think that they will stop operating in that fashion.

Adam Nagourney of The New York Times also gives a good go on the where we been/where we headed theme in “So What Happened in That Election, Anyhow?”

Presidential elections often produce a clear story line, a lesson for winners and losers alike. Not this one, at least not yet, and that is a matter of increasing concern for Democrats who would like to learn from the past as they face a series of critical decisions, including picking a new party chairman and laying out a plan to avoid even more losses in the 2006 Congressional races. And there is the immediate tactical question of how stridently to push back against Mr. Bush's efforts to change Social Security and the tax code.

It's hardly any wonder that Democrats these days seem to be marching in so many different directions. Post-loss squabbling between the party's left wing and its moderate faction is nothing new.

The Nation, long a bastion for left-leaners everywhere, is searching (and trying not to scramble) for answers as well. A run-down of various thinkers and columnists included this overview of the State of the Dems by Theda Skocpol:

Now Democrats are a minority party, with no center of national leadership. They need to get some visible spokespersons in place quickly, and begin a continuing campaign of organization and argument around carefully selected policy battles.

Ronald Brownstein, who, flat-out, might be the best political writer in the country, drops a masterpiece in his Los Angeles Times column entitled “GOP Has Lock on South, and Democrats Can't Find Key”:

The generation-long political retreat of Democrats across the South is disintegrating into a rout.

[Bush’s] overwhelming performance left Sen. John F. Kerry clinging to a few scattered islands of support in a region that until the 1960s provided the foundation of the Democratic coalition in presidential politics. Kerry won fewer Southern counties than any Democratic nominee since the Depression except Walter F. Mondale in 1984 and George S. McGovern in 1972, according to data assembled by The Times and Polidata, a firm that specializes in political statistics.

In Southern counties without a substantial number of African American or Latino voters, Bush virtually obliterated Kerry. Across the 11 states of the old Confederacy, plus Kentucky and Oklahoma, whites constitute a majority of the population in 1,154 counties. Kerry won 90 of them.

By contrast, Bill Clinton won 510 white-majority counties in the South eight years ago.

"We are out of business in the South," said J.W. Brannen, the Democratic Party chairman in Russell County, Ala., the only white-majority county in the state that Kerry carried.

The results underscore the enormity of the challenge facing Democrats as they try to rebuild their Southern support. Most ominously for them, the patterns suggest that under Bush, the GOP is solidifying its hold not just on Southern white conservatives but white moderates as well, a trend also apparent in exit polls of Southern voters on election day.

Finally, blogging dynamo and Democratic stalwart Daily Kos tries to envision an electoral breakthrough for the Dems beyond the current red-blue stalemate:

The West is the new battleground. If we win in 2008, it will be because of these states. We cannot place all our eggs on the Ohio and Florida baskets… the battleground that is forming includes the Southwest as well. It's essentially CO, NV, AZ, NM, MT, and one or two CDs in Nebraska, which splits its Electoral Votes. That's 33-34 electoral votes.

And while I wrote off the south for a generation, it is true that Virginia and, to a lesser extent, North Carolina, are trending in our direction. VA, as a matter of fact, should be a bona fide swing state in 2008.

Whither the future? These fine pieces of writing are as good a place to start as any.

DB Note: I believe I finally got that little linking problem licked by way of the masterfully simple website TinyURL.com. Bless them.

Dumpster Bust Reveals: We Are Part of the Robot Conspiracy!

Keeping It Real Politik: Pissing on the Third Rail

Looks like it’s finally happening:

Social Security Formula Weighed: Bush Plan to Cut Promised Benefits

(Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45726-2005Jan3.html)

The Bush administration has signaled that it will propose changing the formula that sets initial Social Security benefit levels, cutting promised benefits by nearly a third in the coming decades, according to several Republicans close to the White House.

Under the proposal, the first-year benefits for retirees would be calculated using inflation rates rather than the rise in wages over a worker's lifetime. Because wages tend to rise considerably faster than inflation, the new formula would stunt the growth of benefits, slowly at first but more quickly by the middle of the century. The White House hopes that some, if not all, of those benefit cuts would be made up by gains in newly created personal investment accounts that would harness returns on stocks and bonds.

This could well be the issue, the Big Issue, that rolls right through the ’06 and ’08 elections. Even for a river boat gambler of a president like this one, aiming to reform social security in any shape or form could be like trying to roll a snake eyes while being held at full-nelson by angry bears. For that, Bush deserves a degree of credit.

However, I see this maneuver as nothing short of the continuation of an eight-year project to “Starve the Beast.” For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s basically akin to shrinking federal revenues generated by taxes (see = a consistent pre-9/11, post-9/11, recession-long, war-time call for tax cuts tax cuts tax cuts) then crying that we must cut federal expenditures because… there simply isn’t enough money.

So, the tax cuts went mostly to the rich, and now the Bush Administration is looking to bilk seniors out of one-third of their promised benefits. It’s dishonest and it could be devastating to millions of seniors.

The good news, if there is any, is that it looks as though we’ll be in for a bloodbath of conflict in Washington unseen since Russell Crowe took out the Germanic tribes single-handedly in Gladiator. Republicans could be ripping their own party apart before the Dems even get a swipe in.

Post-election blues political junkies may now feel free to fire up the C-SPAN and get that popcorn poppin’.

DB Media Shakedown: Essence Magazine Takes Back the Music

Essence magazine, self-described as “the world’s foremost publication for Black women,” is mad as hell, and they’re not taking it anymore.

(Link: http://www.essence.com/essence/themix/takebackthemusic/)

Going further than the rap lyrics depicting women as sexual playthings, the editors of Essence are concerned about the visual images within rap culture that have become accepted and acceptable: “bikini-clad sisters gyrating around fully clothed grinning brothers like Vegas strippers on meth,” the “bare breasts and butts” and “hypersexual braggadocio and profane one-upmanship” that go hand-in-hand with any female hip hop artist trying to make a name for herself.

I’m reminded of a ‘Lil Kim lyric that sums up this attitude:

You think I’m pussy?
I dare you to stick your dick in this

What’s interesting here is that the campaign now being kicked off isn’t aimed at the usual suspects, aka the male hip hop bad boys, but at changing the way that black women choose to depict themselves.

An entire generation of Black girls are being raised on these narrow images. And as the messages and images are broadcast globally, they have become the lens through which the world now sees us. This cannot continue.

As New York Daily News’ Stanley Crouch writes:

The magazine is the first powerful presence in the black media with the courage to examine the cultural pollution that is too often excused because of the wealth it brings to knuckleheads and amoral executives.

This anything-goes-if-sells attitude comes at a cost. The elevation of pimps and pimp attitudes creates a sadomasochistic relationship with female fans. They support a popular idiom that consistently showers them with contempt. We are in a crisis, and Essence knows it.

Mr. Crouch also points out that Essence is kicking off a year-long campaign, including a town meeting at Spelman College in February, aimed at increasing awareness and changing the image and depiction of women in hip hop culture.

I think this campaign should be applauded for encouraging self-empowerment. Instead of whining about the current state of affairs or laying blame on rap music or culture in general (an easy target), Essence is keeping it real in a market that is rampant with images of sex, machismo, and power.

The message: if you want to see change, change yourself.