Ouch, that'll leave a mark.
It would seem that misery is the most valued export Africa has to offer, from the perspective of the dogooders of the western world.
Support reform, demand accountability, and let Africans sort things out for themselves, find ways to help people and villages directly without enriching kleptocrats.
While you're at it, kill President Robert Mugabe and all his cronies, there's no hope for Zimbabwe otherwise.
I still think my modest proposal regarding helping Africa makes some sense, sadly.
16 July 2007
14 July 2007
Ponderables
Pondering the 'new' Bin Laden tape. . .
People won't accept that he's bin Dead for awhile now, until the duet with Osama and Tupac finally hits the internet.
People won't accept that he's bin Dead for awhile now, until the duet with Osama and Tupac finally hits the internet.
Prince, Great Performer, Even Greater Capitalist, Part II
Why would giving your music away make you a 'great capitalist'?
For one thing, the record companies have traditionally kept a big chunk of the album sales take, while artists reap more of the profits from concert performances.
By giving the album away, Prince reaches audiences that he may have trouble reaching otherwise. It builds buzz, it gets him positive press coverage.
Prince is shaking things up, the music industry is broken, and fans are disconnected from the artists, this might help repair the disconnect some.
The fanatics (like me) will buy the album when it comes out, even if there'll be a bunch of illegal mp3s floating around. Prince's concerts have been more profitable than any other time in his career, other than his absolute zenith.
He has remained much more relavent than a lot of his peers, and the music he puts out is still pretty awesome. Looking forward to Planet Earth when it hits stores July 24th. Lucky ducks in the UK who pick up their Sunday Daily Mail will get a head start, but that's OK, they can enjoy it, and spread the love.
The labels are pissed at this move, but screw them, not like Prince needs a lot of help from the labels to get people to notice what he's up to.
For one thing, the record companies have traditionally kept a big chunk of the album sales take, while artists reap more of the profits from concert performances.
By giving the album away, Prince reaches audiences that he may have trouble reaching otherwise. It builds buzz, it gets him positive press coverage.
Prince is shaking things up, the music industry is broken, and fans are disconnected from the artists, this might help repair the disconnect some.
The fanatics (like me) will buy the album when it comes out, even if there'll be a bunch of illegal mp3s floating around. Prince's concerts have been more profitable than any other time in his career, other than his absolute zenith.
He has remained much more relavent than a lot of his peers, and the music he puts out is still pretty awesome. Looking forward to Planet Earth when it hits stores July 24th. Lucky ducks in the UK who pick up their Sunday Daily Mail will get a head start, but that's OK, they can enjoy it, and spread the love.
The labels are pissed at this move, but screw them, not like Prince needs a lot of help from the labels to get people to notice what he's up to.
A Story That Doesn't Pass the Smell Test
Sniffing this story, and I get a strong whiff of patchouli.
Could it have happened as outlined in the article? Possibly, but it seems unlikely.
A scenario I imagine is a lot more likely is as follows;
A bunch of people gather, get themselves worked up into a lather about how messed up the world is and how we just need to practice more 'acts of random kindness' and 'love each other more' and 'group hug' more often.
Course those random acts of kindness are always so messy in real life. That homeless guy you give the meal to, pesters you for weeks afterward for a meal every day. That undocumented worker you hire to help with the lawn work pisses on your roses and drinks beer on the job. Sometimes the bumper stickers just aren't enough and small acts aren't enough.
But what if you made up one of those 'oddly enough' type stories that get so much play in the media? What if the 'oddly enough' scenario you spin is a perfect encapsulation of the kind of random act of kindness that everyone should be engaging in ten times a day?
Once the party comes to that decision, then the details require some hammering out. First, it should involve guns and poverty, cause guns are evil, and poverty, like, really, really sucks. Second, make sure the story has enough odd details that nobody would suspect you of making the whole thing up. A robber who when offered a fine wine decides to partake in said wine, and then comes to appreciate the wine seems so unlikely as to be beyond making up. Third, group hug, everyone loves a story that ends in a group hug, if more people practiced group hugs, there would be no war, no genocide, no Republicans, and no Global Warming.
There is some risk, filing a false police report is filing a false police report, and the 911 call you make will most likely be publicly available, so when you make the call, better make the performance convincing. Also everyone would need to get their description of the suspect fairly consistent, but also nebulous enough so that some poor schmo who actually was in the neighborhood, doesn't get wrongly accused.
The detail about the crystal glass being found unbroken in the alley, without any recoverable prints is what suggests to me that this is all crap. But really, if you can give the guy with a gun a 'group hug' you can disarm the criminal.
Also I find it unimaginable that after a gun is pointed at your 14 year old daughter that you don't rip the perp apart with your bare hands, rip off his balls, and stuff them in his mouth. Call me old fashioned, but I think my response (and just about everyone I know) would be more along those lines than, 'here take this bottle of Chateau Malescot St-Exupery"
Also if you're wondering what the man who would 'group hug' the perp who brandished a firearm at his 14 year old's head looks like, Ricky Carioti of WaPo was kindly enough to shoot him (lovely manbag he has, there).
Could it have happened as outlined in the article? Possibly, but it seems unlikely.
A scenario I imagine is a lot more likely is as follows;
A bunch of people gather, get themselves worked up into a lather about how messed up the world is and how we just need to practice more 'acts of random kindness' and 'love each other more' and 'group hug' more often.
Course those random acts of kindness are always so messy in real life. That homeless guy you give the meal to, pesters you for weeks afterward for a meal every day. That undocumented worker you hire to help with the lawn work pisses on your roses and drinks beer on the job. Sometimes the bumper stickers just aren't enough and small acts aren't enough.
But what if you made up one of those 'oddly enough' type stories that get so much play in the media? What if the 'oddly enough' scenario you spin is a perfect encapsulation of the kind of random act of kindness that everyone should be engaging in ten times a day?
Once the party comes to that decision, then the details require some hammering out. First, it should involve guns and poverty, cause guns are evil, and poverty, like, really, really sucks. Second, make sure the story has enough odd details that nobody would suspect you of making the whole thing up. A robber who when offered a fine wine decides to partake in said wine, and then comes to appreciate the wine seems so unlikely as to be beyond making up. Third, group hug, everyone loves a story that ends in a group hug, if more people practiced group hugs, there would be no war, no genocide, no Republicans, and no Global Warming.
There is some risk, filing a false police report is filing a false police report, and the 911 call you make will most likely be publicly available, so when you make the call, better make the performance convincing. Also everyone would need to get their description of the suspect fairly consistent, but also nebulous enough so that some poor schmo who actually was in the neighborhood, doesn't get wrongly accused.
The detail about the crystal glass being found unbroken in the alley, without any recoverable prints is what suggests to me that this is all crap. But really, if you can give the guy with a gun a 'group hug' you can disarm the criminal.
Also I find it unimaginable that after a gun is pointed at your 14 year old daughter that you don't rip the perp apart with your bare hands, rip off his balls, and stuff them in his mouth. Call me old fashioned, but I think my response (and just about everyone I know) would be more along those lines than, 'here take this bottle of Chateau Malescot St-Exupery"
Also if you're wondering what the man who would 'group hug' the perp who brandished a firearm at his 14 year old's head looks like, Ricky Carioti of WaPo was kindly enough to shoot him (lovely manbag he has, there).
Questions I have, the event happened June 16th, why all the publicity 4 weeks later? Why no description of the perp given in the story? Presumably you have an unstable individual desperate enough to threaten young girls within a party of folks with a gun, that person should be sought after, they may do something worse than drink wine next time, where's the description? Why the hell are you conducting multiple interviews (WaPo, Guardian, Today Show?!), and why the hell are you letting your daughter do interviews as well under her own (unusual, and very hippie-ish) name? Do you know how easy it was for me to find her on Myspace (at least it's private)?
Watching the Today Show interview linked above, and I get a serious dose of hippie bullshit.
Sorry, call me a cynic (I don't think Campbell Brown believed them either, she laughs at them throughout the whole interview).
"As we get better at the refinement we will be able to remove virgin rape from the process"
Context, really, really, really, is everything.
13 July 2007
Big Deal? Seriously?
Becks and Posh arrived here in Los Angeles today. The Mayor of Los Angeles himself greeted David Beckham (Villaraigosa was booed at the press conference, the local news anchor pointed out that the boos were because Villaraigosa is a Chivas fan (the other MLS team in town), and not due to his recently made public affair).
The coverage is pretty intense here, but the coverage is more about the coverage, and about how excited we're supposed to be, rather than any real excitement over the prospect of watching Beckham bend it at Home Depot Center in Carson.
They got the usual ritzy mansion in Beverly Hills for themselves, I would have been more impressed if he chose a compound in Carson and built some massively gaudy mansion near the place he'll play.
One annoying note from the coverage locally, they kept referring to the FIELD at Home Depot as the PITCH. Take your Britishisms and stuff 'em up yer arse, I say. If Beckham can call the sport he plays soccer, than we can keep calling the field, a field.
Speaking of coverage, here's BBC, The Sun, Guardian, and Evening Standard going crazy over this crap. Here's the video (with the reporter calling the field a pitch) from the local newscast on KCAL 9. And here's what his commute might look like (don't know the exact location of his new mansion, but it has to be up in those hills somewhere). I wouldn't want to drive it, the 405 is a nightmare, usually.
The coverage is pretty intense here, but the coverage is more about the coverage, and about how excited we're supposed to be, rather than any real excitement over the prospect of watching Beckham bend it at Home Depot Center in Carson.
They got the usual ritzy mansion in Beverly Hills for themselves, I would have been more impressed if he chose a compound in Carson and built some massively gaudy mansion near the place he'll play.
One annoying note from the coverage locally, they kept referring to the FIELD at Home Depot as the PITCH. Take your Britishisms and stuff 'em up yer arse, I say. If Beckham can call the sport he plays soccer, than we can keep calling the field, a field.
Speaking of coverage, here's BBC, The Sun, Guardian, and Evening Standard going crazy over this crap. Here's the video (with the reporter calling the field a pitch) from the local newscast on KCAL 9. And here's what his commute might look like (don't know the exact location of his new mansion, but it has to be up in those hills somewhere). I wouldn't want to drive it, the 405 is a nightmare, usually.
Yet More Desert Related Stuff . . .
. . . you may not have asked for it, you may not want it, but here it goes anyway. A YouTube video of portions of my trip at warp speed (with Orb's Outlands in the background).
The video above was shot during my daytrip on Sunday. The early bits are on National Trails Highway, aka Route 66. The road ain't what it used to be. Towards the end of the Route 66 portion I commit the sin of Shakycam. Films with budgets well over $100 million shouldn't have shakycam, dudes in a car using an inexpensive point and shoot, will give you shakycam from time to time.
The rest is on Kelbaker Rd., cutting through Mojave National Preserve, all the way into Baker, beautiful, beautiful Baker. The world's tallest thermometer towers above the town majestically (or phallically).
Speaking of YouTube, the Al Jazeera babe is really hot. I mean, really, really hot. Her shamelessly uncovered hair has totally messed me up with their wily feminine rays.
My suggestion for Al Jazeera, cover her hair, but otherwise, she should do the news topless. I'll be willing to watch internet feeds of their pro-crazy, anti-American propaganda, if it's delivered by topless cuties with their shiny hair rays properly shielded. Support religious freedom (even in Arab countries), denounce violent jihad and all acts of terror, quit spreading lies about Israel, quit saying one thing in Arabic and another in English, do all these things, and I'll watch your channel online, even without hot topless anchors, otherwise I want nipples, or I ain't watching.
The video above was shot during my daytrip on Sunday. The early bits are on National Trails Highway, aka Route 66. The road ain't what it used to be. Towards the end of the Route 66 portion I commit the sin of Shakycam. Films with budgets well over $100 million shouldn't have shakycam, dudes in a car using an inexpensive point and shoot, will give you shakycam from time to time.
The rest is on Kelbaker Rd., cutting through Mojave National Preserve, all the way into Baker, beautiful, beautiful Baker. The world's tallest thermometer towers above the town majestically (or phallically).
Speaking of YouTube, the Al Jazeera babe is really hot. I mean, really, really hot. Her shamelessly uncovered hair has totally messed me up with their wily feminine rays.
My suggestion for Al Jazeera, cover her hair, but otherwise, she should do the news topless. I'll be willing to watch internet feeds of their pro-crazy, anti-American propaganda, if it's delivered by topless cuties with their shiny hair rays properly shielded. Support religious freedom (even in Arab countries), denounce violent jihad and all acts of terror, quit spreading lies about Israel, quit saying one thing in Arabic and another in English, do all these things, and I'll watch your channel online, even without hot topless anchors, otherwise I want nipples, or I ain't watching.
A Truer Paragraph Never Written
Marc Stein drops some truth:
It's too early for full-fledged disappointments. The only true disappointment I've seen in Vegas so far was the unspeakable sight of a young man bringing a bag from McDonald's into an In-N-Out Burger on Tuesday afternoon, something I've never witnessed in 25 years as an In-N-Out zealot. He ate his McDonalds while his dining companion enjoyed the most sumptuous burger in the history of fast food. It was the epitome of sacrilege.
12 July 2007
An Excuse for a Movie List (F.C.I.L.F.) . . .
. . . MSN has a particularly dumb list of film folks and what wanting them says about you. For those that prefer men, this list, for those that prefer women, this list. Actually, I think a man on man list would be different than the men women want list, same as the woman on woman list would be very different from the women men want list.
Both lists suck, but they make a good jumping off point for my own list.
Given my biases, and orientation, I'll come up with my own top sixteen women in film, or F. C. I. L. F. (I'm assuming the "ILF" part is a pretty well known acronym by now, the F. C. stands for film characters), and then possibly have a relationship with or vice versa, with some the order is one, others it's the other. The list isn't really in order, just 16 women in film I could think of at the moment (on a different day, it might have been 16 other women in 16 different films). Besides, when most men fantasize about women on screen, I don't think the fantasies are generally as 'relationship' oriented as the MSN article would suggest.
1. Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity
The silly MSN list had no femme fatales. What kind of list of film ILFs doesn't include femme fatales? This is the best of the lot. Stanwyck may not be the sexiest woman in the world, or have the best body, but she exudes a combination of ferocity, intelligence, anger and even a touch of vulnerability that's hard to match. It'd be a sick, twisted relationship, that ends up in tears or blood (or tears and blood), but who wants to live forever? (besides we are talking fantasy, and not real life, real life stay far away from these types, but as a film fantasy, why the hell not?)
2. Nobuko Miyamoto as Ryoko Itakura, Tax Inspector in A Taxing Woman
Who knew tax collectors could be sexy? This movie rocks. Miyamoto is fantastic in this film, and sexy, and desirable. It's a brilliant film, fun characters, interesting plot, and breezily directed. What makes Miyamoto stand out is her steadfastness, intelligence and dedication. Those are all sexy characteristics in my book.
3. Shirley MacLaine as Bessie Sparrowbrush in Artists and Models
Shirley was incredibly sexy in a pixie-ish sort of way back in the day. Short red hair, pale skin, and dancer's legs is an intoxicating combination. Plus, any woman attracted to Jerry Lewis in full fool-mode is alright in my book.
4. Catherine Deneuve as Miriam Blaylock in The Hunger
So she's a vampire, nobody's perfect. She's a seriously hot vampire, plus she's got that old world charm going for her, and she's the epitome of sleek sexiness in this film. The film reads more like one long perfume commercial than a movie, but at least there's hot lesbian sex in it.
5. Salma Hayek as Rose in Timecode
Salma has to be on this list. Nothing to do with any of the roles she plays, just the fact of her Hayekness. When looking over her body of work, it mostly stinks. This is actually one of her better performances though. An interesting expermiment as a film, but not a good film overall. Saw it with the director in the theatre mixing the soundtrack live (4 separate images play as continuous takes, by choosing which audio to play, the director was foregrounding or backgrounding each subplot however he chose).
6. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi
This one is obvious. Blame my age. Blame the metal bikini. Blame the hotness of potential Jedi powers. I could take out Han Solo no problem, he's a bit of a jerk, anyway, she could do better.
7. Myrna Loy as Nora Charles in The Thin Man
Just about the sexiest female character ever captured on screen. Intelligent, funny, attractive, and willing to drink six or seven martinis with you. What else could you want from a wife?
8. Paula Patton as Angel in Idlewild
Singers are usually sexy (in film), Angel in Idlewild is no exception. Not a particularly deeply written character, but Patton brings vivaciousness to a somewhat vacuous role that you wouldn't expect. She was also excellent in Deja Vu in another role that didn't demand much from her. It's hard being an insanely hot actress of color in Hollywood. Expect a career of damsel in distress, or trophy objects, that's all they'll feel comfortable casting her in. She brings a dignity and charm to those roles though, keep an eye on her.
9. Maggie Cheung as Maggie Cheung in Irma Vep
Maggie Cheung playing herself in a French film about a production gone awry. She's sleek and elegant in this film, basically the fantasy version of her you imagine her to be. Can't beat that. A worthwhile film to see, even if a bit arty for art's sake.
10. Shari Eubank as SuperAngel/SuperVixen in SuperVixens
Imagine a Chuck Jones cartoon, with real life people, most of those people being improbably large breasted women, then you have a small inkling of what this film is like. SuperAngel/SuperVixen is a dual role played by the improbably large (but all natural) breasted Shari Eubank. Angel is incredibly bad, Vixen is incredibly sweet, both are incredibly hot. Don't think of it as an exploitation film, think of it as a sophisticated filmed dissertation on the dichotomous nature of how men relate to women and the artificially forced polar mode of either whoredom or madonnadom faced by women. Or just dig on the amazing cinematography, outrageously over-the-top violence, and absurdly ribald scenarios.
11. Barbara Stanwyck as Jean Harrington in The Lady Eve
Barbara Stanwyck, an actress so nice she makes this list twice. Maybe it's the Edith Head costumes in both pictures. Maybe it's Stanwyck's ability to convey so many emotions so easily. Maybe I'm just weird. Jean Harrington, the con-artist, playing the Lady, falling for, then getting revenge upon, the falling again for Henry Fonda's egghead character is an irresistible character. Sexy on many levels.
12. Joan Whaley and Bridget Fonda as Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies in Scandal
OK, I'm cheating a bit. Can't pick between the two in this picture, they're both really sexy and interesting each in their own way. So I'll choose both in a typically boorish male fantasy sort of way. Exotic dancers and threesomes, what could go wrong?
13. Carmen Maura as Pepa in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
There've been sexier women in Almodovar pictures, but none more attractive than Pepa in this film. Maura brings a vulnerability, strength and smarts to this role that's hard to beat. She's someone you could imagine being around, always giving you something different, moment by moment. Depth is sexy.
14. Grace Jones as May Day in A View to a Kill
Crappy Bond film, crappy bond villainess role, yet Grace Jones makes it work anyway. She's sexy in a frightening sort of way. Strictly one night stand, a bit of athletic and insane fun, material. Still the best of the sexy Bond villainess roles, in my opinion, even if it was in the worst of the Bond films.
15. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Aliens
A protective mother who knows her way around large firearms. Now that's sexy. 'Nuff said.
16. Judy Davis as George Sands in Impromptu
There's something really sexy about Judy Davis. She always looks on the verge of something (usually a nervous breakdown, or consumption, or both), never sure what. Many of the characters she plays are shrill, and high strung, but they are shrill and high strung in a fascinating way. Her George Sands is a great character, one you'd want to know, one you'd want to be with. Great film, even for a chick flick (take that Ms. Steinem).
Both lists suck, but they make a good jumping off point for my own list.
Given my biases, and orientation, I'll come up with my own top sixteen women in film, or F. C. I. L. F. (I'm assuming the "ILF" part is a pretty well known acronym by now, the F. C. stands for film characters), and then possibly have a relationship with or vice versa, with some the order is one, others it's the other. The list isn't really in order, just 16 women in film I could think of at the moment (on a different day, it might have been 16 other women in 16 different films). Besides, when most men fantasize about women on screen, I don't think the fantasies are generally as 'relationship' oriented as the MSN article would suggest.
1. Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity
The silly MSN list had no femme fatales. What kind of list of film ILFs doesn't include femme fatales? This is the best of the lot. Stanwyck may not be the sexiest woman in the world, or have the best body, but she exudes a combination of ferocity, intelligence, anger and even a touch of vulnerability that's hard to match. It'd be a sick, twisted relationship, that ends up in tears or blood (or tears and blood), but who wants to live forever? (besides we are talking fantasy, and not real life, real life stay far away from these types, but as a film fantasy, why the hell not?)
2. Nobuko Miyamoto as Ryoko Itakura, Tax Inspector in A Taxing Woman
Who knew tax collectors could be sexy? This movie rocks. Miyamoto is fantastic in this film, and sexy, and desirable. It's a brilliant film, fun characters, interesting plot, and breezily directed. What makes Miyamoto stand out is her steadfastness, intelligence and dedication. Those are all sexy characteristics in my book.
3. Shirley MacLaine as Bessie Sparrowbrush in Artists and Models
Shirley was incredibly sexy in a pixie-ish sort of way back in the day. Short red hair, pale skin, and dancer's legs is an intoxicating combination. Plus, any woman attracted to Jerry Lewis in full fool-mode is alright in my book.
4. Catherine Deneuve as Miriam Blaylock in The Hunger
So she's a vampire, nobody's perfect. She's a seriously hot vampire, plus she's got that old world charm going for her, and she's the epitome of sleek sexiness in this film. The film reads more like one long perfume commercial than a movie, but at least there's hot lesbian sex in it.
5. Salma Hayek as Rose in Timecode
Salma has to be on this list. Nothing to do with any of the roles she plays, just the fact of her Hayekness. When looking over her body of work, it mostly stinks. This is actually one of her better performances though. An interesting expermiment as a film, but not a good film overall. Saw it with the director in the theatre mixing the soundtrack live (4 separate images play as continuous takes, by choosing which audio to play, the director was foregrounding or backgrounding each subplot however he chose).
6. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi
This one is obvious. Blame my age. Blame the metal bikini. Blame the hotness of potential Jedi powers. I could take out Han Solo no problem, he's a bit of a jerk, anyway, she could do better.
7. Myrna Loy as Nora Charles in The Thin Man
Just about the sexiest female character ever captured on screen. Intelligent, funny, attractive, and willing to drink six or seven martinis with you. What else could you want from a wife?
8. Paula Patton as Angel in Idlewild
Singers are usually sexy (in film), Angel in Idlewild is no exception. Not a particularly deeply written character, but Patton brings vivaciousness to a somewhat vacuous role that you wouldn't expect. She was also excellent in Deja Vu in another role that didn't demand much from her. It's hard being an insanely hot actress of color in Hollywood. Expect a career of damsel in distress, or trophy objects, that's all they'll feel comfortable casting her in. She brings a dignity and charm to those roles though, keep an eye on her.
9. Maggie Cheung as Maggie Cheung in Irma Vep
Maggie Cheung playing herself in a French film about a production gone awry. She's sleek and elegant in this film, basically the fantasy version of her you imagine her to be. Can't beat that. A worthwhile film to see, even if a bit arty for art's sake.
10. Shari Eubank as SuperAngel/SuperVixen in SuperVixens
Imagine a Chuck Jones cartoon, with real life people, most of those people being improbably large breasted women, then you have a small inkling of what this film is like. SuperAngel/SuperVixen is a dual role played by the improbably large (but all natural) breasted Shari Eubank. Angel is incredibly bad, Vixen is incredibly sweet, both are incredibly hot. Don't think of it as an exploitation film, think of it as a sophisticated filmed dissertation on the dichotomous nature of how men relate to women and the artificially forced polar mode of either whoredom or madonnadom faced by women. Or just dig on the amazing cinematography, outrageously over-the-top violence, and absurdly ribald scenarios.
11. Barbara Stanwyck as Jean Harrington in The Lady Eve
Barbara Stanwyck, an actress so nice she makes this list twice. Maybe it's the Edith Head costumes in both pictures. Maybe it's Stanwyck's ability to convey so many emotions so easily. Maybe I'm just weird. Jean Harrington, the con-artist, playing the Lady, falling for, then getting revenge upon, the falling again for Henry Fonda's egghead character is an irresistible character. Sexy on many levels.
12. Joan Whaley and Bridget Fonda as Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies in Scandal
OK, I'm cheating a bit. Can't pick between the two in this picture, they're both really sexy and interesting each in their own way. So I'll choose both in a typically boorish male fantasy sort of way. Exotic dancers and threesomes, what could go wrong?
13. Carmen Maura as Pepa in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
There've been sexier women in Almodovar pictures, but none more attractive than Pepa in this film. Maura brings a vulnerability, strength and smarts to this role that's hard to beat. She's someone you could imagine being around, always giving you something different, moment by moment. Depth is sexy.
14. Grace Jones as May Day in A View to a Kill
Crappy Bond film, crappy bond villainess role, yet Grace Jones makes it work anyway. She's sexy in a frightening sort of way. Strictly one night stand, a bit of athletic and insane fun, material. Still the best of the sexy Bond villainess roles, in my opinion, even if it was in the worst of the Bond films.
15. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Aliens
A protective mother who knows her way around large firearms. Now that's sexy. 'Nuff said.
16. Judy Davis as George Sands in Impromptu
There's something really sexy about Judy Davis. She always looks on the verge of something (usually a nervous breakdown, or consumption, or both), never sure what. Many of the characters she plays are shrill, and high strung, but they are shrill and high strung in a fascinating way. Her George Sands is a great character, one you'd want to know, one you'd want to be with. Great film, even for a chick flick (take that Ms. Steinem).
I'm Still, Still Stuck in the Desert
Mojave Dessert?
Sunset off I-15 (near Apple Valley) [the colors are false, but the image is true, and it's cropped at 16x10, perfect for a widescreeen desktop background]
10 July 2007
I'm Still Stuck In the Desert
Posting wise, anyway.
Above, a photo from the Kelso Dunes set. Hard to tell scale in these pictures, but the tallest peak is about 600 feet.
This shot gives you a good sense of the middle of nowhere-ness of the place. I could have taken that shot in any direction and it'd look much the same.
Next up the Kelso Depot set. It's restored nicely, no longer useful, and a bit out of the way.
I wonder how well this lunch counter will do, or how easy it will be to staff? I arrived after closing time, don't know if it's open for business yet, by the looks of things, looks like it's still not being used.
Look, I found a colorful flower of which to take a close-up (I have Althouse envy).
Still uploading more sets, the Kelbaker Rd. set (taken while moving, forgive the lousy composition), the Baker set (experience the wonders of the Mad Greek Diner), and the Sunset set (air pollution and forest fires are good for something, spectacular sunsets).
I'll link to those sets in this post, once they're uploaded.
Uploading is iffy in my neighborhood at the moment, I blame E3 being in town, the local internet is groaning under the strain.
Above, a photo from the Kelso Dunes set. Hard to tell scale in these pictures, but the tallest peak is about 600 feet.
This shot gives you a good sense of the middle of nowhere-ness of the place. I could have taken that shot in any direction and it'd look much the same.
Next up the Kelso Depot set. It's restored nicely, no longer useful, and a bit out of the way.
I wonder how well this lunch counter will do, or how easy it will be to staff? I arrived after closing time, don't know if it's open for business yet, by the looks of things, looks like it's still not being used.
Look, I found a colorful flower of which to take a close-up (I have Althouse envy).
Still uploading more sets, the Kelbaker Rd. set (taken while moving, forgive the lousy composition), the Baker set (experience the wonders of the Mad Greek Diner), and the Sunset set (air pollution and forest fires are good for something, spectacular sunsets).
I'll link to those sets in this post, once they're uploaded.
Uploading is iffy in my neighborhood at the moment, I blame E3 being in town, the local internet is groaning under the strain.
A Sad or Happy Tale?
One of the stops along the way on my trip into the Mojave, was Daggett Pioneer Cemetery (flickr set at link). It's a sandy, rocky place. The decay may only be due to the harsh conditions, or might be due to neglect and even vandalism. There's no grass, no trees, no live flowers, just a few shrubs, a few fake flowers, a few American flags. But this cemetery is still serene, still holy, still a place of reverence.
There are old graves, the earliest death on a marker that was still legible was in the 1890s. There's new ones, too, even sites waiting for a husband or wife to join their beloved who preceded them. The graves whose markers are legible tell stories. You have families who've suffered losses, many men proud of their service to this country (mostly WWI and WWII), and lots of weather beaten crosses that bear no indication of who rests below.
These two markers seemed to have quite a bit to say.
Above you have Joseph L. Balderas, Jr., dead before his 32nd birthday. Not yet old, but not exactly young either. Still too young not to be around, you wonder what might have been the cause of a death at that age.
Then you look next to Joseph, and you see the grave of his mother Susie May, and you see that Joe L. is still alive, still waiting, "Until we meet again". Susie May died less than a year ago, and Joe, Jr., almost 20 years ago. I wouldn't be able to guess which Joe mourns for the most, though. But, despite this, I bet Joe is a happy man, a good man, a man you'd want as a neighbor and a friend. Joe, Jr. probably wasn't Susie and Joe's only child, hopefully he's their only child that preceded them in death. Joe probably has grandkids that keep him busy, and keep him wanting more days here.
That's a lot to infer from two grave markers, and I could be completely wrong, but it's certainly one of the many possibilities.
09 July 2007
Another Misuse of the Term "Modest Proposal"
(via Andrew Sullivan, who I should probably not link to, as is his want, but good netiquette doesn't require reciprocity)
Gloria Steinem displays the grand sense of humor second wave feminist have been renowned for. That aside, what she does to raise my ire is throw the term "modest proposal" about carelessly.
I'm in a deconstructing mood, so let's unpack all she has to say.
Way to prop up an anonymous boor (if he even exists) to create your strawperson.
Right, anything 'guys' might like is bad, got it.
What do you mean "I'm not challenging your choice"? In the previous paragraph you just implied his taste in film is infantile and full of bloodlust. Why play coy Ms. Steinem? Call him a knuckle dragger, if you think he's a knuckle dragger, after all he's probably too stupid to know that's an insult
OK, how'd we get from "chick flick" to literature? I guess she forgot we're supposed to discourage emphasizing 'dead white males' in the canon (just another kind of 'prick', after all) of literature studied in school. You can pat yourself on the back for the fact that this frat boy on the plane has likely not studied Hawthorne, Tolstoy, Flaubert, or even Shakespeare.
Oh, never mind. I can't believe she brought that up. So not only does she use the 'classic' authors to support her disdain for a certain kind of popular art, but she throws out some tired line about how it's impossible for women to be taken seriously by --- who? The Academy? Book Reviews? She's clearly not looked at the curricula taught at most schools in the past 20 years, or else she'd know how baseless that kind of claim is today.
Finally we get to her proposal portion of her 'proposal'. Her big idea is to label all masculine leaning work as 'prick flicks' or even 'prick lit'. That'll teach us knuckle draggers! Newsflash, most men are inordinately proud of their pricks, and if we were to be identified by one thing, then we have no problem having that being our main identifier. Men are funny that way, I guess. I should attack the whole Marxist, 'those with power shape the language to disenfranchise the powerless' argument, but seems that's tired, hackneyed, and ridiculous enough to be self-refuting.
Now we get to the meat of the matter. This boorish (probable) ex-frat boy on the flight from Los Angeles to Seattle (two hotbeds of hyper-masculine Red State yahoos), is really just lusting for a fight, and has a hard-on for war. Just like our current president (she couldn't even bring herself to type his name, she had a hard enough time typing "John Wayne" and "Ronald Reagan").
First off, Boxing Helena was eons ago, nobody saw it, fewer liked it, and it was directed and co-written by a woman. Secondly, there are plenty of men upset with the whole 'torture porn' sub genre that has surfaced recently, and there are plenty of women who consume that product, so it's a much more complex picture than the one you'd like to paint. Note the recent failure at the box office of Grindhouse and Hostel II. Captivity looks destined for a crappy weekend as well, despite a controversial ad campaign (which is usually a good thing for a flick).
Isn't that nice, she's willing to let you decide to see what you want to see, so long as your choice is one that pleases her. Just through a little education and creative labeling you'll come to realize that 300 is an evil instrument designed to aid in the reproduction of our weapons obsessed national deathcult, while a light and cheery confection like Music and Lyrics is a superior work of art in every single way (assuming those were the kinds of films offered up for vote on the plane). You really think that 'no chick flick!' shouting frat boy will be upset when you call his taste in films "Prick Flicks", or his taste in music, "Cock Rock" or his taste in cigars as "Penis-substitutes"? (OK, he may balk at the cigar one).
Women, and especially 2nd wave feminist should be the ones most offended by the current state of 'chick flicks'. Pictures aimed at and marketed towards a primarily female audience are more regressive and beholden to traditional gender roles than even the films of the 30s or 40s. Just look at all those awful underling screws boss pictures of the past decade or so. There's plenty to choose from. Or you have the ever popular cold hearted corporate climber learns the true value of having a vagina when thrust into a child rearing situation subgenre of chick flicks. Those are real progressive. Maybe the guy voicing his dismay at the plane choosing a chick flick, wasn't dismayed at a female-centric story, rather he was dismayed at the likelihood that the film chosen was another in a long line of Hollywood films that portray careerism in women negatively, neediness as a virtue, rescue through relationship, and casts the usual 20 something actress with an actor on the wrong side of 40. It may well have been an excess of feminism that drove that brave man to exhort as he did on the plane, that or he's a knuckedragging frat-boy, either way's cool with me.
Besides, who goes on a plane without a laptop or their own dvd player, anyway?
Gloria Steinem displays the grand sense of humor second wave feminist have been renowned for. That aside, what she does to raise my ire is throw the term "modest proposal" about carelessly.
I'm in a deconstructing mood, so let's unpack all she has to say.
Here's a modest proposal to the young man on the plane from Los Angeles to Seattle who said of the movie that most passengers -- male and female -- voted to watch: "I don't watch chick flicks!"
Way to prop up an anonymous boor (if he even exists) to create your strawperson.
So what exactly is a "chick flick?" I think you and I could probably agree that it has more dialogue than special effects, more relationships than violence, and relies for its suspense on how people live instead of how they die.
Right, anything 'guys' might like is bad, got it.
I'm not challenging your choice; I'm just questioning the term that encourages it. After all, if you think back to your school days, much of what you were assigned as great literature could have been dismissed as "chick lit." Indeed, the books you read probably only survived because they were written by famous guys.
What do you mean "I'm not challenging your choice"? In the previous paragraph you just implied his taste in film is infantile and full of bloodlust. Why play coy Ms. Steinem? Call him a knuckle dragger, if you think he's a knuckle dragger, after all he's probably too stupid to know that's an insult
Think about it: If Anna Karenina had been written by Leah Tolstoy, or The Scarlet Letter by Nancy Hawthorne, or Madame Bovary by Greta Flaubert, or A Doll's House by Henrietta Ibsen, or The Glass Menagerie by (a female) Tennessee Williams, would they have been hailed as universal? Suppose Shakespeare had really been The Dark Lady some people supposed. I bet most of her plays and all of her sonnets would have been dismissed as some Elizabethan version of ye olde "chick lit," only to be resurrected centuries later by stubborn feminist scholars.
OK, how'd we get from "chick flick" to literature? I guess she forgot we're supposed to discourage emphasizing 'dead white males' in the canon (just another kind of 'prick', after all) of literature studied in school. You can pat yourself on the back for the fact that this frat boy on the plane has likely not studied Hawthorne, Tolstoy, Flaubert, or even Shakespeare.
Indeed, as long men are taken seriously when they write about the female half of the world -- and women aren't taken seriously when writing about themselves much less about men or male affairs -- the list of Great Authors will be more about power than about talent.
Oh, never mind. I can't believe she brought that up. So not only does she use the 'classic' authors to support her disdain for a certain kind of popular art, but she throws out some tired line about how it's impossible for women to be taken seriously by --- who? The Academy? Book Reviews? She's clearly not looked at the curricula taught at most schools in the past 20 years, or else she'd know how baseless that kind of claim is today.
Still, I know this is not your problem. Instead, let me appeal to your self-interest as well as your sense of fairness: If the "chick flick" label helps you to avoid the movies you don't like, why is there no label to guide you to the ones you do like?
Just as there are "novelists" and then "women novelists," there are "movies" and then "chick flicks." Whoever is in power takes over the noun -- and the norm -- while the less powerful get an adjective. Thus, we read about "African American doctors" but not "European American doctors," "Hispanic leaders" but not "Anglo leaders," "gay soldiers" but not "heterosexual soldiers," and so on.
That's also why you're left with only half a guide. As usual, bias punishes everyone. Therefore I propose, as the opposite of "chick flick" and an adjective of your very own, "prick flick." Not only will it serve film critics well, but its variants will add to the literary lexicon. For example, "prick lit" could characterize a lot of fiction, from Philip Roth to Bret Easton Ellis and beyond. "True prick" could guide readers to their preferred non-fiction, from the classics of Freud to the populist works of socio-biologists and even Rush Limbaugh.
Finally we get to her proposal portion of her 'proposal'. Her big idea is to label all masculine leaning work as 'prick flicks' or even 'prick lit'. That'll teach us knuckle draggers! Newsflash, most men are inordinately proud of their pricks, and if we were to be identified by one thing, then we have no problem having that being our main identifier. Men are funny that way, I guess. I should attack the whole Marxist, 'those with power shape the language to disenfranchise the powerless' argument, but seems that's tired, hackneyed, and ridiculous enough to be self-refuting.
Most of all, the simple label "prick flick" could lead you easily and quickly through the thicket of televised, downloaded and theatrical releases to such attractions as:
All the movies that glorify World War II. From classics with John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, those master actors who conveyed heroism without ever leaving the back lot, to Spielberg's "Band of Brothers," in which the hero would rather die than be rescued, Hollywood has probably spent more on making movies about the war than this country spent on fighting it. After all, World War II was the last war in which this country was clearly right. Without frequent exposure to it, how are we to believe we still are?
All the movies that glorify Vietnam, bloody regional wars, and the war on terrorism. These may not be as much fun to watch -- you probably are aware that we aren't the winners here -- but they allow you to enjoy mass mayhem in, say, South Asia or Africa or the Middle East that justifies whatever this country might do.
Now we get to the meat of the matter. This boorish (probable) ex-frat boy on the flight from Los Angeles to Seattle (two hotbeds of hyper-masculine Red State yahoos), is really just lusting for a fight, and has a hard-on for war. Just like our current president (she couldn't even bring herself to type his name, she had a hard enough time typing "John Wayne" and "Ronald Reagan").
All the movies that portray violence against women, preferably beautiful, sexy, half-naked women. These feature chainsaws and house parties for teenage guys, serial killers and sadistic rapists for ordinary male adults, plus cleverly plotted humiliations and deaths of powerful women for the well-educated misogynist.
All the movies that insist female human beings are the only animals on earth that seek out and even enjoy their own pain. From glamorized versions of prostitution to such complex plots as "Boxing Helena," a man's dream of amputating all a rebellious woman's limbs -- and then she falls in love with him -- these provide self-justification and how-to manuals for sadists.
First off, Boxing Helena was eons ago, nobody saw it, fewer liked it, and it was directed and co-written by a woman. Secondly, there are plenty of men upset with the whole 'torture porn' sub genre that has surfaced recently, and there are plenty of women who consume that product, so it's a much more complex picture than the one you'd like to paint. Note the recent failure at the box office of Grindhouse and Hostel II. Captivity looks destined for a crappy weekend as well, despite a controversial ad campaign (which is usually a good thing for a flick).
As you can see, one simple label could guide you through diversity, and help other viewers to practice avoidance.
But if you really think about it, I'm hope-a-holic enough to think you might like to watch a chick flick after all.
Isn't that nice, she's willing to let you decide to see what you want to see, so long as your choice is one that pleases her. Just through a little education and creative labeling you'll come to realize that 300 is an evil instrument designed to aid in the reproduction of our weapons obsessed national deathcult, while a light and cheery confection like Music and Lyrics is a superior work of art in every single way (assuming those were the kinds of films offered up for vote on the plane). You really think that 'no chick flick!' shouting frat boy will be upset when you call his taste in films "Prick Flicks", or his taste in music, "Cock Rock" or his taste in cigars as "Penis-substitutes"? (OK, he may balk at the cigar one).
Women, and especially 2nd wave feminist should be the ones most offended by the current state of 'chick flicks'. Pictures aimed at and marketed towards a primarily female audience are more regressive and beholden to traditional gender roles than even the films of the 30s or 40s. Just look at all those awful underling screws boss pictures of the past decade or so. There's plenty to choose from. Or you have the ever popular cold hearted corporate climber learns the true value of having a vagina when thrust into a child rearing situation subgenre of chick flicks. Those are real progressive. Maybe the guy voicing his dismay at the plane choosing a chick flick, wasn't dismayed at a female-centric story, rather he was dismayed at the likelihood that the film chosen was another in a long line of Hollywood films that portray careerism in women negatively, neediness as a virtue, rescue through relationship, and casts the usual 20 something actress with an actor on the wrong side of 40. It may well have been an excess of feminism that drove that brave man to exhort as he did on the plane, that or he's a knuckedragging frat-boy, either way's cool with me.
Besides, who goes on a plane without a laptop or their own dvd player, anyway?
Ohhhh, Push Pins!
Created a Google Map with locations marked of where I went yesterday.
Total miles driven, 470.
Miles hiked on a sand dune in 115 degree weather without carrying any water, about 1.
Still uploading the images to Flickr.
The Mojave National Preserve (where the Kelso Dunes, and Kelso Depot are), is about the size of Delaware (to give you an idea of the distance covered).
Total miles driven, 470.
Miles hiked on a sand dune in 115 degree weather without carrying any water, about 1.
Still uploading the images to Flickr.
The Mojave National Preserve (where the Kelso Dunes, and Kelso Depot are), is about the size of Delaware (to give you an idea of the distance covered).
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