Tonight's movie: High Fidelity

Top five reasons why High Fidelity is one of my all time favorite movies:

1. A romantic comedy with intelligence and wit, a plot that is in constant motion, well-contrasted characters who find organic growth. More laughs and smiles per square meter of film stock than you can shake a stick at.
   
   
2. John Cusack is one of the great American actors whether he gets the credit for it or not. High Fidelity uses his ability for believability and physical humor and contrasts him so well with Jack Black (going over the top) and Todd Louiso (just the opposite, barely animated).
   
   
3. Lots and lots of great music, much of which is woven directly into the plot and not just used as background. And the artists are all over the place: Springsteen, Aretha, Bow Wow Wow, Belle & Sebastian, Liz Phair, Ann Peebles, Illinois Jacquet, Stiff Little Fingers and more.
   
   
4. You can watch it many times and see some new bit or some scene in a new light each time. Plus it's difficult to get tired of seeing Catherine Zeta-Jones pull off her top.
   
   
5. Bruce Springsteen makes a cameo, sitting back playing his Telecaster and giving Rob sage advice

More top fives about the movie from Ben Guaraldi.

absolutely recommended

Corporate humor

Dear William Lazar,

Walgreens and Medco Health Solutions have reviewed pharmacy transactions related to your health benefits plan's prescription coverage from mid-1999 to early 2001. The review identified certain co-payments paid by you that could have been lower.

Therefore, consistent with Medco's and Walgreen's commitment to customer satisfaction, please accept the enclosed check to fully reimburse you for the difference.

Sincerely,
Walgreens

The enclosed check was for 50 cents. W00t, I'm rich again.

Today's movie: The Sunshine State

John Sayles makes what I call fictional demographies; that is, films that take a place at a specific point in time and explore the kind of people you're likely to encounter there and then, at least in his mind. Even from the first of his own works, Return of the Secaucus 7, to my personal favorite Baby, It's You and the classics Lone Star and The Secret of Roan Inish, Sayles' focus is far more on the people and what's happening to them rather than such niceties as plot and excitement.

2002's The Sunshine State is much the same. Set on a small, white trash/old black inhabited island near Jacksonville, Florida, that's finally attracted the attention of developers, we're mostly concerned with two women of the same age, late 30s, one white, one black and the people in their orbit. Oddly, although both were raised in this small place, neither Marly (Edy Falco) nor Desiree (Angela Bassett) seems aware of the other.

The women recognize the time has come to deal with the results of childhood events and how that's still affecting their relationships, especially with one particular parent. Unfortunately in neither case does the dialog rise to the situation. Falco and Bassett both do fine acting jobs, as do most of the others in this large, sprawling cast, but Sayles, serving as his own editor, looses everything in a langerous, overlong final cut. For instance, there are several scenes where Gordon Clapp is trying to kill himself but this has almost no relation to the rest of the movie that Sayles makes clear. I expect that if he had cut the movie from about 135 minutes down to, say, 105-110, the end product would have been much more entertaining.

not recommended

Saha shoots, scores!

Louis Saha, making his Manchester United debut today against Southampton, showed he was worth every pound the Reds paid for him by scoring the first goal of the match and assisting on the second (scored by the excellent Paul Scholes) after a contentious transfer saga. Diego Forlan had previously been Ruud van Nistelrooy's striking partner but I think after seeing the first result that the Argentinean will be sitting on the bench most of the remainder of this season. Since Arsenal do not play until tomorrow, the win puts ManU at the top of the EPL; however, this novice fan clearly noticed that their defense badly missed the suspended Rio Ferdinand in the first game they played without him as there was much confusion and poor clearances throughout, accounting for both Soton goals.

Meanwhile, Saha's former squad Fullham picked up American national team star Brian McBride from the Columbus Crew as a replacement and he too scored in his team debut, putting the Cottagers' winner in the back of the net eight minutes after coming on as a sub at the hour mark.

Finally, due to FIFA's newly-imposed transfer window rules, San Jose star/American Player of the Year Landon Donovan will not be loaned to Portsmouth because the rules would have meant the player could not appear for the Earthquakes until mid-August (as opposed to late May). The experience would have been good for him though I think the rest--he'll have a busy February but not too much action in March as the team prepares for an April 3 opener--will be very helpful after a crammed 2003.

Garret saw Gen. Clark last night in Santa Fe and has a nice photo gallery posted.

Having a cold really sucks, makes me feel like every movement, every breath, is like being emerged in thick ether sprinkled with gritty sand that gets in my throat and under my eyelids.

Tonight's episode (Bringeth It On) of Joan of Arcadia wasn't too much of a rip-off of Sugar & Spice! Conversely, Monk had a terrific outing (Mr. Monk and the TV Star) with an episode that poked fun at itself, right down to the fan complaints about the Randy Newman theme song.

Bushinations: Lies my father told me to tell

One of the aspects of our system of organization (that is, both government and corporate) is that "nobodies" like me or you, Dear Reader, can actually get straight, honest answers from people in positions of authority. So when Somebody makes a decision or pronouncement that makes no sense at all (in terms of consistent internal logic), the great unwashed masses have no way to reach clarity. The list below has three strong examples of out and out falsehood by our Chief Executive but the latest Cringley has a similar analysis of the offshoring problem.

1. "How is it patriotic to place one's re-election worries before the need of the American people and the 9/11 families to know what mistakes were made leading up to the worst attack on American soil?" Andrew Rice, brother of 9/11 victim David, on the Bush Administration's opposition to extend the work of the committee investigating the events of that day.
   
   
2. Somehow, two months ago it was $400 billion; now it's $540 billion. The real question is how could the Administration not have known the difference, or rather, why weren't they honest in the first place? Because, of course, at the higher figure the bill would have never passed Congress.
   
   
3. The biggest lie is that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. I'm sick when I think back to the days just before the US attacked Iraq and I was thinking that, well, those are some pretty serious weapons and if he has them, he needs to go. Now I realize that people are dying over there, Americans, Iraqis, Brits, Italians and more, because so many Americans believed the words coming out of Bush's mouth. Hell, just last week Cheney was over in Davos claiming there is evidence yet to be found. Now the party line is that Hussein was a bad, bad man (no doubt about that) and he just had to go; if he didn't quite have NBC ready to go, he surely would soon have gotten there soon.

Perhaps listening to Kevin Phillips on the Bush dynasty would be a good refresher course for those who doubt what Bush is all about. And perhaps one of you Dear Readers can explain to me how we, the Sheep, can get honest answers.

Laffer is not just a curve

Joe has an odd sense of humor; I'm not saying I disagree, mind you, just that I'd have never thought of his fundraising idea.

Someone at Microsoft does too. Because typing is what the Web's all about, right?

Everybody say Yowsa!

The guy who wrote the Finding Nemo script, David Reynolds, will write the adaptation of Robert Heinlein's young adult classic science fiction novel Have Spacesuit, Will Travel.

Look at the latest bullshit from the NRA; sad but not surprising.

On the lighter side of nausea

Very interesting: Getting Started with Your Own Software Company (and the inevitable /. discussion).

Tech's medical marvels: "For the past two years, more venture funding ($3.2 billion) has gone to medical device companies than to semiconductor makers ($2.8 billion), according to research firm VentureOne."

Word of the day: Hermeneutics. Because I just love the way it sounds and it turns out to be an interesting topic.

System overload: Doc says what I'm thinking in Orwhat?

There are dinosaurs among us? The Sci Fi Channel has given production go ahead to a two hour movie version of Eric Garcia's Anonymous Rex and intends this as a pilot for a series.

A group of Star Trek and Voyager actors teamed up for Roddenberry on Patrol, a parody of the Great Bird himself. Bad web site, though.

This is not a metaphor: Swedes have more and more animal sex

Here's another excellent example of corporate executives putting their greed ahead of the common good: Antidepressant Makers Withhold Data on Children

One of my fellow SpoFites, smithers, writes mendbending weblog entries--just read the links in his entry The Body-Object Articulation.

The nets keep coming up with more and stranger reality shows. The NY post runs down The Littlest Groom and many other anti-highlights planned for the February sweeps.

Today I can twiddle my right thumb

Well sort of, it's still a bit stiff and painful. But better than last week. Aren't you glad? If not, read on.

One more thing to make you feel good this morning: U.S. Uranium Stock in Peril. Or is this just part of the studio hype for The Perfect Score?

Dan Gillmor reports that a Mobile Phone Uber-Directory in the Works which is a good thing (right?) because the fact that no one can now look up your cell number is such a terrible obstacle for all those well-meaning people who need to call and tell us about their great thing. Whatever that thing might be. You say the FTC's Do Not Call system will protect us; I reply that politicians and charities, not to mention corporations that have a relationship with us, are exempt from that otherwise fine idea.

The sad ending to Leon Wagner's life is one of those stories which says to me, man, we suck at taking care of each other. Though there is little overt connection to Wagner's tale, thinking about it makes me want to call up Dick Cheney and ask him if he can look his daughter in the eye and say "I support the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage."

This is funny, for contrast: Rory's Career Pinata explains a lot about the last few years for me. [via the non-homophobic Joel]

Football coaching merrygoround: Seven and done

The Oakland Raiders today hired Norv Turner as their new head coach, filling the seventh and last opening in this NFL off-season. Turner most recently was assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins the past two years and before that was head coach at Washington for nearly seven years with a fairly poor 49-59-1 record and just one playoff trip. His big claim to fame was as Jimmy Johnson's offensive coordinator in Dallas during a stint that included two Super Bowl wins.

Which would make him different than Joe Bugel, the only other person Al Davis hired for this job who had previous experience as a head coach; in every other instance the Man in Black hired a noob. The local writers have repeatedly mentioned that what Davis really likes best is someone to be offensive coordinator--he's still, at age 74, the real head man--and Turner does match this profile. The team has a young QB, Marques Tuiasosopo, whom Turner can mold plus a couple of other young skill position players (Jerry Porter, Justin Fargas) to be the offensive core. There will surely be a major roster turnover either this coming season or the next but Turner has a five year contract.

So long to a classic club

Jon Pareles pens a fond farewell to Manhattan's The Bottom Line; I never attempted to get one of its 400 seats but heard several great radio broadcasts over the years that originated there, most notably from Springsteen and the E Street Band way back on August 15, 1975.

Bushinations: Constitutional amendment this, Constitutional amendment that

The biggest problem I have with the social reactionaries who insist that marriage must and can only be between one man and one woman is it reeks of tyranny of the majority. Sure we live in a democracy but this is an absurd intrusion of religion and bigotry into personal affairs. Seriously, who the fuck cares about the next person's love life unless he (or she) is so afraid of what might be inside their own heart (or groin); don't tell me this is a sacred concept because, of course, the Constitution itself makes that a meaningless answer.

And more than that, where exactly is Bush going to get the $1.5 billion he mentioned in the SotU farce that he proposes the government spend on educating us all on how to be better married people. As long as we're heterosexual. Very sad.

Geographical amusement

Where have you been? The countries I've visited are shown in red.



And the States too, as I belatedly found their tool for this purpose.

create your own visited country map