Mel Gibson is claiming that his new film about Jesus is not anti-semitic, nor is he, but then again how many bigots will actually come out an say, with or without qualification, that they are one?

Working the hunt

One of the reasons for the slenderish postings lately has been my involvement in a job search group called ProMatch; I’ve also had a lingering cold which has been sapping my energy but I’m hopeful that the effects of it are at an end. ProMatch is the Silicon Valley chapter of a California state government program called Experience Unlimited, sponsored by the California Employment Development (EDD)–the people who also send out the unemployment checks–and the NOVA Workforce Investment Board.

My understanding is that ProMatch is one of the most successful such organizations and from what I’ve seen so far, in about 10 days of involvement, the assertions very possible true. The group is essentially self-run, with guidance and oversight from perhaps a half dozen state employees, and limited at any one time to about 250 people, explaining the wait of about 10 weeks from the day I signed up until a spot came available for me. Activity is focused on two things: preparing one for interviews (and how to find them) and providing support for and during the process.

The part of the program focused on enabling one’s job search consists largely of classes on interviewing, resume writing, networking (social, not computer!), facilitating meetings and negotiating. So far I’ve taken the Facilitations I class, mostly because it was the only class with available space that fit my schedule last week, and found it to be reasonably informative. The other side of the coin is that because the group is run by members, each person must participate by volunteering some time. One can work on either the Training and Development department, which has several teams that each puts on one set of classes, or the Ops department, which is responsible for the facilities and organizational meetings. Based on suggestions from others regarding a shortcoming which may be impacting my job hunt, I’ve joined the Interviews team and this coming week will work as an observer for the Interviews 3: Telephone Interviewing class and also attend the Interviews I: Essentials class.

One of the fundamental components of the ProMatch system is the development of PSRs for each member. PSR is yet another TLA that stands for problems, solutions and results and means identifying and communicating concrete examples of their work accomplishments both in resumes and interviews; this was a concept new to me but one of those things which, when you hear it, makes you want to slap your head for not thinking of it sooner. Say you were previously working as a project manager at a manufacturing company and in one project you identified an opportunity to streamline a production process, developed the new process and implemented it, saving the company over $250,000 per year; the PSR would be a succinct, 60-90 second way to tell this story in an interview and a matching bullet item to include in a resume.

Another facet of ProMatch is the sponsorship of success teams, although sponsorship is perhaps a bit too strong of a word, perhaps encouragement of participation would be better. In any case, to get started in the group you must attend the Fundamentals workshop (which gets one onto the waiting list for active membership) and during this class the facilitator helps people divide up into teams of (usually) 8-12 based on geography and the teams then meet weekly to function as a system for mutual support and encouragement; because the teams are only informally associated with ProMatch people can begine with them immediately, independent of the waiting list.

My team, which currently has about 10 members, spends our get-togther going around the table with each person detailing their search-related efforts of the previous week and plans for the coming one; the others offer suggestions and generally kibbitz and/or tease. We started back in October and so far three members have found full time work, a fourth has a major consulting gig and a fifth is one of the final two contenders for a high-profile product management position.

Beyond the classes and meetings, the group also offers special events, one on one career counseling (with paid staffers generally) and communication with group alumni as well as current members through a moderated, reasonably active mailing list. So far this month, as of Thursday’s general meeting where such things are announced, 16 members have found and accepted new full time positions and graduated. One of them is my nextdoor neighbor (congratulations, Dikram!) who starts a technical sales position at Tyco this week.

Bushinations: Drill, drill, drill

“This administration’s approach to energy is to drill, drill, drill.” The (Democratic) governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, stands up to the Bushies over their plan to allow oil drilling in Otero Mesa. Not surprising at all is the fact that the companies apparently in line to do the drilling are tightly and deeply connected to the top levels of the Executive Branch. [via the G Man]

One aspect of the justification (given by a spokesman for the Interior Department) that bothers me, and has for a long time, is the shortsightedness of the cost proposition. That is, the spokesman says that our natural gas power plants need the gas from somewhere and if we don’t allow drilling here, the American public will just ending up paying higher prices for foreign-drilled gas. I think that is ass-backwards though: in the long run the entire world will run out of petroleum and if we save America’s for the end game, letting other countries pump now, the net effect will be a much better outcome for America. Why doesn’t that scenario get brought up? Because these companies and their co-dependents want the money now, irregardless of their paper-thin justifications.

After 37 days, a dollar bill made its way from Napa to Mountain View. Where will it end up next (that anyone registers, I mean)? I’ll be spending it soon, I’m sure… Who knows but you can check here to see.

New free tool

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I really hate NBC these days, with their ridiculous programming strategy of starting shows at one minute before the hour–screwing up any chance of recording a program in the hour, or at least the half hour, immediately before–or 20 after, but really 20 after means 24. Stupid fucking NBC.

HOA Hilarity: Update, next day, still laughing

The saga does not end. I admit, I was a bad boy and sent this response:

“Ooh, I’m so scared! All those capital letters and harsh words.” Really, I just don’t seem willing to allow my correspondent the final word, which they so seem to desire. OTOH, I see the opportunity to turn annoyance into amusement. Plus, last night the other owners, at least those who bothered to show up or give a proxy, re-elected me to another year in my very prestigious office.

This morning awaiting me in the inbox was an email with the subject “3 rd FINAL WARNING.” So apparently the second warning was not the final one for me. I’m thinking this person misunderstands the word final, aren’t you? And what did this email say?

“JUST STOP IT.

You have demonstrated who you are in your actions and emails.

NO MORE, ENOUGH.”

Seriously, though, I’m not about to give in that easily. No way. So I quickly composed an answer of my own to keep the ball rolling:

“I’m so sorry you feel this way. Really, I am. Because your feelings are so much more important than mine or anyone else’s.”

Wonder what tomorrow will bring. Will these warnings be transformed into action? Will I rue my inability to control my funny bone? Stay tuned to this same Bat channel to find out.

HOA hilarity: Stop it, the laughter is killing me

I’ve had the pleasure lately of exchanging emails with one of the members of the homeowners association (remember, I’m the Prez). The underlying issue is annoying enough but now this person is telling me that I better not send any more unprofessional emails: “DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE OF YOUR UNPROFESSIONAL EMAILS. STOP IT, JUST STOP IT. I’ve had more than ENOUGH.”

In fact, this was my “2nd and FINAL warning” and, oh my goodness, I am so scared! I’m quaking in my boots as to the consequences if I ever send this person another UNPROFESSIONAL EMAIL. Although I do sort of wonder just what my correspondent means by unprofessional since my position is, of course, unpaid volunteer work. As far as I can glean from previous messages, I am expected to read, respect and respond to any inanity that this person sends me but my responses must not include any opinion or emotion.

In a previous email this person stated that respect must be earned. Fair enough. But then I would never be able to respond to any communications from this person seriously as this person’s behavior is so far off the wall as to induce continual laughter, to the point of tears, except when I’m thinking an ulcer is coming soon–you’ve read the email excerpt above, I’m sure you understand.

This person is, bottom line, impossible to satisfy. I’d say there are mental health issues involved except that I don’t have the education or certification to really make such a judgment. However, as an amateur I feel free to speculate. I keep wondering if this person will go far enough over the line so that I could file a lawsuit for harassment; certainly my correspondent has often used the services of lawyers in attempting to get a desired resolution but I actually prefer to go that route only if I’ve a decent chance of prevailing. Still, flights of fantasy are entertaining.

Anyway, we have a board meeting tonight, where I’m up for re-election, and I keep wondering if this person will (finally) stand up to try and take the job away from me. I doubt this member will and I know that the antics are widely known, more than enough to assure this person no chance of winning. But it would be a great laugher.

I just found out that the last company I worked for back in New Jersey, which was called Dragoco at the time, has merged and is now part of Symrise.

Tonight’s movie: Everyone Says I Love You

Woody Allen spent a lot of time in the 1980s and ’90s trying to make interesting movies without repeating himself. Or at least not repeating himself too badly. When you throw in his love of Gershwin and Porter, there’s no need to be surprised that he made a modern ’30s musical, 1996’s Everyone Says I Love You. Since I’m a known Allen fan, no need to be surprised that I enjoyed this one.

As is often the case, Allen uses an extended family to simplify his need to connect the cast. Alan Alda and Goldie Hawn are the parents, Allen is Hawn’s ex, Natasha Lyonne is the daughter of Allen and Hawn, and Drew Barrymore, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas, and Gaby Hoffmann play the only other siblings. Barrymore, as the film opens, becomes engaged to Edward Norton but later gets entangled with ex-con Tim Roth; Lyonne travels a bit and has several flings.

Lyonne also has a burning itch to find the perfect woman to match with her father. When they’re vacationing in Venice and bump into Julia Roberts, who’s there with her husband, daughter realizes she knows the stunning beauty, recognizing her as a longtime patient of her friend’s psychiatrist mother (played, uncredited for some reason by Allen regular Dianne Wiest); Roberts, unaware that the girls peep on the mother’s sessions, reveals all her dreams and fantasies and Lyonne instructs Allen for wooing purposes.

Fortunately, I was pretty much able to tune out the musical numbers. I suppose they were fine but, as good as the cast is at acting, they aren’t a song and dance troup of the level of Astaire and Rogers or Sinatra, Kelly and and Ann Miller. Plus this film was made in 1996 and not 50 years earlier and it just didn’t ring true to me. Amusingly Barrymore didn’t do her own vocals but the person who sang for her wasn’t credited onscreen.

recommended for Allen fans

Today’s movie: Lost in Translation

Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are (separately) stuck in Tokyo for a week, left, for the most part, to their own devices and unable to find activities of interest or to sleep in the unfamiliar environment. He’s a movie star in town to shoot some whiskey commercials for megabucks; she’s the wife of a rock and roll photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) who’s busy with his shoot. They’re staying in the same hotel and after bumping into each other a couple of times, strike up a friendship.

Sofia Coppola wrote and directed Lost in Translation, partly based on similar experiences she had earlier. Over on Rotten Tomatoes I see mainly very positive reviews linked, and of course it has gotten a few Oscar nominations, but I really felt left down by the movie. Yes, the two leads give great performances and Ribisi and Anna Farris (playing a dumb blonde movie star also staying in the hotel) are convincing too but Lost has two major flaws that in the end put it in the good, not great, class:

  1. There are odd production errors, most notably a very visible boom mike, that break the fourth wall for no given reason. If Coppola wanted to say something meta about filmmaking itself she didn’t get it across to us; oddly, none of the reviews I checked mention these flaws but can’t hurl enough superlatives around.
  2. After initially establishing the loneliness and restlessness of the two main characters, the script keeps separating them even though the scenes apart add little or no value to establishing character and seriously detract from the main focus on the relationship. I’m particular thinking of her second shrine visit and his golf outing.

I suppose I’m not overly surprised that LiT landed four Oscar nominations–for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Script and Murray for Best Actor–but I truly think this is one of those times where people swallowed the hype. I credit it to the track record of Coppola (who many felt was unjustly overlooked, even snubbed, for her first major outing, The Virgin Suicides), a radical visual portrayal of Tokyo itself, Murray giving a much more subdued, controlled performance than he’s really ever done before (okay, he might deserve the nomination) and Johannson’s radiance and very hard to ignore opening shot of her fine ass in pink panties.

recommended