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June 1, 2006

Vini, Vidi, Da Vinci!

Thumbs Up! Seriously, we both had a good time.

There were some problems:  Tom Hanks was either miscast, or annoyed because Howard wouldn't let him co-direct, or maybe he took his inspiration from Jeff Goldblum in Into The Night.  Audrey Tatou seemed out of her depth around the veteran actors, although the point of her casting came clear in the last act.  And there were several issues of logic and motivation that the film is paced just quickly enough to keep you from worrying about during run time.

But there was a lot to like, in a summer flick kind of way.  Several silly puzzles leading the characters to and fro, a few clever twists (alongside a not so clever twist-motif that you'll come to anticipate each time), the grandness of the overall goal (Dan Brown was smart enough to make his MacGuffin a potentially living entity), the parade of various character actors we've come to know and love, and a wonderfully hammy performance by Ian McKellen.

There's been a lot of discussion of the "secret" of the book and movie.  Going in, I thought I knew the big revelation already.  But I was surprised at how much larger the dimensions of the secret were.  Yeah, the whole Mary Magdalene thing is there -- that's as specific as I'll get -- but there's huge historical shadow cast by that core deviation from doctrine, explained enthusiastically by Ian McKellen's character, that makes it resonate beyond the cliff notes version most of us have heard several times now.  I was surprised to find myself giving a damn about how it turned out.  I wasn't convinced, but I didn't expect to be.  I'm also not convinced that there's a bald man under the sea with a big rocket aimed at London, but James Bond is, and that's good enough for me.

Why have the reviews been so lousy overall?  Rotten Tomatoes puts it at 23%, right there with The Tuxedo, R.V. and Mission to Mars, and lower than Fantastic Four and Flintstones 2.  I mean, it's not great film, and I'm sure critics, along with the rest of the world, are eager for Da Vinci mania run its course, but for the film to get half the score of Daredevil and Planet of the Apes?  That's protestething too much.

So no, I didn't louvre it, and I didn't haute it, but I did likre it.



June 2, 2006

Wherehouse vs. the MPAA

Saw this sign in front of the local Wherehouse.

     Buy it!
     Burn it!
     Return It!

They're offering $5 back for used CDs.

I guess some folks have stopped worrying and learned to love piracy.



June 4, 2006

Jasper

More Bloomin' Gen

(Photo credit: John Newton)



June 7, 2006

Vanilla Mood

Was toodling around web pages and stumbled across this Japanese Quartet playing the Mission Impossible theme. It's a captivating performance, and the little stuffed animal shrine in front is a nice touch.

As for the bass player, the only phrase that comes to mind is "marionette freaky".

UPDATE! The video was removed, but perhaps googling for Vanilla Mood video will turn something up. I just found a sweet Astor Piazzola interpretation on YouTube. I'm a fan for life!



June 24, 2006

Hell no, we won't go

The headline of this story doesn't exactly surprise, but read a few paragraphs in and you'll find Dick Cheney saying this:

Neither an immediate nor phased withdrawal would confer any protection on the United States, Cheney said. "If we pull out, they'll follow us," he said of terrorists.

"It doesn't matter where we go. This is a global conflict. We've seen them attack in London and Madrid and Casablanca and Istanbul and Mombasa and East Africa. They've been, on a global basis, involved in this conflict.

"And it will continue -- whether we complete the job or not in Iraq -- only it'll get worse. Iraq will become a safe haven for terrorists. They'll use it in order to launch attacks against our friends and allies in that part of the world."

Cheney said a pullout would signal the United States would not stand its ground in the war on terror. "No matter how you carve it -- you can call it anything you want -- but basically, it is packing it in, going home, persuading and convincing and validating the theory that the Americans don't have the stomach for this fight."

The emphasis above is mine. I had to read it a couple times, but I'm pretty sure the administration is finally admitting that, now that they have a foothold and a justification, we have no intention of ever leaving.

Was there ever any doubt?



June 31, 2006

The Shrew

Kinda out to lunch lately, sorry about that. Not sure when I'll be back to regular posts.

But I have to say this one thing: Why does anyone even talk about Ann Coulter anymore, even to debunk or make fun of her? Let her play the morning shows, between the spoon benders and water-skiing squirrels. The blogs have got better things to do.



RetroGen: February 25, 2005

Couch Smiley Couch Lookey

September 15, 2006

We're Still Here

We're just hiding.

Here, just hiding

October 5, 2006

The Language of Love

I haven't explored the collected belles-lettres of Tom Foley (R-Fla); the stuff in the news reports is more than enough to sate my curiosity.

But one thing is clear: Tom Foley (R!-Fla) sure knows how to flatter a guy:

I would drive a few miles for a hot stud like you.

Well gosh, Senator, don't put yourself out. Maybe you could find someone a mile or two closer.



October 11, 2006

Thank you, Jane Arraf

She has a few words for the "Show us the good news!" brigade.



October 14, 2006

Savio Galactica

Mario Savio

Tivo misrecorded the last five episodes of Battlestar Galactica last season, so we had to wait for the DVD. It was worth the wait -- the last few episodes are terrific.

There's a point in the finale when the chief mechanic (Tyrol) is leading a union-type rally. His combative phrasing sounded familiar to me. I realized it was a reworking of Mario Savio's breathtaking "gears and levers" speech from the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley.

But I wanted to see for sure, and here it is on YouTube. It's short but great, go watch.

I ran into Savio waiting for a bus in the mid-80's at San Francisco State; it was 20 years on, but I recognized him from old pictures I'd seen. I asked what he was up to and he said he was going for a degree in astronomy. He seemed like a good soul. If you're curious, check out his Wikipedia entry.

While I'm on the subject of Battlestar, the opening episodes of Season 3 are potent stuff. Nothing less than a view of the Iraq war, from the side of the insurgents! Holy cow!



October 15, 2006

Overdue Credit

One day last spring, Livia brought Gen to visit our friends, John and Nancy Newton. She came back with a bunch of great pictures, two of which I've already posted to the site.

Well, Livia pointed out that I neglected to give photo credit to John, who took this one, this one, and this one too. Sorry, John!

Bubbles

(Photo credit: John Newton)



October 15, 2006

Vocabulary 101

Just for fun, and while it's still feasible, I thought I'd take a snapshot of all the words Genevieve can say (that we understand), here at the 21-month mark.



October 20, 2006

New Ideas in Security

"We need to look at protection of young people that sometimes people may think you are a little smarter than everybody else or a higher IQ or whatever. They need to look at what the end result would be," Crozier said.

I've read the article, and I still can't figure out what he's trying to say.

Personally, I think he just likes shooting books.



October 29, 2006

Things I didn't know #3: Marine Reading List

The US Marine Corps has an official recommended reading list, broken down by soldier rank.

Check it out here.

A truly interesting list. It makes me want to start at the lowest rank and just read through to General. Also, check out the Counterinsurgency Reading List on the side, for anyone deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan.


UPDATE!  Shoot, I should have checked for these earlier.

Here are the reading lists for the other services: Navy - Coast Guard - Army - Air Force

Doing a search on "professional reading program" turns up a few other lists like this, as well as commentary on the changes made over the years.



October 31, 2006

Links Update

The Trixie Update has stopped updating (until Trixie is old enough to update it herself), although the archives will apparently stick around, and they're always good reading. I've often wondered what would happen when Gen got old enough for me to worry about her privacy, and I guess TTU was thinking the same thing.

I've replaced it with a link to ArgNet, a clearinghouse for Alternate Reality Games. Having played Majestic and Missing, and currently playing Perplex City (more about that later, I hope), I guess you could say I'm hooked on potential of the medium.



November 6, 2006

Pop Quiz

Who said this today?

Some of the presumptions about extreme weather, whether it be hurricanes or drought, may seem far-fetched. What is certain is that temperatures have been rising and that we are not entirely sure of the consequences. The planet deserves the benefit of the doubt.

OK, so it was lightly pedaled, and 10 years behind the times in terms of certainty, but the fact that it was spoken by the owner of Fox News is something to cheer about. It'll be fascinating to see if, just by listening to Fox, we can pinpoint the day that Rupert Murdoch sends the memo down.




November 7, 2006

Sore/Winnerman

I've learned tonight that, at least in one area, I've come to identify with Republicans.

To wit: Voting problems and election fraud don't seem that important when you're winning...



November 8, 2006

stan & ollie

November 9, 2006

Accentuate the positive

Bush Loses Grip

(Livia points out that you can sing this headline to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus".)



November 14, 2006

For Lost fans only

A friend at work announced that Lost has replaced Battlestar Galactica for him as the best show on TV. I told him he was crazy, but he said "Make sure you watch the most recent episode. Then you'll see why."

So Livia and I watched it off Tivo last night. There was nothing new that I could see. Overwrought tension, empty threats, waving of guns, grimness. The usual tomfoolery and shadowplay that makes it a fun show, but really just an hour of empty calories.

Livia's verdict cracked me up: "Boy, talk about the Long Con."



November 22, 2006

Mother and child reunion

Livia doesn't show up on this site often enough, usually because she's behind the camera.  But her Dad took this and a few other great shots I'll be posting in the next few weeks.

Mother & Child

(Photo credit: Ray Mackin)



December 24, 2006

Meh Christmas

Bleh

Not the best Christmas ever 'round these parts.

Gen has been sick a few days going (and really quite stoic about it), but she's terribly excited about Santa and Oman (snowman).

Rumor has it that she's getting a very special gift tomorrow: Livia's dollhouse, built by her dad about 40 years ago.  He restored it and bought a bunch of new furniture to fill it up with.  She'll love it!

UPDATE: She loves it!