tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114695302024-03-06T23:06:06.466-08:00The Corner of Clark & AddisonA place for musings about everything under the high summer sunDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.comBlogger466125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-8187755445782802382009-01-27T12:08:00.000-08:002009-01-27T12:12:46.769-08:00Reading Fans Bid Updike Adieu ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2189/1903380098_c1f887a9e8_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 550px; height: 420px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2189/1903380098_c1f887a9e8_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />In memory of John Updike, the acclaimed master of American letters <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/27/books/AP-Obit-Updike.html?hp">who passed away this morning at at age of 76</a>, here is a link to the piece of his writing that has most touched me, and that has the most relevance to one of the prime topics of this blog - baseball. <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1960/10/22/1960_10_22_109_TNY_CARDS_000266305">Go here</a> to read his famous 1960 essay for <i>The New Yorker</i> about Ted Williams' last baseball game, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu". And enjoy your new home, Mr. Updike, where there are never any rainouts at Fenway Park.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-80911531913383118832009-01-26T10:40:00.000-08:002009-01-26T10:48:30.511-08:00A sad legacy ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200801/r218533_855025.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 199px;" src="http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200801/r218533_855025.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>With the likelihood of Heath Ledger winning a posthumous Oscar for his role as The Joker in <i>The Dark Knight</i> all but a certainty now, it may be interesting to you to learn about the history of dearly departed actors winning a golden ticket to the Hollywood's golden derby after they have left us. Turns out Ledger is just the latest lamented member of a sad but small club.<br /><br />Ledger, turns out, is the sixth actor to receive an Academy Award nomination postmortem, but this is the seventh time the event has happened in Oscar history. That's because the first posthumous honoree, James Dean, had the (mis)fortune of being nominated twice in back-to-back years after his death in a car accident in September 1955. Months after he died, Dean made the Best Actor race for his work in <i>East of Eden</i>, and followed that up the following year with <i>Giant</i>. Then came Spencer Tracy. His final collaboration with frequent co-star and longtime lover Katharine Hepburn was in Stanley Kramer's fuzzy-wuzzy race-relations parable <i>Guess Who's Coming to Dinner</i>. Tracy already knew he was dying, and in fact Kramer and Hepburn had to fight the suits to keep Tracy in the movie, going so far as to put their salaries up in case Tracy passed during production. But he completed his work before dying on June 10, 1967, only 17 days after filming wrapped. When <i>Guess</i> was released six months later, Tracy was honored with a Best Actor nomination.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://myiq2xu.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/network1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="http://myiq2xu.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/network1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Other posthumous nominations include Sir Ralph Richardson in 1984 as Best Supporting Actor for <i>Graystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes</i>; and Italian actor-comedian Massimo Troisi in 1995 as Best Actor for the romance <i>Il Postino</i>. (Troisi put off important heart surgery to complete the film he co-wrote and died 12 hours after shooting his final scene; he also shared a nomination for the screenplay.) The only person to actually win an Oscar in such a manner, though, is Peter Finch. His iconic portrayal of madman news anchor Howard Beale in the 1976 satire <i>Network</i> sported major Oscar buzz; in fact, the Aussie actor was on his way to appear on <i>Good Morning, America</i> as part of the film's - and his - promotion when he dropped dead of a heart attack in the lobby of his hotel on January 14, 1977. Had Finch lived, he likely would have been nominated in the Supporting Actor category, but his sudden death may have been the impetus to propel him into the Actor category alongside his <i>Network</i> co-star, William Holden - whom, to be fair, had logged much more screen time than Finch. Nevertheless, Finch was the winner when the envelope was opened on March 29, and Finch's widow accepted the Oscar for him in one of the evening's most emotional moments.<br /><br />The only question when it comes to Ledger's forthcoming Oscar is who will accept the award for him. His father? One of his <i>Dark Knight</i> co-stars? Director Christopher Nolan? The only thing we would want, of course, is that Ledger were still around to soak up the well-earned honors his Joker is reaping.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-56594143577146683742009-01-26T03:46:00.000-08:002009-01-26T10:49:33.070-08:00The Oscar Nominations ...In a minute, boys and girls, I will tell you which individuals and films will win in the major categories at the 81st Annual Academy Awards, which will be dispersed in an orderly if lengthy fashion on Feb. 22. But first, let's look at how I did in terms of <a href="http://3finger.blogspot.com/2009/01/while-we-wait-in-anticipation-for.html">my predictions of the nominations themselves</a>. <br /><br />The verdict? I did pretty good, though I failed to follow some practical advice when it comes to picking the shortlisted actors - namely, pay attention to the Screen Actors Guild nominations. After all, only actors vote for the SAG Awards, just as only actors vote on the acting Oscar nods - and there is considerable overlap there, obviously. So it shouldn't be a huge surprise that Richard Jenkins' work in <i>The Visitor</i> usurped Clint Eastwood's in <i>Gran Torino</i> (in fact, I actually had Jenkins' name on my Best Actor list - really! - before changing my mind before posting my predictions, but sentiment reared its ugly head inside my brain); or that Melissa Leo's work in <i>Frozen River</i> edged out <i>Happy Go Lucky</i>'s Sally Hawkins, the latter's Golden Globe win be damned. <br /><br />Then there is the curious case of ... Kate Winslet, she of the double Globes wins for her devastating work in <i>Revolutionary Road</i> (lead actress) and <i>The Reader</i> (supporting actress). I had her scoring two nominations for the Academy Awards, with a decent shot of becoming the first actor to win two Oscars for two separate performances in the same year. But the problem with that scenario, as observed by my close friend and fellow film buff <a href="http://bethkujawski.blogspot.com">Beth</a>, is that Winslet's performance in <i>The Reader</i> is not a supporting role in the strictest sense, and the Academy voters seems to have agreed, as they nominated Winslet's <i>Reader</i> work for Best Actress and left her <i>Revolutionary Road</i> character in the dust. Considering that Winslet is now on her sixth Oscar nomination without a win and is a strong favorite to break that streak, I doubt she's that upset about only getting one ticket to the prom. But it's still unusual to see the Academy, with its history of playing fast and loose with the lead vs. supporting categories, see things clearly for a change.<br /><br />What really tripped me up, of course, was the absence of <i>The Dark Knight</i> in the Best Picture and Best Director contests. Maybe it was still a bit of a pipe dream to see the Batman sequel chosen for those top two categories, but for my taste the epic was indeed one of the best films of 2008 - a crime saga that more than transcended its superhero roots, which were pretty deep as it was. The film still scored eight nominations and will not go home from Oscar night empty-handed - Heath Ledger alone guarantees that - but it's still kind of a shame that some voters apparently couldn't see beyond the comic-book origins, or the huge box-office gross, to truly appreciate a movie that was more than a piece of popcorn entertainment. <br /><br />(By the way, it wasn't one of the categories I predicted, but can someone explain to me why Bruce Springsteen's haunting theme to <i>The Wrestler</i> didn't make the Original Song list? To me, this may be the largest snub of all this year. The fact that only three songs, instead of the usual five, were selected has to be the only way why the Boss didn't make the final cut, but his absence is particularly glaring nonetheless.)<br /><br />So now I'll tell you who's going to win Academy Awards in a little less than a month. Granted, it's somewhat presumptuous to go on the record this early in the game, because there's a lot of campaigning (yes, campaigning) yet to go, and conditions can change at any time. Just ask Hillary Clinton and Rudy Guiliani about that. But something tells me that either my choices are already firm or will firm up as we get closer to the date of the big show. (Besides, I reserve the right to change my mind until the very end. Because I can. Because it's my blog. So there.)<br /><br />Actor: Mickey Rourke over Sean Penn. I'll admit that the prospect of the phrase "Academy Award winner Mickey Rourke" has a strange sound to me. But his performance in <i>The Wrestler</i> can't be denied, and his is a comeback story for the ages. Still, Rourke had better invest in a tuxedo before he gets to the Kodak Theater - the Academy folk are sticklers on that stuff.<br /><br />Actress: Kate Winslet. Face it, she's way due, and the Oscar can be for two great pieces of acting in one year.<br /><br />Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger. He would have won this alive or dead. Though, not to be morbid, his untimely death obvious adds to the emotion behind what will go down as the most memorable performance of 2008.<br /><br />Supporting Actress: Winslet's absence from this category, which often is the wild card of the bunch anyway, truly up in the air. The consensus pick likely will be Penelope Cruz for <i>Vicky Christina Barcelona</i>, but I have a feeling that the ultimate winner will be Viola Davis for <i>Doubt</i>. In a year when other character actors such as Jenkins and Leo broke into the Oscar race, honoring Davis makes sense.<br /><br />Director: Danny Boyle for <i>Slumdog Millionaire</i>, easy.<br /><br />Picture: In a year where no one movie stands out as being truly extraordinary, the momentum seems to be with <i>Slumdog Millionaire</i>. Bollywood - or at least faux Bollywood - rules.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-71721338105765132192009-01-22T12:02:00.000-08:002009-01-22T12:07:22.731-08:00"Faithful" service ... to grammar?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090120/inauguration-chief-justice/images/be790bb4-c2ba-4989-8da8-c9db0b202bba.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 171px; height: 100px;" src="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090120/inauguration-chief-justice/images/be790bb4-c2ba-4989-8da8-c9db0b202bba.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Much hay has been made of the Flub (Literally) Heard 'Round the World, when Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts misspoke the presidential oath he was reciting to Barack Obama on Tuesday, causing the new Commander-in-Chief to awkwardly repeat the mistake. Not only did it ruin one of the most important video clips in recent history, but it caused conspiracy theorists and a few pundits into wondering what it all meant. Was Obama in fact the President since he had recited the oath incorrectly? Had Roberts made a Freudian slip, perhaps conscious or unconscious revenge against Obama after the former Illinois Senator had voted against Roberts' confirmation to the Court in 2005? What was it all about, Alfie?<br /><br />To be extra careful, and perhaps to shut up the Drudges of the world, Roberts and Obama did a correct do-over of the oath Wednesday night. And the do-over was welcomed despite the general consensus that Obama became president at noon on Tuesday while Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman were jamming on the Capitol steps. (The bungled oath came about five minutes later.) Now Stephen Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University (the alma mater of both Obama and Roberts), as well as the chairman of the usage panel of the American Heritage Dictionary, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/opinion/22pinker.html?em">has written an interesting piece for <span style="font-style:italic;">The New York Times</span></a> about the incident and how it's not the first time a prominent person has played fast and loose with their words on the world stage. <br /><br />Pinker compares the Roberts boo-boo with situations like Neil Armstrong's "man" versus "mankind" quotation when he hit the Moon with both feet in 1969, or Princess Diana mixing up the several names of Prince Charles when they married in 1981. (Look how well that union worked out.) He then points out that Roberts is a "famous stickler for grammar", to the point that he once corrected a Bob Dylan lyric ("When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to use") in a Supreme Court decision. In the case of the presidential oath, which is explicitly written in the Constitution, Pinker wonders if Roberts may have been fighting the machine that is the "split verb":<br /><br /><blockquote>in which an adverb comes between an infinitive marker like “to,” or an auxiliary like “will,” and the main verb of the sentence.</blockquote><br /><br />The line in the oath that goes, "I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States," would fall under that split-verb rule, and could explain why Roberts, or something inside of him, took it upon himself to "edit" the Founding Fathers by moving the adverb "faithfully" to its proper position at the end of the sentence. <br /><br />Of course, that doesn't explain Roberts' other major error, when he said "President to the United States". But nobody's perfect, not even a Harvard graduate.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-9945405074602060282009-01-20T09:00:00.000-08:002009-01-20T09:01:19.897-08:00Mr. President ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpg_Eq_srO3bDfMCW_QU6UAgR-PPG_HY8jEatKk1aAdjUK04qd7PdehW0otUiXry5ZGpkFUoL4W2p1H-lN-hVM2qYZCKYKUTPBj1KXe9lWpg4eb8pyyuh3E3PyjvAecfSAAWX/s1600-h/obamaportrait.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpg_Eq_srO3bDfMCW_QU6UAgR-PPG_HY8jEatKk1aAdjUK04qd7PdehW0otUiXry5ZGpkFUoL4W2p1H-lN-hVM2qYZCKYKUTPBj1KXe9lWpg4eb8pyyuh3E3PyjvAecfSAAWX/s320/obamaportrait.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293038812990297010" /></a><br /><br />Now let's get to work.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-30977502647925452022009-01-19T08:06:00.000-08:002009-01-19T09:28:40.074-08:00Dave's 2009 Oscar Predictions ...While we wait in anticipation for a certain major event to take place in Washington, another big-time happening will take place across the country two days after Barack Obama takes the presidential oath of office. And while the nominations for the 81st Academy Awards aren't nearly the big deal that the inauguration of the first black U.S. president will be - well, they're still pretty important for those involved, from the actors and filmmakers involved to the fans invested in the various movies that will be up for the golden guys come next month. And it's pretty important to me, someone whose career has been to write and report about the entertainment industry and who, God help me, still gets stoked this time every year about the Oscar nominations. So, per usual, I'm presenting to those who care my predictions about what names will be announced on Thursday morning at at ungodly early hour in Hollywood. Some I'll get right, some I'll get wrong - but that's the fun of the whole thing, ain't it?<br /><br />Best Picture:<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</span> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Dark Knight</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Frost/Nixon</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Milk<br /></span><span style="font-style:italic;">Slumdog Millionaire</span><br /><br /><br />Best Actor<br />Clint Eastwood, <span style="font-style:italic;">Gran Torino</span><br />Frank Langella, <span style="font-style:italic;">Frost/Nixon</span><br />Sean Penn, <span style="font-style:italic;">Milk</span><br />Brad Pitt, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</span><br />Mickey Rourke, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Wrestler</span><br /><br /><br />Best Actress<br />Anne Hathaway, <span style="font-style:italic;">Rachel Getting Married</span><br />Sally Hawkins, <span style="font-style:italic;">Happy Go Lucky</span><br />Angelina Jolie, <span style="font-style:italic;">Changeling</span><br />Meryl Streep, <span style="font-style:italic;">Doubt</span><br />Kate Winslet, <span style="font-style:italic;">Revolutionary Road</span><br /><br /><br />Supporting Actor<br />Josh Brolin, <span style="font-style:italic;">Milk</span><br />Robert Downey Jr., <span style="font-style:italic;">Tropic Thunder</span><br />Philip Seymour Hoffman, <span style="font-style:italic;">Doubt</span><br />Heath Ledger, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Dark Knight</span><br />Dev Patel, <span style="font-style:italic;">Slumdog Millionaire</span><br /><br /><br />Supporting Actress<br />Amy Adams, <span style="font-style:italic;">Doubt</span><br />Penelope Cruz, <span style="font-style:italic;">Vicky Christina Barcelona</span><br />Viola Davis, <span style="font-style:italic;">Doubt</span><br />Marisa Tomei, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Wrestler</span><br />Kate Winslet, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Reader</span><br /><br /><br />Best Director<br />Danny Boyle, <span style="font-style:italic;">Slumdog Millionaire</span><br />David Fincher, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Curious Case of Benjamin Button<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br />Mike Leigh, <span style="font-style:italic;">Happy Go Lucky</span><br />Christopher Nolan, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Dark Knight<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br />Gus Van Sant, <span style="font-style:italic;">Milk</span>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-70258585532294702512009-01-14T14:58:00.000-08:002009-01-14T15:12:02.755-08:00Khan!!!!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.technovelgy.com/graphics/content07/mighty-mouse-khan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 384px;" src="http://www.technovelgy.com/graphics/content07/mighty-mouse-khan.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-montalban15-2009jan15,0,4189863.story?hp">Mr. Roarke, your plane has arrived ...</a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-41381602948338351502008-12-31T15:38:00.000-08:002008-12-31T15:41:31.406-08:00We Didn't Start the Fire ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.cafepress.com/product/293058518v3_240x240_Front_Color-BlackWhite.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://images.cafepress.com/product/293058518v3_240x240_Front_Color-BlackWhite.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>So that's it? The year's over? Well, there wasn't much to 2008, was there. I mean, what <span style="font-style:italic;">actually</span> happened?<br /><br />OK, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Presidential_Election,_2008">so there was an election of sorts</a>. And, OK, it was kind of historic, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama">since the black guy won</a>. But, come on, that happens all the time ... <a href="http://3finger.blogspot.com/2008/11/barack-obama-first-second-fifth-african.html">in the movies</a>, which is all about the real thing, right?<br /><br />And, sure, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_economic_crisis">the economy hit some pitfalls</a>. They could even be called "catastrophes". But it's not like we haven't faced such crises before, and we came out of things just fine - after a decade or so, and only after a major global war started. But that's no reason to feel glum. It's not like we're soft or bloated or spoiled or anything, no?<br /><br />And yeah, America was wracked with that peskiest of circumstances known as corruption. Governors <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Blagejovich">got caught with their pants down</a>, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer">with their pants <i>really</i> down</a>, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin">with their fancy skirts on</a>. And <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff">what about that nasty ol' investor</a> who was caught bilking, well, just about everyone in his sights? Now that was something to remember, eh?<br /><br />And we lost a few people who were near and dear to us - but just a few. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Newman">Cool Hand Luke</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlton_Heston">Ben-Hur</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Ledger">the Joker</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Mark_Felt">Deep Throat</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eartha_Kitt">the Catwoman</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Hayes">the Black Moses</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Carlin">the wiseacre hippie</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Buckley">the head of the <i>Firing Line</i></a>. Gee, that seems like a lot all of a sudden. <br /><br />Well, things were quiet in the sports world - if you don't count <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLII">the Super Bowl</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Final_Four">the Final Four</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_U.S._Open_Golf_Championship">the U.S. Open</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Wimbledon_Championships">Wimbledon</a>, the NBA Finals<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_NBA_Finals"></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danica_Patrick#2008">that racing chick</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps">that fish disguised as a human at the Olympics</a>. Other than that, meh.<br /><br />So, yeah, 2008 was kind of slow. Here's hoping that something actually exciting happens in 2009. In the meantime, Happy New Year, y'all!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-21457410511479173492008-12-26T15:07:00.000-08:002008-12-26T15:53:41.899-08:00Summer in the midst of winter ...There are times when one just wants to spin around three times and click their heels to be teleported out of the madness of this human existence. Sadly, one of those times tends to be the holidays, which seems to bring out the absolute worst in some people. Already we here in Los Angeles are reeling at the horrible story from our backyard, where some lunatic bigneck in a Santa suit crashed a Christmas party at the home of his former in-laws, where he proceeded to shoot the place up - starting with the 8-year-old who eagerly opened the door to him, only to get a bullet in the face for her trouble - and then burned the place down, killing at least nine before going to his brother's house to off himself. Then, today, I read the equally depressing tale of two young boys, cousins aged 10 and 7, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/26/us/AP-Children-Beaten.html?_r=1">who were beaten to death with a baseball bat in a Phoenix park on Tuesday</a>. Not as bloody - yet - is the ongoing saga of Bernie Madoff, the New York investor who was the center of a Ponzi scheme that cost $50 billion and touched everybody from regular folk to Steven Spielberg and the International Olympic Committee and some pretty important charities. While some people and organizations are left flat broke by Madoff's greed, the suspect remains under house arrest - in a posh Manhattan penthouse. And let's not forget the Caylee Anthony story, which gets worse and worse the more we hear about it.<br /><br />Sigh. Good thing we have stories like that of Summer Moll, a 4-year-old girl in the Tampa Bay area whose very name makes me smile. Her tale begins badly - on Sept. 10 she was involved in a head-on collision on a local expressway that killed her mom and left Summer very badly injured, with a fractured skull, broken arms and legs, and myriad other injuries. (The other driver, by the way, tested three times over the legal alcohol limit and is now in jail awaiting jail on vehicular homicide and DUI charges. Nice.) For a while, Summer was touch-and-go. Pins were inserted in her legs, and a metal plate had to be placed on her skull. Even as she recovered, her grandparents were hit with the devastating medical bills, and a bit of a custody battle emerged between them and Summer's father, who had been out of the picture for some time but now showed up. <br /><br />But all of that misery and heartache and pain faded for a moment yesterday, because yesterday was Christmas, and Christmas is built for little girls like Summer - <i>especially</i> for little girls like Summer, who need that spirit a bit more than the rest of us. So Summer, who's still in a wheelchair while her tiny legs mend and still has the nasty scar on her head, <a href="http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8144393&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1">had the best Christmas possible</a>, with presents galore, including the Maltese puppy that she really wanted, donated by a secret Santa. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4fSzQ2QRyAM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4fSzQ2QRyAM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />All that bounty, of course, doesn't bring Summer's mother back or mend her injuries any quicker. But the smile on her face as she soaked in the love around her must do her some good. It definitely does those who know her, and know of her, a lot of good. Merry Christmas, every one.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-79663049642825298122008-12-23T11:33:00.000-08:002008-12-23T11:36:15.461-08:00It's a Wonderful Life: The Missing EndingEver frustrated by the fact that, despite the unbridled good feelings at the end of <span style="font-style:italic;">It's a Wonderful Life</span>, The despicable Mr. Potter seems to get away with his dire deed of making off with George Bailey's $8,000? Wonder no more! Now, presented for your holiday good tidings, is the hidden ending! (As originally interpreted by <span style="font-style:italic;">Saturday Night Live</span> back in the day and now redone - copyrights be damned! - by the Starry Night Theater.)<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cydauwWSL_8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cydauwWSL_8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Remember, boys and girls - every time an evil tycoon is beaten to death, an angel gets his wings!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-42666870347025238212008-12-22T08:19:00.000-08:002008-12-22T08:21:59.498-08:00Rob Parker of the Detroit News is a big fat idiot ... blunt enough?With one week to go in the National Football League's regular season, several questions remain unanswered, but at least one fact is pretty much assured - this year's edition of the Detroit Lions is by far the worst team of the decade. The Lions, who have had several dismal seasons recently, have never reached depth like this. As of yesterday's 42-7 drubbing at the hands of the New Orleans Saints (and the score wasn't that close), the Lions are 0-15, a first in the NFL's nearly 90-year history. If they lose their season finale next week against division rival Green Bay, Detroit will complete the first winless campaign since 1976, when Tampa Bay went 0-14. (Of course, the Bucs had the "excuse" of being a first-year expansion team at the time. This is the Lions' 80th season. So much for experience.) All parts of the organization have collapsed, and it doesn't help that the city surrounding the team is crumbling thanks in part to the near-death experience of the auto industry. In fact, there were reports that scalpers outside of Detroit's Ford Field were trying to sell tickets to the Lions-Saints game at a fraction of the face value - as low as $10 - and still were having trouble passing them along. <br /><br />And through all of this misery, much of it self-inflicted by the inept coaching and management sides of the Lions, they may not be the biggest idiots in Motor City. Nor, for that matter, are the arrogant car executives who didn't think twice about taking private jets to Washington to ask for billions in bailout money. No, the top S.O.B. in Detroit is probably Rob Parker, a beat reporter for one of the struggling newspapers, the <i>News</i>. It seems that Parker has made a season-long issue out of the Lions' coach, Rod Marinelli, hiring his son-in-law, Joe Barry, as his defensive coordinator last year. Granted, Barry's tenure has not been successful - Detroit's defense ranks 30th out of 32 NFL teams - but Parker's criticism has crossed the line when it comes to getting personal about the familial connections involved here. And at the post-game press conference yesterday, Parker obliterated that line. After several inquiries toward Marinelli about why Barry was still employed, the intrepid reporter threw this final question out for good measure:<br /><br /><i>On a light note, do you wish your daughter would have married a better defensive coordinator?</i><br /><br />Charming.<br /><br />To the credit of Marinelli, who looks like the kind of guy you don't want to annoy in a bar, he simply ignored Parker's crass question rather than the natural reaction of most, which would be to rip off the reporter's scalp and piss on his brain.<br /><br />Now, let's be clear - Rod Marinelli, his son-in-law and maybe just about everyone on the Lions' coaching staff will be sacked within two week of the Lions' final game on Sunday. Because, basically, they don't seem to know how to coach football in the proper fashion. And it's Parker's job, as it is the job of any beat reporter worth his or her salt, to hold the team they cover to the fire if the players or coaches or ownership deserve it. Bu there was absolutely no reason for Parker to go there with Marinelli other than to show off how clever he could be. Well, Parker is now way more famous nationwide than he was 24 hours ago - that much is certain. But not for being a clever or tough journalist, but rather for being, to paraphrase a line from the beloved series <i>Gilmore girls</i>, a buttface miscreant, not to mention an embarrassment to his profession. And it also doesn't help Parker's case that <a href="http://deadspin.com/5070391/a-detroit-columnist-caught-making-stuff-up-surely-not">he was caught making false statements about a Michigan State football player during a TV broadcast not too long ago</a>, for which the <i>News</i> should have fired him right then and there. Or before that, when <a href="http://media.www.thetowerlight.com/media/storage/paper957/news/2007/04/26/Sports/Hot-Corner.Hank.Owes.Nothing.To.Cowardly.Columnist-2881079.shtml">he called Henry Aaron a coward</a> for not speaking out about Barry Bonds' quest to break his all-time home-run record. Overall, Parker has much in common with the Lions and the auto industry. Congratulations, Rob. <br /><br />P.S. Oh, Parker now says, <a href="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081222/OPINION03/812220369/1004/SPORTSc">in a column</a> that seems designed more to save his own bacon than as an actual <i>mea culpa</i>, that he was just "joking" with that final question to Marinelli. ("Marinelli ... just ignored my attempt at humor and moved on.") Ha ha, Rob. Don't quit your day job. No, actually, do. <br /><br />Here is a video of the Q-&-A, along with the repsonses of Fox Sports' NFL commentators. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QbQm8lG7vk8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QbQm8lG7vk8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-75371692198117628592008-12-17T12:55:00.000-08:002008-12-17T13:02:32.082-08:00Plucked ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://nbc_supertrain.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/supertrain_early_art_arriving_on_channel_four.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 134px;" src="http://nbc_supertrain.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/supertrain_early_art_arriving_on_channel_four.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Last week's announcement that NBC was giving Jay Leno a five-nights-a-week primetime talk show starting in the fall of 2009 marked the end of an era - the era, frankly, of NBC. With one bold step, the Peacock Network basically ceased to be a network - that is, a full-service free broadcast service. After several years of disease that came in the form of such fare as <i>Knight Rider</i>, <i>American Gladiators</i> and about a dozen attempts to replicate the cultural earthquake that was Friends, the patient finally succumbed to indifference, incompetence and malaise. The outlet that brought us Johnny Carson, Jerry Seinfeld and Peter Falk has now been reduced to a version of the CW, albeit with a bit more gloss and a few less black people.<br /><br />And all of this is not to unilaterally say that the Leno move will be an abject failure. Indeed, in some ways it's brilliant. It takes care of five hours of programming with a stroke of pen by inserting a known commodity into a low-cost situation, an important factor at a time of struggling economy. It take heavy burden off the shoulders of NBC programming chief Ben Silverman, who so far has shown extraordinary incompetence when it comes to putting together a schedule that the masses want to give a crap about. In theory, it allows Silverman and whomever is left working under him extra resources with which to develop new, interesting and/or innovative shows that could generate a pulse with the critics and audiences alike. And, maybe most importantly, it keeps Leno, who was to be a free agent when Conan O'Brien took over as host of the <i>Tonight</i> show next May, in the warm bosom of the NBC family, rather than seeing him go to ABC or Fox or syndication as a potential dangerous adversary to the red-haired boy from Boston.<br /><br />So all should be well, right? Yeah, if it works - and, crucially, if it works in the long term. But NBC should be wary of the cautionary tale of ABC and <i>Who Wants to Be a Millionaire</i>. That network rode Regis Philbin's white-hot hit to the top of the ratings, at one point airing the game show four nights a week. But when oversaturation led to the inevitable ratings collapse, ABC was left literally with its pants down as <i>Millionaire</i> fizzled out. Now, Leno's new gig will undoubtedly be a success at first, and maybe for a while. But what happens if the act gets old, or if the ratings aren't there? (After all, the bar for viewership is much higher in primetime than at the midnight hour.) Would NBC have the non-<i>Law & Order</i> goods to plug in the holes?<br /><br />And whither this idea that a primetime Leno strip would free up money for the development of higher-quality scripted programs? Who is to say that NBC just doesn't use the new profits for other matters? And isn't NBC saying to producers that their operation is not open for business if it it willing to dedicate five hours of prime real estate to jokes and celebrity banter? If I were Aaron Sorkin or J.J. Abrams or Jerry Bruckheimer, I would be taking my toys elsewhere. And what about Conan O'Brien? On the cusp of one of the biggest jewels for a comedian, he's suddenly second-fiddle again, overshadowed by the Jay Leno machine. Trouper that he is, O'Brien is putting a smiling face on the situation - because, what choice does he have?<br /><br />The thing about the Leno move is that it's not even original. Way back when, when the Leno-Dave Letterman feud over who got the <i>Tonight</i> show was raging, Warren Littlefield (whose expertise as a programmer becomes more and more appreciated as we go deeper in the Silverman regime) and his NBC cohorts actively thought about offering Letterman a primetime weeknight show as a way of appeasing their disgruntled comedy star. So maybe between bong hits, Silverman was leafing through Bill Carter's tome of that saga, <i>The Late Shift</i>, and noticed that little nugget o'information and had an epiphany. It's exciting to know that our TV programming executives actually read.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-74762794174163981662008-12-05T12:29:00.000-08:002008-12-05T12:32:04.888-08:00Sadly, none of the subjects looked like Rebecca Romijn ...From <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/12/05/paris.jewel.heist/index.html?eref=rss_topstories">CNN</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">PARIS, France (CNN) -- Four armed robbers -- two of them men disguised as women -- walked into a luxury jewelry store in Paris and swiped an estimated €80 million (U.S. $101 million) in jewels, the Paris prosecutor's office said.</span><br /><br />Is it just me, or is anybody else suddenly seeing a new movie vehicle for Hugh Grant?Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-7070293209206328382008-12-05T08:43:00.000-08:002008-12-05T08:47:52.401-08:00Finally, validation ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://artaban7.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/sperm_egg_4is.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 133px;" src="http://artaban7.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/sperm_egg_4is.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The BBC is reporting that that a new study - using, for some reason, Vietnam War vets - <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7767877.stm">indicates that smarter men produce better sperm</a>. Glad to see that my big brain has some payoff other than winning trivia contests. :)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-61963679731432970412008-12-04T16:45:00.001-08:002008-12-04T16:54:14.844-08:00Now that's a spicy meatball!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/stills/Ellen_Host_In_Lador.flv.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 100px;" src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/stills/Ellen_Host_In_Lador.flv.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>It seems like it was just a gag, but soap opera star Alison Sweeney, who is heavily with child was acting like she was going to labor during her appearance on <i>The Ellen DeGeneres Show</i> this afternoon. Ellen's reaction and the fact that there's nothing on the wires about Alison birthing her second child indicates that Baby Sweeney is still cooking (she's not due until January), but if it's really happy news, it would sure beat <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles#Death">the time that Orson Welles dropped dead</a> two hours after taping an episode of <i>The Merv Griffin Show </i>in 1985, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Della_Reese#Television_career">when Della Reese suffered a brain aneurysm and nearly died</a> in front of Johnny Carson while appearing on the <i>Tonight</i> show in 1979. Yeah, a bouncing baby beats sudden death all the time.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-68031007189988417232008-12-04T12:27:00.000-08:002008-12-04T12:32:39.403-08:00Well, That Was Fast ...The first major film awards of the year were announced just now. Let's see what the National Board of Review says were the best movies and performances of the previous 12 months ... or, rather 11 months and 4 days.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2968978540_b3a8f207bc.jpg?v=0"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 169px; height: 250px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2968978540_b3a8f207bc.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><u><b>National Board of Review:</b></u><br />Film: <i>Slumdog Millionaire</i><br />Actor: Clint Eastwood, <i>Gran Torino</i><br />Actress: Anne Hathaway, <i>Rachel Getting Married</i><br />Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, <i>Milk</i><br />Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, <i>Vicky Cristina Barcelona</i><br />Director: David Fincher, <i>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</i><br />Adapted Screenplay: (tie) Simon Beaufoy, <i>Slumdog Millionaire</i>; Eric Roth, <i>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</i><br />Original Screenplay: Nick Schenk, <i>Gran Torino</i><br />Foreign Film: <i>Mongol</i> (Russia)<br />Animated Film: <i>Wall-E</i><br />Documentary: <i>Man on a Wire</i><br />Ensemble Cast: <i>Doubt</i>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-3946667704176258502008-12-04T11:38:00.000-08:002008-12-04T11:45:16.643-08:00MTV: Where are they now?While reading about the layoffs going on at Viacom today, I noticed that MTV correspondent John Norris may be among the casualties. This was shocking to me not so much because such a high profile name was on the chopping block, but rather because I had totally forgotten that John Norris was still at MTV, the (former) music network having dropped off my non-essential cultural radar eons ago. No, I'm not a fan of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Hills</span> or <span style="font-style:italic;">The Valley</span> or whatever the heck is broadcast on MTV these days in lieu of, you know, music videos.<br /><br />So this prompted me to look up what's going on with the original five MTV VJs, who for a few years flew to the heights of the sun before the reality of aging and demographics melted their wax wings and tumbled them to the cold ground that is Zeitgeist. You remember them, of course:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://the-adventurers-club.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/mtv_original_vjs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 273px;" src="http://the-adventurers-club.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/mtv_original_vjs.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><font size="-2"><center>(From left) J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn and Alan Hunter, all trying to look intimidating.</center></font></span><br /><br />Yeah, those hip, happening folk who were the cheery faces of MTV in its beginning, years. Where are they now, you ask? Well ...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mark Goodman (1981-1987):</span> Remains in music, and is now doing a radio show for Sirius Satellite Radio, at least until that entity goes bankrupt. He also has come full circle of sorts as a recurring host on one of MTV's many sister stations, VH1 Classic - at least it still shows videos on a regular basis. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Age:</span> Unknown - apparently he's been wise enough not to reveal the year of his birth.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Alan Hunter (1981-1988):</span> Also working with Sirius, and is involved with a film festival in his home town of Birmingham, Alabama. He has done voiceover work for Verizon. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Age:</span> 51<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Nina Blackwood (1981-1986): </span>Notably posed for <span style="font-style:italic;">Playboy</span> before joining MTV. After leaving the outlet, she held various TV and radio hosting jobs, working for MSNBC and the Discovery Channel, among others. Currently she is also a DJ on Sirius, as well as a rock station in San Diego. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Age:</span> 56<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Martha Quinn (1981-1991)</span>: Probably the biggest breakout star among the original VJs, thanks to her perky, perpetually young looks. Martha went on to do some acting (most notably as Bobby Brady's wife on the unfortunate dramedy series <span style="font-style:italic;">The Bradys</span> and in Clearasil commercials that she was still appearing in well into her 30s). Today she is also on Sirius in a weekly show she hosts from her Malibu house. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Age: </span>49 and still (almost) looking like a teenage. <a href="http://marthaquinnpresents.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/mq_img3.jpg">See? It's annoying!</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">J.J. Jackson (1981-1986):</span> The one of the original five not working for Sirius - probably because he died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 62. (Now you really feel old, eh?) Before he passed, Jackson remained in music as a radio DJ, including a stint at a smooth jazz station in Los Angeles.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-24951063798153636922008-12-04T09:59:00.000-08:002008-12-04T10:03:40.984-08:00Humbug ...Is anyone else having trouble getting into the holiday spirit? Anyone? Anyone?<br /><br />Yeah, I know what you mean.<br /><br />I don't know what it is. Could be the economy being in the toilet, or the terrorism that has ramped up overseas, or the fact that the most legendary strip club in Hollywood burned down this morning, or the news that Paris Hilton wants to play Tinkerbell in the upcoming live-action version of her story, or that Pushing Daisies has been canceled.<br /><br />Or maybe it's just me.<br /><br />Anyway, I've been encouraged by someone near and dear that I have to start blogging on a regular basis again. So I will endeavor to do so. And I'll try not to bring the room down in the process.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-11214953827657684762008-11-11T15:25:00.000-08:002008-11-11T15:29:22.501-08:00Veterans Day ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.frankgalasso.com/IMAGES/editorials/veterens%20day%202005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="http://www.frankgalasso.com/IMAGES/editorials/veterens%20day%202005.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Thank you ... for everything. And that includes you, Dad.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-85500355462597198502008-11-11T11:59:00.000-08:002008-11-11T12:17:34.787-08:00Barack Obama, the first second fifth African-American President of the United States ...A week after Barack Obama was elected President of the United States - yeah, it's still pretty damn cool to consider that a black man is about to move into the White House, and that he isn't going to be the butler. But let's not fool ourselves that Obama's victory is that much of a breakthrough. Indeed, this country's history contains more than one example of a person of Negro persuasion making it to the highest office in the land. You just have to know where to look - in your local video store, of course. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.reelblack.com/theman1972.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://www.reelblack.com/theman1972.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><b>1972:</b> Before he was Darth Vader or the voice of CNN, James Earl Jones held the job of commander-in-chief in <i>The Man</i>, a heavy melodrama based on the Irving Wallace political thriller and adapted for the screen by no less than Rod Serling. Jones played Douglass Dillman, the President pro tempe of the Senate who reached the Oval Office when the sitting Chief Executive and Speaker of the House were killed in a building collapse in West Germany (!) and the dying Vice President declined the promotion on the grounds that America didn't need to bury another grand poobah in six months. Needless to say, this being the early '70s, the idea of Jones in the White House doesn't sit well with, oh, just about everyone surrounding him, and before long President Dillman has to contend not only with white racist politicians (including a Southern-dipped Burgess Meredith), but also with African-Americans, including his own radical daughter, who want him to take more of a stand on their issues. Nevertheless, Dillman navigates the treacherous waters with skill and aplomb, and of course has the best president voice ever. This movie actually isn't available on DVD as of now, but Obama's real-life ascendance to the top spot may speed things up in terms of home availability for <i>The Man</i>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2008/06/27/2008021702.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 125px; height: 107px;" src="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2008/06/27/2008021702.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><b>1998:</b> Morgan Freeman was the next man to break the White House color barrier in <i>Deep Impact</i>, which also began a mini-tradition of America having a black president just in time to deal with The End of the World - in this case, a comet (co-discovered by future Hobbit Elijah Wood) on its way for a mid-air collision with the Earth. As Tom Beck, Freeman doesn't have much to do but stay stoic and keep convincing his constituents that "we will prevail," even if he doesn't really believe it. But he looks so good behind the Oval Office desk, you think about drafting him for the next election.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.usatoday.net/life/_photos/2008/07/02/haysbertx.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 129px;" src="http://i.usatoday.net/life/_photos/2008/07/02/haysbertx.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><b>2001:</b> The action-thriller series <i>24</i> debuts, and with it a new hero in David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), the African-American senator from Maryland who is running for the highest office in the land during the inaugural season, which takes place entirely on the day before the California primary. Palmer manages to survive not only an attempted assassination, but also the machinations of his Lady MacBeth-like wife, Sherry, and by the second season Palmer was indeed the president, though his days didn't get much easier. Indeed, each of the first three seasons was devoted to Palmer dealing with threats against his life, his country and/or his administration. But Palmer himself always came out on top, or at least alive - that is, until the opening moments of Season Five, when he is shot through the throat while writing his memoirs, proving that a lot of good deeds do not go unpunished. Still, Palmer's death was the opening salvo in what was probably the best <i>24</i> season to date, so there's that.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/071220/tv/24woodside_l.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 93px; height: 125px;" src="http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/071220/tv/24woodside_l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><b>2007:</b> In a move that would make the Kennedy kids beam with pride, Palmer's brother Wayne (D.B. Woodside) assumed the reigns of power for <i>24</i>'s sixth season. Unfortunately for Wayne, though, things didn't get much easier for the sitting President - especially when he was blown up and seriously injured by a bomb in an inside job meant to frame an alleged Muslim terrorist. What's worse than nearly being killed by a would-be assassin? Watching Vice-President Powers Boothe ham it up as your square-jawed replacement.<br /><br /><br /><br />And, yeah, while all of these instances of a black president are fiction, there are some who indeed feel that Obama is not the first of his ethnicity to become the main man of the U.S. There were rumors about Warren G. Harding, the 29th President, concerning his heritage that circulated during his successful 1920 run for the White House. Reports that Harding had a little color in his background were rebuffed by his campaign manager, who maintained that the candidate was of "the finest pioneer blood," and they were quickly forgotten, though there was no DNA test at the time to prove things one way or another. (Another celebrity of the age who had to deal with such rumors? Babe Ruth.) And, of course, there are those who say, with tongue embedded in cheek, that one William Jefferson Clinton, with his soulful style and empathy for the regular guy, was the true first black president - though I would assume that Bill will defer that title to the soon-to-be occupant.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-18555656871892969272008-11-05T06:38:00.000-08:002008-11-05T06:40:31.357-08:00All things are possible ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.papermag.com/blogs/barack-obama-bw.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 402px; height: 477px;" src="http://www.papermag.com/blogs/barack-obama-bw.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Wow.<br /><br /><i><b>WOW.</b></i><br /><br />America, in large part, is a nation of dates. This is in part thanks to our schooling in history class, and partly a trait that comes from the facts that dates are easier to remember. Unfortunately, as is the nature of things, many of those dates that mark the time of the history of this country tend to be of a traumatic nature, when bad things happened to us. April 14, 1865. December 7, 1941. November 22, 1963. September 11, 2001. <br /><br />So you can forgive me and many of my compatriots in the coming days and weeks for indulging ourselves a bit. For now, to go along with dates like July 4, 1776 and July 20, 1969 - American days when something good and great and beautiful occurred - we now have a new entry.<br /><br />November 4, 2008.<br /><br />Whether you agreed with the final decision of the voters or not, you can tell your grandkids that you witnessed history. The type of history that didn't involved carnage or violence of sadness. We all have reason to be proud today. Let's remember this feeling and allow it to sustain us in the coming months and years - because we're going to need it. But for now, even if just for a bit, let us also celebrate what has been accomplished and what this means in the tapestry of our history. <br /><br />And, of course, wait for the inevitable books about it.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-65103667274900170632008-11-03T19:56:00.000-08:002008-11-03T20:02:13.036-08:00Gay plague at ABC?Like any other business, television is one filled with risks. It takes millions of dollars and a small army to put together a TV series, and that kind of investment automatically means, for better or (often) worse, that the networks who hosts these shows get a large say into what does or doesn't happen on said series. It's the rare show that gets by without a lot of network input (interference?), and it's safe to say that even in those cases, it's just that we don't hear about the notes that are passed along from executive suite to writers' room. But, as is often the case with many lines of work, we tend to hear about the messy stuff more than the clean. And this appears to be the case with one of the more popular series on TV today, the medical dramedy <i>Grey's Anatomy</i>, now in its fifth season on ABC.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://glaadorg.nexcess.net/cinequeer/erica%2Bhahn.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://glaadorg.nexcess.net/cinequeer/erica%2Bhahn.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>A few seasons back, Brooke Smith, a respected New York-based actress known mostly for her work in the Big Apple theater scene and in some interesting film roles (Buffalo Bill's last victim in the Oscar-winning <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i>; a pregnant, gun-toting reality star in the satirical <i>Series 7</i>; Naomi Watts' jugdmental best friend in Woody Allen's Melinda & Melinda), did a guest-star arc on <i>Grey's</i> as Erica Hahn, a skilled but abrasive cardiac surgeon who was a rival to Isaiah Washington's Preston Burke. During the middle of last season, Smith became a regular as Hahn replaced Burke on the staff of Seattle Grace Hospital. What followed was an intriguing storyline when Erica started a relationship with orthopedic specialist Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), marked in large part by a kiss shared between the two in May's finale. Prior to this, neither character had identified as gay or even bisexual, but the couple conitnued on as this fall's batch of new shows started. Tentatively, with humor and charm and poignancy and, yes, some missteps (including a few from the writers), Erica and Callie forged ahead, eventually going to bed together in a sequence that was marked by a great piece of acting from Smith in last week's episode, when Erica frightened Callie and maybe herself with the post-coital realization that, after all these years, she was indeed a lesbian. Many critics praised how <i>Grey's</i> writers, including creator Shonda Rhimes, were handling the plot, and much was made of the fact that this wasn't another "lesbian guest-star" situation, that this may have been the first time in network TV history that an ongoing lesbian romance consisted of two established regulars, neither of whom was going to just disappear one day.<br /><br />Well, strike that, because today the news broke <a href="http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/11/brooke-smith-le.html">that Smith has been fired from the series</a>, her last episode to air on Thursday. What's more, Erica in fact <i>will</i> just disappear, as the character has no departure story per se. As Smith told <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> in an exclusive online story, Erica just gets in her car and drives away, most likely never to be seen again.<br /><br />But wait, it gets better. Despite a late-evening statement released by Rhimes in which she seems to take the bullet for Smith's abrupt pink slip (citing a lack of "magic and chemistry"), it seems that the decision was out of her hands - that ABC decreed that the Hahn character be removed from the <i>Grey's</i> equation. And, according to E! Online, a new bisexual character to be played by Melissa George (<i>Alias</i>) has been changed. George will still be on the show, <a href="http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b66996_greys_degayed_brooke_smith_axed_melissa.html?sid=rss_topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories">but her character will no longer be bisexual</a>. <br /><br />TV is no stranger to characters who simply don't end up fitting into the mix of an established show, and if either Rhimes or ABC had felt that Smith's chemistry wasn't right on Grey's, that would have been seen as somewhat legitimate. But the subsequent alteration of another out character, George's, makes this developing quite troubling. Let us not forget that ABC was the network that was airing Ellen DeGeneres' eponymous series <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_(TV_series)#Coming_out_episode">when both DeGeneres and her TV doppelgänger came out of the closet</a>. ABC reaped the rating benefits of that whirlwind, but when <i>Ellen's</i> ratings declined and even gays though the show was "too gay," they bailed on the series the following year. Now, that was almost 10 years ago, but it may not be too hard for some to see a trend here. Of course, both ABC and Rhimes can say that <i>Grey's</i> still has the bisexual Callie in the cast, but how much will we see that side of her from now on? And one also has to consider what happened to another popular ABC series, <i>Ugly Betty</i>, where openly gay co-executive producer Marco Pennette was fired last season at around the time that Rebecca Romijn, who played a transsexual on the comedy series, <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/04/27/rebecca-romijn-demoted-to-recurring-status-on-ugly-betty/">was demoted to recurring status</a>. Some interpreted that as an attempt by the network to "de-gay" the series. To be fair, it's important to note that gay characters remain on <i>Ugly Betty</i>, along with other ABC shows such as <i>Desperate Housewives</i> and <i>Brothers and Sisters</i> (though that series' openly gay executive producer <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/01/03/brothers-and-sisters-creator-fired/">departed under hinky conditions last season</a>). But is there a trend here?<br /><br />Meanwhile, there's Smith, who this summer told TV reporters, myself included, how excited she was about the opportunity of being on <i>Grey's</i>, and on doing some possibly groundbreaking television. The native New Yorker had moved her husband and two kids cross-country for the part, and the family had just purchased a house on the West Coast. Being an actor for most of her adult life, Smith no doubt is used to professional disappointment, and she's more than talented enough to bounce back from this setback. But it's a shame that what may be perceived, fairly or otherwise, as a bad case of network homophobia has such collateral damage.<br /><br />Oh, and I can't what to see what GLAAD and other organizations have to say about this Tuesday morning. Or maybe Wednesday morning, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_(2008)">since there are some bigger fish to fry tomorrow</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-12358906185251431022008-11-03T07:45:00.000-08:002008-11-03T07:46:51.838-08:00Vote or become cranky ...As if you needed a reason to vote tomorrow ... here's a very good one for the caffeinated ones out there ... now you have <b>no</b> excuses! Do your duty!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a2J8KJDsqqY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a2J8KJDsqqY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-19594483347874050532008-11-01T10:54:00.000-07:002008-11-01T10:57:05.498-07:00Studs ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4DU1Uwk6XMXjRnBiKgXLeED76taOmiIWPcl6p1IEu94Zz9R3-c4Rv1qW1cULJ_qloTrWPasx_q5S1Ct8-VrJhPskQthJpzJCgAyce-HfInIA1YtcF09OpVNXfdJ00IM7vQQj/s400/Terkel-Studs-01.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4DU1Uwk6XMXjRnBiKgXLeED76taOmiIWPcl6p1IEu94Zz9R3-c4Rv1qW1cULJ_qloTrWPasx_q5S1Ct8-VrJhPskQthJpzJCgAyce-HfInIA1YtcF09OpVNXfdJ00IM7vQQj/s400/Terkel-Studs-01.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Studs Terkel didn't live to see the Chicago Cubs win the World Series. And he won't find out who will win the most important presidential election in a generation on Tuesday. (Then again, he'll probably know who will win before any of us will.) But if those are the only really depressing points about the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian and raconteur's passing yesterday - other than the selfish fact that everyone who knew him, or knew of him, will miss him tremendously - then this really isn't a time to mourn, but a time to celebrate the life well lived. And how. Beloved by an entire city and a world of readers, known as the virtual creator of the modern genre of oral history, married to the same woman for 60 years - you can't beat that with a stick. Roger Ebert, who's way better at this stuff than I am, wrote eloquently about his friend within hours of Terkel's death. <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081031/MEMORY/810319997">Go read his essay</a>, and then do yourself a favor and check out some of Terkel's work. He's the kind of writer and interviewer I hope to grow up to be someday.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11469530.post-45117432623320424542008-10-31T21:46:00.000-07:002008-10-31T21:58:40.371-07:00Sign of the times?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://NSimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=NS&Date=20081030&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=810305058&Ref=AR&MaxW=580&title=1"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 432px; height: 324px;" src="http://NSimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=NS&Date=20081030&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=810305058&Ref=AR&MaxW=580&title=1" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />In the fall of 1988, I was a newly minted college freshman, spending my first weeks living away from home at the small institution of higher living that I had chosen to further my education. Even though I was only 80 miles from my Kentucky home, I embraced the freedom of independence, an experience heightened by the fact that it was an election year. I was on a conservative-leaning campus in the middle of a conservative-leaning state, but I backed Michael Dukakis over George Bush, and took modest steps to express my choice - hanging out with similar-minded folk, putting a Dukakis sign on the door of my dorm room. And even though at that point in the fall the vice-president was starting to pull away from the Massachusetts governor in the polls, it was still a fun time for me as a young adult.<br /><br />Except for the two times that my Dukakis sign was ripped off of my door. The second time, the sign was torn to pieces and strewn across the hallway. Democracy, indeed.<br /><br />Of course, such acts of simple, callous vandalism have become a sad tradition of any heated political season, and the acts go both ways. But this year, as the Obama-McCain contest heads into its final hours, the incidents have become heightened in intensity and frequency. I have a friend who has had her Obama-Biden front yard sign swiped from her Indiana home twice. In Cincinnati, rock star and naturalized U.S. citizen Peter Frampton - who took the oath of loyalty to his adopted country right after the events of Sept. 11, 2001 - <a href="http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j5hGGXIrfDIbgQ_D4dqgWtJX-2uw">was so chagrined by the Obama signs that were disappearing from his lawn</a> that he called the local paper to rant about it. And then there are the swastikas or worse being spray-painted on Obama signs and, more dire, the effigies of Obama and Sarah Palin that have been splashed across the TV and computer screens. <br /><br />I won't analyze the root causes of such coarseness, partly because I try to avoid going too political on this blog and mostly because the the subject already has been analyzed to death by media figures with more time on their hands than I. But what I will say is that, in a country that so prizes its legacy of democracy and free speech, it's pretty pathetic when those who can't stand anyone who disagrees with their point of view resorts to baseless acts like these. The great thing about America is that there is a place for them as well - in rational, public discourse and debate; and, at least once a year, at the ballot box. <br /><br />Of course, if the idea of criticism or disagreement is that distasteful to them, there are places they can retreat to. I hear Iran is beautiful this time of year.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11866422184790007322noreply@blogger.com0