NOTES FROM (YET) A(NOTHER GRAY & RAINY) FRIDAY AFTERNOON
busting the bracket of my
mind.
For your consideration: another curious collection
of thoughts, reactions, and observations that didn't make it into a full-length
post this week. So they're sort of like all those FedEx, UPS, and USPS packages
that all showed up at my door yesterday afternoon. But you don't have to sign
for them...
• Remember that stiff, awkward, overly stagy scene in Revenge of the Sith -- yeah, I know, but stay with me -- when Senator Amidala looks out upon several million pixels masquerading as characters and declares, So this is how liberty dies -- with thunderous applause. For some reason -- the listless line delivery, perhaps, or the thought of an unwise coronation delivered by an unthinking electorate -- that's the first thing that came to mind this week when I heard that Bill Peduto was bailing on the Pittsburgh mayoral race. I imagined Natalie Portman, huddled in some far corner of Peduto's campaign headquarters, moaning to no one in particular, So this is how Democracy in Pittsburgh dies -- with a listless press conference.
• It is bad enough that a disorganized and/or disinterested Republican presence already makes this a one-horse town and a one-party city. And it was worse when, without honest argument or serious debate, we elected an old man whose turn had finally come but who, even when he won, still felt like the least of the losers. But it is hard to imagine anything worse, or more dispiriting, than the prospect of re-electing a young kid who was not elected the first time and whose time in office has only been distinguished by political plagiarism, photo-ops, and little white lies, simply because the local Democratic Party machinery has decided he's their boy and no one else is willing or perhaps courageous enough to run against him. But there is, I suppose, some consolation. When Pittsburghers go to the polls in May, and then again in November, we will at least have the benefit of a unique historical perspective; when we step up to those touch screens, we'll have a pretty good idea of what it felt like to vote for Stalin.
• Leave it to the good folks at the Carbolic Smoke Ball to offer at least some small salve of humor for this festering boil on our civic ass. They've produced a fine series of faux headlines on the subject, but the one that cuts deepest and so made me laugh hardest is this one.
• I suppose I should also be grateful that this local kerfuffle has prevented me from paying too much attention to -- and so producing too much bile over -- the whole we-won't-let-anyone-testify-under-oath-so-you-can't-ask-them-about-those-improper-firings insanity these days oozing out of a White House that, were it any more arrogant or corrupt, would just start whacking its enemies at restaurants and toll booths.
• Coming soon to cable channels near you: the last two months of The Sopranos, and the last two years of The Bushies. I'm honestly not sure which group is more despicable. But at least Tony and his crew, every once in a while, feel some sort of remorse for all the things they've done.
• Speaking of blind-faith-giving, my-way-or-the-highway types... The TWM Email of the Week, from one of our most faithful readers, arrives in response to Monday's post about that silly, General-Peter-Pace-defending letter to the editor: When I read that letter today I shook my head in sadness. Then it fell off. Blame the journalists for quoting him. Accuse the critics of saying things they didn't say. Take a sideways swipe at their religious preferences. Then tell them they haven't the integrity of The General. The problem with so many of these career military men is that their first allegiance is to the military, not the country or the constitution that creates the country. That's why they feel perfectly at ease shuttling detainees from secret prisons to closed non-judicial hearings.
• It is, I'm afraid, difficult to argue with that. Even as it strikes me that such allegiance to the military and to your brothers- and sisters-in-arms is probably the mindset that produces truly efficient and effective troop performance. Which brings to mind another -- and infinitely better -- movie scene: the one in which Jack Nicholson, at full roar and with the full glory of Aaron Sorkin's dialogue, lecturing Tom Cruise about walls and the men who guard them. Existences grotesque and incomprehensible indeed.
• I got a good laugh this week from an email in my spam filter that promised to help me with Stain Removal. At first glance, I could have sworn it said Stalin Removal. If Bill Peduto had already dropped out of the race when I read it, I might have thought it said Ravenstahl Removal.
• I also got a good laugh from a brand new sign hanging outside Vygor Fitness & Nutrition on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield that, advertising a new Unlimited Tanning offer, hoped to lure us with the promise of New Hot Bulbs!!!
• I'm not even sure if that's legal. And if it is, I'm not so sure that I'd want to subject myself to it.
• Two things I'm damned sure I want, both of which hit store shelves on Tuesday, are the (HD-)DVD of Alfonso Cuaron's brutal and brilliant Children of Men -- which was, I am compelled one more time to tell you, not just the best film of 2006 but the best film I've seen in a theater in the last fifteen years -- and the CD, finally released after a twenty-plus-year wait, of Warren Zevon's brilliant and blistering Stand in the Fire, an amazing live album, recorded across five nights at the Roxy in L.A., that still features the best versions of Mohammed's Radio and Werewolves of London that I've ever heard. It's fitting, I think, that two works of such unbridled passion and audacious creativity should arrive (or, more appropriately, re-arrive) on the same lucky day.
• I was, apparently, one of the few moviegoers last summer who thought that the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, despite some amazing special effects, a few Buster-Keaton-worthy set pieces, and the always intoxicating presence of Keira Knightley, was something of a mess: sluggish, uneven, and nowhere near as (dare I say) passionate or creative as the original. Thus was my enthusiasm for the third film, due in theaters this May 25th, considerably dampened. Until I saw the trailer released this week. If it's even half as good as it looks, it could well be even better than -- or at least more slyly, spectacularly, operatically over-the-top than -- the original.
• And, finally, thanks to TWM Best Man Jim Pascoe for passing along this nifty little diversion: a high-res clip of a Gatorade commercial for Canadian television featuring the phenomenally talented and almost as phenomenally photogenic Sidney Crosby. It's a clever spot, entertaining for both hockey fans and non-hockey-fans (oh, the shame!) alike. I highly recommended it for the technical prowess alone. But I do have two small complaints that, considering both the audience and the endorser, seem a bit ironic: only fifteen of its sixty seconds actually feature Sid and/or hockey action. Which seems like a major miscalculation to me. And no doubt to a heck of a lot of other people here in Western Pennsylvania who know first-hand that once you've see The Kid on the ice, you don't ever want to take your eyes off him.
• Remember that stiff, awkward, overly stagy scene in Revenge of the Sith -- yeah, I know, but stay with me -- when Senator Amidala looks out upon several million pixels masquerading as characters and declares, So this is how liberty dies -- with thunderous applause. For some reason -- the listless line delivery, perhaps, or the thought of an unwise coronation delivered by an unthinking electorate -- that's the first thing that came to mind this week when I heard that Bill Peduto was bailing on the Pittsburgh mayoral race. I imagined Natalie Portman, huddled in some far corner of Peduto's campaign headquarters, moaning to no one in particular, So this is how Democracy in Pittsburgh dies -- with a listless press conference.
• It is bad enough that a disorganized and/or disinterested Republican presence already makes this a one-horse town and a one-party city. And it was worse when, without honest argument or serious debate, we elected an old man whose turn had finally come but who, even when he won, still felt like the least of the losers. But it is hard to imagine anything worse, or more dispiriting, than the prospect of re-electing a young kid who was not elected the first time and whose time in office has only been distinguished by political plagiarism, photo-ops, and little white lies, simply because the local Democratic Party machinery has decided he's their boy and no one else is willing or perhaps courageous enough to run against him. But there is, I suppose, some consolation. When Pittsburghers go to the polls in May, and then again in November, we will at least have the benefit of a unique historical perspective; when we step up to those touch screens, we'll have a pretty good idea of what it felt like to vote for Stalin.
• Leave it to the good folks at the Carbolic Smoke Ball to offer at least some small salve of humor for this festering boil on our civic ass. They've produced a fine series of faux headlines on the subject, but the one that cuts deepest and so made me laugh hardest is this one.
• I suppose I should also be grateful that this local kerfuffle has prevented me from paying too much attention to -- and so producing too much bile over -- the whole we-won't-let-anyone-testify-under-oath-so-you-can't-ask-them-about-those-improper-firings insanity these days oozing out of a White House that, were it any more arrogant or corrupt, would just start whacking its enemies at restaurants and toll booths.
• Coming soon to cable channels near you: the last two months of The Sopranos, and the last two years of The Bushies. I'm honestly not sure which group is more despicable. But at least Tony and his crew, every once in a while, feel some sort of remorse for all the things they've done.
• Speaking of blind-faith-giving, my-way-or-the-highway types... The TWM Email of the Week, from one of our most faithful readers, arrives in response to Monday's post about that silly, General-Peter-Pace-defending letter to the editor: When I read that letter today I shook my head in sadness. Then it fell off. Blame the journalists for quoting him. Accuse the critics of saying things they didn't say. Take a sideways swipe at their religious preferences. Then tell them they haven't the integrity of The General. The problem with so many of these career military men is that their first allegiance is to the military, not the country or the constitution that creates the country. That's why they feel perfectly at ease shuttling detainees from secret prisons to closed non-judicial hearings.
• It is, I'm afraid, difficult to argue with that. Even as it strikes me that such allegiance to the military and to your brothers- and sisters-in-arms is probably the mindset that produces truly efficient and effective troop performance. Which brings to mind another -- and infinitely better -- movie scene: the one in which Jack Nicholson, at full roar and with the full glory of Aaron Sorkin's dialogue, lecturing Tom Cruise about walls and the men who guard them. Existences grotesque and incomprehensible indeed.
• I got a good laugh this week from an email in my spam filter that promised to help me with Stain Removal. At first glance, I could have sworn it said Stalin Removal. If Bill Peduto had already dropped out of the race when I read it, I might have thought it said Ravenstahl Removal.
• I also got a good laugh from a brand new sign hanging outside Vygor Fitness & Nutrition on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield that, advertising a new Unlimited Tanning offer, hoped to lure us with the promise of New Hot Bulbs!!!
• I'm not even sure if that's legal. And if it is, I'm not so sure that I'd want to subject myself to it.
• Two things I'm damned sure I want, both of which hit store shelves on Tuesday, are the (HD-)DVD of Alfonso Cuaron's brutal and brilliant Children of Men -- which was, I am compelled one more time to tell you, not just the best film of 2006 but the best film I've seen in a theater in the last fifteen years -- and the CD, finally released after a twenty-plus-year wait, of Warren Zevon's brilliant and blistering Stand in the Fire, an amazing live album, recorded across five nights at the Roxy in L.A., that still features the best versions of Mohammed's Radio and Werewolves of London that I've ever heard. It's fitting, I think, that two works of such unbridled passion and audacious creativity should arrive (or, more appropriately, re-arrive) on the same lucky day.
• I was, apparently, one of the few moviegoers last summer who thought that the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, despite some amazing special effects, a few Buster-Keaton-worthy set pieces, and the always intoxicating presence of Keira Knightley, was something of a mess: sluggish, uneven, and nowhere near as (dare I say) passionate or creative as the original. Thus was my enthusiasm for the third film, due in theaters this May 25th, considerably dampened. Until I saw the trailer released this week. If it's even half as good as it looks, it could well be even better than -- or at least more slyly, spectacularly, operatically over-the-top than -- the original.
• And, finally, thanks to TWM Best Man Jim Pascoe for passing along this nifty little diversion: a high-res clip of a Gatorade commercial for Canadian television featuring the phenomenally talented and almost as phenomenally photogenic Sidney Crosby. It's a clever spot, entertaining for both hockey fans and non-hockey-fans (oh, the shame!) alike. I highly recommended it for the technical prowess alone. But I do have two small complaints that, considering both the audience and the endorser, seem a bit ironic: only fifteen of its sixty seconds actually feature Sid and/or hockey action. Which seems like a major miscalculation to me. And no doubt to a heck of a lot of other people here in Western Pennsylvania who know first-hand that once you've see The Kid on the ice, you don't ever want to take your eyes off him.
Posted: Fri - March 23, 2007 at 04:23 PM
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Published On: Jan 16, 2009 04:50 PM
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