This blog doesn't get a lot of traffic from Alabama

In fact, of our last 100 drop-ins (y'all come back now, y'hear?), exactly none have come from Sweet Home Alabama.

As you can well imagine, this has long been a source of shame to me.

But now, at least, I think I finally understand it. You see, I think it's because I have, on occasion, been known to run pictures that suggest some women-in fact most, if the truth be told-have breasts.

Apparently, this sort of thing just isn't done in Alabama. A state where, BTW, it is unlawful to sell dildos while wearing bowling shoes.

We know this sort of thing just isn't done in Alabama (via Pam's House Blend) because of a woman named Loretta Nall, who is currently running for governor of that state on the Libertarian Party ticket.

An Alabama newspaper recently chose to run a photo of the candidate (not supplied to them by her) that reveals a bit of cleavage. It's not cleavage likely to appall any of us who were born in the big cities, but the columnist with whose work the photo ran was shocked-shocked!

In 55 years of political writing, that was a first for me—-a picture in my column of a woman displaying cleavage. I can only hope that my mother...and I know for a fact where she ended in the after life...didn’t see that column. She wouldn’t have approved of that picture.

Now, we here at Dictionopolis in Digitopolis have certain mixed emotions about Libertarian women with large boobs at the moment, for entirely personal reasons. But can we agree that these $&#&*^% loons are ridiculous?

Nice

Every once in a while, This Modern World hits one out of the park.

Maybe I should be paying more attention to Pink

I mean at this point, all I really know about her is that I quite like one or two of her singles, and I've seen one or two images of her I'm not unenthusiastic about either. But in recent interviews she's coming off pretty sensible.

...Pink did plenty of promo this past week, playing a secret show in New York and taping episodes of "Dateline" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show," where she got the dialogue started on the story behind her hit single "Stupid Girls."

While the celebrity angle of Pink's neofeminist critique got "Dateline" interested, Oprah Winfrey was more concerned about the lack of strong female role models. Calling her episode "Stupid Girls," Winfrey also invited onto the program four teenage girls and Karrine Steffans, author of "Confessions of a Video Vixen," to bring the discussion back to how girls are taught to act "stupid" and how to change that.

"I personally need more examples of how to be better and how to be stronger and how to go a different way," Pink said on the show. "I need more examples, so I can't even imagine being in school and looking around. And now it's cool to have a sex tape. Are you kidding me?"

Pink said she's trying not to think about all the attention the song is getting, but at the same time, this is exactly what she wanted — to start a discussion about who we choose to celebrate and why. In a world where women are still reduced to what they look like versus what they have to say, Pink wanted to make her fellow females realize how much of that has to change from within.

At the same time, Pink said the attention isn't about driving her record sales higher. In fact, she told Lauer she wishes her biggest album, Missundaztood, hadn't sold as many copies. "What?" Lauer responded. "You now have become the first recording artist I've ever sat across from who said, 'I wanted that album to sell fewer copies.' Why?"

"It sold 16 million records," Pink said. "And I didn't want that. Where do you go from there? Anything you do after that's a failure."

Prudent thinking, Pink-thats one of the things that drove Michael Jackson so batshit insane: Watching his sales fall after Thriller.

A horse made all out of wood; a dragon made out of a straw

Via the MAKE Blog; the artist is Heather Jansch.



Via Neatorama; I couldn't find a credit for the artist.

As well they might

Via TGW.

Must be an even-numbered year

Because recent experience has shown, only in even-numbered years do I ever think an episode (usually only one that year) of SNL is funny almost all the way through. Last night's/this morning's was it for 2006, thanks for the most part to host Antonio Banderas.

With all the Philadelphias and the Zorros and the Pancho Villas and the Femme Fatales and the Original Sins, you can forget how funny that guy can be. How can you not like a guy secure enough to go out on live television, declare, "The truth is...I'm a woman!" pull off a breakway suit and stand there in a red mini-dress, complete with falsies?

I don't know about you, but I can't not like such a guy.

The Mexican soap parody was also great. I'm pretty sure at least one or two of the sketches were written by the women performers just to give themselves an excuse to give Banderas a lap dance, but who's gonna blame 'em? I'd probably do the same myself if Beyonce were hosting or something.

...but the cameo by Chris Kattan hurt like an earache. And, SNL being SNL, two or three of the sketches had no endings. The obligitory Zorro sketch made me miss Chris Farley (no mean feat, I assure you).

Cut to Ben banging his head against the computer desk

Saturday...The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation presented...the 17th annual GLAAD Media Awards...winners included [Charlize Theron, for the "Vanguard Award'], Felicity Huffman's transsexual road trip "Transamerica" for outstanding film in limited release; cable TV's chic lesbian ensemble "The L Word" for outstanding drama series, and NBC's "Will & Grace" for outstanding comedy series.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother trying to write a love story about two people who happen to be lesbian, but more importantly, are loving, well-spoken people. I mean apparently, you can write about loveless people, give them laughably bad dialogue, and as long as you make them gay you'll win awards and get renewed.

In case you were wondering why I haven't said anything about the "Immigration Reform" thing

It's two reasons. One, I don't feel that I know enough about the issue, and although I'm sure I have, I try not to give uninformed opinions. Two, it's exactly what the GOP wants us to be talking about. It's this season's gay marriage.

Rep. J. D. Hayworth, R-AZ, declared on Meet the Press that "Immigration Reform" is the most significant issue facing America today...

In a sound bite laden appearance, Rep. Hayworth, representing a border state, and a Republican up for re-election, apparently feels that the wasteful and distasteful War in Iraq, our fostering civil war in Iraq, and the President's treason by security leak, can all be swept under the rug until after the election.

Another Example Of What John Kerry Has Done To Me

He's made me agree with Tracey Schmitt, RNC spokesman. See, Kerry has made what the NY Times (via Daily Kos' Georgia10) describes as "A Slashing Attack On The Bush Administration."

Find Osama bin Laden and secure our ports and our homeland. Bring our troops home from Iraq. Obey the law and protect our civil rights," Mr. Kerry said in ticking off his list, which also included supporting health care, education, lobbying reform and alternatives to oil, as well as reducing the deficit.

Georgia10 feels Kerry is

Plain-spoken. Blunt. Scathing in his rhetoric (yeah, I'm describing John Kerry, can you believe it?). A true Fighting Dem.

While as I say, I find myself in agreement with

Tracey Schmitt, the RNC spokesman, [who] responded in her typical catty manner and dismissed Kerry's statements ("John Kerry deserves credit for continuing to take himself so seriously, despite the fact that no one else does"),

I feel the need to say to anybody actually getting wet or hard about this "new" John Kerry something similar to that which I'd say to people star-struck by the "new" Al Gore: I am not impressed by what Democrats do when the heat's off.

John Kerry finally came to fight, eh? Woo! With the President's popularity tied to an anchor, that certainly takes bold political courage.

Blog headlines that should have been rephrased

Republican Dad gets son off in AZ sex case

Via Crooks and Liars:

"A 19 and 17 year old from Arizona, have been offered a plea deal which requires no jail time and virtually no penalty for crimes they admitted to commiting. What were these crimes? As counselors at a boys camp, the 19 and 17 year old punished 18 of the 11-14 year old boys by making them lay face down on their bed, in front of all the other boys, shoving a broomstick into their anus through their pants...One may ask how this could happen. It is really quite simple. The 19 year old, Ryan Bennett, is none other than the son of Arizona's Senate President, Ken Bennett, a Republican who is part of the effort to ban equal rights for same-sex couples in the state, viewing same-sex relationships as immoral...After his son's admission, Bennett wrote a letter to the D.A. handling the case informing her that his son could not rightfully serve time in jail, because he is prepared to leave the country on a mission - to teach the word of Christ to youth around the world..."

What's playing at the Bijou?

Bijou Phillips, that is, actress in mostly-bad films that she dresses up by revealing her undressed body, model, daughter of John Phillips (the resident composer and guitarist in The Mamas & The Papas), and once-and-future aspiring pop singer.

According to some people I could mention, this blog is exactly the same as The Daily Kos

Echidne swipes back at Ellen Goodman, a columnist at whom I've looked askance ever since I heard her insane appearance on the Alex Bennett morning radio show in San Francisco. On that occasion many years ago, she made clear her ignorance of technology (and dig it, if I say you're ignorant of technology, you're really ignorant of technology.)

Sadly, it would seem that in the years betwixt and between, she has still not learned that it is considered best to actually have some goddamn information on a topic before you begin judging it.

She apparently can't tell the difference between bloggers like Kos and Debbie Schlussel, or indeed, from a hole in the ground and her...

Lo, the irony

"Casablanca" has been named the greatest movie script of all time by the Writers Guild of America. What's ironic is that if you know about the making of the movie, you know that the writers were literally making it up as they went along, during filming.

If memory serves they didn't even have the ending until the night before it was to be shot-and possibly not even until that morning(!)

It was the kind of filmmaking, in other words, that many writers (including myself) decry. We look at all the sequels and formula romatic comedies that are moved into production without finished or adequate scripts to be "fixed on the fly." And we say, "Why can't they take the time to get the script right first? The movies would be so much better then."

And then, "Casablanca," a movie that moved into production without a finished or adequate script, is named the best screenplay of all time. By writers, yet. It's times like this I wish I drank more.

"Tootsie," number 17 on the list, is an example of the writer gang-bang class of screenwriting, according to one of the credited writers, my hero Larry Gelbart. Same for "Jaws" (#63)

For the record here's the full list. My favorite film in the top 10 is "Some Like It Hot," by Wilder and Diamond. And I still think "Pulp Fiction" is way, way overrated. Kinda glad to see Ramis & Rubin's "Groundhog Day" get in there-that's a movie that really holds up. My man James L. Brooks gets in with "Broadcast News."

Then again, any list of supposedly great screenplays that includes "Star Wars" is not a list I can take wholly lying down.

My Chicks

Oh, and the Dalai Lama is anti-gay

From the Telegraph:

Although he is known for his tolerant, humane views, he is a surprisingly harsh critic of homosexuality. If you are a Buddhist, he says, it is wrong. "Full stop.

No way round it.

"A gay couple came to see me, seeking my support and blessing. I had to explain our teachings. Another lady introduced another woman as her wife - astonishing. It is the same with a husband and wife using certain sexual practices. Using the other two holes is wrong."

At this point, he looks across at his interpreter - who seems mainly redundant - to check that he has been using the right English words to discuss this delicate matter. The interpreter gives a barely perceptible nod.

"A Western friend asked me what harm could there be between consenting adults having oral sex, if they enjoyed it," the Dalai Lama continues, warming to his theme. "But the purpose of sex is reproduction, according to Buddhism. The other holes don't create life. I don't mind - but I can't condone this way of life."

I'd just like to take this moment to formally thank Tom Delay

Seriously. Any of us who spend any time in a day making fun of Republicans, from pissants like myself to pros like Jon Stewart & his colleagues or Garry Trudeau, owe Tom Delay a sincere debt of gratitude.

What with the indictment, the coming perp walk, and the hypocritical crocodile tears of partisanship, his troubles have been a positive boon.

But, I know what you're saying.

You're saying, if only there was some evidence that he'd actually gone so far as to whore out his own daughter as a tub toy for lobbyists.

Well, guess what.

There is such evidence.

My mother taught me the proper thing to do in situations like this...

So, Mr. Delay, should you be looking in, thank you so much for the inspirations for my little blog. I hope it will be a comfort to you in prison that you did, at least, do some good.

Sincerely,

Ben

Another reason to feel good about John McCain

Here he is aligning himself with Janet LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

These are both conservative, "faith-based" groups. You may remember the CWFA, they're the ones who promote name-calling in school, warned parents against allowing their children to watch Buffy and think Barbie leads to lesbianism. They were among those who called for a boycott of a doll company because it was partnered with a non-profit corporation that promotes high self-esteem among girls, even if they be lesbian or bisexual. And they're the ones who even found something to object to on the coffee cups at Starbucks.

As for the group led by Tony "I'm named after a closeted gay actor who was best known for playing a psychopath" Perkins, among other friendly things, the Family Research council has a connection to the Ku Klux Klan.

Exactly the sort of people it makes one feel good to see John McCain sucking up to.

Source: AmericaBlog

This looks like a really uncomfortable position in which to stand

It's Emmy Rossum, by the way, a singer/actress about whom I know little save that at times she is quite beautiful.



Source

There was nothing for the Scarlet Pumpernickel to do...but blow his brains out. Which, he did.

Via TPM:

From this morning's Hill e-newsletter: "DeLay said Thursday that announcing his resignation has been liberating. Quoting Martin Luther King. Jr., DeLay said, 'Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last.'"

Chick Lit Defined (maybe)

Echidine has found an article or two from the Guardian in the UK that purport to shore up both sides in the war between the sexes. They come from two surveys on novels that men say have "changed their lives" vs. the ones women do.

The novel that means most to men is about indifference, alienation and lack of emotional responses. That which means most to women is about deeply held feelings, a struggle to overcome circumstances and passion, research by the University of London has found.

Maybe I am writing chick lit after all...

"On the whole, men between the ages of 20 and 50 do not read fiction. This should have some impact on the book trade. There was a moment when car manufacturers realised that it was women who bought the family car, and the whole industry changed. We need fiction publishers - many of whom are women - to go through the same kind of recognition," Prof Jardine said.

It's true, actually, I don't read much and I'm right in the middle of that age group. I read all the time, but it's mostly nonfiction, apart from a few mystery series to which I'm addicted. Echidone finds fault with the studies, and not without reason:

So let me summarize: Two studies are done with different sized groups of respondents, neither selected properly. The two studies have different questions for the subject to answer, and result in two different lists of books. Conclusion: men and women are different breeds of people! Perhaps. But it's much more likely that these are not well-done studies and that we can't draw many conclusions from them.

As an aside, I have read all the books on the men's list and also all the books on the women's list. None of those changed my life much. What did change my life was Agatha Christie's The Murder on the Orient Express. I was around eight years old when I read it and it blew my brain. To think that they were all guilty!

She's probably right. For the record, I've read more of the men's list than the women's, the men's list is also longer than the women's (we're obsessed by length).

Mystery date

Go to Wikipedia and look up your birth day (excluding the year).
List three neat facts, two births and one death in your blog or journal, including the year.

( September 1 )

Neat facts:

1972 - In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.

Almost 15 years later, Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Bjorn Ulvaeus' Chess becomes one of my favorite show scores. Coincidence?

Russia - Knowledge Day

But you knew that.

In the Harry Potter books September 1, the day on which the Hogwarts Express departs from Platform 9¾, always falls on a Sunday; this means that the first day of lessons is always a Monday.

"Everyday is like Sunday, Everyday is silent and grey."
morrissey

Births:

1939 - Lily Tomlin, American actress, comedienne
1946 - Barry Gibb,English singer (Bee Gees)

Death:

1969 - Drew Pearson, American newspaper columnist (b. 1897)

You're not helping your case

I am currently reading a book called/about Paul Verhoeven, the director of the original, hit Basic Instinct (specifically, this book). It's pretty good, but it's in the mode of being a book for fans, by a fan-criticism goes by the wayside in favor of slavish devotion.

Interesting quote from the director, who reportedly has long wanted to do a serious film about the life of Jesus:

'The most historically correct image of Jesus and his time is to be found in The Life of Brian, the comedy by the Monty Python team.'

But here's where the book's author, Rob van Scheers, doesn't help his case. In the chapter on Basic Instinct, he's trying to draw a parallel with North By Northwest. He does this by reprinting a page or so of the dialogue from each.

Let me make myself clear: He gives us a chance to make a direct comparision between Ernest Lehman's dialogue and that of Joe Eszterhas. This is not a good move. Lehman's dialogue is sheer pleasure and Eszterhas' puts one in need of a shower.

Not that Lehman is credited, of course, which brings me to my next point. In the same chapter, Verhoeven boasts of how he childishly tried to make the date-rape scene in the movie as offensive as he could. As a kind of "I'll show you!" to the demonstrators the film had attracted.

He then praises Michael Douglas' "bravery" in playing it so explicitly. Not a word, however (in the whole book) about Jeanne Tripplehorn, who only had to play the victim of the date-rape; therefore showed no courage, and deserves no admiration.

My, my. All this good, interesting material-and I haven't even gotten to the chapter on Showgirls yet...

Tim Rice knew it all along

Gospel of Judas revealed at last
1,700 year old Gnostic text says Judas' 'betrayal' was at Christ's request.

Oh yes, about the Scooter Libby leak case...

Looks like Mr. Libby's attorney's had a similar sit-down discussion with him to the one Mr. Delay's had. In this one, they said "Hey, you have two choices. You can remain loyal to an administration that everybody in the world hates and go to prison for most of the rest of your life. Or you can sing."

And Mr. Libby said, "Gimme a C chord! La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la!"

Turns out, the people who authorized the leaks were (prepare yourself for a shock)...Dick Cheney. And George W. Bush.

Who could have seen it coming, who? I mean, what were the fucking odds?

Thank you, thank you, thank you and thank...YOU!

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Yet more words to live by

From Douglas Adams, as quoted in Don't Panic by Neil Gaiman.

"I often wonder how I'd react to [Hitchhiker's] if I wasn't me, but I was still me, so to speak, and how much I'd like it, and how much I'd be a fan or whatever. The way I would perceive it in among everything else. Obviously I can't answer that question, I have no idea, because I'm the one person who can't look at it from outside."

From J.D. Salinger, as quoted by Gary Ross, in Why We Write: Personal Statements And Photographic Portraits Of 25 Top Screenwriters, edited and photographed by Lorian Tamara Elbert.

In Seymour: An Introduction, J.D. Salinger gives great advice about writing. He says that writing is easy. You just pick the book you want to read more than any in the world, and you write it for yourself.

Oh, God...

This is simply not a good week for television shows I like, except for "Gilmore Girls" and "24". First I find out, as noted below, that Showtime's admirable promotional push for Huff, its word of mouth, critical acclaim and the Emmys it won translated to no new viewers-in fact a lot less.

Then tonight's "Veronica Mars", after two or three episodes that seemed to be pulling out of the steep dive into irrelvance the series had fallen into in previous weeks, fell right back into it.

Then I come across this little gem of information:

After getting a lesson in improvisation at the legendary comedy workshop The Groundlings, the models are challenged to successfully deliver a mostly-improvised CoverGirl commercial, and one lucky girl, whose improv skills are superior, wins a guest starring role on "Veronica Mars," on AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

Ah, but there's good news tonight. On that same web page, you'll find a banner ad for "The First Annual Reality TV Convention." And in what state is this waste of time being held?

Come on people, say it with me...

Sigh...

USA Today via Yahoo! News...

Despite a free-preview weekend, the second-season premiere of Showtime's Huff averaged a low 372,000 viewers Sunday, down from 456,000 for the 2004 series opener.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; the fact that I like 24 and it's actually a top 20 show is the surprise.

Trippy

Space...the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship...Christopher Walken...

Source: Mighty Optical Illusions

Oh! And...

Via the talking dog:

Deputy press secretary for...Homeland Security Brian Doyle was indicted in Polk County, Florida and awaits extradition on charges that he attempted to seduce what he believed to be a 14-year old girl over the internet.

...as far as I recall, the one thing you could say about the crop of Bushies and their Republican allies, in contrast to Clinton, was that it was never about sex. (Don't ask me why that ever made a difference; the irritating combination of prurience and prudishness endemic in this country is a wonder to the rest of the world... and not in a good way.)

Well, guess what? This one is about sex. And the grossest kind of sex: icky sexual advances toward what Mr. Doyle believed to be a 14-year old girl (he is 55). I guess the Bush Administration will write him off as an isolated incident and a very minor player in the great scheme of things.

Hating Kevin Federline: Now, it's personal

In the past, I only vaguely disliked Kevin Federline, in the way Shakespeare's Sister so aptly describes as I-hate-you-because-I-know-who-you-are. That means it's because without my ever seeking a lick of information about him, some knowledge of his general persona has penetrated my conciousness. And that general persona seems to be something of a bum. I looked forward to the forthcoming release of his debut "album" with the same anticipation with which I look forward to four more years of Republican misrule. I also don't like people who, from all appearances, have no business calling themselves fathers.

But as I say, that's all vague and based on heresay. Now...now he's ripping off Thomas Dolby. I'm sorry, we don't allow that here on Dictionopolis In Digitopolis, wherin we consider Mr. Dolby a Jesus of keyboard music, one of the great living songwriters and producers.

Mr. Dolby posted on his blog a few days ago...

"Kevin Federline, whom I’d never heard of until a few days ago, appears to have illegally sampled one of my compositions...And laws aside, he owed it to me as an artist to ask if I minded that he recorded a vitriolic rap over the top of my music.”

“So K-Fed, if you’re reading this, I’m asking you nicely to take the track down ASAP. Or maybe you’d prefer me to come after some of your wife’s ill-gotten gains?”

Go Pulp Culture on his ass, Tom. Blind him with science.

Thanks to Paste Magazine for telling me about this.

And speaking of things that are real fuckin' simple

In Talking Points Memo, Joshua Micah Marshall writes...

DeLay's lawyers must have sat him down over the last 72 hours and explained to him that he needs to focus on not spending most of the rest of his life in prison.

I've said it before and I'll say it again

There is no such thing as a dignified photo of George W. Bush. Shakespeare's Sister has a box full of examples, of which these are my favorites.

Okay, the "Delay goes bye-bye" thing (updated)

So. Tom Delay, the indicted republican...what am I saying...one of the indicted republicans who has cried partisanship as his flaunting of the rules has become more and more apparent, has announced that he will quit the congress, and not seek re-election.

He says he's doing this because of the polls. Firedoglake says that's a bit out of character, and suggests his former chief of staff pleading guilty to conspiracy might have had something to do with it.

Jane also notes the reaction from the GOP faithful.

there is always comedy from the Free Republic:

Seriously. He’s been much more open about speaking of his relationship with God, and he might have decided he’s going to spend the rest of his life working for foster care, and for his Christian values.

It is extraordinarily hard for a mark to accept he’s just been sold a case of snake oil.

AmericaBlog agrees Delay's doing this becuase he's in even bigger trouble than any of us thought.

If Delay told Chris Matthews he pulled out of the race because the polls were bad, well then clearly that isn't the reason.

Bad news for the Republicans. Rather than take Delay out of the picture, Delay is now an even bigger story. The ongoing investigation is going to make news until the election. And this puts to rest any of the Republicans' snarking about how the prosecutor was a Democrat. He clearly caught delay doing something wrong.

But back to the Republicans, way for Delay to ruin the one year anniversary of the Terri Schiavo fiasco for the religious right. Though it's ironic that last week was Schiavo week since that's when the Republicans really started melting down. And Delay's downfall shows it ain't gonna get any better any time soon.

You know who I believe, but judge for yourself...lord knows, Tom Delay is a classy guy.

Flashforward

Whether by intelligent design or just happenstance, the second episode of Huff's second season is already available On Demand here. I'm happy to report it is much better than the overstuffed season premiere.

It's real fuckin' simple

Paul Krugman:

...it's important to hold someone like Mr. McCain — who is still widely regarded as a moderate, in spite of his extremely conservative voting record — accountable when he cozies up to Mr. Falwell. Nobody thinks that Mr. McCain shares all of Mr. Falwell's views. But when Mr. McCain said that the Christian right has a right to be part of the Republican Party, he was in effect saying that Mr. Falwell's statements are within the realm of acceptable political discourse.

...if you choose to make common cause with religious extremists, you are accepting some responsibility for their extremism. By welcoming Mr. Falwell and people like him as members of their party, Republicans are saying that it's O.K. — not necessarily correct, but O.K. — to declare that 9/11 was America's punishment for its tolerance of abortion and homosexuality, that Islam is a terrorist religion, and that Jews can't go to heaven. And voters should judge the Republican Party accordingly.

Thanks, TGW.

Some liberals you should listen to

The Koufax awards have gone out. As usual, they're a good way to separate the big boys and girls from the kiddies in the blogsphere. The bright and shining stars of the firmament therof include:

Josh Marshall
Kos
Digby
The Smiths-loving Shakespeare's Sister
The much-cited-here firedoglake
And Tennessee Guerilla Women, who are currently the second-best reason not to simply peel up that state and flick it away like an old scab (the best reason being, of course, the music).

You can find good readin' and reportin' at them all.

Cartoon

That's the saddest flying elephant I've ever seen

Amid at Cartoon Brew found a website devoted to Polish movie posters.

For those of you who like McCain

I was wondering how you feel about him cozying up to his new butt-buddy, Jerry Falwell, who, he says, is "no longer an agent of intolerance?"

Really.

Wow, tell us Mr. McCain, exactly when was it that Falwell stopped being an agent of intolerance? Was it when, just days after the September 11 attacks, Falwell blamed gays and lesbians, and pro-choice Americans, and the ACLU for the September 11 attacks? Yeah, that was a great moment in tolerance.

Or was it a year later in October 2002 when Jerry Falwell said that Mohammed was a terrorist?

"I think Muhammad was a terrorist. I read enough of the history of his life written by both Muslims and - non-Muslims, (to know) that he was a – a violent man, a man of war."

Or was it in March of 2006 when Falwell told Jews they're going to hell?

And this is John McCain's new Very Best Friend. So, for those of you who like McCain...I was just wondering: How you like him now?

That sound you hear is every single straight man in America saying "No thanks, I'll wait for Cinemax."

Ice Age: The Meltdown may be set millions of years ago, but it was Basic Instinct 2 that looked like a relic from another era. The long-gestating sequel to the 1992 thriller that made Sharon Stone's career seduced only an estimated $3.2 million from 1,453 sites. In terms of number of tickets sold, that's about an eighth of the opening of the first Basic Instinct, a smash in its day that evidently did not resonate through the years. The success of The Silence of the Lambs sequel, Hannibal, after a 10-year wait was an exception—unless they're iconic, thawing out franchises after more than four years generally leads to sizable drops in grosses.

I'm going to say "ouch" for Ms. Stone. When your film is sold almost solely on the promise of seeing you in the buff, and a nation decides "Eh. We've seen it."

...Well, I'm guessing that must be one cold splash of water.

I'm guessing Paul Verhoeven and Joe Eszterhas have had a happy conversation about this, too.

So how do I feel about the two-hour second season premiere of "Huff?"

Short version: Disappointing, but I'm still in.

Long version: The second-season premiere of "The West Wing" was the two-part In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen, which is commonly held to be that show's finest hours.

"Huff" did not meet that standard, and may satisfy people like me who have 13 episodes of experience with these characters under our belts more than the hoped-for new, larger audience.

Why? Well, first of all, let's get the bad stuff out of the way. I was surprised that they didn't change the percussive dialogue samples in the opening credits. I love them (I love the whole flippin' credits sequence) but they're all from the first season and I had assumed they'd mark the transition by changing them.

I feel that "Huff" really shouldn't be two hours. Taking more time and space than most shows would is a big part of the series' dramatic strength, but one-hour episodes seem to be just the right doses. With a two-hour running time, there was room for one too many speeches I would have trimmed, were I in the cutting room.

There's a period of adjustment to be reckoned with, when you come to a new season of a series-like dropping back into their world. "Gilmore Girls" handles this really well, actually-when time has gone by between episodes, they often make it that time has gone by for the characters, too.

It's kind of unfortunate that so much real time has gone by between seasons of "Huff"-this is supposed to be a week after the end of last season but Huff's son has, shall we say, gone through a growth spurt.

I don't know how "The Sopranos" does it-I don't watch, but don't they take something like four years between seasons? I used to think that was better than the treadmill of network TV, but there's a definite drawback if you're dealing with adolescents.

Plus there was a line referencing the hurricane. Trouble is, if the first season is set when it first aired (2004)and this is only a week later...topical references to the outside world should be avoided, is what I'm saying.

The episode also suffered from having to clear up the debris left at the end of last season. At one point Huff's assistant and friend Paula, trying to comfort his wife, Beth, tells her that all the angst the family has suffered is: "Just god trying to move a whole lot of shit out of the way at once." I can't help feeling that was the writer wailing as he cleared the decks.

And yet...my sympathies are still so wholly with the title character I almost found myself praying along with Paula tonight as she asked Jesus to show him the way.

Huff for me is the center of it. I take the opening credits, that end with a pullback to show the back and side of his head, semi-literally: It's all inside him. But I care about almost all the characters and I'm invested in what happens to them both physically and emotionally. I love to see the way they reach out for, sometimes connect with but more often than not miss each other.

In fact, I'd say, the biggest problem with this ep was that the writing needs to get out of the characters' way. There was a little bit of what I'll call "Kevin Smith syndrome," where you're acutely aware of the writer stopping the forward flow of the action for a pithy phrase.

But I loved what Beth's mother told her husband the first time she saw him (I'm being spolier-free).

'Bout time you realised, You are a specialty; There is no one like you

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

PS

On the other hand, this publisher seems much more promising. They have several books in the collection of my local library, books (and writers) that are sometimes also published by mainstream houses and get reviewed by journals like Publisher Weekly. The stories also sound like they have more potential.

I've just requested a handful of them from the library to see if they live up to that potential.

However, this final sentence from a PW review of one of their books (that will remain nameless) does return me to something like my earlier state of agitation:

Although the author, who completed this novel shortly before her 80th birthday, lacks the skills of romance heavies Steele and Krantz, her story will be appreciated for its pastoral atmosphere by readers who yearn for a fiery romantic yarn that accommodates an alternative lifestyle.

"Lacks the skills of romance heavies Steele and Krantz."

I'm just gonna go die now.

A quick rant on things I shouldn't do

I shouldn't take a look through the titles published by gay/lesbian publishers like this one. Why? Because not only do they seem to have no penetration into libraries (which is important to me-I somehow won't feel I've really written a book till it's in libraries), but-

...while far be it from me to judge books by their promotional blurbs...they all sound awful. Romance-novel awful. And it makes me think oh god, I know what's going to happen.

I used to worry my manuscript would fall between two poles; too gay for the "traditional" audience, not enough so for the gay audience. Now I think it's going to be: Too gay for the mainstream, too good for the gay & lesbian press.

(That's it, Ben. That's the kind of unwarranted arrogance that'll be sure to cushion the blow when the form-letter rejections start rolling in)

Oh, god...

There should be a category for "She's made you some kind of laughing stock, because you dance to disco and you don't like rock"

You Are a Glam Rocker!

You put the "show" in rock show with your larger than life self. No doubt, you are all about making good music... But what really gets you going is having an over the top show. Glitter, costumes, and wild hair are your thing - with some rock thrown in!

What Kind of Rocker Are You?

David Bowie: I once asked [John Lennon], "What do you think of what I do? What do you think of glam-rock?" He said [imitating Lennon], "Aww now, it's great you know, but it's just rock and roll with lipstick on."

I'd say this kind of information is worth a few sheckels, wouldn't you?

Gregg Berger, the voice actor whose credits include Garfield, Rugrats, Niles' cockatiel on Frasier and most importantly, my all-time favorite animated pig (sorry, Porky), Cornfed on Duckman, writes:

On Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. This won't ever happen again.

Via News From ME.

Now, If you look over to the right there and click the View my complete profile link you'll find, among other things, a link to my Amazon.com Wish List. If you're amazed at the quality of information passed on this site (I know I am), please consider making a small donation to the Buy Ben Those CDs And Books He Can't Score Through The Ink 19 Gig Fund. I thank you.

It's times like this I almost wish I were a a real Bill Maher fan

As a satirist, he's no Trudeau, but every once in a while he comes up with a great moment...like this one. Every time you see one of those Republican chickenhawks defending the incompetent way Bush has waged "the war on terror," you've got to ask them:

What would you being saying if this had been done by someone with the last name of Clinton?

Fun.

According to a new report from Amnesty International titled Stonewalled,

Thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people across the United States are victims of a system that fuels discrimination and facilitates torture, ill-treatment and impunity, said Amnesty International in a new report on police abuses against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity...

Though police forces across the country are increasingly providing some level of training intended to guide interactions with the LGBT community, 28% of police departments responding to AI’s survey reported that they do not provide any form of training. AI’s report clearly describes the persistent and widespread lack of effective systems of accountability for law enforcement officers who commit abuses. Reports to AI suggest that many LGBT individuals do not come forward with complaints about police officer conduct. AI received a number of reports of hostility or attempts to dissuade people from making complaints at police stations.

Stonewalled places the issue of police misconduct and brutality in the context of the lack of recognition of LGBT human rights. Like many other countries, the US has a long history of both criminalizing homosexual conduct and failing to protect LGBT people from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In turn, people are denied access to their full human rights, creating a climate in which LGBT people are more likely to face abuses.

The emergence of a strong LGBT rights movement has been successful in pushing forward greater recognition of the basic human rights of LGBT people in the last three decades. There are many indicators of this progress, including the increased public visibility of LGBT people, and especially at the local level, the successful adoption of anti-discrimination legislation inclusive of LGBT people. Yet, as this report demonstrates, serious human rights abuses targeted toward members of the LGBT community continue to be perpetrated, including by those officials in society whose duty is to serve and protect the entire community.[...]

Via Pseudo-Adrienne's Liberal-Feminist Bias.

Once again, I'm forced to concede the Dixie Chicks did not go far enough. Ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas? Sometimes I'm ashamed the United States is from the United States.

The holy grail of unseen films

In 1972, Jerry Lewis made a film about a man who is a clown in the circus during World War II. He is captured, thrown into a concentration camp, and forced to work entertaining children who are in line for the gas chamber.

It's called The Day The Clown Cried. You're already feeling the comedy, I can tell. From descriptions, it seems to be a bonanza of top-to-bottom what were they thinking? moments.

Shawn Levy's brilliant biography of the onetime funnyman devotes the better part of a chapter to the making of the movie (done in a decade when Jerry was, shall we say, not at his best) and there have been lengthy magazine articles examining it as well.

For a number of legal and creative reasons, this film has never been released, and may never be. But it continues to exert a kind of horrific fascination on the same sort of people who, had it been real, would have adored Springtime For Hitler as a comedy.

It has attained well-nigh legendary status from the eyewitness reports of the handful of people who have been allowed to see it...and now, for the first time ever, you can be among them. Our friend Mark Evanier has obtained a lengthy series of clips from the film and, as a public service to cinematic historians everywhere, made them availble on his web site.

I hope you enjoy.

A little more information about Jill Carroll

Reportedly, a condition of her release was that she was forced to make a propaganda video.

That video appeared Thursday on a jihadist website that carries videos of beheadings and attacks on American forces. In it, Carroll told her father she felt compelled to make statements strongly critical of President Bush and his policy in Iraq.

Her remarks are now making the rounds of the Internet, attracting heavy criticism from conservative bloggers and commentators.

In fact, Carroll did what many hostage experts and past captives would have urged her to do: Give the men who held the power of life and death over her what they wanted.

"You'll pretty much say anything to stay alive because you expect people will understand these aren't your words," says Micah Garen, a journalist and author who was held captive by a Shiite militia in southern Iraq for 10 days in August 2004.

Notice how, once again, people who wouldn't dream of putting themselves in harms way as did Carroll are full of "heavy criticism" for what she said and did to save her life.

ETA: Jane expands upon that little observation here, with particular reference to Jonah Goldberg, poster child for chickenhawkery.

This is one of those "review of a gay love story that makes me feel superior about mine" posts...

In this case the story is a movie called "Adam & Steve." Good one, huh? It is not, on the whole, being well received by the critics.

Roger Ebert sez:

...There is an underlying story here, and some comic ideas, that in the hands of a better director (or more ruthless editor) could have become an entertaining romantic comedy. But...The director, Craig Chester, is also the co-star; as an actor, he has the wrong director.

Chester stars as Adam Bernstein, first seen in the 1980s with best pal Rhonda (Parker Posey) dressed as Goths and entering a gay disco on Glitter Night, the wrong night for them. Adam makes eye contact with a dancer named Steve (Malcolm Gets), and it's love at first sight, but "We don't dance," they explain. "We're Goths. We're dead."

Their romance develops despite the usual plot convenience (fear of commitment), but there's a crisis...Will they reconcile? Can Rhonda and Steve's straight roommate, Michael (Chris Kattan), be the go-betweens?

This reminds me of something that was important to me thematically in developing my little lesbian romantic comedy. I never wanted the solution to the crisis to be something like Colley sitting down with Keitha and saying: "You know, Annabel really loves you, and..."

The lovers had to make it on their own. I think I was wary of making a gay version of all those stories we used to get ("Mississippi Burning," "Cry Freedom") that were nominally about civil rights for blacks, but managed to have white characters at the hub for "identification."

I've said this before, but I identify with Keitha and Annabel, and I want others to as well. I identify with Colley too, of course (I'm the writer, I identify with all of 'em); my point is, he's not there to ease the story for any uncomfortable straights who may be in the audience.

the creepiest invention I've ever seen

Interactive robot art helps your self esteem

"Sycophant explores the relationship between viewers and a human-like robot. The human head is mounted on a motorized base which moves along a track. As a viewer walks by, the head follows on the track, while plying him or her with a cornucopia of compliments such as "I really like your hair" and "You look really hot!"

Via MAKE. That's either the creepiest invention I've ever seen, the inevitable basis for a future Kraftwerk video, or both.

Riddle me this

Where are you going to find one of the best collections of balloon sculpture (and costuming!) you've ever seen? Right here, that's where. It's times like this I really love the internet.

Never let it be said that this is one of those blogs that only posts about the bad news

Jill Carroll, a reporter who had been held captive in Iraq for nearly three months, was released today, apparently unharmed.

My word

Oh, and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made an obscene gesture and cursed out a reporter in Italian (and homophobic) terms recently. And he did it in church. And lied about it afterwards.

Via AmericaBlog, where John adds:

He did this minutes after taking the Eucharist (communion), in church, during Lent, and two weeks before Easter. In addition, he's now lying again during Lent and right before Easter.

Some man of conservative family values. He's not even a good Christian, let alone a good Christian conservative. Which begs the question of what the religious has to say about their darling being an obscene liar who shows disrespect in church?:

"We were hoping the President might elevate someone like Scalia," said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council.

Still hoping a foul-mouthed man who disrespects church during Lent becomes the standard-bearer for Supreme Court justices?

Huff

I wanted to talk some more about Huff. I wrote appreciations of the Showtime drama's first season last year at the old blog, and more recently here, so I'll be trying not to repeat myself.

There is a moment at the end of Huff's first season when the title character speaks two words, and it's almost a throwaway. They don't pause for even a whole beat. But if you've been watching all the episodes leading up to it, it's chilling. The subtlety of that moment, and the pleasure it takes in paying off a characterization, is everything that a certain series that shall remain nameless (but starts with "L") is missing.

In his commentary track on the recently-released DVDs, series lead Hank Azaria calls that episode one of the best, if not the best, things he's ever been involved with in his career. And here is a guy who, although he may not always have had the best luck picking movie projects, can point to Robert Redford's Quiz Show, working with Mike Nichols both on film and on stage (where he got a Tony nomination), and (playing a writer better than I've ever seen one played) Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock. Plus several Emmy nominations for his almost 20 years on The Simpsons, a featured part on Friends (I still say Phoebe should have married him)...and I haven't even mentioned Mad About You's Nat ("Hey there, hi there, ho there.")

And he says Huff is "Creatively...the best job I've ever had." Are you beginning to get why those of us who have become its fans think it's so extraordinary?

One of the reasons I think Huff's first season may have had trouble attracting the viewers it deserves is because it lacks a hook, it's determinedly "low-concept." It's not "Melrose Place, only with lesbian softcore sex" (The L Word). It's not "Family politics, and family politics, of a mob boss" (The Sopranos). It's not "single mother in the suburbs becomes pot dealer" (Weeds).

It's just-who would've thunk of it?-a really well-made, strong show. How strong? Let me put it this way-I think it's the best TV drama since the first few seasons of The West Wing. And if you know how I feel about The West Wing, you know what a compliment that is.

I will qualify it slightly by defining my terms-there have certainly been other series since that I've had a lot of time for. But to me, 24 is not a drama-it's a suspense series. Gilmore Girls is not a drama, it's a "dramedy" or if you prefer, "human comedy." Boston Legal is not a drama, it's a...well, I'm actually not sure what Boston Legal is; neither are they, and that's part of its appeal. Veronica Mars, at its height, was not a drama, it's a mystery series. Okay, Bones is probably a drama, and one that I'm increasingly enjoying, but it's nowhere near as good as Huff.

Which brings me back to the question of why I think Huff is so good. Well, first of all, it's one of the first hour-long drama series since The West Wing that I've wanted to watch over and over. Most such series, no matter how well-made, simply don't invite repeat viewing-that's why sitcoms do so much better in syndication.

Huff does, and rewards it. I was re-watching the first season as they broadcast it ramping up for the second season premiere, and I still found it terribly moving, and noticed things I'd missed the first time.

Plus there is the ensemble cast. I've praised Azaria, female lead Paget Brewster and Blythe Danner, who won an Emmy for her role, in the first post linked above. So here I'll say keep an eye on Anton Yelchin, who plays Byrd, Huff's teenage son. Those of you who know my work: I think if I were casting for the You & Me, Baby section of Girlfriend's Boyfriend, this guy would be on my wish list to play the high school-aged Colley. His hair shouldn't be quite so long and curly, and he's only about 17 so there'd be a problem with him playing the adult version. But what the hell, it's all pie-in-the-sky anyway, and my point is, it's a great performance. Byrd is someone who is in some ways wise beyond his years, but at the same time very much a teenager.

Speaking of my work, I don't think I can say that Huff is an influence on it-although it may very well prove to be. It's more that the writing, done and/or supervised by series creator Bob Lowry, has a quality to it that I respond to. And recognize as appearing in parts of my own work.

I think it's a-way of seeing the joke even in something quite serious (and vice-versa) while still-I hope to god-maintaining the integrity of the characters.

The second season is starting in a few days (Sundays, 10pm) and I gather Showtime is running another one of their free weekend previews. So I wanted to give you these few more reasons why I'm so keen on it.

With the admission that the last time I promoted the second season of a prized but low-rated series so heavily to you, it was Veronica Mars. And that show's ended up spinning way too many plates this year, and has lost a certain emotional cohesion as a result.

Though the last couple episodes have been improvements, but that's another post.

Geeking It Oldschool

According to this How Geeky Are You? quiz from MSNBC/Newsweek:

Your score is 15
0 to 29: Stuck in the Last Century

0 to 29: Stuck in the Last Century
30 to 60: Heading to Geekdom
61 and up: Seriously Nerdy

"Bush to Iraqis: Time to get a government" *

Iraqis to Bush: You first.











*Actual headline on Yahoo! News.

More words to live by

From Writing & Selling Your Novel, by Jack Bickham.

Notice, too that conflict is not the same as adversity.

...a reader needs to feel more than sympathy for a character. Adversity may build sympathy, but it will never build admiration or concern.

[your character] can't fight adversity. He has no chance. Adversity is blind and will come and go by luck, no matter what [he] does or doesn't do. In a universe of adversity, nothing makes sense-nothing [he] does makes any difference.

It's very difficult to hold a reader with nothing but blind fate playing all the cards. The story may be exciting in places, but it tends to be meaningless.

Let me see if I've got this straight...

So there's this series called Arrested Development. It won Emmy awards and has been much beloved by critics and a small group of devoted fans. Trouble is, virtually nobody else wanted to watch it.

I myself tried on at least two or three separate occasions, but I'm sorry, it simply never once made me laugh. Not that Two And A Half Men does or anything, it's just that AD seemed to me to fall into the category of: Ha-ha, very funny, aren't you clever, rather than actually funny-you know, the kind of funny where you actually sit and laugh.

But anyway, my opinions aside, after Fox's decision to remove it from the schedule, the show's fan base has been hoping against hope that it might be picked up by Showtime. Where ratings matter less than awards, critical acclaim and a fanbase.

Although that still doesn't explain why The L Word outrates Huff, which is its superior in every way.

But I digress again. The Showtime deal for AD looked like it actually had a chance of happening, but now the creator of the show, a man named Mitch Hurwitz, says he's leaving it, which is likely to quash the deal.

His stated reasons?

"The fans have been so ardent in their devotion and in return ... I've given everything I can to the show in order to try to live up to their expectations," Hurwitz told Variety in a phone interview from New. York. "I finally reached a point where I felt I couldn't continue to deliver that on a weekly basis. "

Hurwitz said he told executive producer Ron Howard he would be willing to act as a consultant if the producers find a home for the series, but as a showrunner, "I've gone as far as I could go."

So, like I say, let me see if I've got this straight: The man is walking away from a deal because he thinks he's given everything he has, rather than just pocketing the money and delivering a substandard product. He feels he's gone as far as he can go with this idea, so he's not going to go farther.

What Hollywood is he living in, anyway?

(Of course, all this assumes we can take Hurwitz's comments at face value. That it's not all just spin to cover the fact that he wanted more money and Showtime wouldn't cough up. But I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.)

We are nothing if not fair here at Dictionopolis in Digitopolis

And in the past, we have written that Sharon Stone was "embarassing" herself in recent talk-show appearances and the like, wherein her costuming seemed to be trying to send a message of:

"I know Basic Instinct was almost 15 years ago, boys, but remember these?"

So. It therefore behooves us to sit up and take notice of times when she actually looks pretty good.


Here she is at the premiere of Basic Instict 2, a sequel I am looking forward to...somewhat less than the Ice Age one. But it must be said that she looks pretty good. Maybe she's engaged a new makeup person.

Everybody was kung-fu scratting

You know, I think I'm looking forward to this sequel more than I might have had any reason to expect.

I'm a big fan of the first Ice Age movie, which I discovered in its many cable showings.

I thought it was really funny, and the (acknowledged, I believe) Chuck Jones homage didn't hurt either.

In fact, I think it was the best non-Pixar CGI animated film I've ever seen (I'm not a big fan of the Shrek movies). So, the sequel? More? Yes please.

This has been an unpaid commercial endorsement.

With a step to your left and a flick to the right

Alec Baldwin got into a little dust-up with Sean Hannity recently. The well-known Saturday Night Live host, movie star and occasional actor was appearing on a radio program. Hannity, the well known radio host and better known idiot called in, alongside a fella named Mark Levin, who is apparently also an idiot and radio show host. Only not as well known.

The pair wasted little time in demonstrating the genius for sensible debate that is the hallmark of the modern republican movement.

LEVIN: And you know what you are? You're "Brokeback" Alec. [END EXCERPT]

Unfortunately, I don't think either side comes out particuarly covered in glory. Baldwin does a little better, but as we've discussed before, as a political spokesman, Alec Baldwin is a great actor.

I think I was meaninglessly hit on at the Safeway this evening

Sadly (for my purposes), it was by a guy. That's not to say it wasn't flattering, of course. I rode up in the elevator from the parking garage with a couple of guys who-well, I didn't actually see them kissing or holding hands or anything...

But I like to think I have a pretty finely tuned gaydar for a straight person, and it was going "ping!" So anyway, inside the store I was in the cat food aisle and I'd knealt down to look at the flavors in the canned variety.

Just then one of these fellas walked past me and said something I didn't catch all of (let this be a lesson to you, people: if you're going to flirt, e-nun-ci-ate!) but definitely finished with "As long as you're down there..."

Well! I mean...he wasn't even attractive, that's the tragedy of it...

Long live The Dixie Chicks

Speaking of women whose outspokenness and ability I've admired almost as long as their good looks...

You may have heard that The Dixie Chicks have recently released their first new music since the firestorm. That link will play you their new single, "Not Ready To Make Nice."

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I like it; Bill Sherman said recently that it's overproduced and he's right in places, but the instrumentation and singing balances that out, for the most part. The song is already in the top 40 on the country charts, and has reportedly been getting a very positive reaction on satellite radio as well.

If anything, the Chicks now just look ahead of their time. They were ashamed of Bush before the rest of the country caught on to what an incompetent he was. Now that they have, well...is anybody really that surprised that the Dixie Chicks are still doing well?

Now, what's weird is that many traditional media outlets are calling this a "comeback." Even though, as two or three blogs have documented, the Chicks didn't exactly fall from grace...

They fail to point out that although the corporately-led boycott by radio stations indebted to the policies of the Bush Regime meant less airplay for the Dixie Chicks, sales of CDs and concert tickets actually increased. In 2003 The Dixie Chicks won 4 Grammy Awards (their first ever): Best Country Album (HOME), Best Country Performance ("Long Time Gone"), Best Country Instrumental Performance ("Lil' Jack Slade") and Best Recording Package (HOME). And the Dixie Chicks went from being a band appreciated by country music fans to being a band appreciated by MUSIC fans-- all over the world.

And I'm among them.

I am a mass of contradictions

There's this woman named Lara Logan; she's the Chief Foreign Correspondent for CBS News. As I stopped watching network TV news long ago, I admit I had never heard of her before Crooks and Liars linked to a segment of her being interviewed.

On a CNN program, she responds to the criticism that people have an unrealistic picture of Iraq, because terrorist-sympathizers like herself keep reporting only the bad news. She comes off as firm, eloquent, calm and assertive.

Everything you want in a Foreign Correspondent, I say. So, I thought, who is this woman who seems so learned and sensitive? A quick Yahoo! search yields the following information. According to her official CBS News bio,

Logan was the only American network journalist in Baghdad when American troops invaded the city, reporting live from Firdos Square as the statue of Saddam fell. Her reporting from the frontlines of Afghanistan and with the Green Berets searching for Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden appeared on 60 Minutes II, where she was a contributor from 2002 to 2004, and on the CBS Evening News, The Early Show and CBS News Radio, for which she served as a general assignment reporter.

Before formally joining CBS News in 2002, Logan already had 14 years of journalism experience, including 10 years in the international broadcast news arena...She reported on the war in Afghanistan, Middle East violence, the Mozambique floods, the land invasions in Zimbabwe and the India earthquake...Logan also served as a freelance correspondent for CNN (1998-99), covering the U.S. embassy bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania, the conflict in Northern Ireland and the war in Kosovo, among other stories.

She got her start in broadcast journalism in Africa as a senior producer for Reuters Television (1992-96).

Her work has earned her four American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Awards: in 2004 for Individual Achievement for Best Reporter/Correspondent; in 2003 for Best News Story for her CBS Evenign News report on the attempted assassination of Afghan President Hamid Kharzi; in 2002 for Best News Story for her CBS News Radio coverage of the war in Afghanistan; and in 2000 for Best News Story for her CBS News Radio coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I don't know about you, but that's what I call a reasonably impressive resume for a hardworking, serious and experienced journalist. I also note ruefully that she's the exact same age as I am. Dear god, what have I done with my life...but, I digress.

I confess a weakness for women journalists anyway-Molly Ivins and especially Linda Ellerbee have been among my personal heroes. Ms. Logan is probably not perfect-network TV news, let's not forget-but she seems to be the kind of woman I deeply admire. And if I had a daughter, the kind of woman I would hope she would deeply admire, or take as a role model (along with the likes of, say, Holly Hunter).

In some ways she seems to be the kind of woman I like to write, too; compassionate, driven, with a good sense of herself, poised.

(Keitha: What are we, ballerinas?)

(Annabel: Shh!)

Now-I mentioned contradictions earlier. And there's a reason why I've carefully listed Ms. Logan's credits, journalistic experience and awards up top here, to make the case for her. It's because I don't want you to think of me as I thought of the republican FreeRepublic.com board when I saw a certain comment they'd posted about her:

CBS News Decides to Emphasize Breasts Over Brains!

See, everything I've said about the sense I got of Ms. Logan from that clip, and by doing a little research into her work, is true. It is also true that the very first thing that turned my head about her is the fact that she is cute as a button.

How cute? Well, apparently, she worked as a swimsuit model while in high school and college. That's how cute. Something that some of her (I'm guessing) less-cute colleagues and critics are quick to point out.

Indeed, two or three of them seem to have what I would deem an unhealthy obsession with her cup size. Because, god forbid a woman should look good in a bathing suit (or have other physical charms) yet also be a seasoned, accomplished and compassionate reporter. As Ralph Wiggum would say, that's unpossible.

To make matters worse, they say, she may use her good looks to her advantage in her work. Yes, I was shocked too. But frankly, her response to such sniping only makes me admire her more.

A New York Times story from last year quoted her,

Over a recent lunch in Manhattan, during a break in her coverage of the Saddam Hussein trial, Ms. Logan said, "There isn't a journalist alive who won't admit to you they use every advantage they have."

In that respect, she said, she was no different from the generations of male reporters who had employed various means to ingratiate themselves with the military. "Some guys come from a military background, and they'll use that," she said. "Some guys are very sporty, and they'll play on the sporty thing."

"As a woman, I have lots of advantages you don't have," she told a male interviewer. "I can be vulnerable. Usually you don't have to do anything. Men do it to themselves. They feel like they want to protect you."

Shuffle in my seat, snort, I don't know what she's talking about...my god nobody hurt you, did they baby? Come here, I'll tell you everything!

So anyway, yes, ahem, contradictions. As I was saying. On the one hand, I genuinely like the kind of mind this woman seems to have. On the other...oh my god, she's gorgeous.

This has been a review of the precarious position in which you'll find a lot of us liberal, "non-macho" heterosexual men.

Our worst is better than their best

John makes an interesting comparision betwixt and between the loony left and the right-wing radicals.

Whenever I get into a discussion with a Republican over how nasty conservatives have become over the past 15 years, I often get the "well you have Michael Moore" refrain.

Only problem is, yes we do have Michael Moore, and when did he ever suggest blacks are genetically inferior to whites (Republican David Duke), that Supreme Court justices should be assassinated (Republican Ann Coulter), and when was he ever indicted (Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff, Scooter Libby, and oh so many more)?

He hasn't, because Michael Moore is someone conservatives simply disagree with, and that makes him per se hateful. Kind of like the Dixie Chicks, except they have boobs too, which makes it an even bigger crime in Republican circles that they have opinions.

Read the rest in AmericaBlog.

Words to live by

From Orson Scott Card in Characters And Viewpoint:

Oh, you can have a major inexplicable change and have no one in the story remark on it, but you can't blame your readers for concluding that you're an incompetent writer and that the unjustified change was a mistake.

Worse still, your readers might conclude that the unjustified change was a practical joke you were playing on them, as if you were saying, "Oh, were you starting to care about these characters? Were you starting to take this story seriously? Well, here, I'll show you that it's all silly and I can do anything." Of course you can do anything. But your implicit contract with your readers says you won't do just anything-that your story will mean something, even if the meaning is that there is no meaning....

That's very much the feeling I get when watching or reading a story with crappy characterization; especially if it's seemed to be good in that department up till then. That the writer (or writers, if it's a group effort like most television series) has in essence pulled the rug out from under me, and laughed at my trust.

The trick (and I'm saying this as much to myself as to any of you, if not more) is to keep your characters' actions surprising yet somehow inevitable. Your audience should be in a recurrent state of saying "What...yeah, they'd do that," or "Why would they do that...I'd better keep reading (or watching, or whatever) to find out!"

That second one only applies to stories that are going to explain what may seem to be an at first unjustified change, of course.

I always like to hear what Walter Cronkite has to say

...so here he is using the recent documentary Why We Fight as a stepping stone to talk about Vietnam, Iraq, their differences and similarities.

And the TV must always be set to Fox News...

Via Crooks and Liars, The Daily Show on Dick Cheney's travel requirements.

Ooh!

Remember that Republican blogger the Washington Post hired? Per AmericaBlog, he's resigned following accusations of plagiarism. So never mind.

How, indeed?

Matthews: "How can you not trust" Bush?
During a discussion about President Bush's recent public relations campaign to rally support for the war in Iraq, Chris Matthews said: "How can you not trust a man who says, 'I won't be able to win this war in my presidency; I'm leaving it up to other presidents in the future'?"

Media Matters

I don't know exactly what it means either, but I like it

Maybe
someday
Saved by zero
I'll be
more together
stretched by fewer
Thoughts that
leave me
Chasing after
My dreams
disown me
Loaded with danger

So maybe I'll win
Saved by Zero

Holding
onto
Words that teach me
I will
conquer
Space around me

So maybe I'll win ...

Saved by zero

The Fixx

Oh HELL no

Via Pink Is The New Blog....coming soon to a Saturday morning near you...Paris Hilton: The Animated Series.

A choice of responses

A lawmaker in...wait for it...Tennessee sez:

most gays and lesbians are unfit to parent because they have "emotional dysfunctions and psychological issues."

A choice of responses:

1. Yes, I've certainly never known any straight parents who had any of those.
2. I'd argue the point, but I've been watching The L Word...it's true, these people are sick!

Okay, the "Washington Post has hired a racist wingnut creationist to be their new official blogger" thing

As you may have seen around the ole' lefty blogs, the Washington Post announced recently that they were hiring a fella named Ben Domanech to be a new official blogger. His blog is called, and he's expected to be speaking for, "Red America."

They couldn't have made a better choice. As is being thoroughly documented throughout the aforementioned lefty blogosphere, Domanech is racist, scientifically illiterate, still obsessed with Communism some 14 years after it collapsed, and a chickenhawk.

In other words, he is red America. But I know what you're saying. You're saying...if only he were connected to Jack Abramoff in some way. Well, guess what. He's connected to Jack Abramoff in some way. See above link for details on all these accusations.

In a related story, Bill Sherman has some fun with this other Ben's recently proclaimed "greatest pro-gun movie ever!" and gives a shout-out to yours truly.

Now that's comedy

It seems a certain blogger was offended by a billboard one of those "ex-gay" groups put up. So he whipped up his own variation and posted it to his blog. Now they're threatening him with legal action and the ACLU has gotten involved.

Source: AmericaBlog.

Why Holly Hunter is one of my favorite actresses (and James L. Brooks is one of my favorite writers), #6 or so in a series

PAUL: It must be nice to always believe you know better. To think you're always the smartest person in the room.

JANE (From her depths): No, it's awful.

Broadcast News

Our man Paul Cornell has been nominated for a Hugo (Updated)

Update: Paul Cornell has a blog. Who knew?

Original post: I'm delighted to see that three different stories from the successful-beyond-anyone's dreams revival of Doctor Who have been nominated for the Hugo Award in the dramatic presentation, short form category.

I'm especially pleased to see former Who novelist Paul Cornell recognized. He was the creator of the companion character Bernice Summerfield, original to the novels. She became so popular that when Virgin books lost the Dr. Who license, they continued publishing books for several years afterwards just about her.

Something he said in an interview has been coming back to me in recent years when I contemplate why I seem to be able to write women well. Asked why he thought Bernice had been so succesful, he replied that most men wrote the kinds of women they wanted to date (or maybe at least sleep with), and...

"I don't want to date Bernice. I want to be her."

Paul became something of a friend during my rec.arts.drwho days, though we haven't spoken in a while. We didn't have a falling out or anything, I've just moved away from active Dr. Who fandom.

That said, I think Steven Moffat's two-parter is (were? was?) the better episode; the story I'd most like to see win. (Sorry Paul if you happen to stumble across this)

Do you think the fact that all I can think of is...

...how cool it would be to set some of this to a really great dance track is a sign that they've got their claws too deep into me already? AmericaBlog passes on some literature-and I use the word loosely-from one of those "cure homosexuality" groups:

The Creation of New Homosexuals
These warnings beg a very serious question: Can people, children in this case, become homosexuals by exposure to certain ideas and behavior? In other words, can a person who would not otherwise become homosexual start the behavior, come to prefer it and form a habitual addiction?

Can a society create more homosexuals? The answer quite clearly is yes. That is how current homosexuals, in fact, came to be.

I can hear it now, kind of an electronic thing..."Thumpa! Thumpa! Thumpa! Thumpa! 'The creation of new homosexuals...' Thumpa! Thumpa! Thumpa! Thumpa!"

The Muppets are dead to me

There's a song called It's Not Easy Being Green. Undoubtedly you know it; one of the Muppets most well-known songs, its status as something of a minor modern classic is testified to by the fact that both Ray Charles and Frank-freaking-Sinatra saw fit to record it.

And it is, of course, as goes without saying, not about being "green" at all, but about being different. Or feeling that you are. It's meant a lot to a lot of people over the years for just that reason.

And now it's the theme song to a commercial for some sort of off-road all-terrain vehicle.

The Muppets are dead to me. You know, Jim Henson certainly wasn't above commercial work; he knew the value of a dollar. But IIRC he seemed to make them without shitting in the faces of multiple generations.

By taking something that was made to tell kids it's all right to be different and using it to sell adults enviromentally irresponsible gas-guzzlers. A curse on every single member of the current Muppet brain trust who approved and/or worked on this.

And not the kind of curse that can be cured by baking the hall in the candle of her brain, either.

Whoa...this is actually really cool.

"Coffee Art." I don't drink coffee, but if I did, that's the kind I would drink. Sing us home, Frank:

And when their ham and eggs need savor
Coffee ketchup gives 'em flavor
Coffee pickles way outsell the dill
Why, they put coffee in the coffee in Brazil

No tea, no tomato juice
You'll see no potato juice
The planters down in Santos all say "No, no, no"

-The Coffee Song, written by Dick Miles/Bob Hilliard

It's times like this I wish the St. Patrick's Day parade wasn't so blatantly homophobic

Because by the look of it, I could have enjoyed watching this one go by.

But it is so blatantly homophobic.

My god, he's back

On Monday, September 06, 2004, I wrote in my old blog about an incident that took place at the Republican National Convention.

Video here of a WABC News story about the response a brave young Republican man had to a female protestor.

He kicked her. While she was being held on the ground. By three secret service agents.

dig the absolutely delicious look on the kicker's face when he's informed that the reporter has him on tape kicking a woman.

I suppose I always wondered what happened to that angry young man, Scott Robinson, so full of the spit and fire that comes from knowing that your party, virtually on its own, has plunged the country into painful, unending war.

Well, good news! He's still serving his country. Not by actually oh, what is the phrase, joining up and fighting in that painful, unending war. Because, you know, Iraqi insurgents are just a little spunkier than people who are being held down so you can kick them.

No no, he's taking on a really important issue of the day: The announcement that Jodie Foster will be the Commencement speaker for the class of '06 at Penn, where he attends. And why? Well, his opinion piece written for a "libertarian" student newspaper begins with this quotation:

"Jodie Foster is an eminent Ivy League graduate who has achieved tremendous success and influence in the powerful entertainment industry.? - A star-struck President Amy Guttmann upon announcement that Jodie Foster will be the not-so glorious commencement speaker for the Class of 2006.

Apparently, Mr. Robinson disagrees with that statement. Now me, I would say that as an actress, Jodie Foster has a solid record of critical and/or box office successes and has won the Academy Award twice. She's one of those few former child actors to successfully navigate an adult career. She's an acclaimed director and producer (side note: Waking the Dead, which she produced, is highly underrated). And she is on the very short list-I think it's just her and Sigourney Weaver-of women who can open a movie that is not considered to be a "chick flick."

I'd say President Amy Guttmann, star-struck or not, is well within her rights to say Foster "has achieved tremendous success and influence in the powerful entertainment industry.” So well you may wonder: What really gets on Mr. Robinson's tits about Foster's selection as speaker?

Could it be that he is upset with the intrusion of a mere girl into a man's world?

Why yes, yes it could. Because he further goes on to say:

Gutmann raves about Foster: “In addition, she has used her tremendous talents to bring before an international audience such weighty social issues as violence against women, parent-child relationships and the challenges faced by women in traditionally male professions." Thanks but no thanks, President Gutmann -- the pomp and circumstance of my graduation ceremony should not be a forum for your half-baked social theories about the plight of women.

For starters, any fraternity men at Penn who, as newly initiated members, has been compelled by the University to sit through the patronizing and commense“’don’t rape women or put drugs in their drinks speech”, knows what I mean. Furthermore, whoever allowed Amy Guttmann’s Marxist theories (which insist on examining everything in the public realm through very narrow prisms of race and “gender consciousness”) guide the process should be ashamed.

Stupid buzzkilling feminazi dykes. Don't they know frat boys gettin' it on and convincing a 19-year-old to have her first threesome and/or bisexual experience on-camera is a much greater challenge than women ever face? Especially those who are unlucky enough to get knocked around, stupid enough to get knocked up, or uppity enough to knock on the glass ceiling.

I mean, that's just commense.

(And a flip of the chapeau to Mon Generale)

Happy Anniversary!

Three years ago tomorrow night was when our news channels filled with images of bombs exploding in Baghdad. 9:34pm est. time will mark the anniversary of the actual start of the invasion.

So where have we gone since then? Well we did make it to Baghdad with little effort. We did find Saddam Hussein. That’s about it for the good points..

Now here we sit 3 years later and where are we. We have lost 2,318 soldiers, over 30,000 Iraqi citizens; spent over half a trillion dollars (increasing by $200 million a day) and we sit here, isolated from the rest of the world.

In January of 2003, Saddam Huessein vowed to give the Americans “a war like no other they have fought before”. Many people laughed at that comment. Well there are 2, 318 families not laughing now. In fact Saddam has given us exactly what he vowed. The insurgency is that war which Saddam vowed.

In retrospect, it almost makes the fact that three years ago I was sitting in a hotel in Tennessee gradually coming to the realization that I was perfectly capable of taking the life of another human being seem somehow insignifigant, doesn't it?

Almost.