May you live in interesting times.
Now Playing: Norah Jones-Feels Like Home
So many subjects to pontificate on. Mel Gibson's new movie. Gay marriages in San Francisco. Kerry running neck and neck with Bush. Vanishing Point coming out on DVD finally. New Norah Jones CD. A remastered Melissa Etheridge CD, her first one (self titled) and one of her two best. A Space Ghost Coast to Coast DVD. The army cancels its 8 billion dollar helicopter program. The Denver Broncos possibly trading Clinton Portis for Champ Baily. The list is endless.
Well, Mel Gibson was not one of my favorite movie actors until Braveheart and with that he moved up to the top ten for me. I've listened to the buzz about the upcoming movie "The Passion of the Christ" which is hard to avoid when you consider how completely saturated the media has been with this. It's mostly the usual cycle of media hype with big reporting about what a small minority of people think and believe about something they haven't seen. Most of the talking heads and organizations who rise up in righteous indignation or as champions for this or that cause, story, or event are self aggrandizing and self serving actors who are seeking to advance their own agendas. The usual claptrap. All that aside, perhaps it's a good movie and perhaps it isn't. I haven't seen it and so I don't know. I do understand a few of the actual facts that I have been able to discern. One, the movie is pretty darn violent. Well, that's certainly a factor. I don't like gratuitous violence or violence designed to titilate and excite. I doubt that there are half naked women being chased by hockey mask wearing, machette wielding monsters. I have also heard that the action is exactly from the Bible. Why this fact upsets so many is another issue to examine and that issue has to do with the tension of those who believe in the book and those who believe in the parts of the book they want to believe in. Again, another argument. Given just this information, I will do what I usually do with movies and wait until I hear from actual people before deciding if it's one of those rare movies I actually go to the theater to see or whether I will wait for it on other media.
Gay marriages in San Francisco. Yikes. A horrible 'issue' where anywhere you line up you will alienate a bunch of folks. This is one of those things politicians hate with a passion. Something that can define them. The mayor of San Francisco did a no brainer for him. Mayor for life if he wants considering his liberal base of support in SF. The governor had to take the stand he did, I'm surprised it took so long for him to speak up. His interest should be in the rule of law and upholding that rule of law. Homosexual marriages have been voted on by the people of California and they said no. Well, that's part of democracy. Going over the heads of the people is a form of autocracy by the few. Like most people I think it's fine and dandy for folks to live the lives they want with who they want as long as the actors are of age and of right mind. And while the Declaration of Independence allows for the right to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,' it doesn't say that the government is in the business of facilitating everyone's seperate, nonstandard idea of happiness. A bad scene all around.
John Kerry and George Bush are now running neck and neck in recent polls. This means first of all that the political season will be interesting for a while at least. Thank goodness. There is nothing more entertaining than a close Presidential race. All the mud slinging, the parade of supporters on tv, with eyes that don't blink, exuberantly making the case why their candidate is the best possible and only possible salvation for the country. I look forward to seeing the one member of the Bush royal family who looks hispanic. He'll be trotted out to states with a large population of hispanics to show that our royals are in touch with the spanish speaking voters. I look forward to hearing the stories of how each man rose from their humble roots as sons of millionaires to become kind, compassionate people in touch with sixpack, racecar watching americans. I think I feel a tear in my eye right now just thinking about it.
Ah, yes, Vanishing Point. A movie staring Barry Newman. An actor who few remember but who did a fine job in this movie about a fellow who lost his love and who drives a very fast car across the west while being chased by police and who eventually steps on the gas and plows into a couple of bulldozers. Of course there is more to the movie but it's something you'd have to see to understand. The first time I saw the movie, the ending shocked me and made me think. I love this movie in memory of being surprised and being made to think.
A new Norah Jones CD. A beautiful woman, with a wonderful voice. Not loud, not overpowering just smooth and sweet and clean. A voice and a piano. Just good stuff that a person can listen to. This CD is a bit more blues/country in feel but just by a hint.
Now the remastered Melissa Etheridge CD is wonderful. Of course it's Melissa Etheridge titled Melissa Etheridge. Her first CD goes to my theory about music artists. There is a initial rush of talent and all the things the artist is going to say are going to be said the best in the first few albums. Melissa is powerful and raw and in searing pain and you hear every bit of it in this CD. Her voice is the voice of her soul and that soul comes through with passion, pain, love, hate and jealousy. It's great. The first time I heard her was about twenty seconds of a song from her second album and from that I knew I needed her CD. In the years since the first two CD's came out her tone has come down and she has lost some of the same rawness I loved but she is still one of the best.
Finally, the Space Ghost DVD set has come out. Those quirky little episodes are treasures and hold fond memories. "Citizen, are you getting enough oxygen?" Another moment in time of happiness which if you don't get it, I can't describe it to you.
The US Army shutting down their big ticket helicopter program after spending a buttload of money. Well, actually I do know a military helicopter pilot who had flown for some twenty years and I haven't yet asked him about his thoughts on this. Personally I think that anything that takes away from mission flexibility is a bad thing and this helicopter was supposed to be a stealthy bird capable of penetrating enemy lines to be able to perform rescue and extraction missions. If it could do that job better than what we have I don't understand the need to cancel it. Citizen Rumsfeld, it needs to be noted, was brought into the Pentagon to be a hatchet man in those pre 9-11 days. How soon they forget.
In Denver Bronco land-Clinto Portis for Champ Bailey?!!! What's up with that? I haven't worried about the football decisions coming out of Denver since they seem to have some idea of what to do but those years since John Elway towered over Denver as an active player are gone and they haven't won anything yet. I know the argument is that in the playoff game against the Colts Manning destroyed the defense but I don't know that you can win by trying to solve one problem by creating another one. I know they believe they create the running back with the offensive line. Evidence shows that the Broncos can put anyone back there and they become a 1000 yard runner. But yikes. It's a big gamble if they pull the trigger on it. Of course, I don't see many games anymore and I can't listen to them on the internet any longer since they put them on the pay service and so I become less and less interested. Such is life.
A nice rambling today. Thanks ever so much. :-)
Posted by gilbert davis
at 1:49 AM EST