CA $$$
CA government spending a lot of $$$, right?
Courtesy my fave Mad Hedge guy (source), CA is spending a ton of money on prisons:

• CA spending on prisons has "soared from 3% of the state’s domestic product in 1979 to 11% last year"
• And "80% of that spending is going to compensation"
• "It costs $6 billion a year to pay 60,000 prison guards, most of whom make over $100,000 a year with overtime"
• CA prison spending is "more than it costs the state to educate 670,000 college students"

And how can this crap like this happen?
CA prison guards have "the state’s most powerful" union.
And IL's most powerful union: teachers?
And USA's most powerful union: federal employees?

Cormac 2
Book: "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

I was 250 pages into an easy 5-star book. Then, dop. The last 50 pages.

Cormac also wrote "The Road", and his writing style is so emotive of the material he is covering. "The Road" was bleak, so his style was bleak and barren. "Pretty Horses" is set in the rugged west with a couple of teenage cowboys escaping to Mexico for, I don't know, for some air, some freedom. Anyway, his style is rugged and wonderful to read. Some examples:

• Sparse punctuation with no quotation marks. Conversations just flow with the story and you figure out who's talking.
• Few apostrophes... sort of like how people talk.
  
• Some Spanish is thrown in here and there as the cowboys head into Mexico. It wasn't tough to follow what was going on.
  

Alas, the ending died. The plot got squirrely. The descriptions got a bit winded. The last 50 pages were a struggle.

Oh well. This is still an outstanding book and a great vacation read. This is great guy reading with cowboys and the outdoors and riding free and hot Mexican chicks and... There are two more Cormac books in his "Border Trilogy". I'll hit em and let you know.

QOTD

You still aint told me what answer you give her, said Rawlins.
I told her I'd do whatever she asked.
What did she ask?
I aint sure.
They sat watching the fire.
Did you give your word? said Rawlins.
I dont know. I dont know if I did or not.
Well either you did or you didnt.
That what I'd of thought. But I dont know.
- "All the Pretty Horses", page 138-9

En homage... an wild, wild west (cough) picture from AZ:
Cub Lose
Who's got the better team in 2010: Cub or Cardinal?
Well, let's go position by position:

• C - Molina, Stl
• 1B - Pujols, Stl
  
• 2B - Lopez, Stl
• 3B - Aramis, Cub
• SS - Lugo, Stl
• OF - Holliday, Ludwick, Rasmus, Stl, Stl, Stl

And F pitching. That's an even worse rout than the hitting comparison.
The dang Cub stink.
Next year.
he he... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, myphoto, politics, qotd, sports

1. Some repub guy won!
So, some repub guy from MA won... hopefully stalling Crappy ObamaCare. I ought to trademark "Crappy ObamaCare (TM)". Who knows if this election is really important, but it certainly garnered the news spotlight last night.

The guy is Scott Brown. He had that great "the people's seat" tag line.
So, pretty big deal.
Pretty big Obama setback.
So, I invested 10 minutes in "legitimate" media.
CNN.
And CNN's coverage:

1. The repub guy won.
2. Showed some bizarre nearly naked photos of him from the 80's (no, I not kidding)
3. Called the guy a few names, like "obscure", "inexperienced", "populist", etc
   
4. Blamed the loss on the guy's dullard dem opponent, Marcia Coakley or something
   

CNN is the Fox News of the left. No diff.
MSNBC is so stupid, I don't think they call themselves a news channel any more. I don't think.

Oh and Teddy Kennedy... who's your Daddy, loser!

Ah, that felt good.
Anyway, I still believe, hook or crook, they're going to pass something. I mean they're not just going to flush the whole first year of hope and change down the crapper. Right, President Obama? Right!!!

2. Buffet QOTD
Warren Buffet, a big Obama guy, chimed in on President Obama's proposed bank tax.

QOTD

“Look at the damage Fannie and Freddie caused, and they were run by the Congress. Should they have a special tax on congressmen because they let this thing happen to Freddie and Fannie? I don’t think so.”
- Warren Buffet, source

Cha!

3. New feature: Recipes!
First off, my fave recipe site is www.allrecipes.com.
Here are my first two reviews.

Recipe: Lasagna Alfredo Rollups... recipe link
Review: 4 bill-stars... excellent!

YUMMY!
I had help from the beautiful and tiny M in preparing this bad boy. Fun fun fun.
Add more garlic next time, but it was great with red wine. Like everything else, I know.

Recipe: Hearty Chicken and Noodle Casserole... recipe link
Review: 3 bill-stars... very good!

Ty and I whipped this one up.
I need to spice it up a little, but it was a good start.
Ty had seconds! And didn't puke!
yow, bill

PS - I watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" again last night. 5 bill-stars. Wonderful!

PPS - That hot bikini girl is some actor's girlfriend. Who cares. He he.

Labels: 3stars, 4stars, politics, qotd, recipes

1. Solar Calculation
You know that global warming bugs me.
It also bugs me that real information is so hard to get.
Forget about $$$ and practicality and logistics for a second... if we had perfect solar panels with perfect batteries and all, how big a solar panel would we need for your average house?

It looks like the average household uses roughly 1,000 kWh/month; that's "one thousand kilo-watt hours per month". Give each month 30 days and we get about 30 kWh/day consumed. [source]

It looks like the power of the sun in Chicago is roughly 4 kWh/m2/day; that's "Four kilo-watt hours per meter squared per day. [source]

Let's divide, shall we: 30 kWh consumed / 4kWh/m2 = 7.5 m2 or "Seven and a half meters squared". So, a perfect solar panel would have to be 7.5 meters squared to power the average house. But solar panels are only about 20% efficient (source), so you'd need a panel 5x that size to do the job: 35 meters-squared.

That's pretty big. 6 meters x 6 meters.
But let's say efficiency doubles over the next 10 years, and let's say we only want/need to cover half our energy via these panels. That reduces our panel area by 4x to 9 meters-squared, or a 3x3 meter panel. Reasonable.

I'm tired and rambling... the point is solar is close to making sense. Closer than silly windmills. And of course, nuc-ular is better than solar. All this fossil fuel and global warming nonsense is addressed with a modicum on invention, which we are well on way.

Cap and trade and such... taxes and control, not about energy or warming or whatever.

2. Investing
Great QOTD regarding the US and Asia from the Mad Hedge Fund guy... similar to a previous post, but still worthy:

QOTD

"As much as we despise ourselves and wallow in our failures, Asians see us as a bright, shining example for the world. After all, it was our open trade policies and innovation that lifted them out of poverty and destitution. Walk the streets of China, as I have done for nearly four decades, and you feel this."
- Mad Hedge Fund Trader guy, source

And how is your day today?
Well, Eddie Lampert, CEO and majority owner of Sears Holdings, is up about a cool billion $$$ today. A Billion Dollar Day for Eddie
He he.

3. New Year's Eve Book
Book: "Noah's Compass" by Ann Tyler
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... really good

Such a great treat for me... I found Ann Tyler's new book on New Year's Eve.
Smile.

Ann Tyler is one of my favorite authors, and "Noah's Compass" is pretty typical. Her stories focus on regular people going through pretty much regular stuff... no plot twists with Mitch Rapp or anything. He he.

This was a very enjoyable read: 4- bill-stars.
Ms. Tyler's writing style is so smooth... it just kind of ambled along. No biggie.

I thought Ann Tyler's "hook", Noah's compass, was kind of smarmy. Noah didn't need a compass "because the whole world was underwater"... get it? Meh.
Anyway, here's my favorite QOTD from the book:

QOTD

"Epictetus says that everything has two handles, one by which it can be borne and one by which it cannot. If your brother sins against you, he says, don't take hold of it by the wrong he did you but by the fact that he's your brother. That's how it can be borne."
- Ann Tyler, "Noah's Compass"

Sort of a fancier way of saying, "keep your positivity."
Pick the positive, constructive handle of a thing.
I like it.
positivity... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, globalwarming, investing, qotd

Two "up" movies on New Year's Day.
Just a coincidence, but a nice 2010 omen, perhaps.

Movie: "Up"
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... okay.

"Up" (imdb) was barreling toward 2 bill-stars and ignominy, but a nice, happy, sappy ending made it "worth it" for me. Good Lord, the sugar-sweet saccharin-y yuk of this movie. My teeth hurt.

I also find that I'm getting tired of the Pixar brand. The animation all has a similar feel. The scripts rely a lot on cliche, a "hook"... rather than something a little deeper or more interesting. "Up" has a very commercial, sterile feel to it. And you know that Pixar is Disney now, and gol dang if they didn't start the movie by killing off the Mom or, in this case, the Wife. (No, she wasn't shot by a hunter... he he) Still, it was weird and felt manipulative.

Movie: "Up in the Air"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... great!

Jason Reitman made "Juno"... I think I like "Up in the Air" (imdb and website) even better. "Up in the Air" is a lot less cutesy than "Juno" and Clooney is the shit.

"Up in the Air" was funny and positive and interesting... strong, strong acting performances by Clooney and the girls and all. I have this predilection toward 40-something relationship movies these days (ha!), and a lot of this one rings true. It was really nice to think I knew where the movie was going and then have it not go there.

And the great topper was fun 40-something relationship movie chat afterward over faux margaritas. Life imitates art.
peace out... yow, bill

Labels: 3stars, 4stars, movies

1. A Mitch Rapp Christmas

Book: "Executive Power" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... outstanding!

These Mitch Rapp books are just outstanding guy reading. So great!
Next one's already on order.
I'm snarfing hardcover editions on ebay... about $10 a throw. That's a couple more bucks than a crappy, tiny paperback, but a lot easier to read.

QOTD

"Rapp held his gun up in the palm of his hand for the president to see, and said, 'This is the only thing the zealots understand, sir.'"
- Vince Flynn from "Executive Power"

Hot dam!

2. Economy 2010
What's in store for the economy in 2010?

As an investor, I don't care (well, sort of)... run with the trend and get out on a significant reversal. Of course, in reality, the economy is pretty dang important. It seems inconceivable that we just pop out of our sideswipe with near-depression and just return to near-normal in 2010. But who knows?

Banking analyst Meredith Whitney is a media darling and uber-hot (below)... what a coincidence, eh.
She is also a 2010 doom-sayer.

QOTD2

"[Whitney] says the sand will hit the fan in Q1 2010 as another wave of losses hit the banks, taking the rest of the stock market down with them. There will be no place to hide. There is no credit for medium and small sized borrowers. There has been no bail out for consumers, which account for 70% of American GDP, and there has never been an economic recovery without their participation."
- My fave Mad Hedge Fund Trader blog, source

We shall see.
One thing I've learned over the past year... nobody seemingly knows a dang thing. Experts, bah! In a 10 minute sitting, you can read one expert calling for hyper-inflation, the next a depression, and the third a return to normalcy.
Whatever.

Gold and a couple other holdings are down a bit... watching for a significant break that would signal me to sell. I'm working on fine-tuning all this... working.
buy low... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, investing, myphoto

Movie: "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... great!
Different and good.

• Ty and I laughed and laughed
• The critters wears suits and have jobs and lawyers and stuff, but are still wild animals... hard to describe, but it was fun
  
• Tons of stuff for adults in this one as well
• Very positive and politically correct-free

"Fantastic" is a Roald Dahl book, but I haven't read it. Christmas list!

QOTD

"You should probably put your bandit hat on now. Personally, I don't have one, but I modified this tube sock."
"You look good."
"Yeah, I do"
- Fantastic Mr. Fox

"Fantastic" and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" are two of my favorite movies in 2009. They had some similarities of being quirky, positive and full of tasty adult treats.

I wouldn't know Andy Murray the tennis player if he hit me on the head with a racquet, but getting dumped by your hot girlfriend because you play video games too much is pretty funny.


fantastic... yow, bill

PS - Nice tube socks.

Labels: 4stars, fun, movies, qotd

QOTD

"Rousted"
- The winning 67-point bingo in Thanksgiving Scrabble

Book: "Separation of Power" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5) ... outstanding!

Another boffo Mitch Rapp book. Another great manly read.
I think this was the best one yet, and I've ordered my next one on Amazon chop chop.

QOTD2

"You're having a heart attack, Senator. Just try and stay calm, it'll all be over in a minute... By the way, Senator, my name isn't Mitch Kruse, it's Mitch Rapp."
- Mitch Rapp dispensing some justice to Senator Clark, who ordered a hit on Rapp

Excellent.
rousted... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, fun, qotd

QOTD

"I often get in trouble for saying this, but I actually think it's true—that collaboration and consensus-building and all those things are, quite frankly, overrated. None of you CEOs run your companies by committee. So why should we run a school district by committee?"
- Michelle Rhee, DC schools, An Educated Work Force

That is a great quote.
I heart Michelle Rhee... school choice, taking on the teacher's union, competition.

Movie: "Pan's Labyrinth"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... outstanding!

Different and good... that's the money.
Different = lots of weird fantasy stuff with fairies and monsters and such.
Good = compelling, exciting drama with outstanding performances and direction.
This is a 4+ star movie that I struggled to keep out of the 5-star category.
It's in Spanish with subtitles. Si.

Maribel Verdú (right) is one of the the stars of the movie... and she is incredibly beautiful.
muy caliente... yow, bill

PS - Too cool monster from Pan's:

Labels: 4stars, movies, qotd, schoolchoice

Awesome photo... totally snarfed from some site on sunspots and, oh, the world isn't warming and blah blah blah.


Book: "The Third Option" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

First, you consider diplomacy.
Second, you weigh using the military.
But the third option is the money... have Mitch Rapp waltz in and blow everyone's head off.

This is another great book in the Mitch Rapp series. Easy to read guy stuff.
sunspots rule... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books

Book: "Transfer of Power" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

I heart Mitch Rapp.
I think this is the first book with Mitch Rapp in it.
Doesn't matter... it's just a crazy shoot 'em up, manly spy novel.
Not as good as the last one... blah blah of honor or something. But still fun and enjoyable guy reading.



smoking... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books

Repubs win in Virgina and Jersey.
Can this off-year nonsense cause a sliver of doubt, a moment of hesitation, in the minds of the dem Congressmen before a vote on socialized health care?
Crossing my fingers... that this butterfly wing will topple this BS for another decade.
We shall see.

That up there is Chris Christie, the new repub governor of New Jersey.
I like that he's a big, fat guy. I like that his opponent made fun of his size in ads. I wish he was a smoker too. Anything to tweak the faker pol-correct norm.

Book: "Pursuit of Honor" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... very good!
Website: www.vinceflynn.com

Really good. The ending was rushed, but really good.
This is super manly, butch stuff, and it was a fun, fast read.
The hero (Mitch Rapp) is supposedly the template used for the "24" guy, Jack Bauer... or vise versa, I don't know.

QOTD

"Rapp could hear someone shouting from inside the immense space. He had a moment of indecision. Should he stop and assess the situation or rush headlong into it and keep surprise on his side? He decided on the latter and..."
- some trigger-happy Mitch Rapp goodness from "Pursuit of Honor"

"Pursuit of Honor" is like the 5th or 6th in a series, so back I go. The first "Mitch Rapp" book is... let's see... looks like "Transfer of Power".
Sold!
rushing headlong... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, politics, qotd

QOTD

"Hi Da.
[pause]
This is Ty.
[pause]
Call me back. I need to talk to you about this pumpkin situation."
- Ty voicemail, to protest that we weren't going to carve pumpkins here at the Castle... hey, he already did them with his mother. Ty wins and I'm headed to pick him up right now.

1. Peggy Noonan's Home Run

Must admit... not a big Peggy Noonan fan over here.
But what a home run this article is in today's WSJ:


It's a two-pronged argument:

1. We see so much illogical, irrational behavior these days. You know my current top 2: global warming nonsense and socialized medicine. Both of these are massive land grabs by the feds for no apparent sensible reason.
   
2. But people aren't worried or serious about this stuff because America is the golden goose. You don't have to be serious because shit has always worked out in the past.
   

I don't know the ending. Who does?
But I'm investing, nimbly... to accommodate this, the era of shenanigans.

2. Net Neutrality
Here's a good article supporting net neutrality. It's written by the guys who run Mozilla, creators of the Firefox browser. Net Neutrality: Spur to Entrepreneurship

The Firefox boys are convincing. The principle behind their argument is solid and QOTD2

QOTD2

"The principle that any "bit" of information is treated the same as any other bit is a defining characteristic of the Internet; it is a central aspect of the design that has lead to the unprecedented impact of the Internet on our lives."
- Mozilla guys, source

Happy Halloween!
That's not me to the right, but it is my cool Halloween attire for the day... courtesy www.threadless.com.

Excellent!
peace... yow, bill

QOTD3

"People are work, brother. A lot of work. Too much work."
- Al Pacino in "Sea of Love"

Movie: "Sea of Love"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of five)... very good

Pretty basic. 3 bill-stars for the movie + 1 for Ellen Barkin. Mercy!
Ellen Barkin is 55 now, and I can't find a decent picture of her not all plastic-surguried up. Dop.

Labels: 4stars, movies, qotd, technology

QOTD

"Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration.
You don't have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness to see."
- The old man's "blog" in "Gilead"

Book: "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... really good!

"Gilead" takes place in Gilead, Iowa.
Google maps says that Gilead is also town in Iowa.
But Wikipedia says that's not what the book meant... Gilead Wikipedia page.

I don't know. Whatever. But thank you Wikipedia for this one... that my heathen ass did not know:

From the Scriptures, "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, (Genesis 31:21)
- Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilead

"Gilead" (the book) is indeed a "mound of witness". The book is a 77 year-old guy's writings/advice to his young son. See, the old Dad is dying and he wants to leave his thoughts for his son to read when he grows up.

The writing is absolutely beautiful. This book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction... says so right on the cover. It is warm and insightful and positive.

It's also a wee bit boring at times. Reading some guy's inner monologue is sort of like, um, reading this crappy blog... my blog just doesn't have all that fancy verbiage or correct punctuation, of course. The author was cool because the old man's "blog" meanders a bit... some times telling stories more than once, and being all stream of consciousness, like I like. I really felt like I was reading some old minister's notes to his son most of the time. I really felt like I was reading a guy who was, still at 77, trying to figure some shit out. Trying to make sense of some things. I empathize.

And, nice ending.

I think it's okay to be a little bored in the middle there. To muddle a bit. Depth comes at a slower pace. We got to know the Reverend and his life/situation even better that way. And it's a nice complement to all the tweeting and the local sports team and blah blah blah.

So, I really liked "Gilead".
try it... yow, bill

PS - Funny. I finished reading "Gilead" on a bar stool with (practically naked) women's beach volleyball blaring on TV in the background. Nice contrast. He he.

PPS - OK, let me dig and find you (me, really) another one... ah!

QOTD2

"How soft her voice is. That there should be such a voice in the whole world, and that I should be the one to hear it, seemed to me then and seems to me now an unfathomable grace."
- the old minister describing his wife

PPPS - I just amazoned up the previous work by Robinson, "Housekeeping". Excellent.

Labels: 4stars, books, qotd

Smile? Good lord.


QOTD

"Every time the state assumes an additional function such as health insurance, child care or benefits for the aged, the need for close family ties becomes weaker."
- some dude

These two quotes are the best thing in this article, I believe.


QOTD2

"It may be that one of the most effective ways of increasing allegiance to the state is through national health insurance."
- some other dude

Any debate on these QOTDs?
I think the real debate is whether you care about weaker "family ties" being replace by a stronger "allegiance to the state"... though our President and Congress won't ever admit this.
This is why the "Medicare for all" debate is so heated... and a hearty huzzah to that!

QOTD3

"Dude, this movie is awesome!"
- Teenager checkout "dude" at Best Buy last night... I was buying the "300" DVD

Movie: "300"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

"300" is silly, shallow... um, pretty stupid and gay... sue me. I like it. It does what it sets out to do and does it very well. It's pretty positive and fun. It's also one of the few "graphic novel" movies that I like. "300" and Watchmen"... that's about it.

Sigh. Smile. Cringe. I did all three pretty much simultaneously as my checkout "dude" attempted to bond with my cranky old 47 ass. He he. Oh well, I lived. Good one.
dude... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, movies, myphoto, politics, qotd

JUDY BIGGERT IS A LIAR.

QOTD

"As much as I love this job, as hard as I work at it, as much as my team and I could contribute in a third term, I believe that a governor should limit himself to two terms."
- Jim Doyle, WI guv

The governor of Wisconsin is not going to seek reelection after two terms. Why? Because he doesn't think it's right. www.620wtmj.com/news/local/53420982.html

I think this Doyle guy's a lefty, but I salute his character. I hope he leaves office and makes tons of dough... just not as a lobbyist of the new state federales. He he.

I vote Dem every election... against my repub Congress-person, Judy Biggert. She was voted in as part of Newt's bunch in 1994, an advocate of term limits. Well, she got to DC and she's stayed... too important to leave, don't you know.

JUDY BIGGERT IS A LIAR.

Movie Review
Movie: "District 9"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... outstanding!
Web site: www.d-9.com

This movie has the big two: different and good. Maybe the weirdest thing about "D9" is that it can't be pigeonholed. It's funny and serious, an action movie, dramatic, goofy, sci-fi, and so on. It's nice to see something that's not formulaic... and still really interesting and exciting (re. "good"). I was dreading that the movie would lay some heavy racism message on my noggin, but they were subtle enough.

D9 is a rock-solid 4 bill-star movie.

I'm not going to give any plot away; I was lucky enough to go into the theater pretty clueless about the movie, so hopefully, you can do likewise (don't watch the crappy trailer at the website). D9 does bear some resemblance to "Starship Troopers", but without the over-the-top camp/kitsch factor. It's definitely a guy movie. I saw it on IMDB, and it had the highest rating (9/10) of any movie I've ever see there.
prawns rule... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, movies, politics, qotd

1. Medicare for all!
Simple, logical argument in this WSJ article: Medicare for All Isn't the Answer

If this health care thing dies on the vine... what a victory for the good, ole US of A and her people.

How much do you contribute to Medicare/Medicaid?
How much to social security?
Man, this is a pet peeve of mine... this guy too: Tax Withholding is Bad for Democracy

I understand that any new taxes for health care will be implemented as withholding taxes. Keep that shit under the covers, baby. Opaque is good. Transparent is bad.

If people knew the money they were putting into these systems...
If people had the choice to allocate their funds where they wanted...
Dot, dot dot.

2. Book Review
Book: "That Old Cape Magic" by Richard Russo
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... really good

I really enjoy Richard Russo... Holly's anti-author. I didn't enjoy the WSJ basically calling him "fiction for middle-aged men" (Here it is: The Bard of the Middle-Aged). Dop. It's hard to argue against them though.

"That Old Cape Magic" is a fun read. Super fast. The characters are pretty fun and interesting. I like a (pretty) happy ending. I love books that just deal with real life stuff... relationships, work, travel, family, etc. The main character is a middle-aged guy going questioning pretty much the whole deal: career, marriage, parents dying, etc. I enjoyed the light-hearted digs at academia scattered throughout. And the guy traipsing around with his parents in his trunk was hilarious.

I ding this book somewhat because it does contain a lot of whining and complaining about parents. You know, as in, "my parents screwed me up", and I therefore blame them for my behavior from here forward. It's tough to do that and not sound, well, whiny and complain-y.

QOTD

"How, he couldn't help wondering, did you get to be this woman's age and still believe, as she apparently did, that everything meant something? She was obviously one of those people who just soldiered on, determined to believe whatever gave them comfort in the face of all contrary evidence. And maybe that wasn't so dumb."

Middle-aged fiction, indeed!
he he... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, healthcare, politics, qotd

Book Review
Book: "Carrie" by Stephen King
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... very good!

"Carrie" is a great read. The book is a little better than the movie. My last King book, "The Shining" was a better read and much better than its movie than "Carrie".

• Carrie in the book is a lot more aware of her powers and getting revenge. Sissy Spacek was portrayed as a total victim.
  
• Carrie in the movie has a lot better and more fun ending. At the very end, when that hand reaches out form the grave... I don't recall jumping higher out of my seat from any moment at the movies.
  

Stephen King is a fun, easy read.

Nerd, not geek
Back in the day (yawn), "geek" was derogatory and "nerd" was the preferred nomenclature. I am still stuck in that anachronism because it seems the two words have swapped roles. Oh well.

I received an excellent nerd article, US-mailed from my friend over at Rob's Rants. Oddly, it's some nerd analysis by the pop-shrinks at "Psychology Today":


Now why ole Rob de Rant was perusing Psych Today is a true test for this nerd's addled imagination. I have to assume it was some waiting room material, or worse, bathroom fodder. Even the remote possibility of that latter option prompted me to burn the particulate-infested magazine page.

The article is pretty accurate on much nerd psychology. Some great quotes in there:

• "It's better to be a happy nerd than a popular anorexic"
• "Nerdiness isn't a pathology"
• "Even Einstein occasionally wanted to connect with people and have sex"
• "Nobody is going to respect you for being logical"
  

Ay carumba!

So yeah, I suffer, largely, these nerdy afflictions. I require constant self-reminding that not everyone (hardly anyone) cares about being rational, consistent, logical. And yes, girls are especially troubling in this regard. Plus, I've got a big mouth... hence the blog, right.

But all that said, I get along alright. I bend, but not too much. Being aware of what you are, strengths and weaknesses, is more important than trying to be something that you're not.

And speaking of my big mouth, I'll take the nerd pathology over the shrink pathology.
Physician, heal thyself!
nerds rule... yow, bill

PS - As I send, I only bend a little bit... I got my Tony Flakes Star Trek flash drive/bracelet. "Hey baby, do you have any files you'd like saved?" He he he!!!

Labels: 4stars, books, fun, qotd

Back from my second annual Ty/Da Baseball Vacation: July 28 - Aug 3 in Seattle and SFO with 3 ballgames in 6 days. Excellent!

• Seattle 3, Toronto 2 (boxscore) - Our game in Seattle coincided with Seattle's hottest day ever; the temp hit 103 (source). My guy Halladay lost, but he pitched OK. Ty's guy Jose Lopez had a solo dinger. Seattle's Safeco Stadium was a beauty, 5 bill-stars. The retractable roof was open for the warm goodness of our game. And for the record, 100 in Seattle feels better than 90 degrees over here in the greater Chicagoland area.
  
• Oakland 8, Toronto 5 (boxscore) - Oakland stadium is a flippin' dump, perfectly set in post-apocalyptic surroundings including warehouses, burned out buildings and acres of weed-jutting asphalt and gravel. Second-worst stadium ever to Shea Stadium. Ty got a couple autographs (Adam Kennedy and some other Athletic) and we snarfed a couple foul balls from our front row seats. Excellent. Ty's guy Andrew Bailey got the save.
  
• SFO 7, Philly 3 (boxscore) - SFO Stadium is very nice... a little mall-y for my taste, but still very nice. We saw the game with Janny and her family and Verb. It was my guy Pablo Sandoval T-shirt day. Too cool.
• In some wonderful kismet, Ty was talking to a guy (Ty's always talking to a guy/girl, he he) on the subway home from the Oakland game, and after a while he told us that he was Blue Jay All-Star Aaron Hill's father. The guy was super-nice and beaming about his son (duh).
• We sat in some version of the front row for all 3 games. Unlike the Cub, however, all tickets cost less than a hundo. You can barely get into the bleachers at Wrigley for that price these days.
  

QOTD

"You're washed up, Junior!"
- Blue Jay fan taunt right before Griffey's game-winning double in the 7th

I looked back at the guy and laughed after Junior's mash. In my younger, more testosterone-filled days, I would have commented on the status of Canada in relation to being "washed up" or irrelevant, but I let it lie.

Book: "The Shining" by Stephen King
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

I was really shocked at how different the book was from the movie; the book is much more interesting. The kid is half the focus of the book, not just a throw-in like the movie. Also, the father's (Jack Nicholson) nuttiness is more gripping in the book because of it's base in reality: abused as a child, alcoholism, career failure, marital strain, etc.

This was a great vacation read, and thanks to Mozy for the pointer.
I'm into "Carrie" now, and it's going better than the movie as well. Stay tuned.
play ball... yow, bill

PS - A quick politics wrap from (super-hot) Sarah Palin.

QOTD2

"Last state twitter. Thank you Alaska! I love you. God bless Alaska. God bless the U.S.A."
- July 26, Sarah Palin's last twitter as gov of AK (twitter link)

Labels: 4stars, books, fun, politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

"57 - The number of people who went to the 'psych tent' on Sunday at the NY City triathlon because of pre-race panic."
- WSJ this morning

Theory: half the battle for most people is to just not hurt themselves.

Can you imagine having the discipline (and time and energy) to train for a triathlon (1500 m swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run) and then have a panic attack before the race?!? My advice: spend a little time training your mind next year. Maybe some meditation. Maybe read a book or two.

BTW, the same guy won the NYC Tri for the 4th time: NYC Triathlon Wrap-up.

Oh, I just saw this: NYC Tri Goes Green.
He he he.
Oh, the inanity.

QOTD2

"... portable toilets will be certified green so when you need to go, you can rest assured that you're not harming the environment."
- NYC Triathlon site

Dammit, that's funny.
Speaking of funny...

Movie: "The Hangover"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... really good!

This movie was very funny; my sides literally hurt afterward. It was a weird, uneven little movie. I think it works for me because, unlike other recent gross-out fare, it's a fairly positive movie, all things considered.

"Hangover" is right there between 3 and 4 stars, but since the movie physically injured me, I went with the 4 bill-star rating. I peeked at (re. searched) other 4 bill-star movies on the blog. Every other 4 bill-star movie on that list is better than "Hangover", so this would be a 4- rating... if I did such things.
he he... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, movies, qotd

1. Un-American

QOTD

"Rep. Alan Grayson said he was standing in the middle of Disney World near Orlando when the idea came to him."
- Grayson is a congress-dolt from Florida... he introduced a bill to legally/federally mandate paid vacation for employees, source

Kind-a harsh to call a brother, "un-American."
Dear Rep Grayson, you are un-American to want to legislate paid vacation.
If you want to live in France, go live in France.
In fact, if "un-American" is too much for you, how about I'll just call you "frenchie".
Jeez. Dolt.

2. Book Review
Book: "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent

First off, well... this is an Oprah book.
But hey, a hot chick recommended/gave it to me. So lighten up, Francis.

Well, now that that air is cleared... the first half of the book is pretty yummy character development. Dogs and Wisconsin and family and crazy rural America and all that. It's pretty good, and the guy has a very pleasant writing style.

The second half of the book gets all plot-ty and ghost-y (which I really dislike) and falls off a bit: different, but not all that good, just OK.

I enjoyed "Edgar", and it's probably more a 3 bill-star experience, except for the gnarly/cool ending and that a hot chick gave it to me.

QOTD2

"Harry Potter Meets Hamlet"
- A ridiculous review of "Edgar Sawtelle" on Amazon

3. Shameful Blasphemy
Lebron James might be better than Michael Jordan.
Gulp.

Here's Lebron draining a winning three from last night... 1 second on the clock, down 2 points, heading to 0-2 in the series against the Magic, can't fucking believe it, incredible.


It's blasphemy, and I should be burned at the stake for uttering it. Hey, I was actively rooting against Lebron last night. When the Magic went up by 2 with a second on the clock, I smirked from my couch indentation, "Ha! This'll take the starch out of all this Lebron nonsense."

Dop.

The case for Lebron is pretty easy: 24 years old, MVP, unmatched physical specimen, doesn't seem to be a jerk/idiot, clutch, now playing "D", and so on.

Now, Michael has 6 rings... so Lebron has some playing to do. I'm just saying if Lebron wins 6 titles over the next, say, dozen years, we may be looking at the best basketball player ever.

12 years is a long time... we can say this now: If Lebron wins this year, with this group of faker tourists, then he'll have won a title with a worse team than Michael Jordan ever did. The Bulls core in the first 3 titles wasn't as strong as the second 3. Go:

• Bulls: Johnny Pax, Michael, Scottie, Ho Grant, and Bill Cartwright
• Cavs: Mo Williams, Delonte West, Lebron, Anderson Varejao, and Big Z

What a collection of debris! You don't even think about slipping a single member of Lebron's supporting cast into the Bull starting 5. The closest is taking Big Z over Cartwright. Oh, and Michael's coach was Pheel and Lebron's coach is... um... somebody.

Here's a nice site (ala www.baseball-reference.com), it's www.basketball-reference.com. Go:

1. Michael's career stats, source... 30 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist, 1 block, 2 steal per game. (That's 44 nibls/game... he he). Michael shot 49.7% from the field and 83.5% from the line.
2. Lebron so far, source... 27.5 point, 7 rebound, 7 assist, 1 block, 2 steal per game. He's shooting 47% from the field and 74% from the line.
   

Michael's first title was in his 7th season, at age 27.
Lebron is in his 6th season here at age 24.

I'm a blasphemer and ashamed. And I'll continue to actively root against Lebron. But if... if...
hawk win... yow, bill

PS - Yes, Hawk win game 3 last night in OT. Marty Havlat got fucking jacked by one of the commies (below) who got tossed from the game for the bad behavior. Check out the crowd reaction in this shot. Dang, hockey rules!

Labels: 4stars, books, politics, qotd, sports

Book, then movie... excellent.
IMAX!

Movie: Watchmen
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!
Website: www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459 and

There's Mr. Manhattan over there. Big naked blue guy. Very weird. But very fun.

So, I liked the movie better than the book, but that's almost unfair:

• IMAX is like having a cocktail and turning the volume up at a rock concert... of course it's better.
• I thought the acting in Watchmen was truly outstanding, especially Rorschach (more below).
• The direction was great and the movie is visually very interesting.
  
• There was pretty good music throughout, and ending with Mozart's "Requiem" shaking the walls of the IMAX was, um, awesome.

I understand why the book made its choices and the movie made its. The book is more surreal than the movie... especially the ending... and the long dream-like sequences in the book are gone. I don't understand why the movie is more political than the book... or maybe I do.

Anyway, the worst thing about the movie is the lull in the middle. It's a 2 1/2 hour deal. With about 30-45 minutes left, they kick it into gear and off we go. Off we go to a boffo ending.

One of my favorite performances was the over-the-top Rorschach. The actor was remotely (like way, way, lizard brain remotely) familiar. His name is Jackie Earle Haley. Here he is today as Rorschach and 33 years ago (click on these bad boys to make them bigger):
...

Yeah, the "bad" kid who was a really good player on the "Bad News Bears", Kelly on the right, is the same guy, 33 years later, playing Rorschach. He's a year older than I am.

The kid in the middle of the "Bad News Bears" picture is Ogilvie. I've had a few people say that I looked like him back in the day, when I had that style of glasses. I guess.

Anyway, good book and excellent movie... different and good.
Let me steal a fun QOTD from the book/movie and get out of here.

QOTD

"You people don't understand.
I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me!"
- Rorschach in prison

smile... yow, bill

PS - Mini-burgers at Buffalo Wild Wings after the movie with Moz... 4 bill-stars. He he.

Labels: 4stars, movies, qotd

QOTD

"All vegetarians are smokers."
- Holly

Perhaps. I don't believe that all smokers are vegetarians, however.



I am resisting the urge to re-read "Atlas Shrugged". [4 bill-stars (out of 5), btw]
You read crap like that; it's so silly and ridiculously over the top... and then, here we are.
peace... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, fun, qotd

"Yeah, Mac is the way to go."

- Comcast repair guy checking back on my connection woes

Labels: 4stars, fun, movies, qotd

Stock Market woes
January 2009 was the worst January in the history of the stock market for guys like the S&P 500, the Dow, etc. Each were down about 8-9% for the month.

We're at 825 on the S&P. At the height of the October panic, there were two days where the S&P went below 800. If we do that here... under more controlled, "normal" circumstances... yikes.

Basketball ups and downs
The positive: Here's a fun story about a college kid, out of nowhere, scoring 63 points in a game: Utah Valley's Toolson thrust into spotlight

The negative: Jerry Reinsdorf goes off on his Chicago Bull here: Del Negro says Reinsdorf's criticism was motivational

Motivational, eh Vinny? A better title: "Del Negro motivated by owner's foot up his ass."
It's hard to pick just one favorite quote out the thing.

QOTD

"You want the grade up ‘til today? What’s the lowest grade you can give? This has been a disaster. It’s embarrassing. But it will get better."
- Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls on his team's performance this season

Book Review
Book: "The Road"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of very)... excellent!

This is brilliant writing about "real" post-apocalyptic life. The author had an amazing idea... he uses specific devices in his writing to make the reading of the book as bleak as its subject. These include:

• little punctuation other than periods
  
• no names... "the man" and "the boy"
  
• no chapters or numbers or anything... it's just one long mind F
• little plot really... just a father and son walking down the road with no future, no nothing
  
• no quotes when people talk... and dialogue is always kind of tired and repeating
  

All these devices are combined with the book in a completely desolate setting. The Earth is dead as a doornail. No animals. No plants. Almost no people. Soot everywhere. Cold. Wind.

There's none of this "I am Legend" stuff where you drive to the store to pick up your food and batteries and your flippin' German shepherd... the "I am Legend" character is at a deluxe spa compared to the characters in "The Road". In "The Road", the stores and mall and all resources have been pillaged as people tried to survive after the Earth was destroyed (it's never explained how).

So, wonderful writing. I can't go 5 bill-stars because, man, that's a tough read.
And I'll bet you a dollar the movie sucks.

QOTD2

"Two more days. Maybe three. They were starving right enough. The country was looted, ransacked, ravaged. Rifled of every crumb. The nights were blinding cold and the long reach of morning had a terrible silence to it. Like a dawn before battle. The boy's candlecolored skin was all but translucent. With his great staring eyes he'd the look of an alien."
- "The Road"

Politics
I'm mostly staying away from the politics stuff these days, but this is too tasty.
HHS nominee Daschle failed to pay $128K in taxes

Well, that's Daschle and Geithner on the taxes. You've got ole Bill Richardson investigated by the feds. And, of course, Bill and Hillary taking scads of $$$ from any weasel anywhere on the planet.
Change. Huzzah!

Read the story, man. It's the same with each and every these guys... wealthy donors, free cars, chauffeurs... throw in the booze and the hookers and you might have something there. And fuck paying the taxes... I'll pay them when I get caught.

I don't like Tom Daschle. He was a dem senator for a long time and is one of the rare, rare cases of a senator who lost his gig. Maybe he lost reelection because he was especially smarmy about him and the feds telling us how to live.

So let's do this... I know I'm supposed to be better than this, but I'll pretend I'm a regular, old media guys for a second, and I'll gratuitously use a goofy picture of the guy as a cherry on top of my story on what an asshole this guy is:


Mmm. Taxes. Right.
peace... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, politics, qotd, sports

Book: "The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)

I liked the book, plot and characters. I like the sparseness.
I tired of the author's endless angst, but the ending was strong.
Now, off to the movie.

You have an idea, a notion, a philosophy... seems it gets challenged or outright refuted in the span of 15 minutes for me these days. The author argued one point with which I disagreed. He argued that, in a relationship, events that follow can ruin the wonderful memories that were once there. I felt that a personal choice... didn't have to be that way. Then, I had a nice dinner followed by "The Amazing CSO Vomit Incident", and sure enough, it was tough to look past the vomit. A weak analogy, but stranger than fiction, baby... stranger than fiction.

Streaming...

Movie: "Schindler's List"
Review: 5 bill-stars

Beautiful and powerful and Schpielberg exploitative... easily a 5 star experience. Top 10 movie? I don't actually have top 10 list written out, so if not, it's close.

Maybe I'll watch Schindler tonight.
peace... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, 5stars, books, movies

What do you want first, silly or not so silly. I thought so.

Silly... QOTD

“... climate change is an unambiguous security threat. At the extreme it threatens our very existence. But well before that point, it could well incite new wars of an old kind over basic resources – like food, water and arable land.”
- Hillary Clinton at her Sec of State confirmation

And not so silly... QOTD2

"The rating (for the U.S.) was affirmed despite our judgment that fiscal risk has noticeably increased as we expect that the fiscal deterioration will be temporary."
- S&P comment on the United States' AAA credit quality rating

Temporary fiscal deterioration. Gulp.
We see treasuries down-graded from AAA by S&P... then I'll start paying attention to the "sky is falling" blogs and such. Gulp gulp.
chicken little... yow, bill

PS - "Chicken Little" is a surprisingly good movie. Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5). Plus, they cast Joan Cusack as the ugly duckling, and she's quite good, actually. I want to be at that meeting though: "Joan, we want you to be the ugly duckling in our movie." And Joan Cusack's back straightens, "What the hell did you just say to me!" He he.

Labels: 4stars, globalwarming, investing, movies, politics, qotd

Hey, cut me some slack on the racist joke, ok... it's from a movie. He he.

QOTD

"Oh, I've got one. A Mexican, a Jew, and a colored guy go into a bar.
The bartender looks up and says, 'Get the fuck out of here.'"
- Clint Eastwood, racist joke from "Gran Torino"

Movie: "Gran Torino"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!
Website: www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/

This is another great effort by Clint Eastwood. For 30 minutes, I thought this movie was going to be a bust.

• It seemed the audience was laughing at Clint's racist character at times when he wasn't really intending them to because he was so over the top.
  
• I feared a politically correct collapse of the whole deal.

Nope on both counts. This was a funny movie with a nice, sappy plot to it... just like I like it.


Gran Torino was different and good; that's the money, right? There was a lively discussion after the movie over blue (bleu?) cheese burgers on whether this was a 4 or 5 star movie. I liked Gran Torino a lot but thought that Clint's "Million Dollar Baby" was better (5 bill-stars).

Gran Torino has a lot of similarities to Million Dollar Baby. Unlike my whining about "Benjamin Button" ripping off "Forrest Gump", however, Gran Torino is good enough and different enough for it not to really matter.

The other post-show discussion was Clint's young wife. Clint is flippin' 78 years old now (and in amazing shape, seemingly), and his wife is 43. They have a 12 year-old kid together. No, I can't say that I "get it", but I have a feeling that Clint doesn't give a rat's ass. [Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Eastwood]

So, that's the 3-fer weekend... it was fun on a blustery January weekend in Chicagoland. Here are the reviews from the weekend and related shrapnel:

• "Benjamin Button"... 3 bill-stars
• "Forrest Gump"... 4 bill-stars
  
• "The Day the Earth Stood Still"... 1 bill-star
• "War of the Worlds" (Tom Cruise remake)... 3 bill-stars
  
• "Gran Torino"... 4 bill-stars
• "Million Dollar Baby"... 5 bill-stars
  

I just picked up "Revolutionary Road", and I'm speed-reading it (cough) trying to finish the book before the movie disappears. Now, get the fuck out of here... he he!
3-fer... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, 5stars, movies

3 fun topics today, a beautiful Sunday morning.

Fun Topic #1 OBAMA
Topps, home of the planet's best baseball cards, humbly presents... President Obama trading cards:




My favorite Obama card is #13 depicting Pres-Elect Obama getting a discount on his new mcMansion from Tony Rezko. He he!

Things are already better with Pres-Elect Obama, I must admit.
I'm watching less TV and channel-surfing less. I used to surf those talking-head channels in the 50's. Now, surfing the talking heads is like radioactive or something... the Obama-mania in the media seems pervasive as we reach a new level of ninnification.

I saw that ole beard-a-bees Bill Richardson dropped out as Commerce Secretary or something... click, click, click, there's Lynn Sweet from the Sun Times on CNN or something telling me that this is actually a good thing. Oh, my bad Lynn... how could I miss more Obama goodness! To paraphrase reporter Sweet, this gives Pres-Elect Obama a chance to really appease his more activist (re. wackos) supporters by naming someone loopier and farther left than Gov Richardson.

Well, that's certainly clever. It does somehow bypass any critique of how Pres-Elect Obama and his team of Super Friends managed to miss that Richardson was being investigated by the feds for some governor shenanigans. Dop. And it reinforces the notion of making cabinet choices just to appease constituency groups, rather than on merit.

Thanks Lynn... for the anti-analysis.

Fun Topic #2 MOVIE
Movie: "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (on Imax!)
Review: 1 bill-star

This movie was gawd-awful, even on the Imax.
If you get a chance to watch the original on cable or something... it's a keeper at 4 bill-stars.

I figgered this movie would be like the remake of "War of the Worlds" (3 bill-stars)... dumb, but lots of cool stuff blowing up.
Nope.
This movie was dumb with hardly any stuff blowing up.

Two redeeming features:

1. The robot was pretty cool for the first few minutes.
2. It was great to see Will Smith's uber-attractive 10 year-old kid be completely free of talent and stiff as a board in his part.

Fun topic #3 NINNIES
This is an instant classic: The environmental impact of Google searches

These geniuses advise we be more judicious in our usage of google and other internet facilities.
I (non-genius) advise... all these guys, I mean, scientists have web sites, books, lectures, appearances, tenure, grant money, etc... all fueled by publicity.

The irony is crystal clear. Even if there was global warming, the answer is not conservation, using less, taxing the bejesus out of people and going low-tech. The answer is growth and using technology to solve the problem. More ninnies... more!

I'm hoping to make this a 3-fer weekend with another movie today. We shall see.
More coffee!
peace... yow, bill

PS - BTW, more 2009 excellence to note... the Imax theater. I'll never forget seeing "Dark Knight" that first time on Imax... it's just a stupefying overload of the senses. Awesome! The preview of "The Watchmen" was better than the movie we saw. I'm not big on all the plot-less and character-free "graphic novels" turned into bad movies these days, but I might give "The Watchmen" on Imax a roll.

Labels: 1star, 3stars, 4stars, globalwarming, politics

QOTD

"Hello. My name is Forrest, Forrest Gump."
- First line in "Forrest Gump"

Movie: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... worth seeing
Website: www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715 and www.benjaminbutton.com

So three things:

1. 3 bill-stars mean the Benjamin was worth seeing. I liked it; it was fine. I like sappy movies... like Forrest Gump.
   
2. The movie didn't meet my high expectations. IMDB screwed me, and that's pretty rare. IMDB users gave Benjamin an 8.5/10 rating... I don't recall seeing a rating that high ever on IMDB, which is usually pretty curmudgeonly. No way, no how, is this movie anywhere near that good.
   
3. "Benjamin Button" is "Forrest Gump 2".

I rarely talk about plot or anything like that in these reviews... why bother? Go read the book or see the movie. This one's a little different because I'll list some of the many ways in which Benjamin Button is just like dang Forrest Gump. So:

Ah, much better.
Go:

• Both stories are told in flashback
• Both have strong, saint-like mothers
• Both are based in New Orleans
• Both have leg braces/crutches
• Forrest has his floating feather... Benjamin his hummingbird
• Forrest has Bubba Gump... Benjamin has some weird black guy who lived in a zoo (???)
• Both have first-love girlfriends that pop in and out of the movie
• Forrest was army... Benjamin navy (sort of)
• Both spend a lot of time on boats
• Forrest has Lt. Dan... Benjamin Capt. Mike, and if my memory serves both Dan/Mike introduce Forrest/Benjamin to the hooker
• Both inherit money so they don't have to really work
• Forrest had his unique (for the time) special effects (interacting with famous dead people) and Benjamin has his (Brad Pitt as an old man)
• Forrest has his "life is a box of chocolates" and Benjamin has his "You never know what's comin' for ya"... pathetic head-shakers both

There are surely many more... just ask google.

Forrest Gump is a superior movie (4 bill-stars) for a lot of reasons including that Tom Hanks is better than Brad Pitt. Also, Benjamin is a needless 3 hours long. I think they took the movie and its message a little too seriously, eh. [Side note: Forrest Gump has the exact same 8.5/10 rating that Benjamin has... nice synchronicity there... he he]

Also, Benjamin starts out as a sympathetic character and ends up not very, for my money. The plot twist where he has to leave his family because he's getting younger is silly. So, at around physical age of 30, Benjamin ditches the family, travels the world banging anything that walks, and then lectures us that anyone can restart their lives. Huh?

One thing stood out for me in the Benjamin blather was a good metaphor. The movie ends with a crappy digital clock replacing a big, old, beautiful analog clock at a train station. The digital clock is hi-tech, cheaper, more accurate, easier to read, won't break down... and still it's such a step down from its analog predecessor. Yeah, Bill the Luddite and his blog. He he.

QOTD2

"The Sure Thing"
- Vibrator on Oprah

Ah, another excellent life lesson from that Oprah.
You think you've got it bad?
You could be one of those poor schlub husbands on Oprah talking to the world about not getting their wives off.
Gol dang it... I feel better already!
buzzzzzzz.... yow, bill

Labels: 3stars, 4stars, movies, qotd

QOTD

"There's a reason you've never heard of bus rage"
- Greyhound marketing campaign slogan... um, keep reading

I nominate this story for two awards... best marketing story and funniest beheading:

And I gotta give props to boys at the AP (for once)... nice attention to detail: Chinese immigrant, carnival worker, desolate section of Canadian highway, showing off the head, and then "hacking off pieces of the victim's body and eating them".

You meet such interesting people on the bus. Jeez.

And now for something completely different...

Book: "I am Legend"
Author: Richard Matheson
Review: 4 bill-stars

This book is the inspiration for the movie of the same name and also the far superior "The Omega Man". Will Smith is OK, but dang, he's no Chuck Heston.

Anyway, the book is better than both with a nice subtle explanation/revelation for the title at the very end. Sweet read.
hack... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, qotd

Movie: "Batman Begins"
Review: 4 bill-stars
Web site: The Paramount site was too annoying to reference... here's the IMDB guy: www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784

I rented this, the first Christian Bale Batman movie, so that I could go see the boffo new one at the IMAX... if they ever stop selling out, that is.

This movie is great, light fun.
I poo-poo Bale's weird affectation when he speaks, but whatever.

Now, I've got to rent Bale bizarre performance a hundred pounds ago in "The Machinist" and review that.
i'm not batman... yow, bill

PS Funny follow-up to Nat Enq John Edwards Love Child story. Business Week bends logic like a Chinese gymnast here to explain why the regular, old media won't touch the Edwards story:

I feel like pretending I'm John Belushi in "Animal House" and sneezing and coughing out "Bullshit" over and over again.

PPS - Shit, "Animal House"... made in 1978... 30 years old. Dop.

QOTD

"Over? Did you say 'over'?
Nothing is over until we decide it is!
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Hell no!"
- Bluto/John Belushi, "Animal House"

Labels: 4stars, movies, politics, qotd

QOTD

"My first act will be to demand the surrender of all the governments of Earth, via the United Nations Security Council. You have no alternative. Legal details of this process can be found on my web site."
- Doctor Impossible, proclamation upon world domination... "Soon I Will Be Invincible"

Book: Soon I Will Be Invincible
Review: 4 bill-stars

I read "Soon I Will Be Invincible" in Vegas with Kim39. It's a great vacation read for any (immature) guy... almost as good as packing Bukowski's "Post Office" in the old suitcase.

The book is like "The Invincibles", but for adults. Super heroes (Corefire, Damsel, Blackwolf, Fatale, Elphin, Mister Mystic) and super-villains (Doctor Impossible, Baron Ether, Dollface, Psychic Prime) abound. The book also reminds me a little of "The Tick" cartoon as well. It's super-light and super-fun. Woot!

I was googling for an appropriate picture, and it looks like there was a DC comic character Doctor Impossible (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Impossible). Whatever. He looks a lot less interesting than the book's Doc Imp, and I'm kind of glad the author isn't a total comic book geek. Blech.

QOTD2

"Having accepted your surrender, I will begin the launch of the new Ice Age, the Age of Doctor Impossible. An era of science and marvels and, of course, my total domination of the world."
- Doctor Impossible

world domination... yow, bill

PS - Blackjack x 2:

Labels: 4stars, books, qotd

Movie: "Kung Fu Panda"
Rating: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)

For the record, Ty gave "Panda" 5 stars.
Also, we saw it on Imax... extra awesome.
"Panda" is great for kids and adults. I love a positive movie, and that is the movie's strength.
"Panda" loses a star for crappy celebrity voices. Jack Black is not good as the main panda, but worse is Dustin Hoffman's weird croaky, duck-ish characterization.

Go see it!
hi-ya... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, movies

News QOTD:

"Fukuda said Japan would use a broad range of strategies to reduce its emissions, including investment in new technologies, stiff construction standards to create energy efficient buildings, an array of tax incentives and a public awareness campaign."
- AP/Yahoo news item entitled: "Japan to cut CO2 by 60-80 percent"

Please follow along. It's a template, so I hope you're not getting bored by now.

1. So boom... the title of the article proclaims that Japan is cutting CO2 by 80%. Wow. That's really something.
   
2. This is followed by some government nabob saying how important everything is and he's saving the planet and some such.
3. Then, you slip in "um, well, no, Japan isn't even meeting their crappy Kyoto targets at all"... right now. But that's all just temporary.
   
4. Then, the obligatory... well, the bad, bad United States isn't signed up to this.
5. Finally, the last paragraph, which is our QOTD. All Japan has to do is invent some new stuff, change the tax code and advertise. Well, shit. And here I thought that cutting emissions by 80% might actually be quite the ball-buster. My bad. Count me in.
   

Life is stranger than fiction. Speaking of which...

Book: "Traveler" by Ron McLarty
Bill-stars: 4 bill-stars

Summary: It's a very familiar plot about 4 buddies growing up (in New England). I really liked his writing style. Most of the text is dedicated to character development more than plot or scenery. The narrator is very self-deprecating and funny. He's a 40-something actor and bartender with a 40-something girlfriend, so that was funny (and familiar).

The book's title refers to a bullet lodged in someone, that can't be removed or is difficult to remove, and then travels into an artery or whatever. I don't know. He he.

The plot bounces back and forth from their youth to present day chapter by chapter. The ending was probably the weakest part, but I enjoyed the book and gobbled it in a weekend.

I think I read the author's other book "The Memory of Running". I guess McLarty is an actor by trade ( www.imdb.com/name/nm0572261 ) and IMDB lists that he's writing a movie script for "Memory of Running". McLarty's style reminds me of Richard (?) Russo. Nice. Oh just found it... here's McLarty's web site: www.ronmclarty.com.

I feel like I'm entering a nice, cool reading jag (he he again), and it is good.
peace... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, politics, qotd