Author: michael

What needs to be done

Is anyone else watching 24 these days? Does it strike you that it plays to a right wing desire to not only feel self-righteous about taking the necessary “harsh” measures but to feel martyred as well (weak people don’t understand; the most noble man is victimized, etc.)? In the last episode it even includes a visit by Jon Voight (whose movies get worse the further right he goes?).

Bad Late Night Decisions

One of my favorite moments from Family Guy is when Peter Griffin beats Jimmy Fallon nearly to death for constantly laughing and smirking at his own jokes.  Remember those appalling bits with Horatio Sanz, another guy whose ability to amuse himself far outstripped any talent? Now the guy gets a late night gig, while Conan, a desperately bad interviewer, gets bumped up to 11:30. What goes on in a TV programmer’s mind?  Will Triumph be on the tonight show or does he skew too nasty?

Oscars

I’m holding an Oscar party in my mind. If I win, each of you owes me $10.

 Everyone is so convinced that Heath Ledger will win Best Supporting Actor posthumously that the online odds for him are 1-20 (for you non-gamblers this means that you have to put out $20 for each $1 you would get on a winning bet on Ledger).  The odds aren’t much better for Slumdog as Best Picture and Boyle as Best Director (1-10 and 1-6, respectively).    I’m holding out for longshots Leo (Best Actress) and Tomei (Best Supporting Actress).  Each is 15-1.  

 Jerry Lewis is getting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (proving you can call someone an “illiterate fag” and still be a nice guy).  10-1 on whether he holds up the Oscar and says “Don’t lick it!”

region madness

perhaps some of you are more tech-oriented than I am.  I want to buy a portable DVD player that will play DVD’s from other countries. Now some of them are labelled “multi-region” and others are labelled “region free.” apparently there are 6 global regions, most of Europe and Britain being region 2, India being a region of its own, etc.  When a player says it’s “multi-region,” does that mean it plays all 6 regions or does it select from those (perhaps only playing region 1, north america and region 2, Europe…) so if you want to play all regions, must you buy a “region free” player? I asked one of those online consultants at Amazon/Overstock or some such site and got the answer “I like stuff.”

X Files: I Want to Believe

[SPOILERS, so to speak] Russians are ugly, even gay Russians. Being molested by a Catholic priest turns you gay and makes you want to have your weird bald head transplanted onto the body of a woman. Russians do sophisticated surgery in dirty trailers, where dogs run free. They don’t even put on masks in operating rooms. Medical professionals get critical information off Google. Canada looks funny. Nobody minds when Amanda Peet gets killed. Nobody remembers the aliens on/in the earth. You can’t go home again.

Do My Work for Me!

well, comrades, I’d like to pick your brains. It is time again for me to wrack my brains for a theme for my writing courses for next semester, and in my half-assed way I have come up with a title but no content. “Film and Global History”–how’s that for vague and overweening? anyway, what I want is a combination of readings (literary, essays, commentary) and films that explore the relations between recent global history and film, particularly films that might look at American experience from an international point of view. So far the only film I have decided on is the remarkable documentary (now available on DVD) The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On . any suggestions? I am wary of the earnest historical film (which many of them would love!)–say, those of the Schindler’s List variety–so I’d particularly like black comedies, absurdist farces about horrific events, obscure avant-garde exercises and squirm-inducing documentaries. if you know of readings and films that would work particularly well together, let me know.