My Bracket Crushing Kornheiser's and Wilbon's

I have no idea what this Kit is about...it must be sports. The latest on the "Da Vinci" front:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/03/26/tickets_for_dan_brown_event_sell_out/

Tickets for Dan Brown event sell out
March 26, 2006

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. --Tickets for an appearance next month by "The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown sold out so quickly members of the general public never had a chance.

Some people waited in line for five hours Saturday to get tickets to hear Brown, who will speak at The Music Hall on April 23.

Tickets for "Writers on a New England Stage," a literary series by The Music Hall, were $10 for members of The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio, which will broadcast the event the following day.

About 750 tickets were sold Saturday, selling out before tickets to the event were available to those who are not Music Hall members. Another 50 free tickets will be distributed to Seacoast high school students to encourage reading and writing.

This is why the winner of the office pool is always the girl who picked teams based on who had the prettiest uniforms, or the guy who just picked teams in reverse alphabetical order, or based on the number of letters in a team's name.

Single elimination tournaments are a horrible format for a sport that is often decided in the last 30 seconds of a game--if you want to determine who the best team is.

But as an instrument for gambling, it's right up there with the roulette wheel. Random outcomes beat predictability every time, when a month's worth of telecasts are involved.

...plus, it's a lot more fun than plodding through baseball's 5-7-7 playoff format, when you're already pretty sure who's going to win anyway.

Don't even get me started on the NBA's eon-long playoffs.

jw,
Why are chimpanzees better (than humans)able to predict winners in the stock market?

My strategy is to choose based on the locale -- if I had to go to one of them this weekend, and I could choose, which would it be? This strategy only works with certain sports; I tend to win at football, but not basketball.

Tying together the subjects of sports, gambling, reclassifying sit-down activities as sports, and being good at stuff:

Here's a story about a University of Minnesota kid who is now the youngest poker player to win a million dollars in an official tournament--he's 22. He was on spring break, not planning to play in the tournament, but just on a whim, he and a couple of his buddies put together the $10,500 entry fee. That's where we got whiplash reading the article. I, myself, always stayed on campus for spring break because I couldn't afford to go anywhere at all. Ditto my kid, who is getting through college with a food-and-miscellaneous budget of $50 a week. But these kids are taking a CRUISE for spring break and they still have an extra $10,500 lying around? Amazing.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/14172468.htm

I posted this on the end of the last kit, and then wondered where everybody'd snuck off to before discovering there was a new kit. Joel, we need Hal the Schemer to set up some kind of New Kit Warning System like one of those annoying Emergency Broadcase dial tones that make me crazy.

Anyway, I'm re-posting it:

Anybody else catch The Sopranos last night? I thought it was excellent againa, and very funny in a very dry way, with the Michael Imperioli character's second foray in the movie industry, and a great satire on the industry as he and his "team" pitch a movie concept to a gang of fellow mobsters--a new genre of slasher film featuring a Jason/Freddie/Michael Meyers clone killer zombie who is a mafiso who has been dismembered by mob rivals and his body put in a landfill, where it magically reassembles itself and sets out on a revenge rampage. And then the mob guys in the pitch meeting start picking the concept apart, making changes, critique the idea of lumping Michael Meyers in with Jason and Freddie, because Meyers is an escaped lunatic, whereas the other two are supernatural. and anyway slasher pictures are supposed to have naked teenagers in a lake as victims, not dead mob zombies whacking other mob guys. It was like "Get Shorty" meets Carl Hiaasen's "Skin Tight" meets William Goldman's "Adventures in the Screen Trade." Very funny. And meanwhile Edie Falco turns in another riveting performance. That woman is incredible.

I'm sticking with my plan. Illinois wins it all. Yeah, that'll be a pretty big upset, I know. But if George Mason can make the final four, anything can happen.

Me: Wow. George Mason beat U-Conn and is in the final four.

Mrs. BS: Who's George Mason?

Given that Russian leader Vladamir Putin is now supposed to have plagiarized, Dan Brown's trial in which he is alleged to have plagiarized has wrapped up, and given the freshness of the accusations that Ben Domenech plagiarized, I offer this humorous quote from the end of a March 26 article about Dan Brown in the Houston Chronicle:

Perhaps Chilean novelist Isabel Allende said it best in her book Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses: "Copying one author is plagiarism. Copying many is research."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/3749479.html

Someone claiming to be Jared Diamond has contacted me, saying he'd like to write a book about my 2006 NCAA Tourney brackets.

*sigh*

Joel, I think you and Gene *should* host a "sporty" cable show, perhaps on the History Channel. Don't forget to refer to your loyal viewers as "Achelytes", and anyone who disagrees with you as "Red State Poo Flingers" or "another member of the People's Army of Blue State Shrieking Denizens" (PABSSD?). You'll get some buzz for sure.

bc

Mudge, the movie-pitch scene has to rank near the top of the best Sopranos scenes ever. Otherwise I got tired of Tony in the coma and the surreal stuff -- felt a little too high-concept and obvious ultimately. Ditto on Falco.

LindaLoo, didn't we call that sellout ages ago?

'Mudge, perhaps Hal can set up the Boodle's background color to flash purple and green (no, wait, Florida's colors are orange and white, right?) on the pentultimate Kit as soon as JA hits "post" on the new one?

Joel, I probably agree the coma thing has lingered on pretty long, but Falco has made the most of it. I think the reason why it has to continue is so they can do the bit about Silvio as acting boss, and all the headaches and problems he's encountered since the shooting. I loved the scene where he's in the can trying to read the newspaper, and the two guys come in and start arguing about the split that he has to adjudicate. And all the hypocrisy about "the Queen of Little Italy," etc. Half of Tony's "loyal" crew can't wait for him to die.

And yeah, I didn't quite get it last week that the Kevin Finnerty stuff was a hallucination, rather than a strange flashback that would ultimately tie in. The "real" Tony wouldn't have acted as meekly as the Tony-in-the-hallucination character, and wouldn't have cared about the Bhuddists' lawsuit--he'd have said "screw 'em."

>My strategy is to choose based on the locale

LostInThought, I knew a girl who made her football picks based on how much she'd like their city. She won all the time and made the guys in the shop crazy.

"Me: Wow. George Mason beat U-Conn and is in the final four."

"Mrs. BS: Who's George Mason?"

Bayou, count yourself lucky. My wife would have said, "I didn't know Canada had a professional basketball team."

Usually I fillout brackets in the ofice pool as well as CBS, ESPN, and Yahoo contests and any other local ones I stumble across. This year, nada. Not a one. My office quit running one because no one is willing to run the risk of annoying the bosses with such an obvious misuse of resources (fortunately, they aren't very internet savvy).

Without the light competition of an office pool I really don't have the incentive to enter the big national contests where I have no chance of winning anyways. I do want to see one bracket wtih George Mason in the Final Four. I don't care if they're dead last otherwise. that guy would have bragging rights for all time.

My method is to pick different upsets each time I fill out a bracket. That way I have the sour grapes opportunity to whine that if I had combined my X Division at CBS and the Y division at ESPN, I would have been in the money.

My son is one as part of his high school chemistry class. I have no idea what is at stake there.

'mudge - caught the sopranos for the first time last nite (for some reason i never got into it) and falco had me blubbering like a baby! she's amazing! so now i'm hooked - now i hafta get all the past seasons! since i'd never watched it before, the hallucination scene was like "huh?" until it went to him in the hospital - then i was like "AHHHH!"

as for brackets - i had no idea what they were before my co-worker explained them to me last week - and i hate basketball... i do fantasy football (tho i hate football as well) and usually do pretty good - i won my league this year cuz i had a friend of mine who's really into football do all changes - so it's cheating, so what - it's called FANTASY football right? now baseball - that's where it's at! (go Yankees! and i'm blowing a raspberry at jw) at first i didn't understand the soriano business, i mean you can't just REFUSE to play the position you signed a contract for right? but this article explained why soriano is being that way - he wants to go back to ny...
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spsori224671414mar22,0,3249321.story?coll=ny-yankees-print

bc,
Is that your Avenue Q/Worlds of Warcraft mash-up somewhere in the 10th circle archive? I clicked on that somehow and my so thought it was the funniest thing he ever saw since he has seen Avenue Q and plays WoW.

I'm just glad my wife was nowhere around to realize how funny we found it.

I won't spoil it, but post a link and a NSFW warning for the rest of the boodlers.

This appears to be one of those days where the Post home page headlines are unintentionally hilarious (I'm not knocking the copy desk; you'll see why in a moment). Here's a list of the knee-slappers on the front right now. See which you think is the most unintentionally absurd:

1) Va. GOP takes stand on taxes (wonder which way they went?)

2) Backing Nation-Building in Iran

3) and my personal favorite: Hill Tries to Curb Earmarking

What a laff riot. Hilarity ensues.

Truth in labelling: "Achenblog: Daily humor?"
Maybe the NCAA basketball tournament is funny to some, but I want my money back.

I suggest English2American dot.com for a REAL British English education-- some very funny examples of appropriate and inappropriate use.
Like "pear-shaped."

Actually made me laugh, which is something to do, I guess, when you're not busy being hit by orange balls on the head for fun.

Change "my so" to read "my 15 year-old son" and yes, I took him to Avenue Q when he was 14. My wife says if she knew the hot puppet-on-puppet sex was as graphic as it was she may have had second thoughts.

I say if they aren't teaching the consequences of furry sex in the classroom, he'll just pick it up on the street.

Dear Mrs. Bayou Self-

George Mason Universy is located in the heart of Fairfax, Virginia, about 20 miles southwest of DC. It is named for George Mason, the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, and major contributor to the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. A good friend of George Washington, he lived at Gunston Hall, close by to Mount Vernon, which is why their mascot is called Gunston. We are so proud of our George Mason Patriots, even though they have blown our brackets all to hell. Go Patriots!!

Edie Falco has stolen the season so far. And I love that she's looked HORRIBLE while Tony's been in the coma -- talk about an actress without any discernible vanity. Her "cross we have to bear" speech to Anthony was incredible. Van Zandt has had some nice turns as Alpha Silvio. I wonder what it means that, when unconscious, Tony is just an ordinary businessman, as opposed to what he is in real life, which is basically a serial killer. Has anyone done the body count for Tony? Counting the mercy killing of Steve Buscemi last season?

It would be a shame to cancel this show after this season. It's in its prime.

Three very quick comments:

GO PATRIOTS!
GO PISTONS!
GO RED WINGS!

Gotta GO. . . .

Achenbach said: "It would be a shame to cancel this show after this season. It's in its prime."

That's the best time. Go out with purely positive memories. Like the end of Buffy the Vampire-Slayer.

joel - are they cancelling it? i had a feeling b/c they aren't giving tony a very good shot at surviving... 'twood be just my luck to get hooked on a show right before it's demise...

yello, I figured you'd be glad your wife wasn't there if your SO was also there.

We went to the Patriot Center pep rally last night to welcome home the GMU team. What a fun experience. The best part was that no one down on the floor knew quite what to do. There's not really any protocol at George Mason for what to do when your team GOES TO THE FINAL FOUR!

Meta-SCC: My 11:42 post should have been note as an SCC to my 11:35 post. Like anyone cares or notices.

I do not have HBO and therefore all my knowledge of the Sopranos comes from secondary sources. My understanding is that there will be an 8-episode epilogue season after the current 12-episode season concludes. Unless someone throws more money at David Chase. Then all bets are off.

Why am I telling this? I don't have Lisa de Moraes or Tom Shales on speed dial.

mo, I think Joel slightly mis-spoke himself when he said "cancelling." What he means is, it's the last season. IIRC they are doing 12 episodes now (last night was the third), and then the final 8 in the spring (or maybe it's 8 now and 12 in the spring. But either way it's the last 20.)

"Cancelling" implies the network, HBO, doesn't like it or ratings are low, which isn't the case. But yes, I suspect they've decided to go out at the top of their game, and have written these 20 shows with that in mind, culminating in a final episode that will be one of those "End-of-MASH," or "End of Dallas" things, with the main question being, does Tony get whacked or not? (If they leave him alive, it keeps open the possibility of a Sopranos movie somewhere down the road.)

mo, Tony will survive this shooting, because he's got 17 more episodes to go. The question is, who ELSE among the regulars is gonna die between now and the finale.

On West Wing, I would have bet heavy money Toby was going to commit suicide last night as the solution to his dilemma. Still think he will in the next episode, when Leo dies of a heart attack a day or two before the election, if the prosecutor still insists on a second indictment. (And my wife believes Toby's ex-, the Congresswoman, was the leak, and that's who he's protecting.) Meanwhile, Jimmy Smits is on the verge of a meltdown, as is the whole team. If they aren't careful, Jon Bon Jovi's gonna be the next vice president.

Stanislaw Lem has left the house. The brief obit lists "Tales of Prix the Pilot" (rather than Pirx) as one of his works. Sounds a little out-of-genre for Lem.

On a road-trip to visit family in the land of Hoosiers, I started reading aloud from the Cyberiad to my father and sister. They claim to have liked it enough that they didn't make me stop, so I read the whole book aloud. My sister said it was very disconcerting when we went under bridges and my voice didn't fade out.

I'll have to get around to reading Solaris, one of these days.

This just in for Achenfan (an artiicle in the Sunday Post Magazine):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/22/AR2006032201938.html

An article by Kristin Henderson about her trip to Macau with her younger sister Ingrid. (about 43 miles SW of Hong Kong)

ah, yes, 'mudge - having been in the industry you'd think i'd recognize the difference between "cancelling" and "ending" a show... was anybody else a little put off by the massive ceptic hole they kept showing in his belly?

(on a hal the schemer note - i notice that the cursor is back to it's top left corner spot and not in the middle of the box...)

you know what, i'm just not going to SCC or SFC typos or obvious mistakes any more. from now on it' s only when I'm confused. I figure with lifetime membership to the SCClub i'm entitled...

yeah mo I noticed that too. I was going to say something in my post to Achenfan but got so distracted by something else I don't even remember what it was.

kurosawaguy's back! He just posted something on the Fisher blog half an hour ago!

K-guy, you there, k-guy? Come in, k-guy. All is forgiven! (Not that you did anything, but I thought I'd give it a try.) Ground control to Major K-guy...

Re: Cancelling and Buffy. That's kind of a Joss Whedon signature move. Take the show out when it's still good. The better the show is, the shorter it stays on the air--just look at Firefly. If he ever came up with a show any better, it would never even get a chance to see the light of day.

Scottynuke - Florida's colors are orange and blue; FSU's are garnet and gold. And that's the extent of my sports knowledge.

Speaking of Fla., I will soon be eating my words. We are returning to N. Fla. in the very near future. Oh, it's just as well, Amarillo isn't much of a town (my heart will always be in San Antonio) and I have to admit the gardening in N. Fla. was better than here in the Texas Panhandle. Actually, I'm pretty excited. My son-in-law got a fantastic offer he couldn't refuse, then gave me an offer I couldn't refuse "Would you like to come with us?" (Us meaning KIDS and GRANDKIDS). Gee, I'll have to mull that over a second or two. They've already found a house they love and a little house for me in the same neighborhood.

As long as it ends in some kind of sensible manner. Two bad possibilities: a "The Prisoner" like cut off; or a big wrap up that either goes Shakespearean (ie everyone dead) or Little House on the Prairie (Sopranos: the reunion epidode)

Tim - To me Solaris kind of straddled the line between Science Fiction and Surrealism. There was a lot more implied than explained. I felt that the story rested too much on some squishy psychological concepts. I wasn't overly impressed, to be truthful. But I was probably way too young when I read it.

TBG - was that you setting off the fireworks over at the Patriot Center? Or was that small arms fire I heard?

That's great news, Nani! I hope the move is easy on the family. Good luck with it, just don't be gone from the Boodle for very long.

SonofCarl: you didn't like the end of The Prisoner? "All you need is love!" Kid #2 has taken a weird and inexplicable liking to The Prisoner (well, *I* agree with it), to the extent that The Spouse is considering a boxed DVD set for my birthday. Either that, or the collected works of Mr. Joel Achenbach, Journalist.

Nani -- that's fabulous! And when the invitation to follow comes from your son-in-law, that's even better. Good luck with your move and tell us when we can come and visit (I love North Florida!).

Nani: congratulations on your new adventure! Keep us informed as events unfold!

Putting on my medium's cap, rubbing my crystal ball, Nani to kurosawaguy, Nani to kurosawaguy, come in kurosawaguy.

RD, we were already in the Patriot Center when the fireworks went off, so I didn't even know about them until I saw it on the news. But we were wondering why there were so many firetrucks and why there was a police tape around the lake on campus. We wondered if they were afraid the crowds would go crazy and dive in or something.

For those of you who have never been to Fairfax, this is not a place where you see much police tape for anything. The GMU campus is pretty quiet--a pretty tame place, and the idea that you'd have to have police and firetrucks to control a crowd is just laughable. But I guess where there are fireworks there are firetrucks.

The funny thing is that my husband said during dinner, "I guess they'll be some sort of rally when the team gets home," forgetting that the team had only played 15 miles away. That's when we decided to see what was happening on campus.

It's just amazing to think that my kids will likely never again attend a "going to the Final Four" rally and that they did it at George Mason, of all places. George Mason!

I'm gonna SCC that "they'll" in my husband's quote, although I'm not sure what the word should be. There'll? That's it. There'll.

Nani - No, Amarillo isn't much of a town. No offense to any other Amarillans here.

Not only will Tony survive, but — and you heard it here first — he will in some way, shape or form be a changed man.

Nani, I'm no medium (more like extra large--ha ha ha ha), so I posted this on Raw Fisher just now:

Hey k-guy.... everyone's looking for you over on the Boodle. C'mon over and play.

Posted by: TBG | March 27, 2006 01:12 PM

Congrats and safe travels, Nani! :-)

*attempting a yoga-like pose*
Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
K-guy is welcome here always
Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
K-guy is missed greatly
Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Here's some k'guy bait:

Last weekend my son comes home with both "The Seven Samurai" and "The Magnificent Seven" from the rental store. I had last seen 7S in an art theater in the early 80s. Over the weekend we watched both and kept track of the things they changed for the worse in the remake.

It turns out my son was inspired to watch these after seeing a few episodes of an anime show called "The Samurai 7", a high budget 26-episode animated remake.

Let me also encourage K-guy to drop on in.

Also TBG - that Egg-Mcmuffin offer is still good. I am curious to hear everybody's backstory, yet it may be summer befor my schedule allows me to attend a BPH.

Ha ha, TBG - me too! In the previous boodle someone mentioned Dersu Uzala - I thought maybe we'd have to start discussing Kurosawa movies to lure him back. I like your direct approach.

BTW, I'm watching Ang Lee movies at the moment.

Galloping gallantly off-topic here for a minute:

I see that the White House is conjuring up new ways to spy on Americans. I blogged on it here.

http://www.10thcircle.com/10/?cat=4

yellojkt, if you're referring to that "The Internet is for..." item in your 11:35 comment, my buddy db found it and I encouraged him to put a link in the 10thcircle. Daggone funny, IMO.

bc

K-guy, you disdained my "Shane" homage, but you're not fooling anybody. We know you're out there.

Mudge writes:
K-guy, you there, k-guy? Come in, k-guy. All is forgiven! (Not that you did anything, but I thought I'd give it a try.) Ground control to Major K-guy...

Hmmm. Is there any proselytizing on the Fisher blog?

I hope that you all have a nice day--that all is at peace with your purine, pyrimidine, phosphate and sugar bases. May your guanine, thymine, adenine and cytosine be in harmony. I ask this in the name of the fathers of DNA, Crick and Watson. I sincerely hope that you have been blessed with good DNA.

Nani, best wishes on the move, and I hope you really, really, like it, and the grands.

K-guy, please come back, we miss you so much, it's almost like losing a limb.

Good day to everyone, hope your weekend was all you hoped and more. Don't have a clue about brackets, Joel. Not that crazy about sports, even though I'm from North Carolina, and basketball is king.

boodle SCC - that's Dersu Uzala
of course...

And there's certainly nothing wrong with discussing Kurosawa movies - just that I'm not very knowledgeable in that area (but that hasn't stopped me before!)

I liked Stanislaw Lem, too, Tim.

Glad you posted the correction re. "Pirx" - that was one of my favorite works of his.

"Solaris", a better book than a movie, but what's not?

jw, you know I'm with you on Firefly/Serenity. Great stuff.

I read that Whedon involved with the "Wonder Woman" movie script.

I ran into Lynda Carter at Cafe Deluxe on Wisconsin Ave. not too long ago; very nice lady, and she's still ready for her closeups, Mr. DeMille.

bc

RD, little G and I are free for an Egg McMuffin on Thursday or Friday morning. But we are late movers in the morning; her bus doesn't come until 8:55 or so. Is 8:15 too late for you?

omni, you beat me to posting a link to that WaPo Magazine article for Achenfan.

I found it quite interesting.

bc

there's this posted by Achenfan on 3/6:
==>
I think omni"Shanghai Baby"bad
might like this book, too [(Golden Boy)]:

"Inside the shop stood a sailor, his arm round the waist of a young Chinese woman wearing a very tight dress that shimmered under the shop lights. The sides of the garment were slit from the bottom hem to the top of her thigh. When she moved, almost her entire leg was visible. I had never seen anything like it -- the dress or the female limb."
<==

but she leftout the best parts:

in the next para there's this:

"What did take me aback was that, as I watched him, he slid his hand in one of the slits in the dress and squeezed the young woman's buttocks. She made no sign of complaint and I wondered if this was how one greeted all Chinese women."

Then on the next page back at the hotel Ah Choo, the hotel's baby amah, preparing the young lad for bed:

"I had just pulled up the bottoms [of his pajamas] and was tying a bow in the cord when Ah Choo came in without so much as a brief knock, bending down to gather up my clothing. I seized the moment to test my rudimentary understanding of local etiquette and squeezed one of her buttocks. It was soft and pliable like a semi-deflated balloon."

hilarity ensued..not..but boy did it get a laugh out of me. on the metro bus no less.

Am I hearing the pre-echoes of a Boodle Porching Breakfast??? :-)

Thursday morning at 8:15 it is. I will be the one with the look of optimism tempered with ennui. Plus, I will have a blue bow on my shoulder. Just let me know if your schedule changes.

Nani, I just read your story on the garden kit, and I'm still laughing. What a great story, Nani. Do you know why k-guy left, was he upset? I noticed that I didn't see any posting by him, but I didn't know what happen. And Loomis, the story of your pots was good too. You had some bold neighbors. I haven't said anything to my neighbor about the items she took because she's not going to give them back. She really feels justified in taking them, and I think it's better if I just not go into it. She wants me to believe the story she told me, so I'll let her believe that I do. Besides, it keeps the peace, and peace is definitely what I'm looking for. I feel I can replace those items with something I like, that speaks to me, and my love of colors.

I am in a hissy-fit mood today. The San Antonio Express-News can run this weekend's immigration protests at the top of A01, but when it came to the worldwide war protests on or about March 19, the story ran on page A15.

We have an entire section each day devoted to news of Mexico and the Americas, but almost no coverage of Asia or Europe. I am very unhappy because, in my humble opinion, our local paper is far too Catholic and far too Hispanic--which is why I go to the New York Times and the Washington Post--out of necessity.

And I am very unhappy about my conversation last week with the paper's public editor, Bob Richter. He called on Wednesday to follow-up on three different issues that prompted me to contact him in a post that is new to the paper. All the issues are local issues. First, the coverage by the local paper of traditional Hispanic holidays vs. Texas state holidays. Second, the armchair reporting my a metro columnist who never seems to get to the meetings he's covering and opining about. Third, the Eve Longoria/Tony Parker love and sex story played out in the A section.

During our conversation, Richter asked me, "Are you liberal, by any chance?" I replied with a question, without discussing my politics, "Why, does it show [appear that way]?" This is the lesser of the two things that irritated me about the phone call. Does it matter what my party affiliation or voting record is when I'm discussing local coverage and local stories by our local paper?

Naturally, any other boodler who happens to be in the vicinity of the Twinbrook Shopping Center is welcome to join us. But I'm only springing for the G's. Unless you wear a blue bow on your shoulder, in which case we'll talk.

I only had about 300 posts to catch up on from over the weekend bc, so what's tour excuse??? work???

In other news I finally watched Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" and I have to say that was the best Romeo and Juliet ever. Also, that Olivia Hussey was a dream:

http://blog.chosun.com/web_file/blog/200/25200/1/Olivia_Hussey2.jpg

and still is:

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/hh/0001377/HH/0001377/hussey.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Hussey,%20Olivia

She's in her fifties now and still making movies. In fact three new releases this year.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001377/

I got the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series on DVD for Christmas, and I've been working my way through them. Joss Whedon REALLY needs to do another TV show. The market is totally primed for him--look at all the sci-fi/horror series on right now.

Of course, he could just keep making Firefly sequels and I'd be pretty happy.

How do people form their opinions of others?

I see this story about Buck's death is now rather prominent on wapo.com:

By the late '40s, Bakersfield, a booming farm and oil town heavily populated by Texas and Oklahoma transplants, had developed a thriving honky-tonk scene, and Owens moved there in 1950 to try to make a better living.

It was the Bakersfield jukes that shaped his hard-driving sound, which he once described as "like a freight train coming into your living room." To be heard in noisy venues [bars in Oildale], bands had to play loud and long, with an emphasis on danceable music.
...

Thankfully, Yoakam invited Owens to join him onstage at a local county fair in 1987. The next January, they sang "Streets of Bakersfield" on the Country Music Association's 30th-anniversary television show, and the subsequent recording became Owens's first No. 1 single in 16 years.

Lyrics (and if you listen to the song, it's got a lot of conjunto accordion):

You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

How many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

Bakersfield is Okie country, where many Oklahoma natives went to escape the dust bowl. Well, they might have had a different destination in mind (Paradise, Shangri-La, the Golden Valley that Woody Guthrie sang about) but Bakersfield is where a lot of them ended up--I've never been there, but I think it's a lot like Oklahoma. I imagine it as a place where disappointment and disillusionment are part of the culture.

Today's 5 minute contribution:

Nani: Safe trip. Can't wait to read your cables from your new location.

LindaLoo: Ah, Bakersfield. I remember it as a hot, dusty cowboy town nestled in the flattest, driest part of California. Not a tourist destination. But, it had some great Basque restaurants, I remember.

Having only known Buck Owens from my juvenille fascination for corny jokes and scantily clad women, I just thought he was some kind of hayseed Benny Hill. I don't think I was paying any attention to the music. That article was very fascinating about his back to the roots style and changed my entire impression of him. I may have to pick up something in the bargain bin someday.

jw, I too am a big fan of Buffy. I have a question: Have you ever read a transcript of the dialog? If not try googling it, I find these to be almost pants wettingly funny when read.

My maternal grandfather travelled from Carmen OK to Bakersfield with my infant mother in the late 30's. It was just a temporary refuge for them, as they headed up north to Orting Washington, the true land of Milk and Honey. That is, once you get past that whole "Shadow of a Volcano" thing.

This is for Nani and all other horse lovers: I watched "Dreamer" with Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Shue, Kris Kristofferson, et al. Great movie...getting a little choked up here just thinking about it.

Remember the great TV show about 10 years ago called "Bakersfield PD"? The basic premise was a DC cop moved to Bakersfield (the reason for his move? His son was conceived through artificial insemination and his doctor was the TV version of Dr. Cecil B. Jacobson [remember him?] and they wanted to get as far from DC as possible.)

Great show, funny and serious. And a GREAT cast:

Ron Eldard....Detective Wade Preston
Giancarlo Esposito....Detective Paul Gigante
Chris Mulkey....Denny Boyer
Tony Plana....Luke Ramirez
Brian Doyle-Murray....Sergeant Bill Hampton
Jack Hallett....Captain Renny Stiles

(They were showing reruns on the TRIO network last year, but DirecTV dropped TRIO so I don't know if they still are showing them.)

Oh yeah, that last post was meant as a recommmendation to watch the movie if you haven't already.

And I'm late for my walk...

yellojkt, now that you're all grown up, I prersume you are no longer interested in "scantily clad women."

Or corny jokes.

A juvenile mind is such a terrible thing to waste. *sigh*

omni, that R&J movie is wonderful. Quite controversial at the time it came out, because of the age of the actors (the age Shakespeare imagained them, ye gods!). Who played Romeo (darned CRS!)?

And I've been meaning to see Dreamer, because of the horses, of course, and Kurt Russell ain't bad, either.

mostlylurking, for me it's Dakato, cause she's just so cute and precocious. And re R&J: Olivia Hussey was just fifteen years old and there is one nude scene (I pretty sure it wasn't a body double), and then remember this was released in 1968, so very understandable that it be controversial.

And MY post previous to this one is a BOO, cause I'm obviously referring to MY previous post in THAT preevious POST (Hey HAL, I wouldn't have to SHOUT if I had HTML ITALICS...).

Not I'm really late for that walk... be right back...

Man I really need this walk... at least five SCCs in my last post...

I'm going to Oklahoma in a couple days - it will be the first time for me in that state. I'll be hanging out with a bunch of Leon Russell fans (my sister among them) - in Tulsa and Muskogee. Which brings to mind this Merle Haggard song (Merle also spent lots of time Bakerfield, I think):

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take our trips on LSD
We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

We don't make a party out of lovin';
We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;
Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen.
Football's still the roughest thing on campus,
And the kids here still respect the college dean.

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.

When I saw Merle Haggard in concert here in Seattle last year, he started to sing this, but stopped after the first few lines - "You all probably don't want to hear this" - but the crowd was clapping and singing along...

This columnist is hilarious.

But the commentors are... deranged?

Pearls before swine.

Man.

^^

Was that a haiku?

mostlylurking, we had an extended discussion of Zefferelli's Romeo& Juliet (Romeo was played by Leonard Whiting) way back on Nov. 15 at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2005/11/the_fabulator_5000_and_fast_fo.html

about 3:30 p.m. or so on that date.

mostlylurking, one of the country's great storytellers, Barbara McBride-Smith, lives in Tulsa. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to have a web site, and the appearance schedule that I have found is pretty sketchy (she has a day job). However, I have noticed that she will be here in DC on May 6. She tells many kinds of stories, but a signature element is her telling of Greek myths, Texas-style. She slays with her story of Demeter and Persephone.

Well, mostlylurking, give my regards to the ol' Sooner State.

I'll be there this summer (Tulsa environs) for a high school reunion. Best thing about high school reunions: weight-loss motivation! Ha.

Seriously, though, I never liked the place much growing up there but came to appreciate some of its qualities from a distance later on.

======
Tulsa Time
by Danny Flowers

Well, I left Oklahoma
Driving in a Pontiac,
Just about to lose my mind.
I was going to Arizona,
Maybe on to California
Where people all live so fine.

My mother says I'm crazy,
My baby calls me lazy,
But I'm gonna show them all this time
'Cause you know I ain't no fool and
I don't need no more damn schoolin'.
I was born to just walk the line.

Living on Tulsa Time.
Living on Tulsa Time.
Gonna set my watch back to it
'Cause you know that I've been through it.
Living on Tulsa Time.

So there I was in Hollywood,
Thinking I was doing good,
Talking on the telephone line.
They don't want me in the movies
And nobody sings my songs;
My mama says my baby's doing fine.

So then I started winking,
Then I started thinking
That I really had a flash this time.
That I had no bussiness leaving,
And nobody would be grieving;
You see I'm on Tulsa time.

========

anonymous poster at 03:05 PM, you have failed to notice that while we are fond of Mr. Achenbach, Journalist, many of us are bored stiff by talk of sports. So we digress. That's the way it goes, donchaknow.

Hey, anonymous, I think you've hit the nail right on the head. I'm nominating you for comment of the month.

===============

This columnist is hilarious.

But the commentors are... deranged?

Pearls before swine.

Man.

Posted by: | March 27, 2006 03:05 PM

==============

Can't tell you how much I hated "Okie from Muskogee."

I don't think you ever outgrow juvenile fascinations. At least mine are as strong as ever. Except for wanting to be a paramedic like on "Emergency".

And I take "deranged" as a high compliment. We have been called MUCH worse.

Finally, the WaPo Buck Owens article mentions that Merle Haggard was Buck Owens's bass player for a very short time but lasted long enough to name the band the Buckaroos.

First I couldn't get "Streets of Bakersfield" out of my head, now "Tulsa Time". Dagnabbit.

A Texas twist on Demeter and Persephone?
Do they even *have* pomegranates in Texas?

On the other hand, I *would* believe that there are big three-headed dogs in TX.

Wait - is Texas the Underworld? GWB as Hades? Bush Administration folks as the heads of Cerebrus (e.g. Dick, Karl, and Rummy)?

Bah, I'm thinkin' out loud here.

bc

"deranged"?????

I'm not trying hard enough, obviously...

No, no, bc, Cerebus is the Earth-Pig Born (serious comics-geek reference). Whereas Cerberus is, in fact, a three-headed dog. However, he would be down below Texas, which would put him in Mexico, I guess.

Zeus lived up in that big Plantation house up on the hill. One night, he invited Demeter up for some Ambrosia ice cream. Whoo-ee, she loved that Ambrosia ice cream! Let me tell you, honey, there weren't no ice cream -- you know what I'm sayin? 9 months later, Kore Persephone was born.

It's like that.

Obviously Anonymous is a newbie on the boodle. Anyone paying attention would have discovered long ago that we are deranged. Big yawn.

To get all those *&$#@ C&W tune cooties out of my head, I have the headphones on and Jefferson Starship's "Miracles" cranked up pretty loud. So there.

... waiting for omni and yellojkt to pick up on the comics reference ...

Oh Mudge, I hated Okie from Muskogee when it came out too. Now it's pretty funny - and Merle was spouting some anti-war, anti-Bush lines too to the delight of us Seattleites (and this was in March 2005, pre-Katrina and Bush's dive in approval polls).

I prefer to think of us boodlers as eclectic and eccentric - deranged seems a bit strong...Well, maybe until we get to punctuation...

*Tim, sounds like fun.

bc

Lew Alcindor? Cripes, Joel, you're showing your (or my) age.

Can I just confess that when I saw that a Hee Haw host had died, I was greatly relieved to see that it wasn't Roy Clark. Nothing against Buck Owens, but loved Clark. Watched him on TV host the Boston Pops and he was pure genius. Could play anything with strings on it.

As for Buck Owens, this comes to mind:

There's a giant doing cartwheels a statue wearin' high heels.
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn.
A dinosaur Victrola list'ning to Buck Owens....Doo doo doo Lookin' out my back door.

Whatever happened to Junior Samples?

And Barbi Benton???

Remember this one:
"Gloom, despair and agony on me!/Deep dark depression, excessive misery!/If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all!/Gloom, despair and agony on me!"

More at:

http://www.answers.com/topic/hee-haw-1

By the way, Washington Post Radio debuts Thursday morning at 5:30, and I'll definitely be up and about, on my way to Boulder, Colo., for some reporting. But everyone check it out at some point that day, if you can. I assume there will be an Internet feed.

Ha ha, Storyteller Tim. I'll keep my eyes open for Barbara McBride-Smith. There's no telling what we might wind up doing...

Have you heard Johnny Moses? He's hilarious -
http://www.johnnymoses.com/

Omni...I LOVE the Buffy dialogue. It was by far one of the most under-appreciated shows in terms of writing. Random literary allusions and whatnot...good stuff.

Joel... where on the local dial can we find WaPo radio?

Joel A is funny
Boodlers are nutty
Since when is this news?

THAT'S haiku, baby.

Oh... another thing, Joel.... have you ever watched Cheap Seats on ESPN? Sounds like your show.

Sorry, that's NOT haiku. Blew it on second line. Sorry. Going back to work now.

StorytellerTim, you must have me confused with someone else. As far as comics go I'm a fan Marvel Comics Nova and not much else, a distant second would be Daredevil, also Marvel.

bc, Dubya is NOT a Texan. Wasn't born here. Doesn't belong here. Moved here just to irritate us bleeding heart liberals and show us who's boss. Doesn't have the Texas sense of hospitality and decency to invite a grieving mother in out of the 100 degree, 100 percent humidity weather and answer a few of her questions and offer condolences for her young son who died fighting this war in Iraq.

JW and Omni? Pure undiluted Buffy dialogue?
I like televisionwithoutpity's recaps of BTVS, but didn't know there were actual scripts online.

CowTown, you're ringht that's not haiku, but it's blown on first AND second lines.

Joel is funny
Boodlers sure are nutty
Since when is this news

I'm pronouncing boodlers with three sylables: bood-el-ers. Of course, technically it's still not haiku cause it's missing the seasonal element:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku

It might more accurately be called Senryū:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senryu

Oh yeah, transcripts are all over the place. You can even find annotated ones that explain all the little inside jokes--and there's a lot.

mostlylurking, I only know Johnny Moses from Octopus and Crow, frm a compilation of Best-Loved Stories from the National Storytelling Festival.

omni, if it's not Frank Miller's Daredevil, it's not for me.

Cow-San:

Haikus ain't blogs
But poems for cherry blossoms,
and porching on logs.

As I'm waxing poetic right now...

Earwax, dry and wet
Relics of ancient matings,
Chosen by good odor?

All hail Pope Cerebus!
We need more existential aardvarks.
I've only read it casually which I 'm certain really can't be done. Also, the story went Johnny Hart bat guaon crazy eventually. I'm just not sure when.

Here's more info.

http://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/spring_2003/rothenberg.htm

Wilbrod I found some online accidentally and don't remember where, but damn it really made me laugh: you don't have to simultaneously follow the action and you can take time to let it sink in before reading more. Google found me this:

http://www.buffyguide.com/

in the box at the top click on quotes.

or click here:

http://www.buffyguide.com/quoteslist.shtml

Ha, Joel, that CCR tune was the first thing that crossed my mind when I heard of Buck Owens' passing.

Never read any of the Cerebrus comix/graphic novels, myself...

TBG: http://www.wtopnews.com/?sid=685396&nid=25

bc

Somehow I find the concept of "The Annotated Buffy" giggle inducing. Another show I just don't get much to my loss.

Now the seeds are sown
I'm tempted to haiku more
Bam, Bam shoot me down

heheh.

http://www.justinleader.com/annotatedbuffy/

Someone please remind me where the Twinbrook Shopping Center is - my mind tells me I should know...but .... I've ....been ....gone....so....long

yellojkt, I stopped reading Cerebus about 12 years ago, I guess. Dave Sim-the-misogynist-jerk had finally pushed aside Dave Sim the creative artist, and it was no longer interesting or fun to read.

Wilbrod cries for help
He spells handle wrong in haste
Breathe deep, "Wilbord", breathe

How easy or hard do you think it is trying to get the San Antonio Express-News to do a story about my rare genetic disorder,let alone my desire to see the opening of the film "The Da Vinci Code" in Cannes, when the head of the San Antonio church is a member of Opus Dei?

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1093649,00.html

Web Exclusive| Nation
Jose Gomez
The Humble High Priest
By DAVID VAN BIEMA

Posted Saturday, Aug. 13, 2005

Assessing San Antonio Archbishop Jose Gomez's clout, his former boss Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput says enthusiastically, "He gets listened to in the state of Texas and in the U.S. Bishops' Conference. He gets listened to in Rome. And I think he'll be listened to by the federal government when it comes to immigration law." Last year, Gomez was a humble auxiliary bishop working for Chaput in Denver. But in December, Pope John Paul II leapfrogged the low-key 53-year-old over hundreds of diocesan bishops into the San Antonio, Texas, seat—-and the center of American Catholicism's future. Hispanics make up 39% of the U.S. church. By 2020, they may be a majority, say church officials. And Gomez is the nation's only Latino archbishop.

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Gomez enjoys an excellent relationship with the powerful bishop of Mexico City and is a natural conversation partner for legislators toiling over immigration riddles. A long affiliation with the conservative teaching group Opus Dei guarantees him the Vatican's doctrinal confidence and a support and information network leading high up in Rome. Yet despite his orthodoxy, Gomez is a natural conciliator admired for uniting rich and poor and Anglo and Hispanic Catholics behind Denver's Centro Juan Diego, a hybrid Latino religious-instruction and social-services center hailed as a national model.

For years, there has been talk that a Pope might make a Hispanic Cardinal in the American South, but Gomez's predecessor in San Antonio, a logical seat for the honor, was too theologically independent for Roman tastes. Gomez is much more in synch.

Thanks, those two really complement each other and televisonwithoutpity...

Looks like if I have a slow evening I know what to surf for now. I came to
BTVS after it had gone into reruns... I had to be ready for it.

yellojkt-- in BTVS, the plot is there for the dialog. Lots of funny lines there, and riffs on the same stupid horror movie plots.
It makes a LOT more sense than Charmed... which is still on the air for some reason, but not by next season, I hear.

Thanks.

Son of Carl is right
I do indeed suffocate
from haiku attacks

Lindaloo, ah conjunto (and tejano) accordion music. My dad wouldn't let me listen to it on the Mexican radio station, so I'd go downtown and hang around outside the little hole in the wall Mexican cantinas on Houston Street to hear the music. The doors were always propped open (no a/c).

Cassandra, I don't know.

I didn't watch Firefly when it first came out because it was on Fox and I get bad, really bad, reception on Fox almost all the time. So I just ordered the entire season on DVD. Man oh man, I can't wait till that arrives. I already own Serenity, and wanna know something really nutty about me: I bought it without ever having seen it or knowing anything about it, and I love it, already watched it three times, sometimes I'm intuitive like that. I might watch it again tonight now that I think about it.

oh yeah, thanks jw for your post linking the two, which sent me to google, which sent me to amazon which has sent to a state of anticipation, which kind sücks, but is not your fault, so don't sweat it, just know the thanks are important, and genuinely sincere, and can you all tell, just how really nutty I am...

An Ode to LL:

Springtime Cote D'Azur
Famous bloodline, talk of town
Also, Jesus too

SonofCarl, that was good, a classic senryū for sure.

BOO: I meant the one at 4:11

Omni,

For Firefly, recall
The characters are the same
Yet more nude captains

Not telling you which episode though.

If it's not too naive of me, Lindaloo, could you possibly get an audience with Archbishop Gomez and tell him of your quest and seek his guidance? Could you federal express him a letter? (I used to work at Koehler's BBQ, close to downtown and we had a Bishop visit us once. The cafe was buffet style and he stood in line like everyone else until one of line ladies, Theresa, recognized him and blew his cover. Of course, he wasn't on the level of an archbishop, but.....)

from BtVS:

Buffy: Well, I gotta look on the bright side. Maybe I can still get kicked out of school!
Xander: Oh, yeah, that's a plan. 'Cause lots of schools aren't on Hellmouths.
Willow: Maybe you could blow something up. They're really strict about that.
Buffy: I was thinking of a more subtle approach, y'know, like excessive not studying.
Giles: The Earth is doomed!

When I read that Willow line I can hear her voice in my head like I'm listening to it, and my thought she was so perfectly cast.

Wilbrod, lose the 'For': Firefly has three syllables. And then you have haiku, cause for me nothing says spring weather like the first skinny dip of the year, which you have to be nude for. OK OK I'm stretching, but stretching is supposed to be good for isn't it.

"UFO" show pics
Nice outfit on Skydivers
Oops, back in minute

I really do hope that more than myself and others here today really liked Serenity and rent/buy or do whatever it takes to convince Whedon that it's a hit because then he'll make two more (He said it was intended/written as a trilogy). I really, really do hope so...really really really really hope so.

OOOHHHKAY, this nut is going...Achenlater Achenheads.

Merle Haggard was born in Bakersfield in 1937. His parents were Okies. His father died when he was young and he turned to a life of truancy and petty crimes and was in and out of state institutions of various types. Finally he and some buds got the idea to knock over a restaurant. Their plan had two flaws: One, the restaurant was still open and two, they were all drunk. That's when the state decided to send him to do a little research project in San Quentin. He saw Johnny Cash there and sometime later, when Haggard was famous, reminded Cash of that concert. Cash looked at him and said "I don't remember you being on stage." Haggard replied "I was in the audience."

The Class of 1937 is pretty good, by the way. It includes Robert Redford, Thomas Pynchon, Kris Kristofferson, Jane Fonda, Dustin Hoffman, John Hartford (R.I.P.), Vanessa Redgrave, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and, since baseball season is about to start, Brooks Robinson.

Thanks for getting back, Nani. It sounds like you're ready to go, have a good trip. I hope you can still check in during the move? I've never been to Florida, never really wanted to go. It's hot where I live, and I'm not anxious to go where it's hotter. And I'm assuming it's very hot in Florida?

Since becoming hearing-impaired, radio is something that I truly miss. I love listening to the radio, all of it, talk and the music. There is something so soothing and comforting about listening to radio. Before television, there was radio, and as a child, there was a lot of radio. We didn't own a television until I was in elementary school. We always listened to the radio. I miss it a lot, and still try to listen, but it's so frustrating.

Wilbrod - ha!
The naked Mal episode's a good one.

bc

Omni--Firefly is great. I think it might have been better than Buffy--it's too bad Fox killed it by moving it around so much. The casting of Adam Baldwin as Jayne was just genius to me. I'm really hoping the franchise has a healthy life ahead of it with movie sequels, although Serenity seemed like it was mostly just to clean up the loose ends left by the tv season.

I should add that I originally watched Buffy because my Mom literally forced me to watch an episode--I had been making fun of her for liking it!

Loomis--saw the trailer for The DaVinci Code in the theater Saturday night. It looks very promising!

wilbrod--

All diphthongs should count as two, for instance in the famous old pond frog jump in, the frog-jump-in part is "ka-eru tobikomu" (7). A guy once impressed that on me by explaining that Tokyo is actually To-u-ki-yo-u, which would be a five syllable line in itself. The elegance of the thing is in the odd-numbered character of the lines, exactly the opposite of out tum-TUM tum-Tum, instead it's just five equal beats. So its good to try and bring that out, often by avoiding diphthongs in the first line, just to make sure you get the thing going right.

Hibari yori (lark than)
sora ni yasura-u (sky in rest)
to-uge kana (mountani-pass ah)

(Meaning he feels [] than a lark up in the mountain pass)

Here's the old pond one:

Furu ike ya ( old pond ah)
ka-eru tobikomu (frog jump-in)
mizu no oto (water-of sound)

The hyphenating isn't good form by I just did it to show.

Hey... where's Eurotrash these days?

I won a copy of "Serenity" from a blogger whose softball team is the Canton Heroes. Since I was the only one that knew that was a Firefly reference she gave me the DVD. Now I have to go and actually watch the series some day so I can know what's going on.

since Tai is on the homepage - went to the zoo again on saturday to see our beautiful boodle mascot Tai Shan - man, that is the CUTEST animal ever i think! the viewing areas were packed with ppl and Tai was content to put on a show. he kept stealing Mei fruitsicle - she tried to keep him at bay with her feet but he's a wily one! you can tell everytime he does something cute cuz the whole crowd goes "awwwwwwwwwww" - it's audible from quite a distance. the zoo is making a KILLING with Tai - they had to expand their panda store! i'll try and have pics up tomorrow...

I got blistas on my boodle-skimmin' fangers, so missed any discussion that might have erupted earlier about the passing of Stanislaw Lem, author of "Solaris," which is probably the single best novel ever about extraterrestrial intelligence (can't speak for the movies, which I didn't see). Usually when you meet aliens in science fiction, they speak English, and have an obvious agenda (say, universal brotherhood, with a detour to Earth to consume human flesh). But in "Solaris," the human scientists find the alien intelligence of the planet to be utterly inscrutable. They don't "get" it at all. It's just this sort of blobby, writhing oceanlike thing that changes shapes and somehow causes the investigating scientists to go insane. Remind me to dig up my copy tonight, and post a passage or three in honor of Mr. Lem, may he rest in peace.

Re: Bayou's 10:37 and Mudge's 11:22. Canada can't have a basketball team, or Toronto would then want one (double zing).

StorytellerTim: You know, I think I Domenreached on The Prisoner. It's been so long, my recollection was that they just stopped the series abruptly. That's not true, is it?

Re: Solaris. I recently rented the DVD, and at the very least it hinted at a very thought provoking novel. On The List.

I liked the fact that "Tales of Pirx the Pilot" gave us a future with slower-than-light travel. Although, I can't remember -- was faster-than-light travel supposed to have been invented while the ship was in transit?

>StorytellerTim: You know, I think I Domenreached on The Prisoner. It's been so long, my recollection was that they just stopped the series abruptly. That's not true, is it?

SonofCarl, well, yes and no. I actually bought the whole series just to finally be able to make sense of it. They end up making #6 -> #1 and he escapes with a couple of others. The last episode was pretty crazy, even for them. Pretty hard to detect any real story arc there, it seems they just decided to wrap it up but I'll have to watch again to refresh my memory.

Guess I know what *I'll* be watching tonight. :-)

The Prisoner ended with an extremely weird and surreal two-episode sequence. In Episode 16, Leo McKern returns as the most interesting of the Number 2's. You can tell that he is filled with self-loathing for having surrendered to whatever power it is that corrupted him and that wants to corrupt Number 6; he wants to corrupt Number 6 in order to redeem his sense of self. He engages in a heavily-drugged battle of wills with Number 6, at the end of which, Number 6 retains control of his will and his integrity (you knew he would) and Number 2 drops dead. The Butler comes along and, silently, leads Number 6 to receive the answers to all his questions. He is declared to have won. He is free to go. He is the victor against society.

In Episode 17, it gets weirder. Pop music is involved. Number 2 is resurrected, reborn, it seems, through his defeat by the indomitable will of Number 6. Number 6 is finally introduced, within a sequence of surreal events, to Number 1, who pulls off a mask to reveal the face of ... Number 6. The central metaphor of the show. Machine guns ensue. "All You Need is Love." A rocket launches from the center tower (universal symbol of masculine potency). The Village may be destroyed. Maybe. Number 6 (name never revealed), Number 2 (name never revealed), and the Butler (name never revealed) escape the Village in a rail car, 6 & 2 giggling like pranksters (I may remember that last part wrongly). Number 6 resumes his planned post-Secret Agent life. Number 2 goes off to work in a bank. The Butler may still be buttling for Number 2. The metaphor concludes ambiguously. Has Number 6 triumphed over a society that wishes to deprive us of individuality and integrity? Or has he ultimately been coopted by a change in the carrots and sticks involved?

Definitely an intentional ending. But perhaps an example that art sometimes needs an editor.

There was a short-run comic-book series, maybe 15 years ago, set in the Village 10 years after it was abandoned. It is rediscovered by a character who may have arrived only by accident, or whose arrival may have been engineered. Number 6 comes back. I only saw one or two issues, so I never got the resolution. He is, of course, still paranoid about the Village and what it might mean, and who built it. Some of the equipment may still be operating. The Village may not be abandoned at all, but may be operating in a different mode, using different incentives to pursue its central purpose of corrupting the will and manipulating the behavior of human pawns.

Speaking of art about persons living in a manipulated reality ...

So, we've had The Prisoner. We've had The Truman Show. We've had Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (that's 2 for Jim Carrey). We've had Gaslight. For my money, the scariest and most horrifying movie on this theme is ... Anger Management, with Adam Sandler. Not because it was bad (it wasn't good), but because it's more believable and realistic than the first 3 on that list, and more subtle and pervasive than Gaslight. In Gaslight, the villain is attempting to drive poor Ingrid Bergman mad. In Anger Management, the protagonist is left in a situation in which the only logical response is to assume that he is mad, and that everyone he meets, for the rest of his life, is one of the tormentors who put him in this boat.

The denouement of the movie reveals that the protagonist's girlfriend, out of what she thinks is love, has engaged a crew of people to completely fabricate and manipulate this poor schlub's life. There has been no point at which he could say "I've had enough. Let me out." Every personal interaction that he has had, going back to before the apparent beginning of his torment, has been inauthentic, created in order to manipulate him. To me, the only conceivable response to this is to abandon his life and escape, viewing every human he meets as a potential enemy, with lethal force as the only act he can perform which can still retain any authenticity. Anything else, anything kinder, is within the realm of actions that they previously manipulated for him. I can't think of anything that frightens me more than living an inauthentic life as the plaything of others.

I guess what freaks me out about that movie is that the other characters are so completely oblivious to the nature of their actions. That's what makes it seem very real. Precisely because the film-makers seem to be oblivious, just punching their stupid movie-making tickets, the characters are oblivious, and it's that complacent stupidity about the character of evil that is most realistic.

When I studied Japanese, I thought Tokyo was pronounced in 2 syllables, not 3, as most Americans do - it's to-kyo, not to-ki-yo...the consonant+y+vowel being a basic sound in Japanese...although the "o" sounds in Tokyo are elongated...but we weren't studying Japanese regarding haiku...just business survival Japanese...I always miscount the syllables when I attempt haiku in English...

mostlylurking - That'd pretty much ruin Deep Purple's My Woman from Tokyo.

Bayou Self - you're right! And I'm laughing hard right now! Poetic license, I suppose. I have a feeling I'll be laughing when I hear that song from now on.

All right, on to serious business - books to read on my trip, which has excrutiatingly long layovers in Denver (I'm also convinced it will snow and trap me there for days). I'm taking:
Merle Haggard's autobiography, or memoir, or whatever
Ken Follett's The Hammer of Eden - about ecoterrorists who set off an earthquake in California
PD James's Unnatural Causes
Le Carre's The Little Drummer Girl (been meaning to reread it for quite some time)

mo, thanks for the cutest panda update and the alert to the link on the front page. I look at the panda cam every day - well, every day that I'm home during the daytime, otherwise it's kind of boring...

Thank you for the senryu lesson, Omni/Mister Badger.

That makes sense to set up a rule that dipthongs and other vowels should be sounded out fully; I see from the wikipedia the Japanese rely on morae rather than syllables for haiku counts.

I will study this more, but as long as I am bound by this barbarian tongue (sob)...

I like to try and use internal rhymes or assonance or consonance for a more smooth effect. Japanese, after all, has more phonetic monotony than English.

I like that frog poem, I read it once with the last line translated as
spla-keruplooonkkk, something like that.

So

I never thought to find out-- are Japanese haikus written in kana form, or in chinese characters?
I notice that the haiku seems to be derived from a chinese poetic form with 4 lines.

omni:
Thanks for the heads up on Kristin Henderson's article. This is further evidence that something fishy and coinkidinky is going on here. Not just the blog but the whole Washington Post is either the nexus of the Universe or a figment of my imagination. (That Man Mo temple she mentions is within walking distance of where I live!)

I must say it was comforting to find out I'm not the only one with alms-giving issues/anxieties.

Nani:
That's exciting news about your move to Florida. I hope you'll still be able to 'boodle with us!

I was about 12 or so when I read Solaris, so there is a very good chance that I missed some, or most, or all, of the subtleties. Nevertheless I take umbrage at the assertion that most SciFi assumes the aliens speak English. They do not. Many assume you will stick a fish in your ear to translate.

And regarding HeeHaw, that fine television program provided me great philisophical comfort at one point in my life long ago:

Where, oh where, are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over,
and I thought I'd found true love.
But you met another,
and phphptt you was gone.

Such poetry as this the Bard himself might envy.

The wikipedia explanation of morae has me more bewildered than enlightened, and reminds me of why I never got far in linguistics...The examples they show are written in kanji, the writing system derived from Chinese characters, and they say:
Japanese hokku and haiku are traditionally printed in one vertical line, though in handwritten form they may be in any reasonable number of lines.

When I took Japanese, we learned the hiragana and katakana writing systems, and some basic kanji. None of the books we used referred to morae - they call hiragana and katakana syllabaries "which means each letter represents one syllable (a vowel, a consonant, or a consonant + vowel)". It gives examples:
su-shi - 2 syllables
Ho-n-da - 3 (n is a separate character, although the word is pronounced the same as we would say it, well, with a long "o")
To-o-kyo-o - 4 (because of the elongated "o" sound, which is how it is spelled in hiragana)

Well, I learn something new every day on the boodle. Japanese is such an interesting language - deceptively simple phonetically - then they throw in 3 different writing systems; casual, formal, and honorific forms; mind-bending concepts, such as adjectives with tenses. I honestly felt like my brain was going to turn inside out when I was studying it...

(still humming "My Woman from To-ki-yo"!)

And since I have killed the boodle anyway, here is a funny story from Japanese class. A common "functional" word is "wa" - it denotes the subject. It is written with the hiragana character for "ha". I asked my teacher, a native Japanese woman, why. She replied that it was less confusing! hahahahaha! I think she meant that when you are fluent, you know when to expect to see "wa" as the functional word versus "wa" as a syllable or part of a word...But it still cracks me up, because to me, wa written as ha was confusing. And did I mention that they don't leave spaces between words? Ai-yi-yi...

ScienceTim, most excellent description of The Prisoner ending.

I may have to watch it anyway. Did you know you can actually rent the apartments in The Village? Last I looked it was pretty reasonable $$$-wise.

http://www.portmeirion-village.com/

And for your reading pleasure:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scifaiku

(back to lurk mode after shameless Achenbloghogging)

My husband loved living in Japan and learning Japanese. He has a story he tells to illustrate how the Japanese tend to be very literal in their language:

He took his then-brand-new 1972 Toyota Landcruiser (the old, boxy kind that looked like a Jeep) to the body shop to have it repainted after an accident. The car was orange. He also had a green gas can he had, er, borrowed from the Army. He wanted that painted to match the car. So he told the man:

"Paint the car orange. And paint the gas can the same color."

When he picked up his car, it was painted beautifully in orange. And the can was, you guessed it, painted green. The same color (it had been).

wilbrod--

I wasn't familiar with the term mora, but having read the Wiki entry, I think it is best explained for Japanese this way: Each syllable is a consonant-plus-vowel, or else it is just the vowel, for instance the dictionary order for entries goes like this:

a i u e o
Ka ki ku ke ko
ta ti tu te to

and so on. The big important result is that you can't have any consonant clusters and you have to have a vowel after each consonant. For instance blog would be bu-ro-gu. You get funny things like ba-hha for Bach. I shouldn't have mentioned the "Tokyo" pronunciation because I don't think that's explainable in terms of modern rules, its just to illustrate (but if you go on the train when they announce Tokyo station, you can notice the funny drawn out pronunciation, because they're being very "Japanese" and correct). The Japanese haiku are written in Kanji, but naturally since there a lot of these are kanji that people don't recognize any more, or at least can't read out with confidence, you unusually see a Kana version with it.

I agree with you about English, you need all kinds of techniques that wouldn't apply in Japanese like assonance and internal rhymes (sp?) and so on. And the other thing is that naturally English is full of consonant clusters, so "technically" or to apply the rules about the number of morae you have the dilemma about whether to expand, for instance, if I say "blue tatami", should I make it "bu-ru-u (one short plus one long) tatami, or just blue (one generic syllable) plus tatami. And also, technically, if you have a concluding consonant you would need to assume a vowel after it. The only time you don't run into that problem in English is if you have no consonant clusters, so in a Japanized English you would end up with something strange like this

This(u) burogu (5)
Maruch(u) madunes(u)
Not(u) so good(u).

Trying this out in Japanese, you could say:

kono bu-ro-gu (this blog)
o-mo-shi-ro-ku na-i (not interesting)
Sa-n-gatsu no (the March one)

(I forget to mention there is one exception to the consonant-vowel rule, and it is that the letter "N" is a syllable (sorry, mora) by itself, so " san" (three) is counts.

Basho is the famous writer of these in Japanese, but the Chinese ones (which one day I will study and learn) are much more beautiful (and original: The subject of Basho unfortunately brings us back to the issue of plagiarism).

I consider this after hours and so there is no such thing as off-topic--and anyway we've already gone from basketball to Hee Haw to Japanese linguistics. So here's a random thought based on the book I'm reading. Not even a thought, mostly just a passage copied out in homage and awe.

The first time I read Doctorow's City of God, I was unaware that he was one of Achenbach's professors. Not that it has any great significance, but I am reading the book with a little more connectedness this time. Here's a paragraph and a half that is boodle-worthy:

===
--Uncounted billions of years idle away as this single-cell organism, this speck of corruption, this submicroscopic breach of nonlife, evolves selectively through realms of slime and armor-plated brutishness, past experimental kingdoms of horses two feet tall and lizards that fly, into the triumphant dominions of the furry self-improving bipeds, those of the opposed thumb and forefinger, who will lope out of prehistory to sublime into a teenage nerd at the Bronx High School of Science.

Of the brilliant boys I knew at Science whose minds were made to solve mathematical problems and skip happily among the most abstruse consepts of physics, a large number were jerks. I've since run into a few of them in their adulthood and they are still jerks. It is possible that the scientific character of mind is by its nature childish, capable through life of a child's wonder and excitements, but lacking real discernment, lacking sadness, too easily delighted by its own intellect...

...I think they simply are lacking in holy apprehension. I think the mad illiterate priest of a prehistoric religion tearing the heart out of a living sacrifice and holding it still pulsing in his two bloodied hands...might have had more discernment.

I liked both of the "Hee Haw" songs cited by Joel and by RD. I also always liked Roy Clark's desk clerk at the "Empty Arms Hotel."

Joel, I think Junior Samples is dead. The sign he held up at the end of his commercial showing the phone number of "BR-549" was taken as the name of an alt.country group that is still around.

I have troubles with the lines from "Lookin' Out my Back Door." "dinosaur Victrola" and "Buck Owens" doesn't have the same internal rhyme that "cartwheels" and "high heels" or "Illinois" and "oh, boy" or "tomorrow" and "no sorrow" have. But I haven't found anything that works better. Also "A dinosaur Victrola listenin' to Buck Owens" just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Or maybe I just can't Fogerty's slur. After all he was prescient enough to predict the needs of his old age by announcing "There's a bathroom on the right." (ducking)

>After all he was prescient enough

I always thought "Fotunate Son" was evidence enough of that.

Junior Samples died in the early 1980s. At the time I recall feeling a surprising amount of sadness at his passing. HeeHaw defined the term corny, but to us kids it was cutting edge humor. Funny but with a weird edge. Plus there were them perty ladies. HeeHaw also pointed out one of the fundamental question of our time:

Is it silly or merely foolish?

Hee haw was a lot of good natured fun, I don't think you even had to be a big country fan per se to enjoy it.

Plus there were them perty ladies.

I remember more Roy Clark really cooking, really impressive musicianship. But then I'm a Beverly Hillbillies fan too, so....

Plus there were them perty ladies.

hmmmm, kbertocci, now I want to pick up a Doctorow book for my trip. I think I've only read Ragtime, which was interesting for me because of the Pittsburgh tie-in with Frick. I didn't realize Doctorow was one of Joel's professors - wow...

Wow. I just had a comment "held for approval" by the blog's "owners." I thought I was the owner. Sort of. [In my dreams.] I can't comment on my own blog???? I have no idea what I wrote that was offensive, though I suspect the word "Kornheiser" is somehow considered a perjorative.

Yes, Doctorow was a professor of mine in a Creative Writing class in the fall of 1980, a date I summon only because of the vivid memory of the discussion we had in a scheduled office-hours meeting on Dec. 9, 1980, the morning after John Lennon was shot.

A study guide on Solaris:

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/science_fiction/solaris.html

Hal's implemention of Moveable Type appears to be a sword that cuts both ways, Joel.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Lem's "Solaris". It's interesting to see how many people liked Lem's books, even though they were all written in Polish, then translated to English.

As far as "The Prisoner" ending goes, they lost me with the weird killer beachball chase scenes. Now I'd say that it was a bad dream where the Teletubbies meet Benny Hill or something, where's that Benny Hill music to put those Prisoner chases to? Those daggone Iron Maiden guys did a tribute song, "The Prisoner", with some of the opening dialoge as the intro: "I am not a number! I am a free man! (maniacal laughter).

Ah, back to stuff I *should* be writing.

bc

I lived on a military base in Japan for two years about twenty years ago. When people asked me what I liked about Japan, I would say “I like looking at it.” But I could not explain the fascination any better.

Then I saw “Lost In Translation” and saw that Sofia Coppola also liked to look at it. And she explained Japan perfectly in all the camera shots --- beautiful, ugly, ancient, modern, sacred, profane. I stumbled once on a temple with rows and rows of tiny human figures made of clay --- many dressed in little sweaters and coats. A Japanese friend said it was a shrine to aborted babies. Walking out of the shrine there was a man urinating in the street. That is Japan.

>As far as "The Prisoner" ending goes

bc, in the interest of scientific inquiry I have just watched the last three episodes of The Prisoner, and I can only say it's just too weird beyond belief.

That said, it has a number of excellent signature riffs as you mentioned... not to mention a Lotus Super 7.

On the subject of LL's Bakersfield, it's worth a trip to eat at one of the Basque restaurants. I have driven from LA just to have lunch at Wool Growers' or Noriega Hotel. A fantastic meal, and I always think they made a math error on the bill.

Birding is more fun that watching TV. Did anyone notice that there were far less birds around over this winter season? The first harbinger of spring was heard about three weeks ago. Twas a Woodpecker or two. After that, Cardinals.

At the time, I thought last few episodes of The Prisoner were pretty chaotic, unlike the slow, hypnotic effect of the first twelve or fourteen or whatever number it was. I have read that the show was terminated prematurely by the $$ people, and had to suddenly end itself in two or three episodes, rather than going on like a Schubert sonata and ending when it was ready.

Just went way back to other postings. RE-Buck Owens. He could sing without stuttering because he followed the beat. Otherwise he was a severe stutterer. He should have taking the metronome treatment for such afflictions. Successful graduates of that program were Howard Cosell and Gregory Peck. After treatment, they figuratively heard a metronome in their head as they talked. This "mind's ear" metered distraction effectively stopped their stuttering. Hence, we vividly recall Howard Cosell, saying, "Hel-lo ever-ee-body, this is How-ard Co-sell "Speak-ing of Sports"(actually 'spah-ts') on the Ay-Bee-Cee ray-dio net-work." Back to Buck Owens. Was shocked to see how old and wrinkled BO was on an "Entertainment Tonight" story of his passing. How'd he get so old? Glad I'm not getting old. :) RE-Fogarty. Don't be looking into deep meanings of him or other songwriters. It's just a rhyme and twist of phrase to keep people perked up to listen. Yeah, I write some of them there songs, too. So's I know what they're a-doin.' :)

Boston Blackie, I don't recall seeing you around these parts before. I very much enjoyed your comments, especially the insight into why Cosell sounded the way he did. Odd how what was intended as something of a verbal crutch became such a powerful part of his public personna. (Sorry - too early for illiterations.)
Reading the study guide to Solaris I realise how little of that book I actually "got" when I was 12. I was a precocious reader and devoured SciFi. However, this did not make me a precocious thinker, and I should probably revisit some of those old classics. Except Heinlein - who I think is beyond redemption.
I am seeing an awful lot of Mason Green around this place this morning. It looks like St. Patrick's day without the beer. However if the team somehow manages to pull of another win, that may just show up too.

Re: Distorting Reality.

What about the movie "The Game" with Michael Douglas? I really can't remember if it was good or not, but what I do remember is that it was a total mind-trip. Well, more like a mind-f---. By the end of it you're so confused and disoriented that, at least for me, it was the most emotionally effective thriller since Hitchcock.

Andy Card will finally get some sleep. Dubya never seemed to lose sleep over his administration's freefall, why should his aides?

RD

No need to apologize for "illiterations" around here.

Good morning all. Cassandra, we didn't get a tv until I was around 10. Those old radio programs were great, Quiz Kids, Charlie Chan, Amos and Andy, Radio City Playhouse. And of course the music, swing and big band. Do you mind if I ask whether you have hearing aids? Is the problem that you can hear, but not clearly enough to understand what is being said or sung? Aren't there aids that block out the "static" (for lack of a better word). My impairment is lack of education and experience. The boodles are almost always over my head and by the time I finally figure things out (sort of), they've already moved to another kit, another boodle. But it's such a welcoming place to be, isn't it, kinda like a pot-bellied stove in the kitchen on a cold farm day morning?

'The Game' didn't work for me. I always wonder what the statute of limitations on Big Twists is. Is it so many weeks after release or until the DVD comes out?

By the way, Rosebud was his sled.

Error, I was totally going to stay away from the Super 7, you know how they don't like car talk in here.

Still, anyone who would have a Super 7 as a sole means of transportation has some questionable judgement to begin with. Emma Peel's Elan made a lot more sense, for example. And she dressed better.

I'm not sure Andy Card's going to sleep much better for awhile, yellojkt. Probably not until the Freedom of Information Act exemptions are lifted or no longer apply to the Bush II WH Administration documents.

bc

> Super 7 as a sole means of transportation has some questionable judgement to begin with

bc, so true but hey, he's a secret agent, who knows what he's got hidden away? After all, for anything important trips he gets kidnapped.

I got into the show because of "Secret Agent Man". (I think "Danger Man" in the UK.) I thought Patrick McGoohan made a very believable spy. He's not slick, he gets caught sometimes, he slaps female agents around. He's *not* a very nice fellow.

>ead that the show was terminated prematurely by the $$ people

jg, that makes perfect sense. Still, what an elaborate mind-****.

jg and LL, I know nothing whatsoever about Basque food, as a type. How would you characterize it?

Am reading Doctorow's "Water Works," set in the 1870s, and the narrator is a crusty old editor (wonder why I'm identifying with it?) The main character seems to be a young freelance reporter/critic named Martin Pemberton; don't know if he was in "The March" or not. Would have given my eye teeth to have been in Doctorow's creative writing class.

Hah, Loomis, doncha just love it that Joel got TypePadded out of his own blog! Maybe a hundred years from now cyberarcheologists will unearth the cache of withheld comments--mainly yours, mine, and now Joel's, and auction them off at CyberSotheby's for huge sums of money like an old Walt Kelley "Pogo."

Ha. I meant "alliteration," but I must admit "illiteration" is way funnier, and doubtless more accurate of what I write.

RD & bc: Used to watch The Prisoner regularly about 10 years ago on one of those cable channels...glad to see it back, alond with Dr. Who. The British television producers always had a propensity for picking the coolest vehicles for their characters. Our neighbor in Ohio had a Morgan, and lived through an accident on the turnpike that tore the wood framed beauty asunder...still like the older British sportsters.

Never seen The Prisoner, but I have seen The Simpsons episode when Homer stumbles upon a plot to put mind-controlling drugs in the annual flu vaccine so that people go into a shopping frenzy right before Christmas.

"Why did you think a big balloon would stop him?"
"Shut up! That's why!"

"I am not a number! I am a man, and don't you ever . . . oh wait . . ." (notices the number 5 on his shirt)
"I'm Number Five. Ha-ha! In your face, Number Six!"

yellojkt:

I recently saw a movie (RKO 281, starring Liev Schreiber) about how Orson Welles made Citizen Kane--I'm sure it's all hyped up, Hollywood-style, but regardless of the degree of verisimilitude, this stuck with me: the movie implied that "Rosebud" was actually a euphemism, a nickname, if you will, for something quite different from a sled (but just as much fun, I guess). Hollywood is so sick. But that movie did make me willing to give Citizen Kane another chance--I've seen it twice but it was more than 20 years ago, and it's enshrined on my list of "most over-rated movies" not too far from "My Dinner With Andre."

jack, as I like to say:

Morgans kick ash.

On a related note, I managed to catch some of the latest generation of Dr. Who on the SciFi channel last Friday night between NCAA basketball games.

Formula's basically the same, better production values, though the bargain-basement production of the 60s-early 80's Doctor were rather endearing (less the irritating K-9).

bc

Continuing with the topic of Basque Food (well, Curmudgeon asked about earlier this morning, so it's topical, ok?): Here's what I remember from my last journey to Bakersfield: Appetizer: Pickled beef tongue (not bad really); Main Course: Garlic fried chicken, pasta with garlic and tomatoes, and some green vegetable (I don't remember). Everything was served family style, which means you sit at a large bench-style table with other patrons and pass the rolls and vegetables. I remember the food being abundant and cheap. None of the patrons appeared to be Basque, though all appeared to be within the demographic of the Buck Owens Fan Club. That's my report, and I'm sticking to it. Have a wonderful morning.

Just finished Doctorow's Ragtime (Joel I'm impressed you had him for a prof!) and will be picking up Captured by Aliens from B&N this afternoon. In the 70s, my children and I saw what we think was a UFO. The image we saw was very similar to descriptions of UFOs I'd read about from others who reported sightings: glowing orange, cigar shaped object flying quite low. No sound. It didn't come gradually into view, it was just suddenly **there**. We turned to each other just long enough to ask "Do you see THAT?" and it was gone. It didn't fade from view, it just wasn't there anymore.

There's a good article by Eugene Robinson about the illegal immigration situation. I worked for a woman in SA who had a young Mexican girl who was her live-in-maid. She worked for a very cheap salary and room and board. My boss attempted to justify the low salary by explaining that "She sends all her money home to her parents in Mexico and American money is worth twice as much as Mexican". She also complained that the girl kept running away and she and her husband had to "find her and bring her back".

I'm just wondering -- what's the generational divide between Boodlers who get the Kreskin joke, and those who don't?

Tim - I thought the same thing. I recall seeing Kreskin on television, but that was long, long, ago.

Kreskin, Carnac, or Uri Geller?

Or Senor Wences and Pedro, for that matter.

bc

Tim - I'll wager the generational divide there is about the same as those who immediately hear a song in their head when a mention is made of "My Woman from Tokyo."

kbertocci, I agree with you about Citizen Kane being over-rated. I saw it the first time ever last year because I read about it once again and thought I have to finally watch this to get it off my list and to see what all the hype is about. Most boring movie ever (a little hyperbolic). And of course the end was ruined because I already knew what rosebud was (stupid article). Then later I found out it gets its great movie characterization from the cinematography. Well, he11, who but another cinematographer would even care. Stupid, stupid, boring movie!!!

Nani, I have a hearing aid, in fact the loudest one you can buy, but listening to the radio is still difficult. I don't have a radio in my home, I usually try to listen to the car radio. My son, when he was in the hospital wanted a radio, and my daughter got him one. He had the TV in the room but he wanted to listen to the radio. For me, the radio is comfort whether I can understand it or not. Thanks for asking Nani.

As to Eugene Robinson's piece this morning, I told him that I find it ironic that the son of a slave is writing his opinion on another set of people that are being treated badly. Not as badly as slaves were treated, but bad any way. I always think about how African-Americans came to this country, stolen and shipped here against their will, and then treated like the dregs of society, their free labor never really appreciated and never really honored, but here we have this great country of ours trying to do the right thing about some folks that just took upon themselves to come here, all under the guise of they provide a much needed service, filling jobs that Americans don't want. That's a load of crap that even the words themselves can hardly stand up to. Slave labor takes a new form, and tries to look pretty for dinner.

Okay, who remembers this.

http://www.gamepile.com/images/game2701.jpg

sorry...can't..help...myself..ardgf

Giles: Uh, well, basically the, uh, the She-Mantis assumes the form of a beautiful woman and then lures innocent virgins back to her nest.
Buffy: Virgins? Well, Xander's not a, uh...I mean, he's probably...
Willow: ...gonna die!

I *do* wish you guys would stop bringing "Mah Wo-MAN from Toe-KAY-Oh" up, that's another song I've been trying to get out of my head for the past few days.

On a related note, I loaned one of my nephews (10 years old) one of my old guitars so he could take lessons. When my oldest daughter and I were over there, he started banging out "Smoke on the Water", which sent by 14-year old daughter and I into peals of laughter. No doubt "Stairway" will make the playlist shortly.

bc

I do. Darn it.

My woman from Tokyo
she makes me see
My woman from Tokyo
she's so good to me

Eh, I think "Kane" is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I suppose it may stem from the fact that I *do* pay attention to cinematography as well as story. My position being that movies *are* primarily a visual medium and all...

I'll go ahead and toss this back to omni & kbertocci - what do you folks think are the greatest movies of all time?

bc

SCC at 10:48, replace "by" with "my".

*Bleah*

bc

"Crossroads" with Britney Spears.

>who but another cinematographer would even care

Well I guess I've been promoted from cheesy wedding videographer. Thanks omni! :-)

The "mise en scènes", depth of focus, the opening crane shot going through the roof...

Citizen Kane rocks.

I am ashamed to report that in fact, I was thinking of Carnac the Magnificant when I mentioned Kreskin. It took me a few minutes of research (= googling) to figure out my error.

I never heard of My Woman from Tokyo before yesterday. I do not think of music when I hear that title. I have no idea what you're talking about.

I liked Citizen Kane, but it's not one of those feel-good movies that you watch again and again. Too draining.

New kit coming in about half an hour, if I can recover from the trauma of people dissing Citizen Kane. I may actually have to abandon the blog if we can't agree on Kane. It may be the deal-breaker we've been fearing lo these many months.

My first exposure to Orson Welles was as the Mighty Pompous Narrator of "Start the Revolution Without Me," then the Paul Masson wine ads. It took a while before I got a chance to hear "War of the Worlds" all the way through and see Citizen Kane and to learn what he was before he became a self-parody.

Tim, you clearly suffered from a Deep Purple deficit in your youth.

bc

OK I conced you don't have to be a cinema...(getting tired of typing that word and checking the spelling even though it would be easier than all this for an explanation)...to like/love Citizen Kane. But for me I watch movies cause I have no life, and what I look for are interesting characters played by good actors, action, comedy, action, romance, and did I mention action. (ok I got a little hyperbolic again with action).

Recently saw "The Shipping News" a second time. No action, just a tinge of romance (mostly near the end), only a little bit to laugh about, but the characters are GREAT, and the way Kevin Spacey gradually comes out of his shell!!! This is a superb movie. If you haven't seen it you should.

good one, bc, trying to make me "think" at work...

When I try to think of my favorite movies, there are so many and all so different that it's overwhelming. But I will say that among the classics, Casablanca gets me every time and I've seen it many, many times. If I had to say "the best movie of all time" which is what people often say about Citizen Kane, I would probably say Casablanca.

Now, in an entirely different vein, last weekend I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid on dvd with special features including interviews with the stars and director, and I decided from now on, when I want to watch a movie, I'm just going to watch THAT movie. Over and over. It's great. Classic quote: "Who ARE those guys?" Classic scene, the final scene when they are both wounded, still wisecracking and planning the future. In the category of "faux-historical character dramas with high-concept themes and musical interludes", I'd have to vote for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Love Citizen Kane. Also Casablanca and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

But my alltime favorite might be Little Big Man.

The funniest thing I ever saw in Buffy was the episode where suddenly no one can talk, and Giles resorts to using transparencies complete with amusingly bad drawings to explain what he found out about the bad guys. Probably my favorite episode overall, because it the lack of dialogue makes it more surreal than usual.

...and "Danse Macabre" being played on a Giles' tape-player while he shows his transparencies pushes it right over the edge into crazyness.

omni, the book is even better! That's Annie Proulx, you know, the Brokeback Mountain author. But she knows everything about Newfoundland!! and The Shipping News has lots of information woven into the plot. Knots, lots of knots. It's hard to put knots into a movie.

And Joel, this could be the end. I really don't like it, never have, and probably never will. Not in a box, not with a fox, you know. The only glimmer of hope is, I SAID I'm planning to give it another try.

omni, my friend, you're welcome to continue dancing.

kbertocci, you bring up an interesting topic as well as two excellent films. The movies you mention I consider to be romances (Of *course* Butch & Sundance love each other!) with tragic conclusions, where I think of Kane as a classical tragedy in the Greek vein.

Engaged vs. disengaged.
Woman and Man.

Hmmm.

bc

What you have to understand going onto "Citizen Kane" is that it's a pure work of art. It's like going to see "La Guernica" and expecting "Calvin and Hobbes", or reading "Ulysses and expecting "The DaVinci Code". It just doesn't fall in the realm as something that is usually thought of as entertainment.

Given its medium, however, I also think that is the film's biggest, and only, flaw. You can entertain, and still be true to the art.

The "My Woman from Tokyo" music cootie is now Deep-ly in my head.

Time to jack in. I just picked up "Freehand" by Gentle Giant, that should do it.

on the other hand, omni, what do you say? If the future of the boodle depended on it would you join the Orson Welles fan club?

Are we all just trying to get along here, or is everyone entitled to his opinion?

I REALLY wish Kurosawaguy was here for this whole conversation.

"Little Big Man" - oh, that was a funny, funny, tragic movie.

bc

I vote with omni on 'The Shipping News'. A superb movie. I like 'Citizen Kane' but have to agree with someone above who noted that Welles became a self-parody. Quite sad really.

kbertocci - i'm with you on citizen kane (and i'm a retired actress so...) now i'll totally hafta give it a second chance tho... i'll keep my mind open...

don't know any deep purple so i don't get that whole "woman from tokyo" reference nor do i get the kreskin reference or the prisoner... basically this whole boodle's been lost on me...

*sigh* my head hurts...

bc, you can also see Butch and Sundance as classic tragic heroes, with The Flaw of hubris and the inability to see what is obvious to everyone around them, namely that their fate is to die a violent death. I agree that their love for each other is very important to the story and the film, but it's not a tragic "love story" the way Romeo and Juliet or Casablanca is.

re: movies. I'm going to say Casablanca and Apocalypse Now. The latter is a visual masterpiece and so much more compelling than Conrad's book IMHO. (another opinion: the Redux portion belonged on the cutting room floor).

I'm also going to support our Leader on Citizen Kane, if only for what it represented at the time. Watch some of the 30's movies on TCM, and then watch Citizen Kane.

re: generational divide. I vaguely know that Kreskin was some kind of mind reader. Familiar with "My Woman from Tokyo" however; it is practically the soundtrack for Achenblog in my head for the last while.

It was a diss at first, but then I conceded it has great cinematography, and that's why it gets a great movie nod, but having explained what I look for in a movie I don't see how me saying I think it's boring and stupid is a true diss. It's great for what it's great for, unfortunately what it's great for ain't my thing. SOSUMEE (we really need italics).

Thanks kbertocci, just added another book to my list.

bc, I'm confused, why am I welcome to continue dancing?

And I did a google search for that BtVS epsiode jw mentions and found this:

http://www.atd.ucar.edu/rsf/IMPROVE/SPOL/widgets/blank.gif

I can't remember who I was disscussing the book 'Memoirs of a Geisha' with but must report, after much waffling I finished the book. I was stalled about 1/3 of the way thorugh, and did not feel it was worth my time to finish. About 20 pages after my stall, the book improved dramatically and now I think I may end up re-reading it, to get what I missed in the first part on the first go around.

I know that we are not dissucssing books this morning, but I need to know if I force myself to read the currently many times started 'Gone with the Wind', if I am going to experience the same phenomenon? Will I end up liking it even though I hate it at the start?

Bakersfield Basque food has been described quite accurately in the Boodle this morning--it's expensive, served family-style, fresh and delicious. Woolgrowers was the place to go.

As for the immigration argument, please know there is quite a difference between the white Hispanics of Mexicans, versus those with mostly or all mestizo blood. The white (and often tall) Mexicans tend to fare better--Vicente Fox, Adolfo Zinzer (two examples south of the border), and our own former mayors Henry Cisneros and Ed Garza (north of the border).

I am coming down with another respiratory infection--achy, earache, sore throat. But at least I have Mucinex! So my Boodles will be few and far between this week. Had so wanted to go to another Main Plaza meeting this night, where the mayor will finally (supposedly) show up. No way, Jose.

That's a google search for the lyrics (I'm a dunce)

and bc - that's not a fair question - greatest movie of all time... by who's/what standards??? there's a difference between FAVORITE movie and GREATEST movie...

personally, my FAVORITE movie is a toss up between Godfather I&II (III shouldn't even be considered a movie! bleh!) and Harold & Maude...

as far as GREATEST movie... do you go with AFI's list?
http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx
with citizen kane being #1... there are so many great movies that i can't choose... they rate a clockwork orange as #46 over the wizard of oz as #6... hmmm... i think i'd reverse that even tho woo changed film making...

and a BOoOber

Is 12 yet so I can go for a walk and lunch???

btw - they rated butch cassidy #50

I agree with mo about Favorite vs Greatest.

I have never seen any of the Godfather movies though.

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! NEVER SEEN A GODFATHER MOVIE?????????? *sigh* OMNI!
get thee to a video store this very second! if you like to be entertained... you will be ENTERTAINED! and excellent cinamatography (i can't spell i'm so shocked!)

I should print out that list and start by scratching off the ones I've seen, then work my way down. Skipping the Godfather movies though. I think I haven't seen a third of them.

New kit (and my top movie list) now up.

omni, omni, omni...never saw a Godfather movie. *sigh*

Good examples mo... I think "A Clockwork Orange" is a terrific movie, but I hardly ever watch it because it's so disturbing.

"Brazil" is another one that comes to mind.

On the other hand, I watch Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon several times a year.

"Wizard of Oz" is sort of not fair, having seen it as a kid it's harder to separate those emotions out. But considering it was done in 1939 I think it deserves mad props for the mix of color and b/w, the casting, the sets...

AFI's list is interesting, but in the end the only list that matters is your own.

Mo,

No kidding on the surprisingly high placement of Wizard of Oz (better than Schindler's List? Come on).

Thanks for that link. I recently saw High Noon for the first time (local library selling off video collection). Quite gripping! However, I found the song that gets repeated a bit "off".

Off to new kit!

Heroes? Those guys were criminals (with a conscience, anyway).

Hm, kbertocci, I see B&S as a movie about these characters' relationship, from beginning to tragic end. I *do* think it's a tragic love story.

Now, this movie was made, what, 36 years ago, so there's no pitchin' tents in the wilderness, but I think it's clear that these guys value their relationship with each other above all else, including paying the ultimate price for it in the end.

Note: I intentionally left out the phrase "forbidden love", because I didn't think it applied.

I am teasing you a bit here kbertocci, but think about it this way: transform Butch's character into a woman, and how much does it change the movie? My position: not much.

bc

omni, there are so many cultural references to the Godfather that I decided once and for all I was going to watch them. I got them all, and I watched the first one. That was enough. I have seen plenty of mafia movies, more than I would have if I wasn't married to, you know, a "bertocci"--but I'm skipping the rest of the Corleone family history.

Sorry, mo, but we'll just have to agree to disagree...

Have many favorite films but no opinion on the greatest movie ever. I do enjoy the cinematography in Kane and In Cold Blood. Some of the greatest acting, in my opinion are in supporting roles, James Stephenson in The Letter; Ralph Richardson in The Heiress; Eileen Heckart in The Bad Seed; Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Boogie Nights and Talented Mr. Ripley. In starring roles, Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman in Papillon; Charlize Theron in Monster. My "crush" now is David Strathairn. You can have George Clooney (he's silly in interviews, always saying he needs a drink, or he's gonna get plastered.) But I did like him in Three KIngs and O Brother.

mo, I was asking what Boodlers think, as there's no right or wrong answers IMO.

Mudge posts a long list in the next Kit.

bc

Classic line: (for you, bc)

"Just keep thinkin', Butch--that's what you're good at."

OK, people still boodling here even though there's a new Kit. I have to weigh in on Citizen Kane - it's a brilliant movie - don't you love Joseph Cotten? And the fact that it's based on William Hearst's actual life - and he was alive and filthy rich and powerful at the time (I believe I'm correct about his being alive when it came out) - and Orson Welles was just a whippersnapper! Anyway, I think it's good, although probably not my favorite movie. Casablanca, Notorious, North by Northwest, Harvey, The Philadelphia Story - those are some of my favorites. Twelve Monkeys is a recent one I find fascinating. Beetlejuice, O Brother Where Art Thou, Broadcast News - I can watch over and over.

Kguy, we need you!

You can do movies on the next boodle if you wanna because there's an appended section on Citizen Kane.

Ha! That made me laugh, k.

bc

Someone mentioned Joseph Cotton in Ck. I thought he was terrific as the evil Uncle Charley in "Shadow of Doubt." Lots of practical location shooting, like downtown Santa Barbara, CA, in the early 40s. Three of my top movies are "Seconds," "Manchurian Candidate" and and "Network." The obscure but fantastic movie "Seconds" stars Rock Hudson as an older executive who wants to start his life over again. But there is a fatal catch if you tire of your "new you." Heh. Look for Grandpa Walton as a gosh-shucks owner of the body change store. Richard Anderson, who later played the doc in the $6 Milion Man TV series plays another kind of doc at the end of Seconds. Both Seconds & the more familiar Manchurian Candidate with good old Frankie Sinatra are from sadly-departed John Frankenheimer. Whew! That's enough for now. Of course, I make movies, too. BB is my alias on this board, of course. Heck, everybody else has a knickname on here, except our leader Joel. :) Mozel! I don't get back to this board very often now. But there's a LOT of movietalk. Anybody want to talk technology, editing, efx, marketing? Heh. Marketing is what it's really all about.

Hey, just a quick note to all you boodlers: head over mydd.com to give Joel a word of support! A recent post of his is being unfairly maligned as "the most facile" ever. I know we've seen kits of much lower quality:

http://mydd.com/story/2006/3/28/94615/0434

Seriously, I love MyDD, but Joel needs to challenge Matt to a duel. Preferably by slapping him with his Achenglove.

the story was so very funny