Joys and Vexations

Taking a page from one of my favorite bloggers, Angst in the City, I'm going to list things that bring me joy and things that irritate the heck out of me:
Delights:

1. When someone brings me coffee in bed. I love coffee and I love being in bed. This little service makes it easier for me to get up in the morning. It's fact: lovers who do this tend to stay around longer than those who do not.
2. Flowers - especially roses, lilies, orchids, and tulips
3. Family and Friends
   
4. Swings
   
5. Live music
6. Trains arriving right after you reach the platform
7. Finding money in pockets
8. Going to the movies and drinking coca cola that I pre-hid in my bag.
   
9. Holding hands
10. Cleaning/organizing places that have been dirty for a long time.
11. Giving clothes to charity.
12. Making tea
13. Looking through photo albums
14. Watching the Cubs game with a beer
15. The cool side of the pillow
16. Newly sharpened pencils
17. Barack and Michelle Obama.
    
18. Spinach & Artichoke dip and martinis with friends at Matisse.
    
19. Falling asleep on airplanes.
    

Vexations:

1. People who need to get over themselves
2. Bad breath after sitting on an airplane or at a concert for too long.
3. Finding my gum in random places
   
4. Photos with red-eye
5. Bra straps that keep falling down.
   
6. People who have long stringy hair and need a hair cut but don't do it because they are bizarrely attached to their long stringy hair.
7. Having roots when highlights grow out.
8. People's headphones that are too loud on planes, buses, public places in general.
9. Changing the toilet paper roll
10. permanent stains on fabric
    
11. Being told to smile or stop yawning by strangers.
12. Unlabeled photographs..
    
13. The heat lamps at train stations that don't turn on until Nov. 1 even though the temperatures dip to 30F by late September
14. Being late for anything.
    
15. Long lines
16. Slow traffic. Really hate that.
    
17. USPS vans that double park on busy thoroughfares because they can.
18. Po-Po giving me speeding tickets
19. Belligerent bureaucrats
20. Overpriced art supplies
21. The smell of libraries and grocery stores.
22. Dirty pillowcases
23. Greasy spots on train and bus windows where people have lain their heads.
24. Body hair that grows back despite repeated waxing.
    

I'm sure I will think of more to add to this list.

Past Favorite Songs

1. Fuck and Run - Liz Phair - Exile from Guyville.
1. I woke up alarmed
   I didn't know where I was at first
   Just that I woke up in your arms
   And almost immediately I felt sorry
   'Cause I didn't think this would happen again
   No matter what I could do or say
   Just that I didn't think this would happen again
   With or without my best intentions, and
   What ever happened to a boyfriend
   The kind of guy who tries to win you over, and
   What ever happened to a boyfriend
   The kind of guy who makes love cause he's in it
2. Nothing Better - The Postal Service - Give Up
1. (Ben Gibbard)
   Would someone please call a surgeon
   Who can crack my ribs and repair this broken heart
   That you're deserting for better company
   
   I can't accept that it's over
   And I will block the door
   Like a goalie tending the net
   In the third quarter
   Of a tied game rivalry
   
   So just say how to make it right
   And I swear I'll do my best to comply
   
   Tell me am I right to think that there could be nothing better
   Than making you my bride and slowly growing old together
   
   (Jen Wood)
   I feel I must interject here
   You're getting carried away
   Feeling sorry for yourself
   With these revisions and gaps in history
   
   So let me help you remember
   I've made charts and graphs
   That should finally make it clear
   I've prepared a lecture
   On why I have to leave
   
   So please back away and let me go
   
   (Ben Gibbard)
   I can't my darling; I love you so
   (Both)
   Oh oh
   (Ben Gibbard)
   Tell me am I right to think that there could be nothing better
   Than making you my bride and slowly growing old together
   (Jen Wood)
   Don't you feed me lies about some idealistic future
   Your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures
   (Ben Gibbard)
   I know that I have made mistakes
   And I swear I'll never wrong you again
   (Jen Wood)
   You've got allure I can't deny
   But you've had your chance
   So say goodbye
   
3. Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
1. There's blood in my mouth cause
   I've been biting my tongue all week
   I keep on talking trash
   But I never say anything
   And the talking leads to touching
   And the touching leads to sex
   And then there is no mystery left
   
   I know I'm alone
   If I'm with or without you
   But just being around you
   Offers me another form of relief
   When the loneliness leads to bad dreams
   And the bad dreams lead me to calling you
   And I call you and say "come here!"
   
   Cause you're just damage control
   For a walking corpse like me, like you
   
   Cause we'll all be portions for foxes
   Yeah we'll all be portions for foxes
   And you're bad news, my friends tell me to leave you
   And you're bad news, I don't care I like you
   I like you
4. Bye Bye Blackbird - Joe Cocker - Sleepless in Seattle Soundtrack
   
1. Pack up all my care and woe
   Here I go, singing low
   Bye bye blackbird
   Where somebody waits for me
   Sugar's sweet, so is she
   Bye bye blackbird
   No one here can love or understand me
   Oh what hard luck stories they all hand me
   Make my bed and light the light
   I'll arrive late tonight
   Blackbird, bye bye
5. Close to Me - the Cure - The Head on the Door
1. I've waited hours for this
   I've made myself so sick
   I wish I'd stayed
   asleep today
   
   I never thought this day would end
   I never thought tonight could ever be
   this close to me
   
   just try to see in the dark
   just try to make it work
   to feel the fear before you're here
   I make the shapes come much too close
   I pull my eyes out
   hold my breath
   and wait until I shake...
   
   but if I had your faith
   then I could make it safe and clean
   if only I was sure
   that my head on the door was a dream
   
6. Angeles - Elliott Smith - Either/Or
1. Someone's always coming around here trailing some new kill
   Says I seen your picture on a hundred dollar bill
   And what's a game of chance to you, to him is one of real skill
   So glad to meet you
   Angeles
   
   Picking up the ticket shows there's money to be made
   Go on and lose the gamble that's the history of the trade
   You add up all the cards left to play to zero
   And sign up with evil
   Angeles
   
   Don't start me trying now
   Cause I'm all over it
   Angeles
   
   I could make you satisfied in everything you do
   All your secret wishes could right now be coming true
   And be forever with my poison arms around you
   
   No ones gonna fool around with us
   No ones gonna fool around with us
   So glad to meet you
   Angeles
   
   
7. Fidelity - Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
1. I never loved nobody fully
   always one foot on the ground
   and by protecting my heart truly
   I got lost in the sounds
   .
   
8. You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
1. Meet you downstairs in the bar and heard
   Your rolled up sleeves and your skull t-shirt
   You say what did you do with him today?
   And sniff me out like I was Tanqueray
   
   Cause you're my fella, my guy
   Hand me your stella and fly
   By the time I'm out the door
   You're tear men down like Roger Moore
   
   Upstairs in bed, with my ex boy
   He's in the place, but I can't get joy
   Thinking on you in the final throes, this is when my buzzer goes
   
   I cheated myself, like I knew I would
   I told ya, I was trouble You know that I'm no good
   
   
9. First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
1. This is the first day of my life
   Swear I was born right in the doorway
   I went out in the rain
   Suddenly everything changed
   They're spreadin' blankets on the beach
   
   Yours is the first face that I saw
   Think I was blind before I met you
   
   Remember the time you drove all night
   Just to meet me in the morning
   And I thought it was strange
   You said everything changed
   You felt as if you'd just woke up
   And you said,
   But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you
   And I'd probably be happy.
   
   So if you wanna be with me
   With these things there's no telling
   We just have to wait and see
   But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
   Than waiting to win the lottery
   
   Besides maybe this time it's different
   I mean I really think you like me...
   
   
10. The Bachelor and the Bride - The Decemberists - Her Majesty the Decemberists 2003
1. There's a wrinkle in the water
   where we laid our first daughter
   And I think the wind blows so sweetly there
   
   "But I" said the bachelor to the bride
   "Am not waiting for tonight.
   No, I will box your ears
   and leave you here stripped bare."
   And his fingers are they telling
   of the barren of her belly
   And his callouses cure her furrowed brow
   even now
   
   
   

Best TV Quotes: Arrested Development, Part I

Arrested Development

Lucille Bluth: I'll be in the hospital bar.
Michael Bluth: Uhh, you know, there isn't a hospital bar, mother.
Lucille Bluth: Well, this is why people hate hospitals.
Truer words are rarely spoken. Why don't hospitals have bars? They should to help families deal with the interminable waits, the overbearing knowledge that a loved one is terminally ill, and the fear of impending surgery. Not to mention, having extra alcohol on hand if the hospital should run out of anesthesia or disinfectant. That how they did it in the old days - no morphine? have a bottle of whiskey.

In a similar vein, libraries should have coffee shops. It would cover the smell of homeless people, recycled air, and dusty pages. And I would be much more likely to go to the library if they had scones and lattes.

Best Movie Quotes: Superbad

Why is Fogell the best character in Superbad (2007)? Because he thinks he is the shit and exudes confidence even though his friends and peers dis him - consequently he becomes the shit.

In addition, McLovin is the only one of the trio who actually gets laid at the party (the stated goal of the evening), he has a fake ID, he parties with cops, and talks like a white-boy gangster. Nice.

Best exchange of the Movie:


Fogell: Yo guys! Sup?
Seth: Fogell, where have you been, man? You almost gave me a goddamn heart attack. Let me see it. Did you pussy out or what?
Fogell: No noooo, man. I got it; it is flawless. Check it!
Evan: [examining the fake ID] Hawaii. All right, that's good. That's hard to trace, I guess. Wait... you changed your name to... McLovin?
Fogell: Yeah.
Evan: McLovin? What kind of a stupid name is that, Fogell? What, are you trying to be an Irish R&B singer?
Fogell: Naw, they let you pick any name you want when you get down there.
Seth: And you landed on McLovin...
Fogell: Yeah. It was between that or Muhammed.
Seth: Why the FUCK would it be between THAT or Muhammed? Why don't you just pick a common name like a normal person?
Fogell: Muhammed is the most commonly used name on Earth. Read a fucking book for once.
Evan: Fogell, have you actually ever met anyone named Muhammed?
Fogell: Have YOU actually ever met anyone named McLovin?
Seth: No, that's why you picked a dumb fucking name!
Fogell: Fuck you.
Seth: Gimme that. All right, you look like a future pedophile in this picture, number 1. Number 2: it doesn't even have a first name, it just says "McLovin"!
Evan: What? One name? ONE NAME? Who are you? Seal?
Seth: Fogell, this ID says that you're 25 years old. Why wouldn't you just put 21, man?
Fogell: Seth, Seth, Seth. Listen up, ass-face: every day, hundreds of kids go into the liquor store with fake IDs, and every single one says they're 21. Pssh, how many 21 year olds do you think there are in this town? It's called fucking strategy, all right?
Evan: Stay calm, okay? Let's not lose our heads. It's... it's a fine ID; it'll... it's gonna work. It's passable, okay? This isn't terrible. I mean, it's up to you, Fogell. This guy is either gonna think 'Here's another kid with a fake ID' or 'Here's McLovin, a 25 year-old Hawaiian organ donor'. Okay? So what's it gonna be?
Fogell: [grinning] ... I am McLovin!
Seth: No you're not. No one's McLovin. McLovin's never existed because that's a made up dumb FUCKING FAIRY TALE NAME, YOU FUCK!

Best TV Quotes: Stay out of Vietnam

A Message From the President of the United States

President George Bush (Dana Carvey)
George Bush: Good evening. Happy holidays to you all. Once against it's that festive season. Tonight our Jewish friends observe the fifth night of Hanukkah, the celebration of a military victory won centuries ago in a part of the world where today 400,000 brave Americans await my order to annihilate Iraq. None of us want war in that whole area out over there. But as commander-in-chief, I am ever cognizant of my authority to launch a full-scale orgy of death there in the desert sands. Probably won't, but then again, I might.

And if we do go to war, I can assure you---it will not be another Vietnam. Because we learned well the simple lesson of Vietnam: "Stay out of Vietnam." They'll beat you bad, b-a-a-d.

But this time is different, because the world is behind us. Critics say, why is the U.S. doing all the work? Not true. Seventy-eight countries are contributing to Operation Desert Shield. Not all are sending troops---sure. But giving what they are able. From Belgium, nylon helmet covers. From New Zealand, socks, ranging from sizes six through twelve. Six is small. Twelve, that's big. Me, I'm a ten and a half. Could wear a ten. Wouldn't be prudent. From the Congo, Ray-Ban sunglasses---two pair. From Yugoslavia, men's swimming trunks. From Mexico, salsa. And the list goes on. You see, world behind us, not like Vietnam.

And this time, our strike will be swift and deadly. I know you're watching, Saddam. And time is running out. The deadline---the morning of January fifteenth. One month from today. And when that morning dawns, you won't be hearing the chirping birds. You'll be hearing something very different---something like this...
[Bomb whistle]
George Bush: Then nuthin'. You wait---KABOOM! Then...
[Bomb whistle]
George Bush: ---nuthin', you're lucky it's a dud. Then---
[Bomb whistle]
George Bush: ---KABOOM! Short fuse, heh, heh, heh. And finally the last thing you'll hear as you pass into oblivion: "Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!"

Dana Carvey as George H.W. Bush is one of the funnier presidential impersonations from Saturday Night Live. The line that is particularly relevant is 'We learned our lesson from Vietnam, Stay Out of Vietnam!" because that is the only lesson the Bush administration learned. It's as if fighting unnecessary wars in foreign countries to topple fearsome dictators who aren't actually a threat to America is an action taken on a case by case basis. And it is not! Going to war is an action that should never be taken - except in the case of fighting the Axis/Nazi/Fascist/Imperial Powers in World War II. I know all of this has already been said by people more funny and eloquent than myself but I had to reiterate it anyway: War profits no one.
I also like Mahatma Gandhi's quote about this: "What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?"

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948), "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

Worth thinking about.

The Blind Assassin: Best Quotes

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood is one of my top five favorite novels. To show that my taste is justified, I would like to point out that The Blind Assassin won the Booker Prize in 2000.

It tells the story of the two sisters, Iris and Laura Chase, born into a wealthy Canadian family during the interwar years. The Great Depression decimates the family's wealth and the sisters realize how useless their education is in a world which denies women their independence. Iris is forced into a disastrous marriage with a villainous industrialist; Laura tries to salvage her independence but is sent away to a booby hatch. They both love a Communist agitator on the lam named Alex.

The Blind Assassin is a story within a story within a story. The aged Iris narrates the events of her youth, interspersed with the science fiction novella written by Laura entitled "The Blind Assassin" and newspaper clippings. The novella tells the story of two lovers who meet in secret and construct a fantasy world to avoid direct conversation about their miserable worlds apart from each other.

In the way that the novel is presented as a body of evidence for the reader to synthesize, its structure reminds me of Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White. As do the surprise twist endings.

I write this flawed book report - not to review the novel or entice you to read it - but to highlight some of my favorite lines.

In "The Blind Assassin" novella's science fiction story, the protagonist who is literally a hired blind assassin, comes to murder a virgin (who has been rendered voiceless) set to be sacrificed the next day. Instead of killing her, the two desperate people fall in love:

"Some of the best things are done by those with nowhere to turn, by those who don't have time, by those who truly understand the word helpless. They dispense with the calculation of risk and profit, they take no thought for the future, they're forced at spearpoint into the present tense. Thrown over a precipice, you fall or else you fly; you clutch at any hope, however unlikely; however - if I may use such an overworked word - miraculous. What we mean by that is, Against all odds.
And so it is, this night.
The blind assassin begins very slowly to touch her, with one hand only, the right - the dexterous hand, the knife hand. He passes it over her face, down her throat; then he adds the left hand, the sinister hand, using both together, tenderly, as if picking a lock of the utmost fragility, a lock made of silk. It's like being caressed by water. She trembles, but not as before with fear. After a time she lets the red brocade fall away from around her, and takes his hand and guides it.
Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth.
This is how the girl who couldn't speak and the man who couldn't see fell in love."

My favorite line is really only the last but the previous paragraphs are also excellent and provide context. I like the idea that two people may be utterly flawed but still able to love; also incapable of communicating in a way the other can understand except through touch. In a world of conflicting voices, of pressures and shoulds, might touch be the only guide? Perhaps on a primal level our bodies tell us things that our minds are unwilling or unable to understand. The mind-body connection with illness is well documented...might it be that way with love?

Regardless, the important lesson is that we need to love even if circumstances are not right because they never will be perfect and life is short. I mean all kinds of love between all people.

Best TV Quotes: SUMMER DONNA!

A/k/a Simmer down now! is the latest in my favorite quotes.

On Saturday Night Live, Cheri Oteri played a Donna Summer fan/crazy cashier who constantly tells customers to "simma." For example:

Customer #2: I just bought my son a kid's meal and there was no toy in it.
Nadine: So, you want an additional "Road to El Dorado'\" figyareen?
Customer #2: No, I don't want an additional 'figyareen'; I want the one that was supposed to be in it to begin with!
Nadine: Ok, just simma down now, simma down!
Customer #2: Why don't I start 'simmain' down' by speaking to the manager?
Nadine: [grabs microphone] Curtis! Need you up heah, now!


Curtis, Burger Castle Manager: Yes, ma'am. Can I hep ya?
Customer #2: [Points at Nadine] You can start by firing her.
Curtis, Burger Castle Manager: First, let me ask you; who is the 'Queen of Disco'?
Customer #2: Uh, Donna Summer?
Nadine: And how do her name appeah in the phone book?
Customer #2: Uh, Summer, Donna?
Curtis, Burger Castle Manager: Now, slow it down.
Customer #2: Summer, Donna, Summer, Donna.
Curtis, Burger Castle Manager: That's right, now stretch it out.
Customer #2: Summmer, Donnnna, Summmmer, Donnnna.
Nadine, Curtis, Burger Castle Manager: Simma down, now! Simma Down, now!

Now isn't that hilarious? If you don't think it's funny right away watch the video on the SNL website.

Money in the Bank!

Hey hey hey! I just got paid for an abstract painting commissioned by an attorney. It feels fabulous to have a cheque in my pocket and to feel like a real artist!

The oil painting is 30 x 40"

I am so happy. My first abstract painting is great success!

If anyone wants to hire me to paint (for) them, let me know.

Best Movie Quotes: Go

Go (1999) features a great argument between Taye Diggs and Breckin Meyer while they are on a road trip to Vegas. It might be the highlight of the whole movie:

Tiny: Yo, I told you, my mother's mother's mother was black!

Marcus: Your mother's mother's mother, f*** - this ain't "Roots", mutha... Man, I wanna see a picture of this Nubian princess. If you were any less black, you would be clear.

I remembered this scene today while viewing an exhibit on Ancient Nubia at the Oriental Institute and started cracking up, much to the disapproval of old ladies sipping white wine and cheese.

Senator Ted Kennedy

Terrible news: The New York Times reported that Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the patriarch of the Democratic Party, has a malignant brain tumor. I am devastated by the news.

Kennedy went to the hospital a few days ago after a seizure. A biopsy revealed that "he has a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe."

In his 46 years in the Senate, Kennedy has championed marginalized Americans, focusing his great energies on issues such as health care, education and civil rights. He is respected by Democrats and Republicans for his determination, understanding of policy issues and bipartisanship.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said that Kennedy is "clearly the most influential senator in U.S. history." John Kerry's brother, Cameron Kerry, said that Kennedy "is just such a colossus that this kind of shakes the ground underneath everything."

Summer 2004 I interned on Capitol Hill. I went to a Senate Defense Committee hearing on Abu Grahib to see Hilary Clinton, when lo and behold, I look up and there is Senator Ted Kennedy! I flipped out because I couldn't believe my luck.

I pray his treatment is effective and that he will make a full recovery. America cannot afford to lose such a great legislator.

The Story of Arria Marcella

Arria Marcella is a fantastic (the genre, not the adjective) short story written by Théophile Gautier in 1852. I chose the name for my blog because I love the story, fantastic literature, the sound of the name and the character. I also accidentally conflated Arria Marcella with Clarimonde from Gautier's story La Morte Amoreuse, but they are very similar characters.

Arria Marcella is a beautiful, powerful and sensual woman from ancient Rome who enchants a modern Frenchman, Octavien. He cannot resist this realization of his fantasies and succumbs to her seductive spell, but then her father sweeps in and rescues Octavien from a life of decadence and loose sexual mores. He spends the rest of his life mourning the loss of Arria Marcella who was « son premier et son dernier amour. »

In my essay for French Literature about Arria Marcella I wrote:

Un personnage qui réapparaît dans les contes fantastiques est la tentatrice. Généralement, il y a une femme séduisante et puissante, qui exerce un sortilège sexuel autour d’un homme faible. Seulement avec l’aide de la loi du père, le héro peut échapper à la femme méchante. Quelquefois, la femme n’est pas exactement humaine; elle pourrait un ombre ou sortir d’un tableau.

Dans ce conte, la morte beauté Arria Marcella est la tentatrice d’Octavien. Arria Marcella est un vampire. Elle boit « un vin d’une pourpre sombre comme du sang fige. » (166) Elle enchante Octavien avec une toile de mensonges. Elle lui dit « ton désir m’a rendu la vie » et « la croyance fait le dieu, et l’amour fait la femme. » (166) Réellement, l’inconscience d’Octavien la crée. Comme Pygmalion, le créateur tombe amoureux de sa création, Galatea. Dans une manière, elle est le double du heros.

Pour Octavien, le monde des rêves est plus réel que le monde d’éveiller. Avec le personnage d’Octavien, Gautier communique la vérité qu’il est plus facile d’aimer une personne fantastique et idéalisée qu’on personne réelle avec la chair et l’os.

Arria Marcella lui représente toutes ses fantaisies; elle est plus belle, plus enivrée et sensuelle que les femmes du monde réel. La décadence et la vie de luxe autour d’Arria Marcella. Des esclaves la portent sur une litière. Quand Octavien voit cette beauté merveilleuse, il décide « à dater de ce moment, les charmants, visages qui avaient attire son œil s’éclipsèrent comme les étoiles devant Phoebe.» (161) Une vraie personne ne peut pas rivaliser avec cette étincelante déesse. « Il avait reçu au cœur comme une commotion électrique.» (161) Tous ses sens sont intensifiés par cette femme, toutes choses deviennent plus excitantes.

La loi du père se représente avec un vieillard qui ressemble à un disciple de Jésus Christ. Ici, l’influence de la religion se glisse dans le conte. L’homme est vraiment le père d’Arria Marcella. Il l’exige qu’elle « laisse aller cet homme enchaîne par tes impures séductions. » (168) Arrius Diomèdes rompt la charme de sa fille. Il comprend qu’Octavien à la maturité d’enfant. Il dit qu’Octavien est un « enfant fasciné » (170) et « les pauvres insensés » (168). Donc, Arrius Diomèdes cause Arria à disparaître.

Maybe I will translate this excerpt one day soon. Théophile Gautier is a great writer; I highly recommend reading his stories.

Save the Earth? Save yourself!

The green slogans "save the environment" and "protect the earth" and all the other ones that suggest the planet is in danger have it backwards. The earth is more than capable of taking care of itself against predators.

Cases in point: 2008 cyclone in Myanmar, 2005 Hurricane Katrina in the US, 2005 Tsunami in Indonesia, 2008 Earthquake in China, 1999 mudslides in Venezuela, famines around the world, and 2007 tornadoes in the US which wiped out towns in the Middle West have all killed, literally, hundreds of thousands of people. Now, not all of these natural disasters are the result of global warming, but most of them are related to human mismanagement of the earth's resources.

May 4, 2007 - Greenberg Kansas after an F5 tornado.

If the earth has a diety as many faiths believe, then it is more than capable of wreaking vengeance on its inhabitants
So don't recycle, drive less, reduce your carbon footprint, support sustainable agriculture, and plant trees to save the environment - do it to save yourself!

Current Favorite Songs

1. Box in a Box - Bunny.

Alright, I really loved it last year but it's a classic. Catch the video on youtube. Best part: "It's a beeeeeeeaaver!" It is now one of my ringtones thanks to lil sis.

2. Sea of Love - Cat Power. Fell in love with the scene/song in Juno.

3. Les Feuilles Mortes - Edith Piaf. It is so sad and touchingly beautiful.

Currently Not Loving Madonna's Hard Candy. Yea Perez, I am dissing her Madgesty. Sue me.

Best Movie Quotes: Primary Colors

Last night my Mom, sister and I were watching Primary Colors (1998) the political satire starring Emma Thompson, John Travolta, and the incomparable Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates (see www.imdb.com/title/tt0119942/) and I reheard one of those insults which is so incisive, accurate and well-worded that it becomes hilarious:

Susan Stanton: Your grandfather was a great man. Jack Stanton could also be a great man, if he wasn't such a faithless, thoughtless, disorganized, undisciplined shit.
Love it.
This one is also pretty good. Billy Bob Thornton plays the political strategist Richard Jemmons and his insight is:
Richard Jemmons: The media giveth, and go fuck yourself.

What an appropriate commentary for our times.
I recommend watching this to view how Hilary has morphed since the 1992 Clinton Campaign. Hot.

It started with a speech.

Listening to the Lt. Gov. of Wisconsin talk about the critical, pressing issues that the next generation of policy analysts must address made me think of all that I want to say, and I realized that now is the time to say it, being unemployed and having the time to write a blog.

I hope I can write something that matters to someone. I would like to share everything that I find funny, touching, important and intriguing. Most importantly, I hope that looking back on this won't make me super embarrassed.

Enough for now.