I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
CNN has a portrait of Warren Zevon today, whose (what will most likely be his last) album will be released this coming Tuesday. A man who can put twisted and poignant in the same sentence, Zevon has written some of the best "story" songs of my generation. Werewolves of London, Lawyers Guns and Money, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, Carmelita, Poor Poor Pitiful Me, to name a few, are enduring classics full of wit and intelligence. And they rock! I look forward to hearing his rendition of Dylan's Knockin' on Heaven's Door. He is also good friends with my literary hero, Hunter Thompson.
The album is titled Wind.
Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.
William Shakespeare
Othello, II. iii.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
Strange Bedfellows
Over at Salon today Eric Boehlart has an excellent article on the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion. Futurballa tries to keep the discussion of religion to a minimum, simply because it is often best to leave that subject out of polite discourse. Though with yesterday's posting on the 10 Commandments brouhaha, and today's posting, we seem to have stepped out of the bounds of that dictum. However this Salon article is one of the best I've read on the subject of this controversy and on the larger question of the uncomfortable alliance between Jews and Evangelical Christians over the State of Israel.
Futurballa is married to a Christian and out of personal experience can tell you that there are two types of Christians (of the more religeous sort), those who subscribe to the end of days scenario that requires the return to Israel and eventual conversion of the Jews to fulfill their idea of prophecy, and those who believe the end of days can not be forseen and that the Jews are their spiritual forebears who have their own covenant and relationship with God. My marriage is certainly with someone of the latter group.
In terms of Gibson's movie, that without the controversy surrounding it would be an unlikely contender for box office champion, being in Aramaic and Latin without subtitles, Boehlart makes the point that the argument is just a sympton of the larger problem and that this uneasy alliance will have to come to a head at some point. Beyond the right to Israel to exist inside of secure borders, the agendas of the Jewish people and the evangelical community are actually antithetical.
There is also a power imbalance that puts the Jewish people at a disadvantage and should leave Jews wary of being too beholding to people who really don't have their best interests at heart.
A couple of excerpts from the Salon piece illustrate this point.
On its Web site, the National Association of Evangelicals recently posted a statement about "The Passion," which included a passage that rankled some Jewish leaders: "There is a great deal of pressure on Israel right now, and Christians seem to be a major source of support for Israel. For Jewish leaders to risk alienating 2 billion Christians over a movie seems shortsighted."
snip
The statement "was never intended to be a threat," says an NAE spokesman. "It was an observation that [Jews] are combating people who support them, groups that have never resisted Israel. It's baffled some evangelicals that Jewish leaders are so antagonistic toward the people who want what's best for the Jewish people."
The Jewish people will have to confront the fact that they are allying themselves with people who think that what is best for the Jews is that they stop being Jews.
Read the whole thing here. Salon requires a subscription or that you click through an add for a "day pass". Worth the small investment of your time.
Over at Salon today Eric Boehlart has an excellent article on the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion. Futurballa tries to keep the discussion of religion to a minimum, simply because it is often best to leave that subject out of polite discourse. Though with yesterday's posting on the 10 Commandments brouhaha, and today's posting, we seem to have stepped out of the bounds of that dictum. However this Salon article is one of the best I've read on the subject of this controversy and on the larger question of the uncomfortable alliance between Jews and Evangelical Christians over the State of Israel.
Futurballa is married to a Christian and out of personal experience can tell you that there are two types of Christians (of the more religeous sort), those who subscribe to the end of days scenario that requires the return to Israel and eventual conversion of the Jews to fulfill their idea of prophecy, and those who believe the end of days can not be forseen and that the Jews are their spiritual forebears who have their own covenant and relationship with God. My marriage is certainly with someone of the latter group.
In terms of Gibson's movie, that without the controversy surrounding it would be an unlikely contender for box office champion, being in Aramaic and Latin without subtitles, Boehlart makes the point that the argument is just a sympton of the larger problem and that this uneasy alliance will have to come to a head at some point. Beyond the right to Israel to exist inside of secure borders, the agendas of the Jewish people and the evangelical community are actually antithetical.
There is also a power imbalance that puts the Jewish people at a disadvantage and should leave Jews wary of being too beholding to people who really don't have their best interests at heart.
A couple of excerpts from the Salon piece illustrate this point.
On its Web site, the National Association of Evangelicals recently posted a statement about "The Passion," which included a passage that rankled some Jewish leaders: "There is a great deal of pressure on Israel right now, and Christians seem to be a major source of support for Israel. For Jewish leaders to risk alienating 2 billion Christians over a movie seems shortsighted."
snip
The statement "was never intended to be a threat," says an NAE spokesman. "It was an observation that [Jews] are combating people who support them, groups that have never resisted Israel. It's baffled some evangelicals that Jewish leaders are so antagonistic toward the people who want what's best for the Jewish people."
The Jewish people will have to confront the fact that they are allying themselves with people who think that what is best for the Jews is that they stop being Jews.
Read the whole thing here. Salon requires a subscription or that you click through an add for a "day pass". Worth the small investment of your time.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Even Microbes Want to be Insects
A big thanks to George for bringing to my attention that I've been linked by Snooze Button Dreams with a nice posting about my Kid's Stuff entry over at the New Blog Showcase on The Truth Laid Bear. I'm still an insignificant microbe but I aspire to better things. And out of gratitude, I've blogrolled Snooze Button Dreams, check it out, he has Secret Agent Man stuck in his head.
Mahalo
A big thanks to George for bringing to my attention that I've been linked by Snooze Button Dreams with a nice posting about my Kid's Stuff entry over at the New Blog Showcase on The Truth Laid Bear. I'm still an insignificant microbe but I aspire to better things. And out of gratitude, I've blogrolled Snooze Button Dreams, check it out, he has Secret Agent Man stuck in his head.
Mahalo
10 Commandments, 8-fold path, 5 Pillars of Wisdom, 4 Noble Truths and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
Legal blogging is the purview of my esteemed chum over at Declarations and Exclusions, but I was impressed by the Supremes quick decision today not to hear Judge Roy Moore's appeal on the 10 Commandments monument removal controversy in the Alabama courthouse.
The CNN article featured this quote which tickled my fancy...
"Even if they should remove this monument -- and God forbid they do -- they'll never be able to remove it from our hearts," said the Rev. Greg Dixon of Indianapolis Baptist Temple.
To which I say, you are absolutely correct, Reverend Greg, that is where they belong, in your hearts, but not in the courtroom.
One blogger (whose identity escapes me, or I would be gracious enough to link to him) noted that this imbroglio could be ended very quickly by the placement of a monument to the 5 Pillars of Islam in the selfsame courthouse. You would see them both removed faster than you could say Separation of Church and State.
Mahalo
Legal blogging is the purview of my esteemed chum over at Declarations and Exclusions, but I was impressed by the Supremes quick decision today not to hear Judge Roy Moore's appeal on the 10 Commandments monument removal controversy in the Alabama courthouse.
The CNN article featured this quote which tickled my fancy...
"Even if they should remove this monument -- and God forbid they do -- they'll never be able to remove it from our hearts," said the Rev. Greg Dixon of Indianapolis Baptist Temple.
To which I say, you are absolutely correct, Reverend Greg, that is where they belong, in your hearts, but not in the courtroom.
One blogger (whose identity escapes me, or I would be gracious enough to link to him) noted that this imbroglio could be ended very quickly by the placement of a monument to the 5 Pillars of Islam in the selfsame courthouse. You would see them both removed faster than you could say Separation of Church and State.
Mahalo
Notes to New Bloggers
Via Atrios is this link to letters to new bloggers from The Road to Surfdom. In the style of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, Tim Dunlop offers good advice to the novice blogger, to which I admit to being one.
So should you start a blog? No blogger, I think, is ever going to tell you not to start a blog. Apart from being incredibly hypocritical for them to do so there are two other points worth noting. First is, at some level, everybody who has got into what we might call 'political blogging' has some sort of basic belief in the desirability of public discussion. No matter how cynical they might seem about the usefulness of internecine debate they obviously think there is something good in it.
Second, there is also a bit of self-interest involved in that bloggers are always looking for a chance to get more hits to their site. By encouraging others like you, they expect, at least initially, reciprocal links and friendly references which might hold them in good stead should you happen to turn out to be the "next big blog". Strangely, you are not seen as competition for a finite number of hits, but a catalyst for the creation of new hits.
To all and sundry with an interest in blogging as an activity, I commend the entire posting.
Via Atrios is this link to letters to new bloggers from The Road to Surfdom. In the style of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, Tim Dunlop offers good advice to the novice blogger, to which I admit to being one.
So should you start a blog? No blogger, I think, is ever going to tell you not to start a blog. Apart from being incredibly hypocritical for them to do so there are two other points worth noting. First is, at some level, everybody who has got into what we might call 'political blogging' has some sort of basic belief in the desirability of public discussion. No matter how cynical they might seem about the usefulness of internecine debate they obviously think there is something good in it.
Second, there is also a bit of self-interest involved in that bloggers are always looking for a chance to get more hits to their site. By encouraging others like you, they expect, at least initially, reciprocal links and friendly references which might hold them in good stead should you happen to turn out to be the "next big blog". Strangely, you are not seen as competition for a finite number of hits, but a catalyst for the creation of new hits.
To all and sundry with an interest in blogging as an activity, I commend the entire posting.
Do the Bob
Last night, Futurballa settled down to Neil Jordan's remake of Melville's Bob Le Flambeur, The Good Thief with Nick Nolte. I've never actually seen the original so this won't be a comparison, though some of the camera work and editing was reminiscent of other Nouvelle Vague films I've seen. I enjoyed the film and it inspired me to check out the original. What did catch my blogging fancy was Nick Nolte's performance.
Others have written about his hard living, hard drinking, well worn like an old pair of shoes face, so I'll leave that for now. What struck me about Nolte was his ability to simply be in the role. So many of our great actors today have to constantly perform. They don't act, they interpret. Some of my favorite actors are guilty of this. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a little scenery chewing, but when an actor stops acting and just is, that is so much more astounding. I don't want to see the wheels turning constantly, and there is something to be said for just hitting your mark.
I was very sad about Kate Hepburn's death, but as always when a great performer dies, it gives us an opportunity to see much of their work shown on AMC and Turner Classic. And the peripheral effect is seeing their co-stars as well. I've had the chance to watch several classic Hepburn and Tracy movies recently because of these circumstances and enjoy Spencer Tracy's understated performances. I think he did once say something to the effect of an actor's job is to show up, remember your lines and hit your mark.
Tracy was the master of this style of acting, or lack of style, depending on how you look at it. Occassionally Tom Hanks can aspire to one of these everymen that just disappears into the scenery. His recent role in Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can was one of those performances where he disappeared into the character.
I will say one thing about scenery chewing. If you are going to do it, at least have the good graces to be British. Peter O'Toole or Geoffrey Rush can chew it up to their hearts content, but please Mr. Pacino, Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Deniro, take it down a notch.
Last night, Futurballa settled down to Neil Jordan's remake of Melville's Bob Le Flambeur, The Good Thief with Nick Nolte. I've never actually seen the original so this won't be a comparison, though some of the camera work and editing was reminiscent of other Nouvelle Vague films I've seen. I enjoyed the film and it inspired me to check out the original. What did catch my blogging fancy was Nick Nolte's performance.
Others have written about his hard living, hard drinking, well worn like an old pair of shoes face, so I'll leave that for now. What struck me about Nolte was his ability to simply be in the role. So many of our great actors today have to constantly perform. They don't act, they interpret. Some of my favorite actors are guilty of this. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a little scenery chewing, but when an actor stops acting and just is, that is so much more astounding. I don't want to see the wheels turning constantly, and there is something to be said for just hitting your mark.
I was very sad about Kate Hepburn's death, but as always when a great performer dies, it gives us an opportunity to see much of their work shown on AMC and Turner Classic. And the peripheral effect is seeing their co-stars as well. I've had the chance to watch several classic Hepburn and Tracy movies recently because of these circumstances and enjoy Spencer Tracy's understated performances. I think he did once say something to the effect of an actor's job is to show up, remember your lines and hit your mark.
Tracy was the master of this style of acting, or lack of style, depending on how you look at it. Occassionally Tom Hanks can aspire to one of these everymen that just disappears into the scenery. His recent role in Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can was one of those performances where he disappeared into the character.
I will say one thing about scenery chewing. If you are going to do it, at least have the good graces to be British. Peter O'Toole or Geoffrey Rush can chew it up to their hearts content, but please Mr. Pacino, Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Deniro, take it down a notch.
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Hud Strikes Back
Actor and salad dressing magnate, Paul Newman, who was once nominated for an academy award for playing the character Hud, in the movie of the same name, has entered the fray in the Al Franken, Fox News dustup with this humorous OpEd piece in today's NYT.
Mr. Newman is considering a lawsuit against the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for besmirching his character's bad name. He is accusing them of innocence by association. I will leave the legal merits to my attorney.
Actor and salad dressing magnate, Paul Newman, who was once nominated for an academy award for playing the character Hud, in the movie of the same name, has entered the fray in the Al Franken, Fox News dustup with this humorous OpEd piece in today's NYT.
Mr. Newman is considering a lawsuit against the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for besmirching his character's bad name. He is accusing them of innocence by association. I will leave the legal merits to my attorney.
The Man Ray Posting
First of all, it actually is Man Ray, not Manray. He was born Emmanuel Radnitsky in Philadelphia in 1890. As well as having credentials as a dadaist and surrealist painter, friends with the father of dada, Marcel Duchamp, Man is a great inspiration to me as a photographer. He was actually introduced to the camera by Alfred Stieglitz. One of the great masters of the classical school of photography. Originally Man wanted to use the camera to document his paintings, but soon he had discovered the artistic potential.
As a photographer Man is probably famous for a few different techniques and styles. surreal portraits like Tears (Les Larmes), nudes like Violin d'ingres, Solarizations, Rayographs (yes named for himself) and portraiture.
Rayographs are a cameraless technique involving placing objects on a glass plate in a darkroom and then exposing the plate to light. He would then do contact prints with the plate where the glass would cause unique refractions on to the paper.
Solarizations (also known as the Sabatier effect) are a phenomenon that can occur by accident in the darkroom when a partially developed negative is exposed to light. Man Ray was one of the first photographers to make use of this for artistic effect. By exposing the partially developed plate to light the dark unexposed background in the negative is affected while the light is insufficient to affect the already exposed areas. A dark narrow gulf remains between the differently exposed areas creating a fine outline.
Many of Man Ray's works can be seen at the Man Ray Trust website. The Getty also has an excellent collection of his photographic works.
First of all, it actually is Man Ray, not Manray. He was born Emmanuel Radnitsky in Philadelphia in 1890. As well as having credentials as a dadaist and surrealist painter, friends with the father of dada, Marcel Duchamp, Man is a great inspiration to me as a photographer. He was actually introduced to the camera by Alfred Stieglitz. One of the great masters of the classical school of photography. Originally Man wanted to use the camera to document his paintings, but soon he had discovered the artistic potential.
As a photographer Man is probably famous for a few different techniques and styles. surreal portraits like Tears (Les Larmes), nudes like Violin d'ingres, Solarizations, Rayographs (yes named for himself) and portraiture.
Rayographs are a cameraless technique involving placing objects on a glass plate in a darkroom and then exposing the plate to light. He would then do contact prints with the plate where the glass would cause unique refractions on to the paper.
Solarizations (also known as the Sabatier effect) are a phenomenon that can occur by accident in the darkroom when a partially developed negative is exposed to light. Man Ray was one of the first photographers to make use of this for artistic effect. By exposing the partially developed plate to light the dark unexposed background in the negative is affected while the light is insufficient to affect the already exposed areas. A dark narrow gulf remains between the differently exposed areas creating a fine outline.
Many of Man Ray's works can be seen at the Man Ray Trust website. The Getty also has an excellent collection of his photographic works.
Monday, August 18, 2003
Eno on Propaganda
No, Propaganda is not the name of Brian Eno's new record label, but instead the subject of a very thoughful piece in the UK Guardian, in which the ambient one asks the question, "how did we get here?".
You know the drill. Click here.
No, Propaganda is not the name of Brian Eno's new record label, but instead the subject of a very thoughful piece in the UK Guardian, in which the ambient one asks the question, "how did we get here?".
You know the drill. Click here.
Barfly
My fine chum George Wallace has brought Tony Pierce's blog to my attention. There is an excellent piece evaluating and rightfully praising Charles Bukowski in honor of his birthday, August 16th. As they say, read the whole thing here. Bukowski is an American classic and I agree with Mr. Pierce that he is one of the great poets of the 20th century.
There is also an excellent posting on why Bruce Springsteen has reached his sell by date. Though I don't agree with him on his assessment of Dylan's Desire.
My fine chum George Wallace has brought Tony Pierce's blog to my attention. There is an excellent piece evaluating and rightfully praising Charles Bukowski in honor of his birthday, August 16th. As they say, read the whole thing here. Bukowski is an American classic and I agree with Mr. Pierce that he is one of the great poets of the 20th century.
There is also an excellent posting on why Bruce Springsteen has reached his sell by date. Though I don't agree with him on his assessment of Dylan's Desire.
You never have enough black t-shirts
A quick politicaly roundup this morning and a short musing.
Salon is excerpting Joe Conason's new book this week. Part one is here. Joe is one of my favorite bloggers/pundits. He is always right on, passionate without being shrill, strident and smart. While being gracious and literate, this introductury experpt shows that Joe is once again willing to take the gloves off when it comes to answering the Coulters and Limbaughs of the world. This quote summarizes his thesis.
"If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted."
Another thought provoking piece on Salon is this one on the candidacy of Arianna Huffington. Generally, I like Arianna and agree with many of her views on corporate greed, but I think she is showing some intellectual dishonesty in her candidacy and stated positions. This sums up my point.
"And Huffington is against the recall, but only sort of. "I'm asking voters to vote their consciences," Huffington told Salon Thursday. "If they want to send a message to Republicans about the way they're using the recall provision to unseat Gray Davis, even though he had been democratically elected nine months ago, then vote no on the recall. But if they want to use this opportunity to bring some fundamental change to the way that California is governed, then vote yes on the recall."
For Huffington, the choice is apparently an easy one: 'I'm personally voting yes on the recall," she said. "Even though I'm against the power grab, the opportunity in the middle of the chaos is too important to me.'"
If you've been following Doonesbury lately, I wonder how long it is going to be until Lt. Willard is sent into Al Amok to remove Duke with extreme prejudice? The horror, the horror.
At TPM, Josh Marshall highlights this exchange between Wolf Blitzer and Wesley Clark. Other than the dig on the hair and the delightful spanking Clark gives Tom Delay, could this graf indicate that he may jump into the presidential race...
"But beyond that, Wolf, he's got it exactly backward. It's upside down. I am saying what I believe. And I'm being drawn into the political process because of what I believe and what I've said about it."
Stay tuned.
On to today's musings. I think it was Jerry Garcia who said that you can never have enough black t-shirts. Yesterday some biological imprint kicked in, going back to being lead by the hand by my mother through the Wilshire and Farifax May Co. (which is now part of the LA County Museum of Art, and hurray that the classic building is being preserved). Yes, it is mid August and Futurballa went clothes shopping. I shop like a guy and was in and out of Mervyn's in 20 minutes with three pairs of jeans, two polos, and a pack of Jockey brand black tees. I pride myself on my ability to shop like a kamikaze and am fortunate enough to work at a job where shoes are pratically an option. My theory is that if a guy finds something comfortable, he'll just take several, possibly but not necessarily in different colors. Clothes shopping should be at best a once a year activity. On the other hand I can spend endless hours researching the latest electronic gadget or new piece of photo gear, reading reviews, finding the best price, browsing at assorted retailers, asking questions of poorly informed sales people, before making my final purchase.
Sometime this week Futurballa plans to spend some time discussing Man Ray. Our favorite artist/dadaist/photographer. be sure to check back.
A quick politicaly roundup this morning and a short musing.
Salon is excerpting Joe Conason's new book this week. Part one is here. Joe is one of my favorite bloggers/pundits. He is always right on, passionate without being shrill, strident and smart. While being gracious and literate, this introductury experpt shows that Joe is once again willing to take the gloves off when it comes to answering the Coulters and Limbaughs of the world. This quote summarizes his thesis.
"If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted."
Another thought provoking piece on Salon is this one on the candidacy of Arianna Huffington. Generally, I like Arianna and agree with many of her views on corporate greed, but I think she is showing some intellectual dishonesty in her candidacy and stated positions. This sums up my point.
"And Huffington is against the recall, but only sort of. "I'm asking voters to vote their consciences," Huffington told Salon Thursday. "If they want to send a message to Republicans about the way they're using the recall provision to unseat Gray Davis, even though he had been democratically elected nine months ago, then vote no on the recall. But if they want to use this opportunity to bring some fundamental change to the way that California is governed, then vote yes on the recall."
For Huffington, the choice is apparently an easy one: 'I'm personally voting yes on the recall," she said. "Even though I'm against the power grab, the opportunity in the middle of the chaos is too important to me.'"
If you've been following Doonesbury lately, I wonder how long it is going to be until Lt. Willard is sent into Al Amok to remove Duke with extreme prejudice? The horror, the horror.
At TPM, Josh Marshall highlights this exchange between Wolf Blitzer and Wesley Clark. Other than the dig on the hair and the delightful spanking Clark gives Tom Delay, could this graf indicate that he may jump into the presidential race...
"But beyond that, Wolf, he's got it exactly backward. It's upside down. I am saying what I believe. And I'm being drawn into the political process because of what I believe and what I've said about it."
Stay tuned.
On to today's musings. I think it was Jerry Garcia who said that you can never have enough black t-shirts. Yesterday some biological imprint kicked in, going back to being lead by the hand by my mother through the Wilshire and Farifax May Co. (which is now part of the LA County Museum of Art, and hurray that the classic building is being preserved). Yes, it is mid August and Futurballa went clothes shopping. I shop like a guy and was in and out of Mervyn's in 20 minutes with three pairs of jeans, two polos, and a pack of Jockey brand black tees. I pride myself on my ability to shop like a kamikaze and am fortunate enough to work at a job where shoes are pratically an option. My theory is that if a guy finds something comfortable, he'll just take several, possibly but not necessarily in different colors. Clothes shopping should be at best a once a year activity. On the other hand I can spend endless hours researching the latest electronic gadget or new piece of photo gear, reading reviews, finding the best price, browsing at assorted retailers, asking questions of poorly informed sales people, before making my final purchase.
Sometime this week Futurballa plans to spend some time discussing Man Ray. Our favorite artist/dadaist/photographer. be sure to check back.
Saturday, August 16, 2003
Kid's Stuff
Some Saturday thoughts on things everyday, not political, nor particularly cultural, much less artistic. A little break from Futurballa's normal subjects.
We were doing a rather late spring cleaning here at Casa Futurballa this morning and decided to clear out some old videos. You know, the random collection of pre-viewed Blockbuster and cheap Target tapes that one accumulated in the time before DVD. Now I Netflix any movie I want to see casually and only buy the "keepers". Speaking of which, there are a couple of good ones coming out this week. Chicago, which was the best date movie of last year, imho, and Bowling for Columbine, which may be worth having for the added fun of the Michael Moore interview on the DVD where he gives some more insight into the infamous Oscar's speech. But, as Mort Sahl used to say, I digress.
I got the job today of being house meanie by telling our college aged daughter that she had to go through the videos and let us know just what she wanted to keep and what she could let go of. Well letting go was a challenge, which got me to thinking about kids and their stuff and their space.
When I moved into the house the kids were adolescents. I had been living abroad for many years before meeting their mother and did not have a ton of possessions, but anything I brought into the house was met with a chorus of, "does he have to bring that here" and "I like our stuff better" (please insert whiny tone yourself... thank you).
At the same time everything in their lives has some kind of emotional meaning that goes way beyond the intrinsic value of a pre-viewed copy of Dunston Checks In. It was painful for her, but she was a trooper and actually got rid of a few things.
Christmas is the worst with these flights of nostalgia. Christmas at Grandma's conjures up visions of creeping out in their P.J.s on Christmas morning and tons of cousins and aunts and uncles. However, each year the family is more spread out and fewer cousins show up at Grandma's. As each year passes, the kids seem to forget that last year was a bit dissappointing, and start anew waxing nostalgic for the spirit of Christmas past. It is as if somewhere around the middle of November a Pavlovian response is elicited by the sound of sleigh bells or Perry Como. Acutally it's probably not Perry Como, that would be me, but you know what I mean.
Actual insights into the why kids attach more emotional value to things that adults see no value in are not provided by Futurballa. We are just an observer, but I did find it striking just what a hard time they have with the whole change thing. As we get older, I guess we just get used to the idea that things change and a Pauly Shore video is, well, a Pauly Shore video.
Some Saturday thoughts on things everyday, not political, nor particularly cultural, much less artistic. A little break from Futurballa's normal subjects.
We were doing a rather late spring cleaning here at Casa Futurballa this morning and decided to clear out some old videos. You know, the random collection of pre-viewed Blockbuster and cheap Target tapes that one accumulated in the time before DVD. Now I Netflix any movie I want to see casually and only buy the "keepers". Speaking of which, there are a couple of good ones coming out this week. Chicago, which was the best date movie of last year, imho, and Bowling for Columbine, which may be worth having for the added fun of the Michael Moore interview on the DVD where he gives some more insight into the infamous Oscar's speech. But, as Mort Sahl used to say, I digress.
I got the job today of being house meanie by telling our college aged daughter that she had to go through the videos and let us know just what she wanted to keep and what she could let go of. Well letting go was a challenge, which got me to thinking about kids and their stuff and their space.
When I moved into the house the kids were adolescents. I had been living abroad for many years before meeting their mother and did not have a ton of possessions, but anything I brought into the house was met with a chorus of, "does he have to bring that here" and "I like our stuff better" (please insert whiny tone yourself... thank you).
At the same time everything in their lives has some kind of emotional meaning that goes way beyond the intrinsic value of a pre-viewed copy of Dunston Checks In. It was painful for her, but she was a trooper and actually got rid of a few things.
Christmas is the worst with these flights of nostalgia. Christmas at Grandma's conjures up visions of creeping out in their P.J.s on Christmas morning and tons of cousins and aunts and uncles. However, each year the family is more spread out and fewer cousins show up at Grandma's. As each year passes, the kids seem to forget that last year was a bit dissappointing, and start anew waxing nostalgic for the spirit of Christmas past. It is as if somewhere around the middle of November a Pavlovian response is elicited by the sound of sleigh bells or Perry Como. Acutally it's probably not Perry Como, that would be me, but you know what I mean.
Actual insights into the why kids attach more emotional value to things that adults see no value in are not provided by Futurballa. We are just an observer, but I did find it striking just what a hard time they have with the whole change thing. As we get older, I guess we just get used to the idea that things change and a Pauly Shore video is, well, a Pauly Shore video.
Friday, August 15, 2003
Some 'worthy reads' and new toys
Over at Salon, Sid Blumenthal has a nice roundup of the talkshow talking heads on the right. I'm currently about halfway through Sid's The Clinton Wars, Parts of it are a bit dry, but he is a thoughtful writer who gives a peak into the real West Wing under Clinton, and to this humble reader doesn't have an axe to grind (except maybe deservedly with Matt Drudge).
Over at the NYT, Krugman does what he does best... Economics. An excellent piece that puts the current economic situation in perspective. Read it here.
On to new toys. Here is something in the photographic realm to report. The project I was working on yesterday involved evaluating single use digtital cameras. These are available from Ritz/Wolf from the brand Dakota. Their business model is interesting, because they are selling digital without the advantages of digital (for the most part). The cameras sell for $10.99 and let you take 25 2-megapixel images. They do not use a CCD in the same way a normal digital camera does and of course the optics will be "disposable", so don't expect the same quality you would from a 2-megapixel camera from Canon or Olympus. With these single use cameras you can't connect to your PC, and as far as I know, this model is proprietary to Ritz/Wolf, so you can't shop around for a better price on processing, at least until these become ubiquitous. Ritz tends to be a bit pricier than Costco or the drugstores, so plan on over $10 for 25 prints delivered with a CD. These cameras don't have a view screen yet, so you can't review your images in camera and you can only delete the last taken image. My opinion is that as the technology grows and they give you a little view screen and the ability to review and delete any taken image before processing this will become the way to go in disposable camera. The requirement to take the camera back to the store you bought it for processing will most likely remain, as this is part of the business model and is how they can keep the price of the camera so low.
Best wishes to the Bonds family.
Mahalo
Over at Salon, Sid Blumenthal has a nice roundup of the talkshow talking heads on the right. I'm currently about halfway through Sid's The Clinton Wars, Parts of it are a bit dry, but he is a thoughtful writer who gives a peak into the real West Wing under Clinton, and to this humble reader doesn't have an axe to grind (except maybe deservedly with Matt Drudge).
Over at the NYT, Krugman does what he does best... Economics. An excellent piece that puts the current economic situation in perspective. Read it here.
On to new toys. Here is something in the photographic realm to report. The project I was working on yesterday involved evaluating single use digtital cameras. These are available from Ritz/Wolf from the brand Dakota. Their business model is interesting, because they are selling digital without the advantages of digital (for the most part). The cameras sell for $10.99 and let you take 25 2-megapixel images. They do not use a CCD in the same way a normal digital camera does and of course the optics will be "disposable", so don't expect the same quality you would from a 2-megapixel camera from Canon or Olympus. With these single use cameras you can't connect to your PC, and as far as I know, this model is proprietary to Ritz/Wolf, so you can't shop around for a better price on processing, at least until these become ubiquitous. Ritz tends to be a bit pricier than Costco or the drugstores, so plan on over $10 for 25 prints delivered with a CD. These cameras don't have a view screen yet, so you can't review your images in camera and you can only delete the last taken image. My opinion is that as the technology grows and they give you a little view screen and the ability to review and delete any taken image before processing this will become the way to go in disposable camera. The requirement to take the camera back to the store you bought it for processing will most likely remain, as this is part of the business model and is how they can keep the price of the camera so low.
Best wishes to the Bonds family.
Mahalo
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Out and About
Won't be posting too much today, going to be away from the computer a good part of the day, doing a photography project. Just a few notes of interest.
Salon has an interview this morning with my favorite cartoonist. And if you liked the interview, you'll surely want to consider the book.
And Al's book is still at #1 on Amazon. And that's not #1 nonfiction or #1 humor. That's #1 overall as of this morning.
Finally for this morning, I'll pass on a recommendation. This movie crosses over a couple of my interests. I've been a big fan of Brian De Palma going back to before Carrie, and while he has not been equally consistent in later years, Femme Fatale was a splendid return to form. An excellent thriller in the Hitchcock style (and btw, happy birthday Alfred, a day late), with erotic elements, an enjoyable Antonio Banderas, and nice to look at Rebbeca Romijn-Stamos, some old De Palma regulars, some great plot twists that deserve multiple viewings, a not too subtle homage to Hockney's collages (uncredited to the best of my knowledge), and the protagonist is a photographer.
Mahalo
Won't be posting too much today, going to be away from the computer a good part of the day, doing a photography project. Just a few notes of interest.
Salon has an interview this morning with my favorite cartoonist. And if you liked the interview, you'll surely want to consider the book.
And Al's book is still at #1 on Amazon. And that's not #1 nonfiction or #1 humor. That's #1 overall as of this morning.
Finally for this morning, I'll pass on a recommendation. This movie crosses over a couple of my interests. I've been a big fan of Brian De Palma going back to before Carrie, and while he has not been equally consistent in later years, Femme Fatale was a splendid return to form. An excellent thriller in the Hitchcock style (and btw, happy birthday Alfred, a day late), with erotic elements, an enjoyable Antonio Banderas, and nice to look at Rebbeca Romijn-Stamos, some old De Palma regulars, some great plot twists that deserve multiple viewings, a not too subtle homage to Hockney's collages (uncredited to the best of my knowledge), and the protagonist is a photographer.
Mahalo
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
I'm Fair and Balanced
If you notice the top of your browser, Futurballa has become fair and balanced. I believe that Atrios over at Eschaton started this trend, but it is spreading like wildfire around the blogosphere. Yes, we can all be fair and balanced, it is a state of mind.
Also on the Al Franken watch, Joe Conason posits an interesting theory in his journal...
Fox's big star Bill made them do it as an act of petty vengeance.
And if you are interested in the background to the bustup between Franken and O'Reilly, here is an excellent Buzzflash interview with Messr. Franken, himself.
Finally on this subject, Al Franken fires back. He says that he has registered funny as a trademark, so when Fox calls him unfunny, they are really infringing his trademark. Of course, in my humble opinion, Al is a lot funnier than Fox is fair or balanced. Maybe he has a case?
Enough Politics for now. I really never intended that politix should dominate this blog, but it does get my blood boiling in the morning.
I will be exhibiting an enhanced version of this picture at an exhibit of digital photography being held in the gallery at my place of business. It was shot with the Canon 10D digital SLR, which was borrowed for the purpose of the show (digital source was a prerequisite for entry). This is a fine camera, though weighs a bit heavy around the neck. They were shot with a very nice Sigma zoom lens using a wide setting. The final image was converted to a monotone in Adobe Photoshop and then enhanced with a toning layer and some general levels, hue and dodging corrections.
If you notice the top of your browser, Futurballa has become fair and balanced. I believe that Atrios over at Eschaton started this trend, but it is spreading like wildfire around the blogosphere. Yes, we can all be fair and balanced, it is a state of mind.
Also on the Al Franken watch, Joe Conason posits an interesting theory in his journal...
Fox's big star Bill made them do it as an act of petty vengeance.
And if you are interested in the background to the bustup between Franken and O'Reilly, here is an excellent Buzzflash interview with Messr. Franken, himself.
Finally on this subject, Al Franken fires back. He says that he has registered funny as a trademark, so when Fox calls him unfunny, they are really infringing his trademark. Of course, in my humble opinion, Al is a lot funnier than Fox is fair or balanced. Maybe he has a case?
Enough Politics for now. I really never intended that politix should dominate this blog, but it does get my blood boiling in the morning.
I will be exhibiting an enhanced version of this picture at an exhibit of digital photography being held in the gallery at my place of business. It was shot with the Canon 10D digital SLR, which was borrowed for the purpose of the show (digital source was a prerequisite for entry). This is a fine camera, though weighs a bit heavy around the neck. They were shot with a very nice Sigma zoom lens using a wide setting. The final image was converted to a monotone in Adobe Photoshop and then enhanced with a toning layer and some general levels, hue and dodging corrections.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
We are after all professionals
Since my attorney is not available today, I will answer my own question in terms of the legal issues surrounding Al Franken's alleged trademark infringement by sharing this very nice entry from the Daily Kos.
Read it here.
Also note that Al Franken's book has skyrocketed on Amazon sales chart from number 804 before the lawsuit to number 8 as of today.
And atrios has started a movement to add Fair and Balanced to the masthead of as many blogs as possible, just to further irritate Fox News.
Since my attorney is not available today, I will answer my own question in terms of the legal issues surrounding Al Franken's alleged trademark infringement by sharing this very nice entry from the Daily Kos.
Read it here.
Also note that Al Franken's book has skyrocketed on Amazon sales chart from number 804 before the lawsuit to number 8 as of today.
And atrios has started a movement to add Fair and Balanced to the masthead of as many blogs as possible, just to further irritate Fox News.
Lies and Lying Liars
This caught my fancy this morning...
Fox News is suing Al Franken for using their Fair and Balanced slogan. Could this be payback for the spanking that Al gave Fox's Bill O'Reilly a couple of months ago? My question to my legal friend is how did Fox ever get a registered trademark on a generic term like "Fair and Balanced", and does that mean that nobody can say that they are fair and balanced except Fox, who is hardly either?
Here at Futurballa we claim to be neither fair nor balanced. We just report whatever we feel like and don't much care what you decide.
Mahalo
This caught my fancy this morning...
Fox News is suing Al Franken for using their Fair and Balanced slogan. Could this be payback for the spanking that Al gave Fox's Bill O'Reilly a couple of months ago? My question to my legal friend is how did Fox ever get a registered trademark on a generic term like "Fair and Balanced", and does that mean that nobody can say that they are fair and balanced except Fox, who is hardly either?
Here at Futurballa we claim to be neither fair nor balanced. We just report whatever we feel like and don't much care what you decide.
Mahalo
Monday, August 11, 2003
Life does imitate art!
Billmon says it all in the last sentence...
Don't these friggin' people ever read? Or is this their idea of a sick joke?
Read the whole thing here.
Billmon says it all in the last sentence...
Don't these friggin' people ever read? Or is this their idea of a sick joke?
Read the whole thing here.
My Legs Hurt
Just thought I'd share our weekend activities with you, my faithful reader(s).
Saturday the better half and I took to the road and headed up to Point Reyes National Seashore for hiking and photo safari. Driving up 280, which is one of the most beautiful strips of freeway in America, at least for a highway that runs through an urban area. If you want beautiful highway through less populated areas, let me recommend a trip along the Eastern Sierras up 395. But I digress. Riding up 280 we passed the Golden Gate National Cemetary, though we didn't stop this time, I was sure to wave at the Colonel.
19th avenue takes you through San Francisco and to the Golden Gate Bridge, where we stopped to take some tourist shots at the presidio turnoff. Had my Yashica 124-G medium format camera, as well as the Canon, but my new superwide (20mm) angle lens hasn't come yet. So mostly shooting with a 28-90 at wider settings. Once back on the bridge, which even 35 years after first crossing the Golden Gate I am still giddy as a child and quite impressed, we crossed over to Marin and headed up 101 through Sausalito. Taking the Sir Francis Drake exit we continued through a number of lovely towns and villages to Point Reyes.
At the park we hiked the Earthquake trail, which takes you along the San Andreas fault and right around the exact epicenter of the 1906 earthquake. From there it was lunch at the general store in Inverness and then on to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, which is about 20 miles from the main park area, driving through historic ranch land. At the lighthouse we hiked from the parking area down to the visitor's center and then down the 300+ steep steps to the lighthouse. Note to self; when you walk down 300 steep steps, keep in mind you will have to walk back up 300 steep steps.
After we recovered from our heart attacks, we drove back to Drake's beach. No one knows for sure exactly where Drake touched land in what he called "Nova Albion", but it was somewhere around here and Drake's beach seems to fit the description. It is in a beautiful bay with views to Point Reyes to the North and Chimney Rock to the South. There is a very nice visitor's center and a cafe with some of the best french fries I have ever eaten.
Coming home I missed the turnoff for Sir Francis Drake road and ended up following Highway one, which precariously, but spectacularly, hugs the coast down to Marin, but inevitably hooks back up with 101 and takes you back the other way over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Haven't processed my film yet, was shooting traditonal black and white (Kodak Plus-X and Ilford Delta 100, for those of you who care about that sort of thing), but when I've gotten around to developing, printing and scanning I'll hopefully make an additon to Futurballa Photography of some shots of this trip.
Just thought I'd share our weekend activities with you, my faithful reader(s).
Saturday the better half and I took to the road and headed up to Point Reyes National Seashore for hiking and photo safari. Driving up 280, which is one of the most beautiful strips of freeway in America, at least for a highway that runs through an urban area. If you want beautiful highway through less populated areas, let me recommend a trip along the Eastern Sierras up 395. But I digress. Riding up 280 we passed the Golden Gate National Cemetary, though we didn't stop this time, I was sure to wave at the Colonel.
19th avenue takes you through San Francisco and to the Golden Gate Bridge, where we stopped to take some tourist shots at the presidio turnoff. Had my Yashica 124-G medium format camera, as well as the Canon, but my new superwide (20mm) angle lens hasn't come yet. So mostly shooting with a 28-90 at wider settings. Once back on the bridge, which even 35 years after first crossing the Golden Gate I am still giddy as a child and quite impressed, we crossed over to Marin and headed up 101 through Sausalito. Taking the Sir Francis Drake exit we continued through a number of lovely towns and villages to Point Reyes.
At the park we hiked the Earthquake trail, which takes you along the San Andreas fault and right around the exact epicenter of the 1906 earthquake. From there it was lunch at the general store in Inverness and then on to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, which is about 20 miles from the main park area, driving through historic ranch land. At the lighthouse we hiked from the parking area down to the visitor's center and then down the 300+ steep steps to the lighthouse. Note to self; when you walk down 300 steep steps, keep in mind you will have to walk back up 300 steep steps.
After we recovered from our heart attacks, we drove back to Drake's beach. No one knows for sure exactly where Drake touched land in what he called "Nova Albion", but it was somewhere around here and Drake's beach seems to fit the description. It is in a beautiful bay with views to Point Reyes to the North and Chimney Rock to the South. There is a very nice visitor's center and a cafe with some of the best french fries I have ever eaten.
Coming home I missed the turnoff for Sir Francis Drake road and ended up following Highway one, which precariously, but spectacularly, hugs the coast down to Marin, but inevitably hooks back up with 101 and takes you back the other way over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Haven't processed my film yet, was shooting traditonal black and white (Kodak Plus-X and Ilford Delta 100, for those of you who care about that sort of thing), but when I've gotten around to developing, printing and scanning I'll hopefully make an additon to Futurballa Photography of some shots of this trip.
Friday, August 08, 2003
Have halves
Friday is here. So I'll just share some of my morning reading. Maybe I should consider making this a weekly habit. Eric Alterman had "Slacker Friday", so I guess I'll have to offer a prize for anyone who can come up with a good name for my Friday blog.
Comic, actor, and author, Steve Martin has an OpEd in today's NYT riffing on Bush's logic in the 16 words flap and WMD debate. I especially liked this graf, ruminating on the administration's current thought process...
Let me try and clear it up for you. I think what you were trying to say was, "At any time, did anyone in Iraq think about, wish for, dream of, or search the Internet for weapons of mass destruction?"
Read it here.
Also at the NYT, Paul Krugman offers an environmental history lesson.
SFGate has an excellent piece on Arnold's politics. Sounds to Futurballa like Arnold may have a hard time getting the Republican base to rally to him. Remember these are the same people who rejected moderate Richard Riordin for the less likely to win, but much more conservative Bill Simon.
For an interesting posting about blog etiquette and when blogging goes wrong, terribly wrong, take a look at this from Josh Marshall. Coincidentally I was discussing this very subject in an email exchange yesterday. The outcome of which was that, "these days a friend is someone you can disagree with on your
blog while still linking him". (Thank you George).
And to close out this morning's missives, here is a link to the Ansel Adams section on Masters of Photography. Adams has suffered the same fate as van Gogh in becoming a dorm room wall staple, but like van Gogh, that should not diminish his artistic value. Viewing his work is a lesson to any aspiring photographer. Composition, tonal range, depth of field. It is a textbook in a single image.
Mahalo
Friday is here. So I'll just share some of my morning reading. Maybe I should consider making this a weekly habit. Eric Alterman had "Slacker Friday", so I guess I'll have to offer a prize for anyone who can come up with a good name for my Friday blog.
Comic, actor, and author, Steve Martin has an OpEd in today's NYT riffing on Bush's logic in the 16 words flap and WMD debate. I especially liked this graf, ruminating on the administration's current thought process...
Let me try and clear it up for you. I think what you were trying to say was, "At any time, did anyone in Iraq think about, wish for, dream of, or search the Internet for weapons of mass destruction?"
Read it here.
Also at the NYT, Paul Krugman offers an environmental history lesson.
SFGate has an excellent piece on Arnold's politics. Sounds to Futurballa like Arnold may have a hard time getting the Republican base to rally to him. Remember these are the same people who rejected moderate Richard Riordin for the less likely to win, but much more conservative Bill Simon.
For an interesting posting about blog etiquette and when blogging goes wrong, terribly wrong, take a look at this from Josh Marshall. Coincidentally I was discussing this very subject in an email exchange yesterday. The outcome of which was that, "these days a friend is someone you can disagree with on your
blog while still linking him". (Thank you George).
And to close out this morning's missives, here is a link to the Ansel Adams section on Masters of Photography. Adams has suffered the same fate as van Gogh in becoming a dorm room wall staple, but like van Gogh, that should not diminish his artistic value. Viewing his work is a lesson to any aspiring photographer. Composition, tonal range, depth of field. It is a textbook in a single image.
Mahalo
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