goddess of clarity: a blog about politics, culture, and serenity
Capsule Movie Reviews
Don't Mess With the Zohan
Pittsford Plaza 06.09.08
What can I say? It was 94 degrees out and we don't have air conditioning. Funny in bits (if you like hummus jokes).
Sex and the City
Pittsford Plaza 05.30.08
In a full theater, I counted six men. The movie was very fun, like a really good episode only longer. Much longer. (to quote the Rolling Stone review, "Two and a half hours?! What, do they go to Mordor?!"
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Pittsford Plaza 05.23.08
Add me to the "good, not great" list, but how could a fourth Indiana Jones movie ever live up to expectations. The story was a little obvious and juvenile, even for an Indiana Jones movie, but the first act (especially the college campus motorcycle chase) was good fun.
Leatherheads
The Cinema 05.05.08
The movie had a great premise -- the birth of professional football at a time when the college game was king and the pro game was a joke -- tried to be too many things, and ultimately succeeded at none of them. The screwball comedy moments, when they came, were too weird and off-putting because the movie as a whole didn't go there.
Smart People
The Cinema 05.05.08
A comedy positively littered with quirkiness for quirkiness sake. It was saved by the grace notes Dennis Quaid strikes as a pompous but self-loathing college English professor, and a scene-stealing performance by Thomas Haden Church as his stoned but together adopted brother.
Iron Man
Pittsford Plaza 05.03.08
A very good superhero movie. Very good. Robert Downey takes a character who is pretty much impossible -- the CEO of a weapons manufacturer who's a household name, on the cover of every magazine from Newsweek to Rolling Stone? -- not to mention unlikeable, and wins you over completely in the first five minutes. The flying suit is cool too.
The Bank Job
Pittsford Plaza 03.22.08
God, have I REALLY not been to a movie in over a month! I don't know why it is that the British are the only ones making heist movies anymore, but they sure are good at it. This one required a good two cups of coffee at the local coffee shop afterwards to wrangle out all the various plot points, but it didn't feel that confusing at the time. Just a good old fashioned, fast-paced blag.
Sweeney Todd
The Cinema 02.14.08
Loved it! Loved it! Everything about it! The singing! The acting! The costumes and sets! The blood spurting and skulls cracking against the barber shop floor! Brilliant!
No Country for Old Men
Pittsford Plaza 02.08.08
Sorry Coen brothers, but this one went well over my head. It was full of a bunch of people acting like nobody ever acts. And the ending -- sorry if I'm being very limited about this -- but it was deeply disatisfying. Beautiful scenery, though.
Juno
Pittsford Plaza 02.03.08
I usually hate movies that are quirky for quirkiness sake. But this one is so disarming after the initial "home skillet" annoyingness, that it wins you over. I love how none of the characters are what you think they will be, how each goes off in a very non-movie-specific direction. The distant stepmother is actually loving and courageous. The hip young dad is actually an immature jerk. The uptight yuppie mom-wannabe is actually strong and adventurous. All this plus a fresh, funny, smart, leading lady.
Beowulf
The Cinema 01.15.08
Do not see this movie if you can't see it in 3-D. There really is no point.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
The Cinema 01.15.08
Rochester's Own Phillip Seymour Hoffman is in 30 percent of the movies currently in the theaters. This one is a nice, tight thriller about a scheme between two brothers that goes horribly wrong, and it is Ethan Hawke -- playing the hapless younger brother -- who delivers the best performance.
Charlie Wilson's War
Pittsford Plaza 01.07.08
Now I know why god invented movie stars. Sometimes a movie just needs some good ol' fashioned movie stars, and Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts certainly are that. And Rochester's Own Phillip Seymour Hoffman may not be a movie star, but he does steal every scene he's in.
Atonement
Pittsford Plaza 01.06.08
A very sentimental and sad love story starring two very beautiful people. I can watch the light bounce off of James McAvoy for two hours any time. Plus, I think Keira Knightly's green dress deserves some kind of honorary Academy Award--like the one Shirley Temple got, but for sex.
More capsule movie reviews
June 30, 2008 — 23:30 EDT :: permalink
It Was 15 Years Ago Today
Fifteen years ago, in 1993 ...
- The Maastrict Treaty takes effect, creating the European Union
- David Koresh and the Branch Davidians are bombed out of their Waco, Texas, ranch
- The World Trade Center is attacked
- Bill Clinton withdraws troops from Somalia
- The Phillies lose the World Series to the Blue Jays on a walk-off home-run to Joe Carter (but I'm not bitter)
- Meatloaf ("I Would Do Anything for Love") and Four Non Blondes ("What's Up") rule the airwaves
- Jurassic Park tops the box office
And Mr. Goddess made an honest woman of me. Happy Anniversary, loved one.
This is the first photo ever taken of me and Mr. Goddess, at the Berlin Bar under the George Square train station in Glasgow. You can tell we're still trying to impress each other because we both took off our glasses.
June 29, 2008 — 16:38 EDT :: permalink
Sunday Snapshot
A blizzard of dandelion seeds.
June 28, 2008 — 16:38 EDT :: permalink
Saturdays with Tolkien
Celebrating the poetry of Lord of the Rings.
And long there he lay, an image of splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.
Return of the King
June 27, 2008 — 16:38 EDT :: permalink
Unflattering Retired Software Billionaire Turned Philanthropist Photo of the Week
Hi there. Why don't we go back to my dorm room and compile some code.
Bill Gates officially retired from Microsoft today. I worked for several years at the Evil Empire, though I must say I don't remember thinking there was anything particulary evil or imperial about it (except for maybe that whole browser-OS-antitrust thing; that was pretty evil).
It's trendy to rag on Microsoft, I know. Especially with Vista being the unalloyed failure that it is. I still have never seen a PC running Vista, live and in the wild. I'm told by the IT folks at The Workplace that when they receive new PCs with Vista, they reimage them to run XP.
But I still can't bring myself to switch to a Mac. Even the ad campaign bugs me; I like the dorky PC guy a whole lot better than that uber-cool Mac dude with the chunky haircut. I have to use Macs occasionally and my linear nature is always thrown for a loop by the sliding, bubbly, transparant eye-candy that is the Mac OS. Just show me where you put my file, dammit! Paths, I need paths!
June 23, 2008 — 13:29 EDT :: permalink
RIP, George Carlin
1937-2008
I bought Carlin's Class Clown LP from the Album Hunter when I was 15. His riffs on Catholic school made it sound like he had attended St. Michael the Archangel, too.
I've since seen him in concert three times, and own all his CDs and HBO specials. What I loved best about Carlin was his love of language, his silliness, and his rage at people who didn't take that silliness as seriously as he did.
This bit may not be his edgiest (see this rant about religion or his list of people who deserve to be killed for that) but it's one of my favorites. (These clips are not workplace appropriate, but what would you expect from the guy who brought you "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television.")
June 22, 2008 — 21:55 EDT :: permalink
Sunday Snapshot
Broccoli plants poke up through the raised bed.
June 21, 2008 — 22:30 EDT :: permalink
Saturdays with Tolkien
Celebrating the poetry of Lord of the Rings.
The Sun's limb was lifted, an arc of fire, above the margin of the world.
The Two Towers
June 18, 2008 — 22:28 EDT :: permalink
Overheard in Rochester
"How bad do you have to go to the bathroom, on a scale of one to 10? I'm a six."
Boyfriend to his girlfriend
at the cold, rainy Dave Matthews Band concert last night
June 15, 2008 — 22:28 EDT :: permalink
Sunday Snapshot
The fruits of this weekend's labor: the newly restored floors in the spare room.
June 14, 2008 — 20:46 EDT :: permalink
Saturdays with Tolkien
I'm re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I'm always struck by how Tolkien can weave together a compelling, face-paced narrative, with loooooong stretches of exposition, and the occassional bit of stop-you-in-your-tracks beautiful poetry. Here's a taste of the latter:
Everything looked fresh, and the new green of Spring was shimmering in the fields and on the tips of the trees' fingers.
Fellowship of the Ring
June 13, 2008 — 16:20 EDT :: permalink
Unflattering Politician Photo of the Week
(Swedish Supergroup Edition)
"There was something in the air that night / The stars were bright / McCaindo!
Pity poor John McCain in his efforts to pick a campaign theme song. First, John Mellencamp asked him to cease and desist all use of this "Built Ford Tough" anthem, "Our County." Then 81-year-old guitarist Chuck Berry comes out in support of Barack Obama, despite the McCain campaign's early use of "Johnny B. Goode" as their clarion call.
So now, while Obama raises the roof at his rallies with songs like U2's "It's a Beautiful Day" (dated yes, but it does soar) and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," McCain has turned to Swedish popsters Abba and their 1977 hit, "Take a Chance on Me."
Now, I looooves me some Abba. I listen to my Abba Gold CD at work whenever I am in need of some serious cheering up, and I distinctly remember choreographing roller skating routines in my driveway to "Take a Chance on Me," as the song blared from my Holly Hobby record player.
But as a campaign song, I have to say this one is a little pathetic. Right in the first verse he's practically begging us to -- well -- take a chance (C'mon, please. How bad could it be?)
If you change your mind, I’m the first in line
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you’ve got no place to go, if you’re feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I’m still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain’t no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try
Still, I'm sure McCain will rebound from this musical setback. Let's hope it's not his Waterloo.
June 8, 2008 — 19:22 EDT :: permalink
Sunday Snapshot
Look everyone, the camera's returned!
You see that photo over there on the right? The photo of the 50 IKEA throw rugs we've scattered tastefully across our attic floor? The photo that's been sitting there since ... gee, let me think ... mid-January. Well there's a good reason for my photo tardiness. Well, not a good reason. It's a rather pathetic reason, actually. But it is a reason nonetheless.
You see, Mr. Goddess bought me a lovely new camera for Christmas this year. It's a slim, tiny little camera that I can fit in my hip pocket, unlike my bigger, bulkier camera that requires its own carrying case and as a result is often left behind on trips or birthday party bar crawls.
Turns out this camera is so slim and tiny that it is fairly easy for it to go missing for extended periods of time. In other words, I lost it. Or rather, I thought I lost it during our trip to Saratoga Springs this winter. When I couldn't find it upon our return, I kinda stopped looking for it. I was in this weird state of denial, like if I never completely established that the thing was gone, there was still a chance that it might turn up.
And turn up, it did. I found it last week in an inside zippered pocket in a little-used messenger bag.
To celebrate the camera's safe return, here are some long-delayed snaps from that Saratoga trip. (NOTE: Today it hit 94 degrees here in Rochester, with not a snowflake in sight.)
That last one is a 1950 Jaguar XK140, at the Saratoga Auto Museum. In a smart bit of his-and-hers counterprogramming, the Saratoga Auto Museum is conveniently located next to the Saratoga Springs Mineral Baths and Spa.
June 3, 2008 — 20:04 EDT :: permalink
On a cold January evening — exactly five months ago tonight — the Democratic nomination process began with a bit of a surprise: a win for relative upstart Barack Obama and a third place finish for presumed front-runner Hillary Clinton.
On that night, in increasingly self-congratulatory tones, the cable news networks were falling over themselves to remark upon the historic nature of Obama's win. "Look, we're not racists after all! O happy day!"
The media love nothing more than a good narrative arc, and tonight the Best Political Team on Television is so absolutely desperate to bring this thing full circle that they are practically clambering over their desk in a frenzied outburst of historic parallels. Exactly 200 years ago, the slave trade ended. In the summer of 1961, the Freedom Riders were being attacked throughout the South, and two months later, Barack Obama was born. "And tonight, racism is a thing of the past. The End."
And yet. And yet.
For all my cynicism toward the media, I am -- yet again -- stupidly, naively, hopelessly hopeful about this election, and about the presumed nominee. CNN commentator Roland Martin points out that the evening when Obama formally accepts his party's nomination -- this coming August 28 -- will be 45 years to the day since Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. And if that doesn't coat even the most cynical soul with goose pimples, I don't know what would.
Back to bashing my friends in the media, CNN has been cracking me up all evening with their insane stars-and-stripes infographics and bombastic fanfare to mark such momentous breaking news as -- the number of delegates Obama now needs to secure the nomination is down from six to five. Then at exactly 9:01 p.m., Wolf Blitzer breaks out his super-duper-extra-huge-widescreen infographic (interrupting John McCain's speech to a rather small and grumpy gathering in Louisiana -- sorry, Senator!) to bring us the news that Barack Obama "based on our projected projections" now has enough delegates to secure the nomination of his party for president of the United States.
In other news, Hillary Clinton wins the South Dakota primary. Um, yippee?
Clinton is expected to speak to supporters in New York in a few minutes. And here she is. I've never supported her as a candidate for president, but I do basically like her. I wish she would be our senator here is New York, a new Liberal Lioness akin to Ted Kennedy shaping policy and legislation for decades to come. Her supporters, however, I can do without. One of them shouted, "don't vote for Obama!" during a quiet moment. Thanks, dillweed.
And at 10pm, it's finally over. The Montana primary is in the books and it is yet another split decision, with Obama winning Montana and Clinton winning South Dakota. Fifty-four contests and here we are.
It's Obama's turn to speak and I am ready for some good old-fashioned speechifying. Obama hasn't given a big speech to a huge crowd in a while, and I think it's time. The comparison between Obama and McCain's crowd is laughable. And the difference between the speeches is pretty laughable as well. The only argument the Republicans can make at this point is something like, "Well, pretty words and speech-making are all well and good, but he's not running for Speechmaker-in-Chief." Oh yeah, the ability to inspire people with words is such a liability.
I think I love him.
(Disclaimer: In 1992, I said the same of Bill Clinton and now I can barely look at him.)
June 2, 2008 — 21:09 EDT :: permalink
I spent a lot of time this weekend watching the televised meeting of the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws committeee. And if that sounds exciting -- boy howdy, let me tell ya! -- it's not.
It can be eye-opening to watch the sausage being made in any profession. (Except maybe in a butcher shop because -- eww.) The metaphoric sausage this weekend was democracy. My main impression as I watched the hearing into whether or not or to what extent the delegates from Michigan and Florida would be seated at the Democratic National Convention was how reassuringly boring and civil the whole process was.
The hotel room where the committee members met was packed to the rafters with supporters of both Democratic candidates -- but mostly Hillary Clinton. They would clap and cheer and boo and heckle as the fortunes of their candidate rose and fall. The committee members ate lunch, then came back to vote, deciding to seat the delegates with a half vote each. In Michigan -- where Obama's name was not on the ballot -- the delegates were allocated in such a way as to give Clinton four fewer delegates that she would have received if the committee had relied solely on the popular votes cast for her.
Obama is trying to be gracious, many Clinton supporters are steamed, and in hotel bars all across Washington D.C., Republican staffers are laughing into their whisky sours at their great good fortune.
And the small dark spot in the back of my brain has started to tingle. I am -- after all -- both a Phillies fan and a Democrat. The question always haunts: how will we screw it up this time?
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The goddess is seeing...
Attic floor-covering solution: $1.99 throw rugs from IKEA. Lots of them. Thank you, IKEA!
Snowshoeing in the Adirondacks
'Lost' photos from Baby Brownie camera
The goddess is reading...
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
What would happen if human beings disappeared from the planet tomorrow? That's the thought experiment behind this facsinating book. Did you know that the New York City subways would flood within three months, and your house would start to fall apart--starting around the roof and gutters--after about ten years?
Dead Certain by Robert Draper
This was an illuminating political biography of President George W. Bush. The central thesis of Draper's account is found in the title: that it is Bush's unwavering certainty that is his biggest asset and his ultimate downfall. My favorite anecdote involved the final days before the New Hampshire primary. Bush's staff see a group of school kids sledding on a hill and think this will be a great photo op. The governor enthusiastically joins in, beating all the little kids, and then insisting on a second run, as his cringing handlers instantly regret their decision.
Beowulf translation by Seamus Heaney
I read this in high school of course, but I wanted to read it again to see just how much the movie would veer away from the original text. The answer: a lot. Beowulf and Grendl's mother are the parents of the dragon? Whatever you say, Neil Gaiman.
The goddess is hearing...
Best of WBER 2007 (01.20.08)
Local college radio station WBER posts its top songs of the year. These are currently in my most-played iPod playist:
Grace Kelly by MIKA
9 Crimes by Damien Rice
Hang Me Up to Dry by Cold War Kids
Wolf Like Meby TV on the Radio
No Cars Go by Arcade Fire
Snails by The Format
North American Scum by LCD Soundsystem
Phatom Limb by The Shins
O, Valencia! by The Decembrists
Icky Thump by The White Stripes