Mar04

3-31-04 (01:26)

lakers won again tonight. i think that makes eight in a row. kings play tomorrow and the next day on the road. the next three games are going to be big.

updated movies list.

have had a full day's work the last couple days. tomorrow is my friday and then i get a good vacation. i have to work on sunday, but i'll only work a short day. sarah comes up on thursday.

3-30-04 (01:51)

updated movies list.

melanie's back.

3-28-04 (22:25)

feel pretty tired. last night it took a long time to get to sleep and then i had to wake up early this morning. i don't like waking up early because i always feel tired later in the day. on the other hand it's nice because there's so much more day to work with. the few hours i was at work this morning feel like so long ago.

after work i came home, got dressed and watched the last few minutes of the first half of the g.tech/kansas game. listened to the rest on the radio while on the way to SF. it went into overtime and georgia tech won. i'm surprised that kansas lost, but i don't care about either team so the outcome didn't matter to me. got to see most of the second half of the duke/xavier game while at monique's parents' place. everyone who was watching the game hated duke so that was good. one guy said "bin laden and duke are in the same category." another guy added "yeah, redick (duke's leading scorer) needs to die." sadly, duke won and now the field is down to four. i'll get to see the rest of the games without interruption...except for my sister who will probably give me shit for watching the games while she's in town. i'll throw a stick across the room from time to time to keep her occupied.

lakers won another game tonight. the kings also won. they allowed 92 and won by 8. i was hoping for a 10+ point win and for the kings to hold washington to under 90, but this will suffice. plus, divac was out with some stomach ailment so that's sort of an excuse. reading over the game summary it seems that we got our asses kicked on the boards (again, divac may have helped there) and allowed a 13 point lead to drop to 8 by the end of the game. still, i'm happy we won. the next three games in texas will be a good test.

the wedding get together thing was pretty good as far as those types of things go. they're always awkward for me since i have social anxiety disorder, which generally leaves me shivering and shaking in some corner. but once the combination of expensive white wine and zoloft kicked in, i was the life of the party. in all seriousness, it went fine and i actually wasn't the first one to leave. some of the speeches touching, some were not. they had an artist who was drawing caricatures of people during the festivities. that was a nice touch. at any rate, i'm glad that i went.

on the way home it occurred to me how much of a pain in the ass it is getting in and out of cities like SF. i tried thinking of solutions to this problem, but reached one major impasse no matter what solution i dreamt up - there are just too many people in this world. the only way i could see getting around the problem would be to just pave the entire country, but that's neither desirable, nor practicable.

i'm going to watch a movie and go to bed.

updated movies list.

3-28-04 (00:40)

i guess i'm not watching a movie tonight. got off of work at 1130 and have to open tomorrow so watching a movie would be a squeeze. march first was the last day that i didn't watch a movie. kinda sucks to break the streak.

tomorrow i'm going to SF to see jon and monique. they got married and are having a get together.

i got to see bits of both games today. saw most of the first half of the connecticut/alabama game. alabama couldn't get anything going. connecticut looks like the genuine article. also saw a good portion of the st. joe's/ok state game during my lunch break. both teams looked good and it just came down to who could make the shots down the stretch. i took a ten minute break and went to woodstock's pizza to watch the last 1:31 of the game. it turned out to be quite exciting. i'm glad woodstock's is so close.

two more games tomorrow. i think kansas and duke will win. i think kansas and connecticut will play in the finals. and, given the options, that seems like the most entertaining possible match-up. i hope xavier wins tomorrow, but i doubt that will happen. i look forward to simien matching up against okafor.

dial-up internet is so lame.

ELO is not.

i wish there was some way to get old games on dvd or tape. i'd like to get the cal/stanford game with "they play," i'd like to get all the games in the LMU run back in the early 90s, i'd like to get all the 49ers super bowl wins, i'd like to get the last three games of the yankees/diamondbacks series, i'd like to get the michigan/unc championship game (1993) which marked the final showing of the fab five, i'd like to get all the games in the ucla run of (1995), i'd like to see the nc state/house game of 1983, the villanova/georgetown game of 1985, i'd like to get games 1-7 of the lakers/kings matchup two years ago....in other words, there are a lot of games i'd like to see again. if you know of any way i can acquire any/all of these games then let me know.

kings play tomorrow. word on the street is that bobby jackson will return. we play washington so there is no excuse for us losing that game. actually, not only should we win, but we should win by ten or more and hopefully hold them to under 90 points.

i haven't seen enough of lebron james to really comment, but looking at his numbers is enough to impress me. 41 points, 13 assists and a game winning shot tonight in overtime. that's just silly for a 18/19 year old rookie. the next question to be answered is how he'll do at the next level - the playoffs. there's still a chance the cavs can make the playoffs this year and i hope they do just so i can see the guy play.

3-27-04 (01:11)

i'm not sure if i wrote this before, but i thought it. phil jackson (coach of the lakers) fancies himself the best coach in nba history, but really he's just a shrink. tex winter is the x's and o's genius behind jackson, and those who know about jackson's run with the bulls and lakers know that winter is the one who developed and refined the triangle offense that has led to nine championships with phil jackson. my point here isn't to diminish phil jackson's accomplishments as a coach, but to point out that his strength lies in his ability to make personalities fit into the system. the lakers' seven game winning streak isn't all that surprising to me. actually it is in that i expected it earlier, but malone was injured for a while so i guess that slowed their progress. if jackson can't take four hall of fame basketball players (shaq, kobe, malone and payton) and get a ring then, to me, he isn't nearly the coach that he thinks he is. they all know how to play the game, they all know the offense inside and out, they all have more than enough talent, so what i'm saying is this: anything less than a ring for the lakers this year and jackson will forever be (at best) the second best coach in nba history (behind red auerbach, of course).

for a while i was deluding myself into thinking that the lakers wouldn't flip the switch, but now they have and i think the season is pretty much over at this point. they can match up with anyone in the west, they can play defense and offense equally well, they have the experience and they have more seasoned playmakers than any other team. there are three teams that match up at all. minnesota is good, but doesn't have the experience or as many big playmakers. san antonio is good and disciplined on both sides of the ball, but they have one playmaker and no answer for shaq. sacramento has shown they can defend shaq relatively well, but we still have a weak interior defense and our rebounding is ridiculous, especially when compared to shaq/malone. when bobby jackson is healthy we'll have the best bench of the four teams and that's why i think we have the best chance against the lakers, but if they're clicking in the playoff like they are now, then no one will be able to catch the lakers.

uab and nevada both lost tonight. that was unfortunate. duke won and that's always unfortunate. i still haven't gotten a chance to see connecticut play so i don't have a great feel for what to expect out of the final eight, but kansas looked real good today against a tough team to play. georgia tech looked strong, but they're probably going to be without their best player for the rest of the tourney so i don't like their chances against KS. duke is always good, but don't seem as strong inside as CT or KS, lucky for them they play xavier next. xavier is good, but duke is better. alabama is tough because they had the strongest schedule of the year so they know how to play with the big boys. but everything i hear about CT tells me that bama is going to run into a brick wall tomorrow. i don't know anything about OK State and st. joseph's hasn't impressed me very much, but they're proven winners so i don't know what to expect from that match-up.

i like terrell owens and think he'll do well in philly. i wish him well. i also wish the niners had their old owner...the one who cared about winning. oh well, those days are gone.

updated movies list. watched three very different movies today.

as bad as mcclintock or mccain are, i much prefer them to republicans like bush because at least they're straight shooters who are well-informed and intelligent.

one thing i dislike about the internet is that you have to register to be a part of all these different services. not the majority, of course, but enough to be annoying. i suppose it says something about human nature that even with a medium as free and open as the internet is supposed to be, we still have all these little cliques and clubs that exclude people.

i'm tired.

3-26-04 (01:43)

updated movies list.

thanks to a jerry-rigged tv antenna (which is actually no more than a pin (actually some lame bands promotional button) inserted into the antenna input on the back of the tv at work) i was able to catch part of the alabama/syracuse and st. joseph's/wake forest games despite being at work. naturally the pin doesn't do as good a job at receiving a signal as a real antenna, but it works well enough.

today was a pretty good day. it's my friday and that's always good. i get one day off and that's too bad, but it does mean that next week i get a three day weekend. actually since i'm only working a few hours on sunday i might work a few hours on thursday, thus negating the three day weekend thing, but i need the money.

looking forward to tomorrow's games.

listening to non-prophets right now. good shit.

3-25-04 (00:45)

for the last three years or so there have been three people who have consistently made my most-hated list. george w. bush, kobe bryant and shaquille o'neal.

tonight's game was very depressing. most of our problems of late seemed to stem from not getting "up" for the games, but that should never be a problem against the lakers. so tonight's loss showed me that our problems are more than just motivational, they're systemic. we've always been an average rebounding and defensive team, but with webber trying to work his way into the lineup, the rest of the team is really suffering. if they don't start to really gel in the next ten games then, i think he'll have to come off the bench during the playoffs. i think that right now, more than anything, they need someone to yell at them a little. i don't know how adelman runs his practices or what goes on in the locker room, but he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who gets very angry at his players. sometimes people just need to get their ass kicked a bit.

in other basketball news...i have to work tomorrow so i'll miss four games, then friday i have off so i can catch four games, then i have to close on saturday so i'll miss two games and sunday i'll be in SF so i'll miss another two games. basically i'll miss half of the sweet 16 and all of the elite 8 rounds. i'm happy that i get to see uab and nevada play, but i'll miss the alabama/syracuse game which should be good. actually i think they'll all be good.

updated movies list.

3-24-04 (00:56)

one of the worst things about having a bad memory is that when i say something like "george bush has probably the worst environmental record in our history," i strain to come up with examples. there's the stuff about him rolling back all the last minute regulations that clinton signed into law...like the arsenic in the water issue. but, despite there being a glut of evidence to back up the previous statement, i would be hard pressed to come up with examples off the top of my head. this didn't happen recently or anything, but i know that it could if i ever got into a discussion with someone foolish enough to ask how bush has been bad for the environment. and, of course, this extends to other things as well....i may know that a certain thing is true, but have very little to back it up at the time.

updated movies list.

the grey album is testament to the power of technology. not only could it not have been made without a computer (although perrey and kingsley might disagree with me there), it wouldn't have been as wildly popular as it is without file sharing.

3-23-04 (01:55)

updated movies list.

today was pretty lame overall.

the last couple weeks have been nice and warm, but it's supposed to cool down this week. maybe even rain.

the assistant manager's last day is tomorrow. he didn't last very long. as a result there may be scheduling problems around the corner. my plan to take off early on sunday so i could visit jon might not happen. also, my plan to goto coachella might not happen. i'm not very pleased.

i've been searching the help wanted ads for weeks and nothing looks very good. it's depressing.

mr. lif's two albums from 2002 are sort of like ralph ellison's "invisible man."

" the Das Boot: The Original Uncut Version will be a 2-disc set featuring the original mini-series version that was produced for German TV broadcast in 1981 (running time: 293 minutes). The video will be anamorphic widescreen, with audio in English and German Dolby Digital (note that you'll get the restored original stereo audio as well as a newly created 5.1 mix - in GERMAN we hope). A behind-the-scenes featurette is also included."

i just picked up the superbit version of the film. so if i get this new mini-series version that's coming out in june, then i'll have three versions of the same basic thing. life's tough.

3-21-04 (18:49)

left work early today to watch some of the ncaa games. glad i did. uab beat kentucky, that was a good game. in the first round there were only four lower ranked teams to win, in the second round there were seven upsets, but with half as many games played. overall some good games. i like the way uab plays. i also thought that nevada played really well in the game i saw. the west coast is taking a beating.

the kings won against the pacers the other day and that was another great game. bibby hit a last second jumper coming off a double screen. good playcall, better execution. big win on the road.

the kings just won the game after trailing almost the entire game. i was pretty confident that we would win since we've been closing games fairly well the second half of the year. unfortunately we don't seem to start games very well these days so we play from behind a lot.

updated movies list.

3-19-04 (00:32)

"Love Canal is clean and will be removed from the Superfund list, said the U.S. EPA yesterday. Extensive pollution in the working-class area of Niagara Falls, N.Y., prompted President Carter to declare environmental emergencies in 1978 and 1980, and led Congress to pass the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act -- subsequently known as Superfund. The neighborhood was built on a 19th century canal filled with a toxic mix of 80 industrial chemicals, which seeped into homes, burning children and causing a panoply of long-term ailments. Cleaning the site took 21 years and $400 million. The de-listing is largely symbolic, since most of the work on the site was completed several years ago and the EPA will continue monitoring it for years to come, but it has prompted reflection on the oft-troubled program. "While Love Canal marked the beginning of the Superfund, its successful cleanup should by no means mark its demise," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in a statement. "We still have a long way to go.""

forgot to upload last night's update last night.

updated movies list.

i always mistook the part in pink floyd's "another brick in the wall" when waters sings "no dark sarcasm in the classroom." for "no thoughts of chasm in the classroom." i think my line is better.

i was thinking about having my next themed week of movie watching center around the worst movies of all-time. so far i have glitter, gigli, ishtar and grease on the list. if you have any suggestions let me know. the idea came when i thought about the paucity of bad reviews i seem to write.

i'd like to be a director or coach a basketball team. in both instances you get to be a teacher in a way that involves both mind and body. combining psychology, strategy, technique and art would be interesting. also, unlike being a parent, you get time off. plus you still get something to show for your efforts at the end of the day.

i don't understand why "capturing the friedmans" seemed to get so much more attention than a similar documentary called "stevie" which is directed by a more well known person (steve james who also did hoop dreams). they both deal with the same topic, were released within a week of each other, and are good. actually 'stevie' is the better of the two and, other than a few sundance nods, didn't get very much recognition at all. weak.

it's funny how solipsistic people can be when it comes to global warming. i saw a rerun of the letterman show tonight that reminded me of this. he made a joke about al gore being in nyc to talk about global warming, but pointed out that it was nine degrees outside. i don't know when the episode first aired, but suffice it to say nine degrees (so the joke implied) was not the norm for the time. this thinking is echoed all over the place. on the radio today i heard jt "the brick" (he's an a.m. sports radio host) talking about al gore being right about global warming since it's 85 in los angeles in march. i don't think that people seriously understand what global warming is, or what the difference is between weather and climate. just because there's a forty degree day in july doesn't mean that global warming is a bunch of crap. global warming is about long-term shifts in climate as a result of human intervention. these shifts are, globally, only measure in a couple degrees....but that's enough to tip the current balance. i guess it's good that letterman and j.t. understand that global warming is real, but if this is the kind of logic they employ then their thinking may change one day in july when it drops below 50. you get my point.

from the 1870s to the present, only 16 thousand men have played in a major league baseball game. that's pretty elite company.

onto the kings. i've been really disappointed by their defense the last couple games. this road trip has been pretty awful altogether. but, unlike many of the people i hear calling in on the late night radio shows, i don't think this is the end of our season. there are a couple things to consider...first, webber is still trying to find his legs and the team is till adjusting to his presence. it's going to take at least a couple weeks for this to happen. second, we've lost four of the last ten, but minnesota has done even worse and as long as we do better than they do we can maintain home court throughout the playoffs. third, the most important time of the year is the playoffs - everything else is just training. as long as we are able to maintain a first place ranking in the west (currently we have a three game cushion) it's okay to lose a game here or there. learning from those loses is the important thing at this stage of the game. that's why good coaches will get themselves kicked out of a game or two in the preseason...in case it happens in the postseason, the players won't have to adjust to a new situation at such a critical time. good teams like adversity from time to time - it keeps you sharp. so, if the kings are learning from their lack of defensive intensity then there's nothing wrong with the losses they have sustained in the last two games. if not, then we're in trouble.

i'm looking forward to the indiana/kings game tomorrow.

i'm looking forward to all the nationally televised ncaa hoops games that will be on tomorrow.

i'm looking forward to seeing the remake of dawn of the dead, hopefully this weekend.

i'm looking forward to the fantasy baseball season that began today. well, the draft was today. i got a-rod and a lot of good pitchers so i should do better than last place this year.

i'm going to play some video football.

if you know of any good comedy albums let me know.

3-18-04 (00:43)

"Two reports released this week document severe underfunding of U.S. national parks and warn that drastic budget shortfalls will affect park safety and visitor enjoyment. Two parks advocacy organizations -- the National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition of Concerned National Park Retirees -- criticize the Bush administration's parks policies. The NPCA report says $290 million in additional federal funding for the National Park Service is needed beyond what the administration has proposed for fiscal year 2005. The parks have been hit particularly hard of late by natural disasters and homeland security measures -- an orange terror alert costs the NPS roughly $1 million a month in increased security around national monuments. Visitor numbers continue to rise and funding is not keeping pace. ''We're on the verge of crossing the line to where the public will notice'' service cuts, said NPS spokesperson David Barna."

based on my experience, the national parks are one of the most valuable federally funded programs in the nation.

if anyone finds a good sized map (probably 100K or more) of the continental U.S. that includes major highways and cities, please email it to me. i want to highlight the road we took during our trip around the country and add it to the trip page.

i was talking with erin (from work) the other day about the situation in spain and the decision of their new leader to pull troops out of iraq. here's what i said "yeah i think that's good for them, but you know what bush is going to say: 'we must show resolve in these difficult times. freedom is not free.'" ...here's what he said today... ""They have not only killed in Spain, they've killed in the United States, they've killed in Turkey, they've killed in Saudi Arabia. They kill wherever they can. And it's essential that the free world remain strong and resolute and determined."" that guy's rhetoric is so predictable.

i watched about 7 minutes of news tonight after i got home. they had a 15 second story on halliburton overcharging the government for services overseas. they had a 20 second story on clinton's childhood home being up for sale on ebay. p.s. the times are estimated, but the clinton home story was at least as long as the halliburton story.

this is just ridiculous. i'm surprised that cbs called rummy out on this one. rare kudos to them.

just looking at the structure of my webpage, and the writings therein, you could probably tell a lot about me. that is, based upon the way i write and the way my site is laid out, one could probably ascertain all sorts of things. the page layout is simple and effective. i have very few graphics which speaks to the fact that i still use a dial-up connection and that i'm more about content than presentation. and, as i've pointed out before, i use a lot of "but"s in my writing. that, to me, shows that i see two sides to most stories. there are probably all sorts of other things one could learn about me from examining merely the structure of my writings here. the content, of course, shows even more.

who's the boss is coming to dvd on june 8th. i think i actually used to watch that show.

a good local record label.

i think i learn something new about film, in general, every week. of course every time i watch a movie i learn something about that specific film (what it looks like, what its plot is, what its themes are, etc.), but every week i think i also discover new ways of viewing films. i find something new to look for or hear something interesting about filmmaking in a commentary track or... if i watch something by seijun suzuki on sunday then monday through friday i might look at the way the films i'm watching deal with time/space. my point is that watching a lot of movies the way i do these days gets me thinking on all sorts of different levels about what a film is trying to do and how it is trying to do it. i'm not saying i'm very good at it, but i do have a lot of practice under my belt. i'd like to thank dvds for this. if not for dvds i wouldn't know nearly as much about film. 1) they're small and lightweight which makes them cheap to send in the mail, thus making it possible for netflix to exist. 2) they have the ability to have numerous audio tracks which means sometimes four or five audio commentaries which provide all sorts of interesting information.

i always get john frankenheimer and william friedkin mixed up. frankenheimer did french connection II and friedkin did the first one. i'll try to remember that frankenheimer has more letters in his last name and has done more good films.

3-17-04 (01:23)

"A new report from the U.S. EPA's inspector general slams the agency for systematically exaggerating its progress in cleaning up the nation's drinking water, basing its declarations on faulty or incomplete data. The EPA claimed that 94 percent of U.S. residents drank water that met EPA health standards in 2002, and that number was parroted by the media, but the real figure is more like 81 percent. "

updated movies list. on pace to see approximately 480 movies this year. i watched the 1978 version of 'invasion of the body snatchers' tonight. i've watched all three versions in the past four days. it's interesting to watch three versions of the same film made during three very different times. it's not only interesting to see how each director (siegel, kaufman, and ferrara - all are at least decent) approaches the same story, but also to see what sort of societal issues work their way into the story. i think that the last one was good because it had the most interesting setting of the three, but had weak acting. the second one had the best ending, but was longish. and the first one did the best job all-around, but is a little dated.

i'm tired. my feet are tired. my knee hurts.

there seems to be a lot of stupidity (or at the very least, lack of thought) built into our culture. like when people say "i could care less"...you mean "couldn't" right? or, when looking for a lost item, they ask the question "why is it that it's always the last place you look?" the answer being - because once you find it you stop looking. then there's the usual stuff like pet rocks or...you get the point.

3-16-04 (02:07)

updated movies list.

michael mercury was talking about how sometimes he'll take a book and put it under his pillow when he sleeps, or at the base of his spine when he's going for a walk, in order to soak up some of the "essence" of the book. he finds it works quite well. i guess that explains why i know so much about cotton and goose feathers.

listened to a few jerky boys albums last night. they crack me up.

a couple kids (probably around 16 years old) came into work today and stole some stuff. one came up to me to distract me while the other walked near the security gate to see if the alarm would go off. it did and so he ran away. i told his friend to come to the back with me so we could call the cops and he could give them his friends name. he (rightly) pointed out that i couldn't keep him there so he started walking out the door. the alarm went off and so i took chase. after running a couple blocks he ditched a cd player and i walked it back to work.

i'm out of shape. in the old days i would have caught him within 50 yards and wouldn't have been tired at all from running a couple blocks. i was able to keep up with him and that was good, but i wasn't able to catch him and if the chase went on much longer i think he would have gotten away. granted, he's younger than me, had a head start, and had more of a reason to get away, but it's very disappointing to be so out of shape. i wish i had a race every week to make me stay in shape. i can't stay in shape for the sake of staying in shape. there has to be something to look forward to on a weekly basis.

march madness upon us. makes me wish i had cable and more free time to watch the games.

3-14-04 (23:22)

updated movies list.

kings won today against the spurs. they didn't have duncan and it was in sacramento so we should have won, but there's no sure thing in basketball. brad miller brings a lot of fire to our team and i like that. he's like the new and improved scot pollard.

i felt really sleepy earlier tonight, but now i don't.

my sister is coming up to davis to visit in a couple weeks. around the same time i'm going to the bay area to visit jonique. then a month after that melanie and i are going to coachella. it's good to have things to look forward to.

3-13-04 (00:17)

updated movies list.

i want to start watching more of the movies i already own, but haven't seen yet. surprisingly there are about ten movies that i own, but haven't gotten around to watching yet.

i'd like to get more comedy cds. i'd like to explore some of the classics like richar pryor, bill cosby, george carlin, etc. all i have right now is some firesign theater, bill hicks, seinfeld, jerky boys, adam sandler, david cross, mitch hedberg and denis leary. slim pickens. he was funny too. har har.

the kings lost tonight in a close game. we played poorly in the second and third quarters which was expected because of the back to back game situation and because we were playing on the road. still, we could have won and it was unfortunate that we didn't. songalia should have gotten more minutes and i would have liked to see a few minutes from massenburg. can't wait until bobby jackson gets healthy.

today i reached the one hundred film mark. last year i got to one hundred films on may 10th, that was the fastest since 2000 when i started keeping track of my movie viewing. at this rate i'll watch over 400 movies this year. a step in the right direction.

On March 12, 1868, the Senate began Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial.

i saw a flyer that read "yes on prop 57. arnold schwarzenegger says that if we don't pass prop 57 we ill have 'armageddon cuts' and 'fiscal chaos' use doublethink! creat bond debt to settle the deficit. all members of the Party [chris' note: notice the capitalization] support this doubleplusgood meaure. this is the only way! - students for an orwellian society. because 2004 is 20 years too late." i thought it was an awesome satirical approach. then i read this. that made me think they were actually serious, and seriously pathetic. then i went to their website, and faith in humanity was restored to former levels.

3-12-04 (01:19)

"Scientists in the U.S. have developed a method to convert raw human waste -- or as the scientists call it, "number two" -- into electricity, putting a brown spin on the green-power movement. Oops, did we say "movement"? Okay, okay, we'll try to be serious: The process works by feeding the ... material ... into a microbial fuel cell (MFC) that uses bacteria to break it down -- much as the human body does -- but diverts the resulting electrons, which would normally power respiratory reactions in the bacteria, into a power generator. Even better, harmful organic matter is broken down in the process, so the MFC can serve as a kind of sewage treatment plant. The technology promises extraordinary benefits, particularly to developing nations that desperately need both sewage treatment and inexpensive energy. But, says microbiologist Derek Lovley, large-scale use is a ways off: "One way to think of this technology is that it is currently at the state of development that solar power was 20 to 30 years ago -- the principle has been shown, but there is a lot of work to do before this is widely used.""

updated movies list.

kings had a big win tonight. the kings are 13-0 when christie gets nine or more assists.

george lucas has talked about releasing howard the duck on dvd with a digital version of howard in the movie. it's a good thing lucas decided to be a filmmaker instead of a historian. people like that try and tell us that the holocaust never happened or that christopher columbus was a great guy, instead of a mass murderer, that thomas jefferson never had slaves or that FDR ran five miles a day well into his fifties. fuck george lucas and his revisionist efforts.

3-11-04 (02:04)

updated movies list.

tomorrow is my friday.

this week went by a lot more quickly than last week.

the steroid issue in baseball is upsetting. i've never loved bonds, but a few years ago i came to have a great respect for what he's been able to do in his career. if memory serves, he was only the second person to have a 40/40 season, he eclipsed the single season homerun mark, he has a great obp, a great work ethic and a great eye. i liked the fact that he stayed with the giants despite knowing he could have gone to another team, possibly for more money. i value that kind of loyalty. but now it seems that he took steroids and the union is covering for him and a few others. the union is doing a disservice to the game by shielding the players in this way. what it does (in my mind) is add a question mark to every stat in baseball over the last ten years. surely some of the increased numbers come from changes in how umpires call the game or the "juiced" (more tightly woven) ball, but that doesn't account for everything.

as for the bertuzzi hockey incident...the guy should get the same penalty that mcsorely got a few years back when he attacked a guy with his stick. i think they suspended him for the remainder of the year.

tracy mcgrady scored 62 points tonight. would have been nice to see that happen. i remember when the admiral scored 71 points several years back. i was in high school and i think he won mvp that year. that guy was a beast in his heyday.

my philosophy on documentary filmmaking...there are some documentaries that simply take the fly on the wall approach in both filming and editing (chronologically, few voice-overs, juxtaposition is thematic rather than dramatic...). others acknowledge the author (filmmaker) unabashedly. some people think of the latter as being propaganda or not in keeping with the spirit of documentary filmmaking. my expert opinion is that there's nothing wrong with the latter category. i think it's an act of honesty to edit things the way michael moore or others might. in my vast experience i've found that it's often the "objective" views that you have to be most critical of.

by the way, i don't really consider myself a documentary expert.

3-10-04 (01:18)

updated movies list.

from warner brothers: "There are plans to do a 2 Disc SE on BULLITT, STREETCAR and BONNIE AND CLYDE in the future."

"Coming in new transfers this July are OUT OF THE PAST, THE SET-UP, ASPHALT JUNGLE, GUN CRAZY, and MURDER, MY SWEET. We're very excited about this new series! all of these have commentaries, and the SET-UP has Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese!"

the cover of "kindergarten cop" is ripe for a political cartoon satire. all the kids hanging on arnold could be different special interests or state problems. wonder if it's been done already.

kings won tonight. chris webber went 2/21 which makes me look like a genius since i said he'd have a few good games and then tank it for a while. anyone who has ever had to come back to basketball after a long lay off - whether it was because of an injury or something else - knows that the first couple games feel good, but the few after that suck. it'll take another couple weeks before he's back to playing consistent ball.

things are very average lately.

this is so lame..."The daughter of Citizen Kane Oscar winner Orson Welles has vowed to sell his Best Screenplay Academy Award - after being declared the award's rightful owner by a judge. Beatrice Welles has been fighting the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences over the ownership of the award, which was presented to her late father in 1941. However, after the ruling - made in Los Angeles District Court on Monday - the Academy vowed to appeal the case, insisting that in order to prevent the statuettes becoming "articles of commerce" they must have first refusal for a mere $1 on any planned sale. But Judge Dean Pregerson told the court, "Welles has unrestricted property rights in the original Oscar, which she may dispose of however she sees fit.""

3-9-04 (01:24)

"expect Star Trek: The Original Series - Season One to arrive on DVD in the 3rd Quarter of this year."

"And Buena Vista is expected to announce the DVD release of Miracle for May 18th. Extras on the 2-disc set will include featurettes with the real hockey players and actors, outtakes, director's audio commentary and a tribute to coach Herb Brooks (who was killed last year in a car crash in Minnesota)."

i'm happy that miracle is going to get the 2-disc treatment.

updated movies list.

it was nice outside today.

bought my tickets to the coachella festival today.

3-7-04 (23:58)

updated movies list.

yesterday was less than fantastic.

changed the oil on the car. that turned out to be more difficult than usual. the last time melanie had the oil changed was by a professional and, apparently, they tightened the drain plug using a powered wrench gun. i used my biggest socket wrench and wasn't able to make it budge at all. what i ended up doing was lifting up the car (with melanie's help) and put a brick underneath the wrench. then i sat on the front of the car and let the weight of the car push the wrench against the brick just enough to loosen the nut. i was proud of myself after that. today my arms are sore because of how hard i tried to loosen that damn thing. and all it took was melanie sitting in the car and seeing the front end sag a bit to spark the idea that solved the problem.

went to see "the statement" at the tower theater, but got lost along the way and missed it. that was unfortunate.

kings lost yesterday and so did ucla. ucla won't even make the pac-10 tourney. that's sad. the kings won today and that was good. webber didn't play because they wanted to rest him and back to back games are tough even when you're not coming off an injury. i think that's a good decision, but if i was in charge i would have played him for 10-12 minutes because i know he wants to be out there.

stanford lost and that's good.

“When there is peace, the warlike man attacks himself.” -nietzsche

criterion is pulling lang's M, but will rerelease it later this year with a better transfer and special features. also the samurai trilogy will be available as a boxed set.

curb your enthusiasm season two is coming out june 15th.

3-6-4 (04:04)

a couple things...watched a bit of the mclaughlin group tonight and they talked about nader a bit since mclaughlin had an interview with nader recently. they mentioned a couple things about nader's decision to run. 1) it helps keep kerry sharp. as i mentioned before - this whole 'anyone but bush' mentality from the leftists is lazy, scary and doesn't help motivate voters. 2) it keeps things interesting. nader will help mobilize the left by keeping kerry on his toes and keeping the debate lively and full. 3) nader has said he will focus primarily on the shortcomings of bush. 4) kerry is, by most standards, a liberal and needs to choose a moderate running mate to bring the ticket to the center. nader provides a visible true leftist stance to the national debate. in other words, if you think kery is liberal, check this guy out. the same way that i once thought i could say "well at least bush isn't as crazy as pat buchanan or pat robertson." hmmm. 5) in many ways nader will just be filling the shoes of guys who have bowed out like kucinich or dean. dean mobilized the left way more than kerry or edwards did. and kucinich also brings a certain fire and vision to the race that kerry doesn't have...though, to his credit, he has adopted a bit of this technique in recent weeks. nader will serve the same function, but outside of the party. 6) as i've said before, i think that turnout will be a huge factor in this race. if the left is motivated then we can defeat bush because there are quite simply more of us. but if there is no mobilization of the poor, disenfranchised and disillusioned of the nation then i think bush will win again. i think nader can help in this cause. 7) let us not forget about the congressional races that will be decided on the same day as the president. in those races turnout, mobilization and informing the polity are especially important. again, i think that nader can help in this cause because of his fresh voice.

on a more personal note - if anyone is afraid that my one vote for nader will make california go to bush instead of kerry (yeah right) then let this calm you: from now on if ralph nader or a green party candidate is not on the ballot i just won't vote. that way you can rest-assured that my vote isn't being stolen by nader. if he, or someone like him, is not on the ballot i just won't bother voting. that's one thing i never understood about the whole "nader gave florida to bush" argument. why get mad at the few thousand people who voted for nader when there were millions of people who didn't vote at all? why not get mad at them?

i'm interested to see who kerry picks as his running mate. gephart and edwards seem to head up the list.

"When I said during my presidential bid that I would only bring Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm. `What do you mean?' the media challenged me. `You're not going to bring atheists into the government? How dare you maintain that those who believe in the Judeo-Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?' My simple answer is, `Yes, they are.'" -from Pat Robertson's "The New World Order," page 218.

"Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It's no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history."--Pat Robertson, 1993 interview with Molly Ivins

(talking about Planned Parenthood) "It is teaching kids to fornicate, teaching people to have adultery, every kind of bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism-everything that the Bible condemns."--Pat Robertson, "The 700 Club," 4/9/91

"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."-- George Bush

fuck it i'll just give you the link. priceless.

updated movies list.

3-5-4 (01:50)

updated movies list.

ran out of space on one of my dvd shelves. so i moved all the criterion dvds from that case to the other case. having all the criterion stuff together looks nice. so, not that anyone cares, but i have my documentaries, tv, music and criterion dvds on one side (of the tv) and the remaining feature films on the other.

with all the press that 'the passion of the christ' has gotten, you gotta wonder why more attention hasn't been paid to this little tidbit. never have i been closer to believing in god than after hearing about this story.

according to gubernatorial candidate tom mcclintock, the interest we will end up paying on that 15 billion dollar bond is going to be in the neighborhood of 6 billion dollars. that's just silly. did anyone even read the proposition? did people know what they were voting for? do people know what a bond is?

jon stopped by tower today. that was unexpected since he lives in SF, but nice. we chatted about lame it is working for other people, married life, and stupid people.

i've been hearing increasing news about fox putting 'family guy' back on the air because of how well the dvds have sold. that would be nice.

i've viewed 19 movies from netflix in the last 30 days. that breaks down to just over a dollar per movie.

3-4-4 (01:31)

updated movies list.

this is an interesting story, mainly for it's last two paragraphs. doesn't shuttering a store mean it's going to be closed down? wouldn't that entail layoffs/firings? all the official news i've gotten from joe has been of the "everything is fine, nothing's going to change" kind. and then i read a stuff like this. i have to figure out a way of going into business for myself.

ever since the first publishing of 'fast food nation' it seems that mcdonalds' has started getting some of its shit together. in the paperback edition of the book the author addresses some of the advances they made in between the first printing and the printing of the paperback. and since the paperback printing i've heard of a few more positive moves by the company. they're still not a model organization, but they have started to use their clout to influence the meatpacking industry in positive ways and, more recently, the decision to eliminate the supersize option from their menu. as much as i dislike mcdonald's, i do have to give them credit for what they've done recently.

holy shit.

there is a feature empire magazine this month that lists the top 100 films of all-time. i'm always drawn to lists like that because, on occasion, i'll find a really good one or some gems that are overlooked. this was the worst one i'd ever seen. the highest ranked black and white film was raging bull at somewhere around number 18. pirates of the caribbean was also somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 or 18, which is to say that, according to them, pirates of the caribbean is better than every black and white film ever made. the highest ranked foreign film was seven samurai, it was number 47. there weren't any films on the list with charlie chaplin, buster keaton, or katherine hepburn, to name a few. there were all sorts of other things wrong with the list, but i don't want to waste any more time with it because it just makes me upset. to their credit, the list was compiled, i think, by votes from their readers.

3-3-4 (02:08)

i'm really pissed off about the election results. props 57 and 58 passed which means we're going to go into greater debt. people don't understand something. they either don't understand how debt works or what the difference is between the deficit and the debt. deficit is yearly, debt is the sum of deficits and surpluses from the past. the bond will give us money now, but give us more of a deficit in the future, thereby increasing our debt. unless the governor has some brilliant way to spend this money that will increase our tax base or generate other revenue streams then the bonds will only help us in the short term and hurt us a great deal in the long term. it was infinitely stupid to vote for 58. if i were arnold i'd let the voters know that because they voted for morons (governors AND congressmen) in the past they're going to pay for it. i'd go after the energy giants that bilked the state out of billions, i'd reinstitute the car tax, though i'd probably cut it a bit, i'd raise property taxes for the ultra-rich and tie this tax in with income taxes so that retired people and farmers who happen to have highly valued homes wouldn't lose their property, i'd raise income taxes for the top one percent of income earners, i'd have my people start looking into prisoners who have been in prison for a long time for petty crimes or people who are over a certain age (let's say 60) and who have been in prison for more than (let's say) five years in an effort to reduce our outlay for the enormously bloated prison system, and i'd institute a temporary half cent tax on high sugar content items like candy and soda. i've heard that a half cent tax on each can of soda alone, would bring in a couple billion dollars a year. all of the above would bring us out of the deficit we currently face without putting us further into debt or eliminating any critical programs. the rich would grumble and i wouldn't get reelected, but it would be the right thing to do. it combines the cutting of a bloated and unethical prison system, slight temporary taxes on sweets, and more equitable long-term taxing of the super-rich.

which brings me to the next topic....willie horton and john kerry.

"contrary to the bush/quayle propaganda, the infamous furlough program had not been started by "the democratic governor of massachusetts" but by governor francis sargent, a republican, in 1972. nor was it dukakis who "let convicted first-degree murderers out on weekend passes" but the massachusetts supreem court, which had rules in 1973 that such prisoners must be included in the furlough program. moreover - and more important - prison furloughs had dramtically reduced recidivism. such effectiveness explains why thirty-five states were using similar programs (i.e., extending furloughs to first-degree murderers) by the time the bush/qualye team had started to attack dukakis/horton. the furlough system also helped reduce escape attempts. when horton fled to maryland (which occurred on his tenth furlough), the escape rate for lifers ho had comitted murder was .0008 percent - a rate considerably lower than it was before the program started." - from the "bush dyslexicon" by mark crispin miller

i mention that because i've heard that a similar case as the willie horton case happened on john kerry's watch and that it may be used by the bush team in the coming months. not that it matters because there is apparently plenty of fodder for republicans to use against kerry. it'll start to come out now that the primaries are pretty much over.

i'm also disappointed that the one bond (the school bond) that i felt was worth the long term headache doesn't look like it'll get the 55% needed to pass. i wish there had been some organized opposition to props 57 and 58. anyone who has ever played simcity knows that bonds are not the way to get yourself out of the hole.

"In a Washington Post column, Steven Pearlstein speculates that recent comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan were politically motivated. Unlikely to seek another stint at the helm of the central bank, the nation's top economist instead has used his final months there to stump for what Pearlstein calls "a radically conservative agenda while serving as a cheerleader for the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign." Greenspan in recent weeks has shrugged off concerns about burgeoning household debt, the falling U.S. dollar, and the prospect of a housing bubble; and, most recently, declared that 30-year, fixed mortgages are too costly when compared to adjustable-rate loans. He also has lobbied lawmakers to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--ironic, writes Pearlstein, considering that the central bank chairman previously has supported government efforts to help financially troubled banks and showed no concern over their rampant growth but n ow believes the rapid expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is too risky. Greenspan also wants lawmakers to slash Medicare and Social Security benefits to shrink the federal budget deficit, but he opposes hiking taxes as a means of balancing the budget--all of which speak to his support of the Bush-Cheney reelection."

updated movies list.

beastie boys' new album rumors have been confirmed..."I know, you're like "what's up fool? where's the record!!??!!?........." well, we are in the studio finishing it now, so ease up already and don't call me fool, fool. we're putting the final touches on the mixes right now and it will be out beginning of june. so we'll be seeing you in a hot new york minute...... until then cool your jets, step back, relax and ease off the throttle. the shit's on it's way, no delay..... and always remember when things get hot -- it's not the heat, it's the humidity......."

other good news comes from the kings. they played poor defense and that concerns me, but chris webber played his first nba game in 10 months and we got a win. he had a really good game with 26 points (12-18) (team high), 12 rebounds (team high) and 4 assists in only 30 minutes played. miller actually played more minutes off the bench than webber did so his return didn't shake up the lineup all that much for the regular starters, but guys like massenburg and songalia, who had been getting a lot of minutes in webber and miller's absence, didn't even play today. i'm very happy that he is back in the lineup. once we get bobby jackson back we'll have our real team for the first time this year. despite having not played one game with all of our top seven players healthy we are still the best team in the nation...at least we have the best record. that's encouraging. hopefully we've gotten all our injuries out of the way and we can stay healthy through the end of the season. as well as webber played tonight i think it's sort of a fluke. my experience is that the first game back is usually better than you expect, but then the next few games are tough because of stamina issues. that being said, his game today was way better than i would have expected. i look for him to have a drop off while we go on the road because of the aforementioned stamina issues that arise after not playing a real game for so long.

the lakers lost tonight because kobe didn't play and they shot under 60% from the line. i fucking hate the lakers.

i'm looking forward to seeing the new coen brothers film 'ladykillers.'

i was listening to npr yesterday and heard a "the following programing is brought to you in part by the support of..." type message. nothing unusual about that, but this time it was walmart that was the sponsor. that made me sad.

03-02-04 (00:43)

no movie tonight.

criterion stuff for may includes "Volker Schlöndorff’s The Tin Drum, Fritz Lang's The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard and Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog." also fog of war is coming out on may 11th.

if i were writing a book about film noir i would sum up the philosophy of a noir protagonist like this: "i don't believe in god, but i do believe he has it in for me."

"Hotel heiress Paris Hilton embarrassed herself spectacularly on Saturday when she gatecrashed a pre-Oscar bash and fell into a pool. The reality TV star waltzed into the Lord Of The Rings pre-Academy Awards dinner at New Line Cinema boss Bob Shaye's hilltop estate in Beverly Hills, California. Hilton screamed, "Oh my God," as she splashed into a Japanese pool carpeted in rose blossoms. After climbing out of the pond, Hilton lamented, "God, I didn't see the pool. Why does he have a pool there? At least I didn't go in the big pool." The sexy socialite - who hit the headlines last year when a video tape of her having sex with former beau Rick Solomon surfaced on the internet - managed to avoid damaging her glitzy outfit, although she did get her Louis Vuitton shoes wet. She was then overheard telling her sister Nicky on the phone, "Guess what? I just fell into a little pond! It's soooo embarrassing." A bemused Shaye was more baffled by Hilton's attendance, saying, "She wasn't even invited.""

here's more "news..."

"Superstar Jennifer Lopez has delayed the release of her latest single "Baby I Love You" so she can remove any reference to former fiance Ben Affleck. After 18 months of public declarations of love, embarrassed J.Lo is reportedly dropping her the song in the fear it will spark ridicule. Lopez's fourth track from her hit album This Is Me, Then, which the Latina devoted to Affleck with songs such as "Dear Ben, You Belong To Me," was originally due for a Valentine's Day release. After Lopez and Affleck ended their romance in January, the sexy singer has been forced to make changes to forthcoming releases, according to Britain's New! magazine. The song, which features controversial rapper R Kelly, was originally recorded as a personal message to Affleck and the CD sleeve was set to a feature a photo of the famous couple, with a love message written by Lopez across the image. After the pair split, Lopez demanded the whole batch of CDs be reprinted without any reference to the Hollywood heart-throb. Bosses at Sony are re-working the video for J.Lo's 2002 hit "Jenny From The Block" and removing the shots of Affleck in time for a forthcoming Greatest Hits DVD. However, Lopez can be still seen wearing her pink diamond engagement ring in the advertisements for her new perfume Still."

r. kelly isn't a rapper. and no one should care about any of the people mentioned in that blurb.

i sent a message to the davis enterprise telling them that they should create a dvd reviews section and have me write for it...they have a cd reviews section and a film review section so it seems to make sense to me. dvd is a burgeoning business and i'm sure there's as much of a demand for dvd reviews in davis as there is for cd/film/book reviews in their paper.

03-01-04 (01:42)

overall i was happy with the way the oscars turned out. there was a contest with the davis enterprise for who could predict the most winners (out of eight categories - director, picture, supporting actor/actress, best actor/actress, best foreign film, and best song). i got seven out of the eight so i probably won't win. the prize was $150 and that would have been nice. i missed the best actor winner because i picked bill murray. i was pleased to see lotr get its due as well as errol morris' film "fog of war," which, if you read my page or my movie reviews, you know i have been pimping quite a bit. i've been a fan of his ever since i saw thin blue line. i'm disappointed that bill murray didn't win, but mostly because i wanted the chance at the $150. i think that depp's career has had greater performances than the other actors he was up against (though i still haven't seen gandhi which features kingsley), but the performance for which he was nominated wasn't as strong as penn's. overall i think the academy did a reasonable job this year. i'm not sure why the matrix movies didn't get nominated for the special effects categories...lotr may have been better, but the matrix reloaded was at least worth a nomination. the score for house of sand and fog was actually quite poor, and i believe i made note of that in my review so its nomination in that category was surprising. cinematography seemed to be a tough category this year...some of the films that didn't make it include: lotr, northfork, matchstick men, thirteen, big fish and house of sand and fog. in a weaker year some of those could have slipped in. it was sort of funny that they said the films from the "foreign language film" came from all over the world when, in fact, they came entirely from the northern hemisphere. sure japan, czech republic and canada are far apart, but i wish there were more films in the mainstream from africa and south america (though city of god did get a few nominations). and, as far as other categories go, one might point out that theron is from south africa and most of the crew for lotr is from new zealand. but in general, and in the foreign language film category in particular, there is an absence of films from the southern hemisphere. it's too bad that sophia coppola had to be the first american woman to be nominated for best director.

updated movies list.