ready for the weekend

TGIF....am I right or am I right?

That never makes any sense.

I just spent too long preparing a post for next Tuesday about the Democratic Primaries. It may end up being a two-parter even. I'm really done with this primary fight, so I was surprised I wrote so much, but there it was.

If you're like me you were moved by Obama's 2004 DNC keynote address. Well here is a great article about how it all came together. Think of it as Obama's political origin story.

Its NSFW, but I still think this cartoon is one of the funniest things ever said about Iraq. It comes from the always crass, yet always amusing Get Your War On.

And on that note*, have a great weekend everybody!

*Old showbiz saying: Good to end on a donkey/Iraq joke.

somethings missing

You ever get the feeling something's missing in your life? Maybe that something is Garfield.

diversions

I was looking forward to listening to the radio broadcast of the Cardinals' Grapefruit League opener today, but alas MLB.com pulled the game from their listings at the last minute. So instead I followed the game on their live game tracker, and was pleased with what I "saw" in a 7-0 win over the Mets. Its nice to have actual games again, even if they don't count.

The game was a pleasant diversion on a day that really called for such a thing. The weather here in Los Angeles today is just like the weather we would get back in Illinois right before school let out. There must still be some sort of Pavlovian response to it because I've just been antsy all day. Its a certain kind of youthful restlessness, one that I hope never leaves me completely, that made me wish I was out there PLAYING baseball instead of listening to it. There is a component of optimism too. Summer is around the corner, and days of endless freedom are soon to come.

Except for those of us, like my sister, smart enough to become teachers, the grown-up world offers no such extended summer reprieve. Yet there's still something special, even in sunny SoCal, about that day the weather starts to signal that its almost time to clean up the BBQ and break out the lawn chairs.

This blog is becoming a nice diversion. I like feeling compelled to write something, even if nobody's reading. I've been thinking about building a little more structure into the posting schedule, in order to give it a little more focus. If the reader(s?) of this here site have any suggestions, I'm open to them. Otherwise I'll just keep rambling and see if anyone notices.

february filler

I've said it before and I'll say it again...is February over yet?

It hasn't been a particularly BAD month, its just been a lot of filler. Sadly this year we even get an extra day of it, which will just be annoying.

There have been a few nice things about this month. Its good to be working again, we celebrated the birthday of the greatest President, Spring Training is underway, and the Oscars happened. Lets discuss.

Working is good, for lots of reasons. Today I enjoyed getting a little historical perspective from my boss. He's a good ol' 'SC alum, and it was interesting, if not a little sad, to hear how little had actually changed in the time between his tenure there and my own. One things I love about my business is that people who have been it for a long time have some of the best stories, and they love to tell them. Which works well for me because I like stories about which Producers or Editors liked to sneak of to whichever watering hole and get plastered before, during and/or after a mix/edit session/shoot day. Ahhh Hollywood.

Lincoln's birthday was a couple of weeks ago now. Since he and I share a hometown (he's still there) I feel a particular sense of pride in his Presidency. He was a complicated and troubled man who was, quite possibly, the only man for his time. He was more concerned with preserving the Union than with freeing the slaves, which is sometimes glossed over in History class. If you're ever in my old stomping grounds you should make it a point to check out his house, and the new Presidential Library and Museum there.

Spring Training is underway, and while we won't get a real sense of what the 25 man roster will look like until after the exhibition games get underway, I find this news of Anthony Reyes' newfound command encouraging. I'm a fan of Reyes, despite his awful season last year. He's had a series of obstacles including a manager and pitching coach who've tried to tinker with his pitching style, and undermine his confidence. I was pretty surprised he wasn't traded, but I hope he finds his way into the rotation. It doesn't hurt in my book of course that he's also a fellow Trojan. Scrimmage today, exhibition against SLU tomorrow..."games" start Thursday.

And finally, the Oscars were this past weekend, a mere two miles from my house. They really mess up traffic for several days by closing Hollywood Blvd, but thats just life in this town. I thought the show was really well done. Stewart did an admirable if not spectacular job of hosting, the show was brief, the winners were deserving, and the speeches were mostly short and heartfelt. The feel good moment of the year is seeing Stewart bring Marketa Irglova back out after the commercials to finish her acceptance speech, and her making good use of the extra time. I was rooting for There Will Be Blood and PTA, but I won't complain much.

Its a beautiful sunny day in Southern California. And, for February, life ain't bad.

comments

I finally turned on comments for this here "weblog". I don't think anyone's actually reading, but if you are, you can now tell me how full of crap you think I am. Or you can complain about the fact that Krysta never posts here, to which she'll respond that she's too busy going to "grad school" and learning how to bring about world peace or something equally silly.

So comment away, whoever you are.

political link hour

Ladies and gentleman, I give you Ralph Nader

I'm not sure what he's thinking. In 2000, there was a fair amount of apathy and disappointment with both candidates, and he was able to tap into that. But I doubt very much he could garner much interest in the current political landscape. People are generally satisfied with the slate of candidates, and there's no way he performs on the same stage as McCain/Obama/Clinton. Of those three, I think he would hurt Clinton the most, but thats just a gut feeling and I'm not sure why.

Also, this is a good point and one that I wish more people made. If Obama had gone 0-fer since Super Tuesday, the narrative would be "why is he still in the race?".

And one more link, regarding concerns for Obama's safety. I really think the parallels between Obama and Lincoln run deeper than we realize, and that includes the intense hatred/threats on his life that he will face if elected. It is a valid concern, and makes his VP selection as important as any such choice in recent memory. I swear somebody said once "If they're shooting at you, you must be doing something right." Maybe its a West Wing quote?

Hillary did a nice job in the debate last night, but the dials took a nose dive when she went negative, which could present a problem for her since she needs to be able to take shots at him. Obama has done a masterful job of painting himself as the positive candidate and making attacks against him just backfire.

In any case, I just want this contest to be OVER soon. I'm tired of delaying my celebration/misery.

in recovery

I begin by giving some respect to Andy Pettitte for giving a forthright account of his use of HGH, and at least something of an explanation and apology. I'm done with the whole "steroids in baseball" carnival, and I can't wait for there to be actual games to watch. In the meantime, however, it was refreshing to see a player speak openly and honestly about his errors in judgment. Public figures in general seem extremely reluctant to do this, and anytime one of them does I believe they should be applauded.

I also have to give much love to the City By the Bay. I spent the weekend in San Francisco to help a friend celebrate her 30th year and it was just a really good time. Every time I'm in that city I love it more. I don't need to list the reasons. You either know, or it will be self-evident when you visit. Its a gray, dreary day in Los Angeles, and I wish I were still up north.

Side note: Catchiest song about San Francisco? Written and Performed by Libbie Schrader, who is pretty great.

Well, results from WI will be coming in soon, and we'll see if Krysta's home state can keep the Obamarama going.

start me up

I started a new job today, which is exciting. Its a pilot for FX with a solid script and some good people working it, including some familiar faces for me. Its good to be working again, especially so soon after the strike ended and so many shows aren't coming back until late summer.

Valentine's Day yesterday was marvelous. Krysta and I made a delicious dinner together: Arugula Salad with sliced almonds and orange pieces, home made Spanikopita, Fettucine with a mushroom Gorgonzola cream sauce, and dairy-free chocolate mousse. It was fantastic.

Finally, Spring Training has arrived. Pitchers and catchers have reported, the Cardinals seem healthy aside from the expected recoveries of Carp and Mulder, and baseball season is just around the corner. Krysta is soooo excited.

Now I'm off for a long weekend after a tough one day work week!

down and out

If there's been a lack of posting recently, its because a wave of illness has hit our household. The weather changed pretty dramatically here in SoCal over the weekend, suddenly jumping up into the 80's, and that may have contributed to the awful headcold I was fighting Sunday and yesterday. Krysta's down today with a slight fever and general ickiness, which sounds like its been going around.

Read this little blurb today about Netflix dropping HD-DVD by the end of the year. That's pretty much the nail in the coffin for that format, with most of the studios dropping it as well. I didn't really have a horse in the race, but I'm glad it looks to be settling. The question now is whether its at all worth it to bother with a High-Def DVD format, when we can't be that far away from an all-digital delivery format that doesn't require physical media.

Also found out recently that Yahoo Music is going away. I've been a subscriber for a couple years now at least, and while it certainly wasn't the prettiest subscription music service out there, it was the cheapest. I'm currently weighing my options between Rhapsody and Napster, and my first impression is that the former is a more friendly interface.

The WGA is expected to vote to end the strike today while the ratification process proceeds regarding the tenative deal reached this past weekend. Hopefully this means I'll be going back to work soon, although the big question on everybody's minds now is: What TV shows are even going to bother starting up again this season? It is also uncertain what sort of Pilots for new shows will be ordered this year, as those would have been up and filming in the next 4-6 weeks had it not been for the strike. In any case, it sounds like the writer's got an OK deal, and at least some people can get back to work soon.

Pitchers and catchers report on Thursday, at which point I'm sure I'll have something to say on the Cardinals. Sometime this week I'll talk about some good music I'm listening to these days.

super links

I've done enough talking about the events of yesterday's primaries. Other people, however, are still at it, and here are a couple of links you might want to check out:

Get Your War On took a nice jab at a Clinton vote regarding cluster bombs, and then explains the issue a little more over at the Huffington Post.

Also, Bag News Notes is always a great way to get a different perspective on events, as they analyze news images of the day.

I don't really have much else to add, other than I'm pretty pleased with how things panned out yesterday. Looking forward to at least another few weeks of primary contests to pass the time until Spring Training.

the experiment continues

Super Tuesday is upon us. Polls are about to close in Georgia, with the second wave coming about an hour later, and I'll be glued to the various media delivery devices at my disposal watching the results. I voted for the fine Senator from Illinois, although despite the rather contentious divisions that have developed between the Obama and Clinton supporters, I'll support either in November. Certainly I could muster more enthusiasm for Clinton than I could for Kerry last year. Honestly, though, I believe Barack Obama would make the best President of any of the candidates.

I always think its important, on election days, to take a moment to appreciate our country's 230+ years of bloodless transfer of executive power every four or eight years. Free elections, and peaceful transitions between opposing political parties are all America has ever known. We forget, when we set out to "spread democracy", that this concept is completely foreign to a great many people. While we've certainly been slow in expanding suffrage rights, and our electoral system has room for improvement, the mere fact that on January 20, 2009 there will be (again) a peaceful transfer of power in the highest office in the land.

And for so many reasons, that is worth celebrating.

Also....happy Mardi Gras! Be sure to get 40 days worth of sinning in tonight.

shock and awe

I acknowledge that plenty has been said already by smarter people than I regarding yesterday's Superbowl, but I could hardly avoid mentioning it. I should lead with the disclaimer that I've never been a real disciple of the NFL. I've always followed and enjoyed the college game much more. This year, having married into a Packers family at a convenient time, I've paid a little more attention. I was expecting, along with most people, more of a Patriots coronation than an actual game yesterday, but I was so very glad to be wrong. That was just a fun football game to watch, unless you're a Patriots fan. Honestly, I can't feel too bad for them in light of Boston's recent World Series title, the Celtics looking strong, and the fact that the Pats have done OK for themselves in recent playoff history. I don't have much to add in the way of analysis or historical perspective. The game was just such a beautiful upset, and such a hard-fought contest that I had to post a sort of extended "WOW".

A couple of interesting Superbowl related reads I found this weekend: A write-up of the widely unknown pre-Christian origins of Superbowl Sunday, and an analysis of the (causal or not) relationship between the Superbowl and the subsequent performance of the St Louis Cardinals.

All of this hype over the Superbowl, and Super Tuesday was put into perspective for me today. Driving north along the 110 freeway I was presented with a rare sight. It was a crystal clear view of the Los Angeles skyline, and behind it a 180 degree mountainscape. From the Hollywood sign to my left, all the way over to the snow capped peaks on my right, it was truly a sight to behold. We don't get many opportunities to appreciate the natural beauty of our mountainous surroundings here in La La Land, thanks to all the junk we've put in the air. When we do get these rare glimpses, I'm always struck by the awesome power of the geological forces involved in creating those mountains. For all of our accomplishments, good or bad, we humans remain rather insignificant in the scope of geologic time. In the midst of the Superbowl and Super Tuesday, its good to be reminded of that.