Saturday, April 30, 2005

Light Blogging

Blogging will be light this weekend due to 5 year college reunion mixed with final projects being due next week. Went out to Pomona last night and saw lots of old faces. People were more or less the same, it was fun for a little while to clown around, but then it turned mighty tiring. Maybe that was the wine kicking in, who knows?

Anyway, anyone whose interested, this is the alumni weekend schedule. Too much crap - it keeps everyone busy.

Of note, I found out last night that Jim Taylor '84 co-wrote Sideways. That's kinda cool.
Staged Hate Crime

I referenced a fake hate crime in one of my recents posts. Here is my old post about the incident at Claremont.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Must Be Tough

Being, Tom Cruise, that is. Let's face it: the dude can have any chick he wants in the whole world. And that fact reinforces itself because chicks dig being selected from any girl in the world. Shit, I would be...
As If We Really Had Any Reason to Think This Wasn't True

The Saudi chief justice encourages young Saudi's to fight Americans in Iraq. I know this is irresponsible, but man, ole, man, we ought to seriously consider whooping up on the Saudis just because they deserve it.
Sherman's March

I didn't write about it earlier, when I watched it, but this is an amazing film. I showed a clip in documentary class. It's a personal documentary made by one guy, Ross McElwee...he literally holds his 16mm camera and a mic and makes movies. This film was supposed to be about the effect of Sherman's march through the South, employing total warfare against a civilian population and the devastating and lasting effects on the South to this day (1986). McElwee was fascinated by Sherman because he actually had an affection for the South, writing in his journal that he loved the people and the time he spent in Charlotte (i believe).

Right before the documentary starts, however, his girfriend breaks up with him and he becomes obessessed with his relationships with women, past girlfriends and new women he meets along the way. The film becomes about his restless search for women and sex and relationships, and something meaningful. Some funny ass stuff.
Fabulous

I'm doing this paper on blogging and come across a Pomona's professors Blog. I remember this professor because she organized an event where Robert Towne spoke. I found her link on this blog I was reading for research on Roland Barthes. Small world.
Blogosphere Death Matches

If I had an online animation show, it would definately be Celebrity Death Match meets the blogosphere.

The first card - Glenn (I support gay marriage, and am not gay) Reynolds (Did I mention that I'm married and not gay) versus (I'm gay and support all gay rights) Andrew (Did I mention I was gay) Sullivan.

Second Card- Michelle (I'm a hot philipina conservative) Malkin (and think the Japanese internment camps were justified - Amerikkka p'rease rrrespect me) versus Ann Marie (I'm serious journalist posing as a washington skank) Cox, (no really, i like giving head) aka Wonkette. Check out the first blow in this bout.

3rd Card - Kos versus Drugde. I don't even read these guys, but this would be a serious catfight - I imagine lots of hair pulling.
Blogging Research

More blogging research dissing Glen Reynolds.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Ouch

Andrew Sullivan taken to town by Instapundit. This is like Ali versus Frazier.
Fake Hate Mail

What's worse: hate mail or fake hate mail? A hate crime or a fake hate crime?

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Sidebar Updates

Brian and Jared have been removed since they never update their blogs. You hear that, Kevin!

I've added Robyn, a USC film student who blogs, Alice who has been long neglected at public musings, and we're proud to include Norm Hollyn, head of the editing track at USC.
New Charlie Rose Format

I've seen it a couple times now and I'm ready to conclude that I do not like the new Charlie Rose - let's try to be like 60 minutes format. It's too damn CLOSE. I like good ole Charlie with the simple black backdrop, sitting across the table. Damn you, producers of the show.
Negative Impact of Bush's Unilateralist Foreign Policy

I saw this trend coming even before Bush, when I studied abroad.
Polish Movies

I'd like to check out this guys work. I like a lot of the Polish films I've seen. Add him to the movie parlour list.
Rejuvenatad

After being somewhat relieved of not having to do my documentary on Islam and the West, now I'm getting reenergized to continue to look at the topic. An interesting article and commentary.
Governing Toward the Center

This article helped with the author the National Magazine Award (the oscars for magazine writers).

His position - neither the Dems or the Republicans have a majority of popularity. Each party needs the centrist vote - the Dems got it with Clinton, the Republicans got it during the last election. I thought the article was going to be about an ownership society - the type of society promoted by Bush (kind of), privitizing social security and so forth - the same type of society promoted by Thatcher in Britian.

His article, however, devolves more into a look at political power and how political parties achieve it. I find this topic much less interesting than what an owernship society would really mean. Is this a plausible idea? As in Britian, the right is too busy fretting about gay marriage and pro-life causes to stay focused on their economic agenda. Clinton and Blair basically stole everything that worked from Conservative economic policy and promoted a more lenient and understanding cultural agenda. But ideas about an "ownership" society were promoted during Clinton's reign - job training programs, welfare reform, home ownership rising. His biggest failure was actually a non-ownership society reform, healthcare. I wonder about the merits of this, certainly it works in some cases. To be continued...
Lebanon and My Documentary

According to this article Lebanon matters not only to the Lebanese, but to the world - IF, Lebanon can resolve it's decades long hate-affair with sectarian violence, it will prove the clash of civilizations thesis wrong. This was part of what my documentary was going to be about....

Monday, April 25, 2005

Credit Card Debt

Good for Americans! We're paying off our credit card debt.
Movie Events

Some ideas for movie events to screen student films at USC.

1. It's A'rite to Laugh

A series of funny films - you can laugh with or at the films.

2. So Bad It's Good.

3. So Bad It's not even close to being good, It's Still Really Bad

4. Suicide Films - UPDATE: This actually sounds awful now that I reread it.

5. Rape Movies - UPDATE: This too sounds awful.

6. Movies with Student Sex Scenes - UPDATE: This too sounds awful

7. Racist or Homophobic Movies - UPDATE: This too sounds awful

The suicide and rape movies would only be interesting insofar as that these are events that seem to come up in nearly every production class, mostly because they seem dramatic. It's funny in a way to acknowledge this and goof on this trend.

Sex scenes would be interesting, I take it back, it wouldn't be that awful.

Racist or Homophobic movies - it would be refreshing to see something not politically correct...these movies I suppose could fall into two major categories:

a) Trying to be politically correct, but failing miserably. (I can name a few)
b) Not giving a shit about being politically correct and being accused of racism or homophobia

8. Live Action Films without Actors (also called - I didn't want to deal with casting)

9. Failed Documentary Ideas

10. Gigantic Productions

11. Oner's - One take movies

More to come...comments and suggestions wanted.
Looks Like Something We Could Do

I could make an ad like this. And it's pretty good. And it's on a blog.