Much That Is Hidden

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Incensed by the continuing wholesale kleptomania of the financial world as described in the Washington Post, El Jefe at Boiled Dinner did that "write to your senators" thing that passionate citizens do when they're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Kudos to Jeff for a succinct and effective note.

As happens from time to time, here is a typical "comment on a blog that became a post instead."

I have fear that increases a bit with each article I read about all this financial stuff. It's a fear that America, like some strung-out junkie, will have to hit rock bottom in order to snap out of the consumerist greedocracy in which it has become so comfortable living. And yes, as Jeff pointed out, rage is something else I have - it's about the only thing that keeps me from being burned out on concern for our nation's future.

It is a frustrating thing to be unable to muster any trust for our elected officials to fashion a proper solution to our troubles.

The only things that I can so far agree to, based on a plethora of news and commentary both organized and informal, are the following rather nebulous points of indeterminate feasibility:

1. Break the grip of the two-party system. One more viable party would great, two seems to be the impossible dream.

2. Declare 100 percent public financing of all elections. How much would this cost in comparison to American military deployments and financial bailouts? Seems like a bargain to me.

3. Reform of corporate personhood designations that facilitate loopholes in everything from liability to taxes to government lobbying.

4. (Write-in)

5. (Et cetera)

6. (Et cetera)

Labels: gummint, justice, law, Nothing about Yoko, politix, rants, terms of enragement

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I'm a little late on both Oscar fever and Eden's wiping away of the cobwebs over at Film Freaks. Also this is taking longer than I thought, so I'm dividing it into two parts.

With "I've seens" in bold, here is back to 1960:


2008 - "Slumdog Millionaire" Despite the darling status, seems like it's worth a watch.

2007 - “No Country for Old Men” Moving up the Netflix queue, prolly do a weekend (when Jen is gone, I'm thinking...) with this and "There Will Be Blood."

2006 - “The Departed” Definitely a great Scorcese film, but I'm still astounded that he didn't win for "Raging Bull" or "Goodfellas" (hell, "After Hours" coulda' been a contendah).

2005 - “Crash” Very well-written and directed. One of the early 21st century's great social polemics on film.

2004 - “Million Dollar Baby” What does having seen and greatly liked the four competing films (The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray, Sideways) say about this film? It must be pretty damn good. Plus Eastwood, Swank and Freeman - what's not to like even if the ending has been long spoiled?

2003 - “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” It's almost as if Tolkien split up the story into three perfect epic movie parts. They're all "best" for me, despite the unavoidable condensing of the story.

2002 - “Chicago” A great story-driven musical with some classic performances, esp. Gere and J.C. Riley

2001 - “A Beautiful Mind” Ron Howard is the king of "based on" adaptations, and Crowe outperforms his best actor "Gladiator" role by a mile.

2000 - “Gladiator” Still, he was pretty good in this, though Phoenix and Reed (what a great role to go out on for an under-appreciated/utilized actor) were better.

1999 - “American Beauty” A modern classic, worthy of its win along with Spacey's best actor

1998 - “Shakespeare in Love” One of my all-time favorites, if more for its comedy than its romance (both of which did Will proud). One bone - I would have traded Judi Dench's BSActress to have Geoffrey Rush get BSActor

1997 - “Titanic” This modern epic was bloated but entertaining, and paled in comparison to its competition for this year (L.A. Confidential, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, As Good As It Gets).

1996 - “The English Patient” This good but unmemorable film beat out "Fargo"? Pffft!

1995 - “Braveheart” An excellent film which garnered no acting nominations, and thanks its lucky stars that the Academy snubbed "Leaving Las Vegas" in this BPic category.

1994 - “Forrest Gump” People rag on this flick but it's one of my favorites, no doubt due to Hanks' Oscar-worthy performance. In other Oscar news, it's a tough toss-up for me that this was up against "Shawshank Redemption," and that Sinise was up against Martin Landau's Bela Lugosi in "Ed Wood" for BSActor was just tough luck.

1993 - “Shindler's List” What more needs to be said about this film?

1992 - “Unforgiven” I didn't like this film upon first viewing, but I must have had an off night because it is one of my favorite westerns - a great turn for Clint for his character and as director, and one of my favorite Gene Hackman performances.

1991 - “The Silence of the Lambs” I've only seen this once, but I feel like its overrated. Probably worth another look.

1990 - “Dances with Wolves” Damn this is long. Damn this is good. Damn "Goodfellas" should have beat this to a pulp.

1989 - “Driving Miss Daisy” Loverly film, top-notch Oscar competition (Born on The Fourth Of July, My Left Foot, Field Of Dreams, Dead Poet's Society).

1988 - “Rain Man” A classic

1987 - “The Last Emperor” Paging Netflix queue...

1986 - “Platoon” A pretty good Vietnam war flick, a pretty good war flick, a pretty good flick (in that particular order).

1985 - “Out of Africa I'm not sure why, but I have never had much of a desire to see this film.

1984 - “Amadeus” Wonderful. Did Mozart really laugh like that?

1983 - “Terms of Endearment” A guy can really get in touch with his feminine side with this tearjerker. The acting trifecta of MacLaine, Nicholson and Winger help keep this film from becoming too dated.

1982 - “Gandhi” One of the best biopics ever, and Ben Kingsley makes it so.

1981 - “Chariots of Fire” Great period piece and not a bad morality play either.

1980 - “Ordinary People” This film does its job well, leaving you frazzled at the end like its characters

1979 - “Kramer vs. Kramer” No really, it's not a Meryl Streep thing. But it’s tough to see this beating out "Breaking Away."

1978 - “The Deer Hunter” I've only seen this once, and I had a difficult time relating to it.

1977 - “Annie Hall” In the O' Tim Top Ten, and higher up than it’s competition, Star Wars.

1976 - “Rocky” The underdog for sure (All The President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network and Taxi Driver). A good flick that had no business squirting out all those sequels.

1975 - “One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest” Nicholson's (and Kesey's) best work.

1974 - “The Godfather Part II” Man, I was bummed when they killed Fredo.

1973 - “The Sting” Absolutely beautiful movie, flawless.

1972 - “The Godfather” The creme de la creme

1971 - “The French Connection” I liked this okay, but Gene Hackman was better in "The Conversation"

1970 - “Patton” Another of the all-time great biopics, and a solid period piece, too.

1969 - “Midnight Cowboy” One of my favorite dark comedies, but still hard to see how it beat "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"

1968 - “Oliver!” Will you kill me if I say it's "delightful?" Interesting how another musical wouldn't win Best Pic for more than 30 years.

1967 - “In the Heat of the Night” You just love to hate Rod Steiger in this film.

1966 - “A Man for All Seasons” I have completely missed this one.

1965 - “The Sound of Music” Is it wrong to think Julie Andrews is hot in this film?

1964 - “My Fair Lady” Palatable, as musicals go (for me anyway), perhaps because of its roots in literature. Is it wrong to think Audrey Hepburn is hot in this film?

1963 - “Tom Jones” Nope

1962 - “Lawrence of Arabia” I've never seen this all the way through

1961 - “West Side Story” I’ve seen this one and a half times, and Shakespearean roots notwithstanding, I found it kinda boring. Worth another look?

1960 - “The Apartment” One of my favorite Billy Wilders, and it is definitely okay to think that Shirley MacLaine is hot in this film.

Next, 1959 back to the first Oscar in 1928

Labels: film, Nothing about Yoko

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This just in:

Wells bids $15 MMM for Wachovia; scuffles with Citi

Reuters, Friday October 3, 2008

NEW YORK - Wells Fargo & Co agreed to buy Wachovia Corp for about $15 billion, upstaging a government-backed Citigroup Inc bid for Wachovia's banking assets with a deal that would catapult it into the top ranks of national consumer banking.

Citigroup demanded Wells Fargo drop its surprise bid, which comes four days after Wachovia preliminarily agreed to sell its banking assets to Citi...

I am a Wachovia customer. As I have deposits that amount to half a gnat's turd in the grand scheme of things, I have not been worrying much in the face of news about the bank's travails. But now I'm inclined to go get mine, slide (not stuff) it into the mattress and let these assholes duke it out without me.

But the BIG economic news, of course, is that the Bush Bailout+ finally, after five grueling days of uncertainty for Wall Street and its minions, slithered its 451-pages of graft through the House, which had wisely slapped down a much trimmer bill earlier this week.

Many economists are regarding October 3, 2008 as a date that will live in infamy. I use that turn of phrase to point out the irony of how the world's richest man, as told to Charlie Rose on Wednesday , regards the entire U.S. economic situation.

So, what are we being bombarded with? How about the "Exemption From Excise Tax For Certain Wooden Arrows Designed For Use By Children" which, appearing on page 301, is among hundreds of tax relief sausages cooked up on the big Congressional barbe-queue [sic]. The EFETFCWADFUBC, as I will fondly dub it probably just this once, applies (I think) to manufacturers of "certain wooden arrow shafts...consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means of enhancing the spine of such shaft (whether sold separately or incorporated as part of a finished or unfinished product) of a type which after its assembly (1) measures 5/16 of an inch or less in diameter and (2) is not suitable for use with a bow as described in bullah, bullah, bullah..."

What is this saying about Congresspeeps who, finding Monday's 108-page version of a free (and credit) market/home/business-saving $700 MMM financial rescue objectionable, switched their nay to yay for the fattiness that includes a children’s wooden arrow excise tax exemption in it? Only that as usual, they are all too willing to give their constituents the shaft.



With a h/t to DCup - "Because what goes around comes around"

Labels: gummint, madness, No Ordinary Bill, Nothing about Yoko, politix, rants, taxes, terms of enragement

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I have sported facial hair of one style or another for close to half my years. The predominant sculpting has been a Van Dyke. There is debate about the difference between a Van Dyke and a goatee, and aside from the standard definition, most of us FH afficiandos would concur that the former is a fuller variation of the diminutive latter, a sort of combo ‘stache-chin beard à la:





There seems to be some debate about whether or not the mustache is connected to the beard in the Van Dyke, but to me that is just wasteful discourse in the light of more important matters at hand. On the other jaw a goatee, as noted, is just the whiskers on the chinny chin-chin, again displayed by real and fictional dudes alike, such as:





Again, time-wasting hair-splitters would whine endlessly about the distinction between a goatee and a soul patch, a debate for which I have little tolerance. I mean really, who is going to save your soul patch when we all know goatees go to hell? And with puns like that I probably deserve to be down there holding the door for you when you arrive.

In the midst of the usual Googling that accompanies any good blog post one can be confident to yield a result that will freak one out. This time it’s HERE. It seems some people are into collecting beards, and I now realize that I’ve been a bit careless on those early morning bike rides through the woods during turkey season.

In “A Brief History of the Goatee” John Sulak dug up some interesting factoids:

• The first goatee may have been worn by Satan. The devil's image is based on Pan, the ancient Greek half-man, half-goat deity. When early Christians began abolishing pagan religions and their gods, they needed someone to play the heavy. They chose Pan, a lover of music, dancing and sex. His flute was replaced by a pitchfork and he was transformed from the god of woods and pastures to the ruler of hell.

• During the last days of the French Empire in the mid-19th century, the “imperial” was worn by Napoleon III. Wax or pomade was used to bring chin whiskers to a sharp point.

• In America, imperials became popular with officers on both sides of the Civil War. The look remained in vogue after the war, thanks in part to Buffalo Bill Cody, who toured the country with his Wild West Show.

• In late 19th-century Paris, poets, painters, intellectuals and dropouts — collectively known as bohemians — lived together in poverty and rebellion. For them, the goatee was a symbol of their free-spirited nature.

• By the 1940s, America had its own bohemians, but trendy haircuts weren't their thing. After World War II, the stereotypical “beatnik” look — goatee and black beret — was copied from jazz musicians of the time.

In America the goatee disappeared for twentysome years from the late 1960s through the punk, disco and new wave ages. “Only a person who was completely cut off from popular culture would grow such a beard,” Mr. Sulak wrote in 1996, about the time that goatees were experiencing a resurgence.

And so we come around the circle back to me. I’ve worn a Van Dyke for at least 10 years now, and for the past several weeks I’ve been pausing before various mirrors and thinking that I’m not a Major League baseball player, I’m not into Civil War re-enactment and I just sold my pickup, so perhaps it’s time for a change.

When facial hair reconstruction is undertaken, no man can resist the frolic of the incremental removal. In my last adjustment from full beard to Van Dyke I sported some killer mutton chops for about three weeks. With a bit of pomade to slick back medium-long hair, I took great delight in my menacing look. This time around, thinking as a blogger I say, “Why should Jefe have all the fun?” So with that in mind I figure on starting a new trend (see Rich Cohen‘s interesting and hilarious experiment at VF.com), and thereby submit to you without further ado:


I figure a few days will be good to drive the wife batshit. Just kidding - she got the best of me by not even noticing it at first, and now it’s already been reduced to a chin style that can best be described as “The C. Everett Koop.” Of course I’m weirding out a bit on the bare lip sensation, testing it out on spouse lips, baby cheeks and doggie ears. This style will likely be reduced to a “Soul Strip,” that is, a removal of the bow and stern of the aforementioned watercraft. You know I’ll keep you posted.
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Labels: comedy, frolic, fun, me, Nothing about Yoko

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My good half went shopping recently for her teacher-provided-at-own-personal-expense school supplies for the upcoming year. Once again certain of Georgia’s teachers received a $100 “gift card” courtesy of the guvnah’s schmoozing in last year’s campaign. Yep, it’s a bona fide prepaid VISA card for one hunnert bones. You see, the guv knew that his 2002 upset victory over his predecessor, the incumbent Democrat, was on the backs of a huge chunk of teachers who were pretty pissed off that said predecessor said he didn’t need the teachers to get re-elected (that’s the short version anyway). So as ’06 loomed the first Republican guv since Reconstruction decided he needed a gimmick to stay on the teachers good side, especially after gutting the education budget (or to be nice I should say that teachers took it in the teeth with a budget that the guv and his team passed which whittled away at teacher retirement benefits and cut funding to local school districts whilst giving big business a billion dollars in tax relief aka “economic development” – fwoooh – and if you can believe it, short version). Yeah, hunnert bucks oughtta do it. Well I don’t know how many teachers bought the guv’s fancy charts and campaign BS – they got what they deserved if they did – but none of them are going to look a gift card in the, er, well they’re not about to complain about some cash for stuff that their school doesn’t provide each year.

Some schools had provided what must be considered a modest annual reimbursement, but once the guv stepped up to the plate to bunt many administrators saw the squeeze play was on and took it as a great opportunity to cut the reimbursements from their local budgets. Every little bit helps, right Mr./Mrs. School Board Member? Surfing about I came across this comment on one teacher’s blog:

“I wish we could call them school supply cards instead of teacher gift cards. I don’t think I was GIVEN anything. My class was given additional, state-paid supplies. I did not get any gift. Will we have to claim the $100 on our income tax?!”

Well put, and the sentiment is understood and hereby sympathized with. Here’s another:

“Why didn’t speech langauge pathologist recieve the gift cards? We buy just as many supplies as teachers do, and we dont have parents that send in ‘classroom supplies’? Our contract says that we are teachers, so why did we recieve what the teachers got?”

Please note I copied that comment verbatim, so while I don’t think this “langauge” pathologist was screwed out of “recieve”-ing money on grammatical grounds, in reading her missive I did have an “OY” moment for teachers everywhere. Lady, the south’s got a hard enough time as it is.

As an additional “benefit” (read adding insult to injury) the cards must be used during the spectacular state tax-free holiday, whereby a plethora of retail items have been seemingly flung up in a taxpayer bribe that could be best described as 52-minus-Three-Card-Monty-pickup. What does and doesn’t make the list is amusing, to say the least:

Clothes and shoes sold for $100 or less per item, INCLUDING helmets, jogging suits, lingerie, inline skates and sport coats BUT NOT umbrellas, cuff links, watch bands and ponytail holders.

Up to $1,500 worth of computers, computer accessories and nonrecreational software INCLUDING antivirus software, computer batteries, cables, database software, finance software, keyboards, monitors, other peripheral devices, personal digital assistant, modems for Internet and network access, scanners, Web cameras, zip drives, printers and storage devices BUT NOT action or adventure games, regular batteries, CD/DVD (music, voice or prerecorded), computer bags, computer games, controllers, copy machines, digital cameras, game systems, LCD/plasma televisions, MP3 players, personal digital assistant carrying cases, projectors, surge protectors and cell phones.

Oh, yeah:

SCHOOL SUPPLIES under $20 each INCLUDING appointment books, backpacks, book bags, book covers, book markers, calculators, CD/DVD/floppy disks, chalk, chalkboard erasers, glue, pens, pencils, protractors, rubber bands, scissors and wire bound notebooks BUT NOT books (except children's books, dictionaries and thesauruses), briefcases, envelopes, janitorial supplies, medical supplies or supplies used in a trade or business.

Now, if it's such a fabulous idea for a few days in August, why not the rest of the year? Better yet, why not follow the lead of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, which have NO state sales tax at all and are doing pretty well? Why the General Assembly couldn’t just pass lasting, across-the-board tax relief for the middle and lower classes that this ponzi scheme is aimed at is anyone’s guess. And if anyone is Alan Essig (aka “my hero”), executive director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, they could argue that “it would make more sense to invest that money in supplies and materials in schools than to give the minimal benefit to folks.”

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Proponents have argued that tax holidays are good for getting people into stores because shoppers tend to pick up products that are taxed on top of the items on their shopping lists.

But Essig said there's no evidence to support that analysis. Tax holidays are good politics, he said, but not necessarily sound fiscal policy.

He added that some stores may hold off on sales (on the tax-free) weekend because they know the tax break will draw customers in anyway.

“People think they're getting a great deal,” he said. “The real question is, if you shop the week after, do you get a better deal?”

So, back to school with the teacher-wife. What $100 bought:



Pencils - CHECK



Notebooks - CHECK








Copious amounts of sanitizing supplies - CHECK, CHECK, CHECK

Labels: gummint, law, Nothing about Yoko, politix, rants, school, taxes

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No, not that far back. Miz D-Cup offered up a general music meme to her readers, and after mulling it over I've decided I'm game.

The thing:
1. Go to http://www.popculturemadness.com/Music/
2. Down the left column pick the year you turned 18
3. Get yourself nostalgic/enraged over the songs of the year
4. Write something about how the songs affected you
5. Pass it on to 5 more friends (And because I suck at picking five people, regular readers/commenters - You're IT! And you know who you are.)


I turned 18 in 1983. The prime of my dazed & confused years was laid out before me. Preparing for college 150 miles from home – damn right I’ll sign those loan papers, which was a decision that would haunt me well into the next decade. Like those who would proclaim freedom isn’t free, you have to ask the question, “Is what we’re doing worth the cost?” For the education I pursued and the good it did me, in my opinion the answer is the same.

But I digress, because I didn’t give a shit about things of that nature (things that weren't me) when I was 18. So the summer was complete and I was a couple weeks into my freshman year on my birthday. Musically I was seeking to stretch my legs and feel what others were into beyond the rather cramped diet of my high school chums. I didn’t have any close friends nor many acquaintances who shared my fancy for British art rock and the deeper cuts of the Beatles, Stones and Hendrix. The going thing then was either hair metal or unmitigated cheese.

So while I may not have sucked the marrow of life from college, my life at college provided me with awakenings that served up several of my passions still in force. My toddling about in the realm of jazz fusion hit its adolescence with the music major people I hung with. My reluctant foray into pop music came by way of something I had put off in high school – the need to get laid. Yes, a relative late bloomer was I, but oh how pretty and prolific were those petunias when the spring did um, arrive. So the parties, at least the ones with the horny women, required listening to stuff I had not explored, and ohmigod, DANCING.

As it turns out this freshmen discovered nothing new - that dancing in concert with sundry libations make a fine prelude for the romantic vibrations. One of the worst songs of all time, Phil Collins’ Against All Odds, happened to be pretty much the secret password for “Take me upstairs." Irony aside, I think it may have been because fucking is incomparably superior to listening to Phil Collins. And while I still cannot happily listen to much of what the hot sorority bitches loved like Wham! or Culture Club, there was some dance and particularly new wave stuff that has either stuck with me or been rekindled by nostalgia to become favorites for today. Songs like the Modern English now-mega-retro hit I Melt With You, or Love My Way by Psychedelic Furs now have a distinct appeal.

It seems as if there were other things to pursue besides females given to expedited sexual surrender, but as far as my experience with the pop music of the day was concerned, that was the sole reason for enduring most of it. Here’s a rundown of the pop hits of 1983 that caught my eye:

Music by some of my favorite groups that I was glad to see on the charts

Shock The Monkey - Peter Gabriel
New Year's Day - U2
Burning Down The House - Talking Heads
Stray Cat Strut - Stray Cats
Radio Free Europe - R.E.M.


Music of some of my favorite groups that I was glad to see on the charts even if the song was shitty

Rock The Casbah - The Clash
Bang The Drum All Day - Todd Rundgren
Let's Dance - David Bowie


Music that I didn’t really like/pay attention to that gets listening time now.

Down Under - Men At Work
One Thing Leads To Another - the Fixx


Music that’s hard to get out of my head

Every Breath You Take - Police
Rockit - Herbie Hancock
She Works Hard For The Money - Donna Summer
She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby
Electric Avenue - Eddie Grant


Music that made me realize ZZ Top had totally sold out

Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top

And what retrospective would be complete without Deaths and Events?

1983 DEATHS:

Karen Carpenter, Tennessee Williams, Gloria Swanson, Chris Wood (flutist from Traffic), David Niven, George S. “Papa Bear” Halas, Slim Pickens, Dennis Wilson

1983 EVENTS:

• Lotus 1-2-3 is released for IBM-PC compatible computers

• Iran opens an invasion in the southeast of Iraq

• M*A*S*H ends after 11 years and 251 episodes

• Return of the Jedi

• McDonald's introduces the McNugget

Labels: me, music, Nothing about Yoko

While I'm on he subject of anniversaries, today marks an inauspicious one, that of the murder of John Lennon. In today's HuffPo RJ Eskow reminded me of just why I miss my favorite ex-Beatle so much. Eskow, having lived in New York and having actually seen the Beatles, gives a full 26 reasons why he does - one for each year since Lennon was gunned down in yet another senseless assassination in modern America. Here are some I can relate to:

That screaming wail that opens "Mr. Moonlight"

The way his primal album anticipated punk music

Not being afraid to appear ridiculous in pursuit of a good cause

Always being willing to care too much, rather than too little

Embodying the very opposite of "ironic detachment," which has been the definition of what it means to be "hip" for far too long

Being publicly insecure ("I'm a good guitar player," he said in an interview. "I know I'm not technically that great, but Clapton says I'm good")

Writing simple sounding but deceptively complicated melodies

The fact that "Sexy Sadie" was originally called "Maharishi" (explains a lot, doesn't it?)

Using Asian scales in songs like "Oh My Love"

Writing a song about karma - and then having Phil Spector produce it

Having the greatest voice in rock and roll

That 3/4-size Rickenbacker (if anybody wants to buy me one, I'll send you my address)

That single-cutaway Les Paul Junior (see #18, above)

His dedication to honesty

Being prepared to go to Memphis and march with the laundry and restaurant workers who were out on strike (as he was reportedly about to do at the time of his death)

The last line in "Working Class Hero," which was something of a "Twilight Zone" ending: "If you want to be a hero, then just follow me" ...

Embracing each new passion without hesitation, even if it contradicted the one that preceded it. "The way to know God," said Van Gogh, "is to love many things." (sorry, John!)

Eskow caps off his post with a great anecdote about seeing Lennon at Max's Kansas City.

Thanks RJ, even though it wasn't enough for me.

(check out RJ Eskow's blog A Night Light)
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Labels: arts, guitar, Maharishi, music, Nothing about Yoko, remembrance