Hilarious New MagazineIf anybody downloaded the PDF of The Conservative Teen, please let me know. I really want to read the article about “Ronald Reagan: Our First Black President?” and “Why Abstinence Works & How It Can Work for You!”
In the face of much mockery, the site seems to have been taken down. Sad face.
on HBOPosters of Game Change have been promising that, at the least, the HBO movie will feature excellent makeup and costume. Ed Harris gets McCain’s creepy deep brown bat eyes and does a good job, but lacks the jowls and deep anger of John McCain.
Meanwhile, Julianne Moore makes a stunning transformation into one of my least favorite public figures, Sarah Palin. Beyond the up-dos, accent, and suit jackets, she is able to make the Vice President hopeful human and to my shock worthy of our sympathy.
While not exactly flattering, this portrait is much fairer and less parody than I expected. Though it probably is much more enjoyable viewing if you’re one of the many that howled with sad laughter at Palin’s Katie Couric interview.
Without transcending the tv movie genre, Game Change is a fascinating look at one of politics most recent dramas and reportedly was close enough to actual events to make some of the people involve squirm.
Makes the rather indulgent ordering of HBO worth more than the season of Game of Thrones we got it for.
Singing Al GreenThis is pretty hot stuff.
A CircusLast night’s circus of a Gubernatorial debate was entertaining, if not sparking all the fireworks I was hoping for. Seven candidates, each getting a few minutes to answer questions (or more often, go off on tangents unrelated to the questions) equals a totally uninformative couple of hours but it was no waste of time if you love crazy people. First of all, I’d like to know how they managed to make it look like archival footage from 1983, particularly the opening shots of host Doug Geed – maybe it was a subtle nod to the days of Cuomo’s papa? Anyways…
Coumo was fine. He will win and I think/hope he’ll do a decent job in a very tough political and financial environment. Paladino was barely present. Obviously without poncing on the urge to get rage-y the man is a doddering nothing. He even got up during people’s final words to take a piss!!! It was frankly disappointing. I assumed he’d have some choice words and unplanned moments of insanity, but instead he just seemed like some irritated old guy (who still doesn’t like gays).
The crazy came from The Rent Is Too Damn High candidate Jimmy McMillan who sports dashingly pro-wrestler style facial hair (I do not mean that as an insult) and a pair of gloves. Not just any gloves, but the kind of gloves murderers wear in Italian horror movies and Murder She Wrote. Among his memorable quotes were “You want to marry a shoe, I’ll marry you” and “I am the governor. I want full control.” At one point he also mentioned a pinky and the brain type plan to mow down mountains upstate to set up his own cable network and power plant.
Kristin Davis read her Roger Stone zingers from a notebook like a junior high girl giving a book report, but, I’ll admit they were pretty funny. Howie actually had some progressive ideas that were more interesting than most people’s dry rhetoric. Unfortunately, he’s never going to win and he expressed these ideas without convincing anyone even with his Steel Magnolias accent. Barron was eloquent enough but usually off topic and Warren Redlich was initially actually cringe inducing. His whining “I’m no politician” speeches called to mind Albert Brooks if he weren’t funny. To his credit, he got a little better as the evening went on.
A one on one debate between Paladino and Coumo would have in many ways been more interesting and helpful to voters – though I see neither one accepting NY1’s invitation – Cuomo because he’s a lock for the position (proven in this debate) and Paladino because he probably realized how badly he’d be beaten.
Of course all of this is leading up to November 2 – a big voting day that I hope all of you make sure to participate in!
Click here for the rest of New York 2010 Gubernatorial Debate
Primary ElectionsIf you’re registered with a party, make sure you get out Tuesday to vote in the primary! I love voting and find the less flashy elections give your vote more credence and power since, sadly, so few people turn out for them.
It’s disappointing how few people are up on politics and lack a desire to be part of the process. I have to say though, the lack of concise, unbiased, easy to find information about the candidates is a shame and makes the voting process less appealing to many. I spent the better part of a morning doing research once I could find the information about what I would even be voting on (our city’s website is messy at best).
This election we will also be using an entirely new voting system. I was initially excited until I heard about the major flaws. The font is supposed to be fairly minuscule (so bring your glasses) and if you accidentally over vote the scanning machine will greet you with the confusing option of casting or not casting. You do not want to cast – instead get a new ballot if you want all of your votes counted.
As a registered democrat, there are a few exciting competitions. I am most passionate about the one for State Committee. Lincoln Restler and Kate Zidar, who have reached out to our community are a breath of young, fresh air up against a tired machine. They are enthusiastic, environmental, and I fully endorse them. In other races, I am voting against Gillibrand, might stay with incumbent Lentol, and am not decided yet on perhaps the biggest and most up in the air race for Attorney General though I am leaning towards Schneiderman or Rice. If you have the power, I’d appreciate a vote against Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate.
Builder of the Taj MahalShah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved third wife Mumtaz Mahal, said of the magnificent structure this:
Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator’s glory.
I hope some day to see the popular site myself, which I suppose is more likely than my other wish: to someday have something equally epic built in my honor.
Click here for the rest of Shah Jahan
As a social reformer, Jeremy Bentham was the shit. He was, according to Wikipedia, “in favour of individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the end of slavery, the abolition of physical punishment (including that of children), the right to divorce, free trade, usury, and the decriminalization of homosexual acts. He also made two distinct attempts during his life to critique the death penalty”.
If that weren’t achievement in awesomeness enough, the man donated his body to science then had himself stuffed with hay for display. His own, real head was, for a time, on display below his body (it was unable to be permanently attached to the body) but it was the source of too many college pranks to remain accessible.
While the name Jeremy Bentham is familiar to those familiar with Lost (it’s the name Locke traveled under after leaving the island) I was actually introduced to the man, his philosophies and his unique after death requests through a philosophy lecture that aired on PBS.
Kudos, Dominic Carter for hosting one of the most informative local politics shows on TV – and certainly the most professional production on the beloved round the clock amateur hour that is NY1. With some significant elections coming up, there's no better place to see the candidates and listen to experts' debates.
Straight from the AP wire:
“The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, pardoned two jailed journalists after meeting with former President Bill Clinton, the state news agency reported.”
Why do I mention it now?
Because an American film version was just screened (and sold out) at The Tribeca Film Festival. It's called In the Loop and stars James Gandolfini and will be in limited release the end of July.
Here's what I said back on 7/31/06
To say The Thick of It is like a British Office, only about government might be fairly accurate, but it seems unfair to the creators, espcially Armando Iannucci, whose fabulously waggish show The Day Today feature faux-verite segments that predate the Office and seemed to have been an inspiration for Ricky Gervais.
It may take a couple viewings to get into the show, the accents are thick and the government set up is slightly different from our own, except for the fact that it is crookedly run by people who don't seem to know what they are doing.
I would love to see an American version, perhaps about Albany's mess, but in today's political climate, I will not be holding my breath. A brilliant comedy that deserves a following.
It's hard by today's standards to envision a big game hunter as any sort of conservationist or environmentalist, but Teddy Roosevelt was both. One of the first, and certainly one of the most influential leaders of a conservation movement:
According to the National Geographic, the area of the United States placed under public protection by Theodore Roosevelt, as National Parks, National Forests, game and bird preserves, and other federal reservations, comes to a total of approximately 230,000,000 acres or about 84,000 acres per day!
Sagamore Hill, his home in Oyster Bay, offers a small museum dedicated to his life and accomplishments as well as a great short nature walk that takes you directly to the shore and offers glimpses of a crazy eccentric Asian palace mansion next door.
There also hourly tours of the home itself, which we just missed on our visit, but plan to return for.
A First Lady to be Proud OfIn a political environment where wasteful spending on appearances is common, it’s refreshing to have a (soon to be) first lady that is not only fashionable but frugal too (ok, those earrings are an exception, but at least a classy sparkly exception). In the face of the public, she’s been stunning in J Crew (the easy flattering yellow number she wore on Leno), Narciso Rodriguez (the red and black acceptance speech number, that I happened to adore despite a general uproar from some people), the $150 dress from White House, Black Market, and Thakoon – that’s right, move over and wedding suits for aunts! Our new fist lady wears Thakoon!
I think it’s safe to say not only will our generation finally have a leader that we can believe in but an articulate, strong and stylish woman with a great smile (don’t they always seem to be genuinely be enjoying each other’s company?) right next to him.
So, she's the former Prime Minister of Ukraine,
A key leader of revolutions,
And considered the third most powerful woman in the world,
And do you think she complains about how hard it is to dress nice when you are SO busy?
I don't think so.
I am pretty sure Ben Franklin was way more fun. But Hamilton has smoldering good looks. He also laid the groundwork for our economic system, was a staunch opponent of slavery and died in a duel.
A duel! How hot is that?