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Mon Jul 14, 2008
Favorite TV Shows
Been watching West Wing repeats lately after having finally caught up in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television show. I have a lot of rants building, but before I post any of them, I thought I'd put forth a quick list of my top 10 favorite programs of all time:
Honorable mention: Seinfeld, Home Improvement, Frasier, NewsRadio, SpinCity, Murphy Brown, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Nip/Tuck
10 - ER
Oh, seasons 1-4, where have you gone? The show died when Carter and the teenie-bopper chick got stabbed in the bathroom. But it really went over the edge when Dr. Greene died. If you would have just ended the f-ing show then, it would have been the single greatest series finale in the history of television. But now? The series will probably end with Carter coming back from Africa with Ebola and placing the whole ER in lockdown except Abby will escape to get a drink and have lesbian sex with Neela while Pratt argues with Kovac and Weaver over who gets to be head of the ER. Sigh.
9 - Firefly
Absolutely hilarious sci-fi western. Intentionally disjointed, this is 100% quirky and 100% delicious television.
8 - Heroes
Only one real season and one writer's strike-shortened season in, I absolutely love this show. As long as they avoid over-extending themselves in coming seasons, this ought to be a real classic. Thus far, they've refused to cave into pressure to push the story faster than it needed to go, doling things out in a more realistic timeframe, giving the characters time to adapt in meaningful ways. Great combination of comic-style superpowers with fairly elegant drama.
7 - Star Trek: The Next Generation
The rebirth, sans Shatner. Great because it gave sci-fi a chance in the modern television world again. Better than great because of Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner. Fricking awesome because of Q and the Borg. Still, it's just shy of DS9 in my mind because it never really learned how to use all the characters and kept the show too episodic.
6 - Gilmore Girls
Fast-paced, hilarious show that actually makes excessive use of pop culture references work and work well. Thank you, Amy Sherman-Palladino. I know of no other writer that can make references to from Adolph Eichmann to Paul Anka and manage to always be both funny and touching.
5 - The West Wing
The first four seasons (and bits of season 7) are some of the best drama ever. But when it jumped the shark, it jumped HARD.
4 - SportsNight
Sorkin's best writing. He's been recycling jokes off this show for years now, and the people on this show were just so freaking loveable.
3 - Battlestar Galactica
Ron Moore is a genius.
2 - Veronica Mars
Noir-themed detective show with a hot actress and absolutely flawless, sharp writing? What's not to love.
1 - Star Trek: Deep Space 9
As good as it got with Star Trek, especially once it hit season 3. A darker, more brooding series that put humans out of their perfect, cozy Roddenberry nest.
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Tue Jul 08, 2008
Jesse James, Chief Executive Officer?
About ninety minutes into Andrew Dominik's film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, I remarked, "If Jesse James were alive today, he'd probably be a fucking power tie-wearing executive."
I haven't the slightest clue if the film's portrayal offered by Dominik and Brad Pitt captures the essence of Jesse James or not, though it seems fair to point out that James' descendents are effusive in their praise of the movie. But should this incarnation of James be anything like the mythical criminal anti-hero of American legend, it might be fair to stand by my comment.
Jesse James, CEO.
Why not? Despite his saintly portrayal in popular literature as a southern Robin Hood, James essentially stole to line his own pockets and did so with a ruthlessness that is as at home in the boardroom as it is in a bank robbery. In the film, he leads a member of his gang to the middle of a deserted, wintery woodland trail where James shoots the man in the back with a coldness unmatched even by his snowy surroundings. And he beats a child, perhaps in rage or perhaps simply because he can. His weapons travel everywhere with him, and his trust extended not far beyond his own person. How is that much different than the nearly crazed, psychopathic attitude it must take to helm an international conglomerate that thoughtlessly rapes the environment or engages in "marketing" by creating quasi-addictive childhood snacks that share commonalities with adulthood foods? How is that much different than a person who would cut his employees loose in a heartbeat because of a bad economy while taking an eight-figure bonus for himself? How is that much different than an executive who will literally cheat in his books, accounting, and tax figures to save a little money for himself and his shareholders while denying the public the funds it so badly needs?
If there be one point on which to base criticism of my comparison, I suppose it would be that James seemed to target banks and luxury trains, the home of the wealthy. Screwing the wealthy to make oneself wealthy isn't necessarily admirable, but I can think of worse things James could have spent his time doing, especially in the mid-1800s.
What would someone like that think of today? He seemed bent on doing what pleased him and what suited his needs like any good CEO, but it seems that he was decidedly against the consolidated wealth both of the north and in those passing through Missouri like any equally good rogue.
So what the hell would he make out of insurance companies refusing to pay because a company neglects to inform an employee of changes to his policy? What would he make of a government that allows it to happen and refuses to allow people to sue the company for restitution beyond the smallest amounts?
Sadly, it seems that these arguments are older than the legend of James himself, like the ancient threads of the cloth that form our banner of stars and stripes. Why are we constantly torn between our selfish desires and recognizing our common needs? How is it that many of the aspects of the freedom sought by people like James and the Confederacy have been lost by virtue of extending that freedom to companies and capitalists? And why on earth do today's people seem OK with that?
I suppose I know the answers to those questions, but that's what makes them all the more puzzling. If I know the answers, certainly other people do as well -- so why can't we deal with these issues in ways that aren't as violent as James (or school shooters or riots or civil wars) and that aren't as ruthlessly elitist as insurance companies (or corporate farms or advertising agencies or oil conglomerates)?
Dominik couldn't have cared less about these issues when making The Assassination of Jesse James, I'm sure. But I can't help but see today's America in virtually every historical film I watch. This one dressed it nicely in the epic feel of a grand western, in superb cineamatography, and in excellent performances by Pitt as James and Casey Affleck as Robert Ford. Despite all those great things, perhaps this movie's greatest achievement is that it achieved a realism in portraying America in the faces of each of its characters -- from the wealthy train passengers with fear in their eyes to Jesse James, CEO.
Or perhaps I just need to shut up and watch something like Superbad.
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Wed Jul 02, 2008
Bad Blogger. Very Bad Blogger!
Oh, where, oh, where have all the blog posts gone?
Over the past two months, I've had countless ideas for what I could write about -- what I should write about -- but endless hours of extra work merged with immeasureably quantities of personal laziness and a newfound love of Battlestar Galactica to keep me from doing my bloggerly duties. I also haven't eaten, showered, or used a restroom in over 17 days and 4 hours now.
I kid. Sort of.
Some random thoughts to get me back on the right track:
Can Barack Obama continue to be the good person I've believed him to be, or are these early, minor slippages in his commitment to quality -- somewhat renegging on his pledge to use public funds, for example -- the first sign that every politician, no matter how "outside" the system, is destined to be macerated and disfigured by the acid of national politics?
My current favorite bands/music acts in no particular order: Nirvana, The Gits, Johnny Cash, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Animals, Alice Smith, Fiest, Erin McKeown, Richard Hell, Wallace Roney.
George Carlin is dead. Fucking eh.
Do not ever question Joe Dumars, no matter how much your sports talk ratings depend on it. You will go to hell.
Creationists continue to annoy the living shit out of me.
Bureaucracy sucks, especially when you're a cog in it all and you recognize there's little to nothing you can do to help stop the machine. All my accomplishments are trivial.
I recently made perfect pulled pork. As in tapped-with-a-knife-the-meat-crumbled-like-my-will-before-Battlestar-Galactica-DVDs perfect. This is the most important thing I've done with my life lately, other than perhaps fix Suz's computer, which is still a work in progress.
I still think Mac sucks and Apple is no different than Microsoft, but I'm considering buying one. I can reconfigure it with more variety of types of tools and probably better overall performance. If only someone could build a computer that was powerful, configurable, easy to use, and had broad industry support. ARGH.
Th-th-th-th that's all folks.
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Sun Apr 27, 2008
Mel Kiper Should Make Minimum Wage
NFL Draft Day. As I've written before, I find it hilarious that such a big deal is made out of the NFL draft. Admittedly, I spend a lot of time watching it myself -- but observing the goings on of the Draft is different than drooling all over my television's rendering of Mel Kiper's hair helmet.
Another draft, another round of people criticizing the Lions. The truth is that none of us have any idea. But the ESPN guys would have you believe that they know everything. Kiper called the Lions' selection of Gosder Cherrilus a "stretch." Of course, three years ago, he said the Lions were brilliant for drafting WR Mike Williams (bust), and two year ago, he questioned their pick of LB Ernie Sims (stud). So I don't put a lot of stock in his opinion, especially when in the Sports Illustrated mock draft, the legendary Pittsburgh Steelers were projected taking Cherrilus only 9 picks after where the Lions took him with the analyst saying he exactly the type of mean, big offensive lineman the Steelers love. Doesn't everyone love mean, big offensive linemen?
SO WHY THE HELL IS EVERYONE WHINING ABOUT THE LIONS' PICK THIS MORNING!?!?! Leave it alone, people. You've never seen him play. He's supposedly selfless. He's supposedly a football-obsessed dude. He's supposedly a beast of a man. If he can start most games by mid-next season and play consistent, above average football for 10 years, I'll be happy. But if he turns out to be at all like Ernie Sims -- another "huh?" pick that was ostensibly headed by Coach Rod Marinelli -- I'll be eccstatic.
Oh, and they picked up another mean dude who made more than ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TACKLES last year in the second round. Hello?
Everyone knows the Lions' Matt Millen is a mediocre Draft Day GM. Even outside that context, this was at least an average draft. Within that context, it may prove to be excellent. But what no one knows is which it will be. Even the best GM's make a number of mistakes and guesses. We'll have to wait and see.
A quick word on Mel Kiper. Just as I finishing this up, ESPN showed a montage of Mel being aggressive and indignant about people making what he considered to be stupid picks. One was acquiring Jim Harbaugh to pick Marshall Faulk versus picking Trent Dilfer. With the second pick overall. Faulk versus Dilfer. HAHAHAHAHAHA. He's wrong at least as often as he's right. There's nothing wrong with that -- unless you have entire websites built upon around your supposed expertise, unless you pretend to be THE expert on all college players heading into the NFL, and unless you have that damn haircut.
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Fri Apr 18, 2008
It's All About Me, Me, Me, Meeeeee!
Western civilization has always been driven by what its populace has wanted, steered by an invisible captain born of greed, lust, and ego. But it seems that fat, overgrown societies like the United States have a special gift for feeding on its own self-gratification.
Case in point: Americans are increasingly only consuming information that agrees with their worldview.
In some respects, this is hardly news. I suspect most of us knew this was happening for the past 5 years. But to have it quantified so clearly -- to see a legitimate social scientist say, "Republicans have dramatically dropped news sources that they perceive as being biased against their position.... They’ve completely fled into Fox and have left CNN, broadcast news and all the others -- including CSPAN, which is raw content." -- is disturbing. As Prof. Hollander goes on to say, only listening to convergent, similar viewpoints is akin to talking to oneself.
And that's exactly what Americans are doing: Each day, millions of us look in the mirror, framed in black, Sony-branded plastic, and say, "Yeah! You're right. You're so smart. People who think the opposite are idiots and they must be stopped."
It's no wonder that discourse, compromise, and civility in government are as dead as Henry Clay.
Personally, I believe the attitude is more pervasive than merely how we absorb our news and information. It has crept into the soul of American pop culture as well. Thousands of self-dilluted idiots throw themselves onto reality television programs because they think they're great singers or great talents or simply great. Those who are anything but often seem appalled at the thought, and those who watch in rapt attention are equally appalled when their favorite is expelled regardless of merit.
Reality programming is obviously but one small slice of the pie and a fairly extreme slice at that. But American Idol is one of the most popular television shows currently on the airwaves, and even if that weren't true, the phenomenon extends to the workplace, where one often values one's own opinion over the right solution even in front of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, or to home, where people increasingly put their material or most immediately self-gratifying needs ahead of building meaningful relationships or "working" to enjoy more nuanced pursuits.
America is going to hell in a handbasket. But as long as it's my handbasket that matches my aesthetics, I imagine I'm not supposed to care anymore.
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Mon Apr 14, 2008
First Ribs of the Year
Fired up the smoker this weekend for the first time. The ribs were good, albeit a little burnt over parts. I simply have to perfect a brisket recipe this year. In the past, I haven't gotten up early enough in the morning to really do an excellent job. A good job, yes. But not an excellent job. A full cut brisket involves getting up at the crack of dawn, and I've sacrified quality for sleep a few times now, slapping the snooze key when I should be slapping the meat on the smoker.
That ends this year. Top notch brisket coming soon to a house near you. Well, if you happen to live near me, that is.
In fact, maybe I'll do brisket this weekend. Or spinach lasagna. Or Mexican.
This is another problem: I am constantly seeking other ways to cook, other things to prepare. I found what appears to be a great lasagna recipe, but I want to practice making my own pasta dough. I certainly am not going to invest time in both that and a 12-hour smoking run with a brisket.
Choices, choices, choices. Choices, indeed. I live an awesome life.
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Mon Mar 31, 2008
I'm a Little Teapot
Or rather, I have a little teapot. Two little teapots, actually. The first, a purple clay vessel with a bamboo-shaped handle and some leafy ornamentation on the spout, is being dedicated to Oolong tea. The other is a bigger, more rustic teapot made of some sort of red clay and to be used by me for equally big and rustic pu-erh teas.
Some photos:
Why spend a hundred bucks on two hunks of clay? Because they form an interesting nuance to a fascinating hobby. Apparently, the porous nature of clay pots allows them to acquire a flavor and essence all their own as they are used repeatedly throughout the years. It's said that after years of constant use that a clay pot can brew a cup of tea simply by filling it with hot water. The heat retention of these individual pots is excellent. They're sized for brewing and consuming constant, temperature controlled amounts of tea. They look cool. And there's a great history of people collecting pots for individual purposes. It's as much the appeal of tea lore as it is the appeal of brewing an allegedly better pot of tea.
Both were purchased at Royal Oak's Goldfish Tea, something of an oasis in the desert of tea here in the Detroit area. While there's a great deal of leaf tea available in pockets, especially in Ann Arbor, a lot of it is bulk tea from industrial sources. And without resorting to the internet, it's difficult to find both hand-selected teas imported directly from China and good tea accessories. Goldfish provides both only 10 minutes from my house.
Hmm. I think I need some oolong.
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Thu Mar 20, 2008
Pryor Complaints
You'd have thought that a new Middle East peace treaty had just been signed by the media circus. It turns out that the Middle East is still in the midst of a millenium-long shitstorm. But Terrelle Pryor is going to The Ohio State University, which he promptly referred to as the University of Ohio State. They'll have to work on that with him between passing drills.
The decision of this college football uber-recruit to attend OSU rather than Michigan has a lot of Wolverine fans disappointed: After all, this guy is supposedly the next great running quarterback. He's fast; he's quick; he's a decent passer. And he's a "perfect fit" for the new Michigan coach's offensive system.
Personally, I'm glad he's not coming.
Here's the thing: Pryor represents one of the first of what is sure to be a series of awful events that comprise a burgeoning trend in college football: The glorification of The Recruit. With the advent of ESPN-U and ESPN 73 (coming soon to the digital cable NCAA Super Sportz Pak in your viewing area) and the inability of most male sports fans to separate themselves from their dreams of being a pro athlete who gets to engage in coitus with Hollywood actresses, the details of sports have begun to overwhelm the actual sport itself. People want to know about why a defensive line runs a stunt at a certain time and why a pitcher's arm is coming over the top at a certain angle. And now they want to know -- or at least, ESPN seems to think we want to know -- every nuance of every top 100 recruit heading into a major college in the upcoming season.
And Terrelle Pryor is the first (and worst) of them. He said in his press conference that he "felt bad for Michigan" because he didn't pick them. You know what, pal? Don't sweat it. We were here for 150 years before you and we'll be here 150 years after you've washed out of the NFL. He called a press conference a month or two ago specifically to tell people he wasn't going to make his choice of colleges on National Signing Day.
Is it just me, or is this guy already full of himself before he's even seen what college is like?
One guy should never be so big as to overwhelm the team. Certainly not a first-year athlete. And if there's anything that Michigan has proven with its willingness to boot highly-touted prospects like Kelly Baraka off the team and its ability to develop three-star recruits like Mike Hart it's that a big name can just as easily end up being a big bust and that an anonymous figure who works his ass off can be one of the best players to have laced up a pair of cleats for the team. Terrelle Pryor hasn't done anything to deserve his early fame other than excel as a high school athlete against mediocre competition -- something that literally hundreds of other people did too.
Michigan will always want and "need" to go after big name recruits because it's a big program with bigger pressures. But I, for one, am glad this big name didn't end up here because I suspect he's not much more than a big baby.
Go blue!
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