True Patriotism.com

House, MD

2006-01-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

Haven't blogged for awhile as real life intervened, but I think it's time again. Politically, things have deteriorated as our rights continue to be nibbled away by a radical theory called the Unitary Executive...in other words, the monarchical presidency.

I have gotten into something rare for me...a television show. Weary of infotainment cable "news" and tired of watching CSPAN endlessly, I happened upon this (of all things) Fox Show last spring, and now I'm as addicted to this show as its main character is to the pain medication he needs to function.

Now for Something Completely Different

2005-02-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

I don't usually do humor (but I do like it), but as a late baby-boomer, I do appreciate this bit that came into my email box this AM

It was fun being a baby boomer...until now. Some of the artists of the '60s are
revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers.

They include:

Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker
The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend a Broken Hip
Bobby Darin - Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash
Ringo Starr - I Get By With a Little Help from Depends
Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face
Johnny Nash - I Can't See Clearly Now
Paul Simon - Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
Commodores - Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom
Marvin Gaye - I Heard it Through the GrapeNuts
Procol Harem - A Whiter Shade of Hair
Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Napping
The Temptations - Papa's Got a Kidney Stone
Abba - Denture Queen
Tony Orlando - Knock 3 Times on the Ceiling if you Hear Me Fall
Helen Reddy - I am Woman, Hear me Snore
Willie Nelson - On the Throne Again
Leslie Gore - It's My Procedure and I'll Cry if I Want To

True Patriotism.com

2005-02-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

True Patriotism.com

Hubris and hijacking

It's been awhile since I've last posted, and I fervently hope that someone is reading these rants. (Hi, mom!) The thing is...There are so many areas in which the USA is being hijacked by the powers that be, and I'm so angry and pessimistic about it that I'm having a difficult time articulating it. So, here goes an attempt at articulating my frustration at least:

Hubris. It's connected to arrogance and a belief that "they" can do anything "they" want to do: Assume the mantle of "mandate" based on a majority of 51%...then send the attack dogs upon anyone who disagrees. Lie, confabulate, misuse facts, then hire propagandists at taxpayer expense to create a mythology of truth. I don't blame this all on the administration, the Prez or even Carl Rove (although I'd really like to). Part of the blame lies with the 24 hour newstainment networks. You know, the purveyors of short-attention-span news, otherwise known as MSNBC and CNN (I don't count FOX, because that network is simply Republican propoganda central--it might as well be an owned and operated subsidiary of GOP Inc.)

The newstainment networks have the American public figured out. We'd prefer to hear about Michael Jackson for hours on end rather than the number of Iraqi civilians killed or the number of American soldiers killed. We'd rather get our analysis from talking heads shouting talking points at each other than introspective analysis and intelligent debate about important issues. For the latter turn to PBS or CSPAN. Or Jon Stewart.

But it's not that the American public is stupid. It's that broadcast journalism is lazy. There's no depth, no analysis. No digging. Bernstein and Woodward have become quaint museum relics of a different time.

There are exceptions. Keith Olberman tries and often succeeds, where Chris Matthews only wants to hear the sound of his own voice. Aaron Brown used to try. At the beginning. I had high hopes for Aaron when he started Newsnight. Now he throws softball questions to party hacks and "experts" with their own axes to grind. But occasionally he shines.

I usually try to catch the BBC news on BBC America; or the NPR news shows throughout the day. Or Washington Journal on CSPAN in the morning. At least its news and not Newstainment.

More to come...

Alaska

2004-11-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

I know it's pretty strange thinking about Alaska on winter's brink, but I came across some photos I took a couple of summers ago in breathtakingly beautiful Glacier Bay off Alaska's southern coast. If anyone has any doubts about the existence of God or a higher power that holds together the symetry of the universe, then go to Alaska. No one can tell me that the power and beauty of Alaska's glaciers, narrow fjiords, rushing waterfalls and snow capped mountain peaks were created randomly. There are no words to adequately describe the raw beauty of Alaska. None. No photographs can capture the powerful silence, nor the sapphire sky, nor the days that never end in the summertime. I hope these photos capture at least a little bit of that. Enjoy.

BB

2004-11-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

more alaska

2004-11-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

fjiord in Alaska

2004-11-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

Alaska

An Ideal Husband

2004-11-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

Who is the ideal husband of An Ideal Husband? Is it Lord Goring, the dandified (but deeper than he admits) Rupert Evert? Or is it Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam), put on a pedestal by just about everyone and is almost ruined by a youthful indiscretion come back to haunt him?

An Ideal Husband is a well-acted and enjoyable movie, adapted from Oscar Wilde's play of the same name. The movie, made in 1999 was the second Sir Robert that Jeremy played that year, and with some of the same sets and both Sirs Robert giving passionate speeches in the House of Commons no less! Winslow Boy (the other Sir Robert film, that one based on Rattigan's play and directed by David Mamet) is a superior film, but An Ideal Husband is not that far behind. Julianne Moore plays the devious Mrs. Cheevley who tries to ruin Sir Robert; Cate Blanchett plays Gerturd, Sir Robert's very unbending and somewhat judgemental wife. She is right to mistrust Mrs. Cheevely, however. Minnie Driver is the only one in this film that seems to be out of place. I dont' really care for her portrayal as Sir Robert's younger sister. She comes off as too 21st Century for this play. I know Jeremy Northam has stated how he desires to stay away from the waistcoasts and wing collars forever at this point, but don't you agree he looks quite dashing as Sir Robert?

2004-11-13T21:29:00.001-08:00

Sir Robert Chiltern

2004-11-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

Sir Robert again

Voices From a Locked Room

2004-11-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

Saw the little seen film Voices from a Locked Room last night. I understand the movie is not completely true to the life its subject(s) Philip Heseltine/Peter Warlock. As a film about living on the edge of sanity and as a showcase for the just emerging from stage to screen Jeremy Northam, it is a tour de force. Jeremy did this film in 1994, I think. Before the 'Net and Emma brought him to American audiences. Up until this point, he was mostly known as a stage actor for the RSC and National Theatres, having won an Olivier (Britain's equivalent of the Tony) for his performance in The Voysey Inheritance a couple of years previous.

Jeremy is nothing short of brilliant in this film, playing the music critic Philip Heseltine and his alter ego the composer Peter Warlock. Particularly in the scenes as Warlock, Jeremy exposes the raw edge that Peter dwells upon. Jeremy's Peter Warlock is a man of great sensitivity and musical genius. A shy and withdrawn man whose love for a woman cause him to lose the delicate balance he maintains between sanity and madness. For Peter's other self is Philip Heseltine, a harsh critic on the London music scene, who has fallen in love as well, and with the same woman. The inevitable crashing together of these two halves of the same man create the dramatic tension in the film.

The film doesn't entirely work on every level, yet there is something incredibly compelling in Jeremy's performance as Philip/Peter slide into depths of torment. Maybe it's the purity of joy and concentration when as Warlock, he plays his newly composed nocturne in a duet with the woman he loves, a singer. It is known that Jeremy Northam is a musician himself. The very modest Jeremy Northam would probably be the first to deny this claim, yet his musicianship was clear in the 2002 film Gosford Park, where he played piano and sang Ivor Novello's wonderful musica hall tunes. The musician in Jeremy is so purely expressed as Warlock that it is beautiful to behold. I do not know for certain whether that is Jeremy actually playing Warlocks pieces, including the duet, it certainly looks like he's playing and not just play-acting, but who knows.

Anyway, try to catch the film on Starz Cinema if you get digital cable or satelite. It's a difficult film at times, but Jeremy Northam's performance is beautiful to behold. Some photographs from the movie to entice you.

2004-11-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

In torment

2004-11-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

Peter

2004-11-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

Peter Warlock

Where's the Gate?

2004-10-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

Tons and tons of high explosives missing in Iraq, endangering our soldiers; Iraqi soldiers massacred under our watch and even the Iraq puppet...er...interim president blames us. Haliburton. The list goes endlessly on and on. So where's the 'Gate? Where's the outrage? Where's the investigatory journalism? Where's the media?

Having been a 24-hour cable news junkie for several years now, I'm finally over my addiction. The "news" delivered by vapid and clueless manequins, asking softball or, worse, insanely stupid, questions of guests they should be asking the tough questions. Even Wolf. Even Aaron Brown. I, for one, am disgusted and finally, disinterested. Jon Stewart's "fake" news makes more sense and asks more pertinent questions, digs deeper and looks harder at the day's events. The only news program that seems to ask the tough questions is the CNN show with Lou Dobbs.

I'm off cable news and onto the 'net to find out what I need to know. Slate, Salon, Prospect.org, NPR and BBC are all preferable to the infotainment and softball "news" that inhabits the 24/7 news channels. Farewell and good riddance.

End of Rant.

Hersh versus the Pentagon

2004-05-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. Who to believe....who to believe...who to believe? Seymour Hersh or the Pentagon. Now, let's see....

Seymour Hersh (Ok, so he has the same first name as both my father and grandfather.) is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who exposed the My Lai Massacre back when I was but a young high school student. Versus the Bush Administration who has taken lying, confabulation and misinformation to levels unkown since the days of Richard Nixon.

I highly doubt that Mr. Hersh would put his prestigious reputation on the line by making up an "outlandish, conspiratorial story." Empshasis on the "making up" part. Is the story "outlandish?" Yes it is. Who would believe such a thing? Is the story "conspiratorial?" Indeed. Since it involves a sort of conspiracy...but not on Hersh's part.

I was amused and enlightened by the Bush administration response to the story, which posted on the New Yorker's Website on Saturday and will publish in this week's issue today. The administration "denied" the story by saying it was "outlandish, conspiratorial, and filled with errors." Reading this "denial very closely, one can see that it is not a denial at all, but a classic "non-denial denial." Note that the "denial" didn't say the story wasn't true or had some truth to it. Makes you ponder what else will be revealed in the coming days or hours.

If the the Senate and House democrats continue to find their collective backbones and push for a congressional investigation--not a pentagon investigation--with independent counsel and the works--this will no doubt mean the downfall of the Bush Administration in November. It is a terrible, terrible shame that it would have to have happened on the backs of so many Iraqis and the deaths of so many of our young people.

Barbara Barnett

Barnett's Creative Outlet

2004-05-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Barnett's Creative Outlet

Actors v. Movie Stars

After the heaviness of my first post (don't all be scared away now,) I'd like to lighten it up just a bit, and delve into the world of entertainment.

I've always been drawn to particular actors and actresses and their films more on the basis of their body of work and talent, than on their superstardom. One performance that just grabs me and touches something inside me sends me fleeing to Blockbusters to find every single movie made by that actor, and leaves me wondering why I hadn't discovered him (or her) before. Ususally I find that the actor in question has been around for a while, maybe doing an occasional Hollywood film, but mostly smaller quieter films or theatre; sometimes I'm the last to know about the actor and my friends wonder where I've been. Occasionally, I'm disappointed by the actor's other film work and just relish the one performance that grabbed me. Other times I get positively obsessed. So here's my list of favorite actors and why I like them, and why I recommend that you see their films, superstars or not. In most cases, the reason is that they are ACTORS, no simply stars. They give subtle performances using every muscle, and often especially their eyes.

My first love (at the age of 9)--David McCallum (Ilya Kuryakin on the Man from UNCLE)--it was the only thing I've ever liked him in and in my little girl mindest he was spectacular. He started me on my lifelong preference for British actors (he being Scots) and for actors who had lives and careers informed by things other than stardom (he is a virtuoso musician, as I understand)

Sean Connery (James Bond, himself)--also at the age of 9-ish, I fell in love with 007. Never got obsessed with him, tho. Loved him in "Robin and Marian". Thought he was over-the-top in The Avengers.

(now for the more recent)

Harrison Ford. I did fall for Han Solo (who didn't) when we were all supposed to be in love with Luke Skywalker. The reason that Han became the romantic hero of the series was that Ford put much more complexity into Han than was written. Ford has done that throughout his whole career, making otherwise fair characters into something more and making great characters interesting. I've liked everything he's done that I've seen--even Sabrina.

Kevin Kline. He is an exceptional American actor. One of the few who divide their time between stage and screen. He has a classical theatre training, unlike most American film stars, and more like their British counterparts. And it shows.

David Duchovny--One of those actors (not an ACTOR, I'm afraid) who I adored in one thing (of course, that was the X-Files) until he got bored with the series and phoned in his last two seasons' worth of episodes. Haven't liked him in anything else at all. Even Return to Me made me cringe a little. Evolution was embarassing to me since I forced my husband to see it opening weekend.

Russell Crowe. Ah, here's an interesting case. I don't think Russell ever expected, nor really desired, movie icon status. Then Gladiator hit (while he was off filming Proof of Life) and boom, it smacked him in the jaw and he was totally unprepared for the onslaught of intrusion into his life. Russell had been around for years and has never, ever given a bad performance. Each role is different. He is an ACTOR, a chameleon of a character actor who is also a leading man. I recommend (other than the post-stardom films): Sum of Us, Insider, the Crossing. He is also a decent country rock musician and song writer. His band TOFOG has been round much, much longer than his acting career and they are definitely worth a listen.

Billy Crudup. Another American ACTOR. Divides his time between theatre and film, mostly focusing on independent and smaller films. Tony award nominations and other stage acting citations take him out of the realm of "movie star" He was wonderful in "without limits" "waking the dead" "charlotte gray" and "almost famous" His performances are always good, although I haven't cared for all of his films. Like most of my favorite actors, he is extremely shy off camera/stage, and is intensely private.

Viggo Mortensen. Here's another one I've liked only in one film: Lord of the Rings. He was Aragorn, just as I'd pictured him in the novels. He was perfect, and perfectly cast. I like the fact that he is also an artist and writer and has a life outside movies. I think he is likely to abandon manistream film because he dislikes the machine and the intrusions into his privacy. i like that he is upfront about his politics as well.

Ralph Fiennes. Why it took me so long to "discover" him, I'll never know. I'd seen him in Schindler where he horrified me with a striking performance; and blew me away in Quiz Show, one of my favorite movies. It wasn't until I saw him on cable in "Oscar and Lucinda" that his performance just struck some deep chord inside. It was a sweet, raw and poetic performance that sent me to the video store to find out more. My appetite for his film and stage work is nearly insatiable. He is the most subtle and brilliant of ACTORs. A chameleon; a leading man. Hell, I even liked him in the Avengers (but I thought the movie was stupid, even tho I loved the series). What I've read (and briefly seen) of his stage work leaves me wishing to live in London so that I can see more of it. His work with the UNICEFF in some of the most Hellish places on earth is unsung and wonderful. Again, a shy and quiet man, protective of his privacy, he felt invaded and unprepared when the press descended after The English Patient made him a star, he seems to prefer to do smaller, well done films (with an occasional hollywood film) but always interpsersed with critically received film work. Won a Tony for his Hamlet, which he may be reprising in London next year.

Jeremy Northam. Ah, Jeremy. Some say he looks like David Duchovny's English brother. I can't see it. They are both tall and slim of build, but the resemblence ends there, I think. Jeremy is a brilliant ACTOR (as opposed to movie star). He has a way of totally changing himself for roles. One need only look at the years when JN has done several role in that year. In 1999, for example, he played in The Winslow Boy, An Ideal Husband and Happy Texas. One could argue that his two characters in WB and AIH were similar. They had the same name and were, more or less, in the same Edwardian Era. The characters could not have been more different, however, And Happy Texas? A 180 degree turn round. JN can go from British to American in the blink of an eye. Who else could have played Morgan Sullivan in the paranoid film Cypher (which still has not been released here in the US)? He is also incredibly handsome, did I mention?

End of rant.

The State of Affairs

2004-05-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

This morning's news tells us that Donald Rumsfeld has gone to Iraq. No doubt, it is to show us how concerned he his about the debacle he created. The administration has no one to blame but itself for this terrible, terrible mess. It can all be traced to arrogance. Supreme and extreme arrogance.

Dubya the cowboy's: "You're either with us or against us" attitude, conveyed through layers and layers of the chain of command (isn't he the "commander in chief?") The equating of Iraqui insurgents and combatants as Sadam-ists and terrorists; lumping everyone together in crowded understaffed prisons--exhausted, ill-trained reservists, frustrated, and ill-prepared for this duty--a recipe for THIS disaster.

Rumsfeld's dismissal of the Geneva conventions for some (ah yes, terrorists)--but with line between terrorist and legitimate combatant very very blurred by everyone from Scott McLellan to Rummy, to Wolfy to Dubya, himself. How in the heck are the privates supposed to understand where the faded and blurred line is drawn? Even the military brass and Pentagon civillians don't know who controls the prisons: regular military or millitary intelligence?

Or is it that now that the horror has been exposed for what it is, is the administration feigning disbelief, when, in fact, it really more than understood what was happening in Abu Ghraib? Nod, nod, wink, wink. Maybe now that the world is outraged, and the torture of prisoners has gotten out beyond the reach of the Bush administration secrecy, the administration has to be shocked. Really to acknowledge something it's already known about, but believed was safely secure secret that the sheep in most of the media and the cowed and terrified legislative branch wouldn't question? Now that it's out, it's time to acknowledge the adminstration's role in creating the kind of atmosphere in which atrocities were allowed and encouraged? We must keep this front and center as spring moves into summer and fall. The Dubya adminstration has made one mistake after the next, taking good will and squandering it, getting away with it and going on to the next disastrous move. We cannot forget this; we cannot let the press forget it and most of all we cannot let the voters forget this by November!

End of rant