Whiners

This from a column by Robert Novak:

GOP insiders in the nation's earliest primary state did not want to criticize him publicly, but called Allen's New Hampshire performance "odd." That's because presidential candidates are supposed to spend funds in the state, not take money out. Allen was raising money for his 2006 re-election campaign.

Wow. It ain't enough for the Granite State to have the first primary in the nation, they can't stand that someone would use a visit to raise money? Would these GOP insiders like some cheese with their whine before they lose the next election with that attitude?

Just be thankful he's showing up and supporting the first-in-the-nation primary at all.

Quote of the Day

“I was a very weird child. I mean, everybody — you know, what was your fifth grade civics paper that had you to write about? Mine was about the theory of dialectical materialism. I mean, talk about a sad little guy.”
~ White House adviser Karl Rove, interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

--> Oh my. Seriously. Wow. Where's my snooze button? Heh.

Simply Fantastic

In a couple hours, I may be off to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Until then, I figured I'd make a (belated) review of the recent Fantastic Four movie.

I'll try not to deliver some spoilers. And being a part of the comic-book-cum-movie genre, take the movie as a bit of fun and less seriously than others. Simply put, I liked it.

There were some flaws. Mr. Fantastic seemed to have limitless resources for his lab, despite being a failed scientist. Their gaining super powers seemed hard to believe, as was a machine's ability to undo and return their powers. And there's one scene where the brother and sister argue without much of a reason for doing so (an explanation for which may have been cut by the editor for all I know).

That said, there were some good elements. For one thing, the villain didn't become truly a threat to the Four (and good old New York City) until nearly the end, although the conflict was apparent and slow-building throughout - this meant we didn't spend 2 hours seeing the heroes rising to a challenge but seeing all 5 characters come to grips with their new lives. That is, the final conflict was more of genuine climax in powers and tension, rather than merely the budget-busting battle between equals we saw coming for 2 hours as the villain taunted the heros (see X-Men and Spider-Man).

That said, there were no plot twists to speak of, really, and we predicted how it would end up (seeing as how there was no doubt about who the villain was). But at least we get a sense in this first movie that it really is more of the opening act for the heroes; future sequels might develop them more, rather than just recycling same old themes (as other comic-book blockbusters have done).

It could be wish-ful thinking, but all told I think the movie is worth watching - and it far exceeded my admittedly low expectations.

Tabitha Not Happy

My kitten Tabitha is not a happy camper. At 8 months old or so, and only 5 lbs. and 10 ozs., she's a small thing. But she got "fixed" this weekend, so she's moving slowly and gingerly. Poor kitty...

Meanwhile, my 3-year-old cat Ashley was jumping for joy during the 36 hours Tabitha was at the vet.

Gotta love them.

Not the only redistricting geek

One of the new SG blog kids, Greek on a Leash, has done a good commentary about current gerrymandering in Gainesville that effectively negates the college town's voice in Tallahassee.

Check it out!

Cleaning

My apartment has been undergoing major cleaning. Well, okay, it's not perfect, and with my pet cats I have odor and cat food issues. And my apartment management does not take care of its building very well in my opinion. But, the before and after photos would be a favorable impression, I think.

So, I've been busy. I snapped some pictures of my kittens and they include both before and after views of the apartment indirectly, so maybe I'll post some here once I get them developed.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Larry tells me this is a hideous post that needs editing. Moreover, I'm still working out the tricks of this thing. Bear with me a bit.

Seems to be working now (7/16/05 @ 1:16pm). Let me know if you run into problems.

Obligatory Potter-Mania Commentary

I think the movies were good so far, given the age level the characters are, but I've not read the books. GASP! My younger brother has, though, and he is a HUGE fan. Twice now, he's asked his birthday present to come early so he can get an Amazon.com pre-order of the new Harry Potter book. So I'm glad for him and for the author.

Now only if I can get my books to become that popular. Hmm...

Enjoy!

Trackbacks

My friend Larry Bernard has been begging me to add a trackback function to my blog. As part of my slow creeping redesign, here it goes. Let me know if it works.

From the "Is This News?" Department

July 13th - Kennedy Rips Santorum for 2002 column

In the article, Senator Kennedy complains about a column Senator Santorum wrote 3 years ago blaming the Catholic sexual abuse scandal on a culture of liberalism.

I am probably the last to defend Santorum, and am likely to give a small donation to his opponent in the 2006 senate race. And the 2002 column was horrific - a supposed tough-on-crime conservative proposing to excuse criminals and looking at the "root causes" of bad behavior, a strategy employed by soft-on-crime liberals. Never mind that no one in our society condones the sexual abuse of preteen choir boys, regardless of their views on sex between consenting adults. What Santorum said should be condemned.

What I don't get - and this is where I think this isn't news and just silly partisan politics by Ted Kennedy - is why this column wasn't comdemned by the Democrats back in 2002 when it was first ran? The situation is kinda like Teddy was watching a criminal rob a number of banks and not come forward to say anything until the robber looks set to be held accountable for the crimes anyway.

Why can't the press just report the news, not just regurgatate every piece of bile both sides put out? And why can't politicians bash each other in a timely manner?

Grr...

Redesign?!?

I'm contemplating a redesign of my blog. If you have any suggestions on links to include, design templates, technology gizmos to add, etc., I'll take them up. My goal is to time any redesign with the completion of another project I'm working on, so in about a month I'd like to see this done.

So fire away in the comments section or email me at me@kenkerns.comwith your ideas.

From the "News vs. Advertising" Department

July 12: Walmart Alters Willie Nelson Cover

Alright, I was going to complain a bit about the Walmart practice of forcing artists to alter covers and lyrics to conform to their "standards". Especially since, when I clicked on the above link, I thought this was what the article was going to talk about.

Not quite the first half of the article spoke on the issue at hand, and briefly mentioned the small change and that Walmart's done this before. And then another third of the article proceeds to discuss what his album is about, where he got the idea, and the etymology of it being put togther. Finally, the end of the article mentions Nelson's tour plans and an anniversary Farm Aid concert. The final note? "Tickets for Farm Aid '05 go on sale July 30."

Was this really the same article at the end as it was in the beginning?

Why didn't the article focus on the news - another case of Walmart's tampering with content that is on its shelves - rather than advertising all the "cool" stuff Willie Nelson is doing this summer?!?

Weren't journalists suppose to investigate and report, not regurgate and gossip?

Grr....

Honestly Oblivious Guide (HOG)

I recently read the 2004 book, The Politically Incorrect Guide (PIG) to American History. I bought it think it'd be interesting, maybe even as humorous as The Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents. No such luck.

While they started off with notes about history that were agreeable - for example, calling the American revolutionaries "conservatives" (in the modern sense of the word, not the contemporary definition) because they opposed higher taxes and a distant central government. But it started going downhill with its implication that historians don't want you to know Jefferson support nullification - I knew that and know for a fact that it's a freely accepted fact, so the bias in the book reared its head.

After bashing the Radical Republicans, it started covered U.S. Presidential terms in 1900 and beyond - and that is where the point of the book became truly apparent. With a few passing exceptions and references, the rest of the book focused on what can only be described as a hatchet job. It skipped most mentions of Republicans (except to give Joe McCarthy a chapter of praise), while bashing Democrats from FDR and JFK, to Carter and Clinton. Indeed, no mention was made at all of Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, or either Bush.

This is a horribly written book. I would not recommend it even to my Republican friends. It is not just politically incorrect, its an incomplete and ideological history book. Don't buy or read this book unless you specifically want to rant against past Democratic presidents.

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Weekend Update

1) My thoughts and prayers are with the people of London, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks there on July 7th, and it's my hope that their recovery and justice prevails swiftly for them.

2) My thoughts and prayers are also with the Gulf Coast of Florida and Alabama, as it gets slammed with a Category 4, Hurricane Dennis, today.

3) My kitten Tabitha was taken into the vet for another round of shots, etc., and we weighed her. Previously, she was 4 lbs. and 11 ounces. Now she's 5 lbs. and 10 ounces. She gained a pound (more than 20% gain) in less than 2 months! How would you like it if you gained like 40 pounds in 2 months? But she's doing alright.

4) Had my first performance evaluation in my new job as a Special Payments Analyst at the UMWA H&R Funds. Nothing exciting of note, execpt it does look like they intend to redefine the role a little to take advantage of my training in pension processing. **Twirl finger in air** Still, it's good to get feedback.

5) I'm not great at blog template design, but I'd like to tweak this format a little. Any suggestions?

Quote of the Week

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." - Nelson Mandela

Happy Birthday America!

On this day, 229 years ago, we declared our independence. I think we've done well for ourselves since then. But let's continue making it a more perfect union, a more perfect nation. *Cheers!*

What's Wrong With America?

I recently finished the 2004 book by Thomas Frank, What's the Matter With Kansas?, and figured I'd share with you my thoughts on the subject.

My initial thoughts were of disappointment - he spent most of the book merely explaining what it was that bothered him about Kansas, without explaining why these changes from his childhood have occurred. But it got better toward the end.

To summarize, he claims that conservatism stole class-consciousness for their use because mass media and mass culture had de-emphasized economics thus allowed the Right to do the same even as they use the rhetoric of left-wing populism from the turn of the century. As America drew itself to this rhetoric as it had before, in an appeal to an ideal, foregone past, liberals also abandoned the economic to chase socially liberal voters. And this only helped the cultural dynamic the Right uses to bring in blue-collar voters by fueling the Backlash. But even as they rant against Hollywood's social values, the Right is doing everything it can to give Hollywood a tax cut. And Hollywood's culture is only getting more disgusting because disgusting is more popular; no one ever stopped to think about ways to change Hollywood.

The mood is, vote for another Republican, hope for the best. But even as the conservative politicians rail against rare incidents like gay marriage or flag burning while they campaign, once in office all those concerns are swept aside for focus on promoting outsourcing and giving tax cuts to billionaires. And I agree with this - in the 30 years since Roe v. Wade, how many times have Republicans actually sought to do something about this outside of making it an election issue?

So, Kansas and America gets angry about the collapse of their small towns, and Republicans channel that anger toward electing the very people who help encourage that collapse. By focusing anger on the politics of culture, but doing nothing about it, Republicans are fueling a never-ending sense of victimhood.

It's a very convoluted situation, made all the more distressing, in Mr. Frank's opinion, by the willing surrender by Democrats of economic liberalism. Democrats, by chasing socially liberal voters, are in essence enabling their own demise by allowing working class America to focus on social issues without regard to their own material interests.

So think about this next time Ann Coulter is on television. Ann is railing against a kiss by Madonna and Britney Spears even as she fights ever harder to elect Republicans who will give Madonna and Britney a tax cut.

Who really cares about our culture when they reward the people they supposedly despise?

"What Did I Miss This Time?"

An excerpt from The Proxy Senator, currently in the revision stage of editing:

With a burp and a soft slap of the crumbs on his enormous belly, Howard sat up and tried to gather composure. He stammered out of the rhetorical gate, but then found what he needed to say.

Lucky for him, however, the thunder-clap of two wooden doors coming open and slamming against the walls caught everyone by surprise.

Standing uncharacteristically tall and happy with himself, their reason for being together under one roof filled the void the doors left behind. His sheepish personal assistant, Adrian, hung back in the hallway.

Mike Adams, their candidate, made his entrance and officially started the staff meeting. Only now would today’s real work on behalf of the campaign would begin. He knew this to be true, as much as he knew that his staff was always working, every hour and every day, to gain him that coveted seat within the hallowed halls of the United States Senate. Therefore, he could not help but grin at the unsightly mess that Howard made, Bobby’s posturing, and Monica’s thinly veiled attempt to maintain control.

“Now tell me, Monica,” Mike said slowly, with his staff hanging on every one of his calculated and considered words. Joel joined Mike in smiling, sensing what was to come better than anyone else. Mike breathed in deeply before continuing his inquiry.

“What did I miss this time?”

The Box Office Hits and Misses

I'm not a big fan of movie-going - I may go to six movies a year, tops. But I managed to go to three in the last few days. To mark the occassion, I'll make a brief review of them here:

War of the Worlds - This movie works because the acting was believable and the effects visually stunning. Moreover, unlike other war flicks, we aren't forced to see it through a general's eyes, or an overly heroic main character. Here, Tom Cruise's simple goal is survival on his way to dropping his kids off at their mother's, and along the way becomes a better father. I won't spoil the ending, but since this is a remake of a film and based on a book from 1898, it's hardly an original concept, but turned out to be a worthy remake, unlike other Hollywood attempts to cash in on old ideas.

Bewitched! - I'll admit I'm a Nicole Kidman fan, something I discovered when watching The Interpreter earlier this year. Here, I found her attempt at comedy to work well, even up against Will Ferrel's antics. The movie is kind of a split-personality, as the romance and the comedy aren't perfectly blended. But the premise holds up pretty well - rather than a simple remake of the 1960s television series, or an enlarged version of a t.v.-style plot, as with most movie adaptations, this movie involves Nicole being a witch with the very same powers given Samantha in the t.v. show. She swears off magic, but finds life on Earth not that easy, and along the way discovers love. My main complaint wasn't Will trying to do romance, or Nicole doing comedy, but that the Shirley McClaine character looked set to be involved in a subplot near the end, but her story didn't go anywhere.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith - It was an amusing flick that balanced romantic comedy and the typical action/spy movie. It's major problem was the villain in the end was never named, and - well, let's just say that the ending doesn't make clear whether the plot was resolved. But I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt tried killing each other. If you want an escape for a couple hours at the Box office, this is a perfectly acceptable movie. If you want to see quality story development, this isn't it.