A Japanese writer finds himself quoted in Dylan. Sounds like he’s got the right attitude about it…I wouldn’t think this really constitutes plagiarism.
Month: July 2003
Full House.
Now here‘s a reality show I can get into. Coverage of the World Series of Poker starts tonight on ESPN. If you’ve never tuned in before, you’d be amazed at some of the psych-out tricks these guys try to play on camera. (Via Mark.)
Friendly Fire.
William Saletan, who’s been rather unkind to Dean in the past, shows his hand – he’s for Edwards. Unfortunately, Saletan’s case here makes me less inclined to vote for him. “If Dean’s strength is speaking bluntly to the right, Edwards, like Joe Lieberman, has shown a facility for speaking bluntly to the left.” That’s exactly what I don’t want to hear.
Paths of the Dead.
Nobel-prize winner and former NIH head Harold Varmus discusses 28 Days Later. I thought the virus angle was just a clever way of setting up the existence of zombies, but ok.
Payton’s New Place.
I’d heard rumors of this a few days ago, but assumed if I didn’t blog it it might not come true. Alas, Gary Payton is joining the Lakers. Bleah. Particularly if LA succeeds in signing Karl Malone too, I’d say next year’s season is all but ruined. That is, unless Kobe’s in jail…
Love, Sex, and Balance.
I should’ve posted this yesterday, but forgot. Rather than see the fireworks last Friday, I decided to stay in and have a Blockbuster night. And, since I don’t feel like giving these films the full treatment at the moment, I’ll just say in passing that, despite attempting an open mind, I hated Punch Drunk Love (with the exception of the beautiful color fades.) I found it self-consciously arty and pretentious in true P.T.A fashion (Oooh, harmonium = love), and Emily Watson was a complete cipher throughout. Adam Sandler made the best of a bad hand, but I’ll still take Happy Gilmore over this any day of the week. Equilibrium, starring Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Taye Diggs, and Emily Watson again, was cheesy C-grade sci-fi fun in a Dr. Who kinda way despite having the most implausible fight sequences since Gymkata. And Roger Dodger started out well enough, but I eventually became bored with Campbell Scott’s character. The opportunities for telling LaBute-like satire were rich, but instead we find out that all Roger needed was his lost innocence? What a waste of a good setup. Still, there’s some nice character work here, so I’d say Roger Dodger is a moderately enjoyable rental.
The Other Other Side.
Via Breaching the Web, Scott Kitchen – formerly of The Other Side – has returned with New Orleans or Bust. Welcome back.
Summoning the Spirit of Enron.
After a week of considerable coverage for Dean (due to his second-quarter funding success), John Edwards tries to get back in the game by unveiling his corporate accountability plan. As usual, I think Edwards is playing this smart. The issue shores up his Populist creds while drawing attention to an area where Dubya is dismal. And Edwards still holds a trump card, in that he is the only top-tier candidate with an answer to the Dem’s Southern problem. It’d be nice to see Edwards, Dean, and Kerry go head-to-head-to-head in a real debate, but first the field still needs to be culled, of course.
Once and Future King.
Amid all the prophesying about a coming era of Republican dominance, Chris Suellentrop of Slate remembers that we’ve heard this all before.
Not just for Trekkies anymore.
After a decade in the dark, SETI finally gets some ‘spec from NASA.