And, speaking of people screaming down the Murphometer, what the hell got into Philip Pullman? “The Lord of the Rings is not a serious book because it does not say anything interesting, or new, or truthful about the human condition,’ he told [author Jeanette] Winterson in an interview in the December issue of Harpers & Queen.” Hmm…really? Coulda fooled me. But, then again, I guess people have just found truth, meaning, and solace in Tolkien’s trilogy for fifty years now because it has elves and wizards and dragons and stuff. Look, LotR may not be Pullman’s cup of tea — Lord knows, the last book of His Dark Materials certainly wasn’t mine, what with all its Milton-wannabe sermonizing and anti-Narnia heavy-handedness — but I see no real need to badmouth Tolkien so emphatically (and indefensibly.) Pullman was probably just trying to gain some indy cred with the fantasy-dismissive Booker prize types, but from here his remarks just come off as sour grapes. I really liked The Golden Compass, but, come on now…What a prat.
Month: November 2004
The Mythical Maverick.
Content to play the iconoclast again now that election 2004 is over, John McCain calls out the Bush administration on global warming. Too little, too late, Mr. Senator…given the water you carried for the Bushies this last cycle, your free-fall on the Murphometer at this point looks permanent.
Boy, Dog, and Boy’s Dog.
Yesterday’s anniversary made it occur to me that it’s been ages since we’ve had any gratuitous Berkeley pics around here. So, without further ado, here’s me trying to get Berk to pose next to the Boy and Dog Tom Otterness sculpture gracing my street corner (along with Fallen Dreamer) until this weekend. As you can see, there were more interesting goings-on elsewhere…
So Long Sadie.
Meryl Streep is apparently off the All the King’s Men remake. To be honest, if Sean Penn is Willie and Jude Law is Jack, I don’t think she made much sense as Sadie anyway. Ellen Barkin, perhaps?
A Reid in the Wind.
The Dems in the Senate have officially chosen Harry Reid of Nevada to be the new Minority Leader (and Chuck Schumer to run the DSCC.) “‘He has absolutely no fear,’ said Jimmy Ryan, a former Reid aide who now lobbies for Citigroup. ‘He knows when to call a vote, and when to let your members know it’s time to walk the plank…He’s probably the best reader of human beings I’ve ever met.'” Well, let’s hope so.
Powell’s Used.
Stick a fork in him, and say goodbye to what semblance of multilateralism has existed in the Dubya era. To Rummy’s relish (and to no one’s surprise) Colin Powell’s ignominious tenure at State is through. Seemingly well-intentioned but weak and sidelined most of the time, Powell’s tour at State will probably be best remembered for his losing battles with the Neocons and his embarrassing and misleading performance before the United Nations in 2003.
Following Powell out the door are Education Secretary Rod Paige, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. Margaret Spellings, Dubya’s domestic policy advisor, is taking Paige’s gig…I dread to think who else will sign on for Dubya II. Ken Lay at Energy? John Danforth has been mentioned as a possible Powell replacement, but, heck, why not pull Helms out of mothballs? Update: Looks like it’s Condi…and more of the same.
He liked it raw.
R.I.P. ODB 1969-2004, definitely the strangest of the Wu.
Five for Fighting.
Ghost in the Machine is five years old today. Well, what a long, strange trip it’s been…I must say, I don’t think I ever envisioned this lasting half a decade when I began back in 1999, particularly when I’ve never been able to keep a journal-journal for longer than a year or so. And to be honest, I had been considering taking a hiatus of late…Even before the election, I’d been feeling thin and stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread, and since then — as with many of you, I’m sure — my frame of mind can get quite Boromir-ish at times. But, that being said, blogging’s in my blood at this point, and the onset of Dubya II seems a particularly terrible time to put the keyboard down. Besides, how else am I going to find an outlet for my political antipathies and terminal fanboyisms? So y’all are just going to have to deal with a nervier, punchier GitM in the weeks, months, and years to come…five years down, and here’s to many more.
The World on Screen.
Despite harboring one of the more irritating crossword puzzles in recent months (it included characters like %,@,&, and *) and a breathless paean to the wildly overrated Julia Roberts, this week’s special NYT Magazine on film and globalization included a number of interesting reads, including an overview of foreign film trends by A.O. Scott, a disquisition on the problems facing the US industry by Lynn Hirschberg, and an extended interview with Maggie Cheung (late of Hero and In the Mood for Love.)
Faith-based Currency.
The dollar tanking? No problemo for this administration, who see a weak dollar as key to offsetting our ballooning trade deficits. “The unsettling worry, however, is what could happen if foreigners suddenly lost interest in holding dollar-denominated investments. The outward rush from U.S. stock and bond markets could send stock prices crashing and interest rates soaring.” Well, at least my college loan debt isn’t in Euros.