Belchite: a town destroyed in the Spanish Civil War

This is a town destroyed by house to house street fighting during the Spanish Civil War. It was never rebuilt. It was featured in the film Pan's Labyrith. A strange desolation. Very similar to the Orodour massacre in France, another town abandoned after a war.

El Laberinto del fauno

A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning...
This movie was incredible. I can't stop thinking about it: absolutely beautiful, sad, but so beautiful. I noticed it showing at Regent Square theater in the burgh last year, but I don't enjoy "fantasy" films. Its on HBO now, I saw the first few minutes, really good. It is set in 1944, Franco's fascist regime in Spain has been victorious, however, in some rural areas the resistance continues. The Spanish civil war was brutal, as is most civil wars. The killing and the revenge was of a great magnitude. Read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls (a book that is unusual for Hemingway - not at all sentimental, but brutal, full of death, cruelty, futility - like the spanish civil war I guess). In this film a young girl, Ofelia, who is living with her mom and her step father, the evil Capitan Vidal. Ofelia's father was a tailor, he died, and Vidal had his suits made at the shop. Vidal marries Ofelia's mom, mostly because he wants to father a child (he isn't in love with the mom, in fact, is embarassed by her lowly status). Ofelia senses the violence and cruelty of Vidal, and that her mother is in danger. She escapes into a fantasy world to escape her fear. In her fantasy world she is brave, takes risks, and ultimately learns she doesn't have to follow adult rules (which in the civil war were crazy, cruel). The evil and fear that surrounds her is portrayed symbolically in the film, from the huge black cars the fascist soldiers drive, to the uniforms of the soldiers, to the violence of Capitan Vidal (several brutal scenes show him to be a sadistic psychopath in a soldier's uniform). I didn't anticipate the end, which was beautiful, sad, and heartbreaking. She really was a princess from the "other world"...
And it is said that the Princess returned to her father's kingdom. That she reigned there with justice and a kind heart for many centuries. That she was loved by her people. And that she left behind small traces of her time on Earth, visible only to those who know where to look.

Hillary Nutcracker

I've got to buy a bunch of these for presents!

Holsten's - where Tony Soprano got whacked

I visited Noah in New Jersey and he drove me to Holsten's, the ice cream store/diner where supposedly Tony Soprano got killed in the final episode. It looked differently than the movie - the position of movie camera's affect POV. The food was great - I ordered a bowl of onion rings and ate them like Tony, sticking my tongue out and putting one whole on the tongue and eating it like a communion wafer. Really nice place, friendly, relaxed, just a great mood in the place. Teenagers wait tables, the grill cooks laught and joke and the owner visits with a regular customer. Simple menu. They have it perfect. BTW, the mural on the back wall is different than the movie version - there is no "cat" on the back wall, adding to the idea that the "cat" was an omen of impending doom. Oddly enough, we had trouble parallel parking out front, just like Meadow. It was worth the drive - fascinating driving through New Jersey, observing the different cities, boros, how different populations live different areas. Holsten's is in a residential neighborhood that is very stable - looks like it was always middle class residential neighborhood (Bloomsfield). It borders Lodi, an older factory town, where working people lived and worked in the factories - now Lodi's factories are closed (moved to china) and empty, and dominicans (not the religious order) live there, in a stable but struggling community.

The argument for Tony's death: fore shadowing. Bobby talks to Tony on the boat when they were vacationing. What happens to guys like us? They either end up in jail or dead. Bobby asks Tony: will be have any warning before we get whacked? Or does it all just go "black" - which is what happens at the end of the last episode. The cat that the gang adopts - it stares at a picture of christopher - is it christopher's ghost, or adrianna's? Dr. Melfi kicking Tony out of therapy: he is hopeless, pathological. The director of the movie substitutes the mural in Hostens with one that includes a cat! What is he telling us? The guy in the members only jacket - he comes out and shoots Tony just as Tony looks up at Meadow coming in through the door (BTW, there is really no "bell" on the Holsten's door). The assassin has a clear shot because Meadow is not sitting next to Tony - she was delayed because of the parallel parking problem (that is why the parking is included - why else would the director show us Meadow having trouble parking if it doesn't mean something?) The guy probably shoots AJ too. Carmella sits watching her husband and son die from head wounds, Meadow sees her dad and brother killed. Carmella is told by her Jewish psychiatrist and her catholic priest that she should end her marriage, take her kids away from Tony. But she continues because of the money, the spec house, the jewelry Tony gives her - the affluent life style. She has a contract with the devil, with evil, and she pays by losing her husband and her son. Meadow is interning with the local county prosecutor, investigating the HUD scam in Newark, which will eventually lead her to discover what a crook her father was. The movie end tragically - Tony gets whacked at Holsten's - which is in itself ironic, since it is such a sweet, pleasant place, far from the evil of organized crime.

Trabant for sale!

Hard to believe anyone would buy this! The famous east German car. You had to order it years in advance and then wait. This car was as plain and bureaucratic as the east german government. It would also kill you (like the east german government) because the fuel tank was in the front, between the engine and the driver! (Just like the piper cub I used to fly - the fuel tank was between the engine and the pilot).

Tata Car

India is planning to introduce a car for less than $2400 - the Tata. However, costs are rising (rubber) and it may cost more. This happens at a time when even Toyota is trying to figure how to market a new car for less than $3000.

Narcissism and George W. Bush

I have worked with people who have personality disorders, and I diagnose George W. Bush as a narcissistic personality disorder. Here is a recent quote: "I've got God's shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president. I'll shed some tomorrow." He and God are buddies - if so, you'd think God would give him better advice. The thought that he is doing God's will, God's work, that God sympathesizes with him, is absolutely remarkable. If God gives him a shoulder to cry on, you'd think maybe God would speak up a little and give him some advice. I guess people have different ideas of God: there is God the Zeus, who interferes with everyone's lives (God is screwing with me again!); then, there is God-Santa, a god that brings you presents and answers your gift wish list. Then there is God who basically is you - God approves of everything I do, because he guides me in what do do. If God really directs Pres. Bush, then God is a real screw up!

Alpha Romeo

The perfect sports car, 1987 Alpha Romeo Quadrofiglio. Motor Trend mag says this is the best sports car for the money, under $10,000. I drove one once - incredible. This one is a really nice example.

Flight of the Conchords

great series on HBO - a band from New Zealand trying to make it big in NYC, with the help of Murray, a New Zealand consulate official who manages them "part time." They have one "fan" named Mel, and her blog is here.

metal bat ban in NYC

the metal bat ban by the NYC council has been upheld by a NY court. The council passed the ban over Mayor Blumsberg's veto. The reason metal bats are used by non pro teams is because they are lighter and make the ball go farther and faster. There have been serious injuries to pitchers because of this. MLB pitchers know that when pitching to someone with a metal bat the ball comes back much quicker - MLB pitchers think metal bats are dangerous. The judge said although there is a lack of empirical evidence, the will of the council to protect the safety of children cannot be overthrown by a court. There IS empirical evidence - only the bat manufacturers want people to believe that there is not. A lot of money is at stake. Once NYC bans metal bats, other cities and states will. Ari Fleischer (Bush former Press Secretary) is the lobbyist for the metal bat industry - kind of like Nick Nailer is the spokesperson for Big Tobacco in the movie Thank you for smoking

close call

What a movie! About a korean sixteen year old girl who rebels against her mom and her absent dad. She gets caught up in drugs and the whole underworld scene of dealing and addicts. Her dad returns from Korea to rescue her, only to find her mom has told her all sorts of crazy stuff about him. Beautiful Annie Lee stars in the film - what an actor! Amazing performance, very very intense. I enjoyed the ending - for a while thought it would be very tragic. I like films with hopeful endings.

Karl Rove: Dr. Evil

the biography of Karl Rove is truly bizarre. Abandoned by her husband, and Karl's father, his mom remarried and step dad became the real dad. Until he revealed he was gay, when karl was a young man. After his now "step dad" left his mom, he finds out that step dad was not his biological dad. Then his mom kills herself in las vegas. young Karl goes in and out of college, keeping his student deferrment from the draft even though he flunked out dropped out several times. He was finally declared I - A, draftable, but by then Vietnam was over and the draft ended. He ran for President of the College Republicans, campaigning (yes, you campaign for that) for 5 months, living out of his car. the election was a deadlock, delegates were challenged, eventually he appealed to the Republican national Committee and Richard Nixon to decide. He campaigned for Nixon in 1972 - joked about going through garbage cans to get info on opponents. Was questioned by special prosecutor during watergate for dirty tricks. Emerged as campaign director in the 70's - invented push pull surveys during campaign against Ann Richards in Texas - telephone calls surveyed the public, focused on Ann Richards' supporters (filter questions) and asked, "Would you be more supportive or less supportive of Ann Richards if you knew she appointed Lesbians in key positions?" So, if she appoints lesbians, then she must know lesbians, and how would she know them? She is a lesbian herself! Brilliant Karl. In 2000 presidential primary came up with the push pull poll question: "would you be more supportive or less supportive of John McCain if you knew he fathered an illegitimate black child?" Fact: john and cindy mccain adopted an Indian child, who was illegitimate, John is now the father, the child is "black" so I guess you could say (if you were evil) that john maccain is fathering an illegitimate black child. Again, brilliant Karl! he was also behind the swift boating of john kerry, and the outing of Valerie Plame (CIA agent married to Joseph Wilson, the guy who blew the whistle on the phoney radioactive material Saddam was supposedly buying from Africa) and let his buddy scooter libby go to jail for it. He also sued Richard Thornbough after Rove blew the race for Senate in PA to Wofford, and won - he said richard owed him money. Most of his money comes from Bush campaigns - and from working for the tobacco and oil lobbies. He represents the ruthlessness of campaigning - win by smear, win by making phoney issues (god, guns, gays) or win by making the election a moral battle (the elite Kerry against the average texas rancher modest and humble george bush). he is gone from the Bush administration - but not forgotten. he still is involved in politics. At least they didn't give him the going away party they gave Rumsfeld...

You need permission to be reincarnated in Tibet!

In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.

Isn't it incredible to be so fearful of one religious man? I am convinced if Dalai Lama was allowed back to Tibet, and could travel freely in China, Buddhism would sweep across China in a religious revival. That is how spritually empty china is - I wonder to what extent Maoism was more anti western ultra nationalism than real communism.

Mon Meilleur ami

Catherine (Julie Gayet) and François (Daniel Auteuil - who also starred in Apres Vous - see blog below) are partners in a Paris antique business. He has just paid so much at auction for a large Greek vase--itself a symbol of a friend's loyalty--that he's put the firm at risk. Catherine, who accuses François of having no friends, makes him accept a bet. Within ten days he must either come up with a "best friend" or forfeit the vase. François's self esteem now being as much at risk as the firm's finances, he bends to the task.

In the course of telling its story this film glances at some searching questions about friendship. What IS a friend? How many TRUE friends does anyone have? But as a comedy—certainly a very dry one—it ends by being neither revelatory nor funny. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like a comedy, and director Patrice Lecante and his writers may not have quite made up their minds what they were doing in the first place.

Certainly the raw material of comedy is here. All François' bustling efforts to dredge up any real chums, let alone a "best friend," are ludicrous failures. He has a daughter, Louise (Julie Durand), and business associates: no friends there. A high school classmate he thinks was a pal despises him. Everyone says he's an odious fellow, a "con"—an asshole. Along the way François meets a companionable and chatty taxi driver named Bruno (Dany Boon) who takes him around, keeps him company, and gives him tips. Bruno comes up with a "three-S" rule for "friend"-making: be Sociable, Smiling and Sincere. The trouble is that for all his chattiness—he's a wannabe quiz show contestant who compulsively feeds factoids to his fares—Bruno is a misfit with no friends himself. His sociability and smile don't mean he knows how to relate to people: the trivia recitations get in the way of that. As for François, he's clearly a person too wrapped up in himself ever to have connected with others. He goes to a lecture by the author of a self-help book on friendship, but the homely myopic man who befriends him afterward, he quickly abandons.

the great thing about this movie was the theater manager who waited at the door as we left and wished us a good night and farewell in french (Bonne nuit and au revoir). Very funny movie even with the subtitles I could get the humor. One line was about Elvis Presley's last words: "I think I will read on the toilet." Bruno is an expert at facts, he knows many things from quiz shows, but he is always throwing out facts that no one wants to know. So he is on this quiz show and panics and asks the host: do you know what Elvis Presley's last words were? Very funny - unexpected.

Big Lebowski Phonetic Alphabet

Here it is - lots of fun.

Video clip library

Some great video clips from movies, including Deerhunter, Do the Right Thing, and Dr. Strangelove, RealPlayer works best. Click to download, then open.

Here is the Dick Cheney Quagmire

Here is Cheney in 1994 explaining why we did not invade Iraq in the first gulf war. What an idiot...How was 2003 different than 1994? JC Watts was on news last night explaining how 911 changed everything, and that 2003 was different than 1994. So....Iraq was involved with 911? Bush has admitted that Iraq did not attack the us on 911 (he said that in the debates) so why keep parading 911 out when anyone questions why we invaded Iraq?

Farfour, the Hamas mickey mouse

Hamas television network in Gaza broadcast what it said was the last episode of a weekly children's show featuring "Farfour," a Mickey Mouse look-alike who had made worldwide headlines for preaching Islamic domination and armed struggle to youngsters.

In the final skit, (and this is the best part) Farfour was beaten to death by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. At one point, Farfour called the Israeli a "terrorist."

"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.

The weekly show, featuring a giant black-and-white rodent with a high-pitched voice, had attracted worldwide attention because the character urged Palestinian children to fight Israel. It was broadcast on Hamas-affiliated Al-Aksa TV.

There was a recent interview with Sara, the teen presenter, she said she wants to either become a doctor, or a martyr. She says she is prepared to die in order to kill "jewish terrorists."

At the Holocaust museum in DC (some blogs below) part of the exhibition is to expose propaganda, and how Nazi Germany preached hatred to school children. This is no different. I know the people in Gaza are living under brutal conditions, and I know they blame Israel, but teaching children hatred is just not right regardless of the circumstances.

Vikings in Ireland

These guys sailed 1000 mile in an open boat to recreate Vikings invading Ireland.

A reconstructed Viking ship pulled into Dublin on Tuesday nearly 1,000 years after the original sank off Denmark's coast, with its crew retracing the gruelling voyages made by marauding Nordic raiders to Ireland.
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The Sea Stallion's weather-beaten, 65-member team set sail from Roskilde in Denmark on July 1 using oar and sail power, journeying over 1,000 nautical miles and aiming to address unanswered questions about Viking ship-building and travel.

Church bells rang out and a flotilla of sailing boats greeted the ship's entry into Dublin's port on Tuesday.

And the, the Viking seamen leaped on shore, to kill, rapine, and pillage at will....

My obsession with Big Joe and the Phantom 309

Below (two blogs below) are some links to Tom Waits. I was thinking why I am so blown away by his performance on Big Joe and the Phantom 309 - it was an old Red Sovine song, a country western songwriter who specialized in writing "stories" songs. He wrote Teddy Bear, a song about a diabled child's relationship with a trucker over the CB (citizens band radio - you used to need a license to operate one) radio, Little Joe a song about a blind truckdriver and his dog, and If Jesus Came to Your House a song about what you would do if Jesus came to live with you (hide magazines, say grace at every meal...), and the famous Bringing Mary Home So his songs are really hokey, appealing to the classic country western crowd (he even recorded a record of him reciting the Pledge of Allegiance). Anyway, I think its Tom Waits interpretation that makes Big Joe and the Phantom 309 so good - his scratchy voice makes you believe he is down on his luck, hitching a ride home. The song establishes at the beginning that the narrator is down on his luck, trying to make a buck, he failed, and now he is returning home, a failure, hitching rides. But Big Joe doesn't judge the hitch hiker - shakes his hand, throws him a dime for some coffee, "I have to make a turn up ahead..." Big Joe is a decent guy, who would sacrifice his life for you if he had to. No matter how down on your luck you may be, there is always a Big Joe to give you a hand, throw you a dime. And Big Joe isn't rich or famous, he is a truck driver, driving a 10 speed Mack truck (not the cadillac of trucks - the Peterbilts) known for their slow speed (only 10 gears, the Peterbilts and Kenworths have 18 speeds). But I guess its Tom Waits that makes the song come alive.