For those who feel removed enough from the election for a semi-political film, HERE is an interesting one. It’s not as political as the TRAILER might suggest. And it’s got some truly spectacular acting. Almost shockingly subtle. (Yeah, yeah, I know that sounds really weird. But it’s true, too. Strange.)
I’m heading back to the old stomping grounds for Thanksgiving. Very much looking forward to seeing the family again, especially my mom. I just realized a couple days ago that this is the longest time I’ve ever gone without seeing her. By a long stretch.
So, time to hit the long, long road. With my snow tires. Despite the fact that 90% of my drive will be through desert places like Nevada, Utah, and SoCal. Joy.
(Oh, and 3,974 WLIIA points to anyone who gets the image reference.)
I’m far from sold on Alan Moore, either. See above. (Remove “two-dimensional,” because that’s not quite fair. And add in a lot more “unappealing.”)
THIS is a great interview, though.
I must also thank you for sending your letter not to me but to all the major newspapers in the New York area and across the internet. I understand it was your way of clearing up this matter and for that I am grateful. I am particularly appreciative of your sending a copy of my voter registration card with my home address and driver’s license number to all the newspapers and, by extension, to millions across the internet. What celebrity dilettante wouldn’t want his private information made public? What kind of snob gets angry that his family’s safety might be compromised? It comes with the territory, right? I was thinking of returning that favor by publishing your home address in this letter but then I thought that maybe one of the thousands of New Yorkers that were taken off the voter rolls in the last two months might not understand what a patriotic upstanding man you are and might show up at your doorstep with the misguided assumption that you are a petty vindictive corrupt scumbag.
The “home address and driver’s license number” complaint seems pretty legit, actually. As does the “if you’d voted in the primaries, you’d have known all this by now” claim from Soumas.
I am very interested in THIS:
“Slumdog Millionaire” is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions.
Intrigued by Jamal’s story, the jaded Police Inspector begins to wonder what a young man with no apparent desire for riches is really doing on this game show?
When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out…
I’m less interested (but more amused) by THIS:
The knuckleball — the fluttering, hard-to-hit pitch that’s rare in the major leagues — is propelling a 16-year-old girl to the pros in Japan.
Eri Yoshida was inspired to learn how to throw the knuckler after seeing a video of Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. On Monday, she broke the gender barrier by being drafted for an independent league team as Japan’s first female professional baseball player.
“Hope I can see her pitch one day,” Wakefield said in a message he texted to the Red Sox that was relayed to The Associated Press. “I’m honored that someone wants to become me. I wish her the best of luck. Maybe I can learn something from her.”
I’m confused as to what exactly this paragaph MEANS:
“I think the best way for me to sum it up is, in retrospect, obviously I was wrong,” Grant said by phone. “My colleagues all, and people I respect an awful lot, thought Dustin deserved to be in the top 5. I had him on my ballot in some scenarios as high as No. 1 late into September. When I looked at the numbers that to me mattered most, OPS and batting average with runners in scoring position, he just didn’t stack up with Youkilis at all. He was a laggard behind the others who had great years in the American League. Is it an error of omission that he’s left off my ballot entirely? You could say that.”
“I was wrong because he won?” What kind of defense is that? If you thought he didn’t belong, stand up for it! Sheesh.
And THIS just leaves me speechless. Thanks, Meg.
Oh, wait. Windows already rules the world? That’s unfortunate. (HT: BSP)
First, how would you interpret that ballot? Probably not the way Franken wants to INTERPRET it. The more interesting part of that post is the “that’s the only challenge in the special envelope in Plymouth so far” bit, though.
Yet another FASCINATING Cabinet rumor floating around, and yet another that doesn’t make too much sense to me, at least from Napolitano’s side of things. (Geraghty gets at yet another silver LINING.)
And this Victor Davis Hanson PIECE addresses a point that needs to get a lot more attention, methinks.
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has lost his bid for a seventh term.
The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,724 votes after Tuesday’s count.
That’s an insurmountable lead with only about 2,500 overseas ballots left to be counted.
Stevens, who turned 85 Tuesday, also revealed that he will not ask President George W. Bush to give him a pardon for his seven felony convictions.
A quick thought. The man is 85 years old, and has been one of the hundred most powerful men in the country for 40 years. Does the fact that he has been convicted of lying to conceal more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil field services company come as a surprise to anyone? Lord Acton’s adage is probably as true of American Senators as it is of anyone.
I’m thinking kind thoughts about term limits at the moment.
Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.
Obama’s advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton’s foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem.
Clinton would be well placed to become the country’s dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New York, she has specialised in foreign affairs and defence. Although she supported the war in Iraq, she and Obama basically agree on a withdrawal of American troops.
Clinton, who still harbours hopes of a future presidential run, had to weigh up whether she would be better placed by staying in the Senate, which offers a platform for life, or making the more uncertain career move to the secretary of state job.
It’s hard for me not to see this as a demotion for Hillary, which leaves me uneasily wondering what she’s thinking. Seems like a masterstroke of sorts for Obama, though. Hard to imagine her running against him in four years after serving as his Secretary of State. Maybe it’s just a head-fake, because I just can’t see Hillary thinking this enhances her political future one bit.
Michael Brendan Dougherty is not IMPRESSED.
Kurtz is CONCERNED about the MSM’s Obama infatiation. (Gee, thanks, Howard. Timely, as always.)
And THIS wins today’s “Most Amusing Headline” award. Will they? Will they? The suspense in nearly unbearable!
…of course they will. How could they not?
The David Ecksteins, Charlie Hustles, and Craig Biggios of the world can rejoice, because one of their OWN finally won himself an MVP award. (More on SWPers HERE, though slightly less “legitimate,” and slightly less refined.)
Rob Neyer is not CONVINCED, as I would have expected. (Joe Mauer’s numbers are pretty insane. And he’s an outstanding defensive catcher to boot. Wow.)
“It was a beautiful book, and then I went to meet with the executives and they said, ‘Could you give Toad a skateboard and make him say, ‘radical dude’ things,’ and that’s when I said, ‘It’s been a pleasure…’”
To be fair, there are probably plenty of folks who might be utterly confused if I said that Unbreakable changed the way I saw movies. So maybe I should cut him some slack.
But Road Warrior?
