tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56063232012-01-23T05:42:57.974-08:00low frequency musingsRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comBlogger4081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-16499701516529982132011-02-25T10:06:00.000-08:002011-02-25T10:30:04.346-08:00

In a Lonely Place (streamed here). Bogie’s finest hour. Nick Ray’s most personal film. And the creepiest meet-cute of the studio era? Dixon Steele (Bogart) had just been taken in for questioning. The night before, a coat check girl was seen leaving the bar with the sardonic writer, who had asked her to summarize the plot of a trashy book. That girl’s body was found at dawn. In a pickle, Dixon,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-37095879687436933332011-02-19T12:34:00.000-08:002011-02-19T13:30:12.056-08:00

As you can see, I've tried to remodel the place a bit. Probably will tinker with a bit more as the color scheme is all off. Sorry, Mike and Waz, I lost the comments from the previous post. That Echo commenting system is a bit forbidding, so I ended up activating the plain old blogger system.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-60810604161226094342011-02-18T15:56:00.000-08:002011-02-23T23:50:20.288-08:00

Hi. It’s been a long time. Thought I’d break the ice by doing something fun. And what can be more fun than a top 10 list? Especially a meaningless list like this one. The following is list of older movies I happen to have caught in 2010 for the first time. In other words, it's a meaningless list. But hey, I want to start writing again, and what better motivation than to write about the things you

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-11840419769975764492009-01-23T17:26:00.000-08:002009-01-25T01:18:32.065-08:00

Postgame pundits describe the speech as workmanlike, and that's probably on the mark. President Obama's inaugural address nestles passages of startling power among prosaic, almost progrommatic declarations. As a speech, it was a bit disjointed. But as a call to arms for a new era? Fairly magnificent.I'd like to focus on one point that I haven't seen elsewhere, about Obama's ambitious desire

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-38812743665154438052009-01-23T10:46:00.000-08:002009-01-23T11:00:34.425-08:00

Michelle Cottle has a very perceptive post discussing aggressive careerism in the context of the Caroline Kennedy debacle. Cottle's point is obvious, but some of us with high self-regard need to be reminded that, in order to get where you want to go, especially in this dire climate, proper decorum and "face" are drawbacks, as Cottle notes in discussing Burris vis-a-vis Kennedy:The man was

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-83650410803946160882008-11-01T09:15:00.000-07:002008-11-01T10:11:45.604-07:00

Just trying to sneak this post in before heading out to Las Vegas for canvassing and election monitoring. Predictions:PresidentObama - 53% - 353 EVMcCain - 45% - 185 Swing StatesObama will win: Kerry + IA, NM, CO, VA, NV, OH, FL, NC (roughly in that order of strength)McCain will win: IN, MO, ND, MT, GAThe race has been teetering between 6-8%, and I still expect a small tightening going into

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-68142005174316880752008-10-15T22:59:00.000-07:002008-10-16T00:40:23.159-07:00

It's really funny that right-wingers think that they are the "true" Americans, because they're almost dangerously untethered to the mainstream, by now having created an alternative culture and media that chronicles an alternate reality, one where ACORN is a mortal threat to the fabric of democracy, where Bill Ayers is one of the world's most dangerous men, and where the financial crisis was

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-16085223586984082812008-10-14T19:29:00.000-07:002008-10-15T16:04:02.461-07:00

Everyone's writing the "pre-mortem" of McCain-Palin, and with pretty good reason. It's really hard to see how he comes back. Let's look at the state of the race as of October 14:Polls, Polls, PollsObama's now up by about 8 points in the national polls, and looking even better in the electoral college. Polling guru Nate Silver says that Obama has a 1-2 point advantage in the electoral college,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-71236547405081243992008-09-26T15:52:00.000-07:002008-09-26T17:44:47.049-07:00

If you enjoy watching poker on TV, you'd rather watch a table that features a bigime LAG -- a loose, unpredictable player who will make a play with trash hands -- than a bunch of methodical "math" players. Unpredictable play makes for far better TV. In the same way, I'm grateful for John McCain, an adrenaline fiend whose drama queen antics have made this election perhaps the best reality

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-33017667740761811202008-09-24T09:58:00.000-07:002008-09-24T16:47:31.331-07:00

I've liked Brad Pitt in many things, but I would've guessed that he's far too preening an actor to be effective in this kind of Coens grotesquerie. Pitt's off-key in a few scenes early on, but man, when the plot kicked in, the dude had me in stitches, no more so than when he "menacingly" began to harass Osssboorne Cox. That scene in Malkovich's car -- where Pitt was all squints and nervous

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-70800690362509096752008-09-17T12:36:00.000-07:002008-09-22T10:39:01.954-07:00

The New Republic's Chris Orr, one of the best commentators around, came up with a ranking of the Coens feature films, and thought I'd do the same. Updated with the inclusion of Burn After Reading.01. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)02. The Big Lebowski (1998)03. Miller's Crossing (1990)04. Raising Arizona (1987)05. Burn After Reading (2008)06. No Country for Old Men (2007)07. Barton Fink (

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-54380511596210692712008-09-12T05:17:00.001-07:002008-09-12T06:26:30.674-07:00

Are they even trying to win anymore? Let's check out the Obama ad team's latest handiwork:Are you kidding me? McCain lies about your tax plans, basically calls you a pedophile and envious liar in his ads, and you respond with a snarky ad poking fun of his inability to e-mail? What. The. Fuck. This is the "hard-hitting" new campaign that the Chicago team is promising? If this is the kind

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-20074930579397781642008-09-09T13:19:00.000-07:002008-09-09T18:34:34.331-07:00

Political psychologist Drew Westen, who is as frustrated as I am with the Obama campaign's message operation (and has written a whole book ripping into feeble Democratic political messaging), lists ten things the campaign needs to work on to get it back on track. His post is pretty much dead-on. Sample passage:They were similarly aware of the argument--it was published right here a little over

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-28511843847154208732008-09-05T12:17:00.000-07:002008-09-05T16:25:42.037-07:00

In the Chinese classic The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (part of which was recently adapted into a John Woo-Tony Leung extravaganza), the three warring kingdoms had to deal with a wildcard named Lu Bu, the most formidable warrior in the story. Decked out in pheasant-tailed headdress and perched atop of his powerful steed Red Hare, Lu Bu would take out all comers in battle. He's portrayed as a

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-3546686482949597602008-09-04T00:48:00.000-07:002008-09-04T10:18:16.370-07:00

What was the saying about a little man in need of a balcony? Rudy Giuliani, a sniveling would-be generalissimo, brings to mind that quote. What a wretched little critter.Prior to RNC, this election has been rather painful to sit through, for someone of my sensibilities anyway. Obama is a deft counterpuncher, but he doesn't have a zest for blood and guts, still a source of immense personal

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-7723785622721566032008-09-03T15:23:00.000-07:002008-09-03T15:30:00.465-07:00

Whatever else you can say about McCain's vetting process, you have to figure that Sarah Palin was picked for her personal story and political skills. And surely, all the mini-scandals aside, Palin will knock this speech out of the park, no doubt drawing from the insane energy generated by a bunch of identity-obsessed "movement" wingers. I'll eat my $700 shoes if Palin isn't charming, personable

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-21978359709930404692008-08-29T15:10:00.000-07:002008-08-29T16:13:52.981-07:00

At a townhall, a voter asked Obama what the average American can do personally to conserve energy. In response, Obama suggested that inflating your tires as a way improving gas efficiency. Seizing on this advice, the McCain campaign decided to create and pass out "Obama tire gauge" to reporters. Get it? Me neither. But you can just envision these Maxim-reading little cretins sitting in

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-3625212332205995852008-08-29T12:32:00.000-07:002008-08-29T16:15:49.899-07:00

The most impressive speech of my lifetime was Barack Obama's speech on race relations delivered in Philadelphia. That speech was a virtuoso display of Obama's dialectical, agile mind, his ability to self-examine and empathize with others, to eloquently explain both the root of white resentment and black anger in what was, at heart, a put-out-the-fire political speech.In the four years since he's

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-11187515782786296422008-08-29T08:39:00.000-07:002008-08-29T12:06:27.718-07:00

McCain's VP choice is who? Democratic political obsessives have always feared a female "gamechanging" pick, and Palin always seemed one of the more logical choices. She's a pro-life governor who talks energy policy. But she was a mayor of a small town just two years ago. She doesn't even have much in the way of surrogate experience, unlike a guy like Tim Pawlenty, who at least can be counted

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-79766977429290960102008-08-26T20:58:00.001-07:002008-08-27T00:42:09.549-07:00

Really liked the HRC intro video, liked the speech itself, and her performance reconfirmed that she would have been Obama's best running mate. Hillary's become a very persuasive speaker and performer over the course of the campaign, and would have been a terrific candidate if she were even remotely competent in running a campaign.But the speech, however good the delivery, did not make a very

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-51578818241695262122008-08-26T17:29:00.000-07:002008-08-26T17:56:51.128-07:00

One major mistake by the Obama team is the botched handling of the Clintons. To be sure, Obama's in a tough spot; he can't look weak by appeasing the runner-up, but he needed to pay proper deference. Obama’s campaign believes they did everything they can. Obama was very respectful to her after Super Tuesday and pretty much treated her with kid gloves since the North Carolina/Indiana primaries,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-62641988855431331082008-08-21T13:13:00.000-07:002008-08-21T16:13:37.368-07:00

* This is the kind of attack that sends tingles up my leg. More like this:Barack Obama's campaign, moving rapidly to exploit what they see as a major opportunity, is deploying high-profile surrogates in 16 states across the country today to highlight John McCain's uncertainty yesterday about how many houses he owns, the Democrat's campaign tells Politico.The frame: McCain's a confused,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-59025571487853131462008-08-20T14:32:00.001-07:002008-08-20T20:50:14.932-07:00

1. If you repeat a claim about a candidate's character enough times, a non-trivial number of the electorate will believe it, irrespective of the truth of that claim.2. Fundamentals will often favor the Democrat, but the Dem will somehow run a feckless campaign that squanders this advantage.3. Running a campaign in a way that appeals to editorial page writers and high-minded pundits =

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-89237611595881076782008-08-20T11:56:00.000-07:002008-08-20T14:08:31.982-07:00

If you read a lot of smart bloggers, you'll find of them talking about "reinforcing the brand." In fact, the sharpest commentators during primary season, guys like Al Giordano and Kos, talk incessantly about how Obama's "brand" is change, and so he needs a Veep that reinforces change. [Name of establishment Democrat] undercuts the "theme of change", the argument goes; Tim Kaine or Kathleeen

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-56777055813313610542008-08-06T17:34:00.000-07:002008-08-06T18:26:58.102-07:00

Though this reporter wrote the godawful Cautionary Tale of the Internet Poker Addict story that helped ransack the internet poker boom a few years back, I highly recommend his latest investigation into web-woe in the NY Times Magazine, an opus on internet trolls. This is eye-opening stuff, basically an examination on how large scale networking technology (so useful in bringing people together

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-14312803120375092642008-07-30T10:08:00.000-07:002008-07-30T22:21:14.504-07:00

(Getting some thoughts on the Veepstakes in under the wire as I sense an imminent announcement.)The Running Mate: Does it Matter or Not?Generally, the VP selection has no bearing on the race. Studies show that a running mate may move a few points in a few states, and even winning selections like Lloyd Bentsen can’t really give a big boost to the top of the ticket. The Veepstakes is kind of like

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-70635736131750759152008-07-11T15:49:00.000-07:002008-07-11T19:18:48.093-07:00

You've probably heard of the blog called Stuff White People Like. I looked at it a few times, chuckled a few times, but found the writing fairly painful to endure and promptly forgot about it. Later on, I saw a New Republic piece which nailed the blog as so much vapid self-congratulation:Basically, this joke breaks down as "Congratulate a white person and they will feel smugly good about

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-74061092122526576782008-06-18T15:38:00.000-07:002008-06-18T19:00:29.567-07:00

I'm glad I wasn't the only one totally flummoxed (yet also somehow moved) by Kevin Garnett's unhinged post-game interview with Michele Tafoya. Unabashedly joyous and at the same time nutty and replete with "ghetto-speak", watching KG (my favorite NBA player) just completely losing it was a weird experience. It's hard to know how to feel. Am I embarrassed for him as he's sputtering a bunch of

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-20571634346248494552008-05-30T17:57:00.000-07:002008-05-31T13:58:19.614-07:00

Gotta respect the Spurs. They could've thrown a Cuban-style hissy fit when the refs swallowed their whistle at the end of Game 4, when Derek Fisher clearly jumped into Brent Barry with a few seconds left and the Spurs trailing by two. That might've given Barry two (or even three) foul shots. The no-call cost the Spurs the game. (Even the NBA later acknowledged that Fisher did indeed foul

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-77271094289106569122008-02-04T18:13:00.001-08:002008-02-04T22:37:29.694-08:00

For all of Barack's momentum, what's hurt him the most is "Dream Ticket" meme, which has taken hold after Thursday's convivial debate. Though Obama's gains have been astonishing by any measure, I suspect many undecideds will end up pulling the trigger for Hillary just because Barack hasn't made the most devastating case against her (see the post below for the harsher case), and that they hold

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-14332172503849220792008-01-03T17:59:00.000-08:002008-01-03T18:05:43.802-08:00

[Uh oh. One hour before the caucus I completely forgot I had this post to finish. In Shanghai watching the election returns at the moment, but thought I'd try to complete a post mostly written a month ago. I think it still mostly holds up.]We're headed to uncharted waters. One month before the first primaries open, the Republican presidential race is wide open. Any one of four candidates

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-831755707967283542007-10-03T11:53:00.000-07:002007-10-04T12:49:48.540-07:00

The predictions are not, I hope, based on wishful thinking (at least not largely), but rather on obscure stathead metrics like the Pythagorean and equivalent run record (generally closer to measuring a team's true strength than win-loss), and "secret sauce" rankings (Baseball Prospectus's formula of postseason success based on strength of important pitching and defense metrics). Oh, and some

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-16021194560088812052007-09-28T16:14:00.000-07:002007-09-28T17:28:29.544-07:00

Some folks have asked why I don't blog so much, and my standard response is that I've been watching way too much baseball ever since I've discovered this site.This myp2p site is basically a compendium of streaming p2p software, with a community centered on seeding live streaming of sports. The site is pretty easy to navigate and is self-explanatory, though I encourage a dig through the forums.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-50134144123842706262007-09-07T16:06:00.000-07:002007-09-18T13:44:14.322-07:00

Comments to be fleshed out, hopefully, as I've been bed-ridden for four days following a nasty bug caught on the last day I was at TIFF. Tiff.Day 1The Duchess of Langeais (d. Jacques Rivette): B+This movie tries very hard not to break your heart, but does a little anyway.The Mourning Forest (d. Naomi Kawase): C+While I can always go for Shinto animal spirit mumbo jumbo, this movie is about an

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-16490388836757875172007-09-05T18:08:00.000-07:002007-09-06T22:06:54.071-07:00

My September unexpectedly freed up, and what better way to spend some free time than to catch five movies a day in one of the most attractive cities in North America? All accounts a bumper crop of festival goodies, most of which will be screening at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival. Alas, I won't be seeing too many of them, given (1) a short stay of four-and-a-half days; (2) the perverse

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-74682211136860112982007-05-16T11:15:00.001-07:002007-05-16T23:57:02.752-07:00

The NBA would do well to follow the teachings of (not-Leandro) Barbossa, who wisely pointed out that the Pirate's Code is best viewed as a set of guidelines than hard and fast rules. The evil pirate's had a much smarter approach to legal reasoning than the NBA, which suspended the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw one game each for leaving the bench momentarily, reacting to a cheap shot

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-69761067045033275462007-04-17T12:20:00.000-07:002007-04-19T11:03:44.903-07:00

Awful. And we now get a portrait of a dude who exhibited tell-tale signs of a would-be psycho killer.“He was always really, really quiet and kind of weird, keeping to himself all the time,” he said. “Just of anti-social, didn’t talk to anybody. I tried to make conversation with him in August or so and he would just give one word answers and not try and carry on the conversation.”Then there's

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-61333958048805537222007-04-05T17:34:00.000-07:002007-04-09T13:35:00.601-07:00

In anticipation of a reacquaintance with the exquisite Madame de... tonight at LACMA's Janus series, I googled the movie and unearthed this declaration by Andrew Sarris:When people have asked me to name the greatest film of all time—in my humble opinion, of course—my instant answer has been unvarying for the past 30 years or so: Max Ophüls’ Madame de … (1953).Sarris then names a few of this

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-4279439371385355362007-04-05T15:39:00.000-07:002007-04-06T16:25:12.055-07:00

This handy graph, courtesy of the Economists View blog, finally reveals what Angelenos have long known: this place is a freakin' sausage factory. The Blue bubbles mean areas where men out-number women. Red bubbles indicate areas where women outnumber men. The bigger the bubble, the greater the numerical disparity between genders. One can draw an obvious conclusion from this graph: that

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-61621672724366772862007-03-21T14:21:00.000-07:002007-03-22T17:54:36.565-07:00

Apparently, this ridiculous piece by old friend David Ehrenstein published in the LA Times op-ed page has achieved some notoriety, though not the good kind. Leaving morons like Rush out of it, Ehrenstein's sad imitation of Armond White doesn't begin to stand up to any kind of scrutiny. In a nutshell, Ehrenstein argues that Barack Obama is a real life manifestation of a fantasy movie figure,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-65652389650246918342007-03-16T10:46:00.000-07:002007-03-16T10:58:44.310-07:00

Blog triumphalists. Talking Points Memo did a great job digging into US Attorney purges amid widespread media apathy, but generally blogs, even excellent ones, are little more than opinions on news of the day. News reported by reporters and disseminated by the major media outlets. Both sides love to knock the "MSM", but without the mainstream press -- and the resources it brings to bear --the

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-70879654717932979692007-03-14T10:45:00.000-07:002007-03-14T10:48:00.503-07:00

Another sign that the end is nigh? (Breast-men should avoid clicking on the link; others, please scroll down for the picture.)

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-79362025303524389652007-03-06T15:57:00.000-08:002007-03-06T16:11:12.585-08:00

In another e-mail sent in January, Shipman wrote Oefelein at his NASA e-mail address: "I love you and I am head-over-heals IN love with you." Oefelein responded the next day from his office e-mail: "You must really have me around your finger that I can't even function without you here."Jesus. Oefelein's chances to be the Maxim Man of the Year just went up in smoke.Also:Oefelein told

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-41893472554489437412007-02-27T17:44:00.000-08:002007-02-27T23:51:30.624-08:00

You know that disorienting sense that the world's coming off its axis, that somehow you've been transplanted into a bizarre alternate universe where everything is just a little off? I get that once in awhile, maybe once a year. Usually it comes the day after the Oscars, when I become mystified by the bizarre assessments of the telecast from the nation's most renowned TV critics, wondering if we

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-3937174531860660762007-02-23T17:17:00.000-08:002007-02-23T17:48:41.525-08:00

This is how it's done.This is how not to do it. Stop whining and just plant a fist on this asswipe's kisser. Why is this so hard to understand?Update: just saw Atrios' nearly exact same headline for the same story. No intent to rip him off, but this post was kind of an unconscious homage to Atrios anyway.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-66075359349692967442007-02-23T16:40:00.000-08:002007-02-23T16:59:38.527-08:00

While watching that interminable "movie" that comes on after you finish a stage of Medal of Honor or Final Fantasy IX on PS2, does your mind ever start to wander, perhaps arriving at the thought that maybe Hou Hsiao-hsien's Three Times would kick ass if it were remade as a CGI short? Me neither, but probably because I don't even own a video game console. Luckily for humankind, though, some

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-57532779678566733962007-02-16T17:00:00.000-08:002007-02-16T17:34:15.278-08:00

For the fourteen loyal P&B readers who don't visit Mike D'Angelo's blog, please stop by, won't you? He just finished a countdown of the best movies of the year, at least according to a selected number of movie nerds. While those results may not be of much interest to non-nerds (though I will always maintain that the Skandies is the best and most interesting of all movie surveys/awards), Mike's

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-80862238263806216262007-02-14T15:05:00.000-08:002007-02-14T16:29:50.525-08:00

Arcade Fire's eagerly anticipated follow-up doesn't disappoint. It doesn't contain anything so anthemic that politicians might use as intro music like "Power Out", but I kinda like how they didn't try to up the arena rock ante, instead going forward with strange arrangements -- Hungarian orchestra to a military choir. Impressively ambitious. Unfortunately, shunning their Quebec roots, the band

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-83574968412887360092007-02-13T15:49:00.000-08:002007-02-13T23:30:37.268-08:00

Inland Empire (d. David Lynch): C+* An inversion of Mulholland Dr. If the earlier film was the desperate starlet fantasy of a depressive never-was, this is the nightmare of a Hollywood has-been. Except Inland Empire, like Lost Highway before it (and unlike the more conventional Mulholland Dr.) annihilates narrative logic, collapsing dream and reality, past and future, backstory and story,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-11346591879832589522007-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:002007-02-01T15:09:15.110-08:00

Taking an afternoon stroll, you notice a few Lite-Brite things that look like little Kool-Aid Men scattered about. See video for more:So what do you do? If you're the retarded mayor of Boston, you shut down the city and send in the bomb squad. Afterwards you blame everything on the guerrilla marketing team from the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", calling them terror hoax perpetrators, when the city

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-11162556419081965702007-01-30T15:56:00.000-08:002007-02-01T13:06:44.895-08:00

Miami Vice (d. Michael Mann): C+Every year, there's one or two "visual reverie" type films I'd love to play on a silent loop on a wall-mounted LCD flat-screen. Last year such luminous motion paintings include 2046 and The New World. This year comes The Intruder, Three Times, and Miami Vice. The last one, though, is the only one of these I wouldn't want to watch again with the sound on.Reg'lar

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-4827347135191639812007-01-24T14:44:00.000-08:002007-01-24T15:34:16.782-08:00

If the polls are to be believed, atheists are among the least popular people in the United States. So it's somewhat surprising that two recent atheistic treatises, Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion and Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation, have been so popular, mainstays on Amazon's bestseller list (though maybe the persecution complex is what's driving atheists to pick up these books).

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-14471488452780101162007-01-23T08:17:00.000-08:002007-01-24T14:43:30.585-08:00

Believe it or not, there will soon be some serious movie-blogging on this site. Before that commences, though, just a few thoughts on the Oscar noms this morning. Everyone knew Dreamgirls will walk away with Best Picture, right? Isn't that what all the "experts" predicted?AMPAS not only threw the pundits for a loop, what's shocking is that the "surprises", both moderate and shocking, were

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-75371137964751268102007-01-16T17:33:00.000-08:002007-01-18T13:40:08.798-08:00

Towards the end of this piece detailing Apple's irritating (and shortsighted) "crippleware" practice (rigging iPods to play only songs purchased from iTunes and vice versa), we're offered a vision of the near-future:" Eventually, perhaps in 5 or 10 years, he predicts, all portable players will have wireless broadband capability and will provide direct access, anytime, anywhere, to every song ever

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-75059163361854122682006-12-07T16:56:00.000-08:002006-12-07T17:34:58.576-08:00

No one would make a better Prez than Al Gore. He is wise like Solomon and strong like Samson. At night I dream of living in an Al Gore administration, where my 80-inch super-magnetic-polymer-TV will be powered by a touch of golden Sun, and where Arab children will play hopscotch with Jewish children in peace and harmony. Al Gore was right about Iraq, and he'll be right about Iran too. Al Gore

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-55669743531485138372006-12-07T13:19:00.000-08:002006-12-08T11:14:18.078-08:00

Recently, my Wednesday papers have come bundled with a "special section" called The Envelope. In this special weekly fold-out section, we're treated to a blow-by-blow account of the "Oscar season" as it's now known. Urgent questions are raised: Would the voters penalize Leo for his Costneresque accent? Or will the boy wonder finally get his shot with The Departed? Can you hear that

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-11790213330370270182006-12-04T18:27:00.000-08:002006-12-07T18:16:13.700-08:00

Congrats to the LA satellite campus for pulling off one of the more satisfying upsets of the college football season, using an unpredictable blitzing scheme that knocked the $C quarterback on his booty time and time again. By outwitting a physically superior team, the Powdered Blues bought beleaguered coach Kevin Dorrell more time and put UCLA football back on the radar. Oh, and they knocked

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-76418577969685764212006-11-21T10:01:00.000-08:002006-11-21T10:02:35.500-08:00

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-75931899074912489152006-11-20T22:51:00.000-08:002006-11-21T00:04:50.346-08:00

Are nerds really that easy to seduce? In the spirit of the lonelygirl15 hoax, we've got this superhot 18 year-old porn star who just happens to love Antonioni, Gasper Noe, graphic design, House of Leaves, Bukowski, Carl Jung, Coltrane, Ladytron, Gang of Four and Mos Def. What, no neo-Marxist literary theorists tickle your fancy, Sasha? You wonder where she finds the time for three way anals.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-46193588550930494582006-11-20T11:56:00.000-08:002006-11-20T16:00:57.173-08:00

How 'bout them Democrats! 29 seats and control of the Senate! Exciting stuff, huh?Clippers are looking okay, but Chris Kaman needs to step up. Maybe he's still recovering from last year's vicious scrotum-tug.Ahm. What else? How about a few treats from the Larry King grab bag?Extremely underrated: an additional gig of RAM and high performance all-season tires...You know what's tasty?

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-21158099247166492422006-11-17T19:24:00.000-08:002006-12-07T17:34:15.587-08:00

"Find them, bind them, tie them to a pole and breaktheir fingers to splinters, drag them to a hole until they wake up naked --clawing at the ceiling of their graves"November 18, 2006 may lack the historical import of November 7, 2006, but the battles that will be waged tomorrow will be no less fierce, the combatants no less determined. Just as good stomped evil two Tuesdays ago, tomorrow promises

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-47795129849022759502006-10-13T11:31:00.000-07:002006-10-13T11:40:20.569-07:00

Quit crying, you whiny-ass duckface.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-3337761629331886022006-10-09T09:47:00.000-07:002006-10-10T19:13:37.122-07:00

I've long been fascinated with that period during which a particular culture is on the cusp of extinction, holding on for dear life as the inevitable tide of history is set to wash over it. A culture's death rattle, I call it. That's at the core of my romanticization of Weimar Berlin, which, along with Paris in the Sixties, NYC during the Jazz Age, and Shanghai before the revolution, rests in

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-42442291139799966552006-10-02T22:42:00.000-07:002006-10-03T00:09:09.821-07:00

I usually think the simplest explanation is best, but the following idea is less reliant on Frist being evil incarnate and seems to make a bit more sense. News reports are surfacing that the American-based casino and World of Series of Poker owner Harrah's has been approached with a buy out by a private investment group. On 2+2, there've been suggestions that the buy-out is contingent on the

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-76560305305022985542006-10-02T12:08:00.000-07:002006-10-02T12:16:34.688-07:00

In the vulgar post immediately below, I called the Republican Party "douchebags." I apologize. Douchebags, of course, can be useful, though the perceived benefits are disputed according to Wikipedia. In any case, I won't besmirch the good and fine douchebag users and manufacturers by comparing them to the Republican Party, who are more like genital warts, unhealthy, unsightly blights with no

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-67255928487359881712006-10-02T00:10:00.000-07:002006-10-02T00:22:36.099-07:00

there is another reason to hate the fucking Republican Party, the evil, incompetent, hypocritical douchebags that they are.These fuckers snuck in language banning online gaming into the port security bill. The leading poker site, Party Poker, has just announced that it will not allow US players to play money games. Poker Stars, the second biggest site, is expected to follow suit. For more,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1159475368355886512006-09-28T12:31:00.000-07:002006-09-28T18:20:12.260-07:00

Five years down the line, people will look back on the last two weeks and the passage of the Right of the President to Detain and Torture Whomever He Pleases Act and shudder at what could have been if it had not been repealed two years later. Or we'll look back and take note of the delicious irony that this bill, so ardently championed by the far right, legally justified President Hillary

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1158943436544607722006-09-22T09:43:00.000-07:002006-09-22T09:43:56.696-07:00

Obama on WebbLet's just settle it now. This man will be the first black president one day. Here Obama is introducing the most compelling candidate of this cycle, Jim Webb. The rugged Webb, war hero and novelist, is running against "pond scum" George Allen, a racist, pretend cowboy with the IQ of Dubya's asscheeks. He is that bad. Webb, like my man Wesley Clark, hits that sweet spot of

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1158788208080379642006-09-20T14:22:00.000-07:002006-09-20T16:06:56.306-07:00

I just installed a nifty del.icio.us bookmark javascript which will provide a linkroll of tagged articles posted on the right sidebar. This little upgrade is done in the hopes of (1) curing me of the temptation to post a link to a good article about which I have nothing to say; and (2) making me a tad more motivated and systematic about tagging and archiving interesting articles. Learn how to

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1158196885632120192006-09-15T13:16:00.000-07:002006-09-15T22:56:12.036-07:00

Since I rarely view homemade vids on YouTube, I never got sucked into the lonelygirl15 phenomenon. And from the professionally-edited clips I did see, can't say I'm surprised that it turned out to be a hoax. Actually, let's call this ambiguously mimetic performance art, or maybe something catchier, like "postmodern kabuki," describing the artistic strategies of creators as diverse as Andy

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1158173360143918162006-09-13T11:05:00.000-07:002006-09-14T09:51:52.316-07:00

The title is Synecdoche, New York. The creator? Any nerd with two connecting synapses can figure it out from the title alone. It's Charlie Kaufman's new movie, and reportedly it is one for the ages:If this film gets made in any way that resembles what's on the page — and with the writer himself directing, it will likely gain even more color and potency in the translation — it will be some kind

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1157604979952670492006-09-06T21:17:00.000-07:002006-09-07T12:59:28.586-07:00

Wingers whined about "misrepresentations" and CBS caved? ABC is hyping its $40 million dollar "docudrama" The Path to 9/11, going so far as to air it with no commercial interruptions. It also plans to send the video out to 100,000 educators. So what's wrong? It is described as a right-wing propaganda film, made by wingnuts, screened for wingnuts in advance (but not liberals), and pointedly

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1157159365334764492006-09-01T16:50:00.000-07:002006-09-01T21:26:38.866-07:00

The story of the brief, meteoric rise and fall Lee Siegel, The New Republic's culture blogger, has yet to be written. This will not be that story. This post is something of a requiem, as I now mourn for the blogosphere. For surely we are all poorer when they succeed in silencing such an original voice as Siegel's. For surely few can provoke such memorably vicious takedowns such as this one by

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1157060052830956472006-08-31T14:33:00.000-07:002006-08-31T16:20:52.526-07:00

[Lee Walker: slowly step back from your computer. Gently click on "back" on your browser. Okay. You're safe.]There are basically two types of celebrity suck-up jobs. There's the rote kind you find in Entertainment Weekly, which amounts to a gushing profile accompanied by a few tastefully airbrushed Herb Ritts-styled photos, all scrubbed over by two publicists and an unpaid intern. Then

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1156366113971530762006-08-23T13:42:00.000-07:002006-08-23T13:48:33.986-07:00

This site, which (sorta) tells you how rich you are compared to the rest of the world, can be either uplifting or depressing, depending on your point of view.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1155677162632866072006-08-15T13:21:00.000-07:002006-08-15T15:55:14.290-07:00

Blogging doesn't change the world. Most bloggers can't even change a single mind. The activity yields mostly modest satisfactions: an e-mail or comment giving you props or an exchange that inspires a coherent thought. Even flamewars that lead to barbed insults can be fun, if it so happens that you think you got in the better dig. Then there's the satisfaction of learning that your words have

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1155597001530176452006-08-14T14:12:00.000-07:002006-08-14T17:10:06.470-07:00

What's left to say about Joementum besides concluding that he's a world-class wanker? The blogosphere has about five thousand ways of saying the same thing, and I don't disagree with much of it, but the one useful column comes from Spencer Ackerman today. Taking a break from the increasingly unhinged New Republic, Ackerman takes a considered look at Joe Lieberman's actual record in The American

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1155240217460283162006-08-10T13:00:00.000-07:002006-08-10T13:03:37.470-07:00

Just think what a difference it would make if this dude were in charge instead of the imbeciles we have now. Also, Matthew Yglesias offers the most concise indictment of Bush's anti-terror policies yet.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1154999074893396372006-08-07T16:42:00.000-07:002006-08-07T23:07:56.256-07:00

August 7, 2010. (AP) Jerusalem. Israel fired three nuclear missles into Damascus early this morning, killing an estimated 4.5 million inhabitants of Syria's capital city. This attack follows a series of warnings issued by Israel to Syria demanding the return of an Israeli Defense Force guarddog, affectionately known Baruch, which had been abducted two weeks ago in the Golan Heights by a

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1154139475577309722006-07-28T18:29:00.000-07:002006-07-29T14:52:58.953-07:00

Trailers for three of the four most anticipated English-language movies of the year are up. Check it out.1. The Black Dahlia. Brian De Palma in the middle of a third renaissance, and even though he's not exactly the auteur you turn to for a "true crime" story, the infamous Black Dahlia slaying may just pack all of De Palma's obsessions -- voyeurism, lust, whodunnit, and well, obssessiveness -

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1152923274463744112006-07-14T17:27:00.000-07:002006-07-14T17:35:37.396-07:00

Incinerate - Sonic Youth (d. Claire Denis)Context: Excited by the announcement that French auteur Claire Denis has lent her visual genius to Sonic Youth, I began trolling YouTube every couple of weeks, finally locating the video today.Thought: In L'Intrus, Trouble Every Day, and Friday Night, Denis's camera transforms the human body into something like an alien landscape, the contours of human

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1152917801768132862006-07-14T15:47:00.000-07:002006-07-14T15:56:41.826-07:00

Hilarious, especially the graphic representation of Ted Stevens' brain around the 4:30 mark. And in case you're wondering why his name sounds familiar, this is the same Senator Stevens who famously threw whiny-ass titty fit over the Senate plans to kill his "Bridge to Nowhere" pork project. Now this moron wants to create a two-tiered internet and effectively ban internet poker.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1152830907742689162006-07-13T15:31:00.000-07:002006-07-13T17:08:01.246-07:00

Hey, why have a blog if you can't brag on it from time to time, right? Today in Slate, Jack Shafer explores the incredible phenomenon of the NY Times' "What Shamu Taught Me About Marriage" article, which has topped the web site's most e-mailed list dating back to at least the Carter administration. The Times piece itself I found unremarkable and obvious, and like Shafer I long held a theory

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1152753814574004282006-07-12T17:30:00.000-07:002006-07-13T16:20:53.163-07:00

You might think the greatest threat facing our great civilization is the Islamist/jihadi/Islamofascist menace. If so, maybe our top priority should be to guard against terrorist attacks, especially if they attack our treasured petting zoos in Indiana. Or, if you caught Al Gore's movie (or better yet, read Elizabeth Kolbert's Notes from a Castastrophe), you might be rightfully terrified by the

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1151531732989226642006-06-28T13:33:00.000-07:002006-06-28T21:49:26.113-07:00

One of the greatest, and most unheralded web inventions is the gamecast/gameday. Live play-by-play of baseball games, coupled with following witty, rambunctious internet message board game-threads, made you feel like you're watching a game at a bar with your buddies, even as you're simultaneously trying to churn out an outline in your dorm room.In my late twenties, spent in Berkeley and Ann

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1149779830721585932006-06-08T01:08:00.000-07:002006-06-08T08:27:15.340-07:00

Depending on who you ask and when you ask it, Abu Musab Zarqawi is either the cunning and fearsome leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, or a hapless poseur. Others, including the this lengthy Atlantic profile, say the Zarqawi we know is mostly myth. And we should be rightly skeptical of information provided by the Pentagon on anything.But whatever the case, it's great news that Zarqawi has been killed.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1149115632667380242006-06-01T15:45:00.000-07:002006-06-01T18:21:02.586-07:00

It's almost that time. If you're thinking about a birthday gift for your faithful blogger and don't know what to get, may I humbly suggest this little item?It's a little pricey and won't be released until after my b-day, but I won't mind if you don't mind. Also, Douglas Sirk. Thanks.* Nerve's recently launched movie news blog Screengrab is edited by cinebud Bilge Ebiri. In format, this blog

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1149056083411893352006-05-31T14:00:00.000-07:002006-05-31T16:56:25.103-07:00

Three days ago, Shohei Imamura was one the world's ten greatest living directors. That list will need revising, as Imamura has died at the age of 79. Imamura, whose credits include the masterpiece The Ballad of Narayama and an obscurity called Pigs and Battleships, was a true maverick. As far as I know, he's the first major post-humanist to emerge in Japan, getting his feet wet just before

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1146641187524222852006-05-21T23:56:00.000-07:002006-05-24T07:57:11.236-07:00

"What. The. Fuck. Did. I. Get. Myself. Into." Those were my precise thoughts on 2:35 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, as I stood at the entrance of the Coachella Valley Music Festival. I had just walked 40 minutes in the scorching desert heat, caked in grime and sweat, only to now find myself swallowed into the amorphous mass of Gummo-refugees clamoring to get in. When I arrived,

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1145664362095258892006-04-21T13:16:00.000-07:002006-04-24T02:32:28.680-07:00

* "Pedro Martinez credits success to lucky midgets, sun god, magic beads". So says the Onion. It wouldn't be so funny if it weren't so close to the truth.* Clemens in a Sox uniform by June? The Rocket is reportedly leaning towards finishing his career with the team that drafted him. Which. Will. Be. So. Awesome. (If it happens.)* Go Clips!* Kobe for MVP, Sports Guy argues. He makes a

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1145008314430071222006-04-13T23:44:00.000-07:002006-04-14T15:41:58.933-07:00

* Sorry I've been away. You may sling rocks and arrows or hurl decomposed tomatoes at me for being a derilect blogger. You may not, however, call me a hipster. Thanks.* To commemorate the grand opening of my cousin's boutique Grey One in Old Town Pasadena, I'm thinking of dropping a few bucks I recently picked up playing poker on some new kicks. This special ed. Adidas, designed by famed

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1142456832544962632006-03-15T11:52:00.000-08:002006-03-15T13:20:13.116-08:00

(a) The bassist for the post-emoelectropunk band The Monterey Park Penis Debacle (not yet formed but already a Pitchfork buzz band!).(b) A salesman of portable butane stoves who is accused of abducting a missing white woman at a Caribbean resort.(c) Some ass who used to shoot spitwads at you in geometry class and now works at Leo's Auto Parts.(d) One of the two best college basketball

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1141771906658483252006-03-07T14:36:00.000-08:002006-03-07T17:43:35.196-08:00

the term for a sure thing is not shoe-in. It is shoo-in. As in, "gee, I thought Barry Bonds would be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame." (Not.) Please note for future use. Thanks.And because it deserves a link: Slate takes on one of the great underdiscussed nuisances of 21st century living, the auto-flush toilet.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1141689697087293512006-03-06T15:55:00.000-08:002006-03-06T23:07:02.100-08:00

Hey guys. Have you seen this Myspace movie? It's really, really funny. Check it out.No, I jest.The Myspace movie is total crap -- ineptly directed, written and acted, and with one decent joke for its running time (the opening picture-taking). An attempt to lampoon the habits of Myspace users, the movie passes off the kind of trite observations you trade while waiting in line at an amusement

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1141626435662963172006-03-05T22:22:00.000-08:002006-03-07T03:48:31.746-08:00

fuck just happened?Did the stupid middlebrow no-taste simpleminded-liberal insular no-taste dumbass undiscriminating motherfucking moronic sheep just annointed fucking Crash best picture?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!!?!?!!?!!?!!?!?!?[18 hours later...]Alright, I've calmed down. Here's the thing. I've never even seen Crash, a movie I've tried to stay as far away from as a sneezing chicken.

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1141350126416141242006-03-02T14:10:00.000-08:002006-03-03T00:47:58.146-08:00

Invading Iraq was an idiotic idea. It was idiotic in 2001, idiotic in 2003, and idiotic today. It was idiotic in 2001 because Saddam wasn't a huge threat and rebuilding Iraq would require resources better used elsewhere. It was idiotic in 2003 for the same reasons, and because we had a clear enemy who attacked us. And it remains idiotic in retrospect.A good decision-maker first looks honestly

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1140572188901711572006-02-21T17:03:00.000-08:002006-03-01T17:59:55.700-08:00

After skipping last year's event, I'll be making my third trip in four years to the Coachella Valley Music Festival. A couple of years ago, we had the Pixies reunion. This year...Tool?!? Suffice it to say the lineup hasn't quite blown me away. Only Massive Attack's belated addition can be described as exciting. Come on, Depeche Mode? As for the rest of the lineup, here's how I'd

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1140040915882879632006-02-15T12:54:00.000-08:002006-02-16T17:51:10.456-08:00

10. Darth Cheney shoots a dude in the face, waits 15 hours before going to the Sheriff, another 3 hours before the press learns of the incident from the ranch owner. Cheney then continues to cowardly stonewall the press, per standard operating procedure.09. Bush's budget is all smoke & mirrors. Like a spendthrift teenager transferring between credit card accounts to hide his reckless

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1139013429500239242006-02-03T16:36:00.000-08:002006-02-08T18:18:04.653-08:00

Because someone out there must care about this stuff.(Note: This post is reality-based, meaning you won't see me whining about how the Oscars fucked over Michael Haneke or Mathieu Amalric or Memories of Murder. Well, okay, maybe just a bit about Haneke.)Snubbery.1. King Kong -- Peter Jackson for Best Director/Naomi Watts for Best Actress/Best Picture.Look, I understand. This little gnome went

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606323.post-1138763740445664792006-01-31T15:00:00.000-08:002006-02-02T14:56:25.030-08:00

Given all the bloggable items and events out there, a post defending Brokeback Mountain might strike you as being about as necessary someone pronouncing Lebron James to be a good basketball player. But even if a second-round of backlash after the morning's Oscar nomination annoucement doesn't materialize, but I think certain aspects of Brokeback remain underappreciated (especially the story/

Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078377790942736019noreply@blogger.com