Beltmann

Really underrated. It was long, but never slow, and I was completely engrossed in its vision of celebrity culture. A masterpiece, I think.

I dunno. I might change that to: His talent for acting exceeds his talent for picking scripts. (I do think he has a fairly limited range... but within that range he is really something.)

Watched two horror films yesterday: 30 Days of Night and Severance. One was horrible, one was not horrible.

Same here. Although I always drive for 2 minutes instead.

Pen management is one of Ned Yost's greatest failings as an in-game manager... last year his pen decisions had me seeing red. Gagne has not been good for the Brewers--three blown saves already!--but he hasn't been terrible, either. In 9 appearances, only two have been atrocious (opening day and today), and he actually looked very strong in the other blown save; it was just a single bad pitch that cost him.

Damn you, Gagne, damn you.

Wasn't there a similar case a few years back, involving parts of a fetus being used on a canvas? At the time, I remember getting into an argument with my brother-in-law. He insisted that it couldn't possibly be described as art; I argued that it clearly was an artistic expression, but one that was, in my view, morally revolting and therefore very bad and indefensible art. He couldn't wrap his mind around the distinction. I'm equally disgusted by this new case.

I like the Beach Boys and love Pet Sounds, but I'm with you on Smile. I can't stand it. "Cheesy" is being too complimentary. I'll also second the thought that Electro-Shock Blues by the Eels is a masterpiece. Deerhoof is unlistenable.

Daniel Johnston's entire celebrity is the result a lot of people convincing themselves that he's a brilliant artist because wouldn't it be cool if this dysfunctional guy were a genius?

You just called a whole segment of Americans ridiculous, you condescending elitist. The thing with the lapel pin is that Obama didn't say he would never wear one; he only stopped when wearing one started to feel like an empty gesture (as opposed to, you know, actually living like a patriot). In this instance, he wore it because the gift from the veteran meant something more to Obama than just empty patriotism. If Republicans call that inconsistent, it would say nothing about Obama, but volumes about their own inability to recognize distinctions.

I read Kristol's piece earlier this afternoon and thought it was (as usual) poor punditry--he makes an astonishing number of specious assumptions in his attempt to extract as much poison as he can out of a few sentences spoken by Obama. Frankly, Kristol's ascriptions and conclusions strike me as a form of wide-eyed hysteria. Earlier I also read this piece by a reporter who was in the room in San Francisco: EDIT: Sorry about that long quote. Didn't realize it was quite so long.

Norton is great in it, but the movie always seemed a little too schematic and even a little cartoonish. It has a positive message, but it's expressed with no more depth or nuance than, say, Remember the Titans. It's the kind of film teens ought to see, I suppose. That teeth-on-the-curb scene... that was one of the few times I literally squirmed in the theater. It was all due to the sound editing, too.

I understand that's what you, and others, have taken from his SF statement, but that's not what I took from them. When I originally read them, my first reaction was, "What's the big deal here? He's showing concern about people on hard times. Hell, he's describing my own parents." His later clarifications reinforced my interpretation, and his 2004 statements now fortify it. The consistent pattern, I think, throughout Obama's books and his campaign, is a lack of condescension, which makes it even more difficult for me to project a kind of elitism onto a few slightly misphrased sentences in

Andrew Sullivan found a clip of Obama on Charlie Rose in 2004, basically expressing similar-sounding thoughts. Here's a portion: "They're not optimistic... What they do know is, is they can go out with their friends and hunt, and feel a sense of camaraderie and there's a connection between hunting and them going out with their father to hunt, just as there's a connection maybe for their wives to go into church, and go in with their grandmother to church. And if we don't have plausible answers on the economic front, and we appear to be condescending towards those traditions that are giving

Fox News on You Tube: PA Voter, a McCain Supporter, Says Obama Was Right On I know it's just one voice, but it makes me wonder why pundits--both professional and armchair--haven't considered the possibility that Obama's comments might actually appeal to many small town voters?

I popped in here just to mention that... beat me to it!

Unfortunately, that's true. She's skilled at twisting things into BS. Here's what she said yesterday: "I disagree with Sen. Obama's assertion that people in our country cling to guns and have certain attitudes about trade and immigration simply out of frustration.... You know, some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It's part of culture. It's part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it's an important part of who they are. Not because they are bitter." Thing is, Obama did not imply that people turn to religion or gun, trade, and im

The Cow / Dariush Mehrjui / Iran / 1969 A story of mental illness in a village marked by poverty and tribalism, shot in a B&W style that feels like neo-realism injected with rapid editing and lunatic psychology--it's about a man who loses his cow, and then, in a state of despair, takes its place himself.

Okay, it's not brilliant, but I thought it was a fun read: Elitist My Ass

This is what Obama said today: "So I said well you know when you're bitter you turn to what you can count on. So people they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith and their family and their community... And now I didn't say it as well as I should have because you know the truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation those are important. That's what sustains us... But what is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they are being listened to. And so they pray and they count on each other and they count on their families. You know this

Tagging Santana for 3 HR was quite satisfying... and Ben Sheets looked dominant again, even though he didn't quite have his best stuff today.

As a Midwesterner who lives in a small, rural town, I thought Obama's comments were right on, and yesterday's and today's elaborations were insightful. (Acknowledging community "malaise" might not win elections, but it's still honest leadership.) This feigned "outrage" is yet another case of opponents willfully ignoring Obama's obvious intended meaning--here, empathy for working-class frustrations--in order to twist the words to gain empty political points. That's politics as usual, I know, but here the hypocrisy is stunning. Consider John McCain's similar argument from last December: "I

The Hunting Party isn't great, but it's fun.