RandomCha

 Let’s see …

Barring last minute surprises, the Democratic nominee this autumn will either be an African-American or a woman.

It’s great to be a Democrat!

SISKEL FILM CENTER CANCELS OBAMA DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGS 

This is probably old news to a lot of you, but yesterday I finally figured out how to import my old Outlook Express email into gmail. Now I can ditch my old computer! And it’s very exciting to have all my email online and searchable. My oldest message is dated 2/28/00. All messages previous to that were written on an ancient hotmail account of mine and, well, deleted forever when the account was retired due to my negligence. Ah well. That’s technological obsolence for ya.   

Goodbye to All That

This essay is so much more eloquent than I’ve been about why I’m rooting for Obama. Give it a long, careful read.

What I’ve been trying to explain to people is that, regardless of what you actually think of Obama, or the fine points of his character, what he actually represents is change. A vote for Obama is a vote for change. A vote for Huckabee? For any of the GOP candidates? A vote for same. It seems like a large cross-section of people are finally beginning to notice that.

Now, having said that, I would fully endorse Edwards. I believe he’d make a fine president. But I’m pulling for Obama. My top three reasons.

1. He has a genuine sense of humor. He can actually be witty, and funny. I trust that. I don’t trust a politician who doesn’t have a sense of humor. A sense of humor indicates flexibility, a certain kind of observational skill, an openess. All qualities the president ought to have.

2. He’s a damn good writer. I trust that. A poetry teacher in college once told our class that in order to be a good writer you need two things: curiosity and energy. Both are qualities the president ought to have.

3. He’s new to Washington. I trust a person’s insight and character more than I trust their experience. Orson Welles was only 24 years old when he made Citizen Kane.

O my gosh! Might Obama actually win in Iowa? Fingers crossed.

Writers vs. Producers

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [2007]

1. The light refracting through the petals of the roses; the blurry streaks of the black & white cartoon on the TV in the hospital room.
2. Crumbled glaciers rebuilding themselves out of the ocean.
3. His eyelid being sewn shut. He’s fully aware of what’s going on, sees everything, yet can’t feel anything. 

This movie truly was beautiful and disturbing. It’s so visceral that large stretches of the movie are physically uncomfortable to watch; it’s that powerful. Yet the feeling I had when I walked out of the theater was a kind of exhilaration. This absolutely ought to be seen on the big screen, in a theater with lots of people. It’s communal that way.

Holiday [1938] 

1. Lew Ayres isn’t quite as hubba-hubba handsome as he was as All Quiet on the Western Front. But nevertheless …
2. Edward Everett Horton drinking champagne out of some sort of trophy.
3. We can actually see Kate’s neck throughout the movie! Later on she almostnever allowed it to be seen onscreen.