Bernie–a very nice watch

We are having a wonderful time at our Tahoe/Donner place, having arrived on Wednesday morning and skiing Thursday and Friday.  Today we are just goofing off, but I did manage to go snowshoeing with my dog.  Great exercise, and terrific scenery.  I forgot to bring my camera so I don’t have any pictures for you – next time.

A couple of nights ago I watched “Bernie” via Netflix streaming video.  I really enjoyed it.  You can read about it here, but I want to focus on two things:

First, Jack Black is simply wonderful in this movie.  You probably have admitted yourself that he is a talented fellow, but if you watch this film you will see that he is even more talented than you thought.  The many songs he sings reveal a lovely voice (always right on pitch), and his acting is rife with subtle strokes of genius.  He did get a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

Second, the story takes place in a small Texas town of 7,000 folk who all seem to belong to the local evangelical church.  My grandfather was a preacher in various small Idaho towns, my mother was a child evangelist, and one of my aunts was dean of a Christian college.  Therefore, many of the songs Jack performs are songs of my childhood and I remembered all the tunes and lyrics immediately.  I can assure you that those scenes are very authentic, and worth enjoying even if you are a confirmed “back-slider” such as I. 

I highly recommend this movie.

20th anniversary on the horizon

Hi all:

Sorry I have not been able to blog lately, but my computer went down and I’m just getting it back today. 

My news is that Eileen and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this Wednesday, the 16th.  Man, I can’t believe it.  It’s been a great ride so far and I’m hoping for more to come.  Instead of something elaborate,we are just going to head up to our Tahoe place tomorrow night and ski Squaw Valley on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Our “silver” season passes have us blacked out on Saturday and Sunday (MLK holiday) so we cannot ski on those days.  Snow shoeing with my dog will be the on tap for those days.  We’ll be coming home on Sunday afternoon.

Oh, and “Go Forty Niners!’

Debt ceiling–Pelosi sides with me…

Recall my post of December 14th, wherein I discussed the President invoking certain 14th Amendment provisions to bypass Congress and hike the debt ceiling.  Hence, I was disappointed today to read  this article.  I applaud  Nancy Pelosi for saying that she would invoke the 14th Amendment “in a second.” But, the article also makes it clear that the White House has rejected that path outright.  Why?  Even it that is their ultimate position, why not keep it in play as an arguably legal and legitimate way to bypass the craven nihilists in the Congress.  Lest you have any doubt about whether they are craven nihilists, read this article.  I’m hoping that if push comes to shove Obama will change his mind and invoke the 14th Amendment.  What say you?

Charles Durning–Are you kidding me!!

Then came World War II, and he enlisted in the Army. His combat experiences were harrowing. He was in the first wave of troops to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day and his unit's lone survivor of a machine-gun ambush. In Belgium he was stabbed in hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier, whom he bludgeoned to death with a rock. Fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, he and the rest of his company were captured and forced to march through a pine forest at Malmedy, the scene of an infamous massacre in which the Germans opened fire on almost 90 prisoners. Mr. Durning was among the few to escape. By the war's end he had been awarded a Silver Star for valor and three Purple Hearts, having suffered gunshot and shrapnel wounds as well. He spent months in hospitals and was treated for psychological trauma...

Mr. Durning was also remembered for his combat service, which he avoided discussing publicly until later in life. He spoke at memorial ceremonies in Washington, and in 2008 France awarded him the National Order of the Legion of Honor. In the Parade interview, he recalled the hand-to-hand combat. "I was crossing a field somewhere in Belgium," he said. "A German soldier ran toward me carrying a bayonet. He couldn't have been more than 14 or 15. I didn't see a soldier. I saw a boy. Even though he was coming at me, I couldn't shoot." They grappled, he recounted later - he was stabbed seven or eight times - until finally he grasped a rock and made it a weapon. After killing the youth, he said, he held him in his arms and wept. Mr. Durning said the memories never left him, even when performing, even when he became, however briefly, someone else. "There are many secrets in us, in the depths of our souls, that we don't want anyone to know about," he told Parade. "There's terror and repulsion in us, the terrible spot that we don't talk about. That place that no one knows about - horrifying things we keep secret. A lot of that is released through acting."

Well, Dick Cheney did shoot a guy.

Frank on Scalia

“I was glad that he [Scalia] made clear what’s been obvious, that he’s just a flat out bigot,” Frank said. “I’d previously said he was a homophobe. And Fox and the rightwing said, ‘Oh just because he’s not for same-sex marriage? And I said, ‘No, let me be very clear. That’s not it. This is a man who has said you should go to prison for having sex.’ It was an extraordinarily abusive sentiment and it was dead wrong. And, by the way, for a guy who is supposed to be so smart -- quite stupid.This young man said to him, ‘Why do you compare sodomy to murder?’ And he said, ‘Well because I have a right to say if I think something is immoral.’ Well the question wasn’t about his right. The question was, By what morality is expressing your love for someone in a physical way equivalent to killing that person? It makes it clear that the man is an unreconstructed bigot, and given that you have a bigot on the Supreme Court like that, it is useful to know.”

Krugman, the pragmatist

I know that a lot of progressives are expressing anger and disappointment over the bargaining concessions that the President is alleged to be making.  Strangely enough, Paul Krugman, (one of the most esteemed  progressives) shows a very pragmatic streak in his 12/17 column.  Read it here.

Willie Nelson minus 100,000 joints

You just have to see this.

Many thanks to my good friend Peter for pulling my coat to it.