Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
"Happy 98th" update
A few facts about Jimmy Stewart
-He was of Scottish and Scots-Irish heritage.
-Graduated from Princeton University.
-First movie star to enter the service for WWII, joining a year before Pearl Harbor. He earned the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Croix de Guerre and 7 battle stars. He retired as a brigadier general- the highest military rank of any actor in history.
-Won an Academy Award as Best Actor.
-Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
-Recipient of Kennedy Center Honors.
-He was awarded lifetime achievement awards from the Academy Awards, American Film Institute, the Golden Globes, National Board of Review, and the Screen Actors Guild.
-Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award.
-Named Best Classic Actor of the 20th Century by Entertainment Weekly.
-Voted the 3rd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
-Voted the 9th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
-Voted the 3rd Greatest Screen Legend Actor list by the American Film Institute
-His performance as George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) is ranked #8 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.
-Over 3,000 people attended his funeral to pay their respects.
-He was of Scottish and Scots-Irish heritage.
-Graduated from Princeton University.
-First movie star to enter the service for WWII, joining a year before Pearl Harbor. He earned the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Croix de Guerre and 7 battle stars. He retired as a brigadier general- the highest military rank of any actor in history.
-Won an Academy Award as Best Actor.
-Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
-Recipient of Kennedy Center Honors.
-He was awarded lifetime achievement awards from the Academy Awards, American Film Institute, the Golden Globes, National Board of Review, and the Screen Actors Guild.
-Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award.
-Named Best Classic Actor of the 20th Century by Entertainment Weekly.
-Voted the 3rd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
-Voted the 9th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
-Voted the 3rd Greatest Screen Legend Actor list by the American Film Institute
-His performance as George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) is ranked #8 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.
-Over 3,000 people attended his funeral to pay their respects.
Happy 98th!
Today is the birthday of actor, war hero, and quintessential American James Maitland Stewart.
He made more great movies than I have time or space to name, chose to served his country in combat at the peak of his fame, and lived life in a dignified manner that many of us would do well to emulate.
My guess is that somewhere, he's having a little birthday cake with Ted Williams and John Wayne.
He made more great movies than I have time or space to name, chose to served his country in combat at the peak of his fame, and lived life in a dignified manner that many of us would do well to emulate.
My guess is that somewhere, he's having a little birthday cake with Ted Williams and John Wayne.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Something to think about...
...through 39 games no team has fewer errors than the Red Sox (12).
...and they'r just starting to hit.
...the pitching has only been "okay".
...yet they are still in first place.
...and they'r just starting to hit.
...the pitching has only been "okay".
...yet they are still in first place.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
No, really, I'm perfectly normal...
Is it okay that I've eaten the same thing for my last four meals (and enjoyed it) because it required almost no time to make?
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Stop.
While I am a political liberal who believes in human rights, due process, etc. I am tired of, and appalled by, the frequent comparisons of the abuses currently being committed as part of the "war on terror," and the Holocaust of Nazi Germany.
Yes, many of the Bush administration's policies and tactics (wire-tapping, show trials, holding people in prison for years without charges, etc.) are despicable and should be ended immediately, they do not and will not rise to the level of the Holocaust.
Why won't this happen? It won't happen because we still have elections (flawed as they may be), we still have freedom of speech (despite attempts to limit it), and there is still enough media not on the government payroll to expose the truth.
Let's hope so anyway...
Yes, many of the Bush administration's policies and tactics (wire-tapping, show trials, holding people in prison for years without charges, etc.) are despicable and should be ended immediately, they do not and will not rise to the level of the Holocaust.
Why won't this happen? It won't happen because we still have elections (flawed as they may be), we still have freedom of speech (despite attempts to limit it), and there is still enough media not on the government payroll to expose the truth.
Let's hope so anyway...
Bluetooth Earpiece People
Stop.
You look foolish. Specifically, you look like a 1950's view of "the future." Do you eat all of your food in pill form too?
Unless you're a brain surgeon or something similar, nobody needs to have access to you 24/7.
You are even more rude than regular public cellphone users- something I didn't think was possible.
You look foolish. Specifically, you look like a 1950's view of "the future." Do you eat all of your food in pill form too?
Unless you're a brain surgeon or something similar, nobody needs to have access to you 24/7.
You are even more rude than regular public cellphone users- something I didn't think was possible.
Hardboiled Fiction: Update
Having worked my way through almost all of the works of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Dasheill Hammet, I'm now about halfway through the works of Jim Thompson. The only major* author left in the genre is Cornell Woolrich and I just bought one of his anthologies and one of his novels.
*more of his stories were turned into movies than any two of the other authors.
*more of his stories were turned into movies than any two of the other authors.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
No, you're not. No, you don't. No, you couldn't.
Lately it seems as though every person I meet says one of the following things in the course of our conversation:
"I have a 'genius' level IQ."
"I could be in Mensa if I wanted to be..."
There are a couple of problems with these statements/people.
First, if so many people are "geniuses," that makes the "average" person a "genius," and you can't be both. Every definition of "genius" I can find uses the word "extraordinary," meaning "more" or "beyond" ordinary. One definition of "ordinary" is- guess what!?- "average." Sorry, but you can't be- and probably wouldn't want to be, even if you could be- "extra-average"!
Second, your IQ (assuming you accept it as a meaningful concept/measurement) means nothing if you can't apply it! One of the people who made the "Mensa" comment to me is a community college dropout, who can't pay his bills (but can afford lots of pot!), who just lost his driver's license, and claims to have a 146 IQ. Congratulations.
Finally, on a more philosophical level, the idea that one is "born" a genius is appalling at the very least. Humans can't learn or improve?! If you fall below a certain "score" early in life should you just be handed a shovel and told to start digging ditches. I think not. In fact, I would argue that the opposite is true-
“One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius”
Simone de Beauvoir
"I have a 'genius' level IQ."
"I could be in Mensa if I wanted to be..."
There are a couple of problems with these statements/people.
First, if so many people are "geniuses," that makes the "average" person a "genius," and you can't be both. Every definition of "genius" I can find uses the word "extraordinary," meaning "more" or "beyond" ordinary. One definition of "ordinary" is- guess what!?- "average." Sorry, but you can't be- and probably wouldn't want to be, even if you could be- "extra-average"!
Second, your IQ (assuming you accept it as a meaningful concept/measurement) means nothing if you can't apply it! One of the people who made the "Mensa" comment to me is a community college dropout, who can't pay his bills (but can afford lots of pot!), who just lost his driver's license, and claims to have a 146 IQ. Congratulations.
Finally, on a more philosophical level, the idea that one is "born" a genius is appalling at the very least. Humans can't learn or improve?! If you fall below a certain "score" early in life should you just be handed a shovel and told to start digging ditches. I think not. In fact, I would argue that the opposite is true-
“One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius”
Simone de Beauvoir
Monday, May 01, 2006
Dear Illegal/Undocumented/Immigrant Marchers...
...keep marching.
Your slogan is "Today we march, tomorrow we vote!"
...follow through on that and you will win everything you are for which you are marching.
Your slogan is "Today we march, tomorrow we vote!"
...follow through on that and you will win everything you are for which you are marching.
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