What I saw and read October 22 - 28

Books:


1.Six Bad Things by Charlie Huston
I loved this. Funny and fast. If you like noir books, read this.

2. Invasive Procedures by Aaron Johnston and Orson Scott Card
I enjoyed it.

Movies:

1. Barton Fink
Not my favorite Coen Brother's movie but the detectives are hilarious.

2. Evan Almighty
This was a huge surprise. I thought I might be mildly amused at best, but I really got into it. I loved this movie.

3. Galaxy Quest

I think this is a perfect movie.

TV:

1. Inside Saddam's Reign of Terror
National Geographic special
2. The Office
3. How I Met Your Mother
This show cracked me up. I can't believe I haven't seen it before. I will definitely keep watching.
4. The Soup
5. Meet the Press
6. Aliens in America
Somebody told me this was like Freaks and Geeks. No. Freaks and Geeks is ultra-ultra real. They never sacrifice a true moment for a joke. Aliens in America is more like Malcolm in the Middle. Pretty good, but the characters are pretty cartoonish. Maybe I just saw a weak episode. I'll try it again. Every joke seemed like it would be funny. I bet if I saw it on a script page I'd crack up, but for some reason the episode didn't do it for me.
7. 30 Rock

What I saw and read October 15 -21

I'm going to go fast this week. Not take a lot of time.

Books:

1. Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush by Robert Draper

This is an excellent book. The author received an amazing amount of access. The book is very tough but fair. I imagine those who lionize president Bush will like him a tad less and those who despise him will begin to like him just a little bit more. Highly recommended.

Movies:

1. Ace in the Hole:
Kurt Douglas is amazing. This movie was excellent. Brutal.

2. Die Hard:
Haven't seen this for about twenty years. It pretty much holds up. Too long though.

3. For Your Consideration
I am a huge fan of This is Spinal Tap and Waiting for Guffman. Not so much for A Mighty Wind and Best in Show. I prefer the movies about a small group of people (The band in Spinal Tap and the actors in Guffman) interacting the entire movie than the ones like A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, where it follows several groups of people who only interact at the end. So while For Your Consideration isn't as funny as Wind or Show, I still like it better since it follows the actors of a movie. Pretty good. Didn't love it though.

4. Meet the Robinsons
I loved this movie until the main character goes into the future, then I was bored. In thirty years, giant octopuses can be trained to be butlers? Really? And frogs can be trained to act like the Rat Pack? But the first thirty minutes were magical.


TV

1. 30 Rock
2. Pushing Daises
I don't know, I liked it but I think I'm done. Too twee. Too cute. I liked the movie Amelie but I think I would have thrown up if I'd had to watch another hour.
3. South Park
Fantastic and a two-parter. I can't wait to see how it ends.
4. Sarah Silverman
So-so.
5. The Office
I watched it twice. It was my favorite episode this season so far.

Books, movies and TV October 8 - 14

Books:

1. Fever Pitch - Nick Hornby

This is the second time I have read this. I love all Nick Hornby but I especially like his non-fiction and criticism.

I think I met Nick Hornby once. I was on a London bus with my wife, two children and about one hundred and fifty pounds of luggage. (No joke we were moving to Wales.) I was really scared that I wouldn't be able to find the stop for Stoke Newington. A kind man with a shaved head told me it was a little ways away but don't worry, you haven't missed it. Every three minutes I'd ask again If I'd missed it. Finally he said, "I'll let you know where it is." And sure enough, he did. So thanks Mr. Hornby.

Oh yeah, the reason I thought it was Nick Hornby is because he lives near Stoke Newington and a year later when I saw him give a reading, he looked and sounded like the kind man with the shaved head. I wished I'd have known it was him so I could thank him for The Polysyllabic Spree.

Since the book is about an obsessive soccer fan, it hit a chord. I'm an obsessive movie watcher. Always have been. My earliest memory is in a theater watching R2D2 get zapped by Jawas. Many is the night that I sit in bed while my wife wants to talk about the welfare of the children and I can't concentrate because I am mentally going through the movie release dates for the next nine weeks and listing the movies I have to see - sort of want to see and don't want to see at all.

When I was about ten, both Teen Wolf and Back to the Future came out about the same time. I was already a huge Michael J. Fox fan because of Family Ties, but these two movies shot me into ultimate obsession. I made myself a Michael J. Fox scrapbook that consisted of the newspaper ad for the two movies glued into a spiral notebook. Page after page of either Michael J. Fox either checking his watch next to a flaming tire track or standing there with wolf chest hair coming out of his shirt.

I can't find the notebook now. No doubt my mother (who normally saves everything) stumbled upon it and recognizing it as the work of someone dangerously unhinged, the work of someone who would no doubt be disappointed with Michael J. Fox (perhaps when the Keatons go to England) and seek revenge. (What other conclusion could one come to?) I'm sure she threw it away and I'm glad.

Very wise.

2. Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground - Robert D. Kaplan

I highly recommend this book. I learned a lot. For anyone who has any opinion about the armed services. Very informative.

Movies:

1. Hudsucker Proxy

Even the Coen Brother movies I only sort of like - I really, really like. Perhaps even love. (I'd seen it before.)

2. Hold that Ghost

Abbot and Costello (I'd seen it before.)

3. The Wistful Widow of Wagon's Gap

Abbot and Costello. (I'd seen it before.)

4. Here Come the Co-eds

Abbot and Costello. When I was a kid I was frightened that I would die before seeing every Abbot and Costello movie. I can now scratch this one off my list. (As an adult, I'm scared I will die the moment I see all of their movies. I refuse to watch Little Giant.)

TV:

1. King of the Hill
Meh.

2. Sarah Silverman Program
Meh.

3. Southpark
Meh.

4. The Office
Meh. (I think the problem was with me this week since everything I watched kind of bored me.)

5. Pushing Dasies

I don't know if I can watch this one anymore. It is too much. I'd love it if it was only a half an hour but about twenty five minutes into it I get feeling a little . . . I don't know . . . like I've just eaten a plate full of powdered sugar.

6. Freaks and Geeks season opener.

Work of art. Not many perfect tv shows, but this is a perfect show. I will no doubt be writing about this show many times on this site.

What I saw and read October 1 - 7

Books:

1. National of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter (Pretty darn good)

Films:

1. Knocked Up with Audio commentary - Jud Apatow commentaries are hilarious. (I’ve seen the movie before.)

2. Vacancy

3. Fargo - I’m trying to watch a Coen brother’s movie a week until their new one comes out in November. In the coming weeks, I'll watch Hudsucker Proxy, Bartin Fink and Miller’s Crossing.

4. Turtles Can Fly - Kurdish film that is unbearably sad. This is the second time I’ve seen it. I saw it originally in 2005 when I didn’t know anything about the Kurds. Now that I’ve been to Kurdistan it was even more enjoyable. There was a scene filmed on the street of Erbil that I stayed at. Brought back memories.

TV:

1. Chuck - I loved it last week. This week I was kind of bored. I don’t know if I will keep watching.
2. South Park
3. Sarah Silverman Program
4. Reaper - I was kind of bored last week but this week I was a little bit won over. I’ll keep watching.
5. Pushing up Daisies - I loved this. I don’t think it will last twelve episodes.
6. 30 Rock
7. The Office - it was great and yet I’m still kind of excited for it to go back to the half hour.
8. Penn and Teller’s Bulls--t – American with disabilities act

What I watched and read Sept 23 - 30

Book
1. God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens. I will read anything by Hitchens. This might be his best book. I really enjoyed it.

Film
1. Angels in America - Why didn't Joe Pitt get to hang out with the gay guys at the end? His mother did. C'mon Kushner, what happened to Joe Pitt?

2. Babe 2 Pig in the City -Seen it many times. This movie is absolutely brilliant. A perfect film.

TV
1. King of the Hill - King of the Hill is always hit or miss and sadly this episode was a miss. But I like the characters so much that it is always pleasant.

2. Chuck - I loved this. I will definitely watch again.

3. Reaper - meh, it was okay. I'll give it another shot but I'm not going to commit long term.

4. Office - My favorite show and I laughed a lot but about half way through the hour long episode, I felt like I was done, I'd seen enough. I know that is ungracious, I mean thanks for making a few episodes longer but I've got to be honest, I think I enjoy the half hour more.

Casino in Kurdistan

I know there is a way to hide the link behind a word. I'll figure that out soon. Until then, here is an exciting story about Kurdistan. (Which I visited earlier this summer. I'm still trying to find the time to write that up.)

http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2007/9/investkurdistan292.htm

Baby Girl

Sunday afternoon my wife and I had a baby girl. 9 pounds 4 ounces. 21 inches. This is our third child.

When our first was born everything that had contact with him scared me. Wind, loud noises, germs, etc.

Now the only thing that scares me are the two oldest children. They want so much to hold and tickle and poke and prod and hug and love the newborn. I feel like George watching Lenny play with a rabbit. For the next six months, my number one job is to protect the baby from her siblings.