reviews

I'll cover the VPOTUS debate in a bit (hopefully Meat posts first) but for now, just three minor code notes.

There is now a music reviews section to the website. If anyone has any other sectional requests, just e-mail me and I'll add them. (Dwight, I moved your article into the proper section, fyi.)

Also, evidently there was a problem for IE users who wished to add articles. Normally, I'd say I don't care, but I want everyone to be able to post, so I fixed it. However, it's several days late...so next time, if you try to add an article and cannot, you should tell me. I'm happy to help.

Finally, when you make links to places on the website, you now need to include the full path. In the past, you could use a root symbol "/" to indicate a path relative to the root. Unfortunately, because of the way the RDF feed works, you need to have full paths specified in the link. Yes, this conflicts slightly with the archive system. (In the past, using an archive page would keep you at that time period as long as all the links were relative.) But the archive page is rarely used, so I'm not concerned. Besides, you can still go back in time...you just can't move between certain pages the way you used to without using the back button. Which I assume most people can use.

Slate nails them.

For the replay, head over here. Damn. Even Kurtz slammed them. You can bet the Daily Show will be all over this tonight...

First off, per a request made over the weekend, if people want to write reviews of movies/books/restaurants and then send them to me, I'll be happy to post them. (Provided you have a nickname already, of course!) This means YOU, Dwight!

Second, Forrest is contributing to a new blog, so I thought I'd throw people a link his way. It's a little spartan right now, but head over there as time progresses to catch some law perspectives untainted by the wingnuts.

Yeah, that's right. The latest articles box is full of seven reviews. No, they're not long. Remember, I don't like reviews (movie or otherwise) that dwell on plot, setting or characters. Instead, I just want to know if I should see the movie, read the book or eat at the restaurant. And my reviews say all that in the first sentence. For people who want to know any more details, there's a second paragraph, but I only write that for the purpose of avoiding any confusion. (Sometimes bad puns have a way of getting people to think the opposite of what they should.)

I need to clean up a bit in the house, but overall everything is fairly spotless. My desk is barrent save for the tax form I'll mail tomorrow. The DC form already went through and was processed last week, netting me a cool benjamin in the process, which was instantly sucked into the Maw of Money Eaters, namely, my AmEx blue payment. At least I can sleep secure that each dollar has been spent in a worthwhile exercise, namely, in providing my friends with a good time all around.

I'm sure, one day, I'll look back and realize that all the petty problems I deal with on a day to day basis, whether its finding a new housemate, paying bills, or working late at the office one evening, will seem as petty as they actually are. The trick, all things considered, is to realize that everything is temporary. This doesn't mean one should run up huge credit card debts, but still, denying the ability to have fun now for some sort of future "goal" seem too longsighted. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. I could have a fire burn everything to the ground (Oops! I really need to purchase renter's insurance one of these days...) I could be fired for drug use at work. Of course, I'd have to develop a habit first, but you get the picture. There are a million different ways in which I could lose most of my net worth.

Do I really care about those possibilities? Hell, no. They've done studies to show that people driving cars are acutely aware of risk management from a control perspective. People realize that putting a seat belt on, or having an airbag, will help them survive a crash. They don't view driving slowly, or with respect to the weather conditions, in the same manner, because there is no risk factor they can appreciate. It's kind of like driving quickly through rain until you start to hyrdroplane. As soon as that happens once, you typically slow down. Of course, this is an idiotic way to mitigate risk, because chances are the first time you hydroplane could be your last. But without the feeling of rubber missing road, or belt-clicking, there is no way for average people to comprehend risk.

If one were to apply that to money, or socializing, it's quite easy to see on a day to day basis that it's far easier to go out every night, to arrange meeting with friends, to busy oneself with occasions over nothing. A Very Merry Unbirthday sounds like a great idea 364 days out of the year. Of course, if ones friends grow tired of such an approach, it could tail off. Fortunately, I'm not in that position yet. However, when I do go out I tend to wish to pay for things, despite my looming credit card bills. (Ask Helena...I tasted her wrath several times for being too generous (aka a sucker) when it came to purchasing food and spirits for friends and supporters. Call it the "wonderful life" theory: the idea that some day, all the debts I never owed but paid anyway, all the small kindnesses, the door-holding, the general niceness, will be paid off in spades. Maybe I'll be holding a hat open and make a million dollars after trying to commit suicicde. Maybe I'll claim to have seen an angel. Regardless, self-interest and generosity are not, conventional wisdom aside, exclusive domains. I do expect to be paid in full for my acts. Not today. Not tomorrow, but eventually.

That's why I think I am somewhat skeptical of trusting people I don't know well. If I'm going to go out of my way to be nice, it would be pleasant to believe that the person receiving the generosity knows where he or she stands with me. If one breaks trust, it's incredibly difficult to rebuild again. I remember a person from college who helped me out in a jam, after she'd dropped the ball before. I was eternally grateful for her support, but if we were both backs to the wall, I'd probably remember the first instance over the far more relevant second.

I forget, but I never forgive. Fortunately for most, my memory is atrocious.

I've got several new book reviews up on the website from the multitude of books I tackled over the holiday break. Just head over to the reviews section to see them all.

My compartmentalization skills have been improving somewhat over the past couple of days, enabling me to keep my friends in predefined boxes, even if they happen to stray into each others paths. Not so good on the ole' wallet, but then again, almost all socializing tends to deplete my account.

And did I mention my office rocks? The head had his 50th birthday celebration yesterday, including a big blow-out bash. At said event (and today at lunch) I learned that the recent craziness involving people leaving for various reasons was only the tip of the iceberg. In the past some other crazy people worked here in the office, although not necessarily for my firm. Go figure. Never a dull moment here. Speaking of that, I should get back to work. Server maintenance to do...

So I drop anchor in my home port yesterday, to avoid the foul gale Isabel. While enjoying some fine women and drink, I heard several stories which even my good eye had trouble with.

The names of the tales were "Tears of the Sun", "Punch-Drunk Love" and "Basic". Each began to take on water as soon at they left port, with most foundering in the shoals long before the end of their treasonous missions. Oddly, all tales featured good crews with bad boats. Even "Basic", possessing a cap'n of extreme skill, was unable to blow the man home.

Polly, me parrot, warned me as much when the first yarn began. "Run For Your Life" he squawked over and over again. I miss me bird, but the silence after I ate him taught the rest of the scallywags a lesson they'll like not to forget. And if anyone of thems do forget, me knife will learn them good.

Is it just me or is no one interested in both hearing and seeing picturss of John Stamos' mom? Why the hell do we have to keep hearing him blather on and on and on about how he calls his mother with 10-10-987? I mean, HELLO 10-10-987 EXECUTIVES!! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to take LARGE WADS OF CASH and use them to get John to get his UNBELIEVABLY HOT WIFE to appear in a commercial. No more Mrs. Stamos...unless Mrs. Stamos has a first name of Rebecca. Got it? Sheesh. Ad execs are so idiotic sometime. Can you imagine the board meeting for the 10-10-987 campaign?

"Um, let's get that guy...you know...John Stamos to hawk our product. And maybe he could start talking about Mrs. Stamos...you know, his mother? Everyone loves Mrs. Stamos...or so my teenage son says."

You see? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

On a different note, I'd like to point people over to the reviews side of the website where I just posted two new ones of "Matchstick Men" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". Surprisingly, the former sucked hard. I mean, some ads said it was like "The Sting". It was many things, but it was not even in the same league as "The Sting". Rodriguez, on the other hand, made a gem of a movie, even if it contains too many slow shots of Antonio Banderas crying over Salma Hayek.

My sleep situation doesn't seem to be improving much. Fortunately, though, thanks to a brief stilted conversation with Fincher this afternoon, I realized that I have my health, that I have an overly positive attitude towards life in general, and that I actually have a fairly sweet setup. When the most stress one encounters is carting home a roll of toilet paper, life is telling you that you have things set. Hence my little gratuitous grateful post a bit back. No, I'm not smoking crack or becoming family oriented.

And on that note, if this coming October is half as fun as last October, I'm going to actually tell some decent stories this time instead of pretending that the election fiasco was the most exciting thing around. Just warning you guys in advance...so don't do anything you'll regret, unless you won't remember doing it.

Yes, it's review time this weekend. First up is the werkz take on the Washington production of Stones in His Pockets. The concept was cool, and the execution good, although one major flaw did persist throughout. Read the review for more! Next, we have a quick look at the latest Jackie Chan movie, Shanghai Knights. A light hearted movie that most people seemed to think was appropriate for ten year old boys. I probably wouldn't bring pre-teens to the movie (it is rated PG-13) but for your average 20-something it's a greay way to burn a couple hours. Hopefully I'm not dating myself too much. So stop reading this and get to the theatre, movie or otherwise!

After I posted this review of "Gangs of New York" I realized that I'm going to keep reviews much shorter in the future. I'll avoid spoilers, say whether people should go see it, and a brief reason why. That's it. These days, many people turn simple reviews of the cinema into vast tracts which reveal profound philosophical truths in the tiniest snips of celluloid. Plus, I have better things to do than write treatises on such matters. I think I'll test out my new method shortly...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I came with two other people (one a guest from New York City) on a Sunday evening thanks to a friend's advice. As I'd already frequented several other sushi places in the district including Kawasaki, I had a good context for judging Spices, which is located across the street from the Uptown theater in the Cleveland Park strip. Every sushi place is different, and Spices appears on the surface to be a regular Thai restaurant which happens to serve sushi, rather than the other way arond. A spacious interior was a welcome respite from previous crowded locales like Uni or Cafe Asia. Unfortunately, going on the middle night of a three-day weekend ensured that the restaurant itself was quite crowded. Nevertheless, we were able to walk right in, pick up a seating tag for three, and be ushered to the sushi bar within minutes. Had we wished to wait for a table, I'm sure the delay would've been lengthy, yet we managed to leapfrog past several larger groups at the door, which felt good.

Once at the bar, we quickly ascertained that we had no need for their Thai offerings, instead choosing to markup our sushi card with style. After having chosen an arrangement of sashimi, sushi and rolls, we handed the card to the friendly chefs working hard behind the bar. It's always a special treat to see your food prepared right in front of you, and this time was no exception. Oddly, throughout this point we had yet to see any sort of server, so our decision to go with the sushi was probably best anyway. The lack of a server prevented us from consuming any beverages other than water, which worked out well since I actually wasn't in the mood for anything else. If we'd wanted some saki, etc. it would have been awkward though. Our water glasses, however, were refilled early and often.

The sushi was prepared quite quickly, and although the sashimi took a minute longer, both were ready by the time all were hungry. Each dish was prepared well, with enough style for sushi-snobbery and enough taste for the roughest palate. We had chosen to go with items composed from tuna, yellow-tail, squid and many others. The spicy/crunchy tuna rolls were the first to be snatched up, and they were a special treat. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who likes a little spice in their sushi. The other more vanilla offerings were all done well in accordance with standard sushi practice. The sashimi, unlike at Cafe Asia or Uni, came with a small bowl of sesame-covered rice, thus negating my favorite pet peeve of sushi places, namely: they often serve sashimi without any rice whatsoever.

After the meal we were allowed to sit at the bar indefinitely, receiving refills of our water every few minutes. This was a welcome change from the cramped places that pressure you to move out in order to move the next group in. It did prove slightly strange when we wished to receive our bill, though, because only one of the chefs spoke english. After displaying the universal check symbol, they argued for a few seconds and then summoned a manager who managed to take care of us. The prices were attractive as well, which was a nice change of pace from Kawasaki's large fees. Overall, Spices was a great place to go with friends, if you can handle yourself well at a sushi bar without needing any handholding. It may appear to be an ordinary restaurant from the outside, yet everything from the wait to the water was done flawlessly, a feat almost impossible at any eating establishment. If you're in the mood for sushi and can stand the always crazy Cleveland Park parking scene (we ended up parking a couple blocks away in a residential neighborhood) it's definitely worth your money. And the next time a friend comes in from out of town, it'll serve to impress. Just remember that if you're able to order 60 pieces of sushi, you'll be treated to a giant wooden ship containing several rolled divisions. It's the sort of challenge that, having learned of its existence, I'm going to have to tackle upon my next visit.

The good news is that Brad finally got his act together and added his two cents to the existing advice columns. So now I can finally ask people what they thought. Better late than never, right? And there's one final advice piece I need to churn out. Too much work...too little time. I just remembered another review that I need to do. Argh! If only I managed to divorce myself from the pop-cultural zeitgeist for a few days....

Yes, the movie does take place almost entirely within the confines of a large house in Manhatten. Yes, the main character (played by Jodie Foster) is just getting over a divoce/separation. Yes, her young daughter is a diabetic. Yes, both Jared Leto and Forest Whitaker are dim-witted criminals who aren't jailbird material. There are so many angles to each of the multi-dimensional characters that it is refreshing to see Dwight Yoakam play a single sided baddie in comparison to everyone else. Rather than dissecting each camera angle or statement however to search for greatness, is it easier to simply look at why the movie works so well. First, within a few scenes the audience is completely under the spell of Fincher, rooting for individual characters in an interactive manner I've yet to see during most modern movies. Perhaps the audience I was in was simply more expressive than most, but the old cliche of telling the horror victim don't open that door! was in full effect. Each moment at which the god-like camera revealed a truth only half-perceived by the other characters, the audience would grow restless, muttering softly or preparing for a surprise. Ironic, then, that inside the panic room itself eight cameras record the action that Fincher provides through cgi zooms and pans.

In the end, it is this quality, the simple human predilection for mistakes, that drives the movie forward. At each stage an opening exists for hunter or huntee to end the madness, yet small minds breed stagnant solutions, and what seems like a good idea may result in a catastophe. It is this continuous fatality, this inexorable march towards desruction, that drives the picture on and engrosses the audience. Much like a chess endgame, one can see the eventual outcome (or so one thinks) long before it is reached, yet we are powerless to do more than push pawns, hoping some opening will reveal itself. Thankfully, the game is scripted by a master.