Archive for 'The Offical Record' Category
BAD COMMERCIALISM.
5 November 2003There is this new Sony Handycam that records directly onto DVD’s, and on the commercial, they show a little girl and her family watching an embarrassing video she shot of her brother telling his girlfriend how much she means to him. And I’m sure we’ve all seen those commercials for those camera phones, where someone […]
LAST WEEKEND.
4 November 2003On Thursday, David D. came up from D.C. for the weekend to stay with me and run the NYC marathon. He got in late, so we just split a couple beers at my place. Friday was Halloween. I dressed as an hasidic Jew. This outfit consisted of a white, button-down shirt, black slacks, black shoes, […]
BOOK REVIEW: BUSHWHACKED (2003) * * (2 stars out of 4).
4 November 2003Look, I don’t like George Bush any better than you do, but this book is too one-sided to really inform anyone or change anybody’s mind. I don’t disagree with her, but even I have to admit that there’s another side of the story that she’s leaving out. And I think the case against Bush is […]
MOVIE REVIEW: MYSTIC RIVER (2003) * * 1/2 (2 and a half stars out of 4).
4 November 2003I saw Mystic River at my brother’s birthday party in Florida. It was okay, but really dragged in the middle, and it was way too long.
FUN IN THE SUN.
4 November 2003I had a good time in Florida last week visiting my family. It was my brother’s birthday, and his fiance made him a great party at a private room at the movie theater. It was great seeing my family and my Florida friends. I also had some great Cuban food while I was down there, […]
JUSTIFIABLE MASS HOMICIDE.
28 October 2003You want to know what my biggest problem is with the Bush administration is? It’s how no matter whatever the situation is, they’ll twist it around so that it is some kind of “proof” that they are right. It’s so transparently dishonest and self-serving that I feel very insulted each time that they think I’m […]
I’M OFF.
23 October 2003I am in South Florida until Tuesday for my brother’s birthday.
MOVIE REVIEW: KILL BILL (2003) * * * 1/2 (3 and a half stars out of 4).
21 October 2003This film was beautifully filmed, with an amazing musical score and a some very witty dialogue. It is incredibly, incredibly violent, and yet the violence never seemed gratuitous.
LAST WEEKEND
21 October 2003Thursday, Joclyn G. and I went to Restaurant Row for Italian Food, after I decided to go off the Atkins Diet after two and a half weeks. That always seems to be my limit before I get too crazy. Friday, Rachel E. and I went to the Museum of Television and Radio in the afternoon, […]
MOVIE REVIEW: RAJA (2003) * (1 star out of 4).
19 October 2003This movie starts out with a promising premise, of a wealthy French estate owner in Morocco , who falls for one of the women who work in his garden. She is beautiful, already involved with someone, and feels nothing for this man whom she finds to be very unattractive and who is married and who […]
BOOK REVIEW: COMPLICATIONS (2003) * * * * (4 stars out of 4).
14 October 2003I was reluctant to give out 4 stars to a book twice in two months, when I think it should be given out only once or twice a year, but I couldn’t withhold it from this amazing book. It captures the tension between the need to give each patient the best possible care, and the […]
BOOK REVIEW: WHO’S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU (2003) * (1 star out of 4).
14 October 2003O’Reilly’s first two books were okay, but his “success” (his show reaches only a tiny fraction of the viewership of the network news and magazine shows) has convinced him that he speaks for all Americans. Anyone who refuses an invitation to appear on his right-wing show is “refusing to account to the American people.” Does […]
MOVIE REVIEW: DEMONLOVER (2002) 1/2 (half a star out of 4).
14 October 2003I’ll be honest– I just could not follow the plot of this movie. Maybe that’s because I’m stupid, but I think it’s because this movie made no sense. It had little else to offer– the dialogue was either uninteresting or lost something in translation (the movie is mostly in French, with English subtitles), the action […]
LAST WEEKEND.
14 October 2003Friday night I went to a party at Manny F.‘s place, and a good time was had by all. Saturday, I saw Andy Rocco’s Happy Life at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater with Joclyn G. It was excellent! It was double-billed with Dance With Bears which was okay, but not as good. Then we had […]
DEMOCRACY IS SAVED.
8 October 2003I was hoping the California recall would fail, and I was hoping that, if it didn’t, then Lt. Gov Cruz Bustamante would win. But since that didn’t happen, I am glad that Arnold Schwarzenegger won with more votes than Davis received in his 2002 election. It would have been a terrible perversion of democracy if […]
AND THE MONDAY MISSION.
7 October 20031. If you were to go on a diet (not that you should, babe, you look marvelous), which of the “fad diets” sounds the most appealing to you? I go on the Atkins diet every now and then, and I’m on it now. I have been for about a week. It’s the first time I’ve […]
OH, WHAT THE HECK– THE FRIDAY FIVE.
7 October 2003The Friday Five for October 3, 2003. 1. What vehicle do you drive? A pair of human feet. 2. How long have you had it? Thirty-two and a half years. 3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle? They possess part of a human nervous system. 4. What is the most annoying thing about […]
ANOTHER FLASH MOB?
6 October 2003—– FORWARDED MESSAGE —– Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 16:52:40 -0400 From: Jonathan G. Kowalski Subject: Wizard Of Oz – In New York please forward to prospective participants “Wizard of OZ” Global Flash – Event Description A flash mob where everyone enters different coffee houses around the nation in a Conga line chanting ding dong […]
LAST WEEKEND.
6 October 2003The very first regular feature on my blog was a summary of what I’d done the last weekend. But lately, as more people I don’t know personally have been reading my blog, I’ve been less inclined to post personal stuff, I think. But I want to get back to that, because I really liked letting […]
WEAPONS OF MASS DISTORTION.
5 October 2003It’s hard for liberals and Democrats not to gloat about the fact that no evidence of any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has been found in Iraq. But it’s also hard for any American not to hope that WMD will be found, since it will greatly enhance American credibility in the world. For example, even […]
WAS THE WAR ON IRAQ WORTH IT? AMERICA SAYS NO.
4 October 2003A new New York Times / CBS poll finds that Americans think the War on Iraq was a mistake by a ratio of 53 to 41, with 6 percent undecided. The New York Times buries this in the 13th paragraph of their story about the poll. And here’s what they say about it, which I […]
MOVIE REVIEW: SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003) * * * 1/2 (3 1/2 stars out of 4).
4 October 2003This was a really funny movie, with a star-making performance by Jack Black. It is most remarkable in that it is simultaneously a very dark comedy that will tickle sophisticated adults, yet it’s also a very family-friendly movie suitable for young children. My only complaint is that it’s a little formulaic, and yet there are […]
TV REVIEW: THE NEW FALL SEASON (Part II)
30 September 2003I’ve been watching the new fall TV shows so you don’t have to. And you owe me big. THE LYON’S DEN: The new Rob Lowe legal drama only barely brushes upon legal issues. Instead, they go for the soap-opera-style one dimensional villains and predictable 11th hour confessions. I was really looking forward to this show, […]
MOVIE REVIEW: RUN RONNIE RUN (2002) * * (2 stars out of 4).
27 September 2003This straight-to-DVD movie by the makers of Mr. Show with Bob and David was very disappointing, even after the warning on Bob and David’s Web site. They insist that the problem was editing, and the deleted scenes on the DVD bear this out. Usually when you watch the deleted scenes in a movie, you can […]
MOVIE REVIEW: WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (2001) * * * (3 stars out of 4).
27 September 2003This was a really funny movie, with a silly, over-the-top take on the cliche’s of all those summer camp movies. The cast includes Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Ken Marino, and Joe Lo Truglio all from the old sketch show “The State;” Janeane Garofalo, and Amy Poehler, which, if you know them, should give you […]