Roger O Green

Really, I Just Wanted Him to Ride Off into the Sunset

It was my original intention to let the passing of the Presidency of George Walker Bush go unmentioned in this blog. There are plenty of other people who could, and have, dissected the last eight years of cronyism and incompetence, war, torture, loss of civil liberties, lack of regulations, etc. etc. I don’t have the energy, mostly because I’ve been under the weather the last few days.

If anything, I was going to just go back to the first year of the Presidency. I recall that dustup with China and was thinking, “What’s Clinton going to DO about this?” Then I remembered, “Wait, Clinton’s not President anymore? Who the heck IS President?” After that long, tortured completion of the 2000 election, ending with the Supreme Court making a President, and despite the fact that I watched W’s inauguration, I truly absolutely forgot he was the President, so little did his Presidency imprint up to that time.

There was his limited stem cell address in August. I opposed his position, but it was unsurprising.

Then there was 9/11. Some people criticized him for not returning immediately to Washington, DC; I totally disagreed. The Pentagon had been attacked, and it seemed like a reasonable precaution.

But pretty much everything from that point on, from the USA (so-called) PATRIOT Act to the cowboy rhetoric (catching bin Ladin dead or alive – how did that turn out?) to the lack of focus in Afghanistan. Then the build up to war in Iraq – and the faulty intel that got us there; but if Scott Ritter and Barack Obama and I knew it was a fool’s task, why didn’t he? From “Mission Accomplished” to Abu Gharb and Gitmo, this was a failed Presidency. Then he got a second term, where the (lack of) response to Katrina and the economic crises were the defining events.

But I was just going to let it pass, let him pass. I was going to ignore the recent revisionist history cooked up by W and his cronies. Until Monday. I took the day off to catch up on some reading, writing and TV watching. I turn on the television set and there’s GWB’s final press conference right out of Bizarroworld. My goodness.

“Not finding weapons of mass destruction (in Iraq) was a significant disappointment.” Disappointment. Oops.
“Even in the darkest moments of Iraq,” the president said, he and his staff found that there were times ‘when we could be light-hearted and support each other.'” Yeah. Tee hee.
“I disagree with this assessment that, you know, that people view America in a dim light,” he said. “It may be damaged amongst some of the elite. But people still understand America stands for freedom.” I’m reminded of one of his exit interviews with Martha Radditz of ABC News.Bush talked about fighting al-Qeada in Iraq; the reporter noted that, before we invaded, there WAS no al-Queda in Iraq. W responded, “So?”

The other tipping point is a relatively minor matter, in the grander scheme of things, but seemingly points to a pettiness I did not expect: the inability of the Obamas to move into Blair House.

So how will history judge the 43rd Presidency? GWB is leaving office with the lowest final approval rating compared to all previous Presidents over last 40 years. Worse than Nixon, and he was practically impeached. I think he’ll be remembered as a President who had a remarkable opportunity after 9/11 to unite the world (the headline in the leading French paper on 9/12/01 was “We are all Americans”), but instead engaged a morally and strategically dubious war, could not even respond to the needs of his own people in a disaster, and helped set in motion the worst economic collapse in a couple generations.

Goodbye, Mr. Bush.

Football, Baseball, Obits

So who had the Cardinals vs. the Eagles in the NFC title game in their preseason picks? I’m going to need to see some proof.

In the past two weekends, I’ve seen at least parts of all eight games, which is more football than I watched the previous 18 weeks combined. Thanks to the magic of the DVR, I actually saw the Pittsburgh/San Diego game on Monday morning. The only one of the eight I saw in real time was the Eagles/Giants game on Sunday afternoon. To which I can only say, How do people actually watch commercials anymore? Not only are they annoying, they are replayed endlessly; a particular Subway commercial was effective in making me wonder if I’ll ever go to one of their restaurants ever again.

So now I have to pick my rooting interests for the rest of the way:
1. Philadelphia Eagles – making the playoffs through an improbable set of circumstances the last weekend (two potentially playoff-bound teams losing to lesser opponents while the Eagles demolished the Cowboys) with a quarterback, Donovan McNabb, who was benched for a time this season. I always like McNabb, who played in Syracuse (yay, upstate NY!) and whose pick was booed by some of the Eagles’ fans before he’d even put on his helmet for the first time.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers – yes, I’m rooting for the two PA teams. Call it geographic bias. But I like the QB, Ben Roethlisberger. I especially like receiver Hines Ward, who really embraced his Korean heritage a couple years back.
3. Arizona Cardinals – the Cinderella team, though it’s been the Team of Destiny for Couch Slouch, Norman Chad for a few seasons now. The problem is that: 1) I can never remember where the Cardinals actually play. Chicago? No, that was many years ago. St. Louis? No, not any more, though St. Louis has the Rams that used to play in Los Angeles. 2) I’m not a big Kurt Warner fan. I’m sure this has something to do with his excessive religiosity. He also was less than stellar in his brief stint as Giants QB.
4. Baltimore Ravens – I just don’t like the Ravens. And I particularly don’t like Ray Lewis.

BTW, I really enjoyed Jaquandor’s take on football. It’s not a football blog, but he has some good insights:
Odd synchronicity: this weekend saw action by all three quarterbacks who lost Super Bowls to Tom Brady (Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Donovan McNabb) and the one who beat Tom Brady (Eli Manning).
But on one point, I think he’s wrong:
I think there should be no points but the team recording the safety should automatically take possession at the 50 yard line. The problem with that is that a team could intentionally go out of the back of the end zone and the team would have potentially better field position than it would if it had to punt from the back of the end zone. Now, talk about putting the ball on the 20-yard line of the team suffering the safety; THAT might be better than two points and receiving a free kick.
***
I thought Rickey Henderson’s vote to the Baseball Hall of Fame was obvious. My only surprise was that he was eligible. I thought he was still playing ball somewhere. He probably won’t, but Rickey should go in as a member of the A’s.

As for Jim Rice, I’ve favored him getting in for as long as I can remember. This is what I wrote two years ago: Jim Rice 13th year. PRO: Eight All-Star teams (1977-’80, ‘83-’86). Seven .300 seasons, four 200-plus hit seasons, three 100-plus run season (consecutively from 1977-’79),30-plus HR four times, 40-plus HR once, and 100-plus RBI eight times. Led AL in total bases four times in 1977 (382), ‘78 (406), ‘79 (369) and 1983 (344). One of 31 players with 350+ home runs and a .290+ career batting average. Only player in history with three straight seasons of 35+ home runs and 200+ hits. CON: Prickly relationship with the press, who would note that the one time his Red Sox got to the World Series (1986), they didn’t win.
That he got in during his final year of eligibility suggests that the voters spent less time on his personality and more time on his stats.
***
Patrick McGoohan has died. I watched The Prisoner religiously. I also saw him in other things such as Braveheat, but The Prisoner was his signature role.
***
Ricardo Montalban also has died. I wrote about him only three months ago.

ROG

Z is for Zebra

Have you noticed that in children’s books, Z is almost ALWAYS for zebra? It might be for something else as well, but zebra is nearly inevitably represented. For instance:

Poor Puppy by Nick Bruel (2007)

A to Z by Sandra Boynton (1984, 1995)

A to Z Animals: A Bedtime Story by Danice Baker. Illustrated by Judith Moffatt (2005)

Robert Crowther’s Most Amazing Hide and Seek abc Alphabet Book (1977, 1999)

The Alphabet Book by P.D. Eastman (1974)

Even in non-alphabetical books, the zebra will get its due, such as in The Zoo Book by Jan Pfloog (1967); even the book is in the shape of a zebra.

Now, in English, an X in the first position usually sounds like an Z, such as xylophone. (An exception is a word like X-ray, where the letter sounds like ks.) Maybe, to lessen the burden on the poor zebra, we should attribute to Z some of those X words. Or not.

One of the first jokes I ever learned: what black and white and red all over? A sunburned zebra.

ROG

Interesting Copyright News

I’m forever fascinated with copyright law. Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the US Constitution empowers Congress “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Note the words useful, exclusive and especially, limited. I’m not going to go into a dissertation about how the changes in copyright law in the United States I believe is contrary to the original intent.

I can’t find it presently, but there was a recent story about a guy who played on the original sessions for the Beatles’ album Revolver (1966) and that his payments would end soon because British copyright law’s term will have ended. It was suggested that Britain might seek a copyright law similar to that currently employed by the United States. To which I only have five words to say: NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!

Other interesting recent stories from New Media Law & E-Commerce News, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 5, 2009, ISSN 1489-954X, which can be found in detail here include:

Music Industry Set to Abandon Mass Piracy Lawsuits – RIAA stops pursuing legal action against ISPs

Harry Potter Lexicon Decision Analyzed – by the ARL and the ALAs. The article, by Jonathan Band, is entitled How Fair Use Prevailed in the Harry Potter Case (PDF).

Judge Rules Facts Are Not Copyright-Protected – this re: two movies about the 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team.

Hasbro Drops Lawsuit Against Makers of Scrabulous – R.J. Softwares won’t use the term “Scrabulous” and made changes to the game after the lawsuit had been filed.

Canadian Copyright Board Increases Tax on Blank Compact Disks- from 21 cents to 29 cents.

In each of these cases, I feel that common sense has won out.

Then there was this situation: $900 Million Copyright Suit Filed Over Illegal Use of Subscription Web Site
I don’t want to say it’s a frivolous lawsuit, since clearly harm was done to the copyright holder, about $5000 in fees. But to get from $5K to nearly a billion dollars is a circuitous argument that practically begs for tort reform, something I generally think an overstated argument.

ROG

My 20 Favorite Actresses

Everyone who has done this meme, Tom the Dog and SamauraiFrog and the person who tagged him and the person who tagged that person has explained what they mean by “favorite” actress differently, or not at all. So I’ll define it for me. These are actresses that I’ve seen large numbers of their movies; not necessarily the best actresses, but ones who, for whatever reason, I end up seeing, and for the most part, enjoying.

Since I don’t know how to do that clever little box of photos, instead I’ll be listing the first, most recent, and favorite movie I saw them in. I’m only considering theatrical movies, not TV.

Joan Allen – Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Upside of Anger (2005), Nixon (1995)
Cate Blanchett – Oscar and Lucinda (1997), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Elizabeth (1998). She’s been in so many movies I’ve seen, I thought she’d been around even longer.
Ellen Burstyn (pictured) – The Last Picture Show (1971), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), Requiem for a Dream (2000). She should have won the Oscar for Requiem, which she lost to Julia Roberts.
Hope Davis – Flatliners (1990), Synecdoche, New York (2008), American Splendor (2003). I don’t remember her in Flatliners, TTTT, but I’ve seen the first and last movie listed for her in IMDB.
Judi Dench – Mrs. Brown (1997), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Iris (2001). I would have thought I had seen her in films earlier.

Jane Fonda (pictured) – Barefoot in the Park (1967), Stanley & Iris (1990), They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969). An actress who I saw a lot in the day, but not much recently. But then she hasn’t done much recently.
Jodie Foster – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Contact (1997), The Accused (1988). Also haven’t seen her much lately, but saw her quite often in the day.
Katharine Hepburn – Bringing Up Baby (1938), Love Affair (1994), The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Barbara Hershey – Last Summer (1969), Lantana (2001), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Holly Hunter – Raising Arizona (1987) The Incredibles (2004), Broadcast News (1987)
Diane Keaton – The Godfather (1972), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), Annie Hall (1977). At least 5 Woody Allen movies on the list.
Laura Linney – Dave (1993) The Savages (2007), You Can Count on Me (2000). When I decided to do the list, one of the two automatic choices.
Shirley MacLaine – Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), Being There (1979)
Julianne Moore – Benny & Joon (1993), The Hours (2002), Boogie Nights (1997)
Helen Mirren – O Lucky Man! (1973), The Queen (2006), Gosford Park (2001)
Susan Sarandon – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Enchanted (2007), Dead Man Walking (1995)

Mary Steenburgen – Time After Time (1979), Sunshine State (2002), Philadelphia (1993). Early in her career, it seemed as though every other movie I saw, she was in. Remember when Jude Law seemed to be in every other film a couple years ago? Well, it was like that.
Meryl Streep – Julia (1977) The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Sophie’s Choice (1982). The other automatic choice.
Emma Thompson – Dead Again (1991), Stranger Than Fiction (2006), Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Sigourney Weaver – Annie Hall (1977), Holes (2003), Working Girl (1988)

As everyone mentioned, this was tougher than it seemed. I tried Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley, Sissy Spacek, and Kate Winslet, but they didn’t quite meet the criteria I set, though I suspect if I get back into movie-watching mode Hathaway and Knightley might make the list.

ROG