Wed - July 28, 2004

Bad guys you want to spend time with

Robert Ferrigno's new book is due to hit the shelves soon...

Praise For The Wake-Up...

A mysterious Specials Ops fixer makes the mistake of taking his job too personally.

Frank Thorpe, an army vet who was booted from Delta Force for starting a civil war in South America, knows how to get things done and doesn't mind bending the rules. After Delta, Frank went to work for a "shop," a shadowy private task force that did jobs the government couldn't afford to take on itself. The shops don't exactly play by Marquess of Queensbury rules, but Frank was a loose cannon even by their standards, and one of them let him go after he botched a technology-smuggling sting and got one of his comrades killed. Shell-shocked and unemployed, he wanders aimlessly about LA until one day he sees a Mexican peddler manhandled at the airport by a pompous businessman.



Outraged, he calls on his undercover contacts to track down the bully, who turns out to be a Newport Beach art dealer named Doug Meachum. Frank then poses as a State Department art-smuggling rep and tells one of Meachum's customers that the priceless Mayan artifact Meachum sold her is a fake. The customer, a social-climbing drug dealer named Missy Riddenhauser, goes ballistic and sends her sociopathic brother Cecil off to whack the bitchy gossip columnist who exposes the "fraud" in a local paper, and the whole affair kind of snowballs from there. Frank, meanwhile, is still trying to track down the engineer who blew his IT sting and killed his partner. All his friends in the shops tell him the same thing: Revenge is bad for business, a waste of time, and too dangerous for a smart guy to bother with. They're right. But Frank, who believes in loyalty and justice, has some serious gaps in his education.

Sharp, fast, and slick. Ferrigno can read like Raymond Chandler on speed, with pages turning and adrenaline pretty high throughout.

--Kirkus Reviews, July 2004


More info on my friend Robert's book at his website

Posted at 12:49 AM    

Tue - June 22, 2004

Michael Moore gets heat. Lots of it.

Christopher Hitchens takes a blow torch to Farenheit 9/11

Does Michael Moore ever read his own press? I wish he did. He should read this one.
From the current edition of Slate...



"To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness..."



another choice quote:

"...I don't think Al Jazeera would, on a bad day, have transmitted anything so utterly propagandistic..."

...and before he's done, Hitchens invites Moore to get it on:

"Any time, Michael my boy... Any show. Any place. Any platform. Let's see what you're made of..."

and as long as we're keeping score, Hitchens' Slate article is the most-linked item in the blogosphere, appearing in the Blogdex top ten today at #1.

Posted at 08:51 AM    

Mon - June 14, 2004

A Nation Divided?

Blogging has been light. Between redesigning and rebuilding our kitchen, illustration deadlines, and weeping day and night over the passing of Ronald Reagan (okay, that last part is fiction) I've neglected recreational reading. However, a few articles got my attention over the weekend. Having fully internalized this notion that we're living in some of the most divided times since the Viet Nam era, I found this item from the New York Times to be a refreshing contrary view. What if it just ain't true? What if we agree on more stuff than they're giving us credit for? Michael Moore, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Rielly, are among the reigning (and overpaid) gladiators in the culture wars, but for all the smoke and noise, no one's bothered to notice--they're shooting blanks.

A Nation Divided? Who Says?
By JOHN TIERNEY


If you've been following the election coverage, you know how angry you're supposed to be. This has been called the Armageddon election in the 50-50 nation, a civil war between the Blue and the Red states, a clash between churchgoers and secularists hopelessly separated by a values chasm and a culture gap.


But do Americans really despise the beliefs of half of their fellow citizens? Have Americans really changed so much since the day when a candidate with Ronald Reagan's soothing message could carry 49 of 50 states?

To some scholars, the answer is no. They say that our basic differences have actually been shrinking over the past two decades, and that the polarized nation is largely a myth created by people inside the Beltway talking to each another or, more precisely, shouting at each other...

Posted at 12:20 AM    

Thu - May 13, 2004

Tom Wolfe on Illustration

This from the Illustrator's Partnership newsletter...

" I feel very comfortable predicting that art historians 50 years from now,
assuming we're in a world kind enough to indulge art historians, will look
back upon illustrators as the great American artists of the second half of
the 20th century."

So says Tom Wolfe, author of The Right Stuff and Bonfire of the Vanities in
the new, exclusive IPA interview

In this wide-ranging conversation conducted by C.F. Payne, Wolfe discusses
the role of illustrators in contemporary society, the persistence of
craftsmanship in an age of cynicism and the commercial pressures that risk
"reducing artists to the level of cottage weavers in the old cottage weaving
system."

"... That is the pernicious side of the whole spree of takeovers in the last
26 years. You really are eliminating competition. If you had competition
between all those magazines -- if Vanity Fair was really competing with the
New Yorker -- which it isn¹t -- illustrators wouldn¹t have to face the
problem they face now."

Posted at 02:18 PM    

Mon - February 23, 2004

The SAG surprise

Depp, a no-show at the ceremony, also is nominated for an Oscar, but has been considered a longshot for both awards. Fellow nominees Sean Penn, for "Mystic River," and Bill Murray, for "Lost in Translation," have won numerous critics groups awards as well as Golden Globes.


 
 

 


 

 
 

 
There was no surprise for outstanding female lead actress. Charlize Theron, who is considered the favorite for the Oscar, won for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster," for which she gained more than 30 pounds and wore prosthetics.

SAG has proved a fairly reliable predictor of Oscar winners. Of the past 18 SAG winners in leading role categories, 12 have gone on to win Oscars. However, last year only Catherine Zeta-Jones went on to receive an Oscar, for supporting actress in "Chicago."

Oscar nominee Tim Robbins received the nod for male actor in a supporting role for his performance as a grown-up victim of sexual abuse in "Mystic River."

Robbins, who also won a Golden Globe, pointed out that many supporting actors have taken a financial hit in recent years because so many movie and television productions are being filmed outside the United States, and urged the membership to work to bring those runaway productions back home.

Renee Zellweger, last year's winning female actor in a leading role for "Chicago," was honored for her supporting performance in the Civil War epic "Cold Mountain." Like Robbins, Zellweger received a Golden Globe, and is nominated for an Oscar in the supporting category.

In television categories, Kiefer Sutherland was named best male actor in a drama series for "24," Fox's real-time action thriller. Frances Conroy won in the female category as the mother of mortuary owners in HBO's "Six Feet Under."

Meryl Streep was named best female actor in a TV movie or miniseries for multiple roles in HBO's "Angels in America," and fellow cast member Al Pacino won the male actor award as the AIDS-ravaged attorney Roy Cohn in the acclaimed adaptation of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play.

Megan Mullally was voted best female actor in a comedy series for the second year for NBC's "Will & Grace," and Tony Shaloub won in the male category for USA's "Monk."

The two-hour SAG Awards ceremony at the Shrine Exposition Hall was telecast on cable's TNT. Two randomly selected panels, totaling 4,200 members, chose the nominees. SAG's entire active membership of about 98,000 voted for the winners. A complete list of winners follows:

Theatrical Motion Picture

•  Male actor in a leading role: Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"

•  Female actor in a leading role: Charlize Theron, "Monster"

•  Male actor in a supporting role: Tim Robbins, "Mystic River"

•  Female actor in a supporting role: Renee Zellweger, "Cold Mountain"

•  Ensemble of a theatrical motion picture: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"

•  Lifetime Achievement: Karl Malden

Television

•  Male actor in a TV movie or miniseries: Al Pacino, "Angels in America"

•  Female actor in a TV movie or miniseries: Meryl Streep, "Angels in America"

•  Male actor in a drama series: Kiefer Sutherland, "24"

•  Female actor in a drama series: Frances Conroy, "Six Feet Under"

•  Male actor in a comedy series: Tony Shaloub, "Monk"

•  Female actor in a comedy series: Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace"

•  Ensemble of a drama series: "Six Feet Under"

•  Ensemble of a comedy series: "Sex and the City"

From the Los Angeles Times: Johnny Depp, in a genuine upset, was named best lead male movie actor for his comedic turn as the flamboyant Capt. Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," on Sunday night at the 10th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.




Thanksgiving weekend, right after seeing "Master and Commander", I got a jones for Pirate movies. A friend had seen "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" with his kids, and suggested I try it. I rented the DVD and loved it.

I was delighted to learn that Depp got this honor . The decision was not as unlikely as you'd think. Depp's performance in this movie was spectacularly entertaining. I didn't get why it was so good until I'd read an interview where the actor revealed some background stuff about how he developed the character. Depp observed that Pirates were like the 18th century equivalent of modern rock stars, so he copped the mannerisms of burned-out rockers like Keith Richards. It worked. Depp's portrayal was deft, and nutty, one of the most inspired performances of the year. The movie is a blast. And the SAG is the perfect organization to recognize the performance, it's like an inside joke for fellow actors.

Depp was so surprised, he didn't show up. Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) and Sean Penn (Mystic River) were the odd-on favorites.

Posted at 06:14 PM    

Fri - February 6, 2004

Fri - January 16, 2004

Librarians oppose shushing action figure

The 5-inch Librarian Action Figure, which shows a bespectacled woman in a cardigan, long plain skirt and sensible shoes, goes on sale in October for $8.95.

It is produced by Seattle kitsch retailer Archie McPhee and Co., whose lineup of action figures includes Sigmund Freud, Nico the espresso stand barista, and the McPhee action figure that started it all, Jesus Christ.

On Web sites and discussion groups, in phone calls and e-mails, librarians from as far as Australia have made it clear how annoyed they are with the doll and Nancy Pearl, the 58-year-old real-life librarian who posed for the action figure.

One unsigned e-mail accused Pearl of setting the profession back 30 years.

The criticism moved Pearl to stop reading about the figure online.

"It's a little bit disconcerting to read about how dowdy you are on somebody's blog," said Pearl, executive director of the Seattle Public Library's Washington Center for the Book.

Pearl, who knew she wanted to be a librarian from age 10, started "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book," a book-reading project that has caught on in communities across the country. She loves books so much, she offers reading recommendations on her voice mail.

She also wrote the new book "Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason."

Archie McPhee owner Mark Pahlow said that his company admires librarians, and critics of the action figure are missing the point.

He said librarians are heroes for everything from encouraging literacy to raising concerns about a federal anti-terrorism law that lets authorities see what books people are checking out from libraries.

"They are on the front lines," Pahlow said. "They are speaking up for us."

As for the "shushing thing," it is a "playful aspect to get attention," Pahlow said.

Despite the backlash, Pearl said she does not regret posing for the doll: "It's a lovely idea and a lovely tribute to my chosen profession."

I finally broke down and got my own Librarian Action Figure, based on local celebrity librarian hero, Nancy Pearl. (the real Nancy Pearl pictured below)




Unfortunately, some librarians oppose this toy action figure, as this CNN report suggests




SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A new action figure of a frumpy-looking librarian who moves her index finger to her lips with "amazing push-button shushing action!" is prompting librarians around the world to raise their voices in protest.

"The shushing thing just put me right over the edge," said Diane DuBois, library director of Caribou Public Library in Caribou, Maine. "We're so not like that anymore. It's so stereotypical I could scream." (read more )





We love you Nancy!

Posted at 07:59 PM    

Wed - January 14, 2004

Spalding Gray Missing

Mr. Gray, 62, has a history of depression and was badly hurt in a car crash in Ireland in 2001. Mark Russell, the executive artistic director at Performance Space 122 on the Lower East Side, said Mr. Gray appeared there from early October to mid-December in "Interrupting Life," a monologue about the accident and his life since then. (A car in which he and Ms. Russo were riding was hit by a van, and he was taken to Dublin for an operation on his fractured hip.)

"He was a man in transition," Mr. Russell said. "I think he was rehabilitating himself on stage through the act of performing and working on this piece. He had a very, very dark time in the fall of '02. We thought that he might not come out of that. It was energizing to see him pulling himself back up."

The police in New York and in the Hamptons have been on the lookout for Mr. Gray. Lt. William Armstrong of the Southampton Town police said that Mr. Gray and Ms. Russo have a house near Sag Harbor where his children live with a nanny. But Lieutenant Armstrong said that Mr. Gray had not been there since Christmas.

In Manhattan, a police official said yesterday that Mr. Gray had been scheduled to travel to Aspen, Colo., on Saturday morning for a ski trip. The trip was planned with a group that did not include members of Mr. Gray's immediate family, the official said. Mr. Gray went to La Guardia Airport for a flight on Saturday morning but went back to Manhattan after being told that there would be a problem with a connecting flight from Denver to Aspen, the official said.

This official said that Mr. Gray rescheduled his departure for 11 a.m. Sunday and went back to his apartment, in a loftlike building in SoHo. He went to the movies with his wife and son on Saturday afternoon. Around 6:30 p.m., he told his family that he was going to visit some friends and left by himself, the official said.

His wife reported him missing on Sunday evening after finding out that he had not arrived at the friends' home or taken the Sunday morning flight, the official said. Mr. Gray had left his wallet, driver's license, credit cards and some money in his apartment, the official said.

The police have done little to circulate photographs of Mr. Gray among cabdrivers and others who may have seen him, this official said, because his wife indicated that she wanted the search kept low-key.

From the New York Times

Where is Spalding?

The theatrical monologist Spalding Gray was reported missing after he failed to arrive at a friend's home on Saturday evening and then failed to board a flight at La Guardia Airport the next morning, the police said yesterday.



His wife, Kathleen Russo, reported him missing on Sunday night. Yesterday, the police released a description of what he was wearing when he was last seen - a gray jacket with a blue scarf, a brown sweater, black corduroy pants and brown shoes - and said they had been checking hospitals in New York City and Long Island. ..

Posted at 02:21 AM    

Tue - December 30, 2003

Can a Swedish Leftist Anarchist make a case FOR Globalism?

Yes.




From this month's issue of Reason magazine: an interesting conversation with author Johan Norberg. Read the whole thing.

...The anti-globo left has little doubt that anyone who favors international free trade, open markets, and the cultural mongrelization they foster must be a greedy corporate bastard hellbent on plundering the world’s poor and chopping down the last tree left on the planet. On the right, if George W. Bush is any indication, a different sort of blindness is at work: It’s OK to pass nakedly protectionist legislation as long as you talk a good game about favoring free trade.

This is why Johan Norberg, a 30-year-old Swede with roots in the anarchist left, is so important. He is the author of In Defense of Global Capitalism , which makes a powerful moral and economic case for globalization. Norberg throws rhetorical Molotov cocktails both at left-wing critics who would condemn developing countries to poverty by insisting on First World workplace and environmental standards as a prerequisite for trade, and at Western governments whose free market rhetoric is shamefully undercut by draconian tariffs on textiles and agriculture, the two areas in which the developing world can actually compete.

Norberg focuses on the human dimension of globalization, how increased and freer trade is the best way to help the wretched of the earth. A bestseller in Sweden when it appeared there in 2001, In Defense of Global Capitalism is a richly detailed and nuanced brief in favor of globalization...

Posted at 07:55 PM    

Tue - December 16, 2003

Moron of the week

His comments came during an interview on "The Dave Ross Show" on KIRO-FM.

"I've been surprised they waited, but then I thought, well, politically, it probably doesn't make much sense to find him just yet," he said.

"There's too much by happenstance for it to be just a coincidental thing that it happened on this particular day," he continued.

Later yesterday, the Seattle Democrat said he did not know whether the Pentagon had manufactured the arrest of the Iraqi leader. "I think the fact is that the administration has been desperate to find something (positive), and this came up.

"I don't have any knowledge if they knew about it (Saddam's hideout). I think they (Bush administration) got a Christmas present early."

State Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance quickly launched a statement condemning McDermott's earlier statements. "Once again McDermott has embarrassed this state with his irresponsible ranting."

Despite the capture of the Iraqi leader, McDermott said Americans should remain concerned about the welfare of U.S. troops.

"My worry is that problems will be just as bad tomorrow," said McDermott, who has represented the 7th District since 1988.

"... It is not the end of the problem. The fact that he is in captivity does not change things."

McDermott's comment stands in contrast to other members of the state's delegation, who lauded Saddam's capture.

In September 2002, McDermott made news when he traveled to Iraq and told television interviewers that President Bush would mislead the public to justify an invasion.

It's an incident that continues to reverberate on Capitol Hill.

Two months ago, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, wrote McDermott a personal letter after McDermott denounced a comment by a member of DeLay's office. The staffer said McDermott had attacked the U.S. while he visited Iraq.

Instead of an apology, DeLay wrote: "Your words, had they been spoken in the United States, would have amounted to mean-spirited but predictable mediocre hackery. That they were uttered in Saddam's Iraq, however, perhaps within shouting distance of a torture chamber or mass grave, elevated (or lowered) those remarks to the sickening embarrassment they were."

WASHINGTON — On Seattle radio yesterday, Rep. Jim McDermott questioned the timing of Saddam Hussein's capture, saying, "I'm sure they could have found him a long time ago if they wanted to."

Posted at 09:36 AM    

Sat - December 13, 2003

Japanese orgy draws fire from China

From China Daily:

The sex orgy involving nearly 400 Japanese male tourists and 500 Chinese prostitutes in a Zhuhai hotel was an "abominable" act that has hurt the feelings of Chinese people.

The law-breaking incident has severely damaged too the image of Japan in the international community.

Expressing "strong indignation" over the Japanese tourists' behaviour, the Chinese official urged Japan to educate its citizens who come to China so that they can strictly abide by Chinese laws, keep their activities within the bounds of morals, and refrain from doing anything illegal that could hurt the feelings of peoples of both countries...



A general view of the five-star International Conference Hotel in Zhuhai which was closed by police after a sex scandal involving about 400 Japanese tourists and 500 local prostitutes on September 18, 2003. China has detained suspects involving in the scandal. [Reuters]

From Japan Today

China Court mum on Japanese orgy trial

BEIJING — A Chinese court gave no word at the end of a two-day hearing Saturday on what it will do regarding two Zhuhai hotels that helped set up an orgy with 285 Japanese tourists and 185 prostitutes in September.

Fourteen people are on trial at the Zhuhai City Intermediate People's Court for allegedly arranging the public orgy that created a diplomatic row and shocked the Chinese public as it came a day ahead of the Sept 18 anniversary of Japan's 1931 invasion of China. (Kyodo News)

Perhaps the headline should read "China court speechless on Japanese tourist orgy trial..."

Posted at 04:08 PM    

Sat - December 6, 2003

Tue - November 25, 2003

Glenn Campbell Arrested

Campbell remained at Madison Street Jail until early on Tuesday, authorities said. Following a midnight hearing, he was released on bond at 12:30 a.m., a jail spokesman said. The amount of the bond was unavailable,

"That's what alcohol addiction can do to people," son Shannon Campbell, 18, told Reuters in a telephone interview. "People should pray for him and any other people who have the same problem."

Shannon Campbell said the incidents do not happen often with his father, whose official web site says that the singer has given up alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

He said he was waiting for his father's call from jail.

Police said the incident started at about 5 p.m. MST when Campbell's silver BMW car slammed into a white Toyota sedan at a Phoenix intersection and continued on. A witness followed Campbell's car as he called authorities on his cell phone.

Arriving officers made the arrest after confronting Campbell at his residence at the Biltmore Estates, considered a posh area of Phoenix populated by affluent residents.

"By his appearance and demeanor and the strong alcohol on his breath, he was taken into custody," Force said.

Campbell's blood-alcohol level was not immediately released. The legal limit for drivers in Arizona is a blood-alcohol content of .08, with extreme drunken driving at more than .15.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Country music singer Glen Campbell was arrested on Monday on suspicion of extreme drunken driving and hit and run after he crashed into another vehicle in central Phoenix, city police said.  


Before the arrest After the arrest

Campbell, whose storied career has included 27 Top 10 hits, also was booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated assault on a police officer for allegedly kneeing a sergeant in the thigh while at the station, said Sgt. Randy Force, a Phoenix police spokesman.

At times, the 67-year-old entertainer was combative and aggressive, congenial and was heard to be singing as he was being processed into jail, Force said

Posted at 09:39 AM