Every now and then, I'm going to just shamelessly plug a writer who must, under most any circumstance, be read. These are people I like so much I've created Google alerts just to read their stuff.
Today, speak up about Dana Milbank of The Washington Post. In yesterday's Post, he delivers nothing short of a laugh-out-loud piece that slices and dices Rudy Giuliani. Read it here, now.
The premise is that Rudy used to charge $100,000 per speech but, now that he's running for prez, is giving them gratis, of course. So Milbank went to hear Rudy speak to the Hoover Institution and literally parsed out the 46-minute word by cost. Trust me, hilarity ensued.
"Had America's Mayor charged the going rate, the 46-minute, 34-second speech would have cost the conservative think tank $2,147.46 per minute, including:
* $5, 368.65 for jokes about the weather.
* $21,899.94 for his views on education.
* $9,019.32 for his thoughts on taxes.
"Instead, the Hoover folks got all this free, and more! Giuliani threw in bonus thoughts on foreign policy such as, 'We clearly won the Cold War' (that two-second snippet had a market value of $71.58), and "We've never been a perfect country, we're never going to be a perfect country, but we're a good country, so we don't like war" ($214.74 for this six-second gem)."
Biting, hard-hitting, funny. Perfect political journalism.
The Post's description of his column fits - "an observational column about political theater in the White House, Congress and elsewhere in the capital."
He's great at skewering people with their own words.
He enjoys tearing into staff which, in a place where staff holds so much sway and swagger like Washington, it's always a fun thing to watch.
And he's clearly a practishioner of the old maxim about afflicting the comfortable - regardless of party.
Anyway, check out his columns here - worth a look and a nice, long winter's night of reading.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Let My Blog Open the Door
First of all, who knew that Pete Townsend has a blog? I mean, what the f-? Good little world we have here. I came across Robert Reich's the other day (by the way, he predicted Gore would win the Oscar and announce right there that he was running for prez - oops).
But now I see the mighty Pete has his own blog. Pretty much set as a way to build hype about his memoirs, the blog did, however, give Mr. Townsend the vehicle to author a spirited defense and spiritual hope for none other than Ms. Britney Spears.
Check it out:
"Dedicated Man In A Purple Dress to Britney in Long Beach. I said, 'Let's not be too quick to judge'. Roger said 'Britney? Britney who?' Like, Roger! Pullease...... read the paper.Just heard she's gone back into rehab. Pray for the babe. This is a tough business when you have a down period - she sometimes has over one hundred cars following her, every one with a camera geek in it.Tonight's show? My feet hurt. I gashed my hand. My fingertips hurt (my guitar strings felt too heavy). I'm happy. I must like pain."
So this is Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend - two musical geniuses, talking about Britney, the tart of all tarts. And who says the blogosphere isn't productive?
I guess Pete has a point on Britney but, let's face it, this is the woman who drove around with her kid on her lap - when she was sober. So we're not dealing with a properly-stacked deck here, are we?
And, if I'm Britney, would I take advice from this guy? I mean, hell, "Who's Next?" is a definitive album, "Tommy" a masterpiece and "Baba O'Reilly" defined a generation. But talk about a train wreck waiting to happen?
Still, I'll come back to his blog - if only because his entire profile is simply: "I'm in a rock band." Well put.
But now I see the mighty Pete has his own blog. Pretty much set as a way to build hype about his memoirs, the blog did, however, give Mr. Townsend the vehicle to author a spirited defense and spiritual hope for none other than Ms. Britney Spears.
Check it out:
"Dedicated Man In A Purple Dress to Britney in Long Beach. I said, 'Let's not be too quick to judge'. Roger said 'Britney? Britney who?' Like, Roger! Pullease...... read the paper.Just heard she's gone back into rehab. Pray for the babe. This is a tough business when you have a down period - she sometimes has over one hundred cars following her, every one with a camera geek in it.Tonight's show? My feet hurt. I gashed my hand. My fingertips hurt (my guitar strings felt too heavy). I'm happy. I must like pain."
So this is Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend - two musical geniuses, talking about Britney, the tart of all tarts. And who says the blogosphere isn't productive?
I guess Pete has a point on Britney but, let's face it, this is the woman who drove around with her kid on her lap - when she was sober. So we're not dealing with a properly-stacked deck here, are we?
And, if I'm Britney, would I take advice from this guy? I mean, hell, "Who's Next?" is a definitive album, "Tommy" a masterpiece and "Baba O'Reilly" defined a generation. But talk about a train wreck waiting to happen?
Still, I'll come back to his blog - if only because his entire profile is simply: "I'm in a rock band." Well put.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Horseshoes, hand grenades and, apparently, the Oscars
I was close to perfect. I took my perfecto into the 9th but blew it on one category. Damn you Alan Arkin.
The wife, well, she was perfect. Kudos to her and, apparently to the proprietors of a local Thai restaurant and the makers of the next great chick flick. Heidi killed me again in the Oscar pool, taking seven of seven categories in a clean sweep. Bravo, I say, bravo.
Unfortunately for me, pools are one of those things where almost is close enough.
Of course, we were both sleeping through most of the awards, as predicted. What a ridiculous charade it is to keep that show going so long. I’d love to see the ratings numbers for midnight and after. A joke.
From what I saw, I’d disagree with the conventional wisdom that Ellen didn’t do a good job. I actually laughed out loud at her into monologue (a rarity when watching standup for me). I thought the in-the-crowd with Scorsese and Eastwood was a little lame but the insider jokes were great – this is the ultimate Hollywood insider event … that’s what we expect!
And I loved the Will Farrell, Jack Black, John C. Reilly song – hilarious.
Still, kill about two-thirds of the show, make it two hours and America would be much happier.
The wife, well, she was perfect. Kudos to her and, apparently to the proprietors of a local Thai restaurant and the makers of the next great chick flick. Heidi killed me again in the Oscar pool, taking seven of seven categories in a clean sweep. Bravo, I say, bravo.
Unfortunately for me, pools are one of those things where almost is close enough.
Of course, we were both sleeping through most of the awards, as predicted. What a ridiculous charade it is to keep that show going so long. I’d love to see the ratings numbers for midnight and after. A joke.
From what I saw, I’d disagree with the conventional wisdom that Ellen didn’t do a good job. I actually laughed out loud at her into monologue (a rarity when watching standup for me). I thought the in-the-crowd with Scorsese and Eastwood was a little lame but the insider jokes were great – this is the ultimate Hollywood insider event … that’s what we expect!
And I loved the Will Farrell, Jack Black, John C. Reilly song – hilarious.
Still, kill about two-thirds of the show, make it two hours and America would be much happier.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Oscar night - My picks
Following a tradition begun by a good man, each year I try to get to every Best Picture nominee before Oscar night. Almost always a good time since, typically, there really aren't any bad movies nominated for Best Picture.
That goal was a lot easier before kids and, this year, I failed again. I made it to four of five - leaving 'Letters from Iwo Jima' at the alter. I had one more movie-going day in the week before I started the new job and two movies to go ... I picked 'Babel.'
Still, the wife and I have begun an annual Oscar pool and I see no reason not to show my cards here so I can be judged and hopefully judge whomever joins (so come on in, popcorn's on me). The bet in our house is choice of restaurant and movie for our next date night.
We take the big six and this year we're doing adapted screenplay as the tie-breaker (mostly since we've seen more of those movies than original screenplay nominees). Last year, she smoked me. I'm not feeling particularly strong this year, especially since she loved 'Dreamgirls' and it will probably do pretty well.
The sad thing is that we almost never know who wins before going to bed anymore. I'm sorry but midnight is just too late to sit up to here Martin Scorsese ramble. As Heidi said, one of the few times I wished I lived in California - the other, of course, being during baseball playoffs and, well, winter.
So here's my picks.
Picture - 'The Departed' should and will win. Sorry but 'Little Miss Sunshine' doesn't belong.
Director - Scorsese will finally pop his cherry (Goodfellas reference, not just being crude). Don't rule out Clint Eastwood, though, but I'm with Martin for good reason.
Actor - Forest Whitaker for Last King of Scotland. Didn't see it, but the Academy always likes to think of itself as worldly. Watch out for Peter O'Toole, though for one last nod from the insiders.
Actress - Going with my heart on this one, Helen Mirren. She was incredible in 'The Queen.'
Supporting Actor - Going with my head on this one - Eddie Murphy. I think Marky Mark was better but Murphy will get the nod for going semi-legit in 'Dreamgirls.'
Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson. Period. She was amazing.
And the tie-breaker - Surprise, 'The Departed' for adapted screenplay. Loved 'Children of Men' but as much as I like them, I don't think post-apocolyptic thrillers are the stuff of Academy Awards.
So tune in at 8:30 (of 9 if you're me and watching 'The Amazing Race All-Stars). And good luck staying up through the intolerable speeches from Best Foreign Film winners and lifetime tribute honorees - I'll be snoozing, remembering the best line of 'The Departed' ("I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy") and dreaming of victory in the house pool.
That goal was a lot easier before kids and, this year, I failed again. I made it to four of five - leaving 'Letters from Iwo Jima' at the alter. I had one more movie-going day in the week before I started the new job and two movies to go ... I picked 'Babel.'
Still, the wife and I have begun an annual Oscar pool and I see no reason not to show my cards here so I can be judged and hopefully judge whomever joins (so come on in, popcorn's on me). The bet in our house is choice of restaurant and movie for our next date night.
We take the big six and this year we're doing adapted screenplay as the tie-breaker (mostly since we've seen more of those movies than original screenplay nominees). Last year, she smoked me. I'm not feeling particularly strong this year, especially since she loved 'Dreamgirls' and it will probably do pretty well.
The sad thing is that we almost never know who wins before going to bed anymore. I'm sorry but midnight is just too late to sit up to here Martin Scorsese ramble. As Heidi said, one of the few times I wished I lived in California - the other, of course, being during baseball playoffs and, well, winter.
So here's my picks.
Picture - 'The Departed' should and will win. Sorry but 'Little Miss Sunshine' doesn't belong.
Director - Scorsese will finally pop his cherry (Goodfellas reference, not just being crude). Don't rule out Clint Eastwood, though, but I'm with Martin for good reason.
Actor - Forest Whitaker for Last King of Scotland. Didn't see it, but the Academy always likes to think of itself as worldly. Watch out for Peter O'Toole, though for one last nod from the insiders.
Actress - Going with my heart on this one, Helen Mirren. She was incredible in 'The Queen.'
Supporting Actor - Going with my head on this one - Eddie Murphy. I think Marky Mark was better but Murphy will get the nod for going semi-legit in 'Dreamgirls.'
Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson. Period. She was amazing.
And the tie-breaker - Surprise, 'The Departed' for adapted screenplay. Loved 'Children of Men' but as much as I like them, I don't think post-apocolyptic thrillers are the stuff of Academy Awards.
So tune in at 8:30 (of 9 if you're me and watching 'The Amazing Race All-Stars). And good luck staying up through the intolerable speeches from Best Foreign Film winners and lifetime tribute honorees - I'll be snoozing, remembering the best line of 'The Departed' ("I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy") and dreaming of victory in the house pool.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Cash is Clinton
Maybe it’s just me, but don’t you just love ex-presidents? I love the allure, I love the lifestyle, I love the fact that they get Secret Service protection for life. I can’t get enough of what they are doing – or not doing – with their time.
It is the ultimate retirement, really. You’ve had the greatest job in the world for four or eight years so what to do? Nothing, really.
Sure, Carter is trying to atone for a mediocre presidency and win the Nobel. Nixon was trying to atone for, well, everything, and stayed largely out of sight. Ford set the gold standard, playing golf and hangin in Cali.
And then there’s Bill Clinton. A relative pauper most of his life in Arkansas, the guy has been out earning large, phat cash. And who could blame him? They did ring up more than $10 million in legal fees thanks to Whitewater and Monica. And they had to prepare for Hillary’s self-financed run this year.
So in comes the Washington Post with a fascinating story of the ex-president’s big, big travel. Over five years, a cool $40 million. Nice.
The details in the story are pretty good, though it certainly could have been written with a bit more pop. But I love, love, love the graphics online.
This is why we need real newspapers to survive and thrive on the web. The folks at Google or YahooNews wouldn’t come up with these kinds of cool graphics. It’s fun to go speech-by-speech on the map to see Bill bouncing around the globe. I also wasn’t aware before that he was in New Zealand on 9/10/01 … makes you wonder if he was stuck there on 9/11 or had trouble getting home.
And it’s neat to see how much he got paid for his local speeches. Salem State College, Tufts and Temple Beth Avodah shelled out $125,000 for the big guy in 2001 and 2002. Funny, I wondered how Salem State attracted such good speakers … now I know.
Anyway, check it out, good read and very entertaining.
It is the ultimate retirement, really. You’ve had the greatest job in the world for four or eight years so what to do? Nothing, really.
Sure, Carter is trying to atone for a mediocre presidency and win the Nobel. Nixon was trying to atone for, well, everything, and stayed largely out of sight. Ford set the gold standard, playing golf and hangin in Cali.
And then there’s Bill Clinton. A relative pauper most of his life in Arkansas, the guy has been out earning large, phat cash. And who could blame him? They did ring up more than $10 million in legal fees thanks to Whitewater and Monica. And they had to prepare for Hillary’s self-financed run this year.
So in comes the Washington Post with a fascinating story of the ex-president’s big, big travel. Over five years, a cool $40 million. Nice.
The details in the story are pretty good, though it certainly could have been written with a bit more pop. But I love, love, love the graphics online.
This is why we need real newspapers to survive and thrive on the web. The folks at Google or YahooNews wouldn’t come up with these kinds of cool graphics. It’s fun to go speech-by-speech on the map to see Bill bouncing around the globe. I also wasn’t aware before that he was in New Zealand on 9/10/01 … makes you wonder if he was stuck there on 9/11 or had trouble getting home.
And it’s neat to see how much he got paid for his local speeches. Salem State College, Tufts and Temple Beth Avodah shelled out $125,000 for the big guy in 2001 and 2002. Funny, I wondered how Salem State attracted such good speakers … now I know.
Anyway, check it out, good read and very entertaining.
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