Golden Globe list of foreign-language contenders, I've seen some of them, but not enough to make a decent prediction:
"9th Company" (Russia/Ukraine/Finland)
"After the Wedding" (Den-mark)
"Ahlaam" (Iraq)
"Alatriste" (Spain)
"Along the Ridge" (Anche libero va bene) (Italy)
"Angel-A" (France)
"Apocalypto" (USA)
"Avenue Montaigne" (France)
"Black Book" (Zwartboek) (The Nether-lands)
"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" (the Philippines)
"Bosta" (Leba-non)
"Children of Glory" (Hungary)
"Chronicle of an Escape" (Argen-tina)
"Cinema, Aspirins & Vultures" (Brazil)
"Climates" (Iklimler) (Tur-key)
"Curse of the Golden Flower" (China).
"Days of Glory" (Algeria)
"El benny" (Cuba)
"Family Friend" (Italy)
"Family Law" (Ar-gentina)
"Frozen Days" (Israel)
"The Golden Door" (Nuovomondo) (It-aly)
"Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams" (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
"Il Cai-mano" (Italy)
"Ice Cream I Scream" (Turkey)
"The Island" (Rus-sia)
"King and the Clown" (South Korea)
"Lage Raho Munnabhai" (In-dia)
"La Mujer de mi Hermano" (Mexico)
"The Last Train" (Ger-many)
"Letters from Iwo Jima" (Japan)
"Libertas" (Croatia)
"The Lives of Others" (Germany)
"Love for Share" (Indonesia)
"Mario's War" (La guerra di Mario) (Italy)
"The Missing Star" (La stella che non c'e) (It-aly)
"Nomad" (Kazakhstan)
"Offside" (Iran)
"O Major Amor Do Mundo" (Brazil)
"Omkara" (India)
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Mexico)
"Playing the Victim" (Russia)
"Pretendiendo" (Chile)
"Prince of the Himalaya" (China)
"The Protector" (Thailand)
"Rang De Basanti" (India)
"Reprise" (Norway)
"Requiem" (Germany)
"Retrieval" (Z Ozysku) (Poland)
"Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" (China)
"Sweet Mud" (Adama Meshuga'at) (Israel)
"The Valet" (France)
"Vitus" (Switzerland).
"Volver" (Spain)
"Water" (Canada)
"The Yacoubian Building" (Egypt)
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
The return of the quebec menace.
Preliminary designs exist for up to 56 star flags have already been prepared by the US Govt.'s Institute of Heraldry.
What does this have to do with anything? Well we’re going to discuss the possible future of a country which some people think has no right to exist: Canada.
No one in the US government has advocated the annexation of Canada in well over a century, and as far as I know, nobody in either the Bush or Clinton administrations even WANT that to happen.
However, there are quite a few Canadians who want to destroy Canada, and in reaction, a number of Provincial premiers have advocated joining the United States if they succeed.
I am, of course, talking about Quebec. Since 1970, “Le Belle Province” has been beating up on it’s minorities, and has twice held referenda on secession, albeit not in those exact words. They had two, one in 1976 and one in 1995, the first was defeated by a wide margin, the second almost passed, and according to the memoirs of Jacques Parizeau, the premier at the time, if it did, He would have would have issued an immediate declaration of independence, and we might have had to take one of those flag designs out of the filing cabinet.
The reason I bring this up, is that yesterday, Prime Minister Steven Harper tabled a resolution before the Canadian parliament proclaiming the French Quebecois, “a ‘nation’ within Canada. The reason he did this, is, allegedly, to forestall a similar resolution by Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, which didn’t include the magic words “within Canada.”
Without the magic words, it may have been construed as an endorsement Quebec independence. Still, this proposal, which is basically a declaration that somehow the French Quebecois, unlike say, the Ukrainians and Italians, both of whom have larger communities in Canada outside of Quebec, are superior,
This is quite clearly, appeasement, and will encourage a referendum after the provincial election next year, should the Quebec Nationalist party (PQ) actually win. (they’re currently running first in the polls)
The recognition of French Canadians as “special” has always ticked off those in the Rest of Canada (RoC), and there are Western Nationalists (they nearly took power in Saskatewan in 2003), who sometimes threaten secession themselves. But to those in the Great White North, all this is old hat and boring,
Since 1995, and especially the Liberal victory in Quebec in 2003, talk of the destruction of Canada has been mostly speculative blather by commentators, and not taken seriously by anyone. This is going to change and the whole stupid circus is going to start up anew. In fact, it already has. One of the reasons this is because the Conservative Harper government is a minority, and they’re leaning on the BQ to stay in power. With the new Liberal leadership in place next month, there’s no reason to keep Harper in power on the part of the BQ or the Liberals, and there’s going to be a big political mess.
What does this have to do with anything? Well we’re going to discuss the possible future of a country which some people think has no right to exist: Canada.
No one in the US government has advocated the annexation of Canada in well over a century, and as far as I know, nobody in either the Bush or Clinton administrations even WANT that to happen.
However, there are quite a few Canadians who want to destroy Canada, and in reaction, a number of Provincial premiers have advocated joining the United States if they succeed.
I am, of course, talking about Quebec. Since 1970, “Le Belle Province” has been beating up on it’s minorities, and has twice held referenda on secession, albeit not in those exact words. They had two, one in 1976 and one in 1995, the first was defeated by a wide margin, the second almost passed, and according to the memoirs of Jacques Parizeau, the premier at the time, if it did, He would have would have issued an immediate declaration of independence, and we might have had to take one of those flag designs out of the filing cabinet.
The reason I bring this up, is that yesterday, Prime Minister Steven Harper tabled a resolution before the Canadian parliament proclaiming the French Quebecois, “a ‘nation’ within Canada. The reason he did this, is, allegedly, to forestall a similar resolution by Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, which didn’t include the magic words “within Canada.”
Without the magic words, it may have been construed as an endorsement Quebec independence. Still, this proposal, which is basically a declaration that somehow the French Quebecois, unlike say, the Ukrainians and Italians, both of whom have larger communities in Canada outside of Quebec, are superior,
This is quite clearly, appeasement, and will encourage a referendum after the provincial election next year, should the Quebec Nationalist party (PQ) actually win. (they’re currently running first in the polls)
The recognition of French Canadians as “special” has always ticked off those in the Rest of Canada (RoC), and there are Western Nationalists (they nearly took power in Saskatewan in 2003), who sometimes threaten secession themselves. But to those in the Great White North, all this is old hat and boring,
Since 1995, and especially the Liberal victory in Quebec in 2003, talk of the destruction of Canada has been mostly speculative blather by commentators, and not taken seriously by anyone. This is going to change and the whole stupid circus is going to start up anew. In fact, it already has. One of the reasons this is because the Conservative Harper government is a minority, and they’re leaning on the BQ to stay in power. With the new Liberal leadership in place next month, there’s no reason to keep Harper in power on the part of the BQ or the Liberals, and there’s going to be a big political mess.
Monday, November 13, 2006
The Return of the Geriatrics.
What's interesting is that for some reason the MSM, and many here seem to think that George H. W. Bush actually seems to know what the hell he's doing. People are going around saying that "Bush I's people are coming back and that's a wonderful thing seeing as they know how to run a foreign policy and all.
Yeah, right.
We're talking about that bunch of morons that gave us Iran/Contra and the LA riots and publically supported the anti-Gorbachev coup. They're the ones who, after victory over Iraq in Gulf War II (ONE being Iran/Iraq), publically BETRAYED the Iraqi people by pretending to support their thirst for freedom and then permitting Saddam to mow down hundreds of thousands of them.
We're talking about the guy who called his opponent infantile NAMES during the 1988 debates, and a Chief of Staff who appointed himself Secretary of the Treasury without actually informing the President, who was the guy who did the actual STEALING of the 2000 election.
The American people knew about this at the time. Remember, in 1992, Bush SR got only 37.45% of the vote. that's BEHIND Hoover's 39.65% in 1932, in the middle of the GREAT DEPRESSION, behind, George McGovern's 37.52% humiliation. (for the record, President Taft got 23.17% in 1912, but that's another story). The Father's presidency was a bigger failure than the son's.
Compare the unemployment rate in November 1992 (7.4%) to October 2006 (4.4%). Now I know that some here might think that many of these jobs are minimum wage things that people cannot live on, and that's true, but the Bush I administration was completely clueless on the economy, why do you think Ross PEROT, of all people got almost 20% of the vote. Why do you think he was running first in the polls that summer? After the LA riots, Bush I looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
The schoolyard bullying was Bush SR's idea. It worked because the Democrats are polite adults (except maybe around here) and didn't think that childish behaviour needed to be responded to.
The son fucked up big time, but don't expect the father and his band of geriatric imbiciles to save him, because they're just as bad, if not worse.
Yeah, right.
We're talking about that bunch of morons that gave us Iran/Contra and the LA riots and publically supported the anti-Gorbachev coup. They're the ones who, after victory over Iraq in Gulf War II (ONE being Iran/Iraq), publically BETRAYED the Iraqi people by pretending to support their thirst for freedom and then permitting Saddam to mow down hundreds of thousands of them.
We're talking about the guy who called his opponent infantile NAMES during the 1988 debates, and a Chief of Staff who appointed himself Secretary of the Treasury without actually informing the President, who was the guy who did the actual STEALING of the 2000 election.
The American people knew about this at the time. Remember, in 1992, Bush SR got only 37.45% of the vote. that's BEHIND Hoover's 39.65% in 1932, in the middle of the GREAT DEPRESSION, behind, George McGovern's 37.52% humiliation. (for the record, President Taft got 23.17% in 1912, but that's another story). The Father's presidency was a bigger failure than the son's.
Compare the unemployment rate in November 1992 (7.4%) to October 2006 (4.4%). Now I know that some here might think that many of these jobs are minimum wage things that people cannot live on, and that's true, but the Bush I administration was completely clueless on the economy, why do you think Ross PEROT, of all people got almost 20% of the vote. Why do you think he was running first in the polls that summer? After the LA riots, Bush I looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
The schoolyard bullying was Bush SR's idea. It worked because the Democrats are polite adults (except maybe around here) and didn't think that childish behaviour needed to be responded to.
The son fucked up big time, but don't expect the father and his band of geriatric imbiciles to save him, because they're just as bad, if not worse.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
The Day After
I was going to go to the Democratic Victory party, but there I was just out of the shower and it was getting to nine in the evening and I had to get to bed soon....aw, fuck it.
The Democrats got the Congress back. This is a pretty nifty stunt, especially with the computer-generated gerrymandering and the fact that most of the Senate seats were slam dunks.
The Democrats took the Senate. Yeah, there's the bruhaha about Montana and Virginia, but the Republicans are going to have to pay for the recounts out of their own pockets and I don't think that they've got the cash for it. One thing I haven't seen yet is whether or not the Democrats took over the state Senate or not. I'll find out soon enough. I'm glad Hevesi got a bigger margin than Coumo did. that's really cool.
So what now? The Republicans are going to feign shock for a few days and start to live with it, then we'll see if they could play nice. Tom DeLay said that this is a "Lame Duck Majority" from the get-go. I hope not, but I can see where he's coming from.
The Democrats got the Congress back. This is a pretty nifty stunt, especially with the computer-generated gerrymandering and the fact that most of the Senate seats were slam dunks.
The Democrats took the Senate. Yeah, there's the bruhaha about Montana and Virginia, but the Republicans are going to have to pay for the recounts out of their own pockets and I don't think that they've got the cash for it. One thing I haven't seen yet is whether or not the Democrats took over the state Senate or not. I'll find out soon enough. I'm glad Hevesi got a bigger margin than Coumo did. that's really cool.
So what now? The Republicans are going to feign shock for a few days and start to live with it, then we'll see if they could play nice. Tom DeLay said that this is a "Lame Duck Majority" from the get-go. I hope not, but I can see where he's coming from.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The early exit polls....
Early Senate numbers (uncomfirmed and with caveats):
Democrats are leading in Pennsylvania (+15), Ohio (+14), New Jersey (+8), Rhode Island (+7), Virginia (+7), Montana (+9), Missouri (+2), Maryland (+7).
Republicans are leading in Tennessee (+4) and Arizona (+4).
Lieberman leading by 5 in Connecticut.
Democrats are leading in Pennsylvania (+15), Ohio (+14), New Jersey (+8), Rhode Island (+7), Virginia (+7), Montana (+9), Missouri (+2), Maryland (+7).
Republicans are leading in Tennessee (+4) and Arizona (+4).
Lieberman leading by 5 in Connecticut.
Voting: Six AM
The voting machine was broken, so for the first time I had to use a paper ballot (my first vote was for Carter/Mondale in 1976). I was very tempted to write-in Mickey Mouse or Daffy Duck, but I didn't and voted mostly for third party candidates, especially for governor, where I voted for the crazy on the "My Rent is Too Damn " high ticket. Spitzer is running like 70% in the polls so I figure that I can do that. I mostly voted for the Democrats on the sattilite party lines, except for the republican running against Tom Duane.
I hate Tom Duane.
So we'll have to see what's going on in the hours to come.
I hate Tom Duane.
So we'll have to see what's going on in the hours to come.
O days out
This is the final batch of polls. If you're one of those people who've been coming because you think there's actual political analysis here, please come back this evening starting around eight PM, eastern standard time, because I'm going to be at the NY Democratic headquarters and doing a live blog.
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 50%
Ned Lamont (D) 38%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 8%
MD SENATE
Ben Cardin (D) 49%
Michael Steele (R) 46%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 48%
Tom Kean, Jr. (R) 43%
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 62%
Mike DeWine (R) 38%
Sherrod Brown (D) 56%
Mike DeWine (R) 44%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 52%
George Allen (R) 44%
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 50%
Ned Lamont (D) 38%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 8%
MD SENATE
Ben Cardin (D) 49%
Michael Steele (R) 46%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 48%
Tom Kean, Jr. (R) 43%
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 62%
Mike DeWine (R) 38%
Sherrod Brown (D) 56%
Mike DeWine (R) 44%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 52%
George Allen (R) 44%
Monday, November 06, 2006
one day out.
First more polls:
CA SENATE
Dianne Feinstein (D) 60%
Dick Mountjoy (R) 31%
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 49%
Ned Lamont (D) 38%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 9%
FL SENATE
Bill Nelson (D) 58%
Katherine Harris (R) 35%
Bill Nelson (D) 59%
Katherine Harris (R) 36%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 50%
Michael Bouchard (R) 44%
Debbie Stabenow (D) 52%
Michael Bouchard (R) 42%
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 49%
Jim Talent (R) 45%
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 50%
Conrad Burns (R) 41%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 49%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 42%
Bobby Menendez (D) 50%
Tom Kean, Jr. (R) 40%
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 52%
Rick Santorum (R) 40%
RI SENATE
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 48%
Lincoln Chafee (R) 45%
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 49%
Harold Ford (D) 46
VA SENATE
George Allen (R) 49%
James Webb (D) 46%
WA SENATE
Maria Cantwell (D) 53%
Mike McGavick (R) 42%
Now some predictions for tomorrow:
California: Incumbent Senator Dianne Feinstein will easily hold her seat over little-known Republican Richard Mountjoy because Aaanold has no coattails.
Connecticutt: Joe Leiberman will be reelected as an independent. Making the Daily Kos crowd briefly unhappy.
Delaware: Democrat Thomas Carper will defeat Temple University professor Jan Ting because nobody knows who the hell he is.
Florida: Former astronaut Bill Nelson will hold his seat for the Democrats over Republican Congresswoman Katherine Harris because she is EVIL and Floridians know it.
Hawaii: Democrat Daniel Akaka, will wipe the floor with Republican state Rep. Cynthia Thielen.
Indiana: Thiis is the easiest on to prognosticate: Richard Lugar is unopposed.
Maine: Republican Olympia Snowe will easily defeat Democrat Jean Hay Bright before becoming a Democrat herself. That is if the results are 50-50 and the Democrats are smart.
Massachusetts: Ted Kennedy gets reelected because it's in the State Constituion somewhere, Republican Ken Chase was very happy just to be nominatied.
Mississippi: Republican Trent Lott will be returned to the Senate over Democrat Erik Fleming, partly because Lott was himself a victim of Katrina and could feel the Gulf Coast's pain.
Nebraska: Sen. Ben Nelson, but he will easily best Republican Pete Ricketts.
Nevada: Sons of Presidents rarely do well politically, and with the exception to the rule fucking up so badly in the White House, Jimmy Carter's eldest son, Jack, will get creamed by incumbent Republican John Ensign.
New Mexico: Democrat Jeff Bingaman is a popular incumbent who might get a committe chaimanship, he will beat Republican Allen McCulloch.
New York: Republican John Spencer beat Hillary Clinton?!?! Get serious.
North Dakota: Democrat Kent Conrad will beat GOP's Dwight Grotberg because he has seniority and the North Dakotans want that.
Texas: Kay Baliy Hutchison will defeat Barbara Ann Radnofsky for the simple reason that Lyndon Johnson is dead.
Utah: Orrin Hatch is a Republican from UTAH, Democrat Pete Ashdown never had a chance.
Vermont: Bernie Sanders is popular even though he's a Socialist.
West Virginia: Once and future President pro tempore Senate Robert Byrd destroy challenger John Raese because he's beein bringing in the pork since the 1950s.
Wisconsin: Democrat Herb Kohl will defeat Robert Gerald Lorge.
Wyoming: As this is "Dick Cheney-Land" Democrat Dale Groutage never stood much of a chance against Republican Craig Thomas.
CA SENATE
Dianne Feinstein (D) 60%
Dick Mountjoy (R) 31%
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 49%
Ned Lamont (D) 38%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 9%
FL SENATE
Bill Nelson (D) 58%
Katherine Harris (R) 35%
Bill Nelson (D) 59%
Katherine Harris (R) 36%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 50%
Michael Bouchard (R) 44%
Debbie Stabenow (D) 52%
Michael Bouchard (R) 42%
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 49%
Jim Talent (R) 45%
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 50%
Conrad Burns (R) 41%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 49%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 42%
Bobby Menendez (D) 50%
Tom Kean, Jr. (R) 40%
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 52%
Rick Santorum (R) 40%
RI SENATE
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 48%
Lincoln Chafee (R) 45%
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 49%
Harold Ford (D) 46
VA SENATE
George Allen (R) 49%
James Webb (D) 46%
WA SENATE
Maria Cantwell (D) 53%
Mike McGavick (R) 42%
Now some predictions for tomorrow:
California: Incumbent Senator Dianne Feinstein will easily hold her seat over little-known Republican Richard Mountjoy because Aaanold has no coattails.
Connecticutt: Joe Leiberman will be reelected as an independent. Making the Daily Kos crowd briefly unhappy.
Delaware: Democrat Thomas Carper will defeat Temple University professor Jan Ting because nobody knows who the hell he is.
Florida: Former astronaut Bill Nelson will hold his seat for the Democrats over Republican Congresswoman Katherine Harris because she is EVIL and Floridians know it.
Hawaii: Democrat Daniel Akaka, will wipe the floor with Republican state Rep. Cynthia Thielen.
Indiana: Thiis is the easiest on to prognosticate: Richard Lugar is unopposed.
Maine: Republican Olympia Snowe will easily defeat Democrat Jean Hay Bright before becoming a Democrat herself. That is if the results are 50-50 and the Democrats are smart.
Massachusetts: Ted Kennedy gets reelected because it's in the State Constituion somewhere, Republican Ken Chase was very happy just to be nominatied.
Mississippi: Republican Trent Lott will be returned to the Senate over Democrat Erik Fleming, partly because Lott was himself a victim of Katrina and could feel the Gulf Coast's pain.
Nebraska: Sen. Ben Nelson, but he will easily best Republican Pete Ricketts.
Nevada: Sons of Presidents rarely do well politically, and with the exception to the rule fucking up so badly in the White House, Jimmy Carter's eldest son, Jack, will get creamed by incumbent Republican John Ensign.
New Mexico: Democrat Jeff Bingaman is a popular incumbent who might get a committe chaimanship, he will beat Republican Allen McCulloch.
New York: Republican John Spencer beat Hillary Clinton?!?! Get serious.
North Dakota: Democrat Kent Conrad will beat GOP's Dwight Grotberg because he has seniority and the North Dakotans want that.
Texas: Kay Baliy Hutchison will defeat Barbara Ann Radnofsky for the simple reason that Lyndon Johnson is dead.
Utah: Orrin Hatch is a Republican from UTAH, Democrat Pete Ashdown never had a chance.
Vermont: Bernie Sanders is popular even though he's a Socialist.
West Virginia: Once and future President pro tempore Senate Robert Byrd destroy challenger John Raese because he's beein bringing in the pork since the 1950s.
Wisconsin: Democrat Herb Kohl will defeat Robert Gerald Lorge.
Wyoming: As this is "Dick Cheney-Land" Democrat Dale Groutage never stood much of a chance against Republican Craig Thomas.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
two days out
AZ SENATE
Jon Kyl (R) 49 %
Jim Pederson (D) 41 %
MD SENATE
Ben Cardin (D) 47%
Michael Steele (R) 44%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 53 %
Michael Bouchard (R) 37 %
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 46 %
Jim Talent (R) 45 %
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 47 %
Conrad Burns (R) 47 %
NJ SENATE
Bobby Menendez (D) 48 %
Junior Kean (R) 41 %
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 50 %
Mike DeWine (R) 44 %
Sherrod Brown (D) 62 %
Mike DeWine (R) 38 %
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 52 %
Rick Santorum (R) 39 %
RI SENATE
Lincoln Chafee (R) 46 %
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 45 %
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 50 %
Harold Ford Jr. (D) 38 %
Harold Ford, Jr. (D) 46%
Bob Corker (R) 40%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 46 %
George Allen (R) 45 %
WA SENATE
Maria Cantwell (D) 54 %
Mike McGavick (R) 38 %
Jon Kyl (R) 49 %
Jim Pederson (D) 41 %
MD SENATE
Ben Cardin (D) 47%
Michael Steele (R) 44%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 53 %
Michael Bouchard (R) 37 %
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 46 %
Jim Talent (R) 45 %
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 47 %
Conrad Burns (R) 47 %
NJ SENATE
Bobby Menendez (D) 48 %
Junior Kean (R) 41 %
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 50 %
Mike DeWine (R) 44 %
Sherrod Brown (D) 62 %
Mike DeWine (R) 38 %
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 52 %
Rick Santorum (R) 39 %
RI SENATE
Lincoln Chafee (R) 46 %
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 45 %
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 50 %
Harold Ford Jr. (D) 38 %
Harold Ford, Jr. (D) 46%
Bob Corker (R) 40%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 46 %
George Allen (R) 45 %
WA SENATE
Maria Cantwell (D) 54 %
Mike McGavick (R) 38 %
Friday, November 03, 2006
four days out
Here are more senate polls, sans where they come from. It doesn't really matter all that much this late in the game....
AZ SENATE
Jon Kyl (R) 46%
Jim Pederson (D) 41%
CA SENATE
Diane Feinstein (D) 55%
Dick Mountjoy (R) 33%
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 49%
Ned Lamont (D) 37%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 8%
Joe Lieberman (I) 51%
Ned Lamont (D) 39%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 7%
FL SENATE
Bill Nelson (D) 58%
Katherine Harris (R) 34%
Bill Nelson (D) 59%
Katherine Harris (R) 33%
MD SENATE
Ben Cardin (D) 49%
Michael Steele (R) 44%
Ben Cardin (D) 49%
Michael Steele (R) 43%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 49%
Michael Bouchard (R) 42%
MN SENATE
Amy Klobuchar (D) 55%
Mark Kennedy (R) 33%
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 46%
Jim Talent (R) 43%
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 47%
Conrad Burns (R) 46%
Jon Tester (D) 53%
Conrad Burns (R) 47%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 49%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 37%
Bob Menendez (D) 48%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 38%
Bob Menendez (D) 46%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 42%
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 49%
Mike DeWine (R) 42%
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 48%
Rick Santorum (R) 40%
Bob Casey (D) 53%
Rick Santorum (R) 38%
RI SENATE
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 53%
Lincoln Chafee (R) 39%
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 53%
Harold Ford (D) 43%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 45%
George Allen (R) 44%
George Allen (R) 45%
James Webb (D) 42%
WA SENATE
Maria Cantwell (D) 53%
Mike McGavick (R) 41%
AZ SENATE
Jon Kyl (R) 46%
Jim Pederson (D) 41%
CA SENATE
Diane Feinstein (D) 55%
Dick Mountjoy (R) 33%
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 49%
Ned Lamont (D) 37%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 8%
Joe Lieberman (I) 51%
Ned Lamont (D) 39%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 7%
FL SENATE
Bill Nelson (D) 58%
Katherine Harris (R) 34%
Bill Nelson (D) 59%
Katherine Harris (R) 33%
MD SENATE
Ben Cardin (D) 49%
Michael Steele (R) 44%
Ben Cardin (D) 49%
Michael Steele (R) 43%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 49%
Michael Bouchard (R) 42%
MN SENATE
Amy Klobuchar (D) 55%
Mark Kennedy (R) 33%
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 46%
Jim Talent (R) 43%
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 47%
Conrad Burns (R) 46%
Jon Tester (D) 53%
Conrad Burns (R) 47%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 49%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 37%
Bob Menendez (D) 48%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 38%
Bob Menendez (D) 46%
Tom Kean, Jr (R) 42%
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 49%
Mike DeWine (R) 42%
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 48%
Rick Santorum (R) 40%
Bob Casey (D) 53%
Rick Santorum (R) 38%
RI SENATE
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 53%
Lincoln Chafee (R) 39%
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 53%
Harold Ford (D) 43%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 45%
George Allen (R) 44%
George Allen (R) 45%
James Webb (D) 42%
WA SENATE
Maria Cantwell (D) 53%
Mike McGavick (R) 41%
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Five Days Out
Despite the fact that John Kerry's stuggle to get renominated for President two years hence has just self-destructed, the Democrats seem to be on target for retaking both houses. That's good, but I'll not truly belived it until I actually see it.
Some senate polls:
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 49%
Ned Lamont (D) 37%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 8%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 49%
Michael Bouchard (R) 42%
FL SENATE
Bill Nelson (D) 59%
Katherine Harris (R) 33%
MN SENATE
Amy Klobuchar (D) 55%
Mark Kennedy (R) 33%
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 46%
Jim Talent (R) 43%
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 47%
Conrad Burns (R) 46%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 49%
Tom Kean, JR. (R) 37%
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 49%
Mike DeWine (R) 42%
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 48%
Rick Santorum (R) 40%
RI SENATE
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 53%
Lincoln Chafee (R) 39%
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 53%
Harold Ford (D) 43%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 45%
George Allen (R) 44%
George Allen (R) 45%
James Webb (D) 42%
Some senate polls:
CT SENATE
Joe Lieberman (I) 49%
Ned Lamont (D) 37%
Alan Schlesinger (R) 8%
MI SENATE
Debbie Stabenow (D) 49%
Michael Bouchard (R) 42%
FL SENATE
Bill Nelson (D) 59%
Katherine Harris (R) 33%
MN SENATE
Amy Klobuchar (D) 55%
Mark Kennedy (R) 33%
MO SENATE
Claire McCaskill (D) 46%
Jim Talent (R) 43%
MT SENATE
Jon Tester (D) 47%
Conrad Burns (R) 46%
NJ SENATE
Bob Menendez (D) 49%
Tom Kean, JR. (R) 37%
OH SENATE
Sherrod Brown (D) 49%
Mike DeWine (R) 42%
PA SENATE
Bob Casey (D) 48%
Rick Santorum (R) 40%
RI SENATE
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 53%
Lincoln Chafee (R) 39%
TN SENATE
Bob Corker (R) 53%
Harold Ford (D) 43%
VA SENATE
James Webb (D) 45%
George Allen (R) 44%
George Allen (R) 45%
James Webb (D) 42%
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
San Francisco--the junket.
I know why they sometimes have these things. Advertising. The fawning press is supposed to ask some softball questions for the evening newscast, or get some background from a producer or something for a feature in a magazine or newspaper. You get everyone in the same place and it's actually pretty easy for all involved.
Now once can see why they do this for a film that's coming out. Even if the buzz is terriffic, the studios still need publicty in order for that all important first weekend. It's a major expense, but a neccessary one. Sometimes, during major film festivals, the survivors of some old films are trotted out for the press. Why just a couple of months ago, they had press confrences for El Topo and Reds, films with great reputations and which few had seen in many years. That's understandable, too. But what I couldn't understand is why they would have a full-fledges junket for a Cars.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about the one they had last June, they should have had the one just before the film came out, no. I'm talking about having another one four months later for the DVD. Now, I've saw the film when it first came out TWICE, once for the regular press screening and the IMAX version, and I gave the thing a good review. Maybe that's why they invited me, I don't know, but going out there, on THEIR dime, and getting to see the innards of this magical factory, is something no one in their right mind would pass up.
That's what made this trip so dissapointing. We didn't actually see all that much. This was only what was advertised, nothing more. Damn!
I don't really want to seem ungrateful, I mean the food was wonderful and the Hotel Monaco has soft beds and a wonderful free wine tasting program. San Francisco is a wonderful city, and had I not had to get back when I did, I would have had an extremely enjoyable day hanging out on Market street, or Polk. But that was not why I was there, I was there to see Pixar, and if I saw nothing else, that would be just dandy.
The lot of us got together at a quarter of seven in the lobby, and got on a pair of minibuses where we headed out over the Bay Bridge and into Marin County, Passing Berkeley and into the town of Emoryville, which is sort of in Oakland, and where all the factories are. The scenery was very much like it was on the other side of America, with the beginnings of autumn changing the trees from green to orange and gold. It was all very California.
Sooner than expected, there we were. They let us out of the vans and we walked into the building. the Pixar building is a two story structure with a huge interior "courtyard" surrounded by two wings which are connected on the second floor by a bridge. The schedule went something like this:
Breakfast.
Sign-in
The morning round tables
Lunch
The Afternoon screenings.
A tour of the campus.
Back to the Hotel.
Breakfast was really good. Various versions of scrambled eggs and cheese omelttes, and really good coffee and fruit. Then we had to sign in. I'm sorry. The sign-in was lame. Usually when you sign in for one of these things, you just sign your name on a register, grab some press materials and go on. That's lame too, but in the usual beaurocratic way. Nobody minds that.
This time, we had to go through a pseudo-DMV type thing, where we had to recognise some of the characters and do a quiz, followed by a demo of the video game (that part would have been fine, but I suck at that sort of thing). This was too cute by half. If there were little children there, that would be one thing, but you had a few dozen adults going through this none-too-pleased. Then we had some more food and wandered around the vast area that was the first floor for a bit before lining up and heading past the "unauthorized personell forbidden" signs and up the stairs for three round tables with a couple of the storyboarders and some technitions, who told us about how much work it is to do lighting in an all CGI film and how to make color packets for the techies doing the rendering. That was fine, then we went downstairs again where a couple of people showed us how wonderful all the extras were.
Now extras are important to a DVD. Nobody likes "vanilla," and no one did vanilla more annoyingly than Disney did back in the day [The original Roger Rabbit had a list of them where actually weren't on the disc]. Pixar knows this and they're justly proud of what they did on some of their earlier efforts. They gave us a brief tour of what's on there, and the whole presentation was mostly boring. Menus are like that. However, I want a plasma TV more than ever. God that was beautiful.
Then came lunch, and this was where the problems started. No. The food was terriffic, the buffet was to perfection and I enjoyed every morsel. The problem was stonewalling. I sat down and there he was. John Lassiter, sitting catty corner from me. He was very plesant, and I decided, since I was there, to find out what exactly was going on with the studio. Bang! He and his main flunkey are very good at stonewalling. They had just come out with a new short, called Lifted, and they had a few signs for it on the wall. I asked about it and they seemed very exited, although they wouldn't say anything specific. I asked about Ratatouille, which is the next project and the project after that, "W.A.L.-E". Stonewall. I persisted. "Do you see any posters for Meet the Robinsons do you?" he snarled at me. I was there to do journalism, right? But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't do what I wanted, after all it was on their dime and in their house.
This was a squandered opportunity on Pixar's part. If you're going to spend THOUSANDS of dollars to bring people THOUSANDS of miles, it would be really cool to dazzel them. Show them a tease here and there. Some character designs for Ratatouille, or Lifted, for example.
We've got something special for YOU! Not special like a tee shirt (which I'm wearing, by the way), something that you can tell your readers in confidence.
the afternoon sessions were rather boring. they showed us the specially made cartoon for the DVD, Mater and the Ghost Light, and that wasn't particularly good. The character of Mater in the feature was silly and colorful, but he was actually one of the more intellegent characters. Here he's just a moronic child. The punchline was cute but the build up wasn't.
But you can't say "This sucks" on their turf. The questions were for the most part polite and perfunctery. Lassiter made his official appearence and talked about how how he was inspired by a road trip he took with his family after Toy Story 2 was finished. Very sweet. Of course the original concept had nothing to do with the finished film except for the fact that all of the characters were automotive. I was still a bit ticked off.
Then we took the tour. We actually saw quite a bit of the preliminary art from Cars, and some from Finding Nemo. But we didn't see anyone working. That was all hidden. We did go outside and see the vollyball court.
We went back to the hotel and drank more free wine before having dinner on Disney's dime. It helped me sleep in the flight back.
Now once can see why they do this for a film that's coming out. Even if the buzz is terriffic, the studios still need publicty in order for that all important first weekend. It's a major expense, but a neccessary one. Sometimes, during major film festivals, the survivors of some old films are trotted out for the press. Why just a couple of months ago, they had press confrences for El Topo and Reds, films with great reputations and which few had seen in many years. That's understandable, too. But what I couldn't understand is why they would have a full-fledges junket for a Cars.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about the one they had last June, they should have had the one just before the film came out, no. I'm talking about having another one four months later for the DVD. Now, I've saw the film when it first came out TWICE, once for the regular press screening and the IMAX version, and I gave the thing a good review. Maybe that's why they invited me, I don't know, but going out there, on THEIR dime, and getting to see the innards of this magical factory, is something no one in their right mind would pass up.
That's what made this trip so dissapointing. We didn't actually see all that much. This was only what was advertised, nothing more. Damn!
I don't really want to seem ungrateful, I mean the food was wonderful and the Hotel Monaco has soft beds and a wonderful free wine tasting program. San Francisco is a wonderful city, and had I not had to get back when I did, I would have had an extremely enjoyable day hanging out on Market street, or Polk. But that was not why I was there, I was there to see Pixar, and if I saw nothing else, that would be just dandy.
The lot of us got together at a quarter of seven in the lobby, and got on a pair of minibuses where we headed out over the Bay Bridge and into Marin County, Passing Berkeley and into the town of Emoryville, which is sort of in Oakland, and where all the factories are. The scenery was very much like it was on the other side of America, with the beginnings of autumn changing the trees from green to orange and gold. It was all very California.
Sooner than expected, there we were. They let us out of the vans and we walked into the building. the Pixar building is a two story structure with a huge interior "courtyard" surrounded by two wings which are connected on the second floor by a bridge. The schedule went something like this:
Breakfast.
Sign-in
The morning round tables
Lunch
The Afternoon screenings.
A tour of the campus.
Back to the Hotel.
Breakfast was really good. Various versions of scrambled eggs and cheese omelttes, and really good coffee and fruit. Then we had to sign in. I'm sorry. The sign-in was lame. Usually when you sign in for one of these things, you just sign your name on a register, grab some press materials and go on. That's lame too, but in the usual beaurocratic way. Nobody minds that.
This time, we had to go through a pseudo-DMV type thing, where we had to recognise some of the characters and do a quiz, followed by a demo of the video game (that part would have been fine, but I suck at that sort of thing). This was too cute by half. If there were little children there, that would be one thing, but you had a few dozen adults going through this none-too-pleased. Then we had some more food and wandered around the vast area that was the first floor for a bit before lining up and heading past the "unauthorized personell forbidden" signs and up the stairs for three round tables with a couple of the storyboarders and some technitions, who told us about how much work it is to do lighting in an all CGI film and how to make color packets for the techies doing the rendering. That was fine, then we went downstairs again where a couple of people showed us how wonderful all the extras were.
Now extras are important to a DVD. Nobody likes "vanilla," and no one did vanilla more annoyingly than Disney did back in the day [The original Roger Rabbit had a list of them where actually weren't on the disc]. Pixar knows this and they're justly proud of what they did on some of their earlier efforts. They gave us a brief tour of what's on there, and the whole presentation was mostly boring. Menus are like that. However, I want a plasma TV more than ever. God that was beautiful.
Then came lunch, and this was where the problems started. No. The food was terriffic, the buffet was to perfection and I enjoyed every morsel. The problem was stonewalling. I sat down and there he was. John Lassiter, sitting catty corner from me. He was very plesant, and I decided, since I was there, to find out what exactly was going on with the studio. Bang! He and his main flunkey are very good at stonewalling. They had just come out with a new short, called Lifted, and they had a few signs for it on the wall. I asked about it and they seemed very exited, although they wouldn't say anything specific. I asked about Ratatouille, which is the next project and the project after that, "W.A.L.-E". Stonewall. I persisted. "Do you see any posters for Meet the Robinsons do you?" he snarled at me. I was there to do journalism, right? But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't do what I wanted, after all it was on their dime and in their house.
This was a squandered opportunity on Pixar's part. If you're going to spend THOUSANDS of dollars to bring people THOUSANDS of miles, it would be really cool to dazzel them. Show them a tease here and there. Some character designs for Ratatouille, or Lifted, for example.
We've got something special for YOU! Not special like a tee shirt (which I'm wearing, by the way), something that you can tell your readers in confidence.
the afternoon sessions were rather boring. they showed us the specially made cartoon for the DVD, Mater and the Ghost Light, and that wasn't particularly good. The character of Mater in the feature was silly and colorful, but he was actually one of the more intellegent characters. Here he's just a moronic child. The punchline was cute but the build up wasn't.
But you can't say "This sucks" on their turf. The questions were for the most part polite and perfunctery. Lassiter made his official appearence and talked about how how he was inspired by a road trip he took with his family after Toy Story 2 was finished. Very sweet. Of course the original concept had nothing to do with the finished film except for the fact that all of the characters were automotive. I was still a bit ticked off.
Then we took the tour. We actually saw quite a bit of the preliminary art from Cars, and some from Finding Nemo. But we didn't see anyone working. That was all hidden. We did go outside and see the vollyball court.
We went back to the hotel and drank more free wine before having dinner on Disney's dime. It helped me sleep in the flight back.
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