He must be butter …
Posted on August 6, 2004 at 2:44 pm | No Comments
… ‘cuz he’s on a roll.
In addition to our appointed leader’s inadvertant speaking of the actual truth yesterday, in which he said…
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
… we’ve got another classic hot on it’s heels. Check out Bush’s response to a question posed to him by Mark Trahant from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, at the UNITY: Journalists of Color Convention this morning, regarding the sovereignty of Native American tribes …
Q: Most school kids learn about the government in the context of city, county, state and federal. And, of course, tribal governments are not part of that at all. Mr. President, you’ve been a governor and a President, so you have a unique experience, looking at it from two directions. What do you think tribal sovereignty means in the 21st century, and how do we resolve conflicts between tribes and the federal and the state governments?
THE PRESIDENT: Tribal sovereignty means that, it’s sovereign. You’re a — you’ve been given sovereignty, and you’re viewed as a sovereign entity. And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities.
Can’t you just hear him saying that? Realizing he doesn’t actually know what the word “sovereign” means, but fumbling his way through anyway? I honestly wish someone was making this stuff up. How many more days until the election, again?
Garden State of Mind
Posted on August 6, 2004 at 2:30 pm | No Comments
Awhile back I wondered if my long-building anticipation for Garden State would end up in disappointment. I’ve been excited from the moment I finished watching the first trailer (a work of art on it’s own) so many months ago. I’d been counting down the days, checking out director/writer/star Zach Braff’s blog, waiting to find out when it would open in Boston.
Well, today’s the day, but I was lucky enough to catch a preview earlier this week. I’m so, so glad to say that it lived up to, and blew away, the high expectations. My favorite film of the year, by a Jersey mile.
There wasn’t anything about this movie I didn’t love… the cast, their dialogue, the soundtrack, the cinematography & set design. I especially dug the use of symmetry in so many of the initial scene shots, and the distant perspectives at the end of others. Perfect use of close-ups and pull-backs, speed-ups and slow-motion… I noticed so many little details that added up to one big, beautiful film.
Braff’s use of humor to offset tragic moments was just so wonderfully and tastefully applied. There was so much truth, so many pointed, insightful lines and exchanges… what a remarkable piece of work. It’s more than a coming-of-age story, more than one man’s quarter-life-crisis (as Braff has called it), it’s a freakin’ inspiration. It sits high on a short list of films that have resonated deeply, have touched me personally. I cannot wait to see it again.
Needless to say, I’ll be paying close attention to what ever Zach chooses to do next. Look’s like he’s adapting “Andrew Henry’s Meadow“, which sounds good to me.
P.S. Micki, you’ll be happy to know that I finally had my Shins breakthrough moment a couple months ago… while I was sitting alone in River Gods, sipping a beer and reading a book. The bartender put on Chutes as I sat there, and I finally got it. In the biggest, best way. So, yeah, you were totally right. 🙂