signalnoise

It's good to see there are still those out there that think the media still feels it has some sort of obligation to the people to keep us informed. Sadly, I feel it turned into a version of the entertainment industry a while ago.

As for almost spoilering my all the time, it just means that we both have excellent taste in film.

Can't read your Prestige entry because I don't want anything ruined.

Re: The Prestige.
It was a multi-layered film. On one level it was about the way revenge and obsession can ruin you, but it was also an examination of the structure of the trick (Pledge, Turn, Prestige). It's definately a film that benifits from repeated viewing. Also, was it a cloning machine or a quantum rift? I got into a discussion about this after the film.

Glad to hear you feel that way. I'll consider this a handshake.

Gotta love capitolism.

Well, if your advisor is challenging the obesity epidemic, that means he probably won't get torn a new asshole during the show. As much as I enjoy watching Penn & Teller demolish people in their show, I just can't help but wince and feel sorry for the people stupid enough to agree to appear on camera. Its like handing a loaded gun to someone who promptly uses said gun to shoot you in the kneecaps...

... although I must confess that I would love to watch P&T shoot someone in the kneecaps. Like Sean Hannity, perhaps. You just can't put a price on that kind of entertainment.

Oh, and identity politics is bullshit. Trying to use someone's background to shame/inspire them into voting a certain way is a dick move. Kudos for making the right choice, Sig, even if you are voting for someone you despise. I'm in a similiar boat: I hate most of the Arizona democrats, who are so eager to cling to the middle and not offend that they fail to do ANYTHING when they're in office. Our governor, who is bound to win, is the textbook case for this style of backbone-less politicking. Still, I have to follow the lesser of two evils principle...

I'm struggling not to tow the party line out here, but in my area the Republicans are making it really hard not to avoid them.

re: the whole nails thing? *shudder* that scene gets me every time.

were you implying. . . . that i smell?

because you're right. i reek of intelligence.

i'd like to be a fly on the wall at your poker night. boy tickle fights are hilarious.

"I seriously want to see The Departed. We didn't get to it last weekend, and this weekend I got a cold like a punk so we spent most of the weekend on the couch. But it's totally on my list. In fact, there are quite a few fine flicks coming out. "

Sorry to hear about the cold. Few things suck as hard as being a prisoner of one's own couch.

I'd definitely agree on there being a lot of fine, fine flicks coming down the pipeline. Children Of Men, Borat, Jesus Camp... its nice not having to bitch as much about there being nothing good coming out.

trust me, i don't think i'd be all that startled by your levels of apathy.

i have a food processor still in its box. if i were to actually unpack it i could chop the ingredients for my salsa in no time at all. but i don't want to take the time to unpack it. . . .

the george foreman grill is way in the back of my pantry. if i were to use it, i could cook food in half the time. sadly, i don't want to take the time to move things out of the way so i can get to it.

see the trend? yeah, i would not me startled at all.

I've got to say, that Luhrman-esque treatment of Troy sounds really cool. It makes me wonder which particular Greek gods would correspond to what mortal station. Ares as a tear-gas happy police chief? Zeus as a Clinton-style senatorial sex fiend? Athena as a social worker? Poseidon as the corrupt head of a dock workers' union? The possibilities are endless. Kudos to you, Sig, that idea is golden.

As for music: So Alone is a very under-rated record. I always thought it was a pity that a waste of flesh like Sid Vicious become a cultural icon while Johnny T, who was just as much a tragic poster boy for living-fast-and-dying-young (and was actually a talented songwriter and guitarist), died in obscurity. The emotional vibe of that record is striking: he sounds defiant and deeply resigned at the same time. Unfortunately, my copy of the record has some nasty scratches on it, and it keeps skipping in the middle of "You Can't Put Your Arm Around A Memory".

Hope you enjoyed your weekend!

A pleasure to be of service.

The book project question is tough (I just turned one down for similar reasons - it started all as "you should totally write a chapter for our book!" and drifted towards, "we need you to do a massive literature survey for the grant proposal for the book, and then when and if we get the money, I'll probably talk to the other editors about seeing if you can submit a chapter for approval..."). However, given that I was severely slammed on the job market for lack of publications, I'd lean towards saying that if you think you can do it, and that at worst you'll get an article-length piece out of it, I'd go for it.

I've got nothing to add on monthlies. I miss getting Muscle & Fitness and Saveur, but I'm not sure that's what you're looking for.

"Sliding into marriage" eh? Yeah, that describes exactly how the wife and I went about it. Way to trivialize a large portion of the population's meaningful relationships, Ms. Smith. And these people seriously wonder why they have such heated opposition...

I know I'm a bit late here, but it's been a long week. I'm back in the U.S. now, by the way...What always amazes me in the U.S., after two years in Germany, is the way birth control is an issue at all ... I have to say, I find German younger adults (people roughly 24-35) much more well-adjusted socially and sexually ... granted I'm judging in most cases just from conversations and talk (with the exception of the girl I was dating there for a year), but still ... Two things I would note that I think are the cause of this (or could be at least partial causes):

1.) Sex ed in German schools, which includes contraceptive ed., is pro forma. And birth control ads, as well as public ad campaigns encouraging the German to "Mach's mit" (i.e., use a condom) are EVERYWHERE ... I didn't travel in more conservative circles in Germany, I must admit, but everyone, even those who are believers (whether Lutherans or Catholics) there, just sees this sort of sex ed as a matter of course -- the facts of life, if you will. There is this very matter-of-fact attitude towards sex there.

2.) The proportion of sex to violence on German television is the inverse of American TV. I don't want to sound like I'm copping an attitude here, but I've been a bit shocked, even with my basic cable, since I've been back in the U.S., by how much violence is shown on TV, in graphic detail, while the merest suggestion of a butt-crack or nipple is digitally removed from view... WTF? I don't understand that...

Lest this become an "I miss Germany" comment (which I don't intend), I would just say that we ought to exclude these non-mainstream quacks of the type you cite above from our policy debates ... if someone wants to use bc or not use it, that's fine ... but public-health policy is not an ok place to work out these dilemmas!

The only problem is that, in America, they're not exactly non-mainstream ... Their numbers are quite large, from what I understand. And that's too bad. I don't know how that's going to change anytime soon.

Has it started yet? Did I miss the premiere?!

The biggest house of cards is most vulnerable.

Every time I see "Something's Gotta Give" I concur

So nice he said it twice.