Monthly Archives: January 2006

Jan172006

The Girlfriend’s First Art

Jennifer Broschinsky, who occasionally comments in these parts, is a friend of mine and Anne’s. She’s also a painter of considerable talent who somehow manages to find time to create in between the demands of raising both a son and a comic-book-loving husband, as well as working a full-time job. A while back, Anne saw one of Jen’s works on her LiveJournal and fell head-over-heels in love with it. One quick ‘n’ easy financial transaction later, and my lovely girlfriend became the proud owner of her very first piece of genuine art. Here it is, just back from the frame-shop and ready for hanging:

One of Jennifer Broschinsky's children.

Now, I must admit that what I know about art would maybe fill a metaphorical shot glass, but I think this is a very impressive piece. Anne is greatly pleased with how the frame turned out, and Jen, if you’re looking at this, we both hope you are as well. On behalf of The Girlfriend, thanks again for being willing to part with one of your children…

spacer
Jan172006

Larry Miller: The People’s Censor?

A couple of things came up in the comment-area discussion on my previous entry that inspired me to go back and re-read the Tribune‘s coverage of this whole Brokeback Mountain mess. For the record, let’s take note of something from the Trib‘s very first article about the cancellation:

In an interview with KCPW-FM reporter Jonathan Brown, which was taped Thursday afternoon and aired Friday, Miller said booking a movie like “Brokeback Mountain” was a business decision.
“It’s something that I have to let the market speak to some degree,” Miller told Brown. “I don’t think I’m qualified to be the community censor.”

 

However, Brown said Friday that Miller was unaware of the storyline of “Brokeback Mountain” – about two Wyoming cowboys who maintain a hidden romance for two decades – until Brown described it to him Thursday, less than two hours before the schedule change was announced.

So Larry doesn’t think he’s qualified to be the community censor… until he hears that the movie is about fags. Then suddenly, for reasons that still remain unexplained, he acquires whatever qualification one needs to assume the role he just said he wouldn’t take. Interesting. I think we can all safely guess at what that qualification happens to be; it begins with an “h” and ends with “phobia.”

I think Bugs Bunny said it best: what a maroon.

spacer
Jan172006

Miller’s Folly

Sometimes it’s not easy, living in Utah.

My home state is scenically beautiful, it has an interesting history and a pleasantly varied climate, and for a relatively small city, Salt Lake actually boasts a disproportionately (and surprisingly) large number of cultural amenities. But the rest of the world never seems to talk about these things. No, when you hear about Utah in the national press or popular culture, it’s always something to do with polygamy or green Jello or the eccentricities of the predominant local faith. Or it’s something ugly and embarassing like the current flap over Larry H. Miller yanking the acclaimed film Brokeback Mountain from the schedule of his Megaplex theaters because it was too gay for his tastes.

Continue Reading…

spacer
Jan162006

The Die Hard 2 Effect Hits 24

When the series 24 first premiered a few seasons back, I thought it was the most brilliant thing that’d been on television in a long, long time — the conceit that each hour-long episode represented an hour of “real time” was clever and fresh, the suspenseful tone was pretty consistent, and even the plot of that first season was relatively realistic (if somewhat burdened with the “one damn thing after another” flavor of old cliffhanger serials, which, in a sense, is exactly what 24 is). It was also great to see Kiefer Sutherland, an actor I’ve enjoyed since his early roles in the 1980s, land a steady job and some critical respect.

However, I decided early on that show was something of a one-trick pony; after all, how many incredibly intense 24-hour crises in which the fate of the nation hangs in the balance could a single counter-terrorism agent realistically find himself in? One, maybe two in a single lifetime, but after that it would start getting harder and harder to accept that what we’re watching is “real.” Disbelief will only allow itself to be suspended so far. Call it the Die Hard 2 effect.

Continue Reading…

spacer
Jan122006

And Now, Welcome Back… To Confirmation Theater

I haven’t been following the Alito confirmation hearings very closely — I figure the outcome is pretty much inevitable unless Alito admits to drinking kitten smoothies or something — but I have caught bits and pieces of them in the car on my way to and from the train station. Frankly, I’m amazed — nay, disgusted — by the sheer pointlessness of them. What exactly is Congress accomplishing with this week-long exhalation of hot air? Judge Alito is obviously following the example set by every SCOTUS nominee since Bork, which is to say absolutely nothing at all that might tell us what he really thinks. Meanwhile, stymied by their inability to get the man to admit he enjoys a nice kitten smoothie every once in a while, Democrats preface each of the questions they know will go unanswered with interminable speeches (the contents of which I agree with in principle, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re really boring and, under the current circumstances, useless gestures). Republicans then overcompensate by falling all over themselves in displays of dewy-eyed fawning that would’ve embarassed even Monica Lewinsky during her beret-wearing days. (Utah’s own Orrin Hatch is particularly irksome in this department. I cringe every time he opens his mouth.) It’s all nothing more than an overly elaborate ritual that does no one any good.

Continue Reading…

spacer
Jan112006

Genuine “Reality TV”

This week I’ve been watching the long-form documentary film Country Boys on PBS. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t recommend it highly enough; it’s utterly compelling television. And if you haven’t heard about it, you obviously don’t watch enough PBS because they’ve been advertising the hell out of it.

Continue Reading…

spacer
Jan102006

Considering the North Star

Now here’s something I didn’t know: Polaris, a.k.a. the North Star, is actually three stars, a trinary system consisting of a supergiant much larger than our own sun and two smaller companions. One of these companions can be seen with a small telescope, but the other is in so close to the big one that its presence has only ever been deduced, never directly observed. Until now.


Hubble photograph of Polaris and friend.

In this photo, the supergiant is the big white blob, naturally, while the companion star is the much smaller bright spot in the seven o’clock position. Not surprisingly, the image was captured by the amazing Hubble Space Telescope, which had to be cranked up to its maximum resolution in order to accomplish the job; details can be found in this press release from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Pretty cool.

spacer
spacer
Jan092006

Preparing to Warp Out of Orbit

According to official Star Trek lore, the eccentric genius Zefram Cochrane is scheduled to test humanity’s first warp-driven spacecraft on April 5, 2063. But a Scottish newspaper article suggested last week that this timeline may be moving up a bit:

AN EXTRAORDINARY “hyperspace” engine that could make interstellar space travel a reality by flying into other dimensions is being investigated by the United States government.
The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe, could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according to a report in… New Scientist magazine.

 

The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field that, according to ideas first developed by the late scientist Burkhard Heim in the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and result in thrust for a spacecraft.

 

Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster, allowing incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic field would result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension.

Continue Reading…

spacer
Jan082006

The Sunday Funnies

There are times when I think I continue reading newspaper comic strips only out of sheer habit. With the exception of the warm-hearted and curiously twisted “Get Fuzzy,” most strips currently running today are neither very funny nor terribly insightful, unlike, say, “Calvin & Hobbes,” “Doonesbury” in its heyday, or the long-defunct but still fondly remembered “Bloom County.”

Every once in a while, however, I get lucky and am rewarded with a good chuckle. Today, I got two chuckles for my efforts, which I’ve decided to share with you here. You’ll find both below the fold, for the convenience of any dial-up readers out there. If you have trouble reading them, click on them to see a larger version…

Continue Reading…

spacer