Baron Dave Romm
Obama's Nobel
By Baron Dave Romm
Shockwave Radio Theater podcasts
Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize used to be what kids dreamed of getting. Then it wasn't. Now, it may have returned as symbol of the highest aspiration.
The award had been tarnished by Henry Kissinger, but at least he'd signed a peace agreement; more of a surrender, but he did help end the Vietnam War. His other warmongering actions were ignored. The prize stopped being the pinnacle of aspiration by the award to Yasser Arafat. He was not merely a terrorist so slimy that he stole a billion dollars meant for his own people, but he reneged on his handshake. Unlike Kissinger, Arafat's word meant nothing and no peace was ever achieved. Mother Teresa may be a saint for some, but she's part of the problem. In a country already vastly overpopulated, she preached the irresponsible sexual politics of the hard right. She can be rightly held up as a model of devotion, but not of peace.
Arafat's 1994 award caused a rift in the Nobel Prize Committee, and for many years the prize went to figures that seemed secondary. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines may do excellent work, but are they really worthy of the world's top prize for peace? Scandinavian soul searching went on, dragging like a Bergman film.
The stolen US elections of 2000 and 2004 seemed to galvanize the group. We here in the US don't always understand just how bad Bush was to our reputation and credibility overseas. Oh, if we only had a liberal media. But no, we have a very conservative news media, an echo chamber made up of arrogant partisans and deliberate idiots. In other countries, they are aghast.
Barack Obama became the third sitting US President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I don't think he deserves it, yet, but I admire the Nobel Committee's cojones. Meanwhile, the anti-American far right is booing as loudly as they cheered when Chicago lost the Olympics, and the Democrats are using the issue to give the GOP a taste of its own medicine.
Let me repeat that: Many on the right cheered the loss of an American Olympic bit and ripped into a proud moment for Americans. Once again we see how conservatives hate America.
To be more specific, sphincter conservatives hate everything good about America. As Gold Meir said of the Israeli/Refugee problem, "There will be peace in the Middle East only when the Arabs love their children more than they hate Israel." She was exactly right. The thugs and murderers in Gaza and the West Bank are now in their third generation hate and genocide. In almost as long, Republicans have been hatemongers since Nixon's "Southern Strategy" was to steal the racist Dixiecrat branch of the Democrats and make them the Dixiepub "core" of the GOP.
Not all Republicans are quite that shameful. Goppies from CA Gov. Schwartzenegger to MN Gov. Pawlenty have congratulated Obama. One of the far right talking points is that Obama deserves accolades for the award but the Nobel Committee was at fault; they just don't get it.
Some Democrats are going a bit too far comparing the GOP to Al Queda for their hatred of America. Still, it's always fun to throw right wing arguments back in their face and watch their apoplexy. In 2004 terrorists intimated they would rather see Kerry as president, and that immediately became a hot air point for the right wing media. An abrasive harpy screech that lasted for months, where they insisted the Democratic nominee was exactly like Osama. Now, when the GOP response to Obama's Nobel Peace Prize echos very closely that of Al Queda and other terrorist groups, Republicans are flip-flopping with a wet gurgle.
No, the GOP isn't Al Queda because they say stupid things. But yes, the far right hates Obama more than they love America. They are disgusting, unChristian perverts who should never have been given a platform in the first place. Conservatives can dish it out, but they can't take it.
Obama's award, like Carter's and Gore's, was as much a slap in the face to Bush and Cheney. Good for the Nobel Committee. They're braver than anyone on the far right and braver than most on the left.
Obama has made the world safer merely by being elected and showing the world that the United States isn't completely insane. By itself, this qualifies under Nobel Peace Prize rules. Obama has guts and integrity, and now has incentive to be a world leader. From now on, every time he does something on the world stage, the conservative media will drone, "Oh, now he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize."
My prediction: By the time he is done, Obama will have deserved the prize many times over.
TV Quick Takes 2
I'm not sure I've seen all episodes of all of these, so will just riff off their names.
Hank Right wing media elite Kelsey Grammer returns as lead actor and occasional director. The show itself seems to be trying to recapture the city-mouse-in-the-country displacement of Green Acres and the folksy rural everybody-knows-what-you're-doing nosiness of King of the Hill. After two episodes, it is neither. Grammer is a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company who has lost his company in a very public display and is forced to move back to his wife's Virginia hometown. Not particularly funny, and not particularly observant about either life in NYC or Virginia. While it's too early to really judge, the network seems to agree with me and it wasn't picked up for a full season.
Accidentally On Purpose Jenna Elfman plays a woman knocked up by a much younger man and decides to keep the baby but not marry either the baby father or her longstanding lover (former husband? I lost track.) I saw the pilot, which was more set-up than humor, but it didn't look promising. The built-in obsolescence of the premise guarantees that the show won't have a static situation for the situation comedy. Whether this is a good thing or not I can't say, but it's a lesser priority in the time slot.
The Good Wife Wow, what a dumb premise, ripped from today's headlines. The wife of a disgraced government official decides to go back to being a lawyer. She has to move out of her fancy exurb, where her former friends shunned her. She lands a job in a high-price corporate law firm who are all too understanding of her situation and her clients. Neither show so far has either tugged the heartstrings or provided a particularly engrossing plot. Fortunately for the wife, it's only aired competition is...
the forgotten aka Lukewarm Case. The premise of Cold Case is that old crimes get dug out of the archives and solved in an hour. In the uncapitalized the forgotten, cases that the police are too busy with get turned over to a bunch of internet geeks who use volunteers to dig up the identity of murder victims. Naturally, they solve cases in an hour. I'd rather pay higher taxes so police can do their work more efficiently than rely on these well-meaning but unaccountable dunderheads. Sappy and not terribly interesting.
Leno Okay, I'll comment on the other competition in that time slot. To be fair, I only saw the first three of Jay Leno's new show. Haven't seen it since, and haven't missed it. The shows I saw were okay. Not quite the same as his stint as host of The Tonight Show but not tremendously different, either. If you liked him before, you'll like him now. If you'd rather watch another comedy talk show than reality show or produced show in prime time, it's worth a look. I never record any of the late night talk shows but occasionally drop in if there's nothing else going on. Leno's show reached that level of ennui almost immediately.
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D
As a preview and promotion for Toy Story 3, Disney has remastered old favorites in 3D. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are in limited 3D Double Feature release.. If you at all liked either movie, or have young kids who haven't seen them, this is highly recommended.
Both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 work pretty well. You have to suspend a fair amount of disbelief, of course, but once you get past the premise, everything tugs at your heartstrings. In the original, the toys try very hard to maintain the illusion that they're just inanimate objects when humans are around. In the sequel, not so much.
On the other hand, Toy Story 2 makes use of the 3D far more effectively. Both movies use the 3D well, but the sequel was made later and the animation is far more suited to the effect. All the Buzz Lightyear stuff in the beginning is great, and the scenes in the elevator shaft are very nicely done.
Side noteThe 3D glasses are good, but tend to be dirty. My normal glasses microfiber was ineffective. I recommend bringing a liquid lens cleaner as well as your favorite wipe.
Both movies are fairly short, but the double feature is more than three hours. There's a ten minute intermission between movies, and most movie houses will let you start in either one, or see them individually. Disney has a nice package, aimed mainly at kids, so the promos and intermission tidbits are a lot of fun too.
They're in limited release, for only a few days more. Worth the effort.
Vikings vs. Rams: Ho hum
As of this writing, the Vikings are ahead 31-10 in the middle of the fourth quarter. They still don't look all that impressive, but they will wind up the day 5-0. On the other hand, with the possible exception of the Packers, they haven't played a good team yet. If they're 7-0 after the Ravens and Steelers, I might revisit that consideration.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore
Friends, Last night my wife asked me if I thought I was a little too hard on Obama in my letter yesterday congratulating him on his Nobel Prize. "No, I don't think so," I replied. I thought it was important to remind him he's now conducting the two wars he's inherited. "Yeah," she said, "but to tell him, 'Now earn it!'? Give the guy a break -- this is a great day for him and for all of us."
Susan Estrich: The President's Choice (creators.com)
Afghanistan used to be a great issue for Barack Obama. As a candidate, he repeatedly argued that George W. Bush and his Defense Department had lost their way, focusing too much attention (and troops and resources) on Iraq while shortchanging the more important mission in Afghanistan.
Froma Harrp: The Terrorist Within (creators.com)
What you need to know about Michael C. Finton is that he parked a van in front of a federal building in Springfield, Ill., believing it was loaded with explosives. He then twice made cell phone calls that he thought would detonate the bombs.
Ted Rall: BARACK HUSSEIN HOOVER
It's 1933 Again. But FDR Lost.
Roger Ebert's Journal: Books do furnish a life
"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." -- Erasmus
John Eskow: From Stand-Up Comic to Stand-Up Guy: The Long, Strange Trip of Al Franken (Huffingtonpost.com)
But even so, and even then, he had a unique ability to translate his beliefs into immediate action: once, when Henry Kissinger personally called the SNL offices to request tickets to the show, Al happened to pick up the phone, and curtly informed the ex-Secretary of State that his request would not be honored. When Kissinger -- indignant at the slight -- asked why he couldn't score the tickets, Al calmly replied: "Because of the bombing of Cambodia."
Bill Maher: New Rule: Everyone Deserves Equal Rights (Huffingtonpost.com)
New Rule: Everyone deserves equal rights. That's why they're called "equal" and "rights.
The queen of the digital water cooler (guardian.co.uk)
She's one of the best connected people in the US, and one of the most influential, too: Arianna Huffington grants Emma Brockes an audience.
How long does it really take to change a habit? (guardian.co.uk)
'Self-help culture clings to the fiction of the 28-day rule,' says Oliver Burkeman.
Caroline Irby: "Teen spirit: Anthony Cadien, 18" (guardian.co.uk)
'I came up with a plan: hang out with the smart geeky kids and get all the brains'.'
Josh Patner: How Bad Was Lindsay Lohan's Ungaro Collection? (slate.com/)
Why the clothes really provoked such a hostile reaction.
La Lucha continues in many ways (latimes.com)
Putting on the festival for a 13th year is a real struggle. The festival was started to create opportunities for Latinos in film.
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Your Woman. My Woman! YOUR Wife - MOONS AND DENTS?
Another 'Groundhog Day' nocturnal event in the old initial capitol of the Confederacy - and how it brought the most subtle smile to the normally stoic face of Chief Pontiac?
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Afghan Options' Edition
The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama is not considering a strategy for Afghanistan that would withdraw U.S. troops from the eroding war there.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said "I don't think we have the option to leave. That's quite clear," ( White House: Leaving Afghanistan Not An Option | CommonDreams.org )
That being the case, what options would you recommend to the President?
Send your response to
Results tomorrow
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Link from RJ
Money Does Grow on Trees
Hi there
Here is my latest - thanks for taking a look!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast til mid-day. Quite nice.
Giants Stadium
Bruce Springsteen
Highlighting the album that shot him to superstardom, Bruce Springsteen has rocked Giants Stadium in New Jersey for the last time.
Friday night's show - which drew nearly 60,000 people and lasted for more than three hours - was the last concert at the venue in East Rutherford. It will soon be demolished to create parking for a new stadium.
The show was the fifth that The Boss and the E Street Band had performed there since Sept. 30. All featured full-album sets. And like previous shows, the final concert opened with a new song called "Wrecking Ball."
During the show, Springsteen and his bandmates played the "Born in the USA" album from front to back. Overall, they performed 31 songs - including seven encores - and closed the night with "Jersey Girl."
Bruce Springsteen
Sitges Film Festival
Duncan Jones
British director Duncan Jones, the son of rock legend David Bowie, won several prizes on Sunday at the Sitges film festival in Spain for the science-fiction thriller "Moon", his first feature film.
The film, starring US actor Sam Rockwell as an astronaut living alone in a Moon base, won the prizes for best film, best screenplay and best actor.
Jones, whose father was also inspired by astronauts in his 1969 song "Space Oddity", began his directing career in the advertising industry.
Duncan Jones
Mayans Insist Not The End Of The World
2012
Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly "running out" on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it's not the end of the world.
Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff."
It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.
A significant time period for the Mayas does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.
But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes "predictions" from Nostradamus and the Mayas and asks: "Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?"
2012
Distant Relatives
Damon & Affleck
It seems Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are more than childhood pals and Hollywood collaborators.
According to the New England Genealogical Society, they're also cousins. Tenth cousins, once removed, that is.
Society researchers dug up evidence that both Damon and Affleck are descended from William Knowlton Jr. He was a bricklayer who came to the U.S. from England in the 1630s and settled in Ipswich.
The society said Friday that Affleck has lots of other famous relatives, including 16 U.S. presidents - Barack Obama among them - and the late Princess Diana.
Damon & Affleck
US Classrooms
Columbus
Jeffrey Kolowith's kindergarten students read a poem about Christopher Columbus, take a journey to the New World on three paper ships and place the explorer's picture on a timeline through history.
Kolowith's students learn about the explorer's significance - though they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend.
"I talk about the situation where he didn't even realize where he was," Kolowith said. "And we talked about how he was very, very mean, very bossy."
Columbus' stature in U.S. classrooms has declined somewhat through the years, and many districts will not observe his namesake holiday on Monday. Although lessons vary, many teachers are trying to present a more balanced perspective of what happened after Columbus reached the Caribbean and the suffering of indigenous populations.
Columbus
Changing Hollywood
Studio Shake-Ups
Management shake-ups at movie giants Universal and Disney reflect the industry's difficulty in adjusting to the digital age and failure to halt sliding DVD sales, analysts say.
In the space of a few weeks, Disney has shown the door to its respected and long-serving chairman Dick Cook while Universal wielded the axe on co-chairmen Marc Shmuger and David Linde on Monday.
"These shifts expose a serious stress that is bubbling to the surface throughout the entertainment industry, and especially theatrical motion pictures," said Jason Squire, a film industry expert at the University of Southern California and editor of "The Movie Business Book."
According to figures from Digital Entertainment Group, sales of DVDs tumbled by nine percent in 2008 and nosedived by 13.5 percent in the first six months of 2009. The freefall presents a problem for studios, which rely on DVD earnings to maximize profits.
Studio Shake-Ups
Cuts Depression Risk
Mediterranean Diet
People who follow a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish are less likely to become depressed, scientists said on Monday, but the reasons are unclear.
Spanish researchers studied 11,000 people and found that those who followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had a more than 30 percent reduction in the risk of depression than those whose diet had few of the crucial Mediterranean elements.
But the researchers suggested that elements of the diet may improve blood vessel function, fight inflammation and repair oxygen-related cell damage -- all of which could reduce the chances of developing depression.
The study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal, adds to an existing body of evidence showing the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet, including reduced risks of health disease, diabetes, asthma and cancer.
Mediterranean Diet
Erupts In Joy
Obama City
The small Japanese port city of Obama hailed Friday its namesake, US President Barack Obama, who was earlier sensationally awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just nine months into his term.
Obama means "small shore" in Japanese, and the residents of the small central city of 32,000 people have rallied behind Barack Obama since his presidential campaign as a junior senator.
In 2008 supporters in Obama City followed the US presidential election race closely, putting up posters wishing him luck and making sweets bearing his likeness.
It was Barack Obama himself who first drew attention to the connection. He told Japan's TBS network in 2006 that, when he flew into Japan, a passport control officer said he was from Obama City.
Obama City
Weekend Box Office
'Couples Retreat'
"Swingers" co-stars Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau buddied up for the weekend's top movie as "Couples Retreat" debuted with $35.3 million, while the micro-budgeted fright flick "Paranormal Activity" leaped into the top 10.
Shot for a reported $15,000, "Paranormal Activity" came in at No. 5 with $7.1 million as distributor Paramount expanded it into daylong release after two weeks of midnight-only screenings.
"Paranormal Activity" played in narrow release of just 160 cinemas, a fraction of the theater count for other top movies. It averaged a whopping $44,163 a theater, compared with $11,780 in 3,000 theaters for "Couples Retreat."
"Paranormal Activity" was acquired by former Paramount partner DreamWorks at 2007's Slamdance Film Festival with the idea that writer-director Oren Peli would re-shoot it on a bigger budget.
But after audiences responded well to a test screening, Paramount decided to sneak "Paranormal Activity" out in a manner befitting its raw, independent roots. The studio began two weekends ago with midnight screenings in 13 cities, the movie building buzz online much as "The Blair Witch Project" did 10 years ago.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Couples Retreat," $35.3 million.
2. "Zombieland," $15 million.
3. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," $12 million.
4. "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" in 3-D, $7.7 million.
5. "Paranormal Activity," $7.1 million.
6. "Surrogates," $4.1 million.
7. "The Invention of Lying," $3.4 million.
8. "Whip It," $2.8 million.
9. "Capitalism: A Love Story," $2.7 million.
10. "Fame," $2.6 million.
'Couples Retreat'
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