Aug

28

Greta Gerwig.

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When I first encountered Greta Gerwig in Baghead, I was intrigued. Here was a beautiful actress I’d never seen before playing an awful, yet strangely compelling character. It helped that the concept behind Baghead was a little more structured than the usual mumblecore. Closer to Humpday than Puffy Chair.

After watching two Gerwig collaborations with Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs and Nights and Weekends, however, I’m starting to suspect she’s just awful. Sure, she looks good naked, and is perfectly willing to get naked on film. But that she always seems to play the same unsympathetic, manipulative, excessively horny character. And I’m starting to get sick of it. Indeed, I’ve pretty well decided against seeing Greenburg and the upcoming Arthur remake because of it.

Aug

22

Fitzcarraldo.

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Several months ago, sight unseen, I removed Fitzcarraldo from my to-see list, largely because my brother was not impressed. Today, I’ve added it back.

What changed? Glen Hansard’s ringing endorsement. Saw Swell Season at No Depression last night at Marymoor, and they played a song called “Fitzcarraldo,” named after the Hertzog film. And then he went into a story about Werner’s wife calling up a junk removal company, telling the 55-year-old not-really-starving not-really-college-student mover that her name was Herzog. “Herzog?” he asked. “Yes, Herzog. Werner Herzog.” “Not the Werner Herzog?” “Yes, the Werner Herzog,” said the wife. “The film director?” “Yes, yes.” “He’s not asking us to move a boat, is he?”

Almost no one laughed, I suppose because there’s very little overlap between the No Depression scene and the “willing to watch non-English-language movies” scene. So I felt impelled to, given what little I know of Fitzcarraldo, laugh very loud. Shifting the mild embarrassment from the stage to me.

Aug

18

Lucid Lynx and the countdown timer.

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Imagine my disgust to find that the latest version of Ubuntu has done away with the very useful shut down timer. Whether a bug or a design flaw, the change is not welcome. The timer represented a compromise between the generally worthless and irritatingly redundant “are you sure you want to shut down” dialog and the “oh shit, I forgot to do X and now I have to boot the fucker back up” dumbassery that follows the occasional shut down. A minute is plenty of time to nearly every mistake, but not so long that you’re laptop’s left sucking off the Hoover Dam for an extended period. One touch shut down, with forgiveness. Only to be replaced with the G-d-awful Windows standard of double-checking every fucking decision. The grannies have landed? Apparently. Makes me want to brush up on my programming skills and work with a bitchier kernal.

Aug

16

Primary 2010, part 4.

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I cannot vote for Tom Nelson because, according to the ballot, he “Prefers GOP Party” for his party affiliation. The “Grand Old Party Party.” Ugh. I crossed Bill Pilkey off my list of contenders a couple of weeks back. I suppose on the balance, I’ll go for the non-incumbent of the remainder: Noah Crocker.

I’ll also throw a bone to Stan Rumbaugh and ask Jim Johnson to give up his seat.

Barbara Madsen is unopposed. And I like her writing style to boot. So why not?

I’ve appeared in front of Bryan Chushcoff and liked the cut of his jib, so he’ll have a little assistance from my corner.

Yes on the Sales and Use Tax Proposition. Because our public transportation infrastructure needs butressing, and Intercity Transit seems to use what it has with aplomb. [Although I could use a little less hub and spoke, and a little more grid.]

Rejected on the Fire Safety and Emergency Management Levy. Because at least from what I’ve seen, the Olympia Fire Department is wasteful, sending out hook and ladder trucks to see about falling down drunks. The fire engine’s for fires, folks.

Aug

15

Primary 2010, part 3.

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Having already ruled out Glen Morgan, and thinking Thurston County needs an Assessor who has not previously worked for the Assessor’s office, I suppose I’ll side with Steve Drew.

I’m apparently defaulting to Kim Wyman for Thurston Auditor, Betty J. Gould for Clerk, and Gary Warnock for Coroner, for want of legitimate competition.

I’m not voting for Jon Tunheim for Thurston Prosecutor, however, because he apparently hasn’t worked outside the Prosecutor’s Office since he became an attorney, and that gives him too narrow a focus. Instead I’ll write in William Ferrell.

I’m upset that both individuals running for Sheriff are insiders. But Debbie Mealy at least pays lip service to objecting to the “good old boy” culture. So why not?

[Part 4 tomorrow.]

Aug

15

Cat scratch fever.

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Cooper, our elderly feline, regularly tries to sharpen her non-existent claws on wicker. Although her previous owner had her declawed during the H.W. administration, she still sees the need to tend to the phantoms nearly every day. So cute. So tragic.

Aug

14

Primary 2010, part 2.

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As I mentioned in the first post, I’m now residing in the Washington 9th. So Adam Smith is presently my Congressman. From what I can gather, Adam Smith is almost certain to win reelection. However, Roy Olson is out because he hasn’t bothered setting up a website (New Menu doesn’t count). And Dick Muri is another one of the schizophrenic folks who bemoan the size of the national debt, but somehow think the problem is going to be solved without raising taxes and without significantly cutting programs. Jim Postma mistakenly thinks we have a national language. So I suppose I’ll have to settle for an incumbent.

I’m voting for Stew Henderson for State Representative, District No. 22, Position No. 1 because he’s the only candidate who both (1) showed up in person at my house, and answered my questions satisfactorily, and (2) appeared in the Oly Pride parade.

I’ve sworn off Sam Hunt. Chris Ward troubles me in that his site specifically notes he’s running for District 22, Position 2, but troublingly only addresses national, rather than state, policy. So I suppose I’ll have to go with Justin Kover, who at least means well and seems to come from an activist place, even if he is another of the “government waste is the primary problem” sort.

[Part 3 coming soon.]

Aug

14

Zyrtec.

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Seasonal allergies seem to be particularly bad this year, both in intensity and duration. After dabbling with Claratin a few years back with no significant effect, I thought I’d give Zyrtec a try. Well, Fred Meyer cetirizine, which is apparently the same thing, but for a quarter the price.

Works pretty well at relieving symptoms. But I did notice a certain amount of drowsiness. And with a flurry of brief writing as of late, I also noticed that my brain didn’t quite turn on after I had consumed the knock-off Zyrtec. As if I hadn’t had any coffee, or had neglected sleep for extended periods. Only I hadn’t. But the words just weren’t flowing. Unfortunately what that means is that if I have to do any real work, I have to just suck it up and sneeze. Damn.

Anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions on an alternative?

Aug

7

Blueberries.

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D and I went to Puyallup last weekend to try to pick our own blueberries. Disappointment abounded. The farm in question had too little in the way of ripe fruit, too many in the way of pickers, too much cost per unit mass, and too many overseers. Unpleasant, especially considering the distance.

Today, we tried again. Much more satisfying. Not only was the weather glorious–drizzly, overcast, and just below twenty–the farm was completely deserted, the quantity of berries ready for the harvest was extraordinary (although I suspect it’ll be better in a couple of weeks), and the u-pick was honor system only. Not to mention it was less than five miles from our house. The only things that were a tad disconcerting was the presence of extremely noisy roosters who sounded as if they were dying from being oversexed, the farm sort of smelled like the ocean, and the ground was littered with thousands of brown slugs. Made it look like we were walking through a Mr. Hanky look-a-like convention. Still, at $2 per pound, and having a little better idea what sorts of shit has been sprayed on the fruit (none, apparently), I’d call this a success.

Jul

31

Primary 2010, part 1.

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Received my ballot in the mail a couple of days ago. Huzzah! Disturbed and disappointed to learn that, since moving last year, I’ve apparently migrated from the Washington 3rd to the 9th. Disturbed, because I moved only a mile or so. Although I grasp the need to draw the line somewhere, I’m puzzled as to why I should cross lines when moving a short distance within the same municipality and within historically developed (i.e. pre-1997, when the 9th was established) areas of that municipality. Disappointed because, what with Brian Baird declining to run, and therefore no incumbent, I was interested to weigh in on the Heck, Castillo, etc. race that’s shaping up to be rather contentiously interesting and interestingly contentious.

Instead I get to weigh in on the reelection of Adam Smith, who apparently is going to cakewalk back into office. No offense to Mr. Smith, but I was hoping for an interesting race.

As always, I weed out candidates who cannot be bothered to generate a legitimate-looking campaign website for each position. So say goodbye to Norma D. Gruber, Goodspaceguy, William Edward Chovil, and Will Baker for Senate; Roy Olson for Congress; F.G. (Fred) Jensen for District No. 22 Representative; Glen Morgan for Thurston County Assessor; Ric Abbett for Thurston County Auditor; and Bill Pilkey for Thurston County Treasurer.

So for the U.S. Senate, that leaves a still-crowded field that includes Mohammad H. Said, Mike The Mover, Paul Akers, Mike Latimer, James (Skip) Mercer, Clint Didier, Schalk Leonard, Patty Murray, Bob Burr, Dino Rossi, Charles Allen, and Will Baker. Didier is out because refuses to come to terms with the fact that the irrigation system that makes much farming in Eastern Washington possible is subsidized by electricity ratepayers. And Akers is out partly because he’s bought into the “marriage is important” idea, and partly because he impractically supports across-the-board spending cuts. And anyway, Akers and Didier, by teaming up, have essentially telegraphed they aren’t interested in winning.

I think I explained adequately why the likes of Mohammad Said and Mike The Mover (seriously? a capitalized definite article?) way back in 2006 (see part 1 and 2) when these folks were running against Gregoire for the governorship. Mike Latimer lost me when he front-and-centers “under God” on his campaign site. James (Skip) Mercer’s support for ending natural-born citizenship (at least for those with undocumented parents) terrifies me (and his mid-90s web design blows ass). Charles Allen’s “illegal immigration…eliminates job opportunities for Americans” refrain is tired and false; ugh.

Although Bob Burr checks out on most issues, he appears to support publicly funded campaigns and limits on private money being used to fund political speech, which I cannot abide. As the candidates almost-certain to move on to the general, neither Patty Murray nor Dino Rossi needs my vote, and so will not be getting it.

I do like Schalk Leonard’s hostility toward (at least the dominant) political parties, his emphasis on the fundamental importance of employment, his live-and-let-live attitude towards homosexuality (despite the odd use of the word “preference”), his anti-war stance combined with his military service, and his belief in a return to a federalist society. I think that, notwithstanding his kooky ideas about health care as a right, Mr. Leonard is my candidate.


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