Blog Master G

After signing up with Netflix on Tuesday night, I just received our first two of three selections: Roger & Me and Party Girl. So far, so good. Fast delivery time. Our third selection of the first batch is Pinata: Survival Island, which is supposed to arrive Monday, according to the email I got from Netflix.

In addition to hanging out with my cousin tonight and attending Karen’s wedding reception up in wine country tomorrow, we’ll now have a couple movies to entertain us this weekend. Not to mention the Friday and Sunday night favorites, Real Time with Bill Maher and Sex & the City.

From Howard Dean’s Blog for America: “I am bowled over by the more than 150,000 people who have donated to my cause. By making an average contribution of $86, those 150,000 people have demonstrated that they have the power to match George W. Bush’s corporate contributors if they come together to create an unstoppable political force. We are changing politics. We are proving that individual people can matter in our democracy again.”

When I picked up my car from having its 22,402-mile oil change earlier this week at 9th Avenue Service Center, the service advisor told me that “Newso somebody” who was running for something had come in and interrupted his phone call to introduce himself and try to get his vote. He told Newsom that he hated politicians and didn’t vote anymore because he no longer believes in the system because the people voted for Gore but Bush is in the White House. Then he asked Newsom why he wanted a job that pays somewhere upwards of $100,000 for 4 years that was going to cost him five or six million dollars to get. He told Newsom that doesn’t make any sense. Newsom explained that other people donate the money. The service advisor said, “Oh really? And what do you give those people in return?” Newsom turned around and left the building.

Let’s separate corporate money from politics. Only then will we have a true democracy that represents the will of the people instead of an old boys club wherein corporations and elected officials are in bed together.

Stella Brie Neorxenawange. Brown. Stells. Stellie. Wang. Wanga. Malamute. Huge. The list goes on. The latest, well-earned addition: Stella “Furry Alarm Clock” A_nderson.

She’s been working hard over the past several weeks for that one. This morning, as usual, it was the tail thumping on the bed and the wet nose on the arm. But today she wanted to impress me. So at 6:43am, 2 minutes before my alarm was to go off, she went to work. It’s like clockwork. Quite literally. Only now she’s beating the clock.

Our super-smart dog Stella has taken it upon herself to wake us up every day. So now she gets to sleep in the sideroom with her brother Happy on weekends (when we don’t want to be awake by 7am). It’s fine on weekdays since we have to get up for work anyway, but that dog is relentless. She means business. She takes her self-appointed duty of waking us up quite seriously. Whether she’s bored or just more affectionate in the mornings, the FAC never fails. Her internal clock is a fine-tuned machine.

I’m not sure why we even bother setting our traditional alarm clocks anymore.

Since I’m so into my blog, I’m always encouraging my wife and my friends to start their own blogs. So I’m happy to announce that my good friend and fellow Vassar alum Ben Fry has launched a blog on his site. His first post was Tuesday. I’ve also added Ben to the official Vassar blogs site (now database-powered with column sorting, as of earlier this week).

Welcome to the world of blogging, Ben, and good luck! I expect at least 10 posts per day from you.

I’m no fan of Davis, but I fear the precedent the California recall election may set. Please vote no on October 7 and take the following message from MoveOn.org to heart. Even if you’re not a California resident, please sign this important petition.

Dear Friends,

I’m writing to ask you to join me in signing a “Recall No! Democracy Yes!” pledge to defeat the California recall. Click here to sign:

http://moveon.org/pac/recall?id=-1834571-zino9l._c4FLSeJsfM0UFQ

If the recall succeeds, it will set a dangerous precedent for the whole country. A far-right businessman spent 1.7 million dollars to bring us the recall campaign, and has thrown California into chaos. GOP leaders who should have condemned the recall instead cheered it on, hoping they could gain from the unraveling of our democracy.

We can’t stand by and let this happen. These attacks on democracy are not a California issue or a Texas issue or a Florida issue — we all must step forward together and make it clear that elections will be honored in this country.

This pledge is a national effort to mobilize one million California voters in the recall election. Please sign the pledge no matter where you live and please ask friends and family in California to sign the pledge and to remember to vote October 7.

http://moveon.org/pac/recall?id=-1834571-zino9l._c4FLSeJsfM0UFQ

Thank you.

(Thanks, Dan, for the important reminder.)

Lately, I’ve been questioning the purpose of having a “home page” of my site when my blog is the area of the site that’s updated the most and contains the most content (and, arguably, is the most interesting). Of course, the home page gives the site context and describes each section. But is that necessary? Or does each section title in my navigation speak for itself? (Names like about, photos, quotes, etc. all seem like pretty obvious descriptors to me, at least.) So I’m torn.

The question is: Should I essentially eliminate the home page of my site by putting in a redirect to life? (See danrosan.org and swerdloff.com for examples.) Or should I leave it alone? Most blogs these days double as a site’s home page, so my site architecture may be a bit archaic in that sense.

In the world of blogging, has the concept of the home page gone the way of the 8-track? (OK, so now I’m beginning to sound like Carrie in Sex & the City as she types away on her PowerBook pondering relationships.)

Last night Jen and I watched the nutty 8 Femmes (8 Women), the 2002 film by Francois Ozon. Although Jen had originally suggested this movie to be a chick flick, in the end, I was a bigger fan of it than was my wife. Strange sound quality on the DVD aside (super-loud background music and practically muted voice track, albeit in French), this movie has it all: Murder, mystery, song, dance, incest, sex, dark secrets, comedy, and, of course, a French maid. I had no idea that I was in for such a treat.

I’m a big fan of the wacky and unusual. Who knew there was even a film out there that is both murder mystery and musical? I had no idea what to expect from 8 Femmes (that it was a mystery musical or anything else), so that made the film an extra-special treat for me.

The premise is simple enough: 8 women stranded in the middle of a snowstorm (whose severity is emphasized by a dramatic shot of the cook’s shoes coated with a light sprinkling of snow) trying to figure out who killed the monsieur of the estate. Was it the money-obsessed wife motivated to inherit her husband’s fortune? Was it the wife’s jealous sister, a virgin in love with the monsieur? The maid? The cook? The mysterious sister of the monsieur, who shows up late telling lies? Or maybe the wife’s crazy mother, living in the estate and unwilling to sell her bonds? It’s very Clue-like in that sense. But it goes way beyond the mundane. And with each turn, it’s anything but simple.

The more I think about this film, the more I love it. Thinking about it now brings a smile and laughter to my face. I guessed whodunnit…sort of. As any crazy film by Ozon should, 8 Femmes has a twist that’s hard to predict.

Jen, in her uncanny ability to never forget a face, identified the younger sister character (Catherine), as the sexy star (Ludivine Sagnier) of Ozon’s 2003 equally unique Swimming Pool, in which she plays Julie, a young temptress who spends most of the film’s 103 minutes walking around naked, having sex, and, of course, swimming (naked). Any bets on whether I liked that one, too?

I wish I had founded a company like Netflix. I love movies and I love the Internet. I’m still waiting for my brilliant idea to strike me one of these days.

Until then, however, Jen and I have finally given in and just signed up for the free 2-week trial membership to Netflix.

Congratulations, you’re now a Netflix member!
Membership Information
You have received a 2-week FREE trial. After your free trial ends on 09/15/2003, your credit card will be automatically charged the regular subscription fee of $19.95 (plus tax) per month for as long as you choose to be a member.

I’m guessing we’ll probably love the service so much — as everyone we know who subscribes to it does — that we’ll end up keeping it. They’re good. Free membership. Suck you in. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Netflix, so I’m sure I’ll be pleased.

The only question, of course, is whether it’s worth the 20 bucks per month. Being the DVD freak that I am, does it make more sense to apply that to a monthly purchase of a new DVD?

Commando Kitty could be watching you.

My favorite quote from Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher (as best as I can recall it): “Gas prices are so high because first we have to kill the people who live on top of it, then we have to extract it, refine it, and ship it. So of course it’s going to be $2 per gallon. You’re going to pay $2 and you’re going to like it. Or you can ride the bus with the poor people.”

I’m also delighted to find that Bill Maher now has a blog. Here’s the most recent post on alternatives to watching television while flying JetBlue: “Strike up a conversation with the guy sitting next to you just so long as it’s not me. If you’re a woman do some kegles. If you’re a man play another round of, ‘If they put a gun to my head and forced me — which one of those stewardesses with the dried apricot for a face could I masturbate to?'”