Babble-On 12

I'm not sure if T.G.I.F applies today.  Friday, February 20, 2009, is not one for the record books.  Let's hope the weekend cools heads and warms hearts, and next week is better - even if only a little...

Penny Stocks - Formerly the preserve of failing dotcom and biotech stocks, the less than a buck a share ranks have swelled with some big names, notably financial stocks.  AIG and Fannie Mae, each once worth north of 50 dollars a share, are now clinging to life at barely more than 50 cents.  And there are others heading in that same direction:  Bank of America, sinking below $4 per share, and Citibank less than $2.  How long before they join the penny-fund?  It's a cliched saying that 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall', but evidence of it's inherent truth is all around us.  If you own any of these stocks, but especially AIG, Fannie, or best of all, Washington Mutual, which went to zero and died, I hope you got out early or bought late in the game and didn't ride them all the way down.  If you did, though, there's some consolation.  I plan to use those stocks to wallpaper our bedroom - to remind me in my now less-than-golden years what getting screwed is all about.

Left side, Right side - There is a lot to love about the British - Shakespeare, The Beatles, buttered scones and tea.  They gave us Monty Python, too, and Hugh Laurie.  But the legacy of that Island nation is not unblemished, for they foisted upon us the wholly wrong-headed notion of driving on the left side of the road.  Some nonsense about bringing your sword-hand (the right one) closer to passersby.  Very medieval.  And the Brits are apparently determined to take this into all areas of travel.  Witness the recent collision of British and French nuclear submarines in the Atlantic.  No one is giving details, but imagine this: heading towards each other, the Brits go left, and the French go right, and Whamo!  There may be more incidents like this to come.  Everywhere the British empire landed around the world, left hand driving became the norm - everywhere, that is, except for us.  Here in the USA, we resisted.  It might have been due to our inherent rebelliousness, or we may have the French to thank for that.  Viva Lafayette!

Gassing up - I guess I will never understand modern economics (e.g, my stock successes outlined above).  How is it possible for oil prices to be lower than a month ago and yet have gasoline prices higher?  For a while oil and gas followed an understandable pattern, oil up, gas up, oil down, gas down.  Simple.  So what's the story with these oil and gas companies now?  Beats the hell out of me.  But If I were President Obama, I'd make like Teddy Roosevelt and go all trust-busting on their asses. 

Sanford & Son, 2025 - Not to be outdone by the British and French submarine tango, the USA and Russia got into it in space.  A Russki satellite fizzed out of it's orbit and collided with an American counterpart. Whamo! (but silently - in space, unlike the ocean, no one can hear you whamo).  The resulting debris cloud was last reported spreading out at upwards of 17,000 miles per hour.  No immediate danger to the space station or other orbiting mobile homes was announced, but there's no guarantee.  Scientists, or better yet, salvage and waste management experts will have to figure out a way to collect and contain this garbage in the future, but it will likely be a hazardous, heart-stopping job.  I'm coming, Weezy!

TV's Saving Personalities

There are good actors and there are good acting personalities.  The former need a good script and direction to flourish, the latter can do well with a script written by a 12-year old and directed by ..., well, by anybody really.

As an example of what an intense personality can do, check out 'Lie to Me', the FOX channel's answer to 'The Mentalist' (CBS).  'Lie to Me' stars the Brit ex-pat Tim Roth, a veteran of the big screen, most recently in 'The Incredible Hulk'.  'The Mentalist' stars Simon Baker, an Aussie who hasn't quite the movie pedigree of Roth, but who's paid his dues in TV.

Of the two shows, 'The Mentalist' is the better written and directed.  The scripts mix dry wit, mild humor, drama, and a little action in a pleasant stew reminiscent (in the best way) of TV crime dramas of the 70's.  It's mild but entertaining stuff, and might succeed even if led by a merely talented actor.  Baker, however, as the former entertainer (a mind-reader) turned investigator Patrick Jane, does more than deliver his lines well.  His characterization rivets your attention. Even when the action comes to a full stop the show is never boring when his character is on screen.  

'Lie to Me', takes a step downward in concept and writing, and makes Roth's presence more critical for the show than Baker's to his.  No one on TV today has a screen presence more intense than Roth's (although fellow-Brit Hugh Laurie of 'House' might challenge), and he carries the show, despite the awkward staging and unrealistic dialogue his character, Cal Lightman ('the world's leading deception expert'), must endure and deliver.  The producers of this show must find a way to work Roth into every scene, even if it's only a brief cutaway to show us his face, deep in thought, or flashing skeptical, whimsical, and quizzical looks.  To do otherwise would be to risk viewers actually second-guessing the plot, which, unless the writing improves with subsequent episodes, might be fatal to the project.

Both actors are perfectly cast for their roles.   Try to imagine switching them for a moment.  See Tim Roth as Patrick Jane and Simon Baker as Lightman.  Now run a few scenes of each in your head - not very good, 'eh?  Even if Roth would discard his British accent and Baker re-assume his Aussie one for the swap, it wouldn't make a difference.  Some sort of special award ought to go to the geniuses who cast these two in their proper roles.  (They are almost as brilliant as the bright person who cast Hugh Laurie).

It remains to be seen which of these shows will succeed in the long run.  'The Mentalist' has the better chance, due to it's overall higher quality, making the presence of Baker the tasty icing on an already edible cake.  But 'Lie to Me' might make it too.  If it does, it will be almost entirely due to Tim Roth.

California, The Golden Stasis

Rushing to join the nation as the 31st state, hot on the heels of the Gold Rush, California has always been in motion.  Cars swarm the plentiful roads and freeways, and the state boasts the country's second largest city - bustling and diverse Los Angeles.  Millions have arrived from other, colder, perhaps less mobile states, and more have immigrated  - legally or illegally, from other countries.

Why then, when blessed/cursed with such an innate desire to be on the move, does California find itself stuck at full stop, in a budget crisis of such epic proportions even Cecil B. DeMille couldn't make a movie out of it - let alone Arnold Schwarzenegger?  Der Governator has tried, but so far failed to terminate the stalemate, just one recalcitrant Republican state senator short of the goal.

Part of the problem is likely to do with California's latent political schizophrenia.   For a state that deems itself progressive, and votes-in a democratic, mostly liberal, majority in the legislature, California has frequently turned to more conservative, often Republican, leaders as the state's executive.  As a result, California politics has for many years been a debacle of political infighting, brinksmanship, butt-covering, and lethargy.  So much so, the state's voters are routinely tasked with making laws at the polls by voting on ballot propositions containing measures too prickly for the careful politicians in Sacramento to tackle.

That thread of political insanity aside, the current crisis also stems from the realities of the economic depression affecting the nation and the world.  Revenues are dropping everywhere and governments at all levels are faced with a balancing act: cutting services and jobs and raising taxes in just the right mix to offend the fewest.  That's an incredibly difficult task anywhere, but in California it might just be an impossible mission.  

The state's democrats insist on tax increases as part of the package - softening the blow by calling them 'temporary', and in turn have agreed to substantial (and painful) program cuts.  The republicans, however, almost uniformly resist any tax increases - in fact, would like to see tax cuts.  They feel so strongly about this they ousted their leader, who pushed for compromise, and installed an arch conservative in his place.

Meanwhile, Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered the mailing of thousands of pink slips laying off state employees, and ordinary Californians everywhere are waking up to the realization that, this time, the result of Sacramento's political shenanigans could really be bad ...

Rating The Presidents

We seem inclined to rate and rank everything these days (just look at my 'top 5' lists on this blog), so Presidents are an obvious target.  (Hmm, if I say 'Presidents' and 'target' in the same sentence, will I get a visit from the FBI?  If I say 'Presidents', 'target', and 'FBI' will I?  Oh well, I hope they send Olivia Dunham and not Clarisse Starling ...)

What was I writing about?  Oh yes, rating the Presidents.

The Associated Press weighed in (via Yahoo News), letting us know that Abraham Lincoln took top spot on the 200th anniversary of his birth.   Looking at the overall history of presidential rankings, Lincoln has pretty much had a lock on that spot, with brief nods here and there to Fanklin D. Roosevelt and George Washington.

Fair enough I say. 

And fair enough that George W. Bush is in hot contention for Worst President honors.  It will take some time and a few polls to see if he can compete with the likes of Harding, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan for the staying power of their historical incompetence.  I'd say he has a shot. 

And what of our new President?  Barack H. Obama has an opportunity, like Franklin D. Roosevelt, to be viewed as great by steering us through a difficult economic time, a time that FDR would find all too similar to his own.  With luck and diplomacy he won't have to deal with a really big war too, although George Bush has done his best to give him one.

Whether Obama will ultimately be ranked amongst the greats, or languish mid-pack (or worse), will partly depend on the outcome of some events beyond his control, but that's been true for all Presidents - of high or low regard.  If the Confederacy had won the Civil War, Lincoln would almost certainly be ranked (if a USA still existed) near the bottom rather than the top.  If the hostage rescue attempt had succeeded and not failed in the Iranian desert, Jimmy Carter might be further up the ratings ladder.  If Nixon's aides had said 'Nah, not worth it, don't bother' when contemplating the Watergate break-in, Tricky Dick would be (slightly) higher in the ratings.  If electoral justice had been served, George W. Bush wouldn't be ranked at all...

Aside from luck and a few breaks coming his way, Barack Obama will need years of steady decision making and the right actions of hundreds, maybe thousands, of dedicated and crafty bureaucrats, to achieve the kind of success history will consider greatness. 

Will he be like Bill Clinton, inspiring and intelligent, but too hampered by politics and personality to achieve much?  Or will he avoid the pitfalls of power, stake out a legacy like FDR, and be a hit in the future presidential ratings?

I am sure the raters will let us know.  In the meantime, I am waiting, Olivia ...

Valentine's Day Babble 11

It's a lovely sunny day here in LA, suitable for the ministrations of St. Valentine...

Top 5 Valentine's Day Tips:

5. Call your parents. Moms and Dads expect a call on V-Day. No one knows why.

4. Don't give your pets candy. It seems like a cute idea, but it's not...

3. Don't send V-Day requests or cute e-'animals' on Facebook.  That's irritating...

2. Never give your loved one cheap wholesale boxed candy, unless they have a solid sense of humor.

and,

1. Avoid dark, abandoned garages ... (only slightly more dangerous than #2)

China solves over-population

It seems that the world's most densely populated country has come up with a solution to overcrowding - breeding smaller people!  World news was lightened yesterday by a story about a 26 inch tall 'fully mobile' Chinese man.  If the process can be perfected, enough energy and space can be saved to allow a quintupling of the current world population - or - the current world population can move to California.

Michael Phelps - Public Enemy #1  in Columbia

Columbia, South Carolina, that is.  It seems the Sheriff thereabouts is investigating the Golden Olympian as a result of those photos showing him sucking on a bong.  There must not be much in the way of real crime to occupy the Sheriff's attention, but public sports figures do make good publicity for ambitious district attorneys.  After all, it's been a while since law enforcement in the Carolinas have had prominent sports figures to prosecute.  Not since the Duke Lacrosse Team.

Wherever you are in the world today, remember to kiss your special loved one and let them know you care.  If you are 26 inches tall, get a picture standing on a ladder giving a kiss, or your loved one bending over to plant one on you.  But if you are a sport celebrity in the Carolinas, don't take pictures...

Two Movies, Two Careers

What goes up must come down.

This is true of rocks thrown in the air, my bank account, and the careers of movie stars.

But sometimes it comes back up...

In the case of movie careers, we are often cursed to witness the fall, but every now and again privileged to see a reversal of fortune, a return, however tentative, to form.

I was recently able to see an example of both directions of fate, in the form of two movies and two careers.  

'The Day The Earth Stood Still', a remake of course of the 1950's classic, featured Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, the alien come to earth to decide whether the human race lives or dies.  After asking to speak with the leaders of our world at the UN, he forgets that request and instead decides our fate over fast food with a fellow alien disguised as an elderly Chinese-American.  The rest of the movie is all about an attractive scientist (Jennifer Connelly) trying to convince him to let us live.  Aside from the ill-advised plot changes from the original, and assorted weaknesses in continuity, the movie is still visually enjoyable.  Too bad then we are forced to watch Keanu hit the self-destruct button on his career.

Reeves, after an interesting role in 'Street Kings', reverted to his Matrix formula for this one, and dripped out a performance that made Klaatu's mute robot guard seem effusive.  If it is possible to reduce a living actor to a CGI creation, then the makers of this movie have achieved the feat.  Keanu Reeves looks increasingly like all of the living force has been squeezed out of him, and there's no emotion left in him to act.  If his next project doesn't show some range, or force him to do more than clench his jaw muscles and give an occasional expressive look, he'll soon find himself joining Morpheus on CSI.

'Yes Man' - not a remake, but all too similar in conceit to 'Liar, Liar', is Jim Carey's comeback to pure comedy.  And, despite critic's complaints, it's a fun film.  He plays a sympathetic character that gets involved with an eccentric played nicely by Zooey Deschanel, and the two even make a believable pair.  The central joke of the film centers around a decision Carey's character makes after landing in a self-help seminar led by a fiercely charismatic Terence Stamp - to say 'Yes' to everything.  All sorts of predictable, but still funny, hijinks ensue.  

Not as outrageously funny as the best moments in  'Liar, Liar', but also showering us with less of the sappy silliness of that earlier movie's ending, this new movie gives Jim Carey a chance to be a comic again.  Only this time the comic has grown up, toned down, and learned to pace himself.  We are treated to some of the great schtick we've come to expect in a Carey film, but with a dash of the mature comedy on display way back when in 'The Truman Show'.   This could be Carey's turnaround film, bringing him back to feature film comedy success.  Or, he might just be a defeated and deflated actor, sleepwalking through a role he'd rather not have taken.  Let's hope it's the former.

Fragile Trust

Trust is a hard won emotion.  It's a thing that can't be trifled with, can't be played fast and loose.

President Obama won the trust of most of the people, through his dignified and historic campaign, and through the carefully measured moves he made during his transition to office.

Now he risks losing it.

The trust given the President was given to a passionate, yes, but above all calm, thoughtful, and steady leader. The people longed to lay the burden at the feet of someone clearly competent who also wouldn't panic, or at least not show panic publicly.  We wanted to relax and get a good night's sleep.

Lately, however, President Obama has begun to show he may not really understand the bargain that was made. He may not know he was meant to be our confident and reassuring leader. He seems to be reverting to politicking without regard to impact on the public.

Take his recent statements about the stimulus package in the Senate, that it must be passed now or else risk a downward spiraling catastrophe which we might not be able to correct. It's clear to acute observers that this was aimed at Republicans and recalcitrant Democrats who threatened the legislation's passage, but what about the rest of us not-so-acute, not-so-political, observers?

It scared us, that's what!

In telling us that this bill may be our last chance to stay off the streets, the President triggered visions of bread lines and tent cities and all that other old depression era newsreel-depicted badness. What if the stimulus failed to pass?

By telling us that doom was near, the President painted himself into a corner should the bill have failed to clear the Senate. Would he have then turned around and said he didn't really mean it, that we can still fix this, that we still have hope?

President Franklin Roosevelt said 'We have nothing to fear, but fear itself'. It would be a good idea for President Obama to take this to heart and act on it.

Otherwise he risks losing that public trust in his leadership we all so dearly need him to keep.