Friday, October 30, 2009

I'm watching it

I'm welcoming Halloween with Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates (and his mother) in Psycho. It's scary, all right, but it's also such a wonderfully made movie. It wasn't just the sex and violence that made it shocking for 1960. Crafty old Hitch took a unique approach to the narrative -- killing off the heroine early on, thereby forcing his audience to identify with the villain.

I'm not worried about being frightened by this horror classic. I have my big old tub of guts, Joey, purring beside me for comfort and company.

Friday night

I'm already in my pjs, farting around on the Internet and eating Town House crackers. My gut has been upset again all day and I'm really happy to be sitting here, curled up on my sofa, catching up on Monk and trading emails with my best friend.

I'm feeling very content, if a bit poopy. We made a lot of progress on our latest project -- my boss was inspired by something the other team creative did and, as a result, suggested changes to ours. I wasn't expecting our concept to move in this direction, but I'm fine with it. My art director seemed more than a little threatened by or pissed off about our boss' suggestions, but I'm all for making something better.

And I'm happy to be in contact with him more often. Because my best friend and I work in the same industry, it's good to run things past him. Everything makes more sense after I hear from him.

The scariest thing I could find for Halloween

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Glenn Beck.
(Thanks to Daniel Kurtzman of About.com.)


People actually watch him. People who vote. For legislators in our country. Where we live. Shudder.

1. "This president I think has exposed himself over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture....I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist." –on President Obama, sparking an advertiser exodus from his FOX News show, July 28, 2009

2. "I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. ... No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out. Is this wrong? I stopped wearing my What Would Jesus -- band -- Do, and I've lost all sense of right and wrong now. I used to be able to say, 'Yeah, I'd kill Michael Moore,' and then I'd see the little band: What Would Jesus Do? And then I'd realize, 'Oh, you wouldn't kill Michael Moore. Or at least you wouldn't choke him to death.' And you know, well, I'm not sure." –responding to the question "What would people do for $50 million?", "The Glenn Beck Program," May 17, 2005

3. "When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh shut up' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining." –"The Glenn Beck Program," Sept. 9, 2005

4. "The only [Katrina victims] we're seeing on television are the scumbags." –"The Glenn Beck Program," Sept. 9, 2005

5. "I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today." –on why people who lost their homes in forest fires in California had it coming, "The Glenn Beck Program," Oct. 22, 2007

6. "I have been nervous about this interview with you because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies. ... And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way." –interviewing Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim U.S. congressman, Glen Beck's show on CNN's Headline News, Nov. 14, 2006

7. "Al Gore's not going to be rounding up Jews and exterminating them. It is the same tactic, however. The goal is different. The goal is globalization...And you must silence all dissenting voices. That's what Hitler did. That's what Al Gore, the U.N., and everybody on the global warming bandwagon [are doing]." –"The Glenn Beck Program," May 1, 2007

8. "So here you have Barack Obama going in and spending the money on embryonic stem cell research. ... Eugenics. In case you don't know what Eugenics led us to: the Final Solution. A master race! A perfect person. ... The stuff that we are facing is absolutely frightening." –"The Glenn Beck Program," March 9, 2009

9. "You have the artwork of Mussolini there, here in New York at Rockefeller Plaza." –analyzing the artwork decorating Rockefeller Plaza, which he said contained a hammer and sickle, Glenn Beck show on FOX News Channel, Sept. 2, 2009

10. "O-L-I-G-A-R-H-Y." –misspelling "oligarchy" on his chalk board while claiming he had deciphered a secret code that he said was proof President Obama was trying to create an "Oligarhy," Aug. 27, 2009, Glenn Beck show on FOX News Channel

Bonus Quote

"You know, we all have our inner demons. I, for one – I can't speak for you, but I'm on the verge of moral collapse at any time. It can happen by the end of the show." –"The Glenn Beck Program," Nov. 6, 2006

Friday 5


Friday 5 for October 30: At the Movies

  1. What’s your favorite sports movie? The Natural. "Welcome to the majors, Mr. Hobbs."
  2. What’s your favorite romantic comedy film? The Way We Were. "See 'ya, Hubbell."
  3. What’s your favorite animated Disney movie? 101 Dalmations. I feel it's far superior tot he live action version.
  4. What’s your favorite non-Disney movie musical? A Hard Day's Night. No surprise to regular readers of this space: I love Sir Paul
  5. What’s your favorite stranger-in-a-strange-land / fish-out-of-water movie? Die Hard. New York Street cop John McLane trapped in an LA highrise.
To play yourself, click here.