Month: August 2004

Operation Shock

Writer guy

Every time it looks like New Jersey politics have sunken to the absolute pits of human behavior, it turns out that the sinkhole is far deeper than anyone imagined.

In a shocking move, the governor of New Jersey, James McGreevey resigned yesterday. During the press conference the governor announced that he was a gay American. This was a bombshell to the 10th degree. Before that I never thought of him as gay or an American, just one perpetually pissed off dude with duck lips.

But what an American, even an American who is politically enabled does in the bedroom should stay in the bedroom. Provided everyone involved is a consenting adult, and no local ordinances or dishes were broken, the public can live without the details. Even then we can deal with just the minimum amount of information. Like what color were the broken dishes? Were they on sale?

Citing the potential damage that the allegations surrounding the affair might cause his family and his ability to govern he decided to resign, effective November 15th. The fact that his administration has been mired from day one with accusations of corruption, cronyism or ties with organized crime did not factor into his resignation. This leads me to a startling conclusion.

Apparently being a gay American is far worse to the New Jersey electorate than being a toady for the Mob. By the way, if anyone from La Cosa Nostra is reading this, I love the Mafia. Keep up the good work, guys. I’m in your corner all the way.

Why not resign immediately? If McGreevey resigns before November 15th then a pesky little thing called an election must be held. Believe it or not, in this most foul year of our Lord 2004, New Jersey is seen by pundits as a swing state; one that could go either Republican or Democrat in the November presidential race.

And why shouldn’t New Jersey be a swing state? Heck, our own governor took 47 years to make up his mind about his sexual identity. Are we in New Jersey any less ambivalent about our feelings as voters?

To those of you who see this as yet another step towards anarchy and the decline of Western Civilization, I say this: Welcome to Jersey, gombah. We’re already in hell, and we liked the bus ride here just fine, thank you.

Overslept

Writer guy

There was no blog yesterday because the storm kept my fraidy cats up all Tuesday night – who in turn, kept me awake. Hour after hour they circled the surface of the bed like land sharks with tails, stepping on my freshly crew cut head. Read: zero energy left for anything fun yesterday, including the blog. So the day went to doing errands I’d been avoiding for weeks. But check it out – we got clean clothes and food now!

In the grand tradition of Hemingway and productivity, I’ll either blog 2x today or blog 2x as long on Friday. Granted Papa was way ahead of the Internet thing; but still he wrote a minimum of 1200 of words before quitting to drink for the day. If he wanted to spend the whole day drinking, er I mean fishing, he’d write 2x as much.

He also rewrote the ending to Farewell to Arms 39 times. Now that’s persistence.

Collateral

Writer guy

Michael Mann understands the good versus evil paradigm, a skill that has served him well for many decades. His latest film Collateral, pits goods against evil in the most benign of places, a LA taxi cab.

Jamie Foxx plays an ordinary man catapulted into an extraordinary dilemma: for the next 2 hours his only fare is on a mission to kill 5 people before catching a flight out of LAX. As an added twist, Tom Cruise is the villain, a job description that suits Cruise. He approaches the role with such skill it’s hard to believe he spent 20 years playing good guys.

What works about this film:

1) Concept – it’s a fresh backdrop.

2) Acting – Cruise delivers a skilled performance.

3) Cinematography – not since To Live and Die in LA has a filmmaker portrayed the city in such a glossy and gritty light.

But there’s a few caveats with Collateral too…

1) Jamie Foxx is miscast here. He’s a comic who has yet to master the dramedy.

2) Plot – there’s a few holes in the story plot wise.

3) Pacing – some of the narrative could’ve have been streamlined.

Verdict: Matinee or DVD it.

Surprise Party

Writer guy

Birthdays are the one day a year many people love to hate. They curse the passing of the years in public, but if family or friends host a surprise party for them, their tune changes fast.

Anyway, I’m wiped out from the rigors of surprise party celebrations. Good news though, I’ve coaxed a Q&A session out of Buddhapuss slated for Monday. Ever since his t-shirt hit the streets, the furry guy has been copping a major ‘tude.