Those of you who have siblings, imagine that you were never your parents' favorite. Imagine that, though you were born into a family of unbelievable privilege, the hopes and dreams of its dynastic future rested on the shoulders of your other brothers.
Imagine your oldest brother - the one being groomed for immediate ascension - is killed while fighting for his county. Your Irish-Catholic parents never relent in the grieving process for their firstborn.
Imagine your two other brothers aim to take up the mantle of the slain eldest, while your sisters marry off, one by one, to wealthy families and become graceful - but silent - matriarchs.
Imagine those brothers are then assassinated, leaving you as the remaining male heir to the closest resemblance America has ever had to a royal family. Immediately you have a burden to carry - a quest to embark on. You're no longer the rich kid with the toothy grin who bedded all the New England princesses and flirted with the idea of playing professional football. You're the last American hero who's job it is to save the nation.
But are you qualified? I mean, just because you're a hero, does that make you perfect? Don't heroes have tragic flaws that can doom them and their families forever? What if you falter? What if you fail?
Ted Kennedy wrestled with these issues all his life, but that's not what makes him a hero because everyone combats his or her own set of issues brought on by their own upbringing. It's his longevity despite all his flaws that makes him heroic.
Of course he was deeply flawed - the drinking, Chappaquiddick, etc. - all heroes are whether we'd like to believe it or not. But still, he rarely compromised on behalf of the constituency he represented for 47 years. He kept on forcing us to question whether or not we, as a nation, should expect more from our leaders while still allowing them to make mistakes.
He wasn't perfect and I didn't agree with all his policies, but he earned his nickname as the "Liberal Lion" of the Senate. No matter what, he never stopped roaring.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Why Ted Kennedy was an American hero
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Hollywood, Recycled
So right now, I'm pondering a multitude of entertainment industry-related thoughts. They range from, "OMG, Mike Meyers will never die if Rob Zombie keeps remaking the Halloween franchise!"...to... "C'mon, will Tron seriously make sense in 2010? Isn't Jeff Bridges a little too old for this nonsense?"
I'm a girl who's worked in the film industry. I've written screenplays and studied the craft of story-telling for many years. And even though there is "nothing new under the sun," we still have the power to be somewhat creative.
"Take it, change it up a bit, create a new twist, make it fresh, make it hot, and then run with it!" These were the words once uttered by my ex-literary agent when he asked me to recreate Rebel Without a Cause. Imagine that. Recycling James Dean and Natalie Wood. "Oh, and Emily. I wanna see sex. Lots of sex in this one."
Sigh.
It occurred to me that Hollywood must have one gigantic chalkboard marked with films from the 70's, 80's, and (God help us)...the 90's. The studio execs are twiddling their thumbs right now, brainstorming; mulling over this magical chalkboard that might actually exist somewhere on the Sony lot. I can hear it. "Will a remake of Dirty Dancing sell tickets overseas?" (And here I thought I was just being cute with my Dirty Dancing remark. Ha! Turns out Lionsgate is on it.
Is that as bad as Chace Crawford thrusting his pelvis for happy little tweens in next summer's Footloose? Hmm. We shall see.
I just watched the trailer for next month's Fame - a remake of the 80's musical about students at the New York Academy of Performing Arts - and it looks as cool as the original despite several cast members looking plucked from the set of High School Musical. (Also Kelsey Grammar plays an acting teacher which caught me off guard too.) But once I heard the hip-hop'ish remake of that Irene Cara song everybody loves, I cringed! What have they done to this film? And why are they butchering Irene's song? Bottom line: you can't remake a classic.
Well, I take it back. Occasionally, someone brilliant like Martin Scorsese comes along and recycles a film...actually improving it (Cape Fear). But Scorsese is the exception, not the rule. I can probably count on one hand how many recycled films are worth 2 hours of my time. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ain't one of them.
Rumor has it that Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, and Harold Ramis are ready to throw on their uniforms and fight ghosts running rampant in New York City again. And Jackie Chan is prepared to take on Mr. Miagi in a Karate Kid remake. Do you see a new trend here? Let's see how many cool movies from the 80's we can recycle! If that's the case, then I'm crossing my fingers they remake Can't Buy Me Love. Oh wait. They did that already.
So while Hollywood flips through VHS tapes of 80's blockbuster hits, what happens when they run out of films to remake? Do we move into the 90's and hope that the new Pretty Woman with some actress from the new 90210 is a hit?
If that's the case, I hope Scorsese's directing.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Too much man for one book club to handle...
So upon my imminent return to San Antonio, I e-mailed a friend about a joining her book club. You see…I’m a big fan of the book club as it’s like English lit class, only you get to choose what you read and the irritating girl with dreadlocks, horned-rimmed glasses, and a penchant for saying things like, “Per se” isn’t allowed. Plus you get to drink.
However, it seems that I accidentally inserted myself into an all-female book club – my first clue being when the book they chose was My Sister’s Keeper. I say “accidentally” because, for some reason, I thought my friend’s husband was part of the book club also. He’s not. It’s no boys allowed and I was unaware.
A month after I e-mailed my friend and read the book – which, just so you know, is the literary equivalent of being held against your will in a CIA prison by tortuous characters who waterboard you with predictable melodrama and say things like, “She’s the one who held me together. Without her I’d all apart.” – the night of the get-together approached.
When the group leader discovered I am male, she promptly got “the vapors” and banished me hereto forth forever from the book club muttering something about male oppression and the Lillith Faire.
Of course that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but she did mention to my friend that she wanted to keep the group all-female, which is fine except now I’m out $14.95 plus the seven hours I spent detained by the Guantanamo Bay of Chick Lit.
Oh, Book Club…I hardly knew ye. (Per se.)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Pondering Palin
Last week's episode of the radio show Whad'ya Know was broadcast from Fairbanks, Alaska. In honor of the Alaskan audience Michael Feldman (radio host) started the show with locally flavored jokes, many of which were aimed at the former Governor Sarah Palin. (I don't know if you heard, but she stepped down as Governor. It's been very hush, hush.)
The radio show kicked off with, "This just in. Sarah Palin has just been treated for twitter blackout." Feldman went on to ponder this question:
What will Sarah Palin do with all her free time?
My favorite suggestion by far...
Wait for it.
Ambassador to Narnia.
Immediatly the image that came to mind was the lamppost in the Narnian forest--serene, snow falling, a fawn meeting young Lucy and taking her to tea. However, now there is a very special addition to my mental picture--the new, shiny Palin Pipeline. Ambassador Palin is providing oil to Great Britain (which, by the way, she can see from her new back porch). The pipeline turns at the Lamppost, goes into the woods, and emerges from the Wardrobe - fur coats pushed to the side.
Ambassador Palin is, of course, decked out in hunting gear, aloft in a helicopter for some big game shooting.
Beware, Aslan. Beware.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
All by himself...
According to this article in the San Antonio Express-News - the outlet people turn to when standard 3-5 business day news delivery won't cut it - former Vice President Dick Cheney said he noticed former President Bush stop taking his advice during their second term in office.
Cheney - pictured at right contemplating the best way to retrieve The Precious - is currently writing his memoirs to be published in 2011 and reportedly mentioned that while reflecting he thought about how Bush became more distant as the years went on. (And on, and on, and on...for some of us.)
Some say that Bush stopped listening to Cheney's advice in his second term because there were increasing clues that it "led to bad policy" and was "harmful for the nation," but that's the same thing Russians said about Rasputin and look how strong they are now!
The article also says,
Barton Gellman, who earlier wrote a book on Cheney called "Angler," the former vice president believes Bush made concessions to public sentiment, something Cheney views as moral weakness. After years of praising Bush as a man of resolve, Cheney now intimates that the former president turned out to be more like an ordinary politician in the end, Gellman says.
Agree with him or not, Bush was anything but an ordinary politician. Part of his confidence rested in the fact that he had extraordinary views of his ability to lead which, in the end, some could argue "led to bad policy" and was "harmful for the nation." (We keep getting back to that.)
In the end it doesn't really matter because it's all in the past and - even though Cheney is doing his sappiest Bridget Jones impersonation now - he made out just fine. Millions of others who have been ill-affected by the international and domestic policies he helped craft during Bush's first term? Not so much.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Somebody put some pants on that girl! (Lady Gaga looks cold!)
Isn't it funny how pop stars are often mistaken for escaped mental patients based solely on their choice of attire (or lack thereof)?
And then there's Lady Gaga. For whatever reason, this picture reminds me of that Bette Davis movie - the one about the crazy woman who locks herself in a mansion, dresses up like Shirley Temple, and smears lipstick all over her face. Yeah. I can't get that movie out of my head now.
The random girl on the left, I'm guessing, is Gaga's personal assistant. I could be wrong, but judging from the mortified look on her face (yes, it's there - keep looking), I'm assuming she's an underpaid intern who is REQUIRED to escort Gaga arm-in-arm in what appears to be cold, nippy weather. (The scarf is a dead-giveaway.)
I love how Gaga - who's channeling Linda Evans, circa 1984 - remembered the pearls, the gloves, the Simon Chipmunk glasses and the bone-shaped Flinstones bun. But she forgot the pants! So in other words, if Dynasty had a baby with Hanna-Barbara, this is what it would look like.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
I'm sure none of you savvy MEvBLOG readers ever experience bouts of procrastination... wait a minute. Are you reading this at work right now?
Allow me to share a strategy for overcoming acute procrastination. I learned this from a dear friend in college. Aimee (the dear friend) loved the movie Titanic, dreamed of one day having a black-tie wedding, and was a phenomenal Shakespearean actress. If Aimee was having trouble getting started on a paper or project and it was getting to crunch time, she used the following fool-proof method:
Aimee would stand in front of her dorm room mirror.
Aimee would look herself in the eye.
And, in a very serious voice, Amiee would say, "DO YOUR HOMEWORK, B*TCH!" (fake slaps own face) "DO YOUR HOMEWORK, B*TCH!" (fake slaps own face).
It worked like a charm every time.
Now, whenever there is a project I'm avoiding I go to my mirror and give myself a stern talking to. Though, if you're in the bathroom at work, be sure to check all the stalls first.
No Mr. President, I will NOT be sporting masking tape over my mouth. It messes with my rights. And it totally doesn't match my dress :)
Before I step on my pulpit and shake my fists in a passionate rage, let me first introduce myself.
Hi. I'm Emily. Writer. Editor. Single Mom. Independent-Conservative. Christian. Film Buff. Trend-Spotter. Coffee Addict. Music Snob. And apparently I remind Matt of Jennie Garth, circa 1992. Nice to make your acquaintance.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let the rants begin.
Being a writer with a journalism background, I recall my old university professors pounding the importance of "1st amendment rights" into my college-aged brain. After all, I was studying to become a journalist - or as some may call it, "the enemy". I needed to know just how sacred my rights were as a writer, editor, speaker and now...blogger. I needed to understand the dynamics of Media Law and how even certain suggestive "websites" had every right to be up and running. With that said, I might not agree with what some leftists are writing, speaking or saying...but this is America: Land of the Free. And everyone has the right to voice their opinion.
So why do I feel like that freedom is slowly being taken away from me?
With the controversy surrounding the recent town hall meetings, it seems that some so-called "right-wing extremists" have ruffled the Obamabots' feathers. Picture, if you will, standing amongst a crowd of like-minded individuals with your sign protesting the universal health care plan. Then some moron in a brown shirt from HCAN (Health Care America Now) shows up and tells you to leave.
"No signs allowed," he says. "Oh, and see those folks over there from NBC...you can't talk to them. In fact, here...we're passing out masking tape for you people. Just place this over your mouth. Go stand over there on the sidelines next to the seniors, who aren't allowed to talk either."
This all fits in nicely with Barry's speech last week. You know the one I'm talking about.
The... "THEY need to stop talking and get out of the way, so we can clean up the mess!"...speech.
Oh come now, Barry. A little healthy debate never hurt anyone :)
But forget debate. This is about my 1st amendment rights. And not just mine. Yours too. Sure this country may be split in half, regarding all sorts of topics from health care...right down to abortion. But please don't take the mic away from us! Don't yank our bullhorns. Don' steal our signs either (which ARE NOT pro-swastika, thank you very much - Miss Pelosi).
Don't come near me with that masking tape.
And Barry, don't tell me to "stop talking". This is my country too.
Fresh fish, new writers, it's all the same
Greetings fair readers! So, it seems time to expand the MEvBLOG family now that we've settled in South-Central Texas. We've gotten many requests for more views to be represented on our site and we're nothing if not all about meeting the people's needs.
So, without further ado, please welcome both Mindy and Emily to our ranks. See their respective bios below:
MINDY - Native San Antonian with a penchant for good food; both high and low brow cinema (anything with true romance and/or vampires will do); and a liberal political persuasion. She's pictured at right with her boyfriend Lloyd Dobbler.
EMILY - Also native to San Antonio, this conservative Republican magazine writer (pictured at right) loves any/all types of movies; acoustic music that's perfect for any occasion; and, when frustrated, will spontaneously chant, "Donna Martin GRADUATES!" until she gets her way.
You can tell when they've posted something by looking at the "Posted by" credit. Of course this seems obvious, but one can never assume anything about one's readers, right?
Please welcome them to our ranks and be nice the them in your comments!
Friday, August 7, 2009
We were Ally, Molly, Judd, Ethan and Anthony
Where were you the first time you saw Cameron's dad's convertible fly through the back window of his parents' garage?
How old were you when you realized how cool it would be to have a trash-talking, cigar smoking, big-as-a-sofa-bed uncle stay with you while mom and dad were on vacation?
What was it like realizing that - no matter what you did - remnants of a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal existed in you all along?
Yesterday John Hughes - the writer/director/producer whose films are responsible for such questions of a generation - passed away. He was 59 years old.
Hughes only directed eight movies - six which were iconic - and was able to perfectly nail the frustrating psyche of normal teenagers. Most of his characters were stereotypes - the rich kid, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, the lovable-but-obnoxious sidekick - but he had the ability to make them the most well-rounded stereotypes audiences had seen to date.
And he made you laugh yourself silly while realizing that being a flawed teenager was both normal and expected.
You probably have your own favorite John Hughes movie moments, so feel free to share them in the Comments. Also, tell us which one of his films was your favorite in the Quick Poll below.
And next time you catch "The Breakfast Club" or "Sixteen Candles" or "Planes, Trains, & Automobiles" on TV remember what was happening in your life the first time you met these people. Then think about how much they remind you of you.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Perry preaches, hair looks great!
Take it from us, there's nothing that reminds you more of your own aged mortality than moving. That "snap, crackle, and pop" you hear this morning isn't your Rice Krispies, it's our joints and what's left of our cartilage.
Anyway, many happy greetings from our new home here in South Central Texas (give it up for "The S.A."! )
Now back to business...it seems that Gov. Rick Perry also traveled to San Antonio this weekend and spoke at the New Life Christian Center about religion and politics and why the two nary should meet.
The church - which, according to the SA Express-News, blends both Jewish and Christian worship - was pleased with what the governor had to say. They were also quite impressed with how good his hair looked while wearing a yarmulke.
In his sermon speech, Perry said he didn't think the government should tell us what church to attend:
“You know, they're telling us which cars to buy and which light bulbs to use now. But they ought not be telling us whether we can go to Baptist, Methodist, whichever one.”
And you know, he's right...though we must have missed the notorious "Transportation and Interior Lighting Bill" he referenced. How dare the government force us to drive what they demand AND keep hard working Americans from installing track lighting in their dens?! Stupid government.
That's irrelevant though, because his main point is that politics shouldn't mess with one's freedom of religion...and he chose to make this point at a church. And he's a politician.
So, according to what he's saying, he should excuse himself from the New Life Christian Center so as not to taint our freedom of religion UNLESS campaigning against Kay Bailey Hutchison for the conservative Christian vote takes precedence. Then, by all means, leaping to the pulpit is in no way hypocritical.
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