It's Something To Do

Facebook Dos and Don'ts - Privacy

2016-04-26T17:16:00.002-07:00

Do understand the importance of privacy on Facebook. It amazes me how many users I see with wide-open privacy settings. This means that anyone, friend or not, can look at anything they’ve posted on Facebook. Potential bad guys can learn a great deal about these users and potentially steal their identity. Think about all the “secret questions” on all those bank and credit card websites. How many of those answers are somewhere on your Facebook page?

PRO TIP: The answer to the privacy question is NOT “Oh damn, I’m never using Facebook again!” The answer is “Use the privacy tools on Facebook and lock down your information so only friends can see it.”

Do use the Privacy Checkup on Facebook. This is important and very easy. Click on the Lock icon near the top right of the timeline page. Then click on Privacy Checkup.

Posts – Who do you want to see your next post? Select Friends. Click Next.
Apps – If you’re like most people, there are tons of games and other apps that you no longer use. Edit who sees each one and delete any you don't want anymore. When you’re done, click Next.
Profile – This shows your personal information and allows you to decide who sees each item. For safety’s sake, I recommend that you set each item to either Friends or Only Me (which means no one can see the information but you). Never use “Friends of Friends” or “Public.” Click Finish Up, then click Close.

Before You Unfriend Someone

2016-04-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

Don’t. Do. It.

Unfriending someone on Facebook is the most passive-aggressive way possible to tell them to go to hell. It's sneaky and rude and hurtful.

What Happens
If you choose to unfriend someone, they will not be notified (that's the sneaky part). You'll be removed from that person's friends list. Your posts will no longer appear in their Facebook news feed, and their posts will no longer appear in yours.

Scenario #1 – The Real Life Spat

This could be somebody from your child's school, or work, or your carpool, or anyone you frequently see in real life. This person is just annoying for whatever reason. Maybe they said something that you thought was rude and thoughtless and you’d prefer to never speak to them again. Let’s call them “Uncool Person.” So you want to unfriend them.

This is not a good idea. Why not?

Unfriending is sneaky. “Uncool Person” probably won’t realize what happened right away. However, they’ll realize what you did when they become aware that they’re not seeing your posts.
It's also very hurtful, especially if "Uncool Person" had no idea that you were mad at them. Realizing they've been unfriended is not a good way to find out.
It will cause problems down the road. Remember, you’re going to see “Uncool Person” in real life. It’s going to be awkward when you see them and they know that you behaved like a vindictive 8th grader.
Who knows, you may patch things up. It would be a lot easier to move forward if you don't have this situation to recover from.

Use Your Words
Okay, this isn't specifically Facebook advice. But honestly, if you have a problem with someone, communicate with them. If you're not comfortable with face-to-face conversation, send them a letter, an email, a text. Anything is better than simply snubbing them when you see them and then unfriending them on Facebook. It might even give them a chance to apologize for or explain the behavior you have a problem with, thereby patching up what you thought was a lost relationship.

Unfollow Instead

Instead of unfriending “Uncool Person,” unfollow them. If you unfollow them, you won't see anything that "Uncool Person" posts, but your name will still appear on their friends list. There will be no evidence of a Facebook snub. Life will be a lot more comfortable for all concerned, and hurt feelings will be avoided.

There are several ways to unfollow someone. Here is one easy way to do it.

Go to the person’s Profile Page. This is simple to do:

If there’s a post from them in your news feed, just click on their name.
Otherwise, search for their name using the search bar at the top of your news feed. Click on their name.

At the top of their Profile Page, click Following. Select Unfollow.

Control Who Sees Your Posts
Remember that once you unfollow “Uncool Person,” they will still be able to see your posts. If it’s important to you that “Uncool Person” not be able to see what you post, add them to your Restricted friends list. You can take them off your Restricted list at any time.

Go to the person’s Profile page as described above.

Click on Friends, then Add to Another List

Click Restricted

Scenario #2 - Those Annoying Posts

Sometimes, people just love Facebook too much. Maybe they post ten times a day about nonsense. Maybe they post about a subject that doesn't interest you or even offends you. These might be people you don't even know in real life. Or if you do know them, their Facebook persona may be just a bit over the top. Let's call this person "Oversharer." Sounds like a good time to unfriend somebody, right? Probably not. Unfriending is just not a good idea. Why hurt someone's feelings when unfollowing is so easy?

Should You Use Your Words?
Is this another time to confront "Oversharer" with words -- like I advised in Scenario #1? Absolutely not. "Oversharer" is most likely perfectly happy with their online presence. They would probably have hurt feelings if you complained about their daily pictures of pink unicorns, but they probably aren't going to stop posting them.

Unfollow Instead
If it's a case of "too much all the time," unfollow them. Refer to "Unfollow Instead" above for the how-to. Remember, you won't see anything they post.

Hide Certain Pages

Sometimes unfollowing someone is too extreme. Maybe you really like "Oversharer" and enjoy most of their posts. But they just post a lot of things from the XYZ Organization, and you don't want to see those posts. Here's a simple example. I get a kick out of a Facebook page called Purple Clover. I frequently like and sometimes share their jokes and funny sayings. If you don't want to see the Purple Clover content that I share, do this:

Select the down arrow ("menu button") next to one of my Purple Clover posts.
Click on "Hide all from Purple Clover."
You won't see any posts from Purple Clover, no matter who shared it.

Repeat as often as necessary with as many posts from me (or anyone else) as you see fit. I have personally used this technique many times for many different types of pages. It takes a bit of effort, but pretty soon your news feed will look the way you want it to look.

Get to Know the Drop-Down Menu
Every Post in your news feed has a little down arrow to the right of the first line. If you click on that, you'll get a wonderful context-sensitive menu.

The first item in the menu is usually Hide Post with the caption "See fewer posts like this." Click on Hide Post, and that particular post will go away. Facebook promises it will show you fewer posts like this one.

The second item depends upon where the post came from. If it's a person or group you're following, it will say Unfollow (person or group's name). Click on this and it does just that - you've unfollowed that person or group.

There may or may not be a Hide all from .. item depending whether the post was shared or original. If it was shared, you'll see Hide all from (name of the person or group it was shared from). If you click this, you won't see any content from that person or group.

There is a Report Post menu item for every post. Use this with caution. It's only for obvious spam, over-the-top inappropriate language, etc.

Here's another gem that is mostly overlooked: Save post. Click on this and Facebook will save a bookmark to this post for you. Where does it go, you might ask. "Saved" appears on the left side of the screen in the desktop version of Facebook. In the smartphone versions of Facebook, go to the menu, click on Favorites, look for "Saved." All the items you saved will be there.

Pro tip: Instead of sharing recipes, save them!

Have you ever commented on a post and then been deluged with notifications? Aaagh, make it stop! Go back to the post you commented on, drop down the menu, and you'll see Turn off notifications for this post. Click there, and the only notifications you'll receive will be if someone actually comments on your comment, not every single comment on the entire post.

Scenario #3 - The End of an Intimate Relationship

After a breakup, the last thing anyone wants is to see their ex – let’s call him or her “Unpleasant Breakup” -- on Facebook posting about his or her great weekend with their new love. So, unfriend “Unpleasant Breakup,” right? Not so fast. Down the road a bit, just maybe it’s possible that you and “Unpleasant Breakup” will be on speaking terms. If you unfriend now, and you want to be friends later, you’ll have to send “Unpleasant Breakup” a friend request. That could be very awkward.

Unfollow Instead
If you unfollow "Unpleasant Breakup," you won't see their posts in your News Feed, but you'll still be friends with them. See "Unfollow Instead" above for how-to.

Control Who Sees Your Posts
If you unfollow "Unpleasant Breakup," they can still see your posts. If it’s important to you that “Unpleasant Breakup” not be able to see what you post, add them to your Restricted friends list. You can remove them from this list any time. See "Control Who Sees Your Posts" above for the how-to.

Facebook Memories

Facebook suggests “On This Day” memories of various people you’re friends with. This can be fun and interesting -- or downright painful if that person is an ex. Fortunately, it’s simple to stop that from happening. This step will have no effect on what the other person sees; it's only for your benefit.

Go to facebook.com/onthisday

Click Preferences (located in the upper right)

Click Edit (next to People)

Enter the names of the people you don’t want to see memories with

Click save

Facebook Help is Your Friend

If you haven’t used Facebook Help, you’re missing out. Get there one of two ways:

Go to www.facebook.com/help, or

Click on the downward arrow in the upper-right corner of the page. Select Help from the menu.

Where Did All This Clutter Come From?

2016-02-27T23:20:00.001-08:00

I have suddenly realized that I am surrounded by clutter in every part of my life.

There are piles and stacks of paper in my home office. There are bags and bags of extra hangers in the spare bedroom. The linen closet is so crammed with stuff that I literally can't find anything in there. When I wash the sheets or the towels, I have to put them on the floor or or another convenient surface because the linen closet doesn't have a single place to put them.

Is there a 12-step program for clutter addicts? A horderholics group? I took the first step: I realized that this clutter situation had become unmanageable. I purchased the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

It's a deceptively simple book and concept. All the other articles, books, and web pages I have seen on the subject of home organization always stress that the first thing you must do is PURGE. Get rid of unnecessary things. Then, the conventional wisdom goes, ORGANIZE. Get some cute baskets and labels, line all your things up in neat little rows, and you will be CURED.

Nope. Nope, and Nope. I've tried that approach, over and over again, and I've failed every time. I always thought that there was something wrong with me. It turns out that the conventional wisdom (PURGE, ORGANIZE, you're DONE) is wrong. I can say that with certainty because I've tested it (repeatedly).

Mari Kondo's method (the KonMari method for short) is much more spiritual. The Konmari method teaches us that our possessions must "spark joy." I think this means that instead of getting rid of items we do not want, we keep only the items that we do want.

The National

2010-05-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

The National are a Brooklyn-based indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999. Thmb band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger in a distinctive baritone. The rest of the band is composed of two pairs of brothers: Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Scott and Bryan Devendorf. Aaron plays guitar, bass and piano, Bryce plays guitar, Scott plays bass and guitar, and Bryan is the drummer. Padma Newsome, from sister band Clogs, often contributes strings, keyboards, and other arrangements and instrumental flourishes. The band's influences range from Bruce Springsteen to Joy Division.

A Summary of LOST

2010-05-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Plane crashes on an island.
People survive.
People fight, scheme, love, and bond.
Weird stuff happens.

Eventually, the people all die.
The people meet up after death.
The end.

As sad as I am that it's over, I loved the ending of LOST. There are so many unanswered questions such as "What happened to Walt?" and so on. My reaction to those questions is, "Who cares?"

In the end, the entire series was all about the people and the bonds they formed. All the hurrying around, criss-crossing the island and atom bombs were vehicles for the survivors to get to know each other and for the audience to get to know them.

"What about the Dharma Initiative?" people complain. "Was Charles Widmore good or evil?" Don't care. Unlike Star Wars -- even with Hurley's countless references to the Jedi saga -- Lost wasn't about the epic battle between Good and Evil. When all is said and done, six seasons later, this was all about characters and redemption and about love.

The series was full of characters with father issues, so it is quite appropriate that Jack's father, Christian, is the one who explained it all in the final scene:

Yeah, I'm real. You're real.
Everything that ever happened to you is real.
All those people in the church - they're real too.
Jack asks: They're all - they're all dead?
Everyone dies sometime, kiddo.
Some of them before you, some of them long after you ...
But why are they all here now?
Well, there is no "now" here.
Where are we, Dad?
This is the place you all made together so you could all find one another. The most important part of your life was the time you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them and they needed you.

I found it perfect that Jack was the last one to this spiritual "party," the endless fixer, the one who always had to be the leader. His final lesson, even in death, was that he needed others, and that they needed him.

Iron Man Drinking Game

2010-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

The weekend is here! Not just any weekend either, but the one before Memorial Day. Unless you're taking the entire week off and going somewhere fantastic, there's not that much going on. You have to make your own entertainment.

We're here to help. How about watching a Big Summer Movie?

It doesn't get any bigger or summerier than Iron Man 2. There are more villains, more beautiful women, and more dilemmas for Tony Stark to face in this one. Is it a better movie than the original Iron Man? No way. But it's more entertaining, louder, and funnier that the original, so it's all good.

One thing that made me laugh out loud -- other than Robert Downey Jr.'s quick wit -- was the sequel's direct and obvious references to the first movie. If you've seen the first movie more than once (okay, I admit it, I have), these callbacks are really fun to watch for.

Drinking Game

So get a copy of Iron Man on DVD or BlueRay and pop it into the appropriate player. Or head to the multiplex and get in line for Iron Man 2. Take a drink of your frosty beverage (or take a sip of your $6.00 soda at the multiplex) if you spot any of the following occurrences.

Every one of these things happens in BOTH movies.

Tony says "I know exactly what I'm doing" and then something goes wrong.

An adversary refers to Tony as a "little prick."

Tony does significant damage to his house and is completely unconcerned.

After a big event, a beautiful woman with questionable motives waits by Tony's car.

Tony and Pepper share a very romantic moment on a moonlit rooftop.

Tony trash-talks his robots, threatening to do something bad to them.

Tony builds something:

scientifically impossible
important to his future survival
while wearing a black undershirt
in captivity
under extreme pressure.

Come to think of it, Iron Man and Iron Man 2 are kind of the same movie.

If you can think of things that happen in BOTH movies that I haven't posted, add them in the comments.

The Great Debaters

2008-01-20T23:02:00.001-08:00

Starring and directed by Denzel Washington, "The Great Debaters" is based on the true story of an underdog debate team from a small, black college that wins a national championship in the segregated 1930's.
The debate team is from tiny Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. The debate coach is Melvin Tolson (Washington), who demands the highest performance from his students. Tolson is something of an enigma. He has a secret life as a political organizer; he is trying to unionize the poor whites and blacks. This has major plot ramifications, even though he keeps his political views out of the classroom and the debates themselves.
Each of the debates we see in the movie are on social justice themes. The first major engagement Wiley College had against an "Anglo Saxon" college was on the subject of "Civil Disobedience," for example. The Wiley debaters always got the desirable position; they never had to debate in favor of something distasteful. It would have been interesting to see them forced to take the difficult position "Resolved: Civil Disobedience is Immoral."
The emotional climax of the film comes when the team is on a road trip to a debate and they come upon a lynch mob. As black people in the south in the 1930's, every day life for them was full of racism, but this event changed each of them. Each of the debates that followed this horrible scene drew on it, in ways both subtle and sledge-hammerlike.
On one level, the movie is your basic "sports movie" about a team that overcomes great adversity with a great coach and goes on to beat the big bad team to win the big championship. I'm not a fan of those movies because they're so predictable. This movie has that basic plot, but it's only the coathanger upon which the important stuff hangs. "The Great Debaters" is really about how education and self-respect are the keys to defeating racism and discrimination.
My only negative on this movie is that it was a bit overly long and a little preachy.
B+

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

2008-01-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

Otherwise known as National Treasure 2, this big-budget action flick has a mega big-name cast. Returning as intrepid historian / treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates is Nicolas Cage, of course. The supporting cast includes Jon Voight, Ed Harris, Harvey Keitel, and Helen Mirren. Seriously. WHAT THE HELL WAS HELEN MIRREN THINKING?

This is an entertaining movie, a good way to wile away an afternoon, but not a "good" movie or anybody's idea of an Oscar winner. I guarantee you will remember very little about this movie fifteen minutes after you walk out of the theater. This is the movie equivalent of Cool Whip.

Instead of a substantive review, I'll give you a few three-word summaries of this movie.

Overly white teeth. Seriously, Nic, lay off the tooth whiteners.
Indiana Jones ripoff.
Physics rules disregarded.
Lincoln is assassinated.
President unusually handsome.
Lots of chasing.
Ferrari gets towed.
Mercedes gets crashed.
Cibola is golden.
Lots of water.
Secret book exists.
Sidekick hacks computers.
Silly popcorn movie.

C+

Banished Words

2008-01-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

Lake Superior State University has recently published its 33rd annual List of Words Banished From the Queen's English for "misuse, overuse, or general uselessness."

The winners / losers are:

PERFECT STORM – for overuse. The pundits on TV show say "perfect storm" when they mean just about any coincidence. I agree with this one. Stop using book titles in a way that indicates that you haven't even read the book.

WEBINAR – a made-up word. A seminar on the web about any number of topics.
I'd have to disagree with this one. I haven't heard it used that much. Yet. I think there are a number of more deserving candidates.

WATERBOARDING – "Let's banish 'waterboarding' to the beach, where it belongs with boogie boards and surfboards." – Patrick K. Egan, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. I have mixed emotions on this one. It was probably used most during 2007 by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, and I love my Daily Show.

ORGANIC – Overused and misused to describe not only food, but computer products or human behavior, and often used when describing something as "natural," says Crystal Giordano of Brooklyn, New York. I'd like to add the word "green" to the list as well, for the same reasons.

WORDSMITH / WORDSMITHING – "I've never read anything created by a wordsmith - or via wordsmithing - that was pleasant to read." – Emily Kissane, St. Paul, Minnesota. What the heck is wrong with "editor"?

AUTHOR / AUTHORED – "In one of former TV commentator Edwin Newman's books, he wonders if it would be correct to say that someone 'paintered' a picture?" – Dorothy Betzweiser, Cincinnati, Ohio. What the heck is wrong with "writer"?

POST 9/11 – "'Our post-9/11 world,' is used now, and probably used more, than AD, BC, or Y2K, time references. You'd think the United States didn't have jet fighters, nuclear bombs, and secret agents, let alone electricity, 'pre-9/11.'" – Chazz Miner, Midland, Michigan. Agreed. So overused.

SURGE – "'Surge' has become a reference to a military build-up. Give me the old days, when it referenced storms and electrical power." – Michael F. Raczko, Swanton, Ohio. I disagree with this; it's an important part of the news. I suppose they could say "military build-up" but in our 10-second news bite culture, that takes too long to say.

GIVE BACK – "Various media have been featuring a large number of people who 'just want to give back.' Give back to whom? For what?" – Curtis Cooper, Hazel Park, Michigan. I have a problem with this one, too. What is wrong with people wanting to do community service? This entry confuses me.

'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y' – "Believed to have come into use in the 1960s, but it is getting tired. The comparisons have become absurd." – Geoff Steinhart, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. This ridiculous phrase was spoofed in the musical Wicked when a character scoffs "Black is the new pink."

BLACK FRIDAY – "The day after Thanksgiving that retailers use to keep themselves out of the 'red' for the year. (And then followed by "Cyber-Monday.") This is counter to the start of the Great Depression's use of the term 'Black Tuesday,' which signaled the crash of the stock market that sent the economy into a tailspin. – Carl Marschner, Melvindale, Michigan. I agree, so overused.

BACK IN THE DAY – "Back in the day, we used 'back-in-the-day' to mean something really historical. Now you hear ridiculous statements such as 'Back in the day, people used Blackberries without Blue Tooth.'" – Liz Jameson, Tallahassee, Florida. This phrase is so old that it was overused back in the day.

RANDOM – "Overuse on a massive scale by my fellow youth. Every event, activity and person can be 'sooo random' as of late. Banish it before I go vigilante." – Ben Martin, Adelaide, South Australia. This phrase has been overused for at least 10 years. Why banish it now?

SWEET – "Too many sweets will make you sick. It became popular with the advent of the television show 'South Park.'It is annoying when young children use it and have no idea why, but it really sounds stupid coming from the mouths of adults." – Wayne Braver, Manistique, Michigan Yikes. I'm guilty of this one myself.

DECIMATE – "'Decimate' has been turned upside down. It means 'to destroy one tenth,' but people are using it to mean 'to destroy nine tenths.' – David Welch, Venice, Florida. Thank you! This has been a pet peeve of mine for years! This has got to be one of the most misused words in the English language.

EMOTIONAL – "Reporters, short on vocabulary, often describe a scene as 'emotional.' Well sure, but which emotion? For a radio reporter to gravely announce, 'There was an emotional send off to Joe Blow' tells me nothing, other than the reporter perceived that the participants acted in an emotional way. For instance: I had an emotional day today. I started out feeling tired and a bit grumpy until I had my coffee. I was distraught over a cat killing a bird on the other side of the street. I was bemused by my reaction to the way nature works. I was intrigued this evening to add a word or two to your suggestions. I was happy to see the words that others had posted. Gosh, this has been an emotional day for me." – Brendan Kennedy, Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. Wow, Brendan is certainly emotional.

POP – "On every single one of the 45,000 decorating shows on cable TV (of which I watch many) there is at LEAST one obligatory use of a phrase such as ... 'the addition of the red really makes it POP.' You know when it's coming ... you mouth it along with the decorator. There must be some other way of describing the addition of an interesting detail." – Barbara, Arlington, Texas. Don't forget, "And this will be a wonderful place to sit and read a book."

IT IS WHAT IT IS – "This pointless phrase, uttered initially by athletes on the losing side of a contest, is making its way into general use. It accomplishes the dual feat of adding nothing to the conversation while also being phonetically and thematically redundant." – Jeffrey Skrenes, St. Paul, Minnesota. One of the worst time wasters ever.

UNDER THE BUS – "For overuse. I frequently hear this in the cliché-filled sports world, where it's used to describe misplaced blame – i.e. 'After Sunday's loss, the fans threw T.O. under the bus." – Mark R. Hinkston, Racine, Wisconsin. Oops. I guess I'd better stop saying this one ...

What words or phrases do you think should be banned for misuse, overuse, or general uselessness?

Juno

2008-01-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

Juno MacGuff, played by Ellen Page in her first major role, is a very sarcastic highschool student. On a whim, she decides to have sex with her friend Paulie Bleeker. Juno turns up pregnant. Rainn Wilson has a hilarious cameo as the pharmacist where she buys her pregnancy test, as she attempts to shake away the positive result: "That ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet."

Which brings me to the writing. The screenplay by Diablo Cody is simply brilliant. She captures not so much the actual language of teens - which, let's face it, I'm no expert at - but the cadence of it. Every other movie with teens in it sounds stilted now. Teens talk fast, overlapping, finishing each others' sentences, in fact speaking not in whole sentences most of the time. Diablo Cody caught that perfectly. I've read reviews that complained just the opposite, saying that Juno didn't talk like a real kid. For example, in one scene she calls an abortion clinic, saying "I'm calling to procure a hasty abortion." That's exactly what a teen like Juno would say. It's straightforward and sarcastic at the same time. It's her trying to sound adult without trying too hard. It's perfect. I find it incredibly ironic that the strike by the Writer's Guild may prevent the Academy Awards from airing this year, thereby preventing the amazing writing in this movie from being recognized.

The acting in the movie is top-notch all around. With so much attention paid to Ellen Page as Juno, it's easy to forget about other characters, but that would be a big mistake. Michael Cera as Paulie Bleeker, the father of Juno's baby, is achingly sweet, and does wonders with relatively few lines. The couple Juno arranges to adopt her baby, played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, are fantastic as well. Garner is especially adept with her role, which could easily have become a cartoon of the shrewish wife but did not in her hands.

A+

Charlie Wilson's War

2008-01-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

Based on a true story, Charlie Wilson's War is the best movie I have seen in a long time. It stars Tom Hanks as Congressman Charlie Wilson, Julia Roberts as Texas socialite Joanne Herring, and a nearly unrecognisable Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos. Directed by Mike Nichols, the screenplay crackles with Aaron Sorkin's dialog. I have long been a fan of Sorkin's work; his credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The West Wing, and the gone but very much not forgotten Sports Night.

Charlie Wilson's War opens with the Congressman receiving a medal for his work in Afghanistan. Tom Hanks is truly a great actor, because here he manages to look pleased and disappointed at the same time. I was thinking that he was upset because the ceremony was being held in front of only a couple of hundred people at some military base, but that's not the reason. We find out at the end of the movie.

The rest of the movie is told in flashback. It tells the story of Wilson's involvement in the U.S.'s covert operations in Afghanistan in the 1980's, and how he literally changed the course of history. This is not some somber documentary, however. The movie is funny as hell, drops the f-bomb like candy, and has some nudity and drug references. So don't be an idiot and take your 8-year old child to see it like the people sitting in front of me.

Charlie Wilson had life on Capitol Hill figured out. He had a bevy of beautiful assistants who answer to the name "jailbait," he attended hot tubbing parties with sleazy promoters where drugs, booze, and strippers were plentiful, and gave and dispensed favors right and left. Tom Hanks plays his playboy role for all it's worth but does not chew the scenery like so many other actors would do. He plays it wry, sarcastic, and amused. Perfect. When called upon to be awed and appalled (such as when visiting an Afghan refugee camp), he hits those notes perfectly as well.

While hot tubbing with said strippers, he sees Dan Rather on TV wearing a turban while visiting an Afghan refugee camp. He figures that had to be important. Shortly after that, he receives a call from Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), who wants to eradicate the Godless Soviets from Afghanistan. She has an agenda, like everyone else in the movie (and in the real world), but she's intelligent, knowledgeable, and she brings Charlie to the realization that he can use his contacts in Congress to do something good. Roberts plays her role perfectly as well.

I'm not going to detail the entire plot of the movie because I don't want to ruin it for you. Go see it. I give the movie a great big A

LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

2007-12-31T21:45:00.000-08:00

While traveling over the holidays, I came across a delightful retail store: LUSH. Headquartered in Canada, LUSH sells a wide assortment of "fresh, handmade cosmetics" in stores across the US and Canada. They also have a great website with descriptions with each of their products including detailed lists of ingredients, user comments, and ratings.

Irreverent and quirky, LUSH has products like Sex Bomb (get your minds out of the gutter, it's bubble bath), Mask of MagnaMinty (a minty face mask), and The Big Tease (hair styling gel). Their core philosophies are environmental consciousness, no animal testing, and fun. Here's some information about the company from their web page.

A LUSH LIFE.......what we believe!
FRESH...We believe in making effective products out of fresh organic fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics, without animal testing, and in writing the quantitative lists on the outside. We also believe that words like FRESH and ORGANIC have honest meaning beyond marketing.
NO ANIMAL TESTING...We also believe in buying only from companies that test for safety without the involvement of animals and in testing our products on humans.
HAND MADE...We believe in making our own fresh products by hand, printing our own labels and making our own fragrances.
AMBIENCE...We believe in long candlelit baths, massage, filling the house with perfume and in the right to make mistakes, lose everything and start again.
GOOD VALUE...We believe that our products should be good value, that we make a profit and that the customer is always right.

I purchased Dream Cream and I absolutely love it. It's a rich hand cream that is very moisturizing but is somehow not sticky or greasy. Even better, the effects last for a long time. Most hand creams I've tried seem to last for about 10 minutes. Now I'm wishing I'd purchased more things when I was in the store.

Waiter Rant

2007-12-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

If you eat in restaurants, you will be amused and/or horrified by Waiter Rant. In this blog, the unnamed waiter posts horror stories (i.e. rants) about his mostly ghastly experiences waiting tables at "Café Machiavelli" in an unnamed city.

Here's the beginning of Leave Home Without It

The quartet of chattering yuppies on table 24 have finished dessert and ask for their check. They’ve been running me ragged all night with special requests, menu substitutions, and water refills for glasses three quarters full. I’m glad they’re leaving.
“Here you are, sir,” I say, laying the check presenter on the table. “It’s been a pleasure serving you this evening.”
“Don’t go anywhere,” the host, a balding man wearing black framed designer glasses, says imperiously. “I’ll give you my card right now.”
The man pulls his wallet out of his breast pocket, peruses the dozen or so credit cards it contains, selects an American Express Platinum Card, and puts it on the table. Crap.
“I’m terribly sorry, sir,” I say. “We don’t take American Express.”
“What?” the host gasps. “Why not?”
“I’m sorry, sir. It’s the restaurant’s policy.”
“That’s ridiculous!” the man says. “What would happen if I didn’t have another credit card?”

The posts are all well-written and funny. As a restaurant patron, they're thought provoking as well. Why are so many customers assholes?

Real Age Calculator

2007-12-17T16:40:00.001-08:00

Would you like to know how old you really are? Check out the Real Age Calculator. I'm not any kind of health professional, so I have no idea how accurate the thing is, but it gave me an answer 10+ years younger than my biological age, so it gets a big thumbs up from me!

Rumor Has It

2007-12-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, you frequently receive forwarded emails containing urban legends, myths, and rumors from friends and associates. Before forwarding these things on, PLEASE check them against The Urban Legends Reference page, Snopes.com.

If you do check the forwarded emails you receive, you'll find out that almost all of them are false. Snopes goes to great lengths to prove or disprove the validity of the claims found in these things. They cite references, such as newspapers and even scholarly journals. On top of all that, their writeups are usually really funny.

Remember: Snopes before you forward!

Urban Dictionary

2007-12-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

I find it extremely annoying when someone uses an acronym, slang expression, or phrase and I have no idea what they're talking about. Fortunately, there's a solution to this minor problem: Urban Dictionary.

Full of R and X-rated content, this user-generated dictionary has definitions of every possible slang word. Since anyone can submit, some of the words and definitions are ridiculous. Each entry has a thumbs up and thumbs down count next to the definition to give the user an idea of how popular the word and its definition are.
The site offers a Word of The Day, which you can sign up to receive by email or by RSS feed. These words are usually pretty funny and actually useful. Here are a few current examples.

December 12
w00t
An expression of joy and excitement.
I just got an A on my test. w00t!

December 11
wi-five
It's a high five that doesn't involve actually contact, normally over a long distance where a real high-five isn't possible. Mix of "wireless" and "high-five", hence "wi-five", (wireless high-five)
Iain (yelling across the room): Dude, that mess was teh pwnz. Wi-five, brosef.
Eric (in response): You need to chill with that nano shit, son

December 10
compunicate
When you are in the same room with someone, each on seperate computers, and you talk via Instant Messenger instead of speaking to them out loud, in person

Even though they are sitting right next to each other, Jesse and Justin only compunicate when they have to tell each other something.

Next time you're reading something on the internet, whether a website, a blog, a forum, or whatever, and you come across an unfamiliar word or acronym, give Urban Dictionary a try.

Happy Bloody Holidays

2007-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

I went in for a routine blood test this morning. No big deal, right. Poke my arm, take my blood, get me outta there so I can go to Starbuck's (or better yet, Peet's). Man I hate this "nothing by mouth after midnight the night before" stuff. So I'm in the waiting area looking at the corny, corporate holiday decorations and I'm completely floored when I notice this on the wall behind me:

The first two things are standard-issue junk; fake poinsettias and a plastic "Season's Greetings" sign. Nothing celebrates the joy of the holidays like plastic. But wait. What is that below it? A bunch of stuff scotch taped directly to the wall. Here's a close-up.

Those are the vials they use to collect your blood. Somebody in that medical office has a sense of humor. I love it.

Confidence

2007-12-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

How's that for a vague post title? Here it refers to the title of a film (normally I call 'em "movies", but I watched this on the Independent Film Channel, so I guess this one is a "film"). Confidence, released in 2003, stars Edward Burns and Rachael Weisz, with Dustin Hoffman. The film plays like a foul-mouthed version of The Sting with Paul Newman and Robert Redford (according to IMDB, the word "fuck" is said in Confidence 130 times).

The film starts with a voiceover: Jake Vig, played by Edward Burns, says "So, I'm dead." This reminded me of the end of the other movie when Robert Redford was "dead" at the hand of the "FBI agent." So already I'm thinking "Jake is SO NOT DEAD." Fade to black and "Three Weeks Earlier ..."

Jake and his team of grifters run a con. The mark turns out to be an operative of The King, the local big-shot crime lord. The King is really, really mad that his money is missing and has one of Jake's guys killed.

So far, we're about 30 minutes into the movie and they've practically copied The Sting's screenplay.

Jake visits The King (played to the hilt by a scenery-chewing Dustin Hoffman, clearly having a great time). The King, eccentric and possibly off his rocker, tells Jake that he'll stop killing Jake's friends and let him repay his debt if Jake manages to con Morgan Price, a banker with deep ties to organized crime. Of course, Morgan Price is The King's biggest enemy and The King wants nothing more than to humiliate this guy (and of course, The King thinks all that money would be nice, too).

The Sting again -- this is the Setup. Just like they dangled lots of easy money in front of the mob boss in the earlier movie, they're doing it here. There's even a scene were one of Jake's team says "Nobody pulls that con anymore," and somebody says something just like that in The Sting. The idea is that this con is so old it's new again. Brilliant.

I'm not going to give away the rest of the plot, because from this point on the movie, er film, is actually pretty absorbing. It gets pretty twisty and complicated and there are lots of crosses and double-crosses. It's very entertaining and it does keep you guessing from the middle onwards.

Ed Burns does an excellent job playing the smooth operator. There's something kind of blank about him in this film, by necessity. I'd like to see him in a role with more depth. Dustin Hoffman was both hilarious and frightening as the omni-sexual, brutal and eccentric crime boss.

Overall, I'd recommend this film.

A Christmas Story: A Generation X Thing?

2007-12-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Story has been my favorite Christmas movie for a long time. I don't remember seeing it when it came out in 1983, but then again, most people don't, because it was something of a flop in the theaters. It became a cult hit 15 or 20 years ago, and now that TBS runs it "wall-to-wall" (24 hours straight) on Christmas day every year, it's pretty much mainstream.

In case you're haven't seen it, here's a brief synopsis. The movie is set in Indiana in the 1940's. Nine-year old Ralphie wants only one thing for Christmas: a Red-Ryder BB gun. All the adults in his life tell him the same thing: "you'll shoot your eye out."

If someone asked me to name the funniest moment in A Christmas Story, I'd have a very hard time coming up with just one. All of Ralphie's dream sequences, especially the ones where he has his Red Ryder and he gets the bad guys. The scene in the Chinese restaurant. The time Ralphie got to help The Old Man change a tire, lost the lug nuts, swore and got his mouth washed out with soap. In fact, any scene with The Old Man is golden. Probably best of all is the "major award" and the mother's reaction to it.

How anyone could say A Christmas Story has "attitude" is beyond me. It is just like a real childhood. I could never relate to It's a Wonderful Life. It strikes me as forced and preachy. When Donna Reed looks at Jimmy Stewart at the end, all dewy-eyed, I want to shout at the screen, "Oh for goodness sake, woman, get a life!" To each his own - if that's your favorite Christmas movie, please watch it. It just doesn't work for me.

A recent article in Time laments "A Christmas Story's attitude is superseding It's a Wonderful Life's earnestness" and goes on to say that this change is caused primarily by Generation X and Y.

In a 2006 Harris poll, respondents from 18 to 41 years old named it (A Christmas Story) their favorite holiday movie, while their parents and grandparents picked Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street.

That's not to say Christmas Story or its viewers are cynical. It's nostalgic--but for the past's faults, not its imagined perfection. It's the nostalgia of its Gen-X and -Y fans, who remember childhood in terms of divorces and bad haircuts.

I agree about the nostalgia part. Here's a big problem about the demographics: I'm 52, well out of Generations X and Y. Many of the people in my ancient age group also love A Christmas Story and watch it every year. Please respond to the poll have at the top of the page and let me know if I'm alone on this. I'd love to hear your comments, too.

Always Love

2007-12-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

Moving out of my self-imposed box of websites, TV, and movies, this post is about something new: a song. I heard a song on Radio Paradise today that "blew my mind." (Oh no, my 1960's are showing again.) Normally when I listen to the radio, the lyrics of a song that I haven't heard before form a pleasant blur in my head. As long as the song is musically pleasing, it's all good.

"Always Love" by Nada Surf jumped out at me, though. Video.

Here are the lyrics:

ALWAYS LOVE

to make a mountain of
your life is just a choice
but i never learned enough
to listen to the voice that told me

always love
hate will get you every time
always love
don't wait ‘til the finish line

slow demands come around
squeeze the air and keep the rest out
it helps to write it down
even when you then cross it out

but always love
hate will get you every time
always love
even when you want to fight

self-directed lives
i want to know what it'd be like to
aim so high above
every card that you get dealt you

always love
hate will get you every time
always love
hate will get you

and i've been held back by something
you said to me quietly on the stairs
you said hey you good ones
always love

The song is plaintive and sweet and yet full of retribution. Hate will get you every time. Karma is a bitch. There's a symmetry to that that really speaks to me.

Moonbeam McQueen

2007-12-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

The short description I have given to Moonbeam McQueen is "a uniquely literate woman's take on life," but that doesn't begin to do it justice.

MBMcQ blogs about whatever is on her mind, and she has a lot on her mind. Her posts range from thoughtful to gut wrenching to hilarious. Today, for example she ruminated about the technological challenges of blogging vs. her aging mind in a post called I Can Has Feedburner? In a world where "LOL" is so overused, the title of the post alone made me truly laugh out loud.

It's silly to explain a joke, but subtlety has never been my strong suit, so I'm going to explain anyway. "LOL Cats" have been a phenomenon on the internet for a couple of years now. People have taken pictures of cats and applied silly captions to them and these have been passed around by email and collected on various websites. One of the largest collections of these pictures appears at I Can Has Cheezburger?, so named after one of the first pictures on the site.

Feedburner is a tool used by bloggers to, well . . . burn their feeds. I have no idea what that means. I've heard of it, I've seen their little firey logo on other blogs (belonging to bloggers presumably smarter than me). That's why I thought Moonbeam's post was so doggone funny. I highly recommend her site.

Paul Bettany

2007-12-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

While Christmas shopping in Target, I happened on the $9.99 DVD rack. I grabbed a copy of 2003's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe. There's no question that this is Crowe's movie, as he is in fine form as Captain Jack Aubry, commander of the H.M.S. Surprise, intent upon his orders to "sink, burn or take as a prize" the French privateer Acheron. Crowe swaggers, shouts orders, and swash buckles.

For me, however, the best part of the movie is Paul Bettany's portrayal of Dr. Stephen Maturin. Bettany brings a quiet dignity to the role of ship's surgeon and captain's friend and confidant. He truly is the heart amid all the noise and bluster of this movie. He's no warrior, but he's no wimp, either. At one point, he must perform abdominal surgery on himself while looking into a mirror because there was simply no one else qualified. Yikes.

Dr. Maturin's dream was to spend time in the Galapagos, discovering new species, but "the requirements of the service" (that is, chasing after the Acheron, Capt. Aubrey's white whale), seem to always prevent him from doing so. He bears this disappointment with great dignity and stoicism but it is clear how greatly he is crushed by this loss. Bettany never oversells any of this; his performance is clear, yet subtle.

I first became aware of Paul Bettany in the anachronistic but very fun movie A Knight's Tale, in which he played Geoffrey Chaucer. This is a silly movie about a lowborn boy (Heath Ledger) who dreams of becoming a knight. Chaucer (yes, the famous poet Chaucer) becomes his herald in order to settle a gambling debt. The speeches that Bettany, as Chaucer, makes before the jousting matches are unbelievably funny.

Another one of Paul Bettany's famous roles was with Russell Crowe, in A Beautiful Mind. He played Charles, John Nash's friend who turned out to be imaginary.

He's an excellent actor that always brings something extra to his films.

Save Journeyman

2007-11-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

One more post on Journeyman, and then I'll change the subject, I promise.

This show is on the cancellation bubble. The consensus on the various Internet discussion boards is that there are two reasons for the show's difficulty:

NBC scheduled the show badly. It's on, Mondays at 10 p.m., opposite CSI:Miami. Jerry Bruckheimer's CSI franchise cannot be stopped.
NBC failed to promote the show adequately. The network ran endless promotional spots for other shows - Bionic Woman being a glaring example - and very few for Journeyman. The few that they ran did very little to reveal the true nature of the show. It sounded like a hokey Quantum Leap ripoff, which it isn't. They share a time travel premise, and that's it.

This show is too good to let die, especially in the middle of a season. The latest news, as reported by Ain't It Cool News, is that NBC is going to air all completed-to-date episodes of the series after all. This amounts to three more episodes.

In order to keep the show on, fan action will be the key. This has worked in the past for other shows.

Send an email, fax, or phone call to NBC telling them you enjoy the show and would be disappointed to see it cancelled. Feel free to copy and paste the suggested text below, or use your own words. Whatever works for you.

Joanne Park, Senior Press Manager - NBC Entertainment Publicity
(Project Assignment: “It’s a Wonderful Life” “The Singles Table” “Journeyman” “The Office”)
Phone: (818) 840-4579
Fax: (818) 840-4943
Email: joanne.park@nbcuni.com

___________________________________
Dear Ms. Park,

I'm contacting you to express support for my favorite NBC show, Journeyman.

Journeyman is a quality show that has developed well-fleshed out characters that emotionally resonate. Because the emotions portrayed on the show are so real, identifiable and emotionally accessible, it makes suspension of disbelief all-encompassing when it comes to Dan's time-travel adventures. The only real problem I can identify with Journeyman is the lack of promotion by NBC.

My husband and I both watch Journeyman and enjoy it immensely. We would both be very upset if Journeyman were canceled. I am a xx-year-old female, my husband is a xx-year-old male, and we watch every episode of Journeyman.

Please do what you can to save the best show on NBC, Journeyman.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,
___________________________________

If you want updates on the status of the show's fight to stay alive, check out Save Journeyman.

Post edited to add:

I received a reply from Joanne Park at NBC. Here it is, in its entirety:

We love this show too. I encourage you to get all your friends to watch in two weeks! Thank you for your support! Thank you so much for writing!
Joanne

Journeyman

2007-11-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

Journeyman airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC. Kevin McKidd stars as a San Francisco journalist who is whisked off to various times in the past to change people's lives.
I was thrilled to see that Entertainment Weekly's Pop Watch blog has joined in support of this show.

There's a petition afoot to encourage NBC to renew this brilliant but neglected show. If you like Journeyman, please go to the link and sign the petition. Can't hurt, right? The network hasn't adequately promoted Journeyman, and worse yet, scheduled it opposite CSI For Dummies, er, CSI: Miami.

Before you dismiss the show as another Quantum Leap, stop right there. It actually has more in common with the X-Files. Quantum Leap was an episodic drama, meaning each show stood on its own. What's-his-face (I only watched that show once or twice) would leap into someone's life, fix their problem, and leap out. And scene.

Journeyman has a complicated, continuing mythology underlying those leaps in and out of time. The main character, Dan, is met in the past by his former fiancé Livia, whom he had presumed to be dead. She can't / won't explain exactly what's going on but she keeps showing up. Dan doesn't know why he time travels and wants it to stop. A mysterious physicist who never seems to age shows up at various points in time in various episodes - and this physicist seems to know a lot about tachyons, mysterious particles that may or may not have something to do with time travel. The guy is creepy, and he probably has something to do with Dan's traveling, but who knows? It would suck if NBC cancelled the show before this question is resolved.

There's a lot more but it would fill up pages and pages and I don't want to do that to you. If you want to read more (lots more) about Journeyman, there's an excellent discussion board at the Television Without Pity forums.

Cane vs Dirty Sexy Money: A Comparison

2007-11-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

Dirty Sexy Money is a well-reviewed new show starring Peter Krause (Wednesdays at 10 on ABC). Cane is a critically reviled new show starring Jimmy Smits (Tuesdays at 10 on CBS). What could they possibly have in common?

Well, obviously, both shows are hour-long dramas airing at 10 p.m.

Both are sprawling family sagas reminiscent of those power dramas of the 80's, Dallas and Dynasty.

Both shows have a "not quite son" in the lead. Jimmy Smits' character, Alex, is the adopted son of the Duque family on Cane. Peter Krause's character, Nick, isn't a son at all (as far as we know!) but he is the family's attorney, lead character, and the father's favorite "child" on DSM. One of the most touching moments in the season so far was when Tripp told Nick "I love you, Nicky."

Both shows' families are rich and powerful.

Everybody on both shows is beautiful. I know that's true of almost everybody on TV, but these people are amazingly gorgeous. Jimmy Smits can beat the daylights out of a Cuban mobster one minute and be well-pressed and tailored the next. In Miami!

All characters of both shows live incredibly opulent lifestyles.

Both families have a young ne'er-do-well son, who - while incredibly handsome and the owner of the most amazing dimples - isn't particularly well employed. The one on Cane owns "a club," which appears to be a hugely successful nightclub, but is somehow looked down upon by his family. The cutie pie on DSM isn't employed at all until he volunteers to get an actual job, which chokes the old man up like crazy. He is so without skills that he ends up working up in a parking garage owned by the family.

Both shows have well-respected actors playing the family patriarchs (Donald Sutherland in DSM and Hector Elizondo in Cane) and matriarchs (Jill Clayburgh in DSM and Rita Moreno in Cane).

Both shows have an incredibly pissed-off brother who hated the lead character at the beginning of the series and gradually starts coming around. Frank Duque in Cane is jealous that dear old dad name Alex CEO of the company but is just now beginning to get along with him. Over at DSM, Brian Darling, the priest with anger management issues, has hated Nick since childhood. Since Nick has helped Brian out of various jams lately, Brian is starting to come around. The two shows' hateful brothers appear to be in sync with one another.

Both shows have places on my Tivo season pass list. Dirty Sexy Money is the better of the two shows. The acting is much better throughout, and the story lines are much less predictable. However, Cane is a much better show than the critics have suggested. I recommend both shows.