Voy a la oficina

Before our department lunch meeting was over today, someone got up to leave.

"Am I boring you?" my boss joked.

"No, but I have another meeting starting in five minutes and need to use the restroom," was the reply.

That was my cue to jump in:

"There's no 'p' in team."

Advertising as political commentary

I came across this great print ad encouraging gay and lesbian Americans to vote. Darren Stevens wishes he thought of this one.

Fear of a white hat

While visiting Julia Sweeney’s site, I found her link to a Salon.com article called “Holy Warriors” by Sydney Blumenthal that discusses the conservative alliance between the White House and Vatican that could help shift the tides against the separation of church and state in the U.S.

Seems that during the 2004 Presidential election campaign, pope-to-be Ratzinger responded to Bush's request for Vatican support on his pro-life agenda by mailing out a missive:

"...Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a letter to the U.S. bishops, pronouncing that those Catholics who were pro-choice on abortion were committing a 'grave sin' and must be denied Communion. He pointedly mentioned 'the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws'--an obvious reference to John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a Roman Catholic. If such a Catholic politician sought Communion, Ratzinger wrote, priests must be ordered to 'refuse to distribute it.' Any Catholic who voted for this 'Catholic politician,' he continued, 'would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion.' During the closing weeks of the campaign, a pastoral letter was read from pulpits in Catholic churches repeating the ominous suggestion of excommunication. Voting for the Democrat was nothing less than consorting with the forces of Satan, collaboration with 'evil.'

"In 2004 Bush increased his margin of Catholic support by 6 points from the 2000 election, rising from 46 to 52 percent. Without this shift, Kerry would have had a popular majority of a million votes. Three states--Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico--moved into Bush's column on the votes of the Catholic "faithful." Even with his atmospherics of terrorism and Sept. 11, Bush required the benediction of the Holy See as his saving grace. The key to his kingdom was turned by Cardinal Ratzinger."

Additional excerpts from article regarding the separation of church and state issue:

“But now Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay threatens the federal judiciary, saying, ‘The reason the judiciary has been able to impose a separation of church and state that's nowhere in the Constitution is that Congress didn't stop them.’ And Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will participate through a telecast in a rally on April 24 in which he will say that Democrats who refuse to rubber-stamp Bush's judicial nominees and uphold the filibuster are ‘against people of faith.’”

“The American Revolution, the Virginia Statute on Religious Liberty, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights were fought for explicitly to uproot the traces in American soil of ecclesiastical power in government, which the Founders to a man regarded with horror, revulsion and foreboding.”

“What did [John F.] Kennedy say? ‘I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference... I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish--where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source--where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials.’”

Guerilla music maven

My latest music discovery, via KCRW radio, is M.I.A. The acronym stands for "Missing in Acton" and is the stage name for Maya, a 20-something Sri Lankan who left her country as a refugee and grew up in projects south of London.

Through art school friends, she got connected to the music scene and eventually met Peaches who introduced her to the do-it-yourself music maker called the Roland MC-505 Groovebox. The result is a remarkably fresh and irresisitable, sycopated pina-colada puree of hip hop flirtation and political irritation.

Here's her site and a interview with her that appeared in The Independent.

A quote from the interview:

"I was doing work for bands, but my tutors just wanted me to make films of leaves in the trees or ripples in the water to represent the avant-garde and feminist whatever. I was like, 'I can't do that. My mum's about to get evicted from her council flat. I can't pretend life is glorious through this leaf on 16mm with some scratched dirt on it.'"

Wrong guy

Ratzinger the Panzer pope? An iron fist against the love glove? I have to think they picked the wrong guy.

Ice Cube starring in the "XXX" sequel? The sleepy-eyed chubster who would have been a better Diesel alternative in "The Pacifier"? I have to think they picked the wrong guy.

Seacrest on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? The mousse-headed mouthpiece who perkily announces who's safe or going home? I have to think they picked the wrong guy.

Best of last week

Best office hallway quote:

"I want to go see Sin City tonight, but I have to go to Europe."

Best bad news-related joke I made up:

So did you hear First Lady Laura Bush recently fired the White House chef? Evidently, his servings were too liberal.

*Badumbump*

Best "The Onion" headline imitation that's unfortunately real news:

Voice of America Makes Move to Hong Kong

To save $300,000 a year, the official broadcasting service of the U.S. government is moving most of its news operations to Hong Kong despite the fact that China is known to occasionally jam Voice of America broadcasts. So now the U.S. has stooped to delegating its own "voice." It seems we're one step away from posting signs around D.C. that read "Outsourcing Sale! Everything must go!"

Black, white and out of sight

While viewing Sin City tonight, I realized this is the Tarantino movie I expected/wanted to see instead of the Kill Bill duo. Even though Q.T. only "guest directed," it felt like a perfect companion piece to Pulp Fiction.

The art direction is beautifully stark, the concept and comic book (or is it graphic novel?) translation brilliant, clever casting, writing and acting (special shout-outs to the now continuously smoldering Clive Owen--hubba to the hubba, ya don't stop--and pouty little Britney Murphy who does white trash girls so deliciously).

My only complaints would be the draggy Bruce Willis chapter that brought the movie to a stumbling end and the poor decision to put a The Hours nose job on Benicio Del Toro. Good gawd, it's not going to distract us from the fact it's Benicio and any kind of putty put on that amazing face is a crime.

That said, the fake physiognomy on Mickey Rourke worked. He made it work, which says a lot for his acting chops. I have to say, I've always had a thing for Mickey ever since Diner. Something about him makes me want to empty a refrigerator and I don't mean to snack.

So if you don't mind mind-numbing violence, check out Sin City for a good time at the movies. Big ups to Robert Rodriguez and company. Ya done real good.

I, Britney

After allowing six years for the hype to die down, I finally saw Croupier and enjoyed its slick slice of gambling life. The writing was clever, the art direction stylish (except for the occasional misguided appearances of "The Duran Duran Hat"). Clive Owen performed hunkily, although it would hard to top his smolderingness in Gosford Park (seeing how he was the only thing that kept me awake through that movie). In some ways the mood of Croupier brought to mind the chilly, amoral slickness of demonlover, although I much preferred the former.

Thinking of Gosford Park reminds me that it, with its talcum-powdered tedium, was one of two arthouse films that I got my more mainstream movie-watching sister to attend. The other was the bracing, but tw-is-ted Japanese film Audition. Let's just say it's been awhile since she's let me pick a flick.

***

So Britney's pregnant. That pretty much answers my Halloween costume question for this year.

Irony in ethics

The following is a quote from a Christian Science Monitor article about the Tom DeLay ethics controversy.

"After the ethics warning, House Republicans dropped their own 10-year-old rule requiring a leader who is criminally indicted to step down, a move they reversed at the beginning of the current Congress. GOP leaders also rallied their caucus around changes in House rules that make it more difficult to launch an ethics investigation, replaced three of the five Republicans on the panel, and fired two top committee staff members."

Gee, I guess unethical behavior breeds.

You winsome...

The "Label Me Beck" issue of Filter magazine features a well-written interview with Mr. Hansen by Mikel Jollett that shares a story about the time Beck was scheduled to be on the American Music Awards and found out that he and his band would have to pantomime their performance on live TV.

After the show producers arranged camera shots during the sound check, Beck gave his band directions on what to do when their performance began. At showtime, Beck stood behind the mic singing while his band began goofing off on-stage and running into the audience to do sit-ups. After the cameras caught a few awkward moments, like the drummer in a ski mask, the cameramen decided to stay on Beck.

"So they just cut to my face," Beck explained. "A tight close-up of my face for the rest of the song. But just by my left earlobe, just on the side there, you could see somebody doing jumping jacks or running across the stage with an umbrella. It was just enough to make you feel like the universe, the real universe behind the television, was somehow winking at you."

***

Speaking of the universe winking--while going through some papers this weekend, I came across a poem my then 84-year-old great aunt wrote for me "in the wee, small hours" one morning. She must've been concerned about my lathered talk about "cute guys" for her to scribe this rhyming advice for her shallow great niece:

Searching, searching everywhere
How I wonder where you are
In the classroom? No, not there.
On the campus? No, not there.
In the church? No, not there.
But out in the business world
With its hustle and bustle
Many chances there, but you must hustle
But look! Not so tall, not so handsome
But a friendly smile and eyes that sparkle
A bit of a nod and a friendly "hello"
Could start a friendship that says "go"
Settle for less than your ideal? Oh, no!
It's what's in the heart, as you well know.

Merci me

It was a very French weekend pour moi.

It began with "Look at Me," another sharply observed comedy of manners by the multi-talented Agnes Jaoui who also helmed the clever film "The Taste of Others" a few years back. She and her husband, Jean-Pierre Bacri, co-wrote and co-star in this new comedy examining how vanity can wreak havoc in personal lives. The film focuses on the plight of a plump daughter and her famous novelist father who can't seem to avoid disappointing each other. At times the film swerves into simplistic after-school special territory, but then bobs right back into wry wisdom, plain-faced truths and satisfying smiles.

The remainder of the French irresitableness took place in shared pastries and crepes and chat with good friends in the breezy, beach-adjacent sunshine. C'est bon!

***

Want to read a too-good-to-be-true NYC story by MD'A? Suit yourself.