The most anticipated films for the rest of the year (the third in today's film list trilogy)

I promise I'll end today's film lists after this one: Rope of Silicon's 20 Most Anticipated Films Still to Come in 2009 (the link is worth checking out for the pictures and links to trailers):

20. The Invention of Lying (Ricky Gervais)
19. Ninja Assassin (James McTeigue)
18. Green Zone (Matt Damon, Paul Greengrass together again in Iraq)
17. Bright Star (Jane Campion)
16. A Serious Man (Coens)
15. Ponyo (Miyazaki is back)
14. Shutter Island (Scorsese/DiCaprio redux)
13. The Wolfman (Benicio Del Toro)
12. The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson returns)
11. The Princess and the Frog (Disney’s “black princess”)
10. Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz)
9. 9 (the animated one)
8. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr. )
7. Funny People (Apatow and Sandler)
6. Antichrist (I'm not sure I'm anticipating this one this much)
5. The Road (Viggo Mortensen, Cormac McCarthy)
4. The Informant (Matt Damon and Soderbergh)
3. Inglorious Basterds (Tarantino, Pitt,)
2. Avatar (James Cameron promises to transform movies)
1. Nine (Rob Marshall, Daniel Day Lewis, lots of pretty women singing and dancing)

"Oscar nominations" for first half of the year (Speaking of polls)

Awards Daily attempts to "celebrate the greatness in film for the films that were released in USA between 1st of January and 30th of June. We know that most of them will be forgotten that’s why we want to list the best of the year so far." The poll was open to "every AD forum member who had more than 200 posts." Here are the top nominees (there was no mention of when winners will be named):

BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Summer Hours
Two Lovers
Up
BEST DIRECTOR
Olivier Assayas for Summer Hours
Kathyrn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
Pete Docter for Up
James Gray for Two Lovers
Sam Raimi for Drag Me to Hell
BEST ACTOR
Charles Berling in Summer Hours
Baard Owe in O’Horten
Joaquin Phoenix in Two Lovers
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
Souleymane Sy Savane in Goodbye Solo
BEST ACTRESS
Hiam Abbas in Lemon Tree
Maria Heiskanen in Everlasting Moments
Michelle Pfeiffer in Cheri
Maya Rudolph in Away We Go
Tilda Swinton in Julia
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jackie Earl Haley in Watchmen
Anthony Mackie in The Hurt Locker
Zachary Quinto in Star Trek
Scott Speedman in Adoration
Red West in Goodbye Solo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Gwyneth Paltrow in Two Lovers
Lorna Raver in Drag Me to Hell
Edith Scob in Summer Hours
Kristin Scott Thoman in Easy Virtue
Vinessa Shaw in Two Lovers
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Away We Go
The Hurt Locker
Summer Hours
Two Lovers
Up
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Coraline
Cheri
Easy Virtue
Star Trek
State of Play
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cheri
Everlasting Moments
The Hurt Locker
Summer Hours
Tetro
BEST FILM EDITING
Drag Me to Hell
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Two Lovers
Up
BEST ART DIRECTION
Caroline
Cheri
Il Divo
Star Trek
Watchmen
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Cheri
Duplicity
Easy Virtue
Star Trek
Watchmen
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Adoration
Cheri
Drag Me to Hell
Star Trek
Up
BEST SOUND MIXING
Drag Me to Hell
The Hurt Locker
O’Horten
Star Trek
Up
BEST SOUND EDITING
Drag Me to Hell
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Drag Me to Hell
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
BEST MAKE UP
Cheri
Drag Me to Hell
Il Divo
Star Trek

Happy 48th, Jackie

The 50 Greatest Films (Another poll)

Some guy named Iain Stott conducted a poll "of filmmakers, critics, bloggers, historians, and other assorted cinephiles, attempting, consensusly, to find 'The 50 Greatest Films'" and, lo and behold, what should come out No. 1? Citizen Kane, of course. No. 2 on his list, Vertigo, is somewhat of a surprise for me. I certainly don't mind having a Hitchcock in that position. but I would gave gone with Notorious, which for some inexplicable reason, didn't even make his list, which makes me wonder about its credibility. Also, although most historians will recognize the greatness of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, it is not held in as high esteem in the film community as it was, say, 10 or so years ago. I would also place many other 1946 films ahead of It's a Wonderful Life (the aforementioned Notorious, as well as Stairway to Heaven, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Killers, The Big Sleep, My Darling Clementine, The Postman Always Rings Twice). My only other complaint is there's not a single film from the great Howard Hawks on the list. What's with that?

Speaking of directors, he also a list of the Top 50, in which Francis Ford Coppola is third and Martin Scorsese is 7th. Are you kidding me? He probably got this total by adding the votes for pictures and Coppola's Godfather and Apocalypse Now films probably totaled more than Scorsese's Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, but when you look at their entire body of work, Coppola can't compare to Scorsese.

Having said all this, I discovered something interesting about his list. If you click on a title, you are given all the people who voted for that particular film. I clicked on Citizen Kane, read the list and failed to recognize a single name. Who are these people, really?

The poll's Top 50 pictures are:

Citizen Kane (1941) .. Orson Welles
Vertigo (1958) .. Alfred Hitchcock
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) .. Stanley Kubrick
The Godfather (1972) .. Francis Ford Coppola
Casablanca (1942) .. Michael Curtiz
The Third Man (1949) .. Carol Reed
Taxi Driver (1976) .. Martin Scorsese
Seven Samurai (1954) .. Akira Kurosawa
Psycho (1960) .. Alfred Hitchcock
Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) .. Stanley Kubrick
The Godfather: Part II (1974) .. Francis Ford Coppola
The Searchers (1956) .. John Ford
Rear Window (1954) .. Alfred Hitchcock
Singin' in the Rain (1952) .. Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
Persona (1966) .. Ingmar Bergman
Chinatown (1974) .. Roman Polanski
Sunset Boulevard (1950) .. Billy Wilder
Sunrise (1927) .. F.W. Murnau
Tokyo Story (1953) .. Yasujiro Ozu
Pulp Fiction (1994) .. Quentin Tarantino
La Règle du Jeu (1939) .. Jean Renoir
8½ (1963) .. Federico Fellini
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) .. David Lean
The Night of the Hunter (1955) .. Charles Laughton
Apocalypse Now (1979) .. Francis Ford Coppola
City Lights (1931) .. Charles Chaplin
Bicycle Thieves (1948) .. Vittorio De Sica
Annie Hall (1977) .. Woody Allen
Touch of Evil (1958) .. Orson Welles
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) .. Carl Theodor Dreyer
Blade Runner (1982) .. Ridley Scott
M (1931) .. Fritz Lang
The General (1927) .. Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton
Some Like It Hot (1959) .. Billy Wilder
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) .. Sergio Leone
The Four Hundred Blows (1959) .. Franτois Truffaut
Duck Soup (1933) .. Leo McCarey
Double Indemnity (1944) .. Billy Wilder
Raging Bull (1980) .. Martin Scorsese
All About Eve (1950) .. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
A Clockwork Orange (1971) .. Stanley Kubrick
The Apartment (1960) .. Billy Wilder
La Grande Illusion (1937) .. Jean Renoir
Ikiru (1952) .. Akira Kurosawa
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) .. Frank Capra
Rashomon (1950) .. Akira Kurosawa
The Wizard of Oz (1939) .. Victor Fleming
Do the Right Thing (1989) .. Spike Lee
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) .. Sergio Leone
L'Avventura (1960) .. Michelangelo Antonioni

A gift idea for the film lover on your list

At under $50 from Amazon. com, if you're searching for an ideal gift for the movie lover on your gift list, you could do a lot worse than Seen Behind the Scene: Forty Years of Photographing On Set, a collection of photographs taken Mary Allen Mark, who, according to this introduction in Vanity Fair, (which also offers examples of her pictures) "can claim to have documented the turmoil on the most notorious film set of all time (Apocalypse Now), as well as the making of classics as diverse as Tootsie, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Fellini’s Satyricon.

And the Oscar goes to ...

Carey Mulligan, who plays a London teenager in the early 1960s, has emerged as the first serious contender for a best actress Oscar for her role in "An Education," which also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson and Sally Hawkins. Expect a limited U.S. theatrical release Oct. 9.

Tony minus Jessica

I want to publicly thank my media handlers for keeping my name out of these stories about the Jessica Simpson-Tony Romo breakup.

Coming Wednesday to a theater near you

Anne Thompson of Variety called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince "just about the best-made picture I've seen in many a moon." She also thinks it has a better chance than Public Enemies of being one of the summer films that could wind up on Oscar's list of 10 best picture nominees. "This Potter," Thompson writes, "is as elegantly designed as a Pixar movie. Its tech credits are outstanding: period production design and costumes, cinematography, and visual effects (the quidditch matches are stunning)."

I'm not that high on the Harry Potter series (truth be told, I was also not that high on the Lord of the Rings movies), but this one is beginning to capture my interest.

New movies to be released tomorrow on DVD

The Bracelet of Bordeaux (2009) Unseen by me.

The Edge of Love (2009) Sometimes glossy, sometimes hard-edged, the film alternates between glitz and unpleasantness and ends as a kind of glum soap opera, too glam to be bleak and too bleak to be so glam. Grade: C-

Explicit Ills (2009) Undone by a deadly twofer: lack of trust in characterization coupled with single-minded faith in spelled-out messages. Grade: C-

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) As a piece of storytelling, the film is pretty lazy. As a horror movie, it’s lazier still, bringing out every annoying shock-cut and disorienting sound-design trick of the last decade. Grade: D+

The Horsemen (2009) Unseen by me.

12 (2009) This film is every bit as much of a moral powerhouse as its predecessors but with the added bonus of being simultaneously intellectually riveting and, at times, almost indescribably poetic. Grade: A-

Mad Moon Rising

Son, the reason I wanted to have this little chat is because it's getting to be about that time in a man's life when he must pass on some of the responsibilities of being a citizen of Laguna Niguel on to his first-born. Of course you know all about the city commissions, the business watch, and the citizens academy.

But now I gotta tell you about our annual July 11 festivity. You see, son, beginning next year I am appointing you to take my place in this event. What you'll do is head down to the train tracks west of town and there along the chain link fence, you'll drop your drawers and point your butt toward the passing trains.

Now, don't look at me that way, son. You won't be alone out there. Why, just two years ago, about 8,000 thousand folks came out for the fun. Course, things did get a bit rowdy and Sheriff Ted did have to put the kabosh on things, what with all the drinking and people running around without their clothes on and having sex right out there in the open. Can't have none of that, not in Laguna Niguel we can't.

Wait! Come back, son! Why yesterday we had around 400 people out there, some of the most gawd-awful ugliest bee-hinds you never did see. Why even old Granny Parker dropped her BVDs as that old train rolled by.

I know, I know. No one cares that much about seeing Granny Parker's bee-hind. In fact, I'll bet those folks in the Amtrak's dining car dang near lost their victuals over seeing her out there. But, then, Tiffany, was out there too. You know. Tiffany, that saucy little blonde waitress from over there at the Savannah. She didn't have to drop her drawers. She wore this short little skirt and when the dang train came by, she raised the hem of that garment and, by golly, she wasn't wearing anything -- not a dang thing, mind you -- underneath.

Hell, son, we've been doing this since before you were even born. It all started back in '79 -- some say it actually was a July 11th. The way I heard it, K.T. Smith got drunk one night in Mugs Away Saloon offered to buy a drink to anyone who would "moon" a passing train. And, dang it, if we haven't been celebrating that night ever since.

So beginning next year, son, it's going to be up to you to preserve the family name. I know I can count on you to make us all proud. Look, this here Web site, will tell you everything you need to know.

And just remember, son, there's a reason why folks around here say "the moon never sets on Laguna Niguel."

Cartoon worth sharing

Cameron (Cam) Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen.

Education will continue to be second rate in Texas

Gov. Hair made sure of that with the appointment this week of Gail Lowe (pictured here) to be the chair of the State Board of Education. Ms. Lowe is a creationist who believes sex education classes should teach only abstinence. In 2003, she voted against all biology textbooks that did not include discussions of "the weaknesses of the theory of evolution." Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller said of the appointment:

"It's disappointing that instead of choosing a mainstream conservative who could heal the divisions on the board, the governor once again appointed someone who repeatedly has put political agendas ahead of the education of Texas schoolchildren. Ms. Lowe has marched in lockstep with a faction of board members who believe that their personal beliefs are more important than the experience and expertise of teachers and academics who have dedicated their careers to educating our children and helping them succeed. We can only hope that she will rise above her history on the board and as chair keep the board from continuing to hold the education of our children hostage to divisive 'culture war' battles."

The Economist recently released a Special Report on Texas that quoted one Texas sociologist as follows: "If we fail to turn our education system around, we will find that a whole generation has been locked out of the jobs market." Gov. Hair obviously thinks it's more important to forward a political agenda than to prepare our children for the future.

The giant ape of the sea

I'm not that big a fan of remakes because usually it means taking a great film and making a bad one from it (Bedazzled, anyone?). There are exceptions, however: The third version of The Maltese Falcon is the masterpiece and, although it's not fashionable to say so publicly, both the remakes of Cape Fear and 3:10 to Yuma are superior to the originals if, for no other reasons than the actors in those remakes explored the depths of their characters more than the ones in the originals. If Steven Spielberg hadn't concentrated so much on the Tom Cruise-family dynamic, more people would have realized what a potent and often disturbing film his War of the Worlds really was. Finally, while Peter Jackson's King Kong remake, by definition, lacked the originality and Wow! factor of the 1933 version, it was an excellent film, far, far superior to the 1978 remake.

So I think Mr. Spielberg or Mr. Jackson would be perfect candidates to direct a film I think it's time to remake: Moby Dick. In fact, I would rather they (or someone else, I just think it's time for another version of this story) not actually try to remake John Huston's 1956 film, but to re-adapt Herman Melville's novel, much like Spielberg took another shot at H.G. Welles in War of the Worlds. I would also love to see Philip Seymour Hoffman as Ahab and Russell Crowe as Ishmael. With the special effects wizardry those two directors bring to the table, I think either one could make a great Moby Dick. John Huston is one of my favorite directors, but I think (pun intended) he missed the boat with his film.

Does this woman remind you of, say, a Secretary of State?

HBO sure hopes so because it has cast Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton in The Special Relationship, which will be about the friendship between President Bill Clinton (Dennis Quaid) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair To(Michael Sheen, once again). The film is also supposed to deal with what was said between the Clintons during the Monica Lewinsky business.

Frankly, I think the choice of Ms. Davis is better than the actress originally signed for the role, Julianne Moore, who had to bow out because of a scheduling conflict. I have the utmost respect for Ms. Moore, but I just think Ms. Davis is better suited.

Congratulations, cousin

Someone in the family is doing well.

Get the Fox outta here

Suddenly the media has been consumed with this Megan Fox person who apparently struts her stuff ("acting" is way too generous a term, I've been told) in the latest Transformers film. C'mon, does anyone really think this person picture here is that appealing? Of course, I'm one of those who doesn't understand the appeal of Paris Hilton either.

Michael Moore on Bernie Madoff

From a recent Michael Moore newsletter:

"Yes, he (Bernie Madoff) stole $65 billion from some already quite wealthy people. I know that’s upsetting to them because rich guys like Bernie are not supposed to be stealing from their own kind. Crime, thievery, looting — that’s what happens on the other side of town. The rules of the money game on Park Avenue and Wall Street are comprised of things like charging the public 29 percent credit card interest, tricking people into taking out a second mortgage they can’t afford, and concocting a student loan system that has graduates in hock for the next 20 years. Now that’s smart business! And it’s legal. That’s where Bernie went wrong — his scheming, his trickery was an outrage both because it was illegal and because he preyed on his side of the tracks.

"Had Mr. Madoff just followed the example of his fellow top one-percenters, there were many ways he could have legally multiplied his wealth many times over. Here’s how it’s done. First, threaten your workers that you’ll move their jobs offshore if they don’t agree to reduce their pay and benefits. Then move those jobs offshore. Then place that income on the shores of the Cayman Islands and pay no taxes. Don’t put the money back into your company. Put it into your pocket and the pockets of your shareholders. There! Done! Legal!"

Moore's latest documentary is going to be called Capitalism: A Love Story. It should be in wide release some time in October.

This ought to take another legend down a notch or two

Ever heard of a movie from 1984 or thereabouts called Thunder Riders of the Golden West? Neither had I, that is until I ran across this story in, of all places, the Kerrville Daily News. The film is "a science-fiction western," set in present day that tells the story of Cowboy truckers searching for $3 million in gold during an atomic bomb test. What makes this significant is that scenes for the movie filmed in 1979 feature non other than John Wayne, which would make Thunder Riders, not the marvelous 1976 film The Shootist, Wayne's last film.

The Mavericks trade for Marion

I'm not convinced the acquisition of Shawn Marion suddenly makes Dallas a title contender next year. I don't even think Dallas improves to the degree that the San Antonio Spurs did when it got rid of three aging players -- Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas -- and replaced them with Richard Jefferson who is at the top of his game right now. I also thought the Spurs pulled off the steal of the NBA draft by nabbing Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair, the top rebounder in college basketball last season, in the second round. As a result the Spurs have to be considered the leading contenders in the Western Conference next season, especially since the Lakers lost Trevor Ariza to the Rockets and replaced him with the erratic Ron Artest. (There's also the chance Lamar Odum may bolt L.A.).

Now the good news for the Mavericks. They obtained Marion in a move of grand larceny, giving up only Jerry Stackhouse Devean George and Antoine Wright. Yes, the Mavericks have gotten better (especially if the Marcin Gortat signing also goes through), while I can't say the same for any of the other contenders in the West. In fact, except for the Spurs, most of the teams that have improved the most so far are in the East. (Sorry, Cavalier fans, but the signing of Rasheed Wallace makes the Boston Celtics a better team than Cleveland, even with its addition of the over-the-hill Shaquille O'Neal.)

The only other team in the West that has improved more than the Mavericks so far this year is the Los Angeles Clippers, but they still have a way to go before even being considered a playoff team. Utah will probably still be a little better than the Mavs if they can stand the price they have to pay to be that good. If not, then they will unload Carlos Boozer or Andrei Kirilenko and that could hurt. Portland has done absolutely nothing in the offseason. It appears Denver has financial problems that could cause them not to be able to re-sign Linas Kleiza and Dahntay Jones, which would drop the Nuggets below Dallas. The Hornets are in damage control and may have to get rid of some good players for salary cap relief. And you really have to feel sorry, I guess, for the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming's career may be over - -it definitely looks like he'll miss this season. Tracy McGrady is probably never going to be completely healthy again. They did replace Ron Artest with Trevor Ariza and that's an upgrade. But there's too many subtractions and not enough additions for the Rockets who could even fall into being a lottery team next season.

So, as it stands right now, here's how I rank the top teams in the West, the ones who will make the playoffs:

1. San Antonio Spurs

2. Los Angeles Lakers

3. Portland Trailblazers

4. Utah Jazz (If they can keep their current roster in-tact)

5. Dallas Mavericks (who move to fourth if Utah looses Boozer and/or Kirilenko)

6. Denver

7. Golden State (would move to 6th if it pulls off the Amare Stoudemire trade without having to give up Stephen Curry)

8. New Orleans

Happy 53rd, Tom

This is a step in the right direction

I have never understood why gullible people spend $1.25 for something they can purchase for less than a penny. I'm talking about water. One of the many things the City of Dallas does right is deliver fresh, good-tasting water to our taps, water that tastes just as good or better than any you can buy in the bottle. (One of the things I would like to see the city do, however, is prohibit tax dollars from being spent on providing bottled water at city-sponsored meetings, hearings, etc.)

Bottled water is an environmental nightmare. Those plastic bottles clog up our landfalls and energy is consumed unnecessarily by the processing and transporting of this product.

Finally, some folks are striking back. Even though these folks are in a rural section of Australia, maybe they are starting a movement that will spread worldwide. The residents of Bundanoon voted nearly unanimously last night to ban the sale of bottled water in their town. Earlier in the day, the premier of New South Wales state issued an order that bans all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water. The premier called bottled water "a waste of money and natural resources."

Here's an idea: Instead of selling bottled water, merchants should sell reusable bottles that can be filled with tap water and chilled. We are already seeing a movement to people using reusable grocery bags, but eliminating bottled water can have a far more positive effect on our pocketbooks and especially the environment.

Update: Now comes word that Congress is looking into whether bottled water is as safe for consumption as tap water. It seems that bottled water doesn't have nearly the reporting mechanisms that are required of municipal tap water. For example, municipal water systems have been required to distribute an annual report to consumers since 1999, disclosing the name of their water source and any contaminants found in testing, as well as the potential health effects of those contaminants. A non-profit organization called the Environmental Working Group is recommending bottling companies provide detailed information about the source and treatment of their water, just as providers of tap water do.

Please, Mrs. Henry, Mrs. Henry, Please

Had to share this picture I ran across of Bob Dylan's 1966 concert tour when he was backed up by a band then known as the Hawks but later became known, of course, as just The Band. The concert was split into two sets. The first set was Dylan performing alone with an acoustic guitar and his ever-handy harmonicas. In the second set, Dylan abandoned the acoustic guitar for a Fender Telecaster and was joined by the Hawks for a searing electric set. For the most part, audiences loved the first set and hated the second, calling Dylan a traitor for abandoning the acoustic roots that had made him a music icon. (It must also be remembered that acoustic folk music as championed by the likes of Joan Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary was far more popular then than it is today.) Because of this constant heckling while the band was on stage, drummer Levon Helm dropped out as the tour left for its European leg. Dylan recruited Mickey Jones (pictured here) to replace him, paying him $750 a week plus expenses.

After Helm returned to the Hawks, Jones joined Kenny Rogers and the First Edition and played with them for 10 years. Since then he has made a living as an actor. His screen credits include the roles of Turk in Tin Cup and Monty Johnson in Sling Blade.

I must also add that Levon Helm has just released a new album called Electric Dirt.

As for me, I'm stuck in Mobile with the Memphis blues again.

What to do about those dang HOV lanes

Apparently the members of the DART board aren't too happy with the HOV lanes along LBJ and north on 75 any more than the rest of us. They just don't know what to do about them. As usual, I have a solution.

Convert them from HOV Lanes to Express Lanes. Then the requirement for using them is not how many people you have in your vehicle but how far you need to travel.


It's interesting that we never hear or read about complaints involving the original HOV lanes that were created along I-30 east of downtown or the ones along I-35 south. It's also interesting that those lanes have concrete barriers that separate them from the rest of the highway.


So here's what you do. You build similar barriers for all the current HOV-Lanes-that-will-become-Express-Lanes. You have a minimum of entrance and exit points. (That's the problem with Texas freeways -- they were poorly designed. Freeways are supposed to be transit ways designed to carry vehicles over long distances in a short time. But the local engineers made sure that would never happen by creating freeways with entrances and exits less than a mile apart and stupid service roads that run alongside them, guaranteeing that most of the time the freeways would have all the mobility of a parking lot.) DART should extend the North Central Lane all the way to the Dallas CBD with entrances and exits only at its northern most point in Allen and flyover exits and entrances that connect to the George Bush Turnpike and LBJ Freeway. That way you are providing express service for those major traffic arteries and from the outer burbs to downtown Dallas.


The North Rim LBJ Express Lanes should have similar entrances and exits at 175/I20, I-30, North Central Expressway, I-35 and DFW.


Freeways are not supposed to be for those who just want to drive on them for 1-5 miles, but that's what they are in Texas and that's why they are so congested. I had the pleasure a couple of years ago of driving on England's Motorways one of which is pictured above), which are designed to get people over long distances in the shortest amount of time. In the metropolitan areas, there is never an entrance or exit closer to two miles of another one and in the rural areas, the standard is 25 miles between entrances and exits. I never once encountered a traffic jam on an English M-highway. It also helped that English drivers are far superior to Texas motorists, but then kamikaze pilots are safer than the majority of Texans on a highway.

Happy 51st, Kevin

It's amazing what dying can do for your image

I know I'm going to criticized for speaking ill of the dead, especially this one particular dead person, but there you have it.

A month ago, if I mentioned the name Michael Jackson, admit it, these are the images the name would have conjured up:

• Probable child molester
• A plastic surgery addict
• A black man who wanted to be white
• "Wacko Jacko"

Today, here's what we're being told Michael Jackson was:

• A civil rights leader
• A philanthropist
• A humanitarian
• A saint

Stigma? Stigma? What stigma?

The Carrollton City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to deny a special use permit to the North Dallas Funeral Home which sought the permit to install a crematorium inside its funeral home. The permit was opposed by nearby residents "because of the stigma they said the nearby neighborhood would acquire." What? Did these folks think that Carrollton would suddenly become known as the Dachau of North Central Texas? What kind of a bad stigma is a crematorium going to create? I don't get it.

This is the best news I've heard in a long, long time

The BBC is reporting that research conducted in Florida concludes "Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems seen in Alzheimer's disease." As someone who consumes massive amounts of French Roast coffee daily, you can imagine how this report made me feel.

The BBC quoted Dr. Gary Arendash, who led the latest study, as saying: "The results are particularly exciting in that a reversal of pre-existing memory impairment is more difficult to achieve. They provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease and not simply a protective strategy. That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people, it easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process."

Of course, the research so far has involved only mice, but, the BBC said these same researchers now "hope to begin human trials of caffeine to see if the mouse findings are replicated in people." I am now desperately searching to find out how to be a volunteer test subject.

Five personality traits a person might wish to possess

I ran across this today and thought it worth sharing, although the person who provided it to me could not remember the original source. So this is not my list and I don't know who came up with it, but it is a good one: five personality traits that a person might wish to possess:
1. Openness
2. Conscientiousness
3. Agreeableness
4. Stability
5. Extroversion

Bloomberg: GWTW is all-time box-office champ

According to the financial wizards at Bloomberg, when box office receipts are adjusted for inflation, Gone With the Wind is the all-time box-office champ, followed by Star Wars, and that movie I love to hate The Sound of Music. The rest of the Top 10 looks like this: 4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 5. The Ten Commandments, 6. Titanic, 7. Jaws, 8. Doctor Zhivago, 9. The Exorcist and 10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Last year's box-office champ, The Dark Knight, didn't even crack the Top 25.

Poll: 10 Best Picture possibilities

Maybe it's just because the Motion Picture Academy decided to double the number of best picture nominees for next summer or maybe because there really hasn't been much going on to blog about, especially if one is not all that choked up over the death of a popular pedophile. Whatever the reason Awards Daily is conducting a public opinion poll on what films will be the likely best picture nominees. The top 10 finishers are:

1. Up

2. Nine

3. The Lovely Bones

4. Shutter Island

5. The Hurt Locker

6. Avatar

7. Precious

8. Invictus (I thought this would finish a lot higher)

9. The Road

10. Public Enemies (which will probably fall out of the top 10 as polling continues. It's this high now because it, along with Up, are the only two films to have received a wide release).

Is this what is meant by "justifiable homicide"?

Glenn Hunter, who seems to be a death penalty advocate, wrote yesterday on the Frontburner blog (I've been busy so I just now caught it):

"The penalty’s underlying principle is simple: Human life is precious–so precious, in fact, that if you take someone else’s, you forfeit your right to yours. In other words, you pay the ultimate price–just as you made your victim pay."

OK, Glenn, so answer this: The executioner has just taken someone's precious life, so, using your argument, why shouldn't he now forfeit his right to his?

A Mavericks trade that makes sense for all three teams involved

I'm not going to spoil the anonymity of the basketball genius who came up with the idea, except to say he is closely related to me, but here is the deal: trade Jerry Stackhouse's expiring contract to Utah for Carlos Boozer, then turn right around and trade Boozer to Detroit for Rip Hamilton. Makes perfect sense to me and, as "the basketball genius" said to me, it makes all three teams happy. What more could you ask for?

New movies to be released tomorrow on DVD

Knowing (2009) Whatever else director Alex Proyas has done here, he has created an ending that is sure to divide audiences into camps of love it or hate it, deeming its message either hopeful or hopelessly heavy-handed. For me, it doesn't quite work; still I'm glad he took the risk. Grade: C

Push (2009) Imaginatively photographed by Peter Sova, this film has a dizzying, chaotic energy that pulls you along. Paul McGuigan directs with maximum efficiency and minimum use of computers, creating effects that feel satisfyingly tangible. Grade: C+

The Unborn (2009) The film teeters so perilously and routinely at the edge of camp, both with some of its casting choices and some unfortunate dialogue (the repeated warning that "Jumby wants to be born now"), that it's hard to know if writer/director David S. Goyer wants to make us howl with fear or laughter. Grade: D+

Been to Spain

Loved it there and I agree with whoever it was that said everyone should visit the Alhambra before they die. And the beer ... there is a brand of beer in Spain called Cruzcampo that's absolutely the best brew I've ever tasted. Why we can't get it here just boggles my mind. Having said all this, however, I must say that visiting Spain, while marvelous, was not a life-altering experience. Of course it might have been had I stumbled onto her sunbathing at a beach on the Costa del Sol.

Good Night, Karl

The Longest Day

"I distinctly remember because the whole time he kept calling me 'Kraut' and it was several days later before I found out why."

Dog for Sale

Free to good home. Excellent guard dog. Owner cannot afford to feed him anymore, as there are no more drug pushers, thieves, murderers, or molesters left in the neighborhood for him to eat. Most of them knew him as "'Holy Shit.."

(This comes courtesy of the great Mike Lindley)

Is Madoff's sentence justified?

The Jobsanger blog presents an excellent argument that the 150-year sentence given to 71-year-old Bernie Madoff for bilking millions of dollars out of unsuspecting fools was excessive:

"Being sentenced to 150 years is the same as being sentenced to life without parole -- for theft, a non-violent crime. Many murderers, rapists, kidnappers and child molesters aren't sentenced that harshly.

"The moral of this story is that stealing from the rich is obviously the most serious crime a person can commit in our capitalist country. If he had stolen from poor or working class folks, even hundreds of them, he would have been sentenced to 10 or 12 years and been eligible for parole after serving half of it (and probably gotten that parole).

"Personally, I believe the person who steals from poor or working folks commits the greater crime. That criminal is probably stealing money that is needed for food, rent, car payment or a child's medical care or education.

"Madoff refused to take less than a million dollars, and these fools begged him to take their money. They were greedy. They believed his stories of huge returns, and took their money out of safe investments so they could make a killing. This wasn't their food or rent money. It was investment capital, and none of them will go hungry without it.

I've always believed the old adage that says if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. These people knew that adage, but they still let their greed get the best of them. And now they're mad. They're mad because he made them look like the fools they really are.

"I'm not saying Madoff shouldn't be punished. He's a criminal and should pay the price for that. But is 150 years fair? Should his non-violent crime be punished more harshly than the sentences received by violent criminals?

"Lady Justice is supposed to be blind, but this case shows us that is not true. In America, it is far more serious to commit a crime against the rich, than to commit a crime against working folks."

New movies to be released tomorrow on DVD

12 Rounds (2009) *½ Noisy, cut into a head-snapping blur with little room for wrestler John Cena to even try showing emotion, this film is an occasionally exciting but always empty experience.

Dark Streets (2008) *½ The film has its shallow pleasures, but once it becomes obvious that that’s all it has going for it, the affected performances and forced tough-guy speak stop feeling playful and start to become oppressive.

The Education of Charlie Banks (2009) ** There’s enough sweetness, and enough just-under-the-surface intelligence, in this film to suggest that Fred Durst may have a future as a filmmaker.

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009) ** It’s no mystery that the target audience for this G-rated bubblegum fantasy is tweens, parents of tweens and the occasional pervert. They’ll be so pleased. Anything for the rest of humanity? Not so much.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) ½* Even with the low expectations this film engenders, it still somehow manages to be a letdown.

Two Lovers (2009) *** A small, delicate concoction of moods and moments, far quieter than all the recent Joaquin Phoenix-related hoopla. But his heartbreaking performance may incline audiences to think of him in a new light, or at least return to thinking of him in the old one.

Good night, Gale

Mavericks brass need to get their rookies stories straight

Will the rookies the Mavericks drafted Thursday get much playing time? Obviously guard Nick Calathes isn't because he's already signed a contract to play a year in Greece. But what about the other two: guard Roddy (When will they begin to call him "B-Rod"?) Beaubois and forward Ahmad Nivins. To hear coach Rick Carlisle, it sounds like it's going to be pretty soon.

"They're the kind of guys we want to have in our franchise – young, energetic guys that bring skill, athleticism and enthusiasm," Carlisle was quoted as saying to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. "We're a team that's looking to win a championship on one hand, but also infuse young talent and guys that are about the things that we feel are important."

Not so fast their, Rick. In a separate article, Sefko quoted Mavs president Donnie Nelson as saying: "Obviously, we're looking to do well again next year and get deep in the playoffs. And generally, a team with too many rookies on it has its issues."

Hollywood POWs

I was watching my favorite television channel, Turner Classic Movies, when the following thought occurred to me: Has any other Oscar-winning actor other than William Holden played both a German (Stalag 17) and a Japanese (The Bridge On the River Kwai) prisoner of war?

Remembering Michael Jackson (sort of)

I'm guessing that everyone who wrote professionally about about pop music in the 1970s and 1980s has, like me, been swamped with calls from reporters the past 24 hours asking about their memories and impressions of Michael Jackson.

To be frank, I didn't have that many. I remember interviewing him once when I was the music writer for The Dallas Morning News but that interview is more of a blur than a vivid memory. What I remember most were the words spoken to me just before that interview began. I took great pride in the preparations I conducted for all my interviews. I always did extensive research on the subjects I was about to talk with. As a result, I developed a reputation as a music reporter artists wanted to be interviewed by. In this case I was conducting a telephone interview with Ronnie Isley, one of the founding members of the Isley Brothers (Shout, Twist and Shout, It's Your Thing, etc.) who was in a studio recording an album. I was about halfway through the interview with Ronnie when he said "Hold on a sec, I've got someone here who wants to talk to you." There was a pause before I heard that unmistakable voice on the line, "Hi, Pete, this is Michael Jackson." At the time, Michael was known to be interview-shy, but I stammered out some questions as best as I could. I learned he was in the same recording studio, working on the album that would become his signature recording, Thriller, and he wanted to let me know he was working with Eddie Van Halen. After I hung up, I made some other calls and confirmed that Van Halen and Michael Jackson were collaborating on a song called Beat It, and wrote the story for the paper. I was subsequently contacted by many other publications craving an interview with Michael Jackson who begged me to expand my story and sell it to them.

But, to be truthful, that's not my fondest memory of Michael Jackson. That happened a year or so later, after the Thriller album had been released. A dear friend and I were driving to Los Angeles where we planned to tour the some of the less reputable honky tonks of Pasadena and Venice (a favorite band of ours, The Shake Russell-Dana Cooper Band, had booked a couple of dates out there, as well). It was the first day of the drive west and we stopped in this truck stop in Sweetwater, Texas, for lunch. We walked into the joint, sat down and listened as the juke box blared out the standard West Texas country music fare. I went over to the juke, scanned the entries, dropped a coin in and made a selection. I casually strolled back to the table and told my companion "It might be interesting to see the expressions on the faces when the song I played comes up." A couple of minutes later it did. And as Michael Jackson's Beat It blared across the restaurant, all activity in the place stopped. ("You can't bring these damn sheep here, this is cattle country!") My companion tried mightily to keep from laughing and, in the process, almost choked on her chicken fried steak. I just smiled wickedly.

So what, overall, are my impressions of Michael Jackson? I know that he had his first hit, I Want You Back, with the Jackson 5 40 years ago. He was 1o years old at the time. His fame was instantaneous. It robbed him of his childhood and, when he realized that fact many years later, he spent the rest of his life trying to steal that childhood back.

Judge Kent: A new definition of Chutzpah (revisited)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Judge Kent who was insisting he should be paid while serving a prison sentence for, of all things, obstruction of justice. I hoped for one of two possible outcomes of this matter and now it appears outcome (a), the sensible one, came to pass, but it came only after the House voted to impeach him.

Mavericks dodge the draft

Last night's NBA draft was a waste of time, yet again, for the Dallas Mavericks. They drafted two players, Rodrigue Beaubois and Nick Calathes, both whose real NBA value is completely unknown, and who, if they ever can contribute, will do so as Dirk Nowitzki is about to retire. And neither of them is, by any stretch of the imagination, a Dirk replacement.

However, I've been hearing all these reports about teams who are trying to unload salary. It's obvious that's what Phoenix is doing be trading Shaquille O'Neal and, any moment now, Amare Stoudemire. The Mavericks have good bargaining chips, so I'm told by the NBA's financial gurus, in the contracts of Jerry Stackouse and Erik Dampier (although I have yet to be convinced Dampier's contract is as appealing as the local media would like you to believe). So why not sweeten the pot by throwing in one, if not both, of the players the Mavericks drafted last night to get some better talent from a team looking to totally rebuild?

Of course, you still have another problem. With Amare, Richard Jefferson, Shaq, Vince Carter already off the table, who's left out there? The only player I like out there who could really upgrade the Mavericks is Trevor Ariza and I don't think the Lakers are ready to give him up.

But with San Antonio, Denver, Houston, Oklahoma City and Golden State haven already improved their teams going into next season, the Mavericks must do something to remain competitive.

UPDATE: Just finished talking with a friend in New York who follows the Nets closely. He told me the Vince Carter trade was designed to give the Nets salary room they need to actively pursue LaBron James next summer. But the important thing he said was the addition of Carter to the Magic made Hedo Turkoglu expendable. Now there's someone who could make the Mavericks better if we could sign him as a free agent.

You take the high road and I'll take the low road, but ain't no one taking a new road

According to Sam Merten at the Dallas Observer, there was a lot of opposition to all things concerning the Trinity River Corridor Project at last night's fourth and final City of Dallas Budget Frustration Exercise. Which again proves how little the local citizenry knows about how their local government works. For one thing, the overwhelming majority of TRCP funds come from bond monies already approved and it would be illegal to divert those funds anywhere else. OK, so maybe you can cut some staff from the office, but I guarantee you those staff members would wind up working someplace else at City Hall, so there's no savings there. And if you're talking about the infamous Toll Road that's designed to permanently scar the park? Well, if I read this correctly, there's mounting evidence that the dang thing is never going to be built anyway. The NTTA simply doesn't have deep enough pockets.

Good night, Michael

Good night, Farrah

While most of the world will remember Farrah Fawcett for "Charlie's Angels," my memories of her are as a fellow student at the University of Texas. I didn't know Farrah well; to be honest, I didn't know her at all. But like approximately 10,000 other red-blooded males at the school I admired her from afar. Mainly I remember walking south on the west side of the Drag after leaving the old J Building and seeing her crossing Guadalupe at the mall. She usually wore white jeans. No one else wore white jeans back then; she was the first. Her hair was in a beehive back then -- not the shaggy mane that became such an important part of her "star" image -- and she was so beautiful she would stop you in your tracks. Farrah died today, but she will always live in my memories as that leggy UT coed in the white jeans.

The Mavericks trade with Portland

The Dallas Mavericks traded their 22nd pick in tomorrow's NBA draft to the Portland Trailblazers today in return for Portland's 22nd and 56th picks, plus its worst second round pick in 2010. To read the comments on the Dallas Morming News's Mavericks blog, Mavs GM Donnie Nelson should, at best, be run out of town on a rail.

Geez. What's the big deal? The way I look at it -- even if the Mavs don't put these picks in a package for another trade -- this is purely an economical move. From my viewpoint, the Mavs have already decided on the player they plan to draft in the first round. After a quick survey of who the other teams plan to draft, the Mavs realized the guy they want was still going to be on the board when the 24th pick came around. If you figure that the players sign contracts on sliding scales based on their draft position, the Mavs can pay the guy they wanted all along a little less by drafting him 24 instead of 22. Makes sense to me.