Very Short Essay: Why I love Beulah

I have never lived in a big city with a very strong urban core like New York or San Francisco. I've never been considered particularly hip. I don't attend many house parties, gallery openings, or clubs. And my artistic sensibilities are quite questionable.

But if I was hip, and I did live in one of these big cities, and I possessed a good sense of art, and I were to attend cool parties on a regular basis than I'd have to imagine that Beulah would be one of the artists on my playlist.

Listen to a couple of their songs and I'm willing to bet that you will want to join me in subletting a townhouse over in Cow Hollow.

It's a shame they are no longer with us. At least we still have the music of their former leader, Miles Kurosky.

Hollywood Dollars and Sense....not making sense to me

As a kid there were few movies that really stoked the fire of my imagination. We were at an age that was brimming with adventure and ideas and we didn't need a movie to grow the flames. I can probably count the most magical movies on one hand.

Star Wars, Cloak and Dagger, Nate and Hayes, Indiana Jones, and Clash of the Titans.

Oh yes....the great Clash of the Titans. It had a sweeping story pulled from Greek mythology. It had the ability to take an already active imagination into an entirely different world and realm. The special effects were pretty cool for the time but they only played a secondary role to Perseus and his quest to save Mycenae from the Titans.



I distinctly remember the first time I watched the movie. I was at the Oldham's and we were playing outside, likely constructing the landscape for our next GI Joe battle sequence. Some of the older siblings raced inside with a VHS tape of the movie. Like Lemmings we followed the commotion. Fortunately, we were allowed to stay and partake of this cinematic manna. I was captivated and amazed. I would have to imagine that this was what Steven Spielberg felt when he was inspired to enter the trade.

Fast forward to the present day....

Like many, I had great anticipation for the release of the newest version of this epic tale. If nothing else, to see if it could capture the adventure and whimsy of the original. My love for Greek mythology has grown over the years and I am always interested to see how Hollywood interprets these stories. So with a free afternoon I joined the lines of octogenarians and waited for my own matinee marvel.

I waited...and I waited. All I got were over the top special effects, an actor who did a horrible job of portraying a great hero, no emotional connection being made, and a realization that this movie was probably nothing more than a studio cash grab. My imagination wasn't taken anywhere except to the sterile blue room that created the unimaginative creatures, sets, and back drop. There was no magic, no sense of epic adventure.

As I look at the slate of movies due out this summer all I see is more "Titan" sized disappointment. Hollywood has learned that there is big money to be made in dredging up some of the great entertainment brands of the past. GI Joe and Transformers go from being wonderful vehicles of imagination to coldly calculated machines of profit and nothing more. No fear, you only need to fool all of us once to create a blockbuster. None of these remakes, even A-Team, will be nothing more than half hearted ploys to pull at our nostalgic heart strings and extract a few extra bucks from our wallets. And that really sucks.

So I'm going to restrain from spending $10 at the movies this summer. At that price it shouldn't be too hard to do. The current Hollywood formula is trite and tired. I would rather save my money and plug in the originals. I get the magic of the first run and I don't have to spend $7.50 for a Diet Coke.

Does Arizona have it right or wrong when it comes to immigration?

With the Health care issue shelved for the moment, the public discourse is allowed to move onto other viable issues, namely immigration. And Arizona once again proves that it is ground zero for immigration policy and enforcement. The latest salvo fired is the imminent passage of State Bill 1070. Check the full bill here.

For many, Arizona has become a laboratory, for good or bad, for immigration enforcement. Because of that it gets additional scrutiny from all corners of the U.S. and both sides of the political spectrum.These articles from the LA Times and Deseret News are just two recent examples.

So what does this bill do and why is it so controversial? It essentially grants law enforcement more power in determining whether or not someone is in the U.S. legally or not. So is this good or bad? Depends on who you ask.

• From a left of center perspective it is a gross violation of basic human rights and an open invitation for racial profiling.
• From a right of center perspective it gives law enforcement that ability to actually enforce immigration laws that are already on the book.

I certainly understand the concerns from both sides. If anything I hope that this bill, and its resulting buzz, will push the spotlight to how broken our federal immigration policy is. We need some kind of dialog. Both sides have valid points and unless there is some meaningful dialog the fringes will continue to paint the rest of us into two horrible corners.

There are so many questions that need to be addressed and answered. Questions like:

• Until we get a decent national policy in place, what rights does an illegal immigrant have?
• What public services should a likely non-tax paying illegal immigrant have access to?
• Are local resources best spent enforcing immigration laws?
• How much do economic concerns play into the immigration debate?
• What should be the minimal requirements for letting someone enter the U.S.? How many people should be allowed to permanently immigrate to the U.S.? What about temporarily?

Most of the questions that need to be asked and are complex because we have a system that is crippled and manipulated for political reasons. If we were to start over we could simplify the process and make something that works. The current band aids, whether they be amnesty programs like the Bracero or ad-hoc enforcement like the minutemen, simply aren't good long term answers.

Randomizer Volume VI Series I

Because sometimes its a lot easier to write in little fits and spurts than actually trying to flesh something out in great detail and craft.

• I love to hate golf and I don't consider it to be anything more than a mirage for middle-aged white men who think that this hobby is a sport and that they are "athletes". I do feel, however, sympathetic for it it. Why? Because Tiger Woods absolutely owns it. With him golf gets ratings, money, and a sense of legitimacy. Without him, golf goes back to being a parochial activity for the blue bloods on a Sunday afternoon. So they are stuck with putting up with the Tiger Woods marketing bonanza machine and they are stuck having to deal with his sordid personal life. And there is nothing they can do about it. He is their deal with the devil.

• I always thought it strange that Italy is the gold standard for mens business fashion. Don't get me wrong, I love Italy. I love its culture. I love its food. I love its history. I really like most of its clothes. Maybe the only reason why they go to work is so that they can look good doing so. It's kind of ironic that most of the guys that wear the Ferragamos and David Saddlers and Santonis have a quality of life that most of these Italian artisans absolutely decry.
• So I'm reading some Jimmy Buffet right now and its making me question the foundation of the "American dream". 5 chapters into "A Pirate looks at 50" and I'm ready to flip the bird at stability, white picket fences, suburban living, and insurance policies. Move over Mr. Kerouac, your beatnik lifestyle has got nothing on what Mr. Buffet offers. Either way, we need to step away from our planners and enjoy a little real living.