Remember that lumpy older brother bully who made life hell for Macaulay Culkin’s character in the holiday classic “Home Alone”? I didn’t think so. Former child actor Devin Ratray is hoping to reprise his bullying ways, or at least become a gadfly or find some newfound publicity. This time his attention is turned toward the current (and outgoing) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. “Courting Condi” is a new film by Brit Sebastian Doggart that depicts Ratray’s quest to get close to the Secretary to get her attention and declare his love for her. Fiction? Documentary? I haven’t seen it yet, but the trailer has made its way around the Internet and I guess that Doggart wants to do both: create a Michael Moore-style documentary and also imbue it with some snarky satire, because, well, it focuses on a woman who has apparently been part of the evil “vulcans” that took us into a fraudulent and costly war in Iraq, let’s see, approved of torture methods, ignored terrorist threats before 9/11, um, hold on, kowtowed to the hawks like Cheney and Rumsfield and let the henchmen call the shots, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Ah! The sugar! Ah! The saturated fat! The buttercream! Oh, wait, let me start over. Next Tuesday all Americans have a moral and civic duty to fulfill, by going over to their local polling places and marking their ballots for what is possibly the most important election of their lifetimes. Two candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain. Numerous Senate races all over this great land. Important statewide propositions, including here in California. You all –we all—have to do our part to get out the vote and, from what pundits are predicting, the turnout will be heavy, so get there early. Already voted by mail? Awesome. Well, this kinda applies to you too. Read the rest of this entry »

In watching last night’s Barack Obama’s 30-minute prime-time TV ad, one couldn’t escape the sense that this was a culmination of sorts. We are now 5 days away from the most important election of our times, and never have I seen such intense interest in a presidential election. Then again never have I seen such an “advertisement”, or “commercial”, that was so seamlessly produced in a way that could capture the nation’s attention so close to an election by such a unique candidate. Should we reproach Obama for the fact that his campaign has the wherewithal to fund this ad and approach the seven TV and cable networks (CBS, NBC, Fox, MSNBC but not ABC or CNN) and say, “Can we buy 30 minutes of air time?”? Is it fair that his campaign, at last count, has now amassed something close to $600 million? If the largesse were McCain’s, don’t you think they would have done the same? It just strikes me that the McCain campaign has been engaging in some childish playground name-calling. They don’t like that this time it’s the Democrats who have clearly outspent them. They don’t like to acknowledge the fact that their candidate has been without a clear and defining message and that, though the race will probably tighten in the waning days, this campaign has been in a freefall. Read the rest of this entry »