FRIDAY FROTH...

If you think for one minute that the people representing us in Washington got there because they are smart, then you'd better think again.  Click on this link to hear Georgia congressman Hank Johnson expressing concern to Admiral Robert Willard about the addition of 5,000 Marines and their families to the island of Guam.  Representative Johnson is worried that the additional people may cause the small island to "tip over" and "capsize."  Notice the Admiral's face as he replies, "We don't anticipate that."  You have to see this clip to believe it--there is nothing remotely intelligent that escapes Mr. Johnson's lips!  Democrats seem to think they have a monopoly on intelligence; they love to roll their eyes at Sarah Palin.  Well, think again, Mr. Johnson is a democrat.

YouTube - Hank Johnson (Congress D-GA) - Warns Guam May Capsize

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And for the republicans that think they have a lock on morality, I beg you to reconsider.   What could possibly be moral, or even make sense, about gathering money to elect conservative candidates that want to put God and family front and center, and gays and lesbians on the back burner, and then spending that money to take donors to a lesbian, bondage-themed strip club?

Guam-gate and Bondage-gate have caused me to ponder which is worse: ignorance or hypocrisy?  I've decided that it doesn't really matter--both parties are rife with both.  But the thing that the two parties have most in common you ask?  Both proclaim to be fiscally responsible--neither is.

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If you want to see a movie that will be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, best original screenplay, and have a couple of acting nominations to boot, then run, don't walk, to the nearest theatre showing City Island.  This charming and quirky film was a pleasure to behold from beginning to end.  City Island, an island on a spit of land in the Long Island Sound, is a part of the Bronx and a perfect setting to highlight the dysfunctional Rizzo family, given the island is quiet and quaint and the family is anything but.  For a movie with lots of unexpected twists, it ends a bit predictably, but I can't count that as a negative.  Andy Garcia is the patriarch having a mid-life crisis and Julianna Margulies is the tough-talking, sexy, but spurned wife.  And if you think hell hath no fury like a women scorned then you better get ready for a women scorned with a Bronx accent--it's a few degrees hotter.  We Southern women have to draw blood before anyone knows we're angry, all Italian women from the Bronx have to do is open their mouths.  Ezra Miller is fantastic as Vinnie, the teenage son--he had me laughing out loud.  He and the teenage daughter (played by Andy Garcia's daughter) gave me a whole new appreciation for my teenage son and daughter!  See this movie!!!

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The iPad makes its grand appearance on Saturday so I thought I would include my previous review.  Now that someone other than Mr. Jobs has actually seen the iPad, I've found out that it does have a dictionary built-in and you can buy iWork for word processing, but I'd like to have Word and I'll have to see the dictionary to believe it.  I stand by by first reaction--it seems like a big iPhone and I want more.  All of you app inventors out there, see below and get crackin'!

THE iPAD:

Dear Mr. Jobs,

i am your biggest fan. i love everything i! i awoke last Wednesday heady with anticipation--you were unveiling a new iproduct. i went to my desk, i kissed my Mac good morning and i logged on. i watched you unveil the iPad tablet.

"Oh," i said to myself as i watched. i was a little disappointed--i may have even cried a wee bit!

Mr. Jobs, i think we need to talk.

i have noticed two things: 1. The name iPad has received some criticism and even some laughs. it seems that the name makes some people think about feminine hygiene. Frankly, pads were my grandmother's generation and that generation still uses transistor radios, so i am afraid that the problem may be the lack of anything else to talk about regarding the iPad. 2. the iPad is being described as just a big iphone, and unless you are a big gamer, that's kinda what it is.

Here are some suggestions for the second generation iPad tablet from your humble igroupie: i want to be able to download books, magazines, newspapers and other reading materials and then not have to rely on any type of connection--i may be getting on a plane and you know how they feel about connections! i want to be able to highlight (via touch) passages from books, paragraphs from newspaper articles, or quotes from a blog, and then move them to a file so that I can refer to them at a later time. i also need to be able to make notes in the book or magazine. i would love for you to have a built-in dictionary so that i can point to a word, triple click and voila', the definition appears. i don't want to have to rely on the internet to look-up a word. i also need to be able to use the iPad as a word processor--i can use that great MobileMe to transfer what i write on my iPad to my computers.

i am sure that i will think of other things to make the iPad better and when i do, i will be sure to let you know.

Have a great iweekend Mr. Jobs

Warmly,

Qmuse

FRIDAY FROTH...

My cup runneth over! What a busy couple of weeks for musing. Last week we had the President's State of the Union Speech which, I've dubbed the "purple speech", Apple introduced the iPad, and this week, Academy Award nominees were named.

THE OSCARS:

The good news is that one of my favorite movies of the year, The Hurt Locker, got nine nominations! I was worried about this movie because it came out so early in the year, which is usually a detriment come award season. Overcoming this hurdle speaks to just how good The Hurt Locker is. See it if you haven't, and see it again if you have--it's a complex character study worth a second look. I love that this action packed war movie was directed by a woman and that the star of the movie, Jeremy Renner, came out of nowhere to, pardon the pun, blow everyone away!

If you saw my last FRIDAY FROTH... you know what I think about Avatar so I will just note that the Academy voters declined to give writer/director James Cameron a nomination for original screenplay. Good; there was nothing original about Avatar's screenplay. Thank you Academy for not letting a zillion dollars completely cloud your judgment!

Other thoughts on Oscar:

I loved that Sandra Bullock got a Best Actress nomination because I just "plain ole like her" and, because my kids told me that she reminded them of me in Blindside. I'm am perfectly aware that this had more to do with her "strong" sense of herself (my kids might call it being bossy) and was probably not meant as a complement, but, she looked great in those tight skirts, so I'm going to take it as a compliment because delusion is so much easier than confrontation.

While I enjoyed Blindside, I'm a little miffed that it, and District 9, got a Best Picture nomination over The Hangover. Yes, The Hangover was a little crude but it was soooo funny, well crafted, clever, and the acting was great. Also, I liked Tom Ford's A Single Man more than the Coen brother's A Serious Man, because if you feel like killing yourself when you leave the theatre, you should at least know why! And, too bad Michelle Pfeiffer didn't get a nomination for Cheri--she was excellent as an aging courtesan. The same goes for Robert Downey, Jr.; his performance made Sherlock Holmes.

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THE SPEECH:

Last week's State of the Union Address was addressed in this blog on Tuesday in a quasi-serious fashion. And speaking of fashion....could you believe all of the purple in the house chamber? I had just bought a cute pair of purple pumps in St. Helena earlier in the day so imagine my delight when Nancy Pelosi showed up in a suit almost the exact color of my new shoes! Michelle Obama had on a dark purple-y dress looking very pretty. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano and ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts both wore purple and the Messrs. Biden and Boehner both sported purple ties. As a friend pointed out, purple is a combination of blue and red; very non-partisan and we could use more of that. Neiman Marcus says blue is the "it" color for spring--Qmuse is betting on purple.

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THE iPAD:

Dear Mr. Jobs,

i am your biggest fan. i love everything i! i awoke last Wednesday heady with anticipation--you were unveiling a new iproduct. i went to my desk, i kissed my imac good morning and i logged on. i watched you unveil the iPad tablet.

"Oh," i said to myself as i watched. i was a little disappointed--i may have even cried a wee bit!

Mr. Jobs, i think we need to talk.

i have noticed two things: 1. The name iPad has received some criticism and even some laughs. it seems that the name makes some people think about feminine hygiene. Frankly, pads were my grandmother's generation and that generation still uses transistor radios, so i am afraid that the problem may be the lack of anything else to talk about regarding the iPad. 2. the iPad is being described as just a big iphone, and unless you are a big gamer, that's kinda what it is.

Here are some suggestions for the second generation iPad tablet from your humble igroupie: i want to be able to download books, magazines, newspapers and other reading materials and then not have to rely on any type of connection--i may be getting on a plane and you know how they feel about connections! i want to be able to highlight (via touch) passages from books, paragraphs from newspaper articles, or quotes from a blog, and then move them to a file so that I can refer to them at a later time. i also need to be able to make notes in the book or magazine. i would love for you to have a built-in dictionary so that i can point to a word, triple click and voila', the definition appears. i don't want to have to rely on the internet to look-up a word. i also need to be able to use the iPad as a word processor--i can use that great MobileMe to transfer what i write on my iPad to my computers.

i am sure that i will think of other things to make the iPad better and when i do, i will be sure to let you know.

Have a great iweekend Mr. Jobs

Warmly,

Qmuse