Alternate Entries

Friday, August 15, 2003

Nationwide, 31 percent of registered voters say they'd vote for the Conan the Barbarian star to be governor of their state, a new Fox News poll shows. But 43 percent of respondents say they wouldn't want to be governed by the action hero. The poll also shows that nearly half of all Americans, 47 percent, think the California recall is "silly."

And this:

Cable's Sci Fi Channel and F/X have sworn off Scharzenegger flicks for the duration of the campaign. While cable networks are not held to the federal equal-time law that compels broadcasters to, say, run a Gallagher special for every movie aired starring rival candidate Arnold, the companies are wary of potential legal challenges.

The Sci Fi's self-imposed ban will gut a Schwarzenegger triple feature (Conan the Destroyer, The Running Man and Terminator 2: Judgment Day) planned for August 24. Instead, the network will air arguably more appropriate fare: California disaster movies.

posted by jeev | 8:23 PM |

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

It continues to be a difficult summer. Today my friend Kevin lost his spikey 4 year old Maltese, Toby, to cancer. Much too soon, it was just his time. I hate this phrase, but it's the best I can come up with. There's all the time in the world and then there isn't.

posted by jeev | 7:11 PM |

Maureen Dowd has announced the Death of the Blogosphere in this morning's New York Times, but the Dining and Wine section suggests otherwise. It has a story about Julie Powell, a 30 year old Queens woman who decided to give a frustrating period in her life focus by cooking all the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking in exactly one year, and posting her pungent comments about the experience in a blog. A sample from today's opening paragraph:

I am going to float a proposal here. Would it reduce the petty crime rate in New York City � hell, maybe even the rape, murder and pillage rates � to pass an ordinance forcing grocery stores to widen all their aisles by ten or twelve inches? Maybe, maybe not. All I know is, I was at Garden of Eden near Union Square last night at seven thirty buying a duck and canned chestnuts, and Garden of Eden is a great store, better stocked and cheaper than Zeytuna, a hell of a lot easier to get to than Fairway or Whole Foods, with a pleasant, helpful staff, plus they had my duck AND my chestnuts, a small miracle, I can�t believe it�s taken me so long to find the place, but damned if after twenty minutes sidling hither & non that fucking bitch with the yoga mat strapped to her back (and don�t even get me started on women who walk around with yoga mats) who stood lollygagging about in the middle of the fucking aisle staring at plums or something, wasn�t inspiring gleeful visions of disembowelment. Forget about using a cart; you can barely get one of those handheld baskets around, once you have a baguette and a five-pound duck in it. The cans of chestnuts I was buying for the Puree de Marrons cost $7.50 each and I had to buy four of them, so between that and the $15 duck I was completely broke when I walked out of the store, but at least I had negotiated the eight-inch wide aisles designed, I guess, for the six-inch-wide asses of the models who live and work in the neighborhood, without knocking down a display of Pirates Booty or something.

God, I miss New York.

posted by jeev | 7:05 PM |

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Because of the election, broadcast television channels can't show any entertainment programming featuring any of the candidates without triggering the equal time provision. So no prime time re-runs of Diff'rent Strokes. On the other hand, cable channels are exempt, as are "news" shows. We define "news" very broadly here. Entertainment Tonight is a "news" show.

I'm not making this up. I wish I were, but I'm not.

posted by jeev | 2:53 PM |

Monday, August 11, 2003

It's been a tough summer. Layoffs at work, and then, seemingly out of the blue, losing Esmeralda. But, in the midst of it all, friends. Including those who engaged in a long and surreal discussion of my need to re-brand myself (Ellexia seemed a popular choice), culminating with this, my very own CafePress store: Ellen de Sui Generis. So if you've ever wanted a baseball cap with "Piffle" written on it in large block letters, this is your chance.

posted by jeev | 4:14 PM |