I'm in a hurry so...

Brownback...BAD
Hilary...wait and see
30 Rock...GOOD
State of the Union speech...I can't watch that inarticulate decider
State of the Iraq War...can we un-ring that bell?
Peggy Noonan...about-face by me; loathed her but now I really like her Sat. columns in WSJ
Ernie Fletcher...BAD
Anne Northup...better than Fletcher if we have to have a Republican governor in 07
Monk and Psych on USA...I confess, I like these shows, guilty pleasures

finally, read Steven Pinker in TIME here on "The Mystery of Conciousness."
The best part:

MY OWN VIEW IS THAT THIS IS backward: the biology of consciousness offers a sounder basis for morality than the unprovable dogma of an immortal soul. It's not just that an understanding of the physiology of consciousness will reduce human suffering through new treatments for pain and depression. That understanding can also force us to recognize the interests of other beings--the core of morality.

As every student in Philosophy 101 learns, nothing can force me to believe that anyone except me is conscious. This power to deny that other people have feelings is not just an academic exercise but an all-too-common vice, as we see in the long history of human cruelty. Yet once we realize that our own consciousness is a product of our brains and that other people have brains like ours, a denial of other people's sentience becomes ludicrous. "Hath not a Jew eyes?" asked Shylock. Today the question is more pointed: Hath not a Jew--or an Arab, or an African, or a baby, or a dog--a cerebral cortex and a thalamus? The undeniable fact that we are all made of the same neural flesh makes it impossible to deny our common capacity to suffer.

And when you think about it, the doctrine of a life-to-come is not such an uplifting idea after all because it necessarily devalues life on earth. Just remember the most famous people in recent memory who acted in expectation of a reward in the hereafter: the conspirators who hijacked the airliners on 9/11.

Think, too, about why we sometimes remind ourselves that "life is short." It is an impetus to extend a gesture of affection to a loved one, to bury the hatchet in a pointless dispute, to use time productively rather than squander it. I would argue that nothing gives life more purpose than the realization that every moment of consciousness is a precious and fragile gift.

Reason vs. Faith

I like the idea of 2 of my favorite writers going at it via beliefnet about religion. These two guys are articulate about their beliefs and respect each other. So far, it's good reading.
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The summary:

Best-selling atheist Sam Harris and pro-religion blogger Andrew Sullivan debate God, faith, and fundamentalism.

Most Americans oppose violence spurred by religious fundamentalism, but few agree on how to address it. In books like The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, author Sam Harris contends that religion itself--not its more extreme forms--is to blame. This week, Harris debates blogger and Conservative Soul author Andrew Sullivan in a no-holds-barred "blogalogue." Return here to see Harris' next post--and check Andrew Sullivan's blog for his responses.

Dreamgirls sucked, part 2

"Faux-town, not Motown." Brilliant putdown. I wasn't the only one who hated this awful movie and its tedious caterwauling music. Listen here to musician and Detroit native David Was on NPR.

Winning Golden Globes doesn't change the fact this is one bad film.

Obligatory mid-winter Ptown flashback

Whenever I hear these 3 songs, my mind reverts to walking the path toward Herring Cove Beach this summer, while listening to them on my iPod. I miss that walk and that beach.

It's not that the lyrics represent anything literal but more that the wistful mood and sound of the songs strikes a nostalgic nerve. The piano notes instantly transport me to the moments I traversed wet sand in my orange Crocs heading to the Atlantic.

Remarkably, these 3 songs feature the phrase "into the/an ocean". Nice coinkidink. I've served up a couple of short vids I took so you can join me on the journey, but maybe you just had to be there. I was. I shall return.












Artist: Ryan Adams
Lyrics for Song: Nightbirds
Lyrics for Album: 29

Out under the stars
Dodging them night cars baby
Cause when you gotta move, you gotta move
Whatever that it was
You were thinking of baby
You're certainly not thinking
Of that now,

And nightbirds sing you
An empty tune
In an empty house
In an empty room
In an empty moment
All the nightbirds sing
We were suppose to rise above
But we sink
Into the ocean

I feel like a body stuffed into a trunk
From a million years
Of lying and getting drunk

The people here inside me
They are loud and in the night
They scream and smash the windows
When they fight

And nightbirds sing you
An empty tune
In an empty house
In an empty room
With empty feelings
When it comes too soon
We were supposed to rise above
We were supposed to rise above
But we sink
Into the ocean
Into the ocean
Into the ocean

Artist: Ryan Adams
Lyrics for Song: Blue Sky Blues
Lyrics for Album: 29

Blue sky when you gonna learn to rain?
And let yourself go blue for once
And let go of the weight you've been carrying
In this house, no one goes to sleep for days,
Its like we're working on a mountainside
Trying not to slide,
Into the ocean

I can take care of you
But only if you want
I'm strong enough to carry you
Across the icy lake, across the icy lake
But I can't fight your blues,
Cause I know I'll lose
What's left of my mind
I can't win,
But for you I will try
My baby blue

My mountain is hidden in a pile of trees
And she's the one I'll have to climb,
If I ever wanna see
Blue sky
When you gonna learn to rain?
And let yourself go blue for once
And let go of that pain?

I can take care of you
The way you'd like to feel
Underneath the riverbed
Across the icy lake, across the icy lake
But I can't fight your blues
'Cause I know I'll lose
What's left of my mind
I cant win,
But for you I will try
For you
For you
My baby blue

Artist: Ryan Adams
Lyrics for Song: Starlite Diner
Lyrics for Album: 29


It's midnight, at the Starlite Diner

You said meet me at a quarter to twelve
Now I'm standing in the corner
Wishing you was here in my arms,
Fare thee well my old friends
Fare thee well

Is it possible to love someone too much?
You bet
The drugs are in the safe
And the clothes are on the couch, intertwined
But none of them are yours
And all of them are mine

So cry
Cry like a baby into an ocean of wishes
But it don't ever rain
On a street drenched with painted ladies
Fare thee well my old friends
Fare thee well

Have you ever slept it off to the bones
Having woken up at night my love
Having dreamt you called them all
Every person you could never love

It's a blow out
On a birthday cake
And I'm a birthday candle
Floating on the lake

Where are you it's getting late

Its midnight at the Starlite Diner
You said meet me at a quarter to twelve
And I'm standing in the corner
Oh there you are
There you are
There you are
There you are

Fine dinner

I was treated to a wonderful birthday dinner tonight at 610 Magnolia. Good service, creative menu, valet parking, expensive... and I didn't pay a cent. Perfect!

Children of Men

Amazing film. I was blown away. I did not read the 4-star review so went unprepared and unarmed for this futuristic action-packed thriller. There's so much going on in this movie I'm still a little shell-shocked to grasp it ... so, more later. Right now I'm thinking about sacrifice, politics, religion, man's inhumanity to man, man's humanity to man, Casablanca, loyalty, survival.

Going for a run to clear my head. Whew.

Annie Leibovitz

What a wonderful show last night on PBS. The life and career of photographer Annie Leibovitz was movingly portrayed in an American Masters feature.

Being a passionate Rolling Stones fan, I was partial to the segment where she met and covered the band on tour, even succumbing to some decadence in their wake. The background track was the live version of "Midnight Rambler" from "Get Your Ya-Ya's Out". Her photos were a thrilling visual accompaniment.

Even though I was taping the show, I could not stop watching the whole 90 minutes. Just when I am ready to ditch TV and cable, something like this comes along. It was magnificent.

The Sarah Silverman Program

I'm excited about this Comedy Central show premiering on Feb. 1.

Dreamgirls

This is one of the 10 worst movies I've ever seen...and I've seen a lot. I almost left 2 or 3 times as I winced at the trite dialogue, plot cliches and non-stop horrendous music.

AWFUL beyond belief.

What Are You Optimistic About?

Edge.org has posted its annual question: What Are You Optimistic About?

My heroes respond:

Steven Pinker
Sam Harris
Daniel Dennett
Richard Dawkins
Michael Schermer

It's alive!

And we wonder how resurrection myths got started in biblical, pre-journalistic times...

At the burial [Saddam's], several mourners threw themselves on the closed casket. One, a young man convulsed with sobs, cried: “He has not died. I can hear him speaking to me.”