"Mansion on the Hill" - The National
I really like this cover of the Springsteen song -- I heard it on an E Street Radio segment with the great name "Cover Me."
It was a busy holiday weekend with the boy back in town, the eating to excess, and a surprising amount of housework -- probably a strategic error given how unseasonably balmy it's been here -- it is 64 right now, which is really quite nice for November 27th. We saw "The Descendants" and "My Week with Marilyn," both of which I quite liked and thought extremely well acted. It is interesting to watch George Clooney make himself look more ordinary -- largely through body language and a less than flattering wardrobe. Michelle Williams, on the other hand, is pretty successful transforming herself into the impossibly iconic Monroe. We also rented a terrific English film on Friday night -- "Made in Dagenham" -- about a strike by women machinists at a Ford plant over the issue of getting pay equal to that enjoyed by men. It's the kind of film that is almost never made in the U.S. anymore -- you'd have to go back to the era of "Norma Rae" or "Matewan" I guess to find anything comparable. Anyway, it's well worth a look.
- Frank Bruni, who is proving to be an enormous waste of time on the NY Times Op-Ed pages, has a classic "both sides do it" piece, anticipatorily bemoaning the lies that will be slung in the upcoming presidential race. Its initial focus is on Romney's deceptive ad in which Obama is said to be afraid to talk about the economy. In the end, though, it is Obama who in Bruni's eyes, told a comparable lie about John McCain. Well, other than the fact that the McCain campaign admitted that they did not really want to talk about the economy in the home stretch of the 2008 election. It is, as always, completely equivalent on both sides.
- It will be interesting to see if the endorsement by the notoriously right wing Manchester Union Leader is of any help to the Gingrich campaign. Dave Weigel points out the mixed record that New Hampshire's largest newspaper has had over the last 35 years. I feel like we are mired in the "phony war" phase of the GOP primary season right now -- I am anxious to see what happens when the lunatics actually start voting.
Time to pay a few bills, walk Stanley and then settle down to watch the Patriots.
What's going on with all of you?
