Here it is folks......
It's Crystal City's version of screen on the green....
2009 Crystal Screen Outdoor Film Festival Schedule:
May 4th 2009 - Spider Man (2002)
May 11, 2009 - Spider Man 2 (2004)
May 18, 2009 - Spider Man 3 (2007)
May 25, 2009 - The Hulk (2003)
June 1, 2009 - Hulk 2: The Incredible Hulk (2008)
June 8, 2009 - Superman: The Superman Movie (1978)
June 15, 2009 - Superman 2 (1980)
June 22, 2009 - Superman 3: Superman vs. Superman (1983)
June 29, 2009 - Superman 4: The Quest for Peace (1987)
July 6, 2009 - Superman 5: Superman Returns (2006)
July 13, 2009 - X-Men (2000)
July 20, 2009 - X2 (2003)
July 27, 2009 - X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Aug 3, 2009 - Fantastic Four (2005)
Aug 10, 2009 - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Aug 17, 2009 - Batman (1989)
Aug 24, 2009 - Batman Returns (1992)
Aug 31, 2009 - Batman Forever (1995)
Sept 7, 2009 - Batman & Robin (1997)
Sept 14, 2009 - Batman Begins (2005)
Sept 21, 2009 - Batman: The Dark Knight (2008)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Williamsburg Attempt
Last December, the ladies of Chez Copa tried to squeeze a quick day trip down to Williamsburg from DC. Here's what happened instead.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Super Academy Awards Bowl? I'm In!
Discuss: Make the Academy Awards More Like the Super Bowl
The New York Times on Sunday reported that host Hugh Jackman will "sign off the broadcast with fresh 10-second snippets of two dozen new movies, to run on a split screen with the end credits." To which I say: Academy, are you really that insanely stupid? Or do you really think we, the audience, are that stupid?
I have great respect for the craftspeople working behind the scenes, but nobody stays to watch the bloody end credits! By that point, it's always way past midnight on the East Coast, and people have gone to bed because, you know, the rest of us have to get up in the morning and go to work. Who cares about 10-second snippets? That's insulting.
Monika wrote this afternoon about more unindentified "risks" that the show will be taking, with "big surprises" in store for "cinematographers, editors, composers." (Notice, no "actors" mentioned there.) Well, if the Academy really wants to be 'risky" and change things up, all they need to do is cast a look at the most-watched TV broadcast of the year: the Super Bowl. Year after year, the Super Bowl attracts viewers who never watch football, people who don't even know who's playing, and wouldn't know an Arizona Cardinal from a Pittsburgh Steeler if they encountered one in full uniform at the local supermarket. How do they do it?
1. Embrace the length. Why not do a one-hour pre-show presenting the documentary and short subject winners? I know, equal footing, etc., but this way you could show the short subject winners in their entirety and a good 15-minute chunk of the documentary feature winner. That could do more to reach a targeted audience than any 45-second acceptance speech.
2. Let the nominees introduce themselves. Forget the celeb presenters. If you really want to honor the 'below the line' talent, tape the film editors and costume designers introducing themselves in advance, just like NBC does with their NFL game broadcasts. They get their moment of worldwide glory, they say their name and their hometown, and when they win, we see their smiling face(s).
3. Reduce the acceptance speeches to 10 seconds. Sorry, too many are too long and boring. No one outside the industry cares about your agent and manager. If you want to appeal to people beyond the industry -- like, the rest of the world -- follow the examples of Super Bowl MVPs to time immemorial: say thank you, thank your family, your coach (director), your teammates in toto (cast and crew members), and the fans -- you know, the people who make your career possible.
4. Add a halftime show with film critics. After hour one of the broadcast, let A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis of the New York Times (or other high-caliber critics) analyze the winners and explain why they deserved to win -- or alternatively, why they were surprised that they won. They could use film clips to explain their reasoning. Then they could analyze and predict the winners in the remaining part of the broadcast. Then they could introduce Bruce Springsteen and let him and the E Street Band play for 15 minutes. It worked for the Super Bowl -- why not the Academy Awards?
What are your ideas for changing the Academy Awards TV broadcast? Get as radical as you like -- we all know the show is badly in need of far-reaching changes, not just keeping the presenters secret and letting Hugh Jackman sing and dance.
Love Hurts... and Sometimes Leaves Behind a Scar (or Twenty)
One-night stand man wakes to find lover has carved her name into his arm
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:58 PM on 05th February 2009
A drunken fling ended in disaster for a man who woke up to find his lover's name carved into his arm.
Dominique Fisher, 22, used a Stanley knife to write her name on Wayne Robinson's upper arm.
She inflicted the injuries on the 24-year-old at her home in Blackburn, Lancashire.
One-night stand gone awry: Wayne Fisher awoke to find Dominique Fisher had carved her name into his arm
Mr Robinson woke to find his body decorated with a star on his back, 'Dominique' written on his upper right arm, and numerous slash marks on his left arm and shoulder.
He told police he had drunk vodka and taken Valium and was not awake during the incident on the night of June 14 last year.
Mr Robinson said he panicked when he woke up and took a taxi back to his home in Fleetwood, Lancashire.
He said: 'I went to her place for sex, not to be tattoed. I can't believe she did this to me and I hate her.
Fisher was found guilty of unlawfully wounding Mr Robinson. She will be sentenced later this month
'When I woke I was covered in blood. Dominique was snoring. I just had to get out of there. I didn't even wake her to ask what she'd done.'
'I'm scarred for life,' he told The Sun. 'I wish I'd never met her.'
Fisher was found guilty of one charge of unlawful wounding at Preston Crown Court on Monday, following a two-day trial.
She will be sentenced on February 27 at Preston Crown Court.
Aftermath: Fisher left Mr Robinson covered in knife wounds
Monday, February 2, 2009
Picking Up What I'm Putting Down?
Need to get this week started with a good laugh. For all of you not familiar with Homestar runner, take a few moments to relish in the awesomeness. If you find this ridiculousness hilarious, congrats - we share the same sense of humor. For all those wrinkling your brows in confusion, just smile and nod, as you usually do with me.
Best of:
Fhqwhgads
Techno:
And of course...Tragdor..The Burnanator!
Best of:
Fhqwhgads
Techno:
And of course...Tragdor..The Burnanator!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
It's a Public Service, Really
Fellow bloggers and blog readers, please vote for Adam's friend! She's up for the People's HealthBloggers Award for her blog about Celiac Disease. Check out her blog http://www.beyondricecakes.com to learn more!
Monday, January 26, 2009
GW Shout Out, Love NCIS
Why is there no J Street in Washington DC? NCIS asks that very question, but in the process, gives GW a little shout out!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Ain't That the Truth
Visitors, Don't Poke the Locals; Just Walk Left
By Monica Hesse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 16, 2009; C12
Please stand on the right.
It is hard to properly convey how important that will be for your time here for the inauguration, so please just comply. When you are on a Metro escalator, boarding a Metro train or doing anything remotely affiliated with the transit authority's symbol, then please stand single file on the right and pass on the left.
Please do not say you are visiting "The Smithsonian." There are 14 Smithsonian museums on or around the Mall. Each is a totally different experience. Saying you are visiting "The Smithsonian" is like saying you are visiting "The Sweater" at JCPenney.
Please do not purchase or wear a shirt reading "FBI" or "You Don't Know Me! (Property of Federal Witness Protection Program)." If you must, purchase said shirt from a street vendor instead of spending $24 --
Sorry -- you knew that one already, didn't you? You never ever would have done that anyway. Sorry, sorry.
We're just a little on edge. It's not that we hate tourists. Not like New Yorkers do, with their Born-Here-Die-Here possessiveness. No, far from that. We actually have affection for you.
Many of us Washingtonians are transplants ourselves. We, too, come from Iowa or North Carolina. We, too, were once excited to learn that D.C. has a Hard Rock Cafe. (We went! We liked it! Once.) We see you in your non-ironic Keds, struggling to find your white paper farecard because you didn't know you would need it to exit the station, and our hearts involuntarily beat, My people! My people!
We want you to do well here. We want you to represent.
Please do not stroll. Please do not mutter, "Whoa, where's the fire, Buddy?" when someone is walking faster than you. You do not want to be that guy.
Please do not think you saw Will Smith. Most of the time when you think you see someone movie-star famous in D.C., you are wrong. Most of the time when you think you see a retired principal, it is someone famous. Like this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Waxman. He is famous. His name is Henry Waxman.
(Note: For the inauguration, you may actually see someone movie-star famous. Just be careful.)
Hey, you say. These are the most pointless tips I have ever read. I only started it because I thought I was going to learn something useful, like where to get a burger at 2 a.m. (Ben's Chili Bowl) You are dumb.
Please do not judge the tips. The tips are here to help you.
Please do not take pictures of the Supreme Court. It will remind us of the time we took a picture of the Department of the Treasury, and also make us feel guilty for never going inside the Supreme Court like we'd planned. (Note: You used to be able to tell the difference between the two because people prayed the rosary outside the Supreme Court, but they might start doing that any day now outside Treasury, too.)
The tips are here to help us, too. Washington is an imposing place, with a wonky and complex culture that is hard to understand. We worked hard to assimilate, and have only recently adjusted. At chaotic times like this, with administration changes and party changes and an influx of a whole bunch of new guys, we are all a little off-kilter. We all feel a little like tourists.
Seriously, guys, on the right. Single file.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
And Over the Bridge From Flushing to the Capitol Hill Door
Give It to The Nanny: Why Drescher Is Better Than Kennedy
So it looks like Irish bootlegging scion Caroline Kennedy might have this New York Senate appointment all wrapped up. If you've been paying attention at all, you know this is a disaster, primarily because the only political thing Caroline Kennedy’s ever done is be conceived by one of America’s most beloved presidents.
With Kennedy as the probable pick, other Senate hopefuls must be dejected, none more than former The Nanny star Fran Drescher, who’d thrown her unlikely hat into the ring early last month. We're a bit disappointed, too. Franny may not have been more qualified than Andrew Cuomo, but she's definitely as, if not more, qualified than Kennedy. Don't believe us? Let us count the ways.
She beat cancer
In 2000, Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer, which she eventually overcame and wrote about in her second bestseller Cancer Schmancer. One of the most important problems the government is going to have to address in the coming years is the health care dilemma. Who better to help broach this insanely complicated policy question than someone who’s traversed the Byzantine American medical system herself?
She’s a female celebrity, too
Not that that should matter, but some people are saying that Hillary’s replacement should also be a well-known woman, so we’re just putting it out there.
She's familiar with the criminal justice system
No stranger to hardship, years before she was afflicted by cancer, Drescher was raped at gunpoint in her Los Angeles apartment. Hurt but unwilling to shrink from fear, Drescher pressed charges and eventually saw her attacker go to prison. Despite having a law degree, the never-practicing Caroline Kennedy's not once seen the inside of a courtroom. Drescher, on the other hand, has been in the thick of American criminal justice and could address the system's woes from a fresh perspective.
She's written two books
Not sure why, but Caroline Kennedy mentions the fact that she's written books whenever she's asked about her political qualifications. Fran Drescher's not written as many books as Kennedy, but she's authored two huge hits. So there's that.
She started two nonprofits
After beating cancer, Drescher founded two nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping other women diagnose cancer in stage one, when it is most susceptible to treatment. She's now president of the boards of both, where she works in conjunction with a famous honorary board member you've perhaps heard of: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
She's a born and raised New Yorker
Unlike Caroline Kennedy, who bounced around quite frequently after being born in New York, Fran Drescher was born in Queens and stayed there until her early 20s. After spending some time in LA, Drescher moved back to New York and has been here since. As for Kennedy, although she's now resided in New York for quite some time, she hasn't lived anywhere besides the luxurious Upper East Side, a locale both geographically and financially far away from the real ills of New York. Never trust a New Yorker who's never seen a man shitting in the street.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sisters Do As Sisters Should...
This was a smash hit at the Benson's Christmas, ironically my sister was the one who played it. See if you can make it through the first play through with out crying. I still can't breath I'm laughing so hard....do do-do do...
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Spend It While You Got It!
You youngsters get all the luck! From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Recession offers bargains for young, employed
Reyhan Harmanci, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
(12-22) 19:21 PST -- Sarah Krasley, 29, a business management student at the University of San Francisco, is buying small amounts of low-priced stock these days - and advising friends to follow her example.
Planet Out writer Josh Rotter, 30, isn't rich by any means, but this November, he decided to splurge, purchasing heavily discounted tickets to travel around the East Coast during Christmas.
San Francisco couple Maria McKee, 29, and Stephan Tsochandaris, 31, took an even bigger plunge: The duo bought an Oakland condo early this month.
"We didn't really start looking until late September, early October," said McKee, who works as a program analyst for the San Francisco Superior Court's Office of Collaborative Justice Programs. Until housing prices tumbled this fall, McKee said, buying property in the Bay Area seemed impossible.
For the younger employed set who lack crushing debt, mortgages or families to support, the recession has a silver lining: Previously out-of-reach items are suddenly affordable. As consumer prices fell 1.7 percent in November, the biggest monthly drop on record, some have decided to take advantage of the deals - though not without caution.
"In a year where we would have expected the consumer to say 'no' to spending, this younger generation - the young adults who have not had to divert all of their discretionary spending to other family members - continues to self-indulge," said NPD Market Research Chief Analyst Marshal Cohen.
"It's not a new concept," Cohen added, noting that "mobile young adult consumers" have always wielded buying power. "It's just a surprise that people are doing it when they are told not to."
Assessing the effects of the current recession on the Bay Area's younger set is difficult, as the credit crunch extends into many facets of life, and the region's demographics vary widely.
But if any place has plenty of young people with discretionary income to spend, it's San Francisco. With a high percentage of adults between 20 and 40 (34.9 percent versus 27.5 percent nationally, according to a 2004 American Community Survey estimate) and 61.6 percent of the city' residents renting their homes, San Francisco ranks high in "creative capital," according to Richard Florida, author of "Who's Your City" and director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto.
"Young people will be hit far less hard than other people, and San Francisco in particular will do OK - the population is highly educated and diverse," said Florida. "They're not older people on a fixed income. They still have time to make up ground."
Cynthia Jaspar, a consumer spending expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that although young people are vulnerable to job loss in a recession, they will continue to be an important retail sector. Indeed, both the Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine have reported on the youth-driven bright spots in retail: American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and Buckle stores are some of the only clothing companies to see sales rise in November. Analyst Cohen points to the video game industry as a sign that young adult buying power remains strong.
"The fastest-growing market for video games is the adult man, 18 to 35 ... not teens or preteens. Even if they are living at home, they are the least likely to cut back on consumption," he said. "Whoever figured that was going to happen."
But just because young consumers may be able to afford holiday sales doesn't mean they are spending with abandon.
"It's all about cutting corners," said Rotter, who is using coupons for the first time in his life. Many are using the Internet to compare prices, and others, like San Francisco resident Michelle Quint, 24, want to simply focus on saving: Quint plans on making most of her holiday presents to her friends, even as she considers adding discounted stocks to her portfolio.
Keeping tabs on debt is a big concern. Web designer Omar Lee, 36, who bought a flat screen and Apple TV in quick succession this fall, made both of his purchases with an ATM, not credit, card. "I definitely felt the opportunistic window. Stuff is cheap. But after (the TV purchases), I felt a quick sobering," Lee said. His next concern was making sure he had a "cash cushion" going into 2009.
Certainly, the culture of excessive spending itself has been called into question by the current recession. Many report a newfound sense of guilt or unease about buying things.
"I feel like there is a model for how you're supposed to act in a 'recession' and that is, tighten your belt," said Quint. "But logically, that doesn't make much sense when you're not personally losing any money."
It may be gauche to admit, but the lack of hefty obligations, financial or otherwise, remains a perk of youth. "If I had kids right now, I wouldn't be thinking of shopping at all. I wouldn't be thinking about $500 shoes," Rotter said.
"But I'm young, single and don't have the burden of property. This sounds really sad, but maybe we're like the carpetbaggers of the horrible economic situation."
Recession offers bargains for young, employed
Reyhan Harmanci, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
(12-22) 19:21 PST -- Sarah Krasley, 29, a business management student at the University of San Francisco, is buying small amounts of low-priced stock these days - and advising friends to follow her example.
Planet Out writer Josh Rotter, 30, isn't rich by any means, but this November, he decided to splurge, purchasing heavily discounted tickets to travel around the East Coast during Christmas.
San Francisco couple Maria McKee, 29, and Stephan Tsochandaris, 31, took an even bigger plunge: The duo bought an Oakland condo early this month.
"We didn't really start looking until late September, early October," said McKee, who works as a program analyst for the San Francisco Superior Court's Office of Collaborative Justice Programs. Until housing prices tumbled this fall, McKee said, buying property in the Bay Area seemed impossible.
For the younger employed set who lack crushing debt, mortgages or families to support, the recession has a silver lining: Previously out-of-reach items are suddenly affordable. As consumer prices fell 1.7 percent in November, the biggest monthly drop on record, some have decided to take advantage of the deals - though not without caution.
"In a year where we would have expected the consumer to say 'no' to spending, this younger generation - the young adults who have not had to divert all of their discretionary spending to other family members - continues to self-indulge," said NPD Market Research Chief Analyst Marshal Cohen.
"It's not a new concept," Cohen added, noting that "mobile young adult consumers" have always wielded buying power. "It's just a surprise that people are doing it when they are told not to."
Assessing the effects of the current recession on the Bay Area's younger set is difficult, as the credit crunch extends into many facets of life, and the region's demographics vary widely.
But if any place has plenty of young people with discretionary income to spend, it's San Francisco. With a high percentage of adults between 20 and 40 (34.9 percent versus 27.5 percent nationally, according to a 2004 American Community Survey estimate) and 61.6 percent of the city' residents renting their homes, San Francisco ranks high in "creative capital," according to Richard Florida, author of "Who's Your City" and director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto.
"Young people will be hit far less hard than other people, and San Francisco in particular will do OK - the population is highly educated and diverse," said Florida. "They're not older people on a fixed income. They still have time to make up ground."
Cynthia Jaspar, a consumer spending expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that although young people are vulnerable to job loss in a recession, they will continue to be an important retail sector. Indeed, both the Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine have reported on the youth-driven bright spots in retail: American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and Buckle stores are some of the only clothing companies to see sales rise in November. Analyst Cohen points to the video game industry as a sign that young adult buying power remains strong.
"The fastest-growing market for video games is the adult man, 18 to 35 ... not teens or preteens. Even if they are living at home, they are the least likely to cut back on consumption," he said. "Whoever figured that was going to happen."
But just because young consumers may be able to afford holiday sales doesn't mean they are spending with abandon.
"It's all about cutting corners," said Rotter, who is using coupons for the first time in his life. Many are using the Internet to compare prices, and others, like San Francisco resident Michelle Quint, 24, want to simply focus on saving: Quint plans on making most of her holiday presents to her friends, even as she considers adding discounted stocks to her portfolio.
Keeping tabs on debt is a big concern. Web designer Omar Lee, 36, who bought a flat screen and Apple TV in quick succession this fall, made both of his purchases with an ATM, not credit, card. "I definitely felt the opportunistic window. Stuff is cheap. But after (the TV purchases), I felt a quick sobering," Lee said. His next concern was making sure he had a "cash cushion" going into 2009.
Certainly, the culture of excessive spending itself has been called into question by the current recession. Many report a newfound sense of guilt or unease about buying things.
"I feel like there is a model for how you're supposed to act in a 'recession' and that is, tighten your belt," said Quint. "But logically, that doesn't make much sense when you're not personally losing any money."
It may be gauche to admit, but the lack of hefty obligations, financial or otherwise, remains a perk of youth. "If I had kids right now, I wouldn't be thinking of shopping at all. I wouldn't be thinking about $500 shoes," Rotter said.
"But I'm young, single and don't have the burden of property. This sounds really sad, but maybe we're like the carpetbaggers of the horrible economic situation."
Friday, December 19, 2008
Jews Beware! Christmas, Straight Ahead!
Oy, Hark!
A Jewish parent's guide to Christmas specials.
Posted Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, at 3:01 PM ET
If you are a little Jewish kid, Santa Claus does not enter your home via the chimney on Christmas Eve. Instead, he arrives in late fall, usually by way of the Target catalogue and the television set. And if you are a little Jewish kid confronting old St. Nick for the first time via Frosty, Rudolph, Charlie Brown, or the 1966 animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you may find yourself with a lot of questions. "Mamma, who is Center and where are my presents?" asked my 3-year-old, rather randomly, in October. "Mommy, is Santa real?" my 5-year-old asks pretty much daily. In the way of 5-year-old boys everywhere, he follows that one up with "Mom, if Santa and Judah the Maccabee got in a fight, who would win?"
One needn't be virulently anti-Christmas to experience the seasonal anxiety felt by parents who want their children to enjoy the winter holidays while avoiding religious indoctrination. That's what makes parenting Jewish kids at Christmastime such a fraught proposition. Jewish women who as children were whisked away to Jewish vacation resorts in Florida marry Jewish men who hung Hanukkah stockings next to a Hanukkah bush, alongside the plate of gefilte fish they'd left out for Santa. It's hard enough reconciling two deeply held versions of the Jewish holidays. Just try blending two deeply held traditions regarding the noncelebration of Christmas.
I, for instance, grew up in a household that viewed only How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas as acceptable Jewish holiday fare. My husband, on the other hand, tells me he grew up with unfettered access to the whole panoply of animated Christmas specials. When we discussed this for the first time last weekend, I gasped: "They let you watch Rudolph?" I confess that I spoke the words as though his family had permitted him to spend his Decembers camped out in a crèche.
Whether you are Christian or Jewish, come Easter and Passover, The Ten Commandments represents one-stop entertainment shopping. But there are few winter holiday movies that speak to all religions. So last week I sent out an e-mail and posted on Facebook asking Jewish friends how they decided on the permissibility of the Christmas television specials. The responses were amazing. And also bonkers.
Overwhelmingly, the consensus was this: Jewish kids of my generation were permitted to watch one or all of: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and The Year Without Santa Claus. Therefore, their children are also allowed to watch them. But ask them why these movies pass muster and prepare for whomping exhibitions of illogic as only the People of the Book can practice it.
I learned this week that there exists an unspoken "no Jesus" rule, a "no Santa" rule (thus no Rudolph), a "no saints" rule (thus no Night before Christmas), a "no resurrections" rule (even if it's resurrection by proxy; thus no Frosty), and also a "no bad music" rule (thus no Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special). Perhaps my favorite e-mail laying out a Unified Theory of Jewish Christmas Viewing drew the line thus: "claymation and puppets, esp. from Europe = yes; cheap animation and pop music, esp. from US = no."
All of these rules would make more sense, of course, were it not for the fact that, as I mentioned above, apparently all Jewish children are permitted to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. This despite the fact that the classic ends with Linus Van Pelt earnestly reciting from Luke 2:8-14: "Fear not: For behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you."
It nevertheless seems there's something about that poor schlump of a Charlie Brown and his inability to get into the spirit of Christmas (much less receive a single Christmas card) that speaks to the Jewish people. Indeed, if there is a more profoundly Jewish line than Linus' "How can you take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem?" I have yet to hear it.
Many Jewish kids I heard from were permitted to watch the Grinch every year, yet somehow nobody (including my parents) is able to explain why this is so. Nearly everyone who wrote to me explained that the Boris Karloff version of the Grinch was "a classic." OK. But dig a little deeper and what surfaces is a universal (and discomfiting) sense that the Grinch is a fundamentally Jewish show because the Grinch himself is a fundamentally Jewish character. I got one e-mail that concluded, "Who is more of a Grinch than a grumpy old Jew?" And a Jew with a heart problem no less?
A fair point, perhaps, but why do Jewish parents want to be pushing this peculiarly self-loathing vision of the bitter old Jewish man on their kids? Do we drag our kids to see The Merchant of Venice? If anything, the weird Grinch-as-old-Jew notion would seem to suggest that of all things Jewish kids should not be watching at Christmastime, the Seussian classic tops the list. But perhaps my colleague Emily Bazelon is right, and Jewish kids like the Grinch because "Without the ending, the movie is the ultimate fantasy for a Jewish kid with a case of Santa/tree/carols envy—Christmas, canceled."
To the panoply of Christmas rejecters and cancellers above, one can readily add the Heat Miser and Snow Miser from The Year Without Santa. Again, the show clearly violates the "No Santa" rule, and yet nearly everyone I spoke to grandfathered it in as Jewishly acceptable. Asked why, the response is that the sheer genius of the Heat Miser/Snow Miser musical rivalry redeems any sectarian message. Yet it's hard not to wonder again whether there's something about the grouchy, bitter misers—misers!—poised to wreck Christmas that seems to speak to Jewish parents.
Ultimately, most Jewish parents wrestling with what to let their kids watch at Christmastime seemed really to be coping with their own remembered feelings of exclusion. (That's why this may be the single greatest Jewish Christmas song ever written.) It may also explain why little Jewish kids get to watch so many shows in which Christmas almost doesn't happen—or about grouchy people who feel bitterly lacking in the Christmas spirit.
None of this solves any of my own questions about what to tell my children about the sudden appearance-but-not-acceptance of Santa in their lives. Perhaps it is instructive that my 5-year-old's Judah the Maccabee story is a seamless and lengthy narrative of Hasmonean warriors, light sabers, and the spiritually redemptive powers of heat vision, such that tossing a Rudolph or Frosty into the mix will hardly dilute its already syncretic spiritual appeal. This is not so much an argument for the great universalist Teddy Ruxpin Christmas display as a suggestion that the proper non-Christian response to Christmas joy is not to try to block, suppress, or hide from it. Or to limit our kids' Christmas viewing to movies featuring charming yet bitter protagonists bent on blocking, suppressing, or hiding from it.
In my research for this piece, I finally sat down and watched Frosty, Rudolph, and Pee-Wee's Christmas special. And in doing so, I came across a good deal of material that may well have been more familiar to the Maccabee brothers than to Santa. Indeed, Rudolph's immortal words to Hermey the Misfit Elf may be said to poignantly encapsulate 5,000 years of Jewish aspiration: "Goodbye, Hermey. Whatever a dentist is, I hope someday you will be the greatest!"
Dahlia Lithwick is a Slate senior editor.Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2206361/
Thursday, December 18, 2008
2008: Brought to You By the Letters HIMYM
THE OLYMPICS
The men lost a lot of hair to play the U.S. 4x200m relay team; Harris (far right) even cajoled Segel (far left) into shaving his
armpits. ''The guys sounded like they didn't think it was going to grow back,'' laughs Smulders. ''Dude. Trust me. It grows back.
I wish it didn't. It does. You're gonna be fine.''
INDIANA JONES
Smulders (left) didn't see Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (she says the key to Cate Blanchett was ''just look like a badass''), while Harris studied Indy hard: ''It's sort of a quarter-squint. The lips go down, but there's a hint of a smile. But he's not amused, because he's always got other things in mind.''
SEX AND THE CITY
Hannigan (far left) ditched her heels before the shot: ''I couldn't do it,'' she sighs.
''They were too high. I had to catch Cobie and not fall on my face.'' Radnor (right),
on the other hand, had no trouble stepping into Mr. Big's shoes: ''I get hit with a
bouquet of flowers at least once a month.''
JONAS BROTHERS
''I don't often wear skinny jeans. It's not my thing.
But I heroically squeezed into some,'' says Radnor. Harris worked to internalize his character deeply, as well: ''I got to be the straight-ironed guy. Not the curly. I don't know their names...Alvin? Theodore?''
THE VP DEBATE
''It probably will just be an imitation of Tina Fey,'' admits Hannigan, before slipping on her Sarah Palin suit. For Segel, this role is a culmination of a lifelong dream: ''Ever since I was a kid, I always imagined someday
I'd get to play Joe Biden in a photo shoot.''
Omigod, Omigod You Guys!
And what guys they are! Introducing, from the touring cast of Legally Blonde: The Musical...
D.B. Bonds (Emmett)
Ven Daniel (UPS Guy)
PS, Ven Daniel is also on Facebook. And D.B. Bonds is just an ABSOLUTE HOTTIE!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Honesty on Craigslist
Room for Rent -- Inauguration Day/ObamaCon 2009
Date: 2008-11-11, 11:45AM EST
In a search of a room in DC so that you can spend Jan. 20 standing in the bitter winter cold with thousands of like-minded souls watching the historic transfer of power from one Harvard grad to another? Look no further.
Me: Heartless, greedy right-wing oppressive type looking to make a buck.
You: Obama's election was Christmas/your first kiss/May Day all wrapped into one. You dutifully wore his button -- which you have yet to remove -- contributed money to his campaign from your non-profit job and chanted "yes we can" as if it were the 11th commandment. A strange void now exists in your life and -- like an old hippie looking to recapture the spirit of Woodstock -- you are undertaking a pilgramage to Washington for one last gulp of the Kool-Aid.
Along with my bedroom you will have access to the house's many amenities including cable television (not that you watch much TV) for viewing Keith Olberman's latest unhinged rants and CNN in high-def. Wireless internet means that the Huffington Post and DailyKos are only a click away on your MacBook. American flags and other patriotic paraphernalia in the room can be removed upon request.
The house is located in the diverse neighborhood of Adams Morgan with people of many different skin pigmentations that will allow you to revel in your tolerance. Rest assured, however, that this diversity does not extend to ideology and that you are sure to march lock-step with the prevailing sentiment ensuring that your most strongly held beliefs remain unchallenged.
Easily accessible subway and bus stops will help ensure a minimal carbon footprint while fair trade coffee is never more than a few steps away at any number of independently-owned establishments. Nearby non-chain bookstores similarly mean that tomes such as Mao's Little Red Book, Chomsky's latest masterpiece or additional copies of The Audacity of Hope can be easily purchased either for yourself or as early holiday shopping.
Rather than state a price I am requesting that you bid on this fabulous opportunity to ensure profit maximization on my part so that I can better weather the Bush Recession.
Lanier Pl. at Ontario google map yahoo map
PostingID: 914613135
Me: Heartless, greedy right-wing oppressive type looking to make a buck.
You: Obama's election was Christmas/your first kiss/May Day all wrapped into one. You dutifully wore his button -- which you have yet to remove -- contributed money to his campaign from your non-profit job and chanted "yes we can" as if it were the 11th commandment. A strange void now exists in your life and -- like an old hippie looking to recapture the spirit of Woodstock -- you are undertaking a pilgramage to Washington for one last gulp of the Kool-Aid.
Along with my bedroom you will have access to the house's many amenities including cable television (not that you watch much TV) for viewing Keith Olberman's latest unhinged rants and CNN in high-def. Wireless internet means that the Huffington Post and DailyKos are only a click away on your MacBook. American flags and other patriotic paraphernalia in the room can be removed upon request.
The house is located in the diverse neighborhood of Adams Morgan with people of many different skin pigmentations that will allow you to revel in your tolerance. Rest assured, however, that this diversity does not extend to ideology and that you are sure to march lock-step with the prevailing sentiment ensuring that your most strongly held beliefs remain unchallenged.
Easily accessible subway and bus stops will help ensure a minimal carbon footprint while fair trade coffee is never more than a few steps away at any number of independently-owned establishments. Nearby non-chain bookstores similarly mean that tomes such as Mao's Little Red Book, Chomsky's latest masterpiece or additional copies of The Audacity of Hope can be easily purchased either for yourself or as early holiday shopping.
Rather than state a price I am requesting that you bid on this fabulous opportunity to ensure profit maximization on my part so that I can better weather the Bush Recession.
Lanier Pl. at Ontario google map yahoo map
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
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