nostalgia lane

i learned a few weeks ago that my friend p. was a closeted hindi movie fan... she had outdone even me by watching like three hindi movies in a week (actually, my record is three hindi movies in theaters and one at home all in one day). but yesterday, i found out, she even keeps some at home! we watched maine pyar kiya and for me, it was a total trip down memory lane.


i think i scared p. cuz i knew most of the lines, even though i tried to refrain from quoting too much! it's just that, that movie, along with a few others, were the first hindi films of "my generation", and they're directly responsible for my love of bollywood movies today. it's a pretty typical young love story, but it was salman khan's first big movie and it was a huge hit. at diwali the next year, my friends and i danced to all of mpk's songs, which are terrific. we even tried to imitate the costumes, including salman's famous jacket. i went on to love salman for several years, but soon shahrukh came and it was over, no contest. still, to think of the salman of those days, sigh...

but he was always political

there's been a storm of controversy surrounding michael j. fox's appearance in several political ads supporting democrats. fox is visibly suffering from the effects of his parkinson's and he goes on to say that not all politics are local, and that a vote cast in any state for a congressman who is against stem-cell research is a vote against millions of americans. i'm not sure i agree with his sentiment that not all politics is local, because i think he misunderstands the essence of his argument. all politics is local, that's why it does matter in a larger sense that we choose our votes wisely.

he has been criticized by that idiot rush limbaugh for faking his illness and for exaggerating his disease, which i truly think is despicable and disrespectful. but i think what is interesting is that people are blaming him for sensationalizing his disease by schilling for candidates. i have to say, i am biased because i have admired him for years and i agree with stem cell research, but more power to you. if you have the power to sway public opinion for a cause that you care for, amen. add to the fact that he's not asking for money, he's asking people to think and make an informed decision in a few days. so many americans are blind to the realities of illnesses like parkinson's, and if they are shocked by his appearance, maybe they would be moved to consider how much we need medical advancements in research.

if you look at in in the bigger context, michael j. fox has always been political. he started lobbying for stem cell research very early into his public outing as a parkinson's patient. and finally, join me for a stroll down memory tv lane, alex p. keaton on family ties was always passionate about politics.. sadly, as a republican... but, it's okay, the mistakes and innocence of youth!

democrat's destiny?

is barack obama truly the democratic messiah? everyone has been singing his praises for several years, and the new time magazine has him on its cover. now, i haven't followed his politics or voting record, but it seems to me he is genuine, if somewhat of a please-all (which may be par for the course in today's political environment). there's no denying his popularity, and if he is successful in the future, he could be a sign of changing times and voter biases. still, i fear that something will happen, or some fact will be uncovered, or maybe just long-held political truths will prevail, and the great non-white hope of the party will fade away. but, for people like me, who truly hope that politics can find their way to effectiveness and splendor (best seen in the west wing!), maybe obama will be the man who can straddle the political divide and find a way to accomplish something.

ridiculous...

yet mesmerizing.

i had to work early today, but luckily, johnny depp's "inside the actor's studio" was on bravo when i got in. of course, i just had to watch to get a glimpse inside the person who has created such memorable characters (and is sooo hot). i liked all his insights, and i know you have to ask good questions to get great answers, but still, james lipton has become such a caricature of a person. obviously, i'm not the first to say this, but he just gets to me. his whole, 'i'm not allowed to get a tattoo' shtick with his wife may have been funny ONCE, but now it's just whiny.

other random musings of the morning:
1. bono looks much better with the haircut. the greasy, longish hair was due for a year or two off.
2. fergie looks like the girl from "my girl" just grown up and hyper-sexed out.
3. kids cartoons are too scary for me to watch.

double dose of entertainment

yesterday was a fun day. first, i went to a taping of celebrity jeopardy. our contestants were harry shearer, isaac mizrahi, and soledad o'brien. while i'm sure it's easiest to guess who was the most fun (and who seemed to have the greatest trouble with the buzzer), 1,001 points to the person who guesses the winner (and remember, this is jeopardy). alex looked good, though i'm saddened by the loss of the stache, even though he says he can grow it back anytime he wants...

and then last night i went to see "the departed" with the same friend that saw the original "infernal affairs" with me. while i definitely preferred the original, i really enjoyed this movie. obviously, it's an unfair bias, since the suspense of the story was already known to me, the original was a tighter film. but, all the actors were good (and, for a non-leo-lover to say that, is something), but mark wahlberg completely stole the show for me. his character was written with the most fun, so that's one thing, but he just played it with so much joy! the other thing that got me was the amount of gore and blood in this one... yes, it's a movie about the mafia, but still, it was a bit gratuitous.

ps: i realize i didn't mention the yanks... too disappointing to even think about, esp. now that they're saying torre is gonna get sacked...

one down

the yanks won the first game of their post-season yesterday, in totally convincing fashion. jeter was amazing!! he went five for five, with a home run at the end. he had the crowd on their feet, it so made me want to be there. unfortunately, they got rained out tonight, but hopefully they'll be able to make it up tomorrow afternoon. and sadly, the mets won today as well, but that's okay, i'm not sure they're going to be able to go the distance without any depth in the bullpen. they're seriously in trouble without pedro and hernandez... small yea!!