Wednesday, September 08, 2004

Random bits floating to the surface

Having an agenda really helps things back up.

First I had to get the Fall TV preview out of the way. And then Old Navy had to go and jump ship, so SOMETHING had to be said about that.

And that meant that other stuff just had to sit and wait until now. I may not get all of it done right now, but at least I can get a few things off of my e-plate.

Dr. Actually asked me a follow up question to my post on Michael Moore and Fahrenheit 9/11: "If it won't win the Oscar, what will?"
While I can't make any official statements about that, since I am not currently a member of AMPAS, I will pass along that there is early buzz being generated about best actor. Namely, that Jim Carrey might earn his first nomination for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and that Jamie Foxx is getting serious notice for his portryal of Ray Charles. Also being mentioned is my favorite brain-washing actor Johnny Depp for his portrayal of Peter Pan author, J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland. So, there are some frontrunners for now. If I had to pick between these three, I would immediately narrow it down to two, eliminating Jim Carrey. True, he's not Ace Ventura anymore, but people haven't forgotten that he became famous due to making his buttocks speak. Besides, Ray Charles just died (thanks Tom Cruise!) and he was handicapped, both elements that could easily add up for Oscar gold. BUT, Finding Neverland is a Miramax film, and it is NEVER wise to bet against the Weinsteins--remember, they made people think Shakespeare in Love was an Oscar-worthy movie. So, at gunpoint, I pick Neverland.
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In other random news, Bill Clinton's Presidential Library is making architectural news in Little Rock. Newsweek did a nice story on it in the September 13th issue, but I couldn't find a story to link to on the Newsweek website. (BOOO!) Luckily, Clinton knows a thing or three about promoting himself (as do all presidents), so the official Clinton Presidential Center website has information (ooh! they buried a time capsule . . . which I KNOW contains a Diet Coke can, but probably NOT a copy of the Starr report). For specifics on the architectural design of the library, check out this page. It may not make people forget the things he did while residing in the White House, but it is stylish. Critics, and Clinton has a few don't forget, call it a Slick Willie double-wide trailer or something like that. He calls it that bridge to the 21st Century that the Gore Department of Transportation was never able to build. Oh well . . at least it is interesting. The Dubya Presidential Library will probably have 1,000 copies of "My Pet Goat" in it to make sure everyone remembers that he was a War President.
That's enough randomness for tonight.
Discuss amongst yourselves.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

well i have plenty to say about the stupid Oscars, but how'bout that Clinton Pres. Library?

Firstly, not a bad design, i guess. a little derivative of Jean Nouvel's new Science Center in Pittsburgh, ...okay, VERY derivative ....wait, i just checked and that project was canceled due to cost(see http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030514nouvel0514p1.asp for a picture; it even cantilevered over a river...).
Secondly, the "bridge" metaphor does not quite work. it looks like the bridge is, well, unfinished. (cf. the Gore joke...)
Thirdly, if the bldg. is not well-anchored it could become a "barge to the future" when the Arkansas River floods and the thing gets washed away.
But lastly, i imagine other recent presidents have fairly lame pres. libraries in comparison. i'm not even going to bother confirming this.
it's nice to see some modern architecture used in such a public (or quasi-public) way. Any guesses on what G.Bush's library is going to look like? a big cowboy hat? a baseball stadium? a big Abrams tank? a neoclassical plantation home? a series of cast-concrete phalli spelling out "FREEDOM!"???

====Jack Thunder

Anonymous said...

I see you just added the picture. Nice!

Addendum:
to be fair, it looks like this bldg and Nouvel's bldg were designed at about the same time. but since Nouvel's rep is so dominant, i'm remaining a skeptic.
==Jack Thunder