Obama vs. the Press = Tyson vs. Galifianakis

Obama just finished his newser and the questions of the day were nothing if not yawn-inducing. He can just plain outflank and outthink everyone sitting in front of him in that room. Everyone knew he was going to go a bit tougher on Iran's brutality, everyone knew the health care questions would be without nuance, everyone knew someone would ask about his smoking. Here's how I'd score it - he's still walking the right line on Iran. He can talk circles around the entrenched arguments against health care reform. The remaining cluster of weak, snarky turds tossed up were swept off the dais with an impressive mental broom. And if this dude - the Leader of the Free World - can't sneak a smoke while pondering the difficult roster of things hanging in his mind, then anyone else that smokes must stop immediately. End of thread.

Maya's developed an ongoing and expanding relationship with her imaginary friend, Ella Bella. Ol' Ella Bella has done just about everything that happens to show up in any book, TV show or random conversation. Ella Bella's age is utterly fluid - everywhere from being a baby to 100 years old. Ella Bella is fearless and teaching Maya to also be so. I don't know where she initially came from or when exactly she showed up. I tend to think it's hereditary since I also had an imaginary friend when I was pre-school age, according to my Mom. Ironically, his name was George. I don't know what happened to George, but I assume he retired from the business of imaginary leadership to some sort of desolate ranchland in Texas. Just a guess.

Hope your own friends are equally sweet but slightly more tangible today. Rock on.

Like shooting fish in a barrel. Lined up by the millions.

Two quick shots. Iran is obviously on the top of everyone's must watch list. I can't offer anything new. But neither, it sadly appears, can anyone with a news network or political office. For all of the last nearly a decade demonizing Iran's theocratic and political leadership, we got bupkis. Same goes for North Korea, but that's a whole other ball of chickpeas or dung. Since no one else seems ready to make an informed statement on the matter, here's my offering. These public protests aren't going away. The election results will be increasingly seen as fraudulent and the government will become more violent in its fight for survival. What's my source material? The graphic novels "Persepolis" and the equally brilliant animated movie based on them. Watch them and you'll have as much insight as me.

Secondly, the whole "Fire David Letterman" absurdity circus is as cynical as anything perpetrated by a Republican since the coining of the term "War on Terror". Dave is laughing his way to the bank as his ratings go through the roof. The person most upset by this whole manufactured storm of bullshite has to be Conan O'Brien. Who I love, but I must say that his show has been on a downhill slope since it opened big. Sarah and Todd Palin's political savvy isn't even in the same species as Dave's. They've handed Dave gold and are stupid enough to claim it's moosepoop. And anyone clamoring for retribution from a manufactured controversy should look down. Because they're not standing in gold.

Hope your own ratings stay on the rise today. Rock on.

What didn't Dubya know, and when didn't he know it?

Everyone's contorting the release of the Iran "National Intelligence Estimate" to meet their own needs. Obviously, we'll get no more consensus out of this than that for the college football Bowl Championship Series. But a few of my favorite rabble-rousers are focusing on what I also believe was the most shocking "admission" from Dubya's presser yesterday. Namely, his claim that he was only briefed on the NIE last week. He was told of it's formation by National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell in August. Sy Hersh reported over a year ago about this upcoming NIE. Hell, even Israeli Prime Minister Olmert was briefed on the NIE last week. Does anyone believe Dubya on this one? I'm mean, REALLY believe? If he lied yesterday, he should be held to account for it. As if. If he actually didn't know (or request to know), then I surmise he's one of two possible versions of the Dubya we all think we've seen time and time again. 1) Scandalously incurious and incompetent. Or 2) Purposely kept out of the loop. I can't bring myself to comment on which version is worse for the Nation.

Weather-wise here in the Northwest, you've all probably seen the endless aerial TV coverage of the flooding in Chehalis, Warshington where the I-5 was under 10-feet of water. I thought a different reference photo might help.
This is Maya and yours truly during a picnic break in a Chehalis park just off that flooded part of the highway in July, 2006 during our move up to Seattle from San Francisco. I think the water level in this area was up over the rooftop of the community center you can see in the background. Thankfully, we had no issues in our part of Seattle. Loads of rain, to be sure. But everyone's safe, dry and hardly even musty smelling. Or at least normalishly musty smelling.

Hope your own basements stay dry all day. Rock on.

Robert Zimmerman mooched off Sigma Alpha Epsilon for a whole semester at the University of Minnesota before moving to NYC

December's come to Seattle like a drunken Santa, kicking over everything in his crooked path. Slushy snow over the weekend, big blustery rain today, forecasted showers of flaming kittens and poisonous tadpoles probably next. We, however, cut against the grain yesterday and had a very nicely attended Housewarmer Brunch. Thanks to all who came, chatted, ate our food and didn't even think of barfing in our bathrooms. If you didn't get an invite, um...well let's move onto a few newsie items.

Another National Intelligence Estimate came out this morning dealing specifically with Iran's appetite for noo-cu-ler arms. The threat? Not so much. Our own agencies say they stopped the weapons research and development in 2003. They may be able to acquire a weapon between 2010-2015. Which is like saying the Bush Twins might win a Nobel Peace Prize sometime before 2015. Highly dubious and impossible to logically support. Now just watch how this gets spun by the Bushies who are already in full-on obfuscation mode. I'm sure we'll all be amazed by just how dangerous the Whirled once again just became.

Hillary is swinging high and hard at Obama, deciding to attack his integrity. Which is like Chuck Norris making cracks about your haircut. This load of shingles just ain't gonna cover the roof. But thanks for giving us all a chuckle, Hill.

In overdue movie reviewingness, we caught a couple flicks when we were in Santa Barbara for TurkeyDaze. "No Country For Old Men" by the almost always interesting Coen Brothers is a spot-on adaptation of Cormac McCarthey's pulp thriller. Even the squeamish will find plenty to love in this one. But it's almost too spare, too smart and too perfect to be an A-level flick, if you can believe it. My rating - a strong B-plus.

But the Todd Haynes flick inspired by the mythologizing of Bob Dylan, "I'm Not There", is brilliant magic realism. Best movie I've seen thus far this year. Arm yourself with just enough awareness of Robert Zimmerman's character - real or otherwise. Suspend disbelief. And you'll be stunned. Haynes has always been a fave of mine - ever since he made the disturbing yet astonishing "Poison" adapted from a bunch of Jean Genet stories (big, gay French dude who wrote prison erotica). And if you've got an underground vid store that doesn't fear lawsuits, "The Karen Carpenter Story" was how Haynes made his reputation while still a college age arty-farty type back yonder at Brown. Blah blah blah. "I'm Not There" will either wow you or piss you off. I was wowed - big full A-rating.

Hope your own housewarmers leave dozens of mini-cupcakes just lying around. Rock on.

"Where's that Gannon guy - sure could use one of them questions..."

Dubya just finished the strangest news conference I've seen in many moons. Part of it had to be that the vast field of tough problems and unbelievable missteps that naturally lead to a bazillion snarky White House Press Corps questions. But he's flubbin' and stumblin' more than ever. Including a repeated assertion about Iran's alleged link to weapons found in Iraq being bad even if the Iranian government didn't know about it. And an outright refusal to respond to my earlier planted question about Rove/Fleischer/Armitage's leaking of Valerie Plame's name. I look forward to how the chattering class battles over this moment in the life of the Administration. I think it's a low point. Let me know if you disagree.

For those looking up Maya's progress, it's been a solidish week of flu featuring a few days of hearty barfing. She dealt damn well considering everything, we did approximately 37 loads of laundry, the house got a bit manky, but we've dosed it all in kerosene so it's all just a sensory memory now. More importantly, Maya's back to about 97%. Good thing, too. Tomorrow nite we're heading back to San Francisco for a few days. Should be lovely to revisit some short-lived-but-loved haunts and see some cherished folk. Please check back for pics.

Hope your own follow-ups are unavoidable today. Rock on.