Before the sun rises too high on a day when Seattle almost hit 100 degrees, Maya struts in summery style.

Before the sun rises too high on a day when Seattle almost hit 100 degrees, Maya struts in summery style.
Originally uploaded by emaggie

"Go Brew Crew!"

"Go Brew Crew!"
Originally uploaded by emaggie

"Firestono!"

With the World in such a freefall spin, one thing I hope we all can agree on is that car repair is utter crap. We can get second opinions on anything that will cost us more than 50 bucks. But call bullshite on a mechanic and you're a communist. Essentially. This "can't we all get along" rant comes from the point of view of someone waiting all morning on a basic brake job. Advertised by Firestone as $190. Surreptiously upgraded to $303 with an extra year's warranty. On a brake job. Oh, and they thought that since my brake fluid was "contaminated" that I should spend another $85. Ahem. I'll pay $190, thank you very much. And I'll be sure to let y'all know hereafter what Firestone has to say about my communism.

Just so everyone ignores the impression that I'm alone in jousting with corporate windmills, you owe it to yourself to watch Michael Moore eviscerate Wolf Blitzer yesterday. We've not yet seen "Sicko" and I'm sorry about that fact given my willingness to promote the film. Yet Mr. Moore appears to be the only man in America currently able to secure "LIVE!" airtime to question the ridiculous charges leveled at him. It's a long clip, but entirely worth it. Please watch.



Hope you all find a pleasant moment to be outraged today. Rock on.

"After long deliberation with my closest advisers, I've decided that I should move on and clear some brush..."

I'm prepping to take some time off from blogging given the expected craziness of the upcoming month. But I simply can't sit idly by without offering my brief shot at the Scooter Libby commutation granted by Dubya. Plainly, no one's satisfied. Nutjob conservatives are bitching about their outrageous claim that he should have been pardoned. Everyone else can't understand why an "excessive" sentence translates to "no time served" in Dubya's view of assessing a felony conviction. Where I fall is firmly upon this point - Dubya screwed it up embarrassingly, once again. If he'd pardoned him sooner or later, it would be defensible. Wrong, but defensible. If Dubya had chosen any other course of action imaginable, it would be somehow defensible. Still wrong, but you get my point. So what Dubya chose was the utterly wrongest wrong in the whole panorama. He praises the prosecutor, stands by the jury's ruling, and then throws the whole process under the bus. That's Dubya. Always wrong, never in doubt. I can't wait for the "history will judge" wheels to start turning. Oh wait...they've already begun doing so. Worst. President. Ever. Period.

Hope your own pre-Fourth of July deliberations deal entirely with beef versus fowl. Rock on.

"A Mighty Heart" is a minor effort

I'll admit going into the new Angelina Jolie flick, "A Mighty Heart", hoping for a stunner. Instead, it was much smaller and much less engaging than I'd expected. My rating - a bland C-plus. Jolie is wonderful - passionate, controlled, with a flawless accent and complete command of the screen. Some of the surrounding cast is also quite good, although Dan Futterman as the doomed Daniel Pearl is at best a cardboard cutout who seems to have gotten the job because he looks like Pearl's clone. But this is one to wait to rent. Which is really too bad because it will probably disappear from public view with little more than a whisper of respect. This tragic story deserves much more attention. It just feels way too early to have gone after this story on film.

We head back to Seattle this evening after a wonderful week in Santa Barbara. The weather has been unparalleled in it's beauty. Warm, dry, clear days stacked up one after another. But like much of the country this time of year, drought is leading to the threat of a tough fire season. Last night after a artful, killer meal at Emilio's (my sentimental favorite restaurant here for a long list of reasons), we went back to my in-laws house just in time to catch the moonrise. A wildfire many miles away filled the air with a burnt smell and cast the just past full moon with the most stunning bright orange glow. I can't recall ever seeing anything like it. It looked like Mars, surrounded by a halo of ochre clouds. How sad it is to appreciate a view due to forest fires in the unseen distance. Yet how hauntingly beautiful it was.

Hope your own views are beautifully guilt-free. Rock on.

It ain't no Jane Austen.

I saw "Live Free or Die Hard" yesterday afternoon. Summer movies don't get much more cliched than seeing Bruce Willis get the crap kicked out of him for a few hours. My rating - a strangely satisfying B-minus. Bruce is entirely Bruce. Justin Long (the guy who plays the Mac in those ubiquitous Mac vs. PC commercials) is great as the hacker sidekick. Everyone else is better than adequate. The set-up of a "fire sale" attack on the U.S. and subsequent machinations was written by a clown car full of studio writers. Oddly enough, it works. Unlike the utterly bland "Ocean's Thirteen", this bit of summer sequel fluff is engaging and just smart enough. If the weather turns insanely hot and you need an escape, this flick accompanied by air-conditioning and an open mind will do you right. I predict you'll be as entertained as I was.

Hope your own suspension of disbelief is easily attained. Rock on.

Maya deals with the swarm.

Maya deals with the swarm.
Originally uploaded by emaggie

In the Santa Barbara Natural History Musuem's butterfly realm, Maya blended in as best she could. Note the eternal protection of Milwaukee Brewerism.

Freakium Orangium Donteatmyfaceium

Freakium Orangium Donteatmyfaceium
Originally uploaded by emaggie

The visual manisfestation of a Princeton grad's butterfly love.

The visual manisfestation of a Princeton grad's butterfly love.
Originally uploaded by emaggie

Goth bug. With a funky bluish sheen.

Goth bug. With a funky bluish sheen.
Originally uploaded by emaggie

George and Brad should get serious again. And refund my $9.

We've not had much time to catch summer movies, what with all the Paris Hilton news soaking up our attention (Free at last!). So we're excitedly playing catch up. Here are two quickie reviews for your consideration of the canon.

"Knocked Up" has gotten some of the best reviews of the summer. No surprise - it's consistently funny and undeniably sweet. Utterly unbelievable, though. And with the exception of the already famous "crowning" birth scene, the world's lustful boys never get so much as a nipple glance from the ravishing Katherine Heigl. Seth Rogan is the most surprising and deservingly ascendant star in the bizness since Woody Allen, Paul Rudd and the gang improvise with pitch-perfect style, and everyone seems very human. Still, my rating is a relatively solid B. Here's the first case where a nipple might have earned an undeserved higher grade since my creepy 8th grade shop class.

"Ocean's Thirteen" has also gotten decent reviews. Which stuns me. It is such a slog - at least an hour longer than need be. Everyone looks bored. There's no chemistry. My rating - a disappointed D. You're better off flipping through "People" magazine if you're looking for sexy stars looking bored. If you loved "Ocean's Eleven", you should hate this movie. Gawd forbid anyone cares enough to make the inevitably set up sequel.

Hope your own multiplex is filled with exciting options today. Rock on.

Maya's "Caddyshack" series from Santa Barbara - "Can I play through?"

Maya's "Caddyshack" series from Santa Barbara - "This is a putter!"
Originally uploaded by emaggie

We're enjoying a summer getaway with family. Maya, especially. Sunday night at the club where her 'rents got married way back in '01 was a special treat. Hope you enjoy the pics as much as Maya enjoyed the games. Rock on.

"Noonan!"

"Noonan!"
Originally uploaded by emaggie

Aunt Katie helps direct the action.

"Ahhh! One more set?"

"Ahhh! One more set?"
Originally uploaded by emaggie

This is what a hot dog belch looks like.

This is what a hot dog fart looks like.
Originally uploaded by emaggie

Yea, but it's not like he was wearing Fonzie's jacket or wiping Cheetos crumbs into Archie Bunker's chair...

For those of us that admire the Smithsonian as an American treasure trove, Lawrence "Biggie Compensation" Small is a perfect storm of unrivaled hubris, a criminal insularity and undeniable assholery. To be fair. Think I'm pushing it? Well, let's just let the soon to be released report speak for itself. If you're not offended by what it lays out for abuse under his tenure, you shouldn't be spending time reading blogs because you're obviously rich enough to have people like me made into sashimi.

Brew Crew fans I'm sure are feeling pretty stoked this morning. After a woeful May and being on the receiving end of a no-hitter a week ago in Detroit, they been winning games and taking names like the Milwaukee Brewers the entire nation came to love way back in April. I'll keep y'all posted. But I strongly suggest paying attention while there's still room on the bus for all comers. You can sit by me - I promise.

Hope your own compensation package allows for unlimited paid vacation, $150K in annual housing stipends, cash to entertain in your own house, and unquestioned expenses approved only by you. Rock on.

Wanna bet?

Michael Bloomberg today filed the papers necessary to quit the Republican Party. In other words, he's running for President in '08. Consider him Ross Perot with much more money and much less crazy. I'm sure every single candidate in the race is freaking out. Even Mitt "Today I Believe This With All My Heart, I Think" Romney. Billionaire without constraints trumps millionaire raising money mainly from Mormons. Even in Utah.

Hope your own third party is picking up the kegs at the moment. Rock on.

After days of silence, this is all I come up with?

Did you forget to mark your calendars like me? The Surge is over. So we've won and now everyone can come home from Iraq. Right?

Hope your own troop movements aren't similarly broadcast today. Rock on.

Was it a turd or just a candy bar?

Since everyone else is doing so, I'd like to weigh in briefly on last night's "The Sopranos" finale. I watched it with my in-laws, neither of whom watched the series, which was a perfect looking glass to borrow as I tried to briefly identify and sum up the cavalcade of characters. Too many questions remain for those that were sucked into the vortex of critical acclaim surrounding this bloated mix of storylines. Admittedly, I'm one of those that showed up late for the party and didn't drink enough of the Kool-Aid to become truly cultish about it all. But the non-ending ending was for me...perfect. There was no way to complete this over-exposed highwire act that would please the whole crowd. So David Chase chose to please no one. Or mostly no one. For those in the know - once the character Phil Leotardo (played by the utterly excellent Frank Vincent) got whacked and his skull was astonishingly shmooshed by his slow-rolling SUV, I was satisfied. Metaphors abounded, high and lowbrow references were certainly everywhere, and I expect everyone has a reaction. That's more than any writer working this milieu could hope for. I, for one, beg all interested parties to not buy into the inevitable temptation to follow things up with a movie or return visits on HBO. Leave it alone. But, of course, take the canoli.

Hope your own jukebox has at least one "Journey" tune cued up today. Rock on.

"Slide this way, Mommy."

"Slide this way, Mommy."
Originally uploaded by emaggie

Before we head to Santa Barbara for a quick weekend, I thought we should dump a few cute shots on everyone. All quotes are directly transcribed from Maya's actual reactions. Sort of. Rock on.