Comments for Blog Here Now

Comment on Obamacare: The Critique From The Left by Larry

Larry — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:36:54 +0000

I’d like to see the health insurance reform – single-payer or the present plan – touted for the effect it might have on employment. When you cover 30 million new people, that should create a lot of jobs in the health care sector – jobs that can’t be outsourced overseas.

Comment on Obamacare: The Critique From The Left by Jim

Jim — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:45:07 +0000

yes, it certainly is depressing. the media and the gov’t never even acknowledge the single payer route. The question I want discussed in the media is what exactly does the insurance industry “bring to the table” in health care reform. I think the answer is nothing, but they still want their cut (about 40 percent) off the top of the money spent.

Comment on The Invention of Falsity by Larry

Larry — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:43:03 +0000

Well, I understand why the film has its fans. I liked the first 30 minutes or so quite a bit myself. It’s mainly after the invention of God that the movie starts to get really silly (and, in my view, incoherent), although the problems I mentined in the post first start to arise in that early bar scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman – that’s when you realize that everyone except the Gervais character is not only gullible, but also impossibly irrational. In general, I think that both the God gag and the rest of film could have been written in a way that remained within the more plausible bounds of gullibility. After all, religious folks in our own world manage to believe in God while maintaining a complete concept falsity (one that even applies to religious beliefs)… but that would have been a tougher script to write.

By the way, Sling Blade is real favorite of mine. Beautiful film.

Comment on The Invention of Falsity by Jason Molter

Jason Molter — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:38:27 +0000

I thought this was a very enjoyable movie, although it certainly required you to ignore some plausibility issues. Ricky Gervais is very funny, so that makes it easy for me to overlook some loopholes. I enjoyed it exactly as intended – wouldn’t it be funny if nobody had ever lied, and then suddenly somebody tried doing it, catching everyone off guard; cue hilarity.

A friend of mine who is a devout Christian was very offended by this film, and I can understand why. By near the end, you might feel you are watching a different movie that what you started with. An observation is can be derived that challenges belief in a higher power. Are such beliefs only possible within the context or origin of a lie?

I’ve always liked and cheered for movies that are written, directed, and starring the same person. This was clearly Gervais’s brainchild all around. I remember liking Billy Bob Thorton’s Sling Blade and some Clint Eastwood movies for the same reason.

Comment on “Impeach Obama” Billboard – Part 2 by Jim

Jim — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:57:02 +0000

We’re living during a transitionary period in so many fields where technology has rendered the old ways of doing things obsolete and journalism is just one of those fields. Eventually, a new way will evolve where people get information and news gatherers get paid in some way. I don’t know what it will be. If we’re going to have a true democracy, then there needs to be an informed electorate. We don’t really have that now.

Comment on “Impeach Obama” Billboard – Part 2 by Larry

Larry — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:08:35 +0000

As an x-journalist, maybe you could tell me what you think the future of journalism might be like… if there is one. I’ve heard that a new paradigm might be the “stringer” model, where you would have a lot of untrained freelancers all vying to place real-time reports on the most influential blogs. How they plan to make a living – even to get paid – for that is another matter…

Comment on “Impeach Obama” Billboard – Part 2 by Jim

Jim — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:48:17 +0000

I went to Journalism school and got a degree, and worked in the industry. The mainstream media in this country has never been all that good, but today it’s pathetic. They’ve even given up the pretext of giving you useful information (outside of traffic reports) and they’re just totally entertainment. . Tiger Woods?? who cares? Meanwhile, the nation is involved in three hot wars and going bankrupt because of its “defense” budget.

Comment on Esperanza Spalding: Wow by Larry

Larry — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:26:23 +0000

Yeah, Sting is able to sing and play bass pretty well, but Esperanza takes it to a different level, I think. This tune is probably her most “inside”, harmonically consonant number. The rest of her album is far more complex melodically, harmonically, and rhythmically. The Austin City Limits show features an interview where she says that she doesn’t want to be thought of as just a jazz musician – that her music is for everyone. But jazz musicians are always underestimating how esoteric their approach to music actually is. I like the fact that her music takes great skill to pull off, and an educated ear – or at least an open mind – to appreciate.

Comment on Esperanza Spalding: Wow by John Whitney

John Whitney — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:04:15 +0000

That is impressive. I’ve always thought that singing while playing bass is tricky to do, but maybe that’s because I’m a mediocre basssist with an almost non-existent singing voice. Still, playing a bass line that moves in a different direction than the melody is a lot like playing counterpoint on a keyboard. My hat is always off to those that can do it well. Sting comes to mind, and Geddy Lee, perhaps. There aren’t many that I’ve seen that can pull it off as impressively as she does.

Comment on The Apparent Trap by Larry

Larry — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:51:17 +0000

Yeah, now if only the democrats could laugh off the Scott Brown election and pass some reasonable insurance reforms… I have too many self-employed friends who are trapped by the present system into sticking with bad policies simply because of pre-existing conditions. That is not a free market in action.