According to this editorial by Howard Fineman, we're invading Iraq on March 3. Set your countdown clocks accordingly. I also liked this column on ESPN.com last week, where Dan Shanoff argued that the US wouldn't invade Iraq prior to the Super Bowl, in case said invasion led to a cancellation of the game. I like the idea that Super Bowl Sunday has become an unofficial national holiday, and that it's just as important to the economy and national well-being as Thanksgiving or Christmas. All that's left is for the greeting card industry to sell Super Bowl cards, and the circle would be complete. The only problem with that idea is that most guys don't want to send "Happy Super Bowl Sunday!" cards to their buddies. Guys don't send cards to other guys, except for their fathers.

Jimmy Kimmel Live has turned out to be rather funny in its first few outings. Kimmel seems to be a different guy on ABC than he was on FOX or on the Man Show: he seems more confident and in control, while maintaining the same self-deprecating sense of humor that works for most late-night talk show hosts. Maybe it's his wardrobe; I'm used to seeing him in football jerseys or untucked shirts, looking more like a schlub than a star, and on JKL he's wearing a jacket. That makes me feel stupid. He's not really a different guy, but he just looks like it because he's cleaned up for the network. I like the fact that the show is live. The idea that anything can happen, that the whole production could come unhinged at any moment, gives it a freshness that the other talk shows lack. I'm getting tired of Jay Leno, I haven't watched Letterman much since he went to CBS, and I've never gotten into Craig Kilborn. I love Conan O'Brien, and overall I think he's funnier than Kimmel, but it's refreshing to have something else to channel-surf through late at night.

I left yesterday around 2 PM, for those who are interested in that sort of minutiae about my life.

Super Bowl XXXVII was entertaining for most of the game. I got bored when the Buccaneers took a 34-3 lead but got back into the game as the Raiders did. 5 INTs for Rich Gannon is a record I'm sure he doesn't want. I'm happy for Tampa Bay: they've finally shed the loser tag they had for so many years. Unfortunately this means we'll get to hear more from Keyshawn Johnson about how great he is. Why do the jackass players tend to win championships, while the nice guys like Tim Brown of the Raiders can't get a ring?

The commercials weren't as memorable as the ones in past years, but I did like the zebra referee, the guy wearing his dog as a rasta wig, and Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. The last one was by far the best ad during the game, and those who enjoyed it as I did can go to the web site to see more of the same. The four minute film expands on the ad, with much hilarity. I want Terry Tate working in my office.

Now I'm watching Alias and waiting for Jimmy Kimmel Live to premiere later. I have no idea what's going on with Alias, since I've never watched the show before. What is the Alliance? SD-6? And why did I let my wife program the VCR during the opening two minutes, when Jennifer Garner was in her underwear? Previously I hadn't thought of her as being attractive (her face is too angular) but she seems more rounded lately. The airplane sequence strongly reminded me of a similar bit in the video game No One Lives Forever. At least this particular show has Rutger Hauer, who's never gotten the best Hollywood roles but always gives a good performance. I might have to break out my DVD of Blade Runner after this, for some more Rutger Hauer action.

At the moment I'm sitting in my firm's midtown office, waiting for a phone call from my boss telling me it's OK to go home. Earlier this morning, my office, like the rest of the world, was hit with the latest Internet worm, disrupting most of our systems. At least it's not that early, I got a good night's sleep, I have Internet access here, and no one's dead because of this. (Maybe I should have put that bit first.) And in an amazing bit of luck, I had absolutely nothing planned for today. My Saturday was a tabula rasa, if you will. Liz is volunteering at the cat shelter this afternoon, so I have the rest of my day open, assuming I'm not here much longer. The weather's even warming up a little, to the point where it's not unbelievably uncomfortable to be outside.

More movie reviews:

This week, we watched Mulholland Drive on DVD. For most of the movie, we talked only about how neither of us had any clue what the hell was going on. The more we watched, the more confused we became. I spoiled the movie, but enhanced my comprehension, by looking at the cast list on imdb.com while the DVD spun. So when the story switched approximately two hours in, at least I was able to follow who the characters were supposed to be at that point. After the movie ended, we read more reviews online which helped to explain just what David Lynch was going for. The more we thought about it, the more we both loved the movie. I wish I'd hung onto it for a few more days, because I'd love to watch it again and see if I could catch more of the clues to the mysteries in the story. And for those with more prurient interests, Naomi Watts and Laura Harring are both easy on the eyes (as David Letterman used to say), and the lesbian subplot plays out in extremely steamy fashion. If you don't know it's coming, it's a little unexpected, but it fits into the story the more you think about it.

We also watched Orange County, which we rented as much for Jack Black as for anything else in the movie. It's got made-for-future-MTV-showings written all over it (it's short, it's easy to follow the plot, and it's not what I think of as "cinematic") but I think that helps more than it hinders. Surprisingly for a teen movie, there isn't much potty humor and no nudity, unless you count Jack Black in "skeevy" underpants in either category. He's easily the best thing in the movie, but Liz and I agree that he really can do no wrong. We've loved him in every movie we've seen with him in the cast, and still get laughs from the Tenacious D debut album (I can't believe I missed their HBO series -- must check iMesh when I get home). The rest of the cast is also fantastic: Colin Hanks is great, Schuyler Fisk (his girlfriend in the movie), Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, Lily Tomlin... it's a great cast.

Next up on my movie schedule is the extended version of Das Boot. After reading John Keegan's The Price of Admiralty, which included a lengthy description of life aboard a German U-boat, I thought it was time to watch the greatest film ever made about the subject. I just read the comment on the movie's imdb page, and I'm excited. I've enjoyed Wolfgang Petersen's other movies, and my friend Jon highly recommended the long version of Das Boot when it was in theaters a few years ago. Maybe that's how I'll spend my Saturday afternoon, if I ever get to leave.

I've been meaning to post several observations this week, but it was a busy one. I was in a training class for Sniffer Wireless LAN troubleshooting for two days, and even though I had Internet access, I had to pay attention to the class material, so posting from class wasn't really an option. And at home, I've been playing through Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, so instead of posting in my free time, I'm playing a game.

Anyway, in no particular order, are some of the thoughts I've had this past week.

On Pete Townshend's arrest on suspicion of child pornography possession: I hope his name is cleared eventually, but I'm not too confident. After all, how much research do you need to do on child pornography online? I think the stuff is like nuclear waste: sometimes you have to work with it but you never want it near you or to handle it personally. The farther away the stuff is from you, the better off you are.

Yarrhh, matey! Avast, ye scurvy dogs! Ye'll walk the plank next Sunday! The Super Bowl will be an all-pirate affair, as the Buccaneers and Raiders advanced to the championship game. Or, if you prefer, it's Jon Gruden vs. his old team, one year later. I like the pirate angle, but I bet the networks will play up the Gruden story instead. Too bad. I'll be rooting for the Bucs, as they have the longer history of mediocrity, and I just can't root for the "hated Oakland Raidaz," as Myron Cope would put it.

Liz and I saw About Schmidt yesterday afternoon. Jack Nicholson just won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance in this movie, and I can't disagree with that choice. He was outstanding, as usual, and I thought the screenplay was also exceptional (it won a Golden Globe as well). I think that the Oscar for Best Actor will be a two-man race between Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis, who was amazing to watch in Gangs of New York (which I saw on Friday night). Speaking of Gangs, the opening was my favorite part of the movie. It combined elements of Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan (and others I can't think of right now) into a great tense battle scene that set the tone for the rest of the film. I thought the music for the opening, just drums and tin whistles, was especially effective. I want that music playing the next time I'm going into a difficult meeting or facing a tough problem. Kick that door open and go face Daniel Day-Lewis' gang for supremacy. Damn, it was cool. I still think Chicago will win Best Picture at the Oscars, but both of the movies I saw this weekend would be worthy choices as well.

I watched the Steelers lose their playoff game against the Titans earlier this evening. Strangely, I'm not that upset about it. Maybe it's because I didn't expect the Steelers to get this far in the playoffs, or maybe it's that I'm getting used to the idea that it's just a game and not worth moping over for hours or days. Either way, it's over for Pittsburgh for this year. They need to improve their secondary for 2003 and maybe look for a rookie quarterback for Tommy Maddox to tutor. I'll say this for Maddox: he's the first Steelers quarterback since Terry Bradshaw that doesn't make me nervous every time he drops back to pass. It's been that long since I've felt this comfortable watching a Steeler throw the ball.

Before the game, Liz and I saw Chicago. We agreed that it was one of the best movie musicals we'd ever seen. It keeps the stage feeling of the musical while successfully translating the story to the big screen. The illusion that I was watching a stage musical was so effective that at the end I had to remind myself that there were no curtain calls so that I could applaud the stars' performances. Every time I hear the music from this show, I enjoy it more, so I'm definitely adding this film to my growing DVD collection when the time comes.

Over at theonering.net I found this link to an editorial by the online editor of the Weekly Standard where he argues why The Two Towers will lose Best Picture to Chicago. I don't care. TTT is a great movie, but I don't think it deserves a Best Picture Oscar and that it will be lucky to get a nomination. Chicago, on the other hand, is a great movie that should get the Golden Globe for Best Musical already (no need to wait until next Sunday), should get a Best Picture nomination, and I wouldn't be upset at all if it won. Fellowship was Peter Jackson's best chance for the BP Oscar, and I think his movie was better than A Beautiful Mind last year. The Academy will probably look at TTT and argue that it's more of the same, so if FOTR didn't get an Oscar, why should TTT? I doubt Return of the King will win the award next year either. Sequels never do as well as the original at the Oscars, unless it's The Godfather II. It's OK that the Academy doesn't recognize the LOTR films with awards. Twenty years from now, people will remember LOTR much better than they'll remember last year's Best Picture winner, the John Nash biopic A Beautiful Mind. I've already forgotten most of it.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I watched Fox's new reality show Joe Millionaire on Monday night. While some people choose to see this show as further evidence of the downfall of old-fashioned romance in the 21st century, or as the latest and sleaziest in a line of exploitative TV programs, I choose to look at it as entertainment. I don't have anything else to watch on Monday nights, and I'm usually busy getting ready for the next day anyway, so it's not as if I have something better to do. And it is an entertaining hour, at least as much fun as MTV's Real World or even The Osbournes, now that they've become more conscious of their media image. To those who argue that the women or the man are being exploited, too bad. They agreed to be exploited the minute they signed to be on the show. At least they're not on Fear Factor eating animal parts. I'm curious how the producers will sustain the tension of the show for another six episodes: since we've already seen the way people play reality show games, there's nothing new they can show us about women cat-fighting over a man that we haven't seen already. The real treat at the end is not who wins, but how the winner reacts to the news that the guy doesn't have the money, and I hope they can keep the show interesting enough to make me watch every week, not just the finale.

I don't have any plans to watch ABC's Bachelorette show. Trista Rehn is attractive enough, but, as Tony Kornheiser said on PTI, 25 guys and one girl sounds like a bad party. Maybe I'll check out the last few shows, when the numbers thin out.

I was going to write something on Saturday about watching the Miami-Ohio State game, and how fantastic the game was, but then I watched two amazing comeback games on Sunday. First I had to live and die and live again with the Steelers, then I saw the 49ers stage an even more astounding resurrection against the NY football Giants. I can't handle this kind of excitement anymore; it's taking years off my life. Next weekend, if the Steelers are going to lose, please let them lose early, so my poor heart can be spared. The same goes if they win.

There's an article over at IGN.com that combines observational and nit-picky e-mails from viewers of The Two Towers. I must see the movie at least one more time to try and pick out some of the funny things others have noticed. I agree with some of the detractions, but most of them are things that I think are purely stylistic decisions that keep the movie at a viewable three hours. I think that those who found TTT wanting in some areas will be satisfied with an extended DVD edition next fall. Certainly the FOTR extended DVD restored many things that fans thought were missing from the theatrical release. I definitely don't agree with the people who suggest that these films should be labeled "Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings" or that the movies are garbage and that "at least we still have the books." If you're that much of a purist that you can't overlook theatrical considerations in moviemaking, then you're never going to be happy with the adaptation and you should probably just stay home. PJ is doing an excellent, admirable job in bringing these books to the big screen and I would rather applaud his efforts than pick them apart for inconsistencies and errors.

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but I've been looking for some direction in my life lately, so a new year seemed like the time to start finding it. To that end, I've made one significant resolution for 2003: get my Novell certification. I've been working with NetWare, GroupWise, ZENWorks, and other products for almost eight years and while I've learned much over that time, I'm always conscious of how much I don't know about Novell products. Also, I've always had this geeky idea that having a CNE (Certified NetWare Engineer) certification is like being a Jedi Knight. And it should be clear to anyone who knows me well that I've always wanted to be a Jedi. For years I've felt like a Force adept who pretends to be a Jedi without knowing everything there is to know about the Force and the ways of the Jedi. This year I aim to get that certification and feel completely confident when using the Force (managing the Novell directory) or building a lightsaber (installing a server). (I told you it was a geeky idea.)

New Year's Eve at Cafe Wha? was more fun than I expected it to be. The band played rock, funk, pop, and R&B for hours, and they were excellent, even the guy with the weird Kato Kaelin hair. No man in 2003 should wear their long and teased like that. The crowd was a mix of young and old (mostly young, especially the two kids under 12 at the table next to ours) so there was a lot of illicit activity on dance floor. Nothing too family-unfriendly, since most of the people seemed to be coupled. I'd definitely go back next year, though Liz insists we're going to Beale Street in Memphis next New Year's Eve, something we've been talking for a long time. From what she describes, it's the big crowd of Times Square but with open containers allowed and sobriety discouraged. I'm all for that.

It's 3 PM on New Year's Eve. I've been enjoying the top 40 classical countdown on wqxr.com all morning, including Mahler's Fifth Symphony, among the other highlights. It's quite a hit parade over there. It continues until midnight tonight, then resumes again tomorrow at 9 AM. I'll probably skip tomorrow's performances in favor of televised gridiron contests, however.

Liz and I spent a relaxing week in Mississippi, visiting her family and friends. We found out that her parents have substitute grandchildren: they know another couple that has two young girls, whom they babysit and lavish attention on, so it looks like we're off the hook for a while, which is fine with us. I also got to meet and spend time with Liz's high school and summer theater camp friends, all of whom I'd known only via e-mail until last week. And I got to see The Two Towers and Star Trek: Nemesis again. Nemesis wasn't any better on the second viewing, but it wasn't any worse. I enjoyed TTT even more the second time. I approached it as a war movie, along the lines of the great black & white WWII epics of the 1940s and 1950s, and that made it even more impressive than before. I agree with some of the critics who say that Peter Jackson has sacrificed the hobbits' stories for the sake of the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli plotline, but who can blame him? A three-hour characters study of the hobbits would be mildly interesting but audiences want to see the depiction of the Helm's Deep battle, and on that score, Jackson does not disappoint. Even knowing what happens to the Elves durign the battle doesn't detract from the thrill of seeing them when they arrive at the fortress in their armor and marching in formation. The battles of the Pelennor Fields and the Black Gate in ROTK should be unbelieveable, if Helm's Deep is any indication.

In case this is my last entry for 2002, have a happy New Year. See you on the other side in 2003.

Yesterday was my birthday. I’m 29, so I’ve only got one more year in which I can identify myself as in my twenties. After this, I’m well on my way to being a dull old fogey. Let the thrill-ride begin.

I’m well past the age at which birthdays are a day-long celebration of myself. So instead of Liz and I having dinner alone together, we had a free meal courtesy of her office Christmas party. I was certain her coworkers would serenade me with “Happy Birthday,” but thankfully, they held back. One of them noticed the horrified look on my face when the party next to us sang it for someone in their group and I thought it was for me. I don’t mind so much when my family does it for me, but I’ve always despised a large group of friends (or in this case, relative strangers) sing “Happy Birthday” to me. What am I supposed to do while they sing? Who or what do I look at? Is it acceptable for me to stare at my plate and wait for it to be over? It’s a little better if there’s a cake with lit candles in front of me; at least then I can watch the flames and think of a wish.

Earlier in the day, at lunch with my colleagues, I started feeling introspective and brought up childhood, comparing my years of teasing and torment at the hands of other students with the experiences one of my work friends had. Then, to make matters worse, for some reason I brought up the girl I dated briefly in high school. I was trying to make some point about how it would have been impossible for me to be attractive to anyone for dating purposes until I learned how to react maturely to the taunts and jabs from the other students. And I was trying to show how I thought this girl was out of my league, until she somehow became interested in me at the same time I was interested in her. (Believe me, those who knew me in high school will attest that I was no one’s prize catch, so for anyone to want to date me, let alone this girl, was quite an achievement for me.) Instead, by sharing this pointless story with my coworkers, I ended up looking foolish. Who talks about their love life at work, especially stories from high school? I was definitely feeling reflective, but I didn’t have to share that much.

The biggest problem with my birthday this time around is my current obsession with age, aging, and the passage of time. I’m having trouble articulating just why I’m always thinking about how old people are, or when events happened, or how different events affect someone at a particular age. But I’m particularly bothered by my own aging process. Frequently, I wish I could pause time, savoring not just a moment, but days and weeks of experiences. I’m really enjoying this particular time in my life: great job, wonderful wife, enough disposable income to enjoy Manhattan’s restaurants and bars, the freedom to work late, stay out late, or stay up late playing computer games if I want. I know that all of this is going to change in the next few years, with kids, a mortgage, and life in the suburbs ahead. I know that I’m not always going to be as physically fit as I am now, that my body will eventually start breaking down no matter how much I exercise or what I eat. I don’t want these things to happen. I want to enjoy this life as long as possible. But I can’t pause time and just live forever in my late twenties. So for me to have a birthday now, and with a milestone one coming in the next year, put me into a most unusual mood yesterday.

I read somewhere recently that a person always needs to have a challenge ahead of them, a project or something to work on, lest they become complacent and stop growing intellectually. I need a new challenge in my life. Maybe that’s my resolution for 2003: to find something with which to challenge myself. Can that be a resolution, or is the challenge itself a resolution?

It's really late, and I need to get up for work tomorrow. But I wanted to write my first impressions of The Two Towers while they're fresh in my mind. Spoilers abound, so don't read on unless you don't care about that sort of thing.

It's a great movie, at least the equal of the first one, and sometimes better. They've taken a lot of liberties with the text this time around: Faramir intends to take the Ring to Gondor, and only changes his mind when he sees Frodo's temptation to use it himself. Elrond and Arwen appear and talk about how she should leave Middle-Earth and Aragorn. Merry and Pippin have to show the Ents the destruction of the trees at Isengard before they decide to attack. I'm sure there are more. But those are all OK with me, though I thought Faramir was a more upstanding character in the book than he was in the movie. Merry and Pippin don't have much to do in the book, so letting them show the Ents the way gives them some depth. And there has to be a little romantic and dramatic tension in the love story.

Helm's Deep was every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas all get the chance to show their skills in battle. The Ents attacking Isengard was good, but I missed the horns and drums that Tolkien mentions repeatedly when describing the Ents' language and battle songs. Gollum was fantastic. I hope he does get some Oscar consideration, because his performance is probably the best acting job in the movie. I hated him and loved him at the same time, which is just how the character is supposed to make you feel.

The movie has no beginning and doesn't have much of an ending. It throws you right into the story and leaves you anticipating the ending. I can't wait to see The Return of the King next year. I'd go get in line now, if it weren't so cold and late.

I'll probably make this into a bio of some kind later, but for now, I'll just post it as a regular blog entry. Yesterday, a friend sent me one of those questionnaires that asks for all sorts of innocuous information as a way for a large group of people to get to know each other, or, in this case, to know each other better. Here are my responses written yesterday afternoon.


1. What time is it? 3:33 PM
2. What color pants are you wearing right now? Gray.
3. What are you listening to right now? WQXR.com - classical music radio
4. How is the weather right now? Colder than a witch's teat.
5. Name as it appears on your birth certificate? Philip Edward Catelinet. Note the rare spelling of Philip with one L.
6. Nickname(s): Phil, Philly Beef 'n Cheese (not used for many years)
7. Parents' names: Barry and Rebecca.
8. Number of candles that appeared on your last birthday cake: 28.
9. Date that you regularly blow them out: December 20.
10. What are the last four digits of your phone number? Which phone? I'll pick one. 9313.
11. Last person you talked to on the phone? Someone from work.
12. What is the last thing you ate? Turkey sandwich, pretzels, Snapple iced tea.
13. Pets: three cats
14. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple
15. Hair color: Brown.
16. Eye Color: I liked Jess's answer, but I'll just say brown.
17. Tattoos: none.
18. Piercings: none.
19. What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Legs.
20. Do you like the person that sent you this? yes.
21. Favorite colors: Blue and purple.
22. Hometown: Johnstown, PA. Near Pittsburgh.
23. Current Residence: Manhattan.
24. Favorite food: I'll eat anything. Pizza, or a chicken parm hero.
25. Been to Africa? Not so far.
26. Been toilet papering? No, but I do have an ill-gotten STOP sign.
27. Loved somebody so much it made you cry? More than once.
28. Been in a car accident? One. I totaled the other car.
29. Croutons or Bacon Bits? Croutons.
30. Current car you drive? The NYC Subway.
31. Do you wear contacts? Yes.
32. Favorite month? December.
33. Best job you ever had? the one I'm in now. It leaves me with the free time to answer silly questionnaires.
34. Do the dishes right away or leave them in the sink? Leave them. I cook, my wife does the dishes.
35. Summer or winter? Winter. My wardrobe is better suited to cold temperatures.
36. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate.
37. Favorite Movie(s): Almost Famous, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars
38. Favorite Holiday: the ones when I get a day off. There's nothing like a three-day weekend.
39. Favorite day of the week: Friday.
40. Favorite word or phrase: I say "absolutely" a lot lately, as an affirmative response to a question. I don't know why.
41. Favorite toothpaste: Mentadent
42. Favorite Restaurant: Virgil's BBQ in Times Square
43. Favorite Flowers: what guy has a flower preference?
44. Favorite Drink: Coffee, diet Vanilla Coke.
45. Your favorite alcoholic drink? Maker's Mark bourbon. Thanks, James.
46. How do you eat an Oreo? The way it comes out of the package.
47. Favorite sports to watch: Football.
48. Preferred type of ice cream: Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie.
49. Favorite Sesame Street Character: Oscar the Grouch.
50. The last book you read? "The Two Towers" to refresh my memory. The last great book was "The Brothers Karamazov" earlier this fall.
51. Favorite fast food restaurant: McDonald's.
52. When was your last hospital visit? When I was three, someone kicked me off the slide in nursery school, I hit my head, and needed stitches.
53. What color is your bedroom carpet? hardwood floors.
54. How many times did you fail your driver's test? One. Don't hit the curb when you're parallel parking.
55. Where do you plan to go, or did go on your honeymoon? Memphis, TN, for a few days, then Ireland a year later for a real vacation.
56. Who is the last person you got e-mail from before this? My father, about his side business providing video services to hospitals.
57. Do you want your friends to write back? Go ahead.
58. Have you ever been convicted of a crime? No, not even a parking ticket.
59. Which single store would you choose to max out your credit card? Amazon.com. J&R in Manhattan, if I can't shop online.
60. What do you do most often when you are bored? Play computer games.
61. Name the friend that lives farthest away from you: My friend Carol, who lives in Chicago.
62. Most annoying thing people ask you: "How do I get to [fill in the location]?" Why do I look like someone you'd want to ask for directions?
63. Where do you currently work? Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, & Hamilton (law firm, but I'm not a lawyer)
64. Who will respond the quickest to this e-mail? no idea; I don't recognize most of the e-mail addresses on here.
65. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond? Kristen Chapman, but I removed her address so as not to annoy her further.
66. Favorite all time TV shows: "The Simpsons," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
67. Last person(s) you went out to dinner with: my wife, Liz, and two of our friends, to a Mexican restaurant.
68. What's in your CD player right now? nothing, but I've got Brahms symphonies on my desk.
69. What's the next CD you're going to get? Audioslave.

I'm counting down the hours until tonight's showing of The Two Towers at the Loews 34th St. here in Manhattan. I'm not a "puddle" of giddy anticipation, as I thought I might be by now, but I'm too excited to express myself eloquently. My biggest fear is that I won't be interested in watching my DVD of the first movie after seeing the new one tonight. I've barely scratched the surface of the extras on the four-disc set. I'll try to post my review of TTT tomorrow, or late tonight if I'm still coherent when I get home in the wee hours.

No strike yet: the two sides are still talking. My office holiday party is on, so I'll be enjoying the libations and victuals this evening.

I came across the following in a strike-related news story on 1010 WINS:

Some New Yorkers said they altered their travel plans in preparation for a strike.
Michael Recca, an investment banker from Westchester County, said he parked his car at Grand Central Terminal on Sunday so that he could drive from midtown to his Wall Street job. He was unhappy that he had to ride the Metro-North train into Manhattan Monday morning.
"This is for the public," Recca said.

Indeed, the trains are for the public. I bet he hated having to ride in with the riff-raff, or the rabble, or the commoners. I'll add him to the list of people who don't get any sympathy from me. It would probably take less time for this guy to ride Metro-North to Grand Central and then take the 6 train to Wall Street than it does to drive in from Westchester each day. If I lived in the suburbs, I'd take that in a heartbeat over driving in each day. But I guess if you can't show off your Benz or Lexus or Rolls, then you don't get the joy of showing off how much better you are than the rest of the people who live and work here. Thanks for your insight, jackass.

I got to see Star Trek: Nemesis one day early, on Thursday night at a special screening for Network Associates employees and clients (of which my employer is one). I thought it was a good movie, with great special effects and action sequences. It's a rehash of the Wrath of Khan plot, this time with Picard facing himself as an adversary. It's not as good as First Contact, but it's better than the two-hour episode Insurrection. I'm not sure this movie saves the Trek franchise, but if it's the last voyage of the Next Generation crew, it's a good ride. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it again in two weeks when we're in Mississippi. With movies like this (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc., my old favorites) I need two or three viewings to make a decent evaluation.

Right now New York City is anxiously awaiting word of a transit strike for tomorrow. As with all labor negotiations, both sides waited until the last minute to start talking seriously about the issues, forcing the rest of us to sweat it out. Neither side in this dispute gets much sympathy from me. I'm a lifelong Democrat, traditionally the party of labor, but I've never been a fan of unions. I endured three school strikes when I was growing up, the last one during my senior year, which postponed graduation until June 30 and disrupted classes all year long. After that, I lost all respect for unions. A transit strike in New York would be beyond devastating. Aside from the problems it would cause for residents, it would be a shattering blow to tourism and businesses. I can walk to work, but what about the family of four who came to New York to see the sights at Christmastime? How are they expected to get around? What about the ambulances and fire trucks? What about food deliveries to groceries and restaurants? It would be a complete mess, and it would do irreparable economic damage to a city that's already in the red. I hope that when I wake up later this morning, both sides will have found something they can agree on and keep this city moving. Plus, my office's Christmas party would go on as scheduled. (I'm allowed to have a selfish reason to oppose a strike, right?)

In a story that will surprise no one, Guns N' Roses has canceled the rest of its US tour. Ten years ago, this would have crushed me, but now I just have to laugh at it. I still love Gn'R's old albums, and I've recently gained a new appreciate of Appetite for Destruction. I even saw the band on its 1992 tour with Metallica, and it remains one of the greatest live shows I've ever seen. But I never had any interest in seeing the band that Conan O'Brien refers to as "Fatty Magoo and the Guys Who Aren't Slash." Ever since Axl Rose fired the rest of the band in 1994 (or thereabouts), I've given up hope that anything resembling the old sound would ever come out of his studio. And that was borne out by the new band's performance at the MTV VMAs in August. Seeing Axl and some nameless weirdos playing my old favorite songs confirmed that the old Gn'R is long, long gone. Although I have hope for the new album that may be forthcoming from the rest of the original group. I heard some of the album that Slash put out in 1995, and it wasn't too bad, so maybe this new effort will bring back some fond memories of my late teens.

I spent Wednesday traveling around the New York City area with my father, assisting him with his side business of providing educational video programming to hospitals. The work we were doing (installing/replacing laserdisc players with DVD players) wasn't that interesting, but we did have some fun trying to find the hospitals. We took private taxis to all our appointments, and while some of them knew where to go, one driver in particular had no idea where our Bronx hospital was. Dad and I had each been there before, so we had a vague idea where it was. But the cabbie had no clue, and even when I told him we were going in the wrong direction, he didn't turn around. Twice we drove out of our way on a congested Cross Bronx Expressway, and if I never see that road again.... I had my new iPaq handheld and a wireless Internet connection, so I kept trying to look up directions to the hospital, but every time I entered our current location, we'd pull away before I could get the directions from Mapquest. Finally, we asked a gas station attendant where to go, and while we waited, I got the right directions. With the attendant's help, and my online searching, we finally found our way. The next cab ride was less of a puzzle since the driver knew just where to go, but he was talkative and shared far too many details of his life story as he drove us from the Bronx to upper Manhattan. We heard all about his son who was born out of wedlock, his daughter who he abandoned at the age of two because of his drinking problems, his subsequent attempts to rekindle the relationship with his now-grown daughter and her family, and his uncle (wait, it's now his uncle-in-law; I'm still trying to figure out how that works) who's a doctor but can't afford to retire. I'm glad I had the chance to spend time with my father, but I could do without all the cab rides. Along those lines, we took him on the subway later that night, and it was the first time he'd been on the NYC subway in almost 40 years. He was on some of the "redbird" cars when they were new!

I spent this past weekend in Pittsburgh, at the Steelers-Texans game. Photos of the game are available at my photos page. The game was terrible, but I had a good time. I got to enjoy a Primanti Bros. sandwich, which has meat, cheese, french fries, and cole slaw, all between two slices of white bread. It's a heart attack in your hand! And I got to see Myron Cope up close, though I didn't get to meet him. But it was worth sticking around after a dismal game in cold weather to see a local broadcasting legend in person.

On Saturday night my mother and I went to the Pittsburgh Symphony concert at Heinz Hall, and it was like a trip back in time for me. I hadn't been to a concert there in 10 years, but the place hadn't changed. It's just as elegant and opulent as I remembered. The orchestra was, as always, the best I've ever heard. The brass section in Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique was crisp and clear, and the percussion rumbled and crashed with precision. And I always love watching the string sections' bows moving in unison, everyone playing the notes with the exact same touch and motion. It made me want to go home and practice.

Once again, too long between entries. We had a quiet, uneventful Thanksgiving in the city.

Thanks to Chad Pennington's performance against the Raiders on Monday night, I snuck into the playoffs in my fantasy football league. I'm still not sure how that happened. Even if I don't win another game this season, I'd consider my efforts a success, and I've learned a lot for next year.

My archive seems to have been screwed up somehow. I still have all the files in my FTP directory, so I haven't lost any data, but none of them have an .html extension, and the Blogger javascript seems to be working against me. For now, if you want to see a previous post, e-mail me and I'll send you the file.

Now for the political stuff.

I saw this story in the Washington Post this morning. I guess I haven't been following the debate about the idea of a commission to investigate the 9/11 attacks. Is this really necessary? What are we going to learn from this commission that hasn't already been published, discussed, or otherwise disseminated to the Bush administration and the general public? We know all about how the CIA and FBI sat on terrorist threats and warnings, how lapses in air security going back years allowed the terrorists to carry deadly weapons onto planes, and how previous administrations' policies towards earlier terrorist acts probably encouraged al Qaeda to try this one. The terrorist network responsible for 9/11 is still functioning, though the Bush administration continues to clamor for war against Iraq, so far not directly linked to al Qaeda. I don't suppose Henry Kissinger is going to come back to Bush and tell him 18 months from now that war with Iraq is a waste of time? Certainly not if the commission's report comes back in the summer of 2004, in the middle of Bush's re-election campaign.

On a personal note, lately I've found that assigning blame for misfortunes at work is a waste of time. Generally speaking, it's a good idea to know who made a mistake when you're trying to fix a problem, but in most cases it seems that people are more interested in finding out who did what than they are in fixing the problem and/or making sure it doesn't happen again. I'd rather work toward prevention than punishment when I have the chance. Applying that philosophy to the 9/11 commission, it doesn't seem that important to know that Agent X of the FBI didn't pass along the flight school inquiries, or that immigration officer Steve approved the visa applications of the hijackers. I hope that the commission spends more time investigating why these issues led to the attacks than it does finding out who was ultimately responsible. You can fire people or charge them with crimes, but if you don't close the loopholes or change the policies that allowed people to circumvent the rules, bad things willl happen again.