If you saw A Daily Show tonight, you might have noticed Doris Kearns Goodwin mentioning Nixon’s Fruedian slip in his final State of the Union address. (He said “discredited president” instead of “discredited present”.)
Anyway, I had to hear it to believe it, so I did. I found this MP3. Download and skip to 26:05.
Poor Sean Young. I’m going to try to combine elements of two nerdy jokes— her being a replicant in Blade Runner and robots in Futurama needing “wholesome, delicious alcohol” into an über-nerdy joke…
Well, it sort of writes itself, doesn’t it?
A stretch? Yeah, maybe.
David Brooks discusses the Obama-Kennedy connection in today’s NYT.
But the event was striking for another reason, having to do with the confluence of themes and generations. The Kennedys and Obama hit the same contrasts again and again in their speeches: the high road versus the low road; inspiration versus calculation; future versus the past; and most of all, service versus selfishness…
Then, in the speech’s most striking passage, he set Bill Clinton afloat on the receding tide of memory. “There was another time,†Kennedy said, “when another young candidate was running for president and challenging America to cross a New Frontier.†But, he continued, another former Democratic president, Harry Truman, said he should have patience. He said he lacked experience. John Kennedy replied: “The world is changing. The old ways will not do!â€
The audience at American University roared. It was mostly young people, and to them, the Clintons are as old as the Trumans were in 1960. And in the students’ rapture for Kennedy’s message, you began to see the folding over of generations, the service generation of John and Robert Kennedy united with the service generation of the One Campaign. The grandparents and children united against the parents.
The question is whether talk like this is winning over the Democratic base. I personally don’t see how it couldn’t.
Dubya— a Machiavellian evangelical?
Honestly, I’m not sure how to feel about this. It means he’s not a real evangelical, which is a point in his favor I guess, but is that offset by the fact that he’s even more of a lying weasel than most people realize?
Just watched Gabriel Byrne’s new series on HBO, In Treatment.
Pretty intense. Reminds me of Tell Me You Love Me, but with screwed-up people, not necessarily screwed-up couples (I think that’s coming on Thursday). Still, not bad, and Byrne’s more likable (so far), and a better actor, than any of the other TMYLM people.
I’ll at least watch the whole week to see all his patients.
Now don’t get me wrong— I hate Bill Kristol as much as the next guy (#26), but he actually has something interesting to say about the race between Billary and Obama.
Makes me want to watch the debate on Thursday, at any rate, instead of waiting for the A Daily Show recap.
While the Republicans desperately vie for the “Reagan-esque” mantel, Dems are looking for someone like John and Bobby Kennedy. (I think that’s a good sign for the party in and of itself.)
And it looks like at least three of the people who knew them best — Caroline, Ted, and probably Ethel — are saying that Obama’s their man.
If you’ve read Kitchen Confidential, you know how Anthony Bourdain feels about garlic presses:
Misuse of garlic is a crime. Old garlic, burnt garlic, garlic cut too long ago, and garlic that has been tragically smashed through one of those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting. Please, treat your garlic with respect. Sliver it for pasta, like you saw in Goodfellas; don’t burn it. Smash it with the flat of your knife blade if you like, but don’t put it through a press. I don’t know what that junk is that squeezes out the end of those things, but it ain’t garlic.
I’ve always been a press person, but since reading that admonishment, I’ve been looking for another solution. So today I went to Williams-Sonoma looking for something like this, but instead came away with this thing— a truffle shaver. It’s adjustable and looked more heavy-duty.
I came home, picked a clove, and went to town. Paper thin slices, I tell you. Paper. Thin. The smell was so much better than with the press. I can’t wait until I actually need to cook with it.
Random thoughts: The New Yankee Workshop drinking game.
