The Fountain (2006)*
A major disappointment. I had hoped at least for some extraordinary visual scenes and there are a few but the majority of the film consists of extreme, and I do mean EXTREME, close-ups of Hugh Jackman or Rachel Weisz. You know when that happens the picture is in trouble. In addition, the film just seems badly lit. Darren Aronofsky said he made the film on a shoestring budget and it shows. Not an enjoyable film experience.

Flushed Away (2006)****
Laugh out loud funny as well as one of the most imaginative and inventive films (not just animated films) of the year. I don't know if it is easier or cheaper (probably the former) to reproduce the claymation techniques used in the Wallace & Gromit films using CGI, but it is certainly an effective and brilliant idea and here it is executed flawlessly. And the voice work is first class, particularly Ian McKellan who is marvelous as the pompous, royal-loving Toad. I read somewhere that production costs approached $150M. That just floors me for an animated picture. I would like to get a breakdown on those costs some day. What in the world do they spend it on?

Press Conference by the President (11/08/2006):
"Q Thank you, Mr. President. Last week you told us that Secretary Rumsfeld will be staying on. Why is the timing right now for this, and how much does it have to do with the election results?

THE PRESIDENT: Right. No, you and Hunt and Keil came in the Oval Office, and Hunt asked me the question one week before the campaign, and basically it was, are you going to do something about Rumsfeld and the Vice President? And my answer was, they're going to stay on. And the reason why is I didn't want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days of a campaign. And so the only way to answer that question and to get you on to another question was to give you that answer."

Interesting. He didn't want to "inject a major decision about this war" during an election campaign. Then he goes on to say well it was because he hadn't yet met with Gates about becoming the nominee, then he says well Gates was going to be the nominee regardless of the election results so it didn't matter. Well if it didn't matter, why not just do it before the election? In other words, why did you lie to us again, Mr. President? What else are you lying about? Why do you find it so difficult to level with the American people, your employers? Bill Clinton was, and rightly so, hounded mercilessly by the press for his lying. Yet Bush gets a free pass. Interesting.

Bush Says Rumsfeld Is Stepping Down
I just hope he doesn't try and leave the country. It would be a shame to have to have him extradited back here for his trial.

Democrats Take Control of House; Decisive Races in Senate Are Tight - New York Times
It's still a bit early but it looks like the Democrats have come very close to control of the Senate with an incredibly tight race in Virginia likely to be contested. And the question that Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid and the rest of the Democrats need to answer is the same one faced by Bill McKay after he won: what do we do now?

And my answer to them all is you need to do what you should have been doing for the past 5 years and STAND UP! Somewhere, somehow you all need to find your principles and start saying "NO". If they can't do that, and immediately, then it was all for naught.

Lindsey Buckingham - Under The Skin****Here's another disc that is rather difficult to listen to in one sitting. Yet each song is an impressive blend of hooks, aural gymnastics, incredible guitar work and intense lyrics that the entire album must be considered a unique work of art.