OK, so Guckert got his press pass (original) as a representative of GOPUSA. Apparently GOPUSA is not linked to the Republican Party and thus their reporters can get credentials. Fair enough; I’m inclined to think that we want fairly lax standards for who can get into the press room and ask questions. More people asking questions is good. However, if The Raw Story and BuzzFlash (original) and, hey, even Daily Kos aren’t currently applying for daily press passes under the excitingly loose guidelines for accreditation — well, I don’t know what they’re waiting for.

Speaking of Wong Kar Wai, turns out the Brattle is running a Wong Kar Wai retrospective in April (original). They’re showing everything but 2046. Note that Ashes of Time, the only Wong Kar Wai movie unavailable on DVD in the US (OK, yes, but Sony seems to have the rights to 2046 (original) and it’ll be out by the end of this year, I bet) is playing on Sunday, April 10th.

I’m currently in La Guardia Airport. In the ideal world, I’m in Boston, but that world was shattered sometime this afternoon. No biggie. Most of the annoyance I might otherwise feel is dispelled by the fact that the Fort Lauderdale airport has free wireless Internet. Cool beans for Fort Lauderdale, which has suddenly become my preferred transfer point for any air travel involving Florida but not involving Orlando. (Once in the past seventeen years, counting this trip, but still.) ...

After much internal debate, I’ve finished my top twenty movie list. In order of preference, even. The up-to-date list is here (cool site, by the by) but if you’re too lazy to click through: Magnolia Days of Being Wild Brazil Casablanca City of God Bullet in the Head Miller’s Crossing Crash Breakfast at Tiffany’s Ronin Blue Velvet Goodfellas The General Dead Man Full Metal Jacket The Incredibles Taxi Driver Peking Opera Blues Glengarry Glen Ross The Grifters Yeah, I like genre movies. Possibly I like guy movies too; be your own judge. Yes, Miller’s Crossing is the best Coen Brothers movie. I don’t know if Days of Being Wild is the best Wong Kar Wai movie, but it’s the best one I’ve seen — I understand that In the Mood for Love may supercede it when I finally see that, though. Crash is the best Cronenberg movie because it’s the best cast he’s ever had, although Videodrome is a very close #2. ...

Hey! If you’re in Boston, I’m providing you with plenty of warning and I will brook no objections that do not involve the need to babysit. The Saturday after next, February 26th, Days of Being Wild is playing at the MFA. It’s at 4 PM. I cannot even begin to explain how great this movie is, although I took a crack at it once. When I listed the top twenty movies of all time? Most of them were hard to choose and maybe Last Life in the Universe could creep on there and so on. But the top three, those were easy, and Days of Being Wild was among them. ...

For the record, this is the front door of my villa: This is the view from the deck: And this is the beach. Follow the links for bigger pictures. Having a great time; wish you were here!

I say “Well, I think I’m going to see Constantine after all.” And you say, “What? That’s stupid. Keanu, and Los Angeles instead of London, and dude.” And I say, “Well.” Then the New York Times says, “How difficult is it to play a mythic figure like Gabriel as opposed to, say, a soccer mom?” And Tilda Swinton says “They’re exactly the same, because no one you play is ‘real.’ Every character is a construct, even if you’re playing a suburban mother. You’re looking for a construct in the way you look and talk, and you have either the mythic information about Gabriel, or what we know about suburban mothers, and then you just try to make it real. It’s exactly the same. So, you start with what we know about Gabriel as God’s messenger.” ...

I held a Playstation Portable in my hands today. Nothing about the experience made me any less impatient for the day when I will own my own. It is somewhat larger than the Nintendo DS, but the space is put to good use with the incredibly gorgeous and vivid screen, rather than being wasted with a (so far) useless touchscreen. The controls feel good. I did not experience the problem with the square button that many have reported. The analog stick is amazing. It’s a marvelous piece of technology. ...

I finished up the FireflyDVDs yesterday. Overall I liked the show quite a bit. Nice snappy Whedon dialogue, potentially interesting universe, characters with secrets and conflicts, and a decent enough plot. I say potentially interesting, because despite Whedon’s claims that “Sometimes the Alliance is America in Nazi Germany,” he didn’t show any good in the Alliance during the first season. Mal may be an antihero (original), but in the short space of 11 episodes he’s never wrong. I’m willing to take Whedon at his word, and assume that the shades of grey would have shown up later. They just didn’t show up yet, and so the interesting elements of the Firefly universe remain potential. ...

You’ve probably seen it, but if you haven’t, check out Google Maps. I would not want to be working at MapQuest right now.