beingmichael's Blog

Hey,

I heard through the grapevine that FOX26 is airing a special tonight on Hurricane Season.  The critics are raving!

Are you hurricane ready this year?  If the big one comes will you evacuate?  Or did the Rita experience scare you too much?

Rufus Wainwright released his 5th album, Release the Stars, today.  And yet, if you are like so many of my friends you have no idea who he is.  Still, there’s a good chance you’ve heard his music.  Wainwright has had songs on at least 11 movie soundtracks including Meet the Robinsons, The Aviator, and Brokeback Mountain.

Rufus is the son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle.  His sister, Martha, is also a singer.  His own music is an interesting if not edgy mix of folk, pop and opera. 

So tell me.  Do you know Rufus Wainwright?

Below Left: album cover of Release the Stars.  Below Right: Rufus with incoming British PM Gordon Brown on “Sunday AM.”

This is all about my fascination with how human beings control language. Specifically, I’m amazed by the deftness of certain politicians and cable news people.  It’s as if they huddled in a room with note pads and dictionaries conspiring to change, cloud and vilify the meaning of certain words.

 One certain word is “liberal.”  Have you noticed how the word has become synonymous with “Un-American?”  Really it goes a step further than that.  Many equate it with “evil.”  One radio talk-jock recently assigned “liberal” to the Virginia Tech Shooting.  That one struck me as terribly odd but also terrifying.  Language is so powerful.

I seek out the most vicious anti-liberal shows on cable every night to find out just how bad I am.  Did my open, unabashed conversation about abortion today somehow hurt our country?  Did my quiet wish that our troops would return home kill one of them?  When I consider the many solutions related to immigration do I endanger the future of American life?  Was my date this weekend a threat to Family Values?

I digress.

There are words for both sided: RadCons (radical conservatives) and NeoCons.  And there are ill-meaning media outlets and politicians trying hard to make those dirty words too.

I know some of you, dear bloggers, can spot a liberal a mile away and I am one.  I offer full disclosure.  And I want to be FAB (Fair and Balanced) about this.  This isn’t about me. This is about how we behave with our words.  It’s about how we behave with each other as Americans?

 So here are the questions:  Are we hurting ourselves by attacking each other?  As Americans what are more powerful: our differences or our similarities?  Are liberals really evil?  Are conservatives?  How do you define your own life and how do you communicate that?

So get ready for another big Michael Moore controversy.

It turns out Moore and his film crew went to Cuba in March to film part of his new movie "Sicko."  He took some people who've had health problems they say are related to their work at ground zero after September 11, 2001.  (Interestingly, Tom Cruise just got a bit of publicity for teaching Scientology to ailing ground zero workers.)

Anyway, Moore didn't file the appropriate paperwork with the U.S. government (The Office of Foreign Access Control) allowing him to travel to Cuba.  They found out and they've launched a civil investigation.  The first step was sending Moore a letter asking him to justify is trip to Cuba.  They want to know why he went, how much he spent and who went with him among other things.

This is a civil investigation.  There's no threat Moore will go to jail so far as I can tell.  There could be a fine.  The AP reports the New York Yankees paid a $75,000 fine for doing business in Cuba in violation of our embargo.  ($75K could easily be considered a reasonable expense for a Michael Moore Production).

Okay so here's the punch line.  And keep in mind; I tend to lean only moderately right of Mr. Moore on most issues.  Michael Moore is playing up this whole thing as an attack against him from the Bush Administration. It's splashed all over their web site along with the announcement that "Sicko" is opening at the Cannes Film Festival later this month (U.S. release next month).  And there's every reason to believe that someone in the Moore camp leaked the news of the investigation early in today's news cycle.

I won't be so obvious as to ask my fellow bloggers if you think this is a publicity stunt.  It clearly is.  But I'm curious as to how critical you are of controversial news stories.  How closely do we consider the sources of these stories?  Do you tend to believe liberal or conservative news based on your own personal bias?  Or do you dig a little looking for some hint of objectivity?  And while we're at it  ... do you like Michael Moore Movies?

This is going to antagonize some of the big-dog bloggers I’m sure.

I saw Year of the Dog this past weekend at the Angelika.  If you don’t know about it yet, it’s a tightly written, funny, sad, weird Molly Shannon movie about love, human relationships and, yes, DOGS.

The only bad part about it (and I’m not sure it’s really bad) is the heavy handed animal rights agenda in which the movie is framed.  It’s no secret PETA is one of the sponsors of this film.  And the surprise ending is enough to make you wonder if you just sat through some hard core propaganda.

That said, the movie pokes some serious fun at so-called animal rights extremists.  And as I’ve thought back on it I suspect it was less a recruitment film for animal rights and more a celebration of folks on the fringe who love animals as much as (or more than) they love people.  If that comes as a surprise too, I can assure you there are many people in the dog world who will openly tell you they get along with dogs better than they get along with people.

I’m not one of them.  But some days it’s a toss up.  What about you?  People person?  Dog person?  Saw the movie and loved it?  Or did you hate it? 

 (Below: my dog at 14 weeks and at 9 years)

So, video killed the radio star.  (I'm dating myself).  But what's happening to Television?

Just yesterday I read an article in TV guide about my favorite non-Fox show, LOST.  It barely holds it's #1 ranking in the ratings on Wednesday Nights.  But the article also notes that it is the #1 downloaded show on iTunes.  I happen to be one of those downloaders.

More and more often people are watching "television" on their computers.  This website is a great example.  TV entertainment, news and general information is going digital.  I can't tell you how many times I've missed a video clip and found it on here or YouTube or a similar site.

Where are you getting your TV content?  Are you still watching broadcast television?  Are you heading online for content?  Both?

There’s been lots of news lately about home sales.  Overall existing home sales are down.  But here in Houston home prices are on the rise.  And, interest rates are still low.

I recently bought a house.  It took me almost a year and I looked at nearly 50 houses and HUNDREDS of house profiles online.  It can be mind boggling.

A hired professional home inspector to look at my new house before we closed on the deal.  I can tell you, it was the best money I’ve ever spent.  Who else would have noticed there was no clamp on the drain pipe from the disposal?  Or who would have ever known there was too much insulation too close to the chimney in the attic?  Home inspectors are super thorough and can save you from a potential “money pit.”

Did you recently get a new home?  What goofy things turned up on the inspection?  Or, what surprises did you find once you moved in?  Do you haves any funny stories from your search for a house or purchase of one?  Share!

I received an email from my 21 year old nephew today (excerpt below).  His dad (my brother) died two years ago.  I lost my mom (his grandmother) 3 years ago.  In that time I've returned to Texas and his twin sister moved here as well to be closer to the core family. 

My Nephew's note reminds me of what family values really are whether your family is immediate, extended or chosen.  It's so much less about whom you love and so much more about how you love.

He writes: "What a great gift to have smart, caring, and honest people making up a family structure that is always changing, shifting, and progressing. I know this is a powerful time for all of us, for everyday is and will be. I'm thankful that when my day
is going hard my family is there, to lean on, with love that runs through the same blood!"

My nephew is a religious studies student in New Zealand.  He wrote this email after a personal journey on foot through the NZ rain forest.

Spend sometime with your family, whoever they are.  Then share a line or two on this blog.  What do family values mean to you?

I won’t lie.  I’m a dog person through and through.  That’s why 8 months ago I got a cat for my dog.  They love each other.  I love … the dog.

Don’t get me wrong.  The cat has a home for life.  No doubt about that.  But there are things about him I just “don’t get.”  He stalks an invisible creature behind the toilet with obsessive intensity.  He runs the gauntlet of vertical blinds in my apartment like it’s an Olympic sport.  Then, when I least expect it he scales my back, apparently to get a better view of what I’m typing on the computer (he’s eying me even now).

And he seems to know the limit of my rage.  After he’s emptied the garbage to recover the used q-tips for his personal collection;  After he’s sharpened his claws on my sock-clad foot; After I’ve chased him from my plate of food and seriously contemplated hurling him from my 5th floor window … he looks at me … purrs a bit … and licks my nose.

I melt and glance at my dog.  I’m certain she’s laughing at me.

 Please share your cat stories.  Better still … include your pictures.