Loving The Wolf

My new blog is www.alexanderstuart.com

2010-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Much as I love this blog - I have a particular affection for its title - I shall be phasing it out in the coming weeks and I would ask you instead to read my longer-established webpage and blog, Alexander Chow-Stuart (www.alexanderstuart.com) - where I shall be blogging in future.

www.alexanderstuart.com was less of a blog in the past and more simply my professional webpage as a screenwriter and author, but I decided recently to focus on that site and make it more of a blog, so it seems kind of redundant to have two blogs, when most likely all I would do is post the same stories to each of them.

So Loving The Wolf will disappear at some point, but thank you for reading it, and I hope you enjoy the new content at www.alexanderstuart.com. I am trying to explore new elements, such as an Amazon personal playlist, that will allow me to collect together hundreds of the songs and pieces of music I love and that have inspired me for you to sample - and to download as mp3s if you wish.

Enjoy the week.

Peace - namaste - Alexander

Sunset Over The Pacific

2010-08-18T13:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, at the end of a day of writing, we took our children to the beach for dinner al fresco as the sun set. It was a reminder of just how beautiful the simplest things can be. Watching children enjoying the ocean is magical in itself...as is the sun dipping down over the hills and the beach. We cannot create anything as intensely moving and memorable as a single moment in the company of those we love, or the astonishing complexity and beauty of each instant on this planet...

Kelp Forest on Exposition Boulevard

2010-08-06T16:39:00.001-07:00

It's really worth checking out the astonishing Ecosystems Experience at the LA Science Museum (actually it's called the California Science Center) on Exposition Boulevard. There is a truly beautiful kelp tank with the shoal of fish I photographed here, as well as swell sharks, bat rays and other marine life that you would find in a kelp forest. The kelp has even started to reproduce in the tank - watch out for the tiny yellow triangles that show where baby kelp is growing. Really worth a visit. We took our young children and they loved it - as did I.

Twilight Over The Mountains

2010-07-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

The twilight over the mountains on Topanga Canyon Boulevard was beautiful last night...I love blurry photos!

Swimming With The Fishes

2010-07-27T16:16:00.001-07:00

I had a great time yesterday at UCLA talking to visiting film students from the University of Miami about my "journey as a writer" (mostly on the 101 and 405 to get to the campus).  It's always good to experience the enthusiasm and fresh perspective of those aspiring to work in the business - and it was wonderful to see my friend, Paul Lazarus, who runs the film program at UM, where I used to teach graduate screenwriting.

Paul, who is a former movie producer (Westworld and Barbarosa are among his credits) told me a tale of the high days of Hollywood in the 1980s, when - during a negotiation on a particular project - he received a call from a heavyweight (in every sense, including the Vegas-"connected" variety) show business attorney, who asked Paul, "Are you trying to screw my client? Do you want to wind up at the bottom of a lake?"

Paul - a former entertainment attorney himself (Mel Brooks was a client) - answered: "Are you threatening my life?"

To which the other attorney simply answered, "I have nothing more to say to you," and hung up.

Somehow I don't think studios like Pixar today engage in such dialogue with those they are negotiating with...but who knows?

Meanwhile, one of the visiting students, Rodrigo Diaz McVeigh, told me of a documentary he has directed called Havana Surf!, which is a mix of travelog and surf documentary following a group of young Cuban surfers around the beaches of that wonderful island.

As a visitor to Cuba twice myself, and a huge fan of its people and culture, I can't wait to see the film, which has already played at festivals around the world.  Here is a link to its website: Havana Surf!

Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky

2010-07-19T17:07:00.001-07:00

Some years ago, the British film director (and wonderful friend and collaborator) Nicolas Roeg gave me a book and told me, “Read this, it will change your life.”

I had no idea what to expect – except that with Nic, I trusted that he knew what he was talking about. I went home and read the book, Paul Bowles’ magnificent novel, The Sheltering Sky, set in Morocco and first published in 1949, and indeed it both woke me up, psychologically and emotionally, and changed the way I thought about things.

The novel is set in Morocco, where American-born composer and writer Bowles lived for most of his life, and among its other effects, The Sheltering Sky made me fall in love with the country, too. Marrakesh became one of my favorite cities in the world (I still dream of its exquisite architecture, its wonderful people and its unforgettable desert beauty) and the drive from there to the Sahara through the Atlas Mountains is still one of the most memorable and remarkable journeys I have ever made. To touch snow in the Atlas Mountains on the same day that you ride a camel up a Saharan sand dune is to know how extraordinary our world is.

Recently I mentioned to a friend, Lisa Anderson, my favorite passage from the book – which literally made me sit up and think differently about life, so startling are the words. Lisa, who also found it remarkable, was kind enough to look it up and email it to me, so here it is. Please read it, and read the whole of The Sheltering Sky.

Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1990 movie of the book captures some of its mystery, but nothing can compare with reading Paul Bowles’ masterpiece. (His short stories are also probably the best I have ever read.)

"Death is always on the way, but the fact that you don't know when it will

arrive seems to take away from the finiteness of life. It's that terrible

precision that we hate so much. But because we don't know, we get to think

of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of

times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you

remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so

deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life

without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even. How many more

times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all

seems limitless."

- Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky)

Pond Life

2010-06-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

To balance my profound sadness over the devastation of marine life, wetlands and the communities and wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico, here are some beautiful photographs of pond life from Britain's Guardian newspaper...

BP Oil Spill now 35,000-60,000 barrels per day

2010-06-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

This nightmare scenario literally haunts me. I love the ocean with a passion and my sadness just grows and grows...

Oil estimate raised to 35,000-60,000 barrels a day

By the CNN Wire Staff

June 15, 2010 5:42 p.m. EDT

Obama to Gulf Coast: 'I am with you'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

1.5 to 2.5 million gallons a day into Gulf: up to 50 percent more than previous estimate
Spokesman: Oval Office address to outline "beginning of the process to restore the Gulf"
Lawmaker blasts oil firms for producing disaster response plans that are "virtually identical"
President Obama on second day of Gulf visit with stop in Florida Panhandle

President Obama addresses the nation live Tuesday night at 8 ET with the latest on the BP oil disaster. Watch it live on CNN,CNN.com/Live and the CNN iPhone app.

(CNN) -- Government officials Tuesday increased the estimate of oil flowing into the Gulf to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels (1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons) per day, up to 50 percent more than previously estimated.

The government's previous estimate, issued last week, was 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per day. The change was "based on updated information and scientific assessments," and was reached by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and Chair of the National Incident Command's Flow Rate Technical Group Marcia McNutt, the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center said.

"The improved estimate is based on more and better data that is now available and that helps increase the scientific confidence in the accuracy of the estimate," it said.

Lawmakers hammered oil companies Tuesday as President Obama toured the Florida coast to reassure Americans that the government had firm command over the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

At Pensacola Naval Air Station, Obama declared war on the massive slick, as though it were an enemy lurking offshore.

"This is an unprecedented environmental disaster," Obama told a crowd of soldiers, Marines and sailors. "This is an assault in our nation's shore, and we're going to fight back with everything we've got."

The tough talk on soft sand preceded Obama's first-ever national address from the Oval Office, slated for Tuesday night. In the symbolically important speech, Obama will lay out a game plan for dealing with the worst oil spill in U.S. history, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told CNN.

Gibbs said Obama will outline containment and cleanup plans and address America's need to reduce dependency on foreign oil and fossil fuels.

Video: Previewing Obama's address

Video: Gulf Coast's reaction to Obama visit

Video: Heat's on Obama in Florida

Video: Can other oil firms handle spills?

RELATED TOPICS

Americans, frustrated with the incessant undersea gusher and also what some perceive as a lack of White House leadership, are sure to be listening, especially to what the president has to say regarding claims. The process has become a sore subject for those whose livelihoods have been stung by sheets of oil drifting in the Gulf and washing ashore.

Obama: 'Gathering up facts' on BP compensation

Health threats from the Gulf oil disaster could last for years, and officials lack knowledge on how long chemicals in the spilled oil and dispersants will remain toxic, a health expert told a Senate committee Tuesday.

A Food and Drug Administration official told a Senate committee Tuesday that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico available to consumers in stores and restaurants is safe. "We are confident that Gulf of Mexico seafood that is in the market today is safe to eat," said Mike Taylor, deputy commissioner of the FDA.

Also Tuesday, BP said it suspended the operation to siphon oil from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico after a fire aboard a drill ship Tuesday morning.

Siphoning resumed Tuesday afternoon, BP said.

The fire was likely caused by a lightning strike, and siphoning was suspended as a precaution, BP said. There were no reported injuries.

The spill now dwarfs the 11 million gallons that were dumped into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 when the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground, and oil in varying amounts and consistencies has hit the shores of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

BP has been siphoning oil from a containment cap placed on the ruptured well but had to suspend oil collection Tuesday after a fire aboard the drilling ship Discover Enterprise.

iReport: Track the oil disaster. Is the oil spill affecting you?

A statement from the company attributed the fire to lightning. It said operations would restart Tuesday afternoon.

Obama is scheduled to meet with top BP officials in a highly anticipated meeting Wednesday. Speedy claims processing will be high on the agenda.

David Axelrod, Obama's senior adviser, has said a new claims plan would call for an independent third party to handle the process, and a White House spokesman said the administration is confident that it has the legal authority to force BP to set up an escrow account for the purpose of paying damages.

BP to face big critic at hearing

BP announced Tuesday that it accelerated commercial large-loss claims and has approved 337 checks for $16 million to businesses that have filed claims in excess of $5,000. Initial payments began over the weekend and will be completed this week, the British energy giant said.

In Washington, senior Democrats launched a blistering attack on oil companies at a key House subcommittee hearing.

BP enlists help from Costner

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, said that four of the five largest oil firms have produced disaster response plans that discuss how to protect walruses, even though there are no walruses in the Gulf.

These are "cookie-cutter plans" that, in reality, are little more than "just paper exercises," he said.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, blasted the heads of ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, and Shell Oil for producing disaster response plans that are "virtually identical."

They all tout "ineffective identical equipment" and often use "the exact same words" in their plans, he said. They have spent "zero time and money" in developing adequate response blueprints, he asserted.

Meanwhile Tuesday, federal authorities announced guidelines to speed up maritime waivers that would allow more foreign ships -- in addition to the 15 already in the Gulf of Mexico -- to assist in oil cleanup efforts.

"Should any waivers be needed, we are prepared to process them as quickly as possible to allow vital spill response activities being undertaken by foreign-flagged vessels to continue without delay," said Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's response manager.

The Jones Act, which regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters, requires that goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flagged ships that have been constructed in the United States and are American-owned. The law was intended to support the U.S. merchant marine industry but now limits foreign vessels from participating in the oil response.

Allen also announced Tuesday the establishment of three positions for deputy incident commanders, who will help oversee operations from the coast. The three will join a response team that already involves roughly 27,000 people.

Anti-BP Art - The Huffington Post

2010-06-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Anti-BP Art: The Best Visual Jabs To Come From The Oil Spill (PICTURES)

Huffington Post | Katla McGlynn Posted: 06-13-10 09:56 AM

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The Gulf oil spill has left people angry and frustrated to say the least, but one good thing that's come out of it is angry fan art. Those who are boycotting BP or wishing Tony Hayward would fall into the sludge have used their artistic skills to create these funny images. From Spongebob's demise to an oil-slicked Little Mermaid, these images get the message across with a little humor to cushion the blow.

BP - Broken Promises

2010-06-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

It really shows the reality of BP that they spend their time and money buying web links like "Anti BP" so that they take you straight to the official BP website - screw them and their whole "We're not British Petroleum" anymore. My dad worked his life for Shell and BP and even I didn't know that they haven't been British Petroleum since 1998 or so!

And get over the whole "Anti-British" thing - I'm British originally and I feel nothing but outrage toward BP. I don't love Halliburton, either, but BP is at the forefront of this disaster. I hope BP, Halliburton and everyone else involved will be made to pay and pay.

BP's Disaster In The Gulf - and President Obama's Challenge

2010-05-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Fascinating Huffington Post article about the challenge facing President Obama with the truly catastrophic BP oil spill. The need for a Plan B (but not Plan BP!) seems obvious - but who apart from an oil company has the technical knowledge or equipment to solve the problem (aside from legal issues arising from the Exxon Valdez disaster that place responsibility firmly in the hands of the oil companies)?

We should never again allow deepwater drilling until (a) there is an adequate governmental response available in terms of expertise and equipment; and (b) there is no cap whatsoever on the liability of the oil companies should a disaster such as this occur.

My heart bleeds for the Gulf and surrounding lands - I hope that BP is still paying for this in thirty years' time, because the environmental effects will last easily that long.

Obama To Aides: 'Plug The Damn Hole'

AP/Huffington Post First Posted: 05-25-10 10:47 AM | Updated: 05-25-10 11:35 AM

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Oil spill frustration is rampant.

The White House is being pounded for not acting more aggressively in the month-old oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The administration is hitting back, mostly at BP. Louisiana is threatening to take matters into its own hands. The truth is, the government has little direct experience at either the national or state level at stopping deepwater oil leaks - and few realistic options.

With the oil flowing and spreading at a furious rate, President Barack Obama has accused BP of a "breakdown of responsibility." He named a special independent commission to review what happened.

But the administration seems to want to have it both ways - insisting it's in charge while also insisting that BP do the heavy lifting. The White House is arguing that government officials aren't just watching from the sidelines, but also acknowledging there's just so much the government can do directly.

"[T]o those tasked with keeping the president apprised of the disaster," the Washington Postreported, "Obama's clenched jaw is becoming an increasingly familiar sight. During one of those sessions in the Oval Office the first week after the spill, a president who rarely vents his frustration cut his aides short, according to one who was there. 'Plug the damn hole,' Obama told them."

"They are 5,000 feet down. BP or the private sector alone have the means to deal with that problem down there. It's not government equipment that is going to be used to do that," Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen told a White House briefing on Monday.

"They are the responsible party. But we have the authority to direct them," he added.

There are political risks both ways. If the federal government took control somehow, it would own the problem and any failure would belong to Obama.

But the flip side is that Obama could suffer politically if his administration is seen as falling short of staying on top of the problem or not working hard to find a solution.

In the past, the government has turned to oil industry experts to deal with oil disasters.

It famously recruited legendary oil well fighters Paul N. "Red" Adair and Edward "Coots" Matthews to help in the first Iraq war. Retreating Iraqi troops deliberately spilled 462 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf and set more than 700 oilfield fires.

After the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, Congress dictated in the 1990 Oil Pollution Act that oil companies be responsible for dealing with major accidents - including paying for all cleanup - with oversight by federal agencies.

That has pretty much been the model ever since. And the administration insists that's exactly what it is doing - although clearly not everyone agrees.

Anger grows as the slick spreads and washes ashore into environmentally sensitive marshes and waterways. Nerves are frayed and finger-pointing in full swing.

The administration says it is losing patience with BP PLC's efforts.

"If we find they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing, we'll push them out of the way appropriately," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters outside BP's headquarters in Houston on Sunday.

Just what did Salazar mean by "push them out of the way"? Officials have struggled since in explaining.

"That's more of a metaphor," the Coast Guard's Allen said Monday. "'Push BP out of the way' would raise the question - replace them with what?"

Allen, responsible for oversight of the spill response, said he's frustrated too, along with other Americans.

Salazar and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano led a Senate delegation to the region Monday.

"We are going to stay on this and stay on BP until this gets done and it gets done the right way," Napolitano said after flying over the affected area.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, has taken swipes at BP and other oil companies involved in the disaster as well as the federal government. Jindal said he was going to call out members of the Louisiana National Guard to join state wildlife and fisheries agents to supplement a federal response he called inadequate.

In particular, Jindal assailed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for failing to sign off on a plan to build a chain of protective sand barriers - or berms - off the coast to help block the oil.

"We are not waiting for them. We are going to build it" ourselves, Jindal said. U.S. officials say the Corps is nearing a final decision.

The spill began April 20 after the Deepwater Horizon rig owned by driller Transocean and leased by BP exploded, killing 11 workers. Millions of gallons of oil have spewed from the blown well.

Doug Suttles, chief operating officer at BP PLC, made the round of network news shows Monday with the same message: "We are doing everything we can, everything I know." He said the energy giant, formerly known as British Petroleum, understands and shares everyone's frustration.

But history isn't encouraging when it comes to underwater ruptures.

The last major spill in the Gulf was in June 1979, when an offshore drilling rig in Mexican waters - the Ixtoc I - blew up, releasing 140 million gallons of oil. The well was owned by Mexico's state oil company, known as Pemex. It took Pemex and a series of U.S. contractors nearly nine months to cap the well, and a great deal of the oil contaminated Mexican and U.S. waters.

If patience is necessary, it isn't a particularly forthcoming quality in these tense times.

Even as strong an Obama ally as Democratic consultant James Carville has been taking shots at the administration.

A Louisiana native, Carville told CNN the administration was "risking everything by this 'go along with BP' strategy. ... If you let BP handle it ... it's not going to go away. It is a disaster of the first magnitude and they've got to go to Plan B."

But so far, there was no Plan B on the table short of waiting until August, when two relief wells are expected to reach the oil deep under the ocean floor.

Christoph Niemann's Lego New York

2010-05-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

For friends from New York - and everyone who loves one of the world's greatest cities - here are three of artist Christoph Niemann's tributes to the Big ..um..Lego, also now available in book form for you to hold in your very own hands (the book, not the Lego).

2010-05-18T16:01:00.001-07:00

2010-05-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Toxic Chemical Fear Over BP's Clean-up Efforts

2010-05-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

As someone who, as a child, wanted to be a marine biologist, watching the BP/Transocean/Halliburton oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is immensely painful and depressing...not least when BP's CEO Tony Hayward said, with remarkable stupidity or disingenuousness, that the Gulf is a large ocean (it is not; I live by the Pacific - that is a large ocean) and the spill was small in comparison.

This report from the Observer, which references the toxic chemicals being used in an attempt to disperse the gushing oil underwater, is equally depressing. One of the attempted "solutions" may be as bad as the problem, affecting everything from plankton and other microscopic marine life to dolphins, whales, fish and seabirds. not to mention the livelihoods of those who depend on fishing the Gulf.

We should all remember that it is not simply oil fouling the beautiful wetlands and beaches of the Gulf states that is at stake here - it is the entire ecological chain that starts on the floor of the ocean and reaches to the top. We really need to find an alternative to our dependence on oil - and we really need to regulate the oil companies to an extent at least comparable to the size of this ecological disaster.

Louisiana oil spill: toxic chemical fear over BP's clean-up efforts

Officials, scientists and fishermen warn of threat to sealife in the Gulf of Mexico

Chemical dispersant spreads after being released into the Gulf of Mexico this month. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Scientists have raised urgent new concerns over the latest efforts to mitigate the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the oil rig explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon. Latest efforts to limit the environmental damage involve an untried deep-water technique, using a toxic dispersant that they believe may damage ocean life. But the new method has so far only succeeded in ratcheting up the growing controversy surrounding the spill.

On Friday, Barack Obama appeared to be losing his patience with oil company executives and officials who have been trading blame since the rig exploded. "I will not tolerate more finger-pointing or irresponsibility," he said in the White House rose garden, flanked by members of his cabinet. "The system failed, and it failed badly. And for that, there is enough responsibility to go around. And all parties should be willing to accept it."

Approval by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for the pumping of tens of thousands of litres of the chemical Corexit 9500 deep on to the seabed early yesterday comes despite warnings fromLouisiana state health officials, scientists and fishermen that the technique is untested and potentially hazardous to marine life and the wider ecosystem. Louisiana officials claim BP and the EPA ignored their concerns about how the chemicals may harm the sea floor.

This round of attempts to both stop the spill and deal with the oil being spewed out follow the failure to capture the leak by the lowering of a 100-tonne metal box over the damaged seabed wellhead.

In the coming days BP will attempt a "junk shot". This involves pumping the damaged blow-out preventer lying on the ocean floor – which failed during the explosion that killed 11 workers – with golf balls and other material to clog it up before closing it with heavy mud.

But it is the use of the chemical dispersant in such depths that has become the increasing focus of concern. Until now, Corexit 9500 has been approved for surface use only.

Chemical dispersants break oil into small globules, allowing it to disperse more quickly into the water or air before currents can wash it ashore.

Corexit 9500 has been identified as a "moderate" human health hazard that can cause eye, skin or respiratory irritation with prolonged exposure. Its makers also warn that it has the tendency to "bioconcentrate" in the environment.

Louisiana health and hospitals secretary Alan Levine said federal regulators have been too quick to dismiss worries about the chemicals: "Our concerns about the use of these dispersants underwater is based on the fact that there is virtually no science that supports the use of those chemicals. We're trading off what we know is going to be environmental damage on the surface for environmental damage of a level we don't know that is going to be under the surface."

Carys Mitchelmore, an environmental chemist at the University of Maryland Centre for Environmental Science and a co-author of a 2005 US National Academies report on dispersants, told Nature: "No one will tell you using dispersants won't have an effect. You're trading one species for another. The long-term effects are really unknown. The dispersant has inherent toxicity. And these oil droplets tend to be the same size as food particles for filter-feeding organisms."

"Dispersants… are toxic to marine life, so there are trade-offs to consider," David Pettit of the Natural Resources Defence Council told theWashington Post last week. "And just because humans can't see oil on the surface doesn't mean it's not still in the water column, affecting marine life from plankton to whales."

Another toxiciology expert, Dr William Sawyer, who has made a presentation to the US lawyers representing environmental and other interests after the spill has added to the concern: "The dispersants used in the BP clean-up efforts, known as Corexit 9500 and Corexit EC9527A, are also known as deodorized kerosene," he told the group. "With respect to marine toxicity and potential human health risks, studies of kerosene exposures strongly indicate potential health risks to volunteers, workers, sea turtles, dolphins, breathing reptiles and all species which need to surface for air exchanges, as well as birds and all other mammals. Additionally, I have considered marine species which surface for atmospheric inhalation such as sea turtles, dolphins and other species which are especially vulnerable to aspiration toxicity of Corexit 9500 into the lung while surfacing."

Meanwhile, concern was mounting that substantial slicks of oil might be on the point of reaching Louisiana's fragile marshlands. TV footage late on Friday from a helicopter flight over Louisiana's barrier islands showed miles of slick being washed by waves through wide passes between islands directly toward the wetlands of Terrebonne Parish.

Dawn today (iPhone "Polaroid" Hipstamatic)

2010-05-10T06:19:00.001-07:00

Muse Elementary, Topanga Canyon

2010-04-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

The treehouse at Muse Elementary in Topanga Canyon, probably the most beautiful school I have ever seen...a dream of childhood, a creek to explore, mountains, hills, chickens...

iPhone "Polaroid" Hipstamatic

2010-04-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Love the "Polaroid" Hipstamatic app on the iPhone...

President Obama Signs Health Care Reform Into Law

2010-03-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

A fantastic day today for the American people, for the remarkable President Obama and his team, for the equally remarkable Nancy Pelosi and hers, and for the Democratic Party (and it could have been for the Republicans, too, had they not been so obstructive and offensive) as health care is extended to tens of millions more Americans, the rules for insurers are rewritten to end appalling practices such as the exclusion of preexisting conditions and lifetime caps, and health care moves a step closer to being recognized as the universal right it is (in Europe and the rest of the developed world), and not a privilege for those who can afford it.

There is plenty of coverage elsewhere of this historic event (an achievement US presidents have aspired to since Teddy Roosevelt), but it was particularly interesting for me on Sunday to watch the healthcare debate in the House unfold as I wrote at my Mac.

Rather than watch on TV (which we have now abandoned entirely), I watched on the Huffington Post's excellent website, which offered live streaming video - unmediated by commentary, which allowed one to get a true sense of the pace of the process in the House - along with three columns of streaming Twitter feeds, one labelled simply "Health Care Reform" and the other two, "Liberal" and "Conservative."

It was especially fascinating - in equal parts compelling, entertaining and horrifying - to read the "Conservative" tweets from increasingly sour-grapes Republicans who saw, as former Bush speechwriter, David Frum, put it so eloquently, their Waterloo approaching.

It was deeply disturbing that there was a tweet that afternoon (west coast time) calling for the assassination of President Obama - but, given the vitriol on the Republican side, that sadly seems hardly surprising. Redefining a move to improve health care as a bill that "kills babies" is obscene - especially when those who fight for the rights of the "unborn" (and I have very complex feelings about abortion) so often are the very same people who believe firmly in capital punishment (barbaric, in my opinion and that of most of the world) and morally and legally questionable atrocities such as the Iraq War.

In any case, today is a great day for America, for progress, for health care - and for President Obama, whom I believe far too many have underestimated in terms of his clarity of vision, his persistence and his ability to work around the roadblocks of Washington. May this be the beginning of a great and productive new phase for his presidency.

Elect Jerry Brown for California Governor 2010

2010-03-04T14:06:00.000-08:00

Elect Jerry Brown for California Governor in 2010. He has the experience, the humanity and the drive to help meet this great state's immense challenges. Visit his website, www.jerrybrown.org, for more information. Best of all - he isn't the compassionless, scary Meg Whitman!

Catwoman vs Massive Attack!

2010-02-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

Check out this amazing She Is Danger remix on YouTube of Massive Attack's stunning Girl I Love You from their new album, Heligoland.

The video is just as cool - featuring a mash-up of Catwoman clips by CAPPYNJ.

Always lurved Catwoman. Catwoman plus Massive = purrfect :)

The video is here on my YouTube channel.

Snow on the mountains from Topanga Canyon this morning

2010-01-23T17:55:00.001-08:00

2010-01-23T17:54:00.001-08:00

Sheep TV with Hudson and Green Bird

2010-01-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the first broadcast of Sheep TV with Hudson and Green Bird. A scintillating exploration of life seen through Sheep's eyes (which admittedly are mostly focused on grass) with up-to-the-minute weather reports and interaction with Sheep TV creator and producer, Hudson. Plus a very special guest appearance by Hudson and Sheep's best friend, Green Bird!

More Pictures In My iPhone Dawn Series

2010-01-16T13:10:00.001-08:00

2010-01-16T13:09:00.001-08:00

Wishing You All A Wonderful Wintertime and Truly Magical New Year!

2009-12-24T05:54:00.000-08:00

A snowman, created by Hudson using the Doodlebuddy app on the iPhone:)

Peace and blessings to all throughout the Holiday Season and the New Year!

The Elf Train Song

2009-12-22T04:37:00.001-08:00

The Elf Train Song (my first song ever), written and
performed with our wonderful friend, Camila Arnold (music),
for our Woodland Winter Fair last Saturday at our Waldorf-
inspired home-based Woodland Nursery School. More details
at: www.woodlandchildcare.org or email Charong Chow at:
charong@woodlandchildcare.org. Happy Holidays!

My New YouTube Channel

2009-12-17T03:13:00.000-08:00

Please take a look at my new YouTube channel, AlexanderChowStuart. It is in its infancy, but I think it will be fun. While you're visiting, please subscribe.

I have posted a film I made when I was sixteen (time is infinite:) and my wife Charong Chow's wonderful I Am The Daughter of Fu Manchu, plus our unexpected and unlikely sighting of a UFO while we were swimming one Saturday afternoon last year (2008) - we could not believe it, and I was surprised that when I posted it on an earlier YouTube page, it had over 4,000 viewings and I had a lot of contact about it, along with other videos sent to me, including one apparently of the same craft on the same afternoon!

Soon there will be a video of me reading from The War Zone, and other surprises to come. In the meantime, have a Wonderful Wintertime (I love Christmas, although I have been a Buddhist for twenty years - it is the season and the tree and the magic that delight me in a childlike way, not any particular religious interpretation).

The War Zone now available on Kindle

2009-11-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

The new, updated and fully revised 20th Anniversary Edition of my novel, The War Zone (written under my original/professional name, Alexander Stuart), is now available on Amazon Kindle for $9.99, and as a regular book from Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and other bookstores.

A dark, ironic, emotionally-charged novel about incest, adolescent fury and parental morality, the novel won Britain's prestigious Whitbread Prize for Best Novel (now the Costa Book Awards) when it was first published, only to have the prize snatched away amid much public controversy when one of the judges politicked behind the scenes.

Dubbed a contemporary Catcher in the Rye by Time Out magazine, The War Zone was turned into a powerful, multi-award-winning film by Oscar-nominated actor-director, Tim Roth, which premiered at Sundance and went on to attract great acclaim at film festivals around the world. (The film can be streamed from Netflix and is available on DVD through Amazon.)

The new 20th Anniversary Edition is fully revised and updated and includes both the original British and American opening chapters, as well as an Afterword by Tim Roth, my diary of the making of the film, and an introduction that includes the striking prepublication letter that Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, sent me, along with his cover quote:

"This is a pungent shocking book, superbly written (sharp, sensuous, bitter) which...presents the theme of incest...as a symbol of social breakdown. I was horrified but seduced from first to last. The writing is remarkable."

For more information about the new edition, read Merrel Davis' excellent review of the novel at his blog, Uncompleted Works.

The War Zone: $9.99 on Amazon Kindle, $14.39 from Amazon.com, $15.99 from BarnesandNoble.com, £12.49 from Amazon.co.uk and available from other booksellers.

The Future of the Media Industry

2009-11-01T04:50:00.000-08:00

This article by Edo Segal from Yodspica Ltd Blog Group is without doubt the most intelligent and thought-provoking analysis of where the media industry must go that I have read.

Apple did create something seamless and easy with iTunes and the suggestion that in a sense it is "alive," changing constantly and changing the way consumers think about media and applications (and fusing media and applications into one), is brilliant.

This is the first piece I have read that actually proposes a real vision of the future, rather than merely lamenting that traditional media are dead. (Thanks to the power of Twitter for alerting me to this:)

The Future Of The Media Industry

by YODSPICA AUTHORS on NOVEMBER 1, 2009

This post was written by Edo Segal.

The prospects for the old media industry appear bleak, as the rest of the media industry follows the music industry into decline. Indeed in my discussions it is apparent that the smart money in Hollywood already sees the writing on the wall. While the trend will take longer, it is clear which direction the wind is blowing. The main lesson to learn is that the market will punish you if you don’t deliver the goods.

Apple has created a media consumption experience that has reduced friction to such a point that soon the consumer will not know if he is buying music, a movie or a game. The notion of App is changing. The lines between these different forms of media are quickly blurring and soon will be completely artificial. Already these distinctions are merely fossilized conventions that stem from consumers’ discovery habits. As those evolve, like learning that it is easier to go to Amazon and search to find a product than going to aisle 9 at the store. The coming confusion of the consumption experience where a user won’t care or know if what they are buying is a movie, a game or a music track presents vast opportunity.

But the entertainment industry has a vested interest in the success of this new type of convergence, as within it lies the secret to its continuing prosperity. The only way to block the incredible ease of pirating any content a media company can generate is to couple said experiences with extensions that live in the cloud and enhance that experience for consumers. Not just for some fancy DRM but for real value creation. They must begin to create a product that is not simply a static digital file that can be easily copied and distributed, but rather view media as a dynamic “application” with extensions via the web. This howl is the future evolution of the media industry. It has arrived from a company that is delivering the goods. Apple has made it painless for consumers to spend money and get the media they want where they want it, proving that consumers are happy to pay for media if delivered in ways that make it easy and blissful to consume. For all the criticism Apple draws on the walled garden nature of its business, it has even come around to stripping DRM and allowing users to download mp3 files.

Even today if you look in the iTunes App Store you will see a myriad range of “Apps” that are just evolved ways to package media. While the traditional part of iTunes still mirrors the product taxonomy of a Tower Records, the App Store is creating a folksonomy of media products. It is where new ideas evolve, thrive and go instinctively based on market power. The App Store is where the action is. This is where evolution is unfolding as direct consumer spending spurs media development.

In preparing this post, Erick asked me, “Is Apple is a media company?” I thought about that and the answer is really that Apple is what media companies are missing. The missing part of the puzzle is what made media conglomerates such juggernauts in the past. Namely, distribution. The internet is stripping them of their control over the how their products are distributed. Media companies used to be able to create scarcity merely by delaying the distribution of their products across different channels—theaters, pay-per-view, DVD, cable channels, network TV, and so on. The internet disrupts this ability to create media scarcity. It is such a huge disruption, in fact, that it threatens the fundamental profit engine of the media business.

Both during my time interacting with senior management at Time Warner (where I worked at AOL after it acquired the company I founded, Relegence) and with some of my current portfolio companies that are working with the film and music industries, it is clear to me that many of the smart people running these media companies understand which way the wind is blowing. The music industry, as the one that has suffered most of the carnage, is ripest for change. Executives there are receptive to new ideas and move forward quickly, leaving me somewhat optimistic. It is also clear to me that it is hard for the industries which have not endured their level of pain to flee the golden cage of media’s past. But for those firms which rise to the occasion, there will be vast rewards. People’s hunger for good content will not subside. It will continue to grow, but so shall the unbearable ease of pirating it. The premise of extending the media experience to the cloud is a core necessity for the survival and growth of the media industry. It is the only way to for media companies to weather the coming tsunami of increased bandwidth and the ever open web. Hybrid media packaging with both files and an application layer in the cloud is core to a lucrative future.

For a great example of how change is happening see what Britney did today at @BritneySpears. It was, I believe, the first time a major artist premiered a music video on Twitter. This drives people to Amazon or iTunes to buy the track but in the not too distant future it could be the start of much more than that. A complete experience will unfold that will be interactive and convert to new revenue streams. Not just a purchase of a track but of an app that pulls consumers into an experience and further promotes user engagement and virality. Media becomes a platform with a funnel of traffic and conversions to alternative revenue streams. All boosted by the frictionless billing that Apple has created in the App Store. Media executives will have realtime metrics for their success as it maps to revenue and in turn this will accelerate innovation and help redefine media.

If you are a media exec and you look at your product and at the end of the day it’s a digital file that can be copied, then you have a serious problem with your format. Think of your product like a pie chart of the value you are giving the consumer. If 100% of the value is in that file, it is not a sound approach for defending the future of your business. However, if a portion of the experience is derived thorough an integration with a Web component that will yield additional value in functionality or social elements, then it will be more sustainable. There are many such examples emerging in the app store (I am T-Pain, TapTap and many more). Applications that let consumers interact with the media. Create things and share them with their friends. These will not only make the consumer the one who markets your product, but also create an unprecedented level of engagement. That level of engagement will directly map to reduction in piracy as consumers will pay for this experience and wont be able to copy it. Sell access and experiences, not media files.

Author Edo Segal

THX Sound System logo by Hudson

2009-10-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Huddy (five years old) made this with wooden blocks this morning - he has been writing/drawing the THX logo a lot recently. As a result of his Waldorf/Steiner education, he has barely seen any movies, but he loves the THX logo in the Pixar films.

Amy Weisberg: Listen

2009-09-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Our son started a new kindergarden this week, a big and exciting step for him (and for us), and we find ourselves very fortunate to have him under the care and guidance of a wonderful teacher and writer, Mrs Amy Weisberg, one with great experience, wisdom, kindness and a remarkably open approach both to her role as a "guide" to her children and to the children's own differing sensibilities, levels of awareness and achievement, and the fact that their minds are at a precious and vital turning point between a wonderful acceptance of and unity with the world and the beginnings of "critical thinking," if you like - which brings with it the further growth of both character and the ego, and so is a stage that needs delicate attention and nourishment.

Mrs Weisberg has her own wonderful blog, Between The Words, and I asked her if I might reproduce here a marvelously atmospheric piece she wrote about her classroom, just before the school year begins. It is called, Listen, and one of the things I liked most about it was her appreciation of silence, along with that of the children "unhampered by thoughts of how things should be."

Anyway, here it is, and thanks to Amy Weisberg for letting me reproduce it:

Listen

The classroom is mostly quiet now, with the exception of the hum of the blessed air conditioner and the occasional ringing of the two bells indicating the necessity of the plant manager. The chairs are pushed in and the tables almost clear of the materials readied for the new year, a year that will be different, yet the same, as many others. Right now the playground is waiting patiently for the laughter of children that will fill it next week and the dolls in the playhouse wait patiently in their crib, clothing in tact and the plastic multicultural foods await preparation in the labeled bins. The smell of fresh, new crayons is in the air and the computers are happily waiting to begin their whir and hum of activity. For me, even music is not necessary yet; the silence is a giant space, open with possibilities and fresh with optimism. A bigger class this year, 24 or 25 new little students, some scared, some overly confident, most excited to begin an adventure that will last for the next 13 years. They enter the institution in the best of possible ways, a soft landing filled with songs, games, colorful paint and new stories told while they sit in squares on a colorful carpet rapt with attention. Friends wait to be made, blank paper filled with colorful drawings and easels beckon for young artists unhampered by thoughts of how things should be, instead filled with the endless imaginings of how things can be. Soon enough, the rhythm instruments will ting and jingle, sticks will tap and little children will bounce around the room, most unable to sit for long. They will be introduced to letters sounds, counting songs, The Pledge of Allegiance and happy songs of friendship. They will make life-long friends here in this safe place and will tell secrets, whisper, and hug with abandon unable to keep from expressing the simple joy of loving a friend or the happiness of running out the door to play. They will learn to appreciate the stillness of their own breath while in yoga postures stretching their bodies and minds to appreciate the stillness and space that allows for peacefulness. The silence is space, yet it is full of possibilities, experiences yet unknown and the peace of planning for future memories that will resonate in a happy place contained in the hearts of the future residents of Room K.

(Photo above of the parents gathered for the principal's commencement address.)

A Brief Extract from The War Zone: 20th Anniversary Edition

2009-08-21T13:26:00.001-07:00

A brief extract from The War Zone: 20th Anniversary Edition, a newly updated (see two posts below) and revised edition now available from Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com, AuthorHouse and other booksellers:

"There is a moment which is so beautiful it makes everything else
worthwhile. You stand on the cliff above the village, early in the
morning or late in the evening, and you gaze out at the sea – a
huge, changing wash of light and movement, bigger than any of us,
a joker with a patience longer than any one life and an inconceivable
strength that can snap your back against the rocks as easily as you
might flick a fly off your nose.

I can feel how cold it is, even when it’s warm. Even when the water’s
not skimmed with a purple film of oil, and the pebbles and seaweed are
stewed in the sun, I can sense the ocean’s cold heart further out, out
by the skyline. Jessie’s tried to paint it, but she can’t get close. Either
the beauty is there or the darkness, but not both...

It’s not just the color, it’s the color of light, it’s the mood of the sky
and your own cross-wired soul. Down on the beach, it’s the druggy
thunder-hiss of the surf dragging at thousands of pebbles, as if the sea’s
in training for the greatest glue-sniffing contest on earth. Up here, with
a view of the sheep and the cottages and the coastline, there’s just the
image, no sound, and a faint tang of brine in the air, like a taunt or a
memory."

It’s more than a moment. It’s repeatable, though it’s never the same
twice. It’s where I go to stay sane down here, it’s where I go when I
miss London, when I want to work out what the fuck I’m doing with
my life."

(Image above from Tim Roth's film of The War Zone: the family on the beach)

Twitter Contest: Win a Signed Copy of The War Zone: 20th Anniversary Edition

2009-08-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

My friend, fellow blogger and Twitter-ist, Merrel Davis, suggested an exclusive Twitter contest to commemorate the 20th Anniversary Edition of my novel, The War Zone, by offering a signed copy of the book to the person who provides the best answer, in three "tweets" or less, to the question:

“WHAT EXPERIENCE IN ADOLESCENCE MOST SHAPED YOUR LIFE OR WORK?”

To win, simply submit the best answer in three tweets or less to my Twitter account @AlexanderChow (just to confuse things, and for a degree of privacy sometimes, I am Alexander Chow on Twitter) by midnight PST Sunday August 23rd 2009. [Full Disclosure: Merrel is co-judging this Twitter contest. You can follow him at @UncompletedWork.]

Stay tuned for the second part of Merrel Davis' Stepping into The War Zone, where he reviews and compares The War Zone novel to Tim Roth's film of my book.

More iPhone Dawns

2009-08-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Just a spectacular, radiant dawn - the cosmos gives us a good reason to greet each day.

This and the photos below (including the full moon rising) were all taken with my iPhone, with no filters and no changes to the pictures afterward.

2009-08-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

Dawn light through the trees - what a way to wake up!

2009-08-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Another radiant dawn. Note the planet to the top right of the picture (I think it's a planet and not a star, they are equally beautiful anyway).

2009-08-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

A slightly blurry picture (best I could do with my iPhone) of the full moon rising. I watched this with Huddy after he had been swinging from our tree in the dark. The moon was spectacular.

Huddy's Fifth Birthday/Sunset from Griffith Observatory

2009-07-24T08:43:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful time at the Griffith Observatory yesterday evening as part of Hudson's Fifth Birthday Treat. We saw Saturn through the big telescope, we saw twin stars (one white, one blue) through a smaller telescope, and we saw the amazing planetarium show about the origins of the universe.

Huddy loved it all - not least this amazing sunset over the Hollywood Hills (actually over the Hollywood Sign). Happy 5th Birthday again, Hudson xxxxx

iPhone Dawn

2009-07-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

Dawn with rare summer cloud (rare for California, anyway). I like the Van Gogh effect of this picture. This is a series of photographs of dawn that I have been taking, using my iPhone camera. I love the quality of pictures the iPhone creates, kind of in the way that Warhol loved Polaroids - although the colors and resolution here reflect more accurately what I see with my eyes:)

A friend said that if you look at this picture upside-down, it resembles waves on the sea breaking onto a beach.

2009-07-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

Dawn Thursday July 16th 2009, the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch in 1969. Radiant beauty!

2009-07-20T04:59:00.002-07:00

The moon and a star (just visible toward the left of frame), photographed on Thursday July 16th 2009, the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch.

2009-07-20T04:59:00.001-07:00

Dawn with the mountains floating in the clouds.

Pixar's UP - Geniuses of LOVE

2009-06-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

I'm repeating what I said on Twitter after we saw UP yesterday: Pixar are geniuses of LOVE.

Who but Pixar could even make a film about the friendship between an old man and a boy – and a floating house?

And without giving too much away, the way the story of the old man’s life is told is sublime…or quite possibly divine.

Wholly original beautiful moving cinema. See it - and see it in 3D if you possibly can, although it would be just as magical projected on a paper bag:)

GATE: Jim Carrey, Eckhart Tolle and John Raatz

2009-06-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

I attended an astonishing event last night at 20th Century Fox Studios: the first gathering of GATE, the Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment, a creation of John Raatz, Jim Carrey, Eckhart Tolle and others - including the phenomenal Melissa Etheridge and Donovan - dedicated to raising the bar among those of us who create entertainment, so that we think about the impact our work has on people and try to make that impact as positive, meaningful and, ultimately, transcendent as possible.

It doesn't mean avoiding the dark side - that can be addressed intelligently, since it is clearly a part of life and the world - but listening to and watching this group of people was a truly inspiring event. Jim Carrey seemed a thoughtful (and funny) man, and Eckhart Tolle is like a magical, highly enlightened, plain-speaking, extremely moving elf! (He spoke of his mother's death in the most personal yet relevant way.) Melissa Etheridge just made me cry when she spoke and sang - she is extraordinary.

I cannot blog fully about it now as I'm under deadline on a script, but I hope @thecitizen on Twitter will not mind me posting his lively account of the evening here (read from the bottom up!). By the way, I'm with Eckhart re: Groundhog Day - I think it is one of the best and funniest, most illuminating comedies ever...aside from all of Jim Carrey's films, of course:) There is a great chapter on Groundhog Day in a fascinating MoMA book called, The Hidden God.

@ashleyvandyke is practicing the power of now...and its killing her...slowly (and I'm loving it)about 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry
One of tolle's favorite films (he's seen it six times) is one of my faves too: Groundhog Day. Bill murray is my favorite actor ever.about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Eckart says: Jim is truly a hard act to follow....this stuff is pricelessabout 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Jim Carrey: Dumb and dumber as a study in pre-egoic innocence! Fabulous. Media/news today is not what the world is or what the world wants.about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
"My name is Jim Carrey and I've come to free the world from sin." Absolutely hilarious.about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Jim Carey is up. He's not just funny but one of the most active environmentalists on the planet. And he's damn down to earth.about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Just chatted with Adrian Grenier about collaborating on @3rdwhale @belugaboyd @greenmob @argam He's all about it.about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Melissa Ethridge just rocked the house to a standing ovation. I got extended chills. Super epic.about 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Melissa Ethridge is having a moment (last time I saw her live was at the green ball in DC #gb09) so lovely (she's hilarious too)about 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
John Raatz aka @visioneering1 has worked on just about every important film ever: whatthebleep, baraka, mindwalk, etc etc epic man & friendabout 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
What does transformed Hollywood look like? A place where business and consciousness work hand in hand to transform our species & planetabout 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
John raatz just read the personal statement from the Dalai Lama about this event and the attendees: gave me chillsabout 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Let the gratefulness overflow into blessings all around you, then it will be a good day; live each day like it was ur 1st & last #gateabout 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Hollywood is the biggest playground for collaborative creativity imaginable_sandra hay, unseen pictures, earth dance& architectsof a newdawnabout 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Carlin is repping the strength of #twitter! Says its a critical step to the transformation of consciousness! Yes! Go HBO!!!about 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Oprah and Tolle's online ten part series was a tipping point in transformational entertainment & one of most simultaneous viewed events everabout 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Content that comes from the place of love is the key to the transformation_scott carlin of HBO (just like I said) brilliant!about 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Scott Carlin, pres of domestic tv distro for HBO, grad of univ of santa monica's spiritual psych: discussing the dilemma of consumerismabout 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Hollywood and the world are now ready for an upleveling of consciousness._John Raatzabout 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Listening to an "invocation for world peace" by michael fitzpatrick, famous chellist...amazingly beautiful. Frought with emotions.about 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Baba and Paradise

2009-03-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

One more picture, this time of me with Paradise. To hold your baby in your arms is such an incredible joy and privilege, a true celebration of the fullness of life.

Paradise Rose

2009-03-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Mostly I am not making this a personal blog, but I cannot resist posting this picture of our two month old daughter, Paradise Rose, who is the light of our lives, along with our beautiful four year old boy, Hudson.

It is amazing how much in two months a baby can change...a transformation from the tiny creature that emerges from the womb into a little girl, already displaying her own character traits (although that much is true even on the day you are born).

Wishing all our love to Paradise and Hudson xxxxx

A Working President

2009-03-09T15:42:00.001-07:00

Photograph courtesy Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

I have been a huge supporter of President Barack Obama

since the earliest days of his campaign, and I continue

to support him now in these extremely challenging times.

Obama inherited from George W Bush one of the most

disastrous economies, two wars (at least one of which

could have been avoided) and the legacy of probably the

most disastrous policies in our nation's history.

Obama has worked tirelessly in his first months in office

and has already taken vast steps in terms of passing

legislation to address the global economic meltdown and

the many other vital issues we face, including

universal healthcare, which I believe should be a

fundamental human right along with education.

He has not been helped in this by the Republicans, who

have chosen to use this critical point in determining the

future not only of the United States but of the world

by disengaging from a positive participation in the

political process and instead focusing their energy on

criticizing Obama and trying to gain political capital from

the many current crises.

My hope is that we all allow Obama the time and give him

the support needed for his policies to take effect.

Above all, it is critical that we remember that this is

a situation that he inherited, and not one of his making.

May we all wish him well.

See Coraline in 3D NOW!

2009-02-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

This is my IMDb review of Henry Selick's remarkable 3D animated movie, Coraline, which a friend of mine, Bill Mechanic, fought long and hard to get made. (Producers rarely get the credit they deserve for the commitment and passion they bring to their projects...their days do not exist solely of torturing writers in dank dungeons.) The movie is wonderful, fresh, funny and visually unique, go see it in 3D while you can!

Coraline: Original, beautiful, funny...and remarkable 3D

First, this film is excellent with or without the 3D. It is beautifully written and designed,

brilliantly directed by Henry Selick, the characters are totally engaging, the tone is

perfect animated-suburban-teen-goth with a sardonic edge, and the whole movie feels

fresh and funny and dark and satisfying.

Visually, it is stunning...and in 3D it is even more stunning. The circus mice alone (a

relatively minor element, but quite unforgettable) make it worth seeing in 3D, and the

decidedly trippy garden in the parallel world (eat your heart out, Alice In Wonderland)

made a friend of ours long for the days of 1990s rave culture!

One word of warning: it is fairly scary by children's movies standards, but a lot depends

on the child, and although at times it seems to echo (in a fairly gentle way) Japanese

horror movies of late, there is probably nothing more disturbing here than Cruella de Vil

in Disney's original animated 101 Dalmatians.

Even the score feels fresh, much of it performed by the Hungarian Radio Orchestra (if I

remember correctly from the credits) but with contributions, too, from Bruno Coulais and

They Might Be Giants (who made one of the best children's CDs, No!).

See Coraline and make every effort to see it in 3D. And if you do, sit through the entire

closing credits, for there is a nice little kicker right at the end.