A few quick reactions to President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight:

• This was the Barack Obama I voted for in November 2008.   This Barack Obama got lost somewhere in the White House.   Now that he’s been found, I hope he stays a while.   This was Obama fired up and ready to go and was a reminder of how good he can be when he tries.   Now that he’s drawn the blueprints, he needs to ensure his plans are built correctly.   He said he doesn’t quit.   We must hold him to his words and we can’t quit either.
• Several points in his speech were significant co-opts of Republican policies (all the talk about small businesses, nuclear power, off-shore drilling).   How can the party of “no” oppose these?   If Obama is serious about these proposals, he’s forced the GOP to work with him, not against him.
• As he said, the idea that no matter what you think about global warming, a robust energy policy for the sake of efficiency and creating jobs is something we all can and should agree upon.
• I was both saddened that he had to and pleased that he did play the role of angry parent scolding his two children who can’t play nice: the GOP who oppose his policies for the sake of opposing them, and his fellow Dems who don’t have the balls to govern.
• Obama said, “In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education.”   I fully agree.   Education can be the silver bullet to many of society’s problems if only it were treated as such.
• Justice Samuel Alito had tonight’s Joe “You Lie” Wilson moment.   Obama called-out the Supreme Court for their recent decision in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and the supposed-to-be-impartial-at-a-political-speech Alito visibly showed his distaste for the president’s words and appears to have mouthed “not true.”   Watch the video at about the 0:38 mark.   Alito was the only justice of the six in attendance to react.
• Any time these types of events roll around, I always enjoy seeing how many Washington faces I can name.   I’m getting pretty good.

With his State of the Union address, President Obama seems to have reinvigorated himself and likely many straying supporters.   Let’s see if he can keep the fire going and deliver on his calls to action.   Our future is waiting.   The status quo simply doesn’t work anymore.

I’m nearly finished listening to the oral arguments from the U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.   In thinking over the weekend about last week’s ruling and in listening to the arguments, I have these observations:

• I find the ruling an abomination.   The political system is already drowning in corporate money, and this ruling will likely make our democracy progress (digress?) further toward a corporate state.   Furthermore, individuals’ contributions will be further choked by corporate contributions.
• That said, given the plain text of the First Amendment, I can’t see how the ruling could have gone any other way.   Constitutionally, the ruling had to be made.   The amendment says “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.”   If campaign contributions amount to political speech, then corporations should be allowed to contribute as much as they want.   I, of course, don’t agree (as stated above), but the Constitution is the owner’s manual we have to follow.   To me, this was a clear case from the start, and I’m surprised the ban wasn’t struck-down earlier.
• So now that this precedent has been established, can I as an individual petition the court to strike down the limits on individual campaign contributions?   If I have $6 million, why can’t I contribute it to whomever I please?   Why must I be limited to only contributing $2,400?   Based on Citizens United v. FEC, aren’t the individual limits unconstitutional, too?   I can’t see how any limits on political speech can be upheld now.
• Seems to me the only way to really solve this issue is a complete ban on private money in elections via a constitutional amendment establishing robust public financing.

If the political/news/blog world weren’t so wrapped up in the special election in Massachusetts, we might actually be talking about this.   But we aren’t.

A terrific and funny grammar lesson.

(Nod: Meig)

James Fallows at The Atlantic posted this graph and comment yesterday (click for larger version):

Notes Fallows:

The blue line, on the top, is the significant one: it is a gauge of how often bills or nominations were subjected to the need for a “supermajority” vote, rather than a regular Constitutional majority. The goldish line, on the bottom, indicates how often the supermajority prevailed — how often they “broke the filibuster.” As a reminder, there is nothing in the Constitution about this practice. (Supermajorities for certain situations, like impeachment or ratifying treaties or passing Constitutional Amendments, yes; as a general practice, no.)

Easy to see why not much gets done.

Will the many conservative politicians who in the past have lambasted state supreme courts’ decisions in support of gay marriage as “judicial activism” also condemn Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision eliminating the ban on corporations’ spending limits in political campaigns as “judicial activism”?

I’m going to guess “no.”

With the wild success of James Cameron’s Avatar and after seeing this photo of Cameron as a Na’vi:

I’m very surprised a website like Simpsonize Me (currently unavailable, but a gallery exists here) hasn’t popped up yet that will turn a photo you upload into your own Na’vi character.   Maybe such a photo-realistic transformation is beyond the current technology unless you’re James Cameron?

A brilliant SNL Digital Short.

I saw this on PostSecret recently, and the message really spoke to me.   This is why I take as many photos of things as I do.   Because someday, those things and those people may be gone.   I don’t take photos, I capture life.

How many states can you name type in 60 seconds?   I only got 26 because I foolishly typed a few long states.   Try it!

The iPhone Blog reports at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) they’ve discovered a cool new iPhone app for the upcoming Chevy Volt.   This app will let owners check their car’s stats, like battery charge and mileage, as well as lock, unlock, remote start, and heat and cool the car all from their iPhones!

If this is an upcoming trend for car manufacturers, I say please and thank you!

MovieScore Magazine recently ran through their top-10 most anticipated film scores for 2010.   Scores that are on my list, too, include:

The Chronicles of Narnia 3 by David Arnold. Other than his Bond scores, David Arnold has been fairly quiet the last several years.   And unfortunately so.   Here’s hoping the fantasy-enriched film will inspire him to write another Independence Day.

Alice in Wonderland by Danny Elfman. Tim Burton plus Danny Elfman.   Not much more needs to be said.

The Last Airbender by James Newton Howard. I’ve already posted the trailer scored by JNH and mentioned he usually doesn’t disappoint, especially for an M. Night Shyamalan film.   I trust more exciting music will be waiting for us.

Iron Man 2 by John Debney. I’m wishing for a score to rival his masterpiece for Cutthroat Island.   I can dream, right?

Robin Hood by Marc Streitenfeld. Marc who you ask?   Yeah, that’s what I asked, too.   This is a Ridley Scott film, so I assumed Hans Zimmer would be composing.   Officially, he’s not, but since Marc is one of Hans’s goons, no doubt this will sound as if Zimmer composed it.   And I’m sure I’ll be very pleased.   Will this be in the vein of Zimmer’s masterful Gladiator or the less-serious-but-still-exciting King Arthur?   Here’s hoping for the former.

Perhaps, though, for me, the most anticipated film score, should the rumors be true, is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1).   According to HP producer David Heyman, should John Williams’s schedule permit, he’ll be scoring the film.   Williams’s last Potter score for The Prisoner of Azkaban was his best Potter score, the best in the series (thus far), and one of his best scores.   Since I’m on the wishing train here, I’m hoping that with this being the last Potter film and given what he has shown he can do with a Potter score, Johnny can blow us away.

Here’s to an exciting 2010 in film-score-land!

If air travel worked like the health care system.   In this context, I’m amazed that we tolerate such a disgustingly broken and inefficient system.

(Nod: The Daily Dish)

Probably won’t be going to see this film, but I’ll definitely be purchasing the score composed by James Newton Howard, who usually doesn’t disappoint.   The trailer below is scored by JNH.

Rarely do I see a 2.5-plus-hour film and not want the film to end and then when it does want to see the film again immediately.   This, however, was the case with Avatar.   Written and directed by film-making-pioneer James Cameron, Avatar is a phenomenal film and an amazing and spectacular visual and technical achievement.   Providing the score for Avatar is past-Cameron-collaborator James Horner who composed a fantastic and very effective score, one which will likely and deservedly win him some hardware come awards season.

I’ve been listening to the score for a few weeks, but I decided to wait until I saw the film to write about the music.   Film scores, of course, are primarily intended to exist as a cohesive part of the overall motion-picture experience.   Many scores, though, work just as well outside their corresponding film as they do inside it.   James Horner’s score for Avatar works wonders both in the film and out of it.

The score starts with a somewhat unsettled mood in “You Don’t Dream in Cryo….”   In “Jake Enters His Avatar World,” we are treated to a musical interpretation of the film’s visual and thematic juxtaposition between the human world and the Na’vi world.   As paraplegic-main-character Jake first experiences his avatar body in the confines of the human laboratory, the music is very troubled with hammering pianos and pulsing shakuhachis, but as Jake escapes and experiences running again, the music segues to a fantasy-like dreamscape with tinkering harp, uplifting brass, and rhythmic percussion.
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“Pure Spirits of the Forest” gives us our first taste of the musical ideas and textures Horner created for the Na’vi people and the forest as Jake first interacts with both; “The Bioluminescence of the Night” continues this.   The music is often very dreamy, ethereal, and relaxing just like the spectacular visuals on screen.
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Finally in “Becoming One of “The People”, Becoming One with Neytiri,” we are treated to the first major statement of Horner’s main Avatar theme (previous tracks flirt with the theme).   This statement is layered with ethnic-sounding percussion and vocals to great effect:
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“Climbing Up ‘Iknimaya – The Path to Heaven'” continues the Na’vi-inspired magic, again using percussive elements very effectively:
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…as does “Jake’s First Flight”:
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After these few tracks that heavily favored the Na’vi music, we have a few tracks that bring the musical world back to the human world.   “Scorched Earth” and “Quaritch” with their frantic chanting, percussion, and brass is a 180-degree-turn from the previous track:
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In “The Destruction of Home Tree,” we are presented with some oft-tragic, distressed action-based music:
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The final track in this group is the unsettling, mournful track “Shutting Down Grace’s Lab.”
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Then we arrive at my favorite track on the album, “Gathering All the Na’vi Clans for Battle.”   The track starts slowly, but the second half is pure Horner magic.   When I first started listening to the score before I had seen the film, I had a fairly good idea of what was happening in the film based on the track’s title and the music.   When I was watching the film with the music in the forefront of this particular scene, I had a huge smile on my face from the combination of the inspiring music with the sequence.   I saw the film with my dad, who knows how much I enjoy film scores, and he leaned over to me and asked if I had the music from Avatar yet because the sequence with the music was that good.   The music is stirring and propulsive, serving the scene extremely well:
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“War,” the final score track from the online-download version, is a behemoth of a track both in terms of length and content.   The track starts with music that accompanies the human mobilization for war and continues with music from the battle between the humans and the Na’vi.   Horner wrote some exciting, tense, and, at times, heroic music for the battle, and this track is easily one of the best on the album:
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The online-download version of the album concludes with the song “I See You,” performed by Leona Lewis.   The song is serviceable and is a nice rendition of the main theme.

For those who bought the Avatar soundtrack in stores (or found the track online), the album concludes with a bonus track, “Into the Na’vi World,” which makes me want what else was left off the album given the rousing quality of the track.   I was listening for the correct placement of this track in the film, but if it’s in the film somewhere, I missed it.
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Speaking of missing music, there is, of course, some missing from the album, notably music from after the battle.   All of the major pieces, though, are on the album, but I would still gladly purchase an expanded edition of the score.

To someone who has known me for several years, reading my gushing portrayal of James Horner’s music for Avatar would likely come as a major surprise.   Just a few years ago, I despised Horner and his music.   I felt and still do that he was lazy and ignorant for frequently repeating past musical ideas and blatantly quoting themes from his other scores.   Avatar, to no one’s surprise, continues this nasty habit with the inclusion of Horner’s notorious four-note danger theme as well as an interpretation of his theme from Glory that here is used for the Na’vi.   I’m not very familiar with lesser-known Horner works, but other reviewers have mentioned other scores that had material lifted from them for Avatar.

These days, though, I have taught myself to overlook Horner’s misgivings simply because he can and often does write some kick-ass music.   Great music is great music.

And Avatar is great music.   Horner masterfully created a music world for Avatar, including magical sounds for the forest and the Na’vi.   The percussive elements he layers with the rest of the orchestra are terrific.   My only issue with the score is that the main theme isn’t stronger and more memorable.   Otherwise, from the mystical tones for the forest to the lighthearted and gleeful music for the Na’vi to the epic call-to-action set piece to the propulsive action music, James Horner has written a grand and magnificent score, one which unquestionably deserves recognition come awards season.

Twenty-ten.   Ten is half of twenty.   Makes for a nice, round year visually.   And a cool Roman Numeral: MMX.

Geek-bravado aside, I hope you have a healthy, happy, and humorous new year.   Happy last year of the decade!

Being around a television at work most of the day, I usually see enough infomercials to want to gouge my eyes out.   Most infomercials go in one ear and out the other, barely registering in my mind.   Some, however, linger.   I haven’t seen this infomercial in at least a month, but when I saw it air on ESPN for the first time, I had to laugh at the banality.   I give you: the Freedom Tray.

From the Freedom Tray website:

Made and assembled in America using 100% recyclable materials, the Freedom Tray is the revolutionary food and beverage tray. Whether you’re in your car, watching TV, boating, camping, at the game or serving up the burgers at the tailgate party, the Freedom Tray will make your life easier. Simply pop it open, lock it in place and, instantly, you have a portable and versatile table to meet your needs.

Useful product I suppose.   What struck me about the infomercial, though, was the blatant and undisguised jingoism something right out of 2002.   Even the name evokes a somewhat embarrassing episode in the excessively anti-non-American era that came post-9/11.   Watching the infomercial, I wasn’t sure if I should take this product seriously or if I should file it under ‘f’ for “farce.”

And I’m pretty sure I saw their tagline “Made in America, Used Everywhere” describing democracy on one of those giant, poorly-designed banners behind President Bush.

Totally random thought here.   While browsing through some recent uploads to the White House Flickr account via my RSS reader, I came across this photo:

These are pens for a bill-signing.   What intrigued me about this photo is the direction of the signature on each pen.   Because the signature reads from the top of the pen to the bottom while the pen’s tip is pointing right, this pen is a left-handed pen.   If you pick up this pen to write with your left hand, the signature is right-side up; pick this pen up with your right hand to write, and the signature is upside-down.   A left-handed pen for a left-handed president?   No detail overlooked or just a coincidence?

Just for the heck of it, I tried to find some presidential pens in official use by past presidents.   I found President Bush’s pens here:

These are right-handed pens.   If you take the cap off and stick it on the non-tip end of the pen, the signature will remain upright in your right hand but upside-down in your left hand.   A right-handed pen for a right-handed president?

My guess is that the Bush pen likely used a standard direction because a majority of people are right-handed, but the Obama pen was specially made to be a left-handed pen.   How’s that for an exciting Friday night?

I came across something today I was unaware of: a rejected theme song for the Bond film Quantum of Solace.   As I noted in my review of the film (which was also a review of the music), the title song was performed by Alicia Keys and Jack White and was written by White.   In my review, I wasn’t shy about my distaste for the song and its lack of a discernible melody that composer David Arnold could use in his score for the film.

Well, today I learned that not only did David Arnold write a song for the film, he used pieces of the song throughout the score like a Bond score should when a decent tune is written and recorded the song with the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey, who is no stranger to the Bond universe with performances of the title songs for Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, and Moonraker.   Arnold’s song, though, was rejected.   Thankfully, Bassey has included it on her new album, The Performance.

Some wise YouTube user decided to strip the title sequence from Quantum of Solace of its gag-inducing song and replaced it with the Arnold/Bassey song.   I posted the title sequence for Quantum of Solace a while back, but the YouTube video I linked to was taken down, so for comparison’s sake, here’s the original:

And here is the title sequence with the Arnold/Bassey song:

The song, titled “No Good About Goodbye,” is a classic Bond song with sweeping strings and a sultry voice and is far superior to the mess of a tune that was the White/Keys “Another Way to Die.”   Perhaps the film’s producers didn’t think this song fit the edgier feel of the film, but the song fits with the classic Bond persona and is a nice throwback to the Connery films: edgy film (as compared to latter entries in the franchise) plus Bassey anthem.

If you’re interested in a digital copy of the Arnold/Bassey song, unfortunately, as of this writing, an MP3 version isn’t available from either iTunes or Amazon.   Hopefully one will be available soon.

(Nod: Movie-Wave Capsules)

Day 10, the final day, of my road trip back in October was a spent driving from DC back to Connecticut and of course I had some stops planned!

First stop on the return leg of my trip was to Fort McHenry in Baltimore MD.   Interestingly, Fort McHenry is the only site in the National Park System that is designated as an Historic Shrine.

The fort from a distance:

Looking out to the harbor:

Cannonballs:

Inside the fort (several years after the War of 1812, the second story and porches were added):

The guns of war:

Rampart (as in “o’er the ramparts we watched”) #4:

An interesting bit of historical trivia I learned at Fort McHenry was that in 1861, several members of the Maryland state legislature were imprisoned in the jail cells at the fort to prevent them from voting to secede from the Union.

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

• Conclusion
• Liberty State Park
• Trenton
• Philadelphia
• Fort McHenry
• Washington, DC (Part 2)
• Washington, DC (Part 1)
• Manassas Battlefield
• Fredericksburg Battlefield
• Chancellorsville Battlefield
• Cold Harbor Battlefield
• Topsail Island, NC
• Charlotte, NC
• Shenandoah National Park
• Antietam Battlefield
• Gettysburg Battlefield
• Intro

This sensational interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsody by the Muppets.   Amazing!

For my fellow current or former Clevelanders:

(Nod: Tim)

And now for part two of my Washington DC photos from my road trip.

I loved the ceiling and the perspectives offered by the DC Metro:

Flag above the Department of the Treasury building:

North portico of the White House at night:

I saw this device on the south gate of the White House grounds.   I’m curious what might have happened if I pushed the button:

South lawn of the White House:

Lafayette Park just north of the White House:

The eternal flame at John F. Kennedy’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery:

Onlookers:

Brothers (Bobby, Jack, and Teddy):

A sea of white:

The U.S. Constitution at the National Archives:

The Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial:

The U.S. Capitol, glazed with rain water:

I only spent two days in DC, but I probably could have spend two weeks there.

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

• Conclusion
• Liberty State Park
• Trenton
• Philadelphia
• Fort McHenry
• Washington, DC (Part 2)
• Washington, DC (Part 1)
• Manassas Battlefield
• Fredericksburg Battlefield
• Chancellorsville Battlefield
• Cold Harbor Battlefield
• Topsail Island, NC
• Charlotte, NC
• Shenandoah National Park
• Antietam Battlefield
• Gettysburg Battlefield
• Intro

Days 8 and 9 of my road trip were spent in the nation’s capital.

The weather those two days was cold, windy, and rainy, but I made the most of my time there. To alleviate my exposure to the elements, I would stay outside for a little while and then find something to do inside somewhere. Then I would go back out, then find something to do inside. Etc.

This was my first time in DC since 2001, and I was amazed at how much of a fortress certain areas and buildings have become because of security concerns. Buildings like the White House Visitor Center and the National Archives that you once were able to simply walk through the front door are now protected by metal detectors and security screenings. Walking and stopping at high value targets like the White House, I always felt like I was being watched, especially since I was traveling alone. Such is the life in a heightened-security state.

But anyway, on to the photo tour. The U.S. Capitol from the southeast end:

The Statue of Freedom above the Capitol dome:

Inside the Capitol rotunda, a statue of George Washington and The Apotheosis of Washington:

Inside the Library of Congress:

Looking to the Capitol from the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court:

The west side of the Capitol:

The Capitol fountain:

Sputnik I inside the National Air and Space Museum:

The Washington Monument:

The National World War II Memorial at night:

Walking up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial:

The Reflecting Pool from the Lincoln Memorial:

The Korean War Veterans Memorial:

To be continued….

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

• Conclusion
• Liberty State Park
• Trenton
• Philadelphia
• Fort McHenry
• Washington, DC (Part 2)
• Washington, DC (Part 1)
• Manassas Battlefield
• Fredericksburg Battlefield
• Chancellorsville Battlefield
• Cold Harbor Battlefield
• Topsail Island, NC
• Charlotte, NC
• Shenandoah National Park
• Antietam Battlefield
• Gettysburg Battlefield
• Intro

The last stop on day #7 before I arrived in Washington DC was to Manassas Battlefield (flag J).

This battlefield saw fighting twice. The First Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas) took place 21 July 1861 and was the first major land battle of the war. The Second Battle of Bull Run took place 28-30 August 1862.

Unlike my previous battlefields of the day, this one was all open field:

The Henry House, destroyed during the first battle but later rebuilt:

Tree and field near the Stone House:

The Stone House, used by Union soldiers as a field hospital during both battles:

Bull Run:

The Stone Bridge spanning Bull Run. This bridge was destroyed during the first battle but later rebuilt.

As I was taking photos of and around the bridge, two gentlemen dressed in Union gear came walking over the bridge. I started talking with them and asked if I could take a few photos of them. They said they were at a reenactment at another battlefield.

The following day when I was walking the streets of DC, I ran into these two again (sans their Union gear).

While Bull Run was the first major land battle of the Civil War, the battlefield was the last of six Civil War battlefields on my road trip. Like the previous battlefields, imagining what went on here so long ago while I wonder the fields was chilling.

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

• Conclusion
• Liberty State Park
• Trenton
• Philadelphia
• Fort McHenry
• Washington, DC (Part 2)
• Washington, DC (Part 1)
• Manassas Battlefield
• Fredericksburg Battlefield
• Chancellorsville Battlefield
• Cold Harbor Battlefield
• Topsail Island, NC
• Charlotte, NC
• Shenandoah National Park
• Antietam Battlefield
• Gettysburg Battlefield
• Intro

While I was on my road trip and traveling to multiple Civil War battlefields, I had a theme from the score from Gods and Generals in my head, so as I was driving, I listened to the full score several times. What a fantastic score written as a tribute to the events and the men depicted in the film and in the larger war and era.

Gods and Generals is a 2003 film based on the Jeff Shaara novel of the same name. Jeff Shaara’s novel is a prequel of sorts to his father Michael Shaara’s novel “The Killer Angels,” which the 1993 film Gettysburg was based on. Gods and Generals covers the Battles of First Manassas, Chancellorsville, and Fredericksburg (three of my road trip stops). Gettysburg featured a score by Randy Edelman, who employed an obvious and distracting array of synthesized instruments in place of a fully orchestral score. Edelman returns in Gods and Generals for a few tracks, but the majority of the work for the film is done by John Frizzell. Both composers thankfully use an entirely orchestral ensemble.

Not having seen the film, I am unaware of what or who themes in the score represent, but from a purely musical viewpoint, the score is remarkable.

The score begins with the titular track, “Gods and Generals.” The theme introduced in this track is an emotional heartbreak of a theme appropriately set in minor key.
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The theme returns elsewhere in the score, notably in the track “Loved I Not Honor More” in an almost haunting rendition.
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The second major theme of the score is introduced in the track “You Must Not Worry for Us” with a beautiful horn solo.
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This theme is a beautiful companion piece yet absolutely opposite of the first theme. The most extraordinary performance of this theme is the track “To the Stone Wall.”
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Other tracks of note include “Lexington is My Home” which gives listeners a delectable taste of the South.
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“The School of the Soldier” is a fitting military period piece.
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Finally, “These Brave Irishmen” pays tribute to the Irishmen that played a large role in these battles with a moving piece with ethnic instrumentation.
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Gods and Generals is a powerhouse of an emotional journey from start to finish. Frizzell remarkably captures the essence of what one might think a Civil War score should sound like in the 21st century. His themes are somber and heart-wrenching, hopeful and heartwarming. For film score and history enthusiasts alike, I can’t recommend this score any higher. Absolutely a five-out-of-five score.