'Cause our children are watching us, they put their trust in us, they're gonna be like us

In case you haven't read this yet, you need to. Daniel has brilliantly summed up the hypocrisy surrounding the Dixie Chicks controversy. I stood next to a poster for the documentary "Shut Up and Sing" a few weekends ago, waiting in line to see "Casino Royale." I was with a conservative -- and I mean owns Ann Coulter books and CDs of Confederate music conservative -- friend. He essentially likened the Chicks to terrorist-lovers, saying it's people like them who want to quit fighting in Iraq and let terrorists win. I'm assuming he liked the Chicks before their 2003 concert. Talk about not staying the course. He said he'd "vote with his dollar" and refuses to support them and the movie about them.

As someone who knows what it's like to receive hate mail -- the likes of which I also believe were made worse because of my gender -- the only thing I can do to combat that type of hypocrisy is to vote with my dollar as well, refusing to change my support for an artist if I disagree with their politics or lifestyle. I don't care what they say at their concerts; what I care about right now is that their latest album, "Taking the Long Way," is amazing -- one of the top albums of the year. And I'll keep listening to it.

Why did I have to be born with an addictive personality?

To say I'm excited about the upcoming
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film is an
understatement. Malinda and I have hatched a plan that includes me
taking July 13, 2007 off from work, driving to Austin and standing in
line for hours at one of theDrafthouses to see the show together. We'll
need moral support for the parting of Sirius because yes -- I treat
fictional characters as if they are real. Watch the trailer here. Now. Also watch this HBO sneak peek with extra behind-the-scenes footage.

Side note: I'm annoyed they changed the writing on his hand, as seen on the picture at above, to "I will not break rules." In the book, as begins in chapter 13, "Detention with Dolores," Harry is forced to carve "I must not tell lies" into his hand until he bleeds -- an important part of the book and a tie-in with Harry being considered a liar by most of thewizarding world. So why change it? Why change something so minute? Why screw with crazy-obsessive fans' minds? Why?

Second side note: I think I've found someone with hands as white as mine. Now I know I should move to England.

Don't be offended by my frank analysis -- think of it as personality dialysis

So, this conversation is what happens when someone like Robert Altman dies, you work in a newsroom and you talk online to your brother, who also works in a newsroom and happens to be a movie buff:

me: the newsroom is arguing on whether or not robert altman dying is big enough news because most people wouldn't know who he is.
Daniel: [weeps]
[hangs self from rafter after carving "brooks was here"]
i hate this world
IT HAS TO BE IN YOUR PAPER
if you don't wanna do p. 1, fine
reefer it and put it wherever you put arts stuff
but FOR THE LOVE OF HOLY F***ING CRAP IT'S LEGITIMATE NEWS
me: haha, yeah, it's going in the paper
but, we were debating whether he was important enough
the managing editor said the average person doesn't know who he is
Daniel: he was one of the best directors of the 20th century
me: or can name more than one of his movies
Daniel: MAYBE IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE AND TEACH THEM SOMETHING IN THE PAPER
i swear to f**k i will kick your managing editor in the balls
what a retarded logic
"i don't know him, therefore no one does, or will care"
jeez
me: haha
Daniel: oh man
i will fly to texas in december and drive to abilene and punch him right in his tiny balls
holy CRAP
what a moron
i've only seen a few altman movies, but know that his death is big news
guy had an amazing career
incredibly influential
no altman, no p.t. anderson
man
man man man
talk me down, kid
give me some good news
me: haha
ummm
today is your last day of work for the week
that's good news
Daniel: true
ok
a little better now
just
man
your editors make me sad
for humanity
me: haha
that was a nice little rant
it was him against everyone else
Daniel: good
me: and he felt pretty strongly about it for some reason
Daniel: tell him: "my brother daniel's coming for you. he's riding tonight and bringing hell with him"
or something equally intimidating
me: will do
Daniel: "my brother will hunt you until the sun burns out. he knows where you sleep. he will kill you"
me: we're running a brief on his death, but we're grouping it with a bunch of celebrity news, like michael richards, o.j.'s book, jackson and the hobbit, etc. our complaint was that altman doesn't belong in that category, but he said he does because he's not in the ranks of spielberg or lucas. we argued that (obviously), but his point was that he wasn't as popular, not that he wasn't as good. he said the average reader won't know who he is.
blah.
Daniel: HOLY MOTHERF**KING SHITBALLS
I HATE YOUR EDITOR SO MUCH I COULD PISS BLOOD
NOT AS GOOD AS SPIELBERG OR LUCAS?
ALTMAN WIPES HIS ASS WITH LUCAS!
YOU THINK THE PASSING OF ONE OF THE TOP AMERICAN DIRECTORS OF ALL TIME IS ON PAR WITH F**KING O.J.?!?!
CRAP CRAP CRAP
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAP
talk me down
TALK ME DOWN
hurry HURRY
me: i'm laughing too hard
he's dumb
he doesn't know anything
Daniel: HE'S BEYOND DUMB
THE TURDS I LEAVE IN THE TOILET ARE DUMB
YOUR EDITOR IS A SHITCAN RETARD
WHO DOESN'T DESERVE TO MAKE NEWS DECISIONS
[panting]
oh man
MAN
me: easy now
this is why you moved away
and one day, my friend, i will too
Daniel: ths is ttrue
i can't even type right
balls
balls
poop
piss up a rope
me: now we're joking that we should go out and ask the 'average reader' if they know who the managing editor is
Daniel: hahahaha
nice
i think you should all take turns giving him licks
with a belt
come on
MASH
MASH, people
not the stupid tv show
the great movie

... aaaand scene.

So that's what "We Three Kings" is about.

This drives me absolutely insane. INSANE. An excerpt:

Christians gather around the world each Christmas to sing about "poor baby Jesus" asleep in the manger with no crib for his bed.
But the Rev. Creflo Dollar looks inside that manger, and he doesn't see a poor baby at all.
He sees a baby born into wealth because the kings visiting him gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. He sees a messiah with so much money that he needed an accountant to track it. He sees a savior who wore clothes so expensive that the Roman soldiers who crucified him gambled for them.
Dollar sees a rich Jesus.
"He was rich, he was whole, and I use those words interchangeably," says Dollar, senior pastor of World Changers Church International, a 23,000-member College Park, Ga., church that broadcasts its services on six continents.
Dollar is part of a growing number of preachers who say that the traditional image of Jesus as a poor, itinerant preacher who "had no place to lay his head" is wrong.
"Did Jesus have money? Well, the Bible was clear. Kings brought him gold," Dollar says. "Did Jesus have money? It's clear. He had a treasurer to keep up with it."

Note to self: Don't call your editor a 'martyr' during a meeting.

Here's some of the stuff I do on our Thursday entertainment page. I have a TV column and this week printed feedback I've received. Man oh man did I clean them up and correct mistakes. Seriously -- if you're going to send a letter to a newspaper or other publication, at least run spell check, people.

November 2, 2006

They're sharpening the ax:
Word has it that "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," despite receiving an order last week for three more scripts, will be cancelled. The script ordering was probably due to contractual issues, according to Entertainment Weekly, rather than a sign of hope from NBC in the show. NBC is disputing the rabid rumors, but who knows how long the show will actually last. "Friday Night Lights" ran in its place Monday, drawing a larger crowd than its showing the previous week and beating "Studio's" ratings as well.

This saddens me. The show that criticizes the state of TV by having its own show go against the network grain by being "controversial" and in turn receiving high ratings is in reality suffering from low ratings and the expected ax from its network. Now that's irony.
One reader disagreed with my open letter to Aaron Sorkin, "Studio 60's" creator, two weeks ago. Read on to see what she had to say, as well as my response.

Backtalk

Feedback for Oct. 19 column (An open letter to Aaron Sorkin)
Dear Sarah,
I have been reading your reviews in the new Life sections, and I have to say we are of two very different minds. I love "Heroes" and am not a comic book fan, but a 34-year-old mother of three. I like "Smith," and thought it was not really given a chance. And I like "Studio 60." I think you may have missed the first episode. The producer went crazy or if you ask me, he went sane! His rant about television was right on. I don't think "Studio" is meant to funny, but meant to be introspective. If you want funny, watch "30 Rock." You will find funny, or somewhat funny -- I can't really decide yet. I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I just hope that maybe, just maybe TV networks will hold on to the good shows that need some ... time.
Thank You,
Amy

Amy,
I think we're more like-minded than you assert. I like "Studio 60" and agree about the sorry state of TV (and yes, I saw the pilot, and wrote about it here). But I maintain the show-within-the-show's comedic sketches needed to be just that: comedic. The heavy-handed, preachy plotlines are wearing everyone down, and what could have been an amazing show is buckling under its own self-importance.
Also, I never said "Smith" was bad; I just said that it was cancelled. I never watched an episode. And I have to disagree with millions of people out there about "Heroes." I may give it another shot out of boredom, but it's just not great.
Sarah

Feedback for Oct. 26 column ("The Class" isn't funny)
To Sarah:
"The Class" is not as funny as I would have hoped it would be. However, there are funny shows on TV. I laugh out loud every time I watch "According to Jim" and "Two and a Half Men." Both are hilarious. Why are they not getting more recognition? Instead, "The Office" gets all the awards. "The Office" is one of the most stupidest shows I've almost sat through. No one I know watches it either.
Linda

Linda,
You cut me deep by calling "The Office" stupid. It gets all the awards because it's one of the smartest comedies on TV, claiming the title now that the brilliant "Arrested Development" is off the air. These aren't sitcoms; they're witty and eccentric, which makes it harder for these shows to gain an audience. I'll have to take your word on "According to Jim" and "Two and a Half Men" -- I just can't bring myself to watch them.
Sarah

This has to be the funniest e-mail I've ever received from my parents:

Ok, get this, your father managed to set himself on fire last night.

I had to work until 8 p.m. last night, so he was coming to pick me up. He had Rusty in the truck (of course) and was dressed in his usual shorts and tee shirt topped off with his robe and slippers. Just setting the scene.

Right around the corner, at the stop sign, a girl had stalled her car. He stopped to see if she needed help. He told her he had to pick me up, but would be right back. He then set out a flare.

You know what's coming.

He said the girl lunged at him, saying "You're on fire!" and slapping at his chest. Now he's got a hole bigger than a quarter burned through his robe and a slightly singed tee shirt. Not surprisingly, she was gone by the time we got back. (Can't you just hear the story she told?)

He was offended when I snickered. I really think this tops me pinching my fingers in the garage door.

Mom