Traffic Stopper

Traffic was brilliant. Not only inspired movie making, but a thoughtful and balanced look at the war on drugs. Instead of promoting a position it eloquently showed both the devastation drugs cause and the futility of our government's attempts to stop them. Benecio Del Toro is a bona fide star, and all the actors were marvelous. The cinema verite style was extremely effective, too. Hard to believe the same guy directed both this and Erin Brokovitch. I'm really glad I saw it. Highly recommended.

Network Views

Watched a little bit of Broadcast News last night. Last time I saw it I wasn't really working in TV. Now that I know the business better, I'm impressed with its accuracy. A former colleague consulted on the film and she got it right. I can even recognize some of my co-workers (or at least their types). It's filled with so many great lines. One of my favorite is when the new anchor, William Hurt, is talking with the chief correspondent, Albert Brooks. (Brooks has all the best lines): "What do you do when reality exceeds your wildest dreams?" Hurt asks. "Keep it to yourself," says Brooks. I'm keeping it to myself.

Going Postal

I took down that last post because it was just a little too dark. Sometimes I think blogging takes the place of a shrink. It's cheaper anyway. I really appreciate all the kind feedback and emails I received in response. I'm over it, thanks to you. No more drama. Meanwhile, quite the buzz around TechTV about the article on our site posted by a disgruntled former employee. Guess someone forgot to cancel his VPN account and he wrote a scathing piece on the "top ten reasons why TechTV will be out of money by next year." He was very kind to me but not so nice to others at the channel. For example: "TV people are in general more stupid, shallow and less pleasant professionally than anyone I've ever worked with. I think this is because of the medium they work in - which by its very nature is superficial, stimulating without being intellectual, and sometimes outright boring. They don't call it the boob tube for nothing. I just wish the boobs had stayed away from TechTV." A few sharp eyed viewers caught the page before it was taken down. I imagine the text will surface somewhere but I don't dare post it here. Meanwhile it's being passed around TechTV with lots of surreptitious looks. What a hoot. Jennifer and I took the night off (I've got the usual column, web questions, and a speech to write but they'll keep til tomorrow) and watched Almost Famous. Much better than I expected, but really, Kate Hudson for Best Supporting Actress? I loved Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs. Has he ever done a bad job. Just a joy to watch. Like Cameron Crowe, Jen and I graduated from high school in 1973 - when the movie takes place - so we really identified with it. It's good to be a boomer!