Sunday, May 25, 2008

Belatedly Across The Universe

I love musicals and generally try to catch them when they first open. I'm not quite sure what was happening during the theatrical run of Across The Universe but it slipped past my "musical" barometer without much fan fare.

I don't even recall friends telling me to go see it.

Well I've corrected that error and can announce that there is one more musical to add to the list of great musicals.

First and foremost
is the music......which of course was the Director's first and foremost idea.....Securing the Beatles Playbook and then building a movie around selected songs.....
The challenge would be ....what songs to ignore and since there are only about 15 songs in the movie that leaves about 185 that didn't make the cut.

Julie Taymor (Director) is a gifted artist and I feel a bit silly having never heard of her before. I'm not sure what other films she has directed but I will look it up and get back to you later.

Watching her speak on the "Special Features" part of the DVD I can honestly say that she is a unique personality within an industry that contains huge variations of personalities....many of which borderline the word......disorder.....

I would think anyone involved in any aspect of the film industry (and even those not in the industry).....would jump at the chance to work with Julie Taymor....

AND THAT ANYONE......INCLUDES YOU!

The way she selected the actors and the way she developed the project are reasons for people to get involved in the industry.

If you haven't seen this film.......silly you.

Silly me until last night.......don't know what I was thinking.......

If you did see it when it ran on the big screen, I think it's time for another viewing.....don't you?

I think I'll watch it again tonight.

A wonderful love story with historically accurate social comments
and of course
some of the greatest music ever created.

The cool thing is that another 20 movies could be made using the other 185 Beatle songs.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

AMEN!

MICHAEL TIMOTHY MC ALEVEY






Tuesday, May 20, 2008

OBAMA says it's over.....in IOWA where it started

There are two primaries today in Oregon and Kentucky.... but apparently Barack Obama will be in Iowa to announce that he is the winner.

Iowa was the first victory for Barack so he's chosen to honor them with his statement.

Interestingly enough he might not have the required delegates....but rumors are abundant that tonight's speech will declare his victory......not quite sure how that works unless he has a bunch of SUPER DELEGATES who have switched and nobody knows it....except him.

I think it's time to start the Michelle vs Cindy story.

THE WIFE OF A CANDIDATE HAS A 2 OR 3 MILLION VOTE IMPACT......which is just about the amount of votes needed to win a Presidential election. Bush beat Kerry by 3 million votes in 2004. In 2000 Gore beat Bush by 500,000.....er.....I mean.....opps.........I still get confused by the 2000 Presidential Election.

But anyway the wife has an impact.....and this time it will be Michelle vs. Cindy....

Not only do McCain and Obama have their obvious differences but Michelle and Cindy really present a different frame of reference.

THEIR STORIES WILL REVEAL SO MUCH ABOUT EACH CANDIDATE....and the fact that CINDY is a SECOND WIFE shouldn't have an impact......

SHOULDN'T.......but it might.......

The stories will come out about how each man met his woman and the McCain story has some "edges" to it......

Not that people care about that stuff anymore ....unless of course you are a right wing bible toting card carrying conservative....oh I forgot..... that's McCain's customer base.

It will be interesting.

Michelle should kick Cindy's Ass when it comes to substance......but Cindy's smokin hot so she can't be ignored.......and of course she's filthy rich so she's got that going for herself.

The MICHELLE AND CINDY SHOW STARTS VERY SOON.......

MAYBE EVEN TONIGHT.....ACCORDING TO RUMORS ON THE INSIDE OF THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN.

I'm looking forward to the Michelle and Cindy show because I'm like every other heterosexual male......I enjoy a good cat-fight from time to time....and I haven't seen one in quite a while......

Bring it on girls.........let the dance begin.

Michael Timothy McAlevey

Saturday, May 17, 2008

FLYBOY

Yves Rossy, known as the 'Fusion Man,' flies with a jet-powered single wing over the Alps in Bex, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Some people go fishing on their day off. Yves Rossy likes to jump out of a small plane with a pair of jet-powered wings and perform figure eights above the Swiss Alps. The revolutionary human flying machine comes after five years of training and many more years of dreaming.(AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

SERIOUSLY.....this is the next level of transportation.....

I'm pretty sure they aren't available at Costco yet.....but keep your eyes open.

The military will probably buy this guy out and we will never hear another word about it....

BUMMER!

Add a few missiles to the flying machine and watch out Iran!

Michael Timothy McAlevey

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

INDIA IS PUSHING CHINA AND OBAMA'S NAME

The TECTONIC PLATE that belongs to INDIA was the cause of this week's devastating Earthquake in the Sichuan province. The India Plate is moving against and over the Eurasia Plate at a rate of about 2 inches a year....pushing up the Himalayas.

Of course this has been going on for tens of millions of years.

Tens of millions of years

I don't like to report on Earthquakes because I don't like to bring up Earthquakes

so enough for now.......

On to Barack's name.

Bill O'Reilly was saying today that if Barack had a different name he could probably be President.....

I tried to warn Barack in early 2007 when he first came on the scene....in fact telling him to change his name to Barack Russell.......and to drop his middle name.....Hussien.......

THE RESULTS FROM WEST VIRGINIA YESTERDAY INDICATE THE PROBLEMS THAT BARACK WILL FACE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION.

HILLARY DESTROYED BARACK IN WEST VIRGINIA and the demographics of the state need to be observed and understood.

A large amount of WHITE MIDDLE CLASS WORKING FAMILIES will not vote for some one named Barack Hussein Obama.

I'm sorry to underestimate the intelligence of certain segments of our population but I've learned to be realistic when it comes to voter choices.

******

The Art world lost an ICON yesterday when Robert Rauschenberg passed away at the age of 82. He truly was at the forefront of MIXED-MEDIA.

His work should be respected and he might be the greatest artist ever born in Texas.

Michael Timothy McAlevey

Monday, May 12, 2008

It's not quite but it's close enough



"...a mythology is a control system, on the one hand framing its community to accord with an intuited order of nature and, on the other hand, by means of its symbolic pedagogic rites, conducting individuals through the ineluctable psychophysiological stages of transformation of a human lifetime - birth, childhood and adolescence, age, old age, and the release of death - in unbroken accord simultaneously with the requirements of this world and the rapture of participation in a manner of being beyond time."
- Joseph Campbell
AND MY FAVORITE JOSEPH CAMPBELL QUOTE....
"PARTICIPATE WITH JOY IN THE SORROWS OF THE WORLD"
There is an article in today's LA TIMES by Robin Abcarian.
AN ARCHETYPAL ANALYSIS OF CLINTON

In this article Abcarian uncovers the previous connection that Hillary (and Bill) had with Jean Houston. I say previous because apparently they no longer consult her. In this article a person gets mentioned that I have waited 30 years to hear mentioned in a political campaign....

The esteemed Joseph Campbell

Of course Hillary didn't mention Joseph Campbell but the fact that a former life coach of Hillary's is mentioned in the same sentence as Mr. Campbell....is good enough for me.

Ms. Houston, who is a highly regarded scholar, philosopher and author clearly states that Hillary failed to "move to the next level" beyond the "warfare level"

Simply put......we already have a WARRIOR in McCain.....a SHAMAN in Obama....and what we are missing is the MOTHER SUPERIOR....

THE FEMALE VOICE OF REASON AND INSIGHT could and should have been Hillary's biggest asset...but she had to adopt a WARRIOR/SHAMAN persona because someone told her she had to fight fire with fire....instead of realizing that a ton of feminine water would have been just fine.

There are some interesting sidebars in the story regarding imaginary conversations with Eleanor Roosevelt.

I understand the technique of connecting with historical figures but generally most of us do it through books and movies. I'll look into this unusual method and report back later.

Maybe Hillary can still pull a rabbit out of the hat but she would really have to rise beyond the warrior mentality and present us with a new and "revealing" side.....A SIDE THAT ONLY A WOMAN CAN REVEAL.

And being a man I'm not quite sure what that SIDE is....but I will recognize it when and IF I see it.....and the fact that Joseph Campbell and Hillary Clinton appear together in today's blog.....means something.

Of course It's not quite what I wanted but it's close enough for the moment.

After all it's the first time I've ever seen Mr. Campbell's name in an article with someone running for President of the United States.

Hillary needs to do some reading......quickly....and she needs to reconnect with old friends who know what Mythology is about....

Spirituality is not a negative term Hillary.

Jean Houston, hopefully,taught you at least that much!

Michael Timothy McAlevey



Sunday, May 11, 2008

Hillary's Campagin Headquarters


This is Hillary's campaign headquarters after the latest SUPER Delegate news. Barack picked up nine more and from all accounts THE RACE IS OVER.
But it's not over until she officially surrenders or he gets the actual numbers.
Just because everybody seems to think she should give up.....SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY ACCEPT DEFEAT GRACIOUSLY....and I'm not sure that's in the cards.
I wonder what job she would accept from the Obama Administration?
I wonder if he would offer her a job?
She would seem like a natural for three or four cabinet positions.....
but in the meantime
isn't it time
to
say
goodbye?
The word on the street is that she is trying to figure out how to do it.
The answer to that is...
JUST DO IT!
It worked extremely well for NIKE so why not Hillary?
I hope the Tornado's aren't being caused by tension from the Hillary camp....
because that would mean she's tied into Mother Nature and one thing we've all learned....
when Mother Nature gets upset.......
things break.
It might be too late for a soft exit but she should give it a try.......after all she's still a young woman and there's always 2012 and 2016.....
Her speech to leave the campaign could be the beginning of her next attempt.
I highly suggest she treat the moment with dignity and grace........
IF INDEED THERE IS SUCH A MOMENT.....
Her 2008 campaign is toast......
Nice try...
Say Goodbye
Michael Timothy McAlevey

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Barack, Hillary, NARGIS and finally KOBE

The Democratic race is still up in the air even though the direction is tilting toward Barack. He won North Carolina and she won Indiana but apparently her win meant less because it was a very close race and she was suppose to dominate.

THE SUPER DELEGATES WILL DECIDE THE OUTCOME...and if you think you can sway a Super Delegate than you better get busy.

Personally....I don't think there's much I can do.....similar feeling when it comes to the Electoral College.

It really looks like it will not be decided until sometime in June.

Pundits say it's not good for Democrats....but PUNDITS SMUNDITS.....let the
game continue.

IT'S DEMOCRACY IN IT'S STRANGEST SHAPE AND FORM ...AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN WILL HAPPEN AND LA DE DA......

NARGIS on the other hand has totally kicked ass in Burma (Myanmar) and now the estimate is that 100,000 are dead. The leaders of that devastated country are having problems receiving aid from the United States.

THEY SAY THEY ONLY WANT MONEY!

Go figure!

small bills in plastic bags.... Please!

Seriously the United Nations needs to bitch slap the leaders of that country and send a message that resonances through all third world countries....

TAKE WHAT IS OFFERED or don't take anything at all. The strange part about Myanmar is that they have been tied in with China for awhile and from what I've been able to ascertain....CHINA has the money.

So why wouldn't they take care of the problem....after all they use the country for a route to the ocean.

The price of Rice is about to jump once more.....apparently NARGIS wiped out 65 percent of their rice crop.....and if it's anything like oil....little burps cause big spikes in the price.

But now on to something closer to home and slightly more pleasant....hopefully

KOBE BRYANT has finally won the MVP award in Basketball.....
Reading the story I find it hard to believe that Jerry West and Elgin Baylor never won.....Magic won three times and Kareem won 3 times.....but no West or Baylor.

If Kobe hadn't had a certain night in Colorado he would have won long before now because it's been obvious for quite a few years that he's the best player in the NBA.

The things I like about Kobe......he's blatantly honest, he's extremely funny and highly intelligent. The basketball stuff is just a part of his MO....and obviously he might be the hardest working athlete in professional sports. He plays with pain and he has fixed his relationship at home.

The guy deserves what he gets from the work he puts in....but then there's the concept of talent. He was born with a special gene for doing what he does.....and I'm not sure how the government inserted that gene into his DNA but it has something to do with how many seven footers there are today versus 40 years ago.........the government did something to the water.

I think I learned that from Mel Gibson's CONSPIRACY movie......

Anyway....it's about time he got the award and he might end up with one or two more before he's finished.....

I will admit that I probably don't really care that much about basketball anymore.....especially considering that I was a GYM rat for quite a few years.....it just seems that you can turn on an NBA game with five minutes to go and the score is usually close and then they play lights out.....and please also remember that it's the easiest sport to score a point....so there's not a lot of excitement when points are scored....except at the end of the game.

Kobe on the other hand.....makes every moment on the court seem interesting....and that's the mark of an MVP.

Congratulations Kobe.....on this award and the fine job you've done with your family....both things were a lot of work and both things seem to have paid huge dividends.

Bravo

Michael Timothy McAlevey


Saturday, May 3, 2008

THE OTHER ABBIE HOFMANN

A rather long obituary appeared in last Wednesday's LA TIMES.

ALBERT HOFMANN 1906-2008

SWISS CHEMIST DISCOVERED LSD

Obviously there are many reasons why that story caught my eye....with some of those reasons being none of your business.

The dates involved in the discovery are April 16, 1936 and April 19, 1936. April 19, 1936 is regarded as BICYCLE DAY by proponents of LSD. Apparently that was the day that Hofmann was taken home on a bicycle because he was hallucinating.....after accidentally licking his fingers from some ERGOT experiment.

ERGOT is a fungus that grows on rye, barley and certain other plants.

Adds a new dimension to the phrase...."I'll have that on Rye....PLease"

It wasn't until the early 60's that Timothy Leary hooked up with Hofmann and started using the PRODUCT for other things....

It wasn't until 1969 that I encountered what Albert had uncovered in 1936.

My question is....WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH LSD BETWEEN 1936 AND 1962? Who was using it and for what reasons?

I'm sure the military can answer some of those questions....but I'm pretty sure they won't.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWO YEARS OLD......I wonder how much his longevity has to do with LSD?

So many questions.....but my teeth are starting to hurt so I've got to stop now.

Michael Timothy McAlevey