Watch-A-Thon 2008: starting line!

To you, my oh-so-very charming and attractive friend/family member/acquaintance or friend-of-a-friend whose email address I pilfered from a mass mailing---

Greetings and salutations!

Have I mentioned how good you're looking this afternoon? I mean, really! Just, well, really good! Smart even! And I don't simply mean sharply dressed, I mean, actually more intelligent than the goofuses next to you. Just really really good and smart! Now that I take you in and give it some thought, I must say, I'm rather lucky to even know you.

So good looking! You're a terrible distraction, you know. I must focus...

*deep breath*

Brian Paik here. I'm writing to let you know that I'll be participating in the Brattle Theater's Third Annual Movie Watch-A-Thon this October, and to ask if you'll support my "run." The Brattle Theater—maybe I mentioned it once or twice?—is a unique non-profit cinema located in Harvard Square, with programming that features the best of classic, cutting-edge, foreign, indie, camp, cult, and documentary fare, accompanied by freshly popped popcorn and real melted butter. =)

The Watch-A-Thon is just the sort of craziness you'd guess it is, "just like those walking and running fundraisers, but without all the pesky running and walking!" Substitute the perambulating with intensive, exhausting bottom-planting, popcorn-eating, and movie-watching. And, like those other fundraisers, I'm seeking per-movie sponsorship as well as flat donations in support. If you're up for pledging an amount per-movie, please get in touch with me. If you'd like to make a flat donation, you can do that online via my firstgiving page.

What's in it for you? Hrmm...

Well, how about this? If you're a moviegoer who for whatever reason hasn't taken advantage of the cinematic goodness that is the Brattle, I'd be right pleased to introduce you to it sometime this Watch-A-Thon month. My treat. Check out the theater schedule for October and let me know what you're interested in and I'll try to work it in. If you come out of the experience pleasantly satisfied, I hope you'll consider sponsoring or donating.

Or even if you don't. =)

There's also another way you can take advantage of the Watch-A-Thon action—by participating! The idea, of course, is to get you to raise funds for the theater, but, y'know, being a booster-fundraiser is not for everyone. But get this, there's a 'thon registration fee of $50 ($35 if you've got student ID). As a 'thon participant, that fee buys you free admission to any Brattle screening from October 1 to November 1. If you can make six films in that month, you're getting a damn good deal, especially given your cinematic options...

Running for the first 2 weeks of October, it's "Return To The Grindhouse!"—genuine fried grindhouse fare co-programmed by Lars Nilsen, director of the Alamo Drafthouse Theater. We're talking SEX DEMONS, TOYS ARE NOT FOR CHILDREN, ROLLING THUNDER, CHAINED HEAT, and more!

That's followed by "The Compleat Lord Of The Rings" long weekend, featuring the extended director's cuts of the Peter Jackson cinematic adaptations of the Tolkien LOTR trilogy.

Then it's a week of "Carole Lombard: No Dumb Blonde," showcasing the talents of the Hollywood comedic starlet of the 30s and 40s in some classic films, including MY MAN GODFREY, NO DUMB BLONDE, and MR. & MRS. SMITH.

The month winds down with a week long premiere engagement of FRONTRUNNERS, a documentary about the campaigns, strategery, and politicking of the election season... at Stuyvesant high school in NYC.

And Halloween brings the premiere of the Flaming Lips' CHRISTMAS ON MARS (subtitled "A Fantastical Film Freakout Featuring the Flaming Lips")!

So, I hope you'll check out my firstgiving page and then consider donating online or getting in touch to pledge sponsorship. And hey, I'm not kidding about pimping a trip to the Brattle in exchange for your consideration. Let me know. =)

You can find out more about the theater, its October offerings, and the Watch-A-Thon at the Brattle's site.

Thanks for your time and your support! =)

Keep on keepin on~

p.s. I mean, really, really, really, just so very good looking. You've been working out, haven't you? I can tell. I can totally tell.

p.p.s. Just... just... Wow! Just wow!

Awaiting Your Correspondance - Important Business Matter

A new riff on an old phish...

MY DEAR AMERICAN FRIEND:

I AM NEEDING TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.

I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 700 BILLION OF YOUR DOLLARS (US). IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.

I AM WORKING WITH HIGHLY REPUTABLE MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY IF MY POLITICAL PARTY WINS UPCOMING ELECTION, WHICH WE CERTAINLY WILL BECAUSE WE ARE IN CONTROLING OF THE HIGHEST SUPREME COURT. YOU MAY REMEMBER HIM AS A SENATOR AS LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S.

THIS TRANSACTIN IS 100% SAFE. YOU MUST TRUST ME COMPLETELY AND NOT ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRANSACTION. YOU HAVE MY WORD NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE MONEY.

THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED YOUR BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTH PERSONAGE WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED. YOU ARE THAT PERSONAGE.

PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN AND THOSE YET UNBORN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS WE PROMISE WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS AND PRODUCE A LONG-TERM RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR YOU AND THOSE YOU LOVE.

YOURS FAITHFULLY
MINISTER OF TREASURY H. PAULSON

Thanks to Prof. Flad for pointing me to this. A quick bit of googling brought me to this earlier version, which is as far back in time as I could find it in less than a couple minutes. =)

I originally sent the seminal version out to a mess of friends via email, but I didn't preface it with any warning or description and now suspect that many did not read beyond the first line or two, believing it to be a genuine phishing scam mail. A few friends were thoughtful enough to warn me that they suspected that my account had been hacked. (Thanks! =)

Keep on keepin on~

3 documentaries to check out in the Boston area tonight...

I am burdened with volleyball this evening, so I won't be able to attend any of these (again) myself, but wanted to alert you all to the options. Go on your own and share with friends, pass the info on if you can't make it, or round up a posse, grab some food and drink after, and discuss. =)

Tonight (Thursday) is the LAST opportunity to see THREE intriguing and entertaining documentaries playing in the Boston area...

TROUBLE THE WATER—which covers the tragedy and aftermath of hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, featuring survivor home video shot in N.O. from the day before the storm to months after—screening at Kendall Square...

SECRECY—which shines a light on the dark and shadowy history of government secrecy, from Pearl Harbor to Gitmo—screening at the Brattle and...

on the lighter side, ENLIGHTEN UP!—a skeptic's journey into the world of yoga—also at Kendall Square...

TROUBLE THE WATER
Trailer | Kendall Square Cinema
This film documents the impact of hurricane Katrina on the lives of a handful of citizens of New Orleans. It begins with handicam footage of the initial devastation wrought by Katrina and follows a couple of survivors in the aftermath, returning to N.O., attempting to start over in the wake of the storm, despite the repeated failures of their government. Aggravating, eye-opening, and inspiring, the film is more personal than I expected, focusing on the experiences of this young couple, their neighbors, and fellow survivors. Their personalities and spirit keep the tenor of things light and hopeful even in the worst of situations. It's not as big-picture political as I thought it would be, but in friendly encounters w relief workers and soldiers at the street level, intercut with national news from the day, definitely hits on the screw-ups and disconnects between the government, military, and their leadership with the lives of the people they serve. Definitely recommend it as a reminder (not that most should need it) of how big our country is and how its government seems to have been so out of touch with the lives and needs of its people for the past few years.

SECRECY
Trailer | Brattle listing
Directors will be present for Q&A at 8pm show.
(copy/paste of the Brattle blurb follows)
Harvard professors Moss and Galison deliver this thoroughly engaging documentary about the history of government secrecy in the United States. Using a combination of interviews, archival and artistic footage and interweaving multiple storylines, SECRECY paints an at-times disturbing picture that still manages to touch compellingly on all sides of the issue. Though an emphasis is put on the damage done by and consequences of keeping secrets, there is considerable attention given to the benefit of the various 'Alphabet Agencies' and the sensible use of the Top Secret stamp. Touching on events from the military incidents that helped to create many of the laws governing state secrets to Pearl Harbor to 9/11, Guantanamo, Iraq and beyond, SECRECY's strength lies in its ability to combine facts and figures with dramatic stories and characters - notably military lawyer Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift who successfully defended Gitmo prisoner Salim Hamdan.

ENLIGHTEN UP!
Trailer | Kendall Square Cinema
Director will probably be present for Q&A after 7.15pm show.
For an intriguing and eye-opening whirlwind tour of the many flavors of yoga in the world today, join journalist and skeptic Nick on his quest for transformation, which takes him from the spas and studios of New York City, USA, to the schools, institutes, and gurus of Mysore, India. It's a helluva survey of the modern yoga landscape and a pretty entertaining over-the-shoulder look at an individual (or individuals) on a journey of self/knowledge. The director's been appearing at the 7.15 shows for Q&A as well as yoga lifestyle product gift bag giveaways. If you do see her, ask her for me...

...Has she had a "breakthrough moment" of her own?

...What would she and/or Nick would say about what appears to be a breakthrough moment of his own in the film? Is this moment/realization a result of his practice, his environment, some combination of both, or something else entirely?

Also... can he now put into words his thoughts on the boat on the river?

And now, a bonus headzup to all y'all, my kindly marks—Whoops, marks? Friends! I mean all my friends, all my dynamic, attractive, charming, and so very generous friends—I'll be "running" again soon in the Brattle Theater Movie Watch-A-Thon, and would be very appreciative of your (tax-deductible! ) support for me and my favorite little drug dealer of a theater. A more detailed and rambling solicitation will follow in the next few days. =)

Keep on keepin on~

"Break's over." Obama meets with President Bartlet...

From Maureen Dowd's "Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet" in the NYTimes. Read the entire piece at the link. Or, if you find prolonged reading to elitest, continue on for a copy/paste of a pretty wonderful Bartlet rant...

... Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

For more about getting angry, check out Arianna Huffington's, "Enough!: Why Obama Should Release His Righteous Rage".

Keep on keepin on~

Hatred (aka Hatrid) rocks!

Check out HEAVY METAL JUNIOR, a documentary about a precocious heavy metal band in Scotland...

Thanks to Paris Jen for the look-at-this! =)

Keep on rockin on~

so not an economist, but...

Coming at this as a ticked off totally naive I-just-do-what-TurboTax-tells-me U.S. tax-paying citizen...

OK. We've got to save our economy or whatever, which apparently means saving Wall Street from itself. So, we go socialized w banking and bail them the F out. But I think we really need to see the people responsible punished in some way. Incarceration for all of them would be the lovelieset lower and middle class schadenfreude (as well as some frickin justice), but I can believe that there might have been some "poor" slobs involved who could have been following orders. Put in a situation that might be boiled down simplest as a bank error in their favor, y'know? But what happens once the error is found out? You give the frickin money back!

(Umm... That IS what happens, right? Jack Tripper had to do that when his ATM spit out all that cash at him that time.)

Perhaps in time some clever attorney will figure out how to angle anti-terrorist or racketeering legislation to target ultra-rich fatcats who have profited over the last couple decades on the misery and debt of their customers (wouldn't it have been a good thing to level such charges against the likes of Enron, whose dealings yielded results similar to attacks on the infrastructure and resources?), but in the short term, why don't we tax the hell out of the F'ers? Start clipping that 99th percentile of wealth, siphoned from the middle class to create the extremely, disgustingly, endangered-species-eating, what's-the-frickin-point? wealthy. No doubt it will only put a small dent in the bailout, but it'll help, and what with the frightfully ridiculous requested amount of the bailout ($700 billion, right? and likely still not enough, no doubt) maybe their taxes can be directed at something besides the banks? Infrastructure, disaster relief, mortgage amnesty/adjustments, the war/s, education, Social Security, funding universal health care...?

A series of systematic, targeted audits would be fair, sure. Aiming to basically repossess the golden parachutes and perverse salaries and bonuses accumulated by outrageously compensated CEOs and brokers motivated to draw the middle class into the quicksand of debt. I'm guessing that singling the criminally greedy would be impractical, at least in the short term, tho. Then the megawealthy ought to be treated by the numbers, as a class, and taxed hard. Cuz, feck, they should give back to the country, the system, the society, the military, and the citizenry that allowed them to make any of their money in the first place, right? And when you're talking about retarded amounts and excess, you've gotta do more more than just give less than one percent to the Human Fund.

Would it be wrong to put a cap on a person's personal wealth? A limit, above which earnings, or whatever they are, are taken by the government as a tax. Someone who has more than the limit in a year can spend the surplus away in order to keep it from the government, but it must be in some ratio of charity to property. No doubt there are creative tax legislators who can riff this into something socially and mathematically defensible.

... or something.

Keep on keepin on~

my Pulitzer Prize-winning friend... =)

How fun is it to watch and listen to a Pulitzer Prize winner cuss up a storm?

Flashback: evening of Wednesday, September 3...
Frack, I should've gotten a photo AFTER he accepted my WristStrong bracelet!

Keep on keepin on~