tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post2052974386246538104..comments2023-06-14T08:58:35.243-04:00Comments on Jeff Strabone: David Byrne, day four: speaking in tonguesJeff Strabonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13381289400378450933noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-515079044974624222007-02-16T11:14:00.000-05:002007-02-16T11:14:00.000-05:00As for my own blog - I'm tempted to start one, jus...<I>As for my own blog - I'm tempted to start one, just to ban you, Blinky.</I><BR/><BR/>I look forward to it! You could call it "Blinky's Blanned".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-76791374788925827532007-02-16T07:06:00.000-05:002007-02-16T07:06:00.000-05:00I didn't mean earlier; I meant later. Of course y...I didn't mean <I>earlier</I>; I meant later. Of course you took my point seriously about Babel and Crash. It was a very good (although somewhat obvious) point. Criminy. I'm just going to wait for the Oscars thread.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-30033830277695919442007-02-15T23:12:00.000-05:002007-02-15T23:12:00.000-05:00I must disagree with Blallenge's characterization ...I must disagree with Blallenge's characterization of the host's behavior. (This week it's 'behavior', not 'behaviour'. See <A HREF="http://jeffstrabone.blogspot.com/2007/02/war-on-war-on-science.html" REL="nofollow">this comment thread</A> for a recent discussion on orthography and standardization.)<BR/><BR/>Blallenge asked, 'Will <I>Babel crash</I> the Oscars?' Which I took to mean, Would an undeserving, lazy-liberal, self-congratulatory piece of crap steal the top Oscar from a more deserving film?<BR/><BR/>I hardly think that agreeing with Blallenge's implicit sentiment constitutes ganging up on him or her.Jeff Strabonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381289400378450933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-65579551385739013472007-02-15T21:59:00.000-05:002007-02-15T21:59:00.000-05:00I am the abused party! Blinky comes on and mocks ...I am the abused party! Blinky comes on and <I>mocks</I> me and everything I stand for (blog-based neologisms), to which I responded, and then the "host" of this site and blinky gang up on me! Well, I'm not feeling very <I>welcome</I> here; but since "everybody" is welcome here, I've pasted a link to here in a Belgian fascist pedo chat room: they will be delighted to know that they're welcome here.<BR/><BR/>As for my own blog - I'm tempted to start one, just to ban you, Blinky.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-11657779018220930382007-02-15T17:37:00.000-05:002007-02-15T17:37:00.000-05:00I am glad of Mr Strabone's indulgence, if not of t...I am glad of Mr Strabone's indulgence, if not of the remarkable hostility of the ersatz "go away blinky", who might be more justified in telling me I was "not welcome" on his own blog - <I>if he had one</I>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-51681709351659578842007-02-15T16:47:00.000-05:002007-02-15T16:47:00.000-05:00Go Away speaks only for himself in asking Blinky t...Go Away speaks only for himself in asking Blinky to go away. All are welcome here. I'd like to think the dialogue at my blog will remain a bit more civilized than at many other blogs. I might be wrong.<BR/><BR/>I have only deleted one comment so far and that was because [deleted].Jeff Strabonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381289400378450933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-54516208201487149632007-02-15T16:43:00.000-05:002007-02-15T16:43:00.000-05:00Although, blinky, I think you're right about Helen...Although, blinky, I think you're right about Helen Mirren.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-69459202764776514932007-02-15T16:37:00.000-05:002007-02-15T16:37:00.000-05:00The use of "bl" must not be used as promiscuously ...The use of "bl" must not be used as promiscuously and meaninglessly as the ersatz "blinky" would have it. <BR/><BR/>Jeff, I won't criticise you for judging <I>Crash</I> without seeing it; I do that sort of thing all the time. And yet, there is a special pleasure in discovering an unpolished gem where you expected a coal rolled in a turd; it is usually even more rewarding that seeing something that one would think one would love, and discovering it's crap. That having been said, <I>Crash</I>, which I expected to despise, was actually . . . not <I>that</I> bad. It was better than <I>Out of Africa</I> and better than <I>Braveheart</I> and better than just about any single film starring Tom Hanks. And yet, I can't bring myself to see <I>Babel</I> for the very reason you describe. <BR/><BR/>Perhaps I should save this for your forthcoming Oscar blentry. And blinky - you're not welcome there, at least as far as I'm concerned. Jeff may not erase your comments, but I'll not tolerate them!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-85951343691697785702007-02-15T14:41:00.000-05:002007-02-15T14:41:00.000-05:00Blabel is mostly blollocks, but not all blollocks....<I>Blabel</I> is mostly blollocks, but not all blollocks. I do look forward to the other predictions. If Helen Mirren does not win at least seven Oscars I shall stamp and cry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-41793449240956506002007-02-14T23:41:00.000-05:002007-02-14T23:41:00.000-05:00Blallenge read my mind or perhaps knows me too wel...Blallenge read my mind or perhaps knows me too well. I was planning to do exactly that, and yes, I will include a category for best unreleased film of the year. I just need to see a couple of other films first. Last year I drew the line at Crash and this year Babel is the film I refuse to see. Is there anything less entertaining than liberal didacticism?<BR/><BR/>It's funny. After screening Almodóvar's Labyrinth of Passion (1982) for my class and assigning interviews with him as readings, I challenged my students (who have all seen Hable con ella and Volver) to discern his political engagements at the level of form in his early film. After the writing and discussion were done, I offered my own opinion: that Almodóvar is one of the most political artists in the world but, because he is a great artist, his films are never heavy-handed, obvious propaganda. And that's what makes his moral propaganda all the more persuasive. (For the record, the word 'propaganda' carries no pejorative connotations for me, and yes, I share Almodóvar's agenda.) Then people make preachy, obvious films like Crash and Babel, and I want to scream when I hear about their supposed Important Message For Our Times. Prejudice = Bad. Really? How courageous.<BR/><BR/>You can criticize me for not seeing them, but that won't change a thing. One has to draw the line somewhere.Jeff Strabonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381289400378450933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7528812.post-11884317592055008042007-02-14T23:02:00.000-05:002007-02-14T23:02:00.000-05:00Jeff,May I pose a blog challenge - a blallenge, if...Jeff,<BR/><BR/>May I pose a blog challenge - a blallenge, if you will - for you to consider? <BR/><BR/>Perhaps next week you could post your Oscar predictions? You have a reputation for extraordinary accuracy in this matter, and it is always a pleasure to see (and argue) those "Will win . . . Ought to win . . . " lists. And perhaps this will foster a debate about what promises to be the least exciting Oscars in decades. Would Scorsese actually deserve an Oscar for his re-make of <I>Infernal Affairs</I>? Will <I>Babel crash</I> the Oscars?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com