Kris Schultz

Check out this reprint of a Bill Moyers speech being delivered all over California this week. Moyers, LBJ's former Press Secretary and former PBS heavy, continues to speak out on so many important topics, and this speech is a great follow-up to what I was saying yesterday about my future Powerball winnings.

Hey y'all. I am long overdue for a post, I know. I finally got internet at home, so I should be back on the wagon to post more regularly again. To my five fans (and you know who you are) I regret I've left you in the lurch. It's gotten to the point where I've wanted to blog about so many things that I've blogged about nothing. What a story of life in general - so many things to do, not enough time to do them all, right? My friend Pittman said I should do one of those REM "eye of a hurricane" style rants of subjects and just list them all, but I'd only do it if I could scream LEONARD BERNSTEIN! But I digress...

Here are some quick bits of musings on various things I've been thinking about:

5 Oscar(tm)-Nominated Best Films Worthy of a View

I am proud to say I've seen all five movies nominated for best picture, and this is the first year this has happened. Normally I'm scrambling to try to catch up before the awards ceremonies so I can make my best picks and see why they were nominated. I've had the luxury for the first time in over a decade not to be working during election season, and thus the luxury to follow my growing hobby to view the best movies. So I get to sit back next Sunday and watch the Oscars well prepared. Here's a reason each Best Film Nominee is compelling to me, in order of my favorites:

1) Good Night, and Good Luck
George Clooney rules. He channeled his political agenda, his craft, and his love for family all into this beautiful project. He grew up going to the news room with his father, Nick Clooney, a candidate for Congress in my neighboring Kentucky Congressional District in 2002. He grew up knowing the legend of journalist Edward R. Murrow, and combined the compelling story of his taking on Senator Joseph McCarthy for his witch-hunt hearings on Communism to a critique on the media today. It's a heady, elegant, thoughtful, and pointed movie worthy of your time.

2) Brokeback Mountain
This movie is the front runner for one major reason - it's the first time a compelling love story has been told of intertwining the lives of gay men and our all too large portions of repressed society. I love the author Annie Proulx's the Shipping News, and this story comes from one of her short stories. It's just a beautiful love story, regardless of the context. But it's the context that gives it it's heft. And Jake Gyllenhaal rules, with his worthy best supporting actor nomination. Go, Jake, Go!

3) Munich
depicting the craziness that happened after the '72 Olympics and the murder of Israeli athletes and the tit-for-tat violence that ensued between Israelis and Palestinians. It seems to show the futility of such quid-pro-quo violence in the Middle East and with US politics today. Eric Bana did a wonderful job, as did his posse of assassins. Terrific film. I hear there are controversies about this film, but I'll admit, I missed those articles and stories, so I can't speak of them. And some of Speilberg's symbolism at the end is over the top. But this movie isn't getting the acclaim it deserves, in my opinion. Hey, did you know Golda Maier grew up in Milwaukee? I find that odd. I learned that from Garrison Keillor on this past weekend's prairie Home Companion.

4) Capote
I love Philip Seymour Hoffman. He's one of our generation's best actors, and has not received the fame he's so richly deserved. This portrayal shows why he'd be deserving, and I am pulling for his win in the best actor category. This straight guy plays flamboyant and ever watchable Truman Capote in his greatest endeavor - the true story of his writing In Cold Blood, a book about the brutal murder of a family in Kansas in the 60's, the creation of the true crime book genre, and the resulting murder trial and execution of the murderers. And, by the way, I haven't written this in awhile - the death penalty is wrong.

5) Crash
With a mishmosh of stories from all kinds of races, misunderstandings, and plotlines with twists as swift as Lombardi Street, Crash comes on like it's title. Sometimes I felt it was over the top. Sometimes I felt moved. Sometimes I felt manipulated. Sometimes I felt exasperated. It's the intensity of the story coupled with outing lots of stereotypes in one big mixing bowl that makes this good vs. bad juxtaposition so fascinating. It does have at it's core the message that there is a bit of good in the bigot and a bit of the bad in the oppressed. I hope it gets you talking and thinking as much as I did, though I wish not so many of them had chosen to do so at the Village 8 Cinemas when Mom and I saw it.

-> Shoutout to The Constant Gardener, the movie I would have placed at #5 ahead of Crash. Have you rented it yet?

Betty Friedan, REST HER SOUL

I regret to admit I've never read the Feminist Mystique, Ms. Friedan's groundbreaking book releasing the bonds of the June Cleaver world that kept women barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen for her man and family. I felt detached from her thinking for one reason or another - not uncommon thinking for my post-feminist generation grappling with both being raised in the spirit of YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT combined with many deep remnants of what women are "supposed to do" with their lives. I regret I haven't learned more of what she wrote, because here I sit a single woman of 35 years old with the ability to do whatever I want to do and so many more freedoms, thanks to her and the women who fought with her in the cause of feminist equality. Sure, there are still remaining social pressures for me to get married and have a family, but I still can either embrace them or ditch them at will with little social ostracism. But this obituary from the New York Times is worth the read to honor her life as we mourn her death.

Actually, the revolution that needs to occur is one for men, especially for fatherhood and the workplace. Why do two working parents not equally share the load of parenthood? The pressures on men in the workplace. I have more I could say about this, but I need to keep fleshing it out before I do.

Coretta Scott King

God Rest Her Soul Too. We are loosing too many of our change-agents, right on the heels of Rosa Parks' death, too. What an inspiring, wonderful woman.

Did you know that when Oprah Winfrey heard the house that Mrs. King lived in for 40 years kept getting broken into, she moved her to a fancy Atlanta high-rise where celebrities and moguls live.

So, any of you who heard that quote "there's a person in there, not a symbol" from President Bill Clinton, aren't you wishing he was our President again? Wow, he wowed me again. I missed that from him, and from Democrats in general. I can't wait til we control things (or something) again.

Someday I'll Win the Powerball

I think it's great that the big Powerball jackpot is being shared by meat packing plant workers - and UFCW members at that, I believe. Isn't that who we'll hope will win? I hated hearing that wealthy and powerful Senator Gregg won last year, because he didn't need 800K or whatever it was. But packers? Heck yeah.

I do dream about winning the Powerball. I buy a ticket every once in awhile, because for those few hours I get to dream. I dream about getting out of debt, taking care of my parents, traveling the world, and parlay my riches to political change.

If I ever do, I am going to become the new George Soros. I'll start a 527 and do all I can to elect one or two people who deserve it.

But it's just another note about the sad state of affairs that after all my years of sacrifice in the political system as a mid-level campaign operative that I feel it would take millions of dollars won in a lottery to actually affect change. Money still controls the system so much, and Democracy is in the hands of those with the biggest pocketbook. Not really much of a Democracy, if you ask me. I always said that if regular people fully understood the K Street system, and how many hours a day their average Member of Congress spent raising money rather than solving social problems, they'd want revolutionary change in the system. When the heck does that Ah Ha moment start?

well... this is a start to my return. How y'all doing?

This (click here) is the best thing I've seen in a long time, and it's funny but sad, because it's 100% true. Letterman rules.

I have a longer post in the editing room - soon! I promise! To you, my five fans... I'll be back.