Dancing, dancing in the street / Way down in LA, everyday
Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko is that rare film which can induce nostalgia for the late 1980s when I was a teenager.

Kelly has a new project, Southland Tales, in pre-production. It's "a musical/comedy set in 2008 where a three-day heatwave in Los Angeles culminates in a huge Fourth of July party." The cast includes Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Lee, Janeane Garofalo, Ali Larter, Tim Blake Nelson, Amy Poehler, and Kevin Smith. It will either be genius or uncomfortably bad. I'd bank on the former.

Why they hate us
The other day I rewatched Whit Stillman's Barcelona, which is now 10 years old, and it has held up remarkably well. In view of the recent elections in Spain and the growing anti-American sentiment worldwide, the comedy is as prescient a film as I can think of.

The movie is set during the waning days of the Cold War. Two cousins - one, a sales representative from Chicago, and the other, a naval attache - explore Barcelona's nightlife and have to deal with their fair share of anti-Americanism. Neither can understand why they're repeatedly called fascists (fasche) by the locals and therefore get into a few arguments.

The movie's dialogue makes it seem like a precursor to Wes Anderson's Rushmore, but that's just a guess.

SNAFU*
Michelle Cottle reports on the 911 Commission. She complains that since the Commission was partly carried out in public, it led to political posturing and grandstanding. She suggests closed-door hearings would have been better, but that sounds anti-democratic to me. Her fatalism regarding another attack resonates, unfortunately.

Ms. Cottle and I shared a creative writing class back in college and she was one of those reticent charmers who reflect well on the "New South."

* Situation Normal All Fucked Up

The worse, the better
Some misguided factions on the Left have used this slogan which indicates support for chaos to heighten the contradictions of politics. Dan Drezner points out the apparently worsening situation in Iraq is helping Bush in the polls. (via Andy Sullivan)

At this point, Kerry has to wonder whether he's in a parallel political universe. It seems neither logical nor fair that problems in Iraq should boost the president who sent U.S. troops there in the first place, while imperiling the challenger who voiced qualms about the invasion before it happened. But odd as this will sound, it's worth considering the possibility that failure in Iraq is helping Bush's reelection chances--and that immediate U.S. success in Iraq is Kerry's only chance to win.

"We begin bombing in five minutes"
Michael Kinsley once said a Washington gaffe is when a politician utters something everyone knows to be true. Laura Kipnis writes about politicians' parapraxes and uses Condi Rice's recent DC dinnertime faux pas as a spring board:

What Rice reportedly said was this: "As I was telling my husb—" before abruptly breaking off and correcting herself: "As I was telling President Bush." Jaws dropped, we're told. And though nobody thinks Bush and Rice are "actually an item," we were nevertheless reminded that the unmarried Condi does regularly spend weekends with the president and first lady.

Resistance is futile (or Sheena is a punk rocker)

Dear Reader, (all 0-2 of you)

Should you notice a change in tone or sudden drop off in the number of postings, it's because of a young lady. Let's call her A. for the purposes of discussion.

It doesn't look good on paper, I'll admit, but we have fun together. A. is a tattooed, streetwise yet kind, midriff-baring "Generation Y" gal who can hold her liquor like none other I have seen. Your humble servant is a jaded "Gen Xer", as you can probably tell. We do share a fondness for David Sedaris.

Still, I'm wary. But I've had a sip of the Kool-Aid and it tastes good.