My Superhero Dream Team: Prepare For Glory!

Like most men, I have very limited insight into the higher neurological functions of the American female. So, as far as discussing the themes that women find appealing in their television and movies, I have to take a scientific approach and only hypothesize about why the ladies like the things they like.

I do know what escapist fantasies dudes harbor, and why. We crave excitement, adventure, speed, and an unprecedented level of nudity. We crave movies based on comic books or similarly unrealistic premises. And summer blockbusters love to oblige us.

They don’t delve into the possible downsides of being incredibly wealthy, intelligent, and having your own cybernetic battlesuit with rockets in the arms and emergency flares in the nipples. There’s just the right amount of adversity; a prosaic and straight-forward evil villain generally puts the hero in a tough spot, and then forces the hero to do something epic. Not so secretly, my ilk envies the hero. We would love to clench our fists and solemnly vow not to rest until justice is delivered to every ass within a 2 mile radius via our mighty feet.

But movies aren’t enough for me anymore. As a dude, the appeal of watching a crime-fighting, justice-avenging hero has simply become mundane. As such, I’ve designed my own super team.

I’ve put a lot of though into this. A lot. For instance, as many of you may not know, there is inevitably a rivalry between the team leader and the resident loose cannon that doesn’t play by the rules and goes his own way.

That will not be an issue here, however, as I plan to be both the leader and the loose cannon. I might sometimes disagree with myself, but I’m sure I’ll be able to resolve the issue by dropping giant boulders onto myself, and then watching them shatter on my abs. Additionally, my biceps will be named Zeus and Odin, and they will probably star in their own spin-off movies. Read More »

What Now? A Turn to Substance for Barack Obama

With Barack the nominee, the question is: what now? In Kentucky exit polls, only 1 in 3 Clinton supporters said they would vote for Obama in the general election. About 4 in 10 said they would vote for McCain, and nearly 1 in 4 said they wouldn’t vote at all.

Even accounting for the potential rawness of emotion at exit polls, this is clearly an obstacle. Add to this picture the widespread outrage among women at Obama’s and the news media’s misogyny and the fact that some voters in Florida and Michigan see Obama as the agent of their disenfranchisement, and you can see how Obama has serious challenges in many states boasting huge populations and a substantial number of electoral college votes.

Perhaps these statistics can begin to explain why in the 20 states where she won, Clinton trumps McCain 50% to 43% in daily Gallup polls over the last 2 weeks, while Obama trails at 45% to McCain’s 50%. And why across the board, in a Gallup survey of all 50 states that included 11,000 registered voters, Clinton performed better than Obama when set against McCain (she led 48% to 45%; Obama loses 45% to 46%).

Her wins in swing states like Nevada, Ohio, New Mexico, Florida, Pennsylvania and Arkansas support this, and in these swing states she beat McCain according to Gallup by an even greater margin, 49% to 43% (while Obama lost).

Obama needs Hillary supporters, he cannot win without us. So how is he going to achieve this? Read More »

Obama: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?

Gerry Ford first addressed the country as President after Dick Nixon left office by saying: “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

Tuesday night had me thinking the same thing. Barack had finally driven a wooden stake through the Clinton campaign.

But is the national nightmare over or just heating up? After months of seeking to destroy the party for her personal gain, she is now trying to get herself on the undercard as Veep under the auspices of taking one for the team to unite the party.

The last thing Barack Obama needs is to have Hillary and Bill as the Vice President and Lounge Lizard in Waiting.

One never knows when a Bill eruption will hit. We tolerated that fraternity hijinks when he was president, as he was actually a pretty damn good politician. We don’t need that nonsense from the spouse of the person holding the job described as not being worth a warm bucket of spit. He’d be like the drunken ex-boyfriend crashing the wedding.

Assuming he can sidestep the elephant in the room to take on the elephant party, what can we expect in the way of spin between the two parties? Read More »

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Scarf? The Censure of the Keffiyeh

When fashion becomes a crime worthy of the expulsion of winsome celebrity chef Rachael Ray from the billboards of Dunkin’ Donuts, it is clear that the laws of sensibility have been hurled through the moral window.

The advert, depicting Ray and her luminous gnashers against a be-blossomed backdrop, evokes the anticipated summer ambiance and a rapacious craving for the glazed fancies.

Unless, of course, you are a member of the Fox News posse, for whom this is no ordinary advert: it is the manifestation of terror, the teasing tentacle of subversion, and a candid infringement on the security and morals of American society.

The means by which the cheeky chef and her cup of coffee prompted such outrage is inscrutable to the eye of the average individual, yet by viewing the image through the murky vision of the scandal-mongers, all becomes less clear.

Certainly, it is a scarf. A black and white scarf – in paisley, no less.

But wait, as the vision clouds further it resembles a… a… keffiyeh? Read More »

In Lebanon and Beyond: Could the Arab League be on the Verge of Resurgence?

Arab League-bashing is a favorite past time of the Arab masses. There is, at best, a sense of resignation that the Arab League is an institution that has failed miserably in resolving the conflicts engulfing our region.

The last annual summit of Arab Heads of states in Damascus, in March this year, was met with a chorus of apathy on the streets of Amman, Cairo, Casablanca, Gaza and every other corner of the Arab world. The only thing that seems to get people to turn on their TV sets is the perennial (and always entertaining) Gaddafi speech, with the average Arab viewer wondering just how far the Colonel will go in his latest oration.

It is difficult to blame the Arabs for deriding their league. The seeming impotence of the Arab League in the face of adversity is quite legendary. As the situation in Palestine, especially Gaza, deteriorates, as the cruel civil war wages in Iraq (not to mention the illegal invasion that sparked it), as the Darfur situation worsens, the Arab league stands totally powerless. And this is just a snapshot of the current crop of crises in Arabia. The history of the last six decades since the founding of the League in 1945 is deluged with examples of the Arab League’s inefficiency and incapacity to resolve any of the major issues facing the region.

But then, in the midst of all this inaction, we woke up one morning last week to the sight of a truly extraordinary and improbable achievement: a real Arab League success. Please continue reading the column at ArabComment, where it is being hosted this month.

Common Comic Star

Please not that an audio reading of the poem is available below the text.

As hours flop,
And hours top,
And wiggle
side to side,
I laugh my self,
Guffaw my way,
Chuckle stuff
I have tried:

I feel it best
that I confess:
I have been
Called a quitter.
Just today,
I thought and lay
About a mound
of titters. Read More »

The Hong Kong Sinfonietta, a Growing Presence

3 May 2008
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 4 in G minor, Op 40
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, Op 18

The Sinfonietta, established in 1990, offered concertgoers the rare chance to enjoy Peter Donohue last month. The British pianist entertained the audience with the rarely performed Rachmaninov’s fourth and first piano concertos.

Let’s first say a few words about the Sinfonietta: Yip Wing-sie became its chief conductor in 2002. The Sinfonietta has performed with global starts such as Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. The Sinfonietta is also well-known for its educational concerts, and the guiding mission of bringing classic music into day-to-day life..

Speaking of the Peter Donahue performance, while the Fourth Piano Concerto is not as well-known as compared to the Second and First or Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, it is believed that the Fourth is one of the best of Rachmaninov’s piano-and-orchestra work. It’s considered stylistically top-notch, yet does not lack the passion and fervor. Its orchestral writing is especially sophisticated, thus any orchestra that undertakes it must undergo an extensive and demanding rehearsal process.

Yip and the Sinfonietta did their jobs with both precision and emotion, which was crucial. As for Donohue, his playing here was superb; he is a true virtuoso performer wholeheartedly playing for the joy of the music. His music is never forceful.

After the intermission, Donohue launched into the beginning of the First Piano Concerto with great spirit. Read More »