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Saturday, September 02, 2000
I heard this All Things Considered segment the other night. It seems like it ought to be a joke, but I gather this guy's serious.
posted by MES 4:31 PM ET | discuss | link
Thursday, August 31, 2000
Had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine over lunch. It seems he was once in a plane that came very close to crashing. The air conditioning system caught fire, the cabin filled with smoke, and the plane went into a severe nose dive before righting itself just in time to make an emergency landing. I asked him what went through his mind, what he was thinking as the plane went down, and he said all he felt was shock that he was really going to die. He said there was nothing in his mind but complete and utter surprise. So much so, that for a few seconds, he was unaware of the developing situation entirely. He was alone in his head with his surprise. Eventually, as the reality of the situation began to hit him, surprise turned to anger. He kept thinking "of all the people on all the planes in the air today, why is this happening to me?", and he wound up getting really pissed off. I asked if he ever felt fear, or wondered if it would hurt and he said no, that mainly he was consumed by shock which eventually gave way to anger.Anyway, Here's how the Concorde pilots handled the situation.
posted by LT2 8:47 PM ET | discuss | link
Hey, watch where yer puttin' that anchor guys!
posted by LT2 6:50 PM ET | discuss | link
Read the first half-sentence of this letter, nothing more, nothing less. And it's probably best if no one asks how I got to this site.
posted by LT2 3:41 PM ET | discuss | link
Yet another successful order from Half.com! I just got a banged-up paperback copy of Lucius Shepard's Life During Wartime, just like I ordered.
posted by LT2 3:30 PM ET | discuss | link
This article, The Revenge Of the Nice People, is a good start, but I'd really like to see a more detailed sociological analysis of how and why American react differently in this situation than Europeans. That would be really interesting. Or maybe the difference is just in the casting. Who knows.
posted by MES 11:33 AM ET | discuss | link
Wednesday, August 30, 2000
Wow! Talk about counter-intuitive...Unless you're a Conservative, of course. We knew it all along. ;-)
Note in particular, the obnoxious quote from Senator Meeks towards the end. Can you say "blinded by his own point of view?"
posted by LT2 6:25 PM ET | discuss | link
What's wrong with Movie Theaters today.
posted by MES 5:04 PM ET | discuss | link
Dang it, I got up from my desk for twenty minutes to go do some actual work, and I missed another plane flying over the Big Brother house. The message this time: "It's bad. Take Control. Question Julie Chen." I'm sure the meek hamsters won't do anything about it, though.
posted by MES 3:41 PM ET | discuss | link
Two Big Brother items:
- First, a funny quote from the BigBrotherBlows board:
I think this would be more entertaining with an all-chimp cast--fighting, throwing shit at each other, breaking the two-way mirrors. I'd watch that 24 hours a day.- Secondly, here's a good article talking about some of the recent goings-on in the house, including the plane banners and why George is going to be the one banished tonight (I hope). Those of you who have missed his three red room performances this week missed quite a show. Each one encouraged me to literally pick up the phone immediately and drop $0.99 to vote his ass outta there.
posted by MES 2:21 PM ET | discuss | link
Story in Variety today about Australian media mogul Kerry Packer, who, over the weekend, lost $20 million dollars playing Baccarat at Las Vagas' Bellagio casino, breaking his own record for losses at one sitting (previously $17 million).
posted by LT2 1:08 PM ET | discuss | link
Another Laaz movie review... this time for The Talented Mr. Ripley. I loved watching it, but I didn't love the movie. The production design was fantastic! Few things cooler than Italy in the 50's.
posted by LT2 12:00 PM ET | discuss | link
Check out this site... this is the location for my mom's next Montessori School opening.
posted by LT2 11:55 AM ET | discuss | link
I hear Al Gore running around with his new "repeat ad nauseum" phrase of the month, "I am not going to go along with a huge tax cut for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of everyone else, which would wreck our good economy."OK, I can see the first point, but I would like somebody to explain to me the mechanics by which a tax cut could hurt the economy. And I'm not being sarcastic here, if such a mechanism exists, I would like to hear about it.
No, what I think is going on here is that Al is starting to believe his own press. I think he actually believes that the fortunes of the economy rise and fall with the amount of tax revenue the Federal Government has to sling around. Has that ever been so? And what makes Al think it has suddenly, despite 200 years of contrary evidence, that it is so now?
Or is he just being a typical Presidential candidate?
posted by LT2 11:48 AM ET | discuss | link
Well, since I'm batting 1000 so far this week, I wonder who I'll get into a fight with today...
posted by LT2 11:18 AM ET | discuss | link
Tuesday, August 29, 2000
So, angry that this other guy had called and yelled at me, my colleague has now made it her personal mission to get these guys. She called them and said the funniest thing ever."Your agent called Lars and said 'I've got all the time in the world to make your life miserable', well you know what? I don't, because I'm busy getting jobs for my clients."
Whoo-hoo! You go girl!
posted by LT2 9:02 PM ET | discuss | link
Little fun from the world of Hollyweird. There's these two writers I know. Good guys, fantastic writers, but their agent sucks. We talk all the time and they like me. So, the other day, I hear about this project and with the help of a co-worker, we get them set up on a meeting with a project. The idea being, my co-worker gets them the job, they become her clients. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. And about an hour ago, I got a nasty call from their agent. Here's a transcript:Other Guy: Thanks for your help with my clients.
Laaz: Hey, no problem.
Other Guy: Listen, I've got plenty of time in my schedule to make your life miserable.
Laaz: Apparently.
Other Guy: Stop calling my clients.
Laaz: Gotcha. Bye-bye now.What an ass.
posted by LT2 8:24 PM ET | discuss | link
This is a pretty interesting story, but what kind of rapists let their victim chat away to a "friend" on a cell phone for seven minutes?
posted by MES 7:29 PM ET | discuss | link
Finally, a successful order through Half.com. My paperback copy of All The President's Men arrived today. I've thumbed through it and I am confident that it is NOT a romance novel about America's first gay President.
posted by LT2 5:56 PM ET | discuss | link
Has George C. Scott been resurrected and cast in Godzilla 2000? This page has a list of (un)humorous lines that were significantly changed from the original Japanese, and the first two are well-known quotes from Scott's characters in Patton and Dr. Strangelove.
posted by MES 5:41 PM ET | discuss | link
Okay, my last post on this subject may have been a bit premature, but now it seems that the frickcam has actually come back to life!
posted by MES 5:34 PM ET | discuss | link
Not sure how I feel about being on the same side of an issue as Joe Eszterhas.
posted by LT2 11:27 AM ET | discuss | link
I happened to catch Boiler Room last night on cable. I liked it quite a bit. It's definitely from the "gives you indigestion just watching it" category, though. Sort of along the same lines as Swimming With Sharks. Be warned.
posted by LT2 11:04 AM ET | discuss | link
'Bout a month ago, I went to a BBQ thrown by this big-time record producer (and sometime movie producer) with a friend of mine who works for him. It was pretty fun, lots of booze and good food. Anyway, they had a photog. running around that day, and while cleaning up my room this weekend, I discovered the card he gave me with the link to the photos. So, go check 'em out if you like. Lots of hot chicks, celebrities (Jared Leto is on Page 14), and even a few Llamas!!!You can find me, The Laaz, on page 11 somewhere, alongside my friend Emily. Click here. The Login is immortal, and the Password is summer.
posted by LT2 10:58 AM ET | discuss | link
Monday, August 28, 2000
I thought after her speech in the final show, Susan Hawk was America's Sweetheart!
posted by MES 6:31 PM ET | discuss | link
We just signed "America's Sweetheart", Survivor's Colleen Haskell!
posted by LT2 4:04 PM ET | discuss | link
Well, I must say I can't remember ever having disagreed with Roger Ebert so completely, two weeks in a row, on the moives that would wind up winning their respective weekends. Roger calls The Cell "one of the best movies of the year", to which I say Puh-Leeze!!! And he absolutely hated Bring It On, which I thought was great... as I've said.Also, I think Harry Knowles is crazy on his review of Whipped. I didn't think it was the greatest piece of filmmaking ever, but the first hour had me on the floor. Plus, I don't think that Harry, as a big fat house/movie theatre-bound geek is in the target audience for this film. This film explores this weird (and funny) phenomenon about groups of guy friends (the kind of groups that actually go out and try to meet members of the opposite sex on a regular basis, these are), which is that they all seem to include at least one member from one of several groups (the ladies man, the alterna-guy, the married guy, and the nice guy who can't get laid). Sorry Harry, but on this one, you're out of touch.
One final review is for The Tao of Steve, which I saw on Saturday. Funny and cute, not fantastic, but I enjoyed it enough to not look at my watch or get otherwise distracted. Wasn't a fan of Greer Goodman, sister of the director I believe, who plays the female lead. But otherwise, a solid effort. Donal Logue is a funnyman.
posted by LT2 2:39 PM ET | discuss | link
My sister and I saw this product while shopping for family birthday presents this weekend, and are still laughing about it. This ad actually makes it sound less silly than it looks. It's basically a plastic bag full of fake water, with a shark poking out a hole in the side. On the plastic bag is the legend, "Shark Bag", as if there are other kinds of bags and this is just the latest in a long line... Mandrill Bags, perhaps?And check out the going rate for a bag full o' shark these days... yikes!!!
posted by LT2 11:09 AM ET | discuss | link
The I Love You virus is once again making the rounds of my company's hallowed halls.
posted by LT2 10:58 AM ET | discuss | link
Also, you are all going to think I'm nuts, but Bring It On! is a very good movie. I saw it Friday night with Dave, Tony, and Lesley, and yes we did sit right in front of Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger, but that had nothing to do with it. The movie is funny as hell. I think the last twenty minutes or so kinda fall apart, but other than that, we and everyone else in the packed theatre had a great time.And that Kirsten Dunst is so cute.
posted by LT2 10:53 AM ET | discuss | link
Again with the Russians. Oh, and by the way, here's that Tom Clancy explains what probably happened to the Kursk article I mentioned last week. Incidentally, I've learned since, that the correct way to pronounce Kursk, is Coorsk.
posted by LT2 10:51 AM ET | discuss | link
