Enjoy It.

Gov. Mike Beebe hosts a series of events tonight to kick off his gubernatorial campaign. His opponent, Jim Keet, spoke out on the situation developing in Conway. The Young Republicans scored the first Republican Senate Debate. Former Stephens Media reporter Aaron Sadler joins Atty. Gen. Dustin McDaniel’s staff. Georgetown beat Syracuse, which makes Beebe staffer Samantha Friedman happy. Tennessee beat LSU which makes Dan Young happy. UAPB is still alive in the SWAC tourney. Can’t say that anything else jumps out at me.

Oh, for those of you that like Spike Jonze, his documentary short (with Lance Bangs) on Maurice Sendak is terrific. I caught the DVD very early this morning. I tepidly say, Go Hogs. And with that, I’m out for the evening. Thanks for reading.

 

SXSW

For those of that are fans of SXSW I’m hoping you’ll follow my work colleague, Emily Reeves, as she hangs out with all of the interesting folks in Austin. She’ll be blogging and on Twitter. Michel Gondry, Quentin Tarantino, Elvis Mitchell and a stellar interactive line-up. This is one festival that won’t suck.

 

Political Movies

Here’s one I’m looking forward to. HBO purchased the film rights to Andrew Ross Sorkin’s terrific account of the financial crisis. According to Reuters, “HBO said Sorkin’s “Too Big to Fail” will be adapted for TV by Peter Gould, who has written episodes of the methamphetamine drama series “Breaking Bad” for cable network AMC.” This blog takes a shot at casting the roles. No word yet on when it will air.

 

Man, Corey Haim is Dead

Corey Haim, 38, was found dead in his Hollywood apartment today of an apparent drug overdose. The years had passed him by, but when he was on, he was on. I spent a decent amount of evenings between the years 1986 – 1992 with Haim and, at times, his infamous counterpart, Corey Feldman: “Lucas,” “The Lost Boys,” “License to Drive,” “Dream a Little Dream,” and even “Blown Away,” which still makes an appearance on cable. It’s been 18 years since he made a watchable movie. Still, for the films noted above, I’ll pour one out.

 

Eric Massa and ‘Taking the Hill’

Unless you’re following New York politics closely, you may have missed the news that Rep. Eric Massa, a freshman Democrat, decided not to seek re-election and faces an ethics investigation into language used by him to a male staffer.

Mr. Massa was one of the Iraq war veterans running for office that Craig and Brent Renaud of Arkansas followed in their documentary, “Taking the Hill.” Below is a clip featuring Mr. Massa and then DCCC chairman Rep. Rahm Emanuel from 2006.

 

The Oscars

It’s Oscar Sunday. Sam Blair, RJ Hawk and I broke down our ballots this morning on Arkansas Sunday Edition. Politico compiled a video of political figures weighing in with their Oscar picks.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette was kind enough to publish my preditions in the main categories. In case you don’t have a subscription: Best Picture – The Hurt Locker; Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow; Best Actor – Jeff Bridges; Best Actress – Sandra Bullock; Best Supp. Actor – Christoph Waltz; Best Supp. Actress – Mo’Nique.

We’re taking a low-key approach to the ceremony this year. We’ll make some food and open a bittle of wine; a few friends may drop by. The official OSCAR party is at the Peabody Hotel benefitting the Wolfe Street Foundation. Red carpet, black-tie, and so on. Tickets are $150 and can be purchased here.

 

Movies in the Park, the free outdoor film series in Little Rock’s River Market, will announce its 2010 schedule in a reception today at the Clinton School of Public Service from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. There will be food and drink and good times. If you’re in central Arkansas drop by and support a local cause. Donations are welcomed but not required.

You can join Movies in the Park on Facebook.

 

Who Dat?

My Arkansas Sunday Edition prediction: Saints 45, Colts 38. Karma, turnovers, Sean Peyton’s offense being my ratrionale.

 

‘m still limping along after a pitiful effort in year one of the Arkansas Sunday Edition NFL Pick’em. I was trounced by my producer, RJ Hawk. You can tune in to Arkansas Sunday Edition this week and listen to him run his mouth. Resident smart-ass and political wunderkind David Kinkade of The Arkansas Project joins the show from 8-9 a.m.

The big news of the day is that Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett will be returning for his junior season. I thought he’d bolt for the cash, and I wouldn’t have blamed him. Thanks his return, Mark Schlabach of ESPN has the Hogs 16th in his way-too-early Top 25 for 2010.

I’d lay out for you all of the reasons why the Razorbacks could will make it to the BCS, but I’ll leave it to the Blog Hawgs. I’ll just say this: as a hog fan it’s impossible not to get fired up about the season, even if it is 8 months away. Arkansas v. Alabama on Sept. 25 in Fayetteville should be epic. You can book your tickets now, College Gameday.

Mrs. Think Tank is fired up for the NLF playoffs. She hates the bye-system (less inclusive), loves the Saints (Reggie Bush), and thinks the shine is about to come off Tom Brady’s undefeated record at home in the playoffs (to piss me off). Bill Simmons has his thoughts on the wild card weekend.

Stay warm.

 

Culture Break: The Decade in Film

I’m taking a step away from the health care debate to look at the best movies of the decade. I’m not really sure why; it seemed like a perfectly enjoyable thing to do. For a part of it I wrote a film blog for the Arkansas Times called The Moviegoer and occasionally reviewed movies for them. Watching movies, writing about movies, talking to my friends about movies is pure joy. I love it. I do. This can drive Mrs. Think Tank a little crazy.

Think Tank friend Philip Martin of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette already has my 2009 Top 10 movie list, and assuming he publishes it you will see what I liked in 2009. Until then, here are my thoughts on the decade’s best films. You won’t see a lot of Best Picture winners here, although there are a few. These are the films that over the past nine years made a lasting impression with me. I return to them over and over. They are, in my view, terrific.

Ten Best Films of 2000 – 2008
1. Almost Famous (2000)
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
3. City of God (2002)
4. The 25th Hour (2002)
5. The Dark Knight (2008)
6. Children of Men (2006)
7. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
8. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2008)
9. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
10. Gosford Park (2001)

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Favorite Book of 2009

My pick: Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer’s Life by Michael Greenberg. Thanks to Kane Webb for including it in a compilation of thoughts from other Arkansans in today’s Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Some other books that I really enjoyed this year: Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead, Atlantic High: A Celebration by William F. Buckley Jr., The Big One: An Island, an Obsession, and the Furious Pursuit of a Great Fish by Dave Kinney, and Renegade: The Making of a President by Richard Wolffe.

The Soul of a City

Not long ago I was sitting at a local bar in Little Rock talking to a friend about the impact that sports have on cities. We were discussing the role that Razorback sports play in everyday life in Arkansas. (For example, last night Mrs. Think Tank and I saw a Christmas light display that was 1/3 Santa, 2/3 Razorbacks.) I raised the question to my friend about the value that pro sports – specifically the NFL – have on major cities, citing the miraculous season the New Orleans Saints are having.

Louisiana native and noted Saints enthusiast Max Brantley points us to a lengthy piece at ESPN.com about the Saints and the impact this team – currently 13-0 – are having on that city. James Carville of Bill Clinton political fame was in Little Rock last week to speak at the Kumpuris Lecture Series with his wife, Mary Matalin. Mr. Carville sported a fleur-de-lis tie and a Saints cap. He even threw a shout-out to Think Tank Sister for attending Tulane.

Tonight the Saints play the Dallas Cowboys, a team owned by Arkansan Jerry Jones and features a famous Razorback, Felix Jones, in the backfield (although he doesn’t get as many carries as he should). The Cowboys have a lot of fans in Arkansas, including Arkansas Business publisher Jeff Hankins. On my radio show, Arkansas Sunday Edition, a few weeks back Mr. Hankins and my producer, RJ Hawk, were giddy about the playoff prospects of that team. That was before Thanksgiving, and the Cowboys are 8-5, a game out of first place and the wild-card.

(This has become a common thing on the show. Each week Mr. Hawk gives me another in a long line of excuses for his teams’ woes.)

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Gift Idea

Mrs. Think Tank reminds me that it’s Christmas.

 

New Press Box for War Memorial Stadium

Press release after the jump.

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Sick of Stats

One of the refreshing things about Bill Simmons‘ new book, “The Book of Basketball,” is his unwavering and persuasive belief that basketball, unlike baseball, is both an objective and subjective sport. It’s objective in the ways you might imagine: scoring, shooting percentage, rebounds per game, assists, minutes. But it’s subjective in the sense that certain players (Shane Battier, for example) do things on the court that cannot be measured by statistics.

I write this an unenthusiastic observer of the NBA. Okay, that’s too nice. I really can’t stand it. The league is filled with crappy players and even crappier teams. The New York Knicks suck, which is fine with me, but so do the New Jersey Nets, who lost 18 games in a row before finally winning one this weekend. There’s no excuse for that. Sure, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett and Carmelo Anthony anchor the best teams in the league, and admittedly they’re fun to watch on most nights.

But that’s about it. If we consider sports as entertainment, what’s less enjoyable than listening to another telecast of Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley on TNT? Nothing. Trust me.

I’m 150 pages in to Mr. Simmons new book. It’s hilarious, as expected, and his thesis – as stated above – is provable. So I give him credit for that along with writing a monster book. It may not win any awards (and even I find the pop culture references a bit over cooked), but he uses footnotes brilliantly. No one is a bigger fan.

Which leads me back to stats. Today, The New York Times reports that Bloomberg has devised software that will help chart player performance in Major League Baseball. Oh shit, I thought. There goes the intangible argument.

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Culture Break: Movie Talk

This is the time of year when I really miss writing a movie blog. Maybe I gave the gig up a little too early over at the Arkansas Times‘ Web site. Oh well, that ship has sailed. Still, from time to time, I’ll write about movies in this space. Today seems like a good day for it. After all, I’ve absorbed all of the Mike Huckabee/Maurice Clemmons that I can for one day.

The other night at dinner Mrs. Think Tank and I got to talking about 2009 movies, specifically our favorites. This got me thinking about my top ten list, which I compile annually for fun, and is sometimes printed in the local newspaper.

Earlier this year I posted my mid-year Top Ten. Looking back on that list it wasn’t all that bad. 1) Summer Hours; 2) Adventureland; 3) Public Enemies; 4) That Evening Sun; 5) Goodbye Solo; 6) The Soloist; 7) The Hangover; 8) State of Play; 9) Two Lovers; 10) Star Trek.

Since that time, I’ve seen some terrific stuff: “The Hurt Locker,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “(500) Days of Summer,” “Julie & Julia,” and “An Education.”

My yet-to-see/must-see list looks like this: “Up,” “Bright Star,” “Precious,” “The Blind Side,” “Up in the Air,” “Inglorious Basterds,” “Brothers,” “Broken Embraces,” “Invictus,” “Nine,” “The Lovely Bones,” “A Single Man,” “Avatar,” “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,” “It’s Complicated,” “Crazy Heart,” “The Last Station” and “Sherlock Holmes.”

If want to get some good movie talk locally, check out Cameras on the Radio.

If you’re a fan of Oscar talk go here, here and here.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

The Think Tank will be talking a holiday break to enjoy a double-dose of turkey (the marriage to Mrs. Think Tank scored me an invite to Thanksgiving lunch at the in-laws) and everything that comes with it. I’m not sure how this is going to go, but I’ll give it my best effort.

Here’s a Thanksgiving to do:

Eat this. Read this. Drink this and this and a little of this. Watch this. Nap in front of this. Don’t do this. Get two helpings of this. Be happy for this. Be sad for this and this. Cheer for this. Consider the ramifications of this. Listen to this. Go see this.

Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you may be.

 

The Perfect Thanksgiving Movie

From Dana Stevens:

In a way, despite its unremitting grimness, The Road is a perfect Thanksgiving weekend release. It gives even those who dread seeing their families for holiday dinner something very literal and tangible to be thankful for. Mom’s turkey may be dry and her pie crusts leathery, but at least you have something to eat and someone to eat it with, and the menu doesn’t include you.

 

Cotton Bowl?

I obsess about bowl games this time of year, especially when, for the first time in two season, the Arkansas Razorbacks are eligible for one. Today, e-mails have blanketed my in-box about scenarios that would lead the Hogs to the Cotton Bowl. Is it really possible? I asked in response.

After getting torched by Ole Miss on October 24th I didn’t think so. But with some games breaking the Hogs way it (shockingly) remains a possibility.

Here’s how SEC the bowl scenario breaks down:

Florida and Alabama will both end up in the BCS. Florida finishes the regular season with Florida International and Florida State. Alabama finishes with Chattanooga and @Auburn.

The Capital One and Outback Bowls appear to be teetering between LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss. LSU seems destined to the Cap One (the Tigers finish @Ole Miss, Arkansas), and Ole Miss looks more and more attractive to the Outback (the Rebels finish @Miss. State).

If the Hogs beat LSU (6pm kick in Baton Rouge on ESPN) they’ll be the lone remaining 8-4 team in the conference (assuming Georgia loses to Georgia Tech), and that should be enough to lock up a Cotton Bowl berth.

But if the Hogs lose to LSU they’ll be 7-5 and lumped into a group of teams that includes (predicted finish in parenthesis): Auburn (7-5), Tennessee (7-5), Georgia (7-5), Kentucky (6-6) and South Carolina (6-6).  All will be eligible for the following bowls: Cotton, Independence, Liberty, Chick-fil-a, Music City and PapaJohns.com.

In this scenario I’d be shocked if the Cotton Bowl considered any teams other than Arkansas and Tennessee. The Volunteers are an attractive brand with a huge fan following. But Knoxville is roughly 843 miles from Dallas.

Of course, the Hogs have to beat Mississippi State this weekend in at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. I’ve assumed as much, which means I’m destined for heartbreak and a Dec. 28th visit to Shreveport.

 

From Ross Douthat in today’s New York Times:

Even in an age of near-trillion-dollar spending sprees, the president of the United States has only limited influence over the unemployment numbers.