Homodox

Oscar Predictions 2009

No sense in waiting.  I had the pleasure to see the play Doubt by John Patrick Shanley.  It won the Pultizer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for best play in 2005.  Shanley has adapted his play into a screenplay and is directing the movie version himself.  The movie will star Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Based on seeing the play and knowing that three of the actors in the play won acting Tonys for their roles, I can predict that Streep and Hoffman will (at least) get nominated for Oscars.  I'll go further and add Shanley for screenplay (he already has one Oscar for screenplay: Moonstruck) and perhaps the film as Best Film.  Since this will be Streep's 15th nomination, I see her getting her third Oscar.  The roles as written are just so good and Streep and Hoffman are such good actors, this is just the right mixture of perfection in my eyes.

BTW, I saw Hoffman perform live on Broadway in Long Day's Journey Into Night alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Denehy, and Robert Sean Leonard.  I think that may be the strongest cast of anything I've ever seen on stage.  It was an incredible night (Redgrave and Denehy scooped up Tonys for their performances).

Great Minds Think Alike or Who Stole My Idea?

Last week I wrote about the parallels between West Wing and the current 2008 presidential election.  This week, V-Slate came out with this. Ezra Klein posted it here.  Then Prawfsblawg commented here.  True, the Slate video is real journalism.  They have the wherewithal to call the writers of West Wing and the Obama campaign and actually talk to David Axelrod.  The Obama campaign has my number, but they never call, only email.  As a nobody (a position I'm comfortable with), I can't call Aaron Sorkin or the writers of West Wing, nor anyone with a matching rolodex for story verification.  My verification is the fact that I was there first and Slate was there second.

Poor Little Dove

In 1933 a man named Franklin Bearce wrote a manuscript entitled "Who our forefathers really were, a true narrative of our white and Indian ancesters [sic]."  In this manuscript he claimed that his direct ancestor, Austin or Augustine Bearse had been a gypsy and come to the Plymouth Colony and married an Indian princess named Little Dove or Mary Hyanno.  She was the daughter of Massasoit. 

In 1938, the eminent genealogist, Donald Lines Jacobus, wrote an article rebutting this claim.  A war of word ensued, little noticed by the world.  Now in the age of the Internet, this controversy is back.  Many Bearse descendants believe in the Indian myth and many (most?) don't.  If you do a search in google for "Austin Bearse" you get 966 hits.  "Austin Bearse" and Hyanno yields 316 or 33%.  Likewise "Augustine Bearse" by itself has 661 hits and with Hyanno 297 (45%).  So all totals thats 1627 without and 613 hits with Hyanno or roughly 38% of all Internet mentions of Austin Bearse have the Indian legend.

I happen to be a Bearse descendant myself, so I'm interested in this matter.  I don't believe the myth.  However, a recent Harvard paper available at SSRN (a subscription service) by Sunstein, Cass R. and Vermeule, Adrian, "Conspiracy Theories" (January 22, 2008). Harvard Public Law Working Paper No. 08-03, looks at such things in the public sphere.  I've always found it mind-boggling that the public at large believes conspiracies about AIDS, 9-11, and the Kennedy Assassination all which have been refuted.  The Indian ancestry of the Bearse family is eerily similar.  Here's the abstract of Sunstein and Vermeule's paper:

Many millions of people hold conspiracy theories; they believe that powerful people have worked together in order to withhold the truth about some important practice or some terrible event. A recent example is the belief, widespread in some parts of the world, that the attacks of 9/11 were carried out not by Al Qaeda, but by Israel or the United States. Those who subscribe to conspiracy theories may create serious risks, including risks of violence, and the existence of such theories raises significant challenges for policy and law. The first challenge is to understand the mechanisms by which conspiracy theories prosper; the second challenge is to understand how such theories might be undermined. Such theories typically spread as a result of identifiable cognitive blunders, operating in conjunction with informational and reputational influences. A distinctive feature of conspiracy theories is their self-sealing quality. Conspiracy theorists are not likely to be persuaded by an attempt to dispel their theories; they may even characterize that very attempt as further proof of the conspiracy. Because those who hold conspiracy theories typically suffer from a crippled epistemology, in accordance with which it is rational to hold such theories, the best response consists in cognitive infiltration of extremist groups. Various policy dilemmas, such as the question whether it is better for government to rebut conspiracy theories or to ignore them, are explored in this light.

BAGLY Dance

Last Saturday night Michael and I chaperoned a BAGLY dance.  There were about 25 adults and 300-400 kids.  Yes, we were outnumbered.  It was a wonderful experience on many levels.  You can't help but wonder what your life might have been like if such an organization like BAGLY had existed when I was a teenager.  There were drag queens in training; circuit boys in training; wallflowers; geeks; jocks; and more than a few straight couples who liked to dance to the cool music. 

I left the dance knowing that I prefer the arthritis I presently have than to ever be a teenager again.  No Hollywood movie blast into the past for me, thank you very much.  I thought it was entirely hypocritical for me to be saying "hey--put the shirt back on" or to be on bathroom duty from 9-10 p.m. to make sure no hanky panky would happen.  I don't think of myself as a disciplinarian or the role model. 

Lastly, Jose was very pleased to see us both there and then promptly ignored us for the rest of the evening.  So, it's a good taste of parenting a teenager.  See the book "Get of My Life, But First Take Me to the Mall."

Ric Weiland, RIP

A high school friend of Bill Gates and one of the first five people hired at Microsoft, Ric Weiland left the company in 1988 a multimillionaire.  The news story of the week is his leaving $65 million to various gay charities, the largest gift of its kind.  However, a closer reading of the story reveals that the 53-year old, was a suicide.  His obituary says he left a partner and nieces and nephews.

Even when gay people make the news in such a big way (big business success, generous to a fault, etc.), it seems to come with that tinge of sadness that we are not quite whole humans.  Why did he kill himself?  It seemed like he had everything to live for.  Of course, straight people kill themselves too.  The New York Times ran a story on February 19th about the rise in suicide rates for middle-aged people. [Midlife Suicide Rises, Puzzling Researchers By PATRICIA COHEN. The suicide rate among 45-to-54-year-olds increased nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2004.]  However, it was so sad to see that in an otherwise heart-touching story of altruism. 

Tiger

More than football or baseball, I watch golf.  Luckily we are living through the era of Tiger Woods.  No one is dominating their sport like Tiger dominates golf.  He's only 32 and now has 63 PGA wins.  That's one more than Arnold Palmer and one less than Ben Hogan.  This weekend after playing only two events on the PGA tour thus far this year, he is 2 for 2; on top of the money list; Fedex Cup list; and naturally still #1 in the World Golf Rankings.  Check out these stats:

Woods is a staggering 15-of-26 in official WGC events, three of those in the Match Play Championship. Darren Clarke (Match Play, Bridgestone) is the only other player with multiple WGC victories.

The world’s No. 1 player has built a career on these events alone:

— Woods earned $1.35 million Sunday, giving him over $19.8 million in these elite events. That’s roughly 25 percent of Woods’ career PGA TOUR earnings, and more than Tom Lehman has earned in more than 430 tour starts.

— He was won 15 times in WGC events, as many victories as Fred Couples has in his entire PGA TOUR career.

Is a grand slam possible?  The Master's is in April.

Oscar Outcomes

Well I called most of it right.  Marion Cotillard got Best Actress, so it turns out I did see an Oscar performance last year.  It was the only one of two (the other being Ratatouille).  Tilda Swinton got Best Supporting Actress and all the rest went the way I foresaw.  It was great that Diablo Cody won the other screenplay Oscar.  This is the first time since 1965 that all four acting Oscars went to non-Americans (two Brits, a Frenchwoman, and a Spaniard).  In 1965, three Brits (Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, and Peter Ustinov) and a Russian (Lila Kedrova) made off with the statues. 

Keeping Us Safe

Although I firmly believe the best candidate for president is Barack Obama, it doesn't mean I see eye to eye with him on 100% of the issues. From the debate on Thursday:

OBAMA: I wouldn't be running if I didn't think I was prepared to be commander-in-chief. My number one job as president will be to keep the American people safe. I will do whatever is required to accomplish that. I will not hesitate to act against those that would do America harm.

I think that's what the current president is trying to do in his own inane way. The oath of office for president is: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

That's what I want. I am prepared to live in an unsafe world knowing that there may be times when terrorists get the better of us. However, I want my president to safeguard my rights. I want speedy trials, no searches without warrants and no torture. I want to live in a free society with the rule of law. If that means the occasional 9-11 incident, then so be it. To thwart the terrorists, we need to ignore them and live by our own rules and make those rules sacred. To change the rules and the laws out of fear, is precisely what the terrorists want. I will not give in. So, please Senator Obama--do your best to keep me safe, but if it's a choice of upholding the Constitution or my safety, always choose the Constitution. Thanks.

Clarence Pinkham 1912-2007

Today is the one year anniversary of the death of my grandfather. He was a great guy and the kind of grandfather you read about in books or see in movies. I miss him.

BAGLY

Tonight Michael and I are chaperoning the BAGLY (Boston Area Gay and Lesbian Youth) Dance. Michael, me, and 200 teenagers. When did that become a date for Saturday night? Michael is the mentor for a great kid named Jose and he asked us to both be chaperones, so we will. I will dress appropriately and we will be the old couple who dances and embarrasses the kids. It's hard to believe that the teens are 30 years younger than I. Some, born in 1993, have only known two presidents! Even those born after 1989 have only had a Bush or Clinton in the White House. I'm guessing they won't be playing any Partridge Family songs. Ah youth. . . .