Benazir Bhutto

I literally gasped when I heard the news in the car this morning. Of course, it's more of a shock than a surprise. And, though I don't pretend to be an expert on international policy, I do sense from everything that I've read and heard that this is potentially a very, very significant event and one that we need to watch closely.

As a news junkie, I am always interested in knowing how the mainstream media covers these events. I listed on NPR most of the day and the coverage was terrific--mix of hard news, commentary and BBC. But I was also pleasantly surprised by the coverage n network news tonight. All three broadcasts spent atleast 40% of their airtime on the story, though ABC was the only one with its own correspondent on the ground. That said, i was dissapointed that none of the three anchors could bother to interrupt their holiday vacations to return to the studio. I tell you--Dan, Tom and Peter would have been there.

More than you need to know...

The Lives of Others

I haven't written in awhile and I'm not even sure anyone is still reading. Life has been fine, but I haven't felt the need or urge to write--until now.

I just finished watching for the second time in 24 hours, "The Lives of Others," which won this year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. The acting, the story, the cinematography are all haunting and hauntingly beautiful. And, as many reviewers have noted, it could have ended several times before it did. But it ended in the best possible way.

It's on DVD now, with some wonderful features, including a director's narrated version, which makes the second viewing essential.

Loved it. And for someone who usually can't stand subtitles or long movies and falls asleep even in the best of films, that's saying a lot.

HAPPY CHANUKAH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1uZ_W7atDE

Sex and the City: The Movie

Can't wait:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdKGNEbU5II

Obama?

I'm a political junkie, watching and reading everything from Meet the Press, Keith Olberman, politico.com and any op-ed by Maureen Dowd, or, occasionally, Bob Herbert.

The next 350 days or so will be fascinating, but right now I'm focused on Iowa (January 3) and New Hampshire (January 8). I've been a long-time believer of the inevitability of Hilary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, but the past few weeks have tested that assumption. Polls (notoriously inaccurate in early states) now say that Obama is in the lead and the pundits seem to think so, too. I'm still not convinced that, as Bob Herbert said recently, that there is enough "there there," but I am also increasingly wary of the endless political calculations of Hilary. Still, the idea of having First Man Bill keeps me believing.

Keith Olberman

If I don't blog on any given evening, it's more than likely because I'm watching Keith Olberman on MSNBC. In simple terms, Keith is the liberal's answer to Bill O'Reilly.

But really, he's much more than that. He's handsome, first of all. Secondly, he has a brain. And he has great, really smart guests.

And, his "worst person in the world" segment is as good as any SNL "Weekend Update."

Weeknights at 8 on MSNBC. Check it out. Same time as O'Reilly, so you'll have to turn that crap off.

Vegas, Baby

I've been blog-absent for the past week. I spent most of it in Vegas for a work-related trip. It was my fourth trip to Sin City and I can't say that I miss it. Stayed at the Mandalay Bay, which was just fine, but I can't help but get irritated everytime I'm there by the boob-infested waitresses and the fugly middle-aged men ogling them like cotton candy.

It's just wrong.

Would I feel that way if it were a twenty-something chiseled dark-haired guy named Chester? Well, that person doesn't exist in Vegas, so I don't have to answer that question.