Month: March 2009

Watched

Today Eric and I saw “Watchmen,” and being a fan of the comic book series I have to say that although I have my quibbles with it, the movie is as faithful an adaptation as I think can be done. So I have no complaints. It may not have any performances of Heath Ledger caliber, but so what? The movie’s weaknesses are only those that are built into the source material. The sequence for the opening credits is superb.

There’s an adjunct DVD that’s out for “Watchmen,” called “Tales of the Black Freighter,” with material that (wisely) wasn’t included in the movie. Here’s a preview.

The Black Freighter is a reference to something in Kurt Weill’s “Threepenny Opera” (thanks to my friend Morris for that tip). The author of “Watchmen”, Alan Moore, used to do work under the pen name Curt Vile.

100 seconds with Larissa on JEOPARDY!

I’ve learned the hard way to not assume that a video clip that’s somewhere today, will be available tomorrow. So anything that I don’t want to lose, I grab and post myself, and that’s what I’ve done with this Q&A with Larissa Kelly, who is heading into the JEOPARDY! Tournament of Champions finals this week.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/MAR/ThisisJEOPARDY.flv 420 240]

The Graduate Center at the University of California/Berkeley, where Larissa is a PhD candidate in Latin American studies, has a nicely updated page about her. Click here.

“Very impressive, Larissa Kelly!” — Alex Trebek

The impressive “grad student from El Cerrito, California,” Larissa Kelly, continues to not disappoint her fans. Way to go, young lady! Here’s the video of her semi-final win on the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. The game got very interesting in the Double Jeopardy! round. There’s even a Stephen Colbert question in there.

[media id=27 width=512 height=408]

William Shatner reminds you…

I was going to post this anyway, but now, with Natasha Richardson clinging to life, perhaps for not too much longer, adding her will make it extra depressing. In this song, sung (OK, it’s spoken) by William Shatner, is a sad reminder for us all — you’re gonna die. (Sorry, Paul — I’m not intending to be insensitive.)

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/MAR/YoullHaveTime.mp3]

Want to get an idea of how long you’ve got left to live? Try the Life Span Calculator from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Natasha Richardson has one of those captivating faces that British women have, even better than that of her mother, Vanessa Redgrave. Natasha’s features and acting remind me of Kathleen Byron, who I have been planning for some time to feature again.

One of Natasha’s movies is the chilling The Handmaid’s Tale, which takes place in — you guessed it — a futuristic, post-apocalyptic society. When I heard about Richardson’s accident in the snow, I thought of the flashbacks in these scenes …

[MEDIA=26]

(Did I really feature Natasha’s grandfather and aunt only two days ago? Sheesh… not a very happy coincidence, is it…)

[The news was announced a few minutes ago that Natasha Richardson has died — Mar 18, 8:45 pm]