Monday, February 26, 2007

Confession. . .

I didn't watch the Oscars.
Yes, I was at the El Jefe palace in the boonies, without television reception. But I wouldn't have watched in any case. The newspapers and blogs sum it up adequately, if I decided I care enough about who got what (I usually don't). I had my books, papers, old man Mozart, a decent bottle of Merlot, a ginormous steak and the first season of Magnum P.I. All much preferable to an evening with a bunch of actors and hangers-on.
Besides, all the photos -- the best-dressed, worst-dressed, and un-dressed -- are readily available online. Also, the entertainment blogs will tell me who dissed whom; who's been busted for what; provide helpful rehab entry and early-release updates on all the usual suspects; and, give me the status of celebrity musical beds this week. I can easily catch up on what I need to know (and see) without actually having to undergo hours of seeing Hollywood preen.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Confessions
my thoughts exactly.
i watched this instead.
i did not post a comment to your george washington essay as i did not wish to sully such a fine commentary with a comment of mine.
so i waited for another commentary to sully.
see, i can make jokes like that also.
personally, i find young washington's career interesting.
it seems lt. washington was getting his arse kicked at every turn between the french or the indians. he couldn't figure out who to fight or make peace with, so he did both with both. his exploits and forming of fort relief, i believe, could very well have laid the groundwork, i believe, for the settling of a community at the convuluence of three rivers......something about a steel curtain defense comes to mind.
he also appeared to be somewhat of a claims jumper as he had no use for french treaties negotiated on the frontier.
lee harris @ TCS wrote a piece some years back about young lt. washington. opining that the french/indian wars were more important than our war for independance, as this is where lt. washington learned his military craft. maybe not more important, but mr. harris was making a case for why we speack english and not french in this section of the continent.
we owe that to the father of our country.

El Jefe Maximo said...

I applaud your choice of programming: still the only thing Hollywood has ever done that's worthwhile on Pearl Harbor. Besides, I like Gordon Prange's book[s] on this subject -- and the film borrowed a lot from Prange.

As for Washington and the French and Indian War, yeah I would agree that the future President/General does not necessarily show to advantage in the Fort Necessity campaign. The French were masters at doing lots with little in that war: deploying small numbers of regulars, and relying on small numbers of colonists and bribed indians. But that was eventually their undoing in the American part of that war -- there were simply too many colonists and too much British power in North America. I've never been certain the French were wrong, either: they were never going to hold or build anything colony-wise in the Americas unless they solved their naval problems: i.e. avoided getting their clocks cleaned at sea -- which they were never able to do.

Washington seems to have learned a lot from his French and Indian War experiences -- popular conceptions to the contrary (founded on a misunderstanding of Valley Forge), his Revolutionary Era campaigns were always on a sounder logistical footing than those of the British -- and the British, at the end of a much too long line of communications, could ill afford their mistakes.

Speaking of British mistakes, they British made a huge mistake with Washington. Despite his experiences with the French, their regular officers in that war (Thomas Gage excepted), treated him rather shabbily, particularly afterwards -- turning down his application for a transfer from the Provincial Line to the Regular Army, and generally letting him know he was a second-rate colonial as far as they were concerned. I mean, my God -- that kind of treatment to a Southern planter gentleman. That just shows what a moderate and even-tempered disposition Washington had -- those people are lucky he didn't burn London.

Yeah, steel curtain defense. One time, I looked up the location of Fort Duquesne -- it's now Point State Park -- a little distance from Three Rivers Stadium.

Anonymous said...

fort relief?????
doooha
fort necessity.
i knew that.
yeah.
sure i did.

El Jefe Maximo said...

I'm not sure which name I'd prefer, if I were in the fort naming business. Of course, if it was built now, it'd be something like "Fort Wilbur T. Congressperson" (after 12 months as "Fortified River Junction No. 504" while the name worked its way thru the legislative process).

Candidly Caroline said...

I, for the first time ever, watched the Oscars from start to finish. I did so because I was invited to an Oscars party girls' nite. The party was fun; the Oscars were long.

El Jefe Maximo said...

Seems like everybody says the Oscars are getting longer and longer. Sounds like sort of a predictable hazard. . .actors (not known for small egos), TV cameras, reporters, gossip columnists, etc. I would imagine one of the world's most dangerous places would be between a Hollywood somebody or a Hollywood wannabe and a TV camera.

Almost as bad as politicians. Maybe that's why they hang out these days...like following like.

Oscar parties are fun, like Super Bowl parties. My trouble is, that when I go to such things, I pay much more attention to food and drink and running my large mouth than anything on TV.

Anonymous said...

i don't know if gore won his award or not. i get my social news from KoC.
on a separate note, i was wondering what EJM I thought of this?
do you suppose this fellow is back in town?
if EJM I is not occupied with other matters of the court, this would something he could really sink his teeth into.......

Anonymous said...

You didn't miss anything but cleavage.

And you are right, there will NEVER be any TV reception or cable at the country palace....we are not creating Houston west/video game central for the Jefe or the heir in the remote palace. It is back to life in the 60's out there for you both! SWMBO