Well - have now seen the Imminent Threat which is Fahrenheit 9/11. The most amazing part of the movie for me was actually not in the film - it was the atmosphere surrounding the film. Most of the moviegoers were under the age of 30, which is to be expected at a midnight showing of any film at Universal. Nevertheless, something amazing happened - people talked. They talked to the other people sitting around them - people they didn't arrive with, people they didn't know. And that atmosphere persisted all the way to the parking garage. I've never heard so much conversation between strangers at any time since the week after September 11, 2001.

Even if you don't agree with Michael Moore's politics at all, if you believe in America, go see the movie. It's a freedom of speech thing.

posted by Lorna Brown at 3:51 PM

OK... small point of order: "White Chicks" is opening in over 2,400 theaters.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" is opening in about 500.

Everybody take a deep breath - Fahrenheit 9/11 isn't going to break any records at the box office (update: shows what I know!).

But let's play with the numbers for a minute anyway. Numbers are fun.

Two NYC theaters exclusively running F9/11 earned $83,922 over the weekend, or an average return of $41,961.00.

The average return on "White Chicks" across 2,412 theaters was $1741.29.

So.

That means F9/11 is 24 times as profitable as "White Chicks" - and with a sample of returns from 2 theaters playing F9/11, there's only about... a 70% margin of error.

But, and you may have already guessed this, F9/11 really isn't 24 times more profitable than WC. After the amount of money that's been poured into it, it may not even be profitable at all.

But somehow, I think, that's not really the point.

Posted by Hello
posted by Lorna Brown at 8:59 PM

Poet Mattie J.T. Stepanek has died at the age of 13 from complications of a rare form of muscular dystrophy.

If you have never come across Mattie's work, please take a moment to learn more about his life and his philosophy.

And... remember to play after every storm.

posted by Lorna Brown at 6:28 PM

Helmut Kohl, leader of the opposition party in Germany, told me during a White House visit that the (Soviet) propaganda offensive was becoming highly sophisticated and effective in convincing Europeans that the United States was a bloodthirsty, militaristic nation. This view of America shocked me. We were the most moral and generous people on earth. We'd spent thirty-five years since World War II helping to rebuild the economies of our former allies and enemies. It was clear we'd have to do a better job of conveying to the world our sense of morality and our commitment to the creation of a peaceful, nuclear-free world. - Ronald Reagan

Fascinating reading at the Ronald W. Reagan homepage, "the shining site on the web." Somehow, I doubt you'll see Nancy Reagan throwing in her support for George W. Bush's reelection campaign. Try not to be too suprised when you come across the section on Reagan's peers.

posted by Lorna Brown at 2:52 AM

My first program...

the output...

and the original artwork it was based off of (circa 1983).

Posted by Hello
posted by Lorna Brown at 1:12 AM