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Intellectual House o' Pancakes Webdiary

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2004-02-01 - 9:45 a.m.

Even if Pinataland weren't playing, I still would have attended the Dean Fundraiser in DUMBO last night. I am not ready to give up on the guy yet.

It was a good turn-out and spirits were high, although there wasn't all that much talk about the candidate, and I noticed that a huge Dean-for-Prez banner remained rolled up on the floor. Literally a sign?

Had a delicious pre-party meal of kielbasa and Schnackie-burgers at Schnack, in Red Hook (Carroll Gardens?) the only diner I know of that has its own blog.


In vitamin supplement news: inspired by this book I have increased my intake of magnesium by about 200 mg/day. Why? It is the most underrated, underprescribed, and most punk rock of all the minerals. It builds your bones like calcium and is good for your heart.


Have begun Season 2 of 24. I'm only up to 9:00 AM, but I have so many problems with this plot. Practically unnecessary spoiler spaces provided.

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Firstly, while I can embrace Kiefer Sutherland as a maverick but duty-bound CTU agent, I cannot accept Kiefer Sutherland as an Undercover Street Tough who uses expressions llike, "Hey Cowboy" and "I just did a nickel up in Gainesville." Doesn't work for me.

And along the same lines, I do not buy the criminality of the guys he's hanging with here--they all look like male strippers, and are about as threatening.

The Abusive Husband and Father plotline is sheer Hollywood fantasy. Did the writers do any research at all about the m.o. of a child/spouse abuser?

A typical incident of domestic violence would flare up quickly and die just as quickly, with remorse and confusion from all parties. It would also typically be covered up from the prying eyes of outsiders, not paraded through the streets.

But here we have a purely evil villain who hits his wife, then goes on an extended disco-mix of abuse including the kid and the nanny.

Meanwhile, a typical abused kid is not going to flee happily with a new nanny. That kid is going to trust the abuser more than some virtual stranger, and will not have the self-esteem or inner strength to resist the father once he came for her and asked her to come back to the house with him. The kid will have, by now, internalized the abuse and found ways to blame herself for it, and ways to rationalize the father's behavior. Americans can really get behind the idea of a heroic victim, but can't easily conjure compassion for a real victim, who may be conflicted, scared, unattractively cowardly.

Next, I feel manipulated by the ever-increasing moments where they built suspense just for the hell of it: the "checking out prison records on the web" scene, and the "rifling through the Arab terrorist's glove compartment" scene.

I mourn the disappearance of Tony Almeida's soul patch.

And, finally, where the hell is Milo???! He was my favorite character.

Now, having said all that...I am still enthrallled!

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