weekly post from December 10, 2006

Hello friends & loved ones,

Another week is behind us and another one looms ahead. Is it really almost the middle of December? Is Christmas really only 15 days away? Have we really so few days left to shop for our loved ones? Yes, yes, and YES! It's hard to believe and it honestly seems as if it were yesterday I was trying to remember to write 2006 on my checks. I messed a couple of them up by writing 2005; thankfully they didn't get mailed that way.

Does anyone watch NBC news? I don't often get a chance to watch the evening news but I do watch and listen to CNN and, of course, my favorite news program is on MSNBC. David Gregory, a reporter for NBC news, has been featured quite frequently in the White House press corp and he continually asks tough, smart, and challenging questions. I get to see some of these clips on my fav show Countdown With Keith Olbermann. It's pleasing to me to see him stump and fluster Tony Snow and President Bush. Gregory doesn't blink and doesn't back down. It's quite thrilling. And if you listen to the answers that Snow and Bush give, they don't really answer the questions; they evade and become wily, cagey and don't touch on the crux of the question. One must really hear what is being said to understand this. Condoleeza Rice is the same way. It's important for us to remember to ask questions that are tough, challenging, and smart and not to back down and not to settle for half-assed answers. It's our right to have the facts and the truth. Fox news had a question that asked Should NBC ditch David Gregory? No, they shouldn't. In fact they should be giving him a raise. On a separate note about Countdown, People magazine recently crowned George Clooney the sexiest male alive and inside the article on him he mentioned that he tivos Countdown everyday. I knew he had good taste.

It's that time of year now when the movies I am racing to see before the Oscars are coming fast and furious. I've already got the rest of December mapped out. Lest anyone think that I only go to the movies by myself and never go with Jim, don't worry, we do go together. In fact I've already heard some of the movies he wants to see so I've made plans for us to go see those movies too. Yes, as Jim says, it is an obsession. All I can say is it is something I enjoy doing and I'm not hurting anyone. And I do like to be ahead of the game come Oscar night. What can I say? I like movies and I enjoy the Oscars.

paul