Summer 540 Project Proposals

This is the area where students will post their project proposals. This will be updated after the first class.

Dodgers Beat Reds in Bottom of 9th

Blake DeWitt got the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 9th, after a touch-and-go game in which Brad Penny gave up 4 runs in the first 3 innings. Two errors by the Reds also helped the Dodgers by allowing them to tie it up in the 5th at 5 each.

DeWitt had 2 hits and 2 RBI, and Kemp had 4 hits and a walk. Beimel had a tough 5th inning; first he thought he had the 3rd out on a foul ball, then he thought he had it on a pick-off which was ruled a balk. But he came through anyway.

The crowd of 34,000 was small for Dodger Stadium but very vocal in the 9th, greeting a great ending on a beautiful night for a game.

PLAYTIME

Jacque Tati's brilliant film PLAYTIME screened at the Egyptian Theater tonight. This is a 70mm print of a film shot in 65mm and mixed in 6 channel sound. It's a restored print including a few new minutes of material not seen in almost 30 years. It's a film that is hard to write about because it is so unique. Tati's films have virtually no dialogue, and no plot. They are extremely visual, with a very creative eye. They are comedies, but they are so subtle that if you are not very carefully paying attention, you'll have no idea something funny is happening. Unfortunately, contemporary audiences do not have the patience for this type of movie.

The film is so good that after seeing it you want to watch it again immediately, and when you leave the theater, you will look at the world differently. If I had to pick a favorite film, this would be it.

The film is playing again on May 25th, at the Aero theater in Santa Monica. I
very highly recommend the film. It rarely screens, this may be your only chance to see it where it was intended, on the big screen.

AMERICAN IDOL 3 RESULTS

As expected, the black girl gets sent home, and the two white bread boys move on. It's too bad. I do hope Archuleta loses, it's like Barry Manilow and Liberace had a bastard step-child.

JOHN ADAMS

I've only watched 2 episodes of the HBO series so far, but it's outstanding. An excellent cast shows what it must have been like to live in the important age of the American Revolution. The series has excellent sound and music. So far the only criticism I have is the overuse of Dutch angles, which is very distracting.

Sex: The Revolution

Sex: The Revolution is a new documentary series on VH1. I expected it to be a little too much like INDIE SEX, which was pretty good. It covers some of the same territory, but instead of being about sex in media, it's about the sexual revolution. The first episode covers the 50s, with an emphasis on Kinsey and Hefner, and is definitely interesting viewing. So far I recommend it.

AMERICAN IDOL 3

Boy, oh boy, do the judges want Syesha out of the competition. The only problem with this is that it leaves David Archuleta in, who has a shelf likfe of about a year left before his white-bred performance goes stale.

It's hard to imagine that David Cook will not win.

Dodgers Lose Third Straight

The Dodgers lost for the second night in a row to the Astros, this time a 5-0 shutout, with only 3 hits in the game.

Billingsly had a terrible first two innings, but after giving up 5 runs, settled down for the next 3 innings, followed by 3 great innings by Chan Ho Park and another by Joe Beimel.

Dodgers bats were dead. The offensive highlight of the night was a double by Loney. The Dodgers need to get it together.

Dodgers Let Astros Win

Derek Lowe of the Dodgers pitched poorly again tonight, letting the Astros walk all over them for a 7-1 win. There was little to be happy about from the Dodgers. Loney & DeWitt each got two hits. That was the highlight. Otherwise the team played poorly against a middling pitcher who got his first win.

Let's hope they turn it around for the rest of the weekend.

AMERICAN IDOL 4 RESULTS

Jason Castro's singing may be half-baked, but he was totally baked on tonight's show, especially during his sing-off. At least the right person is going home.

Next week will be interesting. I think Syesha actually has a chance to knock Archuleta off.

AMERICAN IDOL 4

Not much to say here, except that it will be nice to see Castro finally go home. He should have left about 4 weeks ago. He was quoted in this week's Entertainment Weekly as saying he had pretty much given up and was ready to go. Forgetting the lyrics to a Bob Dylan song he had said was one of his favorites pretty much nailed the lid shut on his coffin.

David Cook continues to impress and may very well be their most successful find in the history of the show. Archuleta continues to un-impress, but the screaming teens may keep him on for the final two. Honestly, I don't think he belongs in the finals based on his vocals, Syesha is a much better entertainer, but as a black woman competing against a cute white bread boy, she may not have a chance.

Film Music Article

I'm quoted several times in this Arizona Republic article about film music. It's pretty introductory for anyone who knows anything about film music.

Dodgers Beat Mets, 5-1

Chad Billingsly pitched a good six innings, giving up only one hit, a solo homer. The Beilel-Broxton-Saito combo provided a perfect 3 innings to end the game.

The bigger story was the Dodgers offense, which had 3 home runs, including Blake DeWitt's first major league homer. The offense was strong all night, starting with Rafael Furcal's lead-off homer, through Matt Kemp's 2 hits & 2 RBI and Russell Martin's 2 hits. Pierre got a hit and a walk and scored 2 runs.

The Mets looked weak, particularly their middle of the order, stranding 7 men on base. Their record is a lot better than they looked tonight.

AMERICAN IDOL 5 Results

No surprise that Brooke finally goes home. I wish Castro were next, followed by Archulta, but I suspect that Syesha will be next.

AMERICAN IDOL 5

Perhaps the most interesting thing on the show tonight was Paula, who thought she heard Jason Castro sing two songs when he had only sung one, and who called Syesha "Brooke." (I'll cut some slack on the first mistake, they do a run-through before the airing, which the judges listen to, and she was probably remembering that.)

As for the contestants:

Jason Castro was terrible. I'd expect him to be in the bottom two except his history has been great due to teen chicks. It's nice to see that DialIdol has him listed last for one. However, one can never underestimate the text messaging of obsessive teens.

David Cook was great on his first song,and fooled the judges on the 2nd song; he's still the man to beat.

I like Brooke, but she was also very weak. She is always nervous, and she picked too low of a key for the Monkees song. I would expect her to be in the bottom 2.

David Archuleta continues his progression towards king of the Disney Cruise line. He gets worse each week, but he'll be fine, again thanks to teeny-boppers.

Syesha was great on the 1st song, good on the 2nd, and in theory should not have to worry, except that she's the only black person left, and a woman, which would normally put her near the bottom. DialIdol has her at first, but again, the text votes should drop her down.

Dodgers Win in 13

It was a long night at Dodger Stadium. Kuroda pitched well, but the game was very slow, with the 7th inning stretch at almost the 3 hour mark. It took 13 innings for the Dodgers to win. The Dodgers had sent Blake DeWitt back to the minors, so when Nomar pulled an abdominal muscle, the DOdgers were forced to move Russell Martin to 3rd. If Nomar goes to the DL, DeWitt will be back tomorrow. If not, and Nomar is day-to-day, it's a big question mark at 3rd.

Russell Martin finished the game with a Sac Fly; he had 4 hits in the game, plus 2 walks, getting on base in all 6 plate appearances. He had 2 RBIs and a run scored.

Hopefully the Dodgers will be well-rested tomorrow to start another game in the evening.

AMERICAN IDOL 6 RESULTS

Juan Castro should have gone home, but he wasn't even in the bottom two, thanks to his hair and 13 year-old girls.

Carly's days were numbered anyway, she would have been gone in another week or two anyway. So it's not a huge loss.

AMERICAN IDOL 6

Andrew Lloyd Webber week... another reason NOT to watch A.I., but I'm stuck with it.

David Cook was a little weaker than the judges said, but he'll be fine.

Syesha was not as good as the judges made her seem, but she was still one of the best of the night.

Jason Castro was so awful he should be the one going home, but I think he's safe.

Brooke was nowhere near as bad as the judges made her seem for her false start.

Carly was not perfect but gave an excellent performance. Webber saved her ass by making her change songs.

David Archuleta was as vanilla as usual, but he's safe.

Castro should go, but it may be Brooke because of her false start and weak critique from the judges.