Author: NewMexiKen

Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)

… was so designated on this date in 1919.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view. It is more than a pleasuring ground for those who explore the roads, hike the trails, or float the currents of the turbulent Colorado River.

This canyon is a gift that transcends what we experience. Its beauty and size humble us. Its timelessness provokes a comparison to our short existence. In its vast spaces we may find solace from our hectic lives. The Grand Canyon we visit today is a gift from past generations.

Grand Canyon National Park

It’s the birthday

… of Betty Hutton. The actress is 85. She was Annie Oakley in the eponymous 1950 film, and the trapeze artist who saves the circus in The Greatest Show on Earth.

… of Antoine “Fats” Domino. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is 78 — and he still Wants to Walk You Home.

… of Mitch Ryder. He’s 61. No report on the ages of the Detroit Wheels.

… of Michael Bolton. The singer is 53. The computer programmer’s age in Office Space isn’t known.

… of Jennifer Grant. Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon’s daughter is 40.

It’s the birthday

… of Abe Vigoda. Fish on Barney Miller and Sal Tessio of The Godfather is 85.

… of Steven Hill. Adam Schiff on Law and Order is 84.

… of Dominic Chianese. Uncle Junior on The Sopranos is 75.

Cohen Didn’t Act the Part, so of Course She Didn’t Get the Part

From Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times on silver-medalist Sasha Cohen:

“I think I was not nervous, but apprehensive, knowing that I missed a lutz and flip in the warmup,” she said. “You know, when you go out there and have all the people watching — and you know that your practice hasn’t gone completely right, it’s hard to feel like you’re getting churros at Disneyland.”

Hard for silver medalists, perhaps, but easy for champions.

When their team is trailing by a basket in the final seconds, champions want the ball. Just ask Michael Jordan.

When their team trails by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, champions want the bat. Just ask Derek Jeter.

When the going gets tough, for champions, that is Disneyland.

The legacy of Sasha Cohen is that she sees it differently, and thus America will see her differently.

Once thought to be Tim Duncan, she is instead Chris Webber.

Once destined to be Joe Montana, she is instead Peyton Manning.

Looks great in everything but sweat.

It’s an interesting column.

Two exceptional films

The past two evenings NewMexiKen has been ignoring the Winter Olympics (and American Idol, if it’s even on) to watch DVDs. I’ve made some good choices, choosing two complex but rewarding films.

Last night it was 21 Grams with Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts. This movie has perhaps the most convulted chronology of any film I’ve ever seen (The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind nothwithstanding.) The dramatic story and the extraordinary acting of all three — and others — is, I think, greatly harmed as a result of this shuffling of time. It’s not that it’s so difficult to figure out what happens (happened); rather one simply asks why not just tell the story that way. The filmmaker’s art is important, but it should not be more important than the film itself. Still, the performances are remarkable, and the film is provocative.

The Constant Gardener stars Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz (nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar). Last September when I first saw this film I wrote that it, “is a gripping, harrowing film adapted from John le Carre’s novel of corporate greed and political corruption set in Kenya. Fiennes is superb as the too timid British diplomat and Rachel Weisz brilliant as his radical wife Tessa.” I stand by that assessment, and if anything I liked this film better the second time through. I haven’t seen the Oscar-nominated performances for best actor, but Fiennes surely deserved to be included. Excellent.

So now I’ll go watch the women figure skaters (preferably with the commentary off). NewMexiKen was able to view the 1994 Winter Olympics women’s skating finals on Russian TV. (The Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding year.) It was wonderful. The single commentator (speaking in Russian, of course) was low key and generally quiet, but the ambient noises of the crowd, the music and skates on ice could be heard well. Every performance was shown in its entirety, one after the other. It was incredible, almost like being there.

Update: Actually NBC did a nice job in its coverage, especially of the last six skaters.

Opening many web sites at once

Surely you all know how to do this but just in case, Walt Mossberg tells how to open many web sites at once.

Q: I like to visit about 50 news sites every morning but don’t want an RSS feed only. I like to see the entire site. Is there a way to open all of them at the same time, without having to click on each bookmark one by one?

A: Certainly. All you need to do is switch to a tabbed Web browser, like Firefox or Opera for Windows or Mac; or Safari or Camino, for the Mac only. These browsers can open multiple Web sites, in the same window, marking each site with a tab bearing its name. And they allow users to open these multiple sites with a single click. Though each differs slightly, all have a command — usually called “Open in Tabs” — that will open a list or folder full of bookmarks with one click. For instance, every morning I open about 20 technology-related Web sites in Firefox or Safari with one click.

Internet Explorer 7.0 — available as a beta — also has tabbed browsing.

Men in Hats

At Confessions of a Community College Dean, the dean sees Curious George and Brokeback Mountain on the same weekend and writes a “compare and contrast” review. He writes it like a freshman composition student might. It begins:

Although Curious George and Brokeback Mountain share many similarities, they also share many differences. Both involve men in hats, but the meaning of the hat changes.

Better half

Ferrari in halfThe red Ferrari Enzo — one of only 400 ever made and worth more than $1 million — broke apart Tuesday when it crested a hill on PCH going 120 mph and slammed into a power pole.

The crash did not result in serious injuries. But it sent shockwaves through both the tabloid and exotic car worlds as one group wondered whether the driver was a celebrity and the other mourned the loss of a hand-built car revered by many as a work of art.

Los Angeles Times

College bans Wi-Fi

The president of Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has banned Wi-Fi on campus, citing potential health risks.

According to an article in ITbusiness.ca, President Fred Gilbert is concerned about exposing young people to electromagnetic fields.

“These are particularly relevant in younger people (who have) fast-growing tissues, and most of our student body are late teenagers and still growing, so it’s just a matter of taking precautions and providing an environment that doesn’t have a potential-associated risk,” he said.

CNET News.com

No word on whether he’s banned sex, smoking, drinking, driving, etc.

Late night

Here is just an unbelievable story. The White House has given permission for a company owned by the government of Dubai to run six U.S. ports including New York. Dubai is accused of helping to fund the September 11th attacks. And was one of only three countries to support the Taliban. Now they are going to run the port of New York. What’s next? … Are they going to put Dick Cheney in charge of gun safety?

People are always saying we can’t find bin Laden. You know where I think he is? I think he’s working in the basement of the White House.

Jay Leno

President Bush has a plan that would put an Arab country in charge of several ports. You know if he keeps this up this is the sort of thing that could get people to start questioning his judgment.

An Arab country in charge of ports. That’s like FEMA in charge of disaster relief. That’s like Wayne Gretzky’s wife in charge of your bank account. It’s like Michael Jackson as your nanny.

David Letterman

Woods Shows Ames What Can Happen

From a story in the Los Angeles Times:

On Tuesday, Stephen Ames told reporters this about his chance against Woods in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship: “Anything can happen, especially where he’s hitting the ball.”

On Wednesday, Woods birdied his first six holes at La Costa and defeated Ames, 9 and 8, the quickest and most lopsided match in the tournament’s history.

After his epic victory, Woods produced some equally epic answers, true classics in their brevity, beginning when he was asked if had read Ames’ comments.

“Yes.”

So what was his reaction when he saw them?

“Nine and 8.”

Santa Fe as seen by the Cowboy Junkies

The Cowboy Junkies played in Santa Fe Monday and NewMexiKen somehow didn’t find out until today. Rats! (They’re in Tempe tonight, Boulder Friday, Crested Butte Saturday and Telluride Sunday.)

The band, which has a lot of music online, has a tour diary. They had this to say about The City Different:

Margo Timmins in Santa FeSanta Fe is a very nice town in which to spend a day-off. Especially in mid-February when the temperature is in the upper 50’s, the sky is cloudless and the air is so darn clean. Although the environment is spectacular, the town has become a bit of a parody of itself, which seems to be inevitable these days. As soon as a town establishes a distinct identity it doesn’t take long for commercial interests to move in and start capitalizing. As a result every second store in Santa Fe sells, Indian-ware, silver and turquoise and every other store sells South West “art” or furnishings. It looks like most of these stores are locally owned and run, which is a good thing, but it’s all a bit much. But as I said, it’s a great place for a quick visit; lots of good food, good coffee, good beer, good weather, beautiful scenery and a very welcoming citizenry.

That’s Margo Timmins with the flowers.

It’s the birthday

… of Don Pardo. The original “Jeopardy!” and “Saturday Night Live” announcer is 88.

… of Senator Edward Kennedy. He’s 74.

… of Sparky Anderson. The baseball hall-of-fame manager is 72.

Peter Hurd

… of Julius Erving. Dr. J is 56.

… of Kyle MacLachlan. The actor is 47.

… of Steve Irwin. The Crocodile Hunter is 44.

… of Vijay Singh. He’s 43.

… of Drew Barrymore. The actress is 31.

Artist Peter Hurd was born in Roswell, New Mexico, on this date in 1904. That’s his watercolor, “The Winos.”

Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits Between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty. 1819

The Adams Onis Treaty was concluded on this date in 1819. It ceded Florida to the United States and settled, after nearly 16 years, the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase.

His Catholic Majesty [Spain] cedes to the United States, in full property and sovereignty, all the territories which belong to him, situated to the eastward of the Mississippi, known by the name of East and West Florida.

The boundary-line between the two countries, west of the Mississippi, shall begin on the Gulph of Mexico, at the mouth of the river Sabine, in the sea, continuing north, along the western bank of that river, to the 32d degree of latitude; thence, by a line due north, to the degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio Roxo of Nachitoches, or Red River; then following the course of the Rio Roxo westward, to the degree of longitude 100 west from London and 23 from Washington; then, crossing the said Red River, and running thence, by a line due north, to the river Arkansas; thence, following the course of the southern bank of the Arkansas, to its source, in latitude 42 north; and thence, by that parallel of latitude, to the South Sea [Pacific].

The Avalon Project has the complete text of the Treaty.