The choice is clear: a failure to ratify New START would be a dangerous gamble with America’s national security, setting back our understanding of Russia’s nuclear weapons, as well as our leadership in the world. That is not what the American people sent us to Washington to do.
Nukes are one of those things that shouldn’t be gamed by either party. President Obama reminds Republicans, that Ronald Reagan knew the value of the treaty. But in those days, President Reagan was just as eager to put the pedal to the metal in the arms build up race, as he was to transform SALT (Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty) to START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty). Makes you wonder if his game plan was to get the nuke race going, bankrupt the USSR, forcing the leadership to come to the table for a new deal. Some subscribers to this blog may want to respond to that from another perspective.
That said, START is the Gipper’s baby. As someone who knew Republicans from the Reagan era, I have to say, I don’t recognize the GOP as the party of their anointed one. “Party poopers” perhaps? The goal of the new “Party of No” appears to be to stall, dilute, and defeat any and all initiatives of the sitting President, until they can have one of their own back in the White House.
In the current state of affairs, this negotiation with Russia on START is only part of a broader discussion on Afghanistan and Iran.
The Treaty also helped us reset our relations with Russia, which led to concrete benefits. For instance, Russia has been indispensable to our efforts to enforce strong sanctions on Iran, to secure loose nuclear material from terrorists, and to equip our troops in Afghanistan.
All of this will be put to risk if the Senate does not pass the New START Treaty.
START is one of those things that shouldn’t be interpreted as a boost for the President or his party. None of these treaties are perfect with their grocery lists of missile defense systems. No nukes would be the best and most decent of all worlds. But we have to start somewhere.
A few months ago, a friend emailed an introduction to me and Josh Levin. Josh, who had been working in film distribution and marketing in New York City, was returning to DC to re-open the West End Cinema multi-screen in its old location on 23rd Street as a new independent arthouse theater. Of course, the West End neighborhood isn’t what it used to be since the exit of Blackie’s House of Beef and the arrival of Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, Walgreens, and the Ritz Carlton. How will the movie house fit back in with the new neighbors?
I invited Josh to give me an Eclectique Interview.
E916: You are a native Washingtonian who’s returned to DC to re-open a movie theater. What brought you back? JL:I always planned on returning to DC, and one of my life ambitions has been to open a movie theater. Circumstances conspired to make this dream a possibility, starting with the good fortune of meeting Jamie Shor, who is my partner at West End Cinema. Jamie and I connected because we both feel that there is a huge void in the DC film marketplace. I can’t believe that DC lost all the independent theaters in Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom and the West End, and I know Washingtonians love going to the movies. The film exhibition landscape is controlled by a small handful of chains, and Jamie and I feel strongly that four or five corporations shouldn’t be making all the movie decisions!
E916: What kind of movie theater is West End…meaning what is your vision for it? JL: Jamie and I have a shared vision for the West End Cinema, which is reflected in our tag line: “All Stories Told Here.” Our goal is to offer Washington audiences independent, foreign and documentary films that are entertaining, compelling and currently being denied entry to this market. More specifically, West End Cinema is a small three-screen theater with meeting and reception space, and more diverse food and beverage options than the typical theater, including a full bar.
E916: DC had an arthouse movie scene years ago, in the late 70s early 80s…do you think it’s returning? What makes it different now than then? JL:I don’t think the interest in independent, foreign and documentary films ever left. The reason most of the great movie theaters in DC closed is due to rising real estate values. The sad fact is that CVS can pay top dollar for retail space with high ceilings.
The other major factor in the disappearance of so many of our old theaters is exhibition industry consolidation. The locally owned Circle theater chain was bought by Cineplex Odeon, which shed theaters; then Cineplex Odeon was bought by Loew’s, which shed theaters; then Loew’s was bought by AMC, which shed theaters. If you’re AMC, it just makes much more economic sense to have one 14-screen theater in DC than to have seven 2-screen theaters. What’s different now is that there’s been so much consolidation that big chunks of DC have been completely stripped of their neighborhood theaters, so there’s room for small, nimble exhibitors to open up.
The other big difference is that the supply of really good films has grown as filmmaking has become less prohibitively expensive, so there are more films that deserve an audience.
E916: How can filmmakers or producers get in contact with you if they have something they’d like to show? JL:The best way is to go to westendcinema.com and go to the “contact us” page.
Now Showing
Here are a few flicks that caught the attentions of this blog and friends that will be playing at West End Cinema.
Howl
Starring James Franco in a career-defining performance as Allen Ginsberg, HOWL is the story of how the young poet’s seminal work broke down societal barriers in the face of an infamous public obscenity trial. In his famously confessional style, Ginsberg – poet, counter-culture icon, and chronicler of the Beat Generation – recounts the road trips, love affairs, and search for personal liberation that led to HOWL, the most timeless work of his career.
BOXING GYM
Master filmmaker Frederick Wiseman turns his veteran eye to the richly textured environs of the boxing gym. Lord’s Gym was founded sixteen years ago in Austin, Texas by Richard Lord, a former professional boxer. Populated by people of all ages, races, ethnicities and social classes–a melting pot in its truest form–professional boxers train alongside amateurs, teenagers, moms and dads and anyone trying to reach a goal through the rigorous workout.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Okay, yes, this blogger is still curious about what Woody Allen is up to…on the screen. Woody Allen‘s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones), and their daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) and husband Roy (Josh Brolin), as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds. Taking its title from the prediction fortune tellers use to beguile their marks, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger illustrates with wry humor how easy it is for our illusions to make fools of us all.
The West End Cinema is located at 2301 M Street, NW at the corner of 23rd and M (use 23rd Street entrance.). Visit www.westendcinema.com
Friday, November 19, 1:30 PM Gelman Library, George Washington University
The Special Collections Research Center at GWU’s Gelman Library will honor E-bert! — that’s E. Ethelbert Miller on the first day of his 6th Inning (read 60th birthday). When Ethelbert invited me to moderate the panel of family and friends on his writers roots, I asked “This isn’t going to be a roast is it?” Fortunately not. The Gelman Library houses all of Ethelbert’s papers. The event features discussion and comments by Ethelbert and his family and friends about his journey as a writer, as well as an examination and assessment of his work and a poetry reading with Sandra Beasley, Naomi Ayala, Ken Carroll, and Brian Gilmore. Accompanying the event is the exhibit “Call and Response,” which explores Miller’s life, major works, and their impact on those around him, both inside and outside the writing community.
I bought a bottle of “Poets Row” chardonnay from Trader Joe’s to pair. For more information, go to this link.
We haven’t heard much about the President’s trip to Asia since the breakdown of trade talks in South Korea. A bust according to news outlets. Was it a total bust? No one’s talking about it now. Personally, I like this photo of him having green tea ice cream on a visit to the Great Buddha of Kamakura at the Kotoku-in Temple in Japan. Will the President’s moments of Zen be interpreted as being out of touch?
I’m still trying to figure out why the headline, “Michelle Obama Wears Headscarf…” on Huffington Post. Michelle Obama in a hardscarf visiting a mosque Indonesia — how bizarre (read sarcasm). Fortunately, someone put things in context at the Washington Post in this slide show “Women, power, and the headscarf.” The First Lady’s Prova scarf was made in the USA. Her suit was by another American designer, Stephen Burrows. Burrows also designs for Target. Are we talking a trade deal boost for American designers?
Just breathe.
This administration not only inherited a massive national economic and mental meltdown, but must adopt big agendas when the time comes to make a move. “Change” is fast in elections; slow in governing. You go to Asia to talk security, trade, reaching out to Muslims, you’re not going to get everything you want out of the trip.
Just breathe.
Time to bring it home.
President’s Weekly Address
As President, time and again, I’ve called for new limitations on earmarks. We’ve reduced the cost of earmarks by over $3 billion. And we’ve put in place higher standards of transparency by putting as much information as possible on earmarks.gov. In fact, this week, we updated the site with more information about where last year’s earmarks were actually spent, and made it easier to look up Members of Congress and the earmarks they fought for.
The earmark debate is going to produce some interesting political drama in the months to come. We heard this in the 2008 elections. The problem with earmarks is they have benefits and abuses associated with them. When it comes to legislation, they can be necessary spending evils — for people who consider earmarks evil. States get building and infrastructure projects. Universities get research grants for science, humanities. Medical centers may get new state-of-the-art equipment. Someone may get a job thanks to their representative or Senator. Someone may get a big cash bonus.
On the website mentioned in the President’s Weekly, you may find earmarks worth fighting for and money well spent. And then, President Obama, offers an example of earmark abuse. We can’t afford Bridges to Nowhere like the one that was planned a few years back in Alaska.
President Obama’s Fellow Nobel laureate and Myanmar’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released on Saturday. She had been under house arrest for nearly 15 years. This was not the first house arrest for Suu Kyi in her political career. Because the powers that be are still in power Myanmar, will the press call her weak as well?
This blog is now moving into event mode for the second time this year. The first event featured a special screening of “Treme” and a tribute to the episode writer David Mills aka “Undercover Black Man.”
I guess it’s no coincidence that from the first event, the 3 FREE screenings of the 1972 film “The Man” is rolling out. Though “The Man” is based on the book by Iving Wallace; but writer Rod Serling, best known as the creator of “The Twilight Zone” took another direction.
In Sept of 1970 I took on the assignment to write a two hour television motion picture to be based on the Irving Wallace novel, The Man. I had access to a previous adaptation….but I retained nothing at all from this beyond character names. From the novel itself I retained only the most fundamental premise….that of a black man fortuitously chosen to serve as President of the US. Beyond this premise, I submit that the script, its plot line and its dramatic incidents are all my own creation.
— Rod Serling
The film was intended for television, but had a brief theatrical release in 1972. There is no DVD available of the film. “The Man” has essentially been a lost film in recent years, a science fiction until now. The first screening kicks off Sunday, November 14 as part of Busboys and Poets Focus In film series. In addition to this blog and venue, co-presenters include the Zhanra Group, and the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation.
“The Man” stars James Earl Jones as Douglas Dilman, the former academic turned Senator and now POTUS. Dilman’s daughter is played by Janet MacLachlan, an actor who was a constant presence on screen in the 1960s and 70s including Star Trek, and the film Sounder. Prior to her screen roles, MacLachlan performed in classic African American stage plays on and off- Broadway including “The Blacks” (replacing Cicely Tyson), and “Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright.” She was what is known as a “working actress.” MacLachlan continued earning roles in television in the 1980s and 90s. We had hoped to connect with her for “The Man” but sadly MacLachlan joined the ancestors October 11, 2010. An extensive tribute to her and her work by Steve Ryfle was posted on the blog Bright Lights After Dark.
“The Man” is directed by Joseph Sargent. Clayton LeBouef who worked with Sargent in the film “Something the Lord Made” will join the Q&A after the screenings of “The Man.” Serling colleague and lecturer Gordon Webb will join the Q&A for the first screening Sunday, November 14 at the Busboys and Poets on 14th & V Streets, NW. Film starts at 8 PM.
It’s odd that there’s been no sign of “The Man” in the last 2-3 years. When you see the film, you’ll understand the question. But this weekend “The Man” comes to Washington. For more information about the November (14, 21, 28) screenings of “The Man” at Busboys and Poets, visit the event page on this blog.