Wednesday, March 19, 2008

A Little Bit of Everything

There were three things that caught my attention in the last two days and I would like to share them with you:

1- Last night Boston Celtics snapped the 22-game winning streak (second longest in the NBA history) of Houston Rockets with a defensive display we have come to expect from Pierce and co. As a Celtics fan, I was jubilant and wanted to hug the imaginary person watching the game with me late last night. However, the more interesting news came after the game. As usual, the sideline reporter pulled aside a player from the winning team for a live interview. The TNT reporter picked the inimitable Kevin Garnett. After asking him tired old questions about how well Celtics played and Garnett's equally tired old replies, the reporter asked the player about his former employer's (Timberwolves owner...name I can't remember) comments that Garnett "tanked" at the end of last season. Garnett, first smiled, then said that he is Boston player now and that's all he cares about. Then he dropped the bomb: "I don't know why you bring this up right now". Thank you, Kevin, because seeing the reporter understanding that he has screwed up and making him eat his words on national TV was priceless. Who cares what the Timberwolves owner said? What is important is that Celtics managed to stop the streak and Garnett just wants to celebrate it. Do you have to bring that up? What were you expecting Garnett to say? "Fuck him" on national TV? Kevin Garnett proved himself that not only he is one of the best forwards the league has ever seen, but also one of the smartest.

2- This morning I caught the last minute of an interview with Dick Cheney (I think it was on GMA, but it could have been on CNN...doesn't matter). The chyron read that Cheney thought the war on Iraq was a success. No news there. Just then the interviewer mentioned the opinion polls and said that a certain proportion of the population (again I can't remember the exact number, but it was a rather sizable one) believes that it's not worth fighting there. What followed was unbelievable and I had to verify with my girlfriend if I heard him right. This is what Cheney said verbatim: "So what?". Insert your comments here...

3- Remember last year when the news that two of cinema's greatest masters died within a week of each other and how empty we all felt and ordered their back catalogues from Netflix? For the philistines out there I'm talking about Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni. This year, sad news from the same front came hours apart. Anthony Minghella and Arthur C. Clarke passed away yesterday. You can argue back and forth about Minghella's position in cinema history with respect to those of Bergman or Anotnioni, but the point is the film industry lost one of its most consistent and intelligent filmmakers. As for Clarke, he was the last great science fiction author. I can't wait to re-visit 2001: A Space Odyssey and Minghella's "trio": The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain again.

Peace.

4 comments:

? said...

I beg to differ on Arthur C. Clarke for he was not the last great science fiction author, Harlan Ellison is still alive and well and writing.

? said...

I beg to differ on Arthur C. Clarke for he was not the last great science fiction author, Harlan Ellison is still alive and well and writing.

? said...

I beg to differ on Arthur C. Clarke for he was not the last great science fiction author, Harlan Ellison is still alive and well and writing.

gurur said...

Wow, Kev. Not once but three times...you make your point quite clear, my friend.