Baby it's cold outside ... Well, heck, it's winter! So, it should be, right?

Movie: Neve Campbell has co-producer and co-story credit in The Company [directed by Robert Altman], and also does all her own dancing (she has training in ballet). The movie is clearly a labor of love for her, and is quite enjoyable for the movie goer as well. The movie is as you can guess not about the CIA, but a struggling Chicago ballet dance company, including all the little dramas involved behind the scenes. It also has many ballet dance numbers [an actual ballet company served as extras], suggesting the talent, skill, and grace involved. I enjoyed Contact, a musical that was largely dancing, but am not a big fan of this sort of art per se. All the same, as the Italian leader (Malcolm McDowell, finally getting a decent part for a change) of the troupe begs those who gave him an award for his work, it might encourage others to be a bit more enthused and accepting (including perhaps me) of an art form that often gets more ridicule than respect. Anyway, good small treasure of a movie.

Update: Here's an interview with Neve Campbell. The interview helped me recall a David Letterman appearance ... she mentioned a nude scene. Sorry guys; it's a shower scene, but hidden from view. On the other hand, there is some surprising (given the PG-13 rating) causal partial nudity (not of Neve) in the dressing room. We at JET like to keep on top of these things for artistic purposes. Anyway, the movie itself is based on the Joffrey Ballet company, the site of which provides a link to an excellent review in that it shows all that the film has to offer. As to Ms Campbell, I had a discussion recently with someone regarding movie stars trying to go beyond their natural talents (btw those pretentious ads trying to explain just how DEEP Tom Cruise's new movie is annoy the life out of me). Campbell surely shows the diversity of her range here.

Politics: The only thing for sure is death and taxes. Bush I got in trouble denying the need to raise the latter; Gen. Clark might get into some trouble for promising a certain form of the former will not occur. In his administration, "We are not going to have one of these [9/11 sort] incidents." Well, I hope so, but I hope his crystal ball is right. On the other hand, his administrative ability might be better than the current President, if former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is to be believed. He noted that President Bush was so disengaged during Cabinet meetings that he was like a "blind man in a roomful of deaf people." O'Neill was fired partly for not being a good enough "salesman" for the President's most recent slate of tax breaks. A fiscal conservative like Howard Dean might be a better alternative given the tendencies of the current bunch.