trinacriabob

baseball

Wow. This is getting intense. First of all, I have to see ALL of the movies now, including "Crash" -- sounds like "Bonfire of the Vanities" brought to a much more realistic level, am I wrong? Plus, I'd love to see what parts of LA it was filmed in. As for "Brokeback", which I saw in a matinee in Chico CA of all places, well, it does and it doesn't break new ground. I think that the attachment some people feel is that it, in some ways, shattered the preconceptions. The 2 actors were not "packaged" and in no way did they fit any stereotypes. In fact, they were simple people. The goings-on in the movie, however, are not new: infidelity, lack of communication, keeping up a front, lust, and longing. It's just that they were played out in a context or situation previously not entertained. As for the acting, it was good. It was B+/A-. But then, it's the A that fetches the Oscar. I earlier posted how I would have been disappointed if Clooney won. I said that he plays himself. I have only seen him in two movies and I thought he was mediocre. I made this comment to a co-worker, a New Yorker, and he said that it could have been the roles. I thought about this. Look at Travolta. Growing up, I thought he was a buffoon. Then he matured into better, more dynamic roles. I would now consider him a fairly good actor. Maybe Clooney is getting there. Hollywood comments? EXTREMELY liberal, for the most part. In fact, it's almost too liberal for most of the people I know in LA - especially those who are in no way connected to "the industry." Ocn, stop going to Maryland/Delaware shore and try vacationing in California some time. You will see that there are no limits to anything in the Golden State and as my friend from Philly said, "California is very free-wheeling." She is in the tech industry in Princeton NJ but is originally from a Philly suburb. I didn't see the Oscars. I was working on a presentation I had to do today. I also wanted to comment on what Moltar said -- a very good comment. He said that the films of the past year are more geared to the thinking man and woman. That means that they do not cater to the popcorn matinee crowd. There are some years in which there are bumper crops of intellectual films. There is nothing wrong with that. While I can watch a 007 flick or an "Office Space" several times, nothing is better than a film that taxes the mind.

I like virtually all the French names for cars and Pontiac seems to have that market cornered: Grand Prix Le Mans Bonneville Parisienne (no longer) Grand Ville (no longer) Esprit (some Firebird models)(no longer) And then others have them too: Oldsmobile Intrigue Buick Allure Ooh la la

This always comes up and I take issue with it. Does it really mean that? I was driving out of Messina Sicily about 4 years ago with my cousin and, lo and behold, there is a placard that you were entering the community of Camaro. It could be what you say but it's also a town in Sicily or a division of Messina. I'll take a picture next time I'm there. Now, "camaron" in Spanish means shrimp, like the seafood you eat.

You said everything you needed to say. You, "The Ocn" (as in "The Donald") and a few others on the board have been very emotionally invested in the film and thus champion it. But that isn't the case with all moviegoers who saw it...and the other films. While a good flick, I didn't see all of the movies to comment on who should have won. Last year, one of the few contending movies I saw was "Sideways." I loved it...probably because of the setting but also because, in a So Cal context, every one of the characters exists... as shown. Again, I didn't see most of the others. I don't think it walked away with much and my feeling was "oh well." Cheer up, guys.

alien

BTW, what are "Crash" and "Syriana" about? (I know what "Munich" is about and that sounds dour...I will probably pass.)

Just think how hard it would be that creative to keep generating new material. Take a look at architects (no, you don't want to)...there tends to be a common theme to all of their buildings...yep, I know who did that one.

Man, Reg, you are REALLY into this stuff...more than I could be, and I grew up about 10 miles from all this action. Too much sensory overload.

Good call, Croc. I agree on that score. It comes from within.

Good taste is not our strong suit. I strive for good taste in what I do between 8 and 5 M-F, but certainly not in the off hours. Political correctness is censorship!

Topanga

Too bad he's not a very good actor. I think George Clooney plays George Clooney...over and over and over. He's not a Kevin Kline or a Meryl Streep or Glenn Close who have credibility in the breadth of roles they take on. I hope he DOES NOT win.

Marie Antoinette

guillotine

shrimp

From the number of posts, you're obviously pretty new. What is enjoyable about the site is that its cheekiness and irreverence is within the tolerance limits of most of us who "know" each other fairly well. If we poke fun at cars, then we are also free to poke fun at the human condition, which can be pretty funny as well. Another thing is that some of those contributions you refer to were made by members of C&G community who are openly gay. When someone is adamant about the content, it begins to be hateful or trespasses what the mods find to be acceptable, then it is shut down. Don't be so uptight....take a chill pill.

It's the ones that are packaged that I can't stand, whether as described above and even some readily identifiable sub-groups in So Cal such as surfers, entertainment wannabees, etc., but since we are talking about our assessment of the top gay cars, I couldn't help but take a hit at the Jetta and the Subaru and the annoying people around Seattle that drove them.

Funny that I was able to deduce these stereotypes from living in Seattle and NOT in California where people can't be quantified and categorized as easily.So true about the Jetta. Now, mind you, the current Jetta isn't as entry level, but the last two generations of Jetta say "metrosexual" (and that's the benefit of the doubt) UW student flitting around in his Jetta between the U-District, Capitol Hill and Queen Anne with all of the accoutrements Ocn describes save the sunglasses because you don't need them there. Then there's the Subaru. Dour and frumpy scholarly carpet muncher who either works or teaches at the UW, living in her ugly-ass frame bungalow with an equally ugly partner, cats and curio shop garbage somewhere in Wallingford (other side of the freeway from the U-District), driving this stupid utilitarian car around with an equally frumpy expression and all you can see is their short grayish hair, glasses and earrings they bought someplace "spiritual" like Sedona AZ or Santa Fe NM. Arrgghhhh! Why are people so damn "PACKAGED"?

I know there are a lot of smart people on the board so I am enlisting your help. My Regal, 1992, with the above transaxle (no electronic control ... that came the following year). Under a cruise type of throttle, it will exhibit a shudder between 3rd gear and overdrive at a speed of about 50 mph....when it tends to hunt betwen 3rd and 4th anyway. OK, the car does have 222,000 original miles. The trans has been serviced every 20,000 miles and it is mostly freeway driving. Shifts from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 are virtually flawless and so are most 3-4 shifts when under moderate acceleration. When it does do this little act (it's been going on for a couple of months), pressing down on the accelerator a little more deliberately clears it. Questions: Do you know what it might be? Are there solenoids that help determine the shift points on the non-electronic transmissions? Your input is appreciated.

short fuse

Pardon my low-tech ignorance, but what does "myspace" mean?

Admittedly, the dude has some issues...but the "real" Harry isn't even on the site anymore. I'm sure that, with an MBA, he has to be reasonably smart, but certain "substances" evidently create the lack of coherence in some of his posts. Probably time to let it go...what do you think?

watermelon

Nice job...I like the log in feature on the home page as well as the calendar...those always come in handy.