Clive Davis enjoys David Denby’s delicious hatchet-job on Inglorious Bastards. But first he throws in an experience of his own:

Around the time that “Pulp Fiction” came out I interviewed Quentin Tarantino in a Manhattan hotel and found myself marvelling at the most unbuttoned display of teenage egomania I’d ever witnessed. He was so in love with his self-proclaimed genius that he would probably have started snogging himself if he could have found a body double.

I saw the trailer for Inglorious Bastards recently and it looked awful—which made the relatively positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes hard to fathom. Instead, this weekend, I’ll opting for District 9. I don’t go with the highest of hopes. But I do at least expect it to to be better than, in Denby’s words, the “ridiculous and appallingly insensitive” Bastards.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been back from Martha’s Vineyard for less than two days. I didn’t take my camera so no photos this time other than the one below (taken on my iPhone) of a pig race at Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair.

We only had three full days on the Vineyard but it might as well have been a week for all the fresh air, fine food and good conversation. (Not to mention my 11-point Boggle score with ENRICHED.)

Martha’s Vineyard is a truly incredible place. It has a rural beauty that reminds me of the Westcountry, but with a New England/American feel all of its own: relaxed, friendly, fun.

Needless to say, our experience of the Vineyard is based in large part on the generosity of our hosts. But looking around at the beaches and cafes, the hotels and restaurants, the sail boats that decorate every inlet and the cyclists who slow traffic on almost every road, I can’t help but think that it must be one of the best holiday destinations in America.

Is this really real? Because, if it is, it is too good to be true. UPDATE: More details here.

REF: LIBYAN BOMBER RELEASE

SUBJECT: THE SCOTTISH PEOPLE SPEAK OUT

FAO: PAUL

The real people of Scotland wanted the whole of America to know just how strongly they feel about the release of the Libyan bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, we wanted to share the following sentiments with the US . . . . .

We would like the whole of America to know that the real people of Scotland are completely appalled and disgusted at the release of the Libyan bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi. 99.9% of us strongly disagree with this decision and the way that it has been handled by our own authorities. It is important for every American to know that this was the decision of the Scottish Justice System and not the Scottish people. We have stood side by side with Americans throughout the greatest of world war battles and we continue to do so today with the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have lost many of our own lads over there but we are very proud of the sacrifices that they continue to make in name of Freedom and Democracy. To see the imagery of Megrahi being hugged by Gadaffi completely undermines everything that these lads have been fighting for.

To see the Scottish Soltaire being flown in amongst those scenes upon his release would have made William Wallace turn in his grave. It seems that Scotland has been used as a scape goat yet again to do the dirty work that the British Government simply did not have the courage to do. Gordon Brown’s absence and failure to comment on the matter makes this even more evident that this is directly linked to the British Govenments interests in Libyan Oil and Gas reserves.

Lee Hutcheon
Scottish Film Director/Producer

ABERDEEN. SCOTLAND

It appears that Barack Obama and I have more in common than sticky out ears. We’ll both be in Martha’s Vineyard this weekend. You’ll be able to recognize the President by his motorcade and the cavalcade of paparazzi close behind. You will be able to recognize me by my dirty New York flip flops and the strawberry ice cream stains on my T-shirt. Time to pack. The Presidential Peter Pan bus leaves at 7.30 am.

Sometimes I don’t know how my buddy William gets away with it. In his latest installment of Todd and God, The Holy One, blessed be He, is a female house DJ trapped inside a mezuzah. And yet it all seems perfectly natural. Not everyone is amused, though. This from a recent commenter on YouTube:

This is blasphemy. YHWH is not a female nor is He to be imaged in some type of cultural assimilation. He is holy – set apart. It is bad enough that the Gentile church is involved in such Pagan activities as it is, but the Jews, who are a light to the Gentiles engage in making YHWH look like some type of New Age goddess. YHWH is not mocked.

Todd & God: How to Hang a Mezuzah (YouTube)

While browsing a local used bookstore the other day, I happened across a collection of E.B. White’s writings from The New Yorker (1927-1976). Here’s a gem from May 3, 1930:

When he heard about the National Arts Club prize for a book which would “reveal the soul of America,” one of our dearest friends sat right down and got to work. He had a great plot, and seemed, when we left him, to be much interested in getting it down on paper. When, a day or two later, we saw him again, we were surprised to learn that he had given up the project. It seems that when he read about the prize in the newspaper, he thought it said thirty thousand dollars; later he looked up the clipping and discovered it said three thousand dollars. True to the soul of America, he gave the thing up immediately.

Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976 (Amazon.com)