A Bluestem Prairie

It makes sense: Marcus Penny's blog

We're always on the look out for First District political blogs. A hit today on the post Coleman of Solace brought us to Marcus Penny's new blog, Making Cents, which we've added to the CD 1 progressive blogroll.

After a review of the recount, Penny sums up the new Bond movie:

Also, I promised a review of Quantum of Solace, but I don't want to do it anymore. I'll do it in sentence fragments.

Not as good as the first. Still awesome. Daniel Craig = Best Bond Yet. The Red Head? Smokin'. Countdown to next installment: ????????????

We caught the film last night and that's about right. One fragment to add: lots of broken glass.

Update: The Penny blog notes the rumors about a Walz gubernatorial bid, but suggests that Walz should develop a track record and run for Senate in six years if Coleman holds on to the seat:

If Coleman gives as stunning a performance as he did for his first term, he'll be creamed in 2014. Franken came with a lot of baggage, and I think it sunk him. A Democrat should have won that race. Tim Walz would be a good choice to run next time. I hear rumor that he wants to run for governor, which could forfeit the First to the Republicans. Walz should spend these next few years making a name for himself before launching a statewide campaign.

At Minnesota Campaign Report, Joe Bodell followed up on our post yesterday and Zack's reading of the tea leaves at MnPublius. Joe posts Walz considering gubernatorial run, with a statement from a source close to Walz about the governor's race:

A source close to Walz indicated Friday that "A number of individuals who the Congressman trusts and respects have recently urged him to consider running for Governor in 2010.  Congressman Walz values their input and is taking it into consideration."

The post notes that Bodell is waiting with bated breath for our interview. He need wait no longer.  Most of our conversation with Congressman Walz yesterday concerned his agenda for the 111th Congress, as well as ways to renew civic engagement, though we did ask about the gubernatorial rumors.

Walz's own reply--which we'll post later this weekend--was a slight elaboration on the statement published at MNCR. Our forthcoming article will be much more focused on policy and the new congress. 

In yet another update, Minnesota Central considers what might have been in Durenberger goes Country First suggesting Walz for Senate. [end update]

Image: Inspired by the title of Penny's post, we did a little Photoshopping. Update: The Uptake reports that the routine post-election audit by every county (not the coming recount)has narrowed Coleman's lead to 200 204. We've updated our poster accordingly (a second time, to reflect the correction on the Uptake's post).

Farewell, Paul Newman

Paul Newman, one of Hollywood's icons, has passed away. In his memory, a traditional folk hymn:

And this more reverent folk tune, sung by Harry Dean Stanton:

Nitey-nite: a lullaby for the gold diggers of 2008

The recent economic news has made us pensive about American history, with all its panics and downturns. The politics of the bailout bring us to recall days when presidential candidates made the sort of speeches from which Hollywood would draw its inspiration:

Joan Blondell is simply fabulous, as is Etta Moten. Hat tip to TSDOLA.  Enjoy the tune and sweet dreams to everyone on a crisp prairie evening.

Labor Day: A clip from "Matewan"

Independent filmmaker John Sayles' 1987 labor flick "Matewan" doesn't make it to the small screen very often. Too bad: it's a pretty good movie with a great all-star cast: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell,  Kevin Tighe, Will Oldham, and David Strathairn (as the un-Bob-Fletcher, local chief of police Sid Hatfield), underscored by Haskell Wexler's cinematography and Hazel Dickens' hill singing.  Worth checking out if you haven't seen it.

Since it's Labor Day, here's a great clip about organizing (see if you can spot the agent provocateur): 

Wikipedia notes the film's critical reception:

The staff at Variety magazine lauded the acting in the film, writing, "Matewan is a heartfelt, straight-ahead tale of labor organizing in the coal mines of West Virginia in 1920 that runs its course like a train coming down the track. Among the memorable characters is Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), a young union organizer who comes to Matewan to buck the bosses. With his strong face and Harrison Ford good-looks, Cooper gives the film its heartbeat...Most notable of the black workers is 'Few Clothes' Johnson (James Earl Jones), a burly good-natured man with a powerful presence and a quick smile. Jones' performance practically glows in the dark. Also a standout is Sayles veteran David Strathairn as the sheriff with quiet integrity who puts his life on the line." 

Film critic Vincent Canby lauded the acting and the cinematography in the film and wrote in his review, "There's not a weak performance in the film, but I especially admired the work of Mr. Cooper, Mr. Tighe, Miss McDonnell, Miss Mette, Mr. Gunton, Mr. Strathairn and Mr. Mostel. They may be playing Social-Realist icons, but each manages to make something personal and idiosyncratic out of the material, without destroying the ballad-like style. For the most part, Haskell Wexler's photography doesn't go overboard in finding poetry in the images." 

Critic Desson Howe liked the look of the film and wrote, "Cinematographer Haskell Wexler etches the characters in dark charcoal against a misty background. You get the feeling of dirt, sweat and -- despite the story's mythic intentions -- the grim grey struggle of it all. . .

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on seventeen reviews.

For our film class at the Ozark Famous Writers School, we picked Sayles as our topic for the big director term paper. Good times--that left us with this thing for Davis Strathairn.