Got off my lazy butt yesterday and went to see a movie I had been dying to see–“Sideways.” I mean, a movie made over a backdrop of wine tasting? (But not, as Gus insisted to me, a movie about wine!) Should have been a dream movie!

I say “should have” because it fell far, far short of my expectations.

Though I thought Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church both give great performances, the story left me feeling, I don’t know, bored? Disinterested? Not giving a rat’s a$$ about what happened to the characters?

Sure, I was rooting for Giamatti’s character to snap out of his funk, even though you know his low self esteem can probably never recover. And I hated Church’s womanizing, deceptive, B-list actor. But I didn’t feel strongly enough about either to really care how it all ended up.

Apparently, I’m not alone in my disappointment: A.O. Scott in the New York Times this weekend dubbed the movie “The Most Overrated Film of the Year.”

At least one scene, however, really drew me in: Virginia Madsen’s soulful character gives a monologue about why she loves wine; it’s enough to make anyone look at their next bottle just a little differently. But the moment is short and fleeting, nipped by more attention to the schlubby main character, Miles, and his insecurities.

My advice? Wait for the DVD.

My pal xtop plays his first piano recital:

I never have dreams about showing up naked to school or sitting down for a test and realizing I forgot to study for it. My anxiety dreams tend to revolve around haunted houses, falling and losing things. So I’m confused, sitting up here on stage in front of a piano, my hands shaking like blurry exposures and the songs I’d spent all week practicing suddenly gone, inaccessible, while 20 strangers, my teacher and Matt & Kelly Sue stared up at me in expectant horror. I start to play, and then I hit a wrong note. “Wait. Let me start again.” I know I know how to play Musette; I’ve been playing it for two goddamn months now. This is ridiculous. But eventually I give up; I go on to the next song. Same thing, same wreckage of bad rhythm and forgotten notes. I can feel sweat building up, that same flop sweat that comes on during lessons, but this is so much worse. I am able to just barely play Sleeping Beauty Waltz by Tchaikovsky and everyone applauds, mostly out of pity, it seems. I bow as instructed and walk back to my pew and sink down. I’ve just had my ass handed to me by a 7-year old girl in a black dress. Tell me this is a nightmare.

More at thoughtpeach.

Goal: Have power to all by midnight

MANSFIELD — Ohio Edison estimates 5,000 to 6,000 residents remained in the dark Sunday evening, but all power should be restored by midnight tonight.

“We have a lot of crews out tonight,” company spokesman Kirk Gardner said. “I’m very hopeful we’ll be at full restoration by midnight.”

At the peak of the winter ice storm, Ohio Edison had 50,000 to 60,000 residents without power. Since then, Gardner said, crews have come from far and wide to assist, including from Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Maryland.

…American Electric Power spokeswoman Suzanne Priore said everyone in Bellville and Lexington should have power restored. Those who do not should call AEP at (800) 672-2231.

The company will continue to work on problems in that area, she said. Near Willard, nearly 4,000 people remain in the dark. Most should have power by midnight Tuesday. Isolated areas may take until midnight Thursday to have power restored.

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Ontario and Galion weren’t included in that “restored by midnight” jazz, I guess — Mom and Dad have been without power since late Wednesday night. They’re camped out at Chez Dahlberg (Columbus) now, enjoying some extra stolen time with Carl. Val and I are having a hard time with the thought that at some point, OhioEd/First Energy and AEP will get their acts together and we’ll lose our four-to-one advantage over the boy.

But wow, five days, no power (and, to my dad’s eternal chagrin, a partially flooded basement — since the pump that would normally shunt the groundwater away from the basement isn’t working without juice…) OhioEd/First Energy’s not really having a good couple of years, are they?

I’m often the first to jump out and defend public relations tactics–such as video news releases and other common practices. But this headline in today’s USA Today led to some serious eyebrow raising:

White House paid commentator to promote law

Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.

The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams “to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts,” and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004.

Now, I’m not going to rush to immediate judgment here, especially because this was a client of my former employer. I KNOW the people who ran these accounts and handled these clients; they are among some of the most ethical and professional PR folks out there.

I believe there simply has to be more here that Mr. Toppo hasn’t explained or uncovered, or that his slant and quest to uncover “dirt” is muddying a legitimate deal. (I find particularly offensive in this piece Mr. Toppo’s insistence on placing the phrase video news release in quotation marks. This is, after all, a common PR practice and not limited to government organizations. They are no different from news releases; it is the editor of the station’s responsibility to use the material in the way that best serves the public.)

But I do have to wonder if maybe, as PR folks, we’re blurring the lines too much. Are there spokespeople we should avoid? Relationships that do more harm than good? When is spin unacceptable? Favors? Networking? Coalition-building?

I think as practitioners, we often assume that more spin is better, since we typically believe and understand that good editors will detect our agendas. When our “talking points” break through this filter, we celebrate a victory. We claim it isn’t our job to seek balance, it’s our job to promote. But do we overstep boundaries in our quest to get our message through the clutter?

The WaPo also has a story in the A section this morning about another “fake news” report (i.e., video news release). This time, it’s the Drug Control Office that issued the offending video.

This time, the Post acknowledges that stations receiving the package “knew the materials were produced by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.” But did the office cross a line? Does the fact that the actor claims he is “reporting” at the end of the segment make the piece propaganda? If he simply signed off with his name, would that be any different?

I don’t know the answers. But I know these are issues that my industry will struggle with for the next few years.

From yesterday’s Washington Post–an intriguing piece about White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card.

I have to admit, I don’t know much about the man; this article is the first time I’ve ever read a profile of him. But what they reveal is fascinating, particularly the details about his mnemonic memory trick for keeping facts and details in order.

A handy trick I think I could certainly make good use of! Wonder where one can take a class on such things??

Will Eisner died this week.

Here’s a sample of his work, a single page from one of his invaluable process books that doesn’t even begin to demonstrate how important or influential he was on American comic books over the course of his sixty-plus years in the industry. Not, perhaps, to the same must-imitate-him degree of Jack Kirby, but certainly in an age when we’re talking about standalone graphic novels as the viable future of the American medium, Eisner was there first, and he’s been doing it for decades. His stuff is required reading, no question.

Hell of a way to start 2005.