Another solid outing from this show that doesn't do too much. There's something to be said for just being entertaining without constantly disappointing your viewers with gimmicks. I liked Lou Ashby's character the best, such a lovable scamp.

I had no idea Larry David was in the new Woody Allen movie. That just seems so weird. I wonder if Woody didn't feel like acting this time around so he had Larry stand in? Are there any other performers like this that seem almost exactly the same? To a certain extent Al Pacino and Andy Garcia are like this. Except Garcia hasn't done anything notable in years and Pacino's have only been notable for their awfulness.
Whatever Works comes out June 19

Chef Will Gilson of Cambridge's Garden at the Cellar is raising two cute pigs, Porcini and Truffle, for slaughter later this summer in anticipation of a dinner at the James Beard House in New York. The pigs are being raised on a farm, not at the restaurant, but I still think it's notable. I like eating meat, but I also think people should make a conscious decision about what they're eating. Articles like this that put a cute face on your pork chop force you to think about it. More chefs raising their own animals (hopefully as close to the restaurant as possible) will mean better educated eaters, and I hope more local chefs adopt this way of sourcing meat.

I have Google Voice, because I signed up for Grand Central ages ago, and I decided to finally start using my Google Voice number for "professional" purposes. Right now I just have my Google Voice number forward to my cell phone. The trade-off, of course, is that I'd have to trade the totally awesome iPhone visual voicemail for Google's speech-to-text voicemail. I asked Rachel to call me to test it out, with the following results:

hey john it's me i'm downstairs printed diapers and the dryer hope doing internally if you're having a nice time upstairs playing the leapfrog musical what's it i'm realizing that i forgot to put the papers that you had in the living room from yesterday i forgot to put them in with this paperwork but i will put them in tomorrow morning's okay i will be back upstairs and i'm looking forward to getting the babies some possible fred soft switch they should be genetically program full of hey alright bye

So clearly that works perfectly.

Got the best comment this morning on my Michael Lewis post from a couple days ago. "Has Read several times, but don't care nothing have not understood."

Lot's to work with here, this little bot read the post several times, but doesn't care about it. In the end, they just didn't get it. Sad, sad, sad.

Of the three 2009 Speaker Series: Live & Uncensored events, the one I had originally looked forward to most was tonight's showdown between James Carville and Karl Rove. According to Charlie Rose, the moderator, Rove and Carville are both known for "helping an underdog get elected President twice" and connected by Mary Matalin, who is linked to "the political side of Rove" and "the loving side of Carville." Whatever that means.

Considering the insanity from last night's event at Radio City Music Hall, my expectations were pretty high. Alas, something seemed off about the night from the very beginning (the orchestra was only 3/4 full at 8:00 when the evening was supposed to start, though it did eventually fill), and it never got completely on track. Frankly, Rove wasn't as despicable as he's often portrayed, Carville wasn't as spicy as he is when he's 'on', and Rose didn't care to control the conversation.

I was surprised at the amount of attention paid to Carville v. Rove Round 1 in NYC because for Coulter v. Maher I wasn't able to find anything ahead of the event. Last night in NYC was marred by protesters and hecklers and perhaps the excitement was too much for the 3 performers because, while the Boston crowd was well-behaved (surprising after our Maher/Coulter display), there weren't a lot of fireworks on stage. Of course, there was Carville's Ragin' Cajun huffing and puffing and Rove's know-it-all smugness. Even Rose got into it, pointing and bowing his body like a marionette, sometimes folding all the way over.

I'm losing steam, but I want to share the notables:

-The sound issues for the Speaker Series continued as Rose's introduction battled someone who had their mic turned on backstage and I was begging for a 30 Rock/Naked Gun moment of embarrassment. James Carville was impossible to understand for most of the night. Part of this was his accent, but when he moved the mic closer to his mouth, it was better.

-Bodily theatrics played a big part tonight: Already mentioned was Rose's puppet-like pantomimes. Carville mugged for the crowd, but also fidgeted constantly, adjusting his tie and socks, and scratching his armpit. At one point, Rove mimicked Carville's herky-jerky gesticulations for a good 20 seconds, much to the delight of the audience.

-Topics covered include: The Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor ("All I could say was 'sonofabitch'" - Carville, Rove thinks she'll be easily approved.), The Economy (Carville, in a point that he leaned on like a wooden leg, says it's a "breathtaking accomplishment" how much Obama has made us feel better about ourselves and the direction of the country, Rove thinks it's all Obama's fault.), Health Insurance, Does the Market work?, Foreign Policy ("More power to him, he's doing the right thing" and "America's popularity is different than is credibility" both by Rove.) Bush (Rove said they should have tackled immigration before trying to fix Social Security, Carville said they succeeded in Africa and had good ideas on immigration), Clinton, and best political lesson ("It's about addition, not subtraction" - Rove. "When I was younger, I overrated intelligence, but now I'd go with judgment" - Carville.)

-Favorite quotes/interactions:
"I don't want the cops busting my door down when I'm having sex." - Carville "I don't want to be the cop busting down the door while YOU'RE having sex." - Rove
"You don't interrupt James when he's talking." - Rove. "He doesn't whine." - Rose.
"Difference between Clinton and Bush, Clinton had 8 bad minutes, Bush had 8 bad years." - Carville
"James, your ignorance is appalling." - Rove

I'm glad I got to go if only to see how brilliant these guys usually are in short bursts on live TV. The three are whip-smart and fanatically prepared. Tonight, however, it didn't feel like any of the three were on. They also hadn't agreed on a format; Rove came for a debate, Carville came for a talk show. I think this has more to do with what each of them have been doing for the last 8 years, than either of their political or speaking skills.

I'm also extremely excited to see what the Speaker Series has in store for Boston in 2010. Hopefully more events of different formats (town hall with submitted questions, maybe?). It might also be interesting to see them approach books (Gladwell vs Lewis?!) or movies, and maybe in different settings. This might be a more ambitious path than they're looking to forge, so if that's the case, I'll happily accept several more politically-themed events next year, but let's maybe mix it up with less established politicians or pundits. If they won't sell as many tickets, the Speaker Series should consider utilizing some of the Wang's smaller properties.

Lots of people don't like this movie, but it's Coen Brothers, and I can't help feeling that it was at least average. I think the people who don't like it have forgotten what a Coen Brothers movie is. For every No Country, Raising Arizona, Big Lebowski, there's a Lady Killers.

Somewhat lost in the internet hub bub ("OMG! He said what?" "Well, actually he didn't") around Michael Lewis' The New Republic cover story/review of a new Warren Buffett biography, is his 1992 jeremiad about Buffett.

Most fascinating to me was a paragraph describing behavior of the financial markets from 1982-1992. Close your eyes and think he's talking about 1999-2008 and it's spooky how well it fits. Eventually we'll figure out that you can't just make money out of nothing. Until then, I guess we'll just cycle through.

Still, in the short run he is probably right. You can frighten people into behaving themselves for a while. But in the long run he's wrong. The financial revolution of the last decade introduced to Wall Street all sorts of temptations to abuse one's position. When socially unproductive behavior pays as well as it has, it isn't merely a matter of needing a few more good men. The dirty little secret on Wall Street is that the men responsible for its current reputation were not exceptionally bad. They were just ordinary people placed in unusual circumstances.

Also of note, and the thrust of the entire piece, is Lewis dismantling Buffett's (at that time) pristine moral and ethical reputation with examples of deals Buffett cut seemingly at odds with his public statements. I had no idea Lewis wasn't a fan of Buffett:

This modesty is inconsistent with Buffett's vanity about his reputation as an investment genius. The main threat to this reputation--other than his performance, which has lagged the market during the past two years--is the strong academic evidence that success in the stock market is no different from success in a coin-flipping contest. The suggestion that he is merely lucky drives Buffett to distraction. He regularly ridicules skeptical professors with a vaguely thuggish if-you're-so-smart-why-am-I-rich routine. (The reason he is rich is simply that random games produce big winners, but pity the business school professor on fifty grand a year who tries to argue with a billionaire.) While his little rhetorical victories may offer him short-term consolation, they also reveal the enormous pressure on Buffett to vindicate his precarious perception of himself.

I predict that in 10 years, at least 30% of the people I know will keep their own chickens, regardless of where they live.

"The flimsy bags have turned into post-purchase tumbleweeds polluting the landscape of the Outer Banks, which relies on its landscape to attract tourists."