Friday, February 24, 2006

 
One of Hanson's recent articles argues convincingly a point I have tried to make before: If the Islamists successfully rile the Europeans into war along with the US, there may not be a Middle East anymore.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

 
I'm sure there are other examples, but this is the first I've personally seen lately.

And so it begins...

 
My daughter and I watched Grave of the Fireflies last night. An animated classic by Isao Takahata, it was possibly the most heart-wrenching tragedy I've ever seen on film. It's not unusual for me to cry at the movies, and I didn't until the last five minutes of this one, but when I did, I was sobbing with anguish. Utterly beautiful in the way the story is told, it's astonishing in that something drawn, as opposed to photographed, could evoke such a response. It's on Roger Ebert's list of Great Movies and in his review he talks about that aspect. I highly recommend it with the caveat that it's not for young children.

Political commentary relating to such a film naturally follows:

I read a comment on some forum where someone mentioned that it should be required viewing in the Oval Office. I think this is true, but it misses a critical point: The presumption of choice regarding war indicates that something less than survival is at stake which is sometimes not the case. When dealing with forces that are aggressively bent on one's destruction, I believe war, as tragic as it is, is the appropriate response and that the people that really should watch the film are the aggressors. It's ironic that they are, in fact, the ones least likely to be moved by such a film. It then becomes convenient to blame the ones responding to the attack because it's usually widely believed that they will be so moved. In short, civilized societies that would respond to the film aren't really the ones who need it. The ones who need it are the ones who wouldn't listen anyway.

To sharpen that point to currency: When radical Islamists worldwide loudly preach the destruction of the West, and do everything in their power to accomplish it, war is the appropriate response. The fact that they, without the West's complicity or acquiescence, do not possess the physical wherewithal to effect that destruction does not at all change their intent, and thus does not change the response.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

 
Well, the Muslim cartoon thing has finally moved off the front page, I think, in the last day or two. I think my feelings on it are summarized in a way that's been done by many people many times: While I may disagree with what you may say, I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

And while I imagine most Muslims to be like the ones I knew from my time in the middle east -- kind and decent people -- until they as a whole rise up and denounce the kind of violent response to things like the Danish cartoons, they run the risk of having Muslims in general being viewed as violent and uncivilized. I believe the phrase for it is this: Police your own.

At the same time, in Austria, a Historian named Irving just got three years in prison for Holocaust denial. What gives with that? This seems badly inconsistent given current events. Either you support free speech or you don't.

I finished "The Female Man" by Joanna Russ the other day. I liked the writing style and the concept of the story. The message of the book felt a bit dated -- it was published in 1976 -- Stridently feminist to point of male hatred. I couldn't quite tell if that was simply the character or Russ herself. It's the only book I've ever read that made me want to scream "That's not fair. We're not all like that!" Having said that, I'd still recommend it as very good writing, and I can admire her skills along those lines.

Enjoyed some wonderful anime lately, all directed by Hayao Miyazaki: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away. He also did Princess Mononoke. All wonderful. "Spirited Away" takes the cake as the most bizarre movie I think I've ever seen, but hangs together beautifully. They're all on a set of Studio Ghibli DVD's, along with Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata. If you like animation, you may like these.


Friday, February 17, 2006

 
The nonsense has gone far enough.

Buy everything you can think of from Denmark.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

 
If you look around, there's plenty of good news from Iraq. Generally, it's not to be found in the mainstream media, but it's in the blogosphere. Here's a letter from the mayor of a town in Iraq expressing thanks to the US military.

Monday, February 13, 2006

 
This essay, written by a moderate Muslim and posted on National Review Online should be required reading given the current state of affairs with Islamofascists whipping Muslims around the world into a frenzy over a dozen cartoons.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

 
The Mohammed cartoon thing goes and goes. This story takes the cake. I don't know what to say that isn't plastered all over the web already. It's just crazy.

Marriage is a simple thing conceptually. Execution is another matter. I was relating my experiences along these lines to a good friend the other day, wanting to encourage him in the midst of difficulties. I think what I learned over the course of a decade of effort is worth writing down:
  1. The first step is to establish communications. For me, this involved learning how to communicate in a non-inflammatory way so that problems could actually be discussed without things degenerating. This was huge!
  2. If you can communicate, and both parties are willing to work on things, there's hope. Don't give up.
  3. Take divorce off the table, either for good, or for a pre-determined period of time. It frees up the discussion when the threat of leaving is taken away. We did that for a six month stint once. It helped quite a lot and the threat never reemerged.
  4. There can be no secrets at all. Absolute, complete, and utterly transparent honesty is required for a real marriage. You'd be surprised at what you may hear.
  5. If you have #4, you must be willing to forgive almost anything if remorse is real. You'd be surprised what you can forgive. This is where real healing takes place.

This year I celebrate twenty one years with my wife. It didn't come cheap, but what I have with her is priceless. Simply...priceless.


Wednesday, February 08, 2006

 
Posted a little short story on Entropia Forum today. Although the setting is in the Project Entropia world, it's written so that it could stand outside it, I think.

Hehe. Nothing like a good lampooning of a serious issue!

Now THIS is the trailer of a movie that really needs to be made! :)

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

 
Keeping track of things that take a little finding: An interesting movie called Time Code. At's all shot in a single take of about 93 minutes. The screen is split into quarters, all running at the same time. The volume of the sound will draw your attention from one screen to the other. Very interesting to watch. Ebert gave it three stars in the review I linked to.

I'm currently reading The Female Man by Joanna Russ. I'm loving the writing so far. Russ is gay and unapologetically feminist. So be it. Tangentially related, I understand a lot of women are abused by men and I would, by and large, just as soon have those men shot for it, but frankly I tire of the venom that comes out of the feminist press directed at men in general. You, know, we all didn't do those things to you. Quite a few of us are decent human beings. Direct your rage appropriately.

The Muslim cartoon issue is almost beyond belief. Or as I said to a friend on a similar matter, all too easy to believe. Some thoughtful essays on the subject are found here at National Review Online.

Friday, February 03, 2006

 
I was counting my blessings the other morning in the car on the way to work. Some of those are things that I am able to see real beauty in. Some are classics, some are just personal favorites. There's nothing I can say about the classics in art that are my favorites; people have written about them much better than I can. Here are a few things that I find beautiful:

Michelanglo's Rome Pieta.

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Van Gogh's last self-portrait.

Van Gogh's old peasant man.

And there are just too many others to mention, these are just off the top of my head.

Some things seem like poetry in motion to me:

Bjorn Borg's backhand.

Julius Erving's dunk, gracefully delivered with full wrist extention because of the size of his hands. It made Julius seem longer than others doing the same thing. Also, the ball almost never touched the rim which is very different from many other players, including Jordan, who very often banged it off the back. Watch closely at Slam Dunk Contest tapes and you'll see exactly that.

John Gill on any boulder problem, but in particular, doing a one-arm pullup on a boulder problem, having his feet in hard rubber climbing shoes not make a sound when they return to the rock.

My old friend Tom on any hard boulder problem, in particular, I remember him on the cannonical dyna-mo on the Penny Ante boulder. He did it several times in a row, and seemed to just float up.

Again, there are so many others, but these are the first to come to mind.

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