Sunday, December 14, 2003
Back in Florida
Arrived safely back in Ft. Myers where it is warm, but rainy. I went and saw the movie Bad Santa last night with the family - as it turns out, it is not a family feature. It was, though, a movie of polar opposites. When you weren't turning green at the levels of profanity, immorality, or general wrongness, you were laughing hysterically at some scenes that were unbelievably funny. All in all, wait for it on video and then make someone else rent it so you don't give them any money.
Well, today is a day long awaited by many people around the globe - Saddam Hussein was finally captured. While I am glad that he has been found AND been treated humanely (rather than shipped off to Gunatanomo Bay), I am frightened by a couple of remarks made by news anchors - poor juxtapositions, if you will. The first one is that many news anchors were making comments such as, "What a nice Christmas present for President Bush..." and so forth. First of all, Christmas is not about presents and second of all, I'm not sure the capture of a maniacal world tyrant should be considered a present. The second irratation stems from some remarks made to the tune of 1/2 the people responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001 have now been captured. First of all, we don't know who was behind those attacks; second, it seems likely it was Osama bin Laden, though we lack conclusive evidence; and thirdly, there is zero evidence indicating the two individuals ever had any dealings. I don't disagree they are both people who need to be caught and stopped, but I would like to see a little integrity in reporting - though that may be too much to ask.
Literature
I finished Yann Martel's Life of Pi and it was absolutely fantastic. It was a book of paradoxes, which enabled the character to survive, despite his poor situation. There were many turns of phrase that were very enjoyable, a hallmark of good writing, such as, "...made memory cry hark..." It was a very inspiring tale, to which I would agree with critics who cited it as being a cross between the styles of Hemingway and Rushdie. I was curious that it was presented as a true story, and would love to know if that is actually a fact or just a device used by the author. All in all, I highly recommend it for some fairly light, enjoyable, inspirational, and well written reading.
Now I am reading Robert Penn Warren's famous novel, All the King's Men, a loosely fictionalized telling of the rise and fall of Huey Long, American Demagogue. It promises to be excellent as well. That's about all for now, so I wish you peace.
-R
Arrived safely back in Ft. Myers where it is warm, but rainy. I went and saw the movie Bad Santa last night with the family - as it turns out, it is not a family feature. It was, though, a movie of polar opposites. When you weren't turning green at the levels of profanity, immorality, or general wrongness, you were laughing hysterically at some scenes that were unbelievably funny. All in all, wait for it on video and then make someone else rent it so you don't give them any money.
Well, today is a day long awaited by many people around the globe - Saddam Hussein was finally captured. While I am glad that he has been found AND been treated humanely (rather than shipped off to Gunatanomo Bay), I am frightened by a couple of remarks made by news anchors - poor juxtapositions, if you will. The first one is that many news anchors were making comments such as, "What a nice Christmas present for President Bush..." and so forth. First of all, Christmas is not about presents and second of all, I'm not sure the capture of a maniacal world tyrant should be considered a present. The second irratation stems from some remarks made to the tune of 1/2 the people responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001 have now been captured. First of all, we don't know who was behind those attacks; second, it seems likely it was Osama bin Laden, though we lack conclusive evidence; and thirdly, there is zero evidence indicating the two individuals ever had any dealings. I don't disagree they are both people who need to be caught and stopped, but I would like to see a little integrity in reporting - though that may be too much to ask.
Literature
I finished Yann Martel's Life of Pi and it was absolutely fantastic. It was a book of paradoxes, which enabled the character to survive, despite his poor situation. There were many turns of phrase that were very enjoyable, a hallmark of good writing, such as, "...made memory cry hark..." It was a very inspiring tale, to which I would agree with critics who cited it as being a cross between the styles of Hemingway and Rushdie. I was curious that it was presented as a true story, and would love to know if that is actually a fact or just a device used by the author. All in all, I highly recommend it for some fairly light, enjoyable, inspirational, and well written reading.
Now I am reading Robert Penn Warren's famous novel, All the King's Men, a loosely fictionalized telling of the rise and fall of Huey Long, American Demagogue. It promises to be excellent as well. That's about all for now, so I wish you peace.
-R
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