Re-Mix

My Dad has often said that there are no original stories. That people are just taking old stories and re-inventing them. I used to argue with him all the time about this fact. But as I have grown older I have come around to his way of thinking. In that vein I give you video three in the Everything Is A Remix series. I recommend all the videos but I think this is the most interesting. You can learn more by going to the site

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Adventures in Thoughts

From Open University comes some lovely YouTube videos on various thought experiments. Including the Grandfather's Paradox and Schrodinger's Cat they are informative and witty. Watching all six is definately worth 7 minutes of your time.

 

(Sorry about the lack of embeding I am posting from my email these days)

 

Book Review: Kidnapped

So Kidnapped goes down as my second book that I didn't complete.

All my life I thought of Kidnapped as a book about a boy that visited exotic tropical lands with pirates and adventure. Given that the book is about an English orphan displaced to Scotland, I think I was probably confusing it with Treasure Island.

 

There were three things that caused me to stop reading this book.

1-Uncommon vocabulary-I am talking random words that I couldn't even guess the meaning of.

2-Bland Subject- There was a lot of walking going on and talking. In someways it was like Catcher In The Rye.

3-Unlikeable hero- Despite getting halfway through the book I really didn't care for the main character. In fact I can't even remember his name!

I wanted really badly to like this classic novel. But in the end I stopped reading it in favor of God is Not One. A facinating book that I am going to write about soon.

 

 

Recommendation: Skip this one. Read Gulliver's Travels instead.

On Military Retirement

The proposed changes to military retirement were a hot button issue around the office. This article by Robert L. Goldich summarizes most of my feelings on it and this quote says it best.

 

 "Right now they [NCO's] stick around for 20 years because they know that the pot of gold at the end of the 20-year rainbow will be substantial and enable them to start a second career -- which they have to have, given that kids will be going to college and few men or women can actually live on military retired pay alone. Twenty-year retirement makes up with power what it lacks in subtlety. If we take it away as it stands, our NCO corps will hemorrhage. They will see correctly that the American people think their careers are no different than civilians who have an infinitely easier life. And one of the key factors in making our armed forces as outstanding as they are will be greatly damaged."

 

Dancing Travelers

I love round the world montages. I watch and think "someday I will see that" or "I have been there!". It gets me so excited about traveling. The best by far is Matt. His dance is so goofy and joyful plus he labels each location. His story is pretty cool because he got paid to travel the world and make his videos (LUCKY!).

 

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I ran across another today that caught because of the title "Dance Like No One Is Watching". It has more art (and better music) then Matt but is also obviously inspired by him.

 

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Why I Like NCIS

A guy in my office purchased a box set of NCIS episodes and we have all been watching them. Despite having seen most of the episodes I have found myself really enjoying re-watching them.

 Initially I didn't like NCIS. Mostly because the backdoor pilot aired on JAG and the NCIS team was accusing my beloved Harmon Rabb of murder. If they couldn't understand the awesomeness of Rabb well obviously these were not characters I could get behind!  I have long changed that initial opinion and I am happy that NCIS has become the highest rated scripted television show in America.  Indulge me while I explain how NCIS has won me over.

Excellent storylines
NCIS has consistently strong stories. One would think that a show based on only Navy/Marine related crimes would run out of stories. Yet NCIS manages to make this an asset. Not only do they have the traditional murder procedural episodes but they also have terrorist plots, kidnappings, arms dealers, obsessed serial killers and international intrigue. They also don't forget the past and their stories consistently intertwine and lead into each other.

Characters
There are shows that are all about the personal dramas of the characters. Sometimes it feels like the cases are mere subplot to the larger "will they, won't they" story arcs. But NCIS has managed to keep the show character driven without forgetting about the cases. The characters in NCIS feel real; people I could work with or be friends with. All of them have stories and lives beyond what we are shown in each episode. They have loveable quirks. Abby is a wonderful, brilliant contradiction. Ducky is a fountain of knowledge and random facts. Tony is a hero hiding in a class clown outfit.  Gibbs is a high functioning mute. But they are so well acted and written that these never feel superficial. They are whole people that are allowed to grow and change.

Fun
Watching NCIS is just fun. It combines high drama that is suspenseful, sad and poignant but it also takes the time to be a little goofy. From Ziva's syntax mistakes and random Ducky ramblings, to Abby who makes the forensics exciting, or even the understated Gibbs with his head slapping no-nonsense attitude there is rarely an episode without an opportunity to giggle.
 

Military
I am biased. I can't help it. I enjoy that NCIS highlights the men and women of our country that serve in the armed forces. I appreciate that they are also multi-dimensional. Sometimes the Navy Petty Officer is the hero and sometimes the villain.  Either way it can be a realistic glimpse into military culture and its members.

In nutshell that is why I like NCIS.  If you haven't seen it then you really should.

National Archives Blog

Found this cool blog and thought I would share. Everyday they feature something from the National Archives. I find this kind of stuff really cool. Pictures, documents and the other stuff in the Archives tell our nations history. Check it out at

http://todaysdocument.tumblr.com/

Book Review: Catching Up

Time seems to slip away and somehow, despite my intentions, I have again become lax in my blogging. I have kept up on my reading but haven't found time to write about each one. So to catch up:

Catcher in the Rye
Been meaning to read this for a long time and was pleasantly surprised. It is written like a confessional blog. I recommend it but be warned it is a bit depressing.

On The Beach
A classic science fiction that ends sadly if very realistically. To depressing for my current circumstances.

Mountains Beyond Mountains
Awesome biography on Dr. Paul Farmer-a true humanitarian and force for good in the world. Highly recommended especially if you liked "Two Cups of Tea"

The Forever War
Highly recommended. Fantastic science fiction that uses the relativity of space travel to great effect.

Under Heaven
A fantasy novel about a fictionalized Tang Dynasty China. I am not really big into Chinese history but I really appreciated the imagery and characters. It is a bit long but worth a look.

Up next: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

Book Review: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman

Why I read it: Because I will read anything written by Neil Gaiman…anything!

Plot: Nobody Owens, a precocious toddler in modern Britain, is adopted by the residents of the graveyard to save him from the man that murdered his family. Growing up among ghosts from all time periods Bod has a series of adventures leading him eventually to the confrontation with the men that want him dead and the much more scary confrontation with growing up.

Style: True to Gaiman fashion the book is delightfully otherworldly, humorous, poignant and slightly macabre. There are many fun turns of phrase and interesting philosophical thoughts peppered throughout. At its heart this is really a children’s story suitable for ages 5 and up.

Thoughts: As previously mentioned I really like Neil Gaiman. So I had high expectations for this book. When in a cemetery I always find myself wondering about each headstone and the story behind it. Gaiman gives these headstones a story and an afterlife. Bod is a fun hero with uncanny abilities that he thinks are normal.

At times the book felt almost like a hodge-podge of separate stories. As we skim through Bod’s life, only touching on his most significant adventures. Obviously this was necessary since the story covers roughly 16 years of time. There are strong coming of age themes and I got choked up at more then one point. In the end it was a pleasure to peer into Bod’s exceptional life and wonder at the possibility.

Quotables:

"It is neither fair nor unfair, Nobody Owens. It simply is."

"Able to slip from shadow to shadow, never seen, never suspected. Free as air, fast as thought, cold as frost, hard as nails, dangerous as, as us."- Pronounced by a ghoul

"Wherever you go, you take yourself with you."

"He could no more hug Silas than he could hold a moonbeam, not because his guardian was insubstantial, but because it would be wrong. There were people you could hug and then there was Silas."

"You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing and there's nothing you can do about it."

If you liked... Gaiman’s Stardust or Coraline this is definitely up your ally. Also James and the Giant Peach and The Jungle Book.

Book Review: His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials Trilogy: The Golden Compass/The Subtle Knife/The Amber
Spyglass

Why I Read It: I was about to embark on a 22 hour road trip and my
brother-in-law conveniently had all three books on hand. And of course it
was on the list.

Plot: (From Amazon…getting lazy) "In an epic trilogy, Philip Pullman unlocks
the door to a world parallel to our own, but with a mysterious slant all its
own. Dæmons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a
mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the
universes--if it isn't destroyed first... Join Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and
the rest as they embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventures
of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands. The Golden
Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass pit good against evil in a
way no reader will ever forget."

Style: The story is told from multiple points of view but mostly stays
with Lyra and Will. At it’s heart it is an adventure story with some
coming-of-age themes. The action is well written and I had no problem
devouring all three books in a few days.

Thoughts: When the movie “The Golden Compass” came out there was a lot of
discussion about the anti-religious themes of these books. Thus I went into
these books looking for this much touted atheist agenda. The story is not
kind to corrupted organized religion or those who do evil in the name of
God. However I didn’t feel it was attacking my faith in any way.

As an adventure-fantasy story the books work really well. I was disappointed
with the final ending. I felt no closure or any kind of wrap-up of the
overall themes. Well actually I can’t even really pinpoint the overall
themes. There were some very good ideas and thoughts but I must have missed
the follow through because I am not sure what it was all about. Perhaps that
is how the author intended the story to end but it left me more frustrated
then satisfied. I enjoyed reading all three books and recommend them as
light/fun reading. If you are looking for deep philosophical reading I would
go elsewhere.

Quotables:
The Golden Compass
"You speak of destiny," he said, "as if it was fixed. And I ain't sure I like that any more than a war I'm enlisted in without knowing about it. Where's my free will, if you please? "

Amber Spyglass
"Being in love was like China: you knew it was there, and no doubt it was very interesting, and some people went there, but I never would. I'd spend my life without ever going to China, but it wouldn't matter, because there was all the rest of the world to visit."

Recommendation: If you like: Lord of the Rings, the last three Harry Potter
books, Lloyd Alexander

The Worth of a Major

Georgetown University just published an interesting study on the earning capabilities of undergraduate degrees. Using various banks of statistics they break down the salaries of college graduates based on their major.
I looked up Geography (which is of course the best major) and was happy to see that geographers were more then competetive when it came to earnings. I think this study would be very useful to those who are undecided about their major or perhaps trying to choose between a couple of attractive options.
Check out your major and tell me how it stacks up!

Book Review: Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Why I Read It: Like Blue Sword it was on the Harvard Book List and I purchased it off Amazon.

Plot: Kilgore Trout writes science fiction stories. Other guy reads them…chaos ensuses.

Style: Rambling. No honestly it felt like the entire novel had been written in one sitting. Vonnegut writes like he is explaining the world to an alien which makes for the occasionally interesting idea but mostly it was just distracting. At times Vonnegut will randomly address the reader. Additionally there are cartoon pictures to illustrate points that don't need illustration. For instance one chapter has pictures of a Holiday Inn sign, a do not disturb sign, a sanitary strap (from a hotel toilet) and a lamb.
Thoughts: I was pretty disappointed in this book. I love Vonnegut's short stories and I enjoyed "Slaughterhouse 5". I thought this would be an easy and enjoyable read but I stopped at 27%. The style was too weird and the story was frankly boring. Additionally there were a lot of off-color references to body parts, pornography, and the like. In the end I gave up.

Quotables:
" The gun was loaded and cocked. There were neat little metal packages containing charcoal, potassium nitrate and sulpher only inches from his brains. He had only to trip a lever, and the powder would turn to gas. The gas would blow a chuck of lead down a tube and through Dwayne's brains. "

"Sparky could not wag his tail--because of an automobile accident many years ago, so he had no way of telling other dogs how friendly he was. He had to fight all the time"

"Charm was a scheme for making strangers like and trust a person immediately, no matter what the charmer had in mind. "


Recommendation: Read Slaughterhouse 5, or anything else...

Air Traffic

Ever wonder what the sky looks like with all those jumbo jets and commuter twin props flying around? Check out this time-lapse of plane routes as they avoid a storm in the Northeast.

Just Smile

I love the song Smile by Nat King Cole.

"Smile, tho' your heart is aching,
Smile, even tho' it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky,
You'll get by
If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile ~ and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
For you."

I have always been taught the power of smiling and so I really enjoyed this TED talk about the power of smiling. According to research a smile is better than pounds of chocolate or $25,000. It can reduce stress enhancing hormones and blood pressure. Best part of the video is by far the amazing graphics he uses.

Book Review: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

Compared to “The Next Decade” I devoured this book. I finished it in two days (before I could even finish the blog post about the other). My last post got a bit long so I decided to institute a “format” for these reviews. Hopefully this will make writing them a quicker process.

The Blue Sword

Why I read it: It was on the Harvard 100 list and I bought it for my Kindle before I decided to use my own list.

Plot teaser: Harry is a girl who has just been displaced from her home. The death of her father caused a forced relocation to the outskirts of the Homeland where her brother and kind foster parents take her in. Harry (awful name for a female character) is abruptly whisked away by the “barbarian” King Corlath. Who, on the brink of war with the feared Northlanders, has other plans for her. mHarry with the help of fate and some "magic" becomes the heroine of a nation.

Style: It is mostly 3^rd person limited. Most of the story is told from Harry’s perspective but the author does occasionally switch to Corlath or some of the other minor characters. She has good descriptions but they are not particularly captivating or unique.

Thoughts: Overall I enjoyed the book. It was well paced and believable. The story is tight (if slightly predictable) with a good dose of character growth, kingdoms, magic, and mystery. The problem is that much of the mystery is never revealed and you are left wondering about a lot of things. I found myself continually comparing it to “The Goose Girl” by Shannon Hale. Both heroines are transplanted, both have a special gift, and both have royal romances. However for many reasons I think Hale’s book is far superior. Her Isi is a much more complete and compelling heroine, her writing is beautiful and her characters feel like old friends. As much as I liked this book I don’t understand why it was on the list or why it won so many awards. I can only imagine that being published in 1982 it was unique for its time. Today a strong female heroine fantasy novel is fairly common.

Quotables:

“She had always suffered from a vague restlessness; a longing for adventure that she told herself severely was the result of reading too many novels when she was a small child.”

“Like the grain of sand that gets into an oyster’s shell. What if the grain doesn’t want to become a pearl? Is it ever asked to climb out quietly and take up its old position as a bit of ocean floor?”

Read this if you like: Shannon Hale, Westmark Trilogy, The Hunger Games

Book Review: The Next Decade

Reading this book took much longer than anticipated so I am a little past the 2 week mark. It was insightful, well-written and had lots of intriguing ideas. I am a big fan of George Friedman and STRATFOR (his think tank). I read his “The Next 100 Years” last fall and was interested in this new offering. Much of the ground that Friedman covers in “Decade” was also covered in “100 Years”. There were multiple times I felt I was reading the same book.

My three favorite things from this book were: the concept of the Machiavellian presidency, the discussion of the American Empire, and the inherently geographic analysis.

The Machiavellian presidency is simply defined as a president that can wield American power to preserve American ideals even if he is simultaneously violating these ideals. As examples he offers Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan. As he says in his book summary: “Each possessed a deep moral core. Each fully understood the uses of power, lying and violating the Constitution and human rights to achieve the respective moral necessities of the abolition of slavery, the destruction of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and the destruction of the Soviet Union.” This concept provides an interesting framework for analyzing American presidents.

I love Friedman for calling it as he sees it. “The issue of whether the United States should be an empire is meaningless. It is an empire”. He makes a very compelling argument for the existence of the American Empire and how this realization must govern foreign policy. I know many Americans advocate isolationism. They need to read this book so they can understand how such a policy would never work.

The best part of all Friedman’s publications are in his approach. Friedman thinks geographically which makes my geographer heart…er brain…sing. The last half of the book is devoted to a regional analysis of the world and how America should manage each. An example quote: “India and China are divided by a wall—the Himalayas—that makes sustained conflict and high-volume overland trade virtually impossible”

In total I found this a great and informative read. Because it was so much like it’s predecessor I recommend reading “The Next 100 Years” and then first few chapters of the “The Next Decade”.

Quotables:

“Just because something like the elimination of terrorism is desirable doesn’t meant that it is practical. Or that the price to be paid is rational.”

“Now that they have lost their empires, Europeans always speak in terms of caution”

“Terrorism is not an enemy but a type of warfare that may or may not be adopted by an enemy”

“If for political reasons a president cannot clearly identify who is to be fought and why, then he must carefully reexamine whether he can win, and thus whether or not he should engage.”

“Ideals without power are simply words—they can come alive only when reinforced by the capacity to act.”

Next up “The Blue Sword” By Robin McKinley this has been billed as a fantasy YA novel. So it should be right up my alley!

Love and Austen

have always proudly declared that “Disney gave me unrealistic expectations about love”. Who can help but love the fairy tale formula. They are full of, as Belle says, “far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!” They captivate the imagination, have fantastic heroes, and always end with a happy couple. Interwoven into our childhood, such stories are easy targets for every self-diagnosing Freud wannabe. But I am pretty sure that my ideas about love and relationships were not formed solely during my Disney years. In point of fact I think Ms. Jane Austen probably deserves a large amount of blame for any unrealistic notions I have concerning love.

“I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago.”-Captain Wentworth

It seems that all of Ms. Austen’s leading men are eloquent in love. As a teenager my heart flipped at their pronouncements of love. I just knew that the leading men in my life would be equally verbose in confessing their love. I still cling to this expectation. I know there are still eloquent men out there…somewhere.

Men of sense, whatever you may choose to say, do not want silly wives-Mr. Knightly

Darcy, Wentworth, Edward, Brandon and Edmond all agree with Mr. Knightly. They want and get thinking, independent women. My own non-scientific sampling seems to prove the opposite. I have found that men will happily be friends with such women but rarely date them. The girls that marry early are almost always the sillier variety. Perhaps there are no modern Knightly longing (or I haven’t met one).

“She (Elizabeth) hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man.”-Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth, Emma, Anne, and Eleanor (yes I call them by their first names because they feel like old friends) were all surprised by the declarations of love that were offered. Elizabeth is sure Darcy hates her. Emma knows that Knightly is about to marry her friend. Anne thinks that Captain Wentworth is indifferent. Eleanor believes Edward is married to another. They are all wrong. They captured the love of wonderful men and had no clue. More than once I have thought that perhaps that I was in the same kind of relationship. That he really liked me, he just didn’t know it. Certainly realization would arrive in a romantic declaration. Ya. Not so much.

"I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr. Darcy has no defect. He owns it himself without disguise."-Elizabeth Bennett (said ironically)

Lastly Ms. Austen probably did the most damage by introducing me to Fitzwilliam Darcy. His morality and social awkwardness endeared me. He rejected girls who played to his vanity. He fell in love with the vivacious, independent, and witty Elizabeth Bennett. He proved his worth by continuing to love her even after being thoroughly rejected. Investing considerable energy and assets he saved her family from ruin. He took her criticisms and endeavored to grow from them. From the very beginning he became the ideal. An ideal, I fear, that will never be matched in reality.

So here I am full of my ill-conceived notions and expectations about love and relationships. Even though I know the damage these novels have done I still love them. In fact I am now seized by a strong desire to go and read them again!

The Book Project

Mr. Darcy when speaking about what it means to be an accomplished woman
said: "to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the
improvement of her mind by extensive reading". I believe he is right and so
I have decided to embark on a reading project.

I don't want to read just anything. I want the books I read to inspire and
teach me.

At first I was going to use one of those "100 Greatest" book lists. I
Google-ed and researched and finally picked the Top 100 list by Harvard Book
Store. Touted as "books that moved us, that changed the way we think about
the world, and that we will happily read over and over again". It sounds
like a great collection of wonderful books. Then I realized that
just blindly reading through a list (even a really good list) was the
epitome of mindlessness.
I have been making book lists for years. I have 80 books saved in my Amazon
wishlist. I have a fantastic list from my high school English teacher that I
have been working on for 8 years (yikes I am old!). I have 37 titles left
in the Hugo/Nebula award winners list. Add to all that the various book
recommendations I have received over the years and I have more than enough
books to keep me reading for a years.
So here are the rules:

1-Variety must be maintained! I can't read two simliar books in a row i.e.
two novels, two sci-fi.

2-I will not force myself to read the book if I hate it. But I must read at
least 25% of the book before I can stop reading.

3-The goal is to read a book every 2 weeks. Faster is better but slow and
steady can win the race.

4- Upon finishing (or not finishing) each book I will write a review on this
blog. This way I can synthesize the information learned and maybe help
others to find some good reads.

With that here we go:
First book: "The Next Decade: Where We've Been . . . and Where We're Going "
By George Friedman

Successfully Mormon

I read recently about Gov. Huntsman's possible White House bid. I don't know much about him but the article seemed to indicate that he plays down his religion. I dislike that.
I am not saying that Gov. Huntsman or any high profile Mormon should act like a full-time missionary. However, I recently sat in a fireside where an Apostle said that if we were truly converted we would share our beliefs more and he urged us to be "appropriately bold".
I think that many Mormons struggle with how to share their religion-- how to be appropriately bold. I have been pondering this idea and thus was very excited to stumble upon Clayton M. Christensen.

I was reading a Readers Digest article that was a very popular talk turned article for the Harvard Business Review titled "How Will You Measure Happiness?". (I loved the article and should be doing a post just on it) As I read it I couldn't help but think "Gosh this guy sounds Mormon..." When I got to an internet connection I looked him up and sure enough he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and according to Forbes "one of the most influential business theorists of the last 50 years"

Even more exciting for me was this wonderful essay he has on his website about his faith. "Why I Belong and Why I Believe" is an excellent distillation of what it means to be Mormon . I won't paraphrase it here because it needs to be read in full. I also recommend his February cover story in Forbes.

To me Clayton M. Christensen is a great role model for being appropriately bold. He is matter-of-fact in his beliefs. He openly talks about his spiritual experiences and how his faith guides his life. Being a spiritually driven individual is nothing to be ashamed of and I think all high profile Mormons should take a page out of his book.

Should I write this story?

Driving home from my sister's new home tonight I was suddenly seized by a story idea. This actually happens quite frequently. I will just be thinking and then some random characters will pop into my head and play out scenes from some unknown story. Usually these stories don't have ends or beginnings. They are just unanchored snippets that drift into my conciousness. But tonight the story came in a bit more complete. Maybe cause I had such a long drive.

I got home and immediately found myself trying to capture the scenes. I think I caught the essence of the idea. Although the imagery isn't quite there. The story centers around the last survivors of the human race. These astro-pioneers are all that remains when the Earth finally destructs (fuzzy on the details of how or why). I have at least a male and female lead. Not sure about the rest. Obviously this isn't fully developed but I am thinking about trying to turn it into a short story or maybe more. Read the very rough snippets below and tell me what you think!

The air tasted stale. Every bit it's recycled self. He hadn't minded the stale taste. It served as a constant reminder that he was not in Kansas. That his life though full of boring and mundane tasks, was very unique. After all not everyone lived on the moon. Except with Earth gone "everyone" had become the moon base. So now everyone lived on the moon. No one lived on the Earth. A complete reversal from the reality of 50 years ago.
The staleness of the air began to cloy at his throat as he processed the fact that he would never taste fresh air again. For the rest of his life he would only know the stale taste of recycled air.

The stomach acid burned up her throat and this time she didn't even bother to try and stop it. She just hung her head over the toilet and let it come. To think that Mom had been worried about her! She had told her Mother that statistically speaking her mission on the moon was safer than staying on Earth. How that fact gnawed at her. Statistically speaking she now represented a 1/30 of the projected human population. The probability of survivors on the Earth was 10000000 to 1. She clung to math. Numbers had always had the ability to comfort and sooth her. They always told the truth. But right now she didn't want truth. She wanted so desperately to believe that even with a .0000065% chance her Mother and little brother had survived. That she was not orphaned from family, heritage, and planet. But numbers don't lie.

Anyone who paid attention to world politics knew that it was a revolutionary time. That the mankind was once again reshaping itself and it's boundaries. There were no indications that this "crisis" would be any different than all the others history had thrown at mankind. But this time the threats weren't empty. This time all the dooms day prophets were right and the clock struck midnight. I wonder if they are happy? Those creepy, dirty, people who stand on city corners and warn that the end is near. Did they laugh in exhalation as the atmosphere burned around them? Were they proud to be proven right?

So thoughts.......

History, Schmistory

I loved "The King's Speech". I think does such a great job of showing the indomitable fire of the human spirit. I also love that it is getting recognized by the Academy. But like many historical movies this one takes a few liberties.
Christopher Hitchens (who I usually disagree with it) has an interesting article pointing out how the movie glosses over Edward VIII's Nazi sympathies and George VI's desire for appeasement. He has some valid points, but from his closing remarks it is clear that he has a deep dislike for Great Britain's current ruling family.

"Almost the entire moral capital of this rather odd little German dynasty is invested in the post-fabricated myth of its participation in "Britain's finest hour." In fact, had it been up to them, the finest hour would never have taken place. So this is not a detail but a major desecration of the historical record—now apparently gliding unopposed toward a baptism by Oscar."

At first I thought he was being a bit over zealous in his condemnation of the movie. But I realize that it is a sad fact that for many a movie is their only historical reference point. When a movie grossly exaggerates or changes history this can be an issue. TIME magazine put a list together of the worst offenders.
With this in mind I am going to make a greater effort to use any historical movie as the inspiration for learning more about a subject and NOT the final word.

The New/Old Fitness Craze

The gigantic inventory of diet and health books seems to indicate that American's want to be healthy. The sheer amount of information out there almost guarantees that some of the information will be contradictory. In my own personal search I have attempted to find something that is sensible and has withstood the test of time. I think the Muller System might just be the answer. Still researching it though...

Heaven's Rain

I was talking with my oldest sister about the importance of good entertainment. She remarked that if she was going to spend the time and money on a movie she wanted it to leave her thinking or with a uplifted feeling. My Netflix subscription ensures that I am always well stocked with movies. However I have found that not all of them are worth my time. I have committed to be more judicious in my entertainment and when I find something I will try and share it.
I stumbled upon "Heaven's Rain" today. Hitting the themes of vengeance and forgiveness it seems like an uplifting and inspiring piece of art. After the video check out the website.

Best Apps

In case you missed it. Here are what TIME magazine considers the 50 Best Apps.