12/31/2006
Libya Mourns Saddam
Tyrants often make common cause with other tyrants, so this should not surprise us. The evil of Saddam is one of the few agreements between the United States and Iran, the latter of whom suffered greatly at the hands of Saddam's biological and chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980's. For Sunni Muslims to proclaim him a martyr requires them to ignore the well documented atrocities committed by his regime over the past 25 years and will further alienate them from political coalitions in the new Iraqi state.
There is so much more that could be said about this, but not on New Year's Eve. I'll come back to Iraq and the Middle East later.
In the meantime, you can celebrate 2007 with a video of Saddam's death from the Drudge Report. If that isn't enough to make it a Happy New Year, nothing is.
There is so much more that could be said about this, but not on New Year's Eve. I'll come back to Iraq and the Middle East later.
In the meantime, you can celebrate 2007 with a video of Saddam's death from the Drudge Report. If that isn't enough to make it a Happy New Year, nothing is.
12/23/2006
Merry Christmas To All, And To All, A Good Night
There are many things I have wanted to blog about this past month, but I simply have not found the time to do it. I did learn how to snowboard in Colorado, which was great for the spirit and bad for the tailbone. But since the moral of the Christmas story is that we are unfulfilled enough in life to seek purpose in the most unlikeliest of places, you get a movie review. Maybe next year.
The Nativity Story: A Missed Opportunity, But A Good Family Outing
The Nativity Story is, unsurprisingly, the story of Jesus' birth. Writer Mike Rich is very faithful to the historical account of Luke 2 and includes several meaningful snippets of Old Testament prophecy. He does a very good job capturing the disenchantment of the Jewish people in 1st century Palestine, and the script includes some clever dialogue that brings the Three Wise Men of ancient Persia to life. The cinematography is very realistic, and Keisha Castle-Hughes is well cast as the young Mary.
But it left me wanting more. The Christmas story is really a collision of three stories, momentarily drawn together to produce the second greatest miracle the world has ever seen: Herod the King's quest for power, the Wise Men's quest for knowledge, and Israel's quest for redemption. In the story, Herod the Great is thwarted by the warnings of clever Gabriel (the film's most unspectacular character) , the Wise Men are richly rewarded for their intuition and sacrifice, and Israel never entirely understands the blessing God has bestown upon her.
The film ignores the delicate balance this story requires. King Herod is there, but his character is very shallow and boring, to say nothing of his brutish son, who spends the entire film brooding over his terrible lot in life. Rich and Director Catherine Hardwicke deserve credit for the entertaining interplay among the Wise Men, and Mary's family is very prominent in the earlier scences. For the 2% of the audience unfamiliar with the story, the beginning is very confusing. The formality of each Biblical reference is dusty and oblique, draining the vitality from the characters and forcing the audience to take the time to translate their speech into common English. A modern paraphrase of the New Testament would've brought the characters to life, even if it would disenfranchise textual purists.
Given the man that inspired it, this film could've been brilliant. Instead, it is merely a nice movie for the whole family to see. Mine did, and yours probably should too. At the very least, it will give you a better appreciation for the selfless, faithful action of ordinary people that make the 25th of December, and every day thereafter, a Merry Christmas.
2 Santas out of 4
The Nativity Story: A Missed Opportunity, But A Good Family Outing
The Nativity Story is, unsurprisingly, the story of Jesus' birth. Writer Mike Rich is very faithful to the historical account of Luke 2 and includes several meaningful snippets of Old Testament prophecy. He does a very good job capturing the disenchantment of the Jewish people in 1st century Palestine, and the script includes some clever dialogue that brings the Three Wise Men of ancient Persia to life. The cinematography is very realistic, and Keisha Castle-Hughes is well cast as the young Mary.
But it left me wanting more. The Christmas story is really a collision of three stories, momentarily drawn together to produce the second greatest miracle the world has ever seen: Herod the King's quest for power, the Wise Men's quest for knowledge, and Israel's quest for redemption. In the story, Herod the Great is thwarted by the warnings of clever Gabriel (the film's most unspectacular character) , the Wise Men are richly rewarded for their intuition and sacrifice, and Israel never entirely understands the blessing God has bestown upon her.
The film ignores the delicate balance this story requires. King Herod is there, but his character is very shallow and boring, to say nothing of his brutish son, who spends the entire film brooding over his terrible lot in life. Rich and Director Catherine Hardwicke deserve credit for the entertaining interplay among the Wise Men, and Mary's family is very prominent in the earlier scences. For the 2% of the audience unfamiliar with the story, the beginning is very confusing. The formality of each Biblical reference is dusty and oblique, draining the vitality from the characters and forcing the audience to take the time to translate their speech into common English. A modern paraphrase of the New Testament would've brought the characters to life, even if it would disenfranchise textual purists.
Given the man that inspired it, this film could've been brilliant. Instead, it is merely a nice movie for the whole family to see. Mine did, and yours probably should too. At the very least, it will give you a better appreciation for the selfless, faithful action of ordinary people that make the 25th of December, and every day thereafter, a Merry Christmas.
2 Santas out of 4
12/10/2006
Global Sweltering?
Breaking news: The United Nations releases another report! This one actually may be worth reading, as it tempers some of the wild claims made by "climate-friendly" almost-former Presidents. To be fair, I have not read his book, but I'd highly recommend another fasctinating treatment of the subject.
As usual, you have to read all the way to the bottom of the story to find the good stuff. In this case, it's a quote from Julian Morris, executive director of the International Policy Network, "There needs to be better data before billions of pounds are spent on policy measures that may have little impact."
God save the queen.
As usual, you have to read all the way to the bottom of the story to find the good stuff. In this case, it's a quote from Julian Morris, executive director of the International Policy Network, "There needs to be better data before billions of pounds are spent on policy measures that may have little impact."
God save the queen.
