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A Page From an Old Notebook
There’s no date anywhere in this book that I pulled out of a box that has been in storage for a long time. I don’t remember writing this, but I think it’s drawn from my first solo backpack trip about 10 years ago: I felt like a great sage descending from the mountains to bring…
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Movie: Sunset Boulevard
An interesting turn in noir films, this 1950 movie focuses on human pathos. The orchestral sountrack is there from its predecessors in the 40’s, and there’s a little snappy dialog, but there’s no glamourous, jaded, unattainable beauty or lone idealistic sojourner wrapped up in an incomprehensible plot. Instead we have a simple story of people…
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Movie: Shaolin Soccer
It’s great to see a Chinese Kung Fu Comedy poke fun at western sports and movies as well as their own beloved Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yun Fat flicks. Like Mortal Kombat, computer graphics are used instead of wires to create impossible kung fu action, but all in the context of soccer. They…
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Movie: Super Size Me
What a good documentary. Because it’s so unpretentious and unpreachy, even the arguments presented that I disagree with (for lawsuits against fast food companies) are not offensive or a turnoff. It addresses a genuine curiosity: what would happen to you if you ate nothing but McDonald’s food? That curiosity is satisfied with shocks and laughs…
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How will we eat it?
We have a problem. Due to many changes in plans during our honeymoon on the continental divide last summer, we have a generous supply of leftover backpacking food. Mountainous, even. Some of it is still palatable after surviving on it for four months, and some of it is hard to even look at. Much of…
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Farewell Colin Powell
I pay my respects to the parting Secretary of State. President Bush will now rely heavily on Condoleezza Rice, Powell’s replacement, in his campaign to bring peace and freedom to the Middle East. The assault on Fallujah quieted down today with only 20 deaths reported, while things heated up in Baquba where we dropped a…
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Movie: The Station Agent
A dwarf inherits a small, remote station house and loses his job when his boss dies. With nowhere else to go, he moves into it. That’s about all there is to the story, but somehow this movie manages to find charm and depth in otherwise ordinary people and situations. It’s like spending an afternoon in…
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Illusive Reality Experiment
Now and then I post particularly good illusions or perception experiments. This Illusive Reality Experiment is pretty amazing, worth tolerating the ads. You’ll need a broadband connection, and you have to follow the instructions.
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Movie: 12 Angry Men
I’ve been wanting to watch this for a long time. Peter Fonda plays the lone dissenter in a jury who convinces everyone else of his position. It’s far-fetched as a story, but a very good setup for examining the ways people judge others. All the characters are played really well, making a movie that takes…
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A Prediction and a Response
This is not a political web log, but it is personal. I’ve usually avoided political topics here because they haven’t been a big enough part of my life to be worth alienating my friends and family who disagree with me. This election was important and troublesome enough for me, though, that I discarded my usual…