The Village Idiots

I don’t have a predictions in the final score (as Mitchell does), but I do have one idea of how the Saints can beat the Colts Read more »

Any suggestions for films that I should see with my children. I’d like to request some recommendations divided into age categories (eg. films to show five year olds.) To start things off, let’s see some recommendations for the first film they should see and how about a discussion of when do you think seeing a film is appropriate.

There is a new documentary (12th and Delaware) about abortion by the filmmakers that made Jesus Camp (never saw it). In an LA Times write-up, Kenneth Turan quotes regarding the filmmakers’–Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady–attitude toward the main issue of the abortion debate:

Both women also feel strongly that at its heart this struggle, in Grady’s words, “has nothing to do with babies. Its about control, it’s about the power of women and women’s roles, what the purpose of the female gender is, the absolute core of the identity of a woman. It’s so profound and so deep.”

For me, personally, this is not the heart of the issue, and when I hear things like this, a variety of thoughts and emotions come to the fore.

First, on one level, this statement is foreign to me because I’ve never met someone opposing abortion for this reason. (Then again, maybe I’m just blind or incapable of picking this up.) Do other people sense that a majority of people opposing abortion do so for the reasons above? Do you actually know people like this? (I’m not disputing that some people are like this; I just don’t think I’ve met many of them–then again, it’s not like I have a discussion about abortion very often.) My overall sense, and I could be completely wrong about this, is that this is not the heart of the issue for most people who oppose abortion.

On another level, I think this is the wrong way to frame the debate–that gender roles is not and should not be the heart of the debate. If this were the most important issue, this would be a no-brainer for me, particularly for what the government’s position should be. (The government should stay out of the decision.)

The bigger issue–in a broader moral sense as well as from the government’s perspective–is the point at which we consider the fetus to be a human being. Once we decide that the fetus is a human being, isn’t the government compelled to prohibit abortion at that point–almost regardless of its effects on the individual fetus, women (or men) or society in general? (The one exception is when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. In that case, the health and viability of two citizens are at stake–and the decision regarding abortion could kill one or the other.)

J.D. Salinger passed away today. Here’s the NY Times odbit on J.D. Salinger. I feel a little sad. I re-read Catcher in the Rye several years ago, and I still considered it one of my favorite novels of all-time. I still found myself really liking Holden. After reading the obituary, I realize that I may not have read Nine Stories, and I think I should. Any thoughts?

Dr. Z in a 2000 SI article goes over his top ten pass rushers of all-time. What do you think? Did he miss anyone?

In the thread, Should Elway be Considered One of the Greatest QBs of All-Time, we talked about Elway’s place among all-time great QBs. I don’t think it’s too early to talk about Manning, Favre and Brady’s place. No matter who goes to and wins the Superbowl, I think Favre and Manning (and Brady) are viable candidates for the all-time greatest QB. Let the debate begin.

There are movie scenes that will unsurprisingly move the audience. In this thread, I’m asking people to share scenes from films that touched them deeply–but one wouldn’t others to be touched by. Indeed, the people sharing may also be surprised by their reaction to these scenes. In Chris’ review of Children of Men, he talked about a particular scene where he lost it (I think he said he was sobbing or something to that effect). I remember the scene, and I wanted to know the reason that scene had that effect.

Another example I recall comes from actor, Delroy Lindo. He describes a scene from Breaker Morant (or was it Gallipoli?) where the two soldiers are walking to their death and the hold each others hands.

I know there have been scenes like this for me, but I’ll have to think about them. Again, these are scenes that others might find touching, but not as much as you did. Read more »

With regard to the recent botched terrorist attack, President Obama mentioned that the problem was not that we didn’t have the intelligence, but a failure to understand the intelligence, a failure to connect the dots. I wanted to make several comments about that. When the President says that we had the information that could have stopped the terrorist, he makes it sound like the system failed badly. Indeed, many pundits and politicians I’ve heard reacted with alarm. One writer called for Janet Napolitano’s head. I want to make several comments about this: Read more »

Every once and a while Mitchell and I talk about the characteristics of a great art, and since we–and hopefully others–might attempt to select some of the best films of the 2000s, I thought talking about explicitly about this issue might be appropriate. It’s a difficult and daunting subject to address, but let me suggest a way that might make this easier. Read more »

Lane Wallace of Atlantic Monthly discusses a possible downside of the internet and other technology that allow for electronic connectivity in an article titled, Loneliness in Numbers. Do you think her points are valid?

Talk about the books, articles, etc. that you’ve read in 2010.

Movies, dvds, etc. you’ve seen in 2010.

I didn’t see very many movies at all in the second half of the decade because I was working on my M.Ed. Still, I saw enough to compile a respectable list, though I suppose others would disagree. I suppose, too, that as I see more films this list will need to be revisited and revised, but if I delayed making the list until I felt I’d seen the decade’s every notable film, this list would never get made. So with that caution, I present my Twenty Best Films of the Decade, starting with the best of the best and working down to number twenty.
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This article collects responses from various NFL commentators regarding Favre’s dispute with Coach Childress. Comments?

On a sidenote: with the success Favre has throwing the ball this year, I wonder if this supports my theory that it is very difficult to build a successful running game with a great throwing QB. If the Vikings are not giving Peterson enough attempts that would lend a little support to my theory. (To have a successful running game, you have to be committed to the run–i.e., give the attempts even when you’re not getting immediate success.)

NPR’s Bob Mondello selects his worst films of the decade. The ground rules are that at least 4 million Americans (approximately $30 million) have seen the film. I’ll have to think about mine. If you don’t want to go to the link, here’s his picks Read more »

According to me.

I’m leading with the widget so you can listen to the songs while you read my explanations.
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Modified version of “5 Questions”

1. What was the best book you read in 2009?
2. What book (that you read this past year) would you recommend to other idiots?
3. What was your favorite 2009 movie?
4. What was your favorite non-2009?
5. What movie (2009 and non-2009) would recommend to other idiots?
6. What was your favorite musician and/or recording that you listened to in 2009?

Here are the 25 semi-finalists. This list will be whittled down to 15 and then finally down to somewhere between 4 and 6 inductees by Super Bowl Sunday. I love how the list (in alphabetical order) begins with two Raiders!

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I recently found a bunch of old VHS cassettes from my college days and thought people might find it interesting. Probably not you guys, but whatever. I’m putting it on YouTube and will probably share some of it here.

Here’s Amy Grant singing Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” on The Late Show with David Letterman on September 6, 1994.

Best Young Adult Fiction of 2009

The last book looks like something Mitchell would like.