What I Read -- The Conscience of a Conservative

In spite of the recent election, I finally decided to pick up a book I've been meaning to read for a long time. Barry Goldwater's 1960 political treatise The Conscience of a Conservative, is a surprisingly easy read, and short.

The bulk of the theory is contained in the first two chapters of the book, and basically amounts to this: the federal government's job is to do as little as possible while maintaining order in society, because it's entry into spheres where it doesn't belong (1) mucks up the works, (2) steals power from state and local governments more properly suited to address most issues, and (3) destroys the essential, self-reliant nature of man.

The remainder of the book applies his theory to particular issues, all of which I read with interest until the final chapter: "The Soviet Menace."  I skipped that one.

On the whole, this was probably the most readable and understandable work of political theory I've ever read. It was a pleasure to pick up, and I wish I had done so sooner.

What I Watched -- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

I have probably seen Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at least a zillion times.  Maybe even a zillion and one.  Watching it is something I can do almost totally brainlessly, since I know the story so well.

But watching an old movie for the first time in a long time is always interesting, because some scenes are just as funny or poignant as they were before, and some are completely stale.  It has also been interesting to see what has happened to the various stars of the movie in the intervening 25 years.  The lovely (if somewhat helpless) Lady Marian, played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, has gone on to do mostly small screen roles.  We all know where Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Rickman have been, but who knew that  probably the most famous character Alan Rickman would ever play would come from a children's book?  Then there's Christian Slater, who had some pretty decent stuff through the rest of the 1990s, but then just seemed to disappear.  He's still working, but if you want to find him, you'll have to look for classics like Hot Tub Time Machine.

I was amused, especially after some recent travel, with the scene near the end where everyone is entering the castle grounds.  The guards standing at the gate repeatedly shout, "No blades, no bows!  Leave your weapons here."  It felt like a slightly more refined version of a TSA screening at the airport.

Bottom line: even if it's not as good as it once seemed, it's always fun to come back to an old favorite every now and then.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I Watched -- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I never read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but I did listen to the audiobook, which I'm totally counting as reading.  So I felt okay when it popped up in my Netflix queue to watch it.

Both the book and movie are based on the true story of a murder during one of Savannah's fanciest Christmas parties.  Kevin Spacey plays the party's host and accused murderer; John Cusack plays the journalist who just happened to be there to write a piece on the party, but stayed for the trial.  While nominally John Cusack is the main character, the one who is telling the story, Kevin Spacey steals the show -- as he so often does.  I particularly like him when he's playing a Southerner; it is a role that seems to fit him well.  Perhaps this is because I am so used to hearing him with a Southern accent on House of Cards.

When listening to the audio, which was some time ago, I recall being enthralled by the first half of the story -- getting to know the characters, the party, the murder -- but somewhat bored by the second half -- the trial.  The movie was more evenly weighted.  I was neither enthralled nor bored.

Bottom line: not great, but good enough.

Happy Halloween!

The News These Days

Take a look at a headline that came through on my email a few weeks ago:

Is this truly the best our newspapermen can do?  "The cold weather will make it more expensive to heat your house"?  And perhaps more importantly, how many of our tax dollars went to funding the study that issued that finding?

I'd like my money back.

SLSO Season -- Show #1

I picked up G's symphony tickets this year, and the first show of the season was this past weekend.  S and I were running right on time, which is to say that we sat down just as they dimmed the lights.

The first piece was Lutoslawski, Chain 3.  I was not a fan of this one at all.  It was loud and discordant and I had a difficult time following it.  If anyone can enlighten me as to what I should have gotten out of it, I would appreciate it.

The title piece was Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor.  It was a lovely piece, especially the first and third movements.  The loudness I mentioned in Chain isn't necessarily a bad thing in classical music, as long as there is some melody, and Dvorak managed to put those two pieces - volume and melody - together in a lovely way.

S and I headed for the Met Bar (which, I learned, was once installed at the Met in NYC -- hence the name) and scored one of the coveted tables overlooking the lobby, which allowed us a lovely 15 minutes to enjoy our drinks.

Post-intermission, Stravinsky's Petrushka ended the show.  I particularly liked the first movement, The Shrove-Tide Fair, but overall I very much enjoyed how well the music told the story of the poor, doomed Petruska, heartbroken over the princess and the moor.

At the end of the show, S was kind enough to help an elderly gentleman out to his car when his younger date was only interested in leaving him behind.  S's good Samaritanism scored us two free drink tickets for our next show -- everybody wins!

What I Watched -- Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.  I was a bit of a Nirvana fan in my pre-teen years, but I just listened to their music.  I never really followed or much cared about the personal histories or the band members or Kurt's odd relationship with Courtney Love.

This film really is a "montage"; it's comprised of film footage, interviews, artwork, song lyrics, cartoons, letters, home video, and more.  Visually, it was appealing.  The soundtrack is obviously comprised of Nirvana songs, and there is a song to parallel every part Kurt's life story.  I don't know his library well enough to know whether the timing of the writing of a particular song played corresponded with that portion of his personal history, but I would be interested to find out, if anyone knows.

Kurt was a severely messed up human being, in the way that many artists are.  They are smart and sensitive, and that often leads down a path of both creation and self-destruction.  And so with Kurt.  He was 27 when he took his own life.

Bottom line: if you have any interest at all in music history, Nirvana, or wacky documentaries, this is worth 90 minutes of your time.

Quote of the Day

In light of yesterday's lighthearted quote from Sliding Doors, and in view of all the recent news about the Trump Tape, the responsive hashtag #notokay, and my recent watching of The Fall, here's something to think about:

"Men are afraid that women will laugh at them.  Women are afraid that men will kill them."
  -- Margaret Atwood

This blog quotes a section of a responsive commentary, where the writer asks which of those things happens more often, implying that women have very little to fear.  I am 100% on board with the blogger's response: not every man feels the need to exert violence against women, but there isn't a single woman in the world who hasn't been afraid.

I would add that there's a scene in The Fall where Gillian Anderson's character misquotes this Atwood quote.  She says "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them.  Women are afraid that men will rape or kill them."  I think The Fall's version is more accurate.

Why is this our world?

Quote of the Day

"Gerry, I'm a woman.  We don't say what we want -- but we reserve the right to be pissed off if we don't get it.  That's what makes us so fascinating -- and not a little bit scary."
  -- Lydia to Gerry, Sliding Doors