back

im back from my vacation;

well rested and ready to return to the mundane.

new posts should come weekly now.

back and loving it, Hal

reading material

civil disobedience: Henry David Thoreau
King's Letters from Birmingham Jail: Martin Luther King Jr
The writings of Siddahartha Guatama
The Bible
The Koran
Martin Luther's Large Catechism
UN homepage
BBC.com
The New York Times
Will They Ever Trust Us Again?/Stupid White Men: Michael Moore
Man Searching For Meaning: Viktor Frankl
The Collected Works of Sigmund Freud
Guns, Germs, and Steel/Collapse: Jared Diamond

Nothing the current government puts out, this includes the 9.11 report.
(see the black sharpie over certain areas)

Hitchcock

in case you missed it; TCM ran an old interview with Alfred Hitchcock from a late night talk show. What most people aren't aware of is that Hitchcock had a great sense of humor; well known for pratical jokes on set, especially with his blondes (janet leigh, eva saint marie). He was truly a master film maker. With the emergence of seemingly cookie cutter directors who stray towards the american cinema code of law in which the camera follows the protaganist through the whole movie, Hitchcock was the lone director who played on the audience's natural human emotion rather than seek their attention through shots of the movie star. He is the poster boy for american and british cinema, even more so than spielberg. In the case that you've never seen a Hitchcock picture, run to the nearst video rental facility, right now, and rent one.

Hal

writing a noir

I never quite understood why film noir fizzled out and died. French for "black film" , it was widely popular in middle decades (50,60's), i suppose people got too much of it; but what's not too like? You have your everyman, usually portrayed by cary grant or jimmy stewart (these days: bruce willis or clive owen could pull it off). Yes, the 'everyman', usually burdened with the male issue of impitency, irrational fears (vertigo), or a broken heart. The murder: Who doesn't like a good murder story? With all its twists and hitchcokian peridime shifts, its an amazing art form. alas, the femme fatale. janet leigh in psycho; i believe scarlett johansonn would do this well. im writing a noir for my next movie...

Hillary and the usual suspects

So much talk has been placed on the 2008 election. Who's running? Who will the Democrats elect? It seems the same old names are popping up, with a few rookies of course. Kerry has made no real comments about it (after last elections "flip flopping" dibocle who could blame who?). Gore says he won't, but who can beleive him? He's made so much popularity with the youth from his publisized movie, and money for the matter. Who's to say he won't clean house in 08? Then, Dean. Yes, Dean, The Screamer. The 'Byah' guy. But let's face it, if Dean would have been nominated instead of Kerry, the issue wouldn't have been flip flopping, but why we're still in Iraq. Dean is the best bet. If he can control his tongue. Then, my darling Hillary. She's got a hell of alot of steam behind her after she called out Rumsfield's ineffectivtiy and unstatements regarding our presence in Iraq; but is the US really ready for a female in the oval office? Who's to say, the female issue shouldn't be a problem, but it is, so it must be examined as well.

We got two more years to discuss this.

Give me a post and tell me what you think

Hal