Night and Fog

Every time I watch Alain Resnais's film Night and Fog (1955) I am astounded by the detail and level of footage captured by the Nazis which documented their atrocities. More recently, when the photographs of Abu Ghraib prison abuses were released, I thought to myself "Why would anyone want to photographing themselves torturing another human being?"

Now, after the execution of Saddam Hussein I am again appalled that I can watch Saddam get fitted with his noose on CNN.com. Why am I able to do this? What possible good could come from me being able to watch Saddam's last moments before his execution?

I am so full of questions on why we as humans record the things we do, and what pleasure we get out of watching the suffering of others. I just don' t understand.

A Good Holiday

For the Christmas weekend, Val and I got to visit my Grandmother. We had hoped to get to see his family but alas, airfare is just ridiculous. Then again, with DIA closing every 10 minutes because of three inches of snow, we would have just ended up moving to Seattle by default. The picture is of Val and I with what is left of the Horvath family after opening our Christmas gifts. My little 'ol Hungarian Grandmother knit us all wonderful scarves which was the best thing I could have gotten from her.

The snow is falling again here in Denver and it appears that Val's store will be closed again for most of tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't mind but damn... gotta pay the rent. Oh well.

I have taken the better part of the last week and a half off to recoup from my semester. Grades finally came in today and I ended up with an A- in my environmental science class, which ruined my 4.0 (I know, I know, leave me alone) but I should make CLAS Deans List (not that it really matters all that much). I am trying to finish really strong to increase my chances of getting into the graduate program of my choice. In fact, it looks like I will be applying to one for this fall. If I am not accepted, then I will apply to several other schools for the fall of '08 and go from there.

I'll start writing again at the beginning of the year (even though there are a number of things I could--read should--be working on now). Till then I'll keep recovering from this stomach flu and get plenty of rest. If I don't see you all before then, have the Happiest of New Years.

World Domination

One of our Christmas gifts from Val's family was the new Risk board game. After several days of going back and forth we finally gave up on world domination and called it good. My red army held Asia pretty well against the forces of the white west.... you draw your own conclusions from that.

The Pope's Christmas Message

In preparation for his Christmas Mass, the Pope had this to say:

"Jesus came for each one of us and made us brothers," Benedict said during his traditional blessing from his window overlooking the square.

In turn, he added, people should strive to "overcome preconceived ideas and prejudices, tear down barriers and eliminate contrasts that divide -- or worse -- set individuals and peoples against each other, so as to build together a world of justice and peace."

Sounds good, I'm in. Except that earlier in the week he had this to say:

"I cannot hide my concern about legislation on de facto couples," the Pope said.

"And so joining a man and a woman, and two people of the same sex becomes the same," Benedict said. "With that, the ominous theories that deny any relevance to the human person's masculinity and femininity are tacitly confirmed."

The second quote was part of an address where the Pope was taking on legislators who favor giving rights and recognitions to same-sex couples. So apparently, we should all get along and love each other to build toward peace, unless you are queer. Then you should abandon all that makes you who you are and assimilate into the nice culture around you... oh you apparently can't be Muslim either.

Merry Christmas from the Vatican.

Due to extreme weather.....

this blog will close at 11:30.

For those of you who keep askingme what it was like to grow up in Alaska, it's like this from November to March. Only colder in the in between snow time. A lot colder.

Today's Warm and Fuzzy Thought

"There is a need for dreamers who can think and thinkers who can dream. The answer will not be a neatly-packaged, custom-built project. It will be a new way of looking at things."

By Ignacio Ramonet

Read more here.

Kids... don't try this at home.

I found this over at Reassigned Time, and I thought to myself, "Why the Hell not!” This is now it works:

1. Harken back to your archives.
2. Collect the first sentence you wrote every month for the whole year.
3. Entertain us.

January: “The last year already seems like a distant memory.” – not exactly ground breaking blogging.

February: Nothing—what the hell was I doing in February?

March: "Wow, how long has it been? For those who are wondering where I have been... the answer is school.” – Ah… that explains it.

April: "I find it difficult to manage my iPod and music.” – gads… am I this boring?

May: "It is really hard to believe that one week from today we'll be in Europe. – ah… yes.

June: "Pisa is only about an hour or so out of Florence on train and given it’s famous monument, we couldn’t resist.” – still in Europa

July: “Apparently a new film called Facing the Giants (2006) has landed the MPAA before the United States House of Representatives.” – back to the reality that I live in a near fascist country.

August: "At what point do we stop believing the denials of anti-Semitism?” -- Mel Who?

September: "When I woke up this morning, I was seduced first thing by the E! top 101 guilty pleasures.” -- I don’t recommend doing this.

October: "So, perhaps the reason that NeoConservative Republicans have problems supporting gay rights is that they confuse the issue.” – Ah yes Mark Foley, we remember him well.

November: "Thanks to Girlzoot for the photo.” – This was followed by yet another apology for being dark for so long.

December: "What do you do with a B.A. in English, what is my life going to be?” – borrowed from Avenue Q, and really is my theme song.

Wow… I need to post more and quit bitching about how busy I am. Here’s to more posts in 2007!

Just when you thought it was safe to go to the supermarket....

I love WorldNetDaily mostly because they give me stories like this. I mean come on, WTF is this guy actually thinking? Although, I did enter into a same-sex marriage after a couple of years of almost exclusively drinking soy milk... maybe he is on to something here.

The Soundtrack to 2006

These are the songs for better or worse I couldn't stop listening to this year. Call it what it is.

Universal Pictures Theme

"I'm Still Here" by Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty

"Mr Brightside" by The Killers, Hot Fuss

"C'est La Vie" by Bob Seger, Greatest Hits

"Filthy Gorgeous (Extended Mix)" by Scissor Sisters, Denver Wrangler Pride Mix 2006 Disk 2

"Devil's Right Hand" by Johnny Cash, Unearthed II: Trouble In Mind

"Not Ready to Make Nice" by Dixie Chicks, Not Ready to Make Nice - Single

"I Need to Wake Up" (From An Inconvenient Truth) by Melissa Etheridge, I Need to Wake Up - Single

"Gold Watch & Chain" by Garrison Keillor & Meryl Streep, A Prairie Home Companion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

"Amazing" (Album Version) by George Michael, Amazing

"The Gates of Istanbul" by Loreena McKennitt, An Ancient Muse (Bonus Track Version)

"For Now" by Original Broadway Cast, Avenue Q

"Nice Work If You Can Get It" by Sarah Vaughan, Billie, Ella, Lena, Sarah!

"Sylvie" by Sweet Honey in The Rock

"A Case Of You" by Joni Mitchell, Blue

"Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin, The Big Chill

"The Wings" by Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

"Dear Mr. President" by P!nk featuring Indigo Girls, I'm Not Dead

"Love Generation" (Bob Sinclar Club Mix) by Bob Sinclar feat Gary Pine, Denver Wrangler Pride Mix 2006 Disk 2

What's next for Iraq?

Iraq is a mess. Those for words seem to finally be getting bipartisan support. Of course it has only taken 3154 coalition lives and upwards of 50,000 Iraqi lives to gain the attention of the President. The election in November seemed to help considering only one day after the election results were in, Rumsfeld issues is resignation and the Bush rhetoric about the war began to change, somewhat. The news is riddled with stories about NATO nations pulling their troops from the region continuing the hemorrhaging of Bush’s “coalition of the willing.”

Today the report prepared by a bipartisan group calling for serious changes in the way the war is being handled, has been presented its findings to the President and it will now be up to him and the assumed new Defense Secretary Robert Gates to either listen or ignore them. With an incoming Democratic Congress, the President can’t just ignore the commission’s findings like he did the 9/11 commission, placating the congress by listening and then doing very little about the findings. Still, real action will have to be seen and not promised.

Kofi Anan has declared civil war in Iraq, former Secretary of State Colin Powell has declared civil war in Iraq and even Matt Lauer has declared that Iraq is in the midst of a civil war. We now find ourselves in the middle of a fight that we don’t understand, and can’t seem to win. What is really interesting is that two days before he tendered his “resignation”, Rumsfeld wrote a memo to President Bush outlining ways that he felt the Iraq strategy could change. I don’t know if it fell on deaf ears or if Bush didn’t care, but two days later he was without a job. Could the public perception of Rumsfeld be a tow the line mirage hung before a man who really did try and make a change? I guess we’ll just have to wait for his book to come out to see.

So, with so many people calling for change, maybe the President will finally see that planning an exit strategy that leaves Iraq with a stable government and a military that can defend itself isn’t “cutting and running” but how you actually plan and execute wars. The war has now gone on longer than our involvement in WW II, maybe we can get out before Iraq goes on longer than another war that tore our Nation apart.

Shut up and Sing?

I won't bother to rehash what Natalie Mains the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks said in March of 2003 from the stage in London. If you want to see it, well there are plenty of sites that have covered the subject. What I am interested in is the reaction to her statement and the subsequent reaction to the new documentary film Shut Up & Sing (Barbera Kopple and Cecilia Peck, 2006). I have not yet had the opportunity to screen the film but judging from the trailer, and what has been written, I can guess that the film tries to strike at the central question of the conflict: should artists be political and what (if any) consequences should they face for their opinions?

From the dark ages on, one of the roles of the artist has been to question, mock and comment on society and culture. The court jester would be the only person who could question the King and get away with it. Artists express their opinions through their work, whether obvious or subtle, every day in life. Art without social comment or political significance is, well.... kinda useless decoration.

For those who think I am being cynical, let me put it a different way. Life is an incredibly complex web of conflicts, love, passion, stress, politics, culture, society (the list could go on for pages) and when our art over simplifies these issues, we end up with a false impression that life is easy. When we ignore what is happening around us, the problems which face each and every one of us compound and before long, they end up finding their way into our lives anyway, usually in incredibly violent and deadly ways.

Artists, remind us of what our world looks like. They hold a mirror up to the world and show us for our glory, beauty and ugliness. Artists should be passionate about the world in which they live and channel that passion through their work, that is how they should work. Of course it is up to the public to decide what they do with that opinion and maybe even use it to open some sort of dialogue between sides, but that isn't what happened with the Dixie Chicks. What happened to them was an attempt to silence the voice of an artist, literally and figuratively, and that is unacceptable. The reaction to the Dixie Chicks is still passionate and once again I believe that bigots and bullies relish in the anonymity of the internet to spread their message.

If we end up silencing the artistic voices, then who will be there to remind us of our humanity whether just or unjust?

Domestic Warfare

What the hell is going on in our country?

A 14 year old boy was shot to death after egging a car.

Corporate greed of the oil industry won't be happy until every last drop of oil is sucked out of the ground.

Until we alter our paradigm to punish bad behavior instead of simply rewarding good behavior, environmental conciousness will still be a marginal issue. The problem is of course we don't pay the true cost for virgin goods, but no one really wants to hear that truth.

The choice of Rep. Keith Ellison to use the Quran has started a media storm that strikes at the core of the fear of our Nation. Watch here.

Armstrong Eat Your Heart Out

Space isn't just for Tang anymore. International Space Station residence were treated to some French haute cuisine in space. See, good things happen when the French are allowed to participate in space adventures.... fois grois anyone?

Story

World AIDS Day

The first time that I recognized World AIDS Day I was a freshman at CSU and I remember all the art on campus was draped in black cloth. The concept was to recognize a day without art. So many artists and creative souls were lost to the disease that organizers wanted us to realize what the world would look and feel like if art had died with AIDS. I remember theatres were dark and the world had to do without art, it was an incredibly powerful statement of solidarity against a disease which has taken so many.

I wear it with pride.

What Do You Do With A B.A. In English?

What do you do with a B.A. in English,
What is my life going to be?
Four years of college and plenty of knowledge,
Have earned me this useless degree.

I can't pay the bills yet,
'Cause I have no skills yet,
The world is a big scary place.

But somehow I can't shake,
The feeling I might make,
A difference,
To the human race.

-- Avenue Q

The song lyrics come from the Broadway musical Avenue Q, a show that I have yet to see but has kind of become my mantra. I am about to wrap my second to last semester of undergraduate study and I am scared as hell.