Hellzapoppin'

Movie to watch showcasing awesome swing/lindyhop.

Iraq War Movies

I recently watched to movies about the current Iraq war. In the Valley of Elah is a drama/mystery that drives home how "messed up" and "crazy" the Iraq war is. It implies that American soldiers are dealing with fear, pressure and chaos so profound that it leaves them returning home desensitized and amoral. The movie is interesting and well made.

However it leaves me asking, are our soldiers really desensitized and amoral? If so, then is this war so different from wars of the past? Are these soldiers so different? I want to say our military has a history or training people to be upstanding citizens and promoting such a culture. There is such thing as PTSD but this movie is showing something else: normal young men now left emotionally and mentally destabilized. Tommy Lee Jones portrays a retired army military police sergeant who maintains his fortitude, discipline and mental sharpness. Why then are the present day soldiers portrayed so different from Jones? The movie does not give an answer.

The other movies, Full Battle Rattle, is the documentary displaying the U.S. Army's simulation of an Iraq town in the Mojave desert as part of the Army's training before soldiers go to the actual war. The town and military outpost are made up of Iraqi refugees, dummies and military personel. I am thankful for the refugees volunteers. The movie is fascinating and honest and I will have to see the first half of the movie before I make additional comments. I would recommend it.

Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger

Daft Punk deconstructed by David Crowder - awesome.

First Sign of Intelligence

I engage in frequent discussions with a friend and in the last month I was told, "That was the first intelligent thing you've said," which gives insight into what his perception of me has been or has become, but I want to focus on what I said.

I said, "Your values are influenced by your parents. How they spend their time shows you what they value. If they don't go to church then they show that attending church or religion is not valuable." I think the weight of this statement lay in the simple truth of the statement and how the example literally hit home for my friend.

The lead up was a discussion on offending parents if a child chose a religion. If a son or daughter chooses to value something that the parents' don't value, would they necessarily be offended? I say, "no and even unlikely," especially in American society where there exists openness for exploration. What may change is the parents' perception of their child. I don't think offense plays much of a role here. Negative reactions would more likely be fear or confusion. I should ask another friend who had to deal with this very choice.

What my friend's comment informed me was that my conjectures and examples need to be relevant in order for our discussions to be meaningful.

A Take Away Show

Fleet Foxes - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Objectified

I'm interested in this documentary on Industrial Design: