2 1/2 movies

Yesterday I watched 2 1/2 movies. Dr. Socrates was a mediocre gangster movie starring Paul Muni. The story had several distinctive touches which had the potential to be interesting, but they all failed to live up to that potential.

I hadn't seen The Seventh Seal before (or The Fifth Seal for that matter, although I have read the novel, and recommend it to anyone who can find a copy). As you probably know, it's about a knight returning from the Crusades looking for certainty about what happens after death. "Knowledge. Not surmise. Not belief. But knowledge." It's a very morbid movie, in the most spiritual sense of the word. I found it intellectually interesting, but I didn't much care what happened to most of the characters. So I respect it, but it isn't a movie I'd say I love.

I also watched part of What's Up, Tiger Lily?. Very uneven. "Anglo-Saxon Hun!"

assorted links

I've been meaning to write about this story about U.S. soldiers punishing a village of Iraqis they deemed insufficiently helpful in fighting guerillas by destroying their fruit trees, but I was a little concerned that I'd only seen one source for the story. But now the Yellow Doggerel Democrat has confirmed the story.

Others have explained why this is a war crime and a violation of the Geneva Conventions. And I think it's self-evident that it's a bad idea, guaranteed to make large numbers of Iraqis who either were favorably disposed to us or on the fence instead hate us. My point is that something so obviously stupid can only be a sign of weakness or of venality. If we were strong, we wouldn't have to take questionable measures. But, IIRC, we only have about half as many troops per capita in Iraq as we've typically used in successful past occupations, and overstretched soldiers under a lot of stress can do stupid things. It can even be necessary to use brutal tactics that a stronger occupying force could safely eschew. On the other hand, I think our nation's civilian leadership has shown that it often fails to appreciate long-term consequences, and they just may be dumb enough that they don't care on legal, moral, or pragmatic grounds that some of our troops are throwing their weight around in a profoundly unwise manner, and it's regrettably possible for that sort of indifference to spread from the top to the bottom. (Certainly if the President had reacted with outrage the first time this had happened we--and all our soldiers--would have heard about it.)

So: weak, or stupid and evil. Choose one.

This New York Times article on Born Rich, a new documentary on children of extremely wealthy parents, is interesting. An heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune persuaded 11 equally rich kids to talk on camera for a student film, and most of them come across as irresponsible or driftless. I can't help disliking children of privilege who don't feel humble about being born lucky, and it sounds like this movie will reinforce my prejudices.

On a lighter note, The Complete Peanuts will begin publication next year. Twenty-five volumes, each containing two full years of Peanuts, collecting every strip Charles Schulz ever drew. Three strips to a page, with full-page Sundays. I don't know if I'll sign up for the whole thing, but the first few volumes (especially the very first, with many never-before-collected strips) are essential to any comics geek's library.

Mormonism: the Gathering

The Onion on Arnold: "Who would have thought that a bad Austrian artist who's obsessed with the human physical ideal could assemble such a rabid political following?"

Judge Orders Neb. Father To Not Speak 'Hispanic'

A conservative review of Al Franken's new book. "I must say that only once before in my life have I ever felt as utterly shocked as I am at this moment."