There’s some stuff I’ve liked a lot lately and think others should like a lot too.

On TV
The HBO series John Adams.

It’s a 7 parter. 3 have aired. I’ve seen 2 so far with the 3rd waiting for me on the greatest invention since electricity was harnessed. The show looks great. It does a great job of feeling like a real 18th Century colonial/revolutionary America. You can really just slip into the time period surrounded by vivid architectural imagery, clothing, and an overall sense of newness, growth, and quaintness that must have been such an intoxicating mix to those who were part of the grand venture that was this burgeoning English colony as it erupted into an independent country and power.

That venture brings to mind what many still think of as the American experiment. And the idea of that, or rather maybe even the Idea of America in the Platonic sense is something I feel vibrating through the shows words, images, and music. Already it has had its moments to stir the emotions and make one proud, or at least feel lucky to be connected to such a project. You can feel the import of the decisions made at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The ethical principle Adams defends during the trial of the soldiers accused in the so called Boston Massacre is brought to life and in some moments vividly captures the best of what we would like to believe we are.

There are moments during the first 2 parts when i wish I was a politician so i could fight more closely for some of these principles that were amongst the strongest and noblest of our foundations. This gets stirring enough that a higher principle is evoked, a brighter passion stoked, and a desire to see the great experiment to a worthy future awakened. Surely I’d want to also kick out those weakest hypocrisies also so much a part of the experiment. Because of course there those dark elements in the American soul and character. Some are touched on here and some are not. Even in some of the nobler and most complete portraits of the period I don’t get that sense of yet another war or revolution that is more about the middle to upper classes clamoring for even more rather than the lowest classes. And yet it’s often those lower classes paying the price as far as blood shed and lives lost.

While men like Adams seem to have a real concern for the less fortunate lives they are inevitably sending to their deaths for this fight I’m not sure there was ever that practical awareness of the aristocratic divide that continues to widen in this country. But there was a balance in that there was a George Washington on the front lines even if he wasn’t put in positions of most danger and there were generally agreements regarding the shooting of officers. But there was still a much higher ethic and nobility to a man like him and a sense of being much more deserving to preside over a nation. Those ideals he possessed and that people around him in positions of power recognized and rewarded are that much more accentuated and blown up in the face of the chickenhawk pieces of shit sending others to die for them in this country now.

There were noble elements to the revolution and noble men with grand ideas and evolved sensibilities even if they weren’t aware of some of their own hypocrisy. Not that all of them weren’t though. For instance the slave hypocrisy was something they were aware of. There’s a scene in part 2 when Jefferson shows Ben Franklin and Adams his first draft of the Declaration and though it is apparent all 3 men want this eloquent document to stand as a voice for humanity rather than just the free colonies they know it is not an argument that can be won in that time and place. Basically it came down to one battle at a time. Whether they could have fought harder and still presided over independence from Britain and a successful growth of the American economy and helped avoid the Civil War a century later is debatable.

We also get a good look at Ben Franklin. At least in part 2. Hopefully more to come. He figures in something else I’m going to recommend in this post. To me he’s a quintessential American figure. I love his sense of humor, his pragmatism, his skepticism, and many other qualities that made him who he was and helped shape America more than the religion he scoffed at and which so many today try to fool people into thinking this country was founded upon.

There’s a scene in part 2 where Adams is trying to get his vote on declaring independence and he asks Franklin if he ever says what’s on his mind. BF says something to the effect that he’s very much against doing that and that people thinking out loud is a habit much responsible for most of mankind’s misery.

I really get and relate to that. BF was a guy who could read things including his own powerlessness to effect some of those things. But he knew how to maneuver within the framework of the way things were or were going. This doesn’t mean he went with the prevailing winds. He was a rationalist who clearly believed in the scientific approach and derided the ignorance and superstition around him but he knew change came in stages and he made practical and considered decisions. He was the kind of man who looked at the evidence and made a decision based on those circumstances rather than wedding himself to any school of thought, political faction, religion, or group.

I kind of see him and Mark Twain as the best of pre 20th Century America and though I see them as quintessentially American I take liberties in doing so since unfortunately their way of seeing the world and examining it is not exactly the norm in this country. But their inspiration and influence is still there. Despite everything we still may be the funniest, most satirically advanced, and maybe even the most practical country in history. The Ben Franklin’s are the foundation of that even as they battled against some of those other scarier traits instilled in us by racists and the Puritans.

And watching this series combined with other historical pieces I’ve seen and things I’ve read I’m starting to believe the key to these generations, the qualities that separate them from ourselves and our own leaders, was the wigs.

I always wondered why everyone wore them and I think I know. They conferred super mental powers. What if they equalized everyone physically so that the mental could operate unencumbered worrying about how they looked. Let’s face it, most of us are almost always aware of how we look and at least a little conscious of how we are being perceived physically by others around us at any given moment. It takes a lot of mental energy and focus away from us. But those generation from our Founding Fathers going back to England and France of the Baroque fixed it so everyone in a non physical job category had the same hair. No one had to sit there in a meeting thinking “how does my hair look.” It looked like the guy next to him with the bad wig. And since everyone looks kind of bad with a bad wig who cared? They could concentrate on founding democratic systems and cool stuff like that.

Brilliant deduction on my part?

Or brilliant observation on my part?

You make the call.

Anyway, John Adams. Watch it. First 3 are on On Demand so those with cable have no excuse.

Jericho.
It’s over now. The final show ever though there are rumors of a possible sci fi channel pick up. Pretty satisfying ending though certainly with room for more if they have an opportunity. Basically the next segment would detail the next American Civil War as a new history is carved out with guys like Hawkins and Jake being our Adams and Washington’s.

I stand by the shows realism even there are many who feel it was silly and preposterous at times. THis show was so much a reality I can see this country facing someday. They had to rush somethings at the end that could have stood a more reasonable and lengthy set up like the way they got that nuke to the Texas faction. And though the involvement of Ravenwood, a Blackwater type private fighting force wreaks of reality to me, I think the person they ultimately gave responsibility to for the original country wide attacks doing it as an anti Ravenwood/corporate government move was a stretch. But that was part of what felt rushed. I’m not sure they would have gone there in such a tidy way if they had a certain future.

The frightening thing is that he was right in that a Ravenwood and their Government lackies don’t have to effect such drastic changes to remake America in their image. They’re already doing it slowly but surely. And while blowing it all up from within didn’t stop them it might be all that’s left if things keep going the way they are and if there’s anyone left in such a position who wants to change things.

But I thought it was kind of stupid of this nuclear scientist guy to think Ravenwood and their political faction would be weakened by such chaos. They would and did thrive. IF you really think about it and the Blackwater’s and Halliburton’s continue to become a private DOD, FEMA, police force, etc what happens when opportunity overseas dries up?

American Idol:
I’m not so much talking about the show itself as far as something I’m high on right now or recommending. Rather there’s one guy on it who actually kicks some solid ass. David Cook. He’s done 2 or 4 covers I’d actually put on a disc and listen to again. His “Hello,” “Eleonor Rigby,” and “Billie Jean,” were really frakking good. Very unique and original. And he plays some guitar which is always nice to see with someone trying to pass themselves off as a musician as most of these Idol mariah Carey/Whitney Houston want to be losers try and do.

Books
The Last Withfinder by James Morrow.

I love James Morrow.

Few know who he is even within the sci fi community even though what he does has been mostly categorized as satirical sci fi. Copies of his books are hard to find in book stores. But he kicks ass. He has a new book called The Philosopher’s Apprentice out which i did see at Barnes & Noble the other day. But I’m here to talk about his previous book which I just read after it his paperback.

Morrow has always been great at satire and thoughtful philosophic/theological humor but shows in TLW that he can do historical fiction just as well. Even with my expectations for a Morrow book being dashed as I read on and realized I wasn’t meant to laugh as much as in previous works, by about 100 pages in I started to revel in the book’s prose and purpose just as thoroughly as I’ve reveled in Morrow’s previous works of satire.

The story takes place in late 17th and early 18th century England and America with a stopover on a Carribean island and includes a heavy presence of the aforementioned Ben Franklin. Morrow does a nice job mixing Franklin in a major way that could actually coincide with known real events in the mans younger years though obviously don’t really represent real events. The main character is Jennet and we follow her throughout her life as she goes on a licaraesque journey through a time that represents a sort of nexus from superstition to rationality and enlightenment. Her fight to end witchtrials and the killing of mostly women accused of witches is the crux of the book. Morrow makes an interesting choice to have the story narrated by another book. It is Newton’s Principia Mathematica that takes us on Jennet’s journey and the device leads to some nice interludes dealing with the importance of books and the evolution of thought.

A great thing about Morrow is that he has a clear purpose in writing his books. While you might suggest that every author has one as well, I can’t say that they link a greater purpose with an interesting narrative in a syncretic fashion very often or very well. And with TLW I felt a clear a sense of meaning. This is a book with a purpose. And for a book with the conceit of being written by another book and making much of the evolutionary growth and connection of books, much like blocks of DNA in a sort of natural selection of thought, saying this one is worthy progeny of the best qualities and purposes of earlier works is probably the best compliment I can give it.

But i must also add that besides its themes Morrow deserves a lot of credit for utilizing a writing style that was a departure for him. Not only does he get away with it but he created a flowing narrative that was not only readable and more epic and rollicking than past works, he did so in what I found to be an addictive manner. The language and style he uses was compulsively readable in its ability to be direct, to invoke the era, and to find a poetic groove that was neither too arch, nor too trite for the subject matter.

One of the best books I’ve read in years.

For anyone interested in his more satirical works check out Only Begotten Daughter about Jesus sister, the daughter of god living in Atlantic City in the modern era.

The Godhead Trilogy starting with Towing Jehovah.

And, This Is The Way The World Ends.

I need to reread all of them and check out the couple of his books I haven’t read plus the new one though I want to spread out new Morrow since it’s rare. So i may wait on The Philosopher’s Apprentice for a bit.

Movies
Into The Wild

First off, though most know the basic story this is based on and there might be some who don’t. For those this is a spoiler. i will tell you how it ends.

I was skeptical heading into this. I wanted to see it when it was out in theaters but didn’t go out of my way because I thought Sean Penn, who directed it, and Eddie Vedder, as much as I love him, who did the music, to take part in a version of the Chris McCandless story I figured to be too one sided and sanctimonius. Sure If I knew anyone who was willing to do see it I would still have gone but though going to movies alone has become a regular staple in my dotage I generally avoid it unless it’s something i really want to see.
So I Netflixed it. And I’m here to say I was wrong. Not only was I wrong but some of the media and internet opinions I’d come across indicating it was indeed too biased were wrong. I had read much of the book written about Chris and found him naive, arrogant, a bit stupid, and frankly full of shit. I sympathized with aspects of his character but I thought he went too far and took himself too seriously.
But to my surprise Penn made an even handed movie that mixed youthful passion and idealism with it’s attendent arrogance and naivete. I don’t think it accounted for its leads lack of preparedness quite enough and an opportunity for a wonderfully symbolic paen to it was neglected at the end in a final shot that could have given us a piece of information Penn left out. That info being that Chris died pretty close to a waystation that he’d have known was there if he bothered to bring a map.
But not only is this the best looking movie I’ve seen in a while, but I think overall Penn did a good job creating a sympathetic character many of us can relate to at one time in our lives but one that has a mental journey as well as a physical one and in so traveling discovers some truths about life and society. And they’re not always the truths I expected. They may not even have been the truths Chris himself found before his end. There were writings of his found but Penn does take some liberties in interpreting some things and imagining exactly where Chris was at at the end. But as a movie character traveling within a narrative with begenning, middle and end, he takes a satisfying journey even though it winds up where anyone with a little information going in knew it was going to end up.

The Assasination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford.
I think i’m the only person who thinks Casey Affleck should have won best supporting actor over Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men. But I really do. Bardem’s performance was good but overated. I’ve seen similar portraits of stoic evil before. But Ben’s little brother creates a portrait of cloying opportunism, jealousy, cowardice, and false humility that was really unique and masterly portrayed.

And the move, though maybe a little overlong was generally riveting and interesting. Like Into The Wild it was also a great looking movie. There Will Be Blood and No Country For old Men got a lot of hype for how epic in scope they were with portraits of large and grand vistas. Indeed they were cinematically good looking movies though neither stood out in that regard to me. Into The Wild and TAOJJBTCRF did stand out. These are both beautiful lookoing movies that had much more more breadth of viual scope to them.

While NCFOM may have been the most interesting movie overall last year the 2 mentioned above may have been better. I thought they were certainly better than the other movies nominated for best film.

Mr Brooks.
Not getting into too much. But a good little film noir flick with Kevin Costner playing a stalwart community icon who likes to watch couples have sex and then kill them. not a great movie but a much better one than i expected.

Baseball:
It’s back. Mets open Monday.
Yes they will ost probably be dissapointing. I think Willie is fired by mid season. Probably before the end of June.
But it’s comforting to know there will be meaningful Baseball games going on almost every day until the end of OCtober.

Obama:
I’ve been over the reasons in prior posts so i’m not going into all that makes him one of the Best Things Ever. But he just keeps on rising above and having a great response to whatever Hillary throws his way. Meanwhile Team Entitlement, which is what I call Hillary’s campaign now, continues to look pathetic and desparate. Last week Hillary got exposed in her embellishing of that Bosnia visit even though the contradictory evidence was right there on tape. Then she tried to play it off as sleep deprivation. Which brought to mind her 3 a.m. phone call campaign that took voted from Obama in Texas. If she starts getting facts wrong and losing her mind when she’s sleepy is she the person we want getting up for that late night call with the fate of the world hanging in the balance?

And then there was her constant contradictions as she continues to tear her opponent down, even to the point of praising McCain over him and then when she’s asked about polls indicating these tactics would hurt whoever wins an is sending some democrats to McCain she begs people not to make that mistake. Then the next day her and Bill are right back out there putting her and McCain on a different playing field than Obama.

She sucks and Obama keeps rocking. Relative to her suckage Barack Obama just becomes so much more The Best Thing Ever.

Manhattan:
Spent a day there Tuesday at and around MSG. even though i was working and seriously stressed out I am in awe of that City. Being thee at night is like being in the middle of an epic production. It’s almost unreal.
And girls in hockey jerseys and baseball caps are The Best Thing Ever.

It is unfortunate that I can’t live there or date any of these girls.
But I can still appreciate their BTE-ness.