Played by a Pro

That was the line from a song whose name I cannot remember right now. But it was all I could think of last night at the Stanford Theater while I was watching Suspicion. If Hip-hop artists want to see a true pimp in perfect form they should get a load of Cary Grant in Suspicion. Of course like most Hitchcock movies I was the one that felt he had been played by a pro. The second of the double feature was The Lady Vanishes. Another one that kept me on my seat although the heavy was pretty easy to spot. 1938 (Anschluss, Munich, Kristallnact) hangs heavy on this picture. The fate of the pacifist politician is pure propaganda. Appeasement is not going to work. War is coming. Europe is about to change forever and she knows it.

The Source of the Sunscreen Song

Several years ago one of my favorite radio stations in the bay area began playing a spoken word song recorded by some guy calling himself Baz Luhrmann. The song (really a speech set to a a beat) was called Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen). I came across the Chicago Tribune column by Mary Schmich while reading an article on Dale Messick, the creator of Brenda Starr. Dale would have been 99 today if she hadn't died last week. Mary Schmich is the current illustrator of Brenda Star. I have been taking her advice and for the past two years have been wearing sunscreen daily. You should do the same.

10 Things

I've made a list of things I can do to make my life better.

1. Write 3 Pages Longhand Every Day in My Journal
2. Eat Less Sugar
3. Keep Room, Desk and Kitchen Clean
4. Pay Bills Timely
5. Update Blog Every Day
6. Read The Bible Every Day
7. Listen to 3 Lectures Every Day
8. Read 1 New Book a Week
9. Watch 2 New Movies a Week
10. Write an Essay Every Week

I figure that the list will evolve as I go on. The idea I guess is that at the end of each day (or the beginning of the next) I can just think about it and say, "Yea, I had a 1-5-7-9-10 day" Progress on the "Every Week" items counts for the day. Life Examined and all that.

Happy Birthday Hef!

Forget rock stars, firemen, and movies idols, what american boys of all ages want to be when they grow up is Hef. He's 79 today and has more girlfriends than you do. Thanks for 50 years of the american dream.Playboy Enterprises, Inc.

Jury Duty

Juror Number 18092 on April 27th that's me. I haven't actually served on a jury in years. I wonder if this time I'm due? San Mateo Superior Court

The Yamamoto Mission

I was reading about Tojo. I haven't got myself on a set reading program yet. I linked my way out of Iris Chang to the Tokyo War Crimes Trials (read a couple of chapters of another disturbing book) then started thinking about Yamamoto. I realized that I never knew what happened to Yamamoto. I looked it up and found out it was one of the best stories to come out of world war two. I read this article in Air Power History.

Sunday at the Stanford Theater

Just got back from seeing The 39 Steps and To Catch a Thief on my weekly trip to the Stanford Theater. Ashamed to say it but it was the first time for me on both of these pictures. What a treat. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly wow! I always have to avoid looking in a mirror after a Cary Grant movie. Robert Towne is slated to remake 39 Steps. I'll go see that. I'm listening to Standard Time on Sirius right now. That always keeps me in the mood after a classic double feature. Well not right at this moment. At this moment Danny Aiello is singing. When Danny Aiello is singing all I can think of is that Danny Aiello is singing.

A timely free gift from The Teaching Company

Free Lectures - How Are Popes Elected?

...you'll go blind.

Remember when you were young and they told you if you played with it you'd go blind? Well guess what?

I never buy books when they come out, but I may have to make an exception. A glimpse at the thirty plus year Nixon administration.

When I was listing out my recent reading I actually forgot the most impacting story of all. My goal this year is to return to the knowledge sponge I remember from being young. I believe in the filling up of the mind. I also believe that evil must be brought up to the light of truth. But no one person should have to carry all of the weight of such an absolute evil. I read a couple of chapters and they sickened me. I read the reviews on Amazon and it enraged me.

Thinking about John Paul II

I left the Catholic church while he was pontiff. Like the majority of American Catholics his views were always to the right of my own on many social issues. Yet I always felt such a loving respect for this tireless champion of faith. The world will miss John Paul II's leadership. I will miss his example of faith, industry and love. I have avoided what I'm sure must be wall to wall coverage on all the news stations but I just finished reading the 21 page obituary in The Times. It ends with these words spoken by Cardinal Karol Wojtyla at the dedication of a church in Poland:

"There are more profound rights of the human spirit that cannot be violated. These are the rights of freedom of the human spirit, freedom of human conscience, freedom of belief and freedom of religion."

Walk with god Karol Wojtyla.

OK I Got a Little Overwhelmed

There are far far more books, papers, and articles that I want to read than I have time remaining alive. This is the conclusion that a week of clicking my way through Questia's library. I have skimmed books on Evolution, Religion, on (supposed) Anti-Religious Bigotry, secession, curriculum, nuclear war, and topics in twentieth-century world history. I have read newspaper articles, journal papers and magazine articles on each of these subjects and more that I didn't even leave a trail of. I have listened to lectures on Dante, Plato, Ancient Rome, the philosophy's of religion and consciousness. Through each meal I've continued reading two of the books I've got going "The Oxford History of the Twentieth Century" and "Six Memos for the Next Millennium". Yesterday I listened the audiobook of Hitchhiker's Guide. I've listened to lectures driving to work, while reading books on other subjects, while asleep; I'm listening to "Philosophy of the Mind" right now. I've kept up on the Pope's declining health, U.S. "Intelligence" on Iraq WMD's, and I've even read a bit about Terry and the Jackson trial but in both cases against my better judgment. I've been reading my Bible.

This cannot go on. I've got to get organized. I must devise a schedule, a curriculum, a plan. Next week I will take my studies in shorter bursts and write more on my thoughts and conclusions. I will say this for my first week of knowledge acquisition all of this secular reading has made me feel more religious. That fact has brought my utter rejection for all forms of religious fundamentalism. America is besieged by these groups who are united only in their hatred for American ideals. Islamic fundamentalist are attacking our selves and our financial institutions and Christian fundamentalists are attacking our laws. Members of a free society have a duty to fight both of these attacks. I will be back to this subject again. Probably again and again.