(2002) dir Eugene Jarecki – starring Brian Cox as the Narrator and Henry Kissinger, Christopher Hitchens, Seymour Hersch, William Safire, and a bunch of other people as themselves. Synopsis: Henry Kissinger: wise elder statesman, or war criminal? Or both? These are the basic questions of this documentary, which combines interviews with historical footage, declassified gov’t […]
Trials of Henry Kissinger (***1/2)
Posted by Ben on July 3, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/trials-of-henry-kissinger/
Quotes To Live By
“We ought to call ourselves the Partly Cloudy State instead of the Sunshine State,” Miami-based meteorologist Jim Lushine said. (AP: “Five States Have More Sun Than Florida” [June 21, 2004])
Posted by Ben on June 29, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/quote-florida/
Photo update
There’s a new photo gallery in town. Or on this site, at any rate. Not a lot of new pictures (though some), but a new gallery structure (easy and intuitive) with new features like slideshow, search, and even print, which gives you links to digital-photo-printing services. Admittedly, the print option isn’t something you’re ever likely […]
Posted by Ben on June 28, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/photo-update/
Various instances of reportage & commentary on Fahrenheit: 9/11
NYTimes: Michael Moore’s anti-Bush “Fahrenheit 9/11” became the highest-grossing documentary of all time on its first weekend in release, taking in $21.8 million as it packed theaters across the country this weekend. (NYT: “The Political ‘Fahrenheit’ Sets Record at Box Office” by Sharon Waxman [June 28, 2004]) Roger Ebert: Q. In Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” […]
Posted by Ben on June 28, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/various-instances-of-reportage-on-fahrenheit-911/
But They’ll Grow Back
“All of a sudden—it certainly wasn’t gradual—Magahet’s act of graciousness dissolved away into a cheap spectacle, and for no reason in particular.”
Posted by Ben on June 27, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/but-theyll-grow-back/
…and so I said, who’s going to miss them?
Green Rights. A new charter is up for vote in France that would make the right to live in a healthy environment a constitutional issue. By the look of things, it’s one of those deals where compromise has slightly mangled the original intention of both parties—the Green Party saying it’s disappointed with the final charter […]
Posted by Ben on June 27, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/green/
Modern Times, Modern Places… Aborted
I made a pretty valiant effort to read Peter Conrad’s Modern Times, Modern Places. It seemed like a good idea at the time; a book about all the wonderful things of the 20th Century, what’s not to like? Movies, literature, philosophy, war… seriously, what’s not to like? And plus, it was on sale dirt-cheap at […]
Posted by Ben on June 25, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/modern-times-modern-places-aborted/
But we knew that already
“Wer zweisprachig aufwächst, dessen Gehirn ist bis ins hohe Alter leistungsfähiger. Bei Menschen, die in ihrer frühen Jugend zwei Sprachen gelernt haben, sind viele Gehirnleistungen besser als bei Personen mit nur einer Muttersprache, haben Wissenschaftler der Universität York (Großbritannien) herausgefunden. “The tests of people who grew up speaking English and either Tamil or French suggested […]
Posted by Ben on June 24, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/but-we-knew-that-already/
Toononomics
I never really liked or hated Garfield, and I have to say that, yes, I have felt a strange ambivalence towards the lazy cat. Turns out, that’s what Jim Davis was gunning for all along: ambivalence. Interesting to think that a toon success story (in a sense) could be so thoroughly pre-planned. (Slate: “Garfield: Why […]
Posted by Ben on June 24, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/toononomics/
Nutritional Firefights
A web page called “10 Super Foods You Should NEVER Eat” has been making its rounds in various blogs. It lists, as you might guess from the title, 10 foods you shouldn’t eat. #1 is Quaker 100% Natural Oats & Honey Granola, on account of all the sugar and fat (more than a McDonald’s hamburger), […]
Posted by Ben on June 23, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/nutritional-firefights/