La la la
Shauna's mother visited this weekend. It made for a very relaxing weekend for me, although I don't know if it was the same for Shauna. Shauna's mom took care of Siri Saturday night so we could go out for dinner. This was originally planned as a celebration of Shauna's birthday, but messy weekend weather prevented Shauna's mom from coming the last two weekends. We went to Hot Kabobs on White Bridge Road, a self-proclaimed Persian restaurant. I'm not sure what, if any, the difference is in Persian and Turkish food, but Hot Kabobs reminded us of both Anatolia, a Turkish restaurant we visited frequently before Siri was born, and House of Kabob, one of our frequent carry-out sources. (I guess, technically, Turkish food is Persian, but not all Persian food is Turkish.) The food was great. I had a trio of grilled kabobs -- one steak, one chicken, and one kubideh - a spicy ground meat. Shauna had a trio of stews or khoresht, including khoresht ghaimeh (beef, herbs, kidney beans and sundried limes), kashk o bademjoon (sautéed eggplant mashed with mint, onion and cream of whey) and khoresht fesenjan (large cubes of moist chicken breast in a sauce with ground walnuts and pureed pomegranate). She liked them all, but she was crazy about the fesenjan. It was a lot of food, and it was relatively cheap. The atmosphere, on the other hand, was a bit lacking. The restaurant is stuffed into a small, old house. It was noisy and dimly lit. I don't mean to complain, though. I would recommend Hot Kabobs, but it might be better for carry out than dining in.
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I finally read V for Vendetta yesterday afternoon. I am pretty ignorant about graphic novels and comic books in general. When I started seeing the ads for the film version of the graphic novel, I was intrigued. I especially love the line in the ads uttered in an ominous tone by the character "V": "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." (Which is a paraphrase of sorts of the great Thomas Jefferson quote, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.") I loved the book, although "V" comes across a little too superhero-ish in places for my personal taste. But, hey, why can't anarchists have a superhero? Ultimately, "V" is not so much a superhero, anyway. He is a terrorist, even if his cause is noble. Only in Evey, V's protégé , is the anarchist "non-aggression principle" -- No one has the right to initiate violence or coercion (the threat of violence) against another's life and property -- found.
In case you don't already know, V for Vendetta is based on a graphic novel by the same name written by Alan Moore (Watchmen, From Hell) and David Lloyd. It is set in a futuristic London (although the "future" in the book is the late 1990's) after the Third World War has resulted in the destruction of much of the world outside England. England has since become a totalitarian, fascist state. "V," a mysterious character that wears a Guy Fawkes mask and has a strange affinity for the number five, stands pretty much alone as a crusader against the state. He seeks true anarchy. (In one of my favorite scenes in the book, Evey accuses "V" of getting what he wants when they see the streets of London plunged into a state of chaos and violence. "V" corrects Evey and says something like, "This is not what I want at all! Anarchy is not the absence of order! It is a voluntary orderly society!") Why "V" is doing what he is doing, and why he takes such an interest in Evey is a big part of the mystery.
I'm anxious to see the movie, and if the advance buzz is any indication, it is likely to become quite controversial. The film has already been shown at the Berlin Film Festival (among other places), where viewers have been claiming it will "change the world." (I find that hard to believe.) I am sure many conservatives are going to view this film with much suspicion, but it is obvious that Moore and Lloyd did not write the book with the Bush Administration in mind. (The book was originally a series in the UK comic Warrior that appeared between 1982 and 1985.) Moriarty at Ain't It Cool News has an interesting take on the film and its applicability to the political climate in the United States.
For an interesting, in-depth analysis of the book and the ideals it portrays throughout, visit http://www.shadowgalaxy.net/Vendetta/vmain.html.
The movie version of the book is being made by the Wachowski Brothers, who also are responsible for The Matrix trilogy. If not for their involvement, I don't know that the film would be getting the attention it is. I am very surprised to see a movie that even hints at the ideals in the book get a release by a major studio.
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Another film I really want to see on a larger screen is the Eugene Jarecki documentary Why We Fight. Information Clearing House has the film available for viewing on their site. However, the video on the site is very low quality. The film focuses on the lust for military supremacy by the United States. I know the film is playing around the country, and I assume it will eventually be released on DVD. While it is perhaps not as entertaining as a Michael Moore film, I find it ultimately more effective and sobering. It does contain at least one funny line though when Chalmers Johnson says, "We know Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We have the receipts."
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I finally read V for Vendetta yesterday afternoon. I am pretty ignorant about graphic novels and comic books in general. When I started seeing the ads for the film version of the graphic novel, I was intrigued. I especially love the line in the ads uttered in an ominous tone by the character "V": "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." (Which is a paraphrase of sorts of the great Thomas Jefferson quote, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.") I loved the book, although "V" comes across a little too superhero-ish in places for my personal taste. But, hey, why can't anarchists have a superhero? Ultimately, "V" is not so much a superhero, anyway. He is a terrorist, even if his cause is noble. Only in Evey, V's protégé , is the anarchist "non-aggression principle" -- No one has the right to initiate violence or coercion (the threat of violence) against another's life and property -- found.
In case you don't already know, V for Vendetta is based on a graphic novel by the same name written by Alan Moore (Watchmen, From Hell) and David Lloyd. It is set in a futuristic London (although the "future" in the book is the late 1990's) after the Third World War has resulted in the destruction of much of the world outside England. England has since become a totalitarian, fascist state. "V," a mysterious character that wears a Guy Fawkes mask and has a strange affinity for the number five, stands pretty much alone as a crusader against the state. He seeks true anarchy. (In one of my favorite scenes in the book, Evey accuses "V" of getting what he wants when they see the streets of London plunged into a state of chaos and violence. "V" corrects Evey and says something like, "This is not what I want at all! Anarchy is not the absence of order! It is a voluntary orderly society!") Why "V" is doing what he is doing, and why he takes such an interest in Evey is a big part of the mystery.
I'm anxious to see the movie, and if the advance buzz is any indication, it is likely to become quite controversial. The film has already been shown at the Berlin Film Festival (among other places), where viewers have been claiming it will "change the world." (I find that hard to believe.) I am sure many conservatives are going to view this film with much suspicion, but it is obvious that Moore and Lloyd did not write the book with the Bush Administration in mind. (The book was originally a series in the UK comic Warrior that appeared between 1982 and 1985.) Moriarty at Ain't It Cool News has an interesting take on the film and its applicability to the political climate in the United States.
For an interesting, in-depth analysis of the book and the ideals it portrays throughout, visit http://www.shadowgalaxy.net/Vendetta/vmain.html.
The movie version of the book is being made by the Wachowski Brothers, who also are responsible for The Matrix trilogy. If not for their involvement, I don't know that the film would be getting the attention it is. I am very surprised to see a movie that even hints at the ideals in the book get a release by a major studio.
::
Another film I really want to see on a larger screen is the Eugene Jarecki documentary Why We Fight. Information Clearing House has the film available for viewing on their site. However, the video on the site is very low quality. The film focuses on the lust for military supremacy by the United States. I know the film is playing around the country, and I assume it will eventually be released on DVD. While it is perhaps not as entertaining as a Michael Moore film, I find it ultimately more effective and sobering. It does contain at least one funny line though when Chalmers Johnson says, "We know Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We have the receipts."