I saw a post on a website that linked to a literary term coined by JRR Tolkien called “Eucatastrophe”. The Wikipedia page explains it in detail. Contrast it with the very common deus ex machina endings (Wikipedia page here) and the “happy ending” description that is similar to, but not always a eucatastrophe.
Filed under: Books, Entertainment, Fun | Tagged: Books, Deus Ex Machina, Endings, Eucatastrophe, Literature, Tolkien | Leave a Comment »
In the United States, we have lost our political imagination. All problems have to be solved in a certain way (usually involving government bandaids) and we haven’t been able to construct better ways to do things, such as private charities and leaving social issues for locals to decide themselves. This is the basic premise behind [...]
Filed under: Books, Economics, Geopolitics, Politics, Republicans, Ron Paul | Leave a Comment »
Bill Anderson reviews the former Reagan official Paul Craig Roberts’ The Tyranny of Good Intentions, explaining the legal tradition of America and how the State is always trying to expand its power (both the “conservatives” and “liberals” in Washington are one and the same: statists). For example, they deal with the ancient doctrine of mens [...]
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Jerome Corsi’s “The Obama Nation” is the number one best seller on the New York Times bestseller list. Nancy Pelosi’s new book sells 2,737 copies since her book’s debut. Who’s the real flop, here?
Filed under: Books, Politics | Tagged: Nancy Pelosi | 9 Comments »
I give this film, Swing Vote, a “must-see” recommendation for all of you political junkies. As is my Friday morning routine, I went to the movies. There are few political films out these days (although Oliver Stone will be coming out with “W” soon). Most of the these films, have a strong political slant. Either [...]
Filed under: Blogs, Entertainment, Movies | Tagged: Kevin Costner, Oliver Stone, Swing Vote, W | 8 Comments »
I saw The Dark Knight at the midnight opening show, so my lack of sleep is affecting me. I’m not generally used to getting by with very little sleep–I usually require no more than 6 to 8 hours of sleep at the most, but any less than 6 and I can tell a difference in [...]
Filed under: Entertainment, Movies | 2 Comments »
I’m getting to go to a midnight showing of this movie tonight, then I have to make it through work in the morning. (Via Reddit) Update: A comment directed me to Brandon Bird’s website for the original image.
Filed under: Entertainment, Movies | Tagged: batman, Law and Order | 2 Comments »
I have become a much more avid reader in the past year. I just ordered some new books to add to my little library I am trying to build. Amazon’s online used sales is a great way to order lots of cheap books. Here’s my current list, if anyone has any comments on them: The [...]
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I did enjoy the movie ‘Wanted’ (even as my son and I laughed at the unending violations in the laws of physics), but it is a concern that this particular movie will trigger other mass killings. It has all the same touchpoints of the ‘Matrix’ (which served as a triggering image for the sick pair [...]
Filed under: Culture, Entertainment, Movies | 6 Comments »
I’m about halfway through Pat Buchanan’s new book, Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. It’s a very interesting history of the 1870 to 1945 period, analyzing what events took place, who was behind them, and how each had a cause and effect to bring about another major historical event. So far, the book is largely [...]
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A senior ayatollah was asked if the United States will attack Iran. “Definitely not,” he replied. “But President Bush has vowed that Iran will not have a nuclear program and he insists that he will use his military to stop us if necessary,” came the reply. “It’s like this,” explained the ayatollah, “Mr. Bush invaded Afghanistan [...]
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It seems the stars are lining up just right for the city of Chicago these days. First, there is the meteoric rise of Barack Obama. The story is made of the stuff of legends. And the White Sox are winning. And the Cubs are winning (although we all know that can’t possibly last). And the [...]
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Over the years, Scott McClellan has delivered alot of important statements for the White House, covering issues including the Iraq War, the President’s position on Iran, and the Valerie Plame scandal. From 2003 to 2006 he was the Press Secretary, the mouth of the Presidency, and a vital part of the administration. Yet in his [...]
Filed under: Books, Iraq, Media, Politics, Republicans | Tagged: McClellan, Press Secretary | 3 Comments »
I just finished reading the Newsweek article that was touted everywhere as something special: “The Post-American World“. It is a good article that really shows how capitalism has advanced in other countries while we in the United States have been holding ourselves back–now other countries are beginning to catch up. Not all, but many, and [...]
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(Slight spoilers) The Iron Man movie’s underlying story is political–mainly about the Afghanistan operations and character Tony Stark’s company’s involvement in selling arms to both sides of the conflict. Americans and terrorists are both shooting each other with Stark Enterprise weapons. Iron Man becomes a movie about some sort of moral sense to Tony Stark [...]
Filed under: Asia, Entertainment, Geopolitics, Media, Movies, News, Politics | 6 Comments »
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Parts 3 and 4) (Parts 5 and 6) (Part 7) I finished watching the last episode of the John Adams miniseries by HBO. It was another moving episode, definitely one of the the best. It obviously follows the end of the life of Adams, his wife, his daughter and many of [...]
Filed under: Books, Entertainment, History, Movies, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged: HBO, John Adams | 1 Comment »
I recommend reading some of these books, they’re all very good and I enjoyed all of them: Patton: A Genius for War Socialism (Ludwig von Mises). This is possibly my favorite economics book of all time, simply because Mises put to rest any thought that socialism could ever exist in a society as more efficient [...]
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(Part 1) (Part 2) (Parts 3 and 4) I had time to catch up on HBO’s John Adams miniseries with episodes 3 and 4 the past few days and I wanted to share my thoughts on them. These episodes are again very well done but seem a little lacking after the profound speeches and gathering [...]
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In defense of Caroline Kennedy, the next United States Senator from the state of New York
I am more than a little irritated with this Caroline Kennedy controversy. What is the issue? Qualifications some say. Nonsense. Caroline Kennedy attended and graduated from Radcliffe College. She also went on to receive a law degree from Columbia Law School. And that would be enough to qualify a person for the United States Senate. [...]
Filed under: Barack Obama, Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Commentary, Entertainment, Politics | 5 Comments »