After working with Susan Isaacs developing her web site, I felt like I should read one of her books! Especially since I had just read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and reviewers compared Susan Isaacs’ work to Jane Austen. I decided to read her latest book, Any Place I Hang My Hat.

Despite the fact that this book seems targetted towards classy Jewish women in their 30s, I actually found a lot to like about this book. Although I could not instinctively relate to the female protagonist’s neurotic inner dialogues which serve as the narration, I did get into many of the issues in the plot. I enjoyed Isaacs’ sharp wit and humorous social commentary. In the hopes of resolving a blatant conflict of interest (my job vs my “integrity”) I will leave it at that and I will not rate the book with stars (although it would have recieved somewhere between 3 and 5 stars, inclusive )

I ran into a couple of fellow Columbians today at the gym and we briefly chatted about what kind of workouts we were doing. One of them was going to run home to Brooklyn (from Columbia… that’s far), and the other was training for a triathalon this coming weeked! I pointed out that they were both crazy Ted agreed, but he related that it’s kind of like his vice. Coincidentally, I had recently been thinking about how working out is kind of like a vice… it’s addictive, you are compelled to do it, etc… except that it’s good for you! Compared to smoking it is certainly much more time consuming… but it’s way healthier!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is, as everyone knows a remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory from 1971. I was a little worried about what Tim Burton would do to such a well-loved movie, given that he is a pretty creepy guy and he’s made some creepy movies. However, as anyone who’s seen Big Fish knows, he can also tell stories extremely well without so much creepiness.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I really enjoyed the movie! Most of the plot is just like the original, and Tim has added some great new stuff and taken out some of the not-so-great stuff from the original. Thanks to modern special effects, this movie is a visual marvel… completely breathtaking. One man plays every single oompa loompa in the movie, and he is hilarious. Johnny Depp is not as creepy as you might think from the ads, but he is definitely a little bonkers. Gene Wilder evokes more of a “child molester” vibe than Johnny does. Furthermore, I think this version is a bit less nightmare-inducing than the original, which was terrifying at times. Anyway… go see this movie! 4/5 stars!

In the course of the last few years I have thought a fair amount about what it means to be “right” about something. I think it goes something like this: what a person feels is right is a compromise between what they have been told is right and the feelings they have gained through experiences. (Caution: controversial half-baked ideas ahead)

Let me give some examples. Men who live in a society where women are treated inferior to men will most likely think that this is right. That’s because this belief benefits them, and almost everyone else around them accepts this belief. Some women who live in these societies may also feel that it is right, but I think that this feeling will be forever in conflict with what they have learned from their experiences: that it is a foolish and arbitrary notion. They may “believe” it is right, but I imagine they must have to really pound that idea into their heads for them to accept it.

A lot of people feel it is right to invade Iraq and transform their government. I can understand some reasons why they might feel this way. I think Saddam Hussein was awful and evil and mean (according to my values) but I think that it is not okay to invade them just because their values don’t line up with ours. If they were actually posing a threat to us, then I think an invasion might have been appropriate as long as that threat was explicit and real. Without that threat, we are basically on a crusade to rid the world of what we feel is wrong, and I don’t think that is fair.

I think this is one of the many reasons that religion is so popular: God (or the respective infallible entity of your religion of choice) defines what is right and what is wrong. It saves you the trouble of trying to figure it out for yourself! Although there is always some infighting, values are usually very similar within a religion. Yes, things are generally easier when everyone thinks the same way, but if a religion explicitly teaches intolerance of non-believers or “deviants” then the followers will not only have a very difficult time existing in a society of mixed-belief, but they might feel ordained to convert or even, in the most extreme and rare case, punish the non-believers. I think religion does many wonderful things for people, but some people are prone to interpret it in the way that suits them, and that’s not always with proper concern or respect for their fellow humans.

I guess my overall message here is that I think religions in this day and age need to teach tolerance explicitly. There’s no easy answer to all of the problems the world is facing, but people need to get real when it comes to respecting the beliefs of others. Crusades are selfish, not altruistic. The world is too large for one belief-system alone!

When I first saw the TV commercial for Napoleon Dynomite, I thought “Oh boy, it’s a hipster movie… mtv is catching on to the latest trend of making stupid things seem cool because it’s ironic that you would do something stupid on purpose”. Can you tell I don’t like hipsters? Anyway… After every single person I knew told me I had to see it and that it was hilarious, I caved in and saw it on DVD. The positive reviews my friends gave it washed away any negative bias I may have initially had, and I watched it with an open mind.

Napoleon Dynomite is a lot more than a silly, funny movie. I saw it as a character study of sorts. The movie is centered around two losers at a rural high school, and it documents numerous silly moments in their quest for… just getting through things, I guess. Sad as it may sound, I can relate to Napoleon quite a bit. I had a miserable time in high school and I found it interesting to watch the portrayal of a high school loser as directed and written by someone who has probably matured a lot since his own high school days and was willing to take a hard look at his past and learn from it. The movie is like a surreal collage of random mid 80s childhood stories. Unlike most “loser” protagonists, Napoleon is not easily a “lovable loser.” He is arrogant, rude, and delusional… but it’s hard not to laugh at him if not with him. I really enjoyed this movie, and I think most people would, too. 4/5 stars! Gosh!

Lost in La Mancha is a very unusual movie… it’s probably the only “unmaking of” documentary film in existence! After watching the behind-the-scenes documentary footage on the Lord of the Rings DVDs, I was under the impression that nothing really goes horribly wrong when a movie is made… it always gets done one way or another. Well… not for Terry Gilliam. Unfortunately, while trying to bring “The Man Who Killed Quixote” to the screen, there were so many problems that the movie had to be abandoned! The movie would have starred Johnny Depp, Jean Rochefort, and Vanessa Paradis.

Yes, I know I spoiled the whole plot, but it would be difficult to otherwise describe the movie I will say no more! For those who enjoy learning about how films are made, check this out. Otherwise, pass on this. I give Lost in La Mancha 3/5 stars.