1. The Deke told me that she appreciated how I've been as a stepfather to her children and it touched me deeply.
2. I had a good talk with Dubya about Clint Eastwood as a film director and we shared how stirring we found "Letters from Iwo Jima".
3. Snug lunged at the mailman. He was in protective mode. The screen door was unlocked. He hit the screen door and his contact with it scared him and he jumped back. So much for protection. The mailman and I had a good laugh. The mailman said, "Well, he had his chance."
Showing posts with label Letters from Iwo Jima. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Letters from Iwo Jima. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Three Beautiful Things 09/22/07: Even More War, Fiction, Mad Momma
1. I finished watching "Letters from Iwo Jima". It's a singularly powerful and unsettling movie. It does far more than simply put the experience of the Japanese soldiers at Iwo Jima in a human perspective. It digs deeply into the futile nature of war itself and the immeasurable disconnection between the conduct of war and the principles of freedom it purports to be in defense of.
2. I have hesitated for months to post my Sunshine Mine Fire poem, "Free". I suppose, in part, I've hesitated because it is a fiction and I have been concerned that such a powerful historical disaster might seem diminished by fictional treatment. But, today, I posted it, here. My hope is that the death of Carl Nash and the grief of his wife and the kindness of Billy will ring true, even if these events of the poem didn't really happen. I think, however, in the larger world of grief and kindness they did happen. I just don't know the particular people who suffered like Mrs. Nash or extended kindness like Billy. That's why I think fiction is our most reliable and practical means of knowing truth. It doesn't let the strict facts of history get in the way.
3. A few questions I posed to blogger Momma's Gone Mad resulted in the start of a wonderful email exchange between us today, an exchange rooted in our mutual love of North Idaho, the Oregon Coast, and a shared faith in Christianity.
2. I have hesitated for months to post my Sunshine Mine Fire poem, "Free". I suppose, in part, I've hesitated because it is a fiction and I have been concerned that such a powerful historical disaster might seem diminished by fictional treatment. But, today, I posted it, here. My hope is that the death of Carl Nash and the grief of his wife and the kindness of Billy will ring true, even if these events of the poem didn't really happen. I think, however, in the larger world of grief and kindness they did happen. I just don't know the particular people who suffered like Mrs. Nash or extended kindness like Billy. That's why I think fiction is our most reliable and practical means of knowing truth. It doesn't let the strict facts of history get in the way.
3. A few questions I posed to blogger Momma's Gone Mad resulted in the start of a wonderful email exchange between us today, an exchange rooted in our mutual love of North Idaho, the Oregon Coast, and a shared faith in Christianity.
Three Beautiful Things 09/21/07: Cheerleading, Memoir, War Again
1. The word of the day: sarcasm. My work place is on a downward slide fueled by budgetary woes and I can endure it, outside the classroom, with heavy sarcasm, acting like a cheerleader for the slide in quality and the bottom line driven poison that is coursing through LCC's veins.
2. Jose and I had a great lunch together. I'll keep readers here posted as to when his rollicking and insightful memoir is finally published. Talking with him today about the demands his writing has made on him was compelling. It might be a while before it comes out, but, trust me, this will be a book you'll want to read.
3. I start
ed watching "Letters from Iwo Jima" and in the early stages of the movie, we see that the WWII Japanese war machine was fraught with in-fighting, inflexibility, ideological blindness, and a sense of tragic doom. So far, it's been most enlightening to gain further insight into the absurdity of war as seen through the experience of the Japanese fighting forces on Iwo Jima.
2. Jose and I had a great lunch together. I'll keep readers here posted as to when his rollicking and insightful memoir is finally published. Talking with him today about the demands his writing has made on him was compelling. It might be a while before it comes out, but, trust me, this will be a book you'll want to read.
3. I start
ed watching "Letters from Iwo Jima" and in the early stages of the movie, we see that the WWII Japanese war machine was fraught with in-fighting, inflexibility, ideological blindness, and a sense of tragic doom. So far, it's been most enlightening to gain further insight into the absurdity of war as seen through the experience of the Japanese fighting forces on Iwo Jima.
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