Diary

1978: Letter from Iran

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Letter From Iran published in December 1978, right before the fall of the Shah. In the article, just posted on The New Yorker’s Web site, Joseph Kraft writes about an interview with the Shah: He looked pale, spoke in subdued tones, and seemed dwarfed by the vast expanse of the room, with its huge, ornate chandeliers image [Read More]
Curious News, Diary

“The most surreal day of my life”

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The case of Rod Blagojevich reveals that I have limited understanding of the human psyche. This guy is unbef*kinglievable! Read this story by the Associated Press that just came over the wire. Blago guest stars in ‘Rod Blagojevich Superstar’. By RUPA SHENOY. CHICAGO – Standing on a chair with his arms raised as if image [Read More]
Diary

Lawrence of Arabia

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Watching one of the great films in the history of the art form always fills me both with excitement and trepidation, particularly when the film was made a long time ago. Some films are timeless; others translate very poorly from the past into the present. Gone with the Wind bored the teenage me beyond belief image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

The Baader Meinhoff Complex

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In 1997, Heinrich Breloer made a spectacular docudrama (a documentary interspersed with acted drama) about the abduction of Hans Martin Schleyer, the head of the West German employer’s union, by the Red Army Fraction, a home-grown terrorist group, formed by Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhoff.  The Baader Meinhoff Complex goes all the way to image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Angels and Demons

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The opening scene at the CERN physics laboratory where an experiment to create anti-matter (The God particle) takes place is visually stunning. Rome and its Catholic rituals provide a beautiful backdrop for the film. The next two hours, however, are a wild car chase through Rome that I found pretty annoying after a while. The image [Read More]
Asia, Travel

Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan

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For many years, I dreamed about going to Japan.  This is my first time visiting an Asian country. What strikes me right away is how friendly Japanese are not only to strangers but also to each other. Perhaps this is just show. Not understanding Japanese at all, I cannot figure out what goes on behind image image [Read More]