Month: March 2007

Up to their necks in it

liligans Politics, So you think you're cultured?

How full of hatred can you get? The Palestinians in Gaza have been flooded by their own raw, smelly and foul sewage this week. Apart from the symbolic meaning of such an event, lives have been lost, people taken ill and there is a danger that disease will spread.

Israel has offered help.

Haven’t heard yet if the Palestinians have accepted the offer but they were quick to blame Israel for the “tsunami” of effluent . Why am I not surprised? It’s so easy to blame someone else for your troubles. The Middle East could have been at peace by now had it not been for the sheer stupidity of the Arab nations who are only united when they have a common enemy like Israel. Let’s face it, they aren’t kissing cousins in Iraq, are they?

I wrote in a previous blog that global warming is going to be blamed on little Israel in spite of its lack of natural resources and in spite of the fact that most of its emissions are brainwaves.

I remember when the Iranians suffered a massive earthquake a while ago and many people were waiting to be rescued. Israel offered help then and was refused. The Iranians would rather see their families die than have to be grateful for the Israeli aid.

It is in this respect essentially that Muslims differ from Jews. Jews value life and will do their utmost to save it. Muslims are the antithesis of this. They would rather see their children suffocate under heavy rocks than accept humanitarian help from an enemy.

In the end this sort of fanaticism can only cause further suffering for the Muslims and much misery for the rest of the world. And if they think that it is more dignified to refuse help, well, wallowing in your own shit doesn’t sound so superior to me.

Pity about the dialogue

liligans Literature, So you think you're cultured?

There are some writers whose work is timeless, but Ernest Hemingway’s writing was so contemporary to the first half of the Twentieth Century, that its main relevance is in its depiction of events around World War I and the period between the Wars.

Apart from “The Old Man and the Sea” for which Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, his work seems to be extremely journalistic rather than literary. He was proud of that style and was praised for it, but I find it unimaginative, especially in the dialogue sections.

Perhaps it’s because I can’t relate to Hemingway’s pseudo macho personality which could be the result of his mother insisting on calling him “Ernestine”. Reminds of the Johnny Cash song, “A boy named Sue.” Poor Ernie spent his entire life trying to prove he wasn’t Ernestine. Continue reading →

Commentary on “The Master”

liligans Literature

Isn’t it intriguing that after reading an entire novel based on the life of Henry James one is left wondering what it was all about. That was my reaction to Colm Toibin’s, “The Master”.

Had it not been for my deep admiration of James’ work and had it not been for the fact that Toibin’s book was to be discussed by our book club, I doubt that I would have persevered with it.

I have purposely not read any reviews of “The Master” so that I can offer my gut reaction. Continue reading →

Name calling

liligans So you think you're cultured?, Society

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while now, but finally decided to write a post on the subject because of an article concerning Joseph Fiennes, who starred in “Shakespeare in Love.”

Unlike his older brother, Ralph, (or Rafe-how pretentious can you get?) Joseph is the actor who manages to keep his pants on during flights unless it’s to pee or as the French say “to evacuate”. Don’t you just love the way the French express it? Continue reading →

Can a dead man turn fifty?

liligans So you think you're cultured?

In a hideout somewhere on this planet there’s a man blowing out fifty candles today, that is if he has the strength to do so. Osama is not a well man and it’s quite possible that he’s connected to a dialysis machine or that he is no longer with us.

Now let’s imagine that Osama is still alive. Is he enjoying turning fifty surrounded by a loving family who are singing “Happy Birthday” to him? Is he celebrating the occasion in a downtown resort?

I seriously doubt it. Saddam was found down a hole. Al Zaquiri scurried around from hiding place to hiding place, unable to relax for a minute. So things don’t look so cheerful for Osama either.

But, does it really matter if Osama bin Laden is dead or alive?

No, not in the least, because it suits both sides to pretend that he is alive. The terrorists want to pretend that the leader of Al Qaeda is still strong and vital. Naturally they want to promote the myth that Osama is invincible because they have a lot at stake in glorifying him.

It would be quite a letdown for the truth to come out that Osama was really a weakling who was nothing like the ancient Arab warrior his people would like him to be.

As for the West, it doesn’t give a damn whether he is still alive but is happy to focus on his evil deeds, which are many. He personifies all that is loathed in the civilised parts of the world and even when he is dead he will still be reviled. Perhaps it even suits the West to promote the myth of a living Osama who is yet to be captured and dispatched.

However, since Al Qaeda has now become a franchise whose product is terror, Osama has long been irrelevant in the organisation.

One doesn’t have to be a genius to conclude that since Ayman Zawakiri, his Second in Command, is doing all the media appearances, that the birthday boy is not up to it. In fact, he hasn’t been doing much of anything lately.

Cate Blanchett – Too much of a good thing?

liligans Films, So you think you're cultured?

In the Eighties and Nineties, there was hardly a French film that did not feature Gerard Depardieu. Fine actor that he is, it got to the stage that when a new French film came out I would ask, “Apart from Depardieu, who else is in it?”

The Aussie actress, Cate Blanchett, seems to be doing a Depardieu at the moment. Currently, there are three films with her in them. I fear she’s going to outstay her welcome if she doesn’t pace herself and resist taking on more roles until we have recovered from a Cate overload. Continue reading →

It’s all about me, me, me!

liligans So you think you're cultured?, Society

In a previous blog I wrote that it was ridiculous to have more babies so that in time they could look after the older generation. I suggested that it would be more cost-effective to encourage immigration of adults, rather than waste precious resources on educating children and teenagers.

In support of my view is the result of a 24 year study of college students at San Diego State University in the U.S

Day to Day, February 27, 2007 ยท College students today are more narcissistic and self-centered than a generation ago, according to a study released by San Diego State University. Students’ scores on the study’s Narcissistic Personality Inventory have steadily risen since the test was introduced in 1982.

In their study, researchers trace the phenomenon back to the “self-esteem movement” that began in in the 1980s. And, they say, young people’s self-regard is fueled by current technologies such as MySpace and YouTube.

Study psychologists worry the trend, attributable to the influences of schools, media and parents, could be harmful to personal relationships and American society. The study says narcissists are more likely to have short-lived romantic relationships and lack empathy.

Continue reading →