Memorial Day, A Day Late
Posted by tgirsch

I had hoped to write something yesterday, but something I saw fouled my mood irreparably. In yet another reminder that people like me are not welcome in the South, and have no business living in the South, my neighbor across the street decided to honor the day by flying a huge Confederate flag. I mean, what better way to honor the men and women who died (and who continue to die) to preserve and protect the Union than by flying the symbol of those who fought to destroy it? Even setting aside the racial issues (pretending for a moment that this is even possible), I’m not sure flying a symbol that clearly and unequivocally means “I don’t want to be part of the United States of America any more” is the best way to honor those who fight for the United States of America.

I swear, sometimes I just hate people.

May 29th, 2007 | Holiday | 111 comments

At World’s End
Posted by tgirsch

No, this isn’t another post about the mess W has gotten us into. It’s a movie review. This weekend, I went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The spoiler-free Reader’s Digest version? It was better than I expected (based on reviews, I had very low expectations), but not nearly as good as I’d hoped. Put simply, it was an incoherent mess, too dark, and too light on the fun. What made the first movie so good, after all, was that it was so much fun. That’s almost completely gone from the third installment. And if you’ve got kids under about 10 or 12, you’d probably be better off leaving them at home.

Oh, and if you do go, as with Dead Man’s Chest, be sure to stay all the way to the end of the credits, for a little lagniappe.

More detailed review with mild spoilers follows below the fold.

May 29th, 2007 | Reviews | no comments