Once (June 24, 2007)

Patricia, Patrick and I went to see this movie at Camelview. I'd recommend seeing it. The movie is about a street performer in Ireland; he's pretty much in the down-and-out stage. A Czech immigrant gets interested; turns out she is a very fine singer and pianist. So they make music, and their relationship is nice.

They make a recording, using some other street performers to constitute "the band." (I guess this aspect had some genesis in the lead actor's personal story.)

When I was watching the movie, I was surprised at how much singing was included, and felt the plot was not developed much. (Those two issues go hand in hand, as the inclusion of several three-five minute songs really cuts down the time available for the story.)

But I realize I missed the point. This was a musical. It just didn't look like a traditional musical. It had about the story line depth for a traditional musical - which is fine, many of those are great stories. So I conclude that I liked this.

I heard that the production budget was only $150,000 or so, which seems unbelievable.

The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925)

This book has become a staple of high school and college reading lists, but I never ran into it. Or had much interest. Then I keep reading how it is one of the most highly considered novels in American history (if not the Great American Novel), so thought I'd give it a try.

But it didn't do much for me. Jay Gatsby is supposed to be an interesting character, but to me he's rather a caricature instead. Daisy is pretty much over the top also, as is her husband. I must have missed something.

It's a quick read and worth touring through. Now I'm interested in seeing a movie version (there have been several).

The foreward includes some interesting correspondence by the author. Fitzgerald actually talked about books remaining in the public eye longer if you could get teachers to put them on reading lists. Funny that it happened.

The Third Wave (Alvin Toffler, 1980)

I pretty much stick to history and novels, with occasional biography. I avoid self-help books, business books, and idea books. So this book was quite different for me.

Toffler tries to organize history into the First Wave (agriculture - lasted 10,000 years) and the Second Wave (industrial society - lasted 300 years). Says we are on the cusp of the Third Wave - and tries to describe its nascent characteristics and make some predictions.

It was interesting how he threaded together the elements of Wave 1 and 2. Made some connections that I certainly wouldn't have thought up. The problem is that he works too hard to divide everything into just two categories. And apparently it doesn't strike him as odd that the cross-over into Wave 3 is happening just as he is at his desk writing about it. My guess is that authors from many periods would feel that the moment in which they are writing is uncertain and that great change is in the air. With hindsight an author can of course classify and find order in things that already took place.

Nonetheless, it was well worth reading. His predictions about technology-enabled decentralization are interesting, for example. This was a gift from Kerry, thank you very much.

The Vikings (Else Roesdahl, 1998)

It does make you wonder what was up with these folks. Moving from Scandinavia to Iceland, Greenland and North America is pretty well discussed, but they also went all over Europe - taking Paris and establishing a kingdom in Italy, etc. Also moved east, referred to as "Rus", showed up in Constantinople. I suppose there was some pressure for younger sons to seek opportunity, or pure sense of adventure, or whatever - and as it worked out well, they kept going and going.

Terror to communities. Big role in England. Normandy, of course. Start showing up shortly after Charlemagne, cut deals with his three sons. Era probably ended with Battle of Hastings in 1066, which involved Viking descendants all around - but also was emblematic of how they had embedded themselves locally. The days of raiding and plundering were pretty much over.

The manner in which these folks showed up and wreaked havoc must have been awe-inspiring. Though there were plenty of other violent opportunists floating around in those days, it seems. The Viking must have had more style.