Inception

We had heard lots of good things about the movie "Inception" from various sources, so Patricia and I went to see it this afternoon (with Paul Jr. and Pat Herrera). Leonardo DiCaprio is the lead - he is expert at utilizing technology to invade dreams - seems the technology is used regularly as a corporate espionage tool. But now he is hired by a corporation to implant an idea in the mind of the principal of a competing firm, which we're told is much more difficult to accomplish.

Longish but engaging; I was a little concerned during the first hour but ended up liking the movie. Definitely in the summer blockbuster field with lots of action, chases, shooting, etc. But much more thoughtful. Four layers of dreams are depicted simultaneously toward the climax. I still can't figure out a number of things, especially the way the opening scenes fit with the rest of the movie.

He had a complicated relationship, let's say, with his dead wife. (I read that there is Edith Piaf music on the soundtrack.)

The special effects were really well done, especially the scenes where they were floating in the hallway (a couple dream layers down). And this is the kind of movie - depicting dream worlds - where the effects actually add something to the storyline.

Taylor King concert (round 2) (Anaheim, CA, July 20, 2010)

As part of our recent trip to Laguna Beach, PJ and I attended what was the final performance for the Troubadour Reunion Tour (Carole King and James Taylor). We had previously attended in Glendale, described here.

We liked it a lot, for all the same reasons noted in the prior post. I had been reading in the newspaper how this tour had just blown away all expectations for ticket sales in what has otherwise been a very down year for the concert tour business. Somehow they are very much striking the right chord.

It was a different crowd than in Arizona - more immediately responsive, but not better. Hard to believe at this age they were on the road this long (he's 62, she's 68).

I had sought tickets late, but we were pretty lucky with this - first row in upper level. That actually works quite nicely. With the revolving stage in the middle of the arena and the various video boards, it was a good location.

Here's a short clip taken via cellphone video (from someone who lugged around massive video cameras for years: who can believe a cellphone can take video even of this quality?) It's a portion of "Sweet Baby James," which is performed following his little story about writing it for his nephew . . . live, the violin line sounded good (example here at 0:30), as did Carole King singing a line against the melody (starting around 1:00).



Lots of very nice moments, including the tour finale (same song they ended with in Glendale) (Close Your Eyes) . . .



Then the GPS directed us out of Anaheim and back to Laguna Beach, a kind service without which we might have been circling quite awhile.

The Island of the Day Before (Umberto Eco, 1994)

I liked The Name of the Rose a great deal. I liked Foucault's Pendulum quite a bit. So I read this on the strength of Umberto Eco as author. Didn't work out as well.

I never really did figure out what Eco was up to in this one. It's worth reading because there is a ton of interesting things floating around - ideas about the efforts to figure out longitude; politics and battles at the time of the 30 Years War; Richelieu and Mazarin; etc.; long discussions about knowledge, religious belief compared to scientific method, role of imagination; etc.

So I think the best aspect - and perhaps what Eco was up to - was giving the reader a window into the mindset and conversations of the first half of the 17th century.

As far as the plot - the protagonist (Roberto) is shipwrecked, and ends up being washed up onto an abandoned ship moored just far enough off a south seas island such that Roberto - a non-swimmer - is pretty much trapped. The abandoned ship relates to the intrigues surrounding the efforts to be the first to reliably calculate longitudes, and Roberto explores. While imagining things with a woman back in Paris whom he hopes to love.

The Burning Land (Bernard Cornwell, 2009)

Another historical novel by Cornwell (#4 for me) - apparently he has recently written several novels set in the 9th century in what will become England. Reviewers indicate that this story is based on a number of somewhat well documented historical episodes.

Read a favorable review in WSJ so tried this. More of a page-turner, but Cornwell's research and story-telling are very strong. He can make you imagine what this might have felt like. Details about battles, politics, etc. Very enjoyable to read (on the stairmaster).

King Alfred dreams of uniting Angle-land as a Christian kingdom; but relies on Uhtred (pagan protagonist) for military success.

They are dealing with several Danish invasions. Alfred's son (to be King Edward) is being groomed. There is an angry Danish woman named Skade. Uhtred is loyal to Alfred's daughter.

Candide - the Optimist (or All for the Best) (Voltaire, 1759)

I had never gotten around to reading this short work. It is one of Voltaire's most famous works; one of the more famous works in Western literature. It is a satire; among other things, he was reacting to the optimism of Leibniz, who considered that God had placed us in the best of all possible worlds.

Voltaire notes all of the suffering and bad behavior that the world always features; current events included the Seven Years War and the Lisbon earthquake (which happened on Sunday, resulting in the roasting of many churchgoers in the fires that followed the quake (including those not killed in the collapse of the churches)).

Candide is candid and pretty much retains his optimism despite going through some amazingly tough times, starting with being kicked out of the house and being pressed into the Bulgarian army. (Optimism had been instilled in him by his tutor, Pangloss, a Leibniz adherent (at least for awhile)).

All sorts of messaging; all sorts of controversy as he fairly directly criticized governments, royal houses, organized religion, etc.

Lots of philosophical debate among Candide, Pangloss, Martin. Voltaire is pointing out this leads to a dead end. Yet the ending of the story is very positive - great line from Candide as he snuffs another philosophical debate: "'Tis well said," replied Candide, "but we must cultivate our gardens."

The "Modern Library" version was neat - included the setting and illustrations from a 1920s edition.

The Temptation of St. Antony (Gustave Flaubert, 1874)

Flaubert is much better known for Madame Bovary (on our Great Books reading lists in the late 1970s) and A Sentimental Education (discussed here). He took a stab at doing a - well, I don't know how to describe this, a fantasy? - early in his career. This was based on the famous temptations endured by St. Antony (one of those third-century saints who lived as a hermit in the desert, or was up on a pole for awhile, or perhaps both). But his friends told him the book was awful.

He came back to the idea in the 1870s - after tinkering with it from time to time, and after finding great success with the two books noted.

I didn't quite know what to make of it. St. Antony is weak with hunger, somewhat regretful of the path he took; endures a long night in which every type of temptation shows up. Flaubert must have been incredibly knowledgeable about ancient gods, old heresies, myths, etc.

Artists liked this story also, I include a painting attributed to Bosch.

Holy Madness - Romantics, Patriots and Revolutionaries, 1776-1876 (Adam Zamoyski, 1999)

I was reading this at the gym while simultaneously working through the Barzun book. They overlapped in interesting ways. I had never heard of the author until reading his biography of Napoleon earlier this year - his stuff makes for good reading.

And this book gives some highly useful insights into all the blather and phoniness surrounding what our politicians would pass off as "patriotism" or "nationalism." Like identity politics, celebrating and emphasizing differences just doesn't make much sense.

In this book he examines a century of high-minded efforts (or at least involving high-flown rhetoric) to throw off kings, emperors, church leaders, whoever - often in the name of some would-be national group or the other.

He discusses the American Revolution at the outset - essentially a transition from one leadership structure to another without much disturbance of the society. But as we saw in the last presidential election, when words like "freedom" and "change" and the like start getting thrown around by skilled orators, folks around the world can fill in the blanks however they like - and find inspiration and justification to proceed.

Lots of details about revolutionaries in France, Italy, Poland; Russia; Belgium; etc. The French experience was the key - they marketed the ideals of the revolution all across Europe. Their huge armies picked up conscripts from all over, and traveled all over. This altered the outlook of some many folks so dramatically that all sorts of change happened.

The author discusses how a small group of revolutionaries would show up in disturbance after revolt after war all around Europe and South America. Only to typically find that the group of people ("nation") or whatever that they intended to lead to "freedom" wasn't even interested in the disturbance.

Metternich's "system" after Waterloo to preserve order. Russian "Decembrists" in 1825. Outbreaks in 1830 in various locales. Another round of outbreaks in 1848 - starting with high hopes, ending with minimal change. France increasingly conservative under Louis Philippe and Napoleon III. The "commune" following the defeat by Prussia.

Interesting to observe the scramble of the "nations" to discover - or more typically invent - their national heritage and customs. Then members of sub-groups intended to comprise so-called "nations" found out they had significant differences and aims - oops.

Scotland adopts the "kilt" in 18th century - named and sold by English. Germany reaching back to Tacitus, seeking martial honor in the deep forest tradition (rather than per the decadent French). Almost every group designated someone as its "Washington" or "Lafayette."

Famous artists showing up here and there - Wagner, Liszt, Stendhal, Hugo. Beethoven ("Eroica" for Napoleon).

How all things Greek became wildly popular around 1830 or so - Europeans rush to liberate Greeks from the Turks, only to find that the classical imagery (Achilles et al) didn't quite match the locals. Lord Byron. Now everyone needed to learn Greek in school.

Louis Kossuth in Hungary (very popular in US at time Kossuth County, Iowa was named).

Behaviors and symbols borrowed liberally from the religions it was fashionable to despise.

At the end of the book, the author notes the disillusionment of these high-minded revolutionaries, and states that this led to the cold-blooded approach of Lenin and his ilk - if the people didn't want regime change, they would be taught to want it (or else).

From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present : 500 Years of Western Cultural Life (Jacques Barzun, 2000)

How useful did I find this book? I actually went out and bought a hardcover copy for myself. (My usual approach is to borrow books from the library; I have a list of those I want to own, but too seldom find the motivation to start purchasing. Not the case here.)

The value proposition for Barzun's work is simple in my case. I read as much as I can; I also try to learn about as much classical music as possible, and (to a much lesser extent) art (typically meaning paintings). Opera and "plays" remain mostly mysteries to me. On all fronts, I don't have a very organized way of identifying items I'll read or view. On top of that, I have trouble remembering what I've read or seen.

Enter Barzun.

He is a fascinating character in his own right. He was class valedictorian at Columbia in 1927 (born in France, the book includes his recollection of Paris being shelled by "Big Bertha" German gunnery). He finished this book when he was well over 90 years old. By that time, he had spent what - seven decades? - learning, teaching, writing at a very high level. It's hard to imagine the insights that would accumulate in that setting over that extended period of time - and that he would have the energy so late in life to put together a volume like this.


The book is a delight. Incredibly economical with the language - how else could one even try to take on a 500-year period across multiple disciplines in one book of manageable size? I slowed down and read pretty much every word, often working backward in the book. (This approach (along with a too-busy work schedule for the first half of 2010) is reflected in the slowed pace of my reading recently.)

Just an example - he spent about six pages working around World War I - and left me with an entirely different sense of how the world was affected (i.e. the changed outlook for those who survived). Most of my WWI reading has focused on particular battles, the experience of the soldiers, how the war started, etc. This was different.

He uses the term "decadence" to describe the current state of affairs - but not in as gloomy a sense as the word might suggest. Very cogent observations about the effect of the welfare state (which he (like many others) traces to 1870s Prussia), the media, etc.

I will refer to this regularly. I need to read more of his stuff.

The Vertigo Years - Europe, 1900-1914 (Philipp Blom, 2008)

Another great history read.

The author was trying to put a different interpretation on the pre-war years - he is concerned that the period is characterized as a quiet "summer" before the war started, or is simply overshadowed as a lead-in period to the more important years of actual armed conflict.

Blom shows that the period in fact was anything but serene - marked by rapid change that wasn't giving folks a sense of where things might be headed - hence a feeling of "vertigo."

He devotes one chapter to each of the fourteen years. Starting with the famed Paris exposition and the continuing ascent of machines (as recounted by Henry Adams in this book). Discussion of France's decline - lower population growth than Germany, Dreyfus affair, loss of Alsace/Lorraine in 1870 (propagandized to school children thereafter) - was the country losing its virility? Roger Casement's success in the Congo (and later flirtation with Germany). The rise of Japan - Russia's loss in 1905. Women's rights, changing roles. Progress in the sciences - but creating more questions than the hoped-for certainty. Eugenics? Freud. Increasing frequency of mental illness of various kinds. Cities. Speed: automobiles (15mph!), early airplanes. Department stores, consumerism for the masses.

Educated folks who would laugh at religion join pseudo-mystical societies - with similar rituals.

Still not sure what Virginia Woolf meant when she said human nature changed in December 1910 - including reference to the cook's hat.

Jacques Barzun's work on cultural history goes into quite a bit of detail, and provides some more context around the topics discussed by Blom; I'll post on it when finished. Many overlapping concepts, which helps this make some sense.

Up In The Air

We saw this at Camelview - rather by accident, as we had gone there to see a different movie (I don't recall which) and the projector wasn't working. Found this surprisingly enjoyable - George Clooney did a good job as someone who flies around constantly firing people; then he is more or less grounded as his employer introduces video technology. Things start changing for the protagonist at that point, I was surprised by the direction things went.

The Discovery of France (Graham Robb, 2007)

This book is subtitled "A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War."

As I keep reading more French history and novelists, this type of book comes into focus. I liked it a lot, a very different look at France. The author claims to have traveled 14,000 miles through France over the course of several years - by bicycle. I can believe this would provide some unusual perspective.

There are countless interesting items. Overarching theme: what we think of as "France" might more accurately be thought of as a smallish area surround Paris; the rest is broken up into a large number of "pays", let alone larger regions - each with long histories, traditions, cultures, etc. Most didn't speak French, or think of themselves as French at all.

After the Revolution, the government actively sought to imbue the entire country with a national spirit, standardize the language etc. But it sounds like students learned "French" similar to how students learned "Latin" - something to be forgotten immediately after graduation.

Items:

1. Pagan beliefs lingered. An explanation of Lourdes in terms of local fairies; benefits of tourism. Local saints and cults (often overlays of pagan predecessors) stronger than other forms of religion.

2. Trips by early map-makers - surprised by hostility, unfamiliar dialects (or languages), unfamiliar terrain.

3. Royal roads - otherwise local bypass. Built for royal convenience - you almost always had to pass through Paris to go anywhere.

4. Early tourism, including to the Alps. Tourist spots - spas - often inventing their own histories and therapeutic powers. No one interested in hanging out by the sea until tourism. Contact between the tourists and the locals (reminding me of Proust when his character stayed seaside).

5. Descriptions of the propaganda (often directed at school children) following the loss of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870 - makes it more believable how this was such a hot topic prior to World War I.

6. The effect of bicycle - four million in France prior to WW I. Opened up the world to folks who previously knew almost no one outside their immediate zone.

7. The mind-numbing boredom of winter in French Alps for poor persons - limited food, limited oil for lamps, generally unable to even read, nothing to do - this is hard to imagine.

8. The famous French cuisine - again, Paris-centered. Most others were too poor. This author thinks many of the regional specialties are pure marketing.

The Last Station

Saw this movie at Camelview with PJ and Liz (during her AZ visit).

Liked it a lot.

The story focused on Tolstoy's end-of-life. As discussed here: the wife he loved and couldn't live with, or without. Tolstoyans - followed Tolstoy's later blandishments far more than he did. Chertkov's efforts to take control of copyrights.

Much of the story was told from the viewpoint of a Tolstoy acolyte who showed quite a bit of independence, found a love affair of his own, etc.

Hadn't realized that the book on which the movie was based was written by the same guy that did the Frost bio PJ and I enjoyed.

Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand, 1957)

Kerry and Nicole had bought this book for me for Christmas. Because I had reached my early 50s without actually reading any of Rand's stuff.

I can see why her writings have gained in popularity - the Obama "hope and change" ruse fits right in with her messaging.

Her characters reminded me a bit of a Dan Brown novel, so that part wasn't so great for me. But the messaging - especially accessible to anyone who on any scale funds situations and gets to observe the too-common reactions of some of those being funded - is spot-on. Writ large, it's the increasingly tiresome rhetoric from politicians and non-profits in endless attack on their sole funding source - the sliver of the population that actually produces the wealth that keeps the entire system afloat.

The mistake of kowtowing to the takers' faux moralizing.

John Galt's best line: "Get the hell out of my way!"

Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March (Adam Zamoyski, 2004)

I'd read a book or two already about this situation so was a bit unsure whether to read another one . . . but this one was well worth it.

The basic story line involves a long list of larger-than-life elements, which are pretty well known. Napoleon. Alexander. Etc.

Some other thoughts:

1. Zamoya thinks the criticism Napoleon took for starting the campaign late was unfair - felt he had no real choice due to the logistics around the horses and fodder. (Though this failed in the end, creating huge problems.)

2. Examples of Russian incompetence - political fallout as the Russian armies retreated. Kutuzov considered a national hero for various political reasons over time; Zamoya thinks he was ineffective.

3. Interesting information about the Russian army - 20-year hitches, pretty much everyone other than serfs bought their way out. The villages held a funeral when a serf went to the army because it was so unlikely that he would be seen again. Yet somehow they fought like dogs.

4. Marshal Ney unbelievably courageous.

5. The famous battle at Borodino - where the French win but lose. War and Peace based on this.

6. Moscow; fires.

7. The too-late retreat - I don' t think the author was gratuitously gory and violent in describing this, it plainly was just awful. Freezing, nothing to eat, both armies suffering mightily; the French would finally reach a destination and find out the logistics had failed again. Heroic bridge builders at river crossings (esp. the Berezina, where an unbelievable escape was achieved).

8. To some extent the peasants were armed and involved; this led to some agitation for political and social change; some of the military types ultimately became the 1825 Decembrists.

9. Alexander sold liberalism/reform to Europe. But things ended up very reactionary in Russia; and Prussia took a leading role in what much later became became Germany - also reactionary.

10. Stendahl part of the retreat - but early, lucky for him. He made it back to France. An incredibly small percentage of the Grande Armee survived.

The Inheritance of Rome - Illuminating the Dark Ages (Chris Wickham, 2009)

The author had two main goals if I understand things correctly. First, he wanted to debunk the notion that the era from 400 - 1000 was a simple "dark" age wedged between the "fall" of Rome and the stirrings of modernity. Second, he observes the many claims that were made, probably mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries, about the birth of European nations, with politicians searching for roots in the 400-1000 era that would support whatever borders or ideology they were pushing for at the time.

I liked the book a bunch, though it did slow down a bit along the way. Part of this is a scope problem - even if sources in this area are somewhat limited, it is a daunting task to cover all of Europe and beyond over five centuries.

I do think his two main tasks are important. He does a good job of explaining how the transition of Roman power in the west took place over a long period of time; barbarians having served in the Roman army and as administrators etc. How Roman customs and forms survived with varying strength over time.

It is interesting to read how the church and the state grew in complementary ways - each needed the others. Also how land was donated to monasteries -turns out this was a good way for families to continue to control blocs of property (if not providing some afterlife insurance). Parish churches as a later development, with generally unschooled local priests becoming another control mechanism.

Tax systems - Romans maintained a land tax, which permitted feeding cities and keeping huge standing armies. Few other systems could pull this off. Kings started giving away land to nobles; which was tricky business given the finite supply.

Some strong centralized kingdoms developed, especially Charlemagne. But then devolves into local powers over time. Who become increasingly adept at limiting the freedom of peasants, skimming off more of their work time and production. Castles start appearing . . . feudalism in the offing. With weaker kings, stronger local nobility.

Pilgrimage sites as big business - wise investment to come up with a bunch of relics.

He also threw in some information about Scandinavia, Russia, Bulgaria, etc. - much later developing.