The Year of the Rat Reading 28: "The Road"

The end of the world isn't going to be pretty, particularly if we are involved in the process. This novel, by Cormac McCarthy, is about a man and his son and how they struggle to survive following a nuclear apocalypse. And let me tell you, living after the bombs fall is not going to be easy. There is dust everywhere, hardly anything left living, eating what you can from canned goods that are left, and trying not to get caught by cannibals. Yes, cannibals. Seems that there is quite a lot of it going around at the end of the world. You never know who to trust. People tend to stay by themselves and take care of one another. It is a scary world.
I guess I never thought the end of the world was supposed to be nice. Usually in the movies something good comes along at the end and then everyone is happy. I just saw the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." At the end of it, Klatu decides that everyone can live after all. It seems like a phony resolution. Isn't he from a great civilization that should know better. In this book there is no Klatu to come along and save us.
The main character in the story reminds me of my brother Danny. Danny once cut his palm and sewed it up himself with fishing wire. Then he didn't go about complaining about it. The man in this book is that kind of tough. But in the end that isn't enough. Like a really strong engine he just seems to expire in the end. He is too worn out to go any further.
This novel kind of reminds us how fragile we are. We think were tough and can handle anything but it asks us, what if in the end you can't?
Someone is making of movie of this. It was on the Oprah book club as well. So hopefully that doesn't mean it will get screwed up too badly when translated to the big screen. I hope they don't give it a happy ending, because the end of the world really doesn't deserve on.

The Year of the Rat Reading 27: "Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the birth of the Superhero"

I don't know the title of this book. It seems to have changed. Let's just call it "Men of Tomorrow," and not worry about the subtitle. My book has a different subtitle.
This is the story of how a bunch of mostly Jewish immigrants created the popular culture known as the superhero comic. It is the story of two kids who created Superman, and how the companies that bought this type of material tried to rip off the creators. In the end it is about how a bunch of geeks got together and made sure corporate America didn't crap all over the little guy.
I thought this was a fascinating history because I am at heart a big old geek myself. I still remember fondly riding my bike to the flea market to try to find some lost comic classic. I remember the guy there; he charged the top price for his books no matter what the condition. He was a crook. He also had a lot of Playboys so I could deal with his crookedness up to a point. I wonder what happened to that old flea market?
So the story of the American comic book is the story of how America lived in the 20th century. It was full of promise and disappointment, bitterness and joy, and Jews and gentiles.
So I recomment this was highly.

Downright Chilly

When I woke up this morning there was a mist covering Kuwait. Today it has brought the temperature down, way down, which is really nice. It has been a little too hot lately. So now it is quite pleasant. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be about 16 degrees celcius (about 61 fahrenheit). That is perfect weather. Of course I will feel a little cold and might have to bundle up. With the cool weather I might just not travel anywhere. Tonight I walked up to the Scientific Center for about two hours. It was a lovely way to spend a late afternoon. I might even have to use my heater pretty soon.
Have fun. Brrrr.

Some movie ideas

I was thinking of some interesting remakes of movies but giving them more of a local, Kuwaiti flavor. Here goes:

"Juno" A girl tells her parents she is pregnant. Then it is discovered that her uncle had raped her and is the unborn baby's father. The family confronts the uncle and tells him he knows what must be done to restore the family's honor. The uncle then kills his niece and everything is right in the world.

"The War of the Worlds" Martians invade Kuwait. The Kuwaiti army is mostly on vacation, since this is a summer film, and the ones that are here decide that fighting is just too difficult. The Americans are called to rescue the nation. Bush and cavalry arrive and the Martians fight back but die of the flu. Local religious leaders are outraged that America has defiled the land of Islam and fly planes into the World Trade Center killing 3000 people.

"Gataca" Local boy decides to become an astronaut. However, because of centuries of cousin marriage, his genetic stock just isn't strong enough. He is rich so he decides to find someone in Kuwait who has strong blood and buy it from him. Since cousin marriage is the norm here, the boy can find no one to help him. He instead turns to religion and declares war on science and on the moon. The moon is destroyed in suicide bombing, which leads to the end of tides and life as we know it.

"The Terminator" A robot is sent from the future to kill a local woman. She is carrying the child that will save the future. When someone is sent back to save her, she refuses help, saying "If God has willed my death, then so be it." The terminator then kills her, fulfilling God's will and ending a lucratic film francise before it even had a chance.

"Crash" A Lebanese woman is driving around when suddenly a Kuwaiti man crashes into her. She is clearly at fault, because didn't you hear me say she is Lebanese and he is Kuwaiti. The police arrive. The officer takes a fancy to her and feels her up. She is outraged and calls her husband. The officer calls his cousins. The husband is beaten up by the cousins and the woman is raped. The officer's cousins then ask him if he can get them jobs as police officers. He does and Lebanese women are felt up all over the country. Because of the outrage committed, the Kuwaiti man who has originally crashed into the woman's car, is given a new better model. His debts are also forgiven. When he dies he is declared a martyr.

So you can see why I have been thinking of going to film school. I just have the cinematic gift, I guess.

The Year of the Rat Reading 26: "Political Philosophy: A very short introduction"

I guess you could say this is a short work. It is still about 132 pages long. I ordered this book for my Philosophy class, but now after reading it I am not sure I will use it. It contains many great examples to use in class, but it is a little short on the material that the kids need to know, especially the philosophers that they need to use on their examinations. I might try to use it for classroom discussion but I am not sure if I will use it for the main reading that the kids need. I will have to wait and see I guess.

In far more important news, I don't know what to do for my winter break. Should I go to Thailand? What would Hobbes do? Or should I take the advice of Karl Marx?

Actually if I do go to Thailand I think it is only because there is a Coco Ichiban Curry house there. Is that a pathetic reason to go? Actually I like being there. It is a fun country. I just wish I had a woman by my side.

Well have fun.

Should I go on vacation?

I have been sitting in Kuwait for five days. I still have 25 to go. I am wondering if I should go to Thailand for a vacation. I always like it there, but do I really want to travel right now? I just found a really cheap ticket on Sri Lanka airlines, that will let me leave on the 17th and come back on the 2nd. I will have fourteen nights in Thailand. Will that be enough? Will I enjoy myself enough to travel? Or course I will enjoy myself, it is Thailand.
Just thinking outloud. I guess I can decide in a few days.

The Year of the Rat Reading 25: "The Presidents: The Transformation of the American Presidency from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush"

I like books about the presidency. I guess I like to watch power. While reading this book I realized that I love watching campaigns but don't really like to focus much on issues that affect the nation. I guess I am a political voyeur. Perhaps this is why I have never joined a political party. (Or maybe I am a secret Johnny Red.)
I guess I learned quite a bit in this book. It made me want to go out and read Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," but I am not sure I will ever get to that.
I wonder what the author will have to say about Barack Obama in his second edition of this work. Surely there will be a second edition. All publishers do that nowadays. They get you for thirty more pages of new text but then you have to slog through the 710 pages of text that you have already read just in case there is something new.
Speaking of Obama, I think he is doing an excellent job so far. A friend of mine is hoping he will be less successful than Hoover. I hope he is the greatest president ever. God knows the world really needs a good one. Since we run everything it would be nice to have someone we can all look up to.
Well have a nice day.

New Name

I have some major news. I got the job in Shanghai. So now I need a new blog name, and email name, etc. I am thinking "The Woods of the Fortunate Husband," but that sounds kind of odd. Actually that is the translation of my Chinese name: Lin Jie Fu. Lin means woods, Jie husband and Fu fortune.

What else is new. I am on vacation. Been here in Kuwait for the last two days. Haven't done anything. It has been wonderful. Took a long walk which was lovely. Tonight I am going to see if I can buy some books on Chinese. I want to start studying right away if I can.

And that is it. I think my life isn't very excited. I live in Kuwait, have an interesting enough existance and yet have nothing to say.

Well that is it for now.