The director, Cary Fukunaga, once said that a movie is 70% casting–or something to that effect. Great casting goes a long way to make a great film, while if a film has no chance is the casting is awful. I was watching the original Karate Kid recently, and the casting stood out. Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita may be one of the best cinematic buddies, and that’s primarily a function of casting, in my view. But then the villains are also great, not just Martin Kove, as John Krease, and William Zabka, as Johnny Lawrence, but even the other Kobra-Kai thugs. What are some films where the casting really stood out, either good or bad?
Month: July 2020
Notes on “The Hedgehog and the Fox” by Isaiah Berlin
Thread on the famous essay. One quick point. I was first attracted to this essay because of hedgehog and fox dichotomy. Berlin suggests that thinkers can (or tend to be?) one or the other. Simply, foxes know many things, while hedgehogs know one big thing. I wanted to learn more about the two categories. Unfortunately, the essay says very little about this. The categories are mostly a springboard or a backdrop for an investigation into Leo Tolstoy’s conception of history, epistemology, and philosophy. Still, I ended up learning and thinking about the way people fall into different categories, in terms of their outlook, thinking, and personality, and the way this seems seems to frame or influence debates about key topics in philosophy and politics. I’ll try to go into that in the next comment section.
A Thoughtful Conservative Rebuttal to Voting Out Congressional Republicans
David French gives an argument, to conservatives, for not voting out congressional Republicans. I respect French, but I don’t agree with him. I’ll go over his arguments and respond to each in the first comment.
2020 State and Local Elections
I’ve been spending so much time consuming national news that I’ve been neglecting informing my self on state and local news–particularly the candidates and important issues. Thanks to Don, I’m going to try and get on the ball. And this thread will be a place where people can post articles and discuss the candidates and major topics.
What the Big Debate About Free Speech and Cancel Culture is Really About
A recent letter in <i>Harper’s</i> has caused some controversy. Most people cite free speech and cancel culture as heart of the matter, but I think that’s not entirely accurate. I read a recent Vox article that, in my view, does a better job of pinpointing the issues of contention, which I’ll go over that in the first comment.
Why I Am So Anxious About America
The topic may not be very interesting as the answers are multiple and obvious. But I’m writing an explanation in order to better understand my anxiety and in so doing maybe find some comfort. Better yet, maybe someone will provide insights that will come close to removing a large portion of my nervousness if not all of it. I’ll explain more in the first comment post.
The Lincoln Project–This is How I Expected Congressional Republicans to Act
Well, not all of them–but a handful of them at least. And maybe not at the very beginning of the Trump presidency, but at least by impeachment trial. In case you don’t know, the Lincoln Project is a group of a conservatives/Republicans (most seem to be political consultants) who are helping to defeat Trump and congressional Republicans who have enabled him. Greg Sargent, a liberal WaPo columnist, interviewed John Weaver, one of it’s members. Actually, it’s more accurate to say Sargent grilled Weaver–taking the role of someone who is skeptical about their intentions. If what Weaver says is genuine and accurately reflects the group, I really feel an affinity towards this group–specifically in a commitment to the U.S. Constitution and rule of law. I’ll see more, particularly about the interview, in the comments section.
Notes on No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram
Notes on this history of IG by Sarah Frier.
I purchased this a month before its release and am only getting to it now because until yesterday, I hadn’t done any reading since we were all sent home from work in mid-March.
The Biggest News Story That is Not Being Told: the GOP Has Given Up on Liberal Democracy
In February of this year, I started a writing the following post (which I have edited just now):
Acquittal of Trump Feels like the Beginning of a Dangerous Moment in the U.S.
I actually think that for most of the Trump presidency, the U.S. was in a dangerous situation. Trump is erratic and ignorant. Even if he didn’t start a catastrophe, he could mishandle a situation and create one. But here’s why I single out the recent Senate acquittal. Even if Republicans actively or passively supported Trump, in spite of his egregious acts of corruption, incompetence, and gross unfitness—I believed Republicans still could still redeem these failings and their party, if they stood up to or stopped Trump in a significant way at a critical time. Impeachment and conviction/removal of Trump was one such moment. Up until something like impeachment and removal, I had a small glimmer of hope for Republicans, at least a meaningful number, deep down respected the rule of law and Constitution, and would ultimately put the country ahead of their party. Senate Republicans, joining Democrats, to convict and remove Trump would have shown this.
But this did not happen. This action now suggests to me that Republicans, overall, either do not embrace the rule of law and Constitution or are too weak and craven to meaningfully defend it—which, to me, is another way of sayingthe Republicans, as a party, have essentially stepped away from being a liberal democratic party, and have become an authoritarian one instead. (Continued in the next comment post.)
Thoughts on Independence Day 2020
I recently listened to the Gettysburg Address, and I wanted to point out and comment some of the passages, which stood out for me, and I think serves as a good message to all Americans now, but perhaps more poignantly to congressional Republicans. First, Continue reading “Thoughts on Independence Day 2020”