I recently saw again an old film, Rashamon, that came out in about 1960. This prompted me to list my favorite dozen films. Below is my list, see if you agree, and if not tell me what you think.

1. Casablanca

2. 2001 A Space Odyssey

3. For Whom The Bell Tolls

4. Lost Horizon

5. Rashamon

6. The House of Sand and Fog

7. The Lives of Others

8. The Secret in Their Eyes

9. The Razor’s Edge (1946 version)

10. Atlas Shrugged

11. Match Point

12. The Maltese Falcon

In the midst of spending most of my time completing my new novel, and reading as much as possible about the present political shenanigans in the U.S.A. ––– in order to remain sane, I also finished a 520 page science-fiction tome, “Hunters of Dune” by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. It is a Tor Book, Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue. New York, NY10010, 2006. For those of us, decades ago, who read the original Dune novels, this book is a pale family member. The tale of the struggle between the Bene Gesserit, Honored Matres, and the “Outside Enemy” lacks the “punch” of the original great Dune novels. The story moves slowly up to a climax,  but leaves us nowhere ––– perhaps readying us for a follow-up novel. The writing is plodding and misses the elegance of Frank Herbert’s style. Nevertheless, it serves to give us some clues about the origin of the “scattering” and the events after. And the novel serves to bring back to our memories many exciting details of the original Dune novels including some of our favorite characters –––– Duncan Idaho, Bashar Miles Teg, the hideous Baron Harkonnen, and the noble Paul Atreides. At the end of the novel there is a fascinating “ Brief Timeline of the Dune Universe,” which really should have been placed at the beginning in order to better follow the narrative. I can only recommend this book to those who wish to have a new infusion of “Dune” and the adventures of mankind after the “scattering.”

Dorothy Rabinowitz, a member of the Wall Street Editorial Board has written a most insightful opinion piece on June 9th, in the Wall Street Journal which describes the deep division that exists between the American people and President Obama and his Administration. He is indeed an “alien” in the White House. Unlike most of us, President Obama dismisses the notion that America is better or even luckier than other nations. He loathes the idea that Americans tend to think of themselves as special among the peoples of the Earth, considering this as ignorance and ethnocentrism. President Obama considers himself a multiculturalist –– a citizen of the world, first, and only secondarily President of the United States. He looks upon cosmopolitanism as morally and intellectually superior to patriotism, and apologizes for America’s supposed depredations, despite the enormous blood, treasure, political and cultural gifts America has given to the world since its founding. Obama is seriously disconnected from this country, which is a looming tragedy for us as well as him.

I’m providing a link to the full article.

Yesterday morning, while being interviewed on “Good Morning America,” President Obama was asked about how involved he was with the on-going problems related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He indicated he was very involved, and that he was speaking everyday to many people in order to know  “whose ass to kick.” This was a crude statement, even more crude than the “boot on the neck of BP” attributed to Interior Secretary Salazar.
I guess this is the kind of language used in the political back rooms of Chicago. Should it be used in Washington? On national television? Is that the language our children should be encouraged to use?

I’ve been absent from my blog for a couple of weeks ––– personal issues requiring my full attention. But I’m back and have several items to address briefly (more at a later date).

1. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. British Petroleum is, of course, to blame, since it is their rig, and it blew possibly because of failure to do all that was necessary to guard against the accident, and of course, to know what to do if an accident were to occur. But now, the mainstream media is finally addressing the fact that the various government departments responsible for oversight before and after the well was drilled, were remiss in failing to insist on the elements necessary to prevent this calamity. So, the Obama administration is now being blamed for its culpability in this Gulf disaster. It took 40+ days, but finally some reporters, even at the New York Times, have recognized a more complete story on how “the ball was dropped.”

2. The weapons embargo on Gaza. The deaths of nine people, the non–humanitarian humanitarians, is lamentable. But what is Israel to do? Surrounded by enemies that wish to destroy it and throw all the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea (or back to Poland, Germany, the United States, or wherever ––– ala Helen Thomas), what alternatives do the Israelis have? I guess when you’re small and have a population of only 6 million, the rest of the world has an easy time in preparing for your funeral. Hey, has anybody heard of Iran, North Korea, Venezuela? I guess they’re too big (or too bad) to worry about.

More to come with a couple of items that interest me but might not interest anyone else.