Hello again, family and friends!
Last 'extended' weekend (9 - 13 July), I celebrated the 30th anniversary of (barely) graduating from high school, my 48th birthday, and my grandson's 2nd birthday. As one can imagine, it was a whirlwind of activity, emotions, and memories...and I'm still trying to assimilate it all and recover. One very important thing that happened was that I had the opportunity to sit down with one of my classmates from the Class of '79 and discuss a number of things with her. One of the topics we discussed was blogging.
Justine is one of the people whom I admire. She's a successful investment banker, entrepreneur, wife, mother, mentor, and experienced blogger. I don't think I'm speaking in hyperbole when I say I am truly blessed and honored to count Justine among my friends and that I put great store in any advice or input she offers. During our conversation last weekend, she provided me with great input about this blog. She told me that, while she liked my topics and the way I expressed my opinions, I needed to work on making the posts shorter...only 300 - 400 words each. Until this point, I had been treating the posts to this blog as 'human interest' articles one might find in a newspaper. When I first started teaching myself journalism, I learned that the average length for an article of this nature is 1000 - 1500 words...and that is the standard I had used for my posts. Apparently, our post-MTV soundbite-driven culture no longer has the attention span for articles of this length.
Starting immediately, I will be implementing Justine's suggestion. Over the next couple of weeks, you will be seeing posts from me on topics ranging from our recent 30-year Reunion to the American Healthcare system to racism in the U.S. For those topics that can't be covered in the print version of a 'soundbite,' I will serialize them...breaking those articles into multiple posts, each post not exceeding 400 words in length.
So, my friends, I will ask you to stay tuned and sign out for now. After all, this post (with signature and copyright) is 374 words long. Until next time...
Best regards,
Jim
© 2009 James P. Rice
17 July 2009
07 July 2009
Remembrance of a Grand Master
Hello, Family and Friends!
Those of you who know me know that one of my most enduring (and not necessarily endearing) traits is that I'm a voracious reader. To me, reading is almost an addiction. At any given time, I am usually reading three or four books...not at the same time, just at different times of the day. I usually have my 'car' book that I keep in the glove box of my primary mode of transportation, my 'meal' book that I only read at mealtimes, and my 'bed' book that I use to help me get to sleep. In addition to these three, there is usually a fourth 'work' book that I take with me so I have something to read during down times at whatever job I'm pursuing. And I don't stick to any particular genre. As I sit here typing, I am surrounded at my desk by works of fantasy, philosophy, religion, current events, biography, history, and social commentary. On the shelves across the room from my desk, I can see works by Victor Hugo, Ellery Queen, Stephen R. Donaldson, C. J. Cherryh, Charles Dickens, Alexander Hamilton, Amity Shlaes, James Madison, Piers Anthony, John Jay, Isaac Asimov, Glenn Beck, Alexander Dumas, Arthur C. Clark, E. E. Cummings, and, well, you get the idea. I'm well-read.
But of everything I've read throughout my life...out of every genre and style...there has been one author that has had the most profound impact on my life. I didn't mention him in the previous list of authors because, as anyone who has ever visited the den of chaos that is my home can probably tell you, there is at least one of this author's works on every bookcase, shelf, and desk I use throughout the house. This man became the voice for my thoughts and beliefs before I honed the skills and gained the confidence that now allow me to organize them into written form myself. Right about now, my immediate family is seriously considering moving on to something else, thinking to themselves, "Oh, God! He's going on about him again, isn't he!" Yes, ladies, this post is about Robert Anson Heinlein.
At this point, I think its only fair in the interest of full disclosure to let you know that I am a regular member of The Heinlein Society. Between Wikipedia and the Society's own extensive biography on Mr. Heinlein located at http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/biographies.html , his life has been thoroughly chronicled, so I won't go into any great detail on his 'speeds and feeds', but here are some of the highlights...
At the time of his birth on 7 July 1907, Robert's family was living with his maternal grandfather, Dr. Alva Lyle, in Butler, MO. A few months later, his family moved to Kansas City, MO where Robert lived until he was admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1925. In 1929, Midshipman First Class Heinlein graduated 20th in a class of 243 and was commissioned with the rank of Ensign. While at Annapolis, Robert was one of the top-ranked fencers in the U.S., as well as an excellent student. In fact, he actually stood 5th in academics in his class, but disciplinary issues brought his overall rank down to 20th. Unfortunately, Heinlein's Naval career was cut short when he was retired in August 1934 as "Medically Unfit for Service - Totally and Permanently Disabled." After serving three years aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington, Heinlein was assigned to the destroyer U.S.S. Roper. Because the smaller Roper was less stable and constantly rolling, Ensign Heinlein developed chronic seasickness. Within a year, his weakened condition resulted in him contracting pulmonary tuberculosis, thus ending his Naval career.
I mentioned his home and his discharge because these two things would go on to color nearly all his writings over the years. If his first choice of career, the Navy, hadn't been denied him, he probably would never have started writing. But once he did start writing, his mid-American 'Bible Belt' upbringing is reflected in most of his major characters. Additionally, the character of Dr. Ira Johnson, the maternal grandfather of one of his most popular characters, Lazarus Long nee Woodrow Wilson Smith, bore a strong resemblance to his own maternal grandfather, Dr. Alva Lyle; and it is generally accepted that most of his strongest female characters were based on a woman he may never have met if he had continued in active duty with the Navy, and who became the great love of his life...his third wife, Virginia Gerstenfeld Heinlein.
My first exposure to Robert Heinlein was in 1978 when I picked up a copy of The Past Through Tomorrow at a used book sale. The cover caught my eye...an old man in a primitive-looking space suit, sitting on the helmet, apparently on the Moon, looking fondly at the Earth. That, plus it only cost a Quarter. When I started reading it, I was blown away. The Past Through Tomorrow was a collection of Heinlein's short stories and novellas that make up what John Campbell once termed "Heinlein's Future History." Campbell had organized them in chronological order based on where they occur on this fictional time line rather than the order in which they were written. I was swept up in the richness of the universe Heinlein had created. Every single story in this collection was a blend of social commentary, speculative fiction, and science fantasy. Heinlein had taken very plausible situations, dropped in characters the reader could care about, and placed them in a futuristic setting so that he could turn the situation about and examine it from all directions. It was brilliant! There was even a short story called The Roads Must Roll that anticipated the creation of the Interstate Highway System and could have been a metaphor for the 1974 long haul truckers' strike, even though it had been written 1940.
After finishing The Past Through Tomorrow, I was hungry to read more of Heinlein's works. I quickly went through Red Planet, Starship Troopers, and Glory Road. The more I read, the more I found that Heinlein seemed to possess an uncanny ability to see 'the big picture' when it came to the effects a new technology would have on civilization. He didn't just stop at the obvious 'primary' and 'secondary' effects, but drilled down to and examined the corollary effects that most 'experts' never even considered. For example:
The Automated Assembly Line process allowed Henry Ford to mass-produce inexpensive automobiles >>> The widespread use of inexpensive, mass-produced automobiles led to the disappearance of the horse as a common sight in America >>> Most Americans now have almost no real experience with horses and do not have even basic knowledge and skills that were considered commonplace just a single generation before mine >>> The widespread use of the automobile also makes society more 'mobile', allowing people to travel further distances in a shorter period of time >>> Social mores begin to loosen up as people realize that the automobile allows them to get away from those who would gossip about their behavior >>> Families begin to spread out around the country as the automobile makes it easier for them to return home for visits more often where previous generations almost never traveled more than twenty miles from their home over their entire lifetimes >>> 'Urban sprawl' begins as people begin to realize they no longer have to live and work in the same neighborhood, but instead can 'commute' to work.
This is just one example of how Heinlein examined in his works the way a single technological advance had effects that branched out and spread through several generations. Other topics he foresaw and examined while they were barely beyond the theoretical stage included (but weren't limited to) the safe generation of nuclear power, the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction that would proliferate during the Cold War, and the intellectual and cultural gap that could (and most likely will) occur between the early settlers of extraterrestrial colonies (such as the Moon or Mars) and the 'groundhogs' who remain behind, just to name a few. His insights into the workings of society as it related to its environment and the technologies used were almost prophetic.
However, no matter how prophetic his insights may have seemed, Heinlein was first and foremost an engineer, by both temperament and training. His engineering skills led him to either postulate or even invent mechanical devices such as 'waldoes' and the waterbed in his stories. In fact, because Heinlein had described waterbeds in detail in three different stories (Beyond This Horizon, Double Star, and Stranger in a Strange Land) decades before, an application submitted by Charles Hall in 1968 for a patent for the water bed was denied. Heinlein even commented on the waterbed in his 1980 story collection, Expanded Universe:
"I designed the waterbed during years as a bed patient in the middle thirties; a pump to control water level, side supports to permit one to float rather than simply lying on a not very soft water filled mattress. Thermostatic control of temperature, safety interfaces to avoid all possibility of electric shock, waterproof box to make a leak no more important than a leaky hot water bottle rather than a domestic disaster, calculation of floor loads (important!), internal rubber mattress and lighting, reading, and eating arrangements—an attempt to design the perfect hospital bed by one who had spent too damn much time in hospital beds."
Robert and Ginny Heinlein didn't limit their social activism to fiction. As I was immersing myself in his writings, I found a 1958 newspaper article at the library written by the Heinleins and entitled, "Who are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?", in response to a full-page ad placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (a sub-committee of the American Socialist Party) calling for the U.S. to unilaterally end nuclear testing. What became known as the "Patrick Henry Campaign" was rooted in the outrage they felt at what they believed to be an irresponsible policy blunder at the height of the Cold War. It was refreshing to see an opinion that I had felt but could not vocalize so succinctly put into words. I began to see a kindred spirit in Heinlein. Philosophically and politically, he became my mentor.
As I got to know the man behind the tales, I came to see a passionate, dedicated man who was deeply in love with his soul mate, and for whom words such as 'duty,' 'honor,' and 'integrity' were more than a passing fad. I saw a gifted man who, even though he had been a Socialist in his youth, was open-minded and intelligent enough to allow his beliefs to grow and evolve as he gained life experience and identified the morally-bankrupt fallacies of the socialist philosophy. Heinlein helped to cement within me a love of the United States as created by our Founders and a sense of wonder at the natural beauty of our world and the Universe in general. He also helped me to learn to keep an open mind and view things from all different angles, and not just through a narrow tunnel of dogma created by the demagogues in power. Above all, he provided the mortar for the foundation laid by my parents, the foundation of principles by which I live my life to this day. At the end of the day, Heinlein made it cool in an era of moral relativism to believe, "...that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness..."
So, on this, the 102nd anniversary of his birth, I felt moved to share with you, my friends and family, the reason I sometimes seem obsessed with Robert A. Heinlein. In my humble opinion, Heinlein's keen intelligence, prophetic insight, easy way of communicating with his readers, and his belief in something larger than himself make him the greatest author of the Twentieth Century. If you have never read Heinlein, then I encourage you to pick up a copy of either The Past Through Tomorrow or Expanded Universe and introduce yourself to him. As you read, look beyond the gadgets, the fantastic settings, and the technical jargon. Allow yourself to experience the plot and the characters. If you do, I feel confident that you will find the joy in his writings that I always have.
Until next time, best regards...
© 2009 James P. Rice
Those of you who know me know that one of my most enduring (and not necessarily endearing) traits is that I'm a voracious reader. To me, reading is almost an addiction. At any given time, I am usually reading three or four books...not at the same time, just at different times of the day. I usually have my 'car' book that I keep in the glove box of my primary mode of transportation, my 'meal' book that I only read at mealtimes, and my 'bed' book that I use to help me get to sleep. In addition to these three, there is usually a fourth 'work' book that I take with me so I have something to read during down times at whatever job I'm pursuing. And I don't stick to any particular genre. As I sit here typing, I am surrounded at my desk by works of fantasy, philosophy, religion, current events, biography, history, and social commentary. On the shelves across the room from my desk, I can see works by Victor Hugo, Ellery Queen, Stephen R. Donaldson, C. J. Cherryh, Charles Dickens, Alexander Hamilton, Amity Shlaes, James Madison, Piers Anthony, John Jay, Isaac Asimov, Glenn Beck, Alexander Dumas, Arthur C. Clark, E. E. Cummings, and, well, you get the idea. I'm well-read.
But of everything I've read throughout my life...out of every genre and style...there has been one author that has had the most profound impact on my life. I didn't mention him in the previous list of authors because, as anyone who has ever visited the den of chaos that is my home can probably tell you, there is at least one of this author's works on every bookcase, shelf, and desk I use throughout the house. This man became the voice for my thoughts and beliefs before I honed the skills and gained the confidence that now allow me to organize them into written form myself. Right about now, my immediate family is seriously considering moving on to something else, thinking to themselves, "Oh, God! He's going on about him again, isn't he!" Yes, ladies, this post is about Robert Anson Heinlein.
At this point, I think its only fair in the interest of full disclosure to let you know that I am a regular member of The Heinlein Society. Between Wikipedia and the Society's own extensive biography on Mr. Heinlein located at http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/biographies.html , his life has been thoroughly chronicled, so I won't go into any great detail on his 'speeds and feeds', but here are some of the highlights...
At the time of his birth on 7 July 1907, Robert's family was living with his maternal grandfather, Dr. Alva Lyle, in Butler, MO. A few months later, his family moved to Kansas City, MO where Robert lived until he was admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1925. In 1929, Midshipman First Class Heinlein graduated 20th in a class of 243 and was commissioned with the rank of Ensign. While at Annapolis, Robert was one of the top-ranked fencers in the U.S., as well as an excellent student. In fact, he actually stood 5th in academics in his class, but disciplinary issues brought his overall rank down to 20th. Unfortunately, Heinlein's Naval career was cut short when he was retired in August 1934 as "Medically Unfit for Service - Totally and Permanently Disabled." After serving three years aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington, Heinlein was assigned to the destroyer U.S.S. Roper. Because the smaller Roper was less stable and constantly rolling, Ensign Heinlein developed chronic seasickness. Within a year, his weakened condition resulted in him contracting pulmonary tuberculosis, thus ending his Naval career.
I mentioned his home and his discharge because these two things would go on to color nearly all his writings over the years. If his first choice of career, the Navy, hadn't been denied him, he probably would never have started writing. But once he did start writing, his mid-American 'Bible Belt' upbringing is reflected in most of his major characters. Additionally, the character of Dr. Ira Johnson, the maternal grandfather of one of his most popular characters, Lazarus Long nee Woodrow Wilson Smith, bore a strong resemblance to his own maternal grandfather, Dr. Alva Lyle; and it is generally accepted that most of his strongest female characters were based on a woman he may never have met if he had continued in active duty with the Navy, and who became the great love of his life...his third wife, Virginia Gerstenfeld Heinlein.
My first exposure to Robert Heinlein was in 1978 when I picked up a copy of The Past Through Tomorrow at a used book sale. The cover caught my eye...an old man in a primitive-looking space suit, sitting on the helmet, apparently on the Moon, looking fondly at the Earth. That, plus it only cost a Quarter. When I started reading it, I was blown away. The Past Through Tomorrow was a collection of Heinlein's short stories and novellas that make up what John Campbell once termed "Heinlein's Future History." Campbell had organized them in chronological order based on where they occur on this fictional time line rather than the order in which they were written. I was swept up in the richness of the universe Heinlein had created. Every single story in this collection was a blend of social commentary, speculative fiction, and science fantasy. Heinlein had taken very plausible situations, dropped in characters the reader could care about, and placed them in a futuristic setting so that he could turn the situation about and examine it from all directions. It was brilliant! There was even a short story called The Roads Must Roll that anticipated the creation of the Interstate Highway System and could have been a metaphor for the 1974 long haul truckers' strike, even though it had been written 1940.
After finishing The Past Through Tomorrow, I was hungry to read more of Heinlein's works. I quickly went through Red Planet, Starship Troopers, and Glory Road. The more I read, the more I found that Heinlein seemed to possess an uncanny ability to see 'the big picture' when it came to the effects a new technology would have on civilization. He didn't just stop at the obvious 'primary' and 'secondary' effects, but drilled down to and examined the corollary effects that most 'experts' never even considered. For example:
The Automated Assembly Line process allowed Henry Ford to mass-produce inexpensive automobiles >>> The widespread use of inexpensive, mass-produced automobiles led to the disappearance of the horse as a common sight in America >>> Most Americans now have almost no real experience with horses and do not have even basic knowledge and skills that were considered commonplace just a single generation before mine >>> The widespread use of the automobile also makes society more 'mobile', allowing people to travel further distances in a shorter period of time >>> Social mores begin to loosen up as people realize that the automobile allows them to get away from those who would gossip about their behavior >>> Families begin to spread out around the country as the automobile makes it easier for them to return home for visits more often where previous generations almost never traveled more than twenty miles from their home over their entire lifetimes >>> 'Urban sprawl' begins as people begin to realize they no longer have to live and work in the same neighborhood, but instead can 'commute' to work.
This is just one example of how Heinlein examined in his works the way a single technological advance had effects that branched out and spread through several generations. Other topics he foresaw and examined while they were barely beyond the theoretical stage included (but weren't limited to) the safe generation of nuclear power, the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction that would proliferate during the Cold War, and the intellectual and cultural gap that could (and most likely will) occur between the early settlers of extraterrestrial colonies (such as the Moon or Mars) and the 'groundhogs' who remain behind, just to name a few. His insights into the workings of society as it related to its environment and the technologies used were almost prophetic.
However, no matter how prophetic his insights may have seemed, Heinlein was first and foremost an engineer, by both temperament and training. His engineering skills led him to either postulate or even invent mechanical devices such as 'waldoes' and the waterbed in his stories. In fact, because Heinlein had described waterbeds in detail in three different stories (Beyond This Horizon, Double Star, and Stranger in a Strange Land) decades before, an application submitted by Charles Hall in 1968 for a patent for the water bed was denied. Heinlein even commented on the waterbed in his 1980 story collection, Expanded Universe:
"I designed the waterbed during years as a bed patient in the middle thirties; a pump to control water level, side supports to permit one to float rather than simply lying on a not very soft water filled mattress. Thermostatic control of temperature, safety interfaces to avoid all possibility of electric shock, waterproof box to make a leak no more important than a leaky hot water bottle rather than a domestic disaster, calculation of floor loads (important!), internal rubber mattress and lighting, reading, and eating arrangements—an attempt to design the perfect hospital bed by one who had spent too damn much time in hospital beds."
Robert and Ginny Heinlein didn't limit their social activism to fiction. As I was immersing myself in his writings, I found a 1958 newspaper article at the library written by the Heinleins and entitled, "Who are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?", in response to a full-page ad placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (a sub-committee of the American Socialist Party) calling for the U.S. to unilaterally end nuclear testing. What became known as the "Patrick Henry Campaign" was rooted in the outrage they felt at what they believed to be an irresponsible policy blunder at the height of the Cold War. It was refreshing to see an opinion that I had felt but could not vocalize so succinctly put into words. I began to see a kindred spirit in Heinlein. Philosophically and politically, he became my mentor.
As I got to know the man behind the tales, I came to see a passionate, dedicated man who was deeply in love with his soul mate, and for whom words such as 'duty,' 'honor,' and 'integrity' were more than a passing fad. I saw a gifted man who, even though he had been a Socialist in his youth, was open-minded and intelligent enough to allow his beliefs to grow and evolve as he gained life experience and identified the morally-bankrupt fallacies of the socialist philosophy. Heinlein helped to cement within me a love of the United States as created by our Founders and a sense of wonder at the natural beauty of our world and the Universe in general. He also helped me to learn to keep an open mind and view things from all different angles, and not just through a narrow tunnel of dogma created by the demagogues in power. Above all, he provided the mortar for the foundation laid by my parents, the foundation of principles by which I live my life to this day. At the end of the day, Heinlein made it cool in an era of moral relativism to believe, "...that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness..."
So, on this, the 102nd anniversary of his birth, I felt moved to share with you, my friends and family, the reason I sometimes seem obsessed with Robert A. Heinlein. In my humble opinion, Heinlein's keen intelligence, prophetic insight, easy way of communicating with his readers, and his belief in something larger than himself make him the greatest author of the Twentieth Century. If you have never read Heinlein, then I encourage you to pick up a copy of either The Past Through Tomorrow or Expanded Universe and introduce yourself to him. As you read, look beyond the gadgets, the fantastic settings, and the technical jargon. Allow yourself to experience the plot and the characters. If you do, I feel confident that you will find the joy in his writings that I always have.
Until next time, best regards...
© 2009 James P. Rice
29 June 2009
An Open Letter to My Better Half...
Its sometimes amazing how one event can change your life. For me, that event was the day I first met my wife, Marilyn.
At the time, Marilyn was dating a friend of mine. When he introduced her to me, it was as if I had just experienced the first sunrise of my life. Something inside me came alive and whispered, “that is the woman with whom you will spend the rest of your life.” However, even at 19 years old, I was already a very honorable, loyal, noble individual. My personal code of honor precluded me from ‘making a move’ on a woman a friend was dating. So, I waited. That voice inside me said her relationship with my friend would not last. Just over two months later, they broke up.
I waited some more. I wanted to give my friend some time to get over Marilyn and move on before I asked her out. I also didn’t want to just be the ‘rebound boyfriend.’ Finally, my friend had moved on and was dating someone else. Still considerate of his feelings, I asked him if he would mind if I asked Marilyn out. He said it wouldn’t, so I called her up. Twenty-eight years ago today, Marilyn and I went on our first date.
On Monday, 29 June 1981, I took Marilyn to dinner at the restaurant owned by my late cousin, Don Willis, and then took her to see Blade Runner. What’s really strange about this is that, based on our schedules and things that happened in our lives around this day, Marilyn and I are both 100% positive that this was in 1981. According to the Internet Movie Database, Blade Runner was released on 25 June 1982. I guess our date that night included passage back and forth through some sort of temporal anomaly.
A great man once wrote that men are more sentimental than women. I guess that’s true because, seven and a half years later when I finally convinced her to marry me and we were planning our wedding, I insisted that we get married on the anniversary of that first date. However, since June 29th fell on a Thursday in 1989 and the following weekend was basically the Independence Day weekend, we decided to move the date up to Saturday, 24 June 1989. It may not have been the exact day, but we honored the spirit of that first date.
Today marks the twenty-eighth anniversary of that first date. Don’t get me wrong…we aren’t living in a Disney movie, so our life together has been a roller coaster ride. But our love and commitment to each other, as well as the time we took to get to know each other before we wed, have all worked together to make certain that our union is a little bit stronger every day.
Happy 28th (First Date) Anniversary, my darling Princess! I love you more today than I did then, but no where near as much as I will tomorrow.
With all my love…
© 2009 James P. Rice
At the time, Marilyn was dating a friend of mine. When he introduced her to me, it was as if I had just experienced the first sunrise of my life. Something inside me came alive and whispered, “that is the woman with whom you will spend the rest of your life.” However, even at 19 years old, I was already a very honorable, loyal, noble individual. My personal code of honor precluded me from ‘making a move’ on a woman a friend was dating. So, I waited. That voice inside me said her relationship with my friend would not last. Just over two months later, they broke up.
I waited some more. I wanted to give my friend some time to get over Marilyn and move on before I asked her out. I also didn’t want to just be the ‘rebound boyfriend.’ Finally, my friend had moved on and was dating someone else. Still considerate of his feelings, I asked him if he would mind if I asked Marilyn out. He said it wouldn’t, so I called her up. Twenty-eight years ago today, Marilyn and I went on our first date.
On Monday, 29 June 1981, I took Marilyn to dinner at the restaurant owned by my late cousin, Don Willis, and then took her to see Blade Runner. What’s really strange about this is that, based on our schedules and things that happened in our lives around this day, Marilyn and I are both 100% positive that this was in 1981. According to the Internet Movie Database, Blade Runner was released on 25 June 1982. I guess our date that night included passage back and forth through some sort of temporal anomaly.
A great man once wrote that men are more sentimental than women. I guess that’s true because, seven and a half years later when I finally convinced her to marry me and we were planning our wedding, I insisted that we get married on the anniversary of that first date. However, since June 29th fell on a Thursday in 1989 and the following weekend was basically the Independence Day weekend, we decided to move the date up to Saturday, 24 June 1989. It may not have been the exact day, but we honored the spirit of that first date.
Today marks the twenty-eighth anniversary of that first date. Don’t get me wrong…we aren’t living in a Disney movie, so our life together has been a roller coaster ride. But our love and commitment to each other, as well as the time we took to get to know each other before we wed, have all worked together to make certain that our union is a little bit stronger every day.
Happy 28th (First Date) Anniversary, my darling Princess! I love you more today than I did then, but no where near as much as I will tomorrow.
With all my love…
© 2009 James P. Rice
25 June 2009
Book Review: "Atlas Shrugged"
Good day, friends and family!
In between some of my ranting and raving, I thought I'd share my thoughts on some of the reading material that passes across my desk. So, here we go...
Recently, I re-read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." This novel is incredibly relevant for the times in which we are living and should be required reading for every high school Junior in the country. Even though it was originally published in 1957, it could almost have been written today.
For those of you who haven't read it, this novel is basically the struggle of the protagonists, Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden, against the U.S. government and the snobbish, elitist intelligentsia that controls the political power in the the system. Dagny and Hank represent the last of the intellectually honest, creative minds of industry who are the driving force of the 'motor of the world,' while the key antagonists such as Dagny's brother James, Hank's brother, Phillip, and political appointee Wesley Mouch, represent the morally bankrupt, parasitic, incompetent 'looters' who are the sand in the cogs of that same motor. The protagonists of the book represent the 'prime movers' who embody the very principles upon which the U.S. was founded: the Inalienable Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property. The 'looters' are proponents of an all-powerful central government, 'progressive' taxation, industry controlled by the trinity of government ownership/big labor/and oppressive regulation, and the redistribution of wealth from those who create it to those who demand it. While Dagny and Hank try to find the creator of a cutting-edge new motor and answer the question, "Who is John Galt?", the looters reign over the collapse of an economy overburdened with fascist over-regulation, confiscatory taxes, and the methodical destruction of the nation's industrial infrastructure by incompetent fools who don't think it's 'fair' that one company should be more successful than the others just because the successful company was 'lucky' enough to reliably offer better products or services.
For a more thorough synopsis and discussion on the philosophy of the book, I encourage you to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged .
The relevance of the book was best summarized recently by Yaron Brook, Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute, in an article published in The Wall Street Journal on 15 March 2009:
"In Atlas Shrugged, Rand tells the story of the U.S. economy crumbling under the weight of crushing government interventions and regulations. Meanwhile, blaming greed and the free market, Washington responds with more controls that only deepen the crisis. Sound familiar?"
While it is a work of fiction, and even contains a few elements of science fiction, I honestly believe that Atlas Shrugged is one of several publications critical to mentally preparing ourselves against being doomed to repeat history. Many people over the last couple of years have been looking for an "Archduke Ferdinand" moment...an incident that politicos would use to trigger a popular uprising against the established system. Personally, I think the cowardly terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 were, en toto, that moment and that we are now on the verge of a "John Galt" moment.
My friends, 'Atlas' is about to shrug. When he does, will you be part of the burden of which he is relieving himself, or will you be one of those brushing the parasites off your shoulders?
Until next time, best regards...
© 2009 James P. Rice
In between some of my ranting and raving, I thought I'd share my thoughts on some of the reading material that passes across my desk. So, here we go...
Recently, I re-read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." This novel is incredibly relevant for the times in which we are living and should be required reading for every high school Junior in the country. Even though it was originally published in 1957, it could almost have been written today.
For those of you who haven't read it, this novel is basically the struggle of the protagonists, Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden, against the U.S. government and the snobbish, elitist intelligentsia that controls the political power in the the system. Dagny and Hank represent the last of the intellectually honest, creative minds of industry who are the driving force of the 'motor of the world,' while the key antagonists such as Dagny's brother James, Hank's brother, Phillip, and political appointee Wesley Mouch, represent the morally bankrupt, parasitic, incompetent 'looters' who are the sand in the cogs of that same motor. The protagonists of the book represent the 'prime movers' who embody the very principles upon which the U.S. was founded: the Inalienable Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property. The 'looters' are proponents of an all-powerful central government, 'progressive' taxation, industry controlled by the trinity of government ownership/big labor/and oppressive regulation, and the redistribution of wealth from those who create it to those who demand it. While Dagny and Hank try to find the creator of a cutting-edge new motor and answer the question, "Who is John Galt?", the looters reign over the collapse of an economy overburdened with fascist over-regulation, confiscatory taxes, and the methodical destruction of the nation's industrial infrastructure by incompetent fools who don't think it's 'fair' that one company should be more successful than the others just because the successful company was 'lucky' enough to reliably offer better products or services.
For a more thorough synopsis and discussion on the philosophy of the book, I encourage you to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged .
The relevance of the book was best summarized recently by Yaron Brook, Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute, in an article published in The Wall Street Journal on 15 March 2009:
"In Atlas Shrugged, Rand tells the story of the U.S. economy crumbling under the weight of crushing government interventions and regulations. Meanwhile, blaming greed and the free market, Washington responds with more controls that only deepen the crisis. Sound familiar?"
While it is a work of fiction, and even contains a few elements of science fiction, I honestly believe that Atlas Shrugged is one of several publications critical to mentally preparing ourselves against being doomed to repeat history. Many people over the last couple of years have been looking for an "Archduke Ferdinand" moment...an incident that politicos would use to trigger a popular uprising against the established system. Personally, I think the cowardly terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 were, en toto, that moment and that we are now on the verge of a "John Galt" moment.
My friends, 'Atlas' is about to shrug. When he does, will you be part of the burden of which he is relieving himself, or will you be one of those brushing the parasites off your shoulders?
Until next time, best regards...
© 2009 James P. Rice
10 June 2009
An Open Letter to the Motion Picture Industry
The Women (1939)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Fast and the Furious (1955)
The Shaggy Dog (1959)
The Nutty Professor (1963)
The Pink Panther (1963)
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
The Flight of the
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (1974)
The Omen (1976)
Halloween (1978)
Friday the 13th (1980)
Prom Night (1980)
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
The House on Sorority Row (1983)
Dear Motion Picture Industry,
I’d like to start this letter with a little pop quiz. Every one of the seventeen movies listed above have something in common. What do you think it is? Go ahead; take a moment to look over the list and think about it. Here are a few hints to help you out:
First off, it’s not their genre. While it’s heavy on Horror Movies, the list contains Comedies, Dramas, Science Fiction films, Action/Adventure films, and Thrillers.
Do they have a common theme in their plot? Nope. As with the genres, the themes are many and varied.
Did the same person appear in all of them? Again, no. While a couple may have cast members in common, the actors appearing in these films can also be described as, “many and varied.”
Writer? Director? Producer? No, no, and no. Once again, there may be some overlap in the creative teams; but overall, all seventeen come from different people and companies.
Have you gotten to the point where you’re thinking, “Well, what is it? It’s summertime and we’re not supposed to think this hard when we’re off the clock!”
Okay, okay. Here it is: the common thread is that all seventeen of these movies have been remade (and in some cases, ‘re-visioned’) within the last thirteen years…fifteen of them in the last five years. In fact, nine of the seventeen remakes were released in just the last eighteen months. Here’s the list again with the remake dates added:
The Women (1939) (2008)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (2008)
The Fast and the Furious (1955) (2001)
The Shaggy Dog (1959) (2006)
The Nutty Professor (1963) (1996)
The Pink Panther (1963) (2006)
The Last Man on Earth (1964) (2007) (entitled, I Am Legend)
The Flight of the
The Last House on the Left (1972) (2009)
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (1974) (2009)
The Omen (1976) (2006)
Halloween (1978) (2007)
Friday the 13th (1980) (2009)
Prom Night (1980) (2008)
My Bloody Valentine (1981) (2009)
The House on Sorority Row (1983) (2009)
The question with most of these movies is, “Why?” While most of the films on this list are considered ‘fun entertainment’ by significantly large groups of people, they aren’t (with a couple of exceptions) what you’d call Great Cinema. In fact, there are a couple I believe the world would never miss if they were to suddenly vanish from video stores tomorrow.
Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with a producer or director revisiting a film on which they had to make compromises, or ‘settle,’ due to issues such as a limited budget or studio pressure. I have no problem with these same people updating their work from decades ago with newer technologies (I love the digitally remastered Star Wars movies and episodes of the original Star Trek series). I don’t even have a problem with producers or directors…or even actors… presenting their own adaptation of literary classics that haven’t been produced in a generation or two…as long as they stick to the original story.
No, my issue lies with studios and production companies who bang out a remake just for the sake of a quick buck. These remakes are usually worse than the original movie which, in some cases, wasn’t that great to begin with. In many cases, the remake is actually a ‘re-visioning’ (as opposed to a revision) that is barely recognizable. A good example of this is last year’s version of one of the all-time great
Twentieth Century Fox, Academy Award-winning director Robert Wise, and Academy Award-winning script writer Edmund H. North created a near-perfect film when they adapted Harry Bates’ short story, Farewell to the Master, for the big screen. The movie they delivered in 1951 was (and still is) a brilliant blend of science fantasy, speculative fiction, and social commentary, as well as being an allegorical look at the Cold War.
Fast-forward to 2008. 3 Arts Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox present The Day the Earth Stood Still; scripted by David Scarpa, directed by Scott Derrickson, starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, and billed as, “A remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film…” However, the title of the movie and the names of some of the characters are where the similarities to the 1951 classic end. Derrickson and Scarpa changed the name of Helen Benson’s son from “Billy” to “Jacob”. The location was moved from
Look, movie moguls, if you wanted to create a sci-fi flick that promotes your favorite agenda, have the cojones to put yourself out there and create something original. Don’t just ride the coattails of a classic work that is loved by millions so you can shove your views down the public’s throats. Unfortunately, The Day the Earth Stood Still is just one example of a growing trend. This coming October, 2929 Productions is releasing an adaptation of the best selling novel, The Road. This version, scripted by Joe Penhall and directed by John Hillcoat, appears to be heading the same direction as The Day the Earth Stood Still. Instead of sticking to a nuclear attack as the apocalyptic event that drives the story’s plot, the trailer for the movie implies that it has been changed to an environmental catastrophe tied to ‘global climate change.’ Once again, you are blatantly using someone else’s work to further your own political agenda. Shame on you!
You supposedly have access to some of the greatest creative minds of the 21st Century, so use them and be creative. I don’t know if you’re practicing a new form of recycling, if the creative wells have dried up, or if you’ve just plain gotten lazy, but there has been a serious lack of creativity from
Personally, I don’t believe this lack of creativity is due to arrogance on your part. Instead, I believe that the creative filmmakers on both coasts are having their creativity choked off by the ‘bean counters’ calling the shots at the major studios. They don’t care about the filmmakers’ craft or the legacy of a film. Their only concern is the bottom line…the guaranteed ROIC*, the number of Points they have to give to the ‘face’ they hired for the box office draw (whether that ‘face’ is right for the part or not), the residuals the company can get out of foreign distribution and
Another example of ‘re-visioning’ is the recent Star Trek blockbuster. It is a great movie…not a great Star Trek movie...a great movie. Period. I loved this movie. The problem is that it should have been made as an original project with unique characters and not as a ‘prequel’ to a franchise with a fictional universe firmly established in hundreds of hours of television and ten feature films. Director J.J. Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman created a brilliant science fantasy adventure that would easily have stood on its own without completely reinventing the Star Trek universe. Quite frankly, this movie, as an original movie, could very well have been to 2009 what Star Wars was to 1977. It could very well have launched a new franchise that would have placed Abrams, Kurtzman, and Orci alongside Roddenberry and Lucas in sci-fi history. It’s a shame that
So, my dear motion picture industry, I challenge you to restore the creativity to what’s supposed to be a creative industry. Enough with the excessive remakes and ‘re-visionings.’ An occasional remake is okay, but remember: it should be the exception and not the rule. Instead of having your script writers rework old material, encourage them to create something new and exciting. If there is a theme or plot from the past you liked but always felt could have been done better, do it, but make it original and just give the original story a “suggested by” credit. The ball is in your court. Show some courage and have faith in the intelligence of the American public. All I ask is please don’t make a sixth version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers!
Best regards…
* Return On Invested Capital
© 2009 James P. Rice
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