A Fast and Furious Life and a Fast and Furious Death

Paul Walker had it all, brains, good looks, lots of talent and a big heart.  He should have had a charmed life and I guess for a while he did but his love of velocity cut it short, just as he was getting into the prime of his life.  One can not look at his life without feeling a sense of loss, of waste even.  His heart was always in the right place but his brain wasn't.  He gambled with his life once too often in his short life and one day he lost, as it was almost predicted he would.  He was a thrill seeker who needed that adreline risk the way an alcoholic needs a drink.  People of his nature thrive on risk, love the feeling of aliveness and invencibility risk gives them.  They are the mountain climbers of the world, the car racers of the world, the great explorers of the world.  And most of them die tragically young.  And for what?  For the chance to experience life to the fullest?  There are many ways to experience life to the fullest that doesn't have to involve crazy, excessive risk.  Most of them are fatalists and they will tell you "I could get killed crossing the street, I could get murdered walking out the door", but that's a fallacy.  You don't court death time and time again and expect to live a long life.  It simply doesn't work that way.  One day things will catch up with you and you'll lose your life senselessly, and unlike acting there are no second takes.  He did a lot of good in his short life and there's no telling what else he could have done if he lived a long life, but his infatuation with danger killed him.        The whole thing is incredibly sad and tragic.

Charles Krauthamer - A Life Well Lived

I watched the moving, inspirational Fox special on Charles Krauthammer the other night and walked away admiring him more than ever.  What a man!  What a brain!  What a life!  He went from a vibrant, energetic young man in the spring of his life to a permanent wheelchair due to a tragic accident, but he never stopped living, loving, learning, creating and contributing.  Sure he is was blessed with innate brillance but when the fates turned, he didn't indulge in self pity.  He used that prodigious brain of  his to keep on loving life, to come to terms with his fate in an almost regal manner.  His life isn't easy but he's blessed with amazing fortitude and a loving family.  He's also the most admired man in America for his intellect and substance.  Life is full of ironies and if it wasn't for the accident, his path might have been different and he wouldn't belong to us the way he does now. So that tragic event was our gain.  I hope many people watched it and discovered him, the way I did a long time ago, for this giant of a man has much to teach us.

The Great Gatsby

I watched this movie last night from the comfort of my bed, and was a bit disappointed.  While it was certainly visually beautiful in a campy, grand sort of way, it fell short of expectations.  It simply never came to life.  Most of the characters seemed caricatures of themselves rather than real people, especially Joel Edgerton as the character of Tom Buchanan who was simply too hideous to be believable.  As the main character, Dicaprio tries real hard but he only succeeds in getting on our nerves with the trite expression "old sport" which he uses ad nauseum throughout the entire movie.  Carey Mulligan never demonstrates why she was able to inspire such a lifelong passion on Gatsby.  She seems frightened, out of her element and a little waif in a role that demands "allure and a certain femme fatale" quality.  That said, she looks a lot like Michelle Williams but with none of the depth, radiance and chameleon quality Miss Williams has already shown transforming herself.  Tobbey Maguire as Nick is also a caricature, and I found myself simply enjoying the scenery, the dresses, the sumptuosity of the era and not getting into the story at all.  I'm sure Scott Fitzgerald never intended for that to happen and that's why his novel has stood the test of time.  This movie for all its pretense and arrogance certainly doesn't.

My House is your House - The Egypt I knew

The turmoil in Egypt is particularly painful to me.  I was there a long time ago when Egypt was under Mubarak and it was a warm and friendly place to visit.  The staff at the hotel couldn't be more helpful as well as the local guides who took pleasure and pride in showing me their legendary Egypt.  I loved all the famous sights, of course, but there was something special about the people.  They all had the attitude that tourists were guests in their house and that it was their job to make us feel at home and comfortable.  "My house is your house," they would tell me with their smiling faces.  "And we're very happy you decided to visit our beautiful country."   Now that same country is being torn apart by civil war (and don't fool yourself because it is civil war) and their main livelihood which was always tourism is rapidly being eroded.  I was afraid this would  happen with the fall of Mubarak and the election of the subsequent government, but I never imagined that the beautiful Egypt I once knew would descend this quickly into chaos.  If the people under Mubarak felt oppressed and unhappy, they sure gave a good imitation of contentment back then.  The mysterious, beautiful city of Cairo seemed to be thriving under Mubarak.  I felt safe and happy exploring the sights and touring it at night with my affable guide.  I don't want to rewrite history here but we all know what happened, they got rid of Mubarak and this horrible bloodshed, confusion, disorientation and rage is the result.   

God bless all the victims who died in this quagmaire and God bless Egypt, which will always have a fond place in my heart.

Jennifer Lopez - Orgullo Latino - Icono Mundial

He visto los Premios Juventud anoche y me encanto la presentacion de Jennifer y su discurso de aceptacion cuando gano el Premio Juventud.  Claramente vino del corazon y sumo su fabulosa carrera de una manera candida y modesta.  "Siempre he querido cantar, bailar, actuar y entretener," dijo conteniendo las lagrimas.  "Y me alegra tanto saber que lo he logrado."  Ella es realmente una mujer fenomeno que ha trinfado en todos los ramos.  Esta hermosa mujer es un orgullo latino y una inspiracion para millones de artistas aspirantes en el mundo que ven que con ambicion, determinacion, coraje y mucho talento, se puede llegar muy alto.  Su estrella se apago un poco cuando se caso con Mark Anthony porque ella lo permitio por amor, pero ahora libre y en la plenitud de su vida, vuelve a brillar mas intensamente que nunca.  Ella esta simplemente en el mejor momento de su carrera y su vida.  Bravo Jennifer, sigue adelante creando, deleitando y haciendonos vibrar.

A Game of Chess

Edward Snowden seems bent on becoming our worst nightmare, and Russia is playing a game of chess with the U.S. that could have dire consequences for Snowden and our relations with the world.  They have boxed him into a corner and seem determined to keep him there, extracting as much as they can from him in the process and thus thumbing their noses at the U.S.  Those Soviets are pretty clever, aren't they?  Sure they are.  And they're getting away with it too due to the feeble response of the U.S. who should be demanding in no uncertain terms (and applying all kinds of pressures) so that this tortured idealist be returned to the U.S. immediately to face charges before he does any more damage.  Instead we're playing a passive game of chess with the Soviets who are master players themselves and the loser will ultimately be Snowden who already looks different and seems to be slowly becoming unhinged in his self induced prison.  I saw that pathetic news conference with human rights in Russia and he was laughing inappropriately and acting like he was having a very good time when nothing could be farther from the truth.  He's trapped by his own stupidity and he knows it.  The awful realization that he threw away his life for a principle must be starting to gnaw at him.  He must also be beginning to see very clearly how corrupted the other countries he sought refuse in really are, starting with China and Russia, to say nothing of Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia.  Yes Ed Snowden, you blew your life for nothing.  The perfect world you're seeking does not exist, but in your haste to do something, you failed to see that imperfect or not we still live in the greatest country in the world.

Farewell to a Giant

(I wrote this when he was very sick last year in my post below "It's time to let Mandiba Go" and I stand by every word today.  This giant of a man has now flown into eternity and with grace, humility and tremendous gratitude we bid him farewell).

I was in South Africa.  I saw the affection, the well deserved reverance and admiration that educated people, taxi drivers and  the common folk feel for their beloved  Mandiba.  They should use that same love and devotion by letting him go now.  I think his time on this earth is done and he's been called home.  He's earned his rest and  his laurels, this man of the century who changed the world and left it a better place.  Don't keep him alive with machines, don't try to hold onto him.  He wouldn't want that.  He was too heroic, too courageous.  Perhaps the cycle of his life is done and he needs our permission to fly into eternity and immortality.  His was a long, extraordinary life.  We had him for ninety four years.  He saw the fruits of his labor and I'm sure he dies a fulfilled, contented man.  With all the respect and admiration I've always felt for him, I pray for him to go peacefully to his Maker.  It's time.  He's not afraid and we shouldn't either.  He served his purpose on this earth and he has earned his rest.  Mandiba is tired, and I shamelessly appropriated the nickname too because I love him.  I was in Capetown.  I saw the prison where he emerged after so many years, the way way he sustained himself.  He was a man with a mission and that mission has been fulfilled.  Let him go now with love, with gratitude.  Mandiba would want it this way.