I love my work
Seriously, where else could I have a one hour meeting to decide to use the processes that are already there? Genius.
Archives
Paying too much?
We all are, from mobile phones to CDs, but
why do firms raise prices more readily than reducing them?
Clash of Globalizations
Bear with me, I don’t comment on political situations often but I’ve been meaning to note down something about this for a while now…
Under a backdrop of a war no-one outside the government seems to want, I’ve been trying to look at the bigger picture. One article that has helped me get to grips with the entire notion of ‘globalism’ and it’s effects, and one I’ve returned to a couple of times was written by Stanley Hoffman: Clash of Globalizations.
Ultimately the discussions will continue, but seems to flex around the following questions:
1. Does a nation protecting an ?open society? (US, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, etc.) have ethical obligations to undemocratic, closed societies and people outside its borders that should constrain foreign policy?
2. Should the modern nation state be thought as an egoistic atom in global relations, ultimately unbound by international law (the ?realist? position), or as a world citizen, cooperating with other nations in a transnational system and abiding by common codes (the ?idealist? position)?
The inclusion and exclusion of ‘states’ from those questions, and their answers remains the issues. We cannot engage Al-Qaeda in discussion, so what options do we have?
And, at present, how does this really relate to the situation in Iraq? Mr.Blair issued a statement today stating that Britain could fall under attack from Al-Qaeda at any time, and we could spend billions and not stop or even accurately anticipate when and where those attacks would be, so if we must, then we will go to war with Iraq.
I have yet to see accurate links between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. If you know someone who has them, please ask them to pass them on.
8 Mile
Eminem’s life story. Well it’s not, but I’m guessing it’s close and it seems to be the accepted basis. Solid, simple story, which, whilst being slightly cliched, works well. The main reason it works, and I know others have been saying it for some time now, is the lead role. Eminem hits the mark without looking out of his depth, if he does other films (and I wouldn’t be suprised if he did) and chooses his roles carefully then he could easily become even bigger than he is at the moment.
Supporting cast are solid enough, Kim Basinger was a disappointment again, hasn’t yet learned that underplaying things works better for her, but the rest of the cast pitched in where needed.
The highlight, which doesn’t fall short despite the hype, is the final rap ‘battle’. Some razor sharp rhymes delivered with astonishing clarity, as we’ve come to expect from Mr.Mathers. Only flaw that I can see is if, having not heard much of Eminem outside his chart entries, people flock to his albums. Might be a bit of a shock for some as his character (Rabbit) in the film is a lot cleaner living and respectful than the Eminem creation Slim Shady is/was.
In short. Good film. As Lyle says, it’s Rocky for the Noughties..
Blogger has been bad
So I’m guessing I’m not the only one who has been quiet today. Off to cinema to see 8 Mile tonight. More on that when I get back!
Oops – Tune of Moment corrected