The Interview

On Tuesday night Netflix surprised by offering The Interview for instant viewing. This is the film that got North Korea bent out of shape because it pokes fun at "Dear Leader," ("Dear Leader" in black on the right.)

and led (or not) to cyber-hacking Sony Corporation which wasted a lot of money putting this piece of trash together.  Shareholders ought to revolt. If it was not for the controversy created by offending "Dear Leader" and his minions,  this film would have been of no interest to anyone and the master copy of the film would have gone straight to some vault for unreleased films in the Arizona desert.

The story line is two PR guys who specialize in TV nonsense calculated to titillate the masses are going to North Korea to interview "Dear Leader." This comes about because "Dear Leader" allegedly watches every episode of the TV program these nut cases are connected with and wants to be on their show. Hence they are invited to broadcast the show from North Korea. To assure it goes well, "Dear Leader" will write the questions to be put to him. Along the way, the CIA gets wind of this and not an agency to let an opportunity go to waste prevails on the two showmen to kill "Dear Leader." This is where I ought to have shut the film off and gone to something more worthwhile, e.g. picking the lint out from between my toes.

But I hung in there. (What does that say about me? I hung in there for research purposes sounds sort of lame.)

North Korea and "Dear Leader" rightly ought to be insulted by this film. Not because it pokes fun at "Dear Leader," but because it is such a terrible film. It has more usage of the F word as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb than an hour of Lewis Black The dialogue and premise is so stupidly insulting to even the least average among us it makes your skin crawl. Watching it in the privacy of your home is the only redeeming feature: your neighbors won't see you coming out of a viewing at your local theater.

Drones, mothers and deaths

A couple of paragraphs I read recently made me think about the world around me.  And then there was some sad news more personal and closer to home.

"The drone and surveillance program, like much of counterterrorism today, are driven principally by two phenomena: on the one hand, previously unthinkable terrorist threats, and on the other, equally unanticipated technological developments. These twin factors have motivated and enabled security agencies to undertake measures that were once impossible--and to do so in secret, without the awareness, much less approval of the people on whose behalf they act."  (David Cole, Must Counterterrorism Cancel Democracy, The New York Review of Books, January 5, 2015. Pg 26.)

Thirteen years after 9/11, much thinking is looking back. At 9/11, I, and most Americans, did not care what the security agencies did with or without our approval. We only wanted to strike back. We did not ask to be consulted then; why now complain?
 
"When my mom picked me up at the airport from my LaGuardia flight, she was wearing a designer coat she got on eBay. It was too tight, and it made her look like she was hunchback. She hadn't been washing her hair, and she had a pronounced bald spot . It was Thanksgiving, in 2009." (Amie Barrodale, My Mother's Apartment, Harper's, December, 2014.Pg. 38.)

My mom never picked me up at any airport nor bought clothes on eBay. As she got older she was fastidious about her hair and had it done almost weekly. Amie has written ten short stories, all revolving around her mother. 

Closer to home, my brother-in-law, Edward Cooper, died January 8 in Florida early in the morning. A few hours later his sister, Bertha Cooper Westbury McMillan, died in Georgetown, S.C., where she was born and lived all of her life. 

At my marriage to Mary Cooper in 1954, Edward walked his sister down the aisle and gave her in marriage; Bertha and Mary were always close as sisters ought to be. I visited Bertha and her husband Harold, in December 2014.

A new baby for the New Year

Yesterday, when I blogged ending the year I had no idea 2014 was not really over for me or my family. It held one more wonderful surprise. One that was not expected until some time in January. At 8:58 last night my granddaughter-in-law, Rondalyn, gave birth to Steven Francis Archibald and made me a great-grandfather. His father, Steven, text-ed to tell us the newest member of our family weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches long. This is a most happy and delicious moment in his parents life - and my life -  and was made even happier this morning when I learned the baby's name. At the request of his parents, we are not putting any pictures on social websites at this time. They will make that family decision at some future date.

I plan to travel to the Charleston area on the weekend to get a first look at our first great-grandchild. It will be an exciting time. This newest member of our family will find himself loved by all and prayerfully blessed by the Lord.