Descending parallel lines

Four Christmases

Four too many. Godawful.

Quantum of Solace

Action packed. Great chase scenes. Not much else. I liked it.

Religulous

Bill Maher might be the funniest agnostic on Earth. That's why "Religulous" is a scream: it mixes the deepest existential question of God's existence with belly laughs.

Alex and Me

Dr. Irene Pepperberg writes the book pet owners have anticipated since Alex, the brainy 30-year old African Grey parrot died last year. This book beautifully details Alex's achievements and Pepperberg's insights into animal intelligence. For example, Alex demonstrated an understanding of "zero" and could differentiate objects just to name two accomplishments never thought possible.

Here is the NYT review: The Caged Bird Speaks

Rachel Getting Married

2 hours of unrelenting, exhausting torture made worse by a hand held camera. Where was my Dramamine? I felt like my late grandparents were cinematographers with their 50's Super 8: jiggling the shots and not counting to "10". What was Jonathan Demme thinking? Recommend this film to someone you dislike.

The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog

If you are a bird owner this book confirms the joys of having an interactive species in your house and the concomitant sorrow when losing that member of the family. However, I did not have much sympathy for the owner who ignores warnings about letting a flighted bird outside. It's no surprise that does not end well. :(

Fermat's Enigma

The subtitle of this fine book says it all: "The epic quest to solve the world's greatest mathematical problem". Believe it or not, this book was hard to put down. It's well written and combines history, biography and the drama of the 300-year search for the solution to this riddle.

The now late, always great Mitch Mitchell

He died yesterday. The final Experience Hendrix tour came through Louisville a week or two ago and unfortunately, I did not attend.

Drum Solo Sweden, January 9, 1969

Sunset approaches in Cherokee Park

Chicago

3 days before Obama gave his victory speech next door at Grant Park, I took this under the "bean" in Millennium Park. It's a large reflective sculpture and I was underneath. Properly called the Cloud Gate.

Wow. I had not read the following statement by the artist until just now researching for this post:

What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline…so that one will see the clouds kind of floating in, with those very tall buildings reflected in the work. And then, since it is in the form of a gate, the participant, the viewer, will be able to enter into this very deep chamber that does, in a way, the same thing to one's reflection as the exterior of the piece is doing to the reflection of the city around.
-Anish Kapoor

The symbolism of Virginia

Thomas Friedman:
For nothing more symbolically illustrated the final chapter of America’s Civil War than the fact that the Commonwealth of Virginia — the state that once exalted slavery and whose secession from the Union in 1861 gave the Confederacy both strategic weight and its commanding general — voted Democratic, thus assuring that Barack Obama would become the 44th president of the United States.

Barack Obama after winning

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can.