Wit & Whim

It is time, Ladies and Gentlemen, for the most reliable and original movie reviewer in the world to make his voice heard! A brief glance at the title might have clued you in, but The Hunger Games (The movie which inspired the best selling books!) is the topic of today's ramblings. I begin by noting that I was going into this film with little to no optimism, and a biased predisposition to hate on anything that was not true to the books--which feelings were exacerbated by the Harry Potter movies, which were good , but seldom true to the book...but I digress. Hunger Games. It begins the movie in District 12, which was almost certainly filmed in West Virginia, or some equally dismal third world environment. From the very beginning the movie fosters an atmosphere of ever settling unease. The same pit of the stomach, something is wrong, kind of feeling that one gets from movies set in poverty stricken sub-Saharan Africa, or in screwed up apartheid settings. Very effective. The cinematog...

Dear internet diary...thing. This winter, to put it plainly, it felt like I just did not have my mojo. I was feeling lackluster, tired, and generally in a less than decent mood. My laughter was not coming so easily as I thought it should, and everything seemed like a bigger deal than it actually was. These days, thankfully, are passed. I have rediscovered a liking for people--at least for the time being--and my crinkly-eyed smile along with it. I am feeling this in my daily life, and in my work. I do not dread the work, and have a much better attitude attitude about it. And I also feel like talking again. This last statement might be somewhat odd, but I can say quite honestly, that I have not really wanted to talk for the last several months. I have been quieter than has ever been my wont, and it only now strikes me that such quietness--when I see it in others--strikes me with as standoffish. Whoops. Maybe it was not enough sunlight, or perhaps a little too much...something or other. ...

A rare sunny it is, and a good day to write while there is a spot in the sun to be found. Class today was focused on the Dutch Empire, and it was most satisfying. Dutch independence laid the groundwork for the first major market economy in early modern Europe. Little mystery, then, that the Dutch totally dominated trade over the next century, only to brought done by 80 years of sustained war, completed by a combined invasion of French forces, and heavy British naval assaults. Dutch Merchant shipping during this time period went from being almost non-existent, to being much greater than the cumulative shipping tonnage of the rest of Europe combined. The Bank of Amsterdam was the first fully functioning merchant bank in the world, and issued the first stable bills of exchange. My professor, in a move not foreseen, pointed out the power of corporate ventures to allow groups of middle class people to split the risk on an innovative venture, and how this led to the massive ...

Having written in German for the last 1 1/2 hours, I think it is time for a little bit of a break for my brain. So I am sitting here and watching the desolation of white accumulate; fully anticipating a desolation of wrecked cars to follow in good time. I am writing on the Topic of the role of Germany in Europe, and I cannot write what I honestly believe. The role of Germany in Europe is one of growing insignificance; they can do nothing about the problems of Europe. For almost a century debt has been building, the institutions and mores which lead to excellence in western Europe have crumbled, and the problems have built energy with no real release. Germany does not have the money to bail out Europe. Germany, France, and England do not have that much money. Germany, France, England, and the rest of the major economies of Europe do not have the money; in part because it is the major economies which are in such trouble. Portugal is a junk bond, Spain is likely to follow, and Italy is i...

For those who need a little something to help them get to sleep, I present my final paper from Y401- Promise and Problems of Democracy in America. It naturally has many imperfections, but I liked it. The last century of human history has seen a change. As methods of production grew more advanced, and the great economies of the world became more democratic, concerned citizens and government turned to the creation of procedures and policies with which to combat poverty and inequality amongst the people. The name that came to be given to such programs was welfare. The goal is plainly seen in the title; to vouchsafe the welfare of our fellow man. There is something undeniably noble in this ideal. But it is the enthusiast’s mistake to confound intent with result, and the efficacy of welfare is perpetually in dispute. To understand the effect welfare has on democracy, one might look to the great writers on politics; men whose ideas have been tried in the laboratory of history. And one ...