Compost Tea

Gran Torino

Reminiscent of our premarriage dates, Nancy and I ran out of gas on our way to see Gran Torino, leaving us to walk a half-mile across icy parking lots to get to the theatre! Last month Nancy had picked out Marley and Me to go see. I strained so hard to keep from crying at the end of that movie that my jaw hurt and was making a clicking noise when I worked it. I told Nancy then that I would pick out the movie next time and I would choose a definite "guys" movie with plenty of action and no reason to cry.

The plot is pretty simple: a person who thinks in an "us vs. them" way, doesn't like it as other nationalities move into his neighborhood. He's full of prejudice and bigotry. Despite Clint Eastwood's best attempts, he gradually gets pulled into the lives and culture of his neighbors. His preconceptions start to fade and he finds himself caring about people he formerly despised. What's more, his connection with these people brings him to a point of healing and heroism. 

Clint Eastwood's character spews racial epithets and crude remarks with the best. I hope people aren't too disappointed in me when I say those scenes were done in such a way that I couldn't help but laugh--and laugh hard. 

Finally, I thought I was safe from crying at an Eastwood flick, but alas, the redemptive ending had me choking back the tears!

Stimulus Plans?

Recognizing my ignorance regarding the ins and outs of the economics woes our country has been in, I recently read Naill Ferguson's book, The Ascent of Money (see sidebar), which is a most helpful history of the evolution of our financial system. Early innovations in financial matters (currency, banks, insurance) are quite clearly good for society. The most recent ones, like hedge funds, seem to have dubious value. The most recent innovations seem to be too risky, too reliant on complicated formulas--and strikes me as ways of manipulating the system to generate wealth without actual work.

Yesterday, I just finished Deep Economy by Bill McKibbon. His thesis is that our unthinking commitment to economic expansion has long ceased to serve us well and bring us happiness. We work longer at jobs we like less. We have bigger houses, more toys . . . and more depression. His book is full of great cultural analysis and gives a clear call to live more simply--for our own sake and for the sake of the larger world.