Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Like the Neverending Story, but good

First round of law registration is out of the way. I nabbed most of my important classes (International, Charter, Tax, Corporations, my International seminar) with no problem, except Evidence in the spring filled up rather fast. Anyone feel like slogging through the 8:30 a.m. Evidence classes with me all year?

With Harry Potter now "leaked," (thanks to keen Vancouverites) I suppose no plunder is too nerdy for a pirate. I suspect those that Entertainment Weekly describes as “rogue Canadians” more closely resemble soccer moms who, on their way to pick up some Capri Sun and Dunkaroos for the kids (do they still have those?), noticed the book and innocently picked it up. I’ve heard reports that the book is on BitTorrent sites, but how does that even work? Is it an mp3 of a child reading the book?

Chapter 1. Harry awoke to a de... deef... mom how do you say that word? Deh-fun-ing. What does it mean?
...
(Delete from playlist.)

My copy arrives on Saturday, banking on the notion that since postal workers are angry already, making them deliver heavy bundles on a weekend morning can’t do much more harm. This gives me only a few days to finish The Known World, a novel which deserves a place in the tiny pantheon of Books You Don’t Want to End. Like A Fine Balance or East of Eden, Jones’ book has such a compelling array of storylines that each could go on forever and I doubt I’d mind.

But enough of literature - sort of. Last night, I did miss the yell-fest that is Hell’s Kitchen, (summer guilty pleasure #1) but I was surprised to find that National Geographic aired the first part of Guns, Germs and Steel: the Documentary. I’m now convinced that Jared Diamond is one of the coolest scholars around. Aside from looking like a bald Dustin Hoffman and tanned like a motherfocker, the guy clearly looks like he’s having a ball spending most of his time in the jungle of New Guinea.

That said, if there’s one thing off about the series, it’s that it basically deifies Diamond for “solving” the question of how human societies evolved in the ways that they have. Narrator Peter Coyote lauds Diamond in, come to think of it, almost the exact same way he describes the functions of the Brita water filter, a commercial Coyote previously narrated: “A clear, refreshing take…”

In my opinion, Diamond was nothing but modest in how he used common sense to describe what he did: societies are the result of their environment, plain and simple. The man didn’t discover some ancient Rosetta-stone, he just observed that planting a seed is a tad more effective than getting all sweaty for a less-than-nutritious animal. One method allows you to feed a government and army, the other gives you cries of, “mammoth again?”

I’m not sure when the next episode of GGS is on, but in the meantime I’m going to view my nouvelle DVD, A Very Long Engagement. Any French-loving cinephile (and really, who doesn’t like the French) will appreciate the incredible recreation of WWI-era Paris.

And dude, c'mon, a soldier lobs a grenade into a plane from the ground. That’s so Die Hard.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

A Very Long Engagement is a very long...just kidding, it's a really good movie. And speaking of movies I saw at the Screening Room, you should also see Millions if you get the chance. Saw it last night and you would really like it.

Wade

Anonymous said...

I'll be enjoying those 8:30 a.m. evidence classes with you. Which tax and charter classes are you taking?

Lawyerlike said...

I had tried to see Millions earlier this year, mostly because I'm a fan of Danny Boyle and that kid who, in the trailer says with the coolest Welsh accent: "It's nah abnohmahl, it's unuuusual!"

Alas, I'll have to wait till video.

And I've got Tax in the fall (407.002) and Charter in the spring, (346.001).

Anonymous said...

A very long engagement would make a good musical. Maybe a person of vision would be able to swing it over to the Die Hard side of things.

I believe in you.


B

p.s No Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy love, and you call yourself well educated!

Lawyerlike said...

Poke fun all you want, I still think Die Hard With a Melody, the musical version of Die Hard, would make for great theatre.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm going to try and ignore your disparaging Neverending Story (aka one of the greatest movies of all time!) reference and pretend we're still friends...I've been told that you should avoid the 8:30 evidence like the plague. Maybe you should beg another prof to let you in. I don't think we have any classes together. If we were actually friends and I wasn't just pretending, I might be upset....
Ange

Thomas said...

First of all, you need to post more. This was Tuesday and you probably won't post again till Monday, and I really need something to do during the day.

Secondly, the year long evidence is balls? Damn it! Well, whatever.

It's a Bane party in the morning! And in Bakan's Charter apparently.