Wavering Flags

"Flags of Our Fathers" is the latest from the arguably brilliant director Clint Eastwood. I don't know how excited I was about seeing the film but I knew it was one of those "must see, how could you miss it" films that comes along only once in a while. I can spare you dear reader, from spending more than $4 or a Netflix mailer on this film, because it is a rental to be sure. I didn't hate the film by any means but I also didn't really get it.

I think that Eastwood did not successfully make the film he set out to make. The story was not solid enough. I know it was based on real-life events and do not want to dishonor the memory of the men who make up the story but there are different ways to talk about the same event and this, to me, was not the most effective way. I was not invested in any of the characters, could not keep straight who was who (there are the present-day older men and their younger versions in war and it was unclear as to who was who). There were a few soldiers who came in and out of the story and eventually died though it was difficult to discern who died when soldiers fell so investment in those characters was tough too. The story went from present-day to the battlefield to post-battlefield and those three time periods became muddled quite often.

It was interesting to learn more about the cloudy history that surrounds much of our nation's successes in war, but if you don't know much about it by now, my advice it to wait a little while longer to find out about Iwo Jima.

Oscar Buzz? Yes, publications are mentioning Adam Beach, the man who played the Pima Indian soldier and also the pretty Ryan Phillipe for potential nods. I'd say that Beach has a chance of nomination but not of a win ("The Departed" might kill everyone who didn't die during the end sequences of the film). Phillipe's recent split with Reese may affect his nominations chance at this point if politics come into play at this stage in the game. Either way, I don't see him winning either. The way the story was written didn't allow for a fully developed characterization of either man.

Overall, the film was negatively impacted by a loosely written film about a specific and important time in our history.

In a Rush

Rush Limbaugh warranted a spot in my blog long before he proved that drug addicts are generally self-absorbed, erratic people. I am assuming that his drug abuse is a contributing factor in his poorly-acted attack on Michael J. Fox. It was a worse offense than he could have imagined prior to swallowing a few of his special Dominican-mule delivered Oxycontins with is morning coffee and baker's dozen. Haven't seen the video footage of Rush imitating Fox? Click here.

First, if Fox's Missouri political ad was really the "first time" Rush had seen Michael J. Fox "display his symptoms," it is the first time in probably 10 years he has seen Fox on television at all. On Boston Legal, he is pretty steady but otherwise, the "display" has been on. I know that for me, with my illness, some days or even hours, I give up on hiding my shaking hands because I don't care to anymore or just forget. I'm not going to pretend to even share in what Fox is going through or has gone through other than to say it ain't easy and no one with an illness needs a slob like Rush Limbaugh to try to make it worse. It gets worse on its own.

The bottom-line is, the potential for a cloned Rush Limbaugh scares me as much as the next person and I don't necessarily agree with human cloning, but I must stand behind the use of stem cells in research that will benefit the cure of illnesses. There are plenty of viable cells that are being thrown away rather than used for a better purpose. If they aren't going to be used as intended, to create another life, can't they be used to improve an existing life? It is a rhetorical question but if you disagree, one you may want to consider. I have to assume that someone will come along here who is anti-stem-cell research and I want to ask you to really understand it and make sure that it makes sense to you to oppose it. What if you were sick and the research could benefit you? Would it make sense then?

Michael J. Fox has friends in high places, including the anchor desk on CBS' nightly news program so he took the chance when Katie Couric gave him the opportunity for a rebuttal on her show. He was eloquent and frank and I encourage anyone to watch if you haven't seen the video. Michael J. Fox has become a hero to me in the years since he disclosed his Parkinsons and for that, I wanted to stand up for him as others have and praise him for the work he continues to do. It would be nice one day, to have his impact.

Race for the Cure

There are two events that I hold very dear to me and one of them is coming up at the beginning of November. The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a major San Diego fundraiser to fight breast cancer, is important to me because like you probably do, I know people who have fought, are fighting and who have even lost a fight to breast cancer and other forms of cancer as well.

If you would like to donate, my online fundraising page can be located by clicking the link here.

Our team, ProFlowers Pink Parade is working hard to raise money for Komen and ProFlowers is a Komen Platinum sponsor. Every $1 donated will be matched by ProFlowers.

Sorry for the solicitation but this is a very important cause.