Imbolc \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Bloodroot Moon<\/p>\n
Watching Margin Call while I workout. \u00a0This 2011 movie with Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci and Jeremy Irons and a wonderful supporting cast gives me chills. \u00a0It sets<\/p>\n
itself in 2008 in a company that sounds a lot like AIG or Lehman Brothers. \u00a0A rising young analyst, really a rocket scientist gone over to finance for the money, discovers the company \u00a0has already passed its margins of safety. \u00a0A coldly calculated retreat then follows.<\/p>\n
What struck me, more than the historical period piece about the biggest financial disaster of our time, were some simple shots. \u00a0Demi Moore and the CEO of the local branch walking down a darkened corridor to a meeting with the chairman of the board. \u00a0They’re serious. \u00a0Their world is about to come apart, a world they’ve worked their lives to achieve.<\/p>\n
And I thought. \u00a0Gee, step outside that darkened corridor. \u00a0Go down and walk on the sidewalks of New York or the trails of Yosemite. \u00a0Wander the blue highways of Minnesota or board a boat on Lake Superior. \u00a0The world in that corridor does not matter. \u00a0It’s not existentially important. \u00a0It’s a constructed, artificial world no different from an amusement park or a video game. \u00a0Everybody agrees to treat it with gravitas, putting it in a movie with serious music in the background and tension building. \u00a0That’s all it is, another way this animal lives its life, and not a particularly significant part of that life.<\/p>\n
Kate and I got the first disc of Homeland a couple of days ago and we’ve watched the first four episodes of this Showtime series about the CIA and the war against terror. \u00a0Claire Danes, a favorite of mine among young actors, and Mandy Patikin, a wonderful and sensitive actor, give the series bite. \u00a0It’s an interesting peak into the world of spies and terror and contemporary events. \u00a0In that regard it’s similar to Margin Call.<\/p>\n
The two works together summarize defining moments of this very young millennium, moments that have had a huge impact on all of our lives and will continue to effect us for years to come. \u00a0They will be historical documents a hundred years from now, a\u00a0Rorschach on our hopes and fears, mostly our fears. \u00a0They’re both high caliber, sophisticated presentations worth your time.<\/p>\n
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Imbolc \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Bloodroot Moon Watching Margin Call while I workout. \u00a0This 2011 movie with Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci and … Continue reading Defining Moments of Our Time<\/span>