Miscellaneous Rambling
I saw Dunkirk on Sunday. Excellent movie. I give it a "9." Highly recommended. If you go see it, I recommend you read this piece about the sound illusion that heightens the tension for nearly two straight hours.
Mark Steyn on Dunkirk. He's a bit long-winded, but it's worth reading. Excerpt: "The jolly ladies proffering 'a nice cup of tea' to the wounded die as easily as soldiers and sailors do, but, like Mr Dawson, they are doing their duty, uncomplainingly. I have no idea of Christopher Nolan's politics, and in Hollywood one is obliged to be circumspect about even the mildest deviation from the conventional pieties. Nevertheless, whether by intent or not, he has made a film that celebrates the character of a people, and the virtues that enabled them to snatch a mad, improvised victory in the midst of what seemed their darkest hour. After all, even after Dunkirk, the possibility of invasion and conquest was very real. Nobody had to explain what was at stake: That's why they cast off from their sleepy fishing coves; that's why they put the tea on."
Re: Farmer/Classicist Victor Davis Hanson (yesterday's post): His Wikipedia page says he's a fourth-generation almond farmer. I guess that counts. Almonds grow in trees, so I'm envious that he doesn't have to spend hours and hours on his knees, pulling out grass and other weeds from his farm when he returns from vacation, like this farmer/blogger/idiot.
