Book Reviews- Unfinished Business, The Fall of Rome, Tarnsman of Gor, Elric of Melnibone

Unfinished Business
by Joseph D. Pistone

Joseph Pistone is a retired Italian-American FBI agent who is famous for his undercover work.  I wrote before about him here. You may remember the movie Donnie Brasco starring Johnny Depp. Pistone was "Donnie Brasco". He penetrated the Mafia, initially the Colombo Family and later the Bonanno Family. He was so convincing as a supposed jewel thief, hijacker and tough guy that he was ultimately proposed for formal membership ("being made") and given murders to accomplish. The FBI ended his assignment before he could be made, which still irritates Pistone today. Nevertheless Pistone gathered a wealth of information on the Bonanno Family and other organized crime families. It greatly embarrassed the Bonannos to have almost given their highest seal of approval to an FBI agent. Pistone duped the Mafia so thoroughly that when his direct Mafia sponsors and associates were informed that Pistone was an agent, they refused to believe it and for days thought/hoped that "Donnie" had been kidnapped and brainwashed. The higher ups, the bosses, underbosses and ranking captains who had been introduced to "Donnie" weren't just embarrassed. They were angry. And when people like that get angry, other people die. "Donnie's" captain was called into a management meeting. His body was later found with its hands chopped off. A soldier who had had close dealings with "Donnie" was lured out of hiding and murdered by his own blood relatives. The Mafia is not known for forgiving mistakes.

Pistone's operation reverberated throughout federal and state law enforcement investigations, indictments and convictions for several years. There were hundreds of indictments and convictions based in whole or in part upon Pistone's information. At least that's what Pistone says. He can speak without fear of contradiction as anyone who could contradict specific allegations is either dead or in prison. The man has a very healthy ego but I think most successful undercover agents would need one. For years he pretended to be someone else while surrounded by and working closely with thieves, murderers and a few psychopaths. Some criminal associates had extremely good memories. One mistake in his cover stories and that would have been it for Pistone. With the conclusion of active investigations he decided to revisit his story and share some dirty laundry. He's more forthcoming than he was previously.


Former FBI director Hoover resisted or greatly restricted undercover actions (in criminal investigations anyway, he apparently had no issues with undercover political operatives). One of the alleged reasons for avoiding undercover operations is that it is difficult if not impossible for the agent to hew to normal FBI moral and legal standards. Although he's still keeping some info back, Pistone shares some ethically questionable decisions. When you're playing criminal 24/7 you must decide what you will do to keep cover. For Pistone, this meant giving public beatings to two junkies who had robbed his Mafia sponsor and himself, carrying out hijackings and other robberies, and once memorably being ready to go kill another Mafia soldier who had fallen out of favor. Pistone details the rivalries and jealousies his undercover work caused within the Bureau. He's a bit coy about the strain on marital and family relationships. It happened. He and his wife got thru it. End of story. He's now a happy grandfather.

The book's second half is concerned with Pistone's years of testifying in other organized crime cases and advising/instructing other law enforcement agencies, including Scotland Yard and Russian anti-Mafia units. He states the Mafia Commission put a $500,000 contract on him. Some doubted this as traditional American organized crime has rarely killed law enforcement officials but by the late eighties and early nineties Mafia members were desperate enough to consider repealing this rule. There were attempts to murder prosecutors and FBI agents. Pistone also gives an insider's view of some other famous Mafia cases.

Pistone takes a few potshots at actors James Caan and Mickey Rourke for supporting Mafia hoodlums and at Governor Mario Cuomo for his denial that the Mafia existed and what Pistone viewed as "playing the ethnic card". The Bonanno Crime Family Boss, Joey Massino, who as a captain had murdered Pistone's Mafia sponsor Sonny Black, was ultimately charged with that murder. Facing a possible death penalty, the boss himself became an informant. As Pistone might say, nothing for nothing but if you want to hear about how it really went down, check this book out.




The Fall of Rome
by Martha Southgate

You may be surprised by this book. I certainly was. I don't mean that I was surprised by the author's skill. I had heard good things about this book and knew the writer was working on a different level than your ordinary author. I mean that I was surprised that the book resonated so strongly with me because the setting, an all male prep school in Connecticut wasn't really the sort of place I had a lot of interest in or familiarity with. I did briefly attend an all boys Catholic middle school but that's an entirely different experience because you go home every day.

At Chelsea School, you don't get to go home. For some people this is problematic, for others Chelsea is their home. Still others have no idea where their home really is. This book delves into the realities of integration, colonized minds, what it means to be who you are, what your identity really is and how all of this plays out in a world in which people's perceptions and realities are still often circumscribed by race and gender.

If you happen to be on the left politically the book may even make you have some sympathy for Clarence Thomas. Hard to believe but there you are. The author has a really good knack for writing from different points of view and making you understand and empathize with different people, even if you don't sympathize with them. I liked that. There are three primary characters. First is Rashid Bryson, a young African-American youth who is still processing the fact that his older brother, who was also admitted to an exclusionary school, was murdered in a store robbery. Rashid has lived in a majority black area and is somewhat taken aback by the paucity of black students at Chelsea. Rashid wants to make his parents proud of him and get them through their grief.

Next there is Latin and Classics Professor Jerome Washington, a black man who has been thru pain similar to Rashid's in his private life. He also attended Chelsea when it was much less welcoming. He has closed off past hurts by a fierce unyielding devotion to individual talent, success and drive. If you don't make it it's probably because you weren't trying hard enough. Don't expect any second chances or help from him. He doesn't think life works like that. And certainly don't tell him that he owes you anything because you and he have similar amounts of melanin. He despises that sort of thinking almost as much as he dislikes stereotypically African or African-American names.

Lastly there is Jana Hansen, a divorced Caucasian-American English teacher who is new to Chelsea. Her husband left her for a younger woman. She has spent most of her career teaching in predominantly Black areas and is somewhat taken aback by Chelsea's virtual monochrome nature. She has her own demons to exorcise and tentatively attempts to strike up different sorts of relationships with Jerome and Rashid. To say more would get into spoiler territory but to me this short book was well worth the time it takes to read it. I definitely am going to be looking for more of Southgate's work. It's the best of the books reviewed today I think.




Tarnsman of Gor
by John Norman

Sometimes I think I have no idea what women like or why they do so. Well that's not completely true. You can't reach adulthood without picking up some pointers but the fact remains that often women's desires can seem quite capricious. Thumbing through romance novels would give one the idea that some women think that taming a dominant man who treats them, if not unkindly then certainly in a manner that leaves little doubt as to who's in charge (in the bedroom at least), is of intense erotic interest. The success of such films as Gone With the Wind (Scarlett beats Rhett's chest in vain as he takes her upstairs but seems quite happy and satisfied the following morning) or books like 50 Shades of Grey and the Twilight series would seem to validate that hypothesis. It's usually not men who are buying those books. How ironic then that a book which essentially gave the same message, but from a man's point of view, was so hated, mocked and insulted that it was at one point essentially all but banned from publication. So it goes.

Tarnsmen of Gor is the beginning of a sci-fi/fantasy series by John Norman. (the pen name for philosophy professor John Lange) Gor is a planet that is always on Earth's opposite side and is thus invisible to us. Ok, I know it's really bad science but ignore that for now. Gor has lighter gravity than Earth. Gor is populated mostly by humans. Gor is lorded over by the alien insectoid Priest-Kings, who rarely appear. Most of Gor has military technology that doesn't much surpass what was available pre-gunpowder. The Priest Kings keep it that way. Any inventor, scientist or engineer who gets too big for his britches disappears.

The narrator, Tarl Cabot, is brought to Gor where he is reunited with his long lost father, an important man in the Gorean city of Ko-Ro-Ba. Tarl is already an accomplished fencer and undergoes training to ensure he takes his rightful place in the warrior caste. His father needs his help for there are rivalries and wars afoot. Gor is organized along the lines of Greek city-states with every free man put into a caste. And that's where the author mixes a somewhat pedestrian alternate earth tale with the philosophical musings that brought him such controversy. Norman employs Aristotle's natural slavery theory to argue that some people are naturally submissive (slaves) while other people are naturally aggressive (free). It's a sin to treat a free person as if they were a slave and vice versa. Norman's twist is that fitness for slavery is not determined by race, ethnicity, class or national origin. It is however somewhat related to gender. Free women simultaneously have a constricted existence and yet are considered irritating by many free men. Free men would generally much rather spend their time with slave women, who are thought to be more (sexually) feminine. Free women are often jealous of slave women. Gorean society's true nature slowly unfolds throughout the book. Tarl Cabot initially finds Gor strange and repulsive but gradually takes a different view. He does remain anti-slavery..mostly. I don't mind reading works by authors with "bad" points of view if the story's plot is strong enough to interest me. Here it really wasn't. The fantasy fiction author, Michael Moorcock, harshly criticized Norman. Future series installments were heavier on both feminist-baiting and adult content and less so on action/plot. This might be more interesting if one thought the author was being tongue in cheek. But I didn't get that feeling...




Elric of Melnibone
by Michael Moorcock

Speaking of Michael Moorcock, he is another author who I starting reading as a teenager. Unlike Norman, I never put his works down. Moorcock is among the most skilled and most prolific authors of sci-fi, speculative fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction who is still living. He's among the genre's top authors living or dead. Before GRRM wrote his antiheroes and turned up the sex quotient, Moorcock had been there and done that. Moorcock is something of a left-wing feminist anarchist. However his works can be enjoyed by people of any political backgrounds. He doesn't beat you over the head with his politics. Moorcock is confident enough and honest enough to have spoken frankly of how strongly he disliked Tolkien's writing style and politics, though he says he liked Tolkien on a personal level. When you call The Lord of the Rings "Epic Pooh" you ought to be able to provide work of equal or better quality. Moorcock delivers.

Elric of Melnibone was one of his earliest stories. It's first in a series and is about as far from Tolkien and in a different way Robert E. Howard as you can get. It's also a short story. Moorcock was still writing for magazines when this came out and at just under 170 pages this book is quickly read. Where Tolkien's heroes were virtuous and desexed, Moorcock's heroes were lusty and conflicted. Where Howard wrote disguised idealized versions of himself, Celtic-Nordic strong he-men who didn't take any guff from anyone, Moorcock wrote Elric as a decadent, weak, bookish, lazy albino who would have been dead a long time ago without constant assistance from drugs and magic. Elric is alienated.

The story takes place in a world that appears to have existed long before our own pre-history had even begun. Elric is the 428th Emperor of the island nation of Melnibone. Melniboneans are not human. Generally speaking they have the same opinion of humans as humans do of cattle. Melniboneans appear to be similar to Tolkien's elves but with no sense of morality whatsoever. In this they're closer to the original legends of the Celtic Sidhe, something which the author Jim Butcher also utilizes. Anyway Melnibone has ruled the world for about the past 10,000 years with their dragons, advanced technology and most importantly magic gained by their alliances with elemental forces and the demon-gods of Chaos. In the past 500 years though their numbers, power and magic have waned. The dragons are far fewer and sleep for much longer periods of time. Now Melnibone only rules on its own island. Human pirates are getting bolder and some Melniboneans are concerned that humans may even attack Melnibone. Elric's cousin Yyrkoon is constantly critical of Elric and may be plotting against him.

But Elric is unconcerned with this. In all of his reading he has accidentally gained something akin to a conscience, or at least as close to it as a Melnibonean could get. So he coolly ignores his cousin Yyrkoon's disloyalty. Elric thinks free speech is a virtue. The only thing which truly brings joy to Elric's life is his relationship with Cymoril, his cousin, would be wife and Yyrkoon's sister. Out of spite against his cousin Yyrkoon may harbor entirely non-brotherly feelings for Cymoril. This situation comes to a head when during a battle with humans Yyrkoon takes the opportunity to kill Elric. Yyrkoon thinks he's succeeded. Elric must survive alone among humans with only his wits and his sorcery to aid him. For though Yyrkoon doesn't know it and wouldn't believe it if he did Elric is the greatest sorcerer who ever lived. More importantly than that Elric is the favorite of the Chaos god Arioch, the most dread of all of the Melnibonean patrons. He has plans for Elric. And then there is the sword Stormbringer, a cursed blade that drinks souls and transfers their energy to Elric.

This was a really exciting book to read again. It moves. Things happen on just about every page. There's a lot of hidden commentary about imperialism, morality, and the paradox that often great beauty comes from great pain. In order to win back his throne Elric may have to drop his moralistic facade and give in to his cruel and essentially amoral nature.

Al Sharpton's new MSNBC show

I made a New Year's Resolution to stop watching PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton. I generally feel his heart's in the right place. I respect some of the work he's accomplished. But I think he's a horribly annoying television host. Constant outrage combined with inflexible partisanship and continuous yelling is not my cup of tea. I preferred the previous fellow at that time slot, Cenk Uygur. I'd much rather see someone like Ta-Nehisi Coates or Boyce Watkins in the role now. MSNBC has become a mirror image of FOX. So the other day when I made the mistake of breaking my resolution and turning on MSNBC between 6 and 7 PM imagine my surprise to learn that Al Sharpton, Eugene Robinson and Professor Cornel West have agreed to host a new prime time talk show for MSNBC starting for the fall season! 
The new show is titled "Loud, Confused and Confusing".*

Here's a cut from their pilot:

Sharpton"...AND AS I WAS SAYING THE EVIL REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO OBSTRUCT OUR ANOINTED ONE! YABBA DABBA DOO WE SEE YOU!!! DO YOU THINK WE'RE STUPID? WE GOTCHA! NEVER RAN NEVER WILL BROWNSVILLE!  WHERE'S THE TELEPROMPTER? WHO MOVED MY TELEPROMPTER? DON'T BLAME THIS DRAMA ON OBAMA? BROOKLYN IS WITH YOU! WHAT? WHAT!!!GENE! WHAT DO YOU THINK!!!????

Eugene Robinson: "Uhhhh.hmmm...ehhhhh.... ahhhh... I don't know... ehhhh what happened was...ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. It could be possibly understood to be mmmmmmmmmmmaybe..."

Sharpton: "WE'LL COME BACK TO GENE LATER WHEN HE GETS THE MARBLES OUT OF HIS MOUTH!!!! DR. WEST , WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY THIS EVENING? I HOPE IT'S SOMETHING INTELLIGENT!!"

West: "Well thank you Brother Sharpton. I'm happy to be here this day. You're my brother and I love you. Although you are I must say brother a two faced buck dancing bug eyed sellout apologist clown for the capitalist establishment military industrial complex that was foreseen by dear brother Eisenhower, fought against by brother Martin and brother Malcolm and our brothers and sisters in the Panthers, peace be upon them, and resisted to this day by insightful and concise brothers such as myself who understand that every brother ain't a brother, brother Sharpton, because if you were a brother, brother Sharpton, you would have ensured that so-called brother Obama didn't misplace my tickets to his inauguration, but that aside brother and don't think I forgot, the powers and principalities that we fight against today are inherent in the violent contradictions between patriarchal racist capitalism and its establishment of a white racist power structure and the more holistic peaceful multi-cultural multi-national gender equal and non-homophobic Christianity which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preached and for which he was lynched by the same Romans, that is to say power hungry imperialists, brother, who hold power over us today. We must refuse to assimilate the values of this technocratic patriarchal culture and build a progressive bulwark against reactionary running dogs who have lost their mind. Can I get a Amen, brother?"

Eugene Robinson: "Ehhhhhhhh..ahhhh I see the problem here ahhhhh.. If I could just inter-ahh-ject ..."

Sharpton: "SHUT UP GENE! PROFESSOR WEST? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY? ARE YOU SAYING SOMETHING NEGATIVE ABOUT OBAMA? REALLY??? TALKING ABOUT OBAMA IS LIKE TALKING ABOUT MY MAMA! "

West: "I'm not quite sure what I said but it sure did sound good didn't it? Say some words with me brother Sharpton. Antidisestablishmentarianism, post-modernist debate, third wave feminism, cabralista, don't these just send a thrill to your heart?"

Sharpton:"JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK ON LOUD, CONFUSED AND CONFUSING!!! DAMMIT WHO KEEPS MOVING MY TELEPROMPTER???!"

*This is obviously a parody and not meant to be taken seriously. I respect all three men. But they do amuse me sometimes...

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: The Climb

This episode was transitional in different ways. "The Climb" was the episode title. The climb is the literal description of Jon Snow's and the Wildlings' perilous journey up 700 feet of a possibly sorcerous ice wall. It's also the metaphor for Littlefinger's opportunity to move to a higher level of power as chaos covers the land. I thought a few things, especially Littlefinger's motivations, were much too obvious but this is television.

We open up with Sam showing Gilly his obsidian spearhead and general ineptitude at outdoorsmanship. But his heart's in the right place and after Gilly's horrific existence that might count for a lot with her. In contrast the quite skilled outdoors women Osha and Meera argue over the proper way to kill, skin and cook rabbits. Violence seems imminent but Bran orders them both to kill that noise. I wish we could get 15 episodes a year because Bran and Arya are growing and changing very quickly. I hope they don't recast. Jojen has a vision of Jon Snow beyond the Wall surrounded by enemies. The viewer already knows this. This is why I wished the Reeds had been introduced last year. What does this add?

As Arya practices her archery under the watchful eye and careful critique of Anguy, she notices a party approaching. It's Melisandre and her escort. She is displeased to find Thoros here. Thoros was supposed to convert Robert but obviously failed. When Melisandre sees Beric she is shocked speechless that Thoros was able to resurrect him six times. Apparently this is beyond her powers. Thoros speaks of losing his faith in King's Landing amid lust and decadence but finding it again when he prayed Beric back to life. Melisandre thinks that's all very interesting but she wants Gendry (Robert's son) for some yet unknown purpose. To Arya's and especially Gendry's dismay Thoros and Beric agree to this, also taking some gold in exchange for Gendry. To say that Arya is angry is an understatement.

Somewhere the Unknown Young Man (UYM) plays psychological games with Theon. UYM would have enjoyed Abu Gharib. He prevents the dehydrated and exhausted Theon from sleeping, throws water away rather than give it to Theon and conversationally asks Theon which body part he needs the least. But just to show he's not all bad he tells Theon to play a game and guess his identity and Theon's location. Theon seemingly guesses correctly and UYM briefly stops abusing Theon. Just as Theon is starting to enjoy this respite the UYM points out that he was lying and flays Theon's little finger so badly that Theon begs him to amputate it, just as the UYM said he would. In this night's most chilling line when Theon asks if he will ever be released the UYM smirks and says "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." If you hated Theon for what he did to the Starks do you think this is karmic justice?

Robb meets with the Frey emissaries. Walder Frey wants a formal apology, Harrenhal and a marriage between Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey. Edmure refuses but both Catelyn and Robb guilt trip him into agreeing. Bolton dines with Jaime and Brienne. Bolton sardonically notes that he's pleased that the martial and masculine Brienne has been dressed as befits a woman. Bolton says he should send Jaime back to Robb. Brienne points out that she was acting on Catelyn Stark's orders but Bolton retorts that Catelyn Stark is under arrest. Jaime starts to run his spiel about how rich the Lannisters are but Bolton shuts that down by reminding Jaime what happened the last time he played that card. Bolton agrees to let Jaime go to King's Landing as restitution for his maiming but refuses to part with Brienne.

We finally get a scene between Tywin and Lady Olenna Tyrell. Olenna doesn't like the proposed match between Loras and Cersei because Cersei is sliding towards reproductive irrelevance due to age. Tywin comes back with snide comments about Loras' homosexuality. Olenna questions Tywin's sexuality and when that doesn't work drops the incest card, claiming it would embarrass the Tyrells to be married to such a woman. But Tywin has the nuclear bomb. He threatens to name Loras to the Kingsguard, thus preventing him from marrying or inheriting. Olenna concedes. I loved this scene. You can see that it's nothing personal between these two, just business.

Sansa doesn't know her fate and evidently hasn't picked up on the fact that Loras is more interested in the pageantry and gala of a wedding, the clothing and parties, than he is in the bride. Cersei and Tyrion share some complaints about their Dad and worries about Jaime. Tyrion bluntly demands to know if his sister tried to have him killed but learns from her silence that it was Joffrey. Tyrion goes to see Sansa to explain that she will be marrying him. Shae is there and rather arrogantly refuses to leave. Tyrion tries to let Shae know in code that there are some things he doesn't want to do that she doesn't want to hear about but no dice.
Varys and Littlefinger verbally spar. This didn't really add a whole lot except for the aforementioned climbing the ladder metaphor and casual Littlefinger reveal that he discovered Ros was working for Varys. Littlefinger takes sadistic pleasure letting Varys know that he gave Ros to Joffrey, who used her for crossbow practice. Littlefinger suggests Varys mind his own business in the future.

And of course there is the climb, this episode's most special effects laden portion. Before the climb begins Ygritte reveals to Jon Snow, that is after she's done teasing him about his previous virginity and surprising aptitude at unusual sexual practices, that she knows he's still loyal to the Night's Watch but come what may she's loyal to him and he needs to be loyal to her in equal measure. I mentioned before I love her accent. I truly enjoyed the panoramic visuals of the Wall here and the excruciating climb. There's a reason most people don't climb it. It's damn difficult. This Wall climb is equal to anything in film. Ygritte told Jon that her leaders didn't care about her, something that is proven true when she and Jon fall off the wall and Orell cuts the line to save himself. Jon is able to save Ygritte from a 700 foot fall. The duo reach the top of the Wall. In a scene that is reminiscent of similar scenes from the movie Titanic, they embrace and kiss. They are indeed at the top of the world.

There was a lot in this episode about trust and the costs of trusting the wrong people. Making a mockery of last week's heartfelt Gendry speech about finally truly belonging and being part of a family, his new "family" sells him to Melisandre for presumably nefarious purposes. The Brotherhood Without Banners justifies this by claiming not only a religious duty but that Gendry's sale is for the greater good. I always say never trust utilitarians. Dastardly people. Sansa continues to be not only naive but frankly a little dim. I can't find fault with her for not immediately picking up on Loras' homosexuality or the Lannister-Tyrell dynastic rivalry over her. But when she asks Shae if she'll be able to invite her family to her wedding, you have to wonder where this girl's brains are. When Sansa cries, watching (presumably) Littlefinger's ship leave, I was mostly unsympathetic. Ever since she's been in King's Landing she's trusted the wrong people. I liked Arya's confrontation with Melisandre. For a moment I thought Arya was going to try to brain her with what looked like a rock she was carrying. With Jon and Ygritte each having saved the other's life and having been intimate, their trust bond seems quite strong. We'll see if that continues. 

*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes.  If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here.  NO SPOILERS. NO BOOK DERIVED HINTS ABOUT FUTURE EVENTS. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea....

Movie Reviews- Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3
directed by Shane Black

I am trying to write shorter more concise reviews. Iron Man 3 happens to be a perfect film on which to practice that style. The foreign marketplace, especially China, is an increasingly important part of the Hollywood business model. Studios must create films which can appeal to people even if they have to use subtitles, dubbing or have no translation at all. Thus enter Iron Man 3. It is an action film. No one expects Silver Linings Playbook or Annie Hall. Subtle, Iron Man 3 is not. But there's a, I don't know a patina of boredom and paint by the numbers attitude that pervades this film. Sequels rarely live up artistically to the original and this one is no different. But even for an action film this movie seems to have a remarkable lack of feeling. Good looking woman in peril? Check. Wisecracking hero? Check. 2nd tier buddy who helps save the day? Check. Bad guy with secret past? Double check.

As mentioned China is a more important market to Hollywood these days. That country has not been shy about censoring films that are thought to be insulting to China. So The Mandarin, who in the comic was a definitively Chinese/Eurasian villain, has been reworked to be a probably non-Chinese villain of possibly Western or South/West Asian origins played by Sir Ben Kingsley. In a nod to the original comic he leads an organization called the The Ten Rings, which claims to be taking revenge on America for, well, basically everything from the slaughter of Indians to pick your reason. He's been hijacking the airwaves and ranting his manifesto immediately before or after his minions carry out another terrorist attack. No one can figure out how these bombs are being set off or for that matter how a cave dwelling crazy old man can tap into the private and public satellite network of the entire planet. 


Iron Man , Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is recovering (badly) from the events in the last Avengers movie and dealing with the challenges of living with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). No matter how rich you are or how much you love someone there's always tensions when two people live together and this couple is no different. This is all portrayed as Stark's fault. Heh-heh. He's got panic attacks and avoids emotional intimacy with Pepper.

A blast from the past appears when the scientist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) whom Stark once rejected and ignored turns up with a tantalizing new offer for Stark CEO Pepper Potts, both on a business and personal level. Her response sets into motion a series of plots. One person who may or may not be involved in these plots is Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), a scientist who used to have an intimate connection to Tony Stark. Meanwhile, Stark's former bodyguard and now officiously paranoid Stark Industries security chief, Happy Hogan, (Jon Favreau, a previous director in this series) doesn't like what he sees in a visitor to Stark Industries. Shortly afterwards Hogan is seriously wounded in a bombing for which The Mandarin takes credit. Tony Stark takes this very personally and dares the Mandarin to come get him. And obviously things get blown up, again, and again and again. And once more with feeling.

This movie makes some very obvious allusions to 9/11. I didn't think they really worked. The film is not dark or majestic. Downey's irony and sarcasm are in full effect here but he doesn't really have much to play against -- with the exception of his relationship with Harley (Ty Simpkins) a ten year old precocious boy with a talent for computers, engineering and mechanics -- in short a younger Tony Stark. The duo provide much of the film's humor. I don't know if this was deliberate but I was occasionally reminded of Chaplin or WC Fields. Stark spends a great deal of the movie without his armor. The special effects are excellent but all in all I would say this is a wait for DVD/On-Demand film. Don Cheadle reprises his role as War Machine Iron Patriot, Colonel James Rhodes, Stark's good friend.

TRAILER

Music Reviews- Hound Dog Taylor, Paul O'Dette

Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers

I've written a lot about blues musicians who didn't fit the stereotype of wild and crazy drunks. Well of course there are people who not only fit the stereotype, they helped create it. Whether he was playing live or in recording in studio Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor was rarely without a bottle of whiskey and often somewhat buzzed if not technically drunk during performances. He routinely got in arguments and fights with his band's other guitarist, Brewer Phillips, whom he loved and hated in equal measure. Driving across country to make gigs Taylor would occasionally slap the sleeping Phillips across the back of the head telling him to "Wake up and argue!." They often traded insults and had fistfights. This friendly and not so friendly rivalry took a deadly wrong turn once. When Phillips joked about how he used to know the current Mrs. Taylor when she was allegedly in a different line of work, an angry Hound Dog shot Phillips twice with the intention of killing him. Phillips survived and the two men repaired their friendship shortly before Taylor died of lung cancer. Presumably Phillips thereafter refrained from discussing the sexual history of his buddy's wife. I don't know. I know that Taylor didn't shoot him again. And if that's not real friendship I don't know what is.

Hound Dog Taylor (he may have gotten the name after the Klan chased him from Mississippi for practicing vigorous consensual integration with a Caucasian woman during her husband's absence) may often have been drunk, was possibly illiterate and could certainly be occasionally violent. But he was also, despite his protestations to the contrary, one of the best slide blues guitarists around. There were plenty of more technically advanced guitarists. Taylor himself said that when he died people should say of him "He couldn't play for s*** but he sure made it sound good!". But as far as emotion and tone he was unique in music. Taylor had a very rough and nasty guitar tone, one which provided a nice complement to a nasally tenor voice. With the possible exception of Elmore James (Taylor's primary influence), there was no other contemporaneous blues guitarist and few rock ones who played with such massive distortion. Taylor was really more of a rock-and-roll guitarist in many ways. He was joined on stage in his gleeful abandon by the aforementioned Brewer Phillips on guitar and Ted Harvey on drums. Harvey also provided back up vocals and shouts of encouragement when Taylor or Phillips was really hitting the note.

Harvey had previously played with Elmore James. The group had no bassist. They didn't need one. Phillips would often tune his guitar down and provide a pseudo-bass tone. Phillips also played the rhythm lines and occasionally took solos or played lead. If Phillips had been in another group he would have gotten even more attention as he was a very fine soloist and pretty good blues singer. Harvey's frantic drum patterns never let up. He was infamous for even playing in time while he was technically asleep. Sometimes it sounded as if there were more than three men in the band. Harvey put out a lot of sound. He was an extremely busy drummer and the band's secret weapon. Taylor would play a feedback riff on one string, slide on another and trade basslines with Phillips all at once. Taylor could be almost incoherent when he wasn't singing, telling and laughing at jokes before he even reached the punchline. Often the jokes weren't necessarily that funny. Taylor had polydactyly  and once famously and likely drunkenly removed at least one extra digit with a razor blade. He was just that sort of bada$$. Words like primitive, archaic and brutal were often used to describe Taylor's music; one person called his group "The Ramones of the Blues". Taylor's sound was, despite mixes of relatively cheap and/or shoddy American and Japanese gear, not especially easy for others to duplicate, though many tried.

Freddie King's hit "Hideaway" was based on (i.e ripped off from) a Taylor instrumental. Most of Taylor's music was well suited for dancing. Like many other bluesmen, no matter how long his solos became (and he would sometimes go off the deep end) he and his bandmates usually kept the groove going, one way or another. I liked his voice. It wasn't as deep as Howling Wolf's but it had that grit and strength which is not easy to find. Check out Taylor's tongue in cheek tribute to Howling Wolf "The Dog Meets the Wolf" where he tries to sing in Wolf's gruff gravelly baritone. It's funny and respectful.  My favorite Taylor song is "Sadie". Other blues songs share some lyrics with it but as far as the pain of unrequited love and the embarrassment of being insulted by the other person's honey, "Sadie" says it all. And if you want something slower give "Things Don't Work Out Right" a listen. It's a long slow philosophical blues about the ups and downs of love. Taylor uses a tremendous amount of feedback and tremolo on this tune. At points his guitar sounds like a horn or a singer. "It Hurts Me Too" is an Elmore James piece where Taylor lets his guitar sing portions of the verses. So turn up Taylor's music loud. If you drink, open up a bottle of something. Have a laugh and shake your moneymaker like it's your last time shaking it. Cause one day it will be.

She's Gone  Sadie   I'm Wild About You Baby Jam (Live in Ann Arbor)    It Hurts Me Too
The Dog Meets The Wolf  What I'd Say   Let's Get Funky
Kitchen Sing Boogie (Phillips on lead)  See Me In The Evening
Things Don't Work Out Right   Phillips Crawl (Phillips on lead)  .44 blues





Paul Odette Lute Works Volume 1, Johann Sebastian Bach

I don't usually find much value in saying that so-and-so was the greatest when it comes to discussing art. That said though certainly Bach was among the world's greatest composers. His music has a lot to offer and can be arranged or played for a seemingly infinite variety of instruments and choirs. Although Bach was best known as an organist, he also wrote for other instruments, especially the lute. But his lute music was usually written for keyboards or even occasionally violins or cellos. It's a bit of a mystery why Bach did this or if he played the lute himself.  So almost all of Bach's lute music must be significantly rearranged to actually play on the lute as the voicing between keyboard and lute are significantly different. The lute is arguably a forerunner/great-uncle of the guitar and is closely related to the Levantine/Arabian/North African instrument, the oud, which is basically a fretless lute.

With that sort of ancestry it makes sense that one of the better interpreters of the music which Bach wrote for lute or for lutelike harpsichords, is Paul O'Dette, who started out as an electric guitarist mostly working in a popular context before switching to lute and embarking upon a long and rewarding career as a classical lutenist.

Even if you've never heard Bach (which I find implausible) or you don't like classical music (which would be a shame) you could do worse than to listen to O'Dette's interpretations here. And if you like classical music and/or are a Bach fan you will love this CD and probably go searching for more of O'Dette's work. The production is pristine. You're right there in front of O'Dette's lute. There aren't any mistakes, at least not any that anyone who's not an award winning musician would notice. It's fantastic music and awe inspiring technique. You can literally hear each individual note bloom and decay because of the microphone placement and recording venue, not because of any electronic slight of hand. The CD recording has a nice little natural reverb with very lush sound. Hopefully you have a decent sound system because this CD begs to be heard on something with a little power and gain.


Partita in E (Gavreau en Rondeau)   Loure of Partita  Partita in E: Minuet 1 and 2

You Deserve Rape: Free Speech or Harassment?

How far do you think the First Amendment protections on free speech should stretch? In a famous Supreme Court case which then restricted the ability of anti-war citizens to distribute anti-war literature, the Court said that a person could not falsely yell fire in a crowded theater. I think the example was a good one although the actual case opinion was in my view horribly incorrect.

"The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent." LINK

This standard was fortunately later modified in the 1969 Brandenburg decision which allowed that free speech could not be restricted unless, among other reasons, it incited or was likely to incite imminent lawless action. I'm guessing this would for example include such things as standing up in a courtroom where your loved one was about to be sentenced and yelling out to your numerous friends and family "Let's burn this muyerfuyer down and kill that judge!!". That's probably going to get you removed from the courtroom and arrested. There are some other instances in which free speech protections do not apply: threats, lies, copyright infringement, parental rights over children, and a few other circumstances which don't much interest me for purposes of this post. Of course my blog partners Old Guru and The Janitor can easily give chapter and verse on exactly where free speech is and is not limited legally. It's what they do. But I'm not only interested on where the legal line currently is but rather where do you think it should be?

In Arizona there may be another test case, not necessarily legally, but culturally and politically of where we think free speech ends and harassment begins. At the University of Arizona a student protested Take Back the Night rallies and designation of April as sexual assault awareness month by holding a sign that read "You deserve rape".

A student holding a sign that read “You deserve rape” ignited outrage across campus Tuesday, on the same day of a sexual assault awareness event, but administrators declined requests to remove him or his sign. 

Dean Saxton — also known as Brother Dean Samuel — regularly preaches on the UA Mall in front of Heritage Hill and the Administration building. On Tuesday, his sermon drew the attention of onlookers, several of whom either personally confronted him or complained to the Dean of Students Office. 

The Dean of Students Office received stacks of written complaints, emails and multiple phone calls regarding Saxton’s sermon about women, said Kendal Washington White, interim dean of students. Saxton has never directly threatened anyone in particular, and his language has been general enough that he isn’t targeting a particular person, White said. However, a university attorney was contacted to discuss the situation. “We find it to be vulgar and vile,” White said. “However, it is protected speech. He has yet to, at this point, violate the student code of conduct.”

Saxton, a junior studying classics and religious studies, said his sermon was meant to convey that “if you dress like a whore, act like a whore, you’re probably going to get raped.”  “I think that girls that dress and act like it,” Saxton said, “they should realize that they do have partial responsibility, because I believe that they’re pretty much asking for it.”

LINK

I think this is a classic case of "I disapprove or what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."  I tend to think that the best remedy for bad speech is good speech...in the public sphere. That last is important. I don't hold that there is any free speech right to come to a blog and insult people, visit someone's home and curse out the owner or even for the government to insist that a private organization accept an individual member who has previously stated his or her fervent opposition to the group's goals. And often once a parent tells a child that "this conversation is over", well that's the end of that. Usually in my household that particular phrase was a warning signal that this was my final chance to sit down and be quiet before more convincing methods were used. Obviously in a private workplace, someone carrying that same sign Saxton is carrying likely would be fired immediately, forcibly escorted from the premises and possibly sued. So those are all exceptions to "free speech" with which I'm fine.

But in the public sphere where the government is able, willing and eager to use coercive methods that are simply not available to blog moderators, company managers or strict parents, I think we need to be very careful about suggesting that some ideas can't be expressed or worse yet, must be punished after the fact if anyone dares to express them.

The country is full of people who have repugnant ideas. Whether we like it or not, they have the right to express them. Although I might well enjoy forcing certain people to shut up  , whatever political coalition gives me the power to take that action and play censor may be fleeting. So in the not too distant future I might be forced to give up my free speech rights by "bad guys" who find my ideas repugnant. That's not acceptable. Even folks who are in the same general political spectrum as I am can often have surprisingly and to my way of thinking, ridiculously different ideas about topics. They may think that banning this or that idea is a small price to pay for harmony. So it goes.

Saxton's speech may well be hateful and may make people uncomfortable. But that's exactly the sort of speech the First Amendment was designed to protect. Unless Saxton makes a particularized threat to someone or otherwise disrupts class I don't see where the university has or should have the power to prevent him from expressing his opinion. One man's free speech is another woman's hostile environment. In the public sphere I think protecting the right to free speech is more valuable than supposed completing claims like freedom from hate speech or hostile environments. Anything stating someone deserves sexual assault is wrong, obviously. But saying "You deserve rape" in a general sense is different from saying you're going to rape a particular person. One is free speech, albeit ugly, while the other is an actionable threat which should see someone locked up. Of course Saxton's message is not directed at my gender. So maybe I can afford to be rather blase about it. Though in truth I'd feel the same way if he started carrying around a sign endorsing theories of racial inferiority. What if the message is directed at you? What if you are a woman who is wearing a skirt that is too short, heels that are too high or a top that's too tight or too revealing for Saxton's preference. Does your opinion change? Does Saxton deserve a punch in the mouth?

Questions

1) Is this free speech?

2) Should the student code of conduct change to make things like this actionable?

3) Should public schools or universities have exemptions from First Amendment protections in order to provide safe environments?

4) Should hate speech lack First Amendment protection?

5) Should Saxton be expelled?

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: Kissed By Fire

This week's episode starts with the trial by combat duel between Beric Dondarrion and Sandor Clegane, The Hound. As mentioned last week, Thoros is a priest of R'hllor, the same god that Melisandre serves. He intones a prayer that the Lord of Light show the truth. As befits the champion of a god so infatuated with light and fire Beric fights with a flaming sword. The Hound is famously afraid of fire. Prayers are chanted by all and the fight is on. It's a classic battle royale with The Hound's strength and size matched against Beric's speed and fire. They go head up for quite some time before The Hound's brute force starts to turn the tide and he cleaves Beric from collarbone to kidney. It's a death blow. The Hound has won the fight but he and Arya are both shocked to see Beric still alive after a quick prayer by Thoros. The Hound is free to leave, albeit without all his gold. An infuriated Arya is prevented from killing the wounded Hound. Arya is further disappointed when Gendry announces he intends to stay with Beric. Gendry thinks the social distance between Arya and himself is too great to allow for true friendship. Arya is personally hurt that Gendry won't trust in her big brother Robb, as she most assuredly does. It's ironic that Gendry is indeed Robert Baratheon's son and thus, illegitimate status aside, could indeed be Arya's future husband. 

Beyond the Wall Tormund and Orell continue to distrust Jon Snow. They interrogate him about the Night Watch and the Wall, specifically how the various castles are manned. Jon gives some answers but finally starts to show a little anger at the disrespect. They threaten him but before the men can engage in more figurative "sword" measuring, Ygritte shows that she'd like to do a little literal "sword" measuring of her own. In a scene Freud would have had a field day with she steals Jon's sword and runs with it into a warm cave. If he wants his sword back he'll have to .. Well you know what happens next. 

Ygritte has decided that her hints and flirting just aren't working with Jon Snow so she lays it on the line. Jon Snow shows that he may not have been a master debater but he is indeed a cunning linguist. After they've done what any healthy non-related heterosexual duo would do when there's no one else around Ygritte recalls some of her previous unsatisfactory experiences. She wants to know where the formerly virginal Jon got skills, especially the special kiss. Jon says he was just doing what came naturally and would prefer not to hear about Ygritte's previous paramours. Ygritte is head over heels in love.

Locke brings Brienne and Jaime to Bolton at Harrenhal. Bolton, however appears angry about Jaime's mutilation and Locke's sadism. He is courteous to both Brienne and Jaime and orders Jaime's wounds treated by Qyburn. Qyburn is a former maester who was expelled from the Citadel for unauthorized and unethical experiments. Tyrion meets with Olenna Tyrell to complain about the cost of the wedding between Joffrey and Margarey. Showing that she knows exactly how important the Tyrells are, Olenna reminds Tyrion in great detail of the soldiers, food and wealth that the Tyrells, which is to say Mace, which is to say Olenna, are providing to the Lannisters and how untenable the Lannister situation would be without the Tyrell backstop. She also points out that weddings are important diversions for otherwise troublesome lower classes. Nevertheless she agrees to split the cost. Meanwhile Cersei has not let go of her distaste for the Tyrells and tasks Littlefinger to find something on them.

In a scene that is a bit too rushed and didn't quite have the sense of betrayal required, Lord Karstark and his retainers murder the Lannister child prisoners. Robb is very upset by this as he's fighting for justice and can't have his men murdering children. This could obviously put his sisters' lives at stake. Edmure, Talisa and Catelyn all remind him that whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter are, Karstark leads a key part of Robb's army. When brought to account Karstark shows no remorse and is downright contemptuous of Robb and Catelyn. That does it. Even if he had doubts Robb no longer does. He orders Karstark's retainers hanged and executes Karstark himself, just like Dad would have done.

While Arya is reciting her prayer for vengeance against those who have wronged her and her family, Beric explains that Thoros has brought him back from the dead six times but that he loses more of himself each time. When Thoros and Beric sadly explain this process won't bring back Ned, Arya is further embittered.

Stannis finally goes to see his wife, Selyse. He is ill at ease and in typical Stannis fashion wants to admit his adulterous wrongdoings with Melisandre . He is taken aback to discover that Melisandre has already told Selyse everything. Selyse is not only okay with it but downright happy. Stannis may be a true believer both in his right to be King and in R'hllor but Selyse is a fanatic on both levels. In fact Selyse is downright creepy as she has evidently saved her stillborn children in glass bottles. Yeah. Stannis leaves his wife to see his daughter Shireen, who suffers from greyscale, a disease akin to leprosy. We see that Davos is still in prison. Shireen considers him a friend.

Jaime goes to the same pool as Brienne to take a bath, something which puts her ill at ease. He insults her, almost for old times sake, but immediately apologizes. He explains that everyone calls him "Kingslayer" for killing the Mad King but that by murdering the king, he stopped the king from incinerating King's Landing and also avoided the worse sin of patricide, which is what the king had just ordered him to do. Brienne is shocked and wonders why Jaime never told anyone this before. This is a pretty powerful scene.
Daenerys is on the march. The Unsullied have chosen their own leader, Grey Worm, to speak for them with Danerys. Jorah and Barristan talk about the good old days, even though they were often on opposite sides. Jorah is still suspicious of Barristan and old man or not, doesn't want Barristan having clear access to Daenerys or authority over him. Typical friend zone behavior. Unfortunately there apparently isn't a bard in either Westeros or Essos who's written any song like Tell Her About It. So Jorah still hasn't made his move. Jorah is curious as to whether Barristan was on the small council.

We see the limitations of feudal as opposed to national armies. Karstark's men have left the army. Their primary loyalty was to Karstark, not Robb. In a scene that echoes the comments of our own Fed Up, Robb admits that he's lost purpose and direction, primarily because the Lannister armies won't engage him anymore yet he lacks the ability to siege King's Landing. Talisa suggests going home to retake the North but Robb knows if he goes north he won't be able to get his remaining bannermen to come south again. Robb decides to attack Casterly Rock and draw out the Lannisters. To do that he'll need more men and that means making peace with Walder Frey, whom he rejected as a father-in-law when he married Talisa.

Sansa and Margaery (cleavage alert!) are watching Loras spar. A squire is flirting with Loras and later they do what any healthy homosexual duo would do. It turns out that the squire was one of Littlefinger's prostitutes. Littlefinger learns that Loras is to marry Sansa. Littlefinger doesn't confront Sansa with this information but when Sansa demurs at leaving with Littlefinger, claiming that it's too dangerous, Littlefinger says he understands and hopes that Sansa considers him a true friend. He then promptly passes this information on to Cersei.

Tyrion visits his father to report on progress cutting costs. He is somewhat dismayed to find Big Sis there looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. Tywin dismisses Tyrion's report of wedding cost containment as small potatoes. Cersei has told Tywin of the Tyrell marriage plans for Sansa. As it is widely believed that Robb and Sansa are the only Stark children left alive that makes Sansa not only a very valuable hostage but also the heir to the North.The Lannisters don't want the Tyrells to have her. Tyrion wants to know what that has to do with him and soon picks up through his sister's smirk and his father's glare that he is to marry Sansa. Tywin has made up his mind and won't hear differently. Tyrion says Sansa is still a child but in Westeros old enough to bleed means old enough to breed. Tywin has another order however. He intends that Cersei should marry Loras. This was a surprise to Cersei and she likes it even less than Tyrion did. But Tywin is master of this pride of lions and browbeats both of his children into sullen submission, saying that they disappoint him. From his perspective the Lannister name and power is far more important than his children or their happiness.

I enjoyed the shifting of perspectives regarding Jaime and the nature of good and evil. Stannis and Melisandre have a very Manichean view regarding morality. Either a man is good or he is not. An onion with rot in it is a rotten onion, period. Even Ned Stark was probably closer to this view in some ways although he was more forgiving than those two. However Jaime has a more flexible sense of morality. We are introduced initially to the evil side (trying to murder a child, sleeping with his sister, cuckolding the king, being snarky and arrogant to everyone not a Lannister, killing a distant cousin in an attempt to escape, murdering the king he was sworn to protect) but recently we've seen that for at least some of those actions he had very good reasons, reasons we might even claim were moral. We've also seen him try to protect a woman from rape. GRRM's work challenges the usual depiction of good and evil in fantastical/historical literature. Benioff and Weiss have captured that aspect pretty well, I think. We also see as Sansa did not, that the Tyrells may not be as abusive or evil as Cersei or Joffrey are, but they are quite definitely self-interested. 


*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes.  If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here.  NO SPOILERS. NO BOOK DERIVED HINTS ABOUT FUTURE EVENTS. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea....