Movie: The Vow

Right to the point:
The happy couple, not long married, are out for a pleasant evening. They're hit by a truck. He recovers. She forgets him and their life. The rest is his struggle to win her love again, while others take advantage to turn her history the way it didn't go the first time.

A pleasant date movie, this story is well done, enjoyable, and predictable. And turns out it's true.

What to do when she forgets the last five years, returns to the past, and heads down the path everyone thought she would the first time? Why didn't she continue that way the first time? What could possibly persuade her to change course - again - the same improbable way? Intriguing questions with compelling answers.

How he could, should, and does handle this agonizing rewind is thought provoking. She is his wife, he is an utter stranger, and the pursuit & avoidance of intimacies amid trust and lack thereof makes for aching drama. The proof of their past is irrefutable, but the compulsion to repeat it is a mystery.

Methinks this movie is underrated. It excels at its goal at the exclusion of the wow-bang-shiny we're so used to, making it look so easy we miss the profundity of the human drama it tells.

Movie: The Proposal

The Proposal is the quintessential romantic comedy: two people having every reason to avoid each other are thrust together by improbable circumstances, despite their best efforts are compelled to learn wondrous facts about each other, and just as circumstances conspire to separate them one makes a heroic act to save and secure their love just as the other is leaving forever.

The situation is contrived, the embarrassing jokes compulsory, the plot predictable, the big reveal compelling, the supporting cast goofy, and it's all worth seeing again in a "have you seen..." pinch.

Oh, particulars? A boss-from-he11 executive needs an excuse to prolong an expired visa, so she (!) obligates the long-suffering loyal assistant to play fiancé. You can guess the rest.

Global Climate Change - In Context

Climate changes. Cope.

ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/icecore/antarctica/vostok/deutnat.txt
ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/anomalies/annual.land_ocean.90S.90N.df_1901-2000mean.dat

Book: After America

Mark Steyn captures, in one easy amusing tome, everything that Right-leaning pundits complain is wrong with this country. Great summary, great insights - read it, then put it down and decide how you're going to fight back against the insanity of the polypragmonocracy (government by busybodies). And fight you will, as the current trajectory has no pleasant ending, no matter your political persuasion. This insightful commentary either pulls together the thoughts you're trying to form, or pulls apart the delusions you hold.

Rant: "Bush's Fault!"

The Democrat-dominated Congress inherited the situation in 2007, and continued the domination of Congress for 4 years – the first 2 under a compliant Republican[1] president, and next 2 under a sympathetic Democrat. During that short time, and in contrast to promises to end deficit spending (by whatever means), the debt increased nearly 60%[2]. AFAIK, no substantive spending cuts have been passed by either chamber during this period. To the contrary, the only recurring & earnest deficit-reduction suggestion is “end the Bush tax cuts for the rich”; eliminating the deficit thru tax increase would require a 100% rate on all income over $200,000.  

At some point the steaming bag on the desk is the current occupant’s responsibility.
Especially when a second one appears during the occupancy.  

1 – issued 12 vetos, half of which were resolved or overridden, the rest were not significant economic differences.
2 – that’s a 60% increase in 4 years over what debt had accumulated in more than 2 centuries.

Movie: The Expendables

This...is the biggest B-movie action movie. Ever. It has no redeeming qualities, contains relentless action, and brings in near every top-billed A- and B-list action star of our time for the gratuitous purpose of doing so. Well that was fun; what's next on my queue?

Rant: Feds - cut spending NOW

Federal revenue never exceeds 20% of GDP. We’re over 18% now. Doesn’t matter who you squeeze how, the feds aren’t getting more than about another 1% GDP - which is about $140B, nowhere near “enough”.

Given that, the next obvious thought is to raise GDP. Start with the fact that GDP fell for the first time in ‘09, then consider that for ~15 years before that it rose at $500B/yr. At this point, just getting back to normal growth would be a remarkable accomplishment - and would net another $100B/yr annual growth in revenue, again nowhere near enough. Outer-limits SWAG is doubling long-term GDP growth, growing revenue by a still-inadequate $200B instead.

So squeezing hard and stimulating fast, while munching skittles falling from rainbows whilst perched on a unicorn’s back, the best we could Hope(TM) for is $340B new revenue. Meh.

Washington is spending $1500B more of our money than they're getting. For the most optimistic schemes offered, they'll still spend over a trillion dollars more than there is to, putting us and our children on the hook for not just paying off tens (hundreds?) of trillions of dollars, but making our kids pay the interest bill as well with money they'll need for other things and no reason to pay for our folly.

That leaves...50% across-the-board spending cuts.

Stock up & hunker down, this ain’t gonna be pretty.