"Wherever there's injustice, oppression, and suffering, America will show up six months late and bomb the country next to where it's happening. " -


P.J. O'Rourke



A little drowsy today as I stayed up catching the end of Million Dollar Baby shortly after I had finished watching the climactic court room scene from North Country. Not a viewing schedule I would recommend for the same night although both were very good especially the latter, compelling story told by an incredible cast and an excellent soundtrack heavy on Dylan.

I was catching up on the Writer's Almanac and read that today was P.J. O'Rourke's birthday and I realized I had not read anything by him since letting my Atlantic Monthly subscription lapse several months ago. He is one the funniest writers I have ever encountered. He was a perfect right wing gonzo libertarian counterweight to Hunter S. Thompson at Rolling Stone. Several years ago while visiting a friend in NYC I chanced to find out about a reading at some mega-book store nearby while I was in town and so I managed get a couple of his books signed. Naturally I picked up a copy of Republican Party Reptile for El Duderino.

According to one source O'Rourke is one of the most quoted humorists of all time and a quick search of the web will reveal some of his gems. His latest book about Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is due out in January and I think its the first book that is not just a collection of previously published articles he has put out in a while.

Speaking of books no one reads anymore, today is the anniversary of the publication of Moby Dick. I would like to again recommend Frederick Turner's novel about Melville, The Night Inspector.

This Borat news item makes me a bit more leery of all the hype for this film. Still want to see it though. James Bond takes priority however.

The Last King of Scotland is supposed to be great as long as Forest Whitaker is on the screen. It is likely not to be shown back home until next semester on campus at the Bijou. There is a good book about a coffee heist set in Uganda during Amin's rule by Donald Westlake called Kahawa (Swahili for coffee). Not sure how hard this would be to find but Westlake does capers extremely well and assembles an assorted cast. It has been years since I read this so I hope it holds up to my memory of it. Westlake's son used to live in the Goosetown area and I remember meeting him through mutual friends. I was big fan of all his dad's comic crime novels especially the Dortmunder series and also his darker titles written as Richard Stark.