Milk

We finally saw "Milk" last night. Well-made, as expected, but I found it overall a little flat. Sean Penn's astonishing performance, however, is everything it is cracked up to be. The movie also ought to be an exhibit in Harvey Milk's canonization, if and when the Church ever comes around to making saints of gays and unconverted Jews.

The most interesting theme is the notion that Dan White was a tortured, closeted gay who was simultaneously drawn to and repelled by Milk. In the movie, White is ultimately the biggest victim of homophobia, while Milk, supremely comfortable in his own skin and a fighter from the very beginning, is anything but.

28 weeks later?

My wife Laura wonders why Dick Cheney doesn't just "slink away" and leave us all alone. I would no more expect Dick Cheney to slink away than I would expect one of those infected guys in 28 Days Later to do the same. They just keep snarling and coming at you. Here he is again, offended that the Obama administration is taking some baby steps toward investigating our homegrown torturers. Well, at least we can all agree that there is something offensive here.

Harry Potter and the...

... Half-Blood Prince, I believe. Saw it on IMax, with 3-D for the first ten minutes or so. What I can say about 3-D is that the technology is quite improved from what I remember. It no longer makes you nauseous, and some of the effects are fairly striking. Still, most of the time it reminded me of looking through a View-Master, with the obvious discrete foreground and background. I.e., still a gimmick.

The movie? Not bad overall, but not worth the $14 I spent. Too much teen angst and snogging for my taste. The new Dumbledore pales in comparison to Richard Harris. The memory pensieve is quite cool: Harry sticks his head in a toilet bowl and trips out. The journey across a lake straight out of Dante to retrieve the horcrux is poorly done, not nearly as intense as it is in the book (yes, I read it). Biggest problem: the vivid three-dimensional characters that J.K Rowling created in her excellent novels are portrayed by, alas, appealing kid actors who grew up to be second-rate young adult actors. What can you do?

Best man for the job

The President on reappointing Ben Bernanke:

“As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I’m sure Ben never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that’s exactly what he has helped to achieve.”

Like, what he said.

Nautical terms

Highly recommended. Start with the definition of slush fund, which was new to me. Also by and large. Listen to some sea shanties while you're at it.

Magnolia at age 10

I just watched it for the fourth time. Still tremendous... I haven't seen a better movie made since. And that includes Ratatouille, which would however be a good remedy for the mood Magnolia puts you in.

On cap and trade

My letter to the editor of the NY Times today should not be taken as an endorsement of the government giving away most of the carbon permits, as is proposed in the House bill. I'm a strong believer in auctioning as a relatively efficient way of enhancing government revenue. Nor do I endorse the bill's inadequate reduction targets. Still, the news article in the Times simply got the effect of a permit giveaway on emissions prices wrong.

To the Editor:

The claim that giving away permits keeps the price of emissions low reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how cap-and-trade programs work (“House Backs Bill, 219-212, to Curb Global Warming,” front page, June 27).

The price of emissions, and therefore the effect of the program on fuel and energy prices, will be determined by the total supply of permits (the cap), not by how they are initially allocated. Consumers will have to pay the price either way, as well they should, for their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

William A. Sundstrom
Santa Clara, Calif., June 30, 2009