Mission Control – writing a Harvard thesis

I diverge from my usual, serious subjects to offer a brief social commentary…

Twitter’s for twits. Sorry to break your narcissistic heart, but if God wanted everyone to pay attention to you, he wouldn’t have invented the rest of us. Get a life, then don’t write about it.

Thank you, Gary Trudeau.

Here’s my take on the devolution of conversation, from dialogue to monologue to “who cares?”:

letter-writing >> email >> IMg >> Facebook >> twitter

For those who have seen Idiocracy, I’d argue that we’ve already moved into the first phase.

Definitely liked this one. Knew I would.

Great film. Time-lapse photography in IMAX. Commentary is worth turning on during the movie. It’s amazing how many places they filmed are off-limits now. They have one scene from the top of the World Trade towers. Another from the balcony the Pope comes out on in St. Peter’s Square. Stonehenge is now barricaded off. They went to Egypt, Paris, Mont St. Michel, England, the Grand Canyon, and NYC. The one disappointment – they didn’t shoot any scenes in Japan – Shinjuku Station would be a good fit for this film.

The film is brief and a nice break from a typical movie. If you like visuals and architectural details, this will delight.

Saw the RIchard Yates’ novel on the big screen the other night. I’d read most of the reviews ahead of it so I knew the story and the ending. To my surprise, I wasn’t as depressed as I thought I’d be.  Good performances. Only negatives: L. DiCaprio did seem a bit young for the role (esp. when you are supposed to believe he was in WWII because he should be older looking in the movie). Winslet’s acting was a tad stilted at times. One mistake early on: Mendes did not show us that they were happy as a couple when first married (that’s an important foundation; otherwise, you think they just were never really compatible). Regardless, the disintegration of their marriage based on conflicting desires at a time when being a Mom was “everything” is believeable. Not all women want to be home with kids — a more acceptable idea today but not then.

In the 1950s there wasn’t much choice for a woman who didn’t want to be a mom full-time. Social pressure was intense. Not so since the late ’60s — although it’s clear that “Mom-ism” has returned to our society. Because of that, I think the movie would have more social impact if it had been made in the early ’70s; now it’s kind of a retro piece that a lot of young women probably don’t get.

Just hanging out living my normal life, beyond any tasks for Harvard, while my thesis director reads over the draft I submitted January 19 (a week after the original deadline since she was busy so she pushed it back a week).

She’s supposed to return the whole draft by next Tuesday, Feb. 2, but she could return any time before then. : )

We were doing fine in the fall when she kept on schedule. Now, she’s slipped two major deadlines. Until I get that email from her, I have no idea if she wants major or minor changes.  She liked the two chapters I gave her in November but now she’s reading the heart of the thesis — the results and findings chapters.

I’ve been cleaning out my class files, notebooks, books, exams, papers, etc. Tossed most of everything except a cc of my papers and exams. Some books will get recycled at the Harvard Bookstore. Weird feeling, being at the very end of the program. Four years of my life.  Some of the best experiences were events, small lunches, and study groups at KSG.

The military study group starts up again next Tuesday at Belfer with the new crop of National Security Fellows. First topic: special forces. Should be fun.

I’ve been following the launch of GlobalPost (one of the co-founders is a cousin). Great source for anyone interested in international affairs. The Senior Editor, Andrew Meldrum, is coming to Harvard to talk about the website and working at it.

Also working on the career planning process, clarifying my goals and interests. Having worked in DC in the ’90s, not really excited about going back there, even w/Obama at the helm (they’re still kind of mad about losing the war of northern aggression). I’m a New England native, love the winter.

Due to boredom and to be on top of things, I cruised through e-resources today to be sure there isn’t anything new (academic-wise) on my topic. There isn’t. Makes me realize that I’ll lose one of the best perks of being a student at Harvard — online access to all these amazing resources.

But I get to keep the new ID!

Since I handed in my two main chapters Dec. 10, I was able to really relax and enjoy the holidays. Saw a few movies:

October Sky: based on the book, The Rocket Boys, it follows the true story of several boys in a coal town in West Virginia. Typically, no one gets out except on a football scholarship but Homer Hickam decides that rockets are fascinating so he manages, against the odds, to gain escape velocity from the coal miner’s life. Homer, played well by Jake Gyllenhaal, wants to be a rocket scientist after seeing Sputnik go overhead on an October night in 1957. His science teacher, a young woman, advocates for him, gets him a prized scientific book on rocketry, and passionately encourages him and the others to keep at it (that’s all true – that in itself is inspiring since it was 1957, a very conservative time and place). Also worth watching the interview material on the DVD with Homer and friends (and the high school principal who finally got behind him).

Ghost Town: Ricky Gervais does a good job as the unhappy dentist who sees dead people. Aasif Mandvi, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni, and Kristen Wiig are also fine. Not as silly as I thought it would be. Better than I expected. A good Netflix choice.

Milk: not a fan of Sean Penn but this was well done, he’s great. Today San Francisco is so progressive but in the mid-70’s, not so much.  You know the ending. Here’s another example of how a law-abiding, conservative family man goes nuts.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: I’m a big fan of Casey Affleck however this movie was too slow and too sharp a depiction of a gritty life and some deranged guys…gave up after first hour. Cinematographer was given too much prominence.  Story needed more action early on. This was more of a character study — which I normally like but wasn’t in the mood for the darkness.

Next in the queue: Queen Elizabeth I with Helen Mirren and then Chronos (no words, just time-lapse photography).

A favorite: That Thing You Do – sweet, light look at the making of a boy band in 1960s. Like Tom Hanks in anything. His “stand-in”, the drummer, is good. Bonus: who doesn’t like looking at Liv Tyler?

Jackie Brown trailer (R rated) don’t let the holiday music opening fool you, hang in there!

My diversion from the thesis tonight — Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown.  Pam Grier, Samuel Jackson, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Robert Forster, Chris Tucker, and Bridget Fonda.

A very good grade B movie. Heavy homage to Shaft and Superfly, but with a Tarantino twist.  Set in 1995 but the music kept pulling you back to the early 70’s. Very smooth though — seamless, subtle time shifting: old music, newer time period. Bobby Womack’s 110th Street theme — totally Shaft. Pam Grier is very fine.

Remember Iraq? It seems with all the dismal economic news people’s attention has turned to the domestic front…possibly pushing Iraq a bit too far in the background. To spread some Christmas spirit, a non-profit, Trees for Troops and FedEx have joined together to send Christmas trees to some of the soldiers and their families. Last year they sent 16,846 trees from 29 states and 750 farmers to 15 countries where troops are stationed (not just Iraq). Great idea, nicely done.

[photos from the website - somebody's got to do the decorating!]

Another movie distraction and recommendation: The Dish with Sam Neill and Patrick Warburton. Based on the true story of the Australian radio telescope and crew that broadcast some of the first images from Neil Armstrong’s moon walk, July 20, 1969.

Good cast, well-written, nicely acted. Both funny and touching. Reminds me a bit of State and Main. In high school at the time of the moon landing, I remember it well and appreciated the intermixing of real footage and audio.

Yesterday, Halloween, I finished my first two thesis chapters. So I happily turned my attention back to the everyday world. Got dressed up to hand out candy and have some fun.  I’m still impressed by how well-mannered these kids are.  We get some very cute kids in some great costumes.

Continuing my brief hiatus from my thesis this weekend, I rented The Bank Job. Sharp movie, excellent escape. If it wasn’t based on a true story, it wouldn’t be half as entertaining. Good casting, good acting, fast pace, a bit gruesome in a couple of places. The bank heist is the tamest crime in the movie. It’s an action film and a study in thinking fast on your feet (if you are the protagonist, Terry).