Last Saturday I went to see the much talked about drama The King's Speech. Today it was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and I must say, I think they are well deserved. I'm not one to get excited about just any historical movie about the House of Windsor, but I found the film to be very entertaining and quite a compelling story. So often we think of the powerful people of history in terms of their strengths, but The King's Speech illustrates the fact that as hard as it is for us to believe, these figures are human.
The best, most surprising thing about the film was how funny it was. We laughed through the whole thing. It also walked that very fine line between sentiment and schmaltz very successfully. Being a long time Colin Firth fan I thought this was a great role for him and was very happy to see him nominated for an Oscar for the performance. Last, but not least, it was great to see Helena Bonham Carter in a role that did not rely heavily on scary makeup (i.e. Fight Club, Planet of the Apes, Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland...).
Check it out if you haven't already!
Showing posts with label world events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world events. Show all posts
Cali Bagby
When I was a senior in college I became friends with a woman named Cali Bagby. Cali was a journalism major and interested in everything. She is an avid outdoorswoman and wild animal enthusiast (we watched several Wild America episodes that year).
After I graduated we fell out of touch and I always regretted I hadn't kept in better contact since we had a close friendship at one time. Luckily with the miracle of modern technology (aka Facebook) Cali popped up in my newsfeed last year, and I learned that she was to be an embedded with Charlie Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation of the Oregon National Guard, in the middle east. Cali spent 10 months there with the Medevac unit and returned to the US safe and sound.
Cali has recently returned to Afghanistan as a freelance journalist and is continuing to chronicle what she is witnessing there on her blog Cali Bagby, Combat Zone. She is currently embedded with Marines. I'm inspired by her both as an aspiring writer as well as an old friend. Not everyone has that fire inside them that makes you believe they are capable of great things, but Cali has it, and she had it when I knew her, even before she had imagined where this career would take her. The work that reporters like Cali do is essential to a free society, and I am equal parts proud and in awe of what she has chosen to do with her career. Stay safe and keep up the good work, Cali.
Abubaker Kaki
On Saturday, July 3 Abubaker Kaki of Sudan will attempt to set the world record in the 1,000m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. Kaki is a two-time world champion and seems poised to set the record at one of the most elite track and field events in the world. The prospect of a world record being set on the track I walked past every day on my way to class during college is, in a word, thrilling. While running may be the most understated of international sporting events, it is by far the most competitive. There is no gear to obtain, no fancy practice facilities required, a nation's GDP doesn't make its runners faster and it sure doesn't guarantee them more guts in a race. Sure, high altitude training helps and of course sponsorship and access to accomplished coaches, but when it comes down to it, man was built to run. It's hard to find a playing field more level than that.
So on a day in July, in a small town in Oregon known mostly for its college, the world will watch a man from a country most of us will never visit attempt to do something that until that moment was impossible.
So on a day in July, in a small town in Oregon known mostly for its college, the world will watch a man from a country most of us will never visit attempt to do something that until that moment was impossible.
Godspeed, Kaki.
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