accountability

 Two thumbs up to FIFA for investigating the allegations of the NorKor soccer team being subjected to public humiliation and the coach sentenced to hard labor.  I feel like banning them from playing in the World Cup will have more of an effect on the regime than all the sanctions from Japan and the U.S.  Good work, FIFA!  read more

Last night, Kyohei and I went to see M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender.  Before you judge me, let me explain.  When I was a TA for Asian Religions back in my graduate student days, my students kept talking about The Avatar: the Last Airbender animated show on Nickelodeon.  This probably started when we discussed the concept of Avatar in Hinduism (and Buddhism): the incarnation or manifestation of a deity on earth.  Why the hell they named that other movie with the blue aliens Avatar, I will never know.

Anyway, I've long been an M. Night Shyamalan apologist.  I have yet to meet another person who likes his movies.  One day work was SO slow that I decided to start watching the cartoon as background knowledge for the movie.  At first I thought it was terrible, but I soon became addicted-- now Kyohei is too.  For a cartoon, it is has a surprisingly complex plot, character development, meaningful story line and philosophy.  Besides, its cute and funny.  When we compare Avatar with other current mind-numbing children's programs, it seems downright amazing. 

The movie is based on book 1 of the animated series.  It was like going to see the movie after you just read the book-- never good enough (I wonder if that is what Eat, Pray, Love will be like).  There is enough potential in Avatar to make the film Airbender series the next Star Wars--epic!  Visually, it was good.  It matched the cartoon PERFECTLY.  You knew right away who everyone was and it actually followed the plot.  I hate when the movie changes the whole story.  But, the dialogue was so.... nonexistent?  There was no character development.  I don't know.  I feel like so much of the "spirit stuff" from the animation made it in, but non of the personality stuff.  The animated series doesn't hit you over the head with hindu-buddho philosophy like the movie (even though it is unmistakeably so).  Gods, spirits, monks, balance, and reincarnation are just taken for granted as normal.  It was like the movie was trying to teach us.  Maybe I ruined it for myself by watching the animation.

damn.  At least Sokka, er Jackson Rathbone is soooooooooo HOT.  Wow.  He looks so much better than he did in those silly vampire movies