Isaac Laquedem

Congressional Republicans: the Marxists of our time

The Republican party, and in particular its leadership in Congress, has turned into a collection of Marxists - not adherents of Karl Marx, but of Groucho Marx, most notably his line from Horse Feathers, “Whatever it is, I’m against it.” It must save a lot of intellectual energy to be able to oppose something without having to go to the bother of reading it first.

Robin Williams (1951-2014), the Great Pagliacci of our time

An old story runs like this.  The psychiatrist's patient tells him, "I am depressed, and my life seems harsh and colorless."  The doctor says, "There is a simple treatment.  The most famous clown in the world, the Great Pagliacci, is in town and is performing tonight.  Go see his performance, and he will cure you."  The patient stifles a sob, and says, "Doctor, that won't work.  I am the Great Pagliacci."

And the winner of "Best Laotian Film of 2008" is ...

When Laos became communist in 1975, it removed many influences of Western culture, among them film.  A new film entitled Sabaidee Luang Prabang (Good morning, Luang Prabang) premiered on May 24 in Vientiane (the capital of Laos).  It's the first commercial film shot in Laos since 1975.  It was shown at the Laos National Cultural Center, perhaps out of national pride but also possibly out of necessity; Laos has only two movie theatres, both in Vientiane.

How open Laos is to new films is a good question; Agence France-Presse (from whom I swiped this story) implied that the May 24 screening was a one-shot; the story notes diplomatically, "It is not clear when, or if, further screenings in Laos are planned."

But it was all for a good cause, officer!

Twenty-five years ago yesterday, on May 16, 1980, the Quincy House Film Society, a student organization at Harvard University, advertised a screening of the X-rated film Deep Throat on the Harvard campus.  Why was the film society showing Deep Throat?  It needed the money to pay for $400 of damage that resulted after it had shown Animal House the month before.  The Middlesex County district attorney took offense, and charged two officers of the film society with disseminating obscene matter.  (This article from the May 21, 1980 Harvard Crimson gives some of the background, criticizing both the society's decision to show the film and the district attorney's decision to charge the students with a crime.)

Massachusetts, a state more politically advanced than Oregon, had a state lottery already up and running in 1980, complete with chirpy billboards showing happy people saying "I've got my number going for me!"  It was perhaps a small step for the students to think that, if the state could make money for worthy causes by sponsoring gambling, then they could do the same by sponsoring adult entertainment. 

All turned out well, however; one of the two arrested students joined Microsoft, received some stock options (apparently a lot of stock options), and is now a part-owner of the Seattle Mariners.  And the critic at the school newspaper (a Portland native) became the editor of the Harvard Business Review, though she's since left that position and married one of her interview subjects.