. . . I wanted to see a war movie. We've seen The American Revolution too recently, and our copy of Band of Brothers is, of all things, on VHS—and totally shredded at this point. Unwatchable.

So we saw Saving Private Ryan. It's a tough one.

It certainly put my problems in perspective, though.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:56 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 For my money, "Band of Brothers" is the best war movie ever made. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a great one too (the original with Lou Ayres, not the remake). "Saving Private Ryan" is good, some parts of it excellent. Another one you might have missed is "Enemy at the Gates", starring Ed Harris as a German sniper. The opening scenes, including the ones of the Russian troops being forced into the breach at Stalingrad without rifles, are as good in many ways as the opening of "Private Ryan". If you haven't seen it, check it out. Women were snipers in the Russian Army, for what it's worth, and some were worth quite a lot. A woman sniper was the best in the Red Army, killing over 350 Germans by herself in World War II. Wonder if she could cook?

Posted by: clyde at July 05, 2006 02:45 AM (6m+7s)

2 Thanks for the recommendations. I do suspect, from my limited experience, that Band of Brothers is the very best, but it may not be fair to compare it with feature-length movies--because of the time limitations they are subject to. I like to watch it over and over because that's how I get to know the men; each time, a new dimension into their character opens up.

Posted by: Attila Girl at July 05, 2006 03:46 AM (4IuF2)

3 Keep one thing in mind when you watch Band of Brothers (which is also a book)-late author Steven Ambrose was a confirmed plagiarist. The same as supposedly-hot historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Something about "neglecting to detail their sources..."

Posted by: clyde at July 05, 2006 04:05 AM (6m+7s)

4 It's a cold-war movie rather than a typical hot-war movie, but I strongly recommend "K-19," which happens on a Russian nuclear submarine and is based on a real series of events.

Posted by: David Foster at July 05, 2006 06:56 AM (/Z304)

5 I know, Clyde--but given that this project was made with the cooperation of the guys from the 101st, and had Captain Dale Dye as an advisor, I doubt any inaccuracies crept into the mini-series (excuse me: HBO Event) itself, despite Ambrose's sloppiness.

Posted by: Attila Girl at July 05, 2006 10:19 AM (4IuF2)

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. . . there's a great discussion going over at Goldstein's place.

He's been talking to his own patriotism, much in the way W.B. Yeats held discussions between his self and his soul. (Although Yeats didn't get harangued for drinking Mexican beer in his underwear, if I recall correctly.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:11 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Everyone wants to see the fireworks from the ridge near our house that overlooks the Rose Bowl. I've gone out there a few times on the 4th: you can see all the displays across the San Gabriel Valley, eight or nine of 'em. Kinda cool.

So, as usual, everyone's parked in front of our house and they are all yammering at each other as they walk up the street to jockey for position.

I may walk up there after it starts. Though I am the one does the grilling around here, so I did get a pyromania fix today.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . has a nice tribute up for the Fourth of July; I can do no better, so here you go.

Enjoy your gardenburgers, hamburgers, kabobs, pasta salad, pork loin, edamame, watermelon, strawberry shortcake, and homemade granita.

But especially—enjoy living here, with our bill-of-rights glamour: "We've got a groovy thing, goin', Baby; got a groovy thing."

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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