For years I've regarded The History Channel as the best number on the dial, as they used to say back in the days when you had to get off your ass to change the channel. In my experience, the writing, sequencing, and production values are always top-notch, and you can count on a grounded and intelligent presentation of facts and a fair interpretation of data. It's always way too interesting to turn away from. And they've done brains a great service with their relentless pursuit of the unexplained. The "Digging for the Truth", "Decoding the Past", "History's Mysteries" and "Lost Worlds" series, to name a few, are always worth watching.

With apologies to the great teachers out there, I'd be willing to bet that a kid can learn more from watching The History Channel for a week than they can from a year in the classroom.

But anyway, the reason I'm jotting this (do I have to say blogging? Do I really hafta?) is...I just watched a THC program called "The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy" and it had a pretty strong effect on me. Even though I didn't exist when JFK was killed, I've always leaned toward believing that the Warren Commission report was incomplete at best. The whole Jack Ruby thing, and the direction of JFK's recoil, have left a deep impression that the real story is darker than the official story. Most, if not all, of my family members who were alive at the time believe there's more to the story, too. It's pretty damn fascinating that such strong doubt about something so significant lingers dormant in the minds of a likely majority.

I've never been particularly fond of Oliver Stone films, but I remember seeing his film JFK, and liking it. I remember how I came out of the theater pissed off, and tinged with a strange sadness. I was aware then that he had taken some dramatic licenses with his depiction of the story, (and the whole coup d'etat theory was nutty enough to bring the whole film down a peg), but I didn't realize until this THC program just how broad Stone's licenses were. By the end of the program, I was pissed off, and tinged with a strange sadness. But for entirely different reasons. Something that significant to American history and our country's psyche should never have been mixed so loosely with art.

The bit that really pissed me off is the whole magic bullet thing. The data as presented by THC, which are based on extensive film and CG research, reveal that there was nothing magic about the bullet at all. And why would Stone have written into the script that Oswald was a bad shot when his Navy records prove that he was an excellent marksman? Why make shit up? This isn't Alice in Wonderland, it's one of the pivotal moments in American history. Get it right, asshole. Even if it means less drama. Getting people interested again in an event neglected by time is great, but you have to wonder if it did more harm than good. I don't know what the truth is, but I do know that when the truth suffers, we all do.

Labels: ponderage

The NHL playoffs start this week, and even if you couldn't care less about that, read this CNN/SI article about Buffalo's captain Chris Drury. It's a long one but worth every page. One bit that I especially like:

"It's his paradox: No player approaches the game more seriously, yet few better understand its relative unimportance. With Drury there's always the sense of a career, a life, held in delicate balance between intensity and calm, between the demands of fame and an almost aggressive humility. He has all his trophies, rings and awards, of course -- but he keeps them in storage."

Tim Russert summed it up well when he said, "Let's hope...One time."

Sabres.

Labels: games

Thinking about script writing got my mind yearning for the days of Northern Exposure (again). Seriously, has there been a show that good ever since? In-genre, that is. I hear the writing is great in 24 and other shows. Shows with guns and explosions and the general intrigue of evil characters aside, you can't convince me that there's ever been writing as sharp and funny and truly original as that gem from the 90s. This clip is a good example:

Labels: at home