Morning After Musings...

T. and I hope that everyone had a great day yesterday and that you all ate far too much. That way, we'll feel less guilty ourselves! We had a house full of college students; besides eating and drinking, we played games, watched the Seahawks get trounced, watched the Longhorns trounce the Aggies (ha ha!), and debated the merits of...

Quantum Of Solace. Chase scenes by foot, motorcycle, car, boat, and plane. Incredible amounts of mayhem. Two maybe three jokes. Stereotypical charming-sociopath villain. Thirty-seven minutes shorter and still too long. But...Daniel Craig makes a fine Bond, a killing machine instead of a charming rogue. Very nice turn by Italian star Giancarlo Giannini as a retired operative. Great global location work. Compelling climax that manages to outdo the previous action scenes and that features a nicely ironic bit of vengeance on Bond's part. And...

...I am not a Bond aficionado (an ethically and critically neutral position), and two who are pointed out a few things to me. First of all, better no jokes than the tired wit that had seeped into the franchise. That Craig's Bond relies on wit, athleticism, and skills -- no gadgets that had become progressively laughable. (In fact, other than a super turbo turbo turbo turbo charged Aston Martin, no gadgets at all.) That the Bond women, while as attractive as always, serve a plot function other than him getting laid. In fact, amazingly enough, he doesn't get the girl in the end. He's left alone, having helped some people and hurt others while, of course, saving the world. And the movie offers a pointed reminder that the most precious resource in the world is not oil. It's...well, you'll have to watch Quantum Of Solace to find out...

Molly the Dog tells of a sad yet engrossing encounter with a schizophrenic woman who wants to keep her baby:

I was contacted by CPS after her visit with me and told them although her behavior was erratic, and I don't trust her, there is nothing "reportable". They told me she'd already had 2 children taken from her and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was refusing her medication. She had also been violent in the past, including to a police officer. My goal was to get her to trust me and then I could keep an eye on her and the baby.

The situation is laden with troubling implications and hard questions...

The Nation On-line features an essay/interview by Sean Penn with the reclusive Raul Castro, as well as an account of a group interview (himself, historian Douglas Brinkley, and writer Christopher Hitchens) with Hugo Chavez...

Three Joan Baez CDs I like:

• In Concert, Part 2. Not only did my mother own this one, the consensus of user reviews on iTunes and Amazon is that this is the early Baez album to have. Beautifully remastered by Vanguard, In Concert, Part 2 one includes her mighty version of "We Shall Overcome."
• Ring Them Bells. 1995 live album now available in a 2CD set, Bells shimmers with gorgeous harmonies between Joan and guests the McGarrigle Sisters, Mimi Farina, Janis Ian, Mary Black, Dar Williams, Tish Hinojosa, the Indigo Girls, and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
• Day After Tomorrow. Her newest, produced by Steve Earle. She ably handles 10 songs by contemporary songwriters (including three by Earle) and benefits greatly from Earle's rootsy production. Reviewed here. 

Friday's Choice: A 1963 duet by Baez and Bob Dylan of "With God On Our Side," Dylan's great polemic exposing American Exceptionalism. Baez has said that this is the first Dylan song she learned.