Posted on Friday, 25 June, 2010 By yours truly | TOOLS:Talk or Share
Deep Dish TV is assisting my friend in Rafah, Gaza, Fida Qishta, develop and distribute Where Should the Birds Fly, a powerful on-the-ground view documentary. Fida worked with several folks including yours truly on the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project for a spell, and this documentary represents a lot of what that project was about: bringing a real view of life in Gaza to the rest of the world. Get a perspective from a local’s point of view.
In this film, Fida captures what was happening in Gaza during Israel’s onslaught in 2008, “Operation Cast Lead,” which killed and injured thousands of Palestinian civilians, and the aftermath since. You can help complete this moving film, a story that can engage the minds and touch the hearts of people in the U.S. Distribution isn’t cheap. Deep Dish is working to raise $30,000. Donations are tax deductible, which is more than you can say about the part of your taxable income that goes to perpetuate the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Visit the Deep Dish website to help this project move along.
Posted on Monday, 6 July, 2009 By yours truly | TOOLS:Talk or Share
Bill Maher’s take on the current state of world religion is currently online in its entirety. For how long, god only knows. That Lionsgate hasn’t taken this down yet is most interesting, considering how aggressively they chase leaked content. It would be interesting to know if they’ve decided to let this one go as a sort of apologetic petit four to the world on behalf of the DRM-backing entertainment industry, or if someone just uploaded it on a lark.
Post posting viewing: Now having seen it, I’m a bit back and forth on Bill’s methods. I’m pretty much at the place he’s getting to, though without as much of the condescending attitude or inflated ego. I think he kills a lot of his own arguments early on in the flick by going for the cheap laugh too often and too soon.
His plea for people to have “doubt” should really be more about scepticism. And he often leaves some of his own skepticism behind when he gives credit to the likes of Geert Wilders, who is himself a relgious/racist extremist.
Maher’s argument that people who openly express doubts about the afterlife show far more humility than the religious folk he takes issue with is undercut by his own attitude: Bill Maher is not a poster boy for humility. Humorous in parts, the film is more illuminating into how ridiculous the debate over the role of religion has become in the United States – and increasingly, by a creeping degree, in Uk and Europe. Worth the watch, especially for free.
Posted on Sunday, 7 June, 2009 By yours truly | TOOLS:Talk or Share
And now, something that makes cinema worth while; a documentary that possibly explains why there really weren’t that many people who knew what the hell Al Gore was banging on about in an Inconvenient Truth.
“The 1950′s was an idealistic time in American History, filled with hope, opportunity, and wonder. It was also, “The Atomic Age” where new technology promised to both save humanity as well as put it in jeopardy. All of these factors gave birth to one of the most prolific genres in film history, 1950′s Science Fiction Cinema.”
If anything characterizes the 21st century, it’s our inability to restrain ourselves for the benefit of other people.
