United 93

Finally made it to a movie (it has been quite a long time since I've been to see anything) today and saw "United 93." Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still found it riveting. While there weren't many others in the theater (not surprising since it was 1:30 on a weekday), they were unusually quiet. Not much talking or eating, which sadly is the norm in theaters these days. I was struck by several thoughts while watching the events unfold:

1) I was glad that there weren't "stars" in the film - I think it would have been distracting and taken away some of the "reality" of what was being depicted on screen.

2) The style of the film (I'm not sure if it was filmed using a hand-held camera, but that was how it appeared) fit perfectly with the events, not only on the plane, but at the various FAA / airport / military locations. I have a feeling that the whole scene that day was just shock, disbelieve and then chaos - which was captured very effectively with the technique used.

3) I believe that the director / producers researched what happened on the plane itself as best they could and what I came away with was that strangely, the people on the plane seemed more "with it" and competent than the military, the FAA , the government in general. Since many of the FFA personnel portrayed themselves, I would assume the film got it right from their point of view. And they looked like chickens with their heads cut off, running around trying to figure out what was going on. Same with the military. Granted, in those first hours, no one really knew what was happening, but the coordination, or lack thereof, between the FAA and the military was lacking, even after they figured out the scope of what was occurring. In contrast, the passengers, with help from information from family members who were watching news broadcasts, seemed to know more than ang of the other major players. They knew what was going to happen and what they needed to do...and they did it.

I certainly could see how emotional it would be for friends and family members of any of the flights, not just this one, to sit through the movie. But they need to . We need to. We cannot forget. We should not be given the chance to.

A different view on globalization

Was at my neighborhood Barnes and Noble today and saw a rather interesting book. A meld of sports and globalization. I read a bit of it and found it intriguing. The title is "How Soccer Explains the World" by Franklin Foer. I have more than a passing interest in his 2 subjects (and I must admit my interest level with soccer is much higher than my interest level with globalization) and was curious to see how he linked the 2. He traveled the world attending soccer matches, watching training sessions, and interviewing players, management and fans alike.

To quote from his book on how he tries to meld the subjects:

"The book has three parts. the first tries to explain the failure of globalization to erode ancient hatreds in the game's greatest rivalries. The second part uses soccer to address economics: the consequences of migration, the persistence of corruption, and the rise of the powerful new oligarchs. Finally, the book uses soccer to defend the virtues of old-fashioned nationalism - a way to blunt the return of tribalism."

Hmm, very heady stuff for a semi-sports book. Frankly, I thought that once one delved into the book, it would be much more of a sports book than a globalization one. However, near the end, in the chapter about "how soccer explains the American culture wars", I ran across this:

"It's not surprising that Americans should split like this over soccer. Globalization increasingly provides the subtext for the American cultural split. This isn't to say America violently or even knowingly divides over globalization. But after September 11 open new debates over foreign policy, two camps in America politics have clearly emerged. One camp believes in the essential tenets of the globalization religion as preached by European politicians, that national governments should defer to institutions like the UN and WTO. These tend to be people who opposed the war in Iraq. And this opinion reflects a worldview. These Americans share cultural values with Europeans - an aggressive secularism, a more relaxed set of cultural mores that tolerates gays and pot smoking - which isn't surprising, considering that these Americans have jobs and tourist interests that put them in regular contact with the other side of the Atlantic. They consider themselves to be part of a cosmopolitan culture that transcends national boundaries.

On the other side, there is a group that believes in 'American exceptionalness', an idea that America's history and singular form of government has given the nation a unique role to play in the world; that the U.S. should be above submitting to international laws and bodies. They view Europeans as degraded by their lax attitudes, and worry about the threat to American culture posed by secular tolerance. With so much relativism seeping into the American way of life, they fret that the country has lost the self-confidence to make basic moral judgments, to condemn evil. Soccer isn't exactly pernicious, but it's a symbol of the U.S. junking its tradition to 'get with the rest of the world's program'. There are many conservatives who hate relativism, consider the French wussy, and still adore soccer. But it's not a coincidence that the game has become a small touchstone in this culture war."

Not exactly "light reading". I had to buy it. Hopefully it will be an interesting, thought provoking and entertaining read.

Latest interview

I had an interview last week with NEC America. The position sounded interesting and at this point in my job search (going on 17 months since I was last employed), I'm almost to the point where I will accept ALMOST anything offered to me. However, the interviewer brought up a couple of times the fact that the parent company was based in Japan and "the Japanese work culture" was a fact of life at NEC America. That "work comes first and family is your problem, not the Company's". That some of the Japanese expats working there will look at their watches and give you a look if you leave at 8pm, a "why are you leaving so early" look.

Hmm...on second thought, I don't think I'm THAT interested in this position. Nothing against NEC or the Japanese work culture, but at this stage of my life, I'm looking for something a bit more 9 to 5 (actually 8 to 4, or 7 to 3 if I can find it).