The Wind and the Lion (1975)

It is 1904 when a band of Berbers ride into Tangier, Morocco, and kidnap Eden Pedicaris (Candice Bergen) and her two children.  The leader of the kidnappers is Raisuli (Sean Connery), the brother of the Bashaw and the uncle of the Sultan.  News of the kidnapping reaches President Roosevelt (Brian Keith) and he demands "Pedicaris alive or Raisuli dead!"  While Eden and her children are 'guests' of Raisuli, the American ambassador attempts diplomacy with the Bashaw, who claims powerlessness.  Next, he bribes the Sultan with a pair of lions.  The Sultan likewise claims powerlessness.  It is clear that the European powers are courting the Sultan, making American efforts to recover Pedicaris difficult.  Roosevelt calls for gunboat diplomacy and soon several American warships and two companies of Marines arrive in Tangier.

The portrayal of Theodore Roosevelt is outstanding.  Though each scene advances the story, it also details the character of Roosevelt.  The change in setting is glorious: archery range, campaign whistle stop, Yellowstone hunting camp, boxing, shooting range, and the White House.  Keith is outstanding in the role and I have always wished he had another opportunity to play TR.  Of course, Milius must have felt the same as he cast Keith in his next TR movie, Rough Riders, but as President William McKinley.

Sean Connery is an unusual choice for a Berber.  According to IMDb, efforts to teach him an Arab accent were abandoned after 3 days.  Oddly enough, he was cast as an Arab in The Next Man the following year.  Nonetheless, he is quite entertaining in the role and has good chemistry with Candice Bergen.

As for historical accuracy, it drifts further and further from the truth as the movie progresses.  Pedicaris - which should be Perdicaris - was an American expat in his mid-60s.  His stepson, who was in his 40s, was kidnapped with him.  Kidnapped in mid-May, they were released by the end of June.  By contrast, the movie takes place in October 1904 to allow the kidnapping to be a campaign issue for Teddy's re-election campaign.  Though American warships arrived at Tangier, the Marines did not capture the Bashaw's palace.  This was a case of speaking softly and carrying a big stick.  Likewise, the Marines did not have a battle with Germans outside Rabat.  However, it does an excellent job in depicting Roosevelt.  As for Raisuli, the movie implies that he lost everything from the incident, but in fact he won many concessions, including a governorship and the release of many of his imprisoned followers.

Very entertaining and recommended.

Debt Ceiling

Patrick Boyle is a highly entertaining and truly informative YouTuber.  I do not recall when I first started watching his videos, but it's been at least a year.  As a hedge fund manager, he has some insights on the markets and offers commentary on the investing fads of the day.  His videos on Sam Bankman-Fried are great.  He delivers everything in a deadpan matter of fact manner, which can be quite funny.  He also has a series of videos that discuss portfolio management, options, derivatives, swaps, and so on.  Terrific stuff and recommended.

His latest video discusses the debt ceiling and I find that I disagree.  He covers all the questionable tricks and gimmicks that the government could use (e.g., minting the trillion-dollar coin) to bypass the need of raising the debt ceiling, but comes down to the idea that the only responsible thing is to raise the debt ceiling.  As he explained it, the debts that would be paid are for money already spent, which didn't make sense to me.  Of course, government accounting is intentionally arcane.  I have always likened the debt ceiling to a credit card limit.  If my credit card limit is $10,000 and I reach it, I do not default on my debts if MasterCard refuses to raise the limit to $11,000.  Why is it different for government?  Also, default is a choice.  The government must pay bonds and interest on the debt, but the rest is available for chopping.  Cut the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and so forth. Layoffs are not default.  Sell federal lands, cut foreign aid, stop sending billions of dollars to Ukraine.  Again, none of those options would be default.  The threat of default is bandied about to scare the populace and keep the money rolling in DC.  At least, this is how I have long viewed it.

That Patrick Boyle has a different view makes me question my long-held opinion.  At one point, he discussed government bonds.  The debt is based on the face value of the bonds.  I had never considered that.  I received a $100 bond when I was around 10.  It was going to mature in 3 years or so, which sounded like an eternity.  However, I didn't cash it until I was 18.  I was astonished to receive more than $100.  Though the government listed my bond as a $100 debt, it paid me around $150.  This example could make his point that the actual debt is greater than the debt ceiling indicates, which undermines my credit card limit view.

Even so, the debt as a percentage of GDP has rocketed in the past 20 years.  In 2000, the US Debt to GDP ratio was 59.5%.  Today it is 121.5%.  The spending has to be reined in before the interest payments consume the entirety of the US budget.

Interesting Timing

Today is the 2-year anniversary of Joe Biden's inauguration.  This is noteworthy because, as of today, his vice president could serve out the remainder of his term, and still serve two additional terms; this comes from the 22nd Amendment.  Coincident with this special date, all sorts of scandals have erupted around President Biden.  Of course, there are the documents found in a variety of places.  Mishandled documents was recently a valid basis for an FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and calls for criminal prosecution of former President Trump.  Now we have emails that demonstrate Joe Biden's involvement in his son's business ventures, something he adamantly denied doing.  Then there is the news that Hunter was paying nearly $50K a month in rent for Joe Biden's Wilmington home.  None of this is new, but it is all getting revealed now.  Coincidence?  Unlikely.

The very people who kept all this out of the 2020 election are now unleashing it.  Why?  Was it all going to come out anyway on account of a Republican-controlled House so this is just an effort to get ahead of it?  Maybe.  Or is this an effort to push Joe aside so that President Harris will have the benefit of incumbency come 2024?  With her performance so far, I don't know that incumbency will help.  Then again, I didn't think Joe Biden was electable.

Company "A" Corps of Engineers

Though West Point had graduated many engineers since its founding, the US Army did not have an engineer company.  In response to the Mexican War, a company of engineers was authorized.  Captain Alexander Swift was selected to command.  His company would consist of 10 sergeants, 10 corporals, 39 artificers, 39 second class privates, and two musicians.  Lieutenant Gustavus Smith and Lieutenant George B McClellan were also attached to the company.  In September 1846, the company departed New York en route to the Rio Grande.  The Battle of Monterrey having already been fought, the company spent its time in drill and training.  They were derided as the "pick and shovel brigade."  Not until December did the company have an opportunity to demonstrate its value.  By then, Captain Swift was incapacitated by illness, and it was Lt. Smith who took command.

The first challenge for the company was to upgrade the road from Matamoros to Victoria so that artillery could be moved.  Next, the narrow mule track from Victoria to Tampico had to be widened, again for the artillery.  When the Siege of Vera Cruz was undertaken, it was the engineer company that built the emplacements for the artillery.  Also at Vera Cruz, Captain Swift was too ill to continue in command; he was sent back to the United States.  At Cerro Gordo, the engineers hauled a cannon up a steep incline.  When the army began its drive to Mexico City, the engineer company was often in the van, providing reconnaissance and pointing out weaknesses in the enemy lines and defenses.  They received high praise for their service.

Once the city was captured, Lt. Smith was still in command of the company.  Through casualties and ending tours of duty, the company had fewer than 50 men.  He wanted to return to the US to do some recruiting.  This request was repeatedly refused.  In March 1848, peace was at hand.  By June, the company was back at West Point and a new captain had been assigned; Swift had died shortly after returning to the US.  Lt. Smith took a six month leave of absence and, upon his return to duty, did not rejoin the engineer company.

Here is a different look at the war, one that looks at solving logistical issues, constructing defenses, and finding ways to breach defenses without mad bayonet charges.  Of note, Smith joined the Confederacy while McClellan was with the Union.  Captain Robert E. Lee, who was also an engineer though not part of Company A, appears several times in the book.

Recommended.

The Sisters Brothers (2018)

It is Oregon in 1851.  Eli (John C Reilly) and Charlie Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix) are hired guns.  Having just returned to Oregon City after a job, their employer sends them on a new mission: track down Hermann Warm (Riz Ahmed), extract information from him, then kill him.  To help in this task, John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal) had already been dispatched to trail Warm.  Morris is only a scout, not a gunman.  The brothers find themselves traveling into California and the Gold Rush.  Warm is a chemist who has a particular formula for extracting gold.

The movie is mostly concerned with the relationships of Eli and Charlie and, to a lesser extent, Morris and Warm.  Charlie, though younger, is the driving force of the brothers.  Where Eli is ready to try something different, Charlie is ambitious to replace their employer.  Where Eli would walk away, Charlie is eager for a fight.  By contrast, Morris and Warm talk about building an ideal society that would purge violence.

Where most Westerns would just have everyone with bandoliers of bullets and random revolvers, this production was true to the period and armed them with cap and ball revolvers.  Reloading is shown repeatedly as the brothers disassemble their guns to slide a fresh cylinder into place.

It feels longer than its 2-hour runtime.  At times, the filmmakers add scenes that further detail the time and place, but don't advance the story.  What is the point of staying at the fine hotel and seeing a flush toilet.  That's probably a bit early for a flush toilet.  Then there were all the discarded items on the beach.  In fact, during the Gold Rush, lots of items were abandoned on the trail.  However, this is not explained and one might think this was just evidence of a shipwreck.  It was also surprising to see Rutger Hauer appear in a non-speaking role.

With such a ludicrous title, I had expected some humor.  Nope.  Very few laughs to be found here.  Just okay.

Blake's 7 (Series 4)

Stranded on a planet by Servalan, Avon (Paul Darrow) and Dayna discover that the ship which was so kindly left for them has been booby-trapped.  It explodes when one of the natives of the planet climbs aboard.  Avon quickly surmises that the same will be true of the base.  They rush back to warn the others but are too late; Cally is buried under the rubble.  Fortunately, Dorian arrives and takes them back to his base.  Dorian has a ship called Scorpio with a computer named Slave.  He also has an extensive base on Xenon.  He takes the survivors of the Liberator with him and introduces them to Soolin (Glynis Barber), a fearless quick-drawing gunfighter.  Unsurprisingly, Dorian has a distorted image of himself stored in the basement.

The adventures resume with a new ship, a secret base, a new recruit, and a growing desire to fight the Federation.  Servalan - who had been presumed killed when the Liberator exploded - has survived, but is no longer president of the Federation.  She is seeking to claw her way back to power, often using Avon and his band to advance her goals.  Some of the episodes are too convenient.  Right out the gate, the crew manage to equip Scorpio with a teleporter.  Wow, something that was unique in the galaxy to the Liberator is already integrated into Scorpio.  Handy.  Soon after, they get their hands on an advanced engine so that, once again, they can outrun Federation ships.

One of the saddest things about the show is how no one, except the crew of Scorpio, ever realizes how Servalan never keeps her deals.  Again and again, some idiot agrees to a deal with her only to get betrayed.  How is it that these fools keep believing her?  These supposedly brilliant or cunning people all think they will be the one to survive a bargain with Servalan.  Nope.  It starts to grate that this storyline repeats.

Some of the costumes were truly outlandish.  The Space Rats - who were like punk rockers with mohawk hair and ridiculously painted faces - were beyond silly.  They were like drooling idiots who just happened to fly vehicles with the most powerful engines in the Federation.  Sigh.  Possibly the worst episode of the entire show.

The show concludes with the return of Blake (Gareth Thomas), who is now a bounty hunter on an isolated world.  During a conversation with Tarrant (Steven Pacey), he tells the story of Jenna's (Sally Knyvette) death.  Avon hopes to recruit him as a figurehead for the rebellion.  Instead, he kills Blake for betraying the cause.  Or so he thought.  No sooner has Blake breathed his last than Federation troops storm the facility and gun down everyone.

Wow, brave cliffhanger.  And then the series was canceled.  Gareth Thomas agreed to appear only if Blake was unambiguously killed.  Paul Darrow spent his later years trying to revive the show.  He had envisioned an older Avon mentoring a new band of rebels to fight the Federation.

Overall, a good show.  This series was weak.  Avon is the best part of the show.  His willingness to toss Vila into space in the episode Orbit was one of the highlights of this final series.  In the final few episodes, Soolin developed into an interesting character.  Tarrant became less obnoxious this series.  Slave was more annoying than funny.  Why would anyone program a computer to be constantly apologetic?  I preferred Zen.  Or even Orac.  Interestingly, both of those and Slave were voiced by the same actor.

Recommended.

M3GAN (2022)

Cady (Violet McGraw) is on her way to a ski resort with her parents when a truck crashes headon into them.  Only Cady survives.  Her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams) arrives at the hospital to take over as guardian.  Gemma is a designer of high-tech toys.  Her current project is the Model 3 Generative Android, M3GAN for short.  It is an Artificial Intelligence that serves as a playmate.  Gemma finds it difficult to bond with Cady and has the idea of using Cady to test Megan.  This works so well that her boss (Ronny Chieng) declares that Megan will be their new product line and he plans to arrange a demo.  Soon, Cady and Megan are inseparable.  Earlier, Cady had been given limited screen time by her parents but Gemma has no such rule.  Cady can hardly function without Megan.  As for Megan, she is part of the Internet of Things (IoT) and takes her protective directive for Cady very seriously, terminating those who injure or threaten Cady.  Yes, the AI goes bad!

This is something of a cross between Chucky and West World.  Gemma was so eager to get Megan to work that she skipped some steps.  The evolution of Megan's programming is unclear.  That she would kill those who threaten Cady makes sense.  However, when she threatens Cady, that doesn't follow.  The super-genius of 30 seconds earlier has suddenly become an idiot.  Why was the robot designed to be this strong?  How about building in a safe word that will cause a shutdown?

Gemma was a male character that was cast as female.  She has collectibles still in the boxes on her shelf.  She lives alone.  Her house has an Alexa-like device that controls her house lights, etc.  Her job is building and programming androids.  She built a 7' tall robot in college that now sits in a corner of her home office.  She is unable to bond with her niece and tries doling out electronics to keep her occupied.  She has characteristics more suited to a male character.  Maybe she was just poorly-written, becoming a bland and forgettable character.

By contrast, Cady was quite good.  Her growing attachment to the living doll was great.  Her freak out when separated echoed some incidents I have experienced with kids.

Megan was often unnerving but never really reached the level of horror.  The manner of her movement was just off enough to have that uncanny valley feeling; mimicking human movement, but not quite getting it right.  However, it did too much emoting.  Obviously, that was to show its menace.  Meh.

Entertaining while I watched, but increasingly disappointing the more I thought about it.  Skip.