Book Reviews

“Up”
A cute little cartoon rendition following the life and adventures of a young man from young adulthood to old age. It is a 3D adventure of Life, love and holding on to the past revealing many of life’s struggles, paradoxes and joys. Although silly and simple in many ways it reveals some deep insights into our existence. At the same time this movie has some very entertaining and funny moments involving a big bird, a dog, a noble little boy and a frightened and lonely little man. This movie is great for kids with a little something for adults as well to say nothing of the wild Digital 3D effects that everyone can enjoy. You can expect a feel-good feeling after this one.

"KNOWING"
Don’t expect a feel good feeling after leaving this one.
This review is intended to be a brief synopsis of the movie to aid in your viewing decision, not a full discussion of the plot line. I don’t wish to ruin your experience should you decide to see it. If you’re looking for an in depth intellectual discussion this review may not be for you. In some respects this movie parallels the plot lines of the close encounter and terminator movies. If you enjoyed them you may like this one.
Nicholas Cage out does himself once again in this adventure/ sci-fi thriller about a young clairvoyant school girl, Lucinda Wayland, who pens a series of numbers representing details of world disasters.
The movie opens in 1959 with the dedication of William Dawes Elementary, where a group of classmates draw pictures that are to be put in a time capsule and buried by the students.
Fast forward 50 years where the notations written by Lucinda end up in the hands of John Koestler (Nicholas Cage) who portrays an MIT professor after his son Caleb Koestler (Chandler Canterbury) receives it at the reopening ceremony. After noticing the last few dates were missing John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) goes on a frantic journey to find the details of the remaining entries; all of this in an effort to save lives and find the meaning of the last entry [ EE ].
Although void of sex, violence or profanity I don’t recommend this movie for children do to its extremely spooky nature -however, its mystery and suspense will keep most adults drawn in; despite its length-- I doubt you’ll think about refreshing your drink.
If you’re expecting the technical details of the dates, locations and casualties of the revelations to be fool proof you will be disappointed. The movie is best meant to be enjoyed not dissected for its inaccuracies or utter believability, although it will leave you thinking.

Review of "The Enemy at Home"
Dinesh D'Souza

Dinesh D'Souza gives his commentary on the real war we face with Iraqi in particular and the Muslim world in general. In this dissertation he begins by exposing the differences both parties have taken in there address of the problem as well as their misguided understanding and reaction to it. He discusses the effect the liberal policies the left has had within foreign societies as well as the ineffective policies the right have taken to the problem.
His experience as a white house policy analyst as well as his heritage gives him an interesting insight that many Americans simply don’t have. Dinesh also describes the inappropriate rhetoric the president has used in his description of the problem; using inflammatory words such as evil and enemy when referring to Muslims and the East. Dinesh goes to great length in deriding the idea that this is simply a war between the Muslum and Christian faiths and the notion that our foreign policy is responsible for their hatred toward us.
Dinesh reveals the work of the left to spread liberal secular philosophy on foreign shores. In his writings he goes into the life and character of Osama Bin Laden and his personal history in dealing with the U.S.
Many in the east don’t have the slightest clue on how the majority of Americans think and live, They’ve been snowballed by the Hollywood depiction.
Many of the people that were instrumental in spreading liberal thinking throughout the eastern countries are discussed and he puts much of the blame on them for foreign animosity.
He expounds on the liberal left philosophy values of divorce, homosexuality and government expansion. He concludes by offering some suggestions as to resolution of the problems.
We must do everything possible to refrain from alienating the traditional Muslim culture - since that is where the radicals are recruiting from. This work has moderate tone--thoughtful and straight forward, factual and balanced in a time when so much written on the subject has had a scarastic, condemning and/or nasty bent. The conclusion, In order to win the war abroad we must first defeat the divisions, misconceptions and decadence here at home.



“Smithsonian Earth (The definitive visual guide)” This book goes into the many landscapes and environments that exist on our planet. Deserts, Oceans, Marshes, Mountains, Volcanoes, Rainforests, wetlands, forests, prairies, as well as weather and climates aberrations such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, eruptions, tidal waves, blizzards, drought, floods etc. Within these categories such sub categories as Hot western deserts, cold Alaskan outlands, rock deserts etc. Included in this is a discussion of the Earth’s geology, categories and types of rocks, layers of the earth and its internal structure such as the core, the mantel, and the crust. Also included is a discussion of the universe and solar system, the planets and sun, stars. Plants, vegetation, layers of the atmosphere plants and animals are discussed as well. In this discussion is also a commentary on ecology and on our interaction with the ecosystems of the planets, urban sprawl and our use and misuse of its resources. The history of our planet is also discussed such as the many periods of time of its development.
I found it to give a good technical discussion of many details within these categories such as the types of deserts and forests, the different types of snow, the location of various rock types and the crystalline structure of such, the formation of different weather patterns and weather conditions, the composition of layers of the earth as well as the causes and formation of various landscapes such as lakes, rivers, volcano’s.
This book has an attractive list of illustrations, diagrams and visual aids printed on very high quality paper. It offers an excellent overview on the design of our planet and can leave us with an interest for a more in depth further study of it. If your looking for concise scientific explanations then this book may be to basic for you.