What A Smile Can Mean Between Men: The Seeds of War and Peace

I am driving the Ford south on the freeway, heading south to visit family, but stopping first back in town at the 76 to fill the tank. Now I’m stepping around to the passenger side, going through the motions so familiar now after numberless repetitions. I’m smiling broadly with the simple pleasure of being together with my life companion, my wife, and my two radiant daughters, on a Friday afternoon, with two days of rest laying in my open hands.

I catch the eye of a man stepping into the back seat of a nondescript american sedan,
already full of 4 other men.
At first I just see his eyes, and continue smiling lightly, sharing my simple joy in this moment.
In his face I first see neutrality,
but no trace of the possibly reciprocated smile,
which is absolutely fine.

In less than a second, I notice his seriousness,
like a tiredness of working hard all week, his color a soft brown like cinnamon,
with a few patches without pigmentation,
his mouth turned down slightly in a very subtle frown.
For less than another second, we hold each others’ gaze,
my expression open, and subtly happy,
his expression sullen, telling me directly, and by long experience,
that I should gently avert my eyes.

He appears to look still at me when I look back
and after a few moments the look seems to have changed–
from neutrality to a mild hostile incredulity as though he might asking me–
“Who are YOU to look at ME?”

The common male refrain… the challenge of quiet aggression,
the maintained eye on eye contact that in dogs and men,
in the street, in the ghetto, and in prison– is sometimes known as mad-dogging
I risk a couple of more open glances, scanning for an opening,
to break the quiet ice of separateness spawned when
silence echoed with the distant sounds of war.

It seems that a few more in his group are casting their eyes in my direction,
and none of them are smiling.
I feel as yet, mostly unfazed, but I’m increasingly aware of the rising expectation
to either avoid their gazes with feigned fear,
or to demonstrate some brotherly gesture of solidarity,
which it is probably a bit too late for in the dance at this point.

In moments, I scan through the possible scenarios they are playing in their minds–
of what a smile can mean between men, if it’s not simple unconditional warmth.
Could it be they imagine I was making a sexual advance?
That’s a fairly unlikely interpretation,
as they see me happy with my wife and daughters in the car.

Could it be he imagines that I’m mocking him with my smile,
or looking down at him somehow, smugly from my fortunate world?
This is unfortunately quite possible!
If only I could tell him that most likely we speak the same two languages,
that I treasure the richness of our differences,
and that I am happy to humble myself as low as a bug,
when entering into the discussion of ethnicity or racism,
myself a white male with priviledge and fortune,
my own deepest intentions and actions aimed at healing the inequalities
that all too often fall along color lines.

Could it be that he is in with the always present local gangs,
and he imagines I’ve identified him as a rival,
or is scanning me for any sign that I might be a rival,
or that simply by being a man who is unafraid to stand tall and feel at home anywhere,
even in this territory,
I’ve broken the rules of who he might think these streets belong to?
It could be, but I cannot possibly tell.

Speculation and projection is the defense of the rational mind,
as we rapidly scan like a slot machine through the combinations of
each others’ possible moves and motivations,
each of our mental circuits the product of countless fruitless interactions,
between men who do not trust their ears to hear
the music of the dance that keeps us all in time.
The analysis is more real and complex than those of a chess piece
on the playing board with a thousand pieces.
And as simple as the intuition of a faithful dog in smelling out a stranger’s intentions.

The human necessity of bowing one’s head and dancing around seems so animalistic,
like two dogs who nip and scuffle in a ritualistic encounter to establish who is dominant,
and how quickly each will accept their own biological dominance or submission,
yet it’s all we have to fall back on when we do not mutually trust our highest nature yet.

Perhaps this time a soft verbal token of solidarity
could have defused the subtle social escalation,
a soft ‘orale,’ ‘hola,’ or a ‘hey’, or even a broader smile at that first glance,
a manly vigorous nod-salute with the head and chin,
and the deeply ingrained conformance to breaking of eye contact before 2.3 full seconds.

So many questions and accusations could pass
between the eyes of men when they cross in the street
and myself being relatively young and of not the simplest identifiable ethnicity,
I will continue to avert my eyes, generally avoiding the visual engagement of men,
because of the great difficulty of simply sharing the wish of happiness
with each and every human being I meet.

As softly contemplating the openness of the sky lets me forget
the complicated rules of the darkest city streets,
I laugh, and then falter and misstep in the rules of a complicated social mandala,
knowing that deep behind the vicious cycling nature of male antler locking
there is a path of action that trusts deeply in the goodness of all beings,
that the illusion that we were ever separate is itself the cruelest nightmare.

Yet until the moment that brilliant openness
blesses each of us with that simultaneous realization…
I will continue to avert my eyes.

====

This happened yesterday.
Just before leaving on this trip, I opened my copy (randomly) of Daniel Ladinsky’s Translation of the great poet Hafiz’ work entitled “The Gift” and had read the poem, “It has not rained Light.” Though I would like to think that Ladinsky wouldn’t mind if I posted the poem here, the original is clearly in the public domain, while his translation of it is not, and his publisher (Penguin Compass) might care more. Who knows? Check it out in your library. Daniel: if you read this (statistically improbable), please leave a comment or contact me if you have any opinion on this. I became aware of the book originally thanks to Saul Williams when he came and spoke locally.

The video is just under 20 minutes long. It’s time very well spent.

*Dean’s response (see above link or archives, depending when you read this) gives a great overview of how this fits into the greater picture of world enlightenment teachings.

**See Alan Wallace’s work, especially his downloadable audio, as he works facilitating this accelerating convergence of science of mind, physics, and contemplative inquiry.

I am writing to respectfully share my opinion with you on the situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region. While I understand that the official view is that no external persons or countries should meddle with the internal affairs of China, I request that you listen, for I speak not with condemnation, but with respect and concern. I do not rightly know what precisely has occurred over the last weeks, beyond what the Chinese government and outside sources have agreed upon, namely that Tibetan protests turned violent, and that human beings were killed. I express my deepest sympathy for the families and countrymen of those who have died in the violence — murder in any form is intolerable.

I would like to request that you entertain the possibility that the unrest and frustration of Tibetans is a symptom of China’s policy in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. I realize that this is an accusatory statement, and I do not mean to insult your governing abilities. Regretfully, it has taken violence to catalyze the world’s attention to the situation here, and you would not want to be seen as caving in to the demands of those who use violence to express themselves– but there are far greater dangers. In my country, the U.S.A, after the attacks of 9/11/01, there were many who tried to analyze the attacks in the context of our international policies, while others quickly reacted with fury and ire, stating that to do so was to justify the attackers. Nothing ever justifies violence. Honest introspection and self-reflection harms no one.

Perhaps you, as an outsider to our internal affairs, can see some of our own failed policies in the last decade, and the repercussions that we have suffered for them. Please seriously consider re-opening dialogues with the Dalai Lama, while entertaining the possibility of his request for greater Tibetan autonomy. I realize that while publicly China has accused him of inciting violence, I think that you are well aware, as is the majority of the world, that this is someone who could never incite violence, that he walks the same path that the great leader Mahatma Gandhi walked, one that shuns all forms of violence. As an outsider myself to your policy, it does seem that the Tibetan people, the vast majority of which seem peaceful, and discontent with Chinese management, have several valid points of critique to China’s policies in their area of your empire. I am not interested in maligning China. I am interested in seeing your great leadership make a difference for the people of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, who deserve, just like all citizens of the world, to be listened to, and treated with dignity and respect.

Thank you for your time.

There are clear discrepancies between the death toll, which is to be expected in a state so tightly controlled that no (non-state-sponsored) press whatsoever is allowed unrestricted access to Tibet. The following discrepancies (from the NYTimes) are glaring evidence of the vacuum around truth in Chinese media. Even if the exiled Tibetans have their numbers slightly off (unlikely as it has been confirmed by multiple sources), the Chinese are simply whitewashing the story.

Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama’s government in exile, said multiple sources inside Tibet had counted at least 80 corpses since the violence broke out Friday. He did not know how many of the bodies were protesters. On Friday, the exiled government said at least 30 protesters had been killed by Chinese authorities and the number could be as high as 100. BUT THEN: The official Chinese Xinhua News Agency has said at least 10 civilians were burned to death Friday. The figures could not be independently verified because China restricts foreign media access to Tibet.

In a surreal 1984-like style, trucks with loudspeakers are broadcasting ‘’discern between enemies and friends, maintain order” around the streets of Lhasa. According to the Times, “China’s communist government is hoping Beijing’s hosting of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics will boost its popularity at home as well as its image abroad. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge [opposed an Olympic boycott over Tibet].” Write a letter to him here.Ask him to condemn the violence.

The Dalai Lama himself has opposed a boycott of China, saying, “The Chinese people… need to feel proud of it. China deserves to be a host of the Olympic Games.” The UK’s Times Online reporter stated that, “He must also be careful not to condone the rioting, which contravenes his strict policy of non-violence, while appearing to support his increasingly frustrated followers,” which is a clear misinterpretation of the Dalai Lama’s own perspective. There’s no being careful about it, his path is one of purist non-violence. The reporter might as well have said Gandhi must be careful not to support rioting. Violence is the antithesis of everything in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Yet that a cultural genocide has been happening over the last 50 years is as clear as day for anyone looking even superficially at the events in this area.

In today’s New York Times online, Nicholas Kulish has written an article about modern Germany’s promotion of Holocaust memorials. Though this topic could easily be the work of a thousand doctoral analyses, as well as a core personal issue for millions of individuals, his piece makes a basic case that Germany for the most part is doing well in teaching the youth and in commemorating the incomprehensible scale of crime that took place. The question for me that refuses to leave after reading the piece is: “But how can you know which is the best course of action to guide Germany into a neo-nazi free future?” I’m not suggesting he could have answered that question, but wondering if it could’ve been given a bit more weight. I suppose good press for good actions is a good thing.

His first point is that Germany is very focused on keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive through memorials: “Most countries celebrate the best in their pasts. Germany unrelentingly promotes its worst.” It lists recently erected as well as newly planned memorials, including three in Berlin, one at Bergen-Belsen, at Dachau, and two that are dedicated to the terrible role of the railways in facilitating the massive genocide. Apparently Wednesday is the 75 year anniversary of when Hitler took power in Germany. The article quotes Avi Primor, the former Israeli ambassador to Germany, “Where in the world has one ever seen a nation that erects memorials to immortalize its own shame?”

I lived in Berlin in 1990, and attended a Gymnasium (high school) there, and received some instruction about the National Socialist party in school, alongside German students. The study was mindful, and my peers were open, quiet, and awed by what had undoubtedly been much a part of their education all along . I myself had the experience of Holocaust awareness day at my own school in the United States, where the curriculum was dedicated to learning about it schoolwide for a day. Seeing actual footage of some of the camps changed my entire world view with the a basic comprehension of some of the horrors that took place. One year, we were honored to see Elie Wiesel speak at my school.

Kulish suggests that, “…as the events become more remote, less personal, this society is forced to confront the question of how it should enshrine its crimes and transgressions over the longer term.” The psychological and sociological phenomenon of future generations being educated about, and honoring the terrible crimes of, their own heritage isn’t one that is often a topic of modern conversations in my experience. In the United States, the awful legacy of slavery continues to haunt and poison our social relationships, and from what I’ve seen, many American citizens refuse to adopt an attitude even mildly as humble as that which I saw in Germany. I feel like we have come less far in the 142 years since slavery was outlawed than Germany has in the 53 since the end of World War II. Clearly the scale and nature of the crimes in both countries is radically different.

Kulish writes that, “Some… say that the younger generation has tackled it as a source not of guilt, but of responsibility on the world stage for social justice and pacifism, including opposition to the war in Iraq.” I definitely witnessed a strong connection between a consciousness of the Holocaust and many young people’s rejection of the invasion of Iraq and general anti-war attitudes, but this is in Berlin, a fairly leftist city in a country that is more progressive politically and socially than the United States. I wish Kulish (or Homola) had avoided saying “Some say” and actually backed this one up with a quote.

While the article is mostly positive, it does cede that there are those who think that efforts are mostly superficial with this quote from the director of a public research group, “I can’t help but feeling that some of the continued, ‘Let’s build monuments; let’s build Jewish museums,’ is a fairly ritualized behavior… I worry terribly that it’s going to backfire.” I’d like to hear more of what this woman’s ideas are for averting a ‘backfire’. There’s a story in Sunday’s Independent which discusses how the former East German has many small towns with dwindling female populations and a large number of young men voting for the NPD, the extreme right party linked to neo-nazi groups.

My only lament is that the story didn’t focus quite enough on the challenges and concerns. The story ends on a high note, discussing how they are building the Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism, [which] is expected to open in 2011.

If the story gets archived before you get a chance to read it, you can contact me.

So the governor wants to take away money that we had planned to receive - and in some cases have already spent… this while EdVoice.org reports that California (”CA”) was ranked 46th in per-pupil funding!

When I search the publication they referenced (Education Week), all I could find was this: “In 2004-05, the last year for which national figures were available, California spent about $8,000 per pupil, 33rd among the states.” I contacted Edvoice to ask about the discrepancy, but haven’t heard back. Regardless of the exact spot in the bottom third of states, knowing we’re the richest state makes it rather unfathomable, and unconscionable to most.

Education Week also reports that

A report commissioned by the state’s legislative leaders last year concluded that California needs to invest up to $25 billion more a year in education. A panel appointed by Schwarzenegger said it would cost the state $6 billion to $8 billion more just to fix its convoluted financing structure, which includes a complex system of mandates and doesn’t always send funding to the most needy students.

At the same time, ABC news gives us some important background facts,

Forty cents of every dollar in the state’s budget goes to fund education — that’s kindergarten through 12, including community colleges. That’s roughly $57 billion. That money is guaranteed thanks to Proposition 98, passed by voters in 1988. However, the governor wants to suspend that guarantee to help balance the budget.

That’s good background, but it doesn’t adequately address the problems with that proposition in itself. Tying something critical to something that’s ephermal (the variable state revenue) is not recommended.

Many blame our 1978 voter initiative “Proposition 13 which states that

SECTION 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property shall not exceed One percent (1%) of the full cash value of such property. The one percent (1%) tax to be collected by the counties and apportioned according to law to the districts within the counties.

As Wikipedia mentions, this has been called the “third rail,” a politically untouchable subject. Not that our current conservative governor would dream of doing so. An editorial piece (author unknown) in the LA Times gives a critical piece of information:

California has an arcane, outdated, crazy method for funding school districts that began after Proposition 13 passed in 1978. Districts with the same needs get different amounts per student simply because that’s how it was done 30 years ago. High school students in kindergarten-through-12th-grade districts get less money than those in high school-only districts. About 50 of the wealthiest areas of the state get more money than other districts, even though their students are less likely to need it. (emphasis mine)

According to the California Dept. of Finance,The state’s GDP is at about $1.7 trillion (as of 2006). Taxing this further is apparently not Arnold’s first plan of attack. It’s easier then to take it away from our children, at least those not rich enough to guarantee their education with private schooling, and a subsequent spot in the increasingly wealthy upper class.

Not that many public schools aren’t extraordinarily effective and academically super-charged environments. I work at one. There are definitely specific materials and resources, both in the form of goods and services (aids, counselors, technology, reading specialists) that would facilitate my ability to usher each of my students into the university. Those that argue that school spending and performance aren’t necessarily tied aren’t using all the facts at hand. Obviously money can be spent foolishly. A little money spent wisely has a big impact. More money spent wisely can have an even bigger impact. Constraining what’s available can only hurt the children who will populate and rule the future we live in. Isn’t the wisest path to raise the new generation as high as we can possibly afford to?

I can only interpret based on the governor’s actions, that he doesn’t share my views. Apparently not only is Arnold planning to take a scalpel to our already anemic budget, but he’s going to play some sleight-of-hand tricks as well. The SF Chronicle quotes Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, who disagrees with Schwarzenegger’s plan and says, “The first law of holes is very important. If you’re in one, stop digging.” Stopping digging is a good first step, but if you can’t pay the bills on essential services, most people would look for a way to increase revenue. The Chronicle also reports that CA’s credit rating is going from stable to “watch negative” at least according to one agency.

The LA Times’ Mark Paul suggests Californians want “Something for Nothing,” explaining that a large majority reject cuts in school and healthcare spending, while many also reject increases in taxation. (He isn’t as concrete about the 2nd figure). He also argues,

California gets more out of its public servants than almost any other state. Teachers in our secondary schools instruct the largest classes in the nation. Elementary school class size is above the national average. Only three states have a higher inmate-to-prison-guard ratio. In health, the second-largest budget category, California spends less per MediCal beneficiary than any other large state.

He also cites the U.S. Census who reports that, “Only two states have fewer state employees per 10,000 residents than California.” Mark Paul’s broad and deep review of the issues is scathing and direct. He ends by observing that, “Our tax system isn’t built for an economy that delivers most of its rewards to the very rich.”

In my eyes, there’s no reason why the country’s richest economy shouldn’t pass on its wealth to the children and make our state the top per-pupil spender in the nation. I’d like to see funding spread equally across districts and children, and taxes raised the point where each child has everything they could conceivably need to guarantee a seat at a University of California school. As far as my teacher’s salary, I don’t need a single penny more, I speak for the children. The children are clearly not represented as well as the governor’s wealthier business-world supporters who prefer the stick to the carrot, and would squeeze educators in the areas where the students are performing the lowest are most in need.

TAKE Action

If you live in California, Email or Call Your Assemblyperson via EdVoice

The California Budget Project has a detailed analyses of the proposed cuts in pdf format on their website.

„Wenn Dir was gefällt, warum kämpfst Du nicht dafür?“

Gestern Abend habe ich den Film “Im Juli” gesehen. Ich hatte zuerst eine Kurzfassung gelesen, und deshalb wußte ich mehr oder weniger was wir erwarten könnten. Ich habe mir eine romantische Aktionskomödie vorgestellt, und genauso spielte sie sich raus.

Ein ganz normaler Typ “Daniel” (Moritz Bleibtreu), der Lehrer auf einer Hochschule ist, kauft ein Ring von einer junger Frau “Juli” (Christiane Paul). Der Ring hat eine Sonne en sich und die Frau erklärte ihm, dass es ein ganz alter Ring von der Leute Maya ist. Was noch, sie sagte ihm, dass er Eine Seelepartner entdecken wurde, und dass Diese auch eine Sonne zeigen wurde. Obwohl sie es vor hatte, Jene zu sein, nicht alles ist nach seinem Plan geschehen.

Es gibt etwas des Zauberisches Realismus in dem Film, z.B. als sie auf einem Boot gewesen waren, und etwas gekifft hatten, dem Film zeigte, dass sie ein Meter über dem Oberdeck geschwebten haben. Einige Szenen waren ziemlich unglaublich und möglicherweise übergetrieben, aber wenn man die Zauberei dem Film gern annimmt, kann er dann auch natürlich irgendwelche andere lächerliche Situationen einfach genießen. Die Charakters müssen viele Hindernisse herüberkommen, und fast jede die sich präsentiert, finden sie eine überraschende Lösung dafür, die oft eine ganz spannende Aktion-Sequenzen einschießt.

Es ist ein sehr romantischer Film, und ich empfehle euch sie anzuschauen, besonders wenn du dein Liebchen bei dir hast. Es handelt sich um eine Metamorphose de ein ganz alltäglicher Mann, wer für die Sicherheit von seiner Liebe und eigenem Schicksal immer vorwärts angetrieben ist. Wenn man die Unerklärbarkeit des Lebens erlebt hat, dann kann man fast alles annehmen als möglichen Tatsachen. Manchmal ist es bloß, dass man zu viele Zufälligkeiten erlebt auf einer kurzen Zeit, und kann es kaum glauben. Hier ist es genauso, und wenn man sich loslässt in der Strudel, ist mehr so wie eine schöne Gemälde, oder sogar wie ein Traum, der ganz ähnlich mit der Liebe ist.

A critique of the film, “In July”
When it pleases you, why don’t you fight for it?

Last night I saw “In July.” I had already read a summary, and therefore I knew more or less what to expect. I imagined it would be somewhat of a romantic action comedy, and that was exactly what it turned out to be.

A quite regular guy “Daniel” (Moritz Bleibtreu), that was a teacher-in-training at a highschool, buys a ring from a young woman “Juli” (Cristiane Paul). The ring has a sun on it and the woman explains to him that it’s an ancient ring from the Mayan people. What’s more, she tells him that he will find a soulmate who will also show him the sun. Although she had planned to be that one, not everything goes according to her plans.

There’s something of magical realism in the movie, for example when they were on a boat and hat smoked something, the film shows their bodies floating about a meter above the deck. Some fo the scenes were a little unbelievable and possibly overdone, but when you accept the magic of the film, you can simply enjoy any of the ridiculous situations in the movie. The characters must overcome many obstacles during the film, and almost everyone that presents itself is solved with a surprising twist, often presented with a suspenseful sequence of action.

It is a very romantic film, and I recommend it to you all, expecially if you have a loved one with you. It deals with the metamorphosis of a very normal man, who is impelled forward by his conviction in a love and a destiny. If you’ve experienced the inexplicable ways of life, you can often accept all possible things. Sometimes you experience simply too many coincidences in a short time that it becomes hard to explain with pure randomness. Here it’s much the same, and if you let yourself go in the maelstrom, it’s more like a beautiful painting, or perhaps a dream, that turns out to be much like life itself.

Wenn Du ein Film sehen möchtest, dass gar keine spannende Handlung vorlegt, und sehr wenige interessante Persönlichkeiten entwickelt, jedoch eine abgelöste Perspektive fördert, und eine beharrliche Gefühl der Melancholie bei einer einspritzt, dann musst du irgendwie ein ganzes Nachmittag vorsehen für der Film “Der Himmel Über Berlin”, das auf Englisch “Wings of Desire” übersetzt wurde.

Um ganz gerecht zu sein, muss ich euch auch eigentlich zugeben, dass welcher Film man endgültig toll findet, kommt immer, ohne Ausnahme, auf seine Erwartungen. Leider habe ich wahrscheinlich auch vergebens gehofft, dass er ein mehr traditioneller Film sein wurde.

Gefilmt en 1987, drei Jahre bevor die Mauer umgekippt hatte, “Der Himmel” zeigt ein Blick auf eine ganz vergessende Welt. Auf dieser Welt schweben zwei Engeln, die Beide Männer, die im Dienst des Gottes immer auf viele Leute behorchen müssen. Über Berlin, um Berlin, durch Berlin, und überall nie auf Berlin richtig wie Menschen gehen mögen, schweben sie, und sie können alles hören. Man muss natürlich zuhören, alle was neben diese Zwei vorbeigeht, während die Zwei, gleichgültig und ausdruckslos anschauen. Die erste hälfte von dem Film war auch auf schwarz und weiß gemacht! Es ist vielleicht, ein künstlerische Methode, um seine Audienz in die See ohne Schwimmweste zu schmeißen.

Etwas erschrecklich ist es dann, wenn erscheint ein berühmter Man mit besonderen Kräften die unsere Engeln auch irgendwie hören kann. Vielleicht noch mehr überraschend ist es aber, wenn er auf Englisch im mitten eines deutsches Films zu reden anfängt. Dieser Charakter ist auch berühmt für uns als Schauspieler für seine Hauptrolle auf dem Fernsehen als Columbo (Peter Falk). Auch in dem Film wurde er auch fast wiedererkannt.

Trotz die Schwierigkeiten, dass der Film keine dramatische Handlung uns reinzuholen anbietet, er ist sehr ästhetisch. Die Kinemagratophie ist äußerst wunderschön. Während ich nicht alles zugeben will, (das würde sehr unhöflich sein), ich kann euch auch ein bisschen ermutigen, weil nicht alles ganz deprimierend sich beendet, und es gibt noch etwas der romantische Sentimentalität. Ob Du für die Ende ausreichen kannst, darf ich nicht wohl sagen, meine Frau hat es gar nicht geschafft! Wenn Du das willst, ich wünsche Dir Glück dabei. Ich selber habe auch das Nachspiel zu Hause, und ich muss es eigentlich auch zuschauen, während meine Schwester er mir als Weihnachtsgeschenk gegeben hatte!

If you wish to see a film that doesn’t have a suspenseful plot, and develops very few interesting personalities, but conveys a rather detached perspective, while injecting a persistent feeling of melancoly in one, than you must somehow set aside a whole afternoon for the film, “The Sky over Berlin” that is translated in English as “Wings of Desire”.

To be entirely fair, I must concede that whatever film one finds charming, always and without exception depends upon their own expectations. Unfortunately, I had vainly hoped that this might be a slightly more traditional film.

Filmed in 1987, three years before the Wall fell down, “The Sky” shows a glimpse into a quite forgotten world. In this world, two angels hover, both of them men, serving God by eavesdropping on many different people. Over Berlin, through Berlin, and everywhere, yet never upon Berlin truly as humans would walk, they float, and they can hear all. One must naturally listen as well, everything that goes by these two, while they look on, indifferent and expressionless. The first half of the film was made in black and white! Maybe it’s an artistic method of throwing one’s audience into the sea without a lifejacket.

It was somewhat scary then, when a famous man with special powers shows up that can somehow eavesdrop on our angels. Perhaps it’s more suprising when he begins to speak English in the middle of a German film. This character is also famous as an actor, the lead actor in the TV-series Colombo (Peter Falk). Also in the film he was almost recognized as such.

In spite of the difficulties of lacking a dramatic plot with which to pull us in early, it is a very aesthetically pleasing film. The cinematography is ultimately beautiful. While I don’t want to give it all away (that would be impolite), I can console you a bit, that everything doesn’t end depressingly, and there’s something of romantic sentimentality in the end. If you can last to the end, I dare not say, my wife couldn’t make it herself. If you want to, I wish you luck. I have the sequel myself at home as well, and I must watch it soon, since my sister gave it to me for a Christmas present!

Our president, with a history of choosing war over peace, a disregard and contempt for human rights, and a war-mongering attitude that has led to untold and unmeasurable suffering has bestowed a moral award to someone whose record is, to say the least far more pure. Buddhists and peace-loving people the world around, including most likely the Dalai Lama himself, are laughing with the cosmic and tragic irony of this gesture. I hope only that somehow magically the encounter will have broken our president’s deep sleep of wanton ignorance and destruction. Max Davies at the Advance Titan analyzes some more of the ironies in what the Dalai Lama stands for, and how far Bush has managed to diverge from that in his own path.