the[new]trent

Guess what...I'm spending my spring break (next week) in Hong Kong. How cool is that? It's officially on business, but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. I might (MIGHT) be able to post photos and quick entries while in HK.... We'll see!

Spielberg's latest film, Munich, was heart wrenching and dark -- but it was moving and felt accurate and true to heart. Despite the young spoiled, rich snobs sitting directly behind me calling for it to be over by it's 120 minute mark, the film went on and for good reason. The film wasn't trying to be the typical terrorists are born bad routine--and despite its vivid violence, it wasn't unnecessary or even as destructive as what actually happened.

I believe the film has merit beyond its current recognition and criticism. I believe that Munich, like Syriana and a few other jewels, strives to remind us that there is a global war going on and it's not in Iraq. It's in the "hearts and minds" of millions of people who are struggling in many respects. I don't subscribe to the "America is bad philosophy," but I do believe there are things we (and our allies, perhaps like Israel) have done and are doing that prevent others around the globe from truly understanding all of the good things we can do.

I hope everyone goes and sees this film (along with Syriana) and begins to think about what does our nation do in our world. How much control do we have over our own influence? Do we see ourselves the same way others do, and why?

Have we become the nation we truly want to be, or have we stooped to the tactics and character of our greatest enemies and fears.

Really funny clip about good ol' Bill O'Reilly's recent "Talking Point Memo" rant on NBC...  Worth a look and a laugh.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/01/31.html#a6951

Commentary by Leander Kahney
Wired Magazine
02:00 AM Jan, 25, 2006 EST

Until recently, Bill Gates has been viewed as the villain of the tech world, while his archrival, Steve Jobs, enjoys an almost saintly reputation.

Gates is the cutthroat capitalist. A genius maybe, but one more interested in maximizing profits than perfecting technology. He's the ultimate vengeful nerd. Ostracized at school, he gets the last laugh by bleeding us all dry.
On the other hand, Jobs has never seemed much concerned with business, though he's been very successful at it of late. Instead, Jobs has been portrayed as a man of art and culture. He's an aesthete, an artist; driven to make a dent in the universe.

But these perceptions are wrong. In fact, the reality is reversed. It's Gates who's making a dent in the universe, and Jobs who's taking on the role of single-minded capitalist, seemingly oblivious to the broader needs of society.

Gates is giving away his fortune with the same gusto he spent acquiring it, throwing billions of dollars at solving global health problems. He has also spoken out on major policy issues, for example, by opposing proposals to cut back the inheritance tax.

In contrast, Jobs does not appear on any charitable contribution lists of note. And Jobs has said nary a word on behalf of important social issues, reserving his talents of persuasion for selling Apple products.

According to Forbes, Jobs was recently worth $3.3 billion which puts him among the 194th richest in the world, and makes him the 67th richest American. But the standings were shuffled on Tuesday with Disney's $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation -- a deal that makes Jobs' Pixar holdings alone worth some $3.7 billion.

But great wealth does not make a great man.

Giving USA Foundation, a philanthropy research group which publishes an annual charity survey, said Jobs does not appear on lists of gifts of $5 million or more over the last four years. Nor is his name on a list of gifts of $1 million or more compiled by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.

Jobs' wife is also absent from these philanthropic lists, although she has made dozens of political donations totaling tens of thousands of dollars to the Democrats, according to the Open Secrets database.

Of course, Jobs and his wife may be giving enormous sums of money to charity anonymously. If they are funneling cash to various causes in private, their names wouldn't show up on any lists, regardless of the size of their gifts.

For a person as private as Jobs, who shuns any publicity about his family life, this seems credible. If so, however, this would make Jobs virtually unique among moguls. Richard Jolly, chairman of Giving USA Foundation, said not all billionaires give their money away, but a lot do, and most do not do it quietly.

"We see it over and over again," he said. "Very wealthy individuals do support the organizations and institutions they believe in."

That's certainly true of Gates, who not only gives vast sums away, but also speaks up in support of the organizations and institutions he believes in.

This is not the case for Jobs. To the best of my knowledge, in the last decade or more, Jobs has not spoken up on any social or political issue he believes in -- with the exception of admitting he's a big Bob Dylan fan.

Rather, he uses social issues to support his own selfish business goals. In the Think Different campaign, Jobs used cultural figures he admired to sell computers -- figures who stuck their necks out to fight racism, poverty, inequality or war.

Jobs once offered to be an advisor to Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election, and he invited President Clinton over for dinner when Bubba visited Silicon Valley in 1996 -- hardly evidence of deep political convictions.

Jobs can't even get behind causes that would seem to carry deep personal meaning, let alone lasting social importance. Like Lance Armstrong, he is a cancer survivor. But unlike Armstrong, Jobs has so far done little publicly to raise money or awareness for the disease.

Given Jobs' social detachment, I'm confused by the adulation he enjoys. Yes, he has great charisma and his presentations are good theater. But his absence from public discourse makes him a cipher. People project their values onto him, and he skates away from the responsibilities that come with great wealth and power.

On the evidence, he's nothing more than a greedy capitalist who's amassed an obscene fortune. It's shameful. In almost every way, Gates is much more deserving of Jobs' rock star exaltation.

In the same way, I admire Bono over Mick Jagger, and John Lennon over Elvis, because they spoke up about things bigger than their own celebrity.

It's time for Jobs to do the same.

Follow this link for the original article:
http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,70072-0.html?tw=wn_index_22

I watched "Something New" in my CTCS 466 class this week. I think I enjoyed it less I had hoped--but only after it was over. I really don't have much to talk about it. Blah. Not really good, not really bad. I did like the concept/plot, but it ends there... Leonard Maltin invited the film's editor, Melissa Kent, to speak aftewards and field Q+As. To be honest, the editing was among the more moving/noticeable aspects of the film. Isaac asked her a good question about the technologization of the editing process compared to cost effectiveness. The only question I thought about asking her was what it was like to work with the electronic musical group, Air, on one of her previous films by Sofia Coppola, The Virgin Suicides.

Isaac and I are still working on finding just the right work environment for our projects. Hopefully we can put them all in the same building...

Anyway, it looks like a Class A tower may be within our reach! Pretty surprising, given that we're still thinking with a lean bootstrapping mindset...

More on this later...

Note to anyone wondering why they get my voicemail this weekend...I'll be away from LA and likely will be unable to answer email or the cell phone. Talk to everyone when I get back on Monday morning...

Just got back from my CTCS 466 Theatrical Film Symposium class with professor and famed film critic Leonard Maltin (http://www.leonardmaltin.com). Last week we saw Disney's Glory Road... It was ok...nothing too bad about, but nothing too great about it either. It seems like most of my classmates felt the same way, as did the professor.

However, this week's film was different! 7 Dias (http://imdb.com/title/tt0414513/), written and directed by USC Cinema-Television School grad Fernando Kalife, was actually pretty good. Synopsis in a sentence:

The story of how a few brave rural Mexicans brought U2 to their town and everything along the way.

Take a look here for reviews if you're interested. They're looking for a US distributor, so if you know anyone who's interested...

You can check every week online what unreleased movie I'll be watching at Norris Theatre at USC -- http://ctcs466.livejournal.com/