http://briantrent.com Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:52:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A few thoughts and experiences from this week. - The sad state of American "debate" persists. In short: It's not a mosque, it's not at Ground Zero, it's not violating a zoning ordinance, and we live in a country that, like it or not, protects religious freedom. What passes for American "debate" ... http://briantrent.com/august-21/ Proposition 8 has been overturned as you may have heard. The justice – a conservative – ruled it unconstitutional. I have stated before how important it is for people to read things for themselves, rather than let others tell them about it. People flippantly refer to the Constitution without ever having ... http://briantrent.com/thoughts-on-the-proposition-8-ruling/ This week Anne Rice made a Facebook post and formally took a side with the culture war. From the Interview with the Vampire author herself: "As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I ... http://briantrent.com/a-response-to-anne-rice/ The film Agora has hit the United States and, predictably, is making waves and controversy. Agora is about Hypatia of Alexandria. Why the controversy? Because Hypatia, the most brilliant and learned woman of her day, the last curator of the Great Library, was torn to pieces in a church by a ... http://briantrent.com/hypatia-and-agora/ Chris Nolan's newest film Inception owes a large debt to Dreamscape, The Matrix, and probably even The Thirteenth Floor. But inspiration is not the same as imitation, and what is remarkable is that Nolan has taken those ingredients and mixed up something wholly awesome and original. The script is dizzying ... http://briantrent.com/inception-an-exceptional-masterpiece/ Heat wave for two weeks now. The sun hits it like a golden spear and splinters into daggers. The humidity makes everything sweat. Above in the burnished sky, a hawk draws lazy circles to an airplane's hum. Just returned from a week in Canada and a few days in Nova Scotia. Part ... http://briantrent.com/back-from-canada-kathryn-bigelow/ Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is a 43-year-old mother of two. She has spent five years in prison. She was given 99 lashes. And she has been sentenced to death by stoning. This particular execution is endorsed by Shariah law, and also by the Bible. The stones can't be too small... because ... http://briantrent.com/iranian-woman-to-be-executed/ I usually hate sequels, prequels, reboots, and remakes. They cheapen the original, and they are (with only a handful of exceptions) a reduced product. Every once in a while, a legit sequel emerges from the Hollywood swamp. Aliens, Terminator 2, The Godfather 2, X-Men 2. But if good sequels are rare, then ... http://briantrent.com/toy-story-3-is-another-gem-in-the-pixar-crown/ I landed the cover story of The Humanist's July issue, and it's probably about someone you know. I'm not an especially compromising guy, so "America's Addiction to Belief" is not compromising. We live in a culture which prizes belief on par with fact. A lot of people are obsessed with "believing" ... http://briantrent.com/americas-addiction-to-belief-published-in-the-humanist/ Happy 35th Anniversary to Jaws! Spielberg's masterful film defined the summer blockbuster and combined wit, terror, and personality into one of the most perfect films ever made. It took a mediocre Benchley novel and ramped it up into a thrilling expedition of fear and adventure. It was the Old Man ... http://briantrent.com/jaws-turns-35/