into the wild

I read the book "Into The Wild" not long after it came out, and just saw the film the other day. No matter what you think of Chris McCandless and what happened to him, most observers would probably admit the story is fascinating. Both the book and film are artfully done, and the film in particular was especially beautiful to behold. It's a wonder McCandless didn't die sooner than he did with the risks he took, but nonetheless I admire his total commitment to adventure, and to freedom from material possessions. His story and the choices he made are a poignant starting point for debate on so many issues of our time...

watch the trailer

the pits

Photo copyright 1994 Gazelle

War Memorial, Washington, DC

"When your best buddy gets blown up right next to you, and you have pieces of him all over you, that's really the pits."

- WW II vet

about a son

http://www.kurtcobainaboutason.com/

This is an unexpectedly well done film, particularly for a documentary about a rock star. It is told in Cobain's own voice, and set to evocative images. You will see no moving images of Nirvana, and very few stills of him or the band. And none of Nirvana's music either, but instead music that was important to him, along with a beautiful score. The images are mostly composed of gracefully photographed images of people and places and evergreens and gray skies shot in the three places Kurt Cobain lived in Washington - Aberdeen, Olympia, and Seattle. The result is moving, intimate, and revealing.

hung far low

Photo copyright 2008 Gazelle

Chinatown, Portland, Oregon

milano

Photo copyright 2000 Gazelle

Italy

darwin's nightmare

"The old question, which social and political structure is the best for the world, seems to have been answered. Capitalism has won. The ultimate forms for future societies are "consumer democracies", which are seen as "civilized" and "good". In a Darwinian sense the "good system" won. It won by either convincing its enemies or eliminating them.

It is... incredible that wherever prime raw material is discovered, the locals die in misery, their sons become soldiers, and their daughters are turned into servants and whores."

A Film By Hubert Sauper

scorched earth

Photo: Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Destroyed village in Darfur, February 2008