Happy New Year

Greetings to you, the readers of this blog, few and far-flung that you are. I hope whatever you chose to celebrate was fulfilling and was like a tonic to you.

I'm behind on some posts though I assure you they will go up soon. Until then, here's a link worth a look:

http://www.ccsu.edu/amlc07/Overall_Rankings/Top10.htm

It's always interesting to see who ranks and why. I was sorry to see Cincy drop just out of the top ten. We are so lame at so many other things (football, baseball, urban development, race relations, etc.), it was a lovely surprise these past few years to be so high on a list like this.

If any of you remember me chastising my sister for not having read The Kite Runner, all is well. She read it and enjoyed it, as I knew she would. However, she did write to tell me that she had some trouble at the beginning because she's "uncomfortable with oppression". Yes and I always tend to root for the fascists whenever possible. They usually have a better fashion sense than those pesky underdogs.

Kite Runner movie could kill someone

I know that sounds crazy but read this article from today's New York Times:

www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/movies/04kite.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

In a chilling turn of events, the child actors who play the leads in the upcoming Kite Runner film adaptation are reportedly at risk of great harm or even death. The studio fears that rival ethnic groups in Kabul will react violently, especially to a pivotal rape scene, when the film is released. Paramount is delaying the release of the film and government officials are looking to move the boys and their families to another country where they will be safe.

I'm just flabbergasted by this. Kind of makes Hosseini's amazing novel ring that much truer.

The Kite Runner by Khaleed Hosseini

My friends' Dad (Yo, Big Tom!) said that if you want to learn about Victorian England, you should read Dickens and if you want to begin to understand Afghanistan, you should read this. I couldn't agree more. Like millions of others, I loved this book! It was so many things--a father and son story, a window into a country that we're fundamentally "at war" with, a buddy novel, a coming of age story--and it succeeded as all these and just about everything else it attempted. The writing is beautiful and the characters have great depth. The examination of the changes to the country and people of Afghanistan over 30+ years was astounding and invokes compassion. At the same time, I was absolutely caught up in the story and choked back tears a number of times. (from '05 list)