Newsweek article

Two weeks ago Newsweek publishes my article. What an incredible thrill. I write stuff, put it in the mail, and then forget about it because finishing is always the goal, not necessarily landing somewhere. It's just an added bonus when I get a call. But this time, it was very different. The feverish pace, the photo shoot--it was exhilarating. (Although the photo is scary!)

It's so cool to see what people are saying about it. Mark Spittle's comments are interesting, although a bit inaccurate. And I'm listed on realclearpolitics.com--omg, I'm a republican! The letters published in the February 6 issue cover the range of feelings on the death penalty. Wow--I never thought it would get this kind of attention. I just hope people understand how difficult and complex this issue really is, and not just for me personally.

David Letterman & Bill O'Liar (I mean O'Reilly)

So I can't get to sleep the other night and I happen upon O'Reilly's appearance on Letterman--half asleep, I realize that this wasn't going to be a typical interview--Letterman was awesome--finally an interviewer who goes after the guy who works at Fake Fox News Network.

Letterman was right to go after O'Reilly about Cindy Sheehan and the so-called war on Christmas. O'Reilly simply showed himself to be the non-serious journalist that he is--as soon as he's presented with facts, he has nothing. Maybe if he put people on his show who do more than just tow the party line he would be better prepared to handle criticism--oh, but that would make him a legitimate journalist. My bad.

Brokeback Mountain

I very infrequently go to the movie theater--perhaps 2-3 times a year. So when a movie comes out and I want to see it before it's released on video, I have fairly high expectations. Brokeback didn't disappoint. I was amazed at how director Ang Lee conveyed in images what is so profoundly difficult to do--emotion, loss, fear. Heath Ledger was extraordinary as Ennis--his tight-lipped speech, his ever-so subtle way of glancing at Jack. Jake G. was also incredible--his part wasn't as emotionally tight, but he certainly conveyed the frustration of living under a set of rules that are so clearly unfair. I read Annie Proulx's short story, and it was a bit of a disappointment--Ang Lee took a story and made it into something far more layered. And those shirts--pure genius.

Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy's son committed suicide just before the holidays. I have only a handful of postings but this is the second time I'm writing about suicide--and once again, it involves a very young man. I can't imagine what it's like for his parents. And for Tony Dungy, there must be some heavy-duty what-ifs. He himself said as much--that being an NFL coach means spending many nights at the office until the next morning. At the funeral, he mentioned what his daughter, who is 21, told him; she wished that her brother had at least made it to 20--she said that the things parents tell you at 16, 17, 18 don't mean anything at the time, but when you become just a little older they start to make sense. So true--and so sad.