The worst movie I saw last year was The Hurt Locker. Dan said some of it was unrealistic. That is putting it mildly. This movie did not require suspension of disbelief. It required suspension of brain activity. I saw it in the theater last year and was stunned. I still do not understand critical embrace of this horrible movie. A 94 on metacritic????? I agree with Dan that Up was the best movie of the year. The sequence he referred to is amazing - no dialogue just music. It is one of the best pieces of moviemaking I have ever seen.

Quoting thprop: The worst movie I saw last year was The Hurt Locker.

I just saw it a week or so ago. I can't compare it to any of the other nominees, since I didn't see them, but I thought it was pretty good. I would say I was mildly distracted by the thought that this small crew would be operating in isolation, but not too badly. Overall, I thought it had a number of powerful scenes, and lacked only in that it could have used a bit more of a connective narrative thread. This diavlog, on the other hand, suffered no flaws. Always happy to hear from these two.

Quoting thprop: The worst movie I saw last year was The Hurt Locker. Dan said some of it was unrealistic. That is putting it mildly. This movie did not require suspension of disbelief. It required suspension of brain activity. I saw it in the theater last year and was stunned. I still do not understand critical embrace of this horrible movie. A 94 on metacritic?????

But the director was a woman!

So did any girls kiss at this years Oscars?

Modesty with an asterisk*

Quoting thprop: Dan said some of it was unrealistic.

I completely agree with Dan and Heather's analysis. The Hurt Locker is not about the Iraq War; it is set in the war, but it's about masculinity. Looking back at another work of art, to try to see without our emotional investment in Iraq, has anyone ever heard that Hemingway's novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls was unrealistic? I haven't. I have no idea if the guerrillas would have taken out a bridge the way it was depicted, and it doesn't matter. That book is not about military tactics during the Spanish Civil War; it's about the brotherhood of men. The title was taken from John Donne's Meditation XVII, which includes the immortal line "No man is an island...." You can read his beautiful essay here. "The Hurt Locker" is, itself, an interesting title. We're invited to believe that it refers to a trunk in which Sergeant James keeps "the things that almost killed me;" that is, bomb detonators and his wedding ring. But to me, James himself is the hurt locker; that is, a man who is unable to form meaningful relationships, who locks away his pain within himself and uses war as

Quoting chamblee54: Please cut off the speakers in the background. Someone has gotten several emails during this dialog, and the announcement bell is audible.

LOL! Yeah, that's Heather. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express on a Windows machine, you might think you're getting email every time one arrives in her Inbox. :-D

Drezner already had this discussion about theoretical IR in the academy vs. applied IR in the policy world with Joseph Nye . We can have related discussions twice, but this was the same discussion, with the same conclusions. Let's rush to the barricades with placards that say: "Carrots, not sticks, for grad students and younger untenured faculty who publish in applied IR." This discussion, if held a third time, would be more interesting if it were extended to the relationship between the theoretical and applied in at least one other field, but let's say economics. That probably requires too much specialized knowledge, however. But is there a comparable preference for the theoretical in climate science, for example? Alternatively, why is IR the way that it is? One reason might be that it becomes indistinguishable from History, once it ceases to be theoretical. And what could have less prestige than History? Anyone can study and write about history. You just read about the past and try to understand it. IR, on the other hand, is theoretical. There are models, diagrams on blackboards, regressions, as Drezner points out. What are the findings of IR, referred to by Drezner's respected colleague, that have not been adequately promulgated to the

As an antidote to the pollyanish foreign policy consensus forming in Washington, and the Kagan article. http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/a...t-JF-2010.html

Engineer / Applied Scientist : Hi! This math is a little over my head, would it be possible for you to help me out? Theoretical mathematician 1 : Oh, I'm sorry, but I do not do applied math. Theoretical mathematician 2 : I can help you out, looks like an interesting problem. Engineer / Applied Scientist : Awesomesauce! Can you get me the solution in the next few weeks? The marketing guys totally screwed us again, we are going to have a hard time making the next project milestone. Theoretical mathematician 2: Shouldn't be a problem. 3 weeks later........ Engineer / Applied Scientist : Umm, no pressure, but I could really use that solution. Theoretical mathematician 2 : Ahh, yes, I remember now. I must have forgotten to e-mail you. Engineer / Applied Scientist : So you figured it out. Thanks! This really helps. Theoretical mathematician 2 : Well. I don't know what the solution is, but I can prove one exists! Engineer / Applied Scientist : ...

Quoting Bokonon: And yes, Kathryn Bigelow is a woman, and The Hurt Locker is very much a woman's comment on testosterone. I left the movie shaken and sad, because I felt she was saying that war is inevitable, as long as young men run away from their relationships and toward their deaths.

So is she saying that if men didn't run away from their relationships, war wouldn't be inevitable? It must be more complicated than that. However, I agree that the perceived inevitability is sad. It is good to work towards eliminating the inevitable.

Quoting badhatharry: It is good to work towards eliminating the inevitable.

Indeed, a noble goal.

Quoting badhatharry: So is she saying that if men didn't run away from their relationships, war wouldn't be inevitable? It must be more complicated than that.

I felt she was saying that right after I saw the film. I certainly can't speak for her, and she might even be more hopeful, now that her work has had the affirmation of several Oscars. During the diavlog I cited, Thomas Hayden makes clear that our biology is not our destiny. In Sex and War, Hayden and Moss argue that the empowerment of women throughout world society is the cure for war. He also points out that, despite the ongoing horrors of war and genocide, there is actually less war right now than at most times in history.

Quoting thprop: I agree with Dan that Up was the best movie of the year. The sequence he referred to is amazing - no dialogue just music. It is one of the best pieces of moviemaking I have ever seen.

Me too. I was in kind of a rut when I saw it, and I remember being in such a good mood I burst in to spontaneous fits of laughter for days afterwards.

Trivial Suggestions to two of my favorite bloggingheaders, especially when they are together: To Dan, check on the pronunciation of "slavish". To Heather,
Rethink your hairdo. I remember from several years ago, on a show taped in the early morning you wore what you called "bedroom hair". I think it captured your personality better than your current style.

Quoting florencearno: To Dan, check on the pronunciation of "slavish".

Maybe he meant "similar to the people of Eastern Europe."

Quoting bjkeefe: Maybe he meant "similar to the people of Eastern Europe."

Funny. He kept saying how old he felt, but this is a great example that he's actually a fairly young academic. He's someone who has spent his career in an era when it's pretty easy to live, work, research, write in isolation, and therefore use lots of words in writing that you rarely have to say aloud.

Quoting PreppyMcPrepperson: Funny. He kept saying how old he felt, but this is a great example that he's actually a fairly young academic. He's someone who has spent his career in an era when it's pretty easy to live, work, research, write in isolation, and therefore use lots of words in writing that you rarely have to say aloud.

I make that sort of mistake a lot, even though I am not an academic. Thank you for letting me know that actually makes me younger than I feel. ;^)

What, no one is interested in answering me? This is clearly the most important part.

Quoting Starwatcher162536: What, no one is interested in answering me? This is clearly the most important part.

Clearly, nothing could be more important. Because, remember:

It's been 20 years, but I remember "hurt locker" as a slang expression equivalent to "a world of hurt"

Quoting bjkeefe: Clearly, nothing could be more important.

Because, remember:

that sign inspires me to link a message from the honored Steve Newlin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkHdgebJHbc he fights against the darkness seen in this montage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wet5OM7RR8Q

Quoting uncle ebeneezer: Modesty with an asterisk*

Yeah, that was one of my favorite moments from that diavlog -- made me laugh out loud. Was going to ask you what the Cole Porter reference was about, but then it hit me. Also very funny.

Thanks Listener. Wasn't sure if anyone would catch that one. If you happen to be a jazz fan, check out Brad Mehldau's incredible version on the album of the same name. He alters the arrangement and plays it in 5/4...amazing.

Quoting uncle ebeneezer: Thanks Listener. Wasn't sure if anyone would catch that one. If you happen to be a jazz fan, check out Brad Mehldau's incredible version on the album of the same name. He alters the arrangement and plays it in 5/4...amazing.

Thanks for the tip. I like Brad Mehldau and will look for that recording.