The Hundred Foot Journey

I've done two book reviews so I think it's about time I review a movie. Although actually it is a movie based on a book, "The Hundred Foot Journey" by Richard C. Morais.  But since I have not read the book yet, I'll have to do the movie.  Given the serious bent of my last two posts, as well as current events, I thought I'd do something a little more positive, and yes, feel good!

They say life is a journey. None of us are the same people we were ten years, or even five years, ago. We are all changed by the people we meet and the events we experience. What we take from those guides is our choice.

I know, I know, my two loyal readers will think...Oh God!...she's doing a chick flick! Lol! Okay, maybe on the surface, but really it touches on very basic human needs and failings. It revolves around a family's journey from India to, first England, and then France. Forced to flee their native country due to violence they search for a place to call home. Their family was in the restaurant business in India and that is what they turn to to make a living in their new country, ultimately inciting the wrath of the owner of the restaurant across the street. What happens next is a journey from closed mindedness to an openhearted reaching out to others who are really just like us, people with hopes and dreams and a simple desire to belong. It's also an interesting look at the competitive world of Haute cuisine.

If you have a free afternoon, rent it or stream it for a day brightener, as well as a break from all the death and destruction out there. If nothing else, enjoy the song by A.R. Rahman.  :)

Charlie Cont...

Since the attack on Charlie Hebdo, and the subsequent rally of support for the people killed and their right to free speech, there have been voices raised in protest against the nature of what the magazine was publishing.

While the analyst in that clip seems to view the magazine's actions as being intentionally directed at Muslims, from what I can gather Charlie Hebdo has been equally offensive to other religions.

Charlie Hebdo lawsuits

I understand how difficult it can be to watch something one holds dear be mocked or dragged through the mud. But, an insult should not carry with it a death penalty, at least not in a just society.

Certainly the cartoons were in poor taste, as even many people in France allow.

Opinion Poll

But being able to express a dissenting opinion to an idea in a non violent manner is a cornerstone of a free society, and that is why so many people have supported Charlie Hebdo. It has nothing whatsoever to do with wanting to deliberately mock or offend any group of people. Those people who find it offensive are free to not read the magazine.

A recent article written by Noam Chomsky accuses the West of hypocrisy because he seems to think some of our past actions were comparable to the attack on Charlie Hebdo, specifically the NATO bombing of the Serbian television station RTV.

Noam Chomsky

"Abrams is right in describing the Charlie Hebdo attack as "the most threatening assault on journalism in living memory." The reason has to do with the concept "living memory," a category carefully constructed to include Their crimes against us while scrupulously excluding Our crimes against them -- the latter not crimes but noble defense of the highest values, sometimes inadvertently flawed."

Article 71 of this document pertains to the NATO bombing.  You may have to scroll back up a little bit.

ICTY Ruling

While I would question his reasoning, and want to research the issue myself before coming to any conclusions, I would not question his right to express his opinion. Free speech is not just for those we agree with.

When those people who have been so busy protesting about the “offensive” Charlie Hebdo cartoons look just as critically at actions of people within their own countries I will have more respect for their ability to judge fairly.

I Am Charlie

Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.  ~George Bernard Shaw

Rest in Peace.

Happy New Year Everyone!

The Gift of the Magi

Watching the news I have been trying to decide what to write a post about. So many things of importance have happened; the Orion test launch, the horrible killings of so many at a school in Pakistan, the climate accord that was just reached, the inching forward of normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba. But I felt that maybe it was time to take a break from the realities and sadness of these times and reflect a little on the season.

As we watch the hoards of Christmas shoppers scrambling for deals on Black Friday it appears we have forgotten what this season is about. So I wanted to share with you a couple of my favorite stories. The first is a story written by O. Henry, which was adapted into a short Christmas story for television. My apologies for the commercial in the middle.

The second story revolves around a letter written by a little girl so long ago.

And last but not least one of my favorite songs. You're right Pete, these people are good. :)

It is a time to celebrate the goodness of humanity and if only for an instant to forget some of the strife in the world. I wish everyone a wonderful and magical holiday season. 

The Asymetric Sunrise

The story of heliocentrism -- the idea that the Sun, not the Earth is at the centre of the "universe" -- is a fascinating tale, full of twists and turns, that spans over 2,000 years. By the time Galileo first turned a telescope on the heavens, the evidence was literally in front of our eyes: it was clear that Jupiter had satellites that orbited it, not the earth, and Venus had phases owing to being lit from different angles on its path round the sun.

But immediately prior to the telescopic era, the most accurate mapping to date of the celestial sphere had been carried out by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. After Tycho's death, his assistant Johannes Kepler analysed his astronomical data to come up with the famous laws of planetary motion.

Kepler worked at the forefront of the mathematics of the time, using recently published tables of logarithms, including logarithms of trigonometric functions (without which he admitted that he would have given up his work as too laborious), and having to develop elements of differential calculus himself. He also, incidentally, had to fight off numerous challenges from Tycho's relatives who wanted to assert rights over the data Kepler was using.

Recently I got into a conversation with some people about the accuracy of Tycho's data, the type and quality of his instruments, and the level of mathematical skill and intuition needed by Kepler. We wondered if today's average educated person could reproduce what he did. We suspected that they could not -- even with the mathematical advances since Kepler's time.

As a lesson in humility, yesterday I was reminded that I have difficulty understanding even the apparent motion of the most conspicuous celestial object -- the Sun. I was out for an early morning stroll on Dun Laoghaire pier, and I snapped this picture of sunrise:

That dark blob on the horizon just left of the Sun is "The Muglins" -- a rock which poses a navigational hazard, and you can just about see the silhouette of its pointed warning beacon. To the right of the Sun, the first tiny artificial protuberance you see is the cylindrical Martello tower on Dalkey Island, built in 1804 at the start of the Napoleonic Wars as a lookout for a possible French invasion. The east edge of the island is visible in this view, but the tower is peeking up from behind the promontory at the end of Scotsman's Bay in Sandycove.

Those landmarks, combined with my known position half way along the east pier, allowed me to get a compass bearing on the position of sunrise. With the winter solstice only a fortnight away I was interested in how much further the sun has to travel to its most southerly point of sunrise. I found the bearing was in excellent agreement with the expected value: 128°, as measured clockwise from north:

Looking up timeanddate.com, I see that the most southerly sunrise will be at 130°, before the sun moves north again, rising due east at the vernal equinox, and at its most northerly point of 47° on the summer solstice.

But hang on! 130° is 40° south of east, while 47° is 43° north of east. The variation in the position of sunrise is caused by the fixed tilt of the earth's axis in space, and it must be tilted toward the sun on one side of its orbit by exactly the same amount as it is tilted away on the other. What gives?

Try checking the position of the sunrise at the solstices for your latitude ... I wonder if you see the same asymmetry.

Judgement in Ferguson

In August 2014 a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri. Since then we have been inundated with media coverage of the initial event, the investigation, the decision of whether or not to indict the police officer, and the response by people around the country. 

Here is an account of the shooting and the subsequent events:

Michael Brown shooting

There are three issues that have arisen with this event, the use of profiling, police tactics, and our understanding of our justice system. All of these played a role in the reactions of people over the past months.

The first question is, was racial profiling used by Officer Wilson to stop Michael Brown? The evidence shown to the grand jury appears to refute that allegation. Officer Wilson seems to have been reasonable in requesting the two men walking down the middle of the road to move to the sidewalk, and on realizing that Michael Brown fit the description of a suspect in a convenience store robbery to try to detain him. But the question that the Brown case has brought to the surface is does racial profiling exist in police departments? No fair minded person should use a person's skin color as a red flag. And conversely, no fair minded person should use a person's skin color as an automatic sign of victimization. In this case I do not think Brown was profiled by race. But there very well may be other cases where the person is. The people who are protesting based on this issue need to pick their battles better. Cry wolf once too often and when the real thing happens people may just ignore your concerns.

The second question is did Officer Wilson act according to standard police rules of engagement? If so, was it necessary to shoot Brown multiple times? Was there a better way, so that he may have lived? Many police departments have tasers, although even those are problematic. I think, considering the apparently poor relations between the community of Ferguson and the police department, this is something that really needs to be examined more closely. This is an issue where the protesters may have a point.  Here is an interesting article on this.

The last factor at play is our justice system. To try someone in court there must be sufficient evidence for the prosecutor to feel it possible for a conviction. The purpose of the grand jury was to decide if there was enough evidence to indict. Their conclusion was that there was not. Obviously I did not sit on the grand jury so am not aware of all testimony or evidence that was presented to them. I only know what the press has published. Brown's blood was on the police car and on Officer Wilson's pants which supported Wilson's account of Michael Brown approaching and leaning into the car, leading to the first gunshot. The bruises on Wilson's face supported his account that Michael Brown hit him. This alone is rather odd behavior for a law abiding “gentle giant”, as Brown's friends and acquaintances have described him. Many witnesses were called to testify, with contradictory statements given, from whether or not Brown was charging the officer when he advanced toward him to whether or not he had his hands raised. He was not shot in the back as some less reliable accounts said. The physical evidence present supported Officer Wilson's account of events.

At the time that I write this there are still demonstrations and individual protests over the events surrounding Michael Brown's death. The anger over past injustices certainly plays a part in the inability of people to look at evidence with a clear eye. But at the heart of justice is the ability to do so. What I seem to be seeing in these demonstrations is not a search for justice, but a good old fashioned witch hunt. And damaging property, looting and obstruction of lawful pursuits is not going to help bring about the healing that Michael Brown's family and the people of Ferguson need.