A Matter of Perspective

During the Olympics, I was awed by Nastia Liukin's elegant lines as she towered over the tiny Chinese gymnasts and her own teammate Shawn Johnson. However, I read in today's paper that the 18 year old Texan is only 5' 3", the same height as my daughter.

Last night, Kristen attended a Quinceanera for her friend Erica. Erica stands a good two inches taller than her own father, making Kristen appear slight next to her. So, you have two girls the same size and about the same age, one of whom appears tall and willowy and one of whom seems diminiutive. However, it is just a matter of perspective, since they are both the same size.

An Unfortunate Turn of Phrase

On Friday, I commented on former President Bill Clinton's elegant turn of phrase at the Democratic National Convention. However, another Democrat, fomer Rep. Charlie Wilson from Texas gets the award for the Convention's biggest gaffe:

We should be led by Osama bin Laden. I mean Obama and Biden.

No doubt the red meat conservative commentators will jump on this as proof of the Democratic Party's true convictions. However, sometimes a slip of the tongue is just a flub and not a window into the hidden psyche.

I recently finised a nine day trial which involved three appraisers: Mr. Coleman, Mr. Powell and Mr. Smith. By the end of the trial, both laywers (myself included) were repeatedly getting the three appraisers confused, even though each of them have simple, distinctive names.

I hope that my liberal friends will remember this the next time a Republican gets their words crossed.

Nice Turn of Phrase

I missed most of the Democratic National Convention because it coincided with the first week of school and soccer practice. However, I came across a quote in the newspaper that bears repeating:

People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

--Bill Clinton

In one sentence former President Clinton managed to frame the Democratic view of what America should be in a positive manner, while offering an implied rebuke to the Republicans. Admittedly, it is an example of rhetorical overstatement, since Clinton himself used the example of our power in Bosnia and Kosovo. However, as someone who appreciates a nice turn of phrase, I note that it is economical in its use of words, it is symmetrical, it is positive rather than negative and it uses subtlety rather than a blunt instrument for its critique. Hats off to the author and to former President Clinton for delivering the line.

Talking Past Each Other

Recently I had a conversation with a friend about the presidential race. We come from different perspectives. She grew up in the 60s and is a long-time Democractic activist. I grew up in the 70s and am more conservative. I respect the fact that she continues to ask me to vote for liberal, pro-choice candidates even though she knows that I will probably say no. However, a recent conversation that we had shows how difficult it is for persons with different perspectives to have a meaningful conversation.

First, she politely asked if I planned to watch the Democratic Convention. I politely said no, but didn't explain why. The reason was that with trying to balance my childrens' school activities, soccer practice and work, it is unlikely that I will be watching television again until November. However, my unexplained answer could be taken as apathy or disrespect.

Next, she asked me if I planned to vote for Barack Obama. When I said no, she pressed her case. She told me that she had been hearing lots of negative things about John McCain. However, I hear a constant stream of negative information about Barack Obama, most of which I filter out.

After that, she told me that the Childrens' Defense Fund had given John McCain its lowest ranking. I don't know what a Childrens' Defense Fund is or what positions it advocates. As a result, the intended message--that John McCain doesn't care about children--was received by me as--some liberal advocacy group is unhappy with John McCain. Without a context, the information was not very useful.

Finally, she told me that John McCain had graduated fourth from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy, while Barack Obama had been editor of the Harvard Law Review. The intended message was that John McCain was a slacker who got by on his family connections, while Barack Obama had earned his position through merit. However, there was some context that my friend didn't have. I had very good grades in college and a high LSAT score. I was offered admission to every law school I applied to, except for Harvard Law School. Therefore, I tend to see Harvard Law School as a bastion of Eastern elitism rather than a meritocracy. (Please don't tell any of my friends who went to Harvard). On top of that, despite an excellent law school education and good grades, the most formative years of my legal education were when I was practicing during my 30s and 40s. As a result, the fact that John McCain barely skated by when he was 21 years old doesn't mean much to me. (Especially since the same could be said about John Kerry and Al Gore as well).

At this point, we ended the conversation. Our brief exchange didn't change my mind. As a matter of fact, we really didn't communicate that much as all. What seemed blatantly obvious to my friend struck me as largely irrelevant. If two people start from the assumption that George W. Bush is the worst president in history and that John McCain is just like him, then a discussion of Sen. McCain's flaws might seem very persuasive. (Personally, I think James Buchanan and Franklin Pierce were worse). However, making the same argument to someone who respects Sen. McCain's integrity and independence will come off as partisan and shrill. What would have been more interesting would have been to find something positive about Sen. Obama which would appeal to someone right of center. For example, how would Sen. Obama be good for small business? How will Sen. Obama reach out to people of faith? What will Sen. Obama do to reduce gas prices?

I hope that my friend doesn't think that I am picking on her here. However, the failure of two intelligent people to communicate with each other has gotten me thinking.

More YouTube Silliness

Here are some more videos that we found on You Tube.

When I did my last posting on YouTube videos, Stephanie was very indignant that I uploaded the wrong Johnny Depp remix. Her favorite was "I've Got a Jar of Dirt" and not "Why is the Rum Gone?" as I previously stated. It is Kristen who likes "Why is the Rum Gone?" To remedy my previous confusion, here is "I've Got a Jar of Dirt."



A few years ago, the radio station that I listen to caused a minor sensation when they began playing a German children's song called Schnappi Das Kleine Krokodil. I have now found the video to Schnappi and have uploaded it for your pleasure. It is just so darn cute.



When Kristen took French in middle school, her teacher used Pigloo the French penguin as a teaching device. Even if you don't understand the French, it is very catchy.

Chinese Cheating?

Prior to the Beijing Olympics, I read an interesting article about cheating at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Because the United States boycotted these olympics, few American journalists covered them. However, one reporter did go and was shocked to find the Russian officials twisting the results to favor their countrymen. James Dunaway, "In 1980, the Russians turned the olympics into the gams of shame," Austin American Statesman, July 20, 2008. Now there are at least two stories about the Chinese government manipulating the games, one silly and one serious.

The opening ceremonies of the games last Friday were spectacular, at least on TV. Viewers at the stadium witnessed only a modest fireworks display, while television watchers saw a spectacular one. It turns out that the Chinese digitally added more fireworks to the TV picture because the real ones couldn't be seen through the smog. They also mechanically enhanced the Chinese flags to flap in the non-existent breeze. Finally, they had a cute kid lip sync to the "Ode to the Motherland" because the actual singer had chubby cheeks and crooked teeth. According to music director, "The reason for this is that we must put our country's interests first. The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expressions and the great feeling she can give to the people."



More serious are the allegations that the Chinese government rigged official documents to allow underage gymnasts to compete. In order to compete, gymnasts must turn 16 in the year of the olympics. The Chinese government provided passports showing that the girls were the required age. However, online records for two of the girls indicate that they are only 14 years old, while a profile posted by state television indicated that a third gymnast was 14 as well. Size matters in gymnastics. The American girls who won the silver were an average of three inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than their Chinese counterparts. Since the government issues passports, it would be easy for the government to verify whatever age it wanted to.

The Olympics are a matter of national pride. Totalitarian governments from Nazi Germany in 1936 to the Soviet Union in 1980 to the present Olympics in Beijing have tried to shade the games to their favor. Perhaps it is not a good idea to let these nations act as host.

Why I Like to Watch Shakespeare in the August Heat: UT's Shakespeare at Winedale Program

Every summer, we spend a weekend enjoying Shakespeare at Winedale. The University of Texas sponsors this program where students perform a trio of Shakespeare plays in a converted barn at the Winedale Historical Center near Round Top, Texas. So, why would we spend nine hours listening to Elizabethan English in a sweltering barn in the Texas August heat? What’s more, why would my wife and 13 year old daughter willingly accompany me on this excursion? It is hard to explain the attraction of these 400 year old plays, but I will try.



The Stories

Shakespeare’s plays break down into categories of comedy (no one dies, lots of people get married), tragedy (no one gets married, everyone dies) and history (battles, betrayals and inspiring speeches). This year’s plays were the Merchant of Venice (comedy), Romeo & Juliet (tragedy) and Antony & Cleopatra (history). However, the plays don’t always fall into neat categories.

The Merchant of Venice is a dark comedy with themes of religious hatred, law versus mercy, friendship, romance and women disguised as men. The play has more subplots than a soap opera. Its central conflict involves the Jewish moneylender Shylock who seeks retribution against the Christian merchant Antonio for his insults and abuse and for cutting into his business by lending money without interest. The climax of the play is a trial in which Shylock seeks to enforce a contract entitling him to carve off a pound of Antonio’s flesh. For a comedy, this play explores some very dark themes. However, in the end no one dies and three couples (including Shylock’s daughter) get married.



The plot of Romeo & Juliet is very familiar. However, what is compelling for me on seeing it again is the story of Fr. Lawrence. Fr. Lawrence is the Catholic priest who is Romeo & Juliet’s co-conspirator who marries them in secret and then fakes Juliet’s death to keep her from having to marry Count Paris. When everything ends in disaster, the guilt falls on the well-intentioned Fr. Lawrence as heavily as upon Romeo & Juliet’s parents.

Antony & Cleopatra is another tragic love story. Marc Antony was on top of the world as one of the three rulers of the Roman Empire after the death of Julius Caesar. However, his romance with Cleopatra causes him to make one impetuous decision after another until the title characters and a lot of other people are dead.

The stories are also a bit subversive. In Elizabethan England, Jews and Catholics were seriously out of favor. The Jews had been expelled from England in 1290 and being a Catholic was punishable by death.

Although Shakespeare’s treatment of Shylock may seem harsh by today’s standards, it was remarkably sympathetic for his times. While Jews were commonly portrayed as fiends and devils (as in the Jew of Malta, a play which running at the same time), Shakespeare made Shylock more complex. The Christian characters are blatantly abusive toward him, but still seek to borrow money from him. Shylock’s speech containing the lines “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” forces the audience to look at the Jewish character as a human being rather than a caricature.

Similarly, Shakespeare makes the Catholic priest, Fr. Lawrence, one of his most sympathetic characters. Some have suspected that Shakespeare himself was Catholic. However, at the time, England had swung violently from Catholic to Protestant to Catholic and back to Protestant with massive loss of life each time. Being Catholic did not just mean that you went to a different church than your neighbor. It meant that you identified with the enemies of England, Catholic France and Spain. It would have been considered treasonous for Shakespeare to show a Catholic favorably in his current time. However, by setting the story in the past, he could get away with it.



The Language

Some of the speeches get a bit long and the language can be somewhat difficult; however, there is no denying that Shakespeare wrote some of the most beautiful and moving words in the English language. Romeo and Juliet contributed such expressions as star-crossed lovers, a rose by any other name and a plague on both your houses. The Merchant of Venice originated a pound of flesh as term for an over-reaching bargain.

The Merchant of Venice has some incredible speeches in it. Shylock’s “I am a Jew” speech is remarkably complex and challenges the audience to see him as an individual. Portia’s “The quality of mercy is not strained” speech focuses on the conflict between law and mercy.

In Romeo & Juliet, Juliet’s “a rose by any other name” speech echoes Shylock in asking whether we are bound by our family or free to act as individuals.

The Theater Experience

There is also something to be said for the theater experience. Although the Winedale barn is hot and the seats are uncomfortable, there is nothing quite like seeing a play up close. A play is more interactive than a mere movie. The players make their entrances and exits through the audience. When Romeo climbs the orchard wall, the actor climbs over a beam in the barn and jumps down into the aisle. When Bassanio solves the riddle of the chests, he runs across the stage, slapping the hands of the audience members in the front row. Occasionally actors will hand props to members of the audience to hold for them. Theater is something which is actively experienced rather than passively watched.

Getting Away



It is also nice just to get away for a little while. Although Round Top, Texas has a population of 77 (at least according to the sign), you can’t go ten yards without finding a bed and breakfast. One of the pleasures for us has been watching two plays on Saturday and then spending the night at a bed and breakfast and returning for the third play on Sunday afternoon. This year we stayed at a farmhouse built in 1852 and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast after sleeping in.