Message 697

I just received an email from Netflix asking me to review the movie Taking Chance, and I realize I forgot to mention in Sunday's message that I had watched the DVD. It is a very well done film based on a true story about a Marine Colonel, played by Kevin Bacon, who volunteers to escort the body of a 21-year old who was killed in Iraq and whose name was Chance Phillips, home to his family in a small town in Wyoming. I did not expect much from the movie, so I was surprised by how good it was. It reminded me some of the Japanese movie Departures because it dealt with the ritual and respect with which the military carries out the duty of returning the dead to their family for burial. I give it four stars.

Yesterday I finished reading The Economist and in the evening Joshua came over and watched 24 with me. I was amazed to learn that there are still five more episodes left in this season. It seems like it is longer than usual, but I must confess that I have forgotten what time it was when it started.