A poignant, if tragic, tale of unrequited love and devotion.

Some of the essays were moderately entertaining or informative (particularly one or two that I had already read on the Interweb), but most of them were lacking. Further, Joel’s little introductions and “helpful” footnotes were annoying. I’m a fan of a lot of his writing, but he doesn’t cut it as an editor.

My next foray into Twain’s bibliography is one of his earliest published books. I can happily report that his razor sharp wit was not something he developed later in his career. I thoroughly enjoyed the relentless piss-taking that he leveled at just about everything considered sacred and beautiful from Northern France to Northern Egypt. He is every bit a judgemental, beligerent old coot, and I love it.

A tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. Just when the Germans thought they had a lock on atrocity, the Chinese rolled up with the Cultural Revolution and gave them a solid run for their money. I couldn’t help but be giddily excited whenever they showed people practicing or performing acrobatics, but I assure you the film has copious merit entirely separate from this peculiar interest of mine.