The opening title sequence for The Kingdom is spectacular, presenting a heroic amount of backstory.
Asides
Remembering the Alamo
The Alamo Drafthouse is what you wish every movie theater could be: laid-back, but on its game, and run by people who genuinely give a shit about movies. Plus beer! My thanks to them for hosting The Nines last night. (And every night onward, as long as people keep coming to see it.)
Upwardly mobile in Africa
The importance of mobile phones in Africa is the subject of a good story in the new BusinessWeek. In Malawi, I got four bars in villages without electricity, roads, or running water. Mobile phones are pricey, but without them, it would be hard for the 10 orphan centers of FOMO to coordinate efforts. The next step is data. They’ll never run cable; it has to be wireless.
On fanatacism
Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim. – George Santayana