Monthly Archives: June 2008

A few days before we’re scheduled to leave FOB Warhorse and begin the journey home, everyone in the world is trying to do laundry. Not only are all the soldiers who are going home trying to get their clothes clean … Continue reading →

I mark the American show’s departure from the British original around the middle of the second season, when, in the episode “The Client,” Michael Scott suddenly veers sharply away from David Brent, perpetual loser. Although Michael is as erratic as ever, the episode reveals that in the right environment Michael is actually an effective networker and salesman. This solves one of the major structural flaws of the original series — how did this baboon ever get promoted to management? — by making Michael a victim of the Peter Principle (employees tend to be promoted further and further until they reach a job which exceeds their competence). But this revelation, logical as it is, changes our relationship with the character — suddenly he’s a whole lot more like a traditional protagonist. This Michael, while he doesn’t violate the character we’ve come to know previously, fundamentally transforms him. Sympathetic, funny, even capable, it’s no wonder he gets laid at the end.

Continue reading →

Movies like Kimberley Peirce’s Stop-Loss make me ashamed of my hippie, peacenik roots. I was against the Iraq invasion from the beginning, and I’m anti-war generally. (All right, I know what you’re thinking — then why did he join? Well, I thought it would be over by now — cripes, didn’t you?) And naturally, I’m sympathetic to any soldier who’s being screwed over by the system — I’ve been waiting for a year and half on a pay issue that has now cost me thousands of dollars and that probably won’t be resolved before I’m discharged. But Stop-Loss is dishonest from beginning to end, a hyperbolic piece of foolishness that starts from a faulty premise and chases it into wholly improbable places. Perhaps the filmmakers are trying to do right by soldiers, but they end up undermining their case by exaggerating and falsifying the evidence. Work like this only muddies the public discussion on the already contentious and difficult issues surrounding the mismanagement of our military resources.

Continue reading →

From the forthcoming Lonely Planet guide to occupied Iraq:

If you’re looking for sheer luxury, it’s hard to beat Balad Air Base, the “Jewel of Iraq.” A short helicopter ride northwest of Baghdad and Taji, Balad (affectionately known as “Mortaritaville” to the locals) combines the comforts, cleanliness and up-to-date facilities of a U.S. Air Force base with the Oriental mystery and slight sense of mortal danger that makes Iraq one of today’s most popular overseas destinations for Americans.

Continue reading →