Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, The Pacific - WWII retold

Sidney Phillips

How Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division

"For the rest of your life, you appreciate a glass of clean water"

It was 105 ° - 115 ° every day. No rain. Very little water to be found. What little water there was had been poisoned by enemy soldiers. The ships couldn't supply any water to the Marines as enemy attacks had forced them away from the island. It was Peleliu Island in September 1944.

"For the rest of your life, you appreciate a glass of clean water."

I'm not an advocate of war. It happens. Wars can be senseless and destructive and cruel, but it happens.

I can't say that I particularly enjoy watching a movie or mini-series about World War II (or any other war, for that matter). There are three, however, that I would recommend. All three have been driven by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
 

When I saw the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, I felt numb. Once the movie cut to the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6/6/44, it's depiction of the battle at Omaha Beach was unflinchingly realistic - the blood and bodies and limbs were all over the screen. It wasn't glorious, it was numbing. Very unlike previous WWII movies. The rest of the movie was good but I didn't forget the shock of that first 30 minutes. I still get the chills every time I see it.

The second one I recommend is Band of Brothers which tells the history of Easy Company in WWII. As it lasted 10 hours, a lot more could be showcased. In this case, they showcased quite a number of characters. In a sense, it was a quasi-documentary. As with Private Ryan, the combat scences are hard hitting.

The third one is The Pacific which focuses the on the war against the Japanese. Clocking in at 10 hours, it focused primarily on three soldiers thus giving a much more intimate view of the war through their eyes. Less gore in this one compared to the previous two, but that isn't to say that there's little of it or that it's not realistic. There's much greater focus on the effects of war on the soldiers' mental and moral capacities.

The truth is, I can't say that I enjoyed watching any of the three I've just recommended. 'Enjoy' isn't quite the right word. But I would recommend them because it's the most realistic depiction of war that I've seen on TV or the movies. Or to be more specific, the most realistic depiction of the horrors of combat. These three are more than just TV or the movies, they are an experience retold which helps me to appreciate what I have.

"For the rest of your life, you appreciate a glass of clean water."

is Bob Dylan Fading into Irrelevance ?

Yesterday I met a person who had never heard of Bob Dylan.

27 years old.
Malaysian university graduate.
Listens mostly to English songs.
Never heard of Bob Dylan before.

Maybe if she ....
only knew a little about Bob Dylan; or
had heard the name mentioned in conversation somewhere; or
knew that Bob Dylan was Somebody, but didn't know what he was known for ....
but No.
Never heard of Bob Dylan in her entire life.

How is this even possible ?



Maybe if it had been some remote native village where nobody speaks English. Or somebody who doesn't listen to any English songs or radio stations. Or some young child still singing Sesame Street songs. But a 27-year old university graduate ?

How is this even possible ?

I wonder how much of it is self inflicted as in the 'katak bawah tempurung' syndrome; but more importantly, I wonder how somebody could have gone through 3-4 years in a Malaysian university without ever hearing of Bob Dylan ?

yet another Arsenal player heads to Manchester ...

Unlike recent years, to United this time.

Robin Van Persie for GBP 22.5 - GBP 24 million.

29 years old and has only had one full season without injury. Wonderful talent nonetheless and he makes United a lot stronger. Strong enough for me to believe that United have got what it takes to win the Premier League this season. The return of Vidic and settling in of David de Gea can't be underestimated in terms of importance as well.

I can believe, even with the depth of talent in Man City's squad. Even when United's replacement for Paul Scholes is Paul Scholes himself. Even when the right back spot does not have a regular starter, and we're still dependent on Evra and a creaking Rio Ferdinand.

Hope lies eternal because Sir Alex Ferguson is recreating his Gang of Four from the 98/99 squad in Var Persie, Rooney, Welbeck and Chicharito. If nothing else works, he'll just load up on attack and hope to score enough goals to win. In buying Van Persie, SAF's made a statement that he intends to do exactly that.

Pity Berbatov, though.

Integrity, or Lack thereof ...

There was a time when I asked myself, 'Would I do anything for money ?'
The answer was pretty obviously No.

Then the question got a little more sophisticated. How much is my Integrity worth ? Quite a lot, back when I had the opportunity. Still, the price wasn't high enough at that time.

Why 'at that time' ?
I remember an ex-boss of mine telling me that he wouldn't trust himself with money . The way he reasoned it, honest people can resist the temptation of CBT when they can afford to; but what happens if they are desparately in need of the money ? Perhaps to pay for medical treatment for a very, very sick child ? Could that person walk away from the money and still look into the eyes of his sick child ? It was a stark illustration that he made some 15 years ago but I still remember it.

Why am I thinking about Integrity at this point in time ? After a year of listening to theories about what makes a good employee,

eg. ASK = Attitude, Skills, Knowledge

I've been asking myself why Integrity has never been mentioned. Maybe it just hasn't turned up in the management manuals ?

Tears for Lee Chong Wei ... again.

I feel for the guy ...... I really do.

To have a career defined by continually finishing second best to arguably the best badminton player of all time is a cruel fate indeed. People won't even remember who the third best player was, but Lee Chong Wei will be remembered as a marker of Lin Dan's prowess. As a measure of the badminton heights that Lin Dan could reach only when playing against his arch nemesis.

To be fair, it is not for want of trying. Lee Chong Wei has changed his game in a bid to match Lin Dan. Compared to earlier in his career when getting thumped by Lin Dan in major tournaments was a regular occurrence, he has lost the last two major finals by just two points in the final set. That's as close as he can get without actually getting over the hump that is Lin Dan.

I do hope that he will succeed one day, but until then, the tears in his eyes are a reflection of the pain in his heart.