What Drives Success? - NYTimes.com

What Drives Success? - NYTimes.com

Three-Piece Suits, Breakfast Meetings, and Overwork - NYTimes.com

Three-Piece Suits, Breakfast Meetings, and Overwork - NYTimes.com:



 Working insane hours is a sign of commitment, of willingness to sacrifice for the job; the personal destructiveness of the practice isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.

Success at Work, Failure at Home | Scott Weiss

Success at Work, Failure at Home | Scott Weiss

Letters from Iwo Jima

I hope I will see the day when a film is made about the invasion of Iraq from the side of the resistance. It will mean that there is a lasting peace where each side can challenge the stereotypes of war. World War II was truly a "War Without Mercy". The Japanese Kamikaze are the modern ancestors of the suicide bombers. Only after 50 years are Americans ready to acknowledge that this was nobly dying for their country. Letters from Iwo Jima
pounds the message home that cruelty and also humanity are not linked only to the winning or the American side.

Eragon

This is quite a simple story of the quest and the transition from boy to man. Man loves animal. Animal loves man. But be careful when making movies from children's books. They remember every detail and hate deviations.

Rashomon

Kurosawa's Rashomon can be viewed any number of times with a fresh perspective. This was my first. I guess that I never really understood all those references. Three different people see the same event, proving that there are at least three stories of what really happens, yours mine and what really happens. Even although only one day has past, each seeing the event from their own perspective describes it quite differently. All agree that the husband was tied up and died, but do not agree on who killed him.The thief Tajomaru describes how he planned to rape the wife, but she gave into him. She begs him to duel with the husband to cure her shame of knowing two men. He recounts his heroic fight with the noble, resulting in a dignified death. The women runs away.
The wife sees herself as raped by the thief and abandoned by the husband. The husband wants no part of her and looks at her with cold eyes. She faints and wakes up to find him dead.
The husband sees a betraying wife and a noble suicide
But the third party only sees betrayal and mistrust on all sides. The fight was a cowardly one and death ignoble. The end tries to deliver some kind of upbeat message, but it is too late to salvage the low view of man.

Casino Royal

The construction site scene might go down as one of the best chases in movie history. Yes it is that good. Fights, jumps, fires and death are combined. The criminal La Chiffre reminds me of any one of the hedge fund managers that I know; mathematical smart and good at short selling and poker.

The Fog of War

The Fog of War might be used in its entirety by Donald Rumsfeld when he makes his own movie at age of 85. History is not cycles but it rhymes. It did not take even a generation to forget the lessons of Vietnam. How many of the same mistakes were made in Iraq where it seems all eleven of the rules were violated.

1. Empathize with your enemy.
2. Rationality will not save us.
3. There's something beyond one's self.
4. Maximize efficiency.
5. Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
6. Get the data.
7. Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
8. Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
9. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
10. Never say never.
11. You can't change human nature.

Operation Dreamland

Operation Dreamland depicts life in Iraq in the good old days of January 2004. The war is not yet a year old. The film could not even be made now. Iraq is not that safe any more. The soldiers are bored and cynical. Even the most optimistic of them do not believe that there is much they can do positive in Iraq. Their only job is protecting themselves. These guys, some just out of high school, proved to be more prescient than their leaders. The locals are idle men harassed day and night by US forces. Or scared women and children. The film is even more powerful two years later. What will we say in 2008?

Ryoma's Wife, Her New Husband and Her Lover

Does the women make the man or...? This play by Mitani Koki was the first that I have seen at the Japan Society and the first time I have ever seen a play with subtitles attempted. I am glad I know some Japanese because the subtitles were set off to the side. There were some sore necks after this performance I am sure. I enjoy plays with simple set and plot. The set was the one room apartment were Oryo settled with her second husband Nishimura Matsubei. He is the most pleasant character but clearly not anything similar to Ryoma Sakamoto. Why Oryo picked him was never made clear but she makes no attempt to climb the social ladder again. Sugano Kakubei who comes to bring her back for the 13th memorial service wants her to conceal her present to honor the past of Sakamoto. In fact he will kill her if she does not return with him. There is a three way combat for Oryo Matsubei, Kakubei and the Western looking Torazo.
Sometimes the comedy degenerates into scenes that are too cute. But there is a great scene about sake fermented with spit.