Travels

Day 1 - Vegas. Stayed at Excaliber. Vegas is a walking city! Got me thinking why doesn't LA have pedestrian bridges in some spots, but I realized no one would use them. Ate dinner at Proper Food Court in Aria - a better lunch spot than dinner - but still reflective of better food options in Vegas these days. Kids enjoyed an arcade dungeon. Unsurprisingly, I'm not a fan of the buy a credit card style of arcade games today. Somehow less free than the old quarters. Did a bit of blackjack in the evening at an electronic table. Not nearly as a fun. But you can play for $5 vs. $25 a hand. Back in year 2000, I'd play blackjack at $5 a hand and even today, I don't find it fun to play for anymore than that. Why, I wonder? I checked inflation and the internet says prices have increased 69% since then. So it makes a weird sort of sense - I should be willing to play at like $8 a hand. But why has Vegas inflated the low end so much? I only saw $20 and $25 tables. Granted it was Saturday night, but something has happened here...

Day 2 - Breakfast at Hash House. Kids liked. Drive to Zion. Stayed in remarkable tiny home "resort" in the middle of dessert. Almost like glamping. Really enjoyed the locale and amenities. Hiked Zion Canyon Overlook trail. Stopped by nature center and touched the river. Got a nice meal on the way back at Camp Outpost. Roasted smores at night, star gazed...great view of Jupiter and Big Dipper. Passed out at night before other planets could come out. Would've loved to spend more time in Zion to do some more adventurous outdoors stuff...

Day 3 - Drive to Antelope Canyon. Delicious Mexican canteen lunch at El Tapatio in Page, Arizona. My informal theory is that Mexican restaurants with Tapatio in their names tend to be good. I've had a number of good experiences in this direction. Hiked down into Antelope Canyon with a Navajo guide in the afternoon. Spectacular slot canyon - just google the images. Got groceries and had healthy dinner in hotel room (kitchen included). 

UPDATE:

Day 4 - Took a kayak trip down the Colorado through horseshoe bend. Peaceful water. Kids got to paddle a bit. Unbelievable scenery. Well worth it. Dinner at brewery. Mediocre food. 

Day 5 - Drive to Grand Canyon. Find snow on the ground. Kids play with it, more impressed by the snow than the lookouts at the South Rim. Checked out visitor center. Fell asleep in a short movie about Grand Canyon. Got into hotel. Lousy dinner at tavern like place, sort of ski resort/tourist type of spot. More star gazing. Saw Jupiter and Mercury. 

Day 6 - Early bike rentals ride along South Rim. Great time. Saw big family of elk. Best views probably on the planet. Got back, lunched. Took shuttle to South Kaibab trail - one of the main hikes. Only did the first bit to Oo Ah Point. Not too bad, kids could've done a bit more but the hike apparently gets more treacherous on the way down. Every month 600 hikers need help from Rangers, etc. Seems high.

Day 7 - Drive back to Vegas - actually Summerlin. Stayed at resort called Red Rock. Nice family alternative to the strip. Less seedy. Some decent restaurants/food. There's a bowling alley. I didn't gamble. Great pool. Huge room. Found out the place is owned/built by Howard Hughes corporation. Felt oddly like a place you might see in Asia. Built recently. Gaudy, not overly tasteful. Practical, clean, PG-13 compared to the rest of Vegas...

Absurd

New book author discusses how both Iraq wars might've been avoided by HW Bush and/or Clinton picking up the phone to call Saddam. 

In a weird way, this is the best argument for Trump as a transformative political figure. Does anyone doubt Trump would've picked up the phone? Does Trump seem like a guy who would worry about what the Democrats or the press would think (like Clinton)? This guy took shit for sitting down with Kim Jong Sun, but maybe that's more of the type of shit we need. 

Ceasefire Now

As much as AIPAC gets discussed, I'd like to know who funds and orchestrates the Ceasefire stuff. Is this foreign money? Qatar? 

Logging

Film: Godzilla (1954)

Can't believe how much the kids liked it, stuck with it, and followed the subtitles and themes of the film. 

Film: King Kong (1933)

For all the talk of "problematic" movies and TV shows, this is one of the only films I've watched in a long ass time where the argument would hold up. Women are basically insulted for their uselessness for the first quarter of the film. Natives portrayal is pretty damn weird - basically, they are black africans on a mysterious indonesian island whose big plan is to steal a white women to marry off to King Kong. Women is kidnapped, tied up and then "given" to Kong. The Chinese cook is portrayed as a decent guy with a goofy outfit and accent, who isn't capable of helping rescue the woman. The white American dudes take off on a noble crusade to get the women back and just murder several prehistoric creatures they come across (No one thinks about perhaps studying the Stegosaurus?).

And yet! Still pretty goddamn awesome. My kids enjoyed mocking the special effects, but one of them find Kong "very ugly" and didn't like looking at him.

Thinking on Dune...

...and how it's a lesser challenge to deconstruct heroism that to write it in the first place. 

My Theory

If the 7 million Jews in Israel and 5 million or so Palestinians all up and moved into the United States within a generation they would all be friends and probably be closer with each other than with other minority groups. Like you'd see traveling youth soccer teams that were just Israeli-Palestinian teams.

Maybe Britain should just recolonize? 

The Problem

Joe Biden stutters and seem to barely remember what he's saying. And yet, this 40something Republican gal is still a much worse speaker.

Our leadership is no bueno.

Criminal Justice Reformer...

...who was on Joe Rogan had body parts in his freezer. 

There's a ton of stories about famous black men who were unjustly harassed by police - from Jay Z to Malcolm X - they recount these stories in detail as evidence of prejudice against black men. But when I read the stories, I can't help but notice the guys telling the stories are always doing crime! It's hilarious. It makes the cops seem like they know what they're doing. 

Hamas's Audience

When the global left manages to apply pressure on Western governments to "go easy" on Hamas, Hamas reacts by hardening their negotiation position. Hamas's audience IS the global left. So the irony is - the more power the global left wields over institutions of power and government - the harder it becomes for the Palestinians to accept peace. The global left is Hamas's only "ace-in-the-hole." If they abandoned support from Hamas, this whole thing would be over. But they can't. Because they're the scorpion riding the frog.

Maybe We Needed A Bit More Racism...

One of the reasons I supported the Iraq invasion was because I bought into the idea that Arabs wanted to live like everyone else in the world and if you got rid of a tyrant like Saddam we'd see change. In hindsight, an argument I'm finding oddly compelling is that actually...maybe Saddam was doing a pretty good job keeping the so-called "Arab-street" under control while he pursued his passion for writing novels.

What's changing my mind is that post-Oct 7th, it's become pretty clear the vast majority of Arabs in their hearts of hearts support the mass murder and rape of Jews (Israelis). I'd like to think the more cosmopolitan and intellectual Arabs feel different. Or the Arabs from different countries have different nuanced and complicated positions on the matter. Or perhaps the Arabs who immigrate to the West become more sympathetic. It turns out none of them do. So therein lies the problem.

Other thing - if Israel is a colonial state - where is exactly the "home state" the Jewish colonizers are supposed to return to?

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Film: Dune 2 

No profound thoughts...I generally enjoyed myself seeing a big spectacle in the theater. With Sidney Sweeney on SNL and seeing Glenn Powell in a Twisters trailer...then Florence Pugh, Zendeya, Austin Butler, and to a lesser extent Chalamet...it got me thinking maybe there will be a new generation of stars. I can't totally tell. My criticism of the film would be a lack of emotional resonance...maybe a bit cold? I found myself not entirely caring or feeling the outcome was up in the air. Perhaps knowing the story impacted this, but I also suspect it has something to do with the Bene Gesserit storyline.

Although the highlight of the evening might've been the crown booing the new Nicole Kidman AMC ad.

Perhaps A Sign...

In Gulf War 1 we had a 100K troops in Saudi Arabia, we were allied with the Saudis but when Saddam fired scuds at Tel Aviv, our "allies" were cheering in front of our military. That would be a bit like your bench cheering when the other team scored during a game.

Logging

TV: The Brothers Sun

Couldn't make it through the pilot. 

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Film: Top Gun (original)

Another rewatch with kids. A lot more adult themed than the 2nd one and I'll confess, I enjoyed Maverick more when viewed alongside them. 

I Remember the 90s

And remember the Palestinians were primed for peace, but their political leadership rejected it. I agree today is 10x worse because what's changed is the Palestinian popular opinion supports Hamas. Now is this Israel's fault? Who is to say. I guess it reflects on some level the "success" of Hamas if their true goal was to radicalize the Palestinian people. Although I tend to take Hamas at their word and their goal is a state from the river to the sea and the destruction of Israel. That plan does not seem to be going well at all.

I Somewhat Agree

Biden engages in dreampolitik. 

Biden is a proponent of dreampolitik: pursue fantasies but not in the real world. So in Ukraine fantasy of Russian defeat but without the risks of actually bringing it about. And in Israel fantasy of an end to Palestinian national project but mixed with fear of consequences.

How Are We To Make The Distinction?

I don't disagree with this Macaes statement in rhetorical terms. But in practical terms, how are Israel and the EU (in this case) supposed to make the distinction, especially when Hamas deliberately masks itself as civilian and a sizable number of Palestinian civilians support Hamas. Nevertheless, efforts in this direction would be much more fruitful in lowering the harm rather than simply directing ire toward the Israelis and Biden.