The road we're on is bumpy

Today's post is for giving credit to bloggers who had some interesting to say about some of the changes that are happening these days. The Middle East is ripe with potential for both disaster and improvement. TV ads remind us in almost every case that we had better get our shopping done. And one of the biggest movie seasons of the year brings with it news of the passing of a beloved director.

The Middle East is in a state of great flux - So much is going on that The Iraq Study Group may not be able to issue a set of recommendations that will stay current for more than a day or so, but the NYT says James Baker is very determined. A fragile cease-fire between the Israelis and the Palestinians is in its opening phase, according to The BBC and Aljazeera.

• The Reaction, by Michael J.W. Stickings of Toronto, carries his current question, "The end of the Iraqi government?" His blog is one of my daily reads.


• The Words That Come Out, by "ZZ," an Iraqi poet. Friday's searing poem, "The Map of Iraq," is about seeing red flowing around Baghdad


• Margaret's Wanderings, by Margaret, is by a woman in the helping professions who is a U.S. "transplant," born in Lebanon. Her blog is fascinating; the linked post is about anxiety about the trip she is going to take, back to Lebbanon after 26 years. Yesterday's post is about assigning blame.

The start of the holiday season - began with a declaration by the USDA that people in the United States are not "hungry" about which I posted. Many of us are complaining about the commercial push that began even before Thanksgiving was over, and Walmart is worried about sales. But holiday shoppers were out early and hard at it, says USA Today.

• life's journey, is by "betmo." In her post titled "open thread commentary," one of my favorite authors asks about what it is that compels us to participate in the holidays, generating some intriguing comments, and some interesting thoughts for me.


• georgia 10, one of my favorite diarists at Daily Kos, wrote a breathtaking post on Thanksgiving day, "Seeing The Shadows," to which I commend you. The resulting thread of 200+ comments was one of the most interesting debates on homelessness that I have seen.


• cscs, a favorite blogger at TPM Cafe, titles his "Black Friday"shopping post, "Church of Commodity."

The death of director Robert Altman - brought many tributes from bloggers. Their praise was well placed as you could tell from allmovie's bio. I am an incurable movie fan, and I am aware that film is a director's medium. And Altman was a director's director.

• This blog sits at the intersection of Anthropology and Economics, by Grant McCracken, His fascinating personal post is titled "Robert Altman, a remembrance."


• The Reaction, Talk Left: The Politics of Crime, and The Huffington Post are all blogs that I regularly read. Each writer had a different take of the great Altman, one of my own favorite TV, stage and film directors. He worked almost to the end (see "A Prairie Home Companion") and died of leukemia.

Technorati tags: christmas iraq israel shopping thanksgiving war culture blogging film news Altman