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Apocalypse Now

2011-05-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

by Philip French

The 1970s was Coppola's decade. He was involved in a succession of masterly films, as screenwriter on Patton, producer of American Graffiti, director of the first two Godfather films and The Conversation, and finally, in 1979, as true auteur of Apocalypse Now. They illuminated our times, and we can now see that Apocalypse Now is not merely the greatest film to come out of the Vietnam experience but one of the great works about the madness of our times. He immediately followed the early morning preview screening of Apocalypse Now at Cannes with a press conference which he began by saying: "My film is not about Vietnam, it is Vietnam," and he went on to state that during the shooting "little by little we went insane". How brave and prophetic he was.

Coppola took Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad's enigmatic story about the cruelties of colonialism, and turned it into a 20th-century fable about neocolonialism in which the story's eminently sane narrator, Marlow, becomes Captain Willard, the Special Services hitman, as crazy as his assigned quarry, Colonel Kurtz. The difference is that unlike everyone else around him, from the top brass down, Willard knows he's mad. Everything about the Taliban, al-Qaida, the pressures that took us into Afghanistan and Iraq, the assault on Abbottabad and the deadly troubles that lie ahead are to be found here in Willard's journey. It's a work of genius that may falter a little towards the end, though not fatally. This newly released version is more or less the one shown at Cannes and is definitive. The half-hour of material introduced 10 years ago in Apocalypse Now Redux is of no value, it diminishes the film and is to be avoided

Joplin newss 89 Dead After Tornado

2011-05-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

tornado that chewed through a densely populated area of Joplin, Missouri, killed at least 89 people as it tore apart homes and businesses, ripped into a high school and caused severe damage to one of the two hospitals in the city, officials said Monday.
"Everybody's going to know people who are dead," said CNN iReporter Zach Tusinger, who said his aunt and uncle died in the tornado. "You could have probably dropped a nuclear bomb on the town and I don't think it would have done near as much damage as it did."As many as a quarter of the buildings in the southwest Missouri city suffered major or significant damage, fire and emergency management officials said.Parts of the city were unrecognizable, according to Steve Polley, a storm chaser from Kansas City, Missouri, who described the damage from the Sunday night tornado as "complete devastation."Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said he believes people were still trapped in buildings Monday morning. Authorities warned the death toll was likely to rise.Complicating the situation, broken natural gas lines were causing fires throughout the city, and a new round of severe weather was bearing down on the city of 50,500.The tornado struck about 6 p.m. Sunday. It demolished the 1,800-square-foot house that the Rev. C.J. Campbell and his foster sister were in when the storm hit. He called the tornado an "evil monster vortex."It began as a low roar, he said."Then it got louder and louder until it sounded like about 50 semi tractor-trailer trucks fully laden going about 70 miles per hour about 10 feet outside the front door," he said. "The floor began to vibrate and then shake very violently and seemingly buckle and we thought we were going to be sucked up the chimney."President Barack Obama ordered Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate and an incident management team to Joplin to coordinate federal disaster relief assistance efforts, White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said Monday.Obama also called Gov. Jay Nixon to "personally extend his condolences and to tell all of the families of Joplin affected by the severe tornadoes that they are in his thoughts and prayers," Shapiro said.Nixon dispatched a specialized search-and-rescue team to the city, along with 140 National Guard troops and state troopers from other parts of the state. City officials said they were being supported by at least 40 public safety agencies from Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.Mike O'Connell, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said Sunday night that authorities were trying to get additional search-and-rescue teams to the area."The priority is to get every available resource there ... as quickly as possible," O'Connell said.The Red Cross has established a shelter at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin and was offering shuttle service to bring people there, city spokeswoman Lynn Onstot said.The tornado struck along Rangeline Road, the main commercial strip in the city. It affected both commercial and residential areas, she said.Aerial footage from CNN affiliate KOTV showed houses reduced to lumber and smashed cars sitting atop heaps of wood. Some structures were engulfed in flames."The particular area that the tornado went through is just like the central portion of the city, and it's very dense in terms of population," Joplin Emergency Management Director Keith Stammer said on CNN's "American Morning."St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin was hit directly by the tornado and suffered significant structural damage, city officials said. CNN affiliate KSHB said there were reports of fires throughout the hospital.One facade of the building made of glass was blown out, and authorities evacuated the medical center, said Ray Foreman, a meteorologist with CNN affiliate KODE in Joplin. Makeshift triage centers were set up in tents outside, witness Bethany Scutti said.Patients were being moved to Springfield, Missouri and other medical centers, officials said.Residents 70 miles away from Joplin in Dade County, Missouri, found X-rays from St. John's in their driveways, said Foreman, indicating the size and power of the storm. Gurneys were blown several blocks away.Stores including a Home Depot and Wal-Mart were severely damaged."I remember at one point walking around the Wal-Mart to the south and seeing the area that used to be Home Depot, and just standing there not knowing what to think or do," said CNN iReporter Andrew Boyd.The storm also overturned as many as a dozen tractor-trailers on Interstate 44 as it barreled through the town, a major trucking center. The interstate, shut down for nearly 12 hours, reopened Monday morning, according to Mike Watson with the Missouri State Highway Patrol. No motorists were severely hurt, he said.Amber Gonzales was driving through southwest Missouri when she heard tornado warnings on the radio. She took refuge at a gas station before getting back on the road and seeing the aftermath of what she narrowly missed.At a shopping center, she saw people pulling people from rubble and rushing them to the hospital as overwhelmed emergency workers were unable to reach everyone in need."I saw an older woman taken on the back of a truck bed, speeding down the road," Gonzales said. "I can't get the lady out of my mind. ... I don't know if she made it."The tornado caused significant damage to several Joplin schools, including Joplin High School, whose seniors were scheduled to graduate Sunday afternoon at Missouri Southern, according to the school district's Facebook page. The district canceled all classes for Monday as officials evaluated the situation, according to a posting on the page.Pastor Jim Marcum of Citywide Christian Fellowship church said he was delivering a sermon to about 100 people when a man jumped in and said, "It's coming this way.""I didn't know which was louder, us praying or the wind outside," Marcum said late Sunday. He said those inside the church could feel the pressure of the wind."We were praying to be spared. I just thank God," Marcum said.After the storm left, church members went out to help."Every time people would leave and go out to help as part of a search and rescue, people would return and they would be emotional," Marcum said. "We have one couple still at the church late into the night because their home was completely destroyed. They don't have a home to go to."The tornado was part of a line of severe weather that swept across the Midwest on Sunday, prompting tornado watches and warnings that stretched from Wisconsin to Texas. High winds and possible tornadoes struck Minneapolis and other parts of Minnesota, leaving at least one person dead and injuring nearly two dozen others, police said.Elsewhere, reports of tornadoes came in from Forest Lake, north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and near Harmony, more than 120 miles to the south. In Minneapolis, witnesses reported numerous downed trees and neighborhoods without power.Minneapolis police spokeswoman Sara Dietrich said the storm left one fatality, with 22 people reported hurt.LeDale Davis, who lives on the north side of Minneapolis, told CNN, "This is the first time we can remember a tornado touched down in this area. They aren't usually in the heart of the city."Forecasters said the system that struck Minnesota was separate from another storm that struck eastern Kansas on Saturday, killing one person and damaging or destroying hundreds of homes there.

Destruction Hit Joplin, Missouri

2011-05-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Each year, my eighth graders at Joplin East Middle School look forward to their first official visit to Joplin High School.
They have heard the horror stories about the school, how they, as freshmen the next year, will need to stay clear of the seniors who have worked their way up to the top of the food chain.
They speak in hushed whispers of Eagle Alley, a near mythical hallway that one almost needs a guide to navigate.
That first trip, which was scheduled for Wednesday, will never happen.
Eagle Alley is a thing of the past. After the devastating killer tornado that ripped through the heart of my city Sunday night, Joplin High School, the place where so many of my former students have learned the skills they need to succeed in life, the place where they made friends, created memories, and prepared for their passage into adulthood exists only in memory.
At least 89 people are reported dead and hundreds injured as a result of the first major tornado to hit Joplin in four decades.
Those of us who were fortunate enough not to be in the path of the storm (it hit approximately a quarter of a mile from the apartment complex where I live) waited in the center of a darkened city, praying that loved ones had somehow managed to remain safe in what reporters were describing as a scene from a war zone.
With nearly all power gone in this city of 50,000, the night sky was still illuminated by jagged streaks of lightning in the distance and by the lights from emergency vehicles as they passed every few seconds.
When morning arrived, we were greeted by a sun that seemed almost foreign in light of what had happened.
And now the waiting begins. Every few moments I scan through Facebook postings, heartened by messages that indicate my students and former students are alive. So far, none have been listed among the casualties through word of mouth, but it may be only a matter of time. Officials have yet to release any of the names of those who were killed.
The Joplin School District has canceled classes for today and they may well be finished for the school year, which had another nine days to go. Three of our school buildings are gone forever and the middle school where I teach no longer has a roof.
Many of my former students received their high school diplomas Sunday afternoon during graduation ceremonies at Missouri Southern State University, commemorating their achievements over the past four years at Joplin High School. Now that ceremony, which should have been a memorable milestone in their young lives, will always be tainted by tragedy.
As I write these words, slightly more than 14 hours have passed since the city of Joplin was changed forever.

Modern Warfare 3 coming Nov. 8

2011-05-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Like clockwork, Actvision Blizzard has been launching a new version of its Call of Duty combat shooting video game every November. This year will be no different, the company has said.
But game news site Kotaku says it has the first early details on the game, called Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, scheduled to debut on Nov. 8. Modern Warfare 3 will be the latest installment in a series whose past two titles have been the biggest selling video games of all time. Call of Duty Black Ops generated more than $1 billion in sales for Activision Blizzard.
The next installment is coming from studio Infinity Ward, which was disrupted by a dispute between the studio’s founders and Activision Blizzard’s top management. Nevertheless, it looks like the company’s military precision on shipping new titles isn’t about to be interrupted, thanks to help from Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software, two other Activision studios. This year, Modern Warfare 3 will face stiff competition from Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 3 combat shooter.

And Hockey Loses A Good Friend "Derek Boogaard"

2011-05-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

It may be weeks before authorities know exactly how and why New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died, although foul play is not immediately suspected.
The 28-year-old player was found dead Friday in his Minneapolis apartment. The team announced his death Friday but gave no details.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner was conducting an autopsy Saturday. County spokeswoman Carol Allis said authorities probably wouldn't release results for at least two weeks.
Minneapolis police Sgt. Bill Palmer said authorities received a report of a man not breathing shortly before 6:15 p.m. Friday. Minneapolis fire officials were the first to arrive and determined he was dead.
Palmer said authorities do not suspect foul play at this point, but the police department's homicide unit and the medical examiner's office are both investigating. Palmer said the medical examiner will determine the final cause of death.
"I don't think we have any answers as to what happened or why it happened," Ron Salcer, Boogaard's agent, said Saturday.
Allis said in cases where there are no obvious signs of physical trauma or an obvious immediate cause of death, it can take time for authorities to receive results of laboratory tests. Allis added that the medical examiner's office doesn't anticipate that it will release preliminary autopsy findings until all results are in.
"The news that we have lost someone so young and so strong leaves everyone in the National Hockey League stunned and saddened," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "The NHL family sends its deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Derek Boogaard, to those who played and worked with him and to everyone who enjoyed watching him compete."
Glen Sather, the Rangers' president and general manager, called Boogaard an "extremely kind and caring individual."