Matt Schiavenza From the Dragon to the Apple- A Sinophile in New York

Late January Culture Update

Before school kicks into high gear and such activities become impossible...

What I'm Reading:

Just about everything I know about al-Qaeda, apart from the misleading caricature so often found in political discourse, came from reading Jason Burke's superb 2004 book on the terrorist group. Burke has followed up with The 9/11 Wars, an ambitious book that ties together disparate world events under the rubric of the September 11th attacks- or more accurately the American response to them. Questions considered in the course of the book include: how does the al-Qaeda operation operate within the context of Middle Eastern nation states? What do the London tube bombings, the Spanish train bombings, and the furor over the Danish Mohammed cartoons say about radical Islam in contemporary Europe? Did George W. Bush's "surge" really lead to the reduced violence in Iraq? Who are the Taliban, and what is their role in Afghanistan's culture and society? Why was the United States government and military so ill-equipped to deal with a complex issue as Islamic fundamentalist terror?

For anyone who has followed events in the Middle East over the past decade with interest ought to read The 9/11 Wars. Cogently written and persuasively argued, Burke's study provides a fascinating account of how the spectacular attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon have permanently altered global affairs.

What I'm Listening To:

Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg and Wilco. Woody Guthrie's lyrics set to music provided by a British folk singer and an American alt-country band. This album is not new and has received plenty of praise, so I'll spare you my own impressions. But buy it- or at least go to Spotify and stream it.

Both Sides of the Gun by Ben Harper. I ignored Harper during the height of his popularity in the late '90s, but after finding this album on my iPod I've scarcely stopped listening to it since.  Perhaps it's meant for older ears- who knows?

Zero 7. British downbeat music and ideal for studying, or reading the paper on a rainy day.

What I'm Watching:

I've been remiss in seeing many of the films nominated for the Oscars, but there are a few others I have seen that are worth mentioning.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a British Cold War spy film adapted from a novel by (who else?) John le Carre. Beautifully shot and acted, TTSS is an intelligent film that is way too difficult for mere mortals to follow. It isn't hard to see why the BBC, in its own adaptation more than thirty years ago, stretched le Carre's book to six hours. Gary Oldman's performance as Agent George Smiley was pitch-perfect, and he richly deserves the Oscar nomination for Best Actor he received this morning.

Pina is a ballet film shot in 3D by the celebrated German director Wim Wenders. Typically, German ballet films do not rank high on my "must-see" list, but Pina was so visually stunning that I'd recommend it to anyone regardless of their interest in the subject. Just experiencing the grace and beauty of the athletes in a cinematic atmosphere was worth the price of admission.

Breaking Bad Season 4. America's best TV show keeps getting better. The essential question of the show is this: are people innately pre-disposed toward crime? Or do ordinary people only resort to crime when pressed by extraordinary circumstances? And does the difference even matter?