Thursday, September 21, 2017

Seven Miles High, Thinking About Vietnam

I was seven miles high last week (in a literal sense, not a Snoop Dogg sense), returning to the East Coast from a brief work trip. I had Maron's WTF podcast filling my ear-holes while I tried to subtly disperse methane amid my comrades in Economy Plus. I am lactose intolerant and have spent my whole life ignoring that fact, much to the chagrin of family, friends and others who have crossed my path. I need to give up dairy. But I digress.

I have been touting Maron for a while to you fockers. I have to admit that after 800+ episodes, he's running out of intriguing guests. No offense to Edie Falco or Jay Baruchel, but I have plenty of podcast options these days. So I skip many episodes. But I was excited to see Ken Burns and documentarian colleague Lynn Novick were going to be guests. I recently finished the podcast. It was the first time I heard Burns speak at length. He is an unbelievably articulate and elegant speaker who has the ability to weave curse words into the spoken word without having it detract from the power of what he says. Not sure if that makes sense the way I want it to, but let's just say he is no revanchist.

So why was he on WTF? As many of you have probably seen/heard by now, Burns did the interview as press for his ten-part documentary on The Vietnam War. It started last Sunday night on PBS. I strenuously urge you all to set your Tivos accordingly. I set my DVR on my cell phone from 2,500 miles away when I realized the series was starting. The whole process took about fifteen seconds. Technology is neat.



You all know Burns' work by now. I was immensely moved by his WWII documentary, which I can't believe came out a decade ago. I was equally moved by his Civil War doc, but merely whelmed by his baseball doc. Sorry for being honest. With that said, I am excited by this new documentary, even though I know it will keep me awake a few nights and bring up plenty of uncomfortable emotions. Burns documents war like no others.



Episodes 1-4 have aired already. There are ten in total. The wifey and I watched Episode 1 and part of Episode 2 so far. The doc provided a lot of new information to us. You can make a legitimate case that the whole issue can be blamed on the French, which you should naturally do, because, France. Sacre bleu!  I won't divulge much more, but the story has been fascinating so far. If you're going to give the benefit of the doubt to any creator of art these days, give it to Mr. Burns. Do yourself a favor and go get some history. It may make you cry, but it will make you wiser.

45 comments:

  1. Yes! The effing French! I've had this on the record schedule for a while now and finished Episode 3 last night. I started watching on Monday and my son was asking questions about it, how'd it start, why, who are the bad guys? I couldn't answer him, sadly other than to over-generalize to say it was about the spread of "communism" which he knows jack shit about of course which led to "what's that" which led to blah blah blah. I've always associated Vietnam w/Nixon & LBJ, very little if any to JFK. Well, that was misguided. The effing French and JFK gottammit!

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  2. What struck me last night were the many and large fires we were dealing with at one time - Cuban Missile Crisis, Civil Rights Movement, 'Nam, JFK's head getting blown off, 'Nam and much more.
    The only time I listen to WTF or any podcast for that matter is when traveling, but will put that on the docket.

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  3. we're 2.5 episodes in, and it's already apparent that the entire war was a series of increasingly consequential bad decisions on top of initially mostly innocuous bad decisions. it's heartbreaking to hear lbj admit to bundy that it's a terrible war and we have no way out of it as early as 1963/4.

    and be forewarned that burns doesn't skimp on the truly violent and grotesque images of warfare. the scene in episode 2 that portrays the charred body of a self-immolated vietnamese buddhist monk won't pass from my memory soon.

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  4. the good news is rob we have a president today that is incapable of making such decisions as the ones that put and kept us in southeast asia. he's got it!

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  5. Ken Burns is already excited about his next war project, the US/NoKo showdown that leaves us all glowing.

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  6. should be a much shorter doc....am thinking about 5 minutes.

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  7. Other weird takeaway so far - the Vietnamese loved to chill out in the squat position. I guess cuz they're not built like me.

    If I were to squat in that position for any length of time, I would cramp, fall over, shart myself and faint (but maybe not in that order).

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  8. Oh yeah - happy 69th birthday to George RR Martin. May the Lord of Light look fondly on you today.

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  9. The night is dark and full of terrors. Like TR's bathroom.

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  10. I cannot stand Volvo dealers and likely will never buy another Volvo ... except they keep making stuff that appears to be designed expressly for me like the new V90 and they keep coming up with good ideas like "Care by Volvo." Eff the French and the Swedes too, with their sweet sweet products and bitter bitter service.

    http://jalopnik.com/the-2018-volvo-xc40-looks-great-and-you-can-own-it-in-a-1818615832

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  11. haven't spent any time in Japan, but yes on China and Korea where the squat position is a go-to for the blue-collar and of less means. It's impressive.

    and for the first time in ever, I've caught myself looking at Volvo's. oldness I guess.

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  12. Speaking of cars, Z, my dad just informed me that he is buying a Tesla. Trying hard not to say "must be nice" to him, since I don't care for that expression and those who use it.

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  13. I once started writing a post titled "No One Circles the Wagons Like Wagons" with the goal of explaining why station wagons are superior to five-passenger SUVs. That was years ago. I deleted the draft. Fortunately for you (but not "postcount rob") Car and Driver wrote all you need to know in this month's issue. Unfortunately the entire segment isn't online but this part is:

    http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/mercedes-amg-gle43-vs-mercedes-benz-e400-wagon-comparison-test

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  14. Can you summarize your argument in 3-5 bullet points for us, Z? We are the ADD generation.

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  15. * Same cargo and passenger volume
    * Lower and deeper cargo space configuration for improved cargo utility
    * Lower center of gravity for better handling
    * You aren't going froadin so don't be a poseur

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  16. Who's got downloadable Netflix recommendations? I did not like Bloodline. Hearing Ozark is decent.

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  17. Ooh, I'll bring my headset jack splitter so we can watch together!

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  18. Thank you, professor Z. Noted.

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  19. I know you've all been wondering. Adam Ant was killer last night. If he ever had it, he's still got it.

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  20. man in the high castle ain't on netflix, but it is on amazon prime. which you should have.

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  21. Watch the Dead documentary if you have Amazon prime. Jerry is God.

    And why isn't this blog post "Eight Miles High" after the Byrds song and the Vietnam-era counterculture that their music was a part of?

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  22. Because I was at 36,000'. Duh.

    Dead doc is epic. Maybe I'll check out Man in High Castle. Thx.

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  23. You have creative license here, TR. Teej shoud've issued it to you when he gave you the keys to GTB HQ and a 30-minute tutorial on why muppets rapping is the highest form of art.

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  24. I am a fan of the wagon as well. A wagon has been my primary driving car for the past 16 years. And when the my current XC70 dies, or it survives till my son is old enough to drive it, I'll get another wagon.

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  25. You'll never get a handjob from a beautiful woman you hardly know in a wagon.

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  26. Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods each had 6 catches and over 100 yards last night. Good thing Buffalo let them go.

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  27. You could delete "in a wagon" and that assertion still holds true.

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  28. today in history:

    2011: carly rae jepsen releases 'call me maybe', still the best-selling single released by a female artist this century

    1970: our man whitney was born in portsmouth, va, still the tallest maybe-female-named dude i know

    happy birthday to whitney. and clarence, too.

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  29. Donnie and Kim Jung Un smack talk heating up nicely...this is all in the name of a WWE promotion we've yet to be notified of, right? Vince McMahon brilliance I say.
    While we were sleeping, Un labeled Trump a "frightened dog" and "mentally deranged U.S. dotard" - that's rich.
    Trump's comeback...."obviously a madman"?! That's all you got Donnie, after being called a dotard in front of the entire world? The man continues to disappoint.
    Please know this is all an attempt to divert my attention away from the fact that we could all be dead by Christmas.

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  30. dead by christmas? i like your optimism, danimal.

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  31. Zman and TR are about to tear a new one into this United Club!

    Or just sit and eat snacks.

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  32. 45 minutes into the trip and TR's already dropping deuces.

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  33. better now, right? are you guys seat mates? do we have a 15-hour mini-summit about to take place?

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  34. Please tell me there is wifi so you can live comment the flight.

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  35. TR plus a cocktail of Johnny Walker Black and Ambien would make for some great stories.

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  36. please get hammered and live blog this entire flight

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  37. Unfortunately we are not podmates for the flight. I think United did this on purpose.

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  38. Flatulent TR blacked out and wandering the aisles of business class in his boxers asking people to "blow him where the pampers are" would be fantastic.

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  39. He's blacked out asking for unagi.

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  40. I'd rather ask for miragi. Went w/ a bloody to start. Will bang out another before settling into Fist Fight. I think that won an Oscar.

    I'll do my best to annoy/embarrass him.

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  41. If you only could have skymall delivered directly in flight. The Zman vs TR battle would be fierce.

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  42. Thanks, dudes. Feeling my age today.

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