Has anyone seen or heard about The Late Great Planet Earth (1979)? Based on a book by Hal Lindsey and narrated by Orson Welles (who I discovered died one day before my birthday, Oct 10) this movie interprets various bible and new testament prophecies in a way which proves that our time (or I guess 1979) is the beginning of the end of the world.

A strange film indeed, they distort and misquote myriads of bible passages and paint a picture of the world's destruction. I wonder how many people out there know of Hal Lindsey. I just did some research and found his official website, which promoted his books and movies. Check it out here. I don't want to take the time to comment on him personally but rather look at the bigger picture.

Obviously, what the movie said in 1979 did not come true. We are still here, breathing and killing each other. I find it interesting to see just how self-centered people usually are. We tend to see and hear everything in terms of ourselves. I am confident that taken at any point in history the prophecies recounted in The Late Great Planet Earth could be seen as labeling the current time the end of time. There will always be evil so it will always be possible to read things from the past foretelling evil and say "well, here we are, this is it!"

Playing on people's fears rather than helping to overcome them is a game as old as time.

I was thinking more about my previous posting (regarding truth, as inspired by All the President's Men) and would like to add another major point. Sources helping out on a story usually do so at their own danger and against their prior agreements (i.e. confidentiality). However, the results are positive because truth wins out. Our society is governed by rules but the ability to judiciously decide on breaking the rules is just as important as the ability to follow the rules.

"Rules are meant to be broken" is more than just an overused line relied on by those who don't follow the rules, it is a necessity for the smooth operation of any group or society. In Weinberger's latest issue of JOHO there is a piece of leeway. He talks about how we rely on the occasional bending/breaking of rules to function properly. I completely agree with that sentiment and hope he's OK with my selective reprinting of his words below.

However, rules should only be broken when they are fully understood and followed. In improv class we learn a series of rules for what makes good improv. However, go to any professional improv show and see almost every rule broken. The results are hilarious but the performers would never be as good as they are if they hadn't followed the rules strictly for years. Only by slowly learning and keeping rules can we be equipped with the knowledge and instinct to selectively bend them when serving a good (or greater) purpose. Of course, identifying that greater purpose is the tricky and subjective part.

For the following of rules is not the end in itself but merely a guidepost towards greater goals. Do not live by rules or die by rules - know the rules, follow the rules and never loose site of the actual purpose of the rules.


"You are standing on a street corner when a father takes his young daughter by the hand and jaywalks. You don't call the cops. You don't even lecture him about why jaywalking is bad. You don't do nothin'.

Leeway is the only way we manage to live together: We ignore what isn't our business. We cut one another some slack. We forgive one another when we transgress.

By bending the rules we're not violating fairness. The equal and blind application of rules is a bureaucracy's idea of fairness. Judiciously granting leeway is what fairness is all about. Fairness comes in dealing with the exceptions.

And there will always be exceptions because rules are imposed on an unruly reality. The analog world is continuous. It has no edges and barely has corners. Rules at best work pretty well. That's why in the analog world we have a variety of judges, arbiters, and referees to settle issues fairly when smudgy reality outstrips clear rules.

Matters are different in the digital world. Bits are all edges. Nothing is continuous. Everything is precise. Bits are uniform so no exceptions are required, no leeway is permitted."

The Truth and the Reality

Just finished watching All the President's Men (1976) and was very intrigued by the film. First off, I am impressed by any movie that can hold the audience's attention and maintain suspense with a total absence of any "bad guy" or antagonist. The two reporters, Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) don't fight anyone or anything other than the truth - deceptive, evasive and mysterious truth. Their discoveries regarding the Watergate scandal helped bring down Richard Nixon and the movie depicts this story with great care for detail and honesty.

I am fascinated by the concepts of truth and the communication of truth. In the film, they have to find sources to confirm hunches. They then have to get yet more sources to confirm other sources. The job is not easy and often the lines of truth are blurred by sources either scared or otherwise unwilling to help. Often, they have to resort to games. Sometimes initials are all they get, other times a confirmation comes in the form of a man not hanging up the phone within 10 seconds or a vague statement such as "let's just say I wouldn't have a problem if I were to read that in the paper tomorrow."

These sound like silly games high school kids play with each other. But they are not. Apparently, there is a distinct difference between someone saying a name (or any other detail) and merely hinting at it (regardless of how obvious the hint is). The difference is not deniability since all sources are kept anonymous. Personal comfort is the point - "well, I didn't name names, all I did was wink my eye after he told me to wink my eye if the murdered was really Bob Jones." Well, whatever makes you happy, I guess.

We are simply more comfortable communicating in certain ways than we are in other ways. The point being communicated doesn't change, merely the determination with which we convey it. So much of truth, knowledge and understanding comes down to communication that I am sometimes amazed as to how we are able to live with each other. Games, signs, signals, hints, winks, nods, hair twirls and half-smiles are how we understand each other. God bless us!

See my follow-up post