‘Commentary’ Archives
SOMETHING I SAID: The Animal Factory
Book Review By DWIGHT HOBBES Dwight Hobbes Rule of thumb goes, the book’s better than the movie. Edward Bunker’s The Animal Factory (St. Martin’s Minotaur) and Franchise Pictures is a tossup. Both are brilliant. The novel’s narrative is fluid, with compelling immediacy. Co-screenwriter John Steppling teams with Bunker for an ingenious adaptation. Bunker (Education of a Felon: A Memoir /St. Martin's Griffin,) made his way from the wrong side of the law to a career as screenwriter-actor (Animal Factory, Straight Time). He was “Mr. Blue” in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. Franchise Pictures The Animal Factory protagonist, 20-something, privileged Ron Decker is slapped in prison so the judge can stand hard on white offenders, not just criminals of color. Never mind that Decker, no angel for sure, dealt weed and coke, but this is his first bust. He’s a politically correct scapegoat. Street spawned, veteran of incarceration Earl Boen takes him [...]
PEACE HOUSE COMMUNITY: Finding Peace
By MARTI MALTBY Marti Maltby With one day before the deadline for this article, I can’t think of anything to write about. So, I ask one of Peace House Community’s members what topic I should tackle. “How do you find peace?” he responds. Philosophers, sages, mystics, and self-help gurus have been pondering that question for centuries, and I’m supposed to cover it in 500 words?! It’s a good question though. Peace, tranquility, stillness … whatever word you want to use, it is an elusive but vitally important quality. We all need to experience it at some point to stay healthy. Many of us need a lot of it, while others seek it out only when they have a migraine, but either way, it is indispensable. I think humanity has spent so much time thinking about peace, in part, because finding peace is such an individual endeavor. Each person has to discover their own ways of settling themselves. More than that though, each person has to develop new ways as their situations [...]
