monkeyinmymind.com

For most of us, Memorial Day is the “unofficial” first day of Summer: a time for family get togethers, trips to the beach, and afternoon barbecues. It’s usually nothing more than a three-day weekend bookending the summer with Labor Day on the other end, a brief respite from the workweek grind, soon forgotten come Tuesday morning.

Ironically, the last thing Memorial Day should be is a day to forget, as it is quite literally a day of remembrance, the only day officially set aside to preserve the memories of those who have passed.

My interest is always piqued when another war film hits the theaters. As a cinemaphile, I’m concerned with seeing a well-conceived, researched, and executed story that creates a profound emotional response. As a former military man, I’m most concerned with “fidelity,” primarily in the portrayal of the military characters’ motivations, dialogue & lingo, [...]

This week Congress was graced by the appearances of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who both testified as to the current state of affairs in Iraq. Much was made of the fact that all three presidential candidates got an opportunity to sit in the spotlight and question the General and Ambassador directly, [...]