The 104 lb eating machine won another eating championship, this time beating a 400+ lb rival by a mouthful in the fruitcake eating championship. After eating out maybe 6/7 nights the past week I know how she feels (except I tend to keep that weight). Read more here >>

This article in Yahoo News features opinions on why so many died in the city of Bam this week while only two died in California's earthquake at the same time when both tremors were virtually the same strength. The answer? Shoddy construction and mud bricks that dissolved when the earthquake struck. Read more here >>

An expression of hopelessness

Kelvin found a link to an archived interview with Superflat creator Takashi Murakami in which the artist discusses Superflat, why he can only achieve success outside of Japan, the nature of Otaku (obsessive fans), why Japan will have a revolution or civil war and how artists need marketing and research in order to become popular. The most interesting thoughts are how the growth of the otaku are an expression of Japanese hopelessness at changing society or the authoritarian regime that oppresses them. They cannot change their world so they withdraw into their own fantasies or worse. Highly recommended. Read it here >>

At the same time there is another article pointing out that Japan's prime export now seems to be its culture. This time it's the Washington Post that surveys the growing popularity of anime, manga and design that is overflowing (like Japanese language students) onto the shores of North America. Read it here >>

All my shopping is done and my gifts are wrapped and I am feeling positive thinking about the turkey to come. Have a safe and happy Christmas to friends and visitors alike.

In my news browsings I came across a funny coincidence. A story about a Canadian army operation called "Operation Nighthawk" was interesting enough. It details an experiment whereby a group of soldiers will try to stay awake for three days straight by chewing a brand of Wrigley's gum that is laced with caffeine. In searching for more information (I want to try it!) I came across the U.S. army's "Operation Nighthawk" in which they sprung a surprise inspection on twelve soldiers returning to base after a night out, checking for ecstasy. So on the one hand the Canadian army seeks a drug to keep soldiers awake, the American army is making sure their soldiers don't stay awake at parties.

Take me to your leader

Even through its extravagance, indulgence and epic pacing, there's hardly any moments when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King fails to enthrall the viewer in its majesty, enthusiasm and overwhelming motion. It's a film that has the momentum of two grand films powering it on to its inevitable conclusion. The faith built up in both the characters and in Peter Jackson, the filmmaker, is such that there is no question of failure on the battlefield or on the screen. It's a coronation, bloated and self-important, with blaring trumpets and an ocean of extras (computer-generated or otherwise) and actors carrying nobility like forcefields in every scene. It could be awful, but it isn't. It's simply the third act to one of the great filmmaking stories of all time.

If The Fellowship of the Ring had the novelty of convincing us of the reality of Tolkein's Middle Earth, and The Two Towers set the tone for grim conflict, then The Return of the King has inevitability. Inevitability because the books are widely known; inevitability also because the actions of the first two movies culminate in this grand conclusion. Where the film ties up every thread (with Gollum, with the Gondorian succession, with the journey of the hobbits), it is tremendously successful. Where it throws in new elements (the ghost army, the brooding steward of Gondor, Denethor) it falls down. As a third act, really, nothing new should be thrown in. The third act is all about power and resolution and for the most part, The Return of the King satisfies this in thundering fashion.

The moment when The Return of the King began to sing to me was when the catapults started throwing rocks on the incredible towered city of Minas Tirith. It was in this scene that the scale and power of computer graphics met the imagination of Peter Jackson and his designers. Here the awesome spectacle of dozens of rock throwers towering over the legions of orcs combines with the beauty and magnificence of Gondorian capital; shortly to crash together symbolically in one scene, technology vs art.

Crush crumble and chomp

In fact, this is the very metaphor Jackson and his co-writers Philipa Boyens and Fran Walsh have been driving. The dirty, metal-headed forces of Mordor smashing at the gates of civilization and culture. Incidentally, the same forces are at work in the filmmaking. The number crunching needed from the army modelling software Massive working in tandem with the creative arts of the painters, sculptors and technicians who built the arches, towers and gateways of the cities. When the oliphants, trolls and fell beasts arrive on the scene, you can't help but cheer as they tromp their way through the masses of soldiers, bashing in gates and throwing men hundreds of metres in the air. It's gleeful fun made real by craftsmanship that will be difficult to match again.

While the battle before the towers of Minas Tirith occupies much of the film as Helms Deep did for The Two Towers, the story of Frodo, Sam and the woeful Gollum is more deftly balanced here. The Two Towers suffered from having one too-many plot threads to follow. The Return of the King is kinder to the viewer, moving from the breathless and overwhelming battle to the quieter but no less heroic adventures of the small party - part of the charm of The Fellowship of the Ring that the final installment aproaches. The audience will be chattering on about the encounter with the giant spider Shelob, but the real success relies on the turns in character for the three travellers. The final act begins with Gollum, the most complex character of the previous film, showing how the ring tragically warps the mind of the weak. Frodo's character change is progressive throughout the three films and he finally goes over the edge here. His change is always expected, but the breakthrough performance is from Sean Astin as the stalwart friend Samwise Gamgee who displays heroism and faith to carry Frodo forward. One of the successful resolutions is Gollum's final role in the One Ring's dispensation.

Nasty hobbitses

Not so successful is the single-sided conflict. Yes, you have the massive armies clashing. But all the characters are on the side of the good. Saruman's part was finished in The Two Towers (and his scenes in the third movie kept for the extended DVD edition). There are two new sub-characters introduced on the side of evil (the orc commander and the Witch King leader of the Nazgul black riders). But Sauron remains the giant eye to be poked out and nothing more. Without a personification of evil, the battles are reduced to the humans vs the special effects. They are glorious special effects for the most part, but even these fall down without risk to raise the stakes. One example of this is in the sudden employment of the ghost army. Easily the weakest of the effects, the arrival of the seemingly unstoppable spectres punctures all feeling built up in the battle thus far. Again, this is another example in film where the heroes must resort to some magical solution to win a battle. But then, it is a fantasy after all.

It is inevitable that amidst the clashing of steel and groans of monsters that the multitudes of characters we've come to know in the previous two movies are lost somewhat. The same inevitability that makes victory for the forces of good certain, also drives all the characters to predictable ends. Their parts have already been written in the previous chapters. You have to accept the sparse footnotes for minor characters such as Galadriel, Arwen and even for the fellowship characters Legolas and Gimli. This because there is a long, drawn out farewell for the major characters to come. Almost twenty minutes of characters being crowned, saying goodbye and exchanging deep glances can only be seen as a final indulgence for a director who has devoted years of toil to a masterwork. It is easily forgiven.