Short Stuff: November

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network

Seems the more I write on this blog, the longer the posts have become. That isn't what I intended and it certainly isn't what a blog is supposed to be. Maybe an occasional helping of "Short Stuff" will give me a little more discipline...

A riveting film: Yesterday, before the trick-or-treaters came around, Lori and I went to a Sunday matinee and watched "The Social Network." Excellent movie about the founders of Facebook. Well acted by a mostly no-name cast, superb screenplay Aaron Sorkin of "The West Wing" and an engaging story about mass marketing in the Internet age. It's about genius and greed, creativity and ego, with glimpses into two opposing but complementary cultures -- Harvard and Silicon Valley -- that epitomize privilege and power in America.

Double identity: Last month, as the plane carrying me from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Dallas, Texas, landed, I reached into the pocket in front of me to make sure I wasn't leaving anything behind. I pulled out a boarding pass and did a double take: The guy who occupied my seat on the previous flight segement, like me, also had 10 letters in his name -- and a Spanish surname. His frequent flier number also was on the ticket. Made me think about Jose Saramago's masterful book, "The Double," in which a depressed, divorced history teacher sees his exact likeness in a rented video and decides to pursue his double. Complications ensue. How easy would it have been to create havoc for my "seatmate" had I tried to access his personal information through the frequent flier number? I didn't, of course. Made me realize I need to be sure to keep that sort of data close to the vest.

Photograph: www.imbd.com