Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Kareem supports Obama, but not Horton Hears a Who

Just to mix it up a little, I'd like to let you guys know that it's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's birthday (he's 61) and that he supports Barack Obama, but not Horton Hears a Who. In his blog, Kareem explains that while the book is perfectly delightful, the movie adds a different twist he takes issue with:

To make the story long enough for a full-length movie, a sub-plot was added about the mayor of Whoville who has 96 cheerful daughters and one brooding son. This is where things take a nasty turn. Basically, the mayor ignores his 96 daughters in order to groom his uninterested son to become mayor. Why doesn’t he groom one of his much more enthusiastic daughters? And, of course, it is the brooding son who, in the end, saves the entire world of Whoville. The daughters? They get to cheer from the sidelines.

It's an interesting take by Kareem. I haven't seen the movie myself (but I do hear it's pretty good) so I can't comment on it. Thought I'd just let you all know that Kareem thinks Hollywood puts out sexist cartoons. Kareem generally has interesting things to say (must have been that UCLA education).

Kareem trivia: one of his favorite martial arts movie is Dragon Inn (1966). So if you see Kareem fitting himself into the first class section of a Southwest airplane like I have, be sure to chat him up about Dragon Inn. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

Happy Birthday Kareem!

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