James Maguire's Thought Circus

I’ll be in Washington DC this week at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I’m really looking forward to it - the primetime coverage of the final rounds on ABC adds an interesting wrinkle.

Imagine being 13 years old and stepping up to the microphone, live in primetime – after having studied months or even years – and knowing it all comes down to this single moment. With millions of viewers, and some remarkably tough competitors (two of whom I profiled in American Bee) this year’s Bee should be a great one.

Posted by James Maguire at 07:33 PM | Permalink

The buzz around Al Gore is building into a quiet roar. It all adds up: His new movie, An Inconvenient Truth. His new persona – not so stuffy. His not so new – but very wise and gutsy – stand against the war. Al is very cool at the moment.

Is Al Gore running for president in 2008? His denials are deliciously nuanced. He told Time magazine “I have no intention of being a candidate.” Which sounds a lot like a man who’s leaving himself open to being drafted.

To be sure, he knows how to give a real no – he did in 2004 – but he’s choosing not to. And the timing of his current media push is perfect to set up a 2008 run.

Funny thing about Gore, he’s always seemed surprisingly honest for a politician. Sure, in 2000 he was Mr. Focus Group, but then, he seemed like he was overly focused-grouped. (In contrast to Bush, who was heavily handled but seemed like a “regular guy” who spoke his mind.)

So I’d guess that Gore really is thinking about a run, thinking hard. Despite the groundswell building in support of a Gore run, his hesitation is understandable. If he were to lose again, that would be a special kind of agony.

Still, I’d like to see him commit. I think he’d be a great president — smart, caring, able to move us forward. So I say: Run, Al, run.

Posted by James Maguire at 06:18 PM | Permalink

The critics have been cruel to this movie, undeservedly so. The book wasn’t great art and the film isn’t either. But it is a fun and entertaining thriller-suspense flick. I settled in with a box of overpriced Raisinettes and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

The movie’s narrative push is faster and clearer than the book’s, enough to keep all the talky backstory from bogging down. And there’s plenty of talky backstory. The thing that lifted the book from well-crafted boilerplate to international blockbuster was its religious hocus pocus. Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou (she of the big brown eyes) discuss these Important Questions at length as they race across France.

Naturally, all the God talk gets controversial. The script endeavors mightily to dance around the subject, but Dan Brown’s original text is too subversive to be fully subdued. It’s slightly shocking to hear Tom Hanks, the veritable Jimmy Stewart of our time, question whether Jesus was actually divine or merely a man. Forty years ago delivering those lines would have killed the career of any major actor.

When I walked out of the theater the protesters were there. A group of older folks held posters with sayings like “Defend Our Lord, Reject Da Vinci Code.” But right next to them was a group of teenage boys, 14 or 15 years old, who also held signs. I had to blink my eyes to make sure I was reading them right. They read “Da Vinci Code: Two Thumbs Up!”

I asked one of the boys, “Are you guys…counter-protesters?” “Yup,” he chirped happily. I had to laugh. Who says today’s youth is apathetic? They were a great bunch. One had a mohawk, another had his skateboard with him. “Well,” I said, “keep up the good work.” “Thanks!” he said.

I was happy to see how peaceful the the protesters and the counter-protesters were with one another. Very Christian, actually.

Posted by James Maguire at 08:17 PM | Permalink

Voters are going to wake up after this November’s midterm elections and feel a queasy unhappiness when they realize that Congress is still run by a Republican majority. Gerrymandering in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas means that many Congressional districts have been carefully redrawn to favor Republicans.

Pennsylvania used to hold 11 Republican seats and 10 Democrat seats, but GOP redistricting created a 12 to 7 Republican majority – in a state with a half million more Democrats. Tom Delay ‘s redrawing of Congressional districts in Texas was so over-the-top partisan that the Supreme Court will review it this spring.

So despite public approval levels of Congress that are even lower than Bush’s – whose levels are nearing Richard Nixon’s – it’s probable that Republicans will retain control of the House. Two more years of one-party rule, led by a lame-duck president who lurches ineffectively from boondoggle to boondoggle.

For that reason, I’m really hoping we can shake things up this November. In other words – all together now –- LET’S THROW THE BUMS OUT!

(Wow, that last line felt great…)

Posted by James Maguire at 05:20 PM | Permalink

James Patterson is a demi-god of the bestseller list. Month after month his thrillers sit near the top of the list. The titles change but the Patterson style remains rock steady: short chapters, short paragraphs, short sentences, and ruthless, cold-blooded murderers.

I read them in amazement. It’s remarkable how much Patterson can cut from a story and still make it work. Not a wasted word and hardly a syllable spent on character development. We readers just want a good fast thriller.

But this king of the thriller, like a despot who controls one country but who eyes another, is moving into romance. His weepy tear-jerker Suzanne’s Diary proves that’s a bad idea. In his fast-paced thrillers his cardboard characters work fine, but they make Suzanne’s Diary feel nearly non-existent. A character in a romance needs some minimal interior life – what’s love without a few inner feelings? But instead of interior, we get hackneyed paper-thin cliches.

At one point, I couldn’t help laughing. He actually describes a character this way: “She was an ordinary, regular person.” Writing teachers all across America would groan at that one, but does Patterson care? Probably not. The book was a huge bestseller.

Posted by James Maguire at 04:04 PM | Permalink