Cars

I have watched the movie "Cars" more than anyone else on the planet except my son.  I've always assumed that the real life equivalents of the Cars were as follows:

The King - Richard Petty (the movie writers didn't even ask us to think here)

Chick Hicks - Dale Earnhardt (hardest match because Earnhardt was popular while Chick was not)

Lightning McQueen - Jeff Gordon  (another easy match, especially since they both ran off their pit crews)

So, are these correct?  One possible alternative would be Doc = Petty, King=Earnhardt, Chick = Gordon, McQueen=Jimmy Johnson.  There are a number of problems with this alternative so I think it is unlikely (the biggest problem is that Gordon was successful early in his career while Chick was successful late).

Quick Reviews

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell's first two books were both excellent, but this book is even better -- his best wook yet and probably the best non-fiction book of 2008 (although Hot, Flat, and Crowded is in the debate, among others).  The book gets a little slow in the middle, but, overall, it is just fascinating.  I think everyone should read this book.  Grade: A

Syriana

How did this movie get nominated for an academy award?  It was terrible --- slow, confusing, and completely without closure.  I know the movie was trying to communicate a certain unpleasant message about oil and the world we live in, but, really, you couldn't communicate that message more coheriently than that?

Book Review: The Appeal by John Grisham

This books sucks. It is terrible. No one should ever be subjected to this book. All existing copies should be gathered together, thrown into a big pile, and burned.

I am a fan of many John Grisham books. They're usually a little fluffy but very enjoyable. I would even describe a few as great. The Appeal, however, may be the worst book I've ever read. I realize that John Grisham intentionally wrote this book in a way that he hoped would cause us to think more critically about the election of judges, but, come on, I do not need to read this crap to learn a lesson. Will I ever read another Grisham book...well, we'll have to see how long the memory of this garbage lasts.