TV worth watching - John Adams

Sunday night, I sat down after church to enjoy the new HBO mini-series, "John Adams". For some time now, I had been looking forward to seeing it, knowing that the same guiding hands of "Band of Brothers" was sheperding the project. For three hours, I was glued to the TV, taking in all that the program had to offer. Was I disappointed in what I saw? Heavens no! While not being perfect, it portrayed John Adams exactly as David McCullough painted him in his book, "John Adams". The sets/cgi effects were well done and all the actors did a admirable job (especially Tom Wilkinson and David Morse...Huzza!). I was bothered by some inaccuracies, especially those involving uniforms, etc. but these were not bad enough to distract from the story. John Adams is probably one of the most overlooked founding fathers. He's not pretty, he's short and portly, he likes to pontificate, he's stubborn and he "tells it like it is"(Reminds me of someone I know...lol). However, both the book and the program paint the picture of a man who is human, who loves his wife and values her opinions and who ultimately loves his country. The mini-series does not present a 18th century fairy tale but a world of 18th century reality. For the next several Sundays, I will be looking forward to TV again (at least for an hour anyway).

The Forgotten Conflict - War of 1812

It was a precarious time in our nation's history....not yet a true union but a group of states acting independent (How magnanimous!). I've found the War of 1812 to be a turning point in our young nation's history. It's funny how wars typically mark the turning points within a nation's history. For the United States, we begin with the American Revolution, followed by the American Civil War, etc, etc. But wait, what about the War of 1812? For that matter, what about the Mexican War (another topic for another day). Go to the War of 1812 Bicentennial Website (http://www.visit1812.com/) for all the juicy details. Talk amongst yourselves while I go find my topper! Huzza!