Sicko

Michael Moore is still the same person, but in Sicko, he seems more mature than when he embarrassed the heck out of Charlton Hesston in Bowling for Columbine. Apparently having taken to heart the criticism he recieved for Farenheit 9/11, he tries to put less spin on the facts, and he lets other people do most of the talking.

Their message is clear: the American health care system is ridiculous, if not evil, and corporate greed is plunging millions of Americans into debt and ill health. At the same time, other countries, including Canada, France, Great Britain, Cuba, enjoy excellent, free, universal health care.

Like all Moore's films, Sicko has a comedic element. As a filmmaker, I admire his talent in presenting a thoroughly depressing subject without making us feel overwhelmed, and making us feel outraged rather than blind with rage at the greed and injustice of the American health care system.

Countering criticism that Sicko paints too rosy a picture of health care in Canada, I will say that I have lived in both countries, and would much rather have the Canadian system.

I didn't realize until recently that Moore is still trying to impeach the president, presumably for his sins regarding Iraq. Where he failed there, he just might get his way in nudging America towards universal health care. The difference is that Iraq is over there, but an expensive, innefficient health care is just an accident or infection away for all of us living in the US.

The new email?

My poor Gmail account is a little lonely these days. Why? Because of Facebook. I hadn't really thought about it until last night when I heard some friends talking and one said, "Call me; don't use Facebook." In the past, a comment like this would have gone, "Call me; don't email."

In contrast to my email account, my Facebook account has been seeing a lot of activity lately. Not necessarily in messages, but because of the flexibility of Facebook, I've shared and viewed a lot more photos, movie reviews, and short comments with friends than I ever did using email.

Three of the most important things for an online tool are: ease of use, flexibility, and ubiquity (at least among your friends). Facebook has always been easy to use, and is growing rapidly in flexibility and in membership. MySpace started this process, and they were lucky enough to get a generation named after them, but at this moment, in my opinion, Facebook is the superior online community.

That's why, in spite of my empty Gmail inbox, I'm not worried about my popularity standing just yet.