CHARLIE’S WAR

Last night I watched the DVD movie, Charlie Wilson's War. This is the true story of a rather obscure Texas congressman, Charlie Wilson, who partnered with CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch a program to support the Afghan mujahideen in their resistance to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

I found this to be an intriguing movie, especially since it is a true story. But what had me puzzled was this -- who on earth was playing the part of Charlie Wilson? Now if you’ve seen the movie, you know full well who played the part. But I was confused. First of all, he was not listed in the credits. Then the DVD envelope in which they place the disc typically lists the major actors, along with a brief description of the plot. But the envelope did not show anyone playing the part of Charlie Wilson! Perhaps I should have recognized him. He did look vaguely familiar, somewhat like Tom Hanks. But not quite. In some scenes -- not really. In others -- well, yeah, a lot like Hanks. Did Tom have a brother?

Well, as I said, if you’ve seen the movie, you know it was Tom Hanks. Strangely, though, he was unlisted in the credits -- for the role. He was listed as the producer. I couldn’t stand it, so this morning I sat down at the computer and Googled it. And sho ‘nuff, Hanks was right there at the head of the cast listing.

There were some online reviews of the movie, and some thought the movie was lousy, that the representations of the Texan characters were stereotyped, among other complaints. One reviewer, though, said he was from Texas, and knew real people just like those portrayed. Ha!

Humor --

A group of tourists were watching a re-enactment of an ancient Egyptian ritual. One man turned and pointed to an icon that was being praised, and asked, “Pardon me, but what was the name of that god?” “Why do you want to know?” asked the guide. The tourist shrugged. “Just idol curiosity, I guess.”

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A man and wife were sitting in the living room. He said to her, “Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine.” So she got up and unplugged the TV.

See you on Monday.