David Letterman had Lindsay Lohan on last night, promoting her latest film -- Jane Fonda (about the age of the mother in that Golden Pond movie ... tempus fugit) was on the day before. Letterman was playful, telling LL not to worry about acting a bit crazy, since she is young after all. And, sympathizing with her for the negative coverage, though she does bring some on herself, right? (That's my .02) It's fun when Dave gets into one of those moods. It's part of the reason to watch.
Though it didn't last long, Amazing Grace was also in the movies this year ... it dropped out of one of the multiplexes I go to after like two weeks. The movie is a historical drama, providing a look at one of those many historical characters that provide cinematic fodder. This time, William Wilberforce, who was involved in ending the slave trade in Great Britain along with many other causes, including prison reform, animal welfare, and rights of Indians (as in India). Causes inspired in significant part on his strong Christian beliefs.
[His Tory politics surely suggests he is not 100% ideal. The title of the movie, by the way, does refer to the famous hymn. WW was close to the author, who was a converted former slave captain. He was lost, but then he was found, as the saying goes. There is truly a lot there, story wise.]
I recently read the companion book, of sorts, to the movie -- Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas. If the movie reflected this work, it might have left a bit to be desired. As some reviews on Amazon notes, the book comes off as a bit of a Christian tract (Metaxas is behind Veggie Tales, the religious children series) with no source notes or index. It is largely a one note [yes, Virginia, the colonization movement was not always inspired by 100% bona fide motives] praiseful biography that doesn't provide a very deep analysis of the story at hand.
There are various other books that provide (I assume ... haven't read them yet) more weighty material, worthwhile given the character at hand. Still, this book provides some value. We get his basic story, understand how Christian values can do some real good in public surface, and it goes down fairly well (if a little bit like the sugary treats his usual audience often favors). Still, it should be taken with a grain of salt, including as a complete biography. We don't even learn that his son was the bishop involved in the famous evolution debate with Thomas Huxley.
Not totally germane, but hey, worth mentioning. BTW, Due Process of Law: A Brief History [truly -- it's about 100 pages] by John Orth is an interesting read. It is almost like an extended law review article or something, but aimed for the lay reader. His book on the Eleventh Amendment also was quite good.