The Austin Film Society, of which I am a member has some cool perks, one of which is free preview screenings. Tonight, I saw one you guys need to see. It's called Control Room and it opens next Friday in Austin at the Arbor. Check it out. It is a documentary that follows Al Jazeera and some of the CentComm folks they interact with just before the invasion of Iraq and through the time Bush declared victory. Fascinating stuff. Puts everything in a new light, because it presents Al Jazeera and their staff as human beings. Lots of points of view are present and few verified, but who's right and who's wrong isn't quite as important as the feeling you get that our toothless media isn't showing us all we need to know. And not because they're bad or in cohoots with the gov, but for lots of complicated and very real reasons. Plus, as a former print journalist, I love depictions of the behind the scenes stuff. It reminds me of covering the mayor's office in SA in 88 or the Texas Legislature in 89. There are all kinds of relationships you build that the public never sees. A reporter is like an iceberg--you only see a fraction, because for lots of complicated and human reasons, that's all we every get to show. See this movie and what's better, take a friend who still thinks taking over Iraq was a good idea. Good stuff, Maynard.