Horse in the Year of the Metal Rabbit

Happy Chinese New Year.  Pass the moon cake.
What's in store for me? Two different predictions. I'll pick the one I like.

From 2011 Predictions for Horse In the Year of Metal Rabbit:

One of your favorites. Something about the calming effect of the Rabbit year may be responsible for your smooth sailing. There is not a single area in which you have to limit your scope this year.
There will, however, be a risk of boredom, because you are not patient with the sound of your own voice. Distract yourself. Get involved in politics or even dabble in espionage. But be careful of your renowned excessive reactions.
The Rabbit’s placid saucer-of milk lifestyle can boil over when too much heat is applied: you should try to cultivate more self-acceptance. Do yoga. Meditate. Try laugh therapy. Hire somebody to tickle you so you can take yourself less seriously.
Show off your many talents in art and music, dance and the theater. Rabbits are daft for culture All your endeavors in the art world will be encouraged and rewarded. Work and industry are high on the Rabbit's list of preferred qualities. Since you adore working, he will applaud and support your every project.
Money? Well you won't be rolling in it. But you will certainly have enough extra to pay your drama teacher.

From Online Chinese Astrology:

If 2010 was a wild ride, you might be in for another roller coaster in the Year of the Metal Rabbit. Challenging years can often strengthen our character and refine our talents – like a coal’s transformation to becoming a diamond. This year will be a little under 50% favorable for you. With 4 favorable months, 1 neutral, and 7 unfavorable months, you might get nauseous with the ups and downs. Luckily, your sign is one of the most resilient and strong in the zodiac. Ride the tide when it’s high, and wade through when it’s shallow. Try to borrow some flexibility, sensitivity, and creativity from the Rabbit. Allow yourself and your life to be molded by the forces that be.

The Captors and the Captured

On Laura Hillenbrand's “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” (2010) and Nagisa Oshima's “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983)

Natural companions: the former is a nonfiction book and the latter is a fictional film.
It's easy to empathize with the prisoner of war and difficult to understand the torturer.
The Bird in “Unbroken” remains opaque no matter how many layers Hillenbrand reveals (and some of it by guesswork). He embodies that title in some sense (without the redemption part) as much as the real subject of the book is. In Oshima's film, Yonoi supppresses his homo urges, channels it, and oppresses. And am I to believe that's enough to explain his cruelty?

War time exists in in its own dimension. Power corrupts and even more so in those conditions. The captors ignore the Geneva Convention because they are not in Europe, as one of the officers say in “Unbroken” and they are not in Geneva, as Yonoi says in “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.” They are nowhere. The usual rules do not apply. Abu Ghraib and Gitmo come to mind.

In both works, there are redemptions: Zamperini's in “Unbroken” and Hara's in “Merry Christmas ...” I find them the least satisfying parts. Those are internal journeys both characters undergo that both works do not ably take us through. They feel tacked on as endings.

Snowmaggedon

Snowstorm #8.

That Robert Frost comes to mind -
"I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice."