how to make a powerpoint presentation

i just got back from al gore's new documentary on global warming, though it more accurately could be titled:
"Al Gore: Public Crusader for Tomorrow's World"
or simply
"How to Scroll through a Powerpoint (Keynote) Presentation on a Plane, in a Room, at a Desk, in a Car, on a Couch, ..."

that last one made it to the final cut, when the editors (yes, there were editors! but more on this later) finally decided it was too clunky.

at any rate, i spent a lot of time in the movie thinking about the movie (which usually isn't a good sign). for proper reviews, check out IMDb's list of external reviews. i just want to comment on a few specific things.

this movie was intentionally appealing to the archetypal republican.

everyone knows the democrats (and republicans) are intensely concerned about this year's senate elections and the presidential election in 08. republicans just spent more than $5 mil on a winning election campaign to replace san diego's corrupt, republican 'duke' cunningham. how can republicans continue to win, in california no less, with the state of affairs in america as they are?

in answering that question, democrats have strategized, i think, to present its candidates as 'real americans', with as much apparent genuineness as W (i say "apparent" with full knowledge of its connotations here). in my mind this movie is one of the most overt recent attempts to "humanize" and "americanize" a democrat. forget that gore is "no longer in politics" and that global warming is "not a political issue; it's a moral issue." gore is still part of the democratic machine, and global warming is still a political issue. i'll spell these out:

1. gore is part of the democratic machine.
even if he's no longer talking to democratic strategists, he's forever emblazoned in this generation's conscience as a democratic figurehead. his activities out of office are a good indicator of what 'democrats are really like'. the man we see out of office is a hard-working, compassionate son of a politician-farmer, with great foresight and reputable goals. in short, he's everything W claimed to be, but, well, wasn't. as if those associations weren't enough, gore, as if stealing pages from the republican playbook, sounded more like W than i'd ever remembered: i never knew him to be so laborious in his speech, so awkwardly deliberate in his presentation. sure, at times there were light jokes and cheap shots, which, if they weren't wit, were at least evidence of a brain. but he was, i think intentionally, being awkward... mostly when he talked about himself, his home, his family, the stuff of life in almost entirely contrived and unnecessary cut-to scenes of where he grew up and motivations for working on global warming. to me, it seemed blatant that he was at the same time demonstrating his political prowess and social conscience (a one-up on W) and showing that he was more down-home american (beating W at his own mid-west game). still, it left a bad taste in my mouth, since these kind of irrelevant appeals to political genuineness have the distinct flavor of, well, bull sh't.

2. global warming is a political issue.
here's the logic:
global warming results from oil. oil is republican. republican is political. thus global warming is political. as we say in math, quod erat demonstratum.

percolating in the public conscience is the conviction that oil makes rich, corrupt, republican tycoons richer (and perhaps more corrupt and more republican...witness: Iraq war). oil fatcats and their federal compatriots piss off most americans. so, by lining up against the oil companies, democrats befriend the american public. they're with "us" on this issue...and it's an issue inextricably linked to the wars and corruption of this mismanaged republican administration.

so in both of these respects, democrats are the good guys in an uphill battle we americans have to join. if that's not political, what is? fortunately, though, i think they're on to something. oh the power of grassroots in the internet age... but that's another post. who knows if it'll work in awakening republicans to the possibility of voting democratic.

so, do i think you should see this movie? global warming is an extremely important issue, but the facts you get from the movie (plus some) could be learned in fewer than 15 minutes at realclimate.org (see below). so unless you wanna see gore toting his mac all over the globe, don't bother. BUT, change your habits, if necessary, to produce less (or no) CO2 emissions.

postscript 1. this movie does give tons of evidence for the importance of addressing global warming. i appreciate that it's bringing a sense of urgency about the problem to a wider audience.

postscript 2. this movie is intensely boring. all i wanted after 8 straight days of 16+ hours of daily work was a relaxing movie. instead, i got a very poor, needlessly long lecture. admittedly, i shouldn't have gone to a documentary. but my friend suggested it, and it was decently reviewed (nobody wants to be 'that guy' who says the global warming movie sucks; that's tantamount to making a 'special olympics' joke.) without enough footage of the majestic glaciers we're out to save, the audience was left watching gore--not known for stirring speeches--being gore. most of the time (75%ish), he's lecturing to a bunch of other people, who themselves get antsy by the end (i swear there were people in his audience ready to fall asleep, let alone the old guy snoozing across the row from us in the actual theater). he also takes a page from michael moore, incorporating instructional cartoons, albeit less humorous than moore's galumph through the history of the white man's oppressive politics. and then, there're the non-sequitor flashbacks...

for serious information, visit realclimate.org, especially their index, organized thematically. (hat tip to Yeung for this reference)