The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    We'll Meet Again

    By DF on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 4:07pm | World Affairs

    I can say unequivocally that I love Dr. Strangelove.  Kubrick is almost universally renowned as an auteur, but Dr. Strangelove stands out for many reasons, not the least of which were the fantastic contributions of George C. Scott and the multiple personalites of Peter Sellers.  Even the opening and closing credits are memorable.

    So, it was with great amusement and great horror that I read this article in Wired about the existence of a real-life Soviet doomsday device, called Perimeter.  The article can't avoid referencing Dr. Strangelove and notes the ways that reality both converges with and diverges from Kubrick's film.  It's a fascinating read that I wanted to recommend.

    As always, I'm interested to know your thoughts.

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    World Affairs

    Comments

    I'm just hoping they never upgrade it to use Microsoft Vista.


    by Nebton on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 4:17pm

    Have you seen Fail-Safe with Henry Fonda?

    Much less fun.


    by Doctor Cleveland on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 4:21pm

    I haven't had the pleasure, but now I think I might have to indulge.


    by DF on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 7:03pm

    Put it as far down your netflix queue as you can.


    by Doctor Cleveland on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 8:02pm

    Scary stuff. Thanks for the link. I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, but that didn't scare me as much as hearing Reagan officials publicly muse about the feasability of a first strike.

    One hidden gem in the article: the bit about Strategic Air Command brass deliberately undermining the system of missile-launch locks by setting all the codes to strings of zeroes.


    by acanuck on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 5:08pm

    Yeah, I noticed that, too.  They outdid Kubrick.


    by DF on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 7:01pm