Milk

"Milk" is a biographical film made in 2008 taking into account the life of LGBT rights activist and American politician Harvey Milk. The reason why Harvey is rather special is because he was the first man to be elected to the public office in California whilst openly admitting that he was gay.

The movie was written by Dustin Lance Black and was directed by Gus Van Sant. The lead role is played by Sean Penn, in which he recieved "Best Actor in a Leading Role."

The film opens with the scene of Harvey's birthday, when he was still living in NYC, and had not yet settled in San Fransisco. It focuses on his dive into city politics, and the various and often colorful arguments he wages in the Castro neighborhood as well as the city. It also follows the anti-gay campaigns of Anita Bryant and John Briggs. Several relationships, both romantic and political, are covered, and his tenuous affiliation with Dan White. The film ends with White murdering both Harvey Milk and the Mayor of San Fransisco in the City Hall.

We did not have time to finish the film, so I had to research the ending online. The parts I saw were pretty good, and I think Sean Penn's interpretation of Harvey Milk is very real, and also very thorough.

What I would like for our next film is that our teacher saves enough time so we can watch the whole film, and not just tidbits.

The sources I used were:
1. Milk, by Universal Studios
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_(film)

Mathias~

The House of Lords

The House of Lords, or also known as the upper house in the British Parliament, was once in time a "club" for the Lords of England, or more simply put; the Barons and the Baronesses. Their place is in the Palace of Westminister, alongside with the House of Commons.

When England peaked as the most powerful country in the world, with its naval fleet, its democracy and its fantastic inventions, the House of Lords had quite a lot of power in the Parliament. They could influence taxes, budgets and other laws as they wanted, but that has of late come to a change.

The House of Lords has actually grown ever since the reform that was put in action in 1999 stating that the House of Lords would loose quite a bit of their power. The most recent number of Lords is now 724, which is more than the MPs (Members of Parliament.)

And, it's not only Barons and Baronesses that make up the House of Lords anymore. Celebrities, scientists and other experts in a given field now make up the upper house.

Mathias Åker Solstad~