if you ever get a chance to see "mother courage"....

[mouse_rants]

(the berthold brecht play), go see it.  saw the la jolla playhouse's production last night, and it was excellent.  there was a docent out talking about the play beforehand, and she said there has been much discussion on whether brecht was making an anti-war statement or an anti-capitalism statement, and that the director of this production opted for anti-capitalist - but it's a pretty strong commentary on war, as well.  and oddly, a stronger one on wars like the by-choice one we have in iraq, rather than world war ii (which inspired the play).  of course, it was written in 1939, so i suppose brecht might not have realized all the things that hitler was doing - but since it was written in exile, one suspects he has some idea.  there is a great speech by the chaplain about war's ability to keep going on, despite all obstacles, because of the profit in it - that hits home.  as does the overall story, of losing everything that one claims to value, in pursuit of that profit.