It ain't over till its over...

Watched 'Rocky Balboa' over the weekend. I was very sure this was the fourth in the Rocky series but now I know better!
Verdict - I liked it! Especially these lines.
The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very rough, mean place… and no matter how tough you think you are, it’ll always bring you to your knees and keep you there, permanently… if you let it. You, me or nobody ain’t never gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit… it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward… how much you can take, and keep moving forward. If you know what you’re worth, go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit.

So true, so true. Even though Stallone delivers the lines with his usual Italian drawl (overly exaggerated with age this time!) the message is loud 'n' clear. In fact I think this is time it has been spelled out - the 'message' was present in them all!
We left the movie thinking it was worth the money and wondering if we should wait with baited breath for a Rocky vs. Terminator.
Anyhow, so I am progressing with 'The Kiterunner' and slowly the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place to reveal a very gory and disturbing image. The book tells a tale of fathers and sons, relationships amidst the growing turmoil of the final days of Afghani monarchy to the present day atrocities. I was very curious about whether this story drew from the author's life and so naturally, I googled it. Turns out, this is KH's first published novel and he is a medical doctor by profession. His second novel is due to be released in May '07. No mention of disturbing goings on such as in the book but it does not take a great deal of imagination to understand the horrors that people of that land must have been subjected to during government coups.
I would completely recommend this book but it is not for the faint hearted. I wonder immensely at hearts and minds of people that cause war and hope to draw from it a victory. Nobody emerges victorious from war.