Koyaanisqatsi was a film that I saw in 1993, about a year after I moved to Los Angeles. I rented it on VHS and it resonated with me. It was an unconventional movie--about the crazy speed of modern life--but it made sense to me in an odd way. My roommates hated it.

The word is from the Hopi Indian language; it means "life out of balance." It would have been an apt title for a piece in the Washington Post that won the Pulitzer Prize today. When the article first appeared almost exactly a year ago, I missed it, but I am happy that it won the Pulitzer, both for the author and because I wouldn't have read it otherwise.

Instead of using Koyaanisqatsi as the title, Gene Weingarten, the writer, worked the word and concept into his brilliant article, which absolutely deserved the Pulitzer.

Not only was the article written exceptionally well, but the topic, the story, and the questions it asks were fascinating. Please wait until you have ten or 12 minutes to read the whole thing and see a couple of short video clips embedded in the article. It's well worth your time.

And here it is.