So here are a few random things that stood out to me: The guy with the red turban during Canadian's segment was cool. At least, the turban was. I love the simplicity of Canada's color scheme. It was pretty cool the way China had a really tall guy as their flag bearer. Denmark is one of the most competitive non-Asian nations in Badmitton Djibouti is one of my favorite country names, and the commentators on the channel I was watching agreed. Baseball is the most popular sport in the Dominica
Rene Descartes made famous the line "Cogito ergo sum", translating to "I think, therefore I am." Like a good Neoplatonist, he sought out to prove only things that could be reasoned through means such as mathematics. Yet, what if his math was wrong? What if our reality is completely warped and 2+2 really equals 5 (which in fact it does, for really high values of 2). And really, what if self-awareness is just an illusion, since how can a unique configuration of atoms known as the brain really
As I write this, the opening ceremony is in full swing. It's actually very cool. The opening part was kind of boring. I understand where they're coming from, showing the transformation from agrarian to industrial society, but the agrarian aspect was a bit subtle for an event about pomp and circumstance. I don't know how you could build into the industrial revolution dramatically enough without a small beginning, though. The revolution, however, was really cool, and in keeping with the spi
So often I see good stories ripped apart because they were predictable. The judgment is passed underneath the narrow assumption that predictability is inherently bad and that unpredictable stories are always desirable. Following this logic, films such as Titanic and The Lion King would be the scourges of cinema, forgotten and hated by all but the most simple-minded viewers. The Velveteen Rabbit would be nothing special to anyone. The only truly good films would be Clue and The Sting, the onl
The Dark Knight Rises, like its predecessors, breaks the traditional flow of superhero films and perfects the tone that director Christopher Nolan has been working on throughout the series. Said tone is very formal and fancy, like the charity ball that Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle attend in the first act. It's the type of polish that I often see in Oscer-winning Best Films, and I have to wonder if Nolan was aiming for that. Therefore, instead of employing a glib spree of action and super-fight
Superman has been portrayed by George Reeves and Brandon Routh, both natives to Iowa. While we're on it, I might add that Captain James Tiberius Kirk was born in Iowa, too. That is, the William Shatner version. I would love to play either role in a movie or TV series. Probably not, but if I ever become an influential voice in the movie business I will make sure to get involved the next time the franchise is relaunched and make sure the actor is Iowan. My second choice would be someone fro
A gunman in Aurora, Colorado recently walked in to a screening for The Dark Knight Rises fully loaded with weapons and open-fired on the audience, killing 12 and wounding 38. Among his tools included tear gas, a shot-gun, and assault rifle, a pistol, and SWAT team garb. He claimed to the the Joker and the arch-nemesis of Batman. This is clearly a sick, twisted individual. I don't know why he did what he did, and frankly it's not my concern. What matters is that people are dead, and they ca
For the last couple of years I told people that "When I live in a dorm, I'm going to have a totally hot poster ... of the Periodic Table of the Elements." It was funny how that would always take people off guard. Plus it's true, because I have one hanging over my bed and I'm so used to it by now.. However, it seems that my sisters, who bought me early birthday presents to prepare me for college, decided I could do with something more human. You know, to give people the impression that I wasn
In my first review, I urged people to watch it and then rewatch it. Not wanting to be a hypocrite, I did exactly that yesterday and fell in love all over again. My only regret is not being able to see it in 3D, which I think would have actually been one of the best 3D experiences ever. To make up for that, I sat so close to the screen that it literally took up my entire vision. For good measure, I sat on the edge of my seat. Every once and a while a movie comes along that really blows me a
Me: This is a drawing of a character of mine, a villain of Shakespearian style. Grandma: Oh, how terrible! Why would you ever want to write something so dreadful? Me: Okay...How about I tell you about a romantic comedy I've been writing? Grandma: That's very nice. Me: The main character has to put up with a bully. Grandma: Oh, how terrible! Can anyone relate to this? Any similar stories? Merida
From now on, whenever I see a recent theatrical release I will write a review of it here. I do the same in the Last Film You Watched topic, but that includes all films. This blog is reserved for current theatrical releases, and I will tend to these reviews first and foremost. My reviews will remain spoiler-free, and I won't bother rating them. While unprofessional, they should provide fair coverage, and I hope that there people who browse blogs who will appreciate the effort. In the future,
That didn't literally happen, but they did somehow get to where I kept it and they chewed it all up. It really made me angry. As they are female dogs, I sometimes use words to describe them when alone or around people who don't judge me by my language, though I remain profanity free when around my super-sensitive sisters. This time, though, I didn't hesitate to unload a couple of choice words on those dogs. I never wanted them anyway, because I knew stuff like this would happen regularly.
Maieutism is an old Greek idea that truth is innate within the mind. This is tied to Plato's ideal that the universe is based upon archetypes such as math, and that everything is a derivative thereof. Since the human mind is capable of reason, he considered it to be a higher reality than the physical world because it suggested to him that the mind, especially a reasonable mind, required less integrating to get to the root archetypes. Understanding of greater truths had to be obtained by reaso
On my trip to Disney World last June, I got off to an interesting start. On the second day, I began to notice pains while urinating. Since I have experienced exponentially worse pains before as far back as 5th grade and as recently as last August, I didn't think much of it. My concerns jumped up a few levels when I noticed that my urine was looking to be an unusual shade of orange, and I freaked out when I later produced a solid drop of blood. I called out to my mother and she set up an app
I'd like my new banner To look like my regular banner. If you look closely there's a border in my Gali banner, but Gali herself and the items in the foreground fit over it. There's also some shine added to the picture coming from the upper right hand corner. Elements of the background have a little extra gloss added to them, and if you look carefully there are also diagonal lines. These are features I'd like to apply to all my new banners from now on. If people could explain how e
I was thinking about it and I realize there are different types of philosophy. There's life philosophy, which was the type that I was referring to in my last two topics. But then there's stuff like my writing philosophies, which are the underlying archetypes within my mind that define my opinions on literature. Yet, I'm a little weary of saying "writing philosophy", since how is that different from saying "writing opinions"? I don't like the idea of the two words being interchangeable. For
I hate it when in movies or stories or whatever someone ignores ethics and says "it's not my job". That's really stupid. The way I see it, if you're human, you live life as a human. Anyways, this leads to another thought I was having. That is, if I ask philosophical questions, I expect that it would only be appropriate for someone to answer those questions as a philosopher. And no, you don't have to be a philosopher by profession to be a philosopher. Plato didn't think he was any wiser th
Dear Reader, One of the greatest things about science fiction is that it presents the reader with extreme ends begs to ask questions about them, and through these questions they explore deeper questions about life itself. One of science fiction's signature elements, robots with artificial intelligence, might seem like a pitch removed from the reality of our everyday lives, but the presence of these themes has served the purpose of altering the very way we see the world. Science fiction has int
Bloodic ..........The lone ship had now passed the point of no return. They had exhausted all their energy on their jump in-between dimensions. They almost had enough kick left for a trip back home, but they would have to find a fuel source once they landed. .........."That dirty little scoundrel," said Giamarck, speaking of his captain. He wasn't too frustrated, though. He knew what he was getting into when he first joined the crew. Captain Clerk always had a policy of "all or nothing"
I was visiting the graduation party of a friend called Kitty. I stuck around for a while to enjoy the place, because of the oreo cookie creme and stuff like that, but there was something that struck a major philosophical idea in my head. As selected senior pictures to keep of Kitty, I grabbed one of her on the gold course, and I suddenly realized that golf was a sport. I've always opted to go out for track instead, since it was more athletic, so I never thought much of golf until, for some r
Now that I have formulated theories on the four levels of personal reality and the nature of love in marriage, it is natural to see how these similar ideas connect. If we suppose that humans exist spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, and physically in that order, then it is logical that love, being a universal ideal that brings purpose to human existence, should have a place in all four. I have stated before that it is most important that this comes from the spirit, for this is where th
I put on my bowtie and visited my cousin's graduation party on May 12, the week before graduation. When I arrived, the number of pictures hit me. He didn't throw the party alone. He had a couple of good friends share the event. It was something I had wanted to do, though nobody wanted to cooperate with me. Then I looked at all of their pictures they had growing up. Almost every single picture was taken with friends while participating in strange and grand events that I knew nothing about.
