WAIT NEW ANSWER. TOP 15 READYFIGHT
1. -Up
2.-Star Wars
3.-Ordinary People
4.-Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
5.-Amadeus
6.-Dr. Horrible
7.-Spirited Away
8.-Toy Story
9.-Forrest Gump
10.-Edwood
11.-A Clockwork Orange
12.-The Dark Knight
13.-No Country for Old Men
14.-Wall-e
15.Groundhog's Day
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Top 10 favorite Movies? and Top Ten favorite Animated movies?.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Top 10 favorite Movies? and Top Ten favorite Animated movies?.
Why would I discriminate? ALL MOVIES ARE EQUAL BRO.
Except the bad ones.
Top 10?! I'll do ya 2 better: Top TWELVE! These are all highly subject to change and reordering, of course.
1. -Up
2.-Star Wars
3.-Ordinary People
4.-Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
5.-Dr. Horrible
6.-Amadeus
7.-Spirited Away
8.-Toy Story
9.-Edwood
10.-A Clockwork Orange
11.-The Dark Knight
12.-Invictus
Sunday, September 26, 2010
What song do you like to wake up to in the morning? (As opposed to... waking up any other time of day...? Why do people always find it necessary to add "in the morning?" Weird.)
What song do you like to wake up to in the morning? (As opposed to... waking up any other time of day...? Why do people always find it necessary to add "in the morning?" Weird.)
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Got a favorite album?
Jah. I see albums as one experience; it's more than the sum of its parts (or songs)
That said, my favorite is the Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner by Ben Folds Five.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
What do you think of the concept of "soul mates?"
Well... I think that, yes, we do have soul mates. It's too bad you're probably never going to meet them, or if you do, you pass them waiting tables and you're the president of the United States, or vice-versa. It could be someone you see several times a week, hundreds of times a year, and you're both just on your own path; the only thing that passes between you is a single glance. I mean, you never do really 'know.' I don't mean it in a bitter way, either, it just... is. I mean, you gotta look at it with a jaded eye and an affectionate smile.
you are silly because i knew it first and you didn't so i win the argument that never happened so there i win.
*Opens mouth*
*Raises Finger*
*Shuts mouth*
Allllllllllllllright then, I guess that settles it...? Whatever it was that needed settling.
My life is going out of control here.
Monday, September 13, 2010
you just have to follow the :]. you're silly. this site is silly
Because Hannag is like the only one I know who has ever used a bracket smiley.
you just have to follow the :]. you're silly. this site is silly
WHO ARE YOU, HANNAH OR SOMETHING.
I think that is a valid possibility
Sunday, September 12, 2010
:[
Ugh, FINE, your anonymous pleading has gotten to me. I made the pseudonym so my parents wouldn't freak out about identity-revelations on the interwebs.
All I have to do now is deduce your identity; you're someone who hasn't yet asked me about the name until now, meaing I must have met you fairly recently. And you seem to enjoy brackets in your smilies.
I am the worst detective.
What do you have on your desk right now?
Laptop, NES games, Ben Folds Five albums, Homestuck troll sketches from a friend, microphone, 3D glasses with no lenses, sword-shaped letter opener, non-functional graphing calculator, the soundtrack to the newest Miyazaki movie, broken glasses case, The World's First Flying Machine's album: "The House You're Living In," and a pill bottle full of quarters. Howbout you?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
I totally just discovered I have MSN, so you kids should add me. daxxglax@mindspring.com
I totally just discovered I have MSN, so you kids should add me. daxxglax@mindspring.com
Monday, September 6, 2010
Someone/Something that changed your life?
Carl Sagan, Stephen King, and pprrooobbably Benjamin Carignan.
Love of science, wonderment, skepticism, writing, introspection, and basically who I am today are a result of these fine dudes.
does you have a favorite song?
Tough choice. Probably "Landed," by Ben Folds.
Runner's up for second-best include: "Descend," by Toby "Radiation" Fox, "Paraffin," by Bill Eager, and "This is Gallifrey," from Dr. Who
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Who's the most underrated musician?
Me :V the ppl need to hear what i gotta say but THE MAN keeps beatin me down
are you asking anyone to homecoming?
I wasn't aware people outside of freshmen did this. I know I did it. When I was a freshman. And homecoming seemed like big deal.
How naive I was.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
psst... hi
I appreciate the hushness in your tone in delivering to me this highly secretive correspondence. Rest assured they have reached my eyes with no tampering and I plan on destroying the message afterward.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Oh joy, another lengthy blog post about Scott Pilgrim. BUT WAIT! This is the MOVIE! TOTALLY different!
Quite simply, I loved it. As a fan of the graphic novels, I guess that’s to be expected, but I tried going in with a blanl-slate-perspective and… I still loved. Like the books, the movie will appeal to anyone of the “plugged-in” generation of the 80’s and 90’s. It embodies not only the hard-and-fast changes of pop culture that we’re so would up in, but also how we take it in stride. For instance, in one scene, Scott goes to the bathroom, where a “pee bar” appears and is drained as he… does what people usually do in the bathroom. He steps out into a high school hallway, clearly dreaming. It’s this kind of transition that is at once creative and, oddly enough, easy to follow. I saw this multiple times and none of my companions (Of which there were multiple motley crews of) raised a “WTF.” In a comic book, such a transition is easy, simply being panel-to-panel, but the movie has preserved this sense of quick-change remarkably well. Sometimes it feels like the movie is lampooning itself for this, and text will often appear, reading things like, “Later,” or “And then it was time.”
Another thing I thought was clever was in one of the Evil Ex fights, where Scott is punched in the face and a “WHAM!” sound effect appears (yes, appears) behind him. A second punch sends Scott backward, shattering the sound effect. In fact, immediately after, you can see the shards scattering onto the floor. There’s a lot of these little subtleties throughout the movie. For instance, when Scott tosses aside a “Clash at Demonhead” album, it lands in the “Beck” section. Beck did a lot of the music in the film, Sex Bob-omb in specific. Another time, when evil ex Todd Ingram is using his powers against Scott for the first time, the waves of psychic force radiating outward actually erase The Clash at Demonhead’s drummer from the wall. This is a reference to her ninja-esque ability to teleport. In fact, in that saem part of the book, it mentions that she “wants to blend into the wall like an awesome ninja.”
The filmography as a whole is very impressive. The action is contant and kinetic. Though the sound effects, etc. leap out at you, they never seem obnoxiously in-your-face. The action scenes and cinematography in general were great. Everything was very well-framed and you never got a sense of the focus being to broad or too narrow, which is an easy pitfall for many action movies.
In fact, I was very impressed with the fights. Each one is individual and fun to watch. They could have easily made them repetive and boring. I mean, hey, seven big fight scenes? Seven bosses? Isn’t the audience going to stop caring after the first 3 fisticuff-matches? Of course not. One of the ex’s fights is a cross between a Street Fighter match and a Bollywood musical. Another’s is a brawl between two bands who each spawn beasts made out of sound to fight. One of the ex’s sends in his stunt team. There’s a fast-paced ninja fight. A sword duel. A bass-off. All these fights are memorable and amazing in their own way, from a choreographical, narrative, and technical standpoint.
I’m going to address one of everyone’s biggest worries right off: Michael Cera. Most people I talked to said they liked the look of the film but were hesitant about seeing it because Cera was leading. He’s often lampooned for playing the same character in all his works, which I don’t think is a bad thing as long as the character is written that way, but Scott is very emotive and dynamic, and I too was skeptical about Michael Cera’s ability to pull it off. Luckily, Cera passes the trial with flying colors. Though he is still awkward, he is more expressive and is a perfect fit for Scott’s character.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Ramona Flowers is heavily defined within the conext of her and Scott’s relationship so I’ll talk about that here. It seems a lot of people were complaining about the relationship; Scott seems to be kind of a douche and Ramona is aloof and a little cold. Many were disappointed when they ended up together.
But maybe that’s the point. Perhaps the point was that he was making a mistake, but that this mistake would help him grow. At the beginning of the film he is… kind of a jerk, emotionally blind, “chronically enfeebled” as Stacey says. But over the course of the movie, he grows up; he matures. Ramona is the same way, she is just running from the past. In one scene that mirrors Scott talking about his and Knives’s relationship, Ramona tells him she was dating him because he was “easy.” This is the same thing that happened between Scott and Knives. Both Scott and Ramona were trying something simple and pleasant, trying to ignore the past, trying not to grow up. If you think about it, Scott’s reasons for dating Ramona are very shallow. He sees her in a dream and at a party. Boom. He thinks she’s “the one” and he two-times Knives.
Ramona, on the other hand, seems cold and distant. She’s trying to stay one step ahead of the game. Scott hits the nail right on the head when he says “I know you act aloof to avoid getting hurt.” What does she do when she’s forced to be in the same presence of Lucas Lee, one of her exes; a reminder of her past? She disappears. This seemed random and pointless at the time; it seemed like an out-of-the-blue basis for emotional tension. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense, and actually made a better case for Ramona’s characterization. If you’ll notice, Ramona usually does try and avoid the Exes whenever possible. During the Lucas Lee fight, she found the chance to slip away and escape her past again. Both Scott and Ramona display different kinds of emotional immaturity. Ramona says “Maybe I’m not the one you should be fighting for.” Scott realizes he needs to find a purpose, something greater than beating the level and getting the princess. Hence, the Power of Self-Respect. So maybe his ending up with Ramona is the best way to end it. Both have matured and grown past what ruined their relationship before. And if hey, maybe they aren’t meant for each other, but they now have the maturity to accept their mistakes and learn from them. This film is all about experiencing life, making mistakes, learning from them, getting up, getting over, and growing up.
CHARACTER STUFF (A.K.A. the movie is really well cast and here’s why):
Knives definitely had a more dominant, overarching role in the story. In the graphic novels, she is largely irrelevant by Volume 6. Which works well, since within the span of this 2-hour flick, her motivations and actions are surprisingly noncompressed. I found some subtle differences in character: in the books, Knives is a normal, relatively unremarkable teenager who is flushed out more after she and Scott break up, which could be attributed to this being one of the first real emotional experiences of her young life (She mentions to Scott that she has never kissed a boy, nor did she “know good music existed” until she met him). In the movie, it seemed like she displayed quite a few of her… more unstable tendancies from the moment we first meet her. I acknowledge that this is important; after all, in a movie, you need a character to grab the viewer’s attention almost immediately. Ellen Wong herself does a great Knives, and despite what I just said above, she’s able to really distinguish Knives as she delves further and further into obssession, and it is hilarious.
Honestly, I don’t think Stephen Stills gets enough credit in this movie. if anything, he’s more neurotic and obsessed with “making it big” than in the graphic novels. I like him in this regard; how many of us started bands in high school/college/out-of-college with aspirations to become the next big thing? If you look closely, Stephen Stills is the only one in the band, in his entire group of friends for that matter, with any real plan/ambition for his life. In the same way that Scott appeals to that driftlessness we all felt at that stage in life, Stephen Stills appeals to all the plans that we had and either flopped on or lost interest in.
Wallace Wells, played by Kieran Culkin, steals the show. I was very skeptical of Culkin at first, even moreso that Cera. He seemed too nerdy-looking and awkward to properly portray Wallace’s pseudo-suave, snarky style. In short, he does. His deadpan responses to Scott, his ahem way with the men-folk, and his overall chameleon-like ability to slip into the role.
Kim Pine didn’t recieve nearly enough attention. Though she is a world-class deadpan snarker, and is the subject of a lot of good jokes. However, their past (Which has much significance) is rarely explored, though frequently brought to attention. There are multiple referrences made to the fact that she and Scott dated in high school, and it is made very clear that there is some emotional tension between them. This is never explored or expanded on. Near the end, Scott says “I’m sorry about everything… I’m sorry about me.” This would be heartwarming and profound… if there was any buildup or grounds for his apology. However, it’s very clear that Scott has hurt her, moreso here than in the books. Every time she looks at him, every time he says “Kim and I are all cool now,” she shoots him “daggers of death” eyes. He says this again in regards to Knives, another person he’s hurt. But he’s unwilling to see it, tying back into his initial emotional immaturity. Another (rather minor) issue I have with Kim is her hair. It looks like a clumsily made wig constructed out of tufts of orange hair that were glued together. Lame, I know, but it bothered me.
Envy was… interesting. Naturally, she’s a super-bitch, but she seems too far on the “antagonist” side to the point where she doesn’t even have a personality outside of… being a bitch. The actress’s performence, while it works in that respect, is still very one-dimensional. Granted, in the movie Envy plays a far lesser role, but I expect some humanity from my soulless pop-divas, thnk you very much! However, one could attribute this to the fact that he’s unwilling to admit the fact that their break-up was somewhat harmful to both sides, hence why she’s so cold. I found it kind of amusing that The Clash at Demonhead’s song features, bass, drums, guitar, and keyboard, but the only instruments being played onstage were bass and drums.
The Evil Exes were all great in their respective performances. I could spend this paragraph gushing about them, but you don’t want to read that. I will say, though, that they are all amazing, over-the-top bosses (ESPECIALLY the large ham that is Satya Bhabha’s Matthew Patel)… with the exception of the infamous Twins. As you may have heard/gleaned from the trailers, they are no longer roboticists, but a Japanese music duo that Sex Bob-omb must take on. My problem is that the twins have no personality; they say nothing. I know it was intentional, but the other exes were all smug jerks you you felt like you would want to punch in real life. The twins just feel like faceless goons. It felt like the movie still wanted a cool scene, but figured, “OK, who cares about these guys? We wanna see Gideon!” I gotta give special props to Jason Schwartzman, who plays Gideon. He does Gideon’s passive-aggressive, pseudo-amicable personality so well. This was a Gideon that I hated. I felt like the book version had better characterization, but the movie version was more villainous and smug (Especially considering certain decisions Ramona makes in the third act of the movie).
Well, those are my thoughts (lame conclusion, I know. Conclusion paragraphs were where I always got stuck in essays in fifth grade. How can you not repeat the opening?). The characters, sub-plots, fight scenes, humor, and surrealism add up to a great experience. It’s easily now one of my favorite movies. Maybe not one of the greatest movies, but one of my favorites. I’m looking forward to watching this film years later and seeing my kids not getting it. Then I will tell them of a magical time, when I would break out into musical fights with my girlfriend’s exes, bands played three second songs, love could transform into swords, and it seemed like there were more blogs than there were computers.
Quite simply, I loved it. As a fan of the graphic novels, I guess that’s to be expected, but I tried going in with a blanl-slate-perspective and… I still loved. Like the books, the movie will appeal to anyone of the “plugged-in” generation of the 80’s and 90’s. It embodies not only the hard-and-fast changes of pop culture that we’re so would up in, but also how we take it in stride. For instance, in one scene, Scott goes to the bathroom, where a “pee bar” appears and is drained as he… does what people usually do in the bathroom. He steps out into a high school hallway, clearly dreaming. It’s this kind of transition that is at once creative and, oddly enough, easy to follow. I saw this multiple times and none of my companions (Of which there were multiple motley crews of) raised a “WTF.” In a comic book, such a transition is easy, simply being panel-to-panel, but the movie has preserved this sense of quick-change remarkably well. Sometimes it feels like the movie is lampooning itself for this, and text will often appear, reading things like, “Later,” or “And then it was time.”
Another thing I thought was clever was in one of the Evil Ex fights, where Scott is punched in the face and a “WHAM!” sound effect appears (yes, appears) behind him. A second punch sends Scott backward, shattering the sound effect. In fact, immediately after, you can see the shards scattering onto the floor. There’s a lot of these little subtleties throughout the movie. For instance, when Scott tosses aside a “Clash at Demonhead” album, it lands in the “Beck” section. Beck did a lot of the music in the film, Sex Bob-omb in specific. Another time, when evil ex Todd Ingram is using his powers against Scott for the first time, the waves of psychic force radiating outward actually erase The Clash at Demonhead’s drummer from the wall. This is a reference to her ninja-esque ability to teleport. In fact, in that saem part of the book, it mentions that she “wants to blend into the wall like an awesome ninja.”
The filmography as a whole is very impressive. The action is contant and kinetic. Though the sound effects, etc. leap out at you, they never seem obnoxiously in-your-face. The action scenes and cinematography in general were great. Everything was very well-framed and you never got a sense of the focus being to broad or too narrow, which is an easy pitfall for many action movies.
In fact, I was very impressed with the fights. Each one is individual and fun to watch. They could have easily made them repetive and boring. I mean, hey, seven big fight scenes? Seven bosses? Isn’t the audience going to stop caring after the first 3 fisticuff-matches? Of course not. One of the ex’s fights is a cross between a Street Fighter match and a Bollywood musical. Another’s is a brawl between two bands who each spawn beasts made out of sound to fight. One of the ex’s sends in his stunt team. There’s a fast-paced ninja fight. A sword duel. A bass-off. All these fights are memorable and amazing in their own way, from a choreographical, narrative, and technical standpoint.
I’m going to address one of everyone’s biggest worries right off: Michael Cera. Most people I talked to said they liked the look of the film but were hesitant about seeing it because Cera was leading. He’s often lampooned for playing the same character in all his works, which I don’t think is a bad thing as long as the character is written that way, but Scott is very emotive and dynamic, and I too was skeptical about Michael Cera’s ability to pull it off. Luckily, Cera passes the trial with flying colors. Though he is still awkward, he is more expressive and is a perfect fit for Scott’s character.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Ramona Flowers is heavily defined within the conext of her and Scott’s relationship so I’ll talk about that here. It seems a lot of people were complaining about the relationship; Scott seems to be kind of a douche and Ramona is aloof and a little cold. Many were disappointed when they ended up together.
But maybe that’s the point. Perhaps the point was that he was making a mistake, but that this mistake would help him grow. At the beginning of the film he is… kind of a jerk, emotionally blind, “chronically enfeebled” as Stacey says. But over the course of the movie, he grows up; he matures. Ramona is the same way, she is just running from the past. In one scene that mirrors Scott talking about his and Knives’s relationship, Ramona tells him she was dating him because he was “easy.” This is the same thing that happened between Scott and Knives. Both Scott and Ramona were trying something simple and pleasant, trying to ignore the past, trying not to grow up. If you think about it, Scott’s reasons for dating Ramona are very shallow. He sees her in a dream and at a party. Boom. He thinks she’s “the one” and he two-times Knives.
Ramona, on the other hand, seems cold and distant. She’s trying to stay one step ahead of the game. Scott hits the nail right on the head when he says “I know you act aloof to avoid getting hurt.” What does she do when she’s forced to be in the same presence of Lucas Lee, one of her exes; a reminder of her past? She disappears. This seemed random and pointless at the time; it seemed like an out-of-the-blue basis for emotional tension. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense, and actually made a better case for Ramona’s characterization. If you’ll notice, Ramona usually does try and avoid the Exes whenever possible. During the Lucas Lee fight, she found the chance to slip away and escape her past again. Both Scott and Ramona display different kinds of emotional immaturity. Ramona says “Maybe I’m not the one you should be fighting for.” Scott realizes he needs to find a purpose, something greater than beating the level and getting the princess. Hence, the Power of Self-Respect. So maybe his ending up with Ramona is the best way to end it. Both have matured and grown past what ruined their relationship before. And if hey, maybe they aren’t meant for each other, but they now have the maturity to accept their mistakes and learn from them. This film is all about experiencing life, making mistakes, learning from them, getting up, getting over, and growing up.
CHARACTER STUFF (A.K.A. the movie is really well cast and here’s why):
Knives definitely had a more dominant, overarching role in the story. In the graphic novels, she is largely irrelevant by Volume 6. Which works well, since within the span of this 2-hour flick, her motivations and actions are surprisingly noncompressed. I found some subtle differences in character: in the books, Knives is a normal, relatively unremarkable teenager who is flushed out more after she and Scott break up, which could be attributed to this being one of the first real emotional experiences of her young life (She mentions to Scott that she has never kissed a boy, nor did she “know good music existed” until she met him). In the movie, it seemed like she displayed quite a few of her… more unstable tendancies from the moment we first meet her. I acknowledge that this is important; after all, in a movie, you need a character to grab the viewer’s attention almost immediately. Ellen Wong herself does a great Knives, and despite what I just said above, she’s able to really distinguish Knives as she delves further and further into obssession, and it is hilarious.
Honestly, I don’t think Stephen Stills gets enough credit in this movie. if anything, he’s more neurotic and obsessed with “making it big” than in the graphic novels. I like him in this regard; how many of us started bands in high school/college/out-of-college with aspirations to become the next big thing? If you look closely, Stephen Stills is the only one in the band, in his entire group of friends for that matter, with any real plan/ambition for his life. In the same way that Scott appeals to that driftlessness we all felt at that stage in life, Stephen Stills appeals to all the plans that we had and either flopped on or lost interest in.
Wallace Wells, played by Kieran Culkin, steals the show. I was very skeptical of Culkin at first, even moreso that Cera. He seemed too nerdy-looking and awkward to properly portray Wallace’s pseudo-suave, snarky style. In short, he does. His deadpan responses to Scott, his ahem way with the men-folk, and his overall chameleon-like ability to slip into the role.
Kim Pine didn’t recieve nearly enough attention. Though she is a world-class deadpan snarker, and is the subject of a lot of good jokes. However, their past (Which has much significance) is rarely explored, though frequently brought to attention. There are multiple referrences made to the fact that she and Scott dated in high school, and it is made very clear that there is some emotional tension between them. This is never explored or expanded on. Near the end, Scott says “I’m sorry about everything… I’m sorry about me.” This would be heartwarming and profound… if there was any buildup or grounds for his apology. However, it’s very clear that Scott has hurt her, moreso here than in the books. Every time she looks at him, every time he says “Kim and I are all cool now,” she shoots him “daggers of death” eyes. He says this again in regards to Knives, another person he’s hurt. But he’s unwilling to see it, tying back into his initial emotional immaturity. Another (rather minor) issue I have with Kim is her hair. It looks like a clumsily made wig constructed out of tufts of orange hair that were glued together. Lame, I know, but it bothered me.
Envy was… interesting. Naturally, she’s a super-bitch, but she seems too far on the “antagonist” side to the point where she doesn’t even have a personality outside of… being a bitch. The actress’s performence, while it works in that respect, is still very one-dimensional. Granted, in the movie Envy plays a far lesser role, but I expect some humanity from my soulless pop-divas, thnk you very much! However, one could attribute this to the fact that he’s unwilling to admit the fact that their break-up was somewhat harmful to both sides, hence why she’s so cold. I found it kind of amusing that The Clash at Demonhead’s song features, bass, drums, guitar, and keyboard, but the only instruments being played onstage were bass and drums.
The Evil Exes were all great in their respective performances. I could spend this paragraph gushing about them, but you don’t want to read that. I will say, though, that they are all amazing, over-the-top bosses (ESPECIALLY the large ham that is Satya Bhabha’s Matthew Patel)… with the exception of the infamous Twins. As you may have heard/gleaned from the trailers, they are no longer roboticists, but a Japanese music duo that Sex Bob-omb must take on. My problem is that the twins have no personality; they say nothing. I know it was intentional, but the other exes were all smug jerks you you felt like you would want to punch in real life. The twins just feel like faceless goons. It felt like the movie still wanted a cool scene, but figured, “OK, who cares about these guys? We wanna see Gideon!” I gotta give special props to Jason Schwartzman, who plays Gideon. He does Gideon’s passive-aggressive, pseudo-amicable personality so well. This was a Gideon that I hated. I felt like the book version had better characterization, but the movie version was more villainous and smug (Especially considering certain decisions Ramona makes in the third act of the movie).
Well, those are my thoughts (lame conclusion, I know. Conclusion paragraphs were where I always got stuck in essays in fifth grade. How can you not repeat the opening?). The characters, sub-plots, fight scenes, humor, and surrealism add up to a great experience. It’s easily now one of my favorite movies. Maybe not one of the greatest movies, but one of my favorites. I’m looking forward to watching this film years later and seeing my kids not getting it. Then I will tell them of a magical time, when I would break out into musical fights with my girlfriend’s exes, bands played three second songs, love could transform into swords, and it seemed like there were more blogs than there were computers.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
((Sorry for the mass send but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7CpPfGLWC8 OHBOYOHBOYOHBOY))
UM I'M REALLY NOT HIP WITH L4D so i can't totally comprehend the significance, but it's cool
Monday, August 2, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
SCOTT PILGRIM'S FINEST HOUR
Rarely have I found works I love as much as Scott Pilgrim. Where to begin? The crazy-ass plot? The quirky-ass characters? The kicking-ass fights? The video game and pop culture parodies? Well, I suppose I’ll start at the end: Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. I’ve got some PRETTY INTERESTING thoughts (read: lengthy drivel) on the latest installment, but first let me warm you up with some MISADVENTUROUS TALES.
Giddy all throughout meddlesome summer shindiggery, I nabbed my Scott Pilgrim-loving friend with a car and we set off for the nearest Borders. The nearest one turned out to be several miles away, where sales tax is about 10% of the item, BUT I DIGRESS. We arrived and promptly prowled about for the graphic novel section, concluding after going in circles a few times that it was in fact on the second floor. Ascending the Carpetted Staircase, we reached the top to find a colorful display greeting us. And what should be on this display but the Scott Pilgrim series? We took the copies further back on the display (i.e. those less likely to have been manhandled), and did our preliminary flip-through, wherein we we flip through all the pages really fast and try to discern the story.
“Scott got impaled by an angel”
“I think I saw someone with a gun”
“I’m prrrreettttyyyy sure Stephen Stills is in this one.”
And then, like the cool kats we are, we descended the stairs with our copies, reading in unison. We headed back to the car with our trophies of consumer conquest and a toblerone bar (The official Snack of Scott Pilgrim) and had a fantastical ride back home filled with wonderful Swiss delicacies, Reel Big Fish, Dr. Horrible, and me trying to dissuade my companion from reading while she drove (We decided that finishing first would be a competition). I got home, promising to give her a 15-minute head start. After an irking quarter-hour, I plunged into it with my Blade of Literacy.
‘Kay now: thoughts. There gonna be some massive spoilers from here on out, so I must ask ye faint of heart and ye faint of story-spilling to turn away at this time.
I’ll start with Gideon. One of the things I was looking forward to most in Volume 6 was this guy. I was expecting him to be a more aloof character, as he appeared in Volume 3, for instance, and initially that’s what he seems like (Like when he’s having Envy try on outfits). I think this is because, as the Final Boss, the Big Bad, I was expecting him to be more detached, less a character and more a figure of power and antagonism. But I’m glad how, in a single volume, Gideon is developed basically from the ground up into a real character on par with Scott or Ramona. I rather like his surface act of being an ‘okay guy,’ when in actuality, he’s a twisted genius.
I, like a lot of people will, saw Gideon as what Scott might have become, especially when he reveals his stasis-sealed ex-girlfriends. He is clinging to his past, his imagined past, the same way Scott was revealed to be doing at the beginning of the book. When Gideon is forced to confront the fact that his paradigm of the past might be wrong, he refuses, just as Scott was when he was confronting his dark side.
He would have lost, too, if not for Ramona. Or rather, he would have lost if he had simply tried to forget what he had with Ramona. Near the end of Volume 5, Scott and Ramona are both forced to accept their faults. They both deal with it in their own ways: Ramona runs from it, Scott tries to forget it and start over by reverting to his old slacker life. In trying to forget Ramona, he tries to escape even further, going back to his ex-girlfriends with... awkward propositions.
When Scott fights his darker self, there are 2 possible outcomes: Either he forgets all his mistakes, glazing over the past, and invariably screwing up again, or he allows his faults to corrupt him as a person, turning him “evil.” With Ramona, however, he realizes that he can still move forward with all his baggage. She just needs to learn how to do the same thing. This ties into the theme of getting up, getting over, and moving on that is prevailent in this volume.
Scott reverts to and remains trapped in his default ‘slacker’ life, but he remains in the security of the past and forgetting the mistakes he made, while his friends have all moved on without him. Stephen Stills has come out, Julie moves away, Kim is gone, and Knives is, gasp, over him. It seems to me that he regressed this way after he broke up with Envy, as well, and it’s why he has a complete mental shutdown in Volume 2 when she calls him: the past is coming back to face him. Incidentally, previous to Volume 6’s release, I speculated that Scott had become temporarily evil after his breakup with Envy, Negascott being his ‘evil self.’ I guess in the end, I was half-right.
Going back to Gideon, he is Scott’s opposite number: he’s a successful entrepeneur, a genius, a millionare, and he took the path opposite Scott’s in terms of dealing with himself. I thought it interesting that the headglow was, in fact, Gideon’s doing, implying that Scott’s portrayal of himself as the ‘hero’ and forgetting all his misdeeds, was Gideon’s fault too. And since he apparently has the ability to do this to anyone, that makes him the devil; the darkness in everyone’s hearts.
This makes Gideon not only a compelling character, but also a force of nature. This is connected with Gideon himself being ‘trapped in his own head.’ He couldn’t deal with himself and is unreceptive to the needs of others, which is why his past paradigm is different from reality, while Scott’s are implied to be implanted. I guess it goes to show how keeping your problems locked up inside you only damages your ability to deal with change. In fact, it’s possible that one of the reasons Scott’s highschool flashback occurs at the beginning of Volume 2 is that, chronologically, that’s when Gideon put it there.
On a completely different note, I’d like to talk about growth in the series, because that’s what I feel the series is about: Growth. Scott is stuck in a loop, always going back to the easy way of doing things. Ramona is also trapped this way: She runs from herself and tries to adopt a new self. After Scott meets Ramona, he begins turning into a more responsible person and is maturing, like gaining the Power of Love. Ramona sees Scott as something different, something she doesn’t need to run away from. As Scott defeats her evil exes (i.e. overcoming her own personal issues), their relationship grows. However, around Volume 5, they begin reverting back to their old patterns; Scott is complacent and Ramona wants to escape. From here, it’s regression. Ramona disappears and Scott becomes a complete slacker again. From there, they learn how to move on, while at the same time dealing with their issues, not avoiding them. Defeating Gideon is the point where the begin dealing with things together and directly (And with Dual Techs).
I think one of the reasons Scott finds his relationship with Ramona fulfilling is because it’s straightforward: Clear the level, beat the boss, save the princess, rinse, repeat. In Volume 5, he finds that it’s more that. The reason things fall apart is because Ramona isn’t ready for that; she isn’t holding on. She’s ready to change, to run away again. Things have been falling into routine for her, and she can’t handle it. This is why I like the ending: They’ve both learned to deal with themselves; to hold on instead of running. I think this growth cycle makes sense, considering a lot of SP is based of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s own twentysomething-hood.
I enjoyed Scott gaining the Power of Understanding. It takes guts to say “I love you,” but it takes real maturity and character to be able to understand why they say it, how they mean it, and how they express it. Gideon gets the Power of Love, but the Power of Understanding is harder to attain and more… I don’t want to say “important,” but that’s the only word that fits. It’s knowing what drives others, why they do what they do, and most importantly of all, recognizing what you have to do. Love doesn’t necessarily make you a better person. Understanding does.
I had a few predictions about the final volume, of course. I sort of thought that Gideon was going to turn out to be an okay-kinda-guy, which he does pretend to be. Rarely are his words anything but amiable, and surely no one who says “buddy,” “holmes,” and variants thereof can be that bad, right? (The answer is yes, you cheater. F- See me after class) I also thought that Gideon was going to have a super second form, as most final bosses tend to do (Unless you count that crazy-muscled dream form), but as I said before, Gideon’s more than just a “final boss.” When I got my hands on Volume 6, I saw that the back cover showed Scott and Co. fighting all the Evil Exes, so I thought Scott would have to do a “boss rush,” like in the Megaman games before you face Wily. When the ex-girlfriends’ stasis capsules descended, I thought they were ‘regeneration pods’ containing the 6 revived Evil Exes. In hindsight, I guess that would have been pretty tiresome.
I didn’t expect Envy to go with Gideon, though it makes sense. I don’t know what I think about her new design, considering it looks almost nothing like how she appeared earlier, but you know how celebrities get when they go solo.
I know a lot of people (Including my aforementioned friend/driving slave) wanted Scott to end up with Kim Pine, and he does indeed try, but that would just be falling back onto an imagined, idealized past. Scott says that Kim is a “constant” and with her, everything is “uncomplicated,” but it’s the desire for the stable, constant, and uncomplicated that led him to where he is now. I’m a little disappointed that Wallace didn’t appear in the epilogue; he’s one of my favorites. And what about Mobile? Sure, he’s less than a secondary character, and sure he appears, but he gets no intro card, no lines, and his psychic powers never actually… do anything. But whatevs.
You know what else is just weird? How there’s always a videogame-themed band during Scott’s slacker periods. I don’t think ”Shatterband” is a reference to anything, though, so yaaay progress!
I’m happy with what happened to Young Neil. I know BLO doesn’t really like him so much, and writes him as kind of dopey, but I’ve always liked him. I feel he got his own little Moment of Awesome right here.
Hooray for Neil! Also him and Stacey= Totally! They have so much in common! Like, um, the amount of times they’ve each smiled (I think it’s like 3 or 4). I guess it’s weird to be so interested in this minor character, but his whole purpose is to be minor. He’s had his own little arc throughout the series: He was Stephen Stills’ roommate, one of the guys. Then Knives comes and usurps his status as the “young one” and Sex Bob-omb’s biggest fan. He tries dating Knives, but she only wants Scott, and of course, he grows sullen as no one hangs out with him. His own precious little life is in shambles. By Volume 5, he’s kind of a dick. This panel here is his own finale, his own little coming-of-age. Good job, Neil!
Like Volume 5, this book isn’t as quirky and easygoing as the other 4 volumes, it’s a little more serious, but I liked it. I liked how Gideon himself had some great, funny moments, y’know, they ones that weren’t completely twisted and insane. (I mean dude… emotional warfare?)
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Giddy all throughout meddlesome summer shindiggery, I nabbed my Scott Pilgrim-loving friend with a car and we set off for the nearest Borders. The nearest one turned out to be several miles away, where sales tax is about 10% of the item, BUT I DIGRESS. We arrived and promptly prowled about for the graphic novel section, concluding after going in circles a few times that it was in fact on the second floor. Ascending the Carpetted Staircase, we reached the top to find a colorful display greeting us. And what should be on this display but the Scott Pilgrim series? We took the copies further back on the display (i.e. those less likely to have been manhandled), and did our preliminary flip-through, wherein we we flip through all the pages really fast and try to discern the story.
“Scott got impaled by an angel”
“I think I saw someone with a gun”
“I’m prrrreettttyyyy sure Stephen Stills is in this one.”
And then, like the cool kats we are, we descended the stairs with our copies, reading in unison. We headed back to the car with our trophies of consumer conquest and a toblerone bar (The official Snack of Scott Pilgrim) and had a fantastical ride back home filled with wonderful Swiss delicacies, Reel Big Fish, Dr. Horrible, and me trying to dissuade my companion from reading while she drove (We decided that finishing first would be a competition). I got home, promising to give her a 15-minute head start. After an irking quarter-hour, I plunged into it with my Blade of Literacy.
‘Kay now: thoughts. There gonna be some massive spoilers from here on out, so I must ask ye faint of heart and ye faint of story-spilling to turn away at this time.
I’ll start with Gideon. One of the things I was looking forward to most in Volume 6 was this guy. I was expecting him to be a more aloof character, as he appeared in Volume 3, for instance, and initially that’s what he seems like (Like when he’s having Envy try on outfits). I think this is because, as the Final Boss, the Big Bad, I was expecting him to be more detached, less a character and more a figure of power and antagonism. But I’m glad how, in a single volume, Gideon is developed basically from the ground up into a real character on par with Scott or Ramona. I rather like his surface act of being an ‘okay guy,’ when in actuality, he’s a twisted genius.
I, like a lot of people will, saw Gideon as what Scott might have become, especially when he reveals his stasis-sealed ex-girlfriends. He is clinging to his past, his imagined past, the same way Scott was revealed to be doing at the beginning of the book. When Gideon is forced to confront the fact that his paradigm of the past might be wrong, he refuses, just as Scott was when he was confronting his dark side.
He would have lost, too, if not for Ramona. Or rather, he would have lost if he had simply tried to forget what he had with Ramona. Near the end of Volume 5, Scott and Ramona are both forced to accept their faults. They both deal with it in their own ways: Ramona runs from it, Scott tries to forget it and start over by reverting to his old slacker life. In trying to forget Ramona, he tries to escape even further, going back to his ex-girlfriends with... awkward propositions.
When Scott fights his darker self, there are 2 possible outcomes: Either he forgets all his mistakes, glazing over the past, and invariably screwing up again, or he allows his faults to corrupt him as a person, turning him “evil.” With Ramona, however, he realizes that he can still move forward with all his baggage. She just needs to learn how to do the same thing. This ties into the theme of getting up, getting over, and moving on that is prevailent in this volume.
Scott reverts to and remains trapped in his default ‘slacker’ life, but he remains in the security of the past and forgetting the mistakes he made, while his friends have all moved on without him. Stephen Stills has come out, Julie moves away, Kim is gone, and Knives is, gasp, over him. It seems to me that he regressed this way after he broke up with Envy, as well, and it’s why he has a complete mental shutdown in Volume 2 when she calls him: the past is coming back to face him. Incidentally, previous to Volume 6’s release, I speculated that Scott had become temporarily evil after his breakup with Envy, Negascott being his ‘evil self.’ I guess in the end, I was half-right.
Going back to Gideon, he is Scott’s opposite number: he’s a successful entrepeneur, a genius, a millionare, and he took the path opposite Scott’s in terms of dealing with himself. I thought it interesting that the headglow was, in fact, Gideon’s doing, implying that Scott’s portrayal of himself as the ‘hero’ and forgetting all his misdeeds, was Gideon’s fault too. And since he apparently has the ability to do this to anyone, that makes him the devil; the darkness in everyone’s hearts.
This makes Gideon not only a compelling character, but also a force of nature. This is connected with Gideon himself being ‘trapped in his own head.’ He couldn’t deal with himself and is unreceptive to the needs of others, which is why his past paradigm is different from reality, while Scott’s are implied to be implanted. I guess it goes to show how keeping your problems locked up inside you only damages your ability to deal with change. In fact, it’s possible that one of the reasons Scott’s highschool flashback occurs at the beginning of Volume 2 is that, chronologically, that’s when Gideon put it there.
On a completely different note, I’d like to talk about growth in the series, because that’s what I feel the series is about: Growth. Scott is stuck in a loop, always going back to the easy way of doing things. Ramona is also trapped this way: She runs from herself and tries to adopt a new self. After Scott meets Ramona, he begins turning into a more responsible person and is maturing, like gaining the Power of Love. Ramona sees Scott as something different, something she doesn’t need to run away from. As Scott defeats her evil exes (i.e. overcoming her own personal issues), their relationship grows. However, around Volume 5, they begin reverting back to their old patterns; Scott is complacent and Ramona wants to escape. From here, it’s regression. Ramona disappears and Scott becomes a complete slacker again. From there, they learn how to move on, while at the same time dealing with their issues, not avoiding them. Defeating Gideon is the point where the begin dealing with things together and directly (And with Dual Techs).
I think one of the reasons Scott finds his relationship with Ramona fulfilling is because it’s straightforward: Clear the level, beat the boss, save the princess, rinse, repeat. In Volume 5, he finds that it’s more that. The reason things fall apart is because Ramona isn’t ready for that; she isn’t holding on. She’s ready to change, to run away again. Things have been falling into routine for her, and she can’t handle it. This is why I like the ending: They’ve both learned to deal with themselves; to hold on instead of running. I think this growth cycle makes sense, considering a lot of SP is based of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s own twentysomething-hood.
I enjoyed Scott gaining the Power of Understanding. It takes guts to say “I love you,” but it takes real maturity and character to be able to understand why they say it, how they mean it, and how they express it. Gideon gets the Power of Love, but the Power of Understanding is harder to attain and more… I don’t want to say “important,” but that’s the only word that fits. It’s knowing what drives others, why they do what they do, and most importantly of all, recognizing what you have to do. Love doesn’t necessarily make you a better person. Understanding does.
I had a few predictions about the final volume, of course. I sort of thought that Gideon was going to turn out to be an okay-kinda-guy, which he does pretend to be. Rarely are his words anything but amiable, and surely no one who says “buddy,” “holmes,” and variants thereof can be that bad, right? (The answer is yes, you cheater. F- See me after class) I also thought that Gideon was going to have a super second form, as most final bosses tend to do (Unless you count that crazy-muscled dream form), but as I said before, Gideon’s more than just a “final boss.” When I got my hands on Volume 6, I saw that the back cover showed Scott and Co. fighting all the Evil Exes, so I thought Scott would have to do a “boss rush,” like in the Megaman games before you face Wily. When the ex-girlfriends’ stasis capsules descended, I thought they were ‘regeneration pods’ containing the 6 revived Evil Exes. In hindsight, I guess that would have been pretty tiresome.
I didn’t expect Envy to go with Gideon, though it makes sense. I don’t know what I think about her new design, considering it looks almost nothing like how she appeared earlier, but you know how celebrities get when they go solo.
I know a lot of people (Including my aforementioned friend/driving slave) wanted Scott to end up with Kim Pine, and he does indeed try, but that would just be falling back onto an imagined, idealized past. Scott says that Kim is a “constant” and with her, everything is “uncomplicated,” but it’s the desire for the stable, constant, and uncomplicated that led him to where he is now. I’m a little disappointed that Wallace didn’t appear in the epilogue; he’s one of my favorites. And what about Mobile? Sure, he’s less than a secondary character, and sure he appears, but he gets no intro card, no lines, and his psychic powers never actually… do anything. But whatevs.
You know what else is just weird? How there’s always a videogame-themed band during Scott’s slacker periods. I don’t think ”Shatterband” is a reference to anything, though, so yaaay progress!
I’m happy with what happened to Young Neil. I know BLO doesn’t really like him so much, and writes him as kind of dopey, but I’ve always liked him. I feel he got his own little Moment of Awesome right here.
Hooray for Neil! Also him and Stacey= Totally! They have so much in common! Like, um, the amount of times they’ve each smiled (I think it’s like 3 or 4). I guess it’s weird to be so interested in this minor character, but his whole purpose is to be minor. He’s had his own little arc throughout the series: He was Stephen Stills’ roommate, one of the guys. Then Knives comes and usurps his status as the “young one” and Sex Bob-omb’s biggest fan. He tries dating Knives, but she only wants Scott, and of course, he grows sullen as no one hangs out with him. His own precious little life is in shambles. By Volume 5, he’s kind of a dick. This panel here is his own finale, his own little coming-of-age. Good job, Neil!
Like Volume 5, this book isn’t as quirky and easygoing as the other 4 volumes, it’s a little more serious, but I liked it. I liked how Gideon himself had some great, funny moments, y’know, they ones that weren’t completely twisted and insane. (I mean dude… emotional warfare?)
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Friday, July 16, 2010
Telephone Perturbance
I’m going to be completely honest with you. I hate talking on the phone. It’s not that I don’t like people or am a sociopath still clinging to my telegram, it’s the lack of actual contact. In fact, it’s worse than that; it’s the illusion of actual contact. Just because you can hear someone’s voice doesn’t mean it can replicate a face-to-face connection. However, I can have hours-long IM conversations, and why? Because it completely removes the illusion of contact. I’ve gotta be all-or-nothing, otherwise it feels fake.
Think about it. On the phone, a single awkward pause can destroy the illusion of real communication. Of course, the other problems are lack of facial expression and body language, which really puts me off. As one who takes an interest in psychology, I try to not only listen to peoples’ words, but observe their actions and how they conduct themselves. This is why I prefer video chat. I feel like the phone is an effigy; it’s a poor substitute for real, personal contact. It almost feels like the responses from the other end of the line are recorded. Which, when you think about it, isn’t hard to imagine. Just the thought turns me off to phone conversations.
Think about it. On the phone, a single awkward pause can destroy the illusion of real communication. Of course, the other problems are lack of facial expression and body language, which really puts me off. As one who takes an interest in psychology, I try to not only listen to peoples’ words, but observe their actions and how they conduct themselves. This is why I prefer video chat. I feel like the phone is an effigy; it’s a poor substitute for real, personal contact. It almost feels like the responses from the other end of the line are recorded. Which, when you think about it, isn’t hard to imagine. Just the thought turns me off to phone conversations.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
I object! I do not sound like a bot. See I'm UNPREDICTABLE RIpiur939u9))W9FDJ betcha didn't see that comin'...question mark.
Blastit Rachael, it seems you bested me.
I take off my hat to you, ma'am
You're super intellegent for someone your age. It's amazing!
Well thanks, anonymous! It's not really a question, but I appreciate the compliment.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Did you just run out of creative things to say?
If you sound like a bot, I don't think you're one to talk about creativity. [/bitterness]
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Do you think people we see in our dreams are out there somewhere?
I think that the people in are dreams are those we already, whether we've met them or not [/vagueresponse]
Have you ever looked in the mirror or a pane of glass and your face looked different than in pictures?
I'm pretty sure pictures go out of their way to deface my normal-looking image.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
If you could go back in time 10 years and tell your younger self something, what would it be?
I wouldn't tell myself anything. I'd just help me with my Lego project. I know because I remember myself stepping through a time portal and helping me.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What all kids wanted to be: A Spy-scientist-video-game-developer-astronaut. Ah yes, childhood was the age of amalgamations of professions. I think the call it "intersizing." Sure would be cost-efficient if you had just one guy who could perform a whole bunch of awesome tasks
What was your favorite movie as a child?
StarwarsstarwarsStarwarsstarwarsStarwarsstarwarsStarwarsstarwarsStarwarsstarwars
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Cereal is Gross
Cereal is a terrible breakfast food.
First off, have you ever been excited about cereal? At a breakfast buffet, are like, "Hmm, what will I- OH MAN CHEERIOS." No, it's something you have when you don't know what you want for breakfast. That already places it at a pretty mediocre level right off the bat.
You start off. You pour little tasteless flakes covered in sugaring glaze or whatnot, stuff that's barely passable as low-class trail mix, into a bowl. Then you soak them in milk, which isn't too bad since milk rocks, but have you ever tried to drink milk in the morning, just after you've woken up? It feels thick and tasteless and you can barely force the stuff down your throat, yet it's somehow passable if we put it on cereal.
So you start off eating it. It's okay. nothing really leaps out at you, but knowing cereal, all the dust and gribblets are going to be on top, sticking you with eating flavored sand while all the flakes and stuff worth eating drowns in milk. When you get to them, they are devoid of taste and completely soaked. And of course, there is the age old question of how much milk to put in a bowl? Too much, and it's just soggy goop. Too little, and you're basically eating crackers for breakfast.
And, when you're finally done, you look, disappointed, at the pool of bronwish milky remains, which is all that's left. Drinking it is the last thing you want to do, but you feel guilty leaving half of that crap still in there. Whenever I pour it into the disposal, it feels like I'm defiling my sink.
And after all this, it's still not enough! Have you ever tried to get through a morning on nothing but a bowl of cereal? It's the equivalent of crossing the Saharah desert with a bottle of water, or that's what it seems like when you're staring at the lock, willing lunchtime to come faster.
It's ridiculous. And yet, I still eat it every morning.
First off, have you ever been excited about cereal? At a breakfast buffet, are like, "Hmm, what will I- OH MAN CHEERIOS." No, it's something you have when you don't know what you want for breakfast. That already places it at a pretty mediocre level right off the bat.
You start off. You pour little tasteless flakes covered in sugaring glaze or whatnot, stuff that's barely passable as low-class trail mix, into a bowl. Then you soak them in milk, which isn't too bad since milk rocks, but have you ever tried to drink milk in the morning, just after you've woken up? It feels thick and tasteless and you can barely force the stuff down your throat, yet it's somehow passable if we put it on cereal.
So you start off eating it. It's okay. nothing really leaps out at you, but knowing cereal, all the dust and gribblets are going to be on top, sticking you with eating flavored sand while all the flakes and stuff worth eating drowns in milk. When you get to them, they are devoid of taste and completely soaked. And of course, there is the age old question of how much milk to put in a bowl? Too much, and it's just soggy goop. Too little, and you're basically eating crackers for breakfast.
And, when you're finally done, you look, disappointed, at the pool of bronwish milky remains, which is all that's left. Drinking it is the last thing you want to do, but you feel guilty leaving half of that crap still in there. Whenever I pour it into the disposal, it feels like I'm defiling my sink.
And after all this, it's still not enough! Have you ever tried to get through a morning on nothing but a bowl of cereal? It's the equivalent of crossing the Saharah desert with a bottle of water, or that's what it seems like when you're staring at the lock, willing lunchtime to come faster.
It's ridiculous. And yet, I still eat it every morning.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Stars
Stars are pretty awesome. I don't just mean 'awesome,' but AWE-some. Full of awe 'n' all that. Let's put that on the table where we both can see it. You lookin' at it? Good. Now get a blanket, some pillows, let's make a fort! While we do that, I'm going to talk about stars.
They're pretty much the pinnacle of an organized society. Every year, you can chart their locations. They move in a graceful, perpetual dance upon which our entire system of navigation is based. In a very real way, it was these objects of the future (In that we see them now as points to one day get to) that helped us spread ideas and get where we are. That is a beautiful irony.
Even the way they die is amazing. When a star collapses, its elements are actually absorbed into another star. Now you could chalk this up to stars being greedy bastards, but I think it's pretty cool. Even in death, their remains are gathered up and continue on through the great dance.
Stars are sort of used as a theme for one of my favorite characters in theater/literature: Inspector Javert. He has an incredibly rigid justice code and hounds the convict protagonist throughout the story even when he attempts to start a new, honest life. The stars are his inspiration. "Scarce to be counted, filling the darkness, with order and light, you are the sentinels, silent and sure, keeping watch in the night."
It is this view of absolute justice that brings him at odds with the protagonist, Jean Valjean. At one point, Valjean, undercover amongst a group of student revolutionaries, finds that Javert has been captured for spying, and Valjean volunteers to execute him. However, he refuses to vindicate Javert's view of "once a thief, forever a thief." And lets the inspector go, knowing full well they will meet again, which they do, in the sewers of Paris. Valjean is taking a wounded young man to safety when Javert catches up with him. Javert finds himself doubting his convictions and lets Valjean go.
He realizes that his uncompromising world view is at odds with what he has done. He cannot reconcile the image he had carried through the years of Valjean as a brutal ex-convict, with Valjean's acts of kindness. Javert can be justified neither in letting Valjean go nor in arresting him. He is faced with the choice of being either lawful or immoral. For him morality and the law have always been one. He cannot accept that Valjean is both a criminal and a good person, and, unwilling to live in such a world, throws himself into the river Seine. One of my favorite lines in the musical comes from him at this point: "I am reaching, but I falll, and the stars are black and cold."
Going back to stars themselves, this goes to show that, for all our romanticization, the stars are nothing more than masses of plasma and hydrogen, as is our own sun, which humanity once revered as a god. And there I go again. But, then again, I am, as I like to put it, a Hopeful Romantic. I think a lot of people mistake optimism and observance of such things as "hopeless" romanticism. But progress without insight is worth nothing. I mean, there are no great hymns to the wonder of wireless phones (Although that would be pretty ridiculous. We already have ringtones).
In any case, I just wanted to share some musings. Tonight, do me a favor and look up. See if there's something there that you haven't seen. Or something about the things up there that we take for granted.
Hopefully, our fort is done by now. I'd say it's pretty rad. That star thing at the top is pretty cool. Oh snap! Look out! Pirates! Everyone inside the fort! AAAGGHHH
They're pretty much the pinnacle of an organized society. Every year, you can chart their locations. They move in a graceful, perpetual dance upon which our entire system of navigation is based. In a very real way, it was these objects of the future (In that we see them now as points to one day get to) that helped us spread ideas and get where we are. That is a beautiful irony.
Even the way they die is amazing. When a star collapses, its elements are actually absorbed into another star. Now you could chalk this up to stars being greedy bastards, but I think it's pretty cool. Even in death, their remains are gathered up and continue on through the great dance.
Stars are sort of used as a theme for one of my favorite characters in theater/literature: Inspector Javert. He has an incredibly rigid justice code and hounds the convict protagonist throughout the story even when he attempts to start a new, honest life. The stars are his inspiration. "Scarce to be counted, filling the darkness, with order and light, you are the sentinels, silent and sure, keeping watch in the night."
It is this view of absolute justice that brings him at odds with the protagonist, Jean Valjean. At one point, Valjean, undercover amongst a group of student revolutionaries, finds that Javert has been captured for spying, and Valjean volunteers to execute him. However, he refuses to vindicate Javert's view of "once a thief, forever a thief." And lets the inspector go, knowing full well they will meet again, which they do, in the sewers of Paris. Valjean is taking a wounded young man to safety when Javert catches up with him. Javert finds himself doubting his convictions and lets Valjean go.
He realizes that his uncompromising world view is at odds with what he has done. He cannot reconcile the image he had carried through the years of Valjean as a brutal ex-convict, with Valjean's acts of kindness. Javert can be justified neither in letting Valjean go nor in arresting him. He is faced with the choice of being either lawful or immoral. For him morality and the law have always been one. He cannot accept that Valjean is both a criminal and a good person, and, unwilling to live in such a world, throws himself into the river Seine. One of my favorite lines in the musical comes from him at this point: "I am reaching, but I falll, and the stars are black and cold."
Going back to stars themselves, this goes to show that, for all our romanticization, the stars are nothing more than masses of plasma and hydrogen, as is our own sun, which humanity once revered as a god. And there I go again. But, then again, I am, as I like to put it, a Hopeful Romantic. I think a lot of people mistake optimism and observance of such things as "hopeless" romanticism. But progress without insight is worth nothing. I mean, there are no great hymns to the wonder of wireless phones (Although that would be pretty ridiculous. We already have ringtones).
In any case, I just wanted to share some musings. Tonight, do me a favor and look up. See if there's something there that you haven't seen. Or something about the things up there that we take for granted.
Hopefully, our fort is done by now. I'd say it's pretty rad. That star thing at the top is pretty cool. Oh snap! Look out! Pirates! Everyone inside the fort! AAAGGHHH
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
When Life Gives You Lemons
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But, in order to make a legitimate glass of lemonade (any amount, really), lemons alone are wholly insufficient. What, are you just going to squeeze out the juice? You may as well just suck it, gettin' all Stonewall Jackson up in here. General S.J. was a bro. He was like Robert E. Lee-class genius. Such a bro. A secessionist bro, but you get him, his best bud Lee, Alexander the Great, and Sun Tzu in a room and watch world domination happen in a matter of hours. What was I talking about, again? Oh yeah, lemons.
No, you're gonna need, like, sugar and water at least. And have you ever tried mixing sugar, water, and lemons together? That is NOT lemonade. The last you probably made lemonade, it was probably with some strange magical powder from the grocery story (And I'm telling you, that pink is not natural.) So in addition to life giving you lemons, water, sugar, the necessary preservatives to make a typical glass of lemonade, you'd also need the necessary mixing implements. A blender, or at the very least, a toothpick to swirl it around with. And then, of course, you need a cup to put it in. Where else are you going to make it, in your mouth?
No way, life's not going to give any of that. Life's a jerk; a cruel, heartless controller who gives you citrus for no other purpose than to laugh at your inability to transcribe it into a more presentable, palette-friendly state.
When life gives you lemons, you have no other choice but to suck 'em. Like Stonewall Jackson. And then you can take over the world!
Or at least the Union. Damn Yanks!
No, you're gonna need, like, sugar and water at least. And have you ever tried mixing sugar, water, and lemons together? That is NOT lemonade. The last you probably made lemonade, it was probably with some strange magical powder from the grocery story (And I'm telling you, that pink is not natural.) So in addition to life giving you lemons, water, sugar, the necessary preservatives to make a typical glass of lemonade, you'd also need the necessary mixing implements. A blender, or at the very least, a toothpick to swirl it around with. And then, of course, you need a cup to put it in. Where else are you going to make it, in your mouth?
No way, life's not going to give any of that. Life's a jerk; a cruel, heartless controller who gives you citrus for no other purpose than to laugh at your inability to transcribe it into a more presentable, palette-friendly state.
When life gives you lemons, you have no other choice but to suck 'em. Like Stonewall Jackson. And then you can take over the world!
Or at least the Union. Damn Yanks!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Who wants to talk about robots?!
While watching my morning dose of the BBC this morning, I saw the latest techno-marvel from Japan: A robot that, at first, looked identical to the human it was designed after. The first time I looked, they looked like- no, they were twins. Then it began moving in simple, jerky, programmed movements. Despite the obvious hardware deficiencies of the robot, it was still a glimpse of the future deeply immersed in the "uncanny valley." (The point at which something stops resembling a human and begins to look too human (For Xbox 360)) Before i get into that though, I'd like to talk about robots in general.
I do, of course, believe that as robot programming becomes more complex, we will get closer and closer to true 'artificial intelligence,' especially with organizations like the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). Indeed, it may well be possible to achieve 'artificial intelligence.'
"But see here," you must be saying (or you're letting me say it for you, in which allow me to put more words in your mouth: unctuous, uncouth, and Thermopylae. They're all quite tasty) "Artificial intelligence is pure science fiction. Any program, no matter how advanced, must have some boundaries." And you would be right. However, 'artificial' does not mean 'false,' but 'man-made.' Thus, it is 'created intelligence.' And what is intelligence in this context if not sentience? I bring up the greatest (known) sentience engine in all of history: the human brain. The human brain is essentially a machine inlaid with various programs: programs for muscle control, respiration, nervous systems, and, of course, abstract thought. And if you think about it, the human brain already comes with a set of parameters, notably: Social boundaries and chemical limitations. Social boundaries are taught to us from the day we are born and carry such a heavy weight in our minds that they may as well be 'programmed' into us throughout our lives. Chemical limitations refer to stress levels and the ability of the mind to concentrate on multiple things at a time. The brain is the greatest organic computer ever.
So if you really think about it, Artificial Intelligence isn't as far off as it seems. However, once truly sentient robots are introduced, what would our reaction be? Would some see them as nothing but a curiosity, as more mindless automata? What about religious groups? How would production work? I mean, it wouldn't be anything like childbirth; they would have to be produced by a company, most likely for profit. What function would they serve? Is there really a niche for selling sentient beings? We'd have to expand our tolerance, our acceptance, outside the human spectrum and embrace the unfamiliar. 'Inhuman' would be an incorrect term. We are humans, but all sentient beings are people. We would have to make a difficult transition into a new world of tolerance.
And this brings me back to human lookalikes. To give accept a robot, even with sentience, would be easy. By the time AI is truly created, robots will be an everyday part our lives, like common appliances. I've already explained about the 'uncanny valley,' and it really does apply. Would you ever be able to get used to those glass eyes, that doll-like hair, that waxy skin? It's so close to human, yet very alien, like an impostor. Could you ever get used to such a thing? I just thought I'd pose the question. I was just thinking about how far our acceptance can stretch to such things. Think about it, if you will.
If you don't believe how close a robot future is, I'll have you know that a couple in Japan was recently married by a robot. Hopefully we'll one day have Pope John Paul Mk.II, who shall be programmed to be a super-cool guy and an awesome Christian, not a scary German like the current dude.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8685184
I do, of course, believe that as robot programming becomes more complex, we will get closer and closer to true 'artificial intelligence,' especially with organizations like the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). Indeed, it may well be possible to achieve 'artificial intelligence.'
"But see here," you must be saying (or you're letting me say it for you, in which allow me to put more words in your mouth: unctuous, uncouth, and Thermopylae. They're all quite tasty) "Artificial intelligence is pure science fiction. Any program, no matter how advanced, must have some boundaries." And you would be right. However, 'artificial' does not mean 'false,' but 'man-made.' Thus, it is 'created intelligence.' And what is intelligence in this context if not sentience? I bring up the greatest (known) sentience engine in all of history: the human brain. The human brain is essentially a machine inlaid with various programs: programs for muscle control, respiration, nervous systems, and, of course, abstract thought. And if you think about it, the human brain already comes with a set of parameters, notably: Social boundaries and chemical limitations. Social boundaries are taught to us from the day we are born and carry such a heavy weight in our minds that they may as well be 'programmed' into us throughout our lives. Chemical limitations refer to stress levels and the ability of the mind to concentrate on multiple things at a time. The brain is the greatest organic computer ever.
So if you really think about it, Artificial Intelligence isn't as far off as it seems. However, once truly sentient robots are introduced, what would our reaction be? Would some see them as nothing but a curiosity, as more mindless automata? What about religious groups? How would production work? I mean, it wouldn't be anything like childbirth; they would have to be produced by a company, most likely for profit. What function would they serve? Is there really a niche for selling sentient beings? We'd have to expand our tolerance, our acceptance, outside the human spectrum and embrace the unfamiliar. 'Inhuman' would be an incorrect term. We are humans, but all sentient beings are people. We would have to make a difficult transition into a new world of tolerance.
And this brings me back to human lookalikes. To give accept a robot, even with sentience, would be easy. By the time AI is truly created, robots will be an everyday part our lives, like common appliances. I've already explained about the 'uncanny valley,' and it really does apply. Would you ever be able to get used to those glass eyes, that doll-like hair, that waxy skin? It's so close to human, yet very alien, like an impostor. Could you ever get used to such a thing? I just thought I'd pose the question. I was just thinking about how far our acceptance can stretch to such things. Think about it, if you will.
If you don't believe how close a robot future is, I'll have you know that a couple in Japan was recently married by a robot. Hopefully we'll one day have Pope John Paul Mk.II, who shall be programmed to be a super-cool guy and an awesome Christian, not a scary German like the current dude.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8685184
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Age of Anecdotes
So, now that I am on the blogosphere, I am entitled to have interesting opinions. Hoho, I can feel my mind filling to the brim with thoughts controversial, entertaining, challenging, enlightening, and inspirational.
Except it's not. I hear people say a lot that we live in the "information age." I respectfully disagree; we live in an "anecdote age." We have grasped the size of the internet, but not its scope. Look at Twitter: Every tweet ever made is about to go into the Library of Congress, the logic being that these billions of tweets can be used to track social changes. I think this is brilliant; it's like validation. However, a lot of people just continue to tweet about what they're going to do today or the latest celebrity mishap. Type something in on Google and look at the pull-down menu. How many of those suggestions have to do with anything beyond the "Lady Gaga" pettiness level?
Now I'm not out to criticize society, but I'm saying that we're still in the transitional stage between the age of the past and the true "Information age." I mean, quite a few people have no idea how to even operate a computer. I like to think that the bloggers and the internet music artists are pioneers into this new age. This is a time of exploration and discovery, where we can see just how great of an effect typing words into a box can have. That's part of the reason why I created this blog: to explore the future. To experiment. To take a look into the future.
Of course, I romanticize (I like to think of myself as a "hopeful romantic"), but the day will come when all this becomes commonplace, and it may well already be here, but never forget the wonder you first felt when you realized "You mean I can have my OWN BLOG?"
Except it's not. I hear people say a lot that we live in the "information age." I respectfully disagree; we live in an "anecdote age." We have grasped the size of the internet, but not its scope. Look at Twitter: Every tweet ever made is about to go into the Library of Congress, the logic being that these billions of tweets can be used to track social changes. I think this is brilliant; it's like validation. However, a lot of people just continue to tweet about what they're going to do today or the latest celebrity mishap. Type something in on Google and look at the pull-down menu. How many of those suggestions have to do with anything beyond the "Lady Gaga" pettiness level?
Now I'm not out to criticize society, but I'm saying that we're still in the transitional stage between the age of the past and the true "Information age." I mean, quite a few people have no idea how to even operate a computer. I like to think that the bloggers and the internet music artists are pioneers into this new age. This is a time of exploration and discovery, where we can see just how great of an effect typing words into a box can have. That's part of the reason why I created this blog: to explore the future. To experiment. To take a look into the future.
Of course, I romanticize (I like to think of myself as a "hopeful romantic"), but the day will come when all this becomes commonplace, and it may well already be here, but never forget the wonder you first felt when you realized "You mean I can have my OWN BLOG?"
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