Stardate 08-31-2007
My female and I have enjoyed some incredible Realty Shows over the years. It seems like the ones that we like the most have been about nerdy guys interacting with beautiful but somewhat stupid women, i.e. Average Joe, Beauty and the Geek. If you're not already aware, there is a new gem that fits this mold on VH1 called The Pick Up Artist. The Pick Up Artist follows the journey of 8 socially inept males who not only want to know how to talk to a woman, but also want to know how to pick up on a woman. They've done a really good job of casting the show and each of the 8 guys have different problems when trying to pick up on women. Here are some of their problems: stuttering, too energetic, freezes up, condescending, women always think of one as a "brother" or "best friend," and my favorite, there is one guy who gets involved with women and a couple of weeks later when he tries to put the moves on him, they always seem to say, "Oh, I thought you were gay."
This show is great because its easy to relate to these guys and to see them trying to pick up on women. Their awkwardness and lack of social skills make the show hard to watch at times, but at the same time incredibly entertaining. The other reason that this show is great is that they are learning how to pick up on women from the the ultimate Pick Up Artist, Mystery and his two wingmen, Matador and J Dog. Mystery created what is called, "The Mystery Method" of picking up on women.
Here is a short clip advertising the show:
Mystery is what makes the show. Part of the episode is dedicated to a boot camp where Mystery teaches the guys how to attract and pick up on women. Mystery has even developed his own language and lingo to describe all of his strategies.
Here are some of my favorites:
Peacocking- You want to wear clothes or items that make you stand out or flash like a peacock. So far, I've seen Mystery wear a furry top hat, binoculars, goggles, or large head phones.
2 Set- Two women standing together at a bar.
Gauntlet- A random story or observation that enables a PUA(Pick Up Artist) to open or engage a set.
IOI- Indicator of Interest, which is verbal or nonverbal communication between two people which conveys sexual interest.
Neg- Negs are intended to be false disqualifiers and are intended to lower the target's comparative value to the seducer. Specifically, they are not insults; instead, they resemble the comments of a person who does not view the target as being sexually interesting. Here is a common example given my Mystery, "Nice nails, are they real? No? Oh, well they're nice anyway."
Just a further comment on Peacocking. Last week Mr. Rumble made us T-Shirts to wear to the Celine Dion concert. These T-Shirts were bright white and had some funny sayings on them about Celine. There were two different times when a 3 Set and a 2 Set of girls were throwing all kinds of IOIs at TJ and Mr. Rumble. Why is that? Because they were peacocking.
The Pick Up Artist airs Mondays on VH1. You can also watch past episodes on VH1's website.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Join Me as I Pour Out a Little Fire Water to Our Ancestors Departed
Stardate 08-22-2007
I saw a gem of a movie the other week and I just know that ya'll would love it as much as I did. Though it was difficult to watch the slaughter of our people, Pathfinder tells the true story of the persecution of our ancestors. You see, 600 years before the "discovery" of America, the Vikings would come to our land and kill our people for sport. The movie tells the story of a small Viking boy who was left behind by his family. He was taken in and raised by our people as one of their own. Years later, the Vikings would return for more blood, but they would receive an unexpected suprise.
Though I must applaude the production of this movie for keeping the story's historical integrity in place, I think that they could have made a much better movie had they embelished a bit. For example, the Indians faught with sticks. Of course they're going to get slaughtered by the Vikings who have armor and swords. The action sequences would have been much more entertaining if the Indians at least had some tomahawks. At least the Viking boy who has become and Indian warrior can fight. Check out this great YouTube clip to see how one can slaughter many. Enjoy the blood bath.
The only reason that I am able to look past this and still recommend this movie is because towards the end of the story, the Viking boy who has become and Indian warrior is able to defeat the Vikings not by using his Viking skills, but by using his knowlege of nature and the land. How does a young Viking/Indian Warrior kill hundreds of ravenous, blood-lusted Viking men with his knowlege of nature you might ask? You'll have to see it to find out.
I saw a gem of a movie the other week and I just know that ya'll would love it as much as I did. Though it was difficult to watch the slaughter of our people, Pathfinder tells the true story of the persecution of our ancestors. You see, 600 years before the "discovery" of America, the Vikings would come to our land and kill our people for sport. The movie tells the story of a small Viking boy who was left behind by his family. He was taken in and raised by our people as one of their own. Years later, the Vikings would return for more blood, but they would receive an unexpected suprise.
Though I must applaude the production of this movie for keeping the story's historical integrity in place, I think that they could have made a much better movie had they embelished a bit. For example, the Indians faught with sticks. Of course they're going to get slaughtered by the Vikings who have armor and swords. The action sequences would have been much more entertaining if the Indians at least had some tomahawks. At least the Viking boy who has become and Indian warrior can fight. Check out this great YouTube clip to see how one can slaughter many. Enjoy the blood bath.
The only reason that I am able to look past this and still recommend this movie is because towards the end of the story, the Viking boy who has become and Indian warrior is able to defeat the Vikings not by using his Viking skills, but by using his knowlege of nature and the land. How does a young Viking/Indian Warrior kill hundreds of ravenous, blood-lusted Viking men with his knowlege of nature you might ask? You'll have to see it to find out.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
2007 Washington County Fair: Is Out Of This World
Stardate 08-12-2007
My female and I decided to go to the Fair last Saturday night. You can imagine my excitement when on the way there, my female started reading a review from the paper and we found out that the fair had a Sci-Fi theme. Here are some highlights from this years fair:
1. Lasertainment Laser Light Show. Spectacular high-impact laser and lighting displays.
2. NASA Exhibits
3. Portable Planetarium. Visitors were given the chance to sit in a portable laser dome show and learned the exciting news of the new SouthWest Science Center. A new planetarium that will be built right here in St. George.
4. Space and Science Fiction Themed Art.
5. Science and Physics demonstrations from a University of Utah professor. Owen learned all about inertia.
6. The crown jewel of them all: A tribute to the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. An open air movie presentation of Return of the Jedi and a chance to meet the characters.
Can you believe how awesome this was? I was so excited to go and learn about space. Here are some of our family's favorite moments.
1. Met Darth Vader, Owen did. Like him, he did not.
2. Owen loved the animals. He pet a bunny, a baby chic, goats, horses, a donkey and a baby cow.
3. My female and I ate our first funnel cake. It was delish, but we both thought it would have been better if it had been a cooler day. Hot funnel cake and a hot day does not a perfect treat make.
4. We saw Chewbacca from a distance and I kept screaming for him to come over and see us. I them screamed, "Chewbacca, bless my baby." I got a good laugh and a nod from a white trash guy who was walking by.
5. Owen went on the Merry-Go-Round and loved it.
6. Allison and I bought Italian styled sunglasses from Carnies.
Help me Obi-Wan Kanobi. You're my only hope.
The Stormtrooper was not as scary.
I thought Owen was going to go "Lenny" on this baby chic, but he was actually very gentle.
You can see my female sporting the hot European Sunglasses that we bought from some nice Asian Carnies.
Darth Spencer and Owen on the Merry-Go-Round. Owen loved it and you can see my smooth sunglasses that were bought from the Asian Carnies.
My female and I decided to go to the Fair last Saturday night. You can imagine my excitement when on the way there, my female started reading a review from the paper and we found out that the fair had a Sci-Fi theme. Here are some highlights from this years fair:
1. Lasertainment Laser Light Show. Spectacular high-impact laser and lighting displays.
2. NASA Exhibits
3. Portable Planetarium. Visitors were given the chance to sit in a portable laser dome show and learned the exciting news of the new SouthWest Science Center. A new planetarium that will be built right here in St. George.
4. Space and Science Fiction Themed Art.
5. Science and Physics demonstrations from a University of Utah professor. Owen learned all about inertia.
6. The crown jewel of them all: A tribute to the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. An open air movie presentation of Return of the Jedi and a chance to meet the characters.
Can you believe how awesome this was? I was so excited to go and learn about space. Here are some of our family's favorite moments.
1. Met Darth Vader, Owen did. Like him, he did not.
2. Owen loved the animals. He pet a bunny, a baby chic, goats, horses, a donkey and a baby cow.
3. My female and I ate our first funnel cake. It was delish, but we both thought it would have been better if it had been a cooler day. Hot funnel cake and a hot day does not a perfect treat make.
4. We saw Chewbacca from a distance and I kept screaming for him to come over and see us. I them screamed, "Chewbacca, bless my baby." I got a good laugh and a nod from a white trash guy who was walking by.
5. Owen went on the Merry-Go-Round and loved it.
6. Allison and I bought Italian styled sunglasses from Carnies.
Help me Obi-Wan Kanobi. You're my only hope.
The Stormtrooper was not as scary.
I thought Owen was going to go "Lenny" on this baby chic, but he was actually very gentle.
You can see my female sporting the hot European Sunglasses that we bought from some nice Asian Carnies.
Darth Spencer and Owen on the Merry-Go-Round. Owen loved it and you can see my smooth sunglasses that were bought from the Asian Carnies.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Cblakes Just Turned 29. Will He Run?
Stardate 07-31-2007
Sometime in the 23rd century...
the survivors of war, overpopulation and pollution
are living in a great domed city, sealed away from the
forgotten world outside. Here, in an ecologically balanced world,
mankind lives only for pleasure,
free by the servo-mechanisms which provide everything.
There's just one catch:
Life must end at thirty unless reborn in the fiery ritual of Carousel.
I just finished watching a Sci-Fi gem; Logan's Run. I'd seen and heard references to it for a while now and I saw that Bryan Singer of X-Men and Superman Returns is planning a remake so I thought I had better check it out. I must say that I loved it. Here is a synopsis:
Its the 23rd Century and the world is in a state of decay and ruin. In order to avoid its perils, a civilization has created a huge dome that keeps them safe from the outside world. They live in this Utopia with only one purpose; pleasure. In order to maintain this Utopia and prevent overpopulation, the inhabitants must obey one rule. When they turn 30, they must take their chances and enter Arcade. It is in Arcade that they will either die or renew. Those who choose to Run, rather than take their chances in Arcade, are pursued by the Sandmen. A Sandman's job is to chase the runners and kill.
Logan 5 is a Sandman. He is 25 and has five years of pleasure left in his life. He is confident that when he turns 30, he will go to Arcade and will not die, but will renew.
However, when he receives a special mission from the computer, things change. Logan 5 is told of an under ground railroad type group that helps runners escape to a place called Sanctuary. The computer assigns Logan 5 the task of infiltrating Sanctuary and killing all those who ran. In order to do this, he must run himself. The computer makes changes to the internal system that monitors age and these changes show that Logan 5 is of age. After Logan accepts the assignment, he asks if he will get his five years back after completing the mission. When the computer does not answer, Logan has a change of heart and decides that he needs to find Sanctuary, not to kill them, but to hide with them.
Not only is this movie great because of its story, but you will enjoy the amazing special effects. They will actually make you laugh pretty hard. The view of the city scape under the dome is the best. It couldn't be more obvious that it is a model and at times it looks like they made the city out of old shoe boxes and toilet paper roles. If you enjoy old Sci Fi stuff, you'll really enjoy Logan's Run.
Be warned. The same guy who gave Sixteen Candles a PG rating probably was assigned Logan's Run as well. There is even more nudity and has the same rating.
So, Cblakes, will you run or will you try for renewal?
What would you do?
Sometime in the 23rd century...
the survivors of war, overpopulation and pollution
are living in a great domed city, sealed away from the
forgotten world outside. Here, in an ecologically balanced world,
mankind lives only for pleasure,
free by the servo-mechanisms which provide everything.
There's just one catch:
Life must end at thirty unless reborn in the fiery ritual of Carousel.
I just finished watching a Sci-Fi gem; Logan's Run. I'd seen and heard references to it for a while now and I saw that Bryan Singer of X-Men and Superman Returns is planning a remake so I thought I had better check it out. I must say that I loved it. Here is a synopsis:
Its the 23rd Century and the world is in a state of decay and ruin. In order to avoid its perils, a civilization has created a huge dome that keeps them safe from the outside world. They live in this Utopia with only one purpose; pleasure. In order to maintain this Utopia and prevent overpopulation, the inhabitants must obey one rule. When they turn 30, they must take their chances and enter Arcade. It is in Arcade that they will either die or renew. Those who choose to Run, rather than take their chances in Arcade, are pursued by the Sandmen. A Sandman's job is to chase the runners and kill.
Logan 5 is a Sandman. He is 25 and has five years of pleasure left in his life. He is confident that when he turns 30, he will go to Arcade and will not die, but will renew.
However, when he receives a special mission from the computer, things change. Logan 5 is told of an under ground railroad type group that helps runners escape to a place called Sanctuary. The computer assigns Logan 5 the task of infiltrating Sanctuary and killing all those who ran. In order to do this, he must run himself. The computer makes changes to the internal system that monitors age and these changes show that Logan 5 is of age. After Logan accepts the assignment, he asks if he will get his five years back after completing the mission. When the computer does not answer, Logan has a change of heart and decides that he needs to find Sanctuary, not to kill them, but to hide with them.Not only is this movie great because of its story, but you will enjoy the amazing special effects. They will actually make you laugh pretty hard. The view of the city scape under the dome is the best. It couldn't be more obvious that it is a model and at times it looks like they made the city out of old shoe boxes and toilet paper roles. If you enjoy old Sci Fi stuff, you'll really enjoy Logan's Run.
Be warned. The same guy who gave Sixteen Candles a PG rating probably was assigned Logan's Run as well. There is even more nudity and has the same rating.
So, Cblakes, will you run or will you try for renewal?
What would you do?
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Project: Cloverfield
Stardate 07-12-2007
Captain's Log:
Those who have been blessed enough to have seen Transformers caught a glimpse of a mysterious untitled monster movie. All you could really tell from the trailer was that it looked pretty cool and that it was produced by JJ Abrams.
Take a look if you haven't already seen it. The best is seeing the Statue of Liberty's head go flying by at the end.
I've looked into things a little bit and found that the project name and story line is top secret. Not even the studios behind it will give out any information. I've decided that not only is JJ Abrams a sci fi genious, he is also a marketing genious. Two offical web sites have already hit the interweb. One is called Ethan Haas Was Right and the other is Ethan Haas Was Wrong People are already going crazy about this stuff and its creating quite a buzz on the interweb. The movie is supposed to be out 1/18/08 which is about a half year away. It will be interesting to see if this type of marketing strategy will work better than the traditional approach. Both sites include puzzles that people are already working on and trying to figure out what they say or mean. Looks like most people think that they crazy writing is Sanscrit. Some of the more interesting things that I am guessing about from what has been said on these web sites is that Ethan Haas is some type of prophet who prophisied that a war between the Gods would take place for a brief time on earth.
Captain's Log:
Those who have been blessed enough to have seen Transformers caught a glimpse of a mysterious untitled monster movie. All you could really tell from the trailer was that it looked pretty cool and that it was produced by JJ Abrams.
Take a look if you haven't already seen it. The best is seeing the Statue of Liberty's head go flying by at the end.
I've looked into things a little bit and found that the project name and story line is top secret. Not even the studios behind it will give out any information. I've decided that not only is JJ Abrams a sci fi genious, he is also a marketing genious. Two offical web sites have already hit the interweb. One is called Ethan Haas Was Right and the other is Ethan Haas Was Wrong People are already going crazy about this stuff and its creating quite a buzz on the interweb. The movie is supposed to be out 1/18/08 which is about a half year away. It will be interesting to see if this type of marketing strategy will work better than the traditional approach. Both sites include puzzles that people are already working on and trying to figure out what they say or mean. Looks like most people think that they crazy writing is Sanscrit. Some of the more interesting things that I am guessing about from what has been said on these web sites is that Ethan Haas is some type of prophet who prophisied that a war between the Gods would take place for a brief time on earth.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Ever Feel Like You Were an Alien in High School?
Stardate 07-05-2007
Captain's Log:
Its taken me a few years, but thanks to my sister-in-law and blockbuster online, I've finally been able to finish all three seasons of Roswell. For those who don't know about the TV series Roswell, just think about this formula: Coming of age teen drama + Roswell aliens = an amazing viewing experience. Here is a brief run down and my thoughts on each of the seasons.
Season 1
This season starts off at the Crash Down, which is basically the sci-fi themed version of the Peach Pit. Beautiful Liz Parker works as a waitress in her families cafe. She witnesses an argument between two bozos and is caught in the middle of a gun fight. With guns a'blazin', Liz gets shot and goes down for the count. Max Evans, a seemingly ordinary teen, rushes over to her and places his hand on the wound and magically heals her. After coming back to life, Liz has questions and turns to biology, her forte, to get the answers. She secretly takes a saliva sample from Max during science class and finds that his cells look nothing like Human Cells. She confronts him about this and Max comes clean. He tells her that he, his sister and best friend are all aliens who survived in the Roswell incident of 1957. The rest of the season deals not only with the blossoming romance of Max and Liz but with the aliens struggle to fit in with humans, gain control of their powers, and learn who they are and where they come from. By the end of the season we have learned that the aliens are Royalty and have been sent from planet Antar, which has been overthrown by bad aliens. After being killed, the good aliens melded the DNA of the deceased aliens with the DNA of earth humans and sent them here to protect them so that one day they could rise up and return home and free them from the evil aliens. However, this plan was never able to come to fruition because of the unexpected crash of their ship.
Season 1 is excellent. Its a pretty good balance, about 60/40, of romance vs. sci-fi. Its fun to meet the characters and be along side of them as they discover who they are and what their purpose is. There is also plenty of evading local and federal law enforcement as they strive to keep their alien identities a secret.
Season 2
In the second season we find out about The Skins. The Skins are the group of bad aliens who overthrew the aliens when they were still on their home planet. They have since found out about the hybrids and the plan to have them return to Antar and take the planet back. Because they didn't have the time, these aliens have a lesser technology that allows them to walk among humans and blend in. They are basically required to shed their human skin and then regenerate in a pod. This season also focuses on Max and his new love Tess. Tess is the fourth alien sent down from Antar. She was once Max's wife and still in love with him. Eventually Max's alien desire becomes too strong and he makes sweet alien love with Tess and impregnates her. By the end of Season 2, Tess has betrayed Max and takes his baby with her as she returns to Antar where she will give his son to Max's alien enemy.
The first 8 or 10 episodes of the second season are by far the most creative as far as science fiction goes and were by far my favorite. This is largely due to the new executive producer that they brought on board, Ronald D. Moore. Moore is well known as a writer and executive producer of Star Trek: TNG, Deep Space Nine, and is the creator and Exec. Producer of the new Battlestar Galactica.
Season 3
The main story line of the third season deals with Max trying to figure out a way to get back to Antar and save his planet and child. He is also trying to rekindle his relationship with his true love, Liz Parker, which is a very hard task because of the fact that he got another alien pregnant. This season also deals with how the lives of the aliens are changed after their parents and the rest of the public find out that they are aliens.
The other two seasons are much better. This season jumps back to the romance aspect of the story and it drags a bit. Even though I didn't like how things ended up, watching this third and final season was worth it. Its still good and entertaining.
Captain's Log:
Its taken me a few years, but thanks to my sister-in-law and blockbuster online, I've finally been able to finish all three seasons of Roswell. For those who don't know about the TV series Roswell, just think about this formula: Coming of age teen drama + Roswell aliens = an amazing viewing experience. Here is a brief run down and my thoughts on each of the seasons.
Season 1
This season starts off at the Crash Down, which is basically the sci-fi themed version of the Peach Pit. Beautiful Liz Parker works as a waitress in her families cafe. She witnesses an argument between two bozos and is caught in the middle of a gun fight. With guns a'blazin', Liz gets shot and goes down for the count. Max Evans, a seemingly ordinary teen, rushes over to her and places his hand on the wound and magically heals her. After coming back to life, Liz has questions and turns to biology, her forte, to get the answers. She secretly takes a saliva sample from Max during science class and finds that his cells look nothing like Human Cells. She confronts him about this and Max comes clean. He tells her that he, his sister and best friend are all aliens who survived in the Roswell incident of 1957. The rest of the season deals not only with the blossoming romance of Max and Liz but with the aliens struggle to fit in with humans, gain control of their powers, and learn who they are and where they come from. By the end of the season we have learned that the aliens are Royalty and have been sent from planet Antar, which has been overthrown by bad aliens. After being killed, the good aliens melded the DNA of the deceased aliens with the DNA of earth humans and sent them here to protect them so that one day they could rise up and return home and free them from the evil aliens. However, this plan was never able to come to fruition because of the unexpected crash of their ship.
Season 1 is excellent. Its a pretty good balance, about 60/40, of romance vs. sci-fi. Its fun to meet the characters and be along side of them as they discover who they are and what their purpose is. There is also plenty of evading local and federal law enforcement as they strive to keep their alien identities a secret.
Season 2
In the second season we find out about The Skins. The Skins are the group of bad aliens who overthrew the aliens when they were still on their home planet. They have since found out about the hybrids and the plan to have them return to Antar and take the planet back. Because they didn't have the time, these aliens have a lesser technology that allows them to walk among humans and blend in. They are basically required to shed their human skin and then regenerate in a pod. This season also focuses on Max and his new love Tess. Tess is the fourth alien sent down from Antar. She was once Max's wife and still in love with him. Eventually Max's alien desire becomes too strong and he makes sweet alien love with Tess and impregnates her. By the end of Season 2, Tess has betrayed Max and takes his baby with her as she returns to Antar where she will give his son to Max's alien enemy.
The first 8 or 10 episodes of the second season are by far the most creative as far as science fiction goes and were by far my favorite. This is largely due to the new executive producer that they brought on board, Ronald D. Moore. Moore is well known as a writer and executive producer of Star Trek: TNG, Deep Space Nine, and is the creator and Exec. Producer of the new Battlestar Galactica.
Season 3
The main story line of the third season deals with Max trying to figure out a way to get back to Antar and save his planet and child. He is also trying to rekindle his relationship with his true love, Liz Parker, which is a very hard task because of the fact that he got another alien pregnant. This season also deals with how the lives of the aliens are changed after their parents and the rest of the public find out that they are aliens.
The other two seasons are much better. This season jumps back to the romance aspect of the story and it drags a bit. Even though I didn't like how things ended up, watching this third and final season was worth it. Its still good and entertaining.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
A Fond Farewell to the Canadian Crippler
Stardate 06-26-2007
Captains Log:
If there was a sport that captured the essence of Science Fiction, I would have to say that that sport was Pro Wrestling. My earliest memory of wrestling is sitting on a blue couch with Ian and my Dad, watching Andre the Giant fight Hulk Hogan. I'm glad that my dad let me watch wrestling and I plan to pass on this torch to my children.
Pro Wrestling lost a legend this week and though I haven't followed wrestling in a while, I was sad to see him gone. Chris Benoit aka The Canadian Crippler hung himself after he murdered his wife and seven year old son. Steroids were found on the scene and though autopsy results won't be available for weeks, many are pointing their fingers to "Roid Rage."
Though these events are extremely tragic, I would like to focus on the Chris that I remember. In my opinion, the high light of The Crippler's career was being asked by Ric Flair and Arn Andersen to join the 4 Horsemen.
Just before the computer melt down of Y2K, me, Juddy, Nate, Clay, and Christopher went to WCW at the ECenter. We were privileged to see such athletes as Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, Mean Gean Okerlund, Chris Jerico, Ray Mysterio Jr., Rick Stiener, Bam Bam Bigalo, and Goldberg. We were also graced with the presence of The Crippler. He was featured in a tag-team cage match against the NWO. The Rumbler captured the magic with his camera. Enjoy.
The Crippler getting ready for some serious cage action.
The Crippler laid a serious suplex on his opponent, leaving him immobilized. This opened the door for Chris to climb to the top of the cage.
I remember seeing him at least 20' up in the air and wondering what he was going to do next.
The next thing I knew, he was flying. The Crippler sprawled out completely and as he landed flat on his belly, his head landed right in the mid-section of his opponent. The final crushing blow was enough...
For Victory.
Follow this LINK to see pictures of Pro Wrestlers who have died. Its crazy to see how many have died from heart attacks (steroids) or cocaine or other drug OD.
After looking at the link, Mr. Rumble and I would like you to do the following:
1) Share any memory or story that you have of the greats who have fallen
2) Create your own list of 5-10 Pro Wrestlers that you believe will die from steroids or other drug OD
Captains Log:
If there was a sport that captured the essence of Science Fiction, I would have to say that that sport was Pro Wrestling. My earliest memory of wrestling is sitting on a blue couch with Ian and my Dad, watching Andre the Giant fight Hulk Hogan. I'm glad that my dad let me watch wrestling and I plan to pass on this torch to my children.
Pro Wrestling lost a legend this week and though I haven't followed wrestling in a while, I was sad to see him gone. Chris Benoit aka The Canadian Crippler hung himself after he murdered his wife and seven year old son. Steroids were found on the scene and though autopsy results won't be available for weeks, many are pointing their fingers to "Roid Rage."
Though these events are extremely tragic, I would like to focus on the Chris that I remember. In my opinion, the high light of The Crippler's career was being asked by Ric Flair and Arn Andersen to join the 4 Horsemen.
Just before the computer melt down of Y2K, me, Juddy, Nate, Clay, and Christopher went to WCW at the ECenter. We were privileged to see such athletes as Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, Mean Gean Okerlund, Chris Jerico, Ray Mysterio Jr., Rick Stiener, Bam Bam Bigalo, and Goldberg. We were also graced with the presence of The Crippler. He was featured in a tag-team cage match against the NWO. The Rumbler captured the magic with his camera. Enjoy.
The Crippler getting ready for some serious cage action.
The Crippler laid a serious suplex on his opponent, leaving him immobilized. This opened the door for Chris to climb to the top of the cage.
I remember seeing him at least 20' up in the air and wondering what he was going to do next.
The next thing I knew, he was flying. The Crippler sprawled out completely and as he landed flat on his belly, his head landed right in the mid-section of his opponent. The final crushing blow was enough...
For Victory.Follow this LINK to see pictures of Pro Wrestlers who have died. Its crazy to see how many have died from heart attacks (steroids) or cocaine or other drug OD.
After looking at the link, Mr. Rumble and I would like you to do the following:
1) Share any memory or story that you have of the greats who have fallen
2) Create your own list of 5-10 Pro Wrestlers that you believe will die from steroids or other drug OD
Friday, June 15, 2007
KVP: First Mission
Stardate 06-15-2007
I've checked things out over at Fanlib.com and its actually pretty cool. The idea of the site is that fans of all types of sci fi and fantasy can write their own short stories and have others read them and comment on them. It appears that they often do writing contests and have prizes for the winnners.
The first mission for KVP got kicked off this last Wed. The directors have given 4 story lines for fans to contemplate, discuss and vote for. (If you want to participate in this then you must sign up by the 16th. I have already done so and will include a link below so that you can go and sign up if you want.) The favorite will be used as the premise for the story. HERE is the link to watch the four videos. I've also copied and pasted the stories below so that fans of The Ministry of Truth can read and discuss them here if the so desire.
From Fanlib.com-
I'm your Mission Director, Andre Bormanis, and to kick things off, I've outlined four potential directions for exploring the "Kirk versus Picard" argument.
Please discuss and debate each one here in the forum, and then vote for your favorite. Whichever direction you choose, I'll guide you with weekly "Missions" and helpful suggestions. Working together, we'll create the ultimate "Kirk vs. Picard" adventure.
1) THE RETURN OF KHAN
Enterprise-D returns from a three-month, long-range recon mission beyond our galaxy and makes a shocking discovery: the Federation has been all but obliterated.
Picard learns that a renegade human colony, established nearly a century ago by James T. Kirk on Ceti-Alpha V, waged a surprise attack against Earth, and won. Picard quickly realizes the time-line has somehow been altered. The notorious Khan was not killed in an epic battle with Kirk fifteen years after he was exiled on that remote planet...
Picard orders Enterprise-D to go back in time to confront both Kirk and Khan in a desperate gambit to restore the time-line -- and the future of the Federation.
2) HISTORY LESSON
James T. Kirk is on a top-secret historical mission to present-day Earth. Someone from the future is trying to alter Earth's past, and Kirk has been ordered to find and stop him. But Kirk isn't the only agent visiting our era from the future: Jean-Luc Picard is also here, and his mission is to track down Kirk!
A game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Picard befriends Kirk and gains his confidence, all the while concealing his identity as a fellow starship Captain from the future. Picard has been told by Starfleet Command that Kirk is going to tamper with history by preventing one of the defining events of the 21st century. Picard has orders to stop Kirk, even if it means killing him.
3) PRISONER OF TIME
Enterprise-D discovers an escape pod floating in the void. Sensors show one human lifesign, in cryonic suspension. They beam the pod aboard and discover the occupant is James T. Kirk.
Picard orders Crusher to revive him. Kirk is amazed to find himself alive, so many years into the future -- he didn't expect there to be a future! That means there's still time... Kirk warns of an impending threat to the galaxy. But his behavior is paranoid, almost delusional. Crusher warns Picard that brain damage is often a consequence of long-term hibernation, but Kirk insists that he's completely sane, and unless Picard takes him deep into the heart of Romulan territory on what may well be a suicide mission, the entire galaxy - and every living being in it -- will be destroyed.
When Picard refuses to cross the neutral zone, Kirk steals into the Battle Bridge, separates from the saucer section, and heads into Romulan territory. Picard has no choice but to pursue...
4) THE GUARDIAN OF FOREVER
The Guardian of Forever is malfunctioning -- or possibly going insane. Time-quakes are erupting from it, throwing an entire sector of space into chaos. Kirk is ordered to investigate, but the Enterprise becomes trapped in a temporal eddy.
A tractor beam from another Federation ship pulls Enterprise to safety. Kirk is shocked to discover that the other ship is Enterprise-D! From the perspective of Kirk and his crew, only a few hours have passed since they entered the Guardian's system, but the temporal eddy has thrown them nearly a century into the future.
The time-quakes are becoming more violent, and could eventually spread throughout the galaxy. Kirk wants to destroy the Guardian immediately, but Picard argues that would be immoral - the Guardian is a unique, sentient being.
As the two Captains clash, the surprising source of the Guardian's malfunction is discovered... but is it too late to save this mysterious gateway to the past?
OK--Which one do you like the most? My favorite is the Khan story line. I sort of had a similar idea so I have voted for this one out of sheer pride. I love the idea of Khan getting tangled up with Kirk and Picard. This would make for quite the triangle.
I've checked things out over at Fanlib.com and its actually pretty cool. The idea of the site is that fans of all types of sci fi and fantasy can write their own short stories and have others read them and comment on them. It appears that they often do writing contests and have prizes for the winnners.
The first mission for KVP got kicked off this last Wed. The directors have given 4 story lines for fans to contemplate, discuss and vote for. (If you want to participate in this then you must sign up by the 16th. I have already done so and will include a link below so that you can go and sign up if you want.) The favorite will be used as the premise for the story. HERE is the link to watch the four videos. I've also copied and pasted the stories below so that fans of The Ministry of Truth can read and discuss them here if the so desire.
From Fanlib.com-
I'm your Mission Director, Andre Bormanis, and to kick things off, I've outlined four potential directions for exploring the "Kirk versus Picard" argument.
Please discuss and debate each one here in the forum, and then vote for your favorite. Whichever direction you choose, I'll guide you with weekly "Missions" and helpful suggestions. Working together, we'll create the ultimate "Kirk vs. Picard" adventure.
1) THE RETURN OF KHAN
Enterprise-D returns from a three-month, long-range recon mission beyond our galaxy and makes a shocking discovery: the Federation has been all but obliterated.
Picard learns that a renegade human colony, established nearly a century ago by James T. Kirk on Ceti-Alpha V, waged a surprise attack against Earth, and won. Picard quickly realizes the time-line has somehow been altered. The notorious Khan was not killed in an epic battle with Kirk fifteen years after he was exiled on that remote planet...
Picard orders Enterprise-D to go back in time to confront both Kirk and Khan in a desperate gambit to restore the time-line -- and the future of the Federation.
2) HISTORY LESSON
James T. Kirk is on a top-secret historical mission to present-day Earth. Someone from the future is trying to alter Earth's past, and Kirk has been ordered to find and stop him. But Kirk isn't the only agent visiting our era from the future: Jean-Luc Picard is also here, and his mission is to track down Kirk!
A game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Picard befriends Kirk and gains his confidence, all the while concealing his identity as a fellow starship Captain from the future. Picard has been told by Starfleet Command that Kirk is going to tamper with history by preventing one of the defining events of the 21st century. Picard has orders to stop Kirk, even if it means killing him.
3) PRISONER OF TIME
Enterprise-D discovers an escape pod floating in the void. Sensors show one human lifesign, in cryonic suspension. They beam the pod aboard and discover the occupant is James T. Kirk.
Picard orders Crusher to revive him. Kirk is amazed to find himself alive, so many years into the future -- he didn't expect there to be a future! That means there's still time... Kirk warns of an impending threat to the galaxy. But his behavior is paranoid, almost delusional. Crusher warns Picard that brain damage is often a consequence of long-term hibernation, but Kirk insists that he's completely sane, and unless Picard takes him deep into the heart of Romulan territory on what may well be a suicide mission, the entire galaxy - and every living being in it -- will be destroyed.
When Picard refuses to cross the neutral zone, Kirk steals into the Battle Bridge, separates from the saucer section, and heads into Romulan territory. Picard has no choice but to pursue...
4) THE GUARDIAN OF FOREVER
The Guardian of Forever is malfunctioning -- or possibly going insane. Time-quakes are erupting from it, throwing an entire sector of space into chaos. Kirk is ordered to investigate, but the Enterprise becomes trapped in a temporal eddy.
A tractor beam from another Federation ship pulls Enterprise to safety. Kirk is shocked to discover that the other ship is Enterprise-D! From the perspective of Kirk and his crew, only a few hours have passed since they entered the Guardian's system, but the temporal eddy has thrown them nearly a century into the future.
The time-quakes are becoming more violent, and could eventually spread throughout the galaxy. Kirk wants to destroy the Guardian immediately, but Picard argues that would be immoral - the Guardian is a unique, sentient being.
As the two Captains clash, the surprising source of the Guardian's malfunction is discovered... but is it too late to save this mysterious gateway to the past?
OK--Which one do you like the most? My favorite is the Khan story line. I sort of had a similar idea so I have voted for this one out of sheer pride. I love the idea of Khan getting tangled up with Kirk and Picard. This would make for quite the triangle.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Star Trek: Kirk vs. Picard
Stardate 06-08-2007
From Sci Fi Wire- A News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Fans Invited To Write Trek Story. Click HERE to see an introductory video with Wesley Crusher and Sulu.
Star Trek actors George Takei and Wil Wheaton and writer Andre Bormanis have teamed up with FanLib.com and CBS Interactive for Kirk vs. Picard, an event in which fans will be invited to write pieces of a new online Trek narrative.
The event, which kicks off June 13, marks the first time that CBS has ever allowed the use of Star Trek characters for an official online fan-writing event, organizers said.
The storyline will require that Capt. James T. Kirk be pitted somehow against Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.
Takei (Sulu) and Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) will act as online "hosts" for the endeavor. Bormanis will moderate and help fans navigate the site.
Writers of winning scenes and several other winners will be featured prominently online during the event and will win prizes, including a trip to Las Vegas with a VIP tour of Star Trek: The Experience, Apple MacBook computers, an Apple iPhone and Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia.
Readers of the Ministry of Truth--How awesome is this? This sounds like so much fun to me. We have some talented writers and some creative minds in the family. We should get together and come up with a story to submit. Basically how it works is that they will have an online forum where people can discuss ideas and issues. Then the moderators will give direction and a basic story outline to those who want to participate. Each week a new scene gets written for the virtual experience and fans get to vote on which one they think is the best.
Lets get started with some basics. Kirk or Picard? Who would win in a fist fight? a mind battle? a space battle? who has the better crew? who gets more ladies? which one do you like more and why?
Why would they fight against each other? how and where would they meet up in time?
Any and all ideas are welcome. I'll even allow females to post, even though their ideas probably wont be worth much.
From Sci Fi Wire- A News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Fans Invited To Write Trek Story. Click HERE to see an introductory video with Wesley Crusher and Sulu.
Star Trek actors George Takei and Wil Wheaton and writer Andre Bormanis have teamed up with FanLib.com and CBS Interactive for Kirk vs. Picard, an event in which fans will be invited to write pieces of a new online Trek narrative.
The event, which kicks off June 13, marks the first time that CBS has ever allowed the use of Star Trek characters for an official online fan-writing event, organizers said.
The storyline will require that Capt. James T. Kirk be pitted somehow against Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.
Takei (Sulu) and Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) will act as online "hosts" for the endeavor. Bormanis will moderate and help fans navigate the site.
Writers of winning scenes and several other winners will be featured prominently online during the event and will win prizes, including a trip to Las Vegas with a VIP tour of Star Trek: The Experience, Apple MacBook computers, an Apple iPhone and Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia.
Readers of the Ministry of Truth--How awesome is this? This sounds like so much fun to me. We have some talented writers and some creative minds in the family. We should get together and come up with a story to submit. Basically how it works is that they will have an online forum where people can discuss ideas and issues. Then the moderators will give direction and a basic story outline to those who want to participate. Each week a new scene gets written for the virtual experience and fans get to vote on which one they think is the best.
Lets get started with some basics. Kirk or Picard? Who would win in a fist fight? a mind battle? a space battle? who has the better crew? who gets more ladies? which one do you like more and why?
Why would they fight against each other? how and where would they meet up in time?
Any and all ideas are welcome. I'll even allow females to post, even though their ideas probably wont be worth much.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Heroes Finale
Stardate 06-03-2007
For me, the first 22 episodes of Heroes was like this kid getting his Nintendo 64, and then the finale was like getting the remote control car. The video says it all. A special thanks to Kyle for first posting the video on his blog. I've watched it about 5 times already.
Here is a list of things that would have made the finale better.
1. Mr. Bennet should have killed that annoying little girl, Molly. I realize that's brutal to kill a little kid, but she is so dang annoying, and we wouldn't have had to put up with crap like this, "You're my hero officer Parkman." "Please don't die officer Parkman. You're my hero." Killing a little girl would have given that darkness back to Mr. Bennet that made him such a great and creepy character for the first half of the season. Also, they keep saying that she is the only one who can stop Sylar. This makes no sense. The Haitian and Eden were both able to put Sylar down earlier in the season. Molly is expendable and would have made for good collateral damage in the finale.
2. The finale wasted some serious time with the story line of Ando and Parkman going after Sylar on their own. Why would either of them think that they could kill Sylar on their own when both of them have seen what he can do. These events were not even important to the lack luster ending.
3. Instead of the time they wasted with Ando and Parkman, they should have focused on Hiro and his back story. In one of the online comics, we find out that Hiro is short for Hiroshima. He was named Hiroshima because his grandfather died in the nuclear blast. They should have tied this idea to the bomb going off in NYC and Hiro's desire to stop it.
4. The showdown at Kirby Plaza between Peter and the rest of the Heroes against Sylar was totally boring. We have a whole group of people with super powers and all they did was punch each other? I've given it some thought and this is how things should have gone down. The first thing we see is Peter, staring at Sylar in the plaza from afar. Peter goes invisible and starts running towards Sylar. Though Sylar can't see him, he can hear him and with the quickest of reactions he uses his telekinesis to cut down a light post and sends it hurdling at Peter. But Peter is one step ahead of Sylar. He knows what his thoughts are because he can hear them, so right before the pole hits him, he becomes uninvisible and flies straight up into the air and then straight down and plows him into the cement. After they both get up, Peter and Sylar commence to sling different items from around the plaza at each other. It is clear that Sylar is more powerful or at least has more control over the telekinesis and Peter is wearing down. Its at this moment that Sylar lifts up the water from the fountain at the middle of the plaza and sends it flying at Peter. At the last second, Sylar freezes the water and huge icicles impale Peter's body, the largest of which goes right through his head. Sylar belts out a scream of excitement and rage. Excitement because he has killed Peter and rage because he has damaged Peter's brain. He knows that he will be unable to collect Peter's brain and steal his powers.
Right away, Sylar knows that this emotional breakdown is a mistake. He has left himself temporarily vulnerable right at the wrong moment. He looks up and sees Hiro appear out of thin air. Hiro runs at Sylar and starts slashing his samurai sword at him. Right before the blade is about to slice of his head he stops it with his telekinesis. He pushes Hiro back and faces him and realizes that he can stop the force of the sword with his mind. With one hand behind his back, Sylar signals with his other hand for Hiro to attack him once again. Again, Hiro runs at Sylar and a battle begins; Hiro using his sword, Sylar using his hand and mind (think Luke and Vader in a light saber duel mixed with the moment in the Matrix when Neo discovers that he is the One and he fights Agent Smith with one hand behind his back). After a while, Hiro steps things up a notch and begins to teleport. One second he's in front of Syler, the next he's behind him. Everytime he reappears, he slashes at Sylar. If not for his ability to hear everything, Sylar would surly die. Eventually Hiro wears him down and appears directly behind Sylar in a crouching position and Sylar isn't quick enough to stop Hiro from slashing both of his Achilles heels. Hiro slashes, and we see blood splatter everywhere and hear the flesh cut. Sylar drops to his knees. Hiro teleports so that he is standing right in front of Sylar, looking him directly in the eye, and plunges the sword right into his gut. Hiro withdraws his sword and Sylar topples over.
Hiro sees Peter lying on the ground dead and runs over to help him. By now however, the icicles that impaled Peter's body have melted and his brain and other parts of his body have regenerated. He sits up right in time to see Sylar grab Hiro with his mind and send him flying at the wall. Peter sees Hiro teleport at the last moment. Syler struggles but gets to his knees. Peter sees his hands light up like a torch and realizes that Sylar is going to set off the bomb. At the last possible moment, Peter decides to sacrifice himself and flys away with Sylar in hand. The rest of the Heroes look up into the sky and see the nuclear explosion go off.
These things would have made for a very interesting and exciting finale. I think the biggest problem was that people who watched the show, including myself, really like Sylar as the bad guy, and I think that they felt that they should try to keep him around for a little longer. I don't think it was worth it to have the finale end like it did, with Sylar getting away.
There were one thing that I really liked about the finale and it will be interesting to see if it really means anything. The last thing we see as we pan out of Kirby Plaza is a trail of blood leading to an open sewer hole. If you look closely, you can see a cockroach climbing down into the hole. This is only cool when you think back to the first time we meet Mohinder while he is teaching a class back in India. Speaking of evolution, he says this, "We are not the pinnacle of so called evolution. That honor belongs to the lowly cockroach. Capable of living for months without food, remaining alive headless for weeks at a time. Resistant to radiation. If God has indeed created himself in his own image, then I submit to you that God is a cockroach."
What did you think about the finale? What do you want to see in Volume 2? Are you at all worried that Heroes will go down hill from here? How would you have made the fight between the Heroes and Sylar better?
For me, the first 22 episodes of Heroes was like this kid getting his Nintendo 64, and then the finale was like getting the remote control car. The video says it all. A special thanks to Kyle for first posting the video on his blog. I've watched it about 5 times already.
Here is a list of things that would have made the finale better.
1. Mr. Bennet should have killed that annoying little girl, Molly. I realize that's brutal to kill a little kid, but she is so dang annoying, and we wouldn't have had to put up with crap like this, "You're my hero officer Parkman." "Please don't die officer Parkman. You're my hero." Killing a little girl would have given that darkness back to Mr. Bennet that made him such a great and creepy character for the first half of the season. Also, they keep saying that she is the only one who can stop Sylar. This makes no sense. The Haitian and Eden were both able to put Sylar down earlier in the season. Molly is expendable and would have made for good collateral damage in the finale.
2. The finale wasted some serious time with the story line of Ando and Parkman going after Sylar on their own. Why would either of them think that they could kill Sylar on their own when both of them have seen what he can do. These events were not even important to the lack luster ending.
3. Instead of the time they wasted with Ando and Parkman, they should have focused on Hiro and his back story. In one of the online comics, we find out that Hiro is short for Hiroshima. He was named Hiroshima because his grandfather died in the nuclear blast. They should have tied this idea to the bomb going off in NYC and Hiro's desire to stop it.
4. The showdown at Kirby Plaza between Peter and the rest of the Heroes against Sylar was totally boring. We have a whole group of people with super powers and all they did was punch each other? I've given it some thought and this is how things should have gone down. The first thing we see is Peter, staring at Sylar in the plaza from afar. Peter goes invisible and starts running towards Sylar. Though Sylar can't see him, he can hear him and with the quickest of reactions he uses his telekinesis to cut down a light post and sends it hurdling at Peter. But Peter is one step ahead of Sylar. He knows what his thoughts are because he can hear them, so right before the pole hits him, he becomes uninvisible and flies straight up into the air and then straight down and plows him into the cement. After they both get up, Peter and Sylar commence to sling different items from around the plaza at each other. It is clear that Sylar is more powerful or at least has more control over the telekinesis and Peter is wearing down. Its at this moment that Sylar lifts up the water from the fountain at the middle of the plaza and sends it flying at Peter. At the last second, Sylar freezes the water and huge icicles impale Peter's body, the largest of which goes right through his head. Sylar belts out a scream of excitement and rage. Excitement because he has killed Peter and rage because he has damaged Peter's brain. He knows that he will be unable to collect Peter's brain and steal his powers.
Right away, Sylar knows that this emotional breakdown is a mistake. He has left himself temporarily vulnerable right at the wrong moment. He looks up and sees Hiro appear out of thin air. Hiro runs at Sylar and starts slashing his samurai sword at him. Right before the blade is about to slice of his head he stops it with his telekinesis. He pushes Hiro back and faces him and realizes that he can stop the force of the sword with his mind. With one hand behind his back, Sylar signals with his other hand for Hiro to attack him once again. Again, Hiro runs at Sylar and a battle begins; Hiro using his sword, Sylar using his hand and mind (think Luke and Vader in a light saber duel mixed with the moment in the Matrix when Neo discovers that he is the One and he fights Agent Smith with one hand behind his back). After a while, Hiro steps things up a notch and begins to teleport. One second he's in front of Syler, the next he's behind him. Everytime he reappears, he slashes at Sylar. If not for his ability to hear everything, Sylar would surly die. Eventually Hiro wears him down and appears directly behind Sylar in a crouching position and Sylar isn't quick enough to stop Hiro from slashing both of his Achilles heels. Hiro slashes, and we see blood splatter everywhere and hear the flesh cut. Sylar drops to his knees. Hiro teleports so that he is standing right in front of Sylar, looking him directly in the eye, and plunges the sword right into his gut. Hiro withdraws his sword and Sylar topples over.
Hiro sees Peter lying on the ground dead and runs over to help him. By now however, the icicles that impaled Peter's body have melted and his brain and other parts of his body have regenerated. He sits up right in time to see Sylar grab Hiro with his mind and send him flying at the wall. Peter sees Hiro teleport at the last moment. Syler struggles but gets to his knees. Peter sees his hands light up like a torch and realizes that Sylar is going to set off the bomb. At the last possible moment, Peter decides to sacrifice himself and flys away with Sylar in hand. The rest of the Heroes look up into the sky and see the nuclear explosion go off.
These things would have made for a very interesting and exciting finale. I think the biggest problem was that people who watched the show, including myself, really like Sylar as the bad guy, and I think that they felt that they should try to keep him around for a little longer. I don't think it was worth it to have the finale end like it did, with Sylar getting away.
There were one thing that I really liked about the finale and it will be interesting to see if it really means anything. The last thing we see as we pan out of Kirby Plaza is a trail of blood leading to an open sewer hole. If you look closely, you can see a cockroach climbing down into the hole. This is only cool when you think back to the first time we meet Mohinder while he is teaching a class back in India. Speaking of evolution, he says this, "We are not the pinnacle of so called evolution. That honor belongs to the lowly cockroach. Capable of living for months without food, remaining alive headless for weeks at a time. Resistant to radiation. If God has indeed created himself in his own image, then I submit to you that God is a cockroach."
What did you think about the finale? What do you want to see in Volume 2? Are you at all worried that Heroes will go down hill from here? How would you have made the fight between the Heroes and Sylar better?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Spiderman: The Prideful Nephite
Stardate 05-23-2007
Its happened to the best of them: The Backstreet Boys, Corey Feldman, Brittany Spears, Marie Osmond, Enron. Their start is humble, eagre and full of ambition. They are willing to work hard, put forth the effort and do whatever it takes to reach their goals. Soon their hard work pays off; they are rewarded for all of their time and effort that they have put forth. For these people, their rewards could have been self satisfaction, recognition, promotions, gigs, record contracts, acting roles, money and fame. They continue to live right and work hard, but soon, living right and working hard are forgotten and replaced with what is making them happy in that moment, which are of course, the fruits of their hard work. They soon forget what got them to the top and they start to care more about the fruits than the labors. Before they know it, Litte Nicky of BSB aint so little anymore; he's a fat drunk and his best friend AJ is checking into rehab. Corey can't act anymore because he's got too much coke up his nose. Brittany's shaving her head and becoming the laughing stock of the media. Marie decides not to love her kids anymore, and Enron's top exectutives are stealing the pensions of their hard working employees. Their pride and wickedness have lead to destruction and suffering. Not only for themselves, but for those around them. They have fallen and they are no more.
The scriptures teach us that this can happen to all of us. It can in fact, happen to an entire civilization. Those who have read the Book of Mormon know that the Nephites constantly fell into this vicious pride cycle. Their humility would lead to righteousness and prosperity, which would lead to pride and wickedness, which would lead to destruction and suffering, which comes full circle with humility and repentance. Over and over again. The following is a scripture from the Book of Mormon that illustrates this point-
"Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind of art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yeah, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yeah, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One--yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity." -- Helaman 12:2
We can now add one more to the luandry list of those who have fallen into the Pride Cycle. I recently went to see Spiderman 3 and was suprised to see how closely this movie followed this cycle. The first thing that we see in Spiderman 3 is that Spidy has risen to the top. Everyone loves him and crime is at an all time low. Peter Parker is also on top. It appears that he has finally figured out how to balance his personal life, MJ and school, with his life of fighting crime. Pretty soon Peter starts to love how famous he has become. He even has advice on what its like to be famous for his broadway star girlfriend, MJ.
The time comes for Spidey to take on the Sandman. Spiderman basically gets worked and can do little or nothing against this new villain. Luckily for Spidey, a strange alien has fallen from the sky. It looks like stringy strands of gooey black tar that can attach and mold itself to whatever it wants. We eventually find out that it can also take over whoever it molds itself to. Well, this black goo molds itself to Spiderman's suit and when Peter tries it on, he finds that he is faster, stronger, more powerful. Powerful enough to take out the Sandman. This new power doesn't come without its consequences. It makes Peter mean and hutful. He cares about no one but himself. For me, this black goo is an obvious metaphor for pride and both Peter and Spidey have fallen victim to it.
It takes while, but Peter is able to see how terrible he has been treating those whom he loves. He realizes the evil of the suit and tears it off of his body. At the end of the fim, Spiderman has to humble himself, swallow his pride and ask the help of one who used to be his enemy in order to save MJ from both Sandman and Venom.
Hopefully my literally thousands of readers can learn from Spiderman, the Nephites, and others who have come before them and not fall victim to the pride cycle. Unless of course you want to become a Dark Lord of the Sith. In that case you should use pride to make you more powerful.
Its happened to the best of them: The Backstreet Boys, Corey Feldman, Brittany Spears, Marie Osmond, Enron. Their start is humble, eagre and full of ambition. They are willing to work hard, put forth the effort and do whatever it takes to reach their goals. Soon their hard work pays off; they are rewarded for all of their time and effort that they have put forth. For these people, their rewards could have been self satisfaction, recognition, promotions, gigs, record contracts, acting roles, money and fame. They continue to live right and work hard, but soon, living right and working hard are forgotten and replaced with what is making them happy in that moment, which are of course, the fruits of their hard work. They soon forget what got them to the top and they start to care more about the fruits than the labors. Before they know it, Litte Nicky of BSB aint so little anymore; he's a fat drunk and his best friend AJ is checking into rehab. Corey can't act anymore because he's got too much coke up his nose. Brittany's shaving her head and becoming the laughing stock of the media. Marie decides not to love her kids anymore, and Enron's top exectutives are stealing the pensions of their hard working employees. Their pride and wickedness have lead to destruction and suffering. Not only for themselves, but for those around them. They have fallen and they are no more.
The scriptures teach us that this can happen to all of us. It can in fact, happen to an entire civilization. Those who have read the Book of Mormon know that the Nephites constantly fell into this vicious pride cycle. Their humility would lead to righteousness and prosperity, which would lead to pride and wickedness, which would lead to destruction and suffering, which comes full circle with humility and repentance. Over and over again. The following is a scripture from the Book of Mormon that illustrates this point-
"Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind of art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yeah, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yeah, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One--yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity." -- Helaman 12:2
We can now add one more to the luandry list of those who have fallen into the Pride Cycle. I recently went to see Spiderman 3 and was suprised to see how closely this movie followed this cycle. The first thing that we see in Spiderman 3 is that Spidy has risen to the top. Everyone loves him and crime is at an all time low. Peter Parker is also on top. It appears that he has finally figured out how to balance his personal life, MJ and school, with his life of fighting crime. Pretty soon Peter starts to love how famous he has become. He even has advice on what its like to be famous for his broadway star girlfriend, MJ.
The time comes for Spidey to take on the Sandman. Spiderman basically gets worked and can do little or nothing against this new villain. Luckily for Spidey, a strange alien has fallen from the sky. It looks like stringy strands of gooey black tar that can attach and mold itself to whatever it wants. We eventually find out that it can also take over whoever it molds itself to. Well, this black goo molds itself to Spiderman's suit and when Peter tries it on, he finds that he is faster, stronger, more powerful. Powerful enough to take out the Sandman. This new power doesn't come without its consequences. It makes Peter mean and hutful. He cares about no one but himself. For me, this black goo is an obvious metaphor for pride and both Peter and Spidey have fallen victim to it.
It takes while, but Peter is able to see how terrible he has been treating those whom he loves. He realizes the evil of the suit and tears it off of his body. At the end of the fim, Spiderman has to humble himself, swallow his pride and ask the help of one who used to be his enemy in order to save MJ from both Sandman and Venom.
Hopefully my literally thousands of readers can learn from Spiderman, the Nephites, and others who have come before them and not fall victim to the pride cycle. Unless of course you want to become a Dark Lord of the Sith. In that case you should use pride to make you more powerful.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Heroes
Stardate 05-14-2007
I keep going back and forth, trying to decide which is my favorite drama on TV: Heroes, Battlestar Galactica or Lost. All three are amazing and in my opinion, there isn't another drama out there that even comes close. I don't know why people waste their time watching garbage like CSI, CSI New York, CSI Las Vegas, CSI Miami, or SVU (I can sort of understand why people watch SVU--who doesn't love Ice-T?) etc.
Anyway, I've been really excited and getting into Heroes as of late. They are leading up to the end of Volume (season) 1 and things are lookin hot!!! The following are a list of observations and things that I've read about the show. First my observations and questions.
1. If Peter has absorbed Claire's power to heal, why does he have a scar on his face in the episode that jumps five years into the future? I believe that there is sometihng significant about the scar. I believe this because 10 or so episodes before the future episode, when future Hiro stops time in the subway to tell him to save the cheerleader, the first thing that he says to Peter is, "You look different without your scar." Any ideas as to the significance of the scar?
2. The little girl Molly will be very important in the next episodes. We actually met Molly the second episode of the season. She is the little girl that Parkman finds when he first discovers that he can hear other's thoughts. Linderman's company now has Molly in their care, but she is suffering from some sort of disease. They have enlisted the help of Mohinder in order to cure her. It appears that there is a disease that affects young girls who are developing their special powers. I believe that this disease that she has may be a future story line. Mohinder's little sister had special abilities and suffered and died from this disease. Molly, a special young girl also is suffering from the disease, but hopefully from the help of Mohinder, will not die. There was also an episode where Claire's mother told her that they had tried once before to find Claire's real parents. They did this because she was suffering from an unknown disease and wanted to find out about her family history. My guess is that because of her powers, Claire was able to heal on her own. What do you think?
3. When Nathan Patrelli meets Linderman, Linderman reveals to Nathan that he also has special powers. He tells Nathan that when he first found out about what he could do, himself and others with powers got together to form a group that would help those who needed it. He then says that the others in this group ruined things because of their desire to use their powers for personal gain and they broke up, though to me, it seems as if this is exactly what Linderman has done. In the future I hope to learn the back stories of these people and to find out where they are now. Are they the future evil ones that the Heroes will fight against? Or will they join them in their attempts to bring down Linderman?
The following comes from what I have read:
1. From an interview with Sulu- In the season finale, Hiro will travel back in time to learn how to use his sword. (On a few occasions, Hiro has told Ando about the history of the sword and who wielded it. It is Darth Spencer's belief that we may see that this is an ancestor of Hiro or possibly even his father. Perhaps Sulu has a similar ability to travel through time and space and it is he, who is the Bushido sword master)
2. From an interview with Tim Kring, creator of the show- Season 1 will end with a clear idea of what is in store for season 2. Season 2 will deal with the history of what is happening. The older characters, Sulu, Mother Patrelli, Linderman, will play a larger role in helping us to understand how these special powers are passed from person to person.
3. From an article in Newsweek- Season two will include a spin-off series. There will be 8 filler episodes that have nothing to do with the main Heroes storyline. These episodes will introduce new heroes and give a back story on them and their abilities. At the end of the season, the audience will be able to vote for one of these people to become a regular cast member. These episodes will appear during weeks when the show would usually be on a break. This way we get a maximum amount of Heroes. Pretty creative. Though it won't progress the story, I'd rather see this than another episode of Deal or No Deal.
4. Each week, a couple of small comics come out on NBC.com that give back story and filler between the TV episodes. I've finished them all and recommend them for those who really like Heroes. Some are great, some are pointless. The coolest thing that I found out is that Linderman served on a special ops mission during the Vietnam war with Nathan and Peter Patrelli's father. The father does not have special powers, but was actually healed by Linderman after being shot in the gut. Upon return to the States, Patrelli tries desperately to tell others in the army about Linderman's powers. Linderman denies everything and tells them that Patrelli is mad. This puts a serious scar on Patrelli for the rest of his life. Years later, Patrelli is married and has a little boy. He is contacted by Linderman and Linderman begs his forgiveness for not telling the truth. The comic ends with what looks to be the start of Linderman starting his company.
What do you think is the best drama on TV?
What ideas do you have about Heroes?
What do you think or hope is in store for season 2?
I keep going back and forth, trying to decide which is my favorite drama on TV: Heroes, Battlestar Galactica or Lost. All three are amazing and in my opinion, there isn't another drama out there that even comes close. I don't know why people waste their time watching garbage like CSI, CSI New York, CSI Las Vegas, CSI Miami, or SVU (I can sort of understand why people watch SVU--who doesn't love Ice-T?) etc.
Anyway, I've been really excited and getting into Heroes as of late. They are leading up to the end of Volume (season) 1 and things are lookin hot!!! The following are a list of observations and things that I've read about the show. First my observations and questions.
1. If Peter has absorbed Claire's power to heal, why does he have a scar on his face in the episode that jumps five years into the future? I believe that there is sometihng significant about the scar. I believe this because 10 or so episodes before the future episode, when future Hiro stops time in the subway to tell him to save the cheerleader, the first thing that he says to Peter is, "You look different without your scar." Any ideas as to the significance of the scar?
2. The little girl Molly will be very important in the next episodes. We actually met Molly the second episode of the season. She is the little girl that Parkman finds when he first discovers that he can hear other's thoughts. Linderman's company now has Molly in their care, but she is suffering from some sort of disease. They have enlisted the help of Mohinder in order to cure her. It appears that there is a disease that affects young girls who are developing their special powers. I believe that this disease that she has may be a future story line. Mohinder's little sister had special abilities and suffered and died from this disease. Molly, a special young girl also is suffering from the disease, but hopefully from the help of Mohinder, will not die. There was also an episode where Claire's mother told her that they had tried once before to find Claire's real parents. They did this because she was suffering from an unknown disease and wanted to find out about her family history. My guess is that because of her powers, Claire was able to heal on her own. What do you think?
3. When Nathan Patrelli meets Linderman, Linderman reveals to Nathan that he also has special powers. He tells Nathan that when he first found out about what he could do, himself and others with powers got together to form a group that would help those who needed it. He then says that the others in this group ruined things because of their desire to use their powers for personal gain and they broke up, though to me, it seems as if this is exactly what Linderman has done. In the future I hope to learn the back stories of these people and to find out where they are now. Are they the future evil ones that the Heroes will fight against? Or will they join them in their attempts to bring down Linderman?
The following comes from what I have read:
1. From an interview with Sulu- In the season finale, Hiro will travel back in time to learn how to use his sword. (On a few occasions, Hiro has told Ando about the history of the sword and who wielded it. It is Darth Spencer's belief that we may see that this is an ancestor of Hiro or possibly even his father. Perhaps Sulu has a similar ability to travel through time and space and it is he, who is the Bushido sword master)
2. From an interview with Tim Kring, creator of the show- Season 1 will end with a clear idea of what is in store for season 2. Season 2 will deal with the history of what is happening. The older characters, Sulu, Mother Patrelli, Linderman, will play a larger role in helping us to understand how these special powers are passed from person to person.
3. From an article in Newsweek- Season two will include a spin-off series. There will be 8 filler episodes that have nothing to do with the main Heroes storyline. These episodes will introduce new heroes and give a back story on them and their abilities. At the end of the season, the audience will be able to vote for one of these people to become a regular cast member. These episodes will appear during weeks when the show would usually be on a break. This way we get a maximum amount of Heroes. Pretty creative. Though it won't progress the story, I'd rather see this than another episode of Deal or No Deal.
4. Each week, a couple of small comics come out on NBC.com that give back story and filler between the TV episodes. I've finished them all and recommend them for those who really like Heroes. Some are great, some are pointless. The coolest thing that I found out is that Linderman served on a special ops mission during the Vietnam war with Nathan and Peter Patrelli's father. The father does not have special powers, but was actually healed by Linderman after being shot in the gut. Upon return to the States, Patrelli tries desperately to tell others in the army about Linderman's powers. Linderman denies everything and tells them that Patrelli is mad. This puts a serious scar on Patrelli for the rest of his life. Years later, Patrelli is married and has a little boy. He is contacted by Linderman and Linderman begs his forgiveness for not telling the truth. The comic ends with what looks to be the start of Linderman starting his company.
What do you think is the best drama on TV?
What ideas do you have about Heroes?
What do you think or hope is in store for season 2?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
And the World Moved On...
Stardate 05-10-2007
"The greatest mystery that the universe offers is not life, but size...The child that is most at home with wonder says, 'Daddy, what is above the sky?' and the father says, 'The darkness of space.' The child, 'What is beyond space?' The father, 'The galaxy.' The child, 'Beyond the galaxy?' The father, 'Another galaxy.' The child, 'Beyond the other galaxies?' The father, 'No one knows.'"
"You see, size defeats us. For the fish, the lake in which he lives is the universe. What does the fish think when he is jerked up by the mouth through the silver limits of existence and into a new universe where the air drowns him and the light is blue madness? Where huge bipeds with no gills stuff it into a suffocating box and cover it with wet weeds to die?"
"If you fell outward to the limit of the universe, would you find a board fence and signs reading, 'Dead End?' No. You may find something hard and rounded, as the chick must see the egg from the inside. And if you should peck through that shell or find a door-- what great and torrential light might shine through your opening at the end of space? Might you look through and discover that our entire universe is part of one atom on a blade of grass?
"Imagine the sand of the desert. And imagine a trillion universes, not worlds, but universes, encapsulated in each grain of that desert, and within each universe, an infinity of others. We tower over these universes from our pitiful grass vantage point. With one swing of your boot, you may knock a billion, billion worlds flying off into darkness; in a chain, never to be completed. Size. Size."
"Yet suppose further. Suppose that all worlds, all universes, meet in a single nexus. A single pylon. A tower."--Thoughts by The Man In Black
These were a few excerpts from book one of Stephen King's seven book series-- The Dark Tower. Book one of The Dark Tower series is The Gunslinger. Many have said that The Dark Tower series is King's greatest achievement. Book one was written in 1982 and the series wasn't complete until books six and seven were released in 2004. King has said that during this time period, the number one question that his fans asked him was, "When are you going to finish book seven?" Though there is violence and some gore, this series is not horror, like most of King's other works, but a fantasy. I listened to The Gunslinger on CD and really enjoyed the story and the narration. The narrator sounds like an old cowboy with a raspy voice and a bit of a drawl. The voice of the narrator reminded me of the voice of the old guy from Young Guns II who claimed he was Billy the Kid.
In book one we meet Roland of Gilead, the last of the Gunslingers. He is on a quest to find the mysterious Man In Black, who will start him on the path to find The Dark Tower.
The book is set in a world that feels like the old west, where light and dark magic exist, and its people are strewn out over a vast desert plain. From the start the reader knows that there is something strange about time in this land and that things don't fully make sense. For example, there is a part where Roland walks into town and coming from the local saloon, he can hear Hey Jude being played ragtime style on the piano. Stranger things occur when Roland finds Jake, a young boy from New York who explains that he died in a car crash and then woke up in this strange land. There is also talk of In-World, Mid-World, and End-World, though it is unclear which they are in and how they get back and forth from one world to another.
A lot of people have said that book one can be slow at parts, but that the rest of the series is just amazing. I personally didn't find it slow at all. I really enjoyed the whole thing and I'm very excited to read or listen to the rest of the series and find out what awaits Roland in The Dark Tower.
"The greatest mystery that the universe offers is not life, but size...The child that is most at home with wonder says, 'Daddy, what is above the sky?' and the father says, 'The darkness of space.' The child, 'What is beyond space?' The father, 'The galaxy.' The child, 'Beyond the galaxy?' The father, 'Another galaxy.' The child, 'Beyond the other galaxies?' The father, 'No one knows.'"
"You see, size defeats us. For the fish, the lake in which he lives is the universe. What does the fish think when he is jerked up by the mouth through the silver limits of existence and into a new universe where the air drowns him and the light is blue madness? Where huge bipeds with no gills stuff it into a suffocating box and cover it with wet weeds to die?"
"If you fell outward to the limit of the universe, would you find a board fence and signs reading, 'Dead End?' No. You may find something hard and rounded, as the chick must see the egg from the inside. And if you should peck through that shell or find a door-- what great and torrential light might shine through your opening at the end of space? Might you look through and discover that our entire universe is part of one atom on a blade of grass?
"Imagine the sand of the desert. And imagine a trillion universes, not worlds, but universes, encapsulated in each grain of that desert, and within each universe, an infinity of others. We tower over these universes from our pitiful grass vantage point. With one swing of your boot, you may knock a billion, billion worlds flying off into darkness; in a chain, never to be completed. Size. Size."
"Yet suppose further. Suppose that all worlds, all universes, meet in a single nexus. A single pylon. A tower."--Thoughts by The Man In Black
These were a few excerpts from book one of Stephen King's seven book series-- The Dark Tower. Book one of The Dark Tower series is The Gunslinger. Many have said that The Dark Tower series is King's greatest achievement. Book one was written in 1982 and the series wasn't complete until books six and seven were released in 2004. King has said that during this time period, the number one question that his fans asked him was, "When are you going to finish book seven?" Though there is violence and some gore, this series is not horror, like most of King's other works, but a fantasy. I listened to The Gunslinger on CD and really enjoyed the story and the narration. The narrator sounds like an old cowboy with a raspy voice and a bit of a drawl. The voice of the narrator reminded me of the voice of the old guy from Young Guns II who claimed he was Billy the Kid.
In book one we meet Roland of Gilead, the last of the Gunslingers. He is on a quest to find the mysterious Man In Black, who will start him on the path to find The Dark Tower.
The book is set in a world that feels like the old west, where light and dark magic exist, and its people are strewn out over a vast desert plain. From the start the reader knows that there is something strange about time in this land and that things don't fully make sense. For example, there is a part where Roland walks into town and coming from the local saloon, he can hear Hey Jude being played ragtime style on the piano. Stranger things occur when Roland finds Jake, a young boy from New York who explains that he died in a car crash and then woke up in this strange land. There is also talk of In-World, Mid-World, and End-World, though it is unclear which they are in and how they get back and forth from one world to another.
A lot of people have said that book one can be slow at parts, but that the rest of the series is just amazing. I personally didn't find it slow at all. I really enjoyed the whole thing and I'm very excited to read or listen to the rest of the series and find out what awaits Roland in The Dark Tower.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Ender's Shadow
Stardate 05-01-2007
Whenever I was assigned to write a book report on the book of my choice from grades 5-12 I did that report on Ender's Game. The funny thing is is that it wasn't until my 6th or 7th go at the book that I actually finished it. In fact, it may be possible that I have attempted to start Ender's Game, but never finished it, more times than I have done so with The Book of Mormon. Now, the last thing I want to do is turn my literally thousands of readers off of Ender's Game. Since high school I have both read it and listened to it on CD from start to finish and it is by far one of my favorite sci-fi novels.
Years later, Orson Scott Card decided to look at possibly expanding upon the "Enderverse," and looked at the option of letting other authors write the stories of Ender's friends from Battle School. After lots of thought and contemplation, Card decided that he didn't want to let others write about the characters, but that he wanted to do so himself. He decided to try out an interesting experiment and write the same novel, but from a second characters perspective. Those who have read Ender's Game know that Bean becomes Ender's right hand man and only confidant. Card decided that Bean would be the logical person to write about and so he wrote Ender's Shadow.
Though I did like Ender's Game more, Ender's Shadow was also excellent. Card does an excellent job of expanding upon the original story and even the parts that overlap are not dull and seem entertaining and original. Just like in Ender's Game, this story progresses and is mostly told through the inner dialogue of the main character. There are of course some differences with the largest being that Ender is always thinking about the buggers and Bean is more focused on politics. This of course translates into the rest of the books in the "Shadow" series where we find Bean back on Earth where he is now in Ender's older brother Peter's shadow. I have not read these books but look forward to doing so.
Another item of interest to note is that at the end of the Ender's Shadow, there is an original afterward from Orson Scott Card where he talks about Ender's Game the movie. Here are the highlights from what he said.
He has run into numerous problems trying to get this movie made. At first, the most common problem was that they wanted to make Ender 16 years old, rather then 6 years old. This means that they would most likely cast a 24 year old who looks young to play a 16 year old. They also wanted to give Ender a love interest. This infuriated Card so much that he stalled production. The production company then lost the rights to the movie and Card took control of them. For the next few years he ran into the same problem, but has finally found a production company that will work with young children.
This creates another problem. Children are only allowed to work half days which translates into a longer shooting time and more money. Another problem is that for the most part, children are bad actors and he is very worried about finding someone to play Ender, let alone the rest of his friends from Battle School. Card mentions that after seeing Finding Neverland he feels more confident that he will be able to find children who can actually act.
The largest problem has been the fact that the story of Ender's Game is driven by Ender's inner voice. It has been extremely difficult for Card to come up with a screen play that progresses the story at a good pace, but that does not use Ender's inner voice let the audience know what is going on. After years or toying with different solutions, Card's production team came up with the idea of molding both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow into one story. The interaction between Ender and Bean will drive the story rather than relying on inner dialuge.
At the time that this afterward was written, Card mentioned that he had chosen Wolfgang Peterson as his director. He did not give any reasons why except for that he has enjoyed his work. I checked IMDB and Wolfgang is still slated to direct. Some of his past movies have been Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, Das Boot, Air Force One, Troy and Poseidon. I enjoyed Outbreak and In the Line of Fire, but some of his other movies seem like cheesy action films. I hope he does a good job with Ender.
Whenever I was assigned to write a book report on the book of my choice from grades 5-12 I did that report on Ender's Game. The funny thing is is that it wasn't until my 6th or 7th go at the book that I actually finished it. In fact, it may be possible that I have attempted to start Ender's Game, but never finished it, more times than I have done so with The Book of Mormon. Now, the last thing I want to do is turn my literally thousands of readers off of Ender's Game. Since high school I have both read it and listened to it on CD from start to finish and it is by far one of my favorite sci-fi novels.
Years later, Orson Scott Card decided to look at possibly expanding upon the "Enderverse," and looked at the option of letting other authors write the stories of Ender's friends from Battle School. After lots of thought and contemplation, Card decided that he didn't want to let others write about the characters, but that he wanted to do so himself. He decided to try out an interesting experiment and write the same novel, but from a second characters perspective. Those who have read Ender's Game know that Bean becomes Ender's right hand man and only confidant. Card decided that Bean would be the logical person to write about and so he wrote Ender's Shadow.
Though I did like Ender's Game more, Ender's Shadow was also excellent. Card does an excellent job of expanding upon the original story and even the parts that overlap are not dull and seem entertaining and original. Just like in Ender's Game, this story progresses and is mostly told through the inner dialogue of the main character. There are of course some differences with the largest being that Ender is always thinking about the buggers and Bean is more focused on politics. This of course translates into the rest of the books in the "Shadow" series where we find Bean back on Earth where he is now in Ender's older brother Peter's shadow. I have not read these books but look forward to doing so.
Another item of interest to note is that at the end of the Ender's Shadow, there is an original afterward from Orson Scott Card where he talks about Ender's Game the movie. Here are the highlights from what he said.
He has run into numerous problems trying to get this movie made. At first, the most common problem was that they wanted to make Ender 16 years old, rather then 6 years old. This means that they would most likely cast a 24 year old who looks young to play a 16 year old. They also wanted to give Ender a love interest. This infuriated Card so much that he stalled production. The production company then lost the rights to the movie and Card took control of them. For the next few years he ran into the same problem, but has finally found a production company that will work with young children.
This creates another problem. Children are only allowed to work half days which translates into a longer shooting time and more money. Another problem is that for the most part, children are bad actors and he is very worried about finding someone to play Ender, let alone the rest of his friends from Battle School. Card mentions that after seeing Finding Neverland he feels more confident that he will be able to find children who can actually act.
The largest problem has been the fact that the story of Ender's Game is driven by Ender's inner voice. It has been extremely difficult for Card to come up with a screen play that progresses the story at a good pace, but that does not use Ender's inner voice let the audience know what is going on. After years or toying with different solutions, Card's production team came up with the idea of molding both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow into one story. The interaction between Ender and Bean will drive the story rather than relying on inner dialuge.
At the time that this afterward was written, Card mentioned that he had chosen Wolfgang Peterson as his director. He did not give any reasons why except for that he has enjoyed his work. I checked IMDB and Wolfgang is still slated to direct. Some of his past movies have been Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, Das Boot, Air Force One, Troy and Poseidon. I enjoyed Outbreak and In the Line of Fire, but some of his other movies seem like cheesy action films. I hope he does a good job with Ender.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Tears of Sadness-Tears of Joy
Stardate 04-17-2007
Its not often, but every once in a while a movie gets made that trandsends greatness and in my opinion, reaches a level of immortality--living in our hearts forever, never to be forgotten. This week I would like to focus my thoughts on two movies which have no doubt reached this level of immortality. Somewhere In Time and The Lake House.
How can two movies be so beautiful? I'll tell you how. All you do is combine two of my most favorite genres: Time Travel and Romance. LOL, I guess I shouldn't say, "All you do," as if its that simple to make such a great movie. Here is a brief synopsis of both movies.
Somewhere In Time- A mysterious old woman walks up to dreamy, young, and fully mobile Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) and gives him a watch and tells him to remeber her, but here is the catch, he's never met her before in his life. How mysterious, neh? So Richard visits an old college professor to ask him what he knows about bending time and space. The wise old professor tells Richard that it is all in the power of the mind, and that if your will is strong enough, your brian will send you back or forward in time. However, there is one pitfall. If the mind has any remeberance of the time that it is truely from, it will be too much to handle and the mind will revert back to its true time. So Richard actually does it, he returns back in time and finds the beautiful actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), who turns out to be the very same mysterious old woman who gave him the watch at the begining of the movie. Through test and trial, Richard is able to win the heart of Elise and they fall in love. What takes place next is truely tragic. After Richard and Elise pleasure in the delights of the flesh, they sit down to enjoy a warm bucket of fried chicken. Its at this moment that they are the happiest. Elise looks beautiful and Richard is in true form. He's joking and making Elise laugh, and then tragedy rears its ugly head. Richard pulls a modern day penny out of his vingage 1940s suit and his mind is reminded of its true place in time, and Richard is hurdled back into his true time. Though I loved this movie, it brought me Tears of Sadness.
The Lake House- The year is 2006 and the lovely doctor Kate Forester (Sandra Bullock) is moving out of her rented lake house. She drops a letter in the mailbox asking the future resident to please forward all her mail to her future address. The year is 2004 and frustrated architect Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) is just moving into his famalies lake house, and right away notices that there is a letter waiting for him. He opens it up to find that someone is asking him to forward all future mail to her new address. How strange? Young Alex knows that no one has lived in his famalies home since he was a child. This cannot be, so he decides to investigate and the impossilbe happens. He finds that somehow the mailbox sends letters from the past to the future and from the future to the past. How can this be? Is the mailbox equiped with a flux copaciter? Is Hiro Nokimora saving the world by somehow bringing Alex and Kate together for some strange future reason? Well we never find out the magic or science behind the mailbox, but we do find out about the staying power of love and the written word. For two years Alex and Kate write back and forth until one day Kate finds out that Alex is to die. In a mad dash she races to the lake house to send him a letter begging him not to try to meet her on that fateful day. At the end we find that Alex got the letter and did not try to meet her and by doing so, was not hit by that car, in turn also avoiding laying in his own pool of carnige and dismemberment. In the end, future Alex and future Kate embrace and stay together forever. I loved this movie and it brougt me Tears of Joy.
I'm pretty sure that casting is what made these movies what they are today; amazing. So this post is dedicated to Keanu and Christopher. Champions of acting.
Its not often, but every once in a while a movie gets made that trandsends greatness and in my opinion, reaches a level of immortality--living in our hearts forever, never to be forgotten. This week I would like to focus my thoughts on two movies which have no doubt reached this level of immortality. Somewhere In Time and The Lake House.
How can two movies be so beautiful? I'll tell you how. All you do is combine two of my most favorite genres: Time Travel and Romance. LOL, I guess I shouldn't say, "All you do," as if its that simple to make such a great movie. Here is a brief synopsis of both movies.
Somewhere In Time- A mysterious old woman walks up to dreamy, young, and fully mobile Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) and gives him a watch and tells him to remeber her, but here is the catch, he's never met her before in his life. How mysterious, neh? So Richard visits an old college professor to ask him what he knows about bending time and space. The wise old professor tells Richard that it is all in the power of the mind, and that if your will is strong enough, your brian will send you back or forward in time. However, there is one pitfall. If the mind has any remeberance of the time that it is truely from, it will be too much to handle and the mind will revert back to its true time. So Richard actually does it, he returns back in time and finds the beautiful actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), who turns out to be the very same mysterious old woman who gave him the watch at the begining of the movie. Through test and trial, Richard is able to win the heart of Elise and they fall in love. What takes place next is truely tragic. After Richard and Elise pleasure in the delights of the flesh, they sit down to enjoy a warm bucket of fried chicken. Its at this moment that they are the happiest. Elise looks beautiful and Richard is in true form. He's joking and making Elise laugh, and then tragedy rears its ugly head. Richard pulls a modern day penny out of his vingage 1940s suit and his mind is reminded of its true place in time, and Richard is hurdled back into his true time. Though I loved this movie, it brought me Tears of Sadness.
The Lake House- The year is 2006 and the lovely doctor Kate Forester (Sandra Bullock) is moving out of her rented lake house. She drops a letter in the mailbox asking the future resident to please forward all her mail to her future address. The year is 2004 and frustrated architect Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) is just moving into his famalies lake house, and right away notices that there is a letter waiting for him. He opens it up to find that someone is asking him to forward all future mail to her new address. How strange? Young Alex knows that no one has lived in his famalies home since he was a child. This cannot be, so he decides to investigate and the impossilbe happens. He finds that somehow the mailbox sends letters from the past to the future and from the future to the past. How can this be? Is the mailbox equiped with a flux copaciter? Is Hiro Nokimora saving the world by somehow bringing Alex and Kate together for some strange future reason? Well we never find out the magic or science behind the mailbox, but we do find out about the staying power of love and the written word. For two years Alex and Kate write back and forth until one day Kate finds out that Alex is to die. In a mad dash she races to the lake house to send him a letter begging him not to try to meet her on that fateful day. At the end we find that Alex got the letter and did not try to meet her and by doing so, was not hit by that car, in turn also avoiding laying in his own pool of carnige and dismemberment. In the end, future Alex and future Kate embrace and stay together forever. I loved this movie and it brougt me Tears of Joy.
I'm pretty sure that casting is what made these movies what they are today; amazing. So this post is dedicated to Keanu and Christopher. Champions of acting.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Children of Men
Stardate 04-04-2007
Last night I sat down and watched Alfonso Cauron's Children of Men, which was so gripping and intense that at times I lost all sense of self. All of a sudden I would find myself gasping for air, and then realize that for the last 30 seconds or so, I had forgotten to even breath.
This is the best movie that I have seen in a long time. The story is set in the year 2027. Britain and the world are in a state of turmoil and shock because for some strange and unknown reason, women have become infertile. On top of this, the Argentines "bajaron la media cana" and killed the youngest boy in the world, 18 year old Diego, for refusing to sign autographs while vacationing in Buenos Aires.
A rouge group of rebels, pinned as "terrorists" by the British Government, has found a refugee girl who has miraculously become pregnant. The movie follows this group as they try to get her to a group called "The Human Project, " that will protect her and her child. Deceit, betrayal, and murder ensue.
Besides the great story, this movie is amazing for many reasons. First, the camera work is brilliant. The whole movie is filmed by a camera that is carried by hand. This gives the viewer an amazing sense that they are moving around with the characters. Something similar was done in The Bourne Supremacy, but at times, I felt almost too close to the action and could not tell what was going on. These pitfalls do not exist in Children of Men. The second thing that blew me away was the direction. Just about every scene is one long take, and each scene usually involves multiple people doing various different things. Because they are all part of one long scene, the timing and acting would have to be spot on, and it is. Third, the special effects were done so well and seem so realistic that at times I didn't even realize or think that they were using special effects.
I've never been more impressed with the forethought and planning that goes into making movies as I was with Children of Men.
Last night I sat down and watched Alfonso Cauron's Children of Men, which was so gripping and intense that at times I lost all sense of self. All of a sudden I would find myself gasping for air, and then realize that for the last 30 seconds or so, I had forgotten to even breath.
This is the best movie that I have seen in a long time. The story is set in the year 2027. Britain and the world are in a state of turmoil and shock because for some strange and unknown reason, women have become infertile. On top of this, the Argentines "bajaron la media cana" and killed the youngest boy in the world, 18 year old Diego, for refusing to sign autographs while vacationing in Buenos Aires.
A rouge group of rebels, pinned as "terrorists" by the British Government, has found a refugee girl who has miraculously become pregnant. The movie follows this group as they try to get her to a group called "The Human Project, " that will protect her and her child. Deceit, betrayal, and murder ensue.
Besides the great story, this movie is amazing for many reasons. First, the camera work is brilliant. The whole movie is filmed by a camera that is carried by hand. This gives the viewer an amazing sense that they are moving around with the characters. Something similar was done in The Bourne Supremacy, but at times, I felt almost too close to the action and could not tell what was going on. These pitfalls do not exist in Children of Men. The second thing that blew me away was the direction. Just about every scene is one long take, and each scene usually involves multiple people doing various different things. Because they are all part of one long scene, the timing and acting would have to be spot on, and it is. Third, the special effects were done so well and seem so realistic that at times I didn't even realize or think that they were using special effects.
I've never been more impressed with the forethought and planning that goes into making movies as I was with Children of Men.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Extremists, Part 1
Stardate 03-28-07
I've been reading a great book lately called Them: Adventures With Extremists. Them was written by Jon Ronson, the same guy who wrote the book The Men Who Stare at Goats which I wrote about in an earlier post. Ronson is hilarious and I really think that most of those who read my posts would get a kick out of his books. They are also incredibly interesting.
This book is also a full length piece of journalism where Ronson follows around and interviews those who the media has pinned as "Extremists." Ronson interviews a wide variety of extremists which include Islamic Terrorists, a Grand Wizard of the KKK, Militia men, and many others. Surprisingly, Ronson finds that though these extremists have very different views, they all share a common belief about the world.
Over the next couple of weeks I plan to showcase each of these extremists and then finish of with an examination of their common belief in The New World Order.
Omar Bakri Muhammed was once called "the most dangerous man in Britain." Bakri formed Al-Muhajiroun, an Islamist organization which was based in the United Kingdom. Bakri has claimed to be Osama Bin Laden's right hand man in Britain and has released statements that he claimed were prepared by Laden. Bakri has also said that he will not rest until the black flag of Islam is flying over Britain. He also claimed that he who practiced homosexuality, adultery, fornication, or bestiality would be stoned to death (or thrown from the highest mountain).
Here are some interesting moments from the book. At one part, Bakri has asked Ronson to drive him to a store called Cash and Carey so that he could purchase collection boxes that he would use to fund raise money for Hamas and Hizbullah, but all the store had left were large plastic novelty Coca-Cola bottles. After placing a half dozen of these bottles in his cart, Ronson commented to Bakri that he found it strange that he would collect donations for Hamas and Hizbullah in novelty Coke bottles. Bakri replied that he is not against the "imperialist baggage," just the corruption of "Western capitalism." Ronson then commented that nevertheless, "Coca-Cola is a powerful symbol of Western capitalism." After saying that he agreed, Ronson then asked Bakri, "So you are utilizing our symbols in your attempt to destroy them?" Bakri then replied, "Oh yes."
In a similar instance, Ronson drove Bakri to Office World so that Bakri could get some photocopies made of a pamphlet that was titled, "Crush the Pirate State of Israel." On the way, Bakri explained to Ronson that Office World is the best place to go for these services because, "if you find a photocopying service that's cheaper, Office World will give you a discount." "Capitalism," replied Ronson. "Capitalism," said Bakri, "Oh yes, I benefit from your capitalism to convey the message. I benefit from your freedom of speech."
It was around Bakri and his followers that Ronson first heard of the Bilderberg Group, The New World Order, who were the secret rulers of the world. Supposedly, this tiny group of men and a few women meet in a secret room and determine the course of world events.
Since this book was written, Omar Bakri has left Britain and is now living in Lebanon. He left of his own free will, but when he tried to return when the skirmish between Hizbullah and Israel broke out, he was denied entrance back into the country.
Stay tuned for my next post where we will examine what really happened at Ruby Ridge. We'll also unmask more secrets about Bildeberg. Hopefully they don't shut me down.
I've been reading a great book lately called Them: Adventures With Extremists. Them was written by Jon Ronson, the same guy who wrote the book The Men Who Stare at Goats which I wrote about in an earlier post. Ronson is hilarious and I really think that most of those who read my posts would get a kick out of his books. They are also incredibly interesting.
This book is also a full length piece of journalism where Ronson follows around and interviews those who the media has pinned as "Extremists." Ronson interviews a wide variety of extremists which include Islamic Terrorists, a Grand Wizard of the KKK, Militia men, and many others. Surprisingly, Ronson finds that though these extremists have very different views, they all share a common belief about the world.
Over the next couple of weeks I plan to showcase each of these extremists and then finish of with an examination of their common belief in The New World Order.
Omar Bakri Muhammed was once called "the most dangerous man in Britain." Bakri formed Al-Muhajiroun, an Islamist organization which was based in the United Kingdom. Bakri has claimed to be Osama Bin Laden's right hand man in Britain and has released statements that he claimed were prepared by Laden. Bakri has also said that he will not rest until the black flag of Islam is flying over Britain. He also claimed that he who practiced homosexuality, adultery, fornication, or bestiality would be stoned to death (or thrown from the highest mountain).
Here are some interesting moments from the book. At one part, Bakri has asked Ronson to drive him to a store called Cash and Carey so that he could purchase collection boxes that he would use to fund raise money for Hamas and Hizbullah, but all the store had left were large plastic novelty Coca-Cola bottles. After placing a half dozen of these bottles in his cart, Ronson commented to Bakri that he found it strange that he would collect donations for Hamas and Hizbullah in novelty Coke bottles. Bakri replied that he is not against the "imperialist baggage," just the corruption of "Western capitalism." Ronson then commented that nevertheless, "Coca-Cola is a powerful symbol of Western capitalism." After saying that he agreed, Ronson then asked Bakri, "So you are utilizing our symbols in your attempt to destroy them?" Bakri then replied, "Oh yes."
In a similar instance, Ronson drove Bakri to Office World so that Bakri could get some photocopies made of a pamphlet that was titled, "Crush the Pirate State of Israel." On the way, Bakri explained to Ronson that Office World is the best place to go for these services because, "if you find a photocopying service that's cheaper, Office World will give you a discount." "Capitalism," replied Ronson. "Capitalism," said Bakri, "Oh yes, I benefit from your capitalism to convey the message. I benefit from your freedom of speech."
It was around Bakri and his followers that Ronson first heard of the Bilderberg Group, The New World Order, who were the secret rulers of the world. Supposedly, this tiny group of men and a few women meet in a secret room and determine the course of world events.
Since this book was written, Omar Bakri has left Britain and is now living in Lebanon. He left of his own free will, but when he tried to return when the skirmish between Hizbullah and Israel broke out, he was denied entrance back into the country.
Stay tuned for my next post where we will examine what really happened at Ruby Ridge. We'll also unmask more secrets about Bildeberg. Hopefully they don't shut me down.
Monday, March 19, 2007
300
Stardate 03-09-2007
-Spartans can kill anyone. Even the best that Asia has to offer. This includes: Immortal Persian Samuri, Bomb throwing China Men, and Giant deformed beasts (whose ethnicity I could not quite pin down). 
I couldn't help but thinking while watching 300 that the people at the rating system are getting so touchy. I could not believe that this got an R rating. I'm pretty sure this one will be rated PG-13 up in Canada. There are really only a couple of people who get killed.
That said, here are some more thoughts on 300.
-I'm glad that it was historically acurate.
-Zerkzies I, the Persian ruler and bad guy was 9 feet tall.
-Spartans can kill anyone. Even the best that Asia has to offer. This includes: Immortal Persian Samuri, Bomb throwing China Men, and Giant deformed beasts (whose ethnicity I could not quite pin down).-Beautiful 17 year old virgin Oracles don't always get thier predictions right.
-At age 7, Spartan boys are taken from their parents to be trained as warriors. They are also baptized in the blood of their foes.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Snape: Good or Evil?
Stardate 03-02-07
SPOILER ALERT!!!!
If you have not read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, do not procede.
Though I know that it will bring utter destruction and an end to the world, I cannot not help but be extemely excited for the 7th and final installment of Harry Potter. My excitement caused me to give HPY7 another listen. I listened to HBP with one thing on my mind; Is Snape good or evil. In this post I will try to present evidence pointing towards both sides of the spectrum. I'm excited for all of your insights as well.
Background- As most of us know, Snape has always been enticed by the Dark Arts. He was terrorized as a student at Hogwarts by James Potter, Serious Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Petigrew and because of this, has a serious hate for all of them, especially James and Serious. After leaving Hogwarts, Snape became a Death Eater and was in the service of The Dark Lord. After time, Snape returned to Hogwarts and took up the post of Potions Master, though it was always his desire to teach Dark Arts. Dumbledore allowed him to come back for reasons that are still unknown to us. Though his loyalties have always been in question, Dumbledore claims that he is sure that Snape is remorseful for his past and has chosen the side of good. We know that Snape is double agent; a Death Eater and member of the Order of the Pheonix, but we don't know to which side he is truely loyal.
None of the following is hard solid evidence. Just my interpretations and observations.
Is Snape Evil?
1. HPY6-Snape swore an Unbreakable Vow and killed Dumbledore after Draco Malfoy failed to do so. The unbeakable vow is key here. If Snape did not kill Dumbledore, he himself would have to die. The text reads, Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revultion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. Dumbledore then says, "Severus...please..." Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly and Dumpledore. "Avada Dedarva!" Snape had revultion and hatred etched on his face and acted withouth hesitation.
2. Both Snape and Voldemort have muggle fathers and magic mothers. Because of this they play up their hate for wizzards and witches who are muggle born. Voldemort calls himself the Dark Lord and Snape calls himself the Half Blood Prince. Emphasis on Lord and Prince.
3. In HPY4, Harry and Cedric get transported to the cemetary. The Dark Lord's soul has been returned to its body and he has called the Death Eaters to aid him. If you will recall, the Death Eaters have encircled Harry and Lord Voldemort and Voldemort is going around the circle, one by one and pointing out each one for what they have done wrong during his absense. Its at this point that he says that his most loyal and trusted servant is at Hogwarts. Later in the book we find out that one of his Death Eaters, Barty Crouch Jr has taken pollyjuice potion and has taken on the form of Mad-Eye Moody. At first, I thought for sure he was speaking about Bartdy Crouch Jr. It later occured to me while reading HPY6 that he could have been refering to Snape.
4. What made me think that he could have been referring to Snape was at the begining of HPY6 when Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange visit Snape at his home and Narcissa asks Snape to make an unbreakable vow. Its at this point that Narcissa says, "You are the Dark Lord's favorite, his most trusted advisor."
5. Though at times it can be on the brink of annoying, Harry tends to get things right. In HPY5, Harry knew that Voldemort was back and was after something at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. Most everyone doubted him, but Harry was right. Voldemort was after the prophesy. In HPY6, Harry suspects that Draco is a Death Eater and is up to no good. Not even Ron or Hermionie believed this. In both instances, Harry was correct. Harry belives that Snape is still in the service of the Dark Lord.
6. Snape is a very accomplished Oclumence, meaning that he is a master at the magical defence of the mind and can protect himself from those with the talent of Legilimency, which is the ability to extract feelings and memories from other's minds. In HPY6, Snape tells Bellatrix that the Dark Lord is the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen.
7. In HPY6, Dumbledore tells Harry that most of the time, he gets things right, but he does seldom make mistakes, and when he does make mistkes, the consequences are monumental. In HPY5, Dumbledore tells Harry that he made a mistake about not telling him things sooner and that if he had done so, Serious may have survived. It is possible that the mistake that he could have made about Snape cost him his own life.
Is Snape Good?
1. Dumbledore knew the whole time that Snape had made the Unbreakable Vow and knew that it was part of the overall plan to bring down Lord Voldermort. In HPY6, Hagrid overhears Dumbledore telling Snape that he must go forward with the something. Snape says that he can no longer bare to do it. Hagrid never heard what that something was.
2. The hate and revulsion that was etched on Snape's face was directed to the act that he was about to commit, not at Dumbledore.
3. Snape protected Harry in HPY1 during the Quiddich match when Professor Squirel was trying to make him fall off his broom.
4. After Snape has killed Dumbledore and he and the other Death Eaters are fleeing from Hogwarts, Snape blocks a Cruciartus curse that is fired at Harry. When Harry attacks him directly, Snape simply parrys his attacks and tells him what he is doing wrong, all the while emphasizing that he needs to learn to block his mind. Snape hardly fights back and activly prevents other Death Eaters from attacking Harry.
5. During his converstation with Bellatrix in HPY6, Snape tells Bellatrix and Narcissa that he has done his upmost to get Harry Potter kicked out of Hogwarts, yet when Harry performs the Sectumsempra curse on Draco Malfoy and almost kills him, Snape only gives Harry detention.
6. Probably the most important thing is that which we do not know. For some reason, Dumbledore is possitive that Snape is good.
So now you have some things to think about. Here are some more questions that come to mind:
What bennefit does Snape have for being either good or evil?
What does he stand to gain?
What does he stand to lose?
Is it important for Harry to believe that Snape is evil?
If Snape is good, the he and Dumbledore had to decide who's life was more important. The unbreakable vow would only allow for one of them to live. With all that Harry still has left to do, why would Snape's life be more imporant then Dumbledore's?
I look forward to your questions, comments, and arguments.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!
If you have not read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, do not procede.
Though I know that it will bring utter destruction and an end to the world, I cannot not help but be extemely excited for the 7th and final installment of Harry Potter. My excitement caused me to give HPY7 another listen. I listened to HBP with one thing on my mind; Is Snape good or evil. In this post I will try to present evidence pointing towards both sides of the spectrum. I'm excited for all of your insights as well.Background- As most of us know, Snape has always been enticed by the Dark Arts. He was terrorized as a student at Hogwarts by James Potter, Serious Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Petigrew and because of this, has a serious hate for all of them, especially James and Serious. After leaving Hogwarts, Snape became a Death Eater and was in the service of The Dark Lord. After time, Snape returned to Hogwarts and took up the post of Potions Master, though it was always his desire to teach Dark Arts. Dumbledore allowed him to come back for reasons that are still unknown to us. Though his loyalties have always been in question, Dumbledore claims that he is sure that Snape is remorseful for his past and has chosen the side of good. We know that Snape is double agent; a Death Eater and member of the Order of the Pheonix, but we don't know to which side he is truely loyal.
None of the following is hard solid evidence. Just my interpretations and observations.
Is Snape Evil?
1. HPY6-Snape swore an Unbreakable Vow and killed Dumbledore after Draco Malfoy failed to do so. The unbeakable vow is key here. If Snape did not kill Dumbledore, he himself would have to die. The text reads, Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revultion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. Dumbledore then says, "Severus...please..." Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly and Dumpledore. "Avada Dedarva!" Snape had revultion and hatred etched on his face and acted withouth hesitation.
2. Both Snape and Voldemort have muggle fathers and magic mothers. Because of this they play up their hate for wizzards and witches who are muggle born. Voldemort calls himself the Dark Lord and Snape calls himself the Half Blood Prince. Emphasis on Lord and Prince.
3. In HPY4, Harry and Cedric get transported to the cemetary. The Dark Lord's soul has been returned to its body and he has called the Death Eaters to aid him. If you will recall, the Death Eaters have encircled Harry and Lord Voldemort and Voldemort is going around the circle, one by one and pointing out each one for what they have done wrong during his absense. Its at this point that he says that his most loyal and trusted servant is at Hogwarts. Later in the book we find out that one of his Death Eaters, Barty Crouch Jr has taken pollyjuice potion and has taken on the form of Mad-Eye Moody. At first, I thought for sure he was speaking about Bartdy Crouch Jr. It later occured to me while reading HPY6 that he could have been refering to Snape.
4. What made me think that he could have been referring to Snape was at the begining of HPY6 when Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange visit Snape at his home and Narcissa asks Snape to make an unbreakable vow. Its at this point that Narcissa says, "You are the Dark Lord's favorite, his most trusted advisor."
5. Though at times it can be on the brink of annoying, Harry tends to get things right. In HPY5, Harry knew that Voldemort was back and was after something at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. Most everyone doubted him, but Harry was right. Voldemort was after the prophesy. In HPY6, Harry suspects that Draco is a Death Eater and is up to no good. Not even Ron or Hermionie believed this. In both instances, Harry was correct. Harry belives that Snape is still in the service of the Dark Lord.
6. Snape is a very accomplished Oclumence, meaning that he is a master at the magical defence of the mind and can protect himself from those with the talent of Legilimency, which is the ability to extract feelings and memories from other's minds. In HPY6, Snape tells Bellatrix that the Dark Lord is the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen.
7. In HPY6, Dumbledore tells Harry that most of the time, he gets things right, but he does seldom make mistakes, and when he does make mistkes, the consequences are monumental. In HPY5, Dumbledore tells Harry that he made a mistake about not telling him things sooner and that if he had done so, Serious may have survived. It is possible that the mistake that he could have made about Snape cost him his own life.
Is Snape Good?
1. Dumbledore knew the whole time that Snape had made the Unbreakable Vow and knew that it was part of the overall plan to bring down Lord Voldermort. In HPY6, Hagrid overhears Dumbledore telling Snape that he must go forward with the something. Snape says that he can no longer bare to do it. Hagrid never heard what that something was.
2. The hate and revulsion that was etched on Snape's face was directed to the act that he was about to commit, not at Dumbledore.
3. Snape protected Harry in HPY1 during the Quiddich match when Professor Squirel was trying to make him fall off his broom.
4. After Snape has killed Dumbledore and he and the other Death Eaters are fleeing from Hogwarts, Snape blocks a Cruciartus curse that is fired at Harry. When Harry attacks him directly, Snape simply parrys his attacks and tells him what he is doing wrong, all the while emphasizing that he needs to learn to block his mind. Snape hardly fights back and activly prevents other Death Eaters from attacking Harry.
5. During his converstation with Bellatrix in HPY6, Snape tells Bellatrix and Narcissa that he has done his upmost to get Harry Potter kicked out of Hogwarts, yet when Harry performs the Sectumsempra curse on Draco Malfoy and almost kills him, Snape only gives Harry detention.
6. Probably the most important thing is that which we do not know. For some reason, Dumbledore is possitive that Snape is good.
So now you have some things to think about. Here are some more questions that come to mind:
What bennefit does Snape have for being either good or evil?
What does he stand to gain?
What does he stand to lose?
Is it important for Harry to believe that Snape is evil?
If Snape is good, the he and Dumbledore had to decide who's life was more important. The unbreakable vow would only allow for one of them to live. With all that Harry still has left to do, why would Snape's life be more imporant then Dumbledore's?
I look forward to your questions, comments, and arguments.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The Road
Stardate 02-21-07
Katie, of Katie's Cafe, gave me The Road by Cormac McCarthy for Christmas this year. Ian alwyas seems to be going off about Cormac McCarthy and how great he is. I've decided that if Cormac is good enough for Ian and Matt Damon, then he's good enough for me.
Katie, of Katie's Cafe, gave me The Road by Cormac McCarthy for Christmas this year. Ian alwyas seems to be going off about Cormac McCarthy and how great he is. I've decided that if Cormac is good enough for Ian and Matt Damon, then he's good enough for me.The Road is a post apocalyptic tale about a father and his son and their journey to the South. The scene that McCarthy paints is a chilling wasteland of death and decay. The world has been destroyed and polluted and seems to be in a state of perpetual winter. Everything is black; either scorched or covered in black ash and nothing lives except for the few remaining humans who roam the earth, scavenging for food, supplies, or anything that will keep them alive.
I really loved this book. It is both beautiful and terrifying. The little boy and his Papa share a very tender relationship. I've never found myself so concerned for characters in a book before. But I must warn, that this book is not for the light of heart. Father and son are put through some shocking and awful ordeals that are both violent and disgusting. There are parts that will leave you sick to your stomach.
I've decided that the reason that this book is so freaky is not only because of what McCarthy says but also because of what he doesn't say. We never find out the characters names, the time frame for when these events are taking place, or where they are. It gives the reader nothing to hold on to or to orient themselves to. You find yourself almost as lost as the young boy and his Papa. For me, the best example of this, and the one that freaked me out the most, was not knowing why the little boy and his Papa were so afraid to meet other people while traveling on the road.
To find out, you'll have to go down The Road yourself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
