300 Elysians

Yes, I have watched 300. 300 half-naked men with big shields, thick spears. 300 men *dying*. That's what counts, methinks. It can't be a good war movie if people didn't die in it. If I were to watch the movie as a movie-goer, I'd say that the story was mediocre at best. After all, the idea of brave men fighting valiantly, being betrayed, getting killed and all is really rather overdone. Blood and gore does not make a movie greater than it would be were there a storyline with more depth. However, I am watching the movie as a reader of the graphic novel from which it was adapted. as an adaptation, I'd say that the movie was excellent. Sure, they rearranged the storyline some. But then again, the graphic novel would look downright disjointed in movie form. There is no rewind for movies, after all.

I may have liked the action, but I sure did not appreciate the tactics the Spartans were using on screen. I missed watching them fighting in neat formations, their allies coming to their aid and the use of the great wall of enemy bodies they made. I personally find it silly to build a huge wall of bodies, push it over one enemy, then clamber over the entire pile just to get at the enemy. Total waste of effort.

Wheat Grass In A Pot

It's not so bad being barren. See? I'm growing wheat grass in a pot. It's pretty unsightly having empty flower pots dangling around, so I figured I'd get a pack of seeds to plant in that empty, empty pot. The neighbours aren't exactly nice, so I didn't think it particularly wise to grow anything that looks pretty to the common folk. I mean, grass is pretty, but most people won't appreciate that. They're also more likely to destroy colorful flowers out of spite instead of plain-looking grass.

Anyway, I got a pack of seeds, soaked them overnight and then planted them. If anyone believed that wheat grass was a weed, they're darned right. Only weeds can grow that fast. Within hours, I could actually see the sprouts poking out of the ground, growing like 2 inches in a single day. That's pretty nifty. I never really believed in dried seeds, after all. They almost never sprouted. Currently got an experimental pot with a few strands of grass sprouting from it. I sorta hope they start producing little wheat grass seeds sometime. It's the sort of thing that makes one feel motherly: Nurturing a little living thing, watching it grow up and have offspring and all that.

That's How The World Works

I find it strange that people like to act all resigned after (not) whining about having to conform. When some start whining about how the world works, it's common to the get the canned response to the effect of "That's how the world works, and no amount of whining will change that." News flash: Whining does get things done. But that whining must be paired with action.

More often than not, I'd see some frustration, then a flash of rebelliousness. Someone will get tired of The System, raise a fairly private hue and cry, then get back to safe old conformity. Yes. Whining won't help because even those who whine end up going back to conforming.

The world won't do a 180 for just a single person who refuses to conform. However, just as everyone's actions contribute to pollution, everyone can do their part to not-conform if they seriously want changes.

You Need Help

You know you're in trouble when you start believing that you "need help". Most societies are great equalizers. Nobody's really "special" because someone will feel unhappy when there are people more special than they are. Probably a human thing. But even a "human" thing can go too far. It's absurd, the lengths to which some may need social validation to be who they are. Yes, one may not live in a vacuum and needs some degree of social contact for a healthy psyche. However, if one decides to stand alone and say "I am myself", many will not be content to leave it at that, but will "helpfully" chip in to point out that everyone *needs* other people and so on. Hence, self-validation is not terribly valid if nobody else agrees to it. For example, saying "I am smart" does not mean much if everyone else just believes you're ordinary, or even stupid. (I bet some would believe "I am smart" is a stupid thing to say in the first place). It would be wonderful if one could just do that, mean it, believe it and not be bothered when gangs of painfully mediocre humans start sneering stupidly and snidely declaring that you're not really that smart. If ye ask me, I'd say those are the people who need help.

Fly Agaric And You

Why is there a timer in the Super Mario games? Well...sometimes people pop some fly agaric, get high and slip into Super Mario Land for a short stretch of time. Once the stuff passes out of the system, poor Mario slips out of Super Mario Land. Yes, that's exactly why he looks startled and promptly jumps off the screen. No, eating mushrooms in-game won't work, precisely because none of that is actually real. It's like this super long dream where you keep realizing that the princess is in another castle, and some highs last long enough that you actually do get to save the princess. Otherwise, it just becomes another bad trip, and Mario wakes up feeling a tad nasty. Poor guy.

Are You Crazy?

Sometimes, madmen see (or claim to see) things that nobody else can. It's all well and good if you see things that toss pots and pans around your house. People can relate to that kinda thing. It's not quite so good if you see some great being that causes hurricanes sometimes, but not always. You can't tell people for sure that the hurricane will come. And then people figure that since there's no regularity or certainty to those perceptions, you just have to be mad. Or is it that the entire world's mad because they refuse to see what's so big and obvious?

Interestingly enough, human perceptions are limited to what they can sense and what they can understand. Nobody really knows or cares why toast falls buttered-side down. It just is. If someone told them that there's an invisible ghoul that does it, they'd probably think it's hogwash. Nobody's ever seen a ghoul out of Hollywood. However, if someone tells them that something insubstantial like "Luck" did it, a goodly number would believe that someone. That's probably why diseases were always blamed on witches. There are times when people have bouts of sanity and realize that there are those who walk amongst them who can do things that they never thought possible.

An Epic Waste Of Time And Money

Yes, Epic Movie was a total waste. Sometimes, it feels like I'm watching a movie made by teenage boys. The jokes really have that much finesse. Sure, I'd laugh at some moments, but it's mostly low-grade slapstick stuff. I never thought that I'd give a negative rating, but if there's a movie that deserves it, it's the Epic Movie. For one, who would've thought that a movie would look like it was cobbled together in a garage somewhere? I mean stunt doubles can appear on screen for comic relief, but only if it's obvious to the audience that it's meant as a joke. Otherwise, it's just an indication of the lack of care that the producers are putting into producing this flick. Seriously, I would tire my fingers trying to list every single thing I think is bad about this show, and I'd basically be narrating the entire movie. Maybe it really was made by a bunch of teenage boys in a garage. Bite me.

The Death Of Cap

It is strangely apt, the timing of the death of Captain America. Sure, fans will hate it. It is terrible that a symbol of American patriotism has died. However, does the real thing still exist? Can a symbol exist independent of the reality that spawned it? Captain America was a true blue, red and white stars and stripes hero. He came around as the result of a super soldier project to defend his country against its enemies. He has been put on ice, abused and finally killed.

Perhaps something has died. Perhaps some of the freedom that Cap represented, that he fought for, has died. After all, times change and things pass on. In this modern day and age, people take their freedom for granted. A stars and stripes patriot has no place in the era of political finesse
, where might does not make right, and where policies are best thought up by the leaders than garnered from the opinions of the people. He certainly has no place here anymore. Rest in peace, Captain America.

Chasing The Company

I have submitted an application towards joining a major game company on internship. Here goes, for days of serving up coffee, mopping up spills and possibly doing nothing related to game making. It always seems that interns get all the weird stuff that no regular staff ever gets to handle. Then again, if one pays attention, one can learn stuff that no part-timer staff will ever get to learn. Besides, having worked for a major game company gives one a certain measure of bragging rights. I worked at XXX Game Company before! Sure beats trying to convince people that a stint at Unheard Of Co. is even worth noting. At the very least, I could get staff discounts on the games they publish. =p

Patriarchy And Oppression

As it's been written before, I'm inclined to believe that there is a link between patriarchy and oppression. And this oppression applies to both sexes. For some reason, matriarchal societies seem more tolerant of non-conformity to established gender norms. That would, I believe, put men in a better position than they are in now: Struggling to put themselves squarely within the subtle demarcation that keeps their "normal" label safe. I don't know how others feel, but it does seem rather sad that something as simple as asking for directions can be viewed as something "unmanly".

Violence is another major issue that seems to be associated with men in patriarchal societies. I personally believe this is somehow related to the violent conquering cultures that were patriarchal. For Darwinian reasons, the "softer", intellectual cultures were either overtaken by tyrants or overrun by tyrants. Not a terribly good way to go, but I guess it's the law of the jungle. Might doesn't make things right, however. It would be nice, though, if people were to discover their gentler sides and cease thinking that only hard ways are truly effective.