Have Some Self-Respect

There are really too many people out there (even national leaders) who take themselves way too seriously. That is, they can never take it when someone lampoons them. It would seem that the more magnanimous are rather more sporting and allow a healthy bit of self-deprecation. Of course, the tendency to take oneself overly seriously is quite likely an indication of low self-esteem. Even the tiniest bit of lampooning would make one go nuts. The magnanimous ones are more likely to be comfortable with themselves and know that a few well-meaning jibes would not automagically kill their entire reputation. I mean it's silly, being seen drinking Pepsi and suddenly fearing that one's reputation has been smeared by association with Britney Spears. Oops, did I say that out loud?

The Mist

This is probably one of the worst movies I have watched in a very long time. Right off the bat, I would give it a 5.5/10. It was made worse by the knowledge that the story could have been so much more, but lost all of its subtlety in the sledgehammer narrative.

Basically, The Mist is about this all-obscuring mist that settles over a town (shouldn't it be a fog, really?). This insidious mist is also home to a host of deadly creatures that kill everything (presumably, though only humans were featured in the movie). As the story progresses, the audience is shown the full spectrum of human ugliness arising from people being put in a highly stressful situation.

The premise is perhaps where the good stuff ends. The movie narrative is plagued by loopholes and has about as much finesse as your average sledgehammer. For example, what do you do when you're in a (seemingly) safe place full of food and there's a supposedly deadly mist outside? You go out and try to get help. If a dangerous-looking but non-aggressive creature barges into your area? You attack it (the American way). When all else fails? You turn to your nearest religious leader. All that, within the space of three days.

By the presentation of this sequence of events, the show has effectively turned a story about humans being pushed to the brink and beyond into one showcasing the mindless fervor of religious zealots and the ugliness of mob thinking. The snide commentary on human nature has turned into devolving a bunch of people into a gibbering mindless mob.

Of course, the show has a saving grace: It's ending is twisted and very much ironic. As with the rest of the show the real reason for a bunch of people (having hope in the intrinsic goodness of humanity into those losing all hope) going nuts was not really explained. It merely showcased their cowardice and readily faltering willpower. I also loved the Silent Hill moment, with the siren before the fog rolled in.

All this was combined with some rather budget special effects that not only looked false, but relied heavily upon the motif of the mist to obscure the true details of what was going on. Of course, I shall not bother elaborating on how wrong it is to have yet another Doom-style open-portal-to-hellish-dimension-hence-releasing-deadly-creatures premise. So yeah. 5.5/10.

Mom's Touch

The road to Hell is truly paved with good intentions. My friend wanted to come over to my place to play video games. Naturally, such a thing was no big deal and it wouldn't really take all day anyway. But then mom just has to get a nervous breakdown over how messy the house was and how it could possibly create a bad impression, thus figuring that tidying my room was a good solution. Apparently, people coming over to play video games are also there to inspect the house and gossip over how messy it is when they get home.

Anyway, that's not really the worst thing. I'd be happy if mom would just actually make the room look tidier. What really happened was that my room looked every bit as untidy as it did before she started on it...and I wound up finding lots of my items displaced. And given that she's effectively been through my stuff, I expect she would give me all sorts of queries about why I have this and that. Just wonderful. Sometimes I wonder whether this sort of sortie was not some form of casus belli so she can spot-check on what I have and fuss over why I have this new mouse or a new bottle of vitamin pills.

Naturally, I expect to find (or really be unable to find) various items over the next couple of days. Mom has an intrinsic right to search my stuff like some government lackey, and if she misplaces some of my stuff, it's really a factor of my natural messiness. If I misplace her stuff, I'm just another horrible person.

The Shaman

In the old days, there were the shamans. These were the storytellers, dreamers, speakers to gods and mediators of old. Perhaps the names had changed with the times. Perhaps even the duties had evolved to serve the new societies. But the role of the shaman is alive in a different form to this day.

It only stands to reason that our modern artists, artistes, game makers, novelists and others have come forward to take the places of what were once the combined duties of a single person in a simpler society. Still, with the mantle of shaman comes the responsibility of duty. The great responsibility of handling this power seems to be lacking, especially in those who do not even recognize the power of their positions. Of course, this is not unexpected in a society where the very mention of the shaman brings little more awe than would be afforded a snail eating a leaf. Then again, few still give credence to the speakers of Apollo

Living On Conflict

I think it's strange how I literally live on conflict. It's not so much that I need to get into fisticuffs all the time, but I do get a big rush just hurling chunks of my mind at others. Heck, even a good argument would be nice. Of course, I do get a sort of guilty pleasure from insulting people. Guilty because I know it's nasty and really shouldn't be done too often lest I offend too many of the wrong people. But it really is enjoyable to let off steam in a non-physical way.

Then again, there's always the outlet of gaming but that will never be quite as enjoyable. It would be nice if people don't mind getting into conflicts all the time and come out of it not taking things personally. I know I'd get pissed after being insulted, but I'd also forget it mighty quick. All in the name of good fun.

Behold! The Serpentine Mouse!

Alright, so I had a bout of consumeristic madness today. I actually went out and purchased the ultra-expensive (for a mouse) Razer Lachesis. Frankly, I was majorly turned off by the price tag at first. After browsing a number of shops, my perception of the mouse only went down because I never found a tag that suited my requirements. And then one kindly shop just had to hammer the final nail in the coffin: It had a nice discount on the item. Frankly, I think the price tag was a mistake (it was 15% lower than that offered in every other store, including the Razer store), but I'll give the tagger the benefit of the doubt =p

Anyway, the Lachesis has this incredible chasis and 4000 dpi sensor. I normally wouldn't bother with such things, but I felt a bit turned off "upgrading" from the 1600 dpi Krait to some other 1800-2000 dpi sensor mouse. Besides, the style was just there. I loved the "Bringer of Silent Death" tagline. Those who know me would understand.

As for handling, what can I say? The unusual shape was a major turnoff at first handling impressions (when I plugged it in, that is). I thought there was a problem with the sensor, given that the cursor had a strange feel to it, skipping about every now and then. And then I realized the mouse had a plastic sheet under it to protect the minty underside. Wow. I certainly did not expect that. After handling it for a day and some, I finally figured it was a worthwhile purchase. There's just a certain appeal to having that pulsating white glow on the back of the mouse. It matches my Porta-Navi. Of course, my one regret (if any) would be that I didn't know there was going to be a Red Lachesis coming out soon... =p

The Value Of Time

No one can put a value to time, precisely because time has no intrinsic value. However, there is a dilemma with this otherwise arbitrary measure of human aging: It cannot currently be regained. Therein lies the importance of using every bit of time to its fullest. The issue, of course, is that this is seldom the case, even for mortals. Strangely enough, the mortals seem the most willing to whittle their few years away for paltry recompense.

Perhaps recompense is not the word to be used here. Satisfaction would probably be suffice. They set their standards so low that paltry satisfaction would be gained for an otherwise irreplaceable portion of their mortal existence. I presume that the only logical explanation for this illogical action would be that these ephemeral mayflies seek only to hasten their end, that they can numb themselves to the meaningless drudgery of daily existence. Alas, some do not have the luxury of even that.

Spending Money

I think it is time that I got a new mouse. Let's see...it's practically three years since I got the Krait, and it's served me well. Herein lies the dilemma: Am I to waste more expense on the acquisition of a superior 4000 dpi model, or am I to content myself with the paltry (but otherwise highly sufficient) 1600 dpi that currently graces the pad on my table? It may be a point of pride, but it feels that I am but jogging on the spot if I did that, for I will be obtaining a perfectly identical model to the one I got years back. Hardly a worthwhile thing considering that the price of the item has barely fallen. I feel it in my bones that the time is ripe for a reaping.

Then again, I am disgusted at how the other models have the needless complication of additional buttons that I do not bother using. I think they really should consider creating a model that has as few buttons as possible (three), yet is as fast as the best models. That would greatly simplify my decision making.

The Stillness Of Night

It never ceases to amaze me how the average human loves the day so much. Apart from the sun's eye-piercing rays that flay the very skin from the bones, one can only wonder at the inexplicable tendency for some to stay awake at the unlikeliest of hours only to slave away. It seems almost a waste that they cloak themselves in light in the deadest of night, only to have it all wasted when nobody is awake to enjoy the illumination.

Of course, the logic of the human condition can probably only be understood by one of their kind, with a complacent surety that everything they do has an intrinsic meaning. Better yet, it only the sense available to the commoners that holds their sanity in petulant shreds, swearing that the way of the masses is the correct way to live life. Then again, what sort of life do they live?

Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering allows for an advantage to a particular side through electoral boundary manipulation. This is a potentially extremely powerful method to prolong an incumbent party's term of office. It must be noted, though, that there are limits to which it may be applied. Of course, a good way to prevent the exploitation of the technique is simply by preventing political leaders from holding office for extended periods of time.

In the absence of such, gerrymandering can proceed for extended periods of time. Still, these extended periods may not extend to infinity given the inherent stopgap nature of such a move. For one, the party concerned is likely to already be uncertain in their ability to hold the favour of the majority. Moreover, the boundaries can only be redrawn so many times before the population catches on. From then on, it's really a matter of whether discontent reaches critical mass and causes the incumbents to be voted out or forcibly ousted.

Che Sera Sera

Being blind to the future can have an interesting effect: The generation gap. By being unaware of the possible extent of changes over the passage of time, people have come to habituate themselves to what was normal at a certain period of time. This is typically when they were younger.

Now let’s zip to the Cyberpunk era. While it may seem to be a long time back, it is probably something a number in this current generation of youths would hold dear. That is, the long ranger hacker or underground hacker associations resisting the cruel Orwellian techno-governments. Already some of this has come true, with increased surveillance and branding information sharers as criminals and communists.

How about the future? We could perhaps have a future somewhat more similar to that of the Japanese, with widespread embracing of high technology and rather more general apathy. In that future, current hacker heroes would be seen as an anachronism and irrationally resistant to change. They would probably be stodgy old fogies than the dynamic messiah figure of today. Of course, this is all assuming that the world as we know it doesn’t end by 2013…

Say What?

There is one terrible thing about human communication, and that is human non-communication. Often, actions or inactions imply meanings that are not literally interpretable. An example would be keeping quiet. Depending on context (and usually inscrutable expressions), it could mean comfort and contentment in being with a person, discomfort and inability to communicate with a person or a plain unwillingness to communicate. Then we have the problem of responding to that, either by prodding or keeping quiet as well.

Perhaps it is so habitual and culturally embedded that one cannot conceive of a way to be upfront without hurting another's feelings. I could say "I hate you" and thus cause hurt, or choose to stay silent and hope you go away. Many of these "misunderstandings" are really more of a total lack of understanding given that at least one party will be unwilling to verbally or visibly express one's disposition. How then can communication be precise and thus effective?!

Visions

Visions may not be so strange after all. Visible light is but a form of radiation. Very perceived "color" is merely a way of sensing the vibrations of light. It is therefore not a stretch to think that some people can sense what others cannot. Evolution causes change, after all. Not everyone would be born with the exact same body with the exact same functions. There may be statistical commonalities, but these seldom if ever take into account the vagaries of chance. Unfortunately, the subtle senses are indeed subtle: They do not reveal things readily the way typical senses do.

Chains

Which would you prefer? Iron or silken chains? Given the fact that chains of sorts exist regardless the situation, most would opt for silken chains. It is also unfortunate that they think themselves free because they have forgotten how to perceive the chains. In effect, those people have managed to deceive themselves into thinking that they are free.

Perhaps it is more comforting to engage in self-deception, but it may be useful to have the occasional painful reminder of the iron chains. After all, it prevents the onset of unhealthy contentment in a less than ideal situation that can be improved.