Friday, May 18, 2012

Gasping For A Whiff Of Reality

It is the reality, stupid.



Entering the realm of questioning reality is like trying to dig for gold in your backyard. Dig and dig, we find crumbs. CRUMBS. Nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately, all we need are crumbs to make us addicted to our primary objects, gold.

So, what if we try digging for reality? Do we dig and dig and just find mere crumbs? Yes. Reality if thought about thoroughly enough, is indefatigable. In the end, are we actually searching for the right thing? But surely, the 'right' thing does not really exist.

And so we move on the existence. Related to philosophy now, you say? Yes, and there lies the problem. No, philosophy is not the problem. Neither is it the mind. More like the thinking is somewhat problematic. Are human beings really born to think? Yes. Are we meant to think about something meaningful? No. I think.

Again, does it matter? Before we can even figure out whether what we are thinking so hardly matters to us or our environment, we might soon face nothingness. We hit a block in our minds that cannot be defined, we just can tell whether we are doing things 'right'.


So, simply put, we change our plans. Try to tweak a thing or two here and there, in our minds of course. Then again, is this reality?
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Friday, May 11, 2012

The Two (Cyclic) Sides

Where is the third? It is too vague to discern whether there is one.

Incessant barking is not the worst option.

Rejoice though, for there are at least two sides two things. Yes, yes, it is slightly problematic to think the world is 'good' and 'evil' or someone is 'bad' or 'good'. But take note that they are AT LEAST two.

This however is subjective and only slightly objective at best. Can actually prove something is only based on two characteristics? Maybe, if that thing is made of two main characteristics. That means other characteristics branch out from the two main ones.

Again, there is a problem of existence: how do we know? Being subjective, our opinions of the two sides can be biased. And it does depend on what kinds of bias we have to actually prevent that bias from affecting our judgment. Then, another problem would be what our two (or more) sides actually are like, i.e. what roles they should play.

At some point, there should be awareness that this may just be a mind trick. An illusion. A gimmick. Logical fallacies seem to have been thrown out of the window. Objectivity may have left us.


Until then though, at least it was a good ride. Now all you would have to do is go for another cycle...
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Review of The Week!

Movie : The Avengers (2012)

Awe-inducing, funny and action-packed, this could be the superhero movie of the year (not that there are many).


It is unusual for directors to modify the genre of superhero movies. To be precise, if we are looking for some popcorn entertainment, Joss Whedon could have easily turned this into a full-blown alien-versus-superhero affair (that actually would not be too bad). Interestingly to note however, he does not. With an affinity to blend action scenes with tongue-in-cheek humor, he balances the tone of the movie to be both rewarding and most definitely, superhero-themed.

There are plenty of noteworthy things you can brag about this movie. The cinematography, the script, the visuals, the cast, the production design. Surely though, there would be one or two flaws, but they are not really meant to be called 'flaws' per se. Bending the laws of physics, 'saving the world' is saving the US and how Hulk manages to comply to orders are just some of the minor 'flaws'. These are probably things that you would just like to ignore for the sake of giving the director the benefit of the doubt.

It is quite evident that Whedon has made this film his own. He incorporates humor into almost every scene, as if things are not to be taken too seriously in the world of The Avengers. And it should be like that. Again, the emphasis on superhero movies usually lie on destruction, life-saving and personalization of characters. But here, there is some of that, but not completely. No chessy lines. No rushed pacing. No cliche-ridden narrative. (Just Loki speaking in a not-so-sharp English accent.)

The movie can also be likened to last year's Deathly Hallows (Part 2); a lot of hype, and duly delivered. At least we could expect how the last Harry Potter movie was meant to be : an emotional, epic battle. The Avengers did deliver but there is something different to the whole theme that somehow manages to change our view on how superhero movies should be in the future. Is it Robert Downey Junior's Shakespearean jab at Thor? Or is the excellent cinematography of sticking to single shots instead of quick-fire editing? Heck, it could even be Scarlett Johansson's semi-obscene display of bust. Anyhow the movie is a success, most definitely.


Unprecedented, now that is one word to decribe Joss Whedon's take on a superhero movie.


Personally*... Stay in your seats till the end; there are rumors that an extra scene is added to the US version of The Avengers, for compensation of the late release.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/894039/reviews/

Spark of inspiration?