Zeitgeist

Since we recently discussed documentaries I figured I would talk a bit about one I watched recently. Zeitgeist is a movie that you can view online at this site http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/ . The film is a documentary highlighting conspiracy theories that deal with religions, September 11th, the World Bank, and a couple others. I know that religion and 9/11 are very sensitive subjects, but I am very open to exploring new possibilities than just what I have been told or shown. When watching it the content that is portrayed definitely makes you think. That is what I believe the point of documentaries is, is to make you think. Most documentaries portray the side of the story that they believe in. Even when they do show some aspects of the other side, they often twist the view to make it seem like that side is wrong. But I don't believe documentaries are just trying to make you believe everything they are telling you, but to think about things a bit more. The purpose of documentaries is to make you ask questions and not just take what you are given as the complete truth. Truth isn't easy to come by in this day and age, especially when it comes to dealings with the government and religion. Both of them tend to say what they believe to be true and expect you to accept it as fact without looking into it. Asking questions is one of the greatest tools we have been given. It is a never ending tool to continually attempt to gain knowledge.

If you have 2 hours and nothing to do, I would recommend checking out Zeitgeist. It may not be your cup of tea, but I do feel like it will make you think and ask some questions.

Playstation 3

Before I start, let me say that I am definitely a gamer. I have grown up with a video game system in my house since I was born, thanks to my older brother. I have had the original Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Playstation, Playstation 2, and for the past few years my Playstation 3. I have to say that I am completely shocked that the sales of the PS3 are the lowest of the three major gaming systems, (Nintendo Wii and XBOX 360). It is obvious that the PS3 is the most expensive. When it first came out it was around 500-600$, but now it is in the 300-400$ range. Some people will say well that is still pretty pricey, but you have to look at everything it does. First of all it is a high definition gaming system. The games made for it have some of the most amazing graphics I have ever seen from a video game system, and the graphics just get better as the developers find out more things the system is capable of. Game developers probably will not know the full capabilities of the system until after they make Playstation 4. Not only is it a great game system, but it comes equipped with a Blu Ray player. Blu ray DVDs are the next generation of DVDs. They are high definition with absolute crystal clear picture. For example I have The Dark Knight on blu ray, and there is a scene where the Joker's men blow out a window. When the window blows up you can literally see every piece of glass, it's unbelievable. Blu ray DVDs are taking off right now and becoming more and more popular. It is getting to the point where if you own a high definition television, you have to buy a blu ray so you can watch all your movies in high definition as well as your television shows. Another great aspect of the PS3 is that it has an internet browser built in. Oh and the internet access is free as long as you have an internet connection in your house. Also don't worry if it is a wireless connection because the PS3 has built in WiFi that can scan for an internet signal. This really is the perfect system and the commercials are right, "it only does everything."

Tiger Woods Comes Back

As I'm sure many of you have all heard that the PGA is putting on their annual Masters tournament this weekend. Also you have probably heard that Tiger Woods will be making his return to professional golf in this tournament. Of course with him coming back the media will be all over it, like they have been for months. The media loves scandals and this was a huge one. Tiger Woods had this good guy, clean, family man image that was tainted when he was involved in a sex scandal for the ages. It came out to many media outlets that he has had sex with numerous other women who are not his wife. Not to mention a good amount of these women were pornstars.

Now I understand that media is attracted to controversy like a fly to shit, but honestly when is enough, enough? What Tiger did was very wrong. I do not condone cheating on a spouse in any way. He has done a serious wrong here. He has been taking the steps to make things right. He recognized he had a huge problem and went to therapy. He is trying to make things right with his marriage, but that is an uphill battle to say the least. Everyone likes to talk about how insincere his apologies have been. They want him to show over the top emotions, but that just isn't Tiger Woods. The only time he ever shows emotion is on a golf course, and that is usually limited to a fist pump after a big putt. He is not a guy who will show emotion, if anything he is more like a robot who was only programmed to play golf.

People complain about what he did, and the media loves to talk about him every chance they get, but the fact is Tiger Woods puts fans in the stands at any golf tournament he shows up at. Why do you think he wasn't suspended from the PGA when this all came out? He took time away from golf on his own. He was not necessarily told to, he might have been by publicists because it was the best idea to step away for a while. Now that he is back, whether you love him or hate him, there will be millions watching him. They will tune in to see the reaction he gets when he finally steps up to that first tee. Golf needs him which is why they would never get rid of him. The media is all over for his indiscretions, but they are still focussed on him.

The media needs to back off. The man made a huge mistake, multiple times. Let him do what he has to do behind closed doors to fix his personal life. This constant coverage is not helping either side get through this.

Memento

I had to watch the film Memento for my COMM 225 class, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The film was different than anything I had seen before. It was about a man who was trying to figure out who killed his wife, but the only problem was he had a condition where he had no short term memory. When his wife was killed the killer hit him over the head causing him to only remember things prior to the incident. He could only remember things for about 10 minutes at a time and then he would completely forget what he was doing, who he was talking to, or what he was talking about. What made this film so unique was the way it was portrayed on screen. You start off with him looking over the body of a man he just shot, then it goes backwards from there. The scenes unfold from what he remembers from the pictures and clues he has. You, as the audience, only get to see what is happening as the main character remembers it. This allowed a direct connection between audience and main character, sucking you in right from the start. It also had the element of you never know what would happen next, meaning you had to watch every single minute of the film because it had elements that were key to the plot, which only occurred in a split second.

This unique film style is one that could be duplicated, but it is only affective if executed correctly. In this film's case, it was. I couldn't bring myself to look away from the screen, which allowed me to pick up on an important shot that literally only lasted a half second. That half second shot was the most important part of the film, in my opinion, and if I were looking away I would have missed it and been confused. I recommend this film if you ever get the chance to check it out, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Double Take

I watched Shutter Island for the second time last night, and while I was watching it I was able to pick up on little hints that the director throws into the film to help you in figuring out what is going on. Now, it was probably because I saw the film before and knew what happened that I was able to pick up on them ,but I was thinking about it and if you really watch a film and break it down while you are watching it, it was definitely possible to figure out what was going on before you got to the end. It all made me think, and this may just be me, but do we really actively watch films, or do we passively watch them for entertainment? When my roommate saw the film for the first time he said he was disappointed because it did not entertain him. Then, after he watched it a couple other times he appreciated the film. There are definitely separate types of films, such as ones that make you really think like Shutter Island, but others are just for entertainment like Anchorman. I don't think you can truly appreciate an in depth film such as Shutter Island without watching it multiple times. I know after I watched it the second time, I had a different view of how it ended. Watching films multiple times allows you to pick up on all the subtle camera shots and lines that are said throughout, which all help you figure out what the film is really all about.

Life

I don't know how many of you have seen this series of episodes on the Discovery Channel, but this program is similar to the "Planet Earth" series. Each episode focuses on a different groups of animals in the world. It is filled with amazing camera angles that obviously took a lot of time and hard work to obtain, as well as in depth information on each animal. It is one of the most amazing programs I have ever watched, and when it is on everyone I am with sits in silence while our eyes stay locked on the screen. It is interesting to see animals interact with one another and see how their instincts come into play, as well as their communication with other animals. Just last night they showed how a hyena tried to pick a fight with a few lions. Obviously the lions roughed the hyena up but it lived. The hyena then sent out a call that was heard by an entire clan of hyenas. The clan then joined together to attack the three lions. They used teamwork that you don't even see in professional sports to outsmart the lions and send them running scared. It is truly incredible to see how animals, who some humans think to be primitive and inferior to us, can work together and communicate as good as or better than us.

If you ever get the chance I recommend you take the time on Sunday nights from 8 pm -10pm to catch the rest of this series. You will watch in awe at just how incredible nature can be.

Chile Pepper Weapons?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_india_chili_grenades

The article above is really something interesting to read. Apparently the military is starting to use a chile pepper as a non-toxic, tear gas like, weapon in order to make terrorists leave hideouts. According to the article, the "Bhut Jolokia" measures up to 1,000,000 Scoville units. This unit of measurement is used to measure how spicy a pepper is. To put it on a scale, the article mentions the jalapeno pepper only measures between 2,500-8,000. So this is a spicy pepper to say the least. The idea is weaponizing the pepper causes people to choke up, making being in the presence of it unbearable.

I love the idea of this being used as a weapon. First off how expensive could making a weapon out of peppers be? Secondly, I'm not a big fan of war to begin with, so the use of non-toxic weapons is a little more settling then merciless killing. It could prove very effective to smoke out terrorists into the open to take them as prisoners, or to clear out a hideout in order for the military to enter it in search of someone. I definitely like the idea of research for more natural ways to thwart terrorism, and think more should be done to find even more ways.