It's weird being 30. I think I should feel like an adult, but I certainly do not. I remember being a little kid, talking to my parents (who were in their early 30s at the time) as well as other "adults" and just thinking "now these are grown-ups." And for all I know, that's how little kids think of me now... but man, if my parents felt then like I do now, they did a good job of covering it up. So much uncertainty, so much to worry about, and a complete lack of feeling like I have any of it under control... I thought the world would get smaller and more manageable as I got older, but I see now I was wrong.
The Double-Edged Sword
Speaking of things getting out of control, what the hell is wrong with people? Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've probably seen the shootings in Oregon and Connecticut, and the stabbings in China. With the supposed "end of the world" looming, I suppose it's only natural to expect some level of craziness... but this is beyond anything describable. I mean those were little kids in Connecticut. Children. I don't care how crazy you are, if you're willing to go that far you are crossing some serious lines.
Of course, at the forefront of this whole mess is the issue of gun control. Any time something like this comes out, the anti-gun nuts and the pro-gun nuts start duking it out. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. People pulling the trigger on guns. And around and around it goes. Now I personally hate guns. They scare the shit out of me. Anything that in one instant, with one slip of the finger, can end someone's life, is not something that I consider "safe" by any means. But, despite my hatred of guns, I do believe that people should have the right to own them. Consider a world where there were gun control laws, where it was illegal to own or carry a gun of any kind. Who would then have all the guns? Lawbreakers. And if you don't think they would be able to get their hands on those guns, you're a moron. Now imagine if each of the teachers at that elementary school had been carrying a gun. Nobody wants a shootout, especially in a school, but I'd be willing to bet the killer would think twice about assaulting that place, and if he did go through with it I'd bet at least one of those teachers would have dropped his ass before he had a chance to hurt that many people. So I am anti-gun control, but I look at it from a purely practical perspective. I know that there is no way to rid the world of guns, and I know that criminals would get their hands on guns whether they were illegal or not. So if that's the case then the rest of us should also be able to arm up and protect ourselves (and each other). That said, I do think there should be MUCH stricter rules and regulations in place when purchasing weapons. Not only should you have to prove that you have a clean criminal record... not only should you have to wait a set period (like maybe two days) before you can actually walk out with the gun you've purchased... each and every person who purchases a gun should also have go undergo a psychiatric examination. If a shrink says your mental state is acceptable, only then should you be allowed to buy a gun. Think about it - I'd be willing to bet a trained psychiatrist would be able to detect some oddness in the nutjob who killed all those innocent kids.
Another issue I've been hearing a lot about is the way media is covering this event (and all events like it). "Oh they just glorify the murderer by mentioning his name," or "all the media cares about is death and destruction," boo hoo hoo. I tell you what... you may not like it, but I'm going to side with the media on this one. The media's job in these situations is to divulge as much information as possible. The whole reason you KNOW about the shooting AT ALL is because of the same media that you hate so much. They aren't focusing on death and destruction. They are focusing on FACTS. I don't care how high-minded you think you are, there was some part of you that wanted to know who this killer was. Who could possibly be crazy enough to assault a school and kill kids? You want to know who he was, what his history is, what could possibly have caused him to go this far. The media is not glorifying this guy, they are trying to educate you on what's going on. Now, do some on-air people take it too far? Yes, undoubtedly. But try to see it from their perspective. This is a tragic, tragic event... and they are seeing things that never make it on air. Bodies of children, the bloody scene, everything. And yet they are expected to hold it together and shrug these images off while they tell you about what's going on behind them. Instead of nit-picking every little thing they say (like for example someone got mad because a reporter said "if this death count holds up"), why not cut them a little slack and try to accept the fact that they are doing their best just like the rest of us? Can you imagine how it would feel if someone stood over you every second at your boring-ass job and said "oh, you could have collated those copies a lot better than that." It makes no sense.
No, if you're going to blame anyone for these types of events, blame yourself. Blame me. Blame all of us in this society, because we are the ones who drive this machine. We are the ones who can't take our eyes off a good train wreck. We are the ones who talk all big like "that's so disgusting" and "how could they," but then we are the ones who are sneaking a look. We are the ones who slow down to look at a wreck on the side of the road. It's human nature... we look for breaks from the ordinary, and because of the way we're wired, negative breaks from the ordinary are even more exciting to us.
The person who committed this crime, the people who commit any of these kinds of crimes, are trying to make a statement before they die. They want to go out in flames so they will be remembered. And it's true, if we didn't give them any attention they would probably just kill themselves and do us all a favor. But I don't think it's fair for you to blame the weapons he used, because he had to pull the trigger on those weapons. And I don't think it's fair for you to blame media for glorifying this guy, because if they didn't tell you who he was and what he was about, you'd then be attacking the media for withholding important information and "not telling the whole story."
These events are a chance for us all to reflect on ourselves. We should take a moment to tell everyone we love that we love them, and we should also take a minute to evaluate our own morals and judgments. Think about your lives as they relate to others, think about what's really important to you. Consider those things next time you go outside, head to the store, drop the kids off at school, whatever.
Rulebook
So Facebook sure is making a big deal about their changing the rules, aren't they? I love how they're trying to act like we're all so important to them... they even let us vote! Facebook is so nice. Except that they're not. What Facebook is doing is what any company that reaches critical mass tries to do. They are trying to stay relevant, and more importantly, stay profitable.
Think about it. It happens with all kinds of companies. Microsoft was the shiz for a long, long time. They peaked, and then reached a point where they were just innovating for the sake of innovation, and those innovations wound up doing nothing for them except cluttering their message and their brand. Apple is slowly but surely heading in that same direction. Facebook is struggling with this too. How do they stay ahead, when their biggest competition is themselves? And how do they continue to rake in more and more money, but still keep the company running?
In a lot of ways, Facebook is a house of cards. It's worth billions, but if they make even one tiny mistake they will be worth nothing. This is because Facebook is built on convenience, and you are the only thing keeping it alive. The instant Facebook becomes too much of a hassle -- whether they start charging, selling your private information, using your private information to target ads, or whatever... you will always be in the driver's seat.
I think it's hilarious when I see all these statements on people's walls, all about "the information on my facebook page is my private information" and blah blah blah. Do you really think that is going to stand up anywhere? You don't pay for facebook. They don't owe you anything. In fact, in a lot of ways (legal ways) you owe them.
But there is a solution to the facebook problem. Stop using it. If you are really bothered by all this privacy shit, then stop putting your private info out on facebook! It's not complicated.
I didn't vote in this silly farce that they're putting on. I'm not stupid and I know that I'm nothing but dollar signs to the folks at facebook. What I plan to do, and what I suggest you plan to do, is wait until they've pushed you far enough, frustrated you to the point of no return, and then bail. Go to google. Hell, go back to Myspace, I think they're trying really hard to become a big deal again. Whatever you do, don't fool yourself into believing that you control anything you put out on facebook. And definitely don't be so gullible to ever think that Facebook has your best interests in mind.
The Perfect Getaway
From Netflix: Newlyweds Cliff and Cydney are enjoying a perfect honeymoon in Hawaii -- that is, until they run into a pair of menacing hikers. But that's not the only threat lurking in this jungle paradise.
My Take: I'm going to ruin this movie for you. Though really, "ruin" is too strong a word. This movie ruins itself, so in a lot of ways I'm doing you a favor. Alright? So here goes. The main characters are the killers. How do you feel right now? Tricked? Cheated? Disappointed? Good. Because that's exactly how I felt when the ridiculous twist hit me like a fish at the end of this movie.
This movie performs two cardinal sins. First, it talks about making a movie within the movie. This sad attempt at being "meta" only serves to weaken the plot... and the plot is already pretty thin. Nothing worse than taking a movie where you know there's a twist coming, and filling it with shitty dialogue talking about the importance of a twist at a certain spot in a movie. Foreshadowing? More like stupidity.
The second sin this movie performs is tricking the viewer. Once the twist comes, you are taken down a road of flashbacks. I have to admit, when I first got the twist and the flashbacks started, I was intrigued. What were all the little telltale signs throughout the movie that I should have seen or picked up on? Well, turns out there were none. All of the giveaway stuff happened off camera, just before or after scenes in the movie. There is no payoff when there's nothing to reveal. You can't just hide the important shit and then laugh at viewers for not knowing it. That's stupid. What's worse is that there were several scenes in this movie where the only two people in the scene were our killers. And yet they acted like they were scared, like they didn't know who was going to kill them and who they could trust. Why why WHY would they do that? It makes absolutely no sense, and it blows this movie wide open.
The ONLY redeeming quality of this movie is the soundtrack. And even that was "not bad." The acting is terrible, the story is unforgivable, and this is two hours of your life that would be better spent doing something... anything... else. Seriously, if I had to choose between jogging for two hours or sitting through this movie again, I would pick jogging. IT'S THAT BAD.
Prometheus
From Netflix: When scientific explorers unearth an artifact that points to the origins of humankind, they're pulled into the unexpected adventure of a lifetime. But if they falter, the very future of their species is at stake.
My Take: Movies like this fascinate me. They fascinate me because of their stories, but also because I think they really illustrate the importance of having a good producer and director at the helm. There are spoilers ahead, so if you haven't seen Prometheus, go see it. Right now. Then read on.
I'm a catholic, I believe in God, but I also believe that there are forces at work in this universe that we haven't even begun to fathom. The idea that an alien race "planted" humanity on the earth? Why ISN'T that possible? Is it really so hard to believe? And while there might not be any evidence as definitive as what was in "Prometheus," there is evidence that some kind of extraterrestrial live visited this planet at some point in our history. If you don't believe me, just watch The History Channel on just about any Saturday morning. There's always at least one show with this guy talking about some pretty compelling shit.
So the story's got me hook line and sinker. But it's so easy for a movie like this to go south. So many things can go wrong. You're teetering so close to the edge of disbelief that one wrong move can take you out of your imagination and into the world of "that's bullshit." Enter Ridley Scott. I'll be honest, I think Scott does a better job with movies like "Kingdom of Heaven" than he does with sci-fi, but "Alien" was pretty badass in its day, so that shows he has the chops to pull off something like this. And for the most part, he does.
My only real beef with this movie is that it left a lot of unanswered questions. And not in the "cool maybe they'll make a sequel" way... it was more like in the "that's lazy" or "did they forget?" way. First off, why did the giant aliens create us, just to destroy us? They end the movie with the main chick inexplicably flying off in a completely alien spacecraft to "find the answers." Forget the fact that there's a good chance more of the giant guys were on that ship. Forget the fact that more of the weird alien mutant things were probably floating around on there. Forget the fact that assuming she does make it to the big guys' planet, they would probably kill her on the spot. It would have been better, honestly, if they would have explained why they wanted humanity dead, and then killed all the characters in the movie. That would have been a much more satisfying ending. Also, whatever happened to the biologist? We saw what happened to the geologist (the pretzel guy who they had to burn the shit out of), but the biologist got the alien worm in his mouth and then we never saw him again. What about the main guy who got sabotaged by the android? He was starting to transform, and they killed him. But what was he transforming into? Why even include that bit in the movie if it had no purpose or meaning? Why were the big white dudes so scared of the alien things? They all seemed self-contained, yet those guys were so scared that one of them tripped and got his head cut off by a door. The big white dude gets killed by the squid thing, and then gives birth to what I'm guessing was the first Alien. But that's only one. It looks nothing like the Aliens we're used to seeing. And how in the world did that thing survive on a planet that presumably had no life? How did it pro-create when there were no other aliens around to do the nasty with? And my biggest problem: when they were running from the rolling space ship, after it falls out of the sky, why didn't they just run to the side? Charlize Theron, the hottest chick in the movie, was crushed by a ship that was so narrow the main chick was able to literally ROLL to the side and have it miss her. These were supposed to be smart people, problem solvers, and they couldn't even figure out how to escape something that easy?
Those issues aside, this really was an enjoyable movie. It was intense, it was creepy, it was surreal, it was beautiful. I enjoyed the entire experience, and I plan to watch it again. I highly recommend this movie, especially if you're a sci-fi junkie or like the "Alien" franchise.
Alright ladies and gents, that's it for this week. Join us next time for another exciting episode...
