And Then There Was One: The Book of Eli

Two posts in one day. Must be a holiday or something.

I enjoy watching movies but I hardly ever go to the theater any more. Seriously, I don’t see the point of spending $10 to watch a movie when I can buy the DVD for the same price a few months later.

This evening The Book of Eli came on HBO and I decided to watch it since it was free. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman are two actors whose work I enjoy so I expected the movie to be decent. It was.

The Book of Eli is set in a post apocalyptic world. 30 years have passed since war broke out and civilization was destroyed by, what we are led to assume, an exchange of nuclear bombs. The movie follows the basic hero’s journey plotline. We meet Eli, a lone wanderer, as he is hunting for food in the woods. But soon it becomes clear that he is not walking around the U.S. for fun and hijinks. He is on a mission.

Is World Peace Possible?

Today marks the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States. Six years ago, a group of extremists tried to destroy us as a people and as a nation and all for the stated glory of their god. It didn’t make much sense to me then and it still doesn’t now.

Thinking about that tragedy and the war our country is still waging “on terrorism” has made me wonder if we will ever evolve to point to where we will strive for world peace instead of world domination.

You see world peace requires the cooperation of all in order to make it work. At the micro level, this is the equivalent of roommates sharing an apartment. Each person must do their part (pay their portion of the bills, clean up their mess) and be willing to give up a few things (smoking outside, no pets) in order to live together in harmony.

The dynamics of the real world, however, has two of the roommates fighting each other to the death. Some roommates are taking sides while other are trying to avoid the situation altogether and still others don’t know what the hell is going on. There is another occupant who stays in their room all day and filters contact with the outside world through a firewall and yet another who is slowly dying in their room because the others are so caught up in their own battles that they can’t be bothered to help.

The Scarlett Letter “P”

Do you think pedophiles and child molesters should be publicly branded?

I had an interesting discussion with a co-worker the other day about this idea. It was her opinion that pedophiles should be made to wear something that tells the public what they are.

On an emotional level, I agreed with her. I don’t have children but nieces and nephews and don’t ever want anyone to victimize them like that. People who commit sex crimes against children are the lowest form of scum in existence. In fact, it is an insult to scum to even call pedophiles that. I think these animals should be blasted off to another planet where aliens will molest them all day long.

Philosophical Waxing

At times I experience periods of heightened creativity which is how I know I’m beginning a manic depressive cycle. I read once that this was because a person was actually receiving communication from the divine during their mania. I don’t believe this but it was such a whimsical thought that I tucked it away in my hat for occasions when I am inclined to ponder such things.

I’m probably the most peculiar atheist you’ll ever meet. I don’t believe god as humanity currently defines him/her/it exists but I hold a deep fascination about the idea and its accompanying mythologies. Perhaps it is the writer in me but there is something seductively peculiar about the way that we, as human beings, feel the need to rationalize the existence of our world and the obsessive compulsion to hide our complete ignorance about it.

Equivalent Exchange

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something of equal value in return. That is the law of Equivalent Exchange and the first rule of Alchemy. ~Alphonse, Full Metal Alchemist

My average work week is fifty-six hours. Forty at a full time job and sixteen at a part-time job. The cost of living is high in my area but because I don’t want a roommate (flashback to the horror filled days of campus life), I made the choice to get a second job to cover the expenses. Sure it gets a little tricky sometimes on the days when I have to go straight from one job to the next and with the demise of my clunkmobile, a few weeks ago, it’s been quite the adventure.