Due to the fact I am unsure what exactly the "wrap up" blog post is supposed to be, I have decided to take liberty to post anything I want pertaining to this class and blog as a whole. I would like to start in saying, that it was fun.
Yes, it has been fun to get my thoughts out there. I have written freely what I have thought and although this blog will probably wash away with time, it was fun. I would like to think someone will eventually stumble across my humble ramblings and find them of use, but regardless we have discussed the nature of pornography and adultery, dived in to the ecosystem with the group posts on the environment, and looked at 5 of the most amazing films of the 21st century. What more could a blogger want for a blog? (and I have an awesome background picture, that has to count for something....)
So in ending, I will cease to post on this blog and may start a new blog somewhere, but I will never stop writing and thinking. I would like to impress that upon you reader, never stop thinking and learning. It is the human ability to learn and think and progress that gives me hope for humanity despite the signs that thinking has ceased.
Stay thirsty my friends.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Best 5 Movies of the 21st Century
I would like to start that this was very difficult. I enjoy many movies and it was extremely hard to cut it down to only 5 and then put them in order. The following movies are addressed in order, starting with the best movie of the 21st century.
#1. The Dark Knight (2008)
How many of you guessed this? This movie is often cited as one
of the best movies of the decade all over the internet in a way that you would imagine could not be true. The reason it is loved however is not simply because it is the coolest batman movie to date, but because it really is an exceptional movie that stands apart from all others. This movie was not made, it was designed. This movie has been viewed countless times by many of its viewers and sets up a strong well thought out story. Heath Ledger plays not only as the Joker but the embodiment of the corruption of Gotham City. This movie is not your classic good versus evil, but actually makes you think beyond the story line. Every time you watch it, you can catch more deep hidden meaning. Although anyone can talk for hours in deep discussions about the movie, it does not bore one with lack of action or story. It is a masterpiece of the 21st century.
#2. Up (2009)
I am willing to bet this one comes as a surprise to many of you. After all isn't Up a movie intended for a younger audience? No. Pixar resoundingly proves with this movie that animation is not simply for the young but for all audiences. With its deeply depressing intro, one is immediately drawn into the movie. For kids, this is a happy movie born of an overactive imagination, with talking dogs and flying houses. For adults, this movie takes on a whole new perspective. This story is a less and discussion on joy in life itself. Many of us live day to day wishing for adventure and ignoring that it is not just out there, but it is with us every day. The happiness in our lives are simply ignored by our fast pace lifestyle and our very dreams of happiness. This movie presents a jarring lesson on life itself, while in the end still leaving you with a un-erasable smile. And anyways, as we know, Doug is awesome!
#3. District 9 (2009)
Possibly overshadows by the (in my opinion) overly popular Avatar
movie, District 9 is a masterpiece despite its low budget. With surprisingly realistic CGI and a unique filming style, it takes a second to figure out what is going on. The sense of a gross injustice to the aliens is not immediate, but its portrayal of complete lack of empathy is shocking. This movie validates the Native American proverb "Don't judge any man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins." Although a science fiction piece, this movie appeals to more than your standard science fiction audience. With action, story, and a very open ending, it truly represents something greater than simply humanity repressing alien races.
#4. Wall-E (2008)
Although again a kids movie, the messages in this movie are more hidden. It tells a wonderful story, a single robot, alone, left to clean up a world. Wall-E begins to learn and experiment, his curiosity constantly getting the better of him. Although a love story at its core, the movie also drives into a society that has stagnated. Humanity, afloat in space, has everything they want and simply talk on their phone/chairs going about their lives. They never have anything bad happen, but nothing good either. They have forgotten what makes them human so much, that the robots appear more human in nature than humanity itself at some points. Of course, the action is a bit more scaled down, but that is to be expected. This movie is after all intended for a wide audience beyond your adult action movie lover. This movie is made for everyone.
#5. V for Vendetta (2005)
Possibly best known for its stunning destruction scenes to the tun
e of the 1812 overture, this movie has not yet been realized for its true material potential. Most people are more fascinated by the action than the story and the story more than the commentary it is making. People do not think, they simply watch the news and fall victim to government scandals. A ghestapo like force is there to immediately catch anyone who does not completely obey the ruling dictatorship. This movie strikes at government secrecy and promotes the idea that the people will always strive towards freedom from oppression. That to repress an idea or ones rights and freedoms simply delays and powers the inadvertable.
These movies are in my humble opinion the best movies of the 21st century. Enjoy watching them again. :P
#1. The Dark Knight (2008)
How many of you guessed this? This movie is often cited as one

#2. Up (2009)

#3. District 9 (2009)
Possibly overshadows by the (in my opinion) overly popular Avatar

#4. Wall-E (2008)

#5. V for Vendetta (2005)
Possibly best known for its stunning destruction scenes to the tun

These movies are in my humble opinion the best movies of the 21st century. Enjoy watching them again. :P
Criteria for Juding Movies in the 21st Century
Almost everyone is familiar with the age old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover." But how do you judge it then? Solely on your enjoyment of it? Or a measure of the life value between its covers?
The same issue adheres to judging movies. How does one determine if a movie is a masterpiece or a flop? Simply based on how many people see it in theaters or review it good? Some movies that get excellent reviews are dropped later as something that is not worth re-watching, and others that were greeted at first with indifference has stood the test of time. In my opinion a movie is not good simply if someone sees a movie and enjoys it, but if they would be willing to see it again.
What makes a person want to see a movie more than once? Is it cool action films? Although most guys will agree, action films are awesome in their effects using today's technology, some of the best films of all time are not known for their looks alone. Yes, society likes action and a film that does not appeal to a audience as moving in some way progressively forward is lost, but action without a plot is not a story. So a movie that is good must have a strong story.
But what is a story? Is it a pointless plot simply made to tie together our scenes? A story should not simply be a basic plot, but as any story should, it should have a point, a reason, a moral, a lesson, or even a bit for thought. A good movie should allow one to sit back afterward and think. What would they have done in the situation? Is the movie making a comment or statement on society in general. I would like to point out that this does not necessarily mean that the viewer must agree with the point to enjoy the movie, but it must be there all the same. A perfect example could be Avatar, where there was clear commentary on a military industrial complex. Although one may disagree with the commentary on our loosing touch with nature, it does not mean that the movie is lost on that portion of the audience. Therefore the movie should have a further meaning or something to make one think.
More basically in nature, a movie cannot be one of the best movies of the 21st century if no one knows about it. So the final criteria is taken in part from IMDB, a minimum number of votes which I will set at 3000 as they do.
Oh, and finally, I must have seen it. After all, you can't judge a book from its cover.
The same issue adheres to judging movies. How does one determine if a movie is a masterpiece or a flop? Simply based on how many people see it in theaters or review it good? Some movies that get excellent reviews are dropped later as something that is not worth re-watching, and others that were greeted at first with indifference has stood the test of time. In my opinion a movie is not good simply if someone sees a movie and enjoys it, but if they would be willing to see it again.
What makes a person want to see a movie more than once? Is it cool action films? Although most guys will agree, action films are awesome in their effects using today's technology, some of the best films of all time are not known for their looks alone. Yes, society likes action and a film that does not appeal to a audience as moving in some way progressively forward is lost, but action without a plot is not a story. So a movie that is good must have a strong story.
But what is a story? Is it a pointless plot simply made to tie together our scenes? A story should not simply be a basic plot, but as any story should, it should have a point, a reason, a moral, a lesson, or even a bit for thought. A good movie should allow one to sit back afterward and think. What would they have done in the situation? Is the movie making a comment or statement on society in general. I would like to point out that this does not necessarily mean that the viewer must agree with the point to enjoy the movie, but it must be there all the same. A perfect example could be Avatar, where there was clear commentary on a military industrial complex. Although one may disagree with the commentary on our loosing touch with nature, it does not mean that the movie is lost on that portion of the audience. Therefore the movie should have a further meaning or something to make one think.
More basically in nature, a movie cannot be one of the best movies of the 21st century if no one knows about it. So the final criteria is taken in part from IMDB, a minimum number of votes which I will set at 3000 as they do.
Oh, and finally, I must have seen it. After all, you can't judge a book from its cover.
The Energy to Move Forward
This post will bring to close the series of posts about energy independence and clean energy. Although this ends our online series, this does not mean that the issues have ceased or faded away. Lets remember some of the more important issues with energy and green policies and what we have learned.
Although green energy is important, it is an immunization. When our economy is down we should be concentrated on helping our economy as our primary focus. There is a time and place over everything and if we cannot sustain the new changes, why make them. It does not make sense to regulate our businesses when they are already having trouble in a down economy.
In addition, we should not hammer on the Global Warming issue. The evidence is not only shaky but has now been proven to be highly unreliable. Although the majority of people in the would would agree that cleaner air is something that they want, it does not make it right to claim that the reasons behind our actions are global warming. Our goal should be energy independency with a time-line fitted to work with our economic status.
We should not ignore our built in infrastructure and available resources, we have oil and can allivieate some of the symptoms as we try to cure the root cause. We should take energy movement in moderation. Enhance existing systems while looking further into future systems. Drill for oil now, while creating cars that can run off of ethanol.
Our country can be energy independent, but it must be achieved slowly but surely. We cannot sacrifice our country to save our country. We cannot sacrifice our economy for expediency.
So this leaves us, reader, with the future. What can you do to get more involved in this issue? After all, energy and our country lies not solely in the hands of those in power, but also by the people in it. Of course, the obvious common advice comes to mind: Write letters to senators and congressmen, Call your representative and make sure its in their agenda, Participate in green organizations and other political events. However all these miss something very important. Vote. Vote in caucuses, they determine agenda and who will run. Vote for senators and representatives at all levels. Be active in the voting process.
After all, the governmental policy is set by those in power, and you, reader, are the only one who can put policies in and out of power.
Although green energy is important, it is an immunization. When our economy is down we should be concentrated on helping our economy as our primary focus. There is a time and place over everything and if we cannot sustain the new changes, why make them. It does not make sense to regulate our businesses when they are already having trouble in a down economy.
In addition, we should not hammer on the Global Warming issue. The evidence is not only shaky but has now been proven to be highly unreliable. Although the majority of people in the would would agree that cleaner air is something that they want, it does not make it right to claim that the reasons behind our actions are global warming. Our goal should be energy independency with a time-line fitted to work with our economic status.
We should not ignore our built in infrastructure and available resources, we have oil and can allivieate some of the symptoms as we try to cure the root cause. We should take energy movement in moderation. Enhance existing systems while looking further into future systems. Drill for oil now, while creating cars that can run off of ethanol.
Our country can be energy independent, but it must be achieved slowly but surely. We cannot sacrifice our country to save our country. We cannot sacrifice our economy for expediency.
So this leaves us, reader, with the future. What can you do to get more involved in this issue? After all, energy and our country lies not solely in the hands of those in power, but also by the people in it. Of course, the obvious common advice comes to mind: Write letters to senators and congressmen, Call your representative and make sure its in their agenda, Participate in green organizations and other political events. However all these miss something very important. Vote. Vote in caucuses, they determine agenda and who will run. Vote for senators and representatives at all levels. Be active in the voting process.
After all, the governmental policy is set by those in power, and you, reader, are the only one who can put policies in and out of power.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
All Things in Moderation
Drill, Baby, Drill quickly caught on as a phrase in the Republican Party during the 2009 elections. It underlines a fundamental difference in opinions, the Republican Party wants to drill here and drill now, while the democratic party is more inclined to push regulations and clean energy immediately. Both sides are both rather dramatic in scale. But there is a middle ground. Even if we want to move to clean energy, as Fred Barnes said "In the meantime, America needs oil, and the good news is we're awash in the stuff."
Our country lives off
of oil, and as with any addiction, the United States cannot be cured overnight. In the article "Lets Wean America off Fossil Fuels in 15 Years." the author discusses a report that calls for "utilizing current technology and infrastructure." We cannot abandon our current infrastructure immediately simply because we are in a rush, we must 'wean' America off of its addiction.
By opening up drilling here and now, we first allow for reduced gas prices, jump-starting our economy and allowing more money to be spent on research. As the economy rolls along, we can slowly phase in both short term and long term structures for energy independence.
Again this can be thought of as a unique illness. We cannot simply focus on solving the cause without fighting the symptoms as well, yet we cannot devote all our attention to fighting the symptoms. We must work steadily but surely on both. To much of anything is a not always a good thing, neither to much oil dependence, nor to much of a push for green energy. We must strike a balance with the present and future in order to evolve into a truly energy independent nation.
Barnes, Fred. "Let's Drill." The Weekly Standard. The Weekly Standard LLC. 26 May 2008. Web.
"How to Wean America Off Fossil Fuels in 15 Years" EV World. n.p. 20 March 2004. Web.
Our country lives off

By opening up drilling here and now, we first allow for reduced gas prices, jump-starting our economy and allowing more money to be spent on research. As the economy rolls along, we can slowly phase in both short term and long term structures for energy independence.
Again this can be thought of as a unique illness. We cannot simply focus on solving the cause without fighting the symptoms as well, yet we cannot devote all our attention to fighting the symptoms. We must work steadily but surely on both. To much of anything is a not always a good thing, neither to much oil dependence, nor to much of a push for green energy. We must strike a balance with the present and future in order to evolve into a truly energy independent nation.
Barnes, Fred. "Let's Drill." The Weekly Standard. The Weekly Standard LLC. 26 May 2008. Web.
"How to Wean America Off Fossil Fuels in 15 Years" EV World. n.p. 20 March 2004. Web.
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