Keith's Coruscant Cornucopia

Warning to the Republicans

2010-10-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

America is tired of extremism... In November we will not be voting so much FOR you as AGAINST them... If you try to pull us equally far to the right as they tried to pull us to the left; if you let the extremists run your party; if you cater to the special interests, then you will not gain the White House in 2012.

America is starving for true leaders... brave men and women who put the welfare of the nation before everything else... even before their own careers and wallets... Do you have what it takes to be a leader, or will you continue partisan politics as usual?

Where are all these jobs???

2010-09-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

Just one question for now....
Where exactly ARE all these jobs that the rich folk are creating with their tax breaks??

Houston Malls prefer texters to Go players

2010-05-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my long suffering fans... I am back to blogging...

Today, I and my fellow Go players (6 to 8) were asked to leave a mall in Houston where we had been playing every week for about 3 months. We intend to talk with the property manager this week to see why we were asked to leave. We all buy breakfast and sometime lunch there. We intend to speak with the property manager and security management to see if we can get this injustice overturned.. but if we can not get treated fairly.. then we are taking it to the net!!!

Believe me.. this is as ignorant as when the citizens of the University Village in Houston got the Houston Go club blocked from taking ownership of a house that was given to them... the reason.. they thought that a Go club would have strippers in it...

Whats so bad about D&D 3.5???

2007-11-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, with all the buzz about D&D 4e coming out, I've read a lot of posts here and there that say D&D 3.5e was bad, a rip off or in some other way 'not good,' but I can't seem to get any details... Now with 4e coming out, I here quite a bit of disgruntledness out there, but can't get any details.

Can someone tell me just what was so bad about 3.5e except for the fact that you probably had to pay another $90+ to get the core books, but did you really need these books???? Is it the supplemental material that becomes incompatible? And if you already have $1,000 of books and materials... what the heck else would you need???

Anyway, as I have never purchased 3.5e, I have no idea what the deal was/is. So if someone can enlighten me, you may save me the money I might otherwise spend on 4e.

Oh yeah... Happy Thanksgiving!!!! As you can see, I am celebrating the day like a true American, by thnking of spending money just because Wizards of the Cost have invented a new way to roll dice.....

Beowulf Revived!

2007-11-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

Several years after I tossed Michael Chricton's Eater's of the Dead into the used book bag, having only read, at best, thirty pages and cussing him for blatant plagiarism, I read the afterward of the book. If memory serves (its not worth wikipeding), some friend of Chricton's complained that students were no longer interested in the classics. It was some how impossible to get them interested in such older works as Beowulf. Chricton's response was that it just wasn't presented right... and he wrote the above mentioned retelling of the story... which I never finished.... Robert Zemeckis' response is the movie, Beowulf, I saw today, and I can only say that he hit the nail on the head... I am sure that the images I saw on the screen today were very close to those that listeners would have imagined as the poem was song around campfires long ago.

I was a bit surprised to see that the movie is animated much like 300 without the herky-jerky stop motion/speed motion of that film. The animation is also not often as good as that of 300, but making it a little more video-gamey than 300 may help connect with that lost generation that so disturbed Chricton's friend. Once I got adjusted to the animation, I just went along for the enjoyable ride.

The poem, Beowulf is one of my favorite works, and the ancient Geat one of my first heroes. Until now, all the screen adaptations I've seen were pretty pathetic, mainly because they either focused only on the conflict with Grendel or just used the name Beowulf, and the poem itself be damned.... Zemeckis does none of this. He stays truer to the story than anyone in the past, and because the various parts of the story need to be connected somehow, I will grant him the changes that he made to Grendel's Dam and fate of Hrothgar.

The movie shows the swimming race between Beowulf and Brecca and the battle with the sea monsters, and just like those listeners nearly 2000 years ago, I can accept Beowulf's abilities, for he was the first superhero. there is also a scene where the kingdom celebrates the anniversary of Grendel's death by telling the story of his fight with Beowulf, and the bard is telling the story in Old English which was a delightful touch. I also enjoyed the brief scene when Unferth asked Hrothgar if they should also sacrifice to the 'new god, Christ Jesus.' Zemeckis illustrates, in this single scene, the influences of Christianity that each lecture spends at least 45 minutes addressing. I thought that too was a nice touch.

So, if you like the poem, Beowulf, you should not be disappointed with this film... If you are a fan of superheroes... well, this was the first, and you should enjoy this film... If you need exact realism in your science fiction and fantasy.. you might not like this, and if you are an English professor and think that Beowulf is no longer teachable to the modern student... just wait so your class can get the DVD....

Bottom line: I recommend this movie....

No Country for Old Men

2007-11-17T05:48:00.000-08:00

I had to go to Wikipedia to fill in the blanks I was left with after seeing the movie, No Country For Old Men. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this movie... I've been liking everything that The Coen brothers do, but something struck me while watching the movie that the plot wasn't as tight as I know the Coens can make, then I saw the credits... The Coens didn't write it; they based their screenplay on a novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy... and the movie has all the markings of a rather complex book squeezed into a movie....

But, after learning more about the novel from the modern Alexandrian Library, if I had to pick someone to turn this novel into a movie, the Coen brothers are the ones I'd pick. The characters are perfect subjects for their adept understanding of the baser side of human nature... The movie opens with a voice over narrative by West Texas Sheriff Ed Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) that ponders the depth of villainy (I won't call it evil) and how incomprehensible it can be.... even to a third generation Texas Lawman. It reminded me of that GREAT last line in Fargo when Marge (Frances McDormand) rhetorically asks the villain what was it all for?

Like Fargo, the villains in No Country for Old Men are after money... the money they lost, and Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) found. Speaking of villains, if there was an award for best actor in the role of a villain, it would go to Josh Bardem in the role of Anton Chigurh who uses a 'cattle gun' to kill people and pop deadbolts. The Coens out did themselves with this baddy. But that is to be expected from the Coens who are experts at creating and presenting their characters. I enjoyed watching this movie because the Coens are such masters of character, and the talent selected for this film are experts at bringing them to life and using that coen dialogue of which no syllable is wasted.

Unfortunately, the movie lacks a lot of explanation. It doesn't take much of imagination to know what went down at the drug deal, but, as other players in the deal are introduced, their role is not clear. What exactly was the plan? Why was there a tracking beacon in the money? Who the hell was Stephen Root's character supposed to be? Was Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) a good guy, a bad guy, or just after the money? All of these questions can be answered in the mind of the viewer, but the viewer shouldn't have to guess to answer these questions. It seemed that the only reason that Sheriff Bell (Jones) was in the movie was to offer a chorus to help the viewer string the pieces together. Though Jones gives a great performance, and each of his scenes was masterful, his character could have been removed from the film, and nothing would have been lost... however, one gets the feeling that his character is necessary in order to realize the theme and message of the novel... And that is the difficulty with turning a book into a film... do you just chase the white whale or do you explore the nature of man?

In summary, I enjoyed this movie, I feel I got my money's worth, and I am going to read the book, but I still don't know who the hell those guys were in room 138....

Dragon Wars - Comments on the Movie

2007-09-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

My brother and I went to see the movie Dragon Wars. He liked it and I didn't. If he sends me a review, I will post it. These are my comments.

******* SPOILER ALERT****SPOILER ALERT******
********DETAILS ABOUT THE MOVIE FOLLOW*******

The main problem that I have with this movie is that it bored me. There were very nice visual effects, but I can get visual effects for free on my computer... AND visual effects are to be expected in any sort of monster movie. We can pretty much make anything look extremely real, so special effects do not impress me unless they are 'stunning.'

the movie starts with a somewhat lengthy narrative to introduce the 'situation.' Later in the movie, the history of the serpentine feud is related by the wise old sage. Although this narration has flashback scenes to go along with it, it is still a narration. About this time, I was starting to feel rushed. There was a LOT of story... a lot of INTERESTING story rushed along in this manner. There was also a lot that probably should have been explained in THIS narrative. Who exactly was the evil general leading the dark forces for the bad imoogi? Why was he leading them? What did he expect to gain? Where did he get his army, and his saurian mounts? While I watched the immense horde of dark soldiers on their dinosaur mounts launching rocket attacks against a small Korean village, I wondered why this dark general didn't continue on to take over the world. Or, maybe, all this horde was in some way tied to the evil imoogi... but where they came from and where they went will remain a mystery to me... maybe I missed it in the narrative.

Return to modern day Los Angeles for the D-War to continue. and there, I have several problems with just the way the movie seemed to be edited. There were scenes that just ended in what seemed to be critical parts. One was when the dark general first visits the old sage's (Jack's) antique shop. The old sage says "Ah, Lord Balax (sp)..." the scene pretty much stops after the initial greeting, the audience never sees what happens inside the Antique shop. this is important, because the evil general seems to have taken over the shop and from the relics there resurrects his saurian/dragon evil soldier army. I would have like to have seen how the evil general ousted the mystic kung-fu master Jack from the shop. I'd also like to know why Jack hadn't long centuries ago destroyed the scolls and makic staues that would become the evili legion. There is another scene where the comic news cameraman Bruce asks the reincarnated hero Ethan if he believes all the Dragon stuff, and the scene switches to something else. I think that Ethan's answer to that question was important.

Another problem I have with more than one scene is that the bad imoogi had the girl trapped at least twice, and instead of snapping her up to gain ultimate power from the yi yoo Joo, he roars for about a minute allowing opportunity for her to get away again or for others to resue her. I understand that this is needed for the movie to have suspense and to keep moving, but once is enough. Granted, this sounds like I am picking nits, but there are enough nits to suggest total infestation... I think that I am only asking for the movie to complete important scenes, explain what the magical fantastic stuff is doing there and not just have things happen because it looks cool.... Oh, and why did the good imoogi wait until the very end to make an appearance.. they could have used his help in that battle for Los Angeles....

I give D-Wars a Thumbs down... I didn't like it...

Audio Go Lectures

2007-08-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

I have been a student of Guo Juan's Go School online for about 2 months now, and I my game shows that it is worth every Euro I've spent so far. I have added a link to the site in my sidebar... If you are a Go enthusiast, check it out.

The Last Legion

2007-08-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

I went to see the movie, The Last Legion, this afternoon and was disappointed. I will try to avoid spoilers in this little review.

The movie is based on the novel by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. I have not read the book, but I hope that it is better than this movie. It is yet another take on the King Arthur legend. It seems to be in vogue these days to retool the legend of Arthur moving his origins ever further from Christianity. (I just deleted a paragraph to avoid going off into that tangent). The novelizations of these retoolings are interesting (I have read one called The Skystone), but in removing the legend from it's religious context, something is lost. The story felt more like a D&D adventure than the birthing legend of a righteous King. The young Unther is the boy emperor, Romulus Augustus, played by Thomas Sangster says to his mother, "in the past 5 years, there have been 5 emperors, and they have all been killed; what will happen to me?" This line brought attention to the violent, tumultuous world that Romulus was raised in. It was the worst of the Roman Empire... decadent and fallen. What virtue are we to hope will rise out of this?

The lighthearted romantic 'comedy' provided Colin Firth and Aishwarya Rai seemed better scripted for a comic book than the action drama that this movie tried to be. the same is true for the light, comedic spin that was put on several of the fight scenes.

The movie seemed to lack depth, and it had the feeling of being the second book in a trilogy (which it is not). To it's credit, I must admit that the final credits mentioned that the movie was based on 'parts' of the novel, so maybe those elements that would have given the characters more dimensions and made the plot more engaging/intriguing were in the other parts of the book.

I also wonder if the the writers Jez and Tom Butterworth were actually listening to characters. To motivate the troops in the inevitable, hopeless final battle, Aurelius (Colin Firth) says that they are making a stand against tyranny... Hail Caesar..." Does anyone else have a problem with those being uttered with the same breath?

This movie was average, mildly entertaining in its moments... I give it about a C-. Neither a thumb's up nor a thumb's down... it gets a thumb to the side.... If you have to pay for parking and a small popcorn is $5... wait for the DVD....

More on the Four

2007-06-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

Nyiti raises a good point in his comment on my last post. I was thinking that I gave the Rise of the Silver Surfer an A- because it was a successful movie within it's genre. It delivered entertainment, escapism and great special effects... and even a plot that didn't push the envelope of plausibility (once you accept the whole superhero setting). It delivered what it set out to deliver. So, as a good friend of mine once told me "everything is not Shakespeare."

Be that as it may, I got to thinking of one of my pet peeves about the Oscars... There is no category for comedy, and no comedy will ever win best picture. Yet, the opposite is true, a comedy can be the worst movie of a year. Therefore, why should it not be in the running for the best? (IF you can imagine that X is a state of affairs, then ~X is also a possible state of affairs... yeah, I'm stretching it)

What does this have to do with FF:ROTSS? Rise of the Silver Surfer, no longer has the luxury of competing only within it's own genre. When I compare it to other movies that I've seen, and require more of it, it drops a bit. The problems that I listed in my last post carry more weight. Movies are movies are movies, and all need to be judged the same. Yes, they set out to accomplish different goals, and they target different audiences, but the basics are the same throughout. I do have to drop this movie from an A- to a B-.

But, you ask, how could a superhero fantasy movie EVER make the grade... They do, Spiderman, Batman Begins and Unbreakable are all examples of A+ superhero movies, and I put them right up there with some of the best movies that I have seen... Thanks again for the comment Nyiti... not many people can get me to rethink something once my mind is set...

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-06-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Well, thanks to T for reminding me that I am falling behind on my New Year's Resolutions... but the year ain't over yet...

I went to see the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer this Saturday. It was an enjoyable flick, but could have been better... I think. Of course, the special effects were great, but 1) they should be, and 2) special effects do not a movie make. I liked this one better than the first one. This 'installment of the franchise' had focus, and that is a huge improvement over the first. It seemed to take it's subject matter seriously, but still had some corny dialogue. I was also disappointed in the surfer's motivations... SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!

I can imagine, that the surfer, forced into slavery by Galactus to save his own planet would just go about his business and prepare worlds for Galactus to devour. Chances are, many of the worlds, especially those observed by Reed Richards, probably had no life on them, so the surfer probably rarely encounters moral dilemmas. However, when he comes to Earth, does he start having a struggle of conscience because he suddenly interacts with the beings that he is about to destroy? No. He has a change of heart because Susan Storm looks like the love he left behind... darned good thing the Gov didn't call The Justice League to help out. It's not a big thing, but it would not have been hard to have the Surfer save humanity because he found something good in us as a people... I also question Galactus' motivation in giving his slave the means to destroy him... I mean, Galactus seems to have been finding planets to devour quite well without the surfer's help... so, the surfer comes along, probably the best salesman from his home world and 'sells' Galactus a service he doesn't need and a price he really shouldn't have to pay. THEN, so that his 'herald' can do the job, Galactus gives him a surfboard powerful enough to destroy Galactus himself... Either Galactus got fat and stupid from gorging on planets, or the writers should have spent less time on wedding hijinks and more on explaining the motivations of the villains.

But all this is merely picking nits. I enjoyed the flick. It stayed focused, it kept my attention and it never really slowed down. I give it an A-

At the movies

2007-04-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still failing at my new years resolution of making a post a week, so here is a little catch up...
Here are my comments on the movies I've been to:

Pan's Labyrinth - Loved this movie. I give it an A+

Smokin' Aces - Not all that great. It tried too hard to imitate Tarantino without really understanding him. There were a few good action scenes, so I give it a C+.

Letters From Iwo Jima - I was a little disappointed in this movie. Iwo was a tough fight for our Marines, but the Japanese portrayed in this movie did not seem very formidable. I gave it a C+ definitely not Oscar material, and the academy agreed.

The Number 23 - I really liked this movie. The weirdest thing about it is that it was extremely similar to a short story written by an old friend of mine Eric DeGeer. Eric's story was called Dues Ex Machina (sp?). And Eric, if you read this post, get in touch with me! This movie gets an A.

Reno 911: Miami - I am a huge fan of Reno 911, and I hated this movie... aside from not being all that funny, it was sort of boring, and too obscene. It gets an F.

300 - I did not have the 'AWESOME DUDE!!' reaction that most of my male associates had over this movie, but then, they are video game junkies, and the movie was very much like a video game. I found the movie to be average... worthy of a C

Black Snake Moan - I LOVED this movie... If you haven't seen it.. Go see it. It seems to go on a little after the movie seems to end, but that's ok. I give this movie an A+

Zodiac - I enjoyed this movie, but, like most of these 'based on a true story' movies, I would have enjoyed a documentary a little better. I give this movie a B+.

The Hills Have Eyes 2 - This movie delivers what it says it will. It gets a B. I need to go rent the first one....

Ghost Rider - Ok, this one is just not my cup of tea. I never do like shows about battling angels and demons because they can't really die, so what exactly is 'combat' between these beings??? Bravery and heroism in them is an illusion. Oh, and the fire damage left by the Ghost Rider would be more expensive than anything the criminals were doing... except when they try to take over all our souls... I guess it is worth burning down my town to save the souls of all the world... I give this movie a C-.

Grindhouse - Now this movie is a TRIP! It was little corny, and many of the one-liners reminded me of things my role playing friends would say, but Rodrigues and Tarantino really know their B movies. I give this one an A.

Sorry that these were just blurbs and not real reviews, but at least you are caught up... :)

Movie Review: Children of Men

2007-01-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

This one will be brief. I saw the movie, Children of Men this weekend and was somewhat disappointed. I found it a little boring, and I wasn't quite clear on why the various combatants in the movie would not unite against their mutual enemy: EXTINCTION. I was confused over how the militants intended to use the new child as a 'flag,' and I couldn't see why everyone did not want to help the pregnant girl Kee (Blair Hope-Asitkey) get to the doctors who could help her and possibly save the human race.

I did like Julianne Moore as Theo's ex-wife. As a matter of fact, I have liked her in every 2006 movie that I saw her in.

I give this movie a C+. It is average, but it does at least engage the viewer and attempts to get him/her thinking about moral issues that have always been with us, and always will.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

2007-01-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

Well, this post may be a little late, but if I write (and Post) my New Years Resolutions, then I have a better chance of keeping them.

1) I resolve to meet at least one of my Photography Goals each week.
My photo goals are a) take a at least one picture I am happy with each week, b) learn something new about photoshop each weak and c) learn something new about shooting pictures each week.

2) I resolve to get into shape. Loose at least 10lbs (175 is my target)... and stay in shape.

3) make more frequent posts.. at least once a week.

So far, I am a little behind.. but getting there.. :)

The Good Shepherd

2006-12-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

I saw Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd today, and though I liked the movie in general, I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed. The story was intriguing, but the disjointed way that it was presented made it hard to follow in some places.

**** SPOILERS AHEAD ****

The story follows the (fiction mixed with fact) birth of the C.I.A. through the experiences of Edward Wilson (Matt Damon). In the 1930's, shortly after his initiation into the Yale fraternal order of the Skull and Crossbones (possibly meant to be the Freemasons), Edward is approached by a politically connected general (De Niro) and offered a position as an American agent assisting the O.S.S. during World War II. the movie then follows Wilson as he dutifully carries out his duties as an agent against the Nazis. After the war, Edward is tapped to enter the Cold War as the C.I.A. is created. The C.I.A. storyline continues onto the batched invasion of bothced Bay of Pigs invasion. This story is interesting, and so is Damon's portrayal of the dedicated, patriotic 'soldier' id the shadowy war of spy vs. spy. But I have given you plot in a linear fashion, and that is where the movie has trouble. The movie is patchwork episodes jumping back and forth in time from the present to the past to somewhere in between. The plot is strongly dialogue driven, so you have to pay close attention to what people are saying to get insights into their characters. It is debatable weather the character of Edward Wilson develops through the movie, or if he begins and remains 'the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the sheep. For, indeed, Edward Wilson does sacrifice much for the security of HIS country, and the movie more than once makes the statement that this is a country founded by white, Anglo-Saxon protestants.

I liked Angelina Jolie in her role as Edward's wife Margaret, but I hated the character of Margaret. It didn't seem like they knew what they wanted to do with her. She obviously hates the men of the Skull and Bones fraternity, but she goes out of her way to marry one. She mentions being lonely while Edward was away in Europe, but never welcomes him back. Indeed, that is the main problem I have with this movie. The movie gives flashes of Ed's and Margaret's marriage, but it never really focuses on it. They will have a spat, then one will have an affair, then they will be at a party and seem to be civil, but all of this may be due to disjointed way in which the plot is delivered.

Again, overall, I enjoyed watching this movie, and I am sure that it will get some Oscar nominations, but I don't see why De Niro chose to tell the story in a disjointed time line which is even harder to follow when everyone is wearing fedoras and trenchcoats and lurking in the shadows.

APOCALYPTO

2006-12-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

I went to see Mel Gibson's new movie Apocalypto, and I was not disappointed. I didn't leave movie going "WOW!!! Another masterpiece by Mel," but, as I said, I was not disappointed.

(I will try to write this without spoilers)

First I have to ask... whats all the hype? I've heard or read several commentaries on the movie, and they all mention the extreme violence in the movie. Maybe I have been desensitized by other violent movies, but frankly, I didn't see it. Yes, there are some gruesome scenes at the sacrificial alter, but I've seen worse. Yes, there is fighting, and it is pretty graphic, but it is no more graphic than Saving Private Ryan; Flags of Our Fathers or any action movie that has bones protruding through skin etc... (Note *** Spoiler *** there are no bones protruding through skin in Apocalypto, except as jewlery.)

Apocalypto is an engaging take on the usual hero formula. The story is as old as stories can be, but that's not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, seeing the old story of the hero rising up against insurmountable odds in this setting makes it a bit more fun to watch. I don't know how well Gibson 'transports' us back into the time of the Mayans. The themes of the story are just too basic to our nature to make the movie feel 'alien.' Love, hate, fear... good vs. evil... the triumph of the underdog... are themes so deeply ingrained into our psyches that you almost don't need the subtitles to know whats being said. Indeed, in his interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gibson mentions that he would like to do a movie without dialogue. Apocalypto is the closest any movie could come to actually achieving that. To be honest, I would have liked to have seen it in the same language, but without the subtitles... but I think that only I an Mel would have enjoyed the movie in that case.
Apocalypto is a visually stunning movie. Gibson again proves that he can pay strict attention to detail, and that perfectionism should get Apocalypto at least a nomination for best costumes.
Apocalypto is an action flick. It is a 'guy movie,' but there is much more to the movie than just a chase through the jungle. The good thing is that it is not 'in your face.' You can go to this movie for the roller coaster ride of action or you can analyze the various 'messages' (which are outside the scope of this little post). Just as Moby Dick can be a story about a hunt for a whale or an analogy about man's struggle against God, Apocalypto can be enjoyed on multiple levels.
I enjoyed this movie, and I hope that movie-goers do not let Mel's recent acts of disorderly conduct keep them from seeing it. If anything, the main character, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) and his wife played by Dalia Hernandez give amazing debut performances that deserve to be seen without the stigma of their director's personal problems.

Another Look at The Fountain

2006-12-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

As my brother refuses to start a blog, I will occasionally post his reviews to movies here. So, here you can see his take on The Fountain.

**SPOILERS TO FOLLOW***

The Fountain: In Death takes a Holiday, Death poses the rhetorical question, "Why do you mortals cling so tenaciously to life?" The question implies that if life should be released when it is time, then death should be embraced, or at least accepted when it is time. The movie, The Fountain takes that premise one step further & explains why that is so. Death should be accepted because it ushers in rebirth, from destruction comes creation. The movie stars Rachel Weisz as Izzy, a young woman dying of a terminal brain tumor and Hugh Jackman as her husband Thomas, a medical researcher attempting to find a cure. Izzy has written a book, a sort of autobiography. In this book she portrays herself as Queen Isabella, the personification of Spain. The inquisitor, the personification of death, seeks to destroy Spain, and looms close. She commissions a brave and loyal conquistador, Tom, to find the tree of life spoken of in The Bible. With its power they can defeat the inquisitor, save Spain and live together forever. But what is eternal life? Is it the fleshly existence here on terra firma, or is it something else, somewhere else? And what is death, a cruel, merciless robber of life, or a comforting guide leading us to a better place?
Izzy's novel would seem to imply that she supports her husband's search for a cure and desires extending life as long as possible, even indefinitely. But that's where the movie is a bit confusing because she also embraces the Mayan creation myth. (Disclaimer: I know I am not remembering the following exactly right, but you'll get the gist) This myth supposes that the First Father died and from his body sprang a tree. The roots of this tree created the earth and the canopy created the heavens. From death sprang creation. There is also the matter of a dying nebulae the Mayans call Xibalba. Izzy is fascinated that of all the billions of stars in the heavens, the Mayans fixated on this dying light. It seems that when a nebulae dies it explodes creating millions of new stars. Once again death breeds creation.

So what are we to learn from all this? Nothing! The movie is Death's question, why cling tenaciously to life? The answer is your own. The last chapter in Izzy's book is blank and Thomas spends an eternity existing past all other existence into a distant future, going bald and moving into a bubble to discover his answer. Izzy chose to accept death when it came, she embraced the dying nebulae, the dying of the light. Well, not me! I intend to be like Dr. Thomas and Dylan Thomas (names coincidence, I think not) and RAGE! RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT! Be forewarned. "The Fountain" is very surreal, very symbolic, very slow-moving, and, what I like to call, artsy fartsy. If you desire to see something truly different, go see "The Fountain". I give it a thumbs up!!

Post Script by Keithz: As you can guess, The Fountain sparked a lengthy conversation between me an my brother, and thats another reason we liked it...

Big Movie Saturday

2006-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Today, we celebrated my bother's birthday, so we saw 2 movies.

Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny: The trailers for this movie were pretty much dead on. This is a rock and roll comedy that is thoroughly enjoyable. It is probably the second funniest movie I have seen this year.

The Fountain: Some of my friends have seen this, and the first thing they have to say is "what did that movie mean?"

**SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!!!!** Unfortunately, the two other reviews that I have read are incorrect, The Fountain is NOT three stories. The Fountain is a surreal story about Dr. Tommy Creo's (Hugh Jackman) obsession with saving the life of his wife Izzie (Rachel Weisz) and how his life and spirituality matures through the experience. Most of the plot is driven by dialogue, so you have to pay attention. You can't be chowin' on hot wings, going to the bathroom, makin' with your S.O., talkin' on your cell or any of the other myriad things that people do other than WATCH the movie. That said, The Fountain does have three parts. The central part of the movie is the story of how Dr. Creo loses his wife to a brain tumor despite his brilliant research and experiments. He is so obsessed with curing his wife's tumor that he does not notice that he has discovered an elixir that reverses the aging process. The name of the movie and the 'past' conquistador scenes come from the title of a novel that Izzie is writing. It must be assumed that the novel was written during Izzie's initial struggles with her condition and her fears of death. The story of the conquistador gives the audience insight into the mind and character of Izzie and shows how she has come to accept her fate and now enjoys the simple things of life and lives in each moment. this is something that the movies repeatedly puts before the audience with repetitions of the same scene where Izzie asks Tommy to walk with her after the first snow. If I were teaching an English class, I'd have the class analyze this movie because of the repetition in the scenes. If you are wondering if a scene is important, or what it might mean, Daren Aronofsky, the movie's writer/director will surely show it to you again to help drive the point home. What about all that tree in the bubble stuff??? That is the most surreal aspect of the movie. What I gather from it, is that those scenes take part in the future after Dr. Creo has kept himself alive beyond the existence of earth, or maybe just till a time of space flight... the means makes no difference. However, in order to 'get' what Arnofsky is trying to say, you have to pay attention to the dialogue earlier in the movie. Izzie explains her spirituality in several scenes while talking about her research for her novel and Mayan Spirituality. In the last moments of the movie, Dr. Creo accepts this spirituality. When he finished Izzie's book, he believes that the tree of life is a fable and that it's sap is a curse disguised as a blessing and himself as a failure, but as he sacrifices himself and becomes the new First Father, he begins the cycle of destruction and rebirth all over again sending his and Izzie's essences throughout the cosmos.
I also liked the way this movie was shot. When you watch it, look at how star fields are worked through the scenes and the use of gold lighting. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Loomings....

2006-11-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

My goodness... I've not been a very dedicated blogger... have I.
Well... I have lots of excuses...

I've definitely been playing a lot of Go, which makes me wonder if I should make this a blog about my adventures; trials; tribulations as I strive to become the best mediocre player that I can be... but then, my friend Yobi is doing a great job of that... http://ziggysgoclub.blogspot.com/ (I'll have to add this link to my page...)

Then there is work... fate has decreed that at this point in my life, I be an agent at a an IT helpdesk... a.k.a. a 'whipping dog'. At the end of dealing with everyones problems... their complaints... their rudeness... their disrespect and 'venting,' I really just want to crawl into the Hobbit Hole that is my apartment and lose myself in the History or the SciFi Channel... I want to have little to do with people and I DEFINITELY do NOT want to talk on the phone... and maybe writing a blog feels a little like work too... there is a computer involved... :)

Working on a helpdesk I have learned some things about human nature. I have learned that whenever a person has any sort of leverage over another human being, s/he will use that leverage to the detriment of that person over whom s/he has leverage, and to her/his own gain... no matter how trivial that gain is... even if it is only to feel better... release steam... or vent... this person saying "how may I help you" is there for you to beat so that you may feel better... AND... I beleive that it is a conscious act on the part of the 'customer.' I beleive this because they ALWAYS change their tone when they speak to my superiors. Then on my way home I listen to NPR and hear how many soldiers got killed in Iraq and do the math to know how many probably lost limbs or worse... and I think to myself how little the people that I take calls from deserve the sacrifice of these courageous military heroes. Indeed, we would understand the problems in the Middle East more if we translated 'Al-Qeada' as 'Heldesk.'

Yet... when I notice that it is becoming a damp drizzly November in my soul... when it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street and bitch slapping every passerby, I account it high time to take myself to a coffeeshop near the university and bask in sights of youth starting upon their journeys in life... I then wonder if maybe... just maybe... one of them may understand that he or she can rise above the usual jackass reflexes of the hoi polloi and treat people the way that they themselves would like to be treated in each situation... maybe one of them will realize that they CAN break the restraints of 'human nature.' They can be patient, understanding, kind and considerate... they can be 'born again' and be a new creation. It is this hope that alows me to see the brightness of the moon; smell the comfort of a log on the fire and hear the energy of life in a giggly laugh... a smile cracks my face, and I am ready to take my beating one more day... for this stage of my life will pass....

Thank you for reading...

Transmission Woes...

2006-08-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, no movie this weekend because my Jeep Liberty is in the shop having the transmission worked on... and the worst part of it all is that my warranty just ran out a couple months ago. I should have known better. I bought the thing used about 2 and a half years ago. It was only 2 years old and had only 11K miles on it... hmmm... too good to be true?? Obviously!
This is my second jeep, and my second jeep with transmission problems... I think my next jeep will be one of these...

The good news is that I had a lot of time to catch up on reading and preping a post for Misquoting Jesus by Bart D Ehrman, which I am finding to be quite an interesting book. I find that it is best to read this book with several different english translations of the New Testament at hand for comparisson. So far, I have found that the New Revised Standard Version has more frequently made mention of variations in the source manuscripts, even though they are not the best source manuscripts according to Ehrman... but more about all that in a later post, right now, I have to go catch a bus....

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

2006-08-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

Check out Mark’s review of the movie An Inconvenient Truth. I firmly believe that each person needs to educate themselves on this issue, or unscrupulous people on both sides of the fence will try to sway you with their partial truths. Mark raises some good points.

Back to the movies

2006-08-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, now that I am done with that Comptia A+ certification, I can get back to the things I like to do. One of those things is seeing movies. I once had a contest with my brother to see who could see the most movies in a year. He won hands down with 120. The most I've ever seen in a year is 86. Today, I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and The Descent. I liked both of them. Talladega Nights had me cracking up. Oh yes, it was stupid, but it isn't meant to be Shakespeare. The Descent sparked quite a heated debate between my brother and I. I thought that it was ok as far as modern horror movies go, but my brother wanted more. The movie follows the formula of what I call the 'boogity-boogity-BOO' genre. The basic formula is to introduce the characters, set up the situation, then let the creeps or critters jump out at the characters and startle the audience. ****POSSIBLE SPOILER TO FOLLOW**** The Descent follows the formula, but just for the formula's sake. One of the main characters is introduced with the traumatic loss of her family in a car crash. Her adrenaline junkie friends, who take an adventure vacation each year a'la City Slickers, decide to take her spelunking, thinking this will be good for her... not quite sure how that’s supposed to work. Well, one mishap follows another, and the band of women get stuck in unknown/unexplored caves hunted by a species of golem-like humanoids that make C.H.U.D look domesticated. Let the startling begin. I consider such movies the cinematic version of an amusement park ride, and if the ride is fun, I give it a thumbs up. This ride was fun once it got started, but it missed some opportunities to make a statement... or maybe the script did, and the interesting parts got cut to show more gore. The Descent had the opportunity to compare the civilized women's degeneration to savages in order to survive the savages stalking them... but such things require a lot of thought, and, though I enjoy thinking, I don't bother with it much on roller-coasters or boogity-boogity-boo movies.

Why the Cornucopia?

2006-08-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

As I labored over a name for my blog, I thought about what I would blog about. Well, I thought about the stuff I liked and the stuff I liked to talk about. My current passion is for the game of Go, but I also enjoy photography and movies, and will at times ramble on about both. As for rambling, I've always enjoyed philosophy and the act of reasoning, and I will no doubt want to blog about them. Therefore, my blog may have no particular focus, but I couldn't name it 'the lack of focus blog.' I like to think of it as a horn of plenty filled with a smorgasbord of ideas and creativity. And, of course, ‘coruscant’ was just a nice adjective that added to the alliteration. I hope that you surfers of the trackless web will find something here of interest.

Certified or certifiable

2006-07-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all you people out in Blog-land. Well, I finally passed the Comptia A+ certification exam, and now I have time to do the things I like to do, and one is to finally start a blog… so here it has begun. Of course, there will be more to come, but now I am off to do more celebrating over the completion of my certification.