December 2008
Citizen Kane Review
Held as ‘the greatest film of all time,’ Citizen Kane continues to be recognized as textbook for any erudite or creator of world-wide cinema. It’s theme is supported through its use of music and sound: The self-centered attraction for money, power and materialism leads to a loss of childhood innocence, pollution of family, empty and shallow values, and an inevitable...
Metaphysics of Going to the Bathroom
Could there be any eternal significance behind the repeated act of going to the bathroom?
Bodily waste is that which is unnecessary and no longer of value (e.g. it must not be preserved, but must be abandoned as soon as possible lest there be serious, detrimental effects to the human body).
Spiritual waste is also that which is neither necessary nor of value. Spiritual waste comes in the form of...
The Wrestler Review
The Best Film I’ve seen all year (10/10)! Mickey Rourke drove me to tears. The story follows the life of a pathetic, downtrodden, aging wrestler who tries to make amends with the broken relationships that surround him.
It’s naturalism A at its finest—really shows the dirt and destitute living conditions that some fall victim to. However, that dirt and destitution is not...
“If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen. And here I make a...”
– John Steinbeck’s East of Eden
(On the story of Cain and Abel)
Into Great Silence Review
This highly concentrated group of monks taught me the value of meditation. Further, they also taught me what the journey to enlightenment can consist of. I was thoroughly impressed by their self-sacrifice and extreme ascetic views inside the monastery and wondered how they developed the patience, let alone stamina, to do the things they did. With each monk isolating themselves in their rooms...
chonk:
Since I’m going postwild my first day on...
Houseboat Honeymoon Review
There is something about our culture that relishes in artistic portrayals of dysfunctional family relationships. Whether it’s in TV sitcoms (e.g. Married with Children/Family Guy) movies (e.g. Ordinary People/American Beauty) or theater (e.g. Houseboat Honeymoon/Gone Home), we are often aptly attracted to stories that depict human beings as less than perfect. In a word, we create art...
The Fountain Review
I feel rather ambivalent towards The Fountain. The structure is somewhat cold and melancholy, yet there are also subtle moments of inspiration and hope. The story seems to mourn over the loss of spirituality in today’s culture and tries to resurrect hope in the existence of man as an eternal race. However, I didn’t feel compelled to lead a more spiritual life after watching it. This is not to...
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Part 4:...
I have some very urgent questions that I have recently developed after reading a book by Robert Pirsig titled, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” I read it carefully; he is a deeply intelligent man. He sets forth some very compelling arguments that persuaded me to believe in the damage that Aristotelian rhetoric has caused the world since his death. He applies the same arguments against...
WatchDocumentary I made titled, “The Tourist”
WatchMy new short: “Poker Night”
As trivial as it may sound, I feel that this piece is, in one respect, a reflection of my testimony of reality-as-I-see-it. I will not dictate what that means, but I will say there is an intentional world-view in this film that I hope stands on its own and will be poetic enough for viewers to understand without some didactic explanation.
From the reactions...
On Fear (Friends' Responses)
Yes, I live with fear. I don’t have all the answers.
I found comfort in this recently:
Flow (comfort in change) = pleasure
Resistance (discomfort in change) = pain
Fighters know this through their physicality intuitively after much experience. The body can teach the mind how to experience life.
Don’t attempt to learn to live without fear just yet, I’m not sure it can be done...
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Part 3:...
As I continue reading, I become more and more convinced that what separates nations, cultures and individuals is, in one respect, language barriers. I’ve often said, “We are all mystics expressing in slightly different language our relationship with the divine. Why let such things hinder us from uniting?” Much of this separation, I think, deals with fear of...
Ben Unguren on Art (A Response to my question:...
I mostly work in documentary, and someone once told me that my films are “artless.” This very smart person was trying to pay me a compliment. But it took me a while to figure out where the compliment was: the artful documentary (art: artifice) imposes the artist onto the work; the artless one imposes the subject — the story itself is imposed, not the artist. Artlessness trusts...
(In Response to Rosenhouse's Objections) →
matthewcolvin:
“Having identified ID in the world, we should ask what could be inferred about the designer from the nature of the design. Doing so, however, forces us to confront the problem of poor design, which casts doubt on either the omnipotence or omnibenevolence of the designer.
“Surely once you have determined that an object was designed by an intelligent agent, it is reasonable to ask...
(Response to "faith in objective experimentation") →
“Humans percieve imperfection where there is none based off an imperfect assumption that perfection is real, perfection is an abstract theory far too many people invest time into. Perfection is to Beauty what Infinity is to Number. God is also theoretical, and what fucks with science minds is that theories can only be proven false, not true. Faith has no place in objective experimentation,...
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Part 2:...
“The real purpose of the scientific method is to make sure Nature hasn’t misled you into thinking you know something you don’t actually know.”
-Pirsig
The need for humility in scientific/religious studies is so vital for human understanding that without it, one becomes either an elitist snob or a lone drifter. I am referring to the type of humility that grounds us on earth; strips us of our...
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Part 1)
I picked up this book based upon Matt’s recommendation. It reminds me a lot of Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now yet it doesn’t harp solely upon the application of abstract principles. Pirsig, to the contrary, humbly brings the ethereal world down from the heavens and provides a body for his thoughts. We journey with him on his motorcycle through the many seasons and temperatures of life, with...
Repentance Review
A community governed by paranoia, injustice and revenge exposes the truth of those who hide behind certain pretenses, while revealing the false accusations of those who stand for justice. It is a community that has mistaken that which is good for that which is evil. The people within the community have been duped by a powerful political figure named Varlam. Though his actions and motives from...
International Cinema vs. Hollywood Cinema
Do I think international cinema is better than Hollywood cinema? I will answer both yes and no. I think films that provide the Aristotelian balance of education and entertainment are usually good films. I’ve seen both Hollywood and international films accomplish this. So in this sense, I won’t say that international cinema is necessarily better; it just depends on what films they are and if they...
Scientist discovers God →
matthewcolvin:
optimisto:
(please don’t excuse this for its longevity)
I am very pleased with tumblr. Conversations like this would most likely be absent if we didn’t have cyberspace to reach out and try to reconcile difficult questions. I am also pleased with how all of us have grown. Matt and Zack—both of you have taught and are yet teaching me how to step down from clouds of...
Scientist discovers God →
“I see God’s hand at work through the mechanism of evolution. If God chose to create human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to say that is not the way,”
-Francis Collins
David Lynch's "Dumbland" →
Poetic, not didactic
Esoteric, not exclusive
Challenging, not spoon-fed
(I recommend anything by Lynch; one who travels unknown shores yet is content without finding the answer)
“The answer is never the answer. What’s really interesting is the mystery. If you...”
– Ken Kesey (via everybodycares)
Painted Veil Review
The Painted Veil is the epitome of social realistic cinema—a must see for anyone interested in the structure. One particular scene in the film that functions as a raissoneur is when Norton offers to buy Watts some flowers at a local town nursery. She bleakly responds, “Why would you want to buy something that’s going to die the following week?” Feeling somewhat rejected, Norton shyly...
A Quick Question
squashed:
Suppose you sign up for some service like Tumblr. Somewhere in the process, an end user license agreement pops up. You don’t read it—but check the box saying you read, understand, and accept it. You later learn that somehwere in the lengthy agreement was the line:
Use of this service is conditioned upon an annual donation of $10 to the Red Cross every December.
Notably, this isn’t...
Art, Marriage, Friendship and God all require...
There is something about our culture that relishes in artistic portrayals of dysfunctional family relationships. Whether it’s in TV sitcoms (e.g. Married with Children/Family Guy) movies (e.g. Ordinary People/American Beauty) or theater (e.g. Houseboat Honeymoon/Gone Home), we are often aptly attracted to stories that depict human beings as less than perfect. In a word, we create art...
Watchoptimisto:
shoes thrown at George W. Bush
I must admit, I laughed.
