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4-May-2006
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26-Apr-2012
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Post
#285820
Topic
Global Warming
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/285820/action/topic#285820
Time
Originally posted by: auraloffalwaffle
Ignorance and political manoeuvring are taking the place of coordinated planning based on the best evidence available. No matter whether you think human involvement in global warming is proven or not, this is worrying.


Very true. Though, I suppose if I were to slightly defend politicians on this point, I think they truly are dumb enough to actually believe they're doing good. They could care less about the wisdom of their actions, all they want to know is that they are doing something. If those actions generate far more problems than we started with, that doesn't matter since our intentions were good. That is actually the most sinister part of it all; forget the vitriol spewed between different political parties.

Perhaps the saddest fact of politics, is the way people will favor government that is primarily designed to make them feel good. To hell with logic, science, and measurable results, these people want to immediately believe they are "helping" others since that is the quickest path to their emotional gratification. Therefore, no matter what side of an issue you look at, the real solutions, which often take a long time or aren't easy to implement, are tossed aside. This is truly sick since these supposedly caring people are usually hurting those they pretend to care for in the first place. Oh, and don't ever suggest to these emotional leeches that they might actually be wrong, because then you'll be labeled as the uncaring bastard who wants infants to starve and the world to explode. Hehe, these people are so sure of their own ideas that they'll go to the furthest extremes to condemn their opponents while ignoring rational arguments; thus is the origin of most political discourse.

While I may disagree with Al Gore and other supporters of the man-made global warming theory, I can still respect a strong logical approach to the world that isn't afraid to offend people's feelings and isn't afraid to have it's ideas tested by controversy. On the other hand, if we aren't allowed to fight for strong opinions, because that might make certain individuals feel bad or stupid, then we are doomed to never progress beyond our weak-minded foolishness. The trick is to value the world around us and be content that not every problem can be solved perfectly by our actions (especially if we blindly rush to action). If we trample truth and the science of ethics in an effort to inflate our own egos, then we merely compound the misery of this world (when all is said and done).

Heh, though I know, deep down, that these supposedly caring people are aware of their own willful ignorance and I suppose that very knowledge of their own hypocrisy is what ultimately makes them such sour and unfulfilled individuals. Hell, I'd be ultimately unhappy too, if my life were devoted to taking pathetic shortcuts at every turn. In terms of politics, I suppose I'd always be craving the next emotional fix of self-righteousness.


(Edit: removed one of two uses of the word "bastard" that proved redundant and confusing in two adjacent sentences.)
Post
#285502
Topic
The Now-Released Spider-Man 3 Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/285502/action/topic#285502
Time
Heh, the second movie is hardly awesome in every respect for me. For instance, practically all of the scenes involving Spider Man jumping from building to building or fighting villains were terribly boring (which is no small thing). But, the acting was great and the love story focus was very good as well. Watching Peter explain how he didn't stop his uncle's murderer to his aunt was a fantastic scene for me. Also, sure, Peter was wimpy at points, but his life was falling apart around him and the loss of his powers worked in a cheesy way that seemed to fit real life in a lighthearted sense. Otherwise, what was the raindrops scene? I'm not remembering anything like that at the moment. Heh, oh and how could you hate the wedding scenes?!! Those were freaking hilarious with Mr. Jamison! Mary Jane's slow-mo run in the gown was the perfect way to end that. I found it extremely fun to watch. Overall the movie is still my favorite. This third movie has the best combat scenes and social effects though. I liked watching the three-villain climax a lot.

Otherwise, does anyone else think that the lady who plays Aunt May is fantastic? I'd consider her the best performer in this whole series of movies.
Post
#285486
Topic
The Now-Released Spider-Man 3 Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/285486/action/topic#285486
Time
My initial thoughts are about the reverse of the second movie for me. All of the spider man battling villain scenes were great, but I didn't like the character drama. The character drama was way too simplistic and tried to handle too many things to the degree where it all became way too contrived in the way it unfolded, and that bugs me. I also think Peter Parker cried a bit too much. The evil parker was campy, but it also had its humorous side which was good. All in all, i think I liked it, but I care more about the characters and was let down on that end. I still like the second movie the best out of this series.
Post
#285174
Topic
Video Games - a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/285174/action/topic#285174
Time
Originally posted by: C3PX
Now I am really thinking to pick up God of War


I've been playing that game lately and I love it. It's like a company has finally recaptured old-fashioned gameplay and fun. It reminds me of the original Castlevania games but only if you were to add button-mashing action and extra reflex-response mechanics. (I'm slowly playing through the game on hard mode since easy too easy.)
Post
#284301
Topic
Virginia Tech shooting
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/284301/action/topic#284301
Time
Hmm, my last post was not as well written as it could have been. Also the ideas I'm trying to communicate are confusing for even me. I hope that didn't just come off as strange rambling though. I don't believe there are any easy answers in life, but I still try to argue for answers nonetheless.

Otherwise, Ferris, that guy you mentioned sounds horrible. There has to be a hell for people like that.
Post
#284217
Topic
Virginia Tech shooting
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/284217/action/topic#284217
Time
There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding here. I don't believe I'm better than Cho. Under the right circumstances I know I could have ended up just like him. That's what I mean when I say you guys aren't facing reality. Every human on this earth has their limits and all I'm saying is that we should condemn him for evil any choices he made as a result. Sympathizing with his excuses will only play into his final wish and his supposed reasons for doing what he did. He thought that what he was doing was justified in his worthless view of the world and he made that video to glorify those worthless thoughts.

I also strongly disagree that Cho wasn't born evil. I firmly believe that everyone is born with evil tendencies. There's no other way to explain how the world is the way it is as far as I can see. If such a nature were not innate within us at birth to some degree, the world would generally be a much better place in my mind. Though was he corrupt enough to murder thirty-two people on the day he was born? No, nobody is born in a state like that, not even Hitler. That's obvious nonsense. However, somewhere along the way I believe that Cho chose to be the person he became. While his environment influenced him to become murderer, without the possibility of evil desires in his heart those influences could not have worked. Choice and intent is the key.

Seriously, what was he trying to do? What was he ultimately accomplishing in his own mind? You want me to identify with his problems?

This young man was truly pathetic. He was a coward worthy of ridicule. Seriously, the best he could do in life is murder a room full of people and then commit suicide? I actually have more respect for a murderous dictator like Hitler if that's the case. At least Hitler lived it up and ran an entire country before killing himself. His body count was a lot more impressive as well. I guess Cho just didn't have the ambition or the brains to accomplish anything on that level though.

Was Cho a human being like you and me? Yes, obviously. Do I understand him and can I relate to his desires? Again, obviously, but it is by that very measure, the one he actually chose for himself, that I now say he was a pathetic loser. The more I try to follow his reasoning the more I hate his guts for being an absolute failure in realizing his own goals and mindset. If life is ultimately about the things he claimed to value, then his attempt to act in accordance with those principles fell laughably short. In other words, he should be mocked by his own standards.

I don't like a lot of the viewpoints we have today in our modern world. Should all violence be equally evil in our minds? Is there no such thing as justice?

If you want to truly have sympathy for Cho and mourn the good guy he could have been, then I implore you to condemn him as an evil person. Don't disrespect the God-given nobility he was born with by apologizing and making excuses for what he did. He's a human being and all human beings have the power to make choices. It is our free decisions that define who we are more than anything else! Please don't throw that truth away for our sickly, modern psychology. I'd rather be a cave man and understand what it truly means to be a man than listen to this sophisticated foolishness.

Our freedom is a frightening thing in more ways than one. It is on that basis that I feel sad for Cho and sad for the many people who died by his hand. It is also on that basis that I shudder and fear what any of us could become in the right circumstances. Cho was a twisted human being precisely because he was twisted by himself in the end. While the actions of others contribute to that fact, nobody else can ultimately be blamed for the blame that is ultimately his own. To give any degree of weight to his depressed thoughts or hopeless mindset will only allow the evil nature of this tragedy to win and multiply if you ask me. It's a sick thing and should be responded to properly.


All of that said though, I'd once again like to state that I hope Cho was mentally damaged to a degree, and to the extent that such a state contributed to his actions I cannot blame him in a moral sense. At best we can hope that people like that will be met with the love and care needed to overcome their difficulties. I totally agree with InfoDroid that people should have done more. People could have been his friend and helped him. I also agree that many people mistreated Cho during his life but at the same time I believe that they should be held accountable for their actions as well.


Otherwise, to go back to pure philosophy, I don't believe that people possess any indestructible bits of goodness. If there is anything about people that is true, we are limited in every way and cannot rely upon ourselves ultimately. Life is messy and I believe that everything about us can be corrupted. In every way we must to rely on things outside of ourselves in order to get through life. Does that then mean we can ever become totally corrupt or totally evil? No, we always have goodness that can't ever be totally compromised. But, compromise is compromise and I firmly believe some people can reach a stage where they're beyond help.

Also, I agree that the original Star Wars trilogy had a great ending with the repentance and salvation of Vader. I really liked that ending before George Lucas destroyed it. According to his own words concerning the prequels and the latest editions, Vader dies and the old (supposedly good) Anakin is resurrected. Pretty pathetic and empty now. :\
Post
#284155
Topic
Revenge of the sith is the shite and the flies upon it
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/284155/action/topic#284155
Time
I agree with everybody in the last few posts.

Return of the Jedi is not a great film on the level of Star Wars or Empire, but I still think it has its own greatness on a smaller, more compromised scale. It could stand on its own in many ways, apart from the rest of trilogy, and in the trilogy its a great ending. Its not the best ending the trilogy could have had, but it functions. At the very least it should never be lumped in with the quality we got in the prequels.
Post
#284153
Topic
Darabount rips Lucas over Indy IV script
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/284153/action/topic#284153
Time
Oh not this again. If some rare fans will continue complaining no matter what George Lucas does, then why on earth should that matter to you, Jumpman? Can't you simply ignore those kinds of unreasonable people?

Or, as I think the actual truth is, do you simply have trouble dealing with certain arguments and, as a result, seek to discount all critics of George Lucas as one big generalized group? I know that lumping the crazies in with principled fans makes it easier to win debates in your own mind, but to me it looks like you're avoiding the issues. Basically, stop making unfair generalizations about us and argue for your own points of view. If you believe George Lucas should get more credit among fans than he does, then argue for that point of view and be ready to answer objections from people like me who think George is idolized too much by the Star Wars fandom.
Post
#284147
Topic
Virginia Tech shooting
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/284147/action/topic#284147
Time
Uhh, what are you guys talking about? Are you somehow denying the existence of evil in this world? In your minds, everybody is basically good and this massacre was just another unexplainable day in the life of us hapless human beings? Strange natural influences in the environment just happened to coincide perfectly and influence a wonderful young man to become a psychopath? Cho has no blame to share here? Also, he had no mental issues skewing his decision making process?

Don't make me laugh. All people obviously have evil tendencies and, out of giving Cho the benefit of the doubt, I'd like to at least hope he had mental damage affecting him as well. Get out of your fairy princess lands and be honest with yourselves. I had a tough time in adolescence and for a while there I barely even had one friend. I know what it's like to be rejected and I know what its like to regard other people as inferior to myself in extreme ways. I have no greater sympathy for Cho's behavior than I have for any violent thoughts I may have entertained about people who mistreated me.

There are so many people today who like to blame everything else in this world but our own personal choices. Bah.
Post
#284141
Topic
LOST
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/284141/action/topic#284141
Time
For me the button-pressing-plot line is still a thing that's up in the air. They might be intending to introduce some cool idea with it still, but, as far as I'm concerned, it's a complete mystery that lead to no answers (except to tangentially explain how the plane crashed). What the containment was containing, how it affected fate, how it affected the island, and why the hell it relied upon a person choosing to press it each time (and then why those choosing people were monitored) is still a complete mystery for me. That and I don't understand why Ben seemed completely indifferent to the button being pressed, not being pressed, or having that "fail safe" activated. This show needs to start giving answers and those damn answers better be impressive.

That said, the dialogue in that first "should we press the button" scene (in the second season premiere) was primarily dumb because nobody talks like that in real life by any stretch. After the amazing first season, to have that crap dropped in my lap was kind of shocking. Suddenly, in that instant, the realistic interplay between each character was replaced by a few lame and meaningless catch phrases. I understood that Locke has a big thing about following his faith (I wouldn't actually call it "crazy" myself), but at the same time he's clearly not a stupid man. The first instant that Jack started doubting "the button," any normal person would have at least tried reasoning with him on a cautionary basis. Assuming Locke was "crazy" and was desperate to press the button (at that point) then that would be all the more reason for him to desperately search his intelligent mind for rational excuses he could provide to Jack.

Oh, and Jack was even worse in that scene. To me, from a scientific standpoint, his supposed struggle with the button merely expressed a simplistic philosophy and an idiotic approach to science. We should never refuse to accept the possible truth of something simply because we lack specific knowledge concerning it. Science at its core is about a pursuit of knowledge, not a limiting of it. Scientists should seek to explore the unknown and not act blindly. A scientific person would not respond to that button situation by ignoring all of the accompanying warnings and let the countdown finish. Jack had already seen enough information to realize that something was at least potentially dangerous about the situation, and he knew, almost for a fact, that no new harm would be done by pressing the button (since it had already been consistently pressed for years previous to that point). If he had really been a skeptical person at that point, he would have chosen to press the button as a way to delay the countdown and then give himself time to investigate the issue further. It's all logical to me. Instead, I must assume he was acting out of blind aggression, exhaustion, and anger in that scene to explain his trouble accepting a rational approach.

(Edit: changed plain to plane.)
Post
#284094
Topic
LOST
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/284094/action/topic#284094
Time
Hmm, it's always interesting to see how other people view characters. I've always thought of Jack as a very competitive guy (like a disciplined and competent military general). Playing football with an enemy wouldn't bother him too much as far as I think of him. He did seem a bit too happy and carefree in that scene though, and I'll agree that was out of character. He wouldn't let go of his distrust that quickly.

I see Locke on the other hand as a much more passive guy except when his anger gets in the way. Throwing a temper tantrum and tossing around pots and pans didn't seem like something he'd do in response to a slight power struggle with Jack. His disagreement with Jack in that scene was over something small and yet with the slightest mention of competition his jealousy explodes? I totally think his anger is understandable, but I doubt it would be expressed over that small issue. The only parts he had in season two that I enjoyed were his interactions with Charlie and the drug issue. Those episodes were great and I liked how they displayed Locke's tendency to being self righteous and hasty. Seeing as how Locke is my favorite character I didn't like those scenes, but they make sense when I think about them. Otherwise, the button pressing episode at the beginning of season two bugged the hell out of me. I don't mind him pressing the button and "having faith" but seriously, he was arguing like a retard. He couldn't have just said, "Hey, I don't know for sure if the button does anything, but I think it would be wise for us to keep pressing it until we learn more." Locke in my mind is an even-handed guy on mysterious things and I think Jack would have accepted that compromise. Instead the scene was a contrived bunch of nonsense for the writer/writers of the show to start blabbing about faith and science in a superficial way. It bugged the hell out of me. Nobody would talk like that in a real life situation like that, much less two prioritizing guys like Jack or Locke!

Either way, Locke is a great character overall. I really hope the writers aren't giving him a horrible past and great moments just so they can take our sympathy and hopes for him as a way to heighten his transformation into a bad guy. I don't mind him making mistakes or opposing the good guys (like with blowing up the sub), but that's because I know he's doing it for good reasons. I don't want to suddenly see him supporting something obviously evil for no reason, but for some reason I have a fear that's going to happen.

I probably shouldn't be analyzing fictional characters this much but it's enjoyable for me. You never know where the actual writers are going to go and if they will contradict how I believe they've presented their characters in the past. I shouldn't want to set myself up for disappointment. Oh well.