Vanilla Sky and Cryonics

So last night I watching Vanilla Sky, and I know what you're thinking- wow, old movie right? Well, when this movie first came out back in 2001, I didn't understand a damn thing. Now, years later, I sat down and really paid some attention. For starters, the movie is really complicated, twisted and taken out of context, so no wonder I didn't get it. You really need to pay close attention to all that's occurring...

Tom Cruise signs a contract with LE (Life Extension) and apparently dreams up his future in the course of 150 years. By the end of the movie however, he is able to come back to life, even though technically he overdosed on drugs and killed himself.

The main purpose of this blog is not to discuss the movie, but rather, cryogenics- the branches of physics and engineering which focus on the study of extremely low temperatures and how materials can and will behave at those temperatures. Amazingly, there are programs out there which allow people to preserve their bodies after they have past away until a time comes along wherein which a cure can be found for the disease that was going to eventually kill them (i.e. cancer, aids, etc.) 

I'm not sure how I feel about this life/bodily preservation option. Apparently, most people who have a very serious disease, such as those mentioned above, are those who choose to freeze their bodies. What I don't understand, however, is that this only occurs after they have actually died. Their bodies have completely stopped functioning, and even thought they get a proper burial, their bodies are placed in a special kind of tube-like container that resembles a casket.

Those who choose to have their bodies preserved through cryonics pay a lot of money to do so, and will never know how long it will take until research discovers a way in which to bring the bodies back to life so as to find a cure. What happens in the meantime though? These bodies are monitored by scientists and researchers, and eventually when a cure is found and they discover how to bring these people back into the world, it will become the greatest invention of all-time. 

Assuming that something like this is even possible, what happens to these people who are brought back to life? Do they dream? Do they remember? And how will they find their place in the world, hundreds of years later? 

There are simply too many uncertain circumstances which cannot be guaranteed, but irregardless, it is still pretty stimulating. 

I don't know... what do you think? 

...Just some rambling thoughts...

Guns, Shootings and Violence

Nervousness and anxiety begins to seep through my skin as I watch the results of violent behavior and capabilities portrayed on the news. Everywhere I turn, I hear about some form of tragedy, and as the stories pile up, it gets worse and worse. In the course of this last week, I heard about 3 or 4 separate occasions wherein which a young teenager was either involved in or simply exposed to a shooting incident. News like this isn't necessarily new, but I can't help but feel surprised each time I hear something like this happening again.

The first heart-breaking incident occured at Columbine High School back in 1999, which I wouldn't classify as a shooting, but rather a massacre, during which two male teenagers went about shooting several students and teachers, killing most, injuring a few, and finally committing suicide. Another similar incident like this took place in 2007 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the state of Virginia, where a senior English Major with an anxiety disorder went on a shooting rampage and killed 32 people in the process. This too, ended in suicide. 

Just in this last week alone, however, there have been three instances involving shootings: (1) the Arizona shooting, (2) the Gardena High "accident" and (3) the shooting of an LAUSD Police Officer near El Camino High. Whether the shooting was a result of political differences, an "accident" or just pure hatred, however, the end result is all the same- the death of innocent people. 



Police Officers trying to maintain the situation at El Camino
Real High School, where an LAUSD Police Officer was shot.



The main problem with all of this is that children as young as nine (9) are being exposed to this kind of lifestyle. You hear about it on the news once and call it a tragedy. But to hear it repeatedly on almost a daily basis just makes it commonality. It shouldn't be okay for the younger generation, or better, the future leaders of America, to see occurrences such as these and find them normal, common and expectant. The future of America is practically in their hands, and all they are being exposed to is what these troubled youth's may believe to be an easy solution.

I can't help but ask where all this can stem from? Why is it so easy for someone to walk into a store, pick out a gun, purchase it and walk out? Why is security lacking in so many important places? (i.e schools) History has taught us to be more cautious, but it feels like after the pain of a major tragedy fades, we all go back to square one.

I am torn because I can't seem to find the root for this kind of evil, and as I sit here contemplating, I find myself overwhelmed with questions, thoughts, and concerns. I can't find the right words to express how awful all of this is, and if not prevented, how horrific and depressing it can truly be.  Have we not learned from our mistakes? How many people need to die before we tighten the ropes on security? Why are so many kids in high school troubled, secluded, etc. and why do they find that killing is the only way to be heard [only to then, kill themselves]...? Is there no other way? Can't we offer help?

No one is alone in this world, and everyone is dealing with some sort of dilemma. I guess it just depends on how a person chooses to react to or solve his or her problem. There are many solutions, but killing is for damn sure not one of them.

So many questions, and yet... no answers. Will it ever get better? 

 

In the end, all that is really left is grief



Theories on 2012 and the Zodiac Signs

Ok... I'm not going to lie. I'm a little ticked off about all this Zodiac business. I liked being a Leo. I'm good at being a Leo. It's what I know, it's who I am, it's what I'm best at. Now, centuries later, scientists come around saying there are 13 zodiac signs as opposed to 12? 

We are barely into the new year, and all around there is talk about 2012 and the several theories about it. Is the world going to come to an end? Will we have another Golden Age? Are we going to lose all kinds electricity and technology? Which is it? 

Sound like DejaVu much? All I can think about is  the millennium and how people were preparing themselves for pretty much the same thing- the supposed end of the world. Call me crazy, but in theory, you would assume that if astrologers really knew what they were doing, they would have discovered the 13 "actual" signs of the zodiac years ago. It all seems kinda crazy that all of this is just coming up now all because of 2012.

I've watched a documentary or two about 2012, and how the Earth spinning on it's axis is going to be in such a way so as to come directly in front of the sun, causing solar storms peaking from the sun that can essentially leave us without power and electricity. How good is modern man without this? Another theory called the "Bible Code Theory" predicts the earth is going to be hit by a comet and as a result, come to an end all together. All these theories, however, are not 100% factual, and may or may not have glitches. So, what are we expected to do? Sit back and worry? Go on living as we are? Live in fear? Or tell everyone to get over themselves because we've "been there, done that."

Ironically, the things upsetting me more so than "the world coming to an end," is that for most people, their zodiac signs have changed. I'm not saying that I strictly followed constellations and astrology, but I did follow-up with it from time to time and felt that I could relate to my sign. At this point in time however, I can't help but feel everything is made up. Say I was a firm believer in my sign, and I woke up a few days ago only to be told that technically that's not really my sign. Seems unreal right? Where did all of this come from? Why now? Is it all because of 2012? When the earth's axis changes again, will it go back to what it was? And if that is the case, what does that say about astrology in its entirety? Can anything be proven or are people just wasting time with one theory after another?

So many questions left unanswered...   

Click Here, if your interested in reading more about the many theories revolving 2012

To Believe or Not to Believe- That is the Question

Unthinkable

I had the pleasure of watching "Unthinkable" last night, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Sheen, and I have to say that I was flabbergasted. As the credits started to scroll on the screen, I sat their thinking, "Huh? What was the point?" 

 

For those of you who don't know, here is a little plot summary: 

Steven Arthur Younger (Michael Sheen), a U.S. citizen, but still a convert to Islam sends the United States government a videotape of himself in three different unknown storage rooms, each of which he claims contain a nuclear bomb set to detonate in less than a week, unless his "demands" are met. Helen Brody, an FBI agent from Los Angeles is brought in to help locate the bombs, while a CIA "consultant," known as H (Samuel L. Jackson), interrogates the suspect who has allowed himself to be caught. The suspect, whose wife and children have left him and disappeared, seems to know exactly what the interrogation will entail, and plays out each scene to his own advantage. "H" intensifies the pressure, using torture over Brody's objection, but the suspect doesn't crack. After brutally slashing the suspect's wife's throat in front of his eyes, and seeing that it still doesn't effect him, "H" claims he must do the unthinkable- have the suspect watch his children suffer the same torturous pain, the suspect had to endure "for the love of his country."

If you're thinking that this is pretty intense, then we're on the same track. A movie such as this really gets you thinking because you begin to ask yourself what's right and what's wrong. Whose side are you really on? The character of Steven Younger demands that the President of the United States withdraw from the war, and remove all American soldiers from the Middle East. Only when this is done, will he agree to give away the locations of the nuclear bombs. He allows himself to get caught so that he can personally and physically witness the so-called brutality and corruption of the U.S. government. Can you really blame the government though? Here is a man who has placed three incredibly complicated, nuclear bombs, in three various locations, which can be anywhere in the entirety of America. He has essentially endangered millions of people's lives, and for what- the love of his country and his Muslim religion. 

The audience watches H ruthlessly torture Steven Younger trying to make him crack. He goes so far as to bring in the suspect's wife and use her to convince him to stop the "madness." That doesn't work, so he kills her in front of him so that Mr. Younger knows that there are no limits and there is no knowing what they will do to get what they want. H orders that the two children of Mr. Younger be brought in, so that he can see what will happen to them if he fails to cooperate. It is at this point where we finally see Steven Younger finally crack. He cannot sacrifice his children, and so volunteers the three locations to the bombs. 

 
H, however, being the amazing CIA agent that he is, continues to try and torture the children, because he knows that there may be a fourth bomb. He does not underestimate Mr. Younger, as he knows he voluntarily got caught in the first place. He had thought of everything, and so it wouldn't make sense for him to just give away all locations all at once right? The FBI intervenes to stop H, claiming that he has taking things too far, calling his vicious acts inhuman. At this point H says something striking- Mr. Younger is risking the lives of millions of people, many of which are women and children. Why is it unfair when his own children's lives are endangered? Who is the bigger monster here? The United States and its government, or a Muslim man trying to salvage what ever moral principle he can for the sake of his country?  


This one is definitely a mind-twister. You don't want to believe that America is capable of such brutality, but at the same time you can't blame them either? What if the safety of the world was in your hands? Similarly, you don't want to see a man, who may or may not be a bit disturbed for going through such life-threatening steps and measures to get what he wants, suffer by witnessing the murder of his wife and quite possibly, his children. In turn, however, you do want him to pay for threatening the life of so many others just for the sake of his own selfish wants and needs. 


It's interesting how America got attacked on 9/11, and yet in the movie, the U.S. is portrayed as being the cause of war and oppression in the Middle East. 
 

 Watch the movie. I guarantee that you're jaw will drop.
Then, tell me your thoughts...

Driving in the Fast Lane

While I was on the road, I came to a stop behind a truck which had a bumper sticker on its back stating “Please don’t honk at me just because you’re running late.” This really made me laugh, mostly because I took it in two ways: first, that the owner of this vehicle is seriously a slow driver, and is most likely someone who has aged quite a bit, and second, that it’s just so true. 

Most individuals are always in a hurry, running late, and trying to make it to do things all at once. While multitasking is commendable, it may be detrimental to you physically, mentally, and well- entirely. 

For me, every day has become routine. Regardless of how much I tell myself at night that waking up in the morning earlier than usual will be better, I instead find myself resetting my alarm to a later time. In my half-asleep haze, I subconsciously tell myself that 5 minutes really won't make a difference, but in actuality does. This 5 minutes that I so desperately seek becomes the utter most demise towards the entirety of my day, and by the time I crawl out of bed, wash up, get dressed and I'm out the door for work, I realize that I have ten minutes to make what is in reality a 20-minute drive. So what do I do? I begin to rush. I speed out of the driveway, scratch the side of my car, and am running so late that I don't even bother to stop, get out and see what kind of damage I have caused. What's more is that I find myself speeding more than usual on curvy streets where I should really be slowing down. Not only that, but I'm cutting people off, and barely passing through the intersection on a "yellow light." Luckily, I make it to work in one piece, but I'm still in such a rush that I don't have time to see the damage to my car from the fender bender I had just a few minutes before. 
I’ve come to realize that this may be the life of most people living in the greater Los Angeles. We’re all “driving in the fast lane” and rushing through life. We never really stop to smell the roses, and unfortunately we will keep going this way until tragedy strikes, reality kicks in, and we begin to act cautiously. It’s really only a matter of time though, until we fall back into what we like to think of as the norm. 

People say that life is short, and you never know what tomorrow will bring, so live everyday to your fullest- just make sure you’re doing it unperturbedly so as to savior every moment of it, instead of brushing past all the little things in life.

Remember, the smallest things make the biggest differences.

…just some rambling thoughts…

Furniture Shopping Anyone?

For the longest time now, I've been wanting to go shopping for some new couches as the ones I currently have have lost firmness. I finally got the chance to do this one afternoon and I'm sad to say that my end result was more than disappointing- not necessarily because I couldn't find quite what I was looking for, but more so because the sales woman didn't seem eager enough to want to sell. Now, some might say that that's a good thing because a person contsantly trying to pitch you a sale and who doesn't leave you alone can be a little annoying. Yes, that is true, but I'd have to argue the opposite as well.

Call me weird, but I feel like an employee- in this case, sales associate, needs to show some kind of motivation when trying to help its potential customers. This doesn't necessarily mean that they should be a nuisance, but they should at least offer their input, if and when asked. For example, there I was, sitting in the furtniture store owner's officer, asking question after question and looking through what seemed like a hundred catalogs, and I was still getting the vague, unresponsive, maybe even casual, "well, it really depends on you/your taste/etc., etc." answer. I sat there with a dumbfounded, blank look on my face, proceeded to tell her what I liked and asked for her professional opinion. What exactly did I get in return? A "hmm...I really can't say" response. This was really frustrating so I told the lady I'd have to think about what I wanted more and left the store.

I may be making a bigger deal of this than I should, but I can't help but feel that this kind of service would turn anyone away. After all, you own a business because no one can be more knowledgeable about the product you sell moreso than you right? So, how does "I don't know" and "I really couldn't say" fly? Well, here's my theory. This type of service comes from the one store that will literally beat any price, and that pretty much means that as a bargain shopper, I am most likely going to go there when I've made my final decision to buy. The fact of the matter is that most people are looking for the best price and since this is so rare to find, you suck up what bothers you and deal with your dealt hand.

So, you may ask now, what exactly is the bottom line? Well, I guess there really isn't one!!

...just some rambling thoughts....

Until next time,
Yours Truly