Enjoy The Show!

Well, last night I finally decided to start going through some of the movies I have been meaning to watch. I settled on the movie Stardust, which is based off the novel of the same name by author Neil Gaiman. I had promised myself I would not watch this movie until I had read the book first, but I am very glad I decided to set that idea aside.

Well, to say the least this movie was a breath of fresh air. Even without a great cast (Claire Danes, Michelle Phieffer, Robert DeNiro) I am sure I still would have loved every little piece of it. It was a true work of fantasy, complete with stars falling from the heavens, two worlds split by a wall, witches struggling for immortality, air pirates, unicorns and warring princes, all focusing around the journey of a young man who finds his destiny overcoming adversary in the fight for true love.

The lead role was played by Charlie Cox, a very cute charming young man, who took on the role of a stereotypical country klutz, who just cant seem to get a break. It was also great to see Claire Danes back in a movie again, it seems like it has been awhile since I have seen her in anything and I think this could be one of my most favorite roles for her. Of course both her and Michelle Pfeiffer were looking fabulously beautiful in their respective roles. As for Robert DeNiro? Well, he was just fabulous as he danced around in a womans undergarments to the Can Can, trying to pick out which frilly dress to wear for the night.

I am not going to waste time critiquing the production value, or the music (which i loved, most of all the closing credits song, which fit the mood of the movie perfectly) because I do not have much of an eye for those things unless it really is just horrible. However, for the life of me, I do not know why this movie did not do so well in the theaters. Of course the fact that it even took me this long to decide to watch tells me that many other people must have missed out on this little gem, which is a shame too because watching it in a movie theater would have increased the experience even more.

I really do believe though that if you have ever dreamed, even a little bit, then there is no way you will walk away from watching this movie without a grin on your face and a much lighter heart, in which case I highly recommend reading the book. I know I am going to be going to Chapters first thing tomorrow and picking it up, and most likely locking myself away for a day or two to make my way through it.

As well, Neil Gaiman has had another movie produced based on another one of his works, a graphic novel named Mirror Mask which, while having a very different theme and tone then Stardust, I believe was adapted quite wonderfully into an amazing movie and I would recommend to anyone who was a fan of Stardust.

This is going to be my first of many reviews i will probably do on this site. Occasionally i find things that i really love, and i like to share them with others to see if they may be able to find something special in them like i did.

Ishmael is an amazing piece of work. I first read this about 3 years ago. It was leant to me by a co-worker but i had to return it quickly so i sped through the book a little bit, but even at the time i was very moved by the message within. It took a lot of my scattered thoughts and feelings about what exactly is going on in the world, like pollution, global warming, deforestation and overpopulation, and really helped focus my thoughts into one single idea.

Although Quinn deals with a very heavy subject, one which would make most people throw this book right into the trash, he approaches it from such a logical and scientific angle that once read it is difficult to just forget. Using sociology, anthropology, evolution, theology, ecology and population demographics he paints a very clear picture of exactly what has been going on with our civilization since the Agricultural revolution.

The best part about the book, i would say, is how he doesn’t actually blame any specific race, sex, reigion, industry, government or country. He deals purly with population size, and does not make an effort to break it down into regions or classes, and thus laying the blame on all of us as a whole.

Of course he lays out a clear path of exactly where we are headed, but unlike most works of our time that talk about the demise of the human race and the destruction of the world, he manages to end it on a more postive note, showing how we can change to possibly avoid the catastrophe ahead.

The book actually has two more that follow it in the series(The Story of B, My Ishmael), which serve to reiterate his main ideas, and then to develop them a little more in depth. Reading the entire series has left me forever changed, and as well solidified a lot of the views i have about what we are doing to this planet as a civiliaztion, and where we are headed as a result.

So lately i have been going over a lot of stuff in my head, trying to sort out a lot of the stuff i have been going through the last couple months. I have always been a deep believer in the old cliche “You can not truly love another person until you learn to love yourself”. This led to me coming up with the idea that when you are not in relationship with another person, you should try living life as though you are in a relationship with yourself. Like, could you actually stand to be with yourself? Could you take yourself out to dinner? Could you go out for a walk with yourself? If you were sitting across from yourself at a table listening to yourself would you be thinking “Oh dear god, what is this guys problem?”

I have known a lot of people in my life who are afraid to be alone with themselves. This is usually because they do not want to face the personal problems that they have hidden away in their mind. However, this is a bad way to live life. The most important relationship you will ever have in your life is the one you have with yourself. Other people come and go, but you will always be with yourself. Just like any regular relationship, it should be approached in the same manner. You need to be open and honest with yourself, you need to know your fears and your flaws, and most importantly you need to know how to love yourself inside no matter what. With this love comes self esteem and self confidence.

In practice, most people ignore this fact, and they look for someone else to come along and give them their confidence, they let someone else define them. This may be great, but it only lasts for as long as that relationship lasts. Eventually that person may leave, and with them they will take those things they gave to you. So you never really gained self confidence, you just borrowed someone elses. For this reason a lot of people will do crazy and desperate things when they feel the security of that relationship is threatened, because they know if that person leaves, then they will have to be alone with them selves again. Since most people are afraid of this, they make bad choices to avoid having to deal with their personal issues, which usually comes in the form of throwing themselves into the arms of the next person who comes along, and in turn keeping the cycle going. Others find a way to be alone with themselves, but they turn bitter and jaded, living their life out of touch with their true feelings.

Of course, there are lots of people who are in touch with themselves, and they do truly love the person they are, who find themselves getting into a relationship. Sometimes they are lucky and the relationship supports their efforts to continue to grow as a person, but sometimes people get caught up in their partners issues, and lose sight of themselves. At this point they begin living for their partner, off their energy, and have begun to neglect themselves. This usually leads to the partner being able to take control of the relationship, and for the person to find themselves trapped in a situation where they are suffering. Of course, when this ends, it is even worse, because not only have they lost their partner, but they also have a void they are not too sure at first how to fill. Some people, usually with the help of friends and family, find the advice needed to learn how to connect with themselves again, and others go on and continue the cycle like above.

Add to this all the other problems with life, money, school, work, stress, family, kids, marriage, sex, and health, and you can see how easy it could be to completely lose sight of yourself in the mess. However, if even in all that mess, you can find an outlet, take some time to date yourself again and get back in touch with yourself, you really can discover a confidence that is totally from within, and that no one else controls or owns, and as long as you are remaining true to yourself, it is always yours to take with you in your life.

I didn’t think i would make a second post tonight, but i totally just had to put this up. It was a cool little film that my sister sent me today while we were talking about the Blue Planet series of documentaries and things in the ocean

Click here to be sent over to it

The ending is the best, i hope you are blown away by it too! Really cool!!

Hello hello people of the world

This is my first entry in my new blog At a friends suggestion, i have decided to start a blog so i can document my experiences when i leave for Japan. I intend to send this link to my family and friends so everyone can keep posted on what is happening to me. I originally intended to just send out quick emails to large mailing groups, but decided this was a much easier and faster way to get my info across Now people who are actually interested can come here instead of being forced to read my emails in their inboxes.

Of course….they could just block me………

ANYWAYS!! Look forward to more posts about lots of fun and interesting stuff!!!!

(Disclaimer – author of the site makes no garuantees that said stuff will be fun and/or interesting)