Entry 30: Movie Review (yay!)

So for this, i had to go back to the origin of why i was reccomended to watch groundhog day to begin with.

"I have a question for you, have you seen the movie "Groundhog Day"? If so, what
are your thoughts about it? Do you feel there are there any "deep meaning"
messages in it?"

So i watched it today. Not a bad movie. hiiilarious.

But as far as deep things are concerned, i'll have to return to the blog that sparked the reccomendation, and its reply, just to touch up on things a bit.

My general thoughts though, are that there was no incredibly DEEP meaning. It was the logical evolution of a common mans train of thought when given an infinitely impossible situation.

He cycled through various sins, through suicides, and eventually ended up doing the right thing.

when given a bad situation, he responded poorly, and was unhappy. eventually he learned that using his bizarre situation to do good things can have positive benefits AND make him happy. Its like a rat pushing the button for a shock or for a treat. Once he learns what makes him happy, he'll do it over and over and over again.

Before his Groundhog days, he was egotistical and mean. Afterwards, he was selfless and nice. the transition was relatively realistic.

with reference to the "Big picture" or master plan. the movie is hardly indicative of what the plan is, and does not imply divine intervention, but if one were to infer divine interference, then it would be to teach the main character a lesson.

in real life, i think it would be too presumptuous (spelling?) of any of us to say we know what the plan is. if there is a plan, presumably its rather complex, and involves some paradoxes concerning sinfulness.

As far as movies are concerned though, i give it 3.5 stars. i hope this has been a sufficient movie review : )

Entry 29

I need to dust off some ol' cobwebs.

foinstance, i haven't updated this thing in a while.

largely in part because i can't think of anything to write.

just thought i'd share that XD

-Russell

Entry 28: The Ultimate Perspective

So in reply to my previous entry, Mr. Baker suggested i contemplate an even larger perspective, "what is the purpose of life?"

((Just a side note, i would like to acknowledge that the only people who really read this blog are Bakers, and i know you guys are Mormon. I'm not entirely clear on your beliefs in regard to the subject matter of this Blog, but I know my beliefs are very different. I'll try to avoid saying anything incredibly controversial, but if something slips in, please do not be offended.))

So, our purpose in life? The question itself implies Religion, so i'll dive right in.

I am of the belief that God gave us free will to make free and complete use of it. To Live life to the fullest, to make success for ourselves and our family. So our purpose in life could be to simply live.
I like that line of thought because it gives humanity some wiggle room. Its a bit Humanist, and leaves God almost completly out of the picture in regards to how we run our lives.

---

Now Considering the counterargument that hypothetically my siblings would make, who take a somewhat fundamentalist view.

God wants us to glorify him, honor him, etc etc, but he wants us to CHOOSE to do it. We have free will so that our worship is all the more heartfelt.

The Reason i dislike this line of thought is because i do not believe God is that...self centered? My justification is that if, as the bible says, God made us in his image, then that includes some non-physical attributes as well, such as modesty and humble...ness. So I believe God would have made us for US, not for himself.

---
So, Assuming that the purpose of humanity is to exist, one might think thats kind of a pointless existance?

The reason our existance is NOT pointless is because we exist! If our existance was going to be pointless, God wouldn't have made us. If our existance was devoted entirely to god, it would be equally pointless (In my opinion) due to the fact that either way we would be wandering aimlessly. Except in the first, we aren't saying anything, and in the second, we're praising God.

This also calls into question the nature of our creation (somewhat), but thats another matter alltogether. One deep blog at a time, Russ.

I'm not entirely sure where else to go from here. This i believe would be the first MAJOR issue i've tackled on this blog, so i guess...thats that.

Thanks for the suggestion, Mr. Baker!

Entry 27: In Admiration of The Big Picture

Looking at the moon this evening, i realize how much i don't appreciate my surroundings.

I Told my grampa recently that some of the places i most want to visit in life are World War era battle sites, like El Almein, Normandy, Dunkirk, the Maginot line, moscow, places like that. I said (and have said this for some time) that i want to see them to make them real. I know they exist, i know what they should look like, but i dont know how they are. they are merely stories told to me, that have matching pictures and several versions. But if i go there, i can take history and apply it to the location, i can make it real in my head that this place isn't just a place.

All my life i've stood on the earth and looked at the moon. I know what the earth looks like. I know what the moon looks like. The earth is real, and yet i dont appreciate its size sometimes, same with the moon.

So though it may never happen, i think i would enjoy standing on the moon and looking at earth. that would make everything more real to me. i could look at the earth, and say "i can see my house from here".

Ultimately, i'd like to see everything from the larger picture. the galaxy, the solar system. but some things are more possible than others.

I just love that space is real, and impossible to comprehend, yet so easy to understand.

and that one day, we'll be able to take it for granted.

Entry 26

Yeah, so...

just thought i'd pop in, rub some dust off the ol' blog, write something not worth reading again.

I guess, since i'm planning on writing a short story about time travel, i'll speculate a bit about it.

Realistically speaking, time travel isn't possible. It would require the existence of a multitude of parallel universes, and i dont believe parallel universes exist.

But assuming time travel DOES exist, you mays well throw in teleportation. Say you had a device that allowed you to travel back in time, and end up at any point on the planet you are on, or anything within your planets gravitational field of influence. That would mean the Moon would have a limited capacity for being travelled to.

Anyway, i think it would be possible to travel back in time, maybe half a second, to any point on the planet. thats teleportation. Time travel farther back is what gets annoying.

Consider time as a line.

consider time travel as taking a thread from the end point of the thread (Now) and reattaching it to a previous part on the thread (then) and then letting the thread continue on its way.

Heres a real-world example.

A man is running. A man appears next to him, who looks just like him. They cross the finish line, and the first man travels back in time to when he was running, except he's running next to himself. he crosses the finish line, and his original self disappears, and he goes and gets a drink of water. The End. 

Its a bit weird. because what will happen has happened before you even contemplate doing it. 

So i've developed a system that kind of works. Lets take the running-man scenario.

The mans running. A kid calls out "I'm Going to throw a rock at you!" and your future self comes back and tells you to step a bit to the left. The kid throws the rock, and you dodge it. You reach the finish line, and theres the time machine. You HAVE to go back in time, otherwise a paradox will take place, and you'll end up with a bruise on your shoulder somehow. So you go back in time, and warn your past self again. 

That system only works if, upon reaching the finish line, you make the choice to go back and remain consistent with the paradox. If one were to choose not to go back, though, then problems would arise. 

BUT that also brings into question the nature of free will in regards to time paradoxes. assuming parallel universes do not exist, and you can go back to any point in time you want from any other point in time, you have all the time in the world to go back and avoid the paradox. So if you cross the finish line, and you choose not to go in, at some point you will go back in time to warn yourself, if by accident or otherwise, because its already happened, it becomes inevitable, the choices of free will have already taken place. you have a choice, but you already know what your choice is before you make your choice. 

am i making sense? I'm glad i'm wording this out. But i should probably be doing something, seeing as i'm in my 3rd block class right now...

Time travel is mind boggling to think about.

Reading over it, i decided to throw in one last thing.

If one were to go back 5 years, you'd be "running" with yourself for a really long time, before your original went back 5 years and you became the sole person. By the time you catch up with yourself, you've aged 5 years. So in my system, once the people go back in time, they retire until their original goes back, at which point they can choose to either return to the force or continue on their paid retirement. 

But no travelling to the future, once your in the past. the future HASN'T happened yet. This short story will take place outside of my amazing timeline (see "History of the Universe"), because its theoretically impossible. 

now i'm done.

back to work.

Foiled Again

I knew i would end up not updating this as much as i should.

Things just "got away", time "slipped by", "flew" if you will. I "stopped posting in my blog".

And i probably wont post again for a really long time. but i'll get back into it. at some point. I swears.

At least i'm consistent with my selection of font.

Libertarians for the win!

You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (91% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Entry 25

Happy (belated) Easter everyone! We came down to my grandmothers house in lexington, VA, and hung out with my cousins, and sally and aaron came down for a while. it was pretty fun. No one ever tells me where to sleep, though. all i heard was "on the couch" so i ended up sleeping on the tiny couch that wasn't INCREDIBLY comfortable, but it was good enough.

and we're coming back today. :D

Entry 24

Today was pretty good. i dont feel like going into details. but it was good.

Entry 23

Today was swell :D

3 jet fighters were flying around. loud, and disconcerting, but cool