Movies

For the first time in a good while a good classic was on, Gone with the Wind. Although I’ve defintally snored through it enough times over the years, it’s regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made.

I still find it hard to watch at times, I might not agree with every thing that has happened. I don’t discriminate against any one, be it for race, creed, colour, or religion.. To me the difference between a White man and a Black man is only a matter of appaearence, you can tell them apart in a Line Up. Beyond that they are pretty much the same to me, they are both human beings and should be respected as such.

What else can I say of the South other then it is my home? I was born in the South, I live here and I work here. I’m proud to be an American and I love my home.

In the Civil War as in so many other places, so many wars, so many countries… The people of the south were made to feel results of war. The Union army burned, raped, and enough and many were ground into the dirt to ensure such a thing could never happen again. Thousands of men dead, sick, and dying, not even any thing left to ease the pain of those still alive… Most of the people starving and penniless with there families torn apart. People shouldn’t be ground into dust, what good does it serve. All the more worse then because it was not a war between countries but between brothers.. One I feel that could have been settled without firing a single shot.

Even to Christ on the cross, it’s never been enough for some people. Even without a war to fight, people can still be monstrous.

When the time came… It wasn’t enough to nail him to a wooden cross and be done with it. They tortured Jesus beyond the bounds of torture until death could only be a release from the agony and pain… Is it not enough just to kill?

Man has both the ability for Good and for Evil, I think it is the choice of which do you seek that matters.

When the chance comes, will you do what you think is right or will you play to your own advantage at any cost?

For a change they actually had some thing good on TV. The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, not the new ones but the classics.

The Classic time machine is a very good movie, I can’t help but wonder about the ending of it though. The Time Traveler took off back to the future with only 3 books. And it’s a open-ended question, what books would you choose? That’s given at the end of the movie.

Personally, I’d bring more writing materials and skip a book lol. If I was in the position of the Time Traveler in the movie. The first thing I would probably do is try and get things working, make sure food is tended to. And probably try to teach a small group to read/write and about the sciences. And let the few help me teach the many. Actually, I think in Frank Herbert’s Dune (very good book and movie!!!), I think Paul and Jessica Atreides took a similar approve to teaching the Fremen their forms of combat. But that way, in a few decades with a largely reading and writing Eloi. It would be possible to leave enough of my knowledge behind in writing for future generates to hopefully find useful.

For the choice of 3 books, I think I would have to go with the Bible. Just to much good in it not to bring it along. A book on agriculture since people have to eat, without the Morlocks and their machines the Eloi’s cushy live style was destroyed. And for the third, probably a book on science, unless a decent Do It Your Self book on building houses existed in any 1899 Inventors book collection ^_^. Without any power (short of years to build a primitive steam or hydroelectric power station just to get energy, let along an electrical outlet!), bringing a modern day computer would be a waste of weight. Even if it had a dump of all the info on the net, it would just be a hunk of parts in the Eloi’s future.

The Remake in the early 2000’s was a nice movie but I think the old one from the 1960s is better. I’ve never read the original book but I would like to some day. I doubt ether movie follows it to closely but it would be interesting to see what there starting point was.

*sigh* Almost time to go back to work… I still haven’t gotten to read a lot of R5RS (Revised⁵ Report on the algorithmic language Scheme). My cold is starting to balance out a bit… A little phlegm lighter but still sick. At least things seem to be in a manageable condiction and the medication is helping. I definitally don’t feel like going to work today but it’s not that way in life. Your sick, you still go to work simple as that. Unless your to sick to crawl in. Maybe that is one of the problems in our socieity. If your sick, you shouldn’t try and give it to other people!!! We had a short-gig baby sitting one night. One of the kids had a cough and guess what. Like two days later both of us came down with it lol.

Screamers…. now that is a nightmare of a movie.

In the not so far future (2078) a new source of energy was found, berynium on some rock probably in the middle of no where. It looked to be the best thing since coal or sliced bread judging by the intro. But after awhile of mining for it, the process started throwing up huge amounts of radiation. To stop it the workers and scientists banded together to put pressure on the company. Who in turn launched an all out war with the Alliance.

After being Nuked half of the planet… can’t blame them for needing every last trick in their book to hold on. They invented a monster, the ‘Screamer’ an Autonomous Mobile Sword. That tracks targets by their plus and use the cutting buzz saw like blade that makes up most of their body to cut the enemy to death. In the opening a N.E.B. (the company) grunt trying to deliver a message got a leg and an arm chopped off before the screamers finally lopped off his head. Built by an automated factory under the Alliance bunker, they proved valuable at protecting the base and stopping the enemy. The only way they could tell friend from foe required you to wear a ‘tab’ on your wrist to block their sensors. When the poor sap with the message came in it was their first N.E.B. contact in like 6 months.

After the journey to respond ensures (hey I’m not spoiling the entire picture:-P) two Alliance soldiers, a green kid and a seasoned local. Meet up with a new and improved version. A little kid claiming to be a survivor in the waste land, begging to come with them. The trick? It’s really a droid, so real you’d think it was human – once it get’s inside the enemies bunker. It releases it’s payload, a deadly ‘Screamer’. A N.E.B. squad they link up with tells how effective it was. The droids murdered most of the N.E.B. forces inside their command bunker during dinner time. Also another model…

A wounded soldier begging for help, go to help him and vola ! You’re ripped apart by the screamer. The things we’re self manufacturing as far as the viewer is able to gather. And some how self improving, more advanced models developed by machines, as it was stated that none we’re sent to the planet from command since the prototype years ago. When the scientists effectively built the factory, pushed the on button and ran like heck. In the N.E.B. base they found another model, simple lizard/reptilian like screamers. Slow walking but flast leaping buggers with a Dinosaur like look & feel, right out of a museum.

When the merry band returns to the Alliance bunker… they find out the same thing that happened to the N.E.B’s destroyed the soldiers there. The voice of the bunkers 2nd in command beckons them in over the radio. A repetitive conversation and multiple personality show its a trap. Faced with an Army of droid children clutching teddy bears and having a screamer inside marching out of the base. Trust me it’s not as corny as it sounds lol. Using their high powered by todays standards weapons til the ammo ran out. Then dropping down to the built in flame throwers… They couldn’t hold off the onslaught. So using a recovered micro-nuke they blow the place to crap.

Only to discover one of the N.E.B’s with them injured, when the green Alliance kid goes to help. He’s ripped apart by the advanced screamer… horrible, not even the ‘tabs’ worked any more. The Screamers now could kill any one and every one. After being put down the last two people left, The Alliance commander and a N.E.B. woman set out for the one way off the planet. The ‘oh crap the place is about to explode’ escape system for the bases commander.

To prove that she is human the commander nearly cuts the womans arm off. To do like wise he almost does the same to his own hand before she stops him. The two apparently falling in love head out, only to be greeted by the commanders friend and the next in the Chain of Command. Another screamer !! The screamer was said to have cut off the mans face and took it, hence the appearance. After disposing of him they find another horror, the escape shuttle only has room for one.

Pulling every trick in the book the commander tries to make sure the N.E.B. woman is the one to go, yet theres some reason why she “just can’t go”. When a duplicate shows up, we know why ! Another screamer… the most advanced yet. The two fight to the last fembot standing, the victor gets a blast of rocket engine as the other dies. Leaving the poor guy to use the shuttle and hope he gets back to Earth… and meets HUMANS !!! It’s made clear that his and the fate of earth may be undesirable…

You’d have to see the movie to really appreciate it but it is really horrifying. Man kind is deadly enough without machines surpassing us. The screamers evolved to the point that they killed their own side. Then to the point that they killed each other. It’s pretty dang sad when your own governments weapons try to kill you !

I hope that People are never removed from war, unless war is removed it self. One can argue that there is no such thing as ‘honor’ in a war. If one see’s the goal as to live to see the end in victory. That’s one thing but there is some point. Where a line is crossed, it’s not a matter of honor or fairness but of right or wrong.

Killing the enemy is one thing but murder is another. In screamers you can’t tell if the person next to you is on your side or even human. The chap you’ve played cards with for the past year might try and rip your arms off the next. It’s a sick idea… when machines have evolved past their creator, all but destroyed their creators, and start killing themselves too.

The Terminator is a scary idea but this is worse, just watch the movie and you’ll find out why lol. I think it’s a good thing when you can have some one sit out of the line of fire. Control a robot and have it drop a bomb on the enemy, thats good. But when your toaster oven is modified to kill the enemy while you go on a smoke & coke break. You’re going to be pretty dang sorry if it tries to kill you after getting an upgrade !

Hmm, got to see some thing refreshing, a western where they actually used sound tactics. Leapfrogging, stealth movement, the ‘Tin can on a fense post quick draw’ drill, and some proper room clearing techniques in their basic form. Not bad for a simple Western, probably made in the 1960s.

Also got to catch most of Hackers, movies as fake as a 80’s action flick but just as entertaining. It’s after 0600Z, thats like 2am local time… and I just get back to the PC.

You know, I really should stop tying with 10 fingers! I can type about as fast as I can think the words…. It’s quite fast when its my thoughts and not just reiterating some thing else. On typing tests I usually score about 70 some words per minute. In general work, I can type English very fast if I’m not one eye on the ‘original’ text. With how much time I spend on the computer I guess you kind of learn to type quickly when talking… eh chatting, posting what ever.

If I don’t do it quickly, by the time I finish a five minute post… Like an hour has gone by because of being interrupted / sent AFK e.t.c. So I learned to type FAST when I have some thing to say.

Got to enjoy a few good movies tonight. The end of ‘The Man’, ‘Jingle All the Way’ – I love a few parts of that movie. Especially the one where he gets in a brawl with the Rain Deer & they go drinking lol.

Ep IV is on, the New Hope is one of my favorite Star Wars movies. And after that is Mr & Mrs Smith. Now thats a sweet flick. And the gun battle at the ends not half bad hehehe.

Well, tonight we taped the movie Poseidon. A remake of the Poseidon adventure.

I remember when I was a kid, maybe 5-6 years old. I had officially sworn off the original movie for keeps. I had gotten a tad ill in the stomach watching it. The whole sinking / drowning thing kind of got to me. And really I’ve never cared much for disaster flicks.

I’m happy to say, like 12-15 years later I’m perfectly fine and the remake was actually pretty good 🙂

At least it wasn’t as boring as the Titanic remake was…