Bringing up baby.

My dad is about 5'11 and when he was younger he was very lean. He was a good athlete in his prime. He tried out for Scotland's national rubgy team in the fifties and he was a scratch golfer in his prime. He doesn't watch anything other than sports to this day. My mother is not an athlete although she is strong mentally. I am 5'8 and stocky. All I ever cared about until I was in my mid thirties was sports. I had very few other hobbies. When I was young I was ok at hockey and that's about it. My hand eye is decent, my speed is average and the only reason I was okay at hockey was that I had a low centre of gravity and could get off the mark quickly. I had quickness and decent hand eye co-ordination.  I have never had any upper body strength.
When I was in Grade 11, my teacher (Mrs. Jackson) said that I had a talent for expression. I think that was the sum total of compliments I got as a kid at school. The only thing I can think of, is that Mrs. Jackson had me in her class for a couple of years and could see what I could do and cared enough to relate that to my parents. My parents are uneducated, close-minded and small. The compliment was ignored and to be fair, I ignored the compliment myself when it was given. It tells me though that one of the things  I actually had some talent in was completely unavailable to me. I'm going to assume that maybe I had some talent as an actor or public speaker. My parents didn't give a fuck and I didn't know any better. It was ignored.
The communists were probably right. They looked for talent in areas that kids could excel in and pushed them. That is the way to go. At least you have something...a talent or a gift that was nurtured.
I doubt I could ever have gone into drama. My dad never gave a shit if I came home with an F in music or art. To be fair, I sucked at art for sure and probably for music too. He also told me that if I ever told him I was gay, he would have disowned me. I can't imagine if I was 16 and living in Australia and told him I wanted to be an actor that he would have told me to go fuck myself. I never had a hope.

Oscar

I have always been a huge fan of the Oscars even though some of the results are a joke. I guess what I like to do is give my opinion on my favourite movies and hope that "The Academy" agrees with me. Either way I love movies. I saw The Tree of Life earlier this month and loved it. I have since seen about 4 more movies that are nominated for best picture but I don't see anything that is remotely as original as the Tree of Life and it should win hands down. I haven't seen that black and white silent movie though (can't remember it's name) so I can't speak to that but of the movies I've seen I love the Tree of Life. I think Brad Pitt was brilliant in both movies he did this year. He's a wonderful actor and far from just a pretty boy.

The one best picture winner that was roundly criticized was Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction. Excuse me while I supress my gag reflex over that. Forrest Gump was a movie that challenged the cynicism of the the age which so few movies do these days. Everything is ironic and cynical whereas Forrest Gump revelled in the exact opposite. Forrest was the anti-cynic and couldn't understand the concept of irony if it fell on him. If you read the book, it's clear that the movie-makers deserve incredible credit for the re-write. The original is less vibrant and much less optimistic. As for Pulp Fiction, it had been done at least twice before. Go and see True Romance and you'll see Tarantino's brilliant writing. Reservoir Dogs was another Pulp Fictionesque movie released well before the so called innovative Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction wasn't even the best of the three. I'm partial to TR. Gary Oldham was brilliant as was the rest of the incredible cast. The scene with Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken was one of best written and acted scenes of all time.

Hey

I have two daughters. I love one more than the other. Why do I get so much trouble for saying that. I'd never tell them but I do.

Invisibility in the modern age

It's interesting how in the modern age you can have a blog and mention that you are suicidal and have absolutely no response to it. Having worked in Information Technology for 10 years it doesn't surprise me though because the vast amount of information available to modern society overwhelms people and makes the individual completely invisible. Most of my best friends are not aware of my despair because I am THAT private and yet I have no fear of posting it online because there is no chance of it even attracting a remote amount of attention. It's that invisibility that dehumanizes modern men and women. I get very angry when I hear the term "internet community." The internet is actually another nail in community's coffin. I apologize for going over my 140 character limit and hope that the incredibly long post hasn't discouraged people from reading this far.

Wikipedia

I regretted Wikipedia's blackout on three separate occasions. Work around: Click on Wikipedia link after Google search and then quickly press the prtscrn button. Paste the print screen onto paint and you'll be able to see the Wikipedia entry. God help us all if SOPA is successful in censoring the internet. Please write to your local Congressal representative regarding the issue. The USA is not China, North Korea or Iran.

Picture

http://www.whyistheresomething.com/answer/funny-picture

Nature Vs. Grace - Francis Schaeffer

Nature, the lower: the created; earth and earthly things; the visible and what happens normally in the cause-and-effect universe; what man as man does on the earth; diversity, or individual things, the particulars, or the individual acts of man.

Grace, the higher: God the Creator, heaven and heavenly things; the unseen and its influence on the earth; Unity or universals or absolutes which give existence and morals meaning.

http://www.jasonyounglive.com/2010/02/27/nature-vs-grace-key-contrasts/

After some research I have found that the original concept of Nature vs. Grace comes from a 15th century book called the Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis. I am not Catholic, nor am I familiar with this work which embarrassingly is "perhaps the most widely read devotional work next to the Bible," according to Wikipedia (two sources are given). Francis Scaeffer is a 20th century Christian philosopher.