What I want to say,

I just finished watching the last episode in this season's “Lost.”  Yes there will be spoilers coming up now.  You might find it hard to believe, but I did realise it wasn't a flashback this week but instead a flash-forward.  How did I work it out?  Jack's cell-phone.  That model wasn't available when the plane crashed, or should I say when it was supposed to have crashed; obviously it's not real.  (As in it’s a TV show.  This is not the start of another great “Lost” conspiracy theory.)  Of course, if you were to ask me if I now have a clue what on earth is happening on the island I'd have to say "No!" I don't know why I'd say it so forcefully, but it seems the right way to say it.

It's been a good season.  Although there hasn't been all that much revelation, we don't know much more about their island, it's still an enjoyable and entertaining show.  Something I haven't mentioned before is that the music is always exceptionally good on “Lost.”  It really does help to set the mood.  Everything from the swishy noise that takes us to a flashback to the concussion that takes us to the end of an act or an ad break plays its part to perfection.  But the real beauty of the music is the slow, lingering piano.  Without that, it would probably be a completely different show.

I wish someone would make a compilation video of the story of Jin and Sun.  Theirs is a twisting, turning tale that has revealed quite some revelations to us.  It doesn't all seem to have played out in the most chronological fashion.  When you see the story from the point of view of the later episodes it gives you a whole new perspective on Sun being the good one and Jin being the bad one.  I'd like to watch their story chronologically, all the way from the Sun being a little girl who lies really well, through the moment she borrowed money from her father subjecting Jin to a life of crime, to Jin becoming an overbearing ass and Sun deciding to leave him.  Who knows, such video might already exist on the mighty Internet, but I haven't looked for it, which means I've never found it.

I never paid attention when they made the announcement of how many seasons were left to go.  I just hope they're all as good as the first years have been.

300 - I laughed when I heard about the controversy surrounding this movie.  A lot of people kept talking about how it was a politically motivated film all about the current war in Iraq and very anti-Iran.  These people really do need to get a clue.  The film is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley which came out before the war started and it's a virtual word for word, shot for shot remake.  When you don't buy into that drama you take it for the action movie it's supposed to be, and as an action movie it works well.  There's nothing much more to say about it.

Girlfight - This one came out a long time ago and I've only just seen it.  Michelle Rodriguez isn't as much of a bad ass in this as she usually is.  Instead we get to see her vulnerable for the first time, perhaps the only time.  Although, on saying that, her character on "Lost" had a few problems.  Anyway, it's a good little movie and you can see how it spawned a career for Rodriguez.  The good thing about this film is that it doesn't have an ending like "Million Dollar Baby."  We get to like some people and then keep on liking them after the credits roll.

Inside Man - Warning, many spoilers - doesn't make a whole lot of sense motivation wise.  Of all the motivations for robbing a bank, I still think money is the most plausible.  Getting payback against those that profited from the Nazis is all very well and good but take some money while you're in there.  You would also think that someone in the bank would have noticed the smell coming from the hastily cut latrine behind the shelves.  Other than that, a completely adequate movie experience.

The Host - Fabulous.  I like the kind of monster movie where the monster gets to run around in the sun.  I think it says on the box that it's kind of a cross between "Jurassic Park" and "Jaws," which in a sense it is, but it doesn't have any of the wonder that happens at the start of "Jurassic Park."  Well actually, there is a kind of wonder at the start, however, it's more in the "what is that giant thing running towards me?" sense.  I really do like the monster not needing the dark thing.  The incompetent government, tricky American thing is also good.  But the real highlight of the film, the real driving force behind it, is the family.  They're all different, they're all believable, and they're all wonderful to have on screen.  Each comes with their own vice, which they will have to overcome during the course of the movie, and of course their own strengths.  But it's the way they all come together to poke fun at each other's weaknesses and use each other’s strengths that makes them a believable on-screen family.  There's going to be a big budget American remake; expect all the nuances of character to be lost, then a much happier ending to be added.

Re-cycle - was directed by the people that directed “The Eye.”  If I remember correctly, they’re also the people that will be remaking “The Host” for the American market.  Recycle starts as the story of a writer, then things go crazy.  It's hard to tell you what it is really about without spoiling it all.  It starts off with the look and feel of a horror like “The Grudge,” but then drifts into something more like an adult version of “Labyrinth.”  There are some wonderful effects, and seemingly large production values at times, but then at other times, it distinctly looks like we’re on a sound stage.  It's an interesting movie in that the idea is a good one, but you have to wonder about the execution at times.  Even though it's visually splendid, there was so much more that could have been done with the actual storyline.  It's certainly worth watching for the ideas it encourages you to think about.  Maybe in a few years, when everyone's had a chance to watch it, I could talk about it some more, but until then, this would all be spoilers.

Buffy: the Vampire Slayer - Season 8 - this is only available in comics, but it is the direct continuation of the television series, written by Joss Whedon himself.  We're only three issues in just now, but the quality is there for all to see.  Things have moved on since the end of the TV series, but everyone you know and love is back.  There's even a fantastic throwaway line that explains the whole "Immortal" episode of "Angel." Although The Joss himself is writing the first few issues, he will soon be handing it over to other writers to continue for him, but he will remain the showrunner, like he was on the series.  I imagine the quality will therefore remain just as good.  Amy has returned to do some dastardly magic, and so has Ethan Rayne.  Xander is Mr command centre guy.  Buffy is her usual go get ‘em self.  Oh… and Dawn's a giant.

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Morning, the 24th of May 2007.  There's nothing special about today that I know of.  It's a quarter past four as I start typing this and the black sky has just started lightening into a cloud covered grey/blue.  I can hear some of the early birds, though I don't know why their faces aren't filled with worms right now.  Most aren't up yet.  I like early mornings.  I wish I lived in a better area for going out and about in them.  The trouble is I have some way to go before I get to the places that are really good for walking in.  I can't wait until I'm filthy rich.  The day that happens I will be happy, and I'll go walking that morning.

I've just finished reading this rant by Joss Whedon, which has been linked to in many places.  I wish I could structure my arguments as well as that. I never take the time really.  I just start typing.  I like the bit where he says, "I’ve always had a bent towards apocalyptic fiction, and I’m beginning to understand why."  I've felt that same way for a long time too.  I also identify with this line, "I have never had any faith in humanity."  Don't get me wrong, I do have faith in individual people.  Most people are fantastic.  The things we can accomplish, the ideas people can have, truly boggle the mind, but collectively, we're a menace to every other thing there is.

Here is the abridged version of some of the contents of Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene" which I find amazing.  It comes after a bit detailing how populations size depends on four things, births, deaths, immigrations and emigrations.  Of course the later two don't come into it when we consider the world population as a whole.  The figures given are from when the book was published so obviously aren't going to be 100% accurate for today, but the trend hasn't changed.

"In each generation the population, instead of going up by a fixed amount, increases by something more like a fixed proportion of the size that it has already reached.  Since this size is itself getting bigger, the size of the increment gets bigger... ...the present population of Latin America is around 300 million, and already many of them are undernourished.  But if the population continued to increase at the present rate, it would take less than 500 years to reach the point where the people, packed in a standing position, formed a solid human carpet over the whole area of the continent.  This is so, even if we assume them to be very skinny... ...in 1,000 years they would be standing on each other's shoulders more than a million deep... ...It will not happen like that for some very good practical reasons.  The names of some of these reasons are famine, plague, and war; or, if we're lucky, birth control... ...It is a simple logical truth that, short of mass migration into space, with rockets taking off at the rate of several million per second, uncontrolled birth-rates are bound to lead to horribly increased death-rates.  It is hard to believe that this simple truth is not understood by those leaders who forbid their followers to use effective contraceptive methods.  They express a preference for 'natural' methods of population limitation, and a natural method is exactly what they're going to get.  It is called starvation."

This is what I see when I look at the world merely from one angle.  Whether or not you believe in the greenhouse effect or not, pollution is real, and it has real effects.  Over-fishing is real.  Poaching is real.  As Dawkins says in a bit I missed out up there, our fancy new farming methods will alleviate the symptoms for a short time only... and in fact the abundance of cheap food they will generate may even speed it all up.  The way I see the greenhouse effect is this:  it either is real or it isn't.  Either we can do things to cut carbon emissions or we can't.  Doing those things will either throw the world economy into turmoil, or they can be done without that effect.  If the greenhouse effect is real, and gets worse, the world economy will be thrown into turmoil by the effects.  Let's analogise this to make it easier to understand.  You're that hiker that got his arm pinned under a rock and you can't pull it out.  You have a pocket knife.  There's a non-zero chance that someone will come up this hiking path in time to spot you and save you, but no-one knows you're there, so no-one is looking.  You realise you have two options, wait for rescue, or cut off your arm with the pocket knife and go get your own help.  Here are the two worst case scenarios: If you cut off the arm and someone shows up, you are put into immense pain, lose the use of that arm forever and feel like a bit of a twit for hacking off your arm with a pocket knife when you didn't have to... but you're alive.  If you don't, and no one comes, you are put into immense pain and lose the use of both arms forever.  The longer you wait, the weaker you'll get and the less likely it'll be that you will be able to cut off the arm and still make it to help in time.  It's a tough choice for sure, but personally I'd rather have one arm than none.  Incidentally, the guy cut off his arm, got to help and lived.  It is unknown whether anyone would have passed  that spot in time to save him.  If you want to hear about that actual story click this.  I just got to thinking about trapping and how animals bite their legs off when caught in a trap.  Of course they do.  They couldn't begin to think of help coming.  If a human showed up he'd most likely be the trapper there to kill it, not that they'd comprehend that at the time of capture.  They have the choice of bite or die.  Humans can be assholes.  Some people use devices like clay pigeon shooters to throw squirrels, after first luring them onto the device with food.  The things are so quick and vicious I can only imagine the squirrels ending up either seriously injured or dead, and why, because it needs to eat to live, and people can be assholes.  Anyway, back to the analogy and I've thought of another simpler way of saying it all, which is used for many things.  "I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."  I'd rather we cleaned up the environment without really "needing" to, than to "need" to and not do it.  Why pollute in any form when it's unnecessary?  Greed or Laziness.  Two things the governments of the world should be penalising in companies... and people, (damn I hate litterbugs.)

Anyway, the main point I dragged myself away from a long time ago was, with that as an indicator, an example of the ways humans unconsciously screw things up, it's no wonder the easiest futures to imagine are ones where everything goes wrong.  There are so many more ways to go wrong than right.  Getting it right takes thought and effort.  Getting it wrong takes none at all.

Weird, I suck at maths but seem to like tangents.

I was watching a show the other day called "Return of the Tribe."  It was about six members of a tribe from Papua New Guinea coming to live in Britain for a while, as the host had gone to live with them in their village for a while previously.  I love watching that kind of thing even though we're talking about hunter-gatherers here, and they kill things a lot.  At least they only kill what they need, and try their best to let the animals they need to survive flourish in the jungle around them.  I watch these because I'm interested in human evolution, and these kinds of people, especially in the jungles of West Papua, are still living the same way their ancestors did; a stone age existence for the most part.  Despite killing every day, sometimes going to war with neighbouring tribes and their "primitive" ways, they always seem like the most friendly, welcoming, big-hearted, loving people I've ever seen.  This was apparently the second of two programs, and I missed the first, but they showed a kind of "previously on..." segment before it which had the most amazing moments on it.  I wish I'd seen the first part.  Like, one of them saw an automatic door for the first time and his eyes went wide.  He did that thing where you go towards it until it opens then jump back.  It was wonderful to see the sheer amazement in his face.  Then he said, "What magic this is.  I am so glad to see this."  I don't think anyone here can truly imagine what that must have felt like to him.  Others saw a church and thought it must have been built by God himself because of all the sculptures, frescos, the dome and all that stuff.  They thought no man could make something like that.  In this episode some of them saw snow for the first time.  I wish I'd caught the first one.  People can be pretty wonderful at times.

Unreported World is still going strong.  I wish it was longer.  It never gets as in-depth as I'd like in its coverage, but without it, there's a whole bunch of things going on I just wouldn't know about.  It just shines a spotlight on something going on in the world I haven't heard about, outlines it, and then moves on to the next thing.  Fascinating viewing anyway.  I hope that's me finished.  I can't be bothered thinking of more or error correcting now.  Morning's here, so it's time to go to bed.