Thursday, October 13, 2005

Religion

Interesting article about religion and its origins. It offers some lessons about the dangers of orthodox religion, although I think a lot of us knew about them already!

Iraq the Project is over

It has always been the case that it is difficult to know what to believe when your media is so close to government. This is especially true in the time of war.

I guess I'll leave it with you to decide whether you believe that Iraq is a country full of men and women discussing the upcoming referendum on the constitution, going about their daily lives and enjoying their new freedom; or a country beyond the brink, where insurgents (I love that word) are pretty much in control of vast swathes of the land.

Friday, October 07, 2005

I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

It's six weeks since I saw the Serenity premiere in Edinburgh and last night I finally got to see it again. This time with loads of friends which gave me a chance to talk about what is easily the best Sci-Fi film since Donnie Darko.

I can't remember the last time I was as affected by a movie as I have been by Serenity. That I was even more affected by the repeat showing really took me by surprise. It was perhaps partially due to the fact that I knew what was going to happen and indeed for the ten minutes leading up to the final battle my heart was racing. I'd forgotten that movies could do that to you.

Serenity is not without it's flaws. There is one major continuity error right at the start of the movie that might annoy some fans, but in truth it can be explained away if you're geeky enough... and I am. After 10 years of Berman & Braga destroying Trek continuity I think I can live with this one 'mistake' in Serenity.

Anyway... I've seen it twice and intend to see it a lot more before it disappears off our screens. If you like SciFi, watch this movie. Don't worry if you haven't seen the show, one of the guys I was with last night hadn't seen it and he got the film completely and loved it.

Serenity is the finest piece of science fiction I've seen in years. It makes Star Wars look like it was written by an untalented hack (oh wait... it was), while making Star Trek (the self-proclaimed grandfather of science fiction) look outdated, unoriginal and totally lacking in depth. For me to say this, particularly about Trek, is no small thing.

Go watch this movie.