I saw Avatar last week with my family in IMAX 3D. Avatar was about a marine, Jake Sully, whose mission was to negotiate a deal with the Na'vi, a 10 foot tall blue skinned species, on planet Pandora that would include the Na'vi finding a new home on the planet, for their home sits on the largest deposit of a material that humans are trying to mine. Jake Sully reached his nadir when he started sympathizing with the Na'vi, effectively betraying the human military commander on Pandora, who promised that if a negotiation couldn't be reached, he would simply blow up the Na'vi's salient home. When Jake tried to warn the Na'vi, and Jake's Na'vi lover that the military would come if they didn't relocate, the Na'vi were incensed that Jake had been part of the plan. Jake tried to save face by saying he was hectored into and that he changed his mind, but the Na'vi excoriated him anyway. In order to win back the Na'vi's trust Jake tamed a huge banshee, an act of cachet, to show what an outstanding warrior he was. The Na'vi exonerated Jake, and Jake proceeded to lead the sortie against the military that was proceeding to destroy the Na'vi's home. I won't give anymore of the movie away otherwise I might spoil it. Overall, it was an excellent movie with the best visuals of any movie produced thus far. I highly recommend it.

Mayan Pyramids

Another of Crichton's adventures took him to Uxmal, Mexico, where he climbed the Pyramid of the Magician. The pyramid was built near the end of the Classical Mayan period, which is around 950 AD. It has 90 steps at 60 degree angles, making them very steep, and difficult to climb. Crichton remarks in the book that the rising sun illuminating the pale buildings of the ancient city was an ethereal sight. Among the ruins of the Pyramid of the Magician is the House of the Governor, House of the Turtles, and the House of the Pigeons. The pyramid stands 125 feet tall. The House of Turtles is named for a row of turtles on its front, and the House of Pigeons is named because its roof could have been a dovecote. Crichton reflects that even though the structures have names, no one really knows what they were called, or what when on in them. He then goes forth to say that the closer we look at history the less coherent it becomes. He says in his book that "The internal psychological pressure to make up a story, to explain the ruins before one's eyes, is powerful indeed." He is implacable because he wants to know what when on, but he never really can. He makes the analogy that "The Dark Ages weren't dark; it is hard to be sure what the Middle Ages stood in the middle of; and that the Renaissance is as much a birth as a rebirth. Crichton thinks that history books and tour guides beguile people into thinking they know more than they really do.

Wild Animals in Rwanda

Rwanda is one of the many places Crichton visits in his inspired memoir, Travels. Wether due to caprice, or ennui, Crichton decides to go on a wild animal safari in order to catch an ephemeral glimpse of the ever rare, mountain gorilla. The mountain gorilla is said to be the rarest of all apes, with only about 600 left in the mountainous region near Mgahinga in Rwanda. Crichton recalls that seeing a huge, salient mountain ape in its natural habitat was his greatest wildlife experience. In Swahili the mountain gorilla is called "Sokwe." Most grow up to six feet tall, and weigh in at about 300 to 425 pounds. The average lifespan is 40 years. They are vegetarians that live in dense forest, and whose only predator are humans. Crichton reflects in the book that he thought no other animal had the cachet of the mountain gorilla. He remembers the awe he felt, as only one mountain gorilla exists for every ten million humans.

Is Torture Moral?

Another political issue I have been following recently is that of torture. Torture is the intentional infliction of extreme physical suffering on some non-consenting and defenseless person. A U.N. symposium on torture in 1984 identified four reasons for torture, namely: (1) to obtain a confession; (2) to obtain information; (3) to punish; (4) to coerce the sufferer or others to act in certain ways. Supporters of torture say that in the case that vital information can be gleaned from a terrorist that would save American lives, then torture is moral. Critics of torture excoriate the supporters, saying it should never be used and is a greater evil than killing. George Bush and Dick Cheney's actions regarding torture were seen as transgressions of "moral law" (Bush and Cheney both authorized the use of torture by the CIA for Al-qaida detainees). Obama saw to it to eradicate torture as soon as he stepped into office. My view however is that in certain situations, torture is moral, and should be legal. Think of it this way, killing, and causing excruciating pain to someone can both be moral actions. When a police officer uses his gun to kill and save a life, he is applauded, not castigated. When doctors cut off limps and cause excruciating pain to save lives, they are also applauded. So then when can torture be moral? When thousand of Americans lives are at risk and a terrorist who has vital information that can save those lives won't speak. Thus, torture isn't immoral or moral, but the nature of the circumstances can be.

"White Noise"

A great book I read recently is "White Noise" by Don DeLillo. It won the National Book Award in 1985 and was in TIME magazine's list of 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. It was mainly about the contemporary, plugged in milieu that we live in, and humans' fear of death. The protagonist in the story is Jack Gladney, a professor who teaches Hitler Studies. The book has numerous vignettes to portray the society we live in. One is about a chemical plant near Gladney's home accidentally releasing a cloud of gas that may be poisonous. Another is about Gladney's wife, who takes drugs to remove her fear of death. DeLillo's saturnine view of technology for the most part predicted the future. "White Noise" was written before the explosion of the internet, and before Prozac existed, both of which DeLillo alluded to in the book. All in all, White noise was enlightening, and it belongs on the "To-read" list of anyone intrested in modern society.

College

When people ask me what college I want to go to after telling me about how they want to go to X University because they know it's "right" for them, I usually give a laconic "I don't know." Some people are amazed I don't know where I would like to attend and coin it as disinterest in college, but I am amazed at how some people do know where they would like to spend the next four years of their lives. To me, it seems as a lot of my friends want go to a certain school over another school for jejune reasons. When I ask why they want to go to a certain school many of them resort to the standard, hackneyed response of, "it just felt right when I visited." My parent's say I'm aloof from the issue of where I want go, but in reality I think about it everyday. I'm not looking for specialized programs or anything like that, so in truth most colleges look the same to me when I visit. I could see myself going to any of them. At this point, where I attend college will probably be a capricious decision.

Obama's Nobel

An issue that interests me and that I have followed closely since it began is Obama's reception of the legendary Noble Peace Prize. Obama's reception of the Nobel is causing politicians to have qualms concerning the "danger" of the prize. Some politicians feel that it will be a political "lead weight" for Obama, and other feel it was undesearved political bunkum. However, what those politicans don't understand is that the Nobel is not always awarded for a destination reached, but also for the herculean efforts of setting things on the right path, which is exactly what Obama is doing. Supporters of Obama's reception of the Nobel say he won it partly for not continuing the malevolent torture policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney. Conservative talk show media has taken a rather splenetic stand against Obama's reception of the Nobel, all for the wrong reasons, in my opinon. While Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize may remain a contested issue, I believe that Obamas reception of the Nobel is a Lilliputian matter compared to some of the biggest issues that face our country today, like healthcare, and Afghanistan.