Mormonism, it seems to me, objectively, is just a little bit more idiotic than Christianity is. It has to be; it is Christianity *plus* some very stupid ideas
Sam Harris
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originally posted on this blog
Like much Argentine cinema … a great idea … but ultimately an unsatisfying mess
Strange events and a murdered wife brings a motley collection of investigators — a cop, a doctor, and a paranormalogist — to this Buenos Aires neighbourhood to investigate. Will they get to the bottom of the case and stop this evil from spreading?
Terrified a.k.a. Aterrados is a disturbing horror film. It never allows you to get your bearings. And asides from a dodgy bit of special effects early on, the film is darkly creepy with a disturbing evil presence.
Unfortunately, the film’s apparently deliberate decision to have no character-based central narrative thrust or fixed protagonist makes it hard to get into and stay with this movie. The effect is that a bunch of weird and disturbing stuff is happening, but without any reason focus or point. It’s frankly hard to care about what happens.
Like much Argentine cinema, there is a great idea here, and some wonderful acting, direction, and film design, but a film that none-the-less is ultimately an unsatisfying mess that goes nowhere. No matter how good these other things are, if the central narrative doesn’t work, it’s game over for the film. Sadly.
2/5
© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry
featured image from http://es.web.img2.acsta.net/pictures/18/06/08/12/54/5116397.jpg
A howdunnit is like a “whodunnit“, but where we already know the culprit from the get-go — either because we see it happen at the beginning like in Columbo, or because it’s pretty obvious — but where the fun of the film is to see how, exactly, (s)he dunnit.
© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry
featured image from https://doggerelizer.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/67f18-columbo.jpg
This series of posts might serve as a bit of therapy for me and help me work stuff out.
Introduction
I’m trying not to do too many political posts on this blog anymore, but I feel I want to record some of my thoughts here on a current issue which is vexing me greatly. This series of posts might serve as a bit of therapy for me and help me work stuff out. If it’s a good read for you, too, then all the better.
I will try to keep this series of posts short* and non-polemical. Let’s see if I can resist the urge to rant(!)
Mask Mandates
We can all understand the logic of wearing masks. It more-or-less stops a virus spreading in much the same way that wearing a rubber johnny stops one getting pregnant or getting an STD; it’s not perfect, and it depends on how well you use it, but it is essentially effective.
On the downside, we don’t get exposure to sicknesses which we need to in order to build and maintain a strong immune system. This is an especially big deal for young kids, and being the father of a young child, this is something I am constantly aware of.
Conclusion
As a libertarian**, my feeling is that the wearing of masks should be entirely up to the individual in public spaces and up to businesses / landlords in privately-owned spaces such as shops. A virus that has a low percentage of killing you — and I absolutely do not belittle the many millions of awful deaths that we have suffered, but the fact remains that the percentage is fairly low*** compared to, say, the Black Death**** — I feel should leave the mask-wearing up to us.
My daughter is three. She has never known a world where she can see people’s faces. God knows what psychological effect that will have on her in the long run.
Notes:
*My personal definition of “short” is less than 300 words, maximum; more than that, and a blog posts starts to feel like an essay.
**The Wikipedia page on Libertarianism which I linked you to says this: Libertarianism is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, emphasizing free association, freedom of choice, individualism and voluntary association.
***About 2%; see here.
****30-75%; see here.
© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry
featured image taken from https://www.fsb.org.uk/static/351a084c-3d5f-4d75-8dfabfa5f0c5d993/COVID19-Header-Image.jpg
I refuse to get another service. And I mean it. Are you listening, Paramount? … You’ve just killed your baby.
Bad news:
I’m not going to let myself blow up over this in text form, or else this post will become a book. But here it is in short:
Netflix have lost the rights to show Star Trek: Discovery just days before the launch of the fourth season on its platform.
Paramount have pulled it, like other companies have pulled and are pulling stuff from Netflix, in order to develop their own streaming platform.
Customer choice is always best, isn’t it? Usually. And in the world of streaming, it has to be a good thing that the magnificent Netflix isn’t the only game in town.
However, it isn’t economically viable for me to sign up to another service. Nor do I wish to bin off my Netflix subscription. Therefore, broken-hearted but with no doubts, this Star Trek fan will not be able to continue watching the magnificent series Star Trek: Discovery.
I refuse to get another service. And I mean it. Are you listening, Paramount? I only have so much money.
Double bad news: without the backing of Netflix, I bet the wonderful Discovery crashes and burns. People with Netflix hardly know of it as it is. It’s over for this fantastic series. So sad. Well done, Paramount, you’ve just killed your baby.
© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry
featured image from https://aws.boxofficebuz.com/articles/2021/11/17/star-trek-discovery-season-4-premiere-date-announced.jpg
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