Winning the Game

The rules of the game are simple:

1) Once you know about the game, you are always playing the game

2) If you think about the game, you lose the game. You must then announce that you have lost, causing everyone around you to lose.

God, being omniscient, would always have the game in mind. Thus, God always loses the game. At first glance, this seems problematic, until you recall the third and fourth rules of game:

3) If you die in the game, you die for real.

4) The only way to win the game is to die.

Thus, since Jesus has died and risen again, he probably won the game. Making him the only person besides Ender Wiggin to do so.

You just lost. 

The Prestige

It's rare that a movie makes its audience think. It's even rarer that a movie confuses me even after watching it twice. The Prestige does both, and with good form.

I like its plot twist, as well as its aesthetic. It's got that sort of charming victorian/gothic feel, but not in smothering amounts. 

Also: Nikola Tesla.

I don't want to ruin the movie for you, so I won't write much more. But do go and watch it.

The Prestige on IMDB

End of the Semester

Spring semester 08 is drawing to a close. I'm packing my things, tying up loose ends, and of course spending those last moments with friends.

I plan on living in Princeton for one more summer. Hopefully I will be working a steady job and making some money (which will all go away when I travel to Australia- oh well)

I have some plans: Cousin Ben and I are brainstorming for the newest installment in our increasingly high-quality series of movies. I also have some technical projects in mind and one or two new skills I want to learn (stay tuned to see if I am actually ambitious enough to accomplish any of this).

I wish I could say I will miss school, but we all know I won't.

Going Down (Under)

Yesterday was probably the best day of my college life.

Among other things, I found out that I got accepted to study abroad at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. 

While that will be great fun come next spring, in the meantime it means applying for a passport, filling out paperwork, maintaining a strong GPA, and raising funds.

It's like applying for college all over again. 

Swording Things Out

Warning: The following is an in-depth rant about the nuances of British Literature and has nothing to do with swallows- European or otherwise.

What started out as a funny movie scene soon became something much more:

"
King Arthur: I am your king.

Woman: Well I didn't vote for you.

King Arthur: You don't vote for kings.

Woman: Well how'd you become king then?

[Angelic music plays... ]

King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.

Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
"


These are well-known lines from Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. While watching that movie earlier tonight, I suddenly realized how horribly fact-confusing they are.

You see, Arthur did not become king when the Lady of the Lake gave him Excalibur. By then, he had already been king for a long time. Arthur was first recognized as king when he pulled the sword from the stone, making him "rightwise born king of all England." That sword was NOT Excalibur, but rather a different sword.

Later, Arthur receives Excalibur. In TH Whites' Once and Future King, Arthur receives Excalibur when his previous sword is broken in battle. Other legends vary, but for the most part it is clear that Excalibur is NOT the sword Arthur pulled from the stone. Even in those versions where the swords are one and the same (the 1981 film Excalibur comes to mind), the Lady of the Lake plays no part in Arthur's ascendance to the throne.

Conclusion: as a movie, The Quest for the Holy Grail is very humorous and enjoyable to watch. However, there are serious flaws in its interpretation of Arthurian Legend. Left unchecked, such flaws may degrade the populace's understanding of classic English Literature.

Please, PLEASE help stop the perpetuation of such muddled ideas.

PS And another thing: What's with Arthur's tunic having a sun on it? Everyone knows that the Pendragon arms were Argent, a lion rampant statant or . That's not even disputable... *sigh*

Make them Emo... Give them Guns

I've been noticing a pattern in the way video games develop.

You start with a classic game (e.g. Sonic the Hedgehog). Then you follow a two-step formula:

1) Make the main character emo or "dark"

2) Give the characters guns

Thus you have "Shadow the Hedgehog."

cf. Jak II, Jak III, Final Fantasy X, and Namco's upcoming game, Emo Packman Extreme: The reckoning*

---

*Not a real game

A Top Ten List that Doesn't Suck

While on a late-night Wikipedia binge, I ran across one of those "top-10" lists that gamers like to crap out about every other day. This one, however, I found to be somewhat accurate. Especially numbers 2 and 4 (both of whom I find sexually arousing).

Coolest Video Game Characters Ever by G4

Edit: 

Another decent top 10 list