The Truth Behind Avatar

I watched Avatar for the third time tonight and unfortunately, yet again, was reminded of the truth behind the story. I love the movie, in my opinion it's one of the best, most thought out stories in a really long time and it's different not your typical show. But it has a lot of unfortunate truths to it and that is both upsetting and scary.
The first time you see the movie, the most obvious issue is that the people there are different. They are much larger then human beings and live "savagely" as we would consider it. They live their lives connected to nature in a way humans do not understand, much like the Native Americans did here before Europeans came to settle in America. Anyway, being that they are different, the humans on the planet do not understand the way they work and they consider them savages, they feel that they need to teach them the American ideals that they live by: teach them English and give them medicine and roads. Things that they do not want but we think that they would want.
Even today, in this world, if you are different you are discriminated against from the beginning. It's 2010 and yet if you are a woman, gay, African American, Asian, Jew, Muslim, or anything different, you are made fun of for what you look like, or how you act, or what you believe in. The Native Americans, when the Europeans came to America were living what was considered a "savage" lifestyle. They wore animal skins and lived in tribes. Their primary jobs were to hunt and fish. They had their own languages and their own religions and their own lifestyles. They believed and used nature, but not in the same way as Europeans who abused the land, they took what they needed and in a way thanked the land, much like the Na'vi of Avatar. But to the Europeans, this way of life did not work, they needed structure, government, Christianity, European languages, and an assortment of things from the Western World. They were "uncivilized" and according to the Europeans could not take care of themselves. They were "savages" and yet they were in a more perfect world.
In the movie Avatar, Jake's character asks Eywa, the Na'vi god, to look into Grace's memories and see the destroyed world of Earth. To see that they have destroyed their planet and plan to do the same there. And that is the truth, we have begun to destroy the planet and the effects of our actions can already be seen. Sure there are efforts to help stop all of the problems that come with the pollution among other things slowly killing our planet, but we can't fix what we have already destroyed. Things aren't getting better either, sure people can recycle and use public transportation and find better fuel sources but those aren't the only problems we cause. We love material things, and don't get me wrong there are certain things that I feel I can not live without, but the truth of the matter is I can and so can we. Though it's much too late to make a change that drastic. People are too dependent on technology and money and power to try to change the way we live.
It's ironic because the Native Americans were considered savages, yet we are the ones that are destroying the Earth, we are the ones who fight wars over money and power and religion, we are the ones who can't live without an electronic device because we wouldn't know what to do. They were the ones that had it right all along and we are the ones that came and messed it all up and the repercussions of our actions will continue on into the future until the end of this Earth. But that's just my opinion and after seeing Avatar I know that if that ever really happened, us finding some other planet with alien life forms somewhat like ourselves, we would do exactly what was done, just for the money and the power that comes with the destruction of their planet and that is sad. That is truly depressing.

Life plan

So I have a new plan that I hope will help me get my life back together and help me make some real decisions. I just need to put it into action and once I do I have a feeling things will get better. I don't hate my life or something but I have no idea what I'm doing with it and I just feel like I'm not living it to its fullest. My first step is to find me a job! And I have a job intereview coming up soon that will hopefully help me do just that! The next is to get rid of things that I don't need, starting with cleaning out my room! That thing has become a bottomless pit for junk and it needs to be taken care of. My next step is to start watching what I'm eating; although I am comfortable with myself and my body, I need to get healthier, start taking some Vitamin D and Acai and getting all the daily nutrients I need. My next step is to join a gym and exercise at least one hour daily, that will help me lose weight as well as feel better and more energized. The next step is to get more into my hobbies, start taking more pictures of just different things so that I can strengthen my skills. Learning new things would also be a step, I already like to sew, maybe get myself into knitting and things like that, plus classifly all my rocks and minerals and get them organized. I just need to get myself and my life more organized. This rolling with the punches and not living thing is getting old and I need to start doing something about it. I'm tired of just being comfortable with how my life is, I need to jump into things and get everything going. Anyway there will be more steps, especially as I start into things but I want to be the best I can be and I'm never going to be that with the way I am now.

Stuck

So once again I am stuck. Thinking more and more about the future always does this to me. My problem is I spend too much time thinking things through and I always end up second guessing my plans. It doesn't help that everyone has their own opinion as to what I should do, however. I've been thinking more and more about possibly going for law. I always said I wanted to help people and lawyers are just one of those types of people that we will always need, like doctors and nurses and teachers and people in government. Maybe I should just go with something like that. That way I'm more guaranteed a job then I would be if I was a photographer or a chef. It's just an inner battle with my inner child I suppose. When you're a kid people tell you you can be whatever you want to be but once you become an adult you realize that that is not the reality of the situation. Sure you can still be whatever you want to be but guess what that comes with its own set of problems. Is there a high demand for that particular career? Is that even a possibility where I want to live? How much does it pay? Will I be able to live comfortably? Does it have crazy hours or will I one day be able to raise a family? How many other people are going into this field? What will I have to do to make myself more profitable then them? It's this perpetual cycle of questions constantly in my head that has me always second guessing what I'm going to do with my life and it's the end of freshman year and I want to make a decision. I don't want to be in my thirty's still in school trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I just want a stable job that is going to allow me to still do the my hobby's and have a good time in life not one that will make me hate myself for choosing it. So I have no clue, I do know I don't want to be stuck in a cubicle for the rest of my life, that is one thing I can not do.

Big Ben

Okay, so I am fair-weather football fan honestly. Being from Pittsburgh, I love the Steelers and have watched them since before I can even remember but recently only when they have been successful and I don't follow any other teams. Having said that, I do not know much about the whole process of suspending a player and what not and how they determine whether to suspend somebody or not. However, I think that Big Ben should be suspended or have some form of punishment. I'm not saying that he did what he's been accused of, but I will say that any average Joe in the same position as he is would been a lot more trouble then he is in and I find that to be bullshit honestly. He is a celebrity, yes, but he should still be put under the same scrutiny as another person charged with a crime. Sure, this is really no evidence and the claim is thin but even more then half of Pittsburgh thinks that there should be more to this then him not even being charged and left to just deal with the media.
Which brings me to a second point, the media is being ridiculous! I mean can you say overdone much. I was watching ESPN the other day and every 15 minutes, I kid you not, they repeated the video clip of some guy saying that he will not be charged as there is not evidence and whatever. It was ridiculous and frankly I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing it. I just went onto a local news station's website and the main story on the page was something about Dan Rooney and his statement on the whole situation. Because that is so much more important then say a major car crash on the Turnpike that shut down a whole section or new budgets for the city or whatnot. At this point, nobody cares anymore and it's just annoying to continue to see more and more stories on the issue when there are things that are so much more important. But in the end it comes down to celebrities sell and bring in an audience, especially one as big as the Steeler's quarterback. It's just a shame that people care so much more about sports then they do things that are going on in their area and political decisions that are being made that will have positive and negative effects on their daily lives.

Jobs and Careers

So I've been looking for a job for the longest time, submitting tons of applications all over the place and still can not find anything. Now I'm trying to figure out a career for myself and am falling short there as well. I know I want to major in Photography, but where will that get me? I don't want to live paycheck to paycheck trying to figure out how I am going to be able to afford everything. I would like to stay at the school I originally started at, Point Park, because, although I was there for only one semester, I loved it. But I am a little limited there as to what I can go into unfortunately. I have recently been reconsidering my original plans as either forensic science or psychology. Unfortunately Psychology can be the same way as Photography, sure some people can go out and find great jobs and make great salaries but others can be trying to figure how to survive on what they make.
So yet again I'm back to not knowing what I want in life. If I went with what I love to do it would be Cooking or Photography and unfortunately those can be kind of sketchy careers to have just because you could end up working and making just above minimum wage.
As for the job thing, I have no clue what is up with that. I read a newspaper article not that long ago that basically said teens are going to have an even tougher time finding jobs this year due to a series of different things. What sucks is I have bills to pay and no way to pay them right now. I was thinking for a while, what if I do an at home photography business where I go and take pictures at family events and such for cash, but I know. I wouldn't even know where to begin to advertise myself for something like that. Sure I could put ads in local papers, but I am an amateur photographer and although I know I am good and can take some really great pictures, I just don't know that people would actually go for something like that. So I have no clue but I need to find something fast! I understand I barely have any experience but I've got an excellent work ethic and I'm a fast learner and I just wish employers didn't go so much by previous experience and interviews because someone could have an excellent looking work experience and be the perfect interview but be a horrible employee who never shows up and fulls around on the job. You never know until you hire someone.
Right now, I'm just trying to figure out my life and what I want to do with it. Unfortunately, it's a lot longer thought process then it ever was when I was in high school.

The Lovely Bones

So slowly but surely, I have been reading The Lovely Bones which is a wonderful yet tragic novel full of sadness and learning to move on. I had seen the movie first, which I don't often do and honestly am disappointed in the movie. The book focused so much more on the girl watching her family try to cope with everything and how they move on from her death but the movie focused so much more on her time in heaven. Anywho the movie is still pretty good but it only has the basic outline of the book in it, other than that the two are completely different.

Anyway, while reading the novel the other day, I looked at the back of the book and in it is a grayed out section that contains discussion questions. Normally I would ignore those but lately I have found it interesting to see what others deem the most important parts of the book. The first question mentions the very beginning of the novel, which most people remember as being "My name was Salmon, like the fish..." when actually the very beginning of the novel describes Susie as a child and her father explaining that the penguin in the snow globe is in his own perfect world. The question asks how that relates to Susie's situation and whether it really is a great and perfect world or whether it's a curse.

Personally, I find it to be a curse. Sure, she can do whatever she wants in her heaven, but she is still subject to seeing everything in the outside world. She, like the penguin is in a glass bubble, watching the world go by around her and she can't be a part of it, she can't even stop it. It's a curse because she has to watch her family try to live with the fact that she is dead and watch her murderer get away with what he did to her and other women. She has to watch the mistakes her mother makes, her father obsess over her death, her sister grieve in an unhealthy way. She has to watch all of this and not be able to do anything to help them or stop them or allow them to fully move on. That is why it is a curse, because like that penguin, she is stuck watching everything fall apart and try to reconnect itself and that in itself is a terrible thing.

Anyway, I just really thought that was the perfect question because everybody has their own opinions to something like that. Some people would say it's great because she can no longer be harmed and she has the opportunity to move on and be in peace; but to me, it's a true curse that I really would never want to go through. It's selfish but who really wants to watch everybody they ever knew continue to live and move on with their lives when they are incapable.

Left 4 Dead 2

So while playing Left 4 Dead 2 this morning, I started to consider how cool it would be if someone created a movie; plus it would be extremely popular. You would not just have the video game audience, you would also have people who enjoy anything zombie, as well as people who like horror type movies. Plus being one of the most popular games on the market currently, you would hardly need to publicize it, once people hear Left 4 Dead movie, I gurantee you'd have thousands of people interested.
So I got to thinking who would play each of the characters:
well Rochelle was easy for me, I think Jada Pinkett Smith would make an excellent Rochelle, not only does she kinda look like her but she can also be a kind of bad ass at times with a sassy attitude that would be perfect for the character.
Coach was kind of easy for me as well, I think Ving Rhames would play a great Coach, although he is very muscular and not fat like in the video games, he still has the look going for him and having seen him in other zombie movies, I think he would make the perfect character for the movie.
So then I got to thinking who would play Ellis and Nick. Well semi-recently, a few months ago, I saw the movie Legion, and in that movie was Lucas Black and in certain scenes he just really reminded me of Ellis. So I think he would make the perfect Ellis.
Now Nick was a hard one, honestly he kind of looks like Russel Crow so if I were to go by looks, I would choose him to play the character so that we could keep the actors kind of looking like the video game characters. But personality wise, I don't really know so I would just kind of go with him.
So that is who I would cast if I were to make a Left 4 Dead 2 movie, I'm still thinking about the cast of the first movie though and will post later with who I would think would make the perfect characters for that. But I wouldn't just go straight into the zombie killing of this movie, I would start out by showing a little bit of each of their back stories which would help explain how they got to surviving the zombies.