Cali

So. I'm thinking of pursuing a screenwriting degree at UCLA.

That is all.

EDIT:
Nevermind.

Star Wars idea

So, I was reading Matthew Stover's novelization of Revenge of the Sith when I suddenly got to thinking:
If I was suddenly transported into the Star Wars galaxy, what would I do? Like, if I randomly ended up at the beginning of Episode III on Grievous's flagship as the Jedi were crashing, what would I do/say?
Probably, I would grab Obi-Wan and immediately say "CHANCELLOR PALPATINE IS THE SITH LORD YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR. HE SET UP THE BLOCKADE AT NABOO TO GET THE SYMPATHY VOTE IN ORDER TO BECOME CHANCELLOR, AND NOW HE'S TRYING TO GET ANAKIN TO JOIN THE DARK SIDE AND DESTROY THE ENTIRE JEDI ORDER. Also, the clones are brainwashed so that they'll turn on you at a moments' notice. Oh, and PADME IS PREGNANT, and..." you get the idea.

What would happen, then, I wonder? I bet Obi-Wan would listen. He's reasonable. And, I mean, I could always just mention the fact that I know every detail of how he and Qui-Gon fought Darth Maul, right down to the exact moves they used. Heck, I probably know that fight better than he would.
And the Jedi could probably sense my honesty, right? Unless the fact that I'm from another galaxy means that the Force wouldn't work on me or something, kind of like the Yuuzhan Vong. Which is another cool idea...

I think I might actually write this story. It'd be pretty cool.

Political stupidity

11:10

Aaron Ross

OH MY GOD I HATE STUPID PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET

Sooo.... here's what happened.

11:12

Angela

:O

11:12

Aaron Ross

One of my favorite teachers (who is very left-leaning, politically speaking), posted a link to an article titled "Top 10 Shockers from the Republican War on Women."

11:13

Angela

Republican War on Women?  XD

11:13

Aaron Ross

It basically is a short list (admittedly, with source articles) that tries to take various facts and quotes out of context in order to suggest that the Republican party is actually waging a type of war on women.

So, here were some of the comments from people:

Maddy Barganier: I'm throwing up. That's ridiculous.

Edna Daniel: It's hard not to be political when such atrocious things such as redefining rape are actually being considered by our so-called representatives. Scary stuff.

(the rape thing was not true, btw, but it was stated as such in the article)

So this was what I wrote:

Aaron Ross: That article itself is what's stupid. Taking things out of context, finding the most extreme examples, and then trying to wrao them up into a massive conspiracy against women?

It's exactly the same kind of one-sided, lazily-researched dogma that Glenn Beck uses. It's meant to make you mad by painting an entire side of the political spectrum as "evil," NOT by actually informing anyone of anything, nor being "fair and balanced." It's a cheap shot, and it's stupid.

11:14

Angela

uh oh

11:15

Aaron Ross

So then I get FLAMED by people.

11:15

Angela

I BET YOU DID!!!

11:15

Aaron Ross

Justine Sunshine White: ‎@ Aaron: Did you look at the bottom of the article? The sources are listed for all of the examples. It's not a conspiracy when it's the simple plain truth. Check your facts before you argue "lazily-researched dogma."

Summer M. Williams: ‎@ Aron- you're stupid.

(I found that one funny)

11:15

Angela

"Aron" xD

11:15

Aaron Ross

Edna Daniel: ‎@Aaron- that site does cite their articles. No wonder LeeAnn tries not to be political on fb...I mean, with responses like yours- I don't blame her!

Aaron Ross: Justine and Edna: My apologies. By "lazily-researched" I meant "taking snippets of an article or issue and using it to represent the whole, in order to further a negative political point." Summer: Aww, thanks. You're real sweet.

Reese Pierce: Aaron, the only thing lazy around here is your proofreading. What does "wrao" mean? You are the one sounding like Glenn Beck.

Aaron Ross: I noticed that typo, yet didn't re-submit my comment because I figured you would all know what I meant. Heck, I didn't even call out Summer for misspelling my name.

Please, if you have an complaint, try to keep it to the issue itself. I have better things to do than be personally attacked.

11:17

Angela

I would I would keep doing those "better things" for a while until the issue dies down.  XD

11:17

Aaron Ross

Well, hey, I'm actually making decent points. Most other people are just calling me stupid, as though that's a legitimate argument.

11:18

Angela

True that!

I am of the belief that there are things in our government that are unfair to women, but a conspiracy against women??  That's boloney.  xD

and by things, I mean small things

kinks that could be looked at better

11:20

Aaron Ross

Everyone's treated unfairly in some way

11:20

Angela

Yup

Not even the government is perfect.  xD

11:20

Aaron Ross

It amazes me how for many people, politics is just "taking a side," and most of their points really boil down to just saying "I'm right; you're wrong!"

11:21

Angela

Yeah!

People are also waaaaayyyy too trusting of their sources.

11:22

Aaron Ross

That whole "redefining rape" thing is one of those instances where one phrase got blown up into something entirely different, and it was 100% only spread by people who were looking for something to nail the Republicans for.

11:22

Angela

Yeah!

How are they "redefining" rape, anyway?

11:22

Aaron Ross

Well, see...

There's currently a law in place that says that the government will not pay for people's abortions.

However, there's exemptions for various reasons

If you're raped, there's an exemption

And the government WILL pay for your abortion at that point

Now, take in mind that the Reps really just wanna abolish abortion for the most part anyway. But what they wanted to do was change that exemption so that if the rape was not "violent," (like, if an adult guy had consensual sex with a sixteen-year-old girl), then the exemption would not apply. It would still cover "violent" rape, but not the others that are "technically" rape.

So, essentially, what that was doing was redefining the way that rape is viewed in the context of that exemption.

11:26

Angela

Ahh.  Isee

11:27

Aaron Ross

But then people got hold of that news and started saying that the Republicans were trying to say that unless you can prove that you were violently raped, you weren't "really" raped.

And people conveniently left out the fact that it was only being applied to that government spending exemption.

So left-leaning people said that the Republicans were trying to change rape laws.

And therefore hurting rape victims—or worse, "targeting them."

Hence the "Republicans' War on Women."

11:29

Angela

Wooooooooowwwww

that's really... not right  o.o

11:30

Aaron Ross

Yeah, that's the kind of CRAP that people can twist out of really minor issues.

It's all about painting the other side as being ultimately evil.

And then when I decide to point that out? BAM—I'm suddenly called stupid, because I actually did digging and thought for myself.

11:31

Angela

D:<

Stupid people

11:31

Aaron Ross

Thank you.

-_-

TRON

If you've not seen TRON and/or TRON: Legacy, don't read the rest of this.  It'll mostly involve spoilers.

So, for me, TRON has always been a really personal story.
My dad was a computer programmer, and he was the one who got me into Tron as a kid.  That scene in the beginning of Legacy—where Kevin tells Sam about the world of Tron—was really familiar to me.  Also, check this out:

Disney hired an ARG company to make a viral marketing game for fans of TRON: Legacy.  They created a website for the fictional company from the Tron films, ENCOM.  On that site, there's a timeline of important events in ENCOM's history.

July 26th, 1989, is my birthday.  So, the day Kevin Flynn disappeared (and that opening scene of the movie) takes place ON MY BIRTHDAY.
Yeah. That's about as much a connection as there could possibly be.
But enough about me.

How awesome is the TRON: Legacy soundtrack?  I mean, really. Daft Punk has a few of their classic electronic beats in there, but it's mixed in with a ton of orchestral stuff. Awesome.

So the movie ends with Quorra going out into the real world. That's just crazy. I mean, how would she "work" in our world?  If Sam bleeds with human blood while on the Grid, does Quorra bleed pixels while in the real world?  Does Quorra have any special skills in the real world, like how users have special skills in the digital world?

The very last scene of the movie has Quorra in amazement at the beauty of our world.  It's really poignant because, at that point, the audience has been in the digital world for nearly two straight hours.
It's a really unexpected point, but it's made very well: Sure, the digital world is amazing, but how much more amazing is our world?
After seeing Tron: Legacy, I felt like I'd been taught an important lesson. Have you ever spent a few hours playing video games or surfing the net, then taken a look outside and marveled at just how incredibly beautiful the world really is?  Yeah. It felt like that.  Then again, the half-hour drive home from the theater at night was on an empty freeway, with nothing but my car's headlights illuminating the road; it felt very much like I was driving a light runner along the Grid.
Probably helped that I had the movie's soundtrack playing.

I think that, for geeks—especially computer wizards—TRON represents something special: the idea that the digital world isn't a stiff, meaningless distraction, or a lame replacement for reality, but is rather a somewhat magical place where ideas are crafted as bits and pixels; where pure fantasy becomes one step closer to reality. It's kind of like a refuge for a subculture that goes largely unnoticed or overlooked by most.

A lot of people probably won't—and never will—"get" TRON, or why it's so remarkable. But that's okay. In the end, that's part of what makes it special.

Transformers: Prime

So there's a new Transformers TV series out. It's called Transformers: Prime (a rather derivative name, but whatever).

I like it a lot. It feels "fun," like a throwback to old Saturday morning action cartoons, but it's well-done enough to not feel cheap or too immature. As a Transformers fan, I have to say that this is definitely my favorite TF TV series, and it eclipses the movies in nearly every respect.

Also, check out this guy's cover of themes from the TF films. It's awesome.

Why I Dislike Twilight: Part 3

I caution you, readers. There's some sexual parallels that I draw, and it might get uncomfy for some of you younger ones.

A few months after the first Twilight movie came out, a friend and I had this joking repartee on the subject:

Elisabeth:
So... in the movie, they changed it, because in the book, Bella wasn't in her panties when Edward came to see her. That was the one part of the movie that everyone didn't like.
Aaron:
What?! That... that was... that was the entire point of the movie.
Elisabeth:
Uh-huh... explain.
Aaron: (this is where I start making stuff up, and inadvertently stumble upon the crux of the Twilight story)
That scene represents the entire movie. See, there, Edward and she make out, but they stop short of "doing anything" because he's afraid he'll go too far. So, they're doing something bad, but it's not all the way bad. And, like, her underwear is gray. And it's not lacey or anything; it's kinda normal. So, see, it represents her morality. She's in her underpants, but it's not overly-sexual or anything. But still, she's making out with a dude on her bed in her underpants. So... yeah. It's that gray color again. The moral grayness. It's that idea that a girl can walk the line between good and evil. That she can date the psycho stalker vampire, but it's okay because he'll still love her in the end. That you can walk the line between light and dark; night and day... the Twilight.
Elisabeth:
...wow....
Aaron:
...wow. I think I just stumbled upon the entire point of Twilight.
Elisabeth:
I think you did.

So that's it, essentially. The entire point of the Twilight story is contained within a girl's underpants. (double entendre fully intentional)
It's not a secret that most girls secretly fantasize about being with a "bad boy." So, of course, the fact that Twilight has a literal predator male—who is physically perfect, constantly dangerous, and utterly dominating—is highly appealing to that fantasy.
Twilight, on an emotional level, is for many girls what porn is for many men on a mental/physical level. A surface-level fantasy.

My real problem with it, however, is that it's a complete inversion of everything I believe in.

I grew up on real love stories, not nonsense. I was raised to believe that love was compassion, not obsession. True care, not simple desire. Something formed out of maturity, not blindness. I've grown up believing that the dream of true, honest companionship is something to be patiently, steadfastly waited for.

Let's look at this from a different perspective. What if the fabled princess didn't wait for her actual prince charming to come for her, but instead just ran off with the first obsessive guy that she met? How many fairy tales would be ruined? Heck, how many real-life potential fairy tale love stories are ruined by this sort of inadvertent shallowness?

In the third film, Bella says (in reference to choosing between marrying Edward and having a real life) that she needed to make a choice "between who I should be and who I am." Essentially, she's saying "I'm not quite right, so I won't make the right choice here."
Here's the problem with that: people decide who they are; they're not controlled by their nature. All Bella's doing in that scene is trying to justify what she knows is a bad decision by saying "I'm not perfect, therefore I can't do the right thing."

And that's it. That's the lie. The lie that choosing the bad boy over the good guy will yield a happy ending. The lie that embracing the darkness will allow light to shine through. As though even an undead being can somehow shine with light.

And it really makes me sick. It makes me worry.
For as long as I can remember (literally), all I've ever wanted to accomplish in my life is this:
Find whoever I'm supposed to be with—whomever she may be—and marry her. I've got other goals, too, but that one is paramount.
Am I going to be passed over because I'm not twisted enough to conform to some backward fantasy presented as true love? I really doubt it, but still. The very idea makes me furious on some level. For every time I remind myself that steadfast faith in love will win out eventually, there's a Twilight-style story there to say it won't.
And I really hate that.

Go Go Samurai!

I cannot describe how happy this makes me.