I’m still alive …. I just may not seem that way over the next week.
I’m taking a couple of weeks annual leave and I’ll be spending the first week of that leave away with my family on Rottnest Island.
I may post a little while we’re away but maybe not, depending on the facilities available. I should make up for it the following week with lots of photos and posts.
Be good.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Rottnest – Holiday – Family
Pauline and I watched a rather dark movie last night. I first saw The Final Cut on a plane heading home from India last year. It stars Robin Williams and features Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel. I’ve been wanting to see it again ever since because it’s just so good at getting you thinking about a range of philosophical, psychological and moral issues. Be warned, it’s not a movie to suit everyone.
The first time I saw it I pondered it for a long time and I’m sure it’ll be no different this time around. I was going over and over the concepts the movie presents as I was cycling to work today.
It’s a very strange story about memory chips implanted in unborn children to record everything that they see and hear in their lifetime. The idea is that once they have passed away someone called a ‘cutter’ takes the chip and creates an audio visual memorial of their life called a ‘Rememory’. Of course they have the job of editing the footage to hide the dark side of the person and only show them in a good light.
At one point Caviezel’s character, who is against the technology, asks Williams, the best cutter available, how he lives with himself. He sees the lies, the cheating, the violence and yet he only presents people as warm, caring people who are dedicated to their families. Williams says, “I forgive people long after they can be punished for their sins.” So, is it about forgiveness or covering up?
In a greater sense, back in the real world, don’t we do just that ourselves? Aren’t we all working as ‘cutters’ on our own lives? Don’t we all choose to show those parts of our personalities that show us in the best light when we’re around others? Don’t we all hide the darker side to some degree?
One man attending his brother’s Rememory asks if the cutter has altered the colour of the fishing boat from a childhood holiday. All his life he had remembered the boat being green but it was actually red. I wonder how many things from our past we can remember so distinctly yet we’ve remembered wrongly. Would it be right to correct that kind of memory or is remembering things in our own way part of our human experience?
I guess the biggest question the movie raises is if every moment of your life was being recorded, would you live it differently? If you knew that every moment of your life would one day be placed in the hands of a stranger who would sift through everything you’ve ever done would you be a different person? Would you be a better person? If you knew that by talking to someone else you could be videoed by their implant would it change the way you interacted with others? If you knew that you could never hold a secret would it change your behaviour now?
The Final Cut didn’t get rave reviews and many people felt that the concepts and issues it raises weren’t investigated thoroughly enough but I think it touches on them just enough to give you your own opportunity to think through some of the issues. The scenarios that are played out are unlikely to ever happen but there’s more than enough big ideas that already touch our lives to think through.
If you’re up for 90 minutes of darkness that will have you pondering some interesting possibilities, have a look at The Final Cut.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: The Final Cut – Robin Williams – Movies
It seems that they get in everywhere.
Over the past week I’ve had quite a number of spammers leaving their details on The Journey Guest Map.
I’ve simply deleted them and their links to every medication under the sun but in order to keep them under control I’ve added moderation to the map.
If you haven’t added yourself please feel free to click on the map in this post or in the sidebar and leave your information. It may take a little while for your information to appear but I’ll try to stay on top of the moderation and get legitimate visitors approved as quickly as possible.
It’s great to see the range of people and places represented already and I’m looking forward to seeing some more pins in the map soon.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Frappr – World Map – Spam
It’s Wednesday and so it’s time, once again, for me to recommend one of the blogs that I regularly visit.
I’m sure you’ll really enjoy some of the blogs I read and others will leave you scratching your head. I simply ask that you take a look to decide if you want to keep visiting the blogs I recommend.
I also ask that you leave a comment to let the blog owner know that you’ve visited and tell them I sent you for a quick look around.
Today’s choice is a blog that I’ve been reading for quite some time. It’s Williams World, written by Melbourne computer geek, Thomas Williams, and his wife, Olivia.
Thomas started blogging back on the 31st of October, 2003. Since then he has covered a wide range of topics from faith to computers, his two beautiful children and a lot more. A little further down the track Olivia started making an occasional guest post which led to the blog becoming a team effort.
Some of the posts on Williams World will make you smile, some will make you think. I reckon all of them a worth a read.
If you do drop in to check out Williams World, please leave Thomas and Olivia a comment just to let them know you’ve visited. Feel free to tell her I sent you.
I’d love to hear your blog recommendations. What are the ‘must read’ blogs for you? If you keep a blog, why not post a few of your favourites. If you don’t keep your own blog, feel free to add a few of your favourites in the comments section of this post.
If you ever want to browse some of the other blogs I read each day through Bloglines, you can read your way through THE BLOG LIST in my right hand sidebar.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Blogs – Recommended Blogs – Bloglines
Last night I dreamt that someone came cycling up behind me and asked me if my tyre was flat. They told me that I seemed to be bouncing on my bike more than I should. I looked down and noticed that my back tyre was indeed flat. An interesting dream seeing as I haven’t had a flat tyre for quite some time.
I woke up this morning as normal and I had a wonderful ride most of the way to work. It was a little wet but that just helped to freshen things up a little. I had my rain jacket on and that helped to keep most of the rain out.
As I was heading down Guildford Road I looked up to see an absolutely magnificent rainbow against the backdrop of some dark grey clouds. It was a perfect, complete rainbow.
When I was about 3 kilometres from the studios, I noticed that I seemed to be bouncing a little on my bike and sure enough, my back tyre was flat, just like in the dream. It wasn’t completely flat so I pumped in a bit more air. That got me another kilometre or so before I stopped to do the same again. The third time I was less that a kilometre from work so I walked the rest of the way. It wouldn’t have taken much to change the tube but I figured I’d rather do that after a shower and a fresh set of clothes.
Of course now I have a choice. Do I focus on my annoying flat tyre and the problems it caused me for the rest of the day? Or should I focus on the wonderful 30 or so kilometre ride I had before the flat and being able to enjoy that incredible rainbow?
I suppose we’re faced with choices of where to focus our attention every day. As for me, I’m taking the rainbow.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Cycling – Rainbow – Dreams
