The Time Machine

                I did not like The Time Machine at all. It’s written in 1895 which already makes it hard to understand, and then you add science to it and it’s nonsense. The entire book is just him describing the year he has entered, and it is very boring. I did see the movie in middle school, and I don’t remember it being that bad. I could barely get through the book though, and I even skipped paragraphs at a time because it was so dry.

               

I think it would have been better if there were more characters or more things going on. Yeah, he talked about the Morlocks and Eloi and their problems, but it was done in poor fashion. I think it should have been more intense or something. Even when The Time Traveler would get taken or was in trouble or whatever, it didn’t seem very exciting, and I didn’t relate to him at all. I feel bad that I’m trashing this book, but I honestly don’t have anything positive to say about it. Also, the Eloi started to annoy me, especially Weena. I get that they’re childlike and have de-progressed, but it just got on my nerves. So yeah, not a good book for me.

Battle: Los Angeles

                The second movie my group watched was Battle: Los Angeles. It’s about the US army fighting against these machine things that are trying to destroy them. It was originally thought that the machine things were meteorites that could only be seen when they entered the atmosphere, but they figured out they were machines (I don’t know their name) that were sent from an enemy in space.

Basically the entire movie was just the army fighting them…nothing else happened. I don’t even know what to write for this because nothing happened in the movie! It was two hours of battle scenes –boring scenes, at that. The men would have a certain time limit to escape before a huge hit would come, and they run into a bunch of problems, obviously. Towards the end, they decide to fight the aliens. They do good, and the alien troops retreat and word is sent how to destroy them. Oh, and it’s centered in California on the coast which is why the title is called Los Angeles. At the end the soldiers fight to get LA back.

                That’s really all I can say about the movie. I don’t recommend it because it was bad and boring. I daydreamed through half of it. So yeah, don’t watch it.

War of the Worlds

War of the Worlds is a film directed by Steven Spielberg that shows the end of humanity. In the movie, these massive machine tripod-things come out of the Earth and start destroying everything -people, buildings, houses, etc. When the first tripod came out of the Earth, it had these lasers on its arms that vaporized whatever it touched immediately. After it was gone, people assumed it was the only one and were a little relieved until they saw the news that showed the machines everywhere. The movie follows a family of a dad and his son and daughter and how they make their way to Boston where the mom is. Through the journey, we see how dangerous these things really are and how they survive. The pick up mass amounts of people and feed on them and then spray blood everywhere. It’s gross.

    It is known that these machine were put into the Earth before humans walked it, as told by the crazy guy in the cellar. Since these machines are very advanced and almost invincible, it makes you wonder how they were built such a long time ago. Aliens is the answer, but it is still crazy. I liked this film, but I felt it dragged on a tad in certain parts. It ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I think there is a sequel to it. I probably won’t watch it, though.

Ender's Game

The book is really picking up quickly. The teachers are throwing more and more unfair advantages at Ender that would seem impossible for him to beat, but he does. A little after page two hundred we see more about how these unfair advantages are affecting him. In his last battle he has to fight off two armies while they are protected by stars and he is not. Despite this, he wins. After this battle Ender decides he can’t take it anymore and won’t fight any longer. I like how despite how cold and standoffish Ender has seemed as of late, he stills feels emotions.

I was really surprised how at the beginning of one of the chapters, two people were talking about a death in the battle school. We find out that Ender somehow does kill Bonzo but is not told about it. We also find out that he killed Stilson as well. The teachers are basically manipulating every single part of his life to achieve their desired results which is bugging me. I’m looking forward to how Ender will react when he finds all this out…and I do think he will find out.

Ender's Game

I really like Ender’s Game so far. It’s a pretty easy and quick read, but there is still a lot of depth in it. I like how the author mixed the plot up a bit by not only making Ender the best in the group, but also struggling with his fears of turning into his brother, Peter. He has both a light and dark side that stems from wanting to do whatever it takes to both save the world from Buggers and saving himself. There is a lot to Ender that still hasn’t been mentioned, and I look forward to delving deeper into his character.

I also really liked how the point of view switched briefly to Peter and Valentine. It’s been two years since Ender was gone, but they still remember him. The duel storyline is an interesting point in the book. Both Ender and his siblings are trying to save the world but in different ways. Ender is using physical force and war, while Peter and Valentine are using words. I am excited to see how the two will cross, and I’m sure they will. I really want to read how the siblings meet back up again; I think it will be very interesting –especially between Peter and Ender

Sandkings

I am beginning to see a trend in these Sci Fi stories. There is always an idiot. Always. In this story, it is Kress (a.k.a the Sandking god). Basically he buys these intelligent insects and breeds them by being “god” and bending them to his will. Obviously this goes wrong and they rebel against him. Kress, being a coward, ignores how he is told to care for him, and ends up killing everyone who shows up at his house. It isn’t until the last couple pages that he calls Wo (the woman he bought the insects from) to ask for help.

I really liked the ending of this story. Well it was awful, no doubt, but I liked how we found out what happened to the orange Sandkings. The ending kind of made it an underdog story because the oranges were weak and small but then they ended up taking down their so called god. It was pretty ironic how the orange children had his own face as well. Kress tried to be all-mighty and on top but then he creates these monstrous beings that basically mock him with his own image. It was a fitting end, I believe.  

Psychics

I’m reading this book about psychic abilities. This group of men in the military volunteered to enhance their mental abilities so they could become a shadow team that could move undetected. There are stories all over about psychic people, but people usually don’t believe in them; they think they’re frauds. I think it is definitely a topic scientists can explore –just with extreme caution considering the brain is very fragile. This is like the designer genes that I was talking about. The same arguments would be applied here because it goes against nature, etc.

In the book, the men have abilities like speaking to animals, dream walking, telekinesis, telepathy, mind control, etc. Some of these abilities no doubt would be beneficial in the army and other serious situations; however, the cause, in the book at least, many problems. The men in the book had to go through severe headaches (described as knives slicing their brains), seizures, brain bleeds, and insanity. These abilities would definitely be cool to have, but I think the consequences outweigh the benefits –there is just too much that can go wrong. Though I do think it would be interesting to explore, nonetheless to understand more about our minds.

2001: A Space Odyssey

So we’re almost done with 2001: A Space Odyssey, and let me say, it is one weird movie. The music is grating and the silences are irritating. I feel bad for saying I didn’t like it, but oh well. It was one of the longest, weirdest, and boringest movies I have ever seen. It finally got a little more interesting when H.A.L started corrupting. It was like one of my past posts when I talked about the computer in Eagle Eye. Artificial intelligence is bad! In every movie and story about a powerful computer, it goes bad. While it makes a good plot, it gets a bit tiring after a while.

I think they did a very good job picking the voice of H.A.L. It was pleasant and sincere, but it led in that inch of creepiness that made it perfect. That voice would totally be in a nightmare. I wish they twisted the plot up a little more, though. As soon as I heard H.A.L talk, I knew he would cause some sort of problem. It had a lot of potential, just didn’t work completely.

I don’t think we should ever fully rely on computers or other technology. Since they don’t have human thoughts, they will never truly be able to understand our world. Something like this may very well happen one day. And if that day comes, I’m going to say I told you so.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

So I first want to say that “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” is possible the weirdest story I have ever read. Ever. To start, a group of people are trapped in a machine called A.M, who basically despises all humans and tortures them beyond belief. Think ape man, crazy libido, and mind games. So basically every character goes insane except one –which is that character’s torture. Being the only sane person in a room of crazies would drive any one insane, except he can’t go insane! Anyway, the sane one ends up killing the other characters to save them. Even though you’d be helping the others and getting rid of the crazy, I don’t think I’d ever be honorable enough to do that. Well, first it’s murder, and second I’m just too selfish, I guess. I’d rather have some weirdos with me than no one.

Next, A.M turns the main guy into this flubber, blob thing. He is made of this gelatin-like stuff that just rolls around like a slug –ew! He even leaves a trail of goo. At that point, all you want to do is scream, right? Too bad you can’t –you have no mouth! See where the title plays in? There is no way you can possibly stay calm and sane when you’re stuck in a machine, alone, have mirrors surround you, and look like a freakish monster. I feel bad for the poor guy. A.M should just malfunction and die…

Jurassic Park

            Jurassic Park is a book that I both love and hate. I love it because it has an original plot and because Michael Crichton did a wonderful job writing it. He made each character both unique and interesting. Also, the book is not written using made up information and fantasy –there is real scientific data backing it up. I have read many, many books where I am just left wondering “where did this information come from??”  Thankfully, that was not the case here.

            On to why this book drives me crazy –in a good way. There are so many characters in this book that are self-centered, greedy a-holes. I just want them to all be eaten by the dinosaurs. None of them even consider how dangerous these animals are and assume that because they made them a certain way, they can be controlled. They’re dinosaurs, people! You can’t underestimate these things. I really couldn’t believe Nedry would even chance turning off all the power even for that much money –did he not even care that all those people and children would probably get eaten?? Ugh. Anyway, greedy people annoy me to no end.

Gattaca

           

            So we finished watching Gattaca in class, and I am pleased to say that I really liked it. The climax of the film was excellent: Vincent (Jerome) almost getting caught being an invalid and his brother reappearing. I sincerely thought that more people besides his brother, the love interest, and later the doctor would find out. I think that this movie showed both sides of the controversy of genetic engineering very well. On one side, we see how things like violence, disease, and other negative qualities can be erased. This is the appeal of designer genes to most people because we all strive for perfection.

            On the other hand, there are many negative aspects to picking your genes. Many people would get superiority complexes due to better genes or for not being “God-children” as they called it in the movie. Also, if you don’t have the right “profile” it would make it very difficult to get a good job and meet a match. Because Vincent was fate-born, he would have never been able to travel to space or even work in such a place as Gattaca. Despite having no bad genes, many other factors would still be brought down on people. Science should focus more on curing mutations and diseases rather than trying to control them.

Gattaca

          We started watching Gattaca in class today, and I was surprised to find it’s very similar to my tech. research project topic –designer genes. This boy named Vincent was one of the few children born without genetic assistance; meaning he was more prone to diseases, bad traits, etc. He obviously stood out from other people, and it was known that he had a heart disease that would most likely kill him by age thirty. To make matters worse, he also wouldn’t be able to follow his dream in traveling in space because of this. 

            It would obviously be very strange to live in a world where people are almost perfect. No sickness, no addictions, no bad habits. I can see the appeal of removing genetic diseases, but literally choosing who your child would be is too much. Even picking the gender is going too far, in my opinion. Not everything needs to be dissected and understood to achieve perfection. Who we are is supposed to be developed and learned, not manipulated. A balance is important in life –we would never know what is good without bad and vice versa. I think one day science may go too far. We would have no mystery left in life, and how boring would that be? Designer babies would be crossing the line.

Preview of the film: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JSEty7Qr_c

Designer Genes

A little short story about my research on designer genes...

            Yes, this one would finally be it. He would get to complete his final test, at last. He knew as soon as he saw the information that this would be it. It was time.

            A knock at the door prodded him from his thought.

“Come in,” he said in a level tone, masking his glee. The couple that walked through the door was exactly as the photo had shown. Blonde, average height, and an arrogant expression on their faces that screamed superiority. Just like he had wanted.

            Mr. John Galenforth stepped forward, hand outreached.

 “Dr. Hortz, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Indeed.”

            They sat down in the leather seats arranged across from the doctor. Before Dr. Hortz could begin, Mrs. Margaret Galenforth interrupted.

“Doctor, thank you for meeting us so soon; this really is quite important.”

“I understand, go on.”

“I just received news that I’m pregnant, like I mentioned on the phone, so we have to act quickly.” Mrs. Galenforth’s eyes bulged with eager determination. The doctor hid a smile behind a cough. This was too good.

“Tell me exactly what you need, Mr. and Mrs. Galenforth.” He worked to maintain an attentive but calm demeanor.

“Well,” Mr. Galenforth began, his eyes roaming the room. “This child will become heir to my company, and we can’t afford anything getting in the way of that. We want him or her to not only look like us, but act like us as well.”

“You understand the risks of this—“

“Of course!” Mrs. Galenforth pushed. “We read all the information you gave us, and we are ready to start whenever possible.”

“Excellent, let’s schedule an appointment to begin.”

            Dr. Hortz couldn’t wait for the couple to leave. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold in his enthusiasm. His project was going to change the world –one baby at a time.

TO BE CONTINUTED

Frankenstein

       

     While watching Bride of Frankenstein, I started thinking about sentient beings. One of humanity’s biggest fears is to be taken over by other sentient beings –computers, in particular. I don’t think we should ever purposefully create other sentient beings because the risks and consequences are just way too high to chance it. If computers one day become sentient, I believe it will be very, very bad. They’d be able to know what emotions are and do, but they’d never be able to fully experience them, in my opinion. Without emotions, we are able to do a lot more without feeling guilty –emotions hold us back, honestly. It reminds me of the movie Eagle Eye where one computer was able to manipulate the entire city, force people to kill, manipulate citizens, attack, etc. Technology can be power, and power in the wrong hands will create catastrophe.

            That being said…back to Frankenstein. I really felt bad for the monster (yes, I know he went on a killing rampage.) However, he really did not know any better. He isn’t human; he doesn’t know what is right and what is wrong. He sees someone blocking him or attacking him, and he eliminates the threat –natural selection, almost. This type of thing is why we should not allow sentient beings other than humans to exist. We have no way of knowing how their brains (or brain substitute) would work.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

    For the past three days, we watched The Day the Earth Stood Still. The old, black and white version, too (eek!) Before I get into all that, I wanted to mention how annoying it was that I didn’t know what “klaatu barada nikto” meant! Since I have Science Fiction first hour I had to wait nine hours until I could look it up. Nine! Turns out there’s no real meaning. Crap. Some magazine did some kind of alien translation and found that the phrase meant “Stop barbarism (I have) death.” And then there is a free translation that says “I die, repair me, do not retaliate.” What the heck was that first one! The latter definitely makes more sense. Problem solved!

ANYWAY. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I thought it would be awful, to be honest. Despite the black and white coloring, it was very entertaining to watch. One thing I found interesting was how frightened everyone was by the spaceship and Klaatu and Gort. Nowadays people would be scared, no doubt, but would be having thoughts more along the lines of “I knew it!” and “Government conspiracy!” Technology isn’t the same creepy, alien monster it once was…we really have no limits to what new technology will come out. Going from TVs being the coolest item out there to this impenetrable spaceship would be mind-blowing. Now, it would just be cool…not surprising or incomprehensible.  So I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes Sci Fi movies; I think they’d get a kick outta it.

The Atomic Cafe

            In class the past week we watched Atomic Café. One component of the documentary that I noticed was a mass paranoia that reached the citizens. Nuclear warfare is one of the scariest destructions that can happen to our world considering it can bring us to our end. This level of fright reminded me of how it was on September 1^st, 2001. There was a tidal wave of emotion: fear, confusion, loss, pain, frustration, panic, etc. Children couldn’t fully understand the implication of what nuclear bombs would do, just like they didn’t understand why planes would purposefully crash into our buildings. Those who could understand were scared witless. Could it happen again? How many did we lose? Do we fight back? There was so much to take in that we were clueless as to how to respond.

            On a lighter topic, one thing I found interesting was the “Duck and Cover” PSA that was played during that time. It is basically the same slogan we have now for tornado in school. If a tornado warning goes off during school, you would hide under your desk with your hands clasped around your neck –same as the “Duck and Cover” video. It is pretty ridiculous that thinking hands protecting your neck while in fetal position would save you from a nuclear attack. You’d be blown to smithereens in a second. Anyways, it is pretty ironic that nuclear bombs and tornadoes use the same defense mechanism.