Er.. Um� Whoa?
No, really. I just saw “Matrix Reloaded�?, if you’ve seen it you understand the feeling of detached excitement I am feeling right now. Across the nation premieres are letting crowds of excited fans out into the cold night parking lots wildly arguing about the meaning of so many fine points in this movie. It’s a movie that I almost want to take notes in the entire thing needs to be watched at least 5 more times before I can really understand it. Now I will simply pass judgment based on first impressions. I will attempt to me as ambiguous as possible and will avoid any spoilers. I assure you that nothing I can write here will fully convey the intensity of the experience that is “The Matrix Reloaded�?.
I feel that I should have been taking notes throughout the entire movie. Luckily I ran into a whole crowd of fellow geeks from a local high school that I attended. Each person gets different things out of a movie and notices different facts. Any big questions about the significance of certain characters and moments were probably explained are hinted at somewhere in that mass of movie. Again this movie covers a lot of ground and in certain places does feel rushed together for time constraints. I have to say that this movie is an entirely different beast from the first one. It’s been 4 years since The Matrix was released. Naturally the movie styles are bound to be a little different. This installment is a little cleaner and more modern, though I am not sure that is a good thing, the atmosphere is a little less permanent in this movie which is a shame because the atmosphere that was so finely detailed in the first movies was one of it’s biggest strengths.
I don’t know when I will get a chance to go see this movie again but I certainly will see it again. I have to admit that I feel a little uncomfortable at the unnecessarily suggestive scenes. The love making scene between Trinity and Neo is not really necessary but is forgivable as it does aid a lot in character development. The Zion danceing scene that takes place consecutively within that is really unnecessary. One particular sequence involving cake in a restaurant is completely superfluous in it�s attempt to legitimize its presence in the plot.
The biggest thing about this movie is that in the end you are left with far more questions that you expected there to be. It is so thoroughly confusing that it really expands your mind. I have to wonder if there have been forms of media in the past that have posed such profoundly useless philosophical consideration. I have read a large number of science fiction novels, many of them are quite good at cliff hangers and surprise twists and a decent amount of metaphysical theory. Yet, the incredibly complex structure of the story in The Matrix trilogy is more akin to Anime than anything else I am familiar with. Only in that odd imported medium of entertainment from Japan have I seen anything so blatantly psychotic, and chaotic. I mean, seriously it’s almost painful. And this is just the question, the answer is in the next movie. I doubt it will be any easier to digest.
Did past generations have to deal with these complex ideas in their very entertainment? Since when did the human universe become so boring that we need to throw the public through the ringer with concepts that have little effect on everyday life? Is this a sign of our cultures advanced state, and the levels at which consciousness has the ability to invent and manipulate the unreal? Oh crap, I guess I am doing the same thing this movie did, just ending with more questions than is really reasonable to demand of it’s audience. Perhaps these initial thoughts will be more amusing after I have had the opportunity to sleep on it and have maybe seen the movie a few more times.
Keanu is still kinda dorky in this move but doesn’t embarrass us by saying “whoa�? a lot. Oh and one more thing, there are too many new characters in this one. Some start to slip through the cracks.
Posted by
sirtimbly on 05/15/2003 at 03:05 AM
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Part Deus
The Summer of Timbly has begun. I am now home safe and sound from a long arduous trip back from college. It is good to be back with my parents and yes, even my little sister. The dial-up ISP torture that I will be subjected to for the rest of the summer is not so great. I am more than ready to sit back and bask is the slow pace and lack of hurry that comes with the summer months. The two semesters I spent at college seem like such a long time because of the huge number of things that happened. At the same time the past 8+ months have really flown by. I just held on for dear life as I was swept like a twig in white water rapids through my first year of college.
I already touched on a lot of the things that impacted me throughout the year, but it has come to my attention that I neglected a few major things. Besides the 17 credit hours I was enrolled for my first semester I also had a very nice job on campus. The university’s IT computer helpdesk seemed like the perfect fit for me. I can honestly say that I have endured the rigors of technical support both via phone and in person service. Actually, despite what most people in the IT industry say about tech support, I really enjoyed it. It was a great job for me, filling in my few spare hours in the week with something that I really enjoy and have at least a small modicum of knowledge in. I made some good friends working at the help-desk. One of which happened to be ‘kinda’ my boss.
Some of the things that I am planning for the summer include trying to get rid of the freshman ~15. So, no more pop, this means no more Mountain Dew. Yes, I know. I never thought that I would utter those words either. To avoid the calories and maintain my addiction to caffeine I have taken to drinking Iced tea. Mmmmm…. Tasty!
Another thing coming soon to me, is presence of some considerable back pain because my favorite orange office chair is staying at college in storage. My poor little civic couldn’t quite handle it. This office chair was ‘acquired’ from the news station where I will work for at least part of the summer.
I am totally looking forward to the rest of this summer, I plan on spending a little time with my parents, a little time making some money for next years tuition, and a whole lotta time with my girlfriend. That is another one of the developments this year that is hugely important to me. I have known her for quite a while and have been building up to a serious relationship since last summer. I am at a loss for words when I try to express how wonderful she is and what being with her means to me. This summer will be simply awesome.
Catch ya on the flip side yo! Watch out for the po-po.
Posted by
sirtimbly on 05/10/2003 at 04:05 PM
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The final countdown
I know that I just posted a rant earlier today�. er yesterday I guess. But I felt like I still needed to vent on what has been going on with me lately. Use the navigation buttons below to see the previous post that was only up for a short time.
It is now Wednesday of finals week for me. This is the end of my second semester at this University. All in all I have had a ton of new experiences and learned a lot about life, the universe, and everything. This whole year went by really quickly, I cannot even hardly belive it. If I have everything planned out correctly I should be able to graduate from college in only 2 more years. I start to wonder why I would want to shorten my college career so much, but then I remember how much college costs, and the strong likelyhood I will have to be getting loans for next years tuition. I like this college a lot, throughout the rest of my life in school I have only had a few friends, I knew people but didn�t nessecarily get along with them well enough to consider them to be friends. I graduated from highschool a semester early with no regrets and took a full semester of classes at a community college. This along with my working at a TV station in �real world� job definately expanded my horizons. I managed to hold on to my beliefs and moral convictions even while becoming close friends with older people from work that came from very different walks of life.
Here at the University I have actually made a good number of friends and become involved with a number of campus organizations. I sometimes think it is amazing that I can walk into the union and have to stop and talk with half a dozen people before getting some Taco Bell. The fact that I know so many people all over campus is a little crazy looking back on my middle school and high school days. To add one more big element of surprise I actually joined a fraternity this second semester. For the people that know me best this was a pretty big surprise, myself included. Everything that I have experienced as a pledge and member of Pi Kappa Alpha has firmly convinced my that I made the right decision. One of the things that I am most proud of this year is probably that I made it the entire year without drinking once. To some people this seems dumb, others respect my decision.
With the last 2 days of school before summer ahead of me, and my to-do list on the iPAQ dwindling down, I am more than ready to leave. I don�t know how long I will be home before I really start to miss all the people that I have come to know this year, but I will surely be happy to come back here again next fall. To all of you that live in Kearney or who I will not be seeing much this summer: I hope you have a good time, keep it real yo. To those who will be coming back home with me from other colleges: I can�t wait, summer will be awesome.
Soon my theme song will change from �The Final Countdown� to �Schools out for Summer�. How cliche.
Posted by
sirtimbly on 05/07/2003 at 03:05 AM
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Why do I try?
Well, I felt all serious and profound when I wrote this. It�s not exactly poetry, but hey my stream of consciousness isn�t supposed to follow any set pattern that you can predict. So here is a little something different for my rants.
Where even light has fled hope still remains.
The darkness may close in around us, but a flicker of life will always combat despair.
Even when we cannot see the light of hope it is still fighting for us against the night.
We will not fade away in that cruel night, instead we will fight to fan that flame from a flicker to a blaze that can conquer any blackness.
Though many will stumble and fall, give up hope and give in to the crushing void; those who fight for light are never alone, even in the darkest abyss.
Our light is not extinguished by some evil external to ourselves; instead the shadow emerges from a pool of blackness in the hearts of all men.
The fire that burns eternal is fueled by the one in whom our only hope resides.
Posted by
sirtimbly on 05/06/2003 at 10:05 PM
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5 minute rant
Lets make this quick. I havent been keeping this site up to date. For this I am mildly apologetic. I have been pretty busy with school as usual and I have a low tolerance for homework. The homework that I have actually accomplished is still a small fraction of what I still need to complete before� oh say, Monday. This is what our university calls dead week. The last week of regular classes before finals. That�s right ladies and gentleman, it is thursday, that makes tommorow friday. After friday usually comes saturday and this particular weekend saturday and sunday will be filled with a formal dance that I have been looking forward too sooooo much, and related activities. I need to finish a Java program (read: start on it), and of course fill out several forms and get some classes registered for the summer.
Everything after midterm tests in a semester is downhill. The funny thing about the phrase �It�s all downhill from here.� is that it can be used and interpreted in two seperate and completely opposite ways. It could either mean, that from here on out things will get worse, or it could mean that things will become easier, because you are not climbing uphill anymore. The novelties that lie hidden in the english language could be the source of a thousand little rants. You do not even want to get me started on the oddities that develop because of regional language shifts. That�s right ladies and gentleman, I complain about not having enough time or energy to get my work done, and then I take the time to contemplate idioms in their many permutations. And no, I did not buy a deck of Iraqi leadership target cards.
Posted by
sirtimbly on 05/01/2003 at 02:05 PM
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