A Clockwork Orange is perhaps most noted for its disturbing nature not because of the book itself, but the movie. In 1971, Stanley Kubrick directed the movie version of this book, sparing no details. The movie was not very well-received. When I told my mother that I was reading A Clockwork, I believe she said "Oh God, that was a horrible movie!" I could tell by the tone in her voice that, by 'horrible' she meant the story is horrifically violent and graphic in nature. This conversation is what convinced me to start reading the book.
The video below is a scene in the movie in which Alex feels emasculated and threatened by his droogs [friends], and decides to act on impulse and violently assert his alpha status in the group.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
All bloggers suck except for me.
Blogging is exactly why our generation is completely lost. We live in a technological era of computers and networking. Messages and emails are sent at the speed of light. Seems like a fantastic time to live right? WRONG. With every breakthrough comes an unforeseen horrible consequence.
Computer scientists have failed to foresee the crisis of "blogging"
Even today not many people see the problem with blogging (of course I did because I'm really smart but thats besides the point). Whats the problem with blogging? Quite simply: too many people post self-indulgent crap about there daily lives, and nobody cares.
I just read a long post by a girl (lets call her Snoozie) about how she just had the best valentines day with her "significant other". I thought to myself, wow thats funny... snoozie can't actually think she's special enough to take up precious bandwidth with a post documenting the unnecessary details of her day. Reading on, I stood corrected. Snoozie proceeded to tell me how great her sandwich for lunch was, how much she loves candy and her boyfriend, and how she feels as though America shouldn't be at war.
Sufficiently pissed off at this point, I went to YouTube.com, knowing that a video of something on fire would most likely cheer me up. Low and behold what do i find?
VLOGS?!?!
No. NO FREAKING WAY?! ARE YOU EFFING SERIOUS?! People are posting up VIDEOS of themselves literally pontificating the same utter crap that Snoozie was reiterating to me.
Now come on.... Im an understanding person, i know what its like to want to talk about and analyze the details of my day, but thats why i keep a journal... A notebook! Open to one person: me. I realize that no one cares about me or the nonsensical happenings of my day to day life. Sure I might have a fanbase and be on par with a
So here we are. A generation completely set on naval gazing, A bunch of 17 year old geniuses who think they make a difference in the world by telling everyone about themselves. It scares me to think that in a few years we will be essentially running the globe.
Good job, internet.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
If I pissed you off with that last article, dont read this one
Seems like i pissed a lot of people off... its shame how little i care. This is my blog and therefore i own this very small insignificant spec on the information universe known as the internet. OK maybe i dont totally own it but id like to think that i do.
Allow me to clear some stuff up...
This blog is not a college thesis... its not a research assignment... its not a page from socrates' notebook... its not 'politically correct' or 'well thought out' per say. its just some random stuff i might feel like writing about to express the complexities of my emotions and thoughts. My thoughts are often quite cynical and usually flawlessly intertwined with my sarcastic sense of humor (in other words... you may not know when Im kidding, dont worry though, sometimes its hard for me to tell too). If you feel as though you dissagree with anything I have to say... go ahead and comment me... but you will never get me to change my mind.
I take that back... i am very flaky. You might get me to change my mind.
If your so mad at me that you think you might just resort to rude profanity on a school blog... you really should just not read my stuff then. your way too pissed off and your problems with me probably run deeper than a website page.
Whose travis?
Travis is a dear friend of mine. While those comments he left me seem a bit heated and mean, we have a deep respect for one another. Travis is also over 200 pounds and lifts constantly. He thinks hes tough.
How big is your ego?
Huge. I embrace my sense of selfness. Doesn't mean im a jerk who doesnt feel compassion for others -- I'm a volunteer fireman for christ sake! I dont see anything wrong with being in touch with who you are... how else can you improve? That bit about religion is only saying how the Judea-Christian teachings of "abandoning one's ego" may occasionally contradict the fact that had it not been for the ego... no one wouldve thought up religion.
Are you a Chauvinistic Misogynistic Women-hating Hemingway-back-from-the-dead?
Maybe i am like Hemingway... were both geniuses. But i am not a women hater. That last article was just a joke. Lighten up!
I'm awesome. I love what i write. Peace.
Allow me to clear some stuff up...
This blog is not a college thesis... its not a research assignment... its not a page from socrates' notebook... its not 'politically correct' or 'well thought out' per say. its just some random stuff i might feel like writing about to express the complexities of my emotions and thoughts. My thoughts are often quite cynical and usually flawlessly intertwined with my sarcastic sense of humor (in other words... you may not know when Im kidding, dont worry though, sometimes its hard for me to tell too). If you feel as though you dissagree with anything I have to say... go ahead and comment me... but you will never get me to change my mind.
I take that back... i am very flaky. You might get me to change my mind.
If your so mad at me that you think you might just resort to rude profanity on a school blog... you really should just not read my stuff then. your way too pissed off and your problems with me probably run deeper than a website page.
Whose travis?
Travis is a dear friend of mine. While those comments he left me seem a bit heated and mean, we have a deep respect for one another. Travis is also over 200 pounds and lifts constantly. He thinks hes tough.
How big is your ego?
Huge. I embrace my sense of selfness. Doesn't mean im a jerk who doesnt feel compassion for others -- I'm a volunteer fireman for christ sake! I dont see anything wrong with being in touch with who you are... how else can you improve? That bit about religion is only saying how the Judea-Christian teachings of "abandoning one's ego" may occasionally contradict the fact that had it not been for the ego... no one wouldve thought up religion.
Are you a Chauvinistic Misogynistic Women-hating Hemingway-back-from-the-dead?
Maybe i am like Hemingway... were both geniuses. But i am not a women hater. That last article was just a joke. Lighten up!
I'm awesome. I love what i write. Peace.
Friday, February 15, 2008
1984 vs. A Clockwork
In the midst of pondering a new post for A Clockwork, I came across an interesting article on everything2.com. It compares A Clockwork Orange with another book I've read for English class: 1984. The article comes to a summation that the two are similar because in both of the novels, "too much government control causes its people to lose their freedom and individuality."
The plot similarities then dawned on me. In both novels, the protagonist is considered a threat to the government, and is forced into rehabilitation. The government thus compensates the will of the individual. A thematic connection is made.
Obviously there are many similarities between the two books. The article tells me that. I want to discuss the differences:
- A Clockwork Orange is much more realistic. In 1984, the government is so intensely totalitarian, it doesn't allow its citizens to have sex out of wedlock. I don't see that ever happening, even in a dystopian world. Thus Orwell's work is much more abstract. He wants to show the eminent dangers of a totalitarian government through the power of exaggeration. Burgess doesnt focus so much on the government or the society in A Clockwork. The focus is more on the evil, yet believable mishaps of the protagonist Alex. The book rarely talks about rebellious thoughts, yet the protagonist's actions may be construed as rebellious.
- Burgess writes more passionately. Orwell's novel was so boring that as I was reading it, it felt as though I was reading a nonfiction book on political theories. Burgess's novel celebrates pathos in his writing, especially through in the protagonist's dialog. It is fitting that he write this way because his intentions I believe were to express the freedom that every man is born with. This pathos is taken away briefly when the protagonist is reformed by the government.
- 1984 is meant to scare people, A Clockwork Orange is more comical and has that "cult-classic" feel to it. There are several parts in A Clockwork Orange I found to be sadistically funny, like when Alex finds horrible unforgivable crimes like murder and rape to be poetically analogous to classical beethoven music... going back to that theme of passion vs. apathy(though it can be argued that through Winston's relationship with Julia, 1984 is ALL about passion vs. apathy)
On that note the two books just have a completely different feel altogether though they may be about the same thing. I cant exactly say which one i enjoyed more... 1984 made me ponder while A Clockwork Orange disturbed me in a way that only the movie Pulp Fiction was able to.
The plot similarities then dawned on me. In both novels, the protagonist is considered a threat to the government, and is forced into rehabilitation. The government thus compensates the will of the individual. A thematic connection is made.
Obviously there are many similarities between the two books. The article tells me that. I want to discuss the differences:
- A Clockwork Orange is much more realistic. In 1984, the government is so intensely totalitarian, it doesn't allow its citizens to have sex out of wedlock. I don't see that ever happening, even in a dystopian world. Thus Orwell's work is much more abstract. He wants to show the eminent dangers of a totalitarian government through the power of exaggeration. Burgess doesnt focus so much on the government or the society in A Clockwork. The focus is more on the evil, yet believable mishaps of the protagonist Alex. The book rarely talks about rebellious thoughts, yet the protagonist's actions may be construed as rebellious.
- Burgess writes more passionately. Orwell's novel was so boring that as I was reading it, it felt as though I was reading a nonfiction book on political theories. Burgess's novel celebrates pathos in his writing, especially through in the protagonist's dialog. It is fitting that he write this way because his intentions I believe were to express the freedom that every man is born with. This pathos is taken away briefly when the protagonist is reformed by the government.
- 1984 is meant to scare people, A Clockwork Orange is more comical and has that "cult-classic" feel to it. There are several parts in A Clockwork Orange I found to be sadistically funny, like when Alex finds horrible unforgivable crimes like murder and rape to be poetically analogous to classical beethoven music... going back to that theme of passion vs. apathy(though it can be argued that through Winston's relationship with Julia, 1984 is ALL about passion vs. apathy)
On that note the two books just have a completely different feel altogether though they may be about the same thing. I cant exactly say which one i enjoyed more... 1984 made me ponder while A Clockwork Orange disturbed me in a way that only the movie Pulp Fiction was able to.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The many contradictions in society today.....
I find it hilarious when a movement, a standard, an act, a policy, a law, a trend, an organization contradicts itself or its ideals. What i like best about this comedic fallacy is there is no end to it... new material is constantly being manifested:
Equality...
Countless organizations preach equality for all human beings, some even for animals. Wanna know what contradicts this? MOTHER NATURE. I don't care how many "tolerance meetings" you send me to, you cannot convince me that men and women are equal. WE ARE NOT. We clearly have different hormones that trigger different reactions. Men exploit women for sex, women exploit men for material. It happens. Its how we perpetuate the human species. Women rights movements claim there is a double standard... yet think its perfectly fair that women be treated with chivelry and get a special golf tee closer to the hole.... I DON'T SEE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT DOUBLE STANDARD?!?
PETA - AHAHAHAH. Who cares about animals? They don't know whats going on. Matter of fact if they did they probably wouldn't care about humans, they know full well that its a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if given the chance to they wouldn't think twice about eating a human. I also think its funny that PETA only cares about the "cute" animals which mostly reside in the vertebrate class. Biology taught me that only 9% of the animals on this earth are vertebrates.... so when was the last time PETA helped out a sponge?! Are sponges not animals?! THEY NEED EQUAL RIGHTS TOO LOL.
Religion.
Ever since man's walked the earth, man has wondered about the higher powers that possibly govern his life, or created the universe (I dont read the bible). Why? Did he stumble upon some magic mushrooms? Who starts these crazy theories? The fact that man thinks he is so important to the whole universe and that his life matters, completely contradicts the whole concept. If there is a higher power, a greater dimension, or a "point" to the existence of the universe and life, I'm pretty sure that one man, one species of evolved life form really is not a very big contributer. If you take a space shuttle 1000 miles or so above the earth and look down, what you'll observe is similar to what a doctor observes on a petri dish after he swabs the back of your throat. Microscopic organisms growing around moist areas. The earth may very well be an organism in itself! The Human concept of religion is not some great transcendental spiritual teaching. Its the human ego.
Collectivism - Workers Unions, Brotherhoods, Sisterhoods, Specialized Societies
Communism on a small scale. One person thinks... the rest follow suit. Its inefficient, its oppressive, its Orwell's worst nightmare. While were at it, lets bring Hitler and Stalin back from the dead. YAY!
For a species so advanced intellectually... we really are quite naive to the world around us. If we were put on this earth to think egotistically... WHY DONT WE JUST THINK FOR OURSELVES THEN!?!! It sure beats thinking of the universe, the higher powers, the human race, and the false sense of equality that encompasses it all.
Equality...
Countless organizations preach equality for all human beings, some even for animals. Wanna know what contradicts this? MOTHER NATURE. I don't care how many "tolerance meetings" you send me to, you cannot convince me that men and women are equal. WE ARE NOT. We clearly have different hormones that trigger different reactions. Men exploit women for sex, women exploit men for material. It happens. Its how we perpetuate the human species. Women rights movements claim there is a double standard... yet think its perfectly fair that women be treated with chivelry and get a special golf tee closer to the hole.... I DON'T SEE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT DOUBLE STANDARD?!?
PETA - AHAHAHAH. Who cares about animals? They don't know whats going on. Matter of fact if they did they probably wouldn't care about humans, they know full well that its a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if given the chance to they wouldn't think twice about eating a human. I also think its funny that PETA only cares about the "cute" animals which mostly reside in the vertebrate class. Biology taught me that only 9% of the animals on this earth are vertebrates.... so when was the last time PETA helped out a sponge?! Are sponges not animals?! THEY NEED EQUAL RIGHTS TOO LOL.
Religion.
Ever since man's walked the earth, man has wondered about the higher powers that possibly govern his life, or created the universe (I dont read the bible). Why? Did he stumble upon some magic mushrooms? Who starts these crazy theories? The fact that man thinks he is so important to the whole universe and that his life matters, completely contradicts the whole concept. If there is a higher power, a greater dimension, or a "point" to the existence of the universe and life, I'm pretty sure that one man, one species of evolved life form really is not a very big contributer. If you take a space shuttle 1000 miles or so above the earth and look down, what you'll observe is similar to what a doctor observes on a petri dish after he swabs the back of your throat. Microscopic organisms growing around moist areas. The earth may very well be an organism in itself! The Human concept of religion is not some great transcendental spiritual teaching. Its the human ego.
Collectivism - Workers Unions, Brotherhoods, Sisterhoods, Specialized Societies
Communism on a small scale. One person thinks... the rest follow suit. Its inefficient, its oppressive, its Orwell's worst nightmare. While were at it, lets bring Hitler and Stalin back from the dead. YAY!
For a species so advanced intellectually... we really are quite naive to the world around us. If we were put on this earth to think egotistically... WHY DONT WE JUST THINK FOR OURSELVES THEN!?!! It sure beats thinking of the universe, the higher powers, the human race, and the false sense of equality that encompasses it all.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
A Clockwork Orange... finished part I (Im a slow reader)
OK I believe its time to talk about what this blog is REALLY for. I was assigned this blog as an English project. The English portion includes my reactions to a book I am reading. At the moment, that book is Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange.
I have just finished part 1. To be honest this book is very different from ones I am used to. For instance the story takes place in a dystopian future, so Burgess has played around with language, inventing a new “futuristic” slang called nadsat. As creative as this may be, nadsat makes the book extremely hard to follow, but I suppose I have gotten used to it.
On a thematic level, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what Burgess is trying to convey to me. The book centers around a violent, juvenile delinquent named Alex. Though he is a horrible batterer and rapist, there are several key parts in the book in which sympathy is evoked for Alex. One quote in particular reveals what I think Burgess might be trying to say. Alex remarks while reading the paper one morning: “Badness is of the self . . . and that self is made by old Bog or God and is his great pride and radosty.” Burgess thus raises a question of morality, and calls out religion on its contradictions. Aren’t we all God’s children? Did not God put evilness in our nature? So who are we to force “good” on people?
I really hope this isn’t Burgess’s ultimate intention. If so, that’s pretty weak. I can easily make the argument that while yes, God put evil in our nature, we always have a choice. Religion (especially Christianity which is examined in this book) often refers to this life as a test, in which God gives souls the power of free will. Those souls that choose good are rewarded in the next life, and those souls that choose evil… well you know the story.
So I can extrapolate then, that the main conflict of the story will most likely be between Alex, Society, God (or as he calls him “Bog”), and the epic question: which one has the right to impose will?
I will write more on this topic, as I get further into the book… Sorry but I have nothing to link to right now Mr. Saxon. Perhaps on the next post…
I have just finished part 1. To be honest this book is very different from ones I am used to. For instance the story takes place in a dystopian future, so Burgess has played around with language, inventing a new “futuristic” slang called nadsat. As creative as this may be, nadsat makes the book extremely hard to follow, but I suppose I have gotten used to it.
On a thematic level, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what Burgess is trying to convey to me. The book centers around a violent, juvenile delinquent named Alex. Though he is a horrible batterer and rapist, there are several key parts in the book in which sympathy is evoked for Alex. One quote in particular reveals what I think Burgess might be trying to say. Alex remarks while reading the paper one morning: “Badness is of the self . . . and that self is made by old Bog or God and is his great pride and radosty.” Burgess thus raises a question of morality, and calls out religion on its contradictions. Aren’t we all God’s children? Did not God put evilness in our nature? So who are we to force “good” on people?
I really hope this isn’t Burgess’s ultimate intention. If so, that’s pretty weak. I can easily make the argument that while yes, God put evil in our nature, we always have a choice. Religion (especially Christianity which is examined in this book) often refers to this life as a test, in which God gives souls the power of free will. Those souls that choose good are rewarded in the next life, and those souls that choose evil… well you know the story.
So I can extrapolate then, that the main conflict of the story will most likely be between Alex, Society, God (or as he calls him “Bog”), and the epic question: which one has the right to impose will?
I will write more on this topic, as I get further into the book… Sorry but I have nothing to link to right now Mr. Saxon. Perhaps on the next post…
Monday, February 4, 2008
Lucid Dreams
As much as I would love to talk about more things that dissatisfy me in todays world, I believe this blog needs some positivity. What I am about to talk about is so intensely positive that it is not even part of this world. It exists only in a world that you create: a world so pure and natural, that nothing, not even a perverted droog could corrupt. It exists in the deepest part of your brain, beyond consciousness, beyond normal day-to-day function, beyond reality. Its a rather mysterious completely necessary process you undergo every 24 hours known as dreaming.
I HAVE BEEN TO DREAMLAND AND BACK
I am no scientist, I am no expert, I am not going to bore you with dull facts about REM sleep and all that (though I do know a thing or two... as some research was necessary for this epic journey). I am simply going to discuss my experience with LUCID DREAMING: The state of dreaming in which the dreamer is completely aware and conscious that he/she is dreaming. Many of you may have experienced a lucid dream at some point of your lives, where maybe you realize that that you're dreaming and quickly wake up. But suppose you stay in that state of awareness and simply flow with this new world around you? There are varying degrees of lucidity, and a drug-free method is available for all those who want to achieve such a beautiful alternate reality. If you would like to try these methods.. this website has helped me.
My lucid dreams have varied with my levels of lucidity, diet, and general mood before sleeping, but here is a dream scenario i seem to remember:
I am in a car, and i am driving recklessly but not getting injured. Somethings not right... i realize that i am dreaming this. I get excited now because i know that i am in control. my excitement almost awakens me but i am able to hold on to my lucidity. I drive the car fine down a straight highway when i decide to change the color of the sky. "The sky should be red," I state. The sky of course obeys my wishes and turns a brilliant red. I am enthralled. Time to get crazy.
I jump out of the car which appeared to be moving at a high speed. I land perfectly on my feet. I summon a lion to ride into town with. The lion was oddly shaped and not as big as i expected (i have never really seen a lion in person before). He runs the speed i tell him to. the town i ride into appears to be Bejing or some Asian city. This dissatisfies me. I turn it into New York City. Unsure of what to do next i jump off of the empire state building.. just to see what happens (remember this is no ordinary dream... this is Max Bamberger stuck in dreamworld) instead of falling though i make myself hover majestically above the beautiful buildings and people. The red sky envelopes me. The feeling is so hypnotic that i eventually lose my lucidity and the dream takes over. i fall abruptly to the ground and wake up.
Though it may not seem too exciting, the feeling of a real lucid dream is incredible. Incredible in that all emotions and conceptions are amplified x10000... think about it: you will never be as scared as you are in a hellish nightmare, and you will never be as invigorated as you are in a nice wistful dream. Add consciousness to this and you can rationalize or embrace these emotions. You may unlock (and physically manifest before you) your deep seeded spiritual senses, battle one of your greatest fears, or experience a horrible feeling of helplessness... should you lose lucidity at any part of your dream.
The dreamworld is one that is very much a mystery to modern science, but with much practice and meditation, it can become very real to you.
I HAVE BEEN TO DREAMLAND AND BACK
I am no scientist, I am no expert, I am not going to bore you with dull facts about REM sleep and all that (though I do know a thing or two... as some research was necessary for this epic journey). I am simply going to discuss my experience with LUCID DREAMING: The state of dreaming in which the dreamer is completely aware and conscious that he/she is dreaming. Many of you may have experienced a lucid dream at some point of your lives, where maybe you realize that that you're dreaming and quickly wake up. But suppose you stay in that state of awareness and simply flow with this new world around you? There are varying degrees of lucidity, and a drug-free method is available for all those who want to achieve such a beautiful alternate reality. If you would like to try these methods.. this website has helped me.
My lucid dreams have varied with my levels of lucidity, diet, and general mood before sleeping, but here is a dream scenario i seem to remember:
I am in a car, and i am driving recklessly but not getting injured. Somethings not right... i realize that i am dreaming this. I get excited now because i know that i am in control. my excitement almost awakens me but i am able to hold on to my lucidity. I drive the car fine down a straight highway when i decide to change the color of the sky. "The sky should be red," I state. The sky of course obeys my wishes and turns a brilliant red. I am enthralled. Time to get crazy.
I jump out of the car which appeared to be moving at a high speed. I land perfectly on my feet. I summon a lion to ride into town with. The lion was oddly shaped and not as big as i expected (i have never really seen a lion in person before). He runs the speed i tell him to. the town i ride into appears to be Bejing or some Asian city. This dissatisfies me. I turn it into New York City. Unsure of what to do next i jump off of the empire state building.. just to see what happens (remember this is no ordinary dream... this is Max Bamberger stuck in dreamworld) instead of falling though i make myself hover majestically above the beautiful buildings and people. The red sky envelopes me. The feeling is so hypnotic that i eventually lose my lucidity and the dream takes over. i fall abruptly to the ground and wake up.
Though it may not seem too exciting, the feeling of a real lucid dream is incredible. Incredible in that all emotions and conceptions are amplified x10000... think about it: you will never be as scared as you are in a hellish nightmare, and you will never be as invigorated as you are in a nice wistful dream. Add consciousness to this and you can rationalize or embrace these emotions. You may unlock (and physically manifest before you) your deep seeded spiritual senses, battle one of your greatest fears, or experience a horrible feeling of helplessness... should you lose lucidity at any part of your dream.
The dreamworld is one that is very much a mystery to modern science, but with much practice and meditation, it can become very real to you.
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