On Angels, Brutes and Dark Knights

“Man is neither angel nor brute, and the unfortunate thing is that he who would act the angel acts the brute.” Blaise Pascal Why has western civilization fallen in love with a guy in a bat suit and a guy in a clown costume? I think it is because in some ways the story of [...]

Shhh! We’re Trying to Watch the Movie.

Everybody knows how to watch a movie but not everybody knows how to watch a movie well. There is a difference between simply watching movies for entertainment and watching a movie to really interact with it. It occurred to me a few years ago that people probably don’t make movies so that audiences can be [...]

No Happy Endings

“The last act is tragic, however happy all the rest of the play is; at the last a little earth is thrown upon our head, and that is the end forever.” ~ Blaise Pascal Well, maybe there are some happy endings but there are no guarantees. I saw Cloverfield the other night and thought that [...]

Just Another Point of View?

I saw Vantage Point a couple weeks ago with some friends. I think it was a pretty good movie. Actually, it got me thinking about something interesting. The idea that we all have a point of view is pretty popular. The plot of Vantage Point plays off of this concept and I think we could [...]

Philosophy of Mind

Last year I took a course on Philosophy of Mind. When I’d tell my friends what I was studying they’d always ask ‘Philosophy of what?’ Then I’d stumble through some kind of explanation; probably leaving them more confused than before! Well now I’d like to offer an explanation and I think you’ll find the topic [...]