Gigapan seemed like an interesting project when it was proposed to us at the beginning of the semester. It was unfortunate that we didn't end up doing to much with it.
http://www.gigapan.org/gigapans/72951-414x200.jpg
I chose to be involved with the project in the Hawaii Theater. The amount of detail given by the gigapan camera setup is amazing. Hawaii Theater is a beautiful building. one of the reasons I chose to be involved with the Hawaii Theater project is because I have spent a lot of time in the theater this semester, between my work behind the scenes on the show Wishes and Wings and other performances I've seen there.
The gigapan project is an interesting opportunity in that in these pictures you can find small hidden gems that are worth pointing out, such as the mosaic on the ceiling, and the significance of various objects depicted within it.
I only wish that there was more time to dig deeper into the possibility of the project. Our work on the HPN TV segment basically took over the class placing gigapan on the back burner and with the simplification of the gigapan format the opportunity has been more of less passed over.
I hope that future classes will be given more of a chance to go more in-depth with gigapan.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
HPU - Growing Bolder
Over the course of this semester, my journalism course granted me the opportunity to sit down and interview several key people at hpu, people like Pete Britos and Patrick Hennessey, who are instrumental in developing and enhancing the programs HPU has to offer.
Though their programs differ, one thing that I have noticed is that the overarching goal these people have for their programs is to grow and become better.
Pete Britos is in charge of the new multimedia program at HPU. He stated that the entire ourpose of the new program is to improve on the old one. He intends to create a more comprehensive program that will better prepare students for their careers.
Dr. Hennessey, who is the Director of Bands at HPU, is also working on growing his own program, selecting better musicians, and harder music, with the goal of expanding the band and improving the quality if its performances.
As far as I can tell, they seem to be well on the way of meeting their respective goals. Starting next semester, Dr. Britos' new programs will be in fill swing, and judging by the band's performance at this year's final concert, the band is already sounding pretty good.
I dont know for sure about the rest of the school, but if the heads of all the other departments have the same drive as Dr. Britos and Dr. Hennessey, HPU is in for some substantial changes. And if the Mult program and the Band program are any indication, these changes would definately be for the better.
Though their programs differ, one thing that I have noticed is that the overarching goal these people have for their programs is to grow and become better.
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| Dr. Pete Britos |
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| Dr. Patrick Hennessey |
As far as I can tell, they seem to be well on the way of meeting their respective goals. Starting next semester, Dr. Britos' new programs will be in fill swing, and judging by the band's performance at this year's final concert, the band is already sounding pretty good.
I dont know for sure about the rest of the school, but if the heads of all the other departments have the same drive as Dr. Britos and Dr. Hennessey, HPU is in for some substantial changes. And if the Mult program and the Band program are any indication, these changes would definately be for the better.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Video Production
As I am writing this, I am sitting in the video lab working on my final project for video production. You may wonder why I have time to write this. Its simple: It takes forever to convert video files, even on the school's mac-pros. While this is frustrating, this is far from being the worst snag in my attempt to get a workable version of the project by Saturday afternoon.
As a warning, this might sound like complaining, so if you don't want to hear it, don't bother reading this. but I DO have a point at the end... hopefully.
Video production can be fun. It is amazing to see your hard work up on scene, and the feeling you get from watching people enjoy what you have done is wonderful. But when deadlines com sailing toward you and things beyond your control keep happening, it can be incredibly stressful. From unreliable cast and crew (mostly cast, in my case, and not the ones that ended up being in the film) to unforeseeable equipment malfunctions (mic picking up radio waves? what the hell...), productions always take longer than you expect, and no matter how far ahead you plan it will always be close. For example, I was delayed for three weeks by cast problems before I could even shoot, and then lost one day of shoot to technical problems and most another to a schedule conflict.
So what can be learned from this? What can be done. Unfortunately this experience has only taught me that things WILL go wrong, and that you have to be prepared to deal with them. I have yet to learn how to avoid these problems, most of which, admittedly, could have been probably solved if we had had a few thousand dollars to spend on paid actors and rented locations, which would have most likely proven a lot more reliable.
That said, I would probably have ended up wit ha whole new set of problems, which I have been assured is the nature of the business.
Working on projects like the one I am working on give you a new sense of respect for those who work on great movies, like Letters From Iwo Jima, which I wrote about this morning. On a project of that scale, its hard to imagine the kinds of things that the director had to deal with. In their case, as with most commercial films, it turned out so well that it's impossible to believe that the production didn't go smoothly (And I can assure you, it probably didn't).
I only hope that my project will give such an impression when (and if) I am able to complete it.
As a warning, this might sound like complaining, so if you don't want to hear it, don't bother reading this. but I DO have a point at the end... hopefully.
Video production can be fun. It is amazing to see your hard work up on scene, and the feeling you get from watching people enjoy what you have done is wonderful. But when deadlines com sailing toward you and things beyond your control keep happening, it can be incredibly stressful. From unreliable cast and crew (mostly cast, in my case, and not the ones that ended up being in the film) to unforeseeable equipment malfunctions (mic picking up radio waves? what the hell...), productions always take longer than you expect, and no matter how far ahead you plan it will always be close. For example, I was delayed for three weeks by cast problems before I could even shoot, and then lost one day of shoot to technical problems and most another to a schedule conflict.
So what can be learned from this? What can be done. Unfortunately this experience has only taught me that things WILL go wrong, and that you have to be prepared to deal with them. I have yet to learn how to avoid these problems, most of which, admittedly, could have been probably solved if we had had a few thousand dollars to spend on paid actors and rented locations, which would have most likely proven a lot more reliable.
That said, I would probably have ended up wit ha whole new set of problems, which I have been assured is the nature of the business.
Working on projects like the one I am working on give you a new sense of respect for those who work on great movies, like Letters From Iwo Jima, which I wrote about this morning. On a project of that scale, its hard to imagine the kinds of things that the director had to deal with. In their case, as with most commercial films, it turned out so well that it's impossible to believe that the production didn't go smoothly (And I can assure you, it probably didn't).
I only hope that my project will give such an impression when (and if) I am able to complete it.
Letters From Iwo Jima
Recently I was "convinced" to get a netflix subscription, and as there was a one-month free trial, I felt that there was no harm in trying it. Since then I have watched a number of film, most of which I have enjoyed. The most recent one I saw was Letters From Iwo Jima. This film covers the Japanese side of the battle for Iwo Jima in WWII. The film is powerful, and you cent help but feel for these soldiers, who, even though they are on the "enemy" side, are shown to be just as human as the American soldiers.Throughout the film, many elements come together to make this stunning fiom what it is. Strong character design, a powerful soundtrack, and stunning, if a bit graphic, visuals are just the beginning in terms of what allows this film to be what it is.
Films like these are enough to make anyone second guess a war. War is somtimes necessary to defend yourself. It is only after a war that you can afford to view your enemy as human again. Even within this film, when the main character learns from a captured american soldier that american soldiers arent "savages" like he has been taught, it only further decreases his will to fight.
Yet I also believe films like this one can be important for healing, for while the war may be fought for greater purposes, I believe it is important to remember that wars are fought not by those greater forces, but by ordinary soldiers, each who has his own reason to fight, and each who has his own reason to want to return home safe.
Its not clear wether the main character ever got to see his wife again. But even though at the time he was our "enemy," this film makes you hope that he, at least, was able to return home.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Inner Character.
As some of you may or may not know, my eventual goal is to become a writer, and I chose to study multimedia because I am not yet sure which media I would like to use to convey the stories I wish to tell.
Beyond the decisions that have to be made based on the strengths and limitations of the various media, the core of what makes a story strong is always the same. That core is character, and for a while I've known that character was one of my weak points.
My screenwriting professor at one point told me that I had mastered the art of visual storytelling, but that my characters were too shallow and that the only reason my script was good was that I was able to tell it so well.
Since that time I have continued with an independent writing project of mine that I have been working on since freshman year. Since I began the project, I've been constantly refining and tweaking it whenever the inspiration hit me, but every time I did so, no matter how deep I was able to delve into the world I was shaping, something would always pulled me back, and because of that my story has already gone through three drastically different stages, all of which, in hindsight, appear to have failed for more or less the same reasons.
When I was taking scriptwriting last semester, one of the major things my professor taught us is about character design, and how the story had to revolve around 3-dimensional characters who are flawed and have a problem. While I understood that on an intelectual level, I was never really able to grasp how that was done well.
Recently, I feel like I might have found what I was missing. It's not enough that a character has to be flawed and has to have a problem that is the focus of the story.
Recently, I took a look at stories that I particularly enjoyed, the ones that call out to me, the ones that I can enjoy again the second, third, or even the fourth time through. There is one thing I noticed. For one thing, its never just one thing that drives a character in these stories. In all these stories, there is more than just one flaw, more than just one drive. Characters have to fight not just through a series of artificial obstacles set in place by the author, but through deeper obstacles that may never be explicitly stated, but only hinted at.
And it's not just the central cast either. All the characters involved are just as deep, if not deeper, than the main characters, such that even though the story revolves around a particular problem of a particular character, it's clear that all the characters have stories to be told that can be just as interesting as the main plot.
One example of this, I feel, stands out above all others I can think of at this moment. If you have ever read the book "Ender's Game" By Orson Scoot Card, you may remember a character called Bean, a diminutive boy who, once Ender had earned his respect, was one of his most trusted friends and allies later in the book.
What you may not know is that Card wrote another book called Enders Shadow. This book is parallel to Ender's Game and takes Bean's point of view instead of Ender's. Now that I am rereading it, I feel that Ender's Shadow, in ways, may be superior to the book that spawned it.
Here's my point: Enders Shadow is, at its heart, Ender's Game told from a different perspective. Enders Shadow takes a supporting character from the original story and tells the whole thing over again from his perspective, and it tells the story just as well, if not better, than the original did.
This proves one point about Enders Game: if Bean in Ender's Game were not such a rich character, he never would have been the one chosen to have his own story told, and the fact that this character had enough in him to support his own story speaks volumes about what made Ender's Game great; the fact that it was not just Ender who had a story worth telling.
Perhaps this was what my scriptwriting professor had been trying to teach me. Looking back, I myself wonder why I didn't see it sooner. But now that I have seen it, I can look forward to my next attempt, which will probably be after this semester is over, as I barely have the time end energy to deal with all my classes. Now that I have seen this, I hope that I can finally write a character capable and worthy of supporting the storys I wish to tell.
Every writer hopes that their stories are heard, no matter what medium they choose to convey it, and even though I have not yet chosen my final medium, I wonder if what I have recently discovered for myself is truly what I was missing, and if this understanding is what I need to be able to move forward with my writing. If so, my next challenge will be to learn to convey that character to my audience, but that is a challenge for another day.
Beyond the decisions that have to be made based on the strengths and limitations of the various media, the core of what makes a story strong is always the same. That core is character, and for a while I've known that character was one of my weak points.
My screenwriting professor at one point told me that I had mastered the art of visual storytelling, but that my characters were too shallow and that the only reason my script was good was that I was able to tell it so well.
Since that time I have continued with an independent writing project of mine that I have been working on since freshman year. Since I began the project, I've been constantly refining and tweaking it whenever the inspiration hit me, but every time I did so, no matter how deep I was able to delve into the world I was shaping, something would always pulled me back, and because of that my story has already gone through three drastically different stages, all of which, in hindsight, appear to have failed for more or less the same reasons.
When I was taking scriptwriting last semester, one of the major things my professor taught us is about character design, and how the story had to revolve around 3-dimensional characters who are flawed and have a problem. While I understood that on an intelectual level, I was never really able to grasp how that was done well.
Recently, I feel like I might have found what I was missing. It's not enough that a character has to be flawed and has to have a problem that is the focus of the story.
Recently, I took a look at stories that I particularly enjoyed, the ones that call out to me, the ones that I can enjoy again the second, third, or even the fourth time through. There is one thing I noticed. For one thing, its never just one thing that drives a character in these stories. In all these stories, there is more than just one flaw, more than just one drive. Characters have to fight not just through a series of artificial obstacles set in place by the author, but through deeper obstacles that may never be explicitly stated, but only hinted at.
And it's not just the central cast either. All the characters involved are just as deep, if not deeper, than the main characters, such that even though the story revolves around a particular problem of a particular character, it's clear that all the characters have stories to be told that can be just as interesting as the main plot.
One example of this, I feel, stands out above all others I can think of at this moment. If you have ever read the book "Ender's Game" By Orson Scoot Card, you may remember a character called Bean, a diminutive boy who, once Ender had earned his respect, was one of his most trusted friends and allies later in the book.
What you may not know is that Card wrote another book called Enders Shadow. This book is parallel to Ender's Game and takes Bean's point of view instead of Ender's. Now that I am rereading it, I feel that Ender's Shadow, in ways, may be superior to the book that spawned it.Here's my point: Enders Shadow is, at its heart, Ender's Game told from a different perspective. Enders Shadow takes a supporting character from the original story and tells the whole thing over again from his perspective, and it tells the story just as well, if not better, than the original did.
This proves one point about Enders Game: if Bean in Ender's Game were not such a rich character, he never would have been the one chosen to have his own story told, and the fact that this character had enough in him to support his own story speaks volumes about what made Ender's Game great; the fact that it was not just Ender who had a story worth telling.
Perhaps this was what my scriptwriting professor had been trying to teach me. Looking back, I myself wonder why I didn't see it sooner. But now that I have seen it, I can look forward to my next attempt, which will probably be after this semester is over, as I barely have the time end energy to deal with all my classes. Now that I have seen this, I hope that I can finally write a character capable and worthy of supporting the storys I wish to tell.
Every writer hopes that their stories are heard, no matter what medium they choose to convey it, and even though I have not yet chosen my final medium, I wonder if what I have recently discovered for myself is truly what I was missing, and if this understanding is what I need to be able to move forward with my writing. If so, my next challenge will be to learn to convey that character to my audience, but that is a challenge for another day.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The advantages of being multingual
Travel - If you are multilingual you can go to more places and be comfortable when you get there. By learning a second language you can expand your horizons - more or less literally.
Connections - When you are multilingual it allows you to meet and communicate with more people, and make friends from across the globe.
Fun - Speaking more than one language allows you to enjoy entertainment from across the world without some of the beauty of it being lost in translation.
What does this add up to? Experiences. Learning more than one language opens you up to far more opportunities and experiences than are open to someone who is limited to speaking and understanding only one language. Being multilingual give you the chance to live a much richer life. So take the chance while you can to learn a second, third, or forth language. It takes time and hard work, but in the end it will be worth it.
Connections - When you are multilingual it allows you to meet and communicate with more people, and make friends from across the globe.
Fun - Speaking more than one language allows you to enjoy entertainment from across the world without some of the beauty of it being lost in translation.
What does this add up to? Experiences. Learning more than one language opens you up to far more opportunities and experiences than are open to someone who is limited to speaking and understanding only one language. Being multilingual give you the chance to live a much richer life. So take the chance while you can to learn a second, third, or forth language. It takes time and hard work, but in the end it will be worth it.
Blogging
Blogging. Love it or hate it, blogging is a major source of expression for many people. Blogging is a completely free and easily accessible way to express yourself. Today, there are blogs for just about everything. Some for news, some for entertainment, some for instruction. It goes without saying that blogging has become a major component of our online world-such a big component that they now teach blogging in schools.
So if you don't have a blog, get one. You may enjoy it.
So if you don't have a blog, get one. You may enjoy it.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
And for Dessert?
Hey everyone! I'm writing this on my way back from watching Patisserie Coin de Rue at HIFF with a few of my friends. Normally I'd have waited to write this, but I will say right now it was easily one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.
As someone who has studied writing and producing films, I will tell you now that what they pulled off is far from easy. The movie was moving, and the imagery, exquisite. Particularly the cakes.
The combination of humor and drama led to a thoroughly enjoyable experience that sent the audience on an emotional rollercoaster ride between wild laughter and tears. Even the cynical Matt was nearly brought to tears.
As such, I do not want to spoil the film for anyone, being that I strongly believe that such delicacies should be savored first hand. I myself will be looking for opportunities to get this film on DVD if and when it becomes
Update:
Looking at other reviews, many criticize the film for being "predictable" and "cliche." Even I found that many of my predictions about what would happen came true. That being said, that doesn't mean the movie wasn't well made. At one point, there was a collective "No!" when most of the audience appeared to realize what was inevitably coming. Even so, the film kept us on the edge of our seats, so to speak, hoping that we would be wrong. In a few minutes, we were proven right, in what was one of the saddest points in the movie.
Overall, I would consider Patisserie to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I only wish I had time to see some of the other HIFF films. If they were half as enjoyable as Patisserie was, they would still have been well worth the time.
Photos and trailer coming soon, I hope.
As someone who has studied writing and producing films, I will tell you now that what they pulled off is far from easy. The movie was moving, and the imagery, exquisite. Particularly the cakes.
The combination of humor and drama led to a thoroughly enjoyable experience that sent the audience on an emotional rollercoaster ride between wild laughter and tears. Even the cynical Matt was nearly brought to tears.
As such, I do not want to spoil the film for anyone, being that I strongly believe that such delicacies should be savored first hand. I myself will be looking for opportunities to get this film on DVD if and when it becomes
Update:
Looking at other reviews, many criticize the film for being "predictable" and "cliche." Even I found that many of my predictions about what would happen came true. That being said, that doesn't mean the movie wasn't well made. At one point, there was a collective "No!" when most of the audience appeared to realize what was inevitably coming. Even so, the film kept us on the edge of our seats, so to speak, hoping that we would be wrong. In a few minutes, we were proven right, in what was one of the saddest points in the movie.
Overall, I would consider Patisserie to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I only wish I had time to see some of the other HIFF films. If they were half as enjoyable as Patisserie was, they would still have been well worth the time.
Photos and trailer coming soon, I hope.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Falling Behind XC
Things have been really busy lately between all the things that have been happening lately, so I haven't been keeping up with this blog. I will try to post a few more blogs by the end of the month.
Doing too many things at once is bad. I need a real break. As in doing nothing important
I don't want to end up like this guy:
Doing too many things at once is bad. I need a real break. As in doing nothing important
I don't want to end up like this guy:
And no, I don't watch Futurama.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Japan
As most of you probably know, at the end of last week, Japan was rocked by one of the strongest earthquakes on record, which was followed by a devastating tsunami. The images still coming from Japan are frightening, and it may still be a long time before we can see the true impact of the disaster.
The troubles are compounded by the continuing nuclear crisis. Several reactors have been in the early stages of meltdown since not long after the earthquake, and it is still yet to be seen if they will be able to stabilize the situation.
We can only hope that they will be able to take control of the situation. I would also reccomend that you donate, if you can. Me and my family are donating over $100 to the Red Cross, and the HPU Japanese Asosiation is holding fundrisers all week. Recovery and rebuilding is going to be expensive, and they need all the help they can get.
The troubles are compounded by the continuing nuclear crisis. Several reactors have been in the early stages of meltdown since not long after the earthquake, and it is still yet to be seen if they will be able to stabilize the situation.
We can only hope that they will be able to take control of the situation. I would also reccomend that you donate, if you can. Me and my family are donating over $100 to the Red Cross, and the HPU Japanese Asosiation is holding fundrisers all week. Recovery and rebuilding is going to be expensive, and they need all the help they can get.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thoughts on World Citizenship
First of all, I want to start of by pointing something out. I am proud to be an American. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to patriotic music. I strongly believe in the principles upon which our nation was founded. I believe in freedom and peoples right to self govern. In the words of Lee Greenwood, "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free."
But this is not about America. It's not about being an "American". It's about world citizenship. It's about the world we live in today.
Today, we are living in an increasingly connected world. HPU recognizes this, and in fact one of its stated goals is to help shape its students into world citizens, prepared to participate in a global society. http://web1.hpu.edu/index.cfm?contentID=1639
And I believe that this goal is an important one. Technology is still advancing, and many new technologies are being developed that will make it easier and easier to communicate across borders. Even now, websites like facebook have become the backbone of movements across the middle east, allowing groups to communicate. This ability to communicate has been pivotal in allowing these countries' citizens to shape their own futures.
As communication continues to expand, I believe national borders will begin to mean less and less. And this is my point: I believe that this is how it should be. I believe that this is the direction we are headed. And I believe that we need to be ready. It is for that reason that I salute HPU, and other schools with similar missions.
Its not that I believe that nations, and national pride, are a bad thing. Far from it, I believe that national pride helps bind people together. But I believe that it's time for people to recognize that we are all one people, part of an increasingly global society. One of the things that leads to conflict between people and that allows those conflicts to grow are the fact that people are divided. I believe that through communication, we can build a more united and stable world.
I believe that with the advances in technology, its possible, if not inevitable, that the entire world will be connected. And I believe that that act of connecting will be a huge step in advancement for our world as a whole. For that to happen, though, we have to be ready.
I look forward to a future in which people not only take pride in family, community, and nation, but in being a member of a global community. And I hope that day will come soon. And I believe that its our generation that has a good chance to make it happen.
I believe it's time to act. And I believe that we can make it happen. We have the tools. It's our turn to make a difference.
I know I'm an idealist. In the words of John Lennon :
"You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one "
But it's in the attempt to attain what may be unattainable that we may one day build a better world. After all, they say that if you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will land among the stars.
But this is not about America. It's not about being an "American". It's about world citizenship. It's about the world we live in today.
Today, we are living in an increasingly connected world. HPU recognizes this, and in fact one of its stated goals is to help shape its students into world citizens, prepared to participate in a global society. http://web1.hpu.edu/index.cfm?contentID=1639
And I believe that this goal is an important one. Technology is still advancing, and many new technologies are being developed that will make it easier and easier to communicate across borders. Even now, websites like facebook have become the backbone of movements across the middle east, allowing groups to communicate. This ability to communicate has been pivotal in allowing these countries' citizens to shape their own futures.
As communication continues to expand, I believe national borders will begin to mean less and less. And this is my point: I believe that this is how it should be. I believe that this is the direction we are headed. And I believe that we need to be ready. It is for that reason that I salute HPU, and other schools with similar missions.
Its not that I believe that nations, and national pride, are a bad thing. Far from it, I believe that national pride helps bind people together. But I believe that it's time for people to recognize that we are all one people, part of an increasingly global society. One of the things that leads to conflict between people and that allows those conflicts to grow are the fact that people are divided. I believe that through communication, we can build a more united and stable world.
I believe that with the advances in technology, its possible, if not inevitable, that the entire world will be connected. And I believe that that act of connecting will be a huge step in advancement for our world as a whole. For that to happen, though, we have to be ready.
I look forward to a future in which people not only take pride in family, community, and nation, but in being a member of a global community. And I hope that day will come soon. And I believe that its our generation that has a good chance to make it happen.
I believe it's time to act. And I believe that we can make it happen. We have the tools. It's our turn to make a difference.
I know I'm an idealist. In the words of John Lennon :
"You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one "
But it's in the attempt to attain what may be unattainable that we may one day build a better world. After all, they say that if you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will land among the stars.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Upcoming Post
By the end of the week I should have a decent length story about HPU's new Multimedia Program. I'm writing the story for the Kalamalama, so I figured I might as well post it here as well. Look forward to it!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Book Review: Pathfinder
Hey everyone, I just finnished reading another book (possibly my last for a while, untill I get some new ones). The book I read was Pathfinder, by Orson Scott Card. I would like to warn you now, there will be some Spoilers, if any of you are interested in actually reading this book.The book follows the story of a boy named Rigg, who goes on a journey. While the book is Scifi, for the most part it reads more like a fantasy novel. The Spoilers will begin here.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
The book takes place on the planet Garden, where a colony ship had been sent to establish a new human colony. During the ship's attempt to jump to the planet, an anomaly caused the ship to multiply itself 19 times, and jump over 11,000 years into the past. Fast forward almost 11,000 years, and we meet a boy named Rigg, who has the special ability to see the paths people leave behind as they go through thier lives. After the death of his father, he sets out on a journy to the capital to meet his sister. On the way he meets friends and enemys. Rigg learns about his herritage as one of the "non-royals", and eventually, in an attempt to escape from the people who want him and his sister dead, he and his friends maks thier way out of thier "wallfold", through an impenetrable barrier meant to keep the people from each of the 19 copied ships from interacting. the story ends with Rigg learning the truth about thier world.
The ending is slightly dissappointing, in that i think Card could have done much more with what happens after, with the merginh of the various wallfolds, and the arrival of subsequent ships from Earth. But then again, there might be a sequal in the works. Spoilers end here.
END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS
Overall it is a good book, and it touches on issues such as government, truth, trust, family, and wealth.
Like all of Card's books, this one shows that he does his research, referencing real science and real history at several points through out the story. I recommend this book to people who like scifi and fantasy. It is a tad long, though.
You can watch the book's official trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4glGSLdnIRQ
Thoughts on Egypt
Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past two weeks, you are probably aware of what is going on in Egypt. The short story is that the Egyptian people are calling for the resignation of their president-dictator Mohamad Hosni Mubarak, and have been protesting since January 25th. In the past couple of days, things have taken a turn for the worse, with bullets beginning to fly when pro-government groups started showing themselves.At this point it appears that it is only a matter of time before Mubarak is forced to flee the country. He has already lost control, and it would appear that the overwhelming majority of the population wants him out. At this point we can only hope that the situation resolves itself soon, before too many more are killed, and that the new government, one that is actually supported by the Egyptian people, will be able to bring stability to their nation.
I for one hope that the events in Egypt sets an example for the people of repressive nations around the world and sends a message that a government cannot rule without the peoples consent. I believe that people have the right to choose who governs them. The Egyptian people have taken that into their own hands, and are fighting to build themselves a better future. While I do not believe that violence and revolt is always the best answer, neither do I believe that people should just sit back and suffer under a repressive regime.Hopefully the situation will calm down soon, and the Egyptians can work on repairing the damage and building thier new government. Until that time, we can only give them our support. Our support for them building a better nation for themselves. Hopefully, when this is all over, Egypt will finally be the republic that it has claimed itself to be. And hopefully other repressive governments will see what has happened in Egypt, and consider their positions carefully.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Empire
This morning I just finished reading a very interesting book. The title of the book is Empire, and it was written my Orson Scott Card, who is probably one of my favorite authors. The book takes place in the near future, in which the assassination of the US president becomes the catalyst for a full-blown civil war, with the division being between the liberal-progressives, and conservative ideologies.Aside from being (in my humble opinion) a good story, the author raises some vary good points about the state of American politics. In the book's Afterward, Card explains the premise of the novel. The scary part is that he appears to be right.
One of the points he makes is that while conditions right now wouldn't necessarily start a civil war, he makes the point that the American political system has become so polarized that you essentially have to pic a "side" and stick to it completely, and that if you deviate even slightly or try to stay "moderate," you will be shunned by both sides. From what I have seen in the media, this much at least is true.
Another point is that civil wars begin when one side believe strongly enough that the other sie is arming them selves to destroy them that they shoot first. He even goes so far as to list examples like Yugoslavia where violent civil war broke out because both sides feared that the other side wanted to destroy them. Both sides claimed to be defending themselves and the truth was that they were.
The point Card made was that yes, it is possible. One of the messages Card tried to get across in the novel is that we are one nation, the United States, and yet we are so divided along ideological line that many of us wont even consider that fact that the other side might have a decent point to make. Card points out that that is one definition of Fanaticism. If that is the case, then I don't know about you, but I don't like that idea. I don't like it one bit.
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