© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 1:15 A.M.
I haven't made new year's resolutions for a few years now, not wanting to join the crowd making big decisions on the turn of a calendar. I've had more success deciding things on my own time and not announcing them to the world.
I'm also not one to look back. Part of the reason to have a blog after all is so I don't have to remember how things went. In the last few weeks, I'm proudest of having added sphinx crunches and dolphin hops to my daily exercise.
All that said, I've been wanting to read and write more. How's this for a statement of goals?: Reading at least twenty-six novels (One every two weeks. Sounds doable.), and writing at least one poem a week. The idea is if I do more than that, great.
Good luck to you.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
At The Five-Two: "A Movable Nightclub" by Alan Catlin
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 12:30 A.M.
Alan Catlin returns with The Five-Two's New Year's Eve-New Year's poem:
Subscribe to Channel Five-Two for first view of new videos.
I'm now accepting love- or passion-themed crime poems to be published in February. Submit by January 15.
Alan Catlin returns with The Five-Two's New Year's Eve-New Year's poem:
Subscribe to Channel Five-Two for first view of new videos.
I'm now accepting love- or passion-themed crime poems to be published in February. Submit by January 15.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
The Force is the Force, Of Course, Of Course
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 6:30 A.M.
Still no spoilers about Star Wars Episode 7. I've been thinking about the Force, particularly how advocates of the Light Side (Obi-wan, Yoda, etc.) say it's an energy field created by all living things. The Force surrounds us and binds us. Life creates it, makes it grow. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. Yet, if the Force is benevolent and created by life, how are advocates of the Dark Side (Palpatine, Vader, etc.) able to use it in kind? Anakin Skywalker ultimately was not strong-minded. His emotions allowed him to be easily subjugated. How could someone so mercurial hope to use the Force well enough to threaten the Light Side?
I'd prefer it if there were no sides of the Force, if instead it was naturally created and benevolent, with the Light Side attempting to follow its nature and the Dark Side attempting to bend it to their will. Strong, driven personalities like Palpatine can use the Force this way, but it resists them, over time withering them physically. This depiction of the Force explains Palpatine's decaying appearance and Darth Vader's need for an oxygen machine without any reference to Episodes 1–3.
By contrast, following the natural flow of the Force prolongs life, such as Yoda's nine hundred years.
This is by no means official doctrine on the Force, but it makes more sense to me than what's been depicted in the movies. Your thoughts?
Still no spoilers about Star Wars Episode 7. I've been thinking about the Force, particularly how advocates of the Light Side (Obi-wan, Yoda, etc.) say it's an energy field created by all living things. The Force surrounds us and binds us. Life creates it, makes it grow. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. Yet, if the Force is benevolent and created by life, how are advocates of the Dark Side (Palpatine, Vader, etc.) able to use it in kind? Anakin Skywalker ultimately was not strong-minded. His emotions allowed him to be easily subjugated. How could someone so mercurial hope to use the Force well enough to threaten the Light Side?
I'd prefer it if there were no sides of the Force, if instead it was naturally created and benevolent, with the Light Side attempting to follow its nature and the Dark Side attempting to bend it to their will. Strong, driven personalities like Palpatine can use the Force this way, but it resists them, over time withering them physically. This depiction of the Force explains Palpatine's decaying appearance and Darth Vader's need for an oxygen machine without any reference to Episodes 1–3.
By contrast, following the natural flow of the Force prolongs life, such as Yoda's nine hundred years.
This is by no means official doctrine on the Force, but it makes more sense to me than what's been depicted in the movies. Your thoughts?
Home for Christmas
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 6:00 A.M.
Returned from our Orlando vacation earlier this month, my brother, mom, and I are home for Christmas while the extended family is celebrating in Florida. Not bad considering it hasn't snowed here to wreak havoc on driving and sometimes you don't want to do weeks of work for one or two days of enjoyment. This will be a real opportunity to rest for the most part. Holidays are about that, too, after all.
I hope you are finishing the year just as well.
I hope you are finishing the year just as well.
Monday, December 21, 2015
At The Five-Two: Rachel Lynn McGuire
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 12:10 A.M.
Rachel Lynn McGuire returns with a reflection on the recent terrorist bombings in Paris:
Subscribe to Channel Five-Two for first view of new videos.
Rachel Lynn McGuire returns with a reflection on the recent terrorist bombings in Paris:
Subscribe to Channel Five-Two for first view of new videos.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Star Wars Episode 7 Spoiler-Free Postgame
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 1:30 A.M.
Back from the aforementioned 10:30 P.M. showing, I'm happy to say Episode 7 harked back to what I love about Episodes 4–6 and introduced intriguing new heroes who won me over easily. I hesitate to judge the villains, not knowing how much of their backgrounds and development was held back for the rest of the trilogy.
The older I get, the more I ask, "Is pre-ordering tickets for opening night and waiting in line for hours worth it?" For Episode 7 and at least 8, my answer is, "Yes."
Back from the aforementioned 10:30 P.M. showing, I'm happy to say Episode 7 harked back to what I love about Episodes 4–6 and introduced intriguing new heroes who won me over easily. I hesitate to judge the villains, not knowing how much of their backgrounds and development was held back for the rest of the trilogy.
The older I get, the more I ask, "Is pre-ordering tickets for opening night and waiting in line for hours worth it?" For Episode 7 and at least 8, my answer is, "Yes."
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Star Wars Episode 7 Pregame
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 6:00 A.M.
Eleven friends and I are seeing The Force Awakens tonight at 10:30. John Ricotta and I are arriving three hours early, anticipating a long line going into the auditorium. Hard as it is to believe now, we prepared the same way for Episodes 1–3.
As disappointed as I was in those movies, I'm not as excited for Episode 7. As a forty-something adult, how can I have the same sense of wonder I had when I saw the original trilogy in the late 1980s? (I didn't have a VCR or cable TV, so I had to wait for broadcast.) I don't have the same sense of wonder I did even when I saw the prequels.
I'm far from the biggest Star Wars fan, but the saga remains special to me. The basic story was about a character who yearned for more in life but didn't know how to achieve it, perhaps didn't believe he could. Yet, by Episode 6, the boy had matured and accomplished more than he ever dreamed.
Before the mention of midichlorians, the Force to me represented the power of belief, not that I could move things with my mind, but that I could work around any physical limitation if I stayed positive and open to solutions other people might not see.
Here's hoping Episode 7 delivers a similar message.
Read my spoiler-free reaction.
Eleven friends and I are seeing The Force Awakens tonight at 10:30. John Ricotta and I are arriving three hours early, anticipating a long line going into the auditorium. Hard as it is to believe now, we prepared the same way for Episodes 1–3.
As disappointed as I was in those movies, I'm not as excited for Episode 7. As a forty-something adult, how can I have the same sense of wonder I had when I saw the original trilogy in the late 1980s? (I didn't have a VCR or cable TV, so I had to wait for broadcast.) I don't have the same sense of wonder I did even when I saw the prequels.
I'm far from the biggest Star Wars fan, but the saga remains special to me. The basic story was about a character who yearned for more in life but didn't know how to achieve it, perhaps didn't believe he could. Yet, by Episode 6, the boy had matured and accomplished more than he ever dreamed.
Before the mention of midichlorians, the Force to me represented the power of belief, not that I could move things with my mind, but that I could work around any physical limitation if I stayed positive and open to solutions other people might not see.
Here's hoping Episode 7 delivers a similar message.
Read my spoiler-free reaction.
Monday, December 07, 2015
Time-In
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 7:00 A.M.
I'm back from a week in Orlando plus two travel days. Unlike past vacations, thanks to my Kindle Fire HD7, I was able to keep up with emails. Not to worry; I still had fun and some great food, including the incomparable Hot Krust Panini Kitchen (Pancetta Shrimp!), a Sriracha Beef sandwich at Firehouse Subs, and biscuits and boneless chicken from a Bojangles' near a gas station in North Carolina.
To break up the eating, loafing, and car time, my brother and I tried WonderWorks Orlando. Thankfully we didn't loose our lunches on the mini-thrill rides, and I beat the day's top score on a TV theme trivia game. My work here is done.
I'm back from a week in Orlando plus two travel days. Unlike past vacations, thanks to my Kindle Fire HD7, I was able to keep up with emails. Not to worry; I still had fun and some great food, including the incomparable Hot Krust Panini Kitchen (Pancetta Shrimp!), a Sriracha Beef sandwich at Firehouse Subs, and biscuits and boneless chicken from a Bojangles' near a gas station in North Carolina.
To break up the eating, loafing, and car time, my brother and I tried WonderWorks Orlando. Thankfully we didn't loose our lunches on the mini-thrill rides, and I beat the day's top score on a TV theme trivia game. My work here is done.
At The Five-Two: Olivia Romano
© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 12:30 A.M.
This week, New York City poet Olivia Romano:
Subscribe to Channel Five-Two for first view of new videos.
This week, New York City poet Olivia Romano:
Subscribe to Channel Five-Two for first view of new videos.
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