Equations of State

The Beautiful Case of Benjamin Button

2009-01-26T20:57:00.016-05:00

Recently, I had the pleasure of watching David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with my blog mate, Traveler (or so he is named for the moment, anyway). Setting aside my personal dislike of Brad Pitt, I must admit that he is deserving of all the credit he receives as an actor. His performance enhanced the superb writing and cinematography of the film, and helped it become one of the best films in recent years.

The story is quite an extraordinary tale of a man named Benjamin who ages in reverse. Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's novella of the same name, it is the story of Benjamin Button, who is as frail as a 90-year old man when he is born, and is apparently afflicted with all the known diseases that ail the aged. However, his cognitive functions and behavioral characteristics evolve chronologically, unlike the anachronistic evolution of his body. The movie follows Benjamin’s journey from birth to death, a bittersweet journey where joy and frustration unite seamlessly.

Benjamin Button is a beautiful film in all aspects: the dialogue flows like velvet, the cinematography dazzles with its panoramic snapshots of time and people, the characters dance and mingle with grace, and of course, the music enfolds it all with its classic melancholy and gossamer elegance. If I become any more specific, I might give it away. You must see for yourself. I highly recommend it.

…Thus Ends the 2008 Elections

2008-11-08T18:59:00.012-05:00

On November 4th, 2008, the citizens of the United States made the decision to elect a biracial person, a historic decision which propelled Barack Obama into the office of the U.S. presidency. Given the political climate, I have always expected this outcome as inevitable, though not without some moments of uncertainty. I was thankful and overjoyed that thought and logic prevailed this time, unlike in elections past. However, Barack Obama's mere 6-point margin of victory gives me pause and causes me to reflect.

Among the 46% or so who have not voted for Barack Obama, there is a small percentage that believed (and still believe!) that Barack Obama is a Muslim and thus this disqualified him to be our leader. (Some theorize that the Muslim allegation was a veil to mask racism, but that is debatable.) Though the media did an adequate job dispelling the rumors, they made virtually no effort to address the blatant bias of these ignorant fools who inhabit the backwaters of America. Only once did a prominent commentator or pundit ask the question that should have been addressed immediately: so what if Obama was a Muslim? The Constitution does not mandate a specific religion for a prospective President; one could be (gasp!) a godless heathen and still run for the presidency.

In a related note, in the 2008 North Carolina senate race, incumbent and now ousted Republican Elizabeth Dole aired an ad in late October, calling her opponent "godless". The ad produced a slew of critics decrying the advertisement as "indecent" and "outrageous" (among other harsh and colorful repudiations). Kay Hagan called it "politics of the worst kind" and vehemently defended her Christian credentials with convincing examples, adding that all Americans "value the role of faith in American life". Politicians' and media's reaction to this incident was incomprehensible. Instead of emphasizing separation of church and state and the Bill of Rights when it comes to religion and government in their discussions, the media helped perpetuate the notion that "godless" is a social epithet. Ironically, Campbell Brown, one of the few voices who spoke out against the overt bias against Obama's supposed Muslim faith, failed this time; she stated that Dole's ad was the ugliest of the 2008 election campaign, but did not raise the key question: so what if Kay Hagan was godless or an atheist? Campbell Brown's rhetoric proves, once again, how atheists continue to be the least trusted and accepted segment of the population.

The fact that one can proudly proclaim that one isn't voting for a candidate because of his or her religion, or that we can convince an electorate to not vote for another candidate by merely calling her "godless", supposes a great deal about the state our nation and how far we need to progress.

McCain's Last Best Hope

2008-10-20T03:01:00.017-04:00

The hypocrisy, prompted in part by sheer panic and desperation, of the McCain camp has been a source of minor annoyance in recent days. With November 4th looming ominously in the horizon, the McCain camp is running out of ideas and out of time. Thus, with all other avenues exhausted, it has come to this: accusing the opponent of being an "evil socialist". (Quasi-socialist government has always appealed to me, actually...but that's a subject deserving of a more expanded post.) In doing so, McCain seems to be the victim of his own senility, something not to be unexpected at his old age. He may have forgotten that he himself "suspended" his campaign to promote a bold, new proposal of his dear President, one which would, essentially, award Secretary of Treasurer Paulson $700 billion of tax payers' money to save private banks. So to accuse Barack Obama's tax plan to relieve poor Americans from paying any payroll taxes (not just income taxes) as being socialist, while promoting the largest socialist initiative in American history, not only makes McCain look like a hypocrite, it also makes one even more painfully aware of McCain's sense of his imminent doom as he clings to his last best hope - playing the socialist card.

Election 2008

2008-10-15T18:14:00.026-04:00

Memories of the 2004 U.S. Presidential race are vague and uninspiring. Several incidents, such as the infamous "Howard Dean Howl" and "I voted for it before I voted against it" idiom of one John Kerry, stand out. Mired in college exams, term papers, and lab reports, perhaps it was a fortunate thing that I had no time to invest heavily in that election; those distractions saved me from wallowing in the crushing disappointment of Kerry's ultimate defeat.

The 2008 Election is a wholly different matter. I began to really follow the election after graduating college in May. By then the primaries were winding down and Barack Obama was on his way to primary victory. Searching for jobs and with time to kill, I began to follow the presidential race devoutly and became a great admirer of Obama: his accomplishments, intellect, and charisma. His sincerity, honesty, and deep desire to alter the direction of this country is palpable. During this election, a series of "firsts" occurred: I volunteered for the campaign and canvassed to register voters, donated to his campaign, affixed bumper stickers and car magnets wherever possible, and annoyed friends and family about voting.

John McCain, whom I had admired in the past due to his moderate stances, has transfigured himself into the typical fear-mongering neoconservative, waging his wars against the threats of illegal immigrants, “Islamofascists”, homosexuals, pro-choice advocates, Hollywood, the “elite media”, and of course, the liberals. McCain’s visions for America do not deviate from that of Bush’s; the Republican mantras of tax-cuts and deregulation, and their vehement anti-intellectualism, are persistent as ever. My choice is clear.

Fortunately, it seems that the majority (albeit by a very small margin) is agreeing with me, if professional polls are any indications. Hopefully, after tonight’s final debate, those who are still undecided will see the stark differences and choose Barack Obama, as opposed to John McCain and his scatterbrained, bimbo-tastic partner, Sarah Palin.

In Which We Welcome Our Readers

2008-10-14T16:44:00.017-04:00

As an addendum to "Why?", I would like to welcome any readers who may have serendipitously stumbled across this blog.

We will endeavor to update this blog on a regular basis; however, based upon our mood, obligations, and level of interest, "regular basis" may mean multiple posts in a single day or one meager post per week. We will strive to do the former. In this manner, we will post our musings on wide variety of topics, covering the banal to the esoteric. We welcome any feedback and constructive criticisms that you may have.