Hope

I’m big fan of storytelling, most of all, the way heroes and villains are so frequently portrayed so obviously. The good guy, usually dressed in white defeats the black evil doer and world peace follows.

Right. That’s great. Good for them.

Sometimes, however, stories manipulate the truth and bad guys can be portrayed as good. I would like to expose one of these sheeps for the wolf that it is. My target is a little thing most of you have heard of called hope.

Hope is not good. It is not your friend. Hope is a wolf, and it will betray you when it starts to get hungry.

Let’s use an example. Lets use Max, the cab driver from the movie ‘Collateral’. For those of you of who haven’t seen it, Max is a cab driver who dreams of owning his own limo company (there’s a part where an assassin by the name of Tom Cruise gets in his back seat but that is irrelevant for this point). He has plans and ideas formulating in his head, talks the talk and walks… oh wait, he doesn’t ‘walk’.

Do you know why? I’ll tell you.

Hope.

He hopes it will happen. He hopes one day his dream will come. With a pinch of irony, the hope we have for something often paralyses us against making it happen. Hope leads to fear that our dreams won’t come true, or be as good. Most of the time people would rather hang on to the hope they have for something than actually try because trying means the image they have in their heads will have to be destroyed.

It’s such a shame because hope is meaningless. Actions count! I understand the comfort hope can bring but unless you try to achieve what you want hope gathers more value than it deserves and becomes a hinderance.

I’m not saying this to be cruel. I’m saying it to give you the motivation to actually chase your dreams and desires. Hopefully at least (I couldn’t resist!)

Heaven on Earth

Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad.
But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue.
David Hume

The new trailer for Devil May Cry 5 is reigniting my love for the series. The mythology and story are so rich that it’s easy to delve completely into it’s world. One my favourite ideas is the outside-in view of mankind portrayed. To me, it feels like seeing the backstage area of the world.

I think that it’s our downfalls and weaknesses are what make us special so, once the veil of romanticism is lifted off of mankind it’s true beauty can show through.

Thoughts on ‘The Hood’

I recently reread ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and I have some thoughts.

Firstly the protagonist, Red Riding Hood. How disappointing she is and certainly not the brightest light bulb in the house if she can’t tell the difference between her grandmother and a four-legged, carnivorous canine. Maybe she should be going to school instead of having picnics in the wood?

As for the wolf. Well foremost, he’s a WOLF! People always seems surprised or disappointed when he tries to eat people. Why? That what wolves do. Would people be surprised to get stung by a bee or wet from the sea? No! Let’s give him some kudos for taking a more sophisticated, strategy all be it not in the most flattering manner.

I do however feel sorry for Grandma, the poor, neglected old lady. I would like to point out though that the wolf getting into her house was the result of negligence on her part, be it, from leaving a window open or answering the door to a wolf so we get an idea of where Little Red gets her wits from.

I want to rectify the Lumberjack myth as well. He’s not a hero. He’s a murderer of the smartest wolf on record and (depending on which version of Riding Hood you subscribe to) possibly a pedophile.

Here At Reading

Frankly, the lateness of this post is an outrage but I was struck by ‘Reading Flu’ for the week and a bit after the festival so it got put on the shelf.

This is just some clever ideas I noticed during the festival that I thought were worth sharing.

This is for ‘bollocks to poverty’ campaign to raise awareness. They were giving out temporary tattoos and had a photobooth, a tent with ping pong and foosball table. I like it that the charity adapted it’s approach for the festival and got people interested using fun. I will believe in the power of fun over guilt when it comes to charity.

How trendy are these? They not only look cool but you can attach it to your ipod and play music out of the speakers. I’m a guy so I can’t wear it but I still think that’s amazingly clever.

This looks good too but that’s not why it’s here. Have you read it? It’s quite possibly the best I have ever heard a bacon bap sound. Seeing this ‘the morning after’ was irresistable. Unfortunately, afterwards you realize it’s still just a bacon bap.

This is just something that caught my eye. I have only seen the atticus bird upside down. I think it’s some form of artistic side emerging, noticing how different things can look when you look at them from a new perspective.

Finally, how about a moment of sympathy for the poor chump who had to film from the top of this enormous crane. Poor little guy!

Why Being A Billionaire Would Suck

Travie McCoy wants to be a billionaire (so frickin’ bad) and I like to play devil’s advocate. What better motivation to write a new post?

This isn’t just a passing thought. This has been on my mind for a while. It’s one of those random things you discuss that everyone seems to have the same opinion on- Yes I would like to be rich. Why?

My first thought is that we associate more with better, so more money means a better life. Not being a fan of groundless rationalities I would like to present some reasons why being a billionaire would suck.

1. Value
All the way down to our subconscious mind we create values for products based on what they cost. That’s why when you eat food from the mini bar it tastes ‘better’ just because we are paying more. Continuing this line of thought, if you were a billionaire even the most expensive meal would be nothing but pocket change meaning, it would taste like a dog’s back on a hot day.

2. Snobs
No-one likes them but the transformation into ‘snobdom’ is unavoidable like sunlight, the aging process or people putting mayonnaise in your sandwich.

3. Work
The simple truth is no billionaire works 9-5. They are either CEO of multinational corporations, in which case they work all, the, time, or, they’re playboys who never really work (they may call themselves socialites). This means either

a) you never see your friends
b) you sit around all day like an old maid, staring to the horizon, waiting for your friends to finish work.

Lame.

4. Trust
Everyone has trust issues. Imagine what would happen if you had a billion reasons for someone to betray you. How would that feel? You wouldn’t trust anyone. Boo Hoo. Much worse than your insecurities is the very real possibility that you are not being paranoid at all. You better believe if there was the possibility of gaining a few million dollars commission, assassins will be lining up left, right and centre to unleash their AK47 at your Armani covered ass.

5. No Restrictions
Not completely unrelated to the first point I suppose but from the other side. We love chocolate because we can’t have it. Cigarettes are desirable (to some (other) people) because they are wrong. We love things that are stupid and ultimately lead to our demise. BIllionaires have no such area. Want to raft down a waterfall of Mediterranean budgies? Easy. Want a playstation 3 that cooks your breakfast with lasers? It is made. There are no limits and with that comes a world with no desire.

So there you have it. A few select reasonings why you are better the way you are. So please, next time you drool over the thought of super wealth, remember how lucky you are to be a broke loser nobody wants to be.