a 3 hour tour
Last night I saw Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers with Judy. I give it 37 out of 38.219 specs of lint. (that's a good rating)
I did have some problems with some of the editing decisions. It seems that in the wake of September 11, 2001, the writers and director Peter Jackson decided to change some of the characters and plot devices. Here are some of the more controversial changes:
- changing the name of Mordor (home of Sauron) to "Iraqdor"
- Sauron's name was changed to "Saddam"
- Saruman's name was changed to "Osama-man"
- the CG artists digitally added turbans on each of the 10,000 Uruk Hai heads in the Battle of Helm's Deep
- Gandalf the White was replaced with "George the White" (subtle...)
- the scene with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli raising a large, tattered American flag after the Battle of Helm's Deep
but perhaps the most blatant change was the scene (added in post production) of 19 Orcs hijacking two 767's and dramatically flying them into the Two Towers while aboard a third 767, Harrison Ford successfully defeated the Orc hijackers and landed the jumbo jet at Gondor. Just after the planes hit, there was a cut to a closeup of Frodo (Elijah Wood) shedding a single solitary tear while the reflection of the crumbling towers shown in his digitally-enhanced blue eyes.
I mean, that part just didn't make sense at all. I don't know how the producers got away with such a blatant disregard for the story or setting. But I have to admit, I got a little teary-eyed after the defeat of the taliban Uruk Hai when Aragorn eloquently stated, "The Axis of Evil will never defeat Middle Earth's values of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice under God. We will pursue these evil-doing terrorists to Afghanigard, Iraqdor and wherever their evil network of evil rears it's ugly, evil, Islamic head." as all the Ewoks cheered.
dream
I had a nightmarish sort of dream last night wherein I was a soldier on another planet fighting this swarm-like insect that devoured everything and was impervious to any weapons. And somehow the swarm also manifested itself as an orange cat, but it was a menacing cat. The only way I could escape it was by jumping in the ocean (I can't swim) naked. You had to be naked or else the cat/insect swarm would find you. And at one point the cat jumped in the ocean and was just feet away from me. I couldn't bear to look, but I thought, "that's it. at any moment I'm going to be gobbled up by this ruthless alien, and there's nothing I can do but sit here in the ocean and think happy thoughts." And amazingly, the cat passed by me and devoured my commanding officer instead. But that was a scary moment.
The dream continued for a while....People colonized the planet after the cat/swarm left, but I stayed there and played the role of the paranoid-guy-who-freaks-out-because-he-thinks-the-aliens-are-going-to-return-and-kill-everyone-and-no-one-believes-him. But I think that's what happened. It gets hazy after that.
Usually I have fairly realistic and mundane dreams, so this one was pretty wacky.
I'm Wired
So, I plunked down $600 of my hard-earned moolah to pay for insurance and registration of my car today. It was pretty exciting. Now I can drive around places -- all I need is a destination and a passenger, preferably. I managed to drive to Salem State without dying, so I'm off to a good start. And to ensure my alertness, I downed a regular Double D's coffee on the way back (of course, I had Pink Floyd blaring, which sort of counteracts the coffee). Now I just hope the caffeine wears off so that I can sleep tonight.
I miss Jessika. I don't know what it is about her...she's got a spell on me. Or maybe it's just that she is elusive. I can't read the signs. I hope I'm not confusing "PROCEED WITH CAUTION" with "DO NOT ENTER" or "DEAD END". if that makes sense.
I don't want to get stuck running around a Grecian Urn, but at the same time, I don't want to let such a groovy chica slip away so easily (especially since she's single, for pete's sake!). Anyway, I have to give her those prints eventually, so that'll be fun.
Ack. must sleep.
iiieeeeeeee!
After lots and lots of reading, I can't decide whether I should start a revolution or go hide in a corner. Pursuing the whole secret society/Illuminati thing, I found, among other things, this page which exposes the Freemasons as a Satanic organization bent on ruling the world (or at least the "advanced" Freemasons have that goal). I had known absolutely nothing about their group before today. And man, is it weird...
What's scarier is the connection the Freemasons/Illuminati have to our government. For instance, the symbol on every dollar bill, and the Illuminati-based logo for the newly created Information Awareness Office (whose job it will be to spy on Americans, basically).
Another fishy group that has power in the political, media, and financial worlds is the Council on Foreign Relations, of which nearly all of the U.S. presidents and secretaries of defense have been members since the council was created by none other than members of the Order of Skull and Bones....
Some people claim that the CFR is another offshoot of the Illuminati's with a similar group in the U.K. Indeed, the CFR holds meetings that are "off the record" in which members aren't allowed to reveal the contents to the public. Incidentally, prominent players in the media (Tom Brokaw and Jim Lehrer come to mind) are members of the Council.
Chew on that for a little while. I've got to get some fresh air before there's no more fresh air left!
In Soviet Russia, conspiracy finds YOU!
Wow. I spent much of last night reading about the Bush clan and a secret Yale society called The Order of Skull and Bones. Here is an interesting (though somewhat paranoid) article about the group and its far reaching influence. Some of the most powerful men in this country for the past 200 years or so have been members of this group. George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, and William Howard Taft (apparently a relative of the Bush family) are all members. Not only that -- George W.'s granddaddy, Prescott Bush, along with the Harriman family (also members) controlled banks and investment firms that funded the Nazis throughout WWII and funded the Soviet Communists afterward!
It gets better (or worse)...
The Order of Skull and Bones (which may or may not be an offshoot of the Illuminati group) aims to control both sides of a conflict. Take, for instance, the fact that the Harriman family was responsible for major funding and influence in Bill Clinton's presidential campaign.....
A Google search of this nefarious fraternity leads to all kinds of information (though this is a secret society, so not everything is out in the open).
People have done lots of research, and I'm surprised (maybe I shouldn't be surprised) that so little is made of these connections through history, from opium trading through to the "war on drugs", to banking, oil, the Bush family....wow. incredible.
Here's something to think about: John Kerry, who may become the leading Democratic candidate for president in 2004, is himself a member of the Order of Skull and Bones, class of 1966.......