Moments

Directed by Will Hoffman, this short film is apparently inspired by neuroscientist David Eagleman's new book Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives.

"I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined my street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday." ~ American Beauty

QT Top 20 & Mixtape

In honor of the Inglourious Basterds, I present you with Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 since 1992 (ie. the year Reservoir Dogs came out). And, as a bonus, "The Tarantino Mixtape" by video remix magician Eclectic Method.

Parts Per Million

It's no secret, people love cold hard facts. Scientists can huff and puff about global warming all they want, but it's hard for other people to care about something on such a vast scale if they have nothing for comparison. We can't all go to Antarctica or Greenland and see the ice melting for ourselves. Even if we could, many of us probably wouldn't fully understand, while others would chock it up to a natural phase of weather (ie. interglacial).

Unfortunately for all of us, we've already exceeded the recommended 350 Carbon dioxide parts per million (ppm) that all the experts are getting excited about. Right now, we're hovering around 387 ppm. 350.org seems to be running a successful multimedia campaign to raise awareness, centered around a Global Day of Climate Action on October 24th.

I think it's a great idea to get people organized in their communities. I just have a nagging question in the back of my mind... If 350 is the upper limit, shouldn't we be aiming for something below that?

Hell, I'm moving further inland soon. You coastal people can deal with it.

Secret Of The Easy Yoke

Some part of me likes to think that the greatest time in my life was when I was a Christian. Over the years, I've lamented losing the faith I'd previously built my life around. Recently, though, I realized that the solution is not simply to return to church. Church was never the highlight of my spiritual experience. Church was a lot of somebody else's interpretation of a popular book along with some songs I didn't really like. The highlights were sharing my search for meaning with other people and challenging myself to live by a higher standard of consideration for everyone.

Regardless of how I feel about religions and churches, I'm still not quite sure what to make of the whole god thing. But if there's a song that captures the transitional experience, it's most certainly this one. To paraphrase David, "Well, a lot's changed since I heard this song, but it's an interesting document."