HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Mar. 1, 2006 The good thing about not writing as often is that I can get away with more of these collections of rambles. At my old frantic pace, a good deal of these would expand into their own article. I think I started my last article somewhat like this, so I guess I lose a point for originality ;) I know this is old news by now, but I want to write about it anyway. What exactly is all the fuss about Brokeback Mountain? Why exactly did it embarrass the president when he was asked if he'd seen the movie? What, is he a bigot? Are most social conservatives? It's not enough to judge someone by their ethnicity or their wealth or status or religion, we have to throw sexual practices into the mix? There are gay people. There have always been gay people. There will likely always be gay people, at least for the foreseeable future. Gay people do not reproduce, that is, you can't make gay kids. Homosexuality is found throughout nature. Folks, get over it. Lets not forget that Coretta Scott King spent time and effort fighting this form of discrimination, which as worthy of a fight for equality as any other. I wonder if Bush had that in mind as he spoke at her funeral? "I
still hear people say that I should not be talking
about the rights of
lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue
of racial
justice," she said. "But I hasten to remind them that
Martin Luther
King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.'"
"I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther
King Jr.'s dream to
make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for
lesbian and gay
people"
-- Coretta Scott King
I enjoy quality movies and it seems that this movie might fit that bill, which means that sooner or later, I'll see it. But it's not at the top of my list, to be honest. I don't see it as controversial in the slightest and love stories are a dime a dozen, and difficult to make into quality movies. I'd much rather see, “March of the penguins”, likely the next movie on my list and already overdue to be watched. I love all kinds of documentaries and animal documentaries are among my favorite. The wonderful, “The Blue Planet” series also has a segment about penguins. It's too amazing to be missed - it's utterly incredible what these creatures do to survive. For example, they reside pretty far inland (Antarctica for this type of penguin), so they have to waddle for miles over a frozen wasteland to reach their group when they return from the sea. They have no protection from the relentless wind or cold except each other, so they all stand up close together. Turns are taken – they must each have a turn being the wall and enduring the Antarctic blast. The series included a documentary about what they went through to capture their footage – utterly astounding. Their work paid off. Some of the crew lived in small shacks near polar bears, others spent hours watching the water and then chasing blue whales with ultralight airplanes. Some of the more amazing footage includes the ocean bottoms. There are several ways that life gets by down there besides living near hot thermal vents. There are “lakes” of very salty water under the water. It's very amazing to see, like something right out of a fantasy movie. These areas literally look like under-water lakes, complete with shores, etc. The rich mineral mix around these lakes lets all kinds of life get by. Other creatures just endure the wastes at the bottom, having evolved to rarely encounter food or a member of the opposite sex. Many have sloth-like characteristics, expending a minimum of energy. Many form little communities when manna from heaven, dead whale carcasses for example, drop down from above. Also not to be missed are the killer whales. One segment shows a pod that's learned how to chase seals right up onto the beach. They actually nearly beach themselves to capture their prey. When the seals get caught, their fate is often rather cruel from our point of view, being toyed with and actually batted into the air repeatedly. Another segment shows a mother whale with child attacked by killer whales. The killers relentlessly engage the family over several hours and eventually separate the child from the mother, exhaust it, and then drown it by holding it under the water. It's a good thing that these super intelligent ocean-wolves don't like the taste of human flesh. There's also a cruel and astounding scene featured a small pod of beluga whales trapped under the ice near a small air hole. The ice had become too wide for them to make it out to open sea, so they spent the winter near starvation and under constant attack. A polar bear waits and attacks them as they come up for air. Sometimes, he catches one and often, scars them up pretty bad before they can make it back down. Polar bears are supremely adapted for that kind of cold northern life – they actually risk overheating and sometimes roll around in the snow or swim to cool down. I would love to have this kind of body and treat a snowy ocean the way we treat a sandy tropical beach. It's too bad that global warming is shrinking their habitat. A sign for me of a good documentary is that I learn something totally new and profound. I'd never realized that the ocean is basically a vast desert yet houses, by far, most of the life on Earth, or that there are shrimp living in organized colonies akin to ants, bees and termites, or that every day the oceans witness the largest mass migration of life on the planet, as deep sea critters come near the surface to eat and then sink back down at dawn. ------------ About the author Frederick Smith: I enjoy writing about the positive virtues of humanism - humanists are the good guys. I now have a blog that I will start to increasingly maintain and update. Here is the link: fredsuberview.blogspot.com/ About my personal background and life: I was born, I got some education, worked, ate, and had some kids. It seems I like to write � something that was unknown to me until relatively recently...How's that for detail? ;) Hate mail is welcome unless you are from the Army Of God. Please! It's not that I mind seeing pictures of aborted fetuses in my inbox, but once you've seen one you've pretty much seen them all... Email: dahlek65@gmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
