Friends had told me, "It's the scariest movie I've ever seen."
My sister Haley had said it's "INSANELY scary. You won't sleep the night you see it, guaranteed."
My sister Katie and her husband Clark refused to go see it with me, because, based on what they had heard, it would be too scary for them to handle.
Well, let me play the part of "mythbuster."
'Paranormal Activity' is creepy, intense, and unnerving. But it's definitely not the scariest movie I've seen, and I don't see that many scary movies.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It did spook me somewhat, and I was into it the entire time. And there were a few scenes that made me put my hand over my mouth in fright.
Not to mention, I didn't eat any of my candy.
But the movie was a bit of a letdown, perhaps because my expectations were too high. The plot is too formulaic and predictable.
The main characters, a couple who are "engaged to be engaged," the boyfriend quips, have been hearing strange noises and want to find the cause. The boyfriend buys a nice video camera, and they set it up every night to document what happens.
It starts slowly, with a few creaks here and there. Each night, it gets progressively worse. This is the predictable part.
Now, I don't want to spoil it, so that's all I'll say about the story.
The movie's best feature is definitely the ending. It felt like a punch in the gut and made me feel a bit sick.
Still, I think I'll sleep just fine tonight.
A living formula
If I were to express myself in an equation, I think it would look something like this:
Parker Leavitt = (3x² + 5y³) + (z+t)/e + E^db
Where ...
x = inherited paternal genes,
y = inherited maternal genes,
z = influences from friends and peers,
e = personal experience,
t = education and instruction from teachers and other authority figures,
d = past decisions and their consequences,
E = environment, AND
b = my belief system
Now, that is not, of course, an entirely accurate or comprehensive representation of everything that has made me who I am today. But it's a start.
Do I have a point to all this? I think so.
I was thinking recently: Is it possible that all of one's behavior, choices, opinions and perspective are a direct result of an equation like the one I listed above?
An input is made when something, anything happens. The event is processed through the equation, and the output is the person's reaction.
What do you think? Could a person, theoretically speaking, be reduced to a formula, albeit one much more complex than mine listed above?
Parker Leavitt = (3x² + 5y³) + (z+t)/e + E^db
Where ...
x = inherited paternal genes,
y = inherited maternal genes,
z = influences from friends and peers,
e = personal experience,
t = education and instruction from teachers and other authority figures,
d = past decisions and their consequences,
E = environment, AND
b = my belief system
Now, that is not, of course, an entirely accurate or comprehensive representation of everything that has made me who I am today. But it's a start.
Do I have a point to all this? I think so.
I was thinking recently: Is it possible that all of one's behavior, choices, opinions and perspective are a direct result of an equation like the one I listed above?
An input is made when something, anything happens. The event is processed through the equation, and the output is the person's reaction.
What do you think? Could a person, theoretically speaking, be reduced to a formula, albeit one much more complex than mine listed above?
I am what I am
My roommate, Travis, suggested I take this personality test.
Here are the results:
Your Existing Situation
"Is not making any progress, but unwilling to put any further effort into the situation. Seeking more comfortable conditions where very little is required of him."
Your Stress Sources
Feeling empty and isolated from others and trying to bridge the gap between himself and others.
Wants to live life to the fullest and experience as much as possible. He cannot stand any restrictions or obstacles put in his way and only longs to be free.
Your Restrained Characteristics
Emotionally distant even from those closest to him.
Current situations force him into compromise and placing his own hopes and desires on hold for the time being.
"Insists his hopes and ideas are realistic and achievable, but needs encouragement and support. His self-centeredness can cause him to take things too personally."
Your Desired Objective
Willing to put aside his own ambitions and goals in order to gain the comfort and security he craves and live a low-key life.
Your Actual Problem
"Fights resistance or limitations, and insists he is free to develop in his own way. Rewarded by accomplishing things on his own, with little to no help from others."
Your Actual Problem #2
Is afraid he will be held back from obtaining the things he wants leading him to act out with a hectic intensity.
Not sure how I feel about all of this...
11 reasons I love Arizona
- Blue skies, all the time - In Arizona, it never rains on anyone's parade!
- Gorgeous sunsets - Nature's light show, every evening.
- Winter weather - In January, the average high temperature in Minneapolis is 22 degrees.
- Monsoon storms - Fierce displays of lightning and giant dust clouds. Fear it.
- Mexican food - We outdo even Mexico in this category.
- 22 In-N-Out locations - The best fast food, and Arizona is one of only four states privileged enough to enjoy it.
- Professional sports - Sure, we only have one championship between all four teams, but at least we get to watch good teams when they come here to play us.
- Squaw Peak - Good hike.
- Camelback Mountain - Another good hike.
- First Fridays - Bizarre, eclectic mix of people and art. It works. Really well.
- Light rail - Twenty miles of track, unlimited destinations. Actually, the "unlimited" part isn't really true, but we do have: Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona Science Center, Mill Avenue, Tempe Towne Lake, Chase Field and other nice places to visit, just a train ride away.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
I've started reading 5 Minds for the Future, by Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor and world-renowned intellectual. In the book, he describes five essential "minds," or mental attributes, that will become increasingly valuable as society moves forward. One of these "minds" is respect.
Here's an excerpt:
"Turning to respect, whether I am (or you are) writing, researching, or managing, it is important to avoid stereotyping or caricaturing. I must try to understand other persons on their own terms, make an imaginative leap when necessary, seek to convey my trust in them, and try so far as possible to make common cause with them and to be worthy of their trust.
"This stance does not mean that I ignore my own beliefs, nor that I necessarily accept or pardon all that I encounter. (Respect does not entail a "pass" for terrorists.)
"But I am obliged to make the effort, and not merely to assume that what I had once believed on the basis of scattered impressions is necessarily true. Such humility may in turn engender positive responses in others."
I love this. I believe it. It's something that so many struggle with, but I feel it's one thing that comes naturally to me.
And I loved this part: "I must try to understand other persons on their own terms."
To respect someone does not necessarily mean you honor or revere them. It just means you see them as an equal, as a person, and not as a stereotype or caricature. And it really can make a huge difference in how you see/interact with the world around you.
Here's an excerpt:
"Turning to respect, whether I am (or you are) writing, researching, or managing, it is important to avoid stereotyping or caricaturing. I must try to understand other persons on their own terms, make an imaginative leap when necessary, seek to convey my trust in them, and try so far as possible to make common cause with them and to be worthy of their trust.
"This stance does not mean that I ignore my own beliefs, nor that I necessarily accept or pardon all that I encounter. (Respect does not entail a "pass" for terrorists.)
"But I am obliged to make the effort, and not merely to assume that what I had once believed on the basis of scattered impressions is necessarily true. Such humility may in turn engender positive responses in others."
-Howard Gardner, 5 Minds for the Future
I love this. I believe it. It's something that so many struggle with, but I feel it's one thing that comes naturally to me.
And I loved this part: "I must try to understand other persons on their own terms."
To respect someone does not necessarily mean you honor or revere them. It just means you see them as an equal, as a person, and not as a stereotype or caricature. And it really can make a huge difference in how you see/interact with the world around you.
It's a (really big) small world
Technology has certainly transformed our globe into a smaller world. The Internet has made communication instantaneous, regardless of distance. Airplanes shuttle passengers over mountains and across oceans in mere hours. Social media have created an enormous collective consciousness, where we can remain connected with distant friends and relatives. Mileage, once an enormous barrier to human relationships, is now just a number. Right?Wrong.
I'm grateful for the ability to maintain contact with great friends in Tucson, Utah, California and even Korea. But I'm frustrated by the gigantic gap, the obstacle that distance can be to a friendship/relationship.
When I think of all the people I care about, and how far across the globe they are scattered, I suddenly feel very small. Arizona, a place I love, begins to feel very isolated. I want to see these people, spend quality time with them. But I don't know how to apparate, and I can't find any floo powder.
Anyway, I don't think I've really presented much of a point in this post. I guess I'm just saying that the world, though made much smaller by advances in technology, remains an overwhelmingly enormous place.
And I think I've left pieces of myself all over it.
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