Seek and Destroy: Thoughts from "Zero Dark Thirty"

The other weekend I was able to finally see Zero Dark Thirty, and I was overall very pleased with it. It found a good balance between action, political thriller, and psychological drama, and I definitely understood the critical acclaim it had been accumulating. However, between the critical reviews, Oscar nominations, and all the like, I don't see much of a point in offering up a detailed review of the film. Instead, I'd like to focus on some of the controversy surrounding the film.

Specifically, I was somewhat surprised to find when reading about the film on Wikipedia after I viewed it that it had ignited a fierce debate in the media as to whether the film directly supported the idea that torture was essential to finding Vin Laden. I suppose I missed the controversy since I was in Europe and my following of the news, especially American issues, is limited to important events, but it was weird to read about that kind of contention after viewing the film.

For those of you who haven't seen it, in particular the movie features a very explicit scene of a detainee being waterboarded for information. It's implicit that information gained from this torture scene did help in some way lead to other bits of intel that eventually led to bin Laden. Opponent of the film claim that this essentially praises such tactics, whereas the filmmakers and its supporters claim it's merely attempting to show the truth behind the decade-long search. Whether it was moral or not, helpful or not, the facts stand that US intelligence operatives used such methods: that is the stance they stand behind. 

I can definitely see both sides of the issue, but can only offer my personal reaction to the movie. I definitely did have a moment earlier on after the scene where I went "well, this guy clearly deserves it, and the torture is bringing results." So yes, for that brief moment you could say I was a proponent of torture. However, as the movie progressed and I analyzed my own thoughts further, I came to the (I think obvious) conclusions: how do you know any answers given are reliable, and how do you determine who "deserves" such treatment? Even in cases where it might be blindingly obvious, by allowing it in certain circumstances, you open up the possibility of it occurring in more ambiguous cases. Essentially it comes back to the cornerstone of our judicial system, the idea of "innocent until proven guilty."

Revivals: Once Again Into the Breach

So, once again, I feel like I'm not writing as much as I would like to be, so I'm attempting (once again) to revive this blog. We'll see how long it lasts this time, but I need something to do other than play videogames and watch shows.

Anyway, I don't know if any of you actually still check this blog: if you do give a shout-out in the comments. Some of it may be getting cross-posted to somewhatunruly.com depending on how publishable it is, but again, we'll see.

Here's to this, then.

-HTMC

Campaign Endings: Faith Vs. Belief

The sudden surge of adrenaline immediately made him sit bolt upright, and it was only after several deep, long breaths that he was able to calm himself. He kept focused on the fact he was no longer in danger, although this was made harder with the constant feelings of peril that had been incessantly gnawing on his consciousness for the past several weeks.

The distant sounds of battle didn't make it easier, either.

He struggled to his feet to change out his sweat-soaked clothes, and tried to rub some feeling back into his clammy skin. Although it was slowly beginning to regain function, his disabled arm made the task more difficult than he was accustomed to. He looked around searchingly for a nurse, but none were within sight: presumably they were all dealing with much more serious cases from the battlefront.

He signed quietly to himself, and collapsed back onto the bed only half-dressed, feeling drained. One of the unexpected downsides of being granted a private room, he supposed. Given the contributions he and his comrades had made, the Queen had ordered the absolute best medical care to deal with his wounds. Wounds that had been serious enough that when he had finally consciously looked at them, he had almost passed out from shock. 

He was grateful, of course, for the attention. He was just still uncertain of whether he deserved them.

The Search Continues On: Blake (Kind of) Makes Another List

So as many of you know, summer for me has consisted of sitting around and not doing a whole lot except watching shows, playing games, and reading. Earlier today I was reminded of this post that I made a bit over a year ago now (as a fun note, my prediction of Pluto being the second manga series I'd own came true). Probably because I had to initially make a list to write that post, since then I have actually been keeping an up-to-date list of everything Japanese I have read or watched. After finishing Soul Eater today, I kind of realized how large this list has grown in the past 13 or so months. What was originally 24 items has now

more than doubled its length to around 54 items, assuming I haven't forgotten anything. So ya, considering I did have things like classes and the occasional social life, way more hours of media consumed than I had consciously realized (considering this doesn't include books and non-Japanese shows...). 

My initial plan was to try and re-do a top ten list, but even just re-glancing at my original list, I realized how ridiculously hard it would be to balance the "classic" top-ten list with new contenders. So rather than attempt this challenge, I have decided to go for the easy-out and just go with a top 10 out of the new items on the list (which starts with Abenobashi on the picture, if you're curious). Here goes nothing.

Book Recommendation! The Long Earth

So essentially I suspect I will be recommending this book to several of you over the course of the next couple days, so rather than type essentially the same thing out multiple times, I figured I'd save time and write it all here.

A couple days ago I started a book I got as a gift (but had I known about it, I probably would have bought it anyway). The book is: