Tag: science

video review : Avatar

video review : Avatar

The war-driven plot may be a racy historical metaphor, but that’s about as far out on an artistic limb James Cameron is willing to go. Everything else about Avatar, his first movie since the great Titanic, is safe and sound, often to the point of being cliché; a fact its surprisingly stodgy dialogue and cartoonish characterization give away right from the beginning.

In a future world where Earth people fly to other places in search of mineral goods, a marine named Jake Sully infiltrates moon Pandora; home of a race of tall blue cat-people with long tails and braided hair. He does so with a team of scientists via the Avatar program, which allows them to live on Pandora as Navi creatures without really being there.

It’s imaginative science fiction and the world of Pandora is a visual wonder. There are strange creatures, big and small, and awe-inspiring landscapes that sort of make you want to visit a place like that in real life. The story; a mythological fairy tale based around eye-rollingly unnecessary themes of religion and romance; never lives up to the hype.

my rating : 3 of 5

2009

video review : Avatar : The Way Of Water
video review : Avatar : Fire And Ash

The Greatest Show On Earth [ The Evidence For Evolution ] ( book ) … Richard Dawkins

The Greatest Show On Earth [ The Evidence For Evolution ] ( book ) ... Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is probably smarter than you, so if you think you were created by a God and prefer truth over ignorance when it comes to your beliefs, you should read this book. What he presents is an alternative and much more realistic theory, one he prematurely refers to as a “fact”, about how humans came into existence. It was a matter of evolution, he insists, inspired by the mind of Charles Darwin, before going on to explain, in clear and interesting detail, how he came to that conclusion.

It’s a convincing argument indeed, one that requires not a hint of faith, but you’ll need to confirm all of his references and perhaps take a trip to the human fossil display of your local museum to fully subscribe to what he’s saying. I don’t, at least not yet, but as far as educated guesses go, I can certainly say, especially after reading this book, that, unlike the bullshit found in The Bible and the fantastical texts of other religions, evolution is a logical theory that comes with plenty of supporting evidence.

my rating : 4 of 5

2009