Have I shown you my poster yet? If you know me in life, and have visited my new place, then I certainly must have. I'm pretty proud of it. It's a poster I found while browsing New Line's web site. Apparently, it's available exclusively from the New Line web site. It depicts Sam carrying Frodo up Mount Doom, with fire raining down all about them. At the top of the poster is Sam's quote as excerpted from the movie: "...I can't carry it for you..." For me, the poster depicts one of the most emotionally moving moments in the one of the greatest stories of our time. Furthermore, it reminds me that friendship and companionship can be incredibly powerful forces of humanity, and that it is these forces which constitute the most important aspect of my life.
Okay, I have to say something about the Dalai Lama visiting Canada. Already I'm regretting that I didn't shell out $50 to listen to him speak at the Pacific Colosseum. Sure, the money goes to charitable causes and everything, but I think I have an inherent problem with having to pay for knowledge. Oh well... more on that later. I have a feeling that Buddhism is creeping up on me. I always said that organized religion wasn't for me. But the older I get, the more I feel I have in common with this unique philosophy from across the sea. The whole idea of tolerating people no matter what they believe seems almost contradictory to aims of many other faiths. And of course, Lisa Simpson's arguments were very convincing.
"Say you're sorry..."
"I'm sorry!"
"Say you're very sorry..."
"I'm very sorry!"
"Now MEAN it!"
"Oh GOD, I'm so sorry!"
Members of my geeky group of friends are fond of quoting this scene from the movie Face Off when they feel the need to reference an apology which requires significant emphasis. Such is the case here, since I have not posted anything for nearly an entire month. Pretty sucky, huh?
There are numerous excuses; overall, it has been a month of utter turmoil. Much time was spent and is still being spent working on our new Lord of the Rings chatroom at Outpost 10F, known as Minas Tirith. Then there was the fact that this is one of the busiest times of the year where I work. This was further complicated when the high-traffic line at our workplace went down, preventing us from doing any significant work, and cutting off Outpost 10F and geekman.ca from the rest of the world. The lives of my friends have been in utter turmoil. Action leads to reaction, which necessitates further action, which leads to further reaction. Soon you start to hearken back to that scene in the Matrix Reloaded in which the Merovingian tells us how we are never in control and that choice is an illusion. You begin to wonder if he's right.
Years ago, I discussed a thought experiment with my friend Michelle. I hypothesized that in a vacuum, where every force and variable was accounted for, one could drop an object from a designated height and predict its behavior upon falling. When all the variables are accounted for, the outcome is merely the result of an equation as defined by the laws of physics. If this is so, should this hypothesis not apply to anything and everything? If we knew the exact proportions of energy and matter involved in the creation of the universe, can we not predict the outcome of the entire history of time? Can we not predict where stars will form, how planets are born, how life evolves under those conditions, and how that life behaves? If the path of every sub-atomic particle is mapped out, is the outcome of everything not already determined?
This kind of talk disturbs people like my friend Chris D. Such people who, like Neo, believe almost militantly that everything begins with choice. I find that to be a somewhat narrow viewpoint. I believe that causality and choice can coexist simultaneously, much as light can exist both as a particle and a wave. We can't wrap our minds around it, because we're human and limited.
Right now, I do not feel in control. I can only hope that thing which is a combination of causality and choice, my karma, perhaps, leads in a satisfactory direction.
