Prescience Isn't A Good Thing.

Anxieties: 1a. painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill.

No, no, I have no foreknowledge of the future. Only a clue, an inkling of it, and I'm not liking it. It is not in my nature policy to take such a pessimistic view of my future (laugh at me, the self-proclaimed optimist, eh?), but I'm worried.

Oh yes, you might be wondering why. Hmm. I too, you know. I have no idea why I am so worried, even though there might be a few reasons. Perhaps it's because the paths I want to take are beyond my reach (Interpretation: Too lofty ambitions), or maybe it's because I don't know the future.

Then again, uncertainty, while unsettling, can be also liberating. You've just got to ride it, like a rollercoaster. Fear turns into, yes, euphoria. And even if part of me says that's crazy, so be it.

I wonder why I'm writing this. Perhaps it's because such things need to be said, once in a while. Pity the person who is unable to voice his thoughts.

A Note: Silence

I'm shifting to another home. What this means is that in my new place, there is no internet as of yet installed. Patience I must have. Perhaps a week or two, and all will be well again. Hopefully.

Animal Farm

It's quite unfortunate (or perhaps, unfortunate of Orwell's success), that such terms as "1984" has been bandied out rather often, and as such has become, for all intents and purposes, a cliche. Nevertheless, his books, while addressing issues that were current to his time, remain surprisingly relevant to this day.

Animal Farm can be described as humorous satire through and through, albeit a very chilling one. While on one hand it's a satirical take on Soviet communism, on another it's principles remain somewhat all-encompassing, making it seemingly describe events taking place even today. At heart is this: A revolution that is proclaimed on certain principles, which are eventually modified and thus replaced by other ones to make way for profits.

One of them goes like this: All animals are equal. Eventually, towards the end of the story, where the pigs (appropriately enough) take full control of the farm (and hog it's profits), an addition is made that totally invalidates the principle: All animal are equal, but some are more equal that others.

It can be said that contemporary readers find it relevant because they read into the text their own context. Which is why some people might find it relevant (depending on which country and which issues surround them) and others not so, an outmoded critique of a long falsified ideology.

Regardless, Orwell's simple yet hard-hitting work is worth a read. And despite being childishly simple, it references issues that even adults find it hard to deal with.

Black Lagoon: The Triviality & Meaning of Endless Gunfights

I've got to admit, being an intelligent person, I do not like to watch unintelligent stuff. Black Lagoon is most decidedly dumber than it admits (and it says it's quite smart, which I disagree). In between the cheeky Sartre and Heidegger references (and I loathe any show who tries to look smart by throwing about "deep terms" and smiling happily, thinking it's "serious"), we have the endless gunfights involving loads of blood (and a fair bit of gratuitous flesh displays) .

Ah, at least it is nihilistic both philosophically and morally.

Well, that's to say that it's consistent. Expect nothing but violence and deaths in between plots involving the mafia, yakuza and what not. (Even then, the plots are just a sideshow.) But I somehow found it entertaining. Yes, I like action. But action alone is all style and no substance. And that's how far the show goes, and that's how far you're gonna enjoy it, if you enjoy these things at all.

Yes, you'll be staring at them guns for quite a bit throughout this anime.

My final assessment would be less bright than my initial ratings (check out my Anime Seen account and the notes). I won't be changing my prior ratings though, I'm satisfied with it on a certain level, but this show does leave a rather unpleasant aftertaste. Yes, the taste of you having watched meaningless trash. For once I feel a sort of moral indignation.

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Note- This review covers both seasons of the anime series, Black Lagoon and Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage.

A Moment of Cynicism, If You'd Please...

A little girl dies and her face is plastered on the front pages of newspapers, proclaiming a terrible tragedy, perpetrated by cruel monsters, complete with graphs on how DNA testing is done or how to keep your child safe (as if we didn't need to know these things until now).

My first reaction when I saw these things was that of...what? I'm not sure. But it was along the lines of: I couldn't care less. Yes, I'm rather apathetic when it comes to these things. Perhaps I should be chit-chatting away about this constantly, considering that this has become a table-topic (quite literally) and people cry at this little girl dying, though they are not even her fifth cousin four times removed.

Alas, such inconsistent behavior is all too common. Quite recently I stumbled into a KFC outlet busy preparing half a thousand pieces of chicken for someone's party or something. The irony is quite evident here:

When one little girl dies, a nation cries. When 16,000 children die everyday from starvation, we happily gobble down 500 pieces of original recipe chicken.

Or as someone noted, oh so truly: "One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic."

That's humanity for you.