In music class today we watched the movie Moulin Rouge, a movie I've never seen before which is something I regret. To put it simply: I found this movie to be excellent! It was just so cliché in so many ways, yet very tastefully done. Naturally, without an excellent soundtrack this movie would be nothing, but Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor are what really brought this movie to life with their spectacular singing and great acting. In a way, it's kind of depressing watch the romance between their characters develop since it's straight out stated in the beginning of the movie that Satine is going to die, but perhaps that just strengthens the emotional effect this movie had on me. Certain scenes dragged on a bit too long for my tastes and as much as I liked the film, the ending was a slight disappointment. My emotional response to this would have been so much stronger if in the end, Christian would have been left in doubt about whether or not Satine really did love him. As the plot was nearing the climax, I actually had hope for such an ending, but they had to "ruin" (ruin in quotation marks because the real ending isn't bad either) the ending for me.
A movie about a young man seeking for love and finding it, only to have the woman he loves die: it's a truly heartbreaking story and although such a plot would be pretty hard to completely screw up, Moulin Rouge exceeded all my expectations. I don't really watch many movies, but there are certainly worse ways to spend two hours than watching Moulin Rouge, especially if you haven't seen it before.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Back to school and other stuff
The summer holidays are officially over for me. Now I have all of high school ahead of me. Not much happened today. The tutors showed us the school (though having gone to junior high in the same building, the tour wasn't very informative for me) and we got our schedule. Apart from that, all we did was play some bizarre games with the tutors. I can't say much about my new class yet, but they seem to be generally nice people.
And now for something completely different. I'm sure most of us have had trouble sleeping every now and then. Surely you recognize the feeling of lying in bed trying to fall asleep, but you just can't because of all the thoughts going through your head. Sometimes they might be important matters, other times so trivial you can't even remember what it was that kept you awake for so long. The latter is what happened to me last night. Now, you might be thinking it's just because I was going to start high school the next day, but I'm fairly certain that isn't it. I admit I can't remember what it was that was bothering me last night, but I really don't think that was it. I also woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble getting to sleep again and I know that time school was the last thing on my mind. All I really cared about then was falling asleep. That's about it for this blog post, I suppose. I guess what I wanted to say was that even a mild case of insomnia can be very annoying. I'm definitely going to bed early today.
Over and out.
And now for something completely different. I'm sure most of us have had trouble sleeping every now and then. Surely you recognize the feeling of lying in bed trying to fall asleep, but you just can't because of all the thoughts going through your head. Sometimes they might be important matters, other times so trivial you can't even remember what it was that kept you awake for so long. The latter is what happened to me last night. Now, you might be thinking it's just because I was going to start high school the next day, but I'm fairly certain that isn't it. I admit I can't remember what it was that was bothering me last night, but I really don't think that was it. I also woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble getting to sleep again and I know that time school was the last thing on my mind. All I really cared about then was falling asleep. That's about it for this blog post, I suppose. I guess what I wanted to say was that even a mild case of insomnia can be very annoying. I'm definitely going to bed early today.
Over and out.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The bizarre workings of the mind
If there's one thing that's always intrigued me, it's the human brain, and more specifically, the most astonishing product of the said organ: the human mind. There's always been a little scientist inside me, so to say. I was always (and still am) eager to find out more about the world around us, but also what goes on inside our heads. You also can't blame me for having a bad imagination: as a child, I'd often transport myself to a completely different world in my head and admittedly, I still sometimes do, particularly if I can't seem to fall asleep. Nowadays, I often ponder philosophical matters. As much as I enjoy learning more about our objective reality, subjective matters are just as important, if not more so. I've always had strong opinions about things, but I'm not blindly defending my stances. I've often been forced to change my stance on matters I first found obvious before realizing I hadn't really given those things much thought.
As much as these things interest me, there's always the adventurer inside me, which brings me to the real topic of this post: dreams. Dreams have always fascinated me. To think that our brain can create whole worlds inside our head - worlds with their own laws and places; it's truly astounding. Though dreams are but a figment of our imagination, the sensations we feel in them are real as anyone who's had a really terrifying nightmare can probably tell you. Dreams are our own little playgrounds were literally anything can happen. I've been on an interdimensional roller coaster ride, gone down with a sinking ship, fought of mummies in a fantasy world, been stuck in the middle of the desert in a fly suit, met giant chickens in business suits and eaten so many buns (it's this sweet kind of bun which is a traditional Finnish pastry) that I woke up feeling physically sick, all inside my head and it all felt as if I really was there. Some of these things are from years back, yet I still remember them as vividly as any memory of my waking life. It's a shame that the majority of people don't remember most of their dreams, including me, but I've noticed that the more attention you give to your dreams, the better you'll remember them.
As some people who know me might know, I've been really into lucid dreaming for a while. For those who don't know a lucid dream is a dream in which you are aware of the fact that you're dreaming. (not necessarily in control - control and awareness do not go hand in hand, unfortunately) A few days ago, I got interested in the subject again and tonight, I had my first lucid dream in 4 or 5 months, which inspired me to practice my dream recall again and to try achieving more lucid dreams. There are various techniques people use to improve their chances of becoming lucid, the one which I use (I generally stay away from using these techniques as for me, most of them just seem like a waste of time) is basically about noticing the brief wake up between each dream and staying aware during the time it takes to enter the next dream. This is exactly what I did last night. I dreamed about being in a forest with my dog. She went after a bear with a stylish hat and a suitcase and as I tried to call her back so she wouldn't get hurt, I realized how absurd the situation was and just then, the dream ended and I "woke up" in my bed.
Basically what happened after that was that I jumped down from our balcony, onto the stone wall separating our backyard from the street and down from there and after that, I did one of the most fascinating things I've ever done in a lucid dream: I summoned a thunderstorm. I simply did a sweeping motion with my hand stretched toward the sky. At first, the clouds actually subsided, revealing the sun, but soon the whole sky was covered with dark clouds and it started to drizzle. After that I tried entering a submarine on the beach, (which I managed to summon because I wanted to go somewhere else) but I woke up.
This has been another look into my bizarre mind. Have a nice day.
As much as these things interest me, there's always the adventurer inside me, which brings me to the real topic of this post: dreams. Dreams have always fascinated me. To think that our brain can create whole worlds inside our head - worlds with their own laws and places; it's truly astounding. Though dreams are but a figment of our imagination, the sensations we feel in them are real as anyone who's had a really terrifying nightmare can probably tell you. Dreams are our own little playgrounds were literally anything can happen. I've been on an interdimensional roller coaster ride, gone down with a sinking ship, fought of mummies in a fantasy world, been stuck in the middle of the desert in a fly suit, met giant chickens in business suits and eaten so many buns (it's this sweet kind of bun which is a traditional Finnish pastry) that I woke up feeling physically sick, all inside my head and it all felt as if I really was there. Some of these things are from years back, yet I still remember them as vividly as any memory of my waking life. It's a shame that the majority of people don't remember most of their dreams, including me, but I've noticed that the more attention you give to your dreams, the better you'll remember them.
As some people who know me might know, I've been really into lucid dreaming for a while. For those who don't know a lucid dream is a dream in which you are aware of the fact that you're dreaming. (not necessarily in control - control and awareness do not go hand in hand, unfortunately) A few days ago, I got interested in the subject again and tonight, I had my first lucid dream in 4 or 5 months, which inspired me to practice my dream recall again and to try achieving more lucid dreams. There are various techniques people use to improve their chances of becoming lucid, the one which I use (I generally stay away from using these techniques as for me, most of them just seem like a waste of time) is basically about noticing the brief wake up between each dream and staying aware during the time it takes to enter the next dream. This is exactly what I did last night. I dreamed about being in a forest with my dog. She went after a bear with a stylish hat and a suitcase and as I tried to call her back so she wouldn't get hurt, I realized how absurd the situation was and just then, the dream ended and I "woke up" in my bed.
Basically what happened after that was that I jumped down from our balcony, onto the stone wall separating our backyard from the street and down from there and after that, I did one of the most fascinating things I've ever done in a lucid dream: I summoned a thunderstorm. I simply did a sweeping motion with my hand stretched toward the sky. At first, the clouds actually subsided, revealing the sun, but soon the whole sky was covered with dark clouds and it started to drizzle. After that I tried entering a submarine on the beach, (which I managed to summon because I wanted to go somewhere else) but I woke up.
This has been another look into my bizarre mind. Have a nice day.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Pseudo philosophical nonsense
I just suddenly felt like writing something on my blog so here I am. I've been intending to actually write here regularly, but that didn't go too well, now did it?
As the title might (or rather, does) imply, I'll be raving about life and the little bumps along the way. It's the summer holidays now and I don't have awfully much to do, but I've been thinking a lot. Thinking is something I do often, even at times I really wished I could stop thinking for a while. Far too often have I lain awake for no reason just thinking of trivial matters or my past mistakes. Sometimes I feel like talking about these things to others, but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? Will someone I talk to about these matters really remember or care in 5 years? Will I? I do not believe anything good can come from dwelling on the past. Looking back, there are things I would have done differently even just a year or two back, but what good does it do to me to ponder what went wrong and how things could have gone better? Surely we can all learn things from our past mistakes, but beyond accepting our past and learning from our mistakes, it does one no good to reflect on those things. Yet, I can't help but to do so, which is the reason I'm writing this blog post. Perhaps now that I can share this with... myself? I can just forget about it.
And on an unrelated sidenote, having a lot of free time, but little to do with it can really dull your mind in certain ways. I live right by the sea with a small forest right next to it and some cliffs with a fantastic view over the ocean behind my house and everything is as beautiful as ever in the summer, yet, I've appreciated all this very little during the summer holiday.
After writing this, I'm already looking forward to writing my next blog post, which I unfortunately won't be able to do until Friday because I'll be at my grandparents' summer place until then (starting from tomorrow) with no internet access. Oh well, such is life.
As the title might (or rather, does) imply, I'll be raving about life and the little bumps along the way. It's the summer holidays now and I don't have awfully much to do, but I've been thinking a lot. Thinking is something I do often, even at times I really wished I could stop thinking for a while. Far too often have I lain awake for no reason just thinking of trivial matters or my past mistakes. Sometimes I feel like talking about these things to others, but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? Will someone I talk to about these matters really remember or care in 5 years? Will I? I do not believe anything good can come from dwelling on the past. Looking back, there are things I would have done differently even just a year or two back, but what good does it do to me to ponder what went wrong and how things could have gone better? Surely we can all learn things from our past mistakes, but beyond accepting our past and learning from our mistakes, it does one no good to reflect on those things. Yet, I can't help but to do so, which is the reason I'm writing this blog post. Perhaps now that I can share this with... myself? I can just forget about it.
And on an unrelated sidenote, having a lot of free time, but little to do with it can really dull your mind in certain ways. I live right by the sea with a small forest right next to it and some cliffs with a fantastic view over the ocean behind my house and everything is as beautiful as ever in the summer, yet, I've appreciated all this very little during the summer holiday.
After writing this, I'm already looking forward to writing my next blog post, which I unfortunately won't be able to do until Friday because I'll be at my grandparents' summer place until then (starting from tomorrow) with no internet access. Oh well, such is life.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Uh, hi?
Hey there, guys and gals - it's Smarties here. I also go by other screen names, but Smarties is the one I prefer, if only because of the story behind it. I'm 16 years old and in typical teenage boy fashion, I enjoy browsing the web, hanging out with friends, all that good stuff. I occasionally enjoy playing video games, though that's mostly to keep me occupied when I have nothing else to do. I enjoy pretty much every genre of music, though I'm rather picky with what songs I like. I don't care about the origin of a song either - why should I care if a song is from a My Little Pony commercial or Teletubbies as long as it makes me feel good?
Enough with introductions, I'll let my blog posts show what kind of person I am.
Enough with introductions, I'll let my blog posts show what kind of person I am.
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