Always Reforming

My most recent Redbox acquisition was the new sci-fi flick Arrival .  I had heard nothing but rave reviews from critics and friends alike, including my two brothers, so I went in expecting a good film. I was not disappointed.  Here is a smattering of thoughts on Arrival. First of all, this film is slow.  There is little action (like, almost none), so if you're looking for something along the lines of Alien , you'll be disappointed.  If you're looking for something more thought-provoking and intriguing (not that Alien is not those things), something like the first Star Trek film, you'll be pleased.  Perhaps slow is an unfair term to use for such a masterfully directed film.  Like Denis Villeneuve 's (perhaps my favorite up-and-coming director) previous films, Prisoners and  Sicario , this film is not so much slow in the monotonous, uninteresting way, but in that it tells the story deliberately.  Every single angle in the film contributes to advancing the story.

Remember when people used to stay together for the kids?  Yeah, no one does that anymore. Marriages continue to fall apart as often as they stay together.  Commitment seems to be an issue especially for Millennials.  While the divorce rate is actually down for that age group, that's probably because they are waiting longer to get married or are simply not getting married at all.  You don't need scientific studies to realize that there's an issue with marriages these days.  We've probably all seen it: a couple gets married and everything seems great, but, before the couple celebrates their fifth anniversary (or even their first), one spouse tells the other that marriage just isn't for them.  It's depressing to see how many of my friends/acquaintances have gotten married and then separated very soon afterwards.  Sometimes it's the husband.  Sometimes it's the wife.  Sometimes it's mutual. Let me begin by saying that I have personally known people w

I recently shared my thoughts on the Cult of Trump , which I warned was a religious affinity that has the potential to end poorly for freedom-loving folk (the same people who, ironically enough, put him into office). Though I stopped short of predicting that Trump will become a tyrant, I reminded the reader that many of the tyrants of our modern era began their regimes as savior types--revolutionaries who promised to restore and repair a broken land.  Now I'd like to take a look at the psychological issues that underlie that phenomenon. We live in an age where much of the world views freedom as an inalienable right.  Freedom of religion, speech, and self-expression are championed as untouchable, even if  those freedoms are poorly defined and the assurance of those freedoms for some restricts the freedoms of others. We're not as free as we think we are, but we certainly believe in the ideal.  We have this notion that freedom has triumphed over tyranny and that this transition

In 1988 Living Colour released a political commentary entitled " Cult of Personality ."  This catchy tune was a subtle critique of the tendency mankind has to glorify celebrities, especially political and religious personalities (names such as Kennedy, Mussolini, and Gandhi can be heard in the chorus). As I listened to this song in my car yesterday, I was reminded of something I had seen last week. Down the road from where I work there lives a Trump supporter.  In the days before the election he made sure that everyone knew where his alliances lay by putting up multiple Trump signs in his yard. Those signs have since come down, but erected in their place is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.  This gentleman has a tall flagpole in his yard.  That flagpole displays multiple flags that indicate his local and national allegiances.  What, pray tell, do you think sits atop this flagpole?  Yep, a Trump flag.  I was, simply put, flabbergasted. This is certainly an extrem