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| Holy shit. Literally. The Quran is the greatest feat in written history. Period. If you’ve been previously turned away from monotheistic religion due to the Judeo-Christian faith, then reading the Quran may scare you. Why? Because it just might make you think that there just might be some all-knowing, enigmatic power out there. I’m not here to make anyone a convert nor to even talk about Islam itself, but to discuss and explain a book that is widely unknown and sometimes feared with xenophobia the West. There is a shroud of mystery that surrounds this book. Everything from the irregular order of the book’s content, to the mystical chapter names, to the hidden meanings of some of the passages, to the deep poetic prose. The Quran is what it is, sitting there in front of you as if to be quietly waiting to say “I told you so” some day. In other words, the text of the Quran really sounds divine.
This certainly is no Bible, which unlike the Bible, wasn’t even a book to begin with. “Al-Qur’an” means “The Recitation”. The words you read in the Quran are the words the Angel Gabriel dictated to Muhammad, an Arabian merchant who became the prophet of Islam. Being an illiterate who couldn’t read nor write, Muhammad recited each new revelation that came to him, gradually adding to the whole recitation. This went on for 23 years, from 610 to 633 AD. After Muhammad died, all the recitations were collected orally and written down into the book form we all know today. The fact that over one billion people adhere to the Quran today is the miracle of Muhammad’s legacy. Could Muhammad have made all these revelations up? Possibly. But it would’ve been quite a feat for an uneducated merchant to make up something like this. Read on. Unlike the Bible which is a collection of stories and fables, the Quran is about laying down the law. It holds nothing back and doesn’t dwell on narrative. The Quran seems to have 3 main purposes: 1) to establish once and for all that there is only one God, 2) to give guidelines to mankind in leading a proper life, and 3) to correct the previous wrongdoings of Jews, Christians, and nonbelievers. It is the only scripture that deals with human affairs specifically and minutely, and it is extraordinarily in-depth and vast. It outlines rules, codes, and suggestions pertaining to justice, war, ethics, marriage, and many other areas of life. It also reminds readers of the REAL legacy of previous prophets (Moses, Jesus, etc), totally deconstructing the traditional Biblical narratives. If you've been brought up by the Biblical text, the "corrections" in the Quran will alarm you.
The Quran does not condone alcohol, gambling, the consumption of unclean meat, for women to expose their bodies in public, to name a few. Sound oppressive? To the common Westerner, definitely. But whatever is forbidden in the Quran is done for the best interest of human life. If we really take a look at our society today, we can see why these things would not be encouraged. Nobody likes being brought down by rules, but the laws in the Quran are so well mapped-out and balanced that it’s like it’s its own self-sustaining judge and jury. It would take me forever to explain it in detail. One striking thing about the Quran is its scientific revelations. A few of the revelations speak about cells, sperm, and clots. The Quran also mentions that the Earth revolves in orbit around the Sun, that the Earth is round, and that the Earth spins on an axis. This is centuries before Copernicus and Galileo. The Quran outlines human rights too. It is the first scripture to basically say that women are equal to men, and that slaves are equal to their masters. It also outlines what it right and wrong when two sides are at war, laying down laws over a millennium before the Geneva Conventions. There is no way I will be able to talk everything I want to about the Quran here. There is so much about it to cover that it deserves to be discussed orally. I’m free and open to talk to anybody about it or to answer questions. | | |
| Has anybody today really wondered why today's video games suck?
Video games are losing the depth and soul they once had, and this is due to
developers creating games based on public thought rather than hitting the public upside the head with no-nonsense titles. And as a result, people today are getting the wrong idea about what makes a great
game. Seriously, if you're someone who thinks that graphics, cinematics, music,
or story makes a good game, you're contributing to this current massive pool of crappy titles. Today's kids are spoiled by fancy 3D graphics, which is why nobody knows what's a good game anymore. Sorry to say, but 3D is the most overrated, most overdone thing being done in video games today. The overuse of 3D is dumbing down the quality of games the same way the overuse of CG is ruining today's movies. Haven't you noticed that most 3D games are relatively shallow in gameplay? Long gone are the days when 2D masterpieces like Contra, R-Type, and Mega Man were fun, deep, and challenging. And they had soul too. Nowadays gameplay has to take a back step in place of looks and aesthetics. Thus, today's market is saturated with generic 3D platformers, FPS, and sports games. BORING. I don't even think 3D looks all that great. In fact, a lot of it is
ugly. Slow, uninspired characters in large, uninteractive, lifeless worlds. 2D games are works of art, especially when the game is in full
swing (just check out footage of the SNES masterpiece Space Megaforce).
Another gripe I have about the current market is how developers almost always have to make a movie out of the game. Many times I have heard people rave about how good a game is because they liked the story. I could go on about how much that grinds my gears, but all I'll say is this: liking the story over the gameplay in a game is like liking the models over the cars at a car show. It's there for extra attraction, but has nothing to do with how good it is. I mean, why bother with a game that's fun when you could just read text and listen to voice-acting all day?
Today's video game reviewers are just as worse as players. Steer clear from the
"experts" at publications like IGN. Who has the time (or brains) to
read a five page review on one video game? And most of the content gushes on
about irrelevant things in the game. Huge paragraphs are dedicated to like how
the game looks and sounds. WHY? If you have to resort to about how great a game looks or sounds to justify its shallow gameplay, something is wrong. Not only does IGN torture readers with thousands of words in a review, but they also tack on thousands of screenshots of the game. Yea, great idea. Like I have the time or energy to browse through hundreds of screenshot links to give me the feel of the game.
It's time to get back to the basics. I believe the Wii and DS are heading things in the right direction with healthy play-oriented titles. I also like the Xbox 360 with its impressive diversity. To add to those, the Wii Virtual Console and the Xbox Live Arcade are godsends to those who want to replay (or perhaps visit for the first time) the great classics. Some may be wondering if there are any modern 3D titles out there that I think that are good. Of course there are. Here's my recommendations:
- Shinobi (PS2)
- F-Zero GX (GC)
- Chibi-Robo (GC)
- Pikmin (GC)
- Yakuza (PS2)
- Ninja Gaiden Black (XB)
- Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)
- Dragon Quest VIII (PS2)
- Devil May Cry 3 (PS2)
- ICO (PS2)
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| Today's second ranting: Morons and music
About a month ago I got into a heated argument with this asshole on YouTube who trolled onto a Cream board and starting ripping on their music. He called the music "sewage", "hellish screaming", and "tuneless" while other artists from the 60's made "beautiful music". He also referred to Jazz as tuneless. This set me off, as with other people, so when asked what music he thinks is good, he cited stuff like Phil Spector and Paul McCartney. Oh boy, why am I not surprised? You go onto a board about a Jazz-Rock fusion band only to attack the music in support of fluffy pop songwriters.
Typical bullshit. Like many other close-minded, unadventurous assholes of today, this guy (who happened to be around 50 years old) thinks the only good possible kind of music is the kind where 1) it has a tune you can hum or sing along to, and/or 2) it has a basic pop structure that can be followed.
With that said, allow me to lay down the hammer of sense and enlightenment here...
Why is it that people think the only good music out there is music with a "tune"? I'll tell you why: because everybody today is brainwashed by the music industry. By the radio. By television. The whole she-bang. And if you're one of these people who thinks this way, then you're an asshole. Take a look at all the kinds of music that has existed in history: Traditional folk (ie: African, Indian, Middle-Eastern, etc), Classical, Opera, Impressionist, Jazz, Minimalism. The typical moron would call them "tuneless", but how come they've lasted so long? Because there wasn't a MUSIC INDUSTRY that existed yet to tell people what is good music and what is not. Notice that the pop song rose in popularity because of the industry. In fact, the pop song is a byproduct of the music industry; it's the one genre that can generate millions of dollars, which come from you suckers. Thus today we have a bunch of morons who have attention spans so short for any worthwhile music that they can't tolerate anything other than what's played on the mainstream airwaves.
Another thing that is lame is how people start these silly genre factions. These create musical alliances that trigger snapping back and forth between opposing musical tastes, ie: "Rock forever, Rap sucks!" ENOUGH ALREADY. Nobody cares what you like. In turn, nobody cares what you don't like. Any way you spin it, IT DOESN'T MATTER. The problem is that people are always using music as an extension of themselves. Just because you listen to a certain brand of music doesn't give you the right to start dressing and acting like the style suggests. If you listen to rap and feel the need to start talking and dressing like your favorite rapper, then you're permanently a dumbass. You're just a LISTENER, you're not a gangsta, a punk, a diva, or a celebrity of any kind.
I do not hate pop music. In fact, I don't passionately hate any genre. I just wish that asshole on YouTube would get some brains and some objectivity, just like many other people today. If you can't get past the images, if you can't get past any preconceptions, if you can't develop any personal objectivity, then you shouldn't be considering yourself a fan of music at all.
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| Today's first ranting: People and their shallow agendas
Am I the only one that thinks that the world revolves around relationships way too much? That it's eating away at our society? That it's brainwashing our generation? The world has ENOUGH redundant movies and music about love and romance taking a stranglehold over our population. Very few forms of media today even tackle the subject in an original way. Want some original "relationship" movies? Indulge your eye sockets with Mulholland Drive or Old Boy.
We live in a society full of scavenger hunters looking for personal gain. So many people today say they NEED to be in a relationship. Need a relationship? For WHAT reason exactly? To satisfy their own shallow agendas? Most people like this don't even view the opposite sex as people, but rather as personal gains to satisfy their own aims: to simply not be single. "A relationship is so cute and magical, I need it!" Please. Maybe if you people would turn off the shitty movies and music for once and get yourself a personality, you wouldn't be so idealistic. Get yourself some better influences too, if you can even manage to do that. People are killing themselves and ruining other peoples' lives over this "hopeless romantic" crap. What is wrong with the world?
Another thing I've never understood since I was a kid was people falling in love with celebrities. Just the complete utter lameness of it makes my skin crawl. I remember getting asked all the time "who (of these celebrities) do you think is hot?" as if my opinion would even matter in the context of the universe. I've noticed most of the people that have asked me this are either 1) suckers, 2) deprived of any personality, or 3) just plain boring. GET A LIFE. What's the point in "loving" a superstar you don't even personally know? Does anyone even stop to think what kind of person he/she might be in real life, or does everybody just get suckered by their groomed image on television? Many hotshot producers out there (who probably majored in something lame like Management in college) are laughing all the way to the bank with the millions of dollars you drooling fans are pouring in for them. Who wins at the end?
While on the subject of celebrities, what I can't stand is when people cite certain movies as their favorite just because some actor or actress they like is starring in it. Well I guess intelligent thinking and objectivity is out the window for this society. It makes me want to go on a bazooka rampage. Why don't you people get minds of your own instead of being industry pawns? Nobody in their right mind would like something if it sucked bigtime. A shitty movie is a shitty movie, and you just look like a zombie fanatic moron by citing any crapfest that "your" celebrity is in. Sure anyone could say "to each his own". Who cares? I still have an opinion, and my opinion is that your opinions and your tastes suck.
All this crap is accumulating to our throats creating a nation full of dumbasses. Civilization is over (again).
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| Today's ranting: The absolute worst TV shows ever
- Friends
- Dawson's Creek
- The 700 Club
- Full House
- Boy Meets World
- Will & Grace
- Seventh Heaven
- The Brady Bunch
- TRL
- Spongebob Squarepants
- Laguna Beach
- The Real World
- Passions
- Dharma & Greg
- Beevis & Butthead
- The Jerry Springer Show
- The Bachelor/Bachelorette
- Barney and Friends
- America's Funniest Home Videos
- Zoom
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- The Beverly Hillbillies
- The Days of Our Lives
I know there are dozens more, but this will do for now.
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