Month: December 2022

I first discovered The Princess Bride while I attended college.  I channel surfed during an evening or weekend and ran into the very beginning of the movie.  The dialogue between the boy and grandfather intrigued me.  It has been a genuine pleasure to continue to watch it and quote it over the years; they released the film in 1987.  In fact, I’ll even poke fun at friends who claim that it is overrated.

A few years ago, a friend and I attended an afternoon showing at the theater.  We sat next to a young couple, a little too young.  Overwhelmed by curiosity, I turned to them and asked, “Were you even alive when this movie was released?”  They grinned and responded with, “No, but we were each introduced to the movie by our parents.”  Yes, it is that kind of movie.

Continue reading “Deconstructing the word ‘again’” →

I have a love/hate relationship with movies and shows about the zombie apocalypse.  On one hand, as an engineer the scenarios and situations that the survivors need to overcome fascinate me.  On the other hand, the idea that zombies can continue to function indefinitely is a violation of conservation of energy.  However, there are still a number of the storylines that resonate, so I continue to watch, fully understanding that there’s only so much logic and reasoning that I may use before it all breaks down.  I will give you some advance warning, I will make some references to plotlines in The Walking Dead, though from years past.  Beware of spoilers.

Continue reading “Wisdom from the zombie apocalypse” →

I first learned about the Holocaust in school.  The Japanese invasion of China more deeply impacted my parents, and they held a deep animosity towards Japan; they never mentioned the Holocaust though I’m sure that they were aware of it.  Hearing the details with both scale and severity of the Holocaust remains something that I can scarcely wrap my head around.  However, the callous treatment of the victims amplified the sheer scale of the devastation.  You see pictures of bones piled up to the ceiling of those rooms.  I heard stories of soldiers pulling gold fillings off the skulls in order to pocket a little money.  Similarly, they ransacked the luggage of the dead for any valuables.  The heartless way by which they treated human life, without any iota of dignity, was horrifying.

Of course, these horrific crimes weren’t limited to the Jews in Germany.  They included many other groups that did not align with the Nazi Germany ideology.  Soldiers used badges like pink triangles to distinguish between groups.  Every single detail sends me into despair.  Including the fact that they conducted science experiments on these people.  I have a friend whose mother survived the Holocaust; the idea that either he or his family may simply not exist because they’re part of the wrong group is one that I can’t comprehend.

Continue reading “The genocide movement in the United States” →