I met a man the other day coming from the other way.
In a voice that wasn't nice, I tried to give him my advice.
"Good sir," said I to fix his plight, "the way you're going isn't right."
He smugly grinned and waved his hand and bid me turn and join his band.
The nerve of him to think me wrong, when thus far I'd journeyed long
Down this road of sweat and tears, failed hope and realized fears.
I shared with him my trail of woe and what would happen should he go
Back the path whence I had walked. Yet, how he argued, fought, and balked!
In the end though we fought long and I was right and he was wrong,
He thought I was out of line so he went his way. I went mine.
When within me cooled the righteous fire I had kindled in my ire,
I thought perhaps I'd been unkind to this poor man I'd left behind
For though he was a stupid clod, I was traveling ground he'd trod.
January 31, 2011
January 30, 2011
TRON: Legacy - Yet Again
My previous to posts covering the movie TRON: Legacy may have been a bit unfair.[1][2] Having not yet digested the backlash of disappointment, I was eager to condemn its every facet. Now, having absorbed that crushing blow of having waited 20+ years for a sequel only to be let down, I've decided to append to my observations of the movie's religious references.
It wasn't necessarily complete sacrilege.
The first movie revealed the inner world of Encom's network and the programs that lived there. They were bound by the Master Control Program. Flynn's arrival from the realm of the creators mirrored the story of Christ coming into our world. He broke the power of Satan (MCP) and returned to Heaven. Great story. A story most of us not only know and love but love to see played out in allegories like TRON.
Given that, TRON: Legacy could reflect our world after Christ's departure. Flynn came back into the world and lived with the programs. He had chosen special programs that he intended one day to take back with him. The story centers around one remaining female variant of these marked programs. Flynn has assigned himself as protector of her and has taught her about his world. This could be taken as an allegorical reference the the Holy Spirit—that other comforter mentioned by Jesus upon His departure.
When Flynn's son came into the world, things changed. A young version of Flynn (CLU) gathered his forces for a final battle. How similar is this to end-times when a false Christ will rise and deceive many? Does it also mirror the prophesied battle of Armageddon? Who knows? But it does show that the setting of the movie is not the first coming of Christ, but the second.
In the second coming, the Bible tells us that Christ will come and take His Bride away. His Bride will be pure. His bride will be chosen—marked. After the catching away of His Bride the church, God will bring final and permanent judgment to the world. (How and when depends a lot on your understanding of what is written.)
In the movie, that is exactly what happened.
I love the word obverse. I have flipped the coin labeled TRON: Legacy and seen its obverse. I have seen the Christian perspective that can be found in it. In my first reviews of the religious aspects of the movie, I saw the reverse.
It makes me wonder now, does every story have the seeds of both?
It wasn't necessarily complete sacrilege.
** POSSIBLE SPOILERS **
The first movie revealed the inner world of Encom's network and the programs that lived there. They were bound by the Master Control Program. Flynn's arrival from the realm of the creators mirrored the story of Christ coming into our world. He broke the power of Satan (MCP) and returned to Heaven. Great story. A story most of us not only know and love but love to see played out in allegories like TRON.
Given that, TRON: Legacy could reflect our world after Christ's departure. Flynn came back into the world and lived with the programs. He had chosen special programs that he intended one day to take back with him. The story centers around one remaining female variant of these marked programs. Flynn has assigned himself as protector of her and has taught her about his world. This could be taken as an allegorical reference the the Holy Spirit—that other comforter mentioned by Jesus upon His departure.
When Flynn's son came into the world, things changed. A young version of Flynn (CLU) gathered his forces for a final battle. How similar is this to end-times when a false Christ will rise and deceive many? Does it also mirror the prophesied battle of Armageddon? Who knows? But it does show that the setting of the movie is not the first coming of Christ, but the second.
In the second coming, the Bible tells us that Christ will come and take His Bride away. His Bride will be pure. His bride will be chosen—marked. After the catching away of His Bride the church, God will bring final and permanent judgment to the world. (How and when depends a lot on your understanding of what is written.)
In the movie, that is exactly what happened.
I love the word obverse. I have flipped the coin labeled TRON: Legacy and seen its obverse. I have seen the Christian perspective that can be found in it. In my first reviews of the religious aspects of the movie, I saw the reverse.
It makes me wonder now, does every story have the seeds of both?
January 29, 2011
Advice to Computer Users
My cousin's computer was recently infected by Koobface. Her system is now down and unusable until we can find a trustworthy source for removing it.
Some time ago, a company with which I worked was hacked through a phishing scam. This event cost them about $750K in actual banked money. Beyond that, they lost about a week of productivity from their accounting, legal, and IT support staff.
Both of these events could have been avoided by following a two simple rules when surfing the Internet:
Added Cautionary Warnings
Unsolicited messages are messages that you receive by e-mail, twitter, chat, or any other form of Internet communication. Chat can be on Facebook, AOL, Microsoft Live, Skype, etc. Messages can come through your social network sites as well. These messages can appear to be from friends, from your bank, from some service you use on the web; they can come from sources that appear trusted. They might ask you to click a link to go verify your account. They might ask you to watch a video. They might appear very professional or very personal. Resist the urge to trust them.
Relax
So what if your friend really does want to send you a link to a video with you in it? What if your back really does have a problem with your account? Following that above advice to the letter will cause you to miss it. There are never exceptions. Follow the advice. But, if you get a message from a professional organization, call them. If they're not a brick & mortar organization, navigate to the website directly, using the links that you normally use and not the links in the e-mail. You will most likely find that there is no problem. If the message is from a friend, send a separate e-mail back. (Don't reply to the message or send a copy of the link!) Ask if they sent you a link. If they don't respond, or if they say they didn't, then delete the message. If it came in chat, strike up a conversation, ask them to send it to you via e-mail.
Pop Ups
Use your judgement here. Some pop ups are not only fine, but they are required. (It annoys me when a professional website requires them, but it happens.) Use careful judgment. When in doubt, don't allow the Pop Up. If you are ever told in a Pop Up that you might be infected with a virus, do not click anything on the window. Look at the task bar. You should see an icon related to that window. Right click on it and select close.
There is so much more I wish I could tell you. Maybe I will over time. For now, just follow this advice and you will avoid most problems. Every blogger should have a post like this or a link to a post like this.
Some time ago, a company with which I worked was hacked through a phishing scam. This event cost them about $750K in actual banked money. Beyond that, they lost about a week of productivity from their accounting, legal, and IT support staff.
Both of these events could have been avoided by following a two simple rules when surfing the Internet:
- Never click on links in unsolicited messages from anyone.
- Never click on pop-ups.
Added Cautionary Warnings
Unsolicited messages are messages that you receive by e-mail, twitter, chat, or any other form of Internet communication. Chat can be on Facebook, AOL, Microsoft Live, Skype, etc. Messages can come through your social network sites as well. These messages can appear to be from friends, from your bank, from some service you use on the web; they can come from sources that appear trusted. They might ask you to click a link to go verify your account. They might ask you to watch a video. They might appear very professional or very personal. Resist the urge to trust them.
Relax
So what if your friend really does want to send you a link to a video with you in it? What if your back really does have a problem with your account? Following that above advice to the letter will cause you to miss it. There are never exceptions. Follow the advice. But, if you get a message from a professional organization, call them. If they're not a brick & mortar organization, navigate to the website directly, using the links that you normally use and not the links in the e-mail. You will most likely find that there is no problem. If the message is from a friend, send a separate e-mail back. (Don't reply to the message or send a copy of the link!) Ask if they sent you a link. If they don't respond, or if they say they didn't, then delete the message. If it came in chat, strike up a conversation, ask them to send it to you via e-mail.
Pop Ups
Use your judgement here. Some pop ups are not only fine, but they are required. (It annoys me when a professional website requires them, but it happens.) Use careful judgment. When in doubt, don't allow the Pop Up. If you are ever told in a Pop Up that you might be infected with a virus, do not click anything on the window. Look at the task bar. You should see an icon related to that window. Right click on it and select close.
There is so much more I wish I could tell you. Maybe I will over time. For now, just follow this advice and you will avoid most problems. Every blogger should have a post like this or a link to a post like this.
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