Saw Zero Dark Thirty, by Kathryn Bigelow.

This movie according to many glorified torture. I wonder if anyone who believes this actually watched the damn movie?

There were torture scenes, and they were horrible. Yes, they are in the movie. These scenes are presented without music, without ornamentation, without many cuts. They are utterly horrifying in their unflinching revelation of the vileness and loathsomeness of torture. Every moment is uncomfortable to watch and is drawn out far too long (for a reason, of course — see above!)

The people who believed these scenes somehow glorify torture — are they psychopaths? There nearly has to be something wrong with them. Only someone not at all connected to humanity in any way could have seen any glorification, any justification, for treating another human being that way as presented by this film. To glorify something is to attempt to give the viewer some sort of thrill, some sort of charge, and if you got either of those things from the scenes in Zero Dark Thirty, then you have far more missing pieces than I do.

The whole fucking point of those scenes is of course that no matter if valid intelligence was gained by such methods, it wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth that. Else why show 10 minutes of torture that seemed like two hours when it all could have been elided over in a 10-second clip?

There is a school of thought that to show something at all is to somehow glorify it. This is a valid argument, sometimes. But the scenes in Zero Dark Thirty probably did more to turn more people against torture than all the congressional reports and CNN newscasts ever did.

Not only are many people wrong about the film, they’d also fail Film 101 were they ever to take the class.

When I was younger, I used to not care much for music like this. Music that celebrated life? Why? My life was pretty harsh. As I’ve gotten older, my life changed, got better; I’ve tried to raise my fists less, put down the saber, back away instead of striking out. I’ve never been a macho guy, defending my honor at all costs, but I’ve always been fearless (some say reckless) and ready for battle. Armor always on, shields always up. Never letting anyone get beyond the titanium veil.

Hard, hard way to live. Sometimes I backslide. But I try to be over that now, beyond that. In some ways, it’s the harder path, defenses down — but it’s far more rewarding in the end.

What I love about Lisa Mitchell is that when she sings, even though she doesn’t have a great voice, all her defenses are down — in those moments, she’s utterly beautiful (and would be even if she weren’t already lovely). Everything is revealed; not one bit is held back. There’s nothing more alluring than passion admixed with intelligence. Nothing more likely to shatter the universe. Nothing more likely to better the world.

My place in the world might not be the same as hers. If the revolution comes, my posting is and should be in the militant wing. I know this. The leopard cannot change its spots so easily, not completely. But this leopard does enjoy putting away his spots in the spot drawer until they are needed again. Lisa Mitchell helps with that.

She’s not used to singing in the studio. She doesn’t like not being able to hear herself. It’s why she moved the headphones back from her right ear.

Teleporters! Ha! (But interestingly, if teleporters were available, a bottomless suitcase would be unnecessary or at the least a fait accompli of that tech.)