Go for the head.

I did mean to continue posting last week; I just got very piled up with pre-Half Term work. For instance, on Friday I was literally herded into one of the computer labs for the entire day to work on my (admittedly late) IT coursework. And then yesterday, I went to London to see Othello (which is a magnificent play [yes, I used bold AND italicised text. It's just that good.]). So yes, I've been quite busy; and felt quite guilty about not updating and contributing to ye old blogosphere (said in a Sean Connery accent).

But thankfully, it is half term for - get this - the whole of next week. You heard me. Five days off, added with the weekends which are on either side of the week, equals seventeen.

Wait. That's wrong.

After consultation with Cthulu (he's one of my poker buddies), it actually equals to ten free days. Ten days off. Ten days to myself. Ten days where, if I wished, I could quietly overthrow an Asian island-nation. Ten days I could spend stalking my next victim before jumping out, cleaver in hand, to demonstrate the dangers of running while waving a cleaver around (they then get a free hug). Ten days to get to work on my musical composition, which (at the moment) is merely a foetus of an idea etched in graphite onto stolen manuscript. And yes, I have just realised what a horrific analogy that was. I apologise profusely.

I will attempt to, instead of subtly (and not so subtly) manipulating everybody around me into a bloody conclusion in the style of Iago just because I'm bored, make posts in a semi-regular manner. I may continue with my previous thread of thought, foraging through the YouTube undergrowth to find emotive music with emotive videos.

Or I could continue reading about World War Z. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a truly magnificent work by the creator of The Ultimate Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks - covering the human factor of what would happen if we ignore the impending threat of a Zombie Apocalypse (or as my peer Hallum insists on calling it, an Apocalypse Level Event). It's a fascinating read for anybody who has ever enjoyed George A. Romero's works, or anybody who likes stories about people in impossible situations.

It's told in the form of a retrospective documentary, a series of interviews conducted with various people from all walks of life. The introduction makes clear that this was gathered for a United Nations report (the United Nations Postwar Commission Report), but was deleted for being 'too intimate'. Thus, he had access to people from every level. Pilots who landed in the midst of Zack territory (areas where the zombies had taken over totally) and was guided to safety by a voice in their head; insane, emotionless planners who created a plan that effectively threw millions to the horde for the good of a few; the head of DeStRes (Department of Strategic Resources) who completely restructured the US Military; an artist and historian who holed up in Windsor Castle with the Queen during the occupation, and learnt how to use a Scottish Claymore. Each story is different and each story is connected; each story feels real, feels like a real interview. Brooks takes the role of the interviewer, his bold-font questions occasionally splitting up the stories of the people. But that's what this story is really about; breathing, living, human people.

It never shies away from the reality of wars; human beings lie, cheat and steal when faced with situations where they could die. We don't live up to our own ideals most of the time, because we are inherently flawed with selfishness. I shall post this excerpt in closing:

*****************************

"We're going to be okay." That was our message. That was the message of every other film-maker during the war. Did you ever hear of The Hero City?


Of course.


Great film, right? Marty made it over the course of the Siege. Just him, shooting on whatever medium he could get his hands on. What a masterpiece: the courage, the determination, the strength, dignity, kindness and honor. It really makes you believe in the human race. It's better than anything I've ever done. You should see it.


I have.


Which version?


I'm sorry?


Which version did you see?


I wasn't aware...


That there were two? You need to do some homework, young man, Marty made both a wartime and postwar version of The Hero City. The version you saw, it was ninety minutes?


I think.


Did it show the dark side of the heroes in The Hero City? Did it show the violence and the betrayal, the cruelty, the depravity, the bottomless evil in some of those "heroes'" hearts? No, of course not. Why would it? That was our reality and it's what drove so many people to get snuggled in bed, blow out their candles, and take their last breath. Marty chose, instead, to show the other side, the one that gets people out of bed the next morning, makes them scratch and scrape and fight for their lives because someone is telling them that they're going to be okay. There's a word for that kind of lie. Hope.

*****************************

And with that, Sraen Out.