Drowning In A Sea Of Emptiness

School's In!XP

2011-02-13T21:13:00.001-02:00

PUC's Entrance Gate

Hell yeah! After long 7 and a half months of pure inactivity the day has come!XD
Tomorrow I'll be starting my Psychology course at PUC and I'll also be returning to my Muay Thai lessons after a long break...XP Although I'm guessing that this week will be more filler lessons than anything else it'll still be a nice change of pace...XD

Overall this last seven days were very lazy. I think this was definitely the week that felt more like vacations of all since I've returned to Curitiba!XD Probably, cuz it's the one preceding the start of the classes. I slept probably half of the week (for real...XD). The only bad point is that I had to start using an occlusal splint for bruxism and it's a pain in the ass =_=.
Still, I was able to have some fun. Went twice to the movies, hung aroung with my pals and watched lots of new stuff!@_@ Ah! I also sent my documents to the Rock In Rio organizers and they were approved! Now, I only have to wait for September, 25th and headbang till death!XD

The movies I watched in the cinema were Black Swan and Biutiful. And I have to say, they were amazing! The story, the direction, soundtrack, actings, everything was outstanding. Natalie Portman and Javier Bardem were superb in their roles. I think it's almost impossible for Natalie Portman not to take the Oscar home this year. I also watched, at home, King's Speech, Winter's Bone, The Town and Four Lions.

Geoffrey Rush's brilliant performance as Lionel Logue in King's Speech

In my opinion, King's Speech has been getting way too much attention. The movie is quite good, Colin Firth is really good as King George VI (although Geoffrey Rush's was way better - he's my favorite to get the oscar for actor in a supporting role, he definitely deserves it!) but I just don't think it's as wonderful and excellent as I've been listening everywhere.

Jennifer Lawrence doing a great job in Winter's Bone as Ree

Winter's Bone is a pretty good movie but it doesn't impress, if I may say. Jennifer Lawrence does her part pretty well and the story is pretty well developed. It's worth watching it but it'll hardly leave a permanent impression.

The Town and Four Lions were a tad bit disappointing. The first one mainly because of Ben Affleck and a weak story. And the second one because of the weak humour, although I did laugh at some moments.
This week I'm planning to watch True Grit (I'm dying to see it @_@), The Fighter, Animal Kingdom and after a long delay, The Social Network.

Despite being a complete noob when it comes to movies I like picking some favorites to the Oscars every year. So far my favorites are:

Picture: Black Swan
Director: Darren Aronofski
Actor in a leading role: Javier Bardem (although I'm pretty sure Colin Firth will take this one)
Actress in a leading role: Natalie Portman
Actor in a supporting role: Geoffrey Rush
Actress in a supporting role: well, I have to watch True Grit and The Fighter to make up my mind...XP
Animated Feature: Toy Story 3

I'm not gonna say anything about the other categories cuz I really don't understand much about them to pick a favorite ;D

I also watched lots of new animes and there was some pretty good stuff. Fractale specially! You can read my impressions on the Winter Animes Season here: http://www.animevice.com/profile/adanadhel/blog/

Fractale: So far the best in Winter Season

Well, that's enough rambling for now! I'll come back in the near future to talk about my first impressions of my course, so, you ghost over there, look forward to it!=D

As for the song of the week, I didn't have anything prepared beforehand nor can I think of any song that relate to what I talked about here, so I'll just pick one randomly...XD

Bad endings everywhere

2011-02-01T03:25:00.002-02:00

Somebody once told me: "you can't judge something by its ending" to which I replied "Sure you can. A bad ending in an anime, movie or series is like having a stripe of line painted across a work or renaissance art. It doesn't matter how good the overall is, you'll always focus on the stripe, or in the bad ending. Nobody starts watching something expecting for a lame ending"

There are many reasons that can cause an anime to have a terrible conclusion. The most common are:

1 - The original work's (manga or novel) ending is lame and the show just reproduces the original ending. (Specially forced happy endings)
i.e.: Angel Beats!, Clannad After Story

2 - The series isn't an adaptation of a manga or novel (a.k.a. "original animes") and the script just happened to be bad overall or in the ending.
i.e.: Yumeria, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin

3 - Animes that start before the original work is concluded, approaches the original work's story and is halted with an open ending.
i.e.: (There are dozens of examples here) Gantz, Tenjou Tenge, etc

4 - Story completely different from the original or improvised endings resulting in something with a very low quality
i.e.: Fullmetal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin

5 - Anime doesn't get the expected response (low ratings) and is decided to be cancelled.
i.e.: D. Gray Man, Mobile Suit Gundam (the original one)

Lately, it's been more and more common to come across bad endings in animes which made me stop to think.What the hell is wrong with those studios? Except for when the original work already has a bad ending, all the other cases are to be blamed on the studios. Don't they realize that this ends up being negative for them?I truly fear an overall drop in animes qualities. Actually, this can already be noticed if you stop to think on the last, let's say, 30 animes you watched. How many of them had a satisfactory ending?

I understand that the concept of bad ending can vary when we talk about case #1. But when it comes to the others we usually have a consensus and those are usually the vast majority of the shows out there. I think that this could harm the animes production in a way that many people will stop watching shows from a certain studio or that they know to be based in an unfinished series. As a huge japanese animations fan I'd hate to see a drop in production or in quality shows due to such a silly reason.

My Top5 Worst Endings:

1 - Clannad After Story (forced happy ending just for the sake of it)

2 - Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (totally open and incomprehensible ending)

3 - Mai HiME (forced happy ending just for the sake of it)

4 - Arakawa Under The Bridge x Bridge (builds up for 2 seasons and ends up with nothing happening at all)

5 - Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin (the ending seemed so rushed, as they had forgotten that they had to finish this series and only remembered it on the last episode)

Honorable mentions: Code Geass R2 and Soul Eater.

Clannad ~after story~ Review (tears may follow while watching it...XP)

2011-01-26T18:33:00.003-02:00

I'll be crucified for saying this, but I'll say it anyway.

There's no need to watch the first season to comprehend or like the second season. If you're not up to excessive moeness and a dull story, the prequel might end up making you don't watch the sequel, which would definitely be a waste.

You can get a pretty good idea of what the first season was by watching the first 8 episodes of Clannad ~after story~. All the mistakes from the previous series are there. Lame humor, dull drama, unlikely reactions to over-dramatized conflicts and a weak soundtrack.

I was very close to dropping this anime thanks to KyoAni stupidity in copying every single aspect from the prequel. There were some improvements, it's true. After episode 8, the soundtrack was much better and even the art seemed more beautiful. Also, I have to admit that, thanks to being 4 episodes long (contrasted to 7, 8 episodes long arcs in Clannad), it wasn't that hard to watch Sunohara's and Misae's arcs.

Thankfully, some light shone upon Kyoto Animation and they realized that a more tangible plot without relying in nonsense supernatural references or in bad jokes every two minutes would work way better to actually create a dramatic environment.

From episodes 9 to episode 21 we are delivered a beautiful and extremely saddening story of the hardships of becoming an adult, having dreams, seeing they fall apart and getting over dark times.

Hardly did an anime approach these topics in such an effective way without losing focus that they are dealing with human beings and not perfect beings who are flawless or solve everything with some tears and "I'm sorry" all the time (which basically summarizes the first installment).

Tomoya's adult life's story unfolds in a carefully detailed account of how life can be a bitch. It's really easy to connect with him, suffer with him and cry with him many times, too. It was a wonderful development to his personality making him an extremely likable character, probably one of my favorite male characters ever.

Nagisa had some development, too. But overall, I still felt a bit annoyed by her quite often childish personality. Even when she acted a bit more independent and adult-like it was hard to not think of her as a child.

Ushio goes without saying. Probably the main reason many tears were shed in this series. Her voice actress did a wonderful job in giving life to such a special child.

But in the end KyoAni couldn't resist revisiting old mistakes. In the very ending it was decided, in a way that seemed completely out of the blue, that after causing so many tears, telling such a beautiful, tangible and human-like story they would laugh hard at your face and say "Just kidding, it was all a lie".

It was completely uncalled for. It fell like a rock, crushing everything that had been done up to that point. I understand the need of a happy ending. But one thing is ending happily, another thing is destroying 13 episodes of development just for the sake of an unreal conclusion.

I was more disappointed from this outrageous flaw than I was from watching the first series. The feeling I got was "Oh, we didn't have the guts to make the story follow the pace it was following so far, so we decided to change everything in the last episode just not to make you sad anymore. Here, have some candies".

Once again, a poor ending causes tremendous damage in a very promising show. It always angers me the desperate need of a complete surreal "happy" ending that so many movies, animes, series, etc have rather than showing a more soothing and human-like ending.

Still, it's a highly enjoyable show. Just don't expect much of the conclusion.

It's time for another random post =D Weeeeeehhhh

2011-01-20T23:58:00.001-02:00

Comment or my friend will get you!ò.ó

The one or two people who occasionally have a look at this might wonder why I insist on posting here. Well, I feel like doing it, and then I do it, mystery solved!XD

Well, another very boring week as a whole. If I sleep any more I'll probably be mistaken for a bear @_@ My days have been basically 12 hours watching animes, 2 hours between eating and bathing and 10 hours sleeping. The only good thing is that I actually came across some really good animes =D There was the average Arakawa Under The Bridge, but Durara!! and Katanagatari were something else! I'll be posting some more reviews in the near future.

I also watched A Single Man (with Colin Firth), a very sad movie, but very beautiful. I definitely recommend it! Maybe I should consider writing some movie reviews... Another pleasant surprise was the Lovage concert I was able to download from Zomb Torrents! Even though it was recorded by a fan and the audio is not very good, it was enough to make me feel extremely jealous for not being able to be there! Lovage definitely needs to do another album!ò.ó

My The Big 4 DVD and my Rock In Rio card have finally arrived!! =DDDDDD They were supposed to have arrived on Christmas ¬¬ But the important thing is that they're finally here! Can't wait to see Metallica, Sepultura and Motorhead live!

Well, that's enough rambling for today!;D
As for the music of the week, to celebrate the arrival of my two late Christmas gifts, Metallica it shall be!;D

Good anime scriptwriters needed! Urgently!

2011-01-15T22:00:00.000-02:00

I've finished watching a few animes in the last month and I must ask: What the hell is wrong with those scriptwriters? It almost feels disrespectful towards the fans the way some stories and endings are presented.

Among the over 150 animes I've watched the general feeling I got in 90% of the endings was "Lalala, it's so nice doing an anime! Oh, wait, we have to finish it! Just come up with anything and let's call it a day!"

Seriously! It's not that difficult doing an ending that goes along with the pace of the anime for pete's sake!

When it comes to Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, it's not only the ending that makes no sense. Don't get the wrong idea, the anime is good, but they simply proposed on doing something, to completely forget it during the series and remebered to pick it up again on the ending in a completely nonsense way.

If this was simply an anime to tell the story of a group of teenagers facing supernatural occurrences it'd have been an amazing one. After all, there wouldn't be any kind of commitment to a larger story.

And that's where Occult Academy went wrong. They offer you an interesting premise only to abandon it afterwards , and, even worse, to "suddenly" remember it on the very ending.

This mistake has been repeating itself in SO many animes that it's getting on my nerves. If you don't know how you want to end a story, don't even get started!:@

Soul Eater was another one that totally lost focus on the last 10-15 episodes.

The feeling of "Oh, gee, we have to conclude the story! Let's just put everything together in a very mediocre way and that's it!" is outrageously present in this show.

The fight with Asura is just lame. From the Shinigami to Maka the whole "OMG! I've just discovered I have a mega powerful blast which is really cool but won't do anything" and the "Ah, well, we have tons of characters but 90% of them will just be standing by watching while everything happens" made me want to murder the writer.

For real, this show had such an outstanding beginning. An amazingly well done development of all the main characters, a very interesting premise. Such an awesome stage preparation, only to throw it all away afterwards? And this is just to mention the two most recent animes I've watched.

Sometimes I really feel like, overall speaking, animes are for children. Only they would accept such lame plots and endings.

Time for another review \o/

2011-01-14T19:44:00.000-02:00

The Kouga and the Iga clan are in peace after many hundred years fighting.
The current shogun, after seeing a representative of each clan fight each other, becomes afraid of their power and in order to get rid of such fearsome creatures, resolves to use them to decide his political issue on the choice of a successor to his post.
Each clan representing one candidate to be the next shogun, and the war starts once again. The best 10 fighters from each clan shall battle to death refueling a hate that was only pretended to be forgotten.
However, unknowing that the war has begun once again, the successors of each clan: Kouga Gennosuke and Oboro Iga are living their happiest days in love with each other, blessed by ignorance.

The stage set, the story starts focusing on the characters and their fights. Fights that happen with the other clan, among their own clans or even with their inner selves. The plot advances in a very dark tone, blended with action and romance all of it in the right amount, making for a perfect combination, if I may say.

The art in Basilisk is outstanding. The best I've seen so far and the same goes for the music. The way one complements the other and both complement and enhance every single minute of the anime is unparalleled. The characters design and sceneries are really beautiful. Also, I must confess, I was driven to tears more than once while watching it, and much of this was due to the powerful work of Nakagawa Kou behind the soundtrack composition, although there's a lot of credit to the voice actors/actresses, who were brilliant, as well.

It's really easy to get mixed feelings towards some characters in Basilisk, which proves just how well built and developed they are. They go through inner conflicts, have their own thoughts and act for their own reasons. Some of them really surprised me, which, considering the constant cliches we have in so many shows out there, was another quite welcome characteristic of this show.

I've watched Basilisk 6 years ago, and I can assuredly say it's beautiful and moving from beginning to end. I can still remember quite vividly the impressions, emotions, music, art and story of the anime. A feat that very few achieved and, although I wish for otherwise, even less will in the future.

Random Blabbering...XP

2011-01-11T22:15:00.000-02:00

Ah well, I'm not quite used to writing random things without a preparation but today I thought "Heck, I'm gonna give it a try!XD"

It's been a rather busy week, considering the last 2 months (I did barely nothing at all in these past 2 months, except for reaching whole new levels of boredom, watching animes and reading books). There are still so many things to do that I already feel lazy again...XD Hate Brazil and its stupid bureaucracy and huge lines to do anything from the bakery to the bank @_@
The year has just started and I feel like it's dragging on sooo slowly (probably cuz I've been doing nothing for 7 months, but that's just a minor detail...XP) I wanna my Psychology course to start at once!
Ah I've also decided to start an Italian course!=D All thanks to Assassin's Creed 2!XD I fell madly in love with Italy after playing it! And the sound of Italian is so beautiful!*o* I'm hoping to be able to get an Italian citizenship since my great grandparents were from there =D And who knows, maybe spend a year or so there!
Another thing I've been head over heels with is Elysian Fields! If I get married one day I so wanna them to play on my marriage!XD It'd be perfect!@_@ A full-moon-night, at a beach, half-lit tents dancing to the sound of Passing On The Stairs...*o* Okay, I know I'm sounding like a girl, but that's one of the first images that comes to my mind when I'm quietly listening to them...XD
Thus, for song of the week (Yes, I'll try changing the blog's song every week!) I'll choose Passing On The Stairs from Elysian Fields!=D

To end this random post, a random image

Run and tell everybody to visit my blog, homeboy!XD

Bakemonogatari Review

2011-01-08T17:28:00.000-02:00

Bakemonogatari OP1 - Stable Staple

After a long hiatus (2 and a half years) without watching animes I've come across several good surprises during these past months watching as many of them as possible. (And some really bad surprises as well, such as Vampire Knight and High School of the Dead).

Among the many pleasant surprises, the top one was definitely Bakemonogatari.

The story is quite simple, actually. It goes on something like this: Koyomi Araragi is a young boy with a fast healing ability who gets involved with 5 girls that are being possessed/disturbed by spirits and ends up lending a hand to them helped by Meme Oshino. And, as far as story goes, it's pretty much that.

What impressed me the most on Bakemonogatari (and what made so many people despise it) was the incredibly rich visual complements, the totally nonsense long dialogues and, specially, Senjougahara. Her irony, sarcasm and seldom cuteness turned her into my favorite anime character.
The other characters are amazing as well, with an interesting background. And for those complaining Araragi, Meme and Shinobu had little development they'll have their share in Kizumonogatari ;D

The fanservice didn't seem excessive to me, as I've seen stated in many places. Plus, however short, the action scenes were pretty neat. Even though there's a harem feeling on the anime it is not anything that would hinder the overall enjoyment of this great production.

The music is never off and the openings are something else.
It's hard to put down in words why I've been so impressed by this series. The fact is, I liked it, and I liked it a lot!

I recommend an open mind to watch it, and have fun!;D

Just a random post...XP

2011-01-07T22:42:00.000-02:00

Well, nobody reads this blog anyway, so I'm just gonna post something random, cuz I'm feeling like doing it!;D Also, I had a hard time doing the new layout of the blog so I wanna feel rewarded for my efforts...XD Even if nobody gives a damn. That's the "forever alone" style of life =D
I'm a huge metal fan, specially trash metal (the more noisy and aggressive, the better...XD). However, lately I've been in a kind of different musical mood...XD I've been very keen on trip hop and noir rock. I often say that trip hop is the kind of music to raise the ideal mood, if you know what I mean...XD Noir rock, on the other hand, has a certain melancholic aura which pleases me a lot, and with Jennifer Charles on the vocals is also very suitable for raising those libidinous feelings...XD. She's the amazing leading vocals behind Elysian Fields, who also took part in a trip hop project from 2001, called Lovage. To be blunt: Jennifer Charles' vocals = eargasms!XD
I'd love to listen to a new Lovage album! T_T Jennifer and Patton took trip hop to a whole other level!
I'm gonna post some YT videos from my fave songs from Lovage, Portishead and Elysian Fields, hope you, ghosts out there, enjoy it. =D

Lovage - Sex (I'm A)

Portishead - Glory Box (Live)

Elysian Fields - Passing On The Stairs

Album Review: Design Your Universe – Epica

2009-12-18T15:08:00.003-02:00

Epica never ceases to amaze us. Since their debut album, The Phantom Agony, they've never settled down and have always tried to improve their sound on each album they have released. It couldn't be different on their newest one. Design Your Universe is in all senses their best work so far.
While many other bands are turning to softer rythms, this Dutch gothic metal band is always movind towards more agressive sounds. Rythm guitar and grunts, Mark Jansen, has taken his grunts techniques to a whole new level, not to mention his amazing lyrics writing skills. Critical and strong lyrics adds up to this masterpiece. The unexpected surprise, however, was to see how much has the mezzo soprano, Simone Simons, grown in these two last years. While her voice was already breath-taking in The Divine Conspiracy it didn't differ much from what you would hear in Consign To Oblivion. This time, on the other hand, Simone shows all her potential in singing in a wide range of ways, exploiting her voice to the maximum.
The production, mixing and engineering of the CD are amaxingly well done, as well. Amanda Sommerville is an essential part of all Epica has achieved so far. Lyricist, producer, back soprano vocals are some of the roles she plays. Masterfully, I shall say. The songs are beauftiful and strong, especially The Kingdom for A Heaven and the title-track, Design Your Universe. My most pleasant surprise was with Tides of Time, though. I quite often dislike Epica's slow songs, to be honest. But, as if to tell me and all the other fans that thought Epica couldn't do a proper ballad, they deliver Tides of Time, a melancholically heart-rending song, in which Simone plays with our emotions with her unparalleled voice.
All things accounted for, Design Your Universe is a must in your CD case. Even though I was scared of a softer sounding album, I now feel that Epica will keep on surprising us relase after release and I will certainly be looking forward to the next one.
Design Your Universe: I loved it and, if you are fond of good quality music, I am sure you will love it , as well.

Highway to Hell

2009-11-30T16:01:00.001-02:00

São Paulo has a widely spread bad reputation due to its overwhelming traffic. Not only on the streets and avenues which cross the city, but also on the highways which get to and leave the city. Among the worst, if not the worst, when it comes to traffic issues, is Raposo Tavares (SP270).

Certainly, many of these problems started due to the disorganised growth of the cities next to this motorway and the large amount of leisure places, industries and residential areas on both sides of it, which attracts a great number of cars to this tortuous path. The difficulties in accessing and exiting Raposo are numberless. Few, and sometimes, confusing road signs, depressions on the ground on the accesses/exits - causing an abrupt, and sometimes, too late, deceleration of the vehicle - and sparse roundabouts are just some of these difficulties.

It is noticeable, though, that measures are being taken to correct these issues. An extra lane is being created, some roundabouts are being built, repairs on the holes throughout its course, pedestrians bridges are under construction and several other improvements which, hopefully, will make a difference.

The question that lies is the following: in a highway whose flow of automobiles is the second biggest among the ten others that get to São Paulo (71,5% in 2007 and still growing according to “Circuito” magazine). In which so far an overly defective administration has been presented and is undergoing a real estate and industrial boom, will the changes be sufficient?

The drivers who need to undergo this torture daily are well aware of the money issues due to the crisis and to the enormous amount of economic capital necessary to repair the 24 kilometres (from the 10^th to the 34^th) which are the government's responsibility. Why not sharing this responsibility with the industries which are on the highway's sides, then? It is mainly due to them the share of 25,3% of the amount of trucks which get to the city through this via. These companies have so many benefits, such as lower taxes and many others. Why not charging them a tax to repair works or giving them the responsibility to work together and look after the kilometres they are located?

The government could stablish a temporary fee to the users of these crowded lanes. After all, it's easy to complain and curse and not take any responsibility for the troubles that affect SP270. The inhabitants and drivers are also widely responsible for the gobsmacking traffic jams that happen everyday. Who is driving the cars? If everybody keeps on blaming the others for these issues, these will forever grow up to a point where it will be better walking than driving. Does it not ring a bell? Too bad it's hell's bell.

Homo Homini Lupus

2009-11-23T16:37:00.000-02:00

It was once said: homo homini lupus - man is a wolf to man. We destroy everything we create, we blur the reality just to live a façade and we find bliss in sheer ignorance. The environmental crisis we now live is the quintessential ignorance in a blind, deaf and mute society.

One could say that such an issue is trivial when compared to famine, terrorism or the economic crisis, among the several problems humanity is facing. All of them lead to severe consequences, that is unquestionable. However, are they as bad as the tragedies caused by the climate crisis we are now finding ourselves in?

Famine inexorably strikes undeveloped countries and poor areas around the globe. Whether due to a matter of bad administration or simply a general tendency to ignore problems this issue is still given more attention from the media as a whole than environment. Moreover, the solution to this is far less radical than the one needed to solve all the problems caused by our environmental unawareness.

Terrorism sets fear even on the heart of the bravest. One attack is enough to prove how fragile mankind is. It is also another fruit of a blind society, which refuses to claim guilt on anything it has caused. Yet, terrorist attacks have decreased since the WTC event, for this has touched deep on the world's proudest nation's wound, causing immediate retaliation and thus, being increasingly reduced throughout the years.

When it comes to the economic crisis, this is not the first nor the last we will face. Economists learn with one mistake to make another. Nonetheless, this kind of crisis has always been overcome, and it will likely be once more.

This leaves us, then, with one final problem which has silently gone global. It has always been in front of our faces and yet, again we turned a blind eye to what we should have not. Forgetting about the environment is forgetting about our very own existence. It is the same as playing with a loaded gun. The truth, however, is that the gun has already been fired. The damages are uncountable and our lives are at stake.

None can say when exactly it is going to hit our city or neighbourhood, and yet, directly or indirectly, everybody is already being affected. Whether it is famine, terrorism, economic crisis or environmental crisis it is high time mankind takes a decisive step toward the solution to these urgent matters, otherwise the price for our blissful ignorance, for not protecting ourselves, will be too high to be paid.

Progress vs. Technology

2009-11-13T17:50:00.000-02:00

Progress. The very definition of being human. Or would it be ambition? On the everlasting quest for progress the boundaries between the beneficial advances of technology and stark greed seem to be increasingly in conflict. Always craving for immortality, striving so hard to look like gods and even harder to be God, humans often forget that progress cannot be a consequence of lust for vanity. It is true, however, that beneficial consequences can come from this twisted reasoning, even though they should be the reasons themselves.

The pursuit of immortality is as old as mankind. From elixirs to cryonics the dream of living forever has always lurked in our minds. This desperate longing for never dying has caused a huge alteration in our society in a way that, frequently, researches related to this outpace the ones related to real problems like finding cures to certain illnesses, for instance.

This quest brings about an immediate consequence. Why live forever if one cannot be beautiful forever? This question is as history-changing as wars. Standards of beauty dictate our lives from the very beginning. Imposing rules on our behaviour, way of living, cultures, on history itself. People are hardly satisfied with their appearance, mainly due to the massive bombarding of 'be pretty or you are worthless' ads on the media (which is nothing else than humans making other humans think of themselves as 'bad products'). It starts with wanting to change ourselves and now even the ones to come have to suffer from our meaningless vanity. Funds are wasted on 'designing' babies, which could be used in giving babies a proper raising or in any other more useful scientific endeavour.

It often starts as a noble idea. But as soon as the researches begin there will be a twisted-minded person waiting to blur the original goal and turn it into another by-product of greed. Reaching a point which makes people believe they can be God themselves. Take the human cloning for example. It started as a way of cloning human body parts to try replacing members lost in accidents, in birth, etc. and it turned into a foolish idea of copying humans. It is interesting how, when it comes to beauty, mankind seems to long to be the same, to be part of a whole, but when it comes to logical thinking, they just care about the individual.

Technology surely brings several benefits to the society, this is unquestionable. The problem is and it will always be mankind. Progress turns into ambition, righteousness into greed, care into vanity. If so much money was not wasted into tending to these void dreams, it is very possible that many problems could have already been solved. If we want to change, let it be our minds not our bodies.

Life Achievements

2009-11-12T14:48:00.000-02:00

Birth, school, college, work, starting a family, retirement, death. If you ask people what would be the natural order of things in life, the vast majority would most certainly present you this list.

Coincidentally, or not, excluding birth and death, the other five would also be the list of achievements in life one would like to make. Although they sound logical and great goals to be attained, are they really the most important deeds one should look for in life?

If you ask me which achievements I would like to make in the next ten years I wouldn't list those five, for they would merely be consequences of the real achievements: becoming more mature, more responsible, more concerned about the world around me - and I'm talking about the big picture here: environment, politics, society, etc. Doing more for the others than for me. In fact, ten years from now I would only be satisfied if I could look back and say: “Man, I really made the difference!”

One could say that this is easier said than done. Indeed it is! Would it be an achievement otherwise? The very concept of this word involves working very hard, pulling out all the stops, persistence and, most importantly, knowing you are not doing that only for yourself; that the 'yourself' part will come as a consequence, not as the reason.

How then, would I try to succeed in doing this? By reflecting and always pondering before setting a goal. If I have to choose a job shall I choose the one that pays the most or the one where I could improve the lives of other people? Should I think first in my satisfaction in doing that job or should satisfaction be a consequence of helping people see life through a better perspective? If I want to have a family should it be because I want company or because I have something to offer them so that, then, I can have something in return?

When I stop to think about those things it becomes clear to me what I want to be doing ten years from now: being human. I don't want to be a result of predetermined and imposed values. I want to make the difference. It seems, however, that nowadays, making the difference is remembering the most basic concept of all: we are humans and we are on the same boat. If we want to actually achieve something in life it is high time we start acting and thinking as a society and forget once and for all this individualism that haunts our thinking. If we keep on believing that our actions don't cause any kind of consequences to the whole I'm not quite sure if I want to see how things will be ten years from now.