Something that has probably been forgotten...

Read this: A post about the dark side of the technology, quite close to my viewpoint, by a dear friend far far away. And my paraphrase on it:

We've almost forgotten how life would be (or used to be) in its genuine form. And it's sad that a very great portion of the things that technology has brought to us, is not ultimately useful, or even is not "necessary" at all. We could, e.g. live without most of the services that a cellphone offers besides the communication. And some might even believe that the communication itself is not "always" quite useful... And you know what? The reason that our parents and grandparents usually have difficulty learning to work with computers -or other modern electronic devices in general- is not that they cannot learn how to work with them; it is, however, just because they've learnt and believed that "life is possible -and maybe much less stressful- without getting contaminated to different aspects of technology"... And it's interesting that our ancestors had much more time in their life than what now we have, because they never spent the time today we spend on electronic devices like computers. And they're also productive enough, and even more productive than us, without the modern technology...

Sometimes I think what would happen to me if I didn't have access to this ocean of information, i.e., the internet?!... Hmmm... Probably nothing, but I would go "just" for those pieces of information that I needed, not all the things that this addictive magic box (I mean the computer) can provide me with...

P.S. 1. For sure I'm not in enmity with technology, no no...! (you know I'm doing my PhD, with a real joy, on developing the very cutting edge of the technology), but sometimes we need to remind it to ourselves that life is possible without these devices. And remind it to ourselves that a break or vacation to a remote place can be quite refreshing; although it's now too hard -if not yet completely impossible- for us to return to our genuine life and our nature as a human being, not as a machine...

P.S. 2. The above photo is the last one I took with my old camera before I update it to a newer one two years ago... It's all because I wanted a newer technology of digital photography...

Recommending the movie "Religulous": Just for those who are rational enough

(A documentary by Larry Charles, criticizing (and somehow spoofing) all religious believes (or RIDICULOUS believes as the name says) around the world.)

Well… I had been so thrilled by many movies, theaters, music pieces, and books that I decided to update my blog (I mean this one!) immediately after seeing/reading them. It's, however, the first time I'm doing this; not because those I watched before this one were not recommendable, nor because this one is wonderful, but because it really speaks of one of the biggest issues of the country I came from, as well as of the country that I'm now reside in... And maybe only those who were grown up in religious schools (and suffered a lot) like me, or lived for a year with a religious roommate as I did, can really feel this movie. Such people will for sure find themselves as the narrator at several points; but in general, all rational people can enjoy it.

I'd decided not to quote any part of the movie, since you should see the whole, but I couldn't ignore these two:

"You don't need to pass an IQ test to be a senator." (US Senator from Arkansas)

"... it's a part of my foreign policy." (G. W. Bush)

P. S. 1. I'd like to stress on the word "enjoy". The movie can totally be supposed as a "cartoon" (or caricature) of those who don't think of what they've chosen to be. It's not a debate, nor a logical discussion, but just spoofing. So don't expect a strong justification or proof towards an anti-religious thought. Just a cartoon to enjoy!

P. S. 2. I went to watch the movie alone, but -totally by chance- I saw one of my lab-mates (whose parents are evangelists) with 5-6 other boys/girls at the entrance of the Michigan Theater. I joined them, while I was surprised to see him coming to this movie, but I wasn't so surprised to see him grumbling himself while we're all laughing at great points of it...