The Imitation Game tells the story of Alan Turing during World War 2 trying to crack the Enigma machine used by the Germans to encrypt various communications. I was expecting this film to primarily focus on the Enigma machine and the attempt to crack it, but it focusses primarily on Turing himself, with the attempt to crack Enigma as more of a backdrop. Continue reading
Despite the many Planet of the Apes films that currently exist, I have only seen two of them, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Despite that, I still find it quite easy to enjoy the Planet of the Apes films that I have seen. Continue reading
“It’s not their pain you’re afraid of, it’s yours, and as frightening as it may be, the pain will make you stronger. If you allow yourself to feel it, embrace it, it will make you more powerful than you’ve ever imagined. It’s the greatest gift we have, to bear the pain without breaking. It’s born from the most human power: hope.
Please, we need you to hope again.” – Prof. Charles Xavier
After some forgettable ‘Origins’ films and less than fantastic sequels, there would be good reason to want to avoid seeing ‘Days of Future Past’. Despite that, this film gives some hope for the X-Men franchise. Having heard many good things about this film, both from friends and reviewers, and reading some interesting quotes from the film, I decided to go and see it. I wasn’t disappointed. Continue reading
The noise from the nightclub across the street was drowned out by the din from the crowd around them, the hard wood floor amplifying the clacking of heels and the scraping of stools. He sipped a wheat beer, the hints of banana waking up his taste buds after the fight earlier that evening.
Arrogant and drunk, he still managed to hit Joey in the mouth before being beaten. Joey was proud of his ability to defend Lauren.
Lauren had just finished ordering when the police officers came in the door, quickly spotting them. Just as the waffles where arriving, they were gone.
They found a seat and dug in. The chocolate-covered waffles where far too tempting to leave any longer.
The ice cream parlour up the road offered the perfect follow-up to chocolate waffles; Feijoa sorbet. It was Laurens favourite.
Slowly making their way to the car, taking the scenic route along the waterfront, they eventually made it home.
‘Noah‘, as the title suggests, is about Noah, who, under Gods direction, builds an ark to save two of each animal as well as his family from a great flood. The film is quite emotionally intense, especially when it shows the city of the descendants of Cain and later on in the ark (I wont spoil it by telling you what happens). However, I did quite enjoy the film overall. It may not stick exactly to what happens in the Bible, but it’s a fictional film, so I don’t expect it to. Continue reading
The Social Network is about the creation and rise of Facebook, currently the largest online social network. It stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, who are two of the co-founders of Facebook, and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. Continue reading
The winters first snowfall had already begun.
Like the rest of the park, the swings were covered in snow. Joey wiped it off and sat down. He could feel the cold of the swing through the seat of his pants. He didn’t need reminding that it was cold. His phone had already told him it was well below freezing. The navy-coloured Parisian scarf wrapped securely around his neck was the only thing between the snow and the raised hair on the back of his neck.
If it weren’t for Joey, the park would be deserted.
‘This is stupid,’ Joey thought. ‘Why does she always have to do that? Can’t mum find someone else to pick on? Finding a job’s bad enough as it is.’
He recalled the previous evenings argument, his mum pressuring him to apply for more jobs.
“I was just taking a quick break doing some reading” Joey said.
“I don’t care!” his mum replied. “If you don’t find yourself a job by the end of the month, I’ll find you a job doing anything!”
‘She knows that makes me feel terrible,’ Joey thought. ‘Why can’t she just do something to help instead of picking on me like that?’
The cold made him feel alive. The crisp chill, the cold air in his lungs, the crunching of the frozen ground under his boots, it was all so unusually life affirming. Despite the tension at home, the chilling beauty of the park helped Joey to stop and contemplate his situation.
After spending a while thinking, Joey decided that he needed to confront his mum about helping him. Cold and tired, he returned to the warmth of his house, dreading what could happen.
The cool wind was refreshing on this particular Friday afternoon. It was refreshing, in stark contrast to the days earlier events.
Joey had arrived at work that morning at 9:45, ready for the 10 o’clock shift. The office was a fairly spartan, modern office on the twenty-third floor of the second tallest building in town. The shift passed uneventfully, when suddenly it happened. Just as Joey had started to pack his things, the building started to shake.
“The guys upstairs must be having one hell of a party!” Joey exclaimed to no-one in particular.
“Earthquake!” Lenny yelled. “Everyone under their desks!” This was the first time Joey had appreciated Lennys ability to yell. Yelling was an ability that Lenny, as a supervisor, had put to use before, but usually for worse purposes than this.
The shaking was going on for what seemed like an age. Many minutes later, the shaking stopped, ending what was a unique and scary experience for those on the twenty-third floor.
After evacuating the building, waiting around outside for the all-clear, getting a coffee from Starbucks, waiting in town for a bus home and finally getting home, Joey decided to have a quite night in.
Note: this is a short story I wrote for a competition in a group within the Art of Manliness community. I hope you like it. I’m open to constructive criticism, just leave a comment below or send me an email. Continue reading
Note: I found this poem in a group within the Art of Manliness community and I thought I’d share it. Unfortunately, I don’t know who the author of this poem is. Continue reading
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