Movies... with a can't-help-it dash of philosophy

Hmm... I got tagged by brown-eyed girl the other day to continue her meme [*]. Normally I wouldn't indulge in this kind of thing... not that I am oh so high above it or what... it's just that whenever I do it, I would spend ridiculously such a long time for something that simple; as if this questionnaire means the death of me if I answer incorrectly, heh.

But what the heck.

Total number of films I own on DVD/Video: hmm. "own"? as in, "legally own"? hehe, only one: Alien Quadrilogy. the rest... cough cough. on strict leech policy though, and I only suck a few times a year, honest! and yes sir, I am trying to give up this sin, sir!

The last film I bought: not hard to guess eh?

The last film I watched: the Incredibles. um, remember abt the "a few times a year"? add one to that.

Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):

1. those Aliens movies
2. Fifth Element
3. Stephen Chow's
4. Fight Club
5. Back to the Future

Sheesh, despite my obsession with meta-thoughts, philosophical mumbo jumbo, I still get suckered & sucked in by pretty movies anytime... pretty as in great action, animation/effects, innovative ideas etc.

[*]meme: If you're curious abt this thingie, Cecil Adams has an amusing way of treating the subject: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040213.html

If you like that article, then you might wanna read its sequel too: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040312.html

Superiority Complex?

How would you feel if somebody comes to you and says, "Hey, 'know what, I got the best religion in the world!"?

How would I feel?

Perhaps some indignant defensiveness. Perhaps a spark of curiosity. Perhaps a confident smirk.

How would you respond?
Anything from this list?
- "Push off, ye self-righteous preacher!"
- *rolls eyes*
- "Yeah, cool. so what?"
- "Interesting. Care to back that up?"
- "Good for you. I'm occupied right now, maybe later we can talk this over a drink, eh?"

Okay, so far I've nailed the Loathing, the Don't Care, the Interested, the Too Busy responses... anything else that I'm missing?

Anyways, my point of contention is: I have all these while seeketh here and there, and so far, what I found led me to this conclusion:

"Hey, 'know what, I got the best religion in the world!"

By no means I am saying that my claim is final; By no means I am saying that I have done a thorough and objective analysis of every possible aspects. But I do examine lots of arguments from both sides, heck even from other sides, from those that don't wanna take sides as well. Admittedly, I still have some unresolved issues with this religion of mine, which I hope time will shed more light onto it. But as it is now, compared to other belief systems, I find Islam to be the best religion of all.

I find this conclusion to be reinforced again and again especially as I get to learn more about these topics:

Muhammad as a Person
This guy is the Ultimate Role Model for us Muslims. Namely, a Prophet. Even when being viewed in secular terms, he is still the greatest person in humankind history, as attested by lots of scholars (non-Muslims & Muslims alike). He is a balanced character, not just being great in one aspect and bad in the rest; rather, great in ALL aspects. Character, leadership, wisdom, clarity of thoughts, you name it.

*eep... Generalizing Statement Alert*
A more accurate claim: He is not just great in a few aspects like other great figures of history; rather, if we list down all his great attributes, and compare them to those of others, we will find his résumé list not only quantitatively superior, but also qualitatively so as well... such a holistically well-rounded GREAT person he is.

Qur'an as a proclaimed Scripture
The more I get to know about it, even in material aspects, the more improbable it is to think of it to come from human source. Its touted strengths (authenticity of propagation, beauty of language that transcends poetry and prose, internal & external consistency, soundness of claims be it of factual matter or human nature) are by large undisputed by scholars, and the replies towards arguments against it are empirically provable. This is impressive especially comparing it to how proclaimed scriptures of other faiths stand to scrutiny.

Islamic creed as a Belief System
The proposed Muslim way of life is so uplifting in all aspects - spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, economically... it is so complete, so thorough. It is optimistic, yet practical. It is balanced, and it doesn't violate anybody's rights. It is deceptively constrictive, but as I get to know more the reasoning behind all the do's and don'ts, I began to appreciate their existence. It's not a naive misguided "the ends justifies the means"... rather, the ends as well as the means are both justified. And not simply dogmatically justifiable, but actually through knowledge and reasoning.

Incredulous eh? Perhaps I have a serious problem of superiority complex there? Well, perhaps I do, and maybe in future I will be proven wrong, humiliatingly even. But nevertheless, based on what I know so far, I believe my stand is correct. Whether you agree or not, that is up for you to decide, after you do your own share of research and Truth-Seeking.

If you care at all, that is.

mistachment

I wanna put a new word into the English dictionary:

"mistach" - verb: to send two emails - one right after the other, with the first one containing the sentence "please see attachment" or similar, and the second one containing "oops, forgot the attachment, heh heh heh" or something to the same effect. This act is usually accompanied by an exasperated exclamation right after hitting the first email's "Send" button.

e.g. sentence: "People are freakin mistaching a lot nowadays... yeah, me too."