the finite timelessness of youth.

We get lost in our youth. We don’t know anything else. Youth is invincible and impervious. And beautiful. And wasteful.

george lucas is effing brilliant.

what genius, to come up with such epic stories: star wars and indiana jones. both are full of adventure and comedy, heart and soul, metaphor and symmetry. star wars is spiritual and meaningful, its depth is belied by its science fiction setting and high-flying adventure, but the notion of the force, of the spiritual master, of the green man, of the perceived duality between good and evil, as well as that duality's essential complementarity, all have firm grounding in the study of gnosis.

the star wars movies famously take their cue from joseph campbell's study of the 'hero myth', and indiana jones is wonderfully comic and non-stop adventure. he's the american james bond (fleming's bond, not connery's), in a way: supremely knowledgable, supremely capable, and supremely brash. harrison ford really is quite wonderful, he's both han solo and indiana jones, a thrill-seeking and brazenly cocksure adventurer, motivated by self-interest, but ever-ready to don the mantle of reluctant hero.

the opening scene of 'temple of doom' mixes east and west with an american girl singing an english song in chinese, then brings in mystery as we see indy's body moving down stairs, given a passing warning as he sits down to confront a table of mobsters, as connery did in dr no, dashing in a white tuxedo; the adventure just begins as he barters for the prize which he collected the night before, which, as we learn from a bandaged hand, one of the chinese had attempted to steal. the details make it exciting and fun, delivered slowly and subtly, as we see the barter taking place over a revolving tray, the artefact and the money being exchanged round and round, when indy finally imbibes a poison, and the club goes wild, the diamond and the antidote both rolling around on the floor, being chased by the girl and indy, both of whom want one of those items. the excitement level is maintained as they jump out a window and fall directly into indy's white car, given chase by the chinese, until indy escapes them by jumping into a freight plane, which he doesn't know is owned by the mobster himself!

what a brilliant storyteller he is, a master of vernacular adventure, mr lucas - inventor of some of the most enduring, popular, and relevant american characters, and reviver of inspired and innately exciting stories.

sylvester stallone's remarkable magnanimity.

some people think him brutish. but that is shallow. his heart is big and generous, and he is kind and warm. in all his movies he shows a real concern for social justice, which he protects nobly. in 'get carter' he is a man troubled by his identity, striving to reconcile the violence of his world with the inherent decency that imbues his worldview. he seeks to protect his niece from the darkness of that very world, in which he seeks to bring light. that he does so by sometimes dark means is due to involuntary factors of his birth, and those dark actions are thus invested with the light of his intention. he is a role model for the younger characters, portraying a man that has always to live in the grey, forced to use his god-given physical strength to put right a world in which nothing is black and white, in which danger and corruption threaten his sense of justice and morality. nevertheless, his innate softness is revealed through his tranquil self-confidence, through his calm and kind advices, such as in 'driven'. as witnessed in all the 'rocky' movies, his empathy for the plight of others, even when they abuse him, is magnanimous; and the burden of love he carries in his heart is endearing and emotional.

sinead o'connor's beautiful face.

the sentiment seeps from her, her mouth is expressive to the hilt. she sings strongly and passionately and vividly and lamentingly. there is nothing except her face, her mouth, her tears. the song is a jeremiad. its mournful tone entwines one into its sentiment, her face plumbs its deepening emotion. her mouth's graceful wailing is intense and intoxicating, its beauty is bewitching.

3:13

at three thirteen the world stops. 313 souls, 313 heroes. 3 hours and 13 minutes. there is no similarity, there is symbolism. there is righteousness and its path, and the lantern that lights it, lit by 313 souls, 313 heroes. at 3:13 we are reminded of our duty.