Expelled: Well Worth the Ticket Price.

I posted a week or so ago about wanting to go the movie Expelled, and I just wanted to follow up. I did, in fact, see it. Following are my thoughts on it.

Yesterday the grump and I ventured into a movie theater for the first time in 2008. Most of what Hollywood has to offer these days is boring, predictable and useless, so I don't generally bother paying for tickets to see it. I'll wait for NetFlix to have it, thank you very much. Expelled seemed different, so we decided to go see it on opening weekend. We were not disappointed.

The entire film is overlayed with the metaphor of our current scientific community's refusal to tolerate dissent being likened to the Berlin Wall. At the end, Ben's call to open up the discussion between the two opposing views of the origins of life is entwined with Regan's "tear down this wall" speech. The overall theme of the movie is NOT "God created the world" as many would have you believe, but rather freedom of speech and the freedom of researchers, editors and teachers to express ideas that are not necessarily in line with what science overall believes today.

I thoroughly enjoyed not only the content of the film itself, but also the style of presentation. I was entertained and I learned a few things along the way, and to me that is the hallmark of a good documentary. Critics of Expelled have said that it is both boring and one-sided, but I think they did a fantastic job of giving air time to those who oppose the concept of ID. They covered everyone from the raving lunatic who stated that there is no such thing as free will to the scientist who believes that life formed "on the backs of crystals," whatever that's supposed to mean. And I don't recall any moment of the film when I felt the least bit bored, despite it being a documentary.

Some of the more interesting parts of the film, in my opinion, were those in which Ben interviewed leading authorities on Adolph Hitler, who was a self-professed Darwinist. Hitler believed that the atrocities committed by his regime were of benefit to humankind in that he was helping along the process of natural selection. Of course, Hitler was not the only one to have used Darwin's theories to inflict their will on those around them. Just look up the history of "eugenics" if you're curious.

Many people believe today that if you don't agree with what the majority of scientists agree on, you don't belong in the scientific field. If those who didn't agree with the scientific thought of their day had kept silent historically, we would still believe the world to be flat and situated at the center of the universe. In order for science and thought to move forward, there MUST be dissenters. Otherwise, ideas stagnate. Now, whether Neo-Darwinism's explanations or Intelligent Design's are the true source of "life, the universe and everything" is hardly the point here. The point is that BOTH sides of the argument must be heard, researched and proven before any level of certainty can be derived. If you want to believe that man evolved from apes, that's fine. If you want to write papers, books, essays, articles and the like that are based around that theory, that's fine too. The very constitution of the United States of America guarantees your right to do so. But don't tell those who disagree that they don't have the the right to do the same.

I have long been disgusted by the refusal of many to hear anything that might come close to suggesting that God exists. I do have friends who are atheists, agnostics, humanists and anything else you can think of, but these people all share one quality. They respect that I am a Christian and do not belittle me for it. In return, I respect that they are not Christians and I don't try to change them. (Changing hearts is not my job... if you want to know more about that, feel free to leave a comment.) Currently though, our politically correct climate says that anyone who says that there is a "right" and a "wrong" should be silenced in the name of "tolerance".

Perhaps Expelled will serve as a wake up call to America. I doubt it, but I still hold out hope. Lady Bird Johnson once said, "the clash of ideas is the sound of freedom." I pray that we will again hear that sound in the hallways and offices of science and academia.

SimCity Societies

I'm a gamer, through and through. I waste more time on games than practically anything else in life, often to the consternation of my hubby, but that's just me. I'm not such a fan of the typical shoot-em-up types though. To me, a game has to have a mental challenge involved to be interesting. My favorite games also have one other thing in common: many ways to play, so you can tailor your experience to your own personal tastes.

The Sims franchise is a great example of the custom-tailored gaming experience. It offers a nearly endless realm of possibilities. I can spend hours building the most fascinating houses, or trying to balance my sims' needs, or moving them through generation after generation to see how the great-great-grandkids resemble their ancestors. And after all of that I still haven't exhausted all of the possible gameplay options.

Another thing I look for in a game is a focus on strategy or logic. The Civilization series is great for this. You have to plan from the very start what you intend to do with your civ, in order to set up the proper technologies and diplomacy to accomplish your goals. Do you want to be a military might? Better work on building up your troops early on or you'll fall behind. Prefer to peacefully absorb other nations' cities? Invest your research efforts into the arts and build up the cultural centers of your cities. Again, plenty of possibilities, plenty of planning needed.

So now there's a new game coming out that has my full attention. It's no secret that I'm a huge Maxis fan. I've been playing Sim City since it came out on the SNES way back when. Of course, at the time my greatest joy in the game was building up a huge city and then setting lose a tornado or even Godzilla to wreak havoc on my helpless populace. These days though, I require quite a bit more from my gaming experience, and the last few Sim City releases just haven't really felt quite up to par.

Recently though, there's been a shakeup over in Sim City. It seems that there's a new guy on the block, by the name of Tilted Mill. What will this mean for our beloved City??? Well, apparently a whole lotta good. The headlines EA has been putting out concerning the newest Sim City offering, SimCity Societies, have been intriguing at least. Their ads have piqued my interest. Until now though, I wasn't sure if I'd bother. I mean, if it was going to be just another Sim City game, I have better places to spend my time (and money).

I've just read the write-up in Games for Windows mag, and I am SO on board with this one. Gone are the days of land zoning. Gone is the complex infrastructure. Gone seem to be all of the things that have been around in the franchise for so long that most of us just groaned when we saw they were still there (and not getting any better either) in the last game or two. It looks like SimCity Societies has cut through all the crap features of the older games, and added an amazing set of new features. This may just be the boost our good old City needs to bring it up to par!

Less cut-and-dry balancing of city needs and more social engineering are what make this one a game I'm sure to give a try. There are six social energies that drive the game play of societies: prosperity, spirituality, authority, productivity, creativity, and knowledge. Deciding the balance among these energies will shape and mold your society, and therefore your city. Each building you add to your city changes this balance one way or another, and also requires other changes in order to function properly.

Unlike most city-builders, this game pulls off the custom-tailored feel of the Sims, allowing you to manipulate your city building-by-building, until you've created the city that YOU want to design, rather than simply following a formula for success. Want your factory next to your elementary school? Go ahead. Rather keep your tenements on the opposite end of town from your cultural centers? Your call. Want your city to live and breathe the almighty dollar, or rather have them focus on The Almighty? Up to you. And of course, this IS a Sim game, which means you can also create your own content for the game, or download things that others have created.

As was true of its predecessors, SimCity Societies also allows for a lot of strategy and planning. After all, there is a delicate balance to be maintained, if you want to keep your citizens happy and your city functioning. It's important to have goals in mind, and to keep those goals at the forefront of all of your decisions, or your city may take unforeseen turns into something completely opposite of your intentions.

All in all, the guys at GfW gave the game a 7 of 10 rating. Since Sim City doesn't really fall into one of their typical genres, I consider that high praise indeed. Yup, soon as I can cough up the $50, SimCity Societies will become my distraction du jour.