Watch: Spiritualized

Spiritualized is a short animated 2D movie, done by the Vancouver Film School, directed and written by Roy Margalit. The movie talks about a somewhat naive guy who think that through the power of prayers, he can achieve true divinity. That's why he tries to find the true religion through try and error.

The most powerful thing about this short movie is its concept. It draws a comparison between that naive guy and another one who seems to know the true meaning of spirituality. It criticizes the laziness of those, who think that prayers can do miracles, in a very gentle and beautiful way, and without being directly judgemental.


Technicality:

• The animation is very smooth.
• The character design is very unique and simple.
• The music suits the movie well, and it truly reflects the theme of the movie.
• The blue color is dominant in this movie with most of the elements done in blue and white (the blue color is very calm and peaceful, and sometimes it was used to represent peace and spirituality).

My Score: 5/5

Surf: Jamendo

If you like to listen to and download free legal music, Jamendo is certainely the place to be. With around 4000 albums from all over the world, you can listen to music from this extensive library for all day.

The site is relatively old, and I'm relatively new to it; so there's still many things for me to explore. However, from what I know, there's music of every kind from all around the world. And there seems to be a similar community of music enthusiasts.

One of the main options of this site is your ability to write reviews, share the music, and send recommendations. The searching function also is very easy to use and gives you customization capabilities in order to limit your searches when needed. There are also different ways to download including torrents, and you can listen to all the ablums online. And there's a load of tools that can be integrated within your blog or website to show off your favorite music.

All the music offered on Jamendo is for free, however, the license of usage may vary from one album to another. Just be sure whether the album is for commercial or non commercial usage before including the music in one of your projects, and try to read the terms of usage carefully.

Jamendo may not include big names of shining stars, but it is for sure full of hidden gems. Just keep exploring and you'll find great musical talents who are yet to be well known.

http://www.jamendo.com/

14th of July (Bastille Day)

Each year, on the 14th of July, France remembers the fall of the Bastille back in 1789. This prison was considered a symbol of tyranny and injustice: the same reasons that led to the French revolution.

Before the revolution, the French society was divided into two parts: the first consisting mainly of the nobility and the clergy who were both rich, and the second part was mainly the common people who suffered poverty and famine. A society so divided like that, was ready for a revolution.

It was the financial crises of the country, the spending of the aristocrats, and the increasing taxes upon the common people, that probably sparked the beginning of this revolution. After some political stand offs within the country, anarchy prevailed.

The fall of the Bastille was a symbol of defeat of tyranny and injustice, however, the revolution brought more tyranny and injustice in its first years. Many people were butchered in prisons, while many others were guillotined (some based only on suspicion). It was a period of time called the 'reign of terror', in which violence was considered as the only way to save the revolution. This form of anarchy continued until Napoleon Bonaparte was able to restore order within the country.

One may ask, was all this violence inevitable? Looking at the facts, we will find that many of these death were based upon mere revenge. Many of those who ordered others to be guillotined, were themselves guillotined by others when they were out of power. This kind of extremism was the main reason of the terror; it deviated the revolution from its original track which was to bring justice.

While remembering the 14th of July, one may only relate what happened within the first years of the French revolution with what is happening in the world today. There's no way better to explain this except by using the words of Madame Roland when she was about to be guillotined:

"O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom! "
(Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name!)

Why the Spotless Giraffe?!

Giraffes are unique animals, with their looks, their long necks, their circulatory system, extremely long tongue, silence, and their spots. They may look so peaceful, but still, they are so powerful. With their extremely tall neck, they can look at far distances, exploring large areas, and monitoring the surroundings for enemies. While, with their extremely tall tongues, they can clear their faces from all the bugs.

That's why a spotless giraffe is a symbol of uniqueness, peace, wisedome, and power. It is the message which I will try to show here on this blog through writing on different subjects. In a cyberspace full of millions of blogs, it's hard to think about making a new one. However, with this kind of message, I realized that it's better to have my own space to put my thoughts in. It's never about the number of readers, it's always about the content.

Most of the subject will be about areas of my interests. From animation to politics, and from religion to science; always in a lighthearted way. This is not a specialized blog, it's a general blog. So if anyone is interested, all comments on all posts are welcomed (positive or negative). As I said before, one reader to me is the same as 100. The most important thing is that someone may find this blog useful.