Is life too short to be polite?

Well no, of course not. But on more than one occasion, to be honest too many to mention, I have been criticised for being rude and/or impolite to people by someone close to me. I take issue with this as I consider myself to be a very polite person. Where I get pulled is when I'm talking to someone I do not like. I can come across as short and abrupt. But aren't short and abrupt just qualities of a personality and in no way a measure of politeness?

Here's the deal. I cannot abide talking to people I do not like. In a professional environment we all have to do it. But when it comes to my own time I choose who I spend my time with for a reason i.e. I like them. I see no benefit whatsoever spending time with people who get your goat. Is it not best for all concerned to just finish off whatever banal and pointless ramblings you're having as soon as possible and move on? On this, I believe life is too short.

I 'rate' my likeness of people on whether or not I would be bothered if they died in a car accident the following day (:-O). If I wouldn't be bothered then why am I talking to them? This sounds like a terrible thing to say, and it is, but lots of us think along these lines. Kinda. When you hear of someone who you know who has just died and yet within 5 minutes of finding out of their untimely death you're back to work without a care in the world isn't it the same? In my eyes they are pretty much the same thing, it just seems to me that mines been thought out. A Demonstration of efficiency?

If someone had the balls to stop me mid-sentence and say 'Look pal, this really isn't as interesting as you think it is, would it be okay if I jump ship and go back to talking to my mates?' I would, without a word of a lie, hold out my hand in respect. In fact the chances are from that moment we'd get on royally with a new found respect and appreciation for the other persons honestly.

So can't we just cut all the pleasantries and be honest? Each year literally millions of Christmas and Birthday cards are sent from people who don't want to send them to people who don't want to receive them. What is this madness?

In the end we are all hypocrites. We are two-faced liars who don't have the guts to be honest. At least I'm trying to be better than that.

Who's impolite now?

Something for the Weekend O_o

I must have watched hundreds of documentaries over the years and just like traditional films there are good ones and there bad ones. Below I've decided to list a few of the ones I thought we're particularly good. It is the nature of the beast of course that some documentaries deal with subjects, and can contain content, that offends. But with these harsh realities often comes truth. The documentary film is still low on the radar of most film audiences, but the popularity of recent films (Food Inc, The Cove, An Inconvenient Truth) illustrates that audiences are willing to watch a film that has a serious agenda.

So here are some of my recommended films with a brief summary:

Taxi to the Darkside

An examination into the torture tactics used by the U.S. army during the war in Afghanistan, focusing on a Taxi-Driver tortured and killed in 2002.

The Smartest Guys in the Room

The story of the collapse of U.S. energy giant Enron. A shocking insight into corruption and political scandal.

Zeitgeist: Addendum &  Zeitgeist: Final Edition

As controversial as they come Peter Joseph's hugely popular Zeitgeist series (the 3rd is due out due later this year) discredits the corrupt institutions that surround us. Religious, Financial and Political.

Loose Change - Various Versions

Love them or loathe them there is no doubting these 9/11 conspiracy films raise many fully quantifiable questions that have yet to be answered. World Trader Centre Building No. 7?

No End in Sight

This highly detailed film takes an in depth look at the Bush Administration during the Iraqi war. Nominated for an Oscar this film examines incompetence at the very highest level.

Jesus Camp

A documentary following children on the trip to summer camp in the U.S, where they are brain washed into fanatical Christian beliefs. A hard hitting film showing that you don't need to go to the middle east to find religious extremists.

Earthlings

Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. At times shocking to watch. You may never wear leather again.

An Inconvenient Truth

A passionate documentary following Al Gore's campaign to stop global warning before it's too late.

Hearts and Minds
This Oscar winning 1974 documentary was very hard to get hold of until a recent region 1 bluray release. This film documents the opposing views of the Vietnam war through the eyes of the Vietnamese and key political figures of the time (in particular Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the Washington post triggering Watergate). In here lies the truth, which makes this almost unpatriotic film infamous for getting Oscar approval.
                     

If there are some films above that you haven't yet seen then give them a go. Whether you agree with the sometimes biased angles taken in some documentaries you can't deny that even the worst can't be as bad as a film with Keira Knightley in, can it?

No Russian | Short Film

Taking the highly controversial and extremely violent No Russian level from 'Modern Warfare 2' for its inspiration this explosive short film shows off the true processing power of the next-generation gaming consoles. Utilising the actual IW 4.0 game engine and running in real-time this well directed, edited and stylised film further demonstrates the closing gap between the video game and cinema.

Modern Warfare 2 is the most successful video game of all time, as well as one of the most expensive with a development budget of $60 million. As staggering as that may seem, that figure is dwarfed by the marketing budget for its launch, an epic $200 million. With $620 million in sales so far and analysts predicting the game to eventually earn $1 billion, Activision, the games publisher, has made a hefty yet successful investment in Modern Warfare 2.

However, in a step akin to New Line Cinema after the final instalment of the 'Lord of the Rings' films, Activision has now refrained from giving the games developer Infinity Ward their royalties and are being sued by its now sacked founders.

Video games, eh? Its a dirty war.