• Relates to real life – Transformers is fun, Hot Tub Time Machine is funny but neither are really things that happen in real life.
• Detailed/Intricate stores – I like stories with a lot of depth and thinking.  Puzzles are always the best.  Who figured out The Sixth Sense before what was happening was revealed?
• Later analysis – I always like to analyze and revisit details of the movie with friends afterward.  Was the solution there the entire time?  What parts are inconsistent?  Did the ending reveal the entire correct truth?
• Time perception – The thing I hate the most is sitting in a moving thinking how long it is taking.  My mind starts to drift and I stop paying attention to the movie.  If the movie starts to drag on it fails.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Is it because I’m planning to become a movie reviewer and I want to be clear on how I’m going to rate movies?  No.  Well not 100% no, but close.  I’m telling you all this because I think Inception was a great movie.  It covers all the points listed above:

• Real life – They describe events and actions that I have seen or experienced
• Storyline – Complex enough to be intriguing but not confusing.  My brain had to stay in gear the entire time to keep track of what was occurring.  Had I missed pieces I would have been lost.
• Analysis – Just hours later I was discussing with friends points of interest we noticed in the movie.  We pondered inconsistencies and subtleties and how they changed the meaning.  Our final question: Did it fall?  (If you haven’t seen the movie that question won’t make any sense.)
• Time – Not at any point during the movie did I wonder when it was going to end or how long I had been sitting there even though the movie pushes two and a half hours.  (This isn’t entirely true.  I purchased a soda before the movie began so by the time it was ending I needed to use the men’s room.  I know, too much information…)

For me Inception floats to the top.  I don’t think I’ve seen a movie as good since The Dark Knight.  Surprisingly I want to see it again.  I’m sure there are many details that I missed out on watching it the first time.  For anyone that hasn’t seen it I recommend taking the time to watch it.  It’s definitely worth it.

An interesting thing to note about the show was that the audience was rather young. Most of the people looked as though they were in college. This isn’t that surprising since that is Dane Cook’s largest demographic, it was just strange to see.

The show ended and the three of us decided to grab some food since we hadn’t eaten before the show. We wandered to downtown Orlando and got some food. We spent another hour or two at Church Street but nothing to exciting was happening and we were all pretty tired so we packed it up early and headed home. I had the back seat so I slept most of the ride home. It was a long day but a great finish to an even longer week.

Ignite Orlando, or any ignite event, is something I would recommend for anyone. It’s a great opportunity to get out and meet others in your community and to learn a tremendous amount. I’m even contemplating putting together a presentation myself. For anyone that wants to see a presentation and learn how to make a good one check out the following video: Why and How to Give an Ignite Talk.

Following Ignite Orlando was Orlando’s first MP3 Experiment based on the MP3 Experiments of Improv Everywhere. We started at Slingapour’s where Ignite Orlando had been held and then made our way to a park less than a block away. Just as the Improv Everywhere site says we had many spectators wondering why we were running around and attacking each other with balloons. By the end of the experiment a small crowd had formed watching us as we wrapped things up. The only problem with this experiment is that it was extremely hot and humid out. By the end I was definitely ready to get inside and get some water; all in good fun though. I’m looking forward to the next one and can only imagine what may be instore.

Probably the only thing that I did not like about the book was the dialog of the people from the sixth century.  It’s not that the dialog didn’t add to the story, but it was extremely difficult to read.  Of course Twain did this on purpose as the English skills of the sixth century were not that of what they are today.  There were many passages that I had to read multiple times to decipher what the individual was trying to say.  I couldn’t imagine living in a place (and/or time) when I knew the people were speaking the same language but what they were saying was not decipherable.

I also found it interesting how Hank (the Boss) drew similarities between the sixth and nineteenth centuries.  I’m no history expert but most of the stuff described seemed feasible.  It was amazing to me that although the world is changing at a rapid rate, there were still things that had lasted centuries.  The big one that comes to mind is slavery.  It never really occurred to me how long slavery had actually existed.  In the grand scheme of things, abolishing slavery is still a very new thing.

This brings me to probably the most enlightening (for lack of a better word) part of the book.  I’m sure most everyone has heard many sayings to the tune of “we’re all cut from the same cloth.”  Twain does an excellent job showing that an individual out of their normal context is just like any other person.  The labels we give people are just that, labels.  They don’t make that person any smarter or stronger than anyone else.  For example, if you were to take the President of the United States and drop them off in a remote village somewhere, they would just be a stranger in the village.  To the villagers the President would just be another person.  Since they are unaware of what the label of President means, they would not place any value upon that label.  It really just boils down to the fact that we are all humans no matter how you want to group or label us.  I think the following quote from the Declaration of Independence ties up my thoughts neatly on this matter:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.