Secrets in the Modern Age

Watching the season finale of Doctor Who, and the episode about the Fifth Doctor, I was struck with a statement someone said.  It was about how there were surprises back then, shocks that no one saw coming, and how impossible that is to pull off in today’s age.

It is really driven home by how much we already know of the upcoming season of Doctor Who.  There is supposed to be all this secrecy about who John Hurt’s Doctor really is, but people have picked apart a pair of interviews, and spread it around the internet.  It’s a shame too, as I would have been wonderfully surprised by it.

I still remember watching Doctor Who when I was a child, and seeing him regenerate for the first time, I was shocked.  When Aldric died I was absolutely flabbergasted, and that single moment taught me so much about life and death and so many other things.  If I’d have known about it ahead of time...I know it would have been completely different.

Here’s something that’s hard to imagine, but try.  Star Wars Episode I.  I know, I already hear the groans, but imagine this for a moment.  Watching it for the first time, and not knowing that Maul had a double bladed lightsaber.  Just imagine that.  People in the audience would have leaned forward thinking, “Oh man, this shit just got real.”

Most movie trailers have a snippet of the last scene in it.  It might not reveal much, but if you know what to look for, then yeah, its pretty telling.  Promethius would have been a ton better of a movie if we hadn’t known about the Alien tie in.  We would have sat there thinking, “Oh wow, that looks familiar,” until it was revealed.

Surprises do still happen.  The Red Wedding hit people that watch A Game of Thrones on HBO quite hard, even though the book the event took place in was published thirteen years ago.  The Walking Dead tries pretty hard to keep a lid on things with their surprises, and succeeds in most cases.

I think back to the older days of TV.  The ending to the Rosanne show was pretty unique and a wonderful surprise.  Bob Newhart had a great surprise ending to his last TV series.  If I remember correctly, in both instances they actually filmed a false scene to throw people off.

In today’s age secrets dissolve quickly, as social media has made gossip and sharing something world wide almost instantaneous.  The only real surprises seem to happen in books and video games now-a-days.  Which is a shame, as both of which are technically niche audiences.  Certain movies in the past would have been far better without spoilers in the trailers.  TV shows and movies have so many people working on the set, its impossible to truly keep a lid on anything.

Honestly, I never saw The Sixth Sense, but the ending was pretty easy to figure out with the trailers and all.  What was the last TV show or movie that surprised you?  I’m curious as to what you think about today’s technology and how hard it is to keep secrets from people who want to learn everything about a production.  So please comment below!

(poem) - Travel

There’s something beautiful
About traveling the country
Once you get past
Other driver’s stupidity

It makes one tired
Of driving real fast
When you have to hope
That the other drivers you can outlast

It is what it is though
Because you will be able to see
So much
Of this world’s history

Every mile I’ve traveled
Has led me to something amazing
Where I could just sit in awe
Letting my soul rise up and sing

The truly crazy thing
Is that I’ve not seen much
A barely calculatable amount
Have I gotten to touch

I have seen enough
To know I want to see more
The beauty of this world
Is something I truly adore.

In the end
Home is where the heart may be
But my home is where
My wife is most happy

My heart beats
Within her chest
So I make sure
That our travel is always the best

Where we will go next
I have no clue
But there is one thing
That I can promise you

I’ll be with her
And she’ll be with me
Because my wife and I
Will be together eternally.

--Dan

--Want more Poetry?  Check out my Poetry Collection Page!

An Example of Media Non-Bias

Sometimes bias in the news and media is so apparent it’s a slap in the face.  I’m always saddened when no one else seems to notice.  I mean...wow sometimes....

The other day we were watching the news and there were two back to back items that made me shake my head.  Let me say this first.  The Railroad is something that has been falling behind in the USA.  A very large portion of the world utilize this amazing form of transportation and moving freight, because the sheer amount it can carry makes it extremely viable.

Lisa's Turning me Back into a Nerd

As I walk down the street now-a-days, something happens that hasn’t happened to me since the 90s.  People stop and tell me how cool my shirt is, ask me where I got my shirt, or go about telling me a memory sparked by the shirt.

Fact is, back in high school, I wore nerdy shirts.  From Wolverine to the house crests from the A Game of Thrones novels, I enjoyed sporting the shirts based in the books and comic books I read.  I would always sport some kind of shirt that meant something to me.  The last one I bought, before meeting Lisa, was from Princess Mononoke, a wonderful anime movie.

(poem) - Art is Not Defined as Being a Confusing Mess

It rained once
Inside my mind
Where all the dry stuff waits
Yet the humidity declined

It was an odd time
To be alive
When the boys there
Tried to strive

I don’t like random
With no conjunction
It makes no sense
Has no function

I’ll end the movie
Before it begins
So I won’t have to deal
With puzzling at the end.

Why do people try
To be all artsy fartsy
With out any real
Substance to their story?

Normally I like
A really good art flick
But I do not want to be told
How to feel by some prick

Beautiful movies
Are true experiences
They are so rare to find
As they have to jump over so many fences

But some movies
Just get put out
Because people don’t understand
What its really about

And they think
“It must be art!”
When its really just
Not very smart....

But in the end
I completely digress
I must bet back to art
And looking at a lioness


For pain supercedes
The rainbow’s true love
Ravens come out of the sky
From the clouds above

And rain their love
Down upon the ocean
Where rocks float
Among the graves of the lemon.

--Dan

--Want more Poetry?  Check out my Poetry Collection Page!