Article by Cameron Spink

An article in today’s Age, by Samantha Brett, asks the question as to whether soul mates actually exist? Whether "the one" is just around the corner? This is a remarkable view for a secular approach. If, indeed, we are just particles and chance plays the predominant role in our evolution then soul mates cannot exist as, from this worldview, there is no real argument for love.

While atheism does not ascribe to such a concept as each individual person having "the one" completely compatible person for them, this wide-spread belief that the right person does exist conforms to a person’s innate fear that they will be alone at the end of their lives. This fear transcends all supposed logic and science that intelligent people, who debunk the idea of a deity, have no qualms believing in. It can only be wishful thinking that there would be a harmonically-matched partner out there and, what’s more, the world would provide them with such a system to meet that person.

Article by Cameron Spink

It took me two sittings to really gain an appreciation for Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. Where The Dark Knight contained some logical fallacies that left the viewer bewildered even upon a second watch Inception has no such flaws. While the observer is asked to take in a reality that is somewhat confusing at no stage does it push through the limits that are created within the movie itself. Instead if one were to accept the original premise, namely that dreams can be invaded, then every step in the story thereafter is entirely plausible. It is with this complexity that Nolan weaves what I must deem the most complete film I have ever viewed.

A recent article appearing on Relevant Magazine's website is well worth reading. It offers some answers to the reason why we all get so engrossed in celebrity figures.

The Insidious Cult of Celebrity
Relevant Magazine, Ben McCracken

"Why do we worship the people we see in our culture?
It isn’t hard to see that our world is utterly smitten with celebrity: the concept, the people, when TMZ is a TV show, when “breaking news” of some plane crash in Africa gets equal billing with “breaking news” of Lindsay Lohan’s jail sentencing; or when the death of Michael Jackson captures cable news for, well, almost a year ... We are saturated with celebrity, to an arguably dangerous degree. It might do us some good, then, to consider the issue on a deeper level. What is the meaning and cultural impact of celebrity, and how should Christians respond?

A new application has been released for the iPhone. This application, called iDosing, encourages users to enter drug-like states. As the iPhone is a phenomenon for the y-generation this application is going straight into the hands of teens and younger. Make no mistake this seemingly harmless app can lead to serious addiction problems.

iDosing and digital drugs - can your kids really get high without narcotics?
news.com.au, Thursday July 16th

"Free legal drugs that can be downloaded through the internet? Parents, welcome to your new nightmare.

If "iDosing" is not the latest craze, it soon will be, as reports sweep the internet of kids achieving catatonic or hallucinogenic states simply by downloading and listening to "digital drugs".

Article by Cameron Spink

While Animal Kingdom is basically devoid of morality it does display a great insight into the humanity of man. Animal Kingdom tackles human nature at its barest and the result is a gritty movie that ticks all the right boxes.

As a critic of Australian films Animal Kingdom is a breath of fresh air. The plot and characters of the movie are based on real-life people and events but it takes a cinematic approach with the sort of attitude “just because we can’t confirm it happened, doesn’t mean it didn’t”. Much of the drama of this film centres around historical speculation and, as such, this movie can only be treated as a movie. Despite this, Animal Kingdom offers diverse characters in the Melbourne gangland jungles in a movie not dissimilar to The Departed.