Ghosts

Despite my religious beliefs, many are surprised to learn of my incredible skepticism of ghosts and other paranormal entities. Some of my skepticism is informed by my religious beliefs, but most comes from learning about haunted houses being scams from historical societies. I do believe in the possibility of angels and demons, but I would tend to believe in more practical explanations than supernatural ones. With that said, I wouldn't decry a seemingly miraculous event as being assisted by angels even if supernatural intervention wouldn't be necessary. However, demon possessions I would consider to be preternatural where clearly something extraordinary is happening, but I wouldn't rule out mental illness very quickly. Granted, I have never witnessed an alleged demon possession, so I can't say that with absolute certainty. The reason why I could believe in angels and demon versus ghosts is simply because I don't see biblical evidence for it, but as I said, my stronger case is with the prevailing evidence that a lot of hauntings are fake or exaggerated.

One of the more interesting theories behind ghosts and other paranormal events is that they may be caused by something called infrasound. Sounds below 20 Hz which is below the human hearing range is infrasound. Humans may not be able to hear it, but sounds with a frequency of 19 Hz have been experimentally shown to produce weird effects on humans. This may have something to do with the resonant frequency of the human eye being 18 Hz. Infrasounds can be produced by old motors like in ceiling fans, pipes, and storms. That ominous feeling in your stomach when a storm is incoming may be from infrasound.

From the James Bond Skyfall trailer

The closest paranormal experience I've had was fairly recently. I was accessing the supply closet at work. All of the sudden the projector screen automatically came down and flashed the image to the right at me. This really spooked me quite considerably. Accidentally bumping into the control panel and activating the projector is down right impossible. Heck, just trying to purposely activate the projector is hard enough. Granting that, the unlikelihood that a trailer for a movie that came out two years ago would happen to be playing and playing this particular scene is just unsettling. I'm not sure what sins I should be thinking on, but needless to say it definitely gave me pause. Not evidence of a ghost, but it is funny that my coworkers would always complain about a ghost setting off the toilet's automatic flusher. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Peter Quill aka Starlord is abducted by aliens when he is a kid back in 1988. Flash forward to the present, he recovers a mysterious orb that is sought after by Ronan the Accuser. He eventually gangs up with several other extraterrestrial companions to stop Ronan from destroying the galaxy.

Like the first Thor movie, I was really worried over how much I would buy into this movie. Make no mistake, not only did I buy into it, but I thought that this was one of Marvel's better movies. Special effects were great. Despite the fantastic scenery, it never felt fake to me. The acting was phenomenal. The actors did a great job of balancing drama with comedy.

Probably the best feature about this movie is how well it stands on its own. There are virtually zero references to the other Marvel movies. There are two minor ones (which have the potential of being HUGE references to future Marvel movies) and several of the races that Lady Siff named in Agents of SHIELD make their debut. Other than those references -and of course the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, this movie is its own movie. With that being said, this movie explains a huge plot motivation from The Avengers (one of the two minor references). While future Marvel movies may explain this motivation, this is definitely the first that I am aware.

Since this is a Marvel movie, I can definitely guarantee you that there is indeed a post-credits scene. It has very little to do with the plot (if any), but it is certainly a huge laugh-out-loud, WTF moment. It introduces a character that has had its own movie before, but I will be surprised if I see this character outside of this post-credits scene.

Not once was I bored watching this movie, and despite all of the new characters, I never lost track of them. There are a lot of great action scenes, laugh-out-loud moments, and even some touching moments. It was definitely worth the ticket price!

I give this 4 stars out of 5

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1 star = I hated it. Avoid it at all costs.
2 stars = I didn't like it, but you might.
3 stars = I liked it. Doesn't warrant a repeat viewing.
4 stars = I really liked. Has rewatchability.
5 stars = I loved it. Make plans to watch it.