u/Top_Cranberry_3254

As society drifts more and more into narcissism, artificial intelligence, and unneeded tech, especially, one can feel more and more drifting away from nature and their faith.

I realize that, after decades of ventures in business, arts, corporate America, and even hedonism to a mild degree, the only thing left that is worth doing is being at peace, or one with the divine creator we call God.

Of course, that was the beginning, and it will likely be the end. Everything in between, it/he was there, but once all else is accomplished, lived, experienced, and realized, there is not much more to do; and perhaps this is what was the inclination all along- to find and be at a relationship with the creator, with peace and fulfillment.

Buddhists call it Nirvana. Whatever you call it, as society becomes more and more shallow, superficial, and transactionary, as the narcissistic masks being worn become more and more obvious and uninteresting, one can sit and ponder like all philosophers love to do, and be at total peace and outside of the egos and pressures of a society that is not only dog eat dog, but more and more artificial.

Missed this one when it came out, but just watched it for the first time, really liked it. It proves once again it's hard for Fincher to not make a good movie.

It's nothing like what I thought it would be, and as the plot unfolded, I was both surprised and unsurprised. I was surprised that it's not about some antihero assassin like the title would have me think, but once again it's Fincher returning to his theme of his critiques on corporate society and decadence.

It's another dark Fincher protagonist struggling to escape the perceived slavery of corporate society. His stream of conscious was the corporate brainwashing, while in the beginning and most of the movie, we think it is him being a stonecold psychopath (which he is, but only because of the brainwashing and doing his job to "succeed" in the corporate structure).

The dog eat dog metaphor proceeds to unfold, and he escapes the stranglehold once and for all. I liked it a lot. Well done, David Fincher.

My Top Fincher Films ranked and rated:

1. The Game: 9/10
2. Seven: 8/10
3. The Killer: 7.7/10
4. Gone Girl: 7/10
5. Fight Club: 7/10

She got away with it for years.

I was just realizing how long it has been that Shawshank, The Godfather, and The Dark Knight have topped the list and how no new movies have even come close.

It really shines a light on just how hard it would be for any future movie to reach the top 3 for even a short period of time, and it also shows just how amazing of a phenomenon and movie The Dark Knight was in 2008.

The movie would have to be so universally loved at the time of release by just about everybody. It would probably also have to be made by a super famous director with a huge fan base since they already have the respect going into rating it. The writing, acting, editing, musical score, and ending would have to be about perfect.

So realistically, will any new future movie ever be able to compete with the current top 3? I actually don't think so.

I heard Thailand is a popular choice, or Vietnam, because your money can get you several times farther in mileage and if in the right areas, it can be a nice retirement.

What are the best countries that savvy money people retire to to get the best bang for their buck in quality of life and financial mileage compared to the U.S.?

I would prefer an Island nation, but am also looking for the consensus best ones, and also how far your money can get you in extra years compared to the U.S.

Was thinking about 20 years ago. Most of the technology was relatively the same. Cell Phones/Smart phones emerging, Myspace, dawn of Facebook,industry materialism, sports, electronics, etc.

But life was more innocent and simpler. I'd work, go shopping, check my texts, log into Myspace on occasion, sometimes Facebook. Rent a movie from Blockbuster, buy some cheap takeout food, call some people on the phone, sleep. Wake up, rinse, repeat.

Today, all of these tenets are still there, but they are on steroids. People constantly obsessed with what they look like on social media, major news outlets doing reports on social media posts, people living for their phones and fake internet friends, cheap takeout food no longer cheap but about a 100% markup while quality of the food has dropped, major companies and corporations have been closed for over a decade that were back then thought of as successful, and while movies are more abundant in quantity they are also half as good in quality and they flood your streaming app like begging you to watch them. People liked sx; now 50 Shades is the norm it seems like.

You no longer need 1 password for all of these dozens of "needed" sites. You need 3 authentication pages and a captcha. You have to have a cell because they have to text you a secret code. Back then, you just needed 1 password.

This is not "progress". This is "regress".

Guys, so many conspiracy theories and conspiracies are exhausted by now, and we all know many of them are true.

I finally got a comment to make here.

I'm a huge avid outdoorsman and have been for about 2 decades. I literally run outdoors every single day for the last 20 years.

Now, let's get this out of the way: anyone who does basic research on weather manipulation (not even counting chemtrails which may be real too) knows that the government has had weather manipulating technology since the Vietnam War in the 60s (back then they used it to prevent more rain to make more offensive progress against the Vietcong, and this is all declassified now). It was even on the AHC channel (112 where I am) so it's not even covert at this point.

More elementary research will know China manipulated the weather for their Olympics in the 2000s to cause more or less snow at the Winter Olympics. It's all easily confirmable and verifiable with basic research.

Now, getting back to the present moment. I don't live near the ocean. I don't live in the Kansas/Oklahoma plains. I don't live near a Great Lake like Ontario, Eerie, etc.

I live in a very rural normal suburb of a big city, very far inland and nowhere near any body of water at all. We have small lakes, like ponds.

Well, let me tell you- In the past year, I am not even exaggerating. EVERY SINGLE DAY AND NIGHT, the wind is blowing like a hurricane or thunderstorm is coming through (in which case it would be normal, but it's just sunny and fair weather, no big fronts).

The key is this- It NEVER dies down.

I actually have studied Meterology also. I scientifically understand that when "fronts" move through, the wind can pick up...for a time. But it eventually settle down and evens out once the front moves in, which is usually only about an hor or two.

Again, I know living near plains and bodies of water with no mountains that there are "prevailing winds" that make them areas windy.

Now, here is another key detail: The wind does not blow in 1 direction. It blows bilaterally back and forth without choosing a single direction despite this geographical terrain. We are talking CONSTANT sustained 15 mph winds 24 hours MOST DAYS, not all, and gusts of 25-45mph WITH NO THUNDERSTORM, hurricane, tornadic clouds, no ocean, no great big lake, no plains. Even if it was a stiff 1-direction wind, that would be less suspicious. But it's not. The wind is back and forth often, like a tornado or severe thrunderstorm would cause.

My theory is they are experimenting with cooling the planet via artificial wind production.

I'm debating how they are doing it. Is it offshore windmills? At first I thought it was, but now I think they have a stratospheric weapon/technology high up above toward space that is generating the winds (because of the back and forth swirl effect). If it was 1-direction, then sure it could be windmills. But I'm almost certain now they have wind-producing tech in space that is generating this CONSTANT wind.

I only know this because I have thrived on being an avid outdoorsman for 2 DECADES almost like a religion. I run 4-6 miles every single day for the last two decades, and I have never seen such wind that is not caused by a thunderstorm, a big front coming through, or a hurricane, basically EVERY SINGLE DAY.

The key is that in the past, the wind can indeed pick up in "fair" conditions for a minute or a few, but it dies down and settles withing a couple of hours or less. But this is practically 24/7, and if not 24 it's like 20/7. Whenever there IS a day with little wind, it's scarce that it's like a "gift" and luxury. It'll pick up again for the next 4 days at 15mph avg with 30-45 mph gusts.

It took me a lot to share this. I mentioned it to a family member about 10 months ago, but I wanted to wait and see, like a scientist would, before I jumped to conclusions.

I do not live in Chicago, but I've been telling my family member that it's like we are in the Windy City because that's how windy it's been consistently for about 1 and a half years nonstop.

Basic physical science studies 101 show wind not only cools the temperature, but it also has an effect on the temprature of the sun's rays hitting the earth's surface.