A Passion for Science and Reason

Yesterday, I attended a second event at Het Denkgelag in Antwerpen, about the passion for science and reason. I saw physicist Lawrence Krauss for a second time, but what really brought me back was the presence of the world's most famous atheist and science popularizer, biologist Richard Dawkins. As the two have a great friendship, this night would be less of a debate, and more of a discussion of plenty of topics.

These included philosophy, morality, education, religion, rational tolerance, intellectual honesty, cosmology, politics, speculations and a few more. Krauss is the more sarcastic and faster speaker of the two, while Dawkins speaks more elegant and British. After having finished the documentary
The Unbelievers(2013), the two continue to travel towards world locations in order to have an open conversation about life's bigger topics.

The main theme of the evening was that science and reason can really be delightful, and is in the end much more beautiful to experience once the wheels so to speak click, rather than ideologies, myths and world views that stagnate ridicule, honesty and progress. Once the scientific method of research combined with experiments and results is held together with logical deductions, the universe which we see around us becomes much more interesting.

Belief was used as comedy references, a topic that both gentlemen have debated to death and beyond, but the secular agnostic atheist is growing on Earth. The times are changing. Technological advancements are accelerating Moore's law through the past decades and the present, and have changed so much in such a short time, that we must continue to challenge all of the established institutions, norms and values, cultures and so on in order for humanity as a whole to have better living conditions.

Thought experiments and moral dilemma's were briefly discussed, as well as the returning topic of philosophy being useful with science, and that continues to be the case as far as Krauss thought, but only after new discoveries and new consequences are being made within all fields such as
chemistry, quantum mechanics, biology and so on.

A Passion for Science and Reason happened inside a large theater in Belgium where 2.000 people were seated for this event, which was quite crazy, especially as I noticed how high the attendants could sit, even much higher than me, as I was just merely sitting on the first balcony. I had a very good time, and once again, I can't wait to see it all back once the professional edited video is online.

Get Equipped With:

 

Near the end of last year, I noticed that I needed a newer video card for the latest PC games, mainly because my old one would not allow it to upgrade from DirectX 10 to 11. That's why I have been researching what older generation of video card would suit me best throughout the new year.

According to benchmarking tests and reviews, the GTX670 came out highly, that's why I purchased it from someone else. As I was busy with this, according to recommended requirements, I figured that I needed more physical RAM too.

This was a simpler matter of comparing my old memory cards with a newer but same type of model, and I realized post-purchase that the RAM I bought looks overstylized and is a bit overpriced, but the important thing is that they work together with my old cards, giving me a total of 12GB currently.

But there is a technical support story behind these let's say newer products; at first, my PC would randomly shut down my monitor, while the latest games such as Alien: Isolation would crash. Deducing that the suspect would be the memory, I tried out different ways of testing this physically, but also systemically and "onlinenically".

As me and a buddy eventually crossed out many fields we could look into, including drivers, diagnostics, compatibility, optimalization and more, we were dumbfounded to be unable to trace the source of the sudden shutdowns, although my PC would continue running on it's own.

It's only after my own initiation of opening up my case once again and take another good observation at my customized PC after cleaning it up from dust that I deduced that a physical hard drive is probably a cause.

Because it touched my GTX670 on one edge, I thought that it would endure it's neighbour. But after I moved the hard drive to a new spot, to my surprise, the very high temperature of 100 degrees was finally dissapearing from my video card, because it was no longer absorbing heat from the hard drive.

So in the end, both products are simply working fine. It ain't a full upgrade, something which I have done twice so far between 5 to 6 years, but it will be enough for me to play the latest upcoming titles for this year, until DirectX 12 is released, and other kinds of new technology.

Upcoming Promising Movies in 2015

In this second part, let's briefly overseer the upcoming promising movies which cinema now as far as we can generally see has to offer:

Spectre

James Bond's twenty-fourth's assignment will apparently be about the reboot of the sinister organisation Spectre, led by his most famous antagonist, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Whether he, or other members such as Emilio Largo and Rosa Klebb will return remains to be seen, and who knows if Quantum or other 00 agents will make another appearance? In any case, consider me excited, because the number 1 reason I really like James Bond is because of the villains in their spotlights.

Terminator Genisys

Insert "I'm back" quote here.  As far as canonity goes, I''m not really sure, but it seems we are dealing with a remake or retelling of the original The Terminator(1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day(1991) rolled into one new movie here, because the plot summary indicates that Kyle Reese, Sarah Connor and an aging terminator will have to stop judgment day again. Or this is just a new timeline, a reimagination of some sorts. It's crazy to see Arnold returning in the flesh instead of CGI, but I am most of all excited for the return of a T-1000 model!

The Avengers: Age of Ultron

They really had a clever thing going on with all those standalone Marvel movies and their post credits scenes, hinting that in the nearby future, the superheroes would form and team together in The Avengers(2012), a successful movie on many fronts, but most of all because the synergy of their teamwork was great, and the humor was very effective. Age of Ultron will most likely promise a more challenging supervillain, where as Loki simply was outnumbered. Let the age of critical acclaimed comic movie adaptations please continue.

It Follows

Nowadays, on a yearly basis, the horror genre always seems to have atleast one prominent title coming up, whether it's a sequel or an original. This time, It Follows is most likely carrying the cape of frights, as it seems that it will deliver a new spin of creative modern horror. The main premise is about sexually transmitted haunting, something I have never heard about before. Seeing as it has delivered in an unique and scary fashion at film festivals, I am looking forward to this, but then again I am cautiously and skeptically optimistic, because you can never be too sure how effective horror movies can be individually.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

It's almost impossible to think that they would do another episode after the so conclusive episode of Return of the Jedi(1983), but it's really happening again. With a new director and owner overseering the global beloved Star Wars franchise, this new trilogy can either break or mold it forever considering the past receptions. I have no idea how the story will continue, but I can atleast be sure that the choreography will be outstanding, what with the main action stars of The Raid movies being present.

Jurassic World

Such a long time since we have seen a mainstream blockbuster about dinosaurs, don't ya think? Jurassic World is looking pretty good, with Chris Pratt of Guardians of the Galaxy(2014) fame leading the cast into a dinosaur themed theme park which is bound to go wrong and backfire, as they always do, in this series. I am expecting to get pretty entertained, but I am not expecting a masterpiece by any means.

In fact, that goes for all of the movies on this list, because I am obviously aware that these are pretty much all of them mainstream titles. And the best movies of each year are usually those who are the least expected to get critical and commercial acclaim, so of course I will be scouting those out too.

Upcoming Promising Games in 2015

Two-thousand fifteen promises a large number of exciting products for both the video game and the cinema industries, that's why I have decided to cover both of them briefly one after another. There's plenty to look forward to, so let's jump right in:

Batman: Arkham Knight

Rocksteady Studios has been developing this next-gen sequel for quite some years now, while Arkham Origins was provided by a different team, which still was exceptional entertaining for me. With a bigger more actual Gotham City, control over the Batmobile and surely a ton of stuff to do, Arkham Knight has a good chance to become the best in the series yet.

Bloodborne

The director of Demon's Souls, Hidetaka Miyazaki, overseers this new spiritual successor towards the Souls franchise, offering the same kind of gameplay, but faster, more aggressive and thrilling than before. With a new gothic setting and interesting new features including a randomized dungeon as well as "remixed" gameplay, Bloodborne is the first exclusive PlayStation 4 game I am really looking forward to.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

I think we got lucky to see this title enhanced similar to Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, but then again, Majora's Mask has only gotten more popular over the years for getting more and more understood for why it's such a special entry in an already great franchise. This will be the perfect excuse for me to return towards my favorite 3D Zelda, and I can't wait to see what else is going to be announced for it.

The Legend of Zelda U

The first original HD sequel is promised to get an open world setting, so the main quest so to speak will most likely not be linear for the most part. Hopefully the developers will improve upon A Link Between World's accessibility and perhaps take a good look back at the original The Legend of Zelda on the NES in regards towards progressing through the dungeons. Keep Skyward Sword's challenging moments, and amaze me with either the Wii U GamePad or dungeon design, and I will be pretty much excited for this.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2

I am still amazed by the first Revelations's overall design on the Nintendo 3DS, but at the same time I am heavily dissapointed to see it's sequel not returning towards Nintendo consoles. Nevertheless, I will be experiencing this episodic entry elsewhere, and I can't wait to see the new storyline, the locations and the new enemies. Revelations's mixture of horror and action was excellent, and that will likely be present too.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

The third person shooter trilogy with adventurous action sequences started out pretty good, but Among Thieves was most of all one of the best moments found on the PlayStation 3 for me. A Thief's End promises another exotic new location at Madagascar and more to be revealed, and it will most likely continue to use the fun climbing mechanics, funny dialogue, secrets and of course the beautiful scenery to be found in all previous titles.

Silent Hills

That Playable Teaser demo from last year was a frightening experience, with several different layers of horror being used to make you unsettled, such as a neverending hallway, a baby fetus, disorientated colors and a vengeful ghost. But it wasn't really what the Silent Hill franchise usually is about, which is either a cult, personified demon creatures, nightmares, a hellish location and more. Psychological events did occur, but it's just a playable teaser, and I'm sure that the final version of Silent Hills will look and feel much diffferent.

Final Fantasy XV

I am probably the least excited with this one out of all the others mentioned, but I still wonder what direction Final Fantasy XV will take. After VII, the series pretty much went downhill for me, as there basically has never been a greater entry since then, a frustration also shared with Square Enix I am sure. After turn based, MMO's, spin-offs and active time battles, I wonder how XV's combat will be, and of course it's brand new world. I am cautiously and skeptically optimistic.

Star Fox U

It has been long overdue that a better game than Star Fox 64 gets released, and hopefully, this one should do the trick. Shigeru Miyamoto has already stated that a cockpit view is available on the Wii U GamePad, and who knows what else is Nintendo working on with this long awaited sequel, not to mention that they are finally leading a Star Fox project once again. Which means that there is plenty of reason to get excited!

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Thinking about this title, the first thing that comes up in my mind is how ridiculously large it's world will most likely be, just like it's predecessor, which are not naturally plot related. I am not a fan of mecha's in general, but in here they look pretty cool, being able to fly around and such. The real-time action based battle system was last time so addictive because not only where several characters playable, but the Monado Arts and the other skills added plenty of tactics and depth. And I haven't even mentioned that sublime soundtrack, the engaging story and the wonderful world yet, all of which I expect to be transferred over with Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Splatoon

It could very well be true that Nintendo has never made a third person shooter before, unless you count Mario shooting down with water in Super Mario Sunshine. That's why it's a refreshing direction for them to create Splatoon, using the basic main physics of toxic slime and water from Sunshine, and creating a whole game out of that, including multiplayer and innovative usages such as launching yourself to far away places using the liquid, or swiftly moving through the liquid as a squid based character. Splatoon is an exciting new IP to look forward too, and it has this teenage rebellion mood coming out of it.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Hideo Kojima is certainly a wacky genius when it comes to this huge franchise, with it's cinematic philosophical moments, Japanese humor, realistic settings but then again also over the top characters each with their own insane personalities. The Phantom Pain is looking absolutely gorgeous for a stealth based open world TPS, and there are tons of plot theories floating around the internet as to what in the hell will be happening in this very mandatory chapter about Big Boss becoming evil.

Flok Factory Inquiry

I've been thinking about ways to improve my personal blog. Regarding content, I have tried to be diversive, offering my insight and opinion about cinema, video games, traveling, literature and miscellaneous topics. Reviews dominate, but I occassionally write up specific articles too.

As I check out the statistics of Flok Factory every now and then, I notice that visitors seem to be coming from all over the world, but actual comments towards posts are rare and membership is extremely rare, as it stands, I have only 1 member.

For anyone reading this, what would you recommend me to do in order to improve the quality and standards of this blog? On a side note, I've been thinking about starting my own book or perhaps even my own professional YouTube channel, as I tend to think that both attract more people than this.

I realize that almost everyone has a personal blog nowadays, succeeding the diaries of older times, but I also like to think that some, but not all of my posts, are exceptional written. I wonder should you be reading this, what your favorite post of mine has been so far?

At a loss looking for improvement, how long will I continue writing at Flok Factory? The enthusiasm for writing will not go away anyhow, but if no one will truly notice my updates instead of only myself, should I continue with it, or give up?

There's definitely something lacking, and that is marketing or promoting Flok Factory. On the other hand, some bloggers have so many followers yet their posts are so shallow, and this doesn't necessarily mean Twitter, Blogger counts too.

I wonder if someone knows the answer.