I love the use of 3D modeling programs to re-create ancient cities & environments. It is an immersive way to virtually travel through time and experience the glory of past civilizations. Playing the Assassins Creed games always impressed me with the way you got a sense of the historical time period, such as Renaissance Rome or Ptolemaic Egypt.
It is exciting to come across projects where artists and historians accurately replicate the appearance of an ancient site. I found this website by Thomas Kole that is devoted to the rendering of Tenochtitlan, capital of the mighty (& brutal) Aztec empire, in the location that is now Mexico City:
The renderings shown on the website are stunning. The Aztec city built in the middle of a lake surrounded by mountains left the Spanish conquistadors awestruck when they first saw it. (Of course, the awe was only temporary & didn't' prevent them from subjugating and eventually destroying the magnificent city.)
It was an absolute marvel of engineering & city planning, and 3D computer renderings like this are now the only way to experience the majestic nature of this lost metropolis. I would highly encourage visiting the website above & spending some time soaking in the beauty of Tenochtitlan.
I've long been fascinated by ancient Mesoamerican cultures. I've studied the art, astronomy, engineering, and societies of the Aztec and Maya people extensively. There is so much to learn from them, but unfortunately so much has been lost to conquest and time.
That is why it is so amazing to be able to use this technology to visualize the details of the time period, especially when it is done is such a meticulous and historically accurate way. Eventually, we will be able to use these digital reconstructions and virtual or augmented reality devices to "time travel" and visit such sites in an even more immersive context.
Considering that I was just looking at the constellation Orion as I brought in my trash cans from the road tonight, this is a good video to share now. I always look up at the stars, amazed by even the limited number of stellar lights that I can see in the night sky at my house.
Orion is one of the most obvious constellations, and was associated with Osiris & his resurrection in ancient Egypt. One interesting fact about this arrangement of stars is their spacial orientation, which is obviously not on a flat plane as it appears. This is a cool diagram showing their relationship in space, from the previous article:
I love computer animated videos like the one below, because they give a perspective that is almost impossible to achieve strictly through verbal descriptions, or even numbers. Nothing can give you a quality existential crisis like a well-produced 3D animation like this, since it can clearly illustrate certain truths that reveal the mind-boggling nature of our reality.
This video was produced by Epic Spaceman & shows the scale of the nebula in the 'sword' of Orion, compared to our Sun. You just think about the incomprehensible vastness of space, and the mind & ego just "poof" away like an ephemeral cloud of dust.
One of my favorite uses of computer graphics is for visualizing scientific concepts that humans cannot otherwise experience, when the scale is beyond the realm of our senses.
I have posted before about the use of 3D renderings to illustrate microbiology, and it never stops fascinating me. The workings of living organisms at the molecular and cellular scale are mind-boggling.
I recently saw this computer animation by The Vaccine Maker Project detailing how mRNA vaccines train the body's immune system to neutralize a coronavirus & thought it was a brilliant educational video.
My wife & I were hesitant at first to get the vaccine, because of concerns regarding conceiving another child. However, as a nurse she was eventually required to be vaccinated, & so I followed suit. I was never really against it, but I never got flu or other vaccines either... it was a sort of ambivalence since I am very healthy and rarely get sick. (One time as an adult, I got a bad case of the flu and felt like I was going to fucking die, & I still didn't bother getting flu vaccines even after that experience. However, I did finally get the flu shot recently after getting the COVID vaccine.) Even before we got vaccinated, we still followed all the other recommendations & protocols for preventing infection. However, having a toddler while being vulnerable to getting sick with COVID was very stressful.
After researching actual scientific papers on the mRNA vaccine process (& no, not relying on some bullshit Facebook or other website research), I understood how amazing this biotech was & felt very confident in getting vaccinated.
Watching this video gave me an even deeper appreciation- not just for this vaccine technology, but for the astounding way that our microbiology functions. The fact that these interactions are continuously playing out billions of times throughout each of our bodies, while we are completely unaware of this entire universe of living processes within us, is just an incredible & utterly incomprehensible phenomenon.
I highly recommend watching and sharing this video to educate other on how this amazing bit of biological engineering works.
BONUS:
In the recommended videos alongside the one I posted above, I also saw the following video that goes into another aspect that I was very curious about - how is the vaccine actually designed & manufactured?
This video gives a glimpse of the awesome scientific effort that goes into the production of something like the Coronavirus vaccine:
I've had some experience in 3D computer graphics, and I love to see all the amazing artwork people create in that medium.
Artist Hadi Karimi digitally sculpts likenesses of historical figures in such a realistic manner that they look like photography. Being an expert in photo retouching, I can pick out fake images easily. However, these renderings are so convincing that they appear like real people, even to me.
The artistry displayed here is absolutely astounding. As I look over these portraits again, I am baffled that someone can even do this! Not only is the sculpting of the faces impressive, but the coloring & textures, hair, clothing, and especially the lighting all lend to the realism of these images.
For each portrait, there are multiple viewing angles, again adding to the sense of dimensionality of each figure.
I would highly recommend visiting the artist's website, to marvel at the technical and creative skill shown in these 3D renderings.
I believe this is a step to digitally re-creating people of the past - both famous and of personal importance. I could see an industry of providing "virtual loved ones" that can be seen and interacted with using VR or holograms.
Technology like Deep Nostalgia, combined with this kind of realistic 3D modeling, could allow a person to choose from a library of historical figures, or the creation of an AI-generated avatar based on personal photos and video.
Maybe when my son is an old man, he will be able to generate a virtual version of me to converse with. People are inherently social and nostalgic creatures, so it would surprise me if that kind of application wasn't developed at some point in the future.
However, the compilation of the top 100 animations is almost overwhelming in the sheer talent on display. I have watched it several times already, noticing new details each time.
It is truly a visual and mental treat, & I cannot recommend enough that you just take time to watch the top 100 montage:
This surreal vision is from a series called Mecha Weekly. He takes 3D mechanical-based designs and renders them so they have a dream-like quality. The link shows some of the process behind creating these amazing visuals.
There's much more of this weird, mesmerizing art on his Instagram page @mcafee.design.
Cellular Landscape Cross-section Through a Eukaryotic Cell, by Evan Ingersoll & Gael McGill
I saw the above image & was mesmerized by the complexity and intricate beauty of this representation of a tiny cross section of a single cell.
Being a visual artist, these kind of informational tools are much more effective to me than descriptions or formulas. The creation of this visualization is almost as impressive as the biological system itself.
I've posted about 3D renderings of cellular biology before, and it never ceases to amaze me that all this is going on in every one of the trillions of cells in each multicellular life form. The really amazing thing is that, per the creator's description, this is not even as dense as the real cell & its components!
To sit and really ponder the infinite array of interconnected systems making up our body at all scales is to eventually have the mind drop away, & be faced with the stark reality that "Reality" is imponderable in its totality.
On the ArtStation page, there is a link to a website (see below) with interactive images in which you can isolate the various components & proteins in the imagery. This is really interesting, and allows exploration of these fascinating mind-bending visuals.
The images show a solitary, meditating figure in different environments.
Each setting corresponds to the ancient metaphysical energy system
within the body, known as "chakras".
I am not a skilled chakra meditation practitioner, so I approached this as a
metaphorical work of art. I've posted the "Chakra
Ascension" series, for other people to appreciate & contemplate.
*In addition, I've made the series into a free e-book, in PDF format, that anyone can download:
I recently came across a couple psychedelic simian images on the Shamanic Sacra-Mental Spaces blog that I thought were pretty awesome.
The first one is "Stoned Ape Theory" by Tim Marr. It illustrates the theory espoused by Terence McKenna (whom I've posted about a lot here) that our primate ancestors had an evolutionary boost from eating psilocybin mushrooms that was a factor in accelerated cognitive development.
The second "Ape Agape" image is by Samuel Farrand, and would be the next step after the previous picture! After ingesting a psychedelic compound, the ape's experience transforms into a energetic mindscape of abstract patterns.
This image reminded me of the 3D image I created called "Psychedelic Symbiosis", which drew a comparison between the structure of neural and mycelial connections.
There are many ways to recreate and visualize aspects of history. I've written about using 3D rendering & virtual reality to see what ancient buildings and areas looked like.
Reconstructing the past can also be done using physical media. My wife & I are watching the series "Rome" and I love how the visual presentation really puts you into that time period. My only complaint about that show is that the Roman characters all have British accents... it makes no sense!
Anyway, after watching an episode of "Rome" I was looking up paintings & busts of Julius Caesar, and looking to see if anyone tried making modern-day representations of him. I came across this article about the Césares de Roma project, in which sculptor Salva Ruano accurately recreates the faces of Roman emperors.
The classical white marble busts we are used to seeing are modeled accurately, but really don't express the humanity in these ancient people. It is pretty stunning to see these hyper-realistic faces, based on ancient busts and other reference. The life-like details, along with the effective lighting, bring out the personality in their likeness.
Here are a few of the more famous emperors:
Julius Caesar :
Octavian (Caesar Augustus) :
The OG Neckbeard, Emperor Nero :
This video I just found shows the incredible about of detail that Salva Ruano puts into these sculptures:
2018 was a year of major milestones in my life, with many wonderful events and experiences. However, life is never perfect- and there were serious challenges, disappointments, and fear, as well.
In July, I got married to my best friend and the love of my life. Our wedding was everything we had envisioned, and embodied the sacred nature of our relationship.
Soon after the wedding, we moved into our first house together, and again it was exactly what we had envisioned. Being a creative professional, I am familiar with manifesting my thoughts into physical reality. I feel like both of us together take that power of manifestation to a new level, especially when it reflects the true intentions of our minds & souls. Although there are responsibilities and bills to pay, we are enjoying our life together and building a fruitful and positive future.
My wife and I created a brand together called Conscious Living for YOU. Our intention was to create a resource for people who wanted to improve their quality of life in mind, body, and spirit. It also represents Loretta's yoga teaching practice, and my design services for health & wellness companies and services.
I have also been growing my creative businesses. My freelance graphic design and marketing business is Paul Micarelli Design. I have learned a lot over the past year being self-employed, and worked with some awesome clients on many different types of projects- branding, web design, social media graphics, promotional materials, and even some 3D rendering.
I've also been getting more bookings for my photo booth & custom portrait business, Fantasy Photos. Although this is more of a side gig right now, I love meeting new people and providing the entertainment for their events. I never get tired of Photoshopping people of all ages and backgrounds into fun pictures.
Unfortunately, there have been some real struggles to go along with these successes. Making enough money to make ends meet is the biggest challenge, and I'm hoping as my businesses grow and Loretta and I become more successful together, these difficulties will diminish.
During the holidays, I have faced some really difficult circumstances that have ended the year on a very stressful note. The major issue has to do with transactions made through PayPal. In the summer, I agreed to accept several payments through PayPal for a third party through my main client, who provided me a lot of work, but claimed he wasn't able to use PayPal at the time. I took a cut for my design services, and the client got the rest of the money. Just before Christmas, the third party put in claims against me & recalled all the funds, claiming the work was not done. Now all the money, over $10k, is being held against my PayPal account, basically freezing it until the matter is resolved. This is outrageous, since I am basically guilty until I prove myself innocent and being penalized for it. To make matters worse, the client (the one actually contracted for the work) refused to provide any documentation that could help my case when I finally demanded it.
I spent the time between Christmas and New Years compiling all the information on my end proving that I had, in fact, done the work and provided it to the client. As a result of this whole fiasco, I have cut ties with the client, who was keeping me busy and a source of revenue, although it was fairly unreliable. Now, I am going to try to pick up the pieces and see if I can generate enough business through other clients to keep going. If not, I am considering other avenues as well in the short term.
This has been one of the most stressful experiences in my professional career, and I am hoping that PayPal and the claimant's financial institution accept the clear evidence that I am not at fault for this. In the meantime, my PayPal is tied up with this negative balance and it was one of the ways I got paid quickly by clients. This has given me a whole new outlook on these banking services and how to process payments from clients. It has also made me re-evaluate how I conduct business with all my clients.
As icing on the 2018 cake, on Christmas Eve, my Facebook page got hijacked through one of my secondary email addresses. The password was changed & I was locked out of my account. I spent the afternoon on Christmas Day cleaning up this mess, recovering my accounts and changing passwords. The hacker tried to get into my Facebook page again the other day, but thankfully was unsuccessful this time.
Despite these serious setbacks, I have tried to keep a positive outlook. I am still alive, after all, so there is always the potential for things to get better. These tough experiences will make me wiser, stronger, and better able to handle obstacles in the future.
On a global scale, there are much crazier things going on than what I am dealing with. For instance, we still have this jackass as President of the United States, tweeting out nonsense like this on New Years:
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE HATERS AND THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA! 2019 WILL BE A FANTASTIC YEAR FOR THOSE NOT SUFFERING FROM TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. JUST CALM DOWN AND ENJOY THE RIDE, GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR OUR COUNTRY!
It's truly unbelievable and disheartening that this is real. The scary thing isn't that this ignorant buffoon is in the most powerful position on the planet and has the mentality of a toddler.. it's that so many people still admire him and don't think there's anything remotely wrong with it. If you looked at his Twitter feed without knowing who it was, you would think this person is severely mentally ill.
As I get older and another year goes by, the one thing I can count on is that the world is absurd and will never stop producing weird & crazy shit. We can curl up and retreat from the craziness in fear and horror, or we can take a deep breath, smile, and realize that it is all only temporary, so we might as well enjoy the ride (as our wise leader says), with all it's beautiful scenery, uncomfortable bumps and unexpected detours.
I love finding new artists, and come across great stuff on Reddit, Instagram, and other sources. There are so many talented people out there creating amazing content.
After coming across Trey Trimble's art awhile back & bookmarking his Instagram page, I'm finally getting around to posting about him. He does some really cool 3D rendering, with a lot of retro 80's & vaporwave aesthetic to them.
On his website, he has a section of pieces that he made every day, over the course of 1000+ days. Despite myself being a graphic artist who creates almost every day, I have no idea how artists like him & Beeple find the time and motivation to produce this kind of output. It almost seems superhuman to me.
If you want to be completely confused & disgusted, be sure to watch their videos- featuring morphing humanoids, nonsensical scenery, disturbing sound effects, and generally mind-warpingly bizarre animation.
Here are some examples of the insane animations produced by Cool 3D World. For the love of all that's good, do not try to make sense of any of it:
Last night, my fiancée & I watched "Interstellar". Admittedly, I pick space movies to watch a lot, so she wasn't too thrilled at first about watching it. However, we both really liked it & spurred conversation today about black holes, the nature of space-time, higher dimensions, relativity, space travel, and cosmic consciousness.
I found myself kind of internally criticizing some of the movie's more scientifically far-fetched scenarios, but it's just sci-fi & entertainment, after all. Despite the fictional nature of the story, it was full of questions & possibilities for real science.
Besides the scientifically-inspired attempts at accuracy, the visuals in the movie had a transcendental effect similar to those of "2001: A Space Odyssey".
The interstellar craft approaching the black hole, "Gargantua".
The story takes place in an unspecified time in the near-future, when the population of Earth is facing a blight that is destroying crops. In a time of global famine and planetary depletion, NASA makes finding another world to inhabit a top priority.
The main character, Cooper, is a pilot who is recruited to travel through a known "wormhole" in space-time near Saturn. The wormhole leads to another galaxy, and appears to have been created by an advance collection of intelligent beings. Astronauts had been previously sent through the inter-dimensional tunnel to find inhabitable worlds in this new galaxy, and Cooper was chosen to join a crew to follow up on these missing scouts.
Cooper leaves both his daughter "Murph" & his son Tom behind, sacrificing his relationship with them to save them and the rest of the species. The familial connection between Cooper & his daughter is the driving force of the movie. Due to relativistic effects of traveling near the speed of light & entering powerful gravity wells around distant stars, there is a experienced time differential. Cooper ages at a rate much slower than his daughter, and also enter hibernation for periods of his journey. They can communicate through some kind of quantum data feed I believe, that allows the ship to receive messages, but they cannot send any back to Earth.
The film explores many of the effects that physical and cosmic forces would have on various modes of space exploration. The strange effects of the theory of relativity are fundamental elements of the story & visual effects.
Although the exotic physics concepts were enough to make "Interstellar" interesting, it then went into an almost metaphysical level. Without giving too much away, the movie shifted into a mind-blowing vision of higher-dimensional space, where time is no longer seen as a linear. It appeared as an almost spacial quality, where all space & time can be seen as an interconnected terrain that can be navigated like our familiar 3D experience.
The ability to enter this dimension, where all space & time exist, leads to a narrative loop that the main characters find themselves in. It turns out that humanity's destiny may be an existence as multi-dimensional energy beings. Cooper's encounter with this mode of reality ends up being the reason he gets there in the first place- leading to a circular causality that is reminiscent of the "grandfather paradox" in time travel.
"Interstellar" was a long film, (especially with Comcast's bullshit commercials, throughout an OnDemand movie) but it was well-worth watching. Yeah, some of it was pretty ridiculous, but it was really thought-provoking and visually stunning. Especially if you are interested in space travel, physics, cosmology, the idea of higher dimensions... or just enjoy a beautiful, mind-bending film, I definitely recommend this movie.
Here is another addition to the gallery, featuring 7 golden rings arranged into the "Seed of Life" configuration. This symbol is a fundamental element of sacred geometry, which is the fusion of mystical wisdom and scientific knowledge. These self-referential patterns illustrate how the laws of nature organize reality.
"Seed of Life- Gold on Black"
Feel free to download any of the images in the album above, for use as wallpapers or backgrounds. If you share it, please give credit or a link.
I don't run any ads here, so I'd appreciate it if you check out my Cafepress shop. There are prints and products with this design available:
I have an app called Forge of Neon that allows you to make these awesome 3D designs made of light points & trails.
As I was making one of these designs, it reminded me of a combination of patterns of quantum energy & a spiritual mandala. So, I decided to make a series of "Quantum Mandala" designs in both looping animated GIF format & as a video.
On
the fundamental level, Reality is an infinite sea of pulsations of
patterned energy. This is an attempt to visualize the beauty &
intricacy of these ubiquitous energy patterns that form our world.
This past weekend, I went to see "Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi" in 3D.
Having been born around the time of the original Star Wars, my love for this series has been one of the constants in my life. It has inspired my love of science & technology, my sense of spirituality & view of the nature of Reality, and my approach to understanding myself. It is definitely the most influential creative work in my life, so it's hard not to get excited when a new story from this fictional world is told. Most adults who have grown up with the Star Wars universe don't just get a taste of nostalgia, but an actual child-like feeling of awe at the imaginative scope of these movies.
These are modern myths, and they are like guides for the individual and our culture on how to understand and approach the world. "The Last Jedi," although far from perfect, continued the Star Wars mythos in an amazing way. I can (& will) nitpick the things I didn't like, but overall I really enjoyed the movie and am ready to see it again. Many of the familiar tropes were turned upside down, and some of the deepest additions to the lore since "The Empire Strikes Back" were introduced.
My favorite aspects of the Star Wars saga are the mystical elements surrounding The Force. The ideals of spiritual development and transcendence are presented to the mass audience in a way that no other work of art has been able to do.
I had written about some of my thoughts & hopes for the movie when the trailer came out:
I tried to avoid spoilers beforehand, but I still saw some details online that gave away some of the key plot points. Despite knowing a few secrets going in, the movie still gave me some really surprising moments with some "WOW!"-inducing developments.
If you haven't seen the movie, I'd recommend to stop reading now. I'm going to talk about a lot of the details that you may want to be surprised with.
******SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!********
First of all, although I really liked it, there was alot in the movie that wasn't so great... Fortunately, the best scenes in "The Last Jedi" were some of the most awesome parts of the entire saga.
I think the biggest wasted opportunity was the lack of development of Supreme Leader Snoke. There was no contrast between his Dark Side training of Kylo Ren with the Light Side training of Rey by Luke Skywalker. It is one of the biggest complaints I'm seeing online- that all the buildup and show of power by the enigmatic Snoke is left hanging by his unceremonious death. We have no context to where he's from, how he became powerful with the Dark Side, how he corrupted Ben Solo, or almost anything about him. I was hoping there would be a comparative sequence of Kylo & Rey training with their respective masters, but there was no glimpse into the Dark Side whatsoever. Snoke is an evil jerk with a lust for power & control, who has impressive Force abilities... other than that, we got nothing. I'm sure his character will be fleshed out in expanded materials, but they should have given him even a little more background.
However, the fact that Snoke was killed by Kylo Ren, after so cruelly and arrogantly antagonizing him, was one of the really shocking moments. Kylo basically did what his idol & grandfather Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader couldn't do- kill his master and take control of the fascist military regime seeking to rule the galaxy. He succeeded where Vader failed, but I think he'll find that he still has feelings of fear & inadequacy that cannot be cured by gaining more temporal power.
Star Wars is obviously about war & the battles that are fought in the world. There was some excellent commentary about the business behind war, and military contractors who get rich from profiting off death & destruction from both sides. However, I would have instead liked more focus on exploring the mystical elements of the Star Wars galaxy & The Force. We got nothing from the Dark Side, and although there were some great nuggets from Rey's time with Luke, it felt like the Jedi history and ancient knowledge wasn't explored as extensively as I would've hoped.
Part of the reason is the way that Luke Skywalker's character is treated, which appears to be another major point of contention among fans. Instead of the super-powered Jedi Grand Master many were hoping to see, we initially meet Luke as a grumpy hermit who has actually cut himself OFF from The Force! His failure with his nephew Ben, whose dark nature resulted in the complete destruction of Luke's new Jedi academy, was the reason for Luke's exile. Right from the beginning, when he casually tosses aside his father's lightsaber after Rey hands it to him & walks away, you know he was right when he said "This is not going to go the way you think!"
Failure is a theme in this episode, with most of the characters failing in some way or another. This is emphasized when none other than Yoda appears to Luke, late in the film. I was hoping for a whole council of Force ghosts to appear, including Obi-wan, Qui-gon, & Anakin, but maybe that's for the grand finale in Episode IX. When "young Skywalker," as Yoda calls him, is ready to burn down the ancient Jedi tree & sacred books (which he didn't know Rey had taken with her), Yoda appears as a Force ghost to drop some of his crazy wisdom on the disillusioned Jedi. He states that failure is the greatest teacher, and helps Luke come to terms with his own shortcomings.
Although some fans are outraged at this portrayal of Luke, it makes him
more human and reveals that even the greatest heroes in the galaxy can
have flaws and insecurities. As for his contemplation of murdering
his nephew when he senses the evil within Ben as his student, it is
no more unbelievable than any of the other times Luke was tempted by
the Dark Side, his own anger, & fear.
I like the idea of Luke going to the first Jedi temple to be a hermit, living an ascetic life of humble daily toil like a simple monk. However, the cynicism and downright disdain for the Jedi way was a bit jarring. I was satisfied with how he taught Rey that the Sith & Jedi were just human conventions, and the living Force that permeates all creation was something that was beyond ideology or any organization. It was a little strange, though, to have Luke teaching these lessons if he didn't even want anything to do with it. However, I really liked the scenes of Luke finally taking on Rey as a student, in the mode of a kung-fu movie. The focus on meditation, breath, and spiritual introspection were exactly what I hoped would be included in her training. He tried to convey the "grey" principles that I was hoping would be discussed in this movie. The idea is to move beyond false dichotomies like "light" & "dark" to find balance- embracing the totality of existence to live a life of spiritual purpose and deep understanding.
To this point, there was a mosaic in the simple stone structure of the first Jedi temple that was visible, but not in detail. It represented the Prime Jedi, the first Force user to form the religious order that would last for millennia. I wanted to see a better image of it, so I found this scan online from The Art of The Last Jedi book. It shows the first Jedi in meditation pose, with the lightsaber creating the division between alternating light & dark in a yin-yang style design. I wish they had shown it & explained it briefly... but like so many other intriguing details, it was left in the background.
Luke's progression through the movie leads to the climax of the story, where he re-connects with The Force after finally forgiving himself for his past failure. Jedi Master Skywalker then exhibits one of the most powerful displays of The Force ever seen. During the final battle on Crait, as the First Order (led by the new Supreme Leader Kylo Ren) is about to destroy what's left of The Resistance, Luke suddenly appears. After facing down the line of walkers and ships on the battlefield, Skywalker emerges unscathed from a barrage of artillery fire ordered by a furious Kylo, who lands his ship to face his uncle & former teacher. After dodging Kylo's attacks (with moves that I thought were cool, but a little too reminiscent of The Matrix movies) something strange happens... Kylo seems to slice him in half, then pokes him right in the chest with his lightsaber in disbelief, as Luke stands there unfazed. Channeling his old friend & Kylo's dad, Han Solo, Luke says "See ya 'round kid," & disappears! Still physically back on his island, Luke had used a remote Force-projection of himself to distract Kylo & allow the Resistance, including his sister Leia, time to escape.
“The supreme art of war
is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
-Sun Tzu
During the confrontation, the scene cuts to an awe-inspiring view of Luke meditating & levitating on a ledge at the island. He is trembling & obviously exerting an immense effort to project his astral form across the galaxy, so clearly that it fools everyone. After the confrontation when Kylo realizes he's been bamboozled, we cut back to Luke collapsing onto the ground & crawling back to his feet. Facing twin suns like those seen in the first appearance of Luke on his home planet of Tatooine, Luke finally looks serene and in harmony with himself and the world. Then he achieves the ultimate state of being, dissolving his physical form and becoming one with The Force. He has become an ascended master, similar to stories in our world of Tibetan Buddhist monks who are able to transition into "light bodies" and transcend this physical realm.
It was an absolutely epic sequence, and my favorite part of the film. It showed how powerful Luke Skywalker was, and was an awesome send-off for the greatest hero character of the modern age. Those who wished they could have seen Luke tearing up legions of stormtroopers with his green lightsaber and over-powered Force abilities missed the point completely. By playing the enlightened trickster and using his powers to save his friends & not destroy his enemies, Luke had reached a refined spiritual state that was the ultimate expression of Force mastery.
"Greater in battle than the man who would conquer a thousand men,
is he who would conquer just one- himself."
-The Buddha
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was the perfect way to end Luke's story. It was a great contrast between the humble Jedi who passed on gracefully, full of purpose, in peace, & on his own terms- vs. Snoke who, for all his grand power, was cut down in a pathetic & meaningless death. The best part is that now Luke will be a Force ghost who can continue to teach Rey, maybe haunt Ben, and be an influence that he could never have been in life!
So yeah, that was my favorite part. Both Rey & Kylo were also amazing in this movie. Rey is an excellent character, embodying the light side in a way that is pure, yet full of emotion and intuition. By making Rey's parent's nobodies, it shows that anyone in this world can be powerful and a catalyst for positive change. You don't need to be a Skywalker or a specific lineage to be of consequence. This is further emphasized at the very end, when a slave boy on the casino planet subtly levitates a broom to his hand, looks to the stars, and holds up the broom like a lightsaber. This is symbolic of the new generation of Force users who will emerge and be taught by Rey.
Because redemption is such a major theme of Star Wars, I have a feeling that maybe Ben Solo will eventually come back from the Dark Side- and either have a romantic connection & a family with Rey, or will join her in teaching the new Force sensitives. Before, I would have thought the "Reylo" love possibility was ridiculous, but this movie shows a connection between them that is difficult to brush off. Their fight together against Snoke's guards after Kylo killed him was intense & awesome. Kylo Ren really grew into a complex character that is completely unpredictable and has a future of limitless possibilities. Whatever happens... as Luke said, he will definitely NOT be the "last Jedi"!
Speaking of ridiculous, I do feel like Leia's "big scene" was a bit out of place, or at least could have done better. We know Leia is also Anakin Skywalker's daughter, so she is obviously strong in The Force. During the First Order attack on her ship, her conflicted son Kylo/Ben can't pull the trigger to destroy her ship's bridge. It doesn't matter because one of his wingmen do it anyway & blow up the bridge, with Leia, Admiral Ackbar, & others in it. Leia's seemingly lifeless body is floating through space, but she wakes up... & flies Superman-style back into the ship! When I was watching it, this really took me out of the movie & made me go "Whaaaat?!?" I guess it is neat to give Leia powers, but I feel like the way the scene was filmed was kind of weird. Otherwise, it is great to see her character, along with the other characters from the original trilogy continuing their stories along the new faces in these sequels.
Like any of the Star Wars movies, there are plenty of details & plot points that I could pick apart to criticize. At least the dialogue didn't reach the cringe levels that the Prequels did, especially between Anakin & Padme. The interactions between Rey & Kylo in this movie were much more compelling and dramatic.
People have been complaining about the whole mission on the casino planet of Canto Bight & the new character Rose- a mechanic for the Resistance, animal lover, & Finn's fangirl. I would've preferred all this & the space battles be cut back to make room for more of the Jedi history and Force training. Unfortunately, every Star Wars movie has these side quests and seemingly tangential aspects.
Overall, I really enjoyed "The Last Jedi", and could keep talking about it, like people around the world are already doing. Because the good scenes were so jaw-droppingly awesome, and it delved back into exploring the mystical & philosophical concepts that I love- this movie is now one of my favorites of the entire saga. It has set up some really wonderful potential for the final Episode 9 of the series.
I look forward to experiencing the culmination of a lifetime of being a Star Wars fan, by watching the conclusion of this epic & timeless story. Like the legend of Luke Skywalker in the movie, the Star Wars story will continue to inspire me and countless generations in the years to come.
I have an app called Forge of Neon that allows you to make these awesome 3D designs made of light points & trails.
As I was making one of these designs, it reminded me of a combination of patterns of quantum energy & a spiritual mandala. So, I decided to make a series of "Quantum Mandala" designs in both looping animated GIF format & as a video.
On
the fundamental level, Reality is an infinite sea of pulsations of
patterned energy. This is an attempt to visualize the beauty &
intricacy of these ubiquitous energy patterns that form our world.
