And what gets left out of the equation is the unseen, the eternal, the unchanging, the essence (if any). Murph is so eloquent but I keep thinking that, if I were more adept at truly understanding him, I would be able to point to the missing elements.

On character: I know what you mean in the respect that I majored in directing in college and I used to always say to my actors, "Don't tell me, show me" because how is an audience supposed to read the actor's mind? But don't you think that there's something more? We live in these human bodies, we inhabit these minds, and we are convinced, most of us, that there is some essence that isn't just reward/punishment or reflex. Are we just fooling ourselves? Or is there something unseen?

On filmmaking and time/perception in flashes: Buddhism holds that substance is an illusion, and it is exactly because of this flip chart nature of perception giving the appearance of continuity that we believe in substance.

I think it's practically definitional of depression that it's a feeling that nothing you do makes any difference. Maybe the idea that we can make a difference is also an illusion, but it's certainly a workable illusion in my book. That's just about the last illusion I'm gonna let go of, nahmean?


Peace.