Random Blog Post 1

I fulfilled my promise. I read How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown today to completion. This is the first book I've read completely since The Godfather by Mario Puzo, which was later turned into a movie by Francis Ford Coppola. It's a pretty big leap going from a fiction book that talks about mobsters to a memoir of the man who advocated against Pluto being a planet. There are parallels between both, though, and the biggest one is that in some capacity, someone or something ceased to exist. In the case of The Godfather, Virgil Sollozzo was killed by Michael Corleone because Sollozzo called an unsuccessful hit on Michael's father, and the boss of the Corleone Crime Family, Vito Corleone. In Mike Brown's memoir, Pluto's status as a planet is murdered by Mike Brown, albeit in a way less cold-blooded fashion than the murder of Sollozzo. I think reading both of these books taught me things that I never expected to learn. 


From Brown's memoir, I learned the true definition of a planet: Any large body in the Solar System that is visible from a considerable distance away and is not the same size as the objects surrounding it. The reason Pluto was killed as a planet was because it attempted to spread drugs in New York City when Vito Corleone was against it. Wait. I think I messed up what I wanted to say. The reason Pluto is no longer a planet is because in the Kuiper Belt, where Pluto resides, there are a lot of similar-sized objects and comets and Pluto has nothing that sets it apart in terms of size and gravitational impact. Thus, it is characterized as a Dwarf Planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) which is a term that Mike Brown disagrees with but accepts. I also picked up a mnemonic device for the planets' order which is: my very excellent mother just served us noodles. 


From The Godfather, I can say that I not only learned some mob lingo but also committed one of Vito Corleone's philosophies to heart. He says something along the lines of extending his hand in friendship before everything. Ever since I watched that movie, I've found myself trying to do that the most. I do not know how successful I've been at it but I try my best. I've also picked up a love for movies after watching the greatest mobster flick of all time. I want to try and make my way down the list of IMDB's greatest movies of all time but I haven't been very good at doing so. I watch some movies here and there but I want to try and give it a serious go. 


Movies end up reflecting the aesthetic and hot conversation topics of the time that they were made in so I want to try and pick up on all of this. In the 2nd Top Gun, I think they had to make a pretty obvious choice of not telling us who the crew would be attacking. They mention the planes that the pilots would be up against, SU 57s, but never mention which country or entity they would be fighting. My guess is that to avoid controversy, the film originally mentioned Russia as being the overall protagonist but because the movie came out in May 2022, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, they had to omit all of this to not have a repeat of the Sony attacks after they released The Interview. This is just one example of how present-day circumstances change the plot of a movie and I want to try and find some more.


I've also been sort of bored ever since the semester started and I broke up with my girlfriend. I hang out with my friends and have some good laughs. Still, it's something that I can't ignore. I had a girlfriend and now she isn't there so it takes time to adjust and I am adjusting. Maybe I'm just spewing nonsense here. I think breaking up has had a net positive impact on my life though. I've lost weight, which is good, and maybe I'm trying to supplant my bored by watching a whole bunch of movies. Only time will tell what I end up doing. I'll probably have an update by the 2nd random blog post but for now, I think I would like to enjoy the last few weeks of my final semester at USC by just chilling with my friends. Something I think Vito Corleone would have done too. 

Comments

  1. ChristianFebruary 27, 2024 at 4:09 PM

    I love the comment on Mob lingo. I find myself trying to mimic characters in television and movies and always admire a good impression. Excited to hear your take after you've finished Book 1.

    ReplyDelete

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