A Beautiful Mind

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Just watched it again last night and it's a great movie.

It's the true life account of a brilliant math genius named John Nash who struggled (still does) with schizophrenia his entire life.

How is this relevant to Aspergers? When Mr Nash was growing up (He'll be 85 this year) Schizophrenia was not "mainstream" as it is now. (Lack of a better term sorry)

In other words the old excuses of "Get over it" "Look what you have" "Stop feeling sorry for yourself were just as prevelant then" as they are now. Only Aspergers has apparently replaced Schizophrenia.

Look I'd love to keep steady employment but it's been tough to say the least.

My brother is a Yale (Yes New Have Ct Yale) Grad meanwhile and is very comfortable on Wall Street. Couldn't be more proud.

I think the people who say "Get over it", etc. are shallow. They don't care to think about how different others' brains can be.

The movie was really good but PBS had a documentary (American Experience - "A brilliant madness") that was awesome.

The main reason I connect so much with ABM is because Nash is very Aspie-like in the beginning of the movie, while he's at Princeton. The scene where Helinger tells him he doesn't qualify for any placement, particularly the quote in my siggy, sums up the frustration and anxiety I feel about furthering my career in academia. Nash's words of, "I can't fail! This is all I am!" echo my feelings exactly. So do the words of: "Find a truly original idea- that's the only way I'll ever distinguish myself, it's the only way I'll ever matter..." I'm a fan of the movie only, though. I really don't have much interest in the REAL John Nash. I like the character in Russell Crowe's portrayal.

And "Saying Goodbye to Those You So Love", song #12 on the soundtrack, is just amazing. The specific way that the music ebbs and flows in intensity, with peaks that almost feel like pulses, along with Charlotte Church's haunting "oohs" at the end... I listen to this song over and over all the time, especially when I'm having a breakdown. The song's ebbing and flowing make me "feel" pressure, so when I'm having a sobbing breakdown, it's the best way I have to release my feelings. It's a tension-release mechanism that I couldn't go long without. And when I'm not upset, the song is so relaxing to me. I go hours listening to it. James Horner did a brilliant job with the soundtrack. It really does "feel" like mental illness.

And my favorite part of the movie is the part in my avatar, which I love due to the scenery and the meaning, not because I relate to it.

It's easy to tell someone to "get over something" when you don't have to deal with it yourself. The cat could call the snake lazy or weak for not being able to climb trees, but that doesn't mean it's true, or that saying such things will make the snake any more able to climb trees.

It's one of my favorite movies.

Great, great movie!! This is a little off topic but if you want to see a heartwarming movie about Aspergers, check out "My Name is Khan." It's a Bollywood Blockbuster and is one of the best movies ever to come out of India. It's about an Aspie who moves from India to San Francisco in order to start a new life for him self and meets with discrimination.