He never grew up and did not stop growing.
And then there are those of us who watch this video, and we are saddened at the downward spiral that America has taken, when people like the Vice-President of the United States (and the President, remember he called himself "the Decider") can openly boast about how they enjoy the feeling of not being held accountable by anyone.
Here it is folks: your Vice-President doesn't give a damn what you think about how he and Bush are wasting American lives and resources...
The lesser angels of my nature would like to suggest that someday, Dick Cheney might be found face-down in a gutter bleeding to death and crying for help. One guy could walk past him. And that dude will look at Cheney, someone in need of dire medical assistance, then he'll shrug his shoulders and say "so?" and he'll keep on going his way, leaving Cheney to die begging for sympathy.
It would make for a great episode of The Twilight Zone. Except for a morality tale to be effective, its audience must possess a soul. Something that I don't know if Cheney and Bush and their kind ever had to begin with.
Give it up for Harmonix: they are definitely one software company that listens to its fan base. Yesterday they pushed a patch for their hit game Rock Band that addresses several issues that players have been having. And with the update comes one very cool innovation: Rock Band Store, an in-game way to purchase new songs without having to leave the game for Xbox Live Marketplace or the PlayStation Store.I just installed the update and messed around with the game (the Xbox 360 version) and I am extremely pleased with what Harmonix has done with this update. The Rock Band Store even lets you preview songs that you might consider purchasing before doing so.
In addition to the Rock Band Store, the new patch fixes the random song lists bugs, tweaks the cap on fans in Band World Tour mode, improves some issues with the microphone (which was a big deal with the PlayStation 3 version), and the downloaded content is said to be much faster in loading 'cuz after this update it's now being cached.
The update is free. Just turn on your system with the Rock Band disc, and if you're on Xbox Live or PlayStation Store it should automatically ask if you want to install it.
But there have been a few things about G.I. Joe that have piqued my curiosity. Christopher Eccleston as Destro, f'rinstance. And Ray Park as Snake-Eyes. And the fact that Larry Hama, who pretty much defined the entire look and tone of the Eighties-era G.I. Joe mythology, is aboard the production team.
And then yesterday Ain't It Cool News, courtesy of Larry Hama himself, delivers the first officially released photos of Snake-Eyes from the film...
Here's the other pic, after I played around with it in Photoshop to bring out more detail...
That's Snake-Eyes alright. No question about it. The only thing I don't like is that he's got the Arishakage clan's hexagram emblazoned on his costume's shoulder, when I much prefer it tattooed on his arm and out of sight. But the fact that the hexagram is being used at all makes up a bit for that quibble.
I must admit, I really like how they've got Snake-Eyes looking here.
(By the way, I still have in my possession my almost-pristine copy of G.I. Joe issue #21: the legendary "Silent Interlude" story. Along with #25 and #26 of the same run. So if these pics can impress me, that's sayin' something :-)
Last week on Lost, Sayid and Desmond were still on the freighter and the captain made it clear that their mission was to capture Benjamin Linus. Then while being taken to new quarters they were introduced to the ship's janitor: "Kevin Johnson".It was Michael (Harold Perrineau).
When we last saw Michael, it was the finale of Season 2 and he was in a small boat along with his son Walt headed on a compass bearing of 325 away from the Island, after making a traitorous deal with the Others. Linus told Michael that they would soon find rescue.
Now one month later in story time (though what we know of time on the Island now, that doesn't really mean anything), Michael is back.
Speculation has been rampant for months about "Meet Kevin Johnson", tonight's episode and the last completed before the writer's strike. The cast list alone already guarantees this one to be a must-watch for the Lost mythos: Cynthia Watros as Libby, M.C. Gainey as Tom/Mr. Friendly, Mira Furlan as Danielle, not to mention that Alex, Karl, most of the original helicopter people (including Naomi), Minkowski, and a ton more that have been revealed from the credits. But the real draw is that "Meet Kevin Johnson" is said to be a Michael-centric flashback revealing what happened to he and Walt from the time they left the Island until he was shown mopping floors last week.
One thing's for sure: Michael is probably quietly praying that he's never, ever going to be left alone with Sayid.
Enjoy it while it lasts, fellow Losties: tonight's is the last episode until the five new post-strike produced ones begin airing on April 24th.
Okay "High Holy Days" is my own personal nickname for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. It kicks into high gear today and here are the brackets for it courtesy of CBS Sports.
It ain't looking good for the Knight household though: this year the NCAA honchos have put the three teams we have the most affection for in the same region! Duke (my longtime favorite Atlantic Coast Conference team along with N.C. State), Georgia (Lisa's alma mater) and Baylor (where Lisa's brother is attending) are all playing in the West. In fact, if they both come out of their first games intact it's going to be Baylor and Georgia playing each other! And then of course whoever wins that will be sent home by the Blue Devils, but anyway...
Unfortunately, Elon is not in this year's tournament. Again. Someday before I die, Lord willing I will see the Phoenix make it to the Big Dance. And then like Gonzaga was a few years ago (yeah they're in it this year again too) all the sports commentators will be going "Elon?! Where the heck is Elon?!" and I'll be able to smile and laugh about our little school getting a few seconds of footage in the "One Shining Moment" video that CBS Sports always runs after the championship game :-)
Arthur C. Clarke, the last of the original masters of science-fiction, has passed away at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka.
Even if he had never written books like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous with Rama (along with everything else in his prolific career) he would have gone down in history as the man who came up with the concept of the communications satellite. That billions around the world enjoy such conveniences as global television broadcasts, Internet service in remote locations and satellite radio in their cars is plenty enough testimony to Clarke's vision and brilliance.
Clarke was also one of the first enthusiastic adopters of e-mail. He used it almost every day to communicate with director Peter Hyams during the production of 2010: The Year We Make Contact. As far back as 1983, Clarke believed that this was revolutionary technology that would change the world. He was right.
It is his science-fiction work that he will be most remembered for, though. And that Clarke - along with his fellow masters Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein - would spark the imaginations of so many people with his writings... that is going to be the eternal legacy of this man, standing as tall and resolute as the monolith.
But tonight I am more than a little saddened, because one of the best dreamers of our era has left us.
And so far as the innocent population of Iraq goes, there's no telling what they've had to endure. It's already a far worse country for Christians to live in than it was under Saddam Hussein. Under him there was no persecution of Christians: now most of them have had to flee the country.
Al-Quaeda was not welcome in Iraq during the Saddam years. Today, because of this war, Al-Quaeda has no more fertile recruiting ground. Like they say on the basketball court: "Smooth move, Ex-Lax."
All of this because of a war based on a lie. It was a lie then and it's still a lie today. It's a lie whenever a country goes to war for reasons that are not morally clear. This is and always has been a politically-driven conflict. That the current administration has to resort to buzzwords and catchphrases like "the Surge" in order to build support for this war is ample demonstration that these people are more disciples of Madison Avenue than they are of Thomas Aquinas.
That there are people so deluded as to still support this administration without question might even be the bigger tragedy, because without these "useful idiots" the government would never get away with such wrongdoing... no matter who is in charge of it. But I digress...
George W. Bush not only says that the Iraq War was "worth it", but that the "high cost in lives and treasure" has turned Iraq into a "success"!
Bush has no understanding of sacrifice. He's never had to experience it. From what I've heard of the man, he's shyed away from it all his life. Things like heartbreak and grief are alien concepts to the man. Bush's disconnect from norman human emotion is probably greater than his dis-attachment from the rest of the world that you and I have to live in (the man didn't even know about the soaring price of gasoline the other week... but then since when was the last time Bush ever pumped his own gas?).
That's the only way that Bush can still want his mad little war. Had Bush and most everyone else had something personally invested in this war that they root for - like a loved one on the ground having to fight it - then his and their support would no doubt be far different. But it's easy to cheer on a fight from behind the safety of a keyboard.
We would have been far better off leaving Iraq alone, even if that meant letting Saddam stay in power. In the long-term scheme of things, his presence as a strongman over that country was a stabilizing influence, and should have remained so until the Iraqi people were ready to remove him on their own terms. That's the key thing here: it should have been Iraqis who took Saddam down, and not anyone from outside. Bush lacked wisdom to understand this in addition to any empathy toward others beyond his own ego.
From the very top on down, America is in the hands of cowards. How dare they presume to speak to us about understanding sacrifice?
Because until Jenna and Barbara Bush wear some cammies and pick up a gun and go on a patrol in Basra so that their father will know what it's like to go through the Hell that he's imposed on too many other Americans, this will be something that Bush will never know or fear. And I'm damned tired of too many people still making excuses for this pathetic man.
But I'm seeing "Obama" and "pastor" come up quite a lot in news headlines lately. So what's the big deal?
And why should I care?
Why should any of us care, for that matter?
A few weeks ago it was announced that there would be an Aerosmith version of Guitar Hero in a few months. Now comes word that the Beatles may be getting their own edition of the popular music video game.I don't think this is a good idea. Aerosmith I can understand, but the Beatles had a whole 'nother vibe going than their guitar style (even though they were great guitarists). But now that the Beatles catalog will soon be available via iTunes, who knows: maybe we'll soon see some Beatles hits as downloadable content for Rock Band too, which would make a lot more sense than Guitar Hero.
(Credit goes to Electric Pig for their awesome pic of Paul McCartney with a Guitar Hero controller :-)
I would like to report that I am cautiously optimistic about how they will decide on this, but I can't even muster up that much.
This is the same Supreme Court that a few years ago that effectively destroyed the security of owning personal property by way of the Kelo decision. They ruled in favor of "the community" then and against the rights of the individual. Why should we believe that they will do any differently this time, on this issue?
Actually, I must confess that part of me is secretly hoping that the Supremes will attack individual rights on this one. Maybe then some of the Christians in this country - who I am still angry toward regarding their sheepish complacency - will wake up and realize what's going on with this country. Maybe they would... but again, knowing what I do about them I can't be very hopeful on that one.
But I'm not terribly worked-up about this, however it turns out. Because I know enough about why the Founding Fathers included the Second Amendment to understand that they no doubt fully anticipated something like this happening eventually. The Second Amendment is written confirmation that the individual has the right to protect himself or herself... but that's not the main reason why the Founders made such prominent note of it. They were people who were plenty wise about human nature and its capacity for corruption and destruction in the pursuit of power.
So it is that the primary purpose of the Second Amendment is a temporal guarantee that government in America is derived by the consent of We The People, and that the People have the right and responsibility of overthrowing that government if and when government becomes abusive without restraint.
In other words, the Second Amendment is there not because we can shoot the bad politicians dead in the streets, but so the bad politicians will know that we can shoot them, if they get out of line.
Thus, the Second Amendment is the final "checks and balance" of government in the United States. It is a bulwark against human nature... because without that, this country will become something that few of us want to see.
No wonder why many who enjoy exercising the power of the state are hoping the Supreme Court will quash individual rights again in this case.
No, I am not a violent man. I just understand enough of humanity's capacity for violence to know not to trust it.
I thought the current standings were pretty funny:
Right now the Tarheels of UNC-Chapel Hill are the top favorite team, followed by the Duke Blue Devils. But in the Despised category, Duke is by far the most hated followed by Carolina, and UNC has almost as many votes as it does in the Favorite chart. Hmmmm...
This might be the most scientific indicator yet of how intense the feud is between Duke and Carolina. Even though it's a routine part of life here in North Carolina, I must admit it's still quite neat to see it reflected in this way.
Oh yeah: GO DUKE!! :-)
Which means that in the long run, lots more people are going to lose lots more money because of inevitable inflation.
And depending on who you listen to, there are anywhere between three and seven or eight other major financial institutions that are also flirting perilously close to going under. Can the government and the Federal Reserve rescue them, too?
Two people that I've known for a long time have also told me that there is trouble brewing with derivatives. I'll take their word for it, even though I still have no idea what the hell "derivatives" are. Ever since I first heard about them a dozen or so years ago, I've thought they sounded too much like a Ponzi scheme. Why can't financial transactions be made using real money for real products, instead of imaginary money for imaginary products? Anyhoo, my friends tell me that if derivatives go bad, it's gonna hurt plenty.
Meanwhile, the Asian markets which are already open for Monday business are dropping like a rock: Nikkei is down over 4%. And it already ain't looking good for the Dow tomorrow either.
St. Patrick's Day tomorrow and the rest of the week might be a time to keep an eye on the economy. I'd suggest paying close attention to any news coming out of the bigger banks, especially. If even one of them winds up going down like Bear Stearns, this country will likely be in a heap o' trouble.
Because of her quick thinking, Amanda Rouse saved the lives of 40-some people on the school bus and perhaps those of others also. The girl is a heroine.
And now school administrators are punishing Amanda with Saturday detention for her "truancy".
Too many school officials in this country - not all of them, but darn enough of them - are heartless, unthinking robots. Those of Marina High School exemplify this. Not to mention this story demonstrates why "zero tolerance" policies are ridiculous without fail.
But never mind them. Amanda Rouse, however it happened, you were in the right place at the right time... and you did the right thing in the circumstance. My hat's off to ya!
U.S. says Iran election results are 'cooked'Mr. McCormack, let's get serious: your own country the United States doesn't even allow its citizens to vote for "a full range of people". Between the Democrats and Republicans conspiring with each other by limiting ballot access, and a complacent corporate media helping them along, the people of our own country more often than not have little choice but to vote for "one supporter of the regime or another supporter of the regime".
Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:52pm EDTBy Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, at loggerheads with Tehran over its nuclear program, cast strong doubt on the fairness of Iran's parliamentary elections on Friday and said any outcome of the poll would be "cooked."
"In essence the results are cooked. They are cooked in the sense that the Iranian people were not able to vote for a full range of people," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said of the poll.
Iranians voted on Friday in an election likely to keep parliament in the control of conservatives after unelected state bodies barred many reformist foes of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from the race.
"They are given the choice of choosing between one supporter of the regime or another supporter of the regime," McCormack told reporters. "They were not given the opportunity ... to vote for somebody who might have had different ideas."
(snip)
Mr. McCormack, shut up sir. You and many others have a lot of nerve in condemning another country's political process, when the one that you help support in your own country is just as damnably corrupt.
Cultural Arts Day had folks coming in to demonstrate arts like painting, sculpting, mosaics, music and storytelling. And in Mrs. Marsha Lipford's room, we set up a "mini movie studio" - complete with camera, greenscreen and even some props and costumes - for the kids to check out...
There were five groups of students who came in during the day. Here I am telling some fourth-graders about how I got into filmmaking and how they can get into this too. I especially told them that if they want to make movies, they should read as much as they can and also come to enjoy writing...
For each group, we did a "walkthrough" of how a movie goes from idea to written script, and then finding actors and a set to shoot the action on, and then editing it all together and distributing it.
For the event I also put together a "demo reel" showcasing some of KWerky Productions' projects during the past few years, including several scenes from Forcery...
One of the clips from Forcery that the kids got a kick out of was my "death scene" where Frannie shoots Sheriff Boozer from behind with the shotgun. I'm glad now that in the end I used the less-graphic second version of that effect 'cuz three years later, the first one still does bother me to think about... but the kids all thought that my "death" was pretty funny! The students loved the lightsaber effects, and they also got to watch clips from The Baritones (they enjoyed seeing Monroeton Elementary itself make a cameo appearance), some of Schrodinger's Bedroom and of course I couldn't resist showing them my first school board campaign commercial. A lot of the kids cheered when they saw the Death Star blowing up the schoolhouse :-)
But the real highlight of each session came toward the end, when we got to use the greenscreen, the high-def camcorder and my video rendering system along with the Ultra CS3 chromakey software to let the students experience video special effects firsthand. Mrs. Ledford picked some students who then got in front of the greenscreen, and then I would put them in some crazy locations. Here's one guy that we sent to the beach (by the way, for legal reasons I have to "black out" the students' faces)...
And here's one dude that we dressed up in my brown Jedi cloak and handed him my Master Replicas-made lightsaber prop, who was then digitally transported to the Jedi Temple from the Star Wars movies...
I also grabbed a weather satellite image of the United States from early yesterday morning and put that in the background, to give the students a chance to play "television weatherman" :-)
The kids were all really terrific and they were asking some very good questions in addition to totally "getting into it" :-)
I want to thank everyone at Monroeton Elementary School, especially Mrs. Lipford for letting me set up in her room, for allowing me to take part in today's activities. I can't say enough how wonderful it was to be a part of this.
Two weeks ago we got "The Constant", which many regard as the finest episode of the entire series to date. One guy I know swears he watched that one at least 20 times already. Some people said that last week's "The Other Woman" wasn't quite up to snuff with how incredible the rest of Season 4 has been, but coming right on the heels of "The Constant" that was a forgivably tall bar to try to surmount.
And tonight we get "Ji Yeon", which was a Sun and Jin episode. Which I've always enjoyed immensely. Except right now, right after this episode, I'm still trying to figure out what the heck it was that we just saw.
Good Lord... this is going to be a crazier mind-mush to figure out than "Through the Looking Glass" was.
(A few minutes later...)
Okay, I think that I figured it out. And if it doesn't make this one of the most heartbreaking episodes of any TV show in recent memory, I don't know what would.
This was not the usual "flashback" or "flash-forward" episode: tonight we got both. With Sun we saw a flash-forward to after she was rescued, and with Jin it was a flashback (the line about only being married for two months is the big clue).
So that last scene with Sun and Hurley...
Now that I've realized it, that hurts. And Lisa thinks it's very sad too :-(
About "Kevin Johnson": we knew months ago this was coming.. It had been rumored that he would be coming back in this episode. But still: that was one of the best returns of a major character to a series after a long absence that I've ever seen.
So, where has "Kevin Johnson" been all this time? What happens to Jin? Where exactly does one come across 324 dead bodies? And what I'd like to really know is: how does anyone steal a Boeing 777 without it being realized that it's missing?
This was a good episode. And it's getting better the more that I think about it. And from the looks of the preview, next week's episode is going to be a doozy...
