Censorship part II

So, I'm watching Chris Rock on Comedy Central. After a big long bleeping opus, I finally hear a "clean" word. All of the sudden "tossing salad" (yes that kind) comes out of my speakers...and interesting choice for censorship.

Private Censorship

Who needs government censorship when we have Wallmart. I'm not completely familiar with the parental advisory sticker, but if it is anything like the MPAA rating system, another self-imposed system, then it probably has certain criteria for the sticker. For example, if you have ever wondered what the difference between an R and a PG-13 movie is, I'll tell you. A PG-13 rating is limited to a particular number of cuss words in a movie and has no nudity. I believe 3 instances of the work fuck will get you an automatic R. In addition, it matters how the word fuck is used. "Fuck you!" is not as bad as saying "I want to fuck her." It all will depend on how many fucks and how you use them. If you don't believe me, I was witness to a conversation with the producers of a movie and they were trying to think of the instances of "Fuck" and trying to get it to 3 or less.

So, I'm sure the record industry has some similar criteria and wouldn't mind a little fucking every now and then. I'm tempted to comment on Wallmart being the biggest distributor of music in the country and the affect of their policy against stocking any album with a parental advisory sticker on it. Not to mention the hypocrisy of the policy when they still sell R movies and violent video games. Apparently it's ok to censor as long as it doesn't take much profits away from the company.

EDIT: I think it is hysterical that spell check wants to change "fuck" to "Fuji".

Are the NeoCons also Neo Isolationists?

I just wanted to say thank you for allowing me to exist. I say this since according to Ann Coulter last night on Fox News, said "Canadians should be thanking us (the United States) for allowing them to exist in the same continent that we do." So thank you again, perhaps more groveling is needed, I'll have to ask Ann. Apparently, Canada shouldn't protest Bush or US policy because they live under the protection of the US military, and they are just lucky the US hasn't taken us over yet. Ann tells us that Canada has no army and no way of protecting themselves. Perhaps, Canada should watch out, it won't be the first time the US has attacked a country with provocation (zing!).

My question is what do Conservatives want to happen? It seems that they want the world to do whatever the US says or else. The or else being something like they will stop policing the world and pull out US interest and money from any country that disagrees. It is almost this bizarre Isolationist strategy: we are protecting our interest and our interests only and to do that we need to interfere with the government and policies of every other country in the world.

Jesus!

Ok I was just going to post this article but after reading it closer I couldn't help but say something about it. I would hate to go to this law school, basically they give you a biblical perspective on the law, and the result is frightening.

"The Erie decision, which is viewed as uncontroversial in much of the legal academy, represented a disastrous wrong turn, Professor Tuomala said. In ruling that federal courts may not apply general principles in some cases but must follow state laws, he said, the Supreme Court denied the possibility of "a law that's fixed, that's uniform, that applies to everybody, everyplace, for all time. He noted, though, that his perspective was "out on the limb in judicial orthodoxy."

Not much to say, pretty much said it himself that it was a fringe position. Erie has been the law for more than 70 years, is well established, and fairly clear. For those who don't know Erie basically says that in a case with parties from different states that is filed in a state court and then transferred to federal court the federal court would apply the state law on substantive issues. If they were to hold otherwise then it would be unfair to the plaintiff filing because the law they thought applied wouldn't necessarily apply in federal court.

"Prof. Roger C. Bern, who teaches contracts, said that he asked his students to look beyond law as it is ordinarily understood. For example, he said, Christian lawyers should counsel clients not to walk away from oral contracts even where the law allows it."

Um, I know I didn't pass my ethics test (well I suppose anything is possible) but I can tell you that this is a violation of a duty. A lawyer is supposed to counsel their clients in THE LAW not what God would say about it. A lawyer would be sued for malpractice if they didn't inform their clients that they could walk away from a contract, and they would deserve it too for doing something so stupid.

"We will not be committed, for instance, to being good divorce lawyers," he said. "We'll be reconciliation lawyers."

OK...right...so your client comes in and says I want a divorce, and you say well God is against divorce so you need to just work it out with your spouse. Or even better, a wife comes into your office with a black eye, broken nose, has been abused for years by her husband, he has also been beating and molesting their 10 year old daughter, and has finally decided to leave her husband. You then say God would want you to work it out with him and you shouldn't get a divorce. A lawyer is not a religious minister, they have a duty to provide services that their client wants.

"If our graduates wind up in the government," Dr. Falwell said, "they'll be social and political conservatives. If they wind up as judges, they'll be presiding under the Bible."

If you are frightened by this you should watch the 700 club sometime and that will terrify you. Basically the idea is that if you have a locked in community of say religious believers, and then you feed them a "biblical" perspective on the news, politics, or whatever. The problem is that people then mistake that world-perspective for their own religious belief without being offered an alternative viewpoint.

The only good thing about this school is that it is not accredited yet, which means that the students will not be eligible to take the Bar exam anywhere.

My computer is dead

Yup, it died. It has ceased to be, its joined the choir invisible, its pushing up the daises, its gone to make its maker. It is an ex-computer. Ok, sorry, got carried away with the Monty Python (if you aren't laughing you are a sad human being and you should go find "the Parrot Sketch", go run along now). My computer decided to turn of at random times, like if I moved it, typed on it, breathed on it, or just looked at it funny. It did turn back on for a time, but that time is no more. Now it just gives me an error message that the Motherboard can not read the Hard Drive...FANTASTIC. It shall be fixed but who knows when that will be. Just wanted to explain the lack of posting. I'll leave it to you to decide if this post was just a clever way to change the subject of the last post.

UPDATE: Yeah so now my hard drive is corrupted and needs to be replaced. Yes, that means my hard drive is no more along with ALL of the information on it. No, I'm not bitter.

Setting a bad precedent

Well I was asked to comment on an article posted on Michael Moore cite. First a clarification this article was written by The Daily Mirror which is an English Tabloid newspaper (for those unaware the British tabloids are worse then ours which is saying quite a lot). However, the charge is that Michael Moore endorses this article by printing it on his page.

The original comment and request to post this reads:

Jack - do me a favor and talk about some of what Michael Moore is saying on his website. In particular, check this link:

http://michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=285

I think this is one of the most hateful things I have seen anybody write (even if Moore didn't write it, he posted it on his site with an obvious affirmation of it), and I really hope people on the left are not so ignorant as to buy into this crap. If the left keeps saying that anyone who votes for Bush is a "gun toting religious nut," you will NEVER win another election. I voted for Bush, and I am not very religious, don't own a gun, don't hate gays, and don't want to outlaw abortion.
-topwop

Now, first of all I would like to say that Michael Moore and the author (who is not mentioned) has every right to say what they believe. Why did Moore post it on his cite? I can't speak for him personally but I can think of a couple reasons. One is that he agrees with everything in there. But I think there is a better answer that you might have overlooked: This is how the rest of the world views the United States. Call it an ignorant belief, but I think it at least speaks to a majority around the world. Now you say this is hateful but I don't find it any more hateful then calling John Kerry unpatriotic after serving in the war, or even better calling someone unpatriotic after questioning the administration after 9/11 or the War on Terror.

Now we come to my favorite quote from the article:

"The self-righteous, gun-totin', military lovin', sister marryin', abortion-hatin', gay-loathin', foreigner-despisin', non-passport ownin' red-necks, who believe God gave America the biggest dick in the world so it could urinate on the rest of us and make their land 'free and strong'."

Again this is a tabloid so it is trying to sell newspapers and not necessarily looking for the truth (after all it is funny). However, this again is how the rest of the world views the US as a whole. And while you, 'topwop', personally might not be a "self-righteous, gun-toting', military lovin', sister marryin', abortion-hatin', gay loathin', foreigner-despisin', non-passport ownin' redneck," you did vote for one.

Love,
Jack

Maybe I won't have to move

EDIT: Had to take down the link.

Thanks to the one who sent this you know who you are.

Goodbye

I'm really depressed and I'm seriously considering moving to another country (ie Canada). I think Marek has said everything that is going on in my mind.

Screw you guys! I'm going home.

Go Vote!

It's election day so go and vote. I leave you with one last song from eMOTIVe (which comes out today).

And so once again
My dear Johnny my dear friend
And so once again you are fightin' us all
And when I ask you why
You raise your sticks and cry, and I fall
Oh, my friend
How did you come
To trade the fiddle for the drum

You say I have turned
Like the enemies you've earned
But I can remember
All the good things you are
And so I ask you please
Can I help you find the peace and the star
Oh, my friend
What time is this
To trade the handshake for the fist

And so once again
Oh, America my friend
And so once again
You are fighting us all
And when we ask you why
You raise your sticks and cry and we fall
Oh, my friend
How did you come
To trade the fiddle for the drum

You say we have turned
Like the enemies you've earned
But we can remember
All the good things you are
And so we ask you please
Can we help you find the peace and the star
Oh my friend
We have all come
To fear the beating of your drum.

-"Fiddle and Drum" Joni Mitchell

Election Predictions

So Kerry is up in some of the polls which bodes well but this is perhaps the best predictor.

EDIT: Time change to beat competing blogs.

More eMOTIVe Lyrics

From dehumanization to arms production
For the benefit of the nation or it's destruction
Power is power, the law of the land
Those living for death will die by their own hand

Life's no ordeal if you come to terms
Reject the system dictating the norms
From dehumanization to arms production
To hasten the nation towards it's destruction
Power is power, the law of the land
Those living for death will die by their own hand

Life's no ordeal if you come to terms
Reject the system dictating the norms
From dehumanization to arms production
To hasten the nation towards it's destruction
Power is power, the law of the land
Those living for death will die by their own hand

Life's no ordeal if you come to terms
Reject the system dictating the norms
From dehumanization to arms production
To hasten this nation towards it's destruction
It's your choice, your choice, your choice, your choice
Peace or annihilation

-"Annihilation" by Crucifix

eMOTIVe

A Perfect Circle has a new album coming out with covers of political songs. Since it is that time of year, I've decided to post some of the songs off the album. Come back tomorrow for a different one.

There's so many of us, there's so many of us, there's so many...

Let's have a war so you can go and die
Let's have a war, we could all use the money
Let's have a war, we need the space
Let's have a war, cleaning out this place

It already started in the city
Suburbia will be just as easy

There's so many of us, there's so many of us, there's so many...

Let's have a war, jack up the Dow Jones
Let's have a war, it can start in New Jersey
Let's have a war, blame it on the middle class
Let's have a war, we're like rats in a cage

It already started in the city
Suburbia will be just as easy

There's so many of us, there's so many of us, there's so many...

Let's have a war, sell the rights to the networks
Let's have a war, let our wallets get fat like last time
Let's have a war, give guns to the queers
Let's have a war, the enemy's within

It already started in the city
Suburbia will be just as easy

-"Let's have a war" by FEAR

Episode III poster

Had a whole other post in mind for today, but this is just too good not to post.

Prop. 71

After my last post about not talking of my own life here, I'm going to violate my own law. Why, because the personal is political. That is especially true for me with proposition 71.

I have had the honor of knowing a man by the name of Jim Wong. He is the father of a girl I used to date. He and his family are wonderful people who always made me feel extremely welcome in their home.

Ten years ago Mr. Wong was diagnosed with Parkinson disease. He had been dealing with the disease for years and never complained once about it. I saw him take all the drugs necessary to control (not cure, mind you) his condition. The best way to illustrate the amount of pills taken is this: You know those pill cases that have a space for each day of the month...That case of 31 slots for pills would last Mr. Wong ONE day, because he would take so much medication in a short period of time.

Even in the relatively short time that I knew him, I saw his condition worsen. His shaking got worse and wasn't able to walk at times. If you noticed him stuttering when he walk you would have to point it out so that his brain would send the proper signals to his body.

The point is this is a wonderful person who is dealing with a condition that will, not might, will end his life. But this is only because of the present state of science without stem cell research, this could change if studies using stem cells were done. Which could also help others that I know like Melissa Sherak who is in remission from MS or Chad Darvey who finally succumbed to Muscular Dystrophy while he was in High School. I like to remember Chad when we in kindergarten when he could still run (not well at all) and it brings a smile to my face. He was in a wheelchair from 4th grade until then end of his life.

Anyway, this all was a plug for prop. 71, if you would like to read more about Jim Wong you can read about it here.

Posting (and the lack there of)

A few of you (and there are very few) may have noticed that I have not been posting anything recently. I don't have an especially good reason for this other than to say that I haven't had much worth posting about. You may say "How can you say that with all that has been going on in the world." Well let me take this opportunity to give my perspective on blogging.

My father has given a lot of advice over the years, those of you who have met him can attest to how good his advice is. Regardless of the merits of what he told me one thing he said was always very clear:

RULE #1: "Never put it in writing."

The corollary of this is one I learned in PR that is, before you do or say anything imagine it being a piece of evidence being used in a disciplinary hearing, malpractice suit, or indictment by the government.

Hence we come to my theory of blogging. Many people use these sites as a journal of their most intimate thoughts and feeling, which if fine if they want to do that. Others just post links to other stories without giving there own thoughts on the matter, which is fine if they want to do that. Personally, I want to do neither. I never write about my personal life, work, or school. The reason for this is mostly rule #1 but it is also out of respect for the people in my life. I don't want to bitch about the things going on in my life out of respect for the people in it. If I talk about work it would be either boring, depressing, or a violation of an ethical duty (See corollary to rule #1) so I don't talk about that. I suppose I do talk about school but only because I find something that relates to life in general and I have something to say about it. But if I really went over what I learned in school it would just be really boring and uninteresting.

So what I'm I really doing here? I suppose the easiest way to explain is to say that I'm playing a character. The anonymity of this medium allows me and I think most people to divorce themselves from the people they actually are and thus allows them a certain freedom to say things that perhaps normally they wouldn't say. I suppose the paradox is that, as far as I know, I know everyone who reads this page. So perhaps a qualification...I'm playing a character but it is one who I created and maintain. So perhaps it really is me and I'm just kidding myself...Perhaps that is right, most of the things I would say here I would say anyway. But maybe it is the potential that if anything ever came up that I would be unable to voice elsewhere that I could here. (As long as it does not violate rule #1 of course).

I Have a Dream...

I have a dream to one day have the entire 20 volume set of the complete Oxford English Dictionary (OED). That's right 20 volumes. Well, I had a dream and I thought it would be realized earlier, but alas no. I discovered that you could get the OED online! Gasp! However, my hopes were quickly dashed when I found out it would be $295.00/year or $29.95/month, Gasp again! So much for that...I'll just have to wait till I have enough money to by the OED in print. How much you ask...$995.00 on Amazon (plus shipping and handling).

If only Hearsay was this easy

Imagine

A Perfect Circle just came out with a cover of John Lennon's Imagine. Now they have put out a video for the song. You can view it here and see what you think.

PR and Red Asphalt

So, I'm sitting in PR (professional responsibility aka ethics) and I'm realizing the real purpose behind this class. I get the feeling that many people in this class are really uncomfortable with the topics in the class. The prof. just asks this impossible moral dilemmas that you can't answer correctly since either way you answer you will be damned. By damned I mean fired, have you license to practice revoked, and also sued for millions of dollars that you are personally liable for. Thus you will lose your job, lose your ability to be hired by other people, and just completely screwed. Now people don't like this class because if you get in a situation that is a Lawyer ethical dilemma there is no good happy answer that resolves everything. Anything you do will be wrong and will be subject to some consequence because of that. The only "correct" answer is probably to do the "least wrong thing" that way the consequences won't be as bad as it could be. All of this leads me to one conclusion.

This class is about scaring the shit out of you. It is exactly like the video 'Red Asphalt' from driver's ED (you know the one they showed you with all the nasty car accident injuries). The purpose of both of these is to say "don't let this happen to you", and they do this by scaring the shit out of me. Basically, what it teaches you is don't get into this type of situation.

Greedo shoots first but it just doesn't matter

Got the Star Wars DVD's last night and couldn't resist watching one. It was just fantastic, no longer the grainy picture, only sharp and crisp. Any problems that you might have had with the Special Edition are gone because you are just in awe of how beautiful everything looks. Also, they did change somethings. Greedo and Han actually shoot simultaneously now and it went back to the scene's orignial coolness. All in all just fantastic, and I can't wait to see the rest of them.

Blasphemy!

Why do you keep fucking with my favorite movies. So, Star Wars is coming to DVD finally and they are making changes yet again. They have kept the Special Edition changes and made a couple of other tweaks such as including Hayden Christianson as Ankin's ghost at the end of return of the Jedi:

"Radiohead v. Ashlee Simpson" by Moby

Saw this and thought it was kind of funny and true (posted on a Radiohead fan site, quoting Moby's journal, just so you know I didn't plagiarism but tells you where I stole it from).

On his often updated journal where he constantly expresses his frustration with right-wingers, Moby decided to make a poignant political comparison that includes pitting our lads vs. the latest pop princess.

"you know what politics is/are like in the united states?
it's like pop-music
example a: pop-music.
republicans are like ashley simpson, and democrats are like radiohead. radiohead fans will forever be mystified as to why someone would buy an ashley simpson cd, but ashley simpson's handlers/managers understand what the lowest common denominator are looking for and they give it to them. radiohead fans think 'that disposable pop music is terrible, and someday people will see the error of their ways and buy radiohead cd's instead of ashley simpson cd's', meanwhile ashley simpson and her managers are selling millions of records…

my point?
yes, radiohead are better than ashley simpson."

"I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel."

So now your asking where I got the quote in the title...give up? This was said on Hardball by none other than Zell Miller. Miller got a little angry and didn't like Chris Matthews playing hardball with him. some of the other gems:

"And so I want to try to be as nice as I possibly can to you. I wish I was over there, where I could get a little closer up into your face."

MATTHEWS: OK. Do you believe now—do you believe, Senator, truthfully, that John Kerry wants to defend the country with spitballs? Do you believe that?
MILLER: That was a metaphor, wasn‘t it? Do you know what a metaphor is?

"I think we ought to cancel this interview."

Want more (and I know you do) or if you think I misrepresented what he said (which I did, what he says is funnier) here is the transcript.

Kobe Bryant Case

Regardless of whether he is guilty or not, this e-mail sent by my boss I thought was poinant about something that is not covered by the media and more of a big picture way of looking at the issue:

By now you probaly know that charges were dismissed against Koby Bryant. I fear the chilling effect this could have on other victims who want to come forward. What started out as the People of Colorado v. Bryant quickly became, because of all the mythology surrounding sexual assault and Bryant's mega celebrity-sports status and money, world opinion v. the Victim. Nothing new here, every rape defendant's defense focuses on blaming the victim. The difference is that Koby has mega media power and money and can more readily influence the court of public opinion. Thus another victim is re-victimied, unwittingly or otherwise, by our judicial system. As lawyers and legal advocates this is particularly appalling. Thus, the reason why we are here. To make a difference.

Star-Schmucks

Alright, I'm not sure how many of you actually go to the other sites that I have links to on my site. Given that I wanted to point out a particularly good cartoon this week, "Neurotically Yours" has a wonderful commentary on those trendy coffee houses.

Enjoy

3L Apathy

So, in talking to everyone else in their 3rd year of law school it strikes me that everyone including yours truly has been suffering from a lack of motivation. Summer just apparently wasn't long enough for every although I can't tell you how much more time we would have needed. However, the ultimate display came to today when someone fell asleep in class. Now you might say that this has happened before and you would be right, hell I've nodded off before, but this time was different. I distinctly heard someone snore during class. I'm just amazed.

Study Break

This is too funny not to post.



Oh yeah and school is starting and stuff.

Donnie Darko

Alright, so I finnally watched this film (thanks dude) after I've been meaning to for a long time. So what did I think? Well, I'm still absorbing it but I did like it and I would recomend it to anyone. However, I do have one problem with it. After watching the film I created a theory of what happened and why that made sense to me. Now that I watched the deleted scenes and part of the commentary I realized I was completely wrong. I think that the filmmakers idea is very interesting and does really explain a lot of what happens in the film as well as working very nicely into Joseph Conrad's concept of a hero. The problem is the orginal film did not make the thesis and point very clear. There were several major scenes that were cut out that would completely explain everything clearly. Anyway, good film if anyone wants to discuss it come talk to me.

Horay for Censorship

So here's part of a story (sorry for the partial story but the entire thing would cost money) relating to the Passion of the Christ:

"Malaysia's Film Censorship Board has given "The Passion of the
Christ" a U rating, uncut, opening it up to all ages, but has slapped on a
surprise restriction: You have to be a Christian to see it, Screenings will be
held at public cinemas, but tickets will be available only through churches, not
at box offices. The pic will not be advertised in the media..." - Source Variety

Discuss...

Star Wars & 9/11

"Revenge of the Sith" is the title of Star Wars Episode III. Perhaps slightly better then "Attack of the Clones" but not by much. However upon reflection, all the Star Wars movies had bad titles, we just don't criticize the Holy Trilogy. "Empire Strikes Back", guess what happens in that movie. Does like the Empire, you know, strike back or something; yes I believe it does. Further, I sould note that the original title of "Return of the Jedi" was "Revenge of the Jedi" but a fan pointed out that Jedi's would not take revenge. Also this is a good title since it could be Jedi as in the plural not necessarily the singular, i.e. Luke. Thus is it the return of the Jedi order as a whole, Luke being the first who will go on to train more people. So maybe this new title ain't so bad.

And now for something completely different:

I finally saw Farenheit 9/11 last night. It was a really good documentry but I must say that I liked Bowling for Columbine a lot better. This is because Columbine did not have a clear thesis in it. It was analyzing a problem in American society and not really offering a clear solution or even a cause for it. I really liked that after watching it you could have many long discussions about the film and your own experiences with guns and the related issues. Farenheit lacked that because I found it was much more straightforward. "Bush is Bad" and here are all of the reasons he is bad. I know Bush is bad and I knew a lot of the reasons why before.

"Things I hate about you"

Ok so I have to confess that I enjoy reality shows. However, I have a qualifier and that is I really only watch reality shows that are on Bravo. While Queer Eye is always good I'm watching their new show as I type this and that is "Things I hate about you". Basically the idea is that cameras are set up to record a couple and document behavior that the other finds anoying. Then it is seen by a jury and the most disturbing one loses. Quote of the night so far is "I think that if you can't belch and fart in front of a loved one then that is sad." This show is histerical and makes you wonder what you do that would piss off other people. Discuss.

EDIT: OK, new quote "she is a back rubbing whore"

2nd: "so maybe he has a penguin dying inside of him"

Wide Load

Ok what is the deal with moving a house. I'm talking about the huge tow truck, creeping along the road, taking up ever lane, in an attempt to move a house that has been taken off it's foundation. Is it possible that these people became so attached to this home that they felt the need to pull it up from the ground and put it in a new plot of land that they bought. Normally people move for two reasons:  1) they got a new job and have to move somewhere to be closer to the job, or 2) they feel they have to upgrade/downgrade to a bigger/smaller place. Seems to me that neither of these situations calls for someone to rip up the foundation and move an entire house. In the latter they need a different house altogether and in the former in order to warrant them moving for a new job it would be over a great distance such that moving an entire house would be impractical. So, I see one of these moving houses yesterday and the thing that really kills me is that the thing is trashed. The roof is caving in and the walls are coming down so they will have to fix it once it gets to wherever it is going. WTF I want to talk to these people who decide to move their house!

Chuck Palahniuk

I case you haven't noticed I am a fan of Chuck Palahniuk (the author of Fight Club for those poor uneducated souls who don't know). I just started his new book Lullaby and I have to say that I'm already hooked. He always has these fantastic, deplorable, interesting characters. First we meet Helen who is a real estate agent specializing in selling and reselling haunted houses making a commission on each sale. Let me give you a taste:

Forget those dream houses you only sell once every fifty years. Forget those happy homes. And screw subtle: cold spots, strange vapors, irritable pets. What she needed was blood running down the walls. She needed ice-cold invisible hands that pull children out of bed at night. She needed blazing red eyes in the dark at the floor of the basement stairs. That and decent curb appeal.

And some more:

People who would never throw litter from their car will drive past you with their radio blaring. People who'd never blow cigar smoke at you in a crowded restaurant will bellow into their cell phone. They'll shout at each other across the space of a dinner plate.
You turn up your music to hide the noise. Other people turn up their music to hide the yours. You turn up yours again. Everyone buys a bigger stereo system. This is the arms race of sound. You don't win with a lot of treble.
This isn't about quality. It's about volume.
This isn't about music. This is about winning.

Some of you will probably ask "what is the book about?" Well, if I told you it's about a real estate agents who sells haunted houses and a reporter to believes that the cause for SIDS is poem in a children's book that might sum up the story but says nothing about the way in which the author has the ability to capture what our society has become.

Needless to say I recommend his work.

WMD's

So yeah...

CIA overstated threat of Iraq

Meanwhile...

Remember the guy we went to war over in the first place (no not Saddam)

"Pessimism never created a job?"

Ok so have you seen the new Bush commercial? Well, it's the basic "look at what we've done, here's what the other guy says." They say how great the economy is and then say that Kerry is talking about a Great Depression. So the great sum up tagline is "pessimism never created a job" I'll tell you what else never created a job "sticking your head in the fucking sand." I think this is what the campain will be about. Either you think there is a problem and will vote for a change or you think everything is great and you'll vote for Bush. If so it will make for a boring campain since one side will say look at this problem, be it jobs, economy, or the war on terror, and Bush saying "what problem, we're doing great." Sigh...

I know what I want for my B-Day

The original (actually the SE, but whatever) Star Wars Trilogy is finally coming out on DVD in September. I can't wait and I came across the packaging which is here:

Money, Money, Money

So, I realize that some old actor with Alzheimer's died this week and I did appreciate not having to go to work yesterday, but this is going too far. I just saw an interview with someone wanting to put Reagan onto the $10 bill. I think it is bad enough that the national airport is already named after him, but now we are going to take Hamilton off of the $10! Doesn't it make sense for Hamilton to be there since he was the one pushing for a National bank. The guy went onto argue that it was not too soon to consider putting Reagan on the money. He argued that within a year of their deaths both FDR and Kennedy were put on the currency. Now there is a good reason for both of those since FDR was president for 4 terms and also was president during WWII. And Kennedy was assassinated so that sort of puts him in a different category. Reagan just doesn't fall into that category, and don't you dare tell me that he ended the Cold War...

This sucks

Yeah so I can barely type this since my arm is in a splint. You see I almost, nearly, but didn't quite dislocate my elbow, but I did get a chip fracture so I have something to show for my injury. Hopefully I will be out of the splint in less than a week, if I can get an apointment with my fucking doctor.

Jack's Back

Alright everyone, I'm back. What have I been doing? Well a whole lot of nothing and that's exactly the way I like it. It's amazing home much less you are on the internet when you don't have anything to procrastinate from. Hopefully I'll be posting more from now on. Until then, I leave I leave with this image I found called How do you measure up?

Finals Suck

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, not that anyone reads this or would care. However, I should be posting more from now on since my finals are almost done.

Censorship

People are always concerned about governmental censorship, but this is the kind of thing that happens when the majority of the media is owned by 3 conglomerates

Finals

I have finals this week and in honor of that here's the best description of taking a test ever.

Schools are a continuation of toilet training.

Taking an Exam is like taking a shit. You hold it in for weeks, memorizing, just waiting for the right time. then the time comes, and you sit on the toilet.

Ah!
Um!
It feels so good

You shit it right back on schedule-for the grade. When exams are over, you got a load off your mind. You got rid of all of the shit you clogged your poor brain with. You can finally relax.

The paper you write your exam on is toilet paper

Babies are zen masters, curious about everything.
Adults are serious and bored
What Happened?
Brain surgery by the schools.

I lost my interest in books in literature class. I lost my interest in foreign languages in language class. I lost my interest in biology in biology class

Why stay in school? To get a degree? Print your own! Can you smoke a diploma?

"Do It!" by Jerry Rubin

Air America

In honor of finals, I have a question for you. Please chose the best answer.
Is there any possibility of this station getting on the air in SD?

a) No
b) No way, never, not in a million years
c) We can't allow that Communist, Pinko crap on the radio
d) The FCC will ban it before it happens
e) All of the above

Iraqi Prisoners

In this article Bush responds to the allegations of abuse of the Iraqi prisoners by US military personnel.

While the abuse here was particularly atrocious it does not really surprise me. This is a product of a mentality that treats any people as "others." Abuses are bound to occur when people cannot relate on a human level with a race. Much of the hostility on both sides of the "war" could be avoided if we understood the other side better.

Bush stated that "Their treatment does not reflect the nature of the American people. That's not the way we do things in America." I'm sad to say that this is the very same abuse, probably not as atrocious, that goes on in our prisons here in the US, not to mention the Private Prisons. The same mentality that allows the abuse to occur in the first place the same mentality that allows it to continue. When you label as person as a criminal the general public no longer cares what happens to him, since he is "just getting what he deserves." No person should be treated as something less than human, that is not what are country stands for.

And if you are disturbed by the abuses that are going on in Iraqi, just imagine what is going on in Guantanamo. There haven't been any complaints yet but that is perhaps we are not allowed to speak to them let alone know who they are...

WWII memorial opens

Interested in seeing how the new memorial in DC looks? Check this link out.

The Wall of Separation

If anyone ever doubted whether separation of church and state was a good idea, read this taken from an Op-Ed piece

In their new book, "The Bushes," Peter and Rochelle Schweizer, who interviewed many Bushes, including the president's father and his brother Jeb, quote one unnamed relative as saying that W. sees the war on terror "as a religious war": "He doesn't have a P.C. view of this war. His view of this is that they are trying to kill the Christians. And we the Christians will strike back with more force and more ferocity than they will ever know."

A response from a Wimp a.k.a. Why I think Fight Club is a great movie.

This article about barbarians and wimps raises many interesting points. The severely summed up version of the article is that most men fall into two categories; Barbarians "who treat women roughly and are unreliable, unmannerly, and usually stupid" and wimps "who are whiny, incapable of making decisions, and in general of 'acting like men'." The authors basic point is that something has gone wrong with society because it is not producing "real men" who would be some kind of happy medium between the too. A man who can treat women with respect, can make decisions without being overbearing, and are tough enough to stand up for what they believe in. Now, I disagree with some of the author's conclusions for what caused this (including the obligatory conservative of heavy metal being the root cause of all that is evil in this world) and how we should get back to the "traditional family model", but it did make me think of what could have caused this and what is the best way to go about changing it.

Now I think we can agree that most of the barbarian model can be rejected as having any standards that people would find attractive or appealing in a man. Thus, we are left with trying to save/mold the wimp into something worthwhile, and I think there are things to work with (yeah, I'm biased since I fall into the wimp category, but anyway). A particularly interesting passage is this one:

"The wimp, on the other hand, has more complex reasons for wanting women. Although sex is certainly one of his desires, more than sex he needs affirmation. He desperately needs a girlfriend to boost his self-confidence. Having someone else notice him will somehow show the world that he is not a total loser. The wimp also needs someone to hear his laments, to commiserate with him when he is feeling down, to discover his secret self. Since he has few qualities or achievements to recommend him, he seeks to appear "interesting" or mysterious. Initially, the wimp might seem amusing to an unsuspecting young lady and very different from the insensitive jocks and rowdies she has known. Ultimately, however, the wimp seeks to draw her into his web of melancholy and self-pity. The story always ends unhappily since romance cannot be based upon pity or the thin facade of personality. He might mope and whine his way into a woman's bed but will find excuses to avoid "commitment." The wimp will begin the relationship by saying, "You're the only one who understands me" and end it by saying, "You don't understand me at all." The truth is that there is not much to understand."

I think that is a very accurate description of this type of man's want and needs. Query what the barbarian needs from a relationship with women? In my own "lamentations" about this with my woman, she thought that barbarians would have the same need of affirmation from women. I'm not so sure that if this is true. I think that the affirmation that the barbarian (jock) needs is from other men just like him. If he is pleased that a woman has voiced approval of him it is only so that he can later brag about it to his friends. But I digress...

By this point your probably wondering why the hell Fight Club was in the title of this post. Well, I believe one of the main themes of Fight Club (and one of the reasons it is a great movie) is the transformation of a "wimp" to a "barbarian" and ultimately finding a happy medium between the two. Exhibit A: a conversation between the Narrator and Tyler:

"I can't get married, I'm a 30 year-old boy."
"We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need..."

The first part of the movie deals with the Narrator's dissatisfaction with life. He doesn't feel comfortable with himself and is eternally unsatisfied. He is a product of the society that he was brought up in.

"I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."

The Narrator begins to alter his lifestyle at first by becoming a barbarian. This is when the character begins the fight club. Now just a quick interlude...many people said they did not like or would not see this movie because of the violence. But I think that it is necessary to understand the violence in the context of the story. These people are not beating the shit out of each other for no reason whatsoever. They have been so desensitizing in society that they are unable to feel anything unless it is taken to the extreme. If you don't believe me, how else is the conversation after the Narrator and Tyler first hit each other?

(Narrator punches Tyler in the ear and Tyler hits Narrator in the gut)
"That really hurts...hit me again."
"No, you hit me."

They don't fight to beat the crap out of someone else, they fight each other in order to feel something themselves, to feel alive. Eventually the Narrator realizes that all the things that he is doing to change his life are being taken to the extreme and go too far. What he learns in the end is that one must find a mid point in order to live a "normal" life and can then make himself available to find a companion in a woman.

Anyway, I'm starting to realize this post is getting about as long as the article. So if you are still with me I thank you. The author goes on to give his theory on how to instill these morals in young people in order to turn them into viable members of society. Most of these ways have to do with returning to the traditional family and corporal punishment at a young age. I'm just not convinced that we need to do away with what I'd like to think of as progress of the sexual revolution and the women's rights movement (not to mention not having to beat your children with a belt). I think the best way of doing this is for children to respect their parents so that if they act up as a child the punishment is for the parents to be disappointed in them. The trick is that in order for that to work the children must respect the parent. Not sure how exactly to do this (I never claimed to have all the answers only most of them) but I expect it would come from the parent raising the child and being active in their lives.

Just something to think about.

Take One for the Country

Operation: Take one for the country

"About US: 'Operation Take One For The Country' (abbreviated OTOFTC) is a movement of like-minded women (women predominantly as of right now) who have covertly organized into groups to frequent eating and drinking establishments near armed service bases where troops are preparing to ship out overseas, and take one for the country, so to speak. We are a virtual organization and have no official headquarters or charter. We believe US service men and women deserve our support and we are willing to make caring choices about making them happy."

So...like...wha-...Um...yeah...but...right...
I don't know what to say so I'll just steal from someone else (and that way you can't blame me for saying it.)

"gotta love covert slut operations...closet whores unite!"

Tom Smith

Please read the Close encounter with a democrat article by Tom Smith...Thank you, now that we are all on the same page...After I read this article I realized that this exactly mirrored how he taught as a professor. The article starts off nicely, goes into a good story he has from his life, and then sums everything in a very easy to understand way. OH WAIT! I'm sorry it just fucking ends! He tells you a story and your are thinking "oh this is going to be really good and relevent to some idea that he is trying to get across", and then he stops and moves on. And he used to teach case law the same way. There would be an intro into the case what it is about, oh here's a nice life story, and what do we learn when the day is done..."I'm not sure what it is." *sigh*

The Picture Here<------------------------Explained

OK, too many people have been confused as to what this sticker means so I feel compelled to explain it. Alright kids time to sit down, class is about to begin:

This is a satirical bumper sticker that is meant to parody the Bush/Cheney 2004 reelection sticker. As many have notice this sticker says "1984". I thought it was obvious, but apparently it was not, that this is a reference to the book by Mr. George Orwell about a dis-utopia, totalitarian society, Oceania, where Big Brother is always watching. The "campaign" slogan also makes an allusion to the motto of the society is
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
The sticker is trying to make an analogy between the fictional society in the novel and the society that will live in today, and it suggests that many of the aspects of Oceania are a part of the government regime in the US (which I think is a very good analogy). I hope this has cleared up any confusion you may have had.

Class is dismissed.

Ed note: Yes, "I" am Jack

BYOB

NY Times Article

This seems like a really good idea and something that I would most likely use in the far distant future. My only problem is this, I have no problem with a baby crying through the entire movie as long as it is MY kid. I think I would still resent other people for bringing their children. I can just see it now..."What the hell are they thinking by bringing their kid to the movie!", I mumble to myself as my kid is screaming his bloody head off.

Da Vinci Code Controversy

NYTimes article

Seriously, why is it that Christians are trying to defend against a work of fiction.

"Churches are offering pamphlets and study guides for readers who may have been prompted by the novel to question their faith."

Come on now! You've got to be kidding me. Are people's faith that low these days that reading a work of fiction (besides the bible) will cause them to question their faith? I'm all for questioning your faith, but try to do it rationally and not because the latest popular book told you to. Does the Church really have nothing better to do then to defend God from an attack by Harry Potter?

Templates

Alright Blair, this is just for you. How did I get this sweet looking page. Well I went up to the "help" button where you post on your blog. Then to a topic called "templates" then "how to change your templates". The page provides links to various sites I found mine at BlogSkins.com after I registered. Look around and then follow directions, but try not to hurt yourself.

The First Post

Well, I have finally joined the rest of the world and now have a blog of my own. The final straw was when a friend of mine said he just started one over the weekend, I went perusing around the site and found it pretty easy to get started. The hardest thing was trying to find an address that had not already been taken. I have to say I'm satisfied with mine and everything worked out in the end.

In my screwing around with various aspects of the site I found the perfect place to post <---------------------this
My Northern Sun catalog came today and I saw this sticker. I even almost ordered it but $5 S&H was a little steep for a $1.00 sticker. However if anyone reading this wants to go in on a couple of things then perhaps it might even be worth it. Anyway, I found the perfect use for it here (once I figured out how to post a picture).

So here it is my place to speak to the rest of the world or whoever reads this page (Ed: read as "nobody").

EDIT: Does anyone else find it ironic that the word "blog" is not found in the spell check dictionary. You would think that with all this high tech software and things in the world that the spell check feature on a weblog would have the word in there, but sadly no. This shortcoming is especially noticeable for all you people in law school. The terms that we use everyday are not in the friggin' dictionary. "lessee" and "lessor" and many others that are very basic...not in there. But I'll tell you this, hardest word to type ever is "decedent". Go ahead try it. I dare you.