I can't add anything newsworthy that isn't already covered, or miscovered, by the press. I look forward to hearing the actual story in the days and weeks ahead.
I can't add any anecdotes about the victims or the shooter, as I am too far removed from my days as a Tech student. My heart goes out to those who still have strong personal ties to the Blacksburg community.
I won't add any comments about gun control or campus security. I think they did the best they could.
It is simply a tragedy, and maybe at some later date, when more information on why and how it occurred, more can be said. But for now, it's just sad.
April 17, 2007
April 5, 2007
Or... Maybe It Won't
The big news is, of course, that the President and Congress are fighting tooth-and-nail about this whole "troop withdrawal" thing. Congress, echoing what is fairly clearly the will of the people (according to most polls, anyway), wants them out at some point in the foreseeable future. The President, echoing... well his own sense of purpose and probably the sentiments of his staff, thinks that setting any sort of withdrawal date will send a message of defeat to the troops and, more importantly, to the enemy.
These are interesting points. I do not think that the President is way outside the bounds of reality on this, because his concerns--politically motivated or not--seem reasonable. That doesn't outweigh my personal belief that withdrawal should still occur, but I don't immediately dismiss the rationale (that it will aid our enemy)put forth by the administration. That is, I didn't until I really considered what effect it could have.
Here's my thought: if I'm a terrorist, or just someone who doesn't want the USA in my country, blowing up my friends and family, I might take up arms and fight them. If I hear that the USA has no plans on leaving anytime soon, my strategy (and this is just me, I don't actually have any "freedom fighter" friends, that I know of) would be the same as what the actual insurgents seem to be using: keep killing soldiers until it becomes to costly for the U.S.
As an insurgent, I'm probably not too concerned about how this costliness actually manifests itself; whether it's massive public outcry, a political turnover (like the 2006 elections), or actual budgetary concerns. I just want them to leave.
Now enter the "troop withdrawal date". Instead of hearing that the Americans are hear to help my country by shooting its people ad infinitum, I hear they will shoot for awhile longer, and then leave. Perhaps not soon--not until late 2008, for instance, which is almost 18 months away. But the key is the knowledge of a date when they will cease actively trying to kill me.
In my mind, this creates a different sort of response. Why should I risk my life on a daily basis when, at some stated date, the oppressors of my country will leave? Why not take a breath or two, and reevalute my goals regarding insurgency? It seems to me that, whatever their motives are for constantly trying to kill American troops (or blowing up parts of their own country), those motives become less urgent if the American presence has an expiration date.
Of course, perhaps the "signal of weakness", as characterized by the President, would encourage an escalation of violence (the theory being that if they're willing to leave in X months, maybe we can make them leave now if we hit harder). I do not know nearly enough about... well, anything involved in this sort of analysis, to make an educated guess.
But I think the opponents of troop-withdrawal (those who aren't simply parroting the party line and have a legitimate beef with the idea) have overlooked the possibility that it will have a calming effect. After all, Iraq needs to stand on its own someday, and the complete lack of any idea when that will be can only serve to frustrate the hell out of those fighting for it.
These are interesting points. I do not think that the President is way outside the bounds of reality on this, because his concerns--politically motivated or not--seem reasonable. That doesn't outweigh my personal belief that withdrawal should still occur, but I don't immediately dismiss the rationale (that it will aid our enemy)put forth by the administration. That is, I didn't until I really considered what effect it could have.
Here's my thought: if I'm a terrorist, or just someone who doesn't want the USA in my country, blowing up my friends and family, I might take up arms and fight them. If I hear that the USA has no plans on leaving anytime soon, my strategy (and this is just me, I don't actually have any "freedom fighter" friends, that I know of) would be the same as what the actual insurgents seem to be using: keep killing soldiers until it becomes to costly for the U.S.
As an insurgent, I'm probably not too concerned about how this costliness actually manifests itself; whether it's massive public outcry, a political turnover (like the 2006 elections), or actual budgetary concerns. I just want them to leave.
Now enter the "troop withdrawal date". Instead of hearing that the Americans are hear to help my country by shooting its people ad infinitum, I hear they will shoot for awhile longer, and then leave. Perhaps not soon--not until late 2008, for instance, which is almost 18 months away. But the key is the knowledge of a date when they will cease actively trying to kill me.
In my mind, this creates a different sort of response. Why should I risk my life on a daily basis when, at some stated date, the oppressors of my country will leave? Why not take a breath or two, and reevalute my goals regarding insurgency? It seems to me that, whatever their motives are for constantly trying to kill American troops (or blowing up parts of their own country), those motives become less urgent if the American presence has an expiration date.
Of course, perhaps the "signal of weakness", as characterized by the President, would encourage an escalation of violence (the theory being that if they're willing to leave in X months, maybe we can make them leave now if we hit harder). I do not know nearly enough about... well, anything involved in this sort of analysis, to make an educated guess.
But I think the opponents of troop-withdrawal (those who aren't simply parroting the party line and have a legitimate beef with the idea) have overlooked the possibility that it will have a calming effect. After all, Iraq needs to stand on its own someday, and the complete lack of any idea when that will be can only serve to frustrate the hell out of those fighting for it.
March 21, 2007
It's Not Like Anyone Wants to Broadcast the Detroit Lions, Anyhow
Ah, copyright; my first legal love. Great story on Ars Technica yesterday about how the NFL's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist to probably the worst possible target: a law professor and staff attorney for EFF.
The NFL, as any football fan knows, is a big fan of telling people that their telecast is copyrighted and that pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game are prohibited if done without the NFL's permission.
Any 1st year law student can tell you the NFL is full of crap. You know, legally speaking. Their broadcast is copyrighted; accounts of a football game are facts and you can't stop someone from giving an account of anything. Same goes for descriptions. If I "describe" the movie 300 on my blog, the producers can't sue me for copyright infringement. Pictures are a bit murkier; if you take a picture at a game, it's probably yours, but the uniforms and logos are all trademarked so you probably can't go around selling it. The NFL is tough that way.
None of this matters to fair use, though, which allows small excerpts of ANY copyrighted material, if done for specific uses (like education; professors of law easily fall into this category).
One of the reasons I've been interested in copyright is because I believe that copyright holders--especially monolithic entities like the NFL, Disney, or Viacom--are almost criminal in their misuse of copyright law to strong-arm content users into stopping what is actually perfectly legal "fair use" of a copyrighted work.
And that's why this is so perfect; I hope that Seltzer (the professor, if you didn't click the link) pushes them all the way to court on this one. My real motive: the NFL stopped using a 4-second clip of Barry Sanders during their copyright spiel, and since he's one of the greatest runningbacks to play the game, I feel their copyright message no longer has any meaning.
No, that doesn't make sense. But it was Barry!
The NFL, as any football fan knows, is a big fan of telling people that their telecast is copyrighted and that pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game are prohibited if done without the NFL's permission.
Any 1st year law student can tell you the NFL is full of crap. You know, legally speaking. Their broadcast is copyrighted; accounts of a football game are facts and you can't stop someone from giving an account of anything. Same goes for descriptions. If I "describe" the movie 300 on my blog, the producers can't sue me for copyright infringement. Pictures are a bit murkier; if you take a picture at a game, it's probably yours, but the uniforms and logos are all trademarked so you probably can't go around selling it. The NFL is tough that way.
None of this matters to fair use, though, which allows small excerpts of ANY copyrighted material, if done for specific uses (like education; professors of law easily fall into this category).
One of the reasons I've been interested in copyright is because I believe that copyright holders--especially monolithic entities like the NFL, Disney, or Viacom--are almost criminal in their misuse of copyright law to strong-arm content users into stopping what is actually perfectly legal "fair use" of a copyrighted work.
And that's why this is so perfect; I hope that Seltzer (the professor, if you didn't click the link) pushes them all the way to court on this one. My real motive: the NFL stopped using a 4-second clip of Barry Sanders during their copyright spiel, and since he's one of the greatest runningbacks to play the game, I feel their copyright message no longer has any meaning.
No, that doesn't make sense. But it was Barry!
March 19, 2007
When Everything You Do is Totally Awesome
or, Why Spartans Are Better Than You At Everything
I'll come right out and say it: 300 was pretty fantastic. Not
fantastic in the same way that say, an actual quality piece of cinema
might be fantastic; but rather, it was a fantastic movie to watch that
I may not watch again for a long, long time.
I've read "300" by Frank Miller, and it's pretty good. It's not up to
his Sin City level as far as storytelling goes (perhaps because the
story isn't his alone) but it was entertaining enough. The movie, as
it turns out, is like a slower-paced version of the book -- complete
with more slo-mo shots than I have ever seen.
Everything a Spartan does, if this movie is historically (ha!)
accurate, was so damn cool that immortalizing it on film requires
super-slow motion and a get-pumped soundtrack. This includes the
obvious, such as stabbing people with spears, or leaping through the
air, as well as the less obvious -- such as crouching. I know that
when I crouch, I do not feel all that awesome, but then (as my
girlfriend pointed out**) I probably would have been tossed off that
very morbid cliff onto the pile of baby bones were I born a Spartan.
And a word on homoeroticism in film: after reading a few reviews, I
went into 300 expecting to chuckle at the blatantly tongue-in-cheek
gayness of the movie; after all, it's 300 sweaty mens with awesome abs
hanging out at the beach. I was actually surprised that there really
isn't much in that area to "make fun of". Xerxes was a bit effeminate,
but he was also 10 feet tall and had a voice like an idling mack
truck.
My point is, if you were uncomfortable with and/or amused by the movie
because of gay undertones, you need to examine your own head out
first, because the undertones were few and far between.
Not every movie has a great deal of meaning or symbolism behind it;
those that look for it in the films of Zack Snyder (previous credit --
yes there is really only one -- being Dawn of the Dead) are probably
plumbing the depths of their own imaginations more than those of the
movie.
** She assures me, with an unintentional nod to Bridget Jones, that she loves me just the way I am.
*** whoops, comments are good now. posting by email has some bugs.
I'll come right out and say it: 300 was pretty fantastic. Not
fantastic in the same way that say, an actual quality piece of cinema
might be fantastic; but rather, it was a fantastic movie to watch that
I may not watch again for a long, long time.
I've read "300" by Frank Miller, and it's pretty good. It's not up to
his Sin City level as far as storytelling goes (perhaps because the
story isn't his alone) but it was entertaining enough. The movie, as
it turns out, is like a slower-paced version of the book -- complete
with more slo-mo shots than I have ever seen.
Everything a Spartan does, if this movie is historically (ha!)
accurate, was so damn cool that immortalizing it on film requires
super-slow motion and a get-pumped soundtrack. This includes the
obvious, such as stabbing people with spears, or leaping through the
air, as well as the less obvious -- such as crouching. I know that
when I crouch, I do not feel all that awesome, but then (as my
girlfriend pointed out**) I probably would have been tossed off that
very morbid cliff onto the pile of baby bones were I born a Spartan.
And a word on homoeroticism in film: after reading a few reviews, I
went into 300 expecting to chuckle at the blatantly tongue-in-cheek
gayness of the movie; after all, it's 300 sweaty mens with awesome abs
hanging out at the beach. I was actually surprised that there really
isn't much in that area to "make fun of". Xerxes was a bit effeminate,
but he was also 10 feet tall and had a voice like an idling mack
truck.
My point is, if you were uncomfortable with and/or amused by the movie
because of gay undertones, you need to examine your own head out
first, because the undertones were few and far between.
Not every movie has a great deal of meaning or symbolism behind it;
those that look for it in the films of Zack Snyder (previous credit --
yes there is really only one -- being Dawn of the Dead) are probably
plumbing the depths of their own imaginations more than those of the
movie.
** She assures me, with an unintentional nod to Bridget Jones, that she loves me just the way I am.
*** whoops, comments are good now. posting by email has some bugs.
March 13, 2007
"12" of 12
Well, I started off with good intentions: to finally revisit 12 of 12. I remembered the night before, but not the morning of, thus forgetting my camera. I bought a new cell phone between the last 12 and now, and used it to take... 4 pictures.
They are largely boring. A picture of a building near where I work (ooh!), a perspective shot of the conference room in which I work job #2 (ahh!), and a sunset.
The sunset, which was pretty, is what you get. And a promise to try again next month!
They are largely boring. A picture of a building near where I work (ooh!), a perspective shot of the conference room in which I work job #2 (ahh!), and a sunset.
The sunset, which was pretty, is what you get. And a promise to try again next month!
March 4, 2007
1,000
I have seen one thousand movies.
Awhile ago, during the job hunt and at blogging "low tide", my movie list--you do know I have a list of every movie I've seen, don't you?--finally topped 1,000.
I am unsure as to what movie is exactly number 1,000; this is because I occasionally remember a movie from my past that somehow escaped inclusion on the list. For example, right as I was approaching the century mark, I realized "Silence of the Lambs" wasn't on the list. "WTF!" I said to myself.
So I am pretty sure that the milestone was reached with this movie; though it's quite possible it was actually this one.
I'm not really sure whether 1,000 movies is something to be proud of or something to be pitied. I definitely have to thank my parents, for giving us HBO when I was in middle school and socially leprous; Netflix, for making it oh-so-easy to fill out my list with movies I would otherwise be too ashamed to rent if I had to do it in person; and of course, the job market for keeping me only partially employed during the last 18 months.
Awhile ago, during the job hunt and at blogging "low tide", my movie list--you do know I have a list of every movie I've seen, don't you?--finally topped 1,000.
I am unsure as to what movie is exactly number 1,000; this is because I occasionally remember a movie from my past that somehow escaped inclusion on the list. For example, right as I was approaching the century mark, I realized "Silence of the Lambs" wasn't on the list. "WTF!" I said to myself.
So I am pretty sure that the milestone was reached with this movie; though it's quite possible it was actually this one.
I'm not really sure whether 1,000 movies is something to be proud of or something to be pitied. I definitely have to thank my parents, for giving us HBO when I was in middle school and socially leprous; Netflix, for making it oh-so-easy to fill out my list with movies I would otherwise be too ashamed to rent if I had to do it in person; and of course, the job market for keeping me only partially employed during the last 18 months.
February 11, 2007
Job
The problem with promising a big post is, life rarely ever affords me those "aha!" opportunities that would allow such conclusive presentations. That is, unlike most people who get a job offer, sign on the dotted line, and a paycheck all in a few short days, I get news that a job is available and that they want me, then a week goes by, then they say can we meet next week, and then we do meet and they say looks good, call me in three days, so in three days I call and we agree to meet the next day, where we agree on pay and hours and what I'll be doing.
But they're not quite ready for my closeup yet. So while I've had two days of work, I have no place to "sit" and I don't have a "computer", so you can see why I'm still hesitant to go around celebrating. No taking out mortgages, buying term life insurance, or other various adult things just yet.
Don't be mistaken, though; I'm confident it's the start of great, big things. But it has been too long a journey to announce a true end to joblessness without being sure--sign on the dotted line sure, for one thing, and paycheck sure, for another--so I am not giving details.
Not that I could anyway. It's a law firm, and I bet they frown on extracurricular blogging. But it seems to pay well and seems like interesting work.
So there you have it, oh dwindling stock of readership. I am hoping that this post will slate some of the thirst the previous posts may have caused, but also that I will, having "broken the seal" (to use the popular beer-drinking parlance) be able to post on all sorts of flippant topics. I mean, seriously, it's been almost a month! Celebrities have died, my sisters are practically engaged and/or joining convents as we speak.
But they're not quite ready for my closeup yet. So while I've had two days of work, I have no place to "sit" and I don't have a "computer", so you can see why I'm still hesitant to go around celebrating. No taking out mortgages, buying term life insurance, or other various adult things just yet.
Don't be mistaken, though; I'm confident it's the start of great, big things. But it has been too long a journey to announce a true end to joblessness without being sure--sign on the dotted line sure, for one thing, and paycheck sure, for another--so I am not giving details.
Not that I could anyway. It's a law firm, and I bet they frown on extracurricular blogging. But it seems to pay well and seems like interesting work.
So there you have it, oh dwindling stock of readership. I am hoping that this post will slate some of the thirst the previous posts may have caused, but also that I will, having "broken the seal" (to use the popular beer-drinking parlance) be able to post on all sorts of flippant topics. I mean, seriously, it's been almost a month! Celebrities have died, my sisters are practically engaged and/or joining convents as we speak.
January 16, 2007
Big Things...
...are happening. I am ever-so-sorry about the complete lack of updates (this year, even) but hopefully a more meaningful and news-filled update will grace us soon.
And by that I mean before Friday. Of this week.
UPDATE: It is a little known fact that the phrase "of this week" means, in the original Portugese, "sometime during this calendar year."
The more you know!
Seriously, these things usually do take longer than they mean to. But I will try and post something brilliantly illuminating today or tomorrow, if the gods allow.
And by that I mean before Friday. Of this week.
UPDATE: It is a little known fact that the phrase "of this week" means, in the original Portugese, "sometime during this calendar year."
The more you know!
Seriously, these things usually do take longer than they mean to. But I will try and post something brilliantly illuminating today or tomorrow, if the gods allow.
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