In these days of unending re-makes and "re-imaginings"; of sequels and prequels and spin-offs; of absolutely relentless cinematic regurgitation, I would much rather watch an attempt to do something original than something I’ve seen a hundred times before under a hundred different names – even if, in the end, that attempt trips over its own aspirations and falls flat on its face in the mud – as is the case with The Heretic.
Talking Point Memo has an interesting discussion of one news organization's handling of allegations of voter fraud in the highly contentious South Dakota Senate race. According to the story, reporters for one TV news station who apparently have ties to John Thune's campaign have been employing some questionable tactics, and were subsequently yanked from the story. Josh semes to have to goods; check it out.
According to CNN, although the number of unscheduled days off taken by US employees has remained relatively stable, employees are increasing taking sick days for reasons other than illness. Examples include stress or family commitments. The study's authors speculated that the 9/11 terrorist attacks have caused workers to rethink their priorities.
"I think it's a change in mentality that says the job is important ... but that I have another priority in my life and I have to fit that in," said Lori Rosen, an analyst with CCH, a Riverwoods, Illinois-based business information publisher.
Although the number of unscheduled says off hasn't increased, the costs of such days have, according to the survey. Although employers weren't asked for the reasons for the increase, speculation included rising health care insurance costs, and the trend among employers to keep payrolls lean, with just enough workers to get business done. That leaves companies less able to replace workers when they're absent, and sometimes forces employers to call in a substitute. Simple math also dictates that workers' increasing productivity results in an increased cost when they aren't around.
Some companies are recognizing this reality by offering "personal days" or allowing employees to accrue paid time off instead of adhering to the narrow definition of "sick days." This approach gives the advantage of letting employees schedule days off in advance, saving their employers the expense of last-minute arrangements.
It's the magic of the marketpace at work, that's all.
I thought I'd read something about this yesterday but couldn't find it again, but this WaPo story again reports that the Bush administration withheld the information about North Korea's nuclear admission while Congress was debating the Iraq resolution, informing only key members of Congress (at least they did that). Plus, in marked contrast with his policy toward Iraq, Bush wants to settle this situation diplomatically, and officials say they are keeping their options open.
I dunno...this whole Korea situation casts into stark light just what a big, fresh, steaming pile of bovine excrement the Administration's stance on Iraq really is. And the tragedy is, I actually believe that Iraq needs to be dealt with, but it's simply impossible to give the Bushies any credibility at all anymore.
One more thing...the surprise nature of this statement once again highlights our desperate need for top-flight intelligence. Apparently our intelligence agencies were tipped off when North Korea sought rare metals used in constructing nuclear weapons, and North Korean officials made their admission when confronted with this information. But no one seems to know jsut how advanced the NK nuclear weapons program is or how many bombs they may or may not have.
I'd like to take this opportunity to express my deepest sympathy to Alex "Musashi" Mayo, the editor-in-chief of Destroy All Monsters, whose sister-in-law died suddenly a week ago. Although we've been in touch throughout this difficult week, Alex posted a notice of the tragedy on his site this morning, so I wanted to mention it here as well.
Alex, my family is sorry for your loss and keeping you and your loved ones in our thoughts.
I downloaded today's wallpaper for last Halloween and no longer remember where it came from. It's a cutscene from the classic Capcom survival horror game Resident Evil, from early in the game when the payer interrupts a zombie at its...meal.
The treacherous Dr. Freex, aka Freeman Williams, is your host at The Bad Movie Report. Williams knows whereof he speaks when he dissects bad movies, because he had a hand in making one himself! He wrote the screenplay for the ambitious but flawed low-budget horror flick Forever Evil. On his site, Dr. Freex shares his experiences in making (and appearing in!) the film. It's truly educational reading, especially for viewers who are certain they could make a better movie than the ones they see (the moral is, maybe you can, if the budget and shooting schedule allow it).
Here's a cool essay on the origins of PONG, the first video game. While we're at it, here's a text game, in the style of those old "Choose-your-own-adventure" books, based on PONG.
According to this recent ZDNet article, spam contiunes to be a growing problem, with as much as 17% of all Internet email traffic consisting of junk messages. I hear that--I have been absolutely flooded with spam in the last two weeks or so, to the tune of some 30 or more bogus messages a day. Grrr.
I'd read Counterspin Central's take on Jeb Bush's recent statement that his daughter Noelle must deal with her own drug problems, and while I was too busy to do much blogging, I took note of it for a later disagreement. Today I find that Dodd and Susanna have beaten me to it, but here I go with my two yen's worth.
I have absolutely no problem with Bush's recent statement. Jeb Bush is a politician, and I think it's fair to assume that some political calculus was involved, but I see no reason to assume that his statement was anything other than heartfelt and the result of a very difficult family situation. Indeed, one of my objections to the entire Noelle saga is the perception it created that somehow Ms. Bush is receiving lighter-than-usual sentences that most people caught up in what I see as a futile and poorly managed war on drugs enjoy, and one that's in marked contrast with the Governor's own tough-on-crime rhetoric. In recent developments, Noelle Bush was sentenced to ten days in jail for violating the terms of her probation. She will be allowed to resume drug treatment after the jail stay. Ten days in jail is no day at the beach, but it does make one wonder if a third chance at treatment would be the standard offering for anyone charged with repeated drug offenses.
Many comments on Dodd's and Susanna's posts pointed out the pain of having a family member who's addicted to drugs, and I certainly share the sentiments. I found Governor Bush's earlier declaration that Noelle's alleged crack possession was a private matter when Florida law clearly defines it as a crime to be inconsistent at best with his hardline public stance on drugs, if not downright hypocritical. But the point is that Bush seems to believe--and I gather from comments left on Susanna's and Dodd's blogs that at least some on the right agree--that drug addiction is indeed a personal problem best dealt with by treatment, with the very real prospect of punishment if the addict does not make the effort. I couldn't agree more with that stance; it just makes sense that the best approaches usually involve both a carrot and a stick. My problem is with bogus and fruitless laws like mandatory sentencing that let a legislator (of whatever party) proclaim that he or she is "tough on crime" but that come with a slew of unintended consequences, especially when they are unevenly applied. I may not support Jeb Bush politically, but I can certainly sympathize with his personal difficulties an hope that it has some enlightening effect on his policies.
Caleb Carr has an interesting column in today's WaPo speculating that the D.C. area sniper might be a terrorist after all. He notes, as Susanna of Cut on the Bias has, that the shooter doesn't seem to fit any of the gernerally accepted categories of multiple murderer. Carr does, however, see consistency with the patterns used by international terrorsts (for example, a well-planned escape route). Personally I'm surprised there's a controversy--to some degree at least, the shootings are terrorism; they certainly have struck fear into the area residents. I don't, however, buy the notion that it has to be international terrorism...as Timothy McVey and others have proved, we're unfortunately capable of growing outr own.
Coincidence department: I'm almost finished reading Carr's novel The Alienist, which imagines the application of the then-fledgling field of psychology to the hunt for a serial killer in later-19th-century New York.
The Bush administration's efforts to cut off funds for international terrorism are destined to fail until it confronts Saudi Arabia, whose leaders have tolerated some of its wealthy citizens raising millions of dollars a year for al Qaeda, according to a new report from an influential foreign policy organization.
The report from the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, scheduled for release today, contends that the administration must pressure the Saudis -- as well as other governments -- to crack down on terror financing, even at the risk of sparking a public backlash that could jeopardize the Saudi government.
"It is worth stating clearly and unambiguously what official U.S. government spokespersons have not," the report notes. "For years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for al Qaeda, and for years the Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem."
As, apparently, has the Bush administration (and, to be fair, its predecessors). One of the persistent lies arguments you hear from the Iraq hawks--including Bush himself--is that the war against Saddam is somehow connected with the war on terror, and that certainly the neocon hawks' obsession with Iraq wouldn't interfere with the pursuit of al Qaeda. But given that the Administration is going to need the Saudis' cooperation, or at least neutrality, for their pet war, one would be safe in assuming that US pressure on the Saudis to crack down on Islamist financing isn't going to happen any time soon. If that were the case, make no mistake about it, Administration policy would be sacrificing the war on terror for its long-desired rematch with Saddam.
It couldn't be simpler. The Administration has succeeded in convincing Americans that Iraq remains a threat, and by any realistic assessment, to some degree it is. But Americans quite wisely evaluate terrorism as a greater threat. The Administration has been far from honest about its priorities, and needs to make a more convincing case that invading Iraq is more important--to American security, not to the neocons' wish list--than the hobbling of al Qaeda.
North Korea admits having pursued nuclear weapons devleopment in violation of international agreements (more here, here, and here). I haven't had time to digest all these stories yet, but there's no doubt that this revelation poses another major foreign policy crisis just at the Administration is gearing up to get its long-desired war on with Iraq. But it seems that under the policy made clear by the Administration hawks, the path couldn't be clearer. Given that:
North Korea was listed by Bush as a member of the trilateral "axis of evil"
North Korea is, along with Iraq, on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism
North Korea's government has pursued policies resulting the deaths of untold numbers of people from famine
North Korea is developing nuclear weapons in violation of international agreements
And hey, just for chuckles, they're still Communists, after all
...by the hawks' logic, we have no choice but to go to war with Korea right now. Right?
Update: As Dodd points out in the comments, Natalie Portman's IMDb entry reveals that the Jerusalem-born actress' given name is Natalie Hershlag. Better still, it contains even more photos.
Not much time to blog so far today (which is a pity, because I have a good half-dozen new links sitting on my desktop), but I did want to mention The Mutant Reviewers from Hell. It's a group of young reviewers who've looked at hundreds of movies and give their opinions, singly and collectively. They've even watched The Doom Generation so you don't have to. For your convenience, they also group their film reviews by category, including scary movies. Well worth checking out.
30 years ago, a group of rugby players from the South American nation of Uraguay were traveling to Chile for a match when their airplane crashed in the Andes mountains. After 72 days in the frozen mountains, only 16 survived; their ordeal was documented in a well-known book and movie. This past weekend, 14 members of the team reunited for a match against the Chilean squad they would have played 30 years ago--and won, 28-11.
Ignore the Internet: If you can't imagine any way of making money on-line, then no one else can either. Act surprised when the Internet starts to carry multimedia. Cry, "Who knew?" and insist the whole multimedia thing was invented only to ruin your business.
Be sanctimonious: Claim to be more concerned about the artists than about your profits. You are selfless; your only interest is paying the musicians, without whom you would be nothing. Pray that nobody remembers countless rockers who signed away their souls on recording contracts and were dumped the moment their sales started slipping.
Misunderstand your market: When you count the songs being swapped on peer-to-peer networks, do not notice that most are moldy oldies. It's still theft, you argue, even if you yourself stopped paying royalties for those songs in 1961. Blame piracy, not taste, for your inability to sell new songs that no radio station will play.
Lie: Go on Kazaa, count the MP3 versions of songs you produced, old and new, and multiply that number by the current retail price of a CD; howl that you are losing a fortune. Forget that a Buddy Holly album sold for $2.95 in 1958; you sell records for much more now, and that's the price you use when calculating your losses — it's more impressive.
Kill it: Hollywood failed to make the VCR illegal, but you're going to succeed with peer-to-peer technology. Spend millions on lawyers to sue Napster and Scour into oblivion. Sure, paying lawyers has suddenly become more important than paying your artists, but so what? Hedge your bets by setting up your own Web site, offering songs that aren't selling well in stores. When your e-business proves to be less than a thundering success, blame it on the pirates — meaning all your customers.
Cassandra Peterson, the actress who gained fame playing the campy horror movie hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, will not host the Halloween spook-tacular at Knott's Berry Farm for the first time in 15 years. According to this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Peterson is considering retirement.
"Every year, I have to spend another hour working out. Pretty soon I'll be spending eight hours working out just to fit in the costume.
...If I retire doing the character, I don't think the character has to retire," Peterson says. "There will still be caricatures of Elvira. You know, Dracula still works, and he's dead."
The Elvira character got her start in 1981 when a local TV station was looking for someone who was "sexy and funny" to host its late-night horror films.
Attack of the Tweety Zombies is a fun game on the official Looney Tunes site. It seems that Sylvester has finally offed his old nemesis Tweety, except the little bird now keeps coming back from the grave! The player steers Sylvester around to stomp on the Tweety zombies and duck flying bats.
The two-part device made by a company called Veridian records the offender's location once per minute. At night, the wearer places the device in a docking port that recharges the battery and uploads the wearer's movement to a database. The wearer's locations are then checked against any crimes that occurred that day; if the wearer was found to be in the vicinity of a reported crime, police are notfied via email. A locked ankle bracelet sounds an alarm to local authorities if the GPS receiver is removed more than 120 feet from the offender.
"The real goal here is behavior modification," said Gary Yates, the company's director of advanced public safety programs. "This tool removes the opportunity and anonymity of crime."
Seminole County in Florida is using VeriTracks to monitor pre-trial suspects, and the offenders are required to pay the $6-a-day service fee themselves as a condition of their bond, said Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger.
"It's either wear the GPS device or go to jail," Eslinger said. "Most of them find this much more advantageous than sitting in a cold jail cell, and it also saves us between $45 and $55 a day."
I just added a section at left in which I'll list my favorite posts. Although it currently only has a couple of entries, one of them is an index I've created of all the Halloween-related posts I've done this month. Enjoy!
Mike Hall has created a Flash game reminiscent of the old vector-graphics arcade game Tail Gunner. The player fires at fighters approaching from behind; if one gets by, it can damage the player's craft. You can find a number of other c00L Flash games here.
Today's Washington Post Media Notes column sees the current political campaign season as being, well, kind of L4m3.
But it doesn't exactly feel like a great debate is under way. There's been more passion about the last-minute Torricelli withdrawal than about anything the candidates are arguing over in New Jersey, or any other state for that matter.
You'd hardly guess that control of both houses of Congress is at stake.
The reasons aren't hard to divine. Sound bites are easy. Fixing Social Security is hard. Attack ads are easy. Closing huge budget deficits, when everyone is afraid to talk about taxes, is hard. Empty rhetoric is easy. Ensuring health coverage for 40 million uncovered Americans is hard.
Once upon a time, the media might have helped fill the gap. News organizations might have run pieces and editorials demanding specific answers from the candidates on pressing issues. Where are the White House correspondents demanding that Bush talk about something other than Iraq?
