SuperSatellite ||

I’ve been busy molesting the YouTube lately, and have tossed up a few videos recently.  It’s been a while since I actually used YouTube, and I sorta hope I can find excuses to do it more (Steve, time to hunt down more energy drinks).  I figured that stuff, combined with some cool crap I saw recently, was worth making a post full of videos for you to waste 15 minutes on.

This weekend, Steve began his quest to find the most vile, awful energy drink on the market.  Naturally, I had to have my camera handy for the event.  Keep in mind, these things are only a buck a piece.  Popular drinks like Monster are about two and a half times that because… well… the actually care about important things like taste (sort of).  This first one was called Ol’ Glory.  Even though it had an aftertaste like homeless guy rubbed in orange peels, it was actually marginally tolerable.

Round two was a knock out punch though.  A couple days after the Ol’ Glory test, Steve decided to brave the blue can of death flavor of Steven Segal’s Lightning Bolt.  He had already tried the vile and disturbing Cherry Charge flavor a few weeks back.  That can had two things going for it: one was that it had a name that at least implied a flavor, and second was that it had some vague cherry Robitussin distillate overtone to try and cover the taste of your soul being burned away.  Asian Experience flavor had neither of these.  I’m pretty sure if you tried something that one might call a real Asian experience, it would not taste good, and probably leave you robbed and beaten in an alley, with untold STDs.  There is no logical path one can walk that would result in this concoction’s creation, where someone would try it and think, “Yes, this is absolutely marketable!” This must be what they give to prisoners at Gitmo to get them to talk.

I haven’t talked about any movies recently.  I will mention that Wanted wasn’t too bad, but I still haven’t caught Wall-E like I wanted.  Hancock is much more interesting to me now than when the first trailers came out.  And what I’m reading about The Dark Knight is beyond encouraging.  Then, out of the woodwork this morning came this redband trailer for Mirror, a remake of the Korean film Into the Mirror, and starring Kiefer Sutherland.  I know nothing about the original, and Alexandre Aja hasn’t endeared himself to me through his past work, but this trailer is certainly cut well, and implies a very good, creepy film.  Hopefully the movie itself is more than just the sum of the parts of the trailer.

Being a big Joss Whedon, NPH, and Nathan Fillion fan, I have no idea how Dr. Horrible managed to sneak under the radar and be missed by me until now.  But this looks plenty funny and entertaining, and I haven’t a clue what it’s really about, and I’m already planning on buying the DVD.  The matter is pretty cut and dry, really.  Joss does no wrong, except when he kills people.  Then I cry.  But they’re manly tears.  Don’t judge me.

Speaking of Joss, and having nothing to do with him, but everything to do with movies and awesome people, I am absolutely stoked about Repo! the Genetic Opera.  It looked quirky and interesting before.  I dig quirky and interesting.  Then the latest trailer came out, and it has moved from an oddity I wanted to see, to a top shelf, will-not-miss theater moment.  First off, the new trailer makes the flick look and sound badass.  Paris who?  I don’t even care.  The Repo Man is none other than Anthony Stewart Farking Head!  I had no idea he was even in it.  Then there’s also Bill Moseley.  So say what you will, I’m going, and you’ll miss out if you don’t.

Lastly, I was on TV last night!  Okay, so it’s not that big a deal, but hey, it’s exciting to me.  PSU got its single largest donation ever, a $10 million pledge to go towards building the oft delayed and much needed fine and performing arts center.  Being the only youngish theatre alum at the press conference, I was summoned to give some opinions.  Naturally, I DVR’d them and uploaded the two clips to YouTube, one from 6:00 and a different one at 10:00.  Apparently they also used me on the morning segment today.  I guess they were really short on interviewees.  In all fairness, this money totals about one third of the cost of the building, so we still have some time before we see ground broken, but this gets all the right gears in motion now.

Today, I got an email from a relative on the subject of the volcano eruption that occurred in Chile recently. It was accompanied by several pictures, from the ground and satellite, of the plume. There was also a simple (and unsourced) statement in it:

The amount of ash that was spewed into the atmosphere by the Chaitén Volcano, (Chile) dwarfs the amount of pollution the United States automobile industry has created since the invention of the automobile.

And that is all well and good, assuming that it is true. I have two counterpoints I want to offer. The first is directed at this example, the second will be on the topic of global warming itself. If you accept that quote as a well researched fact, there’s still the point that the quote does not put anything into context. Just because the eruption had a larger effect, does not mean that auto pollution is fine and dandy. There’s a reason we use the word “pollution” in reference to it, instead of calling it “auto environmentally friendly side effects.” Going out in LA on the highway in the middle of rush hour and breathing deeply all morning isn’t going to come much more highly recommended that breathing volcanic ash without a mask.

I can grant an eruption has widespread effects on a biosphere, no doubt. Look at Venus for an extreme case of what uncontrolled volcanism can do to a world. But, Earth built its biosphere on this planet, where volcanic eruptions were common during the early millenia of its formation. They were used as building blocks for minerals, chemical reactions, and atmospheric reinforcement. Essentially, mother nature has built in checks and balances for such natural processes. Pollution we add in on top of it is a separate matter.  It’s also not even remotely similar in substance or process.

In response to the email, I offered only one sentence: “On subjects of Global Warming, I generally defer to this guy: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bDsIFspVzfI.” The video is right below if you want to watch it, I can wait.

I don’t have any clue who this guy is, but I wish I did. He makes a point similar to one that I’ve tried to make for a long time. I don’t care whether or not global warming is actually occurring. That is wholly unimportant to me. What is important to me is that even if it isn’t, that is no excuse to treat the planet like our own personal toilet. It’s no excuse to refuse to change and be better at what we do. To believe that our biosphere can resist massive clear cutting, unchecked strip mining, and depletion of resources everywhere they are found is a laughable, and tragic concept. It’s on par with saying the world is flat.  If you require proof, go live in a big city, stick your head out of the window, and look to the sky.  Tell me what your stars look like at night, or what color the sky is during the day.  Then tell me that we don’t need to do anything about our behavior.

That’s why I like that video above. He makes the point well about how risk analysis should dictate how we behave on such matters. We will argue until a new era dawns if no one steps in. So what if climate change never takes place? At least if we acted, we’d have great long term benefits: better cars, more efficient alternative fuel sources, better waste disposal. These things matter. Anti-climate change people without fail eventually use that position as a way of justifying a stubborn mindset that refuses to evolve and adapt to a newer, more civilized world (or at least a more civilized world that is fighting tooth and nail to emerge).  Action is always preferable to non-action, and the results, while potentially causing short term strains, always provide greater long term benefits.  Non-action and petty political and regulatory bickering on the matter is leaving us with $4.00/gallon gasoline and $250/month heating bills.

QED.

I don’t normally catch much news in the morning. Mostly, this is because I just never get around to turning the TV on. Today, I happened to catch it when Michaele went into the living room to watch. Then it reminded me why I like avoiding the news. It was The Early Show on CBS that was on this morning, and rather than starting the day with something nice and uplifting, they started it with this story from Florida.

There is nothing redeeming about that situation. It’s a terrible way to start the day, because it leaves you feeling like crap. I don’t care what, if anything, the victim girl said to or about these people; it didn’t deserve that. It’s sad and disgusting, and it just pisses me off. Especially when they had the mother of one of the attackers on, and she sounded like an ignorant…word I won’t use here. In so many words, she said it was the victim’s fault, like her precious little angel hadn’t done anything wrong. How unfit a parent must you be to do anything that would even remotely resemble supporting your child after something like this? Take responsibility. And never, ever, have another child, because you’re clearly too irresponsible a parent to raise them properly.

Let’s be clear, there are so many things wrong with this, on so many levels, that I’m not even sure I could cover it all in one blog. Luckily, I probably don’t have to, because I suspect that you’re with me when I say that stupid is an increasingly dangerous disease in this country. I take back what I said earlier, there is one redeeming fact: at least the children/criminals dumb enough to do this kind of stuff are also dumb enough to video tape it for YouTube. That should help a little bit, at least on the justice side. But what of the fact that they think exhibition of these acts not only okay, but something to strive for? What does that say about what they are being taught by society? And not just in this case. Follow along on Fark.com some time, and watch how often criminals are caught because of video, and how often they even put said video on places like MySpace and YouTube. It is a scary trend.

“When we had them in custody at the station, they were laughing about it, saying, ‘Well, I guess this spring break we won’t go to the beach,” Judd told The Early Show. “One of the suspects asked the detective, ‘Am I going to get to go to cheerleading practice tomorrow?”

“They showed absolutely no remorse at all,” Judd said.

Everyone in that room had the responsibility to stop what was taking place, without exception. Everyone there should have known better. Everyone there was also failed by both their parents and their community, by not giving them the tools needed to make the right choices.

How wrong do things need to get before people start owning up? Not just the kids. I actually only blame them for the actions that took place at that moment. There is a whole history of stupid that occurred prior to this that created them and their attitudes. Where are the parents? Where is the responsibility, the respect, that you are supposed to be instilling in your child? Did they just give up? Do they not care? I can’t express how deeply sad this makes me for them. The kids in this case must be punished, it is only right, but I still feel very bad that they weren’t given the environment and caring that they needed to be healthy people. Now their lives are started down a path that could turn into a quick downward spiral. I think I’m starting to learn this Buddhist thing more and more though. I am angry, yes, but I am sad and compassionate first. I feel bad that they don’t understand just how wrong it was, and why they shouldn’t attack people, like that or otherwise. I am sad that they are going to miss out on so many of the good things in life, because their support networks failed them. Ultimately, we have the power to make right choices in any circumstance, hopefully they can learn that.

So this past day, I have been sitting at my computer like normal.  I watch funny videos, read friends’ blogs, and keep up with the news.  It’s this latter part which has me most riled up at the moment.  The following two articles came out of the woodwork today.  They are by no means the first ones, nor do I expect them to be the last.  However, I feel the need to provide a spot of momentary reflection on them all the same.

IL School District to Monitor Student Blogs
Student Faces Expulsion for Blog Post

With that out of the way, I shall continue.  MySpace is one of many blogging-oriented, socialization sites.  Without repeating too many things that have been said already, I think it’s important to note, and pass on several things.  First, one should not have to lie about their age to keep their profile and data confidential from prying eyes.  Tom, take note, an additional layer of security is well deserved there.  But at the same time it is a shame that people feel it is necessary to actively hunt out information and use it against them.  Two, if you happen to be someone prowling for information on students, potential employees, or current ones, keep in mind that people’s private and professional live are two entirely different things.  Most people know how to keep them separate.  All the same, it is important for us as users to employ a bit of common sense.  Don’t be specific about people or particular activities in public posts.  Keep things limited to your friends where appropriate.  We must temper ourselves, show intelligence and understanding ourselves before people outside will buy in.  But why should you have to worry that voicing a particular political opinion on something might keep you from getting a job somewhere?  Such things you want to air publicly, but anymore, it is getting more and more risky to do so.  Stupidity breeds contempt.

But most importantly, as emphasized in the articles above, schools have no right to police sites like MySpace, Xanga, LiveJournal, etc, for things students post that are non-threatening.  I agree, that outright, or clearly implied threats are one matter, but literally trying to control what a student can say, off campus, after hours, is insane.  A line is being crossed, and people are allowing it to be crossed.  This is no different from if a school tried to say that a student couldn’t post the same thing in a Letter to the Editor in a newspaper.  All that is different is the medium.

Everyone as users has a responsibility to protect the rights of the rest of the community.  To stand up and point out that if a line is crossed over there, it won’t be long before another is crossed over here.  How long before colleges, companies, city governments, etc decide to follow the same suit?  Who decides what is “inappropriate?”  Everyone is so afraid of the internet, that they don’t realize they have handed over the keys to the Kingdom to lawyers.  We dish out what 1st Amendment rights we have left for that little bit of piece of mind, and it makes me sick.

Be aware of what having a public internet presence means, but also be active in defining how that can be used.  Protect your rights, but more importantly, know your rights!  And just because you might disagree with how someone executes those rights, know that your ability to disagree is granted under the same freedom.  Pass this on, and attach your name, first and last, to the list below.  Show that you aren’t afraid to stand up for what you believe in.

“To speak his thoughts is every freeman’s right, in peace and war, in council and in fight.” ~ HOMER

Here’s another “thought piece” for my ever steady readers (I love you all!).  The inspiration came from watching this video at Break.com.  I’ll warn you, it’s not raunchy or anything, just very sad and disturbing.

Okay, did you watch it?  Well, if not, I think you’ll get the point regardless.  Let me start by saying that I am in no way trying to make excuses, or condone that behavior.  It’s a terrible, awful thing, and I have no doubt he will learn just how how it feels to play a 14 year old boy in the same position once he’s comfortably inside PMITA prision.  And that will come very likely well deserved.  My point though is this:  that as bad as that is, it only exemplifies a problem Americans, and increasingly everyone, have with responsibility and villification.

When I judged forensics the week before last, I heard a really great oration on personal responsibility.  I really felt like the kid had a good handle on some of the ideas that everyone else seems to have forgotten.  If you will pardon me, I’m going to briefly backtrack and play the other side of the ball for a moment though (don’t you love stream of consciousness writing?).  See, the first problem I have with that video lies not with him, though that is a major problem, but with us.  We have become a society so groomed into being victimized, that we are slowly taking what I think is the next step:  vilification.  Now not only are we the victim, but Cause X is the bad guy for allowing us to be the victim.  What the media was doing in that clip was actively helping create and showcase a villain for us.  It’s the video game publisher’s fault for creating a game marked mature that we bought for our child.  It’s a fast food chain’s fault that we got fat from lack of self control.  It’s the cigarette industry’s fault that we want to destroy our bodies with poison.  Get the idea?  It used to be just not our fault; now not only is that true, but it has to be someone else’s fault.  We have to have someone to blame.  We need that focal point to direct anger at, and naturally media is happy to do that.

So all this raises the question for the initial deal: is it entrapment?   Let’s take the example down just a notch, to something a little more palatable: prostitution.  Cops is a great example of this.  They set an undercover cop out, to entice and pressure someone into trading money for sex, then they arrest them.  The argument?  They could ignore the woman if they wanted to.  But really, what are they guilty of here?  It’s not like they are arresting them with their penis inside her.  So what are you going to charge them with?  Peer pressure?  Wouldn’t it be better to find a way to go after the source of that problem, rather than creating criminals out of people that might have otherwise driven right on by?  It’s a very gray line matter, the same as the first instance.  Granted, yes the guy is a pervert and really did cross the line in a number of ways, but I’d also lay money ten to one that the cops totally groomed and manipulated him online to get him to show up.  I’m no sociologist or psychologist or anything, but I’d love to disect the transcripts of the chats just to see what went down, because obviously if someone is out trolling for sexual predators, you’re going to open doors that normal people wouldn’t.  I’d go so far as to say that per capita, that kind of offense is no more common now than it ever has been.  But our mentality to place blame and accuse people forces us to showcase all this bad.  The internet isn’t creating a culture of sexual exploitation and crime, it just gives us a new vehicle to show it off.

And it’s made worse when you consider what most “rational” people would do to someone like that.  I think it’s fair to say that I would have no problem finding people who would agree with me making an analogy comparing us in many ways to the Roman Empire.  While we can’t make a bad guy and feed him to the lions, we can sure feed him to the media and a cell mate named Bubba.  We can discuss how much we’d like to see him castrated and beaten (as long as we don’t have to do it, that way we we aren’t the villian).  So in the long run violence begets violence.  So who’s fault is it?  Is it the person’s for being weak willed enough to be taken in by the “bait” (making them responsible) or ours for needing to create the villian (thereby absolving them of responsibility)?  It’s a very dangerous moral brightline to create regardless, I think.

You know, several years ago I made some choices that came into conflict with our society, legally.  I regret it, and admit fault, and I always have.  But that’s just the thing.  I did get into trouble for it, and when that happened, I was man enough to take it on the chin, pay for it as expected, and use it to see that it was a road that would lead to me becoming a person I didn’t want to be.  It was no one’s fault but my own.  But it always seems like people refuse to take that sort of stand.  We make mistakes!  It’s alright!  Sure, some worse than others, but for the love of Pete, people are terrified of saying the words “I screwed up.”  We’ve gone so far in vilifying, that people are terrified that if they admit fault, they too will be demonized.  Granted, sometimes there’s a justified reason for that, as seen in the video.  Damn right he’ll be demonized, but you know what, dude, you’re caught and you were doing something totally wrong.  Had it stayed all talk, it could have probably been forgotten, but once he entered that house, a good case is made for the real villain there.  What good do you really think playing dumb is going to do.  At least if you own up, maybe you’ll get a loving gay roommate in prison, instead of angry bodybuilder that just thinks you have a pretty mouth without teeth.

I know I didn’t actually go anywhere with all this and that I tended to back up and justify both sides of the argument.  The thing is that there are flaws all over with the logic at any one particular angle.  I guess the real moral here is that responsibility lies first with us.  We make the mistakes, and we should own up.  At some point yes, we can point the finger at others, but that should hardly be the first course of action.  And we should stop creating opportunities to breed criminals.  While I know none of the back story to the original video, for all we know, he might never have committed a crime in his life had that opportunity not been given to him.  He will get what he deserves for going too far, but the example underlying is that in lesser situations, a lot of people might get something they don’t deserve because of our constant need for villains, to see bad guys taken away.  We need to chill out, take responsibility, stop trying to make everyone else a bad guy, and focus on real criminals and real problems.