I have always been a fan of the somewhat corny, with its incessant voice-overs, sitcom The Wonder Years. I don't think it quite reaches the levels of truly great television programs like Andy Griffith or Mash, but it is a pretty interesting slice of life of the Johnson-Kennedy years, where I first began to have memories.
What truly amazes me, though, is after watching an episode, I walk to the computer, which rouses itself from sleep (remember when you had to boot up?) and type wonder years in google and an open source encyclopedia built upon the donative efforts of ten billion souls (at least they are all eligible to write something--see if Brittanica will let you do that) and immediately a staggering number of documents come up. We are truly in a new age where people will write and research differently based upon these enormous collaborative efforts. Here's a link of all of the Wonder Years episodes which people have put up just out of their own good will.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Wonder_Years_episodes
Ten billion people writing about different, often essentially useless stuff, for free! This brings to mind an important point that I believe will begin to divide more and more those scant numbers of people who call themselves libertarians.
We need to always remember that libertarianism or love of freedom, is a far different thing from capitalism. In fact, many economists, even free market economists, argued in the past that such public goods needed government subsidies because otherwise no one would have the incentive to produce them. Obviously, these were the type of scholars who spent way too much time in their offices.
People do things for free just out of the joy of living--and that is the true expression of freedom. Capitalism is nothing more than an unimportant by-product of freedom. Let freedom ring and write!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Monica Goodling and Larry David
With the Bush Administration embroiled in yet another scandal, something that I recall from the Larry David's inspired Seinfield show comes to mind.
At one point on the program, realizing that his life is a total shambles, George Costanza begins to implement a personal policy of always doing the opposite. The opposite of what? The opposite of what he would normally do. Whenever George had new decisions to make, he began to analyze what his instincts would tell him to do normally and then (for that episode) decided to do the opposite. Miraculously, George's life completely turned around.
Well, you can see where I am going with this. Maybe another George could try the opposite policy. Whatever it is that Bush thinks best or whatever God tells him to do, go with the opposite. I mean, come on, he couldn't possibly do any worse. We've had 6 1/2 years of living by George Bush's gut instinct--let's take 18 months and try the opposite--what have we got to lose?
At one point on the program, realizing that his life is a total shambles, George Costanza begins to implement a personal policy of always doing the opposite. The opposite of what? The opposite of what he would normally do. Whenever George had new decisions to make, he began to analyze what his instincts would tell him to do normally and then (for that episode) decided to do the opposite. Miraculously, George's life completely turned around.
Well, you can see where I am going with this. Maybe another George could try the opposite policy. Whatever it is that Bush thinks best or whatever God tells him to do, go with the opposite. I mean, come on, he couldn't possibly do any worse. We've had 6 1/2 years of living by George Bush's gut instinct--let's take 18 months and try the opposite--what have we got to lose?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Pre-paid Stamps-- A Good Investment?
Maybe the Post Office isn't as bad as we have been lead to believe in terms of holding the line on prices....
http://www.slate.com/id/2166475/?nav=navoa
http://www.slate.com/id/2166475/?nav=navoa
Headphones and Sound Quality
I don't know if any readers ever listen to an iPod at home, but surprisingly an iPod can actually drive some brands of audiophile headphones. I have a pair of AKG 501 headphones and the difference in sound from the stock headphones is spectacular when doing an A/B test. For anyone who spends much time listening to an iPod-type device at home, test it out. It is difficult to go back to the stock headphones after trying out a pair of AKG or Grado headphones, which generally run from $50 to $500, with the best values in the $50 to $150 range.
Stereo, CD's, iPod's and Headphones
It is always interesting to observe the ways in which certain technologies ebb and flow. About five years ago, it looked as though stereo (i.e. two speakers emitting two different channels) was about to become passe. It had only been about ten years since television had begun to broadcast in Dolby, and surround systems with multiple speakers were beginning to become a big deal. As part of this, the music industry (RIAA) was aiming to phase out the CD in favor of SACD and DVD-A discs, which offer surround-sound, superior bit rates, and copy protection.
Well, it didn't quite work out that way. Two things happened in parallel to prop up the stereo format.
First, customers balked at moving to a new recording standard. Compact Discs had been marketed to Americans as "perfect sound forever." Americans willingly dumped their cassettes, 8-tracks and vinyl and bought new players and often purchased anew album titles that they had already owned in other formats. The RIAA stomped out the threat of Digital Audio Tape by basically crippling the sales of the machines before they could take hold. CD reigned supreme, just as the industry had wanted and as part of the marketing of the CD, its sound quality was vastly oversold to the public. Until about 1998, such tactics juiced sales and the Recording Industry began to believe that gravy-train would last forever.
The only problem that the RIAA had not adequately foreseen was the downloading of digitized music on the internet, a problem that began to make DAT tapes look appetizing in retrospect.
The industry was unsure how to proceed.
Surely, every download was a loss of sales for the industry. The industry never apparently realized that many of the downloaders would never have purchased music anyway, many indeed would go on to buy after sampling a few hits and that some were simply downloading songs that they already owned, just for the convenience of the digitized recording.
The author himself, had the Beatles' album, Revolver, on cassette, vinyl record and CD. Just to ensure more profits, the Recording Industry filed lawsuits against their potential clients and also lobbied Congress to go change the laws to extend copyrights so that they could continue to sell more of the same old music again and again, with more monoply profits ensured. This is the Republican and RIAA version of capitalism.
Well, it still wasn't enough, so then around the turn of this century, the recording industry tried to come back and tried another tack, saying, "guess what, here's something even better," at the same time that many rap, hiphop and audio enthusiasts were making known that vinyl records were better sounding and more useful in many ways than were CD's.
Not surprisingly, SACD and DVD-A discs arrived with a big thud, in spite of their technical superiority to the CD format. People already believe that CD was the golden standard, as FM and MP3 were often said to have CD-like sound. Because of the copy-protection, the disks lacked portability with MP3 players. Furthermore, most DVD players would not play either SACD's or DVD-A's and many high-end audio enthusiasts thought that vinyl still sounded at least as good. Remarkably, the DVD-A's came with oversized jewel case packaging that would not fit in a standard CD bin storage slot.
Thus, this multichannel format debacle formed part one of the survival story of two channel stereo, just as it had survived the "quadraphonic" assault of the mid-70's, stereo, at least in the music world, had survived the multi-channel enslaught.
Second, as anyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows, Apple re-invented the wheel and somehow gained a virtual monopoly on sales of something that had been around for several years and used to be called an MP3 player.
Dubbed the iPod, the Apple product came out right when storage space began to really go down in price and the iPod became a big splash, and was directed almost entirely towards two-channel audio: two ears--two earpieces. Recording studios were loathe to go to the extra expense of mixing recordings into surround if most people were only going to be listening in stereo anyway.
As a final more minor factor, some sound enthusiasts discovered that a home theater set-up sounded almost as good in stereo as it did in surround and stereo brought three advantages: you didn't have to pay thousands to have it installed in the walls and ceilings, or you didn't have cords and speakers and sub-woofers all over the floor (I call this the wife factor) and the guy could pick the system he wanted, rather than the all in one systems sold by the big boxes and actually save money. With respect to large HD televisions, any included speakers pretty much by definition had to be stereo, as they were placed above, below and on both sides of the picture.
So, remarkably, here we are in 2007 and we see that stereo remains alive and well and it is the surround-sound format that is gasping for air, relegated primarily to the ultra-high-end. Vinyl is the only tangible format that actually is increasing in sales, with new albums by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Death Cab for Cutie among many others, being issued in the century old circular format.
One can only wonder how many industry prognosticators back in 1982 at the advent of the CD format could have predicted that 25 years later, both stereo and vinyl records would be alive and well. As noted economist F.A. Hayek taught, predicting such matters is near impossible, but such is the nature of a market economy.
Well, it didn't quite work out that way. Two things happened in parallel to prop up the stereo format.
First, customers balked at moving to a new recording standard. Compact Discs had been marketed to Americans as "perfect sound forever." Americans willingly dumped their cassettes, 8-tracks and vinyl and bought new players and often purchased anew album titles that they had already owned in other formats. The RIAA stomped out the threat of Digital Audio Tape by basically crippling the sales of the machines before they could take hold. CD reigned supreme, just as the industry had wanted and as part of the marketing of the CD, its sound quality was vastly oversold to the public. Until about 1998, such tactics juiced sales and the Recording Industry began to believe that gravy-train would last forever.
The only problem that the RIAA had not adequately foreseen was the downloading of digitized music on the internet, a problem that began to make DAT tapes look appetizing in retrospect.
The industry was unsure how to proceed.
Surely, every download was a loss of sales for the industry. The industry never apparently realized that many of the downloaders would never have purchased music anyway, many indeed would go on to buy after sampling a few hits and that some were simply downloading songs that they already owned, just for the convenience of the digitized recording.
The author himself, had the Beatles' album, Revolver, on cassette, vinyl record and CD. Just to ensure more profits, the Recording Industry filed lawsuits against their potential clients and also lobbied Congress to go change the laws to extend copyrights so that they could continue to sell more of the same old music again and again, with more monoply profits ensured. This is the Republican and RIAA version of capitalism.
Well, it still wasn't enough, so then around the turn of this century, the recording industry tried to come back and tried another tack, saying, "guess what, here's something even better," at the same time that many rap, hiphop and audio enthusiasts were making known that vinyl records were better sounding and more useful in many ways than were CD's.
Not surprisingly, SACD and DVD-A discs arrived with a big thud, in spite of their technical superiority to the CD format. People already believe that CD was the golden standard, as FM and MP3 were often said to have CD-like sound. Because of the copy-protection, the disks lacked portability with MP3 players. Furthermore, most DVD players would not play either SACD's or DVD-A's and many high-end audio enthusiasts thought that vinyl still sounded at least as good. Remarkably, the DVD-A's came with oversized jewel case packaging that would not fit in a standard CD bin storage slot.
Thus, this multichannel format debacle formed part one of the survival story of two channel stereo, just as it had survived the "quadraphonic" assault of the mid-70's, stereo, at least in the music world, had survived the multi-channel enslaught.
Second, as anyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows, Apple re-invented the wheel and somehow gained a virtual monopoly on sales of something that had been around for several years and used to be called an MP3 player.
Dubbed the iPod, the Apple product came out right when storage space began to really go down in price and the iPod became a big splash, and was directed almost entirely towards two-channel audio: two ears--two earpieces. Recording studios were loathe to go to the extra expense of mixing recordings into surround if most people were only going to be listening in stereo anyway.
As a final more minor factor, some sound enthusiasts discovered that a home theater set-up sounded almost as good in stereo as it did in surround and stereo brought three advantages: you didn't have to pay thousands to have it installed in the walls and ceilings, or you didn't have cords and speakers and sub-woofers all over the floor (I call this the wife factor) and the guy could pick the system he wanted, rather than the all in one systems sold by the big boxes and actually save money. With respect to large HD televisions, any included speakers pretty much by definition had to be stereo, as they were placed above, below and on both sides of the picture.
So, remarkably, here we are in 2007 and we see that stereo remains alive and well and it is the surround-sound format that is gasping for air, relegated primarily to the ultra-high-end. Vinyl is the only tangible format that actually is increasing in sales, with new albums by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Death Cab for Cutie among many others, being issued in the century old circular format.
One can only wonder how many industry prognosticators back in 1982 at the advent of the CD format could have predicted that 25 years later, both stereo and vinyl records would be alive and well. As noted economist F.A. Hayek taught, predicting such matters is near impossible, but such is the nature of a market economy.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Israel and the Evangelicals
Israel is a light in the Middle East and has generally been a country that the United States has had very close relations with. Nevertheless, during the past 30 years or so, many in the evangelical community have put forth a notion that the United States must do anything to preserve and even, increase Israel's borders, lest we incur the wrath of God.
While there are certainly very good reasons that the United States should continue to support and work closely with Israel, mis-interpretation of the Bible is certainly not one of them. Indeed, a careful reading of the New Testament indicates that the Body of Christ are the chosen people, which is a designation not based on religion or ethnicity or geography.
http://www.knoxseminary.org/Prospective/Faculty/WittenbergDoor/index.html
While there are certainly very good reasons that the United States should continue to support and work closely with Israel, mis-interpretation of the Bible is certainly not one of them. Indeed, a careful reading of the New Testament indicates that the Body of Christ are the chosen people, which is a designation not based on religion or ethnicity or geography.
http://www.knoxseminary.org/Prospective/Faculty/WittenbergDoor/index.html
Mormons and White Evangelicals Love War
I guess the old precept of "being in the world, but not of it," has been forgotten by Mormons and White Evangelicals. Certainly, part of the problem is because of the Book of Revelation, with which these endtimes types seem to be obsessed. Martin Luther had little faith that Revelation even belonged in the Bible, but unfortunately, there it is, diverting attention away from the important books of the Bible, like Romans and Corinthians, and leading many to sit and wait for Christ to return and kill all of their enemies....
http://www.antiwar.com/bandow/?articleid=10983
http://www.antiwar.com/bandow/?articleid=10983
Alberto and George
This is certainly the most incompetent administration that I have seen in my lifetime. This goes to show that all of the moronic Republicans who said that intelligence was not necessary for a president were simply out of their gourds. George Bush makes Jimmy Carter seem like George Washington. It is difficult to see how this current administration can achieve anything during its last year and a half. They will have their hands full just staying out of jail. It is unfortunate that Tony Snow is willing to let himself be dragged down into all of this mess.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4815887.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4815887.html
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Good Riddance
At least, no soldiers had to die because of his mistakes at the World Bank....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/world/18cnd-worldbank.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/world/18cnd-worldbank.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Alberto Gonazles and Greg Newton
It really surprises me when Democrats and some Republicans criticize our Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales. I think that he is exactly the sort of attorney general that Americans deserve. Americans no longer abide by International Law or even by the Rule of Law internally, and Alberto Gonzales is the perfect type of legal mind for people of that mindset.
It reminds me a bit of a statement by Wake Forest All American Tim Duncan a few years back when a journeyman player from Duke named Greg Newton, called Duncan, soft and passive. When asked by the media for a reaction, Duncan responded that the journeyman Newton was the greatest player he had ever seen.
Alberto Gonzales is the most brilliant lawyer I have ever seen.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2007/05/11/gonzales_hearing/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/washington/15cnd-attorneys.html?hp
It reminds me a bit of a statement by Wake Forest All American Tim Duncan a few years back when a journeyman player from Duke named Greg Newton, called Duncan, soft and passive. When asked by the media for a reaction, Duncan responded that the journeyman Newton was the greatest player he had ever seen.
Alberto Gonzales is the most brilliant lawyer I have ever seen.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2007/05/11/gonzales_hearing/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/washington/15cnd-attorneys.html?hp
The Case for Unions
Conservatives and libertarians often deride unions unfairly. While most people would agree that there have been many problems with the way that unionism has played out in North America and Europe, at the same time, unions can play a beneficial role by confronting oppressive government policies with a membership of millions united. This can be especially important when dealing with authoritarian governments, as shown by Lech Walensa.
Well, into the same as it ever was category, the U.S., under Paul Bremer, attempted to continue Sadaam's policy of banning unionization among oil workers. I guess the rationale was, "hey, you guys are free now, you don't need any stinking union." Let's face it. The real reason why business-owners, conservatives and authoritarian governments dislike unions is because it cuts into profits. When unions such as state bar associations or medical associations are created and act in the same manner in terms of restricting output, few voices are heard decrying this type of monopolization.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=192709
Well, into the same as it ever was category, the U.S., under Paul Bremer, attempted to continue Sadaam's policy of banning unionization among oil workers. I guess the rationale was, "hey, you guys are free now, you don't need any stinking union." Let's face it. The real reason why business-owners, conservatives and authoritarian governments dislike unions is because it cuts into profits. When unions such as state bar associations or medical associations are created and act in the same manner in terms of restricting output, few voices are heard decrying this type of monopolization.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=192709
Time to Get out?
"A comprehensive Iraqi survey has been conducted annually by ABC News, USA Today, the British Broadcasting Corp. and ARD (the German public broadcasters association) over the last three years. Its findings illuminate the most important trends in Iraqi politics. They show that, by March 2007, no less than 78 percent of Iraqis opposed the presence of U.S. forces, compared with 65 percent in November 2005 and 51 percent in February 2004. In the latter year, only 17 percent of the population thought that violence against U.S. forces was acceptable, while by 2007 the figure had risen to 51 percent."
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/05/14/iraq/index1.html
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/05/14/iraq/index1.html
Do They Hate Us for Our Freedoms?
I have never believed the Administration's line about the Arabs hating us for our freedoms. There are two major reasons why many Arabs hate America: 1) they resent having our troops stationed near Muslim holy areas and 2) they resent what they perceive as American unfairness regarding the Holy Land.
There may or may not be good reasons for the two above policies, but first, Americans need to recognize why our country is so disliked by muslims, rather than accepting the silly neo-conservative argument that "they hate us for our freedoms," as we decide whether giving up so much of the few freedoms that we have left is worth the cost.
http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0701a.asp
There may or may not be good reasons for the two above policies, but first, Americans need to recognize why our country is so disliked by muslims, rather than accepting the silly neo-conservative argument that "they hate us for our freedoms," as we decide whether giving up so much of the few freedoms that we have left is worth the cost.
http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0701a.asp
Monday, May 14, 2007
Land of the Free?
Still think so? Take a look at the following article: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660220395,00.html
Friday, May 11, 2007
George Harrison was a Libertarian Hero
Song: Taxman
Duration: 2.37
Track No.: No. 1, Side 1 Revolver
Composer: Harrison
Vocals: George Harrison
Year: 1966
Lyrics:
(One, two, three, four, one two)
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
(If you drive a car car) I'll tax the street
(If you try to sit sit) I'll tax your seat
(If you get too cold cold) I'll tax the heat
(If you take a walk walk) I'll tax your feet
Taxman!
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for
(Ah, ah, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more
(Ah, ah, Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advise for those who die
(Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes
(Taxman!)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one, but me
(Taxman!)
http://web.mit.edu/scholvin/www/harrison/hbeatles.htm#Taxman
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Wolfowitz
Has there ever been a more incompetent administration than the current Bush Administration? In George Bush land, somehow it is possible for people like Paul Wolfowitz and Condi Rice and Alberto Gonzales to be completely wrong and erroneously put the country into an unneeded war with Iraq and yet Rice gets a promotion to Secretary of State, Gonzales becomes Attorney General, and Wolfowitz gets a sinecure running the World Bank.
Apparently, in Bush Bizarro World, Affirmative Action, Bad! Nepotism, Good!
At least, the President should have known that the Europeans were going to be fuming mad at Wolfowitz because of his misrepresentations regarding the war in Iraq and would look for any means possible to exact some revenge on Wolfowitz. And now they have it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/washington/08wolfowitz.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Apparently, in Bush Bizarro World, Affirmative Action, Bad! Nepotism, Good!
At least, the President should have known that the Europeans were going to be fuming mad at Wolfowitz because of his misrepresentations regarding the war in Iraq and would look for any means possible to exact some revenge on Wolfowitz. And now they have it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/washington/08wolfowitz.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Monday, May 7, 2007
Spider-man 3
I saw Spider-man 3 yesterday and I thought that it was pretty good, although not as good as the first two Spider-man flicks and probably not as good as either the last Batman or the last Superman, but those movies were all excellent, so there is no shame in being only "pretty good."
One thing that might be a little disappointing for some of us fathers out there is that I found Spider-man 3 to be much scarier than the first two Spider-man movies and I cannot really recommend it for children under 8 years old. I decided to screen it before taking my sons and I think this one is much darker than the first two. The Venom character, especially was pretty scary looking and the violence seemed much more hardhitting than the first two. I do think that watching at home on DVD would be much less scary as the film just wouldn't quite have the same impact.
Here come some plot spoilers.
Spider-man 3 was unique in that at the end of the movie, Spidey is left without any bad guys who still have issues with him. Harry apparently returns from the dark side to save Spidey and then, once redeemed, appears to die, although in the comic book world you never know. Venom seems to have been blown up, but I doubt it. This is also without mentioning that Venom, in the comic book, ultimately becomes a hero anyway.
Finally, Spidey and the Sandman, who was ret-conned as the killer of his uncle, basically reach an understanding and go their separate ways, with the Sandman becoming an advocate for universal health care for children. I am not kidding! Although it was a nice statement about not seeking revenge and all, it still was a strange way to end the movie, given that the Sandman had just tried to kill Peter, MJ and Harry.
Another problem with the movie was Mary Jane Watson. In the comics, MJ was an energetic gal, who was always chasing Peter and calling him "tiger". In these movies, she is basically a shy pouting type who keeps getting in the way. I know that in the comics, Superman and Spider-man had to save their women from time to time, but it didn't happen each and every issue. Now, in the Spider-man trilogy, all three movies have ended with Spider-man arriving to save Mary Jane. Please, if there is another sequel, no more MJ saving and if there is another Superman, no more kryptonite. These plot devices have become boring and hacknyed.
Ditto for Aunt May. In the comic book, she was afraid of Spider-man. This was good because she was a boring character who basically was a burden to Peter/Spidey, so we weren't subjected to so many boring speeches by her. Here, she always has to give Peter pep talks. It gets kind of old.
It seems that Sony has left things at the end of Spider-man 3 so that they can either go forward with more sequels or stop. I have to believe that there will be more, given the amazing gate that Spider-man 3 has garnered so far. My prediction is that the next movie will have Dr. Connors, Peter's physics professor as his new villain. Dr. Connors, who is lacking his right arm, attempts to re-generate his limb and is successful, but unfortunately, the process also turns him into a powerful lizard-man. If not Dr. Connors, then I predict that the next villain will be the Hob Goblin and look for Venom to pop up again, perhaps as a scary-looking good guy.
Finally, we will all have to watch for the revenge of Gwen Stacy. Will she capture Peter Parker's heart on the big screen after being unceremoniously killed by Marvel and the Green Goblin some 35 years ago, with MJ stepping into her shoes as Peter's main squeeze.
One thing that might be a little disappointing for some of us fathers out there is that I found Spider-man 3 to be much scarier than the first two Spider-man movies and I cannot really recommend it for children under 8 years old. I decided to screen it before taking my sons and I think this one is much darker than the first two. The Venom character, especially was pretty scary looking and the violence seemed much more hardhitting than the first two. I do think that watching at home on DVD would be much less scary as the film just wouldn't quite have the same impact.
Here come some plot spoilers.
Spider-man 3 was unique in that at the end of the movie, Spidey is left without any bad guys who still have issues with him. Harry apparently returns from the dark side to save Spidey and then, once redeemed, appears to die, although in the comic book world you never know. Venom seems to have been blown up, but I doubt it. This is also without mentioning that Venom, in the comic book, ultimately becomes a hero anyway.
Finally, Spidey and the Sandman, who was ret-conned as the killer of his uncle, basically reach an understanding and go their separate ways, with the Sandman becoming an advocate for universal health care for children. I am not kidding! Although it was a nice statement about not seeking revenge and all, it still was a strange way to end the movie, given that the Sandman had just tried to kill Peter, MJ and Harry.
Another problem with the movie was Mary Jane Watson. In the comics, MJ was an energetic gal, who was always chasing Peter and calling him "tiger". In these movies, she is basically a shy pouting type who keeps getting in the way. I know that in the comics, Superman and Spider-man had to save their women from time to time, but it didn't happen each and every issue. Now, in the Spider-man trilogy, all three movies have ended with Spider-man arriving to save Mary Jane. Please, if there is another sequel, no more MJ saving and if there is another Superman, no more kryptonite. These plot devices have become boring and hacknyed.
Ditto for Aunt May. In the comic book, she was afraid of Spider-man. This was good because she was a boring character who basically was a burden to Peter/Spidey, so we weren't subjected to so many boring speeches by her. Here, she always has to give Peter pep talks. It gets kind of old.
It seems that Sony has left things at the end of Spider-man 3 so that they can either go forward with more sequels or stop. I have to believe that there will be more, given the amazing gate that Spider-man 3 has garnered so far. My prediction is that the next movie will have Dr. Connors, Peter's physics professor as his new villain. Dr. Connors, who is lacking his right arm, attempts to re-generate his limb and is successful, but unfortunately, the process also turns him into a powerful lizard-man. If not Dr. Connors, then I predict that the next villain will be the Hob Goblin and look for Venom to pop up again, perhaps as a scary-looking good guy.
Finally, we will all have to watch for the revenge of Gwen Stacy. Will she capture Peter Parker's heart on the big screen after being unceremoniously killed by Marvel and the Green Goblin some 35 years ago, with MJ stepping into her shoes as Peter's main squeeze.
Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield used to have a great bit about not ever getting any respect. We usually think that such a fate only befalls the truly mediocre among us, but there truly are some interesting stories involving individuals ultimately considered truly great, but who were overlooked at the beginning. I guess Vincent Van Gogh might be one of the more well-known examples. Another would be Johnny Unitas, the great quaterback for the Baltimore Colts, who was unable to even make his hometown team, the perennially-awful Pittsburgh Steelers.
Add the Beatles to this category. When they originally tried to get a recording contract, they were turned down by virtually all of the studios in England, and were finally only able to get a four song deal with a comedy label run by George Martin, who had so little faith in their abilities that he had them immediately fire their drummer. Out went Pete Best, in came Ringo Starr and Martin still wouldn't let Ringo play on the Beatles first single, Love Me Do.
Then, after the Beatles made it big in Britain, they tried to duplicate their success in the U.S. and virtually no one wanted to carry them, not even Capitol Records, which was Parlophones' corresponding American label. The Beatles ended up issuing their first American album on something called VeeJay Records, called Introducing the Beatles. Only a year or so later, would Capitol recognize its error and come out with a similar title called The Early Beatles.
Add the Beatles to this category. When they originally tried to get a recording contract, they were turned down by virtually all of the studios in England, and were finally only able to get a four song deal with a comedy label run by George Martin, who had so little faith in their abilities that he had them immediately fire their drummer. Out went Pete Best, in came Ringo Starr and Martin still wouldn't let Ringo play on the Beatles first single, Love Me Do.
Then, after the Beatles made it big in Britain, they tried to duplicate their success in the U.S. and virtually no one wanted to carry them, not even Capitol Records, which was Parlophones' corresponding American label. The Beatles ended up issuing their first American album on something called VeeJay Records, called Introducing the Beatles. Only a year or so later, would Capitol recognize its error and come out with a similar title called The Early Beatles.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Richard Starkey
People have often derided the Beatles' solo careers, but each of them was hugely successful as a solo artist during the first five years after breaking up. Compare Ringo, for example to any of the former members of Pink Floyd, the Who, Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones, none of whom had anything close to as much success as solo artists....
http://www.whatgoeson.com/features/the-beatles/let-ringo-in.html
http://www.whatgoeson.com/features/the-beatles/let-ringo-in.html
Drug War
Will Republicans and Democrats ever wake up and realize that the war on drugs is in actuality a war on people, most of them black and hispanic. In spite of the most draconian penality scheme this side of Indonesia, the drugs just keep pouring in and the only response that any of our brilliant people in Washington have is to up the penalties even more, and put Sudafed behind the counter. If they ever re-make Midnight Express, they are likely to use the United States as the locale, given that our current drug war policies make Turkey look lenient.
Really, the only hope is for the unheard voices of the American people to stand up and say to the mediocre politicians who run this country for their own benefit rather than ours, "Listen, we've upped our standards, so up yours.
http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/mayfaire/latimes22.htm
Really, the only hope is for the unheard voices of the American people to stand up and say to the mediocre politicians who run this country for their own benefit rather than ours, "Listen, we've upped our standards, so up yours.
http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/mayfaire/latimes22.htm
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