AUGUST 2008
HIGH DEF TV SLAYS THEM ALL
2008.08.31 - Hollywood's been in a secret panic over the way high definition video technology exposes every little wrinkle in close-up scenes. Actors who relied on a quick make-up job to hide their blemishes are finding even extraordinary methods are not enough to cover imperfections.
So here's an article about Obama on hi def. The good news is he looks great. The bad news... saliva spittle.
Personally, I've seen hi def and my first thought: "Real life isn't that clear!"
BROTHERS KARAMAZOV
2008.08.30 - Wow... finally finished The Brothers Karamazov and it easily appears on anyone's list of the best books ever written. While a great book, it was still a moderately difficult read. However one of my reasons for choosing it was the challenge of making it thru a large classic novel. Maybe not the most noble motivation but it served to get me thru those times when one gets bogged down in the middle of a book this size.
Without going into an extended review, the author Fyodor Dostoevsky has an ability to portray complex thoughts and feelings, so common to many people, in a way that very few ever attempt to put into words. He truly was gifted with the writing skills of a genius.
If you had to make a list of books to take while stranded on a desert island, this one is near the top of the list.
My take on the book is here... Amazon.com reviews are here.
DAVE BERRY: TOO GOOD
2008.08.29 - Oh my gosh - Dave Berry is just the greatest. Best line in an article about the protesters, politics, and bird porn: "When I got back to my hotel, I searched for ''bird porn'' on YouTube, and sure enough, there it was: Eliot Spitzer"
THAT'S JUST NOT GOOD
2008.08.28 -
So the presidential campaigns are
running hot and heavy now and
political ads are already at their annoying best.
Apparently one particular
McCain ad annoyed the Obama folks to the
degree that they
asked the Dept. of Justice to investigate both the
group that created it and the wealthy donor who paid for it.
That's not right. America prides itself on enduring obnoxious
political campaigns, and one of those little amendments that
make up the Constitution - the one about
Free Speech - covers
political ads.
And make not mistake - BOTH parties have their wealthy donors lined
up to help lob buckets of mud at opponents. This is nothing new and
while nobody really likes it, neither is it unexpected.
So if the Obama campaign doesn't like a McCain ad they have
the right to either create one of their own or (here's a thought)
allow voters to judge bad taste for themselves and come to
logical conclusions.
But don't call on the Feds to silence the offending party... that's
just not good. Commies and Nazis do those kinds of things, but not
Americans.
COWS TEND TO FACE NORTH
2008.08.25 - Not much more to be said about this study except I'm glad our tax dollars didn't pay for it...
OBAMA TEXT MESSAGE
2008.08.23 - It was a cool idea, though in looking back also reveals how foolish we can be. Obama's campaign thought it would be neat to notify supporters of the VP decision the moment it was made - you could go to the campaign website and enter your cell phone information and a text message would be sent to you as soon as the announcement was made. Technology is so fun...
So here's why I think this is just plain silly.
Cell phone companies charge customers for this kind of text messaging service. My Verizon account is 15 cents for each message received and 25 cents for each one sent... not much - over the span of a month it amounts to less than $5.
But multiply that times the number of people who signed up at the Obama web site. Reports are that when the news was announced servers were overloaded and some didn't receive the message until the next day. Others are still waiting
How much money was spent to send out a news item that could be had for FREE only moments after it was announced? Just plain silly.
If I ran a cell phone company I'd be looking for more silly (profitable) opportunities like that... oh, and Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate - and I won't even charge you for that bit of news.
UPDATE: Found this from The Corner of National Review Online.
INTERESTING IDEA
2008.08.18 - Okay, Russia CLAIMS it is backing out of Georgia even though they "sent troops in the opposite direction". Maybe they could use one of those GPS units that are just about standard on every US cell phone.
But there's a interesting suggestion that a pullout may be happening because Europe threatened to cancel contracts for Russian oil.
Why can't WE do that?
WOW!!
2008.08.08 - To say opening ceremonies at Beijing Stadium were spectacular would be an Olympic understatement - I can only imagine how awesome it would have been to attend. The sheer number of performers choreographed with special effects, the stunning technology, symbolic imagery, and utterly brilliant imagination... it was without a doubt simply breathtaking.
But other thoughts, less complimentary, were crossing my mind as well.
Such as the Chinese government recognizing an opportunity to deliver a diplomatic if not political message to the world - as in, "We are a legitimate power." Clearly the approach was to spare no resource, money or otherwise. For my part such a message was somewhat unsettling... not sure I trust such a powerful China.
Also, mixing children in performances with military personnel - I didn't have a problem with that as much as wondered what amount of protesters would take to the US streets if our country had done the same. Children and the army? Oh the horror of it all - the Berkeley city council would require some serious Barbara Boxer hand-holding...
And make no mistake - China will win many admirers from
this
event. Hopefully more than a few of them will remember
Tiananmen Square a mere 19 years
ago. The same government basking in today's celebration waited until after
dark to roll out the military and literally murder hundreds, if not thousands of
it's own civilian protesters.
And why would there be such ambiguity regarding the number of casualties? Because the
Tiananmen Square incident is one of the forbidden topics in China,
so official numbers remain unverified - even a
Google search within the country reveals only a
few government sites containing whitewashed information.
As much as many have claimed our freedoms disappeared under George W. Bush, our country does not even come close to perpetrating such slaughter of it's critics... or as the Puzzle Master comments regularly about America's protesters, "They should try living in a communist country!"
LEAKING AT THE SEAMS
2008.08.06 - Wasn't going to post anymore about John Edwards because it just had a dead horse feel to it... but apparently this showed up in one of Jay Leno's monologues:
"The National Enquirer reports that John Edwards' mistress is receiving $15,000 a month in hush money. No word on how much the mainstream media is getting."
Another ouch...
TOO RICH
2008.08.06 - So Mr. Obama is coming back to earth regarding political popularity... polls show he has slipped from a double digit lead earlier this year to just about even with Mr. McCain.
Maybe it's because of things like this - yesterday Obama was throwing rocks at the the Bush administration's energy policy, making pains to associate it with Vice President Cheney and big oil companies - and Republican John McCain of course.
This same energy policy was voted on by Congress back in 2005. Trouble is, Sen. Obama voted FOR it - and Sen. McCain voted against it.
Ouch...
BEACH BOARDWALK
2008.08.05 - Did the Sandy Shoes thing and went to the beach yesterday. Was actually very nice - kids got day passes to all the rides while we crashed under an umbrella in the sand. Weather was nice, nobody got burned and a good time was had by all.
Might do it one more time before school starts up.
DEFENSE OF MY FAITH
2008.08.03 - I found this while surfing the web - a Top Ten List of arguments that pick apart Christianity. Thought I'd try to answer each item point by point... [ more ]
UPDATE 2008.08.04: The owner of the website (www.heathenz.com) actually read my answer and replied - very surprising. I sent a response but haven't heard anything yet.