The comments, reviews and rantings are for entertainment only. If you are offended then someone else is getting entertained. Welcome to the internet. Have at it. This is where I sound off on what I read in comics this week, and occasionally ramble about other things.
Its Wednesday, April 26, 2012, I won't be getting my comic today, and this is The Side. the single dad thing continues and that means taking the kids to gymnastics on Wednesday as opposed to hitting the comic shop like a proper nerd. Not enough time to do both. Ah well. So, no reviews until Sunday again. Thanks for the patience.
BATTLEGROUND: FACEBOOK!!!
Oh, I am loving this one.
If you've been online for more than five minutes, you've probably heard the horror stories of women getting pictures sent to them that nobody wants to see. There's been a few cases of well-known guys getting busted for it, like Brett Farve and Anthony Wiener (the name along selling the joke). Kidding aside, its one of those things that I do worry about having daughters who know about computers and a little about the internet. Its one of the reasons I don't want them to ever have a Facebook account. Some pervs start fixating on a girl and then the messages and inappropriate stuff start getting sent to the girl. Its flat out harassment and its one of the reasons we've got the Government trying to regulate the internet.
The problem is that the people in the government barely have a clue as to how things work on the internet.
People that are online, and don't take shit, know how to handle these sorts of things. This brings us to Ariane Friedrich. She's an athlete from Germany who will most likely be competing in the high jump at the Olympics this year. She's an attractive woman, and I'm certain she has quite a few admirers. However, one of them got all stalkery on her. Used to be a proper stalker would follow you around and leave notes and dead roses on your doorstep. Nowadays, they send pictures of their junk.
Now, there's legislation in this country giving women options for dealing with stuff like this. It varies from State to State. Some places have fines. Other places even have jail time. This this involves pressing charges and having to go through a whole bunch of paperwork. Got to make sure the paper trail is sound and that you've got evidence and all that.
Friedrich is a busy woman. She doesn't have time for that crap! So, she outed the dude! She posted the guy's name and e-mail address right on her Facebook page. Now, there's a big old tizzy about her not handling this in the "proper" fashion, and due process.
Screw that. This moron was dumb enough to send dick pix to woman who didn't want them, and she knew his name. No need for the courts to get involved here. This guy has been thrown directly into the court of public perception, and that's one harsh jury. I do love how she handled it.
While there are a lot of good intentions about internet safety, a lot of what's being proposed is overkill. Its people with a particular paradigm that can't be applied nice and neat to communications and interpersonal relationships of the 21st century. Really, with a lot of these cases, it can be handled fairly simply: don't take any shit, and if the pervos can't keep it to themselves, then share it with everybody.
MUSIC!!
Girls that jump are awesome and so are girls that run.
Alright, I'm off to the ratrace. See y'all Friday.
Its Sunday, September 25, 2011, I'm going to lay some pipe, and this is The Side. Had a plumbing problem in the Nozz Compound involving minor flooding. I managed to stop the problem, but now I have to attempt to make the bathroom fully functional again. This is stretching the limits of my plumbing ability. Frankly, all I really know about plumbing is that shit rolls downhill and quitting time is five o'clock.
But before I possibly make a bad situation worse, let's see what's going on with things.
INTERNET!!
This has been a busy week in social media. Facebook is making a bunch of changes, which don't affect me because I'm not on Facebook. A lot of the changes have already started rolling out. The users aren't too pleased about it, but there may be a bit of resisting change for the sake of resisting change in play.
Phillip DeFranco gave a pretty thorough rundown of what users are in store for with the new Facebook.
Now to me, this all sounds horrendous. It just sounds like one big confusing mess. However, the focus still seems to be on what Facebook's main goal has always been: putting information about yourself out there to share with people. Also, looking at the screen shots of what's in store and having seen what the pages look like now, it just looks too jumbled. There's a lot going on here. Whether its too much or not remains to be seen.
The timing is also very interesting in that Google+ went public this week. Its still in beta testing mode, but its fully functional. Its neat and clean. The focus is on sharing information and discussion. Whether or not that information is personal or news stories, or just fun bits from the web depends on the user. They also have games now and that's in its own little section so you don't have a bunch of game notifications clogging up your streams.
There's been a lot of people I've seen on G+ who also have Facebook accounts noting that since G+ came into existence that Facebook has been tweeking things in a way that seemed like they were trying to mimic G+. Mark Zuckerberg does indeed have a G+ account so he knows exactly what G+ has to offer. Whether the allegations of ripping off G+ have any meat to them is anyone's guess at this point.
I've made my call as to which site I'm going to be on. I don't think that many people who casually use social media are going to use both. That said, we'll see what happens. Is Facebook going to get turned into MySpace, or will Google+ not catch on like many people think it will?
That asked, I'm going to get ready to see the results of this month's G+ grand Prix championship.
COMIX!!
THE RED WING #3 was on the stands this week. Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra continue their time travel story with some new wrinkles to things. This continues to be an idea driven story as opposed to a character driven one. Time travel is based upon ascending vibrations, and considering time as a stacked model. Time lines are vertical. But we have have people diving backwards through time and doing things. As opposed to many other time travel stories, altering things in the past has no affect on the present. It merely creates an alternate time stack. We learn here that it is also possible to move horizontally through the stacks, which is the equivalent here of moving through parallel dimensions. This is not he only idea in play here, as we are also dealing with the condition of the present and whose fault that is. So, in the "present" (which is the future relative to us) Dom, Val, and Maye are pilots dealing with an attack from a foe which is still very loosely defined. Meanwhile Dom's father is the prisoner of Dom from possibly "the future" or possibly a different "present". prisoner taking Dom seems to have thrown in with and is leading the enemy that pilot Dom is facing with Val and Maye. He's also ready to blame the present on the past, which is a big issue here. The enemy forces seem to be pillaging and destroying various points in the past, and taking whatever they can. It seems their motivation is 'our parents didn't do right to make the present good so we'll go back and take whatever we can to make the present good, and screw the past because its their fault the present sucks'. This proves my long standing believe that whiny, self-centered jerks shouldn't have time travel technology. We're on issue 3 of 4 and I've got no clue how Hickman is going to wrap this thing up in only one more issue. I can't recommend this title for everyone because it seems like you need to be a theoretical physicist to keep this thing straight. Dealing with time travel issues is tricky enough, but over-laying parallel dimension theory with such an odd turn on time travel theory is about enough to cook a few brain cells. Its definitely different, so if you like different, and enjoy having your brain kicked sideways, give it a read.
MUSIC!!
There's cool, then there's cool, and then there's Chris Isaak.
What? Did you think I was going to post that "I want to fall in love" song? That ain't happening. That's it for me for today. I've got a hot date with blow torch. Got to sweat a nipple onto a pipe. Technical jargon can sound kinda dirty sometimes. If i don't burn the house down, I'll see y'all Wednesday.
Sweet mother of pearl! Its Wednesday August 3, 2011, I haven't won the lottery, so i guess I'm going to work today, and this is The Side. Time's working against me today, so this rambler needs to get ramblin'.
I understand why they wanted this in place. Law makers and concerned parents want any online interaction between students and teachers to be public so no wrong doings are afoot. Lawmakers have gone after the most visible target here, which I doubt will do much good. There's a ton of other social media sites as well as thousands of online forums all of which have private messaging options. That's not even factoring in e-mail.
I nearly typed "good old-fashioned e-mail". Yeesh.
So, if I'm a student looking to improve my grade by less than proper means, I've just got one more little hurdle to get around in doing so. There is something more interesting than the actual story to me and that's how it was misreported. It was reported that there was a ban on being Facebook "friends" with students. Notice how I keep putting quotes around the word "friends" when discussing Facebook. Words, as we hopefully know, have meaning, and those meanings can be subjective to people.
When I say the word friend, I am referring to someone I know and think well of. This is a person whom through interaction with me has gained a level of trust. The definition of "friend" on Facebook is different. It pretty much means someone you are linked to on the site. There are people with hundreds or even thousands of 'friends" and they don't have the slightest clue about anything about those people. Now, I do have people in my life that I've met online that I do consider to be real friends I'm referring mainly to "friending" people for the sake of numbers or just maybe liking a post they've made and adding them to a friend list. This isn't a Facebook rant, because there're tons of forums in which you can build a "friendlist".
Now consider someone whose idea of the word friend is strictly traditional. The concept of adding someone to a "friendlist" who isn't a real friend is weird. Moreover, when its their kid and they finds out their kid and the kid's teacher are "friends" it can be a bit creepy for them. Of course, the media is going to report things that way because weird, creepy stuff gives them ratings. Oh, and the that whole "we've gotta save the children" bit plays well too.
So if you are in Missouri, and you think your little cheerleader is now safe for being e-stalked by the Coach McFeelyhands, you'll likely sleep soundly tonight thankful that the courts and Government are doing your parenting for you. If your not stupid you'll be talking to your kid and checking up with what they're up to online. Don't squawk to me about giving your kid privacy either. If you think there's a chance that something might be up, get to snooping. They'll hate you now, but that's just how it goes.
You're their parent, not their "friend".
MUSIC!!
Personally, I think Jolene be trifflin'. How dare she try to take Dolly's man!
This loco-motive is a puffin' smoke, so your e-daddy has gone for broke. See y'all Friday.
Happy New Year! Its Sunday, January 2, 2012, half my resolutions are already toast, and this is The Side. Bouncing around the intarwub like it was new toy I found a nifty little new story about Scareware. Well, well, looks like what hit my comp last week has a name and its bouncing around Facebook, which the Missus has been spending quite a bit of time on.
Look, Facebook sucks, but half the planet seems to use it. Nothing I write is going to make it go away our make people stop putting way too much information about themselves or their friends on there. Its a Wikileaks for people, but unfortunately Mark Zuckerburg has enough pull to keep his ass out of the frying pan.
That said, if you're going to make just one New year's resolution involving the internet, make it this one: don't be stupid. This is a hostile environment, and don't you forget it. If you put it on the internet count on everyone on the planet seeing it. Nothing is fully secure on here, and if you don't believe me, just ask Haley Williams.
BEATIN'S!!
UFC 125 was last night and a lot of people were pretty down on this card due to lack of big star power. I think people thank big stars as in size. The heavyweight division lit up once Brock Lesnar hit the scene. For a while it was pretty thin, but now its exploded with a lot of giant powerhouses, which made Lesnar's days as champion numbered and which will give him a hard road back to the championship. Now the opposite end of the weight spectrum is getting a huge push. The UFC has added a featherweight and bantamweight division. Their roster has increased with the acquisition of the WEC. I was incredibly excited to hear that Anthony Pettis was next in line for a lightweight title shot, because that guys is exactly what the division needs, an incredibly exciting fighter who can bring the crowd to its feet.
But can the lightweight division offer the same excitement that the heavyweights can? Frankie Edgar is determined to prove it can.
The champ managed a feat that no one else has: he beat BJ Penn twice as a lightweight, and he did so convincingly. He goes under the radar because he's not a big trash talker. Still, last night's title match had my full attention because because Edgar's first defense now that he's sent Penn back up to welterweight was against the only guy who has ever beaten him. Round one looked like history was going to repeat itself as Gray Maynard beat the living hell out of Edgar. The guy threw 93 strikes in round one and many of use were shocked that the fight wasn't stopped. We were more shocked that Edgar survived the round. We were even more shocked when Edgar came out in round two as if round one had never happened and won the round. Edgar battled like a true champion but Maynard is a tough fighter and always dangerous. The fight went the distance. Edgar had one three of the five rounds including the fifth. However the judges don't always agree with me and Maynard's dominance in the first round gave him a lead of points that Edgar was forced to catch up to, and he did resulting in draw. A rematch is is up next for the two fighters, with Pettis waiting to take on who ever is left standing.
So the naysayers can say whatever they want about the lighter weight classes in mixed martial arts, but the UFC has one gutsy champ to be proud of. Most guys fight matches. This guy fights wars.
COMIX!!
Yes there is indeed a second set of comic reviews because i had two weeks worth of books at the shop and ten bucks to my name. At least until I got paid. Here's the rundown on the rest.
I had a lot of Batman related stuff last go around. Grant Morrison continues to give us a Batman that is awesome. David Finch is attempting to drag the Batman from the 90s back. But that's Bruce Wayne Batman. What about Dick Grayson Batman? He's being awesome right now in DETECTIVE COMICS #872. Scott Snyder writes a helluva Dick Grayson Batman. His interactions with Barbara and Tim were great. The story is moving along in an interesting direction. The banquet hall scene was legitimately creepy and nerve rattling. There's also the back up story with Commissioner Gordon that's running parallel to the Dick Grayson story. I know DC is cutting back-up stories to get their books down to the $2.99 price point, but Detective Comics was the first comic i read regularly and it always had a back-up story. At the time it featured green Arrow. So the nostalgic part of me will miss them. That aside, its a really creepy mystery story going on there and I'm dying to see how it turns out. I know the last time I reviewed this title I said I wasn't a fan of Jock, but I like what he's doing on this book. Ditto here. He can set up camp here with Snyder for the long haul and I'll keep right on reading if it continues being this good.
Moving on over to things Teen Titans. We had TEEN TITANS #90 where I am uncharacteristically just there for the art. No secret, I love Nicola Scott. She's one of my favorite artists working today. She totally delivered here. As for the story itself, its moving right along. J.T. Krul was responsible for writing one to the worst book in 2010, but he seems to be looking to atone for that with a solid story and good character interactions. The interactions with Rose and Damien were very well done. I was off this book for while, but I'm back gain and enjoying it. That wasn't the only Teen Titans book out, and here's where it gets weird. TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE was there waiting for me, so I grabbed it and I don't know why this book was published. Its not that its not particularly very good, because frankly, it is pretty lame. Its that the book is set five years ago our time and has nothing to do with the characters as they currently stand. It features the One Year later Teen Titans line-up complete with Tim Drake as Robin and still dealing with his father's murder and Kid Devil, who I liked and thought it was pretty crappy that he got bumped off. I don't know why this book is coming out now. Did someone at DC find the script in a drawer from 2005 and say, "Hey, look what I found, let's publish this!" Weird, and skippable. Save your money. The dumb thing is $4.99. For that you can get a copy of TINY TITANS #35 and some doughnuts. This month we have fun with parallel dimensions and color schemes. Great stuff as always and it gave me a chuckle.
HELLBOY: THE SLEEPING AND THE DEAD #1 features Mike Mignola and Scott Hampton teaming up to give us another really fun and creepy title. Hellboy takes on vampires, and this is all straight from the Mignola handbook. Give us a grabber of an introduction and pull us right into the heart of the mystery along with Hellboy. This takes me back to stories like "The Wolves of St. August" and "The Chained Coffin". Its a short story that is super creepy and entertaining. Lovely work.
Rounding for home we get to the favorite comic of The Mighty Missus Nozz: ZATANNA #8. Paul Dini is back and dealing with Zee's fear of Puppets. I absolutely love the cover as it has has nods to some pretty famous puppets. The book itself is really good. One thing that bugs me is that everything in Zatanna's life seems to go back to something involving her father. And I know that this is the basis of the character, but I want to see things move beyond that. This story is a step in that direction. Yes, it does involve her father, but the story is about Zee. The threat is one that is specifically targeting her. The writing is great as expected from Dini. Cliff Chang handles the art, and its top notch. I know Supergirl will be in good hands when he takes over for Jamal Igle. He manages to make Zee look attractive and sexy without crossing over into making her look slutty. The Missus has good taste.
"WE GOTTA SAVE THE CHIL'REN!!"
We all worry about kids. We worry about the world that they are going to inherit and we worry about what they're going to do with it when we're old. When you're a parent you have two jobs: protect your kids and teach them to fend for themselves. More and more we worry about them at younger ages.
Some of it is pretty common sense. You need to keep an eye on what they're exposed to. If I brought home a magazine that my dad wasn't familiar with, he'd give it a flip through to check it out. Its trickery now, especially with music. My dad and stepmom thought their was nothing wrong with their granddaughter, who was at the time a pre-teen, being into the Spice Girls. I did warn them because I had actually listened to some of their music, but they blew it off. After all, the Spice Girls were marketed directly at pre-teen and early teenage girls. They thought I was blowing things out of proportion until they finally heard some of the music. Things like this don't change. Of course I was 12 when "Licence to Ill" hit and me and the guys wore that album out. So the battle is an eternal one and it does go on. Like recently when a CD marketed to kids was found to have profanity on it. Sometimes things slip through the cracks. Wal-Mart didn't know there was profanity on those CDs and as soon as they did, they pulled them from the shelves. Wal-Mart slipped up, but ultimately its not Wal-Mart's job to protect your kids.
And kids consume more than just entertainment. A current study shows that a lot of infants are overweight or obese. This is a big problem because overweight people are among the last group you can make fun of and have politically correct hippies come after you with torches and pitchforks, so we can't let our kids fall into that group. The study says that straight breastfeeding is the best way to keep your infant from becoming overweight.
This study is complete bullshit.
First off: babies need calories. Second: there's plenty of calories in breast milk. My kids were had only breast milk for their first three months of life and quadrupled in weight. The Missus worked with children and babies for years. The overweight ones were often the ones that were breastfed. There's nothing wrong with formula. What parents need to do is listen to what they're kid's doctors tell them about their diets. You don't just shove a bottle in their mouths whenever they cry. I've got twins. If you don't have a good schedule with twin babies, you are screwed. They got a certain amount of formula at specific feeding times. If they didn't eat it all, no problem. If they did eat it all cool. They were well fed, and because of that they rested well. And resting well leads to eating well. So, my girls who were about three pounds each when they were delivered two months early quickly grew in little girls who are now mistaken as being older than they are. They're the tallest in their preschool class and healthy as horses.
Good eating is common sense. Yes, I eat horribly, but my kids eat pretty well. They love veggies and fruit. They eat plenty. Yes they had a period when they were squishy little butterballs, but now they're lean, mean, mess-making machines. And that's not me saying that I'm dad of the year. I'm a horrible parent by the standards all these studies put out, yet my kids are thriving.
It really doesn't take much to raise great kids and its no big mystery has to how to keep them healthy. But the one thing it does take above everything else: PAY ATTENTION! Pay attention to what they eat and what they're exposed to. You'll be amazed what a bit of vigilance pays off into.
MUSIC!!
Since I mentioned "License to Ill" by the Beastie Boys...
Alright, that's how we kick off the New year 'round here. Be back on Wednesday. I plan on pissin' some people off. That's about the only resolution I'll probably keep.
Look alive, Sunshine! It's Sunday, October 10, 2010, and I have begun the annual six month process of raking my yard. This time might go a bit quicker as I intend to skip the whole bag them up and set them on the curb thing this year. I will miss creating considerable walls of bags of leaves every weekend, but its time to move on.
And by moving on I mean taking a book of matches and some gasoline to metric ton of crunchy brown that'll inevitably cover the yard.
I clear yard with FIRE!!
As such things should be done.
NWA, GO GO GO!!
Wandering over the NWA (Neighborhood Watch Association)HQ last night, I came across our fearless leader in the midst of a dilemma. He had a toothache. He's had it for a while now and he was determined to solve this problem. Going to the dentist was, of course, out of the question. So, he and his partner in crime were in a garage looking for some good pliers and some zip-ties.
Yes, its true. I'm the sane one in the neighborhood.
Take a moment to contemplate that one. Roll it around for a bit.
I'm the sane one.
The zip-ties of course were to restrain our fearless leader as his tooth was removed so he doesn't kill everyone he lays on. I had just gone over there to say "Hi", but obviously I couldn't leave now. Unfortunately, not enough alcohol had been consumed to go through with the deed, but tomorrow is another day.
TO INFINITY AND *POP!*
If you haven't seen this yet, then you've probably been away from your computer this week, and in that case, welcome back. Pleasantries aside, let's go into space.
I am actually a little disappointed that they found the thing themselves. The notion of some random person coming across it or it landing in someone's backyard hundreds of miles away and them sending it back would, first, better a better story and, second, be the weirdest moment ever for the person who finds it.
Unless they were just greedy, ignorant bastards and just hollered "LOOKIE HERE, I'S GOTS ME A iPHONE! GOD SENT IT TO ME! My's prayers done been answered."
THE REAL REASON FOR FACEBOOK
It seems that Facebook founder likes to touch young boys inappropriately. That must be the case since he certainly doesn't look like Marlon Brando. He probably started that website just to lure in young boys so he could get weird over him. Yeah, ignore all that stuff in that there movie. Otherwise why else would he join NAMBLA on his own site.
Oh my word, how could someone do such a thing? How could someone put you in a group without your permission that can be viewed online? Well, pretty easily, because it's Facebook. And Facebook makes it really easy for people to do things to your reputation, like sticking you in groups you don't belong in, or posting candid and embarrassing pictures or you complete with your name that you never wanted to see the light of day, or "signing you into" places when you don't want people to know where you are or you might not even be to begin with. But all that is OK, because Facebook is oh so nifty and all your friends are on it, right?
This NAMBLA prank happened to the creator of the site. What could people do to you?
TOURNEY TIME!!
Time again for my monthly Tourney over on Google Buzz. This time around I've got Monster Hunters squaring off and battling it out for supremacy. Just the thing to get us fired up for Halloween. You can check it out here, and if you have GMail don't forget to get on in there and vote for your favorites.
MUSIC!!
Am I alone in wanting Sid Vicious to rise from the grave and taint-punch Justin Beiber?
That's the whole ball of wax for today. See y'all Wednesday. And don't worry about the whole clearing my yard with fire thing. If I burn my eyebrows off again, I'll make sure to take pictures. All because I love you.
Its Wednesday, September 1, 2010. and today is an important day. Brother Anonymous is joining me in my quest to acquire as many gray hairs as possible. Now some of you might be thinking, why on Earth would my brother only comment on here anonymously?
If you were related to me would you really want people to know it?
I thought not.
Happy Birthday, dude.
UNPLUGGED!!
The newspaper and the Yahoo news reel were looking very familiar. This is probably due to them getting around to what I was writing about a week ago. Facebook "check in", in which you can 'check in' other people giving away their location, is under fire for being an invasion of privacy, because its one thing if you want to paint a big old e-target on yourself and say "here I am", and its another if you want to paint a big old e-target on someone else and say "there he is". As I've said, you can block people from doing this with your privacy settings, but that involves actually knowing how to operate them.
So Facebook is now Big Brother, and I don't mean the CBS reality show.
But, in looking at job listings I've discovered some employers WANT their employees to be on Facebook to the point where they've said don't apply if you don't have it. Now this seems counter-intuitive on the surface because why on Earth would you want to hire someone who possibly would be wasting company time playing Farmville. However, this maneuver is a stroke of Machiavellian brilliance because the employer can bring up everything you are doing. Are you updating when you should be working? Were you really sick the day you called in sick? Got something nasty to say about them?
People have lost their jobs for things they have posted on Facebook. Hell, people have been arrested for it. And they do it to themselves. What you post online anywhere will eventually be made public, especially on Facebook.
Will this catch on? Will I have to go crawling back to Facebook and get another account if I want a nice job in a cushy office someday? Who knows. I do know that if this becomes the norm then Facebook is going to be about as popular as herpes and everyone over the age of 18 will have very boring Facebook pages.
DISCONNECTED?!
The Emmys were on, and I actually watched a good chunk of it. The vast majority of winners are shows I don't watch and many of them I've never heard of. So either my lack of cable is leaving me seriously out of the loop, my viewing habits suck, or there's a disconnect somewhere between the industry of TV and viewers. Its probably the first option, and even if it isn't I'd much prefer to plead ignorance than to cop to sucking. Honestly, I didn't know MAD MEN was a drama. All I knew was that it was on a station I don't get and Christina Hendricks is on it.
And now a Christina Hendricks moment:
OK, all better now. Back to business.
Often there's a disconnect between what people in an entertainment industry say is great and what an audience says is great. I don't think that was totally the case Sunday night, because many of the shows that won I have heard glowing praises about from Chris who knows good television when he sees it. I see it a lot with the Oscars since often the big winners are movies that no one really watched.
Its pretty prevalent in comics. The company powers that be tell us how awesome Barry Allen and Hal Jordan are despite newer readers having little frame of reference as to these characters they are thrust upon us whether we like it or now. We just had got done with half of DC comics being "Blackest Night" crossovers and having read "Blackest Night" I can say that its not a very good book. Its fine if you don't think very hard about it, but this isn't an event I'd flood a company with. "Brightest Day" looks equally inane. But we are told that these books are the greatest thing ever. We're supposed to pay attention to these things. We're supposed to rave about JMS's work on WONDER WOMAN and SUPERMAN. We were supposed to think ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER was completely awesome.
Frankly if all of the thing I mentioned went away I'd be a much happier little nerdling.
I understand the creative standpoint. When you're crafting these stories you have to do it to your own tastes. The writer's tastes may or may not line up with my personal tastes, and that's fine. That's just how it goes. However it does seem that now in a time when editors seem to fall down on the job a bit more noticeably than before, that some of these companies need to listen a little more more and tell a little less. This is a good part of the reason why WIZARD magazine is a shadow of its former self. They became the premier source for information about the comic book industry and started telling us what is cool, and when enough people stopped and came the conclusion that they didn't agree they got their news elsewhere.
Its a risk I run writing this blog. I can rail on at length about how brilliant the Morrison Batman story is, but is someone does not agree at all then I run the serious risk of losing a reader. And that's tough when you don't have a ton of readers. But I can't just play it safe and try to write nice little piece for everyone, because that's pandering, and that gets us nowhere.
The bottom line: the Emmys and shows like it are nice and fun, but often they don't reflect the thoughts and feelings of the audience. That's just how things are. All we can do is find what we like and support the hell out of it.
BACK TO BASICS!!
I've been reading a book. Without pictures in it. Yes, that does actually happen from time to time. Specifically, I'm reading "A Study in Scarlet" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This was the first Sherlock Holmes story showing not only how Doctor Watson met Holmes but also scary Mormons.
A couple of things strike me as I read this. First, I like how a story written over a century ago can still be to alive and vibrant on the page. Very often literature is perceived as dry and dull. This story obviously isn't. Second, is that Robert Downey Jr didn't make a very good Sherlock Holmes. Not that it was a bad movie, but Holmes was always impeccably groomed and dressed nicely. He carried an air about him that Downey didn't, which is as much Guy Richie's doing. I prefer the books.
I love reading book. Yes, you can do it online and download books into your Fancy Dan handheld Tricorder but nothing beats the feel of a good book in your hand. I feel smarter just carrying them around.
MUSIC!!
And now a geography lesson featuring cute little animated characters.
That's a wrap for today. This is the part where I'd say I'll see y'all Friday, but not this time. Hurricane Earl is heading this way to say 'howdy'. And by 'howdy' I mean 'destroy all manner of stuff'. Right now its a category four hurricane, which for those of you who don't know is pretty damn bad. Bad enough that when those head this way I don't right it out, and get out of dodge. Right now there's a slim chance it will hit here directly, so I'm keeping an eye on it. Most likely it'll curve away from here, but we're going to get serious wind and rain regardless. Most likely I'll be spending Friday without internet and possibly without power.
So its a no go for Friday, and possibly Sunday if things go seriously tango uniform here. So, we'll see y'all when we see ya. Behave yourselves.
Its Sunday, August 22, 2010 and unfortunately I have no pretty pictures for you in today's Side due to in-climate weather. This is completely true because my internet goes down whenever it rains. Don't get me started as to what it does to my TV reception with my spiffy digital television that we were told was so great.
As you can probably tell, I'm feeling just spiffy today, so its time to spread the love.
EEEEEEVIL FACEBOOK!!!
For those of you out there that aren't convinced that Mark Zuckerburg is the e-Satan, he's doing more to try make sure that you do. Facebook now is more than just about who you are and what you are doing, it wants to know where you are. In a creepy new application if you go somewhere, like to the movies, you can "check in" meaning your "friends" will know where you are. I say "friends" because really if you put anything on Facebook you can count on the whole world knowing. To make things even more creepy other people can sign you into places. So if you're out playing miniature golf with someone and they decide that want to 'check in' where they are on Facebook, and you're Facebook friends with them, they can check you in too.
Of course, you can go into your own Facebook account to make sure your settings prevent such things from happening. Doing so requires knowing exactly where to look, what to do, and the blood sacrifice of a puppy. For those that don't know, the privacy default settings on everything on Facebook is "public" meaning everyone can see it.
The Missus was looking a picture on Facebook and sure enough there a bunch of people doing what most people are doing in Facebook pictures, drinks. The names of the people popped up as she scrolled over there names. Now, I'm for those in the picture drinking and having a good time I'm sure they're fondly thinking about that good time and think its just neat-o that their name pops up when they scroll over their image in a picture. Yeah, because facial recognition software is just giggles and kittens.
If the Government wanted to know who you are, what you are doing, and where you are all the time people would be up in arms. It sounds like something out of a dystopian future sci-fi story. But people are lining up like lemmings and volunteering this information out without any regard for who might see it and how it could be used against them. I'm seeing stories in the news about people getting fired from their jobs because of things they posted on their Facebook and things that were meant to be private jokes among a small group end up in the hands of employers. This is a site run by a guy who truly feels like the concept of privacy in the 21st century with all of our new communications tech is outmoded.
Oh and if you have a Facebook account and this piece got you rethinking it wisdom in having one, have fun hunting down the option to delete your account (and remember deleting and deactivating the account are two different things), and also enjoy the two week waiting period until that account actually deactivates. Be prepared to explain to your friends on there why you "unfriended" them.
YOUTUBERY!!
A new study tells me that there's some people on YouTube making some pretty good money. This study lists there top ten earners on YouTube who make original content and they're all making six figures. However, this list is complete crap from top to bottom.
They took some of the most followed people on YouTube, the folks that you usually find having their videos featured when you go to the site. They took the average number of views. Removed 2% assuming assuming that the number of people who click away before they have a chance to click on any ads that generate money. Then they divide that number by half assuming that's about the right number of folks who click on ads. Then they multiply by X number of dollars assuming that's how much money they generate per click on ads. There you have it. Assumption math. You know what you get when you use math based off of so many assumptions? YOU HAVE A FUCKING GUESS! This entire list is based on speculation which is based off of too few facts to have a prayer of being remotely accurate. And this stupid thing made the Yahoo news role. I actually saw it before that, but was so mind shriveling stupid that I didn't think anyone would take it seriously.
And there I go again underestimating the stupidity of those responsible for the news.
They didn't even bother actually finding the top ten people on YouTube who make original content in terms of views. They just picked ten popular people whose view count generated six figures when they applied their voodoo math. They also went on to say that many of these people have multiple channels because they are so popular that they need a channel "to just be themselves". Look. I have multiple blogs. I have this one here for my articles and essays. I have another one for my fiction. Why split it? Because this isn't a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and no one wants my chocolate getting mixed with my peanut butter. Same thing with YouTube. You have people generating content, but they like to make videos and share themselves with their viewers. So you split it for the sake of consistency. Maybe some of the people who enjoy the short film they produce don't really want to watch videos about their lives, or the making of the videos.
And now the backlash has begun with scores of people asking questions and making comments to the people on the list. Philip Defranco has already addressed it briefly in a video, and said the same thing I have in that these estimates are "way off". Natalie Tran addressed it on her Twitter account:
All I try to do, and did before adsense or any of that, is make content independently for people to watch and enjoy. Even though what I do is "new" to a lot of people, it doesn't mean it's not impolite to ask me what I make or publish estimated income in the news.
Tran is a very clever woman with a very thick skin. You have to be thick skinned when you post stuff on YouTube, because when you generate the sizable following she has there's going to be no shortage of people who give you grief or get weird over you. She's also absolutely correct. None of these people were contacted about being on the list. Now certainly they've achieved a certain level of fame and that chips away at privacy, but that doesn't mean we need to know everything about them and they business.
The media love to tell us how much money people make. Part of me things its jealousy. The writers see that somebody is making a bunch of money, or in this case assumes they are, and they put it our there. Sure, any advertising is good advertising, when you have people out doing want they love they probably don't want people giving them grief for how much money they make doing it. All this did is give they detractors more spitballs to launch at them. It reminds me very much of when a nasty money-grubbing faction of the church I work out in decided they wanted to squeeze me for more money. They were assuming I was charging a lot more than I actually was, assumed I had a lot more students than I actually did, and assumed that I was making a ton more money than I actually was. That group was led by a big old liberal too, and you know if a liberal thinks you're making profit then you need to give it away. "OMG I can't people you're actually making money on something you like doing!" Same mentality as those who published the article, only with yes venom. They don't want the money, they just want to "expose" those who make it.
Its a crap article, based on shoddy research. I'm going over to YouTube now to go watch Philly D's Vloggity now.
MUSIC!!
Rounding out the week of Muppet music for Linda's Birthday we've got a song not by the Muppets, but its a favorite of mine and there's Muppets afoot. It's nerd rock time!!
That's is for today. I'd promice to be less venomous for Wednesday, but I'm not a politician and don't promise things I know I can't deliver. See y'all then.
Great Caesar's Ghost, its Friday, July 30, 2010, and I'm talking weird smack lately.
Putting the kids to bed...
"If you don't get in those beds and stay in them so help me I'll whup you both until you have to repeat pre-school!"
Dealing with cashiers...
Cashier: "How are you today, sir?"
Me: "I dunno. I had all these plans for today, but some guy rocketed to Earth as a baby from a doomed planet keeps screwing up everything? That ever happen to you?"
COMIX!!
Right now Lex Luthor is so much cooler than Superman its not even funny. ACTION COMICS #891 was the read of the week. Bobby Fresh was stunned that he was picking up a Superman book this week when I saw him at Kings. We all told him "Its not a Superman book. Its a Lex Luthor book and its awesome." Paul Cornell is just kicking complete ass on this. Right now the main Superman title is boring as hell, and really needs to take some cues from what's going on here. While Straczynski has Superman walking around dealing with "real world issues" and being kind of a douche about it, Cornell has Luthor matching wits Mister Mind in a COWBOY CATERPILLAR CRISIS! It a completely wild and all out fun tour through the brain of Lex Luthor, as well as offering a bit of a tribute to the entire Bruce Wayne bouncing through time bit. Read it, because its awesome. And Robo-Lois rules.
Quick note to anybody who wants to step up with an argument about how Straczynski's run is superior because of the realism it brings to storytelling and the intellectual content: Fuck off. If I want realism, I'll watch the news, or the History Channel. These are comic books. Superhero comic books. I want big damn action! I want asses kicked! I want evil thwarted, or at least being really freaking fun to watch. I don't want a guy who wrestled the King Angel of the Bullhost and sang the God of Evil into submission walking down the street being utterly pedestrian. OK, that note wasn't so quick.
BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #4 hit this week as well. The mystery of the time traveling Dark Knight goes gun-slinging as he goes up against Jonah Hex. Each issue has dealt with Wayne reclaiming an different aspect of what made him Batman. This time it dealt with his grit and dogged determination to see evil doers brought to justice. The veil is lifted a bit as we see some more clues as to The Black Glove's role in things. There are two things bothering me. Both are minor. First, we haven't seen anything of Rip's Rescue Rangers in two issues and last we left them the universe was ending. Second is the art. Not that I don't like Georges Jeanty's artwork it's just that there's so much going on and a lot of it is visual clues that I wish there was one artist to make picking up on things easier. But the tale moves onward, and so does Wayne, which may be a good thing because those super villains ain't resting while he's gone.
Speaking of Batman, DETECTIVE COMICS #867 started a new storyline which has me hooked in. David Hine is a bit hit and miss with me, but when he's got me, he's got me good. This story has nothing to do with the Morrison "The Once and Future Batman" story, so readers can jump right in. I dig it because there's a team-up with The Question that makes it look really natural like it happens all the time. I also like that we've got Scott McDaniel drawing Batman again. I loved his NIGHTWING run, and his art isn't to everyone's taste, but I've always thought he was a great fit in the Bat-corner of the DCU.
On to unpleasantness. I read WONDER WOMAN #601 so now you don't have to. This story is crap. Its actually worse than the Jodi "Derp, I dunno how to pump gas, derp" Piccoult run. Its like a really lousy Elseworlds story. And I know this isn't permanent and once this runs a ways things will be set right with WW's proper origin restored, but really we don't need to see the character drug through the gutter for people to realize how special the character is. Last issue Gail Simone gave us "Keep faith, trust to love, fight with honor, but fight to win." This month Straczynski gives us "I'm going to kill them. I'm going to kill all of them." That's on top of Hyppolyta committing suicide by jumping to a fire and burning to death as she cursed her enemies, and a thug dressed a clown in an ice cream truck expressing a desire to shoot a little boy.
Shame on you J. Michael Straczynski. Shame on you for making me leave this comic which I used to support with every bit of my geek heart.
THE BIEBER REPLACEMENT!!
Sitting around the house the other day I did some channel surfing. The loin spawn were distracted by toys so I was happy to watch something besides PBS. I landed on The Ellen Show where there was some kid on the piano getting ready to sing. People were cheering and young girls were going bonkers. The song was lame and ridiculous that some 11 year old was singing about a girl breaking his heart when he looks like he's still slightly worried about cooties. And of course he's coming out with an album. It quickly became obvious that this kid, Greyson Chance, was created in a lab in Hollywood to replace the aging Justin Bieber.
Let's face it, Bieber ain't getting any younger. He can't keep posing on those Tiger Beat covers forever. Heard a rumor he's actually driving now and this won't do. Won't be long until he's just another burned out has-been hanging onto his past as he's mistaken for a lesbian.
Chance has every advantage over Bieber. He made is big splash singing a Lady Gaga song so that's going to attract the weirdos thinking this kid has depth and soul because they think Lady Gaga music has some mysterious brilliance to it. He's got a much cooler name, which is totally wasted on a pop star and would better suite an action movie star or comic book character. Imaging preparing to due epic battle with Greyson Chance and then actually seeing the kid. It would be a bit of a let down. You prepare to do epic battle with Justin Bieber and you know just from the name that the battle is going to be less than epic. Much less.
AIRING ALL THE LAUNDRY
I dumped Facebook a while back and I'm really glad I did. More people's info got leaked to the public. Just remember this: anything you put on Facebook will be made available to public. Forget privacy settings. They're worthless. If there is something you don't want out in the public eye you're better off keeping it off the web altogether.
MUSIC!!
I'm going to continue to give you people a break from my taste in music and mine a little more from Pickle's Pantry Parlour! Enjoy.
That's it for today. Remember: TGIF. Tiny gnomes in fuchsia.
Good morning class, it is Wednesday, June 30, 2010 and in the S M T W T F S daily abbreviations you will notice that we are entering yet again the WTF portion of the week.
BATTLEGROUND: SCANS DAILY
BIRDS OF PREY #2 came out a little while back and I didn't pick it up. The shop was out so i didn't see it and I'm a little on the fence about the book. I love Gail Simone's writing. I absolutely adore it. However, I really don't like Ed Benes artwork. However, Linda tipped me off as to the big controversy around the issue. Two of the supporting cast died. Well, there's a big problem here, because one of them was gay and in grief for the murder of the man he loved and swore to protect, took his own life. This sparked much outrage on one site especially since the issue came out in the middle of Gay Pride Month.
Wait, it gets better.
Madam Simone was a member of that site. Note my use of the word 'was'. So when people started getting pissed off, she responded saying how she understood that people were upset at the deaths of two liked characters. However, she didn't like people trying to pin her with the reputation of killing off gay characters. Now, many people on there continued to be very civil to her. They didn't like what happened to the characters, but bad things happen to characters. Being gay or any other type of minority in comic book does not automatically give that character a magically fabulous force field that prevent bad stuff from happening to them. But of course some people on the site were claiming that the deaths played into a bunch of different tropes. 'Tropes' is a word that people use to make themselves seem smarter than they actually are. Most of them don't know what it really means, so I want you all to know it means 'ferret'.
The kicker is that Simone got a warning from the site administrators about the content and her discussing it. And she left the site. I don't blame her. This is flat out stupid. I have the book. I've read it. That part of the story was not about hating gay people. I've seen Gail Simone's twitter. She seems to really like gays. Especially gay men. In pirate costumes. Kissing. So, the site administrators with the righteous indignation spurred by social justice gave her an official warning, thus proving that they suck, because we can't have Gail Simone killing off gay characters in the middle of Gay Pride Month even though she created those characters to begin with. She obviously created them years and years ago in an insidious plot to make people like them and once liked, she would wait until Gay Pride Month to kill them horribly and really stick it to those pesky gays.
Yeah. Scans Daily. You fail. You had one of the best writers in comics on your boards chatting with your members, and she left because of your moderators. Ponder that for a while.
YOU CAN'T HIDE IN THE INTERNET
The Saga of Manny Fresh continued over the weekend as yet another Twitter account joined the e-battle royal. "Manny sucks sucks" was pretty much the anti-anti-Manny. We all wondered where the insanity would end, but end it did because Manny Fresh's detractor made some mistakes. The first of which was a text message that appeared on Manny's personal phone.
It was on like a Filipino Donkey Kong.
This was a step too far, and the quarry had grossly underestimated Manny Fresh. The internet may provide people with some anonymity, but that can't stop Manny Fresh. The noose was tightening and Manny had a lead on his e-nemesis when Manny Fresh Sucks made a tragic mistake on twitter by posting this:
KELLYS ON KEMPSVILLE HAS NO AC. ITS HOTTER THAN @VAMANNYFRESH 's BUKKAKE SCENE IN HIS PORNO DEBUT. 9:45 PM Jun 27th via Twitter for iPhone
Whoops. Not too long after, Manny had a tweet of his own confirming that the AC was indeed broken. Yeah, bad move letting the internet know where you are and good old Twitter let Manny know that his target had an iPhone. So, when Manny spotted a guy with an iPhone looking around the bar rather frantically he had his prey. Of course the guy said he was just kidding with all his trash talk, and the tone of his Twitter account has changed quite a bit.
Two lessons to learn: talking trash online isn't worth squat, and the internet cannot protect you from Manny Fresh.
So that's the end of that drama but there could be more in store as Optimous Prime is being held hostage next to some ammunition and a stripper's used panties. There's to be a clandestine exchange for a particular Peter Criss mask atop the Dominion Towers parking garage.
Look, anyone who thinks the President is actually personally providing any content to that Facebook page is fooling themselves. And frankly, with all the security problems Facebook has I'm amazed he has any presence there at all. I know social media was a big factor in him getting to the White House, but now he's got an actual job to do, and he spends too much time whoring out to the media anyhow.
Although if Lady Gaga beats Obama in this she's going on my dead pool list. No way will Obama let there be a bigger pop star than him. Remember what happened to the King of Pop? Just sayin'.
THE JERK IN THE MIRROR
And speaking of Michael Jackson, I wonder if Chris Brown's crying fit on stage during the Michael Jackson tribute was due to the wave of irony crashing down upon him that he was singing in tribute to a man who grew up in an abusive household. Actually it was a very fitting tribute in that after his death everybody seems to have forgotten that Michael Jackson, while a great artist, was a creepy bastard who quite likely enjoyed the company of children in ways no one should, and after the tribute and crying fit everyone seems to have forgotten that Brown beat the hell out of his girlfriend. Seems he's popular again.
Folks seem to be suffering from memory loss.
MUSIC!!
And speaking of dirtbags:
When this video came out the kids were like "OH MY GOD!! Those people from AMERICAN PIE are in a video!!". We now say the same words, but for an entirely different reason.
POP QUIZ!!
1: Do you read Gail Simone's comics, and if so, what are you reading?
2: Is there anyone on the internet that you ever hunted down and confronted? If not, who would you want to?
3: Who is your favorite teenage dirtbag?
Alright troops, that is it until Friday. Leave comments, discuss, make fun, etc. Big thanks to Linda for turning me onto the Gail Simone story, and big thanks to the Mike and Bob Show for putting some links up to the blog. See you Friday.
...And get your ass handed to you via Facebook. This is what is known as poetic justice. Idiot employee sacked because she's an idiot. See, this here internet, people read it. So if you post something on here it may have repercussion if say your boss happens to read it.
There was actually some gripe that employers looking at employee's Facebook accounts and such is some kind of invasion of privacy. This is of course stupid. No one forces anyone to have Facebook, or Twitter, or a blog. In having those things you are making a decision to put information and thoughts were people might see them.
Moral of the story: you don't add your boss to your Facebook friendslist and then go on there to bitch about your job! The majority of people have some gripe or another with their job. I don't love what I do every second that I'm at work, but I'm damn glad to be doing it. I sure as hell wouldn't dare say anything bad about my buddy who provides me the opportunity to work and the compensation for it. Lord knows, he puts up with me in real life and has shot me with a nail gun... well recently anyways... so you're not going to read about me calling my job 'stupid'.
Bangladesh has blocked Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and another site or two due to EDMD (Everybody Draw Muhammad Day). Pakistan has unblocked Facebook now that the images of have been removed. Its official: EDMD is a massive and complete failure. A bunch of morons drawing and posting a bunch of stupid lolmuhammad pictures is not a political statement. It isn't a blow for free speech. It is what I've been saying it is: internet douchbaggery.
I can't say its on the rise, because its a constant. Saw a flare up of it on Google buzz yesterday with people trolling in very stupid manners. Last night saw some dope playing the "puppet master" card after I called him out on being just flat our ridiculous with some of the crap he was posting. It seemed to get under his skin that I did not agree one bit with his point of view. He attempted snark and sarcasm which did not go that well. He later went of to claim he was "playing the person" as opposed to debating the issue. Seen that quite a bit, and frankly anyone claiming to do this may as well just hang it up and just spend their internet time looking at picture of funny kittehs.
Note to morons: if you think you are manipulating anyone via the internet, mostly likely you're only fooling yourself and are looking like a douche.
The internet can provide some degree of anonymity, but ultimately in dealings like this it does the person no good. If you posted a picture for EDMD there are probably no repercussions in your everyday life. However those who saw your work have a lasting impression on your e-you. You may have some difficulty later being taken seriously when you want to be. Some folks may turn their e-backs to you altogether. The puppet master card is just as bad. Posting in forums is a realm of ideas. You're judged on what you bring to the table. The puppet master card is pretty much a sign that you've got nothing and you're hoping to hide behind your internet anonymity. Essentially you're saying, "Sure, I was moron here, but it really all part of my cunning ploy. I'm not really a moron in real life. Really."
For the record there are people that really are puppet masters on the internet. They don't go around announcing it. Its like being cool. You don't get to declare yourself cool. Other people have to do it.
This is coming from a troglodyte banging away on a keyboard with a stick hoping to make e-fire. Declare me what you will.
I'm hearing more and more about teenagers being urged by their parents to go get their drivers license. No this is not going to turn into yet another of Uncle Nozz's "when I was there age blah blah blah". I got my license when I was 17. Little late, but my father wasn't the most enjoyable driving teacher to have so I waited until he was out of the country with his reserve unit and handled it. The reasoning behind teenagers now not wanting to go get their driver's license is that they aren't seeing the need for it.
And really they do have a bit of a point. Gas prices are more then triple what they were when I was teenager. $8 would have me set for a week. So, it is a lot more expensive. But lets look at why a teenager would want their drivers license: independence, getting a job, and going to hang out with their friends.
The independence issue pretty much a mainstay. Either you get your license, depend of others to get you where you need to go, or hope your area has an excellent mass transit system. This used to baffle me about some people in big cities like new York who never learned to drive. Once I considered how traffic can be in those cities and you can get nearly everything you need in walking distance or by taking mass transit you don't really need it. Besides which, after driving in Montreal I don't even want to think about learning to drive there. That's just scary. I wouldn't want my kids driving there. You want to know why Georges St. Pierre has such fast kicks? From dodging traffic, that's how.
As for the kids working and needing to be able to drive to get to work. Well, again if you're in a big city its not much of an issue. If you're not you're probably going to need that license to get a job, because you can only sponge off the folks for so long.
The hanging with the friends thing is interesting to me. I've noticed a marked decrease in mallrats nowadays. If teenagers are there its to buy what they need. I did notice that teenagers in malls are troublesome where my dad lives in West Virginia. Mall security has problems with kids hanging out there and causing trouble, kinda like I'd hear about kids doing here when I was a teenager. Why that area of West Virginia? Hard to say, but I do know that my Dad can't get decent internet up there.
Teenagers don't need their licenses to see their friends because there's their picture right there on Facebook or Twitter. Texting has replaced long phone calls and it seems the internet has replaced actually hanging out. Why set up a place to meet and spend the money on gas when you can just log in? It really is a lot more practical.
Practical sometimes doesn't equal healthy. I'm not going to knock a kid for not wanting to spend money on gas when they can use tech to contact people and chat with them. Still, driving is a good skill to have. That and getting out from in front of the computer, after you read my blog of course because its important that you read everything I type, and getting some face time with people is a good thing.
So it seems driving isn't as much of a necessity to teenagers now. Probably a good thing because the roads are a little safer.
Yes I had to get a jab at teen drivers in there somewhere.
The Pakistan infowar is continuing and as predicted there's a lot of upset people over there. For a more professional take (read: not snarky) on the events Yahoo had an article up about it. So we have both sides of the coin upset there. There are those that are upset about the EDMD content, and there are those who are ticked that the government has blocked those sites.
Well, they didn't have a whole lot of choice now did they. Lawyers from Pakistan tried to get that content blocked, but that didn't happen. So the plug got pulled.
Here's a bit that the article touches on that the internet "freedom fighters" behind this didn't think about: Pakistan has an elected government. This means all the people who EDMD offended have a vote. I don't think anyone wants to see what would come to power over there from a campaign running against western blasphemy.
EDMD alienated a demographic that should be embraced. That's the people who really aren't sure about things the west have to offer like the internet. Would their lives be bettered by such things? I'm pretty sure they would, but you can't expect those people to want something when they hear about things on there specifically placed to offend them.
I swear. Its like PETA drowning puppies sometimes. You can't make people see the point of view the freedom of speech and freedom of expression are great when you are putting things up that are offensive.
So it seems YouTube has followed Facebook in sites being banned by Pakistan. So morons, under the banner of advocating free speech, have managed to block two of the most popular and biggest websites specializing in sharing content and information from an entire country. Are they trying to redefine "counterproductive"?
Good ol' YouTube. Just yesterday in the comments to a video I had some clown agree with me yet still feel the need to insult me in the same post.
And yes, the YouTube ban was indeed prompted by the Everybody Draw Muhammad Day, which is supposed to be today, so shame on you Pakistan for not waiting. You're supposed to let all the internet dimwits get a chance to offend you first. Bad form.
But really the people behind EDMD are a bunch of sissies. If they were really serious about free speech, they'd try Everybody Say The "N" Word Day. In fact they should. In Harlem. Let me know how that turns out.
Look, I love free speech, but like every freedom, it comes with responsibility. You are responsible for the things you say and express. Did those idiots who started really think there would be no repercussions? It seems that way. Now they've joined groups like Revolution Muslim and the Westboro Baptist Church in hiding behind free speech laws to offend people.
They want the world to have free speech and yet have demonstrated a glaring inability to handle the responsibility of free speech.
As predicted Everybody Draw Muhammad Day has had results and it not the type that the dopes who came up with this plot had intended. Pakistan has blocked Facebook. This effort to strike a blow for Free Speech has resulted in an entire country blocking one of the biggest Social Media sites on the Web. I'm sure this is exactly what Facebook was hoping for since things are going so well for them now with the mass exodus getting ready to go down and them being in deep dip over security of user's personal information.
So the people who started this and have a group on Facebook have managed to strike a blow against the website that they used to push the idea. Way to go, idiots.
Let's break this down real simple like. You have the right to Freedom of Expression in America. You also have the right not to be subjected forcibly to what other people are expressing. They don't want to see Muhammad. It is against their beliefs. Its not like they were being denied viewing images of Muhammad, they aren't interested, and don't want anything to do with it.
So the gaggle of goofs drawing the pictures and yelling "LOOK AT THIS!" like a bunch semi-retarded elementary school students and being ignored en mass by the people they were trying to offend.
And yes, they were trying to offend them. They'll say they're not. They'll claim to be artistic freedom fighter. Ultimately though, they are douches. And now Facebook, rather douchey in its own right, is reaping what the douches have sown.
And the karmic wheel rolls on. Take that, Atheist Barbie.
