GINGRICH SAYS FREEDOM OF SPEECH PROBABLY SHOULD BE ABOLISHED
MANCHESTER –
Former Speaker of the House Newt
Gingrich yesterday said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of
speech to meet the threat of terrorism.
Gingrich, speaking at a Manchester awards
banquet, said a "different set of rules" may be needed to reduce terrorists'
ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their
message.
"We need to get ahead of the curve before we
actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade," said
Gingrich, a Republican who helped engineer the GOP's takeover of Congress in
1994.
Gingrich spoke to about 400 state and local
power brokers last night at the annual Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment award
dinner, which fetes people and organizations that stand up for freedom of
speech.
Darn that pesky BILL OF RIGHTS. Messing
everything up for these guys.OK...how
will limiting freedom of speech prevent a
terrorist attack? He doesn't say. But, this,
along with the new Patriot Act and other legislation enacted recently seems bent
on giving the government more power. And many folk still think the Republican
party is looking out for them. Isn't one of the cornerstones of the
Conservative belief
LESS
government involvement in our lives? And also
LESS
government spending? The Bush Administration has spent MORE money that all other administrations
combined...and
this includes the Cold War. And we aren't up against a
superpower.What is going on with these
guys?
Posted at 02:41 PM Read More
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National Debt now COMPLETELY insane
I always thought the Republicans preached small
goverment...yet this administration, on top of all the pork projects, have
borrowed more money than ever:
Nation’s
spending out of line — Free spending big government Republicans
are breaking the country. After all the talk about fiscal responsibility and
small government from these guys, this is what they give us.
Last month, the national debt reached yet
another miserable milestone, passing the $8 trillion mark for the first time. As
of last week, the United States was $8,084,858,891,735.31 in the hole, according
to the Treasury Department.
Here is the depressing stuff you should now consider
before the 2006 elections:
In fact, Bush has borrowed more money
— $1.05 trillion — from foreign governments and banks since taking
office than all other presidents combined.
From 1776 to 2000, the nation’s
first 42 presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign interests,
official statistics show. In just five years, Bush has out-borrowed them
all.
Posted at 03:40 PM Read More
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New Look
So here my wife and I sit...side by side with
dueling iBooks. We spent this night figuring out how to add comments to my
new blog (the technical one about editing High
Def) and how to add links to hers. Then we got all inspired and wanted to
change the looks of our drab old blogs. So we looked up templates and picked
out the ones we like (not unlike picking out wallpaper, except that there was no
real argument as in this case we wach have our own "rooms") and set about the
task of implimenting them.It was darn
easy. Well, except for the fact that we lost our comments sections and were
befuddled about where they went and how to get them back. After small fits of
franticness, I went back to the instructions and notice that we skipped a step.
So a few bits of COPY/PASTE later and we are good to
go.Except I lost all my comments.
Apparently I forgot my signin name at Haloscan and signed up again, meaning only
for the new account to be for my new blog. But with all the re-arranging I lost
my original account and so it cannot link to the existing comments. And I can't
find my original username. Sigh.Anyway,
it looks cooler...comments or no. Add some new ones.
Posted at 11:39 PM Read More
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Marvel Lawsuit Tossed
Remember a while back when I mentioned that Marvel
was suing the makers of City of Heroes because the game allowed people to make
characters that were too similar to Marvel trademarked
heroes?Well it was tossed. A big hunk of Marvels evidence was
tossed. Apparently all of the characters that Marvel sited as clones of their
characters weren't created by users at all...but by Marvel staffers (I guess to
show that it COULD be done?).To quote
Nelson of the SIMPSONS: "HA HA!"
Posted at 11:38 AM Read More
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You're Fired
Backlash is happening across the nation due to
workers blogging about work on their web
logs.I try to keep my jobs anonymous
lately...because when I posted the show name I would get e-mail from people
wanting to know more about it, or get a copy of it or something. Once I blogged
about running into Shawn Cassidy and was contacted by some rabid fan asking if
he was with a woman...I want to
comment about my job and the work process I go through, and some of the trials
and tribulations...but am feeling wary. The last thing I want to do is get
fired.Well, I could do what this
commentator on KCRW out here does. Rob Long is a
writer/producer who has a 5-minute show a week about the ins and outs of TV
production. He is very generic about things and people, yet still gets the
message across. I might try to emulate
that...BTW...if you are into Podcasting...these are great shows to add to
your list.
Posted at 12:45 PM Read More
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Coloring.
OK. Since my buddy Russ did
it...I will do it to. To make up for
the lack of entires for a couple weeks, here is some video of my three daughters...colroing in
coloring books. It doesn't contain any of my editing (I do that enough at work)
but it does have my great professional Daddy camera work.
Posted at 12:49 AM
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It's been a while
I am sorry for taking so long to post
something...ANYTHING...but work has take over my life. Well, that and sleep.
Seems like that is all I have had time to do lately. If I am not staying late
to work, I get to see my kids in the morning...for an hour...and in the
evening...for an hour. Then, after th kids are in bed...back to work. Or maybe
to the gym for my "once a week" visit.
Why so busy? This is a new show, so not
only am I editing new shows, but we are going back to revisit older shows to
adjust and re-work them. Still trying to find a style. The one we aimed for
was too much for the network, so we have to go back and re-edit older shows to
be more "conventional." But we are also dealing with other issues, like the
fact that our shows are supposed to be 24 minutes long, and so far only one show
meets the mark. All the rest are between 15 seconds to 2 minutes, 20 seconds
short...BEFORE we send them to the Network for their comments, shich usually
entails cutting some things. We are supposed to be sending shows about 30
seconds long, so that the network can give notes on things to cut...to generall
y give us room to breath. But, we are short. Painfully short. What this means
are re-shoots...added scenes...additional storylines. I guess I can look at it
as job security...because of this I will be working longer at this
job.
Another reason I am working so much
is that I am the new guy. I am not new to editing, I have been editing
documentaries for 2 years. No, what I am new to is editing narrative...so I am
taking longer than usual because I re-work scenes several times to make DARN
sure they are good. The other editor...a guy who taught film production and
editing and has been editing for 20 years...is working long hours and weekends
to get his shows done. Since he is taking so long...I have to as well. He is a
work-a-holic. He is still working on side projects while working on this show.
Me? I like this job so much, I could be
a work-a-holic. But having children makes that difficult. I guess that is a
good thing...incentive to keep me from working all the time. But, if I don't
keep up, I won't have a job to be a work-a-holic for.
And I still need to find time to get to
the darn gym and burn off all this fat I get for sitting all day long.
Posted at 12:25 AM Read More
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Microsoft Windows crashes...
Reason #14 for buying a Mac instead of a PC running
windows:A mac will never crash on you during your keynote address when
you are talking about the
seamless
use of your computer with your digital camera, personal jukebox and
TV.http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050106/D87EK9KG0.htmlThis
happened to him last year too...during a keynote. Blue screen of death. Yet
people keep buying them.What if Ford
unveiled the new Mustang, and the engine dropped to the floor during the
demo...then the trunk popped open on it's own. Would people buy it? "Heck
yeah...cause everyone drives a Ford!"BTW
- a Mac has never crashed during ANY demonstration...much less a keynote
address.
Posted at 01:12 PM Read More
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National Treasure
My favorite movies are what people call "popcorn
movies." That is, they are movies that are made for the pure enjoyment of the
movie. No biopics, no deep historical drama, no socially responsible
filmmaking...just pure fun. My favorite popcorn movie is RAIDERS OF THE LOST
ARK. I think of it as the
untimate
popcorn movie...although a little intense at times. Another favorite is
SNEAKERS...nice ensemble cast and just a fun movie. The STAR WARS trilogy (the
first, UNTOUCHED films) are also perfect examples. If I was to make a movie,
this would be the type I would want to make. These films are pure escapism...a
two-hour break from life as you watch some great adventure unfold on the
screen.
NATIONAL TREASURE is one of those
movies. And best of all, it is rated PG so you can take the kids. There is no
bad language, no over-the-top violence (there is gunfire, but no one gets hit.
Kinda like the A-TEAM), there is no nudity. While THE BOURNE IDENTITY and THE
BOURNE SUPREMACY were good popcorn films, they were geared mainly at adults.
Swearing, extreme violence...not suitable for kids, but very enjoyable for us
adults. NATIONAL TREASURE is the perfect movie for the whole family...and my
kids loved it. When they saw the trailers for it, they were all excited because
the clues were on dollar bills, which they quickly asked for and delved into
with magnifying glasses. They found the Owl on the one dollar bill...but needed
to see the movie to see what the other clues
were.
And the movie was very historically
accurate. From Ben Franklin's pseudonym to dates and places of events...so the
kids got a little history lesson too. I really cannot say how much I enjoyed
this film.
Don't get me wrong, I like a
good intense drama or character study like the next guy, but in terms of films
that are on the top of my list, popcorn movies make it there every
time.
Other popcorn films this year: SKY
CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, SPIDER-MAN 2 (although for older kids...10
and up).
And lets not forget the
INCREDIBLES. A treat for the family...and a BIG treat for the comic book fan.
On a side note, when watching the credit list I saw that Violet (the older
sister) was voiced by Sarah Vowell...not an actress, but a name I recognized. I
looked her up and she is a radio commentator on NPR for THIS AMERICAN LIFE...but
her name, and her face, looked very familiar. Then I read a little more about
her and found that she graduated from the same college I did...Montana State
University. Then I remembered her...I had a photography class with her, and
shared a dark room booth with her during class. How funny!
Posted at 01:01 PM Read More
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Star Wars...
When I was in junior high, I got my first
"walkman"...a portable cassette player (I remember seeing them for the first
time when I was in 6th grade). When I got mine, it made my trip to school more
enjoyable...I was able to listen to music as I rode from West Eugene to South
Eugene where I went to school. When I was in high school, my trek to school was
lessened when I moved closer to school, but I still listened to my walkman...an
Aiwa model with a 3-band equalizer. Fancy! Believe it or not, I still have
this little guy in a trunk in my
closet.
At the time, the music I listened
to were primarily soundtracks and early techno...Star Wars, The Empire Strikes
Back, Tangerine Dream, Alan Parsons Project. Yes...I was a geek. I also read
sci-fi novels and played role playing
games...
Now that I own an iPod (which I
named Nestromo, after the ship in ALIEN), I again use it to make my trips to
work more enjoyable. For a while I listened to my new music loves...Peter
Gabriel, Ray Charles, various retro-80's and 90's music...and
U2.
Then I was shopping on iTunes for
something new and found...the Star Wars soundtracks. I quickly downloaded Star
Wars and The Empire Strikes Back and added them to my iPod...and now when I go
to work I listen to these...which
really
brings back memories.
Guess it is time to
get my Tangerine Dream collection on my iPod.
Posted at 12:23 PM Read More
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Great game
Posted at 04:48 PM Read More
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Apple stock SOARS!
Apple's stock
today rose more that $5 per share....that's over 13% of it's original value.
Started the day at roughly $39 and now it is just under $45! Wondering why I
found that profits were over $105
million...mostly thanks to the iPod that sold over 2 million units
LAST QUARTER. Not last year, LAST
QUARTER.Now, I am not really into this
business stuff, I just like Apple so much that I bought 20 shares of their
stock...at $15. So while I am not mega rich like I could have been when I
worked for Apple in 1996 and their shares hovered around $12, then the iMac came
out and it shot up above $120 then split (but at the time Apple was failing and
I had no confidence)...I am doing fairly well with this stock. Enough to afford
a new iMac at least.
Posted at 11:21 AM
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The Color Purple
sigh.
Along the same lines as my previous blog
about recess...teachers are now opting to correct student's papers with PURPLE
pens...because seeing lots of red marks on ones paper can be frightening.
Apparently they had focus groups for
this.Isn't there better ways to spends
ones time concerning schooling kids...such as the DEGREE of competent education
they are getting?We are frightened when
we see lots of red marks on our papers because when we see lots of red marks, we
know that we did not do well. Wouldn't changing the color to purple just make
the kids frightened when they see lots of purple marks on their papers? No
matter the color, see a lot of the "bad" color tends to frighten
one.Speaking of the "bad" color...go see
THE VILLIAGE>
Posted at 05:00 PM Read More
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No touching
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/10469970p-11389340c.html
OK...I
am a father. I have three girls that I love adore, and would do anything to
protect.
By protect I mean from MAJOR
harm. Kidnapping, death, major broken bones and the like. The stuff that
happens on a playground during recess: Skinned knees, bruises, shouting
matches, playing tag, getting picked last for sports...even bullies. These are a
part of childhood. These are part of growing up. This is how children learn
how to get along in the world. I think a lot of this stuff sucks...who likes
getting picked last? Who wants to alway be it in tag because you are the slow
runner? I sure don't. And when it happened to me (and it did quite a bit) yes,
my feeling were hurt, but what it did was make me try to prove my worth. Try to
show the other kids that I am really REALLY good. That the other team should
regret NOT picking me because I can kick that ball (kickball) farther than the
captain of my team. It gave me incentive. And eventually I did become pretty
good, and didn't get picked last (but next to last...but it was an
improvement).
I know that there are many
who will not take it the same way. They will take the not getting picked as a
sign that they are no good and will not try to play again. They will go off and
sulk. They will internalize this defeat and might grow up with a defeatist
attitude. Hate to sound cold, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. That
person needs a parent or adult to reinforce their ego and make them feel special
and good. Yes, you didn't get picked for this, you aren't the best at
this...but you are so much better at that. Or, why not encourage them to keep
trying? Again, if it fails, that particular thing is not their bag. They have
other talents. Don't punish everyone because ONE kid gets his feeling hurt.
This defeat...or other like being the slowest in tag can be taken that if they
work harder, they might do better next time.
I would much prefer that to, "If my kid
can't succeed in this, no one will be allowed to play it."
When did this attitude come along? This
is much along the same lines as "when the kids play soccer, we don't keep score.
That way no one's feelings are hurt when they lose." I just don't understand
that. I can understand feeling bad when your kids feelings are hurt. That
happens to my kids. I just tell them to try to do better next time...practice
and practice until they are really good.
Where would we be as a society if we
gave up...and forced others to give up, because a few couldn't do
something?
As for the scrapes, cuts,
bruises, broken bones. They are a part of life. Raise your hands if you broke
a bone...and lived to tell about it. I did. I scraped my knee a LOT! I fell
off my bike quite a bit...even as a teenager (but in that instance there was a
cinderblock on the bike path and it was after midnight). I have been cut, I
have fallen an been bruised...and I am here to talk about it. I can understand
wanting to remove the monkey bars or swings that are over concrete. Falling
from that can kill a kid (and has). But what about replacing the concrete with
that soft foamy stuff they now have...or sawdust...or sand. Sure, the kid will
get hurt...but they won't die.
Coddling
too much can be extremely harmful. One tends to learn more from a losing
experience than a winning one. I will leave you with this
quote:
"Lose. But don't lose the
lesson."
Posted at 01:39 AM Read More
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Your Honor, we have reached a verdict.
Today we heard final arguments, received our
instructions from the judge, and began deliberations. It was a pretty
straightforward case. The defendant conceded that they were at fault for an
auto accident. The only contention was how much the plaintiff was to be
compensated. After tossing some numbers around and some slight arguing I
believe that we came to a fair settlement.
Afterwards we all talked to the lawyers
on both sides. They wanted to know what testimony worked, what didn't, what
aspects of their case was strong, how we came to our conclusions, etc. This way
they both can learn what worked and what didn't. ANd we got to ask questions
and probe further into the case and find things out.
The plaintiff was asking for a little
over $11,000 for medical bills and some pain and suffering. We were all curious
why they went to court over such a small amount. It turns out they have been in
negotiation and litigation and arbetration for over 3 years, and were
deadlocked. The defendants insurance wouldn't
budge.
While the Defendant was present
for the first day of the trial, she wasn't for the next two, for she was a
single parent of two kids and had to return to her job a Denny's in order to
keep the household running. This is a fact that we knew about, but couldn't use
during our deliberations. Let me tell you...trying to keep out of my mind the
fact that a single mother of two working at Denny's might have to pay thousands
of dollars to a woman who drives a Jaguar is VERY difficult to do. But I had to
put that out of my mind while discussing the award. But boy, that was
tough.
In the end we came out with what
we felt was a fair settlement. And it turns out the Defendant who works at
Denny's has insurance that was going to pay for all of this, and that it was the
insurance company that was disputing the charges. That made me feel a lot
better. And even though the plaintiff didn't get all that she asked for, she
was relieved that it was all over.
So
all in all I had a great experience, and would do it again in a heartbeat.
As a quick side note observation, during
the jury questioning phase one Juror was asked what he did for a living. He
said that he was on disability, and went further to state that he was HIV
positive. He was sitting between two individuals, and his elbow was touching a
young lady's arm as they shared an armrest. Let me tell you...after he said
that, not one person moved. No one shifted their weight, moved slightly to get
just a little further away...or moved their arm so that they weren't touching.
Goes to show you how well we are educated on this subject, at least in
L.A.
That man eventually became our
foreperson.
Posted at 10:59 AM Read More
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